Chapter 125

The “New Year Festival” is, as the name suggests, a festival that begins after the start of the new year, whereas the “Founding Festival” refers to a celebration held over a certain period that includes the new year.

In other words, December 30th—this year’s last day, with the New Year Festival scheduled for tomorrow—is right in the middle of the Founding Festival.

Even without that, with the country celebrating victory in the war and a festive atmosphere everywhere, today—being part of the Founding Festival and with the New Year Festival coming up tomorrow—could be said to be the most exhilarating day this nation has ever seen… and that wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

“Same! Where should we go!? I haven’t been to the city much lately, but it’s a festival, right!? There must be lots of food stalls, like the usual market street!”

“Yeah, apparently. The lower district markets and that area aren’t just normal markets right now—various stalls from different towns have come here.”

“Wow! Let’s go quickly!”

With the war over, matters settled, and daily life finally returning, I decided that today I would fully let Melt enjoy herself and go around the Founding Festival together.

Honestly, I’m excited too. I’m aware that my thoughts and behavior have long since drifted away from those of a “normal high school student,” but even so, I can’t help being influenced by the atmosphere enveloping the entire city.

As Seim, as Shizuma.

After all, it’s Same who has become a citizen of this country, so I’ve decided to remain in this form for a while.

With that decision made, I headed outside with Melt, who was fidgeting as she prepared to go out, stepping into the house’s surroundings slowly transitioning into a winter landscape.

“Melt, you’re pretty good with the cold, huh.”

“I guess? Most fox tribes are probably like that.”

“I see… I’m wearing a coat, but isn’t that outfit of yours light?”

“Hmm… I guess it might be better to put something over it?”

“Got it. Then let’s go look for clothes too, today.”

Passing through the lightly snow-dusted forest path and entering Lindblum through the southern gate, the first area we come across is the noble district.

Since the upper district naturally has stores dealing in fine clothing, we decided to head there first with Melt.

The noble district maintained its elegance, unaffected by the festival mood.

Among these, we headed into a boutique that sold clothing.

“Welcome!”

High-end stores would naturally have a dress code, but Melt was wearing equipment that looked like the clothes Sheele had given her previously, so the quality and design were already guaranteed.

In other words, even when Melt thought she was wearing casual or fashionable clothing, she was effectively wearing armor.

This probably also comes in handy during adventures. Fashionable gear, even if not as strong as real armor, often grants unusual abilities.

I had also bought a few outfits at the Pigeon Trading Company, so wearing fine clothing and a coat here made it natural for us to shop without causing any trouble.

“What are you looking for today?”

“We’re looking for winter wear for her. Existing items are fine, but depending on her preferences, we might have to have something custom-made.”

At my answer, I felt the store clerk briefly glance at the adventurer guild tag on my chest—likely checking if this customer really could afford it.

Though our appearance is good, we’re not dressed like nobles.

Still, adventurers of this rank are probably assumed to be more generous than careless nobles, so the clerk continued to assist us with a smile.

“This is the young lady, correct? Any specific requests?”

“Ah! Me!? Um… I want a fluffy coat! Preferably with a hood, and it should be cute! For the color… maybe white or light blue? Oh, and make sure my ears can stick out of the hood.”

Surprisingly specific… I see, for beastmen, there’s a need to prevent ears from being fully covered by hoods…

I imagine Melt wearing a hood with only her ears poking out.

Adorable. Very adorable.

“Hmm… in that case, how about this coat? It’s ready-made, but we can add fur and adjust for the ear positions to match your request.”

“Oh, this looks good! Fluffy just enough! I’m not really sure what ‘fur’ is, though…”

“It’s something you attach around the cuffs, hem, and hood.”

The clerk handed Melt a sample of fluffy fur, like a small animal’s tail.

“Wow, it’s like a kid’s tail!”

“Hehe, indeed. Some beastmen even sell tail fur. A famous example is the ‘Houyou Tribe,’ who sell the fluff from their tails.”

“Oh, I’ve never seen the Houyou Tribe. So is this that fluff?”

“No, that’s rare to see here. This is fur from a ‘Snow Seeker’.”

“Wow! It’s so fluffy!”

There were many unfamiliar words, but since Melt seemed to understand them, I stayed quiet.

Melt got measured for her ear position and chose the type of fur she liked.

“Ah, this is good.”

Meanwhile, I found some suitable ready-made items and purchased them. After Melt finished, we left the store.

“During the New Year Festival, it’s busy, so the customizations will be done by January 3rd.”

“I see, I guess many people buy winter wear around this time, like Melt.”

“Probably. I’m fine for now, but ordinary humans aren’t good with cold.”

“Yeah… I heard earlier, but are all beastmen good with cold?”

“Hmm… not all. The Proud Cat Tribe and the Yato Tribe are weak against the cold.”

The Proud Cat Melt mentioned is likely a cat beastmen, and Yato a rabbit beastmen.

Hmm… I remember seeing cat beastman at the instrument shop during the Hash event.

“Beastmen are seen quite often in this country, but most of them are dog types or fox types, right?”

“Yeah, it’s cold on this continent. And Golda was always harsh toward beastmen, so they’re probably mostly on another continent.”

“I see… someday I’d like to visit that other continent too.”

“Me too! They say we’d have to cross the sea, but I can’t even imagine it.”

For Melt, who had only seen the sea once as a child, it must truly seem like an unknown world.

Her tail wagged excitedly, betraying her excitement.

“Ah… I totally forgot to mention this… this continent’s name is ‘Dusterfil,’ right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Since Lendia unified this continent, maybe the country’s name will change too! Other continents tend to have countries with the same name as the continent.”

“Interesting! I really don’t know anything about other continents.”

