EXTRA CHAPTER 7: A ROMANTIC FESTIVAL

***In some hidden place inside the Holy Palatial Gardens…***

“So, what do you have to tell us, Lady Hinwe?”

“Good news and bad news.”

“Go on. We’re listening.”

The Lady Hinwe, seeing that everyone’s attention was on her, cleared her throat first, before saying, “First, the Lady Missy’s technique in tongue and kissing was effective. We nearly defeated Kuro’s ‘virginity’ wall.”

“By saying ‘nearly defeated’, you’re implying…”

The Elf Saint nodded, “We…still failed…in the end. That’s the bad news.”

A chorus of disappointed moans echoed across the room, while the Overseer Saint silently laughed at her peers.

“Is that why the Lady Missy and the Lady Noir are both here?” Natasha noted the Lady Hinwe’s companions.

“Y-Yes…they’re here to explain what happened.”

The saints’ eyes fell on the demon lady and the dog-lady. “Her Holiness lost consciousness when she got too excited,” Noir explained.

“Correction,” the Lady Hinwe countered. “I got way too intoxicated by your Usarved’s Embrace. You insisted on using it even though the Lady Missy already decided against it!”

“Wha—” the demon snapped back. “With all due respect, Your Holiness, why would you blame our plants when you’re a virgin yourself! Is it the sin of an innocent plant concoction that you can’t handle the heat of the moment? The greatest erotic artist of Chersea, Cherwind, and the Demon Republic lost consciousness when she’s too excited!”

“Y-You…this is why our people won’t get along!”

“It’s not the demons’ fault you elves are weak to too much stimulation,” Noir stuck a tongue out to the Lady Hinwe.

“That’s enough, you two!” the Beastman Saint called out to them. “Let’s hear the Lady Missy’s opinion on the matter.”

The dog-lady replied, “We almost got His Majesty. It’s just a pity that all our work went to naught after the Lady Hinwe lost consciousness—”

“See?!” Noir was triumphant. “It’s Your Holiness faul—”

“Please let the Lady Missy finish, Your Excellency,” Natasha rebuked her.

“However,” the dog-lady continued when the others signaled to her. “While there’s a possibility the magic plant of Her Excellency the Lady Noir may have affected Her Holiness, I’ve also seen people who got too excited during the act, and with the same results. This is quite common, Your Holinesses.”

“I see…” Maddie nodded. “So, what do you think we should do next?”

“We can’t go the same route again, Your Holiness,” Missy pointed out. “His Majesty the King actively avoids contact with us now, wary that we might attempt seducing him once again.”

“Tch,” there was another chorus, though this time, it was tongue clicks. Everyone in the room could feel the irritation directed towards the Lady Hinwe and the Usarved princess.

“You guys…” it was Seirna who spoke. “You keep thinking of plans on defeating that otherworlder’s resolve. But has any of you think of what he really wants?”

“If we allow Kuro to decide himself, it’ll be long…” Maddie replied. “You know nothing of his will to resist our advances.”

“Well, that’s the reason you keep failing! You do things the same way over and over again. It’s not the way to get him!”

“What do you—”

“Maddie…” Ruro interrupted her.

“What?”

“The daddy-con’s got a point; let’s listen to her for a bit.”

“I’ll get you later, doggie,” Seirna then continued, “Anyway, you keep doing the same things over and over again. Why don’t you try something else for a change?”

“Got a suggestion, then?” Natasha asked.

“As I observed from that otherworlder, he’s not your typical rabid, perverted man; he prefers his relationships nurtured well.”

“But won’t that take long before he touches us?” the Human Saint quipped.

“Shut it, horny human girl,” the Overseer Saint snarled. “Calm down, and listen. Your game is already done, and over. And with that option gone, now you got to play by his rules. Seduce him as subtly as you can. Make him need you, instead of you throwing yourselves on the otherworlder! Won’t the dog-lady agree with me? I got it from her, after all, reading through her thoughts.”

“Y-Yes…” Missy nodded. “It’s what I was about to suggest, Y-Your Holinesses!”

“Can you elaborate further?”

The dog-lady brought out a piece of paper. On it were her notes on what they should do next. “His Majesty the King is a man of romance,” she explained. “As to what I observed from his relationships before—as well as from everyone’s stories, he wouldn’t stand for ‘one-moment’ flings. His Majesty loves to go on dates, dinners, and just cuddling together, than being forceful and upfront with our desires. So, we’ll go that route.”

“You mean…?”

“Got any ideas for a festival? We should invite him there!” the Lady Hinwe answered for the dog-lady.

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Festivals. According to the knowledge of the Lady Hinwe, it was one of the ‘potent’ events back in the Lord Kuro’s old world that could bridge the ‘romantic gap’ between a boy and a girl…especially when the flashy ‘fireworks’ started to fly in what she termed as the ‘night sky’. However, the one who’s going to confess should shout his/her feelings during those moments, since the ‘fireworks’ always drown out the voice of the confessor.

