Encore 1: School Festival... Memorable?

In recent days, life has been relatively peaceful. Since the Spirit Hermit incident caused by Yoshino, I still haven't been able to forget everything. School life seemed to have returned to its normal course, and I did my best to maintain an appearance of nothing being out of the ordinary.

One morning, in class, Ms. Tama-chan stepped onto the podium and announced the upcoming school festival. "

Good morning, everyone. The school festival this year will take place at the end of this month," she said.

"This is a great occasion to help us come together, and also prepare for the inter-school festival coming up in September."

"So, everyone, start coming up with ideas and preparing your class booths," she said enthusiastically.

I sighed, not wanting to participate in this year's school festival. Kurumi was about to enroll in this school, and I knew that things would get more complicated. Furthermore, the relationship between Shido, Tohka, and me remained tense and adversarial. However, I had no way to refuse and had to join in the class discussion.

The class buzzed with excitement, discussing ideas for our booth. Some suggested a haunted house, others an exhibition area. After a while of debating, everyone agreed on the theme of a maid and butler café. Enthusiastically, we began discussing everyone's roles.

"Hey, everyone!" the loud voices of the trio Mai, Mii, and Ai snapped me out of my thoughts. "Tohka will be a maid!" Mai exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

"That's right, Tohka as a maid is the best!" Mii added.

"Agreed, who approves?" Ai asked, raising her hand.

The whole class raised their hands in agreement without a single dissent. I couldn't help but sigh in resignation, yet felt a small sense of anticipation.

The class buzzed with excitement. Everyone knew Origami's reputation for being serious and sharp; if she were a maid, it would surely attract many customers.

"But if both Tohka and Origami are maids, the other classes won't stand a chance!" Tonomachi joked, making the whole class burst into laughter.

"In that case, maybe we should have a guy dress as a maid to make it more special?" someone suggested, and I felt a chill run down my spine. All eyes were now on me.

"So Watano will be a maid instead of a butler!" a voice called out from the back of the class. I turned to see it was a suggestion from a boy sitting in the back.

"What? No, I can't be a maid!" I protested vehemently. "I'm a guy!" I was speechless at the ridiculous idea. How could the dignity of a man be insulted like this? But under the overwhelming majority's pressure, I had no choice but to accept this absurd situation.

The festival day arrived, and I donned the maid outfit, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Standing behind the café counter, I tried to appear cheerful, though inwardly I was full of irritation. Tohka seemed to thoroughly enjoy her role, while Shido and Origami looked quite the part in their butler outfits.

"Watano, you look so cute!" Tonomachi teased, laughing brightly.

"Stop joking, Tonomachi," I retorted, feeling embarrassment spread through me.

"Watano, are you alright?" Shido asked, noticing my scowl.

"I'm fine," I replied shortly, trying not to show my discomfort.

But this somehow became the highlight of our booth. Customers flocked in, eager to take pictures with the maids and butlers. Tohka and Origami drew everyone's attention, while I tried to remain calm despite my inner turmoil.

While serving customers, several humorous incidents occurred. One customer requested a special coffee, and Tohka, in her innocence, tried to mix it very 'creatively.'

"This is coffee with sea salt and chili sauce," Tohka said with a radiant smile, handing the cup to the customer.

The customer looked at the cup in astonishment, then turned to me. I didn't know what else to do but smile awkwardly and quickly make the coffee the right way.

"Tohka, you can't just add spices to the coffee," I reminded her.

"But I thought it would taste better that way," Tohka argued, still looking innocent.

"Let me handle it," I sighed in defeat.

Shido, busy with his butler role, didn't forget to show his considerate nature. He helped Tohka and me when we struggled with customer orders.

"Watano, let me help you with that tray," Shido offered, seeing me fumbling with a tray full of coffee cups.

"Thanks, Shido," I reluctantly replied, still keeping my distance from him.

Origami, on the other hand, was very serious and meticulous in her butler role. She ensured everything ran smoothly and without any mistakes.

"Everyone, let's keep up the good work," Origami said firmly.

"AGREED!!!" Everyone shouted in unison, boosting their morale.

After the booth closed, our entire class was exhausted. The maid and butler outfits, while making us stand out, also made moving and working more difficult. We started cleaning up, putting tables and chairs back in place, and picking up the leftover debris on the floor.

Origami, who always maintained a cool and calm demeanor, couldn't hide her exhaustion now. She removed the fake cat ears from her head, her eyes shimmering with fatigue.

