Chapter 204: Autumn Harvest Festival (1)

༺ Autumn Harvest Festival (1) ༻

It was late November.

At last, the Autumn Harvest Festival began.

It was the biggest festival of the year that went on from Monday till Sunday.

The grand opening of the festival began with the entrance of visitors from the city and those from nearby villages.

Only during this time of the year would the tightly sealed gates of the Academy crack open. Both the "Festival", which was between Academies, and the Harvest Festival were opportunities to meet the young heroes of the generation and citizens were eager to meet them anytime.

"Ren, is the delivery here yet?"

"Not yet, Boss. What about charcoal?"

"It's all done. Ron! Open up the store!"

"Got it, Bro!"

From early morning, Korin and the wolf siblings were busy preparing the store. The Food Sales Contest went on for 6 days out of the 7 days of the Festival, and because of the sheer number of applicants, each store was only given 2 days to sell.

Every store would then be assessed at the end of the 6-day period, with the top three being named based on their revenue and profit margin.

"But are you sure we can win? There are so many contestants. Are you sure we have a chance to win?"

"Don't worry about that."

Korin answered Ren's doubt while picking up a piece of charcoal with a pair of tongs.

"What does it mean to have a lot of contestants? It means it's a red ocean, and all the competitors are pretty much the same."

"That's what I mean. So there's no reason why people would come to your specific store..."

"Huhuhuhu... Just prepare the food. I will show you what magic really is."

For some reason, Korin seemed extremely confident. Although Ren and Ron were helping out as assistants, they still found it difficult to understand his confidence.

Korin's store was located at the center of the main streets of the Academy. It wasn't a bad location but there were tens of competitors nearby.

How was he planning to differentiate himself from the competitors and make sales?

That was when a group of people approached from a distance while pushing a carriage across. Korin gave them a big wave.

"We're here. Brother Bae!"

"Aigo, Sir Korin! I hope you've been well!"

The eastern man hurried himself after finding Korin. He was Mr. Brite Bae, who ran a business in Merkarva City.

"What do you mean, 'Sir'? Just call me brother. We're brothers, aren't we?"

"Haha, if I may. Brother Korin. This is what you've ordered."

"Ohh~. Let me take a look."

Inside the carriage led by Brite's workers, was a large fish tank with a bunch of eels.

"Haha. Look at these folks! Look at them thrash around! You got us some high-quality eels, I can see that!"

"They were hard to find so we barely filled up the number you requested. There are a little more than 300 in total. Are you sure you can sell all of it?"

"I'm sure I can."

Ren looked at the price tag. Half an eel with chives salad was going for 2 silver coins each. It certainly wasn't a cheap price.

Are these really going to sell well at a festival full of kids?

Surprisingly, her doubts were answered before long.

"Korin-dongsaeng! I'm here."

"Ohh! So this is the thing that's good for men?"

"Dongsaeng~ I'm here~. Oh wow. Look at how minimalistic the store is. It looks so cute~."

People were gathering one by one.

The numbers grew in the blink of an eye.

"...Haa?"

"Who are... these people?"

"Guys. Do you know what's most important in an Academy festival?"

"Is it... price?"

"No. Everyone's willing to spend a little bit more during a festival. In a festival like this, customers are bound to visit the people they know first."

Korin Lork.

He was the most famous person in the Kingdom right now.

On top of that, he was the guardian who dealt with all the annoying missions on the Mission Board to meet the needs of the citizens of the city.

Added on top of that were the rumors he spread while teaching the people how to exercise for the past three weeks. All of them combined were enough to increase his revenue in a flash sale like this.

"...It tastes pretty normal though."

"Huhahaha! No one goes around expecting the best food at a festival! What's important is that they get to meet me!"

"Uhmm... I feel bad for the other people now."

The people visiting their store weren't limited to the hikers or the middle-aged men and women who worked out at the mountain.

"Uncle Knight~. Hellooo!"

"Ms. Anna. It's been a while! Is Navi still making trouble for you?"

"Yo. I did hear you were doing Sales. Is this it? Can I get one of these chicken breast salads?"

"Yo, Mielle. You're selling cakes too, right? I'll definitely drop by."

"Grilled eels? It smells... nice."

"Professor Deina. You can get them for half-price, so stop having salad all day and grab some."

"I, is that okay?"

.........

......

...

The sales were going very well.

Way too well, even.

"Wahh..."

There was no shortage of customers, and the lunch boxes of pre-prepared eels were already sold out. Therefore, they had to move their hands rapidly to grill the new eels.

"We... really sold all of it."

"How was that - it went pretty well, right?"

"Absolutely... I think we will easily take 1st place."

