Chapter 126 - Chapter 3: The May Festival
The May Festival has begun.
It's a festival to celebrate the full arrival of spring and to honor the Goddess we believe in and the spirits that bring spring, so it's also a festival to worship Dune, Mel, and the others.
On the day, a girl chosen as the Goddess by the townspeople's vote wears a white outfit and a crown made of flower bouquets. After entering the town through the main gate, she marches down the main street leading the priests and the Royal Army. Finally, on a stage built in the town square, she declares the arrival of spring and prays for the abundance of summer and autumn, ending the ritual.
At night, the Goddess's priestess role dances on the stage lit by torches, but since it's late, it's for adults only.
The role of the Goddess is served only once by a minor girl over ten years old. In the Class of 175, Beatrix, Will, and Mary have experience doing it.
Four acolytes, two boys and two girls, serve as the four great spirits following the Goddess. Since I was taller than the other girl, I played the role of the water spirit.
Thinking back now, maybe I already had a connection with Dune even then.
"Alright, the real show starts now. Let's do this!"
Matilda, having watched the procession begin, slapped her own face with both hands, pashi-pashi, and then cracked her knuckles.
Honestly, it's like she's heading into a brawl.
"You're helping Paul-san, okay? Don't go scaring the ladies."
"I know. I was just getting fired up."
As expected, Beatrix was keeping her in check.
Matilda had made several silver accessories and was putting them out at the stall, but today her role was to give children rides in the bowl.
It's to commemorate the opening of the Class of 175 Shop. Since our target is young girls, we decided to have the combat types stay back a bit.
She's surprisingly good at taking care of people, so looking after children is the best role for her.
As Beatrix had coordinated beforehand, we lined up our stalls in front of the main gate alongside others in the same trade. We lined up clothes for men, women, the elderly, children, and the wealthy, each in their area of expertise, and then put out our marble-dyed items and accessories for young girls.
"Now, everyone. We'll handle the customer attraction, so let's work hard to increase sales."
When I called out to the five town tailors, I heard a spirited "Yeah!" from them. Some were even cracking their necks. Even though they're vigilantes, they seem to be influenced by Matilda.
Matilda is famous for her style of bashing boars with a war hammer. Aside from the guard, hunters who deliver the finishing blow in close combat are rare, apparently. Now she's earned the nickname 'Boar Killer,' and has fans in various senses.
"Dune, please."
"Understood."
Pretending to mutter a chant, I thrust my right hand forward. When I flicked my arm up, the river water moved over and became fluffy.
Lyudmila and Bonnie are doing the calling out in the square, so in a little while, the customers who watched the procession should start coming.
The customers for the fluffy bowl are mainly children, so their companions will be fathers and mothers with children. We have to gather the young ladies there.
As part of the attraction, we're also doing hair dyeing and quick portrait sales, which are Marcelo Company specialties. The hair is Angelica-san's department, and the portraits are Beatrix's. As usual, she's prepared many new portraits of Katherine-sensei, so the middle-aged male fans will surely come. Additionally, from this time, we've prepared many of Gladys-sama. The ladies will surely come too.
"Did Beatrix design this?"
The dress Dune was wearing was light blue with a pattern of white, black, and dark blue dyed from the waist to the hem, looking like water flowing and splashing.
The material for the women's clothing was wool instead of hemp sacks. Unlike the field uniforms, it's comfortable to wear.
"That's right. It's festival-spec. If you like it, I'll give it to you, so please act as a sample for our products."
Dune's beauty rivals that of Gladys-sama or Will when she's quiet.
In addition, Mary is wearing a marble-dyed dress she designed herself, based on red. Surely, young male fans will come too.
Gladys-sama aside, it would be nice if Will were here too, but unfortunately, the town hall staff are guarding the town along with the guard.
"Shall we help?"
The five mothers with children, who usually participate in the marble dyeing, offered to help. It seems they're grateful for having gained a new profession.
At first, it was all Black-Purple, but now the daily production of items with the passing mark exceeds ten. Those with the mark sell for twenty copper coins, and in addition to the town and village guards and the Royal Army, the Nakanohara Jaegers are buying up all of them along with the Black-Purple. Since they're paid daily, their lives have stabilized.
"No, it's fine, so please enjoy the festival."
