The Gods' Feast
Iruse crossed her arms and started pestering me, but all I wanted was to go back to sleep as soon as possible.
“This is such a hassle...”
“They say there are over a thousand street stalls! Isn’t that amazing? It’s a chance to taste every single food from across the continent!”
“Hmm, I do like good food, but...”
“I even brought the allowance my father gave me to spend today! Look!”
The money pouch Iruse pulled out was so heavy that the loud clinking sound reached even my ears.
It was tempting enough to make Rai drool if he heard it.
Coming from a girl who already had plenty of money, it was honestly just enviable.
She really was the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Dmitry.
“I don’t have much money myself.”
I had a few gold nuggets, but those wouldn’t be accepted at street stalls.
“Huh? Why would you even worry about that! I’ll buy everything for you! Just tell me what you want to eat! I have tons of money!”
“You’ll buy it for me?”
“Yep!”
“I’d feel bad if I didn’t take you up on that… Let’s go right now!”
Shame might not feed me, but Iruse certainly would.
Long live rich friends!
“Going out again?”
When I came to get permission to leave, Knight Commander Tonel was frowning deeply, clearly displeased about something.
“Is there some kind of problem…?”
“This is quite troublesome. With the festival going on, everyone has gone out, so we’re short on knights for escort duty.”
“If that’s the case, we can just go by ourselves.”
“That is out of the question.”
“It’s the festival period, so security has been reinforced, hasn’t it? Besides, Jai-mam and I used to go out without knights all the time.”
Bright tried his best to argue against the commander’s negative reaction, but it didn’t seem to be working.
“The problem isn’t with you two. It’s these young ladies here. I mean Miss Iruse and Miss Jeanie.”
That was when I finally realized who the knight commander was using polite speech with.
He only spoke that way to children from respectable families like Iruse and Bright.
That’s strange. Our family doesn’t have any power at all.
Bright was the son of a famous mage family, and Iruse was the daughter of an incredibly wealthy household.
I was just the daughter of an obscure baronial family from the countryside.
A baron was the lowest rank among nobles.
The order went duke, marquis, count, viscount, baron, followed by knights who were essentially junior barons.
Even though they were called nobles, barons didn’t really have the standing to wield much authority.
“We’ll take good care of them. Would that be acceptable?”
Bright kept glancing at me, trying hard to act mature.
Did he seriously want to look cool in front of me?
It was cute how hard he was trying, but he was wasting too much time.
“Move aside, senior.”
I, who had been standing there indifferently, pushed past Bright and Jai-mam and stepped forward.
“Commander. You said there aren’t enough knights?”
“Ahem, that’s correct. Only two remain on duty.”
We were natural enemies.
Knight Commander Tonel’s eyes were completely different when he looked at Bright versus when he looked at me.
I could tell they noticeably softened.
I didn’t know why he acted that way toward me, but the fact that I had caught onto it was enough.
“Would the remaining knights happen to be people I know?”
“…That is correct.”
No answer meant yes.
“At this point, they might as well be my personal guards. Just call them over.”
“That won’t do. Two knights escorting four people is too much.”
“But the seniors are the ones who don’t need escorts in the first place, and the problem is supposed to be me and Iruse… So two knights should be plenty, right?”
“……”
“What’s the issue? Is my logic wrong?”
A silent staring contest followed.
In truth, I already knew.
What the commander was really worried about was that even two knights wouldn’t be enough to handle me.
And though it had already been proven several times, the overly kind Hansen and Philo could never stop me.
“You don’t… by any chance… hate me so much that you don’t want me to enjoy the festival, do you?”
“What? Of course not. That is a misunderstanding.”
“Then let us go out!”
“…Very well. However, we will do it this way. Since there is a shortage of knights, you must all stay together at all times. Especially…”
What, what! Why are you looking at me!
I was truly carefree. So many terrible things had already happened to me that I had developed a strange confidence that nothing worse could possibly occur.
Another incident happening would be far too ridiculous.
“Look at that, Jeanie! That must be the ‘Feast of the Gods’!”
“It’s way bigger than it looked in the books!”
“Can a fountain really be this beautiful? It’s incredible…”
Iruse and Bright couldn’t tear their eyes away from the central fountain as they spoke.
In the central plaza of Neikal, the capital of the Elan Empire, there stood a massive fountain called the ‘Feast of the Gods.’ It was so enormous it looked at least as tall as a five-story building.
The fountain was densely yet harmoniously decorated with statues of gods both large and small.
It truly was a colossal work of art, just as the rumors claimed.
At the center of the fountain stood a majestic statue of Agiotita, the God of Creation who protected the Cransia continent. Around it were statues of Profitia, the God of Prophecy, and Heios, the Goddess of Peace—the only female among the chief gods and said to be the purest and most merciful of them all—each gazing in different directions.
Beneath the three chief gods were carvings of the seven holy saints who assisted them in watching over both the heavenly and mortal realms. They each had their own names too.
Not that I cared.
When I turned around, I saw Iruse and Jai-mam with their hands clasped together, offering solemn prayers toward the fountain.
Philo and Hansen didn’t look much different.
It was a little later that my eyes met Bright’s, who had been standing there blankly like me.
“Senior, you don’t seem particularly devout either?”
“Well… my family is a mage household, after all.”
Bright looked a bit embarrassed.
In this world, not being devout didn’t mean you didn’t believe in the gods.
It simply meant you believed in and respected them without devoting your entire heart to them.
Every human on this land basically believed in the existence of the gods.
That was because they lived on land blessed by divine grace and had witnessed countless divine powers with their own eyes.
Things like the gods themselves and the miracles they performed.
At least in this world, the gods definitely existed.
“I heard priests and mages don’t get along. Is that why?”
“Pretty much. Priests consider magic to be a blasphemous act that challenges the gods. They believe holy magic is the true path, while we practice the heretical one.”
The true path meant the righteous way, while the heretical path referred to a shallow, deceptive road full of tricks. As expected of the top student in the magic class, Bright seemed fairly sharp.
“Then what do they think of spirit magic? Is that heretical too?”
“Probably. At least in the eyes of the priests.”
“Goddamn it.”
“…Jeanie?”
“Did I just say that out loud?”
“Yeah…”
“I said goddamn it?”
Now that I repeated it, I really had said it again. Sigh, this damn temper of mine.
“No point hiding it. I don’t really like the gods.”
“Jeanie! You can’t just say something like that!”
Bright looked around in a panic, terrified someone might have heard.
As if I had said something truly unforgivable.
Well, if any fanatics overheard, they might actually try to beat me to death.
“How can I like them when I have no reason to? Too many unlucky things have happened to me. It feels like the gods have it out for me.”
“Then… maybe you should try praying more sincerely? Good things might happen if you do.”
“It’s not that kind of problem. I’ve never wished for good things to happen. All I want is for nothing to happen to me at all, but…”
“Jeanie.”
“They can’t even do that one thing for me? It’s so simple.”
The fact that gods existed only brought me frustration and nothing else.