Chapter 15: Festivals Are Fun

Chapter 15:
Festivals Are Fun

 

“THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thanks to you, the shop and the village are safe!”

The next day, Moichi and the other villagers stood in front of the store to give us words of thanks. I just couldn’t accept them.

“Yeah, but…” I glanced over at the place where the Fire God idol had been. The flames that had been burning in the shape of a giant humanoid had completely lost their form on account of me punching the figure. The villagers had worked so hard to prepare the Fire God for the festival today, and I’d destroyed it. Even though there was no other way I could’ve defeated that spirit, I still felt bad about it. In an instant, I’d annihilated everything they’d built.

“Nah, don’t worry about the idol,” said Moichi.

“The Fire God helped you in the fight, didn’t it? I think the Fire God helped us villagers too. Not a single one of us holds a grudge. We’re grateful to you, from the bottom of our hearts.”

“Moichi…sorry.” I felt both grateful and apologetic toward these folks, for all of their big, gracious smiles.

Then something happened.

“Ahem.” The cute, theatrical coughing came from Filia, and it grabbed our attention. “Have you forgotten about me? The transcendentally beautiful elf, Filia?” She patted her chest lightly, and continued speaking proudly. “Now that I’ve rested and my magical energy has returned, I think that we can return the idol to its prior state. If we all work together, that is.”

“Are you serious?”

“Quite serious. Because I am amazing,” said Filia, casually.

Well, Filia was pretty exceptional at all matters arcane. She’d learned a wide range of magic outside of combat utility, so it didn’t surprise me that she could do something like this. As the villagers buzzed with excitement over this sudden development, Filia raised her right hand high.

“Do you want to make a Fire God idol?!” she asked.

“Y-yeah!” shouted the villagers.

“Will you trust in the instructions that I give you, so that we can do just that?!”

“Yeah!”

“Then it’s settled! Let’s all work together to remake the Fire God!”

“Yeaaah!”

After hyping up the villagers, Filia turned to me and smiled. “We’ll definitely put it back to normal—no, we’ll make it even better than before. Now, Yuri, will you stop being so hard on yourself?”

“Did you…read my mind?” Maybe she’d used her Clairvoyance to see how responsible I felt for it.

She shook her head from side to side. “No, not at all. I could tell from looking at your face. I am your partner, Yuri.”

“Uh…Filia?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

“Eh he he. Yuri, we haven’t even gotten started!” said Filia, with a teasing smile. She then began to give instructions on how to rebuild the idol.

Maybe it was her charisma, but Filia was able to bring people together and keep the work proceeding smoothly. Ashley, who was proficient with fire magic, helped out. And Loli Loli, who the villagers now loved like a grandchild, entertained the old folks by talking to them. Since I didn’t have any magical energy, I couldn’t help with making the Fire God, so I handled the heavy lifting.

Each one of us did what we could, and the idol was completed before noon.

“Oh, it’s amazing…”

“I never imagined we’d be able to do it!”

“Thank you, Filia, this is all thanks to you!”

“You’re really quite something, Filia!”

The villagers all offered words of praise to Filia, commenting on how even though we had only spent a few hours on it, the quality of this idol was every bit as good as the original.

“Oh, no, you’re all overreacting,” said Filia, all modest, waving her hands in front of her chest. I walked up to her. “Ah, Yuri.”

“Now I’ll thank you, Filia. Thanks to you, I can participate in the festival without feeling awkward. And that’s all because of you.”

“Eh he he! I suppose it is, mm!”

“I’ll get you a good starter dumbbell as thanks.”

“That’s the wrong choice, Yuri!”

The wrong choice? Oh, I should’ve known a starter wouldn’t be enough. I took out a way bigger dumbbell and held it out in front of her. “In that case, as a special occasion, I’ll give you my favorite dumbbell, the one I use most often. If you swallow it, you can train your stomach and your body at the same time.”

“I’d say you had a screw loose, Yuri, but I don’t think you’ve ever had screws.”

“’Course I don’t have any screws. I’m a human being!”

“Yes, that’s exactly the answer I’d expect.”

In the end, Filia didn’t accept the dumbbell. Hm, maybe there was something wrong with it? But I couldn’t think of any particular reason why that might be. Afterward, I consulted with Loli Loli and Ashley. The two of them shrugged at the exact same time after they heard my story.

“Even I am utterly stunned by you, Yuri…you need to get a grip, understand?”

“That bad?”

“Listen, Yuri. A gift should be something the recipient wants.”

“I see. Thanks, you two. This has been educational.” I carved what they told me into my mind. In the name of gentle muscle men everywhere, I wasn’t going to make a mistake the next time!

 

***

 

Time had passed and it had grown dark. Ashley led us to the Fire God idol, and we gathered with everyone there. The rest of the villagers were already there, and the square around the idol was really hopping.

