Volume 20 - CH 4

「We've arrived at the inn town, everyone.」

Nick, our guide, said, and we got off the carriage.

The town was decorated with colorful flags of all nations connected by ropes. Each house was beautifully decorated with flowers.

「Wow, it's beautiful. Is there a festival today? Um, what are those decorations outside?」

Serina asked the innkeeper.

「Oh, that's Fes, a festival held once every three years in this town, Lovelake.」

The owner shrugged his shoulders, looking unamused.

「Hee, well, let's go see it.」

「Oi, Oi. Serina, we're not here to go sight-seeing, okay? Well, we'll have free time until nightfall, so whoever wants to go is free to do so.」

「Alec is a real slob, isn't he? There might even be some pretty girls there.」

「Murh. Are there parents and children there?」

「Hey. If you touch a little girl, I'll never forgive you.」

「Shut it, I didn't say I'd touch them. I'm just going to take a good long look at them.」

「You can't do that either. You're such a pervert!」

「Well, as long as it doesn't get me reported and I don't get arrested by the soldiers, I guess it's okay? If you want to go, I'll take care of the lodging for you.」

「Alright then, let's go find some good food!」

「Me too!」

「Lily too!」

The gourmand trio of Jouga, Marilyn, and Lily were running towards food stall, but they were so energetic.

「I think I'll pass.」

「I'm not a fan of glamour either.」

Hannah and Elisa seem to pass.

「I guess I'll just go show up at the temple.」

Fianna seems to be a priest, and she's going to stop by the temple here to pray. She's very curious.

There were more than a dozen of us, so it would be conspicuous if we went together. So we decided to split up and walk around to see the festival.

「Alec, it looks like there's an art exhibit over there.」

Serina, who had been on her way to the festival, came all the way back as if she had heard about it.

「If it's a loli nude exhibition, it's worth a look. ......」

「Come one, that's not a normal festival anymore. If you're going to do it, make sure the people don't find out about it.」

Serina said, but hmmm, it would be fun to organize a secret loli festival in the kingdom of Vernia. I'll talk to Saki about it later.

There's a sign on the wall with a wooden tag, apparently titled "Expression without Freedom," but I don't know what it means, but I guess that's okay, because art is a scam business where they twist things a little bit and make things that even they don't understand seem like great things.

「So radical! I heard from the guards that they're pretty aggressive, you know?」

JK Serina, who seems to be easily seduced by this kind of thing, is excited by the organizer's intentions. I wonder what she'll look like when the loli nude comes out.

But there are also a few security guards stationed here, and for an art exhibition, the security is rather heavy. Could this possibly be Loli? That's what I mean when I say "attack," isn't it?

「This looks like a statue.」

The first one was a statue of a woman, but it was poorly sculpted and not beautiful at all. It wasn't even nude.

「It was titled "The Oppressed Woman." Hmmm, what is oppressed about that?　It's hard to tell. ......」

Serina twisted her head, but the statue, standing on a stick, had no pose movement or lively expression, and to the untrained eye, it did not look good.

「Well, I guess they're talking about being oppressed because they're ugly.」

I said. It's a cruel thing to say, but it's also the truth of the world.

「Hey, ......, don't say things like that.」

「You don't understand.」

If your hair is a little thin or your forehead is wide, you will be laughed at as bald, and what is acceptable for a good-looking man is not acceptable for an ugly man. Beauty is such an absurd and cruel thing.

Even if it is a health detection sensor for reproduction, there is no need to laugh at it and eliminate it. This is the work of human beings, a society of power (mount) and class (caste).

「Next.」

「Right.」

It's no fun to watch for too long, so we move on.

Next was a large painting.

「The title was, um, "Godflair of Joy," which apparently means "Divine Fire".」

It depicted people being burned by blue flames, but the suffering people looked like they were in agony, not very happy. It was just painful to look at. At both ends of the painting, there are two clowns who are not burning, and they are dancing with expressions of joy while looking at the people, which is probably an expression of "Joy". But this is .......

「It kind of makes me sick.」

「I guess. There's something wrong with people who take joy in people suffering and burning.」

「Yeah, ...... I guess. Meena, are you okay?」

「Y-yeah. It's nothing.」

She wiped away her tears and must have remembered something painful.

「Next!」

I pulled Meena's hand and left the place as quickly as I could.

After a short walk, I saw that a stage had been built out of boards to mimic a royal palace. But it was like an elementary school arts festival. I wondered if it was an all-night job, or if the colors were not painted neatly in some places.

There are actors dressed as the king and queen, but this seems to be a theatrical spectacle.

「Oh, it looks like they're going to start. Yulia, hurry up! The play's about to start over here.」

「I'm not interested in anything but sword training, good grief.....」

Forehead Yulia came running in, grumbling. It's not that you need to force yourself to go along with her, but she seems to be bored.

「Well then, witness, my name is Militia-Iceman, holy knight and hero of the Gilan Empire!」

A young male actor in white armor sashayed out to the center of the room, and this armor is quite well made.

「「「Please wait, my hero friend. We are servants, warriors, priests, magicians.」」」

Three shabbily dressed people, a warrior, a priest, and a magician, came after the hero.

「You're late! You guys. What have you been up to?」

「Huh, eating.」

「You've got five minutes to eat! You, my servants and slaves, will work for me 24 hours a day, all year round, until the day you die! I will never allow you to rest!」

「「「Okaaay~, Hero! 」」」

「Well then, here we are. This is the Royal Palace of Valentia. Come out, King Valentia, the hated enemy who plots to divide the Gilan Empire!」

「I am Valentia. What-―― *slash!* Guahhhh, you got me!」

「Ehh?」

As expected, the exit was too hasty, and even Serina raised a question as to whether it was a good idea. After all, the theory of the story is that the villain should come forward and the hero should wait until the end. I'm sorry, the Four Heavenly Kings of some time ago, Sol.

「The King of Valentia, the evil one, is defeated by this hero Iceman! Valentia has been liberated!」

「「「Ooh! 」」」

「Now, burn down the portrait of the evil king who misled the people of Valentia!」

「「「Burn it! Burn it! Burn it! Don't leave anything behind!」」」

The actors all threw up one arm in the air and got excited, but this seemed to be the end of the play. That was a completely uninteresting play.

「Let's go.」

「Yes, master.」

「Right. No matter how you look at it, just now, that's propaganda.」

「Yes, it is. And it was boring. It was a waste of time.」

The three of them seemed to agree with each other and quickly tried to move on.

「Oi, you guys, you just criticized this play!」

「What? Is there something wrong with that?」

That's not good, Serina admitted easily, but judging from the hurriedly gathered soldiers, it seemed that if someone criticized this play, they would get into trouble.