Chương 15: Bonus Story : Victory Day : Part 1 : A National Quest

The late afternoon bathed Paris in warm light as Emma finally left the agency. She had spent the last few hours answering landlords' calls, arranging property viewings, and completing paperwork, some of which seemed doomed before it had even been opened. When she closed the glass door behind her, simply breathing the fresh air outside brought an immediate sense of relief. The streets were still lively, but the atmosphere was unlike any other evening.

Since morning, French flags had appeared everywhere, hanging from building facades, balconies, and public buildings. Several streets had already been closed to traffic, metal barriers lined the main avenues, and crowds far larger than usual were all moving in the same direction. Emma knew exactly what was causing all the excitement. Every year, Bastille Day transformed Paris into one vast open-air celebration filled with ceremonies, military parades, concerts, and fireworks.

This year, however, she was looking forward to the evening for a different reason. For days, the same thought had kept returning to her, and the more she pictured Aldric discovering a French national holiday, the more she wondered how many disasters could possibly come from such a simple invitation. She found him near the hotel where he was still staying temporarily. Aldric stood in front of the entrance, perfectly straight despite the heat, his full suit of armor gleaming beneath the last rays of the sun.

He was studying the flags hanging from nearby windows, along with the groups of police officers moving between intersections. When he spotted Emma, he inclined his head in greeting with the same impeccable courtesy he always showed her, even though she had explained several times that there was no need to greet her like an official representative of the Crown.

"Good evening, Emma."

"Good evening." She stopped in front of him and took a moment to look over his equipment. Despite all their walks through Paris, she still hadn't fully gotten used to seeing him carry his sword across his back as though such an enormous weapon were the most natural accessory in the world. On Bastille Day, though, his appearance might actually go almost unnoticed among the uniforms, decorations, and countless events taking place throughout the capital.

Emma slipped her hands into the pockets of her light jacket before speaking in an intentionally casual tone.

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

"No."

"Then come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"To see the celebration."

"What celebration?"

"Bastille Day."

"What happened on Bastille Day?" She could have immediately explained the French Revolution, the Storming of the Bastille, and the historical significance of the day. Somehow, though, she felt that explanation could wait. Watching Aldric try to figure out for himself what was about to happen promised to be far more entertaining.

"It's our national holiday." The knight nodded. In his former world, national holidays were almost always tied to the founding of a kingdom, the coronation of a monarch, or a great military victory. Naturally, he assumed this celebration followed the same logic. Emma started walking, and he followed without asking any further questions. The farther they went, the more obvious the city's transformation became. The small flags hanging from windows gave way to enormous banners draped across buildings.

Several streets had been sealed off with barriers, with police officers guarding the entrances behind them. Military vehicles rolled slowly through the streets while groups of uniformed soldiers made their way toward the areas reserved for the parade. Entire families were walking in the same direction, some with flags draped over their shoulders, others leading children by the hand. The café terraces were already packed, and many shopkeepers had decorated their storefronts in the national colors.

"The entire city seems to be taking part," he observed.

"It is. It's one of the biggest events of the year."

"Have people come from the other provinces as well?"

"There are a lot of tourists." Aldric still didn't fully understand the difference between a tourist and an official visitor, but he gathered that people had traveled from far away to attend the ceremony. That alone made the event seem even more important in his eyes. They crossed a square where several gendarmes were directing pedestrians toward different entrances. Aldric quickly studied their deployment. Each group appeared to be responsible for a specific sector.

Access points were controlled, exits were monitored, and the crowds were divided by movable barriers. The entire arrangement reminded him of the grand ceremonies held in Asteria's capital after a military campaign, when the royal guards had to protect the royal family while still allowing the people to witness the heroes' return. As they stepped onto a broader avenue, a familiar ripple passed across Aldric's vision. △ SPECIAL EVENT △ Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road.

Support the author by reading it there. National Celebration Recommended Level: 1 The system displayed neither an objective, a reward, nor a success condition. It merely announced a special event involving the entire nation. The recommended level seemed surprisingly low, but that did not necessarily mean the event would be without danger. Some ceremonies in his former world had been intended for every citizen, even the weakest, while still being surrounded by soldiers ready to respond in the event of an attack.

Even so, the appearance of this notification confirmed that the evening carried official significance.

"Does your nation celebrate a military victory?"

"More or less." That answer matched exactly what he had expected. He didn't ask which battle had been won or which enemy had been defeated. He assumed Emma would explain everything once the ceremony began. Meanwhile, she had to look away to hide her amusement. She knew that those two simple words, "more or less," were almost guaranteed to lead to a string of misunderstandings, but she had absolutely no desire to stop them.

