An Unlikely Reunion
Hey! No way.
The continent is huge. What are the chances I’d run into you here, of all places?
Even if the imperial princes were all undergoing the Path of the Trial, the odds were ridiculously low. At this point, I had to call it inevitable fate. I immediately and vigorously denied that fleeting thought.
“It was an accident when I was young.”
“I see.”
“Everyone always asks about it.”
While the man couldn’t tear his eyes off the back of his hand, he tried to gently pry Einy away from himself, only to fail.
Einy was shaking her head furiously, violently refusing to come to me. It was like the world would collapse if she let go of him. She clung to him with desperate intensity.
Ash looked thoroughly defeated. The expression on his face was exactly like a man trying to hold a giant octopus, and I found it hilarious.
“What should we do about this?”
I snorted. “You idiot. Why would you pick her up if you were just going to spoil her?”
“She was crying so pitifully…”
“There’s a reason people don’t pick her up. Take responsibility!”
“Huh? Responsibility?”
“Yes. Responsibility.”
Among the three adult men in the party, it was obvious that this plain-looking man named Ash was the leader. At first glance, one might think the burly Chad was in charge, but a closer look revealed that the real power rested with the least conspicuous man of the group. Chad obeyed Ash without question, and the other nameless man acted like Ash’s personal guard.
“You’ll need an inn once we enter the city, right?”
“That’s right?”
“Have you already picked one?”
“Not yet. This is our first time in Mielta.”
“Perfect. Then stay at the same inn as me.”
Why do they all look so shocked? It’s not like I suggested we share a room.
“What’s the reason…?”
“I’ll buy you dinner. How about it?”
Huh. Now that I said it out loud, it sounded a bit like asking someone on a date.
“No thanks!”
“We object!”
The two men besides Ash vehemently refused, but the more they protested, the more I looked only at Ash. I smiled with my eyes and asked again, as if to say, What does it matter what the others think?
“How about it?”
I genuinely just wanted to observe this man a little longer. The name Ash meant something special to me, and after seeing that scar on the back of his hand, I couldn’t shake a certain lingering attachment. A small, nagging what if refused to disappear.
“W-well… it’s rather sudden…”
“Einy seems to have taken a real liking to you. If you help us get her back to the city, consider it my way of saying thanks.”
“Say no, Ash! This woman is totally suspicious!”
“Absolutely not! We can stay at any other inn, but not the one this woman suggests!”
What the hell? Why are they treating me like some dangerous woman?
Chad and the nameless man worked together to forcibly pull Einy out of Ash’s arms.
“Waaaaah!”
But Einy immediately began sobbing as if the world had ended, so they had no choice but to put her back.
She threw a full-blown tantrum like they were trying to separate her from her real mother. The two men looked like they couldn’t shake the feeling that they had become the villains.
Once back in Ash’s embrace, Einy buried her tear-streaked face in his shoulder and clung to him as if that was the only safe place in the world.
Ash looked troubled, yet he willingly accepted the small, wet head and gently stroked it with warmth.
It wasn’t hard to guess why that comforting touch had won over Einy’s heart.
That crybaby actually comes in handy sometimes. Well, Rai is occasionally useful too. Everything has its uses somewhere, I suppose.
“……As you said, it does seem like my responsibility.”
“Right? You shouldn’t have picked her up.”
“Indeed.”
“So you’ll come with us?”
I coaxed him with a soft smile.
It was the smile I wore when I wanted something, and Ash surrendered almost immediately. It probably wasn’t because of my smile, but because he couldn’t bring himself to push away the tiny girl who was whimpering and clinging to him.
“There’s no need for you to buy dinner. I’ll carry the child to your inn for you.”
“Thank you!”
“We might as well stay at a witch’s lair.”
“Chad!”
That mutter was a little too loud, wasn’t it? Practically meant for me to hear.
“That woman does whatever she wants! Look how she gets her way in seconds. You’re acting like you’ve been bewitched!”
“It’s not like that. It’s because of the child… Her name was Einy, right?”
I stood with my hands behind my back, quietly watching.
Was Einy just that strange, or was this man named Ash—who had an unreasonably pleasant voice—naturally so gentle that children couldn’t help but adore him?
“If we take you back to the village, you’ll stop crying?”
“Yeah……”
“Good girl.”
“Really?”
“Of course. So don’t cry anymore. Everything will be alright.”
He held Einy’s hand tightly, even though her eyes were still brimming with tears. Then he lightly kissed the protruding knuckle of her finger and gazed at her tenderly. In an instant, Einy stopped crying.
