Chapter 94: The Big Triple Date

Disclaimer:

Hi guys! A long chapter once again but since I'm dealing with some shipping etc, I figured that I'd t a lot of focus on that. It's nice to see all the development in that aspect, hehe.

Also, this may be my last chapter for a few weeks. It all depends on how busy I am from now until perhaps the end of January but I'll try to write if I have the time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all who read the fic, review, and send me messages about it. I appreciate it all!

I've also decided on another Japanese voice actor that I'd like/fancast for another OC. It would have to be…

Rachel - [Taketatsu, Ayana] (Example: Nino Nakano from 'The Quintessential Quintuplets')

With that said, I hope you enjoy!

"A triple date?" Everyone shouted.

Some of the ones in the large group knew what the implications were but then there were the rest who had no idea what having a 'triple date' meant.

"A date is one thing but a triple date?! But then… everyone can see what a nervous mess I am with Lucas!" Mimosa screamed in her head.

"W-W-What? A t-t-t-triple date?! It's n-not like… ahhhh!" Noelle held her head and shook it from left to right.

Daisy and Kahono smirked at each other once again, nodding ever so slightly.

"There are double dates with four people but this will include more. We'll be changing things for everyone here", Daisy started to explain.

"You all know what dating is, I presume? Well, we just do that but all as part of a group. We'll have fun together, play games together, eat together. It'll be a blast!" Kahono joined in.

"Woah, that sounds so cool!" Asta exclaimed, stars in his eyes.

"Right?" Lucas agreed. "The whole dating thing is a bit nerve-wracking but since we're all part of a group, it shouldn't really be a problem. I still don't know what to do if Mimosa does, in fact, like me but at least I won't have to worry about it with this cool thing the girls thought up", he thought, sighing a breath of relief.

"But before that…", both Daisy and Kahono thought to themselves as they looked at their partner in crime as well as Kiato.

"Hey, let us figure out the pairs since we're the guests. The three of us will catch up soon!"

Lucas and the others walked on whilst the three left behind started scheming up a plan. Daisy's sisters were to the side and weren't listening in as they played around one of the benches to the side.

Kahono led the conversation as she put her arms around the other two in a triangle. "I don't know you much but I know the kind of person you are", the Song mage nodded at the girl.

"Hehe, I get the same feeling from you, girl!" Daisy giggled.

"Matchmaker?" The two pointed at each other at the same time, laughing afterwards.

"Hey, so, can you two fill me in?" Kiato asked, finally able to get a word in.

The two girls slowly turned and looked at him blankly, repeatedly blinking until the dancer dropped his shoulders in defeat.

"Just follow the conversation, bro", Kahono said before rubbing her hands together.

"You two must have realised about Noelle, right? I mean, you did spend time with her and it is VERY obvious", Daisy asked.

"Oh, of course", Kahono agreed with another smirk. "I had to let Kiato know earlier since he had a bit of a crush on her but his friendship with Asta was also important to him".

Kiato nodded, tearing up slightly but quickly pumping his fist to distract himself. "Love is important, but, if Asta has more of a chance than me at it then I'll gladly pave the way!"

Daisy widened her blue and violet eyes. "Woah, you're a man's man, huh?"

"What can I say? I love to dance and to dance is to love. It goes hand in hand and I cannot betray dance, therefore I cannot betray love".

Kahono started laughing. "That's my brother, a sucker for romance. Anyway, since we both thought the same thing, I guess it's the same with Lucas and Mimosa? I don't know them but I caught that reaction from her when we mentioned the triple date".

"It is VERY obvious, at least to me and probably a lot of the Golden Dawn with how they're quite close. She's head over heels for him and I'm one to make all of my friends happy", Daisy replied.

"Well, then it's easy!" Kiato shouted. "The pairs are right in our faces!"

"Correct", Kahono replied.

"Yup!" Daisy winked.

The three schemers picked up the pace and caught up with the rest of the group. The twins, Grace and Sonia, ran up to the performers and grabbed their hands whilst Alice and Chloe remained around Daisy. The Magic Knights turned around and awaited the decision they came to.

"We have seven of us but it'll still be alright. Lucas and Daisy will be together, I'll be with Asta, and Kiato will have the pleasure of finally realising his dream as a player and go around with the two beauties of the Clover Kingdom, Noelle and Mimosa!" Kahono gave the jazz hands as she introduced every group for the dating scheme that had been planned.

Kiato spun in place, revealing a sudden royal, red, cape behind him and attached to his back. He put on some dark sunglasses and raised his thumbs. "Huh, a player? Well, I gotta look the part, right?"

"Lose that outfit, right now", Kahono ordered to which the dancer pouted as he took it off. "Well, anyone can walk around with whoever they like, all they have to do is ask…", she winked at the two royals.

The rest of the boys were happy and were raring to go but there were three girls that were surprised with what the groups were.

Noelle was embarrassed with a bright flush of red colour overcoming her face.

"Wh-Wh-What?! Asta is with Kahono? I mean… they are f-friends but what if he starts to feel some type of w-w-w-way?!"

Mimosa panicked as a pale, white colour covered her shocked expression.

"I put it way at the back of my mind but I did originally think that Daisy h-had a thing for him! I must be wrong, right?"

And the third girl, most surprisingly, was Daisy herself as she found out that her and Kahono were actually not on the same page. She remained calm on the outside as she dragged the Song mage to the back for a few seconds.

"Hey, I thought we'd put the girls with their crushes. What's your plan here?" She whispered very carefully.

Kahono had a peculiar look of realisation. "Ah… So, that was your thinking. I guess our wavelength wasn't completely the same but it's still no matter. Let's switch your way of doing things and start making the two royals jealous, hehe", she giggled.

Daisy sighed before pumping her fist. "A little different but I'm fine with that".

The two turned around again and waved.

"So, shall we get this triple date started?"

"The Star Festival, hm?"

Rachel was out on the balcony, overlooking the rest of the Noble Realm, as well as the kingdom in front of her. All the multicoloured, flashing lights from the distance down below caught her attention as she started to smile, her little dimples showing on the side.

The wind was blowing which made her long, red hair even curlier than it was already. The sun was setting and the orange colour in the distance reflected off her black eyes as she looked and then turned around, closing them as she did.

"After what happened last year, I'm a bit… hesitant to go but… I'm just so bored! I know Uncle told me to wait here until it's time but, gah, why should a royal like me wait when I can do as I like?!"

She turned around and walked back into her large room. With a click of her fingers, she swapped her clothes for her usual, casual ones as she prioritised comfort but also to remain unseen.

"Ah, yes, my dark-grey hoodie and pants will be great! No one will recognise me down there in an outfit like this and I can actually have some fun!"

