This time around, there were plenty of nostalgic faces.
Frie, the princess of the Empire, and Lord Manfred were getting married. To celebrate their union, I decided to host a party myself. The venue would be this forest. After all, no matter how much noise we made here, no one would get angry.
The problem, however, lay in the preparations.
I decided to leave the construction of the venue to Fairy Kiri and my little-sister figure, the Amazoness Treant. I even assigned the Wood Golem to work as their support. Despite that decision, Kiri immediately came flying over to me with a troubled look on her face.
"You say 'venue,' but how are we supposed to build something like that? I don't have the slightest clue!"
Now that I thought about it, this was a difficult task to ask of a fairy like Kiri and a forest-raised Amazoness Treant. Just like me, neither of them lived in houses; they were used to sleeping outdoors.
"Well, let's see... my image is a large gazebo where we can all chat and have fun while looking out at the forest. Something like that."
Since we were having a party in the forest, I wanted a venue with a sense of openness.
"I don't really get it, but okay. I'll try building something."
The resulting attempt at setting up the venue proved to be extremely difficult. For one thing, the site supervisor was a fairy. Once she got bored, she would simply wander off somewhere. The Treant was seriously proceeding with the work alone, but they were struggling because they didn't know what kind of structure to build.
Ugh, what was I going to do?
"You seem to be in a bind, Lady Crimson Flower Princess."
"O-Oh, you guys are...!"
It was the Master Carpenter and his team of carpenters! I had previously asked them to build a wood house in the forest. We had remained in contact because of that connection, but I hadn't expected to see them here.
"I heard from little Miss Rufe that you're building a huge structure," the Master Carpenter said. "We're always in your debt, Lady Crimson Flower Princess, so let us help too."
"M-Master Carpenter...!"
He was so cool! I never expected them to come and help, so I was incredibly happy. It made me realize all over again that human connections really proved their worth in moments like this.
If it was the Master Carpenter and his men—the same ones who built Rufe's wood house—they would surely be able to create a magnificent party venue. They were pros, after all. I would have to thank Rufe later; I wondered when she had found the time to call for him. Even though she was busy with her studies, she had still gone out of her way to be thoughtful.
Furthermore, with the Master Carpenter's arrival, the Treant showed even more motivation. Last time, the Treant had displayed enough architectural skill to be recognized by the professionals. This time was no different; the Treant seemed full of enthusiasm, triumphantly gripping a hammer.
Thus, the role of site supervisor was switched from Kiri to the Master Carpenter. Thanks to that, I could leave almost all the construction to them. After preparing the timber needed for the build, I moved on to the other preparations.
"The reason I've called you all here today is for no other reason than this: I have a request for everyone."
I gathered the people who seemed likely to help run the party. When I asked for their assistance, everyone immediately agreed, saying it sounded interesting. I promptly began assigning tasks to the group.
"Flashy Man, I'd like you to secure the ingredients."
"Leave it to me! I'll go hunt down something big!"
Securing the food was taken on by Kyle, also known as the Flashy Man. Since I would be growing the vegetables, I had him focus mainly on the meat. Telling me I could count on him, the Flashy Man set off for the Dryades' Forest. He was the Flame Dragon Lord's younger brother, so he looked like he might actually catch a Laobubear. Maybe I would get to eat bear meat for the first time in a while. I could practically taste it.
"Merk, please handle the cooking. Elf cuisine is a rare treat."
Many Elf dishes were unusual, so I figured Manfred, being a gourmet, would be pleased.
"I don't mind making Elf cuisine, but I can't guarantee it'll suit human tastes," Merk replied.
"In that case, I might ask you to adjust the recipes a little."
Back during my time as Iris, Merk had once treated me to some Elf cuisine. At the time, I thought it was somehow lacking, but I understood why now. To put it simply, Elf cuisine was essentially Buddhist cuisine! It consisted of forest dishes that used no meat or fish. Now that I had the memories of my previous life, I could appreciate its subtle deliciousness. If I were allowed to arrange it slightly to suit the tastes of humans in this world, it would be perfect.
And so, I made Merk the head cook. However, a party required a massive amount of food. There needed to be other cooks as well, but that was a surprise for later.
"Yasmin and Yasmin's Mom, I'd like to ask you two to handle the service on the day of the party."
"No problem at all! After all, I'm a former maid!" Yasmin declared.
"Oh my, I wonder if Mama should wear a maid uniform too," her mother added. "What ever shall we do if it looks better on me than on Yasmin?"
My biggest headache had been the staff for the actual day. There was no one in the forest who could handle being a server! I couldn't move because of my roots, and Kiri was too small to carry anything. The Treant was dexterous and seemed capable, but they had zero experience. I needed someone who could lead the floor. Therefore, the demons Yasmin and Yasmin's Mom were put in charge of service.
"Yasmin's Dad, I'd like you to handle the overall supervision and accounting."
"Papa was a civil official, after all," he said. "I'm not much for fighting, but if it's that sort of work, you can count on me!"
Apparently, even though he was a demon, Yasmin's Dad used to be a civil official at the Demon King's Castle. I decided to leave all the troublesome administrative work to him. It wasn't like I forced him; he offered to do it himself! I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea.
