Episode 215. Seven Stars Cultural Festival (1)

A garden filled with fresh flowers.

A man in a white mask hummed a tune as he watered the blooming flowers in the garden.

Drip, drip, drip.

A butterfly landed on a petal adorned with transparent droplets.

The chirping of birds, the croaking of frogs, fully bloomed flowers, and robustly grown trees.

It was such a beautiful place that one might think, “If there’s a paradise, it must be like this.”

“Phew. Nothing beats this kind of healing.”

The man in the mask smiled contentedly as he admired the garden he had created.

He walked toward an old rocking chair in the center of the garden.

“Let’s see. I’ve finished watering, so now I can relax and read a book…”

Knock, knock.

At that moment.

A harsh knocking sound, out of place in the garden, echoed.

“Come in.”

The garden door opened, and a slender man wearing a bear mask entered.

The man in the white mask turned to the bear mask and asked,

“What’s the matter?”

“The wolf is dead.”

“……”

A heavy silence fell.

The man in the white mask leisurely sat down in the rocking chair.

“Who did it?”

“Well…”

The bear mask hesitated.

“You couldn’t even figure out who killed him?”

“…I’m sorry. All we know is that it’s someone related to the Hero School.”

“The Hero School, huh.”

Tsk.

The man in the white mask clicked his tongue.

He picked up a book from the table next to the chair and opened it.

“…What should we do? The Hero School’s Seven Stars Cultural Festival is coming up soon. Should we infiltrate…”

“No, forget it.”

The man in the white mask shook his head slightly.

His black eyes, visible through the mask, glinted sharply.

“Right now, the important thing is the ‘Empress.'”

“Understood.”

“Contact Mephisto.”

The man in the white mask flipped through the pages of the old book as he continued.

“Tell him the ‘Fire Seed’ has sprouted beneath the palace.”

* * *

The three-story Party Training Grounds.

More like a guild house than a training ground, the place was so large that it was more appropriate to call it a Party House. A voice echoed through the space.

“Wow… Are we really using this building just for our party?”

“That’s right.”

Iris’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked around.

Even she, who had received top-tier treatment as the Saint of the Holy Kingdom, couldn’t close her gaping mouth at such an extravagant privilege.

But Iris wasn’t the only one shocked by the massive Party Training Grounds.

Berald and Sophia also looked around like country bumpkins who had just arrived in the capital.

“T-to think we got this as a reward… What on earth have you been doing outside, brother?”

“Did you hypnotize the Chancellor or something?”

“Hypnotize? What are you talking about?”

Even if I had such an ability, I wouldn’t use it on a 150-year-old man.

“Hypnotize…?”

“Huh?”

“Hypnotize… That’s right. I hadn’t thought of that…”

“Lanes?”

“Uh, yeah? Oh, it’s nothing!”

No.

It definitely wasn’t nothing.

“Hehe. This place is great~ Dale!”

You didn’t even care a second ago.

“Alright, this way leads to the training grounds…”

“Ah, Dale. You said the second floor is a lounge, right? Can we check that out first?”

“And the third floor is empty, right? We can use that as a magic research lab.”

“Brother! How about we throw a celebration party today to commemorate our new hideout?!”

It seemed everyone was excited about having a hideout where the party members could gather.

Although it was technically a Party Training Grounds, they seemed more interested in other aspects than the actual training.

“Dale… Where’s the changing room?”

“……”

Lanes, why are you looking for the changing room first?

“Sigh.”

Well.

They’re all diligent in their training, but it’s only natural that they’d be more interested in the first-ever “space just for our party” than a training ground.

“Ugh.”

What’s the point of going through all the trouble (?) to prepare a state-of-the-art training ground?

No one even cares about it.

“Dale! The training ground! Where’s the training ground?!”

Just as I was feeling a bit disappointed, an excited voice reached my ears.

“You want to check out the training ground first?”

“Of course! It’s such a great training ground! Didn’t you say it has the latest Republic technology training modes? How do you use them? Have you tried them, Dale? Professor Elisha said there’s even a ridiculous mode called Challenge Mode!”

Yurina’s eyes sparkled like stars as she bombarded me with questions.

True to her love for training, she showed great interest in the state-of-the-art training ground.

“Ahhh! This is so great! Dale, can I try it out right now?”

“Yurina.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re the only one.”

“Why, why are you saying that?”

I pulled Yurina (in Yuren mode) into a hug.

You’re the only one who appreciates the fruits of my labor.

“Yurina’s right. Everyone, change into your training gear and let’s start party training right away.”

Wait, is there one more?

“Let’s start training tomorrow.”

“What?”

Camilla frowned at the suggestion to start tomorrow.

She put her hands on her hips with a stern expression.

“Start tomorrow?! Weren’t we supposed to start today?”

“We haven’t even finished moving in, and it’s the first day. Let’s just check out the training ground today and have a celebration party in the second-floor lounge like Berald said.”

