#384 Confluence

#384 Confluence

My name is Diablo, and I’m ten years old.

With the innocent sensibility of a young boy, I perceive each day as a sparkling jewel.

Every day is an adventure, always new places to visit for the first time.

One day, these will fade and become a distant memory, but I’ll live my life to the fullest, so I become a fulfilled adult with a rich mind.

I’m a city boy, so I’m sensitive to the latest trends.

I grew up to hip-hop and am always on the lookout for the hottest topics.

And today’s event that shook my world was...

An... expo?

It’s that useless pastime the previous Demon King, Lord Baal, had. 

I know from the adults who told me all about it and how it made him give up the throne!

Since Lord Zedan succeeded Lord Baal, not even one expo has been conducted because of how pointless it is!

But now, it’s being held, and it’s all the rage among my peers.

I’m actually genuinely interested.

After all, Lord Zedan was crowned king before I knew anything about the world.

In other words, the upcoming expo will be the first one I’m attending.

I should definitely go, shouldn’t I?

So, I asked Mom and Dad to take me to the expo on their next day off!

Huh? We can’t?

It’s too far away, dangerous, tiring, and a waste of money?!

What are you going to do with such a negative attitude, Mom and Dad? Is that how a married couple acts toward their ten-year-old?!

You can’t be defensive in life! If you retreat, you’ll grow old. If you hesitate, you die!

Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!

Hey, hey, hey, hey!

No, no, no! I want to go!

Let’s go! Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet’s gooOooooooOooOoOOooo!!!

Uwaaaaaaaaah!

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!

Huh?

We’re going? Really?

Woohoo!

See, this is how I negotiate!

We’ll all go to the expo together on Dad’s next day off!

***

Today, we’re finally going to the expo!

Food, ready! Water bottle, ready! I’ve even got my hat on to protect me from the sun!

Mom and Dad are on my left and right, and I’m ready to go!

...Huh?

We can’t go to the venue?!

It’s hard to get there since it’s located outside the city, they said!

Pandemonium Trading Company, which is helping to run the event, provides free carriages, but so many people are using them that waiting for our turn will take ages!

Shit! What a mess!

So, we can’t go to the expo?

“...No, we’ll be fine,” says Dad. “If we can’t go by carriage, we can walk. I was told by a gentleman that the expo is within walking distance. The carriage is only there for safety.”

Really, Dad?

So, it’s much faster to walk than to wait for a carriage!

“But dear. Aren’t there monsters outside the city? I’m scared,” says Mom.

Yeah. Our neighbor said that monsters are lurking everywhere outside.

If we run into one, we’re dead meat!

I’m sure Pandemonium is sending out carriages as a precaution against monsters, so I’m a little scared too...!

“Don’t worry! I may be retired, but I still worked for the army! I’ll protect momma and my son from any lousy monster we encounter!”

Really?

Dad, you’re awesome! I didn’t even know that!

If a monster does appear, you’ll be able to take it down with just a flick of your finger, and we’ll be able to cross the fields and mountains without worry!

Just like a picnic!!!

***

And here we are, at the expo!

It really was a short walk!

But this is amazing, Mom! Dad!

Look!

The venue is like a mini-city!

There are so many buildings lined up, and the floors are all paved and level!

It’s even more organized than our neighborhood!

I didn’t know expos were like bustling festivals!

“Hm... Were expos always this terrific...?”

“I know Lord Baal has hosted them multiple times during his reign. But they were all smaller than this one...”

Huh?

So the current expo is much more impressive than the previous ones?

Maybe it’s because we’re now in Lord Zedan’s time?

 I guess he’s the better ruler after all! Dad says that all the time, too.

“Shhh!”

“You can’t say that out loud!”

Oops, Mom and Dad scolded me.

Sowwee.

Anyway, now that we’re here, let’s take a look around!

They say the buildings with all kinds of exhibits inside are called pavilions!

I want to go to that pavilion!

The Bean Pavilion one!

“Huh? But Daddy wants to see the Orkubo vs. Gobukichi Exhibition Match that will be held in that ring over there.”

Aww, but I can tell the Bean Pavilion is going to be much more enjoyable!

That’s what my imaginary friend is whispering to me, so no doubt about it!

“Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to go to the Bean Pavilion first...”

Yay! I love you, Dad!

But when all three of us went to the said pavilion...

***

“Oh-ho-ho-ho! Welcome to my kingdom, the Bean Pavilion! I, Letasreit, rule this place!”

Whoa! Mom!

There’s a strange lady here!

She looks crazy!

Mom told me not to look at her!

“Now that you’re here, you’re going to come to realize the wonders of beans. Soybeans, red beans, peas—you’re going to eat them all up!”

Ah!

There are piles and piles of all kinds of beans here!

We can scoop up as many as we like and eat them, apparently!

“All right! Daddy will eat a big pile!”

Wow, Dad!

I still have a small stomach, so I’ll just eat them one at a time!

That crazy-looking lady is still not done with her speech!

“That’s not all there is to know about beans. There are other wonderful foods that can be produced by processing them. For example, this soy milk!”

Soy milk?

It’s as white as normal milk! What kind of drink is this?

“Don’t think of soy milk as just any drink. It has some special benefits!”

Special benefits?

“It makes your boobies bigger!”

Mom?!

She suddenly started chugging soy milk!

Does she still want more despite being a mother of one already?!

It’s wonderful how Mom never gives up, no matter her age!

And after Mom drank her third glass of soy milk...

Dad started eating this natto thing!

***

We’ve had enough of the Bean Pavilion, so we went to the other pavilions as well.

At the Leather Pavilion, we were amazed by the strong-looking stuffed monsters, and at the Glass Pavilion, there was a transparent building made entirely of glass.

Above all, the elves were pretty!

At the mermaids’ Potion Pavilion, my mom was interested in the beauty potions.

My dad also ended up watching the exhibition match and went all out.

I guess it’s a pattern that adults have more fun in the end.

But we can’t see everything in one day, so we decided to come again next time!

What a fun expo that was!

This is definitely Demon Capital’s trend of the year!