“Sounds like you fooled it.”
“I used to do this a lot as a kid. Guess I still remember how!”
“You have this bird in Loggervia, too?”
“Yeah. It’s a common summer bird there.”
When I’d heard they were migratory birds from the north, I hadn’t imagined they flew all the way here from Loggervia.
“That’s the call they make when they’re searching for a mate.”
“Wow, you know a lot about them.”
“In Loggervia, we get to know them well. The birds lay their eggs in summer but need a mate when they’re migrating. They fly south with their family, and the children leave the nest once they get there. Then, before returning north, the children find partners of their own,” Rit explained in detail.
In the capital of Avalonia where I’d lived, the piropiro bird could only be seen during the short time it took to rest its wings there between migrations.
I’d studied all sorts of things to support Ruti, but I hadn’t known anything about a migratory bird that was so close by.
There was still so much for Rit to teach me.
“What’re they called in Loggervia, by the way? They’re called piropiro birds here in Zoltan.”
“Piropiro birds?! No way!” Rit covered her mouth with her bandana and grinned. “They’re called honeymoon birds in Loggervia. Since they fly from the distant south with their partners.”
“How romantic.”
“The Duchy of Loggervia is known for its military, but that’s not all there is to its people.”
There’s a custom in Loggervia for married couples to take a month off work and spend it together drinking mead. Seeing these birds come together from so far away must have created that vision of an ideal couple.
Loggervia was a nation of snow and steel that dominated the north of Avalon. It was highly militarized, yet it seemed the citizens also had their romantic side.
“Still, though, the piropiro bird? Hehe… I can’t believe they’re called something like that.”
“It’s incredible how differently people in Loggervia and Zoltan see things.”
“It’s so funny!”
Rit smiled again. I could see her white teeth through the gap in her red bandana.
“That reminds me!” she said, clapping her hands.
The piropiro bird flew away at the sudden loud noise.
“About the Harvest Festival this year…”
“Yeah, it’s next week. Gonz was all fired up about it.”
For the people of Zoltan, who loved to avoid work, a festival was the perfect excuse.
That alone was enough to get everyone excited. There wasn’t any of the tradition or ceremony of the festivals in Avalonia, but they were no slouch when it came to fun.
During the Harvest Festival, produce from the northern district of Zoltan and the neighboring farming villages was gathered and displayed for sale, and shops that created items using that produce opened stalls.
It was managed mostly by the farmers in the northern district and the Adventurers Guild.
Most of the people living in our neighborhood would be taking part as guests, but…
“Red & Rit’s Apothecary should sell something!” Rit said, her eyes glistening with excitement.
“Even if we want to put up a stall, it’s such short notice…”
We kept talking while standing behind the shop counter.
It was a quiet day for the store. I used to worry about that, since we’d only just opened last year, but now it was fine. Demand for an apothecary came in waves.
After a year, we also knew when we could just chat some.
“We had fun at the beach this summer, didn’t we?”
“Yeah. I also enjoyed going out to the island and diving.”
“Me too! However,” Rit said, holding up a finger, “we haven’t done anything to enjoy fall!”
“Yeah, if you just spend fall here in Zoltan working, it’s over before you know it.”
Last year, we’d found ourselves mixed up in Bighawk’s mess, and autumn had come and gone without us even realizing it.
“I’ll have to start preparing for winter before long,” I said.
“While that is important, right now, fall’s staring us in the face!”
“And that’s why you want to set up a stall for the festival?”
“Exactly! A lot of your medicines are good for everyday sorts of things, right? I’m sure our regulars all know about it, but we should try to spread the word about the one-year anniversary hair tonic you made.”
Rit was totally fired up.
And if she was going to go that far, then I guess I had to pull my weight, too! “All right, then let’s give it our best shot!”
“Yay!”
We’d be taking part in a fall festival.
That seemed like a pretty good way to get into the season.
“But the festival’s next week, and we don’t have a plan… Did you have something in mind?” I asked.
“I figured it would be a stall with medicines set up for sale, but just that might be a bit lacking,” replied Rit.