I politely declined and secretly gave them priority tickets for the second round of the bowl and fluffy rides.
Since they've gained the dream of having children, I want them to spend their days off slowly with their children to nurture that dream.
Beatrix was also dyeing the mothers' hair for free while saying, "Make sure to advertise, okay?"
As customers gradually gathered, Henry-sama's group arrived. They're helping with the orphanage's stall, but it seems they came to see how things were here.
"Oh, Jeanne. Is business thriving?"
"Thanks to you, it's selling bit by bit."
The ten or so marble-dyed dresses for women we prepared haven't sold a single one yet, but the Green Marble and accessories themselves are well-received.
"Well then, shall we buy some clothes too?"
"Do you have money?"
"We earned quite a bit from the civil engineering work. Enough to stay in normal inns until the Royal Capital."
While saying that, they looked around at the men's and elderly sections.
If they take the bowl, it'll be a two or three-night trip. I felt like if they bought clothes for three people, not much would be left, but I decided not to press the issue.
In the end, he even bought a child's outfit with yellow embroidery on a green base, saying it was for his grandchild. He's definitely going to give it to Mel.
After staying for a while and heading back to town, this time Roberts-sama and Gladys-sama came. Their attendant knights were with them too.
The men were wearing Green Marble, but Gladys-sama was wearing a marble-dyed one-piece dress from the design Mary drew before going to Medioland. It was a mature and elegant item with black streamlines and light marble patterns on a green base. The material, as expected, was silk.
Since it's the second time they've come to the Nakanohara festival, has everyone gotten used to it? A group of ladies was watching from a distance.
The crowd of middle-aged men further back, standing on their tiptoes, must have been pushed away by the ladies.
Thinking this was bad, I looked at Mary, and she wasn't fainting; she was crying.
"How is it?"
She was asked, but she couldn't seem to answer properly.
"Th-thank you. It's wonderful."
She finally said it and hugged Gladys-sama.
After being comforted, she became all smiles and talked about various things, but then something was whispered in her ear, and she fainted.
"Is she alright?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would turn out like this."
"Did something happen?"
"No, well..."
She was blushing and hesitating.
That's not like Gladys-sama. Just as I thought that, she spoke as if she had made up her mind.
"Earlier, Adolf-sama showed me Mary's new designs..."
The designs for Gladys-sama are sent by Mayor Adolf.
"When I said I'd use the red one with the bare shoulders as my private nightwear, this happened... I'm sorry."
She was looking down with a bright red face while supporting Mary.
Well, that's impossible. There's no way Mary could withstand being told that.
When I looked at the lucky Roberts-sama, he was laughing loudly while talking with Beatrix.
Men have it easy.
I immediately called Beatrix over.
"It's fine, Gladys-sama. Leave the rest to me."
Beatrix caught her and carried her behind the stall with Dune. They'll probably splash water on her.
"I'm truly sorry."
"No, please don't worry about it. I'm sure she's satisfied too."
"I hope so."
Since there was no point in worrying, I looked at the displayed marble-dyed items with her.
"How is it? Are they selling?"
"Not a single one has sold yet, but I think they'll sell from now on."
The ladies were gradually closing the distance.
Green Marble has also become a popular item since the two of them bought it. It will surely sell this time too.
"Since Gladys-sama is wearing it, I think it will sell to those people."
"Is that so? Then, let me help a little."
Saying that, she beckoned the ladies over and began to advertise our marble dyeing.
"Eventually, the clothes we make may save women who are struggling in life, and at the same time, create a new culture for Sertoria. If you like them, I would be very happy if you would buy them."
She shook each person's hand as she explained, and for the ladies who said they'd buy, she held the clothes against them and began to choose colors that suited them.
With Gladys-sama doing that, there's no woman in Sertoria who wouldn't buy. They sold out in no time, and we even got reservations from ladies who couldn't buy but were told which colors suited them.
"Thank you very much."
As I was thanking her, Roberts-sama came over.
"How is it? Is my portrait selling?"
"In terms of today's popularity, it's about fourth."
"Who's first?"
"Gladys-sama. Second is Katherine-sensei from the orphanage, and third is Mary."
Gladys-sama blushed and looked down.
"Does Jeanne's picture not sell?"
