CH 58

Chapter 58: The First Day of the Flower Festival

Halfling.

Their lifespan is slightly greater than humans averaging around 100 years old.

They grow up the same way human children would until they’re about 10 years old. After that, their growth stops, and they stay looking the same until their death.

In general, they are easy going, optimistic, and full of curiosity. Many live their lives going from one journey to another.

Many are merchants or traveling artists and bards, and some make a living as an Adventurer. You would run into many Halfling Adventurers in Ligaleo.

And as Adventurers, they are dominantly Scouts for parties.

And the Halfling who is licking on a lollipop and sitting next to me is Ms. Lotte - the uncontested champion of all Halfling Adventurers. …..but her role itself is a Martial Art Sorcerer which is even rare among her kind.

Henry: “So Ms. Lotte, you’re here much earlier than scheduled, but did something happen?”

Charlotte: “Nope. I simply haven’t run at my full speed in so long, and it was so fun that before I knew it, I arrived here this morning.”

Henry: “Is that right……”

This person here ran too?!

Cyril: “She’s just like Miss Ageha.”

Charlotte: “Oh, you know Ageha? That girl is also showing so much promise. But I think she’s a little too obsessed with the neck-chopping thing.”

Henry: “Cyril, just FYI. Ms. Lotte is even faster than Ageha….”

Ageha has the advantage of Stealth Skills and the primal instinct to sniff out your weakness, but in all other aspects, she is behind Ms. Lotte.

Charlotte: “Ha ha, just give her 10 years, and she’ll exceed me soon enough. You too, Henry.” 10 years……..? I’m not sure about that. Ms. Lotte will also get 10 years of time, and I’m fairly certain that she’ll get even stronger by then.

Cyril: “Wo～w, she’s so small in person, but she really is a Hero of Legend～”

Charlotte: “What, you want to see my Hero Tag?”

With a jingle, Ms. Lotte pulls out the tag dangling from her neck and shows the Orihalcon-made Hero of Legend Adventurer Tag.

The Orihalcon is a metal that doesn’t age, so just like Ageha’s, it still looks brand new. But Ms. Lotte got hers 20 years ago. I was still a baby, and Cyril wasn’t even born.

…….in comparison, Ageha received hers 2 years ago, and Yuu received hers 3 years ago, so that should tell you how long she’s been doing this.

Before the Demon King appeared, it was Ms. Lotte, Sir Ezeal, Mr. Riol, and one more person, and it was the 4 Heroes of Legend. There’s only a handful of ages where 4 Heroes of Legend appeared in history, but right now, we have double that.

Of course, most of it is due to having more opportunities to be able to accomplish feats of valor…..but because of that, the difference in experience between the new Heroes of Legend and the original Heroes of Legend is immense.

Cyril: “But now that I met her…….she’s so calm. When I heard she’s a superstar celebrity, I thought she would be more…...you know…….”

Charlotte: “You thought I would be more perky and energetic?” Cyril: “Well, to put it bluntly…….yes…..”

Charlotte: “I see. Of course, during a live performance, you’ll see me put on a stage personality. I still consider myself pretty young and rambunctious at heart though.”

Well, there are times when you can sense her age………….but I’m keeping my mouth shut about that.

Cyril: “Oh, are we okay since you turned off the [Recognition Prevention]?”

Ms. Lotte’s Godly Equipment, the [Wind Spirit’s Robe] has an [Recognition Prevention] attribute.

It’s actually one of the easiest abilities to help you commit crimes, but for Ms. Lotte who is super-famous, she’s able to move around freely without causing a scene everywhere she goes, so she takes great care of it.

………...there’s even books dedicated to Ms. Lotte’s pictures. A photo machine is expensive, but when you’re this famous, you get a lot of photos taken of you.

Charlotte: “Hmmm? Wouldn’t it be strange to walk beside someone whose face you can’t see? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that my face is hidden from anyone’s line of sight.”

Cyril: “HーHow….?”

Charlotte: “What? It’s easy. Identify all the people who can see you, and then when they turn towards you, you turn your face away.”

…...no, I think she means how do you even manage that…..

But yeah, let’s not. If you want to talk about Skills alone, she’s above Sir Ezeal, and I don’t think I would ever understand someone speaking on that level.

Charlotte: “But they really outdone themselves this time. The turnout was a little sad at the last Flower Festival I attended, but it’s so lively this year! The new Governor is really doing a good job!”

Henry: “That’s right. We heard you attended a Flower Festival in the past.”

Charlotte: “It was about 30 years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy on the details, but I don't remember there being so many flowers. Back then, the festival wasn’t this popular, and they let me sing on a small stage.”

Ms. Lotte recalls the memory fondly.

…...it looks odd to see someone who looks so young act with so much maturity, but that’s just a human perspective, and something normal for Ms. Lorre.

Henry: “Ms. Lotte, you became famous around…..”

Charlotte: “It was after I became a Hero of Legend. It was silly how many people flipped their opinion of me at that time. Now, I’m more famous as a Singer Celebrity than a Hero, and I can only say this in hindsight, but I’m glad it ended up this way.”

Yeah, no matter how good your songs are, if there is no audience, there’s no recognition.

Once she was acknowledged as a Hero of Legend, word spread that there’s a Hero that sings, and from there, people paid more attention to her.

Charlotte: “......oh, wait here.”

Ms. Lotte stopped in her tracks.

I wondered what happened when she disappeared into an alleyway in between buildings.

Henry: “Ms. Lotte? Is something the matter?”

I followed quickly after her, and there I saw a child hunkered down and crying. I could hear him hiccup and cry.

Charlotte: “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you lost?”

