CH 98

Chapter 98 – Fourth Official Event

After doing this and that in the morning, time to log in.

…Oh, an incoming message. From Cecil-san.

Information he forgot to post on the BBS before I went to bed.

According to the Magic Count, if you have relationships with nobles, it’s better to know how to dance…

And he wants to know if I have any leads on dance skills. So that’s it.

«Butō» and «Buyō» are close, but they are advanced forms of «Footwork», so… I don’t think they can be considered dance skills.

I’ve never danced in the game, but it seems like something that will grow if I do… but he needs a connection to someone that can teach him to dance. So he came to me as the friend that is most likely able to help.

Ballroom dancing with Ellie and Abbie seems fine… but the one that comes to mind first is the Chancellor. As for Nyar-sama… that guy can definitely dance. The Faceless God is very versatile. …But the thought sends chills down my spine. Dancing with Nyar-sama is like dancing with misfortune…

To begin with, the Medium… well, many of them have a strange appearance, so it will be a ‘weird dance’.

The Outer One performed a weird dance!

○○ has lost their sanity!

I couldn’t resist.

But enough thinking stupid things, let’s go see the Chancellor.

“Chancellor.”

“What is it?”

“Can you dance, Chancellor?”

“Well… I might be able to remember. But won’t it definitely be different from on the surface?”

“Ah…”

There will be differences based on era and country… Hm? Then does he have any idea about the social hierarchy on the surface?

The realms under Stellura-sama are clear enough, the Nether, Abyss and Medium. In the Medium my position is a bit dubious, because I’m on the lower end.

“It’s a bit disappointing to say… but I can’t dance because of my position. If I am going to refuse… it’s better to be able to use the reason that the dances I know are different to on the surface.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone on the surface who can ask Sire to dance, is there? But if you wish to learn, I’m happy to teach you.”

The event starts in the afternoon, so I’ll stay and learn for a while.

It seems we will do it in the palace, so we will move over there, catch one of the maids in the palace and dance in one of the unused rooms.

First, step as taught. …The motion assistance is helping with this, isn’t it? I wonder if «Dazzling Butō» is also effective, because this is pretty easy.

I have danced before in real life, so the basic steps are easy to learn. After that, I partner with the Chancellor and dance while having the maid check for mistakes.

<«Dance» was unlocked due to your actions so far.>

Oh… it has been about two hours already. Let’s take a break and check.

«Dance»

A pastime of nobles, but be careful as there are many derivations.

If you want connections with royalty and nobles, you should be able to do ballroom dancing.

I don’t know if it would be expected of adventurers, but it might be a trigger for something.

First of all an adventurer would need to raise their rank, working until their name spreads through completing requests, then they may get an invitation to an evening party depending on whether or not they can dance… maybe? Then they can make use of the party to make connections with nobles and the like…

The SP cost is 3… I’ll take it just in case.

«Dance»

[Dance: Immortal]

…Probably because I was taught by the Chancellor, who is an Immortal. So there is a dance for each race? When it comes to confirmed countries, there are not just humans, but also fae and angelic nations.

And like «Identification», there is no skill level. Does it just display the dances you know as arts?

After having the Chancellor accompany me a little longer I have confirmed that the skill displays how to move in your field of vision. At worst, you can dance while watching it.

I thank the Chancellor and maid for keeping me company and send a message to Cecil-san. Though we’ll probably meet at the event soon anyway.

I want to have lunch to suit the event… so there is a little under three hours to go. I’ll set aside about an hour for lunch, but I wonder what I should do now.

By the way, this event allows you to bring your own items. I forgot to prepare them. There is in-game acceleration, so I should bring some ingredients. …No, I can leave that to the cooks. Oh, I’ll move the honey to my inventory.

My priority should be… «Alchemy». For resurrection potions… and holy water? It would be good to mass produce distilled water while the production facilities are still available. It’s a pain to do.

I’ll use the gushing flask for water of recollection… and need some pure soil. I can recover the soil used to make holy water and put it back in the inventory.

