Chapter 12: The Town Fire Festival

"So… Rainy Night… Sensei…" Onodera mumbled through a mouthful of grilled "lantern" skewers, his words barely intelligible. "Are you… planning to stop… running the ramen stall?"

"Yeah, I've decided." Teiyu replied, "Since there are people who enjoy reading my novels, I'm going to keep writing."

Balancing between running a ramen stall and writing wasn't easy, especially when he still aspired to become an adventurer. After weighing his options, Teiyu decided to focus on writing, especially since his books seemed to be selling well. If he could continue, the returns would be worthwhile.

"…"

"Can you really eat that?" Teiyu asked, watching Onodera devour the skewers, his mouth gleaming with oil. Unable to resist, Teiyu picked up a "lantern" skewer and examined it closely.

The skewer was grilled to perfection, the meat on the back end glistening with rich oil, while the front end looked particularly unique, resembling a small, ripe kumquat that seemed ready to burst with flavor.

"This is good stuff, Rainy Night Sensei!" Onodera, seeing Teiyu hesitating, couldn't help but flaunt his connoisseur's pride. "This is the specialty of Uyu Tei's mistress—a secret recipe, like the ultimate move in a light novel that the protagonist uses to turn the tide!"

Spurred on by Onodera's enthusiasm, Teiyu squeezed a few drops of lemon juice onto the skewer and took a bite.

!!!

The moment he bit down, the skewer delivered a burst of flavors onto his taste buds. The fresh egg yolk, perfectly encapsulated, released a rich, savory juice that painted his mouth with an indescribable deliciousness.

"This is really good, no wonder even Yae Miko likes it," Teiyu admitted, impressed. Even that picky fox couldn't resist these flavors. As a chef, his instincts kicked in, and he couldn't help but start analyzing the secrets behind this culinary delight.

"Still, it's a pity we won't be able to taste your signature Fox Ramen anymore," Onodera said with a slight sigh, "But that's life—ten out of ten things don't go as planned…"

"…"

Teiyu rolled his eyes at Onodera's lamenting tone, watching as he devoured the skewers with abandon. It was truly the epitome of greediness—enjoying what's in the bowl while eyeing what's in the pot.

"What a shame! If you were still running the stall, you could have participated in the upcoming 'Town Fire Festival.'"

"The Town Fire Festival?" Teiyu echoed, confused. "Isn't that just a fire drill?"

Why would a ramen vendor need to participate in a fire drill?

Although Teiyu was a foreigner, he had lived in Inazuma long enough to know about the Town Fire Festival.

The Town Fire Festival was originally a ritual organized by the Tenryou Commission and overseen by the Grand Narukami Shrine, aiming to pray for protection from fires in the coming year. In the past, most of Inazuma's buildings were made of wood, making fire a constant threat. 

The Tenryou Commission, under orders from the Shogun, established fire brigades to fight fires, while the Grand Narukami Shrine held the Town Fire Festival to calm the people's fears.

Over the years, as fire safety improved and major fires became less frequent, the Town Fire Festival evolved into a unique cultural event in Inazuma.

"But nowadays, it's more than just a fire drill," Onodera explained, helping himself to more food. "Thanks to the Chief Editor's brilliant idea, the festival has become something entirely different."

"That woman Yae Miko is truly remarkable!" Teiyu couldn't help but admire. 

"Isn't she? Yae-sama is the shrewdest woman I've ever met," Onodera said, downing his sake with respect for Yae Miko's cunning.

It turned out that when Yae Miko was setting up the Yae Publishing House, she ran into funding issues. After considering the shrine's current rituals, she decided to target the Town Fire Festival, an old tradition, for additional revenue.

Normally, after watching the shrine maidens perform their dances, people would donate money, which was then split 60-40 between the Tenryou Commission and the shrine. Yae Miko wasn't happy with this arrangement—why should her shrine maidens perform for the old men at the Tenryou Commission while they took a cut of the profits?

Yae Miko, dissatisfied with this, devised a new plan, transforming the Town Fire Festival into something more lucrative.

The form of divine worship was no longer about shrine maidens performing dances but had transformed into a grand light novel competition.

The organization responsible for managing the event and publishing the works, "Yae Publishing House," smoothly used the funds from the "Jin-Hinokoto Festival" to kickstart its operations, with all subsequent publication revenues naturally flowing into the shrine's coffers.

"But… even though the story is impressive, and Yae Miko is certainly skilled, what does this novel competition have to do with a ramen vendor like me?"

"My Legend of the Condor Heroes isn't finished yet, so I can't participate anyway."

"Hehe, don't be so hasty… I haven't finished explaining yet," Onodera said, taking another sip of his drink, clearly getting into the storytelling mood.

