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Chisaka Haruka’s Regret
My final day of the culture festival began at 9 am where most students had yet to even come to school…At the audiovisual room, the culture festival committee had gathered.
“First, let us begin with the good news. Yesterday’s number of attendees broke through 3000. Specifically, 3094.” Chisaka-senpai explained as she stood in front of the audiovisual room, reporting to the various committee members.
What’s most important is the overall number of visitors we reached in the past two days. On the first day, we reached 2867 visitors, whereas we reached 3094 yesterday, according to Chisaka-senpai. That means we’re at roughly 5961 now, and since our goal was to reach 9034 by the end of the final day, we need to get at least 3073 visitors today. We’ve tried hard to reach an average of 3021 visitors each day, so the chance of achieving our goal has moved a lot closer. However, there’s something a lot more concerning if Chisaka-senpai started with the good news.
“Next is…the bad news. Yesterday, a fight broke out. That is the reason I called everyone here, opening up an extra meeting…In order for no more tension to break out…In fact, that incident involved me as well…I’m sorry that I let such trouble happen despite being the president…” Chisaka-senpai deeply lowered her head.
In fact, I’m sitting next to Akizuki right now, and when I glanced over at her, she seemed to be frustrated as well…Well, I didn’t hear all the details, but this happened as a result of Akizuki being right after all…On top of that, Chisaka-senpai was even less guilty in this case…plus they both got smacked.
“I know I’m speaking as a teacher here, but don’t you guys dare blame Chisaka for this, alright? Of course, the same goes for Akizuki as well. They’re both victims. Chisaka, you were just trying to do the right thing, so there’s no need to bow down to everyone.”
“Urk…yes.”
Hirahara-sensei sat on a seat not next to a table, but rather one where you could operate the screen. After she said so, Chisaka-senpai finally raised her head again, but…whatever the circumstances, and whatever the people around her might say, Chisaka-senpai is a good person, so she’ll give herself the blame for this…
“For starters, let me briefly explain the situation. Not gonna drop the name here, but a certain girl offered a friend of hers a discount for the food. After having this pointed out by Akizuki, she then grew violent, and this ultimately ruined the mood.”
Hmmm…I only appeared late to that mess, but I guess that I already knew about all of that.
“So…to ensure that no more problems arise, we’ll be having someone like a security guard walk around. Of course, the teachers are already patrolling, as this is a normal culture festival…but, you know. I don’t want to say that in front of students, but when students offer up that responsibility themselves, the principal, vice-principal, as well as student guidance and other faculty appreciate that a lot more.”
So basically, the biggest issue is to show that the students are trying their best so that the same problem doesn’t arise again…Huh…So Hirahara-sensei started thinking.
“Basically, if you can’t beat them, join them. Listen, you may be the culture festival committee, but not sponsors of the culture festival.”
In other words, there’s still a bigger fish, huh. Well yeah, students can’t hold the culture festival on their own, that’s just common sense.
“Of course, they’re not going to abandon the entire idea of holding a culture festival next year, but there might be more regulations…although I can’t specify what exactly.”
I guess this might be something fairly normal when it comes to institutions like schools. Basically, if we cause trouble at the field trip or outdoor school, the facilities or hotels might not take us in anymore next year. In fact, I forgot where that exactly happened, but there was a school that completely canceled a certain event after trouble happened…
“That being said, most clubs and classes already have their shifts set up, and the classes who do stage plays have their set times as well, so having someone suddenly jump in is quite difficult, and we’re aware of that.”
Then what are we supposed to do!? — I believe I heard all the members of the committee scream in unison, but I have a really bad feeling about this…
“Put simply, it’s volunteer work. Having people work for no compensation might seem like ridiculing those who’ve worked hard, but in this case, doing it in a volunteer way emphasizes that you are attempting to keep it under control yourselves, see.”
“Ah, Hirahara-sensei.”
“Hm? What’s up, Kujou?”
“If it’s just volunteer work, then I don’t have to participate…”
“This volunteer work is forced for people who have no more work. I’m not telling you to prioritize this if you have any other shifts waiting, but your stage play ended yesterday, right?”
Don’t joke with me! If it’s forced participation, it’s definitely not volunteer work! I just want to live my days in peace!
****
Today, we had a clear sky as before. Even though it was barely 9 am, a comfortable warmth reigned outside. Naturally, in order to understand that, I would have to be outside. In particular, I was patrolling around the school with Chisaka-senpai. I think Hirahara-sensei was trying to be nice, but…According to her, “Only Akizuki and Chisaka would group up with you, but since Akizuki is responsible for her own class’ attraction today, you’ll have to team up with Chisaka”, which is why we’re here…Though I have to say, it’s not even time to open yet, so I really doubt any trouble could happen…
“Secretary…”
There, as we walked around the courtyard with all its stalls, Chisaka-senpai muttered these words, evidently depressed still. But, well, under her management, that incident happened, so I can’t blame her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Will we really be able to achieve our goal of the school festival?”
