Chapter 2
--- [Underwood] Harvest Festival, Kitchen VII
Beside the plaza allocated for holding the opening ceremony, a mountain of ingredients was forming from the generous amount of game and other donated ingredients. Those that wished to put their culinary skills to good use, bustled around the pile and were free to take what they needed to flaunt the harmony of flavors from their own recipes.
Having left the Great Tree, Izayoi and Kuro Usagi could smell the aromas of the cuisines that wafted in the air, making them a little drunk in the scent and start wandering around the laid out tables.
“Wow…… That’s quite a lot of food stalls. My original plan was to take over all the stalls in the area but this is a little overwhelming. And to make them all submissive to myself through sheer violence would be an unforgivable humiliation…...!”
“Erm….. You needn’t force yourself to eat them all.”
“No! That would be so wrong. If I’m so easily defeated by the stalls of this world, I would be disappointing the people who used to call me by the name of ‘Matsuri Tornado’. [30] Though it’s such a waste to give up on my one day plan, I will show you that it can be done in three!”
A challenging glint was in his eyes as he gazed around at the crowd of stalls around him.
Just then, Lily’s voice could be heard coming from the number seventh Kitchen at the plaza’s corner.
“This voice…… Lily?”
Thinking about it, Kirino did mention about the senior group helping out with the Harvest Festival preparations. Setting aside their conversation, Kuro Usagi and Izayoi moved towards the source of the voice.
Lily should be in the kitchen preparing the feast and the fragrance of her meticulously prepared dishes wafted towards them. As they neared the kitchen, a happy but slightly off tune song could also be heard coming from the kitchen.
“Stewed Vege~ Stewed Vege~ Flavorful Stewed Vege♪ Combining them and Stirring them ~ The better it will be~ Such a joy it is♪”
“Yep.”
“Ya!” Lily gave a little gasp in surprise as she turned to look behind her.
It was Izayoi and Kuro Usagi who were behind her. A mischievous grin hung on Izayoi’s face while Kuro Usagi just smiled as she stood beside him.
Swishing her two tails in embarrassment, with her face blushing and spreading up to the tips of her fox ears, part of her embarrassment turned into anger.
“That’s… That’s horrid! Eavesdropping on others is not good!”
“Yep. That is why we just have to do it openly.”
“Yes ~♪”
Lily could only pout as they teased her.
Curious about the dish that Lily was stirring earlier, Izayoi helped himself with it on a small sauce plate.
“……Quite a unique taste. What spices did you add in it?”
“Eh? Ah…. This is the meat obtained from the Hunting event. To remove the strong smell of the meat that might put some people off, I added Vanilla. Since I heard that it is very similar to venison, I decided to use it in a stew where the meat can be boiled to a suitable tenderness before mixing other vegetables in as a vegetable stew for everyone. I also heard that deers are seen to be sacred animals in the South and that it will bless the person that consumes it.”
“Oh…deers huh?….”
“YES! ♪ The South has a tradition in the Harvest Festival that sees all horned beasts as sacred. Besides the Harvest festival, goats, water buffaloes, and deers are just as valuable in other Matsuri s.” Kuro Usagi gave a thumbs up as she added.
A second later, the sounds of an orchestra performance started up from the plaza.
The piece that has its main focus on the stringed instruments was accompanied by the beat of drums and harmonized with the flute as it slowly built up in volume. Noticing the variation of the piece, he pieced two and two together and nodded his head in sudden understanding.
“The tradition to see horned animals as sacred and this particular type of music variation…...I get it now. In other words, the South has been largely influenced by Irish culture.”
“YES! Though it still depends on the region, it is right to say that [Underwood] and the [Draco Greif] Alliance is very much influenced as seen from their views of judging strength based on the presence of horns.”
“There’s a Harvest Festival hosted by Inari Okami[31] in the East too. A letter of invitation would always arrive for my Oka-san[32].”
“Oh? The South doesn’t hold that festival?”
“Nn….. That’s right. Since the staple food in the South is not rice but corn and other grains. The method of worship is also different. Even if it was held here, no one would attend it.”
“Oh, I see...” Izayoi nodded as he understood.
---In the realm of grains, the most commonly cultivated are rice, wheat and corn.
As the climate determines the amount of harvest for each type of grain, the grain that grows best in each region would then determine the type of deity that the people would devote themselves to. If a festival were to be held in a region that had less devotees, it would just result in embarrassing that deity on another’s home ground.
“Come to think about it, Little Garden is quite filled with drama isn’t it? After enjoying this Harvest Festival, I would also look forward to joining the Matsuri of Inari Okami.” Izayoi laughed heartily though his reason for looking forward to the event wasn’t for personal entertainment but for the promise that he had made with Lily.
As his gaze shifted to the heap of dishes prepared and waiting on the table, Izayoi seemed to remember about something.
“Oh right. The ingredients over there, can I take them even if it’s uncooked?”
“Eh?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I just thought of the idiot who got himself so injured in the previous battle that he can’t join in the fun at the Harvest Festival. So I’m thinking of consoling him with one of those game.” Izayoi laughed lightly.
However, Kuro Usagi’s reaction was quite the opposite as she shifted her gaze downwards.
