Thanks to Nonomi's help, and my own comparatively negligible contribution, even though we barely took any breaks and only stopped to eat a boxed lunch as a simple midday meal, the flyer distribution work was still completed much earlier than expected.
We worked from morning until around two or three in the afternoon before it was finally finished.
It felt like if it had been just Serika alone, under normal circumstances, she would not have finished until nightfall.
When I showed the completely empty bag to Serika, she stared in shock and said there should have been at least half of them left.
All I could say was that Nonomi's motivation was simply too high, so much so that even the idiot cat noticed something was off.
Seeing that it seemed impossible to bluff my way through, I quietly told Serika that Nonomi had happened to pass by and helped out, and also told her that Nonomi had specifically asked not to let her know, so she should just pretend this never happened.
With a complicated mood, Serika kept muttering things like, "I didn't want everyone to know, does this mean I won't be able to save it for the Foreclosure Task Force anymore," all the way until she took me along to collect the part-time pay, after which she left ahead of me.
According to Serika, since things had ended earlier than expected, she planned to go help out for a bit at the newly opened Shibaseki Ramen.
Maybe that was just the kind of diligent, earnest personality she had, unable to sit still.
As for the half of the part-time pay she gave me, not to mention that it was not a large sum for me, even if it were, there was clearly someone who needed this money more and was more deserving of it.
I planned to put it away carefully, add some of my own money to it, and anonymously send it to the Foreclosure Task Force after a few days.
After that, I met up with Nonomi, who had been waiting nearby for quite some time. She hugged my arm and took me to a nearby sundae shop.
Since lunch had not fully settled yet, the two of us ordered a single sundae that was a full meter tall, chatting as we shared and finished it together.
I had to say, after hard work, cold sweets really did taste exceptionally good.
Especially since, unavoidably, some of Nonomi's bodily fluids had mixed in, which made it feel even sweeter to me.
In any case, I spent a pleasant stretch of time with Nonomi, and at the end stopped her when she tried to use her gold card, insisting on paying myself.
After reluctantly parting with this enthusiastic and gentle rich young lady at the station, I could not help but sigh.
Damn it. This still does not count as a successful conquest? I hate that you can't talk, ya know.
Finally finished with my daytime schedule, after double-checking the time and route, I headed unhurriedly toward Millennium Science School, preparing to take part in the Game Development Department's strategy meeting.
I knocked on the door of the Game Development Department's activity room. Unlike my first visit, this time, after hearing my voice, aside from Yuzu, who was still socially anxious and seemed to be hesitating as usual, the sisters Momoi and Midori almost rushed to crowd the doorway to welcome me.
"Sensei. You're finally here. We've been waiting for so long."
After welcoming me, Momoi turned her head to her sister and said, "Midori, move over a bit. Sensei can't get in like this."
Midori puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. "That's my line, Onee-chan. You should step back first."
Momoi widened her eyes. "What? Why are you suddenly talking to me like that?"
This just showed how deep my sins ran, to the point that the sisters were turning against each other because of me.
I spoke in a low voice to stop them. "No fighting, okay. Let's go in together."
It was a close call not laughing out loud.
In any case, I sat in a circle on the round carpet with the girls from the Game Development Department and began today's main topic.
Yuzu, as the club president, was the first to speak. "Th-then, the strategy meeting will officially begin. Please, everyone, speak freely."
Everyone looked at one another, feeling the atmosphere suddenly grow heavy.
As the only adult present, I cleared my throat. "Let's first reconfirm the current situation. According to Rio's requirements, we need to win an award at the Millennium Club Competition two months from now, right?"
Momoi added, "And we also need to meet the minimum number of club members."
"I've already confirmed the minimum membership requirement for Millennium clubs," Yuzu said softly. "Four members is enough, which means we're still short by one person."
"But the club recruitment period has already passed a long time ago, hasn't it?"
Midori's expression turned somewhat downcast. "My sister and I joined the Game Development Department more than four months ago, and since then, there hasn't been a single unaffiliated student who's come to visit us."
Momoi encouraged her. "There's nothing we can do about that. The Seminar president personally gave the order, so circumstances are stronger than people. All we can do is give it our all. There are still a full two months before everything is decided, so don't talk about giving up already. We can definitely do this."
"I didn't say I was giving up, jeez."
"In short," I summarized, "winning an award at the club competition and meeting the membership requirement, thereby proving the value of the Game Development Department's continued existence to Rio, that's our current main quest."
Hearing that, Momoi suddenly got excited. "Ohhh. Sensei, the way you talk sounds just like a veteran gamer."
In stark contrast was Yuzu's reaction. "Uu… when you really look at it, aren't both of those way too difficult for us…"
I nodded subtly.
Especially the part about winning an award, considering the level of completion of the Game Development Department's previous works.
If we got last place, was there at least a consolation prize?
Midori sighed lightly. "Even though both are hard to achieve… compared to developing a game right now, shouldn't we first focus on recruiting suitable members?"
As the saying goes, if you want to do a job well, you must first sharpen your tools. If we could recruit excellent members, it would also provide more help for game development.
However, Momoi said, "We already tried really hard during the day… but no one was interested."
Midori followed up, "Exactly. If it were that easy to find someone interested, we wouldn't have gone this long without anyone showing up."
At this point, Momoi grew indignant. "Ugh. Not only did people say things like, 'Pfft. Even VR is already obsolete, and you're talking about retro games?' treating us like idiots, someone even directly asked me, 'Who are you?'"
"Well, Onee-chan doesn't really have many friends," Midori said.
"Midori, what are you saying? You're the same."
Meanwhile, off to the side, Yuzu looked like she was about to cry from self-blame, her voice trembling. "I-I'm sorry… I can't help at all…"
"It's fine, this isn't Yuzu's fault," Momoi said irritably. "It's all that despicable president's fault. To think she'd take advantage of the fact that we otaku girls don't have many friends. Unforgivable."
Midori deadpanned, "I think this is one hundred percent our own fault."
The girls looked at one another, all sighing before falling silent.
I thought that at this point, all I could do was encourage them a bit and take things one step at a time.
But just as I was about to speak.
"Hehehe. This is where it's my turn to make an entrance."
The television suddenly turned on by itself, and a confident, sharp female voice came from it, drawing the attention of everyone present, myself included.
After a ripple passed across the screen, a breathtakingly beautiful girl with white hair and pointed elf ears appeared, smiling.