“Hmm…since we need 3073 visitors today, it definitely isn’t impossible.”
As we had 3094 visitors yesterday, saying that we won’t do it today isn’t quite logical. Of course, handing out flyers, announcing it on Twitter, and so on should be able to keep the numbers up, but…
“That’s not it. I was asking it in a general way.”
“General way?”
“…The number of attendees is supposed to break through the ten thousand…the reason we came up with this goal is the slogan.”
Ahh, I see. That’s what she means.
“—‘ALL People, ALL Enjoy’, right?”
“And yet, yesterday a fight was caused…”
There, Chisaka-senpai stopped in her tracks. So, I walked a few steps ahead, and turned around…
“You can’t exactly silence people. We had someone at the maid cafe do an extra shift to fit in, but considering there were at least twenty plus people, as well as customers, it’s a good bet to assume that at least fifty people have witnessed that.”
So basically, the biggest problem isn’t the fight itself, but rather that it could create rumors, which would then make achieving the slogan impossible, or something along those lines.
“But, didn’t you tell me before? No matter what happens during the event itself, what’s important is to gather everyone at the end of the festival in the gym hall, and give your final speech. That counts as a success, no?”
“……” Chisaka-senpai didn’t seem too satisfied with that response.
Even so, she has her thought process, and I have mine.
“Before, the goal was to break through those 10,000 visitors, so that had to be a given, but if we reach those numbers, everything else will be resolved, no?”
“That is your way of approaching things, Secretary, but not mine…”
“That is true, but still…”
Chisaka-senpai really is stubborn, alright. I mean, it sounds like a negative trait, but that just shows that she can’t forgive herself for something like this…
“With that, there’s no essence…”
“No essence, huh…”
“Without that, I can’t let my father rest easily…”
I get where she’s coming from, really. When it comes to family, in order to receive trust, you need to show results, or so she’s thinking.
“That reminds me, your father wasn’t there yesterday when the trouble happened, right?”
“He simply went home before that, you know? Well, he will come today as well.”
“Two days in a row? If you add your grandfather, that makes all three days.”
“I asked him to…As I am in my third grade, and since I have become the executive chairman of the school festival, I desperately wanted them to come. After all, I couldn’t become the executive chairman in my first and second grade, so…”
“You got a bit excited.”
“…Indeed.” Chisaka-senpai seemed to be a bit embarrassed, as she blushed ever so slightly.
“Don’t tell me…”
“Hm, what is it?”
“On the first day, when you ignored the script you prepared for the introduction…”
“I was thinking of acting more like a sunlight character, see.”
So that’s what she meant? Well, it’s not as if she’s become a perfect loner now, but she also wasn’t ever a true normie either. She might be in the position where you admire normies, as probably many people in high school do. There are not many groups who are so well-balanced between loners and normies like us four. Even loners tend to have one or two good friends, and even normies get tired and want to be alone from time to time. That’s why, in our group, Chisaka-senpai might be the perfect middle ground.
“Are you worried?”
“……”
“It’s only me here. You don’t have to care about other people hearing you.”
“I am…worried.”
“Because you can’t perfectly execute the culture festival’s essential idea that you planned? Or, because improving your family’s environment will be difficult this time around?”
I still think that the culture festival can be a success, but my interpretation of success is different from Chisaka-senpai, and it’s something complicated beyond just crossing 10,000 visitors, or having everyone enjoy themselves. Once that incident happened, you can’t just undo it, so in that sense, I can’t make the festival a success anymore, at least not in Chisaka-senpai’s terms. I mean, that’s totally fine and all.
“Probably…the latter. I’m sure that a lot of people would scold me if they knew I became the executive chairman for such a personal reason…”
“As long as nobody finds out, that doesn’t matter at all, right?”
I tried cheering her up in my own way, but her expression was still as gloomy as before.
“Secretary…”
“Yes?”
“I’m happy that you’re trying to cheer me up, but…what about you and Kasuga-san?”
Now she’s questioning me, huh…In fact, it’s very much like Chisaka-senpai to worry about others before herself, but…although I’m thankful, I really wish she didn’t ask me…
“You knew that Kasuga fell out of the preliminaries?”
“I am the supervisor for the miss-con after all.”
It’s not like I really care about this result. However, Kasuga clearly does.
“Kasuga-san…she must have wanted to confess to you, right?”
“……”
“After we came home from the outdoors school, she and Aramiya-san said that they’d confess to you once they won the miss-con, right?”
