The party to celebrate connecting our dwellings with the Divine Beastfolk village began. There were tables set up around the bonfire in the center, and everyone was full of boisterous revelry.
“Sup! I mean, my thanks for inviting us today!”
“Oh, hello, Suzaku. You’re back,” I said.
“Yeah. For some reason, the island’s barrier has been loose recently, and I was out putting the screws on a suspicious character.”
“Suspicious character? Didn’t you go to Mina’s place?”
“She’s always suspicious, isn’t she?”
I can’t deny that.
As I wasn’t saying anything, Suzaku laughed loudly. “Well, she claims it isn’t her, but there was a moment when she completely disappeared from the island, though it was only for a single instant...”
“Is that...” ...really okay to ignore?
As you might expect, by now I understood just how absurd the people on this island were. Mina in particular was one of the few beings even I felt a bit nervous around, so I had a feeling that it would be a big issue if someone like her left the island.
“Eh, I doubt she feels like wrecking things anymore, so you don’t have to worry,” Suzaku said. “Besides, it looked like she’s gotten hooked on messing with you guys.”
“That’s not exactly good news...”
Regardless, I was relieved to see that Suzaku was all right. She could survive anything, even death, but I still didn’t want anything bad to happen to someone I knew.
“Well, see ya, I’m going to have my fill of the food.”
With that, Suzaku went over to where the Divine Beastfolk were.
“She sure is a free spirit...”
Looking out over the venue, there seemed to be no differences between anyone, human or Divine Beastfolk. And although I was grouping all the Divine Beastfolk together, I could tell that there were actually many different races with their own distinct features. For example, Elga’s Ancestor was Fenrir, which meant he had a wolflike air to him, while Livia’s was Leviathan, so she had a tail peeking out from beneath her kimono. Luna had fox ears, and Gaius had two thick horns. They all looked very different, with each of them inheriting traits from their Ancestors. Watching them all was fun.
“Whooooaaahhh! This is great!” Elga shouted. Echoing him, Suzaku and the other Divine Beastfolk started shouting as well.
They were seemingly digging into the main dish—dragon steak—and to be sure, it was delicious.
“Your cooking is as popular as ever, Reina,” I said.
“I know this happens every time, but such exaggerated shouting makes me feel more embarrassed than happy,” she replied.
Everywhere, the Divine Beastfolk were shouting at the sky. I thought the food we had eaten at their village last time had been good too, so was there really that much of a difference? The way Reina seasoned her cooking was certainly more to my liking. It was the style of camping, or rather, my body appreciated the somewhat richer flavor, as I was always moving.
“Still, it looks like they’re enjoying it, so isn’t it all right?” I said.
“I guess so... Yeah, you’re right.”
Zelos was drinking together with one of the Divine Beastfolk, and Merlyn was at another spot, surrounded by Grr and Garr and looking like she was at a loss. Then, Luna and some of the other Divine Beastfolk started watching her and laughing. In the beginning, the two magicians had been afraid of the mighty power of the Divine Beastfolk, but that fear must have faded away, as they spent the feast drinking together.
Humans and Divine Beastfolk—it made me feel just a bit happy to watch them approach each other as friends.
“Hey, Reina, don’t you think this is an amazing sight?” I asked.
“Yes, I really do.”
I sort of got the sense that by building the road, the emotional distance between us had shortened as well. For that reason, I felt a powerful new desire: I wanted to get to know the other races besides the Divine Beastfolk too.
“The Ancient Dragonfolk, the Fierce Ogrefolk, the Spirits and the Elves... There are all sorts of races on this island we haven’t even seen yet.”
“You’re right. But you know, there’s no telling whether they’ll be friendly like Elga and the others.”
“Even so, we won’t know until we meet them.”
In response, Reina nodded, smiling slightly.
“Even Elga was wary of us at first,” I went on. “But as we talked to each other, ate meals together, and had all sorts of experiences, we became friends. I’m sure we’ll be able to get along with everyone else too.”
That was why I hoped to be able to use this as an opportunity. I wanted to see every race on this island, not just us, getting along with and caring about each other.
I had come here in the beginning without any goals. After that, I had thought it would be nice to just live comfortably, with no particular purpose. But now, seeing the scene before me, for the first time in my second life I felt like I had gained something I could call a dream.
“All right, it’s a plan. I’m going to hold a feast with all the races on this island!”
“Heh heh...” Reina giggled.
“You’re laughing?”
“It’s just, you have such a serious look on your face. But what you’re saying is... A feast, I mean, heh heh heh.” She must have found it awfully funny, because she kept chuckling, unable to control herself.
How cruel... But I’m serious.
“Oh, don’t look so miserable. I’m sorry for laughing... Sorry, heh heh.”
“You’re apologizing, but you’re still laughing.”
Well, it was fine. I knew that her laughter wasn’t ridiculing me at all.
“It would be wonderful to see something like that,” Reina said.
The sparks from the bonfire drifted in the wind and glittered brightly. In the midst of that, she smiled, looking incredibly pretty, and I was unconsciously transfixed.
“Arata?” she said.