Hasse’s Harvest Festival
On the morning of the Harvest Festival, Ella, Rosina, Nicola, and Monika left the temple in carriages packed with food, changes of clothes, and other basic necessities. Carriages for Eckhart’s and Justus’s attendants and belongings soon departed as well.
For health reasons, Ferdinand ultimately decided that I would be traveling to Hasse on highbeast. Damuel and Brigitte would take the lead with Eckhart and Justus following me from behind, which meant that Fran would be the only one riding with me. He and I would be spending the entire Harvest Festival together since he had Ferdinand’s potions on hand.
“Rozemyne, be absolutely sure not to push yourself at all,” Ferdinand said, having invited me to lunch since my personal chef had now departed.
“Okay,” I replied.
Eckhart and Justus were with us as well, and once we had finished lunch and listened to Ferdinand’s final warnings, we departed at once.
“Eckhart, Justus—I am counting on you here. Do not take your eyes off Rozemyne for even a moment.”
“Yes, sir!”
I brought out my Pandabus, causing Eckhart and Justus to both step back.
“...Rozemyne, is that your highbeast?”
“Of course, Eckhart. Isn’t he cute?” I said with a laugh.
Eckhart made a choking sound, rapidly looking between Lessy and me. “I-I mean... Is that not a grun?”
“No, it’s not a grun. It’s a Pandabus.”
“I-I see...” Eckhart replied, his face twitching. Seeing him react so similarly to how Ferdinand had when he first saw the Pandabus reminded me just how poorly most nobles would view Lessy.
...Well, they might not like how he looks at first, but he’s cute and convenient. Everything should work out eventually.
As for Justus, though—his eyes beamed with excitement as he saw entrances stretch open for Fran and me to climb into. “Lady Rozemyne, might I ask how this highbeast functions? I would positively love to ride it.”
“Justus, are you mad?! Keep those foolish ideas to yourself and produce your highbeast already,” Ferdinand barked.
At that, Justus shrugged and brought out his highbeast. It was an animal that I hadn’t seen in the Knight’s Order—something like a winged cow, with several horns on its head that really caught the eye. One horn was long and sharp like a unicorn horn, while two others were long and sprawling like the horns of an elk, and they were so big that I was actually worried Justus wouldn’t be able to see where he was going while riding. The legs were like those of a lion or tiger—thick and muscular with sharp claws protruding from its paws.
“Much like your grun, Justus’s highbeast is modeled after a feybeast known as a bahelm,” Ferdinand said.
“My highbeast is not a feybeast!”
“It appears as a feybeast to all who see it, but that is irrelevant right now. You must depart at once. The Harvest Festival cannot begin without you,” Ferdinand replied, urging Damuel and Brigitte to leave with a wave of his hand.
Their highbeasts leapt into the air, and I soon followed in my Pandabus. Fran was in the passenger seat today, and while he had initially paled and prepared for death each time he got in, he now barely reacted at all.
As we raced through the air behind Damuel’s winged horse, I reminded Fran of the important job he had to do. “Fran, don’t forget to make contact with Richt during the Harvest Festival.”
“Yes, milady. I need to indirectly inform him that we will not be sending priests to Hasse for Spring Prayer, and that, while you are striving to calm the High Priest, he remains furious with them. Correct?”
“...Not indirectly. I would like for you to be clear with him,” I replied.
It was because we had used noble euphemisms in our letter to the mayor that he still didn’t realize Bezewanst was dead. One could hardly blame him, either—the phrase “climbed the towering stairway” was pretty ambiguous, and any commoner would surely assume he had just gotten a promotion or something. Back on Earth, it would be like trying to convey someone’s death by saying they had “become air” or “left the public”; nobody would understand unless they knew what the phrases meant ahead of time.
Fran furrowed his brow a little and lowered his eyes, then said “Understood” in a hard tone that made his displeasure clear.
“I know that the mayor was close with the previous High Bishop. I understand Ferdinand’s fury at the mayor’s rudeness, and that your respect for him makes you furious as well. But I don’t want everyone in Hasse dying with him.”
“But it was those citizens who attacked the monastery. You are being too soft on them,” Fran said with a sigh.
So he said, but I needed that jerk of a mayor to get it through his thick skull that Bezewanst was dead before he ticked Ferdinand off more and made my job even harder than he already had.
“Very well, Fran. I will rephrase this for you.” I cleared my throat, then mimicked Ferdinand’s tone of voice, making sure to furrow my brow and make as sullen of a frown as possible. “By informing the mayor that his only ally—the former High Bishop—is dead and that no priests will be sent to Hasse in the spring, we shall cause him and all the citizens of Hasse to tremble with fear, freezing their hearts and pushing them all into the valley of despair. Understood, Fran?”
I looked over at Fran as I spoke, determined to be as far from “soft” as possible, and saw him desperately holding a hand over his mouth to contain his laughter.
“As you wish, milady.”
In the center of Hasse, there was a large U-shaped building similar to old elementary schools I had read about in modern history books. One side was the mayor’s estate and the other was lined with carpentry workshops and smithies, but the far end was the winter mansion that, as its name suggested, was only used during the winter. The farmers from neighboring towns would gather there to spend the colder months.
The plaza in the middle of the U seemed large enough to be used as a field for sports, but today it was being used for our religious ceremonies. A large crowd had already gathered there. The atmosphere was festive and brimming with excitement, completely unlike the usual calm of the city.
We made our highbeasts descend down to the winter mansion just as we had back at Spring Prayer. Some people saw us and pointed up, moving aside to make space for us to land. Soon, a path had formed through the crowd, leading to a stage right next to the building that was meant for religious events. There were tables and chairs for priests and tax officials on the left side, a similar arrangement for Hasse’s officials on the right, and an altar for performing rituals in the middle.
Damuel took the lead, with Brigitte and Fran following behind. I was being carried by Fran, since everyone had shot down the idea of me walking on my own. Eckhart and Justus had said something along the lines of, “We determined that this was the best approach based on how you walked during your baptism and the Starbind Ceremony,” adding that, “Nobody can tolerate the speed at which you walk.”
And so, I advanced to the stage in Fran’s arms. The crowd looked on curiously, with a few people here and there wearing anxious expressions. They were probably the ones who had heard Mark’s rumors.
Eckhart stepped to my side, standing so that the crowd could no longer see me. His expression was tense, and I could see him running his eyes over the gathered people without letting his guard down for an instant.
“Here you are, Lady Rozemyne,” Fran said, having set me down and pulled up a chair. Once I was seated, Eckhart and Justus sat to my left and right, while Fran and my two guard knights lined up behind me.
Being on the stage helped me see much more of the crowd; those who were being baptized, coming of age, and getting married were all dressed up and gathered before me. The children who were due to be baptized were wearing white clothes embroidered with autumn’s divine color, while those who were coming of age wore simple outfits made with fabric also matching autumn’s divine color. Those getting married seemed to be wearing their parents hand-me-downs, judging by how some were covered with fancy decorations and embroidery added over time, while others were plain and clean as if newly made. The women were also wearing lace crowns sewn with autumn plants and fruit.
Here, all ceremonies were held in the autumn. This meant that, unlike in Ehrenfest, even siblings who were born in different seasons could wear the same fancy outfit. This was also why everyone was wearing clothes themed around autumn’s divine color.
A glance at the crowd told me that the kids here weren’t too different from the ones in Ehrenfest, and while the citizens didn’t particularly catch my eye, I got the feeling that the men and older folk from the farming towns were slouching forward a bit more, perhaps due to long years of farm work.
“The Harvest Festival will now begin. Send forth the children to be baptized,” the mayor announced, signaling the start of the Harvest Festival to loud cheers and applause from the crowd.
Amid all this, the children being baptized this year climbed up onto the stage. There were about a dozen of them in total, and there was a pretty big size difference between those who just turned seven and those who were about to turn eight.
...Though it’s safe to say I’m still smaller than literally all of them.
Fran took out the flat white medals we had brought with us and stepped forward to the kids. One by one, he stamped their blood on a medal, just like the priests had done with the children at my commoner baptism festival back when I was Myne.
I lowered my gaze, looking away until the blood stamping was done. Seeing other people’s blood always made me feel uncomfortable.
Guuuh. Please end soon.
After that came the bible stories, but this time Fran read them from one of my picture books while showing the kids the illustrations. He was reading instead of me because his voice carried better.
