What a twist! The loser heroine!

[It's to the point where it's obvious at a glance.]

However, Wen Shui would never say that on the surface: "Chao Yun's skills are... well, quite good, haha."

"What kind of answer is that? It's so perfunctory."

Himegami pouted slightly, looking around the club office, and then immediately spotted Nonomura sitting in a chair.

"Ah, who is this...?"

Upon hearing this, Nonomura immediately put down "Dark Cherry Blossom" in his hand.

"Hello, I'm in the same class..."

"Hey, don't be so nervous, I remember you."

Himegami interrupted Nonomura's self-introduction with a smile. She hopped two steps to Nonomura, then bent down and carefully examined her classmate's face with her scarlet eyes.

"Let me guess... on the day of the book signing..."

The corners of her mouth turned up.

"Nonomura-kun, right?"

“That’s right, it’s me.” Nonomura replied with a smile, “I didn’t expect that Himegami-san would still remember me.”

“After all, Banami dragged me to meet you yesterday.” Himegami straightened up with a smile: “I’m quite confident in my short-term memory, hehe.”

"And this is..." She saw the paper crown on the table: "Huh? Welcome to the club?"

"Nonomura-kun just joined the literature club."

"This wasn't there when I joined."

"Let's just consider it a new initiation ceremony, haha."

Wen Shui explained, pouring the tea from the teapot into a paper cup and handing the cup to Ji Gong: "I heard your voice is a little hoarse. The water temperature is just right, you can drink it directly."

"Huh? Oh, oh." Upon hearing this, Princess Hime quickly took the paper cup with both hands and took a small sip of tea.

Then, with a happy expression on her face, she slumped onto the sofa.

"Wow... I'm finally saved." She said, holding her teacup, looking very relaxed.

President Tamaki chuckled as he flipped through his study materials, "Haha, it seems that Himegami has gone through quite a bit of hardship."

"You bet! Who knew we'd suddenly become famous? This next week is probably going to be tough."

Himegami sighed, then said to Wenshui, who was looking for a book on the bookshelf, "Ah, Wenshui, could you please get me the third volume of 'The Idiot by the Window'?"

Wen Shui pulled out the isekai light novel she wanted to read, and then looked at Himegami with some surprise.

"Huh? Didn't we only get to the first volume last week?"

"I finished reading the second volume on my tablet over the weekend."

He pointed to the second volume on the bookshelf: "Why the rush? There's a physical copy in the publishing house."

"Because I really like this work." Himegami glanced at Numizu as if it were a matter of course.

Upon hearing this, Wen Shui nodded, pulled out the third volume from the bookshelf, and then walked to the sofa to hand it to Ji Gong.

"Thank you~" Himegami took the book and then gestured to Wen Shui with her eyes.

He thought Princess Hime had something to say, so he sat down on the sofa as well.

Unexpectedly, she immediately started reading a book, leaving Wen Shui somewhat confused.

Why did you ask me to sit on the sofa if there's nothing wrong?

After thinking for a long time without reaching a conclusion, Wen Shui had no choice but to open the light novel in her hand.

The light novel "I Just Want to Live a Peaceful Life After Becoming a Sage" tells the hilarious story of a protagonist who, after becoming a great sage, finds himself constantly attracting attention due to the extraordinary power of all his magic. He tries to actively eliminate his presence in the world.

Wen Shui chose this novel for a simple reason: its reclusive spirit resonated with her own desire for solitude. Every time she saw the protagonist gain attention from all sides because of various magic tricks, and then use clever tricks to escape the world again, she always felt a sense of empathy and identification.

Let's see what story will make the protagonist the center of attention this time—

Oh, so it was a plague, and the protagonist's healing spell was taken as a miracle. How interesting.

However, it's quite a coincidence that Princess Himegami received so much attention for saving someone. She previously mentioned liking to showcase herself, but it seems that too much attention is also causing her distress.

He turned his head and glanced at the profile of Princess Hime, who was engrossed in reading.

With such outstanding looks and figure, wouldn't the most suitable profession for Himegami be a print model or idol? It's hard to imagine, but it would suit her quite well, since she has experience appearing on camera.

Wen Shui, whose mind was wandering inexplicably, quickly shook her head.

[I'm not a career planner, why should I think about these things?]

He lowered his head again and turned to a new page of the light novel.

Unaware that Nonomura Touko, who had already finished reading most of "Dark Cherry Blossoms," was quietly observing her and Himegami, Wen Shui was engrossed in the world of books once again.

She nodded to herself, a strange ripple seeming to flicker in her seemingly expressionless blue eyes.

◇

Time slipped away gradually amidst the rustling of turning pages.

The lighthearted and enjoyable light novel plot, combined with the snacks and candies always available in the literature club, is a perfect match. Before we knew it, there was less than half an hour left until the deadline to leave school.

Because she had consumed too much tea, Wen Shui left the office and went to the restroom.

I washed my hands in front of the sink, took out the tissues I carried with me, dried my hands with warm water, and turned to walk towards the office.

"I wonder where Xiao Ju went today."

Wen Shui took out her phone and opened the Literature Club's Line group. The message from Yue Zhi Mu senior asking about Xiao Ju's situation was still hanging in the last column, but Xiao Ju had not replied yet.

Wen Shui was a little worried, but considering Xiao Ju's somewhat timid nature, she probably wouldn't put herself in danger.

Perhaps her classmates' enthusiasm overwhelmed her, causing her to forget about the club's affairs.

Hmm, like a rabbit?

The school building was eerily quiet after school; you could even hear the faint sound of your own shoes treading inside. The arts club's office was in a very remote location; even the nearest restroom required walking through two corridors to find.

