Since Geord was born a commoner, he had many friends around the city, and quite a few people stopped to greet them as they walked. Some of them were even the owners of the stalls they were passing by, and so they handed them free food and drinks as they went or shared alcohol with Geord.
The most surprising encounter was when they met Shydein. Just as he’d said he would, the old captain had found work and started living in the city. Apparently, he was working as a helper at an inn, which had opened a food stall during the festival. They had brought Shydein along to work as something like a bouncer for them, he explained with a laugh as he handed Misha a skewer. He had really acclimated well to Redford, as shown by how many people stopped to talk to him. His ability to carry on conversations with them while still doing business was remarkable. Misha had to laugh at how many people stopped to say, “Wait, you’re charging me for this?!” as he handed them food.
Between all the food, drink, and people, Misha thoroughly enjoyed the festive mood that had settled over the city. Ren was also quite popular with the people, getting scraps of meat tossed his way and pretty little ribbons tied around his neck as they walked. Normally, when Misha had to leave him behind, she left him with the gatekeepers or stables because she felt bad locking him up alone in her cabin. His various opportunities to play in the castle gardens had given him the chance to get used to people, so he was able to keep calm even as numerous strangers reached out to pet him.
On top of that, his training with the castle’s watchdogs seemed to have stuck, as he kept close to Misha’s side at all times, a watchful eye on the crowds around them. When Geord noticed his behavior, he had to praise the little wolf for being a great bodyguard.
The day wore on, and eventually Misha happened to notice a pair of rather familiar-looking young boys.
“Yuu! Teto!” Misha instinctively blurted out as she saw them effortlessly weaving through the crowd. But when they heard her voice, they instantly came to a stop.
“It’s Misha!”
“You came to see the festival!”
The two boys dashed over to her and gave her a big hug.
“Yeah, Geord brought me. You’re here for it too, then? Wait, where’s Anna?” As she ruffled the two boys’ hair, she realized one small figure was missing from the usual crew. Normally there was a little girl following these two everywhere they went.
The two boys shrugged. “She’s waiting somewhere else. There’s too many people here for her.”
“She came to see the floats, but she’s so small that she gets carried away by the crowds. Apparently it tired her out.”
Misha noticed the drinks and bags of sweets the boys were carrying. “Looks like you bought some stuff for her?”
“Aww, what nice older brothers she has,” Geord commented, watching the three kids talking with a smile.
“Hey, can I come with you? I want to see Anna too,” Misha asked, pushing the boys forward and starting to walk. She felt bad that little Anna was left waiting all on her own. A quick glance back at Geord got a nod of approval from him.
“Of course! She’ll be really happy to see you again after so long.” As the two boys nodded happily, Ren decided to insert himself into the conversation by rubbing up against their feet. “Whoa! Ren! Careful, you’re going to trip me!”
Yuu stumbled a bit, some of the juice in his cup spilling onto Ren. The sweet drink dripping on his face got a surprised look out of the pup, but he quickly started happily licking it up.
“Ugh, come on, Ren!”
“Lucky guy. It’s raining juice for him.”
Unable to get angry at Ren’s delighted response to the accident, the two boys could only sigh. Geord watched the whole exchange with a laugh as he bought a plate of cut fruit from a nearby stand.
“Here, you won’t spill these. I’ll carry the cups for you.”
“Uh...are you sure?” Yuu looked conflicted as he saw the plate covered in rare fruit from overseas. They were all said to be sweet and delicious, but they were the kind of stuff that had to be brought in by ship, so they were quite expensive. The kids had saved up what little money they could to enjoy the festival, and while it was enough to buy a small plate of the fruit, it would take everything they had to do so; regretfully, it was something they always had to pass up.
But now Geord was handing them the largest variety of those plates. Yuu was well aware of how much it cost and how hard it was to make that kind of money, so even if it was from Misha’s friend, he was hesitant to accept such a gift from a stranger.
“Relax, you’re kids. You don’t need to hold back. It’ll be more fun if we all share it, right?” Geord shrugged off their hesitation with a laugh. “Back when I was a kid, people treated me to stuff like this too. If you like it, you can do the same thing for the kids you meet when you grow up.”
“Okay! Thanks, mister!”
Geord ruffled the two boys’ hair as they beamed up at him. Seeing the way he held their two cups in one hand, not spilling so much as a drop, made Misha realize just how dexterous he was, which brought a smile to her face too.
“Okay, let’s go! Anna’s probably sick of waiting by now.”
The group made their way through the crowds. Eventually a bored-looking Anna came into sight, swinging her legs idly on a bench under a tree some distance away from the bustling crowds.
“Anna! We’re back!” The moment they saw her, Yuu and Teto broke out into a sprint.
“You guys are so slow!” Anna’s immediate response was to complain, but when she looked up and saw Misha standing behind the two boys, her scowl dropped and her eyes popped wide open. “Misha! Wow, I didn’t think we’d see you at the festival!” Anna jumped off the bench and ran toward Misha, not so much as slowing down as she plowed into her, wrapping the older girl in a big hug.
“I know!” Misha laughed. “I never expected to find you guys in a huge crowd like this!” Lifting the small girl up, she spun her around just like Geord had done for her once. Anna’s laughter seemed infectious, as it had Ren hopping around excitedly beside them.
“We’ve got drinks and snacks and fruit! Let’s eat!” Misha declared, prompting Yuu and Teto to hold up their prize.
“Wow! I’m so thirsty!”
Returning to the bench, the group dug into the assortment of foods. The distance from the crowd let a gentle breeze reach them, making it surprisingly comfortable.
“Wow, this fruit is tasty.”
“That’s a kind of peach. I think they call it maruge? It’s sweet and juicy, so it’s pretty popular with kids,” Geord said with a laugh, using a handkerchief to wipe the juice smeared all over Anna’s face as she zealously worked her way through the food.