[The same warning applies to this chapter as well. Hope you enjoy it.]
-Rohan's Carol, Memories of a Master and an Adventurer-
"And that should be the last of the dishes for today. We still have a couple of hours until the event starts guys, so for now rest." Rohan said after wiping his head from sweat and taking off his pink apron.
"Then, I guess your punishment for the day is over, young man. I'll take the kid back to his home now, so you three take a break. Now come on." Soren said in a casual manner while wiping his head in a similar fashion with Rohan.
"Man, I'm beat. I didn't know labor would be so tiresome, but it was also extremely fun. Goodbye misters." The young merman said happily with a tired expression.
After Soren and the young man left, Matt was the one to break the silence by saying:
"Honestly, I didn't expect Soren would be bringing a kid to help us out here."
"Me too. To think he would punish him by using "labor" as punishment, it shows that he is pretty kind and level-headed. If the incident from Soren reached the ears of the Sea Knights, that kid would not be having it this easy." Rohan added to Matt's sentence.
"At least we managed to finish early this year, otherwise we would have barely made it. Anyways, I'm hitting the shower first." Matt said with a relieved expression before he left Rohan alone in the kitchen with all those home-made dishes. Those dishes consisted from roast meat and fish, to soups and salads.
"Man, what a day. I know that this day is always one big event, but I felt like today was a bit more overwhelming than usual." Rohan said to himself happily while looking at the dishes.
While Matt was taking his shower, Matt was putting the food in a magic food box that didn't ruin or spill food, kept all the food in the temprature that it was and also didn't mix the food as well.
"Kyuu~?" Lavenza entered the room with her jellyfish plushie and saw Rohan putting the last of the dishes in the food box.
"Oh, Lavenza. I just finished putting the food in the box. Don't worry, I've made us some food to eat as well, once the event starts." Rohan said with a smile on his face.
"Kyuu~." Lavenza nodded and then left while playing with her plushie. After around half an hour, Soren returned to Rohan's house.
"I'm back guys." Soren said once he entered the house while holding a stripped crab mask and saw Matt coming right out of the bathroom, with a towel on his head and Rohan entering the bathroom next.
While Rohan was taking his own shower, Soren saw that all the food on the table had disappeared and instead, there was a red box and he decided to ask about it.
"Matt, where did all the food go?"
"In the food box on top the table. See that red box over there? All of that is in there, the soups, the salads, the roast dishes, all of them." Matt explained while wiping his head with the towel.
"How is that possible? Should the soup spill, or the other dis-" As Soren was starting to rant, Matt stopped him by putting hand on his mouth and said:
"It's just like the bag you have been using, just of a larger size, that's all. Don't think much about it."
"Alright, I guess. Lavenza where are you?" As Soren said that, he left the kitchen and decided to spend some time with Lavenza, just until the time comes for them to leave.
After an hour passed, Rohan and Matt were wearing some of their more casual clothes. Matt was wearing a white shirt with long sleeves and a black tailwear, while Rohan was wearing a black shirt and a grey vest on top of it and a dark blue tailwear, Soren was wearing just a simple, gray shirt and tailwear and a stripped crab mask and Lavenza was wearing her kitty mask from her outing with Lavenza.
After the four of them left Rohan's house, they made their way towards one of the graveyards to the west of Crystalia City. The graveyard had a high amount of people who were dressed in simple clothing and masks while holding plates with food.
"So, where are we going?" Soren asked curiously.
"We will be checking on a lot of friends of ours, so if you want, feel free to join, but you are free to wander around for the rest of the event." Rohan said happily.
"Alright then. Guess we will catch you later guys." After that, Soren and Lavenza split up from Rohan and Matt and left the graveyard.
"I guess it the two of us as usual. Let's meet up with the others. We have a lot of stories to share with them." Matt said with a casual expression.
"Yeah, let's." Rohan said happily and the two of them went into the graveyard. After they spent some time swimming around, merman spirits started coming out of the tombstones and some of them started hugging some the mermen nearby. After a bit of time, they came across a few spirits waiting all together and the moment the spirits saw the two of them, they started waving at them. Although they couldn't utter a noise, they could still make motions and interact with the world.
"Hey guys. Long time no see. How is everyone doing today?" Rohan said happily. The spirits made quite a few reactions, ranging from happy and excited, to annoyed and angry.
"Alright, alright, settle down everyone. Don't try to sour everyone's mood. This is the only day we get to be together everyone, so don't be sticks in the mud and let's enjoy the meal for tonight. I have made everyone's favorite dishes, so take them from the box and Matt, you are looking after the box." After Rohan said that, he took out a plate with buns and left Matt with the spirit who was struggling a bit to calm down the spirits.
