In the Land of Leadale - Volume 4 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Preparations, a Thank-You Banquet, a Festival, and an Idiot

That night, a Friend Message from Shining Saber confirmed they had easily gotten permission from the king. However, he apparently hadn’t been willing to blindly accept all their requests. Now just ten knights, Shining Saber included, were going to help with the fishing while the rest of the corps kept public order.

Part of the updated plan was to spread word that the Crown Princess Myleene was leading the fishing effort. Cayna’s job was to make absolutely sure no one noticed that she herself was the one behind everything.

“Those three things, huh?” Cayna said absentmindedly.

“Are you talking about what you mentioned earlier?” Roxine asked.

“Yeah. Shining Saber says we’ll set the plan in motion the day after tomorrow. I thought we were gonna do it tomorrow, so that’s what I told the Guardians, but now I’ll have to go see them both again to give them the update,” Cayna answered as Roxine waited on her by her side.

Cayna had just returned to the rental house after visiting Kartatz and the two Guardian Towers. She’d barely made it in time for dinner and was currently enjoying some tea after her meal. Lytt and Luka were at a corner of the same table unwrapping their purchases from the day—an assortment of colored ribbons—and trying them on. Each one had cost two bronze coins, and the girls had chosen three each. All six were a different hue, so they switched out one after the other from their hair and asked each other how they looked. If anything, it was mostly Lytt fussing over Luka.

The cath palug curled up in a ball on the table as the girls sorted through their ribbons. They had fastened some ribbons around its neck and tail, but it didn’t seem to mind.

“Anyway, Cie, go ahead and try giving the girls different hairstyles. They’ll eventually find ones they like.”

“Right.”

On Cayna’s orders, Roxine swiftly took out a comb and began fixing Luka’s hair. It was in a ponytail in a matter of moments. After trying out several ribbons, Lytt cried out, “That one!” and the werecat moved on to her next.

“Now it feels like the rest of this plan is gonna overshadow Mai-Mai’s contributions.”

“I doubt working behind the scenes will earn her much recognition.”

“Well, regardless, our goal of convincing the public is a lot like a staged event. Hope we don’t have any accidents the day of, though.”

Half of Cayna’s proposal had been just to get the River Festival up and running. Even though she’d gotten the princess and one of the knight captains involved, Cayna doubted she herself could convince the people. If she tried, there was no mistaking she’d be running around try to pull off a one-woman show.

“Mommy Cayna…do you…still have…work?”

“Yeah. Sorry, girls. If all the preparations tomorrow go off without a hitch, we just might have ourselves a festival the day after that.”

“Really?!” Lytt cried. Cayna had only been speculating, but Lytt was nonetheless thrilled to hear it.

“You sure seem happy, Lytt,” said Cayna.

“Yeah, ’cause everything’s already so amazing, but I heard that once the festival starts it’ll be even more amazing!”

“W-wow…”

Cayna couldn’t keep up with Lytt’s energy. “Who’d she hear that from?” she asked Roxine, who leaned over slightly and replied, “The merchant who sold them ribbons.” This person had apparently been a stout middle-aged woman like Marelle. “No helping that, I guess,” Cayna said and then gave up questioning this further. She couldn’t compete with a plucky mother like Marelle, let alone any other plucky middle-aged woman. That was, without question, Cayna’s sole weakness.

Although interested in the ribbons initially, the children eventually set them aside and had Roxine teach them how to style their hair. Even with short hair, they fervently learned to tie it back.

Cayna grabbed a lock of her own hair and remembered how it was right after her accident. The nurses and her cousin had tied it back for her since she couldn’t do it herself. Seeing her thin, feeble reflection in the mirror day in and day out made her visibly depressed, something that had greatly worried everyone. Now, she had the use of both hands and could change her own hairstyle any way she liked.

And in that case, she figured she should be the one practicing hairstyles with Luka.

“How very motherly of you.”

Kee offered an exasperated comment. Cayna felt like motherhood had become just a bit more fun.

The cath palug, now free of any ribbons, took refuge at her feet and meowed. “For cryin’ out loud,” came its telepathic message, and she stroked its head for its efforts.

Then, the next day…

After breakfast, Cayna entered the First Guardian Tower with her ring. The moment she activated it and recited the password, several rings of light appeared from a magic circle above her head and gathered around her. She soon went flying toward the Guardian, which ended up feeling a bit like a giant ring-toss game.

The Guardian was noisily ka-thunking as always, and she informed it that their plan had been postponed to tomorrow. After checking that the Guardian knew what it was supposed to do and meeting with the Ninth Guardian to confirm all was in good shape, she had the First send her to the Academy.

As planned, the Academy had been shut down over the past couple of days so that Cayna and the others could prepare. Nonetheless, they had only three days total to get set up, put the plan into action, and then dismantle everything afterward.

A long fishing pole had already been rolled on to the school grounds. It was fifty meters long, and the rod had a diameter of one hundred fifty centimeters. Kartatz and his employees had stayed up all night making it. The rod was fitted with a leather belt that required the support of eight people, which would give even the knights a hard time. It was like a slightly oversized cheer flag. The target they were fishing for would automatically react when caught, so the knights likely wouldn’t need to pull too hard to reel it in.

Since Kartatz and the others had stayed up all night, they carried out their next task in complete silence. On the riverbank in front of the Academy, they were currently erecting a tall, platform-like pier. It would reach as high as the top of the blue whale’s back when it surfaced from the river. They couldn’t have the whale looking down on the (fake) divine messenger, let alone royalty.

Cayna then went around the Academy and checked that nothing would throw a wrench into their plans. Since she couldn’t predict what might suddenly happen on the day of, she examined the situation from every angle while she had the chance.

“I won’t be able to see anything if I glow at maximum brightness.”

After creating a ball of light with her at the center, she realized there were a number of issues with using Additional White Light.

Back in the game, light was applied to weapons when going into battle. Since one’s party members were all doing the same thing, they’d always had plenty of light.

However, after casting it on herself, not only did it make her chest glow bright white, it also made her surroundings grow indistinct. Cayna wasn’t comfortable having to depend on Myleene’s voice just to get around.

She would have liked to use two or three techniques on her own, but in order to ensure she’d be able to see what was going on around her, she decided to summon a single Light Spirit. With the level-600 cath palug still active, Cayna had only five hundred levels left to spare for other summonings. Since the most powerful summoning she could currently manage would be level 110, she was restricted to four spirits at most. One would be assigned to Myleene, so it was probably best to save the others in case something happened. Cayna would have a Light Spirit keep the inner layer of the sphere weak so it would be like looking through a window to the outside. After all, seeing only what was directly in front of her would be enough should a worst-case scenario arise. Mai-Mai, who was helping Cayna test the lighting, said it was so bright that no one would be able to look directly at her even in broad daylight. But Cayna didn’t want anyone to notice her inside the light sphere anyway, so she decided the townspeople would just have to deal with the brightness.

