It was the afternoon on the second day of the New Year’s Festival.
Tatsumi and Calcedonia headed together to the Royal Palace’s battlefield.
Today, the preliminary contest for the jousting tournament was being held here. Right now, in front of Tatsumi and Calcedonia’s gaze, knights clashed with intense energy on their mounts, dressed in resplendent armor and equipped with their lances.
In the jousting match, knights riding their mounts had to literally hit each other head-on; they had to cross over at high speeds and stab their opponent with their lances, and if they managed to dismount their opponent, then they would win.
There used to be similar sports on Earth as well, but they naturally were a bit different.
The biggest difference was that the mounts being straddled by the knights were not horses.
What the knights of this country were using as their mounts was a kind of bird, twice the size of an ostrich, with degenerated wings.
Compared to an ostrich, this bird had an overall rounder silhouette and was called by the name of Parrow in this country.
And.
…… Why is the entire coloring like that of a sparrow……
Tatsumi who saw this parrow for the first time muttered.
The parrow’s feathers were white and yellow with black color in some places reminding Tatsumi of a sparrow.
However, it gave off a more domineering impression than a sparrow.
The parrow excelled at speed and endurance, but it’s hauling ability was inferior.
For that reason. In the Kingdom of Largofiely, horse-drawn carriages didn’t exist, and instead, there were bird-drawn carriages and boar-drawn carriages.
The animal used to pull the boar-drawn carriages was called an Orc, and it literally resembled a Japanese boar.
Speaking of orcs, in Japan, the term was commonly used to refer to pig like human monsters who appeared in many fantasy novels, but in this world orc was apparently used to refer to these boar like animals.
In the kingdom of Largofiely wild cows or horses were not really used as livestock. Instead, parrows or orcs were actively used as livestock in various fields.
In particular, orcs that resembled a wild boar were seemingly strong and severe, but they had a gentle personality and often got easily attached to people, which is why the previous generations had chosen to domesticate them over wild cows or horses.
By the way, it seemed like higher ranking nobles had a tendency to prefer bird-drawn carriages rather than boar-drawn ones. In Tatsumi’s opinion, the bird-drawn carriages of this country can be said to be similar to foreign luxury cars.
There was a high pitched sound of metal hitting metal as one of the knights fell off his gaudily decorated parrow.
The knight who had fallen down slammed his fist on the ground in disappointment. On the contrary, the knight who had won by throwing off his opponent from his parrow, took off his helmet and, with his face exposed, waved at the audience, flaunting his victory.
When the victorious knight made to leave the field proudly, he passed closely by Tatsumi who was sitting in the front of the stands.
Huh…? That knight is…
That knight was familiar to Tatsumi. On top of that, the first time he met him was none other than this field.
Apparently, the knight also seemed to notice Tatsumi; he turned and brought his parrow towards the stands with a smiling face.
Oh, Tatsumi! Did you come to watch the match?
Gyle, you’ve won! Congratulations!
He – Gyle Eutorillos – was a knight who had been hostile to Tatsumi during the accident in this field. However, they had reconciled after that and were now good friends.
I was able to proceed to tomorrow’s battle without a hitch. If possible, please come watch me tomorrow as well.
Ah, tomorrow, huh… tomorrow is that…
Tatsumi mumbled while throwing glances at Calcedonia who was at his side. Gyle regarded him curiously while tilting his head.
Ah, tomorrow I have to do some tasks for the Church… I, I also wanted to see the jousting finals but…
I see, if it’s a duty for the Church then I guess it can’t be helped. But, I will definitely win the tournament tomorrow! At that time, will you treat me to a cup of wine?
Gyle guessed something from Tatsumi’s manner and left the field while cheerfully laughing and waving his hand.
Tatsumi watched until Gyle’s back disappeared then turned his gaze back to the field.
However, his attention was fixed on his beloved woman who was sitting next to him.
The fresh new year breeze – in this country spring was called
the Time of the Sea
– gently swayed Calcedonia’s silver hair.
Just by that, light danced around her giving her a surreal look.
The bright sunlight illuminated her beauty; Tatsumi wasn’t the only one who felt more dazzled than usual.
As proof, almost all of the young men sitting around them, rather than watching the jousting match, were instead mesmerized by Calcedonia.
And, the most eloquent were the pair of eyes as red as rubies. Because of the fresh spring light, those two jewels were shining more brightly than real rubies.
Being together with such a woman must be both proud and embarrassing. While Tatsumi was thinking about these things, his eyes suddenly met Calcedonia’s.
Apparently, she seemed to have noticed Tatsumi looking at her.
Is something the matter?
N-No, i-it’s nothing.
With his face flushing red, Tatsumi hurriedly turned his gaze to the match.
However, in reality, his head was not in the jousting match. His heart was preoccupied by tomorrow’s performance that Giuseppe had mentioned before.
When he thought about tomorrow’s event his stomach felt like a hole had opened up in it. If he failed Giuseppe’s performance tomorrow then the humiliation would be unjustifiable.
