43 42. Night festival two days ago.txt (1/2)

After dismissing Ragne and her friends, we come back to our house.

Maria, who was doing the cleaning and laundry, noticed us coming back and gave us a confused look.

Welcome home. Master, Rustyala. You are early. I'm not ready to prepare a meal yet. ......

Apparently, we were earlier than we had planned, so we hadn't been able to eat yet.

I'm out of time. I was about to go visit Dia while I was shopping, when Rustyala stopped me.

Then, Christ. Let's go to the festival.

Rustyala, sitting in a chair in the living room, invites me to join her.

'A festival?'

'Yeah. Right now Hoosier's is in the middle of a festival. In four days, we're having our annual Nativity celebration ...... and we're celebrating all over the country for a week until that day.

Yeah, I've heard that one before.

As I recall, Dia told me this story.

I think she had promised to play with me on that day, since her discharge from the hospital was going to be on the Nativity.

'I've never been to a festival before, so I'm very interested in it!

It's not like I'm not interested, either.

I'm curious to see what you call a festival with a different culture.

To begin with, I have little experience with festivals, even in my former world. --Even if I wanted to go, I couldn't.

So, the event of a festival is attractive to me.

I'm not going to be able to get it right. So it's decided, let's go, let's go.

Yeah. I'm going to have to go get some water anyway.

I agree.

It may be a meaningless event, but it's a nice change of pace if you've got some spare time. The only thing I have to do is refill my water supply for now.

When I lightly agreed with that thought, Maria, who had started to prepare the food, called out, ”Well, wait a minute,” she said.

But wait. That's what you call--

But the voice stopped midway through.

I turn my attention to Maria, and for a moment, she seems to have a frustrated look on her face. However, she quickly erases her expression and shuts down.

Could it be that she thinks we're going to leave Maria behind?

Rustyala is just holding back her laughter and won't enter the conversation.

I had no choice but to ask her to join us.

'Maria, come with me. Get ready.

...... Yeah, can I go too?

Of course.

If I didn't invite him here, he wouldn't be a friend or a companion. As for me, it was natural, but apparently it wasn't so for Maria.

'But the food is ready--'

Let's eat out today. Together.

'Yes, yes ......'

I forcefully persuade Maria.

Then I walk up to her and try to pull her hand away and take her outside.

'Let's go. Lastiara, show me the way.

'Hmm. Good.

Rustyala grins and slowly gets up, grinning.

I'm glad he's enjoying himself, but he's a troublesome one. You were willing to take Maria with you from the beginning, but you didn't put it into words. He took the form of letting me go out of his way to ask her to join him for his own pleasure.

'Stop laughing and get on with showing me around.

We walk out of the house, smacking Rustyala's head as he laughs in front of us.

It's not too far from my house to Hoozeyards. The proximity to the labyrinth in the center of the Confederacy means it's close to other countries as well.

After walking for an hour or so, I could immediately feel the energy of the festival. There seemed to be no doubt that Hoozeyards was having a national festival. Even at the edge of the country, the enthusiasm is tremendous.

As we entered the main street of the city, there were many stalls lined up.

Shopkeepers were shouting loudly, eager to draw in customers. Some stalls were selling food, others were selling knick-knacks, and others were selling all sorts of things.

I'm intrigued by the food culture and observe the food on the shelves.

Some of the food is easy to make, similar to my own world, and there are many dishes I've never seen before. And the cooking utensils are all things I've never seen before. When I see a heat source using magic stones unique to this world, and knives that are probably working magic, I realize that this is a festival in another world.

Unidentified baked goods.

An assortment of misshapen nuts.

Skewers of meat that have been grilled in a unique way.

A giant loaf of bread that would not be suitable for eating around.

Naturally, it's all new food.

I couldn't hide my excitement in front of these foods, which I couldn't imagine tasting.

'Master, you're scurrying around too much at least at a food stall. ......

Maria notes my restlessness as a redneck.

'Yes, no, it's a bit unusual: ......

'There's a Nativity festival that's held every year everywhere. And the stalls are all the standard stuff: ......

Apparently, it was a familiar sight to Maria.

She doesn't seem to feel any emotion in the face of this scene.

But for me, it's different.

It's not the same for me. Maria doesn't know about my situation, so she doesn't understand what is so interesting about it.

No, we didn't have a festival like this in my hometown, so it's very new to me.

Yes, your master is from Fania, isn't he?

'Oh, yeah. We lived in the frontier of Fania, so we didn't have a festival. So it's my first time at a festival.

The frontier (...), is it ......?

Maria repeats my words.

She doesn't seem convinced, but the more I continue to talk about my hometown, the more my lie falls apart. Pretending to be busy enjoying the festive air, I pull away from Maria.

As I observe my surroundings, I pass a group of people in fancy dress.

They are a group of people dressed in beast pelts and animal headgear. They are probably imitating wolves and bears in their costumes. There may be some significance to dressing up like that at this festival.

I ask Rustyala, who may be familiar with Hoosiers, ”Hey, Rustyala.

Hey, Rustyala,” he says. What's the meaning of these costumes now?

Rustyala, who was leading the way, turns back to us and replies excitedly.

''I don't know!''

What, you don't know?

Yes. I said it was my first time, too.

Rustyala looks around as I do, his voice bouncing around.