I need crystal lotus and holy punica for the resurrection potions. I’ll ask for those to be collected… and spend the time until noon crafting.

I’m having lunch in the living room with my sister.

“What are you doing for a party, Onee-chan?”

“The usual. And I suppose wait and see with the twins?”

Alf-san and Ske-san will be there as usual, so we’ll make sure we end up on the same server, but I think we’ll have to wait and see what Ame-san and Thorin-san are doing.

The twins usually come and find us when they want to join up, so we’ll let them in if they come.

“What will it be like this time?”

“Well, it’s set in the city, so I think it’s mainly errands.”

“That doesn’t make me very happy…”

I don’t think many people would be happy with errand quests, but this game is much better because of its excellent AI. The flow of the story gets you to accept them without a second thought, so they’re hard to refuse.

I haven’t done any errand quests for a while now. Is it because of my position?

“What’s your level now, Onee-chan?”

“I think it was 46 now? It’s not going up much any more.”

“That’s right. The pace has slowed down, so it’s time to start making detours.”

“I’m tired of levelling up in the dungeon all the time. There are Chronicles and World Quests, so maybe I’ll start looking for other things?”

“Putting aside Chronicles, only the Starting Town has had a World Quest so far. I want to find others, but I can’t do much with only one party…”

“Not really, considering the goblins…”

The goblin invasion is probably caused by the number of them killed, but other conditions are unknown. It’s reckless to do it with a single party. It would be better to go to a dungeon and quietly hunt.

I have crafting for a change of pace, though.

“Oh, by the way, you can bring in items this time, so I’ll bring some ingredients for resurrection potions.”

“Ah… those do seem impossible to procure locally.”

“I’ve got meat on hand and I’m sure I can get it locally, but I’ve moved honey from storage to my inventory. Along with ingredients for resurrection potions, I’ll bring along holy water I made earlier.”

“If you have a res potion, you can push yourself a bit. We’ll come and buy holy water from Onee-chan if anti-undead is needed. …By the way, Onee-chan, did you get the third level of magic?”

“Along with some technical skills, I’ve got light, darkness and spatial. Levelling «Book» took too long, so the rest will take a bit longer.”

«Luminous Magic» became «Aurora Magic», and «Darkness Magic» became «Chaos Magic». The spells I’ve learned are the gladius spells [Ceras Gladius] and [Haos Gladius].

I’m glad to have learned them before the event.

“Did you use them?”

“Of course. It’s flashier and has a much wider range.”

“Yeah! It seems the bulletin board decided to call it wide area magic, as well as long range magic.”

“Wide range magic. I’d like to use it for that purpose, but it’s hard to say good things about the MP efficiency…”

“It’s the coolest looking magic I’ve seen yet!”

A sword of the used attribute falls and pierces the ground, after which the sword contracts and explodes. The effect of the explosion is like a burst spell with a wider range. …I saw a glimpse of the original in that, but I decided not to worry about it.

Considering the MP consumption and casting speed, I would like to hit at least 6 targets with it.

“Apparently to use the MP efficiently, it’s best to use it against at least 3 targets at long range, or 5 in a wide area.

“That’s about right. But if you’re pulling that many at once without a tank…”

“Right. If you’re hunting with one party, you’ll often drop the tank.”

“They won’t be so tightly packed, so you’ll need to train to some extent…”

“It sounds like quite a challenge. It might come out most for insects or defence battles.”

“That’s probably going to happen. I’m hoping for a single target magic.”

The gladius spells are learned at level 1, so if it goes as usual, there should be another 8 to learn.

After munching away while chatting with my sister, it is after noon when I log back in.

Throw the holy water and materials for resurrection potions into the inventory and check I have not forgotten anything… but now what.

There’s an event coming up, so everyone should be gathering. …which means it’s time to show off! Summon #1 as the lump of meat, sit on top, then off to the Starting Town.

And after moving, float up a little higher and wait for the event!

With such a strong presence, the twins should easily be able to find me. Well, it would be faster to just send a whisper.

