Chapter 7: Cultural Festival is about to be held
Following the usual path he used to take to school, Hikigaya leisurely strolled toward the school.
Time passed quickly. Unnoticeably, half a month had already gone by. Recently, he had also begun to frequently have intriguing interactions with both familiar and unfamiliar beautiful girls. If all of this hadn't happened coincidentally after Seishuin Ena transferred in, Hikigaya might have really believed his luck was turning around and he was on the verge of escaping singlehood.
Sometimes pretending to be oblivious can actually enhance the enjoyment of life. Life is already tough enough. Though a God Slayer may appear to be at the peak of life, in reality, there's even less security in it. So it's essential to know how to entertain oneself.
Of course, just because life had started getting better didn't mean he relaxed. In fact, Hikigaya still trained in martial arts every day—usually at night. The God Slayer's mental state seemed a bit too good; he was full of energy even with just a little sleep.
Although he already understood that the only way for a God Slayer to become stronger was through fierce battles, becoming a martial arts master was the dream of almost every boy. If there was a chance, there was no reason not to go for it. Besides, Hikigaya had his own views on training in martial arts as a God Slayer.
When he arrived in the classroom, it was still early. But the little bear cub had already arrived. Upon seeing Hikigaya, he straightforwardly called out, "Lord Hachiman."
That Fist of Annihilation sure had trained his disciple well.
An elite in all aspects.
Though he always said things like "A disciple only needs to obey orders," deep down he must really care about the little bear cub. That's some serious tsundere behavior.
Ah, better not think about it. The mental image is too beautiful to look at.
Speaking of which, ever since the little bear cub came, Class 2-F's classroom had been exceptionally clean every morning. Thanks to the diligent bear who always arrived super early, the first thing he did was clean.
Hikigaya's desk, in particular, was cleaned thoroughly—it was polished to the point of being reflective.
Seishuin Ena was in another class—same class as Yukinoshita Yukino.
Come to think of it, what's that girl doing here anyway?
If she came to get closer to him, it sure didn't look like it. Lately, every time she talked to him, she'd start with "Pervert-kun."
Tch. One of these days, he really ought to show her what a true pervert is. Does she think he doesn't know the way of the pervert?
He sat in his chair, opened his bag, and took out a new book.
Yep, he'd switched books again.
And way too fast at that.
Now he was no longer reading Egyptian mythology, nor Chinese mythology, nor even Greek mythology. He had started on Indian mythology.
That's just how capricious God Slayers are when it comes to reading.
Long live willfulness.
Before long, more people started filling the classroom. Naturally, as time passed, the teacher arrived as well.
Nothing much to say about class. Japanese students in this world weren't necessarily more serious than students in his original world.
When class ended, Hikigaya packed up his things and prepared to go to the Service Club.
Should he tease Yukinoshita Yukino today?
Honestly, compared to her sister, she was way more boring.
Speaking of Haruno, that girl never learned her lesson. Even though he'd scolded her properly that day, not a few days later she reappeared openly again—boldly clinging to his arm in public, pressing her chest against him like it was nothing. What a forthright woman.
Well, he already warned her—whatever happens, it's not his problem.
Come to think of it, was he acting too harmless? Why weren't these girls afraid of him?
Wasn't a God Slayer supposed to be a demon king? The Yukinoshita sisters aside, even Seishuin Ena greets him with "Pervert-kun" right off the bat. Isn't everyone supposed to be afraid of God Slayers? Why isn't anyone scared of him?
Turns out, God Slayers weren't as terrifying to others as he imagined.
It must be because he didn't show off enough.
Alright, decision made—if Haruno comes over again today, he'll give her a squeeze and find out what her measurements really are. She's not a normal person anyway and knows his identity.
In her own words, she and Yukino have already received instructions from the committee—they are to serve Lord Demon King. No reason she can grope him and he can't grope back, right?
Yeah, if Ena's around next time, he should measure her too.
That's how it should be. He is a God Slayer, able to do whatever he pleases. Being called a pervert when he hasn't done anything—how absurd.
Ahh, it's all so exciting. No matter who it is—if they're a girl—let them all call him a pervert today!
"Alright, everyone, look this way, thank you."
From the podium came the voice of the normie guy, Hayama.
Hikigaya swore—the girls' reaction time to looking up was at least a full gear faster than the boys.
Yep, like the gears of a car…
"After everyone's discussion yesterday, we've gathered all the drama scripts. Today, let's also discuss the candidates."
Hayama showed his normie smile at the podium—Hikigaya figured that alone was worthy of a map-wide bombardment.
Speaking of which, not long after the sports festival, now they were preparing for the cultural festival. Japanese high schoolers sure lived fulfilling lives.
As for Hikigaya's class, after much discussion, they had decided to do a play.
No issue there—the problem was, after the bespectacled girl presented a script called Musical: Prince of the Stars, it utterly blinded everyone.
The girl's name was Ebina Hina—a seemingly shy and demure girl.
Anyone who believed that would be gravely mistaken. Because this chick… well, never mind.
In short, everyone unanimously voted this script as a backup. Hikigaya guessed that if Ebina hadn't looked like she was about to cry at the time, it probably would've been axed outright.
Clearly, Hikigaya's thoughts were quite in line with common values.
That is—yuri can be tolerated, but BL must die.
So why bother discussing it? Performing this kind of play would kill people! Think of your eyes!
Didn't the heavy atmosphere in the classroom say it all?
Hikigaya glanced at Ebina—she was putting on a bashful expression at her seat.
If you didn't know the context, it was actually a decent sight.
"Umm…" Compared to the boys all wearing "my eyes hurt" expressions, the girls were more diplomatic. Though Hikigaya figured it wasn't the script they were giving face to.
"Can we maybe add some female roles?"
You mean to protect everyone's eyes, you'll add some yuri because this script has no room for boy-girl interactions?
"Then… regardless of setting or plot, how about adding more comedy elements?"
Another suggestion. The person looked like they were betraying their conscience.
Still, most people agreed to that.
Honestly, Hikigaya thought just discussing this script was already comedic enough.
Hayama really was good at organizing. In that respect, he should've been the class rep. You could say he was singlehandedly trying to salvage Ebina's blinding script.
And he did get his just reward.
"Umm…" The great playwright Ebina raised her hand and softly said,
"The prince… is Hayama."
In an instant, Hikigaya saw Hayama's face turn completely white.
In contrast, the atmosphere in the classroom shifted dramatically.
The girls went from reluctant to visibly excited. The boys wore slightly malicious, vindicated smiles that seemed to say, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Ignoring Hayama's stuttering plea from the podium—"We really need to discuss this further"—Hikigaya cheerfully stood and left the classroom.
The cultural festival... seemed like it was going to be fun.