When I returned to the city of Rigforeshia, well, I had already expected
this to some extent but… A tremendous commotion occurred.
That's no wonder since Lillywood-san, one of the Six Kings, is currently
next to me, which must be a shocking situation for the elves who
worship Lillywood-san like a god.
Looking quite nervous, the man who is facilitating the event
approaches.
[W- Well then, the bag of fruits you collected…]
[Ah, yes.]
As I handed the bag to the man, right after that… I think I heard Liliasan shout something, but to be honest, that sounds scary… So, I'll just
pretend I didn't hear it.
As I was thinking about that, Lillywood-san was talking to the man who
was facilitating the game.
"Fumu, the all-time record was 210 but… I guess I didn't even have to
help you with collecting fruits."
[ [ [ ! ? ] ] ]
[W- World King-sama, what does that…]
"This person, Kaito, had already collected nearly 400 pieces before he
met me."
[W- What the…]
The man takes the bag from me in astonishment, while the other
facilitators look at me as if I were a monster.
The highest score was 210? Arehh? That's funny… I think you're
missing one zero there. I mean, if that's really the highest score they can
get, I might not want to think about it for a moment…
Feeling uncomfortable from the gazes around me, I moved my gaze to
watch the tallying, but just when one of the facilitators took the fruits
out of the bag…
[…We would need more baskets…]
Apparently, one basket wasn't enough, and the facilitator, with a stiff
expression on his face, continued to transfer the fruits into the
baskets… and eventually, when the number of baskets reached 15, it
seems that the contents of the bags was finally emptied.
(T/N: I think the fruits mentioned here aren't that big, or I really
mistranslated and it was actually "berries" instead.)
The man looks at the baskets piled up like a mountain of fruits, and
after staring at it for a few moments… he doesn't even count them, but
just moves his gaze and lets out a loud voice.
[Winner, Miyama Kaito!!!]
[Huh?]
Instantly, a crackling cheer erupted from those around me.
The winner? Me? Ah, no, you haven't even counted them yet… Around
210 was just the average amount, is what I was thinking but… Arehh?
Isn't this bad?
[Amazing, that guy's amazing!]
[What's with that number, 1000… No, Isn't that about 2000?]
[And look at that number of spirits! The other spirit mages won't even
reach his level!]
[Yeah… He must be the apostle of World King-sama… Thank God, for
gracing us with your presence.]
Yep, how should I say this… I may have harvested too much.
W- What should I do!? I mean, it already causes a huge fuss around us,
and somehow… some people started worshipping me as Lillywoodsan's apostle!? I need to settle this down immediately… Ah, this is
dangerous, I feel like a wave of humans is about to surge towards me…
"Silence!"
[ [ [ [ ! ? ] ] ] ]
The noise disappears all at once, as Lillywood-san shouts at the people
who were about to rush towards me with excitement.
Lillywood then stands a few distance in front of me and quietly looks
around the people around us before speaking.
"First, we should do the awarding. If you wish to speak with Kaito-san,
do so after the festival. When doing so, please keep everything in
moderation and don't cause trouble… This is a strict order. Is that
alright with everyone?"
Hearing her dignified voice resounding everywhere, many elves
prostrate themselves with their knees and hands on the ground.
"It's safe to say that Kaito-san is now the winner, and since the
atmosphere is already in place… Do you mind if I do the awarding? I
would also know the amount of fruits he had acquired."
[O- O- Of course!]
"Well then, Kaito-san… come with me."
After getting the facilitator's approval, Lillywood-san lightly taps the
ground with the wooden staff she held.
Thereupon, a tree grows from a little distance away and it wriggles and
turns into a large altar-like shape.
Then, Lillywood-san moved to the center of that wooden altar and
called out to me… Eh? You want me to go over there? While all these
people had their eyes on me?
Climbing up the wooden altar and standing in front of Lillywood-san,
exposed to a level of attention that's already on the level of being in a
public execution.
I didn't know what to do, but since the other part is Lillywood-san, one
of the Six Kings, and since we're in public, I decided to get down one
knee and took the formal way of bowing to someone.
"Otherworlder Miyama Kaito."
[Y- Yes!]
"You have communicated with many spirits at the harvest festival and
won their strong and deep trust. For this great work, I commend you."
[T- Thank you very much.]
The awarding ceremony began in some sort of flow, and I very
nervously responded to Lillywood-san's words.
"You have collected a total number of "2,321" fruits… This is a result
unseen even back in the past, and it proves that you are truly loved by
the spirits."
[...…]
Most of that number was the fruits collected by Lillywood-san, so it's
not really collected through my efforts but… Unfortunately, this isn't the
place for me to say such a thing.
Lillywood-san then continues to praise me with her dignified voice, and
the people around us applaud and cheer.
