It was night, and the main festival of the Treasure Tree Festival had begun.
　The plaza in the center of Rigforesia was beautifully decorated and crowded with people.
　I don't know if it's because the hunting competition was cancelled this year, or because I was the only one to win, but many people rushed to my side.
　I'm not sure if it's going to be easy to find me because there are so many people around, but the medals I wear on my chest make it clear that I'm the winner.

'Congratulations on your win, that was great. And by the way my daughter is just about your age, too.
"No, uh...

　For some reason, a mature male elf tries desperately to introduce me to his daughter and...

Well, I'm going to King's Landing soon and I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me or something...
What?　Huh?

　A young female elf, cheek to cheek, invites me to dinner...

Master Miyama a caterpillar like me was foolish enough to challenge you. I apologize to you.
And who are you?

　For some reason, a female elf who seems to be a spirit mage gets down on her knees when they first meet....

　Anyway, things got so bad that I was in a quandary and I couldn't handle it.
　But then........an unexpected presence became a savior.

'Rude!　Don't talk to your master so casually, or I'll tear you to pieces!
....

　Yes, this is where Anima came into play. She sashayed out and held off the people who were coming at me like a tsunami, like a breakwater.
　Yeah it looks like a few people are getting beaten up from time to time, but it really helps that the barrage of questions has stopped.

'Thanks, Anima. It helps. I'd appreciate it if you could add or subtract a little more, but keep it up.
Master yes!　Unworthy Anima, I'm going to do everything in my power!

　It's a good thing that you're happy to be praised by me, or else Anima would smile at you like a flower, and then turn away the people who are approaching you with more vigor... I feel like the number of people being beaten up has increased, but you heard the instructions to add or subtract, right?　Oh, I blew another one up....
　

　After all, because of Liliwood-san, they all treated me favorably, and the greeting tour went smoothly.

''Kite Kun-san!　Congratulations on your win!
Thank you, Raz, for that.

　Raz-san threw a congratulatory message at me, to which I returned the thanks.
　Then I suddenly realized that I couldn't find Noin-san, who was supposed to have come to the Treasure Festival with Raz-san.

The best thing about this is that it's not just a matter of time. Where's Noin-san?
''That's what makes Noon's behavior so funny.
'What?　What's going on?
'I don't know, but since the first day of the Treasure Festival I've been feeling fine, I've been going crazy sometimes... you see, Noin!　They're coming this way!

　I heard something about Noin-san's condition, and when I asked with concern, Raz-san turned somewhere and called out to me.
　When I heard his voice, I turned around and saw Noin-san hiding in the shadow of the building.
　When Noin-san looks at you once, he moves his body as if in some kind of panic, though it's hard to tell with his armor, and after a little while he walks slowly towards you.

''Noin-san?''
'What?　Ka, ka ka, kite, oh, oh, good morning!
It's night, sir?
Yuyu, the winner, oh, congratulations!
'Yes, yes ... thank you. Um, Noin-san, are you okay?
Hi!

　Indeed, Noin-san's appearance is somewhat different from the usual.
　Or rather, she seems to be in some kind of panic, and she's chewing up a lot of statements.
　What's really going on?　Maybe you're not feeling well or something!

Mr. Noin, I don't know if you're sick or.......
Aww, okay, Kite, you're face is so close... and... and... and...
Sh?
Excuse me!
'What?　Wait, Mr. Noin!

　I got worried and took a step closer, and Noin-san looked even more panicked...................and ran away at a terrific speed.
　Noin-san left, and the remaining me and Raz-san tilted our heads at each other.

"...Mr. Noin, what's really going on?
You know, ever since I met Mr. Kaitokun before, he sometimes mutters something incomprehensible like 'konzenkosai' or 'shugen'.

　Shugen?　Is it a celebration?　No, it doesn't make sense for marriage or anything else to come up there, it would be something else.
　Hmm, I'm worried about it, but........for now, I'll leave that to Raz-san and I'll continue to make my rounds of greetings, exchanging a word or two with him before parting.





















　Away from the noisy yet joyful atmosphere of Rigforesia, I was walking through the forest of spirits by myself.
　I'm sure the spirits have their own way of doing things, so instead of a large number of spirits coming around during the day, there are a couple of spirits who seem to be guiding me through the forest.
　When I followed their guidance and walked through the forest, I saw a shrine, or rather a cave.

''This is even more........''

　It was a much more difficult place to sleep than I thought it would be.
　As it is, I went inside.......well, there is a round hole in the ceiling, the moonlight shines through and it is a fantastic scene, and the spirits are lined up by the wall of the shrine.

　As expected, there seems to be some sort of custom, and a large number of spirits are neatly lined up inside the large shrine, and are still standing still.
　Hm?　What am I supposed to do.......really just sleep in the center of this?
　Maybe it was originally meant to be a way to show the spirits the face of the winner.

　I've seen Liliwood dragging a mountain of spirits around, so that's something, but to be able to see so many spirits is a very valuable experience.
　After looking at the inside of the shrine in the moonlight while thinking about that, I move my gaze to my feet and let out a sigh.

　Yes, even so........it's very hard for me, a modern child, to sleep here.
　
　Should I be relieved that it's not a stone or something, or should I be puzzled as to how it came to be?

'I'm going to be so stiff it's going to be tough to just get a blanket...'
Why don't we put a tatami under it?
Yeah, well, I'd appreciate a tatami... what?
Yeah?

　I thought I muttered to myself as I slumped my shoulders, but for some reason I heard a reply.
　The spirits didn't speak....................it sounded very familiar. Or rather, it's the voice I hear almost every day.

'....Why are you here?　Black
Heh, heh, heh, he's here.

　Black replies to my words with a bashful smile.
　The expression on his face seems to shine in the moonlight.

　Dear Mother, Father - As the winner of the harvest festival, I'll be spending the night in the forest of spirits. And then, for some reason, Black came along.