CH 126

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

The streets of Oriens were brightly lit with colourful lanterns.

Even though it was already dark, the town was very lively with many people coming and going. There are also small children being led by the hands by their parents. Walking around at this time of the day is probably a unique sight at the festival.

“It’s so lively!”

“Yeah, a lot of people gather here at this time of year, but that’s how many shady characters come in. I’m sure Sapphiras will be fine, but try not to stray.”

“I know. I got lost in the royal capital. I will never let go of your hand.”

I put a lot of strength into the hand that is linked to Percival’s.

Now, let’s enjoy the festival to our heart’s content. First of all, it’s street food!

“Let’s have a meal first. Do you have any recommendations? Meat would be nice if possible!”

“Then let’s try the bandit roast.”

“Eht? What’s that food with the dangerous name?”

“It’s grilled copper pheasant meat covered with a lot of spices. I think it’s called bandit1山賊 (san zoku): bandit, literally translates to mountain robber roast because it’s made from copper pheasant2山鳥 (yama dori): copper pheasant, literally translates to mountain bird……

Bandit or not, that would be a meat that should definitely be eaten.

Percival took me to a bandit roast stall, where I waited for the meat of the pheasant to cook. The skin of the pheasant is crispy and fragrant with its own fat, dripping with oil and inviting me to eat it as quickly as I can.

“Here you go, 2 bandit roast! Thanks for waiting!”

“I’ve been waiting!”

I finally received the long-awaited bandit roast.

“Mmmm! The appetising smell of spices and grilled poultry!

With my eyes glued to the skewer, Percival leads me to a place out of the flow of people. A nearby bar has tables and chairs lined up outside, where people are drinking and eating. Thanks to that, the flow of people is slow where I’m standing now. I quickly bite into the meat, which is dripping with oil.

The spices that have been poured on it are quite spicy, but I like it. The skin of the poultry is as crispy as I expected, and the juices from the tender meat spread in my mouth.

“……! De-delicious!”

I could eat any number of these! Bandit roast is terrifying!

I ate the bandit roast with all my heart, and in no time at all it was in my stomach.

“……Sapphiras, there’s spices on you.”

Percival quickly produced a handkerchief and wiped my mouth. I was inadvertently overindulging. I’m not a little kid, this is a bit embarrassing.

“Th-thank you.”

A girl of about 10 tugged at Percival’s sleeve with a hesitant smile as she disguised his embarrassment.

“Knight-sama, do you want a crown of Yor?”

The basket the girl was carrying on her arm contained several Yor crowns made of holly. Crowns made of holly, which have the effect of repelling evil spirits, are often displayed during Yor.

“Would you like one for your special someone, knight-sama? It’s a crown made with a prayer that the recipient will be happy.”

The girl tilted her head and smiled a lovely smile, but her cloak had been sewn together in several places and on top of looking weary, and her little hands were covered in wounds. The holly crown must have been made by this girl. It is poorly made, but it is decorated with colourful berries and white bird feathers.

Not everyone is in high spirits during the Yor festival, some people have to earn a little to get a day’s worth of bread. The festive period is a time to earn money, not to enjoy it. Even this little girl is no exception.

“……I’ll take one. How much is it?”

Percival kneels down and makes eye contact with the girl.

“One small nickel coin.”

“Here you go.”

Percival hands her a copper coin, which is placed in her palm and the girl looks genuinely troubled.

“……I’m sorry, I don’t have any change.”

It would be so. It is not easy for this poorly-dressed girl to have change. She must have gone to the forest to collect the materials for the crown herself.

“I don’t need change.”

“But I can’t take this much.”

“That crown is filled with your prayers, isn’t it?”

“Yes, of course! I made it with all my heart!”

The girl puffs out her chest and answers. Even though she is poor, her eyes are determined to live with her own strength. This kid is strong

“Then it’s a crown worthy of being given to a special someone.”

Percival smiles and the girl blushes. The smile of the Knight of the Sun is so strong that even this little girl is captivated. As I was thinking about buying a crown as a souvenir, Percival, who received the crown from the girl, stood up and stared at me. He still looks as dignified and beautiful as ever. Most people would probably inadvertently fall in love with him if he stared at them with a face like this, wouldn’t they? And yet, there’s not a single bad rumour about him

……Ah, no. A pretty intense lady was obsessed with him. The smile of the Knight of the Sun is strong, but it’s a double-edged sword.

So who’s the crown going to? Madam Adeline, perhaps? Madam Adeline is not a person who is impervious to sincerity, so she will gladly accept this crown made by a girl. Or is there someone else he would like to give it to?　

“Blessings and the Goddess’ divine protection to Sapphiras.”

Percival reverently places the Yor crown on my head.

“……Eh? Me?”

I didn’t expect to be the one who was crowned by the knight. The girl murmurs that it’s lovely.

