The stage portion of the event came to an end.
The participants who had taken part in the performances all gathered on stage. The host’s voice boomed through the microphone and speakers, echoing across the entire venue.
“We will now announce the results of the 25th Heavenly Festival stage event!”
At the host’s words, the crowd fell silent.
The silence was thick with tension.
Especially for me. Since I had a bet riding on this, I couldn’t help but feel an escalating sense of nerves.
If I lost here, I’d be no different from [Diva]’s slave.
And it wasn’t just about me. Other people were involved too, which made the stakes far more serious.
“Third place!”
With the host’s announcement, a spotlight snapped onto one section of the stage.
“Senjo University Affiliated High School!”
“Waaaaah!!!”
Third place went to Senjo University Affiliated High School.
The audience erupted in applause and cheers.
Some were even shedding tears of joy at their placement, congratulating one another for their hard work.
“Second place!”
This was the moment of maximum tension.
Even if Rindoji came in second, it wouldn’t matter as long as we took first in another category and won overall. Still, it would have been much easier on my nerves if we could just take first place outright.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, stalling for time as I waited for the host’s next words.
Then, in the heavy silence, the host spoke.
“This is truly amazing! In second place, we have Rindoji Girls' Academy!”
Second place was Rindoji Girls' Academy.
At the announcement, the eyes of Shido and everyone else on stage, myself included, went wide.
It was shocking news. Rindoji Girls' Academy, the powerhouse that almost always swept the stage events, had fallen to second this year.
Then who was first?
I waited for the announcement with far more anxiety than I’d felt when I first stepped onto the stage.
If Raizen’s name didn’t come up now, the chance of losing the bet would shoot through the roof.
Beside me, [Diva], who had been wearing a sullen expression, gave me a mocking smile.
She probably hadn’t even considered the possibility that we might be ranked above her.
But unfortunately for her, that smile was about to be wiped away.
“This year’s Heavenly Festival is full of surprises! The school that stole the crown from Rindoji and claimed the glory of first place is... Raizen High School!!!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!!!!!”
Thud!
Amidst the thunderous applause and the sheer joy of victory, the tension vanished all at once, and my legs gave out beneath me.
As I sat there on the floor, [Diva] glared at me fiercely. I responded by giving her the exact same mocking smile she’d shown me a moment ago. It felt incredibly satisfying.
“We did it!!! We actually did it!!!”
“We did it!”
Tohka ran over and clung to Shido, overflowing with joy at the win.
But it still wasn’t over.
“It is too early to celebrate.”
“Affirmative. Unfortunately, the overall results are still pending.”
Just as Kaguya and Yuzuru noted, the final tally was still to come.
“The overall results also place Raizen in first! By running a maid cafe as a wildly unconventional makeshift food stall, they earned an enormous number of votes and completely seized the top spot!”
Any remaining worry disappeared instantly with the host’s words.
“I knew it! If we stepped in, there was no way we could lose!”
“Agreement. They couldn’t beat us.”
The girls who had been worrying just moments ago now clung to me in pure delight.
I caught them as they piled onto me and glanced at [Diva]’s reaction.
[Diva] was trembling, her fists clenched. She was clearly furious to have lost both the stage event and the overall results.
“What is this? There’s no way I... I could lose.”
[Diva] refused to admit defeat.
“Hah. So now you’re denying it? I’ll tell you one thing. Your failure came down to a single factor: Miku. One simple answer. You looked down on human bonds!”
Looking down on human bonds had been [Diva]’s downfall.
In truth, if I had really been alone, there was no way I could’ve pulled off that performance. But because Shido, Tohka, Kaguya, Yuzuru, and even the commander had helped out, we’d managed to bring it to a successful close.
And on top of that, there were the students who had run the maid cafe for us.
If any of them had been missing, I would’ve been crushed by [Diva] without mercy.
This was a victory for human bonds.
“Shut up.”
“What?”
“Bonds? Don’t make me laugh. I’ll teach you a lesson. That kind of thing is meaningless in front of me! [Gabriel]!!!”
“Damn it!”
[Diva] summoned her angel in this public place.
As she hammered away at the angel’s keyboard, the people around us heard the sound, fell under her control, and suddenly grabbed me.
“You crazy bitch...”
“Hehe. Bonds are so easily broken.”
