Aika's POV
After seeing Lilith, we left him to have a private conversation with Emma.
Axel was with me for a while, but then he left, and I wasn’t sure where he went. Eventually, I found myself alone in the midst of the festival.
Suddenly, Andy appeared and approached me. “Are you here by yourself, Aika?”
“Yes, it seems so,” I replied, scratching my cheek with my index finger.
“Come on, let’s enjoy ourselves. Opportunities like this don’t come often,” he suggested, and we began to stroll through the festival.
Andy is a young man proficient in medicine, though his physical stature does not match his medical prowess. At 19 years old and standing 168 cm tall, he has an average build. His hair and eyes are both a striking shade of orange. While not remarkably handsome, Andy represents the quintessence of an ordinary person.
As Andy and I were walking, we encountered Vaisyas, the usually scowling and irritable Vaisyas who seemed to have transformed into a princess with a beauty akin to that of a goddess.
Vaisyas has jet-black hair and shimmering violet eyes. At 19 years old and standing 163 cm tall, her perpetual frown often deterred men from approaching her, but today, she was smiling and looked stunningly beautiful.
"You look beautiful today, Vaisyas," Andy remarked as we approached her.
"Stop joking around," Vaisyas replied, looking to the side and down, seemingly shy.
"Come on, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. If you smiled more often, you’d be even more beautiful, though you’ve always been beautiful," I chimed in.
"Enough already, I'm getting embarrassed by what you’re saying," she said.
Andy and I exchanged glances and then joined Vaisyas, continuing our walk together.
"Wow, it's really crowded," Andy commented as the three of us, including Vaisyas, walked along.
"You should be used to it by now; we've been doing this for two years," Vaisyas replied.
"Wow!!! Look, there are rice balls over there!" Andy exclaimed and dashed toward the rice ball vendor.
"This guy never changes," Vaisyas murmured, pressing her hand to her forehead and shaking her head.
"Just let him be," I chuckled.
We caught up with Andy, who generously handed each of us a rice ball.
As we munched on our rice balls, we walked towards a quieter area to talk.
"These are really good," Andy remarked, eating eagerly like a child tasting rice balls for the first time.
"By the way, Aika, about Kill, haven't you moved on from him yet?" Vaisyas suddenly asked.
Her question caught me off-guard, and I looked down, struggling to find an immediate response. "I'd like to, but it's hard," I said, looking up at Vaisyas with a smile.
"Yes, it's really tough," she agreed.
"Why don’t you just find a new boyfriend to get over him faster?" Andy interjected.
Vaisyas gave him a playful smack on the head. "Fool, that would make it even harder for her to forget Kill if she’s looking at her new boyfriend without feeling anything."
Andy just scratched his head and grinned. "Heh, right, I guess."
"I’ll leave you two for a bit; I need to buy something," Vaisyas said, then stood up and walked away.
As Vaisyas walked away, a group of inebriated men approached us. There were five of them.
"Hey, miss, why don't you join us? We'll make your evening enjoyable, right guys?" one of the men called out to me.
"Yes," his companions agreed in unison, bursting into laughter.
Andy and I stood up quickly. "Hey, miss, is this little boy your boyfriend?" they jeered, pointing at Andy and moving closer.
"Stay back, or you'll get hurt," Andy warned them.
"Huh? Who's going to get hurt? We're from the Lunar Ward, and we're supposed to be scared? Are you joking?" one of the men laughed derisively.
"So, miss, are you coming with us to have a good time tonight?" another man insisted.
I wanted to fight back but felt powerless against them. Just as one of the men was about to grab me, Andy threw a punch but missed.
"What was that? Kid?" The man smirked and punched Andy in the face.
The force of the blow sent Andy flying.
"Stop it, that's enough!" I yelled.
They lifted Andy up and threw him to the ground, and when he couldn't get up, they started beating him.
"Stop it! Do you even deserve to call yourselves the Lunar Ward?" I screamed at them.
"What do we care, come on, let's have fun, miss." The man approached me, and just as he was about to touch me, someone grabbed his arm, stopping him.
I looked up to see Axel. "She clearly doesn't want to go with you, does she?" Axel said firmly.
"And who are you?" the man retorted.
The man tried to free his arm, but Axel let go voluntarily.
"There seems to be a fight here," a woman observed aloud, and a crowd began to gather, watching the scene unfold.
Axel stood face to face with the men from the Lunar Ward.
"We are the Lunar Ward, you got a problem with that?" one of the men spat, nearly nose to nose with Axel.
"Stop it, Axel, you don't stand a chance against them," I pleaded.
Axel and the man stared each other down, but Axel remained calm, unflinching in the face of the confrontation.
"Aika?" I turned around as Vaisyas reappeared. "What's happening here?"
"These rude men came over and harassed me," I explained.
Conrad and Emily also arrived. "What's going on here, Aika?" Emily asked.
"They harassed her," Vaisyas said, and when she asked where Andy was, I pointed him out. They saw he was badly beaten and carried him over to us.
Emma and Lilith joined us shortly after. 
"What's happening here, Aika?" Emma inquired.
"These Lunar Ward guys harassed me," I responded, and Emma immediately embraced me in support.
I looked over to Axel, who was still locked in a standoff with one of the men. As the man grabbed Axel's shirt and tried to lift him, Axel kicked out, pinning him to the ground with incredible force.
Another attacker charged at Axel, but he dodged smoothly, pushing the man gently aside and spotting a wooden sword on the ground. He kicked it up into the air, caught it, and struck the attacker on the head so powerfully that the sword shattered.
As another man rushed him, Axel kicked another wooden sword into the air and impaled the man in the stomach gently enough to halt his charge, then smashed the sword into the man's face, breaking it once again.
When a third man lunged, Axel met him head-on, poking the assailant's eyes with his index and middle fingers before kicking him upwards. Axel spun and delivered a devastating kick, driving the man into the ground.
Only one was left, and as he charged, Axel raised his right foot. As the man drew close, Axel kicked him squarely in the face, sending him flying.
We all stood in shock at Axel's swift and effortless defeat of the Lunar Ward thugs.
"He's incredible... So powerful," Lilith remarked, awestruck by Axel's prowess.
Axel approached us, lifting Andy's battered body with ease and carrying him to Gabby for swift healing.
After that, once Andy was back on his feet and well again, we returned to the festival, fully immersing ourselves in the joyous atmosphere. Moments later, the announcement was set to be made, revealing which of the Zodiacs had earned the highest and most points.