Using a Mysterious Spellbook Ended Up Creating a Slave Harem - Chapter 8

 Club Viewing

Monday arrived, and my high school life began in earnest. Whether due to work commitments, Rina Takechi had not attended school. Partly because of that, I kept continuously casting my affection-boosting magic on Otowa Kojina, who sat in the seat in front of me. Considering how it went when I used it on Iroha, the effects should manifest sometime during the first semester.

Before long, classes wrapped up, and it was already after school. Today, I decided to head over to the Old Building while keeping an eye out for potential slave candidates. If there happened to be a beautiful upperclassman, it would be well worth looking into joining that club or circle. It was while I was walking toward the Old Building with those thoughts in mind that it happened.

A single female student was walking about ten meters ahead of me. Since we were walking in the same direction, I couldn't see her face, but I could tell from her back that she had an excellent proportion. Naturally, my eyes followed her attractive figure. I remained in the Main Building just to see what her destination would be.

A short while after watching her enter the Old Building, her figure appeared in the third-floor hallway. As I kept watching, I saw her open a certain door and step inside.

"So it's that room... Alright, I've memorized the location."

I also started walking toward the Old Building. I decided I would start by making the rounds from the first floor, saving the room she had entered for the very end.

After struggling to turn down aggressive recruitments and feeling somewhat unwelcome at others, I finally made my way up to the third floor. Unfortunately, I hadn't come across any female students I wanted to turn into a crest slave so far. As expected, beauties and stunning girls aren't that easy to find, I thought as I stood in front of the room in question. There was a plate attached to the door that read:

"Fortune Telling Circle, huh..."

I had no interest in fortune telling, but I did have an interest in that female student's body. Hoping that she was a beauty, I tapped lightly on the door.

...Yes.

A faint voice answered, and the door slid open just a fraction. The face that peeked out gave off a gloomy impression, wearing glasses with noticeable bangs hanging over her face.

"...Excuse me. I'm a freshman, would it be alright if I took a look around?" 

"Ah, aahh... Yes, please come in..." 

"Pardon the intrusion..."

Stepping through the open door, I entered the Fortune Telling Circle's room. Inside, four student desks like the ones in our classroom were pushed together to form a single island, complete with four chairs. Against the wall stood a simple shelf holding a few items that looked like fortune-telling tools. Aside from the female student who had invited me in, there was no one else present.

"Hmm............ a boy, huh." 

"Uh, yes?" 

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm Mitsuho Ichikawa, a second-year. I'm the president of the Fortune Telling Circle." 

"Ah, yes." 

"Though I say that, the seniors all graduated, so I'm the only member left..." 

"I—I see. ...I'm Atsushi Saida." 

"Yes, nice to meet you. By the way... do you know how the circle system works here?" 

"No, I don't." 

"In that case, let me explain."

According to the upperclassman with straight black hair reaching the middle of her back, a circle at this high school required a minimum of three members to exist. The Fortune Telling Circle, currently down to just one member, was facing an existential crisis and was on the verge of losing its room.

"There's also a Divination Research Society, and since that's the main branch, all the freshmen end up going over there..." 

"I see..." 

"The Fortune Telling Circle was started by seniors who got into a dispute within the Divination Research Society and split off after a fight, so it's difficult to just merge back with them now." 

"Is that how it is..." 

"For now, I've managed to secure one person as a new member in name only, so if just one more person joins, we can survive, but..." 

"............" 

"A boy, huh..."

Though she had given off a gloomy impression at first, the upperclassman turned out to be surprisingly talkative. Her face was difficult to see because of her bangs, but looking closely, she was a beautiful girl of the caliber you'd only find one of in a classroom. In fact, listening to her talk, she was speaking under the assumption that I actually wanted to join. To be honest, I wanted to establish a connection with this upperclassman, but I couldn't quite bring myself to go so far as joining the circle.

"Um..." 

