I Thought It Was a World Where Chastity Norms Were Reversed, But It Turns Out I Was Just Surrounded by the Overly Intense Girls in My Class - Chapter 32: The Fourth Member

Chapter 32: The Fourth Member

“Are you absolutely sure you can play shogi?”

“No way I can play. Even if I could, I’d be worse than a hamster.”

“A hamster?”

It was lunchtime.

I spotted Kagurazaka Kana reading a book of tsume shogi problems while eating her lunch.

I got excited and called out to her without thinking, hoping to start a fun shogi conversation.

“Are you really sure you can’t play?”

“I’m seriously telling you I can’t. I was just reading a book, that’s all.”

She kept denying it as usual.

I couldn’t imagine anyone but a shogi player reading a tsume shogi book, but maybe for a big reader like her, this was normal?

No, that couldn’t be right.

If you didn’t know the rules of shogi, it wouldn’t be fun at all, and you probably wouldn’t even understand it.

Yet Kagurazaka Kana narrowed her eyes and stared intently at the book.

She was definitely reading it. Not the text, but the positions.

But no matter how much I pressed her, she stuck to saying she couldn’t play shogi.

So I couldn’t pursue it any further.

It would be the best if I could talk shogi with Kagurazaka Kana. I’d want to talk about it forever.

“Tatsuya-san.”

As I held that wish in my heart, I suddenly realized Yukimi was standing behind me.

She had been working on something big on loose-leaf paper during lunch, and it looked like she had finally finished.

“Here you go.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“I have written down my feelings for you.”

With those heavy words, Yukimi handed me the loose-leaf paper covered in writing.

I wasn’t happy about it at all, but I had to thank her, or she’d decide to make a sequel.

That was the one thing I wanted to avoid.

By the way, we were in the classroom right now.

That meant the moment Yukimi handed me the letter was seen by our classmates, and rumors were already starting everywhere.

Some of them were about the shogi club, and it seemed people thought it was a dangerous club full of yankees.

I had no idea why that rumor was going around, but it definitely wouldn’t help us get new members. To put it mildly, it was the worst.

But when it came to how bad things were, Yukimi’s writing wasn’t far behind.

She smiled brightly while her eyes alone urged me to read it quickly.

With no choice, I looked over the contents, and it made me want to hold my head in despair.

“Yukimi-san.”

I held my head with my right hand and whispered softly so no one else could hear.

“Don’t you think you should hold back a bit on consulting your mom?”

“Why is that?”

“Because it’s way too extreme.”

Her mom was probably keeping her own husband locked up.

There was no way advice from someone like that could be normal—

And Yukimi, influenced by her, seemed to be getting even more extreme. After all, the word “handcuffs” appeared three times on the loose-leaf paper.

I mean, normal people don’t use that word, right?

Probably not many people can even write it in kanji, right?

Some people might think it’s a threat letter, right?

If things kept going like this, our club members might end up getting arrested.

Worried about that, I presumptuously gave her some advice, but Yukimi just kept smiling and said nothing.

I guess it was hopeless after all. They’re mother and daughter.

As I gave a bitter smile,

“Oh, Baba, you’re here. I thought you’d be holed up in the club room.”

Wakabayashi poked his head in from the classroom door.

He, who had some connection to the word “handcuffs,” walked over to me with a grin and said right away,

“I’ve decided… I’m joining the shogi club!”

“…………………………………………………………….. Huh?”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what he said.

After a while, my brain caught up.

“For real?”

“Yeah! I thought about it a lot, but I figured it’d be okay with you, Baba. Plus, I heard some crazy rumors lately.”

“Rumors?”

“You took down a wolf with your bare hands, right?”

“A wolf?”

What on earth was he talking about?

I had no idea at all. If anything, the closest thing was chasing a dog wearing sunglasses, but that was way too far from the truth.

Rumors get exaggerated easily, but a wolf was just too much.

This wasn’t some elementary school kid’s heroic tale.

“Baba-chi, you’re seriously the strongest.”

“Kagurazaka-san?”

Yet she believed the silly rumor. Kagurazaka Kana stared blankly at my eyes, as if in a daze.

“I can’t afford to lose to Hamuhamu. I have to get strong enough to take down a wolf like Baba-chi.”

“Hamuhamu?”

Why was a hamster coming up there?

I had no idea what was going on anymore.

“Um, let me get this straight. Wakabayashi, you’re joining the shogi club, right?”

“Yeah! I figured a notorious club like that would be fine for someone with special circumstances like me. Looking forward to it!”

“…Y-Yeah, looking forward to it.”

I was dying to know why it was notorious, but having a long-awaited new member made me incredibly happy.

With those mixed feelings, I shook hands with Wakabayashi.

“Tatsuya-san!?”

At that moment, Yukimi pressed both hands to her face as if panicked, but that was normal for her, so I ignored it.

Finally, we could take the first step as a real shogi club.

That fact made me happier than anything.

I was so happy that even after the chime rang, I stayed frozen in a daze, unable to move.

“Tatsuya-san, let’s go back.”

In the end, Yukimi dragged me back to my seat, and even then, I kept staring blankly out the window.

And so, the shogi club was officially formed.