Cayna was able to write quickly enough, but Mai-Mai lent a hand by giving directions. It turned out that any messages written in front of Cayna’s light sphere were impossible to read, so they decided to display them above her and in letters big enough to be seen from the opposite shore. Before long, Mai-Mai had Cayna enlarge each letter until they reached a whopping five meters in width and height.

The next order of business was the Wind Spirit Cayna gave to Myleene.

Spirits were invisible to the naked eye, save for those summoned with magic—anyone could see those, regardless of their magical capabilities.

However, Wind Spirits never stayed in one spot. This one was certain to float here and there the moment Myleene stepped on the platform. Even as Cayna now summoned the spirit, it joined Li’l Fairy in using every bit of space in the classroom to fly and dance around.

It was a nude, transparent child. It was clothed in a cape like some celestial maiden, but this was pointless since it was see-through anyway. If everyone was able to see this summoned Wind Spirit, no doubt men of certain unsavory inclinations would want one of their own. Looking at its wild and free appearance, Cayna wondered what she should do. Since the sandbar would be open to the public on the day on the plan, they expected there to be a crowd of observers. It wouldn’t be good at all for there to be eyewitnesses.

Since the Wind Spirit was going to carry Myleene’s voice throughout Felskeilo, it couldn’t exactly be shut away.

Cayna weighed her various options until Mai-Mai offered the perfect solution: “What about a Spirit Staff?”

“Oh, right! I do have that.”

A Spirit Staff was meant for people (that is, players) who couldn’t use elemental magic. In this situation, it was basically a wand that would allow them to use wind magic. There were some conditions involved that required specific jewels for specific spirits. In this case, they would need emerald or malachite for a Wind Spirit, and it would be temporarily contained. However, this was voluntary help rather than force. The active period would last half a day from sunrise to sunset. If you exceeded this time limit, the spirit would destroy the jewel and escape, and you would be temporarily unable to summon it again. Although she had her concerns, Cayna doubted the plan would last from early morning to the evening, so she decided to use it.

Cayna could make a Spirit Staff with Craft Skills if she had jewels, metal, and a rod. The bigger the jewel, the more it could amplify the spirit’s power.

Without further ado, Cayna quickly took an emerald from her Item Box, and Mai-Mai’s jaw dropped. The gem was the size of a piece of firewood. If converted to money, it would be valued at several thousand gold coins.

“M-Mother…th-that’s…,” Mai-Mai stammered, pointing a trembling figure at Cayna, who set to work with her Craft Skills.

As soon as her hand lit up, she produced a flower stand that extended into a staff affixed with a giant emerald.

“Yep, this’ll do,” she said, waving the wand around to test it out. Mai-Mai put her face in her hands and sighed.

A small wand would’ve been more than sufficient to amplify a person’s voice. Adding a precious jewel to such a long staff was downright unnecessary.

The point was that Cayna overdid it. Mai-Mai shuddered to think that if left alone to her own devices, Cayna might offer this staff to Myleene as a reward.

“I know! This staff can be Mye’s reward—”

“Mother!!”

Mai-Mai ended up losing her cool. Just as she started scolding Cayna about the staff’s value and forced her to promise not to give out ancient artifacts so willy-nilly, Myleene arrived.

“Forgive my tardiness…,” she said.

“Oh, don’t apologize,” Cayna replied. “You had lessons all morning, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Well then, that’s all there is to it,” said Mai-Mai. “Princesses have obligations, after all. Unlike my mother, who has endless free time.”

Cayna wondered whether Myleene was a bit too humble for a royal. Regardless, she was offended by her daughter’s nonchalant diss. She fixed Mai-Mai with an icy glare, but Mai-Mai looked the other way and acted like nothing had happened.

Cayna then foisted the staff she made onto Myleene, who asked, “Umm, Lady Cayna, what is this…?”

“You’ll use it tomorrow with the Wind Spirit to amplify your voice. Make sure to keep it with you, okay?”

“Yes, understood… But, erm…don’t you perhaps think this jewel is…awfully large…?”

Myleene’s movements grew stilted after seeing the massive emerald. When Cayna replied, “I’d say it’s pretty normal-sized,” the princess’s expression grew tight, and she managed to answer, “Ah, y-yes, normal. I see…”

“Honestly, Mother. How many times do I have to tell you? Your idea of normal is anything but.”

“Goodness me, I’m sooo very…sorry!”

“Hyaaaaah?!”

Cayna pretended to apologize profusely before tackling Mai-Mai from behind with Accelerate and Warp Speed. This surprise combo wouldn’t work on most vanguard-type players since they had the Intuition skill, but Mai-Mai didn’t have it. Thus, the combo worked like a charm. Cayna wrapped her arms around her daughter’s chest in a bear hug, and Mai-Mai let out a rare scream.

The knight on guard duty in the hallway immediately swung the door open and rushed inside. “What happened?!” he shouted.

The knight froze when he saw a shocked Myleene clutching a staff and Cayna grabbing Mai-Mai’s breasts. “Pardon me!” he squeaked before fleeing the room and slamming the door behind him.

That prompted Mai-Mai, now red in the face, to break free from her mother’s grasp.

“Ugh! Why’d you have to do that, Mother?!” Mai-Mai whined. Cayna looked at her hands, which had just been gripping Mai-Mai’s chest, and grew despondent.

“Huh?”

Cayna thought back to when she created Mai-Mai in Leadale. Since Cayna herself was flat as a washboard (thanks to post-accident weight loss), she figured her children would be similarly flat chested, and thus she adjusted Mai-Mai’s proportions accordingly. She fully expected her daughter’s boobs to lack any bounce as a result, but it was still extremely depressing. Cayna didn’t think she’d be in for such a shock when she touched them herself.

Thus, the most reasonable thing to do was apologize. But Cayna didn’t expect Mai-Mai to misinterpret things and not get angry, but instead cling to Cayna’s arm out of concern.

“You two seem so close,” Myleene commented.

“That’s what this looks like?” Cayna said.

“It is.” She seemed wistful somehow as she smiled at the mother-daughter pair.

Cayna pondered for a moment before saying “Here you go, then,” and offering Myleene her right arm (Mai-Mai was on her left).

“Huh?”

“You look like you want in on this. So c’mon!”

Myleene murmured, “Huh?” once more and looked at Mai-Mai clinging to Cayna’s left arm. With a wave of her hand, Mai-Mai urged her to join them.

“W-well then, if you don’t mind…” Myleene curtsied and took Cayna’s right arm with such shyness that glimpses of her girlish youth peeked through her royal exterior.

“Well? How’s it feel?” Cayna asked the princess.

“It’s a bit embarrassing,” she answered bashfully. Super adorable.

Her shyness as she voiced her opinion was precious. Cayna nodded enthusiastically and looked at Mai-Mai; she seemed so happy. It was if she hadn’t been screaming only moments ago.

“You look like you’re having fun, Mai-Mai.”

“Doing this together is part of what makes you so charming, Mother.”

