episode_0033

After the performance, Arina and Isabella were the first to sense the chairman’s atmosphere, just like in previous years.

It was a look that seemed to question whether Karsein had done something wrong again.

There was no room for doubt.

It had become routine for him to cause a stir at this time every year.

“The atmosphere seems a bit chaotic. Where has everyone gone?”

“Oh, there you are, Mother.”

“Ah, it’s Karsein.”

Amidst the chaotic atmosphere, Karsein was quietly leaning against a window frame, writing something in his notebook.

“All eyes may be on Karsein, but… fortunately, it seems he hasn’t caused any trouble today.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Fortunately, it seemed that nothing had happened.

Isabella breathed a sigh of relief.

“Mom.”

Just then, Flora approached her mother and sister. Behind the youngest was Claire.

“Claire, where did you go… Oh, were you with Princess Arscien again? I told you to keep an eye on her.”

“…Nothing happened. So, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure nothing happened? Your expression looks a bit strange.”

“Oh, sis! I wasn’t the only one here, right? Right, Flora?”

“Uh? Yeah.”

Even Flora’s affirmation restored Arina’s narrowed eyes to their original state.

“Right. If there were a problem, this place would have been turned upside down by now.”

With Claire returning from isolation with a bruised palm, and with no sign of Princess Arscien watching, that alone satisfied Arina.

“If that’s the case… it’s probably okay to return home and not worry too much.”

“Haha. That child has really grown up, hasn’t she?”

“But…!”

“Why are you acting like that, Claire?”

Claire hesitated as if caught red-handed, trying to convey something.

But she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Just forget about those strange things and let’s go have some fun!”

At Claire’s urging, the aristocrats finally left the chairman behind and headed out.

Isabella, Arina, Claire, Flora.

And lastly, Karsein followed them from the very back.

The episode of the snowflake festival is underway… Right. I should try to keep a low profile as much as possible this time.

***

It’s a bit early, but since the festival preparations were finished early, the market was already open.

“The market area seems to have expanded a lot, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. At first glance, it’s definitely bigger than last year.”

The festival this year had expanded its scope twice as much as the previous year.

Noble offerings were made to the royal side, and the bountiful autumn brought about by new inventions exponentially inflated the range of the streets.

Vibrant merchants and residents.

Dim lights brightly illuminating the approaching night.

The bustling night market made it even more palpable that this was indeed a festival street.

“Hmm… It’s true that there’s plenty of food and things to see.”

Even so, the curious sight of the festival, so different from modern times, somewhat piqued his interest.

“It seems there’s no particular enjoyment in participating in the festival episodes.”

In that case, he thought it would be best to use this time as a rest period to clear his somewhat complicated mind.

“Ha-ha! It’s a festival, a festival!”

“Flora. What if you keep running around and fall?”

“I won’t fall! Let’s hurry and look around more. There seems to be a lot of fun things!”

Flora, who had been sullen until now, laughed brightly as she explored the festival street.

The two sisters couldn’t stop her and chased after the youngest.

Seeing her sisters leading the way, Isabella smiled kindly, then looked at Carsein beside her and quickly became melancholic.

To such a son, Isabella expressed feelings she had never revealed before.

“I didn’t come to see the snowflake festival last year either, Carsein.”

It’s a joyful festival for everyone.

An annual event created by the royal side, a day enjoyed by people of all ages.

But Isabella hadn’t participated every time the snowflake festival occurred, not last year or the year before.

Carsein quickly saw through Isabella’s intentions and responded.

“Is it because of me?”

“Yeah. If you can’t enjoy it, how could I go to the festival?”

Isabella took turns watching over Carcain and her two sisters, speaking to each of them.

“Claire’s measures were somewhat excessive. It was too much to impose a curfew preventing festival participation just because she had an accident. But no matter how hard I tried to intervene, I couldn’t stop her.”

In truth, she wanted to come with you and the three sisters.

She didn’t come to the festival because you weren’t there.

She wanted to pull you out of your curfew.

Isabella vented her own frustrations.

With a slightly bitter expression.

