Chương 59: Chapter 59: Festival
Four days passed, and the villagers had started moving to a different undisclosed location already set up for them. The Demon Slayers were heading back to their headquarters. The chief apparently wanted to see me before he left with the rest.
"You wanted to see me, Chief?" I asked as I approached him. He had something covered in a cloth, with bags behind him.
"Murasaki, finally here," he said. He turned to the cloth and unveiled what was underneath it. It had a blade length of thirty-five inches, and its white and black handle was fourteen inches long. Next to it was a black wooden scabbard that had no design.
[Pic]
I turned to him. "Aren't odachi handles supposed to be longer? Also, why an odachi?" He smirked, then sheathed the odachi, turned back to me, and handed it over. I was grateful but confused.
"It's symbolic, Murasaki." he explained. I tilted my head, still unsure. He sighed and gestured for me to kneel, which I did. He placed his hand on my chest and spoke. "It symbolizes what you are protecting. You said you want to give Eri a better childhood. The black wrap covering the white handle represents you and Eri, the blade's length symbolizes the lengths you'll go to achieve that."
I looked down at the handle. The black wrapping covering the white handle. I gripped the odachi, and the chief slapped my chest, pulling me out of my thoughts. I turned back to him.
"The gaps represent giving her space to grow. Remember that."
I nodded, then spoke. "What about the use case? If I'm in a tight spot, I won't be able to swing the odachi around." He pulled a wakizashi from his kimono and placed it on top. It was in a black scabbard with a wooden handle and wrappings were grey.
[Pic]
I turned to him and tilted my head. "What does the wakizashi represent?"
He snorted while gesturing for me to stand back up. "Nothing, it's just a wakizashi for killing demons."
I blankly blinked at that but said nothing else as he gestured to the other bags. "These are some clothes for both you and Eri-chan. There's also a festival not too far from here happening in two days. By the time you arrive, it will just be starting, so make sure you attend it with Eri-chan."
He turned to me and raised his fist. I nodded. "I will, I need to spend time with her." He nodded and walked over to the other group of villagers waiting for him.
"Hope to see you soon, Murasaki!" I yelled back a goodbye, then walked with the weapons and bags to where Eri was waiting underneath a tree.
It didn't take long for me to find the direction to where the festival was going to be held. After traveling for two days, we were now at an inn, sorting out the clothing the chief had given us for the festival. I was going to wear a black kimono with a dark red haori and a white braided obi tied around my waist underneath the haori. Eri had decided to wear a light grey kimono with pink edges and flowers, tied together with a red obi. For her horn, she wore a small sun hat.
I turned to Eri after putting on my outfit and found that she had done the same. "You look cute, Eri." I said, giving her a pat on the head as she looked unsure.
"Really?" she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
I hummed in agreement. "Just missing one thing." I turned back to my pile and fetched a flower ornament for her hair. Turning around, I placed it in her hair. "There we go! Ready to have fun?" I held out my hand.
She nodded and took it.
[Pic]
We entered the festival, and while it wasn't as big as I had thought it would be, it was perfect for Eri and I. Since it was a night festival, the lanterns provided a warm glow that filled the air. We soon arrived at our first food stall, which Eri led me to. It was selling sweet apples. After the vendor gave the price, I paid for one and handed it to Eri, which brought a sparkle to her eye as I walked around the festival with her glued to my side.
"How about we play one of the games here?" I suggested, and she gave me a distracted nod in response. I laughed lightly at that and took us to one of the stalls where you needed to catch a fish with a paper scooping tool. I paid the vendor and knelt down next to Eri, who had gotten distracted from enjoying her sweet apple to gaze at the goldfish.
"We have to try and catch one of the fish to win. Think we can do it, Eri?" It was funny watching her give a determined nod. We watched the fish, tools in hand, and waited.
"On your signal, Eri." I turned to see her nod. We waited.
Eri yelled out in a small voice, "Now!" We both went for a fish, but both our tools broke, letting the fish escape.
"Oh no! Eri, we didn't do it. Want to try again?" I asked, and she nodded eagerly. I paid the vendor for another try, and he smiled at us. We waited again for Eri to give the signal.
"Now!"
We both went for a fish again, but my tool broke once more. I looked over to see Eri with her tool intact and a fish in it., gazing at me with wide eyes.
"Haha, Eri! You did it! Good job!" I heard the vendor chuckle while Eri looked happy, her eyes shining.
