"Well, well, I know that everyone is excited to start, but as always, it is up to me to repeat the rules and what the event consists of so that people who enjoy the festival for the first time can participate without problems." And as if his voice reached everyone, the shouts and applause from before began to disappear to be replaced by a silence waiting to hear the mayor's instructions. "The rules are simple, all participants will be divided into two groups, one group will act as villagers while the other will take the role of demons."
The event seemed like it would consist of two teams, but the mayor was still immersed in his explanation.
"The villagers have the job of throwing beans that we have already prepared for the demons, while the demons must do their best to get hit by them. If the demons are hit by green beans, they will receive one point, while if they are hit by brown beans they will receive triple points, however, if they are hit by a failed dish, you will lose six points!" The mayor kept a bit of silence to see if there were any questions, but after a few seconds, he continued with his explanation.
"Recently everyone was given a piece of paper with the name of the group they were part of, but if they are not satisfied with it, they can always change it with someone else, as always, the prizes will go to the demons who get the most points. While the villagers will enjoy throwing things at the poor demons, we'll wait a few minutes for all the groups to be in their positions." Already hearing all that, Blake basically understood what the event was about, if he happens to be a villager, he will only throw beans to the demons, while if he happens to be a demon, he will have to be hit by them to get points, so he turned his eyes to the paper in his hand and saw that the word "Demon" was written on it.
'So, I'll have to be a demon, well, I don't mind being, they're just beans after all.' But while he was immersed in his thoughts, some conversations coming out from the other people in the plaza caught his attention.
"Hey, she is not...?"
"Demon slayer Hazel! I thought I wouldn't participate this year, quickly, let's find someone who wants to change groups, being a demon this year is practically suicide!"
"Iron man Gaius also came, that didn't prohibit him from participating because of last year?!"
"Will the massacre be repeated?" Blake didn't really understand why they were saying those things, but he could tell that both Hazel and Gaius were really there, as well as more people that he knew from the town preparing for the event, but if he had paid more attention, he would notice how a riot of people was forming they desperately wanted to change their role as a demon to that of villagers.
'And… what am I supposed to do now?' Blake was busy thinking of what to do next, but the very voice of Gaius brought him back to reality.
"I see that you are also part of the event."
"What?... Ah, yes, it seems that the whole town is here."
"It's always like this every year, no one wants to miss out on the main event, by the way, which group did you get?"
"I'm a demon, do you know where I should go?" Blake was thankful that Gaius approached him so he could at least ask what he has to do at the event.
"Demon eh, you just have to stay in the center of the plaza, the villagers line up around it, that way it's easier to get hit by the beans."
"I see, what group are you from, Gaius?" That question seemed to startle Gaius a bit, but he didn't take long to answer it.
"I decided to be a villager this time, in the last festivals I have always been a demon and unfortunately every time I lose by one point. It would have been great if you were there, last year I tried to improve the festival to make it more exciting, but I don't know why it didn't turn out as I expected."
'I think I know the reason perfectly...' And while Blake continued chatting with Gaius, the voice of the mayor caught everyone's attention again.
"Well, I see that most of you are ready, as the last thing, I must remember that the use of magic and things like that are strictly prohibited, if someone is caught cheating, they will be immediately disqualified, so I hope don't any of that happens… And having said everything, I declare that the event begins… Now!" A new series of shouts and applause came with the mayor's words, all the people in the square took their rightful place and a new melody began to sound throughout the place, in the middle, you could see a large number of people most of them were a little nervous because of the sensation that the beautiful green-eyed woman was transmitting, who saw them as a predator looking at its prey while the gaze of the villagers was focused on Gaius for some reason.
Once it was seen how everything was ready, the town witch raised her hand and a small ball of fire shot into the sky and then exploded, letting everyone understand that the event had finally begun.
Just as the sound of the explosion entered Blake's ears, the world in front of him seemed to change abruptly. A rain of green and brown color filled the sky at that moment as well as some plates with an unpleasant substance for the eyes that he already knew very well, but he did not even have time to appreciate the situation when he had to dodge a plate that was going straight to his face.
The scene quickly turned into a flurry of beans and plates flying all over the place as the unlucky demons were hit by them, and even though the projectiles were mere beans, the impacts that sounded and the screams in the air did not give that sensation.
"Heeeelllloooo everyone, I hope you're enjoying the festival to the best of your ability because it looks like this year's main event turned into a real war, don't you think?!" Sakuya's excited voice was heard by everyone present thanks to a kind of device similar to a microphone on a makeshift commentators' table.
"The beans fly through the air like they're swimming, I hope some don't end up lost and grow a plant to the clouds, ahaha!" At the same time, Pia's cheerful expressions made everyone have a confused look on her face.
"Your comments are witty as always, Pia. This year's commentary service is run by the goddess of baths, Pia, and me, the empire's number one merchant, Sakuya, representing the Miyako Inn! By the way, you should also know that Sakuya's gift shop is offering discounts lately, so don't forget to go!" The voice of the lively brown hair girl rang throughout the square calling the attention of all the people who decided not to be part of the event, it was something that was done every year and this time it was the duo of employees of the inn, their comments they attracted laughter and attention from all the people, either because they were funny or because Sakuya had been hit on the head by Shino after her last comment.