Chapter 6: is actually a board game student?
I was heading to the student council room to finish some leftover work.
“Who’s this~?”
Someone covered my eyes with their hands and asked.
They lowered their voice to hide their identity, but it was clearly a girl.
Not many girls talk to me, and even fewer would pull this stunt…
“…Fujiwara?”
“Correct~ Hehe.”
As expected, Fujiwara Chika.
Her bubbly personality makes her friendly even to wallflowers like me.
If not for her unpredictable, fourth-dimensional quirks, she’d be pretty great.
“Where’re you headed, Suzuki-kun?”
“Student council room. Miyuki asked for help.”
“Oh, got it…! Want me to lend a hand?”
“Nah, it’s not urgent or tough.”
“Hmph, you’ve gotten so reliable, Suzuki-kun. I’m off to the TG Club then! Bye-bye~”
“See ya.”
Fujiwara left for her club, and I continued to the council room.
But at the school gate, something hit me.
‘Right, Miyuki said to bring Fujiwara if I saw her…’
One of my tasks popped into my head.
Miyuki mentioned needing her for some meeting notes, but her phone was off, so he asked me to grab her if we crossed paths.
If I finish my work first and go get her, she might be gone, and it’d nag at me the whole time.
‘…No choice, huh.’
It’s a detour, which is annoying, but it’s the best option, so I headed to the TG Club.
TG Club stands for Table Game Club.
In simple terms, it’s a board game club.
The TG Club’s reputation? “Den of weirdos” sums it up.
They play TRPGs with giant dice across campus and stubbornly propose a 100-person battle royale at the school festival (*Shuchiin Academy Festival) every year.
No wonder the disciplinary committee supposedly gets stomach cramps over them.
But I’m just here for a quick errand to pick up Fujiwara, so it should be fine—I thought, opening the door.
What I saw was…
“Chika-chan, didn’t they teach you cheating gets your wrists chopped off?”
“…Got proof?”
A brutal scene.
Chika and a senior-looking member had their wrists tied to the table, playing poker.
I underestimated the TG Club. Should I just run?
“Proof? Sure. Where’d this Ace of Spades come from? I’ve got one too~”
“Tch, that’s…!”
“Gigako-chan, hurry up and swing!”
“Sorry, Chika. You’re caught, no way out…”
The girl called Gigako raised a giant toy hammer overhead.
“No, don’t! Eek—!”
Bonk! Bonk!
The toy hammer whacked Fujiwara’s wrist several times.
“Eep, ow! Ahh!”
Fujiwara yelped in a dramatic, almost sultry tone.
The vibe shifted from noir to kiddie show in seconds.
After the penalty, they noticed me at the door.
Fujiwara reacted first.
“Oh no, Suzuki-kun! You saw all that!?”
“…Just a bit.”
“From where?”
“‘Cheating gets your wrists chopped off’ or so.”
“Waaah, I’m ruined…!”
“…?”
“Ugh, that’s harsh, peeping like that.”
“No girl could show her face after being seen like that…”
Oh, man, I’m losing it…
Seeing crying girls gives me PTSD from that student council fiasco.
“C-calm down, Suzuki-kun. Why’re you here?”
Fujiwara smiled brightly, like nothing happened.
Knew it. Too tired to get mad anymore.
“Miyuki said he couldn’t reach you and asked me to bring you to the council room. Something about meeting notes.”
“Oh, right! My phone’s off!”
“…Any reason for that?”
Our school’s lax about electronics unless you’re blatant in class.
Kids like Ishigami sneak game consoles, so…
Fujiwara’s reason was, predictably, bizarre.
“To protect Shuchiin, we hunted the Ancient Dragon sleeping in the old building! Modern tech ruins TRPG immersion! Phones off is a must!”
“Oh, cool.”
Let’s not think too hard. Yeah, that’s best.
“Is it urgent?”
A short-haired girl asked.
Wasn’t she the senior Fujiwara mentioned?
“No, not really, but…”
“Then we can’t let Chika go! Once you step into this Demon Castle, you face us!”
“Hehe, brave hero. Rescuing Princess Chika from our Demon Trio won’t be easy.”
Fujiwara clutched herself, looking pained.
“Ugh, no… The dark magic’s taking over…!”
“…?”
“Heh, the Chika you knew is gone, Suzuki-kun. I’m Fujifuji, the Fallen Princess!”
“…”
Where do I even start?
The sudden challenge? Or this clearly slapped-together nonsense?
My energy-saving creed’s been crumbling lately, but this is draining me dry.
