"Come to think of it, this is my first time attending a proper festival like this."
Roland took a fried potato ball and handed it to Aestus Estus beside him.
Orario was unusually crowded during the day. At a time of celebration like this, even the Adventurers did not mind giving themselves a day of rest.
The streets spreading out from the Arena were already engulfed by antlike swarms of people. Even ordinary citizens wore smiles, and stalls set up by merchants drawn by the news were everywhere. All sorts of races mingled together, and pleasant aromas filled the air.
In the slightly larger spaces, bards recounted legends, and troupes performed acrobatics that drew rounds of applause. These were the best crowd magnets. Orario's Main Street could accommodate several carriages traveling abreast, yet now the crowds squeezed it into an incredibly narrow passage.
"If a riot broke out, it'd all be over."
Roland bit into a fried potato ball he had wanted to try for a while and exclaimed in some surprise.
"It's actually pretty good."
Beneath the crispy crust was a dense, flowing texture like molten sand, and there was filling as well. For one of Orario's cheapest, most common snacks to taste this good, Roland hardly knew what to say about this world's technology tree.
"Roland, even if you're a hero, people will glare at you for saying something so gloomy."
Hestia looked at the bustling street before her with her head held high and her chest puffed out. "This prosperous, fascinating sight is precisely why we gods came down to the lower world."
Early that morning, Hestia had dragged Roland outside in a huff and asked him to go on a date with her. Roland usually had to visit the Dungeon, and even his rare days off