Hoo, what should I do…
Aris’s face turns bright red.
Her fingers twirl around her silver hair.
As the cultural festival executive chair, she knew the rules of the Miss Shuo selection contest.
The winner would receive a crown and prize money.
And the crown would be awarded by one of the judges, but she never expected it would be Kim Deok-Sung.
“Uuuuu…”
Thump, thump.
Her heart races.
She never thought what she feared would actually happen.
Her head feels dizzy, turning pink.
“Am I doing my makeup wrong right now? What should I do?”
Aris’s hands tremble.
Her earlobes heat up bright red.
As she fusses over her outfit, Kim Deok-Sung finally stands in front of Aris.
“There will be a Miss Shuo crown presentation!”
The voice of the host, Nodoka, rings in Aris’s ears.
It was a thunderous voice.
*
Who would have thought I’d be the judge awarding the crown.
In the original story, it was clearly Yuji, but I had no idea that would change too.
The gazes of numerous spectators seated in the audience pierce through my back.
“There will be a Miss Shuo crown presentation!”
Nodoka’s voice echoes in my ears.
I reach for the crown.
Under the spotlight, the shining silver crown catches my eye.
Is this really silver?
“…”
I can see Aris’s figure, her face flushed.
The black serafuku unexpectedly suits her silver hair.
“Uuuuu…”
Aris, with her red face, lets out a whimper.
[Partner. Let’s finish this coronation quickly.]
The voice of the Black Prince rings in my head.
I place the crown atop Aris’s head.
Swish.
Aris’s already red face turns even redder.
Her face looks as if it will burst from the redness.
“The winner’s crown has been placed on Miss Shuo’s head!”
With Nodoka’s fanfare, thunderous applause and cheers erupt from the audience.
“Next, we will hear the acceptance speech.”
At Nodoka’s words, Aris, whose face is as red as a tomato, walks up to the podium.
This isn’t an end-of-year awards ceremony; what’s with the acceptance speech?
It’s absurd.
I take a step back, heading towards the other candidates, the Heroines.
“Why are you so late? Hmph.”
“It’s the Master! Master! Eri-ring is here!”
The Heroines swarm around me as soon as I arrive.
The first to speak was Olivia.
“What a tsundere,” her face turns red.
Next to her, Eri giggles and says,
“Nishishi. Did Deok-Sung Oppa come?”
Just as Haru was about to cling to me…
“Deok-Sung, you’ve arrived?”
Wham!
Rin grabs Haru’s wrist and says, “What’s up, Rin? That’s really unfair.”
“Don’t get too close, Kurosawa.”
Rin calmly responds while looking at Haru, who puffs her cheeks in protest.
“My lord, I missed you.”
“Junior, come here.”
Just then, I hear the voices of Makoto and Senpai Kasumi.
“Greetings, students of Shuo! And to our esteemed visitors for the cultural festival. I am Saionji Aris, the Student Council President of Shuo Hero Academy and the final winner of the Miss Shuo Competition.”
Aris begins her speech, wearing a crown.
Her voice is calm yet persuasive, distinctly different from before.
She has transformed back into the Student Council President Aris.
“First of all, I sincerely thank everyone who voted for me in the Miss Shuo Competition. I’d also like to express my gratitude to Vice President Morishita Miho and our secretary, Nagamine Reiji, as well as our fellow student council members. Additionally, thanks to the committee members who helped prepare for the cultural festival. Without you, this successful event wouldn’t be possible.”
Aris speaks like a year-end award winner.
“I also want to thank all the faculty members, including Principal Yoshizaki Seira, who have always encouraged me during tough times. And finally…”
Aris trails off.
Her gaze turns towards me.
“…I dedicate this honor to Kim Deok-Sung, who saved me.”
Bam!
Aris’s face turns red.
What? Saved?
I’m left speechless by Aris’s sudden attack.
Step by step, Aris approaches me.