“I doubt many people will stop by a medicine stand when they’re in a festive mood.”
Compared to the boisterous mood of a festival, a bunch of plain little bottles of medicine would be a little too underwhelming.
“And coming up with a new tonic will be rough timewise.”
Everything I could think to make with my knowledge and skills was already being sold, and improving on a medicine we’d already been selling, or adjusting it to use in a different way, would be difficult on such short notice.
“Actually, I just so happen to have a good idea,” Rit said, smugly putting her hands on her hips.
“You do?”
“Mhm, want to hear it?”
Rit was purposely puffing herself up. She did that every once in a while.
It was so cute.
“Yeah, I’d love to.”
Rit smirked, then slowly pulled a pair of glasses out of her pocket.
They were wizard goggles, a magic item that revealed monsters invisible due to magic…though Rit had probably just pulled them out of her item box for effect.
Right now, they were just for show.
“Your medicines are cheap, effective, and well-liked by everyone who tries them.”
“Yeah, I’m really grateful for that.”
My blessing is Guide—an ability with the purpose of guiding the Hero—so medicine isn’t my specialty. The only medicines I can make are ones accessible with common skills.
“But people can’t understand the appeal of your medicines without trying them.”
“Of course.”
“So our focus this time should be on the containers!” Rit held up a little bottle full of medicine. “Specifically, making these cuter!”
“I see.”
Paying attention to appearances…
“That might be a good idea.”
It wasn’t something I did, but there were plenty of knights who paid special attention to the design of their armor and helmets, aiming to awe or terrify their enemies.
Dragon mail—which was modeled after the creature it was named for—was particularly popular. However, the craftsmanship was unbelievably expensive, made upkeep a pain, and even often reduced its defensive capabilities.
I was utilitarian when it came to gear and left its appearance up to the craftsmen. I’d particularly hated the idea of making my helmet any heavier than necessary and preferred light armor to take advantage of my Lightning Speed.
The point being, I hadn’t even considered changing the design like that, nor did I have the knowledge to do it.
“I don’t really know much about it, though,” I told Rit. “Do you?”
“I’m the delinquent princess who snuck out of the castle to be an adventurer in town. I’m well-versed in both art, from growing up in the palace, and in business, from merchants around town!” Rit answered proudly.
“I can always count on you.”
“Ehehe. Usually, I’m the one giving you advice on the things you make, but for once, it’s the other way around.”
Rit and I had walked completely different paths in life. Because of that, I could rely on her opinions, and I could say with confidence that she was the reason our apothecary was running as smoothly as it was.
That said, the skills we’d both acquired meant that it was my job to actually make whatever it was that took her advice and suggestions into account.
“This is so exciting.”
There was still a lot more we could do running the apothecary, and I looked forward to it more than ever because I could do it with Rit.
“So what should we do n—?”
But before I could finish, the door opened.
“Big Brother.”
“Sir Red.”
It was my little sister, the former Hero Ruti, and Habotan, the demon lord’s daughter who’d moved to Zoltan in the summer.
“Welcome. Did you have breakfast already?” I asked Habotan.
Ruti had always eaten her breakfast when she came at this time.
“Yes, sir. This morning was beans stewed in eggplant.”
“Oh?”
That was a dish I’d never made before. According to Habotan, you mashed the eggplant into a paste and made a sauce with it, which you then cooked the beans in. I asked her about what seasonings went into it, but she didn’t know.
The meals had been perfunctory when she was living on the dark continent, so Habotan didn’t have much knowledge when it came to cooking. As a result, she found the food in Zoltan new and exciting.
She also gave the best sorts of reactions, which had made her incredibly popular with the cooks here. From time to time, Zoltan chefs would drop by the house where she was staying and show off one of their special dishes.
“I wonder… Who was it that came today?”
“I’ll ask when we head back, and we can go there together to eat sometime,” Ruti said enthusiastically.
Yeah, that’s a nice idea.
“Sounds good.”
“I can’t wait.”
We both smiled at that.
Standing at the counter, we sipped herbal tea while we chatted.
