Chapter 275: Revival Festival

Chapter 275: Revival Festival

A little while after the Heroes held their conference.
Recently, Ren’s curse’s effects have been lessening. His loss of luck, and his decrease in EXP has gone below levels where we have to worry about it.
The Status reduction from my curse is almost trivial as well.
There’s around one month left until the next wave…

Imya’s uncle was quite a skilled craftsman,and he’s been making weapons and armor for everyone.
As his disciple, Ren and his group are going around the country looking for materials.
Now, the villagers have become quite strong. The Granny also carries out training to increase their combat abilities as high as possible.
Isn’t it about time for me to go raise my level as well? I guess I should go on a quest to some monster infested dungeon or something.
As I was thinking that…

“Revival Festival?” (Naofumi)

Melty came to my place carrying a stack of documents.

“Yeah.” (Melty)
“What’s that supposed to mean?” (Naofumi)
“Well, we’ve pretty much finished reviving the villages, and we resolved the Three Hero Church brainwashing incident, right?” (Melty)
“Hmm… Do we have the time to be doing such things?” (Naofumi)

Houou will attack in one month’s time. Should we really be holding a festival?
Is what I think, but in a world like this one, it’s probably best to have fun while you have the time.

“Then just go and hold one by yourself.” (Naofumi)
“Are you sure? If you joined, you could expect quite a bit of profit.” (Melty)
“How much?” (Naofumi)
“If you want a rough estimation, about this much.” (Melty)

Melty presents a numerical estimate to me.
It was an absurd amount.

“Why this much?” (Naofumi)
“Because we’re going to host quite a few attractions, and we’ll be managing a bit of healthy betting.” (Melty)

Gambling.
I don’t hate that sort of thing.
Don’t get me wrong. I hate participating in it.
I enjoy gambling others out of their money.
But that presents a problem.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” (Naofumi)
“There’s no problems. We’re planning some Filo Rial races similar to the ones at the Coliseum. Naofumi’s place has an abundance of good steeds.” (Melty)
(TL: Melty uses a word to describe good racing horses here.)

So we’re using the Filo Rials.
I get the feeling they’re living sedentary lives, so perhaps an event like this is a good opportunity.

“We’re having other people challenge them. The earnings will definitely be great.” (Melty)
“…Fumu. Got it.” (Naofumi)
“We also have a music show by Firo-chan planned.” (Melty)
“Music?” (Naofumi)
“Yeah, Firo-chan’s had experience singing in bars. She’s become quite famous by word of mouth. If you find her, go call out to her.” (Melty)

Yes, Firo’s definitely good at singing.
If there’s music playing, she can make words and tunes to complement the song perfectly, and she’s got a nice sense of rhythm.
She also likes dancing, and in human form, she’s a bishojo.
It’s as if she’s a…

“She seems to have a lot of fans. Last time Firo sang in the village bar, the bar was so packed that no one could fit through the door anymore.” (Melty)
“Is she some sort of Idol?” (Naofumi)
“Some people even settle in that village for Firo-chan. Painters have sent in requests to use her as a model. Should I permit them? I think we’ll be able to rake in quite a bit.” (Melty)

I can’t wait to see what sort of face Motoyasu will make.
Will he snap, and try to monopolize Firo?
No, his wallet will probably go to the great bin in the sky as he buys all her merchandise.

“In this case, should we open up a photography session, and sell each photo crystal for 1 gold?” (Melty)
“Fumu. That sounds good.” (Naofumi)

Excess gold is never a problem.
I’ve started instating small taxes in the village as well, so my finances are rising.
Well, making Imya’s Uncle’s workshop, miscellaneous costs relating to weapons and armor, maintaining Rat’s equipment, procuring medicine, and a lot of other things have cut it by quite a bit.

Still, Melty plans to exploit her best friend to earn money…
It seems she hasn’t realized it herself, but she definitely carries the blood of her parents.
No, she’s creating a place for Firo to shine… If you look at her like a Producer, I guess she’s trying to benefit her friend.