The kids all leaned forward as they listened, probably having never seen a picture book before in their lives. Seeing their shining eyes all but confirmed to me that we really would want to establish public schools to help improve the literacy rate.
...Only the city of Ehrenfest has a temple, though, so establishing a school there won’t lead to improved literacy rates across the duchy. It would be nice if we had the money to actually build schools, but we don’t, and I can’t imagine Ferdinand would be particularly enthusiastic about holding another charity concert. Oh, but maybe I could just send gray priests to winter mansions like the one in this city? They could hold temporary, winter-only versions of the classes we have in the temple. Given that the kids and adults would be spending their days bored inside anyway due to all the snow, maybe they’d be eager to learn... Though, that plan would require me to raise the social status of priests first.
As it stood now, gray priests were scorned as orphans, and I wouldn’t dare risk locking them in a winter mansion with people who looked down on them. They would almost certainly be treated poorly, and while they could use my authority as a shield to some degree, that wouldn’t make their status as an orphan disappear.
“Do you all understand how to pray to the gods now? We shall now proceed on to the High Bishop’s blessing,” Fran announced, snapping me back to reality.
I stood up and walked to the center of the stage, feeling all eyes on me from both the plaza and the stage. Then, once I had stepped up onto the prepared stand, I took a deep breath. “I am Rozemyne, assigned to the position of High Bishop this past summer by the archduke.”
I looked over the children as I introduced myself. They were all blinking in surprise, no doubt taken aback by the fact that I, the High Bishop, was smaller than them. It seemed that they had assumed I was simply tagging along with Fran.
“Let us pray to the gods that you all grow up to be strong and healthy. Praise be to the gods!”
The kids all wore serious expressions, wavering slightly as they got into the praying position that Fran had taught them. Seeing them try their best was so cute that a smile crept onto my face as I poured mana into my ring.
“Now then, I shall gift you all a blessing from the gods,” I said. “Please kneel in place.”
The kids watched as Fran knelt, then mimicked his posture.
“O Schutzaria, Goddess of Wind, please hear my prayer. We offer thee our thoughts, prayers, and gratitude, so that thou might bless these newly born children and grant them thy divine protection,” I intoned, and a yellow light shot out of my ring before raining down on the children’s heads.
“Holy cow!”
“Woah, it’s shining!”
The kids stood up on the spot and began waving their arms around, trying to get as much light powder on them as possible. It was exactly what you would expect children to do, but Fran seemed to have been caught off guard since he only knew the well-raised orphans in the temple. His eyes were wide, and he was completely frozen in place.
“Thus ends my blessing to you. Please step down from the stage so that the new adults may rise.”
“Sure! Alright!”
“Yer pretty amazin’ for someone so tiny!”
The kids raced off the stage with gleaming eyes, heading straight back to their families. In their place came the new adults.
Once the baptism, coming of age ceremony, and weddings were over, it was time for the other major event of the Harvest Festival to begin. Put simply, it was a grand sports tournament between all of the towns—a competition modeled after the battle between autumn and winter, the winners of which were guaranteed to have a good harvest next year.
Given that I barely ever left the house, this was my first time ever seeing a sports event in person. I excitedly listened to the mayor’s explanation, eager to see what kind of game it was, when Eckhart smoothly stood up.
“Lady Rozemyne, I suggest we return to the monastery.”
“Um... Certainly. If you insist...?”
...What? I thought I could stay at the festival until seventh bell. Fifth bell rang just a second ago, didn’t it?
Eckhart was smiling in a way that showed he wouldn’t accept no for an answer, so I took his hand and stood up, tilting my head in confusion.
“Fran, look over this year’s offerings with Justus. Damuel, guard them as they do so. Brigitte and I will return to the monastery with Lady Rozemyne, serving as her guards.”
“I leave the rest to you, Fran,” I said.
Having speedily given his instructions, Eckhart hefted me up with ease and brought out his highbeast on the stage. He jumped up onto it, and a second later we were flying through the sky, with Brigitte following right behind us.
“Eckhart, what brought this about?”
“There seem to be many suspicious fellows in Hasse. It’s unlikely that you were in any danger, but anything can happen during a high-energy festival. Better safe than sorry in these situations.”
...Oh, he means Richt.
