The City of Final Festivals
[A moment later, the royal palace of Lampades. A suite in the hotel.]
I’d gone to offer morning prayers, only to have a priest of the Goddess Cult spout absolute madness at me. I was just paying my respects according to the cult’s etiquette to avoid being branded a heretic, but the priest had suddenly shifted gears and dropped a massive spoiler on us. We were immediately dragged back to the hotel by the guards. Not to the suite we’d been staying in, but to the room right next door. We waited in that neatly tidied room for someone to arrive. We had no choice. We were alone, but outside the door, it wasn’t the hotel maids standing guard, but the city’s security forces, their eyes burning with vigilance.
"Senior."
"Yeah."
"What that priest said... that was definitely..."
"That’s exactly why we were brought here."
The blessing bestowed upon this land is being withdrawn.
"Everyone else is talking about the festival, but the priest was the only one spilling the beans that it’s actually a funeral."
If any god says, 'The blessing bestowed upon us has been withdrawn,' the person who said it wouldn't be surprised to be beaten with clubs. Because when an absolute being declares that there is no hope, it means a trial that no human power can overcome.
"Shin Yuhee, what would you do if such a situation arose? For instance, if the land we live on was completely scorched and became a place where we could no longer survive?"
"Well..."
What should humans do in the face of such a trial? If, for example, the world were to end in exactly one month, how should a human act?
"I think I’d struggle to survive somehow, no matter what. What about you, Senior?"
"Same here. I’d struggle and claw my way to survive until the very last second before death."
Some would try to plant an apple tree, while others would cast aside laws and rules to act solely for their own desires.
"Everyone accepts the end differently, I suppose..."
And then, there are those who make a choice.
"The people here seem to have accepted it."
"Accepted it..."
"Yeah. But I doubt they’re just sitting blankly on their beds, waiting for death."
A life that humbly accepts one's own death and does one's best until the final moment. That is exactly what Lampades is—a place where such people have gathered. How can they be like that? Naturally, because only those souls were selected to enter this Tutorial Stage.
"An oracle has been delivered to Lampades."
The door opened, and a familiar voice reached us. "An oracle stating that in about a month, a great catastrophe will descend upon Lampades."
An apocalypse. Or a disaster.
"You are..."
"Let me apologize first. We didn't intend to have this conversation. If that priest hadn't said something so useless, we intended to let you enjoy your travels normally and leave with peace of mind."
From what Ernette—the head of the guard and princess, whom we’d mistaken for a hotel apprentice maid—said while we were being interrogated, we could infer the fate of Lampades.
"You are..."
"Let me introduce myself properly once again. I am Ernette Lampades, the captain of this city's guard."
The female knight, wearing tight black tights and light armor that made her look more like a desert warrior than a maid, sat down in front of us.
"A catastrophe?"
"Yes. An unavoidable catastrophe. The entire city will be submerged in sand, and there is no means or method to save it."
"What on earth could that catastrophe be...?"
"...I suppose you would call it the Descent of a Great Demon."
A Great Demon. Shin Yuhee gulped at Ernette’s surprisingly candid admission. It was natural that if there were angels, there would be demons, but after dealing with nothing more than Goblins or Orcs, having the scale suddenly jump to a Great Demon left us speechless.
"Are you saying that Great Demon will destroy this entire city?"
"Yes. That is an unavoidable fate. It is not merely a prophecy, but a scheduled death."
"Why...?"
Shin Yuhee’s face was full of confusion. She knew as well as I did that it was absurd to talk about 'common sense' in a Tutorial Stage, but she seemed unable to bear the frustration of not asking.
"If death is scheduled, why not leave this city?"
"......."
"If a disaster is coming, you can just avoid it. You can just avoid it, but..."
"That would be the normal sentiment. And it is also what we wish for you."
"Pardon?"
"We have decided to face the catastrophe head-on. We will take up our weapons and fight, and we will never retreat."
"Th-that...?"
Shin Yuhee was genuinely confused, unable to understand, but I took her hand and shook my head. "These are warriors who have already resolved themselves to die. Arguing further would only stain their honor."
"......."
