Chapter 406

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Night of Beltane

Silver hair and blue eyes… She…

“Peyalo, look, look! That dancing lady is looking at us!”

Sarah on my side was jumping up and down with joy, pulling my hand high, standing on her tiptoes, waving vigorously to the performers on stage. This sudden action startled me and interrupted my thoughts. Instinctively, I turned my head back to look at that woman… She seemed to have smiled at this side.

That smile was hidden in the dazzling lights and thunderous applause, not particularly noticeable, yet in an instant, it made everything around seem dim by comparison.

A perfect blend of strength and gentleness, a hundred charms coming to life.

I hadn’t even had the chance to carefully observe her face when I read something from that fleeting smile… something beyond what an ordinary person could possess.

“Oh my god, she’s amazing! I love her so much… Hey, do you know who she is, what her name is…”

Sarah, who was holding my hand, became even more excited. She began asking people around about the identity of the woman, but we didn’t get the answers we were hoping for.

The applause gradually subsided, and the wandering artists turned and left the stage.

This wandering artist troupe was somewhat famous and had performed in the royal city before. But no one had seen the performance of that woman before tonight… According to the rules, there should have been an announcement before the show, but apparently, no one announced her name. Some speculated that the woman might be a newcomer or that the troupe intentionally kept her hidden to create more attention, waiting for the moment when she would make a stunning debut.

The night’s performance did not end there; new artists took the stage. We watched an opera called “Daphne,” followed by a pair of dancers. By the third performance, we felt a bit bored, and the woman did not return to the stage. But after her performance, everything else seemed dull…

Despite the high artistic value, without such a stunning visual impact, it couldn’t stir the heart again. Gradually, even Sarah lost interest, feeling too hot in the crowd, so when the fourth performance announced “Lady Hero Knight Sylviga,” I quickly led them away from the scene.

Not wanting to see someone else play myself… That’s just too strange…

An inexplicable sense of shame…

With such feelings, we squeezed out of the crowd and started leisurely walking around the square.

The square was surrounded by lush parks. The green trees swayed in the light, the flickering lights, and the path paved with green rocks wound and extended. The waves of the Saber River to the east were clearly visible, and the evening breeze from the river gently brushed against our faces, warm but comfortable.

We walked to the riverside, where there were fewer activities and people. We found a relatively clean patch of grass to sit on, Daisy said her feet were a little sore, so she took off her shoes. Sarah proactively went over to massage her feet, complaining all the while, “Why does it smell like stinky fish…” Of course, this was just a joke, but Daisy, who had thin skin, immediately blushed and felt embarrassed.

The two girls started fooling around, and I watched them for a while before gazing steadily at the long river at night. Finally, I dared to take off the sun hat on my head and held it in my hand as a fan—the weather was really stuffy, and the hair at my temples was wet.

After a moment, Sarah rolled over from the nearby grass, lying on her back next to me, stretching her limbs and forming a big cross. She suddenly said, “Actually… if it weren’t for Peyalo pulling me just now, I wanted to stay and watch ‘Lady Hero Knight Sylviga’ to the end.”

Hearing this, I pouted and said, “So what, it’s worth watching…”

“Hehe, I was curious!” Sarah laughed slyly, “I just wanted to see how great the hero who saved the royal city was… No, I mean the little heroine. How powerful is she? Is it like this, swoosh—”

The girl lifted her hand, grabbing at the air, gesturing wildly, her face serious for a moment, then breaking into laughter again, “Swinging the scythe, cleanly chopping off the monster’s head, saving us ignorant commoners from the depths of despair… Ah! Just thinking about it is cool~”

After saying that, the girl opened her bright eyes wide under the night sky, staring at me unblinkingly.

“Sarah, do you admire Lady Sylviga very much?”

Hearing Daisy, who was massaging her feet nearby, ask this question, Sarah laughed and waved her arms in front of her in an exaggerated circle, “Yes, I admire her so much!” Then she winked at me.

“…It’s probably not real.”

I smiled and told her this.

Then I raised my head and looked at the bright moon hanging in the sky.

I could still hear the distant sounds of revelry…

In the atmosphere of singing and dancing tonight, whether it was the street-corner minstrels or the wonderful performances on stage, even the bustling scenes of the royal city, the main theme of everything was inseparable from the church and the great gods.

People were immersed in the joy of the festival, truly forgetting that just a little further south, they could see the magnificent palace, and discover that the bloodstains in front of the palace square had not been completely washed away. Those collapsed ruins were still blackened frames, with some people buried inside, never found.

But people really forgot those things.

“Sarah, have you ever been to the disaster area?” I asked her.

The girl was quiet for a moment, then sat up suddenly with a “Hey,” patting her back, and shook her head.

“I’m afraid to go, I can’t bear it.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I responded softly and then said, “I’m also afraid.”

“Oh…”

Sarah lowered her head to think for a while, then looked at me again, her smile fading, her eyebrows lightly furrowing, “Is it… very serious? Isn’t it said that His Holiness and Her Majesty have settled things, and the repair work isn’t a problem?”

“…Yes.”

“Recently… it seems those people haven’t caused trouble anymore.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“…Everyone is so happy tonight.”

Seeing that I didn’t want to talk about these matters, the girl took the initiative to change the subject.

