Chapter 165Cultural Festival Opening
[The 49th Kōetsu Private High School Cultural Festival ─ 'Brand New World ~Towards a New Era~'! will be opened from now on!]
A special stage has been set up in the gymnasium. On the podium, Hasegawa-senpai, the President of the Cultural Festival Executive Committee, cheerfully announced the opening of the Cultural Festival through the microphone, and the audience cheered at the venue. I didn't care about it, but when I saw a serious-looking bespectacled girl with a loud and cheerful voice, I thought "Oh, she's so cute!". As they cheered louder and louder, your voice became much more exciting than I thought, Senpai.
The theme of this year's Cultural Festival was the pursuit of novelty, so many of the performances were rather high-tech. Our class used buttons that could be activated wirelessly to promote the "Riddle Competition," and we also made silk hats that seemed to fly off visitors' heads (which, by the way, still didn't work). While the third-year students put on many standard performances, the second-year students put on more futuristic performances. Whether the mini 4WD* racing competition was futuristic or not, however, remains a mystery.
(TL Note: 4WD (four-wheel drive) is a special track racing toy car that runs automatically using batteries, it was also vital in the era of the late 1990s to early 2010s, and the most famous brand is Tamiya.)
Ironically, "old traditions" were still an obstacle for the members of the Cultural Festival Executive Committee during the preparation stage, but it seemed to be a smooth start for the actual event. I guess she is still attached to the Cultural Festival Executive Committee, aside from Natsukawa, as she is still in charge of the management. For now, let's stick together and watch her develop on her own.
As soon as the opening event was over, the Choir and Marching Band collaboration concert began. From now on, students and visitors are free to leave from here. Even if they remain in the gymnasium, they can watch the concert as it is, and then afterward there are also performances by the Light Music Club and by the volunteers of the Alumni Association. For someone like me, who has been given a shift and determined from the start, this is the time when I must leave this place.
♦
"Next, question number two! 'What animal is in the bathroom?'"
"That's it! A Capybara!"
"It's not."
"Eh, that's so cold."
The elementary school students sitting next to me burst out laughing. The parents watching from the back of the classroom also laughed lightly. I guess they found it even more interesting when they saw a boy with his face peeking out from the hood of a loose-fitting dog clown costume and being treated coldly.
The riddle competition held by my class, if I may say so myself, was quite complicated. A cosplayer was prepared next to the riddle answerer. I didn't have a specific script prepared, but basically, I had to assist the participants by making jokes under the assumption that I wouldn't answer the riddle correctly and would definitely get it wrong. It was similar to a variety show on television, where the girl in charge of the MC would encourage us to answer. Hence, getting laughed at by the children and parents who participated was the ultimate goal. However, why Iihoshi-san chose me to be one of the cosplayers was still a mystery.
"Congratulations. Okay, go ahead, here, take your prize."
"Yay!"
Shirai-san, dressed as a witch, gave a pack of candy in Halloween style to an elementary school boy. The elementary school boy happily gave it back to his mother. Phew, it turns out you're still a kid, huh? If I were you, I would much rather look at Shirai-san than the candy.
The five participants, including me as a cosplayer, competed against each other and had a quick competition, and if anyone answered the question correctly, we would give them a prize and immediately replace them with the next five participants. In this way, by repeating the process of the quick competition one by one and taking turns, the number of participants became larger and larger, to the point that more and more people could be included. I heard that the candies used as prizes cost the most.
"Hey, Yamazaki, don't be careless with your guesses."
"What do you mean don't be careless with my guesses? I couldn't even guess anything in the first place."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
Yamazaki, who was playing a cosplayer and dressed like a wolf, said so confidently in the backyard behind the curtain of our classroom. That's what I'm afraid of... ...even though he's not good at riddles, but without realizing it, he might give the correct answer, elementary school style. Well, it's fine if he does it occasionally, but I'm worried that the girls on MC duty will complain about it later.
"I'm sorry, Sajou-kun. I could have misled the answer to him much better."
"Oh, no, I don't think it's a problem at all, really."
Iihoshi-san, who was a bit nervous, apologized to me. It's true that the word "No!" is quite sharp, but... ...I'm not a comedian... ...so she didn't need to apologize to me about that. Where is she going? There's a Class Rep quality in her when she's serious about such things.
The preparation for this riddle competition gave the girls some kind of change. I'm sure that's how they became the healing type. Why people think I'm better at this kind of thing is a mystery to me. Is it possible that Iihoshi-san misunderstood something about me?
Me, Yamazaki, Nakazato, and Iwata, who took turns as cosplayers, finished our shifts, and then the other four guys took over our roles during the day. Is it my imagination, or do I feel that the visual aspect level is getting better from the daytime shift to the third batch? Is it just my imagination...?
