PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Desmond snapped out of his stupor with a faint memory of those afternoons in the music room, the memory of his father calling him his pride. The feeling of heaviness around Desmond cleared, his footsteps became steady, and in an instant, Desmond had already caught up with Cecilia, who was walking ahead of him.

“I’m fine. I just remembered some things from the past.”

Cecilia did not need to ask; she just kept silent and continued on her way to the orphanage while her mind wandered to a foreign concept for her; the family. Even when Cecilia faced those who had been victims of the tragedy, she couldn’t help but feel envious, a part of her wishing she had at least met her parents, even if it was briefly.

Passing through the city’s streets in the direction of the orphanage, the festivities filled the atmosphere with warmth and color. In addition to the traditional candles, the town had been covered in all kinds of flowery decorations, and alcohol and food were served in abundance, with the taverns operating at total capacity. All sorts of minor attractions and events sprung up wherever people congregated in the city, from gambling, darts, contests of strength, and other weird contests.

Street vendors and merchants distribute their products, from clothes, masks, ornaments, jewelry, exotic foods, toys, and other small knickknacks; money flowed naturally from the hands of people looking to find joy on this beautiful day.

Music and dance weren’t strange either; in every bar or tavern where enough people gather, it didn’t take long for the place to become a party place.

More than one person on the road recognized Cecilia; at every step the holy priestess took, the atmosphere around her became one of extreme happiness and joy, full of respect and adoration towards her.

The toasts in her name never stopped; men and women approached Cecilia, trying to share a drink or a snack with her. Cecilia’s smile, like sunlight, was a source of warmth for everyone who watched her; there were even some declarations of love by people who were already strongly influenced by alcohol.

.....

Desmond had to hold back a laugh at Cecilia’s discomfort during such incidents, especially when the confessions came from both men and women.

Another small detail that caught Desmond’s attention was that Cecilia seemed to be gluttonous despite her calm and worldly appearance. Although usually, Cecilia was not very enthusiastic about her worldly pleasures, no matter how many snacks and desserts were offered, Cecilia ate them all with a calm smile.

On the other hand, Desmond also drew quite a bit of attention; in the first instance, this was because he was Cecilia’s escort, but his pristine knightly armor coupled with his devilishly handsome appearance soon drew the gaze of many single ladies in the crowd.

A small part of Desmond’s ego was pleased by the attention from the beautiful women around him. Still, keeping in mind that duty came first, Desmond kept his smile calm and showed his chivalry by refusing advances from the ladies while keeping his attention centered on Cecilia.

Ironically, his loyal gentlemanly demeanor only warmed the ladies’ hearts more; perhaps due to the festivities and the vast amounts of alcohol flowing non-stop, more than one lady dared to be more direct and forceful in showing their interest.

Hence, Desmond left the place with part of his face and even his neck painted with some lipstick marks, a huge wooden mug filled with some kind of cold beer in his right hand, and a basket full of homemade food in his left hand.

Giving a sidelong glance at Desmond’s armor that now had some flowers attached to it, Cecilia didn’t know whether to laugh at him or be irritated at how ridiculously popular Desmond was with women.

As keen as Desmond’s senses were, there was no way Cecilia’s irritated look would go unnoticed. However, Desmond still took a deep drink of the beer, enjoying its sweetness and realizing how different this was from the beer Desmond knew; he also enjoyed Cecilia’s growing irritation.

“Okay, don’t look at me that way. It’s not like you’re any less popular.”

“I have lived in this city all my life.”

“Precisely for this reason, whoever is your companion has to attract attention; the fact I am extremely handsomed just adds a little more to the mix.”

“Are you always so vain?”

Desmond shrugged and replied. “Only when I’m in a good mood. You can also say what you want about me, but I seem to recall that you also received some pretty intense attention from both men and women.”

Cecilia immediately blushed, and in a childish act, she pouted, puffing out her cheeks and stomping on the ground. “Don’t talk about it.”

