Chapter 63

The club time I wasn’t particularly waiting for had returned.

I opened the firmly closed clubroom door with Sena.

I thought it was just us since no sound could be heard, but upon entering, Yohan and Hans were already there.

As soon as they spotted us, they both greeted us simultaneously.

“Nice to see you, Remia-senpai. It’s been a while.”

“You’re here, Remia.”

“…Nice to see you too. But neither of you even noticed Sena, huh?”

For some reason, Sena seemed invisible to them, so my tone came out a bit snappy. It’s fine if they ignore me, but I don’t like it when Sena gets ignored.

“Not at all. I was about to greet her.”

“O-of course. Same here.”

I could see them scrambling to cover it up. It only made me more heated, so I narrowed my eyes.

Just as I was about to fire back, Sena stopped me.

“It’s fine, Princess. The order of greetings is up to them, after all.”

Now that I think about it, she’s right. Why was I getting annoyed over something so trivial?

My gaze unintentionally drifted to Hans. I tried not to consciously pay attention, but that might’ve made me even more tense.

I’m worried about what kind of trouble he’ll cause today. Could yesterday’s self-harm be connected to this? Honestly, all my anxious actions seem to tie back to him. He’s the root of all evil, Hans.

Though in this case, the problem is me failing to control my emotions and lashing out. I should apologize.

I glanced around the frozen atmosphere and lowered my eyes.

“…You’re right. I overreacted.”

“You seem a bit worked up. I understand, but it’s better to hold back. Excessive emotions can hurt you more.”

Sena smiled softly and patted my head.

“But still, I liked it. Because you said it thinking of me.”

Her whispers were enough to ease my tension. I had to control my face, which was heating up, but that’s a separate issue.

I sighed and looked at Hans. He flinched slightly and spoke in a creeping voice. He seems to overreact to my outbursts too.

You’d think he’d be used to it by now. Or maybe it’s because he’s used to it.

“…I really was about to greet you.”

“Let’s just move on. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“It feels weird when you apologize.”

“What’s weird about it? It’s not like we had a big fight.”

“That’s exactly why it’s weird. This level of bickering doesn’t need an apology.”

“True.”

If we were friends.

I swallowed the rest of my words.

The reason I apologized was because even small conflicts could create cracks in our fragile relationship.

Hans’ expression changed subtly upon hearing my response. It seemed like he was embarrassed to see an unexpected side of me.

“And you… you weren’t the type to apologize.”

Back then, I trusted you.

Well, that aside, it was a stupid move. My attitude toward others was messed up from the start.

From his perspective, I was just the boss’s kid barging in recklessly. He must’ve felt like he was walking on thin ice, knowing that upsetting me could cost him his family’s standing. The fact that he smiled and catered to everyone’s whims shows how much pressure he was under. How could he possibly have good feelings toward me?

The fact that he’s awkward over a single apology shows how poorly I treated him. It’s no wonder he’s fed up with me.

Honestly, I get you. I’d have betrayed someone like me too.

So, you should just let it all go and move on. You’re a strange person, you know. Practical yet emotional.

“I was young back then. Sorry for making things hard for you.”

“Again, I don’t want an apology. It’s just…”

As our conversation seemed to drag on, Sena intervened. She looked calm, but there was a hint of jealousy in her expression.

“Let’s stop with the old stories and get started, shall we? Time’s ticking.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s talk about this later, Hans. I’m tired and just want to finish today’s agenda and rest.”

“…Alright. Then wait a moment.”

I managed to wrap up the conversation just as I wanted to avoid it. It’d be great if I could keep dodging it like this.

But it’ll probably be tough. Sooner or later, I’ll have to face it seriously. Though my answer will be the same.

“So, what are we doing today?”

“Let’s just pretend to do something and then take a break. I didn’t prepare anything serious.”

“Figures.”

This club activity started off shaky, but I wasn’t too flustered.

After the last one ended so badly in both content and atmosphere, I came prepared this time. That’s why I came with Sena and steeled myself not to cry no matter what Hans did. Honestly, I’m not sure if it’ll work. I’ve been crying a lot lately.

Still, I should avoid breaking down and sobbing. It’s too embarrassing.

