The student council worked fast. After resolving those questions, they posted an official notice the very next day. Council members also snapped photos and dropped them straight into their class group chats—every ruling, crystal clear.
With that, every class except Ichinose's (who'd already decided early) held homeroom meetings the next day. They only had three weeks left to lock in a project, plan decorations, and buy supplies, so they needed to decide quickly.
Over in Yukio's class, the debate was already on fire.
"If we're talking cultural festival, the most classic move is selling food, right? I still think the maid café idea is perfect!"
"Get outta here. You're just here for the maids—don't pretend this is about food."
"Then how about a haunted house? That's also super common, and it'd be fun."
"Haunted house is safe, sure, but same problem: low risk, low reward. Sakagami-sensei already said it—there'll be class competition that day. It's not called a special exam, but it's basically the same thing."
Yukio quietly smiled. He never thought he'd live to hear delinquents throwing around phrases like "low risk, low reward." They'd really grown up.
Since everyone had already brought it up, Yukio finally gave his verdict as the class's leader.
"Alright. For this cultural festival, we focus on fun."
"If we can take first place, great. If we can't, it's fine. After the uninhabited island exam, our class points are so far ahead it's not worth stressing ourselves out."
The room exploded into applause.
"YES! If Yukio-aniki says that, we're good!"
"Then arm-wrestling tournament is still the most fun!"
"Hell no! If we're going for maximum fun, a maid café doesn't even cut it anymore—make it a bikini café!"
"Bikini café +1! I vote—GURK!"
The poor idiot didn't even finish his sentence before he got tackled and pinned by Manabe and her little squad.
And yeah—everyone already knew a bikini café proposal was never getting approved. Watching that brave soldier get suppressed on sight, the boys collectively drooped, the light dying in their eyes.
Yukio's cheek twitched. Honestly, even he couldn't fully explain it: girls could wear bikinis at the beach or the pool like it was nothing, but the moment it entered "normal life," they'd rather spontaneously combust than do it.
A true philosophical problem.
Since Yukio had only laid down the overall direction—make it fun—his class kept arguing, everyone clinging to their own ideas, and they still couldn't settle on one project.
Other classes, meanwhile, were already deciding.
Arisu Sakayanagi's class was in full brainstorming mode too. The most common ideas were the usual—food sales or some kind of entertainment like a haunted house.
Sakayanagi didn't approve any of them.
And her classmates weren't stupid. After watching her reject every mainstream plan, they waited—because clearly she was about to steer the ship herself.
Sakayanagi finally spoke.
"At first, I considered selling small brochures introducing Advanced Nurturing High School, so visitors could better understand the school."
"But if we want to win the competition with something like that, we'd need to spend a large amount of private points—sign contracts with other classes and take a cut of their cultural festival revenue."
She lightly tapped her cane, thoughtful.
"On second thought… no. I don't plan to deal with other classes this time."
"Let's take the lowest-cost route and film a short movie instead."
"A—A short movie?" Kamuro blurted out, clearly stunned.
Nobody expected Sakayanagi to pitch something so far off the usual cultural festival menu. But the more you thought about it, the more it sounded like it could actually work.
"Yes," Sakayanagi said matter-of-factly, even naming her inspiration. "Do you remember the workplace special exam? Yukio's class and Class D both used promotional videos."
"So we'll do the same for the cultural festival. Something fun, with just a hint of depth. Not too long, not too short—around twenty minutes. That way we can cycle visitors through quickly."
"And the best part is, on the day itself, we simply sell tickets and let them watch. A few students stay in the classroom to run the screening, and we sell drinks and snacks on the side."
"That leaves plenty of time for the rest of you to go enjoy the festival too."
The class warmed up to it fast.
"No problem. I think Sakayanagi's plan is worth trying."
"But depth, though… what if visitors don't like depth? People chase short, easy entertainment these days. If it's too heavy, it might get praise but not money."
Sakayanagi calmly re-centered the point.
"That's why I said fun… with only a little depth."
"Understood."
Once she put it that way, everyone got the message. They immediately started discussing script ideas, casting, renting filming equipment, and the rest.
Over in Class D, they started the same way—everyone pushing different plans, nobody able to overpower the others.
And then Horikita—despite never having participated in a cultural festival before—came up with a surprisingly sharp solution.
A bounty.
She announced that everyone should submit proposals as quickly as possible, and whoever produced the best one would receive a portion of the cultural festival rewards—specifically, a cut of the class's festival revenue.
That instantly lit a fire under everyone.
Trash proposals like: "Fried food is super tasty. We sell fried food."—a single sentence—got tossed without mercy.
Of course, Horikita had learned her lesson. Or rather, she'd started absorbing Yukio's mindset.
She didn't do the "throw it in the trash in front of your face" thing anymore.
Now she waited until the person left… and then threw it away.
Same result. Less open bloodshed.
And then there were actually good proposals.
For example—Matsushita teamed up with her close friend, Sato, and somehow produced maid outfits without anyone even realizing how the conversation got there.
The impact of a real, physical outfit—something you could see and touch—completely blew past anything written on paper.
Horikita took one look and decided: This is it.
And because she didn't want to repeat Ichinose's mistake—accidentally leaking their project—she decided they'd prepare in secret for now.
No announcing it to the whole class yet.
Still, she knew they'd need more hands besides Matsushita and Sato. So after thinking it through, Horikita decided to privately approach the girls in her class and ask who was willing to cooperate.
Matsushita was fully on board.
The two of them agreed to move together.