This was another, unseen short story from the cultural festival.

It was after school, just after sharing the news with the class that the maid café had been chosen as the class project and Kei had come to my room to hang out.

"...You know, I had something I wanted to try doing for our class project."

"Really? You should've proposed it."

According to the policy established by Horikita, those whose ideas were accepted would be rewarded according to their sales.

It wasn't a bad idea to suggest just for the sake of it, if Kei wanted private points.

"I know, but…"

Although she had something that she wanted to try, there was no sign of her answering right away.

For a while, all I did was wait for her in silence as I wondered why the answer didn't come.

"It’s embarrassing."

"Is it something embarrassing?"

"N-No, it's not like that."

Kei hurriedly waved her hands in the air to deny whatever she was thinking at the moment.

"It's just… my idea is childish."

"That's what a cultural festival should be about, right?"

It was unclear what other classes would be doing, but for class 3-A, it would be a haunted house and a maze. In that sense, even if her idea was a bit childish, there should not be a problem.

"Though it depends on the budget, there is still a possibility your idea may happen."

The class would continually seek any ideal project with a low budget that could generate revenue.

"Hmm…"

"Anyway, let's hear it for now."

Even for long periods when it was just the two of us, it didn't matter what we chatted about.

"Kiyotaka, you like books, don't you?"

Suddenly, she asked me a question that seemed irrelevant.

"Huh? Yeah, I do."

I never hated reading. Because during the times when conversations weren't allowed, reading books was the only thing that I could do.

"Do you like fairy tales?"

"Fairy tales?"

I liked books, but her statement was unexpected.

"I have read them."

"Ah, as expected even Kiyotaka is the same."

Kei looked a bit surprised.

"What kind of person do you think I am?"

"Look, you usually don't smile at all. You don't strike me as someone who reads fairy tales."

"That's very rude."

"What fairy tales have you read?"

"What does this have to do with the class project?"

"Just tell me about it come on ~"

Apparently, she was more interested in the fairy tales I had read.

"Let's see…" I thought back to the times when I was much younger. "First, there's a 'Flying Classroom'."

"...Eh?"

"I also read The Secret Garden and The Happy Prince."

"....."

In front of me, Kei fell into silence.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? What's wrong with you?"

Another strange silence fell between us once more.

"Huh?"

Did I say something weird? All of those should be fairy tales.

"Are they really fairy tales?"

"Yeah, they are called children's literature."

I explained while having no idea why Kei seemed confused.

"Your answer is completely different from what I imagined…"

"What did you imagine?"

"Well, normally people will say something like The Three Little Pigs or Little Red Riding Hood."

I see, I've definitely heard those titles before.

"I never read them."

"EEEEEEEHHHH?"

"Is it that surprising?"

I thought it was a bit rude.

"How do I put this, hmm, it turns out that Kiyotaka is Kiyotaka after all."

"Then, let's get back to the original topic. How is the fairy tale related to the festival's project?"

"That's… I've always wanted to do a play or something like that."

"A play? That's not a bad proposal."

"Really?"

"Sure, it may not be realistic because we've already gone through a bit of preparation for the festival, but ignoring the fact that it would be accepted or not, that's not a bad proposal."

In fact, if Kei had the image of cultural festivals having plays, then it would be worth reconsidering.

"What kind of fairy tale did you want to perform?"

I was also somewhat interested.

"Since I'm a girl, something like Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast I think."

Both of those were fairy tales that girls seemed to like.

"But…" After saying that, she was silent for a moment. "The play I wanted to do the most was Sleeping Beauty."

"Sleeping beauty…"

I remembered the title, but unfortunately, I never read it.

"What kind of story is it?"

"Huh? You don't know that too? And you call yourself a book lover?"

"Sorry about that."

It might have broken my heart a little.

Listening to Kei stammeringly explain the story, I somehow managed to put the pieces together.

A daughter born to royalty was put into a long slumber by a witch's curse, and eventually, some prince showed up and kissed her.

She woke up and they lived happily ever after.

Well, that sounded like the classic fairy tale.

"I didn't like it that much when I was little, but somehow, it overlapped with myself. My heart had also been asleep for a long time, but Kiyotaka woke me up from that sleep…"

Feeling fascinated by the fantasy, she went on;

"I'd play the princess, and Kiyotaka would play the prince. Wouldn't it be great to do a play like that?"

"...I see."

After listening, I understood.

"You were right not to bring it up. If you tell the classmates about your casting choice, not only would they laugh, or maybe stones would be thrown."

"I-I know! That's why I didn't bring it up."

Having proper self-control was very helpful. Although her point of view regarding the play was good, it was too self-serving in more ways than one.

"My prince is a bit mean, isn't he?"

I didn't want to be told that.

"Will you wake me up with a kiss if I fall asleep again?"

"Is one kiss enough?"

"Hmm, who knows? Maybe I need ten kisses, or maybe a hundred ~"

Having read that as a sign from Kei, I kissed her as a response. Then she smiled.

"As I thought, I don't really need to be in a fairy tale."

"Why so suddenly?"

"Right now, reality is good enough for me."

Kei happily leaned against me, before closing her eyes as if she was sleeping.

END