4

Excluding some cases, such as Horikita's class being exposed through an act of betrayal, it's ostensibly unknown until the day of the event which stall locations each class has and what kind of stand they decided on.

However, the bigger the scale of the event, the more preparations must be made in advance for the day of the event.

In fact, each of the classes began steadily working on the places where they were expected to set up their stalls. In the midst of all this, surprising information came to light from the 3rd year Class A, led by Miyabi Nagumo.

Rumors flew that they were going to rent out a large space in the gymnasium and put on an exhibit combining a "haunted house" and a "maze," as if they had no intention of hiding it from the start.

Perhaps it wasn't Nagumo's plan, but the consensus of the class was to let them do what they want. They were handling the festival in a way that made others think that winning was secondary.

Just looking at the props being brought in from afar, one can see that a reasonable amount of money was invested. As if to prove this, the 3rd year Class A finally announced their pre-opening yesterday.

They allowed students who wanted to experience the maze haunted house and began to solicit opinions. I can't help but feel their determination to present a high-quality exhibition to the guests on the day of the festival.

As someone who's new to the cultural festival, I wanted to experience firsthand what the other classes were going to put on, no matter what form it took. After school, I went to the gymnasium to participate in the pre-open event. Perhaps because the pre-opening was held over several days, there weren't many first-year and second-year students in the gym, even on the first day of the event.

The gymnasium, with its dimmed lights, had a slightly frightening atmosphere. Not long after I got to the end of the line, I heard a familiar voice.

"That's great of the president. I can't believe he's going to show it off to the public so openly."

"If it's this big, it's not easy to keep it hidden. It was a wise decision to release the information early if it was also for practice."

I briefly glanced back and saw that the two approaching me were Ichinose and Kanzaki. Apparently, like me, they came to see how things were going and to scout the area.

"Ah..."

As they were about to line up, my presence naturally came into their line of sight. Ichinose was the first to react, bowing her head and averting her eyes.

Kanzaki silently took one look at Ichinose and I and got in line. An awkward silence was setting, and the line didn't move as fast as I would've liked. The third- year students also weren't able to proceed smoothly, perhaps because it was the first day.

"Yes, that's right. I'm sorry, Kanzaki-kun, but can I leave it to you...?"

It was obviously a random request, but Kanzaki nodded his head in acceptance without question.

"Well, see you later."

Ichinose, who's never capable of rudeness, passed on a few words to me as well and left the line. Only Kanzaki and I were left behind, the atmosphere was heavy. Even a student who knew nothing about the situation was likely to realize a bit of the reason. Especially for Kanzaki, the situation would be clearer than daylight.

"How are you doing?"

I tried asking him something but Kanzaki's face turned grim.

"Do you think I'm doing good?"

There was no way that Ichinose's class, which was slowly dropping class

points, could be in good shape.

It would've sounded like a partial provocation.

I filled in my name and received an explanation of the rules. The rules were basically bare minimum manners.

Cell phone use is forbidden in the exhibition, always put your phone on silent mode. No loud chit-chat. Do not stay inside for no reason. Basically, don't touch the production with your hands.

By the time I finished reading the rules, Kanzaki left the line and turned his back to me. He was probably waiting for Ichinose to come back. I wasn't sure when she'd be back but I have a feeling it'll be after I'm long gone.

After signing the agreement and stepping away from Kanzaki, I stepped inside. The walls of the haunted house are naturally narrow and visibility is quite poor. The light, which seemed to have been bought at a uniform store, was wrapped with tape, perhaps to narrow down the light source, so it doesn't serve much purpose as a light.

Recently, I've often used the Internet to research cultural festivals, but I wonder if it's possible to produce such high quality displays. I was honestly surprised at the third-year's advanced technical skills, or rather, the third-year Class A's.

I ignored the ghosts and began observing more carefully. It's not surprising, but the atmosphere was basically created with decorated ornaments, and most of the important and frightening parts were hand-made.

The monster's long necks were timed to the incoming guests as the students lurked behind them.

The fallen warrior that jumped out and drew his sword, of course, was done by someone else.

There were several tricks that were clearly still in production, but in the festival, they'll be completed with improved quality.

Although it may not be as popular with adults, it may be very well-liked by their families, especially the children. If the price is high, people tend to shy away, but if it is desired by children, their purse strings will be loosened. This will be an important factor in further solidifying the policy of the maid café.

We were about halfway down the exhibition when we came to a sign that said, "Take a left."

Just as I was about to follow the sign, a shadow moved in my field of vision. It seemed to be trying to scare me again with a new trick.

"Whoa! Ah ah ah!?"

I was supposed to be the one screaming, but the ghost jumped out, stumbled on a step in front of me, and fell over. I didn't help them because I thought it might be staged, but when I saw them screaming in agony, I was convinced that it was an unexpected accident.

In this darkness, it was no wonder such an accident happened... "Ouch, ouch!!!"

It turned out to be Asahina Nazuna, a third-year Class A student.