Keita Imaizumi sighed silently in his heart.
To be honest, no matter how many times you witness someone else's defeat firsthand, it's hard to feel any sense of pleasure.
Especially when the defeated heroine is practically a carbon copy of the one standing beside you.
He glanced at Anna Yanami beside him and found her looking at the despondent figure in the classroom with a mix of sympathy and schadenfreude.
Immediately after, a benevolent smile filled with a sense of 'loser senior' mission appeared on Anna Yanami's pretty face.
Seeing this smile, Keita Imaizumi's heart skipped a beat, and a sense of foreboding surged within him.
Sure enough, the next second, Anna Yanami strode directly towards Shioyaki Lemon.
Her demeanor was completely that of 'Poor kouhai, let your senior properly comfort you.'
"Hey, wait!"
Keita Imaizumi reacted swiftly, grabbing Anna Yanami's wrist.
Before she could react, he pulled her back to his side and then let go.
"What are you doing, Imaizumi!"
Anna Yanami was somewhat annoyed by his sudden action. She turned her head and looked at him with a complaining gaze, "Didn't you see? Lemon, she..."
"I saw."
Keita Imaizumi interrupted her, asking calmly in return, "So, what exactly are you planning to do by going over there now?"
"Isn't it obvious!"
Anna Yanami puffed out her chest righteously, "Lemon is a loser now too! As a fellow loser, of course I need to go over and have a good heart-to-heart with her, and maybe pass on some insights from my experience as a loser!"
Listening to this bold declaration that could be called a 'loser manifesto,' Keita Imaizumi only felt a throbbing pain starting at his temples again.
He covered his forehead and looked at Anna Yanami with a gaze reserved for idiots.
"Please don't go and make things worse."
"Make things worse? I'm concerned about her!"
"Then, should I help you recall,"
Keita Imaizumi's tone remained calm, "what state you were in initially, when you got dumped at the Family Restaurant?"
"I..."
Anna Yanami's momentum (forcefulness) instantly deflated.
"At that time, if a 'loser senior' similar to you had run over, patted your shoulder, told you 'I understand, I've been there too,' and then started Talkative (rattling on) about her failure experiences,"
Keita Imaizumi continued asking, "would you have felt comforted, or would you have found her incredibly annoying and just wanted her to get lost?"
Anna Yanami was completely stumped.
She opened her mouth wanting to refute (refute), but found she couldn't come up with any reason to do so.
Yeah, back then, she just wanted to vent all her negative emotions to someone unrelated and didn't want to hear anyone's preaching.
"Well... fine."
Anna Yanami ultimately gave in reluctantly, but still Unwilling (unwillingly) added in a small voice, "Then can I at least go and show my concern in a more subtle way?"
"Forget it."
Keita Imaizumi veto (rejected) Yanami's unrealistic idea. His tone dull (matter-of-fact) as he turned sideways, using his eyes to Indication (indicate) the hallway ahead.
"Let's go, to the Literature Club. Unless,"
He paused, using a teasing tone, "you want me to'subtly' help you recall right here and now how you'showed concern' for me back at the Family Restaurant?"
"Ugh... fine, fine! I'm coming now!"
Anna Yanami immediately followed him like a deflated balloon, albeit reluctantly, muttering under her breath.
"Bastard Imaizumi, always using this to bully me..."
...
When the two of them arrived at the Literature Club activity room one after the other, the door was unlocked.
Keita Imaizumi pushed the door open, and a familiar scent mingling with old books and tea greeted him.
Inside the activity room, Vice President Koto Tsukinoki was holding a cup of tea, smiling as she listened to Chika Koma saying something across from her.
Seeing Keita Imaizumi and Anna Yanami enter, Koto Tsukinoki looked up, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
"Oh, Imaizumi-kun, Yanami-san, you're here."
Koto Tsukinoki greeted them naturally. Chika Koma habitually stiffened for a moment but soon gave them a slight nod as a greeting.
"Hello, Senpai. Hello, Komari-san."
Anna Yanami acted with graceful ease. She familiarly placed her schoolbag on an empty chair, then accepted the tea offered by Tsukinoki.
