Knights, Let’s Smash Them

159 – The festival is over (4)

It’s already been a month since the ‘festival planning’ agenda was brought up at the regular meeting of Rupel Mansion.

The passage of time passed through November and reached mid-December. The Ardaros Mountains surrounding Rupel’s territory turned white without knowing it, and the clothes worn by the residents became much thicker.

That means soon.

Rupel’s Winter Spirit Festival was just around the corner.

“Regius, how are the Frost Spirits doing?”

“As you said at the time, we created a small park, and the Frost Spirits really like it. They are already making pieces little by little.”

“This is great news.”

I followed Regius to Petalonto’s ‘Little Ardaros’, where the spirits ceremony was held.

No matter how much Regius is present, and even if the momentum of the Frost Spirit is weaker than in February or March, which is the end of winter.

You couldn’t just unleash the spirits on the city. Even if it was an accident, it would have been a big deal.

So the idea I came up with was to decorate the vacant lot in the northern part of Rupell as a kind of ‘neighborhood park’.

Why, in Korea, aren’t there beautiful parks built around apartment complexes?

Of course, in Korea, it was all done to meet the government regulations of preserving the environment, but…… There was absolutely no reason to be bad from the point of view of the residents as it was entered as part of welfare.

Once a neighborhood living facility is built, the quality of life of the residents is bound to go up as well.

It’s not like holding a festival for a day or two.

Just because it’s opened once this time doesn’t mean it won’t be held again next year.

Petaronto boasts a low population density. It wouldn’t be a problem to leave at least one park in the city using the vacant lot.

The park thus formed, the small Ardaros, had a structure similar to that of the Ardaros Mountains, worthy of its name.

I doubted whether it would be possible to build a decent park in a month, but that problem was not difficult to solve thanks to the Mage Towers that slowly began to come in as the territory developed.

It was possible to turn an empty lot into a natural park overflowing with all kinds of life just by sending forest magic and water wizards.

-What…… I’m not asking for anything drastically different. However, I would like permission to collect rare herbs and mysterious creatures that can be gathered in the Ardaros Mountains.

The Green Mage Tower, to which the forest mages belong, requested biological resources from the Ardaros Mountains in exchange for the park and festival preparations.

To be honest, I wasn’t particularly interested in the plants and unusual animals native to the Ardaros Mountains.

When I first took office, all I had to do was ask Heinz to investigate to see if there was anything that could make money.

Since it was a territory that was on the verge of collapse, it seemed that there were fewer people coming in and out, but it seemed that a lot of unique creatures came to inhabit it as fewer people came in.

But most of them were not particularly valuable. Excluding the fantasy species that are really passed down as legends, they are only creatures of the concept of ‘bonus’ that hunters sometimes find.

I just gave up because the income was far less than my effort to run a business.

But if it’s managed directly by the green magic tower, not by other magic towers.

‘Honestly, I have no reason to refuse.’

-Approved!

-I’ll make a park comparable to the Hanging Gardens in the Southern Duchy of Babylona right now!!

The wizards of the Green Mage Tower immediately started creating a forest in response to the answer they gave so willingly, and the empty lot was filled with green shrubs throughout the four seasons.

And of course, in order for a shrub to grow, it must also have a suitable water source.

When they willingly gave up conditions corresponding to considerable profits in terms of magical value, the blue mage tower became urgent as well.

-Well, in our mage tower, we have a little bit of the special products produced in the Rupel estate…… I would like to get it at a low price.

-Special products?

-That poppy—.

-Okay, I’ll give the blue mage tower a half price discount on poppies.

That poppy was more useless than I thought.

Since the price was so high, it was hard to find a place to buy it in large quantities in the north, and at most alchemists and wizards bought it in small quantities as the only way to make money.

I wondered if it was cultivated for nothing, but now that I think about it, I was able to safely solve the alteration in the Marquis of Karahan.

Looking back, I think I paid the price.

Anyway, it was also true that there was nothing to see at the moment. I thought it would be better to get it at half price than to have it as bad inventory because it couldn’t be sold.

– Bars, half price?!

The head of the blue mage tower folded his fingers for a moment and counted, then began to wave his hands around, disregarding his aged appearance.

-Well, if you really do, we will provide artifacts that periodically supply water to the plants in the park! If you continue to manage the artifacts after the festival, there will be no problem maintaining the park!

Automatic watering artifacts at half price discount on poppies. It could be seen as a fair trade.

Let’s get to that tiny Ardaros.

“Oh.”

An arch made of wisteria, one of the shrubs that has strong cold resistance and is alive even in winter, caught my eye.

To be precise, the sky-blue frost of the kite that landed along the winding stems drew attention.

Ice crystals created by Frost Spirits.

The thin rays of sunlight hit the surface of the crystal and scattered, creating a very beautiful atmosphere with the white forest.

“It is going slowly. If this is already the case, it will probably be very beautiful on the day of the festival.”

“Looks like it.”

As the name suggests, the small Ardaros was one of the most important contents of this festival.

Even if the opponent was that Regius, I was going to be as strict as possible.

I didn’t have to look closely at this anymore. Did it go so well?

“By the way, are the other places going well? It seems that there has been a lot of talk going on among the articles recently.”

