Cultural Festival Day 1
The academy's cultural festival spans a total of three days. The first and second days are open exclusively to academy cadets, while the third day features the grand festival open to everyone. Even with the recent terrorist incident at the academy, the schedule remained unchanged. Altering the academy's plans solely because of the attack would imply that both the academy and the empire had yielded to terrorism.
The first day of the festival. Kyle smiled faintly as he took in the lively atmosphere throughout the academy. "A cultural festival, huh." His high school and college days in his previous life had no such events. High school students were expected to prioritize studying, and in college it was less a festival and more an excuse to drink heavily. This was his first time experiencing a cultural festival across both lifetimes. Honestly, he felt a little excited.
"Sera said nothing would happen, so it should be fine." Even if something did occur, he wasn't too worried. The terrorist attack had put both the academy and the empire on high alert, and they were actively working to prevent a repeat incident.
"Kyle."
"Oh, you're here?" Kyle greeted Yuri with a grin as she arrived late to their meeting spot. Instead of her usual long, loose hair, she had it half-tied back. Kyle immediately understood what people meant when they said hair frames the face. No matter how she styled it, her beauty was undeniable, and all he could do was admire it.
"Your hair looks pretty."
"Yeah. Thanks." Yuri smiled and immediately linked her arm with his. As Kyle enjoyed the soft sensation of her chest pressing against his firm arm muscles, she pulled a pamphlet from her pocket.
"Let's go. I've already decided what we're watching."
"There's one thing I want to see too."
"What is it?"
"Aria's performance."
Yuri's brow twitched slightly at the mention of Aria's name, but she knew a commoner like her couldn't come between Kyle and herself. She nodded and headed toward the performance hall.
It was early morning, just as the festival began. Most cadets were likely still asleep, leaving the art department's performance hall nearly empty. This time slot was avoided by everyone because even talented performers wouldn't receive proper recognition, yet for some reason Aria's performance had been scheduled then.
"Poor thing."
"Huh? What is?"
"Aria. Why else would she be performing at this hour?"
"Why?"
"Because she's a commoner."
"Ah..." Yuri, who had shown a slightly sharp reaction earlier, let out a sympathetic sigh upon realizing why Aria had been given this slot. With her keen political sense, she understood perfectly why Aria's performance had been scheduled so early.
"Should we go complain right now?"
"Complain? You, a knight department student, and me, from the magic department?"
"I'm a count and you're a duke, so maybe it'll work?"
"The art department cadets have similar titles too."
"Aria's skill was incredible, though..."
"Art is subjective. If the professors insist otherwise, that's the end of it."
In the end, helping Aria properly showcase her talent was impossible. These political issues were a headache. How nice it would be if everything in the world could be solved as easily as cutting something in half with a sword. As Kyle grew slightly gloomy at the thought, the performance began and Aria walked onto the stage. He immediately cheered.
"Aria, you're the best in the human kingdom!"
"...???"
Aria, who had been preparing to sing, looked at Kyle shouting from the audience with a puzzled expression. The art department professors in the front row also turned to frown at him. A moment later, however, Aria burst into giggles, her shoulders shaking.
"Pfft, mmph, hahaha. —I'm Aria. I'll be singing now."
After suppressing her laughter with a few coughs and taking a deep breath, she began her song. Even the professors who had been frowning moments earlier turned their attention to her and started enjoying the performance.
It was something he could listen to again and again. The melody ringing in his ears, her sweet voice, the harmony created by all these elements.
Kyle glanced sideways at Yuri sitting next to him. Even though she had been slightly displeased about coming to watch another woman's performance so early in the morning, she now sat with her mouth agape, completely absorbed in Aria's song.
"—I want to be your constellation."
After finishing her song, Aria gave Kyle a grateful eye-smile. Kyle began clapping enthusiastically. The few other cadets who had come to watch also joined in upon hearing the applause. The only ones not clapping were Aria on stage and the professors in the front row evaluating her.
"Ahem, it was a good song. However... relying solely on your voice without putting in effort, focusing only on technique without conveying emotion, and an artist already being conscious of others' gazes—these are all points for deduction."
"—What the hell is that old geezer saying?"
"I don't know either."
Kyle let out a dry laugh as he watched the professor critiquing Aria. In summary, the man was saying: "You only have your voice and raw talent." Even a cadet with no artistic knowledge could tell how absurd that sounded, yet the professor said it with complete confidence.
"—Thank you. Everyone, please vote for me! That way you can see me again on the third day—!"
"I'll cast 100 votes!"
"Ahaha, one vote per person~."
Despite the ridiculous criticism, Aria descended from the stage with a smile still on her face. The professors frowned at her, clearly displeased. Kyle, who had no intention of staying for the remaining performances, left the hall with Yuri.
Once outside, Aria emerged from backstage and approached them.
"Kyle!"
"Aria."
"Thanks for coming to watch my performance."
Aria bowed deeply in gratitude. Kyle helped her straighten up, saying it wasn't necessary, then asked, "Are you okay?"
"Huh? About what?"
"You performed at this empty hour and had to listen to that nonsense."
"Ah, I'm fine. A true artist has to overcome hardships like this!"
"Right. Hang in there. I'll cheer you on."
"Thanks! Oh, but don't actually cast 100 votes, okay? I'll get caught for vote rigging."
Aria said this and quickly left. Her solo performance was over, but as an art department cadet, she still had other festival preparations to handle. Watching her walk away, Kyle realized she truly wasn't bothered by any of it. It was strange. How could someone with that level of skill receive such an evaluation without showing any emotional reaction?
"Is this what a real artist is like?" Just as a swordsman who devoted everything to a single blade paid little attention to others' opinions, a true artist seemed to ignore others' views entirely. Kyle inwardly admired her.
"Kyle."
"Oh, yeah."
"Now let's go see what I want to watch."
"Ah, right."
However, he didn't linger on those thoughts for long. Kyle quickly shook off his sentimentality and enjoyed the festival with Yuri. Since most of the first-day performances were prepared by first-year cadets, there were some rough spots here and there, but Kyle, experiencing a cultural festival for the first time, simply had fun.
After all the first-day performances ended, Aria returned to the dormitory and received a notification slip. It was the notice informing her whether she could participate in the grand festival open to the public on the third day. Though she hadn't expected much, Aria carefully opened the slip. It listed the number of votes she received from cadets and the professors' evaluation.
[Aria]
33 votes
70 points
Result: Not Selected
"...Of course."
Not many cadets had come to watch so early in the morning. Even if she received votes from everyone who heard her sing, the absolute number was too small to matter. The professors' score written below was also problematic. 70 out of 100 wasn't a low score at first glance, but the opposite was true. The professors had already decided on the members for the grand festival and gave them perfect scores without exception. In other words, she hadn't received 70 points—she had been given -30.
"I knew it."
Those stubborn old professors weren't going to suddenly awaken and put her on the third-day stage based solely on her skill. If they had any intention of doing so, they wouldn't have scheduled her for this early morning slot in the first place. They would have placed her in a time slot when more people were around.
"As expected, all nobles are trash."
She clenched her fists tightly, her body trembling. It couldn't be helped. Everything that had been done to her was their fault. She hated the world. She hated nobles. So she wished they would all just die.
Day 2. I scratched my cheek as I looked at the club president who had suddenly shown up.
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to pretend to be my lover."
She asked me to be her lover for just one night.