In the afternoon, during club hours...
Akira took wide strides along the corridor, guiding Megumi toward the Volunteer Club room.
"There are currently four registered members in our club, including myself. Aside from the President, Yukinoshita, the other two are our first-year classmates. You must already be well-acquainted with them, Kato," Akira noted, casting a glance at the bob-haired girl walking right next to him.
Megumi maintained a casual walking rhythm, locking her signature flat gaze onto Akira. "Hmm... if I remember correctly, official academy regulations mandate a minimum of five active members for a club to be formally recognized, right? Kitahara-kun, did you suddenly invite me to join this afternoon purely to meet the registration quota?"
"Of course not! I invited you purely because I firmly believe your personality parameters would be an exceptional fit and bring a fresh dynamic to our club, Kato." Akira scrambled to hurl a rapid denial.
"Furthermore, the core objective of our club revolves around accepting and resolving various requests submitted by students. So, if a day ever comes where you run into a troublesome difficulty or problem, Kato, I vow that I will expend all my capabilities to assist you," Akira added.
At that exact second, Akira internally lamented the sharp disconnect between his spoken words and his hidden thoughts. Even though his emotional intelligence parameter was frequently assessed to be hovering near absolute zero, he at least still comprehended what sweet sentences to deploy during a delicate situation like this—even though in reality, his initial intention was purely to secure a familiar acquaintance to salvage their club headcount.
"Hah? A request?" Megumi subtly lowered her head, seemingly murmuring the word while sinking into her internal psychological analysis loop.
The footsteps of the two teenagers finally came to a halt right in front of the clubroom entrance.
*KNOCK! KNOCK!* Akira tapped the sliding wooden door.
"Come in," Yukinoshita Yukino’s clear, chilling voice resonated from within the room.
Akira slid the door open, stepping past the threshold first. "Well, it looks like everyone is already assembled." Akira observed that both Hachiman and Yuigahama Yui were already settled into their respective seats.
Yukinoshita cast a glance at the wall clock, then darted a jengah stare toward Akira. "Yes, and you are officially the only individual who managed to be late, Kitahara-kun."
"My bad, my bad. Oh, right, Yukinoshita, let me introduce you. This is Kato Megumi, my classmate." Akira shifted his standing alignment to present Megumi. "Kato, this is Yukino Yukinoshita, the President of this club."
Megumi offered a polite bow with a highly elegant, graceful motion. "Good evening, Yukinoshita-san."
Yukinoshita set her textbook down, locking a thin, warm smile onto the new female student. "Good evening, Kato-san."
Akira then gestured toward the opposite corner of the room to introduce Hachiman and Yuigahama to Megumi.
Hachiman, sitting in his usual corner slot, merely offered a lazy glance, responding in his signature flat, indifferent voice akin to a dead fish. "My name is Hikigaya Hachiman."
"Hei~ Hello, Kato-kun! My name is Yuigahama Yui, you're totally free to just call me Yui! Is it okay if I address you by your first name, Megumi-chan?" In stark contrast to Hachiman’s gloomy aura, Yuigahama directly welcomed her with an enthusiastic, rapid-fire sequence of sentences.
Megumi locked a thin, remarkably sweet smile onto her face against the energetic reception. "Yes, of course you can, Yui-san. Please take care of me."
"Yukinoshita, so the reason Kato dropped by this afternoon is actually..." Akira was just about to launch into his primary point regarding registering Megumi to satisfy the club quota parameters, but his sentence was violently cut short.
*BANG!*
The sliding clubroom door was suddenly forced open from the outside with an incredibly heavy impact. A glasses-wearing teenage boy marched into the space with ragged breathing, directly pointing his index finger straight at Megumi.
"Kato-san! Please become the primary main heroine of my life!!"
***
Aki Tomoya had been didera by an incredibly foul mood over the past few days. His otaku soul had been set ablaze with burning enthusiasm after accidentally witnessing that cinematic encounter beneath the falling sakura blossoms last weekend. His wild imagination had even structured a top-tier Galgame masterpiece concept that would star himself and Megumi as the primary leads. Unfortunately, his entire dream project grid was obliterated from the very first second it initiated.
Initially, Tomoya had marched into the Student Council room to submit his official application files to establish an independent game circle. However, completely contrary to his expectations, the Student Council Vice President, Shinomiya Kaguya, directly rejected the application files purely because the submitted member headcount failed to meet the mandatory school regulations.
To Tomoya, that initial rejection wasn't a fatal issue. He claimed he already knew five potential individuals to secure his core crew slots: a skilled illustrator, a talented scriptwriter, himself, and a pair of male and female leads. Therefore, Tomoya decided to move toward persuading his two closest targets first to secure their agreement.
