Volume 3 Chapter 65 Interlude - Harvest Festival, Everyone Gather (after Festival Edition)
The sumo tournament that Randy planned and prepared for was ending as the sun was setting, and it was way more successful than expected.
The first champion was a young Knight, which surprised most people.
In the final match, he fought hard against A-rank adventurer Ian and won impressively. Even though the matchups and rules helped, the surprising result made the townspeople cheer and applaud him, and then...
"Yay, we did it! Cory!"
"We did it, Anna!"
Annabelle and Cory, who had bet on the underdog, were super excited to share the small coins they won with a few others.
"...Is it okay? For the Goddess' teaching?"
Randy smiled wryly, but seeing Annabelle shyly say, "Well, let's treat the kids to some sweets," made him worry about how pure-hearted she was.
Surrounded by cheers, the winner young knight, holding his prize money and the meat of a Celestial Deer, looked at Randy and said,
"Actually, I admire you, young master... Please, let me fight you!"
Knight bowed his head, and the crowd cheered, "Go for it!" Even though this match wasn't planned, seeing Knight still bowing made Randy stand up from his chair and say, "Sounds good."
"I don't mind that at all."
Nodding, Randy took off his jacket and shoes and stepped onto the ring. As Randy stretched his shoulders, the winning Knight handed his prize money and items to someone nearby and took a deep breath.
"Thank you!"
"Don't hold back."
Randy replied with a smile and turned to Harrison.
"Harrison, let's add an exhibition match."
Seeing Harrison nod, Randy grinned and waved to the young Knight, saying, "Come at me with everything you've got!"
"Rei! Do your best!"
Clarice shouted from the edge of the ring.
Knight Rei, young but skilled, had been guarding Clarice a lot lately. He was still a newcomer with less experience, but he had beaten Ian the A-rank adventurer, showing he was good enough to be chosen as Clarice's guard.
"Please, go all out!"
"Don't worry. I'm not stupid enough to hold back here."
In the center of the ring, the two stared each other down, fists clenched.
"Ready, go──."
Rei's fist slightly sank into the ground.
"──you're still standing!"
Rei charged forward sharply.
The sound of their clash echoed loudly around them.
...But...
"Ugh──."
Rei's twisted face showed that Randy hadn't moved an inch.
With a red face, Rei tried to push Randy back, and Randy softly said,
"Rei... you're not bad."
"I see. The wall is too high!"
Even while saying that, Rei looked happy, but Randy stepped in and pushed him away.
Rei was thrown out of the ring.
The crowd cheered louder than ever.
As Randy took a victory pose at the edge of the ring, Rei stood up and climbed back in.
"Thank you!"
Rei bowed his head, and Randy also stood up and bowed back, saying, "You had great spirit. Thanks." Recently, he had felt the thrill of challenging a strong opponent like the Void Walker. He realized how precious it was to overcome challenges.
If Rei knows the joy of facing strong opponents, he will definitely get stronger. Then Randy must also keep moving forward. Showing his back to others is an important role too.
"I wonder who I'll fight next."
As Randy looked up at the reddish sky, a pleasant northern breeze brushed against his cheek, and he saw his parent, Alan and Grace walking from across the square.
It seemed like it was almost time for the after-party bonfire, so Randy grabbed his jacket and jumped down from the ring.
"Looks like the event was a hit."
"Yeah, kinda."
Randy laughed, but then his smile turned a bit sour. "Oh, and old geezer showed up."
"Seems like it."
"Well, father-in-law was running around."
Alan and Grace exchanged words at Randy's words and chuckled at how lively Volcan (the old geezer) still seemed.
"He must be feeling lonely since mother-in-law passed away."
"If grandma was still around, she would have kept him in check."
Randy looked a bit exasperated, and Alan and Grace gave him a wry smile. Volcan has a free spirit, but the only one who could really control him was Randy's grandmother.
"Well, I'll go visit old geezer during winter break."
"That sounds good. Father-in-law will be happy too."
While Randy and Alan were chatting about Volcan, the stage was being taken down and the ceremonial floats were being moved. They lowered the platform with the ring and moved the floats to the center to finish up.
"Mother, Father... it's almost time──."
Cecil appeared with a torch in hand, and Alan nodded, signaling Randy to stand where the stage used to be.
Behind them, Randy was working with the Knights to place the main float on the platform, or more accurately, on the ring. Since this was a religious event, Randy thought the ring was the perfect spot.
As the wood from the 3 floats and the stage was stacked into a huge cone shape, the sun had completely set.
"Light the fire──."
At Alan's call, the kids lit their torches. No need for extra words or long speeches. What mattered was the fire and the feelings of the people.
It wasn't just Clarice and Cecil holding the lit torches; the kids who were on the floats were too.