"Good job there, kiddo! Want to keep the fish or trade it for a prize?"
We both looked over to see the vendor gesturing toward the prizes he had. I turned to Eri, and she turned to me.
"It's up to you, Eri. You won."
She examined the prizes again, then looked at me and finally at the vendor. She pointed toward one of the prizes, and he grabbed it, handing it to Eri. It was a wooden necklace shaped like a ring of Wisteria blossoms.
She turned to me and held it out. "For me?"
She gave a shy nod, and I smiled at her. I leaned down a little further as she placed it around my neck. I felt the metaphorical weight of it settle on me. I looked down as it rested just below Buddha's necklace, which I took off and wrapped around my wrist. I felt the familiar magic securing it in place as I turned to a nervous Eri.
"Thank you, Eri! I'll keep it on forever." I patted her on the head again as I stood up.
"Yosh, let's keep going!" I thrust my arm up for effect, and I swear I saw a hint of a small smile beginning to form on her face.
The whole night, we went from food vendors, buying more sweet apples since Eri wanted to see if they tasted different, to trying various games. We played more fish catching games, threw balls at targets, and even tried archery. It turned out I was pretty good at archery, eventually the vendors around the area banned me from playing, only letting Eri use one.
"How unfair are they, Eri?" I pouted down at her, and she gave a half-serious nod. I looked around and spotted a stall selling masks. 'Got to have the full experience.' I turned to Eri, who was focused on her half-eaten sweet apple. "Can I choose the next place?"
She gave a distracted nod, and I took her to the stall. Once she finished her apple, she started looking around at the masks, and I did the same. I turned to her as she continued to browse. "How about we pick one each?"
I got a nod, so I walked over to the perfect one. "Ready, Eri?" I heard a confirmation.
"Ready! Set! Turn around!"
We both turned around, and I was greeted with a red Tengu mask on Eri's face, while she was greeted by a monkey mask with puffed cheeks on mine.
"Pfft." I heard from Eri. 'Does that count as a laugh?'
"What? I think this one is amazing!" I said, feigning disbelief.
"It looks silly!" she said, pointing a finger at me.
"What? I think it looks cool!" I laughed, putting our masks back. "Since I'm not good at making the choice, how about you pick one for me while I pick one for you?"
She gave a nervous nod, and I patted her on the head again. "Take your time." I looked over the masks and decided on a red fox mask that covered the top half of her face. When I turned back around, I saw her choice.
"Really, Eri?"
She nodded, and again I thought I saw a faint smile. In her hand was a blue Tengu mask. I turned to the vendor, who was laughing, and waved me off before I could pay.
"On the house! Enjoy the rest of your night."
I nodded, helping to put the mask on her face. Fortunately, it had hollow ears at the bottom so I could fit her horn through it. She, in turn, helped me put on the blue Tengu mask.
After a while of walking around, participating in a few more games, buying more sweet apples, and some mochi, we heard that the fireworks were about to start. I took Eri and led us to a little secluded spot away from the crowd, with a clear view of where the fireworks were set to launch. I sat down under a tree with Eri in my lap, looking out toward the night sky. I looked down at her as I moved my mask to the side of my face.
"Did you have fun today, Eri?"
She nodded, and just as she did, the fireworks went off, startling both of us.
"Those are some pretty big fireworks, Eri."
She nodded again as we watched them explode in the sky. After a few minutes of watching the ongoing display, Eri spoke in a small voice.
"Ryou."
I hummed loud enough for her to hear.
"Tanjiro-niisan asked me something once."
I looked down at her and tilted my head. She gazed down at her lap.
"He asked if y-you were my o-otousan. I d-didn't know what to say."
I felt my heart stop at that word. 'Otousan? Me? Is this what that crazy old man was talking about?' She looked up at me with her wide red eyes peeking through the mask.
"Are y-you my otousan?"
I didn't say anything for a while, and Eri began to get nervous, judging by the way she fidgeted. I grabbed her and pulled her into my embrace, giving her a light kiss on the head.
"If you'll have me as your otousan, I will."
She looked up at me, her smile one of the biggest I've ever seen.
"Otousan!"
She wrapped her arms around my neck as best she could.
"Yes, Eri?"
I heard her repeating "otousan" a few more times before I started to hear snoring. I looked over at the sky, watching the fireworks still going off. 'Holy plum, I'm a dad.'
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