"Why do you have miso soup in your thermos?"
Horikita was surprised by Amane's move.
She had been wondering how Amane brought the miso soup.
She never expected it to be in a thermos.
"Isn't that clever?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Suzune is so perfunctory. It's not hard to praise me for being clever."
"Mm."
"Just one word, just one word."
"…"
Amane slumped onto the table, her face looking dejected.
Horikita picked up the thermos lid and took a small sip of miso soup.
Although it was made from miso soup mix, being able to drink a hot cup of miso soup at noon was not without its pleasures.
She glanced at Amane, whose mouth was pouting high.
Horikita speared a takoyaki sausage with a toothpick and held it to Amane's mouth.
Amane blinked.
Then, with a defiant air, she closed her eyes.
"Hmph."
"Amane-san is very clever."
"Aw-woo."
Amane ate the sausage in one bite.
"That's more like it."
Horikita shook her head helplessly.
Her tone just now was exactly like when she was coaxing a child.
Amane-san, in some aspects, truly felt like a child.
The two of them ate lunch, chatting and laughing.
Ayanokoji, observing from the side, felt a little envious.
He was still in a situation where he didn't even have anyone to eat with.
But even a cool and aloof girl like Horikita had other girls willing to eat with her.
He, however, did not.
Let alone girls, not even a boy asked him to eat.
This made him feel the malice of life.
Just as the pleasant lunchtime was about to end, an announcement came over the school broadcast.
"Today at 5 PM, a club orientation will be held at the First Gymnasium. Students interested in clubs, please gather at the First Gymnasium. Repeating again—"
Amane's ears twitched.
After hearing it was a club orientation, she lost interest.
Although Amane was currently dedicated to quickly integrating into the class and befriending various people, clubs were a bit too lively.
This would make her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Moreover, there were many rules and regulations.
She would probably feel very distressed.
Well, actually, she just wanted to go back to her dorm and lie down after school.
Or maybe go shopping with a classmate.
Who would be so idle as to join a club?
Horikita keenly noticed Amane's indifferent expression.
"Amane-san, are you going to the club orientation?"
Hearing Horikita's question, Amane thought for a moment.
"I probably won't go. There's nothing interesting there, and I don't really like the club atmosphere."
After Amane finished speaking, she stretched lazily, then immediately lay down on Horikita's desk, planning to take a nap.
"That's a shame. I'm quite interested in checking it out."
Actually, Horikita wasn't very interested in the club orientation either.
But she just wanted to see Amane's reaction if she said she was going.
Amane's ears twitched, but her eyes remained closed.
Internally, she was torn.
To go or not to go?
Just then, Ayanokoji spoke up.
"Horikita, if you want to go, why don't we go together?"
"Ayanokoji, you're interested in clubs too? Oh, sorry, I forgot you don't have any friends yet. You're not planning to make friends at the club orientation, are you?"
Horikita ruthlessly exposed Ayanokoji's little scheme.
"You truly live up to your name, Horikita. So, Horikita, will you accompany me?"
As soon as Ayanokoji finished speaking, he saw Amane staring intently at him, like a protective beast guarding its food.
But the next second, Amane blinked her beautiful eyes.
"You guys aren't going to leave me behind, are you?"
"But Amane-san, you said you weren't going yourself."
"I'm going too."
Amane hugged Horikita's arm and swayed back and forth.
Ayanokoji's gaze left the two of them.
If he could, he actually wanted to advise Amane. If possible, he hoped she wouldn't move so vigorously in the presence of boys.
"You're so annoying. You just said you weren't going, you know."
Horikita raised her hand and flicked Amane's forehead, which made Amane stop shaking her.
"I changed my mind, you see."
"Then let's go together. Perhaps among the three of us, only you have club experience. I remember you said you used to be in the Kyudo Club, right? Was it the captain or general?"
Sweat immediately beaded on Amane's forehead.
Oh no.
She had just casually told a lie back then.
She never expected Horikita to have such a good memory.
She had a bad feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen.
"Being a general is already very impressive. For the Kyudo Club, a general should be able to draw a 35-pound bow, right?"
At this moment, an unexpected voice interjected.
"You seem to be Miyake Akito, Miyake-san, right?"
"Eh? You recognize me? I remember you are…"
Miyake suddenly found himself in a big crisis.
He couldn't remember the name of the cute girl in front of him.
"Miyako Amane, pleased to meet you."
"Pleased to meet you too."
After the two nodded to each other, their gazes simultaneously turned to Horikita.
Horikita sighed.
"Horikita Suzune."
Horikita's tone was rather cold, but Miyake didn't mind.
It was only natural that he, having overheard a topic of interest, would interject and potentially annoy others.
"I just overheard that Miyako used to be the general of the Kyudo Club?"
Miyake looked at Amane with some surprise.
"I guess so..."
Her tone made it hard to believe she was telling the truth.
It was more likely that she was lying.
Just as Miyake was about to question her,
He suddenly remembered something.
When he was in the middle school Kyudo Club, a girl was called violent and ended up leaving the club.
From a male perspective, being the ace of the Kyudo Club was considered a glorious thing, but for girls, it might reduce their attractiveness to the opposite sex, so perhaps she was intentionally avoiding such topics.
"Miyako-san is truly impressive. If there's an opportunity, I truly hope we can exchange experiences. Please forgive my intrusion."
Miyake's tone was relatively gentle.
"It's fine... if there's a chance, we can exchange experiences."
Amane's smile was very stiff.
Horikita felt like laughing.
However, in such a crowded situation, she probably couldn't make such an expression.
They finally managed to see Miyake off, but their conversation was interrupted.
By the time school was dismissed in the afternoon,
Amane, Horikita, and Ayanokoji went to the club orientation together.
Although participation was voluntary,
And no specific areas were assigned by class,
The four classes, as if by unspoken agreement, divided into four sections.
Horikita was still curiously examining the club recruitment billboards displayed nearby.
She was trying to understand what clubs were through the billboards.
Just then, Horikita Suzune saw a familiar figure—the person she was most afraid of seeing right now.
"Suzune?"
Amane felt Horikita's hands on her shoulders.
She turned around in surprise, looking at Horikita who was hiding behind her.
"Don't move, just stay like this."
Amane looked up at the figure standing in the corner in the distance.
Horikita Manabu? Horikita Suzune?
Amane immediately understood some of the reasons.
"Don't worry, I'm here. If you're scared, just hide behind me."