Chapter 23: Lantern Festival?

Some people are just naturally insensitive to words.

Akai was one of them.

The next day, after another day of studying, Akai collapsed.

“Akai, did you remember?”

“I’m going to practice swordsmanship.”

Akai stood up like a wooden doll and stiffly walked outside.

He picked up the wooden sword in the yard and swung it as he muttered, “Hello… good morning…”

“No! No!”

Akai recalled the characters he’d just studied as he swung his sword harder.

They say you can’t focus on two things at once, but Akai, in this state, actually concentrated more.

The unfamiliar words gradually became clearer in his mind.

Lily and Mel had been teaching him so earnestly—he had to remember them, he couldn’t let them down.

Mel Carlo, on the other hand, didn’t think that deeply about it.

Compared to learning the language of this world, he felt it was more important to memorize the game’s content first.

“Let me think carefully.”

Mel Carlo tapped his head with a finger.

The Canderwin Continent was an IP with many derivative works, but perhaps the most impactful was the otome game.

The story was set in the Royal Academy, where a commoner protagonist rose up in a noble school.

At first, he hadn’t planned to play it, but since the same Canderwin Continent account gave rewards just for playing, he tried it out.

The first time he ate this kind of bland rice bran, it was surprisingly enjoyable—though a little embarrassing to tell others.

“Write it all down. Everything I can still remember, write it all in detail.”

Mel Carlo steadied his memory and categorized what he needed to write.

It was actually pretty quick to write them out one by one.

At this pace, he probably wouldn’t be able to do anything else for the rest of the week.

Training would have to be put aside for now—after all, the skills he could max out quickly were already at full proficiency; the rest would take much longer to practice.

“Mel, is this another kind of writing?”

Lily looked curiously at Mel Carlo’s notes.

“Yeah, remember to keep it a secret for me, okay?”

Mel Carlo smiled.

It didn’t matter whether it was a secret or not—no one in this world could read Chinese characters anyway.

He couldn’t think of a better way in the short term.

If he wanted to write all this down on paper and had to do it sneakily, that would be a real headache.

It was better to just be open about it.

He couldn’t record every single character perfectly, so he summarized as much as possible, focusing on the core content and important NPCs from the game.

Even if he hadn’t met them yet, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t in the future.

When Mel put down his pen and looked out at the training field in the yard, Akai had already disappeared.

“Where did Akai go?”

Mel asked Lily beside him.

“Went out with Chocolate.”

“Off to dig through trash cans with the little fatty again?”

Mel Carlo scratched his head.

“Yeah, after all, tomorrow is the Lu Lantern Festival.”

“Lu Lantern Festival?”

Mel Carlo sat down next to Lily, waiting for the girl to explain.

He could guess it was a festival in this other world, but the details were unclear.

“Did Mel forget even this?”

Lily hugged her knees with crossed arms and began to explain to Mel again.

“It’s a festival established to commemorate people driving away the darkness. I heard there used to be no Ore Lamps, so at night it was pitch black everywhere.”

“I’ve seen Ore Lamps. During the day, they don’t seem to emit light, but at night they glow red.”

“Yes, and tonight, shops won’t close, and there will be all kinds of free games in the city. People will indulge in delicious food and wine, with bonfires and dancing.”

Lily’s voice was very calm—not particularly happy—because she was keenly aware of her own situation.

They were orphans.

On this night, they didn’t have enough money to enjoy good food or wine.

That’s why Akai went out looking for food.

The gang did provide some food, but only just enough to keep them from starving.

It was impossible to eat their fill, let alone eat well.

Mel’s relationship with Anke was delicate—not good, but not exactly bad, either.

He couldn’t just demand food and drink out of wariness toward Anke.

He admitted his relationship with Anke wasn’t that close—just somewhat familiar.

After all, Anke could still teach a small amount of writing, and another issue was that books in this world seemed to be expensive.

In his previous life, official books were also pricey—a complete set of the Twenty-Four Histories would cost over a thousand.

The system contained chips, cola, instant noodles, mineral water—if he took them all out, they could have a feast, especially for kids.

But he had been hiding for three months now.

After sharing Big B Rabbit milk candy once, he hadn’t taken out any more items that didn’t belong in this world.

“Can we find a secluded place to eat a good meal? I mean, not in this yard, but away from the gang.”

Mel Carlo swallowed as he spoke.

He was from Earth, used to modern food, and hadn’t tasted those things in a long time.

It was rough.

This world might have gourmet food too, but with his current status, he couldn’t afford it.

“Sure, let’s go find Akai. We can play outside all night! But we can’t cause trouble, or the Guards will arrest us.”

“Of course.”

Mel Carlo understood.

It was a grand festival; shops didn’t close at night, and there would be lots of people outside.

The number and frequency of Guard patrols would increase, too.

He’d already washed his hands of crime; if he wanted to practice stealing skills, he could just find someone and train.

Just as the two crossed two streets, they ran into Akai and Chocolate, who called them over.

The little blond and the little fatty were both smiling happily.

“Mel, guess what we found?”

“A big rat?”

“No, half a roast chicken.”

Chocolate put down the burlap sack on his back and opened it.

Inside was half a leftover roast chicken, still fresh, though covered in kitchen scraps.

“There are also some vegetables we picked up from the market—things other people didn’t want. If we wash and boil them, they should be good. It’s a pity we don’t have noodles, or they’d be even better together.”

The nameless fifth member was also happy.

Happiness was rare in daily life; even leftover food like this wasn’t found every day.

“Leave the noodles to me. Tonight, just remember to find a secluded place so no one sees you, all right?”

Mel Carlo looked at the group, making up his mind.

Tonight, at least, they could have a proper meal.

No one would bother them.

“A secluded place? Leave it to me!”

Chocolate patted his chest.

Mel Carlo had system space, but he wouldn’t pull out instant noodles in front of everyone.

He’d wait until he could avoid them—it didn’t matter when, anyway.

There was no rush.