Dream Life Vol 3 Chapter 23.1: “The Grand Banquet: Part 1”

　July 14th, 317 of the Tria calendar.

　The day began that morning with a dizzying array of activities.

　It was because we had planned a banquet to which they had invited dwarven blacksmiths and were busily preparing for it.

　The official announcement of the attack on Welburn Castle was made by the governor’s office around noon, but I was busy preparing for the banquet.

　Dan was sent as a messenger to the Blacksmith’s Guild to coordinate the schedule. It was decided that the banquet would begin at noon on July 16, the day after tomorrow.

　The venue was the Knights’ training grounds just outside the city walls of Welburn, as recommended by Baron Ferdinand Oldham, who was a close confidant of the Count Roswell. The training ground did not have a formal atmosphere; it was just a beautiful grassy field that served as a stable and a wooden rest area.

　Next to the stable was a small forest and a clean stream where the horses could drink water. Perhaps because of this, it was cool enough in the shade of the trees even during the summer daytime, making it the perfect place for an outdoor banquet.

　I asked my brother to negotiate with the knights for borrowing the tent and other equipment, and instructs his squire, Enos Vassell, to procure the food.

　In the evening, a young official named Jonathan Water from the Blacksmith’s Guild arrived as support, so preparations in an unfamiliar place went smoothly.

　The day passed by quickly, but we were able to establish a rough estimate of what to expect.

　The next day, July 15, was the same as the day before, and from the morning onward, we were busy running around.

　I instructed the squires and patrol members to set up the items borrowed from the Knights and had a meeting with the cooks arranged by Enos and Mr. Water.

　In the little spare time we had, the three magicians, Liddy, Sharon, and I, worked diligently to produce ice for the next day’s use and stored it in my storage magic [Inventory]. Once we had secured a certain amount of ice, I went to the site to check on the preparations.

　I was remembering the preparations for the groundbreaking ceremony for the factory I had done when I was younger.

　At that time, we held a buffet party after a Shinto ritual and other ceremonies, but I remember that it was very difficult to prepare because it was my first event, and I was in an unfamiliar work.

　However, it is hard to feel the sense of accomplishment after sending all the guests off safely. However, that exhilarating sense of accomplishment disappeared by the end of the day as it took until late at night to clean up the venue.

　As I was thinking about this, I seemed to be unconsciously smiling, and Liddy laughed at me and said, “You look like you’re having a lot of fun.”

“But I’m surprised. I didn’t know you liked this kind of thing.” (Liddy)

“Don’t you think it’s fun, like preparing for a festival?” (Zack)

　Liddy nods at my words.

“I never thought about it in the past, but now that I’m doing it with you, it’s fun.” (Liddy)

　Beatrice, who was listening at the side, looked at us with an expression of “Oh my,” and then said with a smile, “This kind of life is certainly interesting, too.”

　We proceeded with the preparations surrounded by the pleasant atmosphere, and the time passed quickly.

　And then, on the day of the banquet.

　All the men of the Lockhart family were out in full force putting the final touches to the event. Folding tables and chairs borrowed from the Knights were laid out in a small, wooded area, and the long table on which the food would be served was already set up.

　The women, dressed in beautiful, but not extravagant, colorful dresses, were ready to greet the dwarves, who were to be their guests.

　This was the idea of my mother, Tanya, who will play the role of hostess.

　There had been a morning of wrangling over this matter.

　That morning, Beatrice was having breakfast in her usual adventurer’s outfit, sturdy leather bottoms and blouse. Then my mother arrived with a smile on her face.

“Ms. Beatrice, why don’t you dress up today?” (Tanya)

　Beatrice shook her head,

“If milady says so, but this outfit is enough for me.” (Beatrice)

　With a smile on her face, my mother turned to me and said, “Isn’t it nice once in a while? I’m sure Zack thinks so too.”

　I was fine either way, but my mother is surprisingly stubborn. She seemed to have an idea and would not back down easily. So, I immediately gave my approval.

“I think so too.” (Zack)

　Beatrice gave me a look that said “traitor”, but I just shrugged my shoulders,

“I guess the clothes for the evening party weren’t enough for me today. I wish I had found something that would fit, but I’m disappointed.” (Beatrice)

　She tried to get my mother to give up, using her lack of clothes as a shield.

　Certainly, there would be no clothes that would fit her nearly two meters tall. It would probably take several days at the earliest to prepare them because they would be custom-made.

(It’s probably impossible, after all.) (Zack)

　Contrary to my thoughts, my mother smiled and said, “Wait a minute,” and walked back to her room with light steps.

　I wondered what she was doing there, and then I saw that she had brought some colorful dresses.

