Author: Yume Neiji

“All right! Let’s get moving!”

“““Yeah!”””

With the preparations complete, the townspeople headed out into the streets, pulling carts and wagons behind them as the parade began. At the same time, cheers erupted from the crowds lining the roads. As for me, however, my attention was fixed on something else entirely.

“Come on, keep them moving!”

“Take this one too!”

There had been a lot of vegetables piled up as offerings. Large quantities of vegetables that had been offered on the altar were now being carried away into the food stalls.

And suddenly, I had a very bad feeling about this.

I should ask the person most likely to give me a straight answer.

“Emilia-sama, the vegetables from the altar are being taken to the stalls…”

“Oh, those? Well, the report to the gods is finished now. Since they’re considered blessed offerings, everyone decided it would be good fortune to share them and eat them together.”

I nodded. Yes, I understood the reasoning behind it. But that only answered half of what I wanted to know. Sharing the offerings among everyone made perfect sense. I had no issue with that part.

The real question was why they were being taken to the food stalls in the first place.

“Because you’re the one who’s going to cook them, of course.”

Emilia-sama looked at me with a bright smile, as though what she had just said were the most obvious thing in the world. I could only stare back at her with a blank expression, my gaze shifting repeatedly between her and the food stalls.

“E-Emilia-sama…. are you serious?”

“Completely serious.”

Her smile never wavered.

And then someone decided to make matters even worse.

“People of the town! Today, you shall have the chance to taste the cooking of the Lightning Chef!”

“““““Woooooooh!”””””

To my utter horror, the Margrave had whipped the gathered townsfolk into a frenzy. And for some reason, he was looking straight at me with an unbearably smug grin. He even threw in a thumbs-up for good measure. Ah… if circumstances allowed it, I would have loved nothing more than to punch the Margrave square in the face. 

Unfortunately, the townspeople had already begun lining up in front of the stalls. At this point, there was no way I could say, “Sorry, I’m not cooking.”

“Shun-san, we’ll have some free time for a while.”

“The preparations for tomorrow’s outfits are already finished.”

“We’ll be gathering again this evening, so until then, we can help.”

Casey-san and Telma-san stepped forward with reassuring smiles, clearly intending to lend a hand.

It seemed that, whether I liked it or not, I was about to spend the Harvest Festival standing behind a food stall and cooking for an entire town. And judging from the excited crowd already forming a queue, this was going to be a very long day.

I accepted Sue and the others’ kind offer and went inside the stall.

Ao and Toria-san were going to help with the grilling, so I asked Sue and the others to just focus on chopping vegetables.

Damn, I thought there were strangely few vegetables when I was setting up the stall this morning. Thinking about it now, I should have seen this coming. Feeling a little down, I started preparing the okonomiyaki.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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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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By the time most of the preparations were complete, the members of the Margrave’s household arrived by carriage. Today, the carriage was tightly surrounded by a heavy escort of soldiers. Security had clearly been reinforced far beyond the usual level.

“““Ohhh, those outfits are incredible!”””

Perhaps because it was the Harvest Festival, both the former margrave and the current margrave were dressed in lavish noble attire, while Emilia-sama wore an equally elegant dress befitting a lady of high standing.

“Wow, it’s a festival!”

“Hehe, yes. Today and tomorrow are the Harvest Festival.”

“I see!”

Kent-chan, too, was dressed in a very dignified outfit, while Maria-san—who was carrying him—wore a slightly more refined attendant’s uniform than usual.

Kent-chan had helped a little in the plaza earlier, but this was his first time seeing everything fully prepared. His eyes sparkled with excitement, overflowing with energy.

“Shun, everything is ready, I presume?”

“Yes. We’re good to go at any time.”

“I see. You’ve done well.”

The margrave nodded in satisfaction, acknowledging the effort that had gone into bringing everything together. With the offerings prepared perfectly, the former margrave looked around the plaza with clear satisfaction.

Incidentally, Ao had already made several full patrols of the area to ensure there were no suspicious objects. Everything was thoroughly checked.

Then, a group from the church arrived as well—priests and sisters dressed in ceremonial vestments.

“Everyone, we apologize for making you wait.”

“No, we’ve only just arrived ourselves.”

“I see. In that case, we shall proceed with the preparations for the Harvest Festival at once.”

After exchanging greetings with the Margrave, the priest headed toward the altar and began preparations. In response, more and more townspeople gathered in the plaza. When making offerings to the god and reporting the harvest, the townspeople participated together as well.

“Now then… where are we supposed to sit?”

It was about time for us to take our seats, but what caught my attention was that chairs had somehow been arranged behind the margrave’s seating area. Without hesitation, Shiro and the others naturally went and sat there.

“…Could it be that we’re supposed to sit here?”

“Uhm, I think there’s no doubt about it….”

Sue and the others had also come over near me, but they were clearly unsure as they looked at the rather conspicuous seating arrangement.

Just then, Toria-san spoke up.