I had in fact noticed that Richt had been glancing my way since I arrived, looking like there was something he wanted to talk to me about. However, with all the ceremonies taking place and Eckhart, Justus, and Fran surrounding me, he just hadn’t had a chance to walk over. But his repeated glances as he waited for an opportunity had apparently made him look suspicious in Eckhart’s eyes.
“I was looking forward to the festival, you know.”
“The festival will continue on for several more days regardless; you’ll see more than enough whether you want to or not. Your chefs are working extra hard today to reward those in the monastery who couldn’t go to the festival, are they not? That will have to do for today.”
“Okaaay.”
We had no idea how Hasse would change once the rumors had fully spread, so those in the monastery had been instructed to stay inside during the festival. In return, Ella and Nicola were using the food that Benno had brought to make absolute feasts for the Gilberta Company employees, city soldiers, priests, and shrine maidens.
We arrived at the monastery to find it buzzing with activity as everyone got ready for the feasts and prepared their beds for the night. Meanwhile, soldiers were carrying crates from the Gilberta Company into the kitchen and the barracks at the instructions of gray priests. I caught a glimpse of Dad climbing down the stairs to the kitchen with a box in hand.
Nora and Marthe had taken out the bedding that wasn’t being used in the girls’ dorms, bringing it to the kitchen so that Thore and Rick could then carry it to the boys’ dorms. Monika seemed to be directing them among others herself, and when she saw me arrive, her eyes widened and she came rushing over.
“Lady Rozemyne?! What brings you back so soon? Have you fallen ill?”
“No, I brought her back just to be safe,” Eckhart answered. “Lady Rozemyne, we will be staying in the mayor’s estate tonight. Please wait for us to return for you tomorrow morning.”
“Certainly,” I said with a nod.
Eckhart then turned to look at Monika. “Attendant, prepare a change of clothes for Lady Rozemyne. That is all. I am returning to the festival.”
“Have enough fun for the both of us,” I said.
Once he had gone, I passed through the chapel with Monika, heading to my hidden room in the back. The room had been fully furnished over my several visits to the monastery, and was now a full-fledged bedroom ready for me to sleep the night in whenever I needed it.
With Monika’s help, I changed out of my ceremonial High Bishop robes and into my bed clothes. Ella, Nicola, and the gray shrine maidens were busy making the food in the kitchen, while Rosina was in the girls’ building preparing rooms for all the girls, including herself. As a noblewoman, Brigitte would be sleeping in my room. She had said that she’d be fine with a bench, so we just needed to bring in a mattress for her.
“We have hardly finished preparations, Lady Rozemyne, so please rest in your room until dinner is ready.”
“Thank you, Monika. Do not mind me at all. I know things are hectic out there, but please do your best.”
And so I did as I was told, resting in my room until the feystone on the wall started to glow. That meant someone was calling for me. Brigitte opened the door, and there stood Gil and Lutz.
“We have something we wish to report, Lady Rozemyne.”
They stepped inside and the door closed. Since Brigitte was here, they both maintained a strict air of formality, and I too kept my back straight while listening to them.
“We have finished making the hide glue as ordered, Lady Rozemyne. It is currently in the workshop, and once it has dried over the winter it will be ready to use,” Gil said.
I responded with a nod, but had Brigitte not been there, I would have given him a pat on the head and a compliment. As the thought crossed my mind, Gil and I made eye contact. He must have been thinking the same thing since he glanced Brigitte’s way and shrugged, and I returned a small smile at our little silent connection.
“Hasse’s orphans were disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to join the festival since they had looked forward to it every year prior to now, but now they are so excited for the food here that they’ve forgotten all about it,” Lutz continued. “Furthermore, it seems that rumors of you paying the soldiers extra for their trouble have spread, so this time the soldiers at the gate fought with all they had to be among those guarding the carriages. Either due to your words or the training of their commander, the soldiers are more cooperative with the priests than they were last time.”
Dad had apparently stood by and watched as the soldiers argued over who would get to guard the carriages, since I had already chosen him ahead of time. As funny as that was to hear, Lutz was probably telling me so I would be ready to pay extra again.
“I’m glad to hear that the soldiers are being more cooperative. In that case, I’ll have to prepare another bonus for them. Lutz, please ask Benno whether he is able to lend me some coins,” I replied, having not brought any money myself since I was only here for the Harvest Festival. I could handle any purchases with my guild card anyway, so it hadn’t seemed necessary.