“You stand out so much, Princess.”

“Good day, Fairellen-san.”

“Hi, hi!”

“It stands out well, huh.”

“A total villain, if not for it being a blindfolded nun sitting on top.”

“Hey, Princess! Party!”

“Alf-san and Ske-san.”

While talking with Fairellen-san, Alf-san called out from below. I will send over a party invite to those two.

“What about your party, Fairellen-san?”

“I’m teaming up with Mead and the others again~.”

“In that case, Clementia-san too.”

“Yes~. And the bad dog.”

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen either of them lately.

“What about Mohican-san?”

“Not this time.”

“”There’s Princess!””

Ah, the twins arrived.

“Good day.”

“”How do you do, Princess!””

“Ohh…”

“”Mufu~””

I’m sure they looked that up, since they looked so smug after. It’s cute, though.

“”Are there free spots in the party? Are they free?””

“Hold on a moment. I’ll check.”

“”Aye, sir~.””

After confirming with Alf-san and Ske-san, I invite the twins to join the party.

“Princess, what is your party name this time?”

“The party name? This time it is 『Let’s torment them until they cry』…”

“In other words, make them cry until they spit blood… ruthless!”

While answering Fairellen-san’s question, I had looked at the party information… and aren’t they fast?

“You’re almost 40. That’s quick.”

“”Because of the increased experience!””

“Oh, that’s right.”

These two had equipment with an effect of slightly increasing experience earned. That’s why it’s good to have them in the party.

There are some problems with them teaming up with us normally, because they were part of the second batch, so are behind us. It would be hard to close the gap while partied, so they need to work hard separately to some extent.

Not only in this game, but also in general, it is not good to have a party with a big difference in levels. It has some disadvantages. But… in terms of base level, aren’t they about there?

This game causes no particular issues when there is a 10 level difference, but the recommendation among players is about 5 levels.

The reason for this is that your skills and their levels are also important. Depending on your base level, your skills are likely to have only reached a certain point too… though it’s just a guide.

“What is the highest skill level you both have now?”

“”Umm… 43!””

“That’s high. Wasn’t your base level just below 40?”

“”That’s right!””

So, like Fairellen-san has, it’s possible to make a rough guess. With a base level of just before 40, skills should be around 40 in the second tier. If your base is in the upper 40s, you’ll be in the third tier. If you consider that the cap of the second tier is 60, it is difficult to raise them.

The experience you get depends on the base level of you and the enemy. Less for enemies lower than you, and more for those that are higher. After a certain point the bonus for higher level enemies decreases again, so it is best to go in moderation.

You can earn base experience when around your party members, but skill experience is only earned when you use them. In other words, if you do power levelling, the game becomes hell later on.

Well, this game is one character per player, so there is not much need for power levelling.

“I don’t know how much we’ll get from this event, but it seems like we’ll be okay to form a party for levelling in the dungeon soon.”

“”We’ll try hard!””

“Considering the skill level, isn’t it enough now? I’m sure it decays above 11, but that was just in the range of an error, right?”

“From 11 to 15, it was 5% or 10%. I think it became a non-negligible amount from 16.”

“Right. Well, it’s hard to fight when there’s a difference…”

In this case, the hunting ground will be around our level, so the twins will be fighting against enemies roughly 10 levels higher. Levelling is a series of battles, so it will be hard to stay focused.

Just like before, a weirdly assertive countdown is displayed above the Starting Town, but that started 10 minutes ago. We should be able to transfer soon.

<You can now enter the event field.>

“Oh, it’s open! See you later, Princess!”

“See you later.”

We will also use the UI to transfer to the event field.

<Connecting to event server… Waiting in queue… Complete>

<Obtaining the necessary information for the event… Complete. First server selected.>

<Preparing to transfer to the event field…>

Speaking of which, it did say they would divide the server. The transfer happens after deciding on the server, so it changed a little.

The UI displays a countdown, and when it reaches 0 we are teleported.

