Youngest 165
by CristaeEpisode 165
‘What does that mean?’
The chill in the air brushed against his cheek.
Khalid, leaning against the window of the carriage, watched the fleeting scenery pass by, taking it in with quiet indifference.
‘The ancient royal palace…’
Traces of a far-distant past, now dismissed as myth or legend, were buried like treasure all across the continent.
There were more yet to be discovered than had been found. The Delcan Ruins were one such case.
‘If I’m going to look for Rubian magic equations anyway, I’ll have to travel all over. I might as well investigate this as well.’
Khalid let out a brief sigh, promising himself he’d secretly pass the information to Allen, too. It was instinct; something told him it wouldn’t be easy.
Just then, a familiar noise reached his ears.
[ Khal! Want to switch seats? Are you alive? ]
A voice as clear as a bell settled his restless mind. It was as if his drifting soul had finally found its roots.
‘…My past troubles and unsettles me, that’s true.’
For the first time, Khalid thought:
‘But the fact that I am myself hasn’t changed.’
So, even if he didn’t yet know everything about his past, the anxiety that once plagued him was gone.
At least here, it didn’t seem to matter who or what he had once been.
Surely, he’d be told as much. By Rubian, and by the Duke of Zevert…
“Hey, brat, what’s got you smiling so dreamily?”
…And perhaps, even this bothersome old man.
With the realization, a little weight lifted from his heart.
“Ah, please. Stop messing with my hair…”
“What a cheeky thing!”
[ …Hello? Khalid? At this point, you should clarify whether you’re just ignoring me or have blocked me. ]
The carriage rolled on, slowly making its way to where they needed to go.
Whoosh. The wind blew.
“What the…”
“What?”
“Is this hell?”
“My domain… This is—Dad, you’re teasing me.”
Dad tapped my head, just hard enough not to hurt.
“Ehehehe.”
Far below, I could see the red-stone mountains!
The Zevert domain, Zelox!
“Wow! Winter again!”
The season had turned swiftly from autumn as we traveled from the capital to here.
With no real urgency, my family wandered leisurely from place to place before finally arriving in the north.
It was fantastically noisy, as always—a happy and boisterous chaos!
And at last, home!
Sir Leon handed me a white fur scarf, just as he had when I first came to Zelox. I pulled it high, burying my chin deep into it.
“Your Grace, messages have arrived from the Allied Nations, confirming attendance at next summer’s round table. I suspect everyone will likely support the agenda His Majesty has proposed.”
“Yes. What about the Mage Kingdom?”
“All quiet. Oh, and we just received a letter—someone named Allen.”
Allen!
My eyes went wide.
Allen was the owner of the mercenary company Dad had taken over. The name rang a bell, but maybe it was just a common name.
‘He did seem to handle a lot of the company’s actual business, for a boss…’
Well, anyway.
Dad bent down so we could read the letter together.
“Wow, that was fast.”
The letter said the location of the second equation had been found.
“The second one… Casalia?”
“Hm, looks like Dad’ll be off on another trip.”
My lips jutted out in mild gloom.
“…Dad, I think I should—”
“Duck lips.”
“Doh’n do dhat!”
Dad chuckled, folding the letter and tucking it into his pocket.
“Kids don’t go on business trips. They go on outings, little excursions.”
His hand was big and hard as it clasped mine tight.
“But you need a mage to read magic circles…”
Dad just laughed and jerked his chin ahead.
“See there? The resident mage is snoring away atop the ramparts.”
“Gasp.”
Sure enough, I spotted Asha in the distance. Even in miniature, she was visible, dozing off in her chair.
“She’s… a nice kid, really…”
“She looks incredibly bored. Maybe I’ll take her on the trip.”
“Blergh…”
Technically, it was work I should be doing.
“But if you ever need help, just tell me. I’ll roll my way over if I have to.”
When I looked up, Dad placed his hand gently but firmly atop my head.
“But you’ve gotten taller, Ruby.”
The happiest words!
My shoulders perked right up.
