Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc
13. The Promised flower festival (3)
Translated by: S3
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The light of the setting sun shone on Lily’s face, causing her to involuntarily squint.
Lanterns were being lit everywhere. They were constructed with frames resembling flower buds, a sight unique to the festival, covered with pink and pale blue paper. When the round light inside was lit, it enhanced the Flower Festival's particular, enchanting scenery.
「Well, the sun's setting, so shall we head back?」
「What! But the festival is just starting!」
Lily shook her head at Noah’s suggestion. When the sun set and the full moon came out, the stalls changed their offerings. For example, during the day, they sold food and sweets for children, but at night, they served alcohol and appetizers.
「Lily is a child, after all. The night won't be fun for you, right?」
「Don't decide for me! I want to see the night stuff. Uh, um. Like, you know, bargain medicinal herbs and tea leaves.」
Rare items that were held back during the day out of consideration for families with children—one-of-a-kind items and limited-quantity goods—were suddenly placed on the storefronts in the evening.
「Lily. You can buy medicinal herbs and tea leaves outside of the Flower Festival.」
「They become festival-priced. It's better to buy them at the festival.」
「I’ll buy them for you today and next time too, so don't worry about the money.」
Guh, she groaned inwardly. Noah was silver-tongued, and Lily couldn't beat him using a straightforward approach.
But the full moon was about to come out. Once it did, Lily needed to visit a certain shop.
「(What should I do? What should I do? I have to do something!)」
If things continued this way, Noah would drag her by the hand and take her home.
Just then, a rich, floral scent wafted past her nose. When she looked up, she saw the moon had already come out.
Finding the spatial distortion as she always did, Lily grew even more frantic, anxiously looking around. And then, she spotted a person who shouldn't have been there.
「Oh, is that Arthur-denka?」
「I won’t fall for a lie like that— Wait, what?!」
A short distance away, Arthur, dressed in the uniform of the Royal Guard, was walking by.
「(Well, if you were going out, you could have at least told me! And he has no one accompanying him!)」
Noah was crestfallen, realizing this must have been the reason Arthur was so hesitant yesterday. He quickly moved to intercept Arthur.
「Ah, um, er. Excuse me.」
In the middle of the street, unable to use either 'His Highness' or 'Arthur-sama,' she impulsively grabbed Arthur’s shoulder, making him look slightly surprised.
「Noah? Are you enjoying the festival?」
「Well, yes. But right now, I'm worried about you. What exactly are you doing here?」
「Just a small patrol. I'm dressed as a Royal Guard, so there's no problem. Just call me Arthur.」
Arthur’s name wasn't uncommon, so his identity probably wouldn't be revealed without a title. But that wasn't the issue.
「Then I won't hold back. Arthur, what is the meaning of walking around alone?」
「Didn't you have plans to go out with Lily?」
「If you had told me, I would have rescheduled! Don't make it sound like it's my fault!」
If this got out, Noah would undoubtedly be the one who got chewed out, and what made it worse was that his predecessor, Dylan, was currently back at the castle. This was extremely bad.
「Then let's walk around together now. That should solve the problem.」
「But I'm in my casual clothes... Well, it’s better than nothing.」
Forcibly convincing himself, Noah nevertheless resolved to quickly send Arthur back to the castle and take Lily home.
「By the way, where is Lily? Isn't she with you?」
「Huh, she was right beside me until— Wait, she's gone?!」
Lily was nowhere to be found, neither nearby nor a short distance away.
The girl herself, the moment Noah dashed off, had seized the opportunity and bolted toward the shop she wanted to visit.
Her vision blurred and became difficult to see through, but the next moment, she emerged into an open space.
The floral scent faded, and her vision was clear. Following her usual routine, Lily had arrived at the familiar location.
She took the hooded jacket out of her shoulder bag, put it on, and walked toward the area where people were moving about a little further ahead.
The stalls, which were devoid of color in stark contrast to the Flower Festival in the royal capital, lined both sides of the path. The people passing by had their hoods pulled down low, and no calls came from the storefronts.
Music was playing faintly in the distance, which was the O-hayashi (festival music), and apparently, it played continuously to maintain the spatial distortion.
