I have no idea how the General Student Council President managed to blow off so much work-related stress through her commentary, but after the match, her voice was completely fine and her face was much brighter, despite all the shouting she'd done.
She was a stark contrast to me; I was completely drained after getting too invested in the race and then proceeding to beat the hell out of Makoto after Saori and Azusa clinched the gold.
Was the term "superhuman" meant to be taken literally, President?
I mean, to work all day without breaking down requires a constitution of steel, but still. After commentating that passionately, it's only normal for your throat to be a little sore. Are you even human?
Anyway. After a final, a medal ceremony naturally follows.
The original agreement was that if a Trinity team won a medal, a Trinity representative would present it, and if a Gehenna team won, a Gehenna representative would do the same.
But Makoto, that damn stubborn… ahem, let's rephrase. That self-absorbed little fool who does whatever she pleases, threw a fit. When it was time to award the medals, she declared she had no medals for "incompetents who couldn't even win gold," pulled her hat down over her eyes, and laid down. How on earth can I turn this girl into a decent person? It's a truly difficult problem.
I couldn't ask the General Student Council President to award the medals to the Gehenna students. For purely political reasons, if she only presented medals to one school's team, it could create the impression that she has some sort of connection to Gehenna.
If the GSC President were to do it, it would only be right for her to present all the medals. But I wanted to be the one to place the medals around the necks of those two proud girls myself. They were the ones who had upheld Trinity's pride, the ones who had proven that my decision to bring Arius into the fold was the right one.
"In that case, the Tea Party Host can simply present all the medals. Is this not a fine opportunity to show that you do not discriminate against the students of Gehenna Academy?"
"...You have a point. A while ago, this would have been impossible, but now it should be fine. It's not just 'not bad,' it might actually be a good thing."
I keep forgetting. Now that I've adopted a pro-Gehenna stance, there's nothing the extremist factions within Pater can do to touch me. The most they could do is impeach me from my position as their leader, but the role of Host would just pass to the moderate Seia, and I could just go live with the Arius girls. It wouldn't matter to me. And since I've already taken care of most of my duties, I don't even need to be part of another faction.
And so, for a variety of reasons, I found myself standing before the winners' podium. A Tea Party attendant stood beside me, holding a box of medals. I took out a pair of bronze medals first.
"Congratulations on the bronze medal. You both did a great job!"
Regardless of the outcome or their school, the two Gehenna students in front of me were third-years. It felt wrong not to treat them as my seniors just because they were from a different school, so I showed them some courtesy. Though if you were to ask me to show the same respect to all my elders, I'd have to think about it.
Next, a pair of silver medals. I walked over to Akari, who was wearing a black bikini of a familiar design with her hair in a ponytail, and Iori, who was wearing a school swimsuit instead of the one I knew from the game.
"Ahaha! Iori, if you stand like that in a place like this, you'll tarnish the Prefect Team's reputation ☆."
Iori, who had been glaring resentfully at Akari with a sullen expression and poor posture, quickly straightened up at my words. To be honest, if Hina had seen her a moment ago, she might have gotten upset. In a way, wasn't I just helping Iori avoid a scolding? Now that Hina was this serious about the competition—serious enough to team her up with Akari—it was a given that she wouldn't escape Hina's icy stare just for winning silver.
Then again, the Hina I know would probably just say, "You did your best, and that's what matters," and let it go. She has a surprisingly soft heart.
"Well then… Wanibuchi Akari, second-year of Gehenna Academy, and Shiromi Iori, first-year. The way you both fought to the very end was truly magnificent. Congratulations on the silver medal!"
As I placed the medals around their necks, I didn't forget to add a little something for Akari.
"If you try to enter the eating contest more than once and get caught, you'll be in trouble, you hear?"
If she asked me to buy her a meal, I could probably do that. I just hope she doesn't throw a tantrum over a competition that has a clear rule against it.
"Alright then, now it's time to award the grand prize, the gold medal ☆."
I took in the sight of Azusa, wearing a frilly two-piece swimsuit that was a little different from the one I knew from the game, but no less gorgeous. My little squirrel really does look good in cute things.
Saori, on the other hand, was wearing a striking black-and-white monokini. It seemed her abs were part of her identity, because even with a monokini, her midriff was on full display, and I absolutely loved it.
