Thanksgiving Festival (2)
Thanksgiving Festival (2)
Time passed, and before we knew it, the day of the festival had arrived.
From early morning, people were bustling about the city, decking it out, and the lively atmosphere hinting that something big was about to happen got even those who weren't into festivals all excited.
"Pretty."
"Yeah."
"Shall we go?"
"Yeah."
Amid all that, I headed out on a date with Seoyun, just the two of us. The other kids looked at us in shock and disgust, but I didn't pay it any mind.
"That outfit...."
"Why? Weird?"
"It's the one I bought you."
"Oh, you remember?"
I'd come out wearing the clothes Seoyun had picked out for me. They were expensive and my fanciest ones, so that's why. But she seemed to be thinking something else and fell silent for a moment.
"You don't like it?"
"......No, let's go."
Whether she liked it or not, she glossed over it vaguely and held out her hand. Even she, whom I figured wouldn't feel much, was surprisingly nervous—her palm felt a bit sticky with sweat.
I grinned and gripped her hand firmly. She flinched and glared at me.
"......Cheeky."
"What?"
"This side of you."
Instead of explaining what was cheeky, she just squeezed my hand and took the lead, walking ahead.
She was about 20cm shorter than me, so even if she got two steps ahead, I could catch up with one step.
Whenever I caught up like that, she'd speed up like she hated it. Then I'd take two steps.
So she'd stop. I'd stop too. She eyed the length of our legs intently, then figured she couldn't win by walking fast, so she slowed down to a leisurely pace.
I matched her, slowing my steps. Time crawled along at the same pace as our footsteps.
Before we knew it, we'd arrived at the city gates.
The gates, usually firmly shut, were wide open today. Around them, people full of anticipation stared at the gates with sparkling eyes....
"What's that about?"
"Parade or something, probably."
"Parade......."
Seoyun perked up a lot at the word "parade." The problem was, no one knew when this parade would actually start.
She wasn't the type to wait around for some parade that wasn't even on the plan and might show up anytime.
But her desire to see it clashed with her rational side that wanted to stick to the plan, probably tormenting her.
"Wanna watch it go by?"
"But......."
"It's fine. Why else would everyone be crowding here since morning? It'll come soon."
"......Fine, but just a bit. If it doesn't come, we're leaving."
That's what we said, and we waited for the parade. The nearby buildings cast shade, so it wasn't too hot even standing around for long.
But ten minutes, twenty, thirty minutes passed, and no parade.
Finally, I bought drinks from a passing vendor and asked,
"When's this thing coming?"
"Huh? No idea. If we knew the exact time, you think these folks would still be waiting?"
"Yeah, makes sense......."
Living in the 21st century where trains arrive on schedule thanks to clocks and transport tech, I was a bit surprised there was no set time, and headed back to our spot.
I handed Seoyun the drink I'd bought and told her we had no clue when it'd show.
"So... wanna keep waiting? Or do something else?"
She chugged the drink with a fierce glare—her eyes saying we should've gone somewhere else from the start.
I smiled innocently, like I was innocent, and looked at her. She averted her eyes a bit and chewed on the straw. Then, somehow, frost started forming in her drink.
"......Wait."
"But we don't even know when it'll come."
"The time we've waited would be wasted."
Classic sunk cost fallacy, but pointing that out would've been dumb. She'd obviously blame me for the wasted time....
So we stood there silently sipping our drinks, waiting for the parade—or whatever it was.
The only thing growing was the sweat between our clasped palms. Sweat was starting to trickle down my back too when cheers erupted from up ahead.
We looked toward the road with eager eyes. Knights in armor on white horses were marching in formation, one after another.
In the middle was a huge carriage, curtained off so we couldn't see inside, but just from its ornate exterior, it was obvious whoever was riding was someone very important.
'Strong.'
I eyed the knight riding slowly beside the carriage, scanning the surroundings warily. His full-body armor hid his face, but I could instinctively tell he was incredibly strong.
If we fought, who'd win? I've never trained to fight in armor—probably lose. Bare-handed? Unclear. I'd never seen Otherworld knights' swordsmanship, so I couldn't assume mine was superior.
"......Dojin."
"─Huh?"
"Let's go. Seen enough."
