“Welcome!”

We’ve arrived at Nito’s house and are heading to her room.

“Make yourself at home!”

“…Hehe.”

At last. Behind that open door.

I gulped as I imagined the view that awaited us there.

But when we finally got inside, the first thing I saw was clothes piled up.

Literally, and I wonder whether they’ve been washed or not.

Lots of unfolded clothes were piled on her bed.

Clothes were spread out everywhere. Pants and skirts littered across the floor. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I thought I would be excited to see such a thing from a girl I like, but instead, I was let down. My excitement dissipated. It was a harsh reality.

Books, comics, printouts, and whatnot also cluttered the room.

The electric piano in the corner of the room was covered in dust. On top of that, a table clock, stuffed animals, and towels were scattered about.

On the study desk, the situation was similar. An empty box of disposable contact lenses, a single earring, stationery such as ballpoint pens and erasers, and a box of painkillers with pills peeking out were all lying around.

It was a filthy room.

Nito’s room was a complete mess, the likes of which would cause a stir if a photo was taken and shared on social media.

The fact that there were no food or beverage leftovers in the room was a blessing in disguise.

If a classmate who only knows Nito as the quintessential honor student came to visit, they would most likely pass out. If a teacher discovered this, Nito would surely be kicked from her position on the class committee.

And amidst such chaotic scenery…

“This is the first time you’ve been here, Meguri!”

Nito smiled happily.

“Also, this is probably the first time a boy has ever come here! You should be glad because you’re very special!”

Dressed in a relaxed cut-and-sew and a long loose skirt, she had a bright smile disproportionate to the setting.

“Oh, ha-ha… thanks…”

“My parents, by the way, are away on business. My older sister is in her college club. That being said, don’t get any strange ideas.”

“…Gotcha.”

Was this all some kind of joke?

Did she deliberately set up this messy room to surprise us?

Yeah, that’s it!

Nito can’t have a messy room when she writes such beautiful music!

Ha-ha, that makes sense. This has to be a joke!

I’m sure we’ll get this out of the way quickly and move on to discussing our strategy.

Well, that was what I thought.

“You can sit wherever you want, although it’s pretty cramped.”

Nito said that while moving items off the floor with her feet.

Then there was a space in there that seemed big enough to accommodate my butt.

“…O-okay.”

It finally dawned on me that this was real and not some prank.

I see. So that’s why you’re dressed in a tracksuit, Igarashi-san.

“Excuse me…”

“…”

Igarashi-san and I sat slightly apart from one another.

Sure, I was given some space, but the shoes and the printouts that were still poking me in the butt were unsettling.

And wait, where will the host sit? There’s no more room on the floor.

As I was still pondering about it…

“All right, then!”

Excitedly, she sat on the bed atop the unfolded pile of clothes.

“Let’s get started with the first Astronomy Club Strategy Meeting!”

ㅤ

*

ㅤ

“With the way we’ve been doing it up until now, it’s tough to bring on new members before the deadline…”

“Right.”

“Hmm.”

We figured since Igarashi-san and I had traveled all the way to Nito’s house, we should have some fun on the side.

The discussion continued leisurely, with Nito and I playing an FPS game while Igarashi-san read a manga.

“Most freshmen already know about the Astronomy Club, don’t they? We’ve been handing out fliers and posting star cards for quite some time… Oh, and Nito! The enemy went that way!”

“Okay, I’m on him.”

“If we still don’t have any applicants for the club, we’ve no choice but to change the way we do things…”

In retrospect, our recruitment strategy hasn’t been all that bad.

Even though the club was on the verge of being scrapped, we attracted quite a bit of attention. At the very least, we’ve reached a point where very few students say they didn’t know we existed.

But we still didn’t get any new members.

Igarashi-san, Nito’s best friend, was the only one who actually joined.

Repeating the same recruitment strategy will no longer be effective if that’s the case.

“But the thing is…”

Igarashi-san said with a pout on her face, while she kept her eyes glued to a trendy youth manga.

“What exactly are we gonna do? How can we pique people’s interest even more than before?”

“…Hmm, maybe I can play and sing?”

Nito chimed in casually, her attention still focused on the game.

“I mean, don’t the Brass Band and Light Music clubs draw a large crowd with their performances? We still have a chance if we can stand out like that, don’t we?”

