The cardboard issue was finally behind us thanks to Miyama, and preparations for our class play were picking up steam as the Cultural Festival approached.
After school, the work was divided into three groups: the Scriptwriting and Direction Team, the Props Team, and the Shopping Team. Those of us who had been assigned roles in the play, myself included, spent our time helping out with the shopping and other errands.
Then, during lunch break a few days later, it happened.
"Listen up, everyone! The script is finished!"
Hino, the Executive Committee Member, returned from the computer room with a stack of fresh printouts. He called those of us with roles to the front of the classroom and began distributing the completed scripts.
The script... It was finally done.
I wondered how this would all turn out at first, but I was just glad to see it finished.
Looking at the cast list on the first page, my eyes landed on a role titled "Bakunyuu Dwarf." It sounded like the complete linguistic opposite of Attack on Titan, but I felt like I’d be admitting defeat if I actually commented on it, so I decided to ignore it.
"Look, look, Ryouta! Airi’s dwarf has so many lines!"
"O-oh, yeah..."
The "Bakunyuu Dwarf" played by Miyama was apparently the leader of the seven dwarfs, so she had a significant amount of dialogue. Giving her more lines was likely a calculated move to draw in her massive fan base from across the school.
"Yay! Airi has almost as many lines as the lead!"
Completely oblivious to the underlying strategy, the girl herself was beaming with joy.
Actually, it was a bit late to be noticing this, but... this casting...
I suddenly realized something.
Since the genders for the roles had been swapped, the Stepmother Queen—famous for the poison apple—was being played by Hino. However, every other character was played by a girl.
The hunter who spared Snow White and let him escape into the forest was a girl. All seven dwarfs, including Miyama, were girls. And on top of that, the Princes were Yuria and Rui.
No, wait. This wasn't just a play anymore. This was a full-blown "Harem Snow White" scenario designed specifically for my benefit.
"I’ve decided to have Ichinose play the Prince for the morning performance, and Kuroki will take the role for the afternoon performance. Take it away, you two," Hino explained.
Rui and Yuria both nodded slightly.
Oh, right. They really were double-cast. So it was Yuria first, then Rui? Honestly, I kind of wished they’d double-cast Snow White instead...
"Hey, Ryouta."
As I stood there with a sour expression, Yuria called out to me.
"This is my first time doing a play or anything like this... but I’m going to take it seriously. You’d better take it seriously too, Ryouta."
"O-oh... sure."
Leaving it at that, Yuria turned and headed back to her seat.
"Honestly, that Yuria. She’s so serious about the strangest things."
Rui spoke up, watching Yuria’s retreating back before turning to me.
"Ryouta-kun. Since we’re going to be destined partners... let's make sure to have plenty of fun, okay?"
"W-what’s that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. We’re the Prince and Snow White, brought together by fate, after all."
Rui had a way of making every sentence sound loaded with hidden meaning. Destined partners, huh?
"Hey, Rui-chan, Rui-chan!"
"What is it, Airi?"
"You see, Airi’s role is the 'Bakunyuu Dwarf,' but what exactly does bakunyuu mean?"
"............"
Even the ever-composed Rui froze for a split second. It was the kind of difficult-to-answer question that ranked right up there with a child asking, "How are babies made?"
"Hehe... that sort of question is Ryouta-kun’s specialty, so why don't you ask him?"
"Okay!"
Rui gave a cute little shrug, stuck out her tongue, and beat a hasty retreat to her seat.
Hey! Rui! You traitor! She had dropped a total bombshell and run for cover.
"Hey, hey, Ryouta! What is bakunyuu?"
"...T-that's..."
If I honestly told her, "It refers to breasts of an otherworldly scale that go way beyond just being big," she would inevitably be completely creeped out by me.
"H-hey, Miyama. More importantly, do you want to go check out the new menu at the school cafeteria?"
"What? A new menu?! I want to try it!"
Once again, I managed to successfully distract her with food.
I guess I’ll have to pinch pennies for a while to make up for the expense...