She was about to click her fingers again but quickly walked over to the door that led outside to the hallway. She peeked through and saw that no one was around so she went back and closed her door.

"Okay… Star Festival, here I come!"

With a click and a white flash, she appeared right at the entrance of the Star Festival. Walking through the arch with a banner and balloons decorated all over it, she sighed a breath of relief.

Rachel walked through all the crowds and stalls. Her hands were in the pockets of her hoodie and her hood was up to cover most of her red hair and face. Her face was down but her eyes were up, scanning for anything that was intriguing.

However, it wasn't her eyes that made a decision for her but her stomach as it started growling quite loudly.

"Oof!" She took her hands out and put them on her stomach, trying to hold or grab it to prevent it from making noise. "I guess that's the first thing I'll do - Eat!"

She looked around but nothing took her fancy. She walked by many stalls and many restaurants but a lot of them weren't for her.

"Fish and chips, here!"

"Dessert bar for all!"

"Cafe for cakes!"

"Fried food and desserts, fried food and desserts… it's all there is around here", she sighed, looking and then looking away from all the food around her. After another few minutes, her stomach growled again but it was louder and a few of the people around her turned to face the noise. "Oh my… Okay, I REALLY need food, right now!"

Then, just as Rachel was about to settle for some unhealthy food, she heard two squeals coming from one of the stalls beside her. She turned around and out popped a small child.

"Get your Charmy-cooked-Steaks here! Get your Charmy-cooked-Steaks here!"

Charmy, from the Black Bulls, popped out from behind the stall and presented two, steaming hot plates with two steaks cooked to perfection on top. There were sauces, vegetables, and mashed potatoes on the side.

There was a trail of a smoky scent that escaped the prepared food and entered Rachel's nose which immediately captivated her. There was saliva leaking from the side of the royal's face and, without even thinking much about it, her legs started to move towards the Magic Knight's food.

As she reached the small Magic Knight's stall, she looked all around and saw that it was a relatively small one.

"Such a small stall for such a captivating steak? There has to be some trick with this", Rachel said aloud as she sat down, capturing the small glutton's attention.

Charmy gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. There were veins popping from the side of her large forehead and she furrowed her brow.

"What?!" Charmy screamed, pointing at the royal with a fork that was dripping in a brown-coloured sauce. "You dare to mock MY cooking, la? Well, why don't you try it out and see just how wrong you are?!"

Rachel put her hand to her chest. "Um, actually, I didn't exactly make fun of it. I just questioned it but since you're the one getting angry about it, maybe it's to cover up your mediocre skills as a chef", she chuckled.

The royal shrugged before all she could see was a bright set of green sparkles entering her eyes. She closed them quickly but, as she opened them again, nothing changed as the sparkles remained.

"You take that back, now!" Another squeal came from down below by the table that was attached to the front of the stall.

"Just leave her alone. Food like this is good and wasting it on someone as rude as her isn't something we should be doing".

A few, heavy rubs of her eyes later, Rachel could see what was in front of her once again. By her elbows, was a small, green fairy with a huge pout on her face. She was shaking her tiny fist at the royal and flying from side-to-side. However, one of her wings was caught by a person's hand that was sitting right next to Rachel, and he was the other voice.

"Didn't anyone tell you that it's rude to stare?"

"They did, but I didn't need to listen. After all, I am a ro- Nevermind, actually…", Rachel stopped herself as she almost blew her cover. "Don't speak to me as if you know me, both of you", she turned away.

"All of this because you got stubborn about some steak. If you didn't purposely try to offend my friend here, then everything would be alright".

"Yuno, can I put some more of my glittery scales in her eyes?"

"Bell, I don't want you stooping down to her level", he replied, bringing the Wind Spirit closer to himself.

Rachel looked back as she heard the name of the spirit. "Bell, huh? I thought it was some magic doll at first but it's actually the Wind Spirit?" She put her elbows on the table again. "To think that I'd run into the spirit host, and another Golden Dawn member. I've been seeing you guys a lot recently", she said with a rude tone.

"The spirit host?" Bell repeated. "Woah, people are beginning to talk about you, Yuno! Maybe becoming the Wizard King isn't so far away anymore!"

"Maybe, but I still have much to learn and do. But… the way she spoke means that people don't exactly like me since I'm a peasant", Yuno shrugged.

Rachel then started to laugh all of a sudden. "Please, the Wizard King? You're a peas-!" She stopped herself from proving Yuno right and masked her speech with a cough. "If I say what I want then they may think I'm a royal. Then again… maybe not… but the chance is there, I guess. There's also what that guy, Lucas, said but…", she shook her head. "Nevermind".

Charmy then interjected. "Well, if you're not going to eat my food, then I suggest you go. There's plenty of people who'd love to have this, and I will not be wasting my time on you, la!" She waved the royal away with both her hands and Bell also joined in with a grin on her face.

As the red-haired royal got up, her stomach growled louder than it did the previous two times. She quickly sat down and put her hands to her face which still didn't hide her bright, embarrassed, red face.

Charmy and Bell side-eyed each other and a giggle escaped their mouth as they watched the hooded individual try to hide herself. Yuno just sighed with a slight smile to his face and got back to enjoying his hot steak.

"On second thought… I will try some of your food, so, give it here", Rachel ordered.

Charmy wasn't going to take the disrespect and refused to hand the plate over. "No", she said.

"Huh? But I want to eat it", she argued.

"You've got to say the magic word", Bell added, wagging her finger.

"Uh, now?" Rachel leaned in, wide-eyed and shaking her head as she didn't understand.

The Wind mage beside her shook his head. "Wow, you're a stranger to manners, huh?"

Rachel tensed up and started to bite her lip. "P-Please… can I have your food…", she said, struggling to get her sentence out. The Black Bull waited a bit to see just how much more the customer would beg but she decided to hand over the plate eventually.

"Here. When you like the food, I better hear an apology. Not towards me, but to my food, la!" Charmy pointed again with her one hand whilst the other was on her hip.

Rachel ignored the girl as her mind was fully focused on the piping-hot steak that lost none of its initial temperature and look, despite how long it took for her to admit that she actually wanted some. The royal began to sweat from her face and saliva was slowly trickling down once again but she quickly wiped it with the sleeve of her hoodie.

She took the knife and fork, and began to cut into the meat in front of her.

"Surely, it can't be that good. I'll still eat it but a Black Bull made it. I have no expec-!"

She stopped her train of thought as she saw how easily the knife cut through the rich meat that was sizzling on the plate. It was like cutting into ice cream with how the utensil flowed with ease. Rachel then picked up the piece with the fork and saw the sauce dripping down onto the green veggies and clear mash. Her black eyes were fixated on the entire meal and she used the fork to get some of the sides, smearing it over the steak piece that she was holding.

