Chapter 206: Autumn Harvest Festival (3)

༺ Autumn Harvest Festival (3) ༻

I could feel her feet slithering across my legs through the single layer of clothing separating us two, and I unintentionally ended up imagining her soft and bare feet.

Ignoring what was happening beneath the table, I looked straight into her eyes but she returned a provocative smile.

"..."

She seductively rested her chin on her two hands and continued fidgeting with her toes, sensing my flustered reaction which I was trying to conceal.

This girl...

"Kuhum... More importantly, how is Undry these days? I know you were chosen by Undry, but did that change anything? Can you do anything with it?"

"It is a magical cauldron, but the cauldron itself serves no value in a fight. The only thing interesting, I guess, would be that food bubbles out of the cauldron. I can even take out a living pig or a cow."

"Hoh..."

If that really was the case, wouldn't that solve all problems regarding food?

Estelle forced my thoughts to a stop by lifting the hems of my trousers and pinching the flesh underneath with her toes.

"The problem was that they all died without lasting more than an hour."

"...And why is that?"

"My best guess is that it's because there is not enough divine energy in this land after the disappearance of the gods. This world is no longer the paradise it used to be, after all."

"..."

"That is why we are so important, Dongsaeng."

She said after wrapping her hands around mine.

"We need the real faith brought back unto this land."

"What does that have to do with me...?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I mean. Dongsaeng, you are the God of the Sun, and I'm the Goddess of Earth. The moment we were chosen by Claiomh Solais and Undry which represent divinity, we became the successor gods of Nuada Airgetlam and Dagda Mor."

"..."

It was too big of a scale for me to find the words to say in response.

Danann.

The real gods that truly existed in this fantasy world. It wasn't like I didn't know what those ancient symbols of divinity were able to achieve.

In the first place, my Master, as well as Eochaid Bres and Tates Valtazar from our opposing faction, were all real gods, so I was aware of what a Danann was capable of.

The same goes for the Frost Giant and those ladies of the North.

This world used to have gods, but it was now a world where divine energy was left behind with the gods no longer in existence.

There were so many things that new gods would be able to do in these inhabited lands and the level of their influence would surely be extraordinary.

"We need more gods. We are the only ones who can save the people who have fallen to misery."

"That is... quite an arrogant mindset."

"Perhaps, but we have the power to make that happen. And we also have the responsibility so~"

Why don't we increase the number of gods?

Estelle added mischievously with a suggestive smile. Her bare foot was now even trying to crawl all the way up to my thigh.

"Fufu~. You really have very thick thighs."

"Can you stop doing something so weird?!"

"Weird? How is it weird? Can you explain it to me? Come on~"

"Eek...!"

Despite my reaction, she continued to delightfully indulge in my thighs with her bare foot.

"Oh my~. Look at you blush. I guess you are a man after all!"

"Kuhum...!"

"Stop saying no - I know you like it. Be honest. You don't hate it do you?"

"W, well. That's true but..."

It seemed that I couldn't be like those cool web novel protagonists. I didn't necessarily hate the unfathomably large number of girls who showed their affection toward me.

"Ehew... Was that why?" I muttered to myself.

"Nn? What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

It wasn't to this extent when Park Sihu was with me... What was the difference between the current and last iteration?

In any case, I found Estelle and Miru to be quite similar. They were both aggressive with their approaches and incredibly proactive. If I lost the initiative, I might be devoured like I was in the last iteration...

- Thud!

"Dongsaeng?"

When I stood up with a thud, it became immediately obvious that Estelle was slightly flustered. Reminding myself once again that I couldn't let either her or her sister get the upper hand, I pushed through with the initiative.

I picked her up into my arms before she could react.

- Kya!

Lifting the princess into a princess carry, I lowered her onto the top-class bed inside the suite room. It took less than a second for me to be basically on top of her.

"A, aha... Very assertive, aren't you?"

