Shirai Shiori loved love, yet she despised it. This wasn't a contradiction. She adored the sincere, often tragic, emotions woven between young boys and girls in the pages of her novels. What she hated was the 'love' found in reality—sullied by lust, riddled with competition, and masquerading as something pure. To label that as 'love' felt like an insult to the very word.
Since entering high school, the conversations she'd overheard from other girls revolved around two poles: cosmetics and food, or boys and romance. The soccer club's ace is so handsome. Does he have a girlfriend? I wish he'd be my first… As if they couldn't wait to auction off their own virginity, to package and sell it. It was nauseating.
It wasn't 'love'. It was barely even 'like'. And not an emotional fondness, but a superficial infatuation with bodies, faces, social status. They simply wanted the envious glances of their peers, to bask in the temporary spotlight of being 'chosen.' It was childish, pathetic vanity.
While Shirai Shiori had gleaned such truths from profound literature, she'd never expected the adult world's tawdriness to have already fully metastasized among her peers. It was a sorrowful realization. So, she naturally distanced herself. To be clear, Shirai Shiori wasn't being ostracized; she was proactively isolating herself from what she deemed vulgar.
If Aizono Moe hadn't been in her class, Shirai Shiori's high school life would likely have been a solitary legend.
Regarding friendship, her philosophy aligned with Asato Hitomi's: quality over quantity. One or two true friends in a lifetime were more than enough. She considered herself immensely fortunate to have found both Aizono Moe and Asato Hitomi.
That all three had tested into the same high school and could share this club felt like a minor miracle. She cherished these two people and this hard-won circle, vowing silently to protect it at all costs…
What she hadn't anticipated was Asato Hitomi bringing an 'invader' into their sanctum.
While she trusted Hitomi had her reasons, introducing a boy into their previously all-female space felt, no matter how she turned it over in her mind, recklessly impulsive. She'd heard Hitomi had rejected that Sumitomo boy's application.
Shirai had assumed—hoped, even—that the plan was to keep the Literary Club a sanctuary for girls. That's why she'd felt comfortable leaving recruitment entirely to Hitomi.
She'd never expected this.
Shirai Shiori's trust in Asato Hitomi was absolute, but that trust was predicated on Hitomi's famed rationality. The problem was, Hitomi had a known flaw: she could become frighteningly impulsive, prone to saying things of crushing emotional weight. As a close friend, Shirai knew this well. Moreover, a woman in love was a fool. Even geniuses could be reduced to idiots.
Moe-chan was too innocent to notice such nuances, but Shirai Shiori prided herself on her emotional perception. She had no practical experience, but her theoretical knowledge from countless romance novels was vast.
There was clearly something amiss between these two!
This was no delusion. Hitomi's demeanor towards Kuroha Akira was fundamentally different from her interactions with herself or Moe. That difference could only stem from the peculiar, romantic tension exclusive to men and women.
She had no idea how this boy had managed to capture the heart of a demoness as shrewd as Hitomi. Did that mean he possessed a matching level of cunning and emotional intelligence? Mere superficial traits like gentleness or good looks would never have been enough.
Had there been a battle of romantic wits, a game of who would confess first? And had Hitomi… lost?
Shirai Shiori didn't wish to obstruct her friend's romance. She was prepared to offer her blessings—on the condition that Kuroha Akira proved himself a worthy, trustworthy man.
Currently, his performance was abysmal.
Paradoxically, Shirai had initially held a rather favorable impression of Kuroha Akira. Last semester, he'd been a daily fixture in the library, reading diligently and taking meticulous notes. She'd even briefly entertained the thought of striking up a conversation about a shared book…
Seeing him again today, however, had shattered that image. Kuroha Akira did not seem like a serious person at all.
If he were merely pursuing Hitomi, that would be one thing. But his gaze as it swept over herself and Moe-chan… it clearly held ulterior motives. And a man's ulterior motives towards a woman almost always centered on coveting her body.
How could Hitomi bring such a lecher into our club? Does love truly rot the brain?
What was his goal? He'd been examining them with that… that disgusting look, as if mentally tracing every contour of their bodies with his tongue…
Did he think he could turn this place into his personal ōoku?!
Tsk… This is why they say men are creatures ruled by their lower halves…
Since he was Hitomi's guest, she couldn't openly oppose him. Creating a scene and driving him out would only fracture the sisterly bond between them.
But don't you dare try to create any lewd scenarios in this Literary Club! It won't happen! You filthy-minded man!
Unbeknownst to him, Kuroha Akira had already been marked by the Literary Club's self-appointed 'Love-Lust Police.'
His own goals were far simpler: he'd come to make an appearance, meet the other members, and figure out what, if anything, he was supposed to do here.
Accepting a warm cup of tea from the Class Monitor, Kuroha Akira rested his chin on his hand. "Since it's a club, there must be main activities, right? So what do we do? Read books and write reports?"
"Well…" Aizono Moe offered a strained smile. Shirai Shiori maintained her stoic silence.
In the end, it was Hitomi who answered. "The Literary Club is currently in a state of… suspended animation, Kuroha-kun."
"Huh? Suspended animation? Did the Student Council ground us?"
"The Student Council hasn't issued any formal sanctions. The reality is… our Literary Club can't seem to find 'anything to do.'"
"Come again?"
"Originally, the Literary Club had many functions," Hitomi explained, pouring tea for everyone. "Publishing the campus newspaper, maintaining the announcement blackboards, designing promotional posters for other clubs, organizing reading circles… But I heard that last semester, due to internal disputes, a faction broke away from the Literary Club and formed the News Club. They proceeded to take over all those activities. Whenever the Literary Club tries to start something, the News Club is already there, having done it first."
Kuroha Akira took a slow sip of tea, the pieces clicking into place. "So it was a hostile takeover… a corporate raid on club activities. What's left is just an empty shell."
"You could say that. After the split, the Literary Club was critically weakened. It's survived this long partly because of remaining legacy members, and partly due to its history. It's reportedly one of the original clubs founded with the school itself."
"No wonder it's a target for the Student Council," Akira mused. "A club that's more symbolic than functional, sucking up budget funds… As long as membership stays low and no new blood joins, they can justify abolishing it as 'natural selection,' a relic forgotten by the times."
Viewed this way, even without Sumitomo Ryota's interference, the News Club would likely have sabotaged any recruitment efforts. And even if they succeeded in recruiting, the News Club would continue its blockade, probably with the Student Council's tacit—or purchased—approval.
"Class Monitor… you've really picked up a hot potato."
"That's true. But Kuroha-kun, you'll help me, won't you?" Her smile was luminous, utterly confident.
"Of course. You've already won over my stomach."
"Hehe, I'm looking forward to your performance. If you can completely solve the Literary Club's crisis, Kuroha-kun… I could continue making bento for you next year as well. And the year after that. In fact, I could take care of all your meals for all three years of high school, if you'd like."
Akira's eyes ignited with the fervor of a starving man shown a banquet. He placed a hand over his heart in a gesture of feigned chivalry. "Your Highness, the Class Monitor! This humble servant is yours to command, be it as a loyal hound or a faithful steed!"
Shirai Shiori watched this exchange, her expression unchanging, but her internal confirmation was absolute.
There is unquestionably, undeniably, something going on between these two.