Ch.297Academy Festival (2)

# ‘Augmented Reality Game Cafe’

In the end, that’s how the exhibition was decided. Adding “cafe” to anything is the same here as it is in Korea. They said it would be a setup where people could enjoy augmented reality while having drinks or light snacks.

Thanks to Madoka, the owner’s daughter, being completely smitten with me, staff from Kunami arrived immediately. Men in suits promptly delivered the augmented reality equipment.

“Wow!! They really came!!”

“This is awesome!! Shota!!”

Everyone fell into a frenzy of excitement. The support from the guys was especially absolute. Yeah, well… there’s no man who dislikes games.

“Oh! Japanese school! Very nice!”

But… an unexpected person showed up.

“T-Todoki Hawado?!!”

I was shocked. Why is this person here?!!

“Oh! Shota-boy! I’ve heard about you! Kunacon’s shameless yet impactful revenue structure—I’m impressed.”

Todoki Hawado extended his hand toward me.

I shook it immediately. Honestly… as a gamer, I had some negative feelings, but he was a damn skilled game developer. How could I resist a handshake?

“By the way… why are you with Kunami?”

I asked Todoki Hawado.

“Oh. I got fired from Bathesda. The new game flopped.”

Todoki Hawado said.

“………..”

After boasting at the Tokyo Game Show about having 300 endings… it ultimately failed.

Right… this guy. He really went overboard.

“So my journey as a journeyman began, and I decided to work for Nihon no Kunami. I’m developing a new game, you know.”

Todoki Hawado said.

“A new game?”

My eyes lit up.

“Oh! Yes!! A space-themed masterpiece, Starfi—”

I read the future and immediately cut him off.

“If it’s still in planning, let’s talk about something else.”

I pleaded desperately.

That game… it flopped in the original world!! Before my possession, there were floods of disappointed comments. Plus, the competition was too strong, and it just got buried. It wasn’t even discussed on the internet. Not even becoming a meme? That means it really failed.

‘Just like Heroes of the Storm…’

The peak of HotS’s popularity was when people were making “Restaurants” jokes and chattering excitedly. I knew well because I was possessed around the time when people stopped making those jokes.

“Okay. If Shota-boy says so, I’ll believe it. Then let’s go with Plan B, an open-world zombie apocalypse.”

Todoki Hawado immediately changed his opinion. Oh, zombies? That sounds fun! Much better than space stuff.

“And… about language support.”

“Of course, Japanese will have full voice acting. Japan is my spiritual homeland after all.”

Todoki Hawado said with a 100% trustworthy expression.

Damn. This guy… he’s the same in any world line. We’re both Asian countries, so why does only Japan get voice acting?!

“Um… what about Korean…”

“Oh! Korean gamers are also of interest to me. For Korean gamers, I’ve included support for the language Koreans use well—Simplified Chinese!”

Todoki Hawado raised his hand high.

“You idiot!!!!”

I immediately got angry.

In the end, after my passionate speech channeling the spirit of King Sejong, Todoki Hawado agreed to provide official Korean language support.

The Korean gamers in this world line… shouldn’t have to suffer.

Anyway, enough about domestic matters.

The number of outlets in the classroom barely met the requirements. We could set up five gaming consoles.

“Let’s focus on mini-games that maximize the fun of augmented reality in short sessions. Or demos. That way we’ll get good turnover.”

I took command of the situation.

“Shota… for someone who acts so weird, you’re surprisingly good at practical matters.”

Taiga smirked, but looked at me with an expression dripping with honey.

Since there would be people waiting, I planned to prepare tables where they could order from the menu.

“Can’t they just sit in chairs and wait?”

Umi asked.

“Tsk tsk. We need to extract money from the waiting people too. It’s a cafe after all. Think of it as a seating fee—one drink per person minimum. Price a coffee at about 800 yen.”

I said.

“E-Eight hundred yen?!”

Tina was shocked. Yeah, that’s the price of a meal.

“Just write ‘Coffee + Augmented Reality’ on the menu. We’re emphasizing that the cost includes free use of the AR gaming equipment.”

That made it seem less shameless. Only 800 yen for a cup of coffee and a round of augmented reality gaming? It’s expensive, but acceptable. They accept it. That’s what matters.

“Shota… it’s a school festival, if you get too commercial…”

The homeroom teacher seemed uncomfortable with my approach.

“The class gets to keep half the earnings from this festival, right?”

I immediately stood on the platform as if giving a speech.

“Let’s all work hard to make money and go to an all-you-can-eat meat buffet. Unlimited refills!!”

I incited the crowd.

“M-meat buffet…!!”

“After-party!!!”

The students’ eyes changed. Right. If we earn lots of money, we can enjoy an after-party.

Besides… the students knew. The sweetest atmosphere at a cultural festival forms during the after-party and night festival.

After preparing the exhibition together through hardship, love blooms from the shared experience of overcoming difficulties together. Everyone was looking forward to that.

