Vol 2 Chapter 46 – Provisional Membership

And so, having been summoned by Club President Takahashi’s spell, I set aside my figure drawing practice for the time being and came to this interview room.

“So you called me here, but do you really need my opinion? Haven’t you already made your decision, Club President?”
“Hmm.”

Club President Takahashi groaned. She wanted to say she couldn’t quite decide what to do, but in reality, she’d probably called me to steel her resolve. She rested her elbows on the desk and placed her chin on her clasped hands. It was a rather adorable pose.

“Kajiwara-kun, my conclusion is… well, it’s probably fine, isn’t it? This is fate, right? Is that okay with you?”
“Well, that makes sense. I don’t particularly dislike Tachibana-san—or rather, I barely know her, so I don’t intend to have her turned away for that reason.”

I didn’t know what kind of interview had taken place. I didn’t know the details, but Tachibana-san had cleared the entrance test fairly and squarely from the front. In Club President Takahashi’s heart, she’d probably been leaning toward accepting her from the start. I knew full well she wasn’t narrow-minded enough to say something like “beginner otaku are no good.” Rather, she welcomed them. The president was the type who, upon witnessing someone expose their fetishes, sink into the depths, and become an otaku, would exclaim in delight, “Beautiful! There is no greater art than this!”

“Very well. If you want to become an otaku, I’ll teach you everything step by step. Just like I did with Emma. That’s my conclusion. If she’d told you to stop otaku activities and tried to drag Kajiwara-kun elsewhere, she’d have been a clear enemy.”

That sounds right. If she wasn’t an enemy, if she instead asked to be taught, then Club President Takahashi was far from narrow-minded. Her tolerance was as vast and wide as the ocean. If anyone said they wanted to fall into the otaku swamp, she was the type who’d not only sink them into the ocean instead, but drown alongside them. At the bottom of the otaku ocean, there’s a city where we otaku can live. She’d say things like that, and probably believed it too.

“Kajiwara-kun. Are you really okay with this?”

Stretching her 170cm tall, hunched back, Toudou-san asked as if saying this was the final decision.

“If she interferes with my otaku activities, she’s an enemy, but flatly refusing someone who wants to join us seems questionable by any reasonable standard. Actually, Toudou-san, haven’t you already turned into a cat that’s admitted defeat?”
“Yeah, well, that’s how it is. If I were a cat, I’d be on my back showing my belly by now.”

After fully stretching, Toudou-san yawned and threw her upper body onto the desk. Yeah, this person really is like a cat.

“Can’t be helped. If we’re accepting her, I have one proposal for Torako-chan.”

Toudou-san slowly raised her hand. Tachibana-san responded.

“What is it? If it helps me get accepted, I’m willing to answer.”
“Well, since Chihiro and Kajiwara-kun have already approved, there’s no point in me being the only one opposed. I’ve completely given up already. How about provisional membership for now?”

In any case, let her experience the club—currently a circle—and get to know the atmosphere once. Yeah. That’s not a bad idea, I thought.

“Even though Torako-chan says she can do it, once she actually joins, she might feel out of place. Not as our problem, but Torako-chan might come to dislike it. We’re pretty quirky. We’re perverted, stubborn, and say creepy things. You won’t know if you can really handle that until you try.”

Toudou-san spoke while waving her hand. Tachibana-san looked like she wanted to say that wasn’t true, but…

“Well, I won’t completely deny it.”

I answered those words instead of Tachibana-san. In any case, all four of them were pretty quirky. I’m pretty quirky myself, so I don’t mind at all. I don’t even understand the point of rejecting otaku quirks in the first place.

“So, join provisionally for now. Try it out for about a month as a trial membership, and if you—not us, but you, Torako-chan—ultimately decide you want to officially join, that’s fine.”
“Which means—”

Tachibana-san’s eyes sparkled as if to say ding.

“Well, the membership screening ends here. I think provisional membership is fine for now. After that, we’ll leave it in your hands, not ours. Of course, we won’t harass you to drive you out of the club.”

What do you all think? Toudou-san looked around.

“Well, when you’ve cleared the exam so magnificently and fairly like this… there’s also appearances to consider.”
“When Club President Takahashi has approved, I have no reason to oppose… but please don’t forget about me.”

Segawa-san and Emma-san didn’t seem to intend to oppose either. Segawa-san, as always, was concerned about public appearance as the PR representative. As for Emma-san, she was looking with eyes that said, If you steal Club President Takahashi from me—forget Kajiwara-kun—I might stab you, Torako-chan. Setting Segawa-san aside, Emma-san seemed to have some—no, considerable—issues, but in any case, it was decided.

“Therefore, we of the Modern Culture Research Club welcome Tachibana Torako-san’s provisional membership. After that, if you actually try it and fit in, you’ll become an official member.”
“Hell yeah!”

Making fists with both hands while still seated, Torako-san struck a victory pose. Well—what can I say. Everyone approved, so let’s genuinely welcome her. I clapped alone.

“Congratulations, Tachibana-san. Welcome, for now.”
“Gottsuan desu!”

I didn’t know why she used that sumo wrestling slang (meaning “thank you”) there. Incidentally, in this world, men’s sumo doesn’t exist—only clothed women’s sumo does. In any case, gaining one more otaku companion didn’t seem like a bad result.

“Anyway, the student council is probably anxious about the results, so I’ll go report. Just one person, but we’ve decided on provisional membership. I think the student council can now claim they did what they could.”
“Ah, I’ll go too. Apparently they have leftover preserved yokan, so let’s get about a dozen.”

Club President Takahashi and Toudou-san stood up. Segawa-san had an expression that said well, whatever. Emma-san, still nervous as always, quietly said “welcome” and clapped in imitation of me. As for Tachibana-san…

“Love and courage don’t need any thrusting!”

I didn’t understand the meaning of the words, but she had incredible confidence! While speaking a line that was sumo terminology but not an idiom or anything, Tachibana-san arched her back, puffed out her chest, and responded to Emma-san’s applause. Well, in any case, having the Modern Culture Research Club become livelier seemed like a good thing. I convinced myself of that on my own. Even so…

“You really do have a muscle fetish, Tachibana-san.”

Realizing that with the final hero’s line where love and courage bloom wildly, I wondered how I should deal with her going forward, now that she’d already confessed her feelings to me. I wasn’t a mama’s boy, but maybe I should consult my mother, embarrassing as it was? I had male friends, but asking them about romance would be pointless when they’d had their marriage partners decided since childhood. I felt a bit sad about that reality.