“Everyone! It’s time for the festivaaaal!” shouted Moichi, his loud voice kicking off the festivities.

“Yeaaaahh!” the whole village cried in unison.

After Moichi signaled the start, people scattered all over the village like scurrying little spiders. It was an odd way to start things off, but I didn’t dislike it. We’d decided that the four of us would stick together, so we slowly walked through the festival site.

Lamps, lit up with fire and lightning magic, were placed every ten, fifteen feet or so. They illuminated the village, splashing it with vivid color. It was an extraordinary sight, as if the village itself had become some kind of theme park. When I looked to my side, I saw that Filia—who was walking next to me—looked pretty hyped.

“You’re feeling pretty festive yourself, huh, Filia?”

“Yes! I’ll be able to make so many strange noises without worrying about people looking at me.”

“I-I see.” I flinched a bit at Filia’s response. Did Filia have a secret, deep darkness within? Was she…was she under a lot of stress?

“Err. If you’re worried about stuff, I don’t mind listening.”

“No, I was just joking!” she snapped.

What? What kinda joke was that? “Stop makin’ jokes that are hard to understand.”

“I thought you were being serious too,” said Ashley.

“What? You were fibbing?!” shouted Loli Loli. “Had me tooootally fooled!”

Filia seemed shocked at that. Ashley just shook her head. “Big Sis tends to keep a lot of things to herself. Yuri, make sure you support Sis properly!”

“Of course.”

“Okay then, that’s good. Ooooh, over there!” Ashley pointed toward a corner of the village. There was a particularly large crowd of people gathered there.

“What’s going on over there?”

“That’s where people show off special performances! And anyone can jump in and do it. You don’t have to sign up or anything.”

“Oh! Performance!” Loli Loli was practically jumping up and down. “I wanna see! I wanna go!”

We headed over, Ashley and Loli Loli pulling us along. Just as Ashley had said, there were all sorts of people giving performances. There were tons of really unique skills on display, like someone sending lightning magic through their body to make their body glow, or someone using earth magic to make a giant sphere of mud. They were really interesting!

“Everyone’s so amazing,” said Filia quietly.

Next to Filia, a girl was trembling with excitement—Ashley. “Oh, no, after seeing that, I just can’t hold it in anymore…sorry, you guys, but I’m jumping in!”

With that, Ashley ran at incredible speed toward the center of the crowd. It seemed like she was a festival girl through and through; it was in her veins.

“Alllll right!” Ashley announced. “I’m gonna do something too!” As she did, she conjured a gigantic fire dragon with her fire magic. Then she hopped onto the dragon and flew up into the sky.

“Whoa!”

“What was that?!”

“’Eyyyy, that’s Ashley! Atta girl!”

As the crowd cheered, the fire dragon Ashley controlled began to soar and weave with even more intensity. Ashley, riding on the dragon’s head, was clearly having fun as she looked down at us. She shone with brightness and cheer.

“You’re so incredibly brave, Ashley,” called Filia. “I can’t even think of—Yuri?”

“I can’t lose!”

“Huh?”

After seeing something that amazing, I couldn’t just sit there and be quiet! I had to jump in too—but I didn’t know how to perform. What could I do? I had to think of something! Then inspiration struck like a punch. I borrowed a thick black marker from one of the people in the crowd, released my muscles, and drew a face on my belly.

Yeah. Yeah, this rocked. “Voila.”

“Y-Yuri?! What—why—huh?!”

“It’s a ‘belly dance,’” I explained. “By drawing a face on my belly and making it dance, I’m essentially displaying my skills to the crowd. I thought this would be a good way for me to show off my muscles!”

I moved my abdominal muscles freely, making the face on my belly look like it was changing expressions. No one should make light of the humble belly dance. Besides, my belly dancing was clearly different from your run-of-the-mill normie belly dance, all thanks to my well-trained muscles. My fine, supple muscles could move freely, and thereby be used to create a variety of expressions.

“Pfft! Tee hee hee! Pfffhssss! St-stop, enough!”

“Oh, that’s amazing, Yuri!”

In an instant, Filia was crouching down, clutching her stomach, while Loli Loli looked like she was keenly interested in what I was doing. I knew I’d made the right choice. This trick would be a great way to get people interested in muscles! Especially if they looked at it long enough. My plan to propagate the word of muscle was sure to proceed without a hitch. On top of that, it was fun. This plan killed two birds with one stone.

Such an ingenious strategy was only natural for me, an intellectual muscle man. Having gained confidence from their reactions, I followed Ashley’s example and jumped into the middle of the circle of people. It was time to get started. With this, there was no way I could lose to Ashley!

“What is that? What’s going on?”

