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Kasuga Hina and Aramiya Remi’s Festival
I received a LINE message from Chisaka-senpai, talking about how we got 2867 visitors, not counting the students, yesterday. As we need to total of 9034 visitors to reach that goal, we need an average of 3012 visitors… But, yesterday was Friday, and we still have today and tomorrow. Without being overly positive, there’s still a ray of hope that we could make a comeback, alright. The bigger problem is the koala currently clinging to my left arm.
“~~~❤❤❤.”
“Hey, Mai, why is Hina constantly clinging to Kujou-kun?” Eri-san commented.
“About that, Kujou-kun was a really shy boy yesterday, and ran away from Hina, so that’s the reason why.”
“So innocent, lol.”
“Right, lol.”
With this, the morning of the second culture festival day arrived, and the second I waltzed into the classroom, Kasuga immediately leaped at my left arm…Ahhh, everyone is grinning at us…so embarrassing.
“Um, Kasuga…?”
“Hehe, this is your punishment for leaving me behind yesterday, Shizuki-kun. I don’t care how much you complain.” She showed a childish pout, as she looked up at me.
“No, um…But…everyone is looking at us…”
“They can look as much as they want~ There, squeeeeeeze~ Shizuki-kun, I love you~”
And now, as we reached 10m…From the speakers installed in the classroom, above the blackboard, came a voice…
‘This is the culture festival execution committee Chisaka Haruka speaking! It’s now officially 10 am, so the second day of our Reikousai will now begin!’
“““““Wohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!”””””
Roaring cheers and applause ran down the hallway, filling each classroom. And with that, under the resident heat of this July mid-summer heat, the second day of the culture festival began.
****
“Shizuki-kun~ Let’s go buy some takoyaki, okay? I’ll feed you~”
“Shizupai~ How about we go to the haunted house? Remi will be letting out cute screams while clinging to you, so no running away, okay~?”
………Ahhh, Kasuga on my left arm, with Aramiya on my right, how do I say this…yeah, no other way but to say that they’re clinging to me. No matter how many times I experience this, I can never get used to it…My arms are buried in breasts! Haaaa…I know that Kasuga really enjoys clinging to my arm especially since the culture festival started, but to think that Aramiya joined in like this, running to the second-year classrooms immediately…
I sure as heck can’t ignore this situation, but how do I make it out of this? No, there’s nothing here to do. The best I can do is tell them my honest feelings as the loner that I am!
“Hey, Kasuga, Aramiya, you want to become better loners, right?”
“Yup, so that I can marry Shizuki-kun!”
“What? Is Remi doing something?”
“You don’t even realize?”
“Eh?” “Hmmm?”
“If I walked around the culture festival with two flowers on my arms, I wouldn’t be regarded as a loner, and neither would you.”
“N-Now that you mention it…!” “Gah! B-Big shock for Remi!”
“That being the case, I promise I won’t run away, so let go, alright?”
“Okaaaaay…” “Well, this isn’t exactly what a loner would do after all…”
Both of them were awfully reluctant to let go but still listened properly. However, Kasuga seemed to be sad, with Aramiya sulking…Eh, why is everybody around us sending me angry gazes along the lines of ‘Why is he making two cute girls look like that?’…These gazes hurt…piercing holes in my body.
“Anyway, the action you should take as a loner during the culture festival would be…”
“Ah! I got it! Since loner basically means to be in the shadows, you want to play around until the sun sets, yeah!?”
“Hinapai, that’s genius!”
“How was that, Shizuki-kun? Hm? Hm?” Kasuga looked at me, her expression brimming with confidence.
“Can I be honest with you?”
““Of course!!””
“Way off the mark.”
““Ehhhh…””
Why are they so depressed about it? They’re like puppies that didn’t get any attention from their owner…Now even I’m feeling guilty…
“For now, let’s do what I told Kasuga before the summer break. You may be a single student, but you mix in with random other students walking around, conveniently going with them.”
“Basically, Shizupai and Hinapai are walking around randomly just like Remi, and we happened to move together.”
“Yeah. That being the case, I think I should check out the haunted house. Alone, of course!”
“Ahh, I have this sudden urge to check out the haunted house!”
“Oh, so it’s already started. That’s what this is, huh? Ah, Remi is just talking to herself right now, but she really wants to check out the haunted house!”
Alright, let’s keep going like this.
“That reminds me, just wondering to myself, but maybe girls are bad with haunted houses…Being too scared they’d cry, or unable to walk…”
“I think I just heard the wind talking to me, but being scared is the fun of a haunted house, so running away from that would be like going to an amusement park without riding the attractions!”
“Remi must have heard some weird distant mutter, but let alone loners, normies wouldn’t get scared because of a haunted house, lol. Well, scary stuff is still scary, but screaming in fear is what’s fun! A haunted house is easy peasy~”
The people around us gave the three of us weird, confused gazes, wondering what the hell we were doing, but I’m ignoring all of them! You all have your own stuff to do, so don’t waste your time looking at others, alright. Anyway, the haunted house supposedly was organized by another second-year class, so it should be on the third floor, right. With that in mind, we walked down the hallway, up the stairs, further down the hallway, and then—Alright, there it is. Following that, we had to wait another five minutes…
“Welcome to Mortal Wonderland! Three customers, correct?” A girl dressed up as a witch greeted us at the register, but…Now hold on.
“I’m alone, but…weird, it should just be me right now.”
“Huh? Was I together with someone?”