"Trinity Integrated Academy… first-years, Joumae Saori and Shirasu Azusa."
Saori had insisted on enrolling in the same grade as the other squad members when she transferred to Trinity, saying she wanted to graduate with them. When I asked what would happen to Atsuko, who would be left behind, her answer was priceless. Something along the lines of, "We can all just get held back a year together, right?" I remember scolding her, telling her to graduate properly with the other four. Atsuko would make plenty of friends and enjoy her school life. There was no need for them to be clinging to younger students when they were already adults. Especially Saori, who was supposed to be in my graduating class but had dropped down a year.
"You two, your performance today was absolutely incredible. It was so thrilling, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time… and at the end, when your bullet sent Akari into the water, I jumped right out of my chair! And Azusa, your driving skills! The way you dodged every single shot, I couldn't help but be amazed—"
"Ahem… Lady Mika. The General Student Council President is signaling for you to wrap it up…"
"Hmph? The President really knows how to pick her moments, doesn't she… Well, I suppose she means I should separate my public and private duties. I understand."
It was a bit ridiculous for me to be complaining about the President after gushing like this during a broadcasted award ceremony.
"I'll just say one more thing. I am so, so proud of you two! Congratulations on the gold medal!"
After placing the gold medals around their necks, I pulled them both into a sudden, tight hug before letting them go. To hell with the broadcast, to hell with my image. These two were the ones who had saved me from becoming a slave, the true MVPs of this competition!
You're the best, Arius Squad! I can count on the rest of you now, right? Right?
Unfortunately, my schedule for the day wasn't over yet. I still had to spend more time as a judge for the surfing competition.
I would have loved to wander the festival grounds with Saori and Azusa, but even if I had the time, it would be a bit ridiculous to do so after sticking Nagisa with Hina. So, I decided to set aside some time for them tomorrow.
The festival may last a week, but I'm not free enough to spend every day at the beach. Aside from the festival, my Tea Party duties have been slowly piling up, and there's a limit to how much of the work for three people Seia can handle on her own. Even if she prioritizes the tasks that need to be done the same day, the work will just keep accumulating. I have to show up and help out at least once every two days, or Seia will collapse.
So, the plan is to finish my work as quickly as possible tomorrow and then spend time with those two.
Hmm… and I should probably drag that Seia, who claims she's too sick for a beach festival, out for some sea breeze one of these days. As much as she talks like a world-weary adult, I can't forget that she's just a student of this age. I'm still annoyed that she dumped the Host position on me, but that's that, and this is this.
…Probably.
And so, as one of the five judges—along with Makoto, the two instructors who had taught our students to surf, and the General Student Council President who had somehow managed to ditch her duties again to secure a spot—I had to watch the surfing competition all the way to the finals. To be honest, it wasn't really my cup of tea.
If anything, I'd rather be the one out there surfing. I should talk to Hina about relaxing the participation restrictions for some events next year.
Surprisingly, the gold and silver medals in the surfing competition were taken by mob-chans from each of our schools. It was proof that even non-named students could win medals in events that weren't directly related to combat.
For the record, the bronze medal went to Morizuki Suzumi of the Vigilante Corps. To be honest, I've never paid much attention to the Vigilante Corps' activities, so I only vaguely remember her name. The only other thing I recall is her nickname, something about a flashbang.
The really important thing here was which school took gold and which took silver. The result, unfortunately, went in Gehenna's favor.
"Kukuk… They told me to be impartial, so I gave everyone a fair 5 points. But the gold medal, as expected, goes to our Gehenna. Does this mean our scores are tied? What a shame, Misono Mika…! Well, no need to be so disheartened by something so trivial. It was impossible for you to surpass the Gehenna led by the great me from the start."
"No, we're just tied now…"
"Kishishishi—!!! Just a moment ago, you were so smug with your one-point lead, but now that's all gone, and that frustrated look on your face is proof that you've already sensed your defeat, is it not? Denying it won't change anything. Just accept that your heart has long since surrendered to me!"
"Wa—ow."
I hate this world. How is this even possible?
Saori and Azusa worked so hard for those points, only for them to be caught up immediately.
Something is definitely wrong with this festival. If it wasn't, there's no way to explain this sense of crisis that's sending chills down my spine…!
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