And so began what was essentially our first club meeting. The content was quite different from what I’d braced myself for.

“Alright. Let’s start the first activity of the Observation Club. First, we’ll split into teams of two.”

“Let’s start fair with rock-paper-scissors…”

After a moment of collecting his emotions, Hans became very bright and outgoing.

While the three of us were sitting on chairs at the back of the classroom, he stepped forward and started leading the flow. He looked quite authoritative, writing on the blackboard and pointing with a stick he brought from somewhere.

But, aside from looking convincing, it was ridiculous. Why is he suddenly so enthusiastic? I couldn’t hide my curiosity and raised my hand.

“Hey, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Why are you standing there like you’re the president? Isn’t Sena the president?”

Hans shook his head firmly.

“Blomberg isn’t the president.”

“Huh? Then you are? Why didn’t I hear about it?”

“Not me either… Didn’t I explain it? Why don’t you, a founding member, know?”

“Oops, I forgot to explain.”

Sena, looking embarrassed, tapped her head and came over to whisper in my ear. Every time her breath touched my ear, I got goosebumps. …You could just say it normally, you know.

Anyway, her explanation was just as ridiculous as Hans’.

“Princess. Princess. You’re the president.”

“…Why?”

“When we divided the roles, we had no choice but to give the presidency to you, Princess, since you do the least.”

“Wait. If I do the least, why am I the president?”

I heard the answer, but my confusion wasn’t resolved at all.

A president who does nothing? That’s not a president, that’s a figurehead.

Seeing my puzzled expression, Sena wagged her finger and continued explaining.

“There are only four members, and we don’t really need a mediator. The president’s main role is managing the members. That’s why it feels like a bonus in our club.”

“…What the heck.”

Don’t introduce something like a constitutional presidency… This is fantasy. Give the president some authority.

I felt like my fantasy about the presidency was shattered.

Well, I guess that makes sense.

It’s true that I don’t do much, and it’s understandable. But Hans being weirdly enthusiastic is a different story. It doesn’t make sense, does it?

I came here to slack off and have fun, you know. Why can’t he read the room and is so enthusiastic by himself?

“Anyway, I don’t get why you’re so enthusiastic. Did you say you were going to change me or something? Is it okay for me to just hang out like this?”

“Serious club activities are part of it too. We need to change you, but we can’t keep being at odds with you. With such a haphazard plan, nothing will work.”

“…It’s kind of annoying how unnecessarily sensible you are about this.”

I thought he might try to trigger some trauma with his specialty, welcome magic. Like how Ariana showed me through medicine before. Once you remember, it’s easy to go back to the past.

Considering the bad start, Hans turned out to be an extremely sensible person. The gap made me feel even more uncomfortable.

When I glared at him with cold eyes, Hans adjusted his glasses with a picturesque smile.

“Common sense is the right path and efficiency. Look forward to our future moves.”

“Wow… I’m so looking forward to it…”

“Anyway, let’s start. First, the teams.”

Hans lightly brushed off my sarcasm and returned to the original topic. I decided to give up asking questions and just watch.

Then, Yohan suddenly raised his hand.

“May I have a moment to speak?”

“Huh? It won’t take long, so can you wait a-”

“Thank you for allowing me.”

Yohan casually cut off Hans, stood up, and placed his hand on his chest. His stiff tone gradually gained strength, so it seemed like he was about to say something important.

“I will form a team with DiCardi senior.”

“Wait, we should do it fairly with rock-paper-scissors-”

“Sounds good to me? I’ll team up with the Princess.”

“I agree. This seems more efficient.”

“Right, right. You’re okay with it too, Princess?”

Suddenly, Sena joined Yohan’s opinion and clung to it. I nodded along, not fully grasping the situation.

“Huh? Uh, yeah.”

Sena looked at Hans with a confident expression.

“With this, we have the agreement of three members, including the president. You’ll respect the majority opinion, right? Acting president.”

Why acting president? The president is right here, this is too much.

“There’s no need to create an acting president just because the president has no real power.”

“Ugh…”

Hans muttered in frustration.

“…Since it’s come to this, I have no choice but to show you the true essence of welcome magic.”

“Don’t get competitive over weird things.”

There’s never a normal day, seriously.