The carriage entered Llewellyn just before nightfall. Nalya finally saw more smiles on people's faces, and the crowd in the streets rejuvenated like plants that were quietly sprouting. If it weren't for the young knight carrying the flag in front of him, the carriage would probably not have been able to move an inch.

The coat of arms of the Grens, a long blood-dripping hammer on a gray and white checkered, looks a little scary, but almost everyone in Anktann knows about it, and it is so respected that many people even cheer on their small ranks.

When something slammed into Is's chest, he almost thought it was some kind of weapon, and with a hint of anger he grabbed it precisely - it turned out to be a bunch of small pink daisies, many of which he had pitifully lost many petals.

"I've heard that Trine is also a time for young people in Anktanen to show their love for each other. ”

As Isis stared at the bouquet in a daze, Norway said with a smile in his ear.

Before Ed could make a joke, a bouquet of butterfly flowers smashed into his face, and there was a good-natured laugh all around, and Norway easily caught the narcissus thrown at him, smiling at the shy skinny girl in the crowd.

The knights of the Grean family proudly pinned the flowers they received to their belts, which was probably an honor.

"It's not fair!"

Tess said indignantly in the carriage, "What do men want flowers for?

"Oh, they sent, on another holiday. The Countess laughed and told her, "But today belongs to 'Trini'." Young girls, no matter how bold they are on this day, they will not be reprimanded. ”

Tess eventually jumped out of the carriage and climbed onto Norvi's horse - but that didn't stop the "young girls" from continuing to throw flowers at the elves.

At the intersection of Arista Street, they had to split up. If you squeeze with the crowd to Trine Square. Naria would never have made it to the dinner, let alone have to arrive early to dress up to greet His Majesty the King and Queen. Some of the nobles who had been honored had to rush to Blackcastle before noon in order to follow the king to the square to preside over the festivities before returning to Blackcastle for dinner.

Mrs. Greon declined this "honor" rather outright, citing ill health.

"It's not easy to be a nobleman. Naria sighed bitterly and waved goodbye to Tess.

Alan found an opportunity to exchange a tacit glance with Norvi. The elf knew he had to keep an eye on Is. In case he suddenly loses control in the crowd, despite the young man's claim that he is completely in control of himself. But always be careful.

Without the knights to ride their horses to clear the way, it was not long before they followed the advice of the guide left for them by the countess, deposited their horses at an inn, and followed the crowd on foot to Place Trini.

Their guide's name was Nando. A widower in his thirties, the son of the old gardener of Limestone Castle, was about to marry his second wife, so he was in a particularly good mood, and along the way he gushed about the names of the flowers that the girls had put in their hair, when they should have bloomed, how they were planted, and what they represented...... until he was so crowded by the crowd that he could no longer speak.

Before they reached Trine Square, they saw the light of the fire that lit up half of the sky. With his massive body and brute strength, Akan squeezed his way through the crowd like a tidal wave. Is, on the other hand, sandwiched Tess in the middle, followed Akan and squeezed smoothly to the front of the crowd.

"That's bigger than the fire the barbarians burned!" said Tess happily. She was referring to the bonfires lit by the Benlu tribe during the ritual of summoning their ancestors.

And the pile in front of them was two or three times bigger than that. On a high pedestal behind the fire was a huge stone statue of Trinny, a stout girl in the image of the earth goddess to Tess, but a symbol of fertility in the eyes of the Anktanens. A group of soldiers armed with spears surrounded the campfire. In case the crowd gets too close, or gets too close to the kings and nobles who are about to appear on the high platform on the side of the statue.

"Can I throw the little man over?" Tess asked aloud. She clung to her little figure tied with dead branches. I can't wait.

"Not yet. Nando replied, "We will not be able to wait until His Majesty has finished praying, announced the beginning of the celebration, and thrown the first little man, and then all the nobles have also thrown it." At that time, most of the soldiers would be withdrawn, and we had to be careful, because every year people were knocked into the fire, and even if there were priests on guard, there would be no time to treat them......"

Tess pouted unhappily. Stonebuch celebrates the Spring Hope Festival without the tradition of burning little figurines, and she's always been interested in it.

