Became a Human Rights Advocate

45 – Episode 9. Cherry Blossom Festival.

＜7＞

After going back to the cafe and resting a bit, it’s time for dinner. It seemed that the exact same diet as the usual meals eaten by Edelweiss students was provided.

Most of the visitors will be parents, so I guess they want to experience the quality of the food they eat.

… But is this really a regular meal?

I wonder if that thought was the same, and asked Suisei while staring at the lobster in front of him.

“Kasuga-senpai. This… Is this really what you normally eat?”

“No. This is a special meal at Edelweiss.”

“That… Yes? No matter how edelweiss academy is, you can eat such luxurious food every day-“

“Right. We can only eat like this about three times a week.”

… I knew it was an academy attended by bourgeois girls, but I never thought it would be like this.

Baeksoso pondered over Suisei’s answer for a while, then concentrated on eating as if he had given up on his thoughts. Happiness blooms on his face every time he moves food into his mouth.

Perhaps, in Baek So-so’s mind, he has already decided which high school he will go to.

When I left the restaurant after eating, the whole area was dyed crimson. With the setting sun in the background, the view of Edelweiss Academy was unforgettable for a while.

In order to quell the overeating, we took a leisurely walk around the academy grounds.

“Sihyuk senior! Come over here!”

The white cow, who was walking hand in hand with Suisei, looked back at me and shouted.

“Why?”

“Take a picture, a picture.”

Anyway, Baek So-so seemed to like this scenery.

“… After all, landscapes are not pictures, but should be left in the mind-“

“That’s bullsh*t again. Stop saying strange things like you have second grade disease, and come here quickly.”

From noble mtl dot com

Is that so?

I stopped bouncing for no reason and went to stand beside Baeksoso and Suisei.

“Shouldn’t I ask someone to film it?”

“Senior. When the hell are you living your life?”

Baek Suso said that and threw something of hers in her pocket.

The moment the small cube-like object stopped in the air, the white cow pulled Suisei and me on either side of it.

“Now, laugh!”

“What the hell is that-.”

The moment I was about to ask Baek So-so, there was a loud clicking sound from the shutter.

… Is that a camera?

Baek Soso stretched out her hand, and the cube that was flying through her air returned to Baek Soso by itself.

“Ah, senior. Only the senior’s face came out strangely.”

“… Is that a camera?”

“It’s a mobile phone. It’s a new product that has been advertised for a long time these days.”

What? … What is that? Can a cell phone be a cube?

Is this what it would have been like to show a smartphone to someone in the 2000s who used to use a feature phone?

My body stiffened at the overwhelming difference in technology.

“Oh, it’s a new product from Progress.”

“hehehehe, isn’t it pretty? I bought it with a big heart to commemorate my achievement of Grade A this time. What kind of model is Kasuga-senpai?”

“I’m the last year’s model for Dipri. Maybe I’m familiar with the D’Free company.”

Progress, Dipri.

Both are the names of multinational corporations appearing in Legend of Academia.

It can be said that most of the electronic devices and equipment in this world view are made by those companies.

As a company with the name ‘Progress’, most of the products were released with the existing common sense destroyed. Chae Hee-rin’s rimbab-shaped cell phone or Baek So-so’s cube-shaped cell phone are examples.

Diffree, on the other hand, was relatively traditional, in other words, a lot of the earth style I knew originally remained. Looking at the bitten apple logo on the back of Suisei’s phone, I felt a strange sense of relief.

“Anyway, try smiling a little this time.”

“Huh? Wait a minute, your heart is still ready-“

Without waiting for my answer, Baek So-so tossed the cube into the air, and it clicked again.

“Only senior Sihyuk came out strangely.”

“… I’m not sure about the timing. I’d rather ask someone else to take the picture.”

“Ehh. Seniors sometimes look like people from my parents’ generation. What do you mean this is difficult? He looks like an uncle.”

Hook. It felt like a dagger had been stabbed in her chest.

… Considering the background of the Legend of Academia, isn’t that wrong?

Even at my original age, I would look like an old man by the standards of small and white.

“Oh, hey!”

While I was dizzy from the unexpected attack, Baek So-so, the culprit, spoke to the person carrying the genie.

“… Any business?”

The sharp-eyed girl quickly turned her head. Baek So-so shrank from the momentum for a moment and slightly twitched his body. After a while, he barely opened his mouth.

“I… I was wondering if you could take a picture for me.”

“Oh, a picture. Yes, of course.”

In a moment, the girl’s eyes softened.

Baek So-so ran to the girl, explained where to press, and came back.

“Smile.”

Three, two, one. Click.

Baek So-so hurried over again, checked the photos, and sent an OK sign toward us.

“Thank you.”

“… Enough then.”

The girl bowed her head slightly and moved her steps back to her own path. Her white hair, which reached down to her waist, turned red and swayed in the evening glow.