"Oh, Sajou-kun..."
"Mistress. Good job."
"M-Mistress, what is that...?"
Ichinose-san was one of the people in charge of preparing this riddle questions. While other girls were collecting questions for this riddle from the internet and social media, she left a legend by making 30 original riddle questions of her own. From my POV, Ichinose-san is someone I know quite well, but from other's POV, she's a mysterious girl who's become cute lately. They say, "Eh, isn't Ichinose-san so great?" and they start calling her "Mistress". My heart was quite hurt when I thought I was going to lose her. So never mind it.
"If Sajou-kun calls me like that, well... ...I'd much prefer it if you called me like you normally do, it's much better."
"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, Ichinose-san."
I was somewhat disappointed to find her lowered her head, stared down, and rejected my nickname. I guess she might have missed me, but I guess the recent "Sajocchi lap incident" had put a bit of distance between the two of us...? I managed to prevent this awkwardness by sending a message on my smartphone as if nothing had happened that time, but I think I've created a bit of a barrier...
"Did Sasaki-san tell you that she would come at noon? Is she coming after the lunch break?"
"..."
"...Um, Ichinose-san?"
When I just called her "Mistress", she turned to me shyly, then she lowered her head and didn't look at me anymore. Eh, does she dislike being called that? I would much rather be called "Master" than anything else. I wonder if she won't get that angry....
"...How cute."
"Eh?"
"...Doggie."
You're much cuter than me, you know.
Oops, that was a close call. I almost teased her reflexively. That's just my weak point... ...I must do something about this weak point...!
Ichinose-san stroked the fabric of the dog clown costume I was wearing to feel the sensation of its texture. The smile on her face was very cute. I need to be careful, okay? If she does that too much, I'll wag my tail, and make trouble again with Ichinose-san this time, right?
"Oh. Do you think I should wear this? Should I keep wearing this? Should I wear this while we go around with Sasaki-san?"
"Oh, no..."
I won't look cute even if I wear this blanket made to look like a dog... ...Ichinose-san did respond positively to this idea, but Ashida kept laughing out loud at me. It would be much cuter if Ichinose-san wore it instead of me. I'm sure a hundred other people would say so too.
"Oh, no need to take it off. Just wear it."
"Heh?"
Just as I was about to take off my costume to pick up Sasaki-san, Iihoshi-san, who was preparing questions for the MC, intervened and interrupted us. I felt there was something outrageous about what she said to me just now.
"Sajou-kun, you're going to go around with Mina-chan and your kouhai, right? Wear this while going around and advertising our class. It has '1-C' class written on the back."
"Eh, aren't we going to give this costume to the next cosplayer?"
"We still have two more costumes left. So it's okay if at least one of us comes out wearing this costume. So, have fun advertising us, okay."
"Eh, wait...!"
The button of the stuffed animal costume that I was trying to take off turned out to be unfastenable, my back was pushed and we were forcibly escorted out of the classroom. Then, we were surprised by how fast the sudden event had happened. No, wait, eh...? What kind of face should I put on before the eyes of the other people who passed by us and saw me...?
"Um, Sajou-kun...."
"Ichinose-san...!"
"Hyah...!?"
I naturally grabbed Ichinose-san's arm and pulled her close to me. It's just too hard to be alone in this kind of situation...! I need Ichinose-san to stay next to me, with me without any ulterior motives!
"Let's... ...be the center of attention together..."
"Oh."
Ichinose-san's eyes wandered back and forth. I could see the confusion from her. However, I had no intention of taking her off me in any way. In the beginning, we had planned to go around together, including Sasaki-san as well, so it was fine, right? That's right, isn't it?
"Oh, that's right, Sasaki-san."
That's right, let's go see Sasaki-san. If that happens, it will probably ease the stares of the people around us. After all, Sasaki-san is a middle school girl wearing a middle school uniform as if she's in a cosplay. I'm sure other's eyes will be on her. We'll be staring at her too.
"—Oh, Fuuka-chan."
"Oh, did she contact you?"
"Yeah... ...She said that she's already here, and she's looking for us."
"Eh, seriously? If only we could pick her up at the school gate. Where is he right now? —Hmm?"
Just as I was about to ask where Sasaki-san was, I felt a tap on my shoulder. What the...!? Such an attitude of this young lady... ...her humility to not call out to others without hesitation... ...There's no mistaking it, this must be the Sasaki-san we were talking about just now.—
"—Where is Big Bro?"
It was Sasaki, though, but she was very different from the one I was talking about.
Author's Note: New character.
TL Note: Even though I'm not American myself, happy July 4th, everyone.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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