It was the afternoon on the second day of the New Years Festival.

Tatsumi and Calcedonia headed together to the Royal Palaces battlefield.

Today, the preliminary contest for the jousting tournament was being held here. Right now, in front of Tatsumi and Calcedonias 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 parrows 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 its hauling ability was inferior.

For that reason. In the Kingdom of Largofiely, horse-drawn carriages didnt 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 j.a.panese boar.

Speaking of orcs, in j.a.pan, 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 n.o.bles had a tendency to prefer bird-drawn carriages rather than boar-drawn ones. In Tatsumis 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 pa.s.sed 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, youve 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 tomorrows 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 its a duty for the Church then I guess it cant 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 Tatsumis manner and left the field while cheerfully laughing and waving his hand.

Tatsumi watched until Gyles 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 Calcedonias silver hair.

Just by that, light danced around her giving her a surreal look.

The bright sunlight illuminated her beauty; Tatsumi wasnt 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 s.h.i.+ning more brightly than real rubies.

Being together with such a woman must be both proud and embarra.s.sing. While Tatsumi was thinking about these things, his eyes suddenly met Calcedonias.

Apparently, she seemed to have noticed Tatsumi looking at her.

Is something the matter?

N-No, i-its nothing.

With his face flus.h.i.+ng 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 tomorrows performance that Giuseppe had mentioned before.

When he thought about tomorrows event his stomach felt like a hole had opened up in it. If he failed Giuseppes performance tomorrow then the humiliation would be unjustifiable.

Surely, if Calcedonia was his partner, then Tatsumi didnt 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 antic.i.p.ation.

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 wasnt any electricity, the sunset basically signified the end of the day.

With the exception of the red-light district, when you couldnt 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 doesnt die out even at night.

As expected, its not like the days in present age j.a.pan, 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 thisits been a long time.

This was the norm when he used to be in j.a.pan.

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.

Thats 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 its not clear, but she also remembered.

The sound of the engine of cars pa.s.sing 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 j.a.pan, and while clutching each others 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, Im leaving!

Best of luck with your work. Ill prepare the lunch so lets 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 didnt 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 Elfs Resthouse, written in j.a.panese.

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. 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.

Calseys dress as well, Ohariko and the others whove often frequented the Duke of Quartzs household, put in all their efforts and finished it according to the picture I showed them.

Thank you Eru. Youve really helped me out this time.

Its fine; dont 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 Erus craftsmen friends.

This small box was also familiar to Tatsumi and Eru who had experience of living in j.a.pan.

After the ceremony, Ill 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 pa.s.sed 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 Elfs Resthouse and headed for the Church.

Tatsumi left the store through the front entrance. Watching his back, Eru felt gripped by a strange feeling shed 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 hadnt 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.

Thats 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.