Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

"Holy crap..." Sindras stopped in shock.

After witnessing the battle, Ister and the others stopped and listened with wry smiles. Who could withstand such a fight? In less than a minute, the Sin Flame Lion King had already been defeated? Are you kidding me? Was Akatsuki really this strong when he used four swords?

"There's no need to even compare," Wu Ke waved his hand. "Let's go, let's go. I can't beat them, I definitely can't beat a heavily armored warrior like me. Goodbye."

“I think so too.” Seria gave a wry smile and left the stage with Wu Ke.

If Xiao had shown this level of skill earlier, would there have been any need for the competition? Everyone would probably have withdrawn long ago.

In the end, Xiao emerged victorious.

Chapter 35 The Seven-Day Celebration

And so, the first Brawl Tournament came to an end. Alice, on behalf of the troubled Rin, announced the end of the competition and awarded the champion's prize to Akatsuki. It wasn't even noon, and the tournament, originally scheduled to last a whole day, was already over—this was Rin's biggest headache. However, due to the audience's demands, they held an extra round.

Simply put, it involves contestants chosen by the audience re-entering the arena for one-on-one duels. For example, Sevi re-entering the arena to fight the Sinfire Lion King, and incidentally, Sevi narrowly won that battle. There were several similar matches, such as Black Knight Ister vs. Mad, and Flame Dragon King Salid vs. Frost Dragon King Finoir.

However, the most exciting battle was probably the fight between Xuanze and Sindsa. Xuanze was serious in that battle, fighting Sindsa with the same fighting spirit as in that war. Even Li's spatial wall was cracked, but Li reinforced the spatial wall in time to prevent any major problems.

However, since this was the first trial run, such problems could still be remedied in other ways. Moreover, the Seven-Day Harvest Festival in later generations thus established the format of a competitive tournament that must be held on the first day of the festival: a free-for-all, team battles, and individual all-star battles. In addition, this first tournament was recorded and passed down, and the detailed battles were later sealed in the library of the Little Garden.

However, aside from the morning assembly hosted by Alice and Li, everything else was left to the staff. They had other things to prepare, and of course, the most important thing was to have fun. As the initiators of the festival, how could they not enjoy the celebration they were organizing?

Most activities start on the first day and then end day by day as time goes on.

On the second day of the beauty pageant, they naturally became some of the nominated candidates, but they left the opportunity to others. In the end, the champion of this competition was the Black Knight Ist, chosen for her heroic and valiant spirit in battle and her delicate and charming nature in everyday life. The contrast between these two aspects charmed many people. Hmph, I was also surprised when I pulled off her armor, so this result was not unexpected.

The third day of the creative competition was a showcase for the eccentric geniuses from various factions, who presented their bizarre inventions for the public to admire. The competition was essentially meant to encourage these creative individuals to create inventions that could benefit society, but seeing how much fun they were having, that aspect was largely forgotten. In the end, the champion was the persistent and stubborn Kana, who, after more than a year in the world, finally assembled her dream machine dragon.

It's truly inspiring! Now that she can recreate the mecha dragons, Li and Ning no longer need to keep them stored away. However, they still need to consider what to do with these mecha dragons in the future.

The fourth day of the quiz competition was also quite intense. The rules were basically copied from some variety shows on Earth, but Ning made some slight modifications so there were no copyright issues. Speaking of which, the world's awareness of copyright is gradually being built up. The seeds that Li and Olito planted before have finally sprouted today.

This quiz competition was designed to encourage intellectuals. By searching for and solving questions throughout the city, participants earned points, and the person with the highest accumulated points would win. It was an event that everyone could participate in, so almost everyone who had free time on that day tried to find and solve the numerous puzzles scattered throughout the maze.

Interestingly, Kuroba and Gensawa were locked in a fierce battle during the competition, with their scores remaining neck and neck. Gensawa's strategy was to win by answering the most correct questions, while Kuroba focused on solving the questions with the highest scores. In the end, Kuroba solved the biggest puzzle hidden in the maze and thus won.

On the fifth day, the selection of the outstanding merchants took place. After considering the opinions of most of the tourists over the past five days, the Borg Merchant Guild, led by Olito, was ultimately chosen as the outstanding merchant. Li had guessed that this guy must have had some purpose in planning this competition, and it turned out that he had joined in himself. To be honest, Li really didn't think anyone could beat this money-grubbing, unscrupulous merchant.