Cayna responded to this incomprehensible answer with a sour face. Their mother-daughter interaction made Myleene burst out laughing.

The three of them stayed arm in arm as they went over the plan once more and worked out any remaining kinks.

Incidentally, Shining Saber had just come by to get the three ladies. He looked curiously at the extremely red-faced guard in the hallway, then froze when he opened the classroom door.

“Having a little girl-on-girl time?”

“No, we’re not!”

Cayna answered Shining Saber’s snide comment in the form of a well-aimed fire arrow.

And thus, their many preparations came to an end. Thanks to Kartatz and his subordinates’ hard efforts, the platform was completed.

Then, the next day as everything was put into action…

Although it was early morning, the townspeople had been up and about since before dawn, so by around seven o’ clock everyone was finishing breakfast at home and beginning to start work.

Next to the platform on the sandbar in front of the Academy, the giant fishing pole that would be supported by eight knights had been set up. Tied to the other end of the rope-like fishing line was a bouquet of flowers as bait.

Cayna was observing the scene from inside the First Guardian Tower in order to gauge the best moment for her to leap into action. Which was fine and all, but…

“…What’s with all the spectators?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

Since Myleene was out on the platform, the people feared the guards and thought it best not to draw closer. However, the riverbanks of the sandbar were filled to the brim with observers. When she moved the screen to view the opposite shores, she observed that those were packed there, too. Some people were leaning too far forward and falling into the river.

“Shining Saber said he didn’t send out any kind of special notice about this.”

“Perhaps”—ka-thunk—“they saw”—ka-thunk—“you preparing?” Ka-thunk.

Since she was inside the tower, the Guardian was, of course, right in front of her. Moreover, as he made his sound argument, she somehow felt a sense of frustration welling inside her. Indeed, they had made the platform directly below where dragonflies were flying by, so there had surely been plenty of eyewitnesses. When the knights had gathered in the morning, that also likely drew attention. Cayna also received a report from Roxine that although the preparations for the festival were finished, people were quite pent up since there was no way it could actually begin.

Today, Luka and Lytt were resting in the rental house.

Since they’d only been with Roxine for the past several days, they were told they could have fun exploring with Cayna later. Thus, she had to finish this event within the day.

“You keep a close eye, too, Ninth.”

“Understood.”

As Cayna spoke to the always connected communication screen, the Ninth Guardian bowed its head reverently. A progress chart was affixed on a wall of its own tower. As the Ninth checked over everything in minute detail, she gave orders to the First.

“Shouldn’t you”—ka-thunk—“be going”—ka-thunk—“master?” Ka-thunk.

“Something like this calls for a little more pomp.”

A throng of onlookers stared at the bouquet bobbing on the river’s surface with bated breath. Cayna thought they’d be losing the real thrill of fishing if the whale rushed out now, so she held the Guardian back. She had told it to sink once more after taking the bouquet and then resurface after the rope gave a few good tugs. Since there was a chance that the pole, knights and all, would fall into the river if the First tugged too hard, it would sway lightly with the bait in its mouth. The Guardian was so huge that she wasn’t sure it would be able to keep the appropriate amount of force, but she advised it to carry out the plan while keeping an eye on what was going on above the surface. As soon as the whale tower surfaced, she would appear on its back as a ball of light. Myleene would ask it to identify itself, and the show would finally begin.

Swearing she’d do this right, Cayna put the unexpectedly large crowd out of her mind and clenched her fist. A Friend Message came from Shining Saber, who was apparently growing impatient: Hey, you ready yet?

“All right, let’s get this show on the road!”

“Will do!” Ka-thunk.

Wrapping and concealing herself in light, Cayna gave the Guardian the signal.

“Well, it’s been a long road, but thanks to everyone for all your hard work! Cheers!”

“““Cheers!”””

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted to their success. Seated at the table full of food were Cayna, Mai-Mai, Kartatz and his staff, Myleene, Shining Saber, and several knights. Roxine, Luka, and Lytt were also present.

The plan had safely concluded in about thirty minutes. Six hours had passed, and it was now the afternoon. Mai-Mai had booked an entire restaurant, and the group was currently enjoying a thank-you party.

Earlier, when Myleene had concluded their spectacle with, “Now the festival can begin. Please enjoy yourselves to the fullest,” all the people who had been watching the event broke out in an explosion of cheers. Loud cries of, “Long live Felskeilo! Long live Princess Myleene!” had carried on for some time.

Although she’d declared for the festival to officially begin, it seemed that the pre-festival merriment would still continue for the day. Many were of the opinion that the real event should start in the morning, so it would begin from the next day forward.

The whale Guardian was floating upstream of the sandbar and would be officially staying in Felskeilo. Thanks to Cayna inside her ball of light and the letters in the sky, the number of people surrounding it at a distance to offer their prayers was endless. It was apparently authoritative enough that it seemed like the Guardian would soon become a god Guardian of the river.

The fishing pole and platform were left behind afterward. According to Kartatz: “A rush job like that’ll get washed away soon enough. Once the festival’s over, we’ll either remake ’em or add the proper fortifications.”

The plan was for the platform to be disassembled soon after everything was over. The pole would be brought back to the workshop for maintenance. It had bent terribly since the Guardian had misjudged its own strength, and according to the knights would had supported it, they could hear creaking and groaning.

The eight knights had been suddenly pulled and gone flying through the air. Upon reflection, Cayna thought to herself that they should have rehearsed outside of town.

Myleene had performed marvelously as Felskeilo’s representative and received praise from the king. He had recounted the event and lauded her in marvelous detail, so he’d no doubt been watching from somewhere.

The boats resumed their sailing, and the river was once again lively with vessels of all sizes sailing to and fro. Yet even so, not a single person approached the whale Guardian Tower. However, since a bouquet of flowers had served as bait, the church placed a flower altar on a bank upstream of the sandbar. It was piled up as high as a person.

“Phew. I’m so glad everything worked out,” said Cayna.

“Indeed. Once again, it is all thanks to you, Lady Cayna.” Myleene raised her glass elegantly and dipped her head with a smile.

Cayna waved both hands and bowed her head. “No, no, not at all. I suggested it, but it’s really thanks to you.”

“Mother, this is turning into a nodding contest,” Mai-Mai teased, grinning. The two of them froze mid-bow. “Also, Mye,” continued Mai-Mai, “I noticed you stumbled a bit at the beginning of your speech.”

They recalled how Myleene’s mouth hung open when she first saw Cayna’s ball of light. A long silence had passed before she finally asked the whale to identify itself.

“W-well, I couldn’t help myself. I still cannot believe such a large fish even exists.”

Maybe Myleene wouldn’t have been so shocked if they’d done a dress rehearsal beforehand, but given the whale Guardian Tower’s massive size, it would’ve been near impossible to pull that off in secret.

“Uh, it’s gonna be a bit of a problem if you don’t believe in it,” Cayna said.

“Well, yes…you’re right,” Myleene replied. “Now that I’ve had a proper look at it, I should be fine the next time we meet.”

