When Zack and the others arrived in the village, they could appreciate the changes that had taken place. The decorations on both sides of the main street gave the town a festive atmosphere. Unlike other days, when most of the people walking the city streets were mercenaries, the streets were crowded with people. Whether they were individuals strolling alone admiring the decorations or groups of friends gathering and exploring at their leisure, everyone seemed to be enjoying the festival.
Soon, they reached a square where they saw a figure surrounded by children who were looking in their direction. "Finally, you've arrived. Why did you take so long?" protested Max, who had been waiting for them for quite some time. "Don't look at us. It's the doctor's fault for not wanting to come," said Sally, looking at him accusingly. "Is that true?" Max asked, trying to appear intimidating. Unfortunately, the children accompanying him were more intimidating than he was.
Zack felt entertained by Max's change in attitude, but before he could say anything, voices that he felt afraid of sounded in front of him. "Is that true? The doctor didn't want to be with us?" said one of the girls, speaking to him with a trembling voice. The other children also looked at him in the same way. Small tears began to appear in their eyes, threatening to fall to the ground at any moment. "Of course, that's not true!" Zack quickly said as he picked up the girl in his arms. "How could I not want to be with you, Suzy? I'm looking forward to spending time with you all!"
Compared to his situation when he lived in the castle, this situation seemed much more dangerous. Anyone who has dealt with children knows that if they start crying, things will get very complicated. As expected, upon seeing Suzy's teary face, the rest of the children seemed like they were about to start crying too. Not only Zack but also Max, Rea, and Sally entered into a panic situation. "Are we really going to have fun?" asked a little girl with a doubtful look.
"Of course! Sister Sally was just joking earlier. Doctor Matthew is really looking forward to spending the day with you all. Isn't that right, Sally?" Rea said with a smile while sending shivers down everyone's spine. "Y-Yes, that's right! I was joking," Sally quickly said with a forced smile. Seeing that the children had calmed down, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief. After a few minutes, they finally managed to calm the children down and avert what could have been a disaster.
Despite the limited size of the village, there are many things to do at the festival. Food stalls, outdoor performances, and discounts in all the shops are just a small part of the excitement. An hour of running around made the children tired and want to sit down somewhere. The adults began searching for something to eat from a nearby stall. "Come closer. Come closer to hear the story about the hero," someone called out.
When they returned, they saw Sally, who had been assigned to watch over the children as punishment, along with the boys. Not only them but there were many people crowded around a large wooden box from which a voice was emanating. "Come on, we saved you a spot," Sally called out when she saw them.
(What is that?) In all the time he had been here, it was the first time he had seen something like that. "Huh? It's been a long time since I've seen one of these," Max said as he approached with food for the children who were sitting on the ground. Suddenly, the box opened, and small puppets began to emerge from inside.
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"Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a beautiful village where everyone was happy. The children played and laughed, and the adults worked without worrying that their families might go hungry," the voice narrated as the puppets that emerged from the box began to move, depicting them working in the fields. If one looked closely, one could see that the puppets were being manipulated by strings.
Seeing this, Zack understood what it was. It was a puppet show. "However, one day, something terrible happened that no one could prevent," the person inside the box said as the puppets of the peasants disappeared, and their voices became somber. "Suddenly, monsters began to appear in the village, but they were not normal monsters. These were larger, stronger, and had a malevolent gleam in their eyes," new puppets emerged from the box, this time in the shape of wolves, frightening the children who were watching the performance.
"Not only in the village. Evil monsters appeared throughout the kingdom and began to attack its inhabitants," multiple puppets began to move and fight each other. "The warriors of the kingdom fought bravely, but the beasts were many, and they fell one by one. Finally, a great sage discovered the cause of the attacks."
The puppeteer took out a large puppet covered in a black cloak that made it impossible to see clearly, the only thing that could be discerned were two huge red eyes. "The great sage discovered that the culprit of the incident was the evil dark wizard, Necrom. The evil wizard was jealous of the prosperity of the kingdom and used his evil magic to infect the monsters, causing them to attack anything that was not infected," Having reached this point, Zack already knew where the story was going. As he suspected, four new puppets appeared on either side of the black puppet, and they began to combat.
"When the culprit was known, everyone prepared to fight against the dark wizard, but no one could defeat him. The soldiers were tired after fighting so much, and Necrom was too powerful. Just when it seemed that all was lost, four figures appeared to stop his plans."
"These were the mighty warlord, the wise sage, the sacred priestess, and the hero. They, thanks to the divine providence of the gods, received a power never seen before. Faced with the danger that threatened the kingdom, the four decided to unite to defeat the dark wizard."
"Why do I have to go with you? It would have been better to stay with the children," "The children are fine. Rea and Matthew will make sure nothing happens to them. Aren't you glad to be with me?" Sally asked mockingly. "Bah. Who wants to be with you? Not even a troll would be willing to spend more than five minutes with you before running away from your— Ouch! Be careful! This is my bad leg," protested Max, who was clutching his foot tightly after being stepped on forcefully.
"Who are you calling a troll?! Do you really think I want to go get drinks after the show? If you dislike the idea so much, we can go back, and you can tell Rea yourself," Upon hearing Sally's words, Max envisioned the situation briefly before being brutally dismissed. In most scenarios, he ended up sleeping on the street.
"What's wrong? Does our brave mercenary fear a little woman? Or are you disappointed not to be with her?" Sally continued to mock them as they went to get drinks. Unfortunately, because they were arguing, neither of them noticed that the number of pedestrians on the street had decreased and that a certain group was approaching them after returning from eating.
"Hey. What a beautiful girl. Would you like to spend some time with me? We'll have fun," a voice sounded as it approached in the distance. When Max and Sally turned around, they saw a boy dressed in expensive clothes with an arrogant expression looking at them with a smile, each of his arms accompanied by a beautiful girl, and surrounded by servants.