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In the following days, Asakura, or rather, everyone in the Magic Club, devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the intense preparations for the Founders' Festival.
Although Amakusa Shino had said that the basic preparations could be left to her and the Student Council, the current Student Council President, as a third-year student, was also planning to retire to prepare for university entrance exams. It seemed she also intended to gradually hand over power to Amakusa, so she was quite cooperative in various aspects.
By the way, Soubu High School actually has a Student Council President election process, but unlike various animations where many people compete to be Student Council President, in reality, very few students are interested in this position—it involves heavy workload that might even lead to a drop in grades, constant and thankless communication with various clubs, limited power, and frequent haggling with teachers or school management…
It can be said that there are a lot of disadvantages without any benefits. Very few students participate in the Student Council President election each year, and almost every one or two years, there is no one willing to take the position, so the former Student Council President has to directly appoint the next candidate to ensure the normal operation of the Student Council.
Perhaps only someone like Amakusa Shino, who is quite obsessed with shortening the length of girls' skirts (though it might also be to revise school rules so that everyone can reasonably and legally tell dirty jokes), would be enthusiastic about this position.
But even so, preparing a new school festival almost from scratch still exceeded the Student Council's capacity.
When Asakura occasionally ran into Amakusa Shino in the hallway, the dark circles under her eyes, which even makeup couldn't conceal, made him wonder if she would just collapse and fall asleep the next moment…
So, after getting the consent of the others in the club, Asakura and his group temporarily joined the Student Council's preparation work.
"You're truly a lifesaver."
During lunch break, Amakusa Shino, who had just helped the Art Club finish the background props needed for the stage, drank bottled tea and said to Asakura, who was sitting beside her wiping sweat: "Without your help, this Founders' Festival would probably be much worse than I expected."
"It's 'much worse' and not 'problematic'? Do you have other plans?"
Asakura caught the hidden meaning in the girl's words.
"After all, it's a task I willingly took on, so I definitely can't mess it up, but to what extent it can be achieved, I can only try my best."
Amakusa Shino looked at the members of the Art Club who were setting up the painted backdrops to check for any mistakes. Her tired face revealed a hint of sparkle: "I really hope to see everyone shine on stage with a different brilliance than during the school festival…"
Asakura glanced at the girl, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
"Oh, by the way, the brilliance I'm talking about refers to the radiance they emit as they pursue their dreams, not the holy light that appears to cover up strange parts."
For some reason, the girl explained seriously to Asakura.
"…Why is it that every time I want to show you some respect, you open your mouth and speak?"
Asakura, with a head full of black lines, sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"More importantly, how are the two programs the Magic Club is preparing coming along?"
The girl asked.
Asakura recalled the chaotic scene of the Kessoku Band trio practicing in the STARRY rehearsal room, and gave Amakusa Shino a thumbs up: "Absolutely perfect."
"Really? Then I'll have to look forward to it."
Perhaps Asakura's control over his expressions was already superb, even Amakusa Shino couldn't see through him. She said excitedly: "How about that person from the Service Club? Did she say anything?"
"I don't know about that."
Asakura spread his hands and shrugged, looking as if he wasn't familiar with the other party: "That Miss Yukino didn't mention it to me."
"Does that person really have no intention of asking for your help at all? Is she truly planning to handle both programs by herself?"
Even Amakusa Shino was a bit stunned: "Although I heard from Hiratsuka-sensei that her social skills are very weak, I thought 'very weak' didn't include zero…"
"If you say that in front of her, she'll definitely argue with you about the definition of zero."
Asakura's lips curled, completely oblivious to the fact that he was badmouthing someone behind their back.
"Then I really can't argue with her."
Amakusa Shino shook her head: "Although my sexual orientation is fine, if one day I had to be gay, I'd definitely be the top."
"No, no, no, I think your ability to define things already surpasses Yukino's…"
Asakura couldn't help but retort.
Amakusa Shino pulled out a stack of slightly yellowed papers from somewhere and handed them to Asakura: "Take these."
"What's this?"
Asakura took the clipped stack of papers with a puzzled expression, only to find that it was a pile of manuscript paper. A quick glance at the text format allowed him to discern that it was a script.
"Script."
"Nonsense, I can tell."
Asakura glanced at the name on the cover: "Sakiko Yumeno… Hmm, that name sounds vaguely familiar?"
"She's the author of the shojo manga 'Fall in Love?' currently serialized in 'Monthly Shojo Romance'—" Amakusa Shino revealed.
"Now that you mention it, I do have some impression…" Asakura, who hardly reads shojo manga and thus knows little about it, slapped his hand. "I remember she announced her marriage to her assistant a while ago and even trended on hot search, right? Although it was only text news, and the hot search ranking wasn't very high."
"Exactly, that's the one. Didn't expect it, did you? Sakiko Yumeno is also an alumna of our Soubu High School, and she's only two grades above us. This script was originally left by her in the Drama Club, intended for the 'Prince' of the Drama Club at the time to perform during the Founders' Festival. But later, some unexpected incidents happened during the Founders' Festival, and in short, the Drama Club couldn't stage their well-rehearsed play."
Amakusa Shino said, "After finding this script, I contacted Ms. Sakiko Yumeno through the contact information she left in the student roster and obtained the right to use this script. She seemed very happy that her dusty script could see the light of day again."
"That's certainly great news… So, what does this have to do with me?"
Asakura flipped through the script and found that, for a stage play, the entire story was simple and fresh, interesting yet with delicate emotional descriptions. Although the main theme was the old-fashioned prince and princess, the core had been modified, without the stale, old-fashioned feel. Instead, it was rather refreshing, requiring few characters, and the plot progression was quite good. Unexpectedly, it was an interesting short play.
"I hope you can invite Yukino to perform this stage play together—" Amakusa Shino said with rare seriousness. "I've looked at it; this short play is about twenty minutes long, which can count as one program for each of your two clubs. One of the programs you originally prepared can be used as a backup, in case of any last-minute cancellations."
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