Since Myleene had been the first one to interact with the tower, she might end up as the royal family’s go-between whenever they wanted to communicate with the whale. She’d just have to get used to it.

At first, the only people who knew the whale was a Guardian Tower—Myleene, Shining Saber, Mai-Mai, and Kartatz—were those who’d heard about it from Cayna. Now the king was aware as well. The knights, meanwhile, apparently thought the whale was some magical creature that Cayna had subdued in combat.

“At any rate, this sort of thing will never happen again, so let’s set that aside for now. All that’s left is to reflect on our own individual accomplishments,” said Mai-Mai, and with a clap of her hands, the conversation was put to bed. She then said, “This is delicious,” and divvied out portions of salad to Cayna and Myleene. The latter poured dressing over hers and took a bite. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“…It’s wonderful,” she murmured.

Cayna tilted her head curiously. “Don’t you always have amazing food at the castle?”

“The castle cuisine isn’t nearly this flavorful.”

“Hmmm…”

After watching the princess finish off her salad bite by bite, Cayna looked around them. There were about twenty people just barely squeezed into the restaurant—a fancy sort of place with a chandelier that bathed the interior in soft light. There were various decorative plants as well, but nothing too flashy. The leisurely ambiance seemed perfect for unwinding with a drink or two.

“This is that Black Rabbit Tail place you guys always come to, right?” Cayna asked Mai-Mai.

“It’s called the White-Tailed Black Rabbit, Mother.”

“Sheesh, that’s a mouthful.”

“You’d do well to remember it. There’s nothing cumbersome about the name at all.”

Shining Saber, who had been listening in as he gnawed on some boned meat, said with a grin, “You really can’t tell who’s the kid and who’s the mom.”

Of course, this was pretty much a sarcastic jab at Cayna’s real age. When she scowled at him, he said, “Sorry, sorry,” and passed her a plate of fruit.

Roxine took the ripened fruit before Cayna could, peeled the skins, and placed them back in front of her.

“Thanks, Cie.”

“My pleasure. Would you two young ladies like some fruit as well?”

Roxine peeled several other fruits with lightning speed, cut them up neatly, and arranged them on a plate. She’d initially tried serving the food herself but reluctantly took a seat at the table after Cayna insisted. The werecat busily inspected all the food as she apportioned the sliced fruit between Luka and Lytt but remained nonetheless faithful to her duties by keeping an eye on the girls as they ate.

Luka and Lytt, the only children at the banquet, were nervous to be dining among royalty and knights. They’d hardly touched any of the meat or fish Roxine had served them, so she instead offered them some fruit.

The two girls exchanged flustered looks, so Cayna brought the fruit to their mouths and said, “Aaah.” Finally, they began to eat.

“Well, what do you two think?” she asked the girls. “Tasty, right?”

“…Uh-huh,” said Lytt.

“It’s…yummy,” said Luka.

“We’ve got all this food today, but don’t push yourselves. There’s gonna be plenty of goodies when we check out the festival tomorrow.”

They appeared to relax a bit when Cayna hugged them close and patted their heads, then hesitantly began tucking into the other food on their plates. Everything they tasted was delicious beyond belief, and soon their mouths stretched into grins. Cayna cheerfully watched them dig in.

The knights also watched this tender scene unfold only to get a good smack to the head from Shining Saber.

“““Yeowch?!”””

“Quit gawkin’, you idiots. You’ll scare the kids!”

Kartatz did the same to his staff who had also been staring, eliciting similar yelps around the table.

“Oh, by the way, Shining Saber…,” Cayna began.

“Yeah?”

“I owe you three skills as a reward. Go ahead and pick which ones you want.”

Shining Saber made a face. The question was so sudden, and he still hadn’t made up his mind. If this were still the Leadale game, his Stats Window would display his skill tree, making it easier to choose among the skills available. This function was gone now, so he had no idea what he could even pick.

“You can always divide them up if you’re having trouble deciding.”

“Divide what?”

“Y’know, the different skill categories—Magic, Vanguard, Rearguard, Throwaway, that sort of thing. Personally, I’d recommend going for some of the Throwaway Skills from back in the game because they’re really helpful now.”

Many of the skills Cayna had used around the remote village—such as Spring Water to build the bathhouse—were called Throwaway Skills. Shining Saber looked over his current skillset and began deliberating over what new ones to take.

Myleene noticed that Luka and Lytt were more at ease now and slowly approached them. “Hello there,” she said.

“H-hello…”

“…Hi…”

“You two must be Lytt and Luka. My name is Myleene. I may be a princess, but this is a casual gathering. Please don’t worry about formalities.”

“M-my name’s Lytt.”

“…I’m…Luka.”

The way the girls looked up at her in awe was so adorable that Myleene couldn’t help stroke their heads. Then something hit her. “Lady Cayna.”

“What’s up, Mye?”

“Their hair is so incredibly silky. How did you get it that soft?”

“What?”

Cayna couldn’t really answer the question. She’d always thought Luka’s hair was simply naturally soft.

Mai-Mai wondered if Myleene was just overreacting, so she stroked the girls’ hair as well. It hit her like an electric shock. “What is the meaning of this, Mother?”

“Look, I’m not really sure how to answer that…”

Cayna assumed it had something to do with the bathhouse in the remote village. It was the only one of its kind in this magic-driven world, and just recently a group visiting from Otaloquess had found it deeply fascinating. The use of Spring Water certainly made the bathhouse that much more effective, but Cayna hadn’t the slightest clue if those effects did anything to hair quality.

“Did you do something, Cie?”

Cayna wondered if Roxine had used something on Luka during bathtime since she had been charged with Luka’s care. She’d anticipated a noncommittal response from the werecat, but ended up with something quite unexpected instead.

Roxine produced a small bottle of golden liquid from her Item Box. “It’s this.”

“What is it?”

“Just a few drops of this after a bath will make your hair sleek and shiny.”

“Huh…”

Cayna then recalled seeing Roxine use it while doing Luka’s hair. Mai-Mai and Myleene immediately turned their gazes to the bottle.

“You made that yourself, right, Cie?”

“Yes. It’s my own concoction made from honey and several medicinal herbs.”

She must have made it with Craft Skills. Since Roxine had several skills that allowed her to make potions, she had deep knowledge of medicines.

The werecat didn’t respond to Mai-Mai and Myleene’s curious stares. She was willing to show them the potion but had no intention of sharing her process. Cayna tried asking her for the recipe, but Roxine merely replied, “It’s a secret.” Cayna shrugged and shook her head at Mai-Mai and Myleene, who were quickly disappointed.

“But a potion alone can’t fix your hair…,” Cayna muttered.

“You’re obsessed with potions, Mum,” Kartatz interrupted, a bottle of alcohol in hand.

“Good work, Kartatz. Sorry for all the trouble.”

“Ah, who cares about the trouble? It helped us kill all that free time. Don’t worry about it.” Spoken like a truly upstanding gentleman. Even Cayna would have probably fallen for him if he weren’t her son.

