Ritsuka let out a small sigh as he was sitting on his chair in his room, reading through some documents from Chaldea. As he was reading through them, he looked at a nearby family photo of him and his family. It was then he was reminded of his life before he arrived in Chaldea and got himself involved in the moonlit world and the many things that were involved in it.
As he looked at the family photo, memories of his childhood came into his mind.
"Mommy! When are the fireworks going to start?"
"In a few minutes sweetie. For now, just wait, okay?"
"Yeah!"
"Hey! I got the yakisoba!"
"Thank you, daddy!"
Ritsuka let out a smile as he was revisiting the memories of his childhood, which he was fond of. "Man, it's summer already, and I'm in Antarctica as the last master of Chaldea, an organization dedicated to protecting humanity. I wonder how my parents are doing right now..." Soon, Ritsuka stopped thinking and resumed reading through the paperwork he was assigned to. Eventually, he was done with the paperwork and let out a huge sigh of relief as he relaxed on his chair. "Well, my paperwork is done...I might as well get some exercise now..."
Ritsuka then got out of his chair and left the room, walking aimlessly without any thought. As he was walking down the hallway, he bumped into Mashu. "Oh, hey there Mashu."
"Hey there senpai. You seemed to be a bit out of it today," Mashu replied.
"Hm? Ah, well, my mind has been wandering off I'll admit," Ritsuka replied with embarrassment in his voice.
"How come?"
"Well...to be honest, a selfish part of me misses a certain thing from my childhood."
"What is it?"
Ritsuka was silent before giving Mashu his answer. "A summer festival."
"Eh? A summer festival senpai?"
"Yes. Even now I still remember those days back before I was involved in Chaldea. I would ask my mom to take me to the game stands where I would win prizes, my dad would buy food from the food stands, and when night would come, the fireworks would be launched into the night sky."
Mashu was amazed with Ritsuka's description. "Wow. That sounds like a night to remember senpai," she said with awe in her voice.
"Yeah. Even now, I still miss those days, and I feel a little homesick..." Ritsuka admitted.
"I see..."
"Oh my, looks like I overheard something interesting," a familiar voice said.
Both Ritsuka and Mashu jumped upon hearing the familiar voice and turned around to see who overheard them. As they did, they saw Merlin, who was looking at them with a smile. "Merlin/Merlin-san?" they said in unison.
"Yup, it's me! The greatest mage of all of Britain, Merlin!" Merlin greeted. "Now then, what's this I've been hearing about some sort of festival?"
"Well, I was talking to Mashu about my days of childhood before I applied for Chaldea, which involved the summer festival that happens every year," Ritsuka replied.
"I see. And I suppose you were homesick and wanted to experience it again, right?"
"Y-Yeah. Did you go through senpai's head again, Merlin?" Mashu asked with a few bits of suspicion in her voice.
Merlin nodded sideways. "No, no. I just happened to overhear your conversation. Just as simple as that. Anyways, Ritsuka, you said you were homesick and wanted to see the festival again, correct?"
"Y-Yes!"
Merlin was silent for a moment before continuing the conversation. "Well then, leave that to me! I'll give you the best summer festival you will ever see master! See you!" he said with a smile before he left the hallway. As he did, both Ritsuka and Mashu let out a gulp.
"Something tells me this will go wrong..." they thought in unison.
Olga Marie let out a groan. "Really. You want me, the director of Chaldea, for your permission to convert a portion of Chaldea's hallways into a Japanese summer festival just because the last master of Chaldea, who is my subordinate, is homesick?" she asked with disbelief.
"Yes," Merlin replied with a smile on his face.
Olga Marie groaned again. "I can't believe that Merlin, the greatest mage in all of Britain, is asking me for permission to build something as trivial as this...seriously, what has my life become?! First was Nero with the Olympics, and now this! Jeez, what has Chaldea become?!" she thought before she continued the conversation. "Well...just give me at least reason why I should allow an event like this? And it can't be the 'funding for Chaldea' excuse. That's already been done and I'm already tired of it."
Merlin let out a small sigh. "Well...how about a deal?"
At that moment, Olga Marie was slightly interested in Merlin's words. "What kind of deal are you talking about?"
Merlin let out a giant smirk. "Well...let me tell you..."
