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Even though I jumped off the rooftop, I did so with a lifeline. It’s a rope hooked to a clasp installed on the rooftop floor. Naturally, we already rehearsed this and confirmed its safety.

“No matter how many times I do it, it’s still scary.”

I slipped into the classroom below and quickly removed the lifeline. Sherry going up and I going down should have been visible in the video the students were watching. Any attentive students should be able to deduce where I disappeared to, even though I didn’t jump on the side facing the courtyard where they were.

“Gotta move quick.”
“It was a wonderful song!”
“Thank you.”

In the empty classroom, Teacher Cathy, who was waiting there, immediately came to hug me, but I’ve gotten used to it. For now, I pat her shoulder and ask her to let me go. I really don’t have much time. She reluctantly stepped back and pulled a tile from the classroom open. There it is, the secret escape route.

“Well then, see you later.”

Despite the rushed work, it’s pretty well constructed. By the way, the one who thought of these escape routes was the principal. Do any of these twelve family people know how to properly use money? I never expected there to be an idiot who would modify a whole academy for a one-time thing.

“Whoop.”
“Nothing you do will surprise me anymore. Anyhow, good work out there.”
“Thank you for your hard work too, Teacher Kondou.”

From the third floor, I dropped to the second. I descended without the help of a rope or ladder, only with my pure physical ability, but it’s surprisingly alright as long as I grab on a part of the ceiling to momentarily interrupt my fall. After all, there are people in this world who are just fine, even after jumping from the second floor.

“Normally, would you really go this far?”
“The principal thought up of this. I genuinely didn’t think of going this far to escape.”

As if to show that he’s serious about it, he suddenly had these constructed. Even I was dumbfounded about it. Sure, if there are escape routes like this that could be hidden, no one would be able to predict where I disappeared to. But let me say this: Who the hell told you to go this far?

“Well then, if you would excuse me.”
“Be careful on your way home.”

And then I descend from the second floor to the first. My final destination is the infirmary. I’m trying to keep my identity a secret, so I had teachers who I trusted on standby. That’s why Teacher Cathy, Teacher Kondou, and finally Teacher Shizuru have all been waiting for me.

“Alright, success.”
“If I wasn’t informed beforehand, I would have called the authorities about a suspicious individual breaking in.”
“I do look suspicious, huh.”

I still have the box on my head. But now I can finally remove it. The curtains are covering the infirmary’s window so that people can’t see from the outside. Otherwise, everything that I’ve been doing would have gone to waste.

“Phew, I can finally breathe. Now to change and meet up with the others.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Well, of course. If I didn’t enjoy it, the people watching wouldn’t be able to enjoy themselves either.”
“You really do have a performing artist’s thought process, Kotone. In that case, sing us a song at my wedding, okay?”

I instantly froze. I was doing my best to avoid that topic. Unlike this time, I’ll have to sing in front of a large audience at Shizuru’s wedding ceremony. I’m not confident I can properly sing while showered with gazes.

“Umm, about that. Would a recording be alright?”
“I’d prefer it live. But if you really can’t do it, I won’t force you to go. I can’t say the same for him, though.”
“He’d absolutely misuse his authority.”

Shizuru still has some conscience, it seems. So the problem really is the principal. We’re both members of the twelve families, so he can be assertive against me. Instead of thinking of how to avoid having to sing, it’ll probably be more realistic to think of how to hide my identity.

“I’ll do my best to sing.”
“Oh, you surrendered pretty quick.”
“From how you’re speaking, do you intend on having Akane do something?”
“Well, she really pressed me for answers when I told her that I heard you sing live. Imagine being in my place, having to face her jealousy.”

I can easily imagine that. When I mentioned the time I sang, she immediately asked, ‘Why won’t you sing for me, then?’ I refused back then, saying it was embarrassing, but it seems she isn’t giving up on that.

“You know how bad her outbursts can get, right?”
“I’ll give you a heads-up.”

I really don’t want to face a disgruntled Akane. She’ll probably end up squishing me. There have been plenty of times when she grumbled about things, but I’ve never witnessed one of her outbursts. She’s already high-strung normally, so I’m not confident I can handle her when she’s pushed over the edge.

“I’m fine with singing, but what’s the detailed schedule for the wedding? I think I might need to attend too, just to be safe.”
“We still have many people to contact. We’re also considering inviting some individuals who sparked the rumors in the past.”
“What kind of people are they?”
“They were in high school at the time and threw a big celebration for their class adviser’s wedding ceremony. Their performance was apparently quite memorable, so we’re currently trying to track them down.”
“Please cancel that plan immediately. It’ll be a disaster.”

As expected, I felt compelled to issue a serious warning. I have a good idea of who those people are—they’re most likely from the rogue’s den. Shirose’s original entrance music was so impressive that the event hall management decided to purchase it from her. I also know that we became a topic of conversation as a result.

“Kotone, do you know about them?”
“Not at all. However, my instincts are telling me to stop them at all costs.”

It was already that bad in our high school days; there’ll be no way to stop their upgraded shenanigans, and I can’t even begin to imagine what they’d do. Moreover, I’ll be there as Kotone. It’ll be a nightmare. Wait, I guess I won’t be there anymore by that time.

“You totally know about them. Can’t you contact them? ”
“I just said that it’ll be a disaster, didn’t I?”
“As long as it makes our wedding memorable, I’m fine with that. After all, the attendees back then found it really impressive, so their performance must have been very unforgettable, don’t you think?”

It caused our advisor a stomach ulcer, though. Well, yeah, the wife and the other attendees were delighted by it. “So a wedding can be like this,” and so on. We did our best to think of how to entertain everyone and didn’t miss any chance to practice. Still, the final greetings broke our advisor’s stomach.

“I won’t contact them. Please find a way to contact them yourselves. And if they ever give their agreement, I’ll prepare myself as well.”

Even if it’s an offer from one of the twelve families, those guys wouldn’t hesitate to refuse. If they don’t find it interesting, they likely won’t accept. The problem would be how to negotiate with them. If they’re told that other members of the den would be invited, they’ll absolutely go. And if they discover that I’m attending, it’ll be a whole festival.

“Please contact me if it happens. I’ll join the program planning, too.”
“Alright. I don’t know what exactly is going on, but I can at least tell that it must be tough on you.”

What should we do about this? Considering the date, this will occur long after Kotone and I carry out the plan. Leaving unresolved issues would be such a burden to deal with. Kotone is even mumbling non-stop right now. This is not good.

“Kotone, are you okay?”
“I’ve calmed down, so I’m alright.”

With Kaori, Miyako, and Harumi arriving, that topic is closed for now. I made an excuse, saying I felt unwell during the graduation ceremony and needed to go to the infirmary while we were on our way back to the classroom. Kaori isn’t the only one who knows the truth.

“Man, that was the best concert ever. Too bad you weren’t there, Kotone.”
“Harumi, you’re taunting me intentionally, aren’t you?”
“Well, someone wants to keep it secret, so it’s not our place to expose it.”
“Still, the jump at the last part was really bad for the heart.”
“That was for flair, Miyako. The video even showed me tying the knot of the lifeline, didn’t it?”

That part will likely be edited out. Watching me tie a rope around myself before jumping down would be really embarrassing. I wonder about all the other segments. I was so focused on singing that I honestly don’t remember what else I was doing.

“With this, the graduation ceremony is finally over with.”
“Kotone, sorry to burst your bubble, but…”
“What is it?”
“No amount of escapism is going to change reality.”

What Kaori said is true. For me, the graduation event is still far from ending. Two graduates are going to come to my apartment. Moreover, other people are sure to come as well. Under the pretense of holding a party.