Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: The Karteia Festival (1)
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After dinner, we went to Sang-yoon's room and were deep in conversation when a knock came at the door, followed by the butler.
“The master and Duke Almondeu will be finishing their conversation soon. They have asked you to be waiting at the entrance in ten minutes.”
“Oh, already? Understood.”
I glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already 9:20 PM.
We arrived around six, so we'd been talking for three hours, but it still felt too short.
There was still so much left to say.
“Understood. We'll get ready and go.”
“Please be careful not to be late.”
“Got it. Sang-yoon, let's talk on the way.”
Our Lord Almondeu probably wouldn't say anything if we were a little late, but the same couldn't be said for Sang-yoon's side.
And more importantly, I hadn't warned him yet.
“Alright.”
“Hey, Sang-yoon?”
“What is it?”
“You should be careful in your duel tomorrow. Misha's already skilled enough to have cleared the 80th floor.”
“The eight...eightieth floor? You said you were on the 66th.”
“You can tell just from her name. Misha isn't from Earth.”
I gave a summarized explanation to a bewildered-looking Sang-yoon.
That Misha was a summoner from a previous generation.
“...I thought she was just a foreigner. There are quite a few in Shuten.”
There were some in Kramis too, so I could see how he'd make that mistake.
“Hey, are you even allowed to tell me something like that?”
“Why not?”
In truth, telling him wouldn't change much.
Sang-yoon seemed strong in his own right, but Misha was on a completely different level.
When I get back, I'll have to ask Misha for a favor.
To not kill him.
She already knew Sang-yoon and I were friends, but if I didn't say anything specific, there was a high chance of an accident.
We had a history, and I'd helped clear up the misunderstanding with the lord, so I hoped she would listen.
“Man. Thanks for the warning, but I'm strong too.”
“Did you not hear me? Misha is on the 80th floor.”
At a rough estimate, that was a difference of more than ten floors between them.
From my own experience, the difference between my current 66th floor and the 56th was like heaven and earth.
He absolutely couldn't let his guard down.
“Still, I have no choice but to do my best, right? It's not like I can run away.”
“True...”
As we talked, we soon arrived at the entrance of the building.
“Still, I'm glad I don't have to fight you.”
It was a shame seeing him say that with a bright smile.
I actually thought it might have been better if he were dueling me instead.
I would ask Misha, but if I were his opponent, I wouldn't have put him in any danger.
“Don't smile. I'll get attached.”
“Already have.”
This guy...
“Don't forget the contact time.”
“The 11th of every month, at 10 PM.”
The Brooch of Friendship allowed communication, but he said if the other person didn't respond, the chance was gone.
“And maybe... never mind.”
I was about to say something, but I stopped when I saw the lord and Rachel approaching from a distance.
“What? Lame.”
“I'll tell you later.”
“I don't know if we'll have another chance to talk.”
“We will.”
I was actually going to tell him that I could visit him.
Thanks to the lord's special favor, I could travel outside Kramis as I pleased.
But I heard that in Shuten, where Kershuna's Tower was, they also controlled outings through contracts, just like in Kramis.
If Rachel were to overhear, it could put Lord Almondeu in a difficult position.
Besides, it would be fun to surprise him.
In the first place, from the capital's perspective, Kramis was in the southeast and Shuten was in the northwest, completely opposite directions.
Even on a Kirin, it would take several days, so visiting him wouldn't be easy even with my freedom to travel.
“Did you two talk a lot?”
“Thanks to you, my lord.”
“What do you mean, thanks to *your* lord? I'm the one who arranged this.”
Rachel sneered, but I kept my expression neutral and bowed my head.
I was afraid of causing trouble for Sang-yoon.
“Yes. Thank you for arranging this meeting today.”
“Thank you.”
Sang-yoon bowed his head, following my lead.
“Well, this is like pulling teeth. Forget it.”
“Now, let's be on our way.”
I said my final goodbyes to Sang-yoon and left Rachel's mansion.
“What did you talk about?”
“Ah, we reminisced a little. I asked a lot about Kershuna. And I told him a bit about Kramis.”
