On the day of the Founders' Festival, Service Club activity room.
"Oh, that looks really good."
Yuigahama Yui looked at the dark suit Asakura had changed into, "You look like Sebastian! But why the sudden suit today?"
"Because the prince costume prepared by the Drama Club was really ugly, so I had no choice but to wear this. If I change now, I can avoid having to change again when I go on stage later."
Asakura said, tying his tie with a dissatisfied expression, "Can you believe the prince costume they prepared for me was not only red and blue but also had white stockings…?"
"I remember stockings were originally worn by men, weren't they?"
Yuigahama Yui said.
"Kilts and high heels were also originally worn by men. Does that mean I should wear them now? Those guys just want to see a joke."
Asakura's hands didn't stop as he frowned and said.
Since he hadn't worn a suit much, the tie looked strange no matter how he tied it.
Just as he was about to give up and tie the tie like a red scarf, Yuigahama Yui finally couldn't bear it anymore.
"It should be tied like this…"
The girl came in front of Asakura, and like a newlywed wife, she gently and deftly adjusted his tie.
The girl's scent, so close, made Asakura feel a tickle in his neck, and he couldn't help but swallow.
But this movement was too obvious for the girl who was tying his tie, so much so that Asakura clearly felt her hand movements pause, and then her originally nimble fingertips seemed to become stiff and clumsy.
To relieve the awkwardness, Asakura said earnestly, "Why are you so skilled?! How many ties have you tied?!"
"Because the girls' uniform at my middle school also had ties… Looking at it now, Soubu High School's uniform is quite nice. Bow ties are much cuter than ties."
The girl was amused by Asakura's strange tone, and her movements relaxed a lot.
"Oh? Do you have photos? I'd really like to see what Yuigahama Yui looked like back then."
Asakura said casually.
"No way I'm showing you~"
Yuigahama Yui snorted lightly, "Back then, I didn't even know how to put on makeup. I was always bare-faced, and I looked too bad…"
"So, Yuigahama Yui, are you what they call 'high school debut'?"
Asakura asked curiously.
"Why are you suddenly interrogating me about my past?"
Yuigahama Yui didn't answer directly.
"Instead of talking about this, why don't we talk about what Takuma-kun is going to do next?"
"Of course, I'm going to the auditorium to receive guests."
"…A host club?"
"Just normal guest reception, for the senpais who graduated from Soubu High School."
Asakura said.
"What a pity. I was hoping if Takuma-kun charged within a thousand yen, I'd come and support your business."
The girl joked cheerfully.
"Then my hourly wage would be too low! Even working at a convenience store pays more than that now!"
Asakura also responded in a mock-serious manner.
"But I thought the Student Council was in charge of the reception part. So Takuma-kun has to go too…"
"Actually, it's not impossible for the Student Council to handle the reception, but after I put on this outfit, I can't do patrols or anything. The only work I can do is receive guests in the auditorium."
Asakura said.
"Huh? So, does that mean Yukino will also go to the auditorium to receive guests?"
Yuigahama Yui couldn't help but ask curiously.
"No."
The activity room door was suddenly pulled open, and Yukinoshita Yukino, dressed in a princess dress, slowly walked into the activity room, "I can't move normally in this outfit, so until the stage play is over, I won't participate in any other activities."
"Actually, I heard she's wearing a waist-cinching corset, but the waist size was miscalculated, so it's prone to bursting open with a little force, like 'Pa~'…"
Asakura whispered into Yuigahama Yui's ear, in a voice just loud enough for Yukinoshita Yukino to hear. When he said "bursting open—" he even made an easy-to-understand gesture.
Yukinoshita Yukino grabbed a miniature light novel from the table and threw it at Asakura, but Asakura easily caught it and casually put it in his pocket, planning to read it later to pass the time.
"Yukino's dress… so beautiful…"
Yuigahama Yui noticed Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze towards her hands and quickly released Asakura's tie. She looked at Yukino's dress and said with a subtle tone.
"You don't have to say it against your will."
Yukinoshita Yukino said expressionlessly.
"Sorry… But Yukino, your dress really reminds me of Disney's Snow White that I watched when I was little…"
Yuigahama Yui couldn't help but chuckle quietly, "Though it's beautiful, it feels a bit strange."
Actually, it was the cheapness. Although the people from the Drama Club responsible for props and the students from the Sewing Club initially planned to design a wedding dress to serve as the princess dress.
But this work was clearly not something that high school students, who only learned sewing out of hobby, could complete.
So, this part almost fell through, forcing them to modify a low-quality stage costume, which resulted in the current effect.
"Yukinoshita Yukino… Snow White…"
Asakura stroked his chin, showing a meaningful expression.
"What do you want to say?"
Yukino's piercing gaze shot over.
"Nothing, just wondering if you'd feel it if I put a pea under your cushion."
Asakura said earnestly.
"That's the Princess and the Pea, isn't it?"
Yuigahama Yui whispered a reminder.
"They're both princesses, what's the difference?"
"Enough with the pointless talk. It's about to start soon. Are you sure it's okay for you to still be here?"
Yukinoshita Yukino asked, looking at Asakura.
"Looks like it's about time indeed…"
Asakura took out his phone to check the time, "Then I'll go first. You two come over later. Our stage play… Well, even though it's neither the opening act nor the finale, we still have to perform well."
After bidding farewell to Yukino and Yuigahama, Asakura hurried to the auditorium. On the way, he also caught Yanami secretly eating snacks—heaven knows which genius let Yanami be in charge of preparing snacks for the auditorium seats. What's the difference between that and letting a monkey guard the Peach Garden…
Upon arriving at the auditorium, Asakura went backstage to check and found that Gotō Hitori hadn't arrived yet, so he simply went to the entrance to act as a greeter and wait for her.
However, instead of Gotō Hitori, the first person to appear before Asakura was Yukinoshita Haruno, with a meaningful smile on her face.