The Festival of Blessings (IV)

A huge celebration was taking place. Festivals were in full bloom as people came out from their homes, cooking meals, and even dancing to the music. A large festival on such a scale wasn't something that happened often. Supposedly, something like this only happened two times in the past twenty-five years, and this was the third time.

The first time was when the University was created, the celebration lasted three days. It wasn't as big because of the number of people but supposed the number of people celebrating the grand opening was memorable that it's still talked about to this day.

The second celebration happened when they rebelled against the monster attack that almost wiped out a good portion of the city. It took three years for the city to come back to its original look, especially with the Academy's help that could help speed up the construction. What should've taken ten years was done in less than three in which was miraculous in itself; the key was the magic stones used in interesting new ways to help build everything faster.

Now the third time was obnoxiously bigger, louder, and more active with new events. The stalls weren't just in the Townsquare, it stretched out past the town square and went towards the farm.

Don even brought over the booth idea, making this festival a bit more flavorful. It didn't only sell foods, but also sold handmade merchandise and even had games from Earth. From goldfish fishing, throwing balls into hoops, and many more.

Throughout the whole time, I walked around, mostly by myself, in my dragon form. I thought about changing out of it, but Duke Hon and Phil said no. Instead, I had to stay in this form for the next week, making me feel a bit conscious. I drew constant attention; they were always a stream of people following behind me.

People scattered away when my tail wagged side-to-side, but they always came back. Some children were brave enough to sit on my tail and have a free ride as if that was what it was supposed to do.

The delicious smell of food wafted through the air, making my stomach hungry. My nose stuck up in the air, sniffing the aroma, I headed towards that direction. Everything smelled ten times more delicious, making me realize why I haven't stayed in my dragon form during these times.

"Great Magician Berry!" A cat beast-kin elderly lady shouted towards me, waving her hand over her head.

I turned towards her, wondering why she was calling me.

"Catch!" She tossed a slab of cooked meat up into the air.

My head swiveled right under it and caught it fluidly in one bite. The hot spicy meat exploded in my mouth with different flavors ten times stronger than a human taste bud. I tasted rosemary, pepper, salt, barbeque sauce, and even a hint of blueberry. All I needed to do was gulp it down in one bite, which was fine. I couldn't taste the flavor for too long, but it was enough for me to enjoy.

After that, I had constant tidbits of food from different people. For once, I was glad that I had a large belly, or I wouldn't be able to enjoy all this free food. By now, I was sure that I would've burst into my human body, but in my dragon form, I didn't even feel a quarter of the way full.

Eventually, the day quickly became night. All the people were streaming towards the last major event for the night: Fireworks. I followed the people and headed over towards the open field, where an endless amount of people were present. Everyone was sitting down on the ground on blankets as they were waiting for the night to become completely dark.

I had to carefully waddle my way through, not to squish anyone or overturn their basket of food with my feet. It was hard, but I was able to get through without too much trouble. People were kind enough to move their things as I passed through. Eventually, I was able to find a large spot, reserved by Moca, Coco, and Tart. All of them were standing there, keeping the others back, while I made it over.

"Moca. Coco. Tart." I called out their name happily.

All three of them bowed as Phil slid off my back. I didn't even hear him until he came over.

"Young Mistress!" Tart shook his hand and waved at me. "I'm making you something delicious!"

Coco smacked Tart in the back of the head, displeased at how he talked to me. Tart yelped and glared at Coco as if she was the bane to his world. Moca only bowed and didn't say anything else.

"Young Mistress." Coco was the first one to hurry over. A gentle smile was plastered on her face as she motioned me over to sit. "We have reserved the best seat for you."

"Thank you."

"It's our pleasure."

I sat down and noticed that Coco was barbecuing a large amount of food. The sweet smell of meat made my stomach growl. All that appetizers that I ate only quelled my stomach, and I didn't know I was so hungry until now.

Moca disappeared and reappeared with a group of Maids. He brought over a large, wooden, empty tub, where my giant head could fit in. I wonder what it was for. It wasn't until I saw Coco with the other Maids bringing over large barrels of water like substances over their shoulders as if it was nothing.

I was quite shocked to see some of the small maids bringing two barrels hoisted over their shoulders as if it was nothing. Even the people who were watching gasped when they saw such ridiculous power.

"What's going on?" I asked Moca, confused. "What are those?"

"Young mistress, each of these barrels of wine brewed by the finest winemaker. The people of the city had sent you a gift for you to enjoy."

I looked at the number of large barrels of wine, starting to be poured into the wooden tub. I'm not an alcoholic, but seriously this was a lot. It took a total of five barrels to completely fill it up to the brim, and they were still twenty more being stacked next to me.

My eyebrow twitched. I couldn't say no to the gift that they have sent, but at the same time, I wondered why it was wine. I would have preferred gold, but that wouldn't have been beneficial to the city economy.

It didn't take long for people to start coming up towards me. Each one of them stood in front of the large tub of wine, and they bow respectably. One-by-one, they threw in a gold coin into the tube of wine, clapped their hand in a prayer, and walked away smiling.

I was completely lost in what just happened. Did these people see my wine as some kind of wishing well or something? People just kept coming, throwing in gold coins into the tub filled with wine. It didn't take long before the number of gold coins was actually making the wine start to spill. I personally believed that the god of wine and good luck must've heard my silent prayer for gold, and I was ecstatic. This was a delicious treat!

