Chapter 43

After fending off Ragne and her companion, we returned home.

Maria, who had been busy with cleaning and laundry, noticed our return and looked slightly troubled.

“Welcome home, Master, Lastiara. You’re back early. I haven’t finished preparing the meal yet…”

Apparently, since we were back sooner than scheduled, the food wasn’t ready.

With time to kill, I considered going to visit Dia while picking up some groceries, but Lastiara stopped me.

“Hey, Christ. Let’s go to the festival.”

Lastiara, who was sitting in a chair in the living room, invited me.

“A festival?”

“Yeah. Huzya is in the middle of a massive celebration right now. The annual Christmas Festival is in four days… but for the whole week leading up to it, the entire country celebrates.”

“Ah, I think I’ve heard of that.”

I believe Dia mentioned it. Since her discharge from the hospital was set for the day of the festival, I think we had promised to hang out then.

“I’ve never participated in the festival before, so I’m really curious.”

“I’m not uninterested myself.”

I have a natural curiosity for festivals from different cultures. Besides, I didn’t have much experience with them in my original world—I wanted to go, but I never could. So, an event like a festival was quite attractive to me.

“Then it’s decided. Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Sure. I need to buy more water anyway.”

I agreed. It might be a meaningless event, but with time on our hands, it would be a perfect change of pace. The only thing I actually had to do was restock our water.

As I gave my casual consent, Maria, who had been about to start cooking, spoke up.

“W-wait. Does that mean, you’re going on a—”

Her voice trailed off.

I looked at Maria; for a fleeting second, she looked frustrated. However, she quickly wiped the expression from her face and fell silent.

Could it be that she thought we were going to leave her behind?

Lastiara was busy stifling a laugh and made no move to join the conversation. Left with no choice, I spoke up.

“Maria, you’re coming too. Get ready.”

“…Eh? I’m allowed to go as well?”

“Of course.”

If I didn’t invite her here, I couldn’t call her a friend or a companion. To me, it was the obvious thing to do, but it seemed Maria felt differently.

“But the meal preparations—”

“We’ll eat out today. Together.”

“Y-yes…!”

I pushed through and convinced her. I walked up to her, took her hand, and tried to lead her outside.

“Shall we go? Lastiara, lead the way.”

“Hehe. Sure.”

Lastiara stood up slowly, wearing a smirk. I was glad she was having fun, but she really was a handful. She clearly intended to bring Maria along from the start, yet she refused to say it. She deliberately set it up so I would be the one to invite her, just for her own amusement.

“Stop laughing and just guide us.”

Swatting the back of Lastiara’s head as she giggled in front of us, we left the house.

It wasn’t that far from my house to the city of Huzya. Being close to the Labyrinth at the center of the United Nations meant we were also close to the other member nations.

After walking for about an hour, we could already feel the festival’s energy. There was no doubt that the entire country was celebrating; even at the outskirts, the heat of the crowd was intense.

As we entered the main thoroughfare, rows of stalls lined the streets. The shopkeepers were shouting at the top of their lungs, doing their best to draw in customers. Some sold food, others sold trinkets; the variety was immense.

Drawn by the culinary culture, I began observing the food on display.

There were simple sweets similar to those in my world, but also many dishes I had never seen before. Furthermore, the cooking utensils were all foreign to me. Seeing heat sources powered by the magic stones unique to this world and kitchen knives that likely had magic applied to them made the reality of being at an “isekai” festival truly sink in.

Mysterious grilled items.

Assortments of oddly shaped nuts.

Meat skewers grilled in a unique fashion.

Giant loaves of bread that seemed completely impractical for eating while walking.

Naturally, every single item was novel. Faced with food whose taste I couldn’t even imagine, I couldn’t hide my excitement.

“Master, you’re looking around way too much at just some stalls…”

Maria warned me as I paced around with the restless energy of a country bumpkin.

“N-no, it’s just that everything is so rare…”

“The Christmas Festival happens every year everywhere. These stalls are all standard…”

Apparently, this was a familiar sight for Maria. Even standing before this scene, she didn’t seem to feel any particular sentiment.

But for me, it was different. At a festival with a completely different culture, everything was nothing but fresh. Since Maria didn’t know my circumstances, she couldn’t understand why I found it so interesting.

“No, we didn’t have festivals like this in my hometown, so it’s very new to me.”

“Eh? Master, aren’t you from Fania?”

“A-ah, yeah. I lived on the frontier of Fania, so there weren’t any festivals. That’s why this is my first time.”

“The frontier, is it…?”

Maria repeated my words. She didn’t look convinced, but the more I talked about my “hometown,” the more my lies would fall apart. I pretended to be busy enjoying the festival atmosphere and moved away from her.

