CH 208

<TL> : I had my tests going on last week, yeah, that’s my reason for procrastinating this week. I’ll do some extra chapters if time permits.

I followed Sudo-sensei down the corridor and arrived at the student guidance room next to the staff room.

This is a room that students who normally spend their time without getting into any trouble do not have to come.

A vague sense of resistance from the thought of being in a place where students are scolded made me refuse to go inside the room.

After confirming that the two people in front of me had entered the room first, I entered the room, peeking inside first.

The room is connected to the staff room by a door at the rear of the room, but it’s usually basically blocked off like a private room.

There is a simple desk and chair, and nothing else.

Sudo-sensei sits across from me, President sits behind me, and I sit in front of him, ready for a conversation.

President and I, who had not been told why we had been summoned, simply waited in silence for him to speak first.

I’m not sure if this is the first time I’ve ever seen Sudo with a fierce expression, but today I think he’s looking twice as fierce as he usually does.

Well, this is what I thought when I saw his face, and from other students’ POV it might even look like he is furious.

That’s how severe and unapproachable his expression is.

“The reason I asked Hiiragi to leave the meeting is because today, a new issue has emerged regarding the Sakura Festival that will be taking place.”

He puts his elbows on the desk, clasps his hands together, and begins to speak in a heavy atmosphere.

The figure reminds me of a certain popular anime. I think I might be the only one here having such ideas. <TL: Conan, I think.>

“When you say ‘…issue,’ do you mean budget or schedule problems?”

President lists the first potential ideas that come to her mind.

But before that, I was tempted to say, ‘Hey! You’ve called me too y’know, you need something from me too, right?’

In fact, just as I was about to say it, President posed a question, stopping me from asking.

“No, it’s not about the schedule or budget, but about the Sakura Festival itself.”

Sudo-sensei picked up a piece of paper from the seat next to him, which he had probably prepared in advance before coming, and held it out on the desk.

When I peeked on the paper which President was reading, I found that there were indeed issues listed there that I had not imagined.

“Two Schools To Simultaneously Host Cultural Festival.”

That was written in the title, and below it was a proposal to hold a cultural festival for two schools at the same time.

One school was, of course, Sakuranaoka Academy.

The other was a high school I knew well.

Kikyo Jogakuin, the girls’ high school in the town where Kaede attends.

The high schools are on opposite sides of the city and are implicitly non-interfering.

It was not decided by anyone that they wouldn’t interfere with each others’ matters, only such a custom remained, but it is about to be directly involved this time.

“Simultaneously …is probably not something we would want to hear at this time.”

I said to Sudo-sensei.

I don’t think it’s realistic or even beneficial.

There is no need to go to the trouble of holding simultaneous festivals for two different schools.

Each cultural festival is unique, and we at Sakuranaoka Academy have a unique opportunity for our students to experience the way of marketing.

In contrast, Kikyo Jogakuin’s festival is an old school event, with an emphasis on choral singing.

Festival and chorus …seem to be too opposite in content no matter how you think about it.

“I’m inclined to agree with Shinra, I don’t understand why it’s a joint festival …and why it’s being proposed at this point in time.”

President also expresses a negative opinion.

The sound of her voice is as sharp as a needle.

The organization has only just begun to move forward, but it will cause unnecessary confusion.

Moreover, if the two schools are going to work together now, there is definitely not enough time.

Of course, Sudo-sensei must be aware of the kind of problems we were thinking about.

And he looked satisfied with the question I asked.

“I have repeatedly advised the principal that it should be next year, but the Dean of …the other side, and even the mayor of this town, have shown a willingness in favor of this matter.”

A single sentence, which was not enough to explain the situation, revealed that the decision was made even over the objections of those in the room.

If the Principal of our academy is who he says he is, and if the other Dean and even the Mayor of the town have come out, then they must be giving it serious consideration.

I let out a sigh of exasperation before leaning back and looking up at the ceiling.

President next to me also froze with her hand on her chin looking thoughtful.

“The day after tomorrow at the earliest, it should be announced that the joint event will take place the morning after tomorrow. The reason I approached Hiiragi before that is because the teacher in charge of the other high school and the student council will be visiting tomorrow after school.”

…I’m here too, you know?

It’s about time he realized that I was also called, but I grasped the intention of being summoned.

If the other side is going to bring out the student council, it means that we are going to bring out the student council as well.

I guess Sudo-sensei will be dealing with the teachers.

Therefore, we will be dealing with the students, and they want us to be prepared.

It was getting more and more complicated.

“What led them to this proposal?”

“To hold a town-wide event to revitalize the town, and also to attract visitors from outside.”

President, who was thinking about the problem at hand with a mind that ran many times faster than mine, gave a rough answer when I asked.

A large shopping mall has been built in a neighboring town a short distance away, and this town, which is steadily experiencing depopulation, needs to do something about it.