“Looks like you’ve settled into living in Zoltan, Habotan.”
“Do you think so?”
“Before, you wouldn’t have thought to come by here for no particular reason, right?”
“You’re right!” Habotan replied, her eyes widening in surprise.
Rit and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her completely honest response.
“What’ve you been up to lately?”
“This one has been working at raising her blessing level in the vicinity of the town.”
“Alone?”
“No, Sir Ruti has been accompanying her when she has time, and this one has also found an adventurer comrade.”
“You have?”
Habotan was the demon lord’s daughter. She had a special blessing and skills, and could fight with shuriken and shortswords, but barehanded—or rather, using her beast-like claws and inhuman fighting style—was her strongest form. In addition to this, she also had a skill that could nullify magic. That’s a skill no normal blessing can access…although Ruti also has a similar skill.
“I doubt any Zoltan adventurers would be able to determine your blessing from how you fight, but some might suspect you of having a special blessing. Is it an adventurer you can trust?”
“On that point, it is fine. Please, do not worry yourself!”
Habotan’s chest visibly swelled with pride.
Yeah, I’m worrying myself a little.
I glanced at Ruti.
“I haven’t met them, either,” she said.
“Really?”
“Humblest apologies, but this one’s comrade prefers not to show himself around Sir Ruti…”
“This is getting more and more suspicious!”
It had gone past the point of being just a joke.
Habotan couldn’t be called “worldly” by any extent of the imagination. Seeing her look at me with a face bereft of even the barest trace of suspicion, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“Does Torahime know this adventurer?”
“Yes, sir. Lady Torahime said that it was fine if this one worked with him and gave her seal of approval!”
I guess it should be okay if Torahime knows about it…
“I still can’t help but worry.”
“He really is a good person,” said Habotan.
“In that case, bring him along next time, and we can have a meal together.”
“Really?! This one is sure that Sir Frank would love that!”
So his name’s Frank?
It wasn’t really a rare name, but was there an adventurer here named Frank?
Rit and Ruti both shook their heads, too.
…This is suspicious.
“Well, I guess I’ll look forward to meeting this ‘Frank.’”
There was no point in dwelling on it now.
It could be an underling from the demon lord’s army after Habotan…but no, there was no chance of that. I couldn’t imagine anyone evading Ruti’s or Tisse’s notice, and even if they did somehow, they wouldn’t bother trying to approach Habotan in such a roundabout way as posing as an adventurer. They would just try to assassinate her.
So we could continue with the lighthearted chat.
“Right, the Harvest Festival is next week. Raising your level is important, but since you’re staying here in Zoltan, why not take a bit of time off for the festival?”
“Ah, this one heard about the festival from Sir Frank. She is going to run a stall.”
““What?””
Rit and I both were surprised.
“You’re running a stall at the festival?”
“Yes! This one was thinking of selling accessories and ninja tools from the Jade Kingdom.”
“Should you really be selling those?”
Were they out of money? They were being treated as VIPs from the Jade Kingdom, so they should have been provided with enough silver coins to live on.
“Regarding our monetary situation, Lady Torahime sold the treasures we brought from the demon lord’s castle while we were in the Jade Kingdom, so we have enough to live idly for a century.”
“I’m jealous… So then why the shop?”
“Social studies. It was Lady Torahime’s suggestion.”
It was an unexpectedly straightforward answer.
“Torahime really thinks about all sorts of things, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, sir! She is truly kind!”
The former heavenly king of the demon lord’s army had become a proper parental figure.
Torahime was living with Habotan while continuing her rehabilitation. After the battle with the demon lord’s army, she’d been so badly weakened and overexerted that she’d needed long-term recuperation.
Despite being exhausted and on the verge of death upon just getting to Zoltan, only a few days later, she’d used up all the magic power she had left casting Demon’s Flare and sealing the souls of the two new heavenly kings. This was just a price she’d have to pay.
I really hoped she’d recover her strength before the demon lord’s forces came after Habotan again…but I don’t know much about demon physiology, so it was hard to say.
