Ryota's POV, Student Council Room. A few days before the school festival.
Ryota: What the heck.......
Ryota: It's been so draining, I mean, preparing for the school festival is really draining but......
I looked upon the prez whom I'm currently helping set up the Student Council prank.
The Dragon's Jewel.....
That is made of paper mache.
And we're actually making it on the rooftop.
Also, it's not just me and the prez who are here, Momo Ryuju, the former Student Council Treasurer.
Momo: Oh, Kaedehara, you're helping Shirogane in making the prank?
Ryota: Yeah.
Momo: Ah, good thing I'm no longer part of the Student Council. You know, the three of us were the ones who set up that prank, right?
Ryota: Yeah, When the prez was still the PRO, you as the treasurer, and me as the auditing officer.
Miyuki: Ah, now that you mentioned it, was the three of us who did the prank.
Ryota: Well.....we can't blame them, y'know.
Ryota: They also have a lot in their plate back then.
Momo: So, Kaedehara, how's it going at your café? Since autumn is already over.
Ryota: It's not really over, Christmas is just around the corner.
Momo: Damn, you guys are really busy as heck. Can you even handle the work at school and at home?
Ryota: Well, in fact, I already received a one month work ban last month.
Momo: Damn. Can't blame ya' parents.
Miyuki: Ryuju, you're just going to watch us here?
Momo: That's not my problem anymore. Anyways, Kaedehara, one of my men at the yakuza tried to work part-time at your café.
Ryota: Yeah, I know. He gave up due to the work pressure.
Momo: Man, he was being laughed when he came back. Damn, but seriously, Kaedehara, shouldn't you already have more employees now?
Ryota: Like what you said earlier.
Momo: Ah, right. Damn, not even the yakuza are on par with your workload.
Miyuki: And the fact that this guy, have been working there as far as he could remember.
Ryota: Haha, that's just how our family is.
Momo: A family of intense workaholics.
Momo: By the way, Kaedehara, you play this game?
She hands me her phone and the screen is on the game menu of Fate/Grand Order.
Ryota: Damn, you play this game as well?
Momo: Yeah. I'm currently at the Chinese Lostbelt right now.
I opened the game and checked her servants.
Ryota: Let's see.......
Ryota: You got......
Ryota: NP2 Enkidu, NP1 Artoria, NP1 Skadi, NP3 Quezt, NP1 King Hassan, NP1 Merlin, NP2 Achilles, NP4 Qin Shi Huang, NP2 Waver, NP3 Holmes, NP2 Space Ishtar.......
Ryota: Damn, you got a strong line up here.
Momo: So, what servants do you have?
Ryota: Let's see........
I pulled my phone, entered the game and showed her my roster.
Momo: Let's see here......
Momo: NP2 Arthur, NP 1 Enkidu, NP 2 Super Orion, NP2 Gilgamesh, NP1 Waver, NP1 Merlin, NP1 Skadi, NP1 Sanzang, NP3 Ozy, NP1 Achilles, NP1 Quezt, NP2 King Hassan, NP1 Cu Alter........
Momo: NP 2 Jeanne Alter, NP1 Melt, NP1 Sitonai.......
Momo: Also, what the hell!? You have NP 1 Dioscuri, NP2 Romulus=Quirinus, NP3 Artoria Caster, NP4 Oberon!?
Momo: Wait, what the fuck!? YOU HAVE ALREADY SOME OF THE OP SERVANTS IN THE GAME! DID YOU WHALE!?
Ryota: Nope. I'm just f2p. I've been grinding for primos every day and my luck is just somehow insane.
Momo: You bastard, share some of your luck.
Ryota: None can do, Ryuju.
Momo: The hell. Wait, what Lostbelt are you?
Ryota: I already finished Olympus. Damn, the enemies are tough........
Ryota: But LB6.....damn, shit is just.......
Ryota: Well, you got to read the story and it is more fucked up than Camelot.
As the three of us are still hanging out at the rooftop......
Someone entered the rooftop. The ones who entered are the Mass Media Duo, Karen Kino and Erika Kose.
The two of them wanted to hold an interview for Ryuju, so the prez and I just continued finishing the Dragon's Jewel.
Ryuju: Look, those guys over there are way better than talking than me, so get lost.
Karen: Why if it isn't.....!
Erika: Student Council President Miyuki Shirogane, and Student Council PRO Ryota Kaedehara!
Karen: The air of nobility of the prez is affecting my sense of balance......as for the Kaedehara-san, I am not worthy to approach the Maple Leaf Prince.
Karen: Erika, would you mind taking it over for me?
Erika: If you insist....
Erika approached us and I greeted them.