“What in the world is he going to do?”

The villagers made a lot of bewildered sounds. All right, well—they were confused now, but I had their attention. They couldn’t take their eyes off of my inflated, bulging muscles. So, while they were still looking at me, I resumed belly dancing. Rectus abdominis, oblique abdominal, transverse abdominis—I moved my abs in intricate patterns in order to convey the sublime goodness of muscle.

“Nice, nice! More!”

“This is gettin’ kinda exciting! What’s going on?”

I continued belly dancing, now with serious effort. But Ashley’s dragon seemed to be attracting more looks because of its flashy appearance. No way could I let myself be defeated like this!

“In that case…how about this?” I wiggled around, twisting my body as I danced. I used the air itself as a foothold so that I could freely use the space in the wide-open sky above and started jumping around. I moved so fast that a countless number of afterimages of myself flew through the air as well, right in front of the audience. This allowed me to be seen even from afar, and my movements looked even flashier! More importantly, the increase in number was a big advantage.

“Wha?! Yuri, what are you doing?” shouted Ashley from atop the dragon’s head.

I called back to her as I moved my legs so fast that they were invisible in order to stay in the air. “I’m not gonna lose to you, Ashley!”

“No! It’s not about losing or winning, I’m asking you what you’re doing! It’s super scary!”

Scary? Ha! “Aww, you scared, Ashley? In that case, I’ll take the win!”

“My words aren’t getting through—but if it’s a showdown you want, you got it!” shouted Ashley, and the dragon she was riding made a beautiful loop in the air.

The spectators below erupted into loud cheers. Atta girl, Ashley. She was definitely a worthy opponent.

“Oho! So, little girl, you’re challenging me? That’s the spirit. Bring it!”

“How can you try and show off when you’re looking like that? Well, you’ve got guts, I’ll give you that!”

I activated Super Yuri Mode and increased the number of afterimages even further. My movements left everyone who saw them dumbstruck, amazed, and the people down on the ground responded with thunderous applause. The crowd was incredibly excited as they watched us. A little further away from the rest of the crowd, I saw Filia and Loli Loli watching us too.

“You two are great!”

“Keep it up!”

Cheers of encouragement came from all over. All right, this was getting exciting. This would definitely spread the good word of muscle!

We danced, danced, and kept dancing. I didn’t really care about things like winning or pleasing the crowd anymore. Dancing itself was the goal! I was dancing just to dance with a girl. After we hit our limits and used up all of our energy, we stopped our performance at the exact same time and descended to the ground.

When we landed, I laid down right there on the road. The coolness of the earth felt wonderfully soothing to my burning hot skin and muscles. A pleasant numbness enveloped my entire body.

“Hey, Yuri…” said Ashley, smiling radiantly. “You weren’t bad.”

“Right back atcha, Ashley. I honestly didn’t think you’d hang in there that long.”

Right then, I felt like I really connected with Ashley—that we understood each other. I stood up and reached out my hand. Ashley stood and took it, shaking my hand. The area around us was filled with thunderous applause. For some reason, I felt…super good. Really happy.

After our performance, we went to check out the festival stalls with Filia and Loli Loli. There were a ton of things I had never seen before. I was intrigued.

“Hey, Ashley, what’s that?”

“Oh, that? That’s a glowing water balloon.”

“Water balloon?!” I echoed.

“Glowing!” she said.

“Amazing!”

“Yep!”

Ashley and I nodded to each other rapidly.

“Yuri, Ashley, you two are so close! I think it’s wonderful!” said Loli Loli.

“Hm, I do feel like you two are both oddly excited. Was it because of your contest?” asked Filia.

“Sure, there’s that,” said Ashley, “but it’s also because you gotta enjoy the festival! It’s more fun when you get along with each other!”

“Well said! Hey, Loli Loli, Filia?! Ashley just made a really good point just now!”

“Hee hee! Of course I did! So put a little respect on the name, okay?” said Ashley proudly, puffing out her chest.

The atmosphere of the festival was just incredible. And it was the closest Ashley and I had been since we’d met, so I was gonna enjoy it. As Ashley said, it’s obviously more fun to get along than the other way around.

“This is fun, Filia!”

Filia cocked her head at me. “Are you drunk, by any chance?”

I flexed my biceps. “Drunk on muscle?”

“On alcohol.”

I changed my stance, now showing off my pecs. “You mean off of these muscles?”

“No, I’m referring to alcohol.”

Muscles were part of it, but no—I wasn’t drunk on alcohol. But I might’ve been a little drunk off the atmosphere. That was all right! It’s good to have a day where you just cut loose now and again.

“That’s true, I suppose,” said Filia, agreeing with me after peeking into my mind.

We took our time milling through the festival, checking out the stalls one by one.