She said while rolling her eyes around, unable to look straight into my eyes.

"W, wah... A, a bit hot, isn't it? Maybe we need some air. S, should we open the window?"

She seemed panicky.

Even though she had been extremely touchy and mischievous the whole time, she was frightened when push came to shove.

To be fair, that was pretty normal.

She was the first princess of the royal family and the Saintess, raised up like a priceless gem. Like a plant in a glasshouse, she was kept away from holding hands with a male let alone having a relationship.

It was therefore natural for the pure-white-canvas of a princess to sweat and blush from mere closeness with a member of the opposite sex.

"Uhh, umm. Dongsaeng? Now that I think about it, I was in a rush and didn't even take a shower—"

"Should we go in together?"

"...!"

Her eyes widened into circles. Frightened, she thrashed her arms and legs in an attempt to break away.

"That's... a bit...!"

As expected, she was still a kid. Well, a 22-year-old was far from being a kid but...

In any case, she soon gave up on breaking away from the bed and prudently suggested a deal.

"Why don't we just... hold our hands for tonight?!"

"Not something a maiden in a marriageable age should be saying."

- Thud!

"Aht...!"

I gave her a flick to the forehead, which made a small portion of her pure-white skin turn red.

"So rude... I'm older than you."

"That's what you get for trying to prank a grown-up man."

"Peh... Not like I was joking though..."

Estelle grumbled with a pout.

"Anyway, don't you have semi-finals tomorrow?"

"Semi-finals are in the morning, and the final is in the afternoon."

Since the Tournament was just one of the many events in the Harvest Festival, the matches were held in a quick manner, and it was definitely very different from last year where the Tournament was the main event. I guess they couldn't waste too much time on the Tournament, considering all the other events that required an audience.

"If Junior Alicia wins her semi-finals, she will be against me in the finals."

"...What if you don't make it past the semi-finals?"

"Me?"

Estelle grinned. Her smile displayed the confidence of a strong veteran.

That was when she suddenly asked a mean question with her mischievous yet lovable smile.

"Will you be cheering for me?"

"Of course."

"Oh... That's, unexpected."

She tilted her head after hearing my quick response. She seemed puzzled by how quickly I said that.

"Did you... by any chance say the same thing to Alicia?"

"Yeah."

"Come on! After having my hopes up like that!" she said with a playful smile, but couldn't entirely conceal her disappointment.

It was unfortunate but I couldn't choose one of them.

"Noona."

I held her by the hands. Her hands were beautiful and soft.

"N, nn?"

"Thank you."

"H, huh? Okay? Y, you're welcome...?"

"Thank you for everything. But there's nothing much that I can do for you."

"Fufu. A kiss will be fine."

"That's a bit embarrassing... and I feel bad."

There would come a time when I had to make a decision, and that would make me a horrendous bastard to the remaining ones, so I couldn't do such a thing.

"Hmph~. Can you not say, 'I like no one else but you, Noona,' even as a lie?"

Estelle said with a smile despite seeming rather disappointed. There wasn't much that I could do for her but...

"But I can give you some advice."

"Advice?"

"Alicia is weaker than you in terms of stats because you are at an unprecedented level in terms of pure power."

One who could make miracles happen just with prayers.

Although Estelle sounded overpowered and invincible, there was a way to break through it.

When compared to the rest of the party members, Alicia was around the bottom in terms of stats. Compared to the strongest party member, Hua Ran, Dorron and his overwhelming utility, Yuel and Kranel with their shockingly powerful combo when in a group, Alicia Arden was indeed quite boring in some ways but...

"To be completely honest with you, there is no one in my guild that I can't win against. I am confident that I could beat anyone there."

"Mhmm... But there's those two in your guild."

Vampire Marie and Sword Master Lunia. I was not excluding those two with that statement.

"I can beat anyone. One way or another."

"I like your confidence."

