Toss the bottle...

Nope! You've always done your best to play things fair. Why change things now? If you lose tomorrow, you'll at least do it with your honor intact. Besides, the way Illuminata was acting...you decide it's probably best not to get mixed up in whatever it is she's got going on.

Deciding to play things safe, you shrug your shoulders and casually chuck the bottle over your shoulder, not caring in the least where it may land. You grab the turnip with the least rotten spots and bug bites, then head off to bed.

***

"Hmmm..." the giant of a man known as Volcanon winces as he examines your turnip. "It's... Well it's..."

The rest of the town looks on awkwardly at your sad excuse for an entry, some even laughing out loud. Leon in particular seems to take no small amount of satisfaction in watching you try to act as if nothing is wrong. What do you mean there's a worm in that turnip?

A few moments pass, and finally the announcements are underway.

"Third place goes to..."

You cross your fingers, hoping to at least place if winning was no longer a possibility.

"Amber!"

"Yaaaaay!" the petite young woman begins to hop up and down excitedly.

"Second place goes to..."

Again, you cross your fingers with hope that you'll hear your own name called.

"Dylas!"

"Nice!" the purpleheaded stalion pumps a fist in the air with pride. Great. Now you're sure that you're not just going to lose, you're going to get your ass kicked, plain and simple.

"And coming in at first place is... Dolce, with her well grown pink turnip!"

After hearing the announcement, everyone begins cheering and applauding as the lady steps up to claim her prize.

"Well, I can't really say I'm surprised," she says with a smug grin.

You watch with your shoulders slumped as everyone cheers on their new champion. You're in no way surprised -- you knew this was the most likely outcome, but it doesn't make it any less disappointing.

Still, there is the problem of your sorry excuse for a farm to take care of now that all this is over. You may have lost this time, but maybe you'll have things up and running by the next festival. With nothing better to do, you decide that you'd better get to it, sooner rather than later.