Bucket

Chapter 153 – Kaagiyaa! *

“You really bought a lot of stuff, Bucket.” Kuuruu commented.

“Did you conquer all the food stalls?” Lolita asked.

“Well, they all looked delicious, and I never experienced a festival like this one before, so I might as well.” I replied.

There were a lot of NPC stalls lined up on the main street.

Usually, players are the only ones who line up stalls, and they generally just put a mat on the ground and that’s it.

Some player Pioneers do have more elaborate stalls, but those are pretty rare.

But today, we have a lot of stalls that look just like what you’d expect out of a festival.

Normally, you can’t tell the difference between a player and an NPC unless you become friends with them, but today only the NPCs have special-looking stalls, so it’s easy to tell them apart.

NPCs don’t usually set up stalls, but as today is a special day, they seem to be in high spirits.

The contents of the stalls are also fitting for festivals. We have yakisoba, takoyaki, cotton candy and candied apples!

I’ve seen player-made yakisoba for sale, but I’ve never seen any of the others.

Well, I did see some takoyaki-look-alikes before, but as we’re missing the necessary octopus to make them, then they had to make do with other materiasl… But at that point it’s not really takoyaki!

There were also hot-dogs, yakitori and some other standard dishes on sale on this festival.

I was so happy to see all that, that I ended up buying several servings of everything.

I haven’t been to festivals in a long time.

I did play things that simulated festivals in VR before, but they didn’t feel as good as Frontiers, so I couldn’t enjoy it properly.

Frontiers is different though. It replicates the taste perfectly, and the crowds filling the main street, paired together with the NPCs on stalls trying to bring customers in, truly brings out the feeling of a real festival.

It’s really like a festival! This is what I have been looking for!

“There are still two more festival days left, you know? You sure you’re gonna be able to enjoy it fully if you go all out on the first day?” Lolita asked me.

“No no, it’s alright! Ah, and I want this mask! And that one too! Ah, I’m just gonna buy all of them!” I exclaimed to the shop owner.

“So excited!” Mii exclaimed.

“Like a child!” Muu exclaimed.

“Rare Bucket!” They said together.

“It’s almost as if she never went to a festival before…” Mukaida commented.

Isn’t it natural to want to conquer all masks in the stalls? Everyone should buy them too!

“Though there is one more person who is strangely excited today…” Kuuruu said as he stared at Lulu going through multiple food stalls.

“It’s certainly rare for Lulu to be that excited… Well, but I guess it’s because the stalls are selling dishes that aren’t usually available in recipes.” Lolita commented.

“It’s pretty easy to make those though, isn’t it?” Mukaida asked.

“I think she wants to study whether or not she can reproduce those with the available ingredients.” Lolita replied.

“Oh, that’s right. Bucket would definitely be happy if Lulu was able to reproduce it… Should we try getting some extras too?” Mukaida asked next.

“Oh, come on… Isn’t Bucket’s excitement already enough?” Lolita grumbled.

“Uncle! Ten attempts, please! I’ll get the grand prize!” I told the owner of one gaming stall.

******

It truly is wonderful that I can eat as much as I want without feeling full.

I conquered all food stalls that were lined up on the main street!

I ate one serving of each dish sold on them, but I still have plenty left in my inventory.

I’ll eat those slowly at my workshop once I get back home.

It’s about time for the fireworks now, so I’m glad I was able to conquer the food stalls in time.

Because we’re now going to watch the fireworks, and then go through the rest afterwards.

However, I couldn’t get my prize after ten attempts, so I’m gonna have to get my revenge later.

I’m also planning on trying some other things though, like ring toss, yo-yo fishing and katanuki. **

On the latter one I can showcase my skills that I have honed while making Magic Circles, so I’m sure I’ll do well.

“Hey, Bucket, you can do the Katanuki after the fireworks are over.” Lolita told me.

“You too, Lulu… I’m scared of how excited you two are about the festival.” Kuuruu said.

“Really now.” Mii said.

“The two of you.” Muu said.

“Are really just like kids!” They said together.

“To think the kids are the ones who are behaving in this festival…” Mukaida commented.

Reluctantly, I was led by Lolita to the rooftop of a store that Mukaida told us about.

Mukaida did a lot of NPC quests, and he was able to obtain information on a good spot to view the fireworks through them.

And that place is the rooftop of this store. You normally can’t enter the roof of any store, but as expected of Mukaida, he was able to obtain permission.

The store isn’t very big, so the rooftop is naturally small too, but it’s just big enough for us.

The owner of this store seems to be running a stall right now, so we can stay here without worries.

“There’s a bit more time left before the fireworks, so let’s put a table here while we wait.” Mukaida said, then pulled out a table from his inventory.