(A few minutes later...)
Ritsuka and Mashu were sitting at a table in Chaldea's cafeteria, drinking while having a conversation together. As they were talking, it was then Merlin came into the room with a huge smile on his face. "Hey master, Mashu, guess what?"
"What?" Ritsuka and Mashu asked in unison.
"You two are getting that summer festival!" Merlin said with excitement.
Both Ritsuka and Mashu's eyes lit up. "Really?!" Ritsuka asked.
"Yup! And I even got the director of Chaldea's permission to do so!"
"How though?" Mashu asked.
"Well...let's just say...I did some bargaining with the director of Chaldea..."
"Did you ever expect something like this?" Shirou asked as he was flipping yakisoba on a large hot grill.
"To be honest, yes. However, it was a matter of when, considering all the other events that Chaldea has done," EMIYA replied as he was also flipping noodles on his side of a large hot grill.
"And there was who was going to start it," EMIYA Alter said.
Right now, Shirou, EMIYA, and EMIYA Alter were at a yakisoba stall where a portion of Chaldea was turned into a set of various stalls that resembled a Japanese summer festival under Merlin's supervision. Constructing the stalls themselves was not that hard because most of the servants in Chaldea liked the idea of a traditional Japanese summer festival, so they put a lot of work into it.
And how did those three get involved in a yakisoba stall?
Simple. Irisviel got them involved without any of their permission.
Shirou let out a small sigh. "I can't believe mom got us involved in this..."
"Hey, at this point, we should all know how she acts. Not only that, but I think this is the first time she's ever seen a festival like this. In fact, I think everyone here in Chaldea aside from us has ever seen a festival like this," EMIYA said.
"Honestly, it would not be a surprise if she managed to make us spend time together playing video games in an enclosed room," EMIYA Alter said.
"You can say that again. Anyways, quit chatting, we have noodles to sell," EMIYA said as he poured yakisoba sauce onto the noodles.
Shirou nodded and returned to his duties. "Speaking of which, I wonder what Arturia and the others think of this festival?"
"Shirou!" Arturia and her counterparts yelled in unison.
"Ah, here they are..." he thought as he heard Arturia and her counterparts call out to him. Shirou looked out of the booth for a moment to see where Arturia and her counterparts were. As he did, he saw them wearing various yukatas of various designs. For a moment, Shirou blushed slightly at seeing them wearing yukatas until EMIYA bonked him out of his trance.
"Quit staring at them, or else the noodles will burn," EMIYA said.
Shirou quickly moved back into the yakisoba stand and continued to fry up the noodles. Eventually, Arturia and her counterparts soon arrived at the yakisoba stand. "Shirou, you're working here along with Archer?"
"Yeah, and it's all thanks to mom," EMIYA replied with a sigh.
Arturia let out a small sigh. "Irisviel...she sures like to do stuff like things..."
"Shirou! I want a plate of yakisoba please!" Arturia Lily asked cheerfully.
Shirou let out a chuckle. "Yes. Give me a moment." Shirou then went back to cooking the yakisoba on the grill. Eventually, he was done with the yakisoba and placed it in a plastic container along with some wooden chopsticks. "Here you go."
Arturia Lily let out a smile as she received the yakisoba. "Thank you Shirou!" She then opened up the container and used the wooden chopsticks to take a bite out of the noodles. "Delicious!" she said in amazement.
It was at that moment Arturia and her counterparts wanted the yakisoba as well upon hearing Lily's words. "We want some too Shirou," they said in unison.
"As you wish."
EMIYA looked at him with a smirk. "You think you can handle them?"
"Yeah. Why? Can you keep up with me?" Shirou replied with a smirk.
That got EMIYA ticked slightly. "I should say the same thing to you!" he yelled as he picked up his pace, creating some sort of race between him and Shirou.
Meanwhile, EMIYA Alter looked at the scene with a small chuckle. "Wow. Now that's new..."
And thus, Shirou, EMIYA, and EMIYA Alter prepared a huge storm of yakisoba for Arturia and her counterparts...
"Mmmh! This is delicious!" Ereskigal said with happiness as she at an candy apple.
Ishtar let out a small sigh. "It's just an apple Ereshkigal. Just how can it be that good?"
