“Today is the graduation ceremony. I believe the day it is when you reach the ending in Gordon’s route within the game.”
Kent walked while lost in thought.
“Older brother, good morning!”
“Ah, is that Rachel?”
“Ah, you know, shouldn’t you be more happy when your beloved younger sister calls out to you?”
The next day, Kent finished his early morning part-time job and headed to school earlier than usual. A graduation ceremony for the third-year students was being held that day, so he had to get to school earlier. It was then that Rachel called out to him. Kent’s reaction was so slow that she wondered if something was wrong. She moved in front of Kent, peered into his face, and asked with concern.
“I was just thinking it’s the graduation ceremony today. In the game, isn’t this the final day for Gordon’s route?”
“Ah, come to think of it, that’s right. You reminded me. You said that even if I the protagonist wasn’t involved, Hanako managed to get Patty and the Prince together, so nothing would happen. I don’t think anything particularly different will happen today.”
Ignoring Kent’s worry, Rachel seemed to have forgotten about it until Kent mentioned it, and took an optimistic view that nothing would happen.
“Now that you mention it, isn’t Josette giving the congratulatory message? In the game, she was gone and someone else took her place, so I’m a little curious to hear what she’ll say.”
“Ah, I believe the person with the highest status among the second-year students gives it. I haven’t heard anything from her directly, but I wonder if she’ll be alright?”
“Well, even so, she is a young lady from a Duke’s family, isn’t she? I think she’ll manage it acceptably.”
The congratulatory message is a speech to send off the graduating students, and it is handled by the second-year students every year. The reply speech is a response to that speech, and is given by one student from the graduating third-year class. There is an unspoken rule at the school that the person with the highest status will be in charge. Naturally, Gordon, the Prince of this country, was to deliver the reply speech for the graduating students. Kent was worried if Josette, who was in charge of the second-year students’ congratulatory message, could pull it off successfully, but Rachel was confident that she would be able to do it without problems based on her usual behavior.
“We were on a different schedule today, so we didn’t run into Caro or Josette either.”
“Well, we didn’t coordinate our times, so it can’t be helped. See you later then.”
“Yeah, see you then.”
Normally, they would go to school at the same time, so the four of them, including Caro and Josette, would be together without needing to consult each other. However, since their timings were different that day, they arrived at school without seeing either of them. As they entered the school building, Rachel headed to a classroom on the first floor, and Kent headed to a classroom on the second floor. They parted ways at the stairs. Kent went up the stairs toward his classroom.
“Good morning. Kent.”
“Morning. Patty.”
Kent entered the classroom and sat down at his seat. Patty, who was already there and sitting next to him, spoke to him.
“Gordon is giving the reply speech at the graduation ceremony today, right? Have you heard anything about it?”
“Yes. I heard there’s a person who specializes in writing speeches for him. He said he just has to memorize the finished product.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Kent asked about the reply speech, which had come up in his conversation with Rachel. Patty then revealed some behind-the-scenes information about it.
“Even if it’s memorization, there’s a lot of it, isn’t there?”
“I was curious too, so I asked. I felt like there was no way I could memorize that much. I guess that’s to be expected of royalty.”
“Patty, you might have to say something for public service someday, don’t you think?”
“Ugh, when you put it like that…”
The reply speech wasn’t a short one and had a considerable length. Memorizing all of it would require a lot of effort. Patty seemed to have been told the approximate amount and said she couldn’t do it, but Kent thought that if she were to marry Gordon in the future, she might have opportunities to give speeches as part of her public duties. The moment he said that, Patty’s expression turned grim.
“Well, Josette is in charge of the congratulatory message this time, so there’s no need to worry about it for now. Speaking of Josette…”
Since Josette was in charge of the congratulatory message this time, it wasn’t Patty’s turn, and Kent told her that it wasn’t an issue to worry about right now. As the topic came up, he became curious about Josette and his gaze drifted towards the back where her seat was.
“Today, the third-year students leave this academy… mumble mumble… your ladyship.”
“Whoa, she’s really flustered.”
Josette was muttering something to herself at her seat, as if chanting a prayer. The people in the surrounding seats were keeping their distance due to her strange demeanor.
“I wonder if Josette is okay.”
“Of course, she’d be nervous. She has to speak in front of so many people – graduating students, current students, faculty, and even parents. I would collapse from nervousness if it were me.”
Patty, noticing Kent’s gaze fixed on Josette, also quietly looked towards her. Whether it was from nervousness or a sense of responsibility, Patty was overwhelmed by the intense aura emanating from Josette.
“I thought about saying something, but it might be better to leave her be for now.”
“I agree.”
Kent hesitated about whether to speak to Josette, but ultimately decided against it, thinking it would be disruptive. Shortly after, homeroom began.
“Alright, let’s start homeroom.”
” ” ” Oooooh! ” ” ”
When Teacher Tia, the homeroom teacher, entered the classroom, a loud murmur arose from the male students in the class.
“Don’t just stare at me like that; it’s embarrassing. I know I don’t usually wear something like this, so it doesn’t suit me.”
Tia was wearing a navy blue dress with a slightly open chest. It was formal attire for the teachers on graduation day, but since she had come from the countryside and this was her first major event as a teacher, she had an anxious expression due to her lack of confidence.
“Not at all, Teacher. It suits you very well.”
“It’s something I bought from Bobby’s establishment, so even if you praise me that much, it just sounds like sales talk.”
Tia, appearing anxious, found Bobby’s kind words to be mere sales talk. She had purchased the dress from the Bobby Prim Trading Company, and she interpreted his praise as such.
“Well, it’s true that you bought it from my shop. Oh, right, Kent. You also think Teacher Tia’s outfit looks good on her, don’t you?”
No matter how much Bobby praised her, Tia didn’t seem to accept it as genuine, so Bobby sought agreement from Kent.
“K-Kent, what do you think?”
“It suits you very well.”
“I’m so happy! When Kent says that… *gulp*. Well, it’s not good to deny praise. Bobby, Kent, thank you.”
When Kent praised Tia, she jumped up with joy and expressed her emotions. However, she suddenly remembered that they were in the middle of homeroom and quickly tried to compose herself, acting like a teacher.
