Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 95: Spring Festival
It was the early days of spring, when the snow was melting away, and Bianshu Town was showing a completely renewed look. The people living here all wore joyful smiles.
Aside from the thrilling news that they had successfully repelled the undead monsters during winter, there was another reason for their cheer—
The lord had announced that a Spring Festival would be held in the town square, open to everyone.
Although it was called a “Spring Festival,” in the eyes of the older generation, wasn’t this just the same celebration they used to hold long ago?
In the past—before the curse of Kazitu had become so severe—whenever Bianshu Town managed to safely weather the winter crisis, the lord would hold a grand festival to welcome the arrival of spring.
But as the town gradually declined, the lords stopped holding such large-scale events.
The tragedy that struck at the end of winter two years ago had left the town shrouded in gloom.
Now, with the current lord planning to revive the festival, how could people not be excited? And most importantly—there would be free food!
Before winter, Owen had purchased huge amounts of grain from outside, enough to see the townsfolk through the season.
But then, a chain of unexpected events had frightened some residents into abandoning Bianshu Garrison Town, fleeing to Dongsheng Fortress for refuge.
As a result, the town’s granaries still held surplus food originally meant for those who had left.
Rather than letting it rot away in storage, Owen decided it would be better to distribute the excess during the Spring Festival.
Preparations for the event were overseen by Clive. His main tasks were to clear the obstacles from the square, build a temporary stage at the front, and place a large woodpile in the center.
On top of that, Owen gave a new order—have the militia and the lizardman troops work together to prepare performance programs.
He didn’t really know what kind of shows they would come up with. All he told them was that there should be entertainment, then left them to it.
After all, as Winston once said, “Art comes from the people.” They could figure it out themselves.
To strengthen the friendship between humans and lizardmen, Lusha threw himself enthusiastically into organizing the performances.
Preparations took several days, until finally the day of the Spring Festival arrived.
All remaining snow in the square had been swept away, and bright-colored fabrics were hung around the area for decoration. From a distance, the scene was festive and full of harmony.
That afternoon, the square was packed—apart from the space around the central woodpile, there was barely room to stand. Among the many humans, a group of lizardmen stood to the left side, near the stage.
Ever since the Sinking Sand Tribe pledged allegiance to Owen, their residential area had gradually been opened to outsiders, encouraging exchanges with humans.
At first, the two sides still kept to themselves, with little contact. But thanks to the tireless efforts of Lusha and Owen, they had finally established a basic level of mutual trust.
This was largely because the lizardmen were native inhabitants of the Labyrinth Forest, not demi-human races driven there by humans.
Moreover, the Dawn Kingdom’s army had once suffered devastating losses at the hands of the Black Dragon King, causing the king to almost entirely abandon the idea of developing the forest.
As a result, relations between humans and demi-humans were strained but not deeply hostile—more a matter of mutual distrust and lack of interaction than any blood feud.
From the stage, Owen scanned the crowd and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. There were so many people—even the rooftops nearby had rows of spectators craning their necks to watch.
This town square really is too small, he thought. Looks like I’ll have to have Viru expand it in the future.
“Marquis, everyone’s eager for your appearance. Please go up and give your speech.”
Clive reminded him as he approached.
“Mm.”
Owen nodded and slowly walked up to the stage.
The moment the lord appeared, the crowd fell silent, all eyes turning to him.
Ahem.
Clearing his throat, Owen used a bit of magic to project his voice.
“My people, good afternoon. I am Owen Eisen, Marquis and Lord of Bianshu Town.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the townsfolk below couldn’t help but erupt into loud, enthusiastic cheers.
“Lord!”
“The lord is our savior!”
“Thank you, my lord!”
Everyone’s gratitude came from the heart.
And for good reason — in such difficult circumstances, Owen had led everyone to successfully repel the undead monsters, protecting Border Town and their loved ones.
He had also provided abundant food and fire magic stones so that not a single person starved or froze to death that winter.
Even though everyone knew the Holy Knights had come to help midway through, they still held deep gratitude toward the lord.
If it hadn’t been for him leading all the troops to hold the northern wall, the Holy Knights stationed at Dongsheng Fortress might never have even come to check on them.
Hearing these cheers, Owen could feel the people’s trust in him. His heart swelled with accomplishment and satisfaction — it was all worth it.
When the cheering gradually died down, Owen raised a hand to signal for silence.
“I’m very happy to see everyone gathered here today. Winter has passed. Thanks to the bravery of our troops, the undead monsters failed to break through our defenses, and we defeated a terrifying enemy from the north at minimal cost. This proves that whether human or lizardman, as long as we unite and fight together, no enemy is unbeatable. Dongsheng Fortress wanted us to evacuate? We can use this victory to tell them — absolutely unnecessary!”
The crowd’s emotions flared up again.
“The lord is right!”
“We’ll defend our own homeland!”
“All thanks to the lord leading us!”
When the crowd calmed down a little, Owen quickly delivered his closing words.
“To commemorate this glorious victory, I hereby announce that from now on, on the first day of every spring, we will hold the Spring Celebration. As the name suggests, it is a festival to bid farewell to winter and welcome the arrival of spring. My people, enjoy this long-awaited celebration to your hearts’ content! Bring out the food!”
First to be brought out by the militiamen was an array of mouthwatering meats — sliced pork, lamb, beef, and a huge vat of fish.
These had all been marinated ahead of time by the castle chefs, and now several self-proclaimed skilled cooks among the militia and lizardmen took charge of the grilling.
Besides meat, there would also be bread, ale, and other foods distributed later.
On the temporary grills, the meat sizzled and dripped with fat, giving off an irresistible aroma that could be smelled from far away.
Luckily, the militia kept order; otherwise, the crowd would have rushed forward and devoured everything in minutes.
While the roasting was underway, the militia, the lizardmen, and even some townsfolk who had volunteered to perform took turns on stage to entertain.
Aside from the usual singing and dancing, there was a militia group performing spear drills, and two quick-witted militiamen telling the story of the winter battle against the undead — slipping in jokes here and there that made the audience burst into laughter.
Wasn’t this basically a comedy act?! Even Winston was amazed and couldn’t stop praising Owen’s militia for their talent.
Indeed, art often springs from the people.
The lizardmen’s dance was also strikingly bold and powerful — unsurprising, since humans had never seen such a performance before.