Ren was shocked. Only now did she realize that his confidence hadn't been groundless.

"Nothing new anyway," he murmured.

"Have you done something similar before?"

"In the past, yeah."

Korin remembered selling a similar amount in the past. To be exact, he was helping a female senior sell grilled skewers when his friends came by until they were all sold out.

They weren't even that good.

He only agreed to do it because it would serve to be a good memory but he never expected it to go as well as it did.

"By the way, these eels were selling very well... Is there a reason why?"

"I spread rumors that eels were good for men."

"Nn? Only for men?" Ren asked back.

She wasn't able to see through the connotation behind his sentence. The environment she grew up in never educated her on such aspects.

"Don't worry about it."

"Is it true?"

"Actually, it's not."

"Ehkk?"

She looked appalled, seemingly asking, "You lied?" with her face.

"Actually, chives are good for men but not the eels."

"Uhh... then why don't you just sell the chives? Instead of the eels?"

"Chives are too cheap, and there's no margin in that. Besides, who would eat chive salad at a festival? Eels work better in both ways."

"Haa..."

Ren was both dumbfounded and awed by his sales strategy. She wondered that maybe he might be a good salesperson, if not for his personality.

In any case, his store ended up a success with an overwhelming revenue.

***

Although the city was enveloped in a festival mood, there were still people who maintained their usual routine.

Alicia was one of such people - at least she was this year. She normally wouldn't be like that, but... she was recently being pushed by a sense of urgency.

The Round of 32 she had this morning was easy. She was against someone who barely reached the top 32 by surviving the qualifiers.

However, the Round of 16 after that wasn't so easy. She achieved a narrow victory against Dorron Warsky of the Flying Swords.

"Ayayah..."

In one of the private training rooms, Alicia unwrapped the bandages around her shoulder when her wounds started to ache after swinging the sword a few times.

Next up would be...

The quarter-finals and the semi-finals... And if she were to reach the grand final, it was highly likely that she would face off against the Saintess.

Saintess Estelle.

Based on the overwhelming might she displayed at the qualifiers, it was evident that she would be a tough opponent to defeat.

It'll be hard I suppose.

Unbeatable - that was the objective conclusion she reached, and Alicia could tell simply based on her eyes that Estelle was on the level of her sister. She was a superhuman that should have the title "Unique" attached to their name. They were humans who had exceeded the realms of common sense.

She would probably lose; perhaps it might even be a humiliating defeat. Alicia might be flung off the arena by her punch that half-destroyed the ground last time...

But Mr. Korin asked me for a favor. I was the one he relied on.

That was why she had to be the one to win. She wanted to do it herself and didn't want that opportunity to be taken away by anyone else.

Besides, it was obvious that the only reason Estelle entered the Tournament was to snatch that away from her.

"No... Never. I can't have that happen."

Alicia wasn't a greedy person by nature, but it wasn't to the point where she would back down before a love rival.

***

A 3rd year student of Merkarva Academy, Isabelle Kirmin, was not very fond of the event called the Auction Contest.

The Auction Contest was basically like a chance to go on a meal date with an idol.

If the student that put themselves on auction got bought, they would become a knight for that person for that day and spend the whole day with them.

It was a contest that aimed to fulfill the chivalrous admiration people had of knights, and it was indeed quite popular.

However, most of the people who attended the event were in one way innocent but also immoral... and most of them had implicit intentions.

"Senior Buck is on auction today!"

"Kyaaah~! I'm going to bid on him!"

"You remember Jane from 1st year? She's in the auction."

"Wow, for real? Can we have a date with her if we have the highest bid?"

"Alrighty... where's my wallet..."

The voices echoing around her were from people who were ambitiously aiming for someone.

If the person they wanted to date was on auction, they would spend a lot of money to bid on them.

People tend to become irrational with anything related to love and relationships. Isabelle's friend was a prime example of that.

『 Isabelle! Please! 』

She still couldn't understand her best friend, Marie, even though she was here to fulfill her wish.

『 You want me to bid on Korin in the Auction Contest? Why don't you go yourself? 』

『 Korin told me not to come! But I can't have other girls snatching him away from me! Isabelle! You have to bid on him for me! 』

『 Seriously? Do you really have to? 』

『 We're... friends, right? 』

"Haa..."

Due to being warned heavily by Korin, who was cautious about Marie wasting her money, Isabelle had to do it for her as a friend.

"Can't be helped."

She had already gotten a lot of money from Marie and, therefore, didn't see the potential chance of any problems popping up.

Most of them are students who barely earn four to five gold coins. They probably can't spend more than ten gold coins.

Of course, there were some diligent people like Korin Lork, who earned a consistent income by consistently completing missions from the Mission Board or those from a wealthy household.