However, what left Tomoya entirely shell-shocked was when he caught Akira and Megumi happily enjoying a bento lunch one-on-one on Monday!
That was a severe plot deviation that was completely unacceptable within the framework of his otaku mind! Megumi’s character structure was supposed to fulfill the role of a passive heroine whose presence was paper-thin; how on earth could she directly operate this close to another male character in the very first chapter of the story?!
Driven by pure panic, Tomoya had directly stepped forward to deliver a "rescue" warning to them in the corridor. But completely out of nowhere, Akira launched a rapid sequence of razor-sharp retorts that shattered his circle's mental foundation, rendering a fundamentally weak-willed Tomoya completely frozen and speechless. By the time his focus recovered, the two teenagers had already walked away, leaving him entirely alone.
Upon returning home, Tomoya deeply analyzed the incident. Every single time his memory cells recalled the way Megumi had stared at him that day—which his brain systematically misinterpreted as a gaze packed with pure pity and a silent plea for help—Tomoya pulled a one-sided conclusion. He was entirely certain that Megumi actually deeply desired to join his circle, but was far too terrified to voice it directly due to being under Akira's intimidating pressure.
To rescue his chosen heroine from Akira's grasp, Tomoya decided to execute a tactical ambush ten minutes after school concluded, silently stalking the footsteps of the two teenagers.
The exact second his eyes caught the wooden nameplate reading "The Volunteer Club" in front of the doorway, Tomoya's resolve burned even brighter. He vowed that he would absolutely never permit his sacred heroine to fall into a mysterious circle whose name alone sounded intensely sketchy and erotic on the surface.
***
Returning to the current situation inside the clubroom.
"Hah?! What on earth is this... an absolute, direct love confession?! Has Akira-kun's romantic rival officially materialized?!" Yuigahama instantly clapped both palms against her cheeks in pure excitement. Her eyes darted back and forth scanning Akira, Megumi, and Tomoya with burning intensity. Within her innocent mind, she had already finished structuring a 500,000-word romantic school drama light novel plot.
Hachiman merely raised an eyebrow high. The dead-fish-eyed boy spectated the love triangle drama before him with high interest. 'Heh, feel free to destroy each other... talk about a flawless piece of free entertainment.'
Yukinoshita knitted her brows sharply, launching an absolute freezing glare toward Tomoya. "Young man from the adjacent class, didn't your parents ever teach you that breaching another person's room without knocking first is an incredibly rude act?"
"I'm sorry! I am so incredibly sorry! But right now there is an emergency matter of extreme importance that I must deliver immediately!" Tomoya brought his palms together in a pleading gesture, then swiftly took wide strides past Akira's position to stand directly in front of Megumi.
"Kato-san! This time the pronunciation of your actual first name isn't flawed, right? Please, join my game circle! I swear and promise I will expend all my capabilities to mold you into the most dazzling, radiant main heroine in the entire universe!" Tomoya shouted with burning enthusiasm.
Yuigahama directly clicked her tongue in disappointment from her corner slot. She initially assumed this was a romantic confession battle, but it turned out to be an independent circle trying to hijack a club member headcount, attempting to snatch her friend's potential girlfriend.
Megumi stared at Tomoya with an incredibly serene, flat gaze. "Aki-kun, didn't I already clarify to you last Friday that I possess absolutely zero interest regarding the world of Galgames?"
"That doesn't matter! You're acting like this purely because you have yet to realistically experience the beautiful charm of a Galgame! Join my circle, and I promise you will instantly fall head over heels for this genre while the two of us systematically construct a flawless heroine together!" Tomoya remained stubbornly persistent without a shred of shame. He even went as far as frantically winking his eye toward Megumi to deliver a tactical code, but Megumi merely returned the gesture with a blank, confused stare.
Tomoya began to feel a surge of anxiety inside his chest. He had marched to this place with noble intentions to rescue Megumi from Akira's grasp, so why on earth was the girl before him acting so completely ungrateful to her savior?
*KNOCK! KNOCK*
A gentle knock packed with absolute authority suddenly resonated twice from the direction of the open doorway. Everyone inside the room automatically swiveled their heads toward the source of the sound.
Shinomiya Kaguya and Shirogane Miyuki walked into the clubroom in unison.
"Yo... Shinomiya," Akira greeted casually.
Kaguya curved a formal, highly elegant smile directly toward him. "Good evening, Kitahara-kun."
