Celebration and Birthday

The training is over, although the results are not satisfactory. However, it was enough for Ashnard to have a nice day off.

Today, Ashnard turns 16, which coincides with the annual celebration of the State of Winfor. A Celebration held to commemorate the Four Wind Guardians who have guarded this country and given the winds of safety to every people. It also to commemorates the founding of the Winfor.

A birthday present for Ashnard. A celebration is full of joy and festivities. It felt like a big celebration just for him alone.

Flower decorations are installed in every house and shop. Small windmills made of colorful paper adorn the streets with the swirls that carry the wind. The wind then brought a warm atmosphere and tantalizing aromas of snacks from the friendly stalls.

On this day, no part of the street is empty, especially the town square, which is always filled with activities that excite the happy feelings of the people. A chorus that roars with the wind, dances full of meaning and smiles, and competitions from exhausting to stifling creativity.

However, Ashnard had been frowning in annoyance since leaving his house. He was annoyed not at the festivity, but someone.

"Why mom take the old man with us?" Ashnard whispered to his mother, then glanced back at the smiling old man with his white mustache.

"What are you talking about, Ash? He's your instructor. It's natural for a me to invite him, right? After all, aren't you two very close?"

Ashnard then turned his head and glared at Ozark, "Someday, I will beat you, old man, remember that!"

After his defeat in the last training, Ashnard often re-challenged Ozark, and the results weren't much different. He wanted this celebration to be free from the pain of his defeat, but the Ozark's presence here only reminded him of the pain.

Ashnard's ears turned red as Edda teased him, "Don't be naughty, Ash! Today is your birthday." Edda then smiled at the Ozark. "Don't worry, Mr. Ozark. Let's enjoy this celebration in peace."

Ozark lowered his head slightly. "No problem, Ms. Edda. I'm used to his attitude."

They continued to enjoy the city streets, which are decorated with beautiful garland and various other decorations. The people smiling about greeted the Raegulus family warmly. Ashnard smiled proudly. However, his smile must fade when his mother nudged her arm.

"Ash, look." Edda pointed at a blonde-haired girl blowing a paper windmill, not far from them. "That's a girl from the Nerefelon family. You can ask her to date."

"What? No, no, no!" Ashnard refused. However, his mother kept pushing him close to the girl.

Ashnard's heart wasn't ready for this. Ashnard had no other choice but to extend his hand. "He-hello… I-I'm Ashnard. Nice to meet you."

The girl smiled sweetly as if she didn't notice Ashnard's nervousness. "Hello. You're the son of the Raegulus family, right. I'm Liliya. Nice to meet you," Liliya replied softly. The scent of her floral perfume made Ashnard even more passionate.

Silence fell upon the two children after that. Liliya returned to playing with her paper windmill. While Ashnard was trying to rouse his shrunken courage as the girl's blue eyes stared at him.

"W-would you like to see the celebration with me?" ask Ashnard.

Liliya slowly smiled and nodded, "Sure."

Edda, who saw his son manage to invite Liliya, was so happy that she wanted to shout encouragingly. Ozark just waved his hand at Ashnard while trying to calm Edda down.

As they walked through the bustling city streets, Ashnard felt awkward, and Liliya kept a smile on her face. Unimportant questions came out of Ashnard's mouth like 'It's sunny today, isn't it?' and 'It's busy here too, isn't it?'. However, Liliya always answered without thinking about it.

The girl is calm and always smiling. She didn't think about the words of the people who saw her walking with Ashnard, unlike Ashnard who was getting more and more embarrassed when he heard the people whispering about them.

"By the way, today is my birthday. So, I feel like this celebration is like the whole town is celebrating to me."

Liliya gasped, "Today is your birthday? Sorry, I didn't prepare a present for you."

"It doesn't matter. We're also just met a while ago, so I'm not asking you to give me a present."

Ashnard had no intention of telling him that today was his birthday, but because of the pressure from the awkward feeling and the whispers of the people, he accidentally said it.

They stopped in front of four statues made of beautiful flower arrangements. The 15-foot tall statue is a statue of the Four Guardians of the Wind. The Four gods who protect Winfor.

Ashnard noticed the girl's eyes sparkling at the sight of the flower statue. The same eyes as Ashnard had been watching him from behind the fence. "You like flowers, don't you?"

Liliya nodding. "But the flowers here are not as beautiful as the flowers out there."

Ashnard raised one of his eyebrows, "Out there?"

Liliya then grabbed Ashnard's arm and pulled him, "I'll show you."

Through the crowd nimbly, Liliya led Ashnard in a dark alley, a part of the city that Ashnard didn't know. At the end of the alley, a tall wall as white as ivory blocked them.

