CH 55

Tussa-san wanted to do it, I didn’t want to do it, and Fikar would only do it if I did too. Gartis-san and the 7:3 Brothers, who were in charge of prepping for the evening festival, all tried to convince us to compromise on our brilliantly different viewpoints.

In the meantime, Tussa-san’s mushrooms, which appeared frequently, and my Halloween-colored mushrooms, which were showing up more often than usual for some reason, were all turned into snacks for Su as soon as they were discovered. Su, sitting outside, couldn’t help but roar for joy at this sudden influx of treats.

“In the first place, if we’re talking about fairy blessings, why not try the weaver onee-sans?”

Tortea’s stewardesses, weavers whose works impacted our every moment, were said to weave high-quality clothes thanks to blessings from the fairies.

However, to my question, each member of the 7:3 crew shook their head.

“Unfortunately, the candidates are limited to women bearing perversity mushrooms.”

“But I heard that a long time ago, weaver girls sometimes played the role of Sorceress…”

“The more people there are, the more likely conflicts become.”

“50 years ago, a war between women broke out.”

“Goodness gracious, horrible!”

The 7:3 crew nodded in agreement as “mhm, mhm”s echoed throughout the room.

It seemed like Cecile-san had danced for the evening festival back when she was possessed by perversity mushrooms. I could only imagine how beautiful her performance must’ve been – the performance of a girl whose beauty nine years ago couldn’t have been any less than her current fairy-like incarnation.

If that’s who I’m being compared against, my unwillingness to participate can only grow stronger. I tugged on Fikar’s cheeks to interrupt his bunting session and asked a question in a serious tone.

“Fikar, I’m not interested in dancing, so why don’t you try doing it with Tussa-san?”

Fikar’s normally immobile facial muscles twitched slightly, and he shook his head feebly as he stared dazedly at me. His squirming, deep blue eyes hit a nerve.

If you keep looking at me like a big dog in trouble, of course I’m going to feel like I’m the one doing something wrong!

“But, I don’t really know anything about acting or dancing…”

“The role of Hero isn’t that hard to perform, and the Sorceress is even easier!”

“I’ll get nervous in front of so many people…”

“It’s just a festival in the countryside~ And from what I hear, your worries will wash away once you start dancing~”

I should’ve been talking to Fikar, but for some reason, rebuttals were being hurled at me from across the table. Looks like the 7:3 group wasn’t just a bunch of thin-skinned people, and they soberly crushed my complaints with pinpoint accuracy.

Tussa-san glared at the organizers, who had awoken their reverence towards me.

“By the way, why do you want to play this role, Tussa-san?”

“Once the roles are decided, I’ll be spending a lot of time practicing with the strongest man in ages, you know? Even if he doesn’t join in, he’s the popular one that will get plenty of offers.”

“Ah, it’s that, then…”

Thinking about a stable married life… well, I would if I wasn’t about to be strangled by Fikar. Really strong people can take a person’s life just by hugging them… Fikar continued rubbing his cheek against me, even though I was gasping for air and poking him for dear life.

What the heck, do you hate the idea of being Tussa-san’s future husband so much?

According to the 7:3-sans’ comments, as the potential main attractions of the grand festival, candidates were often courted by numerous people each, and if you were lucky enough to win the role, you might even snag a local celebrity.

With its long history and its additional role as a magical ceremony, the evening festival was indisputably popular.

Before the performance, the actors playing the Hero and the Sorceress make offerings to the enshrined fragment of the Star Stone, praying for a good harvest and for good health until the next Great Summer. As far as we knew, the Hero and Sorceress were directly blessed by the Star Stone, which was part of the reason why they were considered such precious existences.

Fikar was a real Hero himself and, if he were to receive the Star Stone’s blessing, he would be worshipped just for breathing. Maybe he should practice an archaic smile.

“I’m feeling more and more unsure…”

Shouldn’t I turn down the offer, even if that means having to shake off Fikar’s quivering eyes?

Perhaps sensing my thoughts, the 7:3 group’s representative added to the list of merits.

“From what I’ve heard from Mesil-san, Sumire-san and Fikar-san are big gourmets, or…?”

“No, no, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“If you agree to perform, we’ll give you as many dishes as you want from all over the continent!!”

Most of the offerings made to the Star Stone were related to food, and since it was said that only people who made offerings could receive a blessing on this occasion, businesspeople, adventurers, and ordinary people alike tried their hardest to offer elaborate dishes.

In turn, merchants and vendors took advantage of this opportunity to buy and sell rare ingredients from afar, keeping some to offer a dish of their own at the evening festival of every town and city along their routes. Rumor had it that the first generation of a celebrated merchant family in the royal capital was blessed with prosperity by making offerings in such a manner.

For the most part, the evening festival was held locally, but since Tortea was where the big performance happened, many chose to send offerings to Tortea, no matter how far away they were.

“There will be many fine ingredients you normally wouldn’t get your hands on! The eggs of northern king thrush1 are excellent~ Fairy pigs with fat that melts in your mouth are offered alive, so you can cook them however you please! Naturally, we’ll prepare it to your liking!”

“F, Fairy pigs…”

The liver pâté, whose deep, rich flavor left an impact on my tongue – without a fishy odor to assault my nose – rushed to my mind. Northern king thrush eggs were mythical delicacies, too, known as the eggs of kings. To get all that for free…

“More stores will be opened for the festival. Therefore! You’ll be able to shop all you want!”

“Thank you, we’ll do our best.”

“Hold it, you’re being lured in with food?! You didn’t like it a minute ago!”

I nodded my head, having been pulled in by an offer with skill rivaling TV infomercials.

I’m sorry, Tussa-san.

I think we all need good food in our lives.