I thought it was going to be a simple scouting trip.
Then Lumière spotted the lights.
"Festival!" she yelled from the wagon, practically throwing herself out the window.
Next thing I knew, we were standing at the entrance, and I was being blinded by glowing lanterns, loud drums, and the unmistakable smell of fried... something.
I took one step forward and—
"It's him!"
Oh no.
A wave of people rushed toward me like a religious stampede.
"Bless me, Yes King!"
"Can I shake your hand?!"
"Sign my forehead!"
"Tell me I'll be rich!"
I was suddenly surrounded, drowning in knees hitting the dirt and people shoving quills and paper in my face.
Lucen sipped from a festival smoothie and watched with a bored expression. "You are loved, Riku."
"I'm being hunted by fanboys!"
Aelira chuckled beside me. "You brought this on yourself, Your Majesty."
I tried to escape. Really.
But every time I said "Not now," they took it as a divine denial. When I said "Move," they parted like the sea. When I said "Please let me through," a bard wrote it down like scripture.
---
Eventually, I was rescued by a fried dough stand.
I ordered three.
Lucen stole one.
Then we found it—a shady little carnival booth with three empty bottles and a ring toss.
"Win the game, win a prize!" the booth guy said.
Lucen narrowed his eyes at a shiny golden duck plush.
He stepped forward like a deity entering battle.
"If I win, you will be blessed with great fortune forever."
The guy blinked.
Then, without hesitation, he picked up the three rings that missed and gently placed them on the bottles.
Lucen nodded. "As it should be."
I stared. "You serious?"
Lucen handed him a silver.
Then looked at me smugly.
"Your turn, Yes King."
I stepped up to the guy. Smiled.
"Make me win."
The guy's hands shook. He carefully picked three random rings from the floor, stacked them on the bottles, and whispered, "Thank you, Your Grace."
I took the biggest, dumbest, cross-eyed dragon plush I could find.
Aelira stood off to the side, arms crossed, clearly questioning every life decision that brought her to this moment.
"Two divine beings rigging a children's game," she muttered. "Peak morality."
Lumière was busy petting a giant cotton candy and naming it "Fluffinelle."
---
The rest of the festival was absolute chaos.
Kids asked for me to bless their toy swords.
A merchant offered me his entire inventory for a single "yes."
A baby was named after me on the spot.
Lucen began giving random townspeople vague prophecies like "Your cousin will find potatoes in a cave," and somehow, they cried with joy.
I tried to just enjoy the moment.
Eat snacks.
Win games.
Laugh with my weird, overpowered, dysfunctional group of best people.
And as we sat on the grass, bellies full, under a sky of floating lanterns, Aelira leaned her head on my shoulder.
"This… was kind of perfect," she said softly.
Lucen was already asleep, clutching the duck like his divine wife.
Lumière was humming again.
And me?
I just looked up at the sky and thought—
Maybe being The Yes King isn't so bad.
---
[To be continued…]