Meanwhile beside her, Miyuki could only shrug his shoulders resignedly toward Akira, delivering a hidden eye signal as if to say that as the Student Council President, he no longer possessed the power to hold back the situation.
Kaguya stepped forward, parting an official council document sheet nestled within her grip, staring straight at Yukinoshita. "Yukinoshita-san, the one-month evaluation probationary period granted by the academy has officially concluded as of today. Based on the council's archive sheets, the Volunteer Club is verified to possess purely four registered members—a fact that explicitly violates the foundational regulations of the academy's club grid. Based on the standing clauses, the Student Council holds an absolute obligation to execute the formal disbandment of your club..."
Yukinoshita instantly gritted her lower teeth with extreme force. Her fist tightened atop the desk, fiercely refusing to accept the reality that all her hard work and the sanctuary she built had to be systematically crushed in a split second due to formal rules.
"Hehe... um... Shinomiya-san, even though our Volunteer Club member headcount is currently slightly deficient, we've successfully resolved multiple student requests with high parameters of success, you know! So... please grant us another brief extension wave~" Yuigahama attempted to step forward with a sheepish, innocent grin, trying to utilize a path of peaceful negotiation to slip their club past the disbandment trap.
Kaguya's sharp, icy gaze slowly pivoted, locking onto Yuigahama's standing alignment. "My apologies, Yuigahama-san. Even though I personally admire the noble principles and lofty philosophy behind the establishment of the Volunteer Club, academy regulations remain absolute. The previous one-month probationary extension was already the most lenient and maximal legal concession the Student Council could possibly delegate."
Kaguya wasn't intentionally planning to complicate their position on a personal level.
The fact that the Student Council willingly granted a specialized one-month probationary extension to Yukinoshita Yukino was born purely out of political considerations, given the Yukinoshita family was recognized to possess a fairly substantial financial weight within the Chiba region. Even though their scale was positioned far below the absolute dominance commanded by the Shinomiya Conglomerate, the Yukinoshita family was still acknowledged as an influential powerhouse in the district, holding a significant portion of shares in Sobu High School.
Had this situation struck an average, low-tier student, the Student Council was guaranteed to execute the club's demise before they could even experience a single week of probation—the case striking Aki Tomoya's independent circle draft was concrete proof.
Tomoya, who had been standing silently at the corner of the room, subtly curved a massive smirk of pure satisfaction inside his heart upon hearing Kaguya’s declaration.
Once this Volunteer Club was officially executed and dismantled by the Student Council, Akira would automatically lose any right or venue to bind Megumi at school. With that, Tomoya was guaranteed to secure a massive amount of free time to be alone with Megumi, and his confidence parameter to persuade the girl to sign his circle files was bound to skyrocket!
"Um..." Megumi suddenly spoke up, shattering the bureaucratic tension inside the room. "Do students who register and join the Volunteer Club this afternoon still count toward the calculation of the official member headcount parameters?"
"Hah?!" Aki Tomoya instantly stood completely shell-shocked. He genuinely never anticipated that his heroic, confident "rescue" attempt would culminate in an instant betrayal from his chosen main heroine.
"This..." Shinomiya Kaguya stared at Megumi with a thin spark of hesitation in her eyes. The fact that Megumi's presence was paper-thin caused the Student Council Vice President to only just realize there was another individual standing next to Akira this whole time.
"Just address me as Kato, Shinomiya-san. Does a new member application processed right now still count legally to satisfy the quota parameters?" Megumi repeated her inquiry in a tone of voice that was far too serene.
Kaguya locked a formal, elegant smile onto her face. "Of course it counts legally. If Kato-san officially joins today, the Volunteer Club automatically satisfies the minimum requirement of five active members, meaning the Student Council no longer holds any legal basis to execute its disbandment."
At the end of the day, Kaguya didn't actually desire to make the dynamic between them excessively rigid or awkward. Furthermore, Kitahara Akira was actively registered as a member inside this circle.
Based on the Student Council's academic archive sheets, the records regarding Akira's guardian merely indicated that his uncle, Hirokazu Nagano, worked at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Crucially, even the classified intelligence documents gathered secretly by the Shinomiya Conglomerate's vast espionage grid only contained a few lines of vague sentences regarding the man's specific position.
As one of the supreme financial dynasties commanding absolute authority across Japan, the Shinomiya family was a leader in every single sector—be it economy, politics, or military. Even if they desired to dig up private profiles regarding the highest-ranking Police General, they were guaranteed to secure the exact color parameters of the general's underwear by the next day with absolute ease.
