Kirby: Having A Blast at the Music Festival! - Chapter ☆3: A Very Lively Music Festival
Refrain, the famous music capital of the galaxy.
With the 100th anniversary of the music festival approaching, Refrain is more lively than ever.
In the main streets and parks, talented musicians are freely performing tunes.
The music festival is held at the main hall, and musical battles often break out, fueled by the enthusiastic cheers of fans.
As soon as they arrive at Refrain, Kirby and King Dedede take off running in joy.
"Yay! This is great! It's a festival!"
"A festival! A festival! Where is the festival?! I want to eat candy apples and baby castella! And cotton candy, grilled squid, grilled corn, and, and, and, and...!"
The two were as excited as they were when they first got to the town of Refrain.
They run down the stone-paved main street in great excitement.
"Don't leave me behind, Great King!"
The Waddle Dees desperately chased after them, trying not to lose sight of them.
Their leader, Bandana Waddle Dee, called out.
"Please stop, Great King, Kirby! If you get too excited, we'll get separated! It'll be terrible if we get lost in an unfamiliar town!"
The Waddle Dees tried to call out, but King Dedede and Kirby were so excited that their voices didn't reach them.
"I'm hungry! Where are the food stalls!?"
"Fried noodles! Crepes! Shaved ice!"
The two kept increasing their speed.
"W-wait... Great King... Kirby!"
The Waddle Dees' voices were drowned out by the music playing from all directions.
Kirby and King Dedede ran around looking for food stalls, and finally came to a halt, tired.
"There are no food stalls. Even though it’s a festival."
"Yeah. What a boring festival."
"I'm hungry! I'm starving!"
The two of them had lost all their energy and sat down.
From somewhere, they heard the sound of a guitar.
It was a bright, fast-paced melody that made you want to dance along.
"Hmph. Music doesn't make you bloated."
King Dedede said, but he stood up, interested.
The two of them ran in the direction of the sound.
The one playing the guitar was a boy with curly red hair and wearing a leather jacket.
Kirby and King Dedede both recognized him and shouted at the same time.
"Isn't that the guy we met at the relay station? He said he hated music..."
"He's playing the guitar! He's really good!"
The people around them were clapping their hands and waving shiny sticks along to the cool guitar tune.
Kirby is blinded by the glowing sticks.
"Wow, what a beautiful stick! I want one too!"
"Hmph, I can't eat a stick, no matter how shiny it is."
King Dedede said, listening intently to the music.
When the song ended, the boy threw his arms around, jumped, and shouted.
"Thanks for listening, everyone!"
A huge round of applause and cheers erupted from the crowd.
"That was awesome, Rocca! You must come to the music festival on the last day! We'll come and support you!"
King Dedede and the others ran up to the boy and called out to him.
"We meet again! You were lying when you said you didn't like music!"
"That was so cool! You're really good at guitar."
The guitarist known as Rocca looked at them in bewilderment.
"Um, have we met somewhere before?"
"At the relay station. You bumped into a Waddle Dee..."
"I wanted you to tell me about Refrain's recommended dishes! I'm glad we met again!"
Rocca tilted his head in confusion.
"A... relay station... you say? I've never been to a place like that. You must be thinking of a different person, right?"
King Dedede and Kirby looked at each other.
"I think they look alike... hmm."
Thinking back, the boy they met at the relay station had his hood pulled down so his face was not clearly visible.
They thought the red curly hair and build looked similar, but they were probably two different people who looked very similar.
"Well, if they're different, that's fine. By the way, do you know of any good restaurants around here?"
"A food stall would be fine! A good kushiyaki shop, a good candy apple shop, or a delicious potato butter shop...!"
Rocca burst out laughing at what they said.
"Are you guys tourists? If you look in the guidebook, there's a lot of restaurant information, right?"
He was confused. As soon as Axe Knight mentioned 'Refrain's Wonderful Festival,' his mind was filled with thoughts of 'festivals,' 'food stalls,' and 'local cuisine,' and he was so engrossed, he ran off.
There was no way he was going to look at a guidebook.
"In that case, there's a restaurant nearby that I recommend. I'm supposed to play guitar there tonight. I'll take you there."
"Huh? You play guitar at a restaurant?"
"Yes. It's a live music restaurant with a stage inside, where you can dine while listening to live music. Isn't it great to be able to enjoy live music and delicious food at the same time?"
"I don't care about the music. What kind of food does the restaurant serve?"
"There's a variety on the menu. Refrain is famous for its delicious meat. We have extra-thick special steaks, hamburgers simmered in special sauce, melt-in-your-mouth meat stew, and more... The accompanying salads and desserts are also amazing!"
King Dedede and Kirby's eyes lit up.
"Steak! Hamburg steak! Stew! Katsudon! Come on, let's eat our fill!"
Guided by Rocca, the two headed for the live music restaurant.
The store had just opened, and there were no customers yet.
King Dedede and Kirby ran into the store and shouted.
"I'll have ten servings of extra thick steak! And ramen, fried chicken, grilled corn, candy apples, cream soda, and, and, and, and...!"
