"Can't Hiratsuka-sensei just handle this directly?" Asakura asked.
He had also worked many jobs not long ago, including some night shifts when his living expenses were tight. Now, to self-righteously tell a student in a similar situation, 'School rules forbid this,' was something even Asakura, with his thick skin, couldn't bring himself to do.
Moreover, when it came to such matters, a word from a faculty member would clearly be more deterrent than communication from a student.
"Hiratsuka-sensei believes that student matters are best handled at the student level—" Yukinoshita Yukino had clearly asked the older, unmarried female teacher about this. She replied, "Unless we fail, she won't intervene."
Incidentally, Hiratsuka Shizuka's original words were, 'If faculty members intervene, it's like when everyone is sailing the Grand Line looking for One Piece, and suddenly a Super Saiyan appears and flies directly to the destination.'
Yukinoshita Yukino, who hadn't seen either of those works, simply understood that Hiratsuka Shizuka wanted to buy a dress.
Asakura thought about it and felt that it indeed had Hiratsuka Shizuka's touch—whether in the original "My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected" or Asakura's own experience, it was clear that Hiratsuka Shizuka, instead of doing things herself, seemed to prefer entrusting problem children to Yukinoshita Yukino, who was also a problem child, and incidentally, having a problem child solve Yukinoshita Yukino.
Or perhaps, she seemed to greatly anticipate what kind of sparks would fly between problem children.
Of course, throughout the process, she would also pay a certain degree of attention and lend a helping hand to prevent the situation from worsening further.
Hmm, now that he thought about it, it seemed he hadn't encountered Hiratsuka Shizuka outside of class much since establishing his club and renaming it the Magic Club. Could it be that she thought he, this 'problem child,' had already been successfully corrected?
It seems he needed to give her a big surprise sometime, otherwise she would really think he was a good person, Asakura thought to himself.
While burying these thoughts in his heart, he asked nonchalantly, "So what do you plan to do?"
"We'll talk about it after school." Yukinoshita Yukino tidied her bento box and quickly left the activity room with an arrogant expression, leaving a bewildered Asakura behind.
Since Yukino had already left, Asakura was in no hurry to leave for a while.
He lay on his desk, dozing, and hesitated whether to ask the house-elves for a drink or a dessert—although he wasn't particularly fond of those overly sweet European things, Asakura was actually quite interested in Fudge Flies and Ice Mice.
In the end, he asked for a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and some pomegranate juice, and nibbled on them while pondering the future plans for the Magic Club.
After the Founders' Festival concluded, the Magic Club… or rather, the Chiba Magic Society, entered a temporary vacuum period. Aside from Gotō Hitori needing to practice her Magic, the schedule was practically empty. Perhaps because of this, the club members seemed quite… lazy? Lethargic? Anyway, they were in that soft, listless state, and the Clubroom was almost becoming an afternoon tea center.
It seems it would be better to refer to the software Ryunosuke made and arrange some club activities for everyone.
Of course, dangerous places like Mount Kumotori would be skipped for now, as only he and Gokou had combat power in the entire Society. Gotō Hitori, one of the only three with Magic, had combat power roughly equivalent to a slug, even less than Yuigahama Yui's little dog Snake Napoleon.
"Speaking of which, I seem to have heard about a 'Nonexistent Shrine' that can grant wishes?" Asakura stroked his chin, recalling the strange tale recorded in the Ghost Story Scroll he had obtained from Saori.
Such a shrine should not be dangerous; at most, it would involve getting lost in the mountains while searching for it. With him around, such a thing wouldn't even count as an accident.
Moreover, according to Saori, it seemed to be not far from Akihabara, meaning the mountain itself was very likely within Tokyo. This made it even less challenging…
"Whether we find the shrine or not, it can be considered a team-building mountain climb—" Asakura asserted. "And we can also invite Nadeshiko along. She seems very used to camping, so she should have some knowledge about mountaineering, right? It's been a while since we last met, so we can catch up and also ask if anything unusual has happened on her end…"
Asakura picked up a green Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean, examined it for a moment, then carefully popped it into his mouth—hmm, it was ordinary pea flavor—and then wrote down all the things he planned to do in his notebook.
Just then, the door to the activity room was suddenly pulled open from the outside.
"Is Yukino here!" Hiratsuka Shizuka loudly declared, "I'm coming in!"
"You're already in…" Asakura put down his pen, looking helplessly at the teacher.
"Oh, if Yukino isn't here, Asakura, you'll do too." Hiratsuka Shizuka glanced around the activity room, confirmed that the girl who always read by the window wasn't there today, and then shifted her gaze to Asakura.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, is it my imagination, or is your tone like someone who can't buy their desired product and opts for a substitute instead?"
"Don't worry, Asakura, I've never thought of you as Yukino's substitute—" Hiratsuka Shizuka swore, "After all, you have friends."
"Didn't Yukino also become friends with Yuigahama?"
"Did they go to the restroom together?"
"Uh… I don't think so."
"Then they're not friends—" Hiratsuka Shizuka declared.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, isn't your understanding of friendship a bit narrow?" Asakura objectively retorted.
"Until she makes a hundred friends, I, your teacher, will not acknowledge it!"
"Setting aside what you want to acknowledge, Teacher… there aren't many people in the entire Soubu High School who have a hundred friends, are there?"
"Asakura-kun is truly a genius at changing the subject." Hiratsuka Shizuka squinted at Asakura.
"No, no, no, it was Hiratsuka-sensei who went off-topic from the very beginning!" Asakura loudly retorted.
"I came to the Service Club today because I have something to commission you all—" Hiratsuka Shizuka said unhurriedly, her tone steady and solemn, sounding very businesslike.
"If it's about that Togawa Sakiko student, I already know about it from Yukino, you know?" Asakura said.
"You've already heard… but what I'm about to say isn't about that—" Hiratsuka Shizuka gave Asakura a strange smile. "Today, I want to ask the Service Club… or the Magic Club, that's fine too… to show a transfer student around and introduce them to the school environment."
Saying that, she called out towards the door, "Alright, come in."
Next, a graceful figure elegantly walked into the activity room.