“Trust me,” the Elf Saint puffed her chest. “I’ve read many things from Kuro’s world, so I can say I’m pretty much knowledgeable on what gets him.”

“Yeah,” Noir remarked. “…and that’s why you also fell unconscious while seducing him.”

“That’s also from what I read, so I can say it’s normal.”

“Tch.”

“Ahem…” Maddie brought them back to the topic. “Anyway, we need a festival?”

“Y-Yes,” Missy replied. “The plan is, we’ll get His Majesty ‘into the mood’ by setting up a romantic atmosphere. Then, Her Holiness the Lady Hinwe proposed we do that thing she calls a…uhm, a m-matsu—”

“A matsuri. There’s a country in Kuro’s world called Japan, and it’s from their language. It simply means ‘festival’.”

“Oh…”

“Got anything in mind?”

The Human Saint then fell silent for a few moments. When she thought of something, she took a deep breath and said, “Well, there’s this festival I saw in his memories with those ‘fireworks’. I think it’s called a ‘New Year’? It’s a holiday celebrated at the end of the current year, and up to the next one.”

“Ah yes!” Natasha quipped. “We call that ‘Bagong Taon’ in our country.”

“Nice!” Ruro clapped her hands. “I love festivals! Why don’t we go we that?”

The Demon Saint shook her head, “One twist about ‘Bagong Taon’ in my—and Sir G’s—context is that, the celebration is for saying goodbye to your old self, and hello to the new one. If we’re looking for a ‘romantic’ festival, then we’re going to pick between Valentine’s Day and Christmas Day.”

“But there are no fireworks in that!” the Lady Hinwe exclaimed. “Valentine’s is only exchanging some sweet brown candy called ‘chocolate’, and Christmas is about eating fried chicken called K*C!”

“Your Holiness, as if you can use fireworks here! Look at Chersea’s skies; only the magicians can color those azure spaces above,” Natasha chuckled, “And, while your knowledge of our world is good, those customs and traditions come from the country of Japan. Ours is different. Have you forgotten that my ‘old self’ came from that world—and from Sir G’s country—as well? We’re compatriots! I’m his student, and he’s my teacher!”

“I-I’m confused,” the dog-woman commented.

“I’ll explain to you later,” Maddie whispered to her.

“Right…well then, you have our attention, Lady Natasha,” the Lady Hinwe admitted defeat. “What do you recommend, then?”

“If you’ll have me pick one…” the Demon Saint paused for a few seconds, “…then it’s Valentine’s Day.”

“We’ll go with that!”

“But Christmas can also be a romantic celebration,” Natasha continued, putting her arms around herself, as if shivering. “Hmm…I think I’m cozier with Christmas than Valentine’s. Just thinking about it is making me feel the cold, but in a good way.”

“So…we’re going with Christmas, then?” Maddie asked.

The Demon Saint gave her nod and thumbs-up of approval.

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**Kuro**

Well, I really had to finish everything here, before I fall to my desires. Now that I’d thought about it, it’s been a long while since I last spent time with the ladies…of course, they’d really take a ‘pro-active’ approach in our relationship…

…which is a shame and a mistake on my part. I mean, I’m the guy, and the culture I grew up with said that I should be the one approaching them, not the other way around. Not that I really mind that old tradition of mine from my previous world, but it took courage for the Lady Hinwe to be that ‘aggressive’. I shouldn’t underestimate her—and the others’—resolve. I had to answer for their feelings sooner, or later…

“…”

I’m only hoping that those rings I asked from the Lord Uhrian would come on time.

“!!!” A set of knocks on my room’s door took off my mind from my issues, and back to reality. After another set, an elf sentry peeked through the entrance. When he saw me, he stood in attention and gave me a salute.

“Anything new?”

The soldier nodded, “Sir, w-we have unexpected visitors…”

“Who?”

“They asked me not to tell you, but they want you to come with me instead.”

“Oh…?” I tried to think of people who might want to come to this place, and even the identities of those guys based on the soldier’s reaction. However, I was out of options. So, grabbing my uniform and weapons, I told the elf to escort me to my ‘guests’.

The sentry led me to the Saint’s Tree palace courtyard, where every soldier stood at attention. Not only was I impressed by the gesture, I also realized that my visitors were ‘big people.”

“Ah! The hero of the Four Peoples has finally graced us with his presence!”

“!!!” I was speechless when I saw the silver-haired, silvery-blue eyed beauty from the human realm, Maddie, stood behind me. Her mischievous grin, and playful behavior were something I missed, and it was a welcome respite from all the work-related stress I’d been through lately.

The Human Saint’s face was red, but she’s never drunk. “I’m happy you think of me that way, Kuro,” she wrapped her arms around me. “I really missed you as well, you know? We’ve been meeting less in the recent days…”

“Sorry…”

“I understand,” she gently poked my nose. “Also, mind you, I’m not the only one who’s longing for your attention.”

“Eh?” Maddie led my attention from her to the people behind her. Much to my pleasant surprise, I saw all the saints—from Chersea, Cherwind, the Demon Republic and Cherwoods itself, waiting to greet me. There’s the Lady Noir, too. And even Seirna stood a few distances away from us.

