As Yukiko and Makoto Aihara departed, Alistair suddenly remembered the earlier visit from the Senpai and asked Rina Senpai, "By the way, Rina, an upperclassman came looking for you a moment ago. He needed to discuss something with you at the Galgame Club."
"Ugh~ It's probably just plot lines, character designs, and all that endless back-and-forth revision. They changed things so many times over the break. I'm not the only one who's annoyed; even the artist is fed up. The worst part is that every now and then they'll say the previous version was better and want to switch back. I feel like walking over there and slapping them to death."
Rina complained about their indecisiveness. This kind of behavior was like that of unscrupulous clients who look for trouble even when none exists, as if passing something on the first try would make them look incompetent. This pointless nitpicking was truly brainless.
"Totally."
Alistair nodded. He had experienced similar things at his job before transmigrating. The feeling of repression when you couldn't fight back was something Alistair could understand.
"The Music Group has the fewest problems. They're only paid a low fee to join the team. If the higher-ups bother them for no reason, they'd just quit and leave. Want to go check it out? There should still be quite a few people at the Music Club."
Rina checked the time. After chatting with Makoto Aihara, it was almost five o'clock. As mentioned before, club activities mostly run from five to six-something, so most clubs would be busy now.
"Sure, I'll go take a look."
Alistair was bored anyway, so he decided to go with her.
The Music Club had a proper orchestra and had even held several concerts in the area, making them quite prestigious. Thus, the Music Club had its own music hall, which could be used for both practice and performances.
The music hall wasn't far, about a three or four-minute walk from the Manga Research Society library.
The school's funding was clearly substantial, and they spent a lot on the music hall's decor. Alistair only heard the music when he reached the doorway. They were performing a piece in concert, and the beautiful, harmonious music put the listener in a pleasant mood.
"Look, the girl playing the piano there is the most accomplished musician in the Music Club. She's composed a few pieces herself, and the music teacher even said she could become a concert pianist one day. She's very talented musically.
"But I think she's kind of trashy. I'm telling you, she's cycled through boyfriends several times, breaking up every few weeks."
Rina started by complimenting her, then couldn't help but spill the gossip about her private life.
Alistair looked at the girl in the formal gown and asked, "Do they have to wear formal gowns for practice?"
"Oh, they have a concert scheduled soon. Maybe she's trying to get into the feel of it. I don't really know about these things." Rina guessed.
"She's... alright, I suppose." Alistair commented, it wasn't clear if he meant the girl or the music.
"She has a great body, though, a little bigger than mine. And she's actually very pretty, but she's such a bitch. When she gets horny, she'll invite several guys to play together.
"By the way, Madoka Takemoto is your Senpai; you should show her some respect when speaking about her.
"And given what you're packing, maybe she'd offer you a private session," Rina said, giving him a playful eye-roll before adding a teasing remark.
"I might play with her sometime if I get interested, but for someone to spend my life with, I'd choose you. And I know how to be polite, just like I initially called you Rina Senpai." Alistair said, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Tsk, now you're talking. I'll make you impotent tonight," Rina retorted, playfully nudging Alistair with her elbow. However, his comment about choosing her for his life partner made her quite happy.
"Bring it on. By the way, how did you guys get integrated by a Galgame Club? Is that club really that powerful?" Alistair asked.
"Of course it is. The club president's mother is one of the big shots on the board of directors."
"...I see."
Alistair nodded. Integrating people using power. That makes sense.
"So that girl is always talking about making an H-rated galgame, but she doesn't want to actually do anything about it? Does she expect to find inspiration and make it purely from imagination?" Rina mercilessly roasted the Galgame Club president.
"Let's go. We've seen what we came to see. Let's check out some other clubs."
Alistair had listened for a while, felt bored, and led the way out.
"Speaking of which, Yukiko should be in the Literature Club or a related club, right?" Alistair asked, remembering Yukiko's character profile.
"That's right. The Literature Club has sent a few people to help out, and she's one of them." Rina replied casually.
"That's interesting. How many clubs did she rope in just to make a game? And is she going to mass-produce and sell the finished product?"
Alistair felt that using so many people just to create and sell an erotic game was a bit of a waste of resources.
"...She calls it 'passion'." Rina recalled the club president's adamant vow not to sell the game and couldn't find any more words to mock her.
"Why don't you go take her? Then we can all relax," Rina suggested.
"..." Alistair had no words for that.
Just then, a generously endowed girl with short, light magenta hair passed by, catching both their eyes.
"I'm so jealous. To grow to that size in just one year." Rina looked at the girl's full chest with an envious expression.
"Who is that?" Alistair asked Rina, feeling like he'd seen her before.
"She's in the class next door to mine. I don't know her well, but I know her name is Akane Nanao. She used to be the swimming club's ace.
"But, well, after only one competition, her chest started getting too big. Eventually, it severely affected her speed, so she quit the club. I don't know which club she's in now." Rina explained to Alistair, watching Akane Nanao's retreating back.
Akane Nanao?
Alistair racked his brain but couldn't recall her, so he gave up and continued with Rina to the next club.
Next, the two went to the Aikido Club. The club president here, whose surname was En, was also a very generously endowed female. This made Alistair wonder, is being flat-chested a rarity here now?
Unexpectedly, someone who wasn't entirely human appeared here. She was also a first-year freshman, but she had demi-human blood—a quarter Cat-person lineage.
This was the first time Alistair had seen a non-pure human at school. He had seen a few outside, but they were far away, so he hadn't looked closely. But this girl... Alistair briefly entertained the thought of making her transform for a moment.
Who hasn't dreamed of pointing at a small cat and shouting, "Transform!" to get a Cat Girl?
The demi-human bloodline here really only gave them certain cat-like traits, such as balance, dexterity, and body flexibility. As is well known, Cat & Mouse is a documentary.
Furthermore, a demi-human bloodline must reach at least one-half to exhibit obvious external features different from humans, like cat ears or a tail.
So, unfortunately, Alistair didn't get to appreciate the Cat Girl's true form, but he did get acquainted with the girl named Hikari Matsuda.
Just as Alistair and Rina were about to head to the next location, Alistair's phone suddenly rang. He pulled it out, took a casual look, and was surprised to find that the text message sender was his never-before-seen Grandpa Vance.