Kershuna's Tower had some minor differences, but it was mostly similar to the Kramis Labyrinth.
The schedule was identical: entering the tower from the 1st to the 10th, taking a ten-day break, and then entering again from the 21st to the 30th.
The monsters on each floor seemed slightly different, but from his description, their level didn't seem to vary much.
“Was it helpful?”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
“It was no trouble. Did you happen to talk about the duels?”
“Pardon?”
“It seems she didn't tell her summoner. Knowing Rachel's personality, I suppose that's possible.”
The lord's expression hardened; it looked like he'd heard something unpleasant.
“Come to think of it, you said you had something to discuss with her. May I ask what it was about...?”
“Isn't it obvious? She asked for both you and Misha to lose if you face the summoners from her Kershuna's Tower.”
Huh?
“What does that even...”
“She wouldn't give a reason, but that money-grubber offered to pay ten times the prize money if we agreed.”
Ten times the prize money would be a whopping 10 million gold.
Of course, there were also equipment, a noble title, and other prizes, but that was an enormous sum of money.
Even if the three pieces of equipment were legendary-grade, they wouldn't each be worth more than 10 million.
“So...”
“I refused, of course. It's a large sum, but I can't force you or Misha to lose, can I?”
“What could she be thinking?”
“I have no idea either. I can't imagine what that woman, obsessed with money, was thinking to propose such a deal... Are you sure nothing was said to you?”
I told him no.
Sang-yoon and I hadn't discussed anything of the sort during our conversation.
Is there some hidden secret in the other prizes?
As I pondered, the lord lightly tapped my shoulder.
“Don't think too deeply about it. Just keep doing what you've been doing.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Right. It's not like we accepted the deal anyway.
We retraced our steps and returned to the lord's mansion.
But I had to leave again immediately, as my companions said they had been waiting with bated breath.
It seems I'll have to talk to Misha after I get back.
“Hey, do you know the way? Shouldn't we ask someone to take us to the festival?”
Elaine and Timi shook their heads.
“It's fine.”
“While you were out, Hyeon-ung, we learned everything from the butler.”
Elaine and Timi answered in perfect sync, but somehow, I didn't trust them.
“Did you really learn it properly? Do you know how to read a map?”
“Not us, Milli asked to be taught.”
I looked at Milli, and she blushed slightly.
“Well, I thought it would be good to know the way... It's this way.”
I could trust Milli.
After walking for about twenty minutes, we left the area of large mansions, and the festival square immediately appeared before us.
It seemed similar to the one in Kramis, but the scale was incomparable.
All sorts of stalls and tents were lined up endlessly, brightly decorated with lamps of various colors.
The crowd was huge, too.
“It would be a disaster if we got lost.”
It wasn't so crowded that we couldn't move, but if we happened to lose someone, it would be hard to find them.
“Where should we go first? Has everyone eaten dinner?”
“““No.”””
They all answered in unison. I felt bad that they had waited for me this late without eating.
“Why didn't you?”
“Because we heard there's a lot of delicious food at the night market.”
“We already heard all about it from the butler and the head maid, so just trust us and follow along, Hyeon-ung.”
“Didn't you say only Milli knows the way?”
Eating seemed to be the priority, so we stopped by the food stalls first.
“Kerkes skewers, only 1 silver!”
“Rapata Esla, 50 copper a piece! Kuremi Esla, 60 copper!”
Fortunately, right in front of us were stalls selling all kinds of dishes.
I hadn't been to many festivals, but this one had just as much food as any other.
“Oh, this is delicious too.”
“Hyeon-ung, should we play rock-paper-scissors, and the loser has to eat that?”
Timi pointed to a skewer of fried small scorpions.
Most of the food was universally liked, like grilled meat skewers or stir-fried noodles, but there were also quite a few strange dishes like this.
“Why would we...”
“It'll be fun. Everyone's in, right?”
“Yes!”
“Okay.”
We had no choice but to play, and Timi lost.
The person who suggests these kinds of games is always the one who loses.
“...Hyeon-ung, if you eat it for me...”
