Chapter 139: Academy Festival – Day 2
“Fwoooooah… I’m starving!!”
“Uweeeeh, I’m totally dizzy~~♪”
“That’s because you’ve been sleeping all day…”
“”Good morning, Felnora.””
“…Good morning, Miss Idle. Miss Arena.”
“”…Hoyo?”
“Hmpf! I won’t lose!! Hurry up and explain yourselves already!!”
Uh… it’s kinda hard to take you seriously when you’re talking through a pinched nose…
The morning of the second day of the academy festival began with our stomachs growling in unison and Felnora bombarding us with questions. Ah… oh, Magenta must have come by. Looks like she at least gave her name. I did say she could reveal some details, but wow, she’s pretty thorough.
“I’ll talk, but food comes first.”
“Dreeeh… I’m still sleepy nya~♪”
“You can just talk normally now, Leena—wait, no, not Leena. Arena. If you don’t wake up, I’m gonna mess with you~♪”
“Hnyaah!?”
…She’s grown again. I mean, it’s not like I check every time, but still.
“Mmmh~! Payback!”
“Eh? Ah—Ahaha! That’s not fair~~!!”
“Oh? Did Idle grow too?”
After a little tickle-fest, we finally sat down for breakfast, with Felnora looking at us in exasperation. Arena insisted on feeding me a lot again today, but she seemed so happy that I just let her be.
Now then, since there are plenty of food stalls around, I think we’ll just go on a food tour while we play around. I can explain things as we walk. As for Bagotte, we’ll start prepping for that tomorrow morning, so today is a free day.
“So, what do you want to know? I’ll give you a proper explanation this time.”
“First question—what’s your goal in Telveil?”
“That, huh? You know Ladaria’s been rebuilt, right?”
“Yes, my father told me about it.”
Great, that makes things easy. While munching on a skewer of roasted orc meat—yes, I actually knew what kind of meat it was this time—I began my explanation. Of course, I kept Oikawa’s involvement vague.
His situation is something between the two of them, so I have no intention of interfering. And I certainly don’t hold it against him.
“So basically, you’re here to retrieve stolen goods while dishing out a little payback?”
“Exactly. Ahh, that was delicious.”
“So full, so satisfied~♪”
Arena, meanwhile, had devoured a skewer, a crepe, and a shaved ice dessert I made using World Tree honey. She looked utterly content. Apparently, maintaining her current form consumes a lot of calories, so she’s eating even more than usual. Kinda jealous, honestly.
Felnora seemed to hesitate for a moment before gathering the courage to ask:
“Does this involve Lord Oikawa as well?”
Ah, so she noticed. Maybe she knows about the Holy Sword’s properties? Either way, I won’t say anything.
“It’s best if you hear it from him directly. But let me say this—there’s no need for you to worry about it, Felnora. That’s why I scheduled you guys for the third day.”
“…Understood.”
Good, good. That’s something only they can sort out themselves. And tomorrow, I plan to blow away all the gloomy stuff. Today is about having fun, okay?
“So, Quad, what are you up to?”
“Oh-hoh! Miss Idle! Fancy meeting you here♪”
We ran into an acquaintance right away. Actually, more than an acquaintance—he’s practically family.
Standing there with his arms full of prizes and wearing a novelty nose-glasses disguise was the elderly gentleman, Quad.
This fairy was having more fun than the local kids.
“I had an extra invitation from Galuania, and the other Miss Idle suggested I come. I must say, it was an excellent decision!”
“Wow, that’s awesome, Quad! Idle, let’s hurry up and go play too!”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Later, Quad! Enjoy yourself!”
“Indeed, I shall♪”
Quad strolled off, humming happily, while some students on the street were getting excited over… something? Huh. Oh well.
“Um, who was that?”
“Oh, he’s a member of our adventurer party, ‘Fairy’s Feast.’ Like me, he enjoys sightseeing.”
“Your people sure are… quick on their feet.”
Well, none of us are human, after all.
“Is this… a haunted house?”
“What’s that ‘hyuuu-dorororo’ sound?”
“How eerie…”
The first attraction we visited was a haunted house built inside a repurposed multipurpose hall. Interesting. This is my first time seeing something like this.
The sign at the entrance read: “If you have heart problems or are easily frightened, please inform us beforehand.”
Looks like the difficulty changes depending on the visitor.
We paid a single copper coin to enter—super cheap.
“It’s dark… and there’s this… distinct scent in the air.”
“Yeah, I smell it too.”
“Perhaps that’s because you two are clinging to each other?”
“”…Oh.””
Yeah, in the darkness, our sense of smell is sharper than usual. Arena’s sweet scent is quite pleasant.
…This isn’t scary at all.
As the hyuuu-dorororo BGM started playing, a low moaning sound echoed from somewhere.
It’s clearly an imitation.
