On the other side of the festival, Michael was now lusting his armor on top of the castle’s wall, staring at the free space behind that will soon turn into a battlefield. Occasionally he would take a few gulps from the wine bottle by his side.
“Your drinking habits are the same, eh?”
Three men were beside him and chatted happily while drinking some beer, their armors prepared by their side.
“…”
“Oy, come on, man. Are you gonna simply ignore us?”
“If you’re going to come at me with your b******* of joining back in the gang, then just scram and don’t waste my time. I’m not coming.”
Michael grumped annoyed while the three men sighed then simply sat down on the wall beside him. One of them then tried to talk in an understanding tone, as if asking Michael to understand them as well,
“Look, Michael. After your brother busted our gang 15 years ago, you got locked up and refused to rejoin any other gang after being freed. Now, your brother f***** us over once again by destroying the main gang which ruled over this city. Do you have any idea how much tension is between the smaller gangs now? At any time there could start a war in this city!”
“Nothing to do with me.”
“You’re the only one with enough leading experience that’s able to unite the gangs, Roil! At least try to pay back for the crap your bro did to us!”
Another one got up and shouted desperately. Hearing this, Michael cracked up laughing out loud, surprising the three men as they looked at him somewhat fearful. They were aware of his madness, and so they feared him even after he became just a drunkard.
After he calmed down, his sharp eyes glared at them all and shouted furiously,
“Listen up, you morons! That idiot never took me as his brother, so why should I?! If you got some beef with him, then go into jail and beat his ass! That is if you can. As for me joining a gang, I told you already, my desire for being in a gang died the moment Black Line was disbanded and I entered into contact with blacksmithing. Do you think that doing drugs, f****** hoes, and making easy money by selling my soul satisfies me as much as hammering metal and creating something with my own hands? Not even close, you retards.”
He then chugged down another few large gulps of wine, the three now frowning annoyed.
“My time as a gang leader’s long gone and I ain’t coming back. If you wish to start again, then search through the new generation. There are many geniuses that will turn this world upside down, you just need to search for them.”
As he talked while drinking half the bottle in just one go, the others looked at one another and the first one who talked leaned forward while sitting on the wall, his face grave,
“Then what about that brat, Leon Roil? He’s the son of the f***** who demolished us two times now, yet why are you taking care of him?”
“He’s taking care of himself. If you think I’m his nanny, then you’re greatly mistaken.”
He smiled mockingly while gazing in the distance, then the three smiled like devils,
“Then… you wouldn’t mind if we deal with him, would you?”
“Then you might as well dig your own graves. Idiots.”
He took another few gulps and one of the three asked surprised,
“Hah? Is that brat backed by some gang or something? Who is it? the Dinclan? Those bastards are with the Italian mafia. Aren’t they enemies with you as well?”
“Stop talking b*******. What gang? You guys really have no brains. Didn’t you guys just talk about his daddy?”
“B-but he’s in prison-“
“And what? He might as well be at home. F*** him up, and you’ll meet the Devil.”
“… Not if we make it seem like an accident.”
One of the three who was mute until now gazed at the battlefield and smiled devilishly. He took out his sword and showed his tip.
“We only need to keep this bad baby sheathed until we meet him on the field. After that, he’s ours.”
“… I’d suggest not doing anything foolish.”
Uncle glanced with a serious look on his face at the gangster, but the man simply smiled mockingly and asked,
“What. Don’t tell me you became attached to the brat?”
“As if. I just promised I’ll help him in exchange for a sum of money. Now better put away that sword and dull it well, or I’ll need to deal with you three myself.”
“…”
Hearing this, the three clicked their tongues irritated then the man took out a river-stone and started dulling his tip.
.
“Goddammit! There you are!”
After running around for half an hour. I finally found him and rushed at him annoyed as he drank without care,
“When were you thinking of coming to change places?! It’s already 3 PM! We were supposed to change at 1 PM!”
“Hey, I came when I had to, but when I called out for you, you were working on some sword like a maniac with a crazy smile on, ignoring everyone who wanted to ask you anything.”
“Uhm… did that happen?”
“It did, not my fault you’re a workaholic.”
“…”
“Now ain’t nobody got time to work as we gotta prepare for battle. Go and bring your armor, boy.”
“Yeah…”
I felt somewhat depressed for not being able to go around the festival with Alice as I wanted, but I simply sighed and went to change into my armor, a heavy sigh escaping my mouth. I passed by the three men that seemed to chat with my uncle, and all three of them seemed to glare at me, making me glance at them confused,
“Go on, brat. Get lost.”
“Is there a problem?”
I asked as the one nearest to me got closer and tried to intimidate me. Annoyed by my unimpressed expression, he leaned closer while a vein was popping on his forehead.
“You ask if there is a problem? The fact that you’re ogling your eyes at me like that is the problem. Piss off before-“
“Before what?”
I asked with a raised eyebrow and also took a step forward, making him retract his face or else he would’ve got hit by my forehead. Furiously he raised his fist while cursing,
“You f****** brat!-”
“Oy you f*****!”
Before he could actually strike me, my uncle roared furiously at him, attracting everyone’s attention.
“Do I look like a f****** statue to you?! Put that fist down before I f****** break it, you dumbass! And you damn brat. Piss off and change already!”
“Pfft, Y’all are so serious. Can’t wait to meet you lot on the field.”
“Kid, better go as your uncle said, or else we’ll make you s*** yourself.”
“Oh damn, I can’t wait~.”
Another man glanced at me sharply and I simply faked a surprised expression, amused by their threats. I then glanced at uncle and couldn’t help but be irritated, scoffing at him only to leave to get my armor.
