Not you guys.
Elliet could speak, of course, but showing her to others would be a problem.
“Now that everyone who was cursed is dead, I doubt he’ll just accept the Tamer Relic’s testimony.”
The Crown Prince seemed to have little hope of that either, as he immediately nodded at Ceres’s words.
“Then I suppose we really do have to peel off the outer layer.”
“The outer layer?”
What did he mean by that? Ceres couldn’t understand what he was getting at.
“......”
At Ceres’s confused response, the Crown Prince fell silent and simply looked at her.
“Veilks...”
“......?”
“It seems someone else has taken over his body.”
His next words left Ceres stunned.
***
“Does that make any sense?”
“What is it?”
“A festival at a time like this?”
Cheion had come to the shop for the first time in a while. It was a relatively quiet afternoon, so Ceres sat with him by the window, chatting over tea.
“So many people have died...”
From the plague... the strange Black Forests... and recently, the banquet...
Cheion gazed out the window as he murmured. Ceres followed his gaze.
The streets were crowded with people going about their business. It was always a busy street, but today, it seemed even more crowded than usual. Everyone seemed a little excited.
“That’s probably why they’re holding the festival.”
“Why?”
“They need something to lift people’s spirits.”
In a few days, a festival would be held to commemorate the day the supreme god Janus created the world. It was already a major festival, but according to her former disciple, the Temple was planning to make it even grander this year.
“I heard the Imperial Family is helping out, too.”
“Father?”
“They must be trying to change the mood.”
With Black Forests appearing so often, the fake Saintess, and now a high-ranking noble turning into a monster, there had been one disturbing incident after another. Naturally, people were terrified. There were even plenty of people spreading doomsday theories, claiming that the world was on the verge of collapse.
The Imperial Family and the Temple had joined forces to hold this festival in hopes of easing some of that fear.
The Pope and all the High Priests are running around like crazy.
The Temple, in particular, was desperate to restore the trust it had lost after the fake Saintess incident. Ersi said the place was practically a war zone. Apparently, the Pope himself was personally giving orders and running everyone ragged.
“I suppose so. It’s so peaceful.”
Ceres set down her teacup as she watched Cheion rest his chin on his hand, staring blankly into the distance. He could be cheerful one moment and then suddenly zone out like this.
Seeing him that way, Ceres thought that Marquis Merial’s death must be a heavy blow to him.
The Crown Prince was worried about him, too.
In the end, Marquis Merial’s death caused Cheion so much pain.
The Crown Prince will probably keep Merial’s corruption a secret until the very end, won’t he?
“Milady”
“Hmm?”
A little while later, Jay came over and handed Ceres something.
“What’s this?”
“Some people from the Temple stopped by earlier and left it.”
“The Temple?”
It was a notice asking the shop owners to cooperate with the upcoming festival.
“...Huh? They want us to sell their stuff?”
The Temple was asking shops to set up temporary stalls outside and sell the goods they provided.
“Flowers and decorations for the Supreme God, things like that.”
“Why should we sell them?”
They were really trying to make some easy money off everyone else.
“They said it’s to give the whole street a festive atmosphere in honor of the Supreme God. They’ll also give us a share of the sales.”
“Really? How much?”
Half?
“They’re also giving a prize to the shop that sells the most.”
“...A prize?”
Ceres’s bored expression vanished in an instant. She picked up the notice and read it again, more carefully this time. Then she found the part she was looking for.
“...100,000 gold?”
The first-place shop would receive a staggering 100,000 gold!
“The prize wasn’t nearly this big last year. They’re really going all out this time.”
There was one condition, though. Shops couldn’t sell an unreasonable amount of goods to a single customer, since some might try to exploit the rules to win the prize.
The notice also warned that the shop that came in first would be subjected to a thorough investigation afterward.
“Pen.”
“Yes?”
“Give me a pen.”
“Oh, yes.”
Jay hurried to the counter, grabbed a pen, and brought it to Ceres.
Scratch.
She signed the participation agreement on the last page of the notice in an elegant flourish.
“100,000 gold...”
Ceres looked over the prize amount one more time and grinned.
“...Ceres.”
“Hm?”
“I thought you said you’d already paid off your debts.”
Cheion stared at her in disbelief. She’d already paid off her debts, so why did she still get that look in her eyes whenever money was involved?
“So?”
“I mean, shouldn’t running the shop be enough for you now...”
“I have three kids.”
“Cough.”
Kids? Wait... her younger siblings?
Cheion quickly set down his teacup. He’d nearly dropped it and broken it in surprise.
“The more money, the better.”
“......”
Ceres was already looking at the 100,000 gold like it belonged to her, her eyes practically blazing with greed.
Cheion had nothing more to say.
***
The day of the festival.
“...It’s all red.”
The moment Ceres stepped onto the street designated as the festival grounds, she stopped short. Every shop was decorated with piles of red flowers, the symbol of the Supreme God.
I’ve thought this ever since I was young...
Those red flowers, known as the Supreme God’s flowers, had always struck her as unsettling. After seeing countless battlefields, Ceres couldn’t help but see them as the color of blood.
The shops weren’t the only ones selling things. Temporary stalls had been set up all along the street, with vendors packed in one after another. The whole street was practically awash in red.
“Whoa, there are so many vendors.”
Jay, who was following Ceres to the shop, looked around in amazement. It was still early in the morning, yet so many people had already claimed their spots that there was hardly an empty space left.
With such a large prize on offer this year, it seemed everyone was eager to get in on the business.
“They’re the enemy.”
“Pardon?”
“They’re all competitors.”
“Ah... yes...”
...Milady’s eyes are burning brighter than usual today.
Jay smiled awkwardly as she watched Ceres walk ahead.
With Jay’s gaze on her, Ceres quickened her pace toward the shop.
I really need to open early today!
“Yaaawn.”
“Ugh... my stomach hurts.”
Mercenaries were already lined up outside the shop, having come early to cure their hangovers and fill their empty stomachs.
“So, what’s all this?”
“I heard the Temple’s doing something today.”
“Ah... so it’s another day for drinking, huh?”
The mercenaries grumbled as they stared at the stall outside the shop. The street was already too narrow for the line, so why did they have to put this thing here?
“Oh, there’s the owner.”
A little while later, the mercenaries spotted Ceres approaching the shop and waved to her.
“May the blessing of the supreme god Janus always be with you.”
“...Huh?”
Ceres’s greeting made the mercenaries freeze mid-wave. With her hands clasped and her head bowed politely, she looked like a priestess with an almost frightening level of devotion.
“Have you all offered flowers to the supreme god?”
“Uh... no.”
...Huh?
...Since when does the owner talk to us like this?
The mercenaries looked at Ceres, taken aback by her unfamiliar behavior. Ceres stepped closer and shook her head in disappointment.
“On a day like today, you should offer flowers to the supreme god and buy some decorations to honor him.”
She pointed toward the flowers and decorations displayed outside the shop.
“Uh... I’ll pass.”
“Me too.”
“I don’t believe in gods.”
The mercenaries soon lost interest. A festival was a festival. They just wanted to drink. What difference did it make that the Temple was hosting it?
“So... you’re not buying anything?”
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