"It's not just any apple Ishtar! This is a candy apple! An apple that has been covered with a sugar candy coating! The taste itself is amazing!" she said as she took another bite out of it.
Ishtar let out another sigh. "Well, whatever you say." She then turned to her Rider counterpart, who happened to be playing a punch bag arcade game. "Speaking of which, looks like my Rider counterpart seems to have a fun time over there."
"Eh...what is she doing right now?"
"Well, it seems she's having fun...punching a picture of goldie at the punch bag arcade game..."
Ereshkigal went quiet for a moment before continuing the conversation. "I see...want to check on her?"
"Sure."
And both Ishtar and Ereshkigal left the bench they were sitting on to check on Rider Ishtar, who seemed to have fun with the punch bag arcade game.
"Phew! That was so fun!" Rider Ishtar said with a sigh of relief. It was then she noticed her Archer counterpart and Ereshkigal coming up towards her. "Hm? Archer me? Ereshkigal?"
"Hey there Rider Ishtar. I see you were having fun with the punch bag arcade?" Ereshkigal said.
"Yeah! Thanks to this arcade game, all my stress from goldie are nearly gone! I feel a lot better right now! Speaking of which, want to try it out? It's quite good I'll admit."
Ishtar gave some thought about her suggestion and decided that it would not hurt. "Sure. I could really use a workout anyways."
"Go ahead then!" Rider Ishtar then moved away to let Ishtar have her turn on the punch bag arcade game. Ishtar then inserted the right amount of QP into the arcade machine, and it turned itself on.
Ishtar then raised her fist, imagined a person she hated in her mind...and punched the punch bag with force, knocking it down. "HYAAAA!" she yelled. At that moment, the punch bag calculated the score based on the punch, and she received a high score. She let out a smile upon seeing a high score "Yeah! I got a high score!"
"That's great Ishtar!" Ereshkigal said.
"Yeah! Do you want to try it out too Ereshkigal?"
"Well...okay, but I'm not confident in my strength though..."
"Relax, we won't laugh at you," Rider Ishtar said.
"Fine." Ishtar and her Rider counterpart moved, giving Ereshkigal her space. "Well...here goes nothing!" Ereshkigal thought as she raised her fist...and punched the punch bag at full force. However, to her, Ishtar, and her counterpart's surprise, she punched the target too hard.
So hard that it broke and went flying towards the wall, creating a crater in the end.
At that moment, all three goddesses were stunned.
Parvati let out a smile as she was walking down the festival stalls with Kama. "How does that candy apple taste, Kama?"
"Well...it's not bad at least..." she said as she took another bite of her candy apple. "Although it is a bit too sweet, I'll admit..."
"I see. Now then, where did BB and her sisters go..."
"How should I know? They were the ones that they left without us."
Parvati and Kama continued to walk down the hallway, trying to find BB and her sisters. Eventually, they found them, and to their surprise, they were at a booth, where BB was struggling with something unexpected.
A crane claw machine.
"Grr...damn it! Not again!" BB yelled with frustration.
"Um...sister, I think it's time to stop now..." Passionlip said.
"NO! I must get that plushie for senpai! And don't stop me!" BB then added more QP into the claw machine game.
Passionlip looked worried at BB's attempts while Meltlilith laughed at BB's attempts. "Man, this is hilarious! Seeing BB like this...this is definitely the best thing I have ever seen!" Meltlilith said as she was laughing.
"Um...aren't we going to stop her?" Passionlip asked.
"Hell no! I'm just going to watch this! This is so priceless!" Meltlilith replied with a smile on her face.
"Um...I know I should...but I feel like BB would scold me if I interrupted her..." Kingprotea replied.
Meanwhile, both Parvati and Kama were completely stunned. "Wow...this is something I would not expect to see..." Kama said.
"Me neither..."
Meanwhile, BB was still struggling with the crane claw machine, and was running out of QP. At that moment, BB has had enough of the crane claw machine and decided to take drastic measures. "Well then...you leave me choice you claw machine! Time to feel the wrath of BB chan!"
In an instant, BB placed her hands on the machine, and began to hack into it. As she did, the machine suddenly acted on its own and started to spit out plushies out. At that moment, BB began to laugh like crazy. "Yes! Now I have won that plushie, along with a few others as well! Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Meanwhile, Parvati, Kama, and BB's sisters looked at BB with shock.
