Vol 1 Chapter 13 – What it Means to Welcome Someone

It was the day of the new member welcome party.

The room was set with a modest spread of snacks, juice, and fried chicken that President Takahashi had made herself.

The consideration was that if they made it too extravagant, I would probably just feel reserved.

I was happy.

“Thank you all for throwing such a wonderful welcome party for me, senpai.”

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

President Takahashi’s eyes crinkled into a genuine smile from behind her glasses.

What a good person she is.

“Well, think of it as an advance payment for the labor we’ll be getting out of you as a sales assistant,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to the doujin convention, you know. I’ve never been to one.”

“They’re fun. After we’re done selling, it might be nice for us all to walk around and take a look. Though, there probably won’t be any notable circles left in the afternoon…”

Besides, we always sell out in about half a day anyway.

So President Takahashi declared.

They sell 300 copies in half a day? That’s amazing.

While you couldn’t call them a major player, it seemed the “Modern Culture Research Society” was a rather popular circle.

The five of us got into the spirit, nibbling on snacks in a friendly, harmonious atmosphere.

I hope this is a good chance to get to know my senpai better, I wondered, thinking about what to talk about next, when—

“Come to think of it, we haven’t really done proper introductions, have we?”

President Takahashi tilted her head, being the first to speak up.

Now that she mentions it, that’s true.

I was about to introduce myself when—

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ve already told everyone all about you, Kajiwara-kun. They were all ears, so they know everything I know. But you don’t know much about us, do you?”

“That’s true.”

“So I’ll have them introduce themselves. You already know about me, so that’s fine. Okay, in order from the right.”

President Takahashi pointed a sharp finger.

The first girl, though not as tall as me, was tall for a woman, with long black hair in a blunt princess cut.

“I’m Toudou Hatsune. I’m in charge of the butt fetish.”

She declared this while jabbing a thumb toward her own chest.

I knew that from the doujinshi, but to say it herself…

I couldn’t help but cast her an impertinent look.

“You’ve already read the doujinshi, haven’t you! I’d rather confess it myself than have you point it out like Chihiro did! And it’s not like you’d let me grope your butt just for pointing it out, like Chihiro would!!”

She read my gaze and beat me to the punch with a retort.

She’s a spirited one.

I didn’t dislike that.

Though I won’t be letting her grope my butt.

“I’ve been friends with Takahashi since middle school. Nice to meet you!”

“May I ask what President Takahashi was like in middle school?”

“Of course! I’ll tell you about it sometime!”

She held out her hand.

I accepted it, shaking it gently.

“Okay, next! Segawa-chan!!”

President Takahashi clapped her hands, urging the next person on.

“…Ryoune Segawa. I’m in charge of the clavicle fetish.”

Is this welcome party some kind of kink introduction ceremony?

Of the four, she had the largest chest, and her braided black hair practically screamed that she was a pure and proper otaku.

“I believe you’re already aware that I’m in charge of advertising for the ‘Modern Culture Research Society.’ It’s a pleasure.”

“A pleasure to meet you.”

I shook her hand as well.

There’s something a little awkward about these introductions.

We could both feel a vague sense of mutual embarrassment.

“Okay, next, Emma!”

“Y-Yes… I-I’m T-Takakura Emma, in charge of the u-uniform fetish. Nice to meet you.”

Emma-san was a blonde, half-Japanese girl, which wasn’t so uncommon these days.

I knew it.

Past doujinshi had featured men in all sorts of professional uniforms.

President Takahashi had told me that Emma-chan spoke with a stutter, so I should be extra polite.

I tried to make myself look as non-threatening as possible, hunching my body as I spoke to her.

“Are you a fan of police officers?”

“Y-Yes. I’d like to be doing something bad and have a male officer forcefully… discipline me… I also like men in black mafia suits. I’d like to be beaten up by them.”

I know that from the doujinshi, too.

Emma-san, your tastes run deep.

Impossibly deep.