“—It’s a bit different this time, though.”
“Eh?”
“I don’t mean to brag or anything, but it’s a fact that Kasuga has been telling me again and again how much she likes me, how much she loves me, how much she wants to get married, without any hesitation or embarrassment. That’s why—those words have stopped being definitive.”
“Ah, so basically…”
“I’m sure that Kasuga must have realized it herself. Wanting to express one’s love is perfectly normal, and something that can’t be helped, but when you do it over and over, it starts to sound less serious every time.”
“Do you feel that way, Secretary?”
“I guess…At first, when she confessed to me, I was blushing like crazy, and I thought I might die, but now…the only reason I get red is that she usually hugs me after she confesses her love again.”
“………”
“That’s why, she probably wanted to create a situation different from usual, up on stage, to show how serious she was…Well, just my imagination, though.”
“So then…Kasuga-san’s words feel very light to you?”
“………” I went silent.
“Now that she dropped out of the preliminaries of the miss-con, she won’t be able to stand on that stage anymore, and wear that kind of makeup.”
“……I won’t deny the possibility of there being a second chance, but at least not during this culture festival. Definitely not Kasuga, at least.”
Like that, things ended up awkward, with both of me and Chisaka-senpai going silent. Two sensitive problems, and how do I make it so that both of them are erased?
****
After walking around for two hours, Hirahara-sensei was kind enough to give us an hour off. That being the reason…
“Got the jump on me, huh.”
“You’re taking a break as well?”
Akizuki showed a weird expression. Even though she would always show a calm tone, with a calm expression, even if it bothered other people.
“That’s right, but why are you at the bike parking lot during your break?”
“Same reason you’re here, Kujou-kun. It helps me relax when I’m alone.”
I figured. I asked but already realized the answer mid-way. So, Akizuki was resting against the pillar of the bike parking lot, eating takoyaki…
“Kujou-kun, can you guess which one I’d prefer? Coffee or black tea?”
“Yeah. It’s ramune, right?”
“Correct.”
“So, Akizuki guess what I’d rather eat? Yakisoba or grilled chi—”
“No need to finish that sentence.” Akizuki offered me another share of takoyaki separate from hers.
“……”
“……”
From there on, neither of us talked, which was perfect for both of us. Rather than an atmosphere that forced needless talking, we preferred silence and a calm atmosphere. At the same time, rather than keeping a painful silence for too long, we talked only when it was necessary. Like that, we could continue to tolerate each other’s presence without getting fed up. In a way, we’re kindred spirits, which is why—
“Why did you decide to become friends with Chisaka-senpai?”
“It’s all for your sake, Kujou-kun.”
She answered instantaneously, without any hesitation. You’d think that she was attached to Chisaka-senpai in some way, but I guess not. As expected, I’d say. After all, if that wasn’t the case, that entire incident yesterday wouldn’t have happened. If making friends means adjusting to their personalities and attitude, then things like yesterday aren’t avoidable. At the very least, even if it happened out of nowhere, I don’t see it as something that should have happened. How do I say this? I don’t know if this is the right way to explain it, but I feel glad that Akizuki didn’t go and try to make friends…I also glanced at her face, thinking that this response may have evoked a reaction, but none of that. She continued with a calm and collected tone.
“I didn’t want to be left behind by Kujou-kun. I was scared. Only Kujou-kun understands how I feel, and I’m the only one who truly understands you.”
Leaving that aside, I understand the idea of being scared about being left behind. A feeling of alienation…is not what this is. I guess it’s more like a feeling of being inferior. When there’s distance building between you and someone else, you realize that you don’t offer enough. In that case, Akizuki can only compare herself to me. In other words, once I’m not around, she feels inferior, which then results in that fear, or so I’d guess.
“But, when you got involved with everyone from the club, you started to change. At the very least, that’s what it felt to me. Yet, I didn’t change at all…”
I personally didn’t feel like I changed in a way that Akizuki would realize, but the fact that I made friends, and Akizuki didn’t, doesn’t change. Whatever reality may point at, now that Akizuki mentioned it, there’s no use debating.
“At the outdoors school, you became friends with Aramiya-san. That’s why I tried to become friends with Chisaka-san. Under some process, you managed to obtain friends, so I wanted to get a friend myself, and understand that process.”
Personally, I don’t see any order in those two things. The problem is that Akizuki wants to be friends with Chisaka-senpai, and not me. Would Chisaka-senpai allow that? Someone who treasures the true essence of something more than anything else? In that sense, Akizuki clearly chose the wrong person. If Chisaka-senpai heard this, she’d definitely be sulking. If it was Aramiya, she probably wouldn’t bother much with that, saying ‘From now on, Remi and Sakupai are friends’…
Either way, Chisaka-senpai is probably thinking the exact opposite of Akizuki. Becoming friends means to think of the other person as a friend, which is probably something she’d say.