“Remi wasn’t with her friends just now, though…”
“Eh? But…”
“One person, please.” “One person, please!” “One person, please!”
“……Understand, three individual customers, yes?”
“Yes.” “Yup.” “Yeah.”
“Ehh…T-Then, please enter…individually…?”
Honestly, I feel like I did something awful to that girl…Now then, for whatever coincidence, Kasuga and Aramiya were with me, but it’s odd to see us move in a group like this. We most definitely didn’t plan this, so let’s just walk inside…Eh!? Huh!?
“Oh, this haunted house is amazing! Even though Remi is alone right now, not with her favorite loner Shizupai, it feels like she’s linking arms with someone, lol. Ehhh, is this a ghost? It’s not a person, right? Remi can’t see anything, nor can she hear anything. I guess haunted houses have gotten a lot better these recent years, lol.”
“Ah! I just heard a hallucination, I think. And when I moved out of surprise…I suddenly felt the odd sensation of someone else’s arm! I guess ghosts nowadays aren’t there to scare you anymore, but to play the role of your boyfriend, huh! Now I’m not lonely at all.”
“Will you get inside already, damn it.”
We got scolded. Even though it’s just me, neither Kasuga nor Aramiya is around and I merely happen to feel them both in my arms…It doesn’t make any sense. To get back on track, I looked around inside of the haunted house, and…Hmm, it’s a more Western-themed horror house, I see. Thinking about it, even the name was originally in English as well, and the girl at the reception looked like a witch from western fairytales.
The inside of the haunted house was dimly-lit, as you’d expect, fresh blood everywhere to create a red light at every corner. No outside light entered this space. On the walls to the left and right were stylish designs covering them, together with noble portraits, but the people depicted were rotten zombies. The luxurious walls added with the grotesque-looking zombies created this eerie unbalance which sent creeps down your back. Hm? There’s some liquid dripping down from the ceiling…!?
“Eeek!? S-S-S-Shizuki-kun!?”
“S-S-S-Shizupai!? That!? That!? It’s really blood, right!?”
“C-Calm down, Kasuga, Arami…Ah, wait! I’m supposed to be alone right now! Anyway, whoever might be walking through this haunted house right now, just calm down! It’s simple watercolored in red, so it looks like blood!”
You need to regain your composure. They probably put a hole in the ceiling, adding a vinyl bag, or a water bottle…Eh?
“…R-Rotten meat? A-As well as…the sound of flies?”
“Waaaaaaah! Shizuki-kuuuuuun!”
“Sniff…sniff…Shizupai!”
Although those two weren’t with me right now, it felt like the two of them were clinging to me, not to mention even stronger than before. L-Let’s keep on moving…Now that we’re in here, we need to make it to the goal.
“Sniff…sniff…Shizuki-kun…Wait…don’t leave me behind…”
Weird…isn’t this the very first trap of this haunted house?
“Hm? Wait, something’s on the floor……Eh?”
“Hic…hic…Shizupaaaaai…Remi is scared now…No more…”
“A naked woman who had her limbs and head cut off…?”
Now that is just bad taste…Maybe…I should touch her? …Bleh, so soft…It’s like an actual human’s skin…There are even bones and innards in there…From the size, it must be either a grade school student or even further down in kindergarten…
“Sniff…Hic…Waaaah, Shizuki-kun! Shizuki-kun!”
“Shizupaaaaai…Don’t leave Remi behind…She’s scared…”
“L-Let’s move on…”
This is taking it too far, alright…Chisaka-senpai agreed to this!?
“S-Shizupai! R-Remi stepped on something just now!”
“…I feel like I just heard a distant voice, but I should be alone in this haunted house.”
“~~~! Eehhhhh! Shizupai! Remi is scared! Enough of this…!”
“I think I just heard a hallucination again, but the owner of this imaginary voice seemingly stepped on something…”
Whatever it is, it can’t be worse than the previous…Eeek!?
“A-An eyeball…?”
Let me check…Waaah, it’s as soft as an actual eyeball…It is a bit more sturdy than it, but…was this here the entire time?
“Ugh…Sniff…S-Shizuki-kun…I need to go to the toilet…”
“Remi is going to leak…”
“I don’t know who it is, but if someone were to leak right next to me, I would be so embarrassed that I’d leave her alone.”
“Sniff…sniff…” “Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Blood, a corpse, an eyeball, what’s next!?
“Shizuki-kun…that…”
“A-A severed head? Not to mention that it’s inside a glass case…decorated with flowers.”
“Waaaaaaaah! Let us out!”
“C-Calm down, you two hallucinative voices I’m hearing…that head is inside a case, it won’t come to attack you, or smell either. Let’s just go past it?”
“Shizuki-kuuuun…” “Shizupaaaai…”
Stay calm, alright. Considering the distance we’ve walked, and the size of the classroom, we should have made it at least halfway. Hell, if it’s a shorter way, we might even be done three quarters already.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Eeeeek!? S-Shizuki-kun!? Shizuki-kun!?” “Shizupai!? That head…that head…”
“I-It exploded…”
I knew that it was a fake head, but the inside was filled with red liquid? That splattered everywhere, coloring the inside of the case blood red. Honestly, a raw head is scary. For everybody, even a loner like me. That’s why to have it explode right as we passed it…Seriously, this haunted house might actually care less about other people than I do as a loner. And finally…
“Shizuki-kun! That! That!” “Shizupai, that’s a door!”
“Idiot! The exit is around the corner, surely they have one more trap set up here!”