Well, I’m sure it’s just in her fantasies.

I shook her hand slowly, and with that, the introductions were over.

“Alright then, let’s all eat and chat and take it easy…”

President Takahashi brought things to a close, and I thought I’d finally grab a piece of that fried chicken.

Just as I was thinking that—wait, come to think of it, a thought troubled me. The question escaped my lips.

“Just to reconfirm, am I really the only new member? I mean, I remember seeing you handing out flyers to the first-years at the school gate this morning, President Takahashi. But you weren’t at the club fair for new students, were you?”

“Ah, so a flyer made its way to you, Kajiwara-kun. Yeah, that. The school’s official club introduction event doesn’t allow hobby circles to participate, so we did that instead. I made sure to hand them out until every last first-year had one, but… got nothing but radio silence.”

President Takahashi murmured, scratching her cheek with a finger.

Apparently, everyone just gave her weird looks as she handed out the flyers, and not a single person came to talk to her.

“Not a single person joined. It’s just you this year, Kajiwara-kun. And I probably won’t recruit anyone from now on.”

“…Um, if I’m not mistaken, is that… for my sake?”

I hated saying it—it sounded like something an incredibly conceited guy would say—but I had to know.

I wanted to avoid causing any trouble for President Takahashi or the club.

“Hm? I know you’d worry about it, so I’ll be honest. Yes, it is. I mean, you wouldn’t be able to get along with girls who joined the club just to get close to you, right, Kajiwara-kun?”

“Well, I suppose you’re right.”

“But you know, it’s the same for us. It would be a problem for us, too, if some girl who wasn’t interested in the club’s otaku activities joined. At the end of the day, we’re just a nerd’s hobby circle. We’re not a school club with some kind of wholesome objective. We just want to do things at our own pace.”

In that case, am I really not an intruder?

I didn’t want to be a bother to President Takahashi.

But as I thought that—

“You are not a bother.”

She stated it with conviction, as if she’d read my mind.

“I really don’t want you to misunderstand. If you want to get along with us, Kajiwara-kun, then we want to get along with you, too. This Chihiro Takahashi has not one single shred of a desire to make the club bigger or get a ton of members. How’s that, pretty gloomy, right?”

President Takahashi laughed cheerfully, almost as if she were about to cackle, “Fufufu.”

“It’s like this. How do I put it—I’m an otaku, you see. I’m one of those pathetic, gloomy creatures that can only survive by festering in dark, damp places like the rest of my kind. I created the ‘Modern Culture Research Society’ solely out of a desire to get along with like-minded people. So, I tried searching by handing out flyers, and when that didn’t work, the search was called off.”

“This year was a poor harvest with only one find, you know.”

“Otaku were more precious than matsutake mushrooms.”

“But we found you, Kajiwara-kun, so it’s all good,” she declared powerfully.

“What about next year?”

“Let’s think about next year when it comes! Hey, if you’re not up for it, Kajiwara-kun, we don’t have to recruit anyone new. I’m the one who made this club, so it has no history. We don’t have to desperately think about its survival. If it looks like it’s not working out, we can just crush this little hobby circle!!”

President Takahashi shouted brightly.

What a forward-thinking person.

“So you really don’t have to worry. From now on, the five of us are going to have fun with our club activities, okay! And Kajiwara-kun, I’m sure you’ll have worries and troubles as you start your high school life. I don’t know the first thing about being a boy, but if you have anything on your mind, you can count on us! Even things you can’t handle alone, we can figure them out if we work together!!”

Watching President Takahashi thump her impressively curvaceous chest, my heart fluttered.

Even taking my thirty-year past life into account, I had never met anyone with this kind of leadership.

“I’ll be in your care.”

I bowed deeply, expressing my gratitude to President Takahashi.

Yeah, I can do this.

As long as I’m with President Takahashi, I know I can enjoy being in this club.

I was certain the other senpai in the club had felt the same way throughout their time here.

Convinced of this, I broke into a beaming smile.