60-Toriri Festival






Well, well, well. They're here in force!
As you feared, Nino-sama, it has come to pass. ......

 On top of a tower in a goblin village.
 The two men who climbed the ladder after receiving the news let out a squeal when they saw what was going on behind the fence.

 The dust was rising so loudly that it was clearly visible even from a distance.
 It was the work of a pack of demons kicking at the ground.

 They are tall enough to reach the middle of the tower.
 It has a long neck and thick, strong legs.
 Their huge beaks, which took up more than half their faces, were so big they could bite off a human head with a single bite.

 The vicious assaulting birds were on the attack.

At a rough count, there must be forty of them.
...... I'd say we're way ahead of them in terms of numbers.

 But that's including the ones that don't add much to the fight.
 Nino and his team are currently searching the eighth floor and will not be back soon.

 There are forty goblins left in the village, and seven women in the sewing team, including the village chief, Dirk, and his wife, Karina.
 The rest are Heimo and his three apprentice goblins, and four large caterpillars that only spit out threads at the fairies' yaws.

 It was a rather unsettling group of people against the rampaging horde of large demons.

 Faced with the ever-present threat, the village chief and the blacksmith lock eyes with each other for a moment.
 Then they nodded at each other with a grin lifting the edges of their lips.

"This is a great opportunity to show off.
"Oh! Oh, I'm going to have to go on a rampage!

 The two goblins riding the assault birds that had been scouting the area had already reported in thirty minutes ago.
 They were already ready to intercept.

 The village chief jumped down the ladder and called out loudly to his wife who was standing on the fence.

Are you sure you can handle this?
"Yes, you can be sure of that.

 Dirk smiled and lifted his favorite black blade in response to the reassuring answer.
 Next to him, the blacksmith is swinging his black spear around as if he can't wait.
 Both of them are clad in black wolf fur and have breastplates made of crab shells.

 Behind them are three goblins wearing crab shells, grasping long-handled hammers tightly.
 This was the first weapon Heimo had made for the three goblins who had become his apprentices.

...... is in sight. I'm not sure what to make of it.

 The goblins who had been waiting for their turn in the central square of the village lifted their hands in unison at the signal from Karina, who was positioned in the center of the fence.
 Then, in unison, they beat down on the drums held by their feet.

 The powerful echoes rang out through the village, and the rhythm quickly became furious.
 The goblins laughed loudly at the sound of the explosion behind them.

 Just out of the corner of their eye, they could see a flock of giant birds trying to crush them.
 They were our natural enemies, and we had been overrun by them many times before.

 But there was no one on the scaffolding above the fence to show any sign of fear.


 It should be enough to win, that's what I was told.

 As the goblins stared at them with their bows at the ready, a dozen of the leading assault birds darted into range of the arrows.
 And they fell right into the pit.

"Geeheehee!
"Gah-hah!

 The worms had dug it out for them beforehand.
 The bottom of the pit was filled with sharp dog bones.

 Because they had only their prey in mind, the birds were easily caught in the trap and became immobile.
 Their brethren came in after them and stomped on their heads without mercy.

 Using their flock mates as footholds, the second group of ten closed the distance to the fence.

"Guhehe!

 Gobbledygook, who had been watching for the right moment, gave the signal, and one by one, the arrows were concentrated on each animal, one after another.
 Naturally, most of the arrows were blocked by the hard scales and feathers, but it was all right as long as they snatched a few.

 The poison in the arrows made my body numb, and the birds' movements slowed down quickly.
 They barely made it to the fence, but their speed was already greatly reduced.

 The fence they were about to collide with had also been drastically improved.
 It was a sturdy large tortoise shell lined up with no gaps, but it was also slightly sloped.
 This further reduced the momentum, and the giant birds' was completely unsuccessful.

 The charging birds almost stopped moving.
 Then, the fairy Yoo, who was astride the potato, let out a familiar laugh.

"Kihihihi!

 At that signal, the caterpillars lined up on the fence began to spit out a series of sticky threads.
 In no time at all, they were covered with white threads, and the charging birds could not move.

 The village headman sprang forward and slammed his black sword into them.
 With a few strikes, the thread turned red and the demons stopped struggling.

 Next to him, Heimo and his three disciples took turns swinging their weapons to flatten the head of the motionless bird.
 It was a truly breathtaking display of master and disciple skill.

"Miss Karina, may I shoot that?
"Yes, you may.
Well, I'm in!

 The two sewing team members who are also mages unleash their magic power on the third group of assault birds.
 One of the birds at the front of the group was pierced in the leg by a stone needle that had popped out of the ground, and fell over while emitting a cry.
 Next to him, another bird, its face burned, swung its head around in agony.

 From the side, a charging bird carrying a goblin attacked.
 In the saddle on the back of the goblin, there was one goblin holding the reins and two others holding spears, and they thrust their tips into the face of the giant bird, which was finally within reach.
 The unexpected attack stopped several of the birds in their tracks and they became targets for the arrows again.

 The giant birds, their momentum halted, were killed one by one by the pitfalls, sloping fences, and the paralyzing arrows and strings spewed by the caterpillars.
 Under the incessant beating of drums, it was the assaulting birds that became the prey.

"Hey, hey, hey! How about this?
A wound like that will heal in no time!



 The blacksmith and the village chief were happily fighting with the last few remaining birds.
 The women of the village murmured to each other in disgust as they stood on the fence and watched the rampage.

"Oh dear, they're doing whatever they want.
Men are so naive. ......
The men are so simple. Now, let's get ready to clean up. Thank you, everyone.

 Since Nino was not here, it was not going to be easy to collect everything in the mysterious space.
 The huge bird carcasses would have to be dismantled one by one.

 However, this is where the ladies who have been in charge of the kitchen for many years come into their own.

Please hang the goblins on the fence and start draining the blood. We'll boil some water and get ready to pull out their wings.
"Gee whiz!

 The goblins are very good at drying off.
 The goblins are very good at drying off. The women with their arms wrapped around each other look around at the terrible state of the battlefield and lift the edges of their lips.

'Well, let's do this. You're in for a treat today, boys.
"Hahahahaha!

 And so the Harvest Festival came to a successful end.
 The second act, the Torikuu Festival, was to follow.