“Can I ask something?” Loli Loli said.

“What’s the matter, Loli Loli?”

“I’m hungry! I feel like I want to eat!” She rubbed her tummy in circles.

Yeah. Come to think of it, we hadn’t eaten dinner. And I had spent quite a long time belly dancing too. It was nighttime, so it was perfectly understandable that Loli Loli was hungry.

“That’s a great idea, Loli Loli!” said Filia. “Let’s look for something to eat right away!”

“Oh? Filia, did your eyes just light up? Are you a glutton after all, huh?”

“I-I’m not a glutton, okay?” she said, which wasn’t too convincing because I could practically hear her drooling.

Well, we were all hungry, so we looked around for the food stalls. We bought all sorts of stuff like yakisoba and chocolate-covered bananas and ate them together. Loli Loli was curious about pretty much everything, but she was especially interested in the cotton candy.

“What is this?! It’s sweet and sticky!” she exclaimed. She put her hand over her mouth, her eyes sparkling. Then she clapped her hands together and laughed at the sticky sensation.

She was so innocent. I didn’t really remember anymore, but had there been a time when I was like that too? Upon seeing Loli Loli, Ashley and Filia crouched in front of her like they were her mothers.

“Aw, jeez,” said Ashley. “Here, I’ll wash your hands.”

“It’s cold!” said Loli Loli.

Ashley’s water magic washed away the sticky residue on Loli Loli’s hands.

“We’ll wipe your mouth too, okay?” said Filia.

“Okay!”

Filia wiped around Loli Loli’s mouth using her handkerchief, and finally she was completely clean. “You’re both so nice! Thank you!” said Loli Loli, thanking them with a big grin on her face.

It was a heartwarming sight, but…I felt like I should do something too. But what could I do? Wait—

“Wanna ride on my shoulders?” I asked.

“Oh! Yes!”

Loli Loli hopped onto my back. I could hardly feel her weight at all. Compared to the huge boulders I lifted during my usual training, she was light as a feather.

“I’m so high up, Yuri! I can see so much!”

“Glad to hear it. What can ya see?”

“Hm? Let’s see… Ah, Moichi is there!” Loli Loli pointed over at Moichi. He’d set up a food stall as well, and it seemed like a good time to drop by.

“Yo! You guys all having fun, Ashley?” asked Moichi, smiling. He seemed busy, but he also seemed to be having fun. But he wasn’t selling his usual product, the Donuts Sans Holes—he was selling squid skewers.

“No donuts today?” I asked.

“Come on, ya idiot! It’s in the rules, you gotta have squid skewers at a festival!”

“What rule is that? I never heard that before.”

Moichi refused to let us pay and practically forced the squid skewers into our hands.

“Oooh, these are good.”

When we left him, we continued to wander around the festival, eating all the way.

A while later, we found another interesting stall.

“A spray that can change the color of your shadow…sounds interesting.”

You could choose from dozens of color variations, and if you sprayed your shadow with it, it would actually change to that color! The technique was based on lightning magic, but it was deployed by a magic tool that utilized some more complicated principles, none of which I understood. Apparently, it used some kind of amazing theory driving innovative technology or whatever.

Ashley picked the red spray without a moment’s hesitation and dyed her shadow red.

“I’m red!” Ashley exclaimed.

“I knew it,” I said. Honestly, I would’ve been shocked if she’d picked anything else.

“How did you know?” asked Ashley. “Wait…you’re not, like, stalking me or anything, are you?”

“Aaahhh! Yuri, you’re the worst!” shouted Filia.

“Anyone could tell you were going to choose red. Your clothes are all the same color!” I shot back, narrowing my eyes and nodding at her outfit.

Today, Ashley was wearing a red coat, a red shirt, and red shorts. It was like she was no longer Ashley but a creature of pure redness. “Well, whatever,” said Ashley, proudly showing off her clothes. “You’re just jealous.”

“What am I supposed to be jealous of?” I had no idea what she was getting at.

Loli Loli went next. She grabbed the spray with her tiny hands and sprayed her shadow. “I’m blue!” Just like that, Loli Loli had dyed her shadow blue. “It’s because my eyes are blue! I really like it!”

“It really suits you,” said Ashley.

“Really? You’re not just flattering me?” asked Loli Loli.

“No, I agree,” said Filia.

I nodded. “Me too.”

“Eh he he! I’m so happy! I’m happy to be alive!”

Jeez, that was a lot of happy. I couldn’t help but chuckle. It felt nice to see someone just cut loose a bit. I could understand why Loli Loli was so well liked by the old folks in the village. I mean, there wasn’t anyone who could hate her, really. Loli Loli could probably get along just fine anywhere in the entire world.

“I’m so happy that I’m jumping for joy!” she exclaimed. “Hop, hop! Ah ha ha!”

