Chapter 2: Titania After Summer Break
The end of summer vacation had arrived, yet the cries of cicadas still filled the air around the school.
Even with all the windows shut tight, they kept buzzing relentlessly—min-min-min—as if proudly baring every ounce of their instinct and desire to the world.
And just as energetic as those tireless cicadas, Class 2-F was overflowing with noise. After weeks apart, everyone was finally seeing each other again.
“How was your summer?”
“It was great.”
“Way too short, though.”
“Seriously, I wanted at least another week off.”
Conversations like that drifted through the room nonstop.
Though, considering how many people had shown up earlier than usual, maybe they hadn’t wanted more vacation nearly as much as they claimed.
I sat in the exact center of the classroom—a seat that somehow managed to feel like the worst possible draw—and fanned myself with a green plastic writing board.
My house wasn’t particularly far from school. It only took a few dozen minutes on foot.
Still, in this heat, simply walking outside was enough to leave me drenched in sweat.
The air conditioning was running, but whoever had decided to lock it at twenty-seven degrees Celsius was clearly out of their mind. Students weren’t allowed to change the settings, either.
Was this some kind of conspiracy by the school administration?
Were they actively trying to give us heatstroke?
At this point, I was genuinely suspicious.
“Man, it’s hot…”
A familiar voice approached.
When I looked up, a ridiculously handsome guy well over six feet tall stopped in front of me.
His undercut mushroom hairstyle was perfectly styled, and his looks were straight out of a fashion magazine. Judging by the way several girls in class suddenly seemed to have hearts in their eyes, his arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Akira. Fan me, would ya…?”
The handsome giant, Shogo Konoe, made the request with his usual shameless familiarity.
But since it was Shogo, I didn’t mind.
I casually directed the fan toward him.
He loosened his tie, undid the second button of his shirt, and eagerly welcomed the breeze I sent his way.
“Hahhh… I’m coming back to life…”
The sound he made was so blissful you’d think he’d just reached paradise.
Without stopping my fanning, I held out my other hand.
“That’ll be a hundred yen.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Shogo reached into his back pocket and pulled out a long wallet from some brand I didn’t recognize.
“Here.”
“Whoa, whoa. Don’t actually pay me. I was joking…”
The words died halfway out of my mouth.
Looking down at the coin now sitting in my palm, I frowned.
That wasn’t a hundred-yen coin.
Instead, it had the image of what looked like a goddess engraved on it.
“What the heck is this?”
“One franc.”
“A franc!? Wait—a franc!?“
I stared at him.
“You went to France!?”
“Nah.”
“Then why do you have a franc!?”
“It was in my wallet.”
“It was in your wallet!? How does a franc end up in your wallet if you’ve never been to France!?”
“I’m honestly surprised I had one too. Maybe my body unconsciously wandered overseas while my mind was asleep.”
He paused dramatically.
“A franc just happened to… fran into my wallet.”
“You’re the idiot who somehow got a ten-year passport for domestic travel! There’s no way you’ve ever gone overseas!”
“That was a valuable learning experience.”
He nodded proudly.
“Besides, now I can use it as photo ID. Two birds with one stone.”
As you can probably tell from that statement alone—
This guy was an idiot.
Shogo Konoe.
Silent, he was a perfect heartthrob.
The moment he opened his mouth, everything fell apart.
Countless girls had been deceived by that handsome face over the years.
The girls currently staring at him with heart-shaped eyes clearly hadn’t learned the truth yet.
He was the kind of fool who could charm women instantly and then somehow remain hopelessly single forever.
A true eternal virgin prince.
And yet…
I couldn’t even count the number of times this idiot had helped me.
We’d known each other since kindergarten.
At this point, I’d probably spent more time with him than with some members of my own family.
“Anyway, I’m giving this back. The money thing was a joke.”
“Nope. Keep it.”
Shogo waved me off.
“I don’t think I’ll ever need a franc. What I need right now is Akira’s breeze.”
Fair point.
I genuinely couldn’t picture him ever setting foot in France.
If anyone was more likely to use it someday, it was probably me.
“Fine. Then I’ll accept it as payment for premium wind services.”
“That’s the spirit.”
A job was a job.
Even if the payment happened to be in francs.
I continued fanning him.
Every now and then, as the breeze hit him, small squeals could be heard around the room.
The dream-filled girls of Class 2-F.
If they ever discovered what Shogo was really like, the collapse of their fantasies would be painful to watch.
“Oh, right, Akira.”
Shogo suddenly remembered something.
“That new fighting game you recommended? I bought it yesterday.”
“Oh? What’d you think?”
“It was awesome. Totally hooked me.”
He grinned.
“Especially that silver-haired, big-boobed heroine. Her ultimate move—’Maid—'”
BAM!
A deafening impact exploded through the classroom.
For a moment, it felt less like a desk being struck and more like a shockwave had gone off.
Apparently, my desk had been the victim.
My hand stopped moving.
Shogo stopped talking.
In fact, every conversation in the room came to an abrupt halt.
Silence swallowed the classroom.
Standing before me was the student council president.
The silver-haired girl known throughout the school as the Fairy Queen Titania.
Yuki Ohira.
She stood directly in front of my desk as though formally objecting to my very existence.
“Morigami-kun. I need to speak with you.”
The stiffness of her tone alone tightened the atmosphere.
Even the rest of the class watched in tense silence.
“Speak with me…?”
I pointed toward the clock hanging above the blackboard.
“The bell’s about to ring.”
Almost on cue, the signal announcing the start of the day echoed through the school.
“There.”
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
The chime rang loudly through the building.
Yet Yuki Ohira didn’t move a single inch.
She stood firm, completely ignoring it.
There was something knightly about her resolve—as though she would never bow before anyone or anything.
Why that determination was currently being directed at me, however, was a complete mystery.
The rest of the class looked fascinated by the unfolding drama.
But the moment our young homeroom teacher entered the room, everyone naturally returned to their seats.
Shogo followed the crowd.
Only Yuki remained planted directly in front of me.
“Nekoshiba-sensei.”
As though she had eyes in the back of her head, Yuki called out the teacher’s name the exact moment our homeroom teacher reached the podium.
Then she spun around in one smooth half-turn.
“There’s something I need to discuss with Morigami-kun. I’d like permission to be absent from morning homeroom.”
“Oh my.”
The teacher tilted her head.
“What did Morigami-kun do this time? Summer vacation isn’t even over for one day.”
Her voice carried a soft, troubled warmth.
She looked at me expectantly.
“Uh…”
I had no idea.
Or at least, I didn’t at first.
Then a memory surfaced.
The summer.
The shopping district.
Yuki Ohira.
A maid uniform.
Right.
It had to be about that.
“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
Nekoshiba-sensei smiled.
“The opening ceremony starts soon, so make sure you’re back before then.”
“Understood.”
Yuki answered crisply.
As expected of the student council president.
A single word from her carried remarkable authority.
“Since this isn’t a suitable place for the conversation,” she said, turning back to me, “let’s go to the student council room.”
Well then…
I had a feeling I was about to find out exactly what kind of trouble I was in.
