Ch.429IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (126)

“Well, well, club applicants sit here.”

Somehow, the two of us had become club applicants.

Not that it was incorrect, though.

After seating me and Koko side by side, Izumi went to the opposite side and stood facing us.

Then, ahem, clearing her throat once,

“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Izumi Ikeda. I’m the president of the Literature Club.”

“And also the only member of the Literature Club.”

“That’s not true!? I’m here, and you’re here too! And there’s one more person! That’s three people!”

“Well, I suppose I count.”

Ah, so Kaoru was also a Literature Club member.

I thought the Occult Research Club or something like that might be a real thing since they often appear in school stories, but apparently not.

So, was what she said earlier just a joke?

“First of all, that other member you’re talking about—that imaginary male student has never shown up. How can someone like that be a club member? Is he even really enrolled?”

Regardless of what I was thinking, Kaoru spoke to Izumi with an incredulous expression.

“I’m telling you, he definitely submitted a club application form! Ah!”

Izumi, who had been arguing with Kaoru with a slightly annoyed expression, seemed to remember something at the mention of “club application form.” She hurriedly moved toward the bookshelf.

If she didn’t say anything, she would probably give the impression of a somewhat dark but pure literature club member, but seeing her like this, she seemed a bit scatterbrained.

Good. I’m glad it doesn’t seem too strict.

While Izumi was looking for something on the bookshelf, I took a moment to scan the Literature Club room.

As if to prove it was an unpopular club, there wasn’t much in the room. It was relatively well-cleaned, but the building itself was old, so it didn’t give a particularly neat impression. Still, it had its own charm.

The bookshelf wasn’t a well-made wooden one either. It was a metal assembly-type shelf. There weren’t an overwhelming number of books. The collection was diverse—I could see famous mystery novels as well as many titles I didn’t recognize at all.

This is good too.

The emptiness of the bookshelf made the club atmosphere feel relaxed.

Besides, from what I’ve heard, it seems like the actual members are just Kaoru and Izumi. If there had been many members, I might have given it more thought, but as it is, it seems to match exactly the kind of club I’m looking for.

“Want some?”

While Izumi was rustling around looking for something, Kaoru casually pushed a basket on the desk toward us.

It was filled with dorayaki.

“Wow?”

Koko’s impression of Kaoru seemed to improve tremendously just from that, and she smiled brightly.

I reached out and took two dorayaki, giving one to Koko. Koko, who loves eating, didn’t even bother to check what it was before immediately unwrapping it and taking a big bite.

Come to think of it, this is Koko’s first time eating this. There are still so many things Koko hasn’t tried yet.

“Delicious!”

“Right?”

“…I’m the one who picked them out, you know.”

Seeing Kaoru looking pleased with herself, Izumi spoke with an incredulous expression.

“Here you go.”

Then she placed a sheet of paper in front of each of us.

It was a sheet that had turned yellow around the edges, probably from not being taken out for a very long time.

The paper had [Club Application Form] written in large letters. There wasn’t much content, just spaces to fill in my name, grade, and class.

“Ah…”

I hesitated for a moment.

“Huh? Why? Didn’t you come to join the Literature Club?”

Didn’t she ask outside if we “came to see” rather than join?

“Well, if a club has fewer than three active members, it gets disbanded. Even if Izumi arbitrarily added my name, there are actually only two members, so it’s a club on the verge of being disbanded.”

“I didn’t add it arbitrarily!? You gave me the form yourself! And there’s one more member!”

“Ah, it’s not that I don’t want to join.”

I quickly said. Kaoru and Izumi’s heads turned back toward me.

Next to me, Koko was unwrapping another package, not paying attention to our conversation.

“Tasty, right? I picked them out carefully. Most of the club activity budget probably went into that.”

“No, I told you, I picked them out.”

…No matter how much it’s a literature club, isn’t it a bit problematic to spend most of the club budget on snacks? Though they do look delicious.

But that’s not what I was trying to say.

“Actually, I wasn’t planning on joining the club alone…”

“Huh?”

Kaoru and Izumi reacted simultaneously again.