"How long has it been since all of us have been to a festival like this?" Illya asked.
"Too long I must say," Kuro replied as took a bite out of her takoyaki. "With all the missions going around in Chaldea, we never had a festival like this in Chaldea. I think the last time we had a festival like this was when we were back in our world."
"Indeed. I'm glad that a festival like this came right now. I miss something like this..." Miyu said.
"So, this is a Japanese festival..." Sitonai said.
"You never been through one of these in your lifetime, Sitonai?" Illya asked.
"Yeah. I spent most of my life living in a castle in Germany, barricaded by snow. It was only in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki that I was able to move out of the castle and see something new outside for once," Sitonai replied.
"I see...well, in that case, let's have a lot of fun!" Kuro then grabbed Sitonai's arm. "Follow me!" she said as she soon began to drag Sitonai into the festival.
"Wah! Kuro! Wait up!" Illya yelled.
Miyu let out a sigh. "As expected of Kuro..."
During the festival, Illya, her counterparts, and Miyu were having fun together as they checked out the stalls of the festival. They played at the stalls that offered prizes and won some of them, ate the festival food, and looked at the starry night together.
"Wow, so that was a Japanese festival huh? It was quite fun. Quite different from German festivals from what I read about in books," Sitonai said as she along with Illya, Kuro, and Miyu were sitting down on a bench.
"Yeah...man, I think I can't eat any more..." Illya moaned.
Kuro let out a small sigh. "That's what you get from eating all of those candy apples."
"Kuro, you ate so many takoyaki. About five platters I think," Miyu replied.
"Tch! S-Shut it!"
Sitonai let out a chuckle before she noticed something that caught her attention. "Hey, what's that over there?" she asked as she pointed at something.
Illya, Kuro, and Miyu looked at what Sitonai was pointing out, which was a haunted house. "Oh, that's a haunted house," Illya said.
"A haunted house...that sounds interesting. Shall we go in?"
"Eh, why not. However, haunted houses can be boring though..." Kuro said.
"Yeah. Most of the time, haunted houses rely on cheap gimmicks," Miyu said.
Sitonai let out a sigh. "We'll see when we get there."
And then the group of girls entered into the haunted house...
(A few minutes later...)
Illya, Kuro, Sitonai, and Miyu looked pale when they got out of the haunted house. "What...the...heck...?" Illya muttered.
"That was not any haunted house I have ever seen..." Kuro muttered.
"My expectations of haunted houses have risen..." Miyu muttered.
"Talk about a haunted house...or more like a horror house..." Sitonai said.
Turns out that haunted houses in Chaldea are quite different from regular haunted houses...very different.
Astraea was walking down the hallway with a smile on her face. "Well, this festival is interesting. So many servants having fun here...and the best part about this is that I get to taste Sherou's cooking! That yakisoba was so delicious!" she thought happily. As she continued to walk down the hallway, she came across something that interested her.
Which was a punch bag arcade machine. However, this one was different as Ereshkigal broke the earlier one from before.
"Oh! A punch bag arcade machine! Just my favorite thing! Might as well give it a go!" Soon, Astraea inserted the amount of QP needed for the machine, which activated itself upon input. "Well, here we go!" she thought as she raised her fist and punched the punch bag at full force.
However, like Ereshkigal before her, the full force broke the machine, leaving a crater in the wall.
"Oops..."
At that moment, the owner of the punch bag machine was in disbelief upon seeing the same thing happen again.
"NOT AGAIN! THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED!"
"Umu! A festival like this is amazing!" Nero said with excitement in her voice.
"Indeed! To think our master's home country produces festivals like this...it is amazing!" Caster Nero replied.
"Exactly. There are so many attractions around here! It may even rival our country's festivals!" Bride Nero said. "Now then, what shall we do?"
"Easy! We should sample every taste of cuisine from every stall!" Nero replied.
"Or we should try out the games they offer!" Caster Nero replied.
"Wait! Why not do both?" Bride Nero asked.
Both Nero and Caster Nero looked at each other for a moment before letting a huge smile. "Good idea! Let's do that!" they said in unison.
