Chapter 3

"......I can't understand it." After looking at it for a long time, Takayuki looked over, but since it was only in Chinese, he still couldn't understand what was written. He decided to take out the booklet and start flipping through it again.

"It seems there isn't one. I was also thinking of joining such a club, going there every day to watch anime and talk about manga, it sounds quite interesting..." Takayuki flipped through the booklet, but he really couldn't find anything related.

"It's probably due to the school's traditions. It's normal not to have such clubs."

Mashiro wasn't sure if there was such a school in the original Tokyo, but in this world, Sakino Academy was one of the top schools in Tokyo.

"Whatever," Takayuki threw the booklet on the table and stretched.

"Hey... If you're looking for an ACG club, I did see one." The boy sitting to Mashiro's right looked over.

"Oh, really? Where?" Takayuki seemed more excited than Mashiro when he heard this.

"Here, on the second-to-last page, there's an Animic Club." The boy pointed to the booklet in Takayuki's hand.

"I'm really grateful, Harada-kun." Mashiro saw his name on the notebook.

"Animic? What a strange name?" Takayuki muttered as he flipped to the second-to-last page and indeed saw the club's name in a corner. He was a bit puzzled, "I've never seen this word in English, what does it mean?"

"Animation, manga, games, and light novels... Wow, this club really matches my requirements. But 'Animic' is probably a neologism, meaning 'anime'!"

"Animic," which is a combination of "Anime" and "Comic," is a neologism. The Japanese language doesn't have the term "anime," but this English word undoubtedly represents "anime" in Japanese.

A term full of otaku charm.

"What a strange name, but besides this club, there doesn't seem to be any other ACG club here, right?" Takayuki's face lit up, "If that's the case, this must be a big club, and there must be a lot of girls in it~!"

"Let me go check it out first. Do you want to come with me?" Mashiro took out his booklet and tore off the application form on the last page.

"Of course, of course!" Takayuki nodded vigorously.

After filling out the forms, the two headed toward the club room where the Animic Club was located.

Exiting the classroom, they were in the corridor. The school's floors were wooden and varnished, making them very bright. Such a building with wooden floors everywhere is probably only found in Japan.

Sakino Academy was quite large. After leaving the teaching building, the two walked toward another building.

Unlike in China, many famous schools in Japan are private, like Waseda University, which is completely privatized. Sakino Academy is not only a top school but also a private school. Located in the northeastern part of Setagaya, Tokyo, it is in a wealthy area. The traditional and serene atmosphere of Sakino Academy gives a unique feeling as you walk through the campus, with cherry blossoms about to bloom.

Oh, right, although cherry blossoms are a must-mention when talking about Japan, the national flower of Japan is actually the chrysanthemum...

"Mashiro, what's your favorite work? Recommend one to me," Takayuki asked as they walked.

"Anime, manga, games, light novels, all of them," Mashiro said seriously.

Takayuki was stunned, "Hey, are you an otaku?!"

"I'm serious, and I especially love 18+ and eroge." Mashiro patted Takayuki's shoulder, "Yeah, by the way, let's talk about *Sakura Taisen*. What do you think of this manga?"

Since he's a blonde, he should like this kind of manga, right?

"Sakura Taisen...? I haven't read it." Takayuki scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.

Mashiro's face was filled with "囧" (a symbol for awkwardness): "Then let's talk about a game, how about *Lance*?"

Takayuki: "..."

Mashiro: "Lower Classmen?"

Takayuki: "It's *Classmates*, right? I've seen the OVA!"

After this conversation, Mashiro realized that this blonde, who looked tough, was actually a good young man who didn't even play 18+ games. Mashiro felt he had chosen the wrong topic to discuss.

"Ah, we're here." Fortunately, the two had already arrived at the teaching building where the Animic Club was located, so they didn't have to continue the awkward conversation.

"Hey, Mashiro, there's a really pretty girl over there!" Just as Mashiro was thinking about joining the club, he was suddenly pulled by Takayuki.

"What?" Mashiro followed the direction Takayuki pointed and saw a girl sitting quietly on a bench in front of the teaching building, reading *Ranma 1/2*.

Mashiro was stunned.

Her long black hair reached down to her waist, and her beautiful face showed no expression. However, her bright, black eyes exuded a sense of indescribable melancholy. She sat there, naturally becoming a work of art.

Although melancholic girls are rare, the experienced Mashiro wasn't overly surprised. He was actually moved because this was the second girl he had seen today, out of hundreds of female classmates, who looked good in a school uniform.

Her well-defined, tall figure was accentuated by the school uniform, and her full chest concealed the biggest flaw of the uniform. The wide lace headband on her head, paired with the uniform, gave a sense of elegance.

Mashiro was moved to tears; this was truly a rare sight.

Looking at the manga in the girl's hands, he thought, "Like a drought meeting a rain, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, how touching!"

Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but she seemed to be a fellow manga enthusiast. At this moment, Mashiro even had the urge to approach her, but if he suddenly rushed over and shouted, "Heaven covers the earth," she probably wouldn't respond with "The pagoda tames the river," but would look at him as if he were a lunatic.

It was probably almost time for class, so the girl checked the time, put away her manga, and quickly left, leaving Takayuki to daydream.

"Let's go, class is about to start. We'll go check out the Animic Club first." Although the girl was beautiful, Mashiro wasn't clouded by lust. After appreciating her, he dragged Takayuki away and headed to the Animic Club's classroom.

"Oh, the classroom is quite large, there must be a lot of people inside!"

Generally, in Japanese high schools, club rooms are shared with other places like science preparation rooms and music classrooms. However, at Sakino Academy, many clubs have their own classrooms. Although the Animic Club's door was closed, the classrooms here were large, ranging from 100 to 200 square meters, which only big clubs have.

"Maybe the beautiful girl we saw earlier is also a member of the Animic Club... Hey, the door seems to be locked." Takayuki eagerly walked to the door but found it locked.

"It's the first day of school, so there's probably no activity today. It should be fine in a couple of days." Mashiro adjusted his tie, which he still wasn't used to.

"Ah, let's come back tomorrow then." Takayuki looked disappointed.

They returned to the classroom, and the afternoon classes were about to start.

...

There is an illustration here, but the artist is still working on the character design, so it will be released later.

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