[NW] I’m the Heroine, but I Want to Hand That Role Over

It was determined that Hasumi and I would participate in the student council duties only in the morning on the day of the school festival because we had to participate in the class play in the afternoon. As such, Hasumi and I were in charge of patrolling during the morning. Patrolling with him was easy because he would reprimand overly unruly students, and since it was Hasumi, they would obediently listen. As expected of the heir of a large corporation. His status sure was helpful during these times.

However, when I patrolled the school festival with Hasami like this, I recalled what happened last year. Riding on the horse together with him made for a nice memory when I thought about it now. But we couldn’t play around during our patrol this year. I also mentioned this to Hasami before. He looked a bit displeased, but he nodded. Well, that was only obvious. It was improper for student council members to play around while on duty.

After we finished patrolling, we had some free time to ourselves. That was why I suggested we walk around the festival together with Miku and the good-for-nothing who happened to show up with impeccable timing. It really was super impeccable timing. What if they were actually waiting for us? Nah, I doubt that. Oh, but it probably was so. I mean, this was Miku and the good-for-nothing, after all…

The good-for-nothing’s class was apparently doing a planetarium. We quickly made our way over to the classroom. It was rather realistic. My mind was focused on trying to figure out how much money they spent, so I couldn’t fully enjoy the novelty of seeing the stars. I rather enjoyed discussions around constellations, but I was overwhelmed by how technical these students had pulled this off and couldn’t follow their commentary. I was once again reminded of the amazing power of money.

Miku’s class was doing a haunted house. But it seemed that she was confident. I was too scared to ask what she was so confident about. Miku and the good-for-nothing forcibly pushed the reluctant Hasumi and me inside. As they saw us off, I thought, “You guys are in cahoots!” but I’ll keep that to myself.

Hasumi and I cautiously made our way through the dark room. It really resembled a haunted house. This was above high-quality. All the classes were like this, making me wonder how serious did these students take this.

Let me just give a summary. It was scary. Seriously. Far scarier than a substandard haunted house. Hasumi and I screamed at the top of our lungs. It was so scary that halfway through, I reflexively hugged him. As soon as I realized that I was hugging him, I stepped on his foot! The reason why I didn’t punch him was that I couldn’t give him a visible injury because of the play. I was so thoughtful!

…But yeah, I was just a little shaken. I knew that he did nothing wrong. That was why I apologized to him as soon as we left the haunted house. When I did, he looked surprised and slightly awkwardly said, “You don’t need to apologize.” I smiled and said, “Thank you.”

We idly walked around the school. Time passed in the blink of an eye, and we soon needed to leave to prepare for the play. When we told Miku and the good-for-nothing about the time, they cheered us on, “We’ll go watch it. Do your best.” We nodded, left Miku and the good-for-nothing, and headed for the auditorium. The students in charge of costumes were waiting for us. They immediately surrounded us and began to change our clothes. And once again, my waist was squeezed tightly by that corset. Stop, the lunch I ate today is going to come out!!! I was finally fully dressed and completely drained. Oh, but the ones in charge of costumes should be more exhausted than me. But the girls looked very refreshed and examined me. Huh? Even though they used more energy than me, why was I the one who was exhausted?

I put on a golden wig and had some light makeup applied. I wondered if this was okay since makeup wasn’t really allowed in school. My thoughts apparently appeared on my face, so the one putting on my makeup proudly said with a smile, “It’s fine. We make sure to receive the academy’s permission.” I was glad that they had done this beforehand.

I walked as carefully as possible, ensuring that I wouldn’t dirty the dress. I conducted myself as refined as possible, trying my best to look like a real princess. Before getting up on the stage, I chanted, “I am a princess. I am a princess,” like some kind of spell to myself because if I didn’t, I would immediately crumble. How many times have I messed up…? I had learned that I had no talent for acting.

I fully became a princess and walked to the stage wing. Hasumi, already fully dressed in his costume, was there on standby. A student in charge of costumes was standing right beside him, arranging his hairstyle and fixing his costume to depict a gallant prince. Hasumi looked thoroughly annoyed by this. I understood what he was feeling. I was like that too. I approached Hasumi and greeted him, “Those clothes suit you very nicely.”

While I continued to chant that I was a princess in my mind, I gracefully smiled. I wondered if I looked like a princess enough. Hasumi looked at me. He seemed dumbfounded for a moment, but he soon returned to his usual emotionless expression. He didn’t seem that interested.

Hasumi said, “Thank you. You also look good…” and quickly looked away from me. Huh? Was he embarrassed? The unamused feeling I felt towards Hasumi’s reaction from before was blown away at this new reaction, and I felt great. I felt like it was worth it to wear this painful corset.

I looked at Hasumi again, closely and carefully examining his prince costume. Overall, from top to bottom, it was white. Yeah, I’m glad that they didn’t go for short bloomers and white tights. I thought they would choose that outfit based on the play’s time period, but it seemed that they chose more modern clothes. Well, Hasumi would probably still look good in short bloomers. In either case, his outfit resembled a military uniform. With a red aiguillette, a golden epaulette, and plenty of decorative ribbons, the outfit gave off a princely image. He wore long, jet-black boots and had an ornamental sword at his waist. No matter from what angle you looked at him, he was a prince. The outfit really suited him well.

As I intently examined Hasumi’s outfit, Hasumi was restless and uncomfortable. I had been staring at him too long since it suited him all too well. Just when I decided to reflect on my behavior, I heard a bright voice coming from behind.

“Rin! Wow, you look super cute! Like a real princess!”

In response to the excited Kaito’s voice, I wryly smiled as I turned around but soon froze.

Eh? Who might you be?

It seemed that my thoughts were conveyed as Kaito slightly pouted. I mean, no matter how I looked at him, I could only see a wicked woman. He had black hair tied in a ponytail and bewitching, red lips. His eyes were big and beautiful from the start, but with bold, blue eyeshadow and black eyeliner, they gave off a more intense impression. Nothing was applied to his cheeks. He only had foundation and powder applied. Dressed in a long, black dress, Kaito truly looked like a peerless, wicked woman, capable of turning a country on its head.

What was this? The wicked woman of my dreams was here. Yet, she showed a sweet smile, opposite to her wickedness. I didn’t need that kind of gap, so put on a more sophisticated expression, Kaito.

“What do you think? I make for a super beautiful lady, right?”

“Y-yeah… you look like a very wicked woman...”

“I bet you got charmed by my looks! Feel free to keep looking!”

Kaito put his hand on his hip and puffed out his chest. I merely stared at him, dumbfounded. I was incapable of any other reaction. Hasumi also looked at Kaito, slackjacked.

I had a feeling, a hunch about this. Did I just lose to the villain? That was why I didn’t want to see Kaito crossdress…

“I’m so excited for the play. How about you, Rin, Hasumi?”

“Y-yeah…”

“O-oh…yeah.”

It took everything out of Hasumi and me to nod.