And so, Nero and her counterparts began on a mini journey of finding foods from today's festival. In their journey, they came across many foods they had never heard of, which consisted of yakisoba, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, ikayaki, and many others.
Not only that, but their excitement increased when they received Shirou's yakisoba.
Eventually, they found all the food they could find and found a giant bench to sit and eat. "All right! Let us see what we bought for today's feast!" Nero said as she unboxed everything. As she did, all the smells of the food were coming into her and her counterparts' noses, and it was making them hungry. "Wow! All of this food smells delicious!"
"Indeed! We should start off with the takoyaki first since it's easy to eat!" Caster Nero said as she picked off one with a toothpick and took the whole thing in her mouth. "Mmmm! Delicious!" she said.
Both Nero and Bride Nero did the same and their expressions were the same as well. "Indeed! The texture of the octopus inside is quite amazing!"
"Exactly! And the sauce itself is quite deep!" Bride Nero said as she finished her takoyaki. Soon, they were done with the takoyaki and went onto the next item. "Okay! Let's try the okonomiyaki!" She then opened the container with the okonomiyaki. "Wow! It looks interesting!"
"Umu! From what I heard, it's kind of like Boudica's galette! But I wonder if it tastes the same?" Caster Nero said.
"Well, let's find out and see what it tastes like!" Nero then grabbed a knife and sliced it into three pieces. She then took a bite out of it and immediately let out a smile upon eating it. "Delicious! And it's nothing like galette!"
"Yeah! The cabbage, noodles, meat, and sauce go well together!" Bride Nero said happily.
"Exactly! And its crunchy texture makes it even more delicious!" Caster Nero said.
Soon, Nero and her counterparts went thought the other foods, and like the others before them, they enjoyed the other food they bought. Eventually, there was only one food left.
Shirou's yakisoba, and they were saving it for last.
Nero opened the container that had Shirou's yakisoba in it, and when they smelled it, they were in awe over how good it smelled.
"Mmmmm! Praetor's yakisoba smells good!" Nero said.
"Indeed! You can smell the love he put into it!" Caster Nero said.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's get into it!" Bride Nero said.
And the trio each grabbed their portion of the yakisoba and immediately took a bite out of it. As they did, they felt pure bliss.
"Delicious!" they thought in unison.
And in an instant, all three of them finished the yakisoba, leaving nothing left. "Well, I take it that we are all satisfied? Especially with our praetor's yakisoba?" Nero asked
"Yes!" Nero's counterparts said in unison.
And Nero and her counterparts finished their mini journey of food...
"Tch. Why am I being dragged along with you in your date with him?" Jeanne D'Arc Alter asked with a groan.
Jeanne D'Arc let out a smile. "Now, now. Don't be so grumpy. Today is a festival after all."
"Yeah! And in a festival, you're supposed to have fun right now!" Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily replied.
Jeanne D'Arc Alter groaned again. "Seriously, can't I have some alone time to myself? Earlier, I was having some quality time drawing doujinshis, and suddenly, she pops out and drags me here to this festival..."
Meanwhile, Sieg was amazed with the sight in front of him. "Wow. So, this is a festival..." he said with awe in his eyes.
"Yes, Sieg-kun. A festival is a yearly event where everyone gets to have fun," Jeanne replied.
"I see." It was then that a stall caught his attention. "And what is this?"
"Oh this? This is a stall, where one would either sell food, or toys, or offer a game to play. Right now, what you are looking at is a food stall."
"I see. And what does that stall sell?" Sieg asked as he noticed the small red orbs on sticks.
It was then Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily decided to answer Sieg's question. "Those are candy apples!"
"Candy apples? What are those?"
"Apples doused in a sugar candy coating!"
"Hm...that sounds interesting. I guess I could have one."
"So do I! Hey older me? Can we have some?" Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily asked Jeanne.
Jeanne let out a smile. "Sure."
"Yay!"
Jeanne then went over to the candy apple stall and bought four apples for herself, Sieg, Jeanne D'Arc Alter, and Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily. As she did, Sieg took a bite out of his candy apple. "Well? How is it?" Jeanne asked Sieg with a smile on her face.
"Mmmm...not bad. It is a bit sticky though..." Sieg replied.
