Chapter 42: She and Her Throne

Chapter 42: She and Her Throne

Yatsuno Gen did not think his current life resembled one of those youthful campus light novels.

Because besides school, he had entanglements elsewhere as well.

Moreover, his experiences and current personality made it difficult for him to truly enjoy youth like those anime protagonists, or to be changed by others.

Because he was satisfied with the status quo, he had no need to be changed, nor did he possess the arrogance of wanting to change other people.

Although trouble had begun to show signs of appearing around him, perhaps because of this cultivation method, he could not remain completely uninvolved either.

Still, none of it seemed to fall within the range of what a normal high school student ought to experience.

By comparison, being forcibly required by his homeroom teacher to join a strange club was so overwhelmingly youthful that it actually felt unfamiliar.

After lunch, he walked through the afternoon campus with Sakuraba Yuki.

The lingering afternoon sunlight carried a gentleness that restless summer days should not have possessed. The scattered rays illuminated the clear veins of the leaves, passing through the gaps and falling upon black hair.

A faint fragrance drifted from the young female teacher beside him.

She sighed emotionally.

“Shoujitsu Private High School really is different from other schools. Whether it’s the facilities or the decorative improvements, everything is done so well.”

“From your tone, that almost sounds abnormal.”

“Mm. I’ve always thought schools should be more ordinary. After all, most children are ordinary people. They’ll still have to go out and adapt to a society that isn’t particularly wonderful. And after growing up in a place like this, don’t you think most children end up filled with desire? To become superior to others, to obtain wealth and status...”

Yatsuno Gen thought for a moment.

“That’s normal, isn’t it? For many people, that’s exactly how success is defined.”

But Sakuraba Yuki shook her head.

“Precisely because everyone thinks that way, this city appears prosperous and lively while being filled with emptiness and hollowness. Most people stay busy every day, working hard and exhausting themselves. In the end, they discover they haven’t truly gained anything. Eventually, they don’t even know what they’ve been busy for. When they look back on their lives, they realize they weren’t rich or fulfilling at all. It’s as if they lived for nothing.”

She sighed and looked at Yatsuno Gen.

“So, don’t ever become like that. Standing above others or becoming successful isn’t important at all. Doing what you want to do and doing what makes you happy, that’s what’s truly important.”

The boy beside her smiled.

“It’s pretty strange hearing a teacher say that to a student.”

“Is it strange? I think that’s exactly a teacher’s responsibility. Not just to bring knowledge to you, but to tell you that pursuing fame and fortune, chasing luxury and enjoyment while disregarding your family and friends, even abandoning your moral bottom line for them, is a twisted way of looking at life.”

Yatsuno Gen stretched lazily and looked at the leaves above his head.

“Doesn’t Teacher Sakuraba know that young people are the least willing to listen to grand principles like that? A lot of lessons and truths have to be experienced before people believe them. Teacher Sakuraba doesn’t need to take so much responsibility upon herself. It would be easier if you just focused on doing your own job well.”

Upon hearing that, Sakuraba Yuki turned her head.

“Now you’re lecturing me again.”

“How can that be called lecturing? It’s clearly advice from the perspective of a friend.”

“A friend?”

The woman’s expression became strange.

Yatsuno Gen blinked.

“Aren’t we friends?”

“Isn’t that because you’re my little brother?”

Sakuraba Yuki said with feigned annoyance.

Yatsuno Gen laughed helplessly.

“You still haven’t forgotten to take advantage of me, huh?”

“What do you mean take advantage? You should be secretly delighted to have a sister like me.”

“You make it sound as though a little brother like me isn’t worth showing off.”

Pfft.

Sakuraba Yuki could not help laughing. The fullness of her chest visibly trembled, and the black-rimmed glasses on her face slid slightly downward, revealing her beautiful eyes.

Yatsuno Gen remembered that Sakuraba Yuki had not worn glasses in the past.

“No wonder so many students say you’re outstanding in every way, except that you’re a little narcissistic.”

Yatsuno Gen did not mind in the slightest. Instead, he replied honestly,

“Narcissism is an excellent virtue. At least it’s better than inferiority, right?”

“That’s true. Now I know what’s strange about you. Compared to the children at the orphanage, you never seem to feel inferior.”

As if she had discovered some astonishing secret, Sakuraba Yuki looked seriously at the boy.

Sunlight poured over him.

A crow flew across the sky overhead and casually landed on a distant roof, lightly pecking at the black feathers beneath its wing.

Yatsuno Gen raised his head.

“Doesn’t that just prove that I’m mentally strong and don’t require people to worry about me so much?”

Sakuraba Yuki walked to his side and naturally reached out to tap him on the head.

“Stop bragging. Research shows that people who are mentally strong are actually more likely to develop illnesses like depression. Because they’re mentally strong, they’re good at suppressing negative emotions, which makes them unable to release them properly. They get used to bottling everything up. So if something is bothering you or you’re feeling sad, you can always talk to me. Don’t keep everything hidden by yourself, okay?”

Whenever Sakuraba Yuki did something like this, what she said was usually very sincere.

Her gentle voice seemed like a breeze trying to blow into the boy’s heart.

Yatsuno Gen awkwardly avoided her gaze and looked toward Building No. 3 in front of them.

Many club activity rooms were gathered there, a building specifically used for student club activities.

“Teacher Sakuraba, what kind of person would name a club the Life-Wasting Club?”

Sakuraba Yuki merely smiled mysteriously.

“Won’t you find out once we get there?”

That smile seemed rather strange, giving Yatsuno Gen a bad feeling.

Still, things had already reached this point. There seemed to be no room to retreat.

