Dawn- An age of Darkness

It was noon and we had the whole day. 

This was supposed to be the Holy night festival, meaning we'd probably end up staying late. So booking an inn was first priority. 

I still didn't know what was so holy about this night though. 

"Let's book a room first?"

"I don't think they'll be any open. We can also stay in the castle without much of an issue I think," Alisa said. "They were too afraid of you anyway."

"Fair enough. Let's go check and if there isn't any open, we'll stay in the castle."

I didn't mind staying in the castle but I kind of wanted to spend the night in the town. I figured that'd be more entertaining. My life was kind of monotonous so a change of pace was always something I was searching for.

Besides, I didn't have all the time in the world. And I had a feeling I wouldn't have time for festivals of all things in the near future. 

"Shouldn't we first get the sword and the land?" The half-elf was being uncharacteristically impatient. 

Oh yeah, we should have gotten the land first and buried those two.

"We'll be staying and enjoying the festival together, therefore I don't think we need to hurry. We can always just do them tomorrow and leave." Besides, burying those two would have made our mood way too gloomy. Then again just thinking about it was enough to make me feel sad, albeit slightly. 'I'll finally be able to keep a promise.' And yet, I found myself smiling despite all that.

The half-elf seemed a bit unhappy but she didn't complain. I wish she'd just tell me her name already.

Biteria however, was looking around, eyes shining. She was also drooling no less. 

We were just out of the castle and already there were plenty of stalls. And the roasted scent in the air was alluring- to say the least.

Food in this world was a hit or miss for me. Either it tasted amazing or just plain inedible. Most of the spices in this world didn't really work for me. But for Biteria, it was different. She would eat anything and everything as long as it had meat in it. She was okay with even raw meat. I had to forbid her to not go near decaying meat or I had a feeling she'd start robbing graves or something. Then, again, this thing was also dead, so wouldn't it be cannibalism? Sure didn't seem like it though. After all, back at that island, I saw a lot of things, I wished I hadn't: so cannibalism was the least of my worries.

Anyway, though I wanted to head to an inn first thing, we decided to stop by a stall and eat some lunch. 

***

This was a human country and the capital no less. 

So the food was kind of expensive and smelled nice. It probably even tasted nice- or so my nose told me.

We were only having it by the road, and not in a proper restaurant. This was more of an appetizer before the actual lunch, anyway. 

This stall had some sort of meat deep-fried with batter, salad, fresh fruits, and rice on the menu. Probably not the best combination for me but the first and the last one together were nice. I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to eat lunch after this but I ordered some anyway. 

Nostalgia played a big part in all of this. I ordered some fruits for dessert. 

Okay, now I was certain, I wouldn't be able to have lunch. 

Seeing so, my companions also ordered the same stuff.

There was a crowd on this stall so the order would probably take some time. 

Biteria though didn't care about anything as long as she had meat, so we ordered about ten plates for her.

I still wondered where all that food would go. 

Anyway, we sat on the bench near the stall and waited. 

"Are they fighting or something?" Ve pointed at a couple in the middle of the road. 

The couple was arguing about something and hitting each other: they were the burly type, not too macho though. Neither had respect for the other: people just ignored them. 

The girl was hitting the guy in the crotch and the guy was squeezing her- ah, yeah, I didn't know if he was winning or losing. 

I chuckled just by seeing that- it did seem painful though. 

After knocking the guy unconscious the girl picked him up and carried him away: we had a winner. Both were pretty tall and muscular but that woman must have been really strong. 

"I don't get men. Why do you like these so much? Aren't they just for the children?" Ve said, examining her modest chest.

Alisa broke into suppressed giggles while the half-elf- looked away to hide her snort. Biteria was too busy drooling.

"Yeah, no comment." I sure didn't want to die by fire.

***

After fifteen minutes, our orders arrived and we started. There were no spoons or forks, so we had to eat by hand. I personally didn't care as long as my stomach was being full and the food was good. 

I did wash my hands though.

And the food really was good. First of all, the rice was sour but it went good with the meat. The meat was baked in some sort of sweet and salty batter. I didn't know how but it somehow formed a delicious combo. 

Or was I just too focused on nostalgia?

