Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Festival - 2
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While wandering through various stalls, I spotted a familiar nape.
That vivid shade of blonde hair wasn't common around here.
"Umm, hmm!"
"You can swallow what's in your mouth first before speaking."
"Mm. My apologies. Is Earthbound Spirit enjoying the festival?"
"Yes. Instructor Tiana... don't need to ask, you're clearly having a blast."
She was holding so many street foods that her two hands weren't enough.
Of course, the food from the stall where Ellie had pulled my hand saying she wanted to eat it was also clutched in her grasp.
Just from the stains around her mouth, it was clear most of it had already gone down her throat long ago.
"I highly recommend trying this one. It's the best out of everything I've tasted so far."
"If you recommend it that highly, I'll trust you and give it a try."
"Well, tastes differ..."
It was food I planned to eat anyway, but considering her mood, I acted like I was trying her recommendation.
Taking a bite of the bread, sweet fruit flesh flowed out from inside.
It lived up to Ellie's hype.
"It looks good, but can you still eat at the banquet after stuffing yourself like this?"
"That's separate from this. Besides, we'll be burning a ton of stamina before the meal, so we need to stock up in advance, right?"
As Tiana said, there was a swordsmanship match before the banquet.
The participants were as expected.
Me and Tiana.
And Koon and Delion, a total of four.
It would proceed like a tournament.
With only four people, winning two matches made you the champion, but they even had a proper bracket.
A bit intentionally arranged, so the first match was me versus Tiana.
The second match was Koon versus Delion.
Then the winners would face off.
To entertain the spectators, they'd matched similar skill levels first.
If I hadn't been drawn against Tiana from the start, objectively speaking, the two guards would've lost without even showing their full power.
This way, the final might end up anticlimactic, but they opted for at least one tense match to keep the audience on edge.
"Lacking confidence, are we?"
"W-what!"
"Seeing you go all out like this, that last defeat must've left quite the bitter taste."
"Hold on! Mind your words. You didn't forget that I won two in a row right before that, did you?"
Tiana's words were true, but since when did we tally win rates?
What mattered was who won last.
"Anyway, I won the most recent spar."
"Argh, if I'd been just one step faster then..."
Regret wouldn't change a thing.
"No. I can just reclaim victory in today's match."
"You confident?"
"I don't want to embarrass my disciple with the whole village watching, but since you threw the first provocation, I have to make you pay for it."
Tiana fixed me with a sharp glare, but she couldn't hide the smile of competitive glee forming naturally.
"Go all out? Yes, disciple. My hands aren't that big—there's room to grip the sword, but no space for arrogance."
"You're saying you'll go all out too?"
"If you don't give it your all today, you'll taste utter defeat."
Despite the dramatic line that set the mood, Tiana's mouth soon tore into a big bite of bread.
Chewing until her cheeks bulged, she headed to another stall.
"It'd be nice if her maturity matched even half her swordsmanship."
"Right. Her competitive spirit is one thing you gotta admire."
"That applies to both of you. The two strongest people in the village being this childish..."
Ellie let out a chuckle, pressing her forehead.
"But it's a match, so since you're in it, you gotta win, right?"
"Of course."
"What if you lose? I might be a little disappointed...?"
Of course, the third most childish person in the village was Ellie.
As we wandered the streets, joyful faces among the residents were easy to spot everywhere.
If our eyes met while passing, they would often offer me thanks.
To them, simply for staying here, I had become someone worthy of their gratitude.
Familiar faces appeared too.
Too far to strike up a conversation, so I just watched for a moment.
Sylvia, holding Harman's hand as they walked, already had a lollipop in her mouth.
Today was a day she could openly wheedle snacks right in front of her grandpa, so for Sylvia, it truly felt like a festival.
Koon was standing in front of a potion stall.
As expected, it was a side stall run by the potion shop owner.
Even normally, he focused more on taste than actual effects.
Now, he was straight-up advertising it with lines like "stay energized all night long," no different from an energy drink.
"But he's not with Delion?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, Koon's over there."
"Is that Koon holding the blue potion?"
"Yeah. Haven't seen him in casual clothes in ages."
The two shared the same job and relayed news to each other, close friends even by village standards.
Word was they'd been friends since childhood.
Well, maybe he figured festivals were better wandered alone.
"So next... how about that? Bracelets?"
"......"
"My throat's a bit dry. Shall we grab potions too? What do you think, Earthbound Spirit?"
Maybe it'd have been better alone than with these two.
"Uh... my throat's dry too."
"Perfect. While you pick out a bracelet, the two of us will get drinks. Right?"
I could feel Ellie's sharp gaze.
Sua's expression was still hard to read.
"Ah... yeah? You two go ahead. I'll diligently pick out bracelets on my own."
"You heard him. Before the line gets longer."
Their tones were getting on my nerves today.
Just my imagination?
No, now I could read Sua's face.
It was the look that said she'd show no mercy if I said the wrong thing here.
"Summoned my familiar as a guard sub with magic, barely made it down the day before the festival because of guild stuff, and the moment we meet, you treat me like living firework powder."
"No, that's..."
"Not content with giving me the festival news late, now you're telling me to wander alone? You know full well I have no close friends in the village—or even acquaintances—besides you?"
Sua unleashed her pent-up frustrations.
After summoning her familiar as a test for Koon and Delion's guard duties, Sua had left Layer 1 briefly to handle long-postponed matters.
She'd even personally sprung Fria, who'd been captured by guards over past guild recruitment attempts, but after settling in Layer 1, she'd completely forgotten about it.
Only after Rien brought it up did she belatedly think to sort it out.
Unlike her promise of a quick return, Sua hadn't come back until the day before the festival began.
She looked thoroughly fatigued, as if things hadn't gone according to plan.
Asking her right away upon reunion to cast magic for the fireworks had been a blunder.
"You pile on the work, but can't even say once, 'Let's walk together'? ...I won't even ask you to seek me out first."
The trio had formed quickly.
Sua had dashed over upon spotting my back while wandering the streets.
The problem was that I was already walking with Ellie.
Ellie looked quite annoyed at the interruption to our twosome time, while Sua vented about not even being considered.
In the end, we settled on drinking potions together before heading to buy bracelets, barely calming their tempers.
"Earthbound Spirit? There you are."
"Hi, Koon. Tasty?"
"Yes. I tried it—quite refreshing. But what happened? Everyone's faces..."
Koon trailed off, unable to continue.
He'd probably guessed the situation from our trio.
"Yes. Uh, well. Have a great festival... I'll be off."
"No, don't go."
"G-good luck. See you at the sword match."
"Wait, just talk with me a bit more─."
Was he always that quick on his feet?
The potion stall had been tame by comparison.
At the stall selling not just bracelets but necklaces and rings too, we hit an even bigger snag.
"I like the red one. I'll take this."
"I'll go with purple."
They were handmade from braided cords.
Tiny flowers were woven between the strands.
Not durable metal jewelry, but you could feel the artisan's care in them.
There were various colors, but Sua and Ellie zeroed in on their favorites right away.
"What color for Earthbound Spirit?"
The stall owner had lit the fuse.
"Couples usually match colors. Which one for you?"
Sharp stares bored in from both sides.
The stall owner held a red bracelet in one hand and a purple one in the other, thrusting them toward me.