15+ Advance chapters on Patreon
Meanwhile, Rikka Takanashi skipped cheerfully toward her classroom after leaving Shizuka Hiratsuka's office. The process had been a bit bumpy, but she'd managed to achieve her goal..sort of. She had no doubt that Hiroshi would handle things efficiently. Though it was a shame she couldn't drag him into the club but that was a problem for later. The priority was getting the club started.
Rikka was in high spirits, feeling like her Evil King's True Eye had grown even stronger. But as she neared the classroom, she spotted a girl with blonde twin-tails stepping out of the doorway.
"Blonde Ice Queen?"
Almost instinctively, Rikka ducked behind a nearby pillar. Eriri Sawamura, sensing movement, glanced in her direction but didn't spot the smaller girl.
"Must be my imagination," Eriri muttered, continuing on her way. Lunch break was almost over, and since Hiroshi hadn't shown up, she figured she'd try again later.
Only after Eriri was out of sight did Rikka dare to emerge from her hiding spot.
Why had she hidden? It was all thanks to Hiroshi's actions over the past two years. Back then, whenever Rikka and Eriri crossed paths, conflict was inevitable. Hiroshi always had to step in to mediate, though neither girl was ever truly in the right, it was more like petty squabbling.
But Rikka always felt that Hiroshi sided with Eriri. Over time, she'd grown to dread their encounters. Even after Eriri's attitude did a complete turnaround, treating Rikka like any other classmate, Rikka still avoided her. So, hiding just now had been pure reflex.
"Stupid Hero! Always taking the Blonde Ice Queen's side!" Rikka grumbled under her breath, her face scrunched in annoyance.
"Once school's out, I'll make sure the Hero faces the wrath of the Evil King's True Eye."
"Faces what?"
"Wah!" Rikka yelped as Hiroshi appeared behind her, tapping her shoulder lightly.
Startled, she spun around. "H-Hero, are you done talking to Teacher Hiratsuka?"
Hiroshi smiled faintly, choosing not to tease her further. "Yeah, we're done. Now, you just need to gather five people, and your club can be established."
"But…" A mischievous grin crept onto his face.
Rikka's instincts screamed danger. She tried to bolt, but Hiroshi was faster, grabbing her wrist.
Her tiny frame was no match for him; she was like a bird caught by the ankle, flapping helplessly.
"Don't run off just yet."
"No! Every time you smile like that, something terrible happens!"
"Really? I think my smile is pretty charming."
Hiroshi's expression remained innocent, his heart steady as a rock.
"Relax, it's nothing major."
"You're not… asking for money, are you?"
"Am I that money-obsessed in your eyes?"
Rikka almost nodded but caught herself when she saw his "friendly" smile, quickly shaking her head instead.
Hiroshi's grin faded, replaced by a more relaxed demeanor. "Teacher Hiratsuka said you need five members, right? That means, besides you, we need four more."
"I can help with three of them, but you'll have to find the last one yourself."
Rikka's eyes widened in disbelief. If she hadn't been wearing her colored contact in one eye, it might have popped out. "Hero, just ask for money instead."
Rikka wasn't the type to enjoy solitude, but her chuunibyou antics made it hard to make friends. She'd tried at the start of the year, but it never worked out. As Hiroshi had pointed out, she was lucky not to be bullied.
"Anyway, figure it out. The last member is on you."
"At least show me the power of the Evil King's True Eye, yeah?"
Hiroshi rarely spoke to her like this, his tone almost challenging. It was a tactic he'd used before; hunger marketing, old but effective.
Seeing his expectant gaze, Rikka's confidence soared. She puffed out her chest, her face full of determination. "No problem! Leave it to me."
"Good."
His encouraging tone made her beam even brighter.
Only after Hiroshi left did Rikka snap out of her bravado. She hadn't realized she'd been played, her simple mind focused only on proving herself to him.
…..
Meanwhile, Eriri Sawamura was grumbling to herself. She'd wasted so much time trying to check on Hiroshi, only to come up empty.
"Eriri, where'd you go at lunch?" a classmate teased as she returned. "Looking for Takeda, huh?"
Before Eriri could respond, the girl cut her off. "Oh, speak of the devil. I'll leave you two alone."
Confused, Eriri turned to see Hiroshi approaching.
After parting ways with Rikka, Hiroshi hadn't gone back to class. With a little time left before the bell, he decided to swing by Class F to pick up his lunch boxes from yesterday. Even though their "employment" relationship was over, those boxes were his property, every little bit counted.
Since he'd just missed Eriri's visit, he didn't know she'd already returned them. So, he headed toward Class F, only to run into her as she was leaving.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━━
patreon.com/DUKE3500 for advance chapters for all the novels i translate for 2$