Those mountains were stuck firmly to ground no matter how much she jumped and hopped about. Still, I couldn’t let down my guard. The cute little things were so small that there were revealing openings between her skin and her outfit. Be it Shirayuki or Aria, there was no escape from their dangerously active volcanoes. This stage might be more of a threat to me than even Junction. If I were to go into hysteria mode in a place full of girls like this, it would be no laughing matter.
Let’s think of something else. Uhhh. Well, quite a significant incident took place underground, but as can be seen, Butei High wasn’t blown to smithereens, and the Adsiard is safely coming to an end as the closing ceremony is underway ... uhhh.
*Who gave off that flash that went bangbabangbabang?*
That’s right. Joan. Joan of Arc the Thirtieth. Abiding by the decision made by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo Bureau of Butei, she was first being questioned by Ms. Tsuzuri at Dagula. When we handed over Joan, who had her back turned to us and was determined to remain silent, it was really eerie how Tsuzri smiled and said, “Looks like it’ll be worth tormenting this one.” It was the first time I had seen her smile like that.
*Who was it? Let me give that person a hug.*
The girls threw their pom-poms high into the air and the crowd instantly went into a fever. They had all been carrying pistols inside their pom-poms, and just like the lyrics, they fired blank cartridges with their pistols aimed towards the sky. Perhaps it was due to the contagious wild energy from the audience but the girls were firing more than they did during practice.
There they go . . . . I really wish our school didn’t do unsettling things like this.
The whole purpose of this thing is to improve our image.
I could only pray that the television stations would cut this part out when they did the editing. Finally, with Aria and Shirayuki at the center, the girls all simultaneously struck a gymnastic formation pose, and the aluminum foil confetti that had been set up inside the stage burst upward all around them.
*It made a dramatic change in my life!*
The Adsiard had come to an end.
Shirayuki, out of breath from the intense Ar-kata cheerleading, was now smiling carefree at the audience. Bits of confetti sparkled as it danced around her. It was like a white snowfall celebrating the start of her new life.
God only knows why, but our celebration party was being held at a family restaurant. It was the same place the guys had their after-party following the Adsiard. I had objected, pointing out that the girls went to Club Estella in Odaiba, so we should at least go there. But as usual, my protests were utterly pointless, and the three of us, Aria, Shirayuki, and I, had our second after-party in a booth at Roxie, the only family restaurant on Academy Island. Having arrested Durandal, things looked positive for Aria’s mother, Kanae Kanzaki, who had been framed for Durandal’s crimes. Her mother’s prison termed was announced to be considerably reduced; so in a very good mood, Aria declared that she would treat us. It was a small consolation, but being a noblewoman, I wished she had invited us to a slightly more stylish restaurant. I was about to say as much, but then realized she might reconsider opening a new hole in me, so I just order a steak set, the most expensive thing on the menu, as a small sign of my discontent. All of us placed our order and wiped our hands on the moist hand towel we were provided with when I noticed something odd about Aria and Shirayuki. They were staring at each other, looking as if they wanted to say something but held their tongues.
... What with this atmosphere?
“Y-You know ...”
“Y-You know, Aria ...”
When they spoke up, it was in perfect harmony.
“Y-You can go first, Aria.”
“You go first.”
“... Should I leave?” I asked Shirayuki, who was sitting beside me, but she lowered her face and shook her head.
“U-Um ... I want you to hear this too, Kin-chan. There’s ... something I absolutely have to tell Aria.”
... Something you need to tell Aria that you want me to hear?
“Um ... the other day, when you caught a cold ... I told a lie.”
“A lie?”
“Yeah ... um ... the medicine you took that day . . . I didn’t buy it. That was ... something you left in his room, wasn’t it, Aria.”
Huh? The other day, when I was in a stupor from my fever and stayed home from school ... the one who went through the trouble of buying me “Extra Concentrated Kudzu Infusion” and secretly left it on the doorknob was ...
“It was you, Aria?”
“...”
Shirayuki truly looked apologetic as she watched Aria, who wasn’t saying a word. Aria was looking at Shirayuki as well and gave me a very brief glance with her camellia-colored eyes.
... What kind of reaction is that supposed to be?
“W-What? Is that what you wanted to say?” Aria placed her hands on the back of her head and leaned far over backwards in a contrived manner. She had turned somewhat red and was throwing me brief glances again.
Ah. I remembered what Aria said when we were on Assault’s rooftop.
“Nobles don’t boast about their own exploits. It would be unsightly—even if someone else stole the credit.”
So this ... is what she was talking about?
“What a let-down. You were so serious when you said you had something to tell me that I thought it was going to be a lot more disastrous.”
Judging from how she didn’t deny it, it would seem Aria really was the one who bought the medicine—which meant that the one who very gently checked my temperature back then was also Aria?