"So what if it looks good? The taste test is the most important thing, right? The smell is also good but… ah, why am I even arguing?!" She screamed internally as she gave up, shoving the steak piece in her mouth.

As the food hit her tongue, electric sparks started flying out from her mouth and her body tensed up. Her eyes were wide and her heart was beating quickly. Even with so much going on, she chewed and swallowed, savouring every bit of taste that she could have before losing the piece to the depth of her waiting stomach.

"Charmy… was it? This meal…", she started to say as her hands began to move by themselves. They went towards her plate and she cut and took another piece of steak. "... is amazing…!"

The other three watched the hooded teenager eat more and more of the meal and their smiles never left their faces.

"Her food has always been the best. She offered me some when the attack on the capital happened and I've always wanted more since then", Yuno explained.

"You were so lucky to have that meal back then. Tonight is my first time trying some and boy… I can't have enough!" Bell flapped her wings in place, dancing side-to-side with a big smile on her face.

"You probably wouldn't have finished a whole plate on your own so sharing with me was the best thing to do. Although… that does mean that I don't get the full experience", Yuno sighed.

Then, to the side, the sound of a clang was heard and when the three turned to face Rachel and her plate, they saw that she had wiped everything off the plate already. She started to mess around with something in her pockets but she quickly switched focus to her hood as something needed tending to.

"Wow, you're a quick eater, la!" Charmy laughed. "Here, have some more", she said as she put a small box next to the royal. It was a takeaway box with another, much smaller, steak which was properly packaged.

"Urgh, be quiet…", Rachel replied. She wasn't exactly being rude but her mind was elsewhere. She was fidgeting with her hood around her face as it looked like she was uncomfortable with all the sweat, caused by the heat of the food, near her mouth. "Argh!"

With an annoyed shout, she took her hood off which revealed her face and her red hair flowed out down towards her lower back. Rachel smiled as she finally looked comfortable but, within seconds, realised what she did with wide eyes.

"Oh, no…", she gulped.

Out of the three closest to her, Charmy was the only one to recognise Rachel with Yuno and Bell having little-to-no knowledge of the Clover Kingdom's royals.

"Wh-What?! Rachel Kira… is that you?" Charmy shouted but the royal leaned forwards and put her hands over the Black Bull's mouth.

"Sh! Shhh!" She whispered with force.

Then, a crowd started to gather around her and the royal quickly put her hood up once again. She pulled on the strings to tighten her cover but it was too late.

"Woah, is that really her?"

"If you remember what happened last year, do you think she'll do it again?"

"Didn't think she'd show herself. Maybe I'll risk it?"

Rachel then stood up, picked up the takeaway box and ran away, leaving a smoke trail right behind her as she disappeared into the distance. The crowd dispersed not even a minute after that but it left Yuno and Charmy with quite a few questions.

"Rachel Kira? I think that's the royal that Lucas, Hamon, and Melody had to work with", Yuno said to Bell to which she nodded.

"Correct. Though Lucas wasn't really happy about it. Say, Charmy, what's the deal with her? Is she really that famous?" Bell asked.

"It has to be on a different level to the other royals. Mimosa, Noelle, or even the captains from the Silver Eagles and Crimson Lion Kings don't get that much attention when they're walking about", Yuno added.

Charmy put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. "La, it's a weird one with her. I mean, the royals all get some attention but the attention that she gets is on a different level".

"Did she hurt someone or do something bad?" Bell wondered.

"Uh, kinda? I wasn't near her when it happened so all I heard were panicked rumours. There was a rumour that she just went crazy with her magic, teleporting a ton of people to faraway places".

"What? That sounds quite serious", Yuno admitted.

"But then there was another rumour where she and her brother got into an argument which turned the capital into a mini battlefield".

"Royals and their family problems…", Bell shook her head, judgingly.

"Oh, and the last rumour was the one that makes the most sense. Basically -!"

"Woah, look at that, Charmy!" Bell shouted, flying towards the Cotton mage and pointing right underneath her eyes.

The glutton followed the fairy's finger and saw that there was a large, brown bag where Rachel's plate was. She looked inside and saw that it was full of yul.

"This… is much more than my meal was even worth! Wh-Why would she leave this here, la?!" Charmy panicked and picked up the bag. She rummaged through it and then felt a piece of paper inside. She brought it out and read it.

"The food was good. Here you go".

Charmy looked up and then Yuno and Bell took the letter, reading it through and turning it around to see if there was anything more in the message.

"Wow, that was really it", Yuno said as he put the letter back in the bag.

Charmy face-palmed. "I mean… I am grateful but I didn't really want to make money here. I just wanted to share my food with others", she scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"A true food connoisseur", Bell nodded with her arms crossed.

"You could always return it", Yuno said.

Charmy rubbed her face and then sat back in her chair on the opposite side of the table. "Hm, sure I could but with how that girl's personality is, she'd probably get offended. I guess I'll save it", she sighed.

Back with Rachel, she was quite a few minutes away from where she was recognised and so she slowed down, returning to a normal walking pace.

"Phew…", she yawned, stretching to get comfortable again. "Don't want to cause a scene again but running on a full stomach took a bit out of me. Still, that meal was divine - better than anything at the castle, that's for sure. Hopefully leaving them some pocket change sorts out the problem I caused", she thought.

A few seconds later…

"The problem I caused…", she repeated. She lifted her hand and placed it on her chest, closing her eyes. "I did cause it, didn't I? Urgh, being around commoners and peasants is a bit weird, I'll admit, so I'm not sure how to behave. They're just so different to us but… they did speak to me as if I was one of them… granted it was before my identity was revealed. Ah, it's all too confusing to think about. What matters is that I'm not hungry anymore!"

"Now what?" She said to herself as she skipped through the festival.

Above her head were the colourful banners and flashing magic lights that were floating on their own, creating a rainbow in the evening sky. As the royal made her way through the busy environment, she heard a bit of commotion to the side which she noted was an alleyway.

"Probably just some kids messing about", she thought as she continued skipping past. However, she wasn't able to ignore the noise for too long as her ears focused on what was being said.

"Dirty peasant. Grovelling and begging on your knees for some of my hard-earned food. Why don't you work for once and stop ruining the image of the Royal Capital".

After the random person stopped talking, the alleyway went silent and Rachel stopped to look towards it.

"I see peasants begging on the streets quite frequently with how much I leave the castle to go and explore. It's just the way things are and it's something I'm used to", she thought to herself before turning to continue walking on.

She was starting to move when the takeaway box she had bumped into her stomach. It was in a small bag that she was holding with her right hand and as she moved, it moved.

