The days leading up to a festival always seemed to pass in a frantic blur. Somewhere in the school, chaos and confusion erupted daily, and as the opening day deadline loomed, someone would inevitably let out a cry of sheer despair. Yet despite the hectic atmosphere, the expressions on the students' faces were overwhelmingly positive—filled with joy or restless anticipation. Even those who acted like they were only participating out of obligation, wearing weary masks of indifference, had eyes that sparkled with a hidden excitement that spoke louder than words.
When the day before the main event finally arrived, Mika and I found ourselves walking to school with a bit more spring in our steps than usual. Well, in my case, it was more like I was being dragged along by her.
"It’s finally the school festival tomorrow, Onii-chan! I can't wait..."
"Yeah, you're right. The club preparations are mostly finished, so all that’s left is a little fine-tuning before we open tomorrow morning. It’s a relief. As for our class... well, we’ll make it somehow."
"Must be nice for your stuff to be so easy. My class’s main attraction still isn't quite right, you know? We just threw together every idea we had, so the success rate is..."
"You look like you're having the time of your life, though."
Mika’s class was doing a rather unique attraction. She was trying to act dejected, but her face was alight with the sheer determination to make it work, no matter what. It was clear she was enjoying the process.
It was good to see her having so much fun. It was a stark contrast to the mood in my own classroom.
"Of course I am! It’s my first high school festival. I have to make the most of it!"
"Fair enough. By the way, Mom said she and the others were coming to see how things were going tomorrow. If you don’t make it a success, they’re definitely going to tease you when we get home."
"Eek, I'd hate that... Yeah, I really have to give it my all so everything goes perfectly!"
"Well, just do your best without pushing yourself too hard."
As I encouraged Mika, who seemed to be wavering between embarrassment and pressure at the thought of our parents visiting, I bit back the urge to remind her that I’d felt the same way when she and the rest of the family came to visit last year. I still remembered being relentlessly mocked for the ghost makeup I’d worn for our class's haunted house. I caught myself wondering what kind of snarky comment I should prepare if her class's main attraction ended in disaster.
As we chatted, I spotted a familiar figure walking ahead of us and called out.
"Yo, Yuji! Morning!"
"Hm? Oh, Daiki and Mika-chan. Good morning."
"Good morning!" Mika added.
I greeted Yuji, who had apparently decided to head to school a bit earlier than usual, and we fell into step together, the conversation naturally turning toward tomorrow's festivities.
"How are your club presentation materials looking, Yuji?"
"Yeah, I think I managed to get the revisions into a shape I’m happy with. I didn't change the core content, but it’s a lot easier on the eyes now... more approachable, I think."
"A wall of text is hard to swallow, after all."
"It’s thanks to Hino-san’s artistic talent... yeah, her talent."
I felt a slight twinge of unease when Yuji’s expression briefly turned complicated, but since the three of them were handling it together, I figured it couldn't have turned out too bizarre. If he said her talent helped, the illustrations were likely well-executed.
Besides, it wasn't as if we were expecting a massive crowd for the presentation of a dry, academic club like ours. Even if things were a little strange, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
"I see. Well, I’ll look forward to seeing the results later."
"Yeah... Just don't let your expectations get too high, okay?"
"What’s with the warning?"
"The drawings themselves are good. I mean, the art itself."
He made it sound like there was something to look forward to, but with a significant catch. It was probably one of those cases where the art was technically proficient but guided by a very 'unique' sensibility.
Still, Yuji said it was fine, so I decided to take his word for it.
"In that case, I’ll set the bar as high as possible and look forward to it even more."
"Hey."
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
I ended the banter there. There was no point in digging deeper when I’d find out the truth soon enough anyway.
When the three of us reached the entrance, we ran into Hiiragi-san, who was just changing into her indoor shoes. It seemed she had also arrived earlier than her usual time.
"Oh? Good morning. The three of you are together today?"
"Yeah, we caught up with Yuji on the way. Good morning, Hiiragi-san."
"Morning, Hiiragi-san. I left home a bit early and bumped into them," Yuji explained.
"Good morning!" Mika chirped.
As Hiiragi-san looked at us with a curious expression—it wasn't every day we all arrived together—we returned her greetings and gave a brief explanation. Since Mika and I lived in the same house, we usually walked together, but meeting Yuji or Hiiragi-san before reaching the classroom was a rarity due to our differing schedules.
We quickly finished changing our shoes and prepared to part ways with Mika, who was headed to a different floor.
"Good luck with your preparations, Mika."
"Thanks!"
"Mika-chan, tell the other three that our club prep is pretty much done," Yuji added. "They don't need to force themselves to come by the club room today."
"Our class prep will probably finish early anyway," Hiiragi-san said, "so we'll take care of the club exhibit. Don't worry about it."
"Got it, thank you! But if I can sneak away for a bit, I’ll try to stop by."
With a determined nod, Mika left us at the entrance and jogged toward her classroom. Well, good luck to her.
Once we’d seen her off, the three of us headed toward our own classroom.
When we arrived, the room was already filled with students. It seemed almost everyone had decided to come in early today.
"Morning." "Good morning."
As we walked in, we were greeted by our classmates near the door with about twice as much energy as usual. Despite the early hour, their voices were crisp and rang with a mixture of focus and excitement. While they had appeared utterly unmotivated during the planning stages, it seemed they could no longer hide their excitement now that the eve of the festival was upon them.
