Soon enough, Zareth's parents awoke and hurriedly began scurrying around the house, preparing themselves and Zareth for the festival.
Freya dressed in a large, beautiful green kirtle patterned with an elegant floral design. She readied her hair and also put on makeup for the occasion.
Drufus wore a noble tunic and jacket along with brown breeches with a green outlining and had his hair slicked clean back with oil.
As Zareth observed all of this like a monkey in the middle, he was dressed in shorts and a white shirt with overall straps going over his shoulders.
Eventually, Drufus explained to Zareth what was going on like it was some surprise, but Zareth hated surprises.
He always wanted to know what was going on at all times, that gave him the best opportunity to plan his next moves.
Still, the knowledge of this festival intrigued Zareth. After asking about what it consisted of, Zareth learned about the merchants and the grand auction.
The merchant stalls were a blessing! Within such a crowded environment, Zareth could find the excuse to separate from his parents and go off on his own, so shopping wasn't going to be a problem.
Since some of these stores were from merchants coming from the inner cities, and some even from the capital city of Joutenheim, their shops would be even better than the black market!
The black market below Bolnuir was most likely the only one, or at least the main one used by people who were on the outskirts of the kingdom and outside of the walls of the kingdom.
So, it wasn't even a fraction of what a real black market held and also wasn't as great as normal shops from inner cities within the kingdom.
This meant that Zareth would have full access to far better products.
The grand auction on the other hand was going to be tricky. Although it would be a great opportunity to gain some sort of cultivation-enhancing elixir or pill, Zareth found it hard to believe he would somehow find a way to participate in it without being caught by his parents as it was such a large event.
Still, the news of the festival was overall very good.
After everyone was ready they got inside the carriage which was already stationed outside their home and began their trip to the town square.
Meanwhile, in the town square, most of the smaller merchant stalls had already opened and had begun selling their products. The larger ones would only open up later in the night, as they took far longer to set up.
The streets leading to the center of town were also already filled with games to win prizes such as toys and small trinkets.
The center of town however was fully cleared of any stalls. It was a large round ground with a fair-sized stage placed in the middle for the auction later during the festival.
As they enjoyed the light, slightly alcoholic wine, many people and families had already gathered and were meeting each other.
By now, appetizers such as bread, fresh fruits, hard-boiled eggs, tarts filled with meat, cheeses, and other small food items were also already being put out for everyone.
Zareth and his family eventually arrived at the town center several minutes later.
The carriage driver dropped them off before leaving to park the carriage elsewhere.
Because of the crowd of people, finding parking spaces were extremely difficult. Especially since the merchants had taken most of the horse stalls which were present.
After getting out of the carriage, Zareth was forced to stay near Freya. Of course, this was going to be the case in the early times of the festival.
As Drufus and Freya made their way to the appetizer counter to get some light wine, Zareth noticed the multitude of people who laid quick glances at them.
In terms of fame, they were one of the most known people on the outskirts of the kingdom, so it was a given that many people admired them.
The music that was being played was quiet and calm, exemplifying the smooth atmosphere of the early festival.
Before long, a family of three approached Zareth's.
There was a man near the same height as Drufus who had brown hair and wore noble clothing similar to many of the other men in the festival.
Beside him was a woman who wore a black kirtle-like dress, and beside her was a familiar looking young-man about the age of 15 who Zareth couldn't help but slightly recognize.
"Oh and here they are! The grand Duo of Twisting Love! The saviors of this town!" The black-haired man proudly joked as the two families made contact.
"Oh stop it Eustas! You both contributed to the saving of this village just as much as Drufus and I." Freya said, slightly embarrassed at the remark.
"That's right, Twins Of Fate." Drufus teased.
Both Eustas and his wife were also an adventurer duo who were prominent back in the day alongside Drufus and Freya. Their nickname gained them some fame, but they were mostly known for being the Mayor family of Bolnuir.
The two families laughed slightly at each other's pitiful jokes.
"And who do we have here? I can barely even recognize this young man!" Drufus said, sizing up the young man who stood next to Eustas' wife, Gela.
His name was Spade, the only son of the Mayor family of Bolnuir. Throughout the years, Spade had gained quite a bad reputation among locals.
He was known as a spoiled bitter brat who would abuse his slaves and perform other horrible atrocities. A failure of someone being born into a good family.
Drufus and Freya knew this as well, but being rude on this good occasion wasn't on anyone's mind.
Spade looked to have a bitter and almost disgusted look on his face like he didn't want to be here in the first place. He ignored Drufus fully and simply looked elsewhere, pretending to not even be there.
By the look on Eustas' and Gela's faces, one could tell that they had dealt with Spade's horrible behavior for a long time, and by now had given up on trying to guide him to the right direction.
As this prolonged awkwardness continued for a couple of seconds, a young boy suddenly popped out from behind Gela.
From the looks of it, he looked to be of the same age as Zareth.
"Who are these peasants?" He suddenly said in a condescending tone, especially looking at Zareth and sizing him up.
"Don't say such things, Ace! Haven't we learned about our manners?" Gela quickly intervened.
It seemed that they hadn't given up on their youngest child yet, however, their youngest child was also sounding like he was going down a path of arrogance similar to his older brother who was already a lost cause.
It would lead one to wonder what was going on inside the Eustas Uokell household.