Norway whispered reassuring to her, but Iss couldn't help but look for the familiar face in the crowd. It stands to reason that Scott will not appear on such an occasion, the priests of all the temples in the city of Llewellyn will be here, and the high priest of the earth goddess Teresia will even be by the king's side all the time, he will not have the opportunity to get close to the king at all, and in the event of an accident, countless people will be injured in the chaos......

But he's not sure if Scott will be concerned about that today.

A few horns sounded in the midst of a loud noise, long and loud, and the crowd fell silent, and the king of Anktan, Joaquin Dejury, finally appeared on the high platform with his queen and his children, behind him a group of nobles and nobles whose faces could not be seen clearly.

Norway glanced at the human king, and was glad that on this day people did not need to bow down to the king, and it was impossible for Iss to bow to anyone, and neither did he—the elves did not have such etiquette.

But his gaze was quickly drawn to a familiar figure beside the king.

"Oh, isn't that Borena?" Tess cried out in his surprise.

Joaquin Dejury's gray-haired face with deep wrinkles carved into his resolute face made him look rather stern. To his right was his crown prince, eleven-year-old Sercio de Juri, the young prince, who was pale and uneasy, and standing beside him was a man in his thirties with a smile on his face, none other than the hapless former ruler of the Kuz estuary, Borena Cruz.

"Her Majesty's face is really ugly," Tess commented, "does she have a stomachache?"

To the left of the king was his beautiful blonde queen, whose face was terribly gloomy.

The people behind them whispered, obviously curious about what was going on on the stage, and wondered how many people were actually listening to His Majesty's short, boring, cookie-cutter prayers.

The first person to notice something unusual about the campfire was Norvi. He heard a series of firewood crackling, and the flames suddenly began to rise violently after a brief contraction.

There was a cheer from the crowd, which must have been some kind of good omen.

But as the flames continued to stretch towards the sky and began to expand, cheers began to be mixed with whispers of unease.

The soldiers, scorched by the flames, had to move, farther away from the fire.

Iss had been staring at everything in front of him without saying a word, and as he looked around and began to back away, trying to squeeze into—or out of the crowd—Norway grabbed him.

"I know what you're thinking. He said softly to the young man, "But you can't find him in a place like this." ”

Isis glared at him with a stubborn expression, but in the end he stood obediently in place.

Norway breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that Is's eyes hadn't changed color, and that he did seem to be in control of himself more than before.

He should probably be more worried about Scott. The elves had no idea what Scott was up to, but the situation was dangerous.

He involuntarily began to look around like Is, though he knew that the chances of finding Scott were slim.

Fire is much easier to control than some other things.

Scott cowered in a dark corner, nonchalantly watching the flames fly upward. He wasn't really sure what to do - just the moment Joaquin Dejury appeared, his anger involuntarily began to burn, and it was a breeze to let the real flame dance with it.

He could never forget Valland's charred corpses, and the stern old man on the stage was to pay for them, whatever his reasons.

He should have simply burned the Black Castle instead of trying to find the truth. The dead don't rise because of this, that's pointless.

-- What makes sense?

There was a small voice in his heart that asked unrelentingly, which made him hesitate, but he became irritable because of this hesitation.

Eyes swept over the crowd in front of the fire. He saw countless flowers and smiling faces, and it was a smile full of hope......

- He saw Is. And the young man who was looking around...... Apparently looking for him.

Surprised, he jerked back. He also thought that Alan would take him back to Karnak, or find another place to hide...... That day, he watched Iss and Alan appear together in front of the inn before leaving Balach with confidence......

What the hell is Alan thinking?!

Anger arises spontaneously, but it quickly subsides.

Isn't he himself more to blame?

Scott lowered his head and retreated into the crowd with bitterness.

The burning flames returned to normal, the priests of the earth goddess announced loudly, and Tricia answered the king's prayer that Anktann would have peace and abundance like never before.

The cheers were deafening, and the flames burned violently again, but this time, it was because of the little people who had begun to throw themselves into the fire continuously.

Far from over, people spend the night praying, cheering, and dancing in the square...... It will be the liveliest and most jubilant night of the year in Anktan. But none of this has anything to do with the priest of an unrecognized deity, and those who have chosen to believe in him may not dare to raise a small, warming fire tonight......

Scott squeezed out of the crowd, quickened his pace, and disappeared into the darkness that the firelight could not illuminate, without looking back once.

(To be continued)