Prologue: Meeting Up

—In the middle of the 5th month, 1,547th year, Continental Calendar—

Tomoe, who had been left in a town near the border with the Lunarian

Orthodox Papal State, had come to the noon market with her bodyguard,

Inugami. A messenger kui had already delivered word that Souma and the

rest were safe and would be taking Tomoe with them to their next stop, the

Republic of Turgis, so she was to wait here for them to meet up with her.

However, it seemed like it would be a shame to just sit around and wait, so

she and Inugami had decided to look around the bustling market.

Thanks to being near the border, many merchants who traveled between

the two countries gathered here, and goods from both nations were for sale.

"Hey, little girlie," said one of them. "Why don'tcha have your daddy

buy you this hairpin?"

"I've got some me real fine dried foods here, y'know?" yelled another.

"Have a look, would ya?"

While Tomoe and Inugami walked through the market, the merchants in

their stalls called out to them in merchant slang. It seemed they were being

mistaken for parent and child. Their faces were shaped very differently, but

it was common among the beastmen races for men and women to have very

different appearances, so that might be why they looked like father and

daughter.

Tomoe looked up and giggled. "Mr. Inugami, they think you're my

dad."

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "It's rude of me to say this, Little Sister, but it's

convenient for us to have them misunderstand our relationship like that. If a

man is seen walking with a girl who is young enough to be his daughter, but

isn't, people start thinking things we don't want them to."

In other words, if the alternative was being mistaken for a kidnapper, it

was far better to be thought of as father and daughter.

Tomoe looked up at him. "Um... Then wouldn't it be better if you spoke

to me less respectfully, and more like a father would?"

"No... I cannot do that..."

"You can't?"

"I-It's not that I...can't. You're probably right, Tomoe." Having

relented, Inugami dropped his formal tone.

Tomoe giggled. "Okay then, 'Dad.'"

"What is it, 'daughter of mine'?"

"I want to see what kind of shops the merchants who come from other

countries are running here today."

"Hm... In that case, that's probably one of them over there." Inugami

pointed out a stall being managed by a fat man. It seemed he was selling

dried fruits that would keep for a long time.

Tomoe tilted her head to the side. "How can you tell?"

"You see the accessory with the Lunarian Orthodox symbol he wears

over his chest?"

Now that Inugami pointed it out, she could see the fat man was wearing

an accessory with a symbol that looked like a combination of a full moon

and crescent moon over his left breast.

Tomoe had no way of knowing this, but Mary, the person who had been

sent as an envoy from the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State, had worn a

necklace with the same symbol.

"The devout believers of Lunarian Orthodoxy carry those at all times,"

Inugami explained. "You can see the color on it is nice, too, right? That's

also a mark of someone who's made significant contributions to the main

church."

"Oh, I get it. That's how you knew he was from the Orthodox Papal

State, huh."

"That's right. Do you want to go take a look?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

The two of them walked over to the stall. There were dried fruits and

nuts out front, and in the back were a number of barrels where the man kept

fruits preserved in honey.

"Hey there, little girl, I've got some yummy honey-preserved fruits,"

the shopkeeper said with a grin. "Why don'tcha buy some?"

In response, Tomoe asked, "You're from outside the country, right,

mister? Do you have any interesting stories about your country?"

"Huh?" The shopkeeper was confused by the sudden question.

"Hey, it's rude to suddenly ask him like that!" Inugami scolded.

As she stiffened from being yelled at, he lifted her up by the back of her

hood. Tomoe was as helpless as a kitten suspended in midair.

Inugami put on a fake smile and bowed repeatedly to the shopkeeper.

"I'm sorry, sir. We've got some business in the Republic of Turgis, but it's a

first for my daughter, and she's gotten all excited. Every time she sees

something, it's 'What's this?' 'What's that?' She just won't be quiet..."

"Oh... Hahaha, it's good seein' a child so full of curiosity."

"You really think so? Oh, I'll have some of those preserved fruits."

"Thank you! Come again!"

With Tomoe still held up in the air, Inugami paid for the goods, then

received a neatly cut melon preserved in honey and left the stall behind with

a smile.

Once they were in a place the shopkeeper couldn't see, Inugami put

Tomoe down, crossed his arms, and looked her straight in the eye. "I ask

you to forgive me for shouting at you. But Little Sister..."

"Y-Yes...?"

"Why did you ask a question like that?"

Inugami maintained as calm a tone as he could manage so as to not

intimidate her.

Tomoe looked at him with upturned eyes, then hesitantly confessed, "I

thought if I wanted to be able to help Big Brother and the others, I'd need to

study up on other countries. That's why...um...I wanted to ask him..."

Tomoe's voice gradually shrank quieter as she spoke.

Inugami sighed. "There are spies who disguise themselves as

merchants. If he were one of them, you might be marked for special

attention because you wanted that information. It's very dangerous."

"I-I'm sorry..." Tomoe seemed genuinely contrite, and her wolf ears

drooped.

Seeing her thoroughly discouraged, Inugami plopped a hand down on

Tomoe's shoulder. "So, if you want to know about other countries, tell me.

I'll teach you everything I can. Naturally, I can't tell you anything

classified, though."

Then Inugami extended the bowl containing fruits preserved in honey

to Tomoe. She accepted one, took a bite, and smiled.

"This is so sweet, 'Dad.'"

"I can't help but be sweet. Especially to my 'daughter.'"

After that exchange where they may or may not have been on the same

page, the two both smiled. To any who looked, they would seem just like a

close father and daughter.

It was the next day that Souma and the rest met up with them.