The Hydra Kingdom's Founding Anniversary Festival was drawing near, yet so far, the days had passed without any major incidents.
We had successfully delivered Falce-san, and Laguna-san had "safely secured" her in the royal castle—or rather, she’d made sure she stayed there until the big day, so there was nothing to worry about.
Apparently, several court mages had been tasked with placing a barrier on Falce-san’s room to prevent her from wandering out on her own. Given her track record, I felt that was probably the right call.
"I have to say, both Sinfonia’s and Arclesia’s festivals were so hectic, but it looks like Hydra’s is going to be a lot more relaxed. I’m relieved."
"Hmm... I don't know about that. It's just a hunch, but whenever Kaito-kun gets this optimistic, I start to feel like something’s about to happen."
"Please don't say things that make me anxious..."
Kuro, who was currently munching on baby castella, offered that ominous observation. I couldn't exactly blame her for being skeptical. To be honest, part of the reason I’d even said that was because things had been going so smoothly that I was starting to get a little paranoid myself.
"By the way, Kuro, which of the Six Kings are attending the Hydra festival?"
"Oh, Megiddo is going since he’s fond of Hydra, and Liliwood is attending too since she was at both Sinfonia and Arclesia."
"I see. So Liliwood-san ends up with the perfect attendance award."
"Kaito-kun, you’re attending all three as well, you know."
"Now that you mention it, I guess I am."
With Megiddo-san and Liliwood-san in attendance, plus Falce-san from the First Hero’s party being there—not to mention the public reveal of a message from Noin-san, the First Hero herself—this festival certainly wouldn't lack for prestige compared to the other two nations.
If I had to summarize them, the Kingdom of Sinfonia had deep ties with the Six Kings, the Arclesia Empire was closely linked to the Gods, and the Hydra Kingdom was defined by its connection to the First Hero.
Still, the more I heard, the more stable the situation sounded. Obviously, nothing happening was the ideal scenario, but the total absence of any red flags up to this point was starting to make me feel uneasy in its own way.
"Well, even if something does happen, I doubt it’ll be on the same scale as what we saw in Sinfonia or Arclesia."
"That’s true. For the Six Kings, including myself, it’s not as if anyone else is going to suddenly decide to attend at the last minute."
"Right. The guest list is already set. As long as Shiro-san doesn't make a surprise appearance, everything should be fine. And she already pulled that stunt once during the Arclesia festival..."
"The Supreme Gods won't attend unless Shiro orders it, so it really does seem like we're in the clear... Oh, I wonder about the Earth God?"
"Eden-san? Actually, I was worried about that too, so I checked with her. She said she had no plans to participate this time."
I’d been genuinely concerned about Eden-san crashing the party, so I had asked her directly. She’d told me quite plainly that she had no intention of participating or interfering, and she didn't seem to be lying.
However, she did keep glancing suspiciously over my shoulder while we talked. When I turned around to see what she was looking at, there was nothing there, so I wasn't entirely sure what that was about.
Regardless, it didn't feel like there was any trouble on the horizon.
While Kaito and Kuro were having that conversation, Shallow Vernal was quietly deep in thought within her Sanctuary in the God Realm.
(During the Kingdom of Sinfonia's festival, I received baby castella from Kaito-kun in advance. During the Arclesia Empire's festival, I stayed away because of my agreement with the Earth God. However, I haven't made any such promises regarding the Hydra Kingdom... In that case, wouldn't it be perfectly fine if I were to go?)
Due to her position, Shallow Vernal had been unable to visit Kaito's stall in any formal capacity during the previous two festivals.
And, deep down, she was a bit dissatisfied with that. Even so, she knew Kaito had promised to spend the Hydra festival with Alice, and she had no desire to interfere with their date.
Nevertheless, she wanted to take some kind of action. She was currently in the middle of searching for a way to satisfy her desires.
(Enjoying the festival with Kaito-kun without disrupting his date with Alice... Hmm...)
Serious-senpai: "Uh-oh, a stomach pain flag has been raised..."