“How’d I even end up here?” I muttered as I watched the scene before me. A crowd had gathered in the town square, and the chefs of the town were preparing a meal. Barrels of booze had been brought here too. Everyone was eating and drinking—it was a festival, and I was at the center of it all.
Unable to understand my situation, I stood there frozen and alone.
“You drink up too, Lloyd!” said an adventurer, having come to hassle me.
He reeked...
He smelled so much of liquor that I wanted him to just stay away. It reminded me of Master Merlin.
“No, I’m good. I’m not very good with liquor.”
“Really? Well, you’re the star of this party! Have fun!”
“R-Right...”
With that, the man left. So, he also called me the star. Others had said something similar. But what had I done to deserve that title?
As I stood still and pondered that question, someone called out to me from afar. “Oh! Lloyd!”
I looked toward the voice to find Yui. Daggers, Cross, and Silica were behind her. Yui once again had a mug of liquor in her hand.
“So? You having fun?”
“I...don’t know about that.” To be honest, I wasn’t. Not only had I suddenly been dragged to the town square, I was being treated like the star of the show. I could feel people staring at me, and to be honest, it made me pretty uncomfortable. “A bit? I guess?”
“That’s right. You aren’t good with liquor, right?”
That was true, but that wasn’t the only reason I wasn’t having fun. “Well, yes, but...could someone explain what’s...?”
“Oh! Wait a second! I’m gonna go grab what Silica’s having!” said Yui as she dashed off, having not listened to a word I said. She was probably trying to be kind by grabbing me some juice, since I couldn’t drink. I was thankful, but I wished she’d actually listen to me...
Well, whatever. I guess I could ask Daggers and the others instead, as they were still here. “Hey, Daggers? What’s all this for?”
“Huh? You came to this banquet without even knowing that?”
“Well, yeah...”
Daggers let out a dramatic sigh. “Seriously... So Yui didn’t explain anything to you? Though, I guess knowing you, it makes sense why you haven’t realized what this is for,” said Daggers, looking right at me with an exasperated expression. “Listen, Lloyd. You’re the hero who saved this town from the demons. This banquet is meant to celebrate and thank you for saving the city.”
That’s right. Other people were saying the same thing, but I had no memory of ever saving the town. “You’re saying I’m a hero?”
“Yup. You’re this town’s savior.”
I still didn’t quite get it, so Daggers explained in detail. To summarize, I really was a “savior” to this town, and that was apparently because I had protected the city from demons. Yui and the others had explained this was all the demons’ doing to the adventurers, knights, and citizens of this town. Though I had no idea how they could possibly tell that story in a way that made me the hero. Currently, they were throwing a banquet to celebrate protecting the city.
“Huh. So that’s what’s up.”
“Yup. Hey, you really had no idea?”
“Well, yeah.”
Obviously. I hadn’t even imagined this could possibly happen while I was asleep. Plus, Yui and the rest of them were even more responsible in protecting the town. Claire and I had simply supported them, so it felt wrong to call me a “savior.”
“Hey, I didn’t—”
Daggers spoke over me. “Lloyd, you need to have some more confidence in yourself.”
“For sure!” added on Cross.
“I agree. You should think more highly of your efforts,” said Silica.
“More confidence? Me?”
“Yup. I think you’ve got plenty of room for more pride,” said Cross.
“R-Really?”
“Really. So consider yourself the star of the night and go have some fun.”
Self-confidence...? I still thought I had a long way to go.
“Got that? Enjoy yourself!” said Cross, patting me on the shoulder.
Hmm. Well, I guess they were telling me to let loose, which meant I really didn’t have any other options. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll do my best to have some fun tonight, just like you guys are telling me.”
“You’ll do your best...? That’s not what I meant.”
“Lloyd! I got you some juice!” Yui came running back with a cup in her hand.
“Thanks.”
“Hey, Lloyd? Listen to me today, all right?”
Afterward, I decided to try to enjoy this banquet. Actually, maybe I didn’t even have to “try.” I still couldn’t really accept that I was the star of all this, but I surprisingly had fun. I drank and chatted with Yui and the others until morning, and in a flash, the nighttime festival was over.
It had been a while since I had last enjoyed myself this much.