The terrifying reality that the Shinomiya shadow network completely failed to pierce or extract any specific data regarding Hirokazu Nagano's rank cleanly indicated that Akira's uncle was systematically protected by the nation's highest tier of classified security. That exact realization was what forced Kaguya—who initially only skimmed the profiles casually—to now exercise extreme caution and observe Akira with a significantly more serious gaze.
***
Akira quickly reached into his backpack, pulling out a blank club application form sheet he had prepped since early morning. Once the mandatory data parameters were filled out, Megumi accepted the paper and directly presented it right in front of Yukinoshita Yukino.
Yukinoshita accepted the form, swiftly scribbling her signature of approval as the President without even needing to inspect the contents further.
"Since the Volunteer Club personnel quota is now verified to be satisfied, the Student Council will no longer disturb your operations. Enjoy your club activities," Kaguya noted as she secured her council documents, turning her frame around alongside Shirogane Miyuki to take wide strides out of the room.
The exact millisecond the sliding door sealed shut, Tomoya, who had been frozen in his corner slot, directly shrieked in absolute frustration. "Kato! Why on earth did you choose to join a sketchy club like this?!" Tomoya was completely crushed. His entire Galgame dream project structure lay in ruins now that his primary heroine had directly defectioned to the opposing side. "Please explain it to me thoroughly, what's so great about a club whose name alone sounds entirely erotic on the surface?!"
Yukinoshita’s eyes instantly narrowed into sharp slits, radiating an absolute freezing aura that practically locked down the surrounding air parameters as she stared straight at Tomoya. "Would you mind explaining with that mouth of yours... which exact segment of our club do you deem to sound erotic, hmm?"
Did this foreign underclassman from the adjacent class seriously think he could attempt to hijack and snatch a new club member right in front of her face? Did this otaku honestly believe a young lady of the Yukinoshita family could be lightly pushed around?
Tomoya shivered in terror under Yukinoshita's lethal stare, yet he still forced his lungs to project his thoughts. "T-The Volunteer Club's name sounds intensely suspicious on the surface! And yet Kato is the absolute most flawless main heroine candidate for the game project I am constructing! Right now she admittedly looks incredibly ordinary and invisible, but under my tactical scriptwriting guidance, she is guaranteed to transform into the most dazzling, attention-grabbing heroine in reality! The 2D world is absolute!" Tomoya roared loudly, showcasing his otaku confidence that he rarely displayed in public.
Yukinoshita let out a soft snort of pure disgust, launching her razor-sharp insults without an ounce of mercy. "An ape whose mind is packed with nothing but a pile of lecherous fantasy trash... daring to step into this place and shout so insolently? Even a single-celled paramecium possesses a cognitive function parameter far superior to yours. No... classifying you on par with a paramecium is an absolute insult to the entire ecosystem of the paramecium species itself!"
Megumi let out a short sigh, staring down at Tomoya with a cold, vacant look. "Aki-kun, from the absolute beginning, I have never once stated that I was willing to become a heroine within your game project. I’ve also explicitly clarified that I possess zero interest regarding the world of game creation. I hope this is the absolute final time I have to remind you. Please, stop disturbing my life parameters further, okay? Your actions all this time... to be completely honest, feel intensely annoying."
Megumi admittedly held a personality that always appeared flat and detached, but that parameter didn't mean she lacked the capability to project anger. Tomoya had been disrupting her peace all day, relentlessly imposing his selfish desires purely to manifest an ideal heroine blueprint, without once bothering to care about Megumi's own parameters as a real human being. The otaku even continuously emphasized his sharp commentary that her presence was paper-thin and low out in public. So what if her presence was thin?
At the very least at this new academy, Megumi had successfully secured genuine friends and people who willingly directed their full attention toward her. This was the absolute opposite of Tomoya, who was intensely unpopular and avoided by other students due to his habit of cornering people with his selfish otaku lectures. If a comparison had to be made, Megumi thoroughly preferred to live a serene, invisible life alongside her friends.
"W... what...?" Hearing that freezing sequence of direct rejection from Megumi, Tomoya stood completely stiff, his face painted with a deep layer of profound disappointment. He genuinely couldn't process why Megumi would deliver a response this brutal, when he had marched here with noble intentions to "rescue" her from Akira's pressure.
"Our Volunteer Club hour sessions are officially initiating now. Uninvited guests who possess zero business here, please pack up and leave immediately," Yukinoshita instructed Tomoya with a ketus tone. Before the otaku didera by psychological shock could even recover his focus, Akira had already locked his grip around his collar, guiding Tomoya's frame straight out of the room.
*SLIDE!* The door snapped tightly shut.
