“...R-Right.” Unable to argue against Reiss’ detached explanation, the boy nodded awkwardly.
“Good. Now, shall we return to the griffin?”
Reiss walked off, the boy hot on his heels. He didn’t want to stay here any longer, and he felt completely numb as they returned to where the griffin was waiting.
“W-Won’t the parent be mad? What if it tries to retrieve its egg? I mean...” The boy asked with a twitching smile before they mounted, stricken by his worries.
“It’ll be fine, of course.” Reiss pasted a creepy smile on his face as he answered. “How far do you think the distance is from here to Strahl?”
“Right... Of course...”
“Let us return, now. Make sure you hold onto the egg tightly, understand?” After he received a nod of acknowledgment from the boy, Reiss ordered the griffin to take off. However, the direction they were traveling towards was not Strahl, but the great forest where the spirit folk lived. Later that night, a tremendous and terrifying wail echoed in the cave Reiss had visited.
◇◇◇
Finally, the day of the Grand Spirit Festival arrived. The main stage of the ritual was to be held in the spirit shrine built near the roots of the giant tree that Dryas protected. It took half a temporal hour (or roughly one regular hour) to walk there from the village. With the exception of the minimum level of security, nearly all of the spirit folk — over ten-thousand of them — had gathered in the magnificent grounds of the shrine.
The spirit of the giant tree, Dryas, stood on an altar placed on the shrine’s dance stage, looking down at the elders prostrated before her — among those present included Syldora, Dominic, and Ursula.
“Under the divine blessing of the Great Spirit, may her grace and protection be with the spirit folk for all eternity...” A solemn atmosphere dominated the entire area as Syldora and the others offered their prayer.
Once the ritual prayer was completed, the elders stepped down from the stage. Then, Sara, Orphia, and Alma appeared on the stage dressed in ceremonial attire, and began their song and dance of appreciation towards Dryas.
Dryas looked down at the three of them happily.
“They’re so pretty...”
Underneath the dance stage, Latifa was watching the magical dance of the girls in admiration. After the three girls finished their performance, Syldora took to the stage once more and began to speak in a stately tone.
“Ladies and gentlemen! The Spirit Festival has once again commenced safely. This is all thanks to your untiring efforts, daily prayers, and dedication to the spirits over the past year. Let not your gratitude to the dream spirits ever wane.” Syldora was by no means speaking loudly, but the amplification effect of wind spirit arts easily carried his voice across the whole area.
“Now, let us continue the ritual,” Syldora’s voice continued, making Latifa flinch hard.
Every year during the Grand Spirit Festival, it was custom for spirit folk children who reached a certain age to be introduced to everyone in the village and receive a blessing from Dryas. Latifa was one of those children this year. Furthermore, those who received Dryas’ blessing would be graced with a slight increase in total ode and spirit arts affinity, though it wasn’t as much as a spirit contract would grant.
Rio noticed Latifa’s nervousness and reached out to squeeze her hand. In response, Latifa lifted her head and pulled together a brave smile.
Syldora called out the names of the children to come up to the dance stage. There, a simple introduction and greeting was given for the villagers to familiarize themselves with the children. Next, Dryas placed a blessing kiss on their forehead, and the bodies of the children would glow with a soft light.
Latifa’s name was called after all the other children received their blessings.
“Half a year ago, one of our brethren came to join us: the werefox, Latifa.”
After her name was called, Latifa’s went up to the stage, her small body trembling.
“She has suffered greatly at the hands of heartless humans, but at the same time, she is here with us today thanks to the kindhearted human who extended his hand in help. She is an admirable and kind girl.” At Syldora’s introduction, Latifa gave an awkward bow. Then, like the other children before her, she walked towards Dryas’ altar.
“This way, Latifa.”
“Y-Yes.” Urged forth by Dryas, Latifa went right up to her.
“This makes you an official resident of this village. I hope you find yourself at home here,” Dryas said, before suddenly scooping Latifa up in a hug. This was a lot more contact compared to the others, who had only received kisses. The crowd murmured quietly.
Latifa, in shock, unintentionally let out a yelp. “Fweh?!”