"The original winner's prize is of course as stated by the rules… But
your achievement isn't something that can be evaluated on its own.
Therefore, I would like to give you some kind of reward from me as
well. Tell me, what do you desire?"
[Wha? Huh?]
What a surprise, it seems that Lillywood-san is offering to give me
something other than the winner's prize, and I completely freeze up
when I hear those words.
To be honest, even if she says something like rewarding me out of the
blue, I just find it… troubling.
I've already received the Fruit of the World Tree, and I can't think of
anything else I would like to have right away, but it might be rude to
refuse her offer.
However, I don't want wealth or fame, and I can't think of anything in
particular that I would like to have.
Isn't there anything that can come up in my mind? A reply that will get
me through this without a hitch… think, I have to think of something…
Thinking in silence for a few moments, I then came up with an idea
before looking up towards Lillywood-san.
[W- Well then, this might be rude of me, but I'd like to ask you one
thing…]
"Yes, please speak."
[Rigforeshia seems to be in quite a mess from the Black Bear attack that
happened yesterday, so I was hoping if you could do something to help
them…]
"...…"
Yes, what I thought of was in regards to the city of Rigforeshia.
Yesterday's attack by the Black Bear destroyed the wall that had been
protecting the city, and the guards have become quite rattled.
The fact that this city is currently in considerable trouble can be clearly
seen from Rei-san and the others' conditions yesterday and today, and I
thought it would be great if she could do something to help them.
This way, no one would feel envious that I'm the only one who received
something nice from Lillywood-san, the city would become safer, and it
will be beneficial to me if I ever get a chance to come visit in the future.
Hearing my statement, Lillywood-san looks impressed before she
kindly smiles at me.
"I understand. I will do as you wish and cast Warding Magic on the city
of Rigforeshia myself. I will also send my people to guard later until the
guard force regroups."
[Thank you very much.]
Once again, loud cheers erupted around me, and I heard voices praising
me from all over the place, which made me feel very embarrassed, to
say the least.
"Well then, once again, I would like to conclude the award ceremony by
presenting to you this medal, as a proof of your victory."
With these words, Lillywood-san handed me a wooden medal with a
beautiful flower pattern on it, marking the end of the award ceremony.
Lillywood-san then looked at me with a kind expression on her face and
spoke.
"You must be tired too. Please rest your body and relax until the main
festival in the evening."
[Yes.]
"Everyone, please try not to bother Kaito-san until the main festival."
Ah, I see… I didn't know why Lillywood-san suddenly said she would be
one giving the awards, but what she just said made it make sense.
Lillywood-san understood that I was going to have lots of people asking
me lots of questions if she didn't do something, and even if I was the
winner, I couldn't leave the place without receiving the award.
That's why she made it easy for me to leave this place by presenting the
award herself as soon as possible.
After thanking Lillywood-san for her thoughtfulness and that we would
be talking when we meet up again at the main festival… a banquet-like
festival held in the evening where everyone attends, I leave and head
towards Lilia-san and the others.
As I was leaving, I heard people saying from behind me stuff like "How
humble! What a splendid human!" and "A noble man truly worthy of
being called a hero", praises that were clearly not fit to my stature, so I
just decided to not listen to them.
Or rather, this kind makes me worried for the evening's main festival,
you know!? It would be great… if it didn't turn into something really
outrageous…
Leaving the plaza as soon as possible, I found Lilia-san and the others
and ran over to them.
Thereupon, Lilia-san greeted me with a very beautiful smile… A smile
that honestly sent a chill run down my spine for some reason.
[Kaito-san, welcome back. That was a wonderful statement you made
when you thought about Rigforeshia.]
[T- Thank you very much.]
Arehh? She just normally praised me? Was that Shura that I thought I
saw behind her earlier just my imagination?
[I'm feeling really proud of you for that… But let's put that aside for
now…]
[…Eh?]
[We just have something very important to talk about. Yes, it's very
important. So, why don't we have a little chat in private…]
[Ah, no, ummm… I have some things to do so…]
[I t ' s o k a y , r i g h t ?]
[…Yesshhh!]
Lilia-san has been smiling for the whole time she said that.
However, there's something powerful hidden behind that smile that
was conveyed even without her saying a word, as her hands, beautiful
as whitebait, have veins pulsing on them.
Ah shit, I'm going to die… I'm going to be killed!?
[Well then, it's about time we depart.]
(T/N: Lilia-san didn't just use the word commonly used for go, but instead
a word that also meant die.)
[W- Wait, Lilia-san!? A little slower… you're using too much strength!
Wait, my arm hurts!? It's breaking! It's breaking!!!]
Dear Mom, Dad—– I won the harvest festival. But when I came back—–
A shura was there.