Chapter 969: How to Spend the Year-End and New Year Holidays 38
I’d always had it ingrained in my mind that Galatia wore a thick braid, but her look changes quite a bit when she wears lively twin tails. While she still gives off that energetic vibe, her girlish charm really comes to the forefront or rather……well, I suppose that’s partly thanks to the dancing she’s doing right now. The costumes for the cat beast girls, including Galatia, are long-pants styles designed to minimize leg exposure while not hindering acrobatic movements. That said, they’re far from frumpy; to add flair to their graceful leg movements, they’re designed with long pleats, similar to a long skirt, wrapped around both legs. After all, flexibility, jumping power, and a keen sense of balance are the hallmarks of cat beasts. When it comes to a dance that showcases these traits, even on the stage of a cramped church or temple, movements that involve swinging and twirling their legs are essential. Lukino-san, who managed to transform their movements from chaotic rampaging into polished entertainment in such a short time, is strumming her harp in a corner. Nord-san is also joining in on percussion. Even standing on the sidelines, these beautiful dark elf sisters are far too dazzling, but they’re managing to stay in supporting roles thanks to their face veils. Whether they’re moving in time with the sisters’ music or not, the feline beastmen, who seem to be darting and leaping about all over the place, actually manage to avoid colliding with one another on the relatively small stage, even pulling off synchronized moves at key moments. The music is brimming with desert ambiance, and their lively steps seem completely out of place at this modest, old-fashioned New Year Festival. Smiling wryly at the bewildered residents of Polka, I whistle and clap my hands. Understanding my intent, Keiron and Lantz immediately follow suit, and then Keel and Johnny do the same. The older adults simply don’t know how to enjoy themselves. Even a dance like this is something you rarely encounter in Polka’s idyllic way of life. Usually, even they get along just fine with the cat beasts and the dark elf ladies. Sitting in awkward silence at what’s supposed to be a fun gathering and justifying that behavior, only creates cultural friction. That’s no fun. At times like this, you’ve got to make full use of the privileges of youth or of being city-raised and living abroad. Don’t read the room. Instead, create your own vibe as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Out in the countryside, that’s sometimes necessary, too. Yeah. ……That said, even I, as part of an all-male frontier unit, am not exactly used to this sort of thing. In a tavern, when a singer or dancer walks in unannounced, it’s proper etiquette to liven things up like this. That’s the only rule I brought with me. But it worked, the younger guys started imitating me and Keiron one after another to get the party going, and eventually even the older guys who’d been struggling to get into the swing of things gave a wry smile at my wink and joined in. The bond among us guys who hang out at the hot springs is strong. Above all, we’re not doing anything immoral. We’re just welcoming new 「Polka Comrades」 and responding to their own way of contributing to the festival. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.
“It’s going to get livelier and livelier from here on out, so……”
“That’s right”
Before I could finish my muttered thought, Johnny nodded in agreement. More and more styles from all over will keep coming. Let’s embrace them and laugh together. The New Year Festival has no stuffy traditions to uphold, it’s simply a day to celebrate a new future.
The cat beasts’ dance ended to thunderous applause, and Galatia, still in her costume, trotted over to me.
“Ehehe. Did I surprise you?”
“I hadn’t heard you were participating……I wondered who it was. Your hair’s shorter, too”
“Ah, this? Well, with those thick pigtails, if I spun around carelessly, I’d end up whacking the kid next to me”
“……So you cut it for the dance?”
“Hmm, well, I was thinking of cutting it anyway……”
Galatia looked up at me slightly, clutching her twin tails with both hands.
“Is, Is this kind of thing……not your taste? Though I guess a few of the female slaves have this hairstyle, too”
“No, it’s not really a matter of taste or anything. I was just wondering if you could just cut it off so cleanly like that”
It was pretty shocking when Anzeros cut his hair, after all. For girls, hair must be that important. ……Just as I was thinking that, Galatia made a slightly awkward face and said, 「Ah……」.
“No, there’s probably nothing as extreme as you’re imagining. It’s always like this when I cut it”
“……Is, Is that so?”
Maybe growing up in a household full of men and as a pirate, means she doesn’t care much about her hair. Though, you’d think her old man would’ve drilled that into her.
“Lion-beasts usually have a lot of shaggy hair, right? Why do you think that is?”
“……Well, I guess……it’s just a lot of hair, that’s all”
Just as I was thinking, what a weird question, Galatia let out a sigh.
“It’ll probably grow to about this length in about two months”
She slid her hand down from her twin tails, which fell just past her shoulders, and smoothly lowered her fist about 30 centimeters. ……Eh?
“That much!?”
