Following the Dragons, the Angel Race, and the Harpy Race came a contingent of Unicorns.
Setting aside their usual whimsy, the Unicorns marched in a disciplined, two-column formation. Leading the group was the Unicorn born right here in the village, but most of those following behind were visitors who had come specifically to have their horns treated.
Quite a few of them had gathered in the village in the short time since I performed that first treatment. I couldn't help but wonder how they found out. Did Unicorns have some secret way of communicating? When I asked, they simply told me, "Good news runs faster than anything."
In any case, I was grateful for their participation; they certainly added to the festive atmosphere.
A group from the Devil Race followed the Unicorns. These weren't the residents of Village Four, but rather the Ancient Demons like Gucci and his peers—those who served Dos, Raimeiren, and Draim. They put on an impressive display of marching, all dressed in matching, pitch-black military-style uniforms.
For some reason, Prada was leading them.
Despite being based in Village Five, she was at the head of the formation. It was surprising that the lead wasn't someone like Bulga or Stifano, who had been with the village much longer, or even Gucci or Versa. I even thought one of the midwife demons would have been a suitable choice. I wondered how they had selected her. Perhaps they had drawn lots?
Of course, I didn't mean that as a slight against Prada; I was simply curious about the process.
My yagura was next in line after the Devil Race. It was pulled by four golems, each about two meters tall, but this year’s float wasn't particularly high—only about two stories. Because of the reduced height, there were no Minotaurs or Giants standing by to catch it in case it toppled over. I was alone on the platform, accompanied only by the Flying Carpet.
Originally, Lu and Tia were supposed to ride with me, but they had been barred from participating in the parade entirely. It wasn't because of a sudden pregnancy, like with Sena. They had simply engaged in a rather undignified dispute over Unicorn horns.
It wasn't that one was trying to hoard them; they were sharing them properly with everyone who wanted one, but... well, Lu and Tia began bickering over whether one horn was slightly longer or another was slightly thicker. It was not a sight I could allow the children to see.
Then, just as the two of them began trading combat techniques, Lananon stepped in to mediate. I ended up banning both of them from the village parade on the grounds that they had started a foolish fight. I was the one who handed down the sentence, not Lananon.
I felt the punishment was justified. Their "exchange of techniques" had caused actual damage to the mansion. They eventually took it outside, but the building took a few hits before they cleared the threshold. Then, while Lu had Tia locked in a modified camel clutch, Lananon’s tail struck them both while she was in her dragon form, causing even more damage when they were sent flying back into the house.
Because Lananon was also partly responsible for the property damage, Rusty ordered her to participate in the village parade as a form of accountability. Lananon rarely took her dragon form, so she likely hadn't mastered the use of her tail yet, leading to the accidental strike. Since it wasn't intentional, I didn't call it a punishment—I called it mediation.
Both Lu and Tia were uninjured, though. They were remarkably sturdy.
Now, as for my yagura, it was quite subdued compared to previous years. It looked fairly normal—simple, even. However, the High Elves and Mountain Elves who built it had insisted that I stay seated on the Flying Carpet while on the platform. There was definitely something afoot. I kept my guard up.
"I'm counting on you, Flying Carpet," I whispered.
As I gave the carpet a reassuring pat, the yagura came to a halt. The golems pulling it detached themselves and moved away. The floats following behind also stopped, maintaining a wide berth. My yagura sat there, isolated.
Suddenly, four carriages came racing toward me from four different directions. No, they were self-propelled and horse-less, so I suppose "cars" would be more accurate. Just as I feared a collision was imminent, the four cars executed sharp turns—spinning or drifting into position. I realized they were trying to frame the yagura at the front-right, front-left, rear-right, and rear-left, but they were carrying far too much speed.
"They're going to hit!"
The moment I braced for impact, the yagura I was on leaped vertically into the air. I couldn't see it from the top, but I was told later that mechanical legs had kicked out from the underside to propel the float upward. While the yagura was airborne, the four cars slid into position beneath it, and the float landed squarely on top of them.
Mechanical arms extended from the cars to lock the yagura in place, and the section I was standing on thrust forward.
Of course, the moment the yagura had jumped, I had already fled into the air on the Flying Carpet. I wasn't actually on it for the landing.
As I looked down, I saw the result. Was it... a giant cow? Someone in the distance shouted that it was a dragon, but I must have misheard. It had no wings and no thick tail. No matter how I looked at it, it was a cow. A cow-type yagura. Even if I were being incredibly generous, it was a turtle at best.
I flew the carpet back down to the head of the "cow"—the spot where I was originally standing—but the machine didn't move. After a short wait, a few High Elves and Mountain Elves approached the float. They looked it over and then signaled to their colleagues in the distance by crossing their arms.
"Our apologies. The impact of the combination caused a failure in the wheel axles. Please transfer to the other yagura."
A backup float—the tall, traditional yagura—was brought forward by a group of Minotaurs and Giants.
It was a bit of a disappointment, but I obediently moved across. I noticed that the four cars were golem-powered and had been piloted by the Intelligence Boxes. I was relieved to hear the Boxes weren't damaged.
Still, identifying points for improvement is part of the process. I’ll look forward to seeing the final version during the outside parade.
Though, if they're going to insist it's a dragon, they really need to add wings and a tail. If we call that thing a dragon, Dos and his family are going to be furious.