The week following our arrival in the Town of the First Hero flew by in an absolute blur of anticipation and preparation. The entire town was practically vibrating with energetic excitement as the locals decorated every single street, alleyway, and plaza. Massive, brightly colored banners featuring the crest of the ancient First Hero were draped gracefully from the high white stone walls, fluttering beautifully in the warm, gentle breeze. The air grew thicker with the sweet, mouth-watering scents of baking pastries, roasted meats, and blooming festival flowers.
Finally, after a week of waiting and watching the town transform, the Hero Festival happened.
It was a celebration on a scale I had never truly witnessed before. The moment the sun began to set on the first day of the festival, the streets erupted into pure, unadulterated joy. There were lively, synchronized dances happening in the main squares, with musicians playing lutes, drums, and flutes that sent cheerful, rhythmic melodies echoing through the ancient cobblestone streets. Laughter and cheering filled the evening air as people celebrated the legendary figure who had saved their world ten thousand years ago. There was an unbelievable amount of food lined up on incredibly long wooden tables that stretched endlessly down the town's main avenues. The entire class dove headfirst into the celebration, and we all genuinely had so much fun exploring the lively stalls, watching the magical fireworks light up the night sky, and enjoying the festive atmosphere.
As the night progressed, the festival organizers announced the main event of the evening: the grand, traditional Hero's Feast eating contest competition.
It was a massive, town-wide challenge to see which group could consume the largest mountain of rich, heavy festival food in a set amount of time. Without any hesitation, our entire adventure class signed up to participate. We were directed to a massive, incredibly long oaken table situated right in the center of the cheering crowd. Ma'am Cherha, Sir Vael, Lucian, Aria, Zane, Vela, Tokine, Elfhine, Elfrich, Elphyete, Euphyne, Celdrich, and me—we all sat down shoulder-to-shoulder, rolling up our sleeves and staring down the impossibly huge platters of roasted boars, thick stews, entire wheels of cheese, and towering stacks of sweet breads that were placed heavily in front of us.
When the starting horn blew, the table descended into absolute, competitive chaos. Some of our classmates tried their best but quickly hit their limits. Vela ate politely and delicately, tapping out after just one plate. Celdrich somehow managed to eat while never taking his eyes off a magical book he had brought with him, but his pace was incredibly slow. Zane and Euphyne started strong, their warrior physiques requiring a lot of calories, but the sheer density of the festival food eventually slowed them down to a crawl. The twins, Elfrich and Elfhine, spent more time laughing and feeding each other strange combinations of food than actually making a dent in their piles. Elphyete ate a respectable amount, her manners perfect as always, but she eventually set her fork down with a satisfied sigh. Ma'am Cherha ate with a steady, practiced rhythm, but she was more focused on making sure we didn't choke than winning the prize.
But despite the early dropouts, our group won the entire competition.
We completely demolished the other teams because our group got heavily carried by me, Aria, Lucian, and Sir Vael. Lucian ate like a starving, wild beast, shoveling entire roasted drumsticks into his mouth and swallowing them with terrifying speed, his eyes wide with competitive madness. Aria, not wanting to be outdone by Lucian in any physical challenge whatsoever, matched him bite for bite, her competitive spirit turning her into a bottomless pit as she rapidly consumed bowls of thick stew. I pushed myself to the absolute physical limit, eating plate after plate of heavy meats and breads, determined to secure the victory for our class. But the most shocking display came from Sir Vael. He didn't rush, he didn't sweat, and he didn't even look like he was trying. He just sat there, looking incredibly bored and sleepy, leisurely taking bites. Yet, somehow, entire platters of food simply vanished in front of him, as if his stomach contained an infinite, magical void. Thanks to the four of us, the judges blew the final horn and declared our class the undisputed champions of the festival, rewarding us with cheers, a massive trophy, and the respect of the entire town.
After the competition, the celebration continued late into the night. It was during this chaotic, joyful after-party that the incident happened. Amidst the cheering and the passing of countless cups and mugs, a massive mistake was made. Elphyete, reaching for a cup of sweet fruit juice, accidentally grabbed the wrong drink. I vividly remembered watching in horror as she accidentally drank alcohol—a highly potent, locally brewed festival spirit meant only for the most hardened townsfolk.
