In the end, Cedric, who had made salad and cake entremets raised his fist in triumph, whereas Wayne, who had made a honey-infused drink that went down smooth, crumpled over and banged his fist on the ground in frustration. Lacey wasn’t sure of what had happened, but apparently the outcome had been decided.
She finally understood why Wayne had been so uncharacteristically crabby toward Cedric earlier. It was probably because Cedric had threatened his secret pride as a chef.
Wayne was a noble and had only started cultivating his cooking skills during their quest, so he’d learned quickly out of necessity. He was naturally flexible, which made it easier to look convincing, but he was a long way off from Cedric, who was a born chef. Besides that, he had his pride as Lacey’s personal cook, but naturally, Lacey hadn’t realized that.
Wayne should have been howling in disgrace, but when Lacey saw him again after looking away for a moment, he was talking to Cedric and getting culinary advice. He had a serious look on his face, but then one of them made a joke and they laughed together, slapping each other’s back. That was just the kind of person Wayne was.
∗ ∗ ∗
The festivities lasted well into the night. The children had all gone home, and now the adults were sipping alcohol with plenty of appetizers to go with. The boar, tuckered out from dancing, slept belly up alongside Tee.
As it grew darker, there were fewer orders and she didn’t have to constantly run around anymore, so Lacey just spaced out and watched the villagers.
“Do you do much drimking?”
Lacey was startled by the sudden voice and looked around. At first, she couldn’t spot who the voice belonged to—but then there was Granny, standing small and quietly, looking up at Lacey with her hands folded behind her back. Her pure white hair was divided into two symmetrical bundles, and it was hard to tell whether her creased face was smiling or not.
But Lacey got the feeling that she was probably happy.
“Drimking...oh, drinking? No, I’m not old enough yet.”
“Is that so? You act like you’re mature enough. How old are you, them?” Granny spoke languidly, her syllables slurred as usual.
“I’m fifteen, but I’ll turn sixteen soon.” Lacey had been told that she looked young for her age, but this was the first time she’d been told that she acted maturely. She was a little surprised.
“Is that so?” Granny nodded, then looked up at the completely darkened sky. The garlands were tied to the hurricane lamps with string and were swaying in the wind.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve done this, so you must be astoumded, Miss Lacey. It used to be, back when the village chamged its name to Plume, we all regularly gathered to watch the stars. But as the village’s fortunes declimed, these evemts went by the wayside. Now we’re having one agaim. Maybe because you’re here, Miss Lacey.” Granny gave a pleasant laugh. “It’s good. Very enjoyable. You’ve blown new life into Plume Village, Miss Lacey...”
Lacey felt like this wasn’t really true. She had just been one of many catalysts. But Granny probably meant this from the bottom of her heart, so Lacey wasn’t so ignorant as to argue.
That prickly feeling was always there. It had scratched at Lacey’s heart ever since she’d received the name Aster, driving her crazy.
Lacey’s expression looked like she was trying to hold something back. When Granny saw this, she raised her white eyebrows. “Oh dear.”
Then soon after, she laughed. “Ho ho, ho ho!” she chortled as she spread and closed her feet repeatedly in a hopscotch rhythm, disappearing back into the festival.
∗ ∗ ∗
The tables and chairs from the afternoon had been moved, and in the middle of them, a billow of fire burned.
Tee and the boar jumped to their feet when they saw the fire. It was their element, after all, so it delighted them. They ran around speedily and approached Lacey.
“Tee.”
“Kwee?” Tee looked up, as if saying You called?
The moment when she had given it the name Fotia was still fresh in her memory. Lacey thought for a few moments.
“Noi.”
The boar looked around, wondering who she was talking to.
Lacey called to him once more. “Hey, Noi.”
The boar realized that this was his name and sprang up. “Grr-oink!” He was so overjoyed that he started to dance.
There were monster wards set up around Plume Village. Normally, Tee and Noi wouldn’t be able to approach at all, and were only able to do so because Lacey was close by as a substitute for a tamer.
But now that he had a name, things were different.
“GRR-OOOINK!!!”
A name was a sign of trust.
Noi’s cry shimmered as it echoed through the endless sky and gradually faded.
A quiet reply came from the far side of some distant mountain. It sounded like the gong of a large bell.
Lacey realized that her lips had curved into a gentle arc without her noticing.
It tickled her immensely.
∗ ∗ ∗