Even in the last iteration, back when I was much weaker and without the Sun, I was able to beat Lunia somehow but...

"But not Alicia Arden. No matter what situation, I don't see myself winning."

"Really...?"

"I am much stronger in terms of pure power, and to be honest, maybe I have a slightly higher chance of winning in a real fight to death but... even then, I'm not entirely sure."

Don't be careless and always be vigilant. I gave the most sincere advice I could to Estelle.

***

On the third day of the Harvest Festival, Wednesday, I went to the Hunting Contest with Ren and Ron.

- What's that?

- Is that even allowed?

All the contestants of the Hunting Contest had their hunting dogs. Some were veteran hunters who used to enjoy hunting in their hometown, but most of them had hired their dogs from hunting dog lenders who had recently come to town for business.

Of course, there were also those who came by themselves out of blind trust in their ability and those without anything planned.

"... Are you sure these are dogs?"

"Yep~!"

"They're more like wolves if anything and... like, how are they so big...?"

"I bought them overseas for a hefty price."

"But like, even then this is..."

I was definitely the most eye-catching out of every contestant present.

The two golden wolves, Ren and Ron. They were in their beast forms and were both at least 3 times bigger than the biggest hunting dog here.

They looked so frighteningly intimidating, that the other dogs were hiding behind their owners in fear.

No matter how you saw it, my hunting dogs were clearly unfair.

"They're trained very well. Goldie, give me your hand!"

In response, Goldie - Ren - gave a disgruntled pout before reluctantly giving me her front paw.

Thank you, Ren! I will cook you your favorite boiled lamb cutlet when we go back!

"Hmm... Do I pass this or what..."

The supervisor in charge of the Hunting Contest was hesitant due to the two enormous golden wolves.

"Are there any regulations about the breed or the size of the hunting dogs?" I asked.

"N, no... There aren't but..."

"Sir. Do you know why we have rules?"

"Uhh... To protect them and make sure nothing goes wrong?"

"Nope. It's to make use of everything that wasn't decided on by the rules!"

"That's bullshit... you idiot!"

The supervisor gave me a glance like I was an idiot but that didn't change anything. The Hunting Contest was just for kids to play around at best... and thus the rules weren't that strict!

In the end, it was my victory.

"WAHAHAHAHAHA...!"

- Aren't those hunting dogs way too unfair?

- Where did he even get those?

- I swear... I've seen them somewhere though...

With this, I had my third... or rather, my second golden ribbon. Fuu...

***

After overcoming the semi-finals in the morning, Alicia had to face the finals. She took a deep breath out to chase away her nervousness.

She fought against a senior in the 4th year for her semi-finals. This was his last year and he, therefore, put up quite the fight, but Alicia was able to barely come out on top.

At last, it was five in the afternoon. The finale of the third day of the Harvest Festival was just around the corner.

Her opponent for the finals was, as expected, Saintess Estelle.

- WAAAAHHH!

- SAINTESS!

- Saintess Estelle! Please look here!

The Saintess and 1st Princess of the Kingdom, Estelle Hadassa El Rath. As a nationally famous celebrity, she was welcomed with the passionate applause and cheers from the audience.

Since this was the final round and the finale of the Tournament, the host went on and on with the introductions of the two fighters.

The overboard introduction and flattery made the timid Alicia shrink her shoulders but... Estelle took them all in with a smile on her face as if that was nothing new.

From the start to the end, her eyes were on Alicia and nothing else.

...She's strong.

Estelle was strong. Not only did she leave a strong impact in the qualifiers, but she also declared as such when she first entered the tournament stage.

- Sorry. I'm a bit busy so... the matches will be quite boring.

As she said, it was quite boring for the audience, because she dashed forward at a speed that most knights couldn't even follow and punched her opponent out of bounds to end all of her matches with a single blow.

With just a single blow and a single punch, she both KO'ed and disqualified the opponent by making them fly out of the designated stage.

