บท 8: The Princess and the Midget Bounty hunter
...
-Sigh...-
"I wonder how Koza and the others are doing..."
Resting her head on her hand, Vivi was currently watching the sunset through the windows of her room with a pensive expression.
It had been a year since she had seen her friends after they all left to create a new village in Yuba together with their families. They were the only kids with who she had formed a friendship, and since she couldn't go outside the castle to meet anyone either, there wasn't anyone else who she could honestly call a friend.
Thus, ever since Koza and the others left, she started feeling more and more alone, as the only people to who she could talk freely were Pell, Chaka, and Igaram, the leaders of the royal guard of Arabasta.
And even though she considered them very important people in her life, it was undeniable that she still desired somewhere in her heart a friend of her age to play with. She was still 6 years old, after all.
However, as much as she wanted a new friend, her responsibilities as a princess made her understand that such a thing was impossible for the time being.
Maybe in the future, she could be able to have new friends or reunite with Koza and the others... But for the time being, all she could do was sigh in grief and put her desires aside.
"Huh...?"
That was what her head was telling her. However, the body doesn't always obey the mind... Right?
As she observed the main square from her room, Vivi noticed a certain figure running after what seemed to be a pirate in the distance.
"Isn't that the midget bounty hunter...?"
Naturally, as the princess of Arabasta, Vivi had heard the news of the new bounty hunter that had made Alubarna his base of operations and had made a name for himself in only a few weeks by defeating every pirate on his way, easily, despite his short size.
When she had heard about him, Vivi didn't really think that much about it. After all, bounty hunters weren't such an important topic in the Kingdom. However, now that she was seeing him for the first time, curiosity was sprouting in her mind.
For him to be that short... He is either a very short guy, or... A kid.
From that line of thought, a certain idea sprouted in Vivi's mind. And as much as her dutiful side was telling her not to do it, one does not always listen to the rational side... Right?
...
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|At the main square in front of the royal castle...|
-Sigh...-
'Another day, another job well done'
Farid, who was wearing his bounty hunter costume, looked at the man below him and nodded satisfactorily.
The man lying on the ground was a nameless pirate that Farid had found while strolling across the city. Apparently, the guy was intentionally bumping into people and then threatening them to pay for his medical bills for supposedly breaking his arm.
What was worse, was that the guy immediately started running away when he noticed Farid approaching, probably recognizing his bounty hunter disguise.
Unfortunately for the guy, It took a minute or so before Farid was able to catch him. Which coincidentally ended up being in the middle of the main square right in front of the royal castle.
-Tap, tap, tap-
Clapping his hands to shake off the dust from his hands, Farid stretched a little bit before he started tying up the pirate to a nearby post so that the marines would come and fetch him later.
After doing so, Farid turned to look at the royal castle and sighed exhaustingly. He had not gotten a proper look at the castle during the time the King was giving his speech because he was busy increasing his stats at that moment. Thus, it was his first time looking properly at it ever since then, giving him the feeling of awe at seeing such an enormous building that seemed to have been actually built for divine beings.
'Maybe I should build my own castle when I gather money? As the strongest man in the world, I can't just live in a shabby hut, right?'.
Nodding his head with a smile behind the mask, Farid then looked around and noticed the enormous crowd surrounding him and looking at him with awestruck gazes.
'When did so many people appear...?'
"Midget bounty hunter, you are awesome!!"
"Thanks to you, my bar was saved from pirates!!"
"Now that you are here, I can walk calmly through the streets without fearing that a pirate will attack me!"
Hearing so many people praise him, Farid couldn't suppress his lips from curling upward and puffed up his chest in pride while scratching the back of his head embarrassedly.
However, seeing so many people surrounding him, Farid finally noticed how long he had taken tying up the pirate, and looked at the sunset with worried eyes.
'I should probably go back now, or sister Elena might discover that I escaped from my room...'
Before anyone in the crowd could react, Farid disappeared from his previous spot and left the people standing there looking absentmindedly at the spot where he had been in confusion.
-Sigh...-
While they were distracted, Farid moved towards a nearby alleyway and took out his disguise before storing it in a bag he was carrying.
*Whistle~*
"Man, being the center of attention sure is hard"
After tidying up his appearance, and brushing his hair slightly with his hands, Farid left the alleyway and started walking at a hurried pace towards the orphanage. The last thing he would want in the world would be for Elena to discover that he had been leaving the orphanage every day to fight pirates.
She was quite overprotective, after all.
It took Farid a few minutes before he was able to arrive at the orphanage safely, and just as he was about to jump the walls in order to sneak into his room silently without alerting sister Elena, a voice called out to him and made him stop immediately on his tracks.
"So you live here, huh?"
Farid's whole body shook in fright when he heard the voice of someone. However, not being able to recognize the voice, Farid's surprise lessened, and he turned to look at the source of the voice with a frowning expression.
Behind him, was standing a beautiful girl with blue-sky hair whom he had never seen before, who was looking at him with a bright smile on her face, as if she had caught a kid stealing candy from a store.
"Huh...?"
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|Farid's POV:|
...
Who's this girl...?
No, why is she here in the first place...? She doesn't look like she is part of the orphanage... I have never seen her before, at least.
"Are you talking to me...?" Unable to comprehend the current situation, I pointed at myself and asked the girl while raising an eyebrow in confusion.
She appeared to be younger than me... Though, I don't know by how much...
Did the orphanage receive her today while I was outside...? Holy cow, then that means that sister Elena probably went to fetch me to my room to welcome this girl into the orphanage but found out I was not there!
I'm doomed...
"Who else is there for me to ask? Of course, I'm asking you" Amused by my question, the girl answered me and smiled even more than before.
