Chapter 31: She Likes Me!
"Classmate Asaka... what is her relationship with Mr. Ruobai?" Raiden Mei asked, her gaze sharp and direct.
"I was just going to teach some troublemakers a lesson and happened to find them bullying Classmate Asaka," Rovel explained, recounting the recent incident. "So, I stepped in to help her out."
"Is it... because of me?" Upon hearing his explanation, Raiden Mei's head drooped, her expression shadowed with guilt.
"President, it's not entirely your fault," Sugi Mikado quickly interjected, stepping forward to ease her conscience. "After all, the other clubs have been looking for trouble with us for a while now. The second seat even went to sort things out yesterday."
He puffed out his chest with pride. ", the second seat had the foresight to anticipate this. He had me install cameras here in advance, and we caught those delinquents red-handed. As they say, the bird that sticks its head out gets shot. With him here, I doubt anyone will dare to cause trouble again."
Finishing his report, Sugi Mikado shot Rovel a look brimming with a kind of masculine understanding before consciously retreating to the side to practice his kendo swings.
"Mr. Ruobai..." Raiden Mei's gaze softened, a clear note of gratitude warming her violet eyes.
Above her head, the affection meter ticked upward, rising from a flat 0% to a promising 10%.
She had believed the Kendo Club was the only sanctuary for her in all of Chiba Academy, but now she realized that wasn't quite true. It wasn't the club itself, but the person in it. She was only safe here because Rovel was here. Recalling the hostile glares she'd received from the other members when she first arrived, she became even more certain of this fact.
And though she didn't know the specifics of what had transpired, Asaka Yuno's application to join the club seemed to have been conveniently forgotten amidst the chaos.
'It was just a small effort,' Rovel thought, his gaze shifting slightly. In truth, he was just looking for opportunities to farm some experience points. Gaining Raiden Mei's favor in the process, however, was a very welcome surprise.
"This is... Classmate Asaka, you wish to join the Kendo Club?" Mei asked, her tone softening considerably. Perhaps seeing a reflection of her own suffering in the younger girl, her natural kindness surfaced.
"Yes! I want to join the Kendo Club," Asaka Yuno replied, her voice firm. She stole a quick glance at Rovel before her eyes darted away again.
That tiny, fleeting gesture did not escape Raiden Mei's notice. She paused, a thoughtful expression on her face, but her compassion ultimately won out over any lingering suspicion.
"Alright," Mei said with a nod. "But you should know, there are periodic assessments for all new members of the Kendo Club. If you don't pass, I'm afraid you won't be able to stay."
"Periodic assessments? What's that?" Rovel asked, a little confused. He was a newcomer too, so why hadn't he heard of this? Then again, his entrance exam had been an actual fight.
"Because Mr. Ruobai has shown such rapid growth and dedication, an assessment was naturally unnecessary for you," Raiden Mei explained patiently. "The assessments are mainly to weed out inactive or 'ghost' members. It's a long-standing rule of the Kendo Club."
"Exactly, exactly! It's a very old rule of ours," Sugi Mikado added, popping up out of nowhere with a vigorous nod.
'So that's it,' Rovel mused. No wonder none of Raiden Mei's so-called "good friends" were in the club. They were probably all kicked out for failing their assessments.
"Previously, the second seat was in charge of all assessment matters, which means... me..." Sugi Mikado's voice trailed off as a horrifying realization dawned on him. A cold sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his back.
Sure enough, when he dared to look at Rovel, he was met with a smirk that was impossible to misinterpret.
'This is bad!'
"I... I will work hard!" Asaka Yuno declared, her expression earnest.
"Then from this day forward, Classmate Asaka, you are a member of the Kendo Club," Raiden Mei said with a gentle smile. "As long as you train diligently, staying here won't be a problem."
"Okay!" Asaka Yuno's eyes subconsciously flickered toward Rovel, full of hopeful anticipation.
"The time for the next round of assessments is almost here," Raiden Mei announced, assigning the tasks. "Mr. Ruobai, why don't you handle the other members? I'll teach Classmate Asaka the basics of kendo."
"That's great," Rovel said, a flicker of delight in his eyes. The other Kendo Club members, however, looked as if they'd just been handed a death sentence.
A wave of disappointment washed over Asaka Yuno's face; this wasn't quite how she had hoped things would go.
Three days later, the Weakness Debuff on the Kendo Club members had finally worn off. The timing was perfect.
"Sugi Mikado," Rovel called out, a cheerful glint in his eye. "Let's start with you."
Sugi Mikado swallowed hard. "...Big brother, please go easy on me."
Soon, Rovel had kindly renewed the Weakness Debuff for every single member of the club. He watched his experience bar increase by over 1,400 points. It wasn't a huge amount, but as the saying goes, even the legs of a mosquito are still meat.
Under Rovel's "special instruction," Sugi Mikado finally broke through from Level 11 to Level 12, and the other members all saw marginal improvements as well. It was definitive proof: getting beaten up was the fastest path to growth! Getting beaten up was the only way!
Following that same logic, Rovel was once again soundly defeated twice by Raiden Mei during their morning practice. Before he knew it, his experience had climbed to 4,200/7,500. He was getting close to Level 9.
At lunchtime, Asaka Yuno was surprised to see Raiden Mei and Rovel sitting together. It even looked like Mei had prepared a special bento box just for him. A complex, unreadable emotion flickered in her eyes.
"Um... Third Seat, can I ask you something?" she asked, timidly approaching Sugi Mikado. She fidgeted with the hem of her uniform, her emerald-green eyes filled with a whirlwind of emotions as she struggled to look up at him.
'This scene...'Sugi Mikado took a deep, steadying breath.'Could it be? Am I... about to be confessed to?'
He reflected on the past eighteen years of his life, a barren wasteland devoid of any such experience. So, should he accept? Or should he reject her? This girl's name was Asaka Yuno, a first-year, if he remembered correctly. She was actually pretty cute...
"Let's sit over there and talk," Sugi Mikado said, pointing to a nearby bench with a newfound air of confidence. 'When did a bench even get here?' he wondered briefly, before dismissing the thought. Now was not the time for such trivialities.
"Okay," Asaka Yuno nodded, sitting down on one end of the bench. A faint blush colored her cheeks, making her look even more bashful.
Sugi Mikado sat on the opposite end, interlacing his fingers in what he hoped was a deep gesture, and rested his elbows on his knees.
"I wonder what Classmate Asaka wishes to discuss with me?" he asked seriously. His voice was steady, almost official, but a slight tremor betrayed the frantic beating of his heart.
"Um... it's just..." Asaka Yuno took a moment to organize her thoughts, then inhaled deeply and finally let out the question that was weighing on her mind.
"Are Mr. Ruobai and the President... dating?"
In an instant, Sugi Mikado's world shattered. He felt as if he had turned into a stone statue, which then crumbled into fine powder and was scattered to the wind.
'Sure enough,'he thought with a hollow ache.'A man must know his limits.'
One of the three great illusions of life: she likes me.
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