A Vengeful Path (Resumed)

Ch. 15 The Festival

Everyone was getting ready to go out shopping. They were either picking out what clothes to wear, what accessories to bring, bathing or they were already ready. "What are we going to do first?" Nero asked Noelle as she was washing her hair. "We might go to the market and get something to eat, then walk around and find other things to do. Everyone is busy fixing their stalls for the festival, so we might just hang out somewhere in the forest," she replied. "I'm not too sure, but we'll figure it out." Noelle, Nero, Loropechika and Mimosa were all taking a bath in the hot springs. There was a lot of time left to finish up since it was only 9:30 and they were leaving at 11. "Asta and Liebe will be coming, right?" Loropechika asked. "Well, they kind of agreed to it last night, so I'm pretty sure they'll be joining us," Mimosa said, rubbing the back of her head. The girls finished their bath, got dressed and walked up the stairs into the main throne room to see Luck, Klaus and Yuno sitting at the round table. "Oh! Your finished," Luck greeted them. "We aren't scheduled to leave in another hour and a half, so why don't we have some breakfast?" the queen said to everyone. "Sounds good to me! For some reason, I woke up starving this morning," Luck said. Servants brought out a number of food choices, ranging from pancakes to waffles to muffins, fresh fruit picked from the trees, and all kinds of juice. "Amazing!" Mimosa exclaimed, quickly filling her plate with food. "Thank you for the food!" she said, and hungrily dug into her food. "This is so good!" she said to the queen. "Right?" Loropechika said, smiling at her. "The chefs always make the best tasting things. I'll have to be sure to thank them later on." Just then, Leopold, Yuno and Rill walked in, with Charmy and Charlotte behind them. "I see you are all already eating without us!" Leopold hollered. "It smells amazing," Rill said, taking a seat between Charmy and Luck. "Please, have as much as you like," the queen said. "Oh? Is everyone awake already?" Undine said, appearing behind the throne. "Yeah! We just finished our bath so we're gonna have some breakfast before we head out," Mimosa said to her. "I see. You enjoy yourselves," the spirit said as she disappeared. "Is she going somewhere?" Klaus asked the queen while taking a bite out of his muffin. "She's going to be using her clones to help repair any damage her clones did to the kingdom, and also help prepare for tonight's festival," she replied, cutting into her pancake. "Ahh. I see. Well, it can't be helped. They were under control by that demon, but they were still her clones," Klaus said, finishing off his muffin and moving on to his next one. Wing beats were loud above the palace, and everyone looked outside to see Asta and Liebe walk through the pillars. "You guys awake already?" Asta called while walking up to the table. "Y-yeah!" Noelle said. "We got up early to get ready for this afternoon, and we ended up having some breakfast since we still have a bit of time before we go." Liebe and Asta grabbed plates and started grabbing food and sat down. Asta sat down in between Liebe and Noelle and she nearly exploded. "Hm. What is this?" Liebe said, poking at his muffin."I've never eaten this before..." he muttered. "If I'm being honest, I feel like if I eat this it's gonna kill me," he said, tearing the muffin apart with his claws. Asta laughed as he offed his black form and sat down to eat. "That's a muffin, although I forgot how they taste after three years of not eating one," he said. He unwrapped the blueberry muffin, took a bite, and his eyes lit up. "I forgot how good these were," he said. "So, they aren't poisonous?" Liebe said, still casting skeptical glances at the muffins on his plate. "Of course not," the queen said as she laughed, and everyone else started laughing too. "Bah, screw it," and he took a bite from the top of the muffin. "Oh shi" he started, before taking another bite. "This ain't that bad," he said as he finished his muffin and unwrapped his second one. "Told you," Asta said as he took a bite from his muffin. They spent the rest of the breakfast exchanging stories. Asta and Liebe told stories about what surviving for 3 years was like. What they ate, where they stayed, and what they did to combat bad weather. "We've lived outside for so long, so it's kinda weird having a bed to sleep in again," Asta said. "Well, I'm glad I can give that to you," Loropechika said. "Oh! It's almost time to go," she said suddenly. "We should prepare to leave shortly," she said. They all finished their food and washed their dishes in the mini river that was running through