Chapter 397: Touring again, spring festival 3
Spring festival. The timing of the festival changes from year to year and the basic format is 「When the spring flowers and grasses begin to form a green frame around the miraculous spring river, the merchants’ association and the priest consult with each other to decide when to hold the festival」. It is an appropriate and lighthearted festival, as is typical of the countryside. The basic idea is simply to sing and dance. There is no need for much preparation. If the festival were held at any other time of the year, it would be possible to make it even more fun and exciting by serving alcohol and food, but at this time of the year, when trade should be resuming……there are only a few wild plants available and after the dance in the plaza is over, the people go to their homes to prepare wild plants for the spring celebration.
This year, however, the elf territory of everlasting spring had donated (Wildflowers and meat for a square horse), so it was expected that the food would be more lavish.
“Yes yes, this time, the meat will be provided by the whole cherry blossom clan, and the wildflowers will be provided by white clan´s Irina-sama ! What is this, just wildflowers! You’re so stingy with your goods, but you’re the only one who owns the name on them, Irina-chan! Don’t complain to me about it! I was just told to advertise it well!? What was that!?”
Savory, who had been walking among the tables set up in the corner of the plaza (Apparently snapped up from the new tavern that will be closed today), was suddenly jumping up and down in pain. I looked around and saw Irina nearby, looking slightly annoyed and pointing a finger at Savory.
“……What did you do, Irina?”
“Huh. Punishment is punishment. I just inserted a pain in the back area with an illusion”
“……That’s pretty powerful, isn’t it?”
Pain is the most powerful weapon in bringing someone to their knees. The ability to torture without the risk of 「What ifs」 would be revolutionary in itself and would be an extremely powerful disorientation in combat. But Irina sighed as she slipped her fingers back into her sleeves.
“After all, it’s just an illusion. It can be drowned out by spirit and it doesn’t work well on those who are in a high state of excitement during a battle”
“Is that so?”
“An illusion is just an illusion. And it’s better to leave such vicious ideas to Dianne”
Irina smiles.
“More than that, you seem to be free. I’d like to be your first partner”
“Eh, no, just a minute”
“What are you dissatisfied with?”
“It’s not that I’m dissatisfied……but I wonder if it’s all right to just go with the flow”
“First come, first served♪”
Irina snuggled up to me. However, someone puts out her hand from the side to stop it……Luna.
“Wh, What is it?”
“If you say first come first served, I’m faster”
Gyu, she hugs my arm. Luna was also dressed up in time with Aurora and Oregano and her silver hair was neatly braided and hung down like a few ponytails from the back of her head. She is dressed in a deep blue dress and apart from the careless manner in which she carries herself, she looks like the daughter of some noble family.
“I have no doubt that I was quicker to declare my intentions than you”
“I was quicker to touch him”
“Then I probably met him earlier today”
“You shouldn’t be fighting over something like that. Or rather, it’s low-level”
I admonished the silver-haired girls who were glaring at each other. In the center of the plaza, the Baron is giving the opening address. However, it’s not a formal story, it’s a bit of a pause until the townspeople who hear the bell come out in a hurry. If it were true, Irina would be on the side of the entertainment, too. And then.
“Hey, Smithson. At least associate soldier Basil is here”
“Uh, Williams”
“I mean, we crossbowmen are all men. You’ve got a large female population, you should at least let them have a wide hand in the dance for the sake of the festivities. Don’t you agree?”
“No, don’t be so desperate. Anzeros and Hilda say you can dance”
Or actually, Anzeros didn’t say that. In the flow of events, I would not be able to ignore the invitations of my former colleagues.
“I’d rather demand it, Miril-chan! Let me make a glamorous memory once in a while!”
“Why, Miril……”
“She’s cute! And she’s not wearing a collar! Her sisters are a little too young for that”
“She’s not wearing a collar, but she’s already declared herself my female slave”
“How fast are you!?”
Williams, seriously pissed.
“I’m leaving Polka today anyway, so it doesn’t matter if I have a collar or not!”
“You’re going to have all the fun you want with all the women you’ve got around you after we leave, you devil!”
“Enough”
Isaac appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Williams and lifted him up in a heap.
“I’m sorry, Smithson. Have fun”
“N, No, it’s fine”
“Get out of here, Isaac!”
“If you get too excited and there aren’t enough girls to dance, it’ll be a disaster. Are you stupid?”
“I, I was just pointing out the obvious! Is it wrong to point it out!! Even if it’s bad”
“Shut up already. The festival’s not starting”
Williams is forced by Isaac to stuff meat into his mouth (with his entire arms being held in his hands). Usually, there is no one in this town with a physique bigger than Jackie-san’s. Even Jackie-san is small when he is lined up in a row. The contrast between Isaac, who looks smaller than even Jackie-san and Williams, who looks like a normal human being, is unusual and amusing and the townspeople watching around us laugh hysterically. I was laughing too, but I could hear the wives behind me saying, 「Andy’s dangerous, isn’t he……」 and 「I’ll have to tell my child not to dance with that thing」. Curse you, Williams. It’s not that I’m disappointed that I can’t dance with the young people in town or anything.
When the place was warmed up nicely, an amateur orchestra conducted by Keel’s father played music again and Isaac and other singers added their songs to it. Normally, the party would end after a few songs, but this time there was hot food on offer and the crowd of dancing townspeople, soldiers and visitors from the elven territory would not be able to fill the square in just one or two dances.
“Let’s keep going today. Come on, Johnny-kun, don’t be lazy when your wife is working so hard”
“I, I don’t mean to tell you that, but it’s hard to play wind instruments all the time!?”
