Inside the medium-sized dojo, three people began a flurry of cleaning, even a certain reluctant slacker who almost flipped the table was working hard ().
Holding a mop, Ritsuka wiped the floor in the dojo, while Sakura was tidying up equipment like bows. After all, the Kyudo Club itself had few members and limited funds; the