“Aurora will no longer need to use the Snow Leopard Knights’ manpower as the mages of the two magic towers have decided to step in.”

“That’s fortunate. It required more mana than I thought, so I wondered if I could do it properly.”

If it is an official knight who has awakened the aura, of course the mana has already been awakened.

But even so, it does not mean that knights handle mana better than mages.

Because mana awakening is purely subject to the opening conditions of the aura, and success in opening does not mean that you can learn the efficiency or method of handling mana.

“Then, the aurora has been resolved to some extent, and the street stalls and night markets held during the festival are also being steadily prepared… …. The key is the spirit system tree.”

“That’s it.”

At first, we were just going to replace it with a coniferous tree of an appropriate size, but when we heard that we were holding a large-scale festival, we decided to send a tree directly from the Duchy of Hebron.

It was said to be a fir tree with the power of the World Tree, left behind by an elf clan that had a brief nest in the north in the past.

It was said that the sapling of the World Tree was grafted onto a 100-year-old tree in the Hebron Territory.

Harald the Duke of Hebron said that it was difficult to deal with because there were no elves in the duchy who could manage the World Tree.

I heard that it will be moved to commemorate the eternal cooperation between the Marquis of Rupel and the Duchy of Hebron…….

Even if grafted, a world tree is a world tree.

It was almost the size of a baobab tree, so it was going through quite a bit of difficulty during the transportation process.

‘Marquis Rupel was happy to accept it with a chuckle, but this seems like a joke.’

Isn’t it easy to build a stack of unfavorable feelings towards the elves if the tree dies because of poor management?

But it’s better suited to the atmosphere of a grand festival than a halfway tree, and you can’t openly curse at the duke in front of Princess Lilia.

Only the staff preparing for the event, including me, are working hard on the game.

“The World Tree has a very strong vitality. If only the roots are well preserved and brought in, I think there will be no problems with health…….”

“Transportation is a problem. But who am I? Everything is ready.”

At that confident voice, Regius put on a puzzled expression.

Even in modern times, they would have mobilized all sorts of heavy equipment and trembled like hell, but this is a fantasy world with heavy equipment wizards.

“Among my friends, there is one courier who is the best in the empire, no, on the continent.”

Space Wizard Bernard.

He’ll arrive at Rupel Mansion soon, so you won’t have to worry about transporting the World Tree from then on.

Of course, since he wasn’t the type to come when called, he did throw a ‘small bait’.

A very good bait for the unfortunate friend who has lived as a mother-in-law for 28 years.

***

The fact that the Marquis of Rupel held a large-scale festival to commemorate the status upgrade from the imperial family and integration with the Marquis of Karahan quickly spread throughout the continent.

Not only the northern territory, but also the relatively close geographic capital, central region, and southern region.

All of the commoners and aristocrats went on a light trip to the Marquis’ Territory.

It was winter anyway.

Farming must have been completely over, since the festival was held at Rupel Manor in a boring season with no particular entertainment.

It was only natural that crowds would gather from the entire empire and even neighboring countries.

As much as it hosts a large-scale festival, rumors that a great variety of things to see and delicious food are provided are bonuses.

It is said that in Tiffen Village, there is an event where you dance while staying with goblins, the guardians of the village directly authorized by the Emperor’s Office.

On the other hand, in the iron mine city in the north, a competition is being held where artisans who want to give out gather to compete for the best sword.

In Petaronto, the capital city, I heard that you can see and observe the statues made by the cold spirits with your own eyes.

If you don’t have high expectations, you can’t do it.

But among those rumors, there was a rumor that ignited a fire in the hearts of young people who were traveling on their own…….

“If you confess your love to someone you are interested in or to your lover under the world tree that will be built in the central square of Petalonto this time, they say that the blessing of the world tree will come down and you will be with that person forever.”

“My lord’s daughter also went straight to Petalonto. Are you saying that you will find your destined fiancé there? It must be a rumor.”

“So, are you not going?”

“No? Of course you should go What are you talking about. The blessing of the World Tree only came down on the night of December 24th.”

“Crazy! Don’t you have to reserve a place in advance!?”

Why this happened was unknown even to Lubern, who was planning all the events.

At first, the bait that was thrown to catch Bernard was accepted very plausibly, combining the uniqueness of the tree called ‘World Tree’ nested in a fir tree and the mystery felt in the word ‘spirit system’.

However, the fact that such rumors spread did not mean that they did not help attract the event. Rather, there would be more crowds, so there was no need for planners to correct rumors.

Yes.

If you think about it from the planner’s point of view.

It wasn’t just the spectators who were affected by the rumors.

“…… Anyway, on the day of the 24th, I am not on duty!”

With his hands on his heart, he decides to finalize an ambiguous relationship this time with a junior administrative officer.

“Ummm, um…… I know it’s bullsh*t, but…… Still, it’s worth going down…….”

The captain of the blonde knights who are choosing another match underwear to wear that day.

“…… Just like my father said, he’s definitely someone I want to respect. That, just simply, even as close friends! Maybe it’s to be sure…….”

Even the princess from the next estate casts a strange glance at the dark-haired executive who skillfully completes the task even in the midst of busy and chaos.

‘Who comes first.’

‘Will I stand by that person… ….’

‘It’s a competition.’

A touch-and-go situation was approaching, which the person concerned did not even dream of.