However, the former wouldn't involve themselves in a contest like this, and Marie was the epitome of the latter group so Isabelle didn't see any chance of failure.

'Even when considering Korin's fame and popularity, 50 gold coins should be the highest.'

"This way please, sir. We have the VIP seat ready."

"Kuhum...!"

"When was that freaking guy coming out?"

"Pretty sure he's last."

She thought it was just a small auction for those with a pink brain, but there were more people present than she expected.

The Auction Contest, happening at the small auditorium, was soon filled with people as the auction kicked off.

- Hello, our dear guests.

A 4th year student welcomed the guests as the host of the auction.

- We would like to thank everyone for visiting our Merkarva Academy today—

People applauded when he was done with his greeting. It might be because he wasn't a professional host, but there wasn't much flattery in his words and the show moved on fast.

One by one, people were auctioned off until one of them reached the highest price to date.

- With that, 3rd-year Ms. Junior Luna from the Knight Department has been auctioned at 13 gold coins!

Isabelle, who had been watching the auction unfold, frowned at the price. Why would anyone spend so much money for a single day?

If not for the fact that the money spent in the auction would be used to save the poor, there would have been many talks about the Auction Contest already.

"Ms. Senior L, Luna! C, could you please spend the day with me today?"

"What, Junior Jun? That was a bit unexpected."

The person who bid on the 3rd year senior was a young freshman junior.

Hoh, so was this how some people started their relationships? Isabelle felt like she could somewhat understand why Marie was so cautious about it.

- Next up on the auction is the rising celebrity! The one who stopped an entire army by himself! A hero who saved thousands of people! The pride of our Academy, who would definitely become a Unique-Grade knight in the future! Korin Lork-hoobae-nim!!!

The 4th grade host sounded extremely energetic and proud to announce him. Following the announcement was Korin Lork walking onto the stage.

- The pride of our Knight Department! A genius who was already fighting on equal grounds with the famous Sword Master, Lunia Arden! Champion of the Sun, Korin Lork! What were his other titles again?

- Booooooooo...!

- A player playing with the hearts of women!

- Die! Go dieeeee...!

The envious boys reacted with boos and cries of disapproval but the girls had a contrasting opinion.

- Korin's here too? Should I bid on him?

- The competition's going to be rough though.

- A player, huh...? Not wrong.

- But he's not doing that with evil intentions. Korin's nice. I can vouch for that.

- That's true too.

Unlike the guys who were flooding out with negativity, the girls were showing a fairly positive reception towards him.

They were true though - Korin was indeed a nice person.

He didn't turn away from people who were in trouble; he was considerate and most importantly, he didn't have any ulterior motives.

He approached everyone with pure goodwill and a great amount of friendliness, and anyone was bound to be positively receptive towards him. Although the boys were booing like that, none of them really hated him from the bottom of their hearts either.

- Do you want to bid on him together? There's no rule saying we can't share the date, right?

- That won't be bad. Korin's fun to just speak to.

- It's for a good cause anyway, so let's grab a few more people and bid together.

This will be rough.

Korin was a celebrity. Luna, the well-renowned beauty among 3rd year students, was 13 gold coins, so it was obvious that the price tag would skyrocket for Korin.

Someone from the audience decided to group up after seeing through exactly that.

Even though Isabelle had received a blank cheque from Marie, that didn't mean she wanted to see her friend waste an astronomical amount of money to bid for a guy.

- Well then! Let's start off by introducing Mr. Junior Korin Lork!

- Mr. Junior Korin entered the Academy as a Grade 5 but proved his overwhelming talent by reaching Grade 1 in the mere span of a single semester. His fight against Sword Master Lunia back then demonstrated to everyone what it meant by heaven above heavens.

- Last year, during the legendary breakout of the Unique Grade demonic beast, King of Iron Mountain, he played a crucial role in defeating it.

- And led our Academy to victory during the group phase of the Festival against the Purple Hawk Academy! The legends of Immortan Lork still go around today.

- This year, he caught countless heinous criminals and became a Grade 1 Justice of the Peace! And we can't miss out on the famous Dana Shee incident either.

- To unravel the knots of misunderstanding tied due to a small group of extremist werewolves, he stood in front of an army of 30,000 soldiers all by himself. He truly was the Champion of the Sun!

- The recordings of his victory against the strongest knights and mages of contemporary times and the final legendary duel that changed the map are still being sold at a high premium. The highest official price was 5 white gold coins if I recall correctly!

The unending records of his legends made the audience drop their chins in dismay. Few of them were unaware of all of that, but even they were reminded of how otherworldly this person was as they listened to the host list all of them down.