On the sixth day, the event was basically entering its final stage. Due to some reasons, the competition they had envisioned couldn't be held. Because of the rush, many things hadn't been done properly, and she felt quite ashamed. However, since there was nothing else for them to do today, they decided to rest at home for the time being.

"Haa...it's almost over." Li slumped weakly onto the table.

"These past few days have gone by so fast..." Xiao muttered to herself.

Yes, this was the same feeling the three sisters had had these past few days. Time had flown by incredibly fast; it was almost as if they hadn't even realized it was all coming to an end. From the very first day of the celebration, they had been working wholeheartedly to ensure a spectacular event. It's true what they said, time always seems to fly when you're focused on something you love.

“Ha...that’s really a shame…” Ning echoed, “especially the fact that the water polo match was canceled…”

"So why are you always fixated on swimsuits..." Li rolled his eyes at her.

Here's the thing: the swimsuits we bought were originally intended for water activities at this time of year. However, considering that the people in this world possess magic, especially those who use ice and water magic, controlling the surrounding elements is a fundamental aspect of their magic. If they were to use it in this kind of situation, things could get really bad.

So Li decided to cancel it for now and make plans for the future. Ning seemed inexplicably concerned about this matter, and Li was already starting to suspect that she had some ulterior motives.

"Alright, alright," Ning changed the subject. "So, is there anything important going on in the next couple of days?"

"That's all, right?" Xiao sat back on the sofa. "But this period has been quite fun... Speaking of which, Li-jie, is it okay if I carry three phones?"

Xiao asked about the crystal plate she received for winning that chaotic battle, and she would also receive the same reward for winning the afternoon's All-Star match, so she currently had three crystal plates. In this state of no network or signal, most of the functions of Earth's mobile phones are disabled; apart from their built-in functions and offline content, they are basically useless.

So Xiao is currently using a mobile phone from this world, and the name is still being solicited. Although the technology is still in its early stages, its practicality should be comparable to that of smartphones on Earth. Moreover, Xiao only needs one; she doesn't know what to do with the other two.

"Those two..." he thought for a moment, "What do you plan to do with them?"

"Hmm... I'll give it to someone else..." Xiao thought for a moment and said.

“Then let’s do it this way,” Li smiled and said, “Since this is yours, you should be free to use it as you see fit.”

"But it seems like everyone already has one..."

Almost everyone Xiao knows has a cell phone, which were given to her by Li and Ning, so Xiao isn't sure who to give it to. However, Li doesn't intend to say anything more. Since it's Xiao's stuff, she should be able to decide how to handle it. Xiao must have her own ideas, so as her older sisters, they won't say anything more.

"Speaking of which, Akatsuki is really popular," Li exclaimed. "You can hear about Akatsuki almost everywhere you go."

After this celebration, Akatsuki could be said to have become famous overnight. Although Akatsuki had displayed her skills in past wars, it seemed that no one had directly witnessed those battles, and very few people knew about them, so Akatsuki wasn't particularly famous back then. However, since that battle on the first day, which almost everyone witnessed, everyone remembered this seemingly cute but incredibly powerful girl.

There's even a growing trend of releasing merchandise, because there were 500 crystal panels on site at the time, and some people used the built-in camera function of these phones to film Xiao. It's said that the battle video is already circulating among these users. We also have that video here, but of course, their equipment is more advanced, and the video quality is higher.

In short, Xiao is a big star now, but it was quite unexpected that she didn't win the beauty pageant.

"Do people usually ask Xiao for a photo?" Ning asked.

"Yes..." Xiao smiled wryly, "I occasionally run into some people during my daily patrols or morning runs, and then those people with crystal plates ask me to take photos with them or something."

"That must have been tough on you," Li said with a wry smile. "Have you made any good friends?"

"Hmm..." Xiao nodded and said, "I've made a few friends..."

"Why don't we just give them them?" Li suggested.

"Eh...that seems to be the case." Xiao looked like she suddenly understood. "Then I'll go out and look for them!"

"Okay, see you tonight."

Xiao then immediately ran out. Li and Ning were both happy that she had found her friend and watched her leave the house. Shortly after she left, Zhou Dong opened the door and came in.

"Where did Xiao go?" Zhou Dong asked. "She looked so happy; did something good happen?"

"I guess so," Li pointed to the empty seat, indicating for Zhou Dong to sit down. "She's made some friends."

"I see." Zhou Dong sat down and nodded. "A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near. It's always a good thing to have a friend."

“But now we’re probably going to have some worries too…” Li said with a wry smile.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Dong asked.

