CH 25

“The Sotomi High School Beauty Pageant Contest is finally coming to an end with our last participant!”

In response to the announcement from the host in an excited tone, the people in the gymnasium shouted in unison.

This sense of unity and cheerfulness, at a live concert, is not as bad as it seems.

The curtains that had been closed until now opened with the sounds of drum rolls reverberating yet again in the background and the one who appeared from there was none other than Sakuramiya-sensei.

“Eh?”

When Sensei appeared from behind the curtains, I was bewildered because of the outfit she was wearing.

“Hoho~ Sakuramiya-sensei you really put a lot of effort in it didn’t you?”

“No, it’s not like that, Shimizu-sensei forced me to wear it…”

Sakuramiya-sensei was currently making excuses, but her voice did not reach us because of the overwhelming cheers of the audience which was too loud.

Sakuramiya-sensei was unexpectedly wearing a wedding gown. She was free to choose any attire she desired but she betrayed all of the expectations and chose her current outfit.

The excitement of the boys was at its peak when they saw Sakuramiya-sensei in her wedding dress.

“Yumi, have you gone crazy after seeing Minato-kun’s affair and–’

I don’t know what kind of thinking process he was going through his mind, but Soji-san was mumbling something to himself.

Suddenly, he turned around and grabbed both of my shoulders.

“Eh, what is it?”

“Minato-kun, this is a bad turn of events.”

“Yes?”

“If my guess is correct, Yumi must have witnessed Minato-kun and Kaede-san going around on a date.”

He is definitely not wrong about what he is saying, but what happened to him all of a sudden…?

When I was still stunned, Soji-sani continued.

“So Yumi, who witnessed that scene thought she was abandoned and showed up like that.”

At the end of his words he pointed back on the stage to where Sensei was standing. I don’t really understand why she decided to participate in the competition while wearing a wedding dress.

I think Soji-san has a strange delusional habit, and he is a bit overprotective of her daughter.

“I’ll tell you this first, Minato-kun. If you do anything to make Yumi cry, I will never forgive you.”

“Yes! I swear it won’t happen…”

He’s too scary. Until now he had a gentle expression on his face but right now he is utterly furious.

Eventually when the bustle in the gymnasium dropped down, Sakuramiya-sensei started her introduction.

“Well, I’m Yumi Sakuramiya, the current Japanese teacher. I’ve been forced to participate in this competition almost in the form of power harassment, but since I’m participating, I’m going to do my best to win!　Also, since I’m here, I’d like to advertise one more thing. I am currently looking for a husband. Is there anyone who is willing to marry me?”

Sakuramiya-sensei then turned to the audience and asked for a response.

And a boy with a cheerful vibe responded, “Yes, gladly.”

Seeing the excitement raging in the crowd gathered here, I came to a conclusion, Sakuramiya-sensei is really popular.

I mean, is she seriously going to take the advice which I gave while joking, and I even told her not to take it seriously, just what is she actually thinking…

“… Look, look, Minato-kun. Yumi started looking for a husband because she caught you cheating on her.”

The look he is currently giving me, is like I am a piece of sh-t. I’m having a little trouble grasping Soji-san’s character.

But that being said, this was definitely a troublesome situation. Sakuramiya-sensei commenting about seeking a husband is just a land mine in this situation.

It’s no wonder she thinks I’m having an affair and is trying to vent her frustration this way.

If things continue as they are, she will grow increasingly distrustful of me.

Even if the misunderstanding is cleared up, there is a possibility that she will just end up saying she doesn’t want me to act as her fiancé anymore.

And I also have to earn Soji-san’s favor somehow.

But what to do? I don’t really know how….

“Everyone seems to be excited about it.”

Sakuramiya-sensei scratches his cheek and says shyly.

Sensei with an embarrassed expression on her face, shyly scratches her cheeks.

In the midst of the noisy but friendly atmosphere, a man with a well-built physique steps up to the stage.

“Hey, don’t go there without being called, we don’t allow unannounced participation… Wait, is that Hanamura-sensei?”

The host rushed to stop him, but when she saw that it was a fellow Sensei of our school, he said that in a surprised tone.

Hanamura-sensei walked up to Sakuramiya-sensei, kneeled in front of her, and held out his right hand.

“Hanamura-sensei, is something wrong?”

“There is something I have been wanting to tell her for a long time.”

Hanamura Sensei answers the host’s question.

“If you have anything to tell her, please make it fast, we can’t delay the contest anymore.”

The host, while still being in a bewildered state, tells him to fulfill his purpose of coming here quickly, and then she shifted to the corner of the stage.

“I really love you Sakuramiya-sensei… I may not be reliable enough, but I certainly will make you happy for sure! Will you accept me as your husband?”

“Ohhh!!!!!!”

The entire gymnasium went into an uproar after his confession. Just what the he-l is this teacher doing?!

Perhaps expecting a clean chit to be in a relationship with her, he mustered up his courage and decided to confess in public, and keeping in mind about Sakuramiya-sensei’s proposal it definitely seems to be at the right time.

The crowd becomes more noisy but in a different way, at this rate this contest won’t end quickly.

“Wow… This is a great development, a public confession from the shy Hanamura-sensei is definitely unexpected.”

The host quickly followed up in an attempt to mend the current situation. Perhaps reading the atmosphere, the audience also got excited, and started hooting.

The atmosphere was somehow returning to normal, but I was still stunned. Seriously, what is that teacher thinking? Is he by any chance crazy?

I seriously didn’t know why Sakuramiya-sensei chose such a timing.

“Well, let’s see…”

Sakuramiya-sensei was also puzzled due to the unexpected confession and went in a daze.

She can’t even decline his confession right away as it would result in tarnishing Hanamura-sensei’s reputation at school.

And looking at her, she was confused and tense because of the pressure of being put in the spotlight.

“Minato-kun, are you okay with how things are proceeding? Yumi might be taken away from you⁉︎”

Soji-san stares into my eyes and warns me.

Currently, the gymnasium was so quiet that it was hard to believe that we were in the middle of a beauty pageant competition. Everyone had their full focus on the stage where an ongoing confession was taking place.

Think about the optimal solution for this situation…

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and made up my mind. It seems that I have no other choice left and I have to do it.

“Okay, then I’m going to—”

“Wait a minute!!”

With a loud scream I ran towards the podium.