Chapter 21: The old man witnesses his disciple’s big moment

Today is the day of the festival. People from all around the world gather here for this yearly event, stalls are set up everywhere along the streets and people gathered around those stalls.

[Uwahh, so many people!] (Luna)

[Ughh. I’m starting to feel a little claustrophobic.] (Til)

Right now, we are walking around exploring the city during the festival. Luna’s fox ears and Til’s elf ears are currently twitching as we are walking around. Luna’s tournament will begin in the afternoon and my challenge against the Killer Ape occurs right after. Although we woke up early today for our sparring session, Luna will have to fight in six battles if she is going to win the tournament. It is important for her to take a break until the tournament starts.

This festival occurs only once a year, we should try our best to enjoy today as much as we can.

[Youya, over there! That looks delicious.] (Luna)

I grabbed the overly excited fox tail with my hand to prevent Luna from running off. The stall Luna mentioned is a stall selling roasted lamb meat.. The stall owner is kneading a variety of spices onto a large lump of lamb meat before stabbing it with a skewer and roasting it over a fire. Whenever he receives an order, he would scrape the cooked meat on the surface of the lump and place it on a piece of bread along with some onions and sauce.

It is extremely similar to a dish called Doner Kebab back in my previous life. The intense smell released from the mixture of spices mixed with the juice from the meat stimulates the appetite.

[Smells good. There is a lot of meat juice.] (Luna)

Being a young and growing fox girl, Luna is in love with meat.

[How much should we buy… Actually. Til. Luna. Let’s have lunch. I’ll go buy some drinks and head over there while the two of you buy the food. The two of you go ahead and buy some food for us to eat. Let’s see.. Each of you can buy up to three things that you like. Since it’s a festival, it should be more interesting for us to each different things little by little right?] (Youya)

[Three things! I’ll try my best to look for something delicious!] (Luna)

[I have a good eye! Luna. Let’s have a match! Let’s see who can find the most delicious food in the festival.] (Til)

[I won’t lose.] (Luna)

I hand over a large sum of money to each of them. Luna ran to the right while Til ran towards the left. Today’s goal is to enjoy the festival above anything else. I had intended to take Luna’s mind off of the tournament to relieve her tension but it seems like it was unnecessary.

I’m a little uneasy though. I hope the two of them don’t get lost being engrossed in their challenge.

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Typically, food stalls prepare an eating area with tables and eating utensils. I am currently at one of those tables.

[Luna has brought food that is delicious! Luna won’t lose to Til!] (Luna)

[I don’t have any intention of losing either!] (Til)

Luna and Til both place their items onto the table. Luna brought a Doner Kebab, roast chicken with plenty of yoghurt sauce and chilli sauce and a gigantic pork rib seasoned with herbs. All of them are meat dishes as expected but the volume of food she obtained is surprising. I’m glad that I let her choose her own dishes. It is amazing that she even managed to get this much food from a food stand.

[As expected, Luna’s choice of food is only meat.] (Til)

[Meat is the most delicious food in the world! My instinct says so] (Luna)

Luna’s tail  straightened to the limit. It seems that Luna made the choice to follow her instincts for this battle.

[Fufufu. You are still a child.I won’t lose! Jya jyan~] (Til)

Til’s items are completely different as compared to Luna. Her items are toast with cheese, soup with tomato base, plenty of vegetables with motsu and various sliced fruits such as frozen mango.

[When eating a meal, it is standard to have soup and dessert right after.] (Til)

[If it was only Luna choosing our dishes, we will only have meat for lunch. I do love meat but it would be difficult if it was just meat.] (Youya)

[Luna is fine with just meat!] (Luna)

[Only you are fine with that.] (Youya)

We’re saved. Although the kebab is fine, it’ll be hard for us to finish the roast chicken and spare ribs without any bread or soup. It is possible for me if I had some alcohol with us, but me and Luna still have our events later this afternoon. So I went ahead and got us some grape juice instead.

Also, I’m looking forward to the desert afterwards. Frozen fruits taste great and are delicious as dessert after a heavy meal.

