The End of the School Festival
After basking in the lingering excitement of our successful live show with Hasumin and the others, the two of us returned to Class 1-5.
At 1-5 Café Scarlet, I went back to flipping pancakes, while Hasumin resumed her role as a waitress.
Thanks to Small Love’s stellar show, our class was soon swamped—mostly by male students, all clearly here for Hasumin.
One after another, they made a beeline straight for her.
“You’re Hasumi-san, right? I saw your live performance just now! I’m a big Mongol800 fan too. Hey, we should totally go to karaoke sometime! Give me your number, and I’ll send you an invite!”
“Sorry, but exchanging contact info isn’t part of the service. If you’re ready to order, just let me know, okay?”
“So your name’s Hasumi? Oh, that’s why they call you Hasumin. Cute name. Hey, how about a date this Saturday? My treat.”
“Sorry, but guys who ask me out the second we meet aren’t really my thing.”
With a polite yet unwavering smile, Hasumin brushed off the festival-drunk guys swarming around her.
(…For some reason, this is kind of pissing me off.)
Peeking through a gap in the curtain separating the café from the back area, I found myself watching the scene unfold—only to realize I was feeling oddly irritated.
(Weird. After five years of surviving in another world, I thought I had nerves of steel. But for some reason, this is making my chest feel… unsettled?)
“Oda-kun, we need four more pancakes!”
“Two more over here!”
But with the café as busy as ever, I pushed the feeling aside for now.
I had more pressing things to focus on—like getting these orders out.
Carefully placing the freshly made pancakes onto paper plates, I handed them off to the plating staff.
Then, I got started on the next batch—six more pancakes sizzling on the griddle.
“Hey, Oda! We’re down to the last box of pancake mix!”
“Got it. Looks like we’re about to sell out. Can you take the ‘Sold Out’ sign to the front and stop letting people in?”
“On it!”
One of the sales staff grabbed the sign that read [Thank you! We’re Sold Out!] and headed toward the hallway.
Moments later—
“Sorry, everyone! Class 1-5’s Café Scarlet is completely sold out! We can’t take any more customers!”
A bright, energetic voice carried through the hallway.
(Alright, now all that’s left is to finish the remaining orders.)
I powered through the final rush, flipping the last of the batter onto the griddle. And with that, my job was done.
“We did it, Oda!”
“Sold out!”
“Aren’t we the first class to sell out?”
“Yeah, and it’s all thanks to everyone working together. Great job, guys.”
Not only had our class café completely sold out, but our live show had been a massive success, too.
As class rep, I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
“What are you talking about, Oda? You’re the heart and soul of this class!”
“Yeah, don’t be so modest!”
“Seriously, thanks for everything, Oda. We couldn’t have pulled this off without you.”
“This was the best school festival I’ve ever had. Seriously, man, thanks!”
“You guys…”
One by one, I fist-bumped my fellow pancake crew, sharing the moment of victory.
Though there were still a few customers left in the café, the kitchen side of things was officially done, so I got started on cleanup.
There wasn’t much to it—just turning off the hot plates and gathering up the trash.
At the same time, I worked with the cashier to count the earnings, confirming that not a single yen was unaccounted for.
Once the last customer had left, before restoring the classroom to its original state, we gathered for a class photo.
“Alright, everyone! Say cheese!”
“““YEEEAAAH!!!”””
Our homeroom teacher snapped several shots of us gathered in front of the blackboard.
A serious pose, everyone doing peace signs, goofy faces, linking arms—one by one, our festival memories were captured.
“Man, I’m beat.”
“But that was so much fun!”
“Yeah, totally!”
“Great job, everyone!”
When the photos were sent out, every single face in them was brimming with joy.
Even Robo-Tomoya—who never showed much expression—somehow looked proud.
And, of course, I was no exception.
A school festival this fulfilling was something my old introverted self could have never imagined. I was completely, utterly satisfied.
After riding the high a little longer, we finally got started on cleaning up the classroom.
Even though we’d been working since morning and should have been exhausted, everyone moved lightly, still riding the momentum of a job well done.
Thanks to my hardworking classmates, our classroom was quickly restored to normal.