Eichi and Artoria were each holding a sparkler at this moment.
They smiled as they watched the brief, beautiful sparks after the sparklers were lit.
After one sparkler burned out, the two lit another.
These sparklers reminded Eichi of his childhood in his previous life.
He remembered that during that time, Chinese New Year was also the annual time for setting off firecrackers.
Throwing firecrackers, small landmines, friction crackers... various fireworks and firecrackers brought the festive atmosphere to its peak.
Back then, sparklers weren't called sparklers where they lived; they were called 'ci hua'.
And there were many types of 'ci hua'.
Some were like thin, stick-shaped welding rods used on construction sites.
Some had a stick at the bottom and a small firework tube on top.
There were also 'ci hua' shaped like tops, bees, and race cars.
Eichi remembered when he was a child during Chinese New Year, there was a younger sister who held three lit 'ci hua' in one hand, looking like a peacock displaying its feathers.
After the 'ci hua' burned out, she would immediately look for new ones, and if she couldn't find any, she would get anxious and want to cry.
The 'ci hua' Eichi played with most were sky rockets and whip crackers.
A few friends would line up, stick sky rockets into the snow at various angles, and then compete to see whose sky rocket flew higher and farther.
In reality, most of the time, it was impossible to determine a winner.
Because sky rockets exploded very quickly after flying into the sky, it was difficult for the naked eye to distinguish whose sky rocket flew higher when it exploded.
Most of the time, everyone was just arguing about whose claim was stronger.
Once, Eichi and his friends even acted like they were fighting in a TV show.
They set up sky rockets in advance like an artillery position.
Then, they ran around, 'firing' at each other.
Both sides were incredibly excited during that time.
They were also incredibly excited when they ran home.
Because they aimed dangerous firecrackers at people, both of them received a 'mixed doubles' of love from their parents.
Of course, for children of that era, it was a minority who hadn't been beaten.
A whip cracker was a green... rope that looked a lot like a nylon rope.
Eichi couldn't quite explain whether it was a firecracker, a 'ci hua', or something else entirely.
In short, it was a firecracker in the shape of a somewhat stiff-looking rope.
Once lit, it would crackle and pop from the lit end, exploding and producing sparks.
Because it was cheap and fun, it was very popular with children at the time.
Some brave ones would hold one end of the whip cracker until it was about to explode near their hand before letting go.
The timid ones would let go when it was still several centimeters from their hand.
Then, a section of the whip cracker would twist and turn on the ground until it burned out.
Of course, some, to show off their bravery, would hold it in their hands, swinging it around to show off.
They wouldn't let go until the sparks hit their hands.
However, although these whip crackers produced a lot of sparks, their power was very small; at most, they would discolor one's hand and cause pain for a while.
It was rare for them to cause bleeding, so they were relatively safe.
Just as Eichi was immersed in those irretrievable days, the last sparkler in their hands also burned out.
"Let's go, we still have many activities to experience."
Eichi stood up, and the two, like the others from High School, began to sweep through the Summer Festival stalls.
Although they won mostly useless things, and the difficulty of the games was nothing to them.
But for some reason, both of them felt extremely happy.
Especially Artoria; in the past, whether due to the times or the burdens she carried.
All of it prevented her from experiencing life like an ordinary person, an ordinary girl.
Now, Artoria didn't have to consider winning or losing, didn't have to consider the consequences, and didn't have to worry about the future.
She was purely immersed in games she had never experienced before.
She would seriously aim with one eye when shooting, and even if the gun was poor and it was difficult to knock down the prizes on the display, she wouldn't complain.
Instead, she quickly mastered the trick to get the prize she wanted.
She would seriously hold the hammer with both hands, knocking out all the moles that popped up from under the table, cheering when she got a perfect score.
She would also panic in front of the punching machine when she accidentally broke it.
Water balloon stalls, accessory stalls, food stalls, photo booths... Artoria this evening was not a king, not a knight, nor a Servant.
She was just a simple girl enjoying the Summer Festival.
What Eichi used to hate most was when others played games in front of him, piquing his interest.
The key was that the game console belonged to his friend, who wouldn't let him play.
But now, Eichi felt that this was also quite good; accompanying Artoria and watching her genuine smile was also nice... At this moment, at the fireworks display preparation site not far from the Summer Festival.
The people originally responsible for setting off fireworks had been replaced by another professional team.
And at the forefront of this professional team, Gojo Satoru was giving a speech with a serious expression.
"In short, what I want is the most, most, most magnificent, most, most, most romantic confession, understood!"
Gojo Satoru slammed his right hand onto the whiteboard behind him, which had pictures of Eichi and Artoria taped to it.
"Yes, mission accomplished!"
Below the temporary podium.
The professional teams immediately replied with great energy.
"Is this what you meant by 'extremely urgent'?"
Geto's eye twitched.
He had originally been accompanying his family at the church.
But then he suddenly received an extremely urgent call from Gojo Satoru asking for help.
Hearing his best friend's urgent tone, Geto didn't even think and rode his fastest Cursed Spirits to the location Gojo Satoru sent him.
Geto first used the Jorōgumo's silk from his Cursed Spirits to package the dozen or so large boxes Gojo Satoru wanted.
Then, riding a Rainbow Dragon, he delivered the items to the foot of the mountain under the cover of night.
And now you're telling me this extremely urgent matter is just that there aren't enough fireworks?
"Oh, this is for my best friend's happiness, so of course it's extremely urgent."
Gojo Satoru patted Geto's shoulder, saying with a matter-of-fact expression.
"Is this your Plan C?"
Panda looked at the professional team setting up the fireworks site in front.
"That's right."
Gojo Satoru spun around gracefully in place like a ballet dancer.
"Since they are completely unaware, I will directly present reality to them, so they can no longer ignore each other's feelings, and then... hehehe."
"I see, this way they will indeed have to confront each other's feelings, hehe."
Whoosh, bang!
Just as the few of them were still discussing what expressions Eichi and Artoria would make.
The first firework had already flown into the sky.
"What is that?"
"It looks like a face."
Amidst the discussions, Eichi and Artoria also noticed the fireworks display that had begun.
The next second, Eichi's mind went blank, and he stood rigidly in place.
'I should have thought of it at the beauty salon; there's only one person who would be so whimsical, Gojo!'
Looking at the Q-version fireworks of himself and Artoria exploding one after another in the sky after rising.
And those cheesy confession lines.
Eichi felt as if his entire being was frozen in place.
'It's over, will this be too much, will Artoria hate me...'
Gulp.
Eichi nervously swallowed, carefully looking at Artoria.
Fearing to see expressions of anger or shame on Artoria's face.
"Thank you, Eichi."
However, Artoria did not react as Eichi had feared.
Instead, she gently stroked the stray hair by her ear and smiled as she thanked Eichi.
"Eh?"
His mind a mess, Eichi, who had lost his calm judgment, widened his eyes and looked at Artoria.
"I had a lot of fun today."
At this moment, Artoria's face, illuminated by the fireworks, was deeply etched into Eichi's heart.
'She had a lot of fun, huh?'
"That's good."
Eichi smiled from the bottom of his heart.
Then Eichi took Artoria's hand, and they stood there quietly.
Until all the fireworks blooming in the night sky disappeared.
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