Chapter 76 – ７６ – The Story of Ippanwaku, a First-Year Student of the Inui Dormitory

Sports Festival Arc

“And that’s the gist of it. Basically, Suwa and Ms. Shishiwashi will be handling the coordination for the Inui Dormitory first-years for the Sports Festival.”

It was evening, and we were in my room in the Inui Dormitory.

I was sitting in front of the computer, groaning in contemplation, while behind me, Suzu, Ichi, and Marie were discussing the Sports Festival.

“Those two? Then it should be fine,” Ichi said.

“Indeed. Let us have them do their best as future candidates for Dormitory Head and Student Council officers,” Marie added.

It seemed Ichi and Marie had no objections to Mr. Suwa and Ms. Shishiwashi taking charge.

Well, from my conversations with them, I hadn’t sensed any personality flaws, and their grades were likely fine. The academy probably recruited them based on their aptitude, so it made sense.

“However,” Suzu continued, “I think it’ll be too much for just those two, Naru, myself, and the people I’ve introduced to handle everything. That’s why I might ask Ichi and Marie to help with information gathering and persuasion. I’ll be counting on you then.”

“Understood. I shall do whatever I can,” Ichi replied.

“PERSUASION, is it? Understood. For now, let us make sure the stage for Duels is ready at any time,” Marie said.

“I agree. That would be best. We can even act as seconds if necessary,” Ichi added.

“Yes, please. It would be a waste to entrust Naru with such menial tasks, and if I wanted pure management from that group, you two were the only viable options.”

Suzu intended to task Ichi and Marie with information gathering and persuasion.

As for the information gathering, she likely meant scouting which students from other dormitories were entering which events.

That said, there was no point in tracking ordinary B-Rank Evaluation students; it would be limited to A-Rank students or those with noteworthy abilities.

As for the “persuasion”… I felt a slight sense of foreboding in Marie’s tone, but essentially, it meant talking other Inui Dormitory students into entering specific events.

From what I had researched, each person could only enter one event per day during the Sports Festival, but every dormitory was required to field at least one person for every event. If students’ preferences overlapped too much, that imbalance needed to be resolved.

And judging by the flow of the conversation… it seemed that Duels were sometimes used to resolve such issues.

At least, that was the vibe of the conversation.

“Well, for now, it all depends on next Monday’s meeting. Once everyone submits their requests and we organize them to fulfill as many as possible, our work will be mostly done.”

“Correct. As for the specific strategies for each event after that, I believe individuals can handle it on their own,” Marie said.

“And if they ask for advice, we can just refer them to a teacher,” Ichi added.

Hmm. To me, this sounded like an incredibly daunting task… but in the hands of Suzu and the others, it seemed so simple.

I really felt the gap in our intellectual capacities.

“So, Naru. Are you finished confirming?”

“…Still in the middle of it.”

Suzu and the others peeked over my shoulder at the computer screen.

Displayed on the screen were sponsorship offers and job requests from various companies addressed to me.

To be clear, the ones currently here were only those that had passed the academy’s first screening and then survived a second screening by Suzu and her group.

Even so, there was quite a lot of them… I could only say “good job” to both the academy and Suzu’s group.

“I’ve put a mark on the ones that seemed decent,” I said.

“Hmm. I see.”

The contents of the messages… well, they varied.

There were requests for commercial appearances from companies that simply recognized my exceptional looks.

For nearly the same reason, there were modeling requests asking if I would wear their clothes, use their cosmetics, and let them take photos.

Requests to manufacture a Device tailored specifically to me.

Proposals to develop Skills for me, though the start date would be after the completion of the Custom Device.

And requests to create prototypes for the clothing I would wear during Duels.

That was the gist of it.

Furthermore, it seemed every company had already accepted my ‘Broadcast Accident’ tendencies as a given.

Is that really okay, you companies…?

As for what I chose:

“Naru, you’ve given permission to be a clothing model and to have prototypes made for your Duel attire,” Suzu noted.

“Yeah. I judged those two to be necessary. They also said it’s fine if the clothes generated by magical power are destroyed during a Cast Off.”

First, I decided to accept the clothing-related offers.

Having professionals dress me up and having those images preserved—or even publicized—was beneficial for me.

Though, I have no intention of releasing photos in just my underwear.

“You’re accepting the Skill proposals as well,” Ichi observed.

“Yeah. Rather, I’d almost like to be the one requesting it. Otherwise, it’ll hinder me going forward.”

Next, I accepted the skill development.

Since they said they would handle everything on their end as long as I sent my magical power data and requirements, there was no reason not to do it.

In fact, if I didn’t, I’d be stuck using only Passive Skills indefinitely.

“And the problem is which company to have make the Device, is it?” Marie asked.

“Yeah. Since Suzu and the others screened them and summarized the materials, choosing has become much easier… but I can’t find that final deciding factor.”

Finally, the Device manufacturing… as Suzu and the others had mentioned before, there were truly a lot of offers.

Even after Suzu and her group filtered out the suspicious companies and those who were just trying to push a sale, over a dozen remained.

Being told to pick one from this list… yeah, it’s tough.

But I have to do it.

“Just to be sure, it’s better not to have multiple companies make them, right?”

“I think it would be fine if we paid the development costs ourselves. But in this case, the companies are covering the costs and using Naru’s use of the device as promotion. If multiple companies made them, even if we told them beforehand… it would lead to conflict. Without a doubt,” Suzu explained.

“Right. I can imagine that.”

After all, I’m just a student who happened to get an A-Rank Evaluation.

I’m in no position to make unreasonable demands of these companies.

“Hmm. I wonder what to do…”

“If they’re developing it for Naru, maybe we could ask what their development concept is? Just forbid the answer ‘we will follow your requests,'” Suzu suggested.

“Since it’s already known what kind of person Mr. Naru is, wouldn’t they just anticipate that?” Ichi asked.

“True. I do not think any company would miss this chance, so they would likely all say the same thing,” Marie added.

“And it would be troublesome if they tried to add bonuses. If they have time for that, I’d rather they just improve the quality.”

“Hmm. Let’s try lining up the devices those companies usually produce. At this point, let’s just prioritize Naru’s taste.”

Suzu tapped away at her smartphone and showed me something like a catalog.

I see; so these are the things the candidate companies usually make.

They were listed in the materials Suzu and the others had summarized, but looking through the companies’ actual websites changed the perspective.

Then, my eyes stopped on one company.

“…’Silk Cloud.’ They’re a manufacturer geared more toward the general public than Duelists, specializing in designs that can be worn daily with a focus on crime prevention and disaster relief…”

“I feel like they could make a Device with a design that doesn’t hide the face,” I said.

“Yes, a reason very typical of Naru,” Suzu smiled.

“Indeed,” Ichi agreed.

“Then, shall we contact them?” Marie suggested.

The company I chose was ‘Silk Cloud.’

Their Device manufacturing division seemed to have been established only recently, but their quality was guaranteed, so that wasn’t an issue.

And I felt their design sense would mesh well with mine.

Just like with the shield and boots, I felt this would work out.

And so, I decided to commission the development of my Custom Device to Silk Cloud.