Ryota: Hello, it seems like you two are interviewing students that will be part of the school festival.
Karen: AAAAAAH! Damn it! Why does Kaedehara-san be the embodiment of a noble guy!
Ryota: Uh.......
Ryota: Anyways.....
Erika: President Shirogane, Kaedehara-san, what is this?
Ryota: Hm? Oh, this is tradition.
Erika: Tradition?
Ryota: Take it away, prez.
Miyuki: Making a paper mache like this is a Student Council prank. It dates back to a few decades.
Miyuki: The student council put a huge ball on the roof and people started to call this a jewel.
Ryota: So, since then, we've been making this kind of jewel made from paper mache in secret, every year.
Erika: I see. This is pretty big. Did the two of you made this?
Miyuki: Yeah. Even with Kaedehara
helping me, it is still tough.
Ryota: Yeah. Considering that we're both busy, with me at the music club.
Erika: Oh, speaking of the music club, I heard that Tohma-senpai only accepted one song from the compositions that were submitted.
Ryota: Yeah......go ask him yourself to know the true story.
I just sweatdropped and the people present are thinking one thing.
Miyuki, Erika, Karen, Momo: Must be tough, huh?
Miyuki: As for me, I got experience making paper mache like this. It is like a side job to me, I'm actually used to it.
Erika: He calls it a side job.
Karen: But crafting a folk art like that is something a samurai would take up on the side. So, Shirogane and Kaedehara are the last samurais, huh?
Ryota: The Kaedehara Family is actually a former noble samurai clan.
Erika & Karen: What!?
Ryota: Our records are still preserved up to this day.
Ryota: I got to read it when I was in 2nd year middle school.
Ryota: But enough about my lineage.
Erika: Okay.....we can't wait to see the finished product. Also, President Shirogane, Kaedehara-san, do you two have something to say in anticipation of the festival?
Miyuki: Hm.....
Miyuki: Kaedehara, do you have something to say?
Ryota: Well......
I've also been thinking about this, over and over.......
Ryota: Yeah.
Ryota: "It's time, to settle everything."
Erika: Settle everything?
Erika: President Shirogane, what about you?
Miyuki: You know, Kaedehara is right. It is really time to settle everything.
Miyuki: The culture festival is the time to settle things like a man.
Miyuki: Hopefully.
Erika: Settle everything? Like a man?
The resolve hidden our words.......
It is really time to settle them.
Just the other day, when I returned from my practice at the music club.......
I entered the Student Council room and they were talking about on who will go.
Ryota: Oh, who will go to Kita High in order to gather info for the festival. Actually, my cousin, Saya, attends school at Kita High.
Miyuki: Oh, right. You told us about it.
Ryota: Actually, I just received a call and she told me that if I can attend their school festival, then might as well bring some friends.
Kaguya: !?
Chika: !?
Miyuki: !?
Ryota: Also, I heard the part where Fujiwara-san said that Ishigami and the Prez should go.
Ryota: So, prez, Ishigami, how about it? The three of us. Boys hangout.
It's rare for us but yeah. The Student Council boys went to the Kita High Festival.
Saya: Oh! Ryota! Shirogane-san, Ishigami-kun!
Shirogane: Hello, Tsukiyomi.
Ishigami: Tsukiyomi-senpai, what are you're stall selling?
Saya: Cotton candy.
We ordered the cotton candy and the prez got a huge one. Also, the three of us went to have fun at the festival.
The next day, at Class 2-B, Fujiwara-san and I are working on the song that was submitted to Thoma-senpai.
Until the prez entered the classroom.....
Miyuki: Fujiwara, can you play the guitar?
Chika: Yeah, but just a little bit for fun.
Miyuki: Aren't you going to perform with Kaedehara and the band at the culture festival?
Chika: Ah, no.
Chika: Actually, Ryo-chan and I are now making the tabs of the original song that Tohma-senpai accepted.
Ryota: Trust me, it's somehow a lot of work. Sora just somehow got on how to sing the lyrics of the original song and now, we're planning on the rhythm and the music.
Chika: Ryo-chan was assigned to play the guitar as usual, and he asked me for help.
Miyuki: I see.
The prez posed as if holding an air guitar.
Miyuki: I don't really get it, but that's super cool. I really want to feel what Kaedehara feels whenever he plays the electric guitar with the band.
Miyuki: It's basically a guy's dream to rock out on stage during the culture festival.
Chika: *ptsd flashbacks*
Chika: Prez, please give up on that dream immediately.
Miyuki: Harsh.
Ah, right, when we taught him how to rap.....well, I was out of commission since I don't really know how to rap and even though it's somehow like singing, I'm really struggling, so, I had to leave the rest to Fujiwara-san during that time.