[Youya. Luna or Til. Who is the winner?] (Luna)

[The one that decides the winner is Youya isn’t it.] (Til)

Both of them leaned forward towards me and stared at my face. It feels like a terrifying show curtain.

[I can’t make a decision without trying the food first. How about let’s have lunch first?] (Youya)

[Uhn. I understand.] (Luna)

[Luna, You remember the promise right?] (Til)

[I do. We’ll let Youya decide if we should buy it.] (Luna)

The two of them seem to be betting on something that I’m not aware about. Without noticing it, the two of them have become this close. I cut and distributed the small dishes that I bought while waiting for the two of them.

Now then, shall we begin our lunch?

As I thought that, a familiar face entered the eating area.

Phil is talking to a handsome man who looks like he’s in his late twenties. Phil smiled towards the man as she said something to him. My interest is piqued as I am very curious about what she is talking about with him. However, I am unable to pick out most of the conversation at this distance. Luna began to listen in to their conversation as her ears started twitching.

[Luna are you able to hear what Phil is saying?] (Youya)

[Possible. Luna’s ears are good.] (Luna)

As expected of a fox. Her large and cute ears are quite sharp as compared to human ears.

[Can you tell me what they are talking about?] (Youya)

[Uhm.. The guy is currently confessing and proposing. He will ensure she has no difficulty for the rest of her life and his parents are nobles or something.] (Luna)

Phil is popular in the guild after all. It seems like the guild idol isn’t on a date although I am worried about her smile. Could it be that she accepted his proposal?

[Youya is making a scary face.] (Luna)

[Don’t worry about it. So what did Phil say?] (Youya)

[I am unable to believe the fact that you love me. I can’t even consider that possibility. If in another ten years you are still able to say that you love me, then at that time I will consider your proposal.] (Luna)

I couldn’t help but laugh at her reply. She is definitely referring to herself and me with that last statement. Ten years have passed since I last saw Phil. And even after ten years her feelings hasn’t changed. The young man was shocked that he was rejected and walked away with a bitter face.

[Youya’s expression has been terrifying for a while now but now it is happy.] (Luna)

[I agree. Youya is weird. Hey, is it fine if I asked big sis to come over and eat with us?] (Til)

[That’s a good idea.] (Youya)

Til stood up and began waving her hands.

[Big sis, over here, over here.] (Til)

Phil noticed Til and began walking over.

[Youya, Luna-chan, Til. Looks like you guys are enjoying the festival.] (Phil)

[Yeah. It’s a rare opportunity for us to try out different foods from all around the world. Now we are eating various foods that Luna and Til chose. Do you wanna eat with us?] (Youya)
[Sounds wonderful. I would like to.] (Phil)

On the surface our behavior seems normal, however it feels more awkward than usual. Phil turns her head away whenever we exchange looks and her face turns red for a while. Luna hasn’t notice yet while Til is grinning at the side.

[Big sis, you were walking weirdly when you came over, did you hurt yourself somewhere?] (Til)

Phil started to blush as she looks down.

I really want to reprimand Til for acting like a perverted uncle.

[It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Rather than that, let’s eat. Look. Luna has been holding herself back and drooling while we are talking.] (Phil)

Everyone’s attention shifted to Luna.

As Phil said, Luna’s face became a mess from all her drool. Any more drool would ruin her cute face.

[Then, shall we eat?] (Youya)

[Uhn. I’ve been waiting.] (Luna)

[Me too.] (Til)

[Itadakimasu.] (Phil)

And so, our fun lunch party has begun.

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I enjoyed the frozen mango for our dessert. It has a strong sweet and sour taste with a nice texture indicating that it was fresh. In addition, it is a cold dessert which tastes great in the middle of the afternoon.

[This is Luna’s defeat.. Such a dirty plan. Your food is only delicious because of my meat! I’ll only accept it because Youya said so!] (Luna)
[Fufufu, it was all calculated!.] (Til)

It was Til’s victory. Having a delicious cold, sweet and sour fruit after eating the greasy meat is definitely foul play.