"Hmm? What is it?" 

"I haven't actually decided to join here yet..." 

"Eh?! Really?!" 

"Y—Yes..." 

"...I—I see... sigh............" 

"...Um, Senpai? If you can't secure enough members..." 

"If I can't...?" 

"I'll basically be a ghost member, but I don't mind signing up." 

"Eh... r—really?!" 

"That is, if no one else joins." 

"Th—Thank you! That's a huge help!"

Since the survival of clubs and circles for the current school year would be determined by the number of registered members as of after school this Friday, I got Senpai's contact info and promised to get in touch by then. Even if someone else joined and I didn't need to lend my name, I intended to occasionally drop by to maintain our relationship.

Three days later, on Thursday night, I received a message from Ichikawa-senpai. It seemed she still hadn't secured any other new members, and she wrote that she wanted me to come to the circle room after school on Friday. Which brought me to where I was now: inside the Fortune Telling Circle's room. According to her, the other freshman who was joining in name only was also supposed to show her face shortly.

"I'm sorry, Saida-kun." 

"No, it's fine." 

"There was one girl who looked like she might join, but she got snatched up by the Divination Research Society..." 

"I see..."

I listened to Senpai vent her frustrations while filling out my name and class on the membership form. Passing the completed form over to her, all that was left was to wait for the other freshman.

"Let's see... Oh, wow. Saida-kun, you're in Group 4. I see."

Just as Senpai finished speaking, a knock came from the door. It looked like the final member had finally arrived.

"Yes. Come in." 

"...Excuse me."

As the door clicked open and a female student walked in, I gasped in surprise. It was a face I saw every day in my own classroom.

"Kojina-san..." 

"...Saida-kun?"

Otowa Kojina murmured my name as she entered the room. Likely because I sat directly behind her, she seemed to recognize my face and name.

"Welcome, Otowa-chan." 

"Mitsuho-san." 

"I was going to introduce you, but since you're in the same class, it looks like you already know each other." 

"Yes." 

"Alright then, this year's Fortune Telling Circle will be run by the three of us." 

"I am only lending my name, you know." 

"I'll basically be a ghost member too." 

"That's fine for day-to-day stuff, but could you at least help out during the cultural festival?" 

"............" 

"What do we do? For the cultural festival." 

"Fortune telling, of course. I'd like the two of you to do it too if possible, but at the very worst, just being here is fine." 

"...Let's discuss that when the time comes." 

"That's half a year away, so I can't really say." 

"Please give it some positive consideration if you can." 

"Understood. ...Well, now that we've introduced ourselves, I'll be going." 

"...Ah, looking forward to working with you, Kojina-san." 

"Thank you for coming, Otowa-chan."

Giving a polite bow, Kojina swiftly left the circle room. Left behind with Senpai, I decided to ask her about Kojina.

"Senpai. What kind of relationship do you have with Kojina-san?" 

"Fufu, you want to know? Hmm, what should I do~?" 

"...Can I go home?" 

"Sorry, sorry. Otowa-chan and I are relatives. Second cousins, actually." 

"Second cousins, huh..." 

"She's cute, right? Fallen for her?" 

"She is cute. It's just her personality that's..." 

"Ah... she is a bit prickly. ...By the way, is that Rina Takechi coming to school?" 

"She hasn't shown up at all this week. Unfortunately." 

"The boys must be pretty depressed about that. Even though you managed to land in a jackpot class." 

"Yeah. ............Well, I should probably head out soon too." 

"Alright. ...Saida-kun. Thank you for joining us." 

"Yes." 

"I'd be even happier if you participate during the cultural festival, though." 

"Let's put a pin in that. ...Well, excuse me." 

"Unfortunate. ...Good work today."

Ending my conversation with Senpai, I exited the Fortune Telling Circle's room. Since my points of contact with Otowa Kojina had unexpectedly increased, I wanted to find a way to make the most of it.

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