And of course, as expected…
“……Shizuki-kun, the door won’t open…”
“Huh?”
“Shizupai…the classroom below this one is 1-4, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Remi-chan…class 1-4 is doing a target practice game, right?”
“Yeah. So…this…there’s a hole here…”
Now that she mentioned it, there was a small hole in front of the door, enough for a person to fit through. Looking down, I could see students and outsiders indulging in target practice games. Naturally, you could make the jump for sure, but if you fell down, it’d probably hurt.
****
“Great work in there. This is our small explanation pamphlet, feel free to take it with you!”
Let me see…’Number 1 – The blood: It’s water mixed with red paint’; ‘Number 2- The rotten flesh: We used clay and changed its shape, adding color. As it was set up on the ceiling, you can’t identify if it’s real or not’; ‘Number 3 – The sound of flies: A simple recording’; ‘Number 4 – The corpse of the woman: Actually goods from a lonely boy in our class. Recently they are even selling those with bones in them’; ‘Number 5 – Eyeball: They are selling super balls in that kind of design recently’; ‘Number 6 – Severed head: It’s a water balloon wearing a wig, filled with red liquid. Behind the wall, we had a student using the pump for a bike’s tire, and making it explode’; ‘Number 7 – Vault: You probably realized that you could escape through that, but it isn’t an actual vault. We asked class 1-4 to record their room from the ceiling and put the footage on a screen that we laid down on the floor’, huh. They played us perfectly…
“Ah, Shizuki-kun, look at this.”
“Hm?”
[Originator: Akizuki Sakuya]
Ahhh…right, she was in class 2-4…With that alone, everything made sense.
****
“That reminds me…Chisaka-senpai asked me to help her with something.”
My left arm, which had the wrist clock on it, couldn’t move because of some odd hallucination holding it down, and even when I wanted to check my smartphone, my right arm couldn’t move either, which is why I had to confirm the time with the clock in the classroom. Hmmm…it’s currently 11.40 am, huh.
“I’m just talking to myself, but I guess I should check out the maid cafe the culture festival execution committee is doing. There’s Akizuki as well.”
“Agreed! Without getting to see Sakupai’s embarrassed face as she’s wearing the maid uniform, Remi won’t be satisfied and full!”
“R-Remi-chan, you should talk to yourself.”
“Oh, right, Remi just so happened to respond to an illusion!”
“What a convenient monologue that was…Of course, the same goes for me.”
“Alright, off we go to Haruka-senpai’s maid cafe!”
“Yeah!”
Oh? Hold on, when did Kasuga and Aramiya appear next to me? There’s no way the three of us could go to the maid cafe together…No, maybe it’s possible? It’s just a pure coincidence after all. Now then, walking down the hallway…up the stairs, further down the hallway again…Ah, there it is. Opening the door.
“Welcome back, dear master, dear mistress.”
There, a beautiful maid greeted us with a gentle smile. However, the identity of that maid was…
“““Ah.”””
“~~~! Kujou-kun with Kasuga-san, and Aramiya-san as well…!”
Even though she previously showed the smile of a saint, now her face turned beet red out of embarrassment. She even teared up, her body faintly shaking. Hmm, it’s rare to see Akizuki this shy, alright.
“Sakuya-chan, you’re so cute! Twintails with a maid uniform!”
“Sakupai, look at Remi! She’ll take a picture!”
“No, wait…Urk…~~~! T-This is embarrassing…being seen by someone I know…”
Just as the hallucinatory voice that resembled Kasuga’s said, Akizuki had her long and glossy black hair tied up in twin tails…As a result of that, she looks a lot younger than usual…Maybe like a first-year at high school, or a third-year in middle school. Of course, she wore a maid uniform above that. However, regrettably, the skirt was awfully short, and although I can seal off ‘a certain emotion’ like always, her black tights are…Also, her chest was emphasized because of the tight uniform…And since she’s about as big as Aramiya…
“Honestly, it’s about as flirty as an anime character.”
“~~~!?”
And, there came the ‘certain emotion’ I couldn’t keep sealed away. Not to mention that with her eyes watery in embarrassment, her beet-red face, pushing up her maid clothes with her right hand to hide her cleavage, whereas she used her left hand to pull down her skirt, trying to hide her thighs…to the point it almost seems intentional.
“Akizuki-san! Please hurry and guide your master to the table ASAP!”
“Hm? ………Eh?”
There, a beauty with long, platinum-colored hair appeared. She was awfully small, and although I don’t care, she had a small chest as well, but her facial features were enough to make me stop, and swallow my breath. She had innocent but determined eyes, together with faintly-pink, beautiful lips. Her skin was as white as a young child’s, overflowing with youth, and she looked soft even with a single glance. Indeed, she looked like a handcrafted doll.
Without trying to exaggerate, it made me think of an angel suddenly descending upon us, or a fairy had appeared from her home forest, that’s how charming she looked. At the same time, calling her an idol, or a Hollywood actress doesn’t fit too well. It’s far too worldly. She had this divine aura to her, after all. Before, I called Kasuga the cute type of girl, and Akizuki the beautiful type of girl, or something like that, but…she…she’s just charming. Alluring.
“Ah, it’s Harupai.”
“Eh?”
“Wah, Haruka-senpai is wearing a maid uniform as well!”
“Hehe, it is a maid cafe after all! By the way, I am the chief maid!”
“Harupai, you’ve undone your twintails, huh.”
“I shuffled my hairstyle with Akizuki-san!”
