Vol 2 Chapter 51 – Chemistry with Each Member

The day after persuading the formidable Ryuko-san, we gathered in the clubroom and were in the middle of calibrating a drawing tablet for Torako-san.

Watching this out of the corner of her eye, Toudou-san spoke up while munching on a mouthful of youkan.

“Otora, pour me some kelp tea. That’s a senpai’s order! Hand over the tea!!”

“Toudou-paisen, you didn’t help persuade my mom one bit, did you! You spouted nonsense about taking your payment and going home, didn’t you!? You were the only one who didn’t take my side at all!!”

“Shut up! Society is always unreasonable! I’m the only one who hasn’t fully accepted you yet, anyway!!”

It seemed Torako-san held a grudge against Toudou-san, who hadn’t truly taken her side at all. Toudou-san preached about the unreasonableness of the world while averting her gaze.

Considering we were lacking in persuasive material and Ryuko-san had a point — or rather, ten points — I thought it couldn’t be helped in that situation, though.

“Emma-san, Segawa-paisen, Kajiwara-kun, and Takahashi-buchou all stood up for me. You were the only one — you seriously did nothing!!”

Even while hurling those insults, Torako-san stood up to pour the kelp tea for Toudou-san anyway.

The sushi teacup still had “Flat-chested Beanpole” written on it.

I wonder, is “beanpole” a discriminatory term for tall people? No, the Japan Public Broadcasting Corporation had a host named Noppo-san too, so it should be fine.

I pondered such a truly meaningless thing for just a moment.

“Here, tea! Hurry up and drink it!”

“Right, right, I’ll drink it.”

Sipping the kelp tea handed to her, Toudou-san gave her impressions in her usual sluggish, cat-like, lazy posture.

“It lacks love, unlike when Kajiwara-kun makes it. Fifty points at best. Half the ingredients in a certain cold medicine are made of kindness called love, you know.”

“Toudou-paisen, I really am going to knock you out one of these days! I’ll lace it with poison next time!!”

I feel like there’s no way to put love or anything else into the taste of powdered kelp tea.

Amazingly, they can hurl insults at each other this energetically on the first day of club activities. In a way, their compatibility might actually be good — or so I thought.

Be that as it may.

“…Um, am I the one in charge of training her?”

Emma-san tilted her head, looking as if she harbored doubts about whether Takahashi-buchou shouldn’t be the one instructing her instead. She looked as if she wanted to say it wasn’t a role suited for someone with a communication disorder like herself.

Takahashi-buchou addressed that doubt.

“There are two reasons. The first is that Emma is the best at drawing and has shown the most remarkable growth. The second is that Torako-chan requested to be instructed by Emma.”

“I, Torako, deeply respect you, Emma-san.”

After finishing pouring the tea for Toudou-san, Torako-san bowed respectfully and made her plea.

“I heard your story, Emma-san. That you had never even drawn a picture until you entered high school. To think you drew that manga overflowing with fetishism in just one year… Effort is a given, of course, but you have a natural gift. If you ask who I respect the most among everyone here, it is without a doubt Emma-san. I humbly request your guidance and encouragement.”

Her voice was entirely serious.

Actually, Emma-san is extremely good at manga. Even I couldn’t believe it at first that she had only one year of drawing experience.

“Um, but — even though Takahashi-buchou has instructed me, I’ve never once instructed anyone myself. No, I’ve never actually instructed another person in my entire life.”

Nervously, Emma-san sought help, but well, Takahashi-buchou probably won’t indulge this. She likely thinks of this as a good opportunity.

“Emma, your dream for the future is to become a manga artist, right?”

“Um… I am aware that I’m talking about a pipe dream. But if possible, I’d like to become one.”

I’ve heard that Emma-san wants to become a manga artist — she’s seriously considering making a living from drawing. Everyone here is seriously drawing manga as a hobby, but if you consider who actually has the talent to make a living off it, it would just be Emma-san.

“Then, Emma. Manga isn’t something you can draw alone. You have to work with assistants, too. You can’t become a manga artist just by being good at drawing, right? You also need the ability to give instructions and supervise people. You even need producing skills. I think guiding your junior, Torako-chan, this time is a good opportunity.”

“That is—”

What Emma-san is likely thinking is that she wants Takahashi-buchou to do that. In short, she wants Buchou to stay by her side for the rest of her life.

Even I could guess as much, but Buchou strictly reasoned with her to the end.

“Listen, Emma. I believe our friendship will last a lifetime. There is no lie in that. I hope we can continue doing otaku activities and getting along until we die. But you know, no one can guarantee what will happen in the future, right?”

“You’re saying I might not be able to stay by your side, Takahashi-buchou?”

“That possibility exists. There might be something I want to accomplish even if it means throwing away all the relationships I’ve built with everyone up to now. I might have to take up a profession to make a living. Honestly, I do think it would be nice if I could be your chief assistant when you become a manga artist, but…”

That was a dream-like scenario. Takahashi-buchou had probably judged that, realistically, it was too far off to count on just yet.

“Therefore, consider this a stroke of luck. Guiding people, supervising them, and leading them where you want them to go to create a work — this will undoubtedly become a good experience.”

She spoke gently to her.

Emma-san showed a slightly helpless expression, but she nodded.

“I understand. Um, I’ll treat Torako-chan as my assistant and try to instruct her.”

Emma-san lacks courage. However, she has the guts when it counts — because she knows the successful experience of having gained Takahashi-buchou and her current comrades when she mustered up her meager courage.

“Torako-chan, um, I look forward to working with you, okay?”

“I look forward to working with you, too. Please think of me as your assistant and use me freely.”

Torako-chan’s respect for Emma-san was also likely genuine. This master-disciple relationship seemed likely to go well.

The problem was…

“Otora, refill my kelp tea.”

“Pour it yourself and drink it!”

“What was that, you hussy!”

…whether the relationship between Toudou-san and Torako-san could become at least a little bit better.

While thinking that, I stepped in to mediate with a “now, now.”

As for Segawa-san beside us…

“Moneyyy! The club is officially recognized, and under the name of activity expenses, we get 10,000 yen a month of free-to-use money coming in. We’re rolling in it!”

In charge of not just advertising and publicity but also accounting, her glasses glinted as she rejoiced with the accounting app on her smartphone in hand.

Well, it’s fine, I suppose.

Will this club, now totaling six members, really continue to go well without any issues? Though it’s a bit late to be worrying about that, I became just a little concerned.