Chapter 9: The Purpose of Joining the Art Club?
The Art Club's faculty advisor was an old man in his sixties, Teacher Koyama.
After arriving at the Art Club and seeing that there were now four new members, he smiled and nodded, leaving without staying long. He seemed to be the type of advisor who preferred to let the students run the club freely.
After Teacher Koyama left, the President lay down again, even pulling out a pillow from somewhere to rest his head on. He told the other four, "Okay, I'm going to rest for a bit. Feel free to do whatever you like. You can use the statues for sketching, and the drawing paper too. Just tidy everything up when you're done."
"..."
The two girls were dumbfounded, having not expected this kind of development.
Eriri stared at the President, then, after three seconds of stunned silence, asked, "President, aren't you going to assign any club activities or homework?"
"No need, no need."
The lying President waved his hand and said, "Since you all have some drawing foundation, I don't need to teach you anything. Just learn and communicate with each other. So, that's that."
Then, he took an eye mask and earplugs from his pocket, put them on, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Usami Mizuki, sitting next to Eriri, tugged on Eriri's clothes and quietly asked, "Sawamura-san, is this really okay?"
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
Eriri shook her head helplessly and looked at the other two boys in the activity room.
Uchimaki Subaru was already looking through an art book he had taken from a cabinet, paying no attention to the President sleeping. Kaede, seeing Eriri's gaze, said, "You'll get used to it. I had a feeling about this when I came over at noon. This President is quite lazy and casual. But this is good, too. There won't be too many rules during club activities. If there were too many restrictions, I probably wouldn't have joined this club."
As he spoke, Kaede took an easel, set it up, and sat down on a chair to Eriri's right.
"Hmm... It's been a while since I sketched. What should I draw?"
He looked back and forth at the few sculptures nearby, then glanced at the bust sculpture the two girls were drawing, and shook his head: "Forget it. I suddenly lost motivation."
Then, he put down his brush and pulled out the Shonen Jump magazine he had bought last week but hadn't read yet.
Uchimaki Subaru walked over and sat down next to Kaede. Seeing the Shonen Jump in his hands, he asked in surprise, "Asakura, aren't you going to draw?"
"I don't have the motivation right now. Anyway, the President didn't assign any homework. I plan to read the manga I want to read first, then finish my schoolwork. I have things to do when I get home tonight."
"Are you busy?"
"Yeah, I have a lot going on." After flipping through a couple of pages of the manga, Kaede looked at Uchimaki Subaru and asked, "Uchimaki, did you join the Art Club to improve your drawing skills?"
"No, I didn't." Shaking his head, Uchimaki Subaru said with a smile, delivering a shocking statement, "I joined because I want to draw my ideal 2d waifu."
"..."
"..."
Both Eriri and Usami turned their heads to look at Uchimaki Subaru, seemingly questioning the truthfulness of his statement.
Seeing their reactions, Uchimaki Subaru said discontentedly, "Don't look at me like that! I'm completely serious! I've had this idea for a long time: to draw a truly perfect 2d waifu!"
The two girls twitched their lips, their faces full of disbelief.
Usami looked at Uchimaki Subaru and asked, "Uchimaki-san, are you perhaps... an otaku?"
"Hmm... I suppose so. I'm quite interested in ACG culture, which is why I started learning how to draw." Uchimaki Subaru didn't object at all and admitted it with a smile.
Then, he also looked at Kaede: "Asakura-san should be similar to me, right? Do you want to be a manga artist?"
"Being a manga artist is quite difficult, so I don't have that ambition for now." Kaede showed no surprise at Uchimaki Subaru's previous answer and calmly said, "However, I'm more interested in things like storyboarding, so I've thought about studying it. And now that there's an Art Club, I'll have some free time."
Each answer was incredibly abnormal, and Eriri couldn't help but retort, "What kind of place do you two think the Art Club is?"
"A place to create 2d waifu."
"A place where you can do everything except drawing?"
Uchimaki Subaru's answer had already been heard, but Kaede's answer, it must be said, really made Eriri's blood pressure soar.
"Hahaha, just kidding, I'll still draw properly," Kaede waved his hand, put down his Jump, took out his homework, and began writing quickly.
First-year high school homework wasn't much, nor was it difficult; he could finish it quickly.
Seeing Kaede start his homework, Eriri didn't pay any more attention and continued drawing with Usami. On the other side, Uchimaki Subaru was also holding his phone, drawing while comparing something.
Half an hour later, Kaede finished his last math assignment and let out a sigh: "Done, feeling light as a feather now."
"Eh? That fast?"
Eriri had just finished her line art and turned her head in surprise upon hearing Kaede's words.
"Because first-year subjects are inherently simple. I studied a lot before school started."
Shrugging, Kaede also shifted his chair and looked at Eriri's drawing: "Sawamura-san is so amazing; have you been drawing since you were little?"
"Um... yes."
Kaede suddenly moved his chair closer, and the girl's cheeks flushed with shyness; she had always had very little close contact with boys.
Especially this boy in front of her, who still held some leverage over her, though he himself might not be fully aware of it.
Kaede, however, didn't notice Eriri's expression. After rubbing his chin, he pointed to a spot on the drawing and said, "I think the corners here and here could be modified a bit; the line work is a bit rough."
Hearing Kaede say that, Eriri also reacted and realized, "You're right, it does need to be adjusted."
So she immediately made the changes. Since they were already members of the same club, Eriri spoke a bit more casually: "I originally thought you were just here to slack off, but I didn't expect you to have some skill."
"It's alright, I've studied for a while, so I'm pretty good at sketching."
Saying that, he also turned to look at Uchimaki Subaru's drawing on the other side.
"Uchimaki, though, your drawing skill is quite unexpected."
Eriri also looked over and saw a vivid elf girl come to life on the paper.
A "How cute" almost slipped out, but she quickly covered her mouth.
Blinking her sea-blue eyes, Eriri thought to herself, this Art Club is much more interesting than she had imagined.