小嫂子的味道

It was night by the time I stepped out of the room to join the school fest. There was cold outside, colder than normal days. Thus I was dressed in the set of clothes Anya had picked for me and over that I was wearing the cloak I'd liked.

Coming out of the room I leaned forward to the railing, even from here I could the see the beautiful view in front of me. No, it probably looked better from up here.

Hundreds of new magic lights that had been planted all around the area by the academy were gleaming and from there they looked like little fireflies.

The face of the area had changed as well. It no longer was a plain grassy ground. Instead, there were stalls and tents and poled everywhere. And of course, the crowd of students too. It seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves.

It looked different. Different from what I'd imagined while editing this part of his novel.

"I think it's about time I should go and check around for a bit," I mumbled.

[I want to go too!] Req said in a pleading voice.

'No, I can't have that. You can't go down there in human form and I won't run around carrying a sword with myself, so no. You'll here.'

[Hmph, you're always like this!]

'The most I can do is bring some good stuff for you. I've heard they have the best chefs cooking here.'

[…Really?]

'Yup.'

[Fine. But you'll have to bring two of everything. Understand?]

'Yes, yes, I know.'

I locked the door to my room and walked down the stairs of the dorm building. Coming down and out in the open I saw the real craze of the fest. The vibe was as lively as it could get.

I could see students walking in groups with their friends and having fun. Most of the students were already down here celebrating and enjoying the fest and it was not because they were way too much excited but because I had come down a little late. The fest was supposed to start at eight and right now it was eight-twenty.

This was something I did deliberately because I didn't like being early at these types of events.

I walked into the crowd and took a look around the area. The entire fest was build around the cafeteria—as it was the closest to the dorms—and expanded its boundaries as you moved forward. The longest it go was to the edges of the main building and to the sides of the coliseum.

With my hands inside my pockets I explored the area. The lighting was especially good as there were magic lights of every color.

As Mr. Halls have said there were a variety of stalls scattered everywhere. The types varied from food, games, clothes, mini dramas and some more entertainment related stalls.

While I was wandering around in the area I stopped a few stalls that were specifically made for couples, and consisted of games that couldn't be played alone. Obviously, these places were crowded with young lovely-dovey couples and seeing that the people from the academy had changed the color of magic lights in that area to pinkish-red.

It wasn't as if you had to be a couple to play those games, but considering the themes they were based on…you wouldn't want to play those with a bro.

One could tell without even looking that it was not a place for me thus I moved forward and moved toward the food section.

There were many food related stalls lined up in a specific section with a shade of yellow and golden magic lights. And after waiting in line for about half an hour, it was totoally worth it when I got to taste the dishes. Now there was no doubt in what Mr. Halls has said.

The academy had indeed invited the best of the chefs to this fest.

This might actually seem like a loss of money and something the academy didn't have any reason to do but it was quite the contrary. While the quality of everything present here was above best, the prices were skyrocketing as well and were way too high compared to the prices outside.

But since everyone wanted to enjoy the fest and the audience consisted of young students—nobles—who didn't care all that much about money, it was a great way to grab some cash out of their pockets.

Once I was done eating I moved around and tested out some other things too but, none of them were enough to hold my attention. I tried some games but they didn't suit me, I tired watching drama but got bored, I tried watching comedy shows or dances but wasn't interested. In the end, after exploring the whole area the food was the only thing for me in this fest.

But it was obvious and I already knew that I wasn't going to enjoy any of this—perhaps that's why I left late. After all, these types of events were meant to be enjoyed with friends.

…I didn't have any of those.

***

Away from the Zaforths magic academy, right at the geographical center of the Sofrora city. The people were out shopping for the night, new shops were being opened. This was the market time for those higher class nobles who were busy the whole day and now got a little time for themselves.

The main street wasn't bustling, but was full with people either way. There in the middle of the street, at the height of about ten feet. There was a distortion in the air. No one noticed it, as it wasn't exactly noticeable until you stood right in front of it.

But you could see it if you were right in front of it, like a noble's twelve year daughter who had run off from his mother's grip to see something at a certain shop she liked. Although she stopped when she saw these little spark appearing out of nowhere in midair.

Then, reality itself seemed to split apart in two as a hole was opened in teh fabric of space.