Chapter 404: That Wouldn't Be Just Taking a Punch
The activity room door opened, and under everyone's gaze, Uchimaki Subaru appeared in the doorway.
However, before Usami could be happy for a few seconds, her face fell.
Because standing next to Uchimaki Subaru, she saw the smiling face of Imari Maria.
Everyone else was also surprised by the arrival of this guest.
Logically speaking, Uchimaki Subaru was on duty, so shouldn't Imari Maria have already left school and gone home? How did these two end up together?
Although they had many questions, Kaede still stood up and said with a smile, "We have a guest! Imari-san, welcome to the Art Club."
Imari smiled and said, "Excuse me for intruding. I was very interested in the Art Club, and I happened to run into Uchimaki-san, so I asked him to bring me here."
As he walked in, Uchimaki Subaru nodded and said, "Yes, when I came back from throwing out the trash, I saw her sitting alone, so I went over and asked. She said she had looked around at the clubs still recruiting, but none were interesting, so I asked her about it."
Although Usami's expression had calmed down by now, it was unlikely she would greet the guest, so Eriri stood up, brought over a chair, and invited Imari to sit down.
"Thank you, Sawamura-san!"
After thanking her, Imari excitedly sat down and began observing the Art Club.
"Oh~~ So this is the Art Club. It feels a bit different from what I imagined!"
Eriri and Kaede exchanged glances, and then asked, "Imari-san, what did you imagine our Art Club would be like?"
Imari replied, "When I first arrived, everyone told me the Art Club was amazing. You won two awards in the competition last year and are participating again this year. Plus, Sawamura-san is a manga artist and Asakura-kun is a light novel author, and they're both in this club. In my imagination, for the Art Club to be so impressive, it should be a very large club! But now that I've seen it, I feel a bit of a difference. You should have been able to request a better clubroom, right?"
The Club President said, "We certainly could switch to a better activity room, but we discussed it and decided it wasn't necessary, so we didn't change. Also, we don't have many members; if we moved to a larger place, it would feel empty."
"Oh~~ I see!"
Imari nodded. Although she initially thought the room was a bit small, after hearing the Club President's explanation, she thought it was actually quite nice this way.
After observing Imari for a while, Usami gradually lowered her guard against her. This was because after Uchimaki Subaru entered, his attention wasn't focused too much on Imari. Instead, he put down his school bag and sat down next to her.
"Sorry, Usami, I took a little extra time."
Shaking her head, Usami's face flushed slightly as she whispered, "It's nothing. Was being on duty tiring?"
"It was okay. I've done it a few times now, after all."
Glancing at Imari, who was chatting with Eriri, Uchimaki Subaru whispered, "I noticed something, Usami. Imari-san is actually a kindred spirit."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Basically, she's an otaku girl."
"??? Seriously?"
Nodding, Uchimaki Subaru stated confidently, "She mentioned the plots of several popular recent manga and novels. I can confirm she is indeed an otaku girl. Furthermore, I suspect... she might also have Chuunibyou."
"Hiss..."
Usami drew in a sharp breath.
When she first heard Uchimaki Subaru say that Imari Maria was an otaku girl, she had genuinely been a little worried, as having the same hobbies could certainly bring two people closer.
But if she also had the attribute of Chuunibyou, then things were uncertain.
After all, although Uchimaki Subaru was an otaku and used to always think about drawing his 2d waifu, he didn't have Chuunibyou.
Although she was still a little worried, it wasn't as severe as it had been that morning.
Reflecting on it, her previous reaction had indeed been a bit extreme, so Usami waved at Uchimaki Subaru and said, "After club activities, how about we go shopping together for a bit?"
Uchimaki Subaru looked at Usami with some surprise, but he didn't refuse. Having dated for this period, even Uchimaki Subaru had diligently tried to catch up on some key points of dating. Moreover, Uchimaki Subaru didn't share the dread most men feel when accompanying their girlfriends shopping. Usami also wasn't the type who would shop until they dropped the moment they started.
Suddenly, Imari's voice reached their ears.
"What secrets are you two whispering?" Imari's voice startled both of them. Watching the two quickly separate, Imari smiled and said, "I just heard Sawamura-san say that your competition entries are finished. What are they like? Could you tell me a little? I'm very curious!"
Usami blushed and remained silent, so Uchimaki Subaru had to answer himself: "As for the paintings, I drew a figure painting, and Usami drew a landscape painting. They have already been sent to the competition organizers, and the results will be announced in July."
"Can't I see them now?"
"Yeah, I can't see it," Uchimaki Subaru said with a smile.
Actually, he could still see it because Uchimaki Subaru had taken a photo of it himself when he had just finished drawing it. However, seeing Usami like this, Uchimaki Subaru felt that he shouldn't take it out to show.
If he really did take it out, it wouldn't be as simple as just getting punched.
"Can't see it? What a shame."
Saying this, Imari looked towards Usami, leaning in curiously and saying, "Usami-san, why is your face red? Did something happen? And you two were whispering just now."
"N-nothing!"
Blushing, Usami waved her hand and said, "We just talked about some small things, yes, small things."
He scratched his cheek. Although he was a bit shy, Uchimaki Subaru had heard Kitamura and Takasu briefly mention it at noon. He had originally intended to comfort Usami, and now that Imari was also there, Uchimaki Subaru simply said, "Actually, I was just discussing with Usami about going shopping after club activities."
"Eh? Uchimaki-kun!"
Usami didn't expect Uchimaki Subaru to blurt it out directly, and quickly grabbed his clothes: "Why did you have to say it out loud!"
"Oh~~~ Shopping, huh?"
Eriri naturally heard it too, and came over with a smile: "But, how about also having a candlelight dinner and watching a movie?"
"No, we're not!!!"
Imari was stunned for a moment. Although she had Chuunibyou, she wasn't a severe case, and immediately understood, saying in surprise, "Could it be that Student Uchimaki and Usami-san are dating?"
Alright, there was no need to declare sovereignty; Uchimaki Subaru had exposed it himself.