The heroines next to me glare at Aris, but she walks up to me without a care.
Her white hands grab my cheeks.
Smooch.
Her lips touch my forehead.
Aris’s face becomes flushed as she smiles alluringly.
“Thank you, Kim Deok-Sung. Because of you, I have been saved.”
As soon as Aris finishes speaking, the audience erupts with fervent cheers.
“Is this the public confession we’ve been waiting for!”
“Black Beast! Even the President has succumbed!”
“A public kiss! How bold of the President!”
“Of course it’s the President! Unfazed in expressing love publicly!”
“KYAAAAAAAH!”
The extras scream nonsense.
The heroines beside me are also left in shock by the sudden attack of the forehead kiss.
“Wh-what on earth is happening right now?!”
Olivia is the first to react, stuttering as she points a finger at Aris.
“Exactly! A-chan, what are you doing? That’s seriously cheap. You didn’t even have permission for a kiss!”
Haru’s eyes narrow, reacting next.
“Eri, I can’t let this slide, even if she is the senpai. Step back!”
Then Eri jumps in between Aris and me, trying to split us apart.
“They say a quiet cat always jumps to the stove first… Saionji-senpai… she’s someone to be wary of.”
Rin says with a serious expression while looking at Aris.
“Ji…”
“The junior is a bad man. I’ve never even gotten a kiss.”
Makoto adds, followed by Kasumi Senpai’s whiny voice.
Hearing all this, Aris smiles and links her arm with mine.
“Well then, as promised. I will be Kim Deok-Sung’s partner for the cultural festival folk dance. It’s a reward based on a fair process and reasonable results, so is there any problem with that?”
Aris states confidently with a poker face.
With a ridiculously expressionless face, she spoke.
Proudly puffing her chest out, she declared, “Hmph, as a member of the noble Bonaparte imperial family, I cannot break my promise. Just this once! There won’t be a next time.”
Olivia kicked the floor with her foot as she spoke, her lips pouting.
The other heroines nodded in agreement.
“Hmph.”
Aris chuckled.
“Well then, let’s have a wonderful Huyaje folk dance, Kim Deok-Sung.”
Aris looked at me as she spoke.
I nodded while internally sighing.
What a mess this is.
*
It was the third and final day of the cultural festival.
Thankfully, nothing major occurred after Shinji’s antics and the Miss Shuo Academy competition ended.
Thus, the last day of the festival wrapped up smoothly, and finally, the Huyaje had arrived.
The Shuo Academy campus was deserted after all the external visitors had left.
In the large playground in front of the main building, a massive campfire was roaring.
The bright orange campfire, reminiscent of a traditional bonfire, illuminated the dark blue night sky.
[Now, let’s begin the Huyaje!]
Once again, Amano Nodoka, who was hosting the event, declared the start of the Huyaje through the microphone.
Fwoosh.
The orange flames flickered.
[Dance with your partners! Thank you all for your hard work!]
Mori Shita Miho, the acting chairperson, stood at the podium and spoke through the microphone.
Along with her, folk dance music filled the speakers.
I could see students around dancing.
Olivia and Rin were glaring at each other while dancing, Eri and Makoto were smiling and dancing together, and the timid Kasumi-senpai was dancing with the playful Haru.
The remaining heroines paired off to dance.
I spotted Kusunagi dancing with Yuji over there too.
[Partner, are you enjoying yourself?]
I heard the Black Prince’s voice in my head.
I turned my head.
In front of me stood Saionji Aris.
Fwoosh.
Perhaps because of the blazing campfire, Aris’s face was flushed red as she extended her hand toward me.
A gesture asking me to hold her hand.
But the problem was…
“I… don’t know how to dance the folk dance…”
It’s embarrassing that I can’t dance well.
It was the same at the last French ball.
You need to have danced the folk dance before to dance it.
Hearing my words, Aris smiled.
She firmly grasped my hand.