Though she did seem a little strange, now and again.

“Now, what am I gonna do?” I wondered.

Ashley and Loli Loli had made their decision, so it was about time I made mine. There were so many colors to pick from that it was kind of hard to choose, and I almost picked something at random. But we were finally at the festival, so I had to choose the right one.

After agonizing over it for a little bit, I picked out one of the sprays, dyed my shadow, and it turned that one solid color.

When Filia saw my shadow, she looked at me with surprise. “Huh? Yuri, you’re pink? That’s kind of unexpected.”

Yep, I was pink! Or peach, you could say. But there was a very good reason for this. “I made it the color of muscle. Muscles are mostly red or white.”

I’m an intellectual, so I knew what I was talking about. If you mixed red and white, you got pink.

“You say that I’m all red,” said Ashley, “but you’re all muscle.”

“Well, yeah, I’m a human being!”

Ashley blinked. “I don’t feel like that makes sense?”

Muscles were essential for humans, though. Couldn’t she see that?

“It suits you, Yuri! I think you look kinda cool!”

“Oh, thanks, Loli Loli!”

“Don’t worry, Yuri, it’s just a trick of the imagination!” she said, throwing out a fist bump.

“A trick of the what…?”

Even if she’d thrown out a fist bump like that, I wasn’t sure I should just be happy about that. Anyway, the three of us had changed the color of our shadows. The last one left was Filia. Come to think of it, Filia did tend to spend a lot of time looking for fashionable things, like with her clothes.

“Hmm. I’ve decided!” announced Filia. “I didn’t want to keep you waiting for too long.”

But today, it seemed like she’d decided rather easily. Filia sprayed her shadow vigorously, changing its color. The color she chose was a pure white.

“Ta-da!” Filia opened her arms wide, showing off her shadow.

“Oh, that really suits you! I’m totally convinced, it was a success!” said Loli Loli.

“Eh he he! Thank you, Loli Loli. I am pure and innocent, so I made it white.”

Pure and innocent? Uh, that was a heck of a thing to hear from Filia of all people.

“White! That’s just perfect for you, Big Sis, so pure and innocent!”

“Ashley. I’m sure that Filia has you ensorcelled with some kind of illusion magic,” I said, shaking my head.

Filia pouted. “How rude! I can’t use that kind of magic. And even if I could, I wouldn’t use it on anyone except you, Yuri!”

“You’d use it on me?!”

“You hear that, Yuri? See, Big Sis is pure and innocent after all!”

“No, did you actually listen to what she said? She just said she’d use it on me!”

“If it’s on you, it’s okay. Because of muscle,” she replied.

Because of muscle? What?

Ashley gave me a teasing look. “Besides, you’d be happy if she did anyway, right? You’d be all like, ‘I’ll train so I can handle illusions!’”

“Huh. You really do know me well. Good point.” Finally, Ashley was beginning to understand me!

“Yuri, you’re weird! Funny!” exclaimed Loli Loli.

“I’m not weird. I’m normal!”

“Yuri said that he thinks he’s normal. Loli Loli, what do you think?” asked Ashley.

“Hmm. Nope! Don’t think so!” Loli Loli cut me so deep, but she kept on giggling! “But he’s a good guy! I like Yuri! Ashley, do you dislike him?”

Ashley didn’t expect to have that question thrown at her. She stammered a bit, going, “H-huh? M-me?” while pointing at herself, her eyes wide in surprise. She thought for a moment. “Well…no, I don’t dislike him.”

“Then that’s good! And Filia loves Yuri, so then everyone is friends!” said Loli Loli.

“Huh? W-wait a minute,” Filia stammered, “why do you say I love Yuri?!”

“It’s obvious!”

“I-It’s obvious?!”

“Besides, if you didn’t like him, then you wouldn’t be with him, right?”

“W-well, I suppose so, but…”

“So, you like him then!”

Pressed by Loli Loli’s strong, decisive tone of voice, Filia just gave a small nod. “Yes, well…that’s true…I do like him,” she said, averting her eyes from me as if embarrassed.

I was at a bit of a loss over that reaction.

“It’s good that everyone likes you, Yuri!” said Loli Loli.

“Y-yeah.” Uh, I supposed! I just…wouldn’t think too deeply on that one. I’d just follow Loli Loli’s lead and keep it simple. It was good to be liked!

 

Time really does fly when you’re having fun. Night fell around us, and the moon, which had been just barely visible when the festival began, was now floating right up there in the middle of the sky. From the look of it, the closing ceremonies were about to take place. In a few minutes, all the stalls would be closed.

Considering there wasn’t much time left, the next stall we visited would be our last.

