I see. So you've never seen a beastman before!
Yes, you're the first one.
I figured you were on the way, so I went to greet you,
but I guess I gave you a scare.
Joseph here is a relative of mine.
Relative?
His mother is my dad's second cousin.
This is our village.
The Young Man Arrives at His Home Village.
I can't believe you're a dad, Joseph.
She's going to be two soon.
What do you think? Cute, right?
She's a really cute little girl.
Isn't she, though?
Her eyes look like her mother's,
but her face looks more like yours, Joseph.
Doesn't she, though?
Your wife is very pretty.
Isn't she, though?
She can tell the beastmen genders apart?
I can't at all.
You've got a nice coat on your head yourself, missy.
That's one way to put it.
You're headed back to Teathrow, right? Is your granny doing well?
Nobody's told me she's died, so...
If I know her, she'd laugh about Dad not being ready to take over for her.
Sounds like her.
Right?
Never seen mountain veggies before?
There are no mountains near Kreuz.
Want to help me?
Yeah!
Here you are!
Latina was a huge help.
Well? Is she cute or what?
What're you talking about? My kid's pretty cute herself.
Hello, Maya. My name is Latina.
Atia...?
Hello, there.
So cute!
Aren't they, though?
Ute, this stew is delicious. What kind of meat is in it?
It's boar meat.
There are quite a few around these parts.
The men from the village are gathering up to go on a hunt tomorrow.
If that goes well, we can preserve some of it for you two to take.
It's going to be a big hunt, then?
It's because the priestess of Banafsaj received an oracle.
Latina?
What's wrong?
It's nothing. I'm okay.
Which do you want, Maya?
Are you okay, Latina?
I'm okay.
Dale?
Dale, will you stay with me?
Yeah.
In that case, I really will be okay.
It's because the priestess of Banafsaj received an oracle.
Banafsaj...
The god whose providence lets people glimpse into the future.
Could the reason that Latina was chased from her village be...?
Be careful out there.
Look forward to plenty of meat.
That's a rooster.
They keep them around here.
Oh.
Atia? Tase good?
Maya? It tastes good, yeah.
Atia, hurt bad?
"Hurt"?
Maya!
Maya... why is she...?
When they're little, children tend to be sensitive to people's emotions.
Atia, hurt bad!
You should cry if something is bothering you, Latina.
Whether it hurts, or you're in pain, or you're scared...
A kid should be able to turn to adults for something like that.
Thank you for that.
Ute... I'm sorry.
It's a kid's job to cause trouble, okay? So, Latina...
Yes?
You don't have to try so hard.
Look at that! Huge, and there are two of them!
Boah!
Boars are really big.
Uh, those are magic beasts, okay?
A regular boar would look like a baby compared to them.
Really?
They're going to be preserving some of the meat and sharing it with us.
We showed up at a good time.
Dale?
I'm scared.
Because I'm a bad girl.
That's why I can't go back to the place I was born.
They said there was a prophecy.
Latina...
My family, they said it wasn't true. That I wasn't bad.
But then Rag died because of me.
Because he stayed with me...
It's just as the prophecy said. I bet I'm really a bad girl.
Do you remember exactly what this prophecy said?
No. Everyone was talking a lot, and I was scared.
I see. Well, your family said you aren't bad, right?
Yeah.
Latina...
It's hard for people to understand what the gods tell them.
Especially high-level prophecies, such as ones describing someone's fate.
Which is why your family was probably right about you not being bad.
If nothing else, they didn't interpret the prophecy that way.
That means it didn't describe you specifically in that way.
Dale...
I've got some providence myself. Not from Banafsaj...
But I do think I understand how it works more than you do, Latina.
Okay.
Atia...
Atia, pway?
Dale?
It's okay. Be careful. Just don't leave the village.
Okay.
Atia, go, go!
She's certainly gotten attached.
Pway!
No! Atia, no!
No!
Don!
Atia, sday!
Wan Atia!
Atia!
Maya...
Is it okay if I come see you again?
Atia...
No!
Atia, no go!
Enough already!
You guys need to go, then she'll have to give up!
Atia!
Oh, dear...
Well, then. Thanks for the hospitality.
I think we'll stop by on our way back, too.
Careful, now.
Thank you for everything.
Bye-bye, Maya.
See you next time, Joseph.
Careful out there!
Atia! Atia!
Hopefully you can play with her on the way back, too.
Yeah.
Wink!
This way!
Dale!
Keep your head down!
Focus on keeping that gravity decreasing spell going!
Dale?
I know!
Of all the dirty traps...
But once we get past there, we're in the clear.
And that's not gonna work!
Are they stupid or what?!
Kunil luodov tiera,
(Spirits who embody the earth,)
Dale Reki leduuro. Mofusnaato, imu elize,
(I, Dale Reki, entreat you. Surge forth as I see fit,)
Tiera Egunak!
(Earth Metamorphosis!)
Damn it, you old bag!
My, my...
You shouldn't call your granny an "old bag."
Mom, why did you go along with this?!
It's been so long, and you help them try to kill me?!
Oh, come on. All I did was seal the entrance.
If the timing had been off, it would've done a lot more than that!
You're overreacting, dear.
That's right.