the kitchen and let the leftovers wash to the animals outside. "We should get going," Leopold said to Luck as he bent down to put his plate in the running stream. "We're the last ones, so everyone else is waiting for us," he said while also bending down to wash his plate."Leopold," Luck said. "Yeah?" he replied. "I don't know... I just have a feeling something bad is gonna happen soon," he said uncomfortably. "What do you mean?" he asked, standing back up to put his plate on the counter. "I can't explain it. I just have this uneasy feeling about Asta and Liebe," he said again, putting his plate on top of Leopold's. "You think their going to attack everyone?" he asked. "No, not that. Nevermind. Must just be my imagination,"Luck replied. Leopold puzzled over this but just shrugged it off as they walked outside to join everyone else. "Ready to go?" Klaus asked them as they walked out the kitchen. "Yup!" Luck said. I wonder what he meant by that, Leopold thought to himself as they all walked through Finral's portal into town.The street was busy with people walking through the stalls, buying fruit and other items that were being sold. "Wow! Why haven't we come here before?" Noelle said, surprised. It was in a clearing in the forest, but there were still trees that were growing neatly between the buildings. Because there weren't that much trees in the area, the sun shined brightly, with its rays of light lighting up the whole area. There was a fountain right in front of them with water coming out of four fish lined up on each side of the fountain. And the sunlight that was reflecting off of the water looked really pretty. "Everything is so bright here," Klaus observed. "There's no shade, but there's something oddly nice about the sun just shining everwhere," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "We just had breakfast, so why don't we find something to do instead?" the queen asked. "Yeah!" they all agreed. They all walked aimlessly around until they walked off the street and into the forest. "The leaves on everything here are so green," Mimosa sighed dreamily as she brushed her hands on the bushes as they walked by. "I want to take you all somewhere," Loropechika said as she grinned. "Okay!" Rill exclaimed. They followed her up a hill until they were at the top and the ground flattened out. You could hear birds chirping, frogs croaking, and the distant sound of a waterfall running off a cliff. "Here we are," she said, gesturing her hands to a mini lake. And just like the fountain, the sun reflected off of the water. But somehow, this was even more beautiful. There was something about the lily pads floating in the sky blue lake, and the humming birds and dragonflies hovering over the water that just made it look more peaceful. "Amazing..." Yuno whispered, captivated by the beauty of nature. "Asta!" Loropechika suddenly said. "Eh?" he said ashe looked up to Loropechika. "Come here a moment," she requested. "Please?" Asta walked up to the queen and as he stopped at her side, she grabbed his hands and set a box in them. "Happy birthday!" she said. "Huh...?" Asta said quietly with a bewildered look on his face. Everyone produced wrapped boxes from their bags as Liebe watched while leaning against a tree, smiling. "Jeez. You never told us your birthday when you were still here so Liebe had to tell us, bakasta," Noelle said while flipping her hair. "I hope you enjoy your present, Asta!" Mimosa cheered while she set her gift in his hands. "We weren't there for your last three birthdays, so hopefully we can start making up for it," Klaus said as he gave his gift. "Happy birthday my friend!" Rill said as he gave up his gift. "Enjoy the gift, my rival!" Leopold said as he patted his shoulder. "I hope you like my noms!" Charmy squeaked as she hugged Asta. "Yami trained you well," Charlotte said, patting his head and gave her box. "Enjoy your gift so next time we can duel!" Luck said as he bumped Asta with his elbow."You're still my junior, you know," Finral said as he laughed and punched him in the shoulder. "Yeah, yeah," he said, recieving his gift. "Happy birthday, Asta," Nero said, smiling as she handed him her present. "You can have my gift if you can reach it," Yuno said, holding his gift above his head. Asta blinked slowly, but then burst out laughing. "I'm gonna grow way taller than you next time and look down on you," he said, smiling as Yuno handed him his gift. Everyone watched Asta as he opened all his presents while sitting on a rock. In Loropechika's, there was the boquette of black clovers. In Mimosa's, she had sewn the clovers she found into a cloth for an armband. In Noelle's, it was Asta's old headband with