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Time passed by, until one week remained before the school festival.

Midterms had just ended, and since Kou had treated everyone around her as a rival this time, she fought her way up to second place in her year. Reo took third, with Subaru in fourth.

Their competition had been so fierce they made every single point count, and even the teachers were taken aback by their determination… But at the end of the day, Kou had scored slightly higher than the other two.

That victory had plastered a cheeky smug on Kou’s face which was getting on everyone’s nerves, but no one could erase.

…Meanwhile, the first spot was taken, as usual, by a mysterious honor student that always scored full points in all exams. By now, all the students were already used to seeing that.

Regardless, they had safely navigated through the stresses of midterm exams, and now could all relax and enjoy the fun of preparing for the school festival.

Kou’s class was ferociously working on tailoring their outfits for the cafe they would open, with everyone bringing various used clothes to fill in everything they were missing. Most of that work was new for the students, but figuring things out was also part of the fun.

While that was happening, Kou had received a strange text from Kagurazaka Haru, the leader of the game club, requesting help with something…

“…But why?” Kou could hardly believe what she had heard and demanded an explanation from Haru.

“I promise it’ll just be for the opening ceremony…so umm…could you please help out as a co-host..?” She sounded truly remorseful of making that request, as she stammered in a way that was very unusual for her. Seeing that, Kou told her to go on.

“Again, I’m really sorry! Originally it was meant to be a presentation with my virtual Kirisu Sakura avatar and another public entertainment student as my real co-host, but she got injured during training and can’t help out anymore!”

“Ah…I’m sorry to hear that. But can’t you ask another public entertainment student then?”
“I tried…but there’s only one classroom with twenty students for a given school year, so they aren’t really a common bunch.”

That was not a line of work Kou was interested in, so she knew little about that side of the school. Still, there were always stories about how few of them existed here, and somehow, it was possible for there to be more honor students than public entertainment students.

Not to mention that there were a lot of different branches within that space, so not everyone had the necessary skills to stand in front of a live audience…

“Trust me, we did everything we could already. We even got all the first and second year students to take rounds trying to keep up in rehearsals…”

Just seeing her sullen eyes was enough to tell it had not worked out well.

“It’s not really their fault, you know? The festival is also the perfect chance for them to show off their talents in their own ways, so they’re already busy with that. And there’s also a whole presentation they’re preparing together, so no one is free enough to help me with the main event…”
“I see… But again, why me?”
“Because you’re cute!”
“…Whatever you say.”

That reply came so quickly that Kou instinctively gave a halfhearted response.

“That’s the most important thing! And also no one else would agree, it’s not easy to be a stand-in for someone from the public entertainment department!”
“Ah…I see, that does sound like a lot of pressure.”

Though there were only a handful of public entertainment students, they were all strikingly attractive, and the fact that they had their own school building apart from the rest made them seem as if they lived on an unattainable plane of existence for the other students.

No one would have the confidence to stand next to those students who seemed to glimmer and shine just by standing on a stage.

…But as Kou had little interest in that field, she also did not really worry about that.

“The first options I thought of were you and Hijiri…but then it hit me that you probably have a lot more experience than her.”

Haru was likely referring to Kou’s experience playing as Crim.

She had given speeches in front of large crowds, while an immense audience watched her stream at the same time. That was not something most people could do.

Kou also did not think she could do the same in front of an audience in real life, but…

“…Alright, I’ll help you.”
“…For real?!”

When Kou nodded, Haru’s worries seemed to poof away.

“Yes, my classroom can probably handle things if I’m only gone for the opening ceremony, and I feel like I owe you for various things, so if you’re sure I—”
“Mitsuki, you’re an angel!!”
“Wah?!”

Haru could not hold back from instinctively hugging Kou, who as usual got red in the face while floundering in Haru’s embrace.

◇◇◇

*‘I probably should let my classmates know about this.’*

Kou had already agreed to help, but when she was back in her classroom, she double checked with them if she could leave for that. And contrary to her expectations, everyone seemed really into the idea, cheering about being able to see Kou on stage.

It even got to the point that they stopped working on their costumes to use the fabric to make banners to cheer Kou on, who struggled to get them under control.

Everyone still decided that it would be best if Kou spent most of her time training for the event, while everyone else would finish the costumes and decor for their cafe. And so it was decided that in the days leading up to the festival, Kou would be visiting the public entertainment department’s building to train and get ready.

All of that made her feel warm and fuzzy in her heart, seeing how much her classmates cared for her, but then…

*‘Wait, doesn’t this mean that I won’t get a say on what costume I’ll be wearing now?’*

By the time Kou realized that, it was far too late to change anything…