Club Day (3)

Reiji and the other two finally managed to leave the broadcasting club, away from the persistent senior who kept trying to recruit him.

"I don't blame her, your voice really did sound nice Reiji-kun," Airi said.

"...I'm more worried about the last part. I added it jokingly at a whim but I'm definitely fucked if she finds out," Reiji sighed while referring to the Prez.

"Yeah, sh-she might make you join three clubs," Greeny laughed.

The other two froze in place and turned to Greeny with shock in their eyes.

"Wh-what?"

"Holy shit, Greeny! You just made a joke!" Airi started jumping in place again, tugging at her pigtails with joy.

"What? Is that really s-so weird," the usually timid boy asked, taken aback at their reaction.

"Yes. It is very weird. I am so proud of you Greeny, at this rate you might even be able to stop stuttering," Reiji placed a hand on his shoulder, his serious expression adding more power to his words.

Greeny fell silent at this, but his eye started twitching like crazy.

"What the fuck? Do you guys think I'm some sort of r-robot?"

"No, not a robot. A robot doesn't stutter," Reiji responded, still maintaining his serious facade.

"Y-You! Y-y-you!" Greeny started shaking with anger.

"Y-Y-Yes?" Reiji stuttered back, tilting his head innocently.

"PFFTT HAHAHAHA, THAT'S SO MEAN REIJI-KUN!" Airi burst out laughing at the exchange, earning her a glare from Greeny.

"Haha, I'm joking. I'm just happy that you're opening up more," Reiji smiled warmly.

Greeny fidgeted in place, looking at the happy looks from his two friends and couldn't help but smile back.

"We're going to be late, w-we should go," he muttered with an embarrassed look, walking off quickly.

Reiji and Airi looked at each other and grinned, following him to the next session.

***

Over the next hour, the trio visited three more club orientations and had quite a bit of fun.

The chemistry club showed off a bunch of cool chemical reactions and even let them make their own elephant toothpaste, which caused a bit of a mess when Airi messed up the ratios and made it overflow everywhere.

They also took some funny photos at the photography club, which actually got them kicked out because the seniors took the art of photography very seriously.

Lastly, the calligraphy club allowed them to use their ink tools to create their own pieces. Of course, all of them messed up pretty badly since it was their first time trying, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Now they had just exited the clubroom and were considering the next stop.

"That was sooo fun! But I have no idea how they're going to do that for three straight years, I get bored just thinking about it," Airi commented on the experience.

"Me too, I feel like it would get old pretty f-fast."

"True, but there are people who enjoy it for different reasons so it's useless to consider it from our perspective. We just need to look for something that fits us," Reiji added on.

"Reiji-kun, why do you talk like a wise old man who loves giving advice? It's such a mismatch from your look," Airi giggled.

"I was thinking the same! Reiji-kun sounds like my grandpa," Greeny agreed with a cheeky smile.

"Are you sure your body wasn't taken over by some wandering old man?"

Reiji just pursed his lips at their words. It's true that this body was taken over, but he was still a high school student before the transmigration. It's not his fault that he had to mature sooner than what was considered normal, he essentially raised himself.

This had given him a slightly more reflective outlook, he couldn't deny that, but it still felt odd to hear it from them.

"Ah shut it, it's my turn to choose. Let's go to the cooking club, it's just a few rooms down the hall."

He quickly changed the subject hoping that they would stop teasing him, but his choice had the opposite effect.

"Cooking club? Wow, you really are an old guy Reiji-kun haha," Airi covered her mouth in mock sarcasm, so Reiji just chopped her on the head.

"OW!"

"One more word and you won't get to eat my cooking anymore," he threatened, his sly smirk silencing them immediately. Their eyes widened in shock, the horror too much for them to handle.

"NO, PLEASE REIJI-KUN, ANYTHING BUT THAT, PLEEEASE!" Airi sobbed, almost collapsing on her knees as if the world was ending. Her over-the-top reaction made the surrounding students look their way, their gazes shifting from the sobbing Airi to the scowling Reiji.

