619 Wedding Banquet ④ - Sound in the Woods

"Oh, the Ai-Fa and Asta in Fa's house? Where have you been walking?

After talking to Ravitz and Baim's bloodline, when me and Ai-Fa resumed their tour of Kamadu, they decided to go out there with the Zaza family's sister and brother.

It seems that fruit liquor has already gone a long way, and George-Zaza is cheerfully laughing with a bright red face. Next to it, Sphilla-Zaza was a cool poker face.

"We were sitting back on that rug until just now. Before that, you were touring Kamado one by one."

"Hmm. Didn't that Yumi talk about your friend? As a matter of fact, he didn't try to get close to this seat."

"Yes, I've been face-to-face with her since I usually do, so you want to give up your seat to the others in these places"

That's what I said, and I made him smile back.

"Besides, Yumi had attended several Forestside feasts before, but after all, she rarely acted with me. She herself has a strong desire to interact with a variety of people."

"Hmm. So, really, did you get to find the man your partner deserves? This is a sight to see what happens to those two."

Laughing cheerfully, George-Zaza puts on fruit liquor with a hangover.

Then the soft-sister smiled quietly, "Right."

"If you are a people of a lodging town without nobility, it will not be difficult to give you a wedding. Of course still, I hear there are a lot of different issues waiting for you… if you do your best, you should be able to get over as many of them as you want."

George-Zaza, who was smiling, looks down at his sister's idleness as she smiles at her strange condition.

"Hey, don't throw up thoughtful words with a strangely smug voice. Now, it's like..."

"What is it? You think I haven't been able to break my feelings for Raylis yet?

"Well, I believe that's not true. There can't be such an untouched person in Zaza's main family!

Sphyla-Zaza giggled at her with a rare trick as she did her hand to her mouth.

"I didn't think you were so worried about me. You're unexpectedly worried, aren't you, Georg?"

"So I'm not worried! Not even a bunch of women like you are by the woods!

While stating it that way, Georg-Zaza has always turned his gaze back on us.

"By the way, it's Asta from Fa's house. What kind of work do you do at this feast?

"Yeah. Like the last wedding, I'm only a guest. These feast dishes were made exclusively by Fou's blood."

"Uhm. The folks at Fou can do all this without the help of Fa or Din. My arms felt better than the last wedding feast."

"Yeah, that's true. I agree."

"I still think the feast dish served a few days ago was better. That's just because Fa and Din's Kamadoku numbers are exceptionally good, and the folks at Fou need to be ashamed of themselves."

That being said, when Georg-Zaza distracted his thick chest, he pointed his gaze at Sphyla-Zaza regaining his usual cool.

"In short, that's just to say that Asta and Tour-Din have exceptionally good arms, isn't it? It won't be a reason for you to be great, Georg."

"Beh, there's no such thing as choosing another! Besides, is there anything wrong with being proud of the power of your blood family?

"I don't mind being proud, but don't make such disparaging remarks about Fou's bloodline who prepared such a stunning feast dish. Even the northern clan can hardly cook more feast dishes without the help of Tour-Din."

"Oh my God, you were showing me a funny face until just now..."

Georg-Zaza was licking the mouth of the earthen bottle, bumping and blurring.

Comparing the appearance of its pleasant sister and brother, Ai-Fa is inclined to his little neck.

"Speaking of which, you don't have those of Din or Lid with you. Lately, it seemed like we'd be snuggling around with each other at any time."

"Yeah, I'm acting apart today. The tribes of the North are often seen with fear, so some of them will be easier to bond without us."

"And yet you usually behave together?

Sphilla-Zaza looked back at Ai-Fa while narrowing his eyes a lot.

"I mean, you want to say that we are too bothered by Tour-Din. Then why don't we just say it without clouding the words?"

"No, I'm not going to blame you for that. I think it would be more comforting to have Tour-Din with you guys I know so well."

While stating so, Ai-Fa was smiling only in front of her eyes.

"Besides, I am not a blood family, but I intend to deepen a lot of interaction with Tour-Din. I was delighted that Tour-Din, who was previously weak and eager to see the complexion of others, gained so much strength that he was able to interact with you."

Sphilla-Zaza gently opened his eyes, which were narrowing.

"... even you, Ai-Fa in Fa's house, have such a tender look"

"Hmm. I don't want you to tell me, etc., I wonder if it would be disrespectful to a human being in the chieftaincy muscle"

"That's not true. But..."

and Sphilla-Zaza also had a very gracious eye.

