After checking the props in the passage underneath the stage, it was time for the second general practice, so I decided to head back to the ground floor.

“Oh, Yamato-kun. Where have you been?”

As soon as I walked onto the stage, Yuzu caught sight of me with her keen eyes.

“I was below the stage doing a little something,” I answered ambiguously since I found it a hassle to fully explain, but Yuzu stared at me in return for some reason.

“Oh, I seem to remember that Hiiragi-san was heading that way just now… Hmm.”

Oops, I was only randomly answering, but it turned out to be a bad move more than I had thought.

“Um, you see… I talked to her a bit about Kotani-san,” I rushed to explain.

However, Yuzu’s misunderstanding didn’t seem to go away, and her stare remained fixed on me.

“Hmm… Then why did you fudge it once so vaguely? If it’s about that, I think you should have just told me.”

“I can’t fault you for that, but I can only say that my introverted side got the better of me, so I couldn’t say it properly.”

I was that sort of witless man who would not answer questions unless asked, even if the information was of some importance.

“I see, nothing we can do about that. That was too much to ask from the introverted Yamato-kun.”

While I thought it was a lame excuse, Yuzu was easily convinced.

“Hey, if you simply nod to that fact, that pisses me off.”

“Oh, no, it was just so convincing. That does make sense, I should have considered that possibility in the first place. My bad.” Yuzu nodded repeatedly.

It pissed me off a whole lot, but I couldn’t argue with it because it was something I said myself and it was true. The only thing I could say was that it’d be fine if I said it myself, but when people say it to me, it made me angry.

“Dat’s right. I’m sorry for being the socially inept introvert.”

“Well, well, don’t sulk like that. Don’t worry, I love even the socially inept Yamato-kun.”

Seeing the sulky me, Yuzu patted me on the head.

“Hey, what is that treatment as if I’m a complete child?”

“It’s okay. I also love the childish Yamato-kun, you know?”

“Hey you, putting aside the matter of me being introverted, I’m not admitting to being childish, okay!”

When I stepped back and escaped from Yuzu’s evil hand, she shrugged her shoulders in a regrettable manner.

“Mmmm… I was about to show you my overflowing maternal side, and now it’s over.”

“I don’t think maternal tendencies are supposed to be this irritating.”

We were about to return to drama practice in any moment, yet I felt like losing my nerves already. In that state of mind, I prepared my script and there I heard the sound of the gym entrance opening.

“Ah, there you are! Hiiragi! I have something to ask you.” I turned my head to see that voice originating from a second year student from the girls’ basketball team.

“What’s the matter, Nishimiya-senpai?”

To Hina’s response, Nishimiya-senpai made a troubled face.

“We’re at a little bit of pinch over here.”

The basketball club purposefully put first year students in charge of the festival event in order to uncover people who could demonstrate leadership throughout the festival. As evidenced by their leading roles, this year the boys were led by Sakuraba and the girls by Hina.

Therefore, this senpai came over here like this to ask for instructions from Hina.

“The drama club can’t lend out the costumes for our play. Apparently they are using them for their own play. So, I’m wondering what to do. Can I order them from rental services?”

Hina contemplated for a moment and then nodded.

“We have no choice in that case… Let’s order from rentals.”

“No, wait,” I interjected when she came to that decision.

“What’s the matter, Yamato?”

Hina looked at me with wide eyes as though she hadn’t expected me to speak here.

“The day of the festival will be on Halloween. Commercial costume rentals will probably be crowded. There’s bound to be trouble, and I doubt we’ll be able to rent them in the first place.”

“Aaah… Indeed!” Hina frowned as what I said probably had hit her blind spot.

There, Yuzu took out her phone and searched for something.

“It’s true. I checked the shop’s website and they’re already booked up for Halloween.”

“Oh dear, what shall we do? Should we handmade the costumes?” Nishinomiya-senpai, too, was bewildered by the unexpected situation and tried to work out the next best solution.

In response, Sakuraba shook his head. “No, it won’t be possible. In addition to our tight schedule, it is difficult to secure the time to work on them… Above all, it is unlikely for us to be able to produce something decent.”

Sakuraba creased his eyebrows, and Kunie-san looked around anxiously in silence.

I clapped my hands together to draw everyone’s attention.

“Calm down. It’s Halloween so there’s a high demand for costumes, but that also means that there should be as much supply to match. Yuzu, are there any vocational schools related to dressmaking near here?”

When asked, Yuzu quickly got to work on her smartphone. “Wait. Let’s see… Yes, if you include the colleges, there are three.”

When I heard the result, I nodded and started to speak, “It’s that time of year. With that many schools nearby, somewhere we’ll find Halloween dresses and costumes being made for their exam assignments. Contact them and ask if you can borrow their costumes.”

At my words, Hina looked anxious.

“But…is it okay to dress for Halloween for Cinderella’s role?”

“This time the whole school is based on the concept of Halloween. It will fit better than a normal Cinderella. However, we may need to make some changes to the script, so get in touch with the drama club. Does anyone have any objections?”

No one raised their hand when asked.

“So, it’s settled. Senpai, please contact the vocational school and the junior college. Hina and Kunie should inform the drama club of the situation. Yuzu, as a backup plan, go find out if there are any costume rentals that are still available. Sakuraba, please inform the basketball club about the change of concept.”

“All right. Let’s go with that.”

Hina nodded and they all started to move.

Now, I should go and talk to the teachers about the situation.

“Yamato-kun.”

I was one step behind everyone else and was about to make my move when Yuzu, who stopped halfway through, called out my name.

“What’s up, Yuzu? Is there something you don’t understand?”

“…Nuh-uh.”

When I looked at her, she had a slightly complicated look on her face for some reason.

chocolala: Yamato accidentally showing off his competent side while Yuzu feeling conflicted