“Wow, I have the coolest son ever.”

“Wha—what’re you goin’ on about?!”

A flustered, red-faced Kartatz clutched at his head. His employees broke into sly grins; Mai-Mai seemed to be enjoying this as well. Kartatz suddenly felt flushed.

“M-Mum’s gotta be drunk. She is, isn’t she?”

Mai-Mai and Shining Saber peered into Cayna’s glass and took a whiff of its contents.

“I believe it’s fruit-infused water.”

“Yep, it’s juice.”

Upon hearing the report that her drink was non-alcoholic, Kartatz’s shoulders drooped in disappointment. He could tell Cayna was going to keep pestering him, which would lead to further teasing from his employees. There was no escape.

“C’mon now, Kartatz, all that alcohol isn’t good for you,” Cayna chided him. “Here, say ‘Ah.’”

Kartatz was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The sight of a two-hundred-something-year-old dwarf being hand-fed by his mother would be…a lot to handle.

He attempted to resist before his mind could go completely blank. “C-come to think of it, Mum, I heard you’re coverin’ tonight’s tab in full. You sure you’re okay with that?”

“Totally fine. What’s a thousand or ten thousand silver coins, anyway?”

“Uh, r-right…”

“Uh-huh. Now say, ‘Ah.’”

Trying to forcefully change the subject proved ineffective against his mother. A stunning defeat.

“No way it’ll cost that much,” said Shining Saber. “This ain’t some fancy dinner party.”

“That’s not true, Captain,” said Mai-Mai. “Looking at the food being served, it might easily cost that much. And this is only a light meal.”

“This place is that expensive?!” Shining Saber yelled in shock after only just hearing this explanation now. Roxine, meanwhile, just wanted the two children to enjoy themselves, so she took them away from the table and covered their ears.

When the knights saw Cayna feeding Kartatz, they choked on their food. Such an unprecedented sight also caused Kartatz’s mind to go blank; he robotically gobbled up the food Cayna brought to his mouth, unable to even taste it.

But Cayna didn’t stop there. She hand-fed Kartatz several more bites until he ended up blacking out.

The next thing he knew, it was the middle of the night, and he was in his bed at the workshop.

Then, the next day, the official opening of the festival came.

After Kartatz lost himself the day before, the thank-you party had come to a natural end. Myleene and Shining Saber had to return to the castle before evening, so they quickly offered their thanks as well as appreciation of the food and left.

The workshop employees would apparently go home after putting their boss to bed. When Cayna asked where he lived, they said he had his own room at work.

After thanking everyone involved, Cayna’s group saw Mai-Mai safely home and returned to the rental house. Mai-Mai had said they could stay at her place, but Cayna declined since she had Lytt and Luka with her. After all, if Lytt heard they’d be staying at a noble house, Cayna doubted the girl would be able to relax.

Cayna had decided to sleep with Luka that night, but there was a bit of an uproar once morning arrived. The booming of fireworks woke Luka up in a panic. The terrified girl clung to Cayna, who became enraged, consequently setting off Roxine until the entire house was about ready to go on the warpath. Fortunately, the matter passed without incident after Luka realized the source of the noise and soon calmed down.

For someone who had moved from a fishing village to the remote village they now lived in, fireworks had to be terrifying. If Cayna hadn’t cast Soundproof throughout the whole house, Luka would have likely burst into tears.

Lytt, on the other hand, had apparently heard about fireworks from the caravan and helped calm Luka down.

“Luka, that means the festival’s starting. It’s not scary,” she said.

“She’s right,” Cayna agreed. “It’s just loud. You’re not in any danger.”

Cayna held the unsettled Luka in her arms and rubbed her back to soothe her. Thankfully, she stopped crying soon enough. Her stomach let off a series of grumblings right after, and everyone burst into laughter.

“I’m…hungry,” said Luka.

“Me too,” said Lytt. “Let’s go eat the breakfast Ms. Cie made.”

Lytt set off with Luka trudging not far behind. Cayna put a hand to her cheek in slight exasperation. She was really getting a taste of the trials involved in child rearing.

“Okay, we’re gonna be together alllll day today, so where should we start?”

After they ate breakfast and prepared to head out, Cayna asked the girls to pick where they’d like to go. The two quickly started deliberating. They had spent the previous day at home organizing their purchases and cooking with Roxine, who told Cayna that they’d heard cheering that day as well. Unlike the fireworks earlier, though, the noise hadn’t been loud enough to startle them. When Cayna mentioned the huge whale in the river, Luka and Lytt eagerly declared that they wanted to see it.

“Miss Cayna, what is a whale?” Lytt asked.

“It’s basically a big, long fish. Sometimes water shoots out of their backs with a whoosh.”

“It…shoots water??” Luka said incredulously.

Clearly unable to visualize what Cayna explained, the two tilted their heads in unison. It was a funny sight, and Cayna couldn’t help but laugh. They started batting at her and told her not to laugh at them, so she grinned and asked their forgiveness.

“What are you doing?” A bit late from cleaning up, Roxine saw Luka and Lytt hanging from both of Cayna’s arms.

“Ah-ha-ha, oh, y’know.”

It wasn’t like their problems weren’t all cleared away, but the fact the biggest one was behind them put Cayna in a great mood—so great that she was even willing to let a pickpocket off with just dislocating both of their shoulders. Which she actually ended up doing.

“Never thought a thief would come right at us before we even mingled into the crowd.”

The squawking pickpocket was stuck to a nearby wall with magic. He’d come unstuck on his own after enough time, so it was better than handing him over to the guards. If she was being honest, she thought the soldiers had better things to do than deal with small-time thieves. Instead, a paint that was difficult to take off would have the pickpocket’s real name and crime written on their face. This information was marked on their status when she used Search, so it was completely obvious. Plus, leaving the pickpocket stuck in a wall was punishment in itself.

After they slowly made their way through the crowd and out on to the main street, they were overwhelmed by congestion Cayna had never seen when she first came to Felskeilo. However, they could still get through with the kids in tow. The crowds weren’t so bad you couldn’t get past the main drag.

“I knew it,” Cayna mumbled. “It’s packed since you can’t cross the river.”

“Ah, there’s the ball throwers!” Lytt shouted. She had spotted the performers she’d seen from the carriage. Managing to get close by following the flow of people, they came to a spot where three colorful clowns were entertaining the crowd by juggling and tossing square blocks to each other from atop giant balls. Everyone watched as several small balls were thrown at the clowns’ feet, which they juggled while on top of the big ones. The spectators oohed and aahed when the performers started juggling even more balls. Everyone, Cayna included, gazed in thrilled fascination.

Finally, all of the juggling blocks ended up with one clown, who flawlessly alighted from the ball with his arms full. “Wooow!” the applauding crowd cheered as they tossed bronze coins to the performers. The one clown caught the coins without dropping any blocks, eliciting further cheers. Cayna gave Lytt and Luka each a bronze coin for them to try tossing. Lytt’s coin flew in a clean arch, but the trajectory of Luka’s had it heading straight for the ground. Just when all seemed lost, one clown stuck out his foot, lifted it like he was juggling a soccer ball, and caught it with a block. Luka clapped, and the clown winked at her.