So uncle has connections with gangsters now? Damn great. What a f***** up family I got.
As I strolled back, Ana and John saw me and waved at me.
“Oy John! Damn, you sure are fast! So how is it? Got time now to hang out?”
“The battle is soon starting, man. We need to prepare.”
“Ah, oh right!”
“Yeah… Also, I didn’t see Alice anywhere, know where she might be?”
“Ah, about that…”
Ana scratched her cheek awkwardly and John smiled widely, patting my shoulder with a grin,
“You’re gonna love this. Come on.”
“Eh? Wait, where to?”
He suddenly grabbed me to go with him then Ana also pushed my back gently, a calm smile on her face,
“Where else? To Alice.”
“Hm?”
I raised an eyebrow confused but still followed suit, going through the crowd while at the same time having to resist the surprised and/or disturbing glances from the people around, together with the interested and stabbing stares from the females especially.
“…”
After we arrived at the dancing area, I was surprised to see more beautiful girls dressed fully in white, making a beautiful yet simple dance where they spun and waved their hands elegantly, enchanting the crowd that only became bigger.
The muses? Hm?!
Between the 12 beautiful muses that were dancing with simple yet clear moves, there was Alice, also moving about with a focused face while keeping in sync with the other 11 women, dazing many people and also taking my breath away with how beautiful she was.
“Oah…”
I remained stunned for a moment. The muse costume was only a white dress, covered with flowers here and there together with a floral crown and light makeup with red lipstick. But this was enough to turn Alice into a fairy and completely enchant the viewers, me especially.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
Ana smiled amused after seeing my baffled expression and all I could do was nod like an idiot as I continued on staring. After the song finally finished and their dance ended, Alice breathed out a sigh of relief when she finally noticed me, the only guy without a shirt from the crowd, turning all red from embarrassment and also at the sight of me being completely topless in a crowd.
“Oh my~? Who is that guy?”
“Hm? Oh~, he’s the new blacksmith.”
“My~ isn’t he kinda cute?”
“Sis, stay in line. I heard there are more who are targeting him.”
“… Please excuse me.”
After hearing the comments of the other muses around her, Alice’s face froze as she quickly strolled towards me.
“H-hey, look! That beauty is coming this way!”
“My chance to finally chat with one of them.”
“Nah dude, for sure she’s coming to me.”
“My time to shine.”
“Excuse me for a moment…”
My face turned dark as I pushed my way through the thirsty men. Many tried to talk back, but after turning only to see a scared muscular body of a guy with a mean look, their mouth muted and just made way.
When we finally met, we grabbed each other’s hand and said at the same time,
““Let’s get away from here…..””
We stared blankly for a moment then just chuckled as we found this predicament quite ridiculous. Feeling the stares from the crowd around, we decided to quickly get away from their gazes and find a more deserted area. As we ran, I couldn’t help commenting,
“How does it feel to be a deity of art and beauty?”
“I finally feel like I’m on the same level with the God of blacksmithing.”
“Oh just drop that.”
She chuckled amused as we ran, then when we finally left the area, we hid behind some trees near the castle’s walls to catch our breath.
“Just how are you one of the muses? Rather, weren’t you supposed to be with Mira and Marina?”
“Err, about that. They met up with some of their classmates and before I could go with them, the muses took me with them and kinda forced me to participate, saying they missed one girl and it had to be me. Thankfully, the choreography was easy to learn as I got it only after they explained it once…”
“Well, I’m not surprised. Those who get to be muses are acknowledged by modeling agents and recognized as one of the most beautiful girls. Being taken to be a muse means that you’re a rare beauty, good for you, eh?”
“… As long as you think that, then all’s good.”
“Haha~ for sure.”
She played with her hair while having a light blush and I laughed out while approving with a wide smile.
I walked her through another alley less crowded between the hard stone walls of the fortress so she could go to the changing rooms.
“… Hey Leon. Do you know them?”
Alice gently pulled my hand as we walked then easily tilted her head to my left, a frown etched on her face. Looking in her direction, I observed the three gangsters staring sharply at me, a mocking smile on their faces. They were now wearing medieval armors with swords and shields, one of them having only one long sword. I smiled back the same way then commented,
“Yeah, some buddies that I’ll meet on the field. It’s going to be fun.”
“I can’t believe you. Your first day at a festival and you’re already making trouble?”
“Woah- I’m making trouble? I did nothing to them…”
“Sigh~”
Seeing my tired expression Alice sighed and after we passed another corner away from them, she pushed me on the wall then gazed at me worried,
“Listen, I don’t want for you to end up in anything dangerous. I’m not confident enough to protect you all the time, Leon.”
“…”
the fact that someone that weighted around two-thirds my weight, with almost two heads smaller than me, and wearing a dress while being mistaken for a fairy was saying that she had to protect me, I simply couldn’t help but find it ridiculous, funny, and cute.
I was rather baffled by her behavior but then I sighed with a smile and lowered my head towards hers, gently bumping foreheads with her.
“I’m curious who actually needs to be protected here. Just don’t worry and have fun while watching the show. I promise you nothing will happen to me.”
“Fine…”
I then surprised her with a kiss and she responded in kind. Seeing how she was ready to embrace my head and continue to kiss me deeper, I quickly retreated and grabbed her hands with a wide smile. I couldn’t help finding it comical how she was in less control than myself when it came to such things, having to actually be the one to remind her of the time and place,
“Don’t forget that this is a public space.”
“Buu~…”
She pouted dissatisfied while red in the face then we walked to our respective changing rooms. I went to change into my armor while she went to change into her normal clothes, the festival’s last event starting soon.