As I observed the surroundings, we passed a group of people in costumes. They were a group wearing animal furs and animal masks—likely imitating wolves or bears. There might be some specific meaning to dressing that way for this festival.

I asked Lastiara, who I assumed would be knowledgeable about Huzya.

“Hey, Lastiara. What’s the meaning behind those costumes?”

Lastiara, who had been leading the way, turned around and answered with excitement.

“I don’t know!”

“Wait, you don’t know?”

“Yeah. I told you, it’s my first time too!”

Lastiara’s voice was bouncy as she looked around just as I was. Hearing that, Maria looked at her in shock, as if she were seeing something impossible.

“Is it really your first time?”

“Embarrassingly enough, yes. Due to various circumstances, today is the first time I’ve ever come into the city during the festival. So, Maria is the only one with any experience here.”

“T-that’s impossible… To have two people who have never participated in a festival…”

“That’s why I’m curious about those costumes too. Tell us, Maria!”

Lastiara stopped leading and moved to Maria’s side. The three of us began walking side-by-side as we listened to Maria’s explanation.

“Those costumes are worn to pray for good health and ward off disasters. The origin lies in the myths passed down across the continent. By dressing as the companions of the Saint Tiara Huzya who appears in the myths, people hope to receive the Saint’s protection. It’s said that as the birthday approaches, the Saint’s power returns to the continent, so many people spend the duration of the festival in costume.”

“Ah, right, right. Now that you mention it, I think that was it.”

Hearing Maria’s explanation, Lastiara clapped her hands as if she had just remembered.

“Come to think of it, your name is very similar to the Saint’s name, Lastiara. Did your parents name you that hoping for the Saint’s protection?”

“Oh, as expected of Maria. Exactly right.”

“It’s an auspicious name.”

Lastiara agreed casually, and Maria gave a small laugh.

However, I couldn’t laugh. Maria didn’t know, but I knew Lastiara’s surname was “Huzya.” Because of that, I couldn’t help but speculate that there was some deeper story behind it.

We walked through the streets of Huzya while listening to Maria’s explanations. The festival was most vibrant at the center of town, so our feet naturally headed that way. In terms of street numbers, it was the 50th District.

“Alright, Maria! Let’s buy some snacks and eat together!”

“Eh? No way. Festival food is overpriced and a waste of money.”

“!? B-but, if you don’t eat, there’s no point in coming here!”

“I’m fine just watching.”

“Ehh…”

Maria’s point was certainly valid. Even I, who wasn’t familiar with the market prices of this world, could tell that the items in the stalls were expensive. To Maria, who was used to festivals, the things here were likely just overpriced items with no added value.

Since Lastiara was looking quite pitiful, I stepped in to help.

“Give it up, Lastiara. I’ll join you.”

“I guess I have no choice… Christ will have to do.”

It seemed Lastiara really wanted to play with Maria more than me. She looked dejected but reluctantly accepted.

For the time being, we decided to walk toward the center of the festival while snacking. Though, midway through, it developed into a game of trying to find a way to get the reluctant Maria to eat something.

---

“Hey! Lastiara! There’s something weird over here!”

“Woah, amazing! What is this!?”

In less than an hour, the excitement levels for both Lastiara and me had reached their peak.

At first, I had tried to maintain my “cool guy” act, but there were simply too many novel things to see. I couldn’t suppress the surge of excitement. Since Lastiara reacted the same way, the two of us couldn’t help but get swept up in the hype together.

“You realize that’s a children’s game, right?”

Behind us, the ever-cool Maria was looking at us with eyes full of pity.

However, having grown accustomed to Maria’s cold gaze, I didn’t care and continued to make a fool of myself.

We progressed through the street while snacking on everything in sight until we reached the grand plaza at the center of town. There, we found more than just vendors; there were attractions that reminded me of amusement park rides.

That said, they weren’t modern or luxurious, but rather simple things like target shooting and candy-cutting.

Still, it was more than enough to get me fired up.

I never had the chance to experience things like this in my original world. On top of that, there were games of a variety that likely didn’t exist in modern times, so my interest only continued to mount.

Currently, I was fascinated by “Isekai Target Shooting.”

It seemed to be a game where you used arrows wrapped in cloth instead of arrowheads to shoot at animals running around inside a fenced area. The cloth was soaked in dye, so if you hit one, you could tell if the animal had been “taken down.” In my world, a game like this would never be realized due to safety concerns and animal welfare.

Animals dashed nimbly inside the enclosure.

