Chapter 18 Part 3: The Culture Festival

Posted on June 17, 2022by ynlucca

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.

“Akina.”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“The council’s project is about to start, right? At 1 o’clock.”

“Right. Yeah, at 1.”

I walked down the hallway with Akina, looking at the info sheet that the organizers of the festival handed out. The main event was to start at 1 PM, and although it was kept under wraps, it was clear that students in every class were looking forward to it. I even heard some speculating from the students as we walked further down.

“Yuki’s the star of the show, but Rikka will be there too, is that right?” I ask her, curious.

“She’ll work behind the scenes, so I don’t think the public will end up seeing her.”

“Gotcha. There’s a lot of gimmicks there, I’ve noticed.”

“Yeah, you can count on it. I’ll be awesome I tell you.”

“Mhm. —Oh, it’s a good time to get going. Other students are probably gathering there already.”

“Yup, it’s important to find a good place, after all.”

We headed to the gym, the anticipation almost bursting out of my chest. I just couldn’t wait to see what this event would be like, more so after all that mystery. Reaching the place, we saw many people already gathering around.

However, it was impossible to see what was going on due to the thick stage curtain. The windows of the gymnasium also had blackout curtains draped over them, preventing any daylight from invading the stage. Only ceiling lamps provided any light.

“So it’s all in this stage built at the gym, huh.”

“Mhm. Prep yesterday was very tough, and Shirahato-san looked like she had a bit of trouble with final adjustments. From what I’ve seen, the last rehearsal was perfect, so I hope it’ll translate to a perfect show.”

“Rehearsal?”

“Oops! I slipped up a bit there, so, keep it between us, ‘kay?”

“Well, even if you keep it a secret ‘till the end, I can still give a pretty good guess based on everything so far. The stage is an example.”

It was probably a play or something like that. No wonder Yuki is the star of the show. The most beautiful girl at school, standing on the stage with a dainty costume… I’d love to see her play a leading role in a good story.

As I kept thinking and guessing, one o’clock had finally arrived. The lights that had been illuminating the gym were suddenly turned off, and soon we were enveloped in total darkness. Meanwhile, the thick curtain slowly began to open.

“Haru, it’s starting.”

“Ah, it’s finally happening…”

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The moment I gazed at the stage, the only light to the obscured crowd, I heard an angel’s call—It was Yuki, with breathtaking singing. Guitars accompanied her tune, along with a bassline to give it an edge, and drums to give it rhythm.

Yuki stood at the center of that stage, shimmering in a beautiful black dress. Her voice, clear as the bluest skies, spread throughout the entire gymnasium. She was so dazzling I could hardly believe she was from this world.

From the first note of her beautiful tune, the atmosphere changed. The silence was replaced by an instantaneous flame, and everyone forgot to blink, gulp, and to breathe. We were all intoxicated by the sight of that angel before us, her presence too much for our mortal eyes to bear.

Soon the intertwining melodies of her voice and the instruments mixed, an otherworldly tune enveloping each and every person in this place. I, myself, was enraptured by her every move and every word. A smile plastered on her face, she joyfully sang while charming us all.

A single thought almost burst from my chest, along with the excitement it brought: the same girl that sang so beautifully on that stage was Yuki, who was always by my side.

This was the council’s secret project, which was kept under heavy wraps—A band performance so captivating it stole the hearts of every living being in the vicinity. Yuki was the vocalist while members of the council played the instruments.

“Amazing… Has this been practiced all this time?”

“The guitarist is the president of the council, the bassist is the vice president, and the drummer is the bookkeeper. They’ve been practicing since last year, actually.”

“Last year? Really? This school doesn’t have a music club or something like that, does it?”

“We don’t, so they had to borrow resources from various sources to keep practicing. Almost all council members are sophomores, and they are incredibly talented, being in charge ever since their freshman year. They’ve decided on this event since then.”

“But why is Yuki there, then?”

“The council has nine members this year, including Rikka. They’ve divided the band into two groups, and they were all set, but the vocalist had to suddenly transfer to another school mid-semester due to family reasons.”

“Transferring, huh… If it’s a family reason, there’s nothing anyone could do.”

“The only thing they had trouble with was deciding what to do with the vacant vocalist position. They eventually scouted Shirahato-san, and although it was the president’s idea, it all was done through Rikka.”

“So she was scouted… Got it.”

“She joined in the second semester, but Shirahato-san was incredibly gifted with music, boasting great taste and sense. She’s been practicing hard, and she was ready in an extremely short span of time.”

Images of Yuki coming home late every single night flashed through my mind. She was working hard with the student council to make this performance a success. Looking at the stage, I couldn’t help but see these two images overlap—one of her working her a*s off, one of her singing so beautifully.

I was so moved, that any words were stuck in my throat, and all I could feel was my heart burning. As the chorus reached its climax, the audience began to hold up their lit-up phones, swaying them side-to-side with the song’s rhythm.

At that exact moment, Yuki’s voice resonated with the intertwining melodies, and soon the hearts of every council member, of every student, became one.

And soon, the performance reached its end. As soon as the last melody stopped, loud cheers erupted from the crowd. Praise flew in from every side, to Yuki, and to the council members that played the instruments.

Yuki seemed surprised to hear the cheers, but she soon put one of the biggest smiles I’d ever seen on her face and bowed to the crowd.

All of it was only a few minutes long, but every second felt like hours. However, it wasn’t the end. For the girls, the festival had just begun.

The emotions Yuki created in the crowd kept swirling and swirling, her heart-stirring performance and the beautiful melody of the council were engraved into the hearts of every single person present at the gym.

Her dazzling appearance and her divine melody were burned into my heart, and they would never leave.

I took some liberties with the descriptions but never strayed from the original meaning that they held. It’s impossible to convey everything the author wants to convey using 1-to-1 translations, so I did my best with this chapter. Definitely, one of the most fun experiences I had translating anything. Hope you enjoyed it!

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