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Chapter 17 Part 1: Festival Preparations
Posted on May 31, 2022by ynlucca
Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.
Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
Start of volume 2!
Wish luck on my Yelan pulls HOPIUM
I completed a ton of vacation assignments at study sessions Yuki and I held every night. After that, we both went to my parents’ house during Obon¹ to see them after such a long time.
My father even told me that I looked better than when I lived with them, and I was thankful for the home-cooked meals Yuki made for me. It seems that her parents have decided that living together with me isn’t an issue, and we continue to be roommates as usual.
Summer vacation passed in the blink of an eye, and we had an opening ceremony for a new semester at school.
After vacation, all of our classmates were baffled to see Akina’s complete makeover, a contrast from the first semester. The girl with black-rimmed glasses and braids, seemingly simple and quiet, cut off her hair and took off her glasses, revealing an overwhelmingly cute face. Students squealed at her sight.
I could even hear people say there was a new idol in class, and many of them gathered around her. Akina, meanwhile, was so shy she hid behind me like a small animal. My heart skipped a beat upon seeing her unexpected cuteness.
And thus began our second semester, although there was no major difference in our relationships. School life with Yuki and Akina was as happy and enjoyable as it’s been so far.
Soon, we approached a staple event at school: the Cultural Festival. Our class was currently abuzz with talks on what we were going to do for the said festival, and homeroom was completely used to help with that decision.
We discussed what we’d put on stage, and a lot of students came up with their own ideas. They were all written on the blackboard and voted by all present students.
Oh, and every student in this class was already gathered before homeroom began since this was a hoped-for event. At the center of the group were Yuki and Akina, who talked to the girls surrounding them.
“Hey, hey, how about a maid cafe? Wouldn’t it be nice to see Shirahato-chan and Kokuhou-san dressed up as maids?”
“I wanna see it so bad~ It has to be a maid cafe.”
“Hmm, I’m not gonna give up on a haunted house though. I’d like to boo—! everyone!”
“Both of them dressed as ghosts would be nice…”
“I still think a sweet cafe would be the best choice.”
“That’s certainly a good idea. Oh! Chocolate bananas would be a nice choice since they are pretty easy to make.”
They all talked about the things they want to do.
Expectations for Yuki and Akina were high. During the tournament, students came to the gym just to see Yuki in action. Moreover, some students came over to the classroom in hopes of seeing Akina, saying that a new star had been born at school.
Everyone thought that the two would make the festival a success. Surely, both of them wearing maid outfits would attract a large crowd, and no matter the content of the event, their homemade sweets would attract a metric ton of students that were their fans.
Even the haunted house was likely to have a huge line of people wanting to be scared by these two.
There was just one small issue. Actually, the class took it very seriously.
“Sorry guys, I’m afraid I won’t be able to participate in the class performance.”
Yuki’s words brought a hush to the classroom. She then began explaining apologetically.
“I was asked to participate in a certain project by the student council since this semester started. We’ve talked about a lot of things, and I’d like to work hard on that one—I’m getting excited just thinking about it… But I’m sorry nonetheless.”
Listening to that story, Akina also stood up. She apparently knew something about it.
“Rikka told me the student council is gonna do something big for this year’s festival, and they rented out the whole gymnasium.”
“That’s right. I can’t divulge the details of this event, so you’ll have to wait until the day comes to find out… Sorry, I can’t participate in the various projects everyone’s planning for the festival.”
“Oh, I’ve actually been asked by Rikka to help the student council. I was wondering when I should tell you that, but now that you’ve said it, I think it’s also time for me to do the same. It’s gonna be hard for me to participate in this class’ events.”
I then raise my voice to support them as they bowed their heads.
“If the student council asked you both to do it, we can’t do anything about it. It’s a pity you two won’t be able to participate in the festival, but I’ll support this huge project organized by the student council.”
“I agree. It’s a shame you two were only going to be monopolized by our class. You should have a stage you can shine even more, so I’ll give my full support.”
“I’ll support them too. Though they would surely bring our events to new heights, they were called to do something even bigger. We have no choice but to give them up.”
“Yeah, yeah! I’ll make sure our class’ show is a success, so you two work hard on your project!”
My class’ performance would succeed even without Yuki and Akina, who were relieved to see the tension in the class shift into a lighter tone.
And as everyone discussed what just happened, I wondered about what on earth was that special event in the first place. I tried to imagine what they’d do with a whole gymnasium, but I had no good guesses.
When I secretly asked Yuki about it, she firmly shut her mouth and said, “I won’t tell you either, Haru-kun. Sorry.” Same thing for Akina.
What would really happen at the festival?
As anticipation rose from the bowels of my stomach, homeroom began.
1 — Obon (or just Bon) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors. The festival lasts for three days.