Judging by their agility, I suspected they might be monsters rather than normal animals, but with my shallow knowledge, I couldn’t be sure.

The prizes weren’t anything special, but my body itched to test itself against targets that clearly wouldn’t be easy to hit.

But as Maria said, most adults weren’t trying this game. That said, kids around my age were playing it without a care.

Essentially, because Lastiara and I were both taller than average, the bottleneck was that it looked like adults were playing a kid’s game.

To avoid standing out in a bad way, I suggested that Maria go first. That way, I could join in later in a somewhat natural manner.

“Maria, you’re a child. Why don’t you go first? If you do, it’ll look a bit more natural for us to join in.”

“I-I am not a child! I’m nearly thirteen!”

I thought she might have a comment about my pathetic plan, but Maria was more focused on refuting her age. She seemed quite offended at being treated like a kid.

Still, thirteen was a surprise. She was older than I thought.

But for me, thirteen was well within the range of being a child. I didn’t even consider myself a full adult yet, so it was only natural that I couldn’t view someone younger than me as one.

—However, that was an extension of the values from my world.

I checked with Lastiara.

“Lastiara, is thirteen an adult here?”

“Hmm, in these parts, you’re treated as a full-fledged person.”

“I see…”

Having confirmed that the age of adulthood was lower in this world, I gave Maria a light apology. Then, as if a thought had just occurred to her, Maria threw back a question.

“Come to think of it, how old are the two of you?”

My age.

Depending on the accuracy of the translation, there shouldn’t be a massive difference between world calendars so far. It should be fine to answer with my age from my original world.

“I’m sixteen. Probably.”

“Sixteen!?”

Maria looked shocked. My height was one thing, but since I had a bit of a youthful “baby face,” it was the first time someone had been this surprised by my age.

“Is it that weird?”

“No, I thought you were around twenty. You’re tall, and your mannerisms are so… composed…”

Apparently, Maria had thought I was considerably older. However, hearing that my “composed mannerisms” were the reason was unexpected. Next, Lastiara answered.

“I’m also sixteen. Technically.”

“What!?”

Once again, Maria let out a cry of shock.

While not quite as tall as me, Lastiara was on the tall side for a girl. Furthermore, she had a figure that put adults to shame, making her look older than average. Maria must have assumed Lastiara was much older.

“Is it really that surprising?”

Lastiara looked at us curiously. I gave a thin smile and shook my head; I wasn’t that surprised.

However, Maria still couldn’t seem to contain her shock.

“Only a three-year difference, and yet… the height, the chest…”

She trembled slightly, comparing her own physique to Lastiara’s. True, it didn’t look like a three-year gap. The difference in their growth was that stark.

As I looked at Maria with pity, she noticed my gaze, pulled herself together, and issued a warning.

“R-regardless of age! Both of you look like fine adults, so people will laugh at you if you do things like this!”

Ultimately, it came back to that. If you looked old, your actual age meant nothing.

“You don’t have to worry that much…”

“Look at those ‘pitying’ eyes! This is embarrassing!!”

True, there were people looking at us with smiles. But those were the looks you gave people excited at a festival, not looks given to pathetic people. Besides, if anything, I thought more people were simply captivated by Lastiara’s beauty.

Lastiara drew eyes simply by being there. Her appearance refused to let her vanish into a crowd. Because of that, there were plenty of jealous glares directed at me for accompanying her. I had tried to play without standing out at first, but because of her, I had given up on that early.

“Hehe. Watching Maria get embarrassed actually gets me more hyped. Maria, did you really think someone like me would stop just because of that?”

While doting on the embarrassed Maria, Lastiara triumphantly stepped up to the target shooting registration desk.

Maria tried to stop her, but seeing Lastiara look happier the more she was told no, she eventually gave up.

Before long, Lastiara received a bow and arrows from the middle-aged man at the counter, and the game began.

The game consisted of taking down as many animals as possible within the field from a fixed position. Prizes were awarded based on the number of hits within the time limit.

Lastiara notched an arrow and fired each shot with deliberate care. Every movement was fluid and peerlessly accurate—it was a display of god-tier skill, like an archer straight out of a heroic epic.

When someone as beautiful as Lastiara performed like that, it was inevitable that she would draw a crowd. At first, children gathered in wonder and curiosity as the challenger picked off animal after animal; then the surrounding adults were drawn in, captivated by her presence.

By the time the hourglass reached its end, almost every bird and beast released into the field had been taken down.

As it ended, the children watching nearby started shouting, “Amazing! So cool!” and even the adults watching from a distance applauded Lastiara.

“Hmph—that was more fun than I expected.”

Lastiara muttered with satisfaction, twirling the bow like a dancer and even striking a final pose to respond to the gallery.

