"By the way, Ryougi, have you ever caught goldfish?"
"No."
So, catching goldfish means spending some Mora to buy a net from the boss, then catching goldfish in a large pool; if you catch one, it's yours.
However, the net used for catching goldfish is very tricky; it's made of paper, and unless you get a particularly sturdy one, it will tear as soon as it touches water.
That is to say, these goldfish are basically impossible to catch.
"Ah, ah, ah, why did it break again? Boss, your net has a problem!" Fujiwara threw away the broken paper net in her hand, and beside her, a large stack of broken nets had already accumulated.
"What problem? Aren't they all like this? If you can't catch them, no one else can either." The boss rolled his eyes. His net was specially made this way; it would be a miracle if you could catch anything.
"Isn't that the problem? If you can't catch goldfish, is it still called catching goldfish?"
The boss immediately stood up from his chair when he heard this: "Are you deliberately looking for trouble?"
"If I could catch them, I definitely wouldn't be looking for trouble, but look how many nets this is!!!"
Fujiwara picked up the large stack of broken nets on the ground and began to reason with the boss.
"That's because you're bad at it, who else can you blame?"
While the two were bickering, Shiki had already picked up a small net and entered the Selfless State, facing the goldfish pond. This boss was too much; today she had to make him lose money!
Although she didn't bring her sword today, she no longer needed to hold a sword to enter Wuwo.
The world in her eyes slowed down. The small paper net slowly moved under a goldfish. Shiki's hand was very steady, making almost no movement.
Immediately after, Shiki's other hand, holding a small basin, silently touched the water surface, and then a faint, almost imperceptible golden electric arc entered the pool.
The current was very small, even less than the static electricity generated by friction, but it was enough to slightly confuse the goldfish.
This was to prevent the goldfish from jumping and breaking the paper net. Since the boss was unscrupulous, she didn't need to follow the rules either.
Plop
One goldfish was thrown into the basin, and soon a second. While Fujiwara and the boss were arguing, the small basin was already full of goldfish.
There were a total of fifteen goldfish. At a price of 100 Mora per net, the boss had already lost 14,900 Mora.
"Boss, do you have any more basins here?"
"Ah, yes." The boss thought it was business, but when he turned around, he was stunned.
"Holy cow!"
"Wow! So many goldfish! Ryougi, how did you catch them?" Fujiwara's eyes lit up, and seeing the boss's embarrassed expression, her mood immediately brightened.
"Wuwo."
Shiki didn't say much, but a faint smile at the corner of her mouth showed her current mood.
"Miss, I'll refund your Mora, can you please not play here anymore?"
"It's only a hundred Mora, do I care about that much Mora? Give me a few more basins!"
"You!"
"Miss, please be kind, let me go, okay? If you keep catching, I'll truly lose everything, even my underwear." The boss pleaded with a bitter face.
"Alright, then next time remember to change to a normal paper net. If it's still like this, don't blame me for emptying your goldfish pond."
After speaking, Shiki waved the small paper net in her hand, then released all the goldfish from the basin, leaving only three.
One for herself, and the other two for Fujiwara and Kazuha.
Watching the goldfish being released one by one, the boss felt his heart bleeding. He swore he would never come again. Perhaps it was better to find a job with a fixed salary.
"Are these two really for me?" Fujiwara asked in surprise.
"Of course, after all, you made me feel the joy of the festival, didn't you? So just accept them." Shiki said with a light laugh. This was one of the few times she had felt happiness in a crowded and lively place.
"Hehe, I told you the festival was fun... Oh no, it's almost time to watch fireworks with Kazuha. Bye for now, Ryougi."
Fujiwara waved her hand, then disappeared into the crowd.
"Goodbye... By the way, is it already this time?" Shiki looked up at the night sky. The moon hung above, emitting a soft glow.
According to calculations, it should be nine o'clock in the evening now. Generally, at this time, people either go to sleep or make babies, yet there were still many people at the festival.
"Ioroi… Never mind, I'm going back."
As a great monster, Ioroi wouldn't be unable to find his way back, so Shiki decided to return first.
She had played everything she wanted and experienced happiness, so going back like this was fine.
After returning to Konda Village via the Teleport Waypoint, Shiki washed up, crawled into bed, and then fell asleep.
Well, from her perspective, that was indeed the case.
...
Ayaka walked alone on the empty streets. She also wanted to attend the festival, but as the Young Miss of the Kamisato Clan, the inequality of her status would only make everyone attending the festival feel constrained.
To avoid disappointing others, Ayaka could only walk on the streets far from the festival, looking longingly towards where the festival was being held.
"Sigh…"
But just then, she saw a back clad in a white furisode, standing by the railing and gazing into the distance.
From her figure, the girl's front must be exquisite, and the Vision pinned at the center of her butterfly knot further piqued Ayaka's curiosity.
On such a lively festival day, why would someone be standing alone here?
"Good evening."
The white furisode girl heard the voice from behind but didn't reply, only slowly turned around.
Upon seeing the furisode girl's face, Ayaka's eyes showed a hint of amazement, followed by confusion.
"Miss Ryougi?"
"It's me."
Shiki's voice was ethereal and gentle, like a breeze blowing past her ears, making her feel comfortable.
Ayaka paused slightly, then quickly reacted: "It's a pleasure to meet you, I am Ayaka. Miss Ryougi, are you not planning to go to the festival?"
"Festival? Didn't Kamisato also not go?" Shiki smiled.
"I… I didn't go because of some special reasons. If I went, it would cause trouble for everyone."
"Then I suppose I have a similar reason."
"Hehe, Miss Ryougi is joking. I am the Young Miss of the Kamisato Clan. The difference in status would make people feel constrained, and that feeling shouldn't be present at a festival."
Ayaka opened her folding fan to cover half of her face. It was her long-standing habit to cover her mouth with a folding fan when she smiled.
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