Since they had some time before the next performance, Cayna and her group left. Lytt and Luka pretended to juggle, but their movements were all over the place.

“Miss Cayna, can you do that?”

“Juggling? Hmm. It looks kind of hard.”

Since she didn’t know the full extent of her physical specs, she told them she probably couldn’t. Juggling wasn’t a skill; it depended on dexterity and practice. Not that Cayna had any interest in trying it out.

Lytt said she would practice when they got back to the village. Since Luka nodded and said she would join in, Cayna considered having Roxilius whittle down some trees to create balls.

The next thing to catch Lytt’s eye was target-shooting, using throwing knives instead of a gun. One attempt at striking a circular, spinning target was four bronze coins. Five bronze coins got you two throws.

“So is that cheap or not?” Cayna wondered aloud.

“That would depend on the prize,” Roxine answered.

Cayna observed the temporarily frozen target. It was split into about thirty-six sections, and only about ten of those won you a prize. Among the prizes on display were pendants and necklaces of blue and green crystal. Roxine had apparently used Search on them, and she sniffed unamusedly.

“What’s wrong?” Cayna asked her.

“Those are merely pieces of colored quartz.”

“Yikes…”

Cayna got a better look and noticed the couples who attempted the game were failing miserably. She watched them and determined this was part of a never-ending pattern of boyfriends giving up in defeat.

“Hmm.”

“What’s up, Lytt? Do you want to give it a try?” Cayna asked the concerned Lytt, who flinched as one person after the other lost the game. There would be no challengers unless the whole line was changed out.

Lytt had never used a throwing knife before, so she had no confidence. Just as Cayna was wondering what she should do, Luka tugged on her cloak. She bent down to meet the girl’s eye level.

“Do you want to try too, Lu?”

“Here…Mommy Cayna. Me and Lytt…will split it.”

Luka handed Cayna two bronze coins. If Luka and Lytt were each paying half, it was clear they wanted Cayna to try.

Naturally, Cayna gladly agreed to the children’s wishes.

“Oh-ho, a mother doing it for her children? Step right up! Everyone, please give her a round of applause!” the gamemaster shouted merrily when Cayna handed him the money. Several people clapped.

Cayna was given a single throwing knife and stood at the white line five meters from the target. The person in charge of the target spun it in earnest, and the game began.

Not even pretending to look like she was aiming, Cayna used her Intuition and Throw skills and released the knife.

With a most unusual zwoosh sound, it pierced the rotating target with such force that the target immediately stopped spinning. The gamemaster’s eyes grew round with surprise when he saw the knife hilt-deep in one of the target’s winning sections.

“W-wooow! The mother’s knife throw has landed a direct hit! Everyone, please give a round of applause for her fine efforts!”

The ensuing applause was a great deal louder than what she’d received right before the game. Cayna raised a hand in response. For her prize, she chose a necklace laid with a clear, unpainted crystal.

The crowd whistled, and Cayna smiled and waved back. The whistlers blushed, and she could hear their cries from behind her:

“She smiled at me!”

“No, that was for me.”

“But she’s gotta be married, right?”

“““Damn it!”””

As soon as she won, several others decided to give the game a shot and gathered around to try out their luck. The knife-throwing booth soon grew crowded.

After distancing themselves from the throng, Cayna handed Luka the necklace.

“Here you go. Are you two gonna share it?”

Luka shook her head and passed the necklace to Lytt. Cayna thought maybe Lytt had wanted it, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Lytt took the necklace and walked over to Roxine with Luka in tow.

“Ladies?”

“Umm, we’d like you to have this as a present for always helping us, Ms. Cie—Roxine. Thank you for everything.”

“Thank…you.”

Lytt handed over the gift, and Luka bowed deeply.

Roxine stood there blankly at first, but her face instantly turned crimson when she took the necklace. Cayna was a bit surprised by her reaction.

“Thank you very much, ladies. I will treasure it.” Roxine held the necklace tightly and smiled, still blushing slightly.

“I get it,” said Cayna. “You’re fine with those pure of heart.”

“…Lady Cayna?”

Cayna thought that even Roxine’s glare wasn’t so scary when her face was bright red. She’d figured the werecat would take the joke in stride if she got to enjoy a nice surprise. However, Roxine’s cold gaze pierced through her, and Cayna pretended she hadn’t said anything.

“Anyway, let’s skedaddle over to the next spot.”

“……”

“Lytt, Lu, was there someplace you wanted to go? Are you hungry?”

“We…just ate.”

“Yeah. I am getting kind of thirsty though…”

They looked around for a drink stand but couldn’t manage to find one. The main street’s setup was primarily for show, so there were hardly any concessions to be found. There’d probably be nothing but trouble if people with food kept bumping into one another.

“One moment, please.”

Roxine suddenly produced several long, thin objects similar to test tubes from out of nowhere. These were exactly like the all-too-familiar thin bamboo containers Cayna had used when she made her impromptu potions, and there seemed to be some sort of drink inside. Roxine popped the corks, and the scent of tea wafted by.

The light scent of fruit drifted from Luka and Lytt’s drinks.

“You made these? Thanks,” said Cayna.

“They sell thin bamboo at the market. I apologize for the poor fare.”

They returned the containers to Roxine and continued exploring the festival. After watching blindfolded performers throw knives at a board and tamed wolf monsters jump through hoops and balance on balls, the group made their way to the Ejidd River.

A variety of colorful boats sailed along the water. Among these were sailboats decorated with flowers and vivid sails. Some performers were doing acrobatics atop the masts, while other boats were occupied by bands playing music. There were also venders selling fresh-caught fish to guests on the commuter ships or cooking up fish in their own boats. The tantalizing aroma of grilled fish tickled their noses.

Cayna tried her hand at the archery game by the riverbank. The targets were three small boats out on a river, each with two poles with masks attached to them. The aim of the game was to shoot these, and you could win a live fish depending on the number of targets you hit.

Cayna shot all six targets with the provided bow and won a seventy-centimeter-long ponsu. Ponsu looked like straight-bodied catfish and were appreciated by all citizens either boiled or grilled. Since carrying it around would be a bother, Cayna froze the water, bucket and all, and stowed it away in her Item Box. Doing so shocked many bystanders, and as soon as it disappeared, people mistook this for a performance of some sort and began tossing coins her way. Needless to say, Cayna gave these to the girls.

“Looks like they’ve been hooked by the festive mood…,” Cayna noted.

“I’m sure if you exhibited even a fragment of your magical abilities, you would make quite a killing,” said Roxine.

“Don’t even start. Anything more than small change for the girls is gonna make us stick out.”

The same thing apparently crossed Roxine’s mind as she looked out over the crowds. Luka and Lytt pondered over how to use the money that had (literally) come flying at them.

