Bai Li, who was too lazy to spend time thinking of a name, applied to establish the Mysterious Research Society.
Kirisu Mafuyu did not refuse. After Bai Li filled out the relevant application form, she told him to first go and check out the clubroom that Hiratsuka Shizuka mentioned had just become vacant.
"I've given you the address. I hope you run the club well."
Hiratsuka Shizuka had an expression of a successful plan.
If she was being so kind as to introduce it, there was probably some catch… Thinking this, Bai Li decided to investigate first.
Halfway there, Chihaya Ain, who was still with them, handed him a bento.
"Bai Li-senpai, I'm going to meet up with Tomori and Soyo soon, so I'll take my leave here."
"No problem, thank you for the bento."
"Once the club is stable, I'll come again."
With that, Chihaya Ain bowed to Mai and then disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
After glancing at the bento, Sakurajima Mai's eyes changed.
"With Asia cooking at home and a junior's lunch outside, Bai Li-kun is really popular."
"And Mai-senpai is also by my side; I haven't forgotten that."
"Of course."
That short sentence brightened Sakurajima Mai's mood considerably.
But she also understood that their relationship wasn't absolute.
This made Sakurajima Mai stop at the stairwell, which currently had no other students, before reaching their destination.
"Bai Li-kun changed my life; you could say you're my savior. So I don't have the right to tell you what to do, I just hope… I won't become the one who is ignored."
"Please rest assured on that point. From our first meeting, the bunny girl tights were already unforgettable."
"Be serious!"
"We're actually almost there."
Bai Li finished speaking and looked ahead.
Not far away was the end of the corridor.
The afternoon sun fell on the floor, revealing specks of dust.
At that moment, students passed by, walking through the dappled light and shadows.
Watching the shifting shadows, Mai then resumed her steps.
The two arrived at the door of the vacant clubroom Hiratsuka Shizuka had mentioned.
Bai Li noticed that the room next door was a bit unusual.
Because the sign on it read [Service Club].
"Service Club?"
"Bai Li-kun saw it too, I initially thought I was seeing things, as the name is quite strange."
"It is."
Generally speaking, seeing the Service Club for the first time would indeed feel strange.
Analyzing it literally, it would be understood as someone serving someone else.
It carries a slight hint of being inappropriate for minors.
However, the Service Club is essentially a club that dedicates its strength to solving others' problems.
"It seems… there's no one inside right now."
"Maybe the president of the Service Club hasn't arrived yet. Let's go in first, Mai-senpai."
"Okay."
Bai Li then pushed open the door.
A colorful mess entered their vision.
This was originally the Art Club's activity room.
For some reason, there were many splashes of paint everywhere, and also many art supplies that had not yet been moved.
"That teacher… no wonder she gave this place to us."
"We just need to clean it up."
Bai Li said, then snapped his fingers.
The controlled Imaginary Energy began to devour the chaos before them.
Except for the equipment that needed to be moved, all the splashed paint was swept away.
"How amazing…"
"There are many ways to use abilities, and this is just one of them."
"Indeed, that settles it, Bai Li-kun. This is now our activity room."
The Mysterious Research Society began its operations at this moment.
— — — —
As soon as lunch break started, the two of them applied to the teacher to create a club, so they hadn't eaten anything.
Therefore, Bai Li-kun planned to split Chihaya Anon's bento in half, but Mai did not accept.
"No, Bai Li-kun, this is lunch she made for you, and today the cafeteria has a set meal I like, so I'm going to check it out now."
"I see. In that case, I'll take care of things here for now."
"Alright, see you after school."
After saying goodbye, Sakurajima Mai left the Mysterious Research Society.
Bai Li-kun sat on a nearby chair and ate all of Chihaya Anon's bento.
The price... probably 800 yen?
Bai Li-kun, who was calculating in his mind how much Chihaya Anon still owed him, put away the bento box and began to explore the room in front of him.
After the paint splattered everywhere was gone, the scene looked much cleaner and tidier.
Bai Li-kun now stood in front of a box and opened it.
As expected, the box contained some painting tools.
"The Art Club disbanded?"
Bai Li-kun, who guessed this, looked up and saw a figure appear at the doorway.
She was wearing the school's standard suit uniform, and the absolute territory between the hem of her skirt and her black over-the-knee socks was quite eye-catching.
Moving his gaze upwards, he saw the beautiful girl who matched the description exactly.
She possessed a refined appearance, delicate features, fair and translucent skin, perfectly sized pink lips, long black hair reaching past her shoulders, and a face so cute it was almost unfair.
Her black hair, like dark molasses, was tied with red ribbon bows on both sides, gently swaying with the breeze from the hallway at this moment.
"Hello, student, are you interested in joining my club?"
"Club?"
"The nameplate hasn't been brought over yet; the current provisional name is the Mysterious Research Society."
"Researching mysteries?"
"Precisely."
Bai Li-kun stood up and walked to the door.
"I'm Bai Li-kun."
"..."
"Oh, does the student not have a name? Then I'll call you Hiranoshita."
"I dislike people who give others nicknames."
"Because I don't know your name."
Although Bai Li-kun knew very well...
"Yukino Yukinoshita."
The girl gave a clear answer.
"Then, Yukinoshita-san, are you interested in my Mysterious Research Society?"
"Not interested. I'm just a bit surprised. I remember the clubroom next to the Service Club originally belonged to the Art Club; later, the president and vice-president had an argument, not to mention disbanding the club, and the place was left in a mess, especially with hard-to-clean paint splattered on the walls and floor. But now... it's all gone, even though it was still there this morning."
"That's the mysterious part."
Hearing the answer, Yukino Yukinoshita stared at Bai Li-kun, her eyes conveying an expression of 'what nonsense is this guy spouting'.
Yukino Yukinoshita then turned around.
"I dislike fakes, and mystery is just that."
"Sometimes, what one perceives as fake can be more reliable than what is considered genuine."
Watching Yukinoshita's retreating back without a glance, Bai Li-kun said seriously.
He believed that someday, Yukino Yukinoshita would understand this point.