The topic of conversation shifted. She picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it towards the river several meters away, her tone somewhat wistful. “Compared to previous years, this year’s May Day is truly much livelier… It’s said that most of the famous wandering artists and dancers from Ithsembel have been invited, and even the number of bards seems to have increased several times compared to last year… Everywhere you look, there are activities, and they’ve held five garden parties, four in the city and one outside…”

She paused for a moment.

“I actually wanted to go see the sword fighting and horse racing outside the city, but I couldn’t make it… I remember that both Pope and Saint George mentioned during the academy speech that we should pay special attention to this May Day, using the festival’s celebrations to uplift the people, especially those who have lost their families in the calamities… I was happy when I heard that, but I never expected the church to take it so seriously… How much money would that cost?”

“A lot.”

I had heard from Beaudry. Most of the activities for this May Day were funded by the Saint George Bank, and the amount spent… could feed the refugees of an entire northern city for many days.

“Forget about it, why bother thinking so much… Let’s just enjoy ourselves!”

“But those people in the south of the city… those who have lost their families, those who are separated from their loved ones, would they be happy about this?” Daisy asked.

Sarah fell silent for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “How could they be…?”

“But… even if they’re sad, wouldn’t they pretend to be happy tonight?”

“…I don’t know.”

“I think… this festival isn’t really for them…”

“Daisy, don’t say such things.”

“Uh, alright…”

I listened quietly as the two girls spoke. The evening breeze blew gently from across the river, growing warmer.

…After all, they had seen the Frost Order already.

With that thought, I raised my right hand above my head, extending my long index finger, concentrating, and gathering the power of the order at the tip of my finger—”Bam,” a muffled sound, a small stream of ice-blue mist erupted from my fingertip, rapidly spreading above. Sarah and Daisy let out startled cries beside me, followed by the frost mist descending.

Comfortable…

“Woah!”

“Woah woah woah—”

Sarah screamed exaggeratedly, suddenly jumping up from the grass, bouncing a few times in the sparkling mist, then running with a cheerful voice, “So cool, so cool!” Even Daisy couldn’t help but move closer, but soon they fled in panic, standing nearly ten meters away, shivering with their arms crossed, teeth chattering: “Cold, freezing… Peyelo… Do you want to kill us…?”

I tilted my head. “Very cold?”

Both nodded vigorously. Sarah shouted, “Super cold!”

“Ah…”

Alright.

It seems my control over the Frost Order still needs improvement… I was so confident earlier, thinking the temperature would be fine, expecting them to praise me…

Forget it, I feel great.

“Let’s go.”

I stood up, brushed off the grass on my bottom, put on my sun hat, and turned towards the brightest part of the park. The two girls followed, and Sarah asked from behind, “Where are we going?”

“To eat.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m hungry.”

“…Hungry? You haven’t stopped eating all night!”

Hearing her words, I blushed slightly but stubbornly replied, “I didn’t eat much.”

“Not much? That would be enough for me to eat for three days!”

“No, it wouldn’t…”

“Yes, it would!”

The girl was getting a bit frantic.

…………

Midnight had arrived.

The day blessed by the Mother Goddess was soon coming to an end.

On the west side of the park, a huge bonfire burned, the dry branches crackling loudly, thick smoke rising.

Around the fire, many simple tables and chairs were set up under tents, people entering and exiting, sitting in groups, some drinking, others cooking over small fires. Dancers wearing antlers circled the fire, their bells jingling, women and children wearing beautiful flower crowns, holding hands in a circle, dancing and singing around the fire.

This was the final revelry of the night, which would continue throughout the entire night.

Peyelo, Sarah, and Daisy played here for a long time, singing with everyone, resting wherever they could find a spot, chatting with strangers, and of course, being flirted with. But tonight… no interruptions.

Later, encouraged by a few older women, Sarah started drinking beer and insisted that Daisy and I join her.

“Come to think of it, we’ve never drunk together before! Tonight, let’s have fun while we’re out!”

She said this, and Daisy did not refuse. After hesitating for a moment, I decided not to dampen everyone’s spirits and ordered a drink, clearly telling them I couldn’t handle alcohol and that a sip would suffice.

Then, eating peas while drinking.

“Bless the Mother Goddess, cheers!”

“In the past, every time I secretly went to a tavern, I was always very scared. Once, my mother found out and scolded me badly, saying that girls shouldn’t go to such places… Really, I am a knight! How can a knight not go to a tavern? What a joke… What do you think?”

Sarah was a bit drunk.

Daisy was also a bit drunk, but she was amusingly drunk, not babbling nonsense like others, just smiling foolishly at us.

The older women who had urged us to drink were also a bit drunk.

Their faces blurred in my vision as they gathered around the table.

My head began to spin…

But it felt wonderful.

“Giggles~”

Later, I wasn’t even sure what they were talking about, but feeling happy, I joined in laughing. Until the night grew deep, and even the stars disappeared, we, tipsy, remembered we needed to go home.

“Peyelo…” in a daze, it seemed Sarah was supporting me, “I’ll send you… where do you live…”

Hmm?

Oh…

It took several seconds for my brain to catch up with what she was asking.

But happily: “Londale Street… giggles~”

“…Where?!”

“Londale Street… No. 3… my home…”

“It’s there…”