“If not, then you won’t even bother with me anymore. The scales would go off-balance. Whatever you want to call it, I just don’t want to be left behind. I don’t want us to be apart. If we’re not together, there’s no meaning. Not resembling each other, I can’t allow that.”
I heard faint anger and irritation filling Akizuki’s voice. Even if it’s Akizuki, my assumptions are out of order now. Did she hate the idea of me getting any closer to being a normie that badly? I mean, if positions were reversed, I might feel disgust for her. If Akizuki changed even barely into a normie, I would wonder if she is even the real one. But, I’m basically just pushing my own image on her. Aramiya said something similar before, but what you are like is what you decide, as that is every person’s freedom. I wouldn’t be happy if the people around me said “This is how Kujou Shizuki is supposed to be!”, you know.
“…Don’t you agree? Assuming that our life was a novel, and a god existed, watching us, he would probably judge who’s a better fit for you, Kasuga-san or me. I don’t mind going with a majority vote. I would bet my life on the line that it would be me.” Akizuki seemingly tried to regain some of her composure, as she took a deep breath.
I previously mentioned it in my mind before, but with the noise from the courtyard and school building so far away, it felt like we were in our own, different world. In the corner of the school grounds, at this bike parking lot with no stalls, no stage, nobody bothered us. It was a space existing solely for me and Akizuki, something only we could share. And then, with faintly reddened cheeks, Akizuki…
“Just as I am the ideal type for you, Kujou-kun, you are my ideal type as well. Wanting to change in the same way as your ideal boy is a perfectly normal reaction. No?”
“……”
“Honestly, the reason I chose Chisaka-san as my friend, and not Aramiya-san, is because I calculated it. Chisaka-san is much more docile, is more discrete, doesn’t try to stand out, is clever, and doesn’t exhaust me as much.” Akizuki explained, indifferently.
I thought so back during the outdoor school, but what happened for such an unbalanced high school girl to be born like this. I may not be as much of a functioning human being to just pointing out stuff towards other people, but I’m pretty sure I’m at least more down to earth than Akizuki. Rather than having a communication disorder, it’s more like she has low self-esteem? Rather than a crazy girl, she’s a lot calmer, but still holds absolute confidence. Like she’s assuming that her own being is complete…which creates this unbalance, with many things lacking, but not realizing at the same time…
“Kujou-kun.”
“What?”
“I—Akizuki Sakuya—love you.”
“……!” I swallowed my breath, at a loss for words.
“If I can be by your side forever, I don’t mind if all of humanity falls to ruin beside us.”
Her words and actions were far too surreal, so anti-social, and further removed from common sense. She was saying that, as long as she was together with her loved one, nothing else mattered. What I felt first wasn’t fear or anything, but sympathy. I imagined Akizuki’s world for a moment and saw myself being able to read in peace, like an absolute idiot. I knew I was being selfish, and yet…
“Are you serious, Akizuki? You…like me?”
“If anything, why are you doubting me?”
“………”
“Rather than suddenly being called out by Kasuga-san, who you never interacted with, and being confessed to, it’s much more natural if I stayed next to you for an entire year, reading books every day, eventually being interested in you, developing feelings, panicking because you suddenly got a girlfriend, regretting everything, and still confessing my feelings, right?”
I couldn’t argue against that. I also thought about it myself. Kasuga’s confession came out of nowhere. She herself, as a normie, might have not thought about it much, but as a loner, you can’t help feeling like something is off, and I’ve been pondering about her reason as well. Compare that to Akizuki in front of me right now. Ahh, it makes sense. I can fully understand it.
If I was the author of a romance novel, what would be the quickest and most simple way to make the heroine fall for the protagonist? It’s simple…just create an event that will make her heart race. However, when it comes to a real love, you wouldn’t have that, nor would you need it. Wishing for a miracle to happen is futile. And of course, such a miracle doesn’t exist between me and Akizuki. However, we’ve been reading books next to each other for the past year, and that’s all that matters. And that’s because Akizuki’s confession of love sounded much more profound than Kasuga’s regular ones. With a realistic love, you would usually spend time with a person before confessing, and that’s where most romances are born from.
“So, Kujou-kun, about your response—”
“Ah…yeah…”
“I won’t tell you to give me a response immediately. But, I can’t wait for a response forever, as it would just make me agonize. I hope you understand.”
“…So?”
“After the culture festival is over, I think the timing and situation may be best…during the after-festival, what do you think?”
“……Got it.”