"Oh, yeah. Let's."
Snapping out of my shadow boxing with the knight, I followed her. She'd apparently scouted decent date spots around the city with the kids last weekend and led me here and there.
The city was buzzing with festival energy—almost manic. We got swept up in it too.
"Whew... hot."
After wandering under the blazing sun, Seoyun entered a tea house and fanned her sleeves, saying that. Each flap sent her pheromone-laced scent wafting my way.
I stared at her blankly, inhaling it, and she carefully fanned again, checking my reaction.
When our eyes met and I cleared my throat, looking away, she grinned and dropped her sleeves.
"Where you looking?"
"Nowhere."
"Really?"
She reached for her collar again. Worried someone might see, I grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"......Fine, so what if I wanna look at my girl? Got a problem?"
"My girl......."
"What, not true?"
I stepped up boldly. She couldn't live without me anymore anyway—I'd made sure of that. At my confidence, Seoyun blushed and went quiet, lost in thought.
Dating was like that—push and pull, eat or be eaten politics.
"......What'll you have?"
"Anything."
Feeling the heat, Seoyun called the waiter over while eyeing the menu. He dashed off to the kitchen after taking our order and tip.
A bit later, eyeing the booze he brought, I flashed a lecherous grin.
"It's still afternoon?"
"It's fine. Festival and all."
"Yeah. Festival, huh?"
We poured the fruit-scented liquor into glasses and toasted. It slid down my throat.
The concentrated fruit alcohol filled my body. I got hot all over, heat rising.
"Whew, hot."
"......Hot?"
"Huh? Oh, a little? No fan or AC, maybe that's why......."
"Wanna cool down?"
"How......."
Her mouth hung open with an "ah." Shaved ice freshly made inside sparkled.
Catching on, I leaned in and kissed her. Sure enough, the ice was cool.
Clatter, a carriage emblazoned with ornate crests pulled up to the Lord's castle ruling the city.
While dozens of Holy Knights stood guard against possible attacks, the carriage door opened, and a woman in a pure white nun's habit slowly stepped down.
Her face was veiled, but her delicate form looked like a goddess descending to earth.
Holding the hand of a selected Female Knight to preserve her purity, she stepped onto the ground and followed her to the reception room.
"Ooh, you've arrived, Saintess-nim."
The waiting Lord stood immediately to greet her. But the Saintess sat without a word.
Then she whispered in the attending Female Knight's ear. The Female Knight straightened and relayed,
"The Saintess says, 'Thank you for the invitation, Lord-nim.'"
"No trouble at all, Saintess-nim. If only I could've heard your voice directly......."
Whisper whisper.
"The Saintess says, 'That's impossible.'"
"I know. With the Constellation of Virgo's blessing and all."
"The Saintess says, 'Thank you for understanding.'"
"What's that—serving a Saintess blessed by the Gods is an honor for me and my house, a boon for the nation."
The Saintess nodded quietly and sipped the prepared tea. Trained for years not to show her bare face to men, eating veiled wasn't hard.
"By the way, usually it's a Bishop or Archbishop who comes. Any reason the Saintess came herself......."
"......The Saintess says, 'That's a secret.'"
"I see. Understood. Won't pry."
The Lord said that, scanning her. Even veiled, her allure made sense for the Constellation of Virgo's blessing.
If that's veiled, how stunning is her bare face? He burned to lift the veil and gaze upon it.
But he quickly shelved the thought and sipped his tea.
'Can't doom the family.'
The Saintess blessed by the Virgo Star had to maintain her purity as the price. The issue was, it was enforced on others.
Men who see her bare face go blind.
Men who hear her voice go deaf.
Men who touch her body get struck by lightning.
If she wanted, she could massacre millions of men as a great witch.
But she was a devout nun, ready to sacrifice and restrain herself.
The Church named her Saintess, and she'd grown up without so much as a man's gaze, let alone touch.
Her participation in this city's grand thanksgiving festival was due to an oracle.
—A star has fallen in the Dungeon.
—Go take him.
Stars have always been sacred and holy.
The Church dispatched an investigation team immediately.
She was the one chosen.
'What could it be.'
Pondering what the Fallen Star meant, the Saintess planned to infiltrate the city.