"Ooh, my food for another time. I can't believe I was so hungry earlier. It's a good thing that Charmy girl gave me so-". She paused, dropping her shoulders as she realised something.

Rachel walked towards the alleyway and saw an older woman leaning against a stone wall. She was thin and covered in dirt and dust. Her clothes were torn and she was wearing only one brown shoe.

With a deep breath, the royal handed over the box to the beggar. "Here", she said before turning away.

The old woman looked at the box and saw a thin line of cotton on the lid which was circulating through the entirety of the outer case. It felt warm to the touch and, when she opened the box, some mild steam and heat escaped it, letting the delicious smell enter her nose.

"Th-Thank you, dear. My first piece of food in days and… it's something like this? W-Would you like to have some?"

Rachel turned to face her. "You're the hungry one. You said that it's been a few days so why would you offer some to me? It doesn't make sense", she said plainly.

"Oh, it's just that you're the first one to be so kind to m-me".

"Just share it with someone else. I already had food", she replied, waving away the suggestion.

"I wish I h-had someone… else. My granddaughter died a few w-weeks… ago. Your red hair reminded me of her so that's another reason I was s-so happy. Well, if you don't mind, I'll enjoy this meal", she bowed her head.

"Your granddaughter's died and you're already begging on the streets? If something like that happened to me, I'd-!"

She closed her eyes, remembering a time a few years ago where she was crying in bed for weeks. She didn't move at all, letting time go by.

"But it seems like she doesn't even have a home to go to…".

"Well, I hope you enjoy that meal. Here, take this as well". Rachel put a brown bag, similar to the one she left for Charmy, next to the old woman. "Use it well", she said before teleporting away in a white flash.

The old woman grabbed the bag which made a sound like pieces of metal hitting each other. She opened the bag and, within seconds, tears fell from her eyes but her smile stayed.

Rachel reappeared somewhere else, deep in the festival. Although she was surrounded by many activities and things to occupy herself with, only one thing was on her mind and it was what was said a few weeks ago to her by Lucas.

"Magic Knights help people without the promise of getting anything in return! You help people first, that's the main thing!"

"Hmph, it's not like I needed someone to tell me what to do there! It was the obvious thing to do!"

Rachel thought about all the peasants and all the beggars she saw on the streets during the time she was out of the castle.

"The obvious thing, right?"

"We have GOT to try that out!" Kahono shouted, dragging her date across the street with her.

"Ooh, I like the way you think! C'mon, Lucas, let's do it as well!" Daisy agreed, pulling the Light mage across with her.

The triple date was underway and the two girls found something that took their attention. As the girls dragged the boys, the large group started to separate with the ones at the back forming a second, smaller group. The ones in front reached an area where there were four chairs set up outside what looked like a store. Across the front of the building, was a banner with splodges of different-coloured paint all over with a sticker of a few different animals around the sides.

"Are you here for some face-painting?" The store owner asked, twirling two paintbrushes in and around the fingers of each hand.

"Face-painting? I think I've heard of something like this before. I'd love to try it out!" Asta rushed over and sat down on one of the chairs.

"Me too!" Lucas pointed at himself and sat down next to the Black Bull.

"Grace and Sonia, would you like to sit down and join in?" Kahono asked the two twins. The latter, who was with Kiato and in the middle of the two groups, ran forwards to catch up with the former and both sat down on the two remaining chairs, kicking their feet up and down.

The woman who was the head of the store sat down on her stool. She was wearing a beige painter's hat with a black-stringed tassel on the side. She also had some drops of paint on her cheeks with the most prominent one being a red colour. She put one leg over the other and asked the four;

"So, what are you going for?"

Before the boys could reply, the girls butted in and gave their own shared idea.

"Surprise us!"

"Hm, that could be interesting", Lucas agreed.

Asta had stars in his eyes. "I'm itching to see what I look like afterwards!"

Grace and Sonia had other ideas as they raised their own hands.

"Can I look like… a monkey, please?" Grace asked, feeling her own face as she imagined how she'd look.

"A beaver for me!" Sonia said, putting her yellow-blonde hair to the back so it wouldn't be in the way of her face.

The woman raised her hands and started getting to work. She focused on the twins first whilst the two teens were waiting eagerly.

Behind the group of six were the remaining five. Instead of going to the face-painting stall, Kiato brought the girls a few paces to the right where there was another activity stall.

"Um, Kiato, are you sure you want to do this?" Noelle asked with a bit of hesitation. She looked at where he took her and wasn't sure this was classed as 'fun'.

"Oh, please! I'm a water dweller so this type of thing is what I'm all about. It'll also take some of your pent-up tension away from you", he smiled.

Mimosa scratched her chin. "I don't have any tension, though? What about you, Noelle?"

"I don't know what he's on about", she replied.

The two royals then shifted their gaze slowly to the left where Lucas and Asta were and focused on them laughing. They then saw their dates right next to them and it seemed like they were flirting with them.

Mimosa went pale just like before and Noelle went red as she did earlier. Kiato saw the two plucking at their hair and pulling at their clothes, and he decided to taunt them.

"Wow, if I do this then you two will feel relaxed afterwards… Just release all that aggression and tension you have…". He put his hands to the side of his mouth, making his voice travel further to make sure it got to the two teens near to him.

Veins started to pop out from Noelle's and Mimosa's heads.

"Say, cousin, I think I am feeling a bit weird".

"Right? Maybe it would be worth it to relax and unwind".

"Hehe, gotcha!" Kiato pumped his fists before turning back to the stall. "Hey, Alice and Chloe, you can get involved here as well!"

The group of five looked at the stall that they decided to go to and it had a glass tank full of water right beside it. Above it, was a seat that looked like Kiato was going towards as the owner ushered him closer.

"A dunk tank is perfect for anyone to unwind! Well, except for the one that's getting dunked!" The owner of the stall giggled. He handed Kiato a pair of shorts and he had to go change in the building that the stall was located at.

A few seconds later, the Dance mage returned and took his place on top of the dunk tank. Beside him, was a small target that had to be hit for him to be dunked.

"Here, for you four", the owner handed over some small balls and they acccepted.

Alice started to juggle the three she had in her hand whilst Chloe held them in place, worried that she might drop them.

"I've never done this sort of thing before, Alice, can you help me?" The small, red-haired girl asked.

"Sure, Chloe", the ginger-haired girl replied, patting her on her head. "The guy said it helps to relieve some stress and tension, so just think of something that annoys you! Focus on that and use that to help throw the ball at the target!"

Chloe furrowed her brow and pouted. "Okay, I've got this! Think of something… annoying…", she closed her eyes as she was deep in thought.

Noelle and Mimosa received their ammo but they weren't talking to one another. Instead, they were already thinking about their frustrations.

