[AFTER] Chapter 237 - Joining a club?

"Would you like to join the literature club?"

A few days after they had met, Takei and Hazuki were sitting in the school library reading novels in silence until Hazuki suddenly asked him a question. Takei sure wasn't expecting a question like that to come out of nowhere since they had been sitting in complete silence for quite a while.

"Well, what does the literature club have to offer?" Takei inquired.

"Hmph! I'm glad you asked," Hazuki triumphantly grinned. "Light novel and manga discussions will be the general activities for the group. As well as being granted access to our snack locker, we also have a pool table in the club room. Oh, did I forget to mention? My sister is the president of the club, so we can get away with anything~"

"You got a deal!" Carried by the momentum, Takei instinctively agreed. "Wait, what's the catch?"

"Haha, there's no catch at all."

"You liar! You can't even look me in the eyes!" Takei complained.

Takei had a feeling that the offer was a little bit too true to be real. If such a club with lax rules and activities existed, wouldn't it be the talk of the town?

For the short amount of time he had been on the campus, Takei had heard about many clubs from the people around him, but no one had ever mentioned a literature club.

Do college students even read novels anymore?

Takei continued on glaring at Hazuki with intense pressure in hopes that she would crack and spill the beans. Having known her for a few days now, he knew that she was weak towards strong pressure.

"Fine, fine! It's just that the literature club only has one member..." Hazuki confessed. "My sister is the sole member of the club."

"Wait, you're not in the club?"

"Nope, I'm in a few other clubs already so I can't," Hazuki shrugged.

"What clubs are you in?"

"Newspaper club, key club, cooking club, cleaning club, gaming club, anime club..." Hazuki listed off all the clubs she was in.

"How can a middle school brain like yours be in that many clubs?!"

"Hey! Who has a middle school brain?!"

Takei was interested in joining a club since he wanted to be more involved during college, but he would lose a lot of free time if he joined a big club. The literature club had only one member, many entertainment options, and very little time commitment, which was why Takei was seriously contemplating joining.

But, there was only one single tiny problem.

There's only one other member and it's a girl... Alright, time to go consult with the goddess!

"I'll go ask my girlfriend for permission, so be back soon, Mrs. Scammer~!"

"I'm not a scammer!"

***

"So, you're already cheating on me? It hasn't even been a week since school started," Akari looked at Takei with great disappointment.

"W-Wait, that's not what I'm saying. I would never cheat on you!"

"Hehe, I know. I'm just messing with you," Akari laughed.

After all of their classes had ended, the two met up at the coffee shop on campus. Takei had texted Akari beforehand and explained the situation to her as thoroughly as possible to ensure that there would be no misunderstandings.

"Alright, looks like we're joining the literature club!" Akari put her hands on her hips and grinned.

Takei was surprised to hear that Akari wanted to join as well. "Eh? We? You're joining too?"

"So you didn't want me to join? Just so you could spend quality time with the female club president?"

"Let's go to the clubroom!"

Not wanting to continue the conversation any longer in fear for his life, Takei proposed that they both head to the club to see the inner workings.

***

Literature Club.

Located on the third floor of the club building at the very end of the hall, there was a room with an old sign on the door that said, "Do Not Enter."

"Are you sure this is the place?" Akari asked as she clung close to Takei. "This is giving me a spooky feeling..."

"This should be the place since this is where Hazuki told me the clubroom was," Takei replied. "It does look a little bit old though."

Hazuki had informed him beforehand about the way to enter the clubroom, so Takei prepared the secret phrase in his head as he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A gentle feminine voice replied from the other side.

"Pumpernickel pickle pepper poetry."

"!"

Even though he couldn't see the woman's face, Takei could sense her surprise when he responded with the correct phrase.

The doorknob quickly rattled and the door was subsequently unlocked before their very eyes. Standing right in front of the two was a very messy woman in baggy clothes, Haruno Nishino.

"Come in, come in~ Ahahaha, sorry I look like this right now. I stayed up all night to catch up on this manga series I'm following."

Hazuki had told Takei beforehand about her sister's tendency to read all night and sleep through the day, so he wasn't too surprised when it actually happened.

"No worries, we're just interested in joining this club so we planned to look around."

Takei and Akari entered the clubroom and immediately noticed the large amount of mangas and light novels stacked up on each other. Not to mention, there were piles upon piles of games and gaming consoles.

"Pardon the mess, I've been the only club member here for a long time so this place has kinda turned into a second living space for me."

Haruno guided the two of them to the sofa and brought out a few cups of tea for them.

"Is all of this stuff yours?" Takei finally asked the question he had been wanting to ask.

"Yeah, but I share all of this stuff with club members as well. So, that means you would be able to use anything you want if you joined the club~"

"Okay, we're joining."

"T-Takei?! You were conquered that fast?!" Akari gasped.

"Mwahahahaha!" Haruno manically laughed. "This is an otaku's heaven! Not a single sane person could refuse a safe haven like this!"

Indeed, Haruno was right beyond the shadow of a doubt. The second Takei had stepped into this room, his will was immediately broken due to the sheer amount of entertainment in the room.

Maybe this club isn't so bad after all! There's enough stuff to entertain me for a decade and then some! All hail the literature club!

—

You got me sold. I would join that club in a heartbeat.

Serious-san: Count me in!

Sugar-chan: Ehhhh? I would rather be in the flora club!

A/N: Sorry for long delays between chapter updates. School is kicking my butt.