Then suddenly, Carcain spoke up.

“It’s my fault.”

“Huh?”

“I did wrong, so I rightfully received punishment. Did you think I would have complaints about that?”

“…I thought you might have complaints, but I didn’t think it was wrong.”

Rather, this time, we should watch the festival together.

She wanted to say she was really happy about that.

“Well then, no problem. Let’s go before we get further apart.”

It seemed like something that should be brought up later.

“Mom! When are you coming!”

“At this rate, we’ll end up going around by ourselves.”

“Carcain, come quickly too!”

“I’m coming. Go.”

Unable to speak in response to her daughters’ urging, Isabella made a vow as she watched Carcain’s retreating figure.

She wouldn’t leave Carcain alone and lonely at this festival.

***

The description “unprecedented” for this year’s snowflake festival was not given without reason.

Strolling through the streets, eye-catching items attracted people of all ages and genders.

People wearing clown glasses, acting foolish and making others laugh.

The smell of exotic cuisine made from special local produce naturally stimulated the nose.

Regular attractions like darts and archery with prizes began to appear.

Ariana pointed out one of them.

“Oh, this seems new compared to last year.”

“You’ve got a good eye! We completely revamped what was there last year!”

“Could I hear an explanation?”

The man started explaining with an excited face.

It was a game where you roll a ball up using two foot pedals connected to a handle and continuously hit the target to get the highest score.

However, as there are traps hidden throughout, if the ball falls out or bounces uncontrollably, it is judged as a failure and the game ends.

“It feels like a familiar visual.”

Moreover, a game with prizes at stake?

There’s nothing to see. The choices will appear here.

-Ding!

“Well, then.”

As expected, upon seeing the progress window, a disappointed smile naturally spread across my face.

In the meantime, Ariana, who had become interested, asked her siblings.

“Shall we give it a try?”

“Agreed!”

“Me too, me too!”

“Mother, are you okay with it?”

“Haha. I suppose so.”

Finally, the last person.

I nodded my head indifferently.

Meanwhile, Flora, who had found the prize, lit up her eyes at the sight of a large teddy bear. Not missing this sight, the family began to covet the prize.

“How much does it cost?”

“It’s 10 pessels per chance.”

“Oh, that’s quite cheap, isn’t it? Then we just need to get the hang of it, right?”

“Oh, no. That won’t work. Even for noble folks like yourselves, you only get three chances.”

The man explained in a hurry.

There was Claire’s point about it being too trivial, but she accepted it willingly for the next person’s sake.

Ariana was the first to play the game.

Since she was the one who initially had curiosity, she carefully bounced the ball, but…

“Oh dear. It went into the hole!”

“Is it harder than you thought? Here, have another go.”

“Oh. From the second chance, the conditions change a bit!”

“Huh?”

The man smiled and immediately took something out from beside him.

It was a skewer with fish cake on it.

However, despite its somewhat ordinary appearance, it looked like biting into it would fill your mouth with heat.

“Do I have to eat this to try again?”

“Yes. If you simply enjoy the game with money, wouldn’t it become a monopoly?”

“Oh, I see. It makes sense. It also implies that you should use the ball more carefully.”

“You’ve seen it well. It’s the price for being careless.”

“For a price, it’s rather trivial, isn’t it?”

Ariana absentmindedly bit into the fish cake, and only then did she realize how important the opportunity in this game really was.

“Okay, I’ve eaten it all… It should be fine, right?”

“Yes. The price remains the same, 10 pesos.”

After that, she missed another opportunity.

Ariana contemplated further challenge but eventually declared defeat. Wiping the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, she had gone somewhere and bought sherbet on this cold day.

Following that, Claire attempted to pay the cost and strive for a high score. Once again, her darned hot-tempered nature tripped her up.

The ball, unable to withstand the fierce impact of the handle, bounced right out of the court.

“Hey, just eat it! Flora, watch closely, okay? I’ll definitely win that.”

“Ugh, Claire. You can’t just eat that. It’s more…!”

“How spicy could it be, really, sis?”

