Chapter 49: The Spring Festival

　It is finally the day of the Spring Waiting Festival.

　It was well past six o’clock and I was looking out the window to see if it was time to go, when I saw Henry running toward me from the main street. He looks as beautiful as ever, doesn’t he?

“Sorry I’m late!”

“It’s all right.  I’m having fun waiting.”

　The main street was crowded, horses were not allowed, and it was not safe to run, so he took a detour to get here. His hair, which was usually neatly arranged, was disheveled. I looked at Mr. Henry, who had run with his hair in disarray to meet me.

“What’s wrong?　Are you angry?　Women get angry in situations like this. A fellow civil servant seriously scolded me, saying, ‘There’s someone you want to go to the festival with, isn’t there?　If you don’t want that person to hate you, hurry up and get going!’ ‘.”

“So you have friends like that.”

　When I said this, Mr. Henry looked as if I had put something salty in his mouth.

“That guy has been here before.”

“Oh, is that so? What is his name?”

“I won’t tell you. He’s not only kind, but also good looking. He took the trouble to tell me that he liked you, and I almost ended up becoming a cat at work.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t turn into a cat.”

　I’m glad to hear that. I’m really glad.

“He’s a popular guy who has never been without a girlfriend. It’s my go-to place, so I made sure to warn him not to cause any trouble for you.”

“That’s it, that’s it. Hehe. I’ll treasure him as a friend of yours, Henry, but that’s all.”

“You don’t have to. Normal is good enough.”

　A jealous person. No, he’s really jealousy.

“I don’t get angry when you’re late. I enjoy waiting for you, imagining you working enthusiastically.”

“Mai-san…”

　With a look of deep emotion on his face, he hugged me tightly and enveloped me in the scent of olive oil soap. Henry didn’t move until I said, “Come on, let’s go to the festival now.”

　We walked hand in hand to the festival site.

“I have been thinking about something ever since I heard you say last night that there were three beastmen. I want a country where beastmen and ordinary people can live in peace with each other.”

“I believe that you, Henry, can build such a country.”

“That’s right. To get what you want, you have to be patient and take things slowly.”

　As he said this, his hands tightened. What was that?　Did the conversation just change?

“I became the head civil servant much sooner than I expected, and I was a little disappointed that it seemed like a dead end. But recently, I’ve been thinking, ‘I’ll go even higher,’ to make this country a place where beastmen can live in peace. I feel like I did when I first became a civil servant.”

“I’m rooting for you. But please take care of yourself.”

　The reply arrives as he squeezes my hand again.

“Mai-san, you have only recently come to this world. I know that you are doing your best to fit in. I don’t intend to rush you into anything right now. But please… leave a corner of your heart open for me.”

　I didn’t know how to respond, so I just nodded.

“I know you must feel like going back to your world, but thank you for always listening to what I wanted and spending your first Spring Waiting Festival with me.”

　You’ve noticed that I still have attachments to my old world.

“When April comes, the comet will be coming closer, and the flowers will bloom around that time. After tonight’s Spring Festival is over, I want to wait for the night of the comet, wait for the flowers to bloom, and think about where we should go when summer comes,  I hope we can spend our time together enjoying each moment.”

　Henry pointed to a bright star in the night sky. Was it a comet?

　I will love the starry sky of this world. If Mr. Henry is waiting for me, I will walk step by step to where he is standing.

　Thinking this, I looked up at Mr. Henry. Who was looking at me worriedly.

“Even if I walk slowly, please wait for me.”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting next to you.”

　At Mr. Henry’s words, I squeezed back the large hand I was holding.

“Look, I can see it now.”

“Wow, ……, it’s beautiful.”

　Bonfires line both sides of the main street. Between the bonfires, stalls are lined up in tight rows. The glittering, multicolored motifs above the boulevard. Many onlookers are walking under them. As people approach the bonfire, they place one hand on their chest and slowly extend that hand toward the bonfire.

“What is that gesture?”

“It is a gesture we’re trying to burn off  the bad things that have built up in our bodies during the winter. At the same time, we want to express our gratitude to the heavens for having made it through the harsh season alive. Let’s go, too.”

