V3Ch1: Four Color Factions

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Translator: Soafp

Volume 3: A colorless reunion

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At Tenka'in Academy, there is a unique system called the “Kami System.” [Kami = god]

The highlight of the culture festival is the Tenka Contest.

In this contest, one boy and one girl are chosen by student votes. The selected boy is called the “God,” and the selected girl is called the “Goddess.”

Originally, it was a beauty pageant, but over time, it evolved into something else. To put it simply, it has become a kind of popularity contest.

This system is officially recognized by the school, and the chosen gods are invited to various events as guests or serve as presenters at award ceremonies.

Typically, students with good looks are chosen, but other qualities are also necessary. High communication skills, leadership, intelligence, athletic ability—students who possess such traits and have the ability to attract others are selected.

The Kami System is well-known in the area, to the point that even neighboring schools know who the “gods” are.

Last year, something unprecedented happened in the Tenka Contest.

The goddess vote ended in a tie. And not just between two people, but four at once.

Because their names each contained a color, these girls came to be known as the “Four Colored Goddesses,” and they became incredibly popular at Tenka Academy.

Each of these goddesses has a group of supporters. These groups are called factions, and it's no exaggeration to say that Tenka Academy is now divided into four groups supporting each goddess.

“—And that's as far as my knowledge goes.”

A few days after the start of the second semester.

My friend informed me, Mahiro Nazuka.

“Got it. Then I'll explain the parts you’re missing.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“Don't worry about it. You’re a transfer student, and not many people brought up this topic during the first semester anyway.”

I transferred to this school midway through the first semester due to my parents' remarriage, so I wasn't well-versed in this kind of information.

That's why I asked Mahiro to explain it to me.

“First, I'll explain about the factions.”

With that, Mahiro began a careful explanation.

I had heard this before, but basically, the factions are fan clubs.

Even though the Four Goddesses achieved a tie in the contest, there was constant talk behind the scenes about who would become the goddess next year.

Students started rooting for their favorite candidates. Then rumors spread about conflicts between the goddesses. When students heard this, they began to team up with others who supported the same goddess to try to make their favorite the sole goddess.

That's how the factions started.

As supporters bonded, their influence gradually expanded, leading to the current situation.

“—So that's how things are. Thanks to that, the school is now split.”

“I see.”

“As for the factions, they’re generally pretty laid-back. But there are occasional extremists, so be careful around them.”

“Like how some idol fans get out of hand?”

“Something like that.”

There are the well-mannered fans and then the problematic ones.

“Are there any obligations if you join a faction?”

“Not really. Even though it's called a faction, it's more like a student activity, like following idols. I mentioned extremists earlier, but they're a tiny minority. Most people just cheer for their favorite goddess.”

Although the goddesses themselves don't get along, it's not like the faction members are fighting with each other.

I processed all the information and nodded.

“By the way, I heard that voting in the contest is mandatory.”

“It's a student obligation.”

“…And people can find out who you voted for, right?”

“It's not that it's obvious, but if someone looks into it, they can figure it out.”

“What do you mean?”

“On the day of the culture festival, every student is given a ballot. You write your name on it and then fill in the names of the boy and girl you want to become the gods. After that, the teachers check the ballots. The key point here is cheating. A few years ago, there was a case of cheating—or rather, a relationship between a teacher and a student that led to rigging the goddess vote.”

What a scandalous history.

“To prevent cheating, the vote-counting process is done publicly. If you attend the counting, you can see who voted for whom.”

Now I completely understood.

“So, we vote for one boy and one girl in the contest?”

“Yeah. You vote for one boy and one girl—one Male God and one Female Goddess.”

“Got it.”

“Honestly, it feels like the boy's vote is already decided for this year, though.”

That makes sense.

There's no one who can compete with my best friend. There's no doubt he'll win, and I'd suspect cheating if he didn't.

“And it's not like he'd decline, right?”

“…Wait, can you actually decline?”

“You can, technically. You can withdraw before the vote. But most people don't.”

“Why not?”

“Because doing so would be like saying, ‘I know I'm going to be chosen.' It's a bit arrogant, you know? Plus, there's no real benefit to declining.”

That made sense.

People withdraw because they know they might be chosen. If they withdrew, they'd likely be seen as delusional.

I shouldn’t worry too much about withdrawing.

“Back to the topic—do you have to notify someone if you want to join a faction?”

“Not really. It’s just a statement of intent.”

“…So how do you make that statement?”

“Some people just say it, but the latest trend is using handkerchiefs.”

“Handkerchiefs?”

Mahiro reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue handkerchief.

“…It’s blue.”

“Yup. I support Aoyama, so I carry a blue handkerchief. I’ve always been a fan, but after playing games with her, my feelings got even stronger.”

I recalled the previous term.

I hadn’t paid attention to my surroundings because I was too focused on the actions and relationships of the goddesses, but now that I thought about it, many of my classmates had red handkerchiefs.

This was the class of the Red Goddess, so it made sense that most people supported her.

Speaking of which, my stepsister always carried a black handkerchief. I hadn't given much thought to the colors of handkerchiefs before, but now that I understood their meaning, it all made sense.

As for me, I originally didn’t carry a handkerchief at all.

“Don’t worry. I’m not part of the extremists. I’m just a fan. I’m classmates with Akazawa, and I don't have any bad feelings towards the other goddesses either.”

“I know that.”

It wasn’t like fan merchandise, but I guess the handkerchiefs were a way of signaling which goddess you supported.

That day when I had the cooking contest, the White Goddess—Shirase Mayuki—proposed that I join the White faction. It wasn't necessarily because she wanted me to support her, but rather to protect me from the other goddesses. For some reason, the other goddesses had been surprisingly friendly to me, and the suggestion was a measure to avoid their attempts to recruit me.

Considering the trauma they had caused me in the past, I welcomed Shirase’s proposal. Though, ironically, she had originally been on “their” side as well.

I took a moment to reflect.

Compared to when I had first transferred here, the negative impressions I had of the goddesses—those devils—had somewhat faded. I had spent an entire semester observing them and even interacted with them during the summer vacation.

The Red Goddess—Yuuhi Akazawa—had become the school’s idol. Unlike before, she no longer spread nasty rumors about people.

The Blue Goddess—Umi Aoyama—was now the school’s cheerful face, always smiling. She no longer lashed out at others and seemed to be getting along well with the students.

The Black Goddess—Tsukiyo Kuromine—was still a solitary presence, but she didn't seem to be using others to elevate herself anymore.

However, the fact remains that I was once mistreated by them.

And “faded” doesn’t mean “gone.”

Given Aoyama's obvious lies, and Akazawa and Kuromine's past actions, I still needed time. Time to calmly think things through.

“Thanks for explaining everything”

I said, expressing my gratitude to Mahiro.

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The next day, I came to school with a handkerchief.

I showed it to Mahiro.

“Eh, that means—”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I pulled out a white handkerchief from my pocket.