A 'knowing' look came over them and they looked at Reiji with disgust and fear.

'This fucking....'

"Shut up and get up, you've made your point," he rubbed his squinted eyebrows in exasperation.

She switched her expression in less than a second, a bright smile replacing the pitiful look she had.

"Hehe, you can't threaten me with that Reiji-kun," she stuck her tongue out with a winning tone.

"....Why are you joining the reading club and not the drama club? It's a complete waste of your talent, maybe you should reconsider," he asked without a trace of humor.

"Hmm, you're right, maybe I should go for it..."

Greeny was just watching the show, laughing to himself from time to time.

"Let's just go."

They soon entered the cooking club's room, noting that the next session was starting in a minute. There were 3 other people already sitting in their seats, and two seniors setting up the large cooking area.

From the lingering aromas of the previous session, it seemed like they were going to get some food as a practical demonstration. This made the three look at each other with wide smiles on their faces.

"Alrighty, get seated everyone! We're going to start ASAP!"

"Welcome to the Cooking Club, the best place for budding chefs and food enthusiasts! We meet in this clubroom every Monday and Wednesday right after classes end, with each period lasting for two hours!"

"Within these two hours, we generally explore and discuss new cooking methods, recipes, and various cuisines to enhance our knowledge and appreciate the incredible flexibility in the world of cooking!"

The two seniors took turns to explain the Cooking Club's purpose and goals for the semester, which Reiji already knew. Because of his love for cooking, he had chosen this club in many playthroughs even though none of the heroines had picked it.

Through this, he knew just how much fun it would be to join it. Not only did they explore the art of cooking from a theoretical standpoint, they were even given ingredients supplied by the school themselves so that they can practice a lot of different dishes with the high quality equipment.

In fact, Reiji had surprisingly learned a lot of new knowledge from the game which was insane for something that called itself a dating sim.

This club was also one of the ones that took a lot of trips outside the school, whether that was to visit trending restaurants for a dinner outing or to grocery markets to teach the members the best places to buy ingredients and how to pick the freshest ones.

They even partnered with famous chefs within the country for guided lessons, where they were allowed to enter their restaurant's top-class kitchens for a practice session. Learning from the best was one hell of an opportunity, showcasing how reputable Souhei High was.

There was no chance Reiji was going to miss out on this, no matter what. The Cooking Club was one of the two that he had preemptively chosen.

"Now, I know all of this sounds reeeallly fun, doesn't it?"

Reiji snapped out of his thoughts and refocused on the pretty senior, who had glossy black hair and twinkling eyes that shone with mischief.

'Mizuno Nene, the daughter of the country's best chef.....'

Mizuno-Senpai was a side character only interactable if the cooking club was chosen, so it was intriguing to see her in the flesh.

"I mean, come on! Who doesn't want to be able to cook with extravagant ingredients, eat delicious food for free, and learn from chefs you might only see on TV?"

Everyone in the audience got more and more excited as she continued, the dreamlike opportunity floating right in front of their eyes. They could imagine themselves having the time of their lives, chatting with friends and eating expensive meals paid for by the school.

But Mizuno-Senpai's next words threw a wet blanket over everyone, as her teasing face turned incredibly serious with her sharp eyes.

"If you're thinking of taking advantage of these amenities, forget it right now. The Cooking Club will only accept those who are passionate about the field, who are here to learn and grow, not just to mooch off of the amazing activities we do! That's why, if you choose to join this club, you will have to pass the basic entrance test on the first day. Otherwise.... you will be kicked out."

Reiji smiled wryly at her fierce demeanor. This senior was always light-hearted and teasing, but when it came to cooking she turned into a drill instructor who would take no nonsense from the members.

With how prestigious and influential the clubs at Souhei High were, many of them had strict entry requirements to ensure that only those who would put in the effort could enter. This was to prevent the waste of the large resources invested in these clubs, and to maintain the reputation they had built up over the years.

Other clubs that did this were the E-Sports, Robotics, Drama, and Chemistry Club because of the large amount of money they burned through just to operate.

'The entrance test....I'm looking forward to it.'