[Alright—! Now, let the highlight of the 'Water Balloon Festival' begin!]
The rather plausible atmosphere crumbled hollowly at the host's loud voice.
"Are you okay? You didn't get hurt?"
"Uh, yeah…"
I got up from my seat with a regretful heart and reached out my hand to Lia.
Lia blushed, took my hand, and stood up.
"..."
"..."
Just as we were about to fall into that awkward and fresh atmosphere.
[Those who wish to participate in the Water Balloon Target Practice Contest, please gather at the front—!]
The host's words, which had been heard from afar earlier, reached our ears.
"…Contest?"
"Looks like they're having something like that?"
At the word "contest," Lia, who had been blushing, pricked up her ears.
'Right, she really likes games and competitions.'
A laugh escaped me, as she hadn't changed even after the regression.
And then the host's voice was heard again.
[The winning prize is a whopping 300 silver coins!]
"Eh…, p-prize money?"
"..."
At the mention of prize money, the people around also cheered.
Likewise.
Lia, who was in front of me, also began to sparkle her eyes.
And I looked towards the host promoting the contest.
'This is an opportunity.'
I hadn't expected it, but a suitable event appeared.
"Th-th-there! Emil! W-would you perhaps like to do that contest together?"
"I don't mind, but why?"
Although I knew the reason, I pretended not to and asked her.
"The prize money, of course! They're giving out a whopping 300 silver coins!"
"Ah, I see."
300 silver coins.
You can consider 1 silver coin to be about 10,000 won in real money.
In other words, 300 silver coins can be seen as 3 million won.
'Why would they give 3 million won as festival prize money?'
No, the amount of prize money isn't important.
What's important now is Lia, drooling over that prize money and sparkling her eyes.
I chuckled, took Lia's hand, and led her.
"Come on, let's go before it's too late."
"Huh, huh?"
"People are gathering. There might be a participant limit."
"Ah, right!"
At my words, Lia nodded.
And while blushing, she didn't let go of my hand and walked forward with me.
"Do you wish to participate?"
"Yes. Both of us."
"Then, would you like to take a pouch here?"
The pouch the usher held out was full of water balloons.
But they were different from the water balloons scattered on the ground for the festival.
The colors were distinctly different.
"Wow…, if you get hit by this, it'll look like you're covered in blood."
"Hehe, it's magic, so the color and water will disappear after the festival ends, so don't worry."
At the usher's words, we felt relieved and found a suitable spot.
"Good…!"
Lia, standing beside me, clenched her fist, steeling her resolve, and I quietly asked her.
"Your enthusiasm is good, but didn't you say you're a beginner at physical games?"
"Ugh, w-well, that's true… But you never know until you try a game! I'm always serious about games!"
"Haha, this time it seems you're serious about money, not games?"
"Ugh…"
As if hit where it hurt, Lia gently cringed.
And then, immediately, she made an effort to act nonchalant, crossing her arms, and grinned at me.
"Hehe! Then, want to make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"It's a bet where if one of us wins a prize in this contest, or even if both of us are eliminated, the one who got hit less wins."
"Hee, you seem confident?"
"O-of course! I've already figured everything out from my match with Emil just now…!"
"..."
It was clearly a bluff.
'This girl, she's the type who buys herself trouble.'
It might be a survival skill she learned growing up in a household where she was easily ignored.
Still, such bluffing was poison to her.
"Alright, then what about the loser? Isn't there something for them?"
"Heehee…, there's a penalty."
"Penalty? What kind?"
"The loser has to add 'nyang' to the end of every sentence for the whole day tomorrow!"
"..."
That was truly a penalty fitting for her.
"What, what? Not confident? Ahahaha, if you're not confident, you can just give up~?"
Poke poke.
Lia poked my arm while provoking me.
Maybe she secretly wanted me to refuse.
'But I need to fix her habit of bluffing a bit.'
In the 3rd regression, Lia's overall gaming skills were superior.
That's why I couldn't fix her habit.
But this time, it seems luck or skill is different.
"Alright, I'll take that bet."
"Eek…"
"Why? Isn't it fun?"
"F-fun! Of course! Goo-ood! I'll show Emil my true skills, so get ready to be utterly shocked!"
With a visibly flustered face, Lia rolled up her sleeves.
And just at the perfect moment.
[Alright~! Now, let the 'Summer Water Balloon Festival! Water Balloon Hitting Contest' begin!]
The host's voice, amplified by magic, echoed through the plaza.
In response, everyone who had received a pouch looked at the host with tense faces.
[The way to determine the winner of the contest is…! The person who got hit the least at the very end will be the winner! The judgment will be fair and determined through magic!]
"Ugh…"
Glancing sideways, I saw Lia trembling.
It seemed the prize money was desperately important to her.
And then.
[Then~! Let the contest begin! Everyone, enjoy yourselves!]
The water balloon throwing contest began.
***
To be honest.
For me, the contest was too easy.
'Compared to the monster rush I experienced in the dungeon recently, this is nothing…'
The enemies weren't all aiming only for me.
My body wasn't injured either.
Even if I got hit, I wouldn't get hurt, and there was no need to risk my life when attacking.
Furthermore, unlike then, there was no one I needed to protect.
"Hoo!"
Whoosh!
Splat!
"Kyaa! I got hit!"