“Shun-sama, you are also requested to take your place with the Margrave’s household. Please, be seated.”

“For real…?”

Even Toria spoke to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

With a slight sense of resignation, we made our way to the seats behind the margrave’s family.

“Shun-oniichan, what’s going to happen now?”

“The priest is going to report to the gods and give thanks, saying that we were blessed with a good harvest this year.”

““““I see!””””

For some reason, not only Shiro and the others but even Kent-chan was listening intently to my explanation. Watching them, Emilia-sama smiled softly, clearly amused and pleased by the scene unfolding before her.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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And so, the day of the Harvest Festival finally arrived.

“Alright, we’ll be heading out first.”

“Take care.”

“Bye-bye!”

After finishing our preparations, we set out early from the Margrave’s residence, seen off by Emilia-sama and Kent-chan, who was bursting with energy from the morning.

The members of the Margrave’s household would join us later, as they still had matters from the previous day to handle. Apparently, they had already taken various measures overnight, so there wasn’t much left for them to do. Toria-san accompanied us as well, saying she would help out.

Clack, clack, clack.

“Wow, there are already so many people gathered.”

“It’s so lively.”

“Everyone looks like they’re having fun.”

By the time we arrived at the plaza, many townspeople were already there, busily preparing for the festival.

Right then—first things first, we needed to take out the tools and supplies stored in my and Ao’s item boxes.

“Here we go.”

“““Ooooh!”””

The moment Ao and I unloaded the items, a loud cheer rose up around us. It seemed that the sight of so many things appearing all at once was quite astonishing to the townspeople.

Alright—now we just had to assemble everything in one go.

“Shiro, Fran—sorry, but could you help Ao with assembling everything?”

“Leave it to me!”

“Fran will do her best too!”

The ever-energetic Shiro and Fran, both exceptionally skilled at heavy labor, immediately joined Ao and began helping the townspeople set up the plaza.

“Horn, could you help Sue and the others instead?”

“Okay!”

On the other hand, Horn, who excelled at delicate work, went to assist Sue and the others with the preparations for the wedding ceremony. The ceremony itself would be held tomorrow, but today was for confirming the participants, reviewing the procedures, and fitting the costumes.

“Alright, the statue of the goddess is in place!”

“Good! Bring over the altar next and start setting up the offerings!”

“““Yeah!”””

With the statue of the goddess now installed, the townspeople brought in the altar and began arranging the harvest offerings one after another. At the same time, rows of chairs were steadily being set up as well.

“We’ll carry this too!”

“Next is this one!”

“Haha, those girls are strong!”

“Really, they’re such hard workers.”

Laughter and admiration mixed together as the children moved about with surprising strength and energy, earning warm smiles from the townspeople. Shiro and Fran absolutely loved moving around, so they eagerly helped line up the chairs and arrange the seating as well. Both of them were full of energy, and the townspeople watching over them couldn’t help but smile.

“Next, let’s set up Margrave’s seat. Given what happened, we’ll need to tighten security as well.”

“Yes. Today, not only the town guards but also a large number of the margrave’s troops will be deployed.”

“And with several adventurers who bear titles in attendance, our sense of security is certainly much greater.”

Meanwhile, I somehow found myself acting as the on-site coordinator together with the officials and soldiers in charge of the setup.

“Toria-san, why am I the one directing everything here?”

“Eh? Everyone here simply assumes it’s only natural that Shun-sama would be in charge of on-site command.”

Apparently, both Toria-san and everyone else considered it perfectly normal for me to be leading the operation. It seemed my so-called “title” played a big role in that expectation.

But no matter how I looked at it, it didn’t feel like the kind of title an adventurer would normally have….

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Once everyone had gathered in the reception room, the former margrave was the first to speak. Part of the reason was likely consideration for the current margrave and Emilia-sama, both of whom were in a particularly difficult position.

“First and foremost, I must express my gratitude to you and Ao, Shun. Regardless of the outcome, you succeeded in capturing members of the criminal organization that had been hiding within the territory.”

“We were fortunate as well. If they hadn’t been keeping the Margrave’s estate under surveillance, I don’t think we would have been able to find a lead on them.”

“Even so, the achievement is significant. Whether they choose to talk or not is another matter entirely, but there is no doubt that you’ve reduced the threat they posed.”

We had captured a large number of the operatives, which certainly weakened the organization. However, there was no way of knowing whether we had caught every single one of them. Naturally, none of us intended to let our guard down.

“Well, dealing with the aristocratic side of things is our responsibility. You don’t need to burden yourself over it, Shun. Given the nature of the incident, this isn’t something the margrave’s family can decide on their own anyway.”

His words carried a note of resignation.

The matter had grown far beyond a simple local problem. With noble houses implicated and a criminal organization operating in the shadows, any final judgment would inevitably involve the authorities in the Royal Capital. In other words, the fate of those families was no longer solely in the Margrave family’s hands.

