The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

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Author Notes:

  [This is the second post of the day. 2/2]

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It was fluffy.

I had a fluffy dream.

I dreamed of sitting on a cloud-like sofa that makes people lazy, hugging and eating cotton candy.

Ah, it feels so good.

"Fluffy... fluffy... flu... huh?"

I woke up.

Perhaps because it wasn't my usual bedroom, my back felt harder than usual.

It seems I had been sleeping on the floor for some reason. But my stomach side was very soft, with a slight weight on it.

I slowly lowered my gaze.

"Wha-!?"

A white little girl was sleeping on top of my body.

It seems that what I was hugging in my dream was the little girl in front of me—Elenora. The sheep girl, breathing softly in her sleep, had apparently rolled off the bed and was now resting comfortably on my stomach.

This is bad, this is a serious situation.

Is it okay because I'm also 9 years old?

No, no, whether it's an accident or whatever age, without consent, I'm still a proper offender. If sorry was enough, we wouldn't need the police.

I hurriedly lifted Elenora and put her back on the bed. Of course, I couldn't sleep together with her, so I had given her the bed and slept on the floor, which is why my body is a bit sore.

It's only a little sore thanks to the flexibility of a child's body.

"Phew"

I take a breath and calm down.

Waking up in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar situation.

...I really have left home and started my journey, huh.

I feel an uncharacteristic sentimentality. For about two seconds.

Well then, shall I make breakfast?

First, I need to make food for Elenora as promised yesterday.

I should wash my face first.

Thinking that, I entered the washroom and—

"..."

"...Excuse me"

That's right.

Roze was here too.

I bow my head as I leave the washroom.

For the sake of honor, let me say this wasn't some lucky pervert event or anything like that.

Roze was just practicing her poses (smiling) in front of the mirror. Tilting her head to fully convey the charm of a young girl. If I had to use onomatopoeia, it would be something like "kyurun" or "kirarin".

...Yeah, I didn't see anything.

Let's just leave it at that.

I'll wash my face later, let's start preparing the meal.

I cut the less fresh vegetables into small pieces, and thinly slice the still fresh ones that could be used for salad, rubbing them with salt.

I cut out just the bones and a little of the surrounding meat, knead in chopped garlic, and put it in the pot.

Just then, Roze came out of the washroom.

"Good morning, Ruruk"

"Ah, good morning, Master. May I have some water and fire?"

"Sure"

Like with Elenora yesterday, Roze activated the magic device without touching it. Moreover, she didn't even look at it.

It seems we've both agreed to erase what happened earlier from our memories.

When the water in the pot boils and scum rises, I carefully remove it and turn down the heat, leaving it for a while. Once the fat from the meat and the flavor from the bones have seeped out nicely, I throw in the vegetables. I turn the heat back to medium, and when the vegetables are cooked, I add a sweet and savory sauce and bring it to a boil once more to mellow the flavors. I turn off the heat before the aroma dissipates, add salt to adjust the taste, and sprinkle crushed pepper to finish. I thoroughly rinse the salt from the vegetable sticks I made first and transfer them to a plate.

Lastly, I slice the hard black bread and lightly toast it in a frying pan.

"Alright, this should do. Elenora, breakfast is ready"

I wake up Elenora, who is still sleeping.

"Mm... is it morning already?"

"Yes, it's morning. Come on, go wash your face"

"Mm~..."

Elenora got up once, but then lay down again.

"Breakfast is ready, so no going back to sleep"

"Mm... Ruruk is mean"

"What are you saying?"

Somehow, it reminded me of Lilith.

Even though we just parted a few days ago, I felt a strange nostalgia. I pick up the sleepy Elenora and stand her on the floor.

Yesterday I was on guard because she said she was 18, but looking at her like this, she really is just a little girl. I suppose the sense of age is simply different between her race and us humans.

Sigh, what was I even worried about?

"Come on, let's wash your face"

"Mm... okay"

I take her to the washroom and help her wash her face.

I wash mine too while I'm at it.

By this point, Elenora seems to have fully woken up. Noticing the smell of breakfast, she quickly wiped her face and scurried into the living room. Her little run is cute.

"Thank you for the meal"

"Mm. Eat"

Breakfast is vegetable soup with vegetable sticks and toasted bread.

