Chapter 2092: Another Game and Haruko's Plan

In the end, I still escorted Shimura to her club. The awkward atmosphere disappeared and she became more cheerful as we continued talking about her love for photography.

After that, my usual routine began. This time, I had an additional stop being the Game Club to check on Maaya.

When Miura-senpai saw me, she once again tried pulling me into their club. They were playing another game, something made by that second-year girl who's quite iconic because of her headphones and her blue hoodie. This time though, she's wearing a blue undershirt that highlights her impressive figure because of the opened buttons of her winter uniform jacket. Maybe she's another blue-lover like Nami.

Naturally, I was set to decline but seeing Maaya's imploring eyes which silently begged me to accept, I relented and let myself be spirited away into their clubroom.

I mean, Miura-senpai and Maaya told me that a round wouldn't take that much time. The maximum is five minutes. That won't set me back as much if I play once.

It also helped that everyone was welcoming -- well, except the two boys who were not Hashimoto and the Club President, Nishimura.

Four of the boys in the club that I saw before were absent, maybe they quit already after finding no progress in getting close to Maaya or any other girls from the club.

In any case, I noticed that they got another girl member from our year. If I remember correctly, she's from Class 3. Given that I got acquainted with most of the first-year girls during the camping trip, she also amiably greeted me.

My presence actually didn't come off as a surprise to her. She immediately took the hint that it was because of Maaya. Her name was at the tip of my tongue but I couldn't remember it well. I let the others remind me of it by waiting until they called her name. That way I won't guess it incorrectly. That would be awkward, right?

Anyway, as for the details of the game... It's another unique one that would probably never leave the confines of this clubroom.

It is going to be played by a special deck of cards, made and printed by the second-year girl. She's as dedicated as Maaya when it comes to her creation.

Miura-senpai continuously calls her a game freak, making me fail to remember her name anymore. Or maybe I never really asked for it.

But since she's at the center this time, I finally learned it. Sagara Miku.

The game could be played by 4-players at a time. And because she's going to act as the judge and referee, their players became an odd number. Hence, my appearance put them right back on track.

"Listen, Onoda-kun. I will repeat the explanation of the rules to you. It is quite simple..." Basically, it's just a variation of the classic Old Maid which she named the Gambit's Secret.

The referee is the Gambit as the secret lies on the cards.

"... However, in this game, you don't have to declare your pairs. The deck is also larger. 160 cards. Each player will be dealt 40 cards at once. Like the classic deck, there are suits and numbers designated to them. The suits don't matter for now. I'll implement more rules in the future."

As she continued her explanation, I couldn't help but frown at how complicated she made it to be.

On my side, Maaya explained it in more detail to me but in the end, I could only curl my eyebrows and admit that not everything was clear yet.

Upon hearing that, Sagara-senpai came up to me and smugly declared, "It's fine, Onoda-kun. You'll understand it more when you start playing."

Or so she said. But when I heard the win condition, I felt like I would have a headache from it. Surprisingly, the rest of the Game Club looked like they truly understood the game.

To not spoil the mood, I stopped trying to make sense of the complicated rules and just let them start the game.

I mean, I'm not looking for a win. I'll just play to lose.

Thanks to that, the first round where I joined as the 4th player ended with me and another boy losing to Maaya and her classmate. Two are declared winners who will advance to the final match so... despite losing, I still ended up staying to continue cheering for my girl.

Miura-senpai, who got eliminated in their set, stayed by my side, sulking that I didn't cheer for her.

I know. That's just her attempt to get my attention and... lucky her, I was feeling generous so I comforted her while watching the last match.

Unfortunately, Maaya lost and the eventual champion was her classmate who also had no idea how she won.

Congratulations were said and Miura-senpai pulled out cupcakes for celebration.

When it was time for me to leave, Sagara-san came up to me and said, "I get it, Onoda-kun. My game is still flawed. Next time, it'll be different. You have to win by then."

I don't know why she wants me to win but to extricate myself from her fiery enthusiasm, I just nodded and replied with a 'I'll look forward to it, senpai.'

After that, Maaya accompanied me to the Book Club. Halfway through, we found a corner where the girl acted a little clingy and jealous. She noticed my interaction with Miura-senpai so... she decided that she would only feel better if I pampered her.

Can I even refuse her? Of course not.

My Maaya acting that adorable and not being a tsundere is a rare occurrence.

Upon noticing her glistening lips, her beloved Onee-sama instantly guessed what happened when we reached the Book Club.

Because of that, the usually confident Maaya found herself at the mercy of her sister.

"Go easy on her, Himeko."

"Fufu. Allow me to have fun teasing Ya-chan, Ruki. It's unfair if only you can tease her."

Somehow, the gentle Himeko started adopting my fondness for teasing... But well, Maaya the siscon would probably enjoy it so it's fine. For all I know, she's already acting just to get spoiled by her Onee-sama.

Before I moved to check on my koala, Haruko, Aya, and Mio, I pampered the two until they both ended up clinging to me.

Due to that, Edel didn't hold back from climbing into my embrace as soon as I neared her.

Before I could get to visit the other girls at the neighboring clubroom, I would already be covered by the scent of the six in this room.

"Oh, right, hubby. You noticed Shizu and I talking earlier, right? It's about creating a committee for the Cultural Festival. She's consulting me on how to do it efficiently. Guess what? She not only consulted me but she also managed to recruit me in helping her with it." Haruko whispered when she took Edel's place on my lap. Despite the tone of her voice sounding exhausted, I noticed a hint of accomplishment momentarily showing on her face. Even though she said she was already tired of administrative work, the upcoming Cultural Festival must've boosted her determination.

If I'm not wrong, she's going to do her best to steer everything so that things will be favorable for me. And most likely, she'll spread that to the other girls as well.

"Good to hear. Just don't overdo it, alright?" I reminded her of fear that she might get in trouble for whatever she was planning.