Late October was the beginning of cultural festival preparations for students at Sōbu High.
Every day in class, they had to discuss the cultural festival theme, assign tasks to each person, and immediately start gathering various materials.
After all, they only had one month. In between, some would be busy with student council elections, club competition practices, and other activities. If they didn't agree on a schedule and divide responsibilities well, they'd likely end up with half-finished work by festival time.
Of course, if the proposed project wasn't too complicated, they could afford to relax slightly—traditional themes like cafés or stage plays were far easier to prepare than projects requiring many props and equipment, such as haunted houses.
"Then it's decided—we'll do a stage play. Next, we need to assign people responsible for the script, casting, and prop-making..."
After erasing the other options from the blackboard, the young, beautiful, and invincible female teacher frowned and thought for a moment. Then she wrote a large line of text beside it.
"None of that matters—first, let's decide the executive committee!"
"Eeh—" A groan instantly rose from the class.
Hiratsuka pretended not to hear. She waved her hand and shouted enthusiastically, "One male and one female! First come, first served! Who wants to volunteer? Raise your hand now!"
"..."
The groaning ceased immediately, as if the world had suddenly fallen silent.
Everyone clamped their mouths shut, acting as if it had nothing to do with them. Some fiddled with their nails; others immediately laid their heads down on their desks. Not a single person dared meet Hiratsuka's encouraging gaze.
Silence stretched on for several seconds. Hiratsuka's expression slowly faded. Finally, impatiently clicking her tongue, she slapped the podium with one hand.
"You rowdy kids—this happens every year! I know being on the executive committee is tough, but can't anyone sacrifice a little for your beloved classmates to create a cultural festival full of laughter and memories?"
Below the podium, silence remained. No one wanted to respond. After all, no one wanted to trade their own free time for someone else's workload.
Hiratsuka wasn't surprised. She continued staring at the students who turned away guiltily. "No one? Then raise your hand if you weren't here. Assigning the most important position to absentees has become standard practice, hasn't it?"
"..."
—If absent people can just raise their hands, then why even bother with a play? Just make a haunted house instead.
Many wanted to complain like this. But right before opening their mouths, they felt an odd, hopeful gaze fixated on them. They quickly realized the teacher on the podium was waiting for someone to speak up—and whoever opened their mouth first would be dragged straight into trouble.
Hiratsuka was truly a master at fishing for volunteers.
To avoid getting pulled into more troublesome situations, the students shut their mouths tighter. Class F became so quiet it seemed even breathing was held in chests.
"...Fine, you're tough." Hiratsuka sighed resignedly and scratched her head. "Then shall I pick someone at random? From now on, you'd better pray your luck isn't bad enough to get chosen by me."
(Even Sensei says being picked is bad luck... And is this apathy really okay?)
Internally complaining, the students grew anxious. They watched as Hiratsuka's gaze swept across the classroom. Finally, her eyes stopped on a handsome young man sitting in the front row. She pointed at him from afar.
"Tenkuji, I've decided—you're chosen!"
"Sorry, I decline." As if expecting it, Yuu replied instantly.
Hiratsuka frowned. "Did I fail to throw a Poké Ball to catch you? Wait, I'll go buy a Master Ball and come back."
"Sensei, please don't make too many jokes in class." Yuu sighed resignedly. He closed the book in his hand and calmly met the curious stares from around the room without changing his expression.
"I'm sorry, but I can't take on this responsibility. Please give the position to another classmate who's more capable."
"What's your reason?" Hiratsuka folded her arms, refusing to let him off easily.
Yuu adjusted his non-existent glasses and answered seriously, "To maintain my top ranking, I must focus on my studies. Being on the executive committee would only slow down my learning progress."
"...I see."
Hiratsuka was truly speechless. The other students didn't feel this was unfair either—after all, smart people always had special privileges.
Moreover, Yuu had defeated Yukinoshita Yukino from Class J, brought Class F to first place, and shone brightly during the autumn performance.
Beyond rumors and being a sports genius, Yuu had also earned the title of "hardworking genius" after being praised by the principal during a school meeting. It wasn't surprising that someone so outstanding wouldn't listen to a teacher. Besides, his reasoning was perfectly logical. Though some grumbled internally, no one dared voice it aloud.
"In that case, pick someone else then..."
Reluctantly, Hiratsuka randomly selected another male student and handed the responsibility to him.
With the male member chosen, it was now time for the female representative—she picked someone Yuu didn't know very well. Thus, Class F's cultural festival committee was settled in the most ordinary way possible.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Today's class meeting ended. After Hiratsuka left, the classroom returned to its usual bustle. Most conversations revolved around the cultural festival.
"Yuu, I thought you'd agree to be on the executive committee." Her slender white arm resting on the desk, Yuigahama pouted with a regretful expression. "If I volunteered as the female rep, we could've worked together..."
While putting his books into his drawer, Yuu replied casually, "Sensei herself said it's hard work. Why should I go looking for trouble?"
"But for you, this shouldn't be trouble. You don't have kendo club competitions or student council elections. Your studying seems relaxed too, so you don't need to push yourself that hard..."
"In short, I want to be lazy." Yuu stated plainly. That single sentence immediately silenced Yuigahama. "Just because someone's capable doesn't mean they have to shoulder more responsibility, Yui."
"Hmm..."
Pulling out his phone, Yuu glanced at her. His tone was slightly teasing. "Could you really bear seeing me stressed over trivial things until I couldn't stay calm?"
After he said that, Yuigahama truly gave up on her little idea. Her dough-like face flattened onto the desk. She let out a long sigh.
"You're right… Even if you're not on the committee, we can still collaborate during the festival! No need to make things harder on yourself."
Yuu didn't understand why Yuigahama was so persistent about this, but he didn't ask further. He simply unlocked his phone screen. After reading a message from Masuzu, he raised his eyebrows.
"It seems Yukinoshita got chosen as the exec committee rep for Class J."
"Eh? Yukinon?"
Yuigahama blinked in surprise. She leaned closer to look at the message, but Yuu swiftly blocked her.
"Yeah, apparently someone jokingly nominated her. Then the whole class joined in, and she was forced to accept the role."
"They're terrible—not considering Yukinon's feelings at all..."
Yuigahama grumbled. Yet her eyes sparkled like a dog spotting a bone. She stared intently at his phone, as if hoping to sneak a peek at the message history he was deliberately avoiding.
Of course, there was no way Yuu would let her—or anyone—see the few sexy photos Masuzu had intentionally sent last night. After replying to the message, he immediately put his phone away.
"We don't need to worry about her. Just think about what role you'd like to take... Since our class wants to do a musical play, there's sound control, scriptwriting, prop-making, costumes, and most importantly, acting. Is there anything you're interested in?"
"Acting, of course!" As expected, Yuigahama's attention smoothly shifted.
Her eyes sparkled. "Even though the script isn't decided yet, I've always wanted to try it! To experience performing on stage!"
"And you too, right? Acting part."