Chapter 27: Their Star Festival

“My dear comrades, as a citizen of Shian Empire, you should know what day today is, right?”

Razé Orphan, dressed in combat uniform, took the lead in the 537th SAB and raised her voice. Her fighting spirit was worthy to make her be called ‘Leader’ by her team members. She had a strong presence even though she was standing in front of men who were more than twice bigger than herself.

“That’s right. From yesterday until tomorrow, these three days are the main period for Star Festival celebration. Today, the second day of the festival, is the high point of the celebration. And yet, here we are standing in the middle of the monster’s paradise!”

She seems to be especially fired up today, thought the men as they looked at their little leader. But their morale was high because it had been a while since they last went for an expedition together.

Razé: “When I was doing my mission the other day, I found out that there is something missing in the army. Captain Bonalt! What do you think it is?”

Bonalt: “Eh?! Is it youth?”

Bonalt spontaneously gave an answer to the question that suddenly came out of nowhere.

Razé: “So cheesy! Wrong! Why would you ask for youth for these men?! The thing that we lack is therapeutic healing!!”

She only been able to sleep for three hours recently, so she was acting hyper more than usual.

Razé: “People can stay strong if they get to eat delicious food every day while being surrounded by angels and goddesses! And for that reason, I will set quota for today’s mission! Anyone who had achieved their quota can return to Ordiana right away and participate in the Star Festival! Go meet your wife, children, or girlfriend and melt away your stress!! If you don’t have a girlfriend, take this opportunity to find one! And make sure to enjoy the festival! I’ve already paid to Tsuki no Shizuku[1], so please drink and eat as much as you like! That’s all!”

When they heard her words, the men screamed excitedly, “Wooo!! Leader!!”

“As expected from our Leader!”

“Come on!! Let’s finish this fast and go home early!”

“A treat?! That’s awesome!”

The excited group of men were cracking their knuckles and got into battle mode. Razé clapped her hand and they went silent instantly.

Razé: “Make sure not to get hurt!”

“Roger!”

With that, they started their mission in Baruda.

While they were traveling, Ducard said to Bonalt, “It’s really different when Leader is here.”

Bonalt: “Yeah. Everyone was very energetic.”

Ducard: “Including you.”

Bonalt: “Yes.”

Bonalt broke into a grin and burnt a monster to ashes with flame magic. He said, “When Leader is around, we don’t have to refrain ourselves.”

Ducard joined him and laughed happily.

Razé had marked all her team members. If she sensed any danger, she would teleport to them immediately. At the same time, she could teleport the person back to the safe zone.

Thanks to her skills, the members could fight valiantly and kept their live too. They could also accumulate experience much faster compared to other units, so each one of them had the ability equivalent to a troop leader.

They were the famous ‘Hyakki Yagyo[2] of Shian’.

* * *

Meanwhile, Folia and Carna were at the Star Festival in the capital of Shian. There were rows of food stalls and it was crowded with people. The girls were wearing traditional clothes unique to the Star Festival.

Ruben, who was in disguise, stood next to Carna. And the other love interests were in high spirits enjoying the festival.

As for Folia, she was in a very good mood. She had met Zale-sama for the first time in a while and had received a pinkie ring. When she told him that she was going to the Star Festival with her friends, he was reluctant to let her go. The first thing that he asked was, “Male friends?” and was followed by many other questions. Folia didn’t think much of it because she was simply happy that she got to chat with him.

Folia and her group ate at the food stalls and then walked around shopping. Carna saw a cute keyholder and called out to Folia. “Folia, look at that keyholder.”

Folia: “Waa. It’s so cute.”

Carna: “Let’s buy three. One for each of us.”

Folia: “Sounds great! Oh, I found a dress that suits Razé just now.”

Carna: “I also found a bag and shoes that suits her. I plan to go buy them later.”

Both of them were chatting happily about their good friend who couldn’t come with them to the festival.

Folia: “By the way, when is her birthday?”

Carna: “I’m not sure either. Let’s ask her after the holiday is over.”

Folia: “Un!”

Listening to Folia and Carna chatting happily about Razé, the guys who didn’t have much good impression about her were looking at each other.

Luca: “Granoli …what is she like?”

Folia: “Razé-chan is a very smart person. She’s attentive to others, very reliable and a very cool friend!”

