The festival began in the Village of the Great Tree.
This year’s event centered on the sliding boards. While some form of "sliding" apparently already existed elsewhere, we changed the name slightly to avoid any confusion. The best thing about this competition was that anyone could participate, provided they had enough courage.
One of the young beastman boys was looking particularly fired up. I felt a bit of concern, but the Civil Official Girls stepped in to reassure me.
"We’ll be ready to provide support with magic if anything goes wrong, so it will be fine," they said, patting their chests confidently.
"I'll leave it to you, then," I replied.
As expected, we had several guests for this year's festival. There was the Demon King, Yuri, Beezel, Gratz, and one more man.
"This is the Head of the Four Heavenly Kings, Randan," Beezel introduced.
"I’ve heard all sorts of rumors about this place," Randan said. "Rest assured, I am a complete non-combatant. I would be most grateful if you could provide me with swift protection should anything happen."
"E-Err... welcome," I managed.
I pulled Beezel aside. "Isn’t he a bit... faint-hearted for the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings?"
"He is our Internal Affairs official," Beezel explained.
"Internal Affairs?"
"Indeed. He primarily handles administration and some legal matters."
"I thought the Four Heavenly Kings were supposed to be the four strongest warriors in the Demon King’s Army."
"Hahaha! Why on earth would you think that?"
Well, that cleared that up. For the record, Gratz was in charge of Military Affairs. Beezel, being a master of teleportation magic, handled Diplomacy.
"And the fourth one?" I asked.
"Hou Leg, our Financial Affairs official. We invited him, but he said he had urgent business to attend to."
"That’s a shame."
I showed the Demon King and his group to the guest seats I had prepared. Anticipating more VIPs this year, I had made sure there was plenty of room.
The Demon King's entourage wasn't the only group of guests. The dragon family from last year returned as well: Dos, Raimeiren, Draim, and Draim's Wife. This time, they were joined by Domaim and Kuon. The two of them seemed to be getting along well enough, which was a relief.
"We’ve come to intrude upon you again this year," Dos announced.
After exchanging greetings, I guided them to the guest area. Shiso-san arrived shortly after, accompanied by a woman.
"Is she your wife?" I asked.
"Hahaha!" Shiso-san laughed.
"I am honored by the suggestion, but no," the woman replied. "I am Fouche, one of the priests of the Korin religion."
"A pleasure to meet you."
She called herself a priest, but she was dressed in plain clothes—perhaps it was her day off. I wondered if high-ranking clergy even had those. She was calm and composed, giving off the aura of a highly capable career woman. It was a bit of a shame she wasn't wearing glasses.
Michael-san also managed to make it this year. He had arrived the previous day with a massive shipment of seafood.
"By the way, Village Head... was that woman just now Fouche of the Korin religion?" Michael-san whispered.
"Yeah. She said she was a priest."
"...She’s one of the High Priests."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. She’s known for being beautiful and serene, but she also has a reputation as 'Fouche the Malignant' in some circles..."
"Heh."
"You aren't fazed at all, are you? If she visited a human kingdom, they’d throw a massive parade."
"Even if you say that..."
I mean, Shiso-san sitting right next to her was the Sovereign of her entire religion, not to mention the Demon King and the Dragon King were right there too.
Come to think of it, I hadn't introduced everyone yet. "Michael-san, let me introduce you to the other guests."
"I would be honored."
As expected of a professional merchant, Michael-san greeted the VIPs with perfect etiquette.
"I’ve prepared a seat for you in the guest section as well, Michael-san... Eh? You don’t want it? You’d rather sit as far away as possible? But you won't see the event as well... Ah, I see. Well, that's fine. You’ve helped us out a lot, so I’ll accommodate you."
With a desperate intensity, he begged for a seat away from the guest area. Eventually, he found a passing slime, hugged it, and looked visibly healed by its presence.
The Lamias had also come to watch. Unfortunately, Galf from Howlin Village couldn't make it, though he sent word that he planned to participate in the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament.
Then, the festival truly began. Unlike the tournament, the progression was simple.
"First challenger: Daga of the Lizardmen! He’s competing with a board of his own making!"
Daga struck a pose atop the man-made mountain. Once the referee confirmed the track was clear and gave the signal, Daga started his run. He charged down the slope and leaped onto the board midway. If a participant failed to mount their board before hitting the lubricated trench, they were disqualified.
Once on the board, they could take any stance they liked before making the final jump. Daga soared through the air, skipping across the water's surface six times and setting the first major record.
