Chapter 158: The Glittering Lights Festival

Lily had stopped listening several seconds ago, her attention already fixed on the food stalls ahead. "Oh, we’re going there," she announced, pulling Maki forward.

Maki caught the back of her clothes. "We’re not buying everything."

"I’m not buying everything."

"You said that last time."

"I’ve matured."

Maki looked at the rows of grilled meat, sweet buns, fried Mana potatoes, caramelized fruit, noodles, and colorful festival candy. "You’ve matured?"

"Yes. I’m planning to buy things more efficiently now."

"That’s my girl," Reinhard nodded approvingly. "Efficient spending is an important skill."

"You’re encouraging her," Maki looked at him.

"I’m supporting economic growth."

Yuna laughed while Emily smiled beside him, and the group eventually gave up trying to control Lily’s spending.

Rhea had already joined her. The moment Lily bought a plate of grilled meat, Rhea casually reached over and stole a piece.

Lily stared at her. Rhea ate it with a completely innocent expression. "What?"

"That was mine."

"I was making sure it wasn’t poisoned."

"You ate it."

"Exactly. Now we know."

Lily immediately stole something from Rhea’s plate in retaliation.

"Thief," Rhea gasped.

"You started it!"

"I was protecting you!"

"We’ve been here for less than five minutes," Mara sighed as the two continued arguing.

"It lasted longer than I expected," Kael glanced at her.

"I thought they’d start sooner," Adrian nodded.

Reinhard laughed as he watched the two food thieves continue their rivalry. It was exactly the sort of evening he had wanted after everything they had gone through.

No missions. No Bloodkin. No Singularity. Just everyone enjoying themselves.

They eventually reached the first festival game, a ring-toss stall surrounded by children and young couples.

Lily immediately challenged everyone, and Maki, Rhea, and Yuna all accepted, with Yuna joining after Lily insisted. Reinhard stood beside Emily and watched the first round.

Lily missed. Rhea missed. Maki landed one. Yuna landed two. Lily complained that the rings were defective.

Reinhard picked one up and tossed it casually. It landed perfectly on the highest-value target. The vendor stared.

"Was that supposed to be difficult?" Reinhard looked at the target, then at the vendor.

"For most people," the vendor said, slightly embarrassed.

"Right," he nodded.

Emily covered a laugh with her hand.

"You cheated!" Lily pointed at him.

"I didn’t cheat."

"You used your S-Rank senses."

"I prefer the term strategic advantage," Reinhard said, putting a hand over his chest.

"That’s cheating," Maki sighed.

"Fine. I cheated," he shrugged.

The vendor handed him the largest prize, a ridiculous glowing stuffed dragon. He immediately gave it to Emily.

"Thank you," she accepted it with a small smile.

"You’re welcome."

Lily stared at the stuffed dragon. "That’s unfair."

"What is?"

"I wanted that."

"Then win one," he looked at her.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "I’ll help," Rhea leaned toward her.

"No," Maki immediately groaned. Too late. Lily and Rhea had already begun plotting.

While they prepared for another round, a few people nearby recognized Reinhard. "Wait, isn’t that Reinhard Ashcroft?"

"It is."

"That’s Emily."

"The Ashcroft Family!"

More heads turned. The small crowd around the game grew as people realized who was standing there. Someone asked for a picture, then another person approached Emily, and within moments several people were smiling and taking photographs.

Reinhard didn’t mind. He even put an arm around Emily and smiled for one of the pictures.

Then someone farther back recognized Archon. "I-It’s Lady Archon!"

The reaction was immediate, people turning toward her as the excitement spread through the crowd.

"The Void!"

"That’s really her!"

"She’s here with the Ashcrofts!"

Archon stood there calmly as more people gathered around her. Reinhard looked at her, then began slowly walking away.

"You are leaving me," she noticed.

"You’re famous now. Enjoy your fans," he said without stopping.

Emily laughed. Archon stared at his back before turning toward the crowd.

"He abandoned you," Rhea was already laughing.

"Yes," Archon looked at her.

"That’s hilarious."

"Apparently."

"Wait! There’s another game!" Lily suddenly grabbed Reinhard’s arm as he tried to escape the crowd.

