What a twist! The loser heroine!

So the two of them began to stack the collection of more than a dozen volumes of their writings on the bookshelf.

While arranging the books, Himegami Karen asked, "Nonmizu-san, what are the usual activities of the Literature Club?"

"Well, it's just something like getting together to read books."

"That sounds very peaceful."

"So, Himegami-san likes a lively atmosphere."

“That’s not true…” Himegami Karen tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, “I probably prefer places where I can express myself, even if it’s a little tough or tiring.”

"That sounds a lot like Himegami-san's idea, and I appreciate that."

Thinking of Ji Gong's impeccable performance all along, Wen Shui nodded in agreement.

He said with some regret, "It's a pity that the literary society can gain attention by producing a journal and publishing articles, but our society basically doesn't produce anything. Right now, there's only one person who's creating anything."

He thought to himself that those BL novels featuring 18+ girls definitely didn't count.

"Cough cough cough cough, warm water..." Although she knew that warm water was unintentional, Yuezhimu-senpai, who had been choked by the words, immediately retorted, "I'm not idle, you know? I'm busy working on a draft for a club activity right now, and I might have to write something about it later."

"Really?" Wen Shui put the last copy of Natsume Soseki on the bookshelf and then said half-jokingly, "Senior, you're breaking the old rules of the Literature Club."

"Rules and such, are they really as big a problem as the abolition of the club?" Moonwood sighed helplessly, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Abandoned society?" Wen Shui and Ji Gong exchanged a surprised glance.

"Yes, a club needs five people to function. We only have four people at most right now. If it weren't for two first-year students, we would have been forced to leave by the student council by now."

"The student union sent a message saying that the freshmen have been on campus for a month now, and we need to hold at least one club activity."

Tsukinoki scratched her hair in distress. After thinking for a while, she looked earnestly at Himegami Karen and tentatively asked, "Himegami-san, um, although I'm a little embarrassed, since you just transferred here, could you...?"

[Ah, if Himegami-san joins the club, there will be 5 people, which perfectly meets the requirement of not disbanding the club.]

However, it ultimately depends on whether she is willing to do it.

Himegami Karen frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled: "It seems that you want me to join the club, senior. May I consider it..."

Before the words were even finished, the sound of heavy running could be heard coming from the corridor outside the office.

"temperature--"

Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw that it was Komari Chika who had rushed to the entrance of the clubhouse at a speed that was completely beyond her athletic ability.

"Warm, warm, huff, ha, warm..."

She gripped her phone tightly, breathing heavily, her eyes seemingly filled with tears. The moment she saw the warm water, a joyful and excited smile appeared on her face.

"Warm water!!!"

"What's wrong? Xiao Ju, don't panic, catch your breath first—Puff!"

Completely unprepared, Xiao Ju delivered a powerful rocket headbutt, and after letting out a mournful cry, Xiao Ju tackled him to the sofa in the literature club.

Xiao Ju nestled in Wen Shui's arms, tears of joy streaming down her face. She looked up and pointed out what was on her phone to Wen Shui.

The email on the phone screen read: "Dear Mr. [Kuonto], the first batch of your novel 'Even If It's a Dark Corner, We Still Want to Fall in Love' is about to be printed. Please come to our branch in Nagoya this weekend to discuss matters regarding the book signing."

The sender was Kadokawa Shoten, one of Japan's top novel publishers.

"This is...!" Wen Shui's eyes widened in surprise.

Xiaoju grinned, then choked up, saying in a trembling voice, "Um, um! My light novel physical book is finally going to be released!"

Wen Shui also got excited. He took Xiao Ju's phone, checked the information, and replied ecstatically, "Congratulations! Xiao Ju... ah, no, [Kuonto] teacher!"

"Ok!"

Wen Shui patted Xiao Ju's shoulder to comfort her, letting her tears soak her school uniform.

"That's wonderful, Xiao Ju's dream has finally come true..."

Tsukinoki Koto looked at Komari, who was sobbing uncontrollably on the sofa, with a sense of relief and reached out to wipe away her tears.

“Um—” A sweet and lovely voice came from the side.

Tsukinoki Koto's expression froze instantly. As if she had thought of something, she slowly turned her head back and gave an almost stiff smile.

"Haha, Hime... Himegami-san, they have such a good relationship, don't they?"

Standing to the side, watching the two people on the sofa practically embracing, Himegami Karen revealed a textbook-perfect, radiant smile.

She turned her head slightly back and bowed to Senior Moonwood, her posture and manners impeccable.

Himegami Karen straightened up and said:

"Vice President of the Moon Tree Ancient Capital Club, I want to join the Literature Club."

~Tenth Defeat~ Komari Chika is completely disoriented!

The atmosphere in the literary society's office was somber.

Komari and Kazuhiko had already separated and were sitting side by side on the sofa with their heads down, not daring to speak.

"Ahaha, sorry everyone, Shintaro has messed up his duty time again, I have to go help him."

With that, Tsukinoki-senpai grabbed her laptop and dashed off. It wasn't even President Tamaki's turn to be on duty today; her excuse was too flimsy!

"Clap."

Himegami Karen placed the signed application form on the table, then turned to look at Komari Chika with a smile and anticipation.

"This student looks unfamiliar. Sorry, I'm new to the company and haven't met everyone yet. Could you please introduce yourself?"

Facing Hime-miya's full and warm smile, Komari, who should have felt the warmth of the sun, inexplicably felt a chill.

Xiao Ju forced a smile, revealing a smile that was even uglier than crying.

