Hearing the seriousness in his tone, Rodion tensed slightly but quickly regained his composure.
A soft smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he responded, "Why? Does it sound familiar to you?"
Mr. Fujoshi gazed at him closely, turning silent for a few seconds before he sat back opposite him.
"How'd you join our group?"
"Nadeshda and the others approached me. And now that you mentioned it, it could have been dangerous to them if they had approached the wrong person to join your group. You are the leader, and you are responsible for the safety of your members. What are you going to do if this secret group is exposed to the public?"
Instead of answering Rodion, Mr. Fujoshi's lips parted in slight surprise before a smirk plastered on his lips. He sipped on his drinks before he opened his mouth and asked, "Are you the son of Andrei Mikhailovich?"
Rodion paused in his seat, unable to articulate an answer for a moment in disbelief.
"How… How'd you know that?"
"Heh. Everyone here knows Rodion Andreyevich, the eldest son of Andrei Mikhailovich and Anastasia Andreyevna, the prodigy that ranked first at the Royal Academy, the talented artist, and..." Mr. Fujoshi leaned forward and continued in a lower tone, "Rumored to be secretly gay."
"What?!" Rodion exclaimed in disbelief, "How?"
"What do you mean how?" The leader nearly rolled his eyes. "That's a stupid question. Are you perhaps one of those people who are in denial of their true selves?"
"What? No! How'd the rumor of me being secretly gay even start?" Rodion asked with incredulity in his voice.
"Because the Young Master," the leader answered, emphasizing the word 'young master', "Is always together with his Knight. The both of you were not seen with women, and while most people don't find that strange, our group quickly noticed and speculated that you might be, you know, into each other."
Rodion slightly opened his mouth in disbelief before bursting into laughter, slapping the table with his hand.
Rodion found what the leader had said utterly ridiculous. It took him a few moments to calm down and notice that the other members were looking in their direction.
He glanced back at Mr. Fujoshi and saw that he wasn't bothered in the slightest by his sudden laughter. He settled himself and cleared his throat, embarrassed about his disrespectful behavior.
"I'm sorry about that." He apologized.
"It's fine. I find it funny as well, but...There's a chance it's true, right?" The leader said it with a smirk, a little amused by his reaction.
"Please, I hate that guy." Rodion scoffed.
"Oh? Is that so? But you like him, do you?"
"He's my best friend, of course, I like him, but not the kind you guys are thinking."
"Hmm." The leader yielded in a hum, not believing his explanation but not wanting to argue about it anymore.
Rodion sighed in relief, glad that the leader had stopped pressing further.
I didn't know that kind of rumor existed; it must be the reason the girls approached me the other day. He was about to relax when he suddenly remembered what he wanted to say to him.
Crap! I was caught at the moment. I forgot my main goal at this gathering.
"How long have you been here?" He asked directly.
Mr. Fujoshi glanced at him. Though his eyes couldn't be seen to see his exact expression, he could notice his furrowed forehead from confusion.
"Nadeshda mentioned this secret group was formed in the last two years. Certainly, you have arrived here longer than that, right?" Rodion asked further, his eyes searching for the leader's, gazing straight at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play innocent. I know you know what I'm talking about here."
But the leader just looked at him without much reaction. He sipped on his drink again. "No, I have no idea what you are talking about."
Rodion could sense the genuity of his reaction, he felt frustration welling up within him. He sighed and leaned forward. "Mr. Fujoshi, you chose that nickname and named your 'secret society' Lightsaber, which is ridiculous and cringe to tell you the truth. I'm certain you know where my nickname comes from. Or were you transmigrated here for so long that your memories are starting to deteriorate?"
Mr. Fujoshi stared at him as he talked in a hushed tone, keeping his voice just between the two of them. Suddenly, as if a thread of memories flooded in his head, a sincere surprise flashed on his face.
"…You," he whispered, barely able to contain his shock.
Rodion placed his two arms on the table, supporting his weight as he leaned a little closer, his voice soft and careful as he once again whispered, "How long have you been here? Did you find out why you were transmigrated here? "Did you find anything that might help you return to our world or timeline?"
"W-wait, hold on." Mr. Fujoshi poked his forehead with his index finger and lightly pushed him back. "You're asking a lot of questions. Your face is getting closer to mine. You are giving the others the wrong idea now. See?"
Rodion glanced in the other members' direction and saw that all eyes were glued to them. When they were caught watching them, they hurriedly returned to their activities. He didn't mind them and turned back to face the leader opposite him, waiting for his answer.
The leader let out a weary sigh. As much as he wanted to not answer, there was no way Rodion would stop bothering him. Even he was surprised, although he had expected this scenario to happen sooner or later. Meeting another transmigrator, he had no idea what to say or how to react. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he had no clue how to go back to their previous world, or that he had no valuable information to talk about the reason for their transmigration. Who knows? He had gone apathetic about it and just gradually given up.
Noticing his silence, Rodion finally let his frustration surface.
"Don't tell me you've given up."
Mr. Fujoshi watched him for a moment, taking a deep understanding and empathy for his frustration.
"Fine, we'll talk about this some other time. Meet me here the day after the full moon, between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m." He briefly said.
"Why?" Rodion asked with visible curiosity.
"Stop asking questions, save them for our next meetup."
Before Rodion could have the chance to ask another question, Mr. Fujoshi stood up and cut him off. "I said, stop asking questions. We should start the gathering. I can't wait to see what the members have prepared. I'm glad I formed this group, it's nice having a group of people with the same interests. At least in this life, I can still read BLs, you know that."
He laughed as he approached the other members to officially begin their gathering.
"Come along now, Mr. Fudanshi~" He called out to Rodion, his voice carrying a teasing tone.
Not waiting for another second, he stood up from his seat and followed the leader. He stood next to him, offering a smile to the other members, noticing that there were new faces that had joined them already.
"Alrighty everyone, before we start, Mr. Fudanshi here will officially be joining us starting today."
The members once again welcomed him and were delighted to have another male member in their secret group. He thanked them and exchanged pleasantries with the new arrival.
Suddenly, Mr. Fujoshi leaned to his side unnoticed and whispered, "By the way, you didn't deny the rumor that you're gay."
Rodion felt his cheeks flush and quickly turned to face him. The leader's face was close to his, a sly smirk playing at the corner of his lips.