Chapter 68

Following the directions, I arrived at what seemed to be the target town in less than a day.

It was a land that jutted out toward the sea, with a defensive wall built facing the sea.

The red-tiled roofs made it unmistakable.

...At first glance, it seemed more peaceful than Photren, and it didn’t look like a frontline city.

When I descended to the ground and passed through the town’s gate, I realized the town was bustling with activity.

People everywhere, no matter where I looked.

I had never seen so many people even in relatively large cities like Photren.

There were even food stalls, making it resemble a festival on Earth.

Is it always like this...?

No, it probably isn’t.

If there were always this many people, there would be shops instead of stalls.

It might really be a festival or something. I wonder if I can find a place to stay.

I entered a suitable inn and found a plump woman manning the counter.

I’ll ask her.

"Excuse me, can I stay here?"

"Hmm? Oh, the rooms are all booked. Didn’t you make a reservation?"

"Reservation?"

"Well, of course, you can’t get a room without a reservation the day before the Hikiage Festival."

"The Hikiage Festival... I didn’t even know there was a festival. If there’s no place to stay, I’ll just camp outside."

It’s not like camping would be dangerous for me, and if the timing was bad, there’s nothing I can do.

But to camp outside after coming here for a vacation...

It would be more interesting if there was a festival, so I welcome it.

"That’s a good idea. The landward flat areas are quite safe, so I recommend them. Revial might still have rooms, but it’s probably full."

"Revial?"

"You don’t know Revial? It’s a super high-end inn for nobles and wealthy merchants. It’s so big and expensive that few people stay there, so there might be rooms even during this period. But even the cheapest room seems to be booked."

"By the way, how much is it per night?"

"The cheapest room is about 300,000. That’s enough to live on for a year."

"I see, thank you."

300,000, that’s three large gold coins.

...Is my sense of money off, or does it not feel that expensive?

As a Decibattle lumberjack master (who doesn’t cut trees but blows them up), I could earn that in less than five minutes.

The cheapest room is booked, but I should be able to stay in other rooms for less than 3 million.

Alright, let’s go.

This is necessary for rest, a necessary expense.

I asked a guard for directions (I thought he’d be easy to spot in armor, but he was lost in the crowd, so I had to find him with an appraisal spell) and headed toward the center of town. A building that seemed to be the one I was looking for appeared.

It was as tall as a four-story building and as wide as ten houses.

It was probably the largest building I had seen in this world, excluding the outer walls.

How much maintenance must it cost?

It wouldn’t be surprising if all the rooms were suites.

I was a bit intimidated by the scale, but I steeled myself and entered the main building.

I stood in front of a reception counter made of a smooth, bluish stone I had never seen before, and was asked my business.

"Welcome. Are you here to stay?"

Oh, polite language.

I’m not sure if it’s correct for Earth hotels, but it sounds about right.

Since this is a different world, it’s not strange if it’s different.

"Yes, I’m here to stay. I don’t have a reservation, but are there any rooms available?"

"The Alpha rooms are booked, but there are vacancies in the Beta and Gamma rooms."

Beta? Gamma?

I don’t really understand the differences.

There’s a price list at the counter: Alpha 300,000 per night, Beta 500,000 per night, Gamma 1,000,000 per night.

So, from cheapest to most expensive, it’s Alpha, Beta, Gamma.

The letters aren’t the alphabet, maybe to avoid confusion with adventurer ranks.

I’ll go with Beta for now, since it’s a substitute for camping.

"Then, I’ll take a Beta room."

The service at this hotel was excellent, as expected from its appearance and the front desk, and the price.

The room was larger than the Decibattle guild, even for a single person, and even had a bath.

The only downside might be that it’s too large to feel cozy.

It doesn’t really feel like a place to stay.

After asking a staff member (I don’t know what to call them, but they seem like hotel staff or butlers) about the Hikiage Festival, I went to sleep, preparing for the next day.

Apparently, the Hikiage Festival involves using tools like "Monster Nets" and "Great Monster Nets."

A "Monster Net" is something like a beach seine pulled by a few people, used to drag aquatic monsters out of the water and beat them up with the gathered adventurers.

Artifacts assist the process, so even ordinary magic power can usually drag out most monsters.

One of these artifacts can make the net usable over a wide area.

The festival lasts three days, and the weight of the monsters defeated by magic tools is compared until the day before the final day, with prizes for the top parties.

The "Great Monster Net" is a larger version pulled by many people on the final day.

