Natsume Sonoko stood before the door of Room 210. As the key turned gently in the lock, a wave of drowsiness washed over her, and a big yawn threatened to escape.
She'd spent the morning scrambling to adjust to her first-year junior high courses.
After school, there'd been club trials to pick an extracurricular she liked, followed by hunting for a place to train her ability, biking all over District 7.
From the moment she'd woken up at 7:29 AM until now, Natsume Sonoko hadn't really stopped for a break.
Honestly, Tokiwadai Middle School totally lived up to its reputation as that elite school for young ladies.
Not only were there numerous university-level difficult courses, but there were also classes on etiquette, home economics, handicrafts, and even culinary arts. Sonoko found it all rather breathtaking.
Were they trying to make the young ladies of Tokiwadai finish a university's worth of learning in junior high?!
Things like repairing Persian rugs, methods for restoring fallen gold leaf on gilt porcelain plates, music lessons covering piano and cello… and for foreign languages alone, you could choose from over a dozen.
'This is really tough,' Sonoko thought. 'But at least I can keep up. Growing computational power doesn't just help with my ability; it's noticeably effective for studying all sorts of subjects.'
No wonder Tokiwadai's admission requirement was Level 3 or higher.
Just coping with all the high-difficulty subjects would be hard enough without at least a Level 3's computational power to even understand the material.
But just as Sonoko was about to let her mouth open wide in a yawn, the corner of her eye caught sight of something. She immediately clamped her jaw shut, forcefully suppressing the urge.
In the distance, a figure wielding a teaching pointer, wearing black-framed glasses and a black women's suit, was patrolling the hallway, inspecting something. Sonoko hurriedly unlocked the door and slipped inside her dorm room, 210.
"Lucky she didn't see me yawning," Sonoko muttered under her breath.
Then, putting on an exaggerated voice, she mimicked the dorm supervisor's tone: "A Tokiwadai young lady must maintain impeccable manners at all times. Something as unladylike as yawning in public is absolutely unacceptable." With a sigh, she flopped dejectedly onto the sofa placed by the window.
Sonoko's dorm room held two large beds, two big bookshelves, desks, and that one sofa.
The room was decently sized, roughly over forty square meters—a fairly standard Tokiwadai student dormitory.
Right now, though, Natsume was its only occupant. In this dormitory building, there were more rooms than students. If you wanted a roommate, you had to apply to the supervisor.
'Trying so hard to be a proper young lady is exhausting. Not just the clothes, but having to maintain a ladylike demeanor every single moment. Seems all the private prestige schools in Academy City are like this, but a Girl's School like Tokiwadai is especially nitpicky,' the girl grumbled inwardly.
Sonoko grabbed the giant stuffed bear from the sofa, pulling a tablet computer out from a hidden compartment in its belly.
She'd heard that Misaka-senpai also had a large plush bear where she hid all sorts of school-regulation-breaking contraband. Natsume Sonoko expressed complete ignorance on such matters.
Tech gadgets were everywhere in Academy City, and their prices were absurdly cheap. Sonoko's bicycle had cost significantly more than this tablet.
After idly browsing a few web pages, Sonoko unknowingly dozed off on the sofa. Suddenly, her tablet chimed with a beep-beep-beep—a new, unread message had arrived.
[Natsume-san, the teacher asked us to decide which club we're joining by tomorrow or the day after. Please don't forget, or you'll end up just a 'go-home club' member! (^_^) — Wannai Kinuho]
--+--
In the Culinary Club's activity room, Natsume Sonoko stared blankly at a few second-year seniors who were meticulously and delicately chopping vegetables like the proper young ladies they were.
The seniors, wearing proper aprons, were focused intently on pinning down a wildly flapping fish.
Suddenly, water splashed everywhere. The seniors recoiled in alarm, stumbling back a few steps, and the fish slipped free, landing on the floor with a thud.
"What a disgraceful sight, my juniors." Third-year student Nanajo-senpai placed her hands on her hips, scolding the flustered club members with clear annoyance.
She scooped up the fallen fish and, with one swift motion of her knife, ended its thrashing life.
"Natsume-san, have you decided which club you'll join?" Wannai Kinuho asked with a smile, walking over to Sonoko and slipping a flyer into her hand.
At just twelve years old, Natsume was younger than the vast majority of Tokiwadai students, and her height fell short too—she was a good half-head shorter than Wannai Kinuho.
