Chapter 11:
Is a Donut Hole a Donut?
THE SECOND WE LEFT Ashley’s house, we were surrounded by the villagers. They all wanted to check in on their neighbor.
Moichi rushed forward from the crowd. “Hey Ashley, are you okay?!”
Ashley nodded. “I’m sorry for making you all worry. I’m all right. It’s okay.”
“I-I see, I’m glad, but…is that girl…is she okay to be around?” asked Moichi. “She’s not gonna…you know, go crazy or nothin’?”
“Me? Loli Loli? Loli Loli would never go crazy! I am way too incredibly intelligent for that!”
“She’s not a bad kid,” Ashley insisted. “She’s a majin, but she’s a cheerful, kind girl. So, everyone, I have a request. I…I’d like you to allow Loli Loli to join the festival. Is that okay?”
The crowd shifted their gazes to Loli Loli.
“Hm?” Loli Loli cocked her head to the side, puzzled.
Since she looked and acted just like any regular child, the villagers’ fears were visibly fading away. From the start, the villagers had been scared because of their assumptions about majin. Once they met Loli Loli, though, they seemed to quickly understand that she was a good person.
“Sorry for runnin’ away just as soon as we saw you,” said Moichi. “This might not make up for it, but please, have fun at the festival.”
The rest of the villagers agreed. I think it was probably a good thing that Ashley was the one to ask. An outsider like me or Filia couldn’t have argued that Loli Loli wasn’t a danger to them—they wouldn’t have believed us. But the villagers had absolute faith in Ashley. Still, I admit that I never imagined her request would be so easily accepted.
“Ashley, you really are quite popular, aren’t you?” said Filia.
“That’s ’cause Ashley’s the first S-Rank adventurer to come from these parts,” said Moichi. “She’s the pride of the village.”
Ahh. Well, they said there were fewer than a hundred S-Rank adventurers in the entire world, so it sure was something to be proud of. That also explained why Ashley had insisted on fighting alone yesterday. If people had that much faith in you, you’d want to live up to it.
“Okay, we got permission from the villagers,” said Ashley. “So now Loli Loli can see the festival!”
“Ah! Well done, Ashley! Loli Loli praises you!” said Loli Loli, standing up on her tiptoes and stretching her back to reach higher, rubbing Ashley’s head somewhat roughly. Ashley didn’t seem to mind having her hair ruffled.
“Listen up, okay?” said Ashley. “Festivals are meant to be fun. So, everyone, enjoy the festival to the fullest!”
“Understood!”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it!”
“Yep.”
Loli Loli got permission to participate in the festival, but it wasn’t like all of our problems were solved yet.
“Hey, Moichi?”
“What’s up, Yuri?”
“Can I come by your shop? I wanted to ask you more about that threat you got,” I said with utmost seriousness. There was a possibility an attack would come in the middle of the night—tonight. If we didn’t do anything about it, we wouldn’t be able to truly enjoy the festival.