The day before the festival.

As a special measure, most of the classes prepared for the festival in the afternoon.
Classmates were dressed up in costumes they had brought with them to recreate the atmosphere of the festival. I was lucky to be spared from the masquerade, since I was supposed to play the role of a "public morals commissioner".
The girls are having a blast. The guys, on the other hand, are excited as they glance at the girls and show off their costumes as if in courtship.
I observed this as the epitome of reproduction in the animal kingdom.
They communicate their love, a kind of ritualistic common understanding, with their eyes, voice, and gestures. All with the end goal of reproduction. They are making steady progress, albeit in a roundabout way.

Come to think of it, uniforms are a kind of disguise, too.

The word 'cosplay' is even easier to understand for us young people.
Especially the cute skirts that high school girls love so much. I think this is a complete cosplay. It's cute.
And it is men who are attracted to these skirts. The peeking thighs arouse us. And for some reason, girls wear their skirts short. They want to show their thighs, even though school rules say they should be near the knees. The principle of this behavior converges with s*xual appeal.
Now, each of them is wearing more than a skirt. Yes, they are shining brighter than ever.
In conclusion, it is inevitable that men get excited.

'Their faces are too stern.

It was Makoto Takane who commented to me as I leaned against the wall.
He was wearing shorts, an aloha shirt, and a horse mask on his head. I recognized Makoto by his voice, but if he had not vocalized, I would have shot him dead with a large caliber gun like an elephant gun. You can really feel that the festival is a special day because such a monster like a reverse centaur can appear.

You feel the history of life over hundreds of years. I never thought I would be able to feel it in this class.
'I knew the comet was a freak.
'You can't win now.'

Makoto speaks with the mouth of a horse.
The horse's face, which never changes expression no matter what he says, is strangely intimidating, and I flinch. Those dark, emotionless black eyes. Like Alina.

Did you buy that horse mask?
'Yes, yes. I bought it like I said before. The aloha is my own. What~ you're not going to dress up as a comet after all?
'Well, yeah. I'm sorry to say this, but I'm in charge of defending our school. I may visit you as a guest.
It's a comet. So, so. What do you think?
'What's that?'
'Girls, girls. Who's the prettiest?'
'Out of all the cosplayers.'
'Of course! I hear some guys confess their feelings at the school festival! In costume! Aoh!
'You're so excited. That's amazing. They're making akahi (red rice) all over the place.
I guess so. So, who do you think is good?

I don't know who you're talking about.
Cute girls are getting prettier and prettier. I think it's a matter of taste now.
Looking back, I don't think I talk to many girls in my class. If I may say so, I talk to cranes a lot these days.
So I naturally turned my attention to cranes.

I wonder if it's cranes.
'Oh-! Niwatatsuru! You have great eyes!

You're an old man in an antique store, aren't you?

Nitwatari-san is a natural gal, but she is very popular among the boys because of the gap between her natural beauty and her intelligence! And today's outfit is a European medieval one-piece military uniform. The jet-black and crimson colors take strength and nobility to the extreme! It's wonderful!''
''Oh.''
I wonder if he bought that uniform, or did he make it himself? No, a high level of skill is required - or maybe Mr. Nitwatari can do it: ......'
'Didn't you buy it?'
'Huh? Don't jump to conclusions like that, comet. The girl is doing her best.

I wanted to tell him that he was a pervert, but I was overwhelmed by his swashbuckling.

'I'm sorry. I was shallow.
'It's okay. I got too hot. It's too hot in this mask.

Apparently, Makoto's personality changes when he wears the horse mask. He does not become violent, but he becomes strong-willed.

'Take it off if it's hot.
'I'm not taking it off. I'm afraid I'll lose.'

What for?

'Good luck. Horse boy. Call me when you're at the races.
'All right. Bet everything you got.
'Okay, okay.

It became half a hassle, so I ran away. I decided to assume that he'd quit being human and become a centaur or something.



While I was away from Makoto, fixing decorations and such, a girl approached me.

'Can I talk to you for a minute?
'I'm just in time for the life insurance solicitation.

The voice belongs to Ryuka Mimori.
She is characterized by her ladylike air. I think we have only spoken a few times. First of all, we have no connection. She is a member of either the calligraphy club or the tea ceremony club, but I don't know much about her. I had no idea that Ryuka would talk to me. So I got a little upset and said something about life insurance.

She said, "What, life insurance?
'Wrong. Forget it. What's wrong with me?

Since Makoto had just told me about his confession, I thought, 'What if?
So I flattened my thoughts. I had been hurt by my egotism before, so I decided not to get my hopes up.
Still, one can't peel it out of one's brain once one thinks about it.

'Could it be - a love affair?

I regretted how stupid I had been to blurt it out so straight out. There's an idiot. Here. It's me.

'Yes, it's ......'.

Hee-hee-hee!
This is not good! I've had enough of love affairs. Somebody stick a needle in my belly. The word "love" will spray out like a spray of blood without end.
The situation is too sweet for me. I want to eat salted fish.

Let's see, what's it all about?
'Comet-kun, I believe you and Makoto-kun are good friends, am I right?
'Yes, that's right. Makoto and I are indeed good friends. Wait, no way--''
'Shh! Please, be quiet ......!

OH MY GOD.
It's Makoto. You don't have time to wear a horse mask!





It's an after-school kind of afternoon, but after-school has arrived in earnest with a formal end-of-school assembly.
Usually the classrooms are empty right away, but many of my classmates stay behind to do final checks for tomorrow.
I also have to go to the student council meeting as a final check, so I pack my bag and get ready to leave.

Are you going?
'? Oh, yeah. Student council. I'm going to make one last check.
'I see. I hope you have a good festival tomorrow.
'Right. Let's make it good.

How long are you going to keep wearing that horse mask .......
Good festival.
Yes, I hope it's a good festival.


I had a sense of d j vu when I entered the student council.
They were waiting for me again.
Alina pokes me as I take my seat.

You're no better than a turtle.

I whisper in a venomed voice. You're too early.

The seating order---sorry, I made a mistake. I'll spare you the template words, because they're honestly so unmemorable. My thoughts were no longer in the same direction.
Alina and I had a meeting. We briefly reconfirm the time and procedures for tomorrow's ad hoc patrol. It's all pretty obvious, so we kind of let it slide.

'I'll be the only one on patrol during Alina's fashion show. Rest assured.
''So.''
'Well, that's the thing. Do you remember Makoto Takane?'
'Mammals? Reptiles? I'm not familiar with birds, so I can't answer that question.'
'I don't know if I need to delve into that dimension. ...... I confessed to you once. The guy who belongs to the badminton club and hangs out with me a lot.
'Ahhh ......'
'If you don't remember, that's fine.
'So, what is it?
'I'm singing Mimori-style to a girl classmate, and it seems she's in love with Makoto.
''So''
So, this Ryuka asked me, who is good friends with Makoto, for a favor.
''So''
'I need you to create an opportunity for me to get close to Makoto quickly,' he said.
''So''
That's all you say. Well, that's all right. So what do you think I should do?
'I don't know anything about that. If I lock you both in the bathroom, what's going to happen?'
'I knew it. You're a pervert.'
No, I'm not. What are you imagining, you son of a b*tc*? You're going to die.
'I'm sorry.'

He says it with no expression on his face, and it's horrifying. Hell's eyes.



I wanted to get advice from Alina, who has fought a hundred battles. I want to be of help to Ryuka.
'You're a pain in the ass. You should take care of it yourself.
'It's hard for me to set up a natural way to approach you, even if I want to give you a chance to approach me. It would be bad if Makoto feels uncomfortable. So, Alina-sama, please lend me your wisdom.
'I can't. I don't know either. Just go with the flow.
Well, if that Alina-sama says so, then there's nothing I can do. I'll see what I can do.
''So.''

I thought about asking Shirana, but it still feels awkward. I can't ask her about something like this.
As Alina said, we just have to go with the flow.

The student council meeting was soon adjourned.
The officers had their own class work to do. I went to my classroom for a while.
The number of students had decreased, but there were still some people left. Especially the rear. And some centaurs.
There seemed to be no more work, so I bade the centaur goodbye and left.

Tomorrow is going to be an intense day.