"Please come in" (Lasa)
We entered the mansion and were shown to our guest rooms.
"Then I will call for Karina-sama." (Lasa)
Lasa-san rushed out of the room.
"For now, let's keep it a secret that Noa and Misa are nobles." (Yuna)
"Why?" (Noa)
"Aside from Karina, if her father Balima-san finds out, the information might reach Ellelaura-san." (Yuna)
Ellelaura-san was doing mysterious work in the royal capital. She might tell Balima-san about his meeting with Ellelaura-san's daughter, Noa.
"I understand. We can just call us friends of Fina and Shuri." (Noa)
She was wearing clothes bought in this town, so she didn't look like a noble's daughter. However, no matter what clothes she wore, she couldn't hide the elegance that exuded from her body.
"For now, please." (Yuna)
Well, we would just look at the timing and decide whether to speak or not.
When I finished speaking, I heard footsteps in front of the door.
The door opened and a brown-skinned girl entered the room.
"Yuna-san!" (Karina)
"Karina, it's been a while." (Yuna)
Karina entered the room.
She was the daughter of the lord of this city, and the girl I saved.
"So you came." (Karina)
Karina ran happily.
"Fina and Shuri are welcome too." (Karina)
Fina and Shuri also seemed happy to meet.
Karina looked at Noa and Misa, who were meeting for the first time.
"Noir and Misana. They're Fina's friends." (Yuna)
"It’s Noir." (Noa)
"It's Misana." (Misa)
"I'm Karina. Noir, Misana, nice to meet you." (Karina)
After we finished greeting each other, we sat down in our chairs. Lasa-san brought tea there.
"So, Yuna-san, why are you here?" (Karina)
"To play, maybe." (Yuna)
I was thinking about buying some spices to make curry powder.
I told her about riding the camole and going to see the pyramid.
"Is the water okay after that?" (Yuna)
"Yes, the water magic stone that Yuna-san gave me is working normally." (Karina)
"Then, that's good." (Yuna)
The water magic stone used to defeat the Kraken was used in that pyramid.
If it did not work, the lake would dry up and become a desert.
"Right now, I'm studying magic circles." (Karina)
"The magic circle?" (Yuna)
"There was a notebook left behind by our ancestors." (Karina)
"Were they mages?" (Yuna)
The story went that this city was founded by two people: a swordsman and a mage.
The two were old adventurer friends of Mumloot-san.
"Yes. I also have a younger brother, Norris, so I won’t take a groom and become the lord." (Karina)
Men inheriting the house was a common story everywhere.
"Please don't make that face. I feel bad for Norris, but I'm happy to be able to freely decide my future." (Karina)
"Karina..." (Yuna)
"In the future, I would like to go to the royal capital and study." (Karina)
"I see" (Yuna)
It's good to think positively.
Some people didn't want to inherit a family.
"I'm thinking of going to Mumloot-sama someday." (Karina)
"You're still a child, but you're great." (Yuna)
"I'm not a child anymore." (Karina)
Karina puffed out her cheeks a little at being treated like a child.
"No, you're a child." (Yuna)
When I was thinking back to when I was 10 years old, like Karina, I didn't think about the future in the slightest.
At that time, I was still going to school, but when I came home, I was just playing games.
But you needed money to play games.
I had fond memories of my parents not giving me any money, so I used to buy games with my grandfather's pocket money.
Along the way, the things I wanted started to increase, my grandfather taught me about investing, and I started earning money on my own.
When I started earning money as a junior high school student, I stopped going to school and started living a reclusive life.
Compared to my own childhood, Karina was too great.
"Yuna-san, what's wrong?"
"Karina is too great, and compared to when I was a child, it just hurt me." (Yuna)
"I'm not great at all. The one who is great is Yuna-san. She subdued the monsters and gave me the precious magic stone." (Karina)
It had nothing to do with childhood.
"Um, Yuna-san, what did you do in this town? I heard that you defeated a monster." (Noa)
"I didn't really do anything special." (Yuna)
"Yuna-san is the only one who thinks like that." (Karina)
Karina smiled and started talking.
"A while ago, the water in the lake was running out. To increase the amount of water, a large water magic stone was required. At that time, Yuna-san gave me a precious water magic stone. Furthermore, I dropped a magic tool that had been passed down from generation to generation in a place where there were huge monsters. In order to get the magic tool back, Yuna-san faced the giant monster by herself and defeated it. She brought back the magic tool. Yuna-san is the benefactor of our family and this city." (Karina)
"Look, I did what Karina said, I just handed over the magic stone I had and defeated the monster, I don’t think I did much." (Yuna)
I looked at Fina and the others as if asking for their consent.
"Yuna-san, that's what people generally call amazing." (Noa)
"Yes, even though it's nothing to Yuna-onee-sama, it's amazing." (Misa)
"Yuna-onee-chan. I've told you many times to use common sense." (Fina)
"My mom told me that Yuna-nee-chan is insane, so I shouldn't try to imitate her." (Shuri)
Tilmina-san, that's terrible.
