Chapter 152: Cultural festival

The school trip was a dream come true. We visited famous Parisian landmarks, enjoyed delicious (and expensive) food, and saw breathtaking views from the top of the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre.

But for some reason… only the food memories were vivid.

I’d been exercising, so I hadn’t gained weight! But… it was French cuisine! I couldn’t resist!

“Ugh…”

On the flight back, leaning against Aya, I mumbled, “Rina, did you enjoy the trip?”

Aya stroked my hair gently.

“Yes… It was wonderful… Being with you was the best.”

We’d grown closer during our time in Paris. We’d even shared a room, so snuggling up to Aya and feeling my heart flutter felt… natural.

Mizuki, our usual voice of reason, was already asleep.

Ehehe… Aya was tall and comforting; it felt natural to lean on her. I no longer cared about the gender roles of my past life.

The four nights and five days of our trip ended quickly.

****

One of the most memorable events of my second year was the cultural festival. Well, I’d participated in cultural festivals in middle school too, so it was my first high school cultural festival. And since third-year students rarely participated, it was practically my first and last. I hadn’t been able to participate last year because of the incident with the religious group, but this year was different.

The cultural festival! My first Japanese cultural festival, even counting my past life!

The spring festival was a large-scale event involving the local community, so the student council was always busy. But the autumn cultural festival was smaller, allowing us to participate in our class activities. So, the Trinity joined our classmates for a planning meeting. Since the class representative had to be someone other than the student council members, Hasegawa Sakura, a cheerful and friendly girl, had been chosen at the beginning of the semester.

Hasegawa came from a good family and was friendly and capable. If she’d been a better student, she probably would have joined the student council.

She was… cute. Well, Aya was the cutest, prettiest, most lovable, and amazing person in the world, but Hasegawa was… also cute.

Right, Aya? Heehee. I looked at Aya, and she smiled back at me, her usual beautiful smile.

Hasegawa, leading the discussion, asked,

“Okay, so! We need to decide on a theme for our class’s cultural festival booth. Any ideas?”

Suggestions came from all directions.

“How about a restaurant? Something simple.”
“Everyone does that! Let’s do something different.”

“A play?”
“Plays are too much work…”

Then Hasegawa’s eyes lit up. “How about a maid café!”

“Not a maid café again?!” The class erupted in protest.
“We did that for the spring festival!”

“I’m sick of maid costumes…”

Hasegawa’s face fell at their reaction. She looked so dejected that I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

“Okay, okay. Then how about a completely different concept?” Hasegawa said. The students, perhaps bored with the usual themes, yet still excited about the festival, eagerly offered suggestions.

“A haunted house!”
“The boys won’t want to do that.”
“How about a game café? We can set up different games and give out prizes!”

“Ooh, a game café is a fresh idea.”

A game café… The class seemed to like the idea, but deciding on the games proved to be a challenge.

“What kind of games?”

“Arcade games?”
“That’s a bit… pachinko-like.”
“Hmm… How about a butler café, instead of just games?”

Someone suggested a butler café.
And the response was… not outright rejection, but a lukewarm, hesitant acceptance.

“A butler café?”

“Another servant concept…? Are we that desperate for a break from our upper-class lives?”

“But wouldn’t it be awesome to see Yukikawa as a butler?”

W-Wait a minute…
I blushed at the thought. Aya… in a butler outfit…? I couldn’t resist that.

As I imagined Aya in a butler uniform, my face burning, my classmates seemed to have the same idea, and a heated discussion erupted.

“Yukikawa would look amazing in a butler outfit, wouldn’t she?”
“And Kurosawa too! Imagine both of them in suits!”

Wait, why me?

“And Asakura! She’s tall, so she’d look great in a suit! Like a mischievous butler!”

The girls were already deciding who would play the butlers, and naturally, it was the three of us, the most popular girls in school.

“Hey, hey, hey~! I’m out~!?”

“Get Asakura!”
“Kyaaa!”

As Mizuki tried to escape, the boys also seemed to warm up to the idea.

“If it’s just suits, we can just wear our own. Easy to prepare for.”
“A butler café… that might actually be pretty cool.”

“You too, Black Knight.”
“Ugh, stop calling me by that childish nickname!”

Just like the “Purple Knight” senpai from last year, we had a “Black Knight” in our class. He was… handsome, even by my standards. But I’d heard he had a… colorful past in middle school. Apparently, he’d calmed down a bit.

The idea of a butler café gained momentum. I didn’t really care, as long as Aya participated.

“Okay! So we’re doing a butler café then? Any objections?” Hasegawa asked, and everyone nodded. I also nodded absentmindedly, and then I realized Aya was staring at me.

“Rina, why is your face so red?”

“N-Nothing!” I said quickly, looking away. Then Hasegawa spoke cheerfully,

“Let’s decide on the main roles! Yukikawa, you’ll be the head butler, right? Pretty please!”
“Uh… sure…?”

Aya blinked, but her classmates were already cheering and applauding.

“With Yukikawa as the head butler, we’ll have so many customers!”
“This cultural festival is going to be epic, thanks to the Trinity!”

“We worked so hard during the spring festival…”

Our roles had been decided.

This cultural festival was going to be a wild ride. But… Aya as a butler… I couldn’t deny that I was looking forward to it.

****

The morning of the cultural festival arrived, bright and clear. I hadn’t slept much, too excited, and I’d sent a LINE message saying I might be late. I rushed into the classroom, still half-asleep, and…

I froze, my breath catching in my throat, as I saw Aya.

“Aya…?!”

It felt like a divine revelation. She was the perfect butler. A black suit, a crisp white shirt, a neatly tied black tie. Her usually unruly silver hair was styled impeccably, shimmering in the sunlight.

“Ah…”

“Rina?”

She looked so stunning that I felt dizzy.

“I… I might faint… nosebleed…”
“Rina-tan?!” Mizuki exclaimed, noticing my dazed expression.

“Guys, Rina’s having a nosebleed!”
“Someone get some tissues! Quick!”

“Tissues!”

My classmates rushed over, but I just stared blankly, a goofy grin on my face, thinking, ‘I might ascend to heaven… I’m so happy…’

“Rina, if you’re already like this, how are you going to survive the entire day?”
“Aya… you look too… perfect… ugh…”

“You have to get dressed too, Rina. Come on, My Lady.” Aya said, taking my hand and kissing it gently. The class erupted in cheers.

“Wow~! This is awesome!”
“Our class is going to be so popular!”

“Trinity is the best!”

The festival hadn’t even started yet, and I was already exhausted.
But a fun and exciting cultural festival… wasn’t a bad thing.