“Just wondering, but have you realized?”
“Yeah, I sure did.”
Now, what exactly is that, of which we are talking about? It was too perfect, too obvious, that I could deny that…It’s trivial, really. That’s how clear the conclusion comes to how similar Akizuki Sakuya is to Kujou Shizuki. And the biggest problem of all…is that Kujou Shizuki himself agrees with that.
“……Guess I can’t stay here forever.”
“Ah.”
“Eh?”
Even my break has a limit, so I can’t stand still like this for too long. With that thought, I was about to move back to the school building, when…I spotted a single, cute girl in the shadows.
“Kasuga…you were listening…?”
“Ah, um, Sorry, Shizuki-kun…I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on you…I just didn’t know when to walk away…!” Large tears came streaming down her eyes, as she frantically tried to wipe them away. “I wanted to meet you, but I didn’t know where you were…So after walking around for a long time, I……I’m sorry!”
“Kasuga!”
This is the worst. This is atrocious. What an awful development this had to be…Faintly, I resented Akizuki a bit. At the same time, I also cursed myself. I could only watch Kasuga’s back run off into the distance, standing still.
****
“Ah, Shizupai, so you came.”
“Yeah, sure did.”
Roughly three and a half hours after the previous incident, I succeeded in getting another 15 minutes of a break. I was now behind a stage set up in the courtyard…The sun had begun to set halfway, as it was 4.30 pm. Of course, I didn’t come here out of my own desire, but rather because Aramiya sent me a [RemiRemi❤️: You better come watch Remi during the miss-con, okay?], which also allowed me to go backstage of this event, which the average student probably (not like I would know) couldn’t enter. That being said, it wasn’t my plan to actively watch the miss-con either, but rather to observe it on the sidelines amongst the crowd of people, but…
“Shizupai, isn’t there something you should say to Remi? Especially when you see her like this.”
Hmmm…She wore something resembling a bikini top, with a skirt short enough that you might be able to see her panties from the front row in the audience, together with knee socks emphasizing her thighs. Revealing your shoulders is one thing, but what about your belly button?
“Can I be honest?”
“Go ahead!”
“It looks idiotic. Why are you showing so much skin?”
“How cruel!?” Aramiya pouted, and…Ah!?
You idiot! Don’t cling to me when you’re barely wearing anything! Gaaah…her breasts are so soft…! And she smells so nice…!
“Shizupai! Is there nothing else you could say!? Idiot! Just say it!”
“Who’s the idiot!? It’s idiotic, but also cute! Those two can co-exist! It’s not a contradiction!”
“Eh? What…?”
“~~~! This is the worst! This isn’t what a loner would do! This isn’t like me! And this isn’t even the situation to feel that way! Pressing yourself onto me solely to tickle a reaction out of me, wanting to seduce me…how crazy can you get…Don’t make me say it…this is embarrassing…!”
“Ah…yeah…Sorry, Shizupai.”
Ehhh…Why is she blushing as well? It feels so ticklish, so sweet but also sour…Like I’m living my own type of youth…
“Shizupai.” There, Aramiya blushed further, faintly calling out my name.
“What…?” I couldn’t even muster up any coherent sentence.
“Well…with Hinapai having lost in the preliminaries…as a rival…or rather, as her number one rival, Remi does feel bad…”
“Yeah, so?”
“Even without Hinapai here…even though Remi was the only person you knew who participated…you still came…”
“Are you stupid? You called me here…”
“Yeah…But, even so.”
“……”
“That means…you’re ready to properly face Remi, yeah?”
“…I-I just…I may be a loner, but I’m not human trash.”
“Yeah…You’re at least consistent in that, Shizupai.” Aramiya showed a gentle expression, almost like she was relieved.
Normally, she’d show an energetic smile with not a care in the world, but now she was oddly docile, simply grinning like a blooming flower. Faintly, but certainly, her eyes were watery. As she still clung to me, she looked up into my eyes.
“Anyway! How long will you be clinging to me!?”
“Guhaaaa! Shizupai pushed me away! The results are perfect!”
“…Heh.”
“Aha, finally back to normal, huh?”
“Yeah…But.”
“Hm?”
As this is something important, I plan on properly telling Aramiya. And since Aramiya joined me in that, she seems to be down to earth when it mattered.
“I plan on keeping my promise.”
“Yep, thanks.”
“At the same time, I won’t do anything beyond that.”
“Ahh, makes sense~”
With that, Aramiya took a few steps away from me, walking backward, which made me worried as to what she’s going to do next…and then—
“Standing, I’m cute. Sitting, I’m pretty. Walking, I’m charming~ Remi’s smile is always a full 100 percent, and she’s the most beautiful high school girl in the world, Aramiya Remi! Remi swears here and now that she’ll win the miss-con, hehe~” She declared and grinned.
