SWNOVELXO Chapter 5 Part 13
The woman’s name was Marie.
She said that on the day of last year’s Otherworld Festival, she met a man here.
“I feel a bit dizzy… Maybe the crowd is making me lightheaded.”
On the night of the Otherworld Festival, as she was making her way through the throng of people, Marie was suddenly struck by a wave of dizziness.
She looked around for a place to sit, but the crowd was too dense, and no such spot was in sight.
Then, just as she was about to collapse, a man caught her, steadying her swaying body.
“Are you alright?”
He was wearing an orange mountain parka with the hood up.
In the dark of night, she couldn’t see his face, but he had a solid, reassuring build.
“Ah… thank you. I suddenly felt dizzy.”
“There’s a bench nearby. You should sit down for a bit.”
She had been wary of the man’s appearance at first, but his sincere demeanor quickly put her at ease.
He didn’t seem like a bad person at all.
The bench they sat on that night was the very one we were sitting on now.
After helping Marie sit down, the man bought her a bottle of mineral water from a nearby stall and stayed with her for a while.
As she rested, her dizziness gradually subsided, and she realized it had been a mild case of anemia.
While they were together, the man entertained her with stories of unusual lands and strange occurrences.
He spoke of unseen worlds, landscapes unique to distant countries, peculiar customs, and the people he had met.
Marie was quickly drawn in by his mysterious tales and his gentle personality.
“You’re fascinating. Where are you from?”
“I am—”
At that moment, a grand firework burst in the sky.
A blazing flower of fire lit up the festival night.
Both of them were captivated by its brilliance.
“It’s beautiful…”
“I’m glad I got to see it again this year.”
“Again?”
“I love these fireworks. I come to see them every year.”
For a while, they simply watched the fireworks together in silence. Then, eventually, he stood up quietly.
“I’ve enjoyed talking with you so much, I lost track of time. I should be going.”
“Wait… will we meet again?”
“If fate allows it, we will.”
And with that, before she could even properly thank him, the man disappeared from her sight.
“So, Marie, you’re waiting here in hopes of seeing him again?”
“Yes. I thought maybe if I stayed here, I’d meet him again.”
“Have you seen him since?”
“Not once. He seemed like a traveler, always wandering. But he said he looked forward to this city’s fireworks, so I thought… maybe, just maybe, he’d come back for the Otherworld Festival.”
“I see… Oh, but didn’t the fireworks artisan pass away last year?”
“What…?”
Marie widened her eyes in shock, but quickly composed herself and lowered her gaze.
“I thought if the fireworks lit up the sky, I might see him again… but I see. I suppose it just wasn’t meant to be.”
With that, Marie stood up.
“Thank you for listening. Talking to you both has made me feel a little better.”
“Are you really okay with this? Just giving up so easily? You liked him, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know. I just… I haven’t been able to forget the time we spent together. But he was just someone I met by chance at the festival. Deep down, I always thought we’d probably never meet again.”
“That’s called love, you know. It would be such a waste to just give up. Right, Sophie?”
I turned to look at Sophie, who was, at that moment, solemnly finishing off the last skewer of grilled meat.
Her plate was nearly empty.
“Hey, you! You—you absolute glutton! You ate my share too!”
“Mmm… munch munch gulp… mmph.”
“Swallow your food before you talk! I swear, I’ll dig it out with my tongue if I have to!”
As I grabbed Sophie by the collar and shook her, Marie let out a soft chuckle.
We exchanged glances before turning back to her.
“Hey now, we’re not putting on a show here.”
“Hehe… sorry. You two really are something.”
“Marie, why don’t you come back here tomorrow? If we find your mystery man, I’ll bring him to you. It won’t hurt to wait just a little longer before you decide to give up.”
Marie smiled at that.
But there was a loneliness in that smile, something fragile.
“…Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”
After watching Marie leave, I muttered to myself, and Sophie shook her head.
“There’s no guarantee that man is even in this city. It’s wiser for her to let go.”
“But he said he comes every year.”
“If he really liked the fireworks that much, he would have checked the schedule. It was officially announced on the city’s website that there wouldn’t be any this year.”
“Yeah, maybe…”
Still, something about giving up just like that felt sad to me.
I wasn’t about to spout some cliché about fate, but… the idea that someone could hold onto a brief encounter for an entire year—wasn’t that something special?
We resumed our scouting for the parade route, this time heading toward the city’s outskirts.
We needed to consider how best to use our magic—where it would be most visible, how the streets were structured, and so on.
“When planning a major performance, knowing the layout of the venue is crucial.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“You have to think about how the audience will see it, and structure the magic accordingly.”
“I see.”
“…Are you even listening, Zuberry?”
“Huh?”
Sophie jabbed me in the side, making me yelp.
“Why are you looking around so much?”
“I was wondering if Marie’s mystery man might be here.”
“Even if he is, he won’t necessarily be wearing the same clothes. There are plenty of big guys in mountain parkas.”
“Yeah, but still…”
“You’re wasting your time.”
“You don’t know that unless you try.”
Just as I was arguing back, Sophie suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“What’s up?”
“Look…”
She pointed ahead.
A tall man with a large backpack was walking down the street, his hood pulled up over his head.
He was wearing an orange mountain parka.
Just like the man from Marie’s story.