Besides, he had yet to encounter anything he truly could not handle.

Following Sakuraba Yuki’s footsteps, he climbed to the second floor.

They stopped in front of a classroom farther inside.

[215]

At the doorway, both of them halted.

Sakuraba Yuki glanced at Yatsuno Gen and knocked on the door.

There was no response from inside.

However, with his sharpened senses, Yatsuno Gen could clearly detect a slight change in someone’s breathing within the room.

Yet the person did not answer.

Did they not want to answer?

Or was there some other reason?

“If nobody’s there, then I’ll come in. Sorry for the disturbance.”

Sakuraba Yuki directly opened the door.

Light spilled out from inside, instantly spreading across the floor like countless golden branches.

Standing beside her, Yatsuno Gen naturally saw everything within the room the moment the door opened.

There were sky-blue curtains.

With the windows open, the wind from outside blew them into shapes resembling ocean waves, as though they were rolling endlessly, or like a skirt dancing in the air.

Directly facing the window was a chair that clearly did not belong in a school classroom.

No.

It would be more accurate to call it a sofa.

An extravagant single-person sofa that looked expensive at a glance sat quietly within the classroom like a throne.

And naturally, a queen belonged upon a throne.

Long black hair flowed neatly over her shoulders, stirred gently by the breeze.

Lazily sunk into the sofa, she resembled the beautiful and alluring villainess from a fairy tale, possessing cold eyes that instinctively made people feel danger.

Holding a phone, she raised her head and looked toward the two people at the door.

The instant she saw Yatsuno Gen, her pupils visibly contracted before quickly returning to normal.

Yatsuno Gen finally understood why Sakuraba Yuki’s expression had been so strange.

Of course he knew this girl.

Everything abnormal about this club room immediately became understandable, even the bizarre club name.

Because her name was Asagiri Rin.

“You’re Asagiri, right? I’m Sakuraba Yuki, the new homeroom teacher of Class 3, Year 2. I’ve brought you a club member.”

Yatsuno Gen remained standing at the entrance without entering.

Sakuraba Yuki was already facing Asagiri Rin with a gentle and beautiful smile.

Asagiri Rin visibly frowned, seeming somewhat displeased as she looked at her.

“I never said I needed a new club member.”

Sakuraba Yuki smiled.

“But your club only has one member. How can that really be called a club? Besides, Yatsuno is an excellent boy. He can help you with many things. And he’s very interested in your club. Why not interview him first before making a decision?”

Asagiri Rin did not answer.

Instead, her gaze shifted once more to the silent Yatsuno Gen at the doorway.

Feeling a slight headache coming on, Yatsuno Gen finally stepped into the room.

He felt he ought to say something.

But before he could speak, Asagiri Rin looked at Sakuraba Yuki and said,

“I can interview him. You go outside.”

The tone was one of naturally issuing orders.

In front of her, Sakuraba Yuki did not seem like a teacher deserving respect, but merely an employee, perhaps not even a particularly important official.

Sakuraba Yuki did not seem offended.

She simply smiled and nodded.

“Then I’ll leave it to you two. My mission is complete.”

Turning around, she looked at Yatsuno Gen and smiled.

“Make a good impression. I’ll be going now.”

After saying that, Sakuraba Yuki left Club Room 215.

She even thoughtfully closed the door behind them.

When the door shut, Yatsuno Gen could still feel the wind from the window blowing against him.

But mixed into that breeze was something else.

For example, the faint fragrance on her body.

Yatsuno Gen looked at her.

Aside from that one time during their first year, this was probably the only occasion at school when he had properly appeared before her and been alone with her.

Asagiri Rin looked at the boy and spoke directly.

“Are you really interested in this club?”

Yatsuno Gen shook his head.

“If I’d known it was your club, I wouldn’t have come.”

Hearing that, Asagiri Rin was not particularly angry.

On the contrary, she thought this was exactly how he ought to treat her.

Naturally, she saw no reason to be polite either.

“Someone like you actually wants to join a club? That’s rare.”

Yatsuno Gen smiled.

“You founded a club yourself. Life-Wasting Club... that’s pretty chuunibyou.”

Asagiri Rin narrowed her eyes.

“What does me founding a club have to do with you? You’re interested in such a chuunibyou name, which makes you the strange one.”

“Fine. You’re right about everything. Anything else? If not, I’m leaving.”

Yatsuno Gen felt that now that the person inside was Asagiri Rin, there was no need for further conversation.

Everything she displayed conveyed the same message.

Whether during their first year or now, she did not want to become involved with him, nor did she want to talk about the past.

So in his view, the moment they met was already the moment the whole thing failed.

Yet just as he was about to step away, she spoke.

“Where are you going? Aren’t you doing the interview?”

“Hm?”

Yatsuno Gen looked at her strangely.

Asagiri Rin leaned more firmly against the back of her throne.

At the same time, she crossed her left leg over her right.

Her figure was already tall, and her temperament cold and proud.

Describing her as an untouchable beauty was no longer sufficient.

She was more like a snow lotus blooming atop a mountain peak.

The kind that would actively hurt people.

Her long beautiful legs were crossed together.

The portion wrapped in black over-the-knee stockings possessed an alluring sheen, while the fair skin hidden beneath the pleated skirt became an entirely different kind of delicacy.

Even the hand holding her phone was slender and elegant, with distinct knuckles and skin so smooth that no creases seemed visible.

All of this beauty combined with her sharp temperament, making it feel as though she were attacking Yatsuno Gen with her charm.

Even her expression was provocative and teasing.

“First question. After joining the club, can you obey my orders unconditionally?”