The tickets for this festival weren't free. Students from other schools below middle school paid 500 yen, older students paid 800 yen, and adults paid 1,000 yen—all fairly reasonable prices.
Students from Trinity and Gehenna, however, got in for free just by showing their student IDs. They also received a discount on seats in the floating grandstand.
Honestly, I was worried we wouldn't even be able to break even, but if you look at it as a long-term investment, it's not so bad. If this place establishes itself as a prime spot for leisure and marine sports, we can consistently attract tourists. And its location on the border of Trinity and Gehenna, while a source of conflict, could be a geographical advantage if we can somehow resolve the tensions between the two schools.
What's that? I sound like some government official about to run a tourism project into the ground?
Yeah, I can't argue with that. Damn it.
But it's fine. A few corporate sponsors who saw the potential have already signed on. If this year goes well, more will follow next year. For the record, Kaiser made an offer, but I turned it down. I have no problem with them growing on their own, but I'm not about to personally help them do it.
Anyway, moving on from the minor details, the festival is set to run for exactly one week.
There are a total of six competitions open to spectators. They'll be held on alternating days, three at a time, to avoid overlap, with a final round for all of them on the last day. In addition, after the inter-school surfing tournament finals, another surfing competition open to all spectators will be held.
I can practically hear the budget draining away, but in the midst of it all, I made sure to add a rule specifically targeting Akari: participation in the eating contest is limited to once per person. Everything else will work itself out. I mean, the student council president of Millenium, a school that's still a bit behind the other two "Big Three," managed to embezzle enough public funds to build a fortress city. There's no way a joint festival hosted by Trinity and Gehenna would ever run out of money.
The main events where our two schools will truly clash are the naval mock battle and the ground annihilation battle, with one more quintessentially "Kivotos" event prepared as well. On top of that, there are jet ski races (individual and team), two-person water skiing, beach volleyball, and an individual surfing competition, among others, which all required careful scheduling.
Naturally, it would be most efficient to hold all the preliminary rounds at the beginning of the festival. However, to keep the external visitors who show up each day entertained, we decided to run one event from start to finals each day. The team battles will be held on the sixth day to prevent the festival atmosphere from getting too overheated on the final day. This schedule was the result of the working-level staff from both schools literally bashing their heads together.
And I mean literally. Over the past month, there were about five incidents where they actually drew guns and got into a massive brawl.
Anyway, for the first day, to give spectators more opportunities to participate in surfing later on, the schedule was set to run the surfing competition and the two-person jet ski race concurrently.
But before all that, the General Student Council President insisted that an opening ceremony speech was essential and roped me and Makoto into giving one. Or rather, she goaded Makoto into it. As a final act of rebellion, I tried to drag the GSC President into it as well, but she accepted my demand so naturally it was as if she'd planned it all along. The realization that I'd been played left me feeling a bit dejected.
And my schedule didn't end there. I was also slated to participate in an exhibition match to liven up the opening ceremony.
It might sound surprising, but this wasn't something someone else asked me to do; I volunteered for it. A while back, on the day I first met Hina, we had promised to have a match someday. That promise has since morphed into today's exhibition match.
Honestly, when I first envisioned this, I wondered if it would even be possible. But in the face of the combined financial power of two colossal academies, nothing is impossible. We also got a lot of help from Millenium, thanks to the connections I made after a certain terrorist club's incident. I'll have to personally thank the Engineering Department; they're the true MVPs of this festival.
Anyway.
…I really have to wear this.
I've been standing blankly in the dressing room for a good ten minutes now. If I don't change and get out there soon, Nagisa's going to give me an earful. You ran off saying you'd show me first, so what's taking you so long? she'd say.
I gulped, staring at the white one-piece swimsuit in my hands.
It's been almost half a year since I possessed this body, and I can count the number of times I've worn a swimsuit in front of others on one hand.
The school swimsuit? I used the excuse of being busy with work to avoid it entirely. It's true that it's the least revealing option, but my aversion to it never really went away. Wearing a skirt is one thing; at least I can wear safety shorts underneath. But swimsuits, even the modest school ones, reveal your figure in a way that's impossible to hide. The few times I wore one were during the lessons I took to prepare for today.
Come to think of it, even before I fully resolved to live as Mika, I felt a resistance to exposing my body in a swimsuit. Maybe, even back then, I was already starting to think of Mika's body as my own.
Rustle.
For some reason, as I took off my clothes one by one, a strangely sensual feeling washed over me. It's the same process as usual, but maybe because the final destination is different, my mood is different too?
When I was completely bare, I stepped into the swimsuit. I folded my wings as much as possible and slipped them through the holes that had been custom-made for them. I put one arm through the sleeve and draped the strap of the sleeveless side over my shoulder, adjusting the bust to make sure it was comfortable.