"Alright, everyone, let's get our spirits back up! At the very least, our club successfully bypassed the imminent disbandment crisis with flawless success, right?" Akira clapped his palms together, attempting to dissolve the remaining tension parameters lingering across the room.
Yukinoshita smoothed the pleats of her skirt, offering a sincere, slight bow toward Megumi. "Thank you very much for your assistance this afternoon, Kato-san."
Megumi locked a thin, remarkably sweet smile onto her lips. "Just address me as Kato, Yukinoshita-san. After all, I genuinely harbor a sincere interest to participate and register within the Volunteer Club."
"Hehe~ I knew Megumi-chan was the ultimate lucky star for our club!" Yuigahama directly laughed cheerfully, stepping forward to tightly wrap her arms around Megumi's left sleeve in an intimate gesture.
"Oh, right. If I remember correctly, Kitahara-kun mentioned earlier that the Volunteer Club also accepts and processes requests submitted by its own members, correct?" Megumi suddenly recalled.
Yukinoshita gave a firm nod. "Yes, that's correct, Kato. Do you currently harbor a specific difficulty parameter that you wish to submit to the club?"
Megumi paused for a brief wave, then delivered her response with a serene, innocent countenance. "I... want to request your assistance to enhance my presence parameter at school. To be frank, it feels slightly frustrating sometimes to realize that my appearance is far too invisible in the eyes of others..." Even though she claimed to be entirely used to facing that unique trait for nearly ten years of her life, it still remained a minute pebble blocking her inner heart. If a golden opportunity was truly opening before her eyes, she desired to move to demolish those physical boundaries.
Yukinoshita absorbed the request parameters without a shred of hesitation. "Not a major issue. We officially accept your request, and we will expend the full capabilities of this club to help see it through to completion."
Yuigahama instantly threw both of her arms high into the air with an impassioned expression. "If the objective is to spike your visual allure and charm parameters at school... how about Megumi-chan attempts to dress up in a highly fashionable, sexy style?! Based on my observations, Megumi's physical proportions are actually already exceptionally flawless, you know! I have quite a collection of trendy earrings and accessories at home, I can lend them to you whenever you need them~!" Yuigahama stared at Megumi with eyes sparking with hope, fully intending to alter her friend into a fashionable *Gyaru* style girl.
"Um... a sexy style, is it..." Megumi displayed a hesitant countenance, imagining herself wearing tight, striking clothing along the school corridors.
Akira immediately stepped forward, waving his hand to slice through Yuigahama's unreliable proposal—even though deep within his male heart parameters, he also felt intensely curious to witness Megumi's visuals customized into a sexy *Gyaru* style. "I believe Kato's personality structure is far too relaxed and calm, her natural aura parameters absolutely do not fit if forced to transform into a *Gyaru*, Yuigahama."
Akira tapped his finger against his chin, designing a tactical option that was far more rational. "There is an old proverb that goes: *'Clothing reflects a person's character traits, and a saddle reflects the quality of a horse.'* Based on my view, Kato simply needs to learn to coordinate a highly varied array of casual clothing sets so her natural aura can radiate perfectly. How about this Saturday weekend we all head over to the mall together, purely to assist Kato in coordinating her new clothing sets while providing a few solid fashion style suggestions?" Akira offered a highly enticing operational shopping blueprint.
"A weekend club shopping mission? Wow, that sounds incredibly fun! What do you think, Megumi-chan? Do you agree?" Yuigahama asked, her enthusiasm parameters spiking drastically.
Megumi gave a gentle nod, locking a sweet, genuine smile directly onto Akira. "Yes, I agree with the proposal from Kitahara-kun."
Yukinoshita tapped her fingers against the desk, locking down the final decision parameters. "Excellent, then the shopping operation for this coming Saturday is officially decided. Any objections from anyone?" Yukinoshita swept her sharp gaze across the room.
"Um... I..." Hachiman, who had been quietly nesting in his corner slot this entire time, slowly raised his right hand with deep hesitation. The lone-wolf boy fundamentally desired to voice a protest that he thoroughly preferred staying locked inside his house for the duration of his weekend holiday rather than traveling to a heavily crowded mall complex.
But at the exact millisecond Hachiman’s mouth prepared to open, a beam of a "lethal death ray" radiating an intensely dense aura of pure killing intent was shot straight from Yukinoshita's eyes, striking dead center against his defense perimeter.
Hachiman instantly shivered, quickly lowering his hand back down while swallowing hard. He was forced to unconditionally surrender under the tyranny of the President’s absolute authority. "N-No... I have absolutely zero objections..."