“Yeah!! What’s stopping us?!”

“That’s right!! What’s wrong with making money!! It’s real-world experience!!”

All the students were bought off by me.

“Even so, for a student exhibition, charging over 800 yen for a drink is…”

The teacher mumbled hesitantly.

*Snap!*

I immediately pointed at the teacher.

“Suppress that reactionary.”

I said just that one line.

“Uoooooh!!!”

The students immediately roared in anger. They were pressuring the teacher with the atmosphere.

“A-Alright. I’ll… ahem. Respect the students’ autonomy.”

The teacher finally succumbed to mob rule. Right now, the majority of seats in our class were occupied by our “Shota Guard Party.”

Yes. Power always comes from numbers.

“Make our class great!!!”

I just rode the momentum and shouted any slogan.

“Great!!!”

Everyone in the class also caught the mood and shouted loudly.

Right. I’m just saying I’ll earn money and feed them well. They say man cannot live by bread alone, but bread is just the first condition. The original meaning was that you need bread first before you can worry about other things. Even that long-haired original hippie—if he hadn’t performed the miracle of five loaves and two fish, he couldn’t have kept his twelve disciples. Maybe only one or two would have followed him. (This is strictly my personal opinion.)

“Shota… I’m glad you were born in peaceful times…”

Sasitsu looked at me with slight disgust.

“Yeah… if he’d been born in turbulent times, he would’ve definitely become a dictator. No joke.”

Kana said.

And so, under my leadership, everyone hurried with the exhibition preparations.

Since it was augmented reality, we decided to decorate the classroom in a futuristic sci-fi style. Adding lots of spaceships and planets with a night sky background would create the right atmosphere.

“Cardboard… this is so different from my previous school festivals.”

Kana said while working.

“Regular cultural festivals are all about this kind of amateur charm.”

I said. The essence of a festival was in its slightly clumsy feel.

“At my previous school… they hired a real Indian chef to make curry.”

Kana seemed to be reminiscing about her former Tokyo girls’ school.

“That’s… really on a different scale.”

To think they’d hire a real chef.

“But… I like making things together like this too. It feels like playing house.”

Kana said with a bright smile.

At Kana’s innocent smile, I couldn’t help but stare in a daze. She’s just so pretty. Really.

*Smooch!*

Before I knew it, I kissed Kana.

“My… Kana. Getting hot even in broad daylight.”

The friends working with Kana laughed and teased.

“Whee-whee!”

Someone even whistled along with the mood.

“W-What are you doing!! With everyone watching!!”

Kana exclaimed.

“Hm? Isn’t this much… ‘normal’?”

I said as I immediately slipped my hand under Eri’s uniform.

*Squish!*

And I started massaging her chest. This was by no means an obscene act. It was a medical procedure to prevent breast cancer.

“You guys have thrown away all sense of shame!”

Kana shouted with a reddened face.

“So… do you dislike it?”

I asked Kana.

“No… I like it… but do those things when we’re alone…”

Kana said, cutely mumbling like a hamster.

“………”

Kana’s friends watched the scene very warmly.

——–

Anyway, everyone peacefully hurried with the work.

I unintentionally became the work supervisor. Essentially, my role was to go around helping wherever hands were needed.

“The great leader!! Emperor Sho has arrived!!”

“Supreme Leader, the work is progressing very well!”

Everyone making light jokes matching my dictator concept was a bonus.

In any case, the work progressed quickly. The fact that everyone was preparing for the exhibition instead of attending classes added to the sense of breaking from routine. That’s where the joy came from.

That’s when it happened.

*Slide!*

The door opened.

A beautiful girl with a ponytail wearing kendo gear approached our classroom. Wait… kendo gear at school?

“You!! Arigiri Shota!!”

She strode toward me.

“Who are you?”

I asked her.

“Let me tell you!! I’m Kuwashiku Hanase, known as ‘Ranking Man’! I’m from the newspaper club!!”

Suddenly, some guy with glasses intervened splendidly.

“The man who determines rankings, shortened to ‘Ranking Man’!”

The glasses guy pushed up his glasses. That abbreviation… lame.

“This person is our school’s kendo club captain, a second-year!! Ichinose Sayaka!! She’s ranked 4th in the ‘Asking All Students: Girls Who Would Make Good Girlfriends’ ranking!!”

Hanase gave his explanation and then returned to work. So he was in our class…

He just coolly gave the explanation… a guy true to the essence of being an explainer.

“G-Girlfriend ranking 4th place…!!”

Sayaka’s face immediately turned red. Oh? This reaction… cute!!

“Anyway!! Shota!! And Saito Kana!! I’ve come to challenge you to a duel!!”

Sayaka shouted.

“Because of you two, our kendo club is about to be ruined!”

Then, Sayaka made a tearful face.

“…What?”

I was confused by this unexpected development.