“I play a wind instrument too”
“No, Jessica, a transverse flute like that is totally different from a trumpet……”
“Hey, Johnny, that’s not cool”
“……K, Keel, what the hell are you doing!?”
“Come on, Barbara and I, let’s get on with the next one”
“Uncle, time out for a minute. Can I punch that guy?”
“Allow”
“F, Father!? No, wait, Johnny, you can’t hit me with the body!?”
“I’ll excuse it with my body. Ah, let’s go next time I’m refreshed”
While the skit was going on around the band, I was dancing with the female slaves one after another. I thought about it and realized that I had close to 20 partners, not to mention being shut out. I had no time to dance with other girls as long as I continued to dance without neglect.
“Huhuhu, aren’t we quite good?”
I am not familiar with human dances……I can’t believe that, but Irina leads me with her graceful steps.
“……I’m not used to it”
Luna, who was in no mood for cheek dancing, stuck close to me and let me do the moves.
“I’ve practiced. Look”
Laurier improvises a little and flips her dress, giving me a different image of the tomboy princess than I’m used to.
“Nya”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s fun, nya”
Azel and Rizel took turns dancing with me for a short time with their irregular movements. I was tossed around by them before I knew what was going on and yet when I looked at them calmly, I could see that we were dancing well as a group of three.
“I’ll do my best”
Marone, who came in with the same tension, led the dance, making full use of the space that was slightly opened up by the reckless steps of Azel, Rizel and I. The song was up-tempo, sowe moved around happily and I went on to Cute next.
“E, Ehehe……something, various, like a dream, nya……♪”
Even though she’s the same young cat girl, she’s completely different from Azel and Rizel moving in a more subdued and awkward manner. Come to think of it, I couldn’t see until a while ago. Is it difficult to dance suddenly? However, I was able to follow Cute’s timid steps by supporting her with my body as close to her as possible. Cute was satisfied with such a dance and left.
“It’s different from last year. I’ve been practicing a lot”
Anzeros taught Neia how to dance without danger and when I think about it, last year I hugged her and followed her because she was unsure of her steps.
“It’s a pity that it’s a turn around. I’d like to spend a lot of time and dance more fully”
Aurora would enter gracefully and exit gracefully, just as if she was going to try something. It’s so typical of her.
“I’ll take this opportunity to show them”
Maia grins and kisses me passionately between steps. I hear the crowd around me gasp. I thought it was a well-known fact that. ……Maia is my dragon, more than the female slaves, but it seems to have a surprising impact.
“If there are going to be more and more of them, we may have to plan a separate after-party for these dance parties”
Dianne chuckled as she danced without danger.
“Huhuh. Only Andy-kun can give you this much close contact☆”
Hilda-san sticks to me more than necessary. The big-breasted group had never been this boldly close to me, so I was a little nervous.
“Ho. It’s not bad to be like this once in a while”
Laila also suddenly has a different hairstyle and a Trot-style dress. The exotic atmosphere of her neatly dressed dress and black hair that seems to be absorbed into her hair makes me feel excited to see a different Laila. Then it is Neia’s turn.
“Wa, Wawawaa……s, sorry, hyaa”
“Don’t panic”
She dances with a man in a beautiful dress. Even though she dressed up, she still couldn’t deal with it calmly and Neia, who has good motor skills and a good memory, would have made a mistake in a simple step that would not have been possible for her to make a mistake. I’m about to get tangled up and fall over. I hold her back and Neia turns redder and redder.
“I’m sorry……”
“It would be a shame to end the festival with being shy all the time. It’s not a recital, it’s a festival of dancing and fun. Let’s have fun, Neia”
“E, Eh……but”
“It’s the atmosphere here that is supposed to be fun. Don’t ruin it”
“Y, Yes”
The music was a fun song and I was enjoying myself as much as I could as I swung Neia around. Neia managed to keep up with it even though she was blushing and her expression gradually turned into a happy expression.
“……That’s right, Neia. I want to see you smile like that”
“Eh”
“It’s good manners to have fun at festivals. But Neia. ……I want to make sure you always have that smile on your face”
“……Ah”
“Don’t go back to that face, Neia. Imagine. ……Another year and the next year, and the year after tha and one day our child will be with you, laughing and dancing under this sky. I’ll take you there”
“……S, Smithson……san”
“Whether you are a hero or not. ……Dragon, foreigner, heterogeneous races and heads of state, I did it. I’ll definitely let you do the same. That’s my ambition”
“…………”
Neia’s eyes narrow as she listens to my whisper. It’s for the sake of being a hero, so it’s not the usual hard and lonely expression that tries to push the surroundings away. Do as I tell her, far away……and she will see the future I speak of. Those were the eyes.
“……I´m……”
And before Neia could say anything, I took her lips. The song ends and Neia looks aghast, but I don’t care, I hold her and continue to suck her lips. I hear whistling from around me, but I don’t care. Neia flinches in panic, but does not let go. A few tens of seconds went by.
“……Puhaa……Neia”
“Ha, Haaa, haaa……e, emm, you know……”
When Neia tries to say something, I hold her close to my chest and lightly stroke her head.
“Hey hey, Andy, isn’t that child different?”
I answered lightly without turning around to the old man’s voice that came to me as if he was dumbfounded.
“No. She’s my next female slave”
“……N, Nmm……!”
“Why are you having trouble with the shrew?”
While grinning, I dare to say so and laugh. Yes, Neia is nothing special. To me it’s just a shrew. Tell that to Neia herself. ……To remind her that this happiness, this smile today, is not just a memory, but something……that she can reach. I just gave her a hug.