“Still, though, what a coincidence. Rit and I were just thinking of setting up a stall for the festival, too.”
“You were?!”
“We decided we wanted to do something seasonal.”
“What are you going to sell?” asked Ruti.
There was a spark of interest in her eyes.
“We just came up with it this morning, so we’re still fleshing it out, but the idea is to make the medicine bottles more stylish and autumn-y,” replied Rit.
Our conversation had gotten interrupted, so I hadn’t heard about this yet, but it sounded like Rit even had an idea on the direction of the design.
Giving the packaging a seasonal feel, huh? …That would be a good reminder for people to buy more when the season changes, since the medicine inside might be getting old.
It was a good idea.
“I can’t believe this.” Ruti’s lips formed an O of surprise. “Tisse and I were also planning to open a stall for the festival.”
“You too, Sir Ruti?!”
This time, it was Habotan’s turn to be shocked.
“Our plantation doesn’t have any customers other than physicians and the Merchants Guild. We’re in the red, and we’ve been at a loss over what to do.”
Ruti was holding her head in her hands.
I felt bad for her, but it was still adorable.
“Medicinal herbs have a pretty limited demand.”
They were mostly just used as ingredients for various remedies.
In a small village without a clinic, most families knew how to make the bare essentials, like antidotes. However, in Zoltan, it was better just to buy medicine rather than the herbs themselves.
Part of the reason there hadn’t been a plantation growing medicinal herbs in Zoltan was because it was hard to make money off it.
“I talked it over with Tisse, and we decided that for the Harvest Festival, we’d explain to people how to use herbs to make insect repellents and for pets, and that we’d make herby foods and teas… What do you think, Big Brother?”
“I think that’s a great idea. If people know how to use the herbs themselves, you’ll be able to sell them to normal people, too.”
“I’m glad.”
Ruti had also been thinking about a lot of things.
She’d struggled with the plantation work at first, but now that she was used to it, she was really coming into her own.
“In that case,” Rit said, standing up, “we should set up our stalls together!”
““Yeah!””
Rit’s proposal sounded like fun, and we all immediately agreed.
After that, Rit, Ruti, Habotan, and I went to the Adventurers Guild to register to participate in the Harvest Festival.
“Oh! Hi, everyone!”
Megria had been standing at the reception desk talking to an adventurer when she’d noticed us and called out. Hearing that, the adventurers around us all looked in our direction as well.
“Whoa, Ruti, Rit, and the Jade ninja Habotan…?!”
Murmurs spread throughout the room.
Ruti, Zoltan’s strongest adventurer, Rit the Hero, and the ninja Habotan from the Jade Kingdom in the Far East. No Zoltan adventurer would be able to ignore any one of them, yet they’d all just come into the guild together. It was only natural people would be surprised.
As for the apothecary in the midst of their group…nobody so much as looked at me.
It wasn’t as if I particularly wanted to stand out, and it would be a hassle if I attracted too much attention and word got out that I’m the knight Gideon, so I guess it was fine.
Still, as contradictory as it was to feel this way, I was a little bothered. I guess that’s just what it means to be human.
“Hmm, it wasn’t like that a year ago,” Rit said, looking at my face. “Back when we first reunited, you really hated standing out at all. If you ask me, you even went a bit overboard hiding your strength.”
“You think?”
Rit flashed a sparkling smile. “I think you’re more your natural self now!”
Looking at how I’d been right after getting kicked out of the party and at how I was now, living in Zoltan, a lot had changed within me. If I’d been able to find myself again after a heartbreak like that, then I had Rit and Ruti to thank for it.
While we were talking, Habotan briskly stepped forward.
“Sir Megria! What is required in order to set up a shop for the Harvest Festival?!”
“Huh?! You want to put up a stall, Habotan?”
“Yes, ma’am! This one is going to open a ninja shop alongside Sir Red’s apothecary and Sir Ruti’s medicinal herb farm.”
““A ninja shop!!!””
Every adventurer in the guild leaped at that.
Even though Habotan was a ninja, her voice carried clearly, reaching even the back of the room.
“Eh, uh, huh?”