[Phil, is it fine for you to be spending your time with us rather than participating in the management for the festival?] (Youya)

[Although the management is in chaos right now, the guild officials especially the experienced ones were excused from their duties. Thanks to that, I have some spare time now.] (Phil)

What Phil told me yesterday flashed across my mind. My uncertainty and vigilance is increased to the maximum.

[Now I am able to cheer on Luna and Youya during your events. So both of you try your best!] (Phil)

[Uhn. Luna will try her best to win!] (Luna)

[I’ll try my best but I plan to have the younger men take the spotlight.] (Youya)

Luna is fired up but I’m afraid that it will be tough for her to win the tournament. Honestly, it’ll be difficult for her to hold up against someone who has been trained in martial arts as she lacks the discipline. Although she did manage to land a single blow on me in the sparring match. I think that she should be able to get a few wins in the tournament.

[It’s about time for us to leave. If we don’t leave now we may not be able to find any seats.] (Phil)

[I agree.] (Til)

After the meal, we headed towards the Colosseum for the event. On the way there, a guy who I see often in the guild came over to talk to Phil.

[Sorry, Luna, Youya. I won’t be able to cheer you two on in the event. Seems like there’s trouble happening somewhere and I have to go.] (Phil)

[Its alright. Good luck with your work.] (Youya)

I hope Phil’s work goes smoothly and wish her luck. However, I feel that the timing is a little suspicious. Since Rumberg is the city of beginnings, with a max level of 25 for adventurers, there aren’t many high level adventurers in the city. It could be a plan to keep the max level Phil away from the event. I hope I’m reading too much into this, but just in case I’ll keep my guard up.

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Luna’s tournament battle has begun.

In the Colosseum, there is a ring in the center while the spectators seat form a circle around the ring. The atmosphere in the Colosseum is extremely heated as  cheers roared whenever a match starts. There were also bets being placed on the contestants. Me and Til were watching all of Luna’s battles in the tournament.

[Youya bet a lot of money on Luna’s victory right?] (Til)

[Yeah since the return is quite high.] (Youya)

No matter how you see it, Luna is just a girl around the age of 13 or 14 whose only weapon is a dagger which is unreliable in a one on one battle in an open arena. Most customers would wisely refrain from betting on her. Because of that, the bets were incredibly one-sided. There is no reason for me to give up such a profitable opportunity.

[Do you believe that Luna will win the tournament?] (Til)

[Shes my cute disciple. In addition, she managed to land one blow on me during our sparing match this morning. Theres no way she would lose to these inexperienced chicks.] (Youya)

It is finally the tournament finals. Multiple matches were conducted simultaneously up until the quarterfinals, and only one match was conducted from the semifinals. Right now, everybody’s attention is focused on the final match.

Luna’s final opponent is a spear man. Just going by their weapons Luna is already at a disadvantage. A spear already has a range advantage even against a swordsmen, but a battle against a dagger wouldn’t be a contest. That is, if the dagger-user was a normal opponent.

As the battle started, Luna jumped backwards, increasing the distance from her opponent. Jeers came from the crowd as they viewed it as an act of cowardice.

[Luna, shut these people up.] (Youya)

I know it very well. This is a move by Luna to prepare the distance for her top speed rush. After jumping backwards, Luna suddenly jumped forward towards her opponent. Spearmen were people who preyed others in a head-on battle. However, Luna’s rush is low and abnormally fast. The spear man likely hasn’t experienced any movements this fast and gets thrown off his pace. Unable to predict Luna’s movements, the spear man attempts to attack in Luna’s direction hoping it will deter her rush, however his reaction is too late. A spear without a target doesn’t have a chance of hitting Luna. Luna is capable of accelerating to her top speed in an instant and before the spear was even raised in Luna’s direction, her thrust had already landed into his chest.

[Clean hit! Winner, the Thief Luna!] (Referee)

The referee announced Luna’s victory. Cheers for the Luna’s unexpected victory roared throughout the arena and the wrath of the people who bet on the spear man echoed behind.

Luna ignored the roar of the loud crowd and looked in my direction, showing a wide smile as proof of her complete victory.