Huh…? Eh? Chisaka-senpai…? This alluring girl is…? I see…
“I want to die…Somebody kill me…”
“!? W-What’s wrong, Secretary!? If you’re feeling unwell, then please have a seat on this chair! I will bring you some water right away!”
“Before that, Chisaka-san would like to ask something. Dear master, dear mistress, will you be joining us as the three of you?”
“Eh? No, I’m alone.”
“Sakuya-chan, can’t you see that I’m alone?”
“Sakupai, do you see anybody else with Remi?”
“…Your doing, Kujou-kun?”
“What might you be talking about?”
“Understood. Three individuals then.”
“Yeah.” “Yep.” “Yup!”
“Then, apologies to tell you, but we just have given away all seats, so we can only offer you a shared seat with two other people.”
“Huh? Shared seat? So basically…”
“! Yup! I don’t know who it is, but I’d love to sit together with Shizuki-kun!”
“Remi too, Remi too!”
“Then, please take a seat here.”
Kasuga and Remi sat down on opposite ends at a four-person table, so I sat down next to Kasuga, and then the moment Aramiya saw this, she moved her seat next to my open side…
“Ehehe, what a coincidence, Shizuki-kun~ Where have you been all this time? Well, I don’t mind as long as we can be together now.”
“Shizupai~ Remi almost didn’t see you~ What good luck that we’d end up together here~”
“Such awful acting…”
“This will be the menu,” Akizuki commented.
“I’d like a coffee.”
“I want a cheesecake and cappuccino!”
“Remi will take the waffles and caramel macchiato!”
“Understood, dear master, dear mistresses.”
After finishing her notes, Akizuki walked away as her skirt and twintails shook, moving into the kitchen. Still, this maid cafe sure is making some great profit. It looks like around 80% of all the seats are taken, and it’s mostly equal when it comes to boys and girls. This might be another prejudice, but I expected a lot of boys to visit this maid cafe, but I guess because they’re also stylish and western clothes, it attracts a lot of girls as well.
(Shizupai, Hinapai.) Aramiya called out to us with a quiet voice.
(What’s wrong, Remi-chan?) Kasuga answered with another quiet voice.
(Harupai is talking with a grown man!)
((?))
Both Kasuga and I looked over where Aramiya was staring. Standing there was…
(Oh yeah, a single man walking into a maid cafe sure stands out.)
(Kasuga, Aramiya.)
(Hm?) (What’s up, Shizupai?)
(I think that guy’s Chisaka-senpai’s father.)
(Really!?) Aramiya asked in disbelief.
(I think it’s fine for me to tell you now, but I was actually asked by Chisaka-senpai. She asked me to stop by at this time, and we’re basically paid actors.)
She didn’t ask me to make the festival a success, but rather to do something about Chisaka-senpai’s family environment. I may not meddle much with other families’ affairs, but I can at least be a paid actor.
(Woah…Shizupai is using twisted vocabulary again…She just wants to show off to her family, right?)
(That being said, I wonder what they’re talking about?)
So said Kasuga, but I am quite curious, alright. It might be bad manners, but it shouldn’t hurt to listen in on a bit, right?
“Father, I brought you some coffee.”
“Thanks, Haruka.” The man responded with a deep but soothing voice.
“Hehe, this much is no big deal! I’m in my third year of high school, of course!”
“I see. But, don’t force yourself, okay? Your own class is also doing an attraction, right?”
“……N-No, I’m fine! Sometimes it’s a bit rough, but I still have enough of a buffer!”
Ahhh…it really is exactly as I thought. Like, the 99% just reached 100%. Chisaka-senpai’s father…it might be a bit vague, but he seems gentle, alright. This might just be my selfish image, but he seems like the type of man who would take the family to an amusement park on the weekend, wash the dishes during the week, wash your back in the bath, and overall just your average guy, but in a good way…
Personally, I want to cheer for Chisaka-senpai…Because I’ve spent time with her in the same club. That being said, looking at this logically, her father is in the right, without a doubt. Simply speaking, Chisaka-senpai is far too serious, and she’s taking things too far. She may say stuff like ‘I’m fine’ or ‘I have a buffer’, but that doesn’t account for anything. However, just as Hirahara-sensei said yesterday, we can’t afford to get too deeply involved, no matter how involved we may be. Every family has its own circumstances.
“See, have a look at this, a special nameplate. I am the maid-in-chief during this timezone.”
“Maid-in-chief? So you’re like the part-time leader?”
“Indeed, it’s a position everybody is looking at. If there’s a maid neglecting her duties, then I have to warn her.”
“Oho.”
Although there seems to be a lot going on, and still he seemed to be enjoying his conversation with his daughter. I mean, I know I’m acting important like I’m someone special, but…
“Sorry for the wait, this is your coffee, your cappuccino, your caramel macchiato, cheesecake, and waffles.”
“Thanks a bunch, Akizuki.”
“Waaah! Smells so sweet and nice!”
“The waffles even have a mountain of cream on them!”
Akizuki skillfully brought us our order, and tried to walk away, but then…! Chisaka-senpai talked to Akizuki!
“Akizuki-san! With a cheesecake and waffles, you need to cast the special magic from the country of Maids!”
“Huh?” “Oh?” “No way!”
“~~~! D-Do I really have to do that?”
“Ooooof course!”
