Chapter 47: The Halo Grand Festival

The Halo Grand Festival—officially the Kivotos Grand Athletics Meet—is an event founded on the belief that “a sound mind resides in a sound body,” intended to foster students’ growth through sports. Held once every two years, it allows students from academies across Kivotos to set aside their usual rivalries and compete honorably, contributing greatly to the city’s peace.

This year’s Festival, however, almost didn’t happen. With the disappearance of the General Student Council President and a series of subsequent incidents*1, the very idea of holding the event was thrown into doubt. …But thanks to Sensei and many others who stepped in to help, the Festival somehow managed to take place as scheduled.

Hosting duties rotate among the academies, and the quality of the event serves as a showcase of the host school’s capabilities—much like the Olympics or World Expo from my previous life.

This year’s host is Millennium Science School, which has rapidly risen to become one of the Three Great Schools over the past decade. They had spent months preparing various showcases to highlight their signature cutting-edge technology… yet just a day before the event, their cheer-support robots malfunctioned, stadium equipment went missing, and parts of the facility were damaged. In short: a complete disaster.

Even so, with Sensei’s help they managed to fix everything just in time, and the Festival is now moving forward without issue. As for me…

"Ah, it’s Hanako-senpai~"

"I heard she was chosen as the representative of the general student body—someone not belonging to any faction."

I’ve come to the main stadium in the D.U. District with the usual two. The three of us were selected as Trinity’s competitors and will be participating in several events.

"That girl… didn’t she show up during the Eden Treaty incident to help? If she’s doing the athlete’s oath, she must be pretty amazing~"

Maiha murmured this while glancing at Okusora Ayane standing next to Hanako. Honestly, I’m impressed she remembers that…

Then, as the moment for the athlete’s oath arrives, I catch Hanako flashing a mischievous grin before stepping up to the microphone.

"We, as participants of the Halo Grand Festival—"

"Swear to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship—"

"And swear upon our ‘pure, unfiltered desires’—"

Uh… those word choices feel suspicious.

"We pledge to give our all in every event—"

"To engage wholeheartedly in ‘the dialogue of bodies’—"

Ayane finally realizes something is wrong and tries to whisper a correction to Hanako—but because Hanako’s mic is still on, the supposed whisper blasts across the entire stadium.

"…The Halo Grand Festival is a gathering where students from all academies lay down their weapons and bring their bare skin together to deepen their bonds in friendship. Which is basically the same as──██, isn’t it?"

Beaming proudly, she casually drops a word that absolutely violates broadcast regulations. From that point on, she launches into a full barrage of wildly inappropriate statements. The details are… unfit for public ears, hence the redactions.

"I’ve thought this for a long time—the Halo Grand Festival is truly such an indecent celebration—"

When I glance beside me, I see Maiha covering Masa’s ears with both hands, determined to shield her from anything morally questionable. Masa herself looks confused, clearly not understanding what Hanako is talking about.

"All of Kivotos’s students gathering to ████ together in harmony—that image perfectly embodies the peaceful future we should strive for—"

Meanwhile, Hanako’s mic picks up panicked staff shouting: "Somebody get her off the stage!!" and "Is Trinity out of its mind!?" Honestly, a perfectly accurate summary of the situation.

"Heehee… ██, ██! Let us all ██ together! Harder—seek each other more! ██! ██! ██—!"

As her triumphant declaration echoes across the stadium, unrest spreads through the stands, quickly escalating into full-blown chaos. The reason becomes clear when staff finally snap and drag Hanako off the platform. Her voice grows distant as she’s hauled away.

"…Aika-chan. Could you wait here with Masa-chan for a moment?"

"Y-yes…"

Maiha’s smile looks gentle, but her eyes are not smiling at all. I can only nod and watch her leave. When she returns about thirty minutes later… she’s holding a tin of high-grade tea leaves usually reserved for the Tea Party.

I—seriously, what happened?

Once the Festival begins and the first event ends, I head toward the venue for my competition.

"The javelin throw… should be here."

Throwing events are a venerable tradition dating back to the ancient Olympia Festival in Greece, the origin of the modern Olympics. Among them, the javelin throw—alongside the discus—has existed since antiquity… but…

"There seem to be fewer competitors here than in the shot put next door…"

In Kivotos, where guns and artillery are commonplace, the spear isn’t a familiar weapon, resulting in low participation. At Trinity, I’m practically the only volunteer.