The kids with the torches slowly approached the float and tossed their torches.
After a moment, crackling sounds filled the air as flames shot up from the float... There were 3 floats in the main area, and the smoke rising would signal to light the other 2 floats placed elsewhere.
In front of the slowly rising flames, Alan spoke again.
"A tough winter is coming... may this fire guide everyone to spring."
Following Alan's lead, everyone present offered their prayers to the growing flames.
Randy stared blankly at the floats burning brightly in the main area.
"You look a bit lonely, huh, Randy?"
Liz sat down next to him, and Randy chuckled softly.
"No, preparing for the festival is always the most fun."
Even as he said that, Randy's eyes were gentle as he watched the flames. No, he wasn't just looking at the flames; he was watching the people gathered there.
"Next year, let's create an Executive Committee and get more people involved."
"An Executive Committee, huh?"
"Yeah."
Randy nodded, explaining that the current harvest festival was mainly organized by the Victor family. The people were more like guests. That was because the Victor Territory had been poor and could only give back so much to the people.
But now things were different. Little by little, they were getting stronger, and the people were starting to have more.
So Randy thought it would be good for them to take the lead and create a festival for themselves.
"It's way more fun to create something ourselves rather than just sitting back."
"That sounds great."
Liz smiled as she watched the flames.
"I can't do it without me."
"I can only do it myself."
""That's not what we call progress.""
Randy laughed at their perfectly timed words.
"Right?"
Liz smiled back, and Randy nodded. What he and Liz created or thought of was just the starting point. From there, everyone could come up with ideas and work together to make it bigger, which is what true progress was all about.
"Don't worry. Victor territory will grow even bigger."
"Yeah."
The two smiled and turned their attention back to the people gathered in front of the flames.
"What are you two daydreaming about?"
Suddenly, Cecilia and Luke appeared, and Randy raised an eyebrow.
"Where have you guys been until now?"
Randy leaned in closer, and Cecilia tilted her head, saying, "It's just a walk." Her clothes and hair were perfectly neat... Was it really just a walk? Randy glanced at Luke.
"Yeah, I said it's a walk."
Luke frowned and shot a glare at Randy, saying, "You perv."
"Who's a perv? Anyway, if it's a walk, where are you going──."
"Well, the walk is just a cover. We're here to get this."
Luke laughed and pointed to a cart behind him. On it were...
"A lute? An accordion?"
...various musical instruments. According to Luke and Cecilia, since they were going to the festival, Cecilia secretly asked her family to bring them along.
"We want to make the after-party lively."
With a smile, Luke picked up the lute and started playing beautiful music.
Suddenly, the sound of the lute caught the attention of the villagers, and Cecilia began to play the accordion, matching Luke's tune.
As the cheerful music filled the air, one of the adventurers joined in, saying, "Me too!" while grabbing a lute from the cart for an impromptu jam session.
As the music grew, the villagers who couldn't play instruments started dancing around the bonfire. Unlike a fancy noble ball, there were no rules, but you could tell everyone was having a great time.
Annabelle and Cory were already dancing, and Clarice, who was itching to join in, excitedly grabbed Liz's hand, saying, "E-Elder Sister. Let's dance!"
"Uh, um..."
"Why not? Just dance and have fun!"
With Randy smiling at them, Liz was pulled by Clarice and welcomed by Annabelle and Cory, joining the villagers in a circle around the flames.
"Elder Brother. This year's harvest festival was so much fun!"
Randy smiled and patted Cecil's head, saying,
"I'm glad to hear that. So, next year, let's make it even more fun. How about you kids dress up and go door to door saying 'trick or treat'?"
Randy was smiling, but Cecil didn't really understand what "trick" meant.
"Well, next year, you can share your ideas too. Let's all have a great time together."
"Yes!"
Just as Cecil nodded with a smile, they heard voices calling from the dance circle.
"Cecil! Elder Brother, come dance with us!"
"Yeah! Randy too!"
Liz, with her hand out, looked like she was glowing against the flames. The flickering fire made her look magical and almost divine.
──Soon, there will be a harvest festival in our territory.
──I want to go!
──We have to go. It won't start without us.
Randy remembered a promise he made in a village long ago.
"Randy!"
Liz's voice, lit by the fire, sounded genuinely happy. That promise from that day would probably take on new forms as they fulfilled it together again. No, it would be the 3 of them, including Ellie.
"Alright then. I'll show you my amazing dance."
Randy smiled at Cecil and said, "Let's go," as he jumped into the dance circle.
The harvest festival in Victor Territory was more lively than ever, ending on a high note.
"Randy, something's off, right?"
"That's a cursed dance!"
"His dance is weird!"
"Even though he's a dancing monster!"
"What's wrong with it? It's a perfect dance!"
...Randy discovered something new: he wasn't a great dancer.
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