"Lucas should've been my date! I get that the triple date is all for fun, but why couldn't I have been the one?"

"It's not as if I really care that Asta is enjoying his time with Kahono. It's more the fact that if he's not around me, then I can't have my eye on him!"

Kiato saw the two royals and the two children thinking about something and nodded, arms crossed. "Good, think about whatever and use that as your strength!" He braced himself to fall into the water but, after about 10 seconds, he eased up and opened his eyes. "Um, guys…".

"Daisy, if you like Lucas, just admit it!"

"Am I not enough to go around with, Asta?"

"Oh… Did I just tell Daisy to admit if her possible feelings were true? Maybe… I should admit them to him… argh!"

"Why am I so focused on this one thing? Should I just ask Asta to go around the festival with me?!"

Kiato was about to raise his voice to get the royals' attention but another voice beat him to it.

Alice jumped up and barged into the two, making them move to the side. She and Chloe replaced their positions and were about to throw their ammo first.

"Hmph, if you're going to take this long, then we'll go first!"

"Yeah!"

"I hate how I always mess up in class!" Chloe shouted, throwing one of her balls at the target but missing by quite a margin.

"It's annoying how I get special treatment because I have no magic!" Alice raised her arm and threw the ball as hard as she could, barely missing.

"I want to help Big Sis out with the cooking but I always mess up!" Chloe threw again, this time hitting the target but just below the centre point.

The seat that Kiato was in moved a bit which made his feet touch the surface of the water. He was close to falling in but the target needed a better hit to make sure he fell.

Alice gritted her teeth and breathed in and out before turning to the side. She raised her leg and arm and used the momentum of the leg hitting the ground and arm swinging past to really throw the ball properly. "I hate… being a burden to Big Sis!"

The sound of a splash.

Alice opened her eyes and saw that Kiato had fallen into the tank. The glass made it able to see that he was putting his thumbs up through it. Chloe held Alice's hand and the two jumped up and down.

"Wow, that sure was something, you girls!" Kiato praised as he lifted himself up from the tank.

Alice stopped jumping and felt her fast, beating heart. Her red eyes were shaking slightly and she looked over to the other stall at Daisy who was still busy with her date. "The way you're feeling these past few months… I know it's because of me. I'm sorry, Big Sis", she gulped.

"Alice?" Chloe tugged on Alice's sleeve and she quickly perked up, hiding her true feelings.

"Woah, Chloe, that was such a good shot from you right before mine! I got the winning strike so let's see if you can beat me at something else!" She smiled and moved her younger sister's arm around, making her do all sorts of funny motions.

"Haha, sure!" The shy girl grinned as her star-shaped glasses shone around her eyes.

The two royals walked to the two children and they just sighed.

"Ah, sorry for taking that long, you two. I was quite distracted and that's why I didn't throw", Mimosa apologised, rubbing the two girls' heads.

"Speak for yourself. I was just about to throw when you barged in!" Noelle argued, putting her hands to her hips.

"Yeah, yeah, slow coach", Alice replied. She went behind the Plant mage and peeked to the side, using her legs to hide most of her body. Alice used this makeshift barrier to stick her tongue out.

"Wh-Why you…!"

"Okay, ladies, that was quite the activity, huh?" Kiato appeared, clapping to grab their attention. He was already dry after what was a few seconds between him climbing out and returning to the girls.

"You dried off pretty quickly", Mimosa said, failing to see any leftover water droplets on Kiato.

"Hehe… That's a perk of being a dancer, and well from the Seabed Temple", he chuckled. He started dancing all of a sudden, twisting and turning, rolling and rotating, and he stopped again. "Just a bit of that and all the water dries off. My skin itself is also built for water so I can control it a bit", he explained.

Noelle pointed at Kiato with her wand. "So, if I throw some water at you, can you demonstrate right in front of us?"

"Go for it!" Kiato extended his arms outwards, implying he was ready for it.

"Hm, maybe not just yet", Noelle giggled, smiling again afterwards.

Back with the first group, all the face-painting was done. The woman sighed and stretched as she finally put her paintbrush to the side, choosing to move places from her stool to a spare seat to lean back and rest in.

"I hope you like it, you lot!" She smiled.

Lucas and Asta were the first ones to stand up and Daisy and Kahono were amazed with what they saw.

"We didn't look too much at you two so that it'd be a surprise, but you two look so cool!" Kahono praised, putting her thumb up at the woman beside them.

Daisy nodded with her arms crossed. She tried to act cool but a laugh was bubbling up. "Although you look amazing, you also look hilarious!"

"We still can't see what we look like!" The two boys replied back, eager to see what was on their face.

The painter brought out a full-length mirror and the two saw what they were looking like. Instead of a cat, dog, wolf, or anything even slightly resembling an animal, as what was depicted on the banner above them, Lucas and Asta were definitely surprised with what they looked like.

"I'm… a goblin!" The two shouted, pointing at their own faces and making all sorts of funny expressions.

Their faces were dark-green and the two had different sorts of accessories drawn on. Lucas had a red eyepatch over his right eye whereas Asta was wearing a pair of silver sunglasses on top of his. Their ears were pointed and came out from the side, using their actual ears as part of the illusion.

"I thought you would've given us an animal or something!" Lucas chuckled.

"Well, I just went off with what the girls told me to do. Painting something completely different as to what's on the banner fits in well with what a surprise is in this case!" The woman replied.

"You really outdid yourself!" Asta laughed, leaning in closely to the mirror to see more of his face.

Daisy then turned to her younger sisters who were busy amongst themselves. "And don't think I forgot about the two main girls!" She extended her arms forwards with her fingers wriggling about as if she was a monster trying to catch them.

"Run away!" The twins shouted in unison. They ran but only a few seconds before hiding behind either side of Kahono.

"You asked for a monkey and a beaver, and you definitely got that to a T, you two!" Kahono bent down and got level with the twins.

Grace put her hands under her armpits and jumped whilst flailing her arms and legs outwards. She was making monkey sounds with no pause in between. "Monkeys are my favourite. I even have a stuffed monkey toy at home!

Sonia put her hands to her mouth and moved her fingers downwards. They were in front of her teeth and she started moving around slowly, keeping her hands where they were the whole time. "And beavers are mine. They're just so cute!"

"You should've brought your stuffed animals, then we'd be able to see which two of you look more like the real thing!" Lucas added, teasing the two blondes.

After that, Daisy and Kahono slyly looked at each other and nodded. The two stood on their tiptoes and creeped closer towards Lucas and Asta who were in front of them. Step-by-step, they remained silent until they were inches away from the two boys. Then, they jumped at them.

