Chapter 101
The Strawberry Festival of Daigon Village.
Daigon Village had originally been famous for strawberries.
More than half of the Empire’s total strawberry harvest was produced in Daigon Village.
And Daigon Village’s Strawberry Festival was held once a year, in May—meaning the month when strawberries were harvested the most.
In truth, the festival itself was not that famous.
Originally, it had been a small celebration held only among the villagers of Daigon, but after Lysquare Academy settled near this village long ago—
The Strawberry Festival became a festival enjoyed together with the Academy students.
‘They say it was an event to celebrate this year’s harvest and pray for a bountiful season next year… but honestly, it was just a festival where everyone ate and had fun together.’
Although it was called a Strawberry Festival, the festival featured surprisingly few strawberry-related elements compared to its name.
They said that in the old days, all sorts of events related to strawberries used to be the main attraction, but now only the name remained.
At some point it had turned into something more like a week-long after-party celebrating the hard work of farming.
And my role was to make sure students did not cross the line during that lively festival.
“There are twelve taverns in the village. You can see them marked on the map, right?”
“Yes, I’ve memorized their locations.”
“The four that are checked are so large and famous that students usually don’t use them. When they try to drink in secret, they usually go to the other eight.”
“So I need to check those taverns frequently. I understand.”
Lisa smiled at my answer and continued speaking.
“Besides the taverns, Daigon has quite a few alleyways. There are plenty of places where you can hide and drink… or do drugs.”
Lisa marked the major alleys on the map spread out over the desk, and I memorized all of that information as well.
For reference, the drugs of this world felt different from the ones in the modern world I had lived in.
In this world, drugs were… closer to cigarettes in my previous world.
Meaning they were not a problem as long as they were used according to Imperial law, but it was forbidden for underage students.
Well, depending on the type, some were completely illegal.
Of course, up until now, there had never been a case of anyone using illegal drugs at the Academy.
‘If something like that happened, it wouldn’t be something the Disciplinary Committee could handle anymore.’
When I had played through the game, no character in the story had ever used such illegal drugs at the Academy.
So I assumed such incidents wouldn’t happen until I graduated.
“For now, that’s about all you need to know. Any questions?”
“None at the moment, but if I have any, I’ll ask right away.”
“Good. So… there are two days left until the festival starts, right?”
“Today is Wednesday, so… yes, two days remain.”
It had been five days since midterms ended.
Thanks to resting properly, my body felt much lighter.
“Make sure you rest these two days and save up as much stamina as you can. The festival period will be pretty exhausting.”
“That much?”
“Last year I really suffered. But well… that was because all the senior Committee members back then were useless, so I practically worked alone. This year, with you here, it might not be that bad.”
“Unlike those seniors, I’ll do my best to help you.”
“Heh. Just your existence alone gives me strength, you know?”
Lisa approached with a faint smile and gently bit my neck.
I smiled as well and patted her head.
“That aside, Lady Lisa, lunch break is almost over.”
“Right? Guess I should get ready to go. Ah, by the way, Gideon. Do you have anything to do after class today?”
“Yes, I do.”
Hearing my answer, Lisa asked with a slightly disappointed expression.
“Oh… really? What is it?”
“I was thinking of going to see Regnil.”
“Regnil… ah, that blacksmith from Daigon Village?”
“Yes, I thought I should entrust my weapon to him again. It’s been a while.”
I hadn’t seen Regnil recently because I had been preparing for midterms.
So visiting his forge before the festival got noisy seemed like a good idea.
“Alright. I was going to ask you to hang out with me in the garden after class, but we can save that for next time.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“It’s nothing. Besides, we’ll have plenty of time together from now on. Don’t you think so?”
“Ah, yes. That’s true.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Lisa’s words.
“This sword… I think it’s time for it to awaken.”
It had been a while since I last saw Regnil.
As he handled my sword again after so long, his eyes were filled with excitement.
“The special power contained in this Soul Weapon. If I strengthen it just a bit more… and if I carefully satisfy the conditions for awakening…”
“To think the special power sealed in the sword will be opened… That’s unexpected. Or rather, it’s happening much faster than I thought.”
I already knew that once Mistcatcher was strengthened past a certain point, I could unlock a weapon skill.
But simply strengthening it wasn’t enough to actually use that skill.
That sword also had something like an experience gauge, and I had to fill it by adventuring with the sword… something like that.
Of course, filling that experience wasn’t difficult, nor did it take an extremely long time.
But it also wasn’t something that could be completed in a short period of time.
