On March 28th, the Clover Kingdom's annual grandest festival commenced today.
People from the Common Realm and Hui Wai Realm rode flying brooms and magic carpets, densely packed, heading towards the most bustling area at the foot of the Royal Capital.
Banners and magic lanterns flew, and beneath the tall buildings, many small stalls piled high with goods and food for sale had appeared.
Between the tarp-covered stalls, a continuous stream of people flowed, with constant noise and bustling.
"It's as lively as ever!" Gosen and Sesk exclaimed, standing amidst the crowd.
"Huh? Where did Uncle Jackey run off to? Didn't he say he'd come with us? I haven't seen him since this morning."
Sesk looked around.
They were the "Iron Trio" of the Aqua Deer Squad, and it felt truly unusual to be at such a large event without him.
"That guy said his wife and daughter also came to the Royal Capital for the Star Festival, so he won't be joining us this time," Gosen said, tidying his freshly styled hair from yesterday, the ends of his light golden curls shining brightly.
"Ha? He's betraying our friendship! We definitely won't let him off when we get back to base.
Looks like the destination for dinner today will be up to the two of us."
Even though Jackey was absent, Sesk was still in a good mood for such a grand event: "Alright~ Let's go have a big gamble at the tavern first!"
"How about we go flirt with two noble ladies first? If we go to the tavern first, I'm afraid the yul I just saved up will be completely gone," Gosen thought, dropping his head in despair.
For today's event, Gosen had taken on several commission tasks at the Magic Knights headquarters a few days ago, accumulating a small sum of yul from those stingy tasks.
Half of it went to his haircut, and the remaining half was just enough for one meal with a girl.
He didn't even dare to buy flowers.
He hoped this time his approach would be successful on the first try, otherwise he wouldn't have the courage to invite a second girl to dinner.
"What, have you been so poor lately?" Sesk hooked his arm around his good brother Gosen's shoulder, a pouch full of yul shaking uncontrollably in his hand.
Gosen's eyes lit up, "Did you… strike it rich?"
"Hehe…" Sesk curved his lips into a lopsided smile, "I made a small fortune these past few days."
"Let's go, today's tab at the tavern is on me."
At this, Gosen naturally had no reason to refuse.
The two walked towards the nearest tavern together, but they had only gone halfway when they involuntarily stopped.
Ahead, a long, dense queue blocked their path, packed with people, quite daunting.
"What the heck? What's with this many people in a line?" Gosen scratched his head, looking ahead in disbelief.
"It looks like they're selling food."
The rich aroma of food wafted to his nose, and he sniffed lightly: "It smells pretty good, but this many people is still too exaggerated, isn't it?"
Two figures darted past Sesk and Gosen, fearlessly heading towards the dense crowd.
Just as they were about to step forward to ask a few questions, they heard them talking amongst themselves.
"It's all your fault for delaying us for a bit.
Now look, with such a long line, it'll probably be afternoon before it's our turn."
"Who knew they'd be this popular?"
"Nonsense! They are the Moli Restaurant, famous throughout the entire Clover Kingdom.
Although they're in the Common Realm, both their taste and prices are much better than those in the Royal Capital.
I heard that for today's Star Festival, they specifically took a day off to set up a stall in the Royal Capital, and their food prices are even cheaper than usual."
"Is it really as good as you say?"
"Of course, and it's even better than I say.
And let me tell you, the owner of Moli Restaurant is a beautiful woman.
If I could marry her, I wouldn't mind living a few years less."
At this, the man's face showed a dreamy smile, drool escaping from the corner of his mouth.
"Are you sure it's for the owner's beauty, and not for that profitable shop?" his companion asked with a strange look.
"To have both wealth and beauty, that would be even better… hehe…"
Beauty? How beautiful?
After listening to the conversation, Gosen heard this word.
Maintaining a skeptical gaze, he slowly walked to the side to look at the figure at the stall.
Suddenly, he froze.
Sesk, who was about to ask Gosen if they should bypass the crowded people, turned his head only to find that the guy had somehow run to the other end and was standing there dumbfounded.
"What are you looking at?" Sesk walked over.
"I feel… I think I'm in love."
"In love? Weren't you just recovering from a failed romance? What's this now?" Sesk also followed Gosen's gaze and saw a tall woman.
The woman had a beautiful oval face, elegant and dignified features, and a pair of phoenix eyes that added a touch of sharpness.
Her demeanor was slightly cold and somewhat unapproachable.
She was smiling and chatting familiarly with customers, her sharp aura slightly veiled, revealing a gentle, maternal feeling.
The two distinct temperaments mixed together created an irresistible allure.
Sesk deeply felt that the long line here, besides the delicious food, definitely had something to do with this beautiful owner.
But it was also strange.
With such good business and such a beautiful owner, why hadn't anyone come to cause trouble?
He remembered that the nobles in the Royal Capital weren't that friendly.
His gaze swept over… He saw his own Captain Rill, who was using magic to command earth golems, and Bai En, who had panda eyes and looked somewhat listless.
What was going on?
Why were Captain Rill and Bai En both here?
Sesk abruptly clapped Gosen on the shoulder.
Gosen finally snapped out of his self-absorption.
He grabbed Sesk tightly, "You absolutely have to help me this time!
I feel like my happiness is right before my eyes!"
Sesk looked at him with a smile: "I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it.
Let's go, let's go say hello first."
"Eh? So fast? I'm not ready yet.
Let me check if my hair is messy.
Hmm… should I prepare a bouquet of flowers first, since it's our first meeting…"
"Idiot, look closely at the side!
Captain Rill and Bai En are both there!"
"?"
Sesk looked at the busy figures around him and immediately spotted Captain Rill and Bai En among several unfamiliar people.
"Why are they here? Am I going to have two more rivals before I even start?"
"Damn it, I won't give up," he said, following Sesk forward.
"Good morning, Captain Rill, Bai En, why are you two here?"
"Good morning~" x 2
Rill cheerfully walked over, "Oh, Sesk and Gosen, you're here too?
What a coincidence!
Bai En and I have been helping out at this restaurant.
They're closed today, so we came along."
"Captain Rill, I can somewhat understand Bai En being here, but why are you here too?
You shouldn't… be short on money, right?" Sesk asked.
"This is training~"
"Training? Isn't this just working for someone?
What the heck, how strange."
Sesk then turned to look at Bai En, who was by the stove.
The gloomy aura brought by his dark circles couldn't help but make one worry about his mental state.
"Bai En… Vice Captain?
You shouldn't push yourself this hard just to earn money, right?
Your dark circles are too scary!
Could it be that… the Vice Captain's salary isn't enough to cover household expenses? If so, I could lend a little…"
Bai En looked up at Sesk, his black eyes somewhat hollow.
He explained: "It's not caused by training or work.
My brain is just receiving too much information at once, and I haven't adapted yet."
"If I eat a bit more sweets… and adapt a bit more, it shouldn't be like this in the future."
'Sweets? Information?' Sesk didn't understand what Bai En was saying.
'What is this all about?
The Captain says strange things, and the Vice Captain too?
Is there something peculiar about this shop?
Are they on a secret mission?'
A self-directed battle began to unfold in his mind…