Only one answer.
“Have fun, guys. I’m out.”
Sadly, I didn’t run into Fujiwara today.
TG Club? Huh, didn’t know we had one.
Why am I here? Weird. Time to head back…
“Wait, Suzuki-kun!”
As I opened the door to leave, Fujiwara grabbed my hand.
“…What?”
“Lately, it’s just work, home, work, home for you!”
“…”
“If you don’t take a break, you’ll have no memories later…!”
“…!”
Was she worried about me?
True, I’ve had zero activities outside the council.
I’m fine with this routine, but to an extrovert like Fujiwara, it probably looks dull.
She’s suggesting this out of concern, so I can’t just brush her off.
“…Just for a bit.”
“Yay! Come on, this way!”
Fujiwara dragged me to a chair and headed to a shelf packed with board games.
“Played many board games, Suzuki-kun?”
“Nope, not really.”
“Really? Like, at all?”
“If card games like Go Fish count…”
“So basically none… Hmm, what’s good? I’ll pick a game, so introduce yourselves!”
As Fujiwara suggested, I greeted the two girls across from me.
“Hey. Suzuki Hotaro, 2-B, student council general affairs.”
“Terakoya, 3-A. Nice to meet you.”
“Terako? You got demoted to Gigako last time.”
“Kozue, cut me some slack…”
The long-haired brunette senior looked normal enough.
Gigako? Terako? Like terabytes to gigabytes? Computer storage nicknames?
Thought it was her real name.
“Hi, I’m Makihara Kozue, 1-A, TG Club president.”
The short-haired senior… wait, first-year?
Club president, casual with a third-year, but Fujiwara calls her senior?
Now that I think about it, she looks familiar.
I’ve seen her in the first-year halls back when I was a first-year.
Oh, she’s a…
‘Repeater, huh…’
Everyone’s got their story. No need to nitpick, so I let it slide.
While we introduced ourselves, Fujiwara returned with a game.
“Let’s start with Halli Galli!”
“…Halli Galli?”
“The rules are simple! President, explain!”
“You’re dumping this on me? Fine, you’re cute, so I’ll let it slide.”
Makihara’s explanation was straightforward.
Each player gets cards with 1 to 5 fruits.
Take turns flipping cards.
When the total for one fruit hits 5, ring the bell in the center to claim that round’s cards.
“We’ve played so much we could do it blindfolded, but let’s go easy for the newbie.”
“That’s how we started~”
“Right! You learn by playing. Let’s start!”
At Fujiwara’s call, they flipped cards at a ferocious pace.
Then…
Ding!
All three hands—except mine—hit the bell.
The bottom hand belonged to…
“Hehe, Suzuki-kun, see that? That’s how it’s done!”
Fujiwara, puffing out her chest proudly.
Watching once, I got the gist.
“Let’s try it.”
“Don’t feel bad if you lose at first~”
“We don’t go easy, so we’ll train you Spartan-style.”
They’re so chatty, assuming I’ll suck.
“Talk’s cheap. Let’s see who’s better.”
“Bold, but brave~ Game start!”
Cards flipped rapidly.
Around the fifteenth card, a Banana 5 appeared.
The first to react…
Ding!
Me.
They didn’t even get their hands out.
Everyone looked stunned.
“You’re… better than expected…?”
“Hmm, beginner’s luck? Round two!”
They missed something.
I’ve got the hang of it.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Ten straight wins.
I didn’t let a single card slip.
It’s just reflexes and dynamic vision—can’t lose at that.
The TG members’ card piles dwindled.
I smirked and asked.
“So, when’s this Spartan training start…?”
“Ugh, such humiliation…!”
“No way someone who only eats and plays Halli Galli could…”
“Tch, you’re good, Suzuki-kun…! But the next game won’t be so easy!”
Before Fujiwara finished, they grabbed the cards, stashed them, and huddled in a corner, scheming.
“There’s more…?”
“…That game… with our brains… no way a newbie beats us… whisper whisper…”
Picking a game they can’t lose to a beginner? That’s low…
They reached a consensus, and Fujiwara slammed a new game on the table.
“We won’t lose this time! It’s Clue!”
“…What’s that?”
“Clue’s a deduction board game, basically.”
“Oh…”
“The TG Club’s a brain trust. We don’t lose at mind games!”
Physical game, now deduction? What a lineup.
Unless they picked it on purpose…
“…Sounds fun. Let’s do it.”
I felt a spark of motivation.
Might feel a bit bad for them—I’m pretty good at deduction games.