"Ah!" Lucas shouted, jumping as he felt two hands suddenly press against his shoulders.

"The girl has scared the goblin… This day is full of shocks and surprises, huh?" Daisy giggled.

Asta remained calm, however. "Oh, hello again, Kahono!"

"You and your damn Ki…", the singer pouted.

The magicless mage smiled but he was thinking about something inside. "Ki just comes naturally to me now but… It should be the same for Lucas, right?"

Before the group were about to start walking away, Lucas walked over to the woman who was responsible for the face-painting. "So, how much is it for four people?"

"Oh, it doesn't cost a thing! I do the face-painting for fun and to give kids like you something to laugh about", she replied.

"Ah, come on, just give me a number! You're the one responsible for the smiles on those twins' faces and that's the main thing. You have to be rewarded for it", Lucas smiled, rummaging around in his coin pouch.

The woman sighed. "You really know how to flatter someone, young boy, and the fact that a goblin is saying these nice things is funny as well", she started to laugh. "Just give me whatever you deem fit".

Lucas thought for a second or two before taking out a few coins. "Here, I think this will do?"

"400 yul?! I can't accept that much for such a simple job!" The woman protested.

"Please, do. Don't think of it as payment but as me appreciating your skills", he insisted.

"This… will really help for food and rent", she choked but managed to keep her composure. "My family and I have been struggling for a while and this will help a lot. Thank you", she bowed before Lucas protested himself.

"Ah, no need to do that. I know what it's like to struggle so just take it easy", he smiled.

After handing out the payment, Lucas turned around to join his friends again. He thought that no one really paid any attention to what he just did but a few of his friends did.

"Lucas is quite the nice guy, isn't he?" Kahono nodded, liking what she saw him do.

Daisy was in her head, repeating what Lucas had said to the painter.

"You're the one responsible for the smiles on those twins' faces and that's the main thing".

She shook her head as she felt a nudge on her shoulder. "Oh, sorry", she apologised. "About Lucas? Yeah, he's always been like that, thinking about others. I guess that's one of the reasons why Mimosa fell for him".

"Hehe, perhaps it is!" Kahono giggled.

Asta turned to Lucas. "Hey, should we go over there next?" He ushered the Dual mage over and pointed in the distance, seeing something that got his attention. Lucas walked over and joined him.

Noelle and Mimosa were staring at the four who were on the date and the atmosphere around them was heating up. Daisy and Kahono sneakily looked over and Kiato put a thumbs up to signal that the plan was working.

With a whisper, Kahono leaned in. "It's working, Daisy! Just a bit more and we should see the two make a move!"

"I'm having a lot of fun but… should I be? I mean, this was Mimosa's date at the start and I can't help but feel like I've butted in. I know the whole plan and it seems to be working, but…".

"But nothing! Look, just a few more activities and then you two can switch! It's not like you're into Lucas in that way so just act as friends, or as you would normally. It seems like even that is enough to rile up Mimosa, hehe. Or… do what I do and…", Kahono skipped over to Asta and held his left arm with both of hers.

"Where to, Asta?" She asked before turning to the Ice mage behind her. "Do that", she mouthed.

"Ooh, you're good", Daisy praised. She shook her head before skipping ahead, just like Kahono. She poked Lucas's cheek. "Where to next?"

After the first two activities were out of the way for the large group, they decided to walk around the festival, taking more of the sights in. All the girls were at the back whilst the trio of boys were at the front, Lucas and Asta leading the way.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask but it's about your Ki detection. You can't do it anymore?" Asta asked, directing his question to the one beside him.

Lucas blew air out of his mouth and shrugged. "You noticed, huh? Yeah, after that transformation in the Witches' Forest, I've been unable to. It's not a simple thing of trying to learn it again, it's that my body is unable to for some reason".

"That's weird. I went through something similar but I never had that happen with my Ki detection. In fact, I feel like it got better", Asta replied.

"Lucky you, I guess", Lucas awkwardly laughed. "The thing is, I lost the ability to detect Ki outwards but using it on myself is much stronger. I feel everything inside my body - blood circulation, mana circulation, and… whatever was causing my transformation. It's all become much more clearer".

Asta rubbed his chin. "Can't say I've ever heard about that. Then again… I'm no master!" He lightly bumped the side of his head with a fist. "Maybe if we see Captain Yami, you can ask him about it?"

"That's a good idea", Lucas nodded.

Kiato walked forwards and put his arms around the two Magic Knights' shoulders. "I have no idea what you two were mumbling about but decide on something already! We've all been following you thinking you were taking us somewhere!"

"Oops!" The two shouted.

"You two…", Kiato slapped their backs. "Fine, I'll decide on what we do next! Let's see…", he said as he scanned the immediate area from side-to-side before stopping at something on the right. "Let's go and do that!"

The large group went ahead and reached a wide stall that was hosting a shooting game.

"Hello, sir, can we try this out?" Kiato asked.

"Sure can. Split yourselves into five groups of two and use these small guns placed at the front to shoot down the targets. The first team to shoot down all of the targets wins a prize that you can choose", the man replied. "Just remember, only mana transfer is allowed, nothing else".

"A competitive activity? I'm liking the sound of that", Kiato said as he stretched his arms, ready to play.

Mimosa was about to reach for Lucas. "This is my chance! If I can pair up with Lucas, the-!"

"Lucas, want to pair up with me?" Daisy asked as she hopped from Kahono to him.

"Sure! I competed against Mimosa earlier and we drew, so I'm hoping for a win this time", he said with great determination in his eyes.

"I was too slow!" Mimosa pouted, pulling her hair.

Kahono didn't even need to beat her rival for Asta's hand as she was sulking at the back, staring at her squadmate.

"Noelle, you have to act!" She thought before turning to the one whose hand she was holding. "Let's get first place!"

"Yeah!" Asta exclaimed.

The remaining three pairs were Kiato and Sonia, Grace and Chloe, and Noelle and Mimosa.

"Alice, what about you?" Kahono asked, which raised a few eyebrows from the rest. Everyone but the sea-dwellers knew about Alice's condition and she and Daisy were the ones that were really affected by what the Song mage said.

"N-No, I'll sit this one out, thank you…". Alice sat down on a nearby bench right beside the stall.

"Oh, okay", Kahono replied, not really thinking too much into it.

The man at the stall put his arm down to start the activity which made the targets in front of the five pairs move. The participants all got started but there were a few that were distracted.

"Are you not going to play?" Noelle asked Mimosa who had her eyes on another pairing.

Contrary to what the others were doing at the stall, Lucas let go of his gun. He hadn't even started to fire before he turned away from Daisy. The Ice mage herself was in her own world the whole time and she didn't even realise what was going on around her.