"The Swimming Club? Are you planning to join, Wannai-san?" Sonoko asked curiously, looking over the flyer.
The Swimming Club seemed like a decent option. At least they probably wouldn't have activities in the winter. It seemed pretty popular within Tokiwadai, too.
Especially now, with the sweltering season arriving, summer was sharpening its blades.
The current heatwave was likely to stick around for a while. For many Tokiwadai young ladies who despised the high temperatures, swimming was definitely beneficial for both body and mind.
But for Natsume Sonoko, it held little appeal. After all, her ability was Temperature Manipulation. Around her, it was always like a pleasant spring day.
"Mhmm! Since my ability involves manipulating water, joining the Swimming Club is a natural fit, combining strengths," Wannai Kinuho said, tapping her thumb against her chin thoughtfully.
"But the low water temperature in winter is such a bother… Although, if Natsume-san joined, we could practice just as comfortably in winter as we do now! So, Natsume-san, what's your decision?"
Wannai pressed her face against Sonoko's clothes, feeling a refreshing coolness. She couldn't help but lean her whole body closer, a look of pure, refreshing bliss spreading across her face.
"Natsume-san's ability is just wonderful. It's a summer miracle," Wannai Kinuho declared, her voice filled with a touch of envy.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not really interested in the Swimming Club. Though, if you need my help in the winter, I'd be happy to oblige," Sonoko said, sounding a bit apologetic.
Truthfully, she wasn't particularly interested in any club activities. She'd rather stay in her dorm reading manga or playing games.
If she had to join a club, she needed to think it through carefully.
"What a shame, Natsume-san. But please do think it over properly. You must find a club you genuinely like," Wannai Kinuho said cheerfully, ruffling Sonoko's hair.
Then, she took Sonoko's hand and pulled her along to check out more clubs.
There were so many clubs, covering all sorts of areas.
For a school like Tokiwadai, with a total student body of just over two hundred, most clubs had only five or six members.
The larger ones, like the Music Club, Swimming Club, and Badminton Club, only had around thirteen or fourteen members.
After about half an hour of browsing, Sonoko hurried out of the Occult Club's activity room with her head down, under the reluctant gaze of the club president. Wannai Kinuho followed, looking equally unsettled.
"That was intense! They can use holographic equipment to create such realistic ghosts… but I think that club is basically a big haunted house," Wannai said, her face still pale, glancing at Sonoko, who also seemed rather uneasy.
"Let's go. We'll look some more." The time-traveler Natsume Sonoko declared to herself that she would absolutely not be joining a club like that.
At Tokiwadai, nearly every student joined a club.
Being in the 'Go-Home Club' was seen as unsociable and could affect your grades. Of course, some student organizations within Academy City were also recognized by Tokiwadai, like Judgment.
The only one who could safely avoid joining any club and still be admired and liked by the vast majority of Tokiwadai students was probably the school's strongest Level 5, the Railgun, Misaka Mikoto.
The other Level 5, Shokuhou Misaki, was the leader of Queen's Brigade, Tokiwadai's largest clique—which also functionally acted as a club.
"Natsume-san, are you thinking of joining the 'Go-Home Club'? The school allows it, but you'd lose quite a few points for etiquette and socializing," Wannai Kinuho said, her voice full of concern.
As they walked, Wannai suddenly felt herself bump into something.
Blinking, she realized she'd walked into Natsume Sonoko, who had stopped abruptly in front of another classroom door. Sonoko was holding a unfamiliar club recruitment flyer she'd seemingly acquired from nowhere.
"What is it?" Wannai asked, puzzled, and looked at the club name posted on the door.
"Urban Legend Investigation Club!?"
"Natsume-san, you're interested in this club?" Wannai Kinuho asked, skepticism evident in her voice. This club seemed a bit odd, sounding rather similar to the Occult Club they'd just fled.
"Mhmm," Sonoko hummed.
"It says here that club activities don't have to be held in the school clubroom. After school, you're free to investigate urban legends anywhere in Academy City."
"And it looks like they've even set up a connection with some urban legend website, where they can publish their findings. According to this, members just need to find or investigate one urban legend per month to get the same credits and funding as a normal, active club member." An excited gleam appeared on Natsume Sonoko's face.
This was it—the perfect, low-effort, slacker club she'd been dreaming of!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.