Chapter 12: The Cultural Festival
In reality.
Haruka was somewhat speechless.
The version of himself in the simulation seemed to be trending toward sobering up, thanks to the solitary Yukino.
But he felt that he probably wouldn't be able to return to his original path.
As a "bystander," he saw things very clearly. He was already preparing so much for Shoko Nishimiya; could he really just return to the "right track" after the Cultural Festival?
What a joke.
It was awkward and twisting; watching it made his stomach ache slightly.
He just hoped he wouldn't neglect his studies and end up wasting his life in the simulation. Otherwise, this simulation would be all for nothing.
***
[The Cultural Festival is approaching. Various grades and classes in the school have begun selecting candidates for the Executive Committee.]
[In fact, this is also preparation for the upcoming change in the Student Council. The Executive Committee Chair is almost always the default successor for the next Student Council President, with very few exceptions.]
[Because the selection of the Executive Committee Chair itself has the support of many people, and even includes the choice of the current Student Council President. Furthermore, if the Cultural Festival is held successfully, it can prove the capability of the Chair.]
[Therefore, this small society known as "school" also has various struggles. Many tactics used in the adult world can be seen here in their embryonic form.]
[Unexpectedly, the selection began within the class.]
[Because they needed to help Shoko Nishimiya, neither Yumiko Miura nor Yukino Yukinoshita had any intention of competing. Only a girl named Minami Sagami was very active. As the center of the second-largest group of girls in the class, she easily won the qualification and became the Executive Committee member for your class.]
[The situation in other classes was largely the same, but many outstanding individuals had no interest in these things.]
[Therefore, the Executive Committee Chair isn't necessarily the most outstanding student.]
[One day passed. The choice for the Executive Committee Chair was the same as in the last simulation: Minami Sagami from your class. This made many people in the class very happy.]
[However, what followed was Minami Sagami indiscriminately assigning people from the class to work on the Cultural Festival.]
[Out of support for the Chair who came from their own class—or rather, due to the atmosphere—no one refused.]
[Upon your inquiry, Shoko Nishimiya did not mean to refuse; she still wants to integrate into the collective. And because you needed to prepare a program for Shoko Nishimiya, you did not refuse either.]
[Yumiko Miura excitedly chose to be responsible for the same task as Hayama. Yukino Yukinoshita didn't care and simply picked a job.]
[The day of the Cultural Festival drew closer, but the mood of the festival staff grew irritable.]
[Because the organizational structure was chaotic. Often, only two people were doing a tedious job, while a simple job had a huge pile of people assigned to it.]
[Of course, you didn't care about this. Your life right now is very simple: study, exercise, prepare the surprise, and chat with Shoko Nishimiya. Simple and straightforward. You didn't want to pay attention to other unimportant matters.]
[The next day, this issue was resolved. Personnel allocation became reasonable, but Yukino Yukinoshita became the Vice-Chair.]
[Yukino Yukinoshita did not ask for your opinion, and you did not offer her any suggestions.]
[Because for Yukino Yukinoshita, she is not in the habit of sharing things with 'friends.' And for you, you feel that your relationship isn't close enough, and you need to maintain distance.]
[Time slipped by quickly. In the blink of an eye, the Cultural Festival arrived. You escorted Shoko Nishimiya to the front of the stage, and after instructing her to watch carefully, you went backstage.]
[You had also signed up for a performance, and it passed the Executive Committee's approval, placing you on the program list.]
[When you went backstage, people from outside the school began to arrive one after another. For example, student council members from other schools came to observe.]
[Among them, a certain ice-cold young lady and her gyaru maid from Shuchi'in Academy also came]
[After arriving backstage, you began preparing for your program. However, by chance, you didn't seem to see Yukino Yukinoshita among the Executive Committee members backstage. You didn't pay it any mind; perhaps she was out front.]
[You practiced with single-minded devotion.]
[In the audience, Shoko Nishimiya watched the programs. Yumiko Miura, Yui Yuigahama, and others were accompanying her. Because of Miura's presence, certain people who wanted to 'play' with Shoko Nishimiya—and potentially cause some accidents—did not appear.]
[The Cultural Festival began.]
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Fireworks soared into the sky, exploding into trees of fire and flowers of silver.
They embellished the pitch-black night sky with different colors.
Shoko Nishimiya looked at this scene, her eyes sparkling.
She felt that the "her" of this period was truly too happy. She had friends—three of them!
Together with them, she had experienced a life she never had before.
Playing together, studying together, eating together...
Life was no longer so dark. It seemed like she had finally grasped the light in her hands.
If...
If only time could stop at this moment.
Just then.
The speeches began on stage.
"Next, please welcome..."
The speeches by the Student Council President and various school leaders passed quickly.
It was time for the current Executive Committee Chair to speak.
Minami Sagami walked up to the stage, fine sweat on her forehead, her gaze drifting and unfocused.
And then...
[Minami Sagami made a mistake during her speech. She ran away from the front of the stage. She disappeared, and the scene was slightly chaotic.]
[Hayama and some people from other classes barely managed to stabilize the situation. Many people were sent to look for Minami Sagami. The Cultural Festival programs continued as scheduled, but the people backstage were now in a chaotic flurry. The Cultural Festival carried on with great difficulty.]
[You did not care about any of this. Seeing that the Cultural Festival could still proceed, you had no intention of looking for Minami Sagami.]
[Programs went on one after another. The Drama Club, the Kendo Club, and others took the stage continuously.]
[There were also solo performances by the "Literary Princess" Fumino Furuhashi and the "Music Genius" Kazusa Touma.]
[Image : Kazusa Touma]
[Of course, you didn't see any of them.]
[You were simply calming your own nerves.]
[Soon, it was your turn to go on stage.]
Haruka took a deep breath to calm himself.
To be honest, standing on a stage with all eyes on you... for someone who had never been on stage before, it was actually not an easy thing. It required a lot of courage to support oneself.
However.
The purpose of what he was doing now was to give courage to someone else.
If he couldn't even muster up courage himself.
How could he hope to achieve his goal?
Moreover, after entering society, if one wanted to achieve anything, accepting the gaze of many people was something destined to happen.
Haruka performed mental construction on himself.
'Anyway, I'm not going on stage for anyone else to see. As long as Shoko sees it, that's enough. Everything else must be discarded!'
"Heh, when Shoko and the others see me, they should be quite surprised."
After teasing himself to relax a bit, Haruka walked toward the front.
Whoosh!
The lights flashed!
A dark mass of people sat below, their shining eyes staring at him.
It was like a pack of wolves staring at a piece of meat that had been stripped clean and oiled up.
Prickles on his back?
Shy?
Nervous?
Awkward?
Shortness of breath?
These were all reactions of a normal person.
Fortunately, Haruka had none of them.
He simply focused his gaze precisely in one direction, then revealed a confident smile.
He took the microphone.
"Ahem. Hello everyone, I am Haruka Kasugano. The program I'm bringing you today is a sign language song."
"That's right, a sign language song. In other words, it's not for you to watch."
???
Is there something seriously wrong with you?
Countless people below instantly formed a remarkably unified thought.
***
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