Ch.395Year-End Party

A.C. 101, December 30th.

On the snow-covered Western Front – at the construction site of the 8th Western City…

“Boom~ Crackle crackle…”

“Ooooh~”

An unscheduled fireworks festival was taking place.

Colorful fireworks painted the night sky with thunderous sounds, while citizens bundled in thick clothing lined the streets, their exclamations of wonder continuing endlessly.

“~~♪ ~~~♪”

Gentle music flowed from speakers installed throughout the streets,

and the trees lining the main street were decorated with twinkling colored lights.

A feast of multicolored lights spread across the sky and ground.

Half the citizens were captivated by the fireworks above, while the other half were mesmerized by the street illuminations.

“The atmosphere is better than I expected.”

“Some people are even watching from balconies and rooftops.”

“I can see silhouettes of people scattered around the construction site too.”

We were gathered by the window of our suite, observing the scene below.

A VIP seat with a view of both the street illuminations and the sky fireworks.

On the table before each of us sat high-quality cookies, preserved fruits, marrons glacés, and a fragrant cup of mulled wine.

“I’m surprised you managed to get their cooperation. I understand the street decorations and music broadcasts, but I thought using explosives near the city was illegal.”

“Apparently fireworks explosives are fine as long as safety protocols are followed. Besides, the Pioneer Affairs Department’s year-end event fell through, so they were looking for some way to lift everyone’s spirits.”

“The event failed? How did that happen?”

“They had originally prepared an outdoor festival and bazaar for adventurers.”

“Oh…”

Probably because all the adventurers left after what we did in the Central Swamplands…

It’s truly unfortunate, but I don’t think we need to feel guilty about it.

The discovery of the Magic Tower and the changes in the Central Swamplands will have a positive long-term impact on pioneer society.

If there’s one thing that concerns me—

“How’s your mother’s shop doing?”

Jessica’s mother runs a potion shop in this city.

And naturally, those potions are primarily purchased by adventurers.

With them all gone now, I imagine Jessica’s mother’s business has taken a considerable hit, but…

“Potion sales have dropped, but the shop is doing fine overall. Apparently, regular medicines, digestive aids, and contraceptives are selling steadily.”

“That’s a relief.”

It seems that for a merchant operating on the Western frontier, a temporary downturn is hardly a problem.

Thanks to that, we can enjoy our year-end vacation without any burden.

“It feels like I just met Will yesterday, but suddenly it’s the end of the year…”

“Looking back, it was an unbelievable journey. Especially the beginning.”

I arrived in Grantis on March 9th, A.C. 101.

It’s clearly recorded on my Frontier License card that I received in Mothertown that same day.

The next day, I started traveling with Jessica and experienced my first battle, and the day after that, I somehow survived Strike Falcon’s ambush and met Setty for the first time.

The following day, we arrived at Oxville, the 1st Western City, with Setty who wanted to become an adventurer.

We were deceived by a man named Jonathan Bess and fell into a dangerous situation, but miraculously managed to counterattack successfully, and that very night, I shared a bed with both Jessica and Setty.

We challenged Oxville’s famous Hunting Quest, met the elven merchant Garia at Ambers Ranch and learned about Arcane Words, then challenged the trolls occupying the ancient ruins only to be defeated once.

After preparing fire magic, we successfully got our revenge and obtained the Ancestor by reading the Arcane Word hidden in the ruins.

After that, we rescued Mina who was stranded in the downpour, passed through the 2nd Western City of Zemest, defeated the Tyrant Worm at Blackforge Mine, conquered the Dungeon of Plague, met Phyllis for the first time, and brought down the Demon Rose in the elven sanctuary.

It’s astonishing to think that all these events happened with only one or at most two days between them.

“Come to think of it, I should have enjoyed the journey from the east more slowly. I regret being too hasty in heading west due to my own greed.”

“We weren’t particularly rushing, were we? If anything, our next destinations came quickly because the Ancestor shortened our travel time.”

“Yes. We were also able to rescue Iris in time because we arrived at Moon Lake at just the right moment.”

Phyllis is right.

If we hadn’t had the Ancestor, or if we had traveled more leisurely and missed the auction at Moon Lake, we would have passed by without any contact with Calliope, who knew Iris’s whereabouts.