…Plains? There are a lot of players appearing, but I don’t see any artificial structures in the area. I think this is due to my vision specifications.

And it’s night. Will the event start around dawn?

“Hello, Princess!”

“Good to see you again, Fairellen-san.”

“There are many familiar faces, so I wonder if the first batch was put together?”

“Did it allocate based on when we started the game?”

“Maybe?”

“I brought the twins with me… I hope it’s okay with it being a city event…”

“It will be fine. I doubt it’s unexpected.”

That’s true too.

There’s no point appealing to the first batch… or more like it’s too late for that, so I’ll get down. Send back #1 and float down to the ground with «Coordinate Levitation».

And now bring out my own tentacles, to sit proudly.

“Seriously an underboss.”

“The problem is that unlike #1’s tentacles, these will disappear after a bit of time.”

“In other words, if you sit there for too long, you’ll fall.”

“Yes.”

It would be no good if I could keep the summoned indefinitely, so it can’t be helped.

However, if the tentacles disappear while I’m sitting there posing, dropping me on the ground… that would be overwhelmingly lame, so I have to avoid it.

“There’s Onee-chan!”

“So Rina is on the same server.”

“Mohican-san came too.”

Looks like we were put together after all. Well, games are most interesting when played with people of the same level. It’s easier to adjust the balance that way, too.

“Wahaha! It’s me!”

“Good morning. I’m Mitake.”

“Let’s get this explained to you guys who already got here 10 minutes early!”

It’s the familiar Yatsuzuka-san and Mitake-san, who show up at every event.

The server opened 10 minutes ago, so it has already been about 8 minutes.

“As we announced, the town is going to be the focus of this event. This town was built for the event and will not be accessible after it ends. You can look up the settings on the webpage… but they are the same as the normal game server, so things like professions and positions will have the same effect.”

“Of course, not just the town, but also the Residents of the town are dedicated to the event! You don’t need to think about giving feedback on the website!”

With that said, is there something happening that would normally make you think about giving feedback?

“Like the defence battle a while ago, the event has been divided into different servers. Basically it’s a split of the first, second and third batches, so you should see people you are familiar with. The exception is mixed parties. And the bulletin board is handled in the same way.”

“The lower the number, the fewer the people, but the longer they’ve been here! The higher the number, the more people there are, but the shorter time they have been around! There is no difference in difficulty based on server number…!”

“There are several major figures in this event, and they will be chosen randomly for each server after this. The AI of the Residents is currently suspended, but the main figures will be chosen 2 minutes before the start of the event and the Residents will begin to move.”

“We don’t know which will be chosen, so we’re excited! Even those not chosen as main figures will not disappear, so good luck with not getting mislead!”

“Information is everything in a city event. Be proactive and explore the area, hunt and gather at the request of the Union and take requests from the Residents.”

“There are no general captains this time, so you can do whatever you want with your groups! Any important information you obtain will automatically be shared with everyone through the event UI! On the other hand, anything that is not shared automatically is not even misleading, it’s irrelevant information!”

“That’s all the prior information you need to know. Have fun figuring out the rest with trial and error.”

“As soon as the event is over, you’ll be able to see the bulletin boards for all servers! The video will be available as soon as the editing is finished!”

The important points are… that the difficulty does not change depending on the server number, though it will likely change depending on what is selected after this.

The first server is the one with the least number of participants, but most of them are from the first batch, so the average status is higher.

The number of people is important when it comes to information gathering, so that part is tough. They have been playing the game for a long time, so they should do okay. There is a good chance that some of them are in some kind of position, so we should be able to expect information from those sources too.

There are no captains this time and information related to the event is automatically shared. However, some of the information may be misleading.

That’s about it.

A girl has raised her hand, saying “Yes, here!”… oh, it’s Yura-san.

“Yura-san, is it. What’s wrong?”

“I’m from the second batch, but solo…”

“Um… it seems that some of the top ranks have been placed in the higher servers. Yura-san from the second batch has been placed in the first server. The top of the third batch in the second server.”