"Hmm... Zhou Dong probably didn't notice," Li explained. "Xiao's gaze was rather peculiar when she looked at Demon King Xuanze."

"Hmm... I see." Zhou Dong nodded, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Are you referring to a romantic relationship?"

"I'm not quite sure about that either..." Li said, looking troubled.

But it was precisely because she wasn't sure if it was a romantic relationship that Rin was having a headache. After all, Alice and Gentsawa were already a couple, and Akatsuki's first love seemed almost unattainable. If she could, Rin truly hoped that Akatsuki's first love wouldn't be nipped in the bud. Her parenting style was somewhat similar to Nao's, leaning towards a more relaxed approach.

Li hopes that Xiao can experience that feeling herself, because this kind of experience is something that no one else can teach her. Xiao must experience it herself to truly understand what love is.

“I think this is fine.” Ning wasn’t too worried. “This is good. Xiao will eventually understand that her feelings for the Demon King are just ordinary longing.”

"Is it really just a simple longing..." Li asked with some concern.

"Don't forget, her body is developing quite quickly, but she's actually just a teenage girl experiencing her first love," Ning reminded her. "This is probably the first time this has happened to her, and given how naive she is, she probably won't understand it so quickly."

"Hmm..." Li still found it hard to accept.

"Alright." Ning changed the subject to Zhou Dong, "Zhou Dong, have you attended any of the celebrations these past few days?"

"Yes, I've been there." Zhou Dong nodded.

"how does it feel?"

"It has a feeling similar to the festival back then," Zhou Dong commented. "But, during the celebration, everyone's faces are filled with happiness."

"And what about you?" Ning then asked.

"As for me..." Zhou Dong said with a troubled expression, "I don't know either, but maybe I'm happy."

"That's enough."

Ning smiled with satisfaction; they had, to some extent, achieved their goal. With only a few days left until the celebration ended, they stayed home to rest, chatting with Zhou Dong about many things, including more distant themes and wildly imaginative ideas. Zhou Dong listened to their visions for the future; although he couldn't imagine what kind of world it would be, he would silently support them.

In fact, starting from this celebration, the future that the six people in the labyrinth had built had gradually begun to take shape. That world was gradually showing its outline, and the world was constantly moving in that direction. Li and Ning became the driving force behind all of this.

However, in later history, the immortal Time Dragon King and the last slime never reappeared, nor did the fox girl who was with them.

Records about them are preserved only in the library of the Little Garden, and the author is the Book of Magical Arts, Kuroba.

Chapter 36 Gather together

"Not ready yet?"

"Almost there... Ah, wait! Xiao, don't run away!"

"Ugh, it's chilly..."

Today is the last day of the celebration. The celebration is about to end, and the sky is gradually darkening. The Li family is now at home making final preparations.

"Hmm, isn't it quite pretty? So this is what a shrine maiden's outfit looks like..."

Kuroba stroked his chin and made the above comment on Akatsuki's red and white shrine maiden outfit.

“I think it’s great too.” Finoer, overflowing with affection, praised without reservation, “It suits Xiao perfectly.”

"Really...?" Xiao looked at the clothes she was wearing with some concern, then looked at Xuanze, "Does it suit me?"

"Don't ask me..." Xuanze blushed and turned his head away.

Ah, this guy definitely knows this too, he absolutely knows this combination! This guy definitely has otaku tendencies!!

"Stop, stop, stop!? Why are you pulling my ear!?"

"Xiao, don't worry about what that idiot demon king thinks." At this moment, Xuanze's girlfriend, Alice, reached out and grabbed Xuanze's ear. "You look really beautiful right now. It feels like your whole aura has changed a lot since you put on this outfit..."

"Thank you."

Xiaotian's sweet smile healed everyone present who had been busy all week.

"Hmm, it's truly worthy of being a shrine maiden outfit that I made." Negi admired the shrine maiden outfit that she had sewn herself with great interest.

Here's the thing: the harvest festival is ending today, and a suitable person is needed to host the closing ceremony. Due to some special reasons, Ri chose Xiao as the host. The host only needs to do one thing: perform the Kagura dance. The specific details were urgently given to Xiao this morning, and Xiao, being very talented in this area, quickly learned it.

Why was Xiao chosen as this person?

Because Akatsuki is a fox spirit with a strong Eastern aesthetic, Rin had thought that Akatsuki would look incredibly beautiful in a traditional shrine maiden outfit when they first met. That wish came true today. Seeing Akatsuki's sweet smile just now, Rin instinctively took out her phone and snapped a picture, thinking about where to display it in her home later.