It was like magic. The kind of skill that made me want to whistle in admiration.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the man who had so easily tamed Einy.
His name was Ash.
The name I knew so well.
The Blue Monkey Inn
This was the inn my sister had told me to leave the horse at.
It must have been dinner time. The moment I opened the door, the smell of freshly baked bread hit my nose first, followed by the savory aroma of soup that reminded me just how hungry I was.
As expected of an inn with a shared dining area, the first floor was filled mostly with tables. The people who had already claimed their seats were deep in their meals.
Ding.
I licked my lips and flicked the small bell on the counter with my finger.
A person soon emerged from the back. A lively boy who looked about fifteen greeted me with a practiced smile.
“Welcome! Are you looking for a room? Or just a meal?”
“Both. And I’d like to leave a horse here… I was told you’d understand if I mentioned the Silver Wolf tribe.”
“Ah! Of course. You’re a regular, then.”
The boy kept smiling as he wrote in the guest ledger. Looked like customer service was his calling.
“To leave the horse, you’ll need to pay one month’s worth of feed in advance. That includes hay and other miscellaneous care fees.”
“And?”
“If you could show me some identification……”
I’d been kidnapped in a hurry. There was no way I had anything like that.
“How about this instead of ID?”
What I discreetly slid over was a five-silver coin. My sister had said this would take care of everything……
“Accepted!”
“Thanks. Also, I need a room. Two single rooms… No, one double room with separate beds.”
“Let’s see… Double rooms are always in short supply. You’re in luck! There’s one left. But it only has one bed. Is that alright?”
“I’ll take it.”
I couldn’t let Einy sleep alone.
“Anything else you need?”
“Just asking, but……”
“Yes?”
“Are pets allowed?”
The smile on the boy’s face faded slightly. I pointed my thumb at Rai, who was standing beside me.
The boy clerk leaned over the counter to check Rai, then shook his head regretfully.
“A dog that big……”
Master! Give me money! Give me gold!
Show them the power of money!
Even though he was a spirit, he sure knew the taste of money. Unable to withstand Rai’s pestering, I pulled out another silver coin.
I slid it across the counter, but the boy wasn’t as enthusiastic as before.
“It would be too noticeable, so I’m afraid not. The owner has strictly ordered that all animals must stay in the stables.”
“Hmm……”
“It’s an inn, after all. We have to consider the other guests’ opinions… Please understand.”
There was no helping it. Looked like Rai would have to go to the stables.
It was his own fault for missing the chance to turn into a snake.
Rai was clearly displeased. Since when do wolves puff out their cheeks? I told him to act like a normal wolf, for crying out loud.
“Alright. Can I have the room key first? I have a sleeping child and I’d like to lay her down.”
“Here’s the key. You’ll be on the third floor. We’ll take care of the horse and put it in the stable, so just tell us which one it is. We’ll put the dog in there too.”
What a service-oriented inn. I liked it.
I’m not a dog! I’m a wolf! Master, tell them I’m a wolf!
You want to get kicked out?
“He won’t bite, right?”
“Not unless I say so.”
He would never bite without my permission. Though the way he bared his teeth was more terrifying than an actual bite.
Rai was dragged away by the collar like a dog, and I took the room key.
Leaning on the counter, I turned to look at Ash’s party who had followed me inside.
“You guys get your own rooms. I’ll be right back down. I’m starving.”
“Who are you to give orders?”
“Order whatever you want to eat.”
Chad immediately bowed.
“Oh thank you! Can I get beef?”
“Sure, whatever.”
I had no interest in the other guy.
The one I stared at openly and intently was Ash. The man who was still carefully holding the now-sleeping Einy.
I beckoned him with a wiggle of my finger.
“You, follow me. You need to carry Einy up to the bed.”
“That would be best. Understood.”
“Ugh… Ash! That woman is way too arrogant. Everything she says sounds like an order!”
The man with glasses was called Lox. Unlike Chad, he seemed to find me unpleasant for entirely different reasons.
He grabbed Ash and whispered, but I could still hear almost everything.
“If you don’t come down within one minute, I’m reporting you to the guards.”
“……One minute is too short.”
“Then two minutes!”
“Lox……”
“Five minutes?”
Good grief, I’m not going to eat him. Do I really look that dangerous?
How strange. It’s true I have a habit of giving orders, but other than that I’m a perfectly decent… well, mostly decent person. Probably. The fact that I might be the only one who thinks so does sting a little, though.