　Mr. Henry puts his arm around my shoulders to protect me from the others. I proceeded to follow his gentle push on my shoulder, waited my turn, and stood in front of the bonfire. I put my hand on my chest and moved it gently toward the flame.

(Grandma, I’ve met some kind-hearted people in this world. I’m not crying. I’m smiling and living my life.)

　I spoke to my grandmother in my heart.

　Then I thought of an idea and released a thin, wide stream of magical power. Centered on myself, I release a thin, continuous stream of magical power in all directions. The bodies of the people around me began to glow.

　I look at the end of the circle of light as it spreads out, and I realized something. Mixed in with the many white lights, I see various colors. Red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple. All of the colored lights have several of them nestled together, and in some places there are five or six colored lights clustered together. The lowest position of the lights is the child. The number of colored lights is …… forty, no fifty!　So many?

　

“What’s wrong?”

“Mr. Henry, it seems that the country has long since mingled and is moving along nicely.”

“Did you use that thing?　Do you see that many?”

“Yes. From what I can see right now… I can see six different colors. The number is about …… fifty.”*five plus ten (五十)

“Five?　Ah, how frustrating. I want to see them too.”

　Henry was genuinely frustrated, and then he whispered in my ear:

“Mai-san, could you please take my hand and give me a signal? I want to know as the head civil servant. There is no other reason than that. We will be walking in the middle of the street, so please signal once when someone passes by us on our right, and twice when they pass by us on our left. Thank you.”

“Yes. But Henry…”

“I won’t stare. Don’t worry.”

“got it”

　Four people in blue approached us. A young couple and their two children of elementary school age. They were dog-type beastmen.

　Next were a young couple, a man and a woman, purple.

　Next were two red people. They were cat-type beastmen. Their red was darker than Mr. Henry’s red.

　Next is green, a family of three.

　Wow. What a surprise. It’s obvious, but I couldn’t tell them apart from ordinary people at all. Everyone is happily walking around the bonfire. The smiling faces of the people passing by look happy, and my heart, which had been pounding for a moment at the sheer number of beastmen, begins to calm down.

　We walked to the end of the road and back again. I bought some fruit juice  and baked goods from a food stall along the way, and I must have walked for about an hour, keeping up with the pace of the people around me.

“Let’s go home, shall we? Aren’t you tired?

“A little. I’m not so much physically tired as I am motion sick.”

“I was surprised at how frequently the signals came. I guess the beastmen had long since blended into this country. But we have to think about what to do in case they find out about this and something happens.”

“When I see a child beastman, I think, ‘I wonder what this child will look like.  I bet it will be as cute as little Sophia.’”

　There was a short pause. Mr. Henry seemed to want to say something.

“What is it?”

“From what Mr. Glidden said, I understand that the child you’re looking after is a dog-type beastman. The child’s father is that man who kept insisting that he’d show you around the Coulou district, right?”

(You didn’t see those two together, so how do you know that Mr. Dion is the father!)

　I looked over at him in surprise and he just gave me a wry smile.

“The forty-something woman who left holding hands with that girl, that man, and that girl. All three of them have similar facial features. Their hair color was almost the same. Grandmother and father, right?　I would have noticed. If the girl’s mother is not around for some reason, Mai would be considered a suitable wife. No doubt about it.”

(If Henry, who has an extremely sharp intuition, says it, it might come true, so stop), I was about to say, but when I took a breath, he beat me to it.

“I’m sorry about that cute girl, but I would never give you to that man.”

“I told you not to worry about that.”

　At the same time, I wanted to say that I’m not the type to be worry about this and that, but that would be embarrassing, because it would sound like I was confessing, “You’re the only one for me.”

　After that, we had a glass of sweet liquor at a food stall and returned to our “Hideaway.”

　Henry said, “We’ve just started dating, and I don’t want to be in a rush and make you feel uncomfortable. I’ll be going home now tonight,” and gave me a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

　

　I felt relieved by Henry’s words, and not just because we had only just started dating. It had been nine months since I came to this world. Deep down, I had not yet made up my mind to bury my bones in this world. The gesture of gratitude towards the bonfire was unfamiliar to me, and it reminded me that I am not a resident of this world.

　I have not yet completely abandoned my unfulfilled longing for the world from which I came.

　I was very grateful for Henry’s consideration tonight.

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