[Luna, you did great.] (Youya)

I can’t help but take pride in my disciple’s victory. Looking at it from afar, her movements were very similar to my own movements. She is really catching on quick. Although it was slightly different due to our choice of weapons, her breathing, footwork, center of gravity. I could see me in each and every one of those movements. I am really looking forward to her growth in the future. She learnt to imitate my movements with her incredible sense and presence of mind to became strong. I was thoroughly studied and absorbed in this short amount of time. I’ll praise her more when we meet up later.

Now then, next is my turn.

My disciple went on to win her tournament. I can’t disappoint her by losing my battle.

While caring for the chicks in my team, let’s make the battle with the Killer Ape an exciting one.

Chapter 21: The old man witnesses his disciple's bigmomentToday is the day of the festival. People from all around the world gather here for this yearly event, stalls are set up everywhere along the streets and people gathered around those stalls.Uwahh, so many people! LunaUghh. I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic. TilRight now, we are walking around exploring the city during the festival. Luna's fox ears and Til's elf ears are currently twitching as we are walking around. Luna's tournament will begin in the afternoon and my challenge against theKiller Apeoccurs right after. Although we woke up early today for our sparring session, Luna will have to fight in six battles if she is going to win the tournament. It is important for her to take a break until the tournament starts.This festival occurs only once a year, we should try our best to enjoy today as much as we can.Youya, over there! That looks delicious. LunaI grabbed the overly excited fox tail with my hand to prevent Luna from running off. The stall Luna mentioned is a stall selling roasted lamb meat.. The stall owner is kneading a variety of spices onto a large lump of lamb meat before stabbing it with a skewer and roasting it over a fire. Whenever he receives an order, he would scrape the cooked meat on the surface of the lump and place it on a piece of bread along with some onions and sauce.It is extremely similar to a dish called Doner Kebab back in my previous life. The intense smell released from the mixture of spices mixed with the juice from the meat stimulates the appetite.Smells good. There is a lot of meat juice. LunaBeing a young and growing fox girl, Luna is in love with meat.How much should we buy Actually. Til. Luna. Let's have lunch. I'll go buy some drinks and head over there while the two of you buy the food. The two of you go ahead and buy some food for us to eat. Let's see.. Each of you can buy up to three things that you like. Since it's a festival, it should be more interesting for us to each different things little by little right? YouyaThree things! I'll try my best to look for something delicious! LunaI have a good eye! Luna. Let's have a match! Let's see who can find the most delicious food in the festival. TilI won't lose. LunaI hand over a large sum of money to each of them. Luna ran to the right while Til ran towards the left. Today's goal is to enjoy the festival above anything else. I had intended to take Luna's mind off of the tournament to relieve her tension but it seems like it was unnecessary.I'm a little uneasy though. I hope the two of them don't get lost being engrossed in their challenge....Typically, food stalls prepare an eating area with tables and eating utensils. I am currently at one of those tables.Luna has brought food that is delicious! Luna won't lose to Til! LunaI don't have any intention of losing either! TilLuna and Til both place their items onto the table. Luna brought a Doner Kebab, roast chicken with plenty of yoghurt sauce and chilli sauce and a gigantic pork rib seasoned with herbs. All of them are meat dishes as expected but the volume of food she obtained is surprising. I'm glad that I let her choose her own dishes. It is amazing that she even managed to get this much food from a food stand.As expected, Luna's choice of food is only meat. TilMeat is the most delicious food in the world! My instinct says so LunaLuna's tail straightened to the limit. It seems that Luna made the choice to follow her instincts for this battle.Fufufu. You are still a child.I won't lose! Jya jyan~ TilTil's items are completely different as compared to Luna. Her items are toast with cheese, soup with tomato base, plenty of vegetables with motsu and various sliced fruits such as frozen mango.When eating a meal, it is standard to have soup and dessert right after. TilIf it was only Luna choosing our dishes, we will only have meat for lunch. I do love meat but it would be difficult if it was just meat. YouyaLuna is fine with just meat! LunaOnly you are fine with that. YouyaWe're saved. Although the kebab is fine, it'll be hard for us to finish the