Now that I think of it, Yamamoto said during lunch break that she wanted to see the cultural clubs, so she probably wanted a classmate to go with her. Like Sasai, I think it's better to be with a girl than with me, but I wonder what her thinking is.
She doesn't seem to pity me, and it seems like she's saying that seriously.
"Um, well, if you're okay with me, I'll go out with you, of course..."When I replied, Yamamoto froze for a second, then took a step forward. I flinched a little as her breasts, visible through her uniform, came closer to me.
"S-Sato, you're the one who's okay with me, but..."
When I told her again, "Yeah, I'm fine," Yamamoto muttered a small "Okay," and picked up her bag to get ready.
According to Yamamoto, she was interested in the Literature Club and the Cooking Club and wanted to go and hear about them.
Even though she had a trauma from the past, she liked reading and writing, so she wanted to go to the Literature Club, and she could cook, so she was interested in that too. We decided to go to both, and first headed to the club building where the Literature Club was active.
Most of the club rooms for the cultural clubs are grouped together on the third floor of the new school building. Standing in front of one of those rooms, the Literature Club room, Yamamoto knocked. There was a sign on the door that said "New Students Welcome," so I didn't think there would be any problem. But, leaving Yamamoto aside, I was worried that she might not like me when I showed up.
"Um... a new student, perhaps?"
The person who opened the door and greeted me was a tall, short-haired senior girl. At first glance, she had a boyish face that made her look like she could be in the track and field club, and the word "handsome" even suited her.
"If that's the case, please come in. I'll give you some tea and snacks."With that, Yamamoto-san went in first, and I was about to go in later. The moment the senior saw me, she blurted out a quick "Huh?"Scared of her reaction, I looked at her anxiously. The senior hesitated for a moment and said, "Ah, well," and then looked at me.
"I'm sorry. I never thought a boy would come... Of course, you're welcome."
I wonder if the Literature Club is really just girls. I was still worried, but I believed that I wasn't being told to "go home," so I went into the club room. There were two more people who looked like seniors sitting at the back.
The girl with long black hair who was reading a book only glanced at us and bowed, then looked back down at her book. She seemed a little aggressive, but she was a model-like beauty.
The other girl with brownish, semi-long hair was watching us intently. She had round eyes and a face that reminded me of a small animal and was very cute.
Although they were different types, they both had an attractive aura, and I was feeling nervous. Why is it that everyone I meet is so cute and pretty?
Everyone sat down, and the first senior greeted us.
"Um, I'm Shiina Ao, a third-year student who's the president of this literature club. Thank you so much for coming to the literature club today."
She bowed slightly, and we all did the same.
"This literature club isn't a very strict place, and everyone comes whenever they want and spends their time however they want, so it's fine to have multiple clubs. Some people, like me, write on the computer, and some people just come to read books."
Indeed, there were several bookshelves in the club room, with a wide variety of books lined up.
"Currently, we have about 10 members, but we only get together for the school festival, when we make the literary club magazine. Other than that, we sometimes hold events with volunteers..."
Right now, these three are the only ones in the club room, she added, and urged the two next to him to introduce themselves. The senior with long black hair started speaking slowly.
"Ishikawa Akimi... third year... I usually come here to read books."
After answering that, she immediately shut her mouth and looked at Shiina-senpai.
"Akimi isn't that talkative, but she knows a lot about novels and stuff, yeah."
As Shiina-senpai added, a voice rose from the other side.
"Yes, yes! I'm Asai Ami, a second-year student! I usually read books and write novels! I'm also doing multiple jobs, but I'm often in the club room, so please take care of me!"
Her smile as she greeted me cheerfully was as bright as the sun.
"Ami was looking forward to becoming a second-year student and having juniors. She can be noisy at times, but if you don't mind, please get along with her."
As Shiina-senpai added, Asai-senpai interrupted, "Don't say that." Then it was our turn to introduce ourselves.
"I-I'm Yamamoto Maki... I like books, so I thought I'd hear some stories... I-I'd be nice to meet you..."
I've never written anything before, but Yamamoto-san concluded. Then, as the seniors' eyes focused on me, I choked on the tension.
"Um, well, I'm... Sato Shun... Yamamoto-san invited me here, and I want to try writing, so I'm, um, interested..."
