Episode 132: Cultural Festival Live Performance ⑤

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Translator: Soafp

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Honestly, my legs felt like they were about to start shaking.

I never imagined singing in front of so many people would put this much pressure on me.

Even so, I somehow managed to sing my heart out.

I focused only on Airi and Nodoka's faces in the audience, pretending as though I were singing at karaoke.

“Haa… haa…”

I had only sung one song, yet sweat was pouring down me like a waterfall, and I was gasping for breath as though I had just sprinted at full speed.

I had no idea whether I had sung well or not.

That was probably partly because I had been keeping an eye on the president out of the corner of my eye the entire time.

The president was completely absorbed in playing the bass, and she seemed to be getting more and more excited, but so far there wasn't even the slightest sign that she was about to fall.

(Now that I think about it, when exactly is she supposed to fall?)

All Takagi had said in the “nightmare” was that he had gotten so absorbed in the performance that his excitement had gotten out of control while he was onstage.

That was why I had assumed it would happen during the live performance, but so far there was absolutely no sign of it.

Had the repeated warnings from Takagi and me been enough to prevent it?

But if Airi's hypothesis was correct…

As I was thinking about that, the president suddenly approached with light steps and casually pulled the microphone in front of me out of its stand.

“Once again, we're the Light Music Club! I'm the bassist…”

She immediately began the MC segment introducing the members.

Apparently, she had decided to handle the MC in my place since this was my first live performance.

The only thing I could tell for sure was that she was much more energetic than usual.

(Could this be it?)

The president cheerfully introduced each member in turn, and every time she said, “Ta-da!” she would hop into the air like a rabbit.

It was as though she had become a completely different person.

Was that because of the jinx involving those sexy underwear she normally never wore?

“On vocals, Fukagawa! Actually, Fukagawa-kun isn't a member of the club, but he went out of his way to help us after we ended up short a member!”

The president spread both arms wide while holding the microphone, gesturing toward me.

Awkwardly, I said, “Th-thank you,” and gave a small bow.

She then immediately headed toward the drums behind me.

“And finally, on drums, Takagi… Whoa…!”

The president tripped over a cable.

She started falling forward.

Damn it.

Of all times, it had to happen when she was moving away from me.

I quickly turned around and ran toward her.

But no matter how far I stretched out my arms, there was no way I could reach her.

Damn it. Had I underestimated this thing called causality far too much?

Was the president's “nightmare” really going to become reality after all?

Just as I thought that—

“President!!”

Takagi sprang to his feet and rushed toward her.

From where he was standing, he was close enough to reach her.

Maybe he could—

But in the next instant—

“Waaaah—!?”

Takagi lost his balance spectacularly.

I couldn't see what happened clearly because it was so sudden, but apparently his foot had gotten caught on the drum stand.

The bodies of the president and Takagi tilted toward each other as if they were being drawn together.

Before I could even get there to catch them—

CRASH!

A loud, spectacular noise rang throughout the venue.

(I asked him to fall, but…)

Had I really just increased the number of people falling?

I had been far too naive.

Airi's hypothesis had been correct every time up until now, so I had simply assumed it would be correct this time as well.

As various regrets flashed through my mind, what suddenly entered my field of vision was a sight I had never expected.

“…Huh?”

It wasn't just me who let out a stunned voice.

The male electric guitarist and some of the audience made the same sound.

That was how shocking the sight of the president and Takagi lying on the floor in front of us was.

“Kyaaaaaaaah—!!”

“Nmbuuuuu—!!”

The president had fallen.

Takagi had fallen too.

The president, who had been falling forward, was knocked backward by her collision with Takagi and ended up lying on her back.

Takagi, meanwhile, had landed on top of her as though he had pushed her down.

As a result, Takagi's pants had slipped down, leaving his underwear completely exposed under the stage lights.

That was probably because, following my instructions, he had already undone the button on his pants and lowered the zipper beforehand.

Meanwhile, the important part was that the president's underwear remained completely hidden.

The reason was—

“T-Takagiiii—!! Don't stare so much—!!”

“Nguuuh—!? Nmbuuuh—!?”

Takagi had dived face-first under the skirt of the president's mini-dress.

That's right.

His body had completely covered the president's sexy underwear.

And since Takagi had his face pressed into her skirt, he probably couldn't see her underwear at all.

If anything, he looked like he was having trouble breathing and was gradually starting to struggle.

“Pfft…!”

At that moment, a voice from the audience burst out, unable to contain its laughter.

I wondered who it was.

It was Airi.

Even for her, this outcome had apparently been completely unexpected.

But as though their laughter had spread through the crowd—

“Haha, hahahahaha!”

The entire venue erupted into deafening laughter.

The embarrassing underwear accident involving a female student had been avoided, and in an instant, it had turned into a hilarious mishap where two overly excited members of the Light Music Club had ended up tangled together in a completely ridiculous position.

(…Did this actually work?)

I was dumbfounded, but we had to get this situation under control somehow.

I picked up the microphone that had fallen onto the floor and gave the audience a small bow.

“Thank you very much. That was the Light Music Club.”

---

Afterward, we quickly finished cleaning everything up.

I was told that since I wasn't a club member, I could leave, but I decided to help anyway.

Not just me, either. Airi, Nodoka, and Yui stayed to help as well.

Of course, goodwill wasn't the only reason.

Honestly, I was curious.

I wanted to know what kind of relationship Takagi and the president would have from here on.

(Did that accident make things far too awkward between them?)

While we were cleaning up, the two of them did their best to avoid looking at each other.

Even when their eyes happened to meet, they immediately looked away.

Naturally, they didn't exchange a single word.

Personally, I had hoped that the cultural festival would serve as an opportunity for them to make some progress.

I wasn't expecting them to start dating immediately, but I at least wanted their relationship to move forward a little.

But apparently, that might be difficult after all.

Just as I was thinking that, Airi leaned over and whispered into my ear.

“I think those two might make some progress soon.”

“Huh? You think so? Won't it take a little longer?”

“Maybe, but I'm betting that they'll become that kind of couple in a short amount of time.”

Airi was much more perceptive than I was when it came to reading people's feelings, so she might be right.

Besides, they already had mutual feelings for each other. As long as this accident hadn't made either of them lose interest, it seemed unlikely that absolutely nothing would come of it…

When we left the clubroom, Kokoa-san and Ayano-san approached us.

“Well then, we'll be heading off! Fukagawa-senpai, you were so cool onstage today! I'm going to work really hard so that Kokoa can get accepted into this school!”

“Ah, yes. Good luck. Hopefully we'll get another chance to meet. Take care on your way home.”

“Yes! Then, hopefully we'll meet again sometime!”

Ayano-san gave me a small bow.

Eventually, the two of them walked away from us.

…Though Kokoa-san kept waving at me the entire time, right up until they had become too far away to make out.

And on top of that, the moment they disappeared from sight, a LINE message arrived on my phone.

“We'll have another chance to meet tonight!”

“……”

Apparently, it looked like I was going to be seeing Kokoa-san all day today.