Chapter 1 – In the Village we Dropped by
This was the time when we accepted the carriage from the King of Bivnaheim and are on our way to Norcheim.
We encountered a problem in our journey that went well so far.
The condition of our carriage became worse.
“Cecil, how are the horses?”
Currently, we stopped the carriage by the roadside and have Cecil look at it.
I can ride horses, but I don’t know much about a horse’s health.
I was taught when I was training on horseback but I don’t remember that much.
I still think it’s fine though, because Cecil has listened to it well.
“Let’s see……the symptoms are not heavy, but it should be better to rest in a place with a roof once.
“Got it. Fran, is there a town or village near us?”
I asked Fran for any place to take the break.
After all, it’s not good to pull the horse-drawn carriage that does not work well.
Because the horses are excellent breeds sent by the king itself, we can’t just leave them here.
After we rested for a while, we pulled the carriage once again.
“Prince, there is a village a little further from here”
“Let’s go there. It’s not good to burden the horse further”
After that, with the assistance of Effie’s magic, we easily advanced despite the troubles.
We arrived at the village around noon.
Then, I searched for the chief of the village and asked him to lend me one of their stables.
From that point on we stayed at an inn, but somehow the center became noisy.
When I leaned out of the window, I saw a few more people gathering around.
The population is more than I expected from this kind of village.
“What is going on?”
After I asked, Cecil answered back.
“It seems to be an annual festival of some sort. People from other villages have come as well”
“Oh, a festival huh……”
There are also similar festivals in our hometown, but the cultures here are really different.
The festival on this village is creating quite the commotion.
“Now that we came here and all, do you want to participate?”
The four of them nodded.
A festival was just right for resting our bodies.
We can’t proceed until the horses’ conditions were completely restored anyway.
“There is no need to be in a hurry. The less the speed, the more the haste after all”
“Wow, there was a saying like that? It’s quite profound, even for Allan-sama”
Cecil showed interest on the proverb. Well, this came from my previous life after all.
I covered it in a hurry.
“Yyeah, that’s it. I just happened to read if from a book by some chance”
“It sounds good. Can you tell me the title? I want to read it when we get home”
“Well, you see, I forgot it as I was still a child back then, you should better give up on searching the library”
Cecil became disappointed, but it seems she’s accepted my words.
After all, there are a million books in the library.
“For now, let’s enjoy the festival. I’ve never been in a foreign one before”
I took the four people and joined the celebration.
I’ve been expecting myself, Cecil and Effie to get a lot of attention, but they surprisingly didn’t say anything.
Apparently, they thought of it as costumes.
Now that I look at them, some are dressed in different disguises.
“Hey, onee-san. I got a fancy dress here. I’ll give you a bonus if you want to buy!”
“Ara, then I’ll take one then?”
Effie seems to be enjoying it as well.
In the previous city, we attracted attention of many people, contrary to our liking.
It was more relaxed here.
“There are more people as you go to the center”
The center of this village is an open square, and there seems to be a stage there.
It’s like they are going to have a show or something.
“Everyone, be careful not to get lost……eh?”
I turned around, then opened my eyes wide.
The figures of Cecil and the others that was there a while ago are now missing.
As if a smoke blown by the wind, they suddenly disappeared.
“Oioi……Well, it will be fine if I go back to the inn”
The village is not that big, so it’s impossible to get lost.
Still, finding them at this crowd will be pretty difficult.
“I’m not going to leave them alone”
Especially Helena, who is powerless as she looks.
They aren’t wearing anything special, so I don’t think they’ll get involved with something.
Plus, she’s not a kid anymore.
Still, I have to look for them.
“Looks like I have to rely on my eyes in this crowd”
No matter how keen the elven senses are, our ears and nose are useless in this festival.
However, i didn’t give up looking for the girls who went astray.
“No choice, I have to retrace my steps……Ah, pops, give me one of those skewers”
“Here you go!”
I’m looking for them, but the situation is not that urgent to loose my cool.
I searched my vicinity while looking at some stalls at the same time.
It’s quite bustling around me, but it’s a festival, so I don’t feel bad at all.
“MMm~ delicious. Yep, its nice to have these kinds of food sometimes”
I tried different foods along the way.
Cecil and the other girls’ cooking is delicious, but they still don’t really match those dishes created by professionals.
Well, the ambiance of the festival may be another factor too in enhancing the flavor.
After I’ve eaten all, I threw away the skewers and started walking again.
There are no trash bins here, but all the skewers and plates here are returned to nature, as they are naturally made.
No doubt that it’s eco-friendlier here than my previous life.
“It’s really hard to find Helena in this crowd”
I have looked at everything around me, but it’s really difficult to find someone like her with a short stature in this mass of people.
“It’s better to find Effie first to search her from the sky……no, that would draw attention too much”
The people here thought it was a costume, so it would be a big fuss if she revealed it to be a real thing.
Plus it’s still not sure if Helena is here.
While I was lost in my thoughts, someone called me in the rear.
“Oh, Allan-kun, you were here. Where are the others?”
Speak of the devil. It was Effie.
And she’s lacking tension as ever.
“I’m looking for them. Did you see where they went?”
On the contrary, she shook her head.
“I didn’t see anyone. Why? You can meet them later when we go back to the inn”
“Well, that might be true, but-”
Effie’s maybe right.
We already got a room to stay after all. They will come back at night.
“But I still don’t know how good the security is in this area. I just want to search for Helena”
When I said that, Effie’s cheeks pouted at me.
“Ara, you’re putting me to work at this time?”
“Even a bunch of hooligans aren’t a match for Effie after all. Plus you can fly in the sky in case you need to escape”
“Even so, please be concerned a little. I’m still a woman you know?”
This is bad. Her mood became worse.
“I’m sorry. As an apology, I’ll treat you anything you like”
“Oh, really? Then, that, and that, and that, and that over there……”
Wow, that change of attitude is really fast.
“Geez, you said you’ll treat me……”
“Would it be better to have something to eat?”
After that, I was offered some stuff at a store
There is food, but I don’t understand well about those ornaments and small articles that she bought.
Well, she seems to be having fun, so it doesn’t matter.
When we look around, she grabs my arm.
“Hey Allan-kun. Let’s go over there. There is a place I want to take you to”
“Where do you want to go? I hope it’s not some weird place……”
I felt a slight uneasiness as I followed her.
