Chapter 31: The Festival and The Forged Blade

As time passed, the weather grew even colder, despite the fact that winter was nearing its end.

I let out a sigh, staring at the forbidden spell book in my possession.

I couldn’t bring myself to discard it—it felt wasteful.

Using it seemed ominous, and selling it elsewhere risked being mistaken for a dark wizard.

In the end, I made the easy choice: to leave the problem for my future self.

I shoved the spell book deep into my bag.

After spending days holed up in my room, I started feeling restless.

I walked over to the window and placed my hands on it.

“Ugh!”

Clunk, clunk!

The window, frozen shut from the biting winter air, refused to budge.

After several attempts, I finally managed to get it open.

A freezing gust rushed in, biting at my face as I leaned out the window.

Despite the harsh cold, the streets were bustling with activity, primarily filled with children.

“Is it the coming-of-age ceremony?”

I murmured absentmindedly.

One of the largest celebrations in the Karma Empire, the coming-of-age ceremony, was just around the corner.

The streets were alive with people decorating with countless flowers, and children, beaming with excitement for the festival, ran around cheerfully.

The Karma Empire was already a major tourist destination, but the festival had brought in an even larger influx of visitors.

These tourists filled every corner of the city, eager to experience the festivities.

Watching the lively streets below, I sighed.

As the day of the festival approached, so did the date I was supposed to pick up my equipment.

But I hesitated to step outside.

The unfortunate coincidence of the festival date with my collection appointment meant that the streets were impossibly crowded.

“Ugh…”

There wasn’t a single inch of space to walk through.

Standing on tiptoes, I tried to see past the crowd.

But what good would that do?

The fact remained that I’d have to wade through this sea of people to reach my destination.

I steeled myself, tightening my legs for stability as I squeezed into the throng.

“Huff…”

Like riding a wave, I was swept along with the crowd, wobbling and jostling as I went.

Inevitably, I ended up in strange places, often heading in the exact opposite direction of my destination—the Kajuk Workshop.

“Haah…” I sighed heavily, stepping out of the tide of people.

“Oh dear…”

A woman approached me, holding a small basket brimming with pristine white roses.

“What are you doing here, dear? The coming-of-age ceremony has already started.”

“Huh?”

“And where have you lost your flower…?”

I tilted my head at the woman’s words, utterly baffled by what she was saying.

Before I could respond, the woman tucked a white rose into my hair.

“Wait… this is…”

“Hurry!”

She suddenly pushed me forward, leaving me no choice but to stumble ahead.

To my amazement, the people who had previously ignored me now stepped aside, clearing a path.

Some even waved at me as I passed.

“Make way!”

The woman’s voice rang out as she continued to push me forward.

In response, even more people moved aside, parting the crowd to form a clear path.

What in the world was happening?

For a moment, I hesitated, wondering about the situation. But then I shrugged.

Well, if the path was open, I might as well take it.

I began to run along the clear passage the crowd had created.

But before long, the crowd once again blocked my path.

The people ahead looked at me urgently, gesturing to the side.

It was as if they were insisting that I go in that direction.

“Not this way!”

“Over there!”

“That’s the way!”

“But… I need to go this way,” I tried to explain.

Despite hearing my protests, they were resolute.

With no other choice, I followed the direction they pointed me toward.

Eventually, I arrived at the city’s central plaza.

“Oh…”

I stared blankly, my mouth slightly open.

In the plaza, kids around my age were dancing to music.

These were the participants of the coming-of-age ceremony.

Each of them wore a white rose in their hair, identical to the ones from the woman’s basket earlier.

At last, I understood the situation.

The woman had mistaken me for a latecomer to the ceremony.

That’s why she placed a rose in my hair and ushered me here.

As I stood there, absentmindedly touching the rose atop my head, a woman dressed in white ceremonial robes approached me.

“You made it just in time!”

“No, wait…”

“Come on! This way!”

“Uh…”

Before I could finish my sentence, she grabbed my hand and guided me toward the group of children.

Meanwhile, Leonis had arrived in the capital of the Karma Empire and went straight to the city’s guard.

He intended to enlist their help in capturing the fraudulent mage impersonator.

However, his request was denied due to a lack of manpower.

During the coming-of-age festival, all available guards were assigned to manage the crowd of residents and tourists.

This left no one available to assist Leonis in his pursuit.

“Apologies… The coming-of-age ceremony is underway…”

“Hmm… Can’t ruin such an important event, can we?”

Leonis sighed and left the guard station.

The endless crowd grated on his nerves, but there was nothing he could do.