“Then let’s try my recommendation! Russian Takoyaki!” I exclaimed.

“You mean that you mixed that super spicy takoyaki you bought at a store together with normal takoyakis?” Lolita asked.

“I won’t lose this time!” I exclaimed.

Sure, I did get plenty of normal takoyakis too, but it’s nice to have this kind of simple game that everyone can enjoy.

Russian takoyaki, with the loser getting one with lots of mustard and wasabi!

And as Lolita said, I bought it at a store and was burned by the super spiciness, so this is revenge!

******

“It’s beautiful.” Lolita said.

“Taamayaa!” I exclaimed. *

“As expected of a fireworks from the event. It’s truly quite something. It’s a shame we won’t see them much once the third day of New Year’s Eve passes.” Mukaida commented.

“My mouth huuurts.” Mii said.

“I can’t stop crying…” Muu said.

“Why didn’t Bucket get this one!?” They said together.

We were now watching the fireworks, and I happily exclaimed Taamayaa when they went out. I wanted to say this at least once while watching them, after all.

As for the Russian Takoyaki, Mii and Muu ended up getting the spicy one, so they’re now teary-eyed.

It’s understandable, since it was really really spicy.

Also, this Russian Takoyaki remains burning even after you drink water, so it’s quite painful. It seems to be counted as a status aliment of sorts.

“It’s really nice to be watching this in-game. In real life I don’t think we’d be able to watch and fire them from such a nice location.” Lolita commented.

“Kaagiyaa!” I exclaimed. *

“… Mii, Muu, please try this.” Lulu gave them something.

“What’s this?” Mii asked.

“Did you make it just now?” Muu asked.

“Healed!” They exclaimed together.

“As expected of you.” Kuuruu commented.

“… It seems like the takoyaki gives a prank status aliment.” Lulu said.

“You were able to make that while watching the fireworks…?” I asked Lulu.

On top of the fireworks that go high in the sky, the event also has smaller things like sparklers and the like.

And we can also throw the fireworks from this rooftop, which would be no good at real life, so this is quite exciting.

In any case, quite a few fireworks have been launched already, and they have been going strong for about twenty minutes now.

In the meantime, Lulu seems to have made an item to get rid of the prank debuff on Mii and Muu, which I’m quite thankful for, as the twins were being very noisy, to the point that it got hard to listen to the fireworks themselves.

… I wish I had gotten this item when I was afflicted by this status aliment.

Well, I ended up eating a lot of other dishes to try counterattackng the spiciness, so it worked out somehow.

It seems like other food from the stalls can counter the debuff.

I’m not sure which one was it that solved the problem, but I think my solution was a good one.

“… That’s quite interesting. I wonder if we can apply it to other creations.” Lulu commented.

“Yeah, wanna try working on it together later?” Kuuruu asked her.

“… Let’s.” Lulu replied.

“Oh my, they’re now firing advertising fireworks. I didn’t know such a thing existed.” Lolita commented.

“Taamayaa!” I exclaimed. *

“Well… It’s a game, so… This gimmick can work.” Lulu said.

Lulu was usually quite shy, but probably because she got so many interesting research materials today, she was actually quite excited.

She also seems to have decided to do some joint research with Kuuruu, so please do your best to reproduce the things we ate today!

We don’t often see prank items in Frontiers, so I’m looking forward to seeing them reproduce it.

Also, once the fireworks launchs took a short break, some stores started sending out their own fireworks which advertised their brand.

All ads seem to be of big NPC stores though. No player stores nor small NPC stores are sendin those out.

And well, when considering that the only fireworks we have available to us are the ones from the event, I think we won’t be able to make something like advertising fireworks ourselves.

I guess that’s just how events work, but… Wouldn’t it be nice if players were able to advertise their stores through this too?

I wonder if the option to purchase advertisement fireworks will become available from tomorrow onwards…

It would be unlikely to happen in real life, but we’re in a game, so it’s possible.

And if they sell advertisement fireworks, I would certainly like to purchase some.

Though even without this kind of thing, the items I make still sell very quickly, so perhaps it is unnecessary.

In any case, the publicity has ended, so we’re now back to the fireworks display!

Taamayaa! *

———————–

* Translator’s Note: “Kaagiyaa” and “Taamayaa” are shouts people say when viewing fireworks. They come from the names of Edo-period Fireworks vendors.

** Translator’s Note: Yo-yo fishing: “yo-yo fishing; Japanese festival game of fishing balloons (with loops attached), floating in water, out with a hook”; Katanuki: “lit. diecutting in English is a Japanese festival activity in which a colored mold of candy made of wheat flour, starch, or sugar, is carved using a needle or toothpick in the shape of an animal, star, a cherry blossom (桜) etc. Those who are able to skillfully carve the mold receive a prize.”