Maria hears this and is surprised, as if she sees something unbelievable.

'Is this really your first time?'

'It's embarrassing. I have a lot going on, and today is the first day I've been in the city (・・・・・・・) during the festival. So I guess I'll be the only one with experience, Maria.

'Oh, it can't be ....... Two people who have never attended the festival .......

That's why I'm curious about that fancy dress you wore earlier. Tell me about it, Maria.

Rustyala stops leading and moves next to Maria. Then, as the three of them start walking side by side, they listen to Maria's explanation.

The fancy dress that you just wore is a fancy dress to pray for good health. The origin of the costume is a myth that has been handed down on the continent. By dressing up as one of the companions of the saint Tiara Fouzouyaz, who is mentioned in the myth, we hope for her blessing. It is said that the closer one gets to the day of his or her birth, the more the saint's power returns to the continent, so many people dress up during the festival.

'Oh, yeah. Come to think of it, I think I did.

Hearing Maria's explanation, Rustyala clapped her hands as if she remembered.

''Come to think of it, Rastiara-san's name is similar to that of a saint. Did your parents name it after wishing for the blessings of Saint-san?

'Oh, quintessential Maria. You're right.

It's a lucky name.

Like it's nothing, Rustyala agrees, and Maria laughs at it in a small way.

But I'm not laughing. I don't know Maria, but I know that Rustyala's last name is 'Hoozeyers'. So, I can't help but guess that there might be some circumstances.

We walk through the streets of Hoosiers, listening to Maria's explanation.

Since the festival is most active in the center of town, our feet naturally go there. In terms of numbers, it's number 50.

All right, Maria. Let's eat and drink together.

Yeah, I don't like it. Festival food is too expensive and a waste of money.

”-What?　So, what's the point of coming here if you don't eat?

I can just watch.

Yeah, .......

Indeed, Maria has the best argument.

Even I, who am not well versed in the markets of this world, can see that the items on the stalls are overpriced. To Maria, who is accustomed to festivals, the items here are probably just expensive and have no added value.

I feel sorry for Rastiara if this is the case, so I offer my help.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one. I'll go out with you.

'I don't see what choice I have: ....... I'll take Christ.

Rustyala seemed to want to play with Maria more than I did.

She looked depressed and reluctantly agreed.

At any rate, we decided to walk to the center of the festival, buying and eating.

But from the middle, the game somehow evolved into a game of making the reluctant Maria buy and eat.

◆◆◆◆◆ ...

”-- Hey!　Rastiara!　There's something weird about that!

'Wow!　What is this?

And within an hour or so, me and Rustyala's tension was at its peak.

I was pretending to be cool at first, but there were so many unusual things that I couldn't contain my elation. Rustyala reacted the same way I did, so we both couldn't help but get excited.

''That's just child's play, right?''

Behind me, the cool Maria is looking at us with eyes that look at the poor thing.

But I've grown accustomed to Maria's cold eyes, and I float along without a care in the world.

We buy and eat as we go along, until we reach the large square in the center of town, where there are shops selling goods. There were not only shops selling goods, but also some amusement park-like attractions there.

However, they are not luxurious like the modern ones, but simple things like shooting and die-cutting.

But it was enough to excite me.

I had no experience with this kind of play, even in the original world. On top of that, there are types of games that would not exist in the modern world, which only increases my interest.

At the moment, I'm very interested in otherworldly target shooting.

It's like a game where instead of an arrowhead, you use an arrow wrapped in a cloth to shoot animals running around inside a fence. The cloth is coated with paint, and if you shoot through it, you can determine whether you have killed the animal or not. In my world, this game would not have been possible due to safety issues and animal rights ideals.

The animals run nimbly around the fence.

The agility of their movements leads me to believe that they are not animals but monsters, but I, with my limited knowledge, cannot judge.

There's not much in the way of prizes, but my body tingles at the sight of a target that won't be shot through so easily.

But Maria is right, the adults aren't trying to play this game. However, kids my age don't mind playing this game.

In short, the problem is that me and Rustyala are taller than average, so it looks like an adult is doing it.

I'm going to recommend that Maria do it first to avoid any bad publicity.

That way, I can participate in the process in a more natural way.

I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do. I'd like to see Maria do it first.　That way, we can participate somewhat naturally.

'Wow! I'm not a child!　I'm thirteen now!

I thought I'd have a word to say about my pathetic idea, but instead Maria argued against me about my age. She seemed to be upset that I was treating her like a child.

I was surprised to learn that Maria is 13 years old. I'm sure you've been thinking about it for a while now.

But for me, thirteen is well within the range of a child. It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to find a way to get a job.

-- but that's just an extension of my world's values.

So I check with Rastiara.

'Rastiara, is thirteen an adult?'

Hmm, you're a regular guy over here.

I see. ......

He confirms that the age of adulthood is low in this world and apologizes lightly to Maria. Then Maria poses a question as if it had occurred to her.

'Come to think of it, how old are you two?'

My age.

Depending on the accuracy of the language translation, there shouldn't be much difference in the calendar between worlds at the moment. I think it would be safe to answer the age I counted in my world.

I'm 16. Maybe.

Sixteen?

Maria was surprised to hear my age.

I'm tall, but my face is childish for my age, so I've never been this surprised before.