“.......ye…..yeah…..my mom…..”

Charlotte: “I see. Hey, I’ll help you look for her. C’mon, stand up. Aren’t you a big boy?”

The child looks to be around 5 or 6 years old. He wipes away his tears on his arms and stands up.

Henry: “Ms. Lotte, I’m amazed that you were able to hear him.”

Charlotte: “I could hear people cry since I can remember. When I first met you, I heard you really well too.”

Um, I don’t think I was crying then?

But….yeah….there’s something about the way she said it that was so convincing. She just had this aura of authority about her.

Cyril: “Umm...well...I think if we take him to one of the festival’s coordinators, they’ll take care of him until his mother is found.”

Charlotte: “Then let’s take a quick look around first. If we don’t find her, we can take him there. Is that okay with you, son?”

Ms. Lotte smiles cheerfully at the boy.

The boy stares at Ms. Lotte for a second and then nods his head.

We decide to look for his mom in the nearby street and start walking in that direction.

The boy began to sniffle a little but…

Charlotte: “～～♪　～♪”

Ms. Lotte starts humming a tune.

It’s a popular children’s song. And although I’ve heard it many times, there’s something about the way she sings it…...that’s very calming to hear. Is it because she’s a professional?

The boy also feels the calming sensations in the song, and his downcast expressions brightens almost immediately.

Charlotte: “Do you know this song? You want to sing it together?” “Yeah!”

She holds the boy’s hand, and Ms. Lotte repeats the tune. The boy sings along clumsily but keeps up with Ms. Lotte’s humming.

The people around smile as if to look at a brother and sister. People are chuckling, and as they pass by, their hearts warmed at the scene.

Cyril: “......from here, she just looks like a normal, good person. Is she really a Hero of Legend?” Cyril whispers to me quietly.

Yeah, I’m glad she’s starting to get a deeper understanding of the Heroes of Legend.

Henry: “Ms. Lotte is short and small, but out of all the Heroes, she’s the most reasonable and understanding.”

True, she is a Hero of Legend AND also superstar celebrity, and at that point, you can tell that she’s got a strong personality, but besides that.

And, I meant it as a compliment but….

Charlotte: “For people who call me small…...take this!”

Ms. Lotte finishes her song, and punches the air with the back of her fist towards me.

Ms. Lotte is standing at least 2 meters (6.5 ft) ahead of me, and it shouldn't reach but….

Henry: “WHOA?!”

A mass of air just hit me in the face!!

Cyril: “What’s wrong, Henry?” Henry: “She hit me with a fistful of air….”

It didn’t hurt, but it startled me.

Cyril: “Fistful…..of air?”

Yeah, I know, right? Even I wouldn’t understand what I’m saying…..but if Ms. Lotte uses her full force, she can use this to defeat a Lower-Tier Demon from 10 meters (32.8 ft) away.

(sigh).......I need to be more careful about what I say.

<<<<>>>>

We found the boy’s mother soon afterwards.

And the mother was shocked to find out that it was Ms. Lotte.

She thanked her over and over, and Ms. Lotte kindly extended an invitation to come see her live performance on the night of the 6th Day, and we parted ways.

Henry: “Alright, Ms. Lotte.” Charlotte: “Yeah, CHEERS!”

That night, after we walked Cyril back to the Governor’s mansion, Ms. Lotte and I were celebrating our reunion with a drink.

Charlotte: “(chug chug chug)..............(exhale!) It’s so good! Another ale please!”

The Bear’s Keg Inn was busier and more crowded than usual, but Ms. Lotte chugs down her ale in one go, and asks Lana who is busy running around the restaurant for another glass.

Lana: “Yes ma’am! Please give us a minute! Mr. Henry, do you want seconds?!”

Henry: “Yup, yes please.”

I drink the rest of the ale at the bottom of my mug, and give the cup back to Lana.

Charlotte: “Wow～ You’re inn is so nice, Henry! I wish I was staying here tonight～”

Henry: “Where are you staying, Ms. Lotte?” Charlotte: “I’m staying at the Golden Branch Inn. Luna came here first and got me the reservation.”

Oh, Ms. Luna.

She’s…….Ms. Lotte’s secretary or…..maybe business negotiator? Anyways, she’s that kind of person that looks after Ms. Lotte.

Ms. Luna will take care of all the inn arrangements, and Ms. Lotte also dumped all the business meetings on Ms. Luna too.

I’ve only met her a couple of times in the past.

Henry: “Where’s Ms. Luna now?”

Charlotte: “By now, I think she’ll be finalizing the plans for the Live Performance on the 6th Day with the festival coordinators～ maybe?”

HenrY: “...........Ms. Lotte, are you sure that you don’t have to be there at that meeting?”

Charlotte: “I’m not supposed to arrive here till later, so showing up there would just cause more confusion, right? Besides, I’m only good for singing and dancing, so it’s best to let Luna handle it.”

Ms. Lotte mischievously smiles and sticks out her tongue.

I feel bad for Ms. Luna……

Luna: “Here’s the refill for your ales! And here’s 2 servings of the sausages.”

Luna brings the food with the ale.

Henry: “Ohhhh, here it is. Ms. Lotte, the sausages here are the best.”

Charlotte: “Ohhhhh, I’m looking forward to trying some then…”

I take a large bite out of the sausage, and as always, it’s juicy deliciousness goes well with the ale.

Ms. Lotte loved them and ordered more.

And we ate, we drank, ate, drank, and drank and drank some more.

Ms. Lotte couldn’t hold back any longer and began singing where she sat, and the people around recognized her and…..

A pleasant night passed with a long-time friend just like that.