The Dragon King's Heart

Chapter 202 - Practice Makes Perfect

As the night went on, the festival got livelier. The music continued to play and the crowds grew in size. Dante held onto Laina's arm tightly so that they would not get separated in the crowd. 

"Stay close," Dante whispered to Laina as he held her close. 

The weather was cool since the sun had set, but the crowded atmosphere filled the festival with warmth. Yet Laina could still feel the cool temperature on Dante's skin. She did not complain, she liked the cool touch of his skin. 

But was it colder than it used to be? She could not be certain. 

"Dante, how is it that you're able to maintain such a cool body temperature?" Laina asked as they continued to move through the crowds to get to another food stall. 

He was caught off guard by Laina's question, but Dante replied carefully, "Perhaps it  is likely due to my affinity with the Moon and elements of water and ice."

"Oh?" Laina was not aware of this. 

It had not come up in conversation before and she never thought to ask. Laina pondered over his answer for a moment. 

"Wait, does that mean we're complete opposites?" She asked. 

He could hear the disappointment in her voice. 

At this time, they had made it to another food stall that Laina wanted them to try. They found an empty table at the corner of the stall's seating area and quickly sat down. 

"Opposites attract, do they not?" Dante replied to her with a smile. 

"I guess I had not thought of it that way," Laina replied with a smile of her own. 

When the stall keeper came to ask what they would like to have, Laina ordered for the both of them. 

"I always assumed opposites would be at each other's throats," she continued after the stall keeper left to prepare their food. 

Dante chuckled. 

He placed his hand on Laina's as he looked deep into her eyes. She shuddered, his hands were ice cold. 

"I assure you, my princess. In our case, opposites attract. It is a fantastic pairing," he declared. 

The stall keeper returned moments later with a large plate of fried rice with grilled marinated pork chop and two tall glasses of ice-cold green tea. He also provided them with empty bowls, chopsticks, and spoons. 

Dante scooped the fried rice and sliced pork chop for Laina before getting some for himself. Before digging in, Laina instinctively reached for the small pot of chili oil on the table. She added a small spoonful of it into her rice and mixed it well before eating. 

The savory flavors melded well in her mouth. The fiery kick of the chili oil added another layer of flavor to the dish. 

"Mmmm," Laina savored her mouthful of fried rice, "This is so good."

Dante smiled, "We're just like this pairing. Fried rice, and a glass of ice-cold green tea. The perfect combination."

After their hearty meal together, Dante and Laina continued to explore the festival at a leisurely pace. There was no sign of the festival winding down despite how late in the night it was. 

The couple did not feel tired either. They were thoroughly enjoying each other's company, browsing the stalls and visiting the ones they wanted to see. They found their way to the games booths, which were filled with young children and some adults who wanted to try their luck. 

There were many different games for everyone of all ages to try. Laina was attracted by their bright colors and lights. While some of the games were too juvenile, one of them, in particular, caught her eye. 

When the game stall keeper noticed Laina's eagerness, he called out to her to give the game a try. 

"Miss! You look like you have a lucky hand, perhaps you would like to give this game a try?" He asked enticingly, beckoning her to give it a go. 

"I…" caught off guard by his invitation, Laina was a little flustered, "But I don't know how to play."

"Do not worry, Miss! This game is as simple as one, two, three! The lady of luck is shining upon you today, for just a coin, I will give you five tries instead of the usual three. What do you say?" 

Laina bit her lip. On one hand, she really wanted to give the game a go. But on the other, she did not want to embarrass herself. What was she going to do? When she looked at Dante, he gave her a reassuring nod. 

He placed his hand around her waist as he encouraged her, "You'll be alright, Laina. Don't worry. In any case, I will be here. Every step of the way."

Dante handed the money to the game stall keeper, who received it with a word of thanks. The stall keeper explained to her how the game was to be played. On the wall before them was a whole range of prizes that could be won. 

Each prize was color-coded; red, green, yellow, blue, and gold. Needless to say, the gold prize was the best one. Focusing on the playing field before them, all they had to do was to get a rubber ring around the bottleneck of the color-coded bottle. 

There were multiples of all the colors except for one, gold. Laina looked up at the wall of prizes. The gold prize was nowhere to be seen on the wall. In fact, in its place was a huge box with a question mark drawn onto it. 

"The gold prize is a mystery," Dante explained when he noticed Laina looking straight at it. 

"A mystery?" Laina asked for clarification. 

"It can be anything. Good or bad. But it's a unique item. Unique from everything else that's up there," he explained further before asking, "So, which one would you like to aim for?"

She pondered for a moment before replying with confidence, "The gold one."

Dante nodded in response, "Alright, let's give it a shot then. Do you know how to play?"

To which Laina shook her head. Dante patiently taught Laina what she needed to do. He used the first of their rings to demonstrate. All they had to do was to toss the ring at the bottles and get it hooped around the colored bottleneck. 

"That sounds easy enough," Laina said with confidence. 

"It will take a bit of practice, but you'll get it."