Then, walking through the applause, she accepted her prize from the clerk, whose face was twitching in shock. Since she understood she was an anomaly, she didn’t choose an expensive prize, but rather a cute necklace available even at lower scores.

It was mostly made of wood, but featured a single magic stone in the center—an item that wasn’t too cheap, but not too flashy either.

After receiving the necklace, Lastiara walked over and placed it around Maria’s neck.

“A present from me, Maria.”

“A-ah. Thank you very much…”

As Maria gave a small word of thanks, the people around them watched with warm smiles.

I see. By making it a present for the “child” Maria, she had neutralized her own “childishness” as an adult. That way, there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Attempting the game now would certainly make me stand out. But since Lastiara had already drawn this much attention, it was impossible for us to avoid notice anyway.

In that case, I decided to just do what I wanted.

“Alright, I can’t let myself be outdone. Allow me to show off my skills for Maria’s present as well.”

In truth, I just wanted to play, but I said it loud enough for the crowd to hear as an excuse.

“Oh, no. It’s really—”

“Now then, let’s do this!”

I cut off Maria’s refusal and walked to the counter. Watching Lastiara had made me desperate to try it myself.

Since it took a lot of courage to play right after that display of god-tier skill, the counter was empty. I received my bow and arrows, and once the targets were cleaned, the game began.

“—Dimension: Gladiator.”

I deployed my magic subtly so as not to be noticed.

Unless someone was a high-level expert, they wouldn’t notice the magic—but Lastiara, being a high-level expert, noticed immediately and burst out laughing as she tried to contain herself.

I couldn’t take the targets down as beautifully as Lastiara, so I focused purely on exceeding her score. However, since I had no experience with a bow, I missed the first few shots. Even with the benefits of magic and my stats, I couldn’t match Lastiara perfectly right away.

But after a few adjustments, I got the hang of it.

My superhuman sensory organs and stats made my aim precise. Mimicking Lastiara’s form from earlier, I relied on my raw stats and kept lopping off arrows.

In the end, thanks to taking it seriously and wasting some MP, I managed to slightly exceed Lastiara’s score.

The crowd cheered, and the heat of the plaza grew even warmer.

When I went to pick my prize, I hesitated. Anything I could give to Maria was fine, but there weren’t many types of accessories. I eventually settled on a bracelet that matched the necklace she had just received.

I walked back to Maria and handed it to her.

“Here, Maria.”

“How incredibly childish…”

Maria accepted it with an exasperated expression and immediately turned her back, trying to leave the area. She likely wanted to avoid standing out any further—or perhaps she just wasn’t suited for such a boisterous atmosphere.

“W-wait, Maria! I want to beat Christ’s score, so let me go one more time!”

Behind us, Lastiara was showing her needlessly competitive side.

However, Maria ignored her and kept walking. Sensing this would turn into a never-ending mud-slinging contest, I chided Lastiara.

“Come on, Lastiara. Let’s go.”

“Ehh, a hit-and-run…?”

Lastiara reluctantly prepared to leave. We jogged slightly to push through the curious gazes of the crowd, making sure not to lose sight of Maria as she tried to vanish into the throng.

By the time we caught up to Maria, people had stopped paying attention to us. We had gathered quite a bit of notice, but it was just one of many small commotions in a festival full of events. Once we merged back into the crowd, no one looked at us anymore—except for those still staring at Lastiara’s beauty.

Lastiara called out to the walking Maria.

“Aren’t you going to play, Maria? If you’re worried about money, I’ll pay. I’m the one who invited you, after all.”

“…Hah. There’s no way I could do it after you two. I’m fine; I played games like that when I was little.”

“Oh, so you have played before. Then I guess it’s fine.”

Saying that, Lastiara moved ahead of Maria. Her eyes were busy searching for anything interesting as she pushed through the festival crowds.

After walking for a while, a riverside came into view. A particularly large crowd had gathered there, suggesting some kind of event was taking place.

Finding it, Lastiara excitedly pulled my hand.

“They’re doing something at the river!”

“Looks like something you can only do by the water.”

I thought of goldfish scooping from my original world and followed Lastiara with high expectations. To make sure we didn’t get separated, I grabbed Maria’s hand with the one Lastiara wasn’t holding. The three of us walked to the stalls by the river.

Nets had been placed upstream and downstream, and a massive amount of fish had been released in the space between. The river was only about knee-deep for an adult, and many people were desperately trying to catch fish with their bare hands.

“A catch-all-you-can-eat barehanded fish game… maybe?”

Since I had seen things like this in my world, I was a bit let down. However, Lastiara’s eyes were sparkling, and she looked eager to try.

