At noon on April 24, Jin and his friends were at the Palace of Leuthart.
The garden party was scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m., and it was customary to arrive early for such an event.
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Since it was lunch time, attendees were served refreshments that did not interfere with eating and drinking at the garden party.
Of course, the invited guests were served in their own private rooms.
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"...... I didn't expect rice balls."
"The Shoro Empire now has many dishes made with rice."
I see.
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His Majesty the Emperor has been promoting the importation of rice from Mitsuho and its cultivation in the southern regions of the country.
I see.
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I guess I'm not going to compromise when it comes to rice, although I'm not sure if Jin thought that in the past,
"It's delicious."
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"It's delicious."
"It's delicious."
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Mertze, Rubina, Goh and the others were happy to eat it,
"If you eat too much, you won't be able to eat the food served at the party.
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Jin only warned them, "If you eat too much, you won't be able to get in the food served at the garden party.
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* * * * * * * * * *
At 1:30 p.m., the attendees were escorted to the inner garden.
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At a glance, Jin saw that there were about 20 boys and girls invited this time. And there are about twice as many parents and guardians.
Jin did not know how many of them were children of the Shoro nobility, but he thought that if the guests were children around thirteen years old, the number of guests would be about this large.
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The guests were escorted by the ladies-in-waiting of the castle to the inner garden, walking through a passageway that was not usually used.
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After passing through a simple but heavily decorated gate, they arrived at the inner garden.
"Wow!
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"It's beautiful! ......"
Some of the visitors exclaimed.
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（It's so spacious!)
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It reminded Jin of a garden in Shinjuku, which he had visited when he was in modern Japan.
There was a lawn around a pond, and flowers and trees were planted.
The flowering Persica (a cultivar of Persica (peach) for flower enjoyment) was in full bloom, and shrubs such as snow willow, azalea, and dahmeri (kodemari) were in full bloom.
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Above all, Jin's favorite flower, the kuely (cherry), was also planted.
Here and there, benches and squares were placed here and there, and floribas (holly bushes) were hanging down their flowers on the sunshade shelves.
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"This part of the garden is called the Spring Garden.
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A lady attendant explained.
"I see, the other side of the pond is the summer garden.
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Jin thought to himself.
(There must be an autumn garden, too.
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(There must be an autumn garden too, with trees with beautiful autumn leaves and autumn flowers.)
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) I try to imagine such a thing. And it is probably right.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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The group was then led to the front of the rest house.
The rest house was a brownish-gray stone structure with a blend of Japanese and Western styles, which would not look out of place in the garden.
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In front of the rest house was a plaza, where tables were set up, indicating that it was the main venue for the garden party.
There were stools placed in front of the rest house, and we all sat down and waited for the start of the event.
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We waited for about five minutes.
It was 2:00 p.m.
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Ernst Lubus von Richter Shoro, the current emperor of the Shoro Kingdom, appeared.
There was a stir among the people in the pews.
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"Now, I would like to begin the spring garden party.
The voice of the first secretary to the emperor, Hillman Diehl von Aeseth, rang out.
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"First, a few words from His Majesty."
"...... Ernst. It is a great pleasure to see you here today in such fine weather. It is the blessing of our predecessor. Today's garden party was organized with the intention of allowing the young people who will lead this country in the future to simply enjoy this fine spring day."
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Speaking briefly about the Spring Festival, which is in keeping with the wishes of the founder, the Empress Daming, the present Emperor Ernst II said.
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"The future of our beautiful country is in your hands. Enjoy yourselves today."
Of course, there is no denying that these events are intended to foster patriotism.
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Still, such events are a good thing, Jin said as he listened, remembering the former ...... empress.
"Now then, please enjoy yourselves today by touring the gardens, chatting freely, and eating and drinking freely.
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The last part of the speech was concluded by Hillman, the first secretary to the emperor.
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"And so, the Spring Garden Party begins!
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There was a round of applause, after which everyone got up from their stools and went to their places.
The stools were quickly cleared by the attendants.
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No introductions were made between the guests.
The purpose is to have people enjoy each other's company without regard to titles.
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Some get a drink, some go under the flowers, some go to the edge of the pond, and some talk to the children who are standing nearby.
Jin wanted to greet Emperor Ernst II, but Elsa stopped him.
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"...... His Majesty is busy with something right now," she said.
"Indeed."
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Most of the nobles who had attended the garden party had gone to greet the emperor, and the area around him was crowded.
Jin saw this and heeded Erza's advice.
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"Well then, let's go to Saku...... Querry's."
Yes!
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"Yes!"
With a single word from Jin, they all set off for the bottom of a query tree.
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"Beautiful. ......
Beautiful, isn't it?
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"Cherry blossoms are so nice!"
The tree is about 400 years old. It is quite an old tree.
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The color of the blue sky seen through the light red petals was exceptional.
This way, please.
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Thank you.
The golem attendant handed us a sheet to spread on the ground, and we spread it out on the lawn and sat down on it.
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Jin and Elsa took off their shoes. The others left their shoes on and sat down on the edge of the sheet.
"Me, Elsa and Reiko will be here, you guys can go look around."
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"Well, I'm off then," she said.
I'll be with you, Mr. Goh.
"Me too, me and Mr. Goh."
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"Yeah, go ahead."
Yes!
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Goh, Merce, Rubina and the others left, saying that the three of them were going to look around the garden.
Daikie and Cocona followed them, saying they would watch them from afar.
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The rest of the group was Jin, Elsa, and Reiko.
"...... let's take it easy for a bit."
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"Hmm, that's a good idea. Jin has been very busy these days.
That's right. Father, please take it easy.
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At the suggestion of Elsa and Reiko, Jin lay down on the seat.
It was a beautiful spring afternoon.
Jin was relaxing for the first time in a long time.
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