“I knew it, the Spirit of the Snow is knight-sama’s special someone!

“Ah, yes.”

“Ufufu. I knew it at first glance. Thank you for buying the crown! I wish you both good luck!”

The girl waved her hand and then mingled with the stream of people going down the street to sell holly crowns. She’s a very sophisticated girl, isn’t she? And she also gave me another exaggerated name of the Spirit of the Snow. But Percival’s special someone is……

“Percival’s special someone is me?”

“Yes. Sapphiras is……a companion3仲間 (nakama): comrade, if you watch shounen anime, you’d probably hear this a lot. Why Percy, why…such a good chance. , aren’t you?”

That’s right. But when he says it face to face, my back is tingling. Percival is serious and rarely speaks lightly. So it’s not a joke or anything,  I guess he really thinks I’m important. In that case, I also have to live up to Percival’s sincerity!

“Yeah. Then, my special someone is Percival.”

When I said that, for some reason Percival made a slightly surprised face, and then he let his gaze wander unusually. His face is kind of red, but is it okay?

“Your face is red, are you all right?”

“A-ah, I’m fine……shouldn’t we take a look at the other shops soon?”

“That’s right!”

I’m not really sure, but I took the hand offered by Percival, who seemed to be all right.

An angry voice resounded with the loud sound of something knocked over. What’s the matter? When I looked around, the drunks who were drinking at the table outside had just started a fight. Four large adventurer-like men were arguing violently. Drunk fights are usually caused by trivial things. If it were me, I’d leave him alone, but since Percival is also a patrol for the city, that wouldn’t be possible.

“Sapphiras, wait here for a moment.”

“I got it.”

With people of that calibre, it wouldn’t be the time for me to appear, but in the meantime, the men began to fight. They become 2 on 2 and start wrestling without regard for their surroundings. The customers sitting around took refuge with their mugs of ale and plates of food, not wanting to get caught up in it. They are used to it.

But the people on the street are not all that familiar. There are children, old people, even people who have nothing to do with the disturbances. They must think it’s frightening, because there are big men running riot. It’s dangerous to have so many people moving at once. People who know what is causing the commotion are fine, but people who don’t know what’s going on just want to stay out of danger. When that happens, the uncontrollable flow of people creates even more chaos.

“……Ah.”

Among the passersby who kept their distance from the drunks, I spotted the girl from earlier. The passersby are probably unaware of the little girl. Torn between those who were trying to escape to avoid being caught up in the melee and those who were trying to move on without knowing what was going on, she finally fell to the ground flat on her back. The girl was reaching hard to pick up the basket she had let go of when she fell. Percival noticed this, jumped into the stream of people and picked the girl up before she was trampled. Unaware of this, the men grabbing and punching each other jumped out of the drinking establishment and into the street, kicking the girl’s basket and trampling her crowns cruelly. Before the girl’s eyes, the holly crown, made with all her heart, fell apart.

It was crowns that had been woven by small hands with great effort to help the family in any way possible. Moreover, it also contains a prayer that the person who holds the crown will be happy. How dare they trample on it?

A large man is punched out and runs into one of the stalls. The simple shop is quickly destroyed and the ingredients are scattered on the ground. Even the ingredients were probably procured by the shopkeepers running from place to place for this time of earning.

The struggle between the men became more and more intense, and I could see Percival frantically protecting the girl as the waves of people pushed him away. At this rate, even Percival is in danger.

It’s fine to get excited. Drinking is fine. But Yor is for everyone to enjoy!

“……Oi! Hey! You drunkards! Enough of this!”

I transferred behind one of the men in the fistfight and hit him as hard as I can in the back of the head with my wand.

Of course, it was a blow infused with magical power. The man’s huge body is flipped over by this sure-fire blow. I continued, aiming at the other man’s solar plexus4interesting fact, 鳩 (hato): pigeon/dove, 尾 (o): tail, but put together, 鳩尾 (mizo ochi) = solar plexus/pit of the stomach. It also means a place where water falls. and thrusting my wand into it. Of course, I will not hold back. This man, too, instantly loses consciousness and falls to the ground, foaming and slamming into the ground.

The noisy surroundings became quiet and the men who had grabbed each other stop moving.

“……If you still want to go on a rampage, I’ll be your opponent. But I won’t go easy on you at all. If you’re going to do this, be prepared.”

I thrust my wand at the two men who were still standing. Maybe it’s reacting to my emotions, the magical power overflowing from the wand is more than usual. Sparkling, sparkling, it lacks a bit of tension. I’m angry, so the black fog is more powerful.

“Ah, no……that,”

It seems that he finally sobered up after seeing his comrades defeated. The two men with pale faces seemed to have lost the will to rampage. Looking at how they quickly became calm like this, they are probably not rowdy men at heart.

“It’s a Yor festival. It’s all right to get excited. But good grown-ups doesn’t cause trouble for others.”