"I am so glad that you, my nearest family, are so considerate of Tour-Din. We can hardly face Din or Lid humans."

"Hmm. Anyway, will you reveal the night at Din or Lid's house today? Tomorrow morning, however, we should deepen our interaction."

This was quite unusual, with Ai-Fa and Sphilla-Zaza staring at you calmly.

Georg-Zaza, who wasn't following the conversation very well, has his eyes rounded properly.

"What the hell are these guys talking about? Though Tour-Din seems to be saying something."

"Yeah. Everyone cares about Tour-Din, I guess that means. Given Tour-Din's character, it must be natural."

"Hmm. You don't have to say that."

George-Zaza glanced down at my face from the height when he put his arms together arrogantly.

"By the way... is Thur-din's stall going well?

"Yes. With each passing day, the number of customers seems to be increasing. Now that it's been half a month, I think you can say you're completely on track."

"Hmm. That's a natural story, too.... So wasn't we talking about Tul-din being invited to Castle Town again in the near future?

"Right. However, Eurifia of Castle Town seems to be devising a way to invite you. I'd like to invite you to a dinner party at the Marquis de Genos and set up a place to interact with Odifia... it's going to have to wait until the auditor of the King's Capital settles down."

After all, inviting the people of the woodland, the common people, to Castle Genos, seems to have a lot of harm. Until Melfried returned from the Wang Capital and settled the matter properly without an auditor and a diplomat, the story was that he could not move in a detour.

"So you're still in an undecided state of affairs. Now, we're resting..."

George-Zaza was twisting his mouth uncomfortably.

"Even the previous one, the Tea Party, could have been accompanied by the northern clan as an escort if it had slipped away for a few more days. How can the people in Castle Town be so bad at each other?"

"Right. But, well, I think I'll be calling you soon. Because Odifia seems more eager to do that"

When I answered like that, the tone of the grass whistle sounded softly on my lid.

Using that as a signal, the banquet costume ladies begin to surround the ritual fire from all over. Finally, the time has come to carve out the dance.

"That's a banquet dance. Isn't Ai-Fa going?

"Hmm. I'm a hunter. It would be inappropriate to join the dance, even though you are not willing to welcome your partner"

"Really? Bye."

Upon his salutation, Sphilla-Zaza proceeded to the centre of the square in a resolute foothold.

"Humph," George-Zaza snorts as he drops off that supple hindsight.

"Is he going to dance? Well, I don't think so, such as a human being wishing for a wedding to the family of the northern clan Zaza main house."

Still, Sphyla-Zaza's advance may be an indication of his determination to live right as a woodland lady.

The unmarried women appear to be joining the circle of noki-nomiso. The non-participation was due only to Ai-Fa and Malfira-Naham and the rest to the girls under the age of fifteen, who could also confirm the appearance of Yun-Sudra and Raina-Rou.

And it's Yumi.

I didn't see Terrier-Mass, but Yumi stood on the spot, too.

At the previous Luu family feast, Yumi, who had turned to the sight that he should not squeeze out, was joining the circle today.

"Yo, Asta and the others were with George-Zaza."

And Rudd-Lou came a little closer.

"If you think you've finally left the rug, it's already a dance limit.... That, Ai-Fa doesn't dance?

"... there's no reason for me to dance"

"Hmm? But if Yumi dances, isn't it okay for Ey-Fa to dance? If you have a wedding date, you're gonna show that person the dance, aren't you?

"Wow, I haven't decided on a wedding partner or anything! If you don't do something funny, you can't just do it!

"So he's with Yumi, right? You know, Yumi, it's decided, but it's not decided to give you a wedding."

Either way, it seems to be a finality within Rudd-Lou that the person for the future wedding of Ai-Fa is being determined.

After all, Ai-Fa, who cannot deny it altogether even on this occasion, was trembling smugly, blushing.

In the meantime, different tones are now blown from the grass whistle.

It is the tone of a horizontal whistle, by Joo-Lan and others, and by a man loaded with drills in the boarding town.

"Oh, that sound sounds amazing after all. I want you to tell me how to blow it, too."

Rudd-Lou was listening to this transverse whistle, even at the feast the other day.

A melody, usually blown with a grass whistle, monotonous but with a unique rhythm and discouragement, is brilliantly reproduced by a horizontal whistle. And the tone of the grass whistle was overlapping there, and it was finally beginning to tremble the atmosphere at night magnificently.

The banquet costume ladies begin to move loosely, as they chase that melody.

