Chapter 312: Festival Preparations (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 312: Festival Preparations (1)
With the ranking tournament and exams finally over, the season where cadets truly began to get restless arrived.
“So-hyun! My average is 85…!”
“Oh, it went up by 20 points?”
This was a time when every cadet was buzzing with excitement, but if asked who was the most excited among them, I would probably answer Ga-eul.
Of course, it wasn’t just because her grades had improved, but because of the secondary benefit that came with it.
On the day she received her good results from the ranking tournament, Ga-eul had quite blatantly demanded a reward from me.
— If my exam scores go up from last time too, grant me a wish!
— Hmm, why exactly should I grant you a wish just because your grades went up, Ga-eul? Didn’t we have a similar conversation last time?
— I can answer that this time! The reason you have to grant my wish is simple! It’s because you like me, So-hyun!
She had demanded it with such staggering confidence that it was actually cute, so I told her I would.
Of course, I did have some suspicions.
The way Lee Yu-na and Ju Ri-ra were subtly nodding behind Ga-eul, telling me to just agree, made it obvious that there was something in it for them as well.
But hey, it was the festival, right?
I was planning on granting most reasonable requests regardless of grades anyway, so I figured it would be fine.
However.
“Hehe! Then you’re going to grant my wish now, right!?”
Seeing Ga-eul forcing a bright expression, everyone else looking strangely anxious, and Cheon Yu-hak and Lilac snickering to themselves…
It seemed Ga-eul’s request was something quite troublesome, and the others already had a rough idea of what it was.
Still, I was prepared to agree to almost anything.
…As long as it was within reason.
“Please look at this!”
“…What is this?”
What Ga-eul handed me was a very meticulously written proposal.
“Th-the wish is for you to participate in this! Please don’t get mad and just look at it until the end, okay!?”
It was something akin to a plan for an idol concert. Judging by the traces of how the venue and personnel had been adjusted to fit the Academy’s festival specifications, it probably wasn’t originally intended for a school event.
She likely wrote it back during the Common Sense Alteration Incident.
Well, that wasn’t the important part. To summarize this proposal very simply: it was a concert featuring the three of us—me, Lilac, and Cheon Yu-hak.
The problem was that since Lee Yu-na and Ju Ri-ra were in charge of the costumes, Cheon Yu-hak and Lilac were set to be a white prince and a black prince respectively, while I was supposed to wear a fairy-tale princess outfit accented with a red ribbon.
Seeing Ga-eul scurry behind Ha-ni with a shhh sound, it seemed she really expected me to get angry after reading this.
When I remained silent for a moment, Cheon Yu-hak and Lilac stepped forward to settle the situation, as if they had expected this reaction.
“See? I told you there was no way he’d agree. It’s best to just act like this never happened.”
“Yeah, girls. Yu-hak and I are one thing, but So-hyun would even have to cross-dress. This is a bit too…”
“Let’s do it.”
“Even the person himself says he’ll—wait, what?”
“…Huh?”
“Eh…?”
They asked back blankly as if they had misheard, but unfortunately for them, my answer wasn’t going to change.
“Let’s do it, the concert. Have you already submitted the application?”
Cheon Yu-hak’s face turned pale, and Lilac began to turn white as a sheet.
I knew it. Those punks.
They must have talked big, saying things like, ‘I want to do it, but So-hyun probably won’t!’ or ‘Ah, if So-hyun does it, I’ll do it too!’
“Ah, but I should check what the Holy Fire Class is doing for the festival. If we don’t have enough time, preparing for a concert will be tight.”
Upon hearing my answer, those who had been frozen for a long time finally snapped out of it, their eyes beginning to sparkle.
“R-really!? You’ll really do it!?”
“My, how unexpected. I thought for sure you’d say no.”
“Right? I didn’t expect him to agree so readily.”
Well, everyone except Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak, who were now stuck on stage with me.
“W-wait a minute. Look at the proposal again. I think you missed the most important part…!”
“Yeah, So-hyun. We’re one thing, but you’re even more…!”
“No? I saw it. You said I have to cross-dress, right? I’ll do it.”
I was wondering how grandly they were planning to mess with me, and it was just cross-dressing?
I mean, honestly, if you ask me if it’s embarrassing or not, of course it’s embarrassing, but it’s not like it’s something I absolutely can’t do, right?
Ga-eul was so happy her proposal didn’t end up in the trash that she hugged me while crying tears of gratitude. Ha-ni looked at my face to see if I was really okay, but I genuinely was.
I mean, it was a wish. I was worried she’d ask for something truly outrageous, but cross-dressing is bearable even if it’s embarrassing.
Since it’s a festival, I figured there was nothing wrong with dressing up once and giving everyone a good laugh.
And there was another minor reason.
“Ah, from the looks of it, I think you two said you’d do it if I did.”
The two foolish guys trembled violently.
“Don’t even think about running away, okay?”
I also felt like teaching these two idiots a lesson about not shifting responsibility onto others.
Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak began to pray that this wasn’t reality and that the Holy Fire Class would prepare something incredibly busy, but honestly, it was a futile hope.
There was no way Cathy Noona would let a plan from Ga-eul—who had a direct line to her—fail if it was something she could pass.
* * *
[So-hyun, are the other kids bullying you…?]
“Um, I think I know what you’re misunderstanding, but no, they aren’t.”
Sure enough, while I was doing some light exercise after dinner, I got a call from Cathy Noona.
[Uh, um. Really? So this means So-hyun actually agreed to this? I’m just checking just in case, okay?]
“Yes, go ahead.”