[Diva] drew closer to me as she spoke.
“There shouldn’t be anything in this world that doesn’t go the way I want.”
“Ghk...”
Shido had also been seized. If I rushed out recklessly now, I had no idea what she’d do, so I had no choice but to stay still.
“You’re wearing rings, aren’t you? Take them off.”
“W-wait!”
But that lunatic forced me to remove every ring I was wearing.
The only rings I had on were the two essential ones currently maintaining my female form.
If even one of them came off, the transformation would break.
Slip...
One ring slid off my hand.
And with that, my body shimmered and returned to normal, reverting to my male form.
When [Diva] saw me turn back into a man, her eyes went wide and she stammered in a flustered voice, “Y-you! You were a man?!”
“...Yeah. I’m a man.”
“Kyaaaah!”
[Diva] screamed and slammed the angel’s keyboard.
As a result, the brainwashed people rose from the audience seats and began marching toward the stage.
“So you deceived me!”
“Haah...”
Since I’d been exposed in the end, I let out a sigh, shook off the ordinary people I’d been holding back, and started walking toward [Diva].
“Oh no you don’t~ That’s dangerous, isn’t it~?”
“I’ll protect you, sis!”
If Yoshinon and Yoshino hadn’t blocked my path, that is.
“Damn it—”
On top of that, Kaguya and Yuzuru must have been brainwashed too, because they sent a gust of wind screaming toward me.
“How foolish. To challenge our sister.”
“Mockery. You can’t lay a finger on our sister.”
With the three of them guarding [Diva] and glaring at me, my thoughts grew more complicated.
I could force my way through if I really wanted to, but they’d definitely get hurt in the process.
“You really are unpleasant, Miyuki. To think there were this many spirits in the venue. And every one of them is exactly my type.”
As [Diva] laughed, she manipulated the brainwashed spirits with a wave of her hand.
Yoshino launched a block of ice, while Kaguya and Yuzuru used their angels to fire a massive arrow at me.
With Shido and Tohka behind me, I couldn’t dodge, so I quickly raised my greatshield and prepared to block.
“Tohka!”
“What!”
Then Tohka suddenly moved.
For a second I thought she’d been brainwashed too, but Tohka grabbed the backs of my and Shido’s necks, leaped from the stage, and moved us to one side of the venue.
In the process, Rinne and the Fire Keeper, who had seen us, broke through the brainwashed crowd and secretly joined us.
“Rinne! Sachi! Are you all right?”
“I don’t know why, but Sachi and I are fine.”
I let out a relieved breath, knowing those two were safe.
Maybe the reason they were unaffected had something to do with souls.
Rinne had probably avoided the brainwashing because, during the process of reconstructing my body, about half of her own body had been made of souls, causing her spiritual power to clash with [Diva]’s control.
As for the Fire Keeper, she’d worked with souls from the beginning, so it was likely she possessed a similar resistance.
“Shido, Hieta. What is going on here?”
Tohka, who had rescued us, asked, clearly confused by the situation.
“Come to think of it, Tohka, you weren’t brainwashed?”
“Ah! I had these in my ears.”
In response to Shido’s question, Tohka pulled something out of both ears.
They were ear monitors.
“Lucky. Right now, Yoshino, Kaguya, and Yuzuru have all been brainwashed by [Diva]’s power. In fact, everyone in the audience except us is the same.”
Now that I knew Tohka was safe, I explained the situation exactly as it was.
“Then wouldn’t it be better to retreat first? How about trying to contact [Fraxinus]?”
I nodded in agreement with the Fire Keeper’s suggestion.
There was nothing we could do right now.
Even if I tried to overwrite the brainwashed people with my charm spell, [Diva] could just press one key and brainwash them again; it would be a waste of FP.
“...No. [Fraxinus] has been hit too.”
And then came the devastating news.
Shido had tried to contact them, but they were already under [Diva]’s power.
The cause was clearly the sound they’d broadcast.
“Damn it! Here they come!”
Before I knew it, Kaguya and Yuzuru’s attacks were flying toward us. I shouted as I raised my greatshield to block them.
“Tohka! I’m counting on you to handle the others!”
The only way forward was to physically knock [Diva] out.
“Understood!”
As soon as I heard Tohka’s answer, I stamped my foot and leaped toward [Diva].
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