The moment I saw Iroha, leisurely reading a book while seated at the helm of the boat towards Gehenna, I had a lot to say.
But I held back.
Curiosity and such can wait until after I win.
While I was thinking that, I realized there was someone else who was just as surprised to see Iroha as I was.
[W-What?! Iroha, why are you there?!]
Wow, Makoto is living life without knowing where one of the key personnel of the Manma Battle is. Impressive, really.
[Let’s start the opening match as soon as we hear a few words from the players and finish the preparations. First up, a brief word from Sorasaki Hina!]
A broadcast drone flew towards Hina, capturing her. Of course, this drone was equipped with a microphone.
Soon, Hina’s face appeared on the relay screen connected to the dome’s ceiling.
[…Hmm. A word of resolve, huh? If I had to say, it’s a resolve to definitely win. Ever since before, I wanted to settle things with Mika, and this match happened because both of us wanted it.]
Naturally, Hina was just as earnest about this match as I was. The desire to win against each other had been steadily burning for months.
[I won’t bother with a long speech since it’s annoying. Events, festivals… I’ll win them all, and so will Gehenna. Try to stop me, Mika!]
In response to Hina’s arrogant declaration, a raucous cheer erupted from the Gehenna audience. It was such a fiery provocation that I didn’t even have time to wonder why Hina was addressing me so casually.
But since this event match was a wager for a wish, it was understandable she was trying hard to win. But why the festival… Was she really trying to shove me into Makoto’s hands that much?
Could it be that she planned to make me lose the wager, bring me over to Gehenna, and then knock out Makoto to kidnap me?
…No way, right? No way Hina would do that.
[Next up, Misono Mika! Let’s hear how she will respond to Sorasaki Hina’s arrogant provocation!]
This time, a drone flew towards me. Knowing my image was being broadcast not only to the audience in front of me but also on the screens set up around the festival venue made me feel a bit dizzy. I decided not to dwell on the fact that I was in a swimsuit.
Just be natural, as I always am. There’s no need to be serious. I’ll just say what I usually say.
“Ahaha, Hina-chan! No matter how long or short it is, you need to test it out to know. But there are things you can know without testing in this world.”
Honestly, it had been a pain to wear ill-fitting clothes all this time. I thought about just telling everyone to buzz off and ditching the host gig to return to being a full member of the Gourmet Research Club…
Anyway. Given the situation, it’s time to live for myself.
I decided not to use polite language to maintain the weight suitable for the host. I can save that for vendors in the shopping district or the teacher who will come someday.
“…Long and short?”
Oh snap. Now that I mention it, Hina was actually shorter than me. Right.
Let’s just pretend I don’t know.
“Well, I won’t say much about this match. Don’t come crying about it being invalid or suggesting a rematch if you lose, Hina-chan!”
“…”
As soon as I finished speaking, cheers erupted not only from the Trinity audience and the neutral audience but even from the Gehenna crowd.
Hmm, they probably don’t care who wins. If I win, I get to see the student council president, who has always been a source of fear for me, fall. If Hina wins, it half-proves that Trinity is below Gehenna.
Half-proof because Trinity has the strategic weapon T.
When I subtly shifted my gaze, I saw shadows on Hina’s face. Particularly, her eyes were icy as if coated with frost.
Honestly, I wouldn’t say I wasn’t a bit scared, but I had to manage somehow. There was no choice. If I don’t respond to the provocations, how can I keep the spirits of the Trinity kids up?
If I win here, it opens the way for a complete Trinity victory, along with taking control.
“And our other student council president and my girlfriend, Nagisa-chan, has been saying some really awkward stuff lately. Hmm, I might need to say something different now.”
Nagisa was smiling despite my direct criticism about her inability to separate public and private matters. I don’t know what’s so good about it, but it looks nice, so maybe that’s a good thing?
“I’m sure I expressed this festival as a place for Trinity to publicly trample Gehenna in the past. Given that there will clearly be winners and losers, it’s inevitable for fortunes to waver. Yes, it’s clear competition will be heated.”
In the past, I acted tough out of fear of the Pater Faction students, but now I didn’t care. Instead, I hope that all students in Gehenna, as well as those in Pater, could enjoy the festival without harboring hatred towards each other.
“My desire to win the festival hasn’t changed. I still believe our Trinity students will bring victory. However… I hope both academies can enjoy this festival to the fullest, regardless of wins or losses.”
This festival will continue to welcome students from both academies this year, next year, and the year after.
“Through the process of fighting and clashing with one another, you might find unexpected sides in your opponents and commonalities with those who once seemed entirely different. If you make friends with those like-minded, it couldn’t be better.”
As someone who has already experienced being a student, I certainly had valuable thoughts to share with the kids still carrying out their school life.
While adult advice might seem like mere nagging to students, there’s definitely value in nagging that comes from experience. It’s just that most don’t realize this until long after the fact.
“Spending your school days hating each other makes them too precious to quantify, yet they’re also far too short. Even a fool like me who once hated Gehenna more than anyone in Trinity came to realize this, so why can’t you all?”
So, while accepting the adult’s nagging, I cleverly played with my words. By belittling myself while hinting that if they can’t do this, they would end up less capable than me, it poked at their pride.
I don’t have the ability to come up with a heartfelt speech that could resonate, so I settle for this kind of trickery. After all, if I could write a speech good enough to make them set aside their hate for each other, the previous me wouldn’t have lived such a mundane life.
“Ahaha, sorry sorry! I ended up talking for too long about something boring, huh? What I really wanted to see here today was something else. Enjoy the opening match of this festival, everyone! And thanks for the support! I love you, Nagisa-chan☆”
After spitting out those last words, I quickly turned my body. I could tell my face was probably as red as a tomato by now.
[Yes, what a passionate pair… But thank you for the kind words, Misono Mika. Now, while we wait for both teams to finish their preparations, let’s go over the schedule for today’s tournament…]
I stepped onto the platform and started gearing up for skiing. While doing so, Hina, who seemed to have a much colder demeanor than before, started speaking first.
“…The wager. You remember, right?”
“Of course, I remember.”
“As I said earlier, I’m not giving up, Mika. If you really want to crush my will, then win so that I have to give up my wish. If so, I’ll be really annoyed, but I’ll cleanly back off. If you do that, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“Hina-chan…”
“Of course, I’m talking about when you win, Mika. I absolutely won’t lose.”
Hina, wearing skis on one leg, approached the edge of the platform, grabbing the tow rope that Iroha had tossed to her. Iroha, making eye contact with me, gave a sheepish smile and waved her hand gently. Then she mouthed something to me…
No idea. I can’t see it. If I had mastered lipreading, I’d know, but I haven’t.
“Oww… Mika-senpai, can I really do this?”
Hifumi, in her ordinary school swimsuit, was crouched on the boat, her unfocused gaze turning towards me.
“Ahaha, Hifumi-chan! Don’t worry, we’ll win as long as you perform like in practice. So don’t think too much about it! It’s not a formal tournament, so there’s no need to feel pressured.”
“Hearing you say that, I feel a little more at ease… Oh, and here’s the rope!”
Hifumi awkwardly threw the tow strap at me with one hand, and I easily snagged it. Standing at the edge of the platform, it was more advantageous to grab the rope with both hands for a stable start, so I found it awkward to be holding the gun’s grip as I tethered it with the other hand.
[We’d like to express our gratitude to the engineering department of Millennium Science School, which has been a great help in many aspects of this festival. The drones from the engineering department have played a big role in the tournament’s mechanics and broadcasting…]
As the Student Council President explained, the unexpected connection with Millennium had significantly helped improve the quality of the festival. From little equipment to drones broadcasting the event, and drones marking the course over the water that the competition swimmers needed to pass. I didn’t just call the engineering department the leading contributor for no reason.
[Both team players are ready and at the starting line!]
I took a deep breath as we awaited the signal. Why am I so nervous over this? It’s ridiculous.
Both Hina and I were going for one ski. We’re not even starting from the water; we’re starting on land.
If we mess up the start, we wouldn’t be able to gain speed from the boat immediately, meaning a gap would inevitably open up at the beginning, so I had to fully focus.
Ting. Ting. Ting.
The signal began ringing. I could see Hifumi over at the boat, putting in a solitary “Aza!” before gripping the steering wheel.
Ding—
[The match begins!]
As the two boats took off and the tow rope tightened, we lightly skimmed over the water.
The fierce duel between the host of T-party and Gehenna’s student council president had begun.
