Aravel

Chapter 28

A few days later came the start of the Moon Festival.

For the last few days after the cradling incident, Kaze and Lunaria seemed to have actively avoided talking about it even when it was only the two of them alone. It was like both of them could agree the incident was something that should not be brought up again unless absolutely needed.

Lunaria still wasn't aware why she reacted that way until now. It felt weird, for a dragonkin like her who has already lived a century and over at this point, to still not be able to determine what that feeling was. It was something she chose to ignore, especially with the Moon Festival already here. As one of the fighters who would put on a demonstration in front of the crowd, Lunaria's pride as a dragonkin wouldn't allow her to fail, even if it was just entertainment.

Kaze and the other participants were also feeling the pressure when the day of the Moon Festival came. Even though their performance was on the second day, the first day was already a reminder that their battle was soon. This was going to be the first time they interacted with their seniors in a sword fight, so it was normal to assume there being a lot of pressure.

When morning came, Kaze had just finished his training as usual and most of his housemates were already in the dining room. Today, everyone had woken up earlier than usual since there was a certain event they needed to attend based on the itinerary provided.

Once they were ready, they left to school together.

What was it that required everyone in school to arrive earlier than usual? It was to draw lots for their lucky draw later. As Yuuji expected, the school had set up lucky draw sections for everyone. Since it was going to take a while to distribute the lucky draws even with magic as they needed to ensure that everyone's number was unique and no one had a fraud copy, it was necessary to match their magic signatures with the lucky draw ticket they had.

That wasn't the only reason for going early, but it was one of it.

"What do you think the lucky draw will be about?" Chris asked the group on the way there in their usual uniform attire. "They don't announce the contents of the draw until later tonight."

"Oh, why is that so?" Kaze asked, grasping his sword by his side gently to ensure it didn't move too much from him walking.

"The school decided to do this to increase the students' interest in the lucky draw itself," Lunaria, being a Student Council member herself, was somewhat familiar with the internal affairs regarding the Moon Festival since she was indirectly involved. "While I don't know the specific details, they seem to have a fairly big prize this year, hence all the secrecy."

"Hoh? I wonder if they will actually involve father," Yuuji made a knowing smile at this. "Imagine first place being meeting father or something."

"Isn't that a fairly lame prize though? Imagine getting something but you only get to meet the King," Mitsui sighed. "I would love it if I got money or a saint sword or something."

"I think you're putting your hopes too high, Mitsui," Sera giggled. "There are many other schools within Tristania itself. If they had to spend so much on a single event, then imagine what else they had to do to give the equivalent rewards to the other school to ensure equality."

"But a fairly big prize, huh?" Shoko grinned to herself. "I do hope it is something exciting~"

"For once, I do agree with Mitsui," Kaze chuckled. "I do need some free money."

Lunaria gave him a somewhat perplexed look but said nothing.

Pretty soon, they came to the familiar entrance of their school and headed into the big hall for gathering. Since the event right after was going to take place immediately, they gathered the students at a secluded area to ensure that there wouldn't be any accidental destruction of the booths before the main events yet. Students could already see the school being decorated with some committee members at their booths to make the final preparations.