The priest seemed to have finished his preparations and turned back to us.
“Now, let us report this year’s harvest to God.”
At the priest’s words, we all turned to the altar with serious expressions. Then, as the Margrave’s family stood up, I and the other townspeople who had been sitting also stood up. At this moment, even the townspeople watched the religious ceremony in silence.
“Our Lord God, thanks to your protection, we have been able to welcome another fruitful autumn this year. This too is a gift from your power.”
The priest prayed, offering his prayers to the goddess statue that Ao had made. This world has no weather forecasts, and irrigation facilities are not fully developed. That’s why everyone share the joy of the harvest together.
“Here, we all share the joy of the harvest, and we pray that next year will also be a fruitful year.”
After a long and solemn prayer of thanks to the gods, followed by earnest wishes for a bountiful harvest in the coming year, the priest finally concluded his report to the divine.
Yeah… that took a while.
I wasn’t the only one feeling worn out by the lengthy ceremony. Judging by the faces around me, plenty of others were struggling to stay focused as well.
“Dear”
“Ow!”
Even the Margrave had begun to slump a little in his seat, only for Emilia-sama to sharply pinch his backside and snap him back to attention. Honestly, Kent-chan had paid closer attention to the priest’s rites than he had.
“Your Excellency, the ceremony has concluded without incident.”
“Mm. Well done.”
The priest must have been watching the timing carefully. He approached just as the Margrave straightened up after Emilia-sama’s corrective pinch. It seemed the priest knew the Margrave’s habits quite well.
“Good. We shall now begin the Harvest Festival parade. Men, make your preparations!”
““““Ooooooh!””””
At the Margrave’s command, the men of the town burst into action, hurrying to prepare for the parade. Among them were several people loading large barrels of ale onto carts.
“Shun-oniichan, there’s a barrel on that wagon.”
“There’s a reason for that. Around harvest time, the ale brewed from that year’s wheat is finally ready. The barrels are there to let everyone in town know that the new ale has been completed.”
“Ohhh, I see!”
For the townspeople, the arrival of the new brew was probably something they had been eagerly awaiting all year. Looking around more carefully, I noticed that the festival stalls were already selling drinks, including ale and other beverages.
“Alcohol…”
“Sue, not now. Wait until everything is over.”
“Yeah”
““Ahaha””
Sue, you really should stop looking so devastated just because you can’t have a drink right away. Besides, have you already forgotten? You drank far too much and caused an absolute disaster in the Eastern Margrave Territory.
Apparently, Casey-san and Telma-san were well aware of just how troublesome Sue become when alcohol was involved. All they could do was exchange wry smiles and laugh awkwardly at her obvious disappointment.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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