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The sign couldn't be made in a moment, so Asakura simply confirmed their respective territories within the club room with Yukino Yukinoshita before returning to the classroom.
Lunch break.
"Yesterday I had the curry set meal, maybe today I'll keep it simple and just have udon noodles…"
Just as Asakura was still hesitating about what to eat today, Yanami Anna—the defeated girl who almost dined and dashed yesterday—found him.
"Let's go to the fire escape," she said in a very inconspicuous manner, pretending to brush past him.
Asakura, bewildered, rushed to the stairs, only to see the girl opening her bento box there.
"This is truly awful…"
The first sentence the girl said when they met completely stumped Asakura.
"What?" He tried to keep his polite fake smile from crumbling too easily as he asked, "It's a bit windy, I don't think I heard what you just said…"
"I said, this is truly awful!"
So the girl repeated it very loudly.
Asakura: "…."
"Karen (the best friend who stole her boyfriend) said the three of us should go to karaoke after school."
Yanami continued with an almost dead-fish expression: "Am I going to be forced to listen to them sing love songs there? What kind of torture is that!"
That certainly was awful.
Then the girl complained for over ten minutes without a clear topic, detailing her miserable experience of being forced to witness various public displays of affection, even including her utterly tragic emotional journey.
"Is there anyone more unfortunate than me!" she concluded.
Yes, me, who was forced to listen to all of this.
Seeing that the other party seemed to have a tendency to continue rambling, Asakura sighed and pulled out the receipt: "Pay up."
"Ah? Oh, okay… Of course I'll pay it back…" Yanami's complaint being interrupted seemed to break her train of thought for a moment. She silly took the receipt, then showed an even sillier expression: "Um, is this amount a bit strange…? It feels like a lot more than what I felt I ate yesterday?"
Asakura asked with a kind, fake smile: "The Luxury Chocolate Cranberry Matcha Triple Sundae was delicious, right?"
"Yes, yes, that's a seasonal special, and the sundaes at that shop even have crushed ladyfingers and fruit smoothies added to them. The texture is rich yet refreshing, it's a masterpiece, a masterpiece!"
The girl narrowed her eyes and nodded vigorously, her intoxicated expression seemingly still savoring yesterday's extra-large delicious treat.
"The price is also a masterpiece, though," Asakura added.
"Ah…" Yanami stiffened.
"That serving size is said to be for couples to share. Yesterday, you finished it all by yourself in ten minutes and still looked like you wanted more, which really scared that short server," Asakura's fake smile grew even kinder, and he continued, "I even rounded down the price for you, you'd be hard-pressed to find such a thoughtful classmate again, wouldn't you?"
It was only because Asakura had acquired some gems, which significantly boosted his savings, that he wasn't in trouble. If he were still the original owner, living on three thousand yen a month, Yanami's meal yesterday would have nearly depleted his entire monthly allowance, and he would probably have to survive on salt and tap water for the next half month.
"Um… I can't pay this amount right now," the girl stammered, fiddling with her fingertips. "Can I pay in installments?"
Asakura stroked his chin: "It's not impossible. Nine out, thirteen back."
"Loan shark?!"
"If you can't pay it back, I'll chop off your pinky finger."
"Yakuza?!"
"Heh heh heh, pretty girl, working…"
"Stop it! Asakura-kun, your image is getting stranger and stranger!"
"Just kidding, no need to worry." Seeing her flustered appearance, Asakura felt very pleased inside.
This child has value for teasing.
"Oh, right!" At this moment, Yanami showed an expression of having 'thought of a good idea': "How about this!"
Saying that, she picked out a piece of chicken from her bento, her face showing a shy expression: "I, I'm not very skilled, so I don't know if I can make you happy, but in the past, when I did this, Sousuke would also be very happy—"
"No."
"Such a quick answer?! This is a beautiful girl's 'ah'!"
"Disgusting, no."
"You even said it twice, and your expression really looks disgusted?! In fact, is there even a need to be this disgusted?!"
Yanami's confidence in her charm was greatly shaken.
She bit her chopsticks, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "Alright, alright, I'll find a way to pay you back. Please don't look at me like I'm a water flea anymore…"
"I've changed my mind."
Asakura stroked his chin.
"What?"
"Rather than waiting for your vague 'next time for sure,' I think you can actually pay me back in other ways."
"How? You don't even want my bento?"
Yanami asked, bewildered: "This is bento, you know? Food, you know?"
Classmate, are you perhaps valuing food a little too highly?
"With your body," Asakura said, snapping his fingers cheerfully.
The girl froze for a moment, then crossed her arms over her chest, which was quite ample for a certain Service Club president, and leaned as far back against the wall as possible, blushing: "N-No way! A maiden's chastity isn't that cheap! …Ugh, don't keep looking at me with that disgusted look, it really hurts…"
"As far as I know, Yanami, you haven't joined any club, have you?"
"I'm a loyal member of the Go-Home Club."
"That's just another way of saying 'unaffiliated person.' Anyway, you don't have anything to do after school, do you?"
"Every day after school, I'm busy searching the streets for miraculous things that can fill my stomach and soul…"
By the way, how much do you love to eat?
"Anyway, it's good that you don't have a club. Here, take this."
"Where did you pull out such a large piece of paper from… Let me see, club application?" Yanami took the paper and read the title.
"I'm recruiting members. According to the agreement with Hiratsuka-sensei, I must recruit enough people within a certain period," Asakura said. "How about if you join, I'll consider it as you paying back one hundred yen of your debt every day?"
"And after it's all paid off?" the girl asked further.
"It will be converted into small snacks for you."
"Great! Do I sign here?"
You're really signing just for snacks.
"Oh, right, I also need to fill in the club name here. What's Asakura-kun's club called?"
"Chiba Magic Society."
"…Is it still too late for me to back out now? I feel like my friends will make fun of me…"
"Sign it now!"
"Oh..."
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