September arrived, and with summer break gone, a new semester came rolling in again. For the second-years, it meant they were entering the second semester of their second year—time passing so fast it almost felt unreal.
Back when they were living it, they hadn't noticed. Now that they looked back, it hit them all at once.
Huh? How did we get here already?
On the first day back, everyone was still soaking in the afterglow of vacation. They came to class just to chat and fool around, nowhere near school mode yet—the usual post-break syndrome.
But Yukio didn't say anything. And neither did Sakagami when he walked in from the doorway.
They both knew these idiots had grown.
Sure, they looked lazy right now—slouching, joking, acting like they didn't care—but the moment a special exam dropped, every single one of them would snap into gear. They'd proven that since last semester.
Thinking about how far his class had come, Sakagami's grin was practically blooming. His laugh lines crinkled so hard they were about to fuse together.
"Alright, alright. Settle down. I've got something to announce."
Ryuuen's instincts twitched. He immediately glanced at Yukio.
Yukio felt it too—and gave a small shake of his head.
I didn't hear about this either.
Meaning, this announcement hadn't gone through the student council.
That alone was enough to make both of them sit up straighter.
If the school was moving without the student council… what were they planning?
Sakagami didn't drag it out. He dropped it clean and fast.
"Starting this year, the school has officially decided to hold a cultural festival!"
Yukio instantly understood what this really meant.
Whether it was Amasawa or Tsukishiro, both had been foreshadowing the cultural festival—especially Tsukishiro, who seemed bizarrely obsessed with making it happen.
There was definitely something underneath it.
But unlike Yukio, the rest of the class wasn't thinking in schemes and subtext. They were still half in summer mode, and this sounded like a gift from heaven.
"A cultural festival?! That's awesome!"
"Yeah! We didn't have one in first year at all—so we actually get to do it?!"
"I still remember middle school festivals. They were so fun!"
"What are we doing, then? A video game expo? Let visitors come in and play?"
"Wait—visitors?" Someone finally latched onto the real issue. "Sakagami-sensei, a cultural festival needs outside guests. But this school is cut off from the outside world. How are people even getting in?"
That was the first truly sharp question of the morning.
Because if outside guests weren't a thing, then what were they even preparing for? Selling to other classes only worked if the other classes wanted to buy—and competition would make that messy.
Sakagami raised a hand, palm down, pressing the room quiet.
"This was pushed through by the acting chairman."
"As for guests, don't worry. The acting chairman explained that they'll carefully select a limited number of visitors from people in society who already know about this school."
"There will be a cap, of course—but it should still be a few hundred people, plus the staff who work at Keyaki Mall. That'll be your audience."
That calmed everyone down immediately, and the idea machine kicked back into full speed.
"Arm-wrestling tournament! Visitors can challenge us—winner gets a prize! I'm confident!"
"That's boring. Video game tournament. Everyone brings consoles from their dorms—easy money."
"You guys only suggest stuff you like. Can you propose something girls can actually be part of?"
"Girls…?" One guy scratched his head, then blurted, "The only thing I can think of is… a maid café."
He said it casually.
The boys did not receive it casually.
"Maid café—YES!"
"Forget arm-wrestling and games. I vote maid café!"
"+1!"
The girls stared at the sudden spike in enthusiasm like they'd just witnessed a pack of animals smell blood in the water. A few of them slapped their foreheads in unison.
Of course.
Sakagami tapped the podium again, pulling everyone back.
"Don't decide too fast."
"The cultural festival is happening, and the acting chairman is already inviting guests."
"But if each class and club is left to handle everything on their own, there are risks—ingredients, open flames, safety issues, space allocation, logistics, all of it."
"So the school has decided this part will be handled by the student council. Any class or club, no matter what you're planning, if you have doubts about any part of it, you can submit questions to the student council and they'll make rulings."
"Because there's competition involved and the student council could gather intel, the school won't require you to submit your full plan. Just submit the specific points you're unsure about."
"And you should submit something. The school's request is that the student council resolves most cultural festival questions within this week."
"After that, you'll have three weeks to prepare."
Yukio thought it sounded normal. In other schools, the student council usually handled this kind of coordination too.
Tsukishiro's approach was standard, almost like he was deliberately imitating a normal school.
But one line stood out to Yukio—competition, fairness, intel.
He lifted his gaze.
"Sakagami-sensei… so that means the cultural festival might be tied to a special exam?"
The atmosphere snapped tight in an instant. Faces sobered. Spines straightened.
Sakagami looked pleased.
"Correct. I figured you'd notice."
"But the cultural festival exam rules don't need to be announced yet. When the time comes, I'll explain."