“Hey, I just got dragged here,” she told us when she noticed our gazes were on her.

“Since you’re so busy fixing these realms, we thought it’s a good idea to come to you, instead of you coming to us,” Maddie explained. “After all, we all agreed that you need and deserve a break.”

“Ah…I guess I can really use one, right now,” I could only laugh. While I was drowning myself in work, I appreciated the time everyone gave to see me. Honestly, I haven’t experienced such thing before…not even when I was teaching in my old school.

“Sir G!” it was the Demon Saint, who entered the conversation by slapping my back. “It’s been a while!”

“Indeed!”

“Well, another reason everyone is here,” she grinned, “is because we all decided to celebrate Christmas with you.”

“W-What?” At first, I couldn’t believe what Natasha just told me. However, when I realized it, everyone’s got some sort of a Christmas decoration in their hands: balls, trees, Christmas teddies, candle ornaments, and even a gold—as in real gold—star with a fancy circle and dangling trinkets (I guess it’s Chersea’s version of the ‘parol’), which was in Maddie’s possession.

“We thought it’s a nice time to introduce another joyous festival in this world,” Ruro added. “So, with Natasha’s suggestion, we got your favorite festival Master!”

“Oh…”

“Hm? What’s going on, Kuro?” the Lady Hinwe asked. “You’re not happy with our surprise?”

“Well,” I could only chuckle. “It’s not that I’m not happy…but—how should I put this—uh, Christmas is celebrated in December, the 25th day to be exact…” My eyes inadvertently fell on Natasha, expecting that she—as Cassandra David before—knew about it. “It’s only the middle of August.”

Everyone’s attention then focused on the Demon Saint, who was red in embarrassment, “H-Hey…it’s been a really long while, see? I forgot the little details about our world, okay? So don’t blame me! Not to mention, my memories are woozy after I switched bodies!”

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In the end, we decided there was no harm in celebrating something that even I was excited about. I mean, it’s been…hmm, I don’t remember how long I was staying in this place (I mean, in Chersea and the Other Realms), so having a sliver of my ‘old home’ would be a welcome change of pace from the usual stuff I do here in these worlds.

So Maddie and the others began the preparations. They planned to hold Christmas celebrations all over Chersea, Cherwind and Cherwoods, and I think it would also boost the economy of this realm, since the land of the elves was a huge, ancient forest. We could install colorful Christmas decorations, complete with ‘lights’ powered by magic, and create tourist spots for the people of other worlds to enjoy.

Though, really, getting all excited and giddy about Christmas in the middle of August is kind of…err, weird. And I think I also forgot to tell them that the ‘days’ before the actual celebrations itself are the most fun.

“…”

Well, it’s not like September is far off. In my old place, Christmas season always started on the first day of that month.

“Hoh! So, you’re saying that this is originally a religious feast?” Sir Dane asked me when I explained to him the origins of the festival we’re about to celebrate.

“Yep, it’s the birthday of the God of our world, see? Prophecies foretold that our God will be born to be a sacrifice for our sins, so His birth is interpreted as the ‘ultimate sacrifice’. That is, according to the scriptures of the church I belonged to before.”

“I see…” the chancellor nodded. “Well, if I’m a god, then it’s really an enormous sacrifice on my part. I can’t imagine how a powerful being would do that for us mere humans. The Lord Gaius loved these worlds, but he’s done nothing like that.”

Hear that, Gaius?

‘Hey, I’m just supposed to take care of this place, not kill myself for the sake of you stubborn lot!’ the former god was sarcastic.

“Yeah…at least, that’s how it was before. However, with Christmas spreading across the countries of my old world, the original meaning is already lost, and many non-religious people are celebrating it because of the ‘love’, not the God.”

“Good heavens…” the old man’s face went pale. “Isn’t that sacrilege?”

“Trust me,” I could only laugh. “In my world, blaspheming gods, disrespecting cultures and alienating many people will make you famous. Although, before that, it’s the other way around with the religious people. In any case, both are hypocrites.”

“You say that, but it’s a bad type of ‘famous’, isn’t it?”

“Bad publicity is still publicity, don’t you think?”

Silence. I thought the Calabrian chancellor left, but a few moments later, I heard him clear his throat and asked, “And what about you, milord? What’s your take on this matter?”

“I’m not religious…”

Sir Dane’s eyes widened in surprise, though he still remained silent. Considering his background, I was sure he was shocked to hear that. But, that’s only half of the story…

“…but I believe in my God,” I continued. I mean, I’d talked to Him a few times before, played chess, and even fought against one (former). Not to mention, there’s the alternate ‘me’…the ‘Black God’.

At that point, the Calabrian chancellor breathed a sigh of relief. The people of Chersea, Cherwind and Cherwoods were still religious, and would look at those who formed their own beliefs outside the mainstream with disdain. Meanwhile, I needed to be careful of what I say; they really looked up to me nowadays.