Chapter: 170
The priest handed me a letter.
On the front of the envelope, it was written in an unfamiliar handwriting, “To Maybelle.”
“And… this one is a letter sent to me.”
The priest pulled out another letter from his robe and placed it on the table. It was a letter in the same handwriting as the one addressed to me. Could this really be… a letter from Mom?
If she could afford to send a letter on such expensive papyrus, then why wouldn’t Mom come find me?
Is there something going on with Mom?
“I was going to show you the letter when you became an adult.”
“Why? Why did I have to wait until I was an adult to see it?”
“Because your mother asked me to do it that way.”
At the priest’s words, I fell silent. What reason could there have been for that…
“And if you found out about the letter from your mother, you would have immediately rushed out of the village.”
I couldn’t respond to the priest’s words, because everything he said was true.
If Mom is alive somewhere, I would have gone to find her.
“According to the letter… your mother is in a very dangerous situation. She didn’t want to involve you, her daughter, in that danger.”
“Dangerous situation…”
So Mom didn’t abandon me, she left me here to protect me?
She didn’t abandon me?
Why?
“Originally, I was going to keep it a secret until you became an adult… but if this person here, if this person can help you, I thought she could also help your mother.”
I turned my head and looked at Tia. For some reason, she was watching me with a face full of great interest.
Well, she is a dragon. If Tia, who can freely use incomprehensible magic, helps, then…
Can she help Mom?
Can she save Mom who is in a dangerous situation?
“Of course, that’s assuming this person is willing to help. So, what do you think? Won’t you take this child with you?”
Tia looked back and forth between me and the priest, then nodded slightly and spoke.
“I don’t mind. I was just wandering around aimlessly, but traveling with a purpose isn’t bad either.”
Tia spoke as if she had experience traveling.
Could this Tia really be the Dragon’s Priestess? The Dragon’s Priestess from the hero’s story?
Then… could it be that the dragon the hero defeated fell for the hero, and that’s how the Dragon’s Priestess joined them?
Maybe the story has been reversed all this time?
“Really?! Thank you! I was so worried about sending this child alone, I was concerned about sending such a young child to a dangerous place, but if the priestess helps, I’ll feel much better!”
The priest bowed his head in gratitude to Tia, looking as if he was really worried about sending me off alone.
Even so, I’m more than capable of handling myself! Just because I’m short and look young doesn’t mean I’m actually a child!!!
“Then, first, please tell me about this child’s situation. I need to know the details to help properly.”
At Tia’s words, the priest nodded and slowly began to speak.
“First, I need to tell you about this child’s mother…”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“Her name is Ella. Ella Cinder. Known as ‘Ashen Ella,’ she was a small but spirited mouse beastkin.
Born into a fairly wealthy mouse beastkin family, Ella was bright and lively, making lots of friends.
If Ella’s mother hadn’t died when she was young… she would have lived a happier life. Unfortunately, her life was pretty rocky.”
The priest began to recount my mom’s story. But…
“Wait a minute, how do you know so much about my mom’s history?”
“Well, we were childhood friends. Ella had a knack for making friends. She even got close to me when I was just a priest apprentice. Anyway, her life started going downhill when her father remarried.”
Ella’s new stepmother and two step-sisters were older than her, meaning it was a whole new family dynamic for Ella.
Initially, Ella tried to bond with her stepmother and sisters, but they really disliked her.
Probably… they figured that if Ella weren’t around, they could get their hands on all of her father’s wealth.
She tried to befriend her new family but ultimately gave up on her vicious sisters.
Later, when her father fell ill and never recovered, the harassment from the stepmother and sisters got worse.
That’s when she left home to go on an adventure, they say.
After listening to the priest’s long-winded story, Tia chimed in, “Sounds like a story I’ve heard before.”
“Really? Anyway, she set out on her own and became an adventurer. She traveled and gathered various experiences. Since she admired the hero’s tale, it makes sense she’d become an adventurer.”
Mom… an adventurer?
“Ella wielded a huge hammer that was almost too heavy to hold with two hands, and she was strong. It was powerful enough to take down even a decent monster with a single hit.”
“A huge hammer? But she’s a mouse beastkin?”
Mom is also a mouse beastkin like me… Did she really swing around a giant hammer with her small frame?
Something… it’s hard to believe.
“She had incredible arm strength, you see. The big hammer she used during her adventurer days was handed over to me, and I’ve kept it safe in the temple. I was going to give it to Maybelle to use as a weapon when she became an adult.”
