The coming-of-age ceremony went off without a hitch.
Originally, it wasnât a very long ritual.
I drank a soup of boiled plants that are said to be resistant to spells, carved Ortems and sang songs in spirit languages, and played my own flute to pray to the spirits of my ancestors.
To those who come to the ritual, I will wave the meat of the demon beast I finished off.
However, there are a lot of people, and itâs just a formality. I almost ended up just handing out bite-sized meat.
Iâm sure thereâs a significance to showing that youâve become a full-fledged member of society.
And finally, itâs over with a cross with the opposite hand against the sky-high day with a kissel in one hand.
The whole event took a little over two hours.
It starts in the morning and ends around noon.
There were about 40 people who participated in the event. Some of them didnât know much about me.
I donât have many acquaintances, but my fatherâs face is generally wide.
Iâm glad that the Chief, who usually doesnât go out at all, took the trouble to go out.
After the coming-of-age ceremony is over, I keep Kissel away.
âHow awful!â
Itâs like smoke.
The smell is good, but itâs not likely to get used to it.
âNow you too are a member of the adult Marlen tribe. From now on, youâre going to be a little more careful about what you hear, and youâre going to study magic to a lesser extent, and youâre going to hunt.â
My father gave me permission a long time ago to use magic while I was hunting.
Somehow, my father gave in.
Thatâs why helping with the hunt is alright but, when it comes to magic I donât think I can hold back.
Be that as it mayâŚâŚâŚ
ââŚExcuse me, Father, please lend me a hand. My clothes are too heavy I canât move. May I take it off?â
âjeez, canât you say more softly!â
In the coming-of-age ceremonies, special ceremonial garments must be layered on top of each other, as well as thick ornaments on the head.
This is heavy. The inside of my clothes is all sweaty.
âWah, Iâll give you a hand, big brother!ăThank you for your hard work!
âIâm sorry, jeez, my strength⌠âŚâ
After that, I was going to handle the incense leaf at the exchange square⌠⌠Is tomorrow all right?
I want to sleep already today. I want to hold the Ortem and lie down slowly.
I was taken by Gizel and fluttered into the shadow of the building.
âCongratulations. I guess this means that Zeleâs boy is now a full-fledged member of the family.â
âAh ⌠Garia-san, thank you. Thank you for coming.â
It was Shibiâs father, Garia, who came near while clapping.
âBut thatâs the state of the affair, and it looks like a new marriage.and when is the ceremony to be held?â
Gizel turns bright red to her ears at Galliaâs light words.
I bury my face in my raggedy outfit, trying to hide my blushing face.
Haha, donât make fun of me too much, Garia-san.
âHm? Uh, Oh, is that so?â
Garia looks unconvinced and touches his chin.
Sure, it may seem a little too close if you look from the outside, but I donât think there will be any reactionâŚ
âShe was always saying Abel this Abel that, but where did Shibi that idiot go?. No, Iâm really sorry. He suddenly disappears ⌠â
âNo, no, actually, I asked for it myself!â
âAsked?â
âYes, I had some business to attend to, but I was stuck at the coming-of-age ceremony⌠Iâm sorry.â
âNo, no. Oh, my God, it was Abel, that makes sense. If thatâs the case, he should have told me tooâŚâŚ So, what business is that?
I donât like how you are convinced, but âŚ
However, up until now, Iâve asked Shibi to do many things so, I donât know what to say ⌠âŚ
Iâm, Iâm sorry, sorry for the inconvenience.
âThis is it.â
As I say, I shake the kissel lightly.
The smoke scattered about.
âI thought it smelled strange, donât tell me that, you made it yourself!? I heard you are doing something, Shibi also did not say anything so I thought you gave up ⌠âŚâ
âI wanted to mass-produce them all at once, so I asked them to lie down as much as possible⌠Now, Iâm asking Shibi to transport, pick up space, and collect information⌠Really, Iâm sorry again.â
âHahaha!ăFinally, Abel has made it that far. If you make too much, you might get noticed by the Karlco family. Just be careful.â
âItâs okay. Iâm only making enough for three people to manage.â
âThis is good, a masterpiece! I see, hey, donât you have a spare something now?â
Garia laughed wildly, and so came to me.
âThere is. How do you like it?â
âOkay, so Iâm customer number one.â
Garia takes out the ore containing the magic circle from inside his clothes.
Itâs like a currency substitute, with the Chief guaranteeing value.
âI was actually going to give them out to the people who came to see me. With a thank you and then a publicity. Itâs like a trial product, so thereâs not a lot of it. See, thatâs whatâs in that burlap sack over there.â
ââŚarenât you making a lot of food? Youâre gonna be okay, right? Between you and me, those guys are insidious, so watch out for them.â
Garia erases her smile and gives a hushed word of advice.
But itâs too late.
We know that the Karlcoâs are stingy, and theyâre already ready to go.
We are already prepared to continue to sell on the cheap.
I didnât want to move much because of my messy outfit, so I asked Gizel to get a burlap bag for me.
I took out a cloth-wrapped fragrant incense leaf and handed it to Garia.
When Garia received the incense leaf, he crushed it with his fingertips and put it in the kissel, then used his magic to light a small fire.
After exhaling the smoke, âWhoa!â He said with admiration.
âHey! This is great! You looked really unpleasant during the coming-of-age ceremony, so I thought it was tasteless.â
âIâm a little bad at smokingâ
âHey, Abel-san! Abel-san! Thereâs a problem!â
As I and Galia were talking, Shibi broke in.
âHey, Shibi! You didnât tell me ⌠âŚâ
âYikes! Fa-, Father! Hey, come back later, please! Weâre in trouble right now!â
Itâs hectic.
âWhy are you here? The place is âŚâ
âI have an acquaintance taking over for me, so Iâm fine ⌠No, It may not be fine ⌠my judgement is somewhat helpless, so if youâre done, please come early!â
âWhich one is it?ăWhat, was it something unexpected?â
âThe truth is, I got delayed at preparing ⌠so I was late at getting a place. So in a panic, I thought there was a good position available and jumped in to get readyâŚright next to the Karlco family. By the time I realized it, the corner was already empty⌠So, I thought Iâd move
it⌠It seems that the Karlco family is also working hard today, so we should change the dateâŚâŚâ
âNice, well done, Shibiâ
âHuh?â
Timeâs run short.
I put my hands on my ceremonial layers. However, I canât take it off well because of the sweat.
âDamn it, go ahead! Donât let go of that position! Protect them, even if it means dying! Iâll be right there!â
âA-, Are you serious?â
Shibi says with a gaping mouth.
âWhere will you find a guy whoâs going to quit here! Gizel, help me take this off!â
âYes, please leave it to me!â
âAbel! You, you! What the hell are you doing!!â
My father, who was bowing to the Chief, looked at me and screamed.
But this is not the time to be concerned about it. Iâll cut you a cross or something later.
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