“That’s right! The top of my head is nearly at Khalid’s nose!”
“…Did you have to phrase it like that?”
But my shoulders, which had shot up in joy, soon slumped again.
“But now the shoes Mom gave me don’t fit… my feet are squished.”
“Rosetta will be the happiest person alive to hear that. She’ll say you even visited her dreams wearing them.”
“Whoa.”
Isn’t that a good thing?
Dad grinned mischievously, roughing up my hair. Ugh, it’s so dry—now there’ll be static!
“When we get back, buy five hundred pairs of shoes. Switch them out every time your feet grow.”
I scowled deeply.
“What if the domain goes broke from the waste? I’d rather stay well-off…”
“Really? Then just a hundred.”
Dad and I bantered pointlessly as we passed through the gates of Zelox Castle.
The seasons moved on.
Each one layered inside me, adding to my height, my laughter, and my store of memories.
The path to Zelox had once been a dark tunnel where I couldn’t see even a step ahead.
Never knowing what might leap out from the end of the road, I was always anxious and afraid.
But now, I understand.
I know what waits for me at the end of this path!
“Young miss! Welcome home! Did you have a good trip?”
A place of warm, unchanging love.
Home, where my family is!
“I’m home!”
It was a long-awaited homecoming!
Ch.18
“Phew. What am I going to do?”
Gazing at my reflection in the full-length mirror, I let out a deep sigh.
“This is… I think I’ve grown too much.”
I had grown.
The latter digits of my age had tipped well into the second half.
“It’s been so many years…”
My once round, childlike face had sharpened and matured, and I’d sprouted up to nearly Hazel’s height—over one hundred seventy centimeters…
“Young miss, what are you doing?”
“Gah! You startled me.”
The moment I turned around, my face was firmly buried in something soft.
“Oh, so cute! Suddenly launching yourself into my arms.”
Squeeze. Hazel bent down to engulf me in a tight, gapless embrace. I could feel her firm, muscular body with unnerving clarity…
“Hazel! Air—let me breathe! I’ve… grown so much now, hugging like this and all…!”
“Grown, you say? Then why are you on your tiptoes?”
I mean, I’d grown—at least up to Hazel’s chest!
“Oh, have you picked your birthday present yet? You’ll be eleven and nine-tenths soon!”
“Pfft.”
“Ah, how fast a year flies. Feels like just yesterday you came back from Academy Camp shouting, ‘I’m home!’”
Hazel stepped back, wiping away a tear.
So it was.
My age… already late into my eleventh year.
“I’m still grateful you didn’t suddenly shoot up to adulthood, though…”
“Can you please stop pinching my cheeks? If you keep stretching them, they’ll stay that way.”
“You’re just growing healthy and plump. All nice and soft.”
“No! My jaw’s a bit sleeker now, you know!”
“Sleek, you say? Where, exactly?”
“Here, see, if you look at my jawline and the bridge of my nose—ugh, forget it! I’m going out!”
How unfair, that I’m the only one who notices this dramatic change!
Anyway, I turned away from the mirror and dashed to the window.
Peeling back the thick winter curtains revealed a sparkling white world outside.
“The snow’s finally stopped!”
“Where are you off to?”
I just grinned in reply.
“Where’s Mister Gardener?”
“Probably out by the herb garden.”
“Perfect! Time to rope in my brothers!”
After days of continuous snowfall, the sky had finally cleared.
And there was something I’d been dying to do when the weather improved.
I scurried around the dressing room, yanking on gloves and grabbing a scarf, when Hazel tapped a big chair.
“You can do all that, but first—sit here. I’ll tie your hair!”
She held up two small hair ribbons, like tiny hostages.
“Are those—dumplings?”
“Dumplings…? Anyway, one ponytail or two?”
“No—two, definitely!”
“Great! At last, I’ll put to use the techniques Lady Rosetta taught me.”
“…She really taught you how to tie hair, right?”
Shush, shush, shush.
The hands of the invincible maid moved too quickly to follow.
With a pristine dumpling bun on each side of my head, I was ready to head outside.