In that case, how much longer would it have taken to recover Iris… or it might have been impossible to find her at all.

And that’s not all.

The Water Tribe of Beckya might have perished while suffering from the unresolved totem problem, or they might have engaged in another bloody conflict with the pioneers of Westend Seventh out of desperation.

The dungeon overflow incident at Wellord Salt Mine would likely have led to a much worse outcome,

Northern Fortress’s barrier tower might have been seized by the Blackheart Gang,

The Third Eye Tribe led by Ul=Ga=Han might have formed the worst possible hostile relationship with the pioneers,

And the women captured in the Poison Oak Sanctuary would have all died or suffered mental collapse.

“Looking at the results, we always moved at the perfect timing. Thanks to none other than Jessica.”

“…Thank you. Hearing you say that makes me feel a little lighter.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m counting on you going forward, Leader.”

As we were having this warm conversation and taking a sip of our hot drinks, the sounds of fireworks and music suddenly stopped, and an announcement from a Pioneer Affairs Department staff member came through:

“Ahem, mic test.”

“Attention, residents of the 8th Western City construction site.”

“Soon the final night of Pioneer Year 101 will pass, and the countdown to the new year will begin.”

“At count zero, tonight’s largest fireworks display will be launched, so please watch the northern sky as we count down.”

The New Year countdown.

This itself is an annual event that takes place in pioneer cities every year.

But this year, here at the 8th Western City construction site, a slightly more special countdown is about to begin.

“Wheeeeee~~”

In the quiet atmosphere, two more fireworks were launched and reached their peak,

“Bang~!”

“10!”

With the number “10” written in fireworks against the pitch-black night sky, the countdown begins.

At first, only the Pioneer Affairs Department staff member on the speaker was shouting,

“Wheeeeee…Bang!”

“9~!”

Seeing the next firework immediately launched, the residents seemed to catch on,

voices shouting “9” erupted from all over the city.

“8~!”

“7~!”

“6~!”

One after another.

The voices counting down grew louder, and from 6 onward, it seemed like every resident in the city had joined in, making it thunderous.

Those number fireworks are one of Mina’s achievements through artifact research.

Single-use magical tools worth 500 gold each per character are being set off one after another.

“This is getting a good response.”

“Mm-hmm. Worth every gold spent!”

“Shall we join in too?”

The fireworks countdown has already passed 5 and is heading toward 4.

We also stood up, opened the window, and prepared to shout the next count.

“Bang~”

“4~!!”

After this Central investigation is complete, a massive amount of license merit points will be added.

Perhaps Jessica might even rise to A-rank.

“Bang~”

“3~!!”

We also successfully secured satisfactory operational data for the Purifier during the Magic Tower conquest.

Once a few materials are prepared, a system for semi-permanent operation will be established,

which means our long journey toward the far west will truly begin in earnest from that point.

“Bang~”

“2~!!”

If possible, it would be good to visit Ulrinka, the Willow Sanctuary, and Blackforge Mine once each before heading west.

It doesn’t feel right to leave just a letter when we don’t know how long our journey will be.

“Bang~”

“1~!!!”

The count has already dropped to 1 while I was lost in these thoughts.

The past nine months since meeting Jessica and spending time with everyone—

I can confidently say it’s been the best time of my life, and I’m certain it will continue to be.

“Wheeeeeeee~~~”

Finally, this moment has arrived.

Eleven fireworks soar up together with a loud whistling sound.

Everyone in the city prepares to shout the final count in unison.

“Zero~~~!!”

“Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang~~~!!”

At last, eleven firework letters are embroidered across the night sky accompanied by a thunderous shout.

The message is, of course, HAPPY NEW YEAR, but…

“Ah.”

A minor problem occurred.

The final letter R became distorted, transforming into something like an H.

“Ah~ Everything was going well until that last hiccup.”

“Who cares? It was definitely an R right after it burst.”

“Well, the citizens are all happy, so no problem.”

“The year-end fireworks festival is a great success.”

It’s OK even if it’s not perfect like those fireworks.

If everyone can enjoy themselves, that’s enough.

[ HAPPY NEW YEAH ]

Happy New Yeah.

Here’s to another exciting year.