Chapter 985: The Second Holy Beast Festival 6
Since pranks involving Illusion Magic aren’t something you can pull off over and over again (I was more worried about losing interest myself than about the increased chance of getting caught), I didn’t take it any further. Instead, I spent my time hanging out with Breakcore while waiting for the festival to begin. We had three days until the festival. We didn’t necessarily have to stay near the Holy Beast Labyrinth the whole time, and using the dragon wings to head to Polka or somewhere else was an option, but I deliberately chose not to. Since I’d come straight here from the Naked Village, I probably should have explained the circumstances to those involved, including how I ended up here, but I thought making it up to Breakcore was more important. If it was just a matter of explaining the situation, I figured I could just tell Maia, and those in the rear, like Dianne, Laila and Selenium, would understand every detail, so I thought that would be enough.
“It looks like they’re taking their time getting ready, but watching them like this, it’s actually pretty dynamic”
Looking down from the roof of the 「Temple Hut」, built directly above the center of the labyrinth, toward the labyrinth’s entrance……the 「Front」, I could see the gathering elves going about their business in their own ways, steadily making themselves at home. Here and there, they were setting up small tents and tarps, or steadily mass-producing hammocks by simply braiding ropes. Combining some sort of magic with manual labor, they’re digging up a spot that was completely empty just yesterday to create a modest communal cooking area; there, the massive carcasses of animals hunted from who-knows-where are being hauled in and, before your very eyes, turned into a massive spread of skewered meat. From this prime vantage point, I can watch the event preparations unfold without being asked to help. This kind of opportunity is surprisingly rare.
“The elves are all outdoor experts with centuries of accumulated experience. If they’re assigned roles, they can create just about anything right here”
“On the flip side, it really drives home just how much of a bad move the last last-minute event was”
“That can’t be helped. It was an event where we didn’t even know how many elves would show up to begin with. Thanks to you, though, it seems to have become a festival where it’s now hard to find a reason not to participate”
“……I wonder why”
I don’t really feel like the elves as a whole like me that much……there are still times when I sense that the more conservative clans are frowning upon me to some extent. Yet, despite that, participants from every clan flock to this festival. I suppose it’s because the connection between my personal status as a 「Hero」 and above all, the existence of Breakcore, which was saved by that very status, creates a buzz within the forest that’s impossible to ignore. Part of that is likely due to the progressives, like Irina and Christie, subtly stoking the atmosphere to gain more influence through the festival’s success. It might also be that elves who can’t openly express interest in me or the 「Outside World」 can participate in a public event like this and give in to their curiosity……in any case, among the elves, one can sense great significance and enthusiasm for this novel festival. It’s a joy to watch them make full use of their skills and abilities to proceed with an efficiency rarely seen among other races, expanding large-scale lodging facilities and constructing competition venues.
“Still, is it really okay to just casually remodel the grasslands around here like this?”
“What’s there to worry about? It was a barren wasteland to begin with. The only reason it hadn’t been touched before is that there was no point in doing so”
“Well, I have this image of elves being against cutting down trees unnecessarily, so I was wondering if they might not like having the ground dug up haphazardly and the soil exposed like that”
“Elves don’t protect every single plant as much as you might think. They’ve always practiced agriculture, livestock farming, and forestry. ……It’s just that humans are far too indifferent to land that yields nothing, a state that, in terms of cost and benefit, is clearly a loss”
“Is that so?”
Well, it’s true and to some extent natural, that the human race doesn’t really mind turning what used to be a forest into mere wasteland. After all, it’s hard for them to imagine trees growing back on that wasteland and yielding bountiful harvests within their own lifetimes. Perhaps it’s precisely because elves have more than ten times as much time that they can lament that barrenness and feel fear at the sight of such land spreading. While resignation tends to take precedence when faced with irreversible situations, it’s precisely because they can do something about it within a realistic timeframe that they can maintain such a strong sense of urgency. ……Even as we talked about this, Breakcore and I were snuggling up together on the roof, getting cozy. Whenever the mood strikes me, I squeeze, stroke, and slip my hand into her breasts and butt, and Breakcore accepts it as a matter of course, getting into the spirit of things and occasionally giving me a deep kiss. The elves can probably see us, but none of them take issue with it or complain.
According to Irina and Christie, as far as elves are concerned, it’s perfectly fine to display such behavior in public as long as it 「Stays within the bounds of not actually engaging in direct copulation」. So I’m trying to spend some intimate time with Breakcore within those boundaries. Elves tend to be very outdoorsy by nature. They don’t really say things like, go make out somewhere where no one can see you……of course, flaunting the kind of blatantly unjustifiable, flashy sex I usually engage in would definitely be a problem, but there’s also a side to their culture where it’s considered proper etiquette to make advances that border on a striptease outdoors, just like Irina showed me once. ……Well, even so, it seems it’s definitely taboo for outsiders, people not directly involved, to get too close. In that case, let’s explore what falls within the acceptable range. And since Breakcore seems really happy with that kind of contact, it’s perfect.
……Besides.
“Are you starting to feel like you want to cum?”
“If you’re asking whether I want to or not, I want to do it anytime”
“……Then let’s go down for a bit, shall we♪”
After getting each other sufficiently worked up, we’d explode behind or inside the hut, pouring it all in, then climb back up onto the roof without even trying to cover up the scent, and continue making out while watching the elves set up camp. That kind of play is fun, too.
“I’d like to join in, too”
“Me too……”
Irina and Christie started looking up at us longingly partway through, so after thinking it over, I decided it was okay to have 「Two women at once」. Any more than that would look unnatural, even if we were just making out.
……And Diel, who had been watching us out of the corner of his eye, finally had to call me out on it.
“It’s way too obvious”
“……Sorry”
I guess the line really is set a bit lower than I thought.