Chapter 40: 36

Night had fallen. The people of the city were still drinking, dancing, and making noise, but not the nobles and priests.

　The Spirit Festival was about to begin. It is the role of us nobles and priests to perform the rituals and give thanks to the spirits of the earth and the gods of heaven. If the lively festival we had just witnessed was the daytime portion of the Spirit Festival, this was the nighttime portion of the Spirit Festival.

"Brother?"

"Clifford. It's been a long time."

"It's good to see you."

. It's a big day. I can't afford to get sick."

"You're right. ...... It's been a long time, Eberhard."

"It's been a long time. Uncle."

　My father, Karlheinz Klaus von Fahrenheit, has several siblings. However, he has no older brothers or sisters, but two younger brothers and two younger sisters under his eldest son, Dad.

　This person is Clifford Kraus von Fahrenheit. This is Clifford Kraus von Fahrenheit, the younger brother of my father, who is the head priest of the Heitburg Temple.

"It's been a long time,  sir Hal.

"Long time no see, Ani."

"Hi, long time no see. Ellen. Edward."

　They're my cousins. They are my uncle Clifford's children. Ellen is the eldest, and Edward is her younger brother and eldest son. Ellen is one year younger than me, and Edward is three. Edward is exactly the same age as my younger brother, Albert. They are both lovely siblings who call me brother.

　The second Farenheit family, with Clifford as the patriarch, is a branch of our Farenheit family. The first family is the successor to the lord, and the second family is the successor to the priest. This is how they usually divide the sacred and the secular to rule this large frontier county.

　This is because, as a practical matter, there is no way we can have a literal unity of church and state. It's impossible for me to be a priest in addition to my busy work as a lord. Therefore, as a member of the same family, it was the usual practice of the nobility to entrust the "ritual" part to a branch family.

　This is the same even for the imperial family. The Emperor is busy ruling the Kingdom of Hylands. So it was customary for the Cardinal of Hylands, the head of the temple in the imperial city of Orleus, the headquarters of the Hylands religion, to be passed down from generation to generation to the emperor's younger brother or a male relative.

"The rituals are about to begin. Is everyone ready?"

　In order to perform the ritual, we all changed into our priestly attire. I was dressed in a white vestments, which made me look like a respectable cardinal."

"You look good, Hal."

　Lily, who has also changed into a female priest's vestments, says to me. Lily, too, was no longer the tomboy that she usually was, but her white robe was neat and clean and looked great on her.

"It's time. Time to go, everyone, stay calm and don't get nervous as we practiced.

　The old man said, mainly to us kids. I've been there last year, and I've practiced a lot, so there's no problem. I'm sure Lily will be able to handle herself as a young lady as always, not to mention her siblings who are priests in their own right.

"I'm fine."

"Good. Let's go.""

　The sound of bells ringing ....... The fire was lit in the shrine. The fire is lit in the ritual hall, and the spirit festival night begins.

　　　　　A few hours passed.

　A few hours have passed since then. The rituals proceeded smoothly, with no one making any mistakes, everyone taking their places, offering prayers for thanksgiving and prosperity, and raising offerings according to the prescribed rituals.

　After the ritual, we were greeted in the courtyard of the shrine by envoys from other noble families, the heads of the guilds, the heads of the large merchant associations, and the upper echelons of the patrol and internal affairs officials. We didn't go around to greet them because we were in a higher position than they were.

"I would like to extend my congratulations to you and your family."

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"Thank you for coming all this way."

"Thank you for your continued support.""

"May you be blessed with the blessings of the spirit.""

　These are all standard phrases. Both my dad and uncle change the wording a little depending on the person they're talking to, but basically what they're saying is the same. I guess it's called socializing. Adults are such annoying creatures.

　By the time we were done, it was well past midnight, too much hard work for a six-year-old. I felt like I was about to lose consciousness.

"You guys did a great job. You must be exhausted. Now go home and get some rest."

"What about you, Dad?"

". We still have some cleaning to do."

"Hmm."

　Strictly speaking, the Spirit Festival was not over just for today. We have to guard the fire all night long to make sure that the sacred fire on the altar does not burn out.

　However, this is not our role. There were several priests who were in charge of keeping the fire going. What they mean by "tidying up" is handing over the task to these fire keepers. Then, tomorrow morning, the fire will be extinguished according to the proper procedure, and the ritual will finally be over.

　This fun but difficult ritual role will be taken over at the same time when I succeed as the head of the family. I still have almost thirty years to go before I take over the house, but if I don't get used to it while I still can, I'll be in trouble later.

　At first, this year's spirit festival went off without a hitch. I think I'll take a good night's rest tonight.

　　　　　✳︎

　After the spirit festival, we spent a peaceful day without any major events. It was hot outside, so we stayed inside reading books and telling stories to cool off, and before we knew it, the day to say goodbye had arrived.

"I don't want to go home yet."

'"I don't want to leave yet. I have a communication device, so I won't be sad."

"I'll see you in the winter.

"I'll be waiting. I'll come to you in the fall."

"Okay. See you later, Hal!"

"See you, Lily."

　It's about 500 kilometers to Bernstadt, the Duke's hometown. It is a long journey of six days even with the duke's excellent horses and a high performance (actually, the bearings used in the cart have been modified during the past week, so the performance is even higher) carriage.

　As a duke's family, they have several excellent guards, and there are several patrol stations on the main roads. There are also several patrol stations along the main roads. The security on the main roads is quite good due to the heavy traffic, not to mention the narrow side roads. There was no need to worry.

"Bye bye!"

　Lily's cheerful voice made me feel that she was a tomboy after all, as she leaned out of the carriage window and waved her hands around. If you look closely, you'll see that the maid's hands are wrapped around her waist, so she's probably holding on desperately to keep Lily from falling inside the carriage. Maids have a tough job.

　And so, after a week's stay, Lily returned to the Duke's estate.

　Although there was a conflict with May during her visit, it did not become a big problem thanks to May's support. Lily didn't mention it from there on, and I think she enjoyed it enough. It's been a while since I've had any fun with Lily, and I'm glad I did.

　...... Well, now I have to go to Mei 's place to make it up to her."

　I disguised myself as a commoner (although I try to look "somewhat rich," so I'm not that badly dressed), put on a leather pouch, said a few words to the gatekeeper, and went out into the city.

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