Chapter 33 The Shadow of the Festival
I spent most of the day underground, making and adjusting prototypes over and over again,
"Get some sunlight already! You're gonna grow mold!!"
"Ouch, ouch! That hurts! It's tearing!"
Yuruyana, who had quietly watched for a while, finally lost patience.
He learned that pulling my arm wouldn't make me stand up, so he yanked my ear and dragged me outside.
"So bright..."
Rubbing my ears, I looked up at the deepening blue sky, and the light pouring down from the high sun stung my eyes.
I might have messed up my vision a bit.
Yuruyana was right; it probably was better to go outside once in a while.
"Well, if you stay cooped up like that, of course."
Yuruyana dramatically shook his head and sighed.
In his hand was a flyer.
"Anywhere you want to go?"
"Yeah, it had a lunch discount coupon."
The flyer from a restaurant closer to the center than White Brick Street included a free drink voucher and said it was for the National Foundation Festival.
"By the way, what do we do for the National Foundation Festival?"
While walking down the noticeably busier street, Yuruyana suddenly looked up at me and asked.
He was always so sneaky, trying to use the discount without even knowing what it was for.
"It's a huge festival that makes a big ruckus across the capital for 3 days. It's the biggest event of the year. The main square is the centerpiece, and on the last day, the royal family parades down the main street."
"Whoa."
It's a festival celebrating the day the country was founded.
No one cares about the origin anymore; kids and adults alike use it as an excuse to drink openly during the day, just having a blast.
A bunch of visitors come from all over to match the season, so the capital's population swells significantly, making it a prime time for restaurants, lodgings, and souvenir shops to rake in cash.
That's why campaigns start popping up all over town more than ten days in advance.
"...The National Foundation Festival, huh?"
"Isn't it a fun event?"
Yuruyana tilted his head at me when I sighed.
"It was fun when I was a kid. But during my time at the academy, it was the last thing on my mind, and after joining the military... I was dragged into security duty..."
"Ah..."
More people mean more problems.
The capital police can't keep up, so they call in the military for backup.
And it's always the same wild stuff: breaking up drunk fights, sneaking around to stop assholes causing trouble at festivals, running all over the city, and on the last day, keeping an eye out until the parade ends just in case something happens to the royal family.
"So, this year I can finally just enjoy it, right?"
"I hope so."
"But every time someone says that, it jinxes it."
Even though he said that, Yuruyana couldn't shake off the bad vibes from the past few years.
He ended up checking alleyways and shadows out of habit while walking through the town.
Decorations were going up all over, and food stalls and stages were being built.
That's when he noticed a guy on the other side of the street.
"Whoa, what?"
"Sorry, just swatting at a bug."
"Oh, really?"
When he looked back again, the guy had vanished into the crowd.
"Could've been a stabber."
"Eh, I hope not. You're not hurt, Tsukumo?"
"I'm good."
My bad feelings are usually right.
* * *
"...Really?"
"I'm not mistaken, right..."
I'm gonna talk to Luka and Thomas, who came back to return the knife I lent to Dustin after wrapping up the Salamander case.
I was wondering why they both showed up when one would've been enough, but it works out for me.
"Remember that guy with the big-ass tattoo on his face from the last job? The one we were supposed to take out."
"Yeah, the one with the evil-looking face."
They both tilted their heads up, trying to picture the guy's distinctive look.
"He burned off the tattoo, but it's gotta be him."
"If you say so, senior..."
Luka gave a nod to make it look like they were leaving, and Yuruyana stayed behind at the shop while they snuck around to the back entrance, whispering to each other in the shitty, dimly lit corner.
"I was sure I'd finished him off."
He was a guy with one of the highest ranks in the gang, doing really dirty stuff.
His name was Isandro, if I remember right.
I shot him twice in the chest up close with the arcane gun, made sure he didn't move.
"...let's put aside why he's still alive for now. Erasing his flashy tattoos and showing up in the capital at this time means he's probably cooking up something."
"Most likely."
Even though he was on the other side of the street, I spotted him quick because the dark, gloomy vibe around him didn't fit the lively street.
That harsh look isn't from some criminal who suddenly turned good.
"...Yuruyana, he's a victim of that gang. He wants to handle it quietly."
"I see."
"No wonder he's so pushy."
While Thomas looked serious, Luka grinned like usual, maybe even a little happy.
This guy gets kinda creepy when talks like this come up.
"If it's the captain's orders, can't help it. Got it, I'll find where he's hiding by the Founding Festival."
"Counting on you. And the reason why, if you can."
"On it. I'll do my best!"
Still, in cases like this, he's the most reliable.
I'm sure he'll have something by a few days from now.
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