I took out my guild card and held it above the crystal board. After I was cleared, I was given a piece of paper. Looking around, I could see that other people who were entering also received one. I took a look at the paper’s contents and realized that it was a survey; it was asking me to note down which programs I thought were interesting.
So, manga magazines were not the only ones that did this, huh? I wondered if surveys were a common thing here. Tallying all the results from different slips sounded like a pain, especially since people’s honesty could always be questioned. Some might just write something quickly, not caring about how that affected results.
Just as we entered the academy, some of the children who had surrounded me earlier also got past the check. They noticed me, and since we were all walking along a single path, I realized I had nowhere to escape to. I quickly walked over to Shia so that I wouldn’t get separated.
「If we are walking, I don’t think they will try to surround you again. Anyway, let’s head to our stand first.」
Everyone nodded in agreement to Shia’s suggestion.
「By the way, I’ve been wondering this since the moment I spotted you, but why is Noa’s hairstyle different?」
She must have been surprised to find out that Noa’s hair had changed, huh. She had seen her just this morning, after all.
「Does it not suit me?」
Noa touched her hair in worry.
「No, it’s cute. Still, you made your hair just like usual this morning, so why is it different now?」
「Yuna-san took Father’s words seriously.」
Noa then proceeded to explain why I had changed her hairstyle.
「Well, Father and Yuna-san worry too much. I understand Father and Mother being concerned about the marriage thing, but those people won’t directly approach Noa to discuss it.」
「Still, you never know if one of those people really fancies Noa. For example, if they saw Noa at a party, thought she was cute, and wanted to talk to her when they had the chance, then they might try to get close to her if they spot her today.」
Noa was a very cute girl. Also, she attended parties wearing beautiful dresses, so it might have been love at first sight for someone. However, Noa’s reply to that was quite frank.
「I’ll reject any guy that can’t bring up the courage to talk to me during a party.」
She flat out rejected them before they even came up to meet her. Did she prefer guys who were more open with their words?
Still, womanizers often behaved that way, and I didn’t think she would like them, either. Although there shouldn’t be any boys around her age who were like that, the thought of it being a possibility was terrifying enough.
「Also, if they couldn’t talk to me during a party, there’s no way they would approach me in a crowded place like this.」
That was true. The kind of guy I was thinking about wouldn’t call out to her in a place like this. Not to mention, we were here with her. It should be fine as long as we didn’t get separated.
「I think it’s good to change your hairstyle once in a while. It’s less likely that some annoying person you know will come up to you, and the hairstyle also fits you.」
Many nobles attended this academy. It was possible that some annoying person could try to chat her up. We had to proceed with caution in case someone similar to that stupid noble we had met at Misa’s birthday party appeared.
「Still, with this many people around, I don’t think I would be spotted either way.」
There were already quite many people walking ahead of us, not to mention the trail of children from earlier following behind us, many of whom were around Noa’s age. Trying to pick out Noa amongst this crowd should indeed be quite difficult.
「Where is your stand, Shia?」
「We are at the Number 3 Practice Grounds.」
Shia proceeded to explain that each program had its designed location. Related activities were grouped together so that people wouldn’t have to search for them all over. With how large the academy grounds were, I kind of wished for an information pamphlet of some sort.
Instead, I noticed that the academy had placed signs at various areas, which displayed a map of the campus and the information on where each program was happening.
The Number 3 Practice Grounds was one of the places used for sword and magic training around the academy, but for the festival, it was home to Shia’s cotton candy stand.
We continued to chat about hairstyles as we followed Shia and took in the surrounding sights. After walking for a while, we reached the Number 3 Practice Grounds. In the open plaza, many food stands were lined up, as well as various clusters of chairs and tables. It looked like a fine place to sit down and eat something before rushing onward to see more attractions. Since it was already approaching lunch time, the place was starting to bustle with customers.
「The food stands are split into various locations on campus, so it shouldn’t get too crowded, I think.」
Numerous attendees were lined up at the stands and many others were already sitting or standing around while enjoying their food. Once we arrived at the cotton candy stand, I noticed that unlike the other stands, there were no customers here. Had they not begun selling yet?
Cattleya greeted us when we arrived.
「How is it going?」
「Everything is in order. I look forward to how much we will sell.」
Their enthusiasm was good; they clearly believed that the cotton candy would sell.
I looked around, and while some of the other stands didn’t have many customers, at least they had some. Turning back at this stand, which had no one coming to it, I was beginning to worry a bit.
「Fufu, we will definitely be the best among the food stand groups.」
Marcus declared.
「Food stand group?」
「The academy is giving out rewards to get us, students, all fired up. If we win, we can get many luxurious prizes. You received a survey at the entrance, right?」
Oh right, we had received something like that.
I took a look at it again. It asked us to write down three of the programs we found interesting and liked the best. It seemed like this was how the students would compete for the prizes.
「You have to write down the number of the program you want to vote on, so remember the numbers of the programs you enjoyed the most. Our food stand is number 90, so be sure to write it down.」
「Well, only if there are no better places.」
I didn’t plan on being biased towards family and friends. If I had to vote, then I would do it fairly. At least, that was how I felt.
Fina and the others, on the other hand, took out their surveys and began writing down their number, which I promptly stopped. I told them they shouldn’t write down it yet when we hadn’t even tried their cotton candy or looked at the other stands.
「Shia-san, shouldn’t you introduce me already?」
A girl standing behind Shia tugged on Shia’s twintail.
I had noticed that the girl had been staring at me for a while now. She wore the same uniform as Shia, so she must be a student as well. Her face looked familiar, so I might have seen her somewhere before. Well, I didn’t think I would forget about such a cute girl like her, so it must have been a very brief meeting.