Chapter 32 : Harvest Festival (2)

We began enjoying the Harvest Festival in full, immediately drawing considerable attention the moment we arrived.

Thanks to the fat wad of cash Aquila generously handed over—before we even set foot in the Resta Empire—we didn’t have to worry about funds at all. This must be the famed generosity of dragons…?

Thank you, wallet! No—thank you, Aquila!

Dante, who clutched his own coin like a miser but spent others’ money like water, made it his mission to exhaust every coin Aquila gave him. With zero hesitation, he flung his purse open at every stand and stall along the festival streets.

Well, most of it was blown on snacks—but hey, food is the real investment.

He tried freshly baked bread slathered in peanut butter, sweet and tangy fruit shaved ice topped with syrup, fish and shrimp freshly fried in oil—he sampled it all without pause.

Among the group, Yeonhwa especially liked dishes made with tofu pouches.

Sushi, Noodles with fried tofu—you name it.

He’d heard the rumor that foxes were fond of tofu skins, but he never thought it might actually be true.

Guess I’ll have to make it for her often when we return to the Leprechaun Empire.

The festival streets were packed with stalls selling fresh harvest goods, as expected. But there were also plenty of other trinkets on sale—floral and fruit accessories perfect for decoration, charms wishing for abundance, hair ties braided from wheat stalks…

But with the crowd came the hassle of moving through it.

It wasn’t packed to the point of total standstill, but it was still a chore—shoulders bumped, feet tangled, children darted out of nowhere in clusters, and everyone had to stay alert.

Well, everyone except Yeonhwa, who towered taller than most grown men.

She deftly shielded Dante from the bustling crowd.

With a firm grip on his hand, she kept his body close to hers, standing protectively between him and any large beastkin or adventurers passing by. She even wrapped her tail around his waist to steady him, making sure he didn’t trip or fall.

Such thoughtful consideration. It naturally drew comparison to a certain black-haired someone.

So…

So these tears trickling down my face right now?

They’re not tears!

I’m not some emotionally fragile demon!

And it’s definitely not because I saw Yeonhwa protecting me and felt my inferiority complex getting triggered,

───Absolutely not!

Step. Step.

A large group of beastkin passed by, and Yeonhwa instinctively yanked Dante close to her once again.

A delicate wrist tugged him by the shoulder—his frail demon body dragged powerlessly along.

“…Snff!” “?”

Dante stifled his sobs, covering his mouth with both hands.

***

At the same time, in the Elros Mountains—

“…”

Tap tap tap tap tap.

Olivia furiously tapped her fingers on the desk, gritting her teeth.

This was her usual nervous tic—one that surfaced whenever she felt a wave of anxiety rise up.

It had been about an hour since Dante departed for the Resta Empire, and now Olivia found herself facing the greatest crossroads of her dragon life.

To go, or not to go.

To go… or not to go… that was the question.

“Urgh…! F*ck!!”

BAM!

Overwhelmed by an extreme case of decision paralysis, she slammed her head down on the desk.

The poor desk, unable to withstand the headbutt of a black dragon, let out a dramatic crack as it split cleanly in two. But Olivia wasn’t the kind of weakling to be fazed by the mere destruction of a piece of furniture.

Even if that desk had been crafted from Zarkon, one of the strongest ores in the world—its durability said to withstand even a dragon’s wrath—Olivia couldn’t care less.

She had never been the type to suffer from what the world called “indecisiveness,” a plight that afflicted every intelligent creature at least dozens of times a day.

Her life philosophy had always been simple: do what you want, take what you desire.

If something caught her eye, she took it. If something annoyed her, she erased it.

Only for her benefit, and no one else’s.

She didn’t give two sh*ts about “considering others.” Her only concern was choosing the path that maximized her own benefit and happiness.

Sometimes that meant choosing both options.

But there was one exception in the entire world.

When it came to Dante, Olivia had no choice but to clutch her head in frustration.

Because even Olivia—who had never once cared about others’ feelings—couldn’t ignore one simple truth:

───No one likes being hated by the one they love.

And no one, ever, wants to see the one they care about suffer.