“Apparently all lion beastmen are like that, it grows way faster than other races. My dad shaves his head completely bald sometimes, but you can’t even see his scalp for more than a few days”
I did the math. Thirty centimeters in two months means……about one centimeter every two days, I guess……. No wonder it gets so shaggy. Come to think of it, Grand Knight Chief Lister had a pretty rugged hairstyle, too, so he probably didn’t mind a little hair growth.
“So, roughly speaking, when it gets heavy, I just give it a quick trim, but when I tell other races about this, they usually look at me like they can’t believe it”
“……Doesn’t the hair on other parts of your body grow excessively fast, too?”
“Y, You pervert!”
“No……ah, yeah”
When you say other hair……well, I guess that makes sense. Personally, I’m also curious about beards and such, but that’s probably not something I should ask Galatia about. But hair, huh. ……Cat-beasts aren’t really like that, are they? They seem similar, but they really are a different race after all.
After that, we moved to the town square for a dance party. As usual, we split into the musicians, the singers, and the dancers, and ended up doing our usual dance routine. I knew the female slaves were all waiting, so this time I gave up on the futile resistance of trying to join the musicians. But.
“It’s started to snow a little……”
Snow is swirling in the evening sky. Everyone would usually just ignore it and keep dancing if it were just a little, but this is hard to call just a little. If it starts piling up at our feet, we’re bound to slip and fall. Wondering what to do, I glance at the tavern owner and the baron. If either of them declares the event canceled, that’s the end of it. Sure, that would disappoint a lot of people, but if people start slipping and falling, leading to injuries or damaged costumes, we can’t really call the festival a success either. So.
“Ho. Leave it to me”
Laila puffs out her chest.
“What are you going to do?”
“Just dance under my wings”
“Come on, a dragon manifesting right here is a bit much, isn’t it?”
“It’s too late for that now. Are we going to keep half-hiding it and dragging this out for years?”
“Even so, not everyone’s going to just calmly dance right in front of a dragon, are they……?”
By now, quite a few townspeople have caught on that Laila is a dragon. That said, not everyone has. Even though it’s not a large town, not everyone in every corner knows me personally. Besides, even if they understand it rationally, it’s difficult for ordinary people to remain unafraid when a giant beast like a dragon is right in front of them. To suddenly make such a grand reveal right now and then hold a dance party right next to it, would be far too reckless. ……That’s what I thought, but the Baron and the Master exchanged nods.
“It might be about time”
“Umm. It’s a good opportunity to build trust”
“Eh……”
That’s going a bit too far, no matter how you look at it. After all, even Princess Ran was so terrified for quite a while. Ignoring my concerns, the Baron raised his voice.
“Everyone! I’ve been told that for this dance party, Laila-dono will become a dragon and use her wings as a roof!”
He said it. Well, it’s already an open secret, though. Given that the cat beasts have flocked here in droves, even the most oblivious resident would have had a vague sense of her existence. Still, she’d been hiding behind an illusion during takeoff and landing so as not to startle unrelated residents, and no one had been going around claiming to be a dragon…….
“In that case, I’ll lend my wings as well. Even though Laila-dono is a fully-fledged dragon, covering the square with just one wing feels a bit precarious”
Leda steps forward. The Baron nods and declares, 「It seems she, too, will lend her wings as a dragon! Let’s express our gratitude and enjoy ourselves!」 I thought the residents would surely be shaken up by now……but surprisingly, everyone remains calm. Some residents are asking, 「A dragon……? What does that mean?」 but other well-informed residents are seizing the opportunity to explain it to them. ……Come to think of it, quite some time has passed since the holy beast incident, when even the Baron was kidnapped. Considering that incident wouldn’t have been resolved without the dragons’ intervention, perhaps this is just business as usual now. Laila and Leda, who had stepped forward, knelt before me in unison, as if on cue.
『These fangs, these wings, for our master』
Speaking in unison, Laila tore off her clothes, while Leda struck a pose, sending a shockwave of illusions through the villagers’ minds. A giant black and silver dragon materialized. As the villagers recoiled in awe, the two dragons extended their wings in opposite directions, forming a roof.
“Well then, shall I provide the light?”
Irina, standing beside the Baron, conjured spheres of light from both hands as if by magic, creating a fantastical dance hall between the two dragons. And while everyone else hesitated to step onto the floor, Selenizm and Apple were the first to dash forward.
“Come on, Andy-san”
“Let’s dance!”
Just like I did a moment ago, ignoring the mood and creating one instead.
“……Ah”
I stepped onto the floor as well, and with that as the starting signal, the elves, the Celestans, and the female slaves took the lead, dancing, playing music, and singing. The polka began to dance among the dragons.