I Am the 5-Year-Old Spy Who Kidnapped the Villain - Chapter 229

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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【Special Side Story Episode 7】
In the moment I looked away, my vision filled entirely with people.
There was no way I could find Kail in this chaos.
Everyone was intoxicated with excitement, swaying to the rhythm—I couldn’t squeeze through, and the noise was deafening.
That’s when it happened.
“Why are your hands empty? It’s a festival! Everyone should be holding a goblet of date wine!”
A laughing woman, jostled about among the crowd just like me, suddenly linked her arm through mine and pointed somewhere.
“See that goblet painted on the panel over there? Go there and they’ll give you wine and appetizers for free. So enjoy yourself!”
“Oh, I see.”
“And the festival will start soon, so if you see someone you like, mark them beforehand. Well then, goodbye!”
The woman patted my shoulder and swayed away into the crowd.
I was cautious for a moment, thinking she might be a con artist.
But she seemed like a festival regular who simply wanted to help when she saw my bewildered expression.
‘The Red Veiled Woman—we’re wearing the same color.’
Feeling an odd sense of kinship, I waved my hand after her.
“This is completely different from the Masquerade Ball in the Frozen Kingdom…”
I looked around with fascination.
To think I’d confused these two festivals just because they both involved masks.
If the Masquerade Ball was a dignified partner dance for elderly people in their sixties, this place was practically a nightclub.
My excitement faded quickly, replaced by despair at how much harder it would be to find Kail.
“How am I supposed to find Kail like this? Oh, right. The veil! I just need to find the purple veil.”
While there were many similar shades of purple veils, fortunately the ones the attendants had prepared for us were made of far more luxurious fabric.
In fact, there were almost no others wearing veils with the same subtle yet refined sheen as mine and Kail’s.
So I just needed to find a man wearing an expensive-looking purple veil!
That’s when it happened.
“Everyone, I see you’re warming up to truly enjoy the festival! Excellent, very excellent!”
With a resonant chime, the Announcer appeared on the Pedestal.
“We’re preparing the Campfire for the festival that will begin shortly, so please return to your positions!”
The excited crowd surprisingly obeyed and stepped back in an orderly fashion.
Then eight burly men appeared, grunting as they carried an enormous log.
It must be the Campfire before the flames were lit.
As the massive decoration—like a leafless tree—appeared, people naturally formed a circle around it.
“You there, enjoying the festival for the first time. Stand next to us!”
As I stood uncertainly, a group of young men called out to me.
I hurried over to them.
“How does the festival proceed?”
First, I needed to understand how this place worked if I was going to find Kail.
Fortunately, the festival veterans were happy to explain everything to a newcomer like me.
“When the Announcer signals the start, we’ll light the Campfire. And see how we’re standing in a circle right now?”
“Yes.”
“The ladies should remain in their positions, while the men step forward to form a small circle. When the music begins, the man and woman facing each other will dance together.”
“Ah, I see.”
“As you dance, you’ll converse with your partner. If you find them appealing, you can tear off a piece of their veil to keep. When the next song starts, the man moves to the side to dance with a different partner.”
It’s like going round and round!
The problem is, I have no idea how to dance in this country’s style.
It’s a bit foolish, perhaps, but since I’m the fool here anyway, I decided to simply ask.
“You don’t dance the waltz, do you?”
“The waltz? Hahahaha! You must be a traveler!”
The young men burst into laughter as if thoroughly amused.
Their boisterous, diaphragm-driven laughter resembled that of the King and Queen I’d met earlier today.
Everyone here is remarkably cheerful.
The men, who had been wiping tears from their eyes, patted me reassuringly.
“Just tell your partner if you don’t know how to dance. The people here will actually be curious and delighted. They’ll teach you well.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried they might shame me for not knowing.”
“From the way you speak, you seem to be a foreign noble. This will be an enjoyable experience for you.”
Just then, the Announcer called out.
“The Campfire is beginning!”
While conversing with the young men and looking to the side, I suddenly felt a warm glow and orange heat emanating from my left.
A massive Campfire, like a great tree, began blazing brilliantly.
“Men, please step inside!”
Following the Announcer’s direction, one of the young men I’d been talking with moved in front of me.
“It seems I’ll be your first dance partner.”
“I look forward to it, Green Veil Youth.”
At my words, he laughed again and extended his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, I gladly accepted it.
Even though I was married, at a Masquerade Ball in the Frozen Kingdom, dancing with another person of the opposite sex was perfectly acceptable.
Besides, Kail said he wanted me to enjoy myself first. What’s the harm?
Then, as a lively percussion dance melody began, purple and violet smoke enveloped us.
“What is this?”
“Atmosphere!”
I was startled, but the young man danced with unbridled joy.
My goodness, this is chaotic.
“With the smoke, you can’t see your partner as clearly! So you can focus more on conversation and atmosphere, freed from status and appearance!”
“Ah, I understand. So… you dance like this?”
“Exactly!”
Foreheads touching, hands clasped, spinning round and round.
The fact that you can converse while dancing like this—these people’s stamina is no joke.
As the song drew to a close, the young man tore off a corner of his veil and handed it to me.
“It was a pleasure to meet you. If I’ve made a good impression, please do seek me out later.”
“Do I need to give you something too?”
“That’s something you must ask yourself. Give if you wish, or simply remember this as a delightful dance!”
“Oh, I apologize. I came with my husband, and I’m looking for him.”
“Haha! That sounds fun too. I hope you recognize your husband well. Have a wonderful time!”
“Thank you!”
Still dancing with bouncy steps, the Green Veil Youth vanished like that.
In any case, I’d figured it out now.
The circle was quite large, but if the men danced in a full rotation like this, I was guaranteed to meet Kail eventually.
“You there, Blue Youth, hello!”
“From the way you speak, you must be a foreigner, haha!”
How do people here always figure out I’m a foreigner so quickly?
In any case, I mustered every last bit of stamina I had and danced.
With each dance that ended, my pocket accumulated one veil fragment from my partner.
Of course, even without me asking, most parted ways pleasantly like the Green Veil Youth, wishing me a good time—
“I truly adore you, my lady with those beautiful bronze eyes. Your foreign accent has applied the brakes to my monotonous, wheel-like existence.”
Despite my refusal, there was one who sang an earnest serenade.
“I wish to obtain your veil fragment and find you no matter what. To face your visage hidden within the thick smoke and crimson veil…”
“The next song has started! Why aren’t you coming? Hurry up!”
“Ack!”
However, his serenade did not last long.
When the woman waiting for her next partner beside him nagged, he slunk away like a dejected puppy.
“I chase away men like that right away. Got it?”
She was wearing a red veil.
Wait, wasn’t the woman who showed me where the snacks and drinks were earlier also wearing a red veil?
“Are you perhaps the one who explained things to me earlier?”
“That’s right—? Red veil. The fabric is so luxurious that I remember you too.”
She glared at the dejected man for a moment longer, then snorted and refused to dance with him.
Then, after asking permission from my current partner, she took my hand.
“Would you like to dance this song with me? My partner isn’t really my style.”
“Of course I’d love to!”
It was while the three of us—my male partner and I, with her in between—were dancing with fluttering movements.
“This is the final song of the first session!”
Just as I was about to exchange farewells with the people around me at the Announcer’s call, a massive shadow of a tall figure appeared beside me, looming before me.
“…I finally found you.”
A man with bronze eyes, draped in a purple veil.
“Did you enjoy your meetings with the others?”
It was Kail.
…Probably.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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