Chapter 96 - She Came Along

Night had arrived, and the main festival of the Sacred Tree Festival had begun.

The plaza in the center of Rigforeshia was beautifully decorated and crowded with people.

I don’t know if it’s because the hunting tournament was canceled this year, or because I was the only one who achieved victory, but many people rushed to my side.

Honestly, there are lots of people out here, and I was hoping that they wouldn’t be able to find me easily but…… they could tell I was the winner because of the medal on my chest.

[Congratulations on your win, you did really great…… By the way, my daughter was just around your age……]

[No, err……]

For some reason, an adult male elf is desperately trying to introduce me to his daughter……

[Umm, I’m going to the royal capital…… And I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me or……]

[Huh? Eh?]

A young female elf, with her cheeks dyed red, invited me to dinner……

[Miyama-sama…… a caterpillar like me……was foolish enough to challenge you. Please accept my apologies.]

[……I don’t even know who you are.]

And for some reason, a female elf who seems to be a spirit mage gets down on her knees just when we first met……

Anyway, things got so dreadful and the flustered me couldn’t handle them well.

But then…… Someone I never expected became my savior.

[How rude! Don’t talk to master so casually, or I’ll tear you to pieces!!!]

[………………….]

Yes, this is where Anima came into play. She gallantly appeared, and just like a breakwater, held off the people who were coming at me like a tsunami.

Yep…… It looks like a few people have gotten beaten up from time to time, but it really helps that the barrage of questions stopped.

[Thanks, Anima. You really saved me there. I’d like it if you were to keep things in moderation though, but please keep it up.]

[Master…… Yes! This unworthy Anima is going to do everything for her duty!!!]

I don’t know if she was happy to be praised by me or not, but she smiled at me like a blooming flower, and then turned away the people who were closing in on her with more vigor…… I feel like the number of people who have been beaten up was increasing though, did she hear my instruction of keeping it in moderation? Ahh, another person flew away……

With Anima’s great efforts…… no, it looks more like her great rampage, I went to greet the elven big shots.

I guess I’ve expected it, but because of Lillywood-san, they all treated me favorably, and our greeting went smoothly.

[Kaitokun-san! Congratulations on your win~~]

[Thank you very much, Raz-san.]

Raz-san threw her congratulatory message at me, to which I returned my thanks.

Thereupon, I suddenly realized that I couldn’t find Neun-san, who was supposed to have come to the Sacred Tree Festival with Raz-san.

[Ummm, Raz-san. Where’s Neun-san?]

[……That is well, Neun-san is acting strange again.]

[Eh? Did something happen?]

[I don’t really know, but after she cheered up back on the first day of the Sacred Tree Festival, she would sometimes turn strange…… Look, Neun! This way!]

It seems that Neun-san had apparently become strange, and when I asked her concern, Raz-san turned somewhere and called out.

Turning to where she called out, I saw Neun-san hiding in the shadow of a building.

When Neun-san turned our way, although it can’t be seen from the armor she’s wearing, she moved her body as if she was flustered, and after a little while, she slowly walked towards us.

[Neun-san?]

[!? K- K- Kaito-san, g- g- good morning!]

[……It’s currently night though?]

[C- C- Congrachulations on your v- v- victory!]

[Y- Yes…… Thank you very much. Ummm, Neun-san, are you alright?]

[Yesh!?]

Indeed, Neun-san kinda looks different from normal.

Or rather, she seems to be in some kind of panic, as she’s even fumbling her words.

Seriously, what’s going on? Could it be that she’s not feeling well or something like that!?

[Neun-san, could it be that you’re sick……]

[Awawa, Kai- Kaito-san, your face is too close…… ex- ex……]

[Ex?]

[Excuse me!!!]

[Ehh? Wait, Neun-san!?]

I got worried and took a step closer, but Neun-san looked even more flustered…… and ran away at a terrific speed.

After Neun-san left, the remaining Raz-san and I tilted our heads at each other.

[……Neun-san, seriously, what’s going on?]

[I dunno, it’s just that I think since we met Kaitokun-san, she would sometimes mutter incomprehensible things like premarital diskashons or weding.]

Weding? A wedding? No, the sudden talk of marriage here doesn’t make sense, so she must have been talking about something else.

Hmmm, I’m worried about her but…… For the time being, I’ll leave her to Raz-san. As I still have to continue giving my greetings to everyone, I exchanged some words with Raz-san before we parted ways.

Away from the noisy yet joyful atmosphere of Rigforeshia, I’m now walking through the Spirits’ Forest by myself.

It seems that the spirits have their own customs, so instead of the large number of spirits approaching me in the daytime, there are only a few spirits around me who would be guiding me around.

When I followed their guidance and walked through the forest, I came upon a shrine…… or rather, a cave.

[This is even more……]

It was a much more difficult place to sleep in that I thought it would be.

Entering inside…… I could see a round hole in the ceiling where moonlight shines through it, creating a fantastic scene, while the spirits are lined up by the wall of this shrine.

It seems like they really have lots of customs, as a large number of spirits are neatly lined up inside the spacious shrine, standing still in a neat row, staring towards me.

Unnn? What am I supposed to do now…… Should I really just go in the middle and sleep there?

Perhaps, this was originally meant to be a way to show the spirits the face of the winner.

I’ve seen Lillywood-san leading a mountain of spirits around, but essentially, being able to see so many spirits should have been a very valuable experience.

After looking at the inside of the shrine under the moonlight while thinking about this, I move my gaze to my feet and let out a sigh.

Yep, putting aside the grandeur scene around me…… As expected, as a modern kid, I’m having a hard time sleeping here.

The floor is made of soil…… Yep, it should have been obvious that I won’t be sleeping in a bed made of sand.

Should I be relieved that it’s not made of something really hard like stone? Or perhaps, should I perhaps, continue thinking how the heck this happened……

[My body would be stiff after sleeping here…… It’s going to be tough even with my blanket……]

[Then, how about we lay down a tatami?]

[Yeah, you’re right, I’d really appreciate it if there’s some tatami…… Eh?]

[Unnn?]

I thought I was just muttering to myself as I slumped my shoulders, but for some reason, I heard a reply.

The spirits can’t speak…… rather than them though, that voice sounded rather familiar. Rather than just familiar though, I think I’ve been hearing that voice almost every day.

[……Why are you here, Kuro?]

[Ehehe, I came along.]

Kuro replies to my words with a bashful smile on her face.

That expression on her face though, seems to shine in the moonlight.

Dear Mom, Dad—— As the winner of the harvest festival, I’ll be spending the night in the Spirits’ Forest. And then, for some reason—– Kuro came along.