Chapter 40: Full Moon Bazaar ⓪

The only land in Trade City Heizen stretched out before us.

On the Heizen Plains, between the city and the Hyzen Great Forest, countless tents were set up.

All of them were stalls for the Full Moon Bazaar. According to registration, there were nearly 3,000. Including unregistered ones, the number exceeded 8,000.

The tents came in all shapes. Some looked like crude huts, others were massive wagons converted into shops, and some were just carpets laid on the ground.

One day remained until the Full Moon Bazaar. Today, then, was the day before.

That morning, after the witch’s explosive announcement, Mineha-san and I—both with nothing particular to do—had come here.

Bid-san had gone out again with Dagaa and Gymnema-san. I wasn’t sure what they were up to, but Bid-san looked happy.

Shaldina and Anna Kreutzen were busy with maid duties. They said they would participate on the actual day of the Full Moon Bazaar.

“Some of the stalls are already selling, huh?”

“Seems so.”

We saw merchants already trading. There wasn’t really an opening ceremony for the Full Moon Bazaar, and apparently there was no rule against selling the day before.

Still, the real event was tomorrow—the night of the full moon.

We walked through the outer edge of the bazaar. Lower than the lower levels—that’s the outer edge.

Here, only unregistered stalls existed. Not illegal, but definitely gray-area.

Though it was daytime, the tightly packed tents made the area strangely dark. The people passing by looked shady and rough.

It wasn’t unusual to see people hiding their faces under hoods, like Mineha-san. The atmosphere was underground, tense, and dangerous.

From here, we could see the rumored moving palace. The VIP area of the Full Moon Bazaar. That was our destination.

“To think the witch would open a stall…”
“I was shocked she had been preparing for it for four days straight.”
“And in the VIP area, no less.”

That morning, while we were training with the relic Fortune’s Circle at the garbage dump, the witch suddenly said she wanted to sell a few items that glowed blue and yellow.

Apparently, she had gotten permission from the Zensera family to set up a stall in the VIP area and had been preparing it. She wanted it to be the highlight of the event. I had no reason to refuse, so I agreed.

She hadn’t told us beforehand because she wanted to surprise us. Well, surprise achieved—I was already plenty shocked.

She said she would give me a percentage of the sales, but I asked her to put it all toward paying off my debt. When she reacted as if she didn’t understand what “debt” meant, I could only chuckle.

“…So that’s the moving palace…”

A gigantic structure rose above the sea of tents on the plains. A white palace with multiple spires, ruling over the area.

As its name suggested, the moving palace could move. Normally stationed on the outskirts of Hyzen, it took nearly two weeks to transport it to this location with its foundation.

“To think it actually floats…”
“Unbelievable.”

The moving palace—a six-story colossal structure with a courtyard—was floating. It was always suspended, dragged by massive horses, and then placed on the foundation. No one knew why it floated.

We entered the lower levels from the outer edge, which felt dim and black-market-like. The tents and the atmosphere changed drastically. A sense of cramped restriction lifted.

“Why leave unregistered stalls alone?”
“Hmm… probably a pressure valve, I guess.”
“What do you mean? Pressure valve?”
“The Full Moon Bazaar is registration-based. I think the fee is around 200,000 Ouro.”
“That’s expensive.”
“And that’s just the minimum for the lower levels. The middle levels are about 600,000.”

Prices varied—upper middle could exceed 1 million Ouro for registration alone.

“And the upper levels?”
“Ah… those are invite-only, so free, apparently.”
“What kind of system is that?”

Mineha-san let out a sigh of exasperation.

“Honestly, the registration fee is an amount almost no one can pay.”
“True.”
“But if they cracked down and made it impossible to participate without registering…”
“They’d face strong resistance, I suppose.”
“And the bazaar itself would decline. Unregistered stalls outnumber registered ones two-to-one.”
“I see… so leaving them be is the only option.”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm… I think I understand. A pressure valve, huh?”

Yet registration itself might not matter much. For the ruling class of this city, only the moving palace and VIP area mattered. Everything else was irrelevant. That was the impression I got from listening to the witch and Koran-san.