the Black Bulls logo, but with the red star on the left and a single black clover in the middle. "Where did you find this?" he asked her, and she blushed. "When you left, I kind of, uh, stored it in my room. You know, for safe keeping. Nothing else," she said, blushing even harder as she flipped her hair. "I asked Finral to go get it for me at the base," she said. "Thanks, by the way," she turned to Finral. "Y-yeah," he said, turning his attention back towards Asta. Klaus' gift was a necklace with a silver chain and a clover shaped pendant at the end. When he opened it, it was a picture of Luck, Asta, Noelle, Mimosa, Klaus, and Yuno on their first dungeon mission, and a black clover on the other side. Klaus cleared his throat and fixed his glasses. "You changed my view on the peasant world. I should be grateful and repay you in any way possible," he said. Rill's gift was a framed picture of the two of them in front of the palace with one arm around each other. "Jeez. All the captains were always so serious, and you helped me lightenthe mood," Rill laughed, slapping him on his back. "You were my first friend, not including Walter, so it'd be cool if we could hang out more!" he said, smiling. "Yeah," Asta said, returning the smile. Charmy's gift was just food. "I didn't know what to do with the black clovers I found, so I just used them for seasoning," she said, still clinging to Asta's side. Asta took a bite out of the sandwich, and his eyes lit up. "It's really good. Thank you," he said, smiling down at her. "La! I knew you would like it," she said. Finral's gift was a fresh black bulls robe with a clover sewn on the opposite side of where the logo was. "Just in case you want to wear one of these again," he said as Asta slipped it on. "Oi. It's too small," he said, narrowing his eyes at Finral. "Sorry! Sorry. I didn't put into account how much you've grown when I asked Vanessa to make one of these," he said as he  rubbed the back of his head. "I'll ask her to make you another one," he said. "Thanks," Asta replied, taking it off and folding it neatly. Charlotte's gift was a number of blue and red roses with the clovers she found mixed in. "I hope you like it," she said. And finally, Yuno gave his gift. When Asta unwrapped it, it was a picture of him, Yuno, all the kids from the church, Sister Lily, and Father Oris the day before Asta and Yuno left for the entrance exam all those years ago, with a black clover right above Asta. "Clothes, flowers and pictures was all I got," he said, and everyone looked disappointed. "Thank you very much," he said, bowing to everyone as the disappointed expressions were swapped with shocked ones. "I'll be sure to treasure these," he said, smiling at all of them. "W-well you better. It took forever to find those clovers, you know," Noelle said, blushing. "Actually, not really. It wasn't too hard for me,"Mimosa said and she ducked as Noelle swatted at her. Asta collected all the gifts and tucked them into the gift box Loropechika gave him since it was thebiggest. "Finral, can you send this back to the palace?" Asta asked. "Of course," he said, grabbing it and stepping through a portal for a second before coming back. "Thank you guys, really," Asta said again. "Now that I gave you a gift, you'll fight me. Right? Right?" Luck asked eagerly. "Yeah, right," Asta said, smiling. "Oi!" Liebe called down from his tree branch he was camping on, and everyone looked at him. "By the looks of it, the festival has already started. Shouldn't we be heading back?" he said again. "Oops!" the queen yelped. "I totally got distracted. Sorry, everyone!" she said, bowing. "No, it's alright. You were doing it for me and I appreciate it. But we should head back," Asta said. "Right!" she exclaimed. "Let's go before we miss too much of it! And there's gonna be fireworks at the end which is the best part," the queen said, patting her hair to make sure it was all down. "Let's get something to eat first. I'm starving," Luck said, rubbing his stomach. "Agreed," Klaus said. "Then let's get to it!" Loropechika said. They walked down the stalls to find something to eat, and they all eventually settled on grilled chicken on a stick. "Wow, this is so good!" Mimosa said to Noelle. She mumbled an agreement through her mouthful of chicken. Luck, Leopold, Charmy, Klaus and Yuno all devoured theirs while Rill and Charlotte were nibbling on theirs while talking.   