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.