The stall we ended up choosing was a shooting gallery game. There were various prizes of various sizes lined up, mainly stuffed animals and the like. If you knocked down a prize with the toy gun, you’d win that prize. The spot where you stood was only thirty feet or so away from where the prizes were lined up. At first I thought it would be easy, but…

“I thought for sure I would get something!” wailed Ashley.

“Agh, me too!” cried Loli Loli.

Ashley and Loli Loli let out some truly agonized cries.

“I’m sorry, Ashley, Loli Loli. I wish I could’ve won something for you both, but…” Filia sighed. All three of them had failed.

The gun was many times smaller than you would think, and it really didn’t shoot as well as you’d hope. Also, the bullets were practically as light as air, so even if you were fortunate enough to actually hit one of the prizes, the crappy little gun couldn’t knock it down. I looked over at the shelf where the prizes were displayed. It seemed like Ashley wanted a hippopotamus plushie, and Loli Loli wanted some kind of figure that I couldn’t wrap my head around? It was some kind of twisted screw thingy.

“Ooh!” Ashley groaned.

“Whoa, whoa, jeez! Ashley, is it that big of a deal?”

“Yes, it is that big of a deal! Just look over there!” she replied, pointing to a deformed hippopotamus plushie. At once, I understood why Ashley was so worked up about it. What the heck—it was bright red!

“She’s waiting for me!” Ashley moaned. “Yet I can’t embrace her in my arms…”

“Huh, okay…” Her fixation on the color red had almost become some kind of delusion.

Hm. I crossed my arms and thought to myself. I didn’t want to let our day at the festival end like this!

“All right. I’ll do it. Ashley, Loli Loli. Leave it to me. I’ll get ya the things ya want.” As they say, all’s well that ends well, so I was going to make sure it ended well. I stood facing straight at the shelf with the prizes.

“Heh, ‘Leave it to me,’ says the amateur who can’t even spell shootin’,” said the man with a long, thin face who was running the stall.

“I do too know the first thing. I know the whole thing! You write it like ‘s-h-o-o-t-i-n-g.’ Like that!” Come on, he shouldn’t have even tried to make fun of me. I’m an intellectual muscle man! I traced the outline of the letters in the air with my finger. “See? I do know it.”

“That’s not what I meant! Well, whatever. If ya think ya can win something, try and get it!”

“Okay, but before I try, I have a question. Do I have to use this gun?”

The man running the stall gave me a puzzled look. “Huh? If you’re not usin’ the gun, then how’re ya gonna get a prize?”

“I’ll throw the bullet with my bare hands.”

“Ha ha ha! You’re a funny guy! All right!”

How generous! The guy had a big heart, thank goodness.

“All right, here I go!” I held the bullet in my hand and relaxed, focusing my conscious mind on my body.

“If ya think you can knock ’em down by throwin’, just go ahead!” said the man.

“Feast your eyes on the essence of muscle magic.” I focused all my attention on my fist. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. No thoughts. No consciousness. “…Phew.”

I cleared my mind and locked my eyes on the prizes lined up on the shelf. I wound up…and threw.

In the next instant, a thunderous sound filled the area. The shock wave created by the bullet exceeding the speed of sound didn’t just blow away all of the prizes lined up on the shelf, it also blew away the shelf itself. Yeah, that was a good hit.

“Wh-what in the world was that…?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Muscle magic.” While the man running the stall was stunned, I selected only the prizes that I needed and put them in the bag of holding at my waist. “I don’t want the rest of ’em. Don’t need ’em.”

If I took all the prizes home with me, then the guy would probably be out of business.

“Th-thanks?” said the man.

Then I returned to the three girls. “Here ya go.”

First, I gave Ashley the red hippopotamus plushie she’d wanted.

“Th-thank you…”

“Yep.” She was surprisingly proper when it came to this kind of thing. She must’ve been raised well. Maybe my thoughts were showing on my face or something, because Ashley quickly turned away from me. “D-don’t get the wrong idea or anything! It’s not like you’re gonna win me over so easily with this!”

I guessed she wasn’t quite as simple as Filia.

“But your likability is rising rapidly!”

So maybe a little simple.

“Anyway… The more I look at it, the cuter this stuffed animal gets!” she exclaimed, and happily hugged it.

If she was that happy, then it was worth the effort! Next, I turned to Loli Loli.

“Loli Loli, I have this for you. Here.”

I handed her the figure that looked like some kind of twisted screw. It looked like a work of art, but…it also kinda looked like junk.

“Wow! Thank you!” she exclaimed, hopping around happily. Then, she gently patted the figure. “Such an incredible form! The deviation value is so high!”

“I-I see.”

I had absolutely no clue what she was talking about. But judging from the look on her face, she certainly seemed happy. I had no idea what that figure was worth, but if it made Loli Loli happy, then I was glad. I wanted the festival to end on a high note for her.