He walked down the deserted corridor, pondering Xiao Ju's situation.

"Ah." A deliberately suppressed gasp rang out behind me, but it was clearly audible in the quiet corridor.

Wen Shui turned around and saw Ma Titian Aixing, carrying a schoolbag, looking at him from the stairs, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

So he spoke first: "Tian Aixing, has the club's patrol work been completed?"

"Please don't call me by my name!" Tian Aixing said, sighed, and quickly walked down the stairs.

"The president is still inspecting the last few clubs, but she told me to go back early," Tian Aixing explained. "I originally wanted to go to the Literature Club to find you, but since you're here, I'll save myself the trouble."

As she spoke, she unzipped her backpack and took out the first copy of Natsume Soseki's "Sanshiro" that she had previously "borrowed" from her.

"I've finished reading this one, here you go."

[Huh? This time, Tian Aixing didn't use her younger brother as a cover.]

Tian Aixing respectfully handed over the book with both hands, and Wen Shui quickly accepted it with the same. Wen Shui glanced down at the "Sanshiro" in her hand; Tian Aixing seemed worried that her book might get damaged, as she had specially put a homemade book cover on it.

"This book cover..."

“I did it,” Tian Aixing said softly.

[Tian Aixing is taking this way way too seriously.]

"Thank you very much," Wen Shui said sincerely.

"Don't do this, it was my fault first." Tian Aixing fiddled with the zipper of her backpack with her left hand and said softly, "I should have returned it to you a long time ago, but I got so engrossed in reading that I wanted to keep watching until the very end, so—"

“Loving to read is not a flaw,” Wen Shui said with a smile. “If you would like to read it again, you are welcome to borrow it from the Literature and Art Society anytime.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Well, not recently. A lot of people came to borrow books today, so the bookshelves are quite empty. Tian Aixing, you should finish reading the books you have now before coming back."

"Ah? No, that..." Tian Aixing's face flushed slightly with embarrassment, but she finally nodded gently: "Okay, I'll finish reading them as soon as possible."

"Don't rush. Reading without understanding is a big no-no, especially when it comes to classic works."

Wen Shui waved the copy of "Sanshiro" in her hand and advised, "The literary society isn't a library. The deadline isn't that strict. You can finish reading it slowly and return it later."

"Uh, um, thank you."

After Tian Aixing finished speaking, she bowed very respectfully to Wen Shui, leaving him somewhat at a loss.

"Well then, I'll go home first." Tian Aixing straightened up and said to Wen Shui, "It's almost time to leave school, Wen Shui, please go home as soon as possible. Violating school rules will result in punishment."

"Haha, I was already planning to leave anyway," Wen Shui replied with a smile. "But thanks for reminding me anyway."

"Ah, um... goodbye then."

After saying that, Tian Aixing waved to Wen Shui and then turned and left.

Wen Shui glanced at Tian Aixing's back, then at the book "Sanshiro" in her hand.

[Tian Aixing is taking this way way too seriously.]

He sighed again and turned to walk towards the student office. However, before he even turned the corner of the corridor, his phone vibrated with a message notification.

Wen Shui took out her phone; the rabbit avatar was gently shaking.

Xiao Ju, who had been missing for the entire afternoon, suddenly sent him a message.

The content was short, but it made Wen Shui's eyes widen involuntarily.

"Help"

The 50th defeat is not a crisis.

"Help"

What exactly happened to Xiao Ju?

He tried replying to a message.

Where are you now? What happened?

Half a minute passed, and there was still no response.

In the silent corridor, Wen Shui felt a chill creep up his spine. He felt anxious and flustered; this was the first time in his life he had encountered something like this.

Is it a kidnapping, or some other dangerous situation?

We need to find Xiao Ju first, but we don't know her location yet.

School has been over for a long time now, and most of the teachers have gone home. It seems that only the student council president is still at school, and I don't have the president's Line account, so it will probably be difficult to find someone to help me.

Should we call the police? It's hard to determine the specific situation from just a single "help" message. Maybe Xiao Ju was frightened and sent the message on purpose?

Since she can still send messages on Line, perhaps she is not in a very dangerous situation right now.

But just in case, let's discuss it with the members of the literary society first.

Thinking of this, Wen Shui quickly ran back to the Literature and Art Society.

◇

A moment later, exclamations of surprise rang out simultaneously from a corner of the school building from the members of the literary society.

"Is Xiao Ju calling for help??"

The most anxious one was naturally Yuezhimu-senpai, who immediately reached out and grabbed Wenshui's shoulder: "Wenshui, what happened?"

So Wen Shui immediately shared her Line interface on her phone with everyone.

"Hiss, it really is saying 'help'..."

Karen Himegami frowned and glanced at the two company presidents: "Should we call the police?"

"I think it's not necessary for now." Wen Shui shared her analysis with the members of the Literature Club.

Nonomura, who had remained calm throughout, nodded: "I think Wen Shui is right. Besides, since Xiao Ju didn't post the distress message in the class group or club group where it's easier to get help, the situation might not be that bad yet."

Wen Shui nodded in deep agreement, his views coincided with those of Nonomura.

Nonomura thought for a moment, then finished speaking in one breath: "However, if there is really danger, it will be too late for us to stay here. How about this, I know a teacher at the school who often works overtime until late at night, and she should be in the school building now."

She stood up and said, "I'm going to ask that teacher for help. Everyone, please wait here for my news. If there are any new developments with Xiao Ju, please let me know in the club's group chat."

After saying all this in one breath, Nonomura let out a soft breath, picked up his cup, and took a sip of tea.