Sword, Magic and Academic Society

I left the central station of the capital while putting on the guffawing plump uncle mask.

My actual favorite mask was that laughing drooping eyes uncle mask but now, whenever I look at those amicable eyes, full of satisfaction, all it did was unearth bitter memories of my ordeal during the Dark Wolves subjugation, sending a dull pain to my chest each time. So I would seal it for a good while until I was back on my feet again.

In fact, this mask was also made by the same creator of laughing uncle mask and including another one, I have total of three masks from the uncle series--- laughing drooping eyes uncle, guffawing plump uncle, and the last one being a laughing with a deadpan expression uncle like he was looking at nothingness while suppressing his lips. You know, it was the face of someone who had been forced to work overtime without receiving additional pay for eternity.

I kinda felt that being stared at by those empty, souless eyes would spur a nameless fire that was not suitable for the festival's vibe, so I decided to go with the 'plump face' mask today after eliminating the other options.

Well, I wouldn't call any of them trendy, but I liked how they stuck to my face almost perfectly as if they were custom-made for me.

I never heard anyone mentioning the word 'fate' in this world, but if it did exist here, then I was sure that my thread of fate brought me and these artistic pieces --- the old man series masks --- that appealed to my heart vehemently together.

Yeah, to cut to the chase, I was completely smitten by the masks.

The summer of the Royal Capital was riddled with high temperatures, but it wasn't to the level of unbearable.

The pompous people were using this festival as an excuse to hold a meeting with the influential figures of the other nations, meanwhile the common populace were genuinely enjoying the event.

For the people with money, there was a grandiose looking auction, and there was the flea market for normal folks nearby. There was also a coliseum with all sorts of people appearing to take a look, and the church was offering recovery magic aid free of charge.

There were also magical tool exhibitions, musical performances, fashion shows, and many more attractions.

As for me, I was walking through the decorated streets of the capital while being lured by the drifting aroma of various food.

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Speaking of festivals, you couldn't really say you enjoyed the festival without experiencing the various assortments of food it offered, no?

I followed my original plan, to eat out, and moved to the 5th avenue, the trade route.

The food stalls started from the midsection where the street penetrating the capital from east to west direction intersected with the 4th central street that went through from the north to the south of the capital, and expanded up to 20 km from there, where any incoming vehicle was banned for the occasion.

A variety of shops from both the capital and the other regions were going all out with their prided cooking, especially the folks of the other regions who were pitching their specialities, trying to lure in customers with tempting words and aromas. There were also shops from foreign nations.

The trade route was big enough for four small-size magic cars to run in parallel. I guess that would translate to 8 lane roads, with 4 lanes on each side in the Japanese road system. Just from a rough glance and what I had heard, there were apparently around 5000 thousand shops here currently.

The appetite of the people in this world was much bigger than the people of Earth, but not even a glutton would be able to taste the flavor of every shop in just five days.

Still, it sure was easy to get infected with the festive air, huh?

With the black mantle of the 3rd legion trailing at my back, I mainly charted the east commerce street starting from the central station.

I decided to check out the shops within the range of 10 km for one hour and take note of which shop seemed appealing. I guess by the afternoon I would return to the office after having my fill when Master's anger should have dropped to an acceptable degree.

I immediately started my pilgrimage to the delicious looking shops, jotting them down on the notepad in my mind while walking to the eastern end of the street when I spotted a lost boy, whom I presume to be younger than I by two years at least.

I bet if there was a big-sister type person nearby, they wouldn't have been able to stop themselves from approaching him given his pitiable expression, which looked like drops of tears would roll down from his eyes at any time, yet he was clenching his hands hard to stop himself from breaking down into a teary mess.

Hmm, judging from his foreign dress, he seemed to be the son of a wealthy, distinguished family of Justeria.

I bet he must have come here following his father and suddenly lost his way while his attention was focused on the lively scenery of the festival.

I decided to call out to him.

"You there, are you lost? Do you want to look for your family together?"

'Waaahh,' the boy turned around with an almost cheerful expression, as if he found a source of light in the endless tunnel of darkness, but that didn't last long as an 'Eeeek' scream escaped his mouth, and even the tears he had been holding back poured out when he saw me.

