"Well, it seems that no one is missing anymore, the count will start soon, I hope that... What is that sound?" And paying attention to what the mayor had just said, all the spectators fixed their gaze on the entrance of the square where the sound similar to that of a stampede seemed to approach little by little so that the next moment the enormous amount of people could be seen that looked like they had just run for their lives. "Well, I don't know if that's a good entry, but it looks like this year's contest will be a little closer."
The last-minute arrival actually kicked the festive mood up a notch again, upbeat music playing throughout the venue and laughter and conversation filling the silence as everyone waited anxiously for the results.
'I hope I've at least got a good position...' But Blake had to snap out of his thoughts once he saw the strange cell-like structures around the square and walked over to get a better look at them at the same time that Sakuya's lively voice was heard in the surroundings.
"Welcome and enjoy one of the annual attractions, here you can see beings who have not the slightest feeling of shame in trying to ruin the beautiful and joyous atmosphere of our beloved celebration, these people chose to use dirty tricks and will alter the experience of the other participants without feeling the slightest trace of guilt, and now that they have been caught in the middle of their evil deeds, the last thing left is for them to suffer the disappointed looks of the entire audience!" And as she had said, behind her were those peculiar cells where many people were wearing trout hats and were continuously sprayed by jets of water that seemed to come out of nowhere.
"This is unfair, there wasn't even a trial to dictate my sentence! Besides, I should have been free an hour ago!" Rusk spoke indignantly as a stream of water entered his mouth, silencing him.
"This will not prevent me from expressing what I feel at this moment, I wanted to achieve an artistic harmony with fishing, there are no limits in my art! Rainb...! Ahhh! It's cold!" Daria also seemed to be suffering a punishment that she never imagined.
"Hehe, it's a shame I got caught. By the way, Sakuya, you're grounded." Shino's voice was heard by Sakuya who couldn't help but turn her eyes away. Shino was also soaking wet and at the same time, this meant that both men and women couldn't help but be captivated by the sight of her.
Those screams as well as more complaints came from all the prisoners at that moment, but for some reason, the only look that was on everyone present was one filled with disappointment.
"Okay, anyone who wants to wet captive trout, raise your hand!" And as an order, all the surrounding people did exactly that as their faces of disappointment quickly changed to ones of joy.
Blake walked away from the whole scene since the situation was becoming very strange for him, in addition to the fact that the mayor's voice was heard again indicating that the count had finally ended and asked everyone to approach the center of the place.
"Looks like everyone is ready! It's time to announce the results!" Everyone's expectations seemed to jump at that precise moment, some people seemed to be praying to some deity to grant them the luck they needed and others seemed to be doing some kind of strange ritual and spoke with words that were difficult to understand.
All this while the mayor seemed to enjoy the tension and lengthened the results on purpose.
"I'm sure everyone put in their best effort and I must say this was the year with the highest catch record, but as always, the podium can only be occupied by the best among all, so pay close attention to the results...!" And leaving that last second where silence took over everything, the mayor spoke again announcing what everyone expected. "In third place and with no fewer than twelve catches, let's give Blake a big round of applause!"
And just when that was heard, most of the spectators gasped in pain as they realized that they couldn't even make it to third place, but aside from that, there was a confused blonde-haired boy who thought he hadn't heard correctly.
"I won?" It may have been third place, but the simple fact of being one of the winners seemed to be a difficult thing for Blake to accept, so much so that he didn't even notice the moment he was lifted and carried right to the front where the crowd had their attention in it.
"In the second place, with a total of fourteen catches... Wow, I didn't expect this. Marjorie!"
"You don't need to shout, I'm next to you!"
"It's professionalism, not that I like to yell!"
"Well, it doesn't look like it!" Ignoring that little argument between the two older people that didn't seem to make any sense, the audience gave a new wave of applause making it look like nothing was happening.
"And finally, though I must say I'm not surprised, with an astounding nineteen catches. Carmen!"
"Hahaha, I knew this was going to happen, but it's still great to hear!! In your face, Carlos!"
"It annoys me, but I'm still proud of you, little sister. Hahaha!" Leaving the exchange between the peculiar green-haired siblings, all the winners had moved to the center of the place where all the attention was on them, the prizes were not long in coming when the first, second, and third place trophies were handed out by Monica to the same while she stuck out his tongue in mockery at Blake.
"Please everyone gives a big round of applause to our winners, maybe today you didn't get among them, but nobody knows what will happen next year, but for now... Enjoy the rest of the event!" New shouts of enthusiasm and joy sounded at that moment, and it was hinted that the contest was over, but that did not mean that the festival was over, new music began to play at the same time that the empty tables from before were filled of food and the atmosphere became one full of excitement.