As time goes by........
The preparations for the festival is getting nearer and nearer.
Also, the Prez assigned Iino and Ishigami to be the representatives of the student council at the school festival committee.
Ishigami was relunctant to join but when I revealed that Tsubame-senpai is the Chairman of the Committee, he immediately joined.
Ryota: Well, well, well.......Ishigami is also in love.
Ryota: All right, then, Ishigami, Iino, since you two are joining the committee, guess I'll pass on my job of getting the reports from the committee.
Miyuki: Great idea. It would lessen your heavy workload.
And day by day.......the festival is getting closer and closer.
All the preparations are in place.
The other day, Shinomiya-san and I visited the Festival Committee to see how things are going.
We met Tsubame-senpai and she told us to see the products that they will sell.
Ryota: Shuchiin buns and rice crackers.....
Tsubame: Oh, you didn't know Kaede-kun?
Ryota: Since when did I get that nickname?
Ryota: About what?
Tsubame: Really!? They didn't tell you anything!?
Ryota: What are you talking about, senpai!?
Tsubame: We actually asked for your mom's help in making these!
Ryota: ..............
Ryota: WHAT THE HELL!?
Ryota: Why did you guys kept it a secret!?
Tsubame: Sorry.
Kaguya: Hmmm, we also have a heart-shaped accessory here. Didn't we sold these last year?
Ryota: Oh, Shinomiya-san, you didn't know?
Kaguya: Hm? What do you mean?
Tsubame: The Legend of the Devoted Heart.
Ryota: Long ago, there was a princess who contracted a terminal illness.
Tsubame: The Feudal Lord, the father of the princess, prayed to the heavens and then a divine messenger came. The messenger told them that in order to heal the princess, there must be a young man who must offer his heart, and be thrown to the flames.
Ryota: And that she must drink the ashes mixed in a daikon soup.
Ryota: News of the condition spread throughout the land and there, a young man who deeply loved the princess........
Kaguya: Offered up his heart.
Tsubame: Yep! The story dates back to the Nara Period.
Tsubame: And apparently, all of that happened on the very spot where Shuchiin is located, which is where the name of our festival comes from.
Ryota: Somehow, this is out of season, because Christmas is just around the corner, y'know.
Kaguya: Quite an unrealistic story, isn't it?
Tsubame: What's with the lukewarm response?
Ryota: If you're going to look at the story metaphorically......
Ryota: It is like how a person will do for the one they love.
Ryota: Think about it, the boy who offered his heart, just to save the princess......
Ryota: That is somehow one of the definitions of love........
Ryota: To give everything you can to the person you love so that they can be saved, even offering up your very own life if you have to.
The two girls went silent.......
Tsubame: W-Wow.....
Kaguya: I think I know where he is coming from.
Tsubame: Really?
Ryota: I also, wanted to do the same thing in the past. I wanted to offer up my heart for her.......
Ryota: But she told me to live.
Ryota: As much as I never wanted her to die......
Ryota: .......
Ryota: Fate really can be cruel.
Ryota: But now.......
Ryota: I don't want to experience it again.
Ryota: This time around.......
Ryota: I will make sure.......
Tsubame: Is this what you meant, "The time to settle everything?"
Ryota: Yes. Apparently, there are two girls who are vying for my love.
Tsubame: Oh my.
Kaguya: And he is seriously taking their feelings into great consideration all because they are genuine.
Kaguya: But, Kaedehara-kun can only choose one, after all.
Ryota: That is why I said that it is time.
Ryota: And the time that I spent with those two girls......
Ryota: I......already found my answer. It's just, first, I also wanted to settle my lost memories.......and the girl that I'm going to reject.
Tsubame: I see. From your eyes alone, I can already tell.
Ryota: Yeah.
And so, the day of the festival is getting closer and closer.
Ryota: Well........
Ryota: I think it is also time for me.......
Ryota: To find out the owner of the key......
Ryota: The key was found lying on the floor........
Ryota: I don't think anyone will come to the Student Council when everyone was just busy as heck for the festival.....
Ryota: But if there is one.....then........
Ryota: Then, it could be........
Ryota: The girls of the Student Council........
Ryota: Shinomiya-san is out of the question, she's also planning on how to confess to the prez.
Ryota: Iino is also out.
Ryota: Then, that leaves us with her......
Ryota: Fujiwara Chika.
Ryota: Could she know my past or could it be? She has a connection about my past?
Ryota: Anyhow, maybe I should ask......
Ryota: Mom and Dad.
My mysterious past..........
Is slowly coming to light............
I have to settle it now.
Before I face.....
The girl that took her special place to my heart.