“That’s right. I forgot something important.”
As Kent and his companions were about to leave the sanctuary, Rachel suddenly cried out.
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Rachel, did you suddenly want to go to the bathroom?”
Kent and Marie asked Rachel in surprise.
“Marie, do I look that much like a child to you?”
“Shishii” is a baby word for urination used in a certain region.
“I was just saying it. It seems difficult to do in these clothes, shall I help you?”
“No, no one said they needed to go to the bathroom.”
Rachel conveyed to Marie that it was not about that.
“Didn’t I tell you that visiting for the first time in the New Year is about praying to God at the beginning of the year? Older brother prayed, but Marie and I haven’t yet.”
“Huh? But Hanako said that even if I prayed, my wish wouldn’t come true?”
“That’s that, and this is this. Anyway, let’s go pray.”
“Huh? Y-yes.”
Rachel took Marie’s hand and returned to in front of the goddess statue.
“Well then, I’ll go first!”
Fortunately, the people who were listening to the conversation in a separate room had not yet left, so there was no line in front of the goddess statue. Rachel immediately clasped her hands in front of the goddess statue and began to pray.
“Okay, finished. It’s Marie’s turn next.”
“W-well, I understand. For the time being, I’ll fold my hands and pray.”
After Rachel’s prayer, Marie continued.
“I’m finished too.”
“It seems like you’re both done. Shall we go then?”
” “Yes!” ”
Marie’s prayer was also finished, and the three of them decided to leave the sanctuary again.
“Hmm, as for your wishes… whether to grant them or not, the conclusion is on hold.”
Hanako, after hearing their wishes, recorded the contents in her notebook, but left the circles, triangles, and crosses blank. She didn’t tell them she would either grant or not grant their wishes, so there was no need to grant them, but since both had strong wishes, she couldn’t reach a conclusion and postponed the problem.
“Excuse me! Please wait!”
As Kent and his companions were about to leave the sanctuary again, a staff member who was at the reception desk to guide them to a separate room ran up and called out to them.
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m very sorry. I forgot to give you the free tickets.”
Panting, the staff member handed Kent, Marie, and Rachel each a booklet of ten free tickets.
“I completely forgot about the free tickets because of the wishes.”
“That’s right. My mind was focused on my lower body, and the free tickets just slipped my mind.”
Kent and Marie said with wry smiles.
“You just forgot about the free tickets, didn’t you, Author, and hastily added them in? Owww! Why is a washbasin falling from above?”
As Rachel said this, a yellow washbasin fell from somewhere and hit Rachel squarely on the head.
“Something is written. Kero…”
“You’re not supposed to read that!”
The washbasin had something like a medicine name written on it in red, but Kent hastily stopped Rachel as she was about to read it aloud.
“We managed to get outside. Older brother, what should we do with these free tickets?”
After Kent and his companions left the building, Rachel asked about how to use the free tickets.
“Let me see. I’m not hungry for the time being, so instead of food, how about games?”
“That’s right. If we eat too much, our stomachs will…”
Marie agreed with Kent’s opinion.
“Then let’s go in that direction. For the time being, let’s play the target shooting game at the nearest place.”
Rachel ran ahead to the street stall where they were playing the target shooting game. Kent and Marie followed behind Rachel.
“Welcome. This is a target shooting game. Shoot the panels numbered 1 to 9 with these balls. If they bounce off and don’t make a hole, you won’t get points. You get 5 balls. If you hit three in a row, vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, you can exchange them for one of these prizes.”
Behind the stall, there were numbers 1 to 9 arranged in three rows. It seemed to be a game where you throw balls from across the counter to hit them. Next to the counter, prizes that could be exchanged were lined up.
“I usually imagine prizes like stuffed animals for this kind of thing, but here there are many practical items.”
“Indeed, there are things like tableware, tools, and handkerchiefs.”
“Is that so? When you buy them at a normal shop, they cost a considerable amount, so I think it’s helpful for people who want them.”
Rachel said as she looked at the prizes, and Kent agreed. However, Marie’s thoughts were slightly different from the two. Indeed, as Marie said, in this world, things are made by craftsmen through manual labor. Therefore, when purchasing, the prices are set slightly higher. Those present here were commoners of middle class or below, and there were no signs of the wealthy or aristocracy. Kent thought that Marie had a point.
“Then I’ll go first! Here you go.”
“Alright. You get 5 balls. Aim carefully and throw.”
Rachel decided to go first. She tore off a free ticket and handed it to the stall owner, who then gave her a basket containing five balls about the size of tennis balls.
“Alright! I’ll show you my best shot!”
Rachel aimed to hit multiple targets with one ball and threw it with all her might.
*Clunk*
“Ah.”
Her aim was good, but Rachel’s ball hit the frame between the numbers and bounced off.
“This time for sure! Hah! Yah! Tou! Huh? I think the arm setting isn’t good on this thing?”
“Little sister, that’s your skill. Besides, this game doesn’t have an arm.”
Rachel threw the balls one after another, but couldn’t hit a single target.
“Miss, that’s unfortunate. Come back and try again if you feel like it.”
“…”
Rachel handed the empty basket to the stall owner.
“Then I’ll go next. Here, please.”
“Alright, you get 5 balls. Aim carefully and throw.”
Kent handed one free ticket to the stall owner and received the basket of balls.
“I’ll aim for 5 in the center first. Torrya! Huh? 1 was hit. Now, aiming for 5 again… Huh? This time 3 was hit. …Huh? 4… 8, 9.”
“Hahaha. Older brother is so lame! You hit them all, but they’re not in a row! That’s hilarious!”
Kent threw all five balls and hit them all. However, he didn’t get a prize because three weren’t lined up vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Seeing this, Rachel laughed heartily.
“It’s my turn last. Please.”
“Alright. You get 5 balls. Aim carefully and throw.”
Finally, it was Marie’s turn. She handed over a free ticket and received five balls.
“Here I go! Ei! Oops.”
” “Eh!” ”
“She… she knocked them all down with just one ball.”
Marie’s thrown ball hit the frame, but the impact caused all the targets to fall off. Kent and Rachel, who were watching, cried out in surprise, and the stall owner had an expression of disbelief. In fact, being a baker involves a lot of heavy work. Therefore, she naturally gained strength through her daily work, so Marie was stronger than an average woman. It is unclear whether hitting all the targets with one ball was just luck or a contributing factor.
“In my many years doing this job, you’re the second person to hit all the targets with one ball. The first was a beautiful silver-haired woman dressed like a swordsman when I had a stall in a different place. I never thought I’d see such a similar scene twice. Anyway, mission complete. Take one prize you like.”
“Well then… I’ll take this one.”
“Alright. Come by again if you feel like it.”
Marie returned the basket with four balls still in it to the stall owner, and chose a set of small plates from the available prizes.
“By the way. That beautiful silver-haired woman dressed like a swordsman you mentioned earlier, that was Elnet, right?”
“I thought so too.”
“Me too!”
Kent and his companions guessed that it was Elnet who had achieved this feat before Marie. After that, they enjoyed other games at the stalls and returned home with happy faces, holding the many prizes they had won.
