"Classmate Asaka... what is her relationship with Mr. Ruobai?" Raiden i asked, her gaze sharp and direct.
"I was just going to teach so 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 ?" Upon hearing his explanation, Raiden i'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 install caras 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 i's gaze softened, a clear note of gratitude warming her violet eyes.
Above her head, the affection ter 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 mbers when she first arrived, she beca 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 seed 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 so experience points. Gaining Raiden i's favor in the process, however, was a very welco surprise.
"This is... Classmate Asaka, you wish to join the Kendo Club?" i 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 i's notice. She paused, a thoughtful expression on her face, but her compassion ultimately won out over any lingering suspicion.
"Alright," i said with a nod. "But you should know, there are periodic assessnts for all new mbers of the Kendo Club. If you don't pass, I'm afraid you won't be able to stay."
"Periodic assessnts? What's that?" Rovel asked, a little confused. He was a newcor 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 assessnt was naturally unnecessary for you," Raiden i explained patiently. "The assessnts are mainly to weed out inactive or 'ghost' mbers. 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 i's so-called "good friends" were in the club. They were probably all kicked out for failing their assessnts.
"Previously, the second seat was in charge of all assessnt matters, which ans... ..." 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 t 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 mber of the Kendo Club," Raiden i 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 ti for the next round of assessnts is almost here," Raiden i announced, assigning the tasks. "Mr. Ruobai, why don't you handle the other mbers? 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 mbers, however, looked as if they'd just been handed a death sentence.
A wave of disappointnt 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 mbers 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 ."
Soon, Rovel had kindly renewed the Weakness Debuff for every single mber 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 at.
Under Rovel's "special instruction," Sugi Mikado finally broke through from Level 11 to Level 12, and the other mbers all saw marginal improvents as well. It was definitive proof: getting beaten up was the fastest path to growth! Getting beaten up was the only way!
Following that sa logic, Rovel was once again soundly defeated twice by Raiden i 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 lunchti, Asaka Yuno was surprised to see Raiden i and Rovel sitting together. It even looked like i had prepared a special bento box just for him. A complex, unreadable emotion flickered in her eyes.
"Um... Third Seat, can I ask you sothing?" she asked, timidly approaching Sugi Mikado. She fidgeted with the hem of her uniform, her erald-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 na was Asaka Yuno, a first-year, if he rembered 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 ti 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 ?" 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 mont 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 .
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