Chapter 789: Parade Outside The Village, Village Five, Just Before The Start
Chapter 789 – Parade Outside the Village, Village Five, Just Before the Start
-Village Five Resident’s POV-
Before dawn.
At the shrine built in the mountain northeast of Village Five.
Many people had gathered on either side of the road that stretches from the closed main gate of the shrine.
I was one of them.
-0-
I am a beastkin living in Village Five.
I used to be an adventurer before I came to Village Five but now, I’m working as a guide in Village Five.
No, not that shady kind of guide.
It’s a legitimate business licensed by the village council.
My job is to show newcomers and merchants unfamiliar attractions and sights of the village.
Well, most of the time, all I have to do is show them the ramen street or the underground shopping street. However, it’s not as easy a job as it sounds because I have to explain a lot of things to them.
I also have to take care of the customers I’m guiding so they won’t get into trouble.
The latest problem I’m experiencing is that customers are always asking to meet Five-kun.
Five-kun is so popular that he is invited to many places in Village Five.
Even those who live in Village Five find it difficult to know where Five-kun is.
Of course, it’s difficult for me too.
However, since I am asked to look for him, I have to do it.
It’s really hard.
If I’m lucky, I would be able to shake hands with Five-kun.
-0-
Unfortunately, the reason I’m outside before dawn is not because of work.
Private affair.
To be precise, I’ve been waiting here since last night, not just before dawn.
And so do the people around.
Cold is not a problem.
It is warm enough and there’s a first aid station in case anyone gets sick.
There is no need to worry about food or drink either.
A short distance away, there is a plethora of stalls selling food and drinks.
They have prices but we don’t have to worry about paying them.
The kingdom will take care of all payments.
However, if we binge eat and drink, we will be looked at with freezing eyes by those around us and we’re afraid of what will happen later.
Well, there is no one who would do something that stupid.
I can confidently say that absolutely no one would dare.
After all, the parade of the Demon King’s Kingdom is about to take place.
Preparations for the parade began in the middle of winter.
Well, to put it simply, it is a festival.
Because it’s a festival, it is normal that even good-natured people might cause trouble but no one would dare this time.
The trouble is already over.
Yeah, it has already put an end to.
-0-
That was five days ago.
The dry run of the parade.
…….
Three dragons were walking side by side.
I don’t know much about dragons but they seemed to be impure dragons.
It is not widely known but dragons are not that rare in Village Five.
They often land near the village.
In some cases, they even land directly at the village.
They are recognized as beings that will not harm anyone as long as we don’t do something stupid.
Once again, this is not widely known.
It’s an unspoken knowledge.
Three dragons.
They were quite powerful but I was not afraid of them because they were walking in line.
It was also significant that Youko-sama was standing on top of the head of the first dragon.
These dragons were fine.
The problem was the about 3 meter big wolves walking a little behind the dragons.
They are called inferno wolves.
I heard that even one of these wolves was strong enough to destroy an entire city.
I couldn’t imagine how strong the dragons were, but I could imagine how powerful these wolves are.
For some reason, I could.
And there were ten of them.
Those who were watching the dry run were in a state of confusion, many even fainted. The place immediately fell into chaos.
I fainted too.
I found myself seeing a ceiling I don’t recognize.
I was scared.
Terribly scared.
It’s the kind of fear that purely came from instincts.
Who can remain calm in the face of that?
Not me.
I wanted to shout, “What were you thinking putting such dangerous creatures in a parade?”.
In fact, I did.
However, now I know I was wrong.
Why?
Because I had staged a catastrophe and I had seen how depressed the inferno wolves became.
I saw their big bodies curled up with sad faces.
Those inferno wolves didn’t want to scare us.
They were just practicing for the parade.
They were walking in line.
They didn’t attack us. It was us who got frightened on our own and even complained.
I reflected.
I tried to oust them just because I was scared of them.
They are friends since they came here to make the parade a success.
Those who are here now are those who thought so too.
Thus, there is no way there will be trouble.
Everyone’s prepared.
Incidentally, Youko-sama has ordered that those with weak hearts, sick, pregnant, and those who are suspected of being pregnant are not allowed to watch the parade, including the dry run.
I think that’s a perfect decision.
The dead are unnecessary for the parade.
-0-
As I was thinking about that, I heard a faint sound of a bell ringing.
Was it my imagination?
No, this time I heard it clearly.
The sound of bells echoed in the dark sky.
The people around must have heard it too.
The ringing grew louder.
But soon, it became quiet.
It was because everyone sensed that the parade was about to begin.
There is something flying in the night sky that’s ringing the bell.
A big bird.
And it’s on fire.
Isn’t that…..a legendary bird!
Phoenix!
The phoenix has a big bell on its feet.
It’s ringing the bell and it’s heading……this way, no, toward the main gate of the shrine.
Is it going to hit it?
When everyone around thought so, the phoenix stopped suddenly in midair, flapped its wings, and headed up the sky.
As we looked up to follow the phoenix, the light of dawn illuminated our surroundings.
Then, the main gate of the shrine slowly opened with a heavy thud.
The parade was about to begin.