At last, the stalls closed.

 

We gathered in front of the Fire God idol once again.

“The festival was super fun! I just couldn’t help but get totally carried away with excitement!” said Loli Loli.

“Your village has a completely different way of celebrating than mine does. It was quite a lot of fun,” said Filia.

“It was a great festival,” I added.

Ashley seemed happy to hear it. “I know, right? Oh, the prayer is about to begin! From this point on, please listen quietly.” She held her finger up to her mouth.

“We’ll now offer a prayer to Fire God. Everyone, please listen quietly!” called Moichi, now clad in red clothing. He’d changed at some point when we weren’t looking. He now stood with the villagers, facing the Fire God idol.

“Long ago, in ancient times…before humanity appeared in this world, there existed Five Great Gods,” said Moichi. He spoke in a deep voice, light-years from the cheerful, casual way he’d spoken up until this point.

“The Five Gods, with their merciful, benevolent hearts, created us—the five races. The Water God made the mer-people, the Wind God made the elves, the Earth God made the dwarves, the Lightning God made the beastmen, and the Fire God made humans. We, born of the Five Gods, have recognized one another as brothers and sisters, cooperated with one another, and have lived in peace together. For a time there were also other living creatures, ‘animals,’ which are now almost completely extinct.”

I wondered if the wind had started blowing, because the Fire God idol was gently swaying.

“However, those happy days were shattered when the Dark God appeared. The Dark God created monsters and majin, the beings from the so-called race of demons. These wicked creatures antagonized the five races, and chaos engulfed the world. The Five Gods were unhappy with this turn, and they challenged the Dark God in battle. The power of the Dark God was incredible, but the Five Great Gods succeeded in striking and destroying their foe. However, the Five Gods also suffered terrible wounds, and they disappeared. But thanks to their sacrifice, the demons lost their power, and the world was once again at peace.”

Moichi paused for a moment and looked back at us.

“Everyone! Let us express our deepest gratitude to the gods who created us and who protect the world! I ask for a minute of prayer.”

A minute. During that time, no one uttered a word. There was only silence.

“Thus concludes our prayers to the Five Gods.”

After bowing to the Fire God idol, Moichi tossed the red robe he was wearing into the flames. That was probably the signal for the end of the ceremony, because after that, Moichi seemed like he was back to his usual self.

“Phew! I was so nervous.”

But the villagers cheered him on.

“That was great!”

“Hey, you did pretty good for your first time!”

Moichi walked over to Loli Loli. His relaxed expression stiffened once again. “I’m really sorry to have spoken ill of you, Loli Loli—and of your god. It’s a tradition that’s been passed down from generation to generation, so it’s not like we can change the words so easily.”

Come to think of it, I had heard something like that before about how the majin were born from the Dark God. I wondered what Loli Loli thought about that.

“It’s okay! It was refreshing to hear something different from what my father is always telling me!” she replied. It seemed like she didn’t mind at all.

Actually, if anything, her mental fortitude really was incredible. Something to shoot for myself, maybe!

“Thanks,” said Moichi, “I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” said Ashley. “The festival’s still not over! There’s still one thing left to do!”

“Oh, yeah! That’s right! It’s not a festival if you don’t see that!” replied Moichi.

Huh, so there was still some kind of attraction left.

“What is ‘that’?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” said Ashley, gazing at the idol. “Watch. And don’t take your eyes off of it.”

The red robe that Moichi had thrown into the fire was already half gone. It was burning, burning, and…finally was nothing but ash. At that moment, flames erupted from the Fire God idol. The flames shot skyward and instantly stretched out high into the heavens, illuminating the village as brightly as daylight.

“It’s just fantastic, isn’t it?” Ashley murmured.

“Yeah!” said Loli Loli. “It’s just like fwwooooom! Whoooosh!”

“He he, I know, right? There’s nothing like seeing a good flame burning, it’s just the best!”

If someone heard Ashley say that out of context, they’d think she was nuts.

Anyway, as flames continued to roar, the Fire God idol gradually grew smaller and smaller, and eventually, the flames vanished.

“And now the festival is over. Did you have fun?” asked Ashley.

“I did!” said Loli Loli. “It’s really a shame that I’ve gone so long without knowing anything about this! It makes me want to ask myself, just what the heck have I been doing with the years I’ve been living?!”

Filia nodded. “It was a wonderful festival. Everyone in the village is so kind too. It’s a nice place.”

“I really had fun,” I added.

“Good, I’m glad to hear that,” said Ashley, smiling, seeming relieved at our reactions.

“Whoooooooo!” Moichi shouted in a voice that carried across the village. “All right, everyone! Eat and drink all ya want! Time to begin the feast after the festival!”

The noise and excitement didn’t die down, even late into the night.