Crap, I forgot to take off the mask......

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"Cough, I'm not a bad person. It's a famous mask from this festival that I forgot to take off. Right, look at my mantle! It's proof that I'm a member of the Knight Order, so I'm definitely not a weird old fogey!"

I hurriedly removed the plump face old man mask and tried to placate him, somehow stopping him from letting out a loud cry that would have attracted the attention of bystanders. The evil look of the old man's eyes, as if he had just succeeded in chasing away his rival merchant to the depths of hell, must have scared him.

The boy's name was Yuukas. Apparently, he was sightseeing with his elder sister who was four years older than him when he got separated from her.

I tried to ask him his surname or the general direction of his house, but he was hesitant to answer. I guess he couldn't make up his mind on what information to reveal.

I decided to put a stop to my questioning for now.

"Fear not! Let's start with searching for your big sister who has light green hair like yours. But can you give me more details if we still can't spot your elder sister?"

He hasn't completely dropped his anxiety but at least he looked less nervous than before as he nodded.

I activated my enhanced hearing detection magic and took Yuukas along with me to start looking for his sister around the central eastern region.

Though I heard him swallowing his saliva during our search when we were near a bakery shop that was selling huge croissant-like bread, so I decided to stop by the shop.

"Uncle, can I have two of those double-baked butter croissants?"

"Welcome-welcome! It's our honor to have an honored knight grace our shop! We typically sell many variants, all filled with the taste similar to our parent shop back in Justeria, but the sales have been quite subpar due to the, you know, recent hiccups. I'll put on toppings as a bonus, so it would be great if the Good Sir could advertise our shop!"

I asked Yuukas for his choice of topping. He hesitated for a while but with sparkling eyes he replied.

"Ricotta cheese and roll-berry jam."

"Oh dear, what a grand choice! Would Good Knight prefer the same?"

"Hmm, yes, please. By the way, this kid is lost, so if you happen to notice a light green haired girl like him but four years older, then can you tell her to visit the police booth at the intersection of 4th street and 5th avenue?"

"Police booth? Ah, you mean those small box-like buildings for the police that I've recently seen around? Roger~! I'll make sure to keep an eye out! And you too, kid, you're quite strong to remain calm! Thank you for your patronage!"

Phew, thanks to the cheerful shopkeeper, the tense expression of Yuukas had mellowed down. It was worthwhile to stop by here.

I also dug into the huge croissant with toppings stuffed in the middle.

"Hn~, delicious! I see, grand choice indeed! Oh, what happened, aren't you going to eat?"

Yuukas for some reason had a surprise look, so I asked him.

"......Are we going to eat here... while standing?"

So that was it, huh? He must have been raised well with prim and proper manners.

I grinned and answered.

"We're not going to eat while standing, but while walking. Aren't you a boy? It's not a shame then! Just be careful not to bump into others."

Yuukas seemed taken aback at my line but seeing me walking away, he also made up his mind and took a bite out of his croissant.

"How is it? Delicious?"

Yuukas nodded in a lively manner.

Fumu, I know right. Imagine not eating while walking in this festive vibe. That was almost half the fun taken away!

I had to say, I think I had the knack of teaching the right way to have fun.

"It's delicious! It's even more delicious than any ice cream I've eaten so far!"

Yuukas nodded with a moved expression. The local specialities during the journey sure brings a smile to everyone's faces, didn't they?

The uneasy expression from his face had disappeared to quite an extent, so I also expanded the topic we talked about. Much of it was just silly banter as we looked for his sister while eating ice cream next.

Frankly, I was also quite happy with this encounter. I was an only child in my last lifetime and even here, I was the youngest kid, so dealing with Yuukas made me feel like a big brother.

We waited for a while at the police booth when a girl suddenly rushed in with a flustered appearance. With hair color matching Yuukas', I was sure she was the person we were waiting for.

"Isn't it great we stopped by the bakery, eh, Yuukas? It seemed like that uncle informed your sister."

T/N - Did MC ever think...maybe his red thread of fate was actually got corrupted due to his weird ideas lol?