The Holy Staff Festival and the Monster Festival, these two festivals in Orario, happened to be scheduled on the same day this year.
The former originally came from a great magic nation and is a holiday commemorating the heroic magicians of ancient times who achieved feats such as subjugating monsters and slaying dragons.
Since many of these heroes were elven magicians, the Holy Staff Festival gradually became one of the holidays that elves valued.
As time went on, the commemorative nature of the festival gradually faded, and the modern Holy Staff Festival became more like a grand celebration belonging to magicians.
The Monster Festival, on the other hand, has a much shorter history. It was an event planned and organized by the Ganesha Familia after the end of the "Great Strife" era.
Its main content involves transporting some low-level monsters from the dungeon to the surface, and then arranging for gladiators selected by the Ganesha Familia to fight them. These gladiators are mostly experienced lower-level adventurers.
Every time the Monster Festival is held, it attracts a large number of urban residents to come and watch.
After the end of the dark age, the atmosphere in Orario became very gloomy, and residents were full of anxiety about the future.
Ganesha hoped that by organizing such a competitive and entertaining event, residents would see that monsters are not terrifying and invincible beings, but opponents who can be subdued by brave adventurers, thus inspiring everyone and helping the city regain its former vitality.
Therefore, although it is called the "Monster Festival" and sounds related to adventurers, in reality, it is an event purely aimed at urban residents.
For high-level adventurers like Emiya and Riveria, the Monster Festival holds no appeal at all.
The reason is simple. They already have plenty of opportunities to deal with monsters in their daily lives, and there's no need to watch monster battles on the surface.
Moreover, performances between Lv.1 level monsters and gladiators, while possibly exciting to ordinary residents, are somewhat boring to high-level adventurers.
The venue of the Monster Festival is set in the circular coliseum on the easternmost side of Orario, while the Holy Staff Festival is held in a plaza on the western side of the city.
The plaza is decorated with colorful tiles and exquisite gardens, with a statue of a goddess standing in the center. This statue does not depict any specific goddess, but rather represents the concept of "goddess."
Riveria and Emiya arrived at the site of the Holy Staff Festival. She looked at the scene in front of her and was momentarily stunned.
What entered her sight was a simple stage built in the center of the plaza, on which stood several young and beautiful human girls.
They wore light, lace-trimmed, gorgeous outfits adorned with sparkling crystals. In their hands were magic wands with heart-shaped tips, and they were singing and dancing lively on stage.
"Th-This is…", Riveria asked blankly, finding it hard to believe what she was seeing.
"Looks like it's called 'Magical Girl', a kind of character archetype designed by the gods," Emiya looked at the "Holy Staff Festival" pamphlet in his hand, his tone somewhat subtle.
The girls on stage were not magicians, nor even adventurers with divine blessings. They were simply professional stage performers, portraying a "Magical Girl" image created by the gods.
Riveria's tone was particularly conflicted, "The last time I attended the Holy Staff Festival… was ten years ago. Back then, it was a grand event for magicians, a stage to showcase magic and skill. Why has it turned into this?"
Emiya flipped through the pamphlet, "Hmm, it seems that starting from a long time ago, participation in the Holy Staff Festival began to decline, and eventually, even sponsors became hard to find. The event nearly got canceled."
"Later, the 'Magical Girl' project was proposed by a certain God as a way to save the Holy Staff Festival."
Judging by the results, that God's strategy was very successful. A large crowd had gathered below the stage, and for now, the "Holy Staff Festival" no longer needed to worry about being canceled.
However, rather than calling it the "Holy Staff Festival," it would be more accurate to call it the "Magical Girl Festival."
"Want to leave, Riveria?", Emiya looked at the stage performance, then at her, and asked, "If we go to the coliseum now, we should still catch a Monster Festival performance."
"This… let's not."
Riveria clearly wasn't interested in those performances. She shook her head slightly and said, "Let's just go sit in a café, or wander around the city."
"Thank you very much for your support! Now, we're going to start the raffle draw!"
The lead "Magical Girl" on stage paused her performance and loudly announced using a magic megaphone.
Riveria stopped walking. She looked at Emiya and smiled, "Want to wait and see the draw results? Who knows, maybe we'll win."
The Holy Staff Festival ticket came with a number, giving all attendees a chance to enter the draw.
Emiya: "Of course."
They weren't particularly interested in the prizes, but the draw itself was part of the fun.
Soon, one of the dancers dressed as a "Magical Girl" began drawing prizes from a black box pushed in by staff.
The first few prizes were quickly announced, and several attendees were selected. The second prize was a signed photo of a "Magical Girl," the third prize was a themed towel, and the participation prize was a discount coupon provided by a sponsor.
"Shirou," Riveria suddenly turned her head and looked at Emiya, asking softly, "Ais said that dragon girl calls you 'Father'?"
Emiya nodded, "Yeah, I don't know the exact reason either. Maybe… it's because I was the first human she saw?"
Hearing this explanation, Riveria felt a bit relieved.
Although she had believed from the beginning that it wasn't "that kind of situation," she still couldn't help but mind a little.
A newborn life treating the first person they see as their parent, that kind of explanation should make sense.
Riveria was about to ask more when,
"Lastly, the grand prize, congratulations to guest number 479!"
The "Magical Girl" on stage excitedly announced the result.
"Eh?", Riveria was stunned, then looked at her ticket, "Looks like… that's my number."
Her ticket number was indeed 479.
"Congratulations, Riveria," Emiya smiled and congratulated her.
The lead dancer continued, "Congratulations to guest 479, you've won a full set of Magical Girl costume, including all accessories and a wand."
Riveria's expression froze..
———
The next day, at the Loki Familia residence.
"By the way, whose package is this? There's no name written on it," Lefiya confusedly picked up a package placed by the entrance and examined it closely.
Alicia came over and glanced at it, "Then we'll just have to open it and see. But be careful, just in case it's some kind of explosive."
"I've opened it… This is, clothes?", Lefiya opened the package and was surprised to pull out a "Magical Girl" uniform.
Something fluttered down from the clothes. Alicia caught it, "There's a note here. Let me read it."
She read it through and said in surprise, "This seems to be from the 'Holy Staff Festival,' sent to Lady Riveria."
At that time, Riveria hadn't collected the grand prize on-site at the Holy Staff Festival, she had simply slipped away.
However, the ticket staff remembered her number very clearly, so they dutifully sent the prize to the Loki Familia.
Lefiya looked at the uniquely styled outfit, "Could it be… Lady Riveria bought this?"
Alicia immediately became interested, "Lady Riveria actually likes this kind of style? How cute!"
'Or maybe, it's Shirou who likes it,' She thought secretly.
Seeing Lefiya and Alicia fussing over the pretty clothes, many nearby elven girls gathered around.
"If Lady Riveria wears this kind of outfit, she'd definitely look beautiful."
Upon learning the reason behind it all, one elven girl said excitedly.
"Hmm, but the fabric and quality of this outfit are kind of poor… doesn't really match Lady Riveria's elegance. And the size might not be accurate either…", Another elf carefully touched the fabric and sounded a bit dissatisfied.
"In that case, why don't we design and make one ourselves, as a gift for Lady Riveria."
Lefiya's eyes lit up as she suggested.
"That's right, this kind of outfit is said to be the 'Magical Girl' style invented by the gods. We can ask Goddess Loki about it."
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