486 Chapter 486: The Weaver’s Festival (1/2)
”Whoa…would you look at that?”
”Yeah…”
While Melina practically pranced around, Adrian followed, carrying several boxes of food. He chuckled as he watched Melina enjoy herself, whirling about as she took in the sights and sounds. On either side of them, people yelled from stalls and booths, eagerly hawking their wares and trying to win customers over.
Adrian smiled as he balanced the boxes of food, which included hotdogs, fried noodles, oriental pancakes and octopus balls. There were even cotton candy mixed somewhere in there, something that Melina particularly enjoyed.
”Is this your first time at the Weaver's Festival, Adrian?”
”Ah, yeah.” He nodded as he followed Melina around. ”We had a few festivals back in Southampton City, but it's nothing like this. We didn't set up stalls in the streets and launch fireworks.”
”Ho…what sort of festivals did you have in Southampton?”
”Football festivals…at the end of every season, we would have a parade.” Adrian paused when he caught sight of Melina's expression. ”Oh, I mean soccer. I guess you guys call football soccer in Flandor.”
”Oh! Soccer! Yeah, I heard it's a popular sport.”
”Has been for thousands of years,” Adrian said proudly. 'And Southampton football club can trace its lineage to millennia ago. By the way, Brother Richie supports Blackburn Rovers for some reason.”
”Aha…I see. So Sensei has a favorite team too.” Melina felt a bead of sweat drip down her face. ”I'm sorry, I don't know much about soccer…”
”Oh, that's all right.” Adrian looked around and his eyes rested on a stall. ”You want to play a game? That stall looks fun?”
”Okay! Let's take a look!”
The stall that Adrian had picked out was a gaming booth with air rifles and targets. It was the usual ”shoot down the prize you want” game, where you picked up the rifle and aimed for whatever you desired. The targets ranged from stuffed animals such as teddy bars, a yellow electric mouse with a lightning-bolt shaped tail, a dinosaur standing on two legs, with spines on its back, to more ornamental accessories such as a pink box with a heart on it, a stand where a necklace dangled from, and a hairclip that was propped up precariously. Easy to knock down, but so small that it would be difficult to hit it unless you were wearing hi-tech glasses like mine.
Too bad I wasn't accompanying the kids…
”If Sensei was here, do you think he'll be able to shoot with 100% precision?” Melina asked. Adrian grimaced before chuckling.
”Ah, Brother Richie is not known for his accuracy. Even with those hi-tech glasses of his, he'll miss half the time.” Adrian then chuckled. ”But, I can guarantee that he has the ability to blow all the targets off the shelf if you allow him to.”
Melina giggled. ”That certainly sounds like Sensei.”
”Yeah, he's the mage of mass destruction.”
”Huh? I thought he's known more for summoning monsters.”
”Monsters that can cause mass destruction then.”
The two of them bantered before reaching the booth. The guy grinned at them and raised a finger.
”A dollar for three tries, young mister and missus. How about it?”
”Sure.” Melina placed a dollar coin on the table and slid it over. She then glanced at Adrian, who gave her an encouraging nod. Picking up a rifle, she then tested the weight a bit before aiming at a teddy bear and squeezing the trigger.
The first shot grazed the teddy bear, and while its fur was ruffled, it didn't fall over. The second shot skimmed over its head, and the teddy bear appeared to shudder at the close shave. Melina pursed her lips, adjusted her aim and fired again. This time, the air burst struck the teddy bear square in the chest and it finally toppled to its back.
”Great job, little lady!” the guy in charge clapped his hands, and then strode toward the shelf. ”You've earned yourself this handsome looking bear!”
He then plopped it down on the table, allowing Melina to eagerly sweep it up into her arms.
”Yay! Thank you!”
”No problem. What about you, bro? Would you like to give it a try too?” the guy shifted his gaze toward Adrian, who was watching Melina's performance patiently. The blond girl turned toward her date partner.
”Yeah, you should give it a try, Adrian!”
”Nah, I'll pass.” the dark-haired guy shook his head and then raised the boxes he was holding. ”I'm pretty loaded down anyway.”
”I can take those from you.” Melina made to relieve him of his burden but he stepped back with a smile.
”It's fine, really. I was never a good shot. Let's try out that store over there.”
”Okay…”
The two of them continued their date in that pleasant manner. As they explored the bustling streets of festive Flandor, they sometimes came across friends from Saint Teresa's Academy.
”Eh? Isn't that Iris and her friends?”
Melina caught sight of Iris Langford, who was currently together with her friends. The girls were dressed splendidly in sparkly or flashy dresses, while the guys were in more casual attire. It seemed like a group date of sorts, with couples already pairing up for some reason. Most likely they would all have a partner during the dance later.
”Oh! Melina! Adrian!”
Iris noticed them too, and hurried over. Her friends followed, a lot more enthusiastically than either of them expected. Their performance during the tournament styled practical examination had earned them both a lot of fame and built up their reputation, and now everybody respected them highly.
”Good evening, Iris.” Melina then nodded toward everyone else. ”I'm glad to see that everyone is enjoying the festival so far.”
”Yeah!” one of the guys gushed, having taken his place beside Iris. Adrian recalled that his name was Ivan. Ivan Hoe or something like that. ”How about you guys?”
”Loving the food,” Adrian replied as he showed them the boxes of food. ”In fact, we might have purchased a bit too much. Do you guys want some too?”
”Eh? Is that fine?”
”Yeah, otherwise they will go to waste.”