I definitely wouldn’t tell her this in person, but that’s one of her charms.
“You said it. There’s no going back now.”
“Of course! Remi can’t stop here. She won’t stop here. After all, she’ll become a local idol! After she wins the miss-con, you definitely aren’t allowed to run away.”
“About that, one thing I want to talk about, Aramiya.”
“Hmmm? What’s up?”
“Did you hear about the rumor related to Chisaka-senpai and Akizuki?”
“Ah…yeah…it’s a bit worrying that this had to happen during the culture festival…”
“So, I have somewhat of a request…You’re going to snatch the victory anyway, so blow those people away to make sure they forget about all of that.”
“OK! Just leave it to Remi!”
Aramiya may be exhausting at times, but when it comes down to the wire, she’s a good person as well. She agreed to this in a heartbeat after all. I’m counting on you, Aramiya. Kasuga being sad is a problem between the two of us, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the culture festival. Akizuki’s confession is a problem between the two of us, and also doesn’t have anything to do with the culture festival. The only importance this has is in relation to the incident yesterday. If Aramiya can create enough of a storm, which makes everyone forget…
****
I’m not too familiar myself, but the main round of the miss-con is being held in two rounds…I think. As it said so on the pamphlet, I think that should be about right. Either way, the first round consists of all the participants introducing themselves. The second round is for the participants to show off some of their special skills. Aramiya finished introducing herself just fine, but…now it’s time to show her appeal. I wonder what she’s planning on doing this time around? I’m a bit worried, knowing her personality. However, I’m also having high expectations now that I asked for her help. Once Aramiya appeared on stage, microphone in hand…
‘Everyoneeeeee! Gooooood evening! Thank you all for coming tonight! Standing, I’m cute. Sitting, I’m pretty. Walking, I’m charming~ Remi’s smile is always a full 100 percent, and she’s the most beautiful high school girl in the world! Aramiya Remi is hereeeee!’
“““““RemiRemi, you’re the cutest!”””””
‘She knoooooows!’
“““““RemiRemi! Number one I love you in the world!!”””””
‘Remi also loves everyone!’
“““““Remi! Remi! Remi! Wooooooooooooooooooo!”””””
‘Once again, thank you very much for coming today, everyone! We’ll be partying all night, so you better be ready!’
“““““Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”””””
‘Are you ready!?’
“““““Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”””””
Hm? Hmmmm? Aramiya started singing, but was that really from the students of our school just now? It sounded a lot more mature than from an average high school student…
“You realized, Kujou?”
“Wah, Hirahara-sensei…Don’t just suddenly stand next to me with your bunny girl costume…Seeing that out of nowhere is scary.”
“Leaving that aside, you know the rules of the miss-con, right?”
“Hm? All students have a right to vote, yes? Also, one vote for the preliminaries, and one for the real one. Giving outsiders a chance to vote, or students multiple ones, it would be harder to count, and harder to create the miss-con.”
“At the same time, you can still participate here, without having to vote.”
“Ah.”
That’s what she meant. I guess Aramiya is serious as well. Looking over, she put all of her fans into the audience, huh. Well, that’s just how these things work. However, as long as only high school students here can vote, it doesn’t matter how many people she calls over, as it doesn’t change the vote. However, that’s only one part. By getting the fans more excited, raises the tension overall, and influences the students who are allowed to vote.
Everybody enjoys an exciting concert more than one with nobody partying. It’s more fun and raises the passion in the air. Well, I doubt Aramiya is that calculating, or rather, she never thinks about anything, thinking that as long as it’s not breaking any rule, it should be fine.
“Just from my personal observation…this is probably Aramiya’s forté. She really is planning on becoming a popular idol. As the advisor of the club, it’s great to see her work for her future, and it’s on a different level from the other members. Standing up on stage all alone, showing off her body, she’s wrapping up everyone in the audience, pushing the miss-con forward.”
Now that she mentioned it, she completely emphasized her existence to all participants. Let alone a professional, I’m barely even an amateur, so I don’t know how to say it, but the event ended with me just watching the audience. Simply speaking, it’s the know-how. However, Aramiya is different. She’s trying to set foot into the arena of a professional, and she has the skill to follow through with that. Compared to Aramiya, the other girls have no chance.
“For that, she called her fans here?”
“Probably. I don’t follow her on Twitter or YouTube, so I don’t know the details, though.”
“I see…”
It was a pure coincidence, but it was good fortune on our end. Ultimately, this might be good enough to clear everybody’s memory about what happened yesterday! Just because of that, my mouth relaxed a bit. And then, a few minutes later…
“It’s just Aramiya who gets responses from the audience.”
