Chapter 125
The New Year’s Festival is, quite literally, a celebration that begins upon welcoming the new year, while the Founding Festival refers to a broader celebration that spans a certain period, including the New Year itself.
In other words, today, December 30th, the final day of the year before the New Year’s Festival tomorrow, falls right in the middle of the Founding Festival.
The country was already overflowing with joy after the victory in the war, but with the Founding Festival underway and the New Year’s Festival just around the corner, the nation was probably livelier than it had ever been since its founding.
“Seimu! Where should we go!? I haven’t been out to the city much lately, but it’s a festival, right!? There must be lots of food stalls, right? Just like the usual street market!” (Melt)
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard. The marketplace in the lower layer isn’t a normal market right now…they’ve got all sorts of stalls from different towns gathered there.” (Shizuma)
“Waaah! Let’s go right away!” (Melt)
The war was over, everything had been settled, and at last, our everyday life had returned.
That day, I decided to take Melt around to fully enjoy the Founding Festival together.
To be honest, I was looking forward to it too.
I was well aware that my mindset and behavior had long since strayed from that of an ordinary high school student, but even so, the festive atmosphere blanketing the whole city was infectious. As Seimu, and as Shizuma.
Since it was Seimu who had become a citizen of this nation, I figured I’d remain in this form for the time being.
Having made that decision, I headed out of the house with Melt, who was fidgeting excitedly as she got ready, into a world now completely transformed into a winter scene.
—————–
“Melt, you’re good with the cold, huh?” (Shizuma)
“Yeah, I guess? Most of the foxkins are.” (Melt)
“I see… I’m wearing a coat, but aren’t you cold in those clothes?” (Shizuma)
“Hmm… maybe I should wear something over them.” (Melt)
“Then let’s go look for some clothes too.” (Shizuma)
Passing through a lightly snow-covered forest path and entering Lindblum from the south gate, the first area we passed through was the noble district.
Since the upper layer naturally had shops that sold high-quality clothing, we decided to start there.
Unaffected by the festive bustle elsewhere, the noble district was its usual picture of elegance.
In that calm atmosphere, we stepped into a boutique that sold clothing.
“Welcome.”
Naturally, high-end stores like this one had dress codes.
However, Melt’s outfit was technically equipment -one that appeared as clothes for Shire and gave to her- so the quality and design were top-tier.
In other words, even though Melt thought she was wearing casual or stylish clothes, she was always fully equipped with armor.
That probably came in handy for adventures too… Fashion gear might not be as tough as real armor, but it often came with some unique abilities.
As for me, I bought several outfits from the Pigeon Company, so I was also dressed in proper, high-quality clothing and a coat.
That meant we didn’t stand out or get disapproving looks even in a shop that catered to nobles.
“What sort of clothing are you looking for today?”
“I’m thinking of buying something warm for her. Ready-made is fine, but if necessary, we might have something custom-made depending on her preferences.” (Shizuma)
As I replied, I noticed the clerk’s eyes flick briefly toward the Adventurer Guild tag on my chest…probably checking whether I could actually afford to shop here.
Our attire was nice but not exactly the noble kind, after all.
Still, it seemed adventurers of this rank had a reputation for being better-paying customers than many nobles, so the clerk maintained a pleasant smile.
“So this young lady is the customer. Do you have anything in mind, miss?”
“Ah! Me!? Umm… I want a coat! A fluffy one! With a hood if possible… Something cute! Maybe white or light blue? Oh, and make sure the hood leaves space for my ears to stick out!” (Melt)
So many specific requests…!
Right, beastkin would need their hoods adjusted so their ears wouldn’t get covered.
I imagined Melt with her hood up, her ears poking through.
Yeah, that would definitely look adorable.
“Hmm… in that case, how about this coat? It’s a ready-made piece, but if we add fur and adjust it to fit your ear placement, we can meet your request.”
“Oh, this one’s nice! Just the right amount of fluff! I don’t really know what ‘fur’ means, though…” (Melt)
“These things here…attached to the sleeves, hem, and around the hood.”