Carna: “Right. She’s much reliable than most guys. She likes to eat sweets and she looks so cute like a squirrel when she eats.”

Folia: “I feel you. She’d be happy with whatever souvenir that we give to her.”

The love interests somehow felt that they had lost to Razé. They had decided to work harder in the next semester to impress the girl that they like.

* * *

As for Adis, even though he had told others that he had made promise with the girls to go to the Star Festival, he was actually staying at home.

“Come on Adis. You are not giving up already, are you?”

Adis was on his knees crouching in the garden of his family’s mansion. He looked up at the woman who was standing in front of him with a keen eye.

“How can you keep your dignity as a man if you lose to a girl? Stand up.”

Adis was worn out, but he got to his feet because it was true that he had lost to a commoner girl. He said, “Let’s continue.”

“Good.” The woman’s face broke into a smile when she saw her son grabbing his sword. She was the princess of the Kingdom of Arianne, Vanessa Lag Zars, who was known as ‘the invisible war maiden’. Vanessa, who had heard from her husband about her son’s school life, knew that Adis had been defeated by the young female soldier who had infiltrated into the academy.

She knew that he was very competitive just like herself. But Adis also inherited personality trait from her husband who hated unnecessary conflicts. He never bothered to exert his utmost effort. So, she thought that this was a good experience. She had never expected that Adis would voluntarily ask for a training. Vanessa was happy with her son’s growth.

She swung her sword with great strength as she asked, “Adis, do you like the girl?”

Adis was surprised by her words. He shook his head while swinging his sword. “No, I don’t!”

Vanessa: “Oh, really? I’d love to have a strong girl as my daughter in law.”

Isn’t that because you’re also strong unlike others normal lady? Adis swallowed those words as he didn’t dare to say it out loud. Looking at his mother who could leisurely chat while striking with her sword, he thought that she could join the military to the battlefield and she would still be fine.

Adis: “I just don’t want to lose to her anymore.”

Vanessa: “I see. Then, you need to become stronger and must at least be able to beat me. If you can defeat me, I think you could handle most of the other enemies.”

Adis could barely managed to defend against Vanessa’s attack. Although her words sounded ridiculous, but it was the truth so there was nothing he could say. Then, a bullet made of water attacked him from the side and Adis could barely avoided it.

Vanessa: “With this condition, you’d have a hard time if you join the knights, you know.”

And so, Vanessa’s strict training continued until the holiday was over.

* * *

“Leader, I’ll leave first!”

“Okay. Thank you for your hard work. Have fun!”

“I will!”

Razé watched as her team members achieved their quota and left one after another. After this mission was over, she would have to enter Zone 15 alone to investigate the terrain and monsters that lived there. So far, only she could accomplish this kind of mission. It was no exaggeration to say that the military could hunt the monsters safely thanks to her effort.

“Leader. I’m done.”

“Okay. Thanks for your hard work. Did you get hurt?”

“No.”

“Good. Make sure to shower before you go on your date.”

“Roger.”

She watched as the last member left and got ready for her own mission.

“Let’s go up until 3km from Zone 14 today. The faster I finish this job, the earlier I can go back to sleep.” Razé set a goal for herself and teleported to Zone 14 directly. The monsters in this area were extremely strong unlike the beasts in Ordiana. But she could slaughter them easily and continued to move forward. She would teleport a sample for those that looked like a new species to the laboratory while mapping out the terrain of the unknown area.

Other countries had also explored into Baruda, but she was the only one who could go that deeper. Of course, she didn’t bump into anyone else and she was very good at teleportation so nobody saw her while she was doing her mission.

“Hmm. I need to redraw the map once I get back. My drawing is very bad. I need to learn how to draw map at the academy.”

Razé finished her mission and returned to Ordiana. She cleared up her work and then returned to her home. She was so tired that she collapsed into bed. She still hadn’t discussed about the security for Battle Fiesta yet, and there was other mission for Shadow’s Eye that she needed to do. Her work never ends.

“I wonder if Carna-sama and the others are alright …”

And then, she fell asleep.

[1] Tsuki no Shizuku: name of a restaurant, or teahouse. ↩

[2] Hyakki Yagyo/Yako 百鬼夜行: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. Read more here. ↩