The Fate of the Protagonist Who Chose the Harem Ending - Episode 25
Each Person’s Cultural Festival
Around the school gates, there were advertisements for each class’ activities.
Near the shoe lockers, the brass band played popular songs and classic tunes outdoors.
Food stands, like those selling fried chicken and grilled skewers, were set up outside.
The haunted house made sure no light from outside entered. Hanging black curtains were over the windows to block any light from the classroom.
In the morning, our class activity was the Super Ball Scooping.
I was in charge of handing out the scoops.
“Ah!”
A child shouted. With great force, the scoop tore.
Now being more careful, the child scooped one ball. But as they added a second, the scoop tore again.
For the final scoop, the child got two balls, making a total of four balls.
“Good job! Here’s a pack of candy!”
“Thank you, big brother!”
The child thanked me and ran off.
Next was a middle schooler, using the regular difficulty scoop.
“Ah, this one is the type that doesn’t tear easily……. I see, that’s why there’s only one.”
This middle schooler seemed to be experienced. But after scooping five balls, the scoop tore.
“Ah, damn! If I had just gotten one more, I would’ve won a prize with six or more!”
The student shouted in frustration, grabbed the candy, and lined up again.
It was clear they were disappointed, as they had just been one ball short.
“Let me try the challenge!”
The student said, and I handed them two weak scoops.
The first scoop tore before they could even lift it. Wow, it’s that weak?
“So weak!? Ah, so that’s why there were two,”
The student seemed to realize, and carefully tried again. They teared the second scoop as well.
For three or fewer scoops, the prize was a bag of candy.
“Well, let’s move on.”
The student said and walked off to the next attraction.
“Higashitani-san, Amamiya-san, it’s your turn to switch. I’ll take your place.”
“Got it.”
“Thanks, I’ll leave it to you. Let’s go, Haru.”
With that, I went around the cultural festival with Shizuku.
It was getting close to lunchtime, and I was starting to feel hungry. So I decided to have an early lunch.
“Shizuku, let’s go to the 2-C booth where Aiba is.”
“Okay, we’re all set, so we should be able to go.”
Aiba’s 2-C class was serving *butatama* (pork pancakes), and I had asked them for a small favor in exchange for a little price.
(Note:
Butatama
)
“Welcome! You’re here!”
“Hi, Yuri-chan, two butatama, please.”
“Hold on! I’ll give them to you fresh!”
Aiba’s classmate placed the butatama on paper plates and was about to pour sauce on them.
But Aiba stopped them.
“Wait, don’t put sauce on those for these two.”
“Huh? But they’ll taste bland without it…”
While they muttered, Aiba handed over the butatama without the sauce.
And the “price” I had agreed to? It was to feed each other in front of the stall.
…Why?
“Well, it’s fine for me since I’m gaining from it. Here, Haru, *ah~n*.”
“*Ah~n*…”
Later, when I asked about the reasoning behind this.
It turned out that eating the butatama without sauce was part of their experiment to show that it could still be delicious.
For people who are concerned about calories or especially salt intake, removing the sauce helps cut down on those extra additions.
Apparently, someone concerned about salt intake had actually come by.
Also, some couples were enjoying the simplicity of just the stock flavor. They were feeding each other in a nice, intimate way.
After that, we went to watch a play by 1st-year students, Shirogane-kun and Fujimoto-san, who were performing Cinderella.
The advertised “highlight” of the day was at this time, so there was a long line forming.
Shirogane-kun and Fujimoto-san were the ones performing during this peak time. But when we watched the play, it became clear why.
Yeah, it made sense—it was *the kiss that wakes Cinderella*.
But honestly, no one would expect an actual kiss to happen.
Shirogane-kun and Fujimoto-san blushed and exchanged silent looks, which only made the girls scream louder.
“Wow, kissing in front of everyone during a play, that’s gutsy.”
“I feel bad for Shirogane-kun and Fujimoto-san.”
“So, where to next?”
“Well… I’d like to go to 2-D, where Oumi-kun and now Imakoga-san are, but… if we run into them, that could be awkward. Let’s head to the art room instead.”
“Ah… I wanted to go to that coffee shop, the so-called ‘break area’.”
Since Aiba had warned me not to go, I wasn’t able to.
I figured Oumi-kun would be fine with it, but Imakoga-san probably didn’t want to see us.
Hopefully, one day we can sort things out.
So, we ended up at the art room.
There was a small crowd. And when I looked at the artwork, I saw a meticulously crafted painting.
“Just as expected, my beloved one’s work♪”
Suddenly, Kanefune-senpai appeared, accompanied by her bodyguards.
“My beloved one? Is that painting one that Ichijou made?”
“Exactly! That guy’s in the art club, so I’ve had him explain everything to me.”
“Ichijou-kun really is the all-rounder, huh?”
I didn’t realize he was in the art club. According to Kanefune-senpai, he’s an unofficial member though.
By the way, there was a voting box placed in front of the artwork.
It was for people to vote for their favorite pieces.
The art club’s voting system is designed so that the person with the most votes is praised by the club’s advisor. To protect privacy, the names of the artists are hidden, and the votes are collected in a single spot on the ballot. The advisor is the only one who handles the tallying. The votes for the signage will be tallied at the end of the cultural festival, and the results will be announced later.
“I think I’ll vote for this person,”
Shizuku said, and we both voted for someone other than Ichijou.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
“Mm…”
For the first time, Kanefune-senpai seemed unsure. Wasn’t she planning to vote for Ichijou?
“It’s rare for you to be unsure,”
“Well… I was debating whether to vote as a member of the harem or as a lady,”
Now I was curious—who would she vote for as a “lady”?
“Try voting as a lady.”
“Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you act like a lady,”
“…………A lady?”
“Oh, you guys!!… Well, I can’t help it now.”
“…Sorry, I let it slip.”
I realized I might have said something I shouldn’t have.
I wondered if she was feeling embarrassed about this being discovered.
I messed up by saying that.
“Ah, I’m sorry too…”
“Don’t worry about it. Well, if I’m voting as a lady, then I guess it’s this one.”
She showed us a landscape painting that looked like it had been ruined by someone.
“Eh, this one?”
“I thought it looked like bullying…”
“I checked. The person in question said casually that it was fine the way it was.”
“Eh!?”
This… this piece, which I wouldn’t even call a proper artwork?
“If Kanefune-senpai says so, then it’s fine… but why not Ichijou?”
“Mm… well, now that I have guards, it’s fine. You guys.”
With that single word, the guards sensed the change and moved.
One thing was clear: the atmosphere had shifted.
“Lady, Ichijou is not in sight.”
“Good. I’ll speak softly, so no one hears. Don’t miss a word.”
The heir to the conglomerate had hidden her rebellious side. And now the lady was showing her face.
Scary.
That’s how I felt about Kanefune-senpai. And then she explained why she didn’t vote for Ichijou.
“The reason I didn’t vote for Ichijou’s painting is simple. It’s the most boring one.”