"Speaking of which, Yanami-san,"
Koto Tsukinoki turned her gaze towards her, asking in an expectant tone, "how was your visit yesterday? Interested in joining our Literature Club?"
"Well, I thought it was pretty nice."
Anna Yanami nodded, a somewhat sly smile appearing on her face, "If you can guarantee free tea and snacks every day, then I might consider it."
"Of course, no problem!" Koto Tsukinoki immediately promised, patting her chest, "As long as the club budget holds out, tea and snacks are absolutely on the house!"
"So, the club president isn't here again today?"
Anna Yanami looked around the activity room and asked curiously.
As soon as her words fell, the activity room door, which wasn't closed tightly to begin with, was suddenly pulled open from the outside.
A tall boy with a gentle demeanor appeared in the doorway.
"Oh? It's really lively today."
The newcomer was none other than the Literature Club president, third-year student Shintaro Tamaki.
Seeing so many people in the activity room, a look of slight surprise also appeared on his face.
"Yo, Imaizumi, Koto, Koma, you're all here."
He greeted everyone familiarly, finally resting his gaze on the somewhat unfamiliar Anna Yanami.
"You must be the Yanami-san that Koto was talking about, right? Welcome, welcome."
"Hello, President." Anna Yanami also responded politely.
"I heard from Koto that you want to join our Literature Club?"
Shintaro Tamaki's eyes lit up, his face full of delight.
"Yes, that's the idea."
"That's really wonderful!"
Shintaro Tamaki seemed even more excited than Koto Tsukinoki. He quickly walked over to the cabinet in the corner of the activity room, opened the door, and rummaged inside, pulling out a crown made of colored cardboard.
"Here, this is the Literature Club's traditional welcoming prop, passed down through generations!"
He held the somewhat shabby paper crown with both hands, presenting it to Anna Yanami with a solemn expression.
"Welcome to the club, new member!"
"Huh?!"
Anna Yanami looked at the crown, her face filled with surprise and a sense of being at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"Joining a club... actually comes with this kind of treatment?"
"Wait a second," Keita Imaizumi couldn't help but Make complaints (quip) from the side, "why wasn't there this Link (ceremony) when I came last time?"
"Oh, that's because..."
Shintaro Tamaki scratched his head, explaining somewhat sheepishly, "this crown was accidentally damaged by me last time. I just finished repairing it recently."
This reason sounds absolutely full of holes.
Yanami Anna suppressed a smile as she took the crown, symbolically placed it on her head for a moment, and then carefully set it back on the table.
"By the way, President." Imaizumi Keita remembered his business. "Ayano Mitsuki from Class D wants to borrow our club's collection of the Complete Works of Kobo Abe. Is that alright?"
"Ayano? Oh, that Glasses-kun who's really good at studying."
Senior Tsukinoki chimed in, "No problem, as long as he remembers to return it on time."
"Understood, I'll let him know."
Just as Tamaki Shintaro was about to say something more about the club's activity schedule, Koma Chihana, who had been quietly staying in the corner, suddenly plucked up her courage, stood up from her seat, and rushed over to him.
"Pre-President!"
Her voice trembled from nervousness, but her eyes were exceptionally determined.
"Th-That... the book... you recommended to me before... I-I've finished reading it! It was... very good!"
After saying this, she lowered her head with flushed cheeks, her hands nervously clutching the hem of her clothes.
Tamaki Shintaro looked at her hardworking appearance, a gentle and encouraging smile appearing on his face.
"Is that so? I'm glad you liked it. Koma really has good taste."
"The author of that book has several other works that are also quite good. I'll recommend them to you next time."
"Mm!"
Koma Chihana nodded heavily, her face overflowing with pure joy.
Imaizumi Keita watched the scene before him, then glanced at Senior Tsukinoki, who maintained a smile while her eyes inconspicuously drifted between the two.
He quietly moved half a step closer to Yanami Anna and lowered his voice to a volume only the two of them could hear.
"I think I finally understand."
"Understand what?"
Yanami Anna also asked curiously in a low voice.
Imaizumi Keita let out a long sigh, his face full of the helplessness of someone who had 'given up on treatment'.
"The same script is about to be performed three times right in front of me! Three times, three times..."