“Her fans handed out glow sticks to the other audience members after all. It’s a relatively simple response, but you can see the technique and ideas behind it.”
And with that, Aramiya’s turn ended. In fact, Aramiya wasn’t the last one to perform, and there were many other girls after her, but…Well, my condolences. Quickly enough, the rest of the acts ended, and the voting began. Once that was over as well, the results were announced…
‘The winner of this year’s miss-con is…entry number 9! Aramiya Remi-saaaaaaaaaaaaaan’
‘Wohoooo! Everyone! Thanks for voting!! Please take care of the world’s cutest high school girl Aramiya Remi from now on as well!’
“““““Remi! Remi! Remi! Woooooooooooo!”””””
Aramiya jumped up and down on the stage. She looked delighted, overjoyed from the bottom of her heart, and she smiled like the bright sun. Following that excitement, befitting the red-colored sky, the audience delivered cheers and applause, both Aramiya’s fans and just normal high school students, all male visitors were as excited as Aramiya. This was the most exciting ruckus over the course of this year’s culture festival no doubt.
Around 500 visitors witnessed the birth of the new miss-con queen, so it was apparent they were excited. Finally, the culture festival was getting back into a plus. I think it’s safe to assume that everybody forgot the incident of the previous day. And with that timing, Hirahara-sensei checked her smartphone.
“Kujou, bad news.” She said, and put her phone back into her cleavage…which doesn’t matter, to be honest.
I really don’t want to hear that news. If possible, I just want to run away. There’s only one bad piece of news that could come out at this point in time. And, this would most likely break Chisaka-senpai’s heart. However…we can’t ignore it either, as that reality won’t leave us alone.
“…I’m prepared.”
“Alright, then let me get right to it.”
“Yes.”
“We had 9987 visitors, and that’s confirmed. We didn’t reach 10,000. As explained in the documents, the last five minutes can’t be counted, as the students are to move to the gym hall. Even if a miracle happened and we had those final 13 appear, they can’t be counted.”
“……!”
“It pains me to be this straightforward, but the culture festival led by Chisaka Haruka—was a failure.”
****
At 5 pm flat, the closing ceremony of this year’s culture festival was held in the gym hall. Although it was only temporary, the intrusive noise of the festival had vanished, and we’ve reached the end. In the end, we students could only sit still, not uttering a sound, like the calm surface of the water, and the only thing we heard was a lecture from the higher-ups, looking down on us, talking about how much we’ve grown, how important it was to communicate with others and make friendships through this culture festival, and so on…
Ahhh, can’t this just end already…What hurt the most was that the principal’s speech had already ended, and the vice principal was doing their turn now, but I could legitimately not see any value from listening. That’s why I’ll just think about something else instead. I looked at Chisaka-senpai, who sat on stage on a chair close to the vice principal. As expected, her facial color didn’t look too well, and she didn’t seem happy in the slightest. It’s like someone took a picture of her, and put it in greyscale.
And I’m sure that her heart wasn’t doing any better. The same goes for Kasuga, who saw me getting confessed to by Akizuki…she’s sitting a bit further ahead of me, but she seemed down. I guess being kicked out of the miss-con and that incident with Akizuki must have hurt a whole lot. Honestly speaking, I don’t know since when Kasuga was even listening in on my conversation with Akizuki. If she heard about Akizuki’s feelings in comparison to her own feelings, it’d surely break her. It probably made her realize the difference of what it means to be Kujou Shizuki’s ideal type of person. Since I didn’t expect Kasuga to be listening in on us, I didn’t try to argue against that either.
Looking at Akizuki, the perpetrator, in this case, her expression was as calm as always, as she sat next to everybody else from her class. Not knowing how Kasuga and I felt. It’s like she didn’t care at all like there was an ant eating on the opposite side of the world. Finally comes Aramiya…ah, our eyes met. She was looking at me as well. However, she then pointed at Chisaka-senpai, Kasuga, and finally Akizuki, forming the words ‘What happened?’ with her mouth.
The answer is simple. However, explaining it in the middle of an official ceremony, with the teachers looking at us, is a chore. I feel bad for Aramiya being wrapped up in this, but I’ll have to explain everything later. Finally, it was Hirahara-sensei’s turn. Naturally, she couldn’t hold a speech in front of the entire student body while looking like a bunny girl, so she changed into a suit. She took a microphone from the corner of the stage, putting it in front of her—
‘Following that, we have a few words from the culture festival execution committee president, Chisaka Haruka. Chisaka-san, if you would.’