“What are the criteria for this ranking?”

“Basically, base level and skill level.”

Does it feel like the top players of each batch are catching up to the one before?

Hm, there’s Mohican-san and Mizuki-san. And there’s another woman… no, the system says it is a man… Mohican-san alone is too much, but that party is intense.

A ‘hyaha’, a lady in a chinese dress, and a young man… in a one piece dress. All three of them together looks kind of amazing.

The fact that the first batch and the upper layer of the second were put together means that all my friends should be here. Friends list and connected server… they’re there. They are all on the first, so should be here somewhere.

For the time being… it will be meeting up with party members.

“Hello, you two.”

“Good day, Cecil-san.”

“Hey.”

“Captain or not, union please!”

“Ah, sure.”

What should the union name be… Hm… because it’s a city event…

Okay, ‘Paranoia’. Is apparently no good. In that case… this. And the recruitment comment can stay the same as usual.

『For those who are willing to work hard and cooperate on clearing with an S rank. Malicious interference by union members should be reported to the leader with a video, preferably before the party is banned. After confirmation by several party leaders, they will be banned and blacklisted.』

And… there we go. Now the usual members… first of all, let’s get friend parties in.

“I made it. 『The citizen’s happiness is mandatory, Troubleshooter』.”

“Is that town Alpha Complex…?”

“I don’t know if we can work together properly, with that union name.”

“Are you dissatisfied, Troubleshooter?”

“”Not at all!””

The parties of Fairellen-san and Cecil-san have joined, and once all the friends are in it can be changed to automatic acceptance…

After joining the union I can see the town on the map. There are two minutes to go before we can head there.

“Oh, the Residents have begun to move! By the way, after the event starts you can transfer directly to the statue in the town!”

“Do we not need to unlock the portal?”

“Not needed!”

It’s like the entrance to an amusement park before it opens, at the moment.

“Have a good time!”

“We will be going back.”

The two GM’s disappeared as if melting away, leaving us with about a minute and a half until the start of the event.

“What’s the plan?”

“Should we act freely for now?”

“That’s fine. As soon as information shared through the UI comes in, we’ll give priority to that.”

Kotatsu-san, Musasabi-san and Ruzebarm-san have joined us. I think that’s fine too, so I have nothing in particular to say.

Even if we are acting freely, we will be moving as separate parties. Our party can work as a Nether group… I’m a little different, but it’s not really wrong. It’s just that it’s not just the Nether.

“Hyahahaha! It’s a good day for an event!”

“Yo, Mohican!”

“Cecil-chan is beautiful today too~. It has been a while, everyone~.”

“Y-yeah. Mizuki-san is as beautiful as ever…”

Even though Cecil-san is politely returning the greeting, his standard smile is cramping. It’s just a greeting, and not coming on too strong, so it’s hard to ignore. He’ll get used to it… eventually.

As I saw earlier, the other man is with Mohican-san’s party. He has a neutral appearance. He’s on the small side too, so his appearance doesn’t seem particularly strange.

Hm, the Rina and TomoSugu parties have also come over.

“Should I introduce myself? I’m Ayumu, from the second batch.”

“The reason for his appearance is a little different from mine~.”

“I don’t know if I’d call it a complex, but I have this face and physique… so I’m often teased. Especially at school festivals. So when I saw Mizuki, I figured why not, since it’s a game… and so that’s why. It’s nice to meet you.”

“『Ah… school festivals, huh. Yeah, we get you.』”

The men seem to understand very well, and are nodding their heads.

I also understand, but in another sense.

“You can’t control what you’re born with… How to see the positives, or even turn it into a weapon… that’s the key.”

“Onee-chan already passed at that. Hello!”

“Yes. In my case, it was especially easy to use it as a weapon, but it’s all a matter of how you see it and your personality…”

“You don’t have to go with the flow and say it, you know~?”

“It’s not a problem? It’s too late for that. My mother is Japanese and my father is English. I take after our father, while my sister takes after our mother. I have black hair in game, but mostly because I don’t for real, so it feels kind of fresh.”