There’s a record of a sub-dragon being dragged out once long ago, causing a disaster.

It’s a dangerous event, but it’s necessary to prevent monsters from accumulating in the sea and causing accidents.

Well, the probability of a second disaster happening while I’m here is almost zero, so there’s no point in worrying.

The next day.

I went to the special registration counter set up at the guild to participate in the Hikiage Festival.

There were about ten counters, but only one was in use, and there was only one party in front of me.

"Next, please."

"Yes."

I went to the called counter and showed my guild card.

"Are you alone? Even as a C-rank mage, it’s not recommended to prepare a net solo due to the potential lack of magic power."

"I don’t have anyone to team up with, and I’m not aiming to win."

I could form a random party, but it’s not necessary.

If I’m not enough, probably the combined magic power of everyone here wouldn’t be enough.

We’d need to drag a sub-dragon with a net.

"Understood. Registration complete, good luck."

"Yes."

There was still time before the festival started, when the artifact would activate.

I needed to secure a good spot.

On the beach, near the front of the town, groups of adventurers were standing at roughly equal intervals.

Each group had the maximum of six people.

Monsters were occasionally crawling up, and battles were breaking out here and there.

Well, it seems almost all the spots are taken, but is there a good spot...

There is.

I found a good spot and took it.

The spot was on the sea.

No one was there, and it was within the artifact’s range.

No one fights on the sea, but it’s not against the rules.

"Hey, what’s that mage doing?"

"Using a net on the sea... It’s not impossible, but does it make sense?"

"Never heard of it."

"Besides, it’s a waste of magic power."

The adventurers on the land were talking, but it didn’t concern me.

It’s their fault for not having enough space.

I considered using an inverted landslide to create new land, but it might affect the ecosystem, so I didn’t.

The start is announced by the bell in the central tower of the town.

A large, glowing red gemstone is attached to the top of the tower.

It was discovered in the ruins of a fire, and it used to glow less during the festival.

In the past few years, it has continued to glow even during the festival.

As I gazed at the gemstone, a chubby man climbed the tower.

He must be an important person.

He’s about to give an opening speech...

"Hikiage Festival, start!"

What, starting without any formalities?

Cheers rose from the crowd, and everyone started preparing their nets.

Then, the chants to create the nets began.

"Monster Net, deploy!"

I chanted and created a net, pulling it.

The magic consumption was so low that my MP recovered before I could even notice it.

The pulling speed, thanks to my flight magic, was comparable to a six-person party, I think.

Since there was no land to drag the monsters onto, I dealt with them in the air.

From crab-like monsters to ordinary fish-like ones, they all became victims of my pressure magic.

I stored them in my item box.

Incidentally, it seems I can’t store living monsters.

"Monster Net, deploy!"

Once I decided on the method to deal with the monsters, the rest was just work.

I moved around, efficiently pulling and defeating, pulling and defeating.

The item box quickly filled with monsters.

Is this pace fast?

The results were revealed the next evening, at the end of the pulling competition.

"The winner is the mysterious C-rank mage, Kaede, from Decibattle! A historic first win by a solo participant, and a landslide victory with a threefold lead over second place! Kaede, do you have any comments?"

Oops, I completely forgot about holding back and the risk of drawing too much attention.

Well, there’s no real reason to avoid attention...

I’ll play it safe with the interview and maybe do some advertising.

"I’m happy, thank you. It might be good publicity for my Maple Guild."

"Kaede, that’s safe! A boring interview despite the amazing results! ...Can we have a do-over?"

I was asked for a do-over.

Fine, I’ll go with a middle-school syndrome-like boast to make it funny.

"Whether it’s a sub-dragon or a boat killer, they’re just minnows in my hands! Bring it on!"

"Thank you. Kaede will receive a giant mithril pickaxe and 100,000 ter as a consolation prize! Everyone, give a big round of applause!"

When I received the giant pickaxe, which was about 3 meters long, with one hand, cheers and applause rose from the crowd.

What’s so interesting about a giant pickaxe?

Well, this was fun, so I’ll take it.

The Hikiage Festival seemed to be ending without incident.

But when the second main event, the Great Monster Net, started, something strange happened.

I was pulling the net at the back, but the front was getting noisy.

Listening closely, I heard voices like "It’s Revia!" and "Revia has appeared!"

Revia... It sounds familiar.

Is there such a famous person?

The reaction seems more like fear than excitement...

Moreover, everyone around me is running away.

What is Revia?