V3Ch23: The Rainbow-Colored Candidate for God

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Translator: Soafp

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“Alright, let’s take a break around here.”

I spoke up at a good stopping point.

Immediately after, Shion’s body collapsed in front of me. She pressed her cheek against the floor and let out a deep breath, as if releasing everything that had built up.

“Finally, a break. Ah, I’m so tired!”

“I can tell you’re tired, but that’s pretty unbecoming.”

Shion and I were studying for the mid-term exams.

For the past few days, we’ve been studying together whenever we didn't have other commitments. We study in the living room, in each other's rooms, or various places. Today, we're in Shion’s room.

“It's fine. I’m that tired after all.”

“You really are hopeless.”

“But this tiredness feels so good, you know? I’m going to push myself now, and then after the exams, I'm going to forget everything and have a blast.”

Shion had banned herself from playing around until the exams were over, dedicating herself to studying.

It might seem strict to forbid herself from having fun, but she's the one who decided it. She seems to be fully aware that her grades have been slipping seriously.

“Today was pretty smooth, considering how tired I am.”

“Looks like it.”

“What about you, Onii-chan?”

“I’m doing fine too.”

Although I'm in the position of teaching, I'm also studying myself.

If my grades drop now, Shion will be upset. So I can't neglect my own studying. I don't want to drop my grades personally either.

“Really, thank you so much. Thanks to you, I'm doing a lot better.”

“I didn't do anything though.”

“That's not true. You kindly explain things when I don't understand. Plus, just being nearby keeps me from slacking off. That alone is super effective.”

“You got the basics down, so you are an easy student.”

Shion was originally an excellent student.

Her last mid-term wasn't an issue at all. Recently, she'd been playing around a bit too much, so her grades were declining, but now that she's making time to study, they've been improving again. At this rate, I'm sure she'll do fine on the exams.

Honestly, when we first started studying together, it was a disaster. But I really have to praise her effort for getting this far.

So my role isn't really to teach, it's more to keep an eye on her. I just study with her so she won't slack off. That's all I do, but it seems to work.

“Oh, that's right.”

Shion got up, ran down the stairs, and brought back some juice. One of the drinks was my favorite.

“Here's the juice I promised.”

“…The promise?”

“You know, we made a bet during the sports festival.”

“That… I completely forgot about that.”

“Well, since the purple team lost, it's my turn to buy the juice.”

“If that's the case, then I won't hold back.”

I got the juice from the sports festival bet. I could feel her kindness in the fact that she specifically bought my favorite orange juice.

“I can't wait for the exams to be over.”

“Even after the mid-terms, the finals are waiting for you, you know?”

“Don't say things like that.”

“It's the truth. As long as you’re a student, you can't escape the monster that is exams.”

“But there's the cultural festival in between, right? I've always wanted to see a high school cultural festival. I'm super excited for those manga-like scenes where the boys get all fired up.”

For Shion, who comes from an all-girls school, it's something she's been dreaming about.

Since the topic of the cultural festival came up, I decided to ask her about it.

“Speaking of which, the Tenka contest is also part of the cultural festival, right?”

“Yeah. It's my first time, so I'm looking forward to it.”

“…It looks like you might be one of the goddess candidates too.”

“Apparently. I was really surprised. Right before the sports festival, the teacher came up to me and suddenly asked me to lead the purple team.”

She talks about it like it's someone else's problem.

“Do you want to be the goddess?”

“…I'm not sure.”

“Not sure?”

“I'd be happy to be in the same position as Onee-chan, but if you're asking if I want to push her aside and become the goddess, then not really.”

Shion's response seemed truly uncertain.

“So, you don't want to be the goddess?”

“I'm not really aiming for it, but I don't have a reason to reject it either. Honestly, I never thought I'd be in a position like this. I joined Tenka Academy because I wanted to be in the same school as Onee-chan, so this turn of events was totally unexpected.”

“I see.”

“I was surprised to even be counted as a candidate. During the sports festival, I was nervous.”

Shion's thoughts are probably the most common ones.

Most students probably wouldn't say they want to be the goddess, but if they were voted for, they wouldn't refuse. It's more like that.

Normally, they don't even expect themselves to be chosen.

In fact, Aoyama even said that he was chosen as the goddess without realizing it. Maybe it's just that kind of feeling.

“Actually, I consulted with Onee-chan about it recently.”

“Eh?”

“She told me I should try for it. It'd be a good experience, and she said I'd be perfect for the goddess role.”

I'm not sure about Kuromine's true intentions, but I do think Shion's personality suits the role.

On the other hand, I don't think Kuromine is suited to being the goddess. During the sports festival, she seemed uncomfortable with the task of hyping everyone up.

“At that time, Onee-chan said she wanted to quit being the goddess.”

“Seriously?”

“She was laughing while saying it, so I'm not sure if she was serious.”

Kuromine's actions, like challenging Renji, don't really make sense to me.

But, if I had to trust my intuition, I have a feeling that Kuromine's comment about quitting the goddess role is true.

“There are a lot of things to think about, huh? So that's why you're unsure about it.”

“That's it. But it feels like my classmates are more motivated than me.”

“…Yakumo, huh?”

“He’s the most enthusiastic. He really wants me to become the goddess, so he's going around to other classes, trying to recruit people. He was doing some of that today too.”

“I can totally picture that scene.”

He seems to be doing his best. However, personally, I think he should focus on studying during this time.

“Hey, what do you think, Onii-chan?”

“What do you mean?”

“About me being a candidate for the goddess. Do you think I should go for it?”

That’s a difficult question.

“I can’t really say. It’s up to you and how you feel.”

“Up to me, huh?”

“I was going to vote for you in the Tenka Contest. I didn’t want to stand out, you know. But now that you’re a candidate for the goddess, I’m unsure. If I vote for you, it might push you into something you don’t want to do.”

I had planned to vote without drawing attention, but it depends on how she feels.

If she truly doesn’t want to be the goddess, I wouldn't vote for her. I wouldn't want to push an uncomfortable role onto her.

Shion stood there for a while, thinking, then finished her juice.

“I don’t really know, so I’ll just go with the flow!”

“That’s a sloppy conclusion.”

“That’s why, Onii-chan, you should vote for whoever you think deserves it. It’s better that way.”

“…Shion?”

“Culture festivals are festivals, you know. You have to enjoy festivals. Don’t bother voting for me. Vote for whoever you think is the right person. That would be better for me too. Let’s enjoy the result when it comes!”

Shion said this with a smile.

As I listened, I thought that, for now, she seemed like the most suitable candidate for the goddess. Her free-spirited nature and how she lives so naturally is quite charming.

“Hey, Onii-chan, what about you? Aren’t you interested in being the male god?”

That was a surprise.

“No way. There’s already a top candidate for the male god.”

“That's true, but if you tried, you might do pretty well. You did really well at the sports festival. It became a topic of conversation in our class.”

“Did it?”

“With that run, of course. Some of the girls in our class said they were going to vote for you.”

I had completely forgotten about it, but it seems I made quite an impression.

Now that I think about it, it makes sense. I did win the race against Renji, who's a guaranteed male god this year. So, it’s no surprise that I got some attention.

“You’re good-looking, and you're smart. I think you could be a candidate for male god too.”

“If the current male god drops out, then maybe I'll consider it.”

I gave a casual response.

After that, we talked for a while. About recent events, the culture festival, and other trivial matters.

“Alright, break's over. Shall we get back to studying?”

“…Can we take a little longer break?”

“Nope.”

“Haa, you're so strict, Onii-chan.”

Though she complained, Shion slapped her cheeks to get herself focused and we resumed studying.

As I watched her working hard, I thought about where to cast my vote while continuing with my own work.