“Got it. The merchant association has already began progress, so we should be able to hold it in around three days.” (Melty)
“Should I participate as well?” (Naofumi)
“You’re the lord, so that goes without saying. Though things should proceed just fine as long as you signal the opening and closing.” (Melty)
“Understood. You can permit any event that guarantees profit.” (Naofumi)

And stuff happened, and three days passed.

“Then the Revival Festival will henceforth commence!” (Naofumi)

A grand opening ceremony was held in the town plaza, and the Revival Festival began.
The neighboring town’s started expanding on a large scale, and it’s becoming a town of magnitude second to only the Castle Town.
I’m amazed that it’s made this much progress in the two months since its founding.
Even though it was supposed to have suffered quite a bit of damages from the Three Hero Church brainwashing incident…
Well, the damaged buildings have all been supplemented with Camping Plants, so it’s more of a temporary town.

The people give a loud applause in response to the starting signal.
I haven’t heard a single good thing about this country’s state of affairs.
Perhaps attractions like these are good for the people to vent off steam

“Then Firo will sing~!” (Firo)

Melty nods, and Firo races onto the special stage we erected for this event, in special clothes we prepared for it.

“YEAH!” (Crowd)

A cheer much greater than the previous one echoes through the area.
As I look over the people, I see many of them reminiscent of Idol Groupies I saw only too often in my world scattered here and there.
Hold on… Just how many fans does that bird have?
Are those people behind her musicians?
A large number of people carrying instruments begin playing to match Firo’s song.
The instruments seem to be gentle harp-like ones, but somehow, I get the feeling of a live concert here.

“L. O. V. E. Love Me! Firo-tan!” (Motoyasu)

… Behind all of the fans, Motoyasu is waving around a flag.
I feel disgusted.
Oh, the people around him are Kuu, Marin and Midori, I think.
The three Filo Rials are staring into space with extremely bored expressions on their faces.
The contrast in enthusiasm between them and Motoyasu is amazing.

“Ah… It’s good to be alive.”
“Since the first time we layed ears on Firo-tan’s singing, we couldn’t work up our motivation to do work until we heard it again.”
“Yeah, who cares about Humans and Demi-Humans. We’re all simply people united in listening to her voice. ”

This was an unexpected result.
Because of my orders, fighting between races has stopped. I was also trying to end discrimination, but it seems some people have completely abandoned their discriminatory mindsets to pursue Firo.
Are they saying that whilst knowing her true form?

“Ah, I hope the curse that turned Firo-tan into a divine bird gets dispelled soon. We’re praying for you, Firo-tan!”

… They’re under the impression that she’s under a curse.
How convenient.
When I asked Melty later, she said that Firo’s backstory was arbitrarily decided by the fans.
Aparently she has to act as an idol and earn money in order to break her curse… or something.
It’s a setting that seems possible for a certain TS Idol protagonist. (TL: Apparently an Idol Pretender reference.)
Though in truth, her true form is the bird one, people.

“Now, everyone! Let’s cheer with all our might!”
“Yeah~!” (Crowd)

The village plaza’s completely become a concert hall.
Hmm? In a distant corner, a person wearing worn out clothing is cheering for Firo as well.
I quietly leave the plaza.

“Firo’s popularity is amazing.” (Raphtlaia)

Raphtalia breaks out of the crowd, and follows behind me.
I nod honestly at her statement.

“That’s true. Melty told me beforehand, but the sales of her goods are also quite something.” (Naofumi)

Since he was convinced they would sell, the accessory merchant started producing and selling official Firo goods.
He set the price quite high, but with that many fans, they’ll sell out in no time.
With this much popularity, perhaps we can have a handshake event, and charge one gold per time.
And finally, we can start producing dakimakura… or not.

“Ah… If I were to buy this… tomorrow’s food will…”

The person in the worn down robes hesitates over his purchase
He obviously has not the financing… value your life more, dude.
It’s not my problem if you starve.

By the way, I was informed afterwords that Motoyasu’s three stole the stage and did a concert of their own.
Firo’s show became really heated.

“It seems today’s going to get really hectic.” (Naofumi)

The people from my village wanted to participate as well, so they’ve taken various jobs…
It seems that Kiel’s stall is quite crowded.
What was she selling again?
When I look over, I see it’s a crepe stand.

