Chapter 20: Peach

He was rejected . . . was it because he had become too handsome, or did he ask at a inopportune timing?

After leaving the infirmary, Seiji felt rather helpless .

It was obvious that Miyamoto was a nice girl who just lacked self-confidence . If she gained self-confidence and lost some weight, she would probably be a cute girl .

Even if she didn't lose weight, as long as she gained self-confidence, she'd be a great otaku friend .

Sadly, he was rejected .

Because Miyamoto wasn't considered as a "beautiful girl" by his system, Seiji wasn't able to view her favorability rating towards him .

'I hope she doesn't hate me . Perhaps my story was too unbelievable for her to handle . ' Seiji thought to himself .

He was rejected, he was rejected, he was rejected . . . important things should be repeated three times .

He had only wanted to make a friend with whom he could discuss otaku topics . Seiji sighed helplessly . Although Mika and Chiaki were both nice, neither of them were interested otaku topics .

The school didn't seem to have a club related to otaku activities either—he had already looked into it .

Then just where was he supposed to release all the otaku energy that was gathering inside him!?

Anyway, with Genhana High School being such a large school, why weren't there at least a few otakus that created clubs for their interests!?

Just as he was pondering over the matter, he had a flash of inspiration which caused him to stop walking .

'Is this . . . the part where I should be creating my own club?'

He suddenly felt like all the resistance blocking his clogged feelings had disappeared .

. . .

After P . E class had ended, class representative Koji Hoshihara led a class meeting for assigning everyone various tasks for the school festival's preparations .

Koji's apportioning of the tasks was fair and reasonable, so they only discussed some small details before finalizing the plans .

"Harano-san, your task is extremely important . I hope that you'll be able to discuss things with the confectionery store swiftly and successfully . "

"No problem, Class Rep, I already called the store manager last night and asked her about it—she's quite happy to help us . I'm going to work tonight, so I'll discuss the other details with her then . "

"Oh, wonderful—as expected of Harano-san!" Koji thought about it for a while:

"After you talk to her again tonight, can you give me a call and tell me about the situation? I want to know as much as possible . "

"Sure . " Seiji exchanged phone numbers with Koji .

As the class representative of Year 1 Class 5, Koji Hoshihara was a reliable person who was clearly the type that was accustomed to leading . He was one of the people in class that was well-respected by both the boys and the girls and was also one of the only boys that didn't feel any jealousy towards Seiji .

Seiji felt quite fortunate that his class rep was a person like Koji, otherwise he'd have an even more difficult time in class .

Unluckily, Koji was only thinking about managing the situation in a more convenient manner, and even though Koji wasn't biased against Seiji, it didn't seem that Koji intended to become friendlier with Seiji either .

"Seigo, are you going now?"

"Yeah, I'm going to the sweets shop now—how about you guys?"

"I . . . don't feel like going to tennis club today . I'll just go home with you . " Mika said .

"I'm going to drama club—we need to practice our program for the school festival . "

After Chiaki left, Seiji and Mika also departed from school and started walking home .

"How's . . . the tennis club doing?"

"I don't know, but I doubt the atmosphere will be very good today . "

"Sorry . . . "

"Seigo . . . Seiji, you didn't do anything wrong," Mika sighed, "the club's always had similar problems before, and after seeing things there yesterday . . . honestly, I've been considering leaving that club . "

"Mm . . . it doesn't seem like that club is suitable for you . "

"But even if I leave that club, I don't know what club I'd want to join . . . " Mika sighed once more, as she turned around and looked at Seiji: "How about you, Seiji—what club are you interested in?"

"Mm . . . " Seiji rubbed his chin thoughtfully: "When I was chatting with you during lunch, I asked if there were any club activities for otakus, right? You said there weren't any . That's why I was thinking about creating my own club . "

"You want to create your own club?" Mika was momentarily stunned .

"I'm an otaku after all—I'd like to be together with fellow otakus that share my interests . " Seiji smiled, "Of course you're welcome to join in as well—even if you aren't an otaku, you also enjoy watching some animes and we can chat about it together . "

"Oh . . . " At this moment, Mika felt a distance between her and the boy in her heart .

Although she did enjoy watching some animes, and she would also watch some idol videos online occasionally, she wasn't a fully-fledged otaku like Seiji .

Ever since Seiji had changed himself, she was getting along pretty well with him, but his true essence was that of an otaku, while she had ordinary interests .

