"It’s finally here, guys. The final materials were delivered to the spot earlier this afternoon," Shawn proudly rejoiced, "We can finally get back to work... guys?"

Shawn, Charle, Henri, and I were seated at our usual spot.

"What is with this silence, guys? Where did your motivation go? "

Two days have passed since Grandfather Emilien’s visit.

"I don’t know, man." Henri said, his head resting against the table.

"What do you want us to say?" "Yay, it’s finally time to work for free!""

"Besides, we’re in the middle of a goddamn festival. Can you at least make an effort to spare us from those depressing things for today?"

Unlike usual today, the duo’s voices were somehow quieter and less lively than usual, and that was for a good reason.

"My God, I feel like my skull is about to burst open."

"Same here. I would've never gone to that damn festival if I knew it would’ve ended me up with a hangover like this one.

"Yet you two still dragged yourselves here instead of taking rest in your respective houses." Madam sighed, removing the bowls and plates from our tables.

Unlike yesterday, the inn was closed for the last day of the festival. Yet, upon receiving them, Madam cooked and served something for them to recover from their well-deserved hangover.

"But it’s the last-ghgeuh!" Henri said, turning green in mid-sentence.

"Don’t you dare!" Madam shouted at him.

"Sorry Ma’am."

"It’s because this place is our second home, Madam."

"Hum, is that so?" She said, disappearing toward the kitchen.

"Aie my head, of course."

"You’re so lucky, An. You damn traitor, and you two, Shawn. "

"I envy you."

"Leave him out of this. It’s your fault if you drowned yourself beyond reason," Madam scolded, before putting in front of the duo two glasses into which she poured a transparent liquid that certainly wasn’t water.

"Did you finally decide to kill us, Madam?" Henri asked, smelling the content of the glass.

"No, but maybe I should. Drink it, fight fire with fire, was it?" If this doesn’t help, then I don’t know what will. " "Madam she said before leaving for the counter where Nia was.

The moment Madam left, the two of them drank the thing in one go.

"So how are you two feeling now?" I asked.

"Still bad, but at least I guess we tried,"

Cherish it, that thing,... good health, for only when it is lost that one realizes its importance." Charle mumbled.

"I will, I guess." I said.

"Oh, now that I think of it. I met Franq earlier this afternoon. He said, No- promised that despite having an engagement for most of the evening, he said he would still be there for the final moment of the festival, so don’t forget him, he said. Oh, well, at least we now have some information about that traitor.

There were three people, the two referred to as traitors, me, Shawn, and, of course, Frank.

On the first day of the festival, with what happened with Grandfather Emilien, I was not able to follow them to the festival. A similar thing happened the next few days, since with the inn opened, I didn’t want to go to the festival while Nia was here helping.

In Shawn’s case, with Zaraha having given birth a few days prior, he, despite having followed them to the festival for some time yesterday, apparently didn’t touch a single drop of alcohol and was always back to the inn before the sun even set on the horizon.

With none of us following them in their drinking trip during that festival, which seeing the state they are now, I don’t regret not going, we received the nickname of traitor by them.

"I guess we’ll meet him up at the festival."

"You two still plan to go?"

"Of course, it’s the last day of the festival. What’s the point of having a festival of three days thrown around if it is just to be absent on the last day?"

"Aren’t you two feeling unwell?"

"That will pass."

"Our friend, traitor, may he promise to meet us before the sun rises; it is our duty not to disappoint him."

"Leave them be, An, they have made up their mind." Shawn said.

"It is not as if I was about to insist on that anyway." I said,

"Besides, I’ll be going too with Rena later-like right now, so..." I said, throwing a glance at the counter.

"Humph."

"Flexing, aren’t we?"

"Anyway, since you two will most likely go earlier than we are, if you happen to meet up with Franq before midnight, please tell him to find us here. I really need some rest first." I think I will take a room and rest a little bit. "

"It’s noted, if I see him, I send him here." I said, leaving the table.

