“Did you see it? Kohou-senpai’s video?”

“Yeah, I saw it. She’s so beautiful, isn’t she?”

It’s a 10-minute break between lectures. Even though I’m now a student council member, I’m still mostly feared and thus perpetually alone in class. So, during the 10-minute breaks, I pretend to take a nap with my head on my desk.

That’s when I overhear my classmates’ chatter.

“In the military academy’s beauty contest video, she only did shigin, but she’s a great singer too.”

“Even with the orchestral backing in formal dress, her voice stood out.”

Wow, it seems a lot of people have seen that video. Well, this academy has many students aiming for the military. They probably subscribe to such military-related channels to gather material for officer school interviews.

Impressive for first-year students to be so proactive.

“Hey! The trending words on SNS are Kohou-senpai’s name and the music band video, ranked 1 and 2!”

“Seriously!? But the comments on the video aren’t that lively… Oh, right, the military’s official channel has the comment section disabled.”

“Fans eager to share their thoughts are probably buzzing on SNS.”

“And the view count is insane!”

Trending words… This is turning into a bigger deal than I thought. But, the military academy’s beauty contest video also went viral, and she got scouted by a talent agency. I thought it was just a one-time thing because her silver hair and kimono-hakama look were unique…

“Let’s go get her autograph now.”

“No way. She’s a stunning senpai who was at the top of the second-year class last term. We can’t just casually talk to her.”

“Oh, speaking of Kohou-senpai, wasn’t she with that guy…”

“Yeah… Kohou-senpai was always clinging to him…”

My classmates trail off. I can see it… I can see them! Even with my head down on the desk, I can clearly picture my classmates. They’re about to ask me to mediate with Mina, right?

I’ll confirm with Mina, but being a mediator is a small favor.

“Ummm…”

My classmates seem hesitant. They just can’t bring themselves to speak up.

Ah! I get it!

“Yawn, what’s the next class again?”

I stretch dramatically while rummaging through my desk drawer. There, I’m awake from my nap.

It was a high hurdle to talk to someone who was sleeping, right? Sorry for not realizing this sooner. A leader must lower the hurdle just enough for others to cross comfortably. So, go ahead and talk to me.

“Let’s think of another way.”

“Yeah.”

My classmates disperse, and the bell for the next class rings mercilessly.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“I just want to die simply…”

Lunchtime. I’m curled up on the tatami mat in the Soul Gear Research Club room, unable to recover from the earlier shock.

“Hey, Kamiya, you’re in the way. We can’t eat lunch with you lying there.”

Suo-senpai kicks me, and I roll to the corner of the tatami platform.

“So, what’s got you sulking?”

“You’re such a tsundere, Senpai, caring for me while being mean.”

“Don’t say creepy things. If you want to talk, do it while eating.”

At Suo-senpai’s words, I obediently sit at the low table and open my lunchbox.

“During the break, my classmates were talking about Mina and wanted to speak to me, but in the end, they didn’t.”

I mumble, recounting the events.

“Yuu, you’re still an outcast in class, huh? Even though you’re a disciplinary committee member and student council officer, you’re just standing out in a bad way.”

“That’s right, bad attention indeed.”

After Kotomi’s unhelpful comment, Marin-chan cuts in sharply.

“All because someone picked a fight right after enrollment, causing a duel commotion. My youthful dreams were ruined by that.”

“That was mutual.”

Marin-chan sips her tea with a bitter expression. She drags her brother into it to relieve my frustration over his sister’s misconduct.

“By the way, Kohou-senpai isn’t here today.”

“Oh, Kohou left early.”

“Left early!? Did something happen to Mina, Senpai?”

This morning, she was cheerfully debating with Hayami-san over who would make breakfast and lunch, so I didn’t think she was feeling unwell.

“Seems she got an urgent call from the music band she’s also part of.”

“An urgent call for the music band? Could it be the homeland’s total annihilation order?”

Due to the nature of the music band, urgent calls usually only happen for emergency communication drills, from which Mina, as a student, should be exempt.

“Well, the reason is probably that.”

“Indeed.”

“If even Hayami-sensei isn’t here, there must be a lot of media inquiries at the academy.”

Wait, wait, what? I’m not following this conversation at all.

“Kamiya, you heard about the military band’s official channel video, right?”

“Yeah, Mina showed it to me this morning.”

“Didn’t you check the view count? It’s huge.”

Oh, yeah, my classmates mentioned the insane view count. I quickly check the video on my phone.

“The view count is… 80 million!? Is that amazing?”

“One billion views in a day would be a world record level.”

Wow… The view count of the military academy’s beauty contest video is also skyrocketing.

“Even the internet and SNS are buzzing with this topic. Look.”

Marin-chan shows me the top article on a news site on her phone.

“The songstress of the battlefield…”

I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at the headline.

“The previous beauty contest video caused a movement mainly among specific age groups and military-related people, but this one seems to have an international audience.”

“This is turning out to be bigger than expected.”

“Will Kohou-senpai be able to come to school from now on…”

This morning, I thought our normal routine was back, but watching Mina sing on the screen, I can feel that things are going to get hectic again.