"I'll start with twenty servings of steak and yakiniku! After that, I'll have katsudon, gyudon, oyakodon, and pork skewers! Bring those right away!"
The owner of the shop's eyes widened.
"I've brought some customers over. They seem pretty hungry, so please feed them!"
"Um... I see... Sorry, guests, but we don't have any grilled corn, ramen, candy apples, or katsudon..."
"Then give us everything you have! Everything from top to bottom on the menu, 20 servings of each!"
"For me, everything from the top to the bottom, 30 servings of each!"
The owner hurried into the kitchen and quickly brought over the food.
Kirby and King Dedede both shouted, their mouths wide open.
"Yay, hamburger, hamburger! Fried chicken, fried chicken!"
"Mmmm, delicious! This steak is cooked to perfection. I commend it!"
The plates were piled high with food and it was gone in no time.
The owner, horrified by the way the two were eating, said to Rocca.
"Hey, hey, Rocca. I don't think this is possible, but...are these two the new band members?"
Rocca laughed and shook his head.
"No, that's not true. They're just tourists who I happened to meet. We haven't found any new members yet."
"I see. But don't you think you should hurry? At this rate, you'll miss the important music festival."
Rocca nodded with a dejected expression. "After all, it's the 100th anniversary of the music festival. I'd love to win too..."
"If only you could find band members who work well together. I hear there's a super special prize for the winner of this festival?"
"Yeah. They'll have one wish, anything you want granted."
"If you win, what will you wish for, Rocca? To be rich? Or to live in a fancy castle, maybe?"
"Stop it. I don't have the slightest desire for anything like that. I just want to give a great performance in front of everyone..."
Rocca tried to laugh, but sensed something burning inside and turned around.
Kirby and King Dedede were leaning over the table, their eyes sparkling.
"A wish? Does that mean anything will come true!?"
"So any wish is fine!? It will definitely be granted!?"
Both of them looked as if they were about to hug Rocca.
Rocca answered, embarrassed.
"Of course, only wishes that can come true. Things like conquering the universe or obtaining all the precious stones in the galaxy are not allowed."
"Of course. My wish isn't something that ridiculous!"
"That's right! My wish is..."
Kirby and King Dedede shouted in unison.
"Eat as much as you want, anything you want!"
Rocca and the owner were taken aback.
Kirby said with tears in his eyes.
"Meat, sashimi, cake, fruit... I can eat as much of anything as I want... How wonderful! Hooray for the music festival!"
King Dedede also said with a drooling face.
"Rocca, you must win. And let me eat as much of Refrain's famous, delicious meat as I want! I'll cheer you on with all my might so that you can win!"
"N-no, that's impossible..."
"What's impossible?! Work hard, Rocca! You'll get better and better at guitar, so start training hard now!"
"That's right, Rocca! Do your best! I'll cheer you on!"
Rocca, pushed by the two’s momentum, waved his hands and explained.
"No, it's not that... we just don't have enough band members to perform at the music festival."
Kirby and King Dedede regained their composure after hearing this.
"What do you mean, not enough?"
"The previous members and I... we got separated."
Rocca tried to avoid answering, but the owner added with a laugh.
"They had a falling out. Rocca is really vocal when it comes to music!"
"It's because they had such a lackluster attitude! The most important thing about music is a passionate heart! Those guys just don't get it!"
"Hahaha. I wonder if there's someone out there who can sing with as much passion as Rocca's guitar..."
"What? Sing? Should I sing?"
Kirby quickly raised his hand.
"Then I can sing! I'm good at singing!"
Rocca looked at Kirby in surprise.
"Really? You're a vocalist?"
"A karintou stick? No, I'm Kirby."
the Japanese word for 'vocalist' (bōkarisuto) is pronounced similar to 'stick karinto,' (bō karintō) which is a traditional Japanese snack food. Kirby mistakes the two.
"Kirby, huh? A vocalist is someone who sings. Wow, a tourist I just happened to meet is a vocalist... This might be a miracle encounter!"
Rocca pumped his fist in excitement.
"Kirby, how about we team up? Sing along with my guitar. Let's go to the music festival together and aim to win!"
Kirby nodded enthusiastically, but King Dedede frowned and said.
"Don't do it. Kirby's an incredible loser."
"That's not true. When people hear my song, they're so moved they'll flip out!"
"Well, they're just unconscious!"
Rocca calmed the two down as they were about to get into a fight.
"Now, now, calm down. I want to perform with a singer who has a passionate heart. Kirby, you have a passionate heart, don't you?"
"Yeah! I have a heart as hot as a steaming hot meat bun!"
"That's great, Kirby! Well, let me hear it now. I'll play the guitar, and you sing."
An exasperated Kirby stood on the stage inside the store and grabbed the microphone.
The owner of the restaurant smiled and applauded.
King Dedede adjusted his crown tightly.
"Let's get started! Yay!"
Rocca made a spectacular jump and began to play the guitar.
Kirby took a deep breath and began to sing as loud as he could...
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