Adventurers came to gather around the bewildered Habotan.
There were a few people with the Ninja blessing on this side of the Wall at the End of the World, but its real home was on the other side. And there was no way to learn about the sorts of tools and weapons that real ninjas used just from a blessing.
“Do you have tools a Thief like me could use?!”
“I’m a Martial Artist, so have you got any gear that doesn’t impede movement?!”
“There’s a Ninja in my party. I’ll be sure to bring him by your shop!”
Habotan was completely overwhelmed by the wall of noise.
It had been some time since she’d arrived in Zoltan, but she still wasn’t really used to having people surround her…despite being the future demon lord.
“All right, everyone, that’s enough for now,” I called out. “That’s part of the fun of the festival, so you don’t want to spoil the surprise now, right?”
“And we have to apply for a stall with Megria first anyway,” added Rit.
The adventurers dispersed, apparently satisfied by our explanations.
“It looks like you caught everyone’s attention.”
“Y-yes, this one will do her best.” Habotan looked nervous yet still determined. That said, I wanted her to enjoy the festival rather than work hard for it.
“Oh, right. Megria, the three of us would like to have our stalls all together, if that’s possible.”
“Let me see…”
Megria pulled out a thick notebook and flipped through the pages. It must’ve had the locations and names for all the stalls being run for the festival.
“How much space will you be needing?”
“For my shop, just the standard amount for a stall…”
I glanced over at Ruti and Habotan.
“I’m planning to have a kitchen in mine, so I’ll need one double the size.”
“Lady Torahime advised this one to store the valuable goods in a case, so slightly more space than the standard stall would be preferable.”
“So you’ll be wanting proper stalls, then. In that case, the south side of the northern district might be better than the plaza.”
During the Harvest Festival, there were lots of stalls that just spread out a cloth and sold items from on top of it. Those sorts of shops tended to be gathered together in the space set aside for them at the market or in the harbor plaza. Those areas got a lot of customers, but they weren’t the sort of places where you could take your time looking at specific shops.
“I was hoping to be on one of the streets in the northern district rather than in the plaza,” Rit said. “The main events for the festival are there and in the central district, right? The street connecting them is where it gets the busiest, and lots of people will look around while waiting for the shows to start.”
“But wouldn’t such an ideal place already be all filled up?” I asked dubiously.
Megria giggled.
“Everyone in Zoltan waits for the last minute to apply. It’s still half empty.”
“…The festival’s next week.”
When I was a low-ranking member of the Bahamut Knights, I’d been called up to work security for the festivals in the capital. That was how I knew festivals there started filling up a year in advance… In other words, as soon as one ended, people immediately started submitting their applications to run stalls for the following year. Though, there, it was less about being excited for the festival and more about shops trying to take advantage of the festive mood to draw in customers.
If you asked me which was better…I’d say I preferred the way they do it here now.
I really have turned into a proper citizen of Zoltan.
“I don’t want to start any arguments just because we applied early, though.”
“That’s just how it goes every year. The only people who might cause some sort of problem are a handful of merchants from central, and they’ve already submitted their applications. Most of the stalls are just people looking to enjoy the festival from the sales side of things.”
“That’s Zoltan for you.”
“And if you’re all setting up stalls, I imagine it will become a topic of great interest. So let’s put you on the main street of the northern district where a bit of a crowd won’t cause issues,” Megria said, glancing around.
A few adventurers were standing in the middle of the guild, trying to hear what we were saying. It seemed rumors were already spreading fast.
“It looks like it’s shaping up to be an exciting festival.”
“Yeah!”
Rit and I looked at each other with smiles.
Three days before Red and his friends decided to take part in the Harvest Festival, a fishing village in the west of Avalon was throwing a grand Harvest Festival to celebrate their liberation from the demon lord’s army.
Harvest Festivals happened on different days in different lands, and this village held theirs a little bit earlier than most. Unlike festivals in larger towns, the main events here were eating, drinking, and celebrating, but in the morning, everyone got excited to compare who had the biggest catch.
“Bui, the village is filled with festival joy.”
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