Children are cruel because they are innocent. To the extent of pouring carbonated drinks into an ants nest.

There is no way these children would pass over me, who has different colouring to others. Well… I wasn’t very mature either. If they’re kids, so am I. Of course.

“So you sisters are ‘half’s’. …So that’s why the streams are sometimes in English!”

“Yeah! It will appeal to both English and Japanese speaking viewers.”

“It’s easy for hair and eye colour to stand out, and with this figure, what else can you do but use it as a weapon? Of course, it took a lot of work to reach this appearance.”

“That’s good! I knew it had to be that way! From my point of view, most of the problems are trivial~! I’m sure it’s serious for you, though, isn’t it~?”

When Mizuki-san says this… Yeah. It’s very convincing, and hard to refute. There’s no need to argue, though, and no point.

Only the person in question can understand their own problems.

“Hyahaha! This guy does seem to be having more fun these days though!”

“I think the problem might be that I’m spending too much though? I wear men’s equipment for combat and women’s for fashion…”

“It’s okay if you just run around looking for money instead of worrying about it~.”

“Better yet, you should just get used to it in-game, and then go all out with the cross-dressing at the next school festival. Won’t it floor a few people? I think they’ll give you a really interesting reaction.”

When I told people mine is a good weakness to have… they backed off. I don’t get them.

“Princess… you’re quite a character, huh?”

“It’s the result of teasing and annoying me. Just take things in stride. It is more satisfying in the end.”

“Well, it is deserved. It’s about to start, anyway.”

Ah, Cecil-san seems to have something on his mind, too. Even with the games adjustments, he still has that face. …I won’t delve into it. His usual smile is a little dark.

When the event starts and everyone rushes into the town, I walk leisurely with my party. The twins are floating, though.

“What should we do first?”

“Hmm… We’ll get a clear picture of the town soon enough, so we can leave the running around to them… Is it the church for us?”

“Then should we just follow Princess as she goes to do her greetings?”

“”Okay? We’ll leave it to you.””

“Then let’s go to the church first.”

There’s a chance that information about the church will be difficult to obtain. Would they tell the problems of their organisation to an Outer One… I wonder.

Well, I will go. We’re probably the only ones suitable.

As we approach the town, I can see a field. Pumpkins and other crops are growing, and the scarecrow has a pumpkin face. It’s fairly typical for a Halloween event.

What I can see of the town is also decorated for Halloween. Hollowed out pumpkins have been placed over the lights, and they are covered with cloth like a cloak.

We enter the town and aim steadily for the central square, for the time being.

“The pumpkins are fitting for Halloween, but the colours don’t really fit, do they?”

“Is it something unique to this world?”

When I turn my attention to the colours with the words of Ske-san and Alf-san, I notice the decorations used are in orange, black, blue and green.

“”Do the colours mean anything?””

“Yes, they do. I don’t remember what it was… but it should be easy to look up.”

Orange is for pumpkins, fire and protection against evil.

Black is the darkness of night, witches, bats and black cats.

Purple for supernatural powers and magic.

White for ghosts and skeletons.

Red for blood and danger.

Green for poison and monsters.

“I guess you could say that orange and black are the same, but blue and green… are they derived from Harvenshis-sama?”

“The colours of the fertility side, not Halloween.”

In the real world, white, red and green would not be used for decorations because of their meaning. Though I think they might be colours to use when dressing up in costume.

“However, it’s interesting that yellow is not used.”

Orange is for pumpkins and fire, black is for the dark of night. Witches are pharmacists in this world, and I haven’t seen any with black cats as familiars.

Green is Harvenshis-sama’s own colour… that of her hair and eyes. Blue is water, but what about the yellow of the earth?

“Isn’t it that? Pumpkins are representing crops, not orange. The yellow of soil.”

“Oh, that’s how you see it.”

Orange is fire.

Black is the darkness of night.

Blue is water.

Yellow for pumpkins.