"Lucas, what are you doing?" She asked, snapping back to reality.

Before he answered, he shouted at the bench beside the stall.

"Alice, come here quickly!"

The former Ice Magic user flinched as she wasn't expecting to be called out but she ran over, stopping right by his legs. She looked up at him but was confused as to what he wanted from her.

"Yes, Mister Lucas?"

"I told you…", he replied with a slight glare.

"Ah, sorry, L-Lucas…", she replied, correcting herself.

Lucas laughed. "Haha, much better! Say, you want to play this game, don't you?"

"You know why I can't…", she frowned.

"Sure you can!" Lucas responded. He looked at Daisy beside him. "Sorry about this, I know you wanted to pair up with me but can you swap places with Alice for this one", he asked.

"What are you…?" Daisy stepped away, still confused, but left the area open for Alice to stand in.

"I invited all of you here, not just Daisy, and that means that little Alice should be involved with everything the festival has to offer", he said before kneeling down to reach the ginger's level. "Things have been tough but tonight is about having fun. Why don't you enjoy the festival just as a girl like you should", he smiled before rubbing her hair.

The young girl started to whimper but she shook her head side-to-side. Alice moved a bit to the left so that Lucas would stop rubbing her hair and her sad expression turned into a pout that she had to feign to not show that she was emotional.

Alice's attempt to hide her emotions were obvious and Lucas sighed and smiled, realising that this is just how she was. "Maybe actions will speak louder than words…", he said before putting his right hand over the gun that Alice was near and it started to glow. "Here you go. Now fire!"

Alice put her hands over the gun with her right hand going towards the trigger. Her red eyes widened with surprise as she felt something she hadn't felt for months.

"M-Mana…? I can feel it in my hands!" She thought before firing. "Wow!"

Alice, despite not having mana for months, hit her target on the first try. She let go of the gun and looked at her own hands for a second.

"Miste- I mean Lucas… Wow, he's cool!" She went back and held the gun again and fired without stopping, hitting more of the targets.

Lucas smiled before lightly patting the girl on the back. "Now, let's see if we can win a prize!"

Daisy walked a few steps back as she saw her sister having fun with Lucas. She quickly wiped her eyes to not make a scene but there were tears welling up.

"Lucas…".

Mimosa looked back at Noelle, smiling. "There's nothing to worry about", she sighed with relief. "Lucas is just so sweet. Those types of things, where he just thinks about someone else to make them happy, are the ones that make him soooo cool!"

Noelle shook Mimosa. "Um, are you alright?" You've been making some odd faces like you'd zoned out or something".

"Oh, right, um… n-nothing to worry about! Instead, let's start firing and see if we can win a pri-!" Mimosa tried to refocus but was met with her cousin now distracted with another pair. "Was this what I was like?"

"Ah, I can't shoot anything out of this gun! Is it broken?!" Asta exclaimed, tensing his muscles just enough to not break the weapon.

"Sir, if you keep doing that, it'll break! You have to put some mana into the gun and it'll shoot some light bullets", the man explained.

"Oh", Asta replied. "Um, well, that's gonna be a problem since I have no mana".

Noelle watched on and decided to make a move. "This has to be my ch- no, what am I talking about? All I'm going to do is help Asta out, that's all!" She thought and moved towards him. However, all she could do was start to say something before being interrupted. "I know I'm playing here but I can quickly give you some of my ma-!"

"Don't worry about that, Asta, here you go", Kahono smiled before leaning in closer to touch Asta's gun with her right hand. "I got the idea from Lucas, though I'm not sure why he did it. Still, it worked... Use this, Asta!"

"Thank you, Kahono! Now I can go for that prize I spotted!" Asta shouted, firing as much as he could.

"Argh!" Noelle screamed as she tightened the grip on her own gun and put through more mana than she intended to, breaking through a few of the targets and parts of the stall itself. She was beaten by Kahono for the second time tonight.

"Miss, please be careful! Repairs take quite a long time for a stall like this!" The man exclaimed, jumping at how reckless Noelle was.

"S-Sorry…", the Water mage eventually relaxed, returning to Mimosa with a dark cloud above her.

"Who's the one that's distracted now?" The Vermillion crossed her arms, lifting an eyebrow at the Silva.

"Hmph, oh please! You can only say it like that because Lucas didn't have another close moment with Daisy! If Asta didn't have his wi-! Hang on a minute, am I really this annoyed about Asta and Kahono?!"

Although Noelle had stopped herself from finishing the sentence, it was enough for Mimosa to start thinking about what she was saying herself. "W-Would I have been like her if Lucas did get even closer with Daisy? I… think I would have…", she shook her head before raising a fist near her face. "I have to do something about this!"

Onto the next pair, Kiato and Sonia were firing their mana bullets and the two were having little to no problems at all.

"Come on, Sonia, what prize are you going for when we win this?" Kiato asked, still focused.

Sonia fired a few more bullets, hitting some of the targets in front. "Ooh, maybe another stuffed beaver toy! I do look like one right now", she pointed at her face with her free hand. "You can never have enough beavers, I say!"

The dancer chuckled. "You and your beavers". He then looked over at the other pairs. "Hm, they seem to be doing well. Maybe… I can give us a boost?"

Kiato dragged his right foot across the floor slowly to a regular beat that he was humming to. After every beat, the air around his foot started to shift and a faint, rainbow-coloured aura emerged.

With this, his arms also started to move in a rhythm-like beat and it looked like he was somewhat dancing, although he wasn't exactly moving anywhere else. All of this made his arms move quickly which helped with how much he was pulling the trigger of his gun. Before, he was shooting at a normal speed but now he was going even faster.

"Woah, why didn't you do this at the start?" Sonia asked, oblivious to the fact that her partner was cheating.

"Hehe, I'm full of surprises", he giggled.

It looked like this pair were going to be the first to destroy all their targets but their glee was short-lived as the pair felt a shadow loom over them.

Scared, Kiato and Sonia slowly turned around and saw the owner of the stall towering over them.

"I see you used magic. I told you… only mana transfer is allowed, nothing else. This is cheating, so you are disqualified!" The man said which made the two frown and start to walk away from their guns. "Well, it's not as serious as that. You can still play but you won't be eligible for a prize".

Kiato turned to Sonia. "Forgive me. I know you really wanted a stuffed toy and I ruined it for you".

Sonia waved his apology away. "Haha, no need to worry. It's funny to be with another troublemaker like me and my twin!"

"You admit that you're a troublemaker?"

"Hehe… yes, but don't tell Big Sis!"

The two laughed with each other before hopping onto the game again.

"Let's just get all the targets!"

