I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga-Chapter 245: The Winner Is…

“Please! Keep it a secret this time!”

Although there were some incidents in the restroom, Ryuji returned to the auditorium early as there was little time left until the results were announced.

Thanks to that, I was left alone in the restroom, washing my hands and thinking.

“I never thought Chiaki would have such abilities.”

I had thought she looked extraordinary since she dressed up in a maid outfit, but Ryuji, partially transformed into a woman through Chiaki’s influence, was an astonishing beauty.

“After all, her little sister is a beauty too.”

When I visited her family and saw their pictures, both parents were handsome and beautiful, so it was possible that she inherited those genes.

After finishing up, I returned to the auditorium, where the atmosphere among the audience was quite chaotic.

It seemed that with the announcement of the results approaching, there was a strange tension in the air, as no one knew who would win.

“Long time no see, Yu-seong.”

“Oh! Hello, Mr. Musashi.”

I was caught by Mr. Musashi, who was Rika’s father, as I tried to quietly return to the judge’s table.

“What brings you here?”

“My daughter gave me an invitation to the cultural festival. Since the deadline has passed and I have some free time, I came with my wife.”

Standing next to Mr. Musashi was Maria, whom I hadn’t seen since Comiket.

“Hello~”

I nodded slightly in greeting and looked around.

“Have you met Rika yet?”

“I met her briefly after the preliminary round ended. Honestly, I never imagined that she would participate in a beauty contest, so I was quite surprised to discover a new side of her today.”

As he spoke, Mr. Musashi shyly scratched his cheek, but then was startled by the red-haired yakuza who had approached him.

“Long time no see, Yu-seong.”

“Oh, yes. Hello.”

I reflexively greeted Naoto, Karen’s father, and introduced him to the confused Mr. Musashi.

“This is Mr. Tojo Naoto, Karen’s father.”

“Ah! Karen’s!”

Hearing that Naoto was practically Rika’s best friend’s father, Mr. Musashi was startled and bowed to Naoto.

“I’m Kishimoto Sojiro, Rika’s father. My daughter is always in your debt.”

Realizing Mr. Musashi’s identity, Naoto waved his hands quickly.

“No, no, if anyone owes a debt, it’s us. I’m Tojo Naoto, Karen’s father.”

The two men bowed to each other and exchanged business cards, acting professionally.

Naoto glanced at Mr. Musashi’s business card and widened his eyes in surprise.

“Are you the famous Kishimoto Musashi?”

“Ah, yes. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I work as a manga artist.”

“Embarrassed? I’m a long-time fan of your work!”

Naoto’s eyes sparkled with excitement, making it a bit uncomfortable to watch.

As the fearsome-looking man who resembled a yakuza leaned in with shining eyes, Mr. Musashi chuckled awkwardly.

Well, since it had been nearly 20 years since he started working as a manga artist, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have fans around the same age.

As the two bonded over their commonalities as a writer and reader, and as fathers, Ivan, who had been quietly observing in a corner of the auditorium, suddenly stirred.

“It seems like they’re discussing something noteworthy.”

“Wh-what?!”

When a massive Russian figure that looked like he had stepped out of a comic book suddenly appeared, Mr. Musashi looked up in shock.

Regardless, Ivan removed his stylish white fedora and slightly bowed his head to Mr. Musashi.

“I am the father of your daughter Rika’s friend, Alexandra Ivanovna Romanova.”

His behavior was perfectly professional.

Seeing Ivan, who wielded immense power in the underworld, act politely was quite a contrast, but knowing he was doing it for his daughter made it less strange.

“I didn’t expect Sasha’s father to be such a wonderful person.”

“HAHAHAHA! And you, Sojiro, look just like a SAMURAI!”

As the fathers praised each other’s appearances, Satoru, standing on stage, suddenly waved his hands, indicating the results were ready.

“Um, I have things to do, so I’ll take my leave.”

After hastily bidding farewell to the three men, I rushed back to the judge’s table and sat down, and Satoru finally grabbed the microphone.

“Alright! Thank you for your patience! The results are in! A total of 528 votes were cast in this competition! The glorious winner has finally been decided!”

The noisy atmosphere of the auditorium fell silent at Satoru’s words.

As everyone quieted down, Satoru shook the envelope he received from the event staff for emphasis.

