The day after Ian went to the castle, Lil was continuing her knitting in the warm spot prepared for the divine beasts. If things went well, she’d be able to finish it by the end of the day.

Around Lil, the divine beasts were playing with balls of yarn that Rosaline had made. The baby rabbits seemed to have become friends with the baby leopards, frolicking and playing together. The size difference was a bit alarming, but the baby leopards seemed to be good at holding back, and the baby rabbits being rolled around looked like they were having fun.

At the water’s edge, the swan was telling heroic tales to the other divine beasts.

Lil thought to herself, It’s so peaceful.

When she told everyone that there would be a festival tomorrow, they were very envious. Maybe it would be nice to hold a festival just for the divine beasts next time.

As she knitted the scarf, Lil daydreamed about ideas for the festival.

She didn’t come up with anything particularly good, but just imagining it was fun.

Around noon, she finally finished the scarf she was making as a present for Ian. Lil thought it turned out pretty well. But once the scarf was complete, she suddenly felt lonely. She looked toward the town, hoping Ian would come back soon.

“Lil, are you lonely? Then let’s all play together. If we’re having fun, he’ll be back in no time.”

Lil nodded at Kohaku’s suggestion.

She remembered that there was a sled Maynard had made in the storage, so she went to get it.

Climbing the snow hill made from shoveling, she slid down on the sled. It was her first time doing it, and it was so much fun. Soon, everyone gathered around. Lil took turns holding each of them and putting them on the sled.

The squirrels kept squeezing into the gap between Lil and the sled, sliding down over and over.

The slightly bigger ones were sulking because they couldn’t ride unless Lil held them.

Then a tanuki curled itself up and started rolling down the slope. It must’ve been fun, because it kept doing it again and again. Lil couldn’t help but worry it might get hurt.

“Human games seem quite fun,”
the swan said as it lazily watched the scene while grooming its feathers.

Later that evening, as Lil was taking a break, Hayden Cooper came over and said,

“Wanna come see the eve of the coronation ceremony?”

That sounded like a lot of fun, so Lil immediately said she wanted to go.

Apparently, everyone else was already at the destination. Lil brought Kohaku and Marron and headed to the front garden of the base with Hayden.

There, dinner preparations were underway. Lil wondered if the pre-ceremony celebration would take place here.

Hayden, with a playful look on his face, said,
“Tonight and tomorrow, fireworks are going up into the sky.”

Lil was thrilled. She knew from Michiru’s memories that they were incredibly beautiful.

While waiting for the fireworks, everyone ate dinner together. Marron had never seen fireworks before and was fidgeting the whole time.

Eventually, with a loud boom, fireworks burst into the sky. Since the base was up on a mountain, the view was perfect.

Lil was deeply moved.

“Fireworks really are beautiful—just like the name says, they bloom like giant flowers in the sky.”

Marron stared at the fireworks, entranced.

From within the forest, the divine beasts emerged too, and everyone enjoyed the fireworks together.

Just for a moment, Lil wished she could’ve seen them with her father as well.