"What kind?" he looked at her.

"A shooting game."

He glanced at Emily, who immediately knew what he was thinking. "Don’t."

"I’m just looking."

"Reinhard."

"I’m an innocent customer." He walked toward the shooting stall anyway.

The game used small Mana cannons to shoot moving targets. Reinhard picked one up, and his Advanced Mana Perception immediately showed him the exact movement of every target. He fired once, and a target dropped. He fired again, and another dropped.

The vendor’s smile slowly disappeared.

He fired a third time, and another target fell. He lowered the weapon. "Would you like me to pretend I can’t see the mechanism?"

"Please," the vendor sighed.

Emily laughed. "He’s ruining the game," Rhea leaned toward Seraphine.

"He’s incapable of seeing a challenge without optimizing it," Seraphine said calmly, watching him.

"That sounded like criticism," Reinhard looked toward her.

"It was an observation."

"Then allow me to make an observation." She raised an eyebrow. "You’re standing next to a stall full of prizes."

She immediately understood what he was suggesting. "No."

Reinhard smiled.

Five minutes later, Seraphine was wearing an illusionary festival mask that made her look like an elderly man. Reinhard wore one that made him look like an elderly woman.

"Seraphine," Maki stared at them.

"He convinced me," she said, adjusting the mask calmly.

"It was an excellent argument," he nodded.

"What was the argument?"

"I asked if she wanted to have fun."

"It was persuasive," Seraphine nodded.

"Take those off," Mara looked at the two of them.

Reinhard and Seraphine exchanged a glance.

Then they ran.

Rhea immediately burst into laughter and chased after them. "Get back here!" Lily followed her, and Maki started running after Seraphine as well. "You stole my festival charm!"

"It was part of the plan!"

"You didn’t tell me there was a plan!"

Reinhard laughed as he ran beside Seraphine through the crowded street. "You know, you’re surprisingly good at this."

"I have excellent decision-making," she laughed softly.

"That’s debatable."

"You’re the one who started this."

"And you joined."

"That was my mistake."

They turned a corner while Rhea and Lily chased them. Mara followed behind, calling for everyone to stop. Yuna was laughing so hard she had to slow down, and even Kael was smiling.

Emily and Archon remained behind, watching the entire disaster unfold. "He is troublesome," Archon looked at Emily.

"Very," she nodded.

Reinhard looked back and spotted them. "Honey!" he shouted. "Tell them we’re innocent!"

"You’re absolutely not!" Emily cupped her hands around her mouth.

Seraphine laughed beside him. "She’s not helping."

"She’s never helped me in these situations."

They kept running until Reinhard suddenly used a tiny burst of S-Rank speed to turn a corner and disappear, Seraphine following him.

"He cheated!" Rhea stopped.

"He did!" Lily pointed ahead.

"Of course he did," Mara sighed.

Eventually everyone regrouped farther down the street. Seraphine removed her mask while trying not to laugh, and Reinhard was still grinning.

"You used your new abilities to escape," Maki pointed at him.

"I prefer the term tactical retreat."

"You ran."

"Very tactically."

Even Mara finally laughed.

The group continued through the festival after that, moving between food stalls and games without worrying about who was watching. At one point, Rika found a stall selling miniature festival blades and began inspecting them with far more seriousness than the objects deserved.

Kael discovered a quiet tea stall and disappeared there for several minutes, while Adrian followed, apparently deciding that was safer than letting Lily drag him into another game.

Mara and Yuna eventually ended up discussing which festival attractions had the best crowd flow, only for Reinhard to tell them they were both treating a vacation like a military operation.

Rhea stole more of Lily’s food. Lily retaliated. Seraphine joined Maki at another game and immediately started analyzing the probability of winning. Reinhard cheated again.

Nobody was surprised.

The night continued until a group of Awakeners from outside the city wandered toward them, clearly drunk, their voices louder than everyone else’s and their balance noticeably worse. One of them recognized Reinhard. "You’re that guy."

"I’ve been called worse," he said, taking another bite of food.

"You’re only famous because of Emily."

"Pretty boy," another laughed.

"I heard you’re a fraud," a third looked him over.

