Chapter 2-20 : The Girl Has Become A Wanted
「Prox, drop us off there.」(Elle)
「Grau! (Roger!)」(Prox)
Prox descended and landed in the forest several hundred meters away from the city and dropped Elle and the others off. She then returned to her tiny form.
They made their way along the road toward the city gate and underwent an inspection before entering the city, but Ingrid noticed the gazes from the gatekeepers were more intense than usual.
They were whispering to each other.
「Hey, isn’t that the girl?」(younger gatekeeper)
「Hmm, her features match, but she’s an adventurerー a high-ranked one, too. I don’t think she’s the one.」(older gatekeeper)
「Yeah, but don’t we have to report it to the commander at least?」(younger gatekeeper)
「Nah, you know he’s a jerk. No one wants to see his face. Let’s just ignore it.」(older gatekeeper)
「Uhh, alright. You’re the senior.」(younger gatekeeper)
Ingrid didn’t catch all their conversation, but seeing two people whispering in front of her kind of annoyed her.
「Is there something wrong?」(Ingrid)
「Nothing. You may proceed.」(older gatekeeper)
「…Alright. Thanks.」(Ingrid)
Ingrid retrieved her and Elle’s ID cards and passed through the gate.
「I wonder what they were talking about.」(Elle)
「I’m not sure either.」(Ingrid)
「By the way, Ingrid, what do you want to eat for dinner?」(Elle)
「Hmm… I kinda want your fluffy omelets. The kind with cheese inside.」(Ingrid)
「Omelets? But we used up our eggs for today’s meals.」(Elle)
「Then let’s stop by the market for some fresh eggs.」(Ingrid)
「Un.」(Elle)
Elle and Ingrid shared a peaceful conversation while walking down the streets of the royal capital, but then they noticed a newsboy shouting out loud.
「Big news! Big news! They’re looking for someone!」(newsboy)
A crowd of people gathered around him as he was handing newspapers around.
「Big news? Did something happen?」(Elle)
「Beats me.」(Ingrid)
「ーWhoa!」(Elle)
As Elle looked around curiously, a sheet of paper fluttered through the air and slapped right against her face.
「Elle, you okay?」(Ingrid)
Ingrid quickly reached out and took the paper off Elle’s face.
It seemed to be one of the pages from the newspaper.
「ー!!?」(Ingrid)
Ingrid was shocked when she saw what was written on it. She quickly took off her hooded cloak and put it on Elle.
「ーWaa!? Ingrid, what’s wrong?」(Elle)
「Just stay quiet and hide your face. We’ll talk about it once we get home.」(Ingrid)
「Eh? But what about the eggs?」(Elle)
「Forget about eggs! Let’s go!」(Ingrid)
「U-un.」(Elle)
Elle had no idea what was going on, but she pulled down the hood to cover her face as much as possible and grabbed Ingrid’s hand. They turned away from the path leading to the crowded market and entered a small alleyway leading to the slum area.
As Ingrid sped up her pace, a growing sense of unease began to spread within Elle. She was wondering what was written on that paper.
While avoiding people’s gazes, they kept proceeding through the maze-like slum alleyways, heading to Ingrid’s rented house.
They were almost there, but suddenly, Yoyo felt something.
「Oi, there are people in front of your door!」(Yoyo)
「Tsk!」(Ingrid)
At Yoyo’s warning, Ingrid stopped and stretched her hand to the side, signaling the others to stay low.
She slowly moved forward and peeked over the corner. She saw a group of people in shiny armor. One of them was violently pounding on the door.
「Come out! We know you’re hiding a silver-haired girl!」(knight)
Those people seemed to be knights, and there were ten of them.
「Tsk. If they were thugs, I could drive them away, but knights are tough. Moreover, there are ten of them. Dammit!」(Ingrid)
「Silver-haired girl… Could they be searching for… me?」(Elle)
「Most likely.」(Ingrid)
「…..」(Elle)
Elle was confused. She had no idea why they were looking for her, but she knew that she was in danger.
『They clearly want to harm our princess! We can just burn them all!』(Flamberge)
「Gyau, gyau! (Yeah, burn them all!)」(Prox)
「Are you insane? That would make things worse! We stay low for now. Follow me!」(Ingrid)
They turned around and proceeded in the opposite direction. They were now heading to the place that might be willing to hide them for a while. It was none other than The Long Tail Factory.
