I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine - Chapter 8

Episode 8: It Seems Choosing a Club Together is Preferable

University students have quite a bit of freedom with their time.

For example, even class schedules, aside from mandatory courses determined by the department, are up to individual discretion.

For instance, if you schedule all your classes for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, you can have the rest of the days completely free.

However, this overly flexible framework was causing us headaches.

“Ugh, I think I’ve hit my limit even though I’ve tentatively decided. My brain feels like it’s overheating.”

As soon as we left the Literature Faculty building, Aoba rubbed her temples while gazing up at the sky.

Despite being a new female university student with the most stunning beauty, she seemed a bit old-fashioned in a way, but I understood how she felt.

It was like back when we were studying for entrance exams, and our heads would start spinning.

And then, to add insult to injury, there were club recruitment activities.

Today, just like any other day, it was quite lively.

While it seemed a bit calmer compared to the first day, there was still a lot of energy in the air.

“Strength is power! Will you sail through the rough waves of this era with us?”

“We also support new students in course registration!! Hooray, hooray, course registration!! Dive into club activities with easy course registration, hooray!!”

“Hey, please. We urgently need cute boys!! Not the weird ones!! Boyfriends, go home!!”

The individuals with overly strong personalities we saw yesterday were still desperately trying to recruit members today.

…With such aggressive pitches, wouldn’t they scare people away? The atmosphere was becoming downright terrifying.

It felt even more chaotic than yesterday, and I definitely didn’t want to get any closer.

And speaking of not wanting to get closer, the club we should be most cautious about was the one we encountered yesterday.

“Cosmos isn’t setting up a booth today, as expected.”

“Oh, that’s right. I saw this morning that it was posted on the campus bulletin board. The club has been suspended indefinitely due to allegations of underage drinking by club members and suspected sexual assault.”

“…Is that so?”

For now, I let out a sigh of relief. Apparently, the police and the school were taking action after yesterday’s report.

By the way, I haven’t received any requests for interrogation yet. Probably because I only reported the situation at the scene, the parties involved haven’t been questioned.

Likewise, it seemed that Aoba, whom I helped escape from the scene, was in the same situation.

“Thanks to you, Nogami-kun, the peace of Keido was preserved.”

“That’s too much.”

I replied like that and tried to head towards the school gate, away from the club recruitment booths.

However, once again, Aoba was pulling at my sleeve.

“My shirt’s gonna stretch soon… It’s cheap, you know.”

“But. Aren’t you going? The welcoming party!”

She tilted her head in confusion, looking up at my face.

From my perspective, I was more puzzled about why I was expected to go in the first place.

“I didn’t promise to go.”

“That’s true, but isn’t this the flow? We decided on our courses together, so naturally, we’ll go to the welcoming party, right? Let’s go to some kind of welcoming party!”

Aoba passionately argued, her breath becoming heavy.

But still, I wasn’t feeling it.

“…Even so, meeting her is something I really don’t want, and I still can’t quite get used to this atmosphere.”

“But that’s such a reason. The chances of running into hrt are pretty low, I think. This is Keido University, after all. You’ll get used to the atmosphere eventually.”

“Well, maybe, but…”

“That’s right, absolutely. Now, let’s go?”

Aoba moved around to my back and began pushing me towards the path lined with circle recruitment booths.

“Why does Aoba want to go?”

I found myself asking in response.

“You just went through a terrible experience. You might go through another painful one.”

I added involuntarily.

And that’s just yesterday.

Normally, one would hesitate or be cautious at least a little. But I can’t feel any of that from Aoba.

Aoba eased the pressure on my shoulder in response to my question.

After a brief growl, the answer came back:

“It’s disgusting!”

It was an unexpected statement.

“It’s not that I’m not scared. I’m just fed up with going through that again. But, you know, I don’t want those guys to mess with my life. I came here to enjoy university life, but I don’t want scumbags like them to get in the way… It’s disgusting!Dis! Gus! Ting!”

Aoba said loudly, then peeked her face from my side.

“So, I decided not to care about it. Those guys have nothing to do with my life.”

She showed her white teeth and smiled warmly, like a friendly lion.
Her smile radiated a strong brilliance that caught my eyes.

“Strong, isn’t she?”

That was the impression I murmured, but it seemed she didn’t hear it.

“Now, Nogami-kun, let’s go!!”

Aoba grabbed my hand instead of my sleeve and started pulling me toward the row of club recruitment booths.

Yeah, she’s not only strong but also forceful.

At least she’s considerate of my sleeve.

“…So why am I also going?”

“It’s the flow, the flow. Besides, Nogami-kun has an important role. You’re my personal bodyguard! If I walk with Naomi-kun like this, those weird club people won’t come up to us, right?”

“Indeed, I’m emitting quite a negative aura right now. They probably won’t approach me from the party circles.”

“No, you’re too negative. It’s just that weird club people are less likely to approach when you’re with a boy.”

In the end, I was dragged all the way to the front of the club recruitment booths.

Although I was still hesitant about whether to go or not,

“Ah. If you go to the welcoming party, dinner is free! Seniors usually pay for it.”

“…Eh, seriously?”

“Oh, you’re interested? Yeah, dead serious. Alright, let’s go eat!”

“…Let’s go!”

Free meals were a rare occurrence given the lack of decent food in our pantry other than stick bread.

And so, with Aoba leading the way, we headed into the main street lined with club booths.