When I glanced in the dressing room mirror, the beautiful figure staring back at me was so breathtaking I momentarily forgot to breathe.
Still, feeling like something was missing, I took off the scrunchie from my wrist and gathered my hair at the nape of my neck, tying it up. I turned to check my reflection; the wavy ponytail came out looking quite natural and pretty.
A wry laugh escaped my lips. At this point, I'm practically half a woman, aren't I? Even after accepting this body as my own, I still found this appearance incredibly pleasing. Maybe at this point, it wouldn't be strange if people called me a narcissist.
Hmm… it's still embarrassing, but I think I can manage to stand in front of people like this. I hear people are pouring into the festival grounds right now, and the line for the shuttle bus is quite long. Standing in front of that many people would be nerve-wracking whether I was in a swimsuit or not.
Honestly, I was the kind of guy who used to daydream about what a swimsuit Mika would look like before the original Mika was even released in the game. Looking back, it's all rather comical. Of course, back then, I never would have imagined I'd end up like this without ever even pulling the original Mika. It's ridiculously unfair, but that's just how the world works.
Anyway, since I was that obsessed with Mika, I decided to commemorate this look—a look that was quite different from my predictions, yet endlessly lovely—with a selfie. I struck what's commonly known as a "gyaru peace" pose with one hand and, feeling like something was still missing, gave a little wink.
Click!
…What am I even doing?
A wave of self-loathing washed over me, and I had to fight the urge to collapse on the spot. It's one thing to look pretty. It's another to realize that the person going to such lengths to look pretty is me. The cringe is unreal.
"Mika, if you have time to be taking pictures, you should hurry up and come out. And send that picture to me, too."
"H-Huh? You heard that?!"
"Did you really think I wouldn't? So, are you done changing?"
"Ahaha… I didn't think you'd hear. Yeah, I'm done. I'll be out after I put on some sunscreen!"
Hmm, just a moment ago, I thought I was going to die of embarrassment. But thinking of it as a picture for Nagisa suddenly made me feel a whole lot better.
The picture turned out pretty well. I wonder if she'll like it?
I guess it's true what they say: love really does make you a fool.
I opened my pouch, carefully placed my phone inside, and took out the sunscreen, quickly spreading it all over my body. The cool sensation spread across my skin. It was a strange feeling, especially on my thighs, a place I don't usually apply sunscreen.
I shoved the sunscreen back into the pouch and opened the dressing room door.
The moment I stepped out, the sight of Nagisa waiting for me right next to the door made my breath catch in my throat.
She was wearing the white ribbon halter bikini I had picked out for her, with a wrap skirt tied around her waist. She was so dazzling it was almost blinding. The last time I saw her in that outfit at the store, she was wearing a flower crown. Today, she wore a straw hat that I had also chosen. The long, flowing fabric that cascaded from the center of her chest added an elegant touch that was truly beautiful to see.
But, something was a little strange.
The flower decoration I made to attach to Nagisa's straw hat wasn't that one.
"Hey, Nagi. You're wearing the wrong hat."
"Pardon? This one is mine."
"No, yours is the one I decorated with lilies. The one you're wearing has forget-me-nots."
"Precisely. Which means you should be wearing my hat. Because you are mine."
"Uh, uhh? Is that so?"
It was clearly flawed logic, but Nagisa said it with such confidence that I found myself thinking, 'Wait, is she right?'
"You've tied your hair up so prettily, too. Huhu, it will look lovely on you."
With that, Nagisa placed the straw hat on my head and adjusted its position. After what felt like ten minutes but was probably only one, she smiled in satisfaction and took her hands away.
"Huhu, perfect. Now that Sorasaki woman will be able to tell whose you are at a glance. She is not an unintelligent person, after all."
It was then that I finally understood why Nagisa had insisted we swap hats. A cute possessiveness swelled up inside me.
"Honestly, Nagi. If you wanted to advertise that you're mine, you should have just said so! I could even have a choker made with my name on it for you."
"...Pardon?"
"Well, by your logic, the reverse must also be true, right? Isn't that right, Ms. 'Mine'?"
"..."
"Ahahat☆."
"Mika, you are truly…"
Her face beet red, Nagisa looked away. I held out my right hand to her. The lace adorning my sleeve fluttered in the pleasant sea breeze.
"We'll be late at this rate. Let's go, Nagi!"
"...Sigh."
Nagisa let out a sigh, but she couldn't hide the faint smile on her lips as she carefully took my outstretched hand. Then, avoiding my gaze, she whispered softly.
"Let's walk… as slowly as possible. We still have plenty of time."
"Ahaha, shall we?"
It was, without a doubt, the perfect start to the festival.
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