“That person you are talking about…. Is it about Gry-san?”
“Yep. He said that he liked the taste of venison and horse. So I will make him regret having skipped out on this Harvest Festival.” And with that, Izayoi started walking over to the pile of ingredients.
Kuro Usagi gave Lily a significant look before chasing after Izayoi.
“Gry-san’s condition is quite bad isn’t it?”
“Nope, his life is out of the danger. And he’s already recovered to the point of regaining his mobility.”
“That...That sounds good!”
“Nn. Actually, the wings of a gryphon are just a leftover from the evolution process and is similar to the tail bone that humans have. Even without them, the gryphons can still fly. So he says not to worry.”
“……”
Izayoi laughed loudly without a change in his behavior that would say otherwise. His words should be the truth. Gryphons had the ability to control the turbulence in the air and step on it like solid ground. Hence, making their wings an extra accessory.
However, the loss of wings for a Gryphon is a fatal flaw. Because the lion is traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds, the Gryphon is seen as an especially powerful and majestic creature, leading them to be very prideful of themselves.
To be in this state would definitely be a huge blow to his pride, causing him to want to hide from the crowd.
Kuro Usagi was racking her brains trying to figure out a way to console the two who were treating each other with much consideration when Izayoi turned back to her without a trace of worry in his eyes. “……Don’t fret over nothing. It’s not like we can’t salvage the situation.”
“EH?”
“Though I haven’t found the exact method, it would be strange if we can’t find one or two gods that can help to treat amputations in Little Garden where all the gods gather right?......I may not know where to find them yet but I did say that I will take responsibility till it is accomplished. So I will also put in my effort to find them.”
Though his words sounded very casual, his determination could be seen from his eyes. It was as though he had just made an oath.
For a person who had such an attitude, sympathy would be an insult.
Hence Kuro Usagi decided to resume her lively self as she replied. “Since it is like this, Kuro Usagi will help too!”
“Oh? Do you have some leads?”
“YES! Kuro Usagi is a prestigious [Highborn of Little Garden]! And would definitely know one or two famous doctors!”
With a look that said leave it to me, she thrust her chest out proudly. Izayoi only nodded without making fun of her.
They arrived at the huge table that was covered by a mountain of ingredients and rolled up their sleeves getting ready to load into a sack that they brought along with them.
“Okay! Let’s just grab a load of food for him!”
“YES! To celebrate his fast recovery, let’s bring him more!”
“Well, let’s take a deer first…?”
“Uwa! Izayoi-san Look Out!”
Having stretched out his hand to take a nicely sliced chunk of meat, Izayoi snorted as he turned to look behind him. Only to see a faerie roughly the size of a fist swooping towards his face.
*Pak!* He slapped it once.
“Slapped into the sky? Slapped down? It’s dead right?! What did you just slap, Izayoi-sanNNNNNNN!”
“Just take it that you didn’t see anything.”
“O…okay….”
“Alrighty! Let’s just grab a load of food for him!”
“YES! To celebrate his fast recovery, let’s bring him more!”
“Well, let’s take a deer first…?”
“Uwa! Izayoi-san Look Out!”
Having stretched out his hand to take a nicely sliced chunk of meat, Izayoi snorted as he turned to look behind him. Only to see three more faeries roughly the size of a fist swooping towards his face----.[33]
*PakPakPak!*------ He executed a consecutive slap with his palm.
“Wa! Where did you slap them to? It sounded like you flattened a few more this time! What did you just slap, Izayoi-sanNNNNNNN!”
“Just take it that you didn’t see anything.”
“Okay---- Did you expect that to work? You tried that tactic once already! You Baka[34]!”
*Swish!* Her paper fan came down.
Izayoi also realized how forced it was to use the same tactic twice in succession but he reluctantly displayed the faeries before Kuro Usagi.
“Oh please. Why would I kill them without reason? I just snatched them from the air and chucked them into the sack.”
“Need…Needless to say, I already know that!”
Peeking into the sack that was filled with meat, Kuro Usagi saw four unconscious faeries lying inside that were now seeing stars while making sounds of “Ugu….”. Picking one up to take a closer look, Kuro Usagi’s gaze became serious.
“……EH? They aren’t faeries.”
“Oh?”
“This…… Could it be [Laplace Little Demons]? No way! Why would the top of Laplace come to ….”
Before she could even finish her words of “this level”, the music had stopped and the noise around them had quietened somewhat. Kuro Usagi realized that the opening ceremony preparations were complete and hurriedly looked towards the stage that was carved into the middle portion of the cliff’s face.
Only to see the Alliance leader who still had her broken dragon horn wrapped in bandages------Sarah Doltrake already on the stage.
Looking at the sky to confirm the time with the stars, Kuro Usagi panicked.
“Oh no! This is bad! I had promised Sala-sama and Shiroyasha-sama to be the MC for the opening ceremony!”
“Nn? Shiroyasha will be here too?”
“YES! I need to hurry over….. Any….Anyways, Please make sure to keep those little demons secured, Izayoi-san!”
“Got it~” Izayoi said as he waved goodbye to her.
Perking her rabbit ears straight up, Kuro Usagi started dashing towards the plaza of the opening ceremony.
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