"Beatrix doesn't draw me. I've refused as well."
"What, what a waste. The most popular one in the Eastern Plains Jaegers is Jeanne, you know."
My face turned red involuntarily.
Gladys-sama was grinning and peered into my face.
I thought for sure it was Angelica-san, but it seems not. Come to think of it, I didn't have a chance to win them over with food in the Eastern Plains.
"What brings you here today?"
"Oh, I just came to advertise the clothes."
Saying that, he led away the ladies who were watching from a distance along with Gladys-sama.
Immediately after, the portrait of Gladys-sama talking with the wind spirit by the blue pond sold like hotcakes to the middle-aged men who swarmed in after hearing Beatrix's calling.
It seems the portrait sales are supported by the middle-aged men.
The Class of 175 opening commemoration can be called a success. Perhaps the customer attraction worked, as the other stalls were satisfied too. Above all, it was big that the marble-dyed items sold out. If popularity stabilizes, we might be able to increase the number of people we hire for the relief measures.
Before the sun set, we held a party at the Ghost Mansion, inviting Mel to join Dune, Henry-sama, and the others, doubling as a celebration.
Since it was still light out, we spread cloth next to the flower bed in the backyard and sat down together.
"A house with a garden like this is nice."
A member of the royalty living in a vast royal palace was saying something.
"What seeds did you sow?"
"Cabbage, carrots, and leeks."
The backyard is Lyudmila's jurisdiction.
She looks after the field, the goats, the sawtooth oak trees, and the flower bed.
It's not that wide, but it's about fifteen large strides east-to-west and thirty strides north-to-south.
It's divided into four areas: the sunny northeast is the field, the northwest has the sawtooth oaks, the flower bed, and a square where everyone can sit.
The north and south are divided by a wooden fence. In the southwest, which is in the shadow of the Ghost Mansion, Matilda built a goat shed and a stone oven shed, and the southeast is left with weeds for the goats to eat.
Even though I call it a flower bed, it's just wild plants that bloom flowers, which I pulled up during fox extermination and planted around the mountain-harvested sawtooth oak trees in a stone-enclosed area in the corner, but it seems just right for Mel to suck nectar. She was fluttering like a butterfly and sticking her face into the flowers.
"Oh, small birds fly here."
Eleanor-sama was surprised to see a small bird land on my shoulder.
It's Chururi. During the winter, I had lent her to Dune to ask her to catch bugs from the rampaging trees.
Since Bonnie made a nest box and hung it from the ceiling of the goat shed, she's usually there.
When I gave her a few caterpillars, she chirped churu-churu and flew off somewhere. She might find a girlfriend soon.
"Henry-sama, are you all going back to the Royal Capital already?"
"That's right. The battle with the Demon Lord's army will probably resume soon, after all."
"Are you all going to fight too, Henry-sama?"
They are former heroes, after all. They would surely be a powerful force.
"No, we are the house-sitters. Since the current King is going to the battlefield, a substitute is needed. The Prime Minister handles government affairs, but if envoys from other countries come, someone must deal with them."
"That sounds troublesome."
"Oh, I just tell them I'll pass it on to the current King and drink wine with them; the Prime Minister handles the rest. I don't do anything."
He was laughing wa-ha-ha. I don't know how much of it is true, but I'm sure it's hard in various ways.
"Speaking of which, I heard Beatrix became a mid-level mage."
Eleanor-sama immediately asked. She might be in the mood to become Beatrix's master.
"But it's Flame, so I can't use it in the forest or anything. It'd be bad if a fire started."
"Since you've learned mid-level magic and your magic control has improved, you just need to use other magic effectively."
"Like this," she said, and as she chanted [Water] toward a wooden board Matilda brought, a hole about two or three fingers wide opened in the board.
"Geh!"
The usually calm Beatrix made a strange sound.
She seemed to have lost her words and was opening and closing her mouth like a fish while pointing at the hole.
"Heh, that's impressive."
"You're doing well for a human."
Dune and Mel were surprised too. They could probably do it, but we are humans.
"W-wait a minute. How do you do that?"
Perhaps the level was too different; unusually, Beatrix couldn't understand it.
"You fire it at a speed faster than the eye can see. Speed is attack power."
She was told to try producing water with [Water] and brought out a ball of water the size of a fist.