roast chicken and spare ribs without any bread or soup. It is possible for me if I had some alcohol with us, but me and Luna still have our events later this afternoon. So I went ahead and got us some grape juice instead.Also, I'm looking forward to the desert afterwards. Frozen fruits taste great and are delicious as dessert after a heavy meal.Youya. Luna or Til. Who is the winner? LunaThe one that decides the winner is Youya isn't it. TilBoth of them leaned forward towards me and stared at my face. It feels like a terrifying show curtain.I can't make a decision without trying the food first. How about let's have lunch first? YouyaUhn. I understand. LunaLuna, You remember the promise right? TilI do. We'll let Youya decide if we should buy it. LunaThe two of them seem to be betting on something that I'm not aware about. Without noticing it, the two of them have become this close. I cut and distributed the small dishes that I bought while waiting for the two of them.Now then, shall we begin our lunch?As I thought that, a familiar face entered the eating area.Phil is talking to a handsome man who looks like he's in his late twenties. Phil smiled towards the man as she said something to him. My interest is piqued as I am very curious about what she is talking about with him. However, I am unable to pick out most of the conversation at this distance. Luna began to listen in to their conversation as her ears started twitching.Luna are you able to hear what Phil is saying? YouyaPossible. Luna's ears are good. LunaAs expected of a fox. Her large and cute ears are quite sharp as compared to human ears.Can you tell me what they are talking about? YouyaUhm.. The guy is currently confessing and proposing. He will ensure she has no difficulty for the rest of her life and his parents are nobles or something. LunaPhil is popular in the guild after all. It seems like the guild idol isn't on a date although I am worried about her smile. Could it be that she accepted his proposal?Youya is making a scary face. LunaDon't worry about it. So what did Phil say? YouyaI am unable to believe the fact that you love me. I can't even consider that possibility. If in another ten years you are still able to say that you love me, then at that time I will consider your proposal. LunaI couldn't help but laugh at her reply. She is definitely referring to herself and me with that last statement. Ten years have passed since I last saw Phil. And even after ten years her feelings hasn't changed. The young man was shocked that he was rejected and walked away with a bitter face.Youya's expression has been terrifying for a while now but now it is happy. LunaI agree. Youya is weird. Hey, is it fine if I asked big sis to come over and eat with us? TilThat's a good idea. YouyaTil stood up and began waving her hands.Big sis, over here, over here. TilPhil noticed Til and began walking over.Youya, Luna-chan, Til. Looks like you guys are enjoying the festival. PhilYeah. It's a rare opportunity for us to try out different foods from all around the world. Now we are eating various foods that Luna and Til chose. Do you wanna eat with us? YouyaSounds wonderful. I would like to. PhilOn the surface our behavior seems normal, however it feels more awkward than usual. Phil turns her head away whenever we exchange looks and her face turns red for a while. Luna hasn't notice yet while Til is grinning at the side.Big sis, you were walking weirdly when you came over, did you hurt yourself somewhere? TilPhil started to blush as she looks down.I really want to reprimand Til for acting like a perverted uncle.It's nothing, don't worry about it. Rather than that, let's eat. Look. Luna has been holding herself back and drooling while we are talking. PhilEveryone's attention shifted to Luna.As Phil said, Luna's face became a mess from all her drool. Any more drool would ruin her cute face.Then, shall we eat? YouyaUhn. I've been waiting. LunaMe too. TilItadakimasu. PhilAnd so, our fun lunch party has begun....I enjoyed the frozen mango for our dessert. It has a strong sweet and sour taste with a nice texture indicating that it was fresh. In addition, it is a cold dessert which tastes great in the middle of the afternoon.This is Luna's defeat.. Such a dirty plan. Your food is only delicious because of my meat! I'll only accept it because Youya said so! LunaFufufu, it was all calculated!. TilIt was Til's victory. Having a delicious cold, sweet and sour fruit after eating the greasy meat is definitely foul play.Phil, is it fine for you to be spending your time with us rather than participating in the management for the festival? YouyaAlthough the management is in chaos right now, the guild officials especially the experienced ones were excused from their duties. Thanks to that, I have some spare time now. PhilWhat Phil told me yesterday flashed across my mind. My uncertainty and vigilance is increased to the maximum.Now I am able to cheer on Luna and Youya