“A huge hammer? But what if I don’t know how to wield it? Wouldn’t that be a problem?”
I have no clue how to handle a weapon at all, so even if I got one, it would just end up being a hassle.
“If you swing it like you’re chopping firewood with an axe, you’ll be just fine. Besides, you’ve got strong muscles like her, so I think you’ll manage just fine.”
Hmm… Could my unexpected strength come from taking after Mom?
“Anyway, after making a name for herself as an adventurer, she returned to her hometown. In the name of the god of light and justice, she reclaimed her rightful property.”
“That sounds… a bit different… Shouldn’t there have been something like a glass slipper involved, and maybe a ball?”
“A glass slipper…? A ball?”
What on earth is Tia talking about now?
“Uh, whatever you’re thinking, let’s keep going with the story. After kicking out her stepmother and sisters, Ella became quite famous among the mouse beastkin, attracting many suitors.”
“Suitors…? Marriage?”
Speaking of which… what kind of person is my dad? Mom never mentioned a word about him, so I have no clue.
In fact, the priest feels more like a father figure to me.
“Yep. The next part’s a bit fuzzy, but I heard she fell in love and got married. Then… there was silence for a while, until she suddenly showed up in tatters, bringing you, a very young child, and asked me to look after you.
She didn’t elaborate but said she was caught up in a troublesome situation and left you and the big hammer with me.”
“The big hammer… But I don’t recall any of that. I have no memory of Mom wielding such a thing.”
“You wouldn’t know it was there since it was packed in a box and brought on a cart. It’s under my bed now; I’ll show you later.”
Mom’s weapon… Hmm… I don’t know. I don’t recall ever seeing it.
“Ahem. There was no news of her for several years afterward… until last year when I received a letter. A letter that said to show it to Maybelle when she becomes an adult, and a letter that was addressed to me. There were two letters, after all.
The letter to me mentioned that she was in a bit of a tight spot and asked for me to send Maybelle to her when she comes of age.
But that was just a cover story. The real message was hidden in the first letters of each paragraph from that letter.”
“Vertical writing?”
Vertical writing? What on earth is that?
“I’m not sure what you mean, but anyway, her secret message read like this:
[Mouse beastkin. Danger. God. Daughter. Safety. Travel.]”
This is…
“I couldn’t grasp the complete message, but it seems there’s danger surrounding mouse beastkin, and it’s linked to the gods… It sounds like they want to send Maybelle to a safe place.
It looks like they couldn’t even send the letter in peace.”
“If it’s a god we’re talking about, do they mean Sirius, the beastkin god?”
Sirius, huh? The guardian god of the pantheon? The book mentioned him as the first beast… Could they actually be the same?
“Probably. Given that Sirius, the beastkin god, became the guardian deity of the pantheon, it’s reasonable to think Ella’s getting tangled up in some related mess.”
“Hmm… Sirius, huh. This could get interesting.”
The priest seemed to know Sirius was the beastkin god. The book I read didn’t mention that at all.
“Anyway, because danger may find Maybelle, I had planned to send her away to a safe spot when she became an adult, but since the priestess is offering her help, that’s a relief.”
“But what about Mom?”
“Focus on your own safety for now. She’ll figure things out on her own.”
“But…”
Even if Mom is in trouble, the only option I have is to flee to a safe spot?
“She sent that letter, risking her own neck for your sake.”
I want to rush to Mom right away…
“Excuse me, but the fact the letter reached here means that danger targeting this child could come here too, right?”
“That’s true, but by the time the letter was sent, they likely had pinpointed this location.
There wasn’t any specific deadline given, so the safe period probably ends around when Maybelle turns into an adult, meaning she should be sent somewhere secure before that.”
“Then why are you trying to have this child accompany me instead of simply sending her once she becomes an adult?”
“I wanted to teach her various things to ensure she could fend for herself by then. But if the priestess is going to accompany her, that’s far more secure than all my teaching sessions, wouldn’t you say?”
That’s totally true… Being with Tia the dragon is a lot safer than fumbling around learning stuff until I turn into an adult.
After hearing the priest’s words, Tia nodded slightly.
“Hmm. Then… to ensure this child’s safety, wouldn’t the simplest solution do the trick?”
“Huh?”
The simplest solution?
“Just smash everything to bits, and it’ll all be resolved.”
Tia’s solution was even more straightforward and intense than I expected.
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