“Ehh!?”

Igarashi-san quickly looked up.

“I kinda dislike that idea. It might attract the wrong crowd, don’t you think? I don’t want people like that to gather. I only want people with my permission near Chika.”

She said that with dignity. She just wants Nito to herself, doesn’t she?

I wonder if she really intends to amend her relationship with her.

“…By the way, Meguri.”

In response to Igarashi-san’s objection, Nito crossed her bare legs and looked at me.

“Got any ideas?”

“About that…”

I put down the controller.

Yes, I did think of something.

It was the last thing I thought of last night after much grumbling and groaning at home.

But…

“There is one, but it isn’t particularly good, and it’s a bit of a challenge…”

It’s tricky. It lacked the punch when compared to the fliers and star cards.

And I suppose you could also say it’s “inconvenient” to carry out.

“It can’t be helped, can it? There are no better options.”

“…True.”

Well, it’s like Nito said. It can’t be helped.

“Um, let me explain then…”

I explained the recruitment strategy I devised, despite my lack of enthusiasm.

“We’re going to try to recruit a whole different set of students than we’ve ever had before.”

ㅤ

*

ㅤ

After that, we hung out at Nito’s house for the rest of the day.

We played video games and chatted until 6 p.m. Then we adjourned as it was almost time for dinner.

“Well then, take care, you two.”

“Now that we have a plan, let’s work on it slowly but surely.”

“See you next week.”

Igarashi-san and I left Nito’s house after this exchange.

“…So, how was it?”

On the way to the station, Igarashi-san asked.

“You’ve just visited your crush’s room… What do you think about the reality of it? Be honest… did it turn you off?”

“…Oh that.”

Yes, it was shocking.

Girls have always struck me as lovely creatures.

Unlike boys, they’re cute, sensible, and bubbly. They can blossom into something wonderful even when left alone.

But it turned out to be an illusion.

I finally realized that real girls, like us boys, leave their rooms dirty, don’t do laundry, and regularly procrastinate on cleaning.

And so my answer is…

“…I think I might have liked her even more.”

“…Huh!?”

“I kind of got to see the real her…”

Yes, my perspective has shifted slightly.

I was definitely surprised, but it’s more because what I saw made Nito even more attractive. That’s how it seemed.

Nito’s made of flesh and blood—a human just like me. That’s what makes her such a talented artist.

She’s not a being from another world, but a girl my age who lives in the same world as me. When I realized this, I felt a warm sensation inside of me.

However, I could have done a better job of communicating this to Igarashi-san.

“You gotta be kidding me…”

She seemed more disgusted than ever before.

“A guy who has a thing for dirty rooms? That’s really gross…”

“It’s not like that!”

I was so flustered that I screamed.

“It’s more on the normal side! I got to know Nito better after seeing her true self.…”

“Hmm, is that so…?”

Igarashi-san still has a doubtful expression on her face.

I’m curious about how untrustworthy I am to her. Isn’t her prejudice against me too strong?

“…Well.”

She looked away, sighing.

“I guess it’s a lot better than brooding over just a dirty room…”

She muttered to no one in particular.

ㅤ

*

ㅤ

The following week.

North Building. Where the classrooms for each year level are located.

In the hallway outside the sophomore classrooms on the third floor.

“We’re the Astronomy Club…”

“…Our club room is on the fourth floor of the South Building.”

“We look forward to seeing you…”

As agreed, we tried a new recruitment strategy. And it was a failure.

The strategy I proposed over the weekend at Nito’s house was doomed from the start.

We continued conducting our recruitment activities with a weak voice, as if we had been drained of all energy.

“If you’re interested… please come by.”

“Astronomy is fun…”

“It’s okay if you just want to come and hang out…”

It was like we had eggs on our faces.

The sophomores asked, “What the hell are they doing?” and “Are they trying to recruit us?” It was so embarrassing to hand out flyers under their watchful eyes.

Recruiting upperclassmen was my idea.

Typically, only freshmen are targeted for club recruitment.

In fact, we mainly distributed fliers to them and put star cards on their getabako.

So this time, we targeted the upperclassmen.

If they’re not already in a club, there’s a good chance we can find someone willing to join our club. With that in mind, we immediately printed more fliers. Just before classes started, we went to the upperclassmen’s floor.

“…Please consider joining.”

