Interlude I: Bountiful Harvest.

Her body felt as if it was floating. Half-buried in the soft cotton mattress, even her untied hair felt comfortable as it flowed down the pillow where her head rested.

 It was amazing, simply extraordinary. Lena shook her head lightly, smacked her lips, and turned onto her side under the perfectly weighted blanket. 

 Her eyes flickered as she woke up; she could see Kouko in the distance brushing up before a mirror. 

 Running her tongue over her dry lips, Lena pushed herself up and awake. She let her legs down and sat on the edge of the comfortable bed. 

 “Good morning,” Lena announced.

 “Lena!” Kouko answered in excitement. “Good morning! It was wonderful, wasn’t it?! I couldn’t believe how fast the night went! No tossing or turning, no random bites to fight the urge to scratch at the middle of the night! And no beasts to doubt the repellent for! This is how people are supposed to spend nights!” 

 Lena looked around the room, studying it in under a minute. There were 2 doors; one was the room’s entrance, and the other was the lavatory—which she stood up and made her way to.

 She stepped over the luggage she had ordered on the ground and made her way into the lavatory to wash her face.

 “The water’s quite cold, be careful!” Kouko called out as Lena went in. Lena had spent plenty of time at The Adventurers Guild before—keeping up with land border news, continent-wide events, and updates regarding the middle lands—as such, she had overheard plenty complain about their share of nights at inns. Especially when it came to the lack of care in this particular corner. 

 And she couldn’t understand why. Despite having only once before experienced the luxury of private hygiene, she felt like the thing was entirely intuitive. As simple as a lever, but simpler. It was magical how water immediately flowed out of the wall, though, ironically, she could tell no magic was involved. It was probably something similar to how city night-lights operated; some kind of mechanism. 

As she went back out into the room, she thought over consortium books she had glimpsed that covered said mechanisms. “Lena! Doll up, won’t you? I will go and check on Octan while you get ready, alright?” Kouko claimed as she left the room Lena reentered.

Lena reached a hand into one of the ground-resting bags' pockets, pulling out a brown hairband. She made her way over to the wall-leaning mirror and simply tied her hair around the top back of her head into its usual ponytail. She spun halfway, looking at her back, studying her flowing hair; she nodded, satisfied, and made for the open window.

Resting her elbows, Lena leaned forward through the frame. She watched over the festive town square in the distance. Flamboyantly decorated and loudly roaring in celebration, she wondered what it all meant. Octan had mentioned that the Hero had passed time ago, yet people still celebrated him to this day. Though he had only put down a temporary malice in the general, rather than the Demon Lord, people found it enough to celebrate to this day.

Octan had mentioned some on the lines of that it wasn't exactly that the occasion had warranted the celebration, but rather that the people themselves needed it. Then when was it that the celebration had lost its value? That it had been demoted to nothing more than a tradition? Did it mean anything less now than 50 years ago? What about 50 years from now?

Society and civilization weren't Lena's strongest subject. As much as she had read, it never did much for her understanding of the norms within daily life. After all, why would they be studied literally? They were seen as obvious, common sense, so even in the most detailed of works, Lena still found herself with a heavy knowledge gap when it came to people. She was reminded of a passage she had skimmed over in the journal she had read the other day: "Surviving the 2nd night through the mountains had left us with a great sense of accomplishment, such that we celebrated with no restraint, as do villagers on a bountiful harvest."

As do villagers on a bountiful harvest? Lena was not dense; she could infer the message conveyed with the author's statement. Yet she still had to interpret what the adventurer might've been trying to convey with his joy, rather than finding a point of equivalence to draw from. She had to go through a process of deciphering: first understanding that a bountiful harvest was a blessing on the land, then that blessings were always joyful events, and that joy was an almost drunken state of happiness. By the time Lena had reached the writer's conveyance, she had lost all sense of self in interpretation.

So, she watched ahead. The town square, an opening within the ocean of human constructs, was crying out a tune she found to be nothing more than noise. 

"What do you think of it?" She mumbled to herself, reminded of the eccentric traveler. She wished that one day, once their paths crossed again--as she believed it was bound to happen--she could answer him with a thought original only to herself.

Lena sighed, leaning further in and down--then suddenly jumping in a start.

"Ugh!" Kouko had stormed into the room with a crash. 

Lena turned around, resting her back on the frame as she faced Kouko.

"Can you believe that man!" Kouko stomped in anger. "To suddenly push us into this festival and then refuse to accompany me! Just what is it he wants?! Augh!" She stomped again.

Lena raised an eyebrow, questioning the more than visual show of anger.

"Ah! Just, ugh!" Kouko collected herself, grunting as she spoke out. "Sorry, that wasn't very mature of me..." She apologized, swaying a leg as if kicking.

Lena sighed at the childlike display. "I can go," She suggested.

"Huh?" Kouko shot her a baffled look. "Of course you are going! What are you saying?"

Lena nodded, remembering that she was indeed told to "doll up," as Kouko had phrased it.

"Let us make the most of it, just us girls! And let that dungeon dweller writhe in envy!" Kouko declared.