They rushed into the shop and saw the surprised face of the shopkeeper.
「Ah, it’s you guysー」(shopkeeper)
「ーCould you hide us? Please!」(Ingrid)
「…Get to that room.」(shopkeeper)
Although he was confused, the shopkeeper immediately took a hint of the situation and pointed at the door leading to the room for storing tiny clothes for the living stuffed animals they were selling.
「Much obliged!」(Ingrid)
As the group entered the room, the shopkeeper quickly turned the sign from “OPEN” to “CLOSE” and locked the door.
「Phew… We finally can catch a breath. Elle, you alright?」(Ingrid)
「Just a bit tired. Say, Ingrid, how bad do you think the situation is?」(Elle)
「How should I put it…? I guess it’s pretty bad.」(Ingrid)
「I see…」(Elle)
Feeling uneasy, Elle hugged Yoyo tightly, hoping his soft fur and warm body would calm her even for a little.
「What exactly was written on the paper?」(Elle)
「It says that the black spot disease was the curse cast by a witch who fled from the small island to the east. She took the form of a silver-haired girl resembling the queen when she was young. It also claims that she will bring calamity upon the kingdom.」(Ingrid)
「What? A witch?」(Elle)
「The worst part is that there’s a sketch included, and… it looks like you, Elle.」(Ingrid)
「A sketch… But how did they…」(Elle)
「Perhaps there was a survivor from the village near the forest where you lived. They came to the royal capital and gave their testimony. I can’t think of any other reason.」(Ingrid)
「There was a survivor among them…? No way…」(Elle)
Elle recalled the night when the villagers, who had been devoured by madness and hatred, burned down the forest where she lived.
She still remembered how mad those people were—accusing her of being the source of the disease and trying to kill her.
「Elle…」(Yoyo)
Yoyo noticed Elle’s arms were shivering out of trauma. He looked up at Elle’s face worriedly.
「We were lucky those gatekeepers were idiots. They let us in instead of detaining us. But… Now we’re trapped in this city.」(Ingrid)
「At least you’re safe here.」(shopkeeper)
After closing the shop, the shopkeeper entered the room and joined them.
「I’m sorry, Sir, for dragging you into this. You even have to close your shop for us.」(Ingrid)
「Don’t worry about it. You guys are my precious customers. Besides, it’s probably just another government’s bullshit to cover up how poorly they handle the plague. There’s no way a cute girl like her is a witch.」(shopkeeper)
「Sir… Thank you for trusting us.」(Elle)
Amidst the uneasiness, Elle was glad that there were still people who were willing to help her. She showed her gratitude to the shopkeeper with a smile.
「Oh, right. By the way, we’ve finished transplanting a new core into your bunny friend.」(shopkeeper)
「Really!? Is Neige fixed? Can I see him?」(Elle)
「Of course. Wait a moment.」(shopkeeper)
Elle never thought she would get a nice surprise even in a bad situation like this.
The shopkeeper left the room and returned while holding unconscious Neige.
「There you go.」(shopkeeper)
「Neige! Is he sleeping?」(Elle)
Elle let go of Yoyo and received Neige in her arms.
「He’s still in a dormant state. I don’t know when, but I think he will wake up soon.」(shopkeeper)
「I see. Thank you for fixing him.」(Elle)
「Don’t mention it.」(shopkeeper)
After bowing in gratitude to the shopkeeper, Elle carefully put Neige in her magic bag.
Touched by how kind the shopkeeper was, Elle thought she couldn’t trouble him more than this and was thinking of hiding somewhere else.
「Let’s go elsewhere.」(Elle)
「Hold on. You can stay here for a while, you know?」(shopkeeper)
「Thank you, Sir, but I don’t want you to get into trouble because of us.」(Elle)
「But…」(shopkeeper)
「She’s right. We would feel really bad if you had to close your business just for hiding us. But, Elle, do you know where to go?」(Ingrid)
Before answering Ingrid’s question, Elle reached into her bag and pulled out something.
It was a ring with the engraving of a unicorn. She got it from the kind noble who rode a stagecoach with her to the city. (ch 1-27)
「Ingrid, let’s go to Mr. Forster’s mansion.」(Elle)