No, I knew. Thanks to the bear equipment given to him by God, I was stronger than normal.
All I wanted to say was that I was just helping a crying child, and that it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Even Noa and the others would help if someone was in trouble. That's all there is to it." (Yuna)
Of course, I didn't think everyone would reach out.
But maybe the kids here would help someone like I did if someone was in trouble.
That feeling hadn't changed.
Then, as I was drinking the tea that Lasa-san had made for me, the door opened, and a woman entered.
"Mother!?" (Karina)
"Oh, Yuna-chan really came."
"Listil-san, it’s been a while." (Yuna)
Karina's mother, Listil-san, came closer.
"Thank you very much for coming. Karina missed you too. I would be happy if you would continue to come." (Listil)
"Yes, I would like to ask you." (Balima)
Even Balima-san came.
"Father, is your work okay?" (Karina)
"Yuna-san is coming. We have time to say hello. Yuna-san, please take your time. If you don't have a place to stay, you can stay at my house." (Balima)
"Yes. Please come and stay the night." (Listil)
"If we want a place to stay, I have a house." (Yuna)
"But it hasn't been used for a long time."
I did some cleaning with Fina.
"Besides, isn’t it too small for everyone to stay together?"
It's not too small though, but for about 5 people, it shouldn't be hard to sleep.
However, considering Noa and Misa, who were daughters of a noble family, maybe it would be better to stay at Karina's house.
"Then I'll take your offer for just one day." (Yuna)
Karina looked happy at my words.
"So, have I met that young lady somewhere? She looks familiar..." (Balima)
Barima-san asked while looking at Noa.
"N-no, it's first time we met." (Noa)
"Really?" (Balima)
Barima-san looked at Noa's face and, apparently satisfied, then left the room.
Noa said they had never met, so maybe he saw some trace of Ellelaura-san in Noa.
Then, we talked for a while and got excited while eating the sweets that Lasa-san had brought.
"When you told me that you were going to fight that big monster by myself, I cried." (Karina)
"I told you it's okay." (Yuna)
"However, I don't normally think that you can fight against such a large monster by yourself." (Karina)
"Was it really that big?" (Noa)
"Yes, it was very big." (Karina)
"Speaking of big monsters, Yuna-san is defeating the Black Viper to save the village." (Noa)
That happened sometimes. It's a nostalgic memory.
Then, Karina's younger brother Norris also came.
Then we went to meet the new family member, the baby.
She[1] had just been born, so she was small.
Her name is Yusis (ユシス).
If her name had a "Yu" in it, it might be too self-conscious to think that they took it from me.
However, in the past, someone named me "Yuk" after the "Yu" in my name.
"Hehe, that's cute."
"Kumayuru-chan and Kumakyu-chan stuffed animals."
Kumayuru and Kumakyu stuffed animals were placed on the bed where Yusis slept.
"She seems to like it, and she doesn't cry when she has this stuffed bear."
"Does that mean she’ll cry if she doesn’t have it?" (Yuna)
"Yes, Yusis was biting me and was drooling, so when I tried to wash it, she cried, and it was so loud." (Karina)
Karina said with a laugh.
"So, next time I wash the stuffed bear, I will wash it while Yusis is sleeping." (Karina)
If that's the case, there's no need to cry.
We left the room and went to Karina's room so as not to wake up the sleeping Yusis.
"Karina also has Kumayuru-chan and Kumakyu-chan stuffed animals in her room." (Noa)
Noa was alert and spotted Kumayuru and Kumakyu stuffed animals displayed on a shelf.
"Yes, Yuna-san gave it to me. It's my precious treasure." (Karina)
Karina gently stroked the heads of Kumayuru and Kumakyu's stuffed animals.
Treasures should not be passed down from generation to generation.
We had curry for dinner, and when we finished eating, we came to the room where we were staying.
I summoned Kumayuru and Kumakyu and relaxed.
"Ugh, that hurts." (Shuri)
"That's because you ate too much." (Fina)
Fina stopped her, but Shuri said it was okay and took a second.
"But it was delicious."
"Yes"
"In that case, that's good." (Karina)
I thought Karina looked happy, but then her face turned sad.
"You're going home tomorrow, aren't you?" (Karina)
"Yeah"
I was planning to buy some spices to make curry and went home.
"Also, I am saying goodbye to Kumayuru-chan and Kumakyu-chan." (Karina)
Karina hugged Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
"We'll be back." (Yuna)
"It is a promise" (Karina)
My words brighten her just a little bit.
Author's Note
Noir (ノアール)
Misana (ミサーナ)
Karina (カリーナ)
If I write the names again, they look similar.
At the time, I didn't really think about it, I just gave it a name that came to mind at the moment I was writing it, so I guess I ended up with similar names.
...
*Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Please note that some kanji have been revised to match the book, so some may not have been revised.
Translator's Note
[1] I forgot the baby was male or female.