Chisaka-senpai probably really wanted to show it off to her father… Namely, to use her position as the maid-in-chief to give other maids orders, which was Akizuki now. As a result, she turned back around once again and walked towards our table. I think I know what kind of magic they are talking about. But…Akizuki is going to do that? In front of us? Waaah…I genuinely feel bad for her…And Kasuga, Aramiya, don’t make things worse for her, alright? Kasuga had already taken out her smartphone, happy as ever, and Aramiya was grinning from ear to ear.
“D-Dear ma…master…dear…m-mistress…I will now…Urk…use the magic…passed down in the country of maids…to make your food…more delicious…!”
“Wohoooo!” “Yaaaaaay!”
Immediately after, Akizuki formed a heart with both her hands.
“B-Become delicious…become delicious…Urk…Moe moe kyuuuun~”
“Sakuya-chan, so cute! I saved it on my phone, so don’t worry!”
“Ahahaha! Remi’s stomach hurts! Ahaha! Sakupai, you’re cute! So cute!”
“~~~! I won’t ever forgive you…!”
From how I see it, the lonesome beauty, the number two girl of the entire school, was now turned into a plaything. At the same time, talking about the maid-in-chief Chisaka-senpai…
“H-How was that, Father? I know it might be a bit harsh, but these are the rules! So, I have to protect them!”
“I see. Though, maybe check out that girl, will you? I know it’s her job, but forcing her to do it like that is an entirely different problem, you know?”
“Urk…Y-Yes.”
****
Finally, the dreaded time has arrived. Namely, the time for us from class 2-1 to present our stage play of Snow White. Next to the stage in the gym hall were the members of the class. Naturally, I was part of that…
“Uwah…I’m gonna puke…So many people…”
I checked through the small gap of the thick curtain, seeing that at least 90% of seats had been filled, and…some are even standing to watch!? This is like the brief time before a movie, with the visitors talking between each other, sounding excited! And yet, the second the play starts, you’re all going silent, right!? Ahhh…this is at least 300 people…
“What’s wrong, Prince?” Ooba approached me.
Behind him were Koide, Nakao, Takaishi, Asaka as well…did they all come to laugh at me?
“You don’t get it?”
“No, I do.”
“Right…”
“You’re excited, right? You’re pretty much the second protagonist after all.”
“Not at all!? I am genuinely considering suicide right now!”
“Eh? Why’s that?”
“Right back at you. Why are you so excited…”
“So, you didn’t want to play the prince?”
“What a stupid question, of course, I didn’t—”
“Let me rephrase that question. You would have been fine with Hina calling another boy her prince?”
“………”
“Come on, sound it out.” Ooba showed a gentle smile, but…
No, you’re wrong, you’re not…! That’s not what I…! I-It’s not like I wanted to play the prince or anything like that…! And even if Kasuga called another boy her prince, it’d just be normal acting, nothing more…I’m perfectly aware of that…K-Kasuga does…well, you know…l-like me, so I have faith in her, and no matter how she calls other people, that doesn’t have anything to do with me…! I am me, and Kasuga is Kasuga, so just as I wish that she doesn’t get in my way, I won’t bother her either, or tell her off…!
~~~! That’s why…I don’t feel anything at all! Kasuga should just do whatever she wants! If I started interfering with every small thing and started holding an interest in others, that would make me stop being a loner, and is my first step towards being a normie…But…well…um…Ahhhhhhhhh!
“~~~! Ah, well…Damn it…Of course, it’s not that I didn’t want to do it…just a bit maybe…”
Alright, I’m aware of it! My conversation during Golden Week with Kasuga, and my attitude towards Aramiya during the field trip. I’m basically a tsundere, right!? Not to mention a really easy one, no!? Was there ever even a male tsundere this easy!? Ahh, alright, alright! On the outside, I’m saying whatever I want, but deep down, I’m being influenced by this easily! Damn it, my face feels hot! My body feels hot! I’ll go and gulp down an entire ramune pack once this damn play is over!
“Alright, then show off how cool you are, Prince! Looking at the LINE group, Kasuga finished changing, so don’t forget to praise her!”
“~~~! I-I know that without you needing to tell me…”
As you’d expect, we have two side stages, located on each side of the main stage, with the boys’ changing area being to the left of the audience, and the girls’ changing area to the right. Walking down the path in the center behind the stage, you could travel from one side to the other, so when I went my way down there, I heard distant voices, and stopped in my tracks.
“U-Um, Eri-san, Maisan, it’s me…Kujou. I-I finished changing, so…how’s Kasuga?”
“Kujou-kun! Welcome, welcome!” Eri-san appeared from a corner of the path, pulling my arm along with a grin.
“You’re late, you’re late! Your beloved Hina is waiting for you!”
After Eri-san, now Mai-san pushed my back in excitement. Once we reached a more open space—
“S-Shizuki-kun…H-How does this look?”
“……Ah.”
“D-Does it look good on me? Am I cute, I wonder?”
Standing there was Kasuga in what resembled something like a white wedding dress. Normally, she had her hair tied up into two dumplings, fitting a more modern high school girl hairstyle, but now she had her hair hanging down from her back, creating a much more mature appearance. I could see red lip gloss on her lips, as they stood out more than usual. Her feminine cheeks were standing out with a faint pink color. Her eyes were quivering with anxiety, waiting for my response. For a moment, I thought she was a genuine princess, but…No, even now, I can’t help but see her as one. This kind of reaction isn’t something a loner would do!
Of course, there’s also the part of me not being used to women, and even though I should have a typical gloomy loner reaction, but for some reason, only my genuine feelings would come out…I can’t…my loner level is dropping…
“Alright, Kujou-kun, your impressions please!” Eri-san tapped me on the shoulder.