Since meeting Aldric, she had discovered that the best way to help him understand a modern custom was often to let him come up with his own explanation before revealing the truth. They continued through the crowded streets. The closer they got to the city center, the stronger the military presence became. Several trucks waited behind barricades with their engines still running. Soldiers in ceremonial uniforms stood in perfectly aligned groups as they received their final instructions.

Some carried rifles, while others wore long, gleaming sabers that immediately caught Aldric's attention. He instinctively slowed his pace to study their weapons, their posture, and their equipment. Although the materials were unfamiliar to him, he recognized the hallmarks of a highly disciplined military force. Not a single soldier appeared distracted. Their uniforms were immaculate. Their movements precise. Every man knew exactly where he belonged.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

"Their discipline is excellent."

"You haven't seen anything yet." A group of young soldiers marched past just a few yards away. Their footsteps echoed across the pavement in perfect unison, and Aldric followed them with his eyes until they disappeared behind a row of vehicles.

"Where are they going?"

"To the parade."

"So they will present their forces to the sovereign?"

"To the president."

"The ruler of the kingdom."

"The Republic."

"The distinction seems administrative." She let out a quiet laugh.

"It's a little more important than that." They soon reached a much more crowded area. The crowd slowed as it approached the security checkpoints, forming long lines that wound between the barriers. Emma naturally joined one of them while Aldric watched police officers inspect bags and scan visitors with small handheld devices. In his world, guards searched travelers whenever they entered a fortress under threat. Once again, the security measures confirmed that an important event was about to take place.

When an officer motioned for them to step forward, his gaze immediately settled on Aldric's sword. Emma felt her stomach tighten. Over the past few days, she had grown used to passersby either ignoring the weapon or assuming it was just part of a costume. At the entrance to a national event secured by law enforcement, however, things were likely to be very different. The police officer studied the sheathed sword for a long moment.

"Is it real?" Aldric answered honestly.

"Yes." Emma immediately stepped in.

"It's a replica for a historical costume."

"It isn't a replica."

"Aldric." He understood that she was silently asking him not to make the situation any more complicated, but he couldn't bring himself to confirm something that wasn't true. The officer looked from Emma to Aldric, then to the enormous sword. He probably noticed the many other people in costume wandering through the city for the festivities. After a few seconds of hesitation, he simply told them not to draw the weapon. Aldric agreed, explaining that he would only unsheathe it if there were a genuine threat.

That clarification did little to reassure the officer, but the crowd behind them was already growing impatient. In the end, he let them through. Once they were past the checkpoint, Emma let out a long sigh.

"Could you avoid mentioning that you intend to use it if we're attacked?"

"But it's the truth."

"Exactly." Aldric didn't fully understand the problem, but he nodded nonetheless. In this world, people sometimes seemed to prefer a reassuring answer over an accurate one. It was a custom he still found difficult to accept, though he was beginning to recognize the moments when Emma wanted to avoid a more complicated discussion. They walked several hundred more yards until they reached the edge of the Champs-Élysées. The avenue stretched out before them, vast, lined with flags, and packed with an enormous crowd.

Grandstands had been erected along both sides. Police officers kept the spectators behind the barriers while soldiers prepared farther down the avenue. The Arc de Triomphe towered over everything, like a monumental gateway leading into the heart of the ceremony. Aldric had seen the monument before during his time in Paris, but never surrounded by so many flags, soldiers, and gathered citizens. The sight stirred memories of Asteria. The armies returning after the liberation of the north. Streets draped with banners.

Families waiting for the knights to pass by. Church bells ringing throughout the capital. For a few brief moments, he almost felt as though he had recovered something he believed he had lost upon arriving on Earth. It wasn't his kingdom. Those men weren't his soldiers, and no banner bore the colors of Valdor. Even so, the emotion filling the crowd felt remarkably familiar. Emma stepped up beside him.

"We should have a good view from here." Aldric nodded without taking his eyes off the avenue. Soldiers appeared in the distance, already marching in formation. The sound of their synchronized footsteps spread between the buildings, steady and powerful, while the opening notes of a military march rose above the crowd. Conversations gradually faded. Phones were raised into the air. Children climbed onto their parents' shoulders. Aldric instinctively rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. Emma noticed the gesture.

"What are you doing?"

"Preparing myself."

"For what?"

"To understand the nature of this campaign." Emma opened her mouth to answer, but the thunder of the drums suddenly grew much louder. The first soldiers officially marched onto the Champs-Élysées as the crowd erupted into applause. The parade had begun.