When I woke up in the morning, Mina was already out of bed.

Even at the entrance, her shoes were gone, so it seems she got up before me and slipped out.

She must be really busy with work, leaving late at night and heading out early in the morning.

Still, she found time in her murderous schedule to come see me.

I doubt my face has any healing effect, but next time, I’ll take the time to play with Mina and her cat.

With that thought in mind, I headed to the academy as usual, dreading the paperwork awaiting me in the student council room after school. Suddenly, Principal Takami summoned me.

“What could it be? The principal wants all student council members in his office?”

President Nase asked, throwing her anxiety-laden question to the room.

“No idea.”

“Takami was my superior once, but I outrank him now. Should I have him come to the student council room instead, President Nase?”

“Kamiya-sama, please don’t say things that make my stomach hurt…”

“Please drop the ‘-sama’ at school, President Nase.”

“Y-yes… I’ll do my best.”

Even though he’s the student council president, President Nase has fully adopted the role of a subordinate character lately, responding in a hesitant voice.

Her attitude towards me has completely changed, ever since she found out during Hayami-san’s rescue mission that I’m the first seat of the Special Combat Force.

“Well, since he wants all student council members, it’s probably just about a school event. The campus has been peaceful lately.”

Ever since Marin-chan became the disciplinary committee head, the campus has been completely under her control.

Despite being a middle schooler who skipped grades, everyone bows down to Marin-chan.

She’s teaching the students that strength and Soul Armor abilities aren’t everything—a rare and valuable lesson.

“Well then, let’s get this over with quickly. Let’s go, President Nase.”

“Yes, Hinoura-sama.”

I felt a bit nostalgic for the old, cheeky, tanned gal version of President Nase as we headed to the principal’s office.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“What?! The school festival?!”

The principal’s matter was indeed about a school event, but the content was unexpected.

“Yes! A school festival!”

Halfway through my youthful bucket list, I had almost given up on experiencing a school festival, so I couldn’t help but cheer.

“Wasn’t this school against holding festivals, Principal Takami?”

“Weren’t the student council’s plans for it canceled three terms ago due to security concerns?”

Contrary to my innocent excitement, Kotomi and President Nase questioned the sudden change in the school’s stance.

“Ah, that’s because Corporal Kohou is involved.”

“Mina? Why?”

What does a school festival have to do with Mina?

“Corporal Kohou’s nationwide tour is starting. The venues are at various military bases and schools, including the Special Soul Gear Academy where she’s enrolled.”

“It seems the upper echelons are quite excited about suddenly acquiring a songstress.”

“That might be the case.”

Judging by Principal Takami’s sour expression, it seems his feelings toward the higher-ups are similar.

“And they want the event to take the form of a school festival if outsiders are to be invited. Here.”

Principal Takami handed us a request letter and an outline from the higher-ups.

“Hmph, it irks me to follow their orders, but…”

“If it allows us to hold the school festival, why not? It seems we’ll get extra funding too.”

Kotomi answered while flipping through the documents.

“Indeed, if we can hold it once without issues, it might become an annual event. It would be a great legacy for future students—a monumental achievement for the student council.”

President Nase was also becoming quite positive.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

I was already discontent with the lack of a school festival, a quintessential youth event.

With everyone on board, there was no reason to object.

Only by embracing both the sweet and the bitter can great things be accomplished.

I’ll give it my all for everyone’s youthful memories!

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

I want to punch the past me for making that light-hearted decision.

“Want an energy drink? I stocked up…”

“Oh, thanks, Kotomi… I’ll take one.”

“Thank you, Hinoura-sama…”

Kotomi, sporting dark circles under her eyes, returned to the student council room with an armful of energy drinks and started distributing them.

Even after handing them to me and President Nase, she still had plenty left, indicating how much she expected to consume.

In other words, our work was far from over.

“This pile is the approval documents for the booths… and this one is for the stage management…”

“The equipment allocation and additional orders are done… but we still need to assign tasks to each class for the setup the day before…”

We were rushing to prepare for the school festival, hastily decided, but since this was the first-ever festival at the Special Soul Gear Academy, there was no precedent.

We had to create all the documents from scratch, meaning the student council was in a death march.

“Yuu-sama, this form is incorrect. The rejection response format is Form 16.”

“Thanks, Hayami-san. Sorry for putting you through this right after becoming the student council advisor.”

“No worries. In the military, pushing through with little sleep is common.”

“Yeah, but…”

Paperwork demands a different kind of endurance than the battlefield demands.

It feels like constantly having a warm, giant hand squeezing your head, causing relentless anxiety.

I’m a musclehead, after all, with no proper officer or military training.

“Excuse me. You all look exhausted…”

“Marin-chan, perfect timing! Help us out a bit!”

As usual, I tried to drag Marin-chan into the death march after she finished her patrol and came to submit her report.

“I’m technically still a middle schooler, so I can’t stay too late—sorry!”

Seeing our death march, Marin-chan quickly smiled and declined.

“Suo-senpai!”

“Sorry, I can’t let Marin go home alone.”

“You siscon!!”

Our spirits sank even lower after losing the potential labor force.

“Fine, as the disciplinary head, I’ll draft a preliminary security plan. You can adjust it later.”

“Suo-senpai, you’re the best!”

“The proper procedure is for the student council to draft the plan and then consult with the disciplinary committee, but I guess that’s out of the question in this state.”

“Huh? What do you mean by ‘this state,’ Suo-kun? Are you talking about my appearance?”

President Nase began her usual banter with Suo-senpai.

She was wearing glasses she usually didn’t wear, and her beautiful silver hair, normally styled in loose waves, was tied up in a top knot to keep it out of the way during computer work.

When a woman becomes too busy to care about her appearance, it’s a sign that things are really bad.

“I didn’t say anything like that. Just give me the draft security plan data, Nase.”

“Fine, fine…”

Suo-senpai brushed off President Nase’s banter, requested the data, and she quietly handed it over on a recording device.

Perhaps she was too tired to continue the banter.

“President Nase, let’s ask former President Domon for help.”

“No. I can’t let Ken see me like this—not as his fiancée, nor as the student council president who succeeded him.”

President Nase firmly refused Kotomi’s suggestion, furiously scribbling on documents.

It was uncharacteristic of her to disregard the master-servant relationship she usually valued.

“Aw…”

“I can’t grant your wish this time, Hinoura-sama or Kamiya-sama. If Ken sees me like this, I’ll crush myself between barrier spells and erase my existence from this world.”

“That’s a terrifying way to commit suicide! Fine, I won’t mention it again!”

Realizing how serious President Nase was, Kotomi gave up on calling former President Domon.

However, if subordinates are worked to death for their superior’s aesthetics or philosophy, it defeats the purpose.

“Hey, Marin-chan, you can order whatever you want for delivery if you help us out a bit.”

“Alright, Kamiya-senpai, I’ll help in exchange for the most expensive pizza with crab toppings.”

“I’ll only help until the delivery arrives. I’m heading home after we eat.”

“I want fried chicken! I don’t care about my skin anymore!”

“I’ll take a large beef bowl with a soft-boiled egg and pork soup.”

“Meat… I’ll eat any kind of meat.”

After successfully roping in the Suo siblings, Kotomi, Hayami-san, and President Nase also started placing their orders.

“Alright, alright. I’ll order everything, so just wait.”

While browsing the all-in-one delivery app that I’d been relying on heavily these past few days,

I couldn’t help but wonder, was this how preparing for a cultural festival went in youth manga?

But sensing that delving too deep into that thought wouldn’t lead to happiness, I focused on ordering everyone’s dinner-slash-midnight snack.