The real thing would be so horrific that just hearing it could curse you…
“Uwhiiih! W-What is this!? Are these real monsters!?”
“If they were, this attraction would be shut down instantly, don’t you think?”
“This kinda reminds me of Amone, Idle.”
“Ah, yeah, I see what you mean.”
That brutal dungeon, huh. Oh yeah, I totally forgot to smack that sapling on the head… Well, it’s not like I can visit the afterlife to do it.
Oh, look at that—walls are spinning around, revealing zombie-like creatures. They look pretty realistic, but their movements are stiff. The ones in dungeons are way more agile… though I guess those are exceptions.
“Whaaaah! Why are they moving even though they’re so rotten!? And why are they crawling straight toward us even though they don’t have eyes!?”
“Because that’s their job. Look, the side door just opened, let’s go.”
With a creak, a door beside the entrance swung open on its own. Looks like this is an escape room-style attraction.
We hurried through and shut the door behind us. Inside, the space resembled a room in a mansion. Now that I looked closely, all the furniture had a handmade feel to it.
“Oh, there’s something on the table.”
“Hm? …It says ‘Take a seat.’”
“What is with this place~~~!?”
“So you’re bad at this kind of stuff, huh, Felnora?”
Since she was clearly terrified, Arena and I sat on either side of her, sandwiching her between us. She immediately latched onto my arm and clung to me. It was adorable, so I patted her head. After a moment, her complexion improved slightly, and she murmured, “…A little more, please.” Ah, what a precious young lady.
Clunk.
“”Hm?”
The sound came from a painting hanging on the wall. It hadn’t been tilted like that before.
The painting depicted a woman holding a jar… and her eyes had shifted to stare directly at us.
“Ehehe~♪”
“”Whoa.””
“HIIYAAAAAAAAAA!!”
Oh wow, something just crawled out of the wall and is now sprinting straight at us. And it’s definitely not human—it’s some kind of magical contraption.
“Nice! I want one!!”
“I do NOT!! I don’t want to get caught—I’m running away!!”
Screaming, Felnora bolted through another door that had conveniently opened—
Splaaat.
…A slime-like substance just dropped onto her head.
Oh, good. It seems to be just for effect—it doesn’t actually stick to hair or skin. Thank goodness, Felnora’s beautiful hair is safe.
“…――――――――――Kyu~~”
“Welp. Let’s run?”
“Roger that~♪”
With Felnora completely passed out, I scooped her up and made a beeline for the exit. We did, of course, hit every single jump scare along the way. But hey, we got the full experience, so I’m satisfied.
Now, Felnora lay on a bench, her face still pale as Arena gave her a lap pillow.
Hmmm… this might be a problem.
“I thought this would be a great chance for you to get closer to Oikawa, but… yeah, after seeing this, maybe not.”
“Th-This was too much for me…”
“Welp.”
“Alright then, let’s hit the roller coasters next!”
They claimed to have pieced it together from ancient documents, but honestly, this roller coaster looked like it would snap a normal human’s neck. If my knowledge is correct, I’m pretty sure roller coasters with boosters attached on both sides don’t exist. Just how fast does that thing even go…?
“Felnora, it says people below level 30 can’t ride. You’re over that, right?”
“No, I will die! Also, which class was responsible for making this ridiculous contraption!? Bring me the person in charge right now—!!”
Naturally, we made her ride it. Don’t worry, I cleaned up any mess she made.
By the afternoon, we stumbled upon a magic artifact exhibition. It was one of the biggest attractions of the festival, and honestly, I wouldn’t have minded spending the rest of the day here.
“Arena, I’ve been thinking. To improve our ‘Fairy Magic’ imagery, we should take inspiration from the creativity of young minds. That’s why we should spend the rest of our time here.”
“But Idle, haven’t you been sneaking into other research labs a lot before the festival?”
“Huh? Uh… well…”
“And didn’t that delay your bullet production, forcing you to pull an all-nighter?”
“…Y-yeah.”
“So, we’re good now, right?”
“…Yes, I’m sorry.”
Yeah, I admit it—I visited other research labs way too much. But listen, it wasn’t like that! I was just taking breaks. It just happened that my idea of a break involved checking out other research projects.
I mean, I had already tried countless variations! My brain was about to explode, okay?
Sigh, fine. There are plenty of other fun places to check out. Let’s go.
“On your feet, Felnora! We shall keep moving until nightfall!”
“Ugh… fine, I yield! Just have mercy on me…!”
“Is that ancient cry of defeat making a comeback or something?”
“Achoo! …Ugh, am I catching a cold? But I have ‘Status Ailment Immunity’…”
“We were just talking about that~♪”
“Oh, really?”
“Mika~, what does ‘gyafun’ mean~?”
“Uh… well, it’s… an ancient cry of defeat, I guess?”
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