Chapter 20

Amid the bonfires burning in the estate, thousands of people danced, sang, ate, fought, laughed, cried as they had fun.

The Autumn Festival of Beluan Territory was an event enjoyed by the entire estate. Everyone except for a few poor knights and guards roamed the streets and had fun.

Arsene too, was participating in this festival today as a citizen though, not a knight.

“Ursula! Ursula! Ursula!”

“Sarmak! Don’t lose!”

As the two men desperately competed with arm wrestling, the people betting on them drank and cheered from behind.

After a while, when the match was finally decided, mixed reactions poured out with sighs and cheers.

The muscular bald man raised his arms high and let out a triumphant roar.

“You bastard! Hey, you weakling bastard! Give my money back!”

“Wow, you’re the best! Sarmak!”

Someone tugged on Arsene’s sleeves as he watched the commotion.

It was Elise wearing a black robe.

“Can Arsene win in arm wrestling with that person?”

“I’ll be in big trouble if I do it.” 

Perhaps, Arsene’s arm wrestling with a normal person would lead to the breaking of the opponent’s hand with his grip force if he did not control his power correctly.

Arsene, who was sitting and watching the next contestant start their fight, saw a look of boredom on Elise’s face and asked.

“Shall we go? Is there anything else you want to see?”

“Dancing in the central square.”

It was the tenth festival held since Elise was born, but this was the first time she saw it properly.

For that reason, Elise’s feeling while watching the festival as she held hands with Arsene and turned his head here and there, was at its peak. 

“There!”

In the central square, dozens of people were surrounding the fire with their arms around their partner’s shoulders. 

They were constantly cheering ‘Hu! Ha!’ and danced with both legs stretched alternately.

There were not only ordinary people in the circle of people but there were also a few squires who knew Arsene’s face.

Seeing many people moving in unison evoked a strange sense of elevation.

“It’s amazing. It’s the first time I’ve seen people dance like that.”

Arsene also agreed because it was the first time he had seen it in his current life.

After that, the two were absorbed in appreciating the strange group dance for a long time.

Arsene was used to stimulating events, so this festival wasn’t very fun or exciting, but being in an environment where many people enjoyed it made him feel like his heart was being healed.

Once again,  Arsene felt that his heart had been devastated by cutting down and killing bandits in the last battle and fighting for life and death with demons.

The wounds inflicted in that battle were not only on the body.

“I want to try it with you, but I can’t, right?”

“I think so.”

The magic effect of the robe that Elise was wearing was not strong enough that just looking at her directly made others feel her wizard’s characteristic strongly, so it was forbidden for her to get too close and draw attention.

Elise, who had turned her head to and fro, pointed to somewhere and shouted.

“Sen! Sen! Over there! isn’t that delicious?”

“No, you shouldn’t eat outside carelessly.”

Elise, who saw the grilled skewers on a street vendor, smacked her lips and said that, but Arsene firmly restrained her.

Even in the district where there existed a food sanitation law, street vendors in this world couldn’t be trusted.

Arsene couldn’t even guess what that skewer really was.

Whether it was a rat or a beast, at least he would be lucky if it was not the meat of a bug-type beast.

When he was comforting Elise, who was stamping her feet in regret, there was a solemn voice calling Arsene.

“Oh, you’re here to enjoy the festival too.”

Palato, who suddenly appeared, was chewing on the skewers that Arsene had advised Elise not to eat.

“Oh, Sir Palato. But that one you’re holding…”

“Would you like to try it? I think it’s pork but the taste is… Whoa!”

Palato took a few steps back and held his head with a frivolous groan that didn’t match him at all.

He was in such a hurry that his bangs were soaked in oil as he covered his head with the hand holding the skewer.

Arsene, who had been thinking about why all of a sudden, realized that Palato had discovered Elise next to him.

Perhaps Palato also realized his ugliness, he coughed belatedly and corrected his posture.

“Ugh, excuse me… Lady Elise. It’s been a while.”

“…Yes.”

Elise snuggled behind Arsene as she received Palato’s words with a sullen look.

Arsene looked at Palato’s attitude a little while ago and was finally able to confirm who the person Elise had pulled out the hair of.

Obviously, Palato wasn’t this afraid even when he met a beast. 

“Oh, this is my daughter. I’ve said it before. Airi.”

The little girl next to Palato bowed her head in greeting.

She looked several years younger than Arsene.

After a brief period of silence, Palato suddenly turned his head around and said,

“Well then, I’ll go first. Come to think of it, our young friends are having a lot of fun over there. If there’s nothing to see, please try it.”

Arsene glanced at the quickly disappearing back of Palato and patted Elise’s shoulder, who had a noticeably depressed look.

“Don’t take it too badly, Ellie. It’s not that Sir Palato doesn’t like you. It’s just, um… something important is at stake.”

“…Okay.”

To be honest, even the young Arsene was not confident of being calm at all if his hair was at risk, but what if Palato, whose hair was of an important age, had experienced such a thing himself?

Although he thought it was bad behavior that hurt children, he honestly understood it. 

Arsene spoke first to cheer up the depressed Elise.