It was instantaneous. She instantly became absolutely, completely drunk as hell with just one tiny sip. Her beautiful face flushed a deep, vibrant crimson, her eyes completely lost their focus, and she swayed on her feet for a fraction of a second before she simply passed out right into my arms. I had to carefully carry her sleeping form all the way back to the inn, tuck her into bed, and try to get some sleep myself after the exhausting eating contest.
The next morning, the bright sunlight filtered heavily through the thin curtains of our room. I was deep in a peaceful, exhausted sleep when I got woken up by Elphyete.
But she wasn't waking me up gently. My eyes fluttered open to a situation I was entirely unprepared for. I was lying flat on my back, and I realized immediately that I am with her completely clinging onto me. She was wrapped around me like a vice, her arms locked tightly around my shoulders, her legs tangled heavily with mine. The residual effects of the potent festival alcohol from the night before hadn't completely worn off; instead of being passed out, it had left her in a state of hyper-affectionate, deeply uninhibited intoxication.
Before I could even speak a single word or ask if she was okay, she started repeatedly kissing me. Her lips pressed against my cheek, my jaw, the corner of my mouth, over and over again in a rapid, dizzying flurry of affection. I was completely paralyzed by shock, my heart hammering violently against my ribs as her soft lips moved constantly against my skin.
"Elphyete... wait..." I managed to stammer out, my face burning with a heat that rivaled the summer sun.
But she wasn't listening. She was completely lost in her own hazy, affectionate world. She shifted her weight, moving higher up on my chest, and she started even kissing my neck. She pressed her warm lips right against the side of my throat, right at the exact spot that she knew I am incredibly sensitive there. A massive, electric shiver shot straight down my spine, making me gasp loudly.
I panicked. My brain was completely short-circuiting from the intense, overwhelming sensory overload. I brought my hands up and I tried to push her away gently by her shoulders, trying to create just an inch of space so I could breathe and talk some sense into her intoxicated mind. But she was surprisingly strong, and she just whined softly, clinging to me even tighter and continuing her relentless assault of soft, warm kisses all over my face and my sensitive neck.
The heat in the room seemed to skyrocket. My heart was beating so incredibly fast that I felt lightheaded. Between the lingering exhaustion of the massive eating contest the night before and the sudden, intense rush of blood to my face, my senses began to completely blur. I got entirely "drunk" myself just by her repeatedly kissing me. The overwhelming, continuous physical affection was just too much for my nervous system to handle all at once. My vision actually started to swim, the edges of the room growing dark as the intense fluttering in my chest reached an absolute peak. Unable to process the sheer volume of her affection, my eyes rolled back, and I just passed out completely cold right there on the mattress.
Hours passed in total darkness.
When we finally woke up again, the lighting in the room had completely changed. The bright morning sun had vanished, replaced by the long, golden shadows of the mid-afternoon. We had slept straight through the morning and the midday, completely missing breakfast and lunch.
I groaned, slowly opening my heavy eyes, my brain feeling thick and entirely confused. I sat up slowly, rubbing my face. For a moment, it seemed like absolutely nothing happened. The room was quiet, the town outside was peaceful, and Elphyete was sitting up next to me, looking significantly more sober and coherent than she had during her morning ambush.
But then, I reached up to scratch an itch on my cheek, and I felt a strange, faint tenderness. I quickly swung my legs over the side of the bed, walked over to the small, slightly cracked mirror hanging on the wooden wall of the inn's bedroom, and I stared at my reflection in pure, unadulterated horror.
My face and my neck were an absolute disaster. It wasn't that nothing had happened—it was that I have a lot of prominent, bright red kiss marks completely covering my face and traveling all the way down the side of my sensitive neck. I looked like I had been attacked by a swarm of highly affectionate, red-lipped bees. I stood there, frozen, staring at the undeniable physical evidence of her intoxicated morning rampage, my mouth hanging slightly open in pure shock.
