"W-Wow, that was surprising…"
Yuigahama entered the Service Club room, her body curled up like a small animal. She glanced around the room, as if checking for anything dangerous. After a moment, she straightened up nonchalantly, waved her small hand at Yuu, and greeted him as if by chance.
"Yahaha~ Yuu-kun, so you're a member of this club…"
With her fair fingers propping up her chin, Yukino looked at her with keen interest. "Yuigahama Yui, your classmate in Class 2-F… You're classmates, yet you didn't know she's the one asking for help this time?"
How could she even argue about this? Yuu rolled his eyes upward.
"Don't just talk about me. Do you know what side job the student in Class 2-J, number 29, has?"
Yukino, however, seemed confident. "Of course I know. He doesn't have a side job."
"How can you be so sure? Are you a mind reader or a stalker to know everything so clearly?"
"Because I'm number 29 myself."
"…"
Seeing him fall silent, Yukino couldn't help but laugh gleefully. Her beautiful smile bloomed naturally, as if it could melt the winter arriving in a few months.
"…Fine, pretend I didn't say anything."
Yuu slapped his forehead, reflecting on his foolishness, then turned to look at Yuigahama.
Yui stood near the door, her fingers nervously rubbing the hem of her sleeve. Watching the two of them talk, she unconsciously bit her lip. Her expression seemed to want to say something, but upon meeting his gaze, she gave a wry smile to mask her feelings.
What this silly dumpling was thinking was obvious just by looking at her. Unfortunately, Yuu didn't feel the need to explain anything to her.
"I'll leave the rest to you, President."
Pulling his gaze back, ignoring the shift in the pink-haired girl's expression, Yuu leaned lazily in his chair, tossing out a declaration of deflected responsibility. "I look forward to your wise instructions. As long as they're reasonable enough, I guarantee I'll be more obedient than my pet cat at home."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Yukino suddenly turned, her fist slightly clenched in her skirt, her eyes sparkling as she asked with curious seriousness, "You have a cat at home too? What kind? Got any pictures?"
"…That's not the point."
Giving her a strange look, Yuu pointed toward Yuigahama, who stood awkwardly at the door, silently saying, Our client's still there. Is a cat more important than serious business?
"Uh!"
As if struck at a weak point, Yukino froze in her seat for nearly two seconds. Her empty hand touched her lips, she coughed awkwardly, her fair cheeks showing a faint pink blush, and her icy demeanor vanished.
"That's not what I meant… Please forget what I just said."
"Hmm."
In front of Yuigahama, Yuu merely shrugged, signaling Yukino to start the Service Club activities.
Yukino stood, her long, straight black hair swaying. She retrieved a seemingly new steel pipe chair from a pile of items at the back of the room and placed it at a certain distance in front of the long table.
"Please sit, Yuigahama-san."
"Ah, thank you…" Sneaking a glance at Yuu, Yuigahama carefully pressed down her short skirt, sat on the chair, and blinked with her large, curious eyes. "Um, Yukinoshita-san… you know me?"
As if talking about someone else, Yukino nonchalantly tucked her hair behind her ear.
"No need to be surprised. I've memorized the names and faces of every student in the school."
"Th-That's amazing! As expected of the class beauty, Yukinoshita-san, beautiful and smart…" After sincerely expressing her admiration, Yuigahama asked again, "Um, I heard from Hiratsuka-sensei that there's a club here that can grant wishes…"
In the same tone as before, Yukino immediately corrected her. "You've misunderstood. We're not Aladdin's lamp granting wishes. We only provide self-help methods and advice. The execution depends on your own perseverance and effort."
As if awed by her serious tone, Yuigahama nodded vigorously, her expression slightly tense. "I-I understand! You mean it's better to give a recipe than a finished dish, right?"
"Good comprehension." Yukino nodded, satisfied.
Yuigahama secretly glanced at Yuu, who sat beside her as if unconcerned, brushed her pink dango-like hair, took a deep breath, and boldly asked, "So, you and… Tenkuji-kun, do you do this kind of thing every day after school?"
Yukino: "…"
Yuu: "…"
The two exchanged a glance, and Yuu turned to Yuigahama, saying seriously, "Honestly, she waits here every day, but I don't always come, and this is also the first time we're doing something like this…"
Without expression, Yukino pulled out her phone. "Hello? Police? I'm being sexually harassed here."
Yuu shrugged. "Go ahead and report it. If this level of teasing is enough to get arrested, probably over seventy percent of guys would be sexual harassment offenders."
"Tch." Yukino irritably put down the phone, which hadn't connected at all, glaring at him sharply. "Letting someone like you roam free is a failure of this country's legislation."
"Better than you, abusing female authority to threaten men."
"Who's being excessive…"
"Um, you two get along really well." Raising her voice slightly to interrupt their bickering, Yuigahama smiled awkwardly. "I know it's rude to ask, but… are you two dating?"
Her eyes widening, Yukino stared at her in disbelief. "Yuigahama-san, do you think I'm the type to date an insect?"
Yuu also frowned. "Yuigahama, do you think my taste is so bad that I'd be interested in the Kanto Plains with such a terrible personality?"
A massive murderous aura instantly erupted from his side, but he didn't care at all, merely raising an eyebrow at Yuigahama. "Back to the main point—did you tell Hiratsuka-sensei that if we help you fulfill your wish, you'll join our club and assist with the Club Exhibition?"
"Mm, I did have that intention…" Yuigahama nodded slowly. Seeing these two, who spoke freely yet clearly didn't like each other, she quietly sighed in relief.
Then, with her head slightly lowered, she stammered, "Actually, it's not something grand like a wish. Ehehe~ Well… If possible, I want to learn how to make a bento that I can share with others…"
Hearing this, Yukino didn't even bother to keep glaring daggers at Yuu. She frowned slightly and looked at her.
"In simple terms, Yuigahama-san—your request is to improve your cooking skills?"