LIGHTNOVELONLINE [After all, the victory belongs to Trinity.]
“J- j- j…!!!”
“Makoto-senpai, you should at least speak in a way I can understand… No, wait. Just keep talking like that, and I’ll completely ignore you. That way, I can skip out on class.”
“That cocky pigeon!!! ‘Victory belongs to Trinity?’ ‘Out’ you say…?! Well done, Misono Mika!!!”
“Sigh… Here we go again.”
Pretending to quietly read her book, Iroha focused on Mika’s press conference broadcast.
As expected, her handling of the situation was spotless. Iroha couldn’t help but let out a sigh filled with regret as she recalled the confident way she finished the press conference and how she easily trampled the executives of the Manma Battle earlier. Maybe she should have accepted that proposal.
“Iroha…! Prepare ‘that!’ I, the great Makoto, cannot possibly lose to that pigeon!”
“Senpai, you at least have to tell me what ‘that’ is to prepare.”
Ah, how annoying. I should’ve just accepted it outright. Is it too late to accept now?
While Iroha was lost in thought, a laugh that could drive anyone crazy reached her ears.
“Kikikikikik—!! That obviously means to prepare for a press conference! We’ll retaliate! After all, ‘victory will belong to Gehenna!’”
“Honestly, saying this at this point just sounds like you got provoked by the T-party host. Don’t bother responding; it’s better to stay silent—”
“NO! We absolutely cannot do that! If we did, people will think I, Makoto, am just tucking my tail between my legs! Therefore, we must have a press conference, Iroha!!”
“Y-yes, yes. Understood…”
Ah, how annoying. I should just sneak away like this.
Deciding to skip, Iroha quietly made her way to her own hideout.
That day, laughter like kikikikik and kisherish echoed in the Manma Battle’s office until Makoto caught wind of something strange. It was unfortunate for the Manma Battle executives who were on guard duty.
It was summer.
*
[After all, the victory belongs to Trinity.]
“…”
“Oh my, Mika is being quite aggressive. This will surely be a bit of a stimulus for our students.”
“Still, I think that’s a bit too cocky, don’t you? I acknowledge that person is absurdly strong, but overall, we’re still the ones with the upper hand compared to Trinity. Sigh Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable about this?!”
“Pfft.”
“…?!”
At the sudden burst of laughter, Aco and Iori turned their heads sharply. At the end of their gaze was Hina, who was covering her mouth and shaking with laughter.
“Is that the head of our student council smiling?! This… this isn’t the time for that! We need to capture a photo immediately…!”
“T-the head is laughing…?!”
Regardless of their commotion, Hina continued to chuckle, seemingly unconcerned. While it was indeed a rare occurrence for her, somehow, being involved with Mika made her laughter a bit more abundant.
“Aco, Iori…”
“Yes, President!”
“Yup, President.”
“We will win the festival no matter what. Once we check the competition events, we will definitely choose one and earn ourselves a medal. Got it?”
After the laughter died down, both girls blinked in surprise at Hina’s unexpected statement.
“Uh, President? If we win, doesn’t that mean that person becomes Vice President Makoto’s slave? Even if it’s just for a week.”
“Iori-chan, what matters isn’t the duration. That raccoon, Mikasa, what sort of things will she be subjected to? President, can we really win?”
“Ah… right. Don’t worry about the aftermath; we can win. Even if President Makoto wins the bet, there’s no way he can do anything weird if he’s asleep for a week.”
“…!! Yes! Then I will invite a teacher for the upcoming summer festival, attend class, and recruit students to participate in the competition!”
“President, I will participate in the water skiing event.”
If Gehenna wins, they would protect Mika’s safety while she remained in slumber. Then, she could legally spend time with Mika while doing work. That single thought filled Hina’s mind.
It was summer.
*
[This summer festival, taking place this time and continuously in the future, will primarily focus on various competitions to determine the superiority between the two academies—]
As a gentle yet powerful voice flowed from the speakers, the once-flickering Halo illuminated steadily.
“Mm… Nonomi-chan… what are you watching…?”
“Oh dear, did I wake you because of me? I’m so sorry, senpai~ I accidentally forgot to put on my earphones!”
Responding with a smile, the girl Izayoi Nonomi heard a weak voice calling from below. Despite it being a situation where she should feel guilty, she used it as an excuse to say that anyone would respond similarly to the sight of her sleepy senpai.
