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 Lunamariasan 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!?