The school uniform you are wearing is not Edelweiss’s. Just like the one I wore, it’s a common and ordinary school uniform that can be seen anywhere in Academia.

“… He seems like someone special.”

“What? Everyone is wary of strangers.”

“The same goes for hair color.”

… Are you saying that

I looked at Baeksoso’s silver hair and made a puzzled expression.

“Then, let’s move slowly. It’s time for the presentation soon.”

Suisei, who sneakily checked the time, urged us on.

“It’s a presentation… I hate that.”

“Senior. Please stop breaking the mood.”

Baek So-so said that and pricked her side with her elbow.

“Whoops, don’t say that, please participate, Mr. Sihyuk. You will definitely enjoy it.”

“… Okay.”

“Look, he said he would follow me anyway.”

Listening to Baek So-so’s sarcastic remarks, I moved to the auditorium where the presentation was to be held.

＜8＞

“… Where do you think this is an auditorium?”

It was my honest impression after seeing the self-proclaimed auditorium.

Leaving aside the unconventional size, the fact that the box seats are stacked close to each other on the walls is light-years away from an ordinary auditorium.

No matter how you look at it, all you can think of is the huge opera house from ‘The Phantom of the Opera’.

And with Suisei’s guidance, I am also sitting in one of the box seats.

I thought I’d never sit in a VIP seat like this for the rest of my life.

“… Iknow, right.”

For some reason, Baek So-so did not tackle my muttering and agreed. Even Baekso seemed to be stunned by the overwhelming scale.

“Whoops, then Sihyuk-san and Soso-yang. See you later after the performance is over.”

With those words, Suisei stepped out of the box. Baek So-so, who was looking around the box seats with an interesting eye, threw herself on the sofa, a big job prepared in the center, as if she soon got tired of it.

“Oh, senpai! Fluffy!”

“… Be quiet. I’ll hear it all below.”

Baek So-so heard me and lifted his upper body and glanced down.

I put my body close to the chair again, as if I met the gaze looking up this way.

“… It’s a relief that the presentation hasn’t started yet.”

“Sure. It would be a nuisance to Suisei if you said something like that in the middle.”

“That is absolutely not possible. I can’t even breathe.”

Suck. I pretended to hold my breath and looked at Baek So-so, laughing.

When you see what he does sometimes, he behaves appropriately for his age.

“Then I will go out for a while and come back.”

“Yes? Are you starting soon? Where are you going?”

“Toilet.”

“Again?”

Baek So-so made an expression of boredom. I shrugged and left the box seat.

Baek So-so stuck his head out the door and shouted at me.

“Come back soon!”

I’m sorry, but that won’t happen.

Now that everyone is busy with the presentation, it’s the right time to farm items.

If you get caught by the lead team, it’s fine if you act like you’re looking for an auditorium.

Of course, I planned to return in the middle of the presentation. I’ll have to watch Suisei’s performance, which is the last one, and by that time, the excuse of being a pilgrim won’t work.

I headed to the restaurant first. In the kitchen of the cafeteria of Edelweiss Academy, there is a recipe that can make an item that increases ‘stamina’.

The name must have been “Edelweiss Vision Healthy Soup Recipe.” The ingredients are readily available and the method of making is not difficult, so the efficiency is very good.

It was disappointing that it was a one-time item that only works once per character, but it’s a different story if you think that it can raise the physical strength of all members of the singularity by one.

The restaurant was quite noisy with people still eating. After sneaking into the kitchen, I headed for a corner near the kitchen entrance.

This is probably the cleaning kit… Here you are.

I opened the door of the cleaning kit and took out a piece of old paper from deep inside and put it into my bosom.

With this, the first item was cleared.

“Let’s see… next.”

I crossed the dark playground and headed straight for the main building.

On the first floor of the main building, there are a lot of photo frames of celebrities who graduated from the academy.

And one of them contains the item I’m looking for, the ‘Somewhere Key’.

A series of quests that reward decently useful equipment. This key is the item that allows you to start that chain quest.

But I already know where the reward is hiding.

If you get that key, you can get your reward right away, even tomorrow.

There were few people in the main building. If you do anything suspicious, you’ll be noticed right away, so you need to pay attention.

I pretended to be looking at the picture frame and glanced at my surroundings.

Aiming for the moment when the eyes of the people around me disappeared, I sneaked up on the framed photo of the ’21st class graduate’.

Come out… Come out….

“… Yes.”

An old key fell from behind the fourth frame.

After putting the key straight into his pocket, the moment he tried to sneak away.

“There, man.”

Someone called me.

Fortunately, I didn’t do anything suspicious like shrinking my body.

But the moment I naturally turned my head, my face hardened.

“Once the presentation begins, no entry is allowed outside the auditorium. Wasn’t that written in the notice?”

… It’s the worst.

Looking at the little girl with blonde twin tails, I muttered to myself.

Chloe, the student council president of Edelweiss Academy High School, was glaring at me with her arms crossed.