I expected that at the very least, it would take until next semester for me to meet the conditions for awakening.
“Yes, I also didn’t think it would be this fast. A Soul Weapon built a bond with its master while adventuring together, and once that bond reached a certain level, its power awakened… or so I knew. And I heard that building that bond took quite a bit of time.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“I’ve only been using this sword for about two months.”
“Hmm… from what I know, it usually took a little over a year… By any chance, Sir Gideon, did something happen during those past two months?”
“If we’re talking about the past two months…….”
I retraced my memories for a moment.
I fought Sara, caught a Hellhound, got my whole body smashed up while catching the escapees from the Monster Enclosure, suffered during the school trip, and then defeated a Lava Golem in Muktaba…….
“…there were quite a lot of things.”
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but it seems most of what you went through was rough. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have formed such a deep bond with this weapon in such a short time.”
In the game, even with all the condensed real-combat EXP boosts, it still took months.
So I did think it was strange, but well, getting a weapon skill early wasn’t a bad thing.
“Anyway, Regnil. Could you awaken the power contained in my weapon?”
“It’s possible. But it’ll consume a bit of time and money.”
“I can pay as much as needed. It’s just the time that’s a problem…….”
“It’ll take at least two weeks, and at most about a month.”
Regnil held Mistcatcher and walked toward the anvil.
Then he placed it on top of the anvil and analyzed it precisely with magic.
“First, the required materials are a Thunderbird feather and a Wyvern tendon… And there’s one more, but this is a material I’ve never seen before, so I’ll need to ask an acquaintance to investigate……”
“It should be the shell of an Omukade.”
“The shell of an Omukade?”
“It’s a giant centipede-like monster that lives in the country on the far eastern edge of the continent.”
“…Sir Gideon, how do you know that?”
“I researched it separately when I obtained the sword.”
I lied without a change in expression, and Regnil soon nodded and accepted it.
“A Thunderbird feather and a Wyvern tendon. And the shell of a monster called Omukade. I’ll try to procure these through my acquaintance. I’m not sure if I can get the Omukade shell, but that friend has everything. It’s unfamiliar, but he probably has it.”
“I’ll pay separately for the material costs.”
“Thank you. Ah, and Sir Gideon. I’ll need some preparation for the weapon’s awakening, so could you leave this sword with me for about a month?”
“Of course. For the sake of enhancing my weapon, I’d rather leave it with you.”
I replied with a smile.
“So, about a month should be enough?”
“Yes. I’ll return it to you before summer break at the latest.”
“Alright. Then I’ll leave Mistcatcher with you for a while… Regnil, you sell swords here too, right?”
“There are a few.”
“Then I’ll buy one. I do need a sword to use for classes.”
“I’ll just give you one for free. You’re someone who entrusted me with a precious Soul Weapon, so I should at least offer that much.”
At first, I tried to refuse Regnil’s kindness and pay, but in the face of his firmness, I eventually accepted the free sword.
“I’ll take this one. The length and weight are similar to the one I used, and it looks sturdy.”
A very standard two-handed sword.
It didn’t have any special advantages, but it didn’t have any glaring flaws either, so it seemed good enough as a temporary weapon.
“By the way, Regnil, are you participating in the festival that starts in two days?”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to. I’m incredibly busy during the festival. I have to make almost all the items used for it.”
“Well, you were the only blacksmith in Daigon Village.”
When I nodded, Regnil smiled and asked:
“I heard you’re also in the Disciplinary Committee, Sir Gideon. Won’t you be busy during the festival as well?”
“Yes, I’ll be busy too. Still, I think I’ll have a bit of time to enjoy the festival here and there, so if I get the chance, I’ll bring some festival food for you.”
I didn’t meet Regnil often, but it seemed I had grown quite fond of him.
Besides, he was always the one who took care of my weapon, so treating him to something delicious seemed appropriate.
“Anyway, please take good care of my weapon until summer break.”
“Leave it to me. I’ll stake my honor as a blacksmith and definitely awaken the power sleeping within the sword.”
At Regnil’s declaration, I nodded.
Come to think of it, I only came today to give my weapon a moderate enhancement, but I gained something unexpected.
As I said, I thought awakening a weapon skill wouldn’t be possible until at least half a year later.
‘So does this mean I’ll get another offensive option?’
No, calling that skill an offensive option was a bit ambiguous.
It wasn’t purely a defensive skill either… more precisely, it was a counter skill.
Whatever the case, gaining a new power was always welcome.