Shin Yuhee’s expression didn’t soften. Having spent so much time together, I could tell just by looking at her face that she was thinking, 'Honor doesn't guarantee your life, does it?' For a modern person who has never been in a situation where they had to trade their life for honor, it’s an impossible situation to understand. As for me, I’ve experienced the situation of 'choosing death because it’s better than living' often enough that I can understand it, at least a little.
"Before we talk further, I want to ask. Why did you come to this city? Did you truly hear nothing about Lampades?"
"Not at all."
Shin Yuhee shook her head. Ernette’s gaze, which had been piercing us, sharpened, and a faint trace of mana began to emanate from her body—
Watching that, Ernette suddenly snapped her head toward me. "You... you knew something, didn't you? You didn't come to this city without a purpose, did you?"
"...It would be a lie to say I had no purpose, but I have never heard of any oracles or catastrophes regarding this city."
She was sensitive to gazes. Every one of Ernette’s senses was trying to discern whether we were speaking the truth or lying.
"All we heard was that it was a place where strong desert warriors gathered. We heard that if we came here, we could become stronger, but that was all."
"Become stronger...?"
Unexpected. I had slipped into casual speech, but Ernette didn't seem interested in pointing out the lack of etiquette. "That is correct."
Then I had no choice but to push forward.
"As this girl’s husband and the man who will be the father of the children we will have, I need to become stronger. With my current strength, I can barely protect the woman right next to me, let alone my future children."
Playing the part we came here with.
"I received the call of the Goddess. I prayed to the Goddess, an angel descended, and the angel told us to go to Lampades."
It was true. An angel named Estiel sent us.
"'There, you will find those who will become your masters, and you will build the foundation to protect your own bodies.'"
If I translated what Estiel said into something like a revelation from the Goddess, it was exactly that.
"An angel really pointed the way?"
"Yes."
"Then how did you find out about this place?"
"We aren't oblivious. We heard it was just a desert city-state, yet there are festivals held until late at night, and everywhere we go, they’re giving things away for free—how could we not be suspicious?"
"......."
"And there is one more goal... but that is a bit difficult to talk about."
Planting the seed. Even if she remains suspicious of me and Shin Yuhee, I had to release parts of the truth when the time was right.
"A place to cultivate our own strength. And since we were here anyway, we intended to sightsee in the city of Lampades and take care of some personal matters... we just happened to hear bad things about the city in the process."
"......."
"In common parlance, we are just pilgrims. Or if you prefer, tourists. We are just beings who will stop by for a moment and then leave."
"Tourists, you say..."
Ernette smiled bitterly. "I don't know what to think about someone sightseeing in a city facing its destruction."
"If it’s uncomfortable, we will leave."
"What?"
"If you wish for us to leave, we will leave quietly."
One of the conditions for achieving the Main Quest. Escape Lampades before reaching the Main Quest. This means leaving Lampades before its destruction arrives. And this is likely the main culprit for lowering the difficulty of Lampades.
"If Lampades rejects us, we have no choice but to look elsewhere."
Whether we are expelled by the people of Lampades or just walk out of the city, if we escape before the catastrophe hits, the quest ends. Of course, if we do that, we won't gain anything and will just become 'Heroes who visited Lampades,' so it would be important to build up our internal strength in Lampades if possible.
"I ask you. Does Lampades reject us?"
"......."
"I have no intention of picking a fight with those facing the end, nor do I intend to persuade you to survive together. At the same time... this may be a selfish thought, but I cannot face the end with you."
"That is the same for us."
Ernette said firmly, drawing a line, and turned her eyes to Shin Yuhee. "We are not shameless enough to ask those who came here wanting to have children to die with us. In the first place..."
"In the first place?"
"...You don't look strong enough to fight against the catastrophe."
I was openly ignored in terms of martial power. But that couldn't be helped. The opponent was what one might call a 'Princess Knight,' and we were just people in the middle of a tutorial.
"Very well. We shall do this."
Clap.
"Fit in with the 'festival' of Lampades. When you go outside the hotel, I will always accompany you, and you must not speak of the end or destruction in front of anyone."
"......."
"Do not try to persuade us. Do not tempt us with trials. Do not let anyone in this city have regrets."
The ultimatum of Ernette, and of Lampades.
"If you do not, we will expel you."
"...I will."
It was a one-sided ultimatum, but Shin Yuhee nodded firmly and took my hand. "We aren't so oblivious as to ruin the... festival."