By the time I returned to the classroom to confirm the details of the student council arrangement, the sun had already set. It was near the end of the school day, and the room was almost empty.
I stepped inside, half-expecting Amelia to still be there, and found her alone, hunched over some papers and groaning to herself.
"Hmm. This part is fine here, but that part over there is..."
"Amelia."
"Ray, you're late. Did you get the proposal in?"
"Of course."
"...You have a look of total seriousness on your face. Did something happen?"
"I’ll tell you now."
I took the seat across from her, turning the chair around to face her directly.
"I’ll fulfill my duties to the class. But at the same time, I intend to help out the student council."
"The student council? Why the sudden interest? Could it be... ah. I see."
"You figured it out?"
"Given the current council members, it's not hard. It’s because of Rebecca-senpai’s engagement, isn't it?"
"Yes. It seems the other members have abandoned their posts, leaving Rebecca-senpai and Dina-senpai to run everything themselves. If things stay as they are, they’ll both collapse eventually. That’s why I offered my help."
"I see. Well, I suppose it can’t be helped then... Since the girls are the main focus of our project, there isn’t much for you to do for the class anyway. It’s fine with me."
"Is that so? I’m grateful."
I bowed my head.
I knew I should technically be pouring all my effort into the class project. But after seeing that disastrous situation, I couldn't simply ignore it. Amelia seemed to understand my reasoning, as she gave her consent immediately.
"Then I’ll handle the adjustments on your end, Ray. Let's work out a schedule for when you'll be in the classroom and when you'll head to the student council."
"Yeah. I’ll leave it to you."
The two of us spent a while discussing the schedule for the coming days.
Everything was progressing smoothly so far, which was a testament to how seriously Amelia was taking this. Once we finished the meeting, she leaned back into her chair and gave her spine a long, deep stretch.
"Mmm. Haa... I'm exhausted today."
"Good work, Amelia."
"It's fine. I'm doing this because I want to. Up until now, the cultural festival was just something I did out of habit, but I decided that from this year on, I’m going to enjoy myself. That’s... because everyone—because Ray—was here... you know?"
Her eyes wavered slightly.
Amelia had changed, but she was still feeling her way forward. That was the impression I got. But because we could support one another, she had resolved to move forward of her own volition.
The same applied to me.
I, too, intended to enjoy my first cultural festival to the fullest.
"But!"
Amelia suddenly leaned in, her eyes narrowing as she stared intensely at my face. She held up an index finger and pointed it at me.
"Don't you go messing around with Rebecca-senpai too much, okay? I’m sure she has her reasons for everything, but you... you do these things without even realizing it!"
"Hm? What do you mean? Messing around? Are you saying it's wrong for me to help her...?"
"No, that's not it at all...! Oh, honestly! If you don't get it, then never mind... Haa. But because you’re this kind of Ray, I—"
"You, what?"
"...It’s nothing. Come on, Ray, let’s go home."
"Yeah. Let's do that."
Amelia and I left the quiet classroom behind. As we walked away, I took one last look inside.
I was certain that on the day of the event, this room would be transformed into something magnificent. There was no doubt that this would be the best cultural festival possible.
With that wish in my heart, I started the walk home with Amelia.
◇
The next day.
During lunch break, we gathered to eat at the school cafeteria as usual.
By now, Albert had joined our group, making us quite a large party.
"Speaking of which, Clarice, what is your class doing?"
When I asked, Clarice’s twin-tails gave a proud little bounce as she smirked.
"Heh, heh, heh... Our class is doing... a haunted house!"
"A haunted house? Do you mean that literally?"
"That’s right! We’re going to go 'rawr' and scare everyone senseless!"
"I see... So you're sublimating the emotion of fear into entertainment. Fascinating."
Hmm... I see.
I had done a bit of research on cultural festival attractions, but I was genuinely impressed by the sheer variety of events a school could host. Then, Clarice’s expression suddenly fell, and she whispered under her breath.
"I’m looking forward to the haunted house, but... I wish I was in the same class as everyone else. I wanted to enjoy the cultural festival together..."
It was true.
Evi, Albert, Amelia, Elisa, and I were all in the same class. Among our group, Clarice was the only one in a different class.
She was clearly feeling lonely about it.
There wasn't much we could do; we’d just have to hope for better luck during the next year’s class reshuffle. But seeing Clarice so dejected, Amelia suddenly lunged forward and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Nya!? W-What!?"
"Oh, Clarice, you’re just too cute! It’s okay, our friendship won’t change just because our classes are different!"
As Amelia spoke, her hands began to roam over Clarice’s body with a suggestive, practiced touch. It was a display of veteran technique. In truth, I couldn't judge the actual proficiency, but I knew Amelia possessed an alarmingly high level of skill in this area.
Clarice’s face filled with despair as she looked to the rest of us for salvation.
"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaah! H-Help me, everyone! A fit! Amelia’s started having one of her fits!"
"..."
"You’re ignoring me!? E-Elisa...! You’re right next to her, stop Amelia!"
"..."
"Heheh... Clarice has a great body as always... A smaller frame has its own unique charm... Heheh..."
"Gyaaaaaah! I-I'll never be able to get married nowwwwwww!!"
The four of us shifted our chairs slightly away from the duo and continued eating our lunch.
When Amelia went on a rampage like this, there was no stopping her. Once, Evi and I had tried to intervene, only for Amelia to growl at us like a territorial beast.
Since then, it had become a tacit agreement among us to simply leave her be when a "fit" occurred.
Incidentally, Elisa had become quite adept at dodging these attacks lately. She seemed to feel somewhat guilty about Clarice being sacrificed in her stead, but clearly, she valued her own safety more.
"By the way, Elisa. How is the costume production going?"
"Good. Right now, we’re all consulting on the final design adjustments. Albert-kun has a surprising amount of knowledge, so it’s been a huge help."
"Is that so, Albert?"
Albert wore a somewhat melancholic smile as he spoke of his past with a hint of trauma in his voice.
"...Yeah. Years ago, I had to accompany my older sister while she studied design and pattern-making... I was used as a test subject for all sorts of things back then. Though, I suppose I should be grateful those skills are finally proving useful."
"I see. At this rate, it looks like Evi and I will be stuck in the kitchen."
"Pretty much. I mean, the only people in our class who can actually cook are me, Ray, and Elisa. I knew this would happen with a class full of nobles, but it’s going to be a lot of work."
Just as Evi said, we had been assigned to the kitchen. While other students could handle things like brewing tea, most of them had never even held a chef's knife. By process of elimination, Evi and I were the primary cooks.
Elisa was scheduled to jump in and help whenever she had a break from her own duties.
In reality, however, the menu wasn't that extensive. The main draw was the service provided by the maids, so we didn't need to be master chefs.
Slice and grill.
As long as we could manage those simple steps, we’d be fine. Amelia was handling the procurement of ingredients, so things were looking up.
As the four of us continued our discussion about the festival, Clarice was finally released... though she remained facedown on the table, motionless. Her twin-tails had lost all their bounce, hanging limp like the branches of a weeping willow.
"Phew... I feel properly recharged now."
Amelia, conversely, looked radiant with a sense of accomplishment.
And so, our preparations for the cultural festival continued to move forward smoothly.
Yes. On the surface, at least—