Considering how lethargic they’d been when we were picking the theme, I took this "quiet fire" as a good sign. I just hoped no one would get carried away by the high spirits and start suggesting anything reckless.
"Looks like everyone's really fired up."
"Seems so. Well, it's a once-a-year festival. Better this than everyone acting like it's a chore."
"We’re going to have visitors from outside the school, so at least we’ll be able to provide proper hospitality," Hiiragi-san noted. "Since people are coming all this way, I’d rather they leave with a good impression than a bad one."
Seeing our classmates so motivated, we felt a similar surge of determination. We'd been distracted by various incidents lately and hadn't been able to focus much on the festival, so we needed to make sure we didn't drag the class down.
We took our seats and waited for the bell. The moment it rang, the teacher walked in.
"Everyone, take your seats. Homeroom is starting."
At his command, the students who had been standing around chatting scrambled back to their desks. Once everyone was settled, the teacher began the morning announcements.
"Good morning. Tomorrow is finally the big day. This afternoon is dedicated to festival preparations, but we have regular classes all morning, so try not to let your heads stay in the clouds."
After the greeting, he gave us a broad overview of the schedule. Just as he said, we had a half-day of classes followed by the afternoon setup. The plan was mostly to move in the decorations and larger props we’d been working on.
"Any student who has club duties must coordinate with their class's executive committee before leaving. Don't just disappear on your own. This is technically still part of the school day, so while it won't be marked as an unexcused absence, it’s not acceptable behavior. To the executive committee members: if someone comes to you to coordinate, don't just flatly refuse them. Try to be accommodating."
"Yes, sir!" the class replied in a chorus of casual voices.
Our class's attraction was mostly about setting up the venue, so it wasn't particularly difficult to step away for a while. As long as I promised to do my share of the heavy lifting first and cleared it with the committee, it shouldn't be an issue.
Normally, prep work required as many hands as possible for moving furniture and heavy materials, so people leaving would be frowned upon. However, the circumstances this year were a bit different.
"Our class has a relatively high number of students with an Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures, so moving heavy objects shouldn't be a problem. But just because you can move them alone doesn't mean you should. Especially for the larger pieces, work in pairs at the very least. Doing it solo leads to accidents. If anyone gets seriously injured during prep, the festival could be canceled entirely."
Unlike last year, there were many students with explorer licenses, which meant tasks like hauling gear that usually required a large group could now be handled by just a few people. This was especially true for the second and third-years who had been explorers for a year or so.
Even for the first-years, who were lower level and had shorter careers, an explorer was still an explorer. Even a petite girl who was a licensed explorer could easily handle as much physical labor as a fully grown, fit adult.
"Also, some of you may need to leave campus to procure materials or pick up orders. Remember, this is still during school hours. If you need to go off-site, you must get permission from your homeroom teacher or club advisor first. If you leave without permission, you'll be marked as leaving early or absent, so be warned."
Standard warnings. As the teacher pointed out, leaving school without permission during what was technically a class period would be trouble. At worst, you might end up involved with the police, which would mean the teacher would have to come and bail you out.
After a few more detailed instructions, morning homeroom ended.
"That's all. I know you're all excited for tomorrow, but make sure you don't neglect your morning lessons. Homeroom is dismissed. Day monitors?"
"Stand. Bow."
"Thank you very much!"
As soon as we finished our thanks, the teacher practically vanished from the room. He was moving even faster than usual; it seemed even the staff were feeling the pre-festival rush.
The moment he was gone, the classroom erupted into noise as everyone stood up again.
"We should probably go and put in our requests to leave for club stuff," I said.
"I don't know if we can all slip away at once, but it's not like there's a mountain of work to do anyway," Yuji replied.
"I’ll go talk to the executive committee for now and clear it for the three of us, including Hiiragi-san. Better to get these things handled early."
"Right, thanks, Daiki."
I headed off to negotiate with the committee for permission to duck out of class prep later. I just hoped they’d be reasonable about it.
Morning classes ended without any problems, and the official preparation period began. After the teacher gave us a few final reminders, we started on the class attraction.
That said, it mostly involved cleaning, rearranging desks, and putting up decorations. Since we’d prepared everything in advance, it was a remarkably smooth process.
"Is that it? Just the food and drink deliveries left?"
"Those are coming tomorrow. The people in charge will bring them in the morning."
"So that means all our scheduled work for today is done."
Within an hour of starting, our class's setup was complete. I’d thought it would be easy, but it went even faster than I’d anticipated.
Since we were ahead of schedule, the three of us checked in with the committee and headed to the club room. As we walked through the halls, the air was thick with the clamor of students working all over the building. Occasionally, I’d hear voices that sounded like they were in a heated argument, but a closer listen usually revealed it was just a passionate debate about where to place a certain prop, so it wasn't a concern.
Passing through the chaos, we reached the club room and began our own setup, following the layout we’d planned beforehand. We didn't have a massive amount of decorations, so the work was finished in no time.
"Alright. It's done."
We stood back and looked around the finished club room, our thoughts finally shifting to the festival that was only one day away.
We’d done everything we could. All that was left was to open the doors and see what happened.