"This year, Chief Editor Yae Miko had a new idea! She's planning to organize a grand food festival, led by our Yae Publishing House in collaboration with the Tenryou Commission, the Light Novel Association, and the Inazuma Food Association. Together, they're launching a brand-new initiative!"

"The 'First Inazuma Gourmet and Light Novel Festival'!"

"That name is way too long!" Teiyu couldn't help but complain.

"Hehe, don't worry about those details. What you need to know is that this festival comes with rich rewards," Onodera said mysteriously.

"The top three winners will receive not only a large sum of Mora and rare recipes as special rewards, but the first prize will even include the legendary *Vision* as a special award, personally presented by Chief Editor Yae Miko!"

Onodera casually glanced at Teiyu and was satisfied to see his previously inattentive eyes light up.

A Vision!

Teiyu couldn't help but feel a bit excited. Who wouldn't want to possess the most unique and extraordinary power in this world? He didn't have a Vision yet… Every time he saw others flaunting theirs, he couldn't deny that he wanted one too.

As for the idea of receiving the prize directly from Yae Miko… well, that didn't matter as much. If he wanted to see Yae Miko, he could just visit the shrine; it was the Vision that truly mattered!

"Ahem, don't say any more, I'll participate… Not for the Mora or the Vision or anything… Just to compete against other top chefs… yeah…" Teiyu said a bit awkwardly, trying to hide his true motivation.

"Hehe, I'll definitely be there to support you, Rainy Night-sensei!"

Onodera chuckled, clearly pleased.

"I knew you'd take the bait. Chief Editor Yae's strategy works every time."

===============

After three rounds of drinks and five dishes…

"Rainy Night-sensei, you really are multitalented! You have a knack for both making ramen and writing books. Back when *Legend of the Condor Heroes* first came out, no one thought it would succeed, but it suddenly blew up… that's true skill…"

"You okay?… If you can't handle your drinks, just go sit at the kids' table…"

Teiyu sighed, seeing that Onodera was already tipsy after just a few cups. He wasn't very good at holding his liquor.

Looks like I'll have to take him home later… What a hassle!

=======

"…Very sorry to trouble you…"

Teiyu was speechless as he looked at the apologetic owner, who kept bowing in apology, while the drunken shopkeeper was in the back swearing brotherhood with Onodera, calling him his sworn brother.

Teiyu could only rub his forehead in exasperation: "Why did the owner get drunk too? It's almost like there won't be anyone to settle the bill… What kind of mess is this?!"

========

"Let's go."

Supporting the drunken Onodera, Teiyu stepped out the door. The gentle breeze dispersed the day's heat from the air. Cherry blossoms swirled around, gently landing on the river's surface, calming his mind.

"Of course, it would be better if I weren't stuck supporting this drunkard!"

Teiyu walked along, deep in thought.

Onodera had brought a new contract from Yae Miko today. Generally speaking, it was a continuation of the previous agreement; *Legend of the Condor Heroes* would continue under the terms of the first contract, though many conditions had changed, representing a sort of compromise.

Even though Teiyu didn't quite trust Yae Miko to be so generous, he had no choice but to go along with it. If he couldn't outsmart the cunning fox, he might as well play along. After all, he was the one writing the book.

And at the end of each month, he could still go to Yae Miko to claim his end-of-month bonus.

Next time, I'll give it a shot. After all, I won't lose out on anything, hehe~

…

However, Yae Miko also imposed a new condition: he had to meet her word count requirement every month.

But Teiyu didn't need her reminder to stay motivated. The readers in Liyue were getting impatient, worried that the book might get cut off. Now that he was given a second chance, he couldn't afford to let his readers down.

…

"Alright."

Teiyu tossed the drunken Onodera onto his bed and left his house.

Man, a bachelor's place really is… It's an understatement to call it a pigsty!

A gold or silver nest can't beat your own little den… 

My own place is still better, and the pink-haired little fox visits too.

Strolling leisurely, enjoying the cool breeze, Teiyu slowly made his way back to his own home.

From a distance, he noticed a few familiar figures lingering by his door.

"Huh, isn't that Itto, along with a few members of the Arataki Gang?" Teiyu wondered, "But why is Itto wearing a ronin's hat? Strange."

"Itto, have you guys been waiting long?"

As he approached, Teiyu casually greeted the members of the Arataki Gang.

"Mmm…"

They responded softly, all looking a bit downcast.

"Are you guys… okay?"

The normally cheerful and boisterous Arataki Gang was now uncharacteristically quiet. What was going on?

Arataki Itto, who was leading them, was silent for a while before taking off his hat, revealing a round, bald head. His red oni horns stood out even more against his shaved scalp.

"I'm planning to become a monk, Teiyu."

"Huh?!"

——

If you're interested in reading ahead, feel free to visit my patron which has over 20+ advanced chapters:

https://www.patreon.com/SenatusPopulus