Club Orientation Meeting

"So... you actually don't want to join a club?" Shibata asked, looking somewhat skeptical.

"Uh, I guess you could say that. I don't really have any plans right now, but I'll go check out the clubs this afternoon. If I happen to find one I really want to join, it wouldn't be impossible," Ying said, scratching his head as he replied to Shibata.

"Let's just leave it at that for now. We'll deal with this afternoon when it gets here. Once school is out, let's all head over to the gymnasium together to take a look," Hamaguchi suggested to the group.

"Sure." "I'm fine with that." "Me too." Everyone agreed with Hamaguchi's idea.

After a relaxing afternoon of classes, Ying, Kanzaki, and Shibata headed to the gymnasium together, ready to check out the club orientation.

"Wow, it's really lively in here!" Hamaguchi exclaimed, looking at the bustling, crowded gymnasium.

"This school really has a huge number of clubs," Shibata couldn't help but remark.

"Freshmen, are you here to join a club too? Here is a detailed guide for all the clubs. If you're interested, be sure to come check out our Light Music Club!" A senior with tea-colored hair handed us a small booklet containing information about various clubs.

After thanking the senior, we wandered around the gymnasium while looking through the booklet.

"Hey, hey... is this school for real? The equipment for these clubs in the booklet is almost top-tier nationally," Hamaguchi said, staring at the booklet in shock.

"Yeah, look at the Gaming Club. All this gaming equipment is actually the best in the country. Are we supposed to be professional candidates or something?" Beppu looked at the Gaming Club entry in the booklet, feeling very tempted.

"It says here that the school's soccer club is actually trained by a famous French coach! Ying, you should come too!" Shibata was also tempted by the soccer club and didn't forget to try and poach Ying.

"Haha... forget it, forget it. By the way, Kanzaki, is there any club you want to join?" Ying threw the question to Kanzaki.

Kanzaki simply replied, "No."

"Kanzaki, if you're this cold, you're never going to get a girlfriend," Hamaguchi teased him, drawing a burst of laughter from the group.

"Everyone in the first year, sorry to keep you waiting. Next, the club representatives will begin the orientation. I am Tachibana, the student council secretary, and I will be the moderator for this orientation. Please treat me well."

After the moderator, Tachibana, finished her greeting, the club representatives lined up on the stage in the gymnasium.

Ying immediately noticed the prominent student council president, Horikita, right in the center. Thinking about what was about to happen, he couldn't suppress his excitement. To think this was one of the scenes Ying loved most from his past life; being able to witness it in reality now, how could he not be excited?

"Hey, Ying, look, that's the senior who gave us the booklet at the gym entrance earlier," Hamaguchi said, pointing to the person on the far right of the stage.

"I heard they're from the Light Music Club. Should we go check them out?" Shibata suggested.

"I'm quite interested in music too, let's go take a look together. Who knows, they might even perform," Ying agreed, taking out the booklet to look at the information for the Light Music Club.

"Hmm, this booklet says there's a band that's very famous on campus called Kessoku Band. The lead singer is Chihaya Nijika, and their best song is Box of Sky," Ying said to Hamaguchi and the others while looking at the information in the booklet.

"But the ones standing on stage right now, according to what they said, seem to be called Girls Dead Master?" Kanzaki joined the discussion.

After that, they looked at the Archery Club, Karate Club, Ballet Club, Art Club, and others. Finally, only student council president Horikita was left on stage.

"What is that guy doing? Which club do you think he's representing?" Hamaguchi asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, but his presence seems a bit intense," Shibata said, shivering slightly.

"He's the student council president. You guys be quiet, watch out or he might glare at you later," Ying said.

"How do you know he's the student council president?" Kanzaki looked at Ying with sharp eyes, as if trying to see through what Ying was thinking.

"Uh... in... intuition?"

Kanzaki clutched his forehead and sighed. He really wished this guy could be serious once in a while.

After a while, the freshmen finally quieted down, and president Horikita began his speech.

"Thank you all for your hard work. The orientation ends here, and we will now begin accepting club applications. Additionally, since applications will be accepted until the end of April, students who wish to apply later should take their application forms directly to the club they wish to join."

After the moderator made the closing announcement, Shibata left first to submit his application for the soccer club. Beppu also said he wanted to go learn more about the Gaming Club, while Kanzaki wanted to return to the dorms to rest. Ying and Hamaguchi, who were left behind, wandered around for a bit before splitting up.

Not knowing what to do next, Ying could only wander around the campus aimlessly.

"Hey, did you hear? There's a freshman currently challenging the Chess Club, and rumor has it they've already beaten one of the core members."

"For real?"

Hearing the conversation between two second-year seniors, Ying suddenly remembered that today was the day Sakayanagi would go to challenge the club to earn a large amount of personal points. Since he wasn't far from the Chess Club, he decided to go join the fun.

When he arrived at the Chess Club, the upperclassmen all looked toward Ying.

"Why is there another freshman? Are you here to challenge us too!" a senior with a sour expression demanded of Ying.

"No, no, senior, I just heard that someone else from my year was here to challenge the club, so I came to watch. I don't know the first thing about chess," Ying quickly waved his hands in front of his chest, denying it.

"Yamada, don't scare the freshman. This freshman here just lost, so he's in a bad mood. Don't mind him. If you're interested in our Chess Club, remember to join," another senior who looked very gentle walked over to help Ying out.

"Thank you, senior. If I'm interested, I'll definitely join," Ying thanked him sincerely.

Upon entering the club, Ying immediately recognized the white-haired brat. Sakayanagi was smiling as she played chess against a sweating senior, surrounded by many second and third-year students.

"That freshman girl from your year is very strong. The one playing against her is another core member of our club. But anyone with eyes can see he's about to lose. They even bet 100,000 points; it looks like this girl is going to take the top prize again," the gentle senior explained to Ying, glancing at the senior named Yamada when he mentioned the 100,000 points. Yamada already had black lines on his face.

"Is this the level of a club's ace player? It seems the Kouiku Chess Club is nothing special after all."

In just a single sentence, the ace player had already been defeated. Meanwhile, Sakayanagi continued to provoke everyone.

"I'll be your opponent." A senior wearing glasses stepped forward.

"That's our vice president. His chess skills are second only to the president and the other vice president," the gentle senior explained.

"Oh, and how many games are they playing to decide the winner?" Ying asked.

"Hmm, why are you asking that? Up until now, it's always been a single-game decider," the senior said, looking surprised.

"That's no fun. How about we make them play best-of-three or best-of-five instead?" Ying said.

"That's fine, but what's the reason for this?" the senior asked, puzzled.

"Obviously, it's to start... a Kouiku International Chess betting pool."

Senior: Fine.