Saint and Dragon Chapter 20 (Patreon)

The Woo-hoo Atmosphere of the Harvest Festival

It is now late October and the season is gradually changing from fall to winter.

In Misery, delegations from various countries were beginning to visit to celebrate the advent of Saintess. The first to arrive was a delegation from the Kingdom of Runesia. It is a large country located just south of the Divine Kingdom, and its national power is about ten times greater than that of the Divine Kingdom.

Leading the kingdom's delegation was the second prince, His Royal Highness Prince Albert. He is a young, golden-haired bachelor prince of twenty-three years of age, and as soon as he arrived in Misery, he was greeted with yellow cheers from all the women in the kingdom.

The prince immediately held a meeting with the vizier.

"Welcome, Your Highness," he said.

"Your hospitality is always excellent, Your Highness."

"As you may have heard, Saintess-sama will be away from the Misery for the Harvest Festival. You must understand that the audience will take place afterwards."

"Okay, I have a lot more to tell you than just Saintess-sama. Let's look forward to the audience after work."

The meeting progresses peacefully, and soon the topic of conversation begins to get to the heart of the matter.

"We are outraged by the skeleton attack on your country. Please tell us more about it so that we can prevent a similar incident from happening in your kingdom."

"The details will be given to you by my specialist, but I will give you a general idea of what I am talking about."

His Highness stops smiling and turns serious.

"We have confirmed a large undead infestation in Misery. We have already disposed of a significant number of vampires."

"And it wasn't just skeletons?"

It was skeletons who attacked, but it was vampires who were in charge.

How do you know that? Did you actually see them in command?

We have a female vampire in custody who we believe is the leader.

That's interesting.

His Highness ponders for a moment.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Yes...yes, but we will discuss this matter later. Right now I would like to ask you about a more important matter."

Is it a dragon? Your Highness?

Yes, it is. Is it coming back?

"The advent of Saintess-sama and the prophetic dreams of High Priestess-sama suggest the resurrection of the dragon. The Divine Kingdom is also paying attention, but there is no sign of it yet."

"What does Saintess-sama say about the Tyrannical Dragon?"

"Saintess-sama doesn't seem to know. He is a simpleton who came to Ardesia to become an adventurer." "Ha-ha-ha.

"Ha-ha-ha, he is a pleasant man. I want to meet him more and more. So, you still don't know anything about the rampaging dragon, do you?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

The meeting continued amicably, and the audience with Saintess was set for the day after her return to Misery.

◇ ◇◇◇◇

The date was the day before the Harvest Festival. The Harvest Festival lasts for three days, and today is the eve of the festival.

Mari, Sophie, and Harill gathered in the plaza in front of the castle balcony, ready for their journey. They used their status-increasing magic and headed for their destination.

Northeast of Misery, there is a low, gentle mountain called Sacred Mount Saira. At the foot of the mountain is the Elsira region, the center of which is Cyrus.

Mari and her team arrived at the fortress of Silas at noon. Normally they would stay at the lord's mansion, but this time they had a special mission and decided to stay at an inn in town.

"Welcome, Saintess-sama, your room is ready.

The innkeeper showed us to our room, which was a luxurious room used by the nobility.

"What's that? I thought I reserved two rooms for the male attendants.

The letter said to take one room.

The letter said so, indeed.

"There must be some mistake. Can you please prepare another room for us now?"

"No, no...the rooms are full because of the harvest festival and all the tourists, even though Saintess-sama asked for it."

"Mari, in this room there is a small room and a bed for the squire, Harill can sleep there. I'll be his escort and he's just a boy. No one will have a problem with that."

Mari looked over at Sophie as she made her suggestion.

(It's not Mr. Harill that's in danger, Sophie, but you.)

Even Mari, who is not familiar with rumors, already knew about her. She is famous for her saga of beating up the beautiful girls in the temple when she was a knight's apprentice. Because of this, she is not allowed to live with Mari as her escort.

With this thought in mind, Mari turned her attention to the large bed. If she couldn't use the other rooms, she would have to sleep in this bed with her.

"Okay," she replied, and let the innkeeper leave.

A short time later, Sophie came back into the room, having finished sorting out her travel luggage.

"Sophie, where is Mr. Harill?"

"Harill is going to explore the city. "Harill is going to explore the city," said Sophie, "He seems to be a very strong boy, but he's still a child. He's just curious to see the city for the first time."

Mari sighs at Sophie's words.

（She's not! She's a very smart girl. She made arrangements for me and Sophie to be alone together.)

) As I mutter this in my mind, Sophie lies sprawled out on the bed on her back.

"Hmmm. I'm not tired from the magic, but it feels good to lie down like this. How about you lie down too, Mari?"

Mari's heart skipped a beat when she saw Sophie smiling mischievously.

(No...don't give in to Sophie's temptation...)

(Don't give in to Sophie's temptation...) She lies down on the bed, thinking so, and gently touches Sophie's hand.

Then she gently touches Sophie's hand. Then, she shakes Mari's hand and they intertwine their fingers without saying a word.

"Hey, Sophie."

"What?"

"Are you mad at me for making Sarah my apprentice?"

"No, I'm not.

Really?

"Really."

Sophie paused for a moment and then added, "I am, Harold.

"You know, Harill is cute and I love him. I love Harill, he's cute and I love him, but I've never looked at him in a bad way.

Mari was happy to hear that. She had taken Sarah as a disciple out of the purest of intentions and without the slightest hint of lewdness. She wanted Sophie to understand that.

"Sophie, you are going to dance at the eve of the festival. I can't dance, can you teach me?"

"You can't dance?

"No."

"Yes." "I knew it, you're Mari. Okay, I'll teach you from now until the festival starts!"

With a giggle, Sophie got out of bed, and the two of them took each other's hands and went out to practice their dance moves.

◇ ◇◇◇◇

As night fell, the eve of the festival was in full swing. The square was filled with young men and women showing off their dancing skills.

Mari, despite being a beginner, was the most prominent dancer on the stage. However, dancing is not as easy as improvised steps. As she began to dance, the audience began to laugh.

The usual Mari would have turned red and backed away. But tonight, Sophie was there. With Sophie there, it didn't matter if she was laughed at or scorned.

Mari continued to dance, absorbed in her performance.

As she did so, she was greeted with applause from all around her. In response, she bowed again and again from the stage.

Tired of dancing, Mari got off the stage and chatted with some of the city's influential people. It was half business, but even that was enjoyable for her tonight.

A sake-tasting contest was also held, and Mari took part in it. Although she did not win the competition, her taste buds were praised.

The night went on with drinking and laughing.

On stage, Sophie and Harill were dancing beautifully. The audience applauded them in a different way than they did for Mari. She, too, gave them both a generous round of applause.

Fun, fun...really fun!

Mari enjoyed the eve of the festival to her heart's content.

--- Needless to say, Mari had a hangover the next morning.