Dehya shrugged.
"Hey, it's called 'protecting from the shadows'! Gathering intel around the employer is obviously part of the job too."
Dunyarzad gave a wry smile.
"Alright, Dehya. I just said I wanted to go. I know my own condition well enough, haha."
"Tomorrow's the festival—why don't you relax a bit too? You've already gone through so much for me. I'll be fine."
Dehya frowned slightly.
"…Even if you say that, Miss Dunyarzad, I still…"
Dunyarzad covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh.
"Don't worry, my knightly guardian."
Dehya could only relent for now.
"Fine, fine. Just for tonight then. The real danger starts tomorrow—plenty of people with bad intentions like to strike during festivals."
Paimon couldn't help but yawn, drawing everyone's attention.
Dunyarzad slapped her forehead.
"Ah, you two must be exhausted after rushing back from the port. Sorry, I should've noticed earlier."
"I've already prepared rooms for you—come with me."
Paimon clapped her hands in delight.
"Wow, you're so thoughtful! I'm in!"
…
They arrived in front of a house.
Dunyarzad gestured toward it.
"Here we are. It's quite close to where I've been staying lately."
Lumine glanced around and nodded.
"Looks really nice."
"Thanks for going to all this trouble, Dunyarzad."
Dunyarzad smiled and waved it off.
"Haha, no trouble at all. Just tell me more of your adventure stories sometime."
Paimon raised her hand eagerly.
"Ooh! I'm great at that! I'll tell them next time!"
Lumine chuckled, then suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Dunyarzad, about tomorrow's plan…"
Dunyarzad thought for a moment.
"Oh—if you don't mind, why don't we walk around the festival together?"
"All my friends will be working at the celebration, and Dehya insists on protecting me 'in secret'…"
Paimon nodded in agreement.
"Yeah… Especially with Dehya acting all paranoid right beside you, it'd make the mood super tense, right?"
Lumine agreed.
"Then it's settled."
"We'll gather intel more easily that way too."
Dunyarzad nodded.
"Let's meet at the market nearby in the morning then. Get some rest, you two."
Paimon waved to her.
"Mm! Goodnight, Dunyarzad!"
Dunyarzad let out a light laugh.
"I might be too excited to sleep~ Hehe, see you tomorrow~"
Paimon stomped her foot in the air.
"Now I'm excited too! Will the Sabzeruz Festival have yummy food?"
"No no, if I keep thinking about food I won't be able to sleep. Gotta rest now—come on, Lumine, let's head in."
…
"Yawn… Did we sleep in a little too late?"
Paimon rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of the room, speaking to Lumine, who was still wobbling behind her half-asleep.
"Let's hurry and find Dunyarzad~"
…
Dunyarzad was leaning on the railing, watching the birds flying overhead.
"Lumine! Paimon! I've been waiting for you~"
Lumine scratched her head sheepishly.
"Morning, Dunyarzad. Looks like we overslept a bit, haha…"
Dunyarzad shook her head.
"No, I just got here too early."
She let out a deep breath.
"Phew—the day has finally come. Every second feels like something golden, something to treasure."
Paimon twirled her finger.
"Well, you worked really hard for today! Gotta enjoy it to the fullest!"
Dunyarzad stretched her arms.
"Hehe, you're right! Though I did lose sleep last night. Hopefully I won't crash partway through."
"Shall we head over there? Let's start by browsing that row of stalls."
"A lot of merchants have come to set up on their own for the Sabzeruz Festival, and even refused subsidies. We should show them some support."
Paimon rubbed her chin.
"Refused subsidies… Sounds like they care about more than just money."
Dunyarzad chuckled.
"They all said that getting to celebrate Lesser Lord Kusanali's birthday is a rare honor. The atmosphere matters more than profit, haha."
Suddenly, Paimon spotted something and flew ahead.
"Hey! That one looks like a food stall—let's go check it out!"
Dunyarzad walked over and took a look.
"Oh, they're selling Seven-Flavored Table dishes."
The vendor looked surprised.
"Whoa, you recognized it at a glance! I figured not many folks knew about this anymore."
Paimon peered in.
"Mushrooms, flowers, fruits… Looks like it's all vegetarian. Kinda disappointing…"
"Dunyarzad, what exactly is this Seven-Flavored Table thing?"
Dunyarzad explained,
"It's a traditional custom during the Sabzeruz Festival. Families would place seven specific dishes on their tables."
"Usually you'd see ingredients like Rukkhashava Mushrooms, Nilotpala Lotus, Zaytun Peach, Sunsetia, Padisarah, Harra Fruit, and Sumeru Roses."
Paimon tilted her head.
"So the Sabzeruz Festival is a vegetarian day…?"
Dunyarzad giggled.
"Hehe… Not necessarily. The seven ingredients just symbolize the seven virtues of seven gods."
Paimon's imagination started running wild.
"Hmm… So if Sumeru uses vegetarian dishes to symbolize virtues, then…"
"Would the Pyro Nation's festival be full of grilled poultry, grilled meatballs, grilled ribs and stuff?!"
"Lumine! Let's bump up our trip to Natlan!"
Dunyarzad couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha… I hope your wish comes true, Paimon."
"Alright, shall we see what the other stalls have?"
As the group wandered through the streets…
A young man in scholarly attire called out to them.
"Excuse me! My name is Kimiya—would you like to try Alchemical Divination?"
Lumine scratched her head.
"Alchemical Divination? Sounds like a strange combo."
Kimiya nodded enthusiastically.
"Right? That was my first thought too. They say it was invented by the Little Lesser Lord herself—it's full of mystery."
Paimon's interest was piqued.
"So what do we need to do?"
Kimiya began his explanation.
"It's simple. Just hand over any two items from your person that could be used as alchemy materials. I'll mix them up and perform a random alchemical transmutation."
Lumine's face darkened a bit.
"Random? Sounds like it's guaranteed to fail…"
_
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