Chapter 932: How to Spend the Year-End and New Year Holidays 1
The end of the year is fast approaching.
“I’d like to have the kids from the Cat Beast Colony put on a performance at this New Year’s Festival”
“Is that really something for you to be thinking about, Laurier?”
“Technically, it’s the priest’s job, but since I’m also coaching the kids’ play, it’s just sort of fallen to me to handle the arrangements……”
Since Laurier is still teaching the children at the church, it seems she’s gotten drawn into it as a natural extension of her duties.
“So, when I asked the cat girls……they seem eager enough, but they don’t know anything about the songs or plays we do at Trot Church. It’s too late to start now, so I’m not sure what to do”
“Ah……it is the middle of nowhere in Celesta, after all”
Cat beasts and humans. Desert and snow country. Celesta and Trot. A hunter-gatherer lifestyle versus agriculture and a monetary economy. It hadn’t really been an issue until now, but when you think about it, their lifestyles are completely different. It’s a different world, it’s almost a miracle we can even understand each other’s language. It’ll be tough to train these visitors from such a place to put on a performance in such a short time.
“They’re actually pretty smart, though”
“Yeah. They pick things up fast. Once they get interested”
Whether it’s the reading, writing, and arithmetic Laurier is teaching, or the Elvish I’m learning from the elves, the cat beasts listening in seem to pick it up faster. I guess that’s what they mean by having a natural aptitude. Though there’s also talk that, as a race, they get bored easily and aren’t really cut out to be specialists. ……Well, that aside, the performance.
“Do we have to do something where everyone participates together?”
“Since the New Year Festival is a community event, I don’t think it’s a good idea to put all the burden on just one representative”
“Even so, we don’t have much time……”
If we had at least a month……no, even half a month, I don’t think it would be hard to rehearse a new play or song, but there’s almost no time left until the end of the year. As for Laurier, she can’t exactly put the kids aside and devote all her time to coaching them. And as for me, I have to fly to Talc for the Spirit Festival at the end of the year. Actually, I’m supposed to fly out today. Umm……a performance under these circumstances? Honestly, I think it’s impossible…….
“You seem troubled”
“Who’s there!”
I was spoken to from behind, so I reflexively gave the standard response, but when I turned around, it was Lukino, one of Dianne’s three younger sisters.
“……Eh? Lukino here?”
She doesn’t really have much to do with the cat beasts and isn’t she part of the group going to Talc for the Spirit Festival or something?
“Huhuh. ……Singing is hard, but the kitties seem good at dancing. If Selenium and I provide the accompaniment and just let them dance however they like, it’ll work out”
“However they like?”
“Just having young girls dance flashily livens up a rural festival like this, doesn’t it? Improvisation is fine for that sort of thing”
“Eh……no sexual content, though. It’s a traditional festival, after all”
“We can make it entertaining without relying on sex appeal. Trust a 100-year-old”
If this were Nord-san, I’d have no choice but to agree, but Lukino-san doesn’t seem to be a professional dancer, so I’m a little worried……. That said, there are no alternatives……I really am at a dead end.
“……Umm. Well then……if it turns out to be too much of a problem, we’ll just cancel it. Let’s leave it up to Lukino-san……”
“……Yeah”
Laurier looks worried but nods. Since she doesn’t have much interaction with Lukino-san, she can’t even predict the outcome, but she seems to be going along with it because I said so. ……But well, since Selenium’s name came up, she’ll probably be involved too, and it’s hard to imagine that resourceful girl completely ruining the festival. I’ll treat that as a safety net and hand this matter over to her for now.
We have to leave for the Talc Spirit Festival with two days to spare. It’s definitely too difficult to fly from Polka to Talc in just one day, and it would be a waste to join partway through. Even with dragon wings, I can’t say for sure there won’t be any trouble that throws our schedule off. After all, even dragons struggle a bit in bad weather, and the possibility of encountering trouble we can’t ignore along the way isn’t zero. I really don’t want to get too involved, though. Well, this time around, I’ve mobilized the dragons, Maia, Emma and Leda, along with Laila, who’s in charge of transporting the 「Sexroom」. Since I’ve decided to bring Princess Ran and Fiona along for a bit of sightseeing as well, that means we’ll be taking the four from the Gauntlet Knights in addition to Anzeros, Aurora, Neia and Beatrice. With this many people, we’re unlikely to get bogged down by minor troubles. And of course, Dianne and Hilda, who know the area well, are coming along too. We’re fully prepared for any fallout from the 「Tower」 disturbance. After that, we’ll send Isabel and a few other prostitutes back to Talc. It’s a shame to leave the spirit spring, which is great for beauty, behind, but many have said the cold in this snowy country is too much to bear, so we decided there’s no point in forcing them to stay. Well, this isn’t our only chance, and it’s not like we can’t visit Polka unless it’s this cold. If you can’t stand the cold, you can just enjoy it in the summer.
“We could come along too, if you want? Even without taking dragon form, we’d still serve as a good charm to keep those ogres from bothering you, right?”
Corti suggested this, but since Carlos and the others had worked so hard last time to handle things without the dragons’ intervention, I decided it was best not to bring any dragons along this time. Not that we’re exactly short on numbers, we already have four official subordinates, but since there were some dangerous moments, even if only for a split second, I’ve decided to stop trying to save face by reducing our defenses. Besides, I know it’ll still be a while before the 「Tower」 is completely under control.
“Talc is still a bit of a loose cannon, but with this team, there’s no way we won’t be able to handle it”
In the end, it came down to the wire, but 100-man Commander Becker returned in time for the Spirit Festival. Apparently, as long as he makes it to the festival, he can at least fulfill his obligations to his wives, so that’s how important the Spirit Festival is……to the people of Celesta.
“Is it okay that our forces are so large?”
“Well, it’s a bit of a pity for Carlos, who’s hosting us, but strictly speaking, it’s not like we can stop you from going wherever you want. Basically, we just want to make sure you don’t create any problems in town that require our intervention. Anything beyond that is beyond our control, only the gods and spirits can handle that”
“Is that all?”
100-man Commander Becker boards the newly prototyped 「Mobile Cabin」 he’s been testing over the past few weeks, along with the ladies of the trade. Both the exterior and interior have been upgraded to use wood that’s slightly easier to come by than what’s used in the 「Sexroom」 and instead of a single massive bed, several bunk beds have been installed. Not that I built it myself, the carpenters from the Forest House did. If this proves comfortable, I might even mass-produce enough units for my direct subordinates, the dragons, to carry. ……By the way, I haven’t forbidden the prostitutes from doing business with anyone other than me, so Captain Becker might end up enjoying himself, but that wasn’t my intention.
“Well, we have some time”
“You haven’t been keeping me company lately”
“Well, let’s just call this an early celebration for the Spirit Festival, shall we☆”
Dianne, Aurora, and Hilda have already started undressing even though we haven’t even taken off yet. Princess Ran is torn between undressing herself or just behaving herself, while Fiona has given up on making a fuss and is doing her best to look the other way. Well, she’d probably make a fuss if Princess Ran started undressing, though. ……It’s just that she and those girls were in the way when I tried to turn this 「Sexroom」 into an actual 「Sexroom」.