Academy Culture Festival lasts for a total of three days. The first and second days are only open to Academy cadets, while the third day is the grand festival open to everyone.
Even though a terrorist incident occurred at the Academy this year, this schedule remained unchanged. Changing the Academy’s schedule solely because of a terrorist incident could be seen as the Academy and the Empire yielding to terrorism.
The first day of the Culture Festival. Kail felt the bustling atmosphere within the Academy and couldn’t help but crack a slight smile.
‘It’s a Culture Festival.’
The high school and university he attended in his past life didn’t have events like these. In high school, studying was prioritized, and in university, what they called a culture festival was just a day for heavy drinking.
So, this Culture Festival was the first event he’d experienced in both his past and present lives combined. To be honest, he was somewhat looking forward to it.
‘Sera said nothing would happen, so it should be fine.’
Moreover, even if something were to happen, there wasn’t much to worry about. The terrorist incident at the Academy was a concern not only for the Academy but also for the Empire, and precautions were being taken to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
“Kail.”
“Ah, you came?”
Seeing Yuri arriving late at the meeting spot, Kail greeted her with a smirk. Instead of her usual long hair, Yuri had tied her hair back halfway, making Kail realize how much hair could frame one’s face.
No matter what hairstyle she wore, her stunning beauty made him speechless.
“Your hair looks pretty.”
“Thanks.”
Yuri replied and immediately linked arms with him. As he felt her soft chest press against his firm arm muscles, she pulled out a pamphlet from her pocket.
“Let’s go. I’ve already decided everything we’re going to see.”
“I have something I want to see too.”
“What is it?”
“Aria’s performance.”
Hearing the name Aria, Yuri slightly frowned, but knowing that as a commoner, she couldn’t interfere between Kail and Aria, she quickly nodded and headed towards the performance venue.
It was early morning when the Culture Festival began, a time when most cadets were still asleep. Therefore, the performance hall for the Arts Department cadets was completely empty.
This was a time slot avoided by all cadets since no matter how good their skills were, they wouldn’t receive proper evaluations. However… for some reason, Aria’s performance was scheduled for this time.
“Poor thing.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean Aria. Why do you think her performance is at this time?”
“Why?”
“Because she’s a commoner.”
“Ah…”
Yuri, who initially reacted sharply, sighed in pity upon realizing why Aria’s performance was set for this time slot.
With her keen political sense, Yuri knew exactly why Aria had been scheduled for this time.
“Should we go and confront them now?”
“Confront? You from the Knight Department and me from the Magic Department?”
“I’m a viscount and you’re a duke; maybe something can be done?”
“The Arts Department cadets have similar titles.”
“Aria’s skills are amazing though…”
“Art is subjective. If the professors insist otherwise, that’s the end of it.”
Ultimately, it meant helping Aria showcase her true talent widely was impossible. Such political issues were a headache.
How nice it would be if world problems could be solved as easily as cutting something in two with a sword.
Thinking this, Kail felt slightly gloomy, but soon cheered up when Aria appeared on stage.
“Aria, you’re human!”
“???!!”
Aria, preparing to sing on stage, looked bewildered at Kail’s sudden shout.
Even the professors sitting in the front row turned to frown at Kail.
However, moments later, Aria burst into giggles, shrugging her shoulders.
“Hehehe, excuse me. ─I’m Aria. I’ll sing now.”
After suppressing her laughter with a deep breath, she began to sing. Even the professors, who frowned at Kail earlier, turned their heads to listen attentively.
Listening to it repeatedly wouldn’t be enough. The melody echoing in their ears, her sweet voice, and the harmony of all these elements were mesmerizing.
Casually, Kail glanced at Yuri sitting next to him. Despite feeling a bit hurt about coming to see another woman’s performance so early in the morning, she savored Aria’s song with her mouth agape.
“─I want to be your constellation.”
Finishing her song, Aria smiled warmly at Kail, who had come to watch her perform. Seeing this, Kail started clapping enthusiastically.
Other cadets who came early to watch the performance joined in the applause after hearing Kail clap.
At this moment, the only ones not clapping were Aria on stage and the professors sitting in the front row evaluating her.
“Hmm, it was a good song. However… relying solely on her voice without much effort, focusing only on technique without emotion, and an artist being overly conscious of others’ gazes are all points for deduction.”
“─What nonsense is that old geezer spouting?”
“I don’t know either.”
Kail let out a dry laugh, watching the professor evaluate Aria. Summarizing his words:
You’re just riding on your voice and skill.
Even a cadet without any artistic knowledge could immediately tell how absurd those comments were, yet the professor spoke confidently.
“─Thank you very much! Please vote for me! That way, you can see me again on the third day-!”
“I’ll put in 100 votes!”
“Hahaha, only one vote per person~.”
Despite receiving such nonsensical feedback, Aria kept smiling and stepped down from the stage. The professors frowned, displeased with her reaction.
Not planning to stay for the next performances, Kail promptly left the venue with Yuri. Exiting the performance hall, Aria approached them from behind the stage.
“Kail!”
“Aria.”
“Thank you for coming to watch my performance.”
Aria bowed deeply to express her gratitude. Seeing this, Kail helped her up, assuring her it wasn’t necessary, then asked,
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You performed this morning with barely any audience and received such nonsense comments.”
“Oh, I’m fine. A true artist must overcome such hardships!”
“Yeah, keep it up. I’ll cheer for you.”
“Thank you! But don’t actually put in 100 votes! I’d get arrested for vote manipulation.”
Aria said this and quickly left. Though her solo performance was over, she still had more preparations for the Culture Festival as an Arts Department cadet.
Watching her leave, Kail realized she truly seemed unfazed. It was strange. How could someone with such skill remain unmoved by such criticism?
‘Is that what a true artist is like?’
Just as a swordsman dedicating everything to a single blade doesn’t care much for others’ opinions, a true artist seemed indifferent to others’ views.
Kail thought she was incredible and silently marveled at her.
“Kail.”
“Yeah, hmm.”
“Let’s go see what I want to see now.”
“Ah, right.”
However, he didn’t dwell on these thoughts for long. Quickly shaking off his emotions, Kail enjoyed the Culture Festival with Yuri.
On the first day of the Culture Festival, most performances were prepared by first-year cadets, so there were some rough edges here and there… but Kail, experiencing a Culture Festival for the first time, was thoroughly enjoying himself.
* * *
After all the performances of the first day ended, Aria returned to the dormitory and received a notification form. It was the form notifying whether she could participate in the grand Culture Festival open to the public on the third day.
She didn’t expect much but carefully opened the notification form. It contained the number of votes she received from cadets and the professors’ evaluations.
[Aria]
33 votes
70 points
Result: Fail
“…Figures.”
There weren’t many cadets who came to watch her perform early in the morning. Even if she received votes from every cadet who heard her sing, the absolute number was too small to make a difference.
Moreover, the professors’ scores below were problematic. 70 points out of 100 might not seem low, but in reality, it was.
The professors predetermined who would participate in the grand festival and gave them full marks. In other words, Aria didn’t receive 70 points; she lost 30 points.
“I expected this.”
She never believed those rigid old professors would suddenly recognize her talent and allow her on the third-day stage.
If they had intended to, they wouldn’t have scheduled her performance so early in the morning. They would have placed her during a time when more people gathered.
“As expected, all noble brats are trash.”
She clenched her fists tightly, trembling. There was no helping it. You all made me like this.
I hate the world.
I hate nobles.
I wish they’d all just die.
* * *
Second day.
I scratched my cheek upon seeing the club president who suddenly showed up.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Pretend to be my lover.”
She asked me to be her lover for a night.