This made Mika feel a sense of panic .

"Do you know what the requirements for me to establish a club are?" Seiji asked .

"Oh . . . it probably it requires a minimum number of people, and then you have to apply to the student council . " Mika buried her complicated feelings deep inside her heart as she answered his question sincerely .

"As expected, the number of people is the first hurdle . . . " Seiji rubbed his chin thoughtfully: "Maybe I should do something like send out a summons . . . "

"Summons?"

"Put up an advertisement on the bulletin board, and search for students with similar interests . "

"Will . . . that work?"

"I don't know, but at the very least I have to try . " Seiji rubbed his chin as he considered it carefully .

Even though it was rather bothersome to create a club, it would be an excellent method of enjoying his newfound youth, wouldn't it?

But anyway, he had to take care of the school festival first .

. . .

At the Divine Taste confectionary store, Seiji chose the [work] option from his actions menu after changing into his work uniform . He then began working with smooth and experienced movements .

He remained fully occupied until 7:30 in the evening .

After he finished his shift, Seiji went to the store manager's office instead of changing out of his work clothes .

Rika Amami was already waiting for him there .

As usual, she was well-dressed . She wore a suit that showed off her excellent figure, and in tandem with her black stockings and beautiful legs, she was oozing with sex appeal .

What surprised Seiji was the fact that there was another woman in the store manager's office .

The other woman was wearing a cap that covered her medium-length silvery-brown hair . She wore a gray sweater with black sweatpants, and her chest was just as ample as the store manager's . She sat on the sofa with her legs tucked to her chest like an elementary schooler would, and she had a despondent aura about her .

"Harano-kun, you've arrived . "

The fact that Seiji was using a fake name was supported and known by the store manager, so all his coworkers changed the way they addressed him as well to mitigate any potential problems .

"Before we talk, let me introduce someone to you—this is the author of "Honey Candy Girl," her pen name is . . . "

"Peach-sensei!?" Seiji's eyes instantly lit up .

His voice suddenly rose an octave, which seemed to frighten the cap-wearing woman . She trembled violently as she retreated further into her own embrace .

"Yep, she's known as Peach, and she's also my younger cousin," Rika Amami sighed, "she hasn't been outside for a long time, so I dragged her out here today to talk with you . "

"I never imagined that I'd be able to meet Peach-sensei! Your story is wonderful!" Seiji felt like his otaku portion's passion had been ignited, "I've watched every episode of your anime, and I even wanted to buy the special edition . Unfortunately, I didn't have enough money . . . Oh, would it be alright to ask for your autograph?"

He approached her as he talked .

The woman in the cap named Peach kept retreating from him .

"D . . . don't come over!"

"D . . . don't come over!"

Seiji was instantly petrified as if he had been stricken by a curse .

Rika Amami sighed deeply .

"My apologies, Harano-kun . My cousin here has severe androphobia . "

" . . . Oh?"

This was the first time that Seiji was hearing about this legendary phobia in real life .

He hurriedly took several steps away from her, and as if she was reacting to his presence, she seemed to loosen up .

'Wow, it was actually real?' Seiji looked at the store manager inquiringly .

"This isn't a secret or anything—just about everyone that is familiar with her knows about it . She's always attended girl-only schools in her childhood, and because of an incident with a boy in college, she developed androphobia . To be honest, it wasn't that bad of an incident—it was just normal miscommunication . However, I underestimated her tolerance . As it was lacking, she became an otaku . From there she embarked upon the path of an author . " Rika explained .

"Oh . . . " Seiji nodded understandingly . "My apologies for scaring you, Sensei," he said to the woman .

Peach adjusted her body on the sofa .

"No . . . I'm . . . sorry . "

Her voice was so gentle—if she could talk without stuttering, he was sure that she would sound amazingly attractive .

"Since Sensei is here, do you wish to talk about obtaining the copyright permission?" Seiji then turned towards Rika: "Since she has androphobia, we could have just talked about it over the phone . " Seiji felt like a matter such as his class borrowing the theme of "Honey Candy Girl" for the school festival was on a large enough scale to justify the presence of the author, though .

Rika Amami had a serious expression as she looked at him .

"Actually, I have a suggestion . You can receive the copyright permission from Peach, and the store will give you its full assistance in helping your class for the school festival . There's just one condition . "

"What is it?" Seiji felt an ominous premonition .

"I want you to have a date with Peach on the day of the school festival . "

" . . . What!?"