Chloe and Grace weren't having the best of experiences with the game as they were the only pair to be just kids and were competing against older teenagers. Grace was able to hit some of her targets but Chloe wasn't hitting anything at all.

"Come on, Chloe, I know you're better than this!" The twin who looked like a monkey encouraged the youngest sibling.

"I… can't…", she frowned and slowly let go of the gun. She was about to walk away in a strop before Grace called out to her.

"You can't always throw a tantrum when things aren't going your way! When Big Sis is being a Magic Knight, the four of us have to act big, you know, like her", she said.

This caught Chloe's attention. She turned back with her sar-shaped sunglasses glowing. "I know… but all of you are better than me at everything, even Alice! She's still strong even without magic…", she sniffled.

"She's strong without her magic but you should be strong with your magic! You've been doing well in Sister Theresa's classes, isn't there something that she taught you to do to help with your aim?"

Chloe thought back.

"Now, breathe in and out, slowly but properly".

"Okay, I'll… try again". Chloe walked forwards and put her hands on the gun, transferring her mana.

Closing and opening her eyes, she breathed in and out, in and out until she was ready. The blue mana bullet formed at the tip of the gun and shot out, hitting the edge of the target. It wasn't enough to destroy or knock it down but it was enough for Chloe to smile.

"Wow, I really… hit it!" She cheered and jumped up in the air. Her eyes were shut as she brightly smiled.

"Hehe, more of that and you'll be stronger than all of us!" Grace said before turning back to her gun. "Let's go for the prize, sis!"

"Yeah!"

Eventually, after another minute, the game came to a halt as the timer above the stall went down to zero. The five pairs walked back and awaited their results eagerly. The younger four siblings were fidgeting, jumping, and even walking back and forth as they couldn't help themselves, and even Asta and Lucas were doing the same.

"You two are such kids", Noelle poker-faced.

"Well, it's an opportunity to win a prize! We can't not be excited!" Asta responded.

"Don't worry about her, Noelle was busy shooting her bullets into the air", Lucas teased, earning a soft growl from the royal.

"Not all of us can be blessed with two attributes", she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, opening one of them to see the mage's reaction.

"Well, we are royals, Noelle. We should be doing better than what we did!" Mimosa stepped in.

"Ooh, what's this? Mimosa's defending Lucas?" Daisy added, stirring the pot. She winked at the Plant mage who blushed and hid her face.

The man at the stall came back out with the results. His Flame Magic wrote some words in the air and, looking closely, it was the scores of the five pairs.

"Coming in last with a total of zero points was the disqualified pair of Kiato and Sonia! You were on course to get a good score but the cheating put you two all the way down!"

Daisy gasped and walked up to Sonia. "Don't tell me you were the one that cheated", she asked with her hands on her hips.

"Um, that would actually be me", Kiato said quietly. He raised his right hand at the back of the group and everyone sighed.

"You do get quite competitive", Kahono admitted, shaking her head.

"The fourth place, with a total of 50 points, was the pair of Noelle and Mimosa! You two had more points but I had to deduct some because of the damages. The two of you also didn't have your eyes on the game for periods of the game!"

"Noelle, what got into you? I thought you'd nail this game since you came so far with your magic control!" Asta asked, scratching his chin.

"Oh, d-do be quiet! My gun was faulty, and Mimosa was distracted the most out of us!" Noelle argued, pinning the blame on other factors.

"Huh?! You were the one ogling at Asta!" Mimosa retorted.

Kahono seized this opportunity and slid into the middle of the two Black Bull's. "You were? Wow, Noelle, tell us why you were?"

"N-N-N-No reason! I wasn't even og-ogling! All I was doing was seeing if he understood the game!" The royal replied, her tone of voice going higher every second.

"See, guys, she was just checking on me. This is my first time at a Star Festival after all!" Asta added, defending Noelle without really meaning to.

"And finally… the top three all have a point separating them! With 73, 74, and 75 points… Grace and Chloe, Asta and Kahono, and that means the winner was… Lucas and Alice!"

Small streams of light flashed along the edges of the stall as the prize-winning pair were announced.

"Ah, darn it!" Asta dropped his shoulders. "I really thought we won that!"

"Sorry, Grace…", Chloe apologised, but the twin hugged her to make her feel better.

"Woah, we won?" Alice said as she looked up at Lucas who smiled at her.

"We did. Come on and let's find you a prize!" He took her hand and walked forwards to inspect the prizes that were on the side of the stall.

There were stuffed animals, small jewellery like bracelets and necklaces, and some snacks like sweets and chocolate.

"I can pick?" Alice asked, repeatedly tapping on her cheek as she tried to think about what she wanted. "Then I'd like that bracelet!"

After picking out the prize, Alice showed her bracelet off to her sisters. It was a small, plastic one with a rainbow frame going around her wrist. On the top, the small shape of a smiling cat's face.

"I know I won this but… this is for you, Chloe", Alice said before taking the bracelet off.

"For me…?" Chloe pointed at herself, confused.

"I saw how you got back and played the game. You were quite cool and you even got third place! That's quite impressive! The cat… also reminds me of you. They're usually small but can be independent, and that's what you're starting to be - well, the second part, you're already small", she giggled.

Chloe laughed at the joke but hugged her sister because of the compliment. She took the bracelet and put it on her right wrist.

"Wow, Chloe, you look amazing!" Asta jumped in. "You got the shades and the bracelet. You've got all the accessories!"

"Hehe, thanks. Hey, Big Sis, look at this!" Chloe turned to face Daisy.

In fact, Daisy wasn't even around with the group anymore. The entire group of 10 looked around but only one of them managed to see what direction she suddenly took off to.

Mimosa waved. "Um, she went that way. I was about to ask her where she was going but she rushed off. She… didn't look too good".

"Why did she just leave like that?" Kahono wondered, looking into the general distance where Mimosa pointed.

"Maybe an upset stomach?" Asta asked but was met with an elbow to his stomach from Noelle.

"Don't be gross. Maybe she was late for something?" The Water mage theorised.

Lucas shook his head, trying hard to think but only one thing came to his mind. He furrowed his brow but decided to keep silent. After a few seconds, he felt a tug on his sleeve and saw that it was Alice again but she had a very sad look to her.

"Um…", she said before her red eyes started to shake.

"It's about Big Sis. C-Can I talk to you in private…?"

NOTES:

The big triple date is underway, so what did you guys think?

I extended it quite a lot and there will be some more of it in the next chapter. I wanted to slow the pace down since I quite like doing all the shipping stuff and it's nice to get away from all the constant action.

Including all the sisters and the overall large group was a bit tough but I think I did it well. Maybe because of the large numbers it may have felt too long but, again, I don't think it was bad.

Now, something has happened with Daisy. What could it be and what is Alice going to say?