"Fair-chan, I’d like you to handle the decorations. Liven up the place with beautiful flowers."
"I'll do anything for you, Mother!"
Fair-chan was my dryad child, born from me. It had been quite a long time since we had met in person, but since our roots were connected underground, we frequently spoke in our minds. I wasn't neglecting my parental duties; Fair-chan had been managing the Alraune's Forest on my behalf while I was away as an adventurer in the South Forest!
By the way, Lady Dryades was absent. She was uncomfortable in crowded places and had shut herself away in the Sanctuary.
As for the Little Witch, she had her study sessions with the Priest, so I let her prioritize those. At her own request, however, she planned to help out with the serving on the day of the party. For that Little Witch to actively offer to appear in front of people... she had really grown. It brought tears to my eyes!
Just as a single Nectar Tear fell, a shadow cast down from the sky as if it had been waiting. With the fluttering sound of bird wings, a harpy landed.
"Lady Crimson Flower Princess. May I lick that nectar?"
It was Harpy Parca. As a member of the Demon King's Army, she handled the Nectar Exchange Delivery between the Flame Dragon Lord and me. She came periodically to collect nectar, but I hadn't expected her to show up just then.
"You seem to be planning something interesting. Since I wish to gaze upon your precious figure, Lady Crimson Flower Princess, I shall help you."
To my surprise, Parca decided to lend her strength as well. I thought the group I'd gathered earlier was everyone, so this was unexpected. To be honest, we were still short-handed, so it was a huge help.
"However, I forbid you from stalking me during the party."
"N-No... My only pleasure..."
Just like her older brother, the Golden Birdman of the Four Heavenly Kings, Parca had been a stalker of Saint Iris—which was to say, me—and there was no telling what she might do. I had to set boundaries now.
That said, I wasn't sure what to do with her. I couldn't think of anything I could ask a harpy to do! Because her hands were wings, she couldn't serve food or help with carpentry. She couldn't hold a pen, so clerical work was out too. Just what was I supposed to assign her?
"For now... just bringing some ingredients would be fine."
"Ingredients, then. I understand."
I was a bit worried, but I figured searching for ingredients wouldn't cause any trouble. That was how lightly I was thinking... until that day.
A few days later, Harpy Parca returned to the forest with a message.
"A message for Lady Crimson Flower Princess from Glühschwanz-sama."
A message from the Flame Dragon Lord? I had just sent the Regular Delivery of nectar, so I wondered what was wrong. Had I committed some kind of blunder?
"I shall repeat the message: 'It seems you are gathering the Demon Race and doing something interesting. I shall bring some good wine, so look forward to it'—or so he says."
Wait, what?!
Did that mean the Flame Dragon Lord was going to attend the party?
Wait, was that even okay?!
I never imagined that members of the Demon King's Army would join in. Well, a Demon Family, a dragon's younger brother, and a harpy were already on the list. Perhaps that made the Flame Dragon Lord want to come too. This was completely unexpected. If I made him feel left out, I would feel terrible, so I couldn't say "No" at this late stage. Besides, if I angered him, I felt like I would be burned to a crisp.
For the time being, the Flame Dragon Lord can take human form, so he can hide his identity... it'll be fine, right?
While I was holding my head in my hands after Parca left, another tragedy occurred. Priest Pandia, who had finished the Little Witch's study session, approached me.
"I heard about it from Miss Rufe. I intend to participate in the party in the forest as well."
"Eh...?"
"I heard that you are short on servers. I have no experience, but I intend to do my very best."
W-What was I going to do?! This was shaping up to be a massive problem!
Priest Pandia possessed power on par with a Saint. She was the very person sent from the Kingdom of Myrte Holy Light to investigate me under the orders of the Lady Shrine Maiden of the Goddess, and she surely hated the Demon King's Army. To begin with, the Church and the Demon King's Army had been at odds, fighting to destroy each other for a thousand years. And the Flame Dragon Lord was a high-ranking general in the Demon King's Army.
At worst, the forest could become a battlefield. This was the worst possible guest list. I had to politely decline somehow!
"It would be... disrespectful... to have a Priest serve guests."
"Please do not let it trouble you. I have always loved seeing these kinds of festivities among people. Since I had usually only watched them from above the clouds, I wanted to experience it for once."
By "above the clouds," she meant she had been monitoring the world below from the Goddess’s Tower in the Kingdom of Myrte Holy Light. I knew the truth—that she was actually a spy for the Lady Shrine Maiden of the Goddess!
"The party is something to look forward to, isn't it? I wonder what kind of guests will be coming."
This was bad. This was really, really bad. If things went on like this, the Flame Dragon Lord and Priest Pandia were going to run right into each other!
It was a huge gathering of characters for the first time in a while. Since some were very nostalgic, there might have been a few you didn't remember well!
Also, a certain character who is nostalgic now will appear in Volume 5 of the manga, which goes on sale this month on March 23rd! Guu-sensei, who is illustrating the manga again, designed the character. I'd be happy if you could check the manga to see who it is and what they look like! (´▽｀)
Next time: Too many races and factions have gathered; someone help me, please.