School Anniversary Day (5)

On the stage in the center of the square, Furina and Nilou's dance was nearing its end.

As the last note faded, Furina froze in an extremely glamorous pose, as if absorbing all the stage lights, while Nilou gracefully bowed like moonlight sinking into still water. A warm and sustained round of applause erupted from the audience.

"Thank you! Thank you everyone!" Furina, lifting her skirt, blew several kisses to the audience with a radiant smile. "Next up is the much-anticipated lucky draw! I, the superstar Furina, and the beautiful Miss Nilou will jointly draw today's lucky audience members! The prize is—a five-day, deluxe double dinner voucher at the Golden Mirage Grand Hotel, and a limited-edition life-size standee and poster personally signed by this superstar, imbued with magical blessings!"

Staff carried over a huge raffle box.

"Well then, first of all—" Furina gracefully and slowly reached her hand into the box, feeling around.

At that very moment--

"Boom--!"

A series of muffled explosions, like rolling thunder yet with crisp, crackling tails, suddenly came from the direction of the back mountain of the academy! The ground trembled noticeably, and even the fountain's water flowed irregularly.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted in uproar.

What was that sound?!

"An explosion?! Was it an experimental accident or an attack?"

"The back mountain? Isn't that a restricted area and a small forest?"

"Look! Smoke! In several places!"

Several thick, black plumes of smoke rose from the direction of the back mountain, with faint orange-red flames and a large amount of dust and leaves stirred up by the blast wave.

On stage, Furina froze, still reaching into the raffle box, her bright smile frozen for a moment.

Nilou frowned slightly, turned her bare feet slightly, and looked in the direction of the smoke, her eyes showing a hint of wariness.

In the chaos, a small, fiery red figure wearing a red beret, carrying a backpack that looked bigger than herself, with half a biscuit in her mouth, slipped out from the path leading to the back of the mountain with light steps and glancing left and right, like a nimble little fish, blending into the crowd.

Her red beret was askew, her elven ears perked up alertly and twitched, and her face was still smudged with black ash, but her large golden eyes shone brightly, filled with the excitement of a "successful adventure" and a hint of guilt that "I hope I wasn't discovered."

Klee looked around and, finding no one seemed to be paying much attention to her, breathed a sigh of relief, took the cookie out of her mouth, and happily took a big bite. "Mmm! The cookies Captain Jean gave me are delicious! It's a pity we've used up all the Jumpy Dumpty... the fish bombs, the mountain-splitting bombs, and that jumping one... Hmm, I'll have to ask Albedo to make more next time..."

She muttered to herself, her gaze quickly drawn to a stall selling sparkly toys in the distance. With a cheer, she took off running over on her short legs. "Wow! A Dodoco! Just as cute as Klee's Dodoco!"

The chaos did not last long.

The college's guards and teachers sprang into action; some loudly reassured and guided the crowd to maintain order in the square, while others, looking grave, rushed to the back hill.

The commotion in the square gradually subsided, but a vague sense of unease and speculation had settled over the atmosphere.

At the edge of the stage, Gepard, his brow furrowed and hand already gripping his sword hilt, whispered to Serval beside him, "Sister, I'm going to check on the back mountain. You and Pela are in charge here."

"Okay, be careful." Serval nodded, a wrench gleaming coldly appeared in her hand, and her sharp eyes scanned her surroundings.

Bronya stood a short distance away, her face calm but her eyes sharp. She quickly gave a few instructions to the knight beside her, who obeyed and quickly dispersed into the crowd to increase vigilance.

Natasha appeared nearby at some point, carrying her signature medical kit containing first aid supplies, bandages, and energy drinks. Her gaze swept across the crowd with a calm yet quick look, pausing briefly in areas where there might be commotion or jostling, as if checking for any injured people.

Hook followed Natasha, looking around curiously, and tugged at Natasha sleeve. "Old witch... Sister Natasha, is it 'Lord Black Hook's' ally launching the 'Big Bang'? It's amazing! It's the ultimate art of explosion!"

"Hook, don't talk nonsense." Natasha patted her head, her tone gentle but firm. "It might have been an accident. Good children shouldn't imitate this."

Zhongli put down his teacup, gazing towards the direction of the back mountain, his eyes deep and thoughtful. The tea in his cup was still rippling.

"The remnants of violent fluctuations in rock magic... mixed with... a violent and pure fire, resonating with some kind of... lively to the point of being unruly creative energy." He spoke slowly, his voice steady, yet it made Venti, who was nearby, stop strumming her strings.

"The scale is not small, but it is still under control. The energy release is dispersed and recreational in multiple points, without damaging the fundamental ley lines. It should be the work of children playing, and there is no harm in it."

Venti stopped strumming the strings, a knowing glint flashing in her green eyes, which then turned mischievous.

"That aura... it's that 'Spark Knight' with inexhaustible energy, isn't it? Tsk, no wonder he's known as 'If he sets the mountain on fire, Klee's doomed'... ah, no, he's a walking festival atmosphere crew." He shrugged. "As long as no one got hurt. A festival needs a little 'surprise' to be interesting." He blinked. "Maybe it'll even give me some inspiration for a new piece of music, like 'Explosion Rhapsody'?"

Before he could finish speaking, another muffled "bang" came from afar, as if something had misfired or exploded a second time. This was followed by the cries of several startled birds and a faint, yet powerful, "Lulu!" sound.

In the food stall area, Yoimiya stared dumbfounded at his fireworks stall, which he had just set up but hadn't even opened for business yet. On the stall, several unassembled fireworks tubes were hissing and emitting colorful, strangely smelling smoke, some of which were even crackling and popping out small sparks.

"Huh?! What happened?! I didn't even light it!" Yoimiya hurriedly grabbed a water bottle and poured it on the firework. "Could it be the vibration from earlier...? No, my 'Naganohara' fireworks are known for their safety and stability!" She leaned closer to a smoking firework tube, wrinkled her nose, and sniffed it.

"... This taste... it's kind of like..."

Beside her, Sayu was curled up in a large box, only her sleepy eyes showing. Startled by the series of noises, she shuddered and woke up completely. "Ugh... so noisy... explosion... is it the pursuers from the Shuumatsuban, or is the Tenryou Commission to make me work overtime again?"

She mumbled incoherently, instinctively trying to hide with magic, but instead bumped into the inside of the box with a "bang," letting out a "groan" in pain and covering her head with tears in her eyes.

"It hurts so much... Sleeping... It's so hard..."

At the edge of the crowd, Kuki Shinobu hurried past, carrying a stack of documents. A communication talisman was tucked behind his ear, gleaming faintly. He seemed almost immune to the commotion in the distance, muttering rapidly to himself:

"Next is checking the ritual of the shrine maidens' blessing dance, then confirming the location of the Watatsumi Island specialty product exhibition booth with Sangonomiya Kokomi, and there's also the 'light novel sales survey' and the Arataki Gang activity reporting form requested by Granny Oni..." She kept moving, precisely avoiding all obstacles and crowds, with amazing efficiency.

"Shinobu! Shinobu! Over here!" Arataki Itto's booming voice rang out. He was standing in front of an "arm wrestling tournament" booth, waving vigorously at Kuki Shinobu, with "Hina" beside him, looking helpless and trying to cover her face with a fan.

"Come and be my witness! I'm going to challenge the champion of this stall! I'll win all the prizes and give them to Hina and A-Shinobu! To prove that I am the undisputed champion of the Wilderness!"

Kuki Shinobu paused almost imperceptibly, a vein throbbing visibly on his forehead. He took a deep breath, pressed the talisman closer, and spoke to it at a faster pace, pretending not to hear. He then quickened his pace and walked away.

"Hey? Shinobu? Shinobu--! Did you hear me? Wait for me!"

Under the shade of trees on the other side of the square, the situation was slightly delicate.

Yae Miko leaned lazily against a comfortable recliner, a glass of sake in one hand and a cup gently swirling in the other, smiling as she watched the magical light screen floating before her—a screen showing the scene on stage and the smoke rising from the back mountain. She gracefully stroked the pink fox dozing on her lap.

"Oh my, how lively this is!" She took a sip of her drink, her eyes sparkling. "Ms. Furina's performance, Klee's 'special entertainment,' and over there, the two 'Xianglings' having a cooking showdown... This school anniversary celebration is far more entertaining than any light novel on the market." She chuckled. "Shadow should come and see for herself what true 'eternal liveliness' really is."