The clerk handed Melt a sample of soft fur that looked like a small animal’s tail.
“Wow, it’s like a child’s tail!” (Melt)
“Haha, indeed. Some beastkins even sell the fur from their own tails. The well-known Fleecekins, for example, sell their wool.”
“Oh, I’ve never seen Fleecekins before. Is this fur from them?” (Melt)
“No, it’s rare for that to circulate as far as our country. This one’s from a Snow Seeker.”
“Wow! It’s so fluffy!” (Melt)
A lot of unfamiliar words came up, but since Melt seemed to understand them, I quietly stayed out of it.
She had her ear measurements taken and chose the type of fur she liked.
“Oh, this looks nice.” (Shizuma)
I browsed the ready-made section while waiting and picked out some good pieces for myself.
Once Melt was done, we left the shop.
—————–
“They said since it’s busy during the New Year’s Festival, the coat won’t be ready until the third day of the new year.” (Melt)
“Figures… Lots of people must be buying winter clothes right now.” (Shizuma)
“Definitely. I’m fine for now, but humans are weak to the cold, after all.” (Melt)
“Yeah, I guess so. You mentioned earlier that beastkin are generally better with the cold?” (Shizuma)
“Hmm… not all of them. The Catkins and Harekins are bad with the cold.” (Melt)
Fumu… I remember seeing a cat beastkin musician back as Hash.
“There are quite a few beastkin in this country. Are most of them dog and fox types?” (Shizuma)
“Yeah, because this continent’s cold. Golda wasn’t very kind to beastkin, so most of them probably live on other continents.” (Melt)
“I see. I’d like to visit another continent someday.” (Shizuma)
“Me too! They say you have to cross the sea, but I can’t really picture it.” (Melt)
For Melt, who had only seen the ocean once as a child, that was truly an unknown world.
Her tail wagged back and forth with excitement.
“Oh right, I never asked before, but…this continent’s called Dusterfil, right?” (Shizuma)
“Yeah. Since Lendia unified it, maybe they’ll even rename the country! Other continents have the same names as their nations, you know.” (Melt)
“Really? I don’t know anything about the other continents.” (Shizuma)
“I only know the names. Oh, but I’ve heard of Hamsterdam! My grandma said she used to work there as a researcher.” (Melt)
“Haven’t heard that name in a while… That mysterious country.” (Shizuma)
It certainly was an intriguing one. If I remember right, it was on the neighboring continent.
“The neighboring continent is called the Dornatz Continent. There’s a huge lake that takes up about a fifth of it, and on the island in the middle lies the independent nation of Hamsterdam. I’d love to visit someday.” (Melt)
“Yeah. Once we’ve conquered the other dungeon on this continent, if we can manage it, or if it’s too much, maybe we’ll head there instead.” (Shizuma)
“Right! Conquering a dungeon is supposed to be really hard anyway. Plus, this country thrives off dungeon resources, right? Some people might be in trouble if we cleared them all!” (Melt)
“Ah, true. Well…if that happens, I could always use a Dungeon Core to generate a new one and either I or the nation could manage it. That’d keep things running safely.” (Shizuma)
“That makes sense!” (Melt)
There was still a lot we didn’t understand about dungeons.
Even the artificial dungeon beneath Lindblum hadn’t been restored yet.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that dungeons were somehow tied to the world’s deeper secrets.
Maybe… the mastermind had realized that too, and was after them for that reason.
“Alright! Next stop…the lower layer! Food stalls! I’m getting hungry!” (Melt)
“Oh right. Let’s find something to eat, then.” (Shizuma)
Though it was almost lunchtime, we picked up the pace toward the lower layer.
—————–
The market near the residential area of the lower layer was bustling.
Normally it was a place to buy ingredients, but today it was overflowing with stalls selling food to eat on the spot…pure festival energy.
“Ah! Flat Sandwiches! They have them here too!” (Melt)
“Oh? I’ve never seen those before.” (Shizuma)
Melt’s eyes sparkled as she approached a stall that used some unusual-looking equipment.