That was a universal feeling, whether you were human, dragon, or anything else.

Olivia didn’t want Dante to get hurt.

More precisely, she didn’t want Dante to get hurt by anyone else but her.

Whether it was physical or emotional.

Even if it was self-inflicted harm.

They say slaves start to resemble their masters—Dante had become just as reckless and headstrong as she was. And Olivia knew better than anyone: if he said he’d do something, he’d follow through.

If he said he’d bite his tongue and die, he just might.

Sure, she could heal him or stop him in time, but even if she did—

That wouldn’t change the fact that he was hurt.

Even if she prevented it, how could she relax, knowing he might try again at any moment?

In short, Dante was a walking time bomb.

That’s why Olivia had no choice but to think things through carefully.

Should she risk being hated and follow him to the Resta Empire anyway?

Or wait here quietly, twiddling her thumbs until he returned?

“Ugh. I don’t like either of those…”

She chewed her thumbnail, crimson eyes trembling.

Then, in that moment—

“…Wait a sec.”

A spark of light danced through her mind.

‘If you follow me or try to spy on me, I’ll bite my tongue and die on the spot—so you’d better behave.’

That’s what he had said.

But… did her reason for going to the Empire have to be about following or spying?

“Eureka!”

I’m a f*cking genius!!

With a victorious clap, she jumped up from her seat.

CRUNCH! Dante’s precious Zarkon chair snapped in half.

But Olivia didn’t care.

She just laughed like a madwoman and dashed out of her lair.

It was time once again for the mighty dragon’s patented bullsh*t logic.

This, dear readers, is why self-justification is one of the most terrifying forces in the world.

***

“Ah-choo!!”
“You there, you’ve been sneezing nonstop. Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah. I-I’m okay. Sss…”

Wiping his nose with the tissue handed to him, Dante felt a strange sense of unease crawl up his back.

…Nah, it’s probably nothing. I’m just being paranoid.

Shaking his head to dispel the odd sensation, he shoved the rest of the skewer into his mouth.

“…Ah.”

But maybe he got a little too greedy. The sticky sauce clinging to the wooden skewer dripped onto the back of his hand with a wet splat. A tissue alone wasn’t enough to get rid of the lingering stickiness.

“Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where the restroom is?”
“Just go down that alley over there, it’s on the left.”
“Thank you.”

After asking the street vendor selling the skewers, Dante excused himself from Yeonhwa and pushed aside the old tarp covering the stall.

Walking down the narrow alley the vendor had pointed out, he soon came upon a dead end. Just as the vendor had said, there was a door on the left that looked like it led to a restroom.

There’s a bathroom in a place like this? Hope it’s clean.

With that idle thought, Dante reached for the doorknob—

Clatter!!
“!?”

To his right, toward the wall blocking the end of the alley, a loud, inexplicable noise rang out.

Startled, Dante instinctively stepped back and slowly turned his head toward the sound.

A filthy trash bin that had been shoved into the corner was now lying flat on the ground.

What the hell.

What the hell is this? Is this turning into a horror story now?

Why did that fall over all of a sudden!?

His golden eyes shrank like a startled rabbit’s.

He wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, but curiosity outweighed fear for the moment.

Clatter!
“!”

Something fairly large started crawling out from inside the overturned trash bin.

As the clouds drifted away and sunlight poured into the dark alley, the shadowy figure’s features finally came into view.

“That’s…”

His mouth hung open.

Bright yellow fur covering its entire body.
Irregular black stripes scattered across it.
A ringed tail.
Chubby paws, a plump belly, and a tiny white spot on its ear.

It limped out of the bin, emerald eyes blinking slowly—

It was unmistakably a ti───

…Wait. Did I just… hear that right?

No, no. Whatever. The thing’s obviously a ti───

“Me.ow. Me.ow.”
“…Huh…”

What kind of janky cat sound was that?

Regardless of Dante’s scrunched-up expression, the cat(?) let out a proud and unwavering cry.

“Me.ow.”
“…Hello, pretty tige───”
“Hissss!“
“──cat?”
“Meow.”
“What the f*ck…”

He covered his face with both hands.

