Chapter 163: Raid on the Newspaper Club
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 163: Raid on the Newspaper Club
After having lunch with the President, I consulted with her about Ayabe-senpai from the newspaper club.
"...And that's what happened."
After listening to my entire explanation, the President asked with a serious expression.
"Shall I use the student council's authority to slash the newspaper club's budget?"
"Huh?"
Her response was so unexpected that my eyes widened in spite of myself.
But the President wasn't finished.
"It might not be a bad idea to just get rid of the newspaper club altogether. Now that we're in the media age, not many students bother to read a paper newspaper anyway. This could be a good opportunity to dissolve it."
"No, no, it's fine."
I waved my hands, trying to stop her.
"I was just venting personally. I wasn't asking you to take that kind of action."
The President fell silent for a moment, then glanced at me and asked.
"If you're worried about this blowing up, I can handle it quietly."
"What? No, no, no, no. I'm telling you, it's really fine!"
"Haha, I'm kidding."
As I started speaking rapidly in my flustered state, the President said this and gave me a playful wink.
"I've decided to stop wielding my power as student council president however I please. My term is almost over, anyway."
"Well, that's a relief, but..."
Coming from the President, who rarely ever joked, it didn't sound like a joke at all.
"Come to think of it, there are only a few months left. Until your graduation, President."
Unlike in Korean high schools, graduation ceremonies in Japan are generally held in March.
This is because there's a short third semester between the winter and spring breaks.
So, typically, the former president's duties end with the second semester, and the new student council president establishes a new system starting from the third semester.
In the President's case, she had served as president for both her second and third years, so she had accomplished far more than any of her predecessors.
Although she was called by nicknames like the "Dark Student Council," she had the overwhelming support of the students.
As the secretary, I knew just how dedicated she was to this school.
"Yes. I've made quite a lot of memories at this school. Personally, I have no regrets about choosing to come here."
The President said, taking a sip of her black tea with an elegant gesture.
"More importantly... you haven't forgotten the promise we made last time, have you?"
Pfft!
"Cough! Keck! Hck!"
"Are you okay?!"
I took the tissue the flustered President handed me and wiped up the tea I had spilled.
After my coughing finally subsided, I nodded and replied.
"Yes. I haven't forgotten. How could I forget a promise made in an atmosphere like that?"
The President, seeming to recall the events of summer vacation, blushed slightly and averted her gaze from mine.
"Well, that's a relief. I'll be expecting a positive answer."
"...Understood."
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
It felt like our peaceful tea party had turned into a bed of nails.
I glanced at the Vice President, who was still engrossed in his game, and then stood up from my seat.
"Well then, I'll be on my way."
"Already? There's still some time before the fifth period starts."
"I'm thinking of stopping by the newspaper club I mentioned earlier. I'm going to ask that senpai, Ayabe, directly why she was following me."
"I see. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask. What I said before might have been a joke, but it can become serious at any time."
Seriously, President, when you say things like that, it's actually terrifying...
I muttered to myself internally, then told Minami and the Vice President that I was leaving as well.
"See you tomorrow during club activities."
"Yes, President."
Click!
The door to the student council room closed, leaving me standing alone in the hallway. I started walking toward the newspaper club room.
*
Hanami Yuzuko was a member of the Ichijo Academy Newspaper Club.
A first-year student who had been enrolled for half a year, she had also been in the newspaper club in middle school, which was why she chose it again for her high school club activity.
The Ichijo Academy Newspaper Club had a total of seven members: two third-years, three second-years, and two first-years, including herself.
The third-years were about to graduate and rarely showed up for club activities from the second semester onward because of the Center Exam. As a result, the real power in the newspaper club was held by the second-year Vice President, Takagi-senpai.
Compared to the passionate third-years, Takagi-senpai and the other two second-years did everything half-heartedly, as if to prove they had only joined the club to kill time.
Honestly, just participating in club activities felt like a waste of time, so she was seriously considering looking for a different club next year.
And today.
A man came to visit the lax atmosphere of the newspaper club.
Slide!
"Is this the newspaper club?"
A deep, heavy voice echoed the moment the door opened.
On his thick forearms, which looked like logs had been attached to his body, veins writhed like dragons.
"Uh, uhh?"
He was so tall that Yuzuko, at 154cm, had to take several steps back just to see his face.
