Gacha Kingdom Building-Chapter 273 - 273: I Want To See You Smile (04)

--This chapter is written in Licia's POV--
Once I opened the door and followed Miwen out of the cafeteria, I saw his face painted by the colorful lights decorating the street.
A sight almost as dazzling as that of everyone joyfully walking, excitedly playing, and happily eating on the avenue.
He took a hesitant, seemingly involuntary step, almost as if pulled toward the scene before him
It was the perfect surprise reaction I had worked so hard for, except for being much more honest and pure than I could've wished.
His eyes brimmed with excitement.
With his hand, he made a poor attempt to hide the ear-to-ear smile plastered on his face.
And most importantly, with no idea where to even begin, he stumbled over his words, trying to form a coherent question.
Miwen: "I... You're not going to tell me how you did this?"
Licia: "Don't you think it might spoil the magic?"
Miwen: "As if that was possible."
Licia: "If you're that desperate to know...We built the stalls underground so you wouldn't notice. Then, we swapped them with the surface's buildings using your Gift."
I clenched my fists and, under my breath, quietly yelled a victorious "Yes!".
Too excited to resist bragging, I pretended it had been the easiest thing we'd ever done.
After hours of planning, a full dungeon raid, and every bit of help the Endless siblings could offer, this was the result...
A dreamlike festival spanning the entire area within the Inner Walls, brimming with foods, drinks, and activities.
All of which were inspired by his wishes.
Miwen: "I knew you were up to something, but... Isn't this too much?"
Licia: "You'll be the judge of that."
I couldn't help but laugh at the idea that we had gone too far.
As big and lively as it already was, if we had managed to do everything we planned, even this festival would've paled in comparison.
Unfortunately, time, manpower, and supply limits forced us to cut a few ideas, and even then, to keep everyone from being stuck at their own stalls, we had to implement a rotation system.
Despite complaints from some girls who were only interested in working, this was crucial.
It would be torturous to keep anyone away from all the delicious food, the music, and the chatting throughout the whole night.
Also...
We knew Miwen could only enjoy his birthday if he saw us enjoying it too.
Ironically, this was the factor that caused us the most trouble when we were brainstorming our ideas before landing on the festival.
Yet it was this very problem that inspired me and became the core of our plan...
Claire: "Hey! How long are you making us wait!?"
Once outside, Miwen and I took a quiet moment to watch the festival unfold.
He was still taking it all in, while I was calming myself down after getting my wishes granted one after the other.
Then, Claire came running toward us, yelling our names loud enough to cut through the festival's noise.
With so many competitive games to try out, she didn't want to waste a single second and grabbed Miwen's arms, asking where he wanted to go first.
Everything seemed so enticing that it took him a few seconds to decide, but in the meantime, I felt his hand reaching for mine.
Only after our fingers had interlocked did he choose his first stop.
It was the closest stall to the three of us, where a cute blonde elf anxiously waited for customers, her shoulder just a few centimeters higher than the counter she stood behind.
Her eyes were as mesmerized as Miwen's.
She kept turning her head, reacting to every sound made, no matter how small.
And it became obvious she could barely wait until it was her turn to go out and explore.
Miwen: "A shooting range, huh?"
When we were discussing the attractions we'd prepare, this was seen as one of the crucial ones.
Even in my world, it was a mainstay, and no one had any complaints when Ellie asked to be left in charge of one.
It was just a match made in heaven.
Ellie: "Fufufu! I'll have you know, this is a pretty hard one."
The way she acted was such a contrast to her usual personality that, for a second, I worried she'd had one too many drinks already.
However, I was far from the truth.
As shy as she was, Ellie was just as curious, so of course, she was quickly swept up in the festival's vibrant energy.
Ellie: "So? What will it be?"
Instead of hitting a plushie or something similar, Ellie prepared three different courses, all of them with their own rewards.
The easiest was the closest to a classic shooting stall, as it only required the player to hit a dozen static ground targets and gave them a generous time limit to do it.
On the other hand, the hardest went as far as to employ girls like Angie, Nissa, and the Valkies to carry flying targets and enemies that would fire back with their own toy rifles.
Miwen: "Oh, I really want that stamp."
The last secret gift we had prepared for him.
By collecting the festival stamps from every stall, Miwen could earn a special reward from us.
In Ellie's case, only the hardest course offered the stamp, alongside another prize.
As such, she used our telepathic link and asked the other girls for help.
Barely a couple of seconds later, the girls had all arrived and prepared themselves.
Ellie hid under the counter and raised small numbered signs, from three to one, until finally, she raised a green one, opened the curtain behind her, and started the challenge.
Some of the ground targets moved horizontally, but Miwen made quick work of them.
The girls' shots were barely a nuisance.
Almost none even came close to hitting him.
With 12 bullets remaining and only five targets left, it seemed like Miwen had it in the bag, but the last targets were the flying ones, and while he got Angie's with his first shot, the Valkies were much more troublesome.
Their movement was much quicker and complex.
They were slowly getting closer to hitting him, too, so what I thought was pity was actually just bad aim.
Still, the three Valkies fell one after the other, and Miwen was left with 5 bullets and one last target: Nissa's.
Hers was just unfair.
Her speed outmatched the Valkies by leagues and bounds, and while her movements were simpler, they were hardly more predictable.
It almost seemed like she teleported into a chosen direction and only stayed there for a second before vanishing again.
Frankly...
I told the girls not to make the stamps too hard to get!
Ellie's was just the first stall, and given her personality, I got increasingly worried about the others.
If she was going this far, what had the others done?
Miwen: "Tch. Alright, I see you..."
With just two shots remaining, Miwen missed the first and instantly fired the last.
Somehow, he predicted where Nissa would be, and that his shot would hit a bullseye.
He told me that Nissa was following a pattern, but as revenge for all the secrets I kept, he never explained it to me.
Miwen: "Easy~"
And just like that, he made sure to tease Ellie, who looked dumbfounded at the fact that he had completed the challenge.
Still, she was fair and gave him his rewards.
First, she stamped his arm with a small bow-and-arrow symbol, and then...
Miwen: "What's this?"
Ellie: "It's a Maevin. Back in my hometown, we used it in the moon festival..."
She put a small, slender wooden box with a blowhole at each end in his hands.
Each side had four vents, and when Miwen blew on them, a flute-like sound came out.
It surprised me a little, but it wasn't unpleasant, thanks in no small part to the threads and feathers inside.
Ellie: "The festival goes on for the entire day, so in the morning, they are used in a type of music called 'Aleria'. The songs are high-tempo, but slowly, as the night comes, the songs become calmer, changing to a genre called 'Tistaza'. Aleria's songs are meant to drive off misfortune and evil thoughts, while Tistaza's are meant to welcome prosperity and harmony, which is why two people can play a Maevin at the same time..."
I had no idea what she was up to when I saw her working on it since it didn't seem like it would have any use at her stall, but...
It was lovely... Both the prize she gave him, as well as the nostalgic look she had when explaining it.
Claire: "I would've cheated."
Licia: "Me too..."
Miwen and Ellie shared a gentle moment as she showed him how to play one of the songs she liked.
Claire and I didn't want to interrupt, so we stepped aside a bit to complain-
To talk about the challenge.
There was so much yet to see.
Yet, as I watched every moving part come together, I felt like it was already a huge success.
There was an overwhelmingly comfortable feeling surrounding us.
And when Miwen came back, that only grew, and like him, I became excited to check the next stall.