Reinhard didn’t react. Emily did, her expression gradually turning colder.

One of the drunk men stepped forward and grabbed Reinhard’s shoulder. "Why don’t you prove you’re not weak?"

He glanced down at the hand, then looked toward Emily.

"Don’t," she sighed.

"I’m not doing anything."

"You’re thinking about letting me handle it."

"Maybe."

The man pulled Reinhard toward him and Emily moved. Her fist struck him directly in the stomach, sending him backward before he collapsed.

The second man stepped forward, and she drove her elbow into his abdomen before following with another strike that knocked him unconscious. The third raised his fist, but she stepped aside and struck him cleanly across the jaw. He dropped.

The entire confrontation lasted only a few seconds.

Lily burst out laughing. Maki covered her mouth. Yuna smiled. Rika nodded approvingly.

"Efficient," Kael looked at the unconscious men.

"Very," Adrian nodded.

"At least nobody was seriously hurt," Mara sighed.

Reinhard was grinning like an idiot. Emily turned around and immediately saw him approaching. He walked straight toward her, wrapped both arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You’re enjoying this far too much," she sighed.

"I don’t care."

"Reinhard."

"My wife just beat up three people for insulting me. I’m allowed to enjoy this."

"I didn’t do it because you needed protection."

"I know."

"They were annoying."

"That’s even better."

Emily tried to move. Reinhard followed. She sighed again.

"He’s never letting this go," Lily pointed at them.

"Unfortunately," Emily said.

"Did everyone see that? My wife is incredible," Reinhard smiled proudly.

"She really is," Rhea immediately joined him.

"Don’t encourage him," Maki shook her head.

"It’s already too late," Yuna laughed.

"You all finally understand why I married her," Reinhard looked at Emily.

"You didn’t exactly have to explain that," she glanced back at him.

"I like reminding people."

Emily couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

Eventually the group settled down near a quieter section of the festival as the fireworks began. The entire city seemed to darken as enormous magical creatures appeared across the sky, a golden dragon soaring between the buildings before dissolving into a phoenix, which scattered into thousands of lights.

A giant moon appeared overhead, followed by glowing flowers that bloomed across the darkness.

Lily stared upward in amazement.

Maki smiled beside her.

Yuna quietly watched the sky.

Rhea leaned against Kael while eating another snack. Adrian pointed out one of the fireworks to Mara, who pretended she wasn’t impressed. Rika watched the magical display with a small smile, while Seraphine stood beside Maki, quietly explaining how the illusionary formations worked. Archon simply looked upward.

Emily rested against Reinhard, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. This time, she didn’t complain.

After several minutes, he quietly asked, "Happy?"

She looked at him. "Very." She paused before smiling. "But don’t get used to me saying that."

"Too late," he laughed.

Emily leaned closer.

For a moment, Reinhard simply looked at everyone around them. Lily was laughing at something Rhea had said, Maki trying to keep the two of them from starting another food fight.

Yuna and Mara were talking quietly, while Rika, Kael, Adrian, and Seraphine enjoyed the fireworks in their own ways, Archon standing among them without needing to watch over anyone.

He thought about how different this scene was from the life Emily had once expected to have. There had been a time when she had spent her days in a wheelchair, listening to doctors tell her that her Gnosis was broken and that she should stop hoping.

There had been a time when even something as simple as walking through a festival would have seemed impossible.

Now she was standing beside him beneath thousands of lights, laughing with people she cared about, while the family she had built around herself enjoyed the night with her.

He tightened his arm around her.

"What?" she looked up at him.

"Nothing."

"You were staring."

"I was thinking that you look happy."

"I am," she smiled softly.

He looked back toward the others. "So am I."

The fireworks continued above them, filling the night with color while everyone remained together beneath the lights. For once, Reinhard wasn’t thinking about Baal, Black Moon, investments, or the next battle. He simply looked at the people around him and smiled.

There would be enemies tomorrow.

There would be secrets to uncover, battles to fight, and another mountain waiting for them to climb. But tonight, none of that mattered. For tonight, Reinhard had everything he wanted standing beside him.

And for the first time in a very long while, Emily wasn’t looking toward the future with fear. She was simply looking forward to tomorrow.