Chapter 25: Pincotat Grand Festival (3)
Afternoon of the 20th
After a day of sightseeing, the two unknowingly arrived at the North District. Weapons gleamed coldly, magical tools with mysterious powers, and the specialty of this world—earth dragons… Because the products here were particularly complex, they had all sorts of names. But for Subaru, this place was basically the so-called "exotic specialty district."
Naturally, the rules here were even more complicated. For example, Subaru didn't know what challenge Reinhild had been attempting, so he wandered alone in the weapons store. Once again, he picked up an iron sword from the shelf and swung it. The faint sound confirmed the sword's sharpness. Subaru's eyes widened in surprise as he checked the price, hesitated for a long time, and eventually put the sword back.
—As expected from that cunning merchant… a 50% markup. Thinking about it this way, the food we ate just now seems about 20% more expensive than a few days ago, and the magical tool we just saw is 100% more expensive than usual.
Subaru sighed helplessly, looking down the street full of weapon shops.
—The craftsmanship is truly impressive. I wonder if the Astrea Trading Company has this kind of strength.
"The Astrea Trading Company doesn't have that kind of influence."
Subaru turned sharply, and Reinhild, who had appeared behind him without him noticing, smiled.
"Reinhild, you finished your challenge?"
"Mm."
Reinhild held up her points card. Besides the 73 points already earned in the East District, she also had a 40-point stamp for the North District.
"Sorry I was delayed by some things. This is the result of the challenge."
"An iron sword!"
Subaru exclaimed in surprise, then took it, amazed at how effortlessly Reinhild had obtained it.
"Discover the equipment your partner wants, then try crafting it yourself. Fortunately, it's a sword. I just saw someone making armor—she'd probably stay here for the next few days."
Subaru gently placed the sword into his empty scabbard.
"By the way, Rein, who are those older men?"
Subaru asked, noticing several elderly men standing respectfully behind Reinhild.
"They're the instructors for the event! Their skills are pretty good, and as long as the woman is willing to work hard, she can craft a fine weapon for the man she loves. By the way, I already mentioned this is thanks to my [Forging Divine Protection], right? I don't actually have the qualification to guide them."
"A master learns from anyone, and your brief guidance has greatly benefited us."
Noticing Reinhild's pleading look, Subaru quickly blocked her view, sighed at the enthusiastic masters, but this wasn't the first time he had dealt with such situations: chefs from Astrea, gambling masters from the casino city, winemaking masters, reclusive carpenters…
—Sorry!
Subaru silently apologized. While he respected these dedicated craftsmen, Reinhild was more important, so he skillfully helped her avoid their entanglement.
.
.
.
Afternoon of the 20th, North District Earth Dragon Market
As the festival of the Draconic Kingdom, dragons were naturally present. A grand earth dragon race was underway. The rules were simple: the smaller the space on the dragon's back, the higher the score, with additional scoring conditions for ranking.
Subaru first rode an earth dragon around the track. For fairness, the market-provided dragons were used, and for safety, they had to run slowly on the dragons before racing. Subaru chose a small, two-legged dragon similar to Patrasche's, but with strong explosive speed.
After adjusting his mindset, Subaru rode over to Reinhild. When he stopped, he stiffly extended his right hand. Reinhild froze briefly, then blushed and lowered her head.
Subaru, about to retract his hand, was surprised as Reinhild gently grabbed his hand, leapt, and sat in front of him. Her hair swayed with Subaru's breath. Reinhild realized she was blocking his view.
—Maybe I should sit behind Subaru instead!
Observing the cheering crowd, Reinhild realized this was a couples' event.
—Ah, forget it.
She lightly placed her hands on Subaru's shoulders, shifted her left leg over, and fell onto him, lying sideways in his arms.
—Calm down, calm down… Reinhild is on your lap, form and emptiness…
"Rein-chan, are you ready?"
Finally calming down, Subaru held the reins with his right hand and whispered.
"Ah, yes."
With confirmation, Subaru gently moved the reins. The dragon cried out and started moving. Because the dragon had the Divine Protections against the wind, Reinhild, initially a little stunned, leaned away from Subaru as it moved. Subaru quickly stopped, and Reinhild instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, her face naturally pressing against his strong chest.
Thump thump thump~~
"Reinhild, are you okay?"
"Mm~~"
"Uh…"
"I'm fine, Subaru. The race is starting."
Subaru looked up sharply. The judge had raised the flag. Subaru hastily moved the reins, and the dragon shot forward, Reinhild and Subaru bouncing up and down with it.
"Winner: Dragon No. 9, followed by…"
The cheers were deafening. Subaru realized the race had ended—of course, he had won. Instinctively, he accepted the trophy and looked at Reinhild, who was blushing and still holding onto him.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss…"
The crowd seemed to notice the romantic tension and cheered wildly. Carried by the frenzy, Subaru instinctively leaned down to kiss. Reinhild did not resist.
Perhaps it was the excitement, or the fact that several months had passed since their first kiss, or simply that shy Reinhild was too cute. Subaru instinctively wanted to go further. His tongue unconsciously pressed against Reinhild's lips, tapping gently against her teeth.
!!!!!
Reinhild felt Subaru's movements, her mind in chaos. Yet, carried by the crowd's fervor, she instinctively met his tongue halfway.
Important Announcement New Fanfictions
Hello Everyone! I'm VarieTL!
Thank you for all your support!
As an early gift for Christmas for all of you I'm happy to announce:
Not One
Not Two
But 3 New Fanfictions!
Hikigaya returns home from Warhammer...Wait were the Cursed Spirits here before though
Every night, Hachiman Hikigaya dreams of a different wife. Initially, he thought it was just the dreams of an adolescent boy, until he discovered that every single one of them came from the Advanced Nurturing High School... Multi Crossover Snafu, Warhammer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, BanG Dream!
Hikigaya dreams of his future wives
Every night, Hachiman Hikigaya dreams of a different wife. Initially, he thought it was just the dreams of an adolescent boy, until he discovered that every single one of them came from the Advanced Nurturing High School...
Evolution of Emiya Shirou, Traveler of the Multiverse
Shirou, having traveled through time to the era of the Fourth Holy Grail War, is forced to step into the battle for the Holy Grail. Fortunatly there is the sytem with Dimensional Roulette: blank Class Cards, the Son of the Sun, Unlimited Blade Works... Multi X-Over: Fate zero, Campione, Fate/stay night, FGO, Danmachi and many many others.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting