78 – Summer Vacation – 11
“What the hell are you going to use all that stuff for?”
“What, how is it? All of these things will become memories.”
Cordelia was lost. She’s a little to say a memory. I slipped her one step away from her. It’s a little hard to say this, but it’s because it was burdensome to stand next to him.
“Is it like this every year?”
“What?”
“I write like that every time… , No, did you buy so many souvenirs?”
I was going to say useless, but I hurriedly changed my words. But in my eyes, it seemed to be of no use to anyone.
During festivals, you can buy things you wouldn’t normally buy because of the atmosphere. I can fully understand. But that’s a little harsh. Cordelia was wearing street souvenirs all over her body.
On her head is a headband with indeterminate animal ears, be it a dog or a cat. Small wooden souvenirs and dolls filled with arms. At first glance, Misanga, also known as a wish bracelet, is on the wrist. And in her hands, even her curled up caricature of herself.
“It wasn’t like this before….”
Hestia slurred her words.
“What do you mean by this much?”
Cordelia was furious. It’s cute to see you excited like that. She would have looked cuter and acted more age-appropriate if she had only taken 10 years off her age.
“Anyway, the burning ceremony will begin soon, so come follow me.”
“No matter how much I hear the name of that fire type, I can’t get used to it.”
It’s an eerie name whenever you hear it. I know it’s a name with a plausible origin, but I can’t help but feel a little creepy.
“A long time ago, there was a real burning ceremony together. In a time when the tyrant’s followers and remnants still remained. We catch them and burn them together with the scarecrow during the harvest festival.”
“Ugh.”
Seol-ah’s expression turned pale. I’ve heard somewhere before that executions were a kind of entertainment in the past when there was not much to see or do, but it’s a little creepy to think of having fun while burning people as the highlight of the festival.
“Miss Cordelia. Both faces darkened. I’m going to watch it from now on, so what if you joke like that?”
“Puhahahahaha! Sorry. I didn’t expect you two to trust me so easily.”
At Hestia’s words, Cordelia grabbed her stomach and laughed. That was a lie too Seeing our hardened expression, Cordelia added reassurance.
“If you did that, the tradition would have ended in less than 10 years. Don’t worry. The only thing to burn is a huge scarecrow.”
“I’m glad. If it was really carrying people, I honestly thought about whether or not I should just go.”
“It’s not like that, so I’m just looking forward to it.”
“Yes, I look forward to it.”
A scarecrow is a scarecrow. How big do you have to grow
–
I reflected on the thought of how big the scarecrow had to grow to be, which I had done just 10 minutes ago.
“How are you, are you surprised?”
Cordelia said proudly. Her pride was evident in her expression. Is it the kind of feeling that makes foreigners feel proud when they come to Korea and eat delicious food and admire it in a place like entertainment? People live the same wherever they go.
“Yes, I was a bit surprised.”
That’s it, I honestly expressed my surprise. That’s enough to be expected. What kind of scarecrow is that tall? It seems to be several times larger than the moon house that was burned on the first full moon of the first lunar month. Considering that Daljip is simply a cone-shaped pile of straw, it is all the more surprising that it is in the shape of a human being.
“How did you make it?”
“I don’t know!”
Cordelia said with a refreshingly resolute tone.
“I heard that they call even wizards from the capital to make them. Exactly, I don’t know either. It must be a secret.”
I felt a little steam leaking. I thought something great was hiding, but it was magic again. It’s not some kind of cheat key, but if there’s something a little mysterious, they say it’s all magic.
“So, are you going to start a fire over there now?”
“Yes.”
I saw soldiers eagerly waiting in the corner. The bow was stuffed with oil-soaked cotton arrows. It looks like it will ignite with that.
I looked up at the scarecrow. Looking at it up close, it is so high that it makes my neck ache. It’s a little scary to think that that big thing is on fire.
“Has there been any accidents?”
“Accident?”
“Why, people get hurt because it falls in the middle, or a forest fire starts because of the embers….”
“No, no. Of course, all safety measures have been put in place.”
Anxiety overtook me. After talking like this, an accident always happens. It has to be some kind of double line. It’s similar to a soldier dying unconditionally in a war movie saying what he will do after he goes back.
Whether Seol-ah or Cordelia told them to be at ease that nothing would happen, nine out of ten accidents would happen. Is it because it is a world in a novel?
I decided not to relax. It didn’t match the word festival, but there were so many burns. While I was glaring at the scarecrow and wondering what might happen, a loud voice resounded among the people.
“Is everyone enjoying themselves!”
“Yes!”
I looked in the direction the voice came from. A few heads taller than others and an absurdly thick body.
“Well, good. I’m not going to say a long word for no reason.”
The owner of the voice was the Duke of Deneb. He broke through the crowd and stepped forward.
“Let go of your usual worries and have a good time.”
After he finished his short and bold story, he turned around. I wish the principal would see and learn about this.
At the same time, the soldiers who were waiting in advance put a demonstration. The flaming arrow embroidered the black night sky and headed for the scarecrow. The flame went to the scarecrow and touched it, and the scarecrow was also instantly engulfed in flames.
I looked at the scene with my mouth open. It was like a scene from a movie. Honestly, until Duke Deneb’s speech, I just felt like watching a politician come to the traditional market during the election season, but the lighting just now was admirable. Directing is also a realm of art.
Ignoring my admiration, Cordelia spat out her impressions in an emotionless voice.
“You kept it a bit short this year.”
“Did you do this last year?”
Cordelia nodded at my question.
“Every year. It was a bit long last year, but the reaction was not good. I fixed it right away.”
“You must have suffered a lot.”
I feel strange because I feel like I’ve seen something realistic. Whether it’s on Earth or in this world, it’s similar that politicians stake their lives on approval ratings.
We briefly saw the scarecrow quietly burning. The crackling of the branches inside and the sounds of other people chatting and playing everywhere played like background music.
“Uh… at the time?”
Cordelia broke her silence and asked cautiously.
“How are you?”
“Are you okay? This.”
She looked pretty uneasy. She had the expression of a child having her homework checked. It looks like the world will collapse if you even say that you don’t like me.
I tried hard to suppress the demon in my heart that quietly raised its head to play a little. I think I would really cry and run away if I played such a joke here.
“Yeah, that’s cool. More than I expected.”
“Really?”
She was very happy with my answer and was about to die. It was a great sight, even more than she honestly expected. Originally, it is said that the fight scenes and the martial arts scenes are the most interesting ones. It is not easy to do a Buddhist scripture of this scale.
I heard music somewhere. At the place where the soldiers were standing earlier, the soldiers disappeared before they knew it and the band took their place.
They started playing. Exciting dance. I looked around and saw couples, one by one, holding hands and going out to dance.
“Do you dance too?”
“There is good lighting and music in a good atmosphere, of course.”
It was a wise answer. Cordelia took a deep breath and held out her hand to her.
“Come on.”
I stared at her hand and tilted her head. I put my hand on her chin on top of her hand she held out for her.
“What are you doing?”
“Didn’t you ask for a hand?”
She looked at me as if asking what she was doing.
“No, it’s not a puppy, why are you asking for my hand?”
“Then what do you mean?”
“Are you asking because you really don’t know?”
Of course I know what she wants to say to me in this atmosphere. I just wanted to tease you a little bit.
Cordelia let out her sigh and bowed to me with an exaggerated gesture.
“Would you like to dance a song? Mister?”
“The antonym of lady is not uncle.”
A man. Even after serving in the military, he said that he had been tested for ID from time to time.
“So what is the answer?”
I turned my head and looked towards Hestia. Because I don’t know the meaning of men and women dancing together here. It’s annoying if I get even a strange misunderstanding. Hestia seemed to recognize my signal, and nodded her head saying it didn’t matter.
“Okay, lady.”
I stood up holding her hand. It’s not that strange to dance with friends. Cordelia’s expression brightened at my consent. She grabbed my hand and dragged her toward the scarecrow.
“What is so urgent?”
As if she couldn’t hear me, she dragged me in front of her scarecrow, which was on fire. I didn’t notice her when she was far away, but she’s definitely hot when she’s close. The heat hit me. The hot early summer weather made me sweat profusely.
“Should we dance here?”
I think it would be better to fall a little. No matter how you think about it, it’s too hot to dance here. But she shook her head at my words.
“No.”
“Yes? Do you have any reason to dance here?”
“Ah…. Anyway, no way!”
Cordelia was determined. I decided to just be patient. Anyway, I did a good job serving as a guide today, so it’s okay to look at this much.
“Are you confident about dancing?”
“To what extent?”
Cordelia smiled confidently. Whatever it is, it will dance better than Hestia. Getting stepped on by her shoes dozens of times is an experience I don’t want to go through again.
The sound of tree branches crackling as they burn, the ashes flying little by little in the sky, and Cordelia’s face glowing red from the reflection of the fire. Besides, she keeps her mouth shut that she focuses on dancing. To be honest, she looked much prettier than usual. I stared at her face as she danced.
Cordelia asked with a smile.
“Why do you look like that?”
“No, you look prettier than usual.”
“Really?! Does it work too?”
“Effect? What are you talking about?”
“Ugh, nothing!”
She glossed over.
–