He had passed by some boys form the adjacent class They were likely fans because they were discussing the famous and beautiful President Shirohara Ren on the way back to their own classroom
They said that she was good-looking that she had a nice body and that her refined atmosphere was best of all
He wanted to stop and listen in but he continued on to his classroom instead
oops
Oh sorry Niki
Yeah no biggie
He ran across a girl exiting the classroom so he quickly moved aside
Niki Hozumi had nearly run into him but she was not a delinquent and she politely nodded to him when he let her past
She had returned her hair to brown and it bounced as she moved
He ended up watching her leave as he walked to his seat The cultural festival meeting was about to begin Hozumi and others participating with their clubs had left but everyone else was seated
The return of the most skilled president at the beginning of the 2nd term had brought a great change to the entire school
No matter where one went people were talking about her
That was normal enough since she had the public position of Student Council President but her mysterious departure and return had also produced much speculation The biggest theory was that she had left to be treated for a heart disease but others claimed she had tried and failed to skip ahead to a high school elsewhere The biggest change was the tense atmosphere throughout the school
Everyone worked extra hard at their studies and athletics and the students corrected their public morals even without the teachers or Student Council doing anything
Even taking into account that it was the start of the new term the number of tardy students had drastically reduced and Niki Hozumi had returned her hair color to normal after only 3 days Some had taken on more permanent new looks such as tanned skin or pierced ears but they were unable to flaunt it and awkwardly took their lessons as somewhat flashy but normal students A week had passed since the 2nd term began
The annoying subject tests were over and it was time to begin preparing for the big event at the end of September Megutono Academy’s cultural festival It was a little strict but their school life was mostly comfortable Mutsuki rested his cheek in his hand and sighed quietly as he listened to the bell for 6th period
He always felt melancholic when thinking about Ren lately
It had been a week since the new term began but he still had not had a chance to speak with her
His relationship at school with Shirohara Ren was the same as it had been the previous year They had met once but they had no connection beyond that
Mutsuki knew her but she showed no interest in a normal student like him It was hardly a surprise that they had not spoken during the past week
But the actual situation was different
Mutsuki was targeted by FeTUS because he had the Serpent’s Eye
And she was a FeTUS agent known as FeTUS Witches Miss B
But he had discovered that at the summer break camping trip half a month earlier
And a week after the new term began she had not made any kind of move
He had discussed it with Ange and Micha but FeTUS and the angels were currently passive enemies and their stalemate meant they could not do anything until FeTUS did He had tried asking FeTUS but Machina and Katsue-sensei had refused to tell him anything In the end he had no idea what to do and simply felt jealous
There was one more reason for his melancholy
The boy had been zoning out so he nearly fell out of his chair when his name was
called
He heard his classmates laughing Class Rep Sakae had apparently called his name several times while leading the cultural festival meeting
C’mon now bestie There’s already way too many people who refuse to listen to me the center of the class I don’t need you joining them too
Sakae stood at the lectern and shrugged Sorry sorry apologized Mutsuki with a bitter smile
Sakae wrote on the blackboard with messy handwriting Cultural Festival Roles
In the corner he added Hell yeah Cultural Festival
Okay let’s get started For the cultural festival all the 2nd years are putting on a traffic safety play for the elementary school
He gestured grandly as he spoke He was an eternal optimist so controlling the scene came naturally to him
Our class will be playing 5 roles so we need to decide who will be doing that
Ehh
About 70% of the class began booing
That was hardly surprising They had to work with the other 2nd year classes for this And it was a play More than just that 70% thought this sounded like a pain in the ass
But as casual as he could be Sakae always made sure to do his job as the class rep
Yes yes Settle down This was decided for us so there’s no helping it
He clapped his hands
None of his classmates were actually trying to trouble their cheerful class rep so they soon quieted down For one thing frightening Katsue-sensei was watching them from a corner of the classroom
Don’t worry As the undefeated rock-paper-scissors champion I beat all the other classes and got us all the easiest roles
Ohh
This time the class erupted into cheers and applause
This childhood friend had natural talent at entertaining everyone around him
Mutsuki smiled and joined the applause even though he had not joined the booing
First we’ll decide 3 to be in charge of props and 1 to be in charge of the spotlight
The props require some hard work but you share it between several people The spotlight is only needed during the rehearsal the day before and during the performance on the day of so it should be easy Sakae puffed his chest out proudly
Everyone seemed to accept that Those were some easy jobs If they had been determined by rock-paper-scissors he had some decent luck
And That’s 4 but what about the last one
Saya raised her hand and spoke for the class as a whole They had 5 roles but
Sakae had only revealed 4
Well about that last one
His behavior changed entirely and he scratched at his head
The lead Someone from our class will be playing the lead
The classroom filled with serious booing this time
Katsue-sensei ultimately grew angry and the homeroom became truly unpleasant
A traffic safety play
Those were often put on at the police station to teach small children traffic etiquette such as using the crosswalk and wearing your yellow hat
At a mammoth school like Megutono Academy the cultural festival was made to encourage interaction between school years so the assigned events were often targeted toward another year like this It could be a choir or a play Among those Mutsuki’s middle school 2nd year had been assigned a play for the lower elementary school years
It was an incredibly simple play
The lead girl had properly raised her hand and used the crosswalk while in kindergarten But at her elementary school entrance ceremony she decides she is an adult and crosses somewhere other than the crosswalk She gets hit by a car and injured preventing her from going to the entrance ceremony In the end she promises a police officer and her mother that she will never break the traffic rules again It was an incredibly simple play that only lasted about 20 minutes The only characters were the girl her mother and the police officer
But their class rep had drawn the short straw in that small framework
Ahh ahh To think this would happen to me the rock-paper-scissors demon
Sakae you’ve always been unbeatable until it actually matters Then you lose every time
In lunch rock-paper-scissors you would win the strawberry milk and meatballs but then lose the pudding
And the one who stole the pudding from me was always you bestie Oh dammit
I should’ve sent you in instead when playing for the roles
The homeroom continued but they were free to get up from their desks to gather their thoughts Sakae and Saya naturally gathered at Mutsuki’s desk
A somber mood hung over the classroom
Especially over the girls