Chapter 825: Harvest Festival Day 7
Going back from the newcomers to the veterans, around here we have Neia and Beatrice. In terms of when we met, Neia came much earlier, and she was also a bit more senior in terms of accepting her fate as a female slave. But when it comes to actually accepting the collar, there isn’t much difference between them. So, I think I’ll go with the order I found them. ……I probably think they’re together. Thinking that, I scanned the area around the plaza, and the one I found first was Neia. Because her hat stood out.
“……Hat?”
Huh, I thought I was supposed to be holding onto it? I look twice. That distinctive old wide-brimmed hat really is supposed to be Master Faria’s keepsake.
“If you’re talking about the hat, Laila-dono handed it over this morning”
“Emma”
Hearing my question from afar, Emma glides over and answers.
“Was it something I shouldn’t have given?”
“……No, that’s not it”
Even though I was holding it for her, I wasn’t keeping it under super-strict security. Of course, I wasn’t being careless since losing it would be a problem, but stashing it deep in the Smithson family closet would normally make it impossible to steal. But Laila couldn’t possibly not know that. The fact she deliberately didn’t report it to me and gave it to Neia instead……umm. I wonder if it was some sentimental reason she could tell Laila but couldn’t tell me. Maybe I shouldn’t probe too deeply. Just as I was thinking that, Laila herself appeared, wandering in.
“It would look rather awkward to dress up while still wearing that hat, wouldn’t it? That’s why I didn’t intend to show it to you. Wait a moment, I’ll change my colors and come out”
“……Ah, I see. The hat……so you wanted to show Faria this, huh?”
“Well, something like that”
With soil improvement and tax adjustments progressing, Kalwin would eventually have more than enough harvest to celebrate comfortably. And so, the concept of a harvest festival would be exported to Karlwin through Polka and the new town, making even such a simple festival commonplace there. Until now, Neia had only seen the richness of the outside world as a story to tell in the afterlife, assuming she would die. But perhaps she wanted to tell Faria with pure, unburdened feelings, 「This is what Kalwin will become」. ……Though it’s all just my imagination, it would be rude to make Neia confess everything. Even if I’m a little off, it’s no big deal. I’ll just leave it at that.
“Well then, we’ll enjoy Neia’s finery later……shall we dance with Beatrice first?”
“She’s over there”
Even when Emma pointed her out, I didn’t recognize her at first. Corti, who had already finished dancing with me, was helping a girl with pale purple hair with her kimono……wait, is that Beatrice?
“Her hair color’s different……”
“It’s a hair dye passed down among the elves. Its features are that it reacts to magic to easily change into various colors, and it washes out cleanly in a day. I hear it was popular centuries ago as festive day fashion”
“……Christie, maybe?”
“You knew?”
“No”
That she could bring out such a convenient item from the forest for Beatrice, a human even if she is a female slave, and also know about a fashion trend from hundreds of years ago……that only makes me think of Christie. Irina, despite her style, is more focused on food and magic skills. And the idea of some elf I don’t know doing this out of goodwill……well, considering it’s for a newcomer like Beatrice, that seems pretty unlikely. But wow, a drastic hair color change really does alter her impression……I think her usual black hair is nice too. But still……Beatrice is only 15, after all. Thinking back to when I was 15……if someone told me I could easily dye my hair and change it back just as easily, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t resist trying it. Everyone wants to transform themselves at least once, right? And being right in the middle of youth, I might have even fantasized that just dyeing my hair could make me a completely different person, personality and all.
“Emma, have you ever wanted to dye your hair?”
I suddenly ask Emma. ……And only after finishing do I realize Emma is quite a bit older than my mom. Even if she looks similar to Beatrice, hasn’t she long since outgrown the feelings of an unstable young girl?
“A dragon’s hair color, like its scales, is the pride of our kind……I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to change it. We silver dragons are said to be the highest-ranking species of ice dragons, after all. I feel proud of it, but I rarely think other colors would be better……”
“Ah……yeah”
It wasn’t an age thing. Well……the desire to drastically change one’s appearance probably stems from a lack of confidence in one’s own looks. Since every dragon is terrifyingly beautiful (and they hardly ever get old scars), it might be a feeling they just don’t understand.
“Do you have any, Master?”
“Back in the day, I used to think maybe flashy colors would make me more popular”
“……In human society, are people liked or disliked based on hair color?”
“Not really……but if you think it might have even a little effect, you want to try it”
Truth is, it’s really more about your personality and confidence than hair color. There were popular guys with both light and dark hair. But still. You can’t help thinking that if just one little thing changed, the whole world might be different. In the end, I didn’t do it because I was scared of getting smacked by Master Sreedo for 「Trying to be fancy」.
“……Does my Lord like changing hair color, or dislike it?”
“No, it’s not something I agonize over. It just made me nostalgic, thinking 「I wanted to do that back in the day」. Emma’s beautiful just the way she is, no need to change a thing”
I did wonder a bit what color Emma would have chosen if I’d told her to 「Go ahead and dye it however you want」, but just like with nudity, I’ll stick to the natural look for hair too. That aside, I want to praise Beatrice’s fashion sense. As I approached, Corti noticed before Beatrice did.
“Look, look. What do you think?”
“This is Beatrice, right……she looks like a different person”
“This girl really has no luck with feminine outfits, you see. Since it was a special occasion, I tried dressing her up to the nines with a few others”
「A few others」 probably meant Christie, who provided the hair dye, and Oregano, who specializes in clothes. It was a dress style rarely seen in Trot, maybe another trend from somewhere in the forest.