Ashnard wondered why Liliya had brought him here. He found Liliya, who was sliding a board against the wall. The board was covering something, a gap in the wall.

The gap was big enough for Liliya to crawl through the wall.

"Wait, Liliya, what are you doing?"

"Follow me," Liliya shouted from behind the wall.

Ashnard followed him. Liliya waiting for him from behind the wall, immediately grabbed Ashnard's arm and continued running to carry him through the meadow.

Crashing through the tall weeds and green hills. Tirelessly, the girl kept running until she came to a place.

A vast field of flowers. Behind the hill, the expanse of flower fields fills the entire viewpoint. With a very lively color, as if all the colors in the world were in the flower field.

Liliya smile seemed to radiate all the beauty of the flower field. "What do you think? More beautiful, right?"

Ashnard did dream of traveling to various places, but this was Ashnard's first time out of the city and he became more and more convinced of how beautiful the world was.

Liliya isn't over yet. She descended the hill, running among the flowers followed by Ashnard. Liliya waved her hand, making the wind blow away the flower petals.

Colorful flowers fall like rain. The rain created fun for both of them. They kept running until their tiredness overcame them and their satisfaction is fulfilled.

Liliya then stopped and plucked some flowers one by one. Tie them together with flower stems. A flower arrangement is given to Ashnard. "Happy birthday Ashnard."

Ashnard was momentarily stunned. Not because of the bouquet, but Liliya's wide and sincere smile. "Thank You."

Ashnard and Liliya sat on the hill with their eyes on the flower field. "I think you're right. This place is beautiful."

"Hehe, I told you."

"How do you know a place like this?" Ashnard asked curiously.

"When I first found it, I ran from things I didn't like. I found the gap and kept running until I found this place," said the girl. "I often sneak into this place to get away from all the things I don't like."

"What's the thing you don't like?"

"Lots."

Ashnard looked at Liliya's dress which looked dirty and dull. The girl didn't think about her noble status and continued to do what she liked.

"Then what do you like?"

"A lot," the girl chuckled. "One of them is this flower field. You know, my dream is to see the outside world. I want to see all kinds of beautiful flowers out there."

Ashnard gasped, his eyes sparkling. "Your dream of seeing the outside world? Me too!"

"Wow, really?"

"My dream is to go on an adventure around the world like Roc."

"Roc?"

"Yes, he's a Star Knight from the Land of Darkness, who decided to travel the world because his land was destroyed. I have a lot of Roc adventure books in my house."

Liliya laughed seeing Ashnard so excited. "I see. By the way, are the rumors true? You chose the water element?"

"Yeah, is that weird?"

"Not really, but most of the people here, if they get an element, they will choose wind. People who choose other than wind here can be counted by the fingers, including you," she explained. "Don't worry, other elements are not bad either."

Suddenly a mist appeared that hit them like a gust of wind. The bright world was suddenly dark and hazy.

"What happened!?" Ashnard panicked.

Thick fog covered the sunlight. Block the light from shining on the flower field.

The surge of energy felt very strong. It made Ashnard's neck shudder, making Ashnard's heart stop beating for a moment. The strong power came after the mist overcame their surroundings.

Because that power also made Ashnard's breath heavy, sweat dripped from head to toe. He couldn't even move his legs to get out of there.

The source of that powerful energy moved closer to him. It made Ashnard's whole body hurt even more. His chest felt hot, his stomach twisting, and his throat constricted. Ashnard couldn't breathe when a silhouette emerged from behind the thick fog.

Despite the pain, Ashnard tried to stretch out his arms to protect Liliya. The power he felt from the silhouette far exceeds Ozark.

From the silhouette, a flap of wings shook Ashnard's entire body. The closer he got, the clearer that figure became. A giant bird flew up to him. But, someone riding on it. A man.

"Who are you!?" Ashnard's scream sounded hoarse.

Liliya suddenly ran over and hugged the giant bird tightly after landing, as if they haven't seen each other in a long time.

The man came in a strong voice and loud, but smooth as the wind as he greeted Ashnard, "Greetings, little human. My name Sefenfor. I came from the east wind."

***

He approached Ashnard's illusion and blew a wind on the illusion face. "Happy birthday, kid. I'm not going to give you a gift because you've already gotten a lot of gifts. You met a cute girl, you even met a god. Geez, I really wanted to meet a god since I read Greek god mythology on the wiki. In my previous life, gods were like anything that science couldn't explain, you know. For example, I'm right here and talking to you.

He then walked around the illusion and stopped beside it. He stared at the same angle Ashnard's illusion was facing. "Oh, by the way, I've also met a very beautiful goddess. And she gave me a gift of a chance to live again which you took it from me.

"Angry? Of course, I'm not. What are you talking about? I'm just grateful that you weren't here for me to punch."