38 Luxurious Tears (1/2)
It was the last two days of the Hibiya Oktoberfest, and the booth was getting more and more crowded. It did not help that the management had opened the festival overnight for those who were doing a last-minute celebration. The festival closes in Sunday noon after all, so it was just one last hurrah of drinking. The two under-aged servers where somewhat taking attention, because of the curfew, but the management had no time to deal with it. They were left alone after some talks with Kanaru.
It was also the last time Arata could play the Attori Beer Dash, and so he did. He was risking another Stamina Penalty, but he had no choice but to take it. Of course, he won the dash again. After winning five rounds of the Normal mode, he was rewarded enough cash to cover for the money Tohru had been taking from him.
[You have reached level 102! Congratulations! New magazines and room frames are now available! Please check the shop for more exciting items!]
Because of the shifting they did, Arata was asleep the entire morning of the last day. He was only awakened when his tummy started asking for food. There were also a lot of people buying. He only consumed chocolate bars to feed himself, feeling the increase in his Stamina bar. To think about it, all the points past Level 99 goes to the Stamina stat. With all the activities a player should do after the patch, it made sense to increase Stamina bar for the rest of the level cap.
A ceremony soon closed the Hibiya Oktoberfest, and the booth owners started packing up for their leave. Some of them gave away free drinks to their neighbors, trading a mug for another mug. However, Kanaru said pass to this, as she had other plans for the rest of the afternoon. The couple helped Kanaru with her packing and brought the remaining kegs back to her shabby apartment.
”Hey, do you want to see the lilies in Saitama today?” The mother grinned at the exhausted pair. ”I won't be able to go here again so I want to see them just for today.” She looked at the time which was displayed to Arata as the 4 PM action time. ”We still have time. It won't close until 9 PM tonight.”
”Spider lilies?” Attori hummed to a pout. Her eyes had looked away, and it felt like her heart sank. She settled on the couch, coiling like a fetus. ”I wanna pass. I'm tired.”
”Eh? Well, I guess it's not that hard for you to go. You can see it any day until October.” Kanaru shrugged, before she turned to the man. ”How about you, Arata? Do you want to have a date with me in Saitama?”
”Wait, I'm coming!” The blue-haired girl rose all of a sudden. Hearing the word 'date' made her shuffle and try to get up as fast as she could, but her limbs kept on sliding from the couch's cover. She managed to sit up and huffed at her mother with a meaningful grin. ”Me! I want a date with Mama!”
More minutes passed by, and Arata found himself in another part of the fictional world. It was rendered so close to his old one, making him feel nostalgic for a place he had never been to before. He only saw photos of Saitama during the festival from his friends and on the Internet. He would love to go, but his real mother was always busy.
They got off the station and walked to the park. There was this sign that welcomed them, saying that they were celebrating the Red Spider Lily Festival for most of September. Parking tips and gate closing were also included in the sign.
There were a lot of people by the entrance, but they pushed through to get to the middle part of the flower walk. The red flowers next to the walkway were like ripe wheat in a farming land. They covered the place with their color and swayed with the night breeze that blew. Attori stared at their darkened red colors, her hands being held in front of her chest. Arata had no idea why she was holding her own hands, but Kanaru seemed to not care. She only gazed at the field where the flowers were grown.
From his point of view, these flowers did not seem to be normal flowers to the two. It could be another sneak peek, but he already told Sayaka to stop doing that. Then again, he wanted to bridge the gap of not knowing. The player brought out his precious instant camera from a bag that appears when summoned. ”Hey, Kanaru-san, Attori! Let's take pictures!”
”Oh! How nice!” Kanaru laughed out and joined her daughter where she stood. She went in for a pose, with her daughter exuding the same level of spunk. She caught Arata laughing behind the camera, but his hands remained steady. She canceled the pose after the photo, only to look at her child. ”Attori, why'd you color your hair blue now? You used to like these flowers and wanted red for your hair...”
”Yeah, but someone challenged me- so I had to put on a brave face and make my hair blue.” The girl nonchalantly answered. She clung on the railing and extended her hand to feel the petals of the flowers. There was still small bitter smile on her face.
'Used to like' were not enough to describe these flowers for her. She cherished these flowers that once graced the backyard of their old house. The mad girl rather looked sentimental, just by trying to touch the petals. She stared at their dark colors, waving her hand against them to feel the wind and their dance.
Arata did not want to let it slip, and so he took another shot from Kanaru's side. He had never seen her so sentimental before, and maybe that was because her main route was about her father. Perhaps the continuation must be related to more about her. The player noticed the mother from behind him. The mother chuckled at the skill of choosing a good timing, while Attori only gave him a curious look. A small smile was all it took to make her ignore them.