[The stage setting. A setting where two princes fall for a princess at the same time, but that princess is actually a witch who just happens to enjoy wearing sparkly clothes.]
…I didn’t know about those specific details.
[…Well, in the end, it’s a story about you cross-dressing and singing.]
“Um, I just found out about the details, but it’s true that I agreed to cross-dress and sing.”
[…Why? Usually, you wouldn’t agree to something like this.]
Well, I wanted to be a bit playful since it’s a festival, and I’m also a bit excited because Seo-ha is coming.
“Just, Ga-eul asked me to grant her a wish if her grades went up this time.”
[Oh…? A wish?]
“Yes, a wish. She said her wish was for me to cross-dress and sing, so I should at least do that much. Honestly, I was prepared to grant it even if she asked for something worse.”
I thought it was a pretty good reason, but for some reason, Cathy Noona went silent.
After some time passed, just as I was about to speak first—
[R-right? Since it’s a wish, I guess you have to accept even something a bit special…?]
“…Yes?”
[Right, I understand what you’re trying to say, So-hyun. I’ll be prepared too.]
What are you getting prepared for? If you’re talking about the wish I’m supposed to grant from when you were brainwashed, I wasn’t planning on asking for anything that intense.
[Sh-should I iron my school uniform?]
No, what on earth are you talking about?
[So-hyun, do you like twin tails?]
Honestly, I don’t really care, but I would like to see Cathy Noona getting embarrassed because she did her hair in twin tails.
[O-or maybe.]
“…Or maybe?”
[Outside?]
For a split second, a scene flashed through my mind: Cathy Noona with twin tails, leaning against a tree and looking back at me.
Um, is this the sexual morality of the most popular teacher at Leilan Academy, one of the world’s top academies?
Is Leilan Academy going to be okay at this rate…?
[So-hyun, you just thought of something weird, didn’t you?]
…She can tell even over the phone now.
“No. What do you mean, something weird?”
[Then were you thinking of something naughty?]
“I’ll go with ‘no comment’ on that.”
…Honestly, this was unavoidable. Who wouldn’t think that after what she said?
Hmm, is she going to call me a pervert again?
[It’s okay, though.]
“What’s okay?”
[Don’t just think about it. It’s okay to do everything you want to do to me.]
…Wait? Didn’t she call just to ask if the kids were bullying me? Why did the atmosphere suddenly shift like this?
When she comes at me so suddenly without any warning, I like it too much—no, I mean, I’m flustered.
[Hmm, this is bad. Now that I’ve heard your voice, I miss you, So-hyun. Just your scent isn’t enough.]
…What does she mean by ‘just your scent’? Well, that’s not important right now.
“I miss you too.”
[Really? You miss me too, So-hyun?]
“Yes, I miss you so much I want to run over and hug you right now.”
[It’s a bit strange. I can see you again tomorrow, but I still miss you like this. I don’t know why I miss you every day even though I see you every day. You’re a big problem, So-hyun.]
She began to whine, seemingly reluctant to end the call.
How should I comfort her?
[But still.]
Hmm? Is there more?
[Since you said you miss me too, I’ll let it slide. Thinking that we both miss each other makes me look forward to seeing you tomorrow even more. Yes, I’ll be patient and wait until tomorrow.]
…Good heavens, why are these people so cute? What did they eat growing up to be this cute? It’s a foul to hit me with this out of nowhere. Maybe I’m already an unforgivable villain for monopolizing three such cute people all to myself.
No matter how much I miss her, it would be a nuisance to visit her house at this hour, right?
[Then you think carefully about your wish too, So-hyun. I’ll have things ready, at least. Goodnight.]
Then, as if she had become embarrassed by her own words, Cathy Noona hurriedly hung up.
So, basically. It’s that.
“I should exercise a bit more before going in.”
My face was so hot that I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I went in like this.
“…I don’t know if exercise can solve this, though.”
* * *
The next day, after training until about three in the morning.
The time finally came for our Holy Fire Class to decide what to do for the festival. During the morning assembly, Cathy Noona entered the classroom with a truly radiant smile.
“Hmm, fortunately, everyone is present today. I have some good news for you all.”
Cathy Noona, in her professor mode, stood at the podium and proudly showed us something—it was an object similar to a slip of paper with ‘Priority 1’ written on it.
“At the festival, we aren’t allowed to do demonstrations with concepts that overlap too much. Also, by grade level, higher years tend to be given preference over first years. However, our class has earned the right to be the first among the first years to choose the concept we want.”
Aha, so basically, it was a right that allowed us to choose what we wanted to do first among the most crowded and competitive first-year groups.
Then, one of the cadets raised their hand, seemingly wanting to ask a question.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Is it true that until last year, the representatives of each class challenged each other to duels, and if they beat the seniors, they got to choose first?”
…What kind of nonsense is that? There’s no way such a local rule existed.
“Hmm, that’s correct. There was such a rule until last year, but it was abolished because two students, a certain Mr. Baek and a certain Mr. Lee, beat the seniors into a pulp far too severely.”
It actually existed…?
“Ah, time has flown by. Well then, everyone, study hard today as well. After you’ve discussed the festival sufficiently among yourselves, I’ll hear your thoughts during tomorrow’s assembly.”
After Professor Cathy gave her greetings and left, the cadets began to buzz among their friends.
Then, a man stood up.
Since his grades weren’t particularly great, he hadn’t been very prominent; there were probably quite a few who hadn’t even heard his voice before.
However, his voice, heard for the first time, was very solemn and serious.
It possessed a magical quality that drew people in.
He said:
“Maid Cafe.”
He uttered that absolute nonsense with total gravity.