It looked less like a griddle and more like a press.
“Hey there, young lady! Brought your boyfriend today?”
“Fufu, he called you my boyfriend, Seimu!” (Melt)
“More like family, really.” (Shizuma)
“Oh, so you’re the husband then.”
“Nope, family’s just family!” (Melt)
“Hm? Oh well! Anyway, this is the Flat Sandwich you named, miss! I’ve improved it since last time… It’s even tastier now!”
So Melt not only knew the stall owner, but she was the one who named the dish?!
When did that happen…
The food itself was fascinating… He placed a sandwich on a griddle, then pressed it down from above with a heated press, flattening it while toasting it to a perfect crisp.
Even flatter than a hot sandwich…almost like a thick cracker.
“Looks delicious. I’ll take two, please.” (Shizuma)
“No, wait. Three, please, mister!” (Melt)
“You’ll be too full to try anything else, you know.” (Shizuma)
“! Then, um, two is fine!” (Melt)
“Hahaha, good call, young man. Two it is.”
And so we received our piping-hot Flat Sandwiches.
Inside were ham, cheese, and what seemed like pickles…though they were too flattened to tell.
But man, were they good. The crisp texture, the saltiness of the ham, the roasted aroma of the cheese, and the melty richness inside…it all blended perfectly. The slight tang from the pickles balanced everything out.
This could seriously become a hit dish.
“This is amazing… Seriously, isn’t this the best one yet? Out of all the festival foods we’ve had so far.” (Shizuma)
“Eeh? I still like Marumetano better, I think.” (Melt)
“Ah, yeah, that one was great too.” (Shizuma)
The air was filled with delicious smells from all directions.
As we walked through the lively streets, it reminded me of the festivals and New Year’s celebrations back on Earth.
…How nostalgic. It feels like those days were ages ago.
“Seimu! There’s a stall I’ve never seen before!!!”
“Oh? Looks like there’s a crowd around it. Let’s go check it out.”
There, a stall was using some strange contraption to make fresh juice as if by magic.
They’d toss fruit into a large metal tank, and without any sound of stirring, chilled juice poured out from a nozzle at the bottom…white mist rising from how cold it was.
“Step right up! This is a frozen drink made with a brand-new juicer invented by Kokuri-sama! Too cold for winter, you say? Nonsense! It’s so good you’ll forget the chill!”
The crowd, intrigued by the stall owner’s pitch, eagerly bought drinks.
So this was Kokuri-san’s invention, huh? Interesting.
“Wow! So this is a magic tool Kokuri-chan made! I want one too!” (Melt)
“Alright! We’ve only got apples and this white fruit left.” (Shizuma)
“That’s called an Amir Pear. It’s a cold-resistant pear…one of the earliest genetically modified fruits, with a long history.” (Melt)
“Wow, you sure know a lot, Melt.” (Shizuma)
“Of course! I’ve read tons of books and documents!” (Melt)
We ordered two mixed apple-and-pear drinks.
To our surprise, what we got was a fine, icy slush that perfectly captured the flavor of the fruits.
Amazing… The texture was just like the frozen drinks I had back at family restaurants.
“Mmm… This is so good… Almost as good as cola…” (Melt)
“Yeah, I’m impressed it can freeze and mix that fast. If they exported this overseas, it’d be a hit.” (Shizuma)
“For sure! Especially in warmer places. I wonder how it works!” (Melt)
This world kept advancing bit by bit.
There were still so many nations and cultures we haven’t seen.
If we could find this many new things in just one day, then surely, countless more discoveries awaited us ahead.
That’s why I thought Melt’s idea to mark this as a kind of turning point was perfect.
“This is so fun! Next, let’s check out the imported goods stalls!” (Melt)
“Sounds good. I’ve heard a lot of stuff’s come in from other regions…maybe we’ll find something special.” (Shizuma)
“Yeah! Maybe even dungeon-made items!” (Melt)
And so, the first year since I arrived in this world finally came to an end.
What kind of year would the next one be, I wondered.
…Oh, right…does this world have any kind of year-end soba tradition?
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