“I brought these clothes just in case. They’re the kind of clothes you wear at village festivals, but I thought they’d be perfect for an informal gathering.” (Tanya)

　Apparently, she had gone to the trouble of bringing something made in the village for Beatrice to wear.

　Beatrice was also speechless at the unexpected turn of events. My mother said, “Well, let’s get you dressed, shall we?” and, not caring about the difference in height of more than 30 cm, she dragged Beatrice to her room.

　I gave Liddy and the others a “what are we going to do?” look, but they too were at a loss as to how to respond to this situation. We decided to get ready to leave for now.

　Just as we were getting ready to leave, we heard a knock at the door. When I opened the door, there was my mother with a proud look and Beatrice with a bright red face.

　The reason for her red face was the clothes she was wearing. She was wearing the kind of clothes that the girls of the village of Rathmore wear at festivals. She was wearing a brightly colored skirt with lots of red and yellow, reminiscent of German folk costumes, a vest of the same color, and a white blouse with a wide collar.

　“It’s a perfect fit, isn’t it?” said my mother proudly.

　I was thinking this in my heart.

(The blouse doesn’t seem to fit…) (Zack)

　The deep cleavage peeking out from the wide-open bosom of the pure white blouse was extremely sexy.

　The fact that Beatrice was so shy that she was lying face down emphasized it even more.

　My mother didn’t care about that and returned to my father and the others, saying, “I’ll leave the rest to you.”

　As I was having trouble keeping up with the situation, Liddy poked me from behind. I turned around and she whispered, “Say something.”

“I-I think it suits you. No, you look really nice…” (Zack)

　Perhaps because I’m not used to saying things like this, I can’t find the words.

　Liddy told me in a whisper, “You can talk smoothly when talking to politicians, but you’re useless in situations like this…”

(I have no words to say back… what can I say…) (Zack)

　While I was being nagged by Liddy, Mel and Sharon pulled Beatrice into the room.

　Mel compliments Beatrice as she walks around her, saying, “It really looks good on you,” and Sharon sighs when she sees Beatrice’s large breasts, then smiles,

“You should wear it on a regular basis as well. Master Zack will be watching you the whole time.” (Sharon)

　Beatrice seemed to have gained a little confidence from their words, and her stiffness seemed to have lifted a little.

　The two talking with her were not in their usual adventurer style either.

　Mel is wearing a bright blue one-piece dress. It is different from the one I gave her as a souvenir a long time ago, but since that time she has come to prefer wearing blue.

　Her hair is usually pulled back in a bun, and her slightly wavy, semi-long red hair hangs lightly over her shoulders.

　She is usually a beautiful, energetic girl with large, steeple-colored eyes, but looking at her today, it is hard to believe that she is a skilled swordsman who can compete with veteran mercenaries. After all this time, I have to remind myself that she is a girl of her age.

　Sharon, on the other hand, was wearing the same brightly colored skirt and vest combination as Beatrice.

　I thought this was surprising since she usually wears more modest colored clothes, but she had platinum blonde hair that went all the way down her back hanging in a thick braid, which suited her outfit very well.

　Her sky-blue eyes and white skin made her look doll-like and lovely.

　And then there is Liddy, the other woman behind me, wearing a mauve one-piece dress and holding a straw hat in her hand. It is neither unusual nor beautiful and is the kind of dress that a commoner would wear, but when Liddy wears it, there is something different about her. Normally, she looks a little cold with porcelain-white skin and emerald-green eyes, but today she looks soft and warm.

　This time, Liddy and the girls are a little dressed up, which was my mother’s instruction. When I later asked my mother about the true reason, she told me that she wanted to add a little more feminine atmosphere for the dwarven blacksmiths, who are overwhelmingly male.

　Therefore, my sisters, Seraphine and Sophia, were also dressed in the same village festival attire as Sharon. In Sera’s case, she usually dresses like her twin brother Theophilus and is not very girly, but today she looks like a cheerful girl.

　Although mother is the originator of the idea, she was wearing a common green one-piece dress that did not have the air of a noblewoman that a woman in this area wear. I thought she could have dressed up a little more, but I guess she was trying not to be ostentatious. She was originally a town girl of Welburn, so perhaps she just wanted to reminisce about the old days.

　The girls were to line up at the entrance of the training ground to greet the guests under the direction of Mother.

　Preparations for the banquet were steadily underway, and once the liquor arrived, the preparations would be complete.

　The main liquor this time would be the ale and beer that the dwarves would bring. Of course, we have made preparations here as well. The stone water tank made with earth magic was filled with ice made yesterday, and chilled ceramic bottles of liquor were placed in the tank. There are about ten other bottles in the tank as well.

　It is at times like this that I realize how convenient magic really is.