[Qixi Festival Special] The So-Called Little Lover, Part One

[Lara here has absolutely no blood relation to Rudeus in the real-world arc. She only looks exactly like him because of fate. The same goes for Aisha! This Lara also has absolutely nothing to do with the Lara in the main story.]

"Ah! Dad! I finally found you!!"

Aisha and I had been shopping when that voice suddenly rang out.

Then, a blue-haired little girl threw her arms around my leg.

Huh...?

Aisha, who had been holding my arm, twitched the corner of her mouth.

"Big Brother~ may I ask what this is~?"

"No, no, no, no! You know me! I've only ever dated Sylphie once!"

"But this child is calling you Dad."

I turned to look at the child.

Hmm...

First of all, she was adorable.

Her long blue hair fell to her waist, curling slightly at the ends.

She wore an exaggerated black wide-brimmed witch's hat, its crown bent slightly backward and wrapped with bands of brown and pale-colored decoration.

A short light-brown cape draped over her shoulders. Beneath it, she wore a white long-sleeved shirt and a dark gray-blue mage's vest, with black straps crossing over her chest and several long decorative ribbons hanging from her waist.

Her lower half was clad in dark clothes suited for easy movement, and she wore short boots fit for long journeys.

In short, I knew what was going on.

This was cosplay, right?

I didn't know much about it, but this was definitely that cosplay thing.

"Little miss, I'm not your dad. Did you mistake me for someone else?"

The adorable girl in front of me shook her head.

"I wouldn't mistake you."

"Uh... then what's your name?"

"Lara Greyrat."

"Where are you from?"

"Another world!"

Another world? Greyrat...?

What was with that name? It sounded like some medieval noble