Chapter 421: Bustling Summer Festival
When it comes to festivals, it's all about eating, drinking, and having fun, and the Summer Festival is no exception.
Arriving at the street corner, one could see lanterns and colorful lights hanging in front of every shop, casting a dreamy and enchanting glow that gave the impression of a fairy tale.
Various stalls lined both sides of the street, offering snacks, toy shops, and game booths. The bustling sounds filled the air, allowing people to fully experience the liveliness and vibrancy of the festival.
The streets were packed with people, and beautiful girls in yukatas could be seen everywhere. Some walked in groups of two or three, wearing wooden clogs and chatting happily. Among them were couples and families with children. Despite their different identities, everyone wore a happy smile on their face.
Seeing the large group of girls around him, Hachiman smiled and asked, "What do you girls want to do?"
Upon hearing his question, Yui's eyes lit up, and she pointed to a stall, saying, "How about goldfish scooping?"
Following her gaze, Hachiman saw two rectangular white plastic tanks not far from their current location, filled with colorful goldfish.
As one of the most classic games at the Summer Festival, goldfish scooping naturally attracted a lot of attention. Around the two tanks, many children had gathered, their eyes shining as they watched the goldfish swimming around.
Not only children but also couples were participating. The boys would scoop up a goldfish for their girlfriends, hoping to make them happy. If successful, not only would they delight their girlfriends but also earn the admiration of the surrounding children.
Seeing the goldfish scooping stall, including Vigne and Gabriel, all the girls' eyes lit up. After all, girls liked pretty and cute things, and those colorful goldfish seemed to fit their aesthetic.
Since the girls wanted to play, Hachiman naturally wouldn't let them down. He smiled and said, "Alright, since you all want to play, let's go together then."
Hearing his words, the girls nodded in agreement.
And so, led by Hachiman, the group headed towards the goldfish scooping stall.
At first, when the owner saw a large group of people heading towards his stall, he was startled, thinking someone was going to cause trouble. But when he realized that most of them were girls, he couldn't help but relax.
Maybe it's just a group of young girls gathering to play together, the shop owner thought to himself, smiling.
After all, the more people, the more money he could make.
However, as the group approached closer, the owner finally noticed that it wasn't just a group of girls but rather a group of girls surrounding a boy.
Perhaps this was what young people referred to as being "popular."
Watching Hachiman being surrounded by the girls, the shop owner silently pondered.
But what did it matter to him? As long as he could make money.
...
Approaching the goldfish scooping stall, Hachiman took out his wallet and handed over two thousand-yen bills. Taking the money, the middle-aged man who ran the stall happily handed each person a small bowl and two sheets of paper nets.
"Since there are so many of you, I'll give you an extra sheet of paper net. But if you want to continue later, it'll cost you one hundred yen for each net," the man said with a smile.
"Thank you, sir," Hachiman thanked him with a smile, then turned to the girls and said, "Why don't you all give it a try first? If you can't catch any, I'll help you."
Hearing his words, the girls nodded in agreement.
However, this remark made some of the other customers nearby secretly roll their eyes, especially some of the boys who had come out alone. They couldn't help but feel a sour taste in their mouths.
They couldn't even get a date, so why was he able to come out and play with so many girls, and each one prettier than the last?
And now he's saying he'll help them catch fish if they can't? Since when were goldfish so easy to catch? If they were, wouldn't the owner have gone bankrupt by now?
Thinking this, some of the boys made up their minds to watch Hachiman make a fool of himself later.
Ignoring the others, Satania took the paper net and small bowl and directly challenged Gabriel.
"Gabriel, let's compete! Let's see who can catch more goldfish."
Perhaps due to the festival atmosphere or because she hadn't played this kind of game before, Gabriel, the lazy angel, was unusually interested and nodded, "Sure, I'll play with you."
Raphiel also invited Vignette, "Vigne, let's give it a try."
"Okay, let's play together," Vignette nodded.
The other girls did the same, rolling up the hems of their yukatas and squatting beside the white plastic tanks to try their hand at scooping goldfish.
And so, before Hachiman's eyes appeared one plump and round "peach" after another, and among them were many that he had personally measured the size of, offering an excellent grip.
Ahem...
Let's continue talking about goldfish scooping.
Don't be fooled by Satania's usual foolishness; when it comes to competing with Gabriel, she's unusually serious.
Satania fixed her gaze on a group of goldfish swimming together, seemingly planning to scoop up several at once to ensure victory.
In the next moment, she struck, her right hand's paper net leaving a white trail in the air as it scooped toward the cluster of goldfish. Thanks to her swift motion, she actually managed to catch several.
Seeing this, Satania's face lit up with a smug smile as she attempted to lift the net with the goldfish out of the water, but then...
The paper net tore.
"Huh? What the heck, it's so flimsy," the foolish demon exclaimed in frustration as she held the net with a hole in it.
Well, what did you expect from a net thinner than window paper? This type of paper net used for goldfish scooping is made of rice paper, similar to the semi-transparent candy coating on White Rabbit milk candies.
While it's not quite as fragile as tissue paper, it's not far off.
Getting one fish with this type of net is already quite good; who told you to be so greedy and try to scoop up so many at once?
Besides, if these paper nets were sturdy, how would the owner make money?
Watching Satania's antics, Hachiman smirked.
At this point, Vignette spoke up with resignation, "Satania, these nets are very thin, so you can't scoop up so many at once. You have to go one by one, and your movements need to be slower and gentler."
As she spoke, she demonstrated with a paper net.
Vignette targeted a lone goldfish, slowly extending the net beneath it, then gently lifting it.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly as the goldfish was scooped out of the water with the paper net.
However, once out of the water, the fish began to thrash about violently, and the soaked paper net became even more fragile.
With a "pop," the paper net ultimately tore, and the little goldfish fell back into the water.
Although she failed, Vignette didn't make a scene like Satania; she just sighed in resignation.
But seeing Vignette, who had just taught her, fail as well, the foolish demon became smug.
"What's this, Vigne? You failed too!" Satania exclaimed.
Unable to tolerate Satania's behavior, despite her usually good temper, Vignette's forehead sprouted a few "#" symbols as she reached out and pinched the demon's cheek.
"Ow ow ow!!" The foolish demon, who had just been feeling proud, cried out in pain on the spot.
At this moment, Gabriel offered some comfort, "It's okay, Vigne. You were so close to succeeding just now. Give it another try."
Hearing this, Vignette let go of Satania. Looking at Gabriel, who was now empty-handed, she asked with some confusion, "Huh, Gab, where's your net?"
"I already tried earlier, and both of mine broke," Gabriel replied weakly.
It seemed that the goldfish scooping game wasn't as simple as imagined. Except for a few like Raphiel and Saeko, who succeeded in scooping out a fish, almost all the girls failed.
Looking at the goldfish swimming continuously in the plastic tank and then at her torn net, Yui pouted in frustration. But when she saw Hachiman standing still beside her, her eyes lit up.
Approaching Hachiman, the girl clasped her hands together, looking pitiful like a begging kitten. "Hikki, I want a goldfish, so please help me!"
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