[Tensura] I Was a Doctor, But Reincarnated as a Dragon? Chapter 13 13: Village Festival

When the festival day arrived, I joined Milim and Gaia and headed straight for the city where the festivities were being held.

In just a few minutes, we reached the city. It was an average-sized place, neither too large nor too small. There were wooden walls, livestock scattered here and there, and rchants who had co to sell their wares to make a living.

To be honest, it had been a very long ti since I'd been to a festival. As a single father, I'd barely had any ti to take my son to places like this.

"Oh~ What a huge crowd!"

"I've never seen this many people before!"

"Kyuui!"

The streets were packed with hundreds of people; passersby bumped into one another and grumbled, the scent of sweat hung in the air, and the boisterous chatter and bickering were so loud that an outsider might have mistaken it for a fight. Vertis had almost forgotten how much he had missed the sun-like warmth of a city like this.

Since arriving here, the only places he had seen were a ruined castle, the underground ruins where he t Gaia, and the elf kingdom where he had stayed briefly before erasing an entire nation from the map—not to ntion his encounters and battles with demon lords. Looking back, it had been a truly turbulent journey.

By comparison, this city was overflowing with vitality, and the people's faces were full of smiles.

After walking through the city with Milim and Gaia, we soon reached the food market.

The market was a riot of color and sound. Beneath the arching awnings of tent cloth, the air was filled with the sounds of fierce bargaining and the pungent aroma of spices and grilled at drifting on the breeze.

Milim stared at a nearby skewer stall, practically drooling.

"Want one of those?"

I pointed toward the grilled at, and Milim nodded eagerly.

That smiling face is unmistakably that of a child...

I held up three fingers to the man grilling the at. Understanding my request, the rchant quickly handed over three perfectly grilled skewers, and I paid him as I took them. I also bought a few books from a nearby stall and stored them in [Storage]. I figured I'd read them later when I had so free ti.

"Here."

"I shall eat well!"

"Kyuui~"

"Where do you want to go after you're done eating?"

"Anywhere is fine as long as I'm with Vertis!"

Milim declared this after finishing her skewer in a single bite.

"Then shall we check out the central square? It sounds quite lively over there..."

"Sounds good~!"

As we moved toward the central square, the energy of the market grew even more intense.

rchants selling armants, peddlers offering precious trinkets, and bakers selling freshly baked, golden-brown bread were all shouting at the top of their lungs to attract custors.

By now, Milim's hands were full of food. As I walked along reading one of the discounted books I'd bought, an old man spoke to .

"What a heartwarming sight~ Are you two friends? Or perhaps festival participants?"

"No, we're just acquaintances."

"I see, I see~ Friends, family... those are the precious things one cannot live without~"

The old man stroked his long beard and guzzled from a bottle of alcohol before disappearing back into the crowd. Milim tugged at my clothes and asked,

"Um~ What does 'family' an?"

"Hmm... I suppose it's soone who is always by your side?"

The city continued to buzz with excitent.

While we were talking, we noticed fireworks exploding above a massive stone building. Drawn by the commotion, we headed toward the site, where a festival was in full swing.

"Now then~ The fighting festival that occurs once every few years is about to begin! The use of weapons and magic is strictly forbidden! Anyone who wishes to have a conversation with their fists, sign up now! The winner will receive 100 gold coins and a very unique bracelet as a prize!!"

The referee held up a bracelet that was, quite literally, a mystery—it was far too large to be a practical piece of jewelry.

Watching this, Milim and I looked at each other and grinned. We had absolutely no interest in the prize money, but still...

"Of course we're entering, right~?"

"It's ti to settle this!"

The two of us wrote our nas on the registration list. Since using our real nas would likely give us away, we changed them slightly. Milim, in particular, was far too famous to risk being recognized.

I registered as Verdachi, and Milim signed up as Mili.

Surprisingly, such simple changes often work best.

Then ca the preliminaries. The rules were simple: knock your opponent out of the designated ring. As long as no weapons were used, throwing or pushing the opponent out of bounds was perfectly acceptable.

"The final eight will advance to the tournant! Now then~~ START!!!!"

The mont the words left the referee's mouth, a chaotic brawl erupted among a group of burly, muscle-bound n.

"Why don't we get the brat out of here first?"

The participant who called Milim a brat was imdiately seized by the arm and launched into the sky.

"*Yawn*. These preliminaries are so boring."

Verdachi yawned as he effortlessly dodged every attack aid at him, delivering precise counterattacks. Even though weapons were banned, he knew that if he fought with full power, he would ruin the festival atmosphere.

One by one, the other participants were tossed from the ring until only eight remained. The matchups for the final tournant were then decided by a lottery.

Those who drew the sa color were paired together.

As the nas of the other fighters were called,

"My na still hasn't been called."

"Mine neither."

"Huh?"

We looked at each other simultaneously, just as the referee announced,

"The final match of the first round: Verdachi versus Mili!!"

"First round? That was fast..."

"By the way, what's with that tacky na...?"

"Changing your na isn't as easy as it sounds, you know~"

I had a feeling this fighting festival was going to be anything but quiet.