He exhaled deeply, brushing away his irritation, and pulled out his notebook to investigate places Seris might frequent.

His first stop was the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Hm…”

Leonis frowned as he stared at the firmly shut door.

Apparently, the guild staff had also taken the day off to enjoy the coming-of-age festival.

Unaware of this, Leonis stood there staring at the closed door for a while.

Of course, his gaze alone wasn’t enough to make the door open.

Resigned, he moved on to his next destination.

On the way, he passed through a large plaza bustling with children dancing joyfully.

Leonis watched the children with a gentle smile.

Someday, these kids would grow up to become the pillars of the nation.

He had always liked children for their boundless potential.

At that moment, the music stopped, signaling the end of the dance.

But the festival was far from over; the children immediately began preparing for their next performance.

As Leonis observed, a flash of golden light caught his eye.

A girl darted toward him, her golden hair gleaming in the sunlight.

The girl glanced up at Leonis, offering a nervous smile.

She moved as if something—or someone—was chasing her.

“Ah! Over there!”

“Eek!”

The pursuer was a woman dressed in white ceremonial robes.

Gasping for breath, she chased after the golden-haired girl, but the latter evaded her and ran off in haste.

It was a spectacle of tag worth remembering.

Leonis chuckled softly and turned away.

Later that evening.

I seized the chance to slip away from the plaza when the priestess’s vigilance waned.

Though using magic would have made my escape faster, I couldn’t risk disrupting a major national event.

I plucked the rose from my hair and headed to the leather workshop.

With the festival’s highlight over, the streets had calmed significantly.

Outside the workshop, a familiar man was tidying up some items.

It was one of the workshop’s staff members.

“Oh, Mage! You’ve come at the perfect time.”

“Is my gear ready?”

“Of course!”

Recognizing me, the staff member quickly fetched my items.

It was a set of armor crafted in the same design as my previous one.

“Would you like to try it on?”

There was no reason to refuse.

I headed straight to the fitting room and changed into the new armor.

Once dressed, I stepped out, glancing around.

The staff member approached me with a smile.

“Does it fit well?”

“It’s perfect.”

I paid the staff member and left the leather workshop.

My next destination was the blacksmith’s forge.

Normally alive with the constant clanging of hammers, the street of blacksmiths was eerily quiet.

The forges, which usually burned bright even into the early hours, were dark tonight—an exception to the usual routine.

The once-always-open doors of the smithies were now firmly shut, and the interiors were pitch black.

It seemed the blacksmith had stepped out.

“Ah…”

I sighed, wondering if I’d have to return another time.

Just then, a man staggered toward me from the distance, swaying as if drunk.

As he approached, I recognized the familiar face—it was the blacksmith I had commissioned.

“Oh, a customer, huh?”

The stumbling blacksmith ran a massive hand over his face, his eyes glazed from too much alcohol.

The stench of booze wafting off him was overwhelming, making me instinctively pinch my nose.

“Ha-ha, you’re that mage, aren’t you!”

He pointed a wobbly finger at me, seemingly recognizing me.

I crossed my arms and nodded.

“Is the sword ready?”

“Of course it is~”

He nodded enthusiastically, weaving toward the shop door and unlocking it.

With every lurch of his massive frame, the door screeched loudly in protest.

“Come on in~”

I watched him with growing concern, half-expecting him to topple over.

Sure enough, he tripped over his own feet and went tumbling, crashing into a display of swords as he fell.

Clang!

“Ahhhh~”

“Are you alright…?”

“Ah, I’m fine~”

He quickly scrambled to his feet and crawled his way further into the shop.

After what felt like an eternity, the blacksmith returned holding a sword.

It was slightly shorter than a standard longsword.

“Take a look.”

I accepted the sword and inspected it.

The grip fit snugly in my hand, and its light weight felt comfortable.

A small groove in the center of the blade was clearly designed to hold a mana stone.

I took out the mana stone I had prepared and slotted it into the groove.

Click!

As soon as the stone clicked into place, a soft locking sound came from within the sword, securing it tightly.

I swung the sword immediately. Its lightness allowed my shoulders to relax as I moved.

Whoosh!

The blade cut through the air, and faint starlight radiated from its edge.

The shimmering light painted the dark night sky with beauty, eventually cooling into a pale blue hue.

Every swing brought a chill to the air, scattering icy frost.

Then, the mana shifted again.

Whoosh—Crackle!

Accompanying the glowing starlight, flames erupted from the blade.

The fiery brilliance climbed toward the heavens, releasing intense heat as it dispersed.