I Became the Final Subjugation Target of That Era’s Light Novel

“Alright, alright, those who wish to join, sit here.”

Before we knew it, the two of us had become prospective members.

I wouldn’t say that’s wrong, but still.

Izumi lined us up next to Koko and stood across from us, facing us.

Then, ahem, clearing her throat, she said, “Once again, let me introduce myself. I am Ikeda Izumi, the president of the Literature Club.”

“And also the only member of the Literature Club.”

“No way!? I’m here too, and you’re here as well! And there’s one more person! That’s three!”

“I can let that slide.”

Oh, right, Kaoru was also a member of the Literature Club.

I thought places like the Occult Research Club were often found in school stories, so I wondered if they really existed; I guess they don’t.

So, was what she said earlier a joke?

“Well, I mean, about that other person, there’s never been a fantasy boy showing up, right? How can such a person even be a member? Is he actually a student?”

Whether I thought about it or not, Kaoru looked at Izumi incredulously.

“I definitely submitted the application form, you know? Ah!”

And as Izumi was somewhat defiantly arguing with Kaoru, she seemed to suddenly remember something with the phrase ‘application form’ and hurriedly moved toward the bookshelf.

If she kept silent, she’d probably give off a slightly dark but innocent literature club member vibe, but somehow she seemed a bit clumsy like this.

Good. I was relieved that it didn’t seem too stiff.

While Izumi rummaged through the bookshelf, I scanned the Literature Club room once.

To prove it was an unpopular club, the room had… nothing special. It was somewhat clean but the building itself was old, so it didn’t give a very tidy impression. Still, it had its own charm, I guess.

The bookshelf wasn’t a beautifully crafted wooden one but a metal assembly type. The number of books wasn’t particularly remarkable either. There wasn’t only one type; there were famous mystery novels and many titles I’d never heard of.

This is nice.

The emptiness of the bookshelf also made the atmosphere of the club feel loose.

Plus, from what I’ve heard, it seemed the actual members were just Kaoru and Izumi. If there had been more members, I might have thought about it a bit more, but as it stands, it looks like it fits the kind of club I’m looking for perfectly.

“Want to eat?”

While Izumi was rustling around looking for something, Kaoru casually pushed a basket on the desk toward us.

Inside were a bunch of dorayaki.

“Ooh?”

Koko’s image of Kaoru seemed to improve tremendously just from that, and she smiled brightly.

I reached out and grabbed two dorayaki, giving one to Koko. Since Koko loved to eat, she didn’t even think about what it was and instantly tore open the packaging, shoving it into her mouth.

Now that I think about it, Koko is having this for the first time. There’s still so much she hasn’t tried.

“It’s delicious!”

“Right?”

“…I chose it.”

Seeing Kaoru looking all proud of herself, Izumi retorted incredulously.

“Here, take this.”

Then she placed a sheet of paper in front of each of us.

Somehow, the yellowed edges suggested that it hadn’t been taken out for a long time.

On the paper, in big letters, it said [Application Form]. The content wasn’t anything special; it just had spaces for my name, grade, and class.

“Ah….”

I hesitated for a moment.

“Uh, why? Weren’t you here to join the literature club?”

Didn’t they ask me outside if I was here to ‘check it out’?

“Well, if there are less than three active members in the club, it’ll become inactive. Even if Izumi added my name arbitrarily, since there are actually only two members, we’re on the brink of disbanding.”

“It wasn’t arbitrary!? You were the one who stood up and gave it to me! And there’s one more member!”

“Ah, I don’t mind joining, though.”

I quickly replied. Kaoru and Izumi turned their heads back toward me.

Beside me, Koko was unwrapping her dorayaki without paying any mind to our conversation.

“Is it good? I picked this out carefully. Most of the club activity budget from the school probably went into this.”

“No, what I’m saying is that it shouldn’t be spent mostly on snacks, right? It looks delicious but still.”

No, that’s not what I meant.

“Actually, I’m not trying to just enter the club by myself…”

“Eh?”

Kaoru and Izumi reacted simultaneously once again.

