Time quickly passed, and before long, it was 3:40 in the afternoon.
After finishing the last exam and listening to the homeroom teacher's closing remarks, the class started cleaning the classroom.
Because of his height, Takashi was assigned to clean the blackboard.
After wiping the board until it gleamed, he clapped his hands in satisfaction.
"Shota, Kota, I'm heading to the kendo club now."
Takashi greeted the two before grabbing his already packed bag with one hand and heading toward the kendo club.
"Takashi, wait for me."
Narii, who was sweeping the floor, immediately threw the broom to another student and grabbed her bag before running after him.
Passing through the courtyard lined with cherry blossom trees, the two arrived in front of the club activity building and stopped at the bulletin board.
The board was filled with recruitment posters for various clubs.
[Looking for practice partners and skilled players. No PlayStation fanboys allowed—Gaming Club.]
Nintendo fans?
Where there are Nintendo fans, there will surely be PlayStation fanboys.
Takashi glanced upward. Whether by coincidence or not, above the Gaming Club's poster was another one:
[Welcoming newcomers. No Nintendo fans or PlayStation fanboys allowed—Video Game Enthusiasts Club.]
Just as expected.
Takashi had a smug expression as if he had foreseen everything.
He continued scanning the posters.
[Unleash your youth, strengthen your body—Join the Track and Field Club!]
Thinking about track and field, a phrase immediately popped into Takashi's mind: "That heavy rain ruined my university dreams."
[Reach the unreachable sky, shoot down untouchable dreams. Watch closely, this arrow will pierce the stars—Archery Club.]
Damn, that's hype.
Looking at the archery club's recruitment notice, Takashi almost felt the urge to join immediately.
"Ah, found it! The kendo club is over here."
Following Narii's pointing finger, Takashi looked over.
[Duel me right now 🤺🤺🤺—Kendo Club.]
Takashi: "..."
Is this even a serious fencing challenge?
And why is your recruitment slogan so much worse than the archery club's?!
If he hadn't just obtained [Swordsmanship Proficiency] from the system, he wouldn't have joined the kendo club even if they begged him.
"Let's go."
After confirming the location, the two walked through the side courtyard and followed a shaded path to the kendo dojo.
Before they even entered, Takashi could already hear the rapid clashing of bamboo swords inside.
Aoba Academy, being a prestigious school in Tokyo, has produced countless influential figures.
Backed by immense resources, the school had an abundance of funding.
According to the information gathered by Shota Otani, Aoba Private High School's annual budget for clubs was more than double that of Shuchiin Academy.
The principal was more than willing to invest heavily to encourage students to achieve success.
Take the soccer club, for example. To ensure students were accustomed to playing on real grass, the school used natural turf instead of artificial grass.
Maintaining that grass alone costs several million yen per year.
Although the kendo club wasn't as extravagant as the soccer club, it still had all the necessary equipment.
Opening the door to the kendo dojo, Takashi first took a look at his surroundings.
It was a traditional wooden building, quite spacious—about the size of two basketball courts.
The structure was simple, with polished camphor wood flooring, no unnecessary decorations, and no visible trophies or awards.
There weren't many people in the dojo.
At a glance, Takashi estimated fewer than twenty members.
Kendo itself was a niche sport in Japan, nowhere near as popular as soccer, baseball, or volleyball.
Noticing newcomers, many of the kendo club members stopped what they were doing and curiously looked toward them.
Their gazes lingered on Narii for a moment before shifting to Takashi.
His clean-cut buzzed hair, sharp and wild gaze, and the black stud earring in his left ear made quite an impression.
Many of them recognized him immediately.
No surprise there.
Yesterday, the episode where he sang with Hoshino Ai had gone viral.
After airing, the episode's view count had already surpassed two million, with over 210,000 retweets.
Many students at Aoba had seen the show and now knew that their school had a new "face god."
"Sorry for the intrusion."
Takashi bowed slightly before taking off his shoes at the entrance.
The kendo club captain, Toji Taku, waited until Takashi had changed into indoor shoes and walked up to him before speaking politely.
"Kitahara, what brings you to our kendo club?"
Toji Taku had thick eyebrows and a stern expression, looking like someone who wasn't easy to approach.
However, his tone was very courteous.
"Senpai, I'd like to join the kendo club." Takashi got straight to the point without wasting time.
Hearing this, Toji Taku's serious face broke into a wide smile. He turned his head and shouted to a low-ponytailed girl beside him:
"Rina! Quick, bring the application form!"
The school had no strict requirements for club membership. Even if a club only had three members, Aoba would still allocate funds.
They had no choice—there was simply too much money to spend.
The school was ridiculously wealthy.
Although there was no minimum membership requirement, the more members a club had, the more funding it received.
The difference in budget between a club with three members and one with thirty was significant.
Even if a student joined a club just to have their name on the roster, they were still counted when funds were distributed.
That's why, every year when new students enrolled, upperclassmen would go all out to recruit them—sometimes through persuasion, sometimes even through shameless tactics.
Even if the newcomers never showed up, no one would complain.
Who wouldn't want more club funds?
Siphoning club funds happened everywhere.
That was why Toji Taku was so excited.
In fact, the other kendo club members were also looking at Takashi with warmth in their eyes—as if he were a long-lost relative.
If he were actually a fellow "isekai traveler," it wouldn't be a tearful reunion. Instead, it would be like Gilgamesh meeting Illya—a ruthless "Black Tiger Heart Strike" right to the chest.
"Yes, sir!"
The low-ponytailed, round-faced girl named Rina rushed off, her short legs moving as fast as they could, as if afraid Takashi would escape in the next second.
"Kitahara, come, let me show you around the dojo. Oh, right, I'm Toji Taku, the captain of the kendo club."
Contrary to his strict appearance, Toji Taku was quite enthusiastic, extending a hand toward Takashi.
The moment their fingers touched, Takashi could clearly feel the calluses on Toji's fingers—likely from years of gripping a bamboo sword.
Narii's expression briefly showed disgust. She crossed her arms and took a few steps back to increase the distance between them.
From farther away, she hadn't noticed it before, but now that she was up close, the stench of sweat was unbearable.
It was practically a biochemical weapon, soaking into the very fabric of the air.
Takashi had smelled it too.
Kendo attire was notoriously known as the smelliest among all sports uniforms.
With all that heavy gear that couldn't be washed frequently, combined with daily training and sweat dripping from head to toe, how could it not stink?
But he couldn't show any reaction.
"Sorry about that."
Toji Taku was well aware of how bad he smelled.
Compared to him, this new recruit smelled... really nice.
What kind of cologne was he wearing?
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