“Timi.”
Milli stared at her with a terrifying expression.
To be precise, her face was blank, but it radiated an icy chill.
She's really strict about these things.
“That's right. You can't do that, Timi.”
To be honest, I had no intention of eating it for her even if the others hadn't said anything...
In the end, she ate the scorpion skewer, and huh?
“This is actually pretty good! It's so crispy, the texture is great.”
“The pretty lady has good taste.”
She took another big bite. It was amazing that she found it delicious.
It looked absolutely inedible...
“Really? Then let me try a bite.”
Elaine took the skewer from Timi and took a big bite, but her expression soured.
“Ptooey! What do you mean delicious! It's totally astringent and bitter.”
“I couldn't be the only one to suffer.”
As she teased Elaine with a grin, Timi seemed more like a demon.
After that brief commotion, we filled our stomachs with other food and each bought a fruit juice.
It was a juice made from a tropical fruit called Kalati. It looked like a coconut, but tasted like a mix of pineapple and peach.
“Hyeon-ung, they said the games start from here.”
“Our stomachs are pretty full, so should we have some fun now?”
There were dart games, claw machines, and colorful balloons for sale.
Elaine was staring at the balloons with fascination, so I bought one for her first.
“Thank you.”
“It's nothing.”
“Oh? Hyeon-ung, should we wear these?”
Timi pointed to some headbands.
They looked like they were modeled after beastmen ears. I didn't know they sold things like this.
It reminded me of an amusement park.
Of course, I'd never actually been to one, only seen them on WeTube...
Since it was a festival, we decided to get into the spirit and each bought one.
“What about me?”
“You have horns.”
“Hyeon-ung? Since you only bought a balloon for Elaine, I think it's only fair that just we buy these.”
Milli is so rigid.
We came to the festival to have fun together; there was no need to be so strict about things.
It's not like I'm short on money.
“You guys said you didn't want balloons.”
“Come on. How much can they be? Elaine, you get one too.”
“Hyeon-ung, you're the best!”
She wrapped her arms around mine, her eyes smiling, but Timi and Milli looked a little disappointed.
“That's not fair.”
“Hyeon-ung, I believe you are far too generous only to Elaine.”
“That's not true. If any of you want something, don't hesitate to tell me.”
“Hmph, then would you have bought it for Alpen if he asked?”
Uh... if it were Alpen, I'd have to think about it...
“Hyeon-ung?”
“I would have bought one for Alpen too.”
“You seemed to hesitate.”
“Your response was about two seconds slower than usual.”
“It's true. To me, you're all equally precious companions.”
I don't mind spending money on my companions at all.
“But I love you the most, Hyeon-ung.”
Our Timi really doesn't know the meaning of shame.
“That's... a very embarrassing... thing to say...”
Unlike Timi, Milli's face turned so red it looked like it would explode.
“I like you the most too, Hyeon-ung!”
The same went for Elaine, who was grinning shyly while wearing her lion headband.
I suddenly missed my other companions.
Rina, Hanna, and Alpen would have loved this if they could have all been here together...
*Bang- Bang-*
“Huh? Hyeon-ung, is someone using magic outside...?”
I was also startled for a moment, but when I looked outside, I saw large bursts of fire embroidering the sky.
“Why are they casting magic into the empty air?”
“Are they trying to send some kind of signal?”
“Why aren't people running away...”
My companions all looked so serious, it was hilarious.
“It's not magic. They're called fireworks.”
“Fireworks?”
“When you decorate the sky with fire, a lot of people can see it.”
“Isn't that a waste of mana?”
Oh, dear. Our Milli has no sense of romance.
“They're quite pretty. I never would have thought of that.”
“Oh, Hyeon-ung, that one was shaped like a lion!”
Still, Timi and Elaine couldn't take their eyes off the sky, so they seemed to like them.
Watching my companions, I took a video recording crystal orb from my inventory.
“Hyeon-ung?”
“I want to show our other companions, too.”
As I captured the fireworks embroidering the night sky with all sorts of patterns, I made a promise.
That next time, I would definitely come with everyone.