Lutz wrote that down in his diptych.
“How are the rumors progressing?” I asked.
“The merchants who heard the news in Ehrenfest sped past the city, giving warnings to anyone who would listen along the way. When Master Benno and Mark arrived in the city, some locals even came over to ask about them. Things are progressing just as Mark expected them to,” Lutz answered.
“It seemed like the people from Hasse stopped talking when the farmers started to arrive, so while the city people might know stuff, I don’t think the farmers have heard the rumors,” Gil continued.
Hearing that reminded me how Richt had been looking my way. “He was probably hoping to stop the spread of panic and confusion...” I mused aloud. If the farmers learned that the previous High Bishop was dead and no priests were going to be sent to the next Spring Prayer, the winter mansion would no doubt descend into panic. “Lutz, ask Mark to shift into the next phase of our plan.”
“As you wish.”
Not long after we had finished our discussion, Monika came to tell me that dinner was ready. I headed to the dining hall, and there I found everyone kneeling in front of tables covered with food.
“Today is the Harvest Festival,” I announced. “As the name so strongly implies, it is a festival, so I ask that you all relax and be at ease.”
Everyone looked confused, and who could blame them? There probably didn’t exist any other noble who would say something like that to them. But still, with such a huge feast laid out on the table, I wouldn’t be able to eat comfortably knowing that everyone was watching me and internally yelling for me to hurry up.
“I am saying that we will eat together. It would be a waste to allow all this warm food to get cold. Call everyone from the kitchen as well. The tables shall be divided between nobles, retainers, priests and shrine maidens, soldiers, and the Gilberta Company, but we can all still eat together.”
There might not have been any beer, but there was freshly squeezed fruit juice. After clinking cups together in a cheer, everyone started eating their food.
Brigitte alone frowned as the soldiers behind her erupted in uproarious conversation. As a noble, it was probably hard for her to tolerate.
“My apologies for all this, Brigitte, but it was simply beyond me to eat leisurely with so many eyes watching. I imagine you won’t be all too pleased to eat alongside servants and soldiers, but I hope you can tolerate it for today.”
“Oh, you misunderstand. My family home, Illgner, is very much a backwater province, and we often eat along with our servants and get rowdy with the farmers during celebratory events. I’m used to this kind of thing and don’t feel displeased in the least. I’m just worried about what Lord Ferdinand would think should he hear about this,” Brigitte said, placing a hand on her cheek and glancing my way. It wasn’t hard to imagine that he’d bark in anger.
“We can do this because the other nobles and Fran are staying at the mayor’s estate. Keep it a secret from them, if you would be so kind,” I said, putting my two pointer fingers over my mouth in an X shape.
Brigitte laughed and copied my gesture, likewise forming an X shape over her mouth. “I am more concerned about you letting your tongue slip, Lady Rozemyne.”
Once I had finished eating, I walked around the various tables. The soldiers were all shoveling food into their faces, but when they saw me approach, they all hurriedly set whatever they were eating down. I giggled at the sight of them gazing longingly at their food, then spoke to their representative: Dad.
“Are you all enjoying your time here?”
“The lack of beer’s a shame, but the food’s top-notch,” Dad replied. “Right, everyone?”
The soldiers all nodded.
“Yeah, I’ve never had food like this before,” one said.
“This food alone makes coming here worth it. Some beer would make it absolutely perfect,” added another.
While they were trying their best to speak politely, their eyes were all locked on their food. Everyone was just silently begging me to let them eat again.
“I’m glad to hear you are all enjoying it. I shall inform the chef later,” I said. “Please, continue eating.”
At that, the soldiers immediately dove into their plates again. While watching them snatching food from each other and the like, Dad whispered to me in a voice quiet enough to be lost among all the clamor.
“...Today’s food tastes very nostalgic. It reminds me of the first time one of my daughters cooked for me. She used lots of the wine I had kept stashed away,” Dad said with a smile, bringing a forkful of wine-seasoned bird to his mouth.
Memories of the time I had used his stash of honey wine to cook a bird, then laughed about it with everyone at the table flashed through my mind. It was so nostalgic that tears welled up in my eyes.
...I can’t let myself cry here, I thought, taking a deep breath and smiling as I held back the tears.
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