during your events. So both of you try your best! PhilUhn. Luna will try her best to win! LunaI'll try my best but I plan to have the younger men take the spotlight. YouyaLuna is fired up but I'm afraid that it will be tough for her to win the tournament. Honestly, it'll be difficult for her to hold up against someone who has been trained in martial arts as she lacks the discipline. Although she did manage to land a single blow on me in the sparring match. I think that she should be able to get a few wins in the tournament.It's about time for us to leave. If we don't leave now we may not be able to find any seats. PhilI agree. TilAfter the meal, we headed towards the Colosseum for the event. On the way there, a guy who I see often in the guild came over to talk to Phil.Sorry, Luna, Youya. I won't be able to cheer you two on in the event. Seems like there's trouble happening somewhere and I have to go. PhilIts alright. Good luck with your work. YouyaI hope Phil's work goes smoothly and wish her luck. However, I feel that the timing is a little suspicious. Since Rumberg is the city of beginnings, with a max level of 25 for adventurers, there aren't many high level adventurers in the city. It could be a plan to keep the max level Phil away from the event. I hope I'm reading too much into this, but just in case I'll keep my guard up....Luna's tournament battle has begun.In the Colosseum, there is a ring in the center while the spectators seat form a circle around the ring. The atmosphere in the Colosseum is extremely heated as cheers roared whenever a match starts. There were also bets being placed on the contestants. Me and Til were watching all of Luna's battles in the tournament.Youya bet a lot of money on Luna's victory right? TilYeah since the return is quite high. YouyaNo matter how you see it, Luna is just a girl around the age of 13 or 14 whose only weapon is a dagger which is unreliable in a one on one battle in an open arena. Most customers would wisely refrain from betting on her. Because of that, the bets were incredibly one-sided. There is no reason for me to give up such a profitable opportunity.Do you believe that Luna will win the tournament? TilShes my cute disciple. In addition, she managed to land one blow on me during our sparing match this morning. Theres no way she would lose to these inexperienced chicks. YouyaIt is finally the tournament finals. Multiple matches were conducted simultaneously up until the quarterfinals, and only one match was conducted from the semifinals. Right now, everybody's attention is focused on the final match.Luna's final opponent is a spear man. Just going by their weapons Luna is already at a disadvantage. A spear already has a range advantage even against a swordsmen, but a battle against a dagger wouldn't be a contest. That is, if the dagger-user was a normal opponent.As the battle started, Luna jumped backwards, increasing the distance from her opponent. Jeers came from the crowd as they viewed it as an act of cowardice.Luna, shut these people up. YouyaI know it very well. This is a move by Luna to prepare the distance for her top speed rush. After jumping backwards, Luna suddenly jumped forward towards her opponent. Spearmen were people who preyed others in a head-on battle. However, Luna's rush is low and abnormally fast. The spear man likely hasn't experienced any movements this fast and gets thrown off his pace. Unable to predict Luna's movements, the spear man attempts to attack in Luna's direction hoping it will deter her rush, however his reaction is too late. A spear without a target doesn't have a chance of hitting Luna. Luna is capable of accelerating to her top speed in an instant and before the spear was even raised in Luna's direction, her thrust had already landed into his chest.Clean hit! Winner, theThiefLuna! RefereeThe referee announced Luna's victory. Cheers for the Luna's unexpected victory roared throughout the arena and the wrath of the people who bet on the spear man echoed behind.Luna ignored the roar of the loud crowd and looked in my direction, showing a wide smile as proof of her complete victory.Luna, you did great. YouyaI can't help but take pride in my disciple's victory. Looking at it from afar, her movements were very similar to my own movements. She is really catching on quick. Although it was slightly different due to our choice of weapons, her breathing, footwork, center of gravity. I could see me in each and every one of those movements. I am really looking forward to her growth in the future. She learnt to imitate my movements with her incredible sense and presence of mind to became strong. I was thoroughly studied and absorbed in this short amount of time. I'll praise her more when we meet up later.Now then, next is my turn.My disciple went on to win her tournament. I can't disappoint her by losing my battle.While caring for the chicks in my team, let's make the battle with theKiller Apean exciting one.