Li put away her phone and turned to look at Zhou Dong behind her. Because it always felt a bit inappropriate to see Zhou Dong shirtless, they had prepared a suitable outfit for him. However, the outfit looked more like that of a ronin samurai, but it still suited him quite well.

"Hmm," Zhou Dong commented on his clothes, "They look pretty good. If I had had such armor back then, I wouldn't have been so badly injured."

"Then you wouldn't have met us, would you?" Ning added with a wry smile.

"Hmm...that makes sense." Zhou Dong's lips curled up slightly, a rare occurrence.

Tonight, friends she'd met over the past year were gathered at their house. The lively atmosphere felt like Chinese New Year. Looking at these familiar faces, Li's mind drifted back to the past year. She realized she'd already lived a year in this world. If today really was New Year's, Li hoped next year would be better.

The past year had been truly awful, and she really didn't want to go through those events again. She silently prayed this in her heart.

The gods of this world are somewhat... how should I put it? They just don't seem to be of much use. Although Rin didn't want to rely on her for any help, she still symbolically had Akatsuki perform the Kagura dance. However, whether the goddess could understand the meaning behind it was up to her.

"Alright," Ning clapped her hands, "Is everyone ready? It's time to head out. It's almost time; the team leader is urging us."

"Oh!"

Organized by Ning Heli, the group set off from their home towards the final location of the harvest festival. They weren't going to the main venue, but rather to Akihabara. This final event was no longer being held at the main venue, and besides, there clearly wouldn't be enough space there. Moreover, holding it in the city would undoubtedly be more convenient.

Before they even reached Akihabara, they had already encountered quite a few people along the paths of the labyrinth. They were all heading towards Akihabara, and when they saw the group led by Ri, they couldn't help but stop for a moment. In particular, when they recognized Akatsuki, who was wearing a shrine maiden outfit among them, the rich changes in their expressions were quite amusing.

However, even if they were bold, they probably wouldn't dare approach their group of more than ten people. Rin and Ning walked at the very front, with Akatsuki following behind them. The others walked beside Akatsuki as if protecting her, each dressed in their finest attire. Normally, this distance could have been covered with time-space magic, but Rin still wanted to walk around and see what the miniature garden looked like now.

The once dimly lit maze corridors are now inlaid with crystal wall lamps, which work on a principle not much different from electrical boxes. Their function is to convert magic into faint light, making the maze much more lively. Moreover, since the maze map crystal has been released, many people are exploring the maze using the map, hoping to find previously lost treasures or something similar.

Now, there are people like this in almost every corner of the maze. She's not entirely sure about the treasure, but she feels that such things are no longer anywhere in the maze. Even if they were, they would have been collected by Negi's construction team long ago. They don't plan to collect the crystals that record the maze map anymore, because the number of people getting lost hasn't decreased much compared to usual. However, considering the flow of people during this period, the map crystals are still useful; it's already quite surprising that they've reduced the number of lost people to this extent.

Li hopes that this will make more people fall in love with this city and this country.

As we approached the outskirts of Akihabara, the festive atmosphere intensified. The mobile stalls that had been set up near the convention center moved over here, selling everything from accessories and merchandise to snacks. Some people even set up banquets right in front of their homes and drank lavishly.

The streets were bustling with activity, filled with a lively atmosphere. Today, with visitors besides the original inhabitants of Akihabara, it was quite crowded, proving its increased liveliness. In the past, the mere mention of Akihabara's infamous reputation would have sent these people flying far away, demonstrating that their efforts had not been in vain.

"There are so many people!" Alice exclaimed, dumbfounded.

“Probably because this is the alliance’s first collaborative celebration,” East said. “Many people are looking forward to seeing how this celebration will end, after all, the previous six days of events were indeed very well received…”

"Wow...you've really increased the pressure by saying that..." Seria's face turned pale.

“It’s alright,” Fino said gently. “You’ve done very well, haven’t you? Even among the children at school, Kuroba and I have only heard positive feedback.”

"That's certainly true." Black Feather, who was following behind in a magnificent robe, nodded. "Putting aside those brats, I've had quite a bit of fun, and I'm really looking forward to this final fireworks display. Speaking of which, there seem to be some special magic performances too, right?"

“Yes,” Ister nodded, “it is performed by those wearing magical armor.”

"Aren't you going?" Kuroba asked.

"Everyone tells me to go and rest..." Easter said with a wry smile, scratching his head.

"dawn."

Li turned around and took Xiao's hand.