"H-Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Koji Chika from Class 1-A..."

"Oh my, it's you, Komari-kun. Hello, my name is Himegami Karen. Nice to meet you."

【Huh? Huh?】

Himegami Hanako?

Xiao Ju paused for a moment, then quickly began searching her mind for information about the name.

I remember, back in first grade, Anzu kept mentioning this name, and I saw her with... several times.

[Wait, isn't that a bit odd? Shouldn't she be with Anzu's childhood friend right now? ??? ??? ? ...

"Ah, ga, uh..."

Komari realized something, her eyes widened, and a mournful cry, unlike any human voice, escaped her throat.

Someone unexpected has appeared!! What on earth is going on?!

Komari glanced at Himegami Karen, then at Onamizu beside her who was twitching at the corner of her mouth, and tentatively began, "Um, Himegami-san and Onamizu..."

"We're friends!" Himegami answered immediately.

"I didn't expect Xiao Ju to ask this question first! Well then, it's my turn to ask. What is the relationship between Xiao Ju and Wen Shui?"

Her smile remained unchanged, and her lively and cheerful aura seemed to condense into light, making the introverted Xiao Ju almost unable to look directly at her.

"I... I and Wen Shui are also... friends..." After saying this, Xiao Ju lowered her head deeply and shouted in her heart.

Wait a minute, there's no reason for Kazuhiko to have any contact with Himegami-kun right now! In fact, he probably hasn't even met Anzu yet!

[I should have the advantage in terms of timing; I could become true friends first, then spend three years with Kazuhiko, and finally start dating. I even had names for our child! Why did Himegami Hanako suddenly appear out of nowhere??]

Xiao Juzhihua became dizzy and disoriented.

Seeing that Xiaoju seemed to have lost the ability to speak, Jigong clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Xiaoju~ Since we are both friends with Wenshui, shall we be friends from today onwards?"

As Himegami spoke, her feminine aura was fully unleashed, her bright radiance so dazzling that it was hard to look directly at her.

Completely unprepared for Himegami's words, Komari looked up in a daze.

"Huh? A friend?"

[So, she wasn't here to confront me, but rather to befriend me? Himegami-san is so friendly...]

【Very good……】

Looking at Himegami's gentle smile, Xiaoju quietly melted in the radiance of the beautiful girl with sunny disposition.

"Okay...okay..." she said, with a "respectful" smile on her face, and collapsed onto the sofa.

Seeing that she had successfully gained Xiaoju's approval, Himegami made a cute victory sign with a peace sign, then she pretended to be serious and coughed lightly, turning her head towards the warm water.

"Warm water?"

"Yes! What are your orders?!" Wen Shui's back straightened instantly, her eyes resolute as if she were about to go to the battlefield.

Himegami Karen extended two fingers and touched them together.

"Wen Shui is Xiao Ju's friend, right?"

"Yes!"

My fingers touched it again.

"Warm water is my friend too, right?"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Princess Hime clenched her little fist.

"So, just now, Xiao Ju jumped into Wen Shui's arms, right?"

"Yes!"

Wen Shui realized her mistake as soon as she spoke and quickly tried to cover it up: "No, no, no, no, it's because Xiao Ju's work is about to be made into a physical product, and I'm just too happy! Yes, it's because I'm happy!"

"Really? It's because you're happy~" Upon hearing this, Himegami frowned, touched her lips, and then gave a silly smile.

"I'm so happy I made some friends today~ So, warm water~ Open your hands~"

As she said this, Himegami Karen spread her arms as if to pounce, clearly intending to replicate Komari's rocket headbutt from earlier.

But she didn’t seem to notice that her action caused a certain surprisingly large part of her body to undergo obvious, uh, physical movement and deformation.

Even without the author saying it, everyone understands that Wen Shuihe's face immediately turned as red as an apple.

"Oh no, that's not a good idea, Himegami-san!" Wen Shui quickly crossed her arms and huddled on the sofa, trying her best not to look at Himegami-san's upper body.

"What's wrong with that! I want to try it too!"

As she said this, Himegami pounced on him and started wrestling with Nukumi.

So, in the quiet literary club, Komari Chika watched Himegami Karen, who was on the sofa trying to dismantle the defenses and launching a fierce attack; and Onami, whose face was flushed, who was hugging her chest and forced to defend, slumped to the side, utterly dejected.

Her three years of high school memories had made her very familiar with romantic feelings, and she knew perfectly well what this situation meant.

Why does Karen Himegami have feelings for Kazuhiko?!

She was internally frantic with worry.

[Why is this happening? This is Himegami Karen, my childhood friend of 12 years, whom I could speedrun in two months! Shouldn't she be speedrunning Anna right now? Am I supposed to deal with her now?]

[And her offensive was so powerful right from the start, how could we possibly fight her?! How could we possibly fight her?!]

[It seems... uh, my brain is so confused, but I think I understand... Ancho... a little bit now...]

Komari Chika has turned gray—

【Yeah, right!!!】

The girl rallied, clenched her fists, and her eyes blazed with fighting spirit!

[My Lord God... could it be that you deliberately arranged for such a formidable enemy to target me?!]

[Damn it, I, Ju Zhihua, am a reborn person, I absolutely cannot fail!]

What Xingcai can't handle, I'll handle!

Little Marika is full of determination!

But before that—

Xiaoju said anxiously, "Cough, cough, Princess... there might be someone outside who heard the noise and is on their way. You go first..."

[Get off Kazuhiko right now!!!]