“And the name is right here in this envelope!”

Ooooh!!

As soon as Satoru finished speaking, cheers erupted from the audience.

It seemed that since the boys supported different people, the votes were split regarding who would take first place.

In the tense atmosphere, Satoru scanned the surroundings before suddenly turning to the judge’s table.

“Before we announce the results, let’s ask our judges for their thoughts! How did you find today’s competition?”

The Vice President took the microphone first and said with a serious expression.

“To be honest, I’m quite impressed by the level of performance, which exceeded my expectations. I’d like to express my gratitude to the volunteers who helped manage this unexpectedly large event on behalf of the Student Council.”

Contrary to expectations that he would be critical, his generous assessment drew applause from the audience.

Next up was Senior Ayabe.

“I want to express my gratitude for being invited here today. This has been the most memorable cultural festival of my three years in high school.”

It was the same for her, and I found myself feeling more awkward as a result.

“Finally, it’s Kim Yu-seong’s turn! What are your thoughts on today’s event?”

Startled by the suddenly thrust microphone, I quickly composed myself and answered.

“It was good.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said it was good.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

Surprised that I concluded my thoughts in just one sentence, Satoru looked dumbfounded before regaining his composure and glaring at me.

“Now that we’ve heard from the judges, it’s time to announce the results! Are you all ready?”

“Yes~!”

“Your voices are too quiet!”

“Yes~~!”

Skillfully drawing out responses from the audience, Satoru finally opened the sealed envelope.

Inside was a cue card indicating the winner of the competition.

Holding it against his palm to hide it from view, Satoru suddenly gasped in surprise.

“This result was completely unexpected!”

This caused a stir in the audience.

It was expected that Minato Nao would be crowned the winner.

So, when he said “unexpected,” murmurs spread through the audience.

“Oh come on, how could Nao not have many fans?”

“No, you never know. The votes were cast by both female students and adults.”

As the fans of Nao in the audience waited anxiously for the results, Satoru, who knew the outcome, casually addressed the participants standing behind the stage.

“Senior Fuma, if you win the prize money, what will you do with it?”

“I’ll use it for living expenses.”

There was no hesitation in her answer.

It seemed she participated with the prize money in mind from the start, so it wasn’t surprising.

“Well, that’s unfortunate. You just barely missed out on 5th place with 67 votes, just 5 votes behind 4th place.”

“……”

As a side note, prize money was only awarded starting from 3rd place.

Senior Fuma shot a sharp glare at Satoru, who had just teased her.

It felt like her killing intent could drown someone.

However, perhaps emboldened, Satoru casually passed by Senior Fuma while grinning, then nervously looked around at the other contestants, who were focused solely on him.

Finally, he stopped in front of Karen, who was visibly tense.

“If you’re just here to joke around, then go away.”

Karen, who had tried her best to act like a proper lady during the competition, forced a smile as she attempted to shoo Satoru away, but he shrugged in response.

“I’m not here to joke around.”

“Then what?”

Instead of answering Karen’s question, Satoru turned around and shouted into the microphone.

“And now, for the glorious 4th place! It is none other than Karen, who received 72 votes!”

“What?!”

Karen looked at Satoru in shock, her expression frozen.

It seemed she never imagined she would rank 4th, especially after defeating Senior Fuma, who was famous as one of the three beauties of the academy.

Regardless, Satoru passed Karen and called out the names of the contestants who had received the most attention in the competition.

“Rika, Nao, Ryuko, and Sasha, please come forward.”

The four of them stepped forward, looking dazed.

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Perhaps it was in Satoru’s nature as an MC, but his excited voice delivered a shocking announcement.

“Among the four named just now, we have the winners of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place!”

That meant that the remaining contestants were automatically eliminated.

The other three contestants who hadn’t been called by Satoru looked dejected, but the world of competition was always harsh.

The audience’s attention was focused on the four contestants standing at the front of the stage.

And it didn’t stop there; Satoru continued excitedly.

“Remarkably, the audience votes for these four were nearly tied! However, the judges’ scores flipped the results!”

It seemed that this was what Satoru meant when he mentioned an unexpected result earlier.

A tense silence filled the auditorium, and after a long pause, Satoru finally prepared to announce the final results.

“Here we are for the 33rd Ichijo Beauty Contest! The winner is…”

“Kishimoto Rika!”