“Fufu. You’ve suffered so much until now, I thought I’d give you a little special treatment. I can only do this much for you, but I hope you’ll always find strength in your heart.”
“Y-Yes!” Latifa gave a great, emotional nod.
Dryas then placed a gentle kiss against Latifa’s forehead; a faint light immediately began to shine from Latifa’s body. Despite the unexpected occurrence, Latifa too received Dryas’ blessing.
And with that, the blessing ritual was complete.
If the festival had been following the same progression as prior years had, this was where the closing ceremony would be held before moving on to the banquet. However —
“Lastly, I wish to introduce the one who rescued Latifa. Our one-sided misunderstanding caused him much trouble in the past, but he forgave us, and allowed us to start over anew. Thus, we are greatly indebted to him. Allow me to introduce you to Latifa’s benefactor — and ours too — Lord Rio,” Syldora began his introduction.
With a light nod, Rio climbed up the staircase of the stage. Once he was standing beside him, Syldora continued. “Lord Rio has taught us many interesting food recipes. They are delicious, and they will be served at the subsequent banquet, so do look forward to it.”
The mood over the shrine grounds softened a bit.
“Lord Rio has contracted with a humanoid spirit. This is a truth that has been confirmed by the Great Dryas herself, so there is no mistake. ...Silence!” Syldora barked at the flurried villagers; his words had caused the grounds to burst into noisy chatter.
Until now, Rio’s contract with the humanoid spirit had been kept a secret from those outside of the village council. But they had chosen to play their hand at this very moment. The result was perfect.
“As a member of the village council, I cannot allow someone who has contracted a humanoid spirit to be disrespected — no matter whether he is a spirit folk or not.” At Syldora’s words, the elders all gave great nods of agreement. The aim of their action was to outwardly express the unity of the council’s opinion on the matter.
“Lord Rio is our benefactor. His wonderful personality has been made more than clear over the past six months of his stay here. That is why I am considering accepting Lord Rio as a sworn friend of us spirit folk. Does anyone object?” Syldora inquired in a loud voice, causing a silence to fall over the shrine grounds. Deeming there to be no objections, Syldora continued speaking.
“Then, I would like to humbly request that the Great Dryas grant Lord Rio a blessing kiss as a symbol of our sworn friendship. Lord Rio, Great Dryas.” At Syldora’s urging, Rio approached the altar where Dryas was.
“Fufu. Let’s get along, small human hero.” Dryas smiled. Once she had awarded a kiss on Rio’s forehead, Rio’s body began to glow with a soft light. After a beat of silence, the grounds burst into loud cheers and applause.
“Now, the ritual has come to an end! It’s banquet time! Get ready!” Dominic announced the end of the ceremony as the applause died off.
Immediately, the bustle of the villagers became directed towards the food, and the banquet management staff began the preparations in a fluster. They freely used spirit arts to guide the crowds, set up the banquet area, and distribute the food and drinks efficiently. A
young male elf and winged werebeast flew in the air above, acting as messengers, dispatching work orders, and guiding the villagers with voices amplified by spirit arts. Dwarf men were using spirit arts to manipulate the dirt, creating makeshift tables and chairs throughout the shrine grounds at a quick pace.
Meanwhile, Orphia and several other elf girls were using their Time-Space Cache artifacts to bring out completed dishes and drinks one after another, as the men of varying species raced to carry them to every table. Thus, work progressed as the others looked on, and before long all the preparations were completed. The banquet began with a loud toast.
“Gahahaha! You’re sure drinking well today, Rio, my boy!” Dominic held a sake cup in one hand as he laughed heartily at Rio, who was drinking with him.
“Yes — I don’t normally drink because I have practice, but I thought I should at least drink freely today. The alcohol of this village sure is high quality.” Rio said, raising his cup to his mouth.
This wasn’t exactly flattery, but a compliment from the depths of his heart. There were several types of alcohol offered at the banquet, but even the cheapest bulk-produced alcohol of the spirit folk exceeded the quality of what the highest nobility and royalty in Strahl drank. Of course, it went without saying that the progression of drinking was also faster.