Thanks to the broth from the bones and meat, the soup has a deep flavor. When you dip the toasted bread in it, the umami of the broth seeps into the bread, making the otherwise hard bread very delicious. If we had ramen, I'd want to put it in and eat it. But I guess that's too much to ask for.

Elenora copies me, dipping her bread in the soup before eating.

"Mmm~"

Her cheeks were relaxed with contentment.

Satisfied with the happy face of the little girl, I slowly ate my bread and soup, cleansing my palate with the vegetable sticks in between.

Elenora kept asking for refills until the soup was gone, and finally seemed satisfied.

"Thank you for the meal"

"Mm. It was delicious"

Alright, with this I've fulfilled my promise to make food for her today.

As I was taking a breather, Elenora put her face on the table, looked at me intently and said:

"Mm, Ruruk"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Make it again next time"

"...Understood"

It seems I was going to become Elenora's personal chef.

"Well then, let's head to the Adventurers' Guild... is what I'd like to say, but before that, we need to get you both some new clothes"

Roze said this as she led us to a clothing store in a corner of the town.

Of course, I hadn't brought any luggage, and it seems Elenora only had a loose shirt and short pants.

This is indeed a problem even before we start our activities as adventurers.

"Now that I have two apprentices, I need to dress them up properly"

No matter how long she's lived, Roze is still a lady, not even trying to hide her excitement as she selects clothes.

As someone who had no interest in fashion even when I was in Japan, I intended to leave it all to Roze's choices. Even when I was with the duke's family, I just wore whatever was in the closet.

Beside me, Elenora was looking around the store with interest and seemed to want to choose her own clothes, but she kept hiding behind me whenever other customers approached. In the end, she ended up leaving it to Roze as well.

By the way, Elenora is wearing a recognition-inhibiting robe made by Roze.

Of course, it's to hide her sheep-folk identity. The recognition inhibition is a curious thing; I can see Elenora's horns because I know about the inhibition, but other people can't see them. It seems the effect changes depending on whether you know about it or not.

"This should do for Ruruk. Ah, we'll need a belt pouch for the dagger too. The shoes are fine as they are since you'll grow out of them quickly anyway. Then there's the cloak for cold weather. Hey Ruruk, which do you prefer, black or green?"

"Either is fine"

"Then black it is. We'll use green for Elenora's robe since it's the color of mages"

Roze chose my clothes quite quickly.

She seems to understand that there's no need to be too particular about boys' clothes.

In the end, what I got was a plain long-sleeved shirt and long pants that looked very much like what a novice adventurer would wear, comfortable-looking boots, and a black cloak. The only accessory was a belt with a pouch that could hold a dagger.

"Next is Elenora... Oh, this is cute! Elenora, come over here for a moment!"

In contrast, Elenora was made to try on all sorts of clothes, like a dress-up doll.

After dozens of outfit changes and Roze's meticulous attention to detail, Elenora's adventurer outfit was finally decided.

"Cute! You're so adorable! I almost want to make a servitude contract with you!"

Hey.

Stop that, even as a joke. Elenora is turning pale.

But I can understand why Roze's excitement is about to explode.

It seems she chose a combination based on the green that mages prefer.

A white shirt with frills and a thin green ribbon at the chest, a short skirt with black and green checkered pattern, and glossy leather boots with a slight heel.

Except for the shoes, it looks like a uniform from some young ladies' school, and it goes perfectly with her fluffy short hair. The sheep-folk's distinctive fuzzy wool on her hands and feet adds a nice accent, and it really does look stylish and cute.

Of course, the dark green robe has the same recognition inhibition spell woven into it, so people who don't know about it won't be able to recognize her as a sheep-folk even if they can clearly see her horns and wool.

She looks like nothing but a well-bred sheltered young lady.

"What do you think, Ruruk? Want to make her your bride?"

"...It suits her, but it doesn't look very adventurer-like. It's more like a student at a young ladies' academy"

"Cuteness is justice. I prioritized looks over defense, so make sure you protect her properly, okay?"

"Is that really okay for you as a master?"

I feel like there's something wrong with this master.

However, Elenora seemed to like the outfit, looking down at herself with sparkling eyes, so I couldn't complain any further.

After purchasing two sets of the same clothes for both me and Elenora, Roze led her two novice adventurers towards the Adventurers' Guild.