There is not a defined choreography. It was just that everyone was loosing themselves to the whistle melodies, and it was as if they were all forming one dance in different movements.

Eventually the melodies become more intense, overlaid with the tones that beat the bones of Giva and the tones that trample the ground. Along with that, the ladies danced quickly and enthusiastically.

In the light of the ritual fire, the vermilion of the jade creates an unspoken twinkle.

The women twisting their brown limbs were like incarnations of fire.

However usually clingy or feminine they are, they possess the life force and heat of the forestside folk. Especially the women of the smaller clan had many temperamental women, but there was no less dynamic than the dance seen in the Lew family.

And it's Yumi.

Yumi was also dancing with unbeatable intensity by the woodland ladies.

It just feels like, after all, only Yumi emits a unique color.

If the other ladies were a wild flame, Yumi was like a wind blowing through it.

No matter how hard he moves, Yumi moves lightly. It looks light, smooth and very graceful. Every one of those things, kicking the ground and stroking the atmosphere with his fingers, was a subtlety that didn't make him feel gravity.

And Yumi was laughing.

Very naturally, very happy, with a full smile on his face. That look alone conveyed how much Yumi enjoyed the occasion.

Yumi laughs lightly in the midst of the women who are burning up their lives, as if they were chunks of passion. It felt like it was bringing strange harmony.

Like the flames that got the wind, the women move so forcefully. Like the wind in its fierce flames, Yumi's movement also accelerates. Such a strange feeling filled my chest.

And - all the whistles make a dull treble.

In keeping with it, the women knelt down once they had twisted their limbs violently. Yumi also kneels flutterly, one tempo late.

So after a few moments of silence, the cheer exploded.

And the women rise up, and bow down, as the fierceness to the point of earlier is a lie.

"Uhm. You had a fever for the dance tonight! You've been accidentally blinded."

"Uh, I wonder if that lateral whistle is his fault after all. Wow, I think it was powerful."

George-Zaza and Rudd-Lou were also innocently ringing their hands. I take a deep breath in the comfort of consuming calories just watching something.

Then the softly eye-fa of the straw leaned over his lips.

"... looks like you've been blinded a long time too, Asta."

"Yeah, it was so powerful. I knew it would be amazing to dance around the woods."

When I smiled and looked back, Ai-Fa was holding her lips together as to why.

"Is that it? Um... Was it a bad idea for me to be too enthusiastic?

"Nothing's wrong. If you're an unmarried man, you deserve to be enthusiastic."

Ey-fa turned his back on me.

It is a very loving trick, but I could not crumble this.

"No, you know, nothing. I wasn't looking for someone for the wedding, were I? That's all you know, right?

"... so I would be saying that nothing is wrong? You don't have to make an explanation."

I tried to argue reflexively again, but swallowed the word along the way. This must be a case in which there is no point in putting together a little logic.

So, how can I get Ey-Fa to be good at it, with my head fully spinning instantly, I decided to be ready to utter the word.

"... As far as I'm concerned, I just wanted to see Ai-Fa dance. If we do, we won't be talking about enthusiasm."

Ai-Fa instantly turned bright red in her face, and she scowled at me.

"Oh, what are you talking about? Don't say such words in a place with other people's ears."

"That's why I'm whispering. But I wanted you to convince me."

Even I would be blushing so badly that I can't beat Ai-Fa.

That's how George-Zaza peered in from the top as we were invisible and ashamed.

"What are you talking about? Now it looks like we're all gonna be dancing together again."

"Oh, oh, we'll just be joining you. George-Zaza, please join us."

"Hmm. This evening, don't get too carried away. Let me turn to the sights for a while."

"I see. I'll see you later."

Neither Georg-Zaza nor Rudd-Lou tried to move off the spot. Maybe because the young girls who dance with them are absent, they don't get on. At the banquet a few days ago, they were joining the dance floor in a truly enjoyable way.

In the meantime, the others were gathering around the ritual fire, placing wooden dishes and earthen bottles. I guess only the people of Die and Lehn do not know this new lesson. Enjoying dancing for all, regardless of gender or age, was a very new lesson, incorporated by Yumi's prophecy after the Easter experience.

(Think of it like this, Yumi's influence is a cool thing. Terrier-Mass and Dora people are invited to the woods just as much, but not as scared of Yumi as anyone can advance.)

When I thought of it that way, Joo-Run's voice echoed.

"Um, before we all dance, can I ask you one thing? I'd like to give you some time to be inviting a guest named Yumi from town today!

People were watching Joo-Run with a decent eye.