"Distance: twenty-four meters!"
The scores were recorded on wooden planks and displayed in order of rank, making it clear who was in the lead. There was a set time limit, and participants could jump as many times as they liked within that window. Since they flew off one after another, the event had a great, brisk pace.
Because the competition was somewhat repetitive, we held intermissions for entertainment. The Elves performed a chorus and musical number; with their synchronized dancing, they looked like a group of idols.
The Mountain Elves gave a presentation on their latest inventions. It was a demonstration of utilizing a waterwheel as a mechanical power source. The setup took five minutes, while the actual demonstration lasted only ten seconds, but it was still impressive. The Demon King and his group were particularly interested.
The Dwarves presented a new way to enjoy alcohol—essentially, a variety of new cocktails. They distributed samples to the crowd to gather feedback. Almost simultaneously, the High Ogre maids presented new finger foods. They had clearly consulted with the Dwarves beforehand, as the flavors were perfectly paired with the cocktails. Everything was delicious.
Since residents from Village One, Village Two, and Village Three were also present, I had asked them to contribute to the entertainment as well. The Minotaurs from Village Two performed traditional songs and dances for a bountiful harvest from their homeland. The Centaurs from Village Three showcased mounted archery. It was very similar to Yabusame. Their accuracy was around fifty percent, but the crowd cheered every time an arrow hit its mark.
The Nyunyu-daphne from Village One unfortunately had to decline. They said they had a performance ready, but it would take three full days to finish, which was simply too long for this schedule. I promised to watch it another time when we were all less busy.
The guests seemed to be enjoying themselves. I had worried about how this would compare to the excitement of the Martial Arts Tournament, but it seemed I had overthought it. Seeing the Demon King, Dos, and Shiso-san whispering together, I suspected they might even be using the festival as a convenient place for a secret summit.
Eventually, the first division—where participants ran and jumped onto their boards—came to an end. The winner was Daga the Lizardman. By standing upright on his board and using his balance to glide across the water rather than bouncing, he had significantly increased his distance. He looked just like a surfer.
Tia took second place, followed by one of Kuro’s pups in third. Ya of the Mountain Elves came in fourth, and Yuri, who had joined in spontaneously, took fifth. Yuri had a surprisingly good sense of balance.
Other spontaneous participants included Beezel, Gratz, Domaim, Kuon, and Fouche. Dos had wanted to try as well, but Raimeiren stopped him; seeing that, the Demon King decided to restrain himself. Their scores weren't anything special, but they looked like they were having a good time, so that was all that mattered.
The second division used a different style where participants were already mounted on their boards from the start. We applied plant mucus to the mountain slope to make it as slippery as possible. While we still measured distance, this half of the event turned into something of a Performance Division.
People sat on their boards in ridiculous outfits or struck dramatic poses mid-jump. While most were ignoring the distance to focus on the spectacle, one young beastman boy was taking it very seriously. Ramrias, the caretaker for the beastkin, watched over him with a worried expression. He made a successful jump, though I made a mental note to build smaller, child-sized boards for next time.
Watching the competition, my son Alfred wanted to try it as well, but as his parent, I had to put my foot down. He could try it when he was a little older.
The winner of the second division was, surprisingly, the Sake Slime. It was hard to tell if it was intentional or a stroke of luck, but the slime shifted its body into a streamlined shape while on the board, allowing it to fly quite a distance.
Second place went to the beastman boy, third to Raimeiren, fourth to the Demon King, and fifth to Dos. I was happy to see them participating, at least. Michael-san also gave it a try, though he admitted later that sliding through the trench was terrifying.
For the record, I didn't participate myself.
Finally, we held the award ceremony. I presented the winners of both divisions with ten Reward Medals each and a handmade trophy.
"Thank you very much!" Daga said, looking quite satisfied as he held his trophy high for everyone to see.
The Sake Slime showed no interest in its trophy but snapped up the Reward Medals immediately. It must have learned somewhere that those could be exchanged for premium liquor. Since it won fair and square, I’d have to honor that.
I proceeded to hand out Reward Medals to the other runners-up. I hesitated when it came to the spontaneous participants from the guest group, but Yuri spoke up.
"These can be exchanged for something, right? We’ll make use of them immediately, so there’s no problem."
Raimeiren and the others agreed, so I handed the medals over.
As the sun began to set, the festival transitioned into a grand banquet. It looked like everything was going to conclude peacefully, which was a relief.