- Oh, Saintess! Looks like you have brought a 'weapon' this time!

That was why this final was so special. It was because this time, Estelle was armed with a weapon for the first time in the Tournament.

"Yeah. Pretty cool, right?"

In her hands was a 1-meter-long club. It was bigger than her favorite mace, but wasn't even made of metal - it seemed like a wooden club.

It was bizarre.

Usually, guardian weapons and armor were made by refining high-quality magic stones. Superhumans, who far exceeded the realms of normal humans, also required weapons that exceeded the normal scope of weapons.

In that sense, it was unthinkable to have wood in a piece of equipment. No matter how strong, wood was never tougher than steel and even steel fell short of weapons made with magic stones.

Even the shaft of a spear was made with refined magic stones, so what could a wooden club possibly achieve?

- Do you plan to reinforce it with your prayers, Saintess?

The host asked a reasonable question.

With the omnipotent prayers of the Saintess, it was possible to make a wooden club on the same level of weapons made of magic stones.

That was the basis of his question but Estelle denied it with a smile.

"Ah~. Is that how everyone thinks?"

Estelle didn't say anything else but there was something Alicia could tell.

There were only a small number of people here that could tell the identity of that club.

At Mag Mell, Alicia had received from Oengus, the Danann of Love, the treasure of Nemain, one of the three goddesses of war.

The red horse.

Thanks to receiving divinity from the goddesses of war who guarded the God of the Sun, Alicia could tell that the club was a godly treasure.

"Alicia, right? You're pretty strong. So I brought a weapon."

"I see..."

Alicia shrunk at the face of Estelle, who was like the personification of pride and confidence. As an illegitimate child who had been cautious of her standing in her household the whole time for 16 years, she couldn't help but feel pressured by people like Estelle.

"Korin-dongsaeng wanted the winner's prize. So I'm going to get it for him."

"..."

It was an obvious provocation. That was the only thing they had in common and yet she was unwilling to let her have it.

Can I win? Alicia asked herself.

Honestly, she didn't see herself winning. She would most likely lose but there was a strange feeling of competitiveness soaring inside her.

It was a rare feeling for Alicia, who was always selfless and fearful, but surprisingly it was budding against the first princess of the Kingdom and Saintess.

"I saw the semi-finals. You were pretty good. It was against a Grade 1 knight in his last year at the Academy, right? You did quite well."

Estelle kept speaking with a faint smile on her lips, and Alicia didn't like it. She didn't like the leisure the princess was giving off, as if she wasn't even an opponent worthy of her vigilance.

"Well, it would have taken me less than 30 seconds though."

She was scratching at her with her absolute confidence, and Alicia decided to break that first.

"I'm winning."

"Nn?"

It was a resolute voice that didn't suit Alicia. She was ready to pour a bucket of icy cold water on Estelle's absolute pride.

"Hmm~"

Estelle gave her a glance before reflecting on the advice she got from Korin the night before. She sensed that it certainly wouldn't be an easy battle.

"No. You can't."

That was why she was trying to intimidate her opponent with an even more exaggerated demonstration of confidence. It was different from her normal display of built-in confidence.

"You received something from a goddess in Mag Mell, didn't you? I got mine too."

She continued while resting the large club on her shoulders like a rogue in the streets, but no one dared to connect the two even in their minds.

"When the new era comes, I guess you will be standing on 'our' side as well. But... I suppose I'll teach you the new hierarchy ahead of time."

Autumn Harvest Festival - Tournament.

Successor candidate of the Arden Household, Captain of the Fifth Sword Squad, and a user of the Domain, Alicia Arden.

Fighting against her was the one who could make miracles happen through her prayers, the child of god who now became a goddess herself, Estelle Hadassa El Rath.

The final round of the two began—

"Stand your ground. It'll be boring if you lose in one go."

❰Holy Burster — Semi-Open IMPACT❱

— And with that, half of the arena was already gone.