Now, Rohan was swimming alone through the graves and was seeing quite a few families talking, laughing and eating together. Carol day was really the one day they could still talk with their loved ones and that made Rohan feel relieved.
After swimming for a little while, there weren't many families in the corners of the graveyard. Near one of the corners, there was a lone wooden cross with the spirit of an old man sitting alone and sad.
"Hello, master." Rohan said while he was bowing in front of the old man. The old man heard Rohan and then swiftly hugged him.
"Happy to see you too, master. Here are your favourite fish buns. Not too boiled, a bit crispy on the outside and with a bit of oil." Rohan said while showing the dish with the fish buns. The old man started eating the buns happily and while he was eating, Rohan said:
"Master, I have many stories to tell you and even got a new disciple and I have lot to tell about him."
The old man turned to Rohan while looking happy and patted him while he shaked his head.
"I see. I want to share some of my stories, but if you wish to not know, that is fine as well." Rohan said casually while eating one of the buns.
"Still, I'm happy that you are here today master. It reminds me of the days when I started as an adventurer and you put me through some of the craziest missions. Those were great times." Rohan said happily while looking upwards before the old man put his hand behing Rohan and held him.
...
-Midnight of Carol Day, Conclusion-
Soren and Lavenza had already split up from Rohan and Matt and the two of them were swimming through the streets while seeing spirits and people with masks habing a lot of fun. Soren himself felt a bit sad since he remembered his parents, since he couldn't speak with them anymore, ever since he had reincarnated. Although he may be enjoying his new life, he still doesn't forget a day where he is still away from them. In a way, it was quite ironic for Soren, a man who died a few months ago, is celebrating an event about the dead, as a living person and without the ability to see his loved ones.
"Kyuu~?" Lavenza saw Soren's sad expression and decided to ask him.
"Oh, sorry. I just remembered my parents. Although they are not dead, I still can't see them ever since I left from home. Sometimes, I just wish I had a day so I could spend it with them." Soren said with a sad expression.
"You know what? Let's not put ourselves in the dumps. It's a festival and we should be having fun today. Come on Lavenza and let's play until we faint." Them Soren said suddenly with enthusiasm.
Lavenza was a bit suprised and worried by Soren's sudden enthusiasm, but she decided to go ahead hoping that she could lift Soren's mood a bit. After around thirty minutes though, Soren's enthusiasm died down and what was left, was Soren looking sad while sitting down on a bench with Lavenza in Fallen Hill Park.
"Reny~..." Lavenza tried to console Soren a bit, but she didn't have many to do that, hence she decided to hug him a bit. While Lavenza was hugging him, he tore up a bit and hugged her back while he said:
"Thank you Lavenza for the hug."
After hugging her for a bit, he felt a bit better and then said:
"You are right Lavenza. I shouldn't be shulking and crying like a kid. I'm somewhere far away from home and I know I won't be able to return hime for a while, I won't be able to see my parents for a while as well, but that doesn't mean I can't see them at all anymore. I will find a way back home one day and I hope that maybe you can see them as well, at least not in that form though. Hehe." Soren said a bit sadly before he cheered up and chuckled a bit.
"Kyuu~." Lavenza was also happy to see Soren in a better mood and had an idea for where to spend some time with him.
"Kyuu~ kyuu~." She started swimming while making a couple of motions.
"Do you want to go somewhere?" Soren said while he was a bit confused from Lavenza's sudden motions before she nodded.
The place they stopped was actually the giant coral tree that the landmark of the Fallen Hill Park. Near the tree, there was a lone spirit sitting on the ground, while he was looking towards the direction of the Sea God's Temple. The way the spirit looked, it was pretty similar to Soren, with blue hair and an azure tail with sharp scales. After seeing the spirit for a bit, he decided to go and ask:
"Do you mind me and my friend sit here for a bit?" Soren asked politely the spirit. The spirit itself saw Soren and Lavenza and then shook his head happily.
"Thank you." Soren said happily before he and Lavenza sat down on the ground. The sky itself didn't have a moon since they were inside of underwater caverns, but there were still some Everglow Stones that were shining brightly that created a great view of the top of the caverns. After spending some time, both Soren's and Lavenza's stomachs rumbled a bit.
*gurrrrr* *gurrr*
"I guess it's high time we ate something. Sir, do you wish to eat anything?" Soren asked at the spirit who was looking blankly towards the temple. The spirit itself shook its head and continued looking towards that direction.
"I see. Thank you for letting the two us stay for a bit." Soren said sincerely.
"Kyuu~." Lavenza also thanked the spirit happily.
After that, the two of them left and while they were leaving, tbe spirit look at them and moved his mouth and although he couldn't make a voice, his mouth said:
"Take care of the one's I couldn't take care of, young man."