“Yawn Nonomi-chan, how can you be having fun while leaving this old man out~?”
“Well… it’s a bit difficult to call this fun, but since you’re awake, let’s watch together!”
The girl who was lying on Nonomi’s lap, Takamachi Hoshino, sat up and blinked her eyes. While rubbing her eyes and yawning, Hoshino heard a rather strange statement.
[Do we really need to go on about this? Trinity will stomp Gehenna into the ground during this festival.]
“…Hmm?”
At the moment, she doubted her ears about what she heard wrongly, but when she looked at the screen of the phone in Nonomi’s hands, a pretty pink-haired angel reflected in her eyes. Dressed like a storybook princess, her radiant features were captivating.
Did those words actually come from such a character? Really? It was completely different from her appearance.
While Hoshino was lost in thought, the angel on screen flashed a benevolent smile and said,
[Remember, victory belongs to Trinity after all.]
…That was no benevolent smile but a sinister one.
Seeing Hoshino dumbfounded, Nonomi burst into laughter.
“By the way, a summer festival! Just thinking about it is exciting. Senpai, I want to see beach sand instead of that annoying sand from the desert!”
“Nonomi-chan, why suddenly a summer festival…? Don’t keep this all to yourself; share some with this old man too~”
“Oh. Senpai, you didn’t hear? Apparently, Trinity and Gehenna are jointly organizing a summer festival~☆”
“Huh… But isn’t it normal for the two to growl at each other just by glancing? This is a total surprise.”
Saying so, Hoshino’s eyes never left the screen. For some reason, the angel beyond the screen caught her attention a little too much.
[For the competitions prepared to determine the competition between the two academies, all students belonging to Trinity and Gehenna can participate in the qualifying rounds without restriction. Those who join the festival in a personal capacity, unfortunately, cannot participate… However, we have big and small events planned for them too, so there’s no need to be disappointed.]
What could it be? She had no idea. Perhaps, a distant memory of her senpai returned…
No, that probably wasn’t it.
She had a different hair color, a different expression. She couldn’t read the mood of the person on the screen.
Then why was it that she was so drawn to that person?
[Starting with the sandcastle building competition, where young students can participate without restriction, to the must-include beach beauty contest, eating contests, and treasure hunts with various prizes. Additionally, the fireworks that will close the night every day during the festival can’t be missed either, right?]
“Wooow… It seems students belonging to both academies can participate as well~☆ This looks fun!”
“If Nonomi-chan wants to participate alone, I won’t stop you~.”
“Oh, what about you, senpai…?”
“Uhehe~ this old man is content just watching Nonomi-chan have a good time. It’s like being full just by watching Nonomi-chan eat~.”
“Hoshino-senpai…”
With somewhat sad eyes, Nonomi remembered how Hoshino had looked at the beginning of the year, when she was pessimistic about everything.
Monthly payments in the millions. Excluding herself, who had just entered, Hoshino was the only student in the school that was virtually bankrupt. While she had a means to repay the debt, Hoshino resolutely forbade her from doing that.
The struggle to pay off the growing interest continued, and gradually worsening circumstances caused by thugs starting to gather around the academy drained both of them.
One day, Hoshino handed her a check card and said, “We have an anonymous benefactor,” meaning they no longer needed to worry about supplies.
From that point, Hoshino began to change little by little. Nonomi understood that it was a process of mimicking a senior named Yume whom Hoshino occasionally reminisced about.
For her only junior. And one day, for juniors who might come in the future.
Nonomi didn’t know if she should be happy or sad about that fact.
Strangely enough, it felt like the check card didn’t run out no matter how much they used it. Hoshino, skeptical of this fact, visited the bank directly and uncovered a new piece of information.
The check card had been deposited with an amount greater than what they had spent every month… and even uncovered the sender of the check card’s name.
Hoshino thought their anonymous benefactor was more careless than expected and began to search for a student named Misono Mika without informing Nonomi about this.
The returned results were disappointing. Finding a student from the large academy Trinity with just a name wasn’t easy at all.
At one point, while considering consulting a detective agency proficient in hacking, Hoshino resolved to abandon the investigation entirely. After all, their benefactor was openly helping them financially, so it didn’t make sense for those receiving aid to waste money searching for them.