Surely, if Calcedonia was his partner, then Tatsumi didn’t think he would fail. But, for some reason… his mind unintentionally jumped to the worst case scenarios.
However, along with the nervousness, there was also the part where his chest was swelling in anticipation.
While thinking about tomorrow, feeling both nervous and excited, Tatsumi let out a deep sigh.
After they finished watching the jousting match, Tatsumi and Calcedonia snuggled up together and wandered around the town that had been draped in festivity.
The two admired and handed out silver coins to the acrobats or minstrels performing at the street corner; they bought and ate food from the stalls and enjoyed it together.
The two of them aimlessly entered a shop and enjoyed some fruit wine; they went about enjoying the festival without a care.
Then when the sun set, they finally made their way back to their house.
In the Kingdom of Largofiely where there wasn’t any electricity, the sunset basically signified the end of the day.
With the exception of the red-light district, when you couldn’t get enough light it was normal to fall asleep early in the night.
However, it was different just during the festival. During the festival period fires were kept burning in the town, the hustle and bustle doesn’t die out even at night.
As expected, it’s not like the days in present age Japan, but compared to the usual it was quite lively even after the sunset.
Even after returning home, constant noise could be heard coming from the outside.
… Seeing a lively night like this…it’s been a long time.
This was the norm when he used to be in Japan.
24 hours open shops used to overflow the city, and the streetlights would light up the streets all night.
There were people walking about even at midnight, it was place that could easily be called ‘a city that never sleeps.’
That’s right. I also remember. The city I used to live in with husband… no, with master… it really was lively, even at night…
Standing besides Tatsumi who was gazing at the town from the window, Calcedonia gently rested her head on his shoulder.
Although it’s not clear, but she also remembered.
The sound of the engine of cars passing through the road at night. The electricity would make the inside of the house light up like day, with the TV turned on lively programs would broadcast even late at night. At times the siren of police car, ambulances or fire trucks would get annoying.
The two of them compared the night of the festival with Japan, and while clutching each other’s hands gazed out at the city that never sleeps.
The next morning. It was the last day of the New Years Festival.
Because the festival would end today, the city had been lively since early morning.
As usual, Tatsumi finished eating the breakfast that Calcedonia made and then left for his morning guard duty at the Church.
Ok then, I’m leaving!
Best of luck with your work. I’ll prepare the lunch so let’s eat together at the usual place in the Church.
Tatsumi waved at Calcedonia, who would remain at the house in the morning, and headed for the Church.
However, halfway through Tatsumi parted from the road leading to the Church and made his way towards the opposite direction.
Tatsumi was slowly getting farther and farther away from the Church, but his steps didn’t waver at all.
And so, the place Tatsumi arrived at was a tavern he knew really well. On the sign displayed next to the entrance were the usual words,
The Elf’s Resthouse,
written in Japanese.
Tatsumi went in with a nervous look; he found Eru behind the counter and approached her.
Ah, Tatsumi, welcome. I have been waiting for you.
The lady of the shop greeted with a smile like always. After recognizing Tatsumi, she quickly came out from the bar and returned to the shop.
She was holding some sort of package in her arms.
Here are the prepared outfits. But, as expected, there really is a clothing shop that the Patriarch of the Savaiv Church introducedー. To make it so accurately to the picture I showed.
The clothes Eru spread out while saying so, were of a design that had yet to be seen in the Kingdom of Largofiely. However, it was familiar to Tatsumi.
However, actually he too had not yet had the experience of donning this outfit.
Calsey’s dress as well, Ohariko and the others who’ve often frequented the Duke of Quartz’s household, put in all their efforts and finished it according to the picture I showed them.
Thank you Eru. You’ve really helped me out this time.
It’s fine; don’t think anything of it. Ah, I will bring the costumes to Savaiv Church, but please take just this by yourself.
While saying this, Eru took out a small box. This was also custom-made by one of Eru’s craftsmen friends.
This small box was also familiar to Tatsumi and Eru who had experience of living in Japan.
After the ceremony, I’ll have a seat prepared in this shop so please look forward to it.
Ahaha. Is that the so called after party…… Uh, somehow this is too much pressure……
Tatsumi made a glum face and clutched his stomach with one hand.
Fufufu…… speaking of this, Yasutaka… no, my husband who passed away also said the same thing on the morning of that day.
Thinking of the past, Eru smiled a bit nostalgically.
Bowing his head to Eru, Tatsumi once again left The Elf’s Resthouse and headed for the Church.
Tatsumi left the store through the front entrance. Watching his back, Eru felt gripped by a strange feeling she’d never felt before.
…… Could it be, this is how mothers feel when they send off their sons into their adulthood?
Eru muttered in a voice no one could hear.
Eru hadn’t had any children with her husband. Naturally, during the 200 years of her life, until now she had never had this kind of feelings before.
That’s why Eru.
Wanting to but never been able to become a mother, from the bottom of her heart, felt grateful to Tatsumi who, even by a little bit, had let her experience such feelings.