Maybe they’re the ones using telepathy, not us? Are they actually twins? Perhaps separated in childhood.

While making these rather rude assumptions, I said,

“Actually, I’m looking for a club that I can join with my friends—”

“Your friends are planning to join too!?”

No, I said I was looking, not that we were planning to join.

Though I don’t really feel the need to look elsewhere besides here.

“Yes, I wanted to see what the Literature Club is like first, and then come back with my other friends…”

“Oh, that’s great, that’s great!”

Izumi’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Freshmen are always welcome. I’d be happy to have more students to discuss literature with.”

Hmm.

Looking at Kaoru casually taking out an occult magazine from her bag, it doesn’t seem like they only talk about literature-related topics.

“I told my friends I’d just come to check it out first. They’re probably waiting in the classroom right now.”

“You can call them over right away.”

Izumi said very firmly.

She seems extremely eager.

…If it were someone other than me, this attitude of Izumi’s would probably be overwhelming enough to make them run away.

While I like it in many ways, seeing Izumi being so proactive made me a bit concerned.

After all, I’m not really planning to actively participate in club activities, but rather just looking for a space to occupy after school.

So I was thinking about it for a moment,

Rustle, rustle.

I turned toward the sound next to me and saw Koko unwrapping her third dorayaki.

“Hmm?”

About to take a big bite, Koko paused when she noticed all three of us looking at her and tilted her head.

She seems to like it.

…Well, alright.

Let’s show them first and decide later.

Even if we don’t officially join as members, we can still come as friends and hang out, right?

*

Although Izumi had said freshmen were always welcome, when I actually gathered my friends, she quickly hid behind Kaoru’s back.

She probably thought all my friends would have the same impression as Koko and me.

While Mako had a harmless impression, Harumi and Yuu did have appearances that might be a bit intimidating at first glance.

I’ve known them since we were very young, so I knew them before they developed those images, but for Izumi, who had somewhat of a literary girl vibe, they might seem a bit scary.

And the friends I mentioned weren’t just one or two people, but five from the same class—Mako, Harumi, Yuu, Yuka—plus Souta from the next class and Shii who followed Souta, making a total of seven people.

Including me and Koko, that was almost five times the number of original Literature Club members.

Well, Souta probably wouldn’t be able to come often because of Shii.

“…”

“Izumi, these are the freshmen you’ve been hoping for. You should come out and greet them.”

“I-I didn’t expect there to be this many.”

As the completely unfazed Kaoru spoke to Izumi hiding behind her back, Izumi replied with a slightly trembling voice.

“Oh.”

For some reason, Harumi seemed to find Izumi interesting and strode over to Kaoru, peeking her head around to look.

“Eek!?”

Izumi grabbed Kaoru’s back and turned to the side.

Harumi, finding Izumi’s reaction amusing, followed right behind her, also turning to the side.

“…What are they doing?”

Yuu muttered with an incredulous expression.

Izumi finally calmed down when Kaoru forcibly grabbed her and made her stand in front of everyone.

Or maybe she’s not calm? She’s just being forced to stand there.

Seeming a bit uncomfortable standing in front of others, Izumi twisted her body as she spoke.

“H-hello everyone.”

Her speech style changed.

“I’m Izumi Ikeda, a second-year. I’m the president of the Literature Club. Nice to meet you all…”

When we all applauded, Izumi’s face turned bright red, and she quickly hid behind Kaoru again.

“Want some?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

Sitting next to Koko, Yuka accepted the dorayaki that Koko suddenly offered.

“They were carefully selected, so they’ll be delicious.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I told you, I picked them out!”

As Yuka responded awkwardly to Kaoru’s comment, Izumi cried out.

This made everyone who had been standing around the club room burst into laughter. Izumi’s face turned bright red again, but Kaoru had already sat down in her seat, so there was nowhere for her to hide.

Well, at least it helped break the ice.

“Here.”

Koko handed me a dorayaki.

She really seems to like them. Even though they look a bit old.

I smiled as I took it and tore open the wrapper.

Then I took a bite—

Hey, this is good!