The main event didn’t start until the archiereus, master of the rites, appeared. When Myron finally did, he advanced slowly to the center of the stage whilst the crowd silenced themselves. It was time for the rite to begin.

The Rites of Triumph was something Elric saw on an annual basis, yet Elric always had a different experience compared to the last. Only a clergyman was allowed to lead the rites, but Savana rarely had the money to invite a proper priest to lead them. Thus, the village chief often decided to cut costs and hire the services of a seminarian, a man training to become a priest. And being inexperienced, the seminarians often made mistakes when they led the rites, causing everyone to laugh and poke fun whenever they occurred. As a result, Elric and the rest of Savan had a very light-hearted opinion of the Rites of Triumph.

The solemnity displayed by Archierus Myron was the first thing that made Elric aware of the problem. The Rites of Triumph was something to be treated seriously rather than humorously. It was an important event to commemorate a day of importance. A day to celebrate the righteous cause of the Heroes. For a holy day like this, nothing but heartfelt respect and admiration was to be shown.

And yet Elric still couldn’t help but think about Vantus and how the old wolf would feel if it saw the rites. How would the wolf react? The solemnity of the rites and the levity of the wolf was comically paradoxical. 

Eventually, the rite came to an end when Myron finished reciting the last he had to say. Like a spell broken, the crowd began to talk again once the archiereus finished. It was at this time Elric realized the end of the rites meant it was time for the performances. All the other participants were already heading into the specially-constructed dressing rooms to change.

The area with the dressing rooms was completely unlike anything Elric had ever seen before. It was barely comparable to the traveling troupe he once saw before due to the sheer amount of highborn children. None of the performers were above the age of maturity, sixteen, but they were almost all exclusively nobles. Elric could tell just how powerful some of the performers were based on how many attendants they had with them. That may also be the reason why these dressing rooms were so large; to accommodate even the servants.

Elric entered the dressing room allocated for him specifically. Once inside, he spotted the costume put out for him and immediately set about putting it on.

Once finished with his costume, Elric regrouped with his companions to wait their turn to perform. The scions ahead of them seemed especially nervous, as they fidgeted anxiously and muttered to themselves incessantly as if practicing one last time before they were called up. Their nerves were understandable, given the importance of their performance for their future. Since the emperor and the rest of the leaders of the Empire were in attendance, every person had to make sure they did well enough to leave a lasting impression on them. Hopefully, the aristocrats would still remember them during the coming-of-age ceremony that occurs at the age of seventeen. A spectacular performance today was almost necessary if one desired to become someone great within the Empire.

For fame and glory did the children of the Empire perform. Many of the children performed the same story almost; the story of the Magic Emperor’s defeat at the hands of the Heroes on the Day of Triumph. Every performance would be evaluated and ultimately a singular performance would be crowned. And the prize? The opportunity to try on the Hallows of the Heroes. 

The opportunity to try on these sacred equipment was an opportunity most would leap at. As the son of a knight, Kite was the most excited of the four for a chance to try on such equipment. He was raised on the epic tales of the heroes and their weaponry, and the boy was ready to fight as if his life was on the line for the chance. 

His desire to win was matched only by the sadness he felt at the chances of their winning. The evaluation panel for the performances were all Karthian nobles. The bias was unmistakable to even the Sovereignians when they saw how certain judges would subtract points for even the most minor of mistakes from a child belonging to a different faction. If the judges were going to be so harsh on those from their own nation, then it seemed only logical that they would judge the Sovereignian performance even moreso. Last place was more likely for them than first place.

Being in last place earned the performers a prize no one wanted. The prize of being called ‘the most undeserving of the Day of Triumph’. Not a single performer wished to earn such an epithet, as it meant the total destruction of their career and future.

Soon came the time for Elric’s performance. The group entered the stage at the sound of the gong and began their performance in earnest. It was a rather simple task considering that they were playing themselves. The only actor Elric didn’t know was the one playing the thorn dragon, but the answer was made known soon enough when the thorn dragon began to treat the three males far more roughly than anticipated. The actor playing the thorn dragon landed ferocious kick after punch on the three without letting up. After being thrown to the ground yet again, Elric was quite sure he knew who it was inside the costume. Rather than a dragon tail, Elric supposed, the costume was better off having the tail of a fox.

So Elric hoped that the actor playing the wolf would appear soon. At least that way the terror of the thorn dragon would end and the wolf would render justice onto it.

The wolf came swaggering onto the stage shortly afterward, much to Elric’s relief. He didn’t even need to guess to know it was Kebrilio underneath the costume. A man with his physique was impossible to hide underneath a costume. And the person pretending to be the wolf’s tail was most likely Hamon. 

Charle’s acting after the wolf showed up was even more infuriating to Elric. After being punched and thrown about so vigorously by the thorn dragon, Elric was ready to see Kebrilio enact justice and throw Charle around. But instead of that, Charle let out a roar of fake pain after receiving a small hit and rolled off backstage, ending his role. 

If not for the performance, Elric would’ve let out a scream of anger at this injustice, but he withheld. Giving in to his emotions would only hinder the performance. All he had to do was play his miniscule part, hem and haw when it was appropriate, It was an easy job and Elric was happy to do it.

Soon the performance was over, and Elric was practically half-asleep. Truth be told, Elric was confident that he added almost nothing to the performance with his boring role. He was so confident, in fact, that he was almost willing to bet that no one would’ve noticed him gone if he decided to go backstage.

All in all, Elric was happy to see the end, but not everyone. Kite looked especially crushed that his time in the spotlight was over. The end of their performance meant it was time for the Karthian nobles to evaluate them.

As expected, the evaluation went dreadfully for the Sovereignians. They were given a very low score, something which Elric wasn’t surprised about. Kite and Belladonna both felt unhappy about their evaluation, but neither of them was about to voice their dissatisfaction aloud.