The middle levels were a different world—tent quality and the type of people changed dramatically. Wealthy merchants, a sense of luxury, even familiar stores from large trading houses.

“Uh…”

We scanned the main street for signs. Mineha-san searched too, sighing.

“…The store names are awful. ‘Ponpoko-tei’?”

“Haha…”

A raccoon, maybe?

“And it’s a direct branch of the Zensera family… what were they thinking?”

“Apparently the guide is waiting. That tent, maybe?”

A large, cottage-like tent stood proudly, with a sign reading “Ponpoko-tei.”

“Wow…”
“‘Preparing’ it says. Ah.”
“Hello.”

Mineha-san strode in confidently, and I followed timidly. A table was set up. A tei—a restaurant, perhaps.

“Huh? They’re out front, but still preparing?”

A woman in butler attire appeared, oddly not a maid.

She had sleek silver hair, thin silver eyes, a neatly shaped small face, and a slender body. Unbelievably beautiful.

“We’re companions of the witch,” 

Mineha-san said.

“Ah, you two. I’ve been briefed.”

“…Excuse me.”

No doubt about it—a knife made a soft metallic sound. My hand instinctively rested on the hilt of my different sea-knife.

“Is there something wrong?”
“Are you… the daughter of the Sword Goddess?”
“Eh…”

Mineha-san tensed immediately, but the woman in front of us remained calm.

“Yes. Daughter of the Sword Goddess. I am Gieza of Loyalty.”
“……”
“Let me be clear—I am not your enemy. Your enemies are the others who cannot humanize.”
“Not owners or vessels?”
“No. Humanization.”

She denied it firmly. I felt an aura reminiscent of the Knife Goddess, without the discomfort of someone like Visa.

“You say you’re not an enemy… I don’t trust you.”

Mineha-san glared sharply, still bitter from past experiences. Gieza spoke evenly:

“You don’t need to trust me. But heed this warning: If you fight or destroy me here, you will make the Zensera family your enemy. I am the chief butler sworn to Lady Seiran of the Zensera family and her primary weapon. The Zensera family will fight you with all their might, regardless of the cost. Lady Seiran herself is a fierce warrior who can hold her own against the witch. No matter what you offer to make amends, she will never forgive you. I take pride in the respect I command. Furthermore, as companions of the witch, you will cause her great trouble. The witch has deep ties to the Zensera family. You are not foolish enough to not understand that, are you?”

Fighting her would mean fighting the Zensera family. I had no desire to confront the three major houses.

I knew the witch had close ties. I am her disciple. At that point, my hostility vanished.

Still, she is a daughter of the Sword Goddess. According to the Knife Goddess, three knives were not humanized. She is not an owner or vessel either. Likely, she is a humanized weapon. She is not one of the three knives.

“…We haven’t heard anything from the witch. Just that there’s a guide.”

“You leave the judgment to her. A difficult woman.”

“I can’t accept that. Wof destroyed your sister.”

Mineha-san glared. Gieza remained expressionless.

“I will never recognize as a sister those who cannot humanize and bring only harm to Heizen and the Zensera family. Zensera’s enemies are my enemies.”

She spat the words with deep emotion. Her loyalty to the Zensera family was clear.

Lady Seiran, the head of the Zensera family—my uncle’s Seiran-chan.

“…”
“And the witch didn’t tell you? She asked the other three, or now two, to deal with the daughter of the Sword Goddess.”
“We weren’t told…”
“Exactly.”
“I see.”
“Hm? Two?”
“One of the knives recently disappeared. Likely the witch’s doing.”
“…The witch.”

She had told us nothing. What is the witch up to? Ah, probably she just forgot, like she did with my debt. Subtly frustrating.

“Well then. Ask the witch later. Follow me.”

Gieza turned on her heel and headed deeper inside. Mineha-san and I exchanged a glance—she was not our enemy.

Mineha-san still seemed unconvinced, but venting her frustration would be pointless.

We were led into a small room. On the floor was a faintly white-and-green glowing teleportation array—one we had seen many times before.

“What’s this?”
“The moving palace has no entrance. Walls surround all sides.”
“Hmm… so we have to teleport to enter.”
“Exactly.”

We stepped onto the teleportation array.