“Josette’s congratulatory message was amazing. I was impressed, truly,”
“Oh, was it? I’m glad you think so,”
As they headed outside, Kent, walking with Josette, complimented her on her congratulatory message. Josette’s cheeks flushed, and she wore a pleased expression.
“However, I made a mistake at the very end. That’s what bothers me,”
“I think it was within acceptable limits. If you’re concerned, why not just make sure you don’t fail next time?”
“Next time…”
When Kent told Josette, who was worried about her mistake, that she could make up for it next time, her face seemed to cloud over slightly.
“What’s wrong? Did I say something strange?”
“No, it’s not like that. I just thought there wouldn’t be such an opportunity while I’m enrolled in this academy.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Kent, not understanding what Josette wanted to say, asked her back, feeling it was a bit rude.
“If there’s another opportunity, it will be when we graduate. However, I believe Patty will be giving the reply speech then, not me. So, I thought there wouldn’t be any opportunities for me to speak in public while I’m enrolled in this academy.”
“Is that because Patty is going to marry Gordon?”
“Yes, that’s right. According to precedent, among the eligible students, the one with the highest status gets to do it. The Queen’s status is higher than that of a Duke’s daughter.”
“I see.”
Kent reflected that he hadn’t thought that far ahead when he had said something casually.
“Well, there’s no point dwelling on it. Now, we’ve exited the school building.”
“Quite a few people have already gathered.”
Kent and his companions had not left the classroom particularly late, but it seemed other current students had already moved to secure good spots. Many were trying desperately to imprint the last sight of the graduating students within the school onto their memories. Students were lined up on both sides of the path from the entrance to the school gate, creating an opening, and outside the gate, the graduating students’ families and their carriages were waiting.
“Let’s stand around here.”
“Yeah, it’s the front row, and there aren’t many people, so it might be good.”
Kent and Josette walked for a while searching for a spot. They found a moderately empty space and decided to settle there.
“Ah, Older Brother, Josette!”
“Oh, Rachel, and Caro too.”
“We happened to meet there and were looking for you, Kent and his companions.”
Just then, Rachel arrived with Caro. It seemed they had been looking for them because they wanted to see off the graduates with Kent and his companions.
“I was so moved. I never expected that sudden song from Josette to help Patty and the Prince. That turn of events was unpredictable.”
“It was on impulse. I just found myself singing before I knew it.”
Rachel was the first to bring up that Josette had suddenly started singing during the graduation ceremony. Rachel’s moved demeanor conveyed to Josette, who looked embarrassed.
“I’m glad I remembered the lyrics too. I never imagined singing together with everyone would feel so good.”
Caro also seemed to have remembered the song coincidentally. The fact that she was able to participate in singing together left a strong impression on her.
“Speaking of graduation ceremonies, it was customary to get the second button from someone you liked, but you can’t take the button from a uniform provided by the country, can you?”
“That’s true for issued uniforms, but wouldn’t it be okay for those who could afford to buy their own? Josette, Caro, there’s no custom at this school to get the second button of one’s uniform on graduation day, right?”
In the graduation ceremonies of Kent and Rachel’s original world, there was a custom of getting the second button of a uniform from someone you liked. He asked just in case to see if the same custom existed here.
“I’ve never heard of that.”
“I haven’t either.”
Though he had a hunch, the replies from Josette and Caro confirmed that such a custom did not exist.
“Come to think of it, among some male students, there’s a saying that the first person to leave through the school gate among the graduates will be happy.”
“What is it? Is it something like that Fuku-otoko race I saw on TV once in some festival?”
There was no custom of handing over buttons, but Josette recalled a certain customary event. Rachel, who loved festivals, eagerly asked for details.
“Fuku-otoko race, huh? I remember it was a title given to the one who opened the shrine gate and arrived at the main sanctuary first.”
“Kent, what is a shrine?”
“Hmm, in this country, it’s like a sanctuary. It’s a facility where God is worshiped.”
“I see. The world Kent came from must have had so many amazing things that we can’t even imagine, like amusement parks and doujinshi conventions, so it’s very interesting.”
Since there were no facilities called shrines in this world, Caro reacted to Kent’s words.
“Caro, you know about amusement parks and doujinshi conventions?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Uhm, I heard about them from Rachel.”
“I see.”
When a word that didn’t exist in this world came out of Caro’s mouth, Kent felt a sense of unease, but hearing that the source was Rachel, he somehow accepted it.
“It’s getting noisy near the buildings.”
“They’ll be here soon. Everyone, please be careful not to make contact.”
As they were talking, a loud cheer began to rise from near the school building. When Rachel pointed towards the school building, Josette, prioritizing safety, asked everyone to step back a bit to secure the path for the graduates.
“No one’s running in front of me.”
“Too naive, too naive. I’m always in a position to overtake you.”
“Talking is making it hard to breathe. Before you know it, I’ll be ahead…”
A group of about ten male students rushed past Kent and his companions at full speed. Those who ran out of stamina and fell behind the leading group were walking towards the school gate with resignation, but they were receiving words of encouragement from the current students.
“There are about 20 participants. I think it’s better to savor the memories of our school days rather than dashing through in an instant. Some boys are really something.”
“Josette-sama, I think that’s also one way of living. To forge ahead once you’ve decided. Isn’t that good?”
Josette didn’t seem to approve of the act of rushing past the current students, but Caro seemed to think it was a valid approach. Kent found their opposing views interesting.
“Rachel, what do you think?”
“Hmm, if I know someone, I’ll cheer for them. From what I saw, I didn’t see anyone I knew in that group.”
Kent asked Rachel, curious about her opinion, and she replied that she would cheer for anyone she knew.