"Still—whatever the circumstances, a win is a win. I must give it my all."

…Though technically, you “throw” a spear, not a ball. Incidentally, Utaha Shiraishi from Millennium reportedly won the shot put by using a robot*2 to launch the ball outside the stadium, while the other competitors barely managed to hit the stands. …Wait, you don’t have to throw it yourself?

Once the other athletes finish, it’s finally my turn. Unlike shot put—where hitting the stands isn’t penalized—the javelin is sharp and genuinely dangerous, so striking the spectator area results in immediate disqualification. That means I either throw within the field… or launch it clear over the stadium.

(If I can get it out of the stadium, I win for sure…)

So far, one student from Gehenna attempted a stadium-over throw but failed, her javelin slamming into the stands. Thankfully no one was hurt, but she was disqualified. Everyone else kept their throws within the field. If mine clears the stadium, victory is guaranteed.

(It’s fine. As long as I reach about fifty meters of height at the two-hundred-meter mark, I can clear the stands.)

I had practiced this many times, so I knew exactly how it should feel.

—All right. Let’s do this.

"Fuuu… hyaaaaaaaaah!!!"

"That trajectory—she’s aiming for outside the stadium!?"

I sprint forward, then hurl the javelin with everything I have. The flight path follows my calculations perfectly. Realizing my intent, the surrounding athletes and spectators begin to murmur.

"That’s reckless! She’ll end up like the last girl who failed!"

"Wait—no! Look! It cleared it!?"

The javelin passes about ten meters above the top of the stands and slips cleanly over the outer wall. Just as planned… victory is mine!!

〈Since the javelin did not fall into the spectator area, this is not a disqualification. However, because it has left the stadium, measuring the distance will take some time.〉

A few minutes later, the results are announced… I placed first with a throw of 496.5 meters—more than double the second-place distance of 209.9 meters. Even if the event isn’t popular, a win is still a win.

When I return to the stands where the other two were waiting, Masa seems to have already left to prepare for the marathon, leaving Maiha alone. She immediately pulls me into a hug.

"Aika-chan, that was amazing~! Winning as a first-year is incredible~!"

"N-no, it’s not that impressive… it seems the event wasn’t very popular…"

"Still, you won~!"

And she’s hugging me so tightly that certain parts of her are pressing through her gym uniform. I gently pry Maiha off, and we shift our focus to preparing to watch Masa in the marathon*3.

There was a small incident midway through, where Ichinose Asuna went missing and was forced to withdraw, but the half marathon concluded with Otohana Sumire in first place and Masa in second. Maiha had headed off to the venue to prepare for the eating contest, and Masa returned just as she left.

"Masa-san, splendid effort."

"Yes… even if it’s only a half marathon, it’s still quite tiring. I do hope I can recover before the long-distance event this afternoon."

I hand her a sports drink purchased from a nearby vending machine.

"…Thank you. I forgot to mention earlier, but your javelin throw was remarkable."

"Indeed. Trinity seems to be in the lead at the moment… I’m glad I could contribute, even in a small way."

Soon after, the eating competition begins, and from our seats we can see Maiha sitting beside Wanibuchi Akari at the endless-soba station.

"I really hope Maiha does well, but…"

"Yes… though winning will be difficult."

Akari, the glutton of the Gourmet Research Club—rumored to have a bottomless stomach—is simply too much of a monster. Maiha eats a fair amount, but only within normal limits, and she strongly prefers sweets. Her goal here is more about reducing the point gap… but the result is—

"…Second place, it seems."

First place requires no explanation. Even though Maiha did her best, Akari’s eating speed was so overwhelming that the automatic soba dispenser broke from overwork. There was no way she could win against something like that…

"Watching that made me hungry. It’s a little early, but shall we go pick up Maiha-san and have lunch?"

"Yes, let’s go."

So we collect Maiha—whose face is pale from eating far too much soba—and step outside the stadium.

Apparently our timing was extremely fortunate, because just after we left, the namako soda chugging contest descended into total carnage. From what other students told us, it was so horrific that if we’d witnessed it firsthand, we probably wouldn’t have been able to eat for several days.