"Finally, it's over," she sighed, massaging her shoulders.

Shido, in his shirt and butler gloves, no longer looked as dashing as before. Sweat streamed down his forehead as he panted and plopped down on a nearby chair.

"That was tiring, but it was fun," Shido said, looking around with a tired but satisfied smile.

Tohka, in her radiant maid outfit, was no different. She sat down on the floor, her hands resting on her knees, panting.

"I never thought being a maid would be this tiring," Tohka said, her eyes dreamily looking at the ceiling.

As for me, in my absurd maid outfit, I felt completely drained. Every step was heavy, and my body felt like it was about to collapse.

"What a long day," I sighed, removing the long stockings and plopping down next to Shido.

"I didn't think I'd survive today."

We sat and rested, drinking water and chatting about the memorable moments of the day. Tohka recounted how she spilled water on a customer's table, making us all laugh. Origami shared the moment she dropped a tray of pastries, and Shido reminisced about me having to wear the maid outfit. Though exhausted, the laughter and joy made us feel closer than ever.

Everyone gradually regained their strength, finished cleaning up, and prepared to leave when suddenly, Ms. Tama-chan rushed in to announce something that made me want to disappear from this world.

"Attention, attention! The school will soon be holding a cosplay relay race. Each class, please prepare and select four members to participate!" she announced loudly.

"A cosplay relay race?" I exclaimed. "This is ridiculous."

But there was no other choice for me. Our class quickly chose four participants, and once again, Shido, Tohka, Origami, and I were selected. Wearing the maid outfit in class was already embarrassing, and now I had to wear it and run around the school grounds. This was a humiliation I would never forget, even in another life. But since everyone in the class expected us, I had to accept it, even though I really didn't want to.

We began planning carefully: Tohka would run first, followed by Origami, then Shido, and finally me. With this strategy, we hoped to achieve the best result. However, from the beginning, I had a feeling that things wouldn't go as planned.

"Watano, you look cool!" Shido said, patting my shoulder.

"Don't say such meaningless things," I grumbled. "I don't like this at all."

The race began, and we had to run a relay through various stages. In the first stage, Tohka started running as fast as the wind. The crowd cheered loudly.

"Go, Tohka!" I shouted, trying to show support, even though I still felt a bit reluctant.

But within seconds, I saw Tohka trip over a small rock. The whole school seemed to go silent for a moment. Shido left his position, ran over, took her hand, and pulled her up. Both of them laughed heartily at the absurd situation.

"Are you okay, Tohka?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Tohka replied, smiling awkwardly.

"Tohka, you tripped like a comedy act!" Shido teased.

"Don't laugh, Shido!" Tohka blushed.

Tohka managed to finish her part and passed the baton to Origami. Although we were left quite far behind, Origami's excellent physical strength quickly closed the gap. She ran as if the cumbersome butler outfit didn't hinder her speed. When Origami handed the baton to Shido, we were only one class behind.

Shido and the runner from the opposing class were almost evenly matched. Both chased each other fiercely, not willing to give an inch. I waited, my heart pounding, ready to receive the baton.

"Go, Shido!" I shouted, forgetting my grudge against him.

Finally, Shido handed the baton to me. I immediately ran as fast as I could, trying my best to overtake the opponent. Despite being hindered by the ridiculous maid outfit, the months of training in the AST helped me adapt well to any situation. I quickly surged ahead. But just as I was nearing the finish line, in a moment when I thought I would win, the unexpected happened. My heel broke, causing me to fall painfully. Hurt and confused, I saw the opponent closing in. In that moment, I heard the cheers and expectations of my class, especially from Shido and Tohka, even though I had always held a grudge against them.

"Go, Watano!"

"You can do it, Watano!"

"We believe in you!"

With fierce determination, regardless of how much the bleeding wound hurt, I stood up and continued running. The wound on my leg opened wider, blood streaming down, but I didn't care. All I could think about was running nonstop to the finish line. With my last bit of strength, I dashed across the finish line just in time to secure the victory for our class.

The crowd erupted in cheers, everyone rushed to congratulate and celebrate our win. While others were still running to celebrate, I quietly left the school grounds. Walking amidst the cheering and laughter, I felt a sense of peace within.

The competition was over, and I had accomplished something I hadn't thought possible. And despite the conflicts, standing side by side with "Them" brought me immense happiness.

"If only... if only that day... I hadn't witnessed that horrific scene... then maybe things... between you and me... wouldn't have turned out this way..."