 

***

 

By the time we got back to Ashley’s house, it was extremely late at night. Filia and I put Loli Loli and Ashley to bed on the living room sofa. Both of them were incredibly exhausted and super sleepy. Filia and I let out a simultaneous heavy sigh.

“I’ll get us something to drink,” said Filia.

“Oh, thanks.”

Filia poured some drinks into cups and sat down next to me. We were so close that our hands were almost touching. Filia’s faintly sweet scent tickled my nostrils. “I’m really glad that Ashley and Loli Loli were so happy,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m relieved.”

“By the way, Yuri, I was just wondering…” Filia touched the tips of her fingers together, her hands in front of her chest. Then she brought her hand up to her light pink lips, and for a moment, gave me a pouting look. “Aren’t you going to give me anything? I’m so jealous of the other two!”

Then she beamed. “Eh he…just kidding! What a thing to say,” she said, smiling brightly.

I stared back at her intently.

“Yuri, I was joking, okay? Joking! Did I fool you? Or…is something the matter? I guess you just want to stare at the transcendentally beautiful elf, Filia, eh? Ah, Yuri, I should’ve known! Okay, okay, you can look!” She gave me her usual teasing look and poked me in the forehead, putting on a little act.

“Well, actually, I did get something for you. Here.” I took a stuffed animal out of the bag of holding at my waist. It was a hefty boy, almost as big as Filia’s waist.

“Um…huh?”

“You wanted it, didn’t you? You kept glancing at it out of the corner of your eye.”

I was positive that I’d seen Filia looking at the stuffed bear with a wistful look in her eyes, even as she had been trying to win the prizes for Ashley and Loli Loli. So I’d put the advice Ashley had given me into practice: You have to give a gift that your recipient really wants. I’d been watching Filia throughout the day, and this was the one I’d noticed.

When Filia saw the stuffed animal in my hands, she froze for a few seconds and just stared at it silently. She was probably overcome with happiness, right? But just as I was thinking that, Filia opened her mouth to speak, though it looked like she was having trouble getting the words out.

“I, uh. I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but…it was actually the small stuffed animal next to this one that I was looking at…maybe?”

Wait, really? I mean, sure, there had been a small stuffed bear next to this one, but I’d thought for sure that the big one would be better. “Oh. I…I’m sorry.”

“N-no, it’s okay! I suppose realistically, the smaller one would’ve been easier to get, but the larger one is cuter, so it’s okay! But, ah…are you sure you’re okay giving this to me?”

So that was it. Did she really feel the big one was better or was she just trying to spare my feelings? Judging from how she fidgeted, fidgeting with the hem of her dress, I didn’t think she didn’t want it. Right?

“You’re always doing so much for me,” I said. “Besides, I got this for you, Filia. Because, well…because.”

“Th-thank you very much…” She was about to reach and grab it, but suddenly stopped. “You didn’t put a dumbbell inside this or anything, did you?”

“Like hell I would!” I snapped. Jeez, who did she think I was? “Anyway…here.”

I was feeling kind of embarrassed from being teased, so I just handed the plushie over brusquely.

Filia took the bear carefully with both hands and hugged it tight with both arms. “Thank you very much, Yuri. I’m really, really happy… Tee hee hee!”

Filia bowed graciously to me, at the same time using her hands to make the plushie bow as well. She wore a shy, bashful look. When I saw that expression, my heart started to beat faster. Thanks to my extensive training, I should have been able to control every part of my body at will, but as soon as Filia’s smile entered my field of view, I just completely lost control.

I was utterly unable to pull my eyes away from her face, so I just kept staring…and I could tell that she was starting to blush, her face going bright red in the blink of an eye.

“Yuri, when you stare at me like that, it…it’s rather embarrassing,” she squeaked in a small voice, her face thoroughly red. Even her ears were red.

“S-sorry.” I somehow managed to regain control of my body, and I vigorously averted my eyes.

Then I noticed Loli Loli and Ashley both had their eyes wide open.

“They’re flirting!” whispered Loli Loli.

“Ah, Loli Loli, you dummy!” Ashley snapped. “Now they know we’re awake!”

As if their eyes being wide open wasn’t a clue?

“Y-you’re awake?!” Filia stammered. “I-If you were awake, you need to—you should have told me!”

“Y-yeah!” I said. “I’m shocked! Shocked, I say!”

“Hmm…” Ashley grinned at our protests. Damn it, why did she have to keep smiling like that?! I thought desperately for a retort, but my brain was mush.

Then Loli Loli tilted her head to the side. “Hey, hey! How many kids do you want to have?” she asked.

“H-hey!” I protested.

“K-kids…” Filia murmured.

The embarrassment was too much and, just like that, Filia completely shut down for the night.