"An."

"Yes?"

Raising his thumbs up, Henri said, "Good Luck."

"Don’t forget, it’s under the old tree that all the fun is happening. So don’t stray away from it too much. "

"What?"

"Just go, don’t take them seriously. But still stick around the old tree; it’s the most popular spot at the festival, after all. I’m sure the two of you will have a lot of fun around that corner. "

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The advice sounded suspiciously fishy since it was coming from Shawn, but I still kept it in mind,

"Okay, I guess."

"It's also around the tree that we'll meet up so stick around."

"Understood."

With these words, I left the table.

"You’re ready?" Let’s go. " I said to Nia, announcing that I was done talking to the boys.

She nodded.

Today she looked different, not only was she wearing the earring from that day, she, today, gathered her into a bum, which in my humble opinion suited her too well.

"See you later, guys." Nia bid, to which the three simply replied with a hand motion, "See you later, Madam."

"Wish you two a lot of fun! And please don’t stay too late out there. Well, maybe "too late" is not the appropriate words, but you know what I mean. When it’s time to go back home, you both know what to do. "

Nodding, we left for the famous Somaroha festival, the spring feast.

***

It was around 8 PM, not that I was particularly familiar with the night in the common district, but it was evident how tonight was very different from any other night.

The street felt more crowded than how it usually would be in broad daylight. In fact, with the lantern at every corner of the street keeping the surroundings lit, the district’s streets were far more crowded than I have ever seen them be. As we walked, we reached the most crowded part of the district where the festival activities were concentrated.

We had arrived at the plaza where Ramia, Mael, and I had purchased the sour fruit years before. that plaza was layered very differently than it was that day and than how it was every day. Indeed, there were stalls around, but the products sold there were very different from those that would be sold on a normal day.

"Do you think they will be able to make it?" Nia asked.

"I don't know for certain but I'm sure they will be able to make it somehow. If it's for the sake of partying, everything is possible for them."

"I admit that sound very much like them." She laughed.

As we walked, glancing at her, my eyes met hers.

"Mh?"

"Nothing, ... I just think they look great on you." I complimented, pointing at my hair.

I since the moment, I saw it in the restaurant wanted to compliment it, but with Shawn and the others around, knowing them, I choose not to.

"You think?"

"Yes, I wouldn't compliment them if they weren't."

"Thanks... Madam is the one that reccomanded this hairstyle. It would be crowded where we will be going, she said, and now that I see it myself I finally understand."

"Thoughtful as always, isn't she?"

"Yes, truly."

"Say Nia, did she say anything about- you know, Grandfather sudden visit and what happened in the restaurant that day?"

Shaking her head, she said, "No, she said nothing about it."

"I see. That's not out of character for her."

"Did Charle and Henri asked you question about it?"

Just like her earlier, I shook my head negatively, "No, they didn't."

Despite the memorable display from that day, I was not even once questioned by the two regarding what happened that day, which I am very grateful for since it would be a pain in the arse to explain, so things between the boys after that night went just like they usually go, just as it was the case earlier.

"You're worried about her telling Elliel?" she asked.

"... Not really, I know that she most likely know who Grandfather is but I don't think I really have to worry about her telling Elliel... You know what Nia, I know I was the one that brought this up, but let's leave that there. We're here to have fun, right?"

She nodded, with a smile.

We had arrived at the plaza where Ramia, Mael, and I had purchased the sour fruit years before. that plaza was layered very differently than it was that day and than how it was every day. Indeed, there were stalls around, but the products sold there were very different from those that would be sold on a normal day.

Of course there were the unavoidable food stalls, fruits and cooked dishes, among which was the famous dog-hot from back then, but still amidst those food stalls there were several stalls that were displaying something that remained foreign to both of us.

It didn't take us long after wandering through every stall in the area to notice that the majority of the stalls that weren't food stalls were mostly betting stalls, and unsurprisingly, those were the most crowded.