Green for Harvenshis-sama.

“We should be able to get the answer at the church we are going to.”

The central square is clearly designed for the event. The statue of Stellura-sama is still there, but there’s a lot of space nearby.

I… am curious.

“Excuse me. What is this space for?”

“Putting the wood together and lighting the fire! We’ll have to start building it soon.”

It’s not on the scale of a campfire, but a huge bonfire.

I’ll release the captured Resident. …Though all I did was call out and listen to him.

“Looks like there’s a bonfire building quest.”

“For the strength types. Seems likely.”

“Now we know about what stood out, let’s go to the church.”

“There it is. It’s good that it’s easy to see the church in every town.”

“”It’s very obvious!””

And so we shall go to the church, with the same standard design as the one in the Starting Town. It seems to be a template building in most big towns. The chapel area open to the public is…

I’m in the front, with Alf-san and Ske-san a bit behind me on either side. The twins are lined up overhead between them as we head to the church.

“I think the setting was that Outsiders would be interested in participating in a festival in this other world…”

“That’s what was written in the information for role-players.”

“Then that’s the direction I’ll go with, if that’s okay?”

“Sure.”

“”We’ll leave it to you!””

Then let’s go with that.

“Judge the status of a priest by the colour of their embroidery. Red, green, grey, gold, in that order.”

“”Roger.””

“”We won’t talk!””

“Well… that’s fine for the twins.”

“Yeah.”

The conversation will basically be driven by me, so that’s fine.

Chirin…

<Information has been shared.>>

A message appeared in the log, along with a sound like a wind chime. It seems that information related to the event has been shared. Everyone will be running around, so I’m sure it will be tinkling for a while.

“This festival is a harvest festival…”

“We knew that. Oh? That plainly dressed priestess looked at us twice and rushed off to that room.”

“Flee, flee!”

“We’re not here to be hostile?”

Four apparently Immortal people have walked in with me, who looks human, so I guess she rushed off to call someone.

Plain habits denote monks or nuns, who are apprentice priests.

“Maybe a priest… no, considering the size of the town, possibly a Bishop. It wouldn’t be strange for there to be an Archbishop here during the event, right?”

When we reach the front of the church a person with grey embroidery comes out.

“Well now, I see you are Immortals…”

“Good day. We are visiting Outsiders, who have come to show our faces.”

“I see. It’s going to be lively this time. The Archbishop is staying with us, so would you like me to call him?”

So there was one here. Likely doing the paperwork behind the scenes, while the bishop acts like a foreman.

It seems to be a special map for the event, but the website does say the treatment will be the same as the main server. In that case… it might be better if we met.

“They are working on paperwork behind the scenes, right? Let’s go there. What will the rest of you do?”

“Hm… we aren’t really needed there if Princess is visiting. I’ll go and talk to some people.”

“Are you in a position where you don’t need an escort?”

“As a ruler… it might be necessary if you think of it only as a king, but it’s not necessary considering my position and what kind of existence I am.”

So, let’s go alone. The bishop guides me towards the back of the chapel.

“With that outfit, you are Nemeseia-sama, yes?”

“Yes, that’s right. Anastasia Atropos Nemeseia.”

“I am Bishop Belies. It’s an honour to meet you.”

Since I’m here, it’s a problem if he does not check first.

We have come to a stop in front of a simple but well-made door…

“I have brought you all this way, but I should have shown you to another room…”

“…is it in shambles?”

“I do not believe we are in a state to receive visitors, let alone Nemeseia-sama…”

Bishop Belies knocks on the door.

“What is it?”

“This is Bishop Belies. I have brought Nemeseia-sama with me, but… is the room okay?”

“…No, it’s definitely no good. I’m coming out.”

“I understand… My apologies, Nemeseia-sama.”

“It’s not a problem. I came without advance warning.”

Bishop Belies looks very sorry, but… it is the middle of a festival. It seems there are a lot of documents in need of processing.

A man wearing a robe with gold embroidery comes out from the room.