“Well……isn’t this a bit over the top? Some people came in their regular clothes, and she’s dressed like a princess……”
“She looks beautiful”
“But……she kinda stands out”
“There are several real princesses here, and they aren’t toning it down either”
Aurora, Sharon, Christie, and Princess Ran. All genuine princesses, each as splendid as the next. And though it’s easy to forget, Anzeros is the daughter of one of Trot’s leading merchants, so in a way she’s close to nobility. The Onyx group, like Dianne, are also part of a sort of ruling class in Celesta, so broadly speaking, they’re princesses too. They’re dressed up appropriately for the festival as well. Well, except for Dianne-san, who’s in her usual clothes (apparently she still doesn’t like dressing up). But when Beatrice says 「Princess」, she must mean Starna. ……That’s the only possibility. I don’t know anyone else. That woman was a bundle of arrogance and bravado, so maybe she just doesn’t have a good impression of this kind of elaborate dressing up. Even though she was the one who mostly obeyed her, I don’t think she was such a great boss either.
“Just stand tall. You’re Kalwin’s last hero, and even if you’re not a princess, you’re still a key figure in the country. No matter how fancy you dress, it’s not like it’s beyond your station”
“S, Such things……don’t really matter anymore”
She wore an elf-cloth dress in a light blue base color. Her hair, dyed a pale purple, was intricately braided and held in place with a large jeweled hairpin. She also wore a tiara and a rosary-like necklace. These accessories probably came from Laila’s place. Wealthy princesses likely each own such things. The high-heeled shoes seemed awkward on the square’s uneven cobblestones, but Beatrice wasn’t the only one wearing them. It was impressive to see the women’s resolve, not complaining despite the discomfort. Her face bore a light, even layer of makeup. She wasn’t one to wear makeup normally, so the difference was strikingly obvious. The perfume wafting from her was a scent I’d never encountered before, and the sheer volume of people crowding around her undoubtedly made Beatrice look like a princess.
“Besides, being overdressed to the point of standing out is actually good. From a guy’s perspective”
“Wh, Why?”
“It’s obvious. A girl who dresses up so much she gets everyone’s attention and waits for you—there’s no way she wouldn’t be attractive”
Well, if you told me to dress up so well that girls would brag about me, I’d be really troubled. If I asked, everyone would happily help me pick something out……but, well, maybe another time.
“Let’s dance, Beatrice. After dressing up this much, it’d be a lie not to dance”
“……Uh, okay”
I escorted the completely transformed, once-clumsy girl like a princess, dancing proudly for everyone to see. Well, that said, everyone was focused on their own partners and steps, so there wasn’t really the kind of buzz you’d expect. Beatrice was just as preoccupied, watching my expression and her own steps.
“Beatrice, not that way, not that way. It’s okay to be a little behind, just stay calm”
“Ugh, ugh……I can’t do this right away……”
“You’ll get used to it quickly after living here for three years. There’s no other entertainment”
“……Well, I am living here, but other entertainment……there is, right?”
“?”
Beatrice averted her gaze, pouting, glancing up at my face.
“……We’ll do all kinds of naughty things, right?”
“That’s a different matter!”
As usual, I found myself looking around, realizing she hadn’t actually heard me, but thankfully it was in Kalwinian, so I was safe.
After finishing the dance with Beatrice, Neia now stood before me, fully prepared. Earlier, when she’d been wearing that hat, she’d been in her usual, easy-to-move-in, tomboyish everyday clothes. But now, she wore a pristine white dress that shone with a dazzling brilliance.
“……Emm”
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Would you dance with me?”
“……Isn’t this a wedding dress?”
“I wonder. I know about weddings in theory, but……”
Her hair was held back only at the very ends with the hairpin she’d used at the end of the Kalwin incident, leaving the overall silhouette unchanged. Precisely because of this, the wedding attire was all the more striking, making the impact of Neia becoming a bride incredibly strong. Glancing around, his eyes met those of Oregano, who seemed to have provided the dress.
“Oregano”
“That’s the traditional dress of the White Clan. It just happens to resemble a wedding dress here”
“Oh, really?”
“But I think you’re free to get into the spirit of it♪ After all, everyone was saying they’d marry you eventually anyway♪”
“……Ah”
That’s true. They did publicly say that. Precisely because of that, I think it’s a theme that shouldn’t be treated too casually or one-sidedly, and I imagine many female slaves aren’t thrilled about being beaten to the punch. ……But telling Neia to take it off and change now? That’s just……no. Yeah. No.
“Alright, I’ll remember Oregano said that”
“P, Please don’t give off that uneasy vibe……”
If the other female slaves complain later, I’ll handle it sincerely. Yeah. Resolving that in my heart, I start dancing with Neia in the square. True to form, Neia, skilled at observing and learning, moves gracefully and smoothly, without Beatrice’s awkwardness.
“……Smithson-san. No, Master”
“That’s not right, Neia”
“Eh?”
“You won’t get into the mood unless you say Master, right?”
Thinking it was worth the effort anyway, I fell for Oregano’s sweet talk and forced Neia to do it too. Neia smiled and nodded.
“My husband. ……I’m happy”
“…………”
“Truly. …….Every night, I wish this were a dream I could never wake from”
What she spoke to her hat, what she thought, and why she left it behind to come here. I let my thoughts drift to that once more, then nodded and embraced Neia.