Is it really telepathy that they’re using and not us? Aren’t they the ones who are twins? Like they were separated in childhood.

Having such rude thoughts, I spoke up.

“Actually, I’m looking for a club that my friends can join together—”

“Your friends are planning to join!?”

No, I mean, I said I’m just looking, I didn’t say we were planning to join.

Of course, I do wonder if I should look around more rather than just here.

“Yeah, I want to see what the Literature Club is like, and then come by with my other friends…”

“Ah, that’s good, that’s good!”

Izumi’s eyes sparkled for a moment.

“If it’s a new student, they’re always welcome. It would be great to have more students to talk about literature with.”

Hmm.

Looking at Kaoru casually taking out an occult magazine from her bag, it seemed like they weren’t exclusively talking about literature.

“I told my friends to come take a look first. They’re probably waiting in the classroom right now.”

“You can call them over right away.”

Izumi said this very firmly.

In any case, she seemed really urgent.

…It’s probably because it’s me; if I were just a random new student, Izumi’s attitude would definitely scare anyone away.

Though I really liked a lot of things, seeing how assertive Izumi was made me a bit uneasy.

It seems like she’s not really thinking about genuine club activities but rather just found a place to hang out after school.

So I pondered momentarily when, rustle, rustle—turning to the sound, I saw Koko unwrapping her third dorayaki.

“Uuuh?”

Koko paused with a big bite, looking at the three of us and tilting her head.

She seems to really like it.

…Well, okay then.

For now, I’ll show them and decide.

And even if I don’t join as a member, I could still come to hang out as a friend, right?

*

Izumi had said new students were always welcome, but when I called my friends over, she shrank back behind Kaoru.

I guess she thought all of my friends would have similar impressions based on just me and Koko.

It was understandable for someone with a dull impression like Mako, but Harumi and Yuuki’s image might be a bit intimidating at first glance.

Since I’ve known them since very early childhood, I was aware of their personalities before they took on such images, but for Izumi, who seems to have a bit of a literary girl vibe, it might be a little scary.

Plus, the friends I mentioned weren’t just a few but seven people in total, including Mako, Harumi, Yuuki, Yuka, and Sota from the adjacent class, and Shii who followed Sota.

Including Koko and me, it was almost five times the original number of club members.

Well, Sota probably won’t come often because of Shii.

“….”

“Izumi, these are the new students you were so eager for. You should come out and greet them.”

“I-I didn’t expect there to be this many.”

When Kaoru, who showed no hesitation at all, told the hiding Izumi, she replied with a slightly trembling voice.

“Oh.”

It seemed Harumi found Izumi’s reaction amusing, as she boldly stepped toward Kaoru and peeked out next to her.

“Hyik!?”

Izumi clutched Kaoru’s back and turned to the side.

Harumi followed closely behind, still laughing at Izumi’s response.

“…What is going on.”

Yuuki murmured, looking incredulous.

It was only after Kaoru forcibly brought her in front of the kids that Izumi finally calmed down.

Oh, is she not really calmed down? It seems she was just forced to stand there.

Perhaps feeling a bit pressured in front of others, Izumi twisted her body and said, “Ah, hello.”

Her tone has changed.

“I am the second year, Ikeda Izumi. I am the president of the Literature Club. Please take care of me….”

And as we all clapped, Izumi’s face turned bright red again, and she slipped back behind Kaoru.

“Want some?”

“Eh? Ah, okay.”

Sitting next to Koko, Yuuki grabbed the dorayaki Koko suddenly offered and replied.

“I picked them out thoughtfully, so they should be delicious.”

“Ah, yes.”

“So I chose them!”

Seeing Yuuki respond absentmindedly to Kaoru’s words, Izumi cried out in despair.

Thanks to that, the kids who had gathered in the room chuckled. Izumi’s face turned red again, but since Kaoru had already sat back down, there was nowhere for her to hide.

Well, at least the atmosphere has softened because of this.

“Here.”

Koko handed me a dorayaki.

It seems she really liked it. Even though they looked like snacks that had been around for a while.

I smiled as I accepted it and tore open the packaging.

And as I took a bite—

Oh, this is delicious?

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