Ignoring the warnings, Claire took a bite of the fish cake, and her complexion began to darken more than her hair. It was somewhat satisfying to see her struggle.

Claire, given another chance, started the game, but naturally, she couldn’t have achieved a high score in her current state. Ariana quickly brought sherbet, and despite forcing herself to eat the remaining fish cake, there was no way she could succeed.

Finally, Flora.

She also lacked the skill.

“Flora, wouldn’t it be better not to eat this?”

Isabella asked with concern.

That might be true, the two sisters would laugh it off, but the youngest daughter was always a cause for concern.

“But… I want to play this game more.”

“Sigh. What should we do? How can we refuse when she’s willing to pay double the price?”

“I’m sorry. If I ruin this game with money, the value of the prize will be lost.”

What would happen if they broke this rule with money?

The nobles would break the policy and monopolize everything. A game meant to be enjoyed by all would become nothing more than a plaything for the wealthy.

From the man’s perspective, this policy must never be broken.

Therefore, this became an opportunity for someone.

[3. Is it okay if I eat the fish cake instead?]

“Is it okay if I eat the fish cake instead?”

“Karsein?”

My family looked at me with surprised eyes as I suddenly appeared from behind in silence.

“Each person is given three chances. There was no mention of having to eat the fish cake to obtain the next chance.”

“I see. That makes sense. However, it’s difficult to transfer chances in that way.”

“You’re right. So, let’s deduct from my chances. How about that?”

The hesitant man thought carefully and then decided it would be okay to allow this much, and offered the fish cake.

▶ [Spicy Fish Cake]

[How spicy did they make the yellow fish cake to turn such a reddish color!]

Is this also considered an item?

But it doesn’t seem particularly dangerous, does it?

Without much thought, I took a bite of the fish cake.

Chew, chew.

“Hey, hey! Karsein, this is incredibly spicy! If you can’t eat it, just…”

“I should get another sherbet. No, maybe I should get some milk?”

What’s this?

It’s not that spicy at all.

“Are you okay? There might be lava flowing in your mouth right now!”

“If you can’t stand it, spit it out. Here, I’ve prepared a place for you to spit it out.”

“I’m good.”

*Gulp*

I swallowed what was in my mouth as if to show off to the two sisters.

I used to eat spicy cup ramen in Korea quite well.

I even ate spicy tteokbokki as a penalty when working part-time. Maybe that’s why I can handle this level of spiciness.

Anyway, since it was said that I had to eat it all to be given a chance, I picked up the remaining piece and ate it.

Ariana and Claire looked at me as if I were crazy.

*Ding!*

▶ By eating spicy food on behalf of his younger sibling… the family’s intimacy slightly increases due to their touched hearts! ◀

“Ugh. Why is the status bar acting up again?”

My limbs are all trembling. What nonsense about raising intimacy and sitting here?

I only wanted to raise intimacy. Even if Karsein were here, would I think like that?

Still, I’m pleased that the intimacy has increased.

If I could only raise it like this, there wouldn’t be any other wish.

Some time later.

*Tock, tock.

“Ah…”

“Oh, what a waste! If only it had been a little to the left!”

Even after using up all three chances, Flora couldn’t obtain the bear doll she wanted. All she got was a fox-shaped candle.

“Lady, it’s a shame, but please look forward to the next opportunity. I’ll make it more fun for you next time.”

The man coaxed the disappointed Flora.

But whether out of lingering regret, Flora’s gaze kept drifting toward the teddy bear.

Right at that moment.

-Ding!

▶Urgent mission appearance!◀

▶Only one chance! Clear the game and bring the teddy bear to Flora!◀

■Reward

[Flora and family’s intimacy level]

The status window presented an urgent mission.

“…I couldn’t even clear this game when I played it.”

I did try with each retry, but I just couldn’t win any prizes.

So, even if they were going to add intimacy as a reward, at some point, I just gave up and moved on.

However.

“Three attempts per person, so I still have one chance left, right?”

Wouldn’t it be okay for me to personally take on the challenge?

She proposed to the man who had been watching from behind.