There were some unexpected troubles, but the harvest festival where Kusunoki-san, Yuzuki-san and I were going to participate was finally approaching.
After gathering at the entrance of the inn, before moving to the Spirits' Forest, where the event will be held, Sieg-san gave us packages wrapped in cloth when we gathered.
[Sieg-san? What's this?]
[...…..]
[Eh? Our bento huh? Thank you very much!]
[...…..]
Apparently, Sieg-san packed bentos for the three of us.
The harvest festival is held from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and while some will return to the city once to eat, the majority prepare bentos to eat lunch.
Sieg-san seems to enjoy baking, and I've tasted some of her sweets before... It was all really well-made and delicious, and since she mentioned that she usually cooks, I'm looking forward to having my bento for lunch.
After properly thanking Sieg-san, we received our bentos and everyone moved to the venue.
Incidentally, Lilia-san and the others aren't going to participate in the harvest festival. This is because, although the threats of Black Bears is no longer a concern, the annihilation of the guards is still causing concern in terms of security of the area, and it seems that the participants of the hunting tournament have decided to call for volunteers to patrol the perimeter of the Spirits' Forest, and Lilia-san and the others will join them.
When we arrived near the exit of the city of Rigforeshia, there was a large crowd of people who seemed to be participants of the harvest festival.
What was different from yesterday's hunting tournament though, was that I think there were very many women and children who participated, I think?
[There are lots of kids here.]
[Yeah. The main purpose of the harvest festival is to get to know the spirits. Especially for the elves, a good performance at the harvest festival could become a pact for the future. All parents who have children want their children to participate in the festival.]
I see, for the elves, being loved by a spirit is a great honor, and if they were to perform well at the harvest festival, they will be able to become a spirit mage.
It seems that Spirit Mage is a very privileged position among the elves, and I guess it would be expected for parents to want their children to follow that path.
It seems that while Rei-san was explaining to us, Lilia-san applied for our participation, and the male elf who seems to be in charge of the harvest festival came to talk to us with a soft smile on his face.
[Well then, the three of you who will be participating need to listen to some explanations and things that you need to take note of. It's going to take a little bit of time...]
The male elf gave us welcoming looks and began approaching us while saying that... and immediately afterwards, his body floated. No, it was being lifted up.
[...You dare waste the master's time which is worth more than thousands of white gold, for such disrespect, you must be looking for death huhhh!? If you have such a death wish, let me tear your body to pieces, right here and now!!!]
[...Anima... Let him go. Where the heck did you even come from?]
[Hahh!]
Anima suddenly appears and grabs the man's collar, making such a disturbing statement while easily lifting his body in one hand... Seeing this, I let out a big sigh before commanding her to let go of him.
Anima obeys my order and immediately lets go of him, and after turning to me, she salutes.
[Good morning, master! I was patrolling just now! In the midst of my patrol, I happened to notice his disrespect towards master, so I came here to "remove" this disrespectful being!]
This child seriously is... geez, let alone a knife pointed at others, it's like she's a dynamite that's ready to explode... Unnn, I'll absolutely go warn her a lot later.
You could even call it a super theory, but I decided to give Anima instructions for the time being while holding my head in my hands at Anima's thoughts.
[Unnn. I'll be fine here so... you can go back to work.]
[Hahh! This Anima will now return to her duty!]
[Unnn... Do your best.]
[Your words are wasted for this unworthy me! Well then, I will take my leave!]
After straightening as sharply and replying as loudly as ever, Anima returns to her patrol with a systematic march.
After seeing her off, I bow to the man who looks confused.
[I'm sorry for Anima's impoliteness...]
[A- Ahh, no... I see, you are the rumored master huh...]
[Rumored?]
[Yeah, I've been warned that if I say anything disrespectful to her master... you, in front of her, she'll instantly beat me up.]
[...I'm really sorry for everything.]
It's only been nearly half a day, how the heck did you make the people around be vigilant of you that it was being talked about how everyone should be careful of you!!!? What the heck did you do, Anima!? Even Rei-san's just sighing there like he had completely given up on the whole thing....
Thanks to the sudden attack of Anima, I feel a sense of exhaustion even before I participated in the event, and I listen to the man's explanation again.
The explanation of the harvest festival isn't so difficult, and once I heard it, I can immediately understand most of the content.
The participants were given a bag with a function similar to my magic box, and the flow of the harvest festival is simple: put the fruit you harvested into the bag.
Also, this bag was made by a spirit, and it seems to have a function that determines whether the fruit in it is harvested this year or last year, so it's not possible to cheat.
For the things that we are being warned of, we are told not to harm the spirits, not to throw garbage in the forest, and so on. If you break these rules, you'll be disqualified from the game.
It is said that if you grip the magic crystal attached to the bag in case that there's a problem, the guards around the Spirits' Forest will be able to tell your location immediately.
I guess that's to be expected since there are many children who are participating in this event, many safety measures have been taken in that area.
[Well then, Aoi-chan and Hina-chan. Word of advice from someone with experience~~ The spirits might show up after a while that you were in the forest... But spirits are still very timid. Don't just approach them all of a sudden, but wait for them to come to you. As long as you remember that, "the two of you" can get good results.]
[ [ Yes! ] ]
[Ummm... What about me?]
[Kaito-kun... Unnn. I think it's fine if you just do as you see fit, right?]
Fia-san gave Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san some advice... but she didn't tell me anything!? Why!?
[Miyama-kun.]
[What is it, Rei-san?]
[The "winner's prize" may just be an assortment of fruits, but the freshness of the fruits deteriorates quickly. I'd recommend putting it in the Magic Box as soon as possible.]
[...No, it's not like I've already won though...]
I don't know what the punchline of his joke is, but Rei-san makes it sound like I have a chance of winning.
No, no matter how you say it, I don't think I could compete against the people from the place where Spirit Mages are born, right?
[Arehh? Luna, what's that?]
[They are placing "bets on the overall winner" over there, so I've bet "all-in" of my last month's paycheck to Miyama-sama.]
[...Go buy some for me too.]
[I respectfully obey.]
[Wait... Lilia-san? Lunamaria-san?]
When Lilia-san asked when she saw the wooden tag that Lunamaria-san had been holding before I knew it, to my surprise, it seems that Lunamaria-san has participated in what seems to be betting for the harvest festival.
No, I don't care if you want to bet or not, but why are you betting on me!?
[Ah, Luna-san. Me too, please.]
[Me too!]
[...…..]
[Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san too!? Wait, why are you also taking out your money, Sieg-san!?]
I have no idea how this happened, but everyone started betting on me.
No, no, no matter how you look at it, I don't have any chance of winning here though!?
Dear Mom, Dad—— The harvest festival is about to start, and I'm going to be part of the festival... I don't know how it happened, but Lilia-san and the others—— they've chosen me as a potential winner!?