Why is she smiling so much...?
-Gasp!-
... Don't tell me... Does she plan to tell sister Elena that I'm here?!
...
I can't allow that... I think I might need to get rid of her... Just joking.
...
... But now that I think about it... maybe it is not a bad idea after all...
"...!"
Somehow, as if sensing my intentions, the girl took a step back and smiled wryly while raising her voice a little bit in alarm. "Why are you looking at me like that...? Just so you know, I don't plan to tell anyone about your secret!"
'She seems to understand pretty quickly, huh?'
Nodding my head in satisfaction, I walked up to her and patted her shoulder.
"Good, good, we don't want anything bad to happen to you... Right?..." As I said those words I looked at her with squinted eyes, making her gulp in nervousness.
You're like an open book girl, I can read your expressions very easily!
The other orphans probably already told her about me and my "illness", so I have to use that as an advantage to keep her mouth shut about me sneaking out in secret. If she doesn't say anything, I can just create another excuse somehow...
Though it wouldn't be good to intimidate too much a girl who's younger than me and that has just arrived at this orphanage... She might develop some trauma.
The doctor said that the alienation I received in the orphanage because of my supposed "illness" already caused me a minor one. So, I guess traumas can also be originated because of fear... Right?
Better comfort her fast before anything bad happens...
Patting her head, I let out a sigh and proceeded to relax my expression a little bit.
"Anyway, leaving my secret aside, welcome to Alubarna's orphanage. I imagine being the new girl here must be tough, right? You are not accustomed at all to this place, and everyone here is a stranger... But don't worry, everyone here is a good person and they almost don't mistreat others (Probably just me)... Though, if some of the guys here treats you badly, just tell me. I will make sure to beat them up immediately and teach them their place!"
After I said those words, I crossed my arms and smiled at my own ability to comfort others... Maybe I should become a hero like Sora, from that comic I saw once!
I already have the strength and the personality... The only thing I lack is height...
(A/N: "Sora, Warrior of the Sea" is a propaganda comic made by the marine to promote themselves. Just in case you didn't know)
...
"...?"
For some reason, the girl looked at me confusedly for quite a few seconds after I finished speaking as if she had not understood something. However, her expression rapidly changed, as if she had realized something before she then smiled mischievously and nodded vigorously at my words.
"Alright!"
Her expression was giving me a bad feeling, so just in case, I raised my voice once again and pointed my finger at her...
"And remember, no word about me sneaking out of the orphanage to sister Elena"
Seeing my serious expression, the girl rapidly nodded her head and gestured for me to calm down. "Don't worry, I won't say anything to that person!"
Good grief... What a strange girl.
I should be leaving now, or else my excuses will be less credible...
Oh, that's right, I never asked for her name.
Just as I was mid-way crossing the wall that separated the orphanage from the outside, I looked at her and asked with a curious tone. "By the way, what's your name?"
She looked at me for a few seconds, before she wavered a little bit and then answered me with a hesitant tone in her voice.
"I'm... Vivi... What's yours?"
Hmm...
Vivi... Where have I heard that name before...?
Whatever... Maybe it was just the name of a pirate that I had seen on the wanted posters... I'm too busy right now to care.
"I'm Farid, nice to meet you, and goodbye"
Leaving the girl standing there after saying those words, I crossed the wall of the orphanage and rapidly proceeded to sneak into my room. Not caring anymore about who she was.
After all, it wasn't like she was someone important.
-Knock, knock, knock-
Coincidentally, just as I entered the room by using the window, similar to a thief, someone called at the door, and the voice of sister Elena reached my ears.
"Farid, are you in there?"
-Sigh...-
Let's just hope I come up with good excuses for disappearing so suddenly...
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|Back to where Vivi was...|
A few minutes after Farid left, Vivi continued staring at the orphanage with a mixture of emotions in her gaze, seemingly pondering as if she had done the right thing.
For some reason, Farid seemed to have thought that Vivi was part of the orphanage just like him, and that the secret that she possessed was only to have seen him leave the orphanage without permission of Elena, not that she knew that he was the famous midget bounty hunter...
It was truly a surreal situation. However, for some reason, Vivi felt like playing along.
Maybe it was because she felt like it would be fun, or simply because she was having the opportunity to have someone to call a friend without having her position as a princess intervene in their relationship... She didn't know... But she had already done it already.
Suddenly, as she was still pondering on whether she had made the correct decision, a figure appeared beside her and touched her shoulder gently.
-Sigh...-
"Vivi-sama, why did you escape again?"
Pell, who had appeared beside her in the blink of an eye, asked her with a tired voice, probably because he had been looking for her for quite a while ever since she left the castle.
However, the answer he was waiting for never came, and instead, it was replaced with another question.
"Hey Pell, can I come here again tomorrow?"
"What?"
Confused about Vivi's words, Pell turned to look at the building in front of him and tilted his head in confusion.
'An orphanage?'
Unable to hold his confusion, Pell turned to look once again at Vivi and asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you want to come here tomorrow, Vivi-sama...?"
The girl hesitated for a few seconds, before she looked at Pell straight into his eyes, and smiled embarrassedly.
"I think I made a friend"
...
-To be continued-
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(A/N: I was bored, so I made an illustration of the little Farid for you guys. I also added his midget bounty hunter appearance, just in case, I didn't explain the appearance well enough in the previous chapter.
Just note that Farid made his costume with only a blanket and a mask of a crab, so it will obviously not be an epic and edgy costume that makes his enemies tremble in fear.
:)))
Anyway, here is the illustration --->
Also, with this chapter we should finally be able to reach +15k words, so make sure to start voting this story with your power stones to motivate me to continue writing it.
That's all guys.
See you soon~)
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