The air in the activity room fell into a subtle stagnation due to Tsukinoki Koto's hasty departure.
Imaizumi Keita looked at Koma Chihana, who had her hands raised high with a tragic "I surrender, don't kill me" expression, and felt his temples begin to throb again.
This pain had nothing to do with the Succubus Aura losing control; it was purely born from mental exhaustion.
Why were the people around him always those who were exceptionally difficult to communicate with?
First, there was a loser who unilaterally dumped her emotional baggage, and now there was a gloomy girl who needed to summon massive amounts of courage just to speak.
Imaizumi Keita sighed inwardly and tried to make his voice sound as gentle and harmless as possible to avoid completely scaring away this junior who looked like she was about to shatter.
"Komari-san, you can put your hands down now."
He pointed to the teacup on the table and spoke in a level tone.
"I'm not going to do anything to you. I just want to ask you to normally introduce the situation of the Literature Club to us, that's all."
He paused and then added in a gentle voice, "See, the Vice President has already abandoned us without hesitation for her boyfriend. Now, you're the only person left in this activity room who knows the club's situation, right?"
These words didn't seem to have a calming effect; instead, they were like stepping on a major landmine.
"That's not it!"
Koma Chihana retorted emotionally, her voice cracking slightly.
She suddenly slammed her raised hands onto the table, her body trembling with excitement, and an unexpected stubbornness suddenly flared in her eyes that usually avoided contact.
"Senpai Koto and Senpai Shintaro aren't in a relationship!"
This sudden, intense reaction startled not only Imaizumi Keita but even Yanami Anna, who had been listlessly flipping through a light novel.
"They... they're just childhood sweethearts!"
Koma Chihana shouted this with all her might, as if clarifying an absolute fact that could not be defiled.
As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately sensed a gaze that made her skin crawl.
Yanami Anna put down her light novel and slowly stood up from her seat.
Her movements were slow, and her face wore a thoughtful expression.
"childhood sweethearts... who aren't together..."
Yanami Anna murmured to herself as she walked step by step toward Koma Chihana and Imaizumi Keita.
Her eyes were glazed as she locked onto Koma Chihana, wanting to get more of the response she desired from her.
"Komari-san..."
Yanami Anna's voice carried a dreamlike drift, "You know, I am too."
"Eh?"
Koma Chihana completely couldn't understand the current situation, and her body shrank back as she tried to distance herself from the dangerous aura radiating from Yanami Anna.
Watching this scene, Imaizumi Keita only felt his headache intensify.
One with extreme social anxiety, and one with loser PTSD.
Putting these two together was simply a disaster...
He reached out and pressed his hand directly onto Yanami Anna's head as she was about to continue approaching Koma Chihana, forcefully pushing her back into the empty seat beside her.
"Alright, you stay put."
Imaizumi Keita's tone was full of impatience, "Stop scaring Komari-san."
"Ouch! Imaizumi, what are you doing!"
Coming to her senses, Yanami Anna clutched her head and protested to Imaizumi Keita with a dissatisfied look.
"Just because childhood sweethearts aren't together doesn't necessarily mean it's like your situation."
Imaizumi Keita looked at her and heartlessly pointed out her little thoughts, "Those two might just simply not have those kinds of feelings for now, but you—"
He paused, choosing the most concise words to deal Yanami Anna the most heavy critical hit.
"In your case, he didn't care about you at all and ran off with another woman."
The air was silent for a moment...
The next second.
"Uwaaaaaah—"
Yanami Anna covered her face with both hands and let out a wail that sounded incredibly fake.
"Imaizumi Keita, you bastard! Demon! You're simply not human!"
"How can you so bluntly hurt a pure girl's broken heart! My heart hurts so much! I'm going to die!"
While fake crying, she peeked through the gaps in her fingers to secretly observe Imaizumi Keita's reaction, her eyes full of expectation that said, "Quickly, come comfort me, quickly apologize."
Imaizumi Keita turned a blind eye to this and even let out a sigh.
He simply calmly picked up the teacup on the table, blew on the steam, and took a slow sip.
Sandwiched between them, Koma Chihana cautiously moved the book in front of her face to open a slit, watching this exaggerated interaction, which was like a mini-theater, with eyes full of confusion and shock.
Although... although what Classmate Imaizumi said was indeed very harsh...
But isn't Yanami-san's reaction way... way too exaggerated?
It feels just like she's acting.
And why is the way they interact so strange?
They clearly seem so close, yet the content of their conversation is always about hurting each other.
Is this... the way normies communicate?
So complicated...
Koma Chihana's brain fell into even deeper confusion...
"Alright, stop acting."
Imaizumi Keita put down his teacup and looked at the still-wailing Yanami, speaking helplessly.
"If you keep faking your crying, no one's going to give you a refill when you get thirsty later."
"Hmph!"
Yanami Anna immediately stopped her wailing and glared at him huffily.
"I wasn't acting! I'm just very sad! You must compensate me! Buy me a matcha parfait!"
"Fine, when you can make it into the top fifty of the grade in your exams, I'll treat you."
"You might as well just kill me!"
Seeing that the two were about to start another round of their daily bickering, Imaizumi Keita decided to handle the main business first.
He turned his head and redirected his gaze to Koma Chihana, who was still trying her best to lower her presence.
"Alright, Komari-san, jokes aside."
Imaizumi Keita's tone returned to normal, "Let's continue our previous topic. So, what does the Literature Club usually do..."
Before he could finish, the old wooden door of the activity room was knocked on again from the outside, neither too hard nor too soft.
Knock, knock, knock.
The three polite and rhythmic knocks made all three people in the room instinctively look toward the door.
"Um... I'm Shikiya from the Student Council. Is now a good time?"
A somewhat low and languid female voice came from outside the door.
Without waiting for a response from those inside, the person turned the doorknob and directly opened the wooden door of the activity room.
A figure with a full and shapely silhouette walked in.
Her light brown wavy hair draped loosely over her shoulders, with a simple flower accessory pinned near the ends.
Her school shirt wasn't buttoned neatly, the cuffs were casually rolled up to her elbows, and her skirt was shorter than the usual short skirts.
She wore light, natural-looking makeup, and her eyes, fitted with white colored contacts, gave her entire being a unique, non-everyday aura.
She was a gyaru with a very unique aesthetic, yet undeniably beautiful.
In his mind, Imaizumi Keita silently categorized this Shikiya from the Student Council.
Shikiya scanned the interior of the Literature Club activity room, her gaze pausing for a moment on Imaizumi Keita, and then she slowly walked toward him.
Her steps were very slow, carrying a sense of weakness as if her energy could run out at any moment, much like those slow-moving zombies in movies.
This unique behavioral style made Imaizumi Keita subconsciously tilt his head slightly.
Combined with this classmate's somewhat silent personality, was she a zombie-type Silent Gyaru?
"You are... the Literature Club's... Imaizumi... right?"