━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
It didn't take long for the students to also discover that their school event would be broadcast not just to their city, but all over the world. To say that some of them had nervous breakdowns would be an understatement.
The clubs and committees that initially planned to organize a series of solo performances were suddenly overwhelmed with many members demanding that they switch to a group performance instead, while the already formed groups panicked and rushed to improve their 'coordination' to avoid messing up in front of the cameras.
After all, to slip up in front of thousands of people was embarrassing, but to do so in front of millions or billions was social death.
Unfortunately, everyone soon discovered that it was already impossible to modify their planned events, and they could only prepare themselves the best they could.
Just when the students had barely recovered from this shock, the final schedule of events was posted to the Imperial Academy's notice board, sparking a whole new wave of discussions.
Naturally, what made them curious wasn't that there were many events that they hadn't known about, nor was it the day and time slot for their own events.
Instead, it was a name that most hadn't expected would appear amongst the list of participants.
One of the boys from class B couldn't help but rub his eyes in confusion and take another look at the notice, but unfortunately, it still remained the same. "D-Do you think it might be a misprint?"
The female classmate by his side sneered in derision. "Idiot! It clearly says Amos Black will lead one of the teams of the Debate Club's event on day two, how can there be such a big mistake on the final notice?"
The boy could only rub his nose in embarrassment. "Uh… b-but… I'm in the debate club, and he's not even a member?"
Of course, even if most people discussed this matter with the heart of gossip, since none of the 'main characters' of the debate club came forward to complain, it became apparent that this wasn't an accident at all, but the truth.
No matter how some of the more casual members tried to inquire about it, though, all their queries were promptly ignored.
Seeing how the girl didn't respond, the boy thought she must also not have a clue, and he couldn't help but express his dissatisfaction. "Those class A snobs are a bit too arrogant, aren't they? Even if I didn't qualify for the event, isn't it too much to let a non-member participate instead?! And he's even a team leader!"
Of course, although his reputation was poor, Amos still had a few stubborn 'fans' of his own, even though they rarely dared to speak out after being so thoroughly suppressed.
As it so happened, this girl was also one of them. Even though she was also from the same class and in the same club, compared to this 'uncultured monkey', a handsome and rich prince like Amos naturally fit her tastes much better.
For people like her, no matter what kind of rumor there was against him in the school, it was all just false information being spread by the rabid fans of Emilia White.
Although most people in class B had already switched sides and entered Emilia's camp, she remained one of the few who never changed. Anyway, even if Emilia was objectively better, she wasn't a boy.
"Aren't you just being jealous? He's not been to school for so long, so how do you know he's not in our club? Plus, did you forget that he's also in class A?"
The boy could only stare at her dumbfounded. 'Since when did being absent for months at a time become a reasonable excuse to cut the line?'
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Of course, although she didn't check the notice board herself, it was impossible for Emilia to remain unaware of such a 'big deal'.
After their practice session for the day was over and most of the girls were still in the shower, a short, freckled girl came prancing over to her in excitement.
Emilia smiled as she motioned for Koko to take a seat next to her on the bench. "How come you're finished so early today?"
Koko grinned. "I skipped the shampoo! But more importantly, princess, I managed to dig up some big news today!"
"Oh?"
The girl squirmed side to side from excitement. "Yes! One of my friends is in the debate club, and you won't believe this, but just a few days before Amos became the team leader, many students who were in the debate club seemed to have celebrated for no reason! How can there be such a coincidence?!"
Naturally, Koko was also surprised when she first discovered such a thing, but she was even more shocked by the fact that she figured it all out 'by herself'. Was this not solid proof that she wasn't an idiot?!
The more she thought about it, the prouder the freckled girl became. After getting her reward from Emilia, she definitely had to show it off to her mother and let the woman acknowledge how wrong she had always been!
Looking at Koko's 'asking for praise' expression, Emilia couldn't help but rub the girl's short brown hair affectionately. "Forget about him. Are there no discussions about the people behind the channel that will broadcast the event?"
The freckled girl hummed contently as she rubbed up against the soft palm petting her. "Most people are too busy panicking about their own events, and…"
After swiveling her head around to confirm that there was no one else around them, she leaned up to whisper directly in Emilia's ear. "Penny asked the knights to 'educate' those who mentioned this in school, so most people still don't know."
Emilia couldn't help but sigh. "That girl…"
Of course, with the way things were now, it was probably better this way, so she didn't plan to make Penny stop.
'Since Amos is going to be there, though, I might as well add some more fuel to the fire…'
Her thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of a shy, hesitant finger pressing against her palm, and Emilia couldn't help but shake her head with a smile. "Right, how could I forget about Koko's reward?"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
To say that Koko's mother was shocked silly when she arrived home would be an understatement.
After all, not only was her idiot of a daughter dressed in a tuxedo suit of all things, but her right hand was also wrapped around the waist of a very familiar little beauty.
The pure white sundress did little to hide the amused glint in Emilia's striking blue eyes, and Koko's mother knew that she would have to be as stupid as her daughter to not realize that the girl must have called for a 'favor' to 'stage' this kind of situation.
Of course, regardless of her actual thoughts, she knew that she couldn't lose her decorum in front of Emilia White.
Ignoring her daughter's greeting, Koko's mother nodded to the crimson-haired girl with a smile. "Hello, dear, you're as beautiful as ever. Thank you for taking care of my silly daughter." Coughing awkwardly, she continued before either of them could respond. "Koko dear, why don't you come with me to the kitchen for a moment?"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━