Though I felt a bit disappointed that no one seemed interested in the training ground, I didn’t plan to start party training right away.

After all, even school lectures usually start with a relaxed introduction to the semester’s plan on the first day.

‘Though I’ve been burned before by skipping the first week of lectures and then getting slammed with actual classes.’

Anyway.

Since it’s the first day of having the Party Training Grounds, it’s better to spend the day toasting with the party members and planning for the future.

“Hmph! Pathetic!”

Camilla snorted and shook her head firmly.

She crossed her arms and glared fiercely.

“With such a rotten attitude, how do you expect to surpass the ‘Five Great Heroes’ and become the strongest party?!”

Since when did our party’s goal become so grand?

Well, I guess it’s not wrong since our goal is to defeat the Devil God’s army.

“Skip one day of training, and you’ll suffer for three! There’s no time to relax and throw a celebration party!”

“Oh, right. Speaking of which, Chancellor Raonel sent us some precious alcohol to celebrate the Party House.”

“What.”

One thing I’ve learned after spending over half a year with Camilla in the party.

This lady secretly loves alcohol.

“It’s top-grade Holy Kingdom whiskey, personally received from Pope Marian.”

“……”

Especially the notoriously strong Holy Kingdom whiskey.

“W-well, as a follower of the Seven Stars Church, I can’t refuse alcohol gifted by the Pope.”

Ahem.

Camilla swallowed hard and glanced at the bottle.

‘Look at her drooling.’

Personally, I prefer wine or beer with a lower alcohol content over the overly strong Holy Kingdom whiskey.

But anyway.

Now that Camilla’s hooked, there’s only one thing left to do.

“Alright. Berald and I will go get some drinks and snacks, so everyone else can keep exploring.”

“Hoho! We’ll be back soon!”

* * *

And so, the celebration party was held in the second-floor lounge.

Following Berald’s suggestion to do it properly, crates of beer and wine bought from the store were piled up like a mountain in the corner of the lounge.

“Alright, let’s toast to Dale and Chancellor Raonel for securing such an amazing Party House!”

“Cheers!”

The clinking of glasses marked the start of the drinking session.

“It’s nice to have a place just for us.”

“Glad you like it?”

“Yeah.”

Iris smiled and nodded.

“By the way, why didn’t Professor Elisha come? It would’ve been nice to have her here.”

“Ah… about that.”

There was a bit of an incident recently.

“Did you two have a fight or something?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell Iris what happened that day.

‘I kind of wanted to keep that sight to myself.’

Remembering Professor Elisha’s tearful, embarrassed face made the corners of my mouth rise involuntarily.

“…Something’s fishy.”

I quickly turned my head away from Iris’s narrowed, suspicious gaze.

I saw Yurina accepting a drink from Berald.

“Yurina. Don’t drink too much today.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why, you ask?”

Have you already forgotten the disaster (?) that happened during the last school trip?

“Haha. Don’t worry, Dale. That time was just a slight~ misjudgment of pace. I can handle my alcohol!”

“……”

“You haven’t forgotten whose descendant I am, right?”

I remember you saying the exact same thing and then passing out an hour later.

“…Berald. Don’t give her too much.”

“Hehe. I’ll moderate it, so don’t worry, brother.”

Berald grinned and shrugged.

“By the way, brother. The Seven Stars Cultural Festival is next week. What are you planning to do?”

“Ah, is it already that time?”

I had completely forgotten about the festival since I hadn’t been attending classes due to suspension.

“Well… honestly, it’s not that big of a deal, right?”

Since it’s a school for training heroes, not a regular educational institution, the Hero School’s cultural festival is quite modest.

The festival lasts only one day.

There are no external events like inviting guest singers.

At most, a few external merchants set up stalls, similar to the Sealing Festival.

‘It’s less of a cultural festival and more of a day off to drink and have fun.’

Well, they do hold events like poetry contests (Professor Lucas won last year) to cultivate literary skills in heroes, but participation is extremely low.

“Still, they do set off fireworks in the evening, right?”

“Ah, yeah. That’s true.”

Though I don’t really care whether they’re fireworks or cannon fire.

“By the way, have you heard this story?”

“What story?”

“Well, when they set off the fireworks in the evening, there’s a rumor that out of hundreds of fireworks, one is shaped like a heart. If you kiss your lover when the heart-shaped firework goes off, you’ll be together forever.”

“…There’s a rumor like that?”

I’ve never heard that rumor, even in my past life.

“It’s been spreading rapidly among the candidates recently.”

“Sounds like the kind of rumor that would circulate in a school.”

It seems even the Hero School isn’t immune to the antics of young men and women.

Just as I was about to laugh it off.

“Can you tell us more about that?”

“The heart-shaped firework, you said?”

“Uh, when does it go off?”

Before I knew it, Iris, Yurina, and Lanes had gathered around Berald, their eyes sparkling like stars.

“……”

For some reason.

Unlike in my past life, where I would’ve brushed it off, I had a feeling this year’s cultural festival would be different.