“Is there anything more you want to see? Or, as Sir Palato said earlier, I want to say hello to the other knights. He says there are also interesting things.”

“Yeah. Actually, I don’t know what’s there to see anymore.”

Arsene and Elise moved in the direction Palato had spoken.

Compared to a while ago, the age of passers-by was noticeably younger. If the people who danced before were middle-aged, now they were probably young people.

A loud roar was heard in front.

“Whoaa!”

“Get married! Get married!”

There, a few knights and servants gathered, clapping and cheering, and in the center, Carmine was spinning around, holding Genovia like her princess.

“Hey! Let go! I told you! Let me go! You bastard! Why won’t you let me go!?”

Genovia didn’t seem to dislike it since she didn’t shake off Carmine even though she was swearing.

Carmine was cheering with an excited face, throwing away his usual poker face.

When Arsene saw Webble, who was applauding most enthusiastically, he approached him and asked.

“…Sir Webble, what the hell is this?”

“Oh, kid!”

Webble laughed so much that the corners of her eyes were filled with tears.

“Because Genovia suddenly grabbed Carmine and said, ‘Hey! Marry me!’ Was it because of that? After hearing that, Carmine went crazy all of a sudden and became like that! I’ve never seen him like that!”

Arsene was speechless because he was dumbfounded how someone proposing in such a way could have actually worked.

Weren’t they a fantastic couple then?

At least, no one would think that ‘I had no choice but to accept it’ after seeing that image of Carmine.

Another laugh burst out next to him, and when he saw what was going on, it was Genovia, holding Carmine over her head and swinging him.

It was quite surreal to see a man who was over 2 meters in height being caught and was fluttered by a woman of similar height to him.

“Aaaaa!”

“Spin more! More!” 

“Sir Carmine! It’s nice to see you smiling like that!”

The squire was enthusiastic and delighted to see the knights, who were their goals and idols, pleasantly destroyed.

The other commoners were also laughing out loud.

“I’ll listen to what the lord says. I will keep my manners.”

Webble, who was talking happily, saw Elise hiding next to Arsene and trembled.

But for a moment, Webble smiled lightly at Elise, waved his hand slightly, and then consciously looked away.

Although the corners of his lips were trembling, that was a very good attitude toward the wizard.

Arsene said something to divert Weeble’s attention. Pointing to Carmine, who was now being spun around with his ankle grabbed.

“I don’t know if Sir Carmine will get hurt at that rate.”

“Who cares? As long as he doesn’t break somewhere, he’ll get better soon.  Anyway, it went really well! The child born between them will be incredible.”

Webble’s tone sounded a bit awkward to listen to, as it seemed to be talking about the breeding of livestock rather than blessing his close friend’s love.

But thinking about it, it was an extremely natural point of view by the standards of this world.

Usually, if one or both of the parents were knights, the probability of awakening and the amount of magical power when awakening increases.

“First of all, I want to bless their pure love.” 

“Yeah, that’s fine.” 

Webble also agreed and started clapping loudly.

Carmine and Genovia were kissing again, hugging each other.

* * *

Arsene and Elise were walking to the lord’s house, leaving the village where the festival was held in full swing.

It was pretty late at night, so Arsene led Elise in front of her.

“Wow, your eyes really shine. They look like cats.”

“Cats are such a cute metaphor.”

Arsene remembered the appearance of the knights during the expedition, dealing with small bandits who had attacked at night.

Their appearance, walking through the forest with their blue eyes shining, was more like a large beast, like a tiger rather than a cat.

Both of them were cats though. 

“Those two will get married happily, right?” 

“I don’t know. It might not go as well as you thought it would…”

Arsene, who had replied like that, noticed that Elise’s expression was not very good and changed his words slightly.

“Still, they love each other so much. I believe it will be okay.”

“Right!?”

Elise jumped and stamped his feet as if she was immersed in an ambiguous situation to be romantic a while ago.

Seeing it, Arsene smiled involuntarily.

Leaving Elise alone, he muttered, ‘One day, me too…’ Arsene turned his head and looked down at the town glowing in warm orange light.

‘It’s a really nice place.’

Peaceful and prosperous land, friendly and pleasant people.

The place where he was first recognized as a member of society when he had always lived in starvation and humiliation since he was born in this world.

Of course, it was possible because Arsene was a knight, and even here, there were those who died and sacrificed while fighting the constant wandering beasts.

There existed both pain and sadness between people.

It was natural in a society where people lived in such a dangerous and cruel world, or even where they did not. 

Elise was a victim of such a sad reality. 

But even considering that, this land was so charming and splendid that he couldn’t help but wish for it to last forever.

Looking down at the Beluan estate, Arsene put his hands together and prayed.

‘I hope this peaceful daily life will not be broken.’

As he prayed, something brightly shining passed over Arsene’s head.

A star so bright that, for a moment, it felt like the whole world was turning into daylight.

It may be called a comet, but it was too bright to say so.

“Amazing!”

“What the hell is that?”

When all the young people who enjoyed the festival were amazed at the mysterious starlight, there were beings who woke up with the starlight from afar.

The light from afar and the pungent odor that poked the nose. 

Countless magical beasts around the territory began to run in search of the source that stimulated them.