This is the same treatment you always get. Why so sensitive?
Oh, my.
Dale, does your family hate you?
No, actually, uh, Latina...
A little girl?!
Well... Granny told us you were bringing company, right.
We figured it was someone in the same line of work!
Um... Well... My name is Latina.
It's nice to meet you. Thank you for having me.
Oh, my goodness, she's adorable.
Sorry for scaring you like that.
Tell me about it!
What were you gonna do if she had gotten hurt?
Well, it's your responsibility to keep that from happening.
Think about what you've done! I'm begging you!
Dale, is Teathrow not the name of a village?
Yeah, Teathrow refers to those of us who live in the village.
The village doesn't actually have a name anymore.
In our village, everyone's a Teathrow,
so there are no actual family names.
But Dale, isn't your name Dale Reki?
Well, in our village, we use job titles.
Jobs?
In the old language of our clan,
Reki means, "He who travels to the outside to fight."
Along those lines.
That's my house.
It's so big!
Well, the head of the village does technically live there.
Although it's a bit on the old side.
You take your shoes off?
Our clan came here from a another country a long time ago,
so we have different customs than the rest of Laband.
You'll get used to it in a while.
Okay.
I see you've gotten your act together a bit since I last saw you,
dumb grandson.
Was I really that bad, you old bag?
If you were in the same sorry shape,
Randolph and the others were excited about the chance to whip you into shape.
Damn it, Dad...
Now, where'd you find this little sprout?
The woods.
I'll be staying with you for a little while.
For once, you brought back something decent.
Ma'am, are you Dale's grandma?
That's right.
I can already tell you've got better manners than my dumb grandson, missy.
Dale has been very good to me. He taught me a lot.
So he's not dumb.
You might be his grandma,
but I don't think you should talk badly about him.
But I also don't think you should be so mean to your grandma, Dale.
She's even cute when she's scolding us!
Isn't she cute?
You want some candy, sweetheart?
Candy?
Don't try to bribe her!
Damn it! I can never let my guard down with her.
Your family doesn't actually hate you, huh, Dale?
Yeah.
Then why were you fighting?
Well, I think they wanted to check and see whether I could take care of myself.
Last time I came here was a little bit before I met you.
That was probably the worst period in my whole life.
I had them pretty worried.
But thanks to you, Latina, I'm happy now, too.
I was on a job when I found Latina. Her father had died,
so I ended up looking after her.
I'm pretty sure I wrote all about this.
Well... still, though...
If I'm in the way, I can go to my room.
Would that be better?
You would never be in the way, Latina.
Boy... what happened to you?
She never asks for anything, so I figure I should at least spoil her a little.
Dale's dad...
Yeah?
What should I call you, if you're Dale's dad?
"Dad" sounds pretty good to me.
Dad...
"Dad"?
I think I get where you're coming from, now.
What are you even talking about?
By the way, the date for the wedding I wrote you about is settled.
Wedding...?
Oh. So, who's it gonna be to?
Who?
The daughter of the boss of the village further down.
The daughter of that village... That'd be Frida!
What's wrong, Latina? Are you feeling okay?
I-I am.
Welcome home, Bro.
Hey, you look good.
And I hear Dad and the others got the drop on you again?
Yeah, it was a hell of a welcome.
You've got it rough, Big Brother.
This is the devil kid you're looking after?
Yeah.
This is my little brother, Yorck.
It's nice to meet you. I'm Latina.
I'll be staying here for a while.
That's a shock.
It's hard to believe you're the one raising her, with manners like that.
You think of me that way too, huh?
Latina, I'm gonna make sure you look amazing at Yorck's wedding!
Eh? The wedding is your brother's?
I can't wait to see the bride!
I can't imagine Frida joining the family...
Her family said they loved the idea.
Latina.
I got the bed in the room next to Dale's ready.
Okay?
Can you make it back on your own?
Yeah. I'll be okay.
I'm gonna head to bed now.
Good night.
It's seriously hard to believe that girl is being raised by you, Bro.
Isn't it, though?
It certainly is.
You people...
I ended up talking for a while.
I think I heard Latina's voice.
Latina?
Latina?!
Latina?
Dale...
What's wrong?
Dale!
Were you crying? What's wrong?
When I woke up, I got scared.
I didn't know where you were.
I was scared without you.
I'm sorry. You must've been scared.
I'll stay with you until you fall asleep. Don't worry.
Dale, don't leave.
I want to stay with you.
Don't leave.
I don't wanna be alone.
Okay. I'll stay.
Dale, the sun's up. You need to—
You know, your mom tries to be pretty understanding.
But I think Latina might be a little young for you.
I'm gonna put aside your perception of me for now,
and just tell you that you're wrong! Dead wrong!
I see. So that's his type.
Don't make jokes like that with a serious look on your face!
Dale, I'm sorry that I got you in trouble by being selfish.
See?! Now she's actually worried!
My, my, she really is a good girl.
Latina, they're just making fun of me.
She got nervous after waking up by herself in a strange place.
I can't believe you'd let her wake up alone in a strange place like that.
You really are useless.
You two...
It's only morning, and I'm exhausted.
Are you okay, Dale?
I knew it.
Latina is the only one who can console me!