Chapter 473: The Summer Festival
Chapter 473: The Summer Festival
– The Next Morning –
“Wake up, Big Brother Xuan Kai, wake up~”
I felt a pair of little soft hands pressing against my chest as if doing CPR, paired with a playful tone—the type that certain otakus use to wake themselves up through a smartphone app.
“Ngh…” Slowly, my eyes opened, one at first, then both. I found none other than Qing Yue smiling happily at me, adorable and innocent. She really makes people want to hug her, but… today, I just wasn’t in the mood.
After hearing what Sylvoir told me last night, how could I be in the mood for anything, really? My mind was obviously preoccupied with what she said. I had told her worrying was equivalent to twice the suffering, but here I was, not listening to my own advice. It was hard, okay?
Still, I had to at least make it seem like I was in a festive spirit for the girls. I didn’t want their mood to be dampened as well for this Summer Festival. Hell, maybe if I did that enough, I could just forget about the matter altogether and stop worrying.
So, I smiled and patted Qing Yue’s head a few times, then forced myself out of bed and headed into the shower room near the hot springs. Mei Gui and Lorelei offered to help me wash, but I declined, being the good and morally upright young gentleman I was who has incredible amounts of self-control.
*****
We ate a pretty light breakfast, just enough to put something in our bellies before setting out for the festival. There was going to be loads of food, after all, so it wasn’t good to eat an extravagant meal at home.
And as it turns out, we were right to do so.
As soon as we stepped through the portal that connected our private beach resort to Fragment, we were practically hit in the face by the delicious aromas of countless different food stalls lined up along the city streets, all mixed in together. Well, we weren’t literally hit in the face, since you can’t get ‘hit’ by a smell, but yeah, anyway—point is, the smell was strong, and amazing.
“Oh, looks like you’re here,” Ming Hao said upon seeing us, waving eagerly. “Yo, Xuan Kai!”
I raised an eyebrow. “You were waiting here for us…?”
“Well, I told him to just go on ahead and we’ll catch up to him later, but…” Long Lu sighed, entering the scene. “You know how stubborn he can be.”
“That I do,” I chuckled. “Where’s your girlfriend, Ming Hao?”
“Who, Sisi? What about her?”
“You didn’t invite her out to go to the Summer Festival together?” I raised an eyebrow in skepticism.
“Nope. I mean, if she wanted to go, she could’ve told me or something… though I guess I might’ve said no, since I wanted to hang out with you- O-OW!”
“Why, what a fine morning this is… isn’t that right, Ming Hao…?” A female voice suddenly interjected from behind Ming Hao, and a hand began pulling on his ear.
“H-Huh?! Sisi?! W-Wait, that hurts, stop!”
“You’ll be coming with me today. No objections, I trust?” She smiled innocently at Long Lu and I.
“No objections from me.”
“Heh. Good riddance.”
“W-What?! You two can’t be this heartle- OWW!” Ming Hao cried in pain, but he could not escape the clutches of Sisi, who practically dragged him away.
“… Well then,” Long Lu laughed slightly at the pitiful sight. “As much as I would like to accompany you…”
He turned his gaze on the girls by my side, then sighed.
“… I would only feel quite excluded, if you catch my meaning. So, I will spend the time at the festival with my sister instead.”
“Long Yi, huh?” I rubbed my chin. “Considering her beauty, you would think she already has a date…”
Behind me, the girls tensed, bracing for another competitor. But no. I had no interest in her.
“Ahaha… actually, about that… she’s still single,” Long Lu laughed awkwardly, as if this was something embarrassing. “Before that excursion to fight against the Grey Scourge, she at least met with the suitors who wished for her hand in marriage, but ever since returning… she has simply refused all of them.”
“Uh… why, exactly?”
“That… I’m not certain,” Long Lu said, scratching his head. Then, hesitantly, he murmured. “Er, perhaps you could ask her yourself…?”
… Ah. I see what’s going on here. Heh… to think she would put her own little brother as the middle man. Sorry, but…
“Nah,” I replied. “I’m good. Send her my regards, along with a note to tell her she’ll grow old if she still doesn’t find a suitable husband soon.”
“Mm… got it,” Long Lu said with a sigh. “I told her this wasn’t going to work…”
I chuckled. “Must be tough, getting ordered around like that, huh?”
“Well, she has taken care of me a lot, growing up,” Long Lu replied, shrugging as if there was nothing to be done. “This is the least I can do to repay her.”
I nodded. “Then, I won’t take up any more of your time. See you.”
He waved. “Goodbye for now. But would you like to regroup at the central plaza tonight to watch the fireworks together…? My family reserved a good place.”
“Sure. Just send me a text message.”
“Very well.”
*****
After parting ways with Ming Hao and Long Lu, the girls and I ventured around the city. It was a nice, cheery atmosphere, and everyone looked happy. It was, after all, a festival. The happiness of the citizens was almost enough to make me forget about what Sylvoir said last night.
Almost.
We walked through the streets, taking a look at anything we found was interesting, and Qing Yue insisted on trying every food stall there was. Honesty, with how much she eats, it’s a miracle how she’s still got such a short and slim body.
Food stalls weren’t the only things there were, of course. There were also mini-games, souvenir stores, and street plays. I bought quite a few things for the girls, and also took this opportunity to give them the gifts I had brought them from the Death Realm. They were, naturally, overjoyed—they had just gotten something that was quite literally out of this world.
Before we knew it, night had fallen. The skies grew dim, and the sun had set. But contrary to what one might think, this was when the festival truly began.
The girls headed into a public washroom to change into their yukatas, and came back to me less than a minute later. I have no idea how they changed that quickly, but I didn’t question it either. They also had a yukata prepared for me, but I didn’t feel like going into the washroom to change it, so I just slipped it over my Cloak of Yharnav and the rest of the Yharnav armor set.
It fit surprisingly well, due to the loose nature of the yukata and the contrasting tight nature of the Cloak. If I didn’t wear the helmet and mask that covered all my face but my eyes, nobody could even tell I was wearing something underneath the black yukata.
“Mm… as I thought, black fits you nicely,” Yu An Yan said upon inspecting me up and down. “It’s also your favorite color, isn’t it?”
I gave a brief nod, then pulled out my phone as I felt it vibrate against my thigh. Upon reading the notification, I turned to the girls.
“It seems Long Lu and Ming Hao have already gathered together. Let’s head for the central plaza.”
They had no objections, all eager to see the fireworks, and we set off.
*****
Getting to said central plaza, however, was a pain.
We had to all link hands to avoid getting lost in the crowd, and Lorelei, in her fox form, had to be very careful not to get knocked off my shoulder where she was perched. Yami, on the other hand, was still dormant within my Soul. I had asked him the day before if he wanted to see the fireworks, and he said no. Strange child.
“Over here, over here!” Ming Hao called out to us, waving his hand frantically. I spotted him immediately and led the girls over. Long Lu and Long Yi were both there as well, the latter of which sent me an angry glare.
Hm… didn’t take the jab I made earlier very nicely, I suppose.
“Since everyone is here, follow me,” Long Lu said. “We are headed for the tallest tower in all of Fragment—the Arcane Skyscraper. My family booked out its rooftop just for this occasion.”
“Woah… the tallest building…” Qing Yue’s eyes shone with excitement, and the other girls could hardly hide their anticipation either.
“It’s truly a magnificent sight,” Long Lu said as we headed into said building and entered the elevator. “I’ve been there a number of times in past Summer Festivals, and each time I can’t help but marvel at the view.”
“Is that so…?” I tilted my head slightly.
Let’s see if this view is truly as great as you claim… can it help me forget what Sylvoir told me last night?