“I’m doing it! I won’t lose to Christ this time!”

It seemed she wanted to compete with me as well. Clearly, that previous loss was still eating at her.

“I guess I have no choice. Lastiara won’t have any motivation if I don’t join in.”

Even if it was a game I’d seen before, it wasn’t one I’d actually done. It was bound to be interesting, and I had no reason to refuse.

We joined the waiting line and began idle chatter. We spent time talking about fish dishes with Maria and asking Lastiara what she wanted to eat—and then, when the line was about halfway through, a voice called out from behind us.

“—Oh? Isn’t that Christ and Maria?”

A girl with a beast mask on the side of her head noticed us and approached. It was the Labyrinth Guardian, Alti, wearing her usual multiple layers of clothes.

I tightened my guard slightly and scanned the area. Confirming that Alti was alone, I let out a sigh of relief and raised a hand in greeting. Maria responded with a bow as well.

“Alti. Why are you here?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? Is it wrong for me to have some fun?”

“No, it’s not wrong, but…”

It wasn’t wrong, but seeing a Labyrinth Boss wandering around freely wasn’t good for my heart.

“I was playing with my friends from the Ertrallue Academy until just now. Franleure, whom you’re so bad with, isn’t here right now, so you can relax.”

“That certainly is a relief.”

As Alti and I spoke, Lastiara, who had been behind us, began to laugh. She approached us, looking thoroughly amused.

“Pfft—I’m seriously surprised. I thought you were quite capable for someone so cute, so I looked at you with my ‘Eye of the Pseudo-God,’ and oh my, oh my—hehehehehe.”

The cheerfulness vanished from Lastiara, replaced by a lingering battle intent. She had likely “seen” that Alti wasn’t human, but a boss monster of considerable strength.

I stepped between Alti and Lastiara to explain.

“Wait, Lastiara. She’s my collaborator. Absolutely—”

“It’s fine. I can tell from the vibe that this isn’t that kind of situation. Um, is Alti okay? I’m Lastiara. Nice to meet you.”

Lastiara cut me off and introduced herself to Alti.

“I see, so you’re the famous one. We might actually be on the same page. But do me a favor and cut out the sweet-talk. It’s making my skin crawl. No titles, no nonsense—just names.”

“Got it, Alti.”

“Umu. Glad to be of service, Lastiara.”

The two shook hands and smiled pleasantly at each other.

I watched the scene with trepidation. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a deathmatch started right here and now. If it did, I planned to take Maria and escape home via Connection.

Perhaps noticing my gaze, Alti laughed and turned to me.

“You’re such a worrywort, Christ.”

“I’m just the normal one here. Anyway, Alti, what are you doing now?”

“Let’s see. Maybe I’ll play with you guys for a bit? I can’t stay for long, though.”

“Well, if it’s just playing…”

In truth, I wanted her to go elsewhere, but treating her coldly here would be too heartless for a collaborator. I reluctantly allowed her to join us.

Hearing that, Lastiara looked even happier.

“Great! Then Alti, Christ, and I should have a competition. I want to see Alti’s skills for myself.”

She seemed excited to compete against Alti, a Labyrinth Guardian. However, Alti refused with a wry smile.

“I’ll pass on that. I’m not good with water, so I’ll just stay here with Maria and heckle you.”

With that, Alti declined the match. Following the usual theory, Alti—a fire monster—seemed to be weak against water. She stepped back and began talking with Maria.

After that, our turn came up, so only Lastiara and I took the challenge.

I devised a strategy to beat Lastiara with everything I had. I knew that was what she wanted.

Ultimately, Lastiara’s desire was always whether or not she could play at full power. Because she knew she could do that with me, she stayed by my side. I had an obligation to keep Lastiara entertained. That was the “contract” we made.

This was likely one of the dreams Lastiara mentioned when she said she wanted to “enjoy the adventure.” I could tell as much from her demeanor.

That said, it wasn’t entirely out of a sense of obligation. Somewhere in my heart, I likely wanted to “enjoy the adventure” in this other world too. Keeping Lastiara company wasn’t that painful. If I could secure a force as powerful as Lastiara while having fun, I had no complaints.

I made full use of my Dimension Magic and went for the win.

As a result, it turned into a competition that made the other customers back away and the shopkeeper turn pale—finally, Alti had to step in with physical force to stop us, and I ended up receiving an endless lecture from Maria.

Even so, Lastiara looked happy.

I had a pretty good time, too.

And I realized that as long as the Labyrinth wasn’t involved, we actually got along quite well—a thought that felt just a little bit bittersweet.