The group followed the Physical Education Teacher back to the office. As they were about to open the door, the Physical Education Teacher raised his hand, signaling them to wait. He then took the lead, walked up, and casually put his arm around the Math Teacher's shoulder, ignoring the Math Teacher's frown, and dragged him aside.
Soon after, the Math Teacher looked at the photos of the pool on his phone and spoke to everyone.
"Since you're all so serious, I'll make an exception this time. Rikka, you only need to score 50."
"Eh! Shouldn't the association, which contributes to the school, exist? Can't it... can't it be exempted?"
"You have the nerve to say that? Were you doing it?! I sometimes look at the pool from the office when I have time. Did you do anything? Do you think saying that is fair to Oriental Student?"
"Yeah, are you being fair to me?"
...
Hearing Fang Wuwei's sudden complaint, everyone was silent for a moment, and unanimously decided to ignore him for now.
"In short, if you want your club to continue existing, let me see your determination! I've already lowered your score by 10 points, which is quite good! Let's go."
Everyone returned to the club room, silent, and the atmosphere was somewhat heavy for a while.
"In short, whether this association can survive depends on you, Rikka." Fang Wuwei sighed, staring at Rikka and speaking slowly. Then he locked his gaze on Yuta, "Yuta, your math is very good. I'll leave it to you."
"...What is the math monster talking about?"
"Yeah, it's not easy to build a nap club, let's work hard together~" Koushou, for once, wasn't sleeping. She put her hands on Rikka's shoulders, racking her brain for ideas, "Don't worry, we'll help you, Rikka-chan!"
"I've decided!" Rikka, who had been silent with her head down, suddenly looked up and shouted, "Since it's for the survival of the stronghold, even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will not hesitate!
Yuta! I order you to assist me and help me achieve great things!"
"Who are you ordering?!" Yuta chopped Rikka on the head, making a crisp 'dong' sound. From the sound, it felt like her head was empty.
————This is a diligent dividing line————
That night, Yuta, who had decided to help Rikka, went upstairs to tutor Rikka in math.
Fang Wuwei also went with them, but he only stayed at Yuta's home for a meal. Yuta went up after eating, and he had no intention of going up and disturbing the two of them.
At the present, he was holding a cup of tea and watching TV, with Kuzuha sitting beside him, and the cute Meng Ye and Cat Chimera in his arms. He was quite happy.
Up on the second floor, even when faced with the threat of the association's disbandment, Rikka initially refused to study properly. She would ask for a break after less than ten minutes of studying, and Yuta reluctantly accepted.
The two came to the living room. Unlike Yuta's home, which was always lively, what met their eyes was only an empty living room. Because there was no one, it seemed particularly desolate.
Yuta stared at the extremely simple leftover dinner on the table, lost in thought. It was Rikka's leftovers, and she hadn't cleaned them up. She didn't have the thick skin like Fang Wuwei to freeload meals at Yuta's home.
So he chose to simply clean up these leftovers. At the present, he could somewhat understand Toka.
"Why?" Rikka, who was boiling water, saw Yuta come over with the dishes and asked after a moment of hesitation.
"Why what...? It's dirty, and besides, there's nothing else to do." Yuta picked up the dishcloth and began washing the dishes. At this moment, he appeared so gentle.
Rikka stared at Yuta's profile in a daze, a word of thanks stuck in her throat. But the pride of the Evil King's True Eye User made her unable to say thanks. For her, expressing gratitude to anyone was extremely shameful.
Rikka had been closed off for too long.
But Rikka knew very well that she needed to change, so even if she had to strike a strange pose to dispel her sense of shame, she still quietly uttered a "Thank you."
Hearing Rikka's thanks, Yuta chuckled, "What, does thanking me make you feel ashamed?"
Rikka, whose thoughts were exposed by Yuta, instantly turned red. In a fit of anger and embarrassment, she decided to give Yuta a sliding tackle, but he quickly dodged it.
Rikka's phone, which had fallen to the ground, suddenly let out a loud alarm, startling Yuta. Thinking it was some kind of emergency, he was ready to grab Rikka and run.
"It's a communication from the Saint Healer." Rikka unhurriedly pulled out her phone. Her words brought Yuta's soul back. He glared at Rikka and continued washing dishes.
But looking at Rikka, who remained silent after reading the email, Yuta still spoke up to show his concern, "What happened?"
"Abnormal magical power has been detected within the Magic Management Bureau." Rikka's opening line left Yuta speechless for a moment. He blurted out, "Stop talking nonsense." After a moment of silence, Rikka said dejectedly, "I'll be home very late. It happens often."
"Is it always this late?"
"Almost every workday, it's very late." Rikka kept staring at the email. She hadn't gotten up from the floor, hugging her knees, lost in thought.
Yuta looked at Rikka squatting on the ground, staring at her phone in a daze, and couldn't help but feel a little heartache. Toka's discipline of Rikka was a bit lacking.
Rikka would not be dejected by this. Even if she were, she would surely bury it deep in her heart. So she decisively changed the subject, stood up, and said to Yuta, "I haven't asked for Yuta's electronic protocol code yet!"
Yuta understood, "Email address?"
"You could say that. Hurry up and exchange infrared data."
Yuta understood again, "Infrared exchange address?"
"You could say that."
Yuta didn't resist. He took out his phone from his pants pocket and exchanged addresses with Rikka.
The moment Rikka received the address, she looked at Yuta's email address on the screen and couldn't help but exclaim, "Yuta's code is so cool!"
Yuta was a little puzzled, cool? What's cool about it? Until he looked at his own email address...
He was careless. It was still his middle school email address.
Yuta, who had already decided to break away from the past, decided to change his email address immediately. How could Rikka agree?
"No! Mine is more ordinary, I should be the one to change it!"
Looking at Rikka's "Rikka0612" email address, Yuta thought it was already very good, at least certainly much better than his.
"Yuta, help me think of a code! Yuta will definitely be able to think of a good one for me."
"No, no, I think the present one is good enough. By the way, is it really okay for you to change your email so easily?"
Facing such a question, Rikka only tilted her head, confused.
"Think about it, if you change it, to avoid losing contact, you'll have to notify your friends from middle school, and your family, and so on."
Facing such a reply, Rikka declared that she was all alone and fearless, "No problem, I only need to notify the Saint Healer and Totsuka."
In the present space, the only people who can recognize my existence are these people."
Yuta looked at Rikka, silent. Only these? Only an older sister and Totsuka, whom she initially only met online?
Loneliness.
Yuta saw loneliness in Rikka, and a longing for friendship.
The long silence made both of them unsure how to speak, how to continue. The boiling kettle saved their lives. Rikka took the opportunity to go and turn off the heat, "However, if you, Yuta, help me come up with a code, I will also tell Yuta, Nibutani, Koushou, and Oriental Student."
Rikka yearned for friends, to escape loneliness. Her Chunibyo stemmed from loneliness, but her Chunibyo could not be understood by those around her, which made her even more lonely.
This was a cycle.
Yuta didn't know this, but he, who had never cared about Rikka's Chunibyo side, now made an unprecedented decision to help Rikka protect the association.
So, Yuta pulled Rikka back into the room again, and they focused on studying.