Chapter 8 – Festival Preparations and Excited Villagers

The festival was decided, and a meeting was held.

I was allowed to participate in the meeting for a little while. I wanted to do something fancy, so I suggested a campfire. I know it’s not camping, but it’s fancy and nice.

The problem is that this is a celebration of the completion of a village, and I don’t want the village to burn down in a fire. It’s in the center of the square, but there could be sparks from the fire.

Since fire is also used for barbecue, we decided to have all the vats in the village filled with water before the festival begins. There are people who can use water magic, so I think it will be fine, but there will be alcohol, just in case.

As for the campfire preparations, I was left to my own devices. Since it is dangerous to have moisture in the wood, I was given permission to use luxurious dried wood. They said that if the festival was going to be loud, there was nothing wrong with that.

But this is solid wood that can be used for houses and stuff, right? Can I really use it? We’re going to burn it, right?

Romano-san was also mentioned at the meeting. They contacted the forest, but Romano-san’s father said he would not participate this time.

It is better to have people standing by in the forest as well, so they said the two of them would stand by in the forest, and the other villagers would join the festival. I see Romano-san is doing his best.

At this meeting, I found out for the first time about the god that the dark elves believe in. They have been hiding and living in the forest for many years and have come to believe in the Goddess of the Forest by being grateful to the forest.

The Goddess of the Forest… sounds mysterious. I wish I had a chance to meet her. But the God of Light is a woman, but she’s not called a goddess, and I wonder if there’s a reason for that.

I was allowed to leave the meeting first and stay at the village chief’s house tonight. The people attending the meeting are still working on planning. Tomorrow is the day of preparation, and the day after tomorrow is the day of the actual event, but will they have the stamina to get excited now?

The next day, after breakfast, I immediately started working on the campfire. Ines is helping me as it is, and Felicia is helping with village work. The village chief is also eager to finish everything that can be done today.　

Ines prepares and cuts the wood. I assemble the wood in the shape of a well and tie it with string. The bottom three layers are soaked with water to prevent them from burning, and then I assemble the dry wood on top of them.

“Oh, Rimu, it’s dangerous. You have to be careful.”

“It’s fun.”

Oh, no, Rimu is in a state of excitement. Like a child excited about a jungle gym, he started to play with the wood from the campfire.

“Hmm, Rimu, it’s dangerous. Stay on top of my head. I’ll give you time to play when it’s finished. Can you be patient?”

“Yes, I can.”

“I’m very proud of Rimu for being patient.”

“Am I a good boy?”

“Yes, you’re a very good boy.”

I stroked him like a baby.

“Master, you have to make it properly.”

“Eh? Oh, yes.”

I put Rimu on my head and resume. Where were we again? Oh, it was assembling. I’m afraid of fire, that’s why I make it a little bigger. I put the wood together until it was roughly shoulder-high. Well, it’s a fine piece of amateur work, isn’t it? If I made it too big, I’d be seriously afraid of a fire.

“Wataru-niichan, what is that?”

“What?”

“Amazing!”

“What are you going to do with it? What are you going to do?”

Oh, it’s an invasion of the village children, all six of them looking cheerful.

“We’re going to use these for tomorrow’s festival, but only after dark. You’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

“Eehh.”

“But it looks fun.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Festival, festival.”

“Hey, Wataru-niichan, is it true that there will be lots of food tomorrow?”

“Yeah, there will be lots of treats. It will start around 3 o’clock tomorrow, I think. We’re going to make a lot of noise while eating delicious food. You can eat as much as you want all night long.”

“Wow, wow, are we going to eat all night?”

“Lots and lots of food.”

“Yeah, so you kids stay safe and don’t get hurt or catch a cold. Tomorrow’s the big day, after all.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going home.”

“I’m going to sleep.”

No, it’s too early to go to sleep. I’m a little concerned about what I’m going to do when I see the kids running away. Are they going home and going to sleep now…? I guess it’s just a nap, so there’s no problem.

Okay, the wood frame is finished, but before I put the wood inside, I have to keep my promise to Rimu.

“Rimu, I’m going to take a little break; you can play.”

“Play.”

He climbs up and down and plays around, jumping between the bigger pieces of wood. So cute. Rimu looks like he’s having a lot of fun, jumping over to the other side and moving through the gaps between the wood.

“Rimu-chan looks so happy.”

“Yeah, he’s so excited and full of surprises, isn’t he?”

“Fufu, that’s right.”

