A Festival After the Game
We left the arena and walked through a city filled with excitement. While the air was filled with the smell of food, I found a stall that was clearly something else. When curiosity led me to take a closer look, I saw that several people were throwing objects and appeared to be trying to hit a target. You got points depending on which part of the target you hit. The better the points, the better the prize.
"Daniela. Lemon. I challenge you both."
"Hehe. You will soon regret that decision."
"You won"t beat me!"
The two elves said with enthusiasm. And so I called to the owner.
"h.e.l.lo. The three of us would like to play."
"Oh, are you competing? All right. Take these eight skewers and throw them at the target! Maybe you"ll win something!"
"Hehe."
I pa.s.sed the skewers to Daniela and Lemon. We were supposed to throw these things? It seemed quite difficult. They were made of metal… There was probably some trick to doing it. But…
"I"m quite good at this stuff."
"Asagi, you trickster."
"Haha…"
I could learn to do it in an instant with Jack of all Trades, Master of None! My wonderful unique skill.
Lemon looked puzzled at our little exchange. But then she turned to the target with a look of determination.
"All right, let"s say the one with the lowest points has to obey one order from the person with the highest points."
"Uh, but that…"
"Now, start."
I ignored her protest and threw the metal skewer after simulating the motion in my brain. It flew straight into the center of the target. The people around us gasped.
"Haha."
"d.a.m.n it…"
Daniela glared at me. But then she glanced briskly above the stall and then threw the skewer.
It went surprisingly straight.
"What…how…"
"Hahaha."
Had she had such a skill? Then I suddenly felt the wind caress my skin. Oh, did she…
"Daniela…"
"What? I just threw it?"
She said smugly. It was obvious now. She had used the spirits of the wind. d.a.m.n it! Cheater!
As I looked at her reproachfully, there was another thud. And when I looked, there was another skewer resting in the center. Daniela and I looked at each other before turning to the person who had thrown it. She was folding her arms and looking very pleased.
"Hehe. I happen to have a throwing skill."
"Cheater!"
"Cheater!"
It was a mess after that. We all used our skills in this most serious battle. We kept hitting the target, and in the end, we destroyed all three of them. The owner cried bitterly and the game was over. We felt too bad to claim any prizes, and so we left empty-handed.
"We"ll call it a tie."
"I would have won had the targets not broken."
"Really? I was sure I had it in the bag."
We argued as we continued to walk through the capital. Wherever you went, it was lively and festive. There had been festivals when I was in j.a.pan, but it just meant I had more drunks and crazy youngsters do deal with. Those weren"t good memories. It was kind of ironic that it took me coming to another world to actually enjoy a festival…
After that, we enjoyed a few other games and ate some light food. It was evening before we knew it. Daniela was quick to announce that it was time for dinner, but both Lemon and I were full. She was quite disappointed as I dragged her along so we could drop Lemon off at her inn. We promised to meet again the next day before parting.
"See you tomorrow then."
"Yes! Good night!"
Good night, Lemon."
We waved at her and then continued on our way.
"Hahh…"
"You"re still depressed…? You"ve been sighing nonstop."
"You may say that Asagi, but I cannot fathom going to bed without a meal…it is not right…"
"Uhhhh…"
She would be repeating this until morning if I didn"t do something. And that something was to give in… But I really was full.
"Well, let"s find a place then."
"I love you."
"…"
She was holding my arm fondly, but I was not fooled. Her actions were currently dictated by her hunger. She would have gone with anyone who would take her out to eat.
"Now, let us hurry. I am starving."
"Yeah, yeah."
Daniela was the one pulling me through the streets now. Everyone was drunk, everyone was celebrating. It was as if things were only starting to warm up now that it was getting dark.
I gazed at the different sights while being pulled along. That"s when I noticed a large crowd. Was it some kind of event?
"As I said, I have not broken any rules!"
"That may be, but you"ve gone too far!"
"Hmph. That is rich, coming from an angry and violent mob."
"You…!"
It looked like a fight. Rules and mobs?
"They are in our way…how annoying."
Daniela muttered as she marched towards them.
"Hmm? Daniela, let"s go around."
"But the restaurant is on the other side."
"Wait-wait-wait-wait."
She was only looking at the sign on the other side. The one that read, "Meat, Meat, Meat, Meat."
d.a.m.n it. We ate there yesterday!
Besides…
"Wh-what?!"
"Woah!"
"Ouch!"
"Sorry-sorry…"
Daniela pushed her way through without a word. Of course, people fell into each other as the path opened. Daniela, what are you doing…
"You are in my way."
"Ahh!"
She continued to open a path towards the food. And then we finally arrived at the center of the noise.
"And who are you…"
"What is this?"
The two who had been fighting were an Adventurer and…the n.o.blewoman who had won in Group B. I see. That explained the argument.
"You are in my way. Move."
"What? And why should I do that?"
"Because there is a dining hall behind you."
"That"s too bad. Go someplace else."
The man and woman seemed to have put their differences aside in order to block Daniela. I wouldn"t have done that if I were them…
"Do not bother me."
Daniela glared at them as a violent wind erupted. Not only the two in front of her, but the rest of the crowd were also pushed down from it. Even I felt myself rise into the air for a second. I would have fallen over had I not been grabbing onto Daniela.
While there were screams of terror echoing around us, Daniela just snorted grumpily. While no one had been injured, it was still a fearsome display of her mood when she was hungry.
"Who-who are you…"
"What are you!"
The two who were arguing asked as they looked up at us.
"Just an Adventurer."
She said before walking over them. She looked cool, to be sure. Like a protagonist. But she was still heading towards a barbecue house. Of course, I followed after her but was a little more careful to not step on anyone.
"Sorry, you two. But she"s really hungry."
"There is no need to volunteer such information, Asagi."
"Ahh!"
She pulled my arm so that I was next to her. Be gentle…
Well, we finally arrived. I wasn"t sure about eating meat two nights in a row, but I wasn"t going to object at this point in time. Besides, it would make her very grumpy the next day.
"Did she say…Asagi…"
"Asagi… Could it be… Silvergreen?"
I heard the voices behind us. The whole incident had made me oddly hungry, and so I pretended not to hear them. d.a.m.n it, Daniela. She exposed me alone… Oh. I had a bad feeling about this…