Chapter 2.1

Youkoso v1c2 . 1

Eventually, after peeking through the cafeteria door, I decided to go to the convenience store, bought some bread, and returned to the classroom .

A group of friends were eating with their desks next to each other, while there were various students quietly eating alone . The only thing common was that nearly everyone had a bento from either the convenience store or the cafeteria .

I was going to start eating when I saw that Horikita had already returned to her seat .

She had on her desk a sandwich that looked delicious .

I returned to my seat without saying anything .

When I was about to take my first bite of my bread, music started to play out of the speakers .

“Today, at 5pm in gymnasium number 1, there will be a club fair . For those of you with an interest in clubs, please come to gymnasium number 1 . I repeat, today──”

A girl with a cute voice made an announcement over the PA .

Clubs, huh . I’ve never been in a club before .

“Hey, Horikita───”

“I have no interest in clubs . ”

“… I didn’t even ask anything yet . ”

“Ok, then what?”

“Are you going to participate in any clubs?”

“Ayanokouji-kun . Do you have dementia? Or are you just an idiot? Didn’t I say from the beginning that I have no interest in clubs?”

“Just because you don’t have any interest doesn’t mean you won’t participate . ”

“That’s a frivolous argument . Don’t make that kind of pointless talk . ”

“Ok…”

Horikita has no interest in clubs or making friends . Whenever I talk to her, she looks annoyed . I wonder if she came to this school just for the education or the high employment rate .

It wouldn’t be surprising if that was her only reason, but it seems unnatural .

“You really don’t have any friends, I see . ”

“That’s wrong . Now I can talk to you pretty well . ”

“You say that, but don’t count me as one of your friends . ”

“R-right, sure…”

“Since you want to go see the clubs, do you intend to enter any clubs?

“No, I’m still thinking about it . I probably won’t join one though . ”

“If you’re not going to join a club, why are you going to the club fair? Strange . Are you using clubs as a pretext to make friends?”

How is she so smart? No, it’s probably that I’m too easy to understand .

“Because I failed on the first day, clubs are my last chance to make any friends . ”

“Isn’t it fine to invite anyone other than me?”

“It’s because I have no one else to invite that I’m having trouble!”

“That’s true . However, I don’t think that Ayanokouji-kun seriously means the things you say . If you really wanted a friend, you’d probably talk more earnestly . ”

“Because that’s not possible for me, I tread the path of loneliness . ”

Horikita quietly resumed eating her sandwich .

“I can’t really understand that kind of contradictory thinking . ”

I want friends, but I can’t make friends . It seems that Horikita couldn’t understand that .

“Did you ever do any clubs?”

“No . I have no experience in any clubs . ”

“Then do you have any experience with things outside of clubs? Oh, you’re talking about something like this and that?”

“… What are you trying to say? I feel the malice behind your words . ”

“Malice? I didn’t even tell you what I was referring to though . ”

I received a chop to my side in a quick motion .

I reflexively coughed from her unexpected strength .

“Hey, what was that for!?”

“Ayanokouji-kun . I’ve warned you already, but it seems like you don’t listen to what I say . Remember that I’m capable of inflicting more pain than I just did . ”

“No violence! Violence doesn’t solve anything!”

“Really? Ever since the beginning of time, violence has existed because it is the most efficient way of resolving problems . It is the fastest way of either getting your point across to the other party or ignoring the other party’s desires . After all, even countries employ police who use weapons and violence to arrest people, right?

“You sure talk a lot…”

She gave me a grand speech, asserting that she did nothing wrong . Whenever she made a remark, she would say absurd things and use it to viciously retort .

“From now on, I will use violence in order to fix the errors of your ways . How about it?”

“How would you feel if I said the same thing to you?”

I wonder why they call men who raise their hand against a women the lowest and cowardly .

“It doesn’t matter, because don’t you think that’ll never happen? After all, I never say something I shouldn’t . ”

That was an answer that came far out of left field . She seems to believe that she’s never wrong .

Even though she looks and acts in a civil manner, she’s mean on the inside .

“I got it, I got it . I’ll be really careful from now on . ”

Giving up on inviting Horikita, I looked out the window . Ah, the weather’s good today .

“Club activities… is it . I see… ”

Horikita mumbled as she pondered over something .

“Only a bit after school is ok, right? I’ll go with you . ”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That you wanted to go to the club fair . ”

“Oh, right . I never intended to stay long . After all, I was only looking for an excuse . Is that fine?”

“If it’s only for a short while . Then, I’ll see you after school . ”

After that, she resumed eating . Looks like she decided to go along with my attempt to make more friends .

Earlier I said that she was unpleasant to talk to, but her attitude seems to be taking a turn for the better .

“Looking at you trying to make friends and failing sounds interesting . ”

Never mind, she’s still unpleasant .