“By the way,” Cayna added, “wasn’t the Academy going to set up a stall, too?”

She’d heard Mai-Mai mention the day before that the Academy would have their own booth at the festival. After the incident with the Guardian Tower, the Academy started seeing a huge jump in the number of students volunteering for the festival. This was their first day of business.

Mai-Mai would also be at the Academy, helping with the booth. “I think we’ll mostly have food stands, so I hope you’ll stop by,” she’d told Cayna, who thought her daughter had a lot on her plate, given all that had happened just the previous day.

Cayna, Roxine, and the girls took a commuter boat to the sandbar and headed for the Academy. The church, in addition to its usual function as a place of worship and sightseeing location, now doubled as a first-aid station. Although the High Priest Skargo wasn’t present, there were many other priests who seemed to be managing everything smoothly. Kartatz’s workshop would remain closed during the festival period. He had grumbled, “We stayed open a long time ago but decided to shut down ’cause the noise from the festival kept ruining everyone’s concentration and causing injuries.”

A large number of people were on the Academy grounds. The center space was reserved for the students’ independent demonstrations, while the outer perimeter was lined with stalls.

The demonstrations included sword dancing and magic tricks. Cayna might understand if this was part of a research project, but she felt like the sword dance made this out to be nothing more than a spectacle. She was never into that sort of thing back in the game either and instead saw it as extra background fluff, so the sight didn’t really resonate with her.

The stalls were colorful, and unsurprisingly, filled with standard festival fare likely introduced by past players: okonomiyaki, yakisoba, candy apples, chocolate-covered bananas, skewered meat and chicken, imagawayaki, and taiyaki. The various items in this world had allowed for the development of many distinct specialties, some of which were expensive due to their more valuable ingredients. Commoner children likely never got a taste of those.

Chocolate-covered bananas were one good example: A single banana was four silver coins. Cayna wasn’t sure if these were exclusively for nobles, but even an adventurer’s salary couldn’t easily afford one.

Despite the sign advertising candy apples, there were no obvious “apples” in this world. A variety of easy-to-eat fruits were candied instead. The sugar used for hard candy was expensive, so only a small amount was drizzled over the fruit.

The taiyaki being offered was in the shape of a ponsu for some reason, so it was a bit jarring when Cayna was drawn to the booth by the sign only to be met with an unfamiliar shape. Even the contents of the taiyaki were different in this world.

“The filling is sweet-boiled potatoes instead of red bean paste,” Cayna remarked.

“That is because sugar is expensive,” Roxine said.

The cotton candy made from brown sugar instead of white sugar cost one silver coin. Cayna had absolutely no intention of buying that.

She bought several foods that reminded her of home and divided them between Luka and Lytt for them to eat. The plate of yakisoba was split among all four of them.

“This is more like yaki-udon,” Cayna noted.

“The noodles are indeed a bit too thick,” Roxine agreed.

“It’s really yummy.”

“Uh-huh.”

The utensils that came with it were not forks or chopsticks but instead long skewers. They were incredibly difficult to use. Cayna used two as chopsticks and fed the girls that way.

“Looks like there’s bonito flakes or something in it.”

“They sell yakisoba sauce at the market, although the flavor varies greatly with each chef.”

While they ate, Cayna and Roxine discussed their opinions on different ingredients and food products. The children were unable to keep up with the pair’s appetite and soon grew full.

Then, as Roxine was taking the girls to the bathroom:

“Hey, you there!”

Cayna had noticed someone rapidly approaching before she realized they were calling out to her.

It was a young man in his late teens with a butler by his side. He had a condescending look in his eye, which made Cayna’s mood visibly worsen. She’d sensed a sickening gaze on her earlier but had meant to ignore it unless push came to shove. Nothing good would come out of this for the children, so she told Roxine to take Luka and Lytt elsewhere.

The loud, yapping man came into view. Cayna regretted meeting his gaze.

He wore a gray jacket with gold trim over a shabby, threadbare shirt along with a red cloak. His eyes angled upward most villainously.

“Hey, you there! You’re that adventurer my father told me about, aren’t you?!”

She knew this encounter was going to be a pain in the butt because Kee told her the butler behind this teen was “the one from our first day here.”

As the young man continued to smirk pompously, Cayna heard whispers flying among the people nearby: mentions of “an earl’s son,” “blackmail and extortion,” and “abuses his parents’ position.”

So he’s pretty much your typical young noble…

“A quest classic.”

Still, if he was the type of person she pegged him to be, he was going to run away like a scared rabbit. By this point, Cayna wouldn’t let him escape instant death even if he tried.

He stuck out in the worst way, and curious onlookers surrounded them at a distance to form a wall of people. The young man arbitrarily interpreted Cayna’s silence as fear of a noble’s presence and kept running his mouth: “If you give my father what he wants, I’ll smooth things over between you. What do you say?” followed by “I know—I should have you for myself. I doubt my father will mind based on your looks alone” and “Hey, you gonna say something? I’m very generously trying to compromise here.” His tone grew more and more heated.

To a noble, compromise was no different than blackmail or cutting corners. Cayna was curious what kind of upbringing it took to create such a narcissist. His parents were probably a piece of work, too.

What a pain. What should I do now?

“Why not take him on?”

“I’ve got a feeling he’ll turn to charcoal…”

“This is true.”

Already fed up, Cayna completely tuned him out. The young noble then spoke to the people standing at attention behind his butler.

“Hey, you two! Show this lady what you can do!”

““Yessir!””

Cayna was even further confused as to why anyone would resort to violence toward the object of their desire simply because they weren’t getting their way. Moreover, he was after someone else’s power. Wouldn’t it be humiliating for a fox to borrow the might of a tiger? You had to pity any poor person who took down a tiger only to be told they’re a huge embarrassment.

The two people following the young noble’s commands stepped forward, both dressed in full-length reddish-brown robes. They shared a single wand taller than themselves. It was a bit twisted, and it wouldn’t be strange at all if they were to say they had picked it up from the forest floor.

As they raised the wand and chanted a spell, a magic circle appeared on the ground. Cayna used magic circles as well, but hers were much more complex.

She’d never seen one this oversimplified with nothing more than a hexagram at the center. As she stared intently and wondered what sort of magic circle it might be, the ground in the middle of it swelled and sent sediment bursting forth. The wriggling dirt rose higher than a person and seemed to struggle to take form. The onlookers began screaming, apparently already cognizant of what sort of magic had been cast. Cayna strained her ears in an effort to hear if someone might say what spell had been used, but all she picked up was along the lines of, “To think he’d use that,” “Is he trying to kill us?” and “How awful!”

So this spell was used often and to terrible effect.

However, the creature’s writhing didn’t seem like the slighest threat from Cayna’s point of view, so her only option was to wait until she knew its true form. She’d considered blasting the spell back with an attack of her own, but she was certain that if she used even the smallest bit of her power, they’d all turn to mincemeat.

