Chapter 49: The Most Familiar Stranger?

"I more or less understand now."

Yukino nodded, having a preliminary understanding of Megumi's situation.

"Kato-san, is living like this very inconvenient?"

Eriri couldn't imagine at all what it felt like to have such a low sense of presence.

As the only daughter of the Sawamura family, Eriri had been the center of attention from everyone around her ever since she was born. On top of that, as a half-blooded beautiful girl, no matter where she went, she was always the center of the crowd.

Eriri had even thought that, if she were a bit more ordinary, if she weren't so constantly watched by others, that would be nice. That way, she could just relax and freely be herself, instead of always having to act like a proper young lady for the sake of the Sawamura family's reputation.

But after hearing Megumi talk about her experiences, Eriri realized that having too low a sense of presence wasn't an easy thing either.

"It's not exactly inconvenient, just occasionally a little troublesome."

"Then what was it that made Kato-san want to change? Was it because you met a special boy?"

The troublemaker Utaha's comment immediately changed the atmosphere in the Service Club.

Eriri also remembered that day when Megumi prepared a bento for Shin-chan, and it was a handmade bento at that, which Shin-chan had praised as being very thoughtful. Girls don't prepare bentos for boys without a reason.

Yukino looked Megumi up and down, then fiercely glared at Shin-chan. 'Even this kind of expressionless girl you're going after?'

And from how Megumi was actively trying to change herself, it was clear the capture progress was already quite high.

'Shin-chan, what a terrifying man!'

Yukino once again made up her mind: she absolutely must not be captured by Shin-chan! She also had to correct Shin-chan's personality.

But now, whose capture progress was higher, Megumi's or Yukino's? Maybe only the two of them knew.

"It's not exactly that. I just want to change myself. If things keep going like this, how will I find a job in the future? Marriage might be difficult too, right?"

Megumi glanced at Shin-chan and showed a somewhat troubled expression.

Aside from Shin-chan, no boy had ever noticed her. For an eighteen-year-old girl to worry about that was pretty normal, wasn't it?

Originally on alert, Eriri felt a bit sorry hearing Kato say that. So only Shin-chan had noticed her? If that's the case, then it's not strange at all that Megumi cares so much about Shin-chan.

Utaha showed a meaningful expression. This club really is interesting. Aside from her, the other three beautiful girls were all overly focused on Shin-chan. What kind of charm does this man have? Could love really make people so blind?

Looks like her conception of novel plots had been too conservative. Reality was often even crazier than light novel plots.

Seems like she needed to make a major revision to her novel's storyline. She believed it wouldn't be long before she could finish writing the first volume of her novel.

For a creator, the most frightening thing was the lack of inspiration. Up until now, although Utaha had always had the idea of writing a light novel, she had never actually started writing, because she lacked enough inspiration.

Utaha was very confident in her writing skills, but having only writing ability without the ability to shape a story wouldn't work.

Utaha also wanted to write a pure love story, but she herself had never even been in a relationship. Relying on imagination alone, how many volumes could she realistically write? Most likely after two or three volumes, it'd get axed.

But now it was different. As long as she stayed in the Service Club, she would have endless inspiration!

For the sake of her work, no matter what, she had to cling to the Service Club! She couldn't let herself get caught in the bloody drama.

"Don't worry, we'll definitely help you."

Yukino felt very excited. Now this was a proper request. What was that about correcting Shin-chan's personality, or helping Aki Tomoya make a game, those kinds of requests were totally unreliable. And they were all recommended by Hiratsuka-sensei too.

Did she, Yukino, look like some kind of wish-granting machine?

A request like Megumi's was much more meaningful. It was both challenging and gave a sense of accomplishment.

"Kato-san's request isn't something that can be resolved in a short time. Why don't we start by proceeding with regular club activities, observing while thinking of a solution."

Regarding Megumi's situation, Yukino had some preliminary assumptions. She believed it was likely due to Megumi's overly gentle and emotionless personality, which made her already low presence even lower.

But changing someone's personality wasn't a simple thing. Yukino had to observe a lot more before she could come up with a better solution.

"It's fine, I'm not in a big hurry either."

Megumi showed a faint smile, seemingly genuinely not very concerned about this matter.

"Kato-san, you're way too gentle!"

Megumi's calm and serene demeanor made Eriri a bit envious. She had never been good at hiding her feelings since she was a child. If only she could be like Megumi, what would she have to fear from someone like Suotome Ai?

"Um, Yukinoshita-san, may I ask what our club activities are when there are no requests? And do we currently have any other requests?"

"When there are no requests, everyone can arrange their time freely. Since the club was just established, besides Kato-san's request, we haven't received any other requests for now."

Yukino only hesitated for a moment before concealing the matter of Hiratsuka-sensei asking her to correct Shin-chan's personality. In her heart, this was a bit of a private matter, also a secret between her and Shin-chan.

After all, it was obvious that both Eriri and Megumi had good feelings for Shin-chan. Everyone wasn't that familiar yet. It had taken a lot of effort to gather five people; Yukino didn't want any more problems in the club.

At least for now, the three senpai girls seemed very easy to get along with.

But soon, Yukino began to regret it a little. Once everyone started free activity time, Utaha took out a book to read, and Megumi took out her phone.

Eriri, however, had no hesitation at all as she went straight over to Shin-chan's side, which made Yukino's eye twitch slightly.

What was going on with this Sawamura family's young lady? She was practically glued to Shin-chan. Weren't they a little too close?

And Yukino also noticed something strange, the relationship between Shin-chan and Eriri felt both familiar and yet awkwardly distant.

They definitely weren't a couple. Yukino, who had never raised a pet and didn't know about subculture circles, couldn't think of any words to describe their relationship.

The most familiar strangers? Could it be that Shin-chan and Eriri had dated before and then broke up?

Yukino decided she'd properly ask Shin-chan when they got home and make him honestly explain their relationship.

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