3 bar menu

The Beast and the Witch’s Mock Wedding – Part 02

Translator: Kell

Our current destination was the port city of Ideaverna in the Republic of Cleon.

Ideaverna was one of the three major ports on the continent and the center of the sea route where ships from all over the world docked. People, goods, and information gathered there. There was no other city more suitable for gathering info on Magic.

Quite some time had passed since we left the Kingdom of Wenias, located at the center of the continent, and we were barely just halfway through the journey.

Before arriving at Ideaverna, we needed to stop at a number of towns and villages to replenish our food supply and other necessities. The problem was, I was a Beastfallen and Zero was a witch.

Whenever we entered a town, I made sure to cover my entire body with my hooded cloak to hide my features, but when it came to large towns heavily guarded by walls, I was always afraid of guards questioning me.

But the town we were entering at the moment was different. Despite being surrounded by robust walls, the gate was left wide open, letting people come and go as they pleased.

“Must be a festival going on,” I said.

Now that I thought about it, there were a lot of people on the road, and they looked kinda excited.

Since a lot of farmers and travelers from the vicinity came for the festival, they didn’t bother checking for individual passes.

Lucky us.

We stepped through the gates, passed through the narrow street, and made it to the square. There, we were greeted by a scene that made me want to punch myself. Lucky, my foot.

“Mercenary,” Zero said. “I see lots of brides and grooms.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Looks like there’s more priests than usual too.”

Numerous wedding ceremonies were being held. Amid the light-blue flowers dancing in the autumn breeze, I looked up at the sky as if to escape reality.

“Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

In this region, there was a bright blue flower that bloomed for only three days at the end of autumn.

The blossoming of the flowers marked the end of harvesting season and signaled the coming of winter. And for three days before the flowers fell, a grand festival to pray for a good harvest next year was held.

The name of the festival was “Snowflake Festival”. It was also called “Marriage Festival” because many men and women got married during this time.

This was the information that Zero obtained from the various food stalls that she dropped by.

There were many trees with blue flowers both inside and outside of the town. Every time the wind blew, it scattered countless petals in the air. As the bard singing in the square put it, it was like a blue blizzard.

But in such a beautiful, festive town, all I could do was wrap my cloak tighter around my body, and curl up in the darkness of the alley. If they realized I was a Beastfallen, the whole town would kill me.

“Damn it! If I’d known there was a festival, I would’ve taken a long detour and avoided this place!”

“Cheer up, Mercenary,” Zero said. “I heard that today is the last day of the festival, so the newlyweds will be gone by tomorrow. I say we are lucky. We were able to enter town so easily. Besides, we were out of food.” She dug into the lamb thighs she had just bought.

“And here you are, casually stuffing yourself without caring how I feel.”

“It is not my problem. Now stop cowering over there and let us go find an inn. One that is filthy and rundown that no one in their right mind would go near it. The usual, in other words. Surely no newlyweds would go near such a place.” She tugged on my clothes.

“Don’t pull my cloak, you idiot! You’re gonna remove my hood!”

“If you do not want it removed, stop resisting and follow me. I heard that there is an inn in the old district that fit our criteria.”

“What are you, some rascal? Some bandit who threatens to strip a woman naked in public?”

Ignoring my rambling, she dragged me out of the alleyway and headed for the old district.

The town was divided into the new district and the old district. As we entered the old district, traffic suddenly decreased, a far cry from the new district where you could walk a few steps and stumble upon a glamorous wedding. The people we passed by occasionally didn’t look like the nice type. We found a particularly rundown and shabby inn and quickly stepped inside to avoid being seen.

“We do not need food or drinks. The stables will do. Do not let anyone close until morning.” Zero pressed a gold coin on the innkeeper’s hand, no questions asked.

Normally, this would be my job, but given the current situation, we had no other choice. In order to lay as low as possible, it would be better to let Zero interact with people.

In a cheap wooden inn, where people usually huddled together in groups, ten copper coins were enough for a night’s stay. One gold coin was equivalent to a thousand coppers, so when the old man realized what he was holding, his eyes widened in astonishment and he stared at Zero.

“I suppose you have your reasons?” he asked in a suspicious tone.

Zero gave a loud sigh and threw a glance at me standing quietly behind a pillar. “Worry not,” she said. “I do not have a criminal with me. He is a, uhh… a Beastfallen.”

“A Beastfallen?! Why would you bring a Beastfallen in the middle of a wedding festival?!”

“We did not know about the festival until after we entered the town. We figured leaving through the gates where there are many people would be risky.’

“Oh, it’d be a disaster if someone spotted him, all right.”

“Most of the newlyweds will be gone tomorrow, yes? I would like to keep my companion hidden here until then. We do not wish to cause any unnecessary trouble.”

Zero recited the lines we practiced beforehand flawlessly as if it were her own.

“Double it,” the man said.

He probably meant the payment. I expected to get ripped off, but double was a lot. Still within expectations, though. It hurt our pockets, but we had no other choice.

“Oh, only double? You are not very greedy, are you?” With a gentle smile, Zero tossed another gold coin. “Money is no problem, but in return, you will keep your end of the bargain, innkeeper. If anyone gets near the stables, you will regret it.”

The man was momentarily taken back, then he tucked the gold coins into his pocket. “We welcome generous customers in sticky situations,” he said, then led us to the stables.