Touha Tsuki Holds a Banner

[Quite a lot of manuscripts came in today.

You all did well, Kaoru.]

Hisateru Yoshiko looked very satisfied.

Beside her, piles of manuscripts were stacked up, and she was busy reviewing them together with Nishimura Kiyoshi.

And—

The door of the clubroom kept getting knocked on, as manuscripts were delivered one after another without pause.

The enthusiasm for writing among Sakurano High students was much higher than expected.

No one had imagined that just one day after putting up the notice, so many people would respond.

[But—]

Hisateru Yoshiko sighed, glancing at us as if unintentionally.

[There are still too many.

If only someone could help us review them.]

So she wanted to break the earlier decision and throw the trouble back onto us again?

[Um, President Hisateru, we feel that our publicity work still isn’t enough.

So why don’t we take this chance to properly promote it in front of everyone right now!]

Amayama Kaoru quickly spoke up, deliberately ignoring the meaning behind Hisateru Yoshiko’s words.

Even though she was an easy-to-fool idiot, at this moment she deserved praise.

Well done, Kaoru!

[Eh—]

Hisateru Yoshiko stared in shock.

[Wait a second—]

[So we’re heading out first!]

She grabbed my hand.

[Ahem, President, I’ll be going too.]

Ichijou Rikou coughed lightly and decisively picked up his bag.

Wasn’t that a little too heartless?

Though I thought that, I still spoke gently to Hisateru Yoshiko.

[Sorry, President.]

[Eh—eh—eh, you guys!]

[Uuuh, Kiyoshi, they’re so mean.

Why, why did they just abandon us and leave.]

[President, you’re getting my clothes wet.]

With Nishimura Kiyoshi’s calm words, the wailing in the clubroom finally subsided.

[So how do you plan to promote it, Kaoru.]

After leaving the clubroom, I asked Amayama Kaoru, the publicity member.

[About that, I already have a plan.]

Perhaps because she had become the publicity member, Kaoru’s brain finally started working a little.

Could responsibility really change a person?

But—

It had nothing to do with me.

If anything, I was a little worried.

If Kaoru became smarter and noticed my acting, that would be troublesome.

[We just take out this megaphone and shout around campus.]

She proudly pulled out a loudspeaker from her bag.

Well, expecting her to suddenly become smart was clearly impossible.

[Amayama-san, you’re planning to shout with just that?]

Ichijou Rikou looked awkward, hesitating to speak.

It’s fine, Ichijou-kun.

You can totally just call her an idiot to her face.

No need to worry about me being here.

Of course, as Kaoru’s good friend, I’d definitely speak up to defend her.

Just don’t take the acting seriously, okay.

I narrowed my eyes, waiting quietly for Ichijou Rikou to speak.

[What’s wrong, Ichijou-kun.

Is my method wrong?]

Kaoru asked in confusion.

[This way it’ll spread better.

I’ve even thought that when Yueki is published, I’ll use this to loudly advertise and get people to buy it.]

[Amayama-san—how did you come up with this idea?]

Ichijou Rikou held back for a moment, then asked.

Seriously, there’s no need to hold back.

Just call her a fool directly, Ichijou-kun.

Of course, I’d get angry at you for calling Kaoru that.

Even though it’d all be fake.

[Because there are often announcement trucks passing near my house.

Their loudspeakers are so loud.

They always wake me up on weekends.]

Those recycling trucks shouting “resources collection, resources collection,” right.

They’re really annoying.

Every time I hear them, my head feels like it’s swelling.

[So—]

Ichijou Rikou took a deep breath.

[With just one megaphone, it probably isn’t enough for us, right.]

So he still didn’t say what he really thought.

Was he afraid of discouraging Kaoru’s enthusiasm, so he swallowed it down gently?

[And—]

[Wouldn’t it bother other people?]

Yes, he put it very tactfully.

Shouting with a megaphone in an after-school campus would definitely make you look strange.

I personally didn’t mind.

But could Kaoru really endure everyone’s stares as they passed by?

Before meeting me, she’d been a shut-in otaku who stayed in her own small world.

When she came up with this idea, she probably hadn’t thought about whether she could handle it herself.

That’s why she was a hopeless idiot.

You understand the difficulty now, don’t you.

It’s fine to give up.

As your friend, I’ll comfort you properly.

[That’s exactly what I want to do.

Only by bothering people can we spread it better.]

She showed no sign of backing down.

[I’ve been mentally prepared since yesterday.]

Ah—

It wasn’t exactly surprising.

Maybe I was just a little curious about Kaoru’s determination to change herself.

Still, change isn’t that easy.

Even I can’t change myself.

Everything depended on the results from here on.

[Ichijou-kun and Tsuki, please help me hold up the banner.]

Kaoru pulled out a rolled-up red cloth from her bag.

She’d clearly prepared this in advance.

[Hehe, if I had to shout alone, I’d still be a bit embarrassed.

So I need you beside me, Tsuki.

Otherwise—otherwise, I wouldn’t dare shout.]