After she resolved to remain a bystander, it took a full five minutes for the writhing sediment pouring from the magic circle to finally transform into a humanoid figure over two meters tall—at least, humanoid in the sense that it looked like a ghost made from a blue tarp and a two-meter-high pole. Checking with Search showed this was an earth golem. She was shocked it wasn’t even made of stone.

The earth golem was just barely level 6—so weak that going up against it honestly felt like more trouble than it was worth. The thing was slow as a turtle, and it clunked its way toward Cayna. She genuinely wanted to know what about it was so “awful.”

However, since these two mages had gone to the trouble of producing a golem for her, she thought it only fair she respond in kind.

Magic Skill: Load: Create Rock Golem Level 1

“““Ohhhhh?!”””

A mix of awestruck and frightened cries erupted from the onlookers. A shocked look swept across the young noble’s face, and the mage pair trembled in fear.

Using a stone she threw as a fulcrum, rocks and boulders bubbled up from inside the earth one after the other and joined together to form a humanoid figure. It was one head taller than the earth golem and made of solid stone, unlike its foe’s flimsy, poorly protected body.

Cayna had constructed something the earth golem couldn’t compete against in a matter of moments. The humanoid figure flexed its arms and gave its first newborn cry:

“BOH!!”

“““It taaaaaaalked?!”””

Everyone present was flabbergasted. Some actually became paralyzed with fear and fell to the ground. The chorus of voices echoed across the entire sandbar, the uproar so great that it wouldn’t be strange if the guards came by to see what the fuss was about.

Cayna ordered the rock golem to attack the still-squirming earth golem.

In all honesty, a level 110-rock golem up against a level-6 earth golem wasn’t a fight at all. The earth golem was turned to dust with a single punch.

The spectators stared with mouths agape. Even the young noble’s expression was cartoonishly contorted; the shock had caused his mind to go blank.

The two mages murmured, “a-ancient arts…,” and dropped the wand.

The rock golem wasn’t done yet. It lumbered over and seized the dumbfounded mages. “No killing, okaaay?” Cayna warned it. Its eyes glinted in understanding. Grabbing both their shoulders, it lifted the men overhead and used its full might to twirl them around like the blades of a helicopter.

Anyone would feel sick after getting spun around so much. Just as it looked like they might spew ectoplasm, the pale mages’ suffering was brought to an end.

The onlookers remained in frozen silence after witnessing the rock golem’s moves, which could be considered as nimble as any other race. Cayna, meanwhile, thought it was quite inefficient as far as rock golems went.

In the end, the mages who had been held overhead by the rock golem were tossed north of the sand bar. The young noble who had been staring in bewilderment soon joined them. He howled about this and that, but the rock golem was loyal to Cayna’s orders, so it didn’t listen to a single thing its foe had to say. The noble went flying and then landed far off in the water with a splash.

Unsurprisingly, the butler escaped the rock golem’s demonic grip hand and chased after his master.

“Well, now what?” Cayna muttered to herself in puzzlement as she observed the silent onlookers. She wanted to meet back up with the girls, although definitely not with this many people staring.

Just as she was thinking about somehow breaking her way though, a voice cried out, “What the heck’s going on?!” and the crowd hurriedly came to life. Several knights appeared as they parted the dispersing throng.

Before things could get any further out of hand, Cayna cut off her supply of magic, and the rock golem disappeared. One knight towering above the rest caught sight of her, and his face twisted in exasperation. “Hey, do you get antsy or somethin’ if you don’t got a problem to stir up? Seriously.”

“It wasn’t me,” Cayna retorted. “Someone picked a fight.”

Several familiar knights greeted her with a “hello.” She waved at them, and Shining Saber looked even more exasperated when he learned further details about the recent incident.

“Getting into squabbles with nobles?” he asked.

“This noble tried to intimidate and extort me and even attempted to kidnap the kids. Roxine sent ’em packing though.”

“You gotta keep that dangerous maid of yours on a leash.”

“If someone’s rude enough to come at you like that, you’ve got no choice but to go all out, as far as I’m concerned. I’m not in the wrong here.”

“Yeah, you are!”

As she exchanged complaints with Shining Saber, Roxine returned with Luka and Lytt.

“Are you okay, Miss Cayna?” Lytt asked.

“Were you…scared?” Luka added.

The two girls clung tight to her sides, and Cayna patted their heads in comfort. Even though this was the second time the girls had seen Shining Saber, Luka looked up at the big, booming dragoid in fear and shut her eyes.

“Don’t bully Lu.”

“I ain’t bullying her. I’m talkin’ to you!” Her words seemed to suffice though, and Shining Saber stepped away from the kids so he wouldn’t frighten them. “Anyway, I’ll talk to the top brass. Can’t have people ticking off the owner of a Guardian Tower who can turn the city to ash in a snap.”

“I wouldn’t turn it to ash,” said Cayna. “What’s the point in that?”

“So you’re telling me you would if there was a point.”

“Anyway, nobles are all idiots, right?”

“There’s only a few bad eggs. Look, don’t cause too much trouble. It’ll just make more work for us.”

Shining Saber looked like he had just one more thing to say, but instead he rounded up the knights who had restored public order and left. They seemed to be the star unit in their own way, and the majority of Academy students looked upon the knights with admiration and envy.

“Now what do we do, Miss Cayna?” Lytt asked after Cayna had glanced around and confirmed the danger was gone.

Since the kids were looking tired, Cayna suggested, “Should we go home?”

“Yeah…I’m…sleepy,” Luka replied, nodding off.

Cayna picked her up and prompted Roxine, and they headed home. Lytt kept glancing up at Luka in Cayna’s arms, so as soon as they crossed the river, Cayna picked up Lytt instead.

“Oh, right. I forgot about the boat race…,” Cayna said.

She turned back around to look the sandbar, tilting her head curiously when she saw no signs that any such event was to take place.

“Apparently, many are concerned that the race will cross paths with the Lord of Water, so it’s been postponed to another day once the course has been modified,” Roxine explained.

“…Lord of Water?”

“Yes, that’s what the townspeople now call that whale Guardian Tower.”

That was likely enough to happen, given the performance Cayna had pulled off. With the whale now revered as a deity of sorts, that would prevent anyone from getting involved with the tower, which was a huge help to Cayna.

“Was this announced?” she asked Roxine.

“Yes. It’s posted all over the walls.”

Cayna hadn’t noticed in the least and was dumbstruck. In her arms, Lytt gave a questioning look and mumbled, “Race?”

“There’s supposed to be a boat race around the sandbar,” Cayna told her.

“Is it fun?”

“I wonder? Sounds like it’s a popular enough gambling event. It’s probably exciting if there’s a boat you’re sponsoring.”

Too bad they wouldn’t get to see the spectacle that was Primo and his friends. “Maybe next time,” Cayna murmured as she got a better hold on Lytt, who seemed to be slipping. She could’ve easily held both girls, one in each arm, but she didn’t want to stand out. She alternated the girls back and forth until they returned to the rental house.