Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Festival
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Tae-jin began each day with meditation the moment he opened his eyes in the morning. It had been two years of this routine.
Mana cell training always came hand-in-hand with pain. Practicing abstract magic was far from smooth sailing. But whenever the urge to give up even slightly crept in, Richer would inevitably show up with his mocking jabs.
"Isn't it about time you felt like quitting?"
"Ah, don't worry. It's going just fine."
Tae-jin realized that mockery could be a greater motivator than encouragement.
By the time the carriage was repaired and Garam could walk a bit, the city burst into festival. The excuse was nothing special—just the season when some nameless purple flowers bloomed in full splendor.
Of course, the purple flowers weren't the real point. A city like Mercia, which lived off tourism revenue, simply had to keep festivals going nonstop.
The already glamorous Mercia City dolled itself up even more extravagantly.
Where once they had filled empty spaces with dense flowerbeds, now flowers adorned even spots where they had no business being.
The stern statue of the Volterio Kingdom's king wore a floral crown. Potted plants sat on restaurant tables, and guards handed out flowers to visitors instead of holding spears. Even the neighborhood strays trotted around with blooms in their mouths.
Being right next to their ally, the Empire, gave it a vibe utterly unlike the northern border city of Helio City. What a lucky town.
But the festival's start wasn't good news for the group. Room rates had ticked up a bit, and the noisy streets made magic practice tough.
'Proper rest is key to efficient training.'
With stress piled high from the past few days, Tae-jin decided to skip his daytime practice.
He had no intention of heading out to the streets, though. From his festival experience in Gate Frontier City, continental celebrations offered little in the way of real spectacles.
He might not know much else, but in entertainment, the continent could never match Korea—that was Tae-jin's firm belief. At best, their festivals featured food and drink stalls everywhere, with modest performances scattered about. He wasn't sure if it was just Gate Frontier City's festival, but nothing stood out as particularly unique.
Tae-jin finished a late breakfast and thought he'd catch a good nap as he rose from his seat. If he ever got curious about the festival, peeking out the window would suffice.
As Tae-jin headed for the stairs, voices drifted down from upstairs—Renata and Pavilion.
"Dad, can't I go? It's my first time in the city and my first festival."
"Hold off this time. Sorry."
"Fine, I get it."
It was a short exchange, but the situation was clear enough. Renata wanted to see the festival, and Pavilion had talked her out of it.
Her voice was calm, but laced with disappointment.
Tae-jin was about to shrug it off and head to his room when Renata spotted him and lit up like she'd found her chance.
"Tae-jin oppa, are you busy today?"
Her intent was obvious. She planned to use him as cover to wander the festival streets.
Tae-jin could have dodged with training as an excuse, but he chose not to. He still felt bad about that slip-up with her before. Besides, Renata looked a bit pitiful stuck among those burly adult men.
"Nah. Nothing much today. No training either."
"Then, wanna go see the festival with me?"
"Hmm. I'm fine with it, but I wonder if Pavilion's okay with that."
Renata fixed Pavilion with a steady gaze, as if asking if he'd stop her from going with someone else too.
Pavilion looked troubled.
"If you really wanna go, I won't stop you, but our funds are tight. We've only got about sixty silver left—not exactly flush."
Somehow, Pavilion had ended up handling the group's finances. He'd blown the one gold he'd earned in Helio City on buying a horse, and the money from selling instant soups had gone into group expenses too. Even Garam, who griped constantly, seemed to recognize him as the money man and treated him with uncharacteristic respect.
Tae-jin had a bright idea. With the festival on, wealthy folks would flock to Mercia City. High-value stuff like a camera could wait for the Empire, but maybe he could offload some Earth knickknacks from home for a good price.
"How about this... I've got some junk from home to sell. Wanna come along?"
"Junk?"
"Yeah. I hear there's a simple auction too. Should sell fine there. If it goes well, we can reimburse what you've covered so far."
