Chapter 187

The festival was not over yet.

Despite the commotion from the night before, Iri had woken up early in the morning to prepare for the second day of the festival.

Not only the issue with the suddenly suspended “Living Fireworks” exhibition, but also the matter of the still-unknown “Suspicious Scanner,” and several other problems.

‘Please, just let today pass peacefully.’

To be honest, when I first submitted the festival proposal, I never imagined it would turn out to be such a hectic affair.

Truthfully, I had also wanted to use the festival as an excuse to have some fun myself, which was why I had pushed the planning so hard. But now, I was starting to regret it a little.

‘Maybe it’s better not to do this next year…….’

I spent such a busy morning schedule that the thought crossed my mind half as a joke, and when I finally snapped back to myself, it was already 12 p.m. Lunch time.

“President. Please take a break and eat.”

“Mm. Thank you.”

One of the Student Council members informed me of the shift time. Stretching my stiff body from all the paperwork, I rose from my seat.

Ah, finally, a chance to rest.

But once I had time to rest, I didn’t really have anything particular to do.

When I had imagined a festival held at the Academy, it seemed like it would be a lot of fun, but the reality was just me wandering around the festival grounds alone.

‘Miyu probably went to the hospital for her check-up with Mr. Chairman. Ciel… I haven’t seen her around lately, who knows what she’s up to. As for Silence-sunbae and Raina, well…… right.’

I frowned as I thought of Raina, who had recently begun openly showing her feelings.

It was a good thing, but somehow……

No, was it really a good thing?

The sight of Raina swinging around her minigun in battle while Silence was dragged along like a ragdoll was less like “lovers” and more like “a girl with her favorite plush toy.”

Well, anyway.

With the few people I was close to scattered, being alone had become my daily routine.

I got along well enough with the other Student Council members, but if asked whether we were actually close, the answer would be no.

“Awkward, really.”

It struck me again how narrow my circle of friends was.

Well, whatever. I should just grab some lunch.

I could wander around a bit, and if it wasn’t fun, I could just head back to my room, take a quick nap, and return later.

With that in mind, I made my way to the first floor.

And the moment I arrived at the area where the street vendors had gathered, I ran into a troublesome presence.

“Bwahahahah! Only 100 Credits for this!? Having a school with so much money really is great, huh~”

“……”

There was a drunkard.

That drunkard’s name was Lexus Bane.

Since it was a college festival, there were plenty of people drinking, but not a single one was so drunk at midday that their nose went crooked. Lexus was probably the only one.

‘There are Sound-Canceling Devices, so why isn’t he using one?’

Lexus had piled his table high with cheap street food and alcohol, fully indulging himself in the festival alone. He flirted with passing girls, sang loudly, and smeared all kinds of sauces into his beard as he ate.

‘That… is my teacher?’

Was this really the man who, in his prime, had been a living legend? He looked more like a washed-up drunk venting his frustrations at a cheap dive bar in Sector E after work.

‘Should I stop him?’

‘No. Just ignore him. You’re resting right now.’

As the angel and devil inside me argued—

“Ohhh! My pretty girlieee!”

I’d been spotted.

Even from quite a distance, he had noticed me. As expected, he really was a high-level Adaptee. Definitely not someone I could underestimate. But… wait a minute… did he just call me “pretty girlie”?

“Come here to see your teacher, eh! Good, good, come pour me a drink, my lovely disciple!”

“……”

The gazes of those around me fell squarely on me.

Their eyes wordlessly pressed: “You know that drunk? Do something about him!”

I had no choice but to sit across from Lexus at his table. He shoved a glass toward me.

Glug glug.

He poured beer sloppily into my glass, his expression suddenly growing serious. Despite asking me to pour for him, he filled his own glass first and downed it in big gulps.

“Khah~!”

“……”

I quietly emptied my glass. For an Adaptee’s sturdy liver, a single glass of beer was nothing.

Lexus refilled my glass and asked in a low voice:

“So. How’s life at the Academy treating you?”

“……Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Oi, your teacher’s asking you a question, and you reply with ‘why’?”

“We literally saw each other the other day. What kind of weird question is that? It hasn’t been that long since I started tutoring.”

“That’s true.”

Lexus chuckled.

Then he suddenly asked:

“Someone died over there yesterday, didn’t they?”

“Huh?”

“Tell me the truth.”

His gaze shifted past me, toward the direction of the “Living Fireworks” exhibition hall. Apparently, Lexus had realized that something had happened there last night.

He might look like a fool… with chicken sauce all over his beard, looking like a tramp… with his crusty eyes unwashed, like some lazy bum… but still, I couldn’t bring myself to compliment him. He really was a great man—great enough that Aaron himself had scouted him.

But even his deduction wasn’t perfect. Fortunately, Miyu had survived.

“No. Nobody died.”

“Eh? Really? No way.”

“Really.”

I gave him a brief account of last night’s incident: the rampaging “Fireworks,” Miyu nearly dying, and Aaron saving her.