Beholding this display, I couldn’t help but somehow understand how ratfighting came to be so popular in this place. The residents of this city really enjoy gambling.

With Nia and I not being particularly bet-enthusiastic, we decided to only waste money on food stalls, which proposed a variety of food that we were never given the opportunity to taste.

We were waiting for one of our food orders while it was still being grilled on a rack over an open fire in front of us by the stall owner.

It was then that a gong-like sound resonated across the room, not once but three times. In reaction to the said noise, people who were not busy on a stall all headed in one direction.

"Ah, damn, it’s already this late!" Some passerby shouted.

"What was that sound, Ma’am?" I asked of the woman still grilling our food.

"You don’t know? That sound was to announce the main event of this festival, the dedication to the hazo." Then, removing our skewered and grilled food from the fire, and handing it to us, "Happy Soamaroha, may the spring be long and bountiful and the Hazo bloom again," the woman bids to us.

Having thanked him and, of course, paid her, but before we could leave, the woman advised with a large smile, "You two should hurry; the plaza will soon be crowded; there won’t be any room for you to enjoy."

Nia and I followed the direction in which everyone was heading toward.

And soon, fair enough, we found ourselves at the place where the hazo was, and just like the woman warned, the place was already getting crowded. In fact, the woman was wrong; the place was already very crowded so much that there wasn’t much we could see of the base of the said tree.

"That many people." Nia mumbled.

Looking around, "There," I remarked to Nia, seeing that one corner of the plaza, I saw a group of people were standing above barrels to see what was going on.

We headed toward them and just like them, despite the most likely delinquant nature of our actions, mounted on top of the barrel to see what was going on.

It was then, just as we started to see things beyond the crowd, that I noticed that a man who seemed to have taken a speech descended from the wooden podium. Following that man's descent, the sound of a war drum reverberated, soon followed by the sound of a flute, then another instrument, then another one, which together formed a festive melody.

Several people went to the large podium surrounding the hazo and started to dance jovially. Their dance was very different than the one I was given the opportunity to witness, but still I could see even from here that they, just like the other people watching, were appreciating every bit of it, since a little bit later, the formerly only three dancers were joined by several other people who joined them in their franctic dance.

I glanced at Nia and saw her mesmerized by the ongoing dance and melody and was unconsciously tapping her feet to its rhythm.

Her features were unlightened by the twilight of the nearby lamp.

I felt my heartbeat getting faster and faster, as if a strange but certainly not foreign feeling was mellowing my heart.

The dance and the tunes made a full circle till they stopped, replaced by another melody of similar rythm.

Seeing what was going on, I asked Nia, out of the blue, "Would you like to try?"

"What?"

"To dance." You like dancing, don’t you? "

She didn’t outright say no, instead she mumbled, "There are too many people. I would be embarrassed to do that."

As the second melody came to an end, the people that went dancing on stage left the podium.

I reached out my hand for hers. "I didn't say you'd dance alone,"

Though, surprised, she didn't refuse my hand.

Firmly holding her warm hand, we swam through the crowd, and then reached the front row.

With the orchestra shifting with its third melody, we took our chance and ascended to the platform.

As most would guess, I was far from being a good dancer. In fact, my last experience with dance was years ago, but since I was the one that dragged her here, I had to take the lead. If I could say, taking inspiration from my only experience with dance with a female partner, I led Nia to dance like Ramia and I did years ago, which was very different from the ones performed here so far, which tended to be more individual. But midway through the song, having taken Nia enough into it, I let her danced, imitating both the previous dancer and the one she performed years ago, she started to clumsily but joyfully imit my dance, so did I hers.

I knew that we were being silly here, and with the laughter we provoked amidst the crowd, we were making ourselves clowns, but I, seeing Nia all happy, giggle euphorically at me while dancing, I told myself every single instant of this, embarrassing might it be, was worth it.