“Ah, Nii-chan!” (Kiel)
“Oy, you knew how to make crepes?” (Naofumi)
“Of course!” (Kiel)

An excited Kiel, in dog form, dexterously handles the crepe skins on the pan. She’s selling them with the slaves usually on kitchen duty.
Hmph. I thought she was growing to be a gluttonous battle maniac, but she was able to cook as well.
I never expected to find a girly aspect in her at this point.

“Using Nii-chan’s crepe as a base, and adding new ideas, this is my original crepe.” (Kiel)

And what Kiel brought out was grilled fish…
She cuts the body into a texture like canned tuna, adds on sliced Bioplant fruit, and wraps it into the crepe skin.

“Crepes aren’t just dessert, you know.” (Kiel)
“Ah, yes, yes.” (Naofumi)

That sort of crepe existed in my world as well, so it’s not like I find it surprising.
It’s a way of cooking befitting of Kiel.

“Imya-chan’s also opened up a store.” (Raphtalia)

In the Bazaar area, I found the stall Imya had opened.
The walls were lined with clothes she made especially for this day.
After appraising them, I find they are all of High Quality. Even so, the price is reasonable, and they’re selling like hot cakes.

“Ah, Hero of the Shield-sama.” (Imya)
“If they’re selling this well, why not raise the price?” (Naofumi)
“But the cost of production was quite low, so selling it at any more than this would make me feel…” (Imya)
“Ah, so it’s about virtue. But the cost of your work itself needs to be included, so you should charge higher. Take note of that.” (Naofumi)
“Yes.” (Imya)

She’s quite an obedient child.
Raphtalia is carefully inspecting the cheap clothing. Wait, that’s underwear.
I feel like I’m looking at something I shouldn’t be.
It’s that. The feeling I would get if I enter a lingerie shop. Perhaps.

“Is there anything you want?” (Imya)
“Let’s see. Can you use slightly better materials to raise the defense?” (Raphtalia)
“Um… Does underwear need defense? For Raphtalia-san, I would recommend these ones.” (Imya)

And what Imya brought out was bright red… Victory Panties?
(TL: It’s stuff you wear when you wanna get lucky.)
There’s a hole in a strange area.

“Why are you selling something like that, Imya?” (Naofumi)
“Ah, yes. Master told me that these items would be in high demand, so it would be beneficial to stock them. I have something for Hero of the Shield-sama as well.” (Imya)
“…Why is there a hole in the one you’re recommending me as well?” (Naofumi)

And this one is around the anal region.
Even for a tailed Demi-Human, the placing is strange.

“That’s odd… Master said the Hero of the Shield-sama would want something like this…” (Imya)

Damn Tailor. Just how rotten is her brain?
And for such depravity to exist in this alternate world where such a genre shouldn’t exist yet…
How frightening. The Tailor is a genius. That wasn’t a compliment.
Let me just declare this. If she were to come to my world, she would have no problems putting food on the table.

“Does it not look cool to you?” (Imya)
“Imya… I’m definitely raising you in a way that you won’t learn that garment’s true meaning.” (Naofumi)
“…? Understood.” (Imya)
“Naofumi-sama! If I were to wear this, what would you think!?” (Raphtalia)

Raphtalia inquires with an excited expression. She’s holding the Victory Panties.
No matter how I look at it, she’s still a child on the inside. For her to see such a stimulating item, there’s no helping if she gets strangely excited.

“Raphtalia is already good looking, so I don’t think you have to dress up with things like that.” (Naofumi)
“Is that true!? Wait, Naofumi-sama?” (Raphtalia)
“I think Raphtalia would do fine with a normal pair. How about it?” (Naofumi)

I point to a pair of undergarments similar to the one she usually wears.

“Um, Naofumi-sama. This may sound slightly rude, but you’re not getting aroused at all?” (Raphtalia)
“Meaning?” (Naofumi)

Is it like a daughter asking their father?
I think it would be best for her to look natural, rather than wearing those overly-stimulating items.

“Ah, never mind. You don’t have to answer that one.” (Raphtalia)

Before I can say anything, Raphtalia puts the underwear back.
What’s wrong?
Did she guess my intentions?
It helps that Raphtalia’s so understanding.