◇
We found the stall we were looking for the moment we stepped out onto the street.
I spoke with the old man running the booth, asking if he could have the candied apples ready by the time the ritual dance was set to begin. He was happy to oblige.
"Alright, let's get back to the fun, then."
The moment the words left my mouth, I felt a lightness return to my step.
Our first stop was a lottery stall.
A large wooden box was filled with multi-colored balls. The prizes displayed on the shelves ranged from stuffed animals and accessories to several strangely high-end magic tools.
Oliver’s eyes fixed on one of them.
"You definitely don't need a tacky gold ring like that," Shion interjected with a little giggle.
"It might look a bit... much, but I have a feeling it could be useful."
"You’ve had a habit of picking up weird magic tools for as long as I’ve known you," I recalled.
Back when I was in the same party as Oliver, I remembered him buying several items that made me want to ask, What on earth are you planning to do with that?
"Well then, why don't we see who can pull the best prize?"
"That sounds like fun," Luna agreed.
"How should we do the order?"
"Maybe we all pull at once on the count of three?"
We all nodded at Shion’s suggestion and lined up in front of the wooden box. Each of us reached inside and closed our eyes.
"One, two, three!"
With the shout, the four of us pulled our hands back.
"...White."
"White..."
"I got white, too."
"...I pulled a red one."
Breaking the momentary silence, everyone’s gaze shifted to the color of the ball in Luna’s hand.
"To think you actually pulled it..." I muttered.
The stall owner let out a booming laugh and nodded.
"Nice work, little lady! First prize... is this!"
He held it out with a flourish—the "loud" gold ring that had been catching everyone's eye earlier.
"...I didn't think I'd actually win," Luna said with a troubled smile, staring at the ostentatious ring sitting in her palm. "What should I do? This is a bit too flashy for me."
As she spoke, she stole a glance at Oliver.
Noticing her gaze, Oliver raised an eyebrow. "...What?"
"Well, I won't be using it. You were the one who liked the look of it, weren't you, Oliver-san?"
Luna spoke with a teasing lilt. Oliver opened his mouth as if to protest, then thought better of it and closed it. He looked away, his eyes drifting slightly.
"...I'll admit I was curious. But being handed it like this feels like I've lost somehow."
"Oh, just take it. Be honest with yourself."
Luna giggled and gently placed the ring into Oliver’s hand. The gesture was casual, yet for some reason, it looked incredibly kind.
"Thanks... I'll take it," Oliver muttered softly.
◇
Next, we tried our hand at the shooting gallery.
The targets were a collection of bottles, bells, and strangely intricate wood-carved animals. It was a lot harder than it looked.
"...It won't budge."
Shion let out a low groan. She stared intently at a prize that hadn't moved an inch, even though she’d hit it with all three shots.
"If I could use magic, I’d have knocked them all down by now."
"You know that's cheating."
When I gave her a wry smile, Shion pouted.
◇
After that, we headed to the goldfish scooping stall.
Shion and I managed to break two or three paper scoopers almost immediately and were disqualified. Luna was being careful, but she couldn't quite seem to get the hang of it.
Then, Oliver quietly reached out his arm—
"There we go."
With a steady hand and calm movements, he easily scooped up one, then another, eventually catching three in total.
"...Oliver has the most unexpected talents," Shion remarked.
Oliver averted his eyes, looking slightly embarrassed by the praise.
◇
Our last stop was the die-cutting stall.
This was a game where you had to carefully scrape a piece of sugar candy to cut out a specific shape. It was a serious test of patience and precision, far more difficult than it appeared.
"Ugh, it cracked."
"Mine too."
"...This is quite difficult, isn't it?"
While the three of them were eliminated one by one, I worked in silence, scraping the mold with focus. I had the shape cut out in no time.
"...Whoa."
"To succeed at this on your first try... You really are something," Shion said, sounding exasperated but with a hint of a happy smile. Luna simply shrugged and smiled along.
"I can trade this for a prize, right?"
I held out the finished candy, and the owner nodded.
"Sure can! Pick whatever you like from the pile over there."
Among the prizes, one in particular stood out to me. It was a small ornament shaped like a snowflake, carved from a translucent, pale blue stone.
I chose it without hesitation.
"I'll take this one, please."
"Hey, what'd you get?" Shion asked, tilting her head to peer at my hand.
"...Here."
I gently took the snowflake ornament and held it out to her.
"Eh?"
"I thought it would look good on you, Shion. If you'd like, please take it."
Shion blinked in surprise. A moment later, her cheeks flushed a soft pink, and she nodded.
"...Yeah. Thank you. I'm... really happy."
She took the ornament, cradling it in both hands as if it were something precious, and gave me a gentle smile. Seeing her expression, I couldn't help but smile back.
Watching the exchange from a short distance, Luna whispered to Oliver.
"...That was on purpose, wasn't it?"
"Definitely. A hundred percent."
"Well, I suppose that sort of thing isn't so bad."
Slowly, the colors of the night deepened. The time for the ritual dance was drawing near.
"Well, should we start heading toward Tenrei Shrine?"
When I spoke, the three of them nodded quietly.
After picking up our candied apples on the way, we turned our steps toward the shrine.