I watched Rimu play for a while, but his excitement didn’t seem to subside, so I asked him to go back on top of my head. I’ll ask Donnino-san to make some playground equipment for him next time.

Come to think of it; there’s a kids’ room on the ferry. I think Rimu would be happy if I took him there. Let’s give it a try sometime.

I filled the completed wooden structure with flammable twigs and dried wheat straw and piled firewood on top of it. Now that the campfire was ready, the food would be delivered tomorrow, but the alcohol would have to be delivered first.

After borrowing three villagers as carriers, we headed for the Lutto. I put out more wine and distilled spirits and unloaded them from the ship. The three waiting men carry them to the village.

“Is this enough?”

“Maybe too much.”

“Well, it’s time for a little extra. It’s better than not enough.”

“That’s true. It’s a festival, after all.”

“Yeah.”

We took the alcohol and brought it to the village and left it in the square. The villagers were excited to see a large amount of alcohol and got even more involved in the work. The dark elves are also attracted to alcohol; even if they are beautiful men and women, they are all the same mankind, right?

When I shouted, “Tomorrow you can drink as much as you want,” cheers went up from everywhere in the village. There were quite a few women’s voices as well. It seems that they are attracted by the atmosphere before the festival.

We brought tables and chairs to the plaza and set up a shichirin (a traditional Japanese charcoal brazier). I had to ask the villagers to bring their own. Preparations are almost complete. I decided to rest on the Lutto today and leave with Ines and Felicia.

Tomorrow, we will finish our work in the morning, and from noon we will start the preparations for the festival, which is scheduled to begin around three o’clock. I’m excited.

After dinner and a shower today, I relaxed a little.

“Hey, Master, you’re going to have sex with Felicia after the festival tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Buhah, Ines, don’t say such a vivid thing out of the blue.”

I spewed tea at the sudden mention of it. I was sure that I would do it tomorrow, but why did she say it out loud?

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Fufu, I’m sorry. But since it’s a festival, I have to make sure to remind you properly; otherwise, Felicia or Master will be screwed, won’t you?”

“Certainly, Master is easily swayed by the mood of the moment.”

No, that’s not true, even if you look at me like that. How uncivilized do you think I was? I enjoy festivals, but the most important thing is always the night.

It’s even possible not to drink at the festival for that. I’m confident I can keep my spirits higher than a drunken dark elf when it comes to the night.

“Don’t worry. I’m only going to drink a little. I’ll be thinking things over.”

“Ufufu, that’s a relief.”

“Fufu, that’s right.”

Well, something feels different. I’m the one who is supposed to be asking, “Is Felicia okay?” Or is it just a matter of guilt and desire that I’m now competing with the thought that I’m freeing a woman with my money? They worried me about getting screwed over, you know?

Well, if it doesn’t feel muddled, it’s okay. I have a lot to look forward to tomorrow. I’ve got to make sure I’m in good shape.

I go to sleep with light lovey-dovey in preparation for the event.

The next morning, I enjoy a solid morning kiss with Ines and Felicia and have breakfast. Hmm, I’m feeling pumped, but everyone in the village is working hard to get their work done in the morning. We’ve done most of what we can do on our own, so we’ll just wait here.

“It’s finally coming, but we might get in the way if we go to the village, so let’s stay on the Lutto in the morning and work hard in the afternoon, shall we?”

“”Yes.””

I chat with them over a cup of tea because I don’t want my enthusiasm to spin out of control. We happily think about what kind of festival it is going to be.

“Speaking of which, is there anything else to do besides eat and drink?”

“Dark elves like to sing and dance, don’t they? But since they’ve been targeted, they’ve hardly had a chance to do so…”

Songs and dances of beautiful men and women… I don’t need beautiful men, though. Songs and dances of beautiful women… I have high expectations. The dark elf women in this village are all beautiful and have big breasts; I am very excited.

“I can’t wait to see how much they can sing and dance from now on.”

A group of beautiful dark elves who can sing and dance… in Japan, all I can smell is money. There’s a stage on the ferry; why don’t we build one? …It’s impossible; let’s not do it. I don’t want to put an audience or anything on the ferry in the first place.

“That’s right. You can sing and dance freely and happily on this island, can’t you?”

Yeah, but when singing and dancing are connected, the entertainment industry comes to mind. The thing I gave up on earlier comes to mind again.

“Yeah, I’ll bring Reversi and Jenga, too, though I only have one of each. If they like them, I’ll buy them the next time we come back. Oh, but I have a contract with Donnino-san, so I’ll have to tell the dark elves not to make them without my permission.”