When the door opened, the inside entered the range of my sensing, letting me see the many piles of documents.

Setting aside the greetings for the moment, we will change location. After moving to a different room, I will introduce myself.

“My name is Edward. I hold the position of Archbishop.”

“I am Anastasia. An Outer One and Ruler of the Afterworld. I will be staying in this town during the festival, so I came to introduce myself.”

It’s necessary to pay attention to what you say when in a high position, but it’s easy enough to use vague wording.

After a short talk over a cup of tea we part fairly quickly. The documents are piling up. Let’s chat with Bishop Belies.

While returning to the chapel I ask about what caught my interest.

“Bishop Belies. What is the meaning of this festival?”

“This festival has two meanings. One is a harvest festival, for giving thanks to Harvenshis-sama. The other is to light fires as the boundary between this world and others becomes vague.”

So the harvest festival remains, along with the dead rising… because of the boundary between worlds.

“There is an ancient saying about this time of the year.”

The desire for light is the sign of the living.

The desire for darkness is the sign of the dead.

The living light fires in search of light.

The dead turn their backs in search of darkness.

Let fire be your guide on the path of light.

Let shadow be your guide on the path of darkness.

The boundary is vague but strong.

Light and dark may be close but they will never merge.

“We advise people not to move alone during this festival.”

“… Is there any actual harm done?”

“On the small side, mischief and pranks, but on the large side, missing people.”

“Are they lured by the dead…?”

“I don’t know if it’s the dead… but a lot of strange things happen. It’s going to take place over three days starting today, but it will gradually increase in scale.”

“So the third day is the peak?”

“Yes, that’s when the boundaries are most ambiguous.”

Chirin…

<Information has been shared.>>

With the wind chime sound and a message in the log, it seems that more information related to the event was shared.

“Even when connected to the Nether, I don’t think the souls there would invite the living. They may feel nostalgic… but that’s about it. So it’s either the souls of the Abyss or strays…”

“The living cannot forget the dead… which may be one reason… Come to think of it, there are not just missing people… no, some people become much different from how they were.”

“Different from before… Other worlds… other worlds? The Medium!? …did they see Outer Ones of Stellura-sama’s faith?”

“T-that’s… I see….”

“They will only come here for condemnations, but if someone looks over there…”

Basically, when they come to the surface for condemnations, they will hide their aura out of consideration for the surroundings, and only one will come at a time. However, if you look into their home, the Medium… it can only be called an accident…

The atmosphere has become kind of heavy, so let’s change the subject.

When I asked about the colours, it seems our conclusions were correct. The pumpkins represent yellow.

“Oh, are you done Princess?”

“Yes, I’m done greeting the Archbishop.”

“I heard about the lord, but are you going to go say hello?”

“A lord. Considering my position, I don’t really care about anything other than the church.”

I’ll only go and give my greetings to the church voluntarily. Other than that, the king might be the only one I should introduce myself to…

To put it bluntly, there is no point in having connections with people of lower ranks. It’s a matter of influence.

“What’s their title?”

“Count Kurt Forsel, apparently.”

“A Count of the Forsel family, is it.”

In terms of gathering information, it’s better to go. But it’s also a fact that it’s troublesome. Still, I’m definitely in a position to easily obtain information from the lord.

…Surely it’s okay to leave it until after we start having problems. I’ve established a connection with the Archbishop and Bishop.

“Rather than going for greetings, I want to explore.”

“Then let’s go walk around town. It’s a special event!”

“Was this shared information what you got, Princess?”

Oops, I haven’t checked it yet.

It seems to have been shared as basic information for this festival. Not just it being a harvest festival, but also detailed information such as the boundary with other worlds becoming thin. There will probably not be any more updates in this section…

By the way, the name of the town seems to be ‘Howard’. I can’t tell if they’re aiming for it, but it seriously seems like a Cthulhu event. The subtitle also included ‘blasphemy’… So it’s a horror story.

I don’t mind what it is, as long as it’s enjoyable.

Alright, let’s go into town and explore!