CH 79.1

On the day of the festival, Oulheim was teeming with life.

The number of smiles on the faces of citizens and the number of people roaming the streets was incomparable to that of last year’s battle royale I had participated in.

Guards barreled out between the crowd and pushed the masses to make a passage.

Just then someone shouted.

“The dancers are coming!”

I looked over the sea of heads and saw that something large and grand was coming from the other end of the road. A little while later, we will soon be seeing the parade of the dancers.

“Shouldn’t you be hiding?”

I asked Shedia, who was jumping on her heels to catch a sight of the parade.

On the way to Oulheim she had clamored half the way about being killed by the vampires, now instead of hiding, she was here, enjoying the festival like just any other normal citizen.

“It’s okay, I’m in disguise.”

“Your thick coat and tight-fitting hat are only making people look at you suspiciously.”

“…I’m disguising myself as a sick person.”

She started jumping again to see the parade. When she came to kill me that night, she was exuding a bloody atmosphere but at times like this, she was like a child.

I smiled and slipped my hands between her armpits before hefting her up and saddling her on my shoulders.

“?!”

Shedia, startled, struggled to get off me and hop to the ground.

“Stay still. You are so short, you won’t be able to see the parade nicely.”

“I’m just not tall.”

“When you are smaller than average, it means you are short. Now look over there. The dancers are coming.”

Shedia, who was looking at me with a puffed-up expression on her face, snapped her head with joy, her expression brightening.

I smiled and turned my gaze towards the parade.

Music and singing.

In line with it, dancers in tight clothes dancing.

Fast when the music flowed softly, slow when it flowed heavily.

The music, song, and dance of the dancers were woven together into one to create an exquisite and harmonious performance.

‘On the wooden structure, the three women in the center are first-class dancers, and those around them are the second-class dancers who accompany them to make them stand out.’

And the dancers who danced on the ground with their faces covered with veils were third-class dancers.

While people cheered at the beautiful appearance of the first and second grade dancers, I looked at the rows of third grade dancers.

Among them, Katarina must be present.

‘It would have been easier if they hadn’t covered their faces.’

Only second-class dancers and above were allowed to reveal their faces.

Revealing your face meant revealing yourself to the world as a dancer.

An inexperienced third-grade dancer was not qualified for that.

But Katarina’s case was different.

She has the skills to be a second-class dancer and maybe even a first-class. Nevertheless, the reason she is still a third-class dancer is because of some intricate circumstances.

I looked for the best dancer among the third class dancers. At first glance, they looked similar. Naturally, they had done coordination practice for the parade.

But if one looked closely, the difference was present.

There is a big difference between simply following memorized movements and understanding the meaning of the movements and giving them meaning.

‘Found her.’

One of the third grade dancers was exuding a different energy and demeanor from the others.

(King’s Sense)!

The expanded senses were focused on the field of vision.

A slender, elastic, copper-colored waist and well-endowed breasts.

Orange hair protruding slightly through the veil and then tucked back in again.

These are all characteristics of Katarina I know.

“Shedia. That girl over there… Whatcha you doing?”

Shedia was drawing lines on a piece of paper as she watched the parade. Feeling my gaze, she hurriedly stuffed back the piece of paper.

“…Nothing.”

Nothing, hm.

…it looked kind of a bucket list.

“Let’s focus. Do you see that dancer over there?”

“I do.”

“Follow her.”

“Until when?”

“Continue until the end of the festival.”

“…”

Shedia’s shoulders drooped helplessly.

Clearly, she was enjoying the parade and wanted to see more of what the festival had to offer.

“I’ll give you a moonstone after the day is over.”

“!”

Her droopy shoulders straightening up, she looked at me with her eyes wide open.

Her eyes searching for the truth in my words.

“Really. So please do it.”

Shedia nodded her head frantically and came down from my shoulders. Slapping a small salute, she cut into the crowd, and disappeared.

‘I can leave Katarina’s movement to Shedia…’

I got out of the crowd and walked down the street.

* * *

When people think of nightlife, they think of things like alcohol, gambling, drugs and wh*rehouses.

However, the original meaning of nightlife was to have fun, and any games that can be enjoyed as well as those mentioned above are included in entertainment.

And the kingdom of Alitia is a kingdom of entertainment.

All kinds of entertainment are developed thanks to its unique free atmosphere.

The dancer’s dance parade is one of them.

How many men do not fall for the charming dance moves performed by a beautiful woman?

The men, drunk under the dancer’s seductive dance, craved to see them dance one more time. For that purpose, they were willing to open their wallet.

And the dancer is a lady selling dance.

This place, the ‘Coffin of Starlight,’ was created as the two interests met.

Here, anyone could pay to watch the dancers dance. They can watch it alone in a separate room, or put it on stage and watch it with other audiences. All at the customer’s discretion.

Of course, private rooms were more expensive.

“Welcome. Welcome to the Coffin of Starlight.”

A beautiful woman dressed as a dancer greeted us with a smile.

“Are you here to avail the services of Coffin of Starlight?”

“Indeed so.”

“Is this your first time at the Coffin of Starlight?”

“It’s my first, but I know roughly how it works.”

“That’s good. Is there any particular dancer you are looking for? If there isn’t…”

“There is.”

“Oh, I see.”

The dancer flashed a stiff smile before quickly regaining her smile and asked the name of the dancer.

“Katarina.”

“Um, Katarina… Katarina…?”