She finished with an almost pleading posture.

After all, she couldn’t really escape the setting of being socially anxious from being too much of an otaku.

So—

[Okay, okay.

I’ll support you from behind, Kaoru!]

[If Touha-san agrees, then I have no objections.]

Actually, I wanted you to object a little, Ichijou-kun.

Smiling, I spoke without much resentment.

[Let’s hurry, or everyone will be gone.]

The banner read: “Classical Literature Club Call for Submissions.”

People preparing to head home turned to look.

But compared to the banner, they were looking at me more.

[Touha-san, what are you doing—]

Some people I knew came over, asking curiously.

[My club is collecting submissions.

If you’re interested, please try submitting something.]

I spoke gently, giving them a warm smile as well.

Their expressions immediately brightened.

[Sure, I was just thinking of writing something.]

[I didn’t know Touha-san was in the Classical Literature Club.

Ah, I still can’t leave my own club, and I’m not interested in literature either.

Sorry, Touha-san.]

It’s fine.

I’m not particularly fond of literature either.

I joined the club because of a coin toss.

Still, seeing their reactions, a tiny bit of joy appeared in my dead heart.

Only a tiny bit.

Compared to me, hardly anyone came to Ichijou Rikou.

At most, classmates asked a few questions, then quickly went home.

Seriously, can you all just leave quietly like them.

I dealt with them casually.

After the brief pleasure passed, what remained was—

Ah, so boring.

[Alright, alright, move aside.

Why are you crowding around our Tsuki.]

Kaoru came over to rescue me.

At this moment, she even had the courage to protect her friend.

Well done, Kaoru.

That bit of courage also supported her as she turned on the megaphone.

On the main road, facing the endless stream of students heading home—

[Good news, good news.

The Classical Literature Club is accepting submissions.

As long as your writing is good, you’ll have a chance to be published in our magazine, and you can even earn a generous稿fee.]

[Please note, submission hours are from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Manuscripts should be delivered to the Classical Literature Club room.

The exact location is—]

Kaoru closed her eyes and shouted as if she’d given up entirely.

Her voice attracted a lot of people.

[What types of submissions are you accepting?]

A girl asked.

Kaoru’s body trembled, and she froze on the spot.

So why did you take on such a difficult task for yourself, you idiot.

At times like this, she needed me—her best friend—to step in.

After all, Touha Tsuki is someone who deeply cares about her friends.

[Um, anything is fine.

As long as it’s something everyone would enjoy reading.

Of course, works closer to classical literature would be even better.

For example, introductions to literary works, or impressions after reading one.]

[The more, the better.]

I answered in a very lively tone, tugging on the banner to indicate the words written on it.

[Please support the Classical Literature Club.

Thank you very much.]

[How much is the draft fee?]

[That will depend on sales, so we’ll confirm it later.]

[How many submissions are you expecting?]

[There’s no upper limit.

It’d be great if many good pieces were submitted.]

Their enthusiasm clearly rose.

As soon as one question was answered, another popped up.

Even someone as patient as me was starting to feel overwhelmed.

[In any case, please support us.]

I shouted that, then signaled to the equally surrounded Kaoru.

I softly spoke into the badge on my wrist.

[We’re leaving now, Ichijou-kun.]

[Yeah.]

His gentle voice came through my ear.

He pushed through the crowd, clearing a path for us.

[Everyone, if you have something you want to write, something you want others to see, please submit it to the Classical Literature Club.

And please tell your classmates as well.

We’d be very grateful.]

With that, Kaoru mustered her courage and shouted into the megaphone one last time.

Moments later, we hurriedly escaped from the main road.

[I didn’t expect everyone to be so enthusiastic.]

Kaoru patted her chest, still shaken.

[That’s also because Amayama-san’s way of shouting was very eye-catching.]

Ichijou Rikou said something I deeply agreed with.

What Kaoru had shouted was so distinctive that it was still echoing in my head.

[Hehe, I learned it from those announcement trucks.

They shout like that, so it really leaves an impression.]

[Sounds like you’ve been influenced by them quite a bit.]

[If you ask me, it’s more like torture.

Every time I hear them, I want to cover my ears.]

I joked playfully while expressing my true feelings.

[That’s true.

They’re always noisy on weekends.

It’s really annoying.]

Kaoru nodded.

[Anyway, the goal of promotion is achieved.

What should we do next.

There’s still time before club activities end.]

Ichijou Rikou asked.

[Hmm, should we go back and help President Hisateru?]

[Honestly, I really don’t want to take on manuscript review.]

[Same here, Ichijou-kun.]

[But we can’t just stay here either.

That’d make us slackers.]

[Kaoru wasn’t this diligent during class.]

[Eh—]

[Hehehe.]

[Then let’s go back and take a look.]

In the end, we agreed with Ichijou Rikou’s decision.

And on the way back to the clubroom, we ran into someone.

[Hey, you guys aren’t thinking of going back early, are you.]

Nanjo Rin said irritably.