Yumi, who was trying to get away from the ritual fire, rushes over to you in a hurry.

"Hey, hey, Joo-Run, what are you talking about all of a sudden? Get some time, what are you going to do?

"That, of course, asks Yumi to sing. You wouldn't have any more effective help to make people aware of the human charm of Yumi, would you?

"Then don't be silly! If we all have fun dancing, that's all right, right?

Then a long shadow approached you. It is Badu-Fou, the partitioner of this feast.

"No, the story of Yumi being good at something called a song had been heard a lot by other blood clans. I've been thinking about having you present during this feast, too."

"Ba, up to Birdu-Fow, what are you talking about!? My song is really not that big of a deal!

"No, I hear the women of my blood were enough to weep with it. There is no other song by the woods, so I hope you'll let me know."

Thus Birdu-Fow looked around at the people who were lined up on the spot.

"The end of the feast is still far away, so we can all take as much time to dance later. Before I do, I'd like to ask Yumi, a guest of the Inn Town, to hear something called a town song, but what do you think?

People were responding to it with pleasant cheers.

Yumi said, "Give me a break!," he says, screaming.

"He said to sing alone in front of all these people!? For the most part, if you sing in such a perfect place, your voice will flow somewhere!

"Is it? Even during the Westwind Pavilion, this whistle was an unbeatable voice, so I don't think there's anything to worry about."

Jou-Ran laughed and said so.

Yumi glances back at you with a gentle eye.

"Damn, you... resent me, Joo-Run?

"Yeah? I don't like being resented by Yumi. I'll apologize for as much later, please forgive me."

Saying it that way, Joo-Run narrowed his eyes so that he could see even the eyelids.

"And let me just say this first. I was so moved by the dance earlier. If Yumi had been a forest lady, I think I would have wished to be married here."

Yumi's face, which she had originally cared about, turns red at once.

"What are you talking about in public like this! By and large, we're not allowed to have a wedding that easy, are we?

"Yes, but I feel that my heart is hardening just now."

Yumi snapped Joo-Run's back while turning bright red.

Ooh, and the people around me are twitching.

"Enough! Don't talk, idiot! I'll sing for you, you blow the whistle!

"Yes, thank you"

Joo-Lan smiled joyfully, covering the horizontal whistle.

"So which is it," Examination of the Moon Goddess "or" Traveling Morning "?

"... than that, if it was a feast, wouldn't The Feast of Vairas be the tightest?

"Yeah? Do songs exist in that song too? In Westwind Pavilion, I haven't seen Yumi sing it..."

"'Cause at that time, before I was singing, you were the one performing The Feast of Vairas."

Yumi turned that way with a red face, whilst jou-run's face was twisted sideways.

"What did you do, if you're so nervous, I don't know if you can sing well. If you're ashamed, it's all your fault."

"I'm sure that won't happen. Yumi will be fine."

Joo-Run lifted his lips to the lateral whistle.

With a pitiful tone, a brave song can be played. Were you adding or subtracting the tone of the grass whistle just now, it was a powerful tone that resonated throughout the vast square?

And there, Yumi's singing is covered.

It is a loud, lingering humi singing with clear delicacy. People were breathing in amazement while that singing sang a bar for you.

(Isn't that amazing, Yumi)

In an environment without one of the microphones, relying solely on the performance of the horizontal whistle, Yumi sings in good spirits. Moreover, it was a brave and passionate song, different from "Examining the Moon Goddess" and "The Morning of Travel" - a song full of such joy and passion that a human being chased by his daily life burns up his life on a feast night.

(I brought the presence of delicious food to the woods. Even Yumi must be able to do all sorts of things by the woods. I... I'm going to be as careful as possible not to get personal, but I've been thinking about how happy Yumi would be to be a family member by the woods too)

I was listening to Yumi's song with that in mind.

This word cannot yet be conveyed to Yumi. If Yumi and Joo-Run make the decision to give you a wedding, that's when I'm going to tell Yumi. Following Schmiral, if Yumi became a family by the woods, I would be sincerely happy -.

(Mother Forest is also listening to Yumi sing. I'm sure the forest and western gods will lead the Yumi to the most right path. I believe that.)

Thinking like that, I looked back at Ai-Fa.

Ai-Fa stared at the Yummies with a slightly narrowed eye and a satisfying smile on his mouth.

Right now, there will be no more senseless deeds than human beings other than Yumi speaking up. That's how I decided to relax into Yumi's singing and Joo-Run's melodies.

A lot of people gathered on the spot seemed to feel the same way about me.