"Yeah! It's also sweet as well!" Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily said.
"Mmm...it's too sweet for my taste though..." Jeanne D'Arc Alter mumbled.
Jeanne let out a small sigh at her altered counterpart's answer. "Looks like she's still a little grumpy...well, I hope this festival can make her less moody..."
Soon, the group of four continued their tour around the festival. As they did, Sieg was amazed with the food, attractions, and events the festival offered, while made Jeanne happy. Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily was also amazed, but Jeanne D'Arc Alter was still grumpy.
"And what's that over there?" Sieg asked.
"Hm? Oh, that's a arcade machine, where people would input money to play it."
"I see...that sounds fun. Can I try it out?"
"Me too!" Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily asked.
Jeanne let out a smile. "Sure." She then turned to her altered self. "How about you?"
"I'll pass," Jeanne D'Arc Alter replied.
Jeanne let out a small sigh and returned to Sieg and her Alter Santa Lily counterpart. "Anyways, let's have fun, shall we?"
"Yeah!" Sieg and Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily replied.
As the three were at the arcade, Jeanne D'Arc Alter looked at them with a look on her face. "Wow. Those three are having fun...sadly, there's nothing there for me here..."
However, as she was looking around her surroundings, it was she saw something that sparked an small interest in her.
A stall that was selling action figures, and one of the action figures was a action figure of Emiya Shirou.
"That stall...and that action figure...I guess it would not hurt to look at it..." she then went over to the stall to take a better look at it. As she did, she was amazed with the detail embedded into it. "Wow. This amount of detail...it looks like him himself..." For a moment, she was silent before looking at the clerk himself. "Hey, how much does that cost?"
"Hm? Ah, you mean the action figure of Emiya Shirou? Let's see...that would be about 50,000,000 QP."
"50,000,000 QP...hm...I'll take it," she said with a small smile.
"Very well."
As the clerk was putting the product into the bag, Jeanne D'Arc Alter's mood slightly improved a bit. "Well then, looks like this festival did have something for me to offer..."
Musashi let out a smile as she was eating dango on a stick. "Fufufu, a Japanese festival like this...now this is how I want to spend the summer like this! I wonder if there is anything that has caught my mind..." She then finished her dango and began to walk down where the festival was. As she was walking, she came across a sight that excited her.
Okita Alter at an udon stand, in front of a bowl that was three times the size of regular udon bowls.
"Oh my! Okita Alter is in front of all of that udon! The fact that she's has that giant bowl in front of her must mean that the udon must be good!" She then headed towards the udon stall where Okita Alter was. As she arrived, she greeted herself to Okita Alter. "Hello, Okita Alter!" she greeted with a smile on her face.
"Hm? Oh, hey there Musashi," Okita Alter replied.
Musashi then sat down on a nearby chair. "What are you doing? And why are you eating all of that udon?"
"Hm? Oh, I'm in a contest."
"A contest?"
"Yes. The contest is that finish all of this within a limited time, and you get a prize."
"I see. What is the prize?"
"The prize is...well, 100,000,000 QP."
Musashi was immediately interested at that moment. "What?! 100,000,000 QP?! AND JUST FOR EATING UDON?!" she yelled with excitement.
"Yeah. Now if you excuse me, I have a prize to win," Okita Alter said as she began to eat the giant bowl of udon in front of her.
Meanwhile, a bunch of thoughts was going through Musashi's head. "100,000,000 QP just for eating udon...that sounds like a challenge for me! I'm not interested in the QP, but the udon sounds too good to pass up!" She then turned to the owner of the udon stall. "Hey mister, I want to enter in the contest as well!"
"You sure miss?" the owner asked, which Musashi replied with a furious nod. "Very well, give me a moment," she said as he began to give her giant bowl of udon. Eventually, he was done and presented it in front of her. "Okay, here you go miss! Remember, this is a timed contest, so finish as fast as you can!"
"Yes!"
"Okay. Ready...go!"
And in an instant, Musashi began to chow down on her udon...
(Meanwhile...)
"Dang it, just where did my altered counterpart go? I can't believe I lost her so easily. And she's not even at the oden stalls..." Okita though as she was walking through the festival. Earlier, she and Okita Alter were together, but they got lost together in the crowd, splitting the two apart, which brings us to Okita trying to find her altered counterpart.