「(I need to finish quickly. Cousin Noah is going to make a huge fuss.)」
The script Lily was dead set on was: Noah frantically searches for her, she finishes her errand and returns, she gets scolded, she apologizes, and it's over. She was fully committed to this forceful breach.
Thanks to Arthur conveniently showing up, she had successfully shaken off Noah. He would probably buy her some time. Thinking this, she kept walking, and finding the shop she was looking for, she immediately stepped up to the front.
Most of the shop's merchandise was already sold out, which seemed to be why the stream of customers had stopped.
She stood before the boy at the shop and lifted a lock of her hair.
「Lily. You're late. A lot of the goods are already sold out.」
Hearing Gin’s voice for the first time in a while, Lily took off the hood she had pulled low.
「Sorry. My plans got a little messed up. What's left?」
Conversation was strictly forbidden in the Black Market, but Gin and Lily were familiar acquaintances. After confirming recognition, they always spoke to each other in quiet voices to avoid drawing attention.
「You're dressed awfully neatly today. You look like a different person.」
The last time they met was at the Snow Festival, and Lily was now acutely aware that her life had completely changed in the few months since.
「Yeah. A lot of things happened.」
「I can go back and get the merchandise for tomorrow and beyond. Just tell me everything you want.」
「Okay. Then—」
Lily told him the items she had planned to buy. After listening, Gin said he would go retrieve the stock and closed the shop before heading out.
While Gin was gone, Lily moved to the back of the shop to avoid being seen.
Then, she noticed a person's shadow there and jumped back in surprise.
「Oh, there was already a customer here. Excuse me.」
She spoke without thinking, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Being at Gin's shop meant he was his customer, and since Lily didn't know him, she shouldn't have spoken.
「No. I’m just resting for a bit.」
Lily involuntarily tilted her head and stared intently at the other person.
「(Does he not know the rules? And he looks like a boy about my age.)」
Her curiosity was piqued, but the person was hunched over and seemed depressed, so she sat down a short distance away and waited for Gin's return.
「Sorry I made you wait!」
Gin, who returned quickly, handed her the burlap sack filled with the medicinal herbs she had requested.
She had asked for a few items she was curious about from the new stock, several types of bitter-free tonic herbs, and a complete set of herbs for the Magic Affliction Disease.
The herbs, which were sold out in the Holy Aurum Kingdom’s capital, were still being circulated in the Black Market.
「Man, the Magic Affliction Disease cure set is selling like crazy this time. Did your mother get Magic Affliction Disease, too, Lily?」
「It seems a war is about to start on the Eastern Continent, and imports have stopped. People from the Holy Aurum Kingdom and the Western Continent are probably coming to buy here.」
「Oh. In that case, I need to adjust the type of seeds I sow next in the field. This herb is likely to sell well for a while.」
Gin decided to change the seeds he would sow in the field next. He was very grateful for the information, as his friends would scold him if he grew something that didn't sell.
「Is there anything else you know that might sell well?」
「I wonder. If the war drags on, general medicinal herbs might skyrocket, I think. Our area and the Western Continent rely heavily on the herbs from the Eastern Continent, especially those that only grow there. Also, medicines used for injuries and common epidemic diseases might run out easily.」
「I see. Thanks, Lily.」
Having obtained useful information, Gin was secretly delighted. They didn't speak to customers in the Black Market, so it was rare to get outside information. Since his other friends didn't have the chance to learn this, he planned to outmaneuver them and make a fortune at the next festival as well.
「Um, are you knowledgeable about Magic Affliction Disease?」
The boy who had been huddled in the back of the shop had, without her noticing, moved right behind Lily and Gin. He held the luggage he was cradling carefully and presented it to Lily.
「Could you maybe lend an ear to this guy’s problem?」
It was a rare request from the conscientious Gin, who hated to be indebted to anyone.
But Lily wanted to refuse the offer. She was anxious that Noah would start making a scene if she didn't pay the price and return immediately.
「My bad. Just for a bit, okay?」
Gin put his hands together in a pleading gesture, making it impossible for her to refuse, so Lily moved further into the back of the shop to listen to the boy’s problem.
*****
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