“Well, duh! Our village only brews real sake! ’S not like them human-made drinks that they only drink to get drunk!” Hearing the village’s alcohol being commended made Dominic laugh merrily.
“It’s exactly as you say. Now that I’ve had this sake, I can never go back to Strahl’s alcohol.”
“Good riddance! This isn’t even the top tier of the alcohol we make. Just wait ’til you try our spirit folk specialty, Soul Sake!” With a grin, Dominic took out a mythril carafe and glass. He poured its contents into the glass and offered it to Rio.
“This...”
“Shh, just drink.”
The instant Rio peered into the glass, a mesmerizing, mellow scent tickled his nose. A thick liquid filled the cup, drawing Rio’s mouth towards it almost involuntarily. The moment the sake touched his tongue —
“Wuh?!”
The taste was so exquisite, it almost made Rio’s jaw drop. He pressed his mouth closed in a panic, but the intense flavor of the alcohol was already seeping throughout every inch of him.
It was so good, it felt like his soul was slipping out of his body. The sake was probably dubbed Soul Sake for this very reason: because drinking it caused a near out-of-body experience, Rio mused.
Unable to resist the temptation, Rio brought his cup to his mouth for a second sip. Before he knew it, the sake in his mouth had disappeared, as though it evaporated into thin air.
No, the sake definitely passed through Rio’s throat... The taste was just too much for him to process, making it seem as though it had disappeared in an instant. For such a high potency, it was terrifyingly easy to drink.
This was first-rate drink, most worthy of being called Soul Sake. He couldn’t even consider Strahl’s alcohol to be alcohol anymore. Lost for words, Rio’s body shook with the emotions running through him. That was when Dryas appeared, a glass held in one hand.
“What do you think? My sap is in that,” she said.
“Hrrrk!” Upon hearing Dryas mention her sap, Rio choked.
“Kya! Eww, geez. What are you doing?”
“I-I’m sorry. I was just surprised. This is the sap of Your Greatness?”
“That’s right. It’s called Soul Sake, isn’t it? As the spirit of the giant tree, I’m the soul that resides in the sap used — hence the name. My sap is even used in elixirs,” Dryas said proudly.
“I-I see...” If the sap produced sake of this quality, then it could certainly be used as a miracle component for medicines too.
“I’m impressed, though. Only dwarves can drink that sake properly. You must be a heavy drinker, Rio,” Dryas said with wide eyes.
“You got that right, Your Greatness! It’s almost a shame a guy like this is a human. Now drink up, drink up!” Dominic agreed cheerfully as he refilled Rio’s glass. The dwarf elder had already consumed a fair amount of alcohol himself, but his face still appeared just fine.
“It really is a potent alcohol. It’s almost scary how easily it goes down despite that.” Rio looked at his Soul Sake-filled glass with reverence.
“Right? Normally they end up like that.” With a pleasant smile, Dryas directed her gaze behind Rio, who turned around and followed her gaze. There he saw —
“O-Orphia?!” Orphia was stumbling over her own feet, heading towards Rio. Her face was so red, it was evident she was drunk with just one glance.
“Mashter Riooo, are you... drinkin’...?” Orphia asked with a slurred lisp, flopping down in the seat next to Rio. The difference between her usual gentle self was so great, Rio was dumbfounded.
“U-Umm, Orphia, haven’t you had too much to drink?” Rio asked with a twitching smile, sending her words of concern.
“Ah! I’m... I’m fiiiine. This... ish barely nothin’...”
You’re clearly not fine at all! — Rio wanted to yell. Suddenly, Orphia sidled up right against Rio.
“Mooore importantly, Rioooo! When will you shtop shpeaking sho shtiffly?!”
“...Umm, I speak stiffly?”
“Yesh! You shpeak like yer tryin’ to dishtance yourshelf.” Orphia held her eye contact with an oddly steady gaze. She spoke so insistently, Rio couldn’t help but shrink back.
“I’ve gotten sho closhe with Latifa, yet it baaaarely feelsh like I’m fwiends with Rio. Ish been half a year shince you came here. Thish can’t be right...”
At a loss for how to deal with a drunk Orphia, Rio looked to Dominic and Dryas for help. But the two of them had disappeared from where they were drinking mere moments ago, standing far in the distance and laughing at Rio instead.
