After finishing the barbecue, Betty's friends returned to the camp, so Betty bade Ron and Nora farewell.
Ron glanced in the direction of Betty's friends and found no sign of Soven.
Who knew where that guy had run off to fool around this time.
Maybe he was battling away in some patch of wilderness.
"Prince Ron." A soldier came to the tent and saluted. "The Eldest Prince is holding a bonfire party in the clearing beside the camp and has invited you to join."
Ron looked twice in the direction the soldier had come from. Through the camp, he could indeed see flickering firelight, and music drifted over from that side.
"I understand. I'll be there shortly."
As Ron pulled her along in that direction, Nora tilted her head and asked curiously, "Shopkeeper, what do people do at a bonfire party?"
Having wandered the streets since childhood, Nora was clearly puzzled and intrigued by the combination of "bonfire" and "party."
"It's just dancing around a fire, I suppose. Sort of like the Winter Food Festival banquet, except more casual."
Ron explained offhandedly.
If the daytime hunt was an opportunity for nobles and Spring Martial Tournament contestants to get to know one another, then the evening bonfire party was the moment to cement a relationship.
It was the same principle as courting girls.
The daytime hunt was the date, while the nighttime bonfire party was the confession. More or less the same format.
The two left the camp, passed through a small patch of brush, and arrived at an open clearing.
By then, the place was already surrounded by people.
A bonfire as tall as a person had been built in the center, and it was blazing fiercely.
Dim yellow and searing red firelight reflected across every face, giving rise to