The Margrave spread his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Given that multiple noble families were entangled in this dark organization’s activities, dealing with the aftermath was bound to be complicated.

“Incidentally, Casey’s and Telma’s brothers looked genuinely shocked when they saw the two of them. It seems they had been under the impression that Casey and Telma were no longer in the territory.”

“That still doesn’t justify joining a criminal organization and trying to harm the Margrave’s family though.”

No matter how complicated the circumstances were, it could never excuse turning to crime. I could only hope that Casey-san’s and Telma-san’s brothers would come to understand the gravity of their actions.

“Regardless, our priority is making sure the Harvest Festival concludes without incident. After that, we still have to put a stop to this organization. Unfortunately, the army isn’t expected to arrive until the day after the festival.”

“They might try to bring in reinforcements before then. We’ll stay on our guard.”

Just as Emilia-sama feared, this wasn’t over yet.

The threat still lingered in the shadows, and there was no telling what the organization might attempt next. With those thoughts weighing on our minds, the meeting finally came to an end.

As I made my way back, I found Sue waiting quietly in front of my room.

“Sue, how are they doing?”

“They’re not in a good state. The strain is getting to them. Learning that their own brothers were involved in such a serious crime has taken a tremendous toll on them, both mentally and emotionally.”

As their closest friend, Sue was deeply worried about the two of them. 

For the time being, we’d need to make sure that Ao, Shiro, and the others stayed by their side at all times.

“Ao used magic to put them to sleep.”

“That was probably the right call. With how tense they are, I doubt they would have been able to sleep at all otherwise.”

Neither Sue nor Ao had made the wrong decision. No matter how difficult things were, Casey-san and Telma-san needed proper rest more than anything right now.

“What did the Margrave say?”

“He said that handling the negotiations and disputes between noble houses was his responsibility, no matter how troublesome it might be. Other than that, he warned us to stay vigilant, since we still don’t know whether we’ve caught all of the perpetrators.”

“I see… Thank you.”

Sue lowered her gaze slightly. There were undoubtedly many thoughts weighing on her mind as well.

After parting ways with her, I returned to my guest room. I needed to get some rest too. First and foremost, we had to make the Harvest Festival a success. Only after that could we focus on bringing this entire affair to an end.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“Casey… Telma…”

“Uuu… sob…”

Sue gently embraced the two girls as their tears continued to flow.

In many ways, Casey-san and Telma-san were victims themselves, caught up in the schemes of a criminal organization. Yet at the same time, they were also members of the perpetrators’ families. It was a painfully complicated position to be in.

“Margrave-sama, will Casey and Telma still be allowed to participate in the Harvest Festival?”

The two had worked tirelessly alongside Sue, pouring their hearts into the preparations for the wedding ceremony that would be held during the festival. But now there was the possibility that their own brothers had been involved in the explosion in the town square—the very incident that had forced everyone to start the preparations over from scratch.

“I will permit them to take part in the Harvest Festival. It will serve as proof that the sisters have done everything in their power to make amends for the misconduct of their brothers. It may also be taken into consideration as a mitigating circumstance.”

I see. So that was his approach.

By allowing Casey-san and Telma-san to continue helping with the Harvest Festival, their efforts could become a factor when leniency was considered later. The Margrave might seem absent-minded at times, but moments like this were a reminder of just how sharp and calculating he truly was.

“Margrave-sama, thank you for your consideration.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Mm.”

As Sue, Casey-san, and Telma-san bowed their heads in gratitude, the immediate matters were finally settled. Now, the most important task was ensuring that the Harvest Festival over the next two days passed without incident.

There was nothing more for us to do here, so we returned to the manor.

“We’re back.”

“Welcome back. You two have been through so much.”

As soon as we arrived, Emilia-sama greeted us and pulled Casey-san and Telma-san into a tight embrace. She likely already knew about their brothers and the judgment the Margrave had handed down, but she said nothing. Instead, she simply held them close.

Touched by Emilia-sama’s kindness, Casey and Telma began to cry once more.

“Sue, stay with them tonight, will you? Sleep in the same room and keep them company. I’ve already spoken with Shiro and the others.”

“Yes. I’ll stay by their side and look after them.”

The concern in Sue’s voice was unmistakable. Seeing her friends suffering like this, there was no way she could simply leave them alone. And with Emilia-san’s quiet warmth embracing them, the burden the two girls had been carrying seemed, if only slightly, lighter than before.

I doubt the worst-case scenario will come to pass, but preventing it is precisely why Sue, Shiro, and the others are so important. At this point, all we can do is entrust the two girls to Sue. 

Even Ao has decided to spend the night with them.

“Shun, we need to discuss what comes next.”

“Sorry, but could you come to the study?”

With that, I found myself sitting down once again with the members of the Margrave’s family. 

No matter what, we had to find a way to deal with this situation. If we failed, there was every chance that the dark organization lurking behind the scenes would continue to spiral out of control. And that was something we absolutely could not allow.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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