I woke up early the next morning, the long-awaited day of the Spirit Festival. The festivities were supposed to start at dawn, so they were likely already underway when I came to. Still, the sun had barely risen in the sky, and our quiet neighborhood—which never received much foot traffic to begin with—was still tranquil. I opened the window, but no lively voices could be heard. Despite the early hour, I was sure that if we went out to the city’s main drag, where the procession should already be underway, we’d be surrounded by enough energy to feel it in our skin.
“I’m excited,” I said. In my previous life, I had studied constantly and never had the chance to go to anything like a festival. Then again, it wasn’t as though I had much wanted to. I’d been a person without interests.
Things were different now. Since I’d come to this new world, I had discovered the joy of living. When I looked out at the world now, I saw something that shined and glittered with beauty.
Best of all, I had found friends. With Oltea and Frieze by my side, the festival was sure to be a wonderful time.
The Spirit Festival was only held once every ten years, and what’s more, I’d been entrusted with the role of Sword Saint. There was no going halfway today; I had to give it my all. Wanting to enjoy the festival’s full length to the best of my ability, I decided to call out to the girls even though they were probably still asleep. As soon as I finished changing my clothes, I left my room and made my way to the next. I was about to knock on the door when it opened with a click.
“Oh, Kaito! Perfect timing. I was just about to go and call you.”
Frieze had opened the door. I saw Oltea inside. She was in the middle of changing out of her pajamas and into her day clothes. Standing in just her underwear, she looked at me with a stunned face. Slowly, a deep red color flushed her cheeks.
“AHH! CLOSE THE DOOR, CLOSE IT!” she yelled, hiding herself in a blind spot. Frieze, startled, jumped and closed the door.
Before long, the door opened again and the two showed their faces once more. Oltea’s face was still bright red.
“I’m sorry, I came at a bad time,” I said.
“No, it wasn’t your fault, Kaito. By—by the way...you didn’t see my stomach, did you?” Oltea asked, more concerned about whether I’d seen her build than her underwear. Despite her worries, she hadn’t looked chubby at all. If anything, a little more weight would be healthy for her, but...
“No, I didn’t.”
“I-I see. That’s good,” she said. Commenting on her body could have been misconstrued as sexual harassment, so I figured it was better to just evade the question.
“By the way, what did you come here for?” Frieze asked.
“I thought I’d wake you two up. I mean, hey, today’s the festival! If you’re still tired from yesterday, we could relax for a little longer first, but—”
“No, we’re rested! Besides, I’ve really been looking forward to today. I’d love to get down and enjoy the festival as soon as we can, but...” Frieze said, trailing off. She glanced at Oltea with a worried expression. “Well, I think Oltea hurt her arms.”
“Did you get hit somewhere?”
“No, it’s just sore muscles,” Oltea said while massaging her arms. We had practiced sword swinging the day before. Frieze’s blade had been much heavier than either of us expected, and I’d quit after a few goes. Oltea, on the other hand, kept on going with a zealous determination.
“Yours don’t hurt, Kaito?”
“I stopped swinging pretty quick. I’m almost thirty, after all. Muscle pain setting in so soon is proof that you’re young, though. How about you, Frieze?” I asked.
“I don’t get sore anymore after all this time. The pain means your muscles are growing, which is great but not so convenient for having fun on festival day, so—”
“I was having Frieze go get you. I figured your beam could fix me up.”
“True. Cure Beam could easily take care of this,” I said. Sore muscles were the result of muscular fibers repairing themselves. Cure Beam couldn’t directly eliminate pain, but could speed the process of recovery, lessening the pain as a natural consequence.
I wasted no time using Cure Beam on Oltea. A bluish-white shower of mist emerged from my hand and began to spread around her.
“Well?” I said, after a pause. “Does it still hurt?”
“Uh,” she said, checking, “w-wow! It doesn’t hurt anymore at all!”
She swung her arms around to confirm and broke out into a wide smile.
“Thanks, Kaito. This way I can keep up sword practice without having to worry!”
“Just don’t be reckless, yeah?”
“I won’t, but I want to eat a lot today, and you’ve gotta work out as much as you eat!”
“Mm-hmm,” said Frieze. “We’ve waited a long time for the festival. May as well eat and drink to our heart’s content.”
We departed the house as the two of them talked about the day to come in high, cheerful voices. We walked beneath the clear morning sky toward the large main street that hosted the guildhall. It was still early in the morning, but the street was already more active than usual. Restaurants that would normally have been shuttered at this time of day were already open and filled with lively voices even deep into their tucked-away corners. Because some festival attendees had been drinking since dawn, there was already a smattering of plastered drunks to be seen as well.