Beside her, Sangonomiya Kokomi was holding a thick notebook with the Watatsumi Island crest on the cover, quickly jotting something down. Her brows furrowed slightly. "Three explosion points are estimated, distributed in an irregular triangle. The affected area... is mainly undeveloped woodland and the perimeter of abandoned experimental sites, not exceeding safety limits. Evacuation routes are clear. Emergency medical points are distributed... well, fairly complete."

She sighed, closed her notebook, and rubbed her temples.

"However, the subsequent site remediation, environmental impact report, and possible compensation matters will probably require Ms. Ganyu to work overtime." She looked at Shenzi, "I always feel that wherever that 'Spark Knight' is, the 'unforeseen expenses' section of the budget is always particularly full."

"Worrying too much will give you wrinkles, little fish." The goddess chuckled, flicking a wisp of light from her fingertip to shoo away a few small flying insects that tried to approach. "Since you're here, enjoy this rare, 'unplanned' leisure time. Look over there—"

She raised her chin, pointing to Arataki Itto with the tournament champion not far away, his shouts deafening, and "Hina," who was covering her face and wishing she could disappear into the ground.

"Isn't this just a ready-made entertainment program?"

Beside the fountain, where Sushang and Guinaifen used to perform "breaking a boulder on their chest," a group of students had now surrounded them, with cheers and exclamations rising and falling.

They weren't the ones being looked at.

A young man with orange hair, wearing a bright and sunny smile that seemed to never fade, was lifting an iron lock that looked to weigh several thousand pounds above his head with one hand. He then lifted it more than ten times with ease, as if waving a tree branch. His arm muscles were bulging, but his breathing was steady and his expression remained unchanged.

"Wow--!"

"Wow, that's amazing! Is this power even possible for a human?"

"That arm strength! Is he a senior soldier from which department? Or a new teacher?"

Tartaglia slammed the stone weight down with a loud thud, the ground seeming to tremble. He dusted off his hands and gave the students around him a smile that was anything but gloomy, even inviting.

"Haha, no problem! Just a warm-up!" His azure eyes swept across the crowd, his gaze not so much on classmates as it was on potential opponents, filled with an undisguised, pure thirst for battle. "Anything heavier? Or..." He paused, his smile widening, "Is there any student—or teacher—who would like to spar? No magic needed, pure physical combat is fine!"

The students looked at each other, stunned by his overtly aggressive, almost tangible, "belligerent" aura, and collectively took a half step back, with no one responding for a moment.

"Young Master..." A student, clearly from Northern Countries, cautiously squeezed through the crowd. "Didn't you come with Mr. Zhongli? Would you like to go find him first? Or perhaps try some other snacks?"

"Mr. Zhongli," Tartaglia stroked his chin, "Is probably drinking tea and looking at stones in some quiet corner again. It's alright, I'll stretch my legs and then go find him."

He cracked his wrists, the joints making a crisp "crack" sound, "Besides, it's a school anniversary celebration, it's all about having fun!" He looked at the crowd again with bright eyes, "Really no one here? I'll be careful! I promise I'll stop short of causing serious injury!" His tone was just like a martial arts fanatic setting up a fight in the street.

"I'll give it a try! I can't possibly be better than Master Svarog!" Luka clenched his fist in the audience.

"Good!"

Sushang and Guinaifen stood beside their stall, looking at the imposing crowd surrounding Tartaglia, and then at their own stall's lonely, somewhat shabby bluestone slab, and fell into deep thought.

"Guinaifen, I think our 'breaking a boulder on our chest'... might not be up to par," Sushang whispered, wiping non-existent sweat from her forehead.

"Hmm... how about we upgrade it a bit? Like, while breaking a boulder on our chest, we could also perform swallowing a sword or balancing a spear tip on our throat?" Guinaifen crossed her arms, thinking seriously, her round eyes darting around.

"Um, I don't think I'm really capable..."

Qingque yawned widely again, her eyes still watering, and leaned against her small stool as if she had no bones. "You guys think about it slowly... I think I hear the card table calling me... I'll go back and get some sleep to recharge... The card game at Celestial Jade... is about to begin... Zzz..."