Thus, the name Misono Mika remained buried in Hoshino’s mind until this moment.
Until she saw the subtitles that popped up at the bottom of the screen.
[Officially appearing on stage is Misono Mika, the current T-party host of Trinity! As soon as the press conference ends, our correspondent will broadcast interviews with Trinity General Academy students.]
“…Misono Mika?”
“Oh? Senpai? Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?”
Finally realizing why the woman on screen had captured her attention, her instincts were clearly shouting that THIS was the person she had been searching for.
Hoshino’s chaotic thoughts finally reached a single conclusion.
…I found her.
With that, Hoshino bolted out of the room in a hurry. Startled, Nonomi followed her without knowing it.
“H-Hoshino-senpai! Where are you going…?!”
Calling out eagerly as she chased behind her, Nonomi soon realized that Hoshino was heading to her dorm.
When she arrived late to Hoshino’s room, Hoshino was sitting in front of her desk, pulling out a pink envelope.
The envelope, having been roughly torn open at its first opening, wasn’t in good condition. Nevertheless, Hoshino had kept that envelope dearly all this time. Ever since she had received the letter, she had been careful not to crumple it even a little.
“Phew… Senpai, that is…?”
With her knees pressed onto the ground, Nonomi caught her breath and sat beside Hoshino.
“…It’s the letter our benefactor sent us at the beginning.”
Nonomi’s curiosity piqued at seeing the letter for the first time, but as Hoshino pulled out the check card stored within, her attention shifted in that direction.
“That check card was kept here, huh…”
So that’s why it only appeared when purchasing supplies; it seems like it was put back inside every time after usage.
“Nonomi-chan.”
“Yes, senpai!”
“Let’s go to that festival together.”
In that moment, words escaped that made Nonomi doubt her ears.
“Really…? Are you serious?!”
“There’s someone we need to meet there.”
Two differently colored pupils sparkled with joy.
Finally, she would have a chance to scold that irritating angel.
It was summer.
*
[Ajitani-san (First-year student at Trinity)]
[Ah… If you ask whether I have a connection with Mika-senpai… I guess I should say yes… She’s really such a kind person, and I still vividly remember our first meeting. Auw…!]
“…Oh my, our sneaky vice president has been hiding such a secret!”
“Huh? The vice president? Is it that person who sold us out to the student council?! Ugh, if I starve to death, I’ll curse that person until she’s starving too!”
“Fufu… I never knew our vice president had such friendly ties with the student council president. But that’s alright. The path of gourmet is never smooth, and sometimes differences in opinions can occur along the challenging journey.”
Trapped in a holding cell while watching the news on her phone, Haruna didn’t mind such minor matters. She had become rather accustomed to it, and that got her thinking about sneaking into the holding cell next time to stash away some snacks.
More importantly, she had learned about the true identity of Vice President Misono Mika. It was clear she held no ordinary status when she was so keen on capturing her, but to find she was the highest authority in Trinity…
“It’s actually better this way. This means we can roam Trinity freely with just her permission, right? It means a whole new realm of gourmet exploration is opening up before us. Fufu… So this betrayal is negligible.”
Of course, betrayal is still betrayal. A fitting punishment would be to make Mika press the detonation button when they next visit an underwhelming restaurant together.
“By the way, a summer festival… How exciting it is~ Especially the eating contest! Thank you for organizing such an event, Misono-san… no, Mika-san, you’re truly the best vice president~☆”
“Ugh, yes! Festival food! There will be so many tasty dishes, right?! Takoyaki, yakisoba, yakitori, kakigori, choco bananas…! Yaho~!”
Haruna nodded in satisfaction, thinking it seemed like the members had also accepted their vice president wholeheartedly. Once they apprehended Mika at the festival, they would embark on a journey to search for the ultimate festival cuisine.
Mika’s true identity was more than a mere pass to Trinity for Haruna. She was a companion who could accompany her on her journey for gourmet. That alone was sufficient.
[Urawa-san (First-year student at Trinity)]
[Mika-senpai is truly a thoughtful person. The new path she had shown me when I was in a difficult position is something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. Especially that advice that helped me find my true self, I might turn it into my family motto… Fufu♡]
“…Hmmm.”
…Could that be sufficient? With a feeling of being somewhat lacking, an unquenchable thirst and hunger began to gnaw at Haruna slowly.
It was summer.