So she’s not even doing any speech because she went too far during the opening ceremony? Either way, Chisaka-senpai walked to the center of the stage instead, standing in front of a microphone. On her way, her facial color was as awful as before, but by the time she reached the microphone, she managed to get it under control so nobody would suspect a thing. Now, she showed a serious and diligent gaze, resembling a leader who would pull along their subordinates.
Of course, she knows about the number of visitors. Or rather, it probably reached her right after Hirahara-sensei, even. Now, what kind of greeting will she, someone who is bad at losing, give us?
‘Thank you very much for the introduction. I am the culture festival execution committee president Chisaka Haruka. First of all, to everybody present, thank you very much for your hard work over these three days!’ She deeply lowered her head.
Following that, applause passed through the rows of students. However, to Chisaka-senpai herself, that probably was just a consolation prize. It’s ironic, really. Even though she doesn’t need it, doesn’t want it, and was only thankful to everyone, just a single bow landed her applause like this.
‘The principal, vice-principal, and everybody before me, their speeches were something a high school girl like me could not hope to copy. It’s too much for me. Hence, I’d like to throw away all this stiff talk, and talk like the high school student that I am.’
There, Chisaka-senpai raised her head, and continued her speech, somehow managing to keep up her smile. In fact, she probably wants to throw everything away, head home, and just jump into her bed, cuddle up, and sleep. It’s only been a few months since I met her, but judging from her character, she probably wants to become an adult as quickly as possible. Of course, in the age way, not physically. Maybe even both, really.
Yet, she slammed into the reality of not being able to achieve her goal, and even with the speeches before, she must feel dissatisfied to say the least. That’s why she phrased it the way she did. If I had to guess, she was most likely doing it subconsciously, but I immediately saw through that.
‘It was fun. It was exciting, wasn’t it? Being allowed to act as the president for such a wonderful culture festival, I am quite the lucky person. It is an honor, truly. Originally, I had many more things to say, but these are my feelings. I wonder, what kind of emotions do you harbor in your chests right now?’ She asked all the students.
If somebody knew the circumstances as I did, they’d know that Chisaka-senpai’s words were filled with lies…With fake feelings, a fabricated smile, she probably just wanted to keep things short, that’s why she said it like that. If there was a mirror in front of her right now, then as the president of the committee, there couldn’t be any tougher mirror, really. It showed everything she didn’t want to see, even deep inside of her.
‘No matter the emotion, the state you are in, it is something precious. After all, you are only able to experience this year’s culture festival once, living through it on your one and only one, a way nobody else will ever be able to experience themselves, so I’d be happy if you were to remember this culture festival even after you’ve grown up. Surely, there will be tough times, but if it helps you smile, think back to this culture festival. Um…somehow this is sounding like a graduation ceremony now, but basically, I just wanted you all to find something to treasure in this culture festival!’
It’s the opposite…she’s saying that impressions of this culture festival are something positive. Of course, for 99% of the people, that’s perfectly fine. However, what about the one and only Chisaka-senpai in front of us? Without a doubt, she is seeing all of this as something negative. Whenever she’s in a dark space, and she remembers this culture festival, she’ll lose her smile even more. The same goes for when she’s happy, and in a good mood, it’ll ruin her vibe. This failure surely is something she won’t forget even after becoming an adult.
As most people managed to enjoy the culture festival in their own right, only she herself was unable to accomplish her goal, and couldn’t improve her family’s situation either, so that failure was punched into her even more. Just as she herself said, there was value in this. However, the plus and minus were switched between her and other people. Saying something you don’t mean, it’s exactly what Chisaka-senpai is doing right now. I wonder how she must feel right now. In front of everyone, during an official occasion, faking everything in front of a crowd like this. Not to mention that she is saying the exact opposite of what she feels. On top of that, this is Chisaka-senpai we’re talking about. She is the one who normally wouldn’t forgive this kind of thing.
‘It’s just a culture festival…just a normal event in high school…it’s a bit sad, but surely there may be people thinking that. Frankly speaking, was there even any meaning? People may ask that. Memories are something subjective. I was happy, I had fun, it was a blast, it’s your own freedom to feel that, unshaken by whatever people may throw at you. What I wish for, as the president of the executive committee, is that, whatever somebody might say, you agree that this culture festival was a blast! I hope that you feel from the bottom of your heart that there was something to treasure during this culture festival.’
This is also the opposite. All of these things, Chisaka-senpai isn’t harboring any of that. If all those positive feelings are something that cannot be shaken by exterior influence then her own anger is impossible to be soothed. Happiness turns to anger, and value turns to useless. It’s like exchanging x with y, you get a different result simply by changing a few words.
‘After all, as long as you all enjoyed the culture festival, then I as the president can be proud of my work! This concludes my speech. Thank you very much for listening.’
CClaw Translations 