Because of my nervousness, my conjunctions were poor. Anyway, I managed to introduce myself. I thought that if I said I liked reading, the conversation would turn to what I liked, so I changed the subject to writing. In fact, I had posted some online novels in real life, so it wasn't a lie.
After that, the seniors started the conversation, and we had a nice chat. Shiina-senpai talked to me frankly, and Asai-senpai happily told me about the popular menu items at the cafeteria. Meanwhile, Ishikawa-senpai just looked at us without saying anything.
After we'd enjoyed the conversation, Shiina-senpai turned back to us.
"Thank you again for coming today. We don't do much welcoming activities, but the club room is open every day, so you can come whenever you like and spend your time reading books, talking, or however you like."
Saying this, Shiina-senpai turned her gaze towards me.
"...Also, about Sato-kun, our club doesn't have any male members right now...you might not think it's a comfortable space. But I think this is a place where we don't have to be careful with each other, so if you don't mind, I'd be happy if you came again."
As expected, with the problem of the male-female ratio, the club president would be considerate of such things. For a moment, I thought that she didn't like me coming. But when I heard the latter part, I felt a little hopeful.
I was happy that I wasn't rejected, and I would like to stay in an environment full of such attractive girls forever.
Of course, I know it's presumptuous of me to expect such things, but still, I'm grateful that I was welcomed.
"...Um, I'd like to see other clubs too... but I think the free atmosphere suits me... so I might come again..."
When I told her, Shiina-senpai said, "Really? I appreciate that... anytime is fine," and Asai-senpai also had a big smile on her face. And as expected, Ishikawa-senpai's expression didn't change.
We left the club room with the seniors thanking us. Yamamoto-san also seemed to have originally thought that the Literature Club was his first choice, and said, "I'd be happy if Sato-kun joined us..."
Even for me, it would be convenient in many ways if my classmates were in the same club, I concluded. In fact, I thought that if it was this atmosphere, I might join.
After that, I went to the Cooking Club with Yamamoto-san. This was more successful than I had expected, and about 10 new students were given an explanation in the home economics room.
After a passionate speech about how the club has a small budget, but that if they can get a lot of freshmen, they can hope to become a club, she explained the activity days and so on.
As this was also an all-girls group, I was a little worried that I would stand out, but one of the older girls said, "If you'd like, please come again...!" so I started to think a little more positively, thinking that she probably didn't dislike me.
Yamamoto said that she wanted to go around to a few more places after this, but I thought it would be a shame to make Yuki wait if I looked at too many things, so I decided to part ways.
Feeling bad, I apologized, and Yamamoto said, "Oh, really, thank you for looking with me..." as she waved her hand back as we parted ways. She was a really kind girl to me.
After parting ways with Yamamoto, I contacted Yuki. She replied immediately and said that she would come to pick me up in about 20 minutes.
So, I decided to wait in front of the school gates. During that time, the girls would often pass by running in the school, and I would burn the girls' light gym clothes into my mind and get excited watching the girls' breasts sway.
Yuki, who came to pick me up, asked me what clubs I'd seen today. When I told her that I'd visited the Literature Club with Yamamoto, she narrowed her eyes and asked me:
"Shun-nii, are you getting along well with Yamamoto-san?"
I felt like I'd said something a little wrong. I'd only just told Yuki yesterday that I wanted her to get along with me, and now I was talking about other girls.
So far, Yuki seems to be fond of me. I shouldn't just erase those feelings so easily. Anyway, taking good care of my sister is a given.
"...I think we get along well...but I still want to be friends with Yuki, so, um, I want you to feel at ease..."
Though I thought it might sound weird to say something, I told him my honest feelings for the time being.
"...Hehe, ah, thanks, Shun-nii."
Yuki looked down a little. I was glad he wasn't put off, but I felt a little embarrassed.
After we got home and rested in our room, we all had dinner together. I loved this time, and it felt like I was regaining the joy of life that I hadn't had before.
I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to have everyone chat and eat a warm meal together. I wonder if this is the happiness I was looking for.
Thinking about this, I went back to my room, got ready for school the next day, and lay down in bed. I was surprised at myself for looking forward to what the next day would bring, but I was able to soothe my fatigue.
(T/N: We've reached 8 Powerstones! Thank you everyone who supported. If we can reach 15 Powerstones I will post an additional chapter this week.)