“…We look forward to your visit.”

“If you please…”

It was nothing more than an armchair theory.

It was wishful thinking to think that going after upperclassmen would go well.

Man, I can’t bring myself to hand out fliers any longer.

The sophomores were probably not expecting to be recruited. They just gave us a suspicious look and didn’t take our fliers.

This is painful.

I never imagined it would be so challenging to recruit sophomores.

It’s not that they’re overbearing or anything. It’s just that being around older people makes me extremely nervous.

I want to leave. I want to go home, take a warm bath, play games, and sleep comfortably on a soft futon.

Nito and Igarashi-san seem to share the same sentiment. Still in honor student mode, Nito had a drawn face and a low voice. Meanwhile, Igarashi-san’s face turned pale. Is she all right? She’s not going to faint or anything, is she? I recall being told she passed out after the graduation ceremony.

I sighed as I looked at my watch.

There’s still a little time before the school bell rings, but I think it’s time to go.

We’re in a bad situation, but we don’t have any more time to waste on an ineffective strategy. We’re all exhausted. We should make a tactical retreat here.

“…What the hell are you guys doing?”

A guy with a rich baritone voice called us out.

The three of us looked over to see where the voice came from.

“Are you recruiting us sophomores for your club?”

He looked very familiar.

Short hair, wrinkles between the brows, a chiseled face, and a tall, toned body.

Also, an intimidating aura.

“…Oh, Ro-Rokuyou-senpai!”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice.

“H-hi, it’s been a while!”

Haruki Rokuyou.

A tough-looking guy approached us a while ago when Makoto and I were talking alone inside a fast-food restaurant.

That was him. He was with his friends at the time.

Usually, had it been someone else, I would have shrunk back and stayed silent.

I would have been so frightened that I could only muster a faint smile.

However, in this difficult situation, I was relieved to be approached by someone whose face I recognized.

“Well, we’re looking for new members for our club… but we have yet to have anyone accept our fliers, so we’re in big trouble. And if we can’t get one more member, we’ll be forced to disband…”

I babbled.

Well, maybe I’m becoming too familiar with him after only having met him once, but I think it’s all right. After all, we did exchange contact information.

“Heh, you’re in dire straits, huh?”

Rokuyou-senpai said in a light tone.

But he was looking at me with curiosity.

“Wait… ‘It’s been a while’? We’ve never met before, have we?”

…

…

…

Ahhhhhhh!!!

Oh shit! I messed up!

We’ve never met before in this timeline!

It wasn’t until three years later that I would finally speak to him. By then, he had graduated and was a college student!

I got careless! I was so disheartened by our failed recruitment strategy that I couldn’t think clearly!

What do I do!?

How do I get out of this situation!?

Use your head, Meguri! Now’s the time to wake up those dormant brain cells of yours!

“…Oh, tee-hee. We never had a conversation before, huh?”

After a brief thought, those words were the first things out of my mouth.

“I apologize for the confusion… It’s just that I’m a big fan of yours, Rokuyou-senpai… and, well, I’ve been imagining conversations between us for quite some time… Tee-hee!”

Disgusting! You came up with such a cringey setup!

Look! Igarashi-san looks so repulsed by it! And Nito is in shock!

Even Rokuyou-senpai’s having a hard time reacting! He’s not going to hit me and tell me to fuck off, is he…!?

I stiffened reflexively, bracing myself to be smacked.

But…

“Ha-ha, what a guy.”

For some reason, Rokuyou-senpai chuckled.

“That was definitely a lie. But, well, it was kinda funny.”

What? Did I make it through?

Have I overcome my blunder?

Rokuyou-senpai is surprisingly tolerant, then?

“Hmm. So, you’re looking for new members for your club. Gotcha.”

He then took one flier from my grasp.

“Well, best of luck. If anyone comes to mind, I’ll introduce you.”

“Oh, really…? Thanks…”

I bowed my head as Rokuyou-senpai followed his friends across the hallway.

Did he just say he’ll introduce us if anyone comes to mind? What? For real?

Is he really going to do that? An upperclassman like him?

Well, I doubt that. I don’t think there’s anyone who would want to join the Astronomy Club. And yet, he said that.

But there was no doubt that he meant well, and there was no reason for me to refuse.

I’ll be grateful just for those words.

Thank you, Rokuyou-senpai.