"I wonder if you can make it a bit smaller. About half that size is fine."
A ball of water about the size of a ring made by the thumb and index finger floated above her palm.
"Look closely at that hole. Imagine the fired water ball catching the target at a speed faster than the eye can see and piercing the spot it hits in an instant."
She fired one shot, but it just made a bicha sound and the water splashed. There was no damage to the board.
"Faster. Heighten the image."
She was groaning. It's harder to make it faster than to make it slower. She couldn't imagine a speed faster than the eye can see.
Sweat began to bead on Beatrix's forehead.
It was the same as when she first used split magic.
"Fire!"
As she fired along with Eleanor-sama's signal, it flew toward the target, and this time, there was a baki sound, and a crack appeared in the board.
Beatrix was panting, her shoulders heaving.
"That's good for a first time. I want a bit more speed and a strong image of making a hole. Practice once a day. If the board breaks, you pass. But you must not do it with mid-level magic until you learn high-level magic. Your brain will break, you see."
Her brain...
She said such a terrifying thing so casually.
I wonder if she knows someone whose brain actually broke...
"Can Dune do it too?"
Mary was asking. She can only use low-level water magic, so she can't participate in monster extermination. Lately, she's been a bit troubled by that.
"I can do it."
At the same time Dune pointed her index finger at the target, there was a pon! sound, and a hole the size of one finger opened. When we checked, the part of the hole had become a clean cylinder and fallen to the other side.
"As expected of a spirit. Humans can't go this far."
Even Eleanor-sama was impressed.
"I can do it too."
When Mel extended her arm while still in her winged form, a hole opened in the same way, and another cylinder was created.
When Paul-san tried, the board cracked to the size of the hole Eleanor-sama had made. It seems even a high-level mage can't make a hole.
"The magic control power is too different. Unless it's fired at a tremendous speed, one cannot imitate Eleanor-sama, let alone Dune or Mel."
He raised both hands in surrender.
When Lyudmila tried, it hit the board with a loud sound. She might be able to knock out a rat.
"Wait a minute. I'll try too."
Mary worked hard to try to produce a small [Water] ball, but she exhausted herself while only being able to produce one about the size of a fist. It seems she can't adjust the output itself. When she fired it as it was, it just splashed water on the board.
It might be the limit for someone who can only use one low-level magic.
"Mary, start by producing small ones first. But don't push yourself too hard. Let's see, on days you haven't used magic at all, about five or six times a day. If you do it too much, you'll lose consciousness."
"Yes... I'm sorry."
Even with only one low-level magic, she can apparently do something like what Lyudmila did. It seems to have the power of an adult's punch.
In Mary's case, fainting and losing consciousness are daily occurrences, so I'd definitely like her to practice.
"Jeanne, aren't you going to fire anything?"
"I'm not particularly..."
Beatrix, who had caught her breath, asked, but holy magic only reacts to things like monsters. As you can see by comparing it with Marcelo-san's [Holy], larger and thicker is more effective.
"Oh, but you've become able to fly Fireflies."
I can fly them myself, but I just let them drift around nearby.
"Jeanne's magic is harmless to those who are as they should be. That's why it won't make a hole in the wood."
Dune helped me out, but Henry-sama reacted to this.
"You say interesting things. Does that mean monsters are not as they should be?"
"That's right. Those guys have lost sight of their original forms."
"What are their original forms?"
"For example, a bear... a normal animal bear becomes a demonic bear, right? The original form is the animal bear, and the one that went wrong is the demonic bear."
"Hmm. Is it the same for the Orcs?"
"Orcs are Orcs. However, those guys are not those who should originally be in this world... in other words, you could say they are not as they should be."
When Henry-sama crossed his arms with a "Hmm," Eleanor-sama took over.
"Where is the place the Orcs should originally be?"
"I don't know. Maybe they sprang up from somewhere. They aren't something in this world that changed; they were either created by something that changed, or maybe they were summoned."
There is a word called 'summoning.' It apparently means calling someone who is not of this world from some other world.
There are several worlds in this world, including Heaven and Hell, and the church explains that the Goddess usually lives in a world different from ours.
Since I don't usually think about monsters, Dune's words were a shock.
I have received a new bookmark registration.
Thank you very much.