The corners of her mouth strained to lift at a forty-five-degree angle, her arms swung up and down rhythmically, and she had to remember to follow instructions while marching in place.
On Tokiwadai's athletic field, Natsume-san stood in the front row of the formation, dressed in a well-fitted tracksuit, a somewhat forced smile plastered on her face.
She never could have imagined that, despite actively avoiding the troublesome role of Tokiwadai's representative for the Daihaseisai oath, she still couldn't escape her fate in the school's athlete parade squad.
As a first-year representative, Natsume-san's surprising popularity had landed her a spot in the parade formation.
Well, it wasn't like they'd specifically sought out a certain bun-girl.
The P.E. teacher had just rounded up some available first-years who weren't too busy with the festival, and a certain bun-girl always stood out a bit too much.
"On the day of the Daihaseisai opening ceremony, once the broadcast station gives the command, you'll lead the formation out from the waiting area, Arisugawa-san."
"Don't feel too pressured, just do it like we practiced. Based on previous years' order, we should be between Kirigaoka and Nagatenjouki."
Squinting, the two-meter-tall P.E. teacher bent down, solemnly giving instructions to the girl serving as the flag bearer.
"Understood."
Arisugawa-san didn't seem particularly nervous, merely nodding calmly.
Though her height of one hundred sixty centimeters wasn't exceptionally tall, her well-proportioned build made her more than adequate for the flag bearer role.
About a meter behind the flag bearer, a certain bun-girl stared distractedly at her own shoes. Even standing in the front row of the formation, from a distance she gave the odd impression of a sudden dip in the lineup.
So boring.
Just as I thought, I shouldn't have stayed near the P.E. teacher earlier. Today's training was already over.
It seemed something unpleasant crossed her mind, as Natsume-san's previously tolerable mood took a nosedive.
Today's training had been unusually easy. Because the Daihaseisai opening ceremony was tomorrow, they were permitted to use their abilities.
For most of the training session, Natsume-san's feet barely touched the ground; she'd floated along from start to finish.
She'd also used the time to strategize with the highly focused Hanazono-san for the three-legged race.
Hanazono-san's ability allowed her to use echolocation. By analyzing the echoes from a triangle she struck, she could map her surroundings, but in reality, she could perceive all sounds that reached her skin's surface.
However, limited by her processing capacity, she usually only tracked a few specific sounds, distinguishing them by their varying wavelengths, frequencies, and even fundamental and harmonic waves.
So, by developing her ability specifically for reconnaissance, she could pluck the desired soundwave data from a noisy environment.
If they just obtained and recorded audio samples of their opponents beforehand, Hanazono-san could intercept their real-time communication during the race.
Therefore, Hanazono-san would handle intelligence gathering, while a certain bun-girl would be responsible for making moves.
"Make sure to keep up with the person in front of you, maintain about an arm's length distance. Is that clear, everyone?"
The P.E. teacher's booming voice echoed in her ears. Scattered, lackluster responses came from around her.
It seemed everyone, Natsume-san included, wasn't too thrilled about this sudden extra duty.
"Such lifeless voices. Doesn't sound much like energetic middle schoolers to me."
Shokuhou Misaki, her blonde hair shimmering, a small golden purse hanging from her waist, had looked rather listless ever since arriving at the field. She muttered thoughtfully to herself.
As one of Academy City's laziest students, she seemed utterly unaware of the irony, offering her serious critique of this hastily assembled Tokiwadai parade squad.
Last year around this time had been much the same. However, this year's focus had been on intensifying the students' physical training, significantly reducing the emphasis placed on the parade formation.
She waved from a distance to Natsume-san within the crowd, but the bun-girl, absorbed in the collective activity, didn't seem to notice.
"Queen, should we head to the practice stage now?"
Unnoticed, Hokaze Junko, already wearing her tracksuit, had appeared behind Shokuhou Misaki, holding a copy of tomorrow's Daihaseisai oath speech.
"Of course. Although I'm quite confident about tomorrow's oath, a bit of practice is still necessary."