I had to quickly extend my tongue and sip up the wine before it completely spilled over. The taste of bittersweet grapes exploded in my mouth, making me realize how delicious this drink was. Gold and wine, that's like a perfect mix drink for someone who doesn't drink much alcohol. My tongue wrapped around as many coins as possible as I ate it gleefully. I was in heaven. This was really the sweetest tasting drink that I have ever tasted.

Moca, Tart, and Coco brought over the delicious-looking food over a giant platter. Once again, I had to wonder where they had the time to create something this big. It reminded me of a sushi platter back on Earth. Tart even arranged it artistically similar to a professional sushi chef, wrapped in rice and even Nori.

I picked it up with my fingers and gladly gobbled it up with wine that tastes close to sake. This whole experience brought a familiarity with Earth. I wasn't lamenting over it for too long, and I enjoyed what I was given.

"Slow down, you're going to make yourself sick." Phil was sitting next to me, enjoying the flavorful food as well. He took a small sip and went back to eating the sushi-like food in front of him.

I gulped down my food. "I am. It's just too delicious."

"Yes, it is, but that didn't mean to stuff yourself silly like an animal. Even dragons should have class." He shook his head. "Look, everyone is watching."

Swiveling my head, I saw quite a bit of gazes staring at me with either amusement or complete disbelief. The amount of food I ate didn't compare to any one of them, and to see so much food being cooked and eaten stunned them. A flush of embarrassment filled up my face, and I actually started to slow down.

Eventually, I heard Don's voice not too far away from us.

"Can you please let go of my arm!" Don shouted, displeased at how closely Ginger was attached to him.

Both Don and Ginger came over in their own traditional outfit. Ginger's outfit reminded me close to a female Japanese traditional outfit and matched perfectly with Don. They looked like a cute couple if it wasn't for the fact that she was tiny.

"No. You're my future husband." Ginger snuggled into his arm.

Don sighed out in complete defeat and glanced up at me with a plea for help. I quickly looked away, guilty that I couldn't really do anything. A lover's quarrel wasn't something that I knew anything about.

"Don. Ginger. Good to see that you could make it." Phil replied, patting over for both of them to sit down.

"I was dragged here," Don replied.

"We came to watch the so-called fireworks," said Ginger at the same time as Don. She turned towards him and frowned at what Don said.

Don didn't say anything else with guilt and looked away as if he didn't say anything wrong.

"Would you like something to eat?" Moca came over with a plate of food for both of them.

"Please!" Ginger gladly let go and took both their plates. She then gave one to Don, who actually looked at the food in front of him with interest.

"Sushi?"

"Close enough," I replied. "Maybe it's Tart's version of sushi, but I won't complain. It tastes delicious."

"Oh, really." Don picked up a small piece, sniffed it, and ate it. His expression changed in awe as he went for another piece. "Your right."

"What is sushi?" Ginger asked. "Is that some kind of food?"

"Yes," said Don. "It's something similar to what you're eating now. It's one of my cultural foods back at home."

"Oh~" Ginger stated with interest. She picked one up and popped it in her mouth as if it was candy. Her expression changed into delight at the taste of delicious food that melted in her mouth like butter. "It's so good."

Don nodded, understanding her completely.

I continued to drink and eat. Moca and Tart quickly refilled the large tub with wine and even brought out one of my favorite dishes. I tore into my food, enjoyed the sweet drink, and watched the festival continue. People continued to throw more gold coins, dance to the music, and joyfully enjoy the starry night.

Today was indeed a wonderful day, I could feel myself slowly getting tipsy, but the sweet taste of gold just continued to enter my mouth. I eventually finished all my drinks and even the gold coin that was inside the tube. Whoever thought of this was indeed a genius.

Free food. That's how I like it.

I slowly got up, stumbled, and wavered. Phil looked at me funny for a moment and sighed. He shook his head at me. I, on the other hand, ignored him entirely and stood up as straight as I could. The cool wind blew across my face; the joyous occasion of just being alive made me swoon with happiness. I was happy that the people in this city accepted me for who I am.

"What are you doing, Berry?!" Phil called out towards me.

I barely heard his words and was too focused on what I was going to do next. Feeling delighted at the festive mood before me, I felt a surge of energy seeping through every nook and cranny of my bones and muscles. Maybe it was the alcohol, I don't know what came over me, but I felt an adrenaline rush. A high that I couldn't stop as the words on my lips escaped outwards.

"May you all be blessed with good fortune for the next five years for the Goddess of Light is watching you," I spoke with a robust thunderous voice. Everyone cheered, raising up their ale into the air.

A burst of magic spread outwards into swirls. They reminded me of fireflies as the magic went to each person and disappeared into their body. It was indeed a colorful light display of white fireflies that danced and moved in the air until they found every single bodily host in the city. I couldn't help but shudder from the amount of energy that went out from my body. All of a sudden, I felt really sleepy.

Suddenly, the fireworks exploded up into the air, diverting everyone's attention away from me. The sky was filled with multitudes of different colored explosions. Some went off together rhythmically with the music, the others swirled into flower shapes and even animal shapes that normal fireworks couldn't do.

People oohed and ahhed at the spectacle before them; they all were mesmerized by the show that was happening before their eyes. Some pointed, the others gasped at the firework display.

I watched with enthusiasm as well, but I was getting exhausted. It was difficult to watch the beautiful display of fireworks that were playing over my head. Honestly, my body felt weak and jelly-like. Sleep was coming towards me in waves.

My eyes were droopy, and I crashed down onto the ground, accepting the sweet call of sleep that washed over me. The last thing I saw was a firework of a giant white dragon bursting in the air above me as it glided in the sky. A smile erupted on my lips while I fell asleep. Today was definitely a day that I would never forget, and I would surely remember throughout my life.