Shannon. It was Shannon dressed like a guy for some reason.
I dashed right up to her and hissed in her ear, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Protecting my identity as your servant,” she replied nonchalantly.
“I get that, but cross-dressing?!”
“They won’t suspect a thing, trust me.”
Shannon squared her shoulders and puffed out her chest. Where there used to be undulating hills and valleys, there were now tracts of flat, arable land. Her transformation was undeniably impressive, but her boobs had been the least of my concerns. “These are two, sheltered ladies. You expect them to get physical with a guy they don’t know?”
“That won’t be an issue,” she dismissed.
“How will that not be an issue? That is like, the issue! Hey, are you even listening to me?!”
Shannon walked straight past me and to the girls. “Miladies, a pleasure. My name is Shion. I am Lady Mio’s butler, at your devoted service.”
“M-My,” Asuka stammered back, clearly flustered. “How do you do? My name is—”
“The illustrious Lady Asuka, correct?” Shannon interjected smoothly, then turned to Sayaka. “And you must be the exquisite Lady Sayaka.”
“You know of us?” Sayaka asked with a head tilt.
“Indeed, how could I not?” Shannon crooned. “Lady Asuka, the very essence of spontaneity and radiant allure, and Lady Sayaka, the epitome of delicacy and refined grace. Lady Mio’s descriptions do not do miladies justice.”
“The epitome of…” Sayaka trailed off in embarrassment. “Y-You flatter me…”
My jaw fell open. Sayaka blushed furiously, while next to her Asuka wouldn’t stop writhing.
But Shannon, unfazed, continued her “charismatic” onslaught. “Today, I have the honor of assisting you lovely ladies in your endeavors. But I fear that my presence, being that of a gentleman, might impose upon your comfort.”
The two sheltered princesses, clearly unaccustomed to such interactions with an (apparent) member of the opposite sex, exchanged nervous glances, unsure how to decline the close proximity of this charming enigma.
Shannon noticed their hesitation and turned away, her expression turning wistfully somber. “Alas, to think that my presence would be so unwanted.”
Distress immediately flashed across their faces. “No, no, not at all!” they blurted out in unison.
Girls?
I watched from the sidelines, bewildered by the unfolding scene. The pair, usually so composed, were now flustered as they beckoned Shannon eagerly. “Please, join us for practice!” the two insisted like a couple of fans chasing after their favorite idol.
How was this even happening? Did they really just not have any immunity built up against men that even Shannon’s cheesy theatrics worked to cut through them like a hot knife through butter? You know what? Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe it was good that Shannon got to them before some other, actual unsavory character did—a harmless inoculation devoid of any real consequence. I just hoped that this first encounter wouldn’t affect their future…tastes in men. Few men are as pretty as a woman dressed like one, after all.
Oh, well. They say one’s first crush is bittersweet. I wouldn’t know, though.
“Okay,” I proclaimed. “Now that we’re all acquainted, let’s begin, shall we?”
At my word, Shannon snapped her fingers. Immediately, the ground began to rumble—a series of discrete, slight movements magnified to create a powerful wave, causing the earth beneath us to shudder. Simultaneously, a dense cloud of dust raced toward us from the distant far end of the courtyard, growing larger with each passing second.
“Wh-What is happening?!” A disconcerted Sayaka exclaimed.
“Nothing to worry about,” Shannon reassured with a gallant smile. “I’ve simply summoned our help for today.” Not one but several groups of girls emerged from the swirling dust—all already in kibasen formation. Each cluster consisted of four girls, three of whom acted as horses and carried the fourth “rider” member. “Please give a warm welcome to these college athletes who have graciously agreed to assist us,” Shannon stated, gesturing toward the crowd. “One cannot truly master the kibasen without a proper ensemble of allies and adversaries, after all.”
Sayaka and Asuka couldn’t hide their surprise. “This is…quite the elaborate setup for a school Sports Day.”
“Did you expect anything less? Victory at all costs—that is the Sakurazaka way,” I replied with a smug smirk.
But internally, I was just as shell-shocked as they were. To be honest, I hadn’t even considered arranging an entire mock kibasen battle to be an option—or if it was even feasible. But that was on me for continuing to think of money as some sort of scarce resource for the Sakurazakas. I should’ve learned after the first, or second, or third time this had happened. Victory at all costs, indeed.
With another dismissive flick of my hair that was my calling card at this point, I switched into villainess mode.
Now then, let’s get to villainessin’.
Just kidding.
We dove straight into scrimmages. As I had practiced diligently in preparation for today (I couldn’t be caught lacking, not even in practice), I hit the ground running. Sayaka and Asuka, on the other hand, were new to their role as horses and floundered initially. Under Shannon’s expert guidance, though, they adapted remarkably quickly. After just a few games, we began to hold our own. Despite their pampered backgrounds, which gave them a very obvious lack of stamina, they displayed unexpected agility and coordination. But then again, these were the villainess’s underlings we were talking about, so it probably shouldn’t have surprised me that they possessed latent athletic prowess. What did surprise me, though, was the way they approached each and every scrimmage. The fire in their eyes never died out, as if they were desperate to prove themselves, desperate to attract even a fleeting glance from a certain…man…who was actually a woman…
Huh.
As the sun set and we wrapped up a long day of practice, a certain thought struck me.
If we had college girls to help out with practice, couldn’t one of them just have joined our team?
Surely Shannon didn’t cross-dress just because she wanted to…right?