As time passed, she saw the familiar clothes of her altered counterpart, who was with Musashi at the udon stall. "Well, there she is, and she's with Musashi. Looks like they're eating a meal together..." She then got closer to where they are. However, when she arrived, her mouth dropped at the sight in front of her.
Okita Alter and Musashi in an udon eating contest, and the bowl was extremely large.
At that point, Okita was at a loss of words. "You have got to be kidding me..."
"Wow...so this is what a Japanese festival looks senpai?" Mashu asked.
"Yeah, although we're still in Chaldea and not under a night sky. And we're in Antarctica of all places. Still though, it looks like a Japanese festival," Ritsuka said with a smile on his face. "Still though, I'm surprised that Merlin managed to get permission from the director. I wonder what deal he made with her...?"
"Who knows. Anyways, you seem to be excited for this Mashu," Ritsuka said as he looked at Mashu, who was wearing a red yukata.
"Hm? Ah, I wanted to see a festival from your home country senpai. From what I heard, people in Japan wear yukatas on special occasions like this. So I thought I might do the same," Mashu replied with a smile on her face.
"I see. Anyways, want to see the stalls?"
"Yes, senpai!"
Soon, Ritsuka and Mashu soon walked down the stalls together, with Mashu interested in many of them. As they were walking, Ritsuka and Mashu came up at a shooting stall, which was overlooked by Robin Hood.
"Hm? Oh, hey there master. Are you interested in the shooting range? We have a bunch of good prizes here," he said as he presented the prizes in front of them which consisted of stuffed animals, accessories, and many others.
Ritsuka thought about Robin Hood's question and replied, "Sure. I'll give it a go."
Robin hood let out a smile. "Very well, grab a blow gun and start to shoot. But first, pay up."
Ritsuka then paid Robin Hood the amount of QP needed and Robin Hood brought out a blow gun. Which Ritsuka took. "Now then, I wonder what should I get...and I should get one for Mashu as well..." he thought as he looked at the prize rack, gazing upon the many prizes that can be won. After a few seconds of gazing, he found a prize.
Which was a plushie of a white bear.
"Maybe I'll get that one for Mashu..." he thought as he aimed the blow gun at the plushie. Then he shot a dart at it, which failed. "Tch, looks like I need to try again." He then shot at the plushie again, and like before, it failed.
"Oh dear master, you only have one try left."
"I know Robin Hood," Ritsuka replied as he aimed at the plushie one last time.
"Good luck senpai!"
Ritsuka then carefully aimed at the plushie...and shot at it one last time.
And unlike before, he hit it off the counter. Robin Hood let out a smirk upon seeing Ritsuka hit the target. "Well then, looks like you win the prize master," he said as he handed him the plushie. "Here you go."
"Thank you, Robin Hood." Ritsuka then turned to Mashu. "Here, Mashu. This is for you," he said as he handed her the plushie.
"Eh? Really senpai? I can have it?"
"Yes," Ritsuka said with a smile on his face.
For a moment, Mashu was speechless before accepting Ritsuka's gift. "T-Thank you, senpai!"
"You're welcome, Mashu. Now then, let's move on, shall we?"
"Yes!"
And the two began to move on...
"Ara ara, this festival is quite fun, Kiritsugu!" Irisviel said happily as she was running around the stalls like how a little girl would.
Kiritsugu let out a small sigh. "Iri, calm down. The stalls are not going anywhere you know."
"Eh? But this is the first time I've ever seen a festival like this! I want to explore more of it you know! Plus, a festival is a time to let loose and have fun!" Irisviel replied with a pout on her face.
Kiritsugu sighed again. "Fine, but at least slow down so I can catch up to you."
"Fine." Irisviel then turned to a stall that interested her. The stall itself had a wooden box filled with small baby fish swimming in water. "Hey Kiritsugu, what's that stall over there?"
"Hm? I think that's a fishing stall."
"A fishing stall...that sounds interesting! I'll have a go at it!" She then went over to the stall.
"Ah, young miss, you want to have a go at this?" the owner asked, which Irisviel nodded in response. "Well then, pay up and you get a chance to catch a small fish of your own!"