His magnificent presence was like Gulliver visiting the land of Lilliputians.
And as a member of the newspaper club, Yuzuko knew this man's name.
'Kim Yoo-Sung (キム·ユソン)'
Also known as,
'The Strongest in the Academy'
'The President's Blade'
'The Black Fiend'
Whoever came up with them, they were all utterly vicious nicknames.
"Who is Ayabe?"
"Huh? Ah, Ayabe-senpai?"
Takagi-senpai answered Kim Yoo-Sung's question with a trembling voice.
She always acted tough in front of the other club members, but even she couldn't help but shrink before this man.
It was an understanding at the genetic level.
That the man before them was born simply to rule.
Thump♥ Thump♥
Yuzuko felt a tremor in the pit of her stomach from primal fear as she held her breath and listened to their short conversation.
"Senpai isn't here today. She's a third-year, so she doesn't come to the club room much in the first place."
"I see."
"Did senpai perhaps do something to get on the student council's bad side?"
"...I just had something I wanted to ask her personally. I don't intend to cause any trouble, so don't worry."
After saying that, Kim Yoo-Sung added a simple, "Pardon the intrusion," and quietly closed the club room door behind him.
"Haaaah~"
Immediately after, Yuzuko let out the breath she had been holding.
It seemed she had been so tense she had forgotten to even breathe.
The other club members around her were also taking belated breaths, just like her.
To create this much tension just by being in the same space... were the rumors floating around the academy true?
As the extreme tension subsided, Yuzuko felt the urge to go to the bathroom and quietly raised her hand.
"Vice President, may I go to the restroom for a moment?"
Takagi-senpai, who had been standing there blankly with a completely drained expression, answered her question a beat later.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure. No, wait, let's go together."
When the two said they were going to the restroom, the other newspaper club members, who had been exchanging glances, also raised their hands one by one.
"Me too."
"I'll go too."
In the end, all the newspaper club members went to the restroom as a group.
*
"Tsk, a wasted trip."
I was sure she'd be in the club room, but she wasn't there.
It was too late to go find her in the third-year classrooms now, so I decided to try again later.
To get back to my classroom before the fifth period started, I crossed the skywalk connecting the annex to the main building.
"Hm?"
But I guess you could call it lucky.
The person I was looking for, Ayabe-senpai, was walking right toward me.
Her gaze was fixed on the camera in her hands, so it seemed she hadn't noticed me yet.
I approached her cautiously and spoke.
"Excuse me, you're Ayabe-senpai, right?"
"Yes?"
Ayabe-senpai finally lifted her head, and the moment our eyes met, she froze like a statue before immediately turning her back and starting to run.
"Wait a minute!"
I hurriedly chased after her.
There was a fair bit of distance between us, but my physical specs had long since surpassed those of an ordinary person.
The gap between us closed rapidly.
"Let's just talk for a bit!"
"Can't hear you! Can't hear you! Can't hear you!"
But showing no intention of stopping, Ayabe-senpai covered her ears and stubbornly continued to flee.
At this rate, I had no choice but to catch up and grab her.
As I picked up a little more speed, Ayabe-senpai glanced back, shrieked, and leaped down the stairs next to her three steps at a time.
"Whoa!"
But then she must have missed a step, as her body suddenly pitched forward.
A fall like that could lead to a serious accident, so I gritted my teeth and threw myself forward.
Crash! Thump-thump-thump!
"Ugh... what in the world happened."
Ayabe-senpai, who was unharmed thanks to me acting as a cushion, muttered as she held her forehead, seemingly unable to grasp the situation.
Lying pinned beneath her, I spoke carefully.
"Senpai, could you please get off me?"
"Ah!"
Belatedly realizing she was sitting on top of me, she blushed and scrambled backward.
"S-Sorry. Because of me."
I got up a moment later and replied.
"It's fine. Something like this won't even leave a scratch."
Indestructibility, which didn't have many other benefits besides making my body tough, was helpful at times like this.
An awkward silence flowed between us as we sat facing each other.
"Um, I'd like to talk with you. Do you have some time after school?"
Ayabe-senpai timidly nodded her head.
"Okay. I'll come find you at your classroom."
"Then I'll see you after school."
Having finally secured a promise from her, I gave a quick bow and returned to my class before the fifth period began.