Ch. 58
The Winkan Festival hosted by Elan was, without question, the largest festival on the continent.
People flocked from all over, and for two weeks straight, it was nonstop eating, drinking, and merrymaking.
They said the marketplace was as big as a mid-sized city—and they weren’t exaggerating.
I’d assumed they were being dramatic, but the endless rows of stalls proved otherwise. My jaw dropped just looking at it all.
Even though it was night, it was bright as day, thanks to the countless stalls lit up everywhere.
‘So this is what they mean by imperial class. Yeah… this scale would be impossible in Dmitri.’
It seemed that Elan held these grand festivals regularly as a way to flaunt the Empire’s grandeur.
A show of how rich, powerful, and leisurely their nation was.
You could feel their pride in their strength and dominance throughout the celebration.
But for kids like me, that didn’t matter. We were just here to enjoy the sights.
“Geenie! Let’s do that! That one!”
“What is it?”
<We braid hair!>
Iruze’s eyes sparkled as she pointed to a small setup where two women—likely a mother and daughter—sat side by side.
It was like one of those shoe-shining stalls, with seats for customers and a display of various combs and hair ornaments.
They seemed to be selling the accessories too.
“Looks fun!”
“Seriously, there’s everything here.”
Most stalls were selling goods or food, but beyond that, there was everything under the sun.
I even saw a stall that trimmed toenails, one that pierced ears, and another that did tattoos.
And even though it felt like it should be illegal, there were plenty of gambling stalls with lotteries and shell games.
“Huh? Let’s try it!”
Still munching on a fruit skewer, I let Iruze drag me over to the stall.
There was a rough-looking price list: basic braiding was 60 copper, a fancy course was 1 silver, and the flower-decorated course was 1 silver and 30 copper.
I had no idea if that was expensive or cheap—it was my first time seeing something like this.
“You want to do this that badly?”
“Yeah yeah!”
“Hmm… alright, if it doesn’t take too long, I guess I’ll try it.”
Iruze was the one paying, but I was the one deciding whether or not we did it. What a strange setup.
Since it only took ten minutes, we both sat down in the chairs, facing the market as they worked on our hair.
“How would you like it done?”
“The flower-decorated course, please!”
“Alright, young ladies. Just a moment and I’ll have you looking lovely.”
The one braiding my hair was the older woman, and the one doing Iruze’s seemed to be her daughter. They looked a lot alike.
I wondered if this was their full-time job—making women’s hair look nice. So they were hairstylists, basically.
Thinking of it that way made it all click.
The older woman applied some fragrant liquid to my hair and began brushing.
My hair was naturally curly and always tangled, and brushing usually hurt and pulled out strands—but this time, it glided through like magic.
Whoa! So even brushing and braiding hair takes skill!
“I just don’t get it… Why would anyone pay money to get their hair braided?”
“Because you can’t make it look nice on your own.”
“Hmm.”
Philo and Hansen, both knights, looked puzzled.
“Isn’t it the same for you knights?”
“For us?”
“You pay blacksmiths or weapon shops to sharpen your swords, right? Even though you could technically do it yourselves. Same thing!”
“Ah, I see what you mean now.”
“Experts are the best at everything.”
While they worked on our hair, the daughter showed us a basket full of fresh flowers and told us to pick what we liked.
Iruze and I squealed with excitement as we selected our favorites.
“You can pick up to ten,” she said, but with so many pretty flowers, we kept picking up one, then changing our minds.
“Um, Geenie…?”
I was still laughing when Bright approached, his face visibly red even under the night lights.
“If it’s alright… can I pick one for you?”
His low voice trembled, and his purple eyes didn’t blink once as he stared at me nervously.
I froze for a second, unsure of what to say.
“Oh my, oh my.”
The one who broke the awkward silence was none other than Iruze. She nudged my side and grinned mischievously.
This brat… how does a ten-year-old even know how to make that face?!
“Is that okay?”
“It’s kind of embarrassing…”
“Just one!”
“Well… alright. It’s not a big deal.”
“This one… I think it suits you.”
His hand trembled a little as he reached forward.
Bright picked out a blue flower with small buds and handed it to me. The moment I took it…
I couldn’t help it—just a little—I felt something strange.
Was it… a flutter?
Now that I thought about it, this was the first time I’d ever received a flower from a boy.
Come to think of it, I’d lived a pretty dull life. Studied until I died, then studied again after being reborn.
“It’s pretty.”
“Really? You like it?”
“I think it’s nice.”
“Thank goodness.”
Bright Kenian had a bit of a cute side. That earnest effort to read me and try to impress me—it was kind of admirable.
“Thank you.”
Holding a bunch of picked flowers in my hands, it looked almost like a small bouquet.
Without thinking, I brought it to my nose and took a whiff.
Not a bad day at all.
I was starting to feel pretty good.
—
Before I knew it, despite my earlier grumbling, I was fully enjoying the festival.
My hair was all prettied up, my hands were full of snacks, and I had what looked like a crew of attendants behind and beside me—Bright, Hansen, and Philo.
And suddenly I realized—
I was the center of this group.
Bright went along with whatever I wanted, Hansen and Philo followed my lead, and Iruze wanted to do everything with me.
Oh, right—Jaimam-sunbae didn’t have much presence.
Anyway, the six of us wandered around here and there.
We spent the longest time in front of a troupe of performers. Iruze was so impressed by their act that she dropped a whole gold coin into their hat, causing Hansen and Philo to grab the backs of their necks in disbelief.
Bright, not to be outdone, also spent a ridiculous amount of money without blinking.
Well, he was the heir to the only mage bloodline in Dmitri. No way he’d be poor.
That’s just how noble kids were when it came to money.
“Monster market?”
The moment I stopped, everyone else stopped too.
<Today Only! Enjoy a Legal Monster Market!>
A huge, colorful poster had caught my eye.
The others, seeing the same thing, stared in stunned silence.
But before anyone could even suggest going, we were instantly shut down.
“That’s not allowed.”
“Places like that are dangerous.”
“I want to go!”
“It says it’s legal!”
Iruze and I protested, but it was no use.
“That just means it’s not legal most of the time.”
“That’s not a place for children.”
“So unfair!”
“Absolutely not! There are plenty of other sights to see. Let’s head that way instead.”
This is exactly why we wanted to go off on our own.
Fuming with frustration, I puffed out my cheeks. Iruze nudged my side like before.
The quick flick of her eyes was easy to interpret.
‘Wanna go?’
‘Let’s do it!’
Iruze and I exchanged a subtle glance.