"Aw, reimburse? Saving Renata's worth more than I could ever repay."
He said that, but Pavilion's eyes wavered. The financial strain must have weighed on him. His entire stock of soups—his fortune—had dwindled to a third.
"It's fine. Close friends need to settle money matters cleanly. Shall we three head out together?"
Renata's ears perked straight up in excitement. Tae-jin fought the urge to touch them with a deep breath.
Worried he might change his mind, Renata rushed over and grabbed his hand. The soft, fuzzy feel of her paw was delightful. Fine, no ears, but holding hands would do.
"If you're okay with it, sure. Let's go."
"Great. Wait a sec. I'll grab some sellable junk."
Tae-jin rummaged through his bag in his room. What would work? Stuff he wouldn't miss but could sell decently: a notebook, a three-color ballpoint pen, and a flashlight.
The notebook wasn't special, but its plastic covers were. He'd vaguely heard technicians here hunted plastic scraps to reverse-engineer the material. Might fetch a good price.
The ballpoint pen was junk-level back home, but here, its tech was mind-blowing—like the tiny ball at the tip. No dwarf craftsmanship could match that precision.
Plus, it was practical. In a world where ink and quills ruled writing, a ballpoint was a godsend.
And three colors! Worthless for a thousand won locally, but here? The ultimate writing tool—perfect for flashy nobles.
The flashlight went without saying. He'd heard soldiers distributed them near the Gate early on, and they sold for big bucks. Years later, ones with battery life were rare.
Not some dim military flashlight either—this was a proper LED one. High expectations.
"Got it all. Hit the auction house first?"
The three stepped out lightly dressed into the streets.
Mercia City's festival differed from what Tae-jin remembered of Gate Frontier City's. True to its tourist rep, spectacles filled every corner.
Gate Frontier City's festivals stuck to two types: pale copies of Korean shows or local culture twisted for tourist tastes.
Mercia's performances weren't flashy but had real character, untainted by Korean preferences. You wouldn't see a puppet show of Volterio soldiers crushing Kaiso Kingdom troops—backed by Korea—in Gate Frontier City.
When you stumble on unexpected fun, anyone's heart skips a beat.
Tae-jin's steady steps and Pavilion's heavy tread picked up flecks of flower scent. Renata's already light steps were practically floating.
Tae-jin and Pavilion strolled leisurely, keeping up appearances by glancing around, but Renata darted about like a pup on its first walk in a month.
The auction house was set up in the city center. Smarter than some mediocre show—wide plaza drew the crowds.
He'd worried they only auctioned pre-registered items, but no— they took on-site submissions, grouped by price range.
The dapper-mustached registrar couldn't guess the items' uses right away. He marveled at the notebook's fine paper and the novel plastic feel.
"It's a writing tool. See? Changes color like this."
The registrar's eyes nearly popped at the three-color ballpoint. A pen switching hues with a flick!
He made a fuss, drawing curious onlookers. The pen got bumped to high-value auction, not cheap goods. Festival pop-up auctions were all the same anyway.
Same with the flashlight. Tae-jin mischievously beckoned the registrar under the tablecloth into the dim space. The man peered eagerly.
Tae-jin flicked it on in the dark. The registrar jolted up, flipping the table in shock.
Tae-jin thought flashlights were known—plenty distributed early post-Gate—but they remained alien to civilians.
"Holy magic!"
"Nah. Just a light. Called a flashlight."
The crash drew even more gawkers. Pavilion, vanguard of free trade and modern goods, stayed calm, but Renata's eyes widened at the gadgets.
The crowd's swelling curiosity was a bit overwhelming. But being the center of eager attention—purely positive, no pressure—was thrilling.
And among the crowd were soldiers.
"We got a tip about an otherworlder with suspicious items. Come with us."
Swept up in the hype, they'd overreacted. Tae-jin got hauled off by the guards mid-registration.