And so Juan returned home and took out a wooden bowl, which he got from Sandre this afternoon.
"Right, I forgot about the venue. But if what I thought is correct, then it should be at the plaza in front of the village chief's house."
If he got it wrong, then it won't be too late to ask someone for the right direction.
Soon, Juan left the house locked with his way before heading out to the village plaza.
Upon arriving, the whole place is already lit with bonfires and rowdy people.
"Is the mutton ready yet?"
"I don't know. I've just arrived."
"There's no need to ask. I already saw people preparing it for us."
"Five sheep should be divided into mutton skewers and soup, right?"
"That should be."
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I'm going to help. Who knows, my portion might get increased by a slice?"
"Ah, I won't follow you. I'll stay here and rest; can't you even feel fatigued?"
At the back of the village chief house, men with their wives can be seen shuttling back and forth with knives and pails full of boiled water.
Five sheep were butchered, cleaned, and chopped into countless big pieces.
Half of which were put into a big pot to cook some soup mixed with vegetables.
The other half was skewered and placed on the wooden chopping board for barbecue.
"Guys, go and place the mutton skewers out and let the men outside start roasting it themselves."
The men nodded and executed the command. With the skewers at hand, the drowsy men outside immediately became lively.
"It's here! Hahaha! Let me show you all my roasting way!"
"I was just about to go to sleep, but I forgot about that when the meat arrived."
Juan received his own mutton skewer, the size of a palm, skewed by a shaved stick.
Since he saw no one familiar with him, Juan just found a quiet place with a bonfire and started barbecuing his mutton skewer.
'Though I doubt this could even fill me full,' he thought.
"Everyone, have some bread here; pair it with your mutton. Also, the mutton soup will soon be ready after. It will take some time, though."
Shouted by a man who came out from the temporary cooking area.
Juan soon received his own palm-sized bread made from barley. Looking at the palm-sized mutton meat and the bread on his hand.
Then to everyone. He kind of got it that each man got the same size of meat and bread. There's no unfairness; everyone is the same.
Well, it's not like he wants to flex his status as an assistant to the village chief just to take more meat and bread.
Juan is already content with what he received under the bright yellow lights and orange taints of the setting sun.
The surroundings are lively and filled with the bustle of a pure society without its complexities, since what everyone wants right now is just to be happy.
"Hey, that young man over there. Come here if you're lonely!"
Someone called him, though, seeing as he seems to be a bit too lonely and quiet, far from the center of the fun.
"It's okay, I'm waiting for someone. Thanks!"
Juan shouted back in reply, and it's a lie. A basic lie to stop a nearing trouble.
The sun set, and the sky turned dark with its surroundings.
Stars started to appear above, while the bonfire on the ground lit up the surroundings with bright and warm light.
The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat. Laughter and shouts were everywhere. Everyone is eating while joking.
"It should be ready now."
Juan muttered at the sight of his sizzling, hot, and fragrant mutton skewer.
He picked it up using a piece of cloth as the hand cover before placing it on top of the bread inside the bowl to cool down a little.
There's no way Juan would eat sizzling hot meat immediately, right? He would die in scorching pain if he did.
The juice and heat will also somehow help him heat up the bread.
"It will take another time."
To shorten the time needed, he had an idea. Using his right palm as a fan while holding the bowl with his left.
He started blowing air along with his mouth since he had nothing to do anyway—or it should be.
If there's not a person coming from behind him.
Judging from the weight of the sounds, the footsteps should be light, meaning there's a high chance that it was a woman.
When men walked, their steps were heavy and wild.
The noise they made on the ground was also quite loud, which made Juan come up with such a decision.
Then there came the familiar fragrance of a young lady invading his senses. There's no need to guess; the answer is already clear.
There's only one lady with whom he has come into contact to the point of being familiar in this village.
"Ceth? What are you doing here?"
Juan said normally without looking back. His attention not leaving his still-smoking food.
Ceth looked around; the surroundings were as rowdy as before.
Nothing changed, but she could feel it; they were getting attention because of her.
She didn't mind and took a step forward before taking a seat side by side with Juan.
And she didn't answer his question either.
Juan, hearing no answer, took a glance at her from the corner of his eyes. Just to see what she is doing.
However, this one glance almost took most of his breath away. What can he even say?
She wore her usual simple yet elegant attire, timeless and full of modest elegance. Her quiet temperament blends in with the village and bonfire.
Under the cover of the now night's starry sky. She was sitting gracefully in the warmth of a crackling bonfire.
The flickering flames mirrored the enchantment in her deep, expressive eyes.
As she gazed into the dancing flames, her silhouette merged with the ethereal backdrop, creating a scene of beauty and quiet enchantment in Juan's eyes.
Juan knows he can't find the right words to describe what he feels. But he did know Ceth, besides him, had once again taken him by surprise.
Seemingly sensing him staring at her. Ceth, who was looking at the bonfire, turned away from it and faced Juan instead with her ever-silent calmness.
"Can I sit here?" she said.
Juan stared at her dumbly.
"... didn't you sit already? Why bother to ask?"
Ceth nodded and didn't say anything.
However, her eyes never leave his face, and this is making Juan a little bit panicky inside.
"Can you look elsewhere? I can't concentrate."
Ceth said nothing but just returned her attention to the bonfire instead. Which gave Juan some relief inwardly.
Sweat had unknowingly slid from his forehead down to his cheek. And he just found out about it right now.
Seeing Ceth, she wasn't looking at him anymore. Although her sitting beside him is making him nervous deep down,
It's much better than what has happened just now.
"Oh, it's not that hot anymore."
Suddenly, he found his mutton meat had been cooling off for a while now.
The heat was just about right for him to eat and enjoy.
He was basically drooling and just about to bite on the meat when he remembered Ceth beside him.
This immediately made him uncomfortable. However, as a man who knew how to repay kindness with gratitude, Juan can't just act like he did not see her.
"You haven't eaten yet?"
Her family has given him tremendous help after all. Ceth herself was also the one who took him on the tour for a whole morning without complaining.
Ceth thought for a bit and glanced at the bowl Juan was holding, the mutton meat, and the bread it contained before she shook her head as her answer.
"Hmm... alright."
Juan said no more after that. Instead, he divided the meat and the bread in the bowl into two and started eating a half.
Next, he moved the bowl near Ceth and motioned for her to have the other half.
However, Ceth didn't move, which was somewhat expected by Juan.
So after waiting for so long, seeing that she remained unmoved even after such, he can only use his other means since she's shyer than he thought she would be.
Juan moved his hand fast and immediately ate all the mutton and bread from his mouth down to his stomach.
Then after that, he faced the silent Ceth, who had been looking at him all this time, and he didn't care anymore, with a bowl that still had her share.
"Open your mouth."
Juan somehow said something really embarrassing this time.
He really didn't want to look around him, as he could already feel that countless eyes had been on him all this time.
Ceth's expression seems to jump a bit at his unexpected words, though. Juan didn't know if he would be hated because of this.
Though his worry seems to be unnecessary,
Ceth opened her mouth obediently.
Not even asking why which made Juan feel thankful in his heart; his face has been saved from shame this time.
Looking at her at this time, Juan didn't know Ceth could be this cute and funny right now. This made him smile a bit subconsciously.
'Once again, I can't escape this one huh.' Juan thought mockingly in his heart.