Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume5 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 2===

So –

Kamito and his friends, dressed in their uniforms, took a carriage ride to the port.

The sacred Biblion was apparently located not too far from here; plain and simple wooden structures were set up side-by-side in this area of the port, creating a lively atmosphere like that of a shopping street holding a celebration.

In addition, the various countries of the continent had also combined to raise funds for various food and entertainment facilities to welcome the spectators of the Blade Dance.

Because this was the original spirit world, which humans were forbidden to live in, this fantasy street would only appear for a few days.

It was a sight only visible during the Blade Dance.

"Wow – clear skies today."

"Mm, because we are on the clouds, of course."

Claire stretched like a cat as she walked, she and Kamito chatted while walking together.

Then, a cool refreshing breeze blew past, and Claire's tresses, tied into twintails, swayed in the wind.

Hanging distantly in the sky, the floating island — Ragna Ys — should have stood no chance against fierce winds, but because this sacred land had the additional protection of the Wind Elemental Lord, it was in no danger of being blown away.

Small flying crafts flew one by one between the gaps in the clouds and arrived at the port.

As the main event of the Blade Dance was about to begin, nobles from countries all over the continent had already begun to gather here.

"This really is spectacular."

"Only on the floating island can you see such a view."

Ellis and Rinslet expressed their amazement in muttered exclamations.

"... It would have been great if Fianna could have come with us."

While muttering, Kamito raised his head to the clear, vast blue sky.

At the moment, Fianna seemed to be searching for a way to destroy the Brand of Darkness imprinted on Kamito. She had been tirelessly visiting old acquaintances from her time at the Divine Ritual Institute.

"Later, let's buy some gifts to take back for Fianna, alright?"

"Mmm, yeah."

The slate street was lined with a wide variety of shops.

As they were only temporary stalls, the materials they were made of were not particularly impressive. However, the craftsmen or chefs working inside were top talents who had been recruited from many countries. The Blade Dance was an excellent opportunity to showcase the nation's prestige so countries tended to generously spend huge sums of money on it.

The group walked to the heart of the shopping street and passed a group of tourists who had just alighted from a flying craft.

"I didn't want to say this, but this place really is terribly crowded."

"Men everywhere... I'm starting to feel dizzy."

Ellis and Rinslet looked around uneasily.

It seems that the ladies, having grown up in such a sheltered environment, were not used to such bustling places.

Furthermore, the city here was different from the academy town: men accounted for a greater proportion of the people here. Although they were among the best elementalists, here they immediately turned back into pure innocent girls. Whenever a man passing by quickly brushed shoulders with them, they would let out small squeals and press themselves tightly against Kamito.

Claire was no exception. From the very start, she had repeatedly been sticking close to Kamito then immediately pulling away.

Whenever she leaned against Kamito, she would move away blushing; when she next bumped into a strange passer-by, she would go back to Kamito.

(This foolish girl, what is she doing?)

When Claire leaned into him again, Kamito quickly took her hand.

"Aaaah! W-What are you doing!"

The fiery cat maiden cried angrily, her face red.

"Who taught you how to walk so unsteadily? That's awfully dangerous."

"Well... o-okay, I'll let you hold my hand, but in here only."

As the two of them held hands, Claire turned her gaze aside shyly.

"You're too cunning..."

Rinslet puffed her cheeks unhappily, then grabbed Kamito's empty other hand.

"Rinslet?"

"I-I'm afraid of you getting lost, so hold on to me tight."

Then Ellis, too, joined in; seeing that both Kamito's hands were full, she had no choice but to latch onto his arm.

"E-Ellis...!"

"Hey... Captain! You're blocking the way here!"

"I-It's you, not me! Let go of Kamito's hand now!"

"Ah... all of you, I can't walk like this!"

The girls, all clinging to Kamito, began to quarrel.

They made such a scene that nearby passers-by started to whisper among themselves.

"Quick, look over there, three noble girls are serving that young man, wow." "That's because he's the rumored male elementalist, you know..."

"That's too wicked of him, to sink his fangs into those poor delicate girls." "But, take a look at those girls' expressions; they don't seem to hate him at all." "They must be under some kind of strange magic spell, of course."

(Well... this situation seems to have gotten a little worse...)

Kamito had long been used to hostility from strangers.

However, he did not wish to tarnish the reputations of the ladies he partnered with.

"I say... there are far too many people here, so why don't we find someplace cooler to rest?"

"Mm, that sounds good..."

Claire and the others nodded to show their agreement. It seems they were also thinking the same thing.

They looked around in search of a shop they could have a cup of tea at. And then –

"Kamito-san, look... there's a ''La Parfait'' shop over there!"

Rinslet pointed towards a chic-looking café across the road.

"Say, is that the famous ''La Parfait''!? I've always wanted to try their cakes."

"If I remember correctly, this café is very popular throughout the empire... I-I'm kind of interested as well."

Even Claire and Ellis knew of it. Evidently, the business that had set up that temporary stall was very famous.

"... In that case, shall we go there?"

"Agreed!" "Yes!" "Mmhm...!"

The trio nodded in agreement and dragged Kamito towards it.