Mom, I think I’m losing it.

That tiger cub just meowed.

Still sniffling and blinking in disbelief, Dante watched as the cat(?) calmly walked over and rubbed its head against his ankle.

“Purr… purrr…”

This time, it sounded exactly like a real cat.

Finally snapping out of his daze, Dante came to a conclusion.

Yeah. It’s a cat. A yellow, striped, very pretty cat.

“Alrighty.”

Crouching down, he gently patted the top of its head.

The cat started licking the hand that still had some sauce on it.

“Aha, that tickles, kitty~”
“Me.ow.”

Smiling faintly, he then noticed the cat’s hind leg was swollen and red.

He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.

“Hold still for a sec, kitty.”

Ripping the cloth into strips, he carefully wrapped it around the cat’s leg like a makeshift bandage.

“There we go. Take care of yourself, okay? I’ve got to go.”

With no time to waste, Dante quickly left the alley.

The cat(?), staring blankly at his retreating back, suddenly vanished the moment he turned the corner.

───As if it had never been there to begin with.

***

“……Um, Lady Yeonhwa.”

“Yes, Dante?”

“It’s just… there was a tiger that was meowing and… No, never mind.”

“Hmm? What a silly boy.”

4:00 PM.
A quiet park, a little away from the city center.

Dante and Yeonhwa were sitting side by side on a bench, taking a break.

Having wandered aimlessly around the vast city, unable to contain his curiosity, Dante had completely exhausted himself.
On the other hand, Yeonhwa, unfazed by the sweltering weather, hadn’t broken a sweat and gently patted his back in comfort.

“My dear, if you’re tired, don’t push yourself. Perhaps it’s best we return home now…”

Dante gave a small, wry smile and shook his head.

“Thank you for your concern. But… there are still a few things I want to see.”

“Mmm, I suppose it can’t be helped then. I’ll go get something for us to drink. Wait here.”

“Alright… Sorry to trouble you.”

“Mmh.”

Yeonhwa turned and began walking back toward the city streets.

When people spoke of the “main event” of the Resta Empire’s Harvest Festival,
they were most likely referring to the Wyvern Race, held at 7 PM on both the first and last days of the festival.

As the name implied, the Wyvern Race was a high-speed competition where trained riders raced on their wyverns to see who reached the finish line the fastest.

Though wyverns were technically magical beasts that resembled dragons, they possessed high intelligence.
If raised with care from a young age, they could become loyal and obedient, like well-trained dogs.
Because of this, most renowned empires ran their own Academies for Dragon Riders,
with the prestige and quality of the institution depending on the empire’s size and reputation.

Naturally, the Resta Empire had its own Dragon Rider Academy.
And today’s Wyvern Race featured riders from that very academy.

…Huh? You’re wondering why someone who lives next to a real dragon would care about a race like this?

Well, obviously, that’s because───

“…Ugh.”

A sharp, stinging scent suddenly hit his nose, making Dante scrunch his face in discomfort.

Seriously? His head was already pounding. Which brain-dead idiot was smoking in a public space with a no-smoking sign clearly posted?

“──What’s wrong with you? You sick or something?”

“It’s just… my head feels a bit fuzzy and— Huh?”

Wait.
Wait a minute.

Who… did I just respond to?

His face instantly turned pale.

No way.
There’s no way.

She wouldn’t be here.
She shouldn’t be here.
She can’t be here.

And yet—

With narrow, crimson eyes, the black-haired woman looked straight at Dante, a cigarette between her lips.

No… not just a woman.
Olivia.

Before he could speak, she curled her lips into a familiar smirk and cut him off.

“I told you before, didn’t I—”

“Wow~ What a ‘coincidence,’ Dante.”

She casually pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her coat, marked with the crest of the Resta Empire.

No, she hadn’t followed him.
She was just a consumer out shopping.
This was just one of those things that happened in life.

It was pure coincidence.
She hadn’t broken any promises.

“I just came to buy smokes and co-in-ci-dent-ally bumped into you in this giant empire!”

I mean, what are the odds, right?!

***

+Bonus