After a quick snack, we wandered around the festival park in search for stalls where we could play and we staggered to the part where they were held.
「Hey, why don’t we make some funds first? 」
Shinozaki’s gaze at the sign of “Katanuki”.
I thought they had disappeared because I hadn’t seen them around since I was in elementary school but it seems like they still exist.
「What is that katanuki? 」
「It’s basically die-cutting. It is a cookie or a candy with image and you must cut that image off using a toothpick or a needle.」
「Hirose-san is right. If you can cut it out without breaking it, you’ll get some money. 」
Wakamiya-san listened with great interest to Mei and Shinozaki’s explanations.
「I’ll take this one.」
「This one’s mine.」
「I’ll pick the easiest.」
「I’ll pick the easiest too.」
Each of us paid 100 yen and received a mold.
High school students working doing things what children around are doing might not be something good to look at but it’s fun. Thanks to the fact that I chose the easiest so I’m making a good progress. Wakamiya-san chose the easiest one like me and Mei, who picked a slightly more difficult one, were also doing well.
After a few more minutes of working silently, Wakamiya-san and I completed our images and Mei completed hers too.
The prize for the easy ones were not cash but fireworks but it was much cheaper than buying them normally so that’s a good thing.
I looked at Shinozaki, who picked the most difficult one and the only one who failed, and saw him eating the mold. Looking at it, I could see that he failed miserably.
As expected, it was not good to be greedy.
「Now, where are we going next?」
The disappointed Shinozaki said so while he’s eating the unfinished mold.
It sure is refreshing to be around a guy who can switch gears so quickly.
「By the looks of it, the only thing that we can do for now is the shooting game.」
There are other things to play with like goldfish scooping or water balloon fishing but even if we get a goldfish or a water balloon, we can’t keep them so it’s just a waste.
「Oh, that’s nice. We can show off our skills. Are you two okay with that?」
「Yeah, I’m okay with it.」
「Me too. I want to see the shooting skills of Amane-kun and Kazuya-kun.」
No more than a few steps later, we arrived at a shooting stall. I asked the old man of the stall and gave me 10 cork bullets and a rifle shaped cork gun in exchange for my 300 yen. I politely received them while thinking that it was very conscientious given that number of bullets.
「Hey Amane, how about a game?」
「Don’t wanna. It has been two years since I last played this.」
「Haa, you’re boring.」
At the bottom of the shelf were sweets and small figures for children. Looking up, there are pencil cases, stuffed animals, anime robot plastic models, and even transformation hero goods. Wakamiya-san and Mei’s eyes are shining on the pencil cases and stuffed animals.
「What are your targets, Souta?」
「For now, I’m going to get some of the sweets below.」
As I said that, I tried to hit the caramels that I saw. I’m not sure if the bullets are light or not but they shook slightly but not enough to knock them down. While it was still shaking, I hit it with another bullet and it went down easily.
「Amazing, is that really easy to get?」
「No, I just got lucky.」
I looked to the side and saw that Shinozaki also targeted sweets like I did. On the other hand, Wakamiya-san seems to be targeting the pencil case on the upper part of the shelf. She’s shooting the box containing the pencil case but it doesn’t even move.
「Hey Amane, can you help me?」
「As long as you help me later.」
Shinozaki agreed so we both held our rifles and exhales.
「Amane, let’s go.」
「Yeah」
We pull the trigger at the same time as the signal. And it’s not a single shot but a barrage. We shoot and load and shoot and load.
Shinozaki and I hit both corners of the box at the same time which made it shake and with two more shots in the same place, it finally fell back off the shelf.
「To think that would work.」
「Let’s do it again.」
「Yeah.」
Like before, we targeted a box containing a pencil case. We shot it the same way we did to the previous one and it also fell back.
「To think you two managed to get them, amazing. I thought there’s no way anyone could get them but you managed to do so. Take them.」
The stall grandpa came over to us with the two pencil cases and some snacks. When Shinozaki and I received them, the peanut gallery that had formed before we knew it gave us a big round of applause.
「What the…Mei, when did this happen?」
「When you and Shinozaki-kun got the first case. People stopped and watched and when you started shooting the second one, it felt like they increased even more.」
「I didn’t noticed at all.」
「You were too focused.」
「Oh, well, in any case, here.」
「Eh? You’re giving it to me?」
「It looks like you wanted it so I thought I’ll get it for you.」
「Thank you!」
Mei took the pencil case I offered her and hugged me as hard as she could.
Hey, we’re still in front of the store, you know. There’s a whole peanut gallery watching us. Oh, they applaud even more!