“10, 9, 8, 7…” Mai-san started a countdown.
“Eh!? Wait, stop!”
“6, 5, 4!” “3, 2, 1!”
“~~~! Ahhh, for crying out loud! You look great! You’re cute! Listen carefully, because I’ll only say this once! You’re cute enough that even I would praise you, who normally doesn’t do that!”
“~~~! Okay! Thank you, Shizuki-kun~ You look great as a prince as well. You look so cool~”
And with that, the people around us started whistling aggressively.
“Alright, Ooba.” Nakao appeared.
“As the director, a few words.” Asaka joined in.
Hold on, those two! And everyone from class 2-1! Did they all gather here solely to watch my exchange with Kasuga!?
“Alright! Let’s show them our 2-1 soul! Yeaaaah!”
“““““Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”””””
“Yeah…”
“Yeaaaah~~~”
****
I brought it up before, but the special arrangement of class 2-1’s Snow White goes as follows—
Snow White and the Prince are close childhood friends. When they were young, they promised their eternal love for each other. However, Snow White’s mother passed, and the luxurious castle fell in the hands of her step-mother. That step-mother was doting on Snow White, only to fall for the Prince, who was many years younger than her, at first glance. She felt jealous at seeing Snow White and the Prince so close, so before he could reach an age where he was allowed to get married, she began to harass Snow White. After that, many years passed, and the Prince became old enough to get married…
“Your Queen, it pains me to say this, but your words do not reach me. I have promised my eternal vow of love to Snow White.”
“Why!? For what reason!? Even though I am still young! There is not a single wrinkle on my face! Look at my hair, without a single strain of white! I am not old by any means!”
“That is true, indeed.”
“Then look at Snow White! Her hair is dusty from the cleaning! Her hands chapped from doing the laundry! Her fingertips were injured from the cooking! She looks like a dirty servant, if not what else!? Not a single shed of feminine beauty can be found in her appearance, do you not agree!?”
“Indeed, that is true.”
Despite the Queen’s efforts, the Prince’s opinion did not change in the slightest. So, the Queen began to think.
“That’s right, let us ask the one who knows all! Mirror, o Mirror, who is the most beautiful in the entire world?”
However, the Magic Mirror betrayed the Queen’s expectations.
“That would be Snow White.”
“That cannot be true, Magic Mirror. She is dirty beyond belief. She doesn’t even emit any feminine charm. Let me ask again. Mirror, o Mirror, who is the most beautiful in the entire world?”
“That would be Snow White.”
Hearing the same response as before, the Queen was furious. She began to hysterically break vases and tableware in her rage. However, even despite that, the Queen did not give up her attempts to marry the Prince, and she sent Snow White out of the castle, into the forest.
Then, Snow White met the seven dwarves. Some of the dwarves were cautious of her at first, but after Snow White begged ‘Please let me stay over! I’ll take care of all your housework in return!’, and offered her heart and being to fulfill that role, it didn’t even take two weeks until the eight of them became like a genuine family. At the same time, the Prince and the Queen…
“Prince! Prince! I removed the talking dust! With this, nothing will get between the two of us!”
“Then let me ask you. What exactly do you like about me?”
“Your charming facial features and your appearance resembles a gemstone.”
“What a coincidence.”
“Oh my! Prince, have I stolen your heart with my beautiful face and appearance?”
“No, not quite. I hate women who answer my question with that exact answer.”
“How cruel! Not reciprocating a woman’s advantages!”
“The one who is the utmost cruel is you, Queen! She may not have been your real daughter, but you sent Snow White into the woods!”
At that time, the Prince hurried to the woods, where Snow White had been sent to. At the same time, the person in question…
“Are you ready?” “Listen carefully.” “We will” “Leave the home” “In your care” “Because we have to” “Head out for work.”
“Yes!”
“Even if” “Someone comes by” “To visit” “You cannot” “Open” “The door” “Understand?”
“Yup!”
““Then”” ““We’re”” “““On our way now!”””
“Have a safe trip, Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, Dopey.”
However, the danger was approaching Snow White. As the Queen was in an audience in her throne room, seven big guns were bowing down to her.
“Swordsman, Archer, Trooper, Spearman, Axeman, Hunter, Magician, go and kill Snow White for me!”
“““““““As you wish, my Queen.”””””””
However, the seven dwarves had already caught on to this.
“It’s seven against seven.” “What do we do?” “Unavoidable.” “Counter-attack.” “The enemy.” “Will fall” “Altogether.”
In the end, it came to a merciless all-out war in the forest. However, the Queen had anticipated this. She knew about the existence of those seven dwarves, which is why she provoked them. She had the seven dwarves fight seven of her men, and used this opportunity to kill Snow White herself.
“Knock knock, I am a senile old lady, selling apples. Won’t you buy one of mine?”
“But, I’m not allowed to open the door.”
“Then just open up the window?”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I won’t come inside, I will simply throw you the apple from the window.”
“I guess that would be fine…”
“That’s right! So hurry and have a taste! If not, the apple will rot!”
“I understand. Thank you very much.”
Thus, Snow White ate the apple, given to her by the disguised Queen. As a result of that, Snow White fell into an endless slumber. Indeed, the apple was poisoned. Shortly after, the Prince reached Snow White.
“Snow White!”
“Ah, my dear prince! Snow White has fallen into an eternal slumber! With this, there is nobody who can obstruct our love no more!”