Shokuhou Misaki blinked, speaking playfully, then bit her lip in thought.
Since she'd voluntarily taken on this task, she should at least show she took it seriously. That was the normal thing to do.
Normalcy. What a troublesome concept. The human heart is actually the easiest thing to understand.
Take action, then obfuscate the truth. Those who play mind games are never ordinary people.
"Is that the Queen's voice?"
The girls near Natsume-san began whispering amongst themselves. Tokiwadai's broadcast system had started playing a practice recording of a certain Mental Out's oath speech.
"Shokuhou-senpai is so diligent, even borrowing the school broadcast to practice."
The bun-girl swung her arms, following behind Arisugawa-san, lost in thought.
But isn't Shokuhou-senpai investigating the Sisters and their situation? Why did she suddenly agree to be the Daihaseisai oath representative? It's really puzzling.
"Oda, Natsume, you two, focus!"
"Yes." *2
--+--
In preparation for the Daihaseisai, all club activities were suspended for the day.
This had absolutely no effect on the members of a certain slacker club. They carried on exactly as usual.
However, the little maid had specifically taken the day off, absent from Tokiwadai all day, busy setting up her small stall. She'd even made a small sign that could be hung around her neck.
Tsuchimikado-san's road to riches was just beginning. As the little maid's most steadfast supporter, a certain someone had already pre-ordered tomorrow's rice balls and pastries.
"So annoying, having so many events on the first day."
Natsume-san propped her chin in her hand, glaring discontentedly at the email on her phone.
Although she'd known which events she was signed up for, seeing the densely packed schedule laid out properly made her scalp prickle.
Factoring in the preparation and result recording time for each event, each one took about an hour, making the schedule look incredibly tight.
This was the downside of attending a small school. Nearly every student at Tokiwadai was participating in at least twice as many events as students from other schools.
Compounding this, the School Garden was strictly off-limits to visitors and wasn't part of the official Daihaseisai venues.
So, students from all five schools within the Garden, including the private Tokiwadai, had to travel to other schools or public venues for every single event. It was a major hassle.
"There are so many adults from outside today."
Natsume-san lifted her head, scanning her surroundings. Academy City was usually populated almost exclusively by students, but now there were crowds of adults.
The city had officially granted entry permits to outsiders starting today. While the area around the School Garden remained largely unchanged, other parts of the city were indeed filled with many more adults.
The taxi drivers must be doing great business today.
Thinking this, Natsume-san silently expanded her radar map to its maximum range. This state of Academy City made her feel somewhat uneasy.
She hated unfamiliar environments, forcing her to be hyper-vigilant.
Walking alone on the road, Natsume-san was accustomed to this solitary state.
Today, Misaka-senpai and Juufuku-san had both gone to the Academy City entry/exit management stations to pick people up.
She heard Misaka-senpai was meeting her mother, and Juufuku-san was meeting her older sister, who was apparently attending university in Tokyo.
Shirai-san hadn't gone to pick anyone up. As the young lady of the White Spring Holdings, which had significant business in the city's supermarket sector, her family had restricted access to enter and leave Academy City.
She didn't know about Uiharu and Saten's situations yet, but it was probably similar to Misaka-senpai and the others.
"They should be coming this year, right?"
Natsume-san rubbed her chin. Still no phone call, which was really unsettling.
She didn't want to call and ask herself; it would make her seem too eager. Typical rebellious teenage girl stuff.
Speaking of her parents, they probably knew something about her previous life, right?
The places they'd arranged for summer vacation had magical protections, and there were people secretly tailing them. It was impossible they didn't know something.
Her father's workplace was also highly suspicious. Those two subordinates of his had frightening combat abilities. Those weapons that could change form and extend freely according to their will—if such things were in Academy City, they'd wipe out swathes of people.
This world was full of powerful espers or magicians with frail bodies.
And then there was this city spread out before her. What role did she truly play here? Besides the eternally young loli, Ladylee, were there others who knew about her past?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.