A knight in their 2nd year at the Academy was writing down epic tales that were not only legendary but also worthy of leading an entire generation.

Everyone present instinctively realized the same truth.

Like how it was the Spear Saint's generation 80 years ago,

And just like how the Sword Emperor led his generation 40 years ago,

This was the start of Korin Lork's generation.

- Well then, Mr. Junior Korin. What is your hobby?

- Don't bother with the 'Mr. Junior' title. Just call me brother. Brother Rondon.

- Huhahahah! Shall I then? Can you talk about your hobbies?

- Hobbies, huh? I have a few of them but... I'm not allowed to say 'training', am I?

- Hahaha. Please don't hold yourself back.

- Recently, I've gotten into cooking. As you all know already, there is no shortage of potatoes in our Academy, right? I'm learning how to cook potato dishes so that we can consume some of those potatoes.

- Hahaha! That's right. The potato warehouses we have in our Academy are definitely quite famous. If only Ms. Junior Marie was here to join us today!

The host went on with a free-style and unplanned conversation, but Korin answered all of them with ease and even included his own speeches.

- You know Senior Elza from the 3rd year, right? She's making clothes and she said she'll display them on the second floor of Liberty Hall B. You should definitely try that out.

- One of my peers, Mielle, is selling desserts starting tomorrow, and I recommend them a lot. They're amazing.

- My friend Lark will be hosting a showcase of lifestyle grimoires. Anyone that plans on going to the Magic Exhibition should keep that in mind.

Instead of appealing about himself, he introduced his friends and gave recommendations in an interesting manner. He was already famous for being nice, but it must be that consideration he showed every time that he was so popular among his peers.

- Let's start the auction then. What is the price that you are wishing for, Brother Korin?

- Can I be honest?

- Go ahead!

- I'm the last in line, and the highest bid so far was Ms. Senior Luna in the 3rd-year. Nothing more, nothing less. 14 gold coins. That much would be enough.

- Hoh~. I can see your confidence seeping through!

That was when Isabelle noticed Korin glancing off into a specific part of the audience when saying the estimated price. Turning there, she found a young girl with her golden hair shining brightly in the dark auditorium.

Hoh~. Trying to bid for himself, huh?

It seemed that he had a plan for it already. He was attending more than just a few contests, and it seemed that he really was keen on acquiring five golden ribbons.

- Then let us begin with the Auction! Since we are talking about Brother Korin, the lowest bid will begin from 3 gold coins!

"3.1 gold!"

"3.4!"

It started off slow with silver coins but before long, the number rapidly started to increase in gold coins.

"Five coins!"

"Six coins!"

"Nine coins!"

The price reached 14 gold coins in the blink of an eye. As expected, the union of girls was what was driving the price up at a rapid rate.

"Nn?"

That was when Isabelle realized that there was a group of boys that was trying to bid on Korin.

The group consisted of Jaeger... and other boys in Korin's grade. Isabelle was dumbfounded when she spotted the gazes of jealousy in their eyes.

- We ain't gonna sit around watching Korin, that bastard, have a meal with more girls!

- Huhehehe...! You'll be stuck with us, Korin!

- We won't let you steal more girls!

Ahh... what kind of filthy jealousy is this?

Isabelle couldn't believe the level of jealousy they must have had to come up with such a strategy.

It's not like girls would take interest in you even if you do that...

She wanted to lose to them, but Isabelle was also cheering for the successful romance of her friend, so she raised her hand.

"Twenty coins."

- Ohh! Twenty gold coins. We have reached twenty!

Isabelle's sudden bid invited the eyes of a few curious people, and one of them was Ren, the golden-haired wolf girl.

- Hmm?

When Korin found Isabelle, he sighed after looking into her eyes.

I know what you mean, she thought to herself. But she had no other choice either.

"Twenty-one gold coins!"

"Twenty-two!"

The union of boys and girls shot their hands up to not lose. Some of the audience thought it was being too heated up but theoretically speaking, the 2nd place was 13 gold coins and double that wasn't even that much considering Korin's value.

"Fifty gold coins," Isabelle said to fling all the flies away to the shock of those listening.

Wasting fifty gold coins for a single date?

That price tag was enough to astonish even Korin Lork himself.

- Wait, Senior Isabelle. I know what's happening but... isn't this too much?

Just accept your fate and go on a date with Marie.

There weren't any more contestants now that the price reached fifty gold coins. It was an unimaginable price for the Auction Contest but was far from reaching Marie's monthly allowance. In fact, it was less than her day's worth of allowance.

It felt like the winner was about to be decided but—

It was then.

"One white gold coin."

Another crazy person joined the fray.