“I only know the names too. Oh, but I know Hamsterdam! Grandma said she used to be a researcher there.”

“Haven’t heard that name in a while… that mysterious country.”

It’s certainly a very intriguing place. I think it’s on the neighboring continent…

“The neighboring continent is called the ‘Donaz Continent.’ There’s a huge lake taking up about 20% of it, right in the center, and the island in that lake is the ‘Independent Nation of Hamsterdam.’ I want to go there someday too.”

“Yeah… once we conquer the other dungeon on this continent, if it seems possible, we could do that. If not, we could just give up and head to the neighboring continent instead.”

“True. Conquering dungeons is naturally very difficult. Also, the country benefits a lot from the dungeon, right? If we fully clear it, some people might be in trouble!”

“Oh, right. Well… maybe we could use the Dungeon Core to create a new dungeon and have either me or the country manage it—then we could safely earn from it.”

“I see!”

There’s still so much we don’t know about dungeons.

We haven’t even restored the artificial dungeon in Lindblum yet.

Still, somehow, dungeons feel connected to the secrets of this world.

Perhaps… the mastermind has noticed that too and is trying to get involved with the dungeons…?

“Now! Let’s head to the lower district! Food stalls, food stalls! I’m getting hungry!”

“Right, let’s find something at a stall.”

Although it’s almost lunchtime, we picked up the pace and headed to the lower district.

In the lower district, there’s a market near the residential area.

It’s a place people go to buy ingredients, but today it’s more of a festival vibe, with many stalls for eating as you walk around.

“Ah! Flat Sandwich! They have it here too!”

“Oh? I’ve never seen this before.”

Melt spotted a stall using some unusual cooking equipment and walked over.

What is that…? They’re cooking with a tool that looks more like a press than a griddle…

“Hey there, young lady! Bringing your boyfriend today?”

“Hehe, it’s my boyfriend, Seim!”

“More like family than boyfriend.”

“Oh, he’s your husband then?”

“No, family is family.”

“Huh? Well, whatever! How’s the ‘Flat Sandwich’ you named? We’ve made some improvements, it’s even tastier now!”

Apparently, Melt not only knew the shop owner but had named the sandwich herself.

When I look at the food, I see it’s cooked on a griddle with a high-temperature press from above, pressing it flat like a hot sandwich.

It’s clearly pressed harder than a regular hot sandwich—truly flat.

It looks a bit like a thick cracker.

“Looks delicious! We’ll take two, please.”

“No, wait. Uncle, make that three.”

“You sure eat a lot… you won’t be able to eat anything else.”

“Ah! Actually, two is fine!”

“Haha, a sensible young man. Two it is.”

And so, we got the crispy hot sandwiches, known as Flat Sandwiches.

Inside were what seemed to be ham, cheese, and pickles, but flattened and hard to distinguish.

Yet, they were delicious. Truly delicious.

The crispy texture, salty ham, the aroma of browned cheese with crunchiness, and the melted cheese inside created a rich flavor that spread in the mouth.

And the pickles gave a refreshing tang… this is bound to be a big hit.

“This is so good… isn’t it amazing? For me, this is temporarily number one among all the festival foods I’ve eaten so far.”

“Eh? For me, it’s still probably the Marmetano so far?”

“Ah, I see. That one was really good too, after all.”

The street was filled with all sorts of delicious smells.

Walking through it with the festival’s cheerful atmosphere, it felt like being at a New Year’s festival on Earth…

…how nostalgic. It already feels like such a long time ago.

“Seim! There’s a stall I’ve never seen before!!!!”

“Oh? There’s definitely a crowd… let’s check it out.”

There, a stall with unfamiliar equipment was making fresh juice in a way that looked almost magical.

You put fruit into a large metal tank, and without a sound of blending, juice would come out from a nozzle attached to the bottom of the tank.

It seemed to be extremely cold, too, with visible frost forming as it came out.

“Step right up! Frozen drinks made with the new juicer developed by Kokuri-sama! Too cold this time of year? That won’t matter with how amazing it tastes—I guarantee it!”

Hearing the stall owner’s pitch, the watching customers couldn’t help but buy some.

If it really is Kokuri’s invention, that’s definitely intriguing.

“Wow! Kokuri-chan made this magic device! I want one too!”

“All right! Then for the fruit… right now we have apples and… this white one.”

“That’s called an ‘Amir Pear.’ It grows even in cold regions and is one of the oldest fruits, created when genetic modification first came about.”

“Wow! Melt, you’re so knowledgeable.”

“Right? I’ve read lots of books and materials.”

We immediately ordered two drinks of a mixed apple-and-pear combination.

To our surprise, it was a juice made of tiny ice particles, letting us taste the apple and pear flavors directly.

Amazing… this texture feels just like something I’ve had at a family restaurant…!

“Mmm… this is incredible… maybe second only to cola in taste…”

“Yeah, to get this state instantly is amazing… it’s a new invention, but if exported overseas it would probably be a huge hit.”

“I’m sure it would be incredibly popular in hot climates or warm continents! I wonder how it works.”

In this way, this world seems to be making daily progress.

There must be many countries and cultures we have yet to see.

Just today we’ve discovered so much, so surely many more encounters and discoveries await us in the future.

That’s why I thought Melt’s suggestion was perfect for marking the year’s end.

“This is so much fun! Next, let’s go check out the miscellaneous goods brought from outside!”

“All right! I heard a lot of things have been brought in, so let’s see if we can find any treasures.”

“Yeah! Maybe even some items from dungeons could be here!”

And so, the first year since I arrived in this world finally came to an end.

What kind of year will the new one be?

…Oh, I wonder—does this world even have something like New Year’s soba?

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter