The Crossing of Joy and Sorrow
“Play! Play! Black Beast!”
“Go for it!”
“Black Beast! Beat the president!”
“Black Beast! Let’s turn that bed energy into a running win!!”
Cheering that’s more unbearable than not being cheered at all buzzes in my ears.
Flags from all nations spread across the sky.
There’s even a fluttering red flag.
“Master! Hang in there! Eri-Ring will give you strength. Yap yap!”
“Cheering for you! This is special support from my cute JK Gyaru little sister, Haru!”
“Hey you! I even went so far as to dress in this, this, this embarrassing outfit, so if you lose, I will NEVER forgive you! A guy who has Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte as his exclusive maid must win, you got that?!”
“My lord…! Let’s go….”
“Heh. Deok-Sung. I believe with no doubt that you will definitely win! Hang in there!”
In front of the flag are the cheerleaders: Eri, Haru, Olivia, Makoto, and Rin.
Cheerleaders?
When on earth did they prepare that?
The heroines, clad in cheerleader outfits, cheer enthusiastically, waving their support tools.
Right in the middle, Olivia looks at me with a flushed face.
Well, it’s certainly a sight to behold.
“Kid. Hehe. As the captain of the red team, I command you! You must win.”
Seira, sitting in the special seat assigned to the captains behind the cheerleaders, flutters her black lace fan and speaks.
A black parasol floats in mid-air above her head using her psychokinesis.
Isn’t that a true waste of talent?
“Black Beast!”
“Now that the Black Beast has stepped up, victory is as good as ours!”
“Waaaahhhhh!”
A deafening roar erupts from the red team’s side.
To get this immersed in a sports festival is quite something.
I haven’t seen anything like this since the military sports festival futsal tournament put on by the army, where the winning team received a 2-night, 3-day reward vacation.
Well, I guess that’s just how it is in the light novel world.
I turn my gaze.
“Phew.”
A beautiful girl in bloomers, warming up at the track starting line, comes into view.
Saionji Aris is there.
With a white band wrapped around her head.
“President, go for it!”
“Senior president, you can win!”
“You can’t take it easy just because it’s someone you like!”
“Saionji-senpai! Kyaaaaaaaah!!”
This time, white flags flutter from the white team’s side, mixed with cheers and excitement.
Aris’s face slightly turns red upon hearing the cheers.
[What a lively sports festival this is! Aaaah! The heat of youthful passion! This is a sight you can only see at our Shuo Hero Academy!]
“Rock the heat of youth! This is a sight you can only see at our Shuo Hero Academy!”
The voice of Amano Nodoka, the club reporter, echoes loudly through the speakers.
“If it weren’t for this damn date application, I’d be just fine.”
“The match will start soon! Representatives from the red team and the white team! Before the match begins, let’s have a handshake time. Shake hands!”
Amano Nodoka takes charge of the event.
As if she has relaxed her entire body, Aris, with a sheen of sweat on her forehead, approaches me.
Her silver hair goes perfectly with her white headband.
The white sports uniform shows off her model-like slender figure, along with her long white legs and the curves of her bottom.
It’s so provocative that I don’t know where to look.
Aris extends her hand towards me.
I take her hand.
“I won’t go easy on you, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
Aris says in a calm voice.
She smiles lightly.
Waaaaaaah!
As soon as Aris finishes her words, cheers erupt around us.
“Oooooo! Our president! She’s the first to provoke the Black Beast!! What will the Black Beast’s reaction be?!”
The announcer’s voice blasts through the speakers.
Ignoring the announcer, I nod.
“Me too.”
Great.
Now it’s time to run.
I’m not particularly fond of PE, so I’m not great at running, but the need to win doesn’t change.
Just then.
Grab!
Aris pulls my hand, which is still in her grasp, towards her.
Suddenly, I find myself hugging Aris.
The scent of her fills my nose.
“Oh! What is this? The representative of the white team, President Saionji! She’s hugging the representative of the red team, the Black Beast! A bold display of affection in broad daylight! Truly the vigor of Shuo Academy’s strongest!”
The announcer’s voice rings in my ears.
“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”
“President, how daring!”
“Looks like even the president fell for the Black Beast’s charm······.”
“I’m so jealous of the Black Beast!”
The whispers of the students rustle in my ears.
A sudden hug.
Just as my mind goes blank from the unexpected situation.
“I-I can’t believe it! Wh-what am I seeing right now?! How could a loyal maid like me, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, allow such a scoundrel act to happen without my consent······!!”
“Wuuuuu! President Saionji! How unfair! Were you planning this all along as the representative?!”
“Hmph······.”
“Jiiiing······.”
“After all, A-chan is the most dangerous······.”
“The junior who falls for a woman’s temptation without noticing is a bad guy.”
The voices of the heroines reach my ears.
Olivia, Eri, Rin, Makoto, Haru, Senior Kasumi.
Their clamoring fills the air around me.
Just as I struggle to escape from Aris’s embrace.
“I won’t let go of the date application.”
Aris whispers into my ear.
She releases me from her grasp.
“So be prepared, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
Her silver eyes shine.
Cheers pour down once again.
“A fiery declaration from the president! Which team will emerge victorious in the mission run? Representatives from both teams, please stand at the starting line!”
“Please stand at the starting line!”
As the host’s voice rings out, Aris takes her position at the starting line.
The once boisterous playground is suddenly as silent as a mouse.
“Ready… set…”
A single bead of cold sweat trickles down onto the track.
I’m getting unnecessarily tense.
Thump, thump.
My heart races.
“Partner. You can do it.”
The Black Prince’s voice echoes in my head.
“Go!”
Bang!
With the host’s voice and the starting gun, Aris shoots off the line like a bullet.
Tatatatatatat!
Even with the prohibition on magical powers and special abilities, the hero candidates possess physical abilities that far exceed those of ordinary people.
Naturally, their running speed is at least double that of a track athlete.
I’m running hard, but it’s tough to catch up.
“Ugh!”
On top of that, thanks to her perfect superhuman girl act and being the student council president who excels in both academics and athletics, she’s several times faster than me.
“Partner. Do you think you can win?”
The distance is closing, but it’s still hard to catch her.
Huff, huff.
My breath is getting heavier.
If I’m going for an upset, I can only hope for a mission at the turn.
I want to give Aris a tough mission, while I’d love it if Olivia showed up in mine like in the original.
I see the turn ahead.
On a desk next to the track, there’s a red paper and a white paper.
Each has the mission written for the red and white teams.
Just then, while I’m thinking that…
“Oh! Finally, President Saionji Aris has entered the turn! Following her, the Black Beast also enters the turn!”
Thud.
I see Aris, who arrived first, unfold the white paper.
I’m a bit late but I grab the red paper and unfold it.
The sentence written on the red paper…
“What could the mission be? It will be revealed now!”
With the host’s voice, the mission sentence comes into view.
“[Magical Girl Teacher Princess Carry☆]”
It’s in cute handwriting that screams Mayuzumi wrote it.
Completely different from the original blonde mission.
But the target is so obvious that it makes it easier.
Originally, running missions are tough because of nonsensical missions.
Having made my judgment, I immediately sprint toward the red team side.
Alongside me, Aris is already running toward the red team side.
Wait, isn’t Aris on the red team too?
Why?
“Oooooh! The runners who checked their missions start rushing toward the audience!”
Hearing the host’s voice, I run faster.
My goal is to find the Magical Girl instructor, Mayuzumi Mayu.
*
At the same time.
Shuo Hero Academy Playground.
Red Team Captain’s Exclusive Seat.
“Hehehe…”
Seira sits with a fan fluttering in her hand.
Even the warm autumn sunshine feels nice to her.
“The little one is about to… ”
Thinking of the mission content she slipped in through abuse of power, Seira’s face turns red.
Thump.
Her heart beats rapidly.
Princess carry, huh?
She’s about to receive a princess carry that she’s never experienced before from him.
How could she not be excited?
Thump, thump.
Feeling the thunderous rhythm of her heart, Seira shook her head.
Seira shook her head, feeling her heart thumping.
“Calm down. This is just a mission I took on myself for the sake of the Sports Festival and my students’ enjoyment… What I decide to include in this mission is entirely up to me, the president of the Hero Association… I definitely do not have any feelings for that kid, no way…”
Seira struggled to suppress her feelings.
Right, not yet.
He’s only a beloved student.
That’s all.
That day.
After all her comrades died and she was betrayed by the student she cherished like her own child…
Seira hadn’t completely opened her heart to anyone yet.
She bit her lip.
Thump, thump.
But defying her sanity, her heart continued to beat rapidly, waiting for Kim Deok-Sung.
At that moment.
Grab!
Someone seized her wrist while she was seated in her designated spot.
Seira’s red eyes turned to the person who grabbed her wrist.
“There you are. President.”
The white-haired beautiful girl, Aris, gasped for breath as she spoke.
Suddenly, Aris?
Her mission should have nothing to do with her!
Seira’s mind went blank.
“Oh, no. Why is A-chan… here…”
Just as a flustered Seira managed to speak those words.
“Running while carrying the Gothic Lolita president as a princess… That’s the mission I received, President.”
Swish.
Aris unfolded a white sheet of paper.
There it was, the mission that she had clearly assigned to Kim Deok-Sung.
Seira’s eyes trembled.
This was ridiculous.
Who swapped the missions?
Could it be Mayuzumi, the instructor in charge of preparing the missions?
“President?”
Hearing Aris’s question, Seira snapped out of her reverie.
“Why do you…”
“President? We must go now.”
“Th-that’s…”
As Seira hesitated in disbelief,
Tatata!
With the sound of running, Kim Deok-Sung arrived near the designated spot.
All eyes on him as he entered the scene, the Black-haired Boy.
Kim Deok-Sung frowned slightly as he pulled out a red piece of paper with the mission written on it.
“Magical Girl instructor… This is Mayuzumi-sensei, right?”
Swish.
The moment Seira confirmed the mission on the paper Kim Deok-Sung unfolded, she finally realized the true culprit behind the swap.
The instructor she had entrusted the mission preparation to, Mayuzumi, was the culprit.
‘Why on earth…!’
Just when Seira gasped in shock.
“Yes! That’s right, Kim-kun!”
Mayuzumi, standing behind Seira, stepped forward with a bright smile.
Her cheeks blushed pink like her hair.
Mayuzumi’s eyes met with the president’s.
Smirk.
As Mayuzumi’s lips curled into a mischievous smile upon meeting the president’s gaze,
“Eeeek!”
Seira let out a sound of agony.
“Well then, Magical Girl teacher! I’m counting on you, Kim-kun! Ehehehe.”
Mayuzumi blushed as she grinned at Kim Deok-Sung.
It was a moment where the fates of the two heroines, Mayuzumi and Seira, took a sharp turn.