“It’s okay, Kim Deok-Sung. I’ll lead.”
The music played.
I surrendered my body to Aris’s lead.
Fwoosh.
Though my steps got tangled for a moment, thanks to Aris’s guidance, it wasn’t too disastrous.
Tap.
Aris moved a little closer to me.
In a soft voice, she whispered in my ear.
“I’ll be standing beside you from now on. Though I started late, I definitely won’t lag behind the juniors who got ahead of me. So…”
Aris’s face turned red.
She smiled faintly.
“I’m counting on you from now on, Kim Deok-Seo.”
Aris whispered softly.
Her confident voice and proud expression were a stark contrast to her shy demeanor.
I found myself unable to respond to her words once again.
Fwoosh.
The campfire roared.
And thus, the cultural festival came to an end.
*
Soviet Union.
Siberia’s secret city.
Headquarters of the New World League.
In a vast chapel adorned with stained glass depicting the Savior’s legend, a handsome black-haired man was kneeling alone in prayer.
In the place where the crucifix should be, there was nothing at all.
The chapel doors swung open behind a man dressed in a white suit and black shoes.
Four shadows emerged.
With hoods pulled low, the eerie glints in their eyes belonged to four distinctly different figures.
Clap.
The chapel doors closed.
The four villains dropped to their knees.
“Master.”
One of the kneeling villains removed his hood.
A handsome man with impressive squinty glasses.
It was the Professor.
Flash.
The Messiah opened his eyes.
“The Trickster’s position failed in the cultural festival terror mission.”
“I see…”
The Messiah closed his eyes.
He stood up from his seat.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
The Messiah clapped his hands.
“A predictable failure, indeed.”
The four villains flinched at his words.
The Messiah turned his back.
He spotted one of the kneeling villains on one knee.
“You executed the mission according to our pre-planned operation, yet the opposition seemed to know our plans from the very start, foiling our strategies and blocking the terror attempt right from the beginning.”
“Yes, that’s correct. I apologize.”
The Professor bowed his head and spoke.
The Messiah shook his head.
“No, no, don’t worry about it.”
His hand touched the Professor’s head.
The Messiah smiled in a gentle voice.
“I’ve been suspicious for some time. How is it that my perfect and meticulously secured plans are continually disrupted by a variable like Kim Deok-Sung? What methods does he use to obstruct the New World plans, I wonder?”
The eyes of the four villains trembled.
The Messiah was right.
Every plan of the League was thoroughly impeded.
And at the center of it all was Kim Deok-Sung, the hero candidate from Korea.
“But now it’s certain.”
The Messiah’s eyes grew cold.
He spoke in a soft voice.
“Kim Deok-Sung, whatever method he used, he already knows the specifics of the New World plan. Since he knows my plans, obstructing them is simple… This cultural festival terror was merely a litmus test for him. It was deliberately carried out according to the original plan.”
Flinch.
The bodies of the four villains shivered.
“Our operation has been exposed.”
The Messiah smiled.
“Then we shall discard the existing operation entirely. Furthermore, I will dispose of all 13 Apostles, except for the four Horsemen present before me. There’s a possibility that our operation plans leaked through them, whose loyalty has not been verified.”
The Messiah’s gaze turned icy.
“From now on, you will personally step up for the operations.”
The Messiah’s once gentle voice hardened.
“My knights, the four Horsemen who will open the New World.”
The four villains, the four infamous and terrible EX-rank villains, trembled with excitement at merely being part of the Horsemen.
They bowed their heads and replied.
““““Yes, Master!””””
Hearing their response, the Messiah smiled.
His gaze shifted to Japan on the globe.
“Now, how long can you last, Black Beast, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung?”
A smirk appeared on the corners of his mouth.
He spun the globe.
Whoosh, crash.
The spinning globe shattered into pieces right there.
“I’ll be watching.”
The Messiah’s heavy voice echoed through the chapel.
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