When I finished, Lexus asked in disbelief:

“What!? That guy cried!?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. That guy wouldn’t shed a drop of blood even if you stabbed him with a needle. No matter how much he cares about you kids, there’s no way he’d be emotional enough to shed tears…… wait. Why’s your face like that?”

“What about my face?”

“You look like you’re about to cry. Your face is red.”

“Huh?”

I tried to find a mirror, but of course there wasn’t one here. So instead, I pressed both hands against my cheeks—and they were burning hot, like I’d been scalded.

“W-what’s wrong with me?”

“From the moment you mentioned Aaron crying, your face started going red.”

“T-that’s impossible!!”

Bang!

I slammed the table hard, denying it furiously. The impact knocked a few empty bottles to the floor and splattered some food. My embarrassment only grew worse.

“S-surely it’s just because of the alcohol.”

“You’re an Adaptee. There’s no way you’d get drunk off a single beer……”

“I told you it’s because of the alcohol!”

They said a fierce denial was the same as an affirmation.

Even though my words denied it, Lexus’s point had struck home. Aaron holding Miyu in his arms while tears welled in his eyes had been a shock to me.

Last night, I hadn’t had the presence of mind to think too deeply about it. But when I recalled the scene now, something heavy seemed to settle deep inside my chest.

This was, without a doubt.

Because I liked that man.

But I didn’t want anyone to notice it. Especially not this washed-up teacher.

If Lexus ever caught on, he’d tease me to death starting tomorrow during training, once the festival ended.

“I-I should go now. The booze… it’s getting to me! Ahahaha!”

“Hm. Doesn’t look like it. Usually, drunk people insist they aren’t, and the ones who aren’t drunk insist they are—”

“If you keep prying, I’ll puke right into your mouth.”

“Alright, alright. Go.”

When I snapped back at him, Lexus gave me a strange grin and let me get up. I carefully set the fallen bottles back onto the table and gave him a piece of advice.

“You really do look wasted, so you’d better go home and rest.”

“No, I’m not drunk.”

“By your own logic, that means you are.”

“Ah, right~”

Lexus scratched his head.

Sigh.

What a meaningless conversation.

I shrugged once and turned to leave.

And then.

“Ahh. Disciple, wait. Just one last word.”

“What now.”

“That girl, Miyu, being alive is a good thing, sure. But check again properly. I’m sure someone died there.”

“How would you know that?”

“My Fixer’s intuition says so.”

“Fixer’s intuition, my foot. All you ever did was track down cheating wives for the government.”

“Hey, brat! I told you before! If I’d just had a bit more luck, huh!? I’d be way more famous than that Kara the Red Fixer or whatever her name is!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

I turned my back on him, brushing off his nonsense. But then Lexus suddenly shouted again.

“Stingray!”

He raised a finger.

It looked like he meant to point at me, but he was too drunk to keep his balance. Still, his voice carried surprising weight.

“Aaron Stingray—I don’t know about that guy. But being tied to the Stingray Group itself is dangerous. Even if you are a Stingray special scholarship student now. Got it?”

“Yes, yes, I got it.”

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

“Understand what?”

“……”

Lexus didn’t answer.

Honestly.

The man was drawing his paycheck from Stingray himself, and he still spouted this kind of nonsense. Shaking it off as his usual babbling, I left.

After that, I wandered here and there, running into many people. Not because I sought them out, but because, as Student Council President, I’d become recognizable. People approached me first.

As I spent time mingling with them, I found that the festival wasn’t as boring as I’d thought—it had its charms.

“It’s already evening. Time to head back.”

Having accepted drinks from people here and there, I actually felt tipsy this time, unlike earlier when I’d met Lexus. Smelling strongly of alcohol, I didn’t want to return straight away, so I headed toward the bathroom to freshen up.

Because there were no windows, I couldn’t see outside from the hallway, but the wall displays showed the sunset. That meant the sun was beginning to set.

‘The festival is really winding down.’

In just a few more hours, it would be truly over. Since I had to give the closing speech soon, I needed to sober up. Washing my face with cold water should help.

As I staggered along—

From around the hallway corner came a strange sound.

“[……What is it you want to say?]”

A familiar voice.

It was Silence’s voice, synthesized through a voice mixer. I almost greeted him out of habit—

When suddenly—

Grab.

Someone seized me from behind.

I was startled for an instant, then froze for another reason entirely when I recognized the handsome face with black hair and golden eyes.

“C-Chairman!?”

[Shh. Quiet.]

[P-please be quiet, Iri.]

“Miyu too!?”

Both of them answered through voice chat, as if even the smallest sound was forbidden. Then they pressed themselves against the hallway corner, peeking out cautiously toward Silence’s direction.

Why on earth were the two of them here, instead of in the hospital where they belonged?

[What are you two even watching?]

[I-it’s an important scene. Focus!]

Miyu pointed.

Alongside Silence, of course, was none other than Raina.

Ah.

I joined Aaron and Miyu in their “formation.” For a moment, I could have sworn a sweet smell drifted from that direction.

“Oooh……”

That faint, wafting presence could only be described as the scent of “prime entertainment.”

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