Lena was taken aback by how personal Kouko had allowed Octan's refusal to get. She was surprised they got to stay in the town in the first place; Octan deciding to stay stuck in his room was a rather massive compromise to his usual lifestyle. After all, she believed that he had only done this with Kouko in mind; she doubted he had any interest in the festivities himself.

Lena constantly rubbed shoulders with the townspeople as it was crowded--to no one's surprise. Kouko moved to her side, constantly pointing at attractions and food stalls whenever given a chance. They had been given a more-than-generous allowance for the festival the night before from Octan, so pointing was not the only thing Kouko had participated in. Lena felt inflated as Kouko went on to request another beast-wolf-finger stick. Lena found Kouko's interest in beast fingers baffling. Apparently, where she had been from, beast fingers weren't considered edible, so it had taken quite some time for her to try it out with Lena when crossing a village that boasted it as its local specialty. Lena couldn't forget the way Kouko's eyes shone at the meaty, wet bite she had taken.

And here Kouko was testing every beat in sight... Lena's was starting to regret her actions. Especially when Kouko had forced her into all kinds of cumbersome gowns, she found the dress-up game a hassle. Kouko went on about how a girl her age should wear a dress every now and then, but Lena couldn't agree with how bothersome they felt to move around in. Kouko tried to justify it with "A girl's meant to make compromises, Lena! And look at how damn gorgeous you are!" and Lena, wishing it would just pass, played along. Kouko seemed content by the end, a wide smile as she strolled through the festival, and that had made Lena feel content herself.

"You make a great escort, Lena!" Kouko claimed, looking up at the towering girl. "I could notice crowds even making way for us! I bet they're thinking you're some tough knuckle with that lookout tower of a body." She chuckled to herself, noticing that Lena was distracted.

"Hm? Something caught your eye?" She followed the girl's gaze to a bookstall to the side. "You sure are dedicated..." Kouko patted Lena's back, pushing her towards it. "So, what is it you need?"

Lena eyed the stand's catalogue and nodded her head upwards at a particular book.

"Hmmm..." Kouko hummed, reaching for the book. "The Mechanisms of The World...? It's one of those heavy Consortium books, isn't it... I remember having to read some excerpts during the reading lessons I took when I started adventuring. Eugh." Kouko shivered in place, remembering.

"The lavatory switch took my interest. It felt almost like magic, as if I was conjuring water, even though I knew it was actually directed. I want to try to understand it, even if I can only pick up the general idea behind it. Mana-less magic." Lena said, eyeing the book.

"Mana-less magic, you say," Kouko said, having paid the vendor, and continued marching through the crowds, Lena in tow. She turned the book over in her hand; it was heavy. Literally.

"Those Consortium folks really ought to learn self-control..." Kouko sighed, fitting the book in with what Lena held. "What's this?" Kouko moved immediately towards a group of kids. A little way off the main road, a group of kids was huddled together around a lying doll.

"Ah! Miss," One of the kids acknowledged the duo. "Don't mind us; our brother had been forced to head back to his stall and left mid-show... His boss is being quite strict, as the festival is their best chance to earn all year."

Lena eyed the kids; they were quite run-down. Ragged, torn clothes covered the older ones, while the smaller kids looked rather thin in the oversized hand-me-downs. Perhaps, even at a festival this overwhelming, not everyone could enjoy the festivities. 

"That so?" Kouko eyed the doll. "Would you mind if I borrowed the stage for some time? Just think of it as an intermission until the main attraction is back, hehe!" She said, poking the doll.

The doll jerked, its arms waving around and then supporting itself up.

The kids' eyes gleamed in awe and anticipation. Such a simple act of magic, yet to the curious kids it seemed impossibly enticing. Kouko held her mouth as she laughed to herself, letting the doll go through all kinds of experiences. From floating to sliding on ice, since the body was rather miniature, she was able to make it seem like an experienced adventurer in battle.

Lena observed the scene, her eyes dimming. It was a beautiful display. The kids gazed in awe, eyes beaming with curiosity and surprise. Kouko attempted to hold herself back from cackling at the simplicity the kids found joy in. The doll, a thing that could never come to understand the happiness it had brought and would continue to bring to the group of children. 

And her, Lena. Allowed to stand beside them, she felt strange. She didn't push herself into the group; she didn't join out of necessity nor curiosity; she didn't have any valid reason to sit among them. It wasn't that she simply happened to be there; she had chosen to be. She wanted to be there. Why? She had no reason, and it didn't bother her. She studied the kids, their bright eyes and beaming smiles taking in the side-road show. She understood what Octan had said: the celebration for the sake of celebration, the joy for the sake of joy. A festival-sized excuse to forget about the unpreferable parts of life pushed upon you.

Just how these kids were allowed joy for an event that perhaps preceded even their birth; sometimes joy for the sake of it is a necessity to take on the next day. 

Kouko gazed at Lena, still in control of the doll, giving her a wide smile, showcasing her white teeth. "How about I teach you the next time we camp out?" She said.

Lena nodded, watching the kids and doll with a smile.

This was, Lena believed, a bountiful harvest.