The school festival was only three days away, and the academy courtyard had transformed into something between a whimsical carnival and a suspicious black-market bazaar. Colorful booths lined the paths, flags flapping in the wind, cheerful music in the air… and an overwhelming scent of overly sugared blood-colored cotton candy.
But for Rei, the air felt heavier than usual. Probably because five different Wife Faction recruitment booths were actively eyeing him like predator drones scanning a meat popsicle.
"Why do I feel like a war is about to break out… over me?" Rei muttered to himself as he passed a booth where the banner proudly read:
Lilia's Church of Eternal Devotion: Confess Your Love or Be Purified.
Inside the booth, Lilia stood in a nun's outfit that was somehow both elegant and terrifying. She was passing out crimson pamphlets labeled "101 Ways to Love Rei Without Being Arrested."
Across the courtyard, Drakana was putting up a banner with charred edges that read:
