CH 71

Chapter 71 - God Migration 3

The God Migration story ends here. 

***

They went down the hallway of the royal palace and thanked the guard on duty, then Cain and Dianna returned to the line. 

They thanked the people in front and behind Ilvalino and smoothly reentered the line.

It seemed to be effective to greet people while passing through.  Even a grandmother who did not know how wonderful Dianna’s big brother was patted his head. 

Thanks to the nap she was still going strong, the three of them played Shiritori and told riddles to pass the time. 

“Thank you for the year god!!” 

Just as they were playing to guess the numbers of thumbs to match the signal, they heard the people behind them yell thanks to the gods. The three raised their heads in wonder. 

“Thank you!” 

From the people surrounding them, a second chorus erupted. 

Dianna was surprised by the sudden loud voices and sprung up from her spot. 

“Dianna Rabbit Kufufufu.” Cain tried to hide the laughter on his lips, and Ilvalino was looking away as if he didn’t see. 

“We are in your hands this year, god!!!” 

Again, they heard thanks for the god but this time it was for the one coming. The three looked at each other and this time they mingled their loud voices with the people. 

“Please take care of us!!!” 

Clang. Clang. 

While the sound of the chorus of voices lingered the sound of the bell echoed. It was the signal that the year had ended and a new one had begun. 

In addition, the people around them applauded with gloved hands, then the line began to slowly advance and they followed. Occasionally they could hear the sound of a small bell jingling mixing with the crowd, but over it all the New Year bell rang without stopping. 

“The sound of the bell is sometimes small and sometimes big isn’t it…” 

Dianna said as she pointed up at the sky. The sound of the bells wasn’t in the sky, but Cain felt that the sound of the bells coming from in front of them, rose above his head into the night sky to fill every corner of the city. He sighed and as he looked up into the sky it looked white and cloudy.  

“Strong people and weak people have different sounds. People that are able to ring the bell with lots of force will produce a bigger sound.” 

“Then Di will do her best to make the biggest sound!” 

Dianna snorted excitedly. 

Finally, the three of them arrived and it was their turn. The helper next to the bell looked at Dianna and offered her a small bell string that she could pull. 

“The young lady is small, so this will be better.” 

So that was it, earlier the different level of bell sounds was due to the young children having a small bell to ring. Cain nodded but Dianna swelled her cheeks in frustration. 

Like a lady, she didn’t complain directly to the staff but instead turned to Cain with a strong gaze as if to say, “I will leave it to you.” 

“Alright. Leave it to me!” 

With a sly smile, Cain beckoned to Ilvalion and together they stood under the bell. When he told the helper the three of them would pull it together he understood and relinquished the offer of the small bell. 

Cain lifted Dianna up so that she could grab the rope to ring the bell. 

“Hold it tightly.” 

As he said this, he reached around Dianna as if in a hug and held onto the rope that rang the bell. Ilvalino who stood across from them held the rope at a point a little bit lower than where Cain was holding it. 

Cain nodded at Ilvalino then yelled, “Ready…One…two…three!”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

Cain and Ilvano stretched then used their body weight to pull on the rope with all their might. Dianna’s feet floated to the ground firmly and the force of the pull bent her knees. 

The bell resounded with a massive CLANG!

With the same forceful momentum, the string was yanked upwards. Cain and Ilvalino continued to hold the string firmly. Dianna also was holding the rope and was being supported by Cain from behind. The force of the rope going upwards took all of them off their feet causing the bell to ring again. 

When the string was fully raised, Cain and Ilvalino once again used their body weight to pull down on the rope. The bell resounded with another CLANG!

It was certain that the people who witnessed the sight of the three children ringing the bell thought it was the loudest ring from the bell they heard all day, and the sound echoed throughout the city. 

The garden in front of the royal palace was filled with the aristocrats gathering for the god migration. By the time they returned the royal palace garden was wide open to the sky. 

Dismiya and Elysee had received coats from butler Parepantle and gazed happily upon Dianna’s satisfied smile as she approached. 

“It’s good that you were able to ring the bell this year.” 

“Di is finally able to join the ranks of adults that are able to stay up on New Years.” 

Dianna blushed under the praise of her tipsy parents but immediately began to feel drowsy. 

With the excitement of ringing the bell she had been completely awake, but seeing the faces of her parents, with the wide-open courtyard illuminated by magical light, she felt her eyelids grow heavy and they began to fall. 

Perhaps it was also the joy from achieving the goal of ringing the New Year bell but her sleepiness was starting to make her unsteady on her feet. 

Ilvalino took Dianna and Cain’s coats from the coatroom. He placed a cloak over Cain and Cain placed a cloak over Dianna. When everyone had their cloaks, they walked to where the carriage was waiting and rode back to the mansion. 

It seemed that Parepantle and Ilvalino were talking about something on the coach seat, but Cain who was inside the carriage with his family could not hear what they were saying. Cain didn’t have time to worry about conversations he couldn’t hear, after all Dianna had fallen asleep on his lap and he was busy admiring her face and stroking her hair. 

☆☆☆

“Sold out? The orphanage was able to sell everything at their stall?” 

Cain who had been playing Nina the female knight with Dianna was surprised to hear Ilvalino’s report. 

All the goods that were offered on God Migration Day at the orphanage stall were sold out, and that was big news. The goods sold were the handkerchiefs made by the orphans as an extension of their playtime, as well as, the things made by Serenosta during his training. 

Some of the embroidered handkerchiefs were made by the older orphans and they were good at it, but the younger orphans were not as good, and often there were loose threads or messy stitching. 

“Apparently in the city “Osebo” is popular. People on God Migration Day would give presents to the people who have taken care of them throughout the year as a sign of gratitude.” 

When Ilvalino heard the news from Serenosta he informed Cain. Serenosta used to stay with the orphans, but he now owned an accessories shop and lived among the common folk.  Even at his live-in apprenticeship, there were not many messages to “lovers” but rather to “mothers” and “daughters who often helped out”. 

It seemed to be the idea of a girl that was working at the shop, but the exact details were not known. 

However, it seemed that the orphanage’s handkerchiefs were sold to many young men looking for gifts for their mother’s last minute. 

“The reason they sold seems to be they looked as if they were handmade so the young men could convince their mothers they made it themselves. So, they insisted on the orphans continuing their practice of embroidery.” 

“Osebo…”

The act of giving presents at the end of the year was called Osebo. It seemed that the people had the same knowledge that Cain had from his former life.  

It seemed like this world also held some of the same memories he had of his previous life. Cain was concerned if this would help Dianna, harm her, or not make a difference in her future at all. 

He also wondered about his talk about “other worlds” with the woman in black earlier. He wondered if the memory meant that something would be shown to him in the future. 

“A chance!” 

Cain was consumed by his thoughts but was returned to reality by the Holy Sword Ariad. Cain with a face consumed with love pressed his cheeks up against Dianna’s and held her tight. Then he smelt her hair. 

“I have been defeated. Dianna the knight sure is strong.” 

He picked up Dianna and swung her around then they both collapsed on the bed laughing.