Asta and Liebe were in the middle of everyone eating their share, too. "Do you like it?" Noelle asked him. "Hm? Oh, yeah. It's better than anything I've had for a while," he said, taking another bite off of the stick. "I'm glad," she said, smiling at him, and he returned it, making her blush. "Mimosa, have you ever seen fireworks?" she asked, and she turned a thoughtful look on. "Hmm, maybe once at a royal festival," she said thoughtfully. "I saw the first small ones in the beginning, but it was late at night and I was really tired so I fell asleep," she said. "I've never seen fireworks before, so I can't wait to see them at the end of the night!" she said. "What about you Leopold?" she asked. "Hrmph?" he said, perking up. "Have you ever seen fireworks before?" she asked. "Once. At the festival Mimosa was talking about, but I was wide awake so I got to see the big ones, and they looked great," he assured her. "The wait will be worth it. Don't worry," and he went back to his conversation with Luck. "So they really are great, huh." Noelle went back to eating her chicken when Loropechika spoke up. "Once everyone is done eating, let's walk around for a bit and play some of the games," she said. "Sounds fun!" Rill said. "La, I wonder if there are any eating competitions," Charmy said. Once everyone did finish their food, they got up and started walking around. They passed this magic gun game and decided to give it a shot. "Just use your magic power on the gun and you should be fine," the staff member said. "Got it," Leopold said, aiming the rifle. Him, Luck, Yuno and Klaus were going up first. Magic numbers appeared in the area in smoke. 3. 2. 1. 0. And they all started shooting at the targets simutaniously. Targets were being knocked down left and right, and by the end of it, surprisingly, Luck was the winner. "Yay!" he said, bouncing the ball he got as a prize up and down. "Who's up next?" Loropechika asked. Nero, Mimosa, Noelle and Loropechika stepped up. 3. 2. 1. 0. Bullets were fired, and at the end Nero was the winner. Instead of a ball, she got matching bracelets, and she nervously walked up to Liebe and handed him the other bracelet."H-here you go," she said, blushing. "Eh?" he asked, genuinely confused. He looked away from Asta and pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against to stand up in front of Nero. "Thanks, I guess..." he trailed off, grabbing the bracelet out of her hand and slipping it onto his wrist, which was a perfect fit. "Fits like a glove," he said as he grinned at her. "I-I hope you like it," she stuttered then walked back to Noelle. "Oho. Since when did that happen?"Noelle teased her. "I-I don't know what your talking a-about," she said and looked away. They spent the rest of the night walking around, finding interesting things to eat and ulitmately failing at the games they tried to play. "The fireworks are starting soon!" Loropechika said. "Finral, can you teleport us up to a mountain I'll show you?" she asked. "Sure thing," he agreed. Loropechika summoned a screen and Finral studied it for a few seconds before he opened a portal and everyone walked through. "I always watch the fireworks from up here," she told everyone. "It's the best view and you can watch as it lights up the sky," she said dreamily. They all waited quietly for the fireworks when suddenly they heard a loud pop. Something trailing smoke was shot into the air, and red sparks burst out of it. This continued a number of times and with a multitude of different colors. Everyone stood in silence as they watched with awe. They could see what Loropechika was talking about. The fireworks that exploded outlined the clouds that were hidden in the darkness. The fireworks got increasingly bigger and brighter and more colorful, and they all watched the sky be lit up. "It's amazing..." Klaus whispered. "I wish I could see fireworks every day, la," Charmy said wistfully. That's right, Asta suddenly realized, looking around at everyone's awe-struck face being lit up by the fireworks. I have something I want to protect. I have people I want to protect, he thought to himself. He stepped closer to the edge of the cliff andlooked down at all the people. Not everyone in this world is bad. There are people who will accept me and my brother for who we are, and they're right here. He turned around to look at everyone and he smiled. "What is it?" Noelle asked him. buthe was silent. Don't worry everyone. I'll make sure the Dark Triad never hurts you, even if it kills me; he thought again, clenching his fist. I'll erase their threat off the face of the Earth with my own hands so they can never threaten this beautiful world again,and when he looked over at Liebe, he could tell he was thinking the same thing. Asta and Liebe returned their gazes to the fireworks as they stood side by side to the friends they never realized they missed so much and just enjoyed the rest of the night. Laughing, eating, and being with them.