From her expression of discomfort and remembrance, Desmond guessed the minor incident caused Cecilia to think of Nana, who had been in love with her for years.

Desmond did not want to touch on that sensitive topic and used Kyuru’s favorite trick. With a spectral hand of mana, he placed a cupcake in front of Cecilia, who, after giving him one last sullen look, took the cupcake and forgot about it.

After a few minutes, Cecilia took a detour, and soon she and Desmond found themselves in front of a vast store. The line of people waiting to enter the store was gigantic, but as soon as the last person in line saw Cecilia, a chain reaction began, and the path was clear within seconds.

Cecilia bowed slightly in thanks, and with Desmond at her back, she entered the shop. Desmond and Cecilia were greeted with a not-quite-luxurious but neat and clean interior, with all sorts of merchandise on display, of course; everything related to the festival of candles was arranged to be in the most prominent part of the store.

At this point, Desmond stopped bothering to be surprised when the person at the front of the store recognized Cecilia. It seemed that wherever the girl went, there would be people who would give her even a tiny gesture of kindness or gratitude.

Which was unearned; Desmond did more than accept drinks and flirty gestures from the girls around him on his way here. He had also been paying much attention to what the crowd had to say. In this way, Desmond heard some exciting things about Cecilia and part of why she was already incredibly well-known and loved even before she was made a holy priestess.

Apparently, Cecilia had involved herself in many of the volunteer activities of the church, helping with healing tasks, among other things, during the war a couple of years ago. Since then, her beautiful appearance and natural charisma have brought her attention over time.

Cecilia’s personality prevented her from sitting still, which was just one of the many activities she got involved in. With time, both her name and appearance formed a kind of reputation among the ordinary people that maintained the favor shown by Cecilia in their hearts.

When Cecilia was made a holy priestess, the title and apparent endorsement of the church only helped cement her reputation. They gave her some sort of a unified name to be grateful for.

In this way, the church got surprised, and that was the beginning of her problems when trying to use Cecilia to promote their political agendas.

Whatever the case, Desmond could understand why this city loved Cecilia so much. Only now did he come to accept that she was not a saint because someone gave her that title but because she had spent her life looking out for the welfare of others.

The same was true at this time when Cecilia was spending her own money to bring a shred of joy to the children of the orphanage during this emotional day. It even seemed that Cecilia had some sort of history with the shop owner, who was serving her with a smile full of goodwill.

Leaving Cecilia to take care of the shopping for the orphanage, Desmond wandered around the store, looking at the different items in it, noting that although much of the store sold mundane things, there was a section intended for those with deep pockets.

From jewelry to decorations, small luxury items enchanted with some kind of magical effect, Desmond could even feel the very faint ripples of mana in these items.

Usually, Desmond doesn’t pay too much attention to articles of this kind as they weren’t of particular interest to him. Still, all the nostalgia surrounding this day made him think of those waiting for him at home, wanting to bring some kind of souvenir for them.

The first thing to catch his eye was a tea set. The specific materials need to be analyzed, but overall it seemed that the teapot and the cups were made of porcelain decorated with delicate floral details set with rubies and emeralds.

It was extraordinarily luxurious but not in an ostentatious or exaggerated sense; it was subtle with delicate workmanship. According to the description on the label, this set even featured a slight vitality mana infusion feature in the tea, and Desmond immediately thought of a certain alchemist with a sometimes shy, sometimes fiery personality.

The next thing to catch Desmond’s eye was a small music box, barely as big as his two hands together, with a gold metal frame; the central box was made of a quartz-like mineral, it wasn’t as beautiful or exquisite as the tea set, but the performance caught Desmond’s attention. According to the description, this music box could repeat any song played along with it and play a moving image of a particular event.

Basically, the music box used water mana to simulate a small snippet of an event and played it along with a musical note. Desmond played with it for a few seconds and made the music box play a scene from his memory. Watching the miniature water figures dance gracefully, a smile grew on Desmond as he thought of Claire.