They abandoned me! — Ah, it’s Sara! Just as despair overcame Rio, he noticed Sara coming his way and heaved a sigh of relief.
“Good grief! Orphia, you’re causing trouble for Rio!” Sara said, holding her glass with both hands as she sat down and glued herself to Rio’s hip.
Judging by her appearance, Sara still seemed to be clear-headed and sober, but Rio could feel that something was terribly wrong. In all the time they had spent living together, he knew that Orphia and Sara weren’t the type to touch him so proactively.
“Erm... Are you drunk too, Sara? Haha...” Rio asked, looking into Sara’s eyes.
“Y-Yes. Umm, I may be a little drunk.” Perhaps she really was, as her cheeks reddened when she nodded. Her eyes darted about the place, and her tail also twitched restlessly. She pressed herself even closer.
“Right... Shall I cast a sobering spirit art on you?” Feeling his body being squished in from both sides made Rio pull himself together and ask.
“N-No! I’d get even more embarrassed if you did that!” Sara shook her head in a fluster.
“Thash right. Lishen to Shara,” Orphia spoke up in agreement.
Even more embarrassed... That implied she was feeling a certain level of embarrassment at the moment. And yet, she still chose to stick to him this closely. Rio calmly tried to discern what the reason for that could be.
However, the girls clinging on each side of him made it very difficult to think.
How did it end up like this? Rio lamented to himself.
Both Sara and Orphia were both of such high status, they could be considered the village’s princesses... and they were extremely beautiful as well. Rio couldn’t stand being in this situation, but it was the type of circumstance where it wouldn’t be strange if all the men around him glared daggers in his direction.
Then, as though to deal the finishing blow: “Hmph! Orphia, Sara, that’s unfair!” Latifa suddenly hugged Rio from behind him.
“Are you drunk too, Latifa...?” Rio dropped his head in resignation.
Her face was as close to him as possible, and he could smell the faint scent of sweet S
oul Sake from her mouth. Far in the distance, Rio could see Ursula cackling happily with Dryas and Dominic. He immediately concluded that this was their dirty work.
At that very moment, one more figure appeared and called out to Rio. It was Alma.
“Good evening, Rio. May I join you too?”
“Yes, of course.” Rio nodded in delight. Alma’s eyes still had a modicum of reason within them.
“Honestly, just because Soul Sake tastes good doesn’t mean you can drink as much as you like,” Alma said with amused exasperation as she moved to sit facing Rio. They were less than an arm’s length away from each other, but it was the perfect distance to be able to converse without yelling over the noisy banquet happening around them.
“Looks like you’re not drunk yet, Alma.”
“Dwarves have a high alcohol tolerance.” Alma smiled faintly at Rio’s relieved face.
“Alma shooo cuuute!” Orphia, sensing the faint change of expression in Alma’s face, suddenly hugged her.
“Wah! That tickles, Orphia!” Despite her embarrassment, Alma didn’t resist.
Sara giggled. “Alma used to be such a crybaby, always following me and Orphia around. She was so cute... But now she’s become a boring, mature adult. Can you believe she used to call us Sis?” She said, revealing old stories of Alma to Rio. Rio and Latifa looked at Alma in surprise.
“W-Wah! Sara! What are you saying?! You’re too drunk!” Alma tried to stop Sara in a panic, but it was too late.
“I want to hear more about Alma when she was little! Right, Onii-chan?” Latifa laughed in excitement, turning to Rio.
“Right,” Rio agreed teasingly.
“N-Not you too, Rio... D-Don’t you think we should be using this time to deepen our friendship instead?!” Alma yelled, face blushing a deep red.
“Thash right! I wanna be better fwends wif Rio! But Rioooo keepsh trying to maintain hish dishtance!” Orphia latched onto the topic Alma brought up, emphasizing her earlier statement.
“W-With me...? But I’m already living with you...” It took a beat before Rio could find a response, but he couldn’t quite deny the distance he had been trying to keep. They may have been living under the same roof, but Rio had definitely spent the whole time keeping his walls up while interacting with them.
Blessing of the Spirits Page 18