“Oh, that’s good. If there is more entertainment, it will make life more interesting.”

“Yeah, we’ll leave ours in the village since we’re going back to the Southern City next time, and since Donnino-san is in business, we can get a lot of them right away.”

“Thank you very much. Everyone will be happy.”

We killed the morning while chatting, ate a little bit of food, and headed for the village. In the village, preparations for the festival had already begun.

“Hello, Village Chief-san. Sorry, I’m late.”

“No, no, no. The villagers were so excited that they had to finish their work early.”

“Ahaha, is that so? But since we are going to make noise till night, if you work too hard, you won’t last long, will you?”

“I see. It would be a shame not to be able to enjoy the festival as long as possible.”

“Yes, we will serve distilled liquor, but if we start serving it in the daytime, it is likely that some people won’t be able to enjoy it until nightfall.”

It would be a pity to go down before dark, and I’d like people to see the campfire I’ve worked so hard to build.

“I suppose that’s true. Let’s focus mainly on wine during the daytime.”

The village chief seemed to be of the same opinion.

“That sounds better. Everyone is very excited. It’s hard to control them.”

“I haven’t had this kind of fun in decades. I am ashamed to say that I cannot control my feelings either.”

“Village Chief-san, too, huh? But as expected, it’s a problem if you get wasted before dark. Please do your best to restrain yourself during the daytime.”

“That’s right. I’ll at least try to restrain myself during the daytime.”

Wow, this guy, even though he is the village chief, is not going to restrain himself at night. Is that okay?

I decided to make some plans and help him prepare for the festival. In addition, I borrowed two sets of tables and chairs and made a Jenga and Reversi corner.

I also left a piece of paper with the rules written on it, but I think it would be better if I stayed beside them in the beginning.

“Ah, Wataru-niichan, what’s that?”

“What is it?”

“I’m hungry.”

“It’s a toy. It’s easy to play with, so do you want to try it?”

“I’ll try.”

“Is it fun?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Yes, it’s fun. Try it.”

I explained the rules to them and let them play Jenga. When the board wobbles, they get nervous, and when it falls over, they laugh hysterically.

The adults in the vicinity were watching with great interest. At this rate, it’s going to catch on in the village. And there is the one who only says, “I’m hungry.” Suppose he’s fired up for the all-you-can-eat event. I think we’d get along.

But they don’t seem to know that it’s better to eat something light to keep their stomachs active before the all-you-can-eat event—you immature fellow.

I taught them the rules of the Reversi game, and the children seemed to be enjoying themselves. Now the preparations for the festival are underway. If only the adults watching with interest would work…

I measure the time as I help with the preparations for the festival. Is it about time?

“Village Chief-san, I’m going to go prepare the food. Can you send about ten people to the ship about twenty minutes before the festival starts?”

“Understood.”

I returned to the ship with Ines, Felicia, and Rimu. After arriving on the Lutto, I summon a rubber boat filled with food.

“The food will get cold when we take it out of the rubber boat, but I guess it can’t be helped. I can serve it in two portions, one for lunch and one for dinner, can’t I?”

“Yes, it will still taste good even if it gets cold, and that’s okay. We’ll have a barbecue, too, but there is a possibility that people will be too full to eat the evening’s portion.”

“Yes, we may have overcooked it a bit. Then we will bring the food when people arrive, and finally, the festival will begin.”

Ten people arrived as arranged, carrying as much of the food as they could carry to the village. The food was not so heavy, but it was so bulky that even thirteen people, including us, could barely carry it.

Even though the tension was high, we were making quite a lot of food. I lost track of how much we had made because I had to repatriate them when they were finished.

We carefully carried them back to the village so as not to drop them and put them on the table. The other villagers also brought in their own dishes, and they were lined up on three tables. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?

It seems that all the villagers have gathered and are anxiously awaiting the start of the festival. The children’s eyes are especially fierce, and one boy, in particular, looks like a hungry beast.

He’s the one who’s been saying, “I’m hungry” all the time. That kid was supposed to be a normal, laid-back kid… What happened?

“Wataru-san, it’s almost time to start, so could you please do the greeting?”

“Huh? Isn’t that supposed to be done by the village chief?”

“Well, that may be so, but in this case, it is a festival to celebrate the completion of the village. I just now thought it would be best to introduce Wataru-san, who has been most instrumental in helping us move to the new village.”

…The festival was supposed to be fun, but the village chief’s idea made it start like a punishment game. The village chief immediately handed me a cup and pushed me in front of everyone… What am I going to do?