The Winkan Festival
The Winkan Festival hosted by the Elan Empire was, without question, the largest festival on the entire continent.
People flocked in from every corner of the land, eating, drinking, and reveling nonstop for two whole weeks.
I’d heard that the market was the size of a decent mid-sized city, and it turned out to be true.
I’d assumed there must be some exaggeration involved, but the endless rows of stalls stretching as far as the eye could see left my mouth hanging open in awe.
Even though it was nighttime, the area was as bright as day thanks to the countless illuminated stalls.
This is what an empire’s class looks like, huh? Yeah, something like this would be impossible back in Dmitry.
It seemed the empire held these grand, extravagant festivals on a regular basis to flaunt its majesty.
They wanted to show off just how wealthy, powerful, and leisurely their nation was.
The festival was steeped in pride over their strength and dominance.
Of course, kids like me didn’t care about any of that. We were just here to enjoy the sights.
“Jeanie! Let’s do that one! That one over there!”
“What is it?”
Braiding Service Available
Iruse pointed with sparkling eyes at two women who appeared to be mother and daughter, sitting side by side.
There were chairs for customers, just like the shoe-shining stalls, and all around them hung combs and hair ornaments of every shape and size.
It looked like they sold the ornaments too.
“It looks so fun!”
“You’re right. They really have everything here.”
After taking a proper look around, I saw that most stalls were selling goods or food, but there were all sorts of other things too.
I spotted places that trimmed nails, pierced ears, and even gave tattoos.
There were also quite a few gambling stalls like lotteries and shell games—though I wasn’t sure if those were actually legal.
“Hmm? Let’s try it!”
Still munching on my fruit skewer, I was dragged by Iruse over to the stall.
There was a crudely written price list. Basic braiding cost 60 coppers, the fancy braid course was 1 silver, and adding flowers came to 1 silver and 30 coppers.
Since I’d never seen anything like this before, I had no idea if it was expensive or cheap.
“You really want to do this that badly?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
“Hmm… Well, if it doesn’t take too long, I guess we can.”
Even though Iruse was the one paying, I was the one who got to decide whether we did it or not. It was a strangely imbalanced arrangement.
They said it would only take ten minutes, so Iruse and I sat down in the chairs facing the market.
“How would you like it done?”
“The flower decoration course, please!”
“Of course, young ladies. Just wait a moment and I’ll make you both look absolutely beautiful.”
The middle-aged woman was braiding my hair, while the one doing Iruse’s looked like her mother.
The two of them really did resemble each other.
Was this their actual job? Making women’s hair pretty… So they were basically hairdressers.
Once I thought of it that way, it made perfect sense.
The middle-aged woman applied a fragrant liquid to my hair and began combing it.
My natural curls usually tangled easily, and combing always pulled out strands and hurt, but right now it was gliding through as smoothly as a lie.
Whoa! There really is technique involved in combing and braiding hair!
“I don’t quite understand… Why would anyone pay money just to get their hair braided?”
“Because most people can’t braid it nicely by themselves.”
“Hmm.”
Both Philona and Hansen wore expressions that said they still didn’t get it.
“It’s the same for knights, isn’t it?”
“Us?”
“When you sharpen your swords, you pay a blacksmith or weapons shop to do it, right? Even though you could probably do it yourself. It’s the same idea!”
“Ah, if you put it that way, I suppose I understand.”
“Professionals are always the best at what they do.”
The daughter brought over a basket full of fresh flowers and told us to pick whichever ones we liked for our hair.
Iruse and I squealed with excitement as we chose our flowers.
“If it’s alright with you, may I step away for a moment while they braid your hair?”
Hansen asked cautiously. When I glanced over, I saw that right next to us was a stall selling daggers of all shapes and sizes.
“Of course it’s fine. Right, Iruse?”
“Yep, totally! You guys should enjoy the festival too.”
“Since it’s right next door… we’ll be quick.”
They must have really wanted to see it, because Hansen and Philona hurried off to the neighboring stall. Meanwhile, Iruse and I continued picking flowers.
They said we could choose up to ten, but every single one was so pretty that I kept picking them up and putting them back down.
“Um… Jeanie…?”
While I was laughing, Bright approached with a face so flushed it was visible even at night.
“If it’s alright… may I pick one for you?”
His low voice trembled with nervousness, and his purple eyes never blinked once as they stared at me.
I froze for a moment, unsure what to say.
“Oh my, oh my goodness.”
The one who broke the awkward atmosphere was none other than Iruse. She nudged me in the side with her elbow and gave me a sly grin.
This little brat… She’s only ten years old. How does she even make that kind of face?!
“Is that… not okay?”
“It’s a little embarrassing.”
“Just one!”
“Well… fine. It’s not a big deal anyway.”
“This one. I think this would suit you.”
His fingertips trembled slightly as he reached out.
Bright plucked a small blue flower with several buds and held it out to me. The moment I accepted it, I couldn’t help but feel… just a little strange.
Should I call it a flutter?
Now that I thought about it, this was the first time in either of my lives that a man had given me a flower.
Looking back, my life really had been pretty uneventful. I studied until I died, then got reincarnated and studied some more.
“It’s pretty.”
“Really? You like it?”
“It seems nice.”
“I’m glad.”
Bright Keniyan had a rather cute side to him. The way he carefully read my mood and tried so hard to look good in front of me was honestly admirable.
“Thank you.”
Holding a handful of flowers for decoration made it look like I was carrying a small bouquet.
Without thinking, I brought them to my nose and inhaled their scent.
It wasn’t a bad day at all.
I felt my mood lift considerably.
When I came back to my senses, I realized I was enjoying the festival far more than I’d expected, despite how much I’d complained about it being a hassle.
With my hair beautifully styled, both hands full of snacks, and servants—no, Bright, Hansen, and Philona—trailing behind me.
It suddenly dawned on me that I was the center of this entire group.
Bright did whatever I suggested without question, Hansen and Philona followed me around attentively, and Iruse wanted to do everything together with me.
Oh, and Jaimam’s presence was barely noticeable.
Anyway, our party of six wandered around everywhere.
We spent the longest time in front of the acrobatic troupe. Iruse was so impressed by their performance that she tossed a whole gold coin into their hat, which made both Hansen and Philona clutch the backs of their necks in shock.
Bright, for his part, spent just as much money without batting an eye.
Well, he was from the only mage bloodline in Dmitry, so it wasn’t like he’d be poor.
That was usually how nobles’ sense of money worked.
“Monster market?”
Whenever I stopped, everyone else stopped too.
Enjoy the Legal Monster Market!
My eyes had been completely captured by the large, eye-catching poster written in vibrant colors.
The rest of the party who saw it all gaped in unison.
But before anyone could even suggest going, we were swiftly shut down.
“Absolutely not.”
“That place is dangerous.”
“I want to go!”
“It says it’s legal!”
Iruse and I protested, but it was no use.
“That just means it’s normally illegal.”
“It’s no place for children.”
“That’s so unfair!”
“It is absolutely not allowed! There are plenty of other things to see. Let’s head over there instead.”
This is exactly why I wanted to go around by ourselves.
My cheeks puffed up with dissatisfaction when Iruse nudged me in the side again, just like before.
I easily understood the meaning behind her quickly darting eyes.
Should we?
Let’s go!
Iruse and I exchanged a sly glance.