Irisviel's eyes sparkled at the words she just heard. "A small fish of my own?! I'll do it!"
"Very well, but first, pay up."
Irisviel then paid the owner, which he gave her a small net. "All right...here goes nothing!" she thought as she began to scoop up some fish in the water. However, when she tried to do so, the fish swam away from the net. "I missed. Well, time to try again!"
And then, Irisviel tried to scoop up some fish in the box while Kiritsugu was watching. However, as she was trying to catch some fish, they kept swimming away from the net, making her slightly frustrated. "Dang it! Quit running away! I want to catch some fish!" she thought with frustration as she failed again to catch a fish. At that moment, Irisviel felt like the fish were mocking her, and it made her fired up. "Well then...time to go all in!"
And then, Irisviel dipped the net in the water and tried to scoop up some fish with all her strength, hoping to catch some of them. As she raised her net from the water, she saw there was two fish swimming in the net, making her smile. "Yes! I got some fish!"
"Well...that's great ma'am...but it seems you made quite a mess here..."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"Well...take a look."
Irisviel began to look around her surroundings and realized that in her attempt to scoop up fish, she accidentally sprayed water at the area around her.
Not to mention the fact that she also managed to knock some fish off. "Oh..."
"Yeah."
Kiritsugu sighed again.
Olga Marie let out a small sigh as she was walking down the hallway between the various stalls of the festival. "Jeez, I hope the deal with Merlin was worth it, although I can't believe Chaldea came up with these crazy ideas when I was gone. I mean seriously, Chaldea Boys Collection? Since when did Chaldea came up with that idea? Although we did receive a lot of funding from that event, just why does that idea exist?" As Olga Marie continued to walk down the hallway, she heard her stomach growl. "Well, I can't think on an empty stomach. Guess I could go down to one of the stalls to get something to eat..."
She then walked further down the stalls. As she did, she saw various servants and staff of Chaldea having fun at the stalls, eating food together, and playing with plastic toys. "Hm...everyone here seems to be having fun here..." she thought.
Eventually, she came across a food stall, which was the yakisoba stall that was run by Shirou, EMIYA, and EMIYA Alter.
"Him? Oh, hey there Olga Marie," Shirou said.
"Hey there Shirou. I want one platter of yakisoba, and make it immediate as soon as possible," Olga Marie ordered.
"On it!" Shirou then began to heat up the iron grill. When the grill was hot, he added various vegetables, then the noodles, and finally the yakisoba sauce. He then began to mix all of it up together until every noodle and vegetable was coated in yakisoba sauce. Eventually, he was done and placed the finished product into a plastic container. "Here you go."
"Thank you," she said as she gave Shirou the amount of QP exactly needed for the meal and soon left. As she did, she eventually found a place to sit, where she had a perfect view of the festival herself.
"Isn't this scene beautiful?" a voice said.
Olga Marie jumped and turned around to see Merlin, who was behind her with a smile on his face. "Merlin, don't scare me like that," she groaned.
"Sorry. So, are you enjoying this festival so far?"
"Well...I can't say that, but I don't understand why Chaldea would have an festival like this..."
Merlin let out a smirk. "Well, it's actually quite simple. It's because it's simply new and fun to them."
Olga Marie was dumbfounded for a moment. "Really?"
"Yeah. To the servants here, a festival like this must be completely new for them, so they would be excited about this. Not only that, but this festival is also precious to master since it's a part of his childhood memories. I can see why he would miss it, this festival is fun! I mean look around, everyone here is having fun with every stall over there!"
"H-Huh...I see..."
"Yup. Anyways, I'm off to have more fun at the stalls! Also, if that container is Shirou's yakisoba, try it out immediately! It tastes good!" he said as he soon left, leaving Olga Marie alone.
Olga Marie let out a sigh before opening the plastic container and grabbing the wooden chopsticks. She then took a bite out of the yakisoba.
"Hm...not bad. At least it's better than the Clock Tower's meals. And this festival is not bad as well at least. Plus, I get to learn a few bits of magecraft from Merlin in the end..."
And for the rest of the day, she kept eating her yakisoba.
Author's Note: Sorry that it took this long to make. College semester started again, which means as usual, less time to write.