“Who even are you!? I don’t know any old hag who wants to get in the way of my love with Snow White!”
Thus, the Queen was reminded that she had kept the appearance of an elderly woman. However, even if she ignored that, the Queen couldn’t ignore the Prince’s words.
“You don’t have to go that far! I shall kill you, and end my life after!”
“What a selfish wench you are! After turning my beloved Snow White into a living corpse, you will kill me, and then end your own life! Know your place!”
With this, the heated battle between Prince and Queen began! There, the screen turned dark, and the focus went to the dwarves, with Doc fighting the Swordsman, Grumpy versus the Archer, Happy versus the Rider, Sleepy versus the Spearman, Bashful versus the Axeman, Sneezy versus the hunter, and Dopey versus the Magician, all of these battles being held across five minutes each. Once they had reached its end—
“Der Himmel breitet sich für immer aus und endet nie. Das Meer ist seit langem fließend und niemand weiß, wann es begann. So zittern alle in der Größe der Erde, die die beiden verbindet. König der Sonne. Die Göttin des Mondes. Macht verweigert zu verstehen, ob die Kraft zu groß ist. Das Light von Polaris ändert sich nicht für immer. Die Fähigkeit öffnet sich. Backen Sie den Himmel, Verlobungsschwert!1”
“I-Impossible…That is the 7th Rank Taboo Chant!? How do you know that!?” The Queen howled.
Yeah, that part in the script is definitely chunibyou stuff, no doubt. I may have been chosen as the representative for the future course club, but it wouldn’t be weird for there to be other loners in our class.
“Snow White—I shall grasp victory for your sake…”
“……! Gu…ha…!”
Like this, the final battle for the sake of Snow White and the reign over the universe ended, with the Prince and the seven dwarves gathering around Snow White’s body. As for what was happening on the stage, Snow White was laying on a bed, her legs hidden with a white blanket, and so that her face and upper body weren’t hidden from the audience, I crouched down between her legs and the audience seats. By the way, the seven dwarves were standing behind the bed, and I was the only one right next to the bed.
The background depicted the inside of the dwarves’ home, and a calm but emotional BGM played. The lights illuminated the close area of the bed, turning everything else dark.
“Snow White…” “You promised” “And yet” “You opened” “The door” “Like” “This”
“No way…my beloved Snow White…”
“Calm down” “In fact” “It’s still” “Too early” “To fall” “Into” “Despair”
“Why? How can I remain calm!? My most beloved woman has left my arms!”
“Again” “If you don’t” “Calm down” “We can’t” “Tell you” “The” “Solution”
“What do you mean!? Is there a way to turn back Snow White to normal!?”
“““““““There is. You need to kiss Snow White, and she will come back to life.”””””””
“—Got it. I shall offer my first kiss to Snow White.”
Thus, the Prince pushed his lips towards Snow White…
(Shizuki-kun, Shizuki-kun!)
(What is it now, Kasuga.)
(Why aren’t you kissing me?)
(Because this is just acting.)
(That excuse worked during the practice, but today is the real deal, you know!?)
(Huh!? But, you know, the audience won’t be able to easily see us…)
(That doesn’t work in an amateur setting like this!)
(No way!?)
I glanced towards the audience, and they’re all…Oh no, they’re getting impatient, waiting for the next scene to start…It probably looks awkward since all the actors just stopped moving…Are you kidding me!?
“….Mmnnn!”
“Hey” “Dopey” “Don’t just push” “His back because” “You couldn’t wait anymore!”
“Ah, my bad, my bad, lol.”
Huh? Dopey…that’s Koide, right? Did he push my back? So right now, my lips are…
“““““Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”””””
A second later, a roar of cheers filled the gym hall, enough to make the air vibrate, followed by a severe shower of applause that most likely even reached the main school building and courtyard…I mean yeah, we shared a kiss during a high school play…
“Huh? Prince? What was I doing until now…”
Crap, the play isn’t even over yet!
“My beloved Snow White! So you’ve awoken!”
“Prince, are you crying?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you sad?”
“I am happy. Now, let us return! Not to the Queen’s castle, but back to my own! And then, you will become my Queen!”
That was a lie, of course. I was neither sad nor happy. My body just started melting because of the embarrassment.
(Ehehe, thanks, Shizuki-kun. I’m really happy right now~)
(Really now…glad to hear that…)
****
Ten minutes after the stage play ended, I was leaning against the wall of the gym hall, watching a certain event. Sorry, Kasuga…I should have expected that this would happen…
‘Oh my! Who could have predicted this! Last year’s miss-con winner Kasuga Hina now—’
****
“Sniff…sniff…I’m sorry, Shizuki-kun. I’m so pathetic…” Kasuga shed tears.
She didn’t want me to worry, but seeing her like that made it hurt even more.
“No, I don’t mind…”
“Yeah…thank you. But still…I’m sorry.”
“………”
“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”
Starting from the conclusion, that kiss during the stage play took its toll later on. Called over by Akizuki, receiving some coffee from Chisaka-senpai, Hirahara-senpai said ‘Read this, Kujou’, and at the same time, the second round of preliminaries of the miss-con was revealed. Indeed, right after the stage play of class 2-1.