I calmly dodged water balloons and, seizing an opportunity, threw a water balloon at a suitable person.
'In the end, if I don't get hit, I win, right?'
I focused more on dodging than on throwing and hitting.
Just like when I sparred with Chris.
I focused on attacks within my sight, and concentrated my other senses on blind spots that my sight couldn't encompass.
Swish! Swish swish!
And so, all the water balloons flying towards me missed.
They either hit other people or burst on the ground.
As a result, the red liquid that got on me was only a few drops that splattered on my pants as I moved.
Other than that, the rest of my body was as clean as before.
"Ahahaha!"
"Yaa! Yaa!"
"Hahaha! Sorry! Ah! Stop it!"
Before long, most of the contest participants seemed to have forgotten their goal of winning a prize and were just laughing and enjoying themselves.
They probably realized that, in their current state, winning a prize was already impossible.
'Then, what about Lia…?'
Swish! Swoosh!
I slightly ducked my head to dodge a flying water balloon and then surveyed my surroundings.
"Ugyaaaah!"
And I spotted Lia across the way, screaming and twisting her body.
'Oh, she's quite good?'
She, too, was completely clean, just like me.
Of course, she was so busy dodging that she couldn't throw any water balloons herself.
Still, it seemed she had a good grasp of the game's victory conditions.
She had apparently given up on attacking from the start and poured all her attention into evasion.
"Uwaaah! Seriously—!"
Dodging one by one, barely, Lia teared up.
Her expression was full of urgency and desperation.
She must have wanted the prize money that much.
'Given her family situation, I guess it can't be helped.'
Swish! Swish!
Pat, pat-pat!
I approached Lia, dodging water balloons with light footsteps.
'Shall I mess with her a little?'
I was surprised that Lia was doing quite well, better than expected.
Looking at our states, I was clearly the one winning.
She looked like she would get hit by a water balloon soon.
While I was still calmly dodging water balloons.
'She won't win the prize money, and then she'll have to add "nyang" to the end of every sentence all day tomorrow… Just imagining it makes me happy.'
The thought of messing with her already made me excited.
It seems I had accumulated a lot without realizing it during the 3rd regression.
"Oh, you're doing quite well?"
Swish! Swish!
"Ugh-hyak! Huh, huh? Emil?! Whoa!"
As I approached, Lia looked at me.
Just then, she barely dodged a water balloon flying towards her.
"Too bad, you almost got hit."
"Ugh-geugh! Emiiil—! Did you come to interfere?! You, who doesn't even know fair play—!"
"Hahaha, not at all. I just came because it's fun to be together."
"You're lying—!"
Swoosh! Swish!
Swish! Swish swish! Swish swish swish!
At that moment.
For some reason, it felt like the number of water balloons flying towards us increased.
And voices were heard from the surroundings.
"Over there! Those people are the potential winners!"
"Take that! Take that!"
It seemed that me and Lia, still clean, standing together had caught the attention of other participants.
Swish swish swish swish!
"Hwaaaang! Seriously! What is this?!"
Then Lia moved her body even faster, on the verge of tears.
'Let's see…, and the time…'
As Lia lasted longer than expected, I checked the time.
The large hourglass next to the host.
'It's ending soon.'
The sand in the hourglass had almost completely fallen.
'Then, should I throw and hit her when it's about to end?'
If things continued like this, both of us would become potential winners.
Then the person with more red water splattered on their clothes by magic would be eliminated.
If that happened, I might lose.
'Prize money is one thing, but still, talking with "nyang" all day tomorrow is out of the question.'
For a sure victory.
It was cowardly, but I waited for an opportunity by her side.
The last moment.
An opportunity to throw a water balloon at her and deliver the final blow.
'After winning the prize money, if I give it to Lia, her affection level…'
While dodging countless water balloons, I still calmly thought of my plan in my head.
"Haa, haa, oh seriously~! Physical games really don't! Suit me!"
And then.
'It's ending soon.'
As the sand in the hourglass was almost completely gone, within my sight.
It was that moment.
"Hyaa!"
Whoosh!
A boy, hidden among the crowd.
The boy, drenched in red water, picked up a water balloon and threw it at that moment.
"Huh, …huh?"
And Lia saw that water balloon.
"Ah…"
But she had already tilted her body while dodging the previous water balloon.
By all accounts, it was a moment where she couldn't correct her posture.
—Splat!
Piiiiiiiiiip—!
[Alright~! Everyone, good job! Game time is over! The game has completely ended, so everyone please wait in your places!]
Along with the sound announcing the end of the game, the host's voice echoed around.
And then.
Drip, drip.
"…E-Emil."
"Ah…, damn."
I let the red water from the water balloon that hit the back of my head drip, drip.
And I held Lia, who was about to fall, in my arms and smiled faintly.
"This wasn't part of the plan."
"..."
Was it because I only focused on throwing?
The moment I realized Lia was about to be hit by the little boy's water balloon.
I instinctively blocked it.
[Wow! The results are out! We have a participant who didn't get hit by a single water balloon! Participant? Would you please come up to the stage?]
"..."
"..."
Listening to the host's voice, we looked at each other.
I, with a regretful smile.
Lia, with trembling eyes.
We gazed intently at each other's faces.
[Excuse me? You two, the couple over there? You've won, so would you please come up?]
*Sigh*…, what should I do about the "nyang" speech tomorrow?