As a result, the most efficient way to attract visitors is to hold a cultural festival.

Every year, many junior high school students and their parents come from outside to attend the Sakuranaoka Academy’s cultural festival.

The school is famous for its scenery, recognition, and fashionable school uniforms.

Another major reason is that the students are not tied down so much because of their independence.

From the mayor’s point of view, the school was the perfect candidate for the festival.

It’s all very well for the festival to be a big success, but they have created a situation that I can’t seem to be happy about with both hands raised.

“The final decision will be made at tomorrow’s meeting, but I think it is inevitable that the two festivals will be held at the same time.”

Sudo-sensei looked at us apologetically as he said in a heavy tone.

The burden on the teachers is obvious, but the burden on the students …and executive committee will naturally increase as well.

The data from previous years is not even close to the level of a reference.

That’s probably the reason why President was summoned like this.

The reason why they called Akane Hiiragi, and not Shiraishi, is because of this.

“I understand …we will take care of the other student council’s response. If we can’t avoid simultaneous events, then we have no choice.”

As if to refresh her mind, President let out a short sigh.

Her expression returned to its usual smile.

Sudo in front of her also exhaled in relief and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry, I’ll still try to persuade him to change the date to next year.”

“Thank you.”

After that conversation, President and I left the student guidance office and headed down the hallway.

The destination of our steps was not the audio-visual room where the meeting was being held, but the student council room.

President finally opened the heavy iron door and sat down on a chair in the familiar student council room and opened her mouth that had been closed.

“Simultaneously or not …It was just a reckless decision.”

“…Yes it is.”

Depending on the content, it may be necessary to rethink the festival from the ground up.

The actual cost of the festival will not be the same as the cost of the original plan, but also the budget and all the preparations for the festival which is going on will have to be changed.

It is truly a reckless order.

I honestly don’t understand why the mayor is involved.

It’s the teachers’ job to think about the circumstances.

We can only concentrate on making the event a success.

“I remember Kikyo Jogakuin was your sister’s high school.”

“Well… but She’s a freshman so there’s not much she knows about it.”

We don’t talk much about her school at home.

So there’s not much information you can get out of me.

When I was thinking about such things, President began to talk as if she had agreed with what she had been wondering about.

“The school’s Sports festival is usually separated by one day between our school and the girls’ high school. That’s so to not split the people who come to watch them both. …So I was a little skeptical that the Sports festivals were held at the same time this year, but it all makes sense now.”

President spun around in her chair and said that.

Indeed, this year’s Sports festival was on the same date as Kaede’s.

I had no doubts there, but had the schedule been shifted in previous years?

Listening to this, I was finally able to guess what President wanted to convey.

“So the schedule for the Cultural Festival was also arranged from the beginning to be on the same date…”

If both schools were to hold their festivals at the same time, then they must have proposed to the mayor that the entire town be involved in the event.

Whoever came up with this idea must have had a very twisted personality.

She says it, so there’s no doubt.

What were they thinking, what was the reason, and why did they propose such an incomprehensible idea as a joint event?

Anyway, the first priority should be to avoid letting the other party take the initiative, assuming that a joint meeting will be held.

Once the executive committee meeting that Shiraishi and her colleagues are currently conducting is over, we need to coordinate the information we have and come up with a countermeasure.

As I was thinking about this, President chuckled.

“…Something wrong?”

“No, I just found out a little bit about why Sudo-sensei called you and not Shiraishi or Koizumi.”

“Because I was free…?”

When I responded with an appropriate and plausible reason, President shook her head.

Then, she tells me her opinion.

“Frankly, you are frighteningly calm, and I don’t think any of the other student council members or Shiraishi or others could have remained so calm about it.”

…I’m not sure if this is a compliment or not.

President seems to be having fun, but it’s not fun at all.

In fact, I’m even getting tired of this occasional teasing.

But, I think I understand a little bit what the President is trying to say.

Everyone is trying to make the festival a success.

They are taking into account past trends and this year’s trends, and are trying to come up with various ideas.

But if the festival were to suddenly go back to being a blank sheet of paper, and if it were to be held jointly with a neighboring high school, their heads would explode.

I didn’t get that important of a position… I don’t want one!

Maybe she wasn’t wrong in her choice of people because she wanted the most comfortable attitude.

“Now… let’s start with a discussion between me and you. Shinra, what do you think is necessary for tomorrow’s discussion between students?”

“…”

I pause for a moment to think about that question.　

If it’s Yuuto or something like that, with an equal relationship between the two schools— he’d probably say something like let’s do our best together.

However, that would just give them an opportunity to create a parallel line of conversation.

If that’s the case, even if the other party hates us…

“Let’s be clear about who’s the top dog here..”

The corners of the President’s mouth seemed to curve upwards slightly, after hearing my words.

Yeah… it looked as if Kirasaka was smiling, as if she had just thought of something funny.