**Mocha's POV**
"Starting now, we are officially the Special Service Club," Yukiya-kun proudly proclaimed, marking the formation of our club.
The day before, during lunch on a sunny Thursday, Master Yukiya-kun had called me for a meeting at our usual spot in the old abandoned building. He explained that our role as the Special Service Club is to assist students, build connections, and handle tasks and requests for other clubs and students that the student council cannot manage. It seems that the Special Service Club is essentially an extension of the student council, or at least that's what Master Yukiya-kun explained.
"SSC for short. But do you know the real meaning of this acronym, Mocha-san?" Master Yukiya-kun asked, a grin on his face, clearly eager for the answer he had in mind.
"Wh-What's the real meaning?" I inquired cautiously, looking puzzled.
Yukiya-kun then revealed that it stands for... "The Shadow Student Council." I muttered to myself while standing in front of our clubroom, staring at the signboard with the letters SSC printed on it.
As I slid the door open, I discovered Aria-san, staring out the window. Her hair flowed in the wind along with the curtains. The sound of the sliding door must have reached her ears, as she glanced my way, locking eyes with me.
Is she glaring at me? Or is that just her usual resting face, always appearing on guard?
"H-Hey, where's Yukiya-kun?" I greeted her, unsure of what else to say, so I used a common topic as my opener.
She simply continued to stare out of the window, saying nothing, which led me to think she was purposely ignoring me.
What could she be staring at so intently? Curious, I walked closer to find out what had captured her attention. I noticed Master Yukiya-kun, carrying boxes that appeared to have come from this very room. *So he's clearing out boxes to make room for our club,* I thought to myself, assuming the reason behind his actions.
"You like him, don't you?"
"Wha-?"
Out of nowhere, Aria-san confronted me, being surprisingly direct for someone I had thought was a tsundere, which caught me off-guard.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I nervously replied, trying to act oblivious to her question.
She pressed on, "Are you sure?" Her serious expression made it clear she wasn't backing down.
"I-I'm sure," I responded.
It is true though. Even though I liked shojo manga in the past, it's not like I'm into the harem genre. I'm not a main character, I'm not the heroin, I'm just a side character happy to get acknowledge for my existence.
"I'm just an NPC, so don't worry." I muttered, as if assuring Aria-san I'm not here to compete.
A little ticked off, Aria-san sigh then proceeded to tell me, "It's not a threat. I just wanted to tell you that I won't lose."
'Huh, what is she talking about?' I wonder to myself with the sudden shift of Aria-san's tone.
She then proceeded to tell me, "Listen. Starting from now, we are rivals." she proclaimed, pointing at me with this strange determination on her face.
"EHHHHHHHH??!!!" I screamed internally, confused about what was happening right now. Was she perhaps being considerate, thinking I was setting aside my feelings? Anyway, I needed to clear up the misunderstanding.
"No, wait. I-" Just as i was about to clear up the misunderstanding between us, Yukiya-kun walked into the club room.
"Oh, you guys are here. Help me put up these posters for our club.
Eh? How can I clear things up now? The very love interest is right in front of me. What terrible timing cliche! Please just let me have a normal high school life...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After school, when the final bell rang, Aria-san sounded serious when she said she saw me as a rival. Setting that aside, I wondered what she would do to win Master Yukiya's favor. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long to find out.
Standing up from her desk, Aria-san approached Master's desk and shyly asked, "Can I get your number?" She reached out with her phone, unable to meet his gaze, probably due to embarrassment.
'How will master reply?' I waited anxiously for his response. He then opened his mouth and said, "Sorry."
The room fell silent, and it felt like Aria-san had been rejected, even though no one had confessed anything. 'That dumb ahh!' I screamed internally, stressed over their budding romance that I had unfortunately been dragged into.
Thankfully, Yukiya-kun quickly clarified, "Ah—it's not that I don't want to give you my number or anything. It's just that I haven't had a phone since starting high school."
"T-then how were you able to message Mocha-san?" Aria-san inquired, sounding a bit suspicious of his answer. 'Wait, I'm being dragged into this conversation!'
"I message her via email," Master Yukiya-kun replied, looking puzzled as to why this information was relevant.
"Then you should just buy one," Aria-san suggested innocently, not even considering Master's financial situation. That just shows how out of touch Aria-san must be in terms of the regular person's expenses.
Master Yukiya-kun then replied, "Funny that you said that. I'm actually buying one tomorrow with a friend." He continued, "Ah, yeah. She's also a member of our club from another school."
That must mean Haruka-san, right?
Aria-san's eyes then met with mine. Her eyes tells me she had thought of a good idea just now.
"Great. Mocha-san told me she is looking for a phone as well. Let's all go together."
"I am?" I exclaimed, surprised to be pulled into this situation so suddenly.
"Yes, you are," she replied with a smile that felt more like a threat than anything else
"I guess I am, hahaha," I laughed softly, accepting my fate as the third or fourth wheel on Master and Haruka-san's Saturday date.