It’s a simple story. Let’s assume a local idol participated in some kind of TV drama with a kiss scene, where a real kiss scene happened. If there was voting happening right after that, held with the audience, would you think that the idol had a chance? This might just be my speculation, but 90% of people may have seen that this wasn’t just acting, sure enough, wouldn’t vote for her. Especially the fans of that idol. Basically, for the most part, the kiss with me caused Kasuga to fall out of the preliminaries. Right now, she’s crying in our classroom…
“Ooba, Eri-san, Mai-san, I need to take care of something.”
“Got it. If something happens, I’ll contact…Ah.”
“Right. Here’s my LINE ID.”
“Alright, gotcha.”
I stepped out of the room, into the hallway, and looked at my LINE account. Leaving that side, walking away from that room is probably the best choice. I know I have no way of knowing, but there’s no way Kasuga would want me to see her crying, as she lost in the miss-con because of me.
“A school event…and a girl’s tears…first thing that comes to my mind is a hysteric girl crying because she couldn’t win at the choir contest…But…”
If that was it, I’d probably feel sick of it, feel annoyed at them taking everything so seriously, but when it comes to Kasuga now…I just can’t look down on her as a normie, which I usually would. I know I’m being far too easy right now. For what reason is she crying, for whose sake is she crying? To think that, just because it’s related to me, my sympathy could raise this much…
Now then, until Kasuga calms down, or rather, until Ooba contacts me about it, where should I spend my time now? I don’t feel like going to any crowded places. I can’t just enjoy the culture festival while Kasuga is crying…What to do…Since Aramiya managed to make it to the next round of the miss-con, it’d be awkward to run into her, but there’s no guarantee that Chisaka-senpai and Akizuki are still at the maid cafe…
Slap! ……W-What kind of sound was that? That clearly didn’t belong to something you’d hear during a culture festival…It sounded like it came from the maid cafe…I have a really bad feeling about this…
“Stop fooling around! I don’t care if Chisaka-san brought you here, but you’re an outsider, and a junior, right!?”
“What about that? Age doesn’t have anything to do with this, and even if you used that as an argument, then you should praise me for being such a caring junior, right?”
When I reached the cafe, I looked inside from the opened front door, and…it looked severe, alright. Both maids and other customers had expressions of confusion, not knowing what to do. Rather than just ‘This is bad!’ or ‘Crap!’, expressions like danger, risky, or one action from exploding fit this situation better…Or, so I think at least. Akizuki’s cheek is red…The girl she’s facing seemed to be from the executive committee as well, and another girl was crying behind her. As for Chisaka-senpai…
“Y-You can’t! Nothing good will come out of violence!” With tears in her eyes, she tried to break up between Akizuki and the girl who supposedly slapped her.
“But, Chisaka-san! She picked a fight with us!”
“That’s not it, right? When a friend of you two came here, you gave your friend a discount, and even didn’t have her pay the full price. I just pointed that out.”
“Huh!? If she paid the discount, there would be no meaning in the discount, right!? Are you stupid!? Why don’t you use your head!”
“Really now…What an imbecile. That’s not even the problem. Who gave you permission to give your friend a discount? Every other customer is paying the exact price, so what exactly would be fair about that? Also, we set up the prices on the menu to make sure that we wouldn’t end up in the negative. I’m simply a helper here, so I wasn’t present when you decided on that, but what your friend did is harming the business. You’re getting in the way of the committee, and this could be regarded as obstruction of business in most places.”
“Why do you have to go that far!? If we didn’t give her a discount, they would have cut us from the group!”
“I see. Then let me stoop down to your level, and tell you. The moment that you’re worried about being ostracized from your friendship if you don’t give them a discount, your friends aren’t worth anything, and neither are you.”
“You…!”
Slap! Once again, another sharp sound rang out.
“Chisaka-san…!”
“Wah, wait, I didn’t mean to…!”
“Urk…that’s why I told you, nothing will come from violence…”
…! That’s as far as I could watch.
“Chisaka-senpai, are you okay!?”
“Secretary…?” “K-Kujou-kun…!?”
“Doesn’t seem like you’re bleeding, but your cheek is swollen. We should get you to the infirmary quickly. You as well, Akizuki.”
“Hey! I don’t know who you are, don’t take that girl away! She has yet to apologize to us!”
“Why don’t you start then? Even if Akizuki was at fault, you were the one who raised your hand twice now.”
“What was I supposed to do, then!”
Yeah, nothing to do here. I know I didn’t exactly improve the situation, but the way to resolve the situation is awfully easy.
“Alright…I’ll hear out the rest then~”
“Hirahara-sensei…” Chisaka-senpai seemed bewildered.
“Good for you Kujou, knowing the advisor of the culture festival committee. Now you can throw everything at me.”
“Was I a bother?”
“No comment on that, but it’s at least better than not hearing about the circumstances. Not being informed about this would be a bigger chore.”
1 Even as a German, I was struggling to decipher that. Using the Japanese furigana given as a help, it’d be something along the lines of “The sky expands endlessly, neverending. The sea has been flowing since times long past, and nobody knew when it began. Thus, they all shudder in the face of the earth’s greatness, which connects the two. King of the Sun. Goddess of the Moon. Strength combined with strength brings forth inexplicability. The light of Polaris never changes. The ability has been unlocked. Bake the skies, Engagement Sword!’ The original JP part said ‘Burn up the skies, O shining Engagement sword’, but I don’t know where he got the bake from, luhmao.
CClaw Translations 
this is the final volume and so far there has been no development of this protagonist
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There’s a point where he apologize to fMC & i really thought MC would turn to the better, but the next chapter he come back to being the worst possible MC again
I already have no hope for this novel, just want to finish this quickly lol
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