CH 1011

1011 - Around that Time ①

Neun invited her friend, Hapti, to the White God Festival…… and after meeting up with Fors, who got lost and was under Kaito and his group’s care, they hung out in the White God Festival together.

After the three of the four members of the Hero Party looked around the lower-level to some extent, they came to the middle-level.

[……I never thought I’d run into Vier (temp) here. The world sure is small, and taiyakis sure are delicious.]

[No, no, she didn’t look like her at all though!? The only thing that resembles her is the color of her hair…… Also, taiyakis are all about the red bean paste. I won’t acknowledge this custard-filled abomination as taiyaki!]

[Well, I suppose it’s possible for someone to mistake her as Vier if you look at her from behind. Even so, Danish taiyaki huh…… In the first place, why is the batter used in this confectionary called Danish batter? I’ve heard that it was named by someone who used to play the role of Hero, but is that “Danish” based on the name of that person or a place in their world? If they asked me, it’d be better if they just called this custard taiyaki……]

Proceeding harmoniously, the trio ate the taiyaki and each reacted differently. Incidentally, Neun’s hair was currently orange-colored because of the magic that allowed her to change hair color that she learned from Fors back in the Six Kings Festival, and with her hairstyle in the form of a side ponytail, even with her face uncovered by the helmet she usually wore, the people around didn’t realize her identity and were enjoying the festival as usual.

[Neun, why don’t you use Recognition Inhibition Magic? If you use that, you don’t have to disguise yourself, you know?]

[I’m really bad at using Information Concealments like Recognition Inhibition Magic. I can use them, but I have to be very careful or they will break.]

In response to Hapti’s question as to why she didn’t just use Recognition Inhibition Magic, Neun said that she simply isn’t good at that type of magic.

Incidentally, Hapti’s face wasn’t well known to anyone other than her friends because she basically always wore a hood while traveling. Even her statue is built with a hood on.

Meanwhile, Fors had shrunk so much that she didn’t match the appearance of her statue, so neither of them used Recognition Inhibition Magic.

As the three of them continued chatting, they arrived in the main plaza in the middle-level.

This area was treated as the main venue for the White God Festival, so many guests gathered at this place, while on the stage at the center of the venue, there were plays and other such performances by Gods.

[It seems like they’re performing some kind of play?]

[Ahh~~ It’s probably that, isn’t it? The play they often perform at the Festival of Heroes, the story of the Creation of the World.]

[Ahh, if I remember correctly, Shallow Vernal-sama first created the three realms, and then she created the three Supreme Gods and the High-ranking Gods, who created the foundations and the laws of the realms, which became the world we know today…… or something like that? I hadn’t been to Festivals of Heroes often, so I only knew what my family told me……]

Hearing Fors’ words, Neun nodded in understanding.

The Festival of Heroes is Neun’s least favorite festival to attend, and she had really only attended a handful of them. Rather, in the first place, she didn’t want to get anywhere close to the Friendship City, Hikari, which inevitably kept her away from the Festival of Heroes.

[However, that’s just a story they made for the show, right? I heard that Shallow Vernal-sama actually made everything, and then just left it all to the Gods to manage.]

[I heard that too. Well, I guess we can just enjoy it as the play that it is, right? More importantly, where’s Laguna?]

The three of them came here because they wanted to meet up with Laguna, the last member of the Hero Party, and each of them moved their gazes to look for her, but they weren’t able to find her. She also wasn’t in the dignitaries’ seats where the rulers of the Human Realm were meant to be seated.

They conveyed in advance via hummingbird that the three of them will be here, so the reason why she isn’t sitting in the dignitaries’ seats is that she went away for the moment to meet up with the three of them…… but it was quite difficult to find the petite Laguna in the rather crowded venue.

[Hmmm…… Should I call her?]

[Call her? Wait right there, she’s quite popular, both as a King and as an individual. Heedlessly calling her would bring about an uproar, don’t you think?]

""

[Ahh, it’s alright, I won’t call her by her name……]

Saying this, a nasty grin appeared on Hapti’s lips as she inhaled, before she shouted loudly.

[Oiiiii~~, Noja Loli~~ Where are you? Where’s the fake hag, who, even though is the second youngest of us four and isn’t even that much older than the youngest Neun, pretends to be old———– Whoa there! That was close!]

(T/N: Like FGO’s Wu Zetian who ends sentences with -noja/-nanoja)

As soon as Hapti, who was shouting happily, hurriedly crouched down, the tip of a spear pierced the position where Hapti’s face had been a moment ago.

[……]

[……Yahooo~~ Long time no see?]

[Yeah, long time no see indeed, Hapti. Glad to see you’re alive…… so I can kill you with my own hands!]

[Whoaaa, someone’s real mad!]

[How dare you, using people’s insecurities……]

Turning around, Hapti saw Laguna, who obviously had a look of rage on her face.

Incidentally, the ages of the four members of the Hero Party, in order of seniority, were Hapti, Fors, Laguna and then Neun. Even if one considered that she didn’t know that Hapti was a Demon at that time, she still wouldn’t have been the oldest in the party as long as Fors was there.

[Insecurities? Isn’t that something you’ve been calling yourself? I know it, you know? About how you tell Kaito about how you’re already old~~ Considering Kaito’s connections, Laguna is clearly on the younger side if you classified yourself!]

[Nghhhhhh…… T- There’s this thing called flow…… I- I was disguised as an old man when I first met him…… In fact, I don’t say such things to Kaito that much after that!]

[At the age of 1100, calling yourself old…… Pfft.]

[……Die, Hapti!]

[Whoa!]

Watching Laguna wave her spear with a face red with shame and anger, and Hapti responding with an expression that seemed to agitate Laguna, Neun and Fors chuckled.

[……How should I say this…… This feels nostalgic, doesn’t it?]

[Yeah, Hapti teasing Laguna and Laguna getting angry. It was a pattern I saw an astounding amount of times…… It feels really nostalgic. Well, in the end, even though she really didn’t call her by name, they still gathered quite a bit of attention, which reaffirmed that Hapti was indeed a natural-born troublemaker.]

[……I agree.]

Serious-senpai : [Reality is that in this world, people who are just over 1000 years old are actually on the younger side.]

? ? ? : [Well, most of the people Kaito-san knows are actually thousands or tens of thousands years old after all. Considering that, someone who’s just over a thousand years old really would be considered young.]