Estyshana’s POV
   When the Hero arrived at their classroom, both Chifuyu and Watanabe’s shift was over, and they decide to join the rest of them to continue walking around the school.

   “It’s almost time for the Orchestra Club from our school to perform. Is it okay if we go and watch it?” Audrey asks.

   “Of course. Let us all go.” Chifuyu tells her.

   “What exactly is an orchestra?” Esty asks curiously.

   “It’s when a large group of people gather together and use their musical instruments to make pleasant melodies.” Chifuyu explains.

   Ah, so it’s like when she opened up a portal that leads to the Realm of the Dead in Ifezan. The screams and moans of the dead humans were absolute music to her ears. It’s such a shame that she couldn’t listen to it anymore now that she’s here.

   “Wait a minute. Isn’t this Cultural Festival Yokosuka’s? Why are Kitajoshi’s students performing?”

   Chifuyu sighs. “You really weren’t paying attention, were you? The two schools are collaborating, remember?”

   Now that she mentioned it, Esty did vaguely saw a performance done by the cheerleaders from Yokosuka during the opening ceremony of Kitajoshi’s cultural Festival.

   “Well, let’s stop wasting time and go there already!” Watanabe urges.

   “You’re even more enthusiastic than usual. Is orchestra your thing?” the Hero asks her.

   “Sure is. That and classical music.”

   “Wow. Talk about surprising.”

   The assembly hall is surprisingly crowded. They couldn’t find an empty seat at all. In the end, they had to stand at the side in order to watch the performance.

   “What’s with all these people?” Watanabe asks.

   “It’s probably their first time in seeing a group of ojou-sama performing.” the Hero says.

   “Is the people in this world not used to seeing rich folks?” Aldenia asks.

   That raised some eyebrows.

   “Don’t you mean this country?” the Hero quickly asks.

   “Oh, yup. I mean country.”

   Aldenia’s weird question was quickly forgotten as the group of Kitajoshi students are starting their performance.

   “Be more careful of your words next time, Al.” Audrey tells her younger sister in a really soft voice.

   “Sorry, nee-san. That was really my bad.”

   After hearing the performance for a minute, Esty realizes that this orchestra thing is nothing like her favorite sounds made by tormented souls.

   “What’s so fun about listening to this?” Esty asks the Hero without speaking. “It’s just a group of humans playing some instruments.”

   “I have no idea either. I would rather drown myself in quicksand.” he replies.

   Esty finds herself irritated as that’s exactly what she was thinking.

   “Is this going to end anytime soon?” she couldn’t help but ask.

   “I sure hope so. Worse comes to worst, though, I guess we can just leave.”

   “We can do that? Won’t it be rude?”

   The Hero gives her a look.

   “Since when did you care about manners?”

   Esty gasps.

   “You’re absolutely right. Being here for too long has corrupted me.”

   “You used the wrong word.”

   “You know what I mean.”

   After one more performance, the orchestra is finally over. Esty has never been this enthusiastic in clapping.

   “Aren’t you a little too eager in clapping your hands, Esty?” Chifuyu asks.

   “I can’t help it. It was kind of boring, to be honest.”

   “Well, I guess orchestra isn’t for everyone.”

   After they leave the assembly hall, the Graylock sisters look at the time.

   “It’s unfortunate, but I’m afraid that it’s time for us to leave.” Audrey tells them.

   “I’m going back too. There’s not much to do after I went to all the food stalls.” Nyri also says.

   “Thank you all for coming today. We hope to see you soon.” Chifuyu tells the three warmly.

   “It has been a great pleasure for us as well.”

   “Sure has. Let’s hang out again sometimes.”

   “I’ll come again if you have more food for me.”

   With that, all of them went their separate ways.

   “Well then, let’s go back to our class, shall we?” Chifuyu asks.

   The others nod their agreement.

   The Cultural Festival ended at the evening. Overall, Class 2-2 got a good amount of profit. At least, that’s what Chifuyu said. Esty still has trouble figuring out how the money in this world works, so she took her word for it.

   “So, are we going to use all the money we got to have a huge party?” Watanabe asks Chifuyu excitedly.

   “That sounds nice.” someone agrees.

   “Oh oh, I want to go karaoke!”

   “A buffet sounds better, though.”

   “We’ll take about it after we’re done cleaning up.” Chifuyu says firmly.

   “Aww, Mama Chifuyu is strict as always.”

   “Like I said, stop calling me mother!”

   Chifuyu assigned everyone into different duties. Esty and the Hero were assigned to collect all the garbage and dumping them into the incinerator. Esty has no idea where this incinerator thing is, so she follows the Hero wordlessly as they pick up the garbage bins that are full of garbage and head outside the classroom.

   “What exactly is an incinerator?” Esty asks the Hero as they’re walking at the corridor.

   “It’s a giant metal box that you light on fire. You then dump the garbage you want to dispose of inside in order to burn them.” he explains.

   “So it’s like a giant oven?”

   “I guess you could say that.”

   Turns out that the incinerator is located at a quiet spot outside the school building. It indeed looks like a giant oven. The two of them dump the contents of the garbage bins inside the incinerator. The Hero then presses a switch at the side of the machine. A few moments later, the interior of the incinerator starts to catch fire. The Hero closes the cover as the smell of the burning garbage start to reach their nose.

   “Can we go back now?” Esty asks impatiently.

   “Sure. Let’s go.”

   On their way back, Esty sees a few other humans who’re also on their way to the incinerator, and they sneak some curious glance on her and the Hero. Esty ignored those stares and follow the Hero back to their classroom.

   “One more thing. Wait, it’s two more, actually. What are folk dance and the Confession Booth?” Esty asks as she remembers the remaining events of the Cultural Festival.

   He looks absolutely disgusted when those events were mentioned.

   “Folk dance is where students dance around a fire lit up after piling up lots of logs. As for the Confession Booth, those brave enough are allowed to stand on the stage and confess their love to the person they like.” he explains grumpily.

   “Why do you look kind of upset?”

   “You’re imagining things.”

   “Oh, I bet it’s because no girls have ever danced with you!” she laughs.

   The Hero continues to walk silently, his face grumpier than ever.

   “Who cares? All these events are for normies only anyway.” he mutters.

   Esty just loves it when the Hero is being grumpy and upset. He rarely shows his expression as far as Esty remembers, if at all. There are very little things that truly bothers him like this.

   When the cleaning is finally over, everyone starts discussing about what to do with the money they earned from the dessert cafe. As usual, Chifuyu is leading the discussion.

   “All right, let’s get this started. The folk dance will be starting soon, so we can’t delay this too much.” she declares.

   “Like I said just now, karaoke is the only answer.”

   “What’s so fun about singing? I’d say we go to a cake buffet!”

   “Do you want to get fat that badly, Kisaragi?”

   “Watch it, Imamura! Do you want me to break your nose?”

   “Hey, no fighting over there.” Chifuyu intervenes. “Anyone else with ideas?”

   “Shouldn’t we ask Minase-kun for his opinion?”

   “...Huh?”

   Now this is rare. Someone actually asked for the Hero’s opinion. It was a female who spoke. If Esty remembers correctly, her name was Ichihara Ayumi.

   “I mean, the menu was his idea, right? We at least owe it to him.” Ichihara continues.

   Surprisingly, no one raised an objection to that. Esty swore that majority of the humans in this class, nay the school, hated the Hero ever since she spread the false rumor about the two of them having an intimate relationship with each other.

   “It’s fine. You guys can decide on your own.” the Hero declines.

   “You shouldn’t say something like that. You’re part of the class too, remember?”

   The Hero sighs.

   “...Barbecue.”

   “That came out of nowhere.”

   He shrugs.

   “I can’t sing, so I won’t vote for karaoke. As for buffets, some of our classmates are small eaters. It would be a waste to choose that.”

   “That’s, kind of a reasonable process of elimination.”

   “Like I said, you guys can just decide it on your own. I don’t really care.”

   Even so, it was still decided that all of them will be having barbecue on the next weekend.

   “Right. Now that our plan has been decided, let’s head down to the field.” Chifuyu announces.

   The dismissal was right on time as the dance session has begun the moment they enter the track field where the dance is being held. Just as the Hero has told Esty, multiple wooden logs have been piled up together and set on fire. Some students are already dancing around it. There’s a raised platform located at several hundred feet from the fire. Esty takes it that it’s the Confession Booth.

   “Let’s dance, Yoshii-kun!”

   “What are you talking about? Yoshii-kun will be dancing with me!”

   “No, he won’t it’s me he’s dancing with!”

   “Um, how about one at a time?”

   Esty looks around. The Hero has disappeared without a sound. It would be difficult for anyone to find him. Anyone except her, that is. And there he is, sitting by himself at the courtyard until all this is over.

   Esty never knew the exact reason. For some reason, she could always find him no matter where he is and vice-versa. His back was facing her when she was approaching him, but he turned around the moment he noticed her.

   “...What do you want?”

   “I don’t know how to do that folk dance thing. Teach me!” she demands.

   “There are lots of other better teachers than me. Just pick one of them.” he dismisses her while shooing her away.

   Naturally, she’s having none of it. She grabbed his hands and forcefully dragged him up until he’s standing. He glares at her, as if telling her that she’s pushing it. She stares back while grinning.

   “...Fine. Just a short lesson. Then will you leave me alone?”

   “I’ll think about it.”

   The lesson then begins. It was painful and slow as he’s bad at teaching and she has zero experience. However, they’re somehow coping.

   “This sure reminds me of the one festival we hanged out together back at Ifezan.” Esty giggles.

   The Hero raises his eyebrow. “You mean the one at Warthford?”

   “Exactly.”

   “Um, which part? I’m pretty sure that festival involved lots of bears and zero dancing.”

   “Oh, you know, just having fun and not killing each other.”

   “We killed lots of bears, though.”

   “That was the entire point of the festival, wasn’t it?”

   “True.”

   Esty went to run an errand at Warthford. She couldn’t exactly remember what it was, but she ended up meeting the Hero there. Just as the two of them were about to fight each other, they got interrupted by a growling bear. And then, it was pure chaos as there were bears everywhere. The next thing she knew, both her and the Hero were killing bears left, right and center. Neither of them used any grandiose skills or spells. They used their limbs and that’s about it.

   In the end, the Hero ended up as the winner of the Warthford’s annual Bear-Slaying Contest. Esty was at second place on a very close margin, but for once she didn’t mind. After the festival was over, the two of them cooked and shared a bear among themselves in front of a fire. She has always found human festivals boring, but she absolutely enjoyed that one. Come to think of it, she enjoyed this one quite a lot too, and the one at Kitajoshi yesterday. She wonders what’s the difference-

   She meets eyes with the Hero.

   No. No way. It can’t be. Get a grip, Estyshana Von Mantus. The human standing right in front of you killed your father. There’s no way that-

   “Say, Von Mantus.”

   “...Yeah?”

   “Are you using this dance lesson as an excuse to try and take me down?”

   “What on earth are you on about-”

   She gasps as she realizes that she’s grasping his hands really tight. If the Hero was a normal human, all the bones of his hands would have been crushed. Then again, that’s the problem. He’s not a normal human.

   “There’s no way I’m doing that. I’m going to defeat you fair and square.” she tells him firmly.

   “Like how you tried to ruin my school life?”

   She averts her eyes.

   “...I apologize for that, okay? Thinking back on it, I shouldn’t have been that childish.”

   “Whatever. I wasn’t bothered by it anyway. Rather than that, are you sure that you can take me on a fair fight? You have twelve losses, remember?”

   “I’ll definitely win on our next fight!”

   “On what basis, exactly?”

   “I don’t have any. I just know that I’m going to win.”

   He rolls his eyes.

   “Ah, yes. Optimism was your one and only strong point.” he mutters.

   “Shut up and continue with your lousy dance lesson, you lousy teacher!”

   “Yes yes.”

   The Hero taught her as much as he could, which isn’t a lot since he confessed that he’s lack of practice and this is the first time he actually danced with someone.

   “Well, I’m leaving. Hopefully, I won’t end up stepping on my next dance partner’s foot.” Esty tells him as she’s about to leave.

   “I really wish you had the same consideration for me.” he says drily.

   “I can’t help it. I’m a beginner, remember?”

   After Esty left the courtyard, she goes to meet up with Chifuyu and Watanabe. There’s a male human who’s standing at the Confession Booth. He’s holding a microphone to close to his mouth.

   “Ooshima Haruna-san from Class 2-5! I like you a lot! Please go out with me!” he calls.

   Esty sees a girl standing up to her right.

   “I will!” she replies.

   The male is so happy he actually cried. Applause and cheers were heard. And a few boos and jeers as well.

   “Where were you, Esty?” Chifuyu asks Esty.

   “At the toilet.” she lies. “More importantly, let’s dance.”

   “I didn’t know that you know how to dance.”

   “I had one lesson. It’s not really good, but it’s better than nothing. Now come on.”

   “I don’t mind, but I’m pretty sure there are lots of boys who would want to dance with you.”

   It was then when Esty noticed that several males are sneaking glances at her.

   “Unfortunately for them, the feeling is not mutual.” she says bluntly.

   All the males hang their head in disappointment.

   “Well, if you insist. Let’s dance, then.”

   “Can I dance with you girls, too?” Watanabe joins in the conversation.

   “Of course. We can take turns.”

   As Esty is dancing with Chifuyu, another male stands on the Confession Booth. He takes the microphone and inhales deeply.

   “Estyshana Von Mantus-san  from Class 2-2!” he calls.

   Esty and Chifuyu stop dancing.

   “May I have the honor of being your boyfriend?” he asks.

   “No.” she tells him without a single hesitation.

   The male drops to his knees in despair.

   “An instant reply, huh? Is it because of Minase-kun?” Chifuyu asks.

   “...I guess you could say that.”

   No matter what kind of positive emotion Esty has for the Hero, she swears to keep it locked even after she has avenged her father.

Ryota’s POV
   Ryota has never liked Cultural Festivals. Not just Cultural Festivals, but anything that requires him to interact with other in general like the sports meet and folk dance session. He has zero friends, and girls openly despise him, which is why he could never enjoy them. This year, at least, he gets to walk around the school with Tajima-san.

   “Are you sure that you want to walk around with me?” he asks her hesitantly.

   “Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” she replies with her signature bright smile.

   “Well, if you say so.”

   While they’re walking around Ryota realizes that he’s been getting looks of envy and hatred by lots of boys and men. It’s no wonder, actually. Tajima-san is a beauty, after all. She’s too high-class for an ugly wimp like him. And yet, here she is spending time with him. He must have done something really good in his past life to be able to go on a date with a pretty girl like her in this one.

   “Where should we go next?” she asks him.

   “I’m sorry, Tajima-san. I need to go to the toilet.” he tells her apologetically.

   “Oh. No worries. I’ll just wait for you here.”

   “I’m really sorry. This will only take a moment.”

   Ryota rushes to the nearest male toilet and goes inside. As he’s sitting down on one of the toilet bowls, he hears someone coming in. Somehow, he could tell that it’s two boys his age.

   “Can you believe it? That gloomy and cowardly Fukuma is actually walking around with a girl!” one of them says.

   “I know, right? I’m so jealous!”

   Upon hearing that, Ryota felt a sense of superiority swelling up inside him. That’s right. Even someone like him is finally becoming a normie. However, what they say next shocked him to the core.

   “-is what I would normally say. If the girl is that Tajima, I just pity him.”

   “Yup. I’ve heard nothing but bad rumors about her. Something about her leeching off gullible men for cash.”

   “Oh, I’ve heard of that too. I also heard that when they were leeched dry, she would persuade them to borrow money from loan sharks to get one final squeeze before ditching them.”

   “Yeesh. Women can be so nasty.”

   …What on earth are they talking about? Tajima-san being a gold-digger? That Tajima-san? I-It’s impossible!

   Long after the boys left, Ryota leaves the toilet. He tries his best to act like he didn’t hear a thing and goes back to Tajima-san.

   “Is something wrong, Fukuma-kun? You face looks kind of pale.” she asks him.

   “Um, it’s nothing. Really. I’m fine.”

   “Okay, if you insist.”

   Ryota refuses to believe what he just heard. There’s no way this sweet, kind girl earns her living by leeching off men. It must be false rumor speared by girls who’re jealous of her good looks.

   Right?