Well, it was probably the latter as I took in more bites, the reality hit me.

The rice was kind of sour and it was also a bit mushy for my taste. But the meat was good. It was so good that I ended up stealing a plate from Biteria. Obviously, I'd made sure she didn't notice. 

Both Ve and Alisa seemed to be enjoying the meat too. They weren't touching the rice though.

The half-elf only ate salads.

Oh well. 

The food was good but I probably wouldn't be coming back. 

***

We finished and paid. 

I was almost full.

But now we had an inn to find and a city to explore. 

There really were a lot of people here though. I definitely wanted to find out more.

Besides, I still didn't know what a holy night even was. 

But wait, I was literally walking around with four beautiful girls. Three of them were literal goddesses and one was a divine creature- the bunny! So, how come people weren't staring at me with jealous eyes? 

What the hell!?

And why the hell was I disappointed at that!?

"That looks like an inn?" Alisa pointed in the distance. 

Before even setting out on our exploration journey, Alisa had already found an inn.

The inn looked oddly familiar. 

But I'd never been to this city. 

Wait, the name- "Silver…fang?" Wasn't the inn in Moire, named the same?

I guess they had branches?

"Let's check it out." The half-elf said. 

So far she was quiet on this journey. I guess with her goal so close at hand, she was having second doubts. Or maybe just getting impatient?

I didn't know why but something about her felt… odd.

"Yeah, let's check it out."

With that said, we headed for the inn. 

***

It was the same thing, just with different people.

The name was the same, the layout was the same and yet this place looked older. 

There was a lot and I mean a lot of people in here. The atmosphere really reminded me of that first-ever inn I stayed in. The scent was something I could not forget even after all these months. 

People were chatting and some music was being played in a corner by three traveling musicians. They were not good.

After chatting a bit with the girl behind the counter, I learned that this was the starting place for this brand of inn, and all the Silverfang inns' of Destoa are just branches. 

Yeah, I didn't let all this bother me at all.

What did bother me though, that there was just one room available but it was a big room shared by eight people. It was a medium room on the second floor.

Two people had already booked two beds, which left six. And we were roughly five. The spacing was good and we could have slept without much of an issue: plus the beds were four bunk beds so we could have just bought all six- or rather three. But I was an advocate of privacy. So, "I guess we could just stay in the castle?" I whispered to Alisa. 

It wasn't like I didn't want to sleep in this hard bed or anything, okay?

But she smiled faintly. "We'll take the room."

"Huh?"

None of my companions complained. They were all evil. 

Seriously, what the hell was wrong with these girls?

I had a bad feeling about all this.

Sigh. 

Well, if they were cool with staying with unknown people in the same room, I was cool too. 

I wasn't cool with this bed though.

"Anyone up for lunch?" Because I sure wasn't. 

And I just wanted to get out of this frigging room already. 

"I think I'd like to have lunch." To my surprise, Ve wanted to eat. 

Biteria did too. 

Well, that settled it. We came back down.

I checked the menu and ordered some fruit juice for me, Alisa, and the half-elf. Ve and Biteria chose their food. 

I did ask Alisa and the Half-elf first but they just left it all to me so I chose the flavor I liked: something citrusy. 

We sat in the corner of the inn. There were plenty of people in here, chatting away. 

I often heard faint conversations but couldn't really make out much since everyone was talking at the same time. 

The drink was mild-I didn't like it. Who liked their lemon juice way too sweet anyway?

Ve and Alisa just ordered more meat. Seriously, I didn't get people. 

***

We lazed around in the inn till the afternoon. Time moved fast and it wasn't that bad. The atmosphere was festive and I felt a bit of happiness surge. Perhaps I was just distracting myself from the reality but- for this one day, I wanted to move on and enjoy life a little. 

There was one problem though.

Just one tiny problem. 

I knew nothing about the festival.

When I asked Alisa, her only response was, 'You'll see.'

So, yeah, not the least helpful.

I was watching the whole town through the window from our table, so I didn't feel that bored. But, perhaps I was here too long. "Let's go outside. The people seem to be moving." Then again, people were always moving anyway. 

But more importantly, I was the one who wanted to move.

No one objected and we headed out. 

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