Behind me on the bed, Elphyete shifted. She looked at my reflection in the mirror, taking in the chaotic tapestry of red marks she had proudly painted all over my skin. Instead of apologizing or looking embarrassed, Elphyete just chuckled. It was a soft, slightly raspy laugh. She raised a delicate hand, gently rubbing her temples with her fingers, and she looked at me with a tired smile. She said, "My head feels dizzy."
The sheer absurdity of the entire situation finally hit me. I looked at her, looked back at my completely marked-up face in the mirror, and the shock suddenly bubbled up into genuine amusement. I couldn't help it. I laughed out loud, shaking my head at how ridiculous and unbelievable the morning had been.
"I'm not surprised," I said, still laughing as I turned around to face her, gesturing broadly to the overwhelming amount of red marks on my neck. "We should drink a lot of water. Both of us."
She nodded in absolute agreement, giving me a soft, apologetic smile as she continued to rub her aching head. We took a few minutes to compose ourselves, gathering our clothes and trying to smooth down our messy hair. I tried my best to pull the high collar of my travel shirt up to hide the worst of the obvious kiss marks on my neck, though I knew it was a losing battle if anyone looked closely.
We left the quiet room and we went downstairs into the main tavern area of the inn. The common room was mostly empty, the festival-goers likely still recovering in their own homes. We approached the wooden bar and asked the innkeeper for a large pitcher. We stood there and aggressively drank water, downing cup after cup until the cool, refreshing liquid finally began to clear the heavy, lingering fog of the hangover from Elphyete's head and the lingering exhaustion from mine.
Once we were fully hydrated and feeling significantly more human, we decided we needed some fresh air. We left the dim tavern and we strolled outside to see the town. The bustling energy of the festival from the night before had completely vanished, replaced by a quiet, lazy afternoon atmosphere. We walked in a comfortable silence, our shoulders occasionally brushing against each other, until we reached the outskirts of the white stone town.
There, we found the beautiful rivers that flowed endlessly through the surrounding valleys. The water was crystal clear, sparkling brilliantly under the afternoon sun, rushing over smooth, ancient stones with a gentle, incredibly soothing sound.
We found a quiet, shaded spot beneath a massive, weeping willow tree right by the riverbank. We managed to borrow a pair of simple wooden fishing rods from a nearby local, cast our lines into the gentle current, and we fished for hours. It was exactly what we both needed. The peaceful, rhythmic motion of the water, the quiet rustling of the willow leaves above us, and the complete lack of chaos allowed us to truly relax. We didn't catch much, but the fishing was merely an excuse to sit closely together in the serene environment, recovering our strength and simply enjoying the quiet companionship after the wild intensity of the past twenty-four hours. We sat there, watching the water ripple, until the sun began to dip low behind the distant mountains, painting the sky in vibrant strokes of orange and purple.
As the evening chill began to set in, we reeled in our lines, returned the wooden rods, and we went back to the inn. The rest of our adventure class was already gathering in the main dining hall, looking thoroughly rested. They cast a few curious, questioning glances at the high collar of my shirt and the faint red smudges still visible on my cheeks, but thankfully, no one asked any direct questions.
We all sat down together at the large wooden tables and we all ate a hearty, warm dinner of roasted vegetables and thick, savory broth. The food was incredible, but as my stomach filled, the adrenaline and the residual energy of the day finally crashed completely. The massive eating contest, the overwhelming morning of endless kisses, the dizzying spell of passing out, and the long, peaceful hours by the river had completely drained every single ounce of stamina from my body.
Elphyete looked equally exhausted, her eyelids drooping heavily as she quietly finished her meal. We quickly said our goodnights to Ma'am Cherha, Sir Vael, and the rest of the class, and we slowly dragged our heavy feet up the wooden stairs to our separate room.
The moment we stepped inside and closed the door, the sheer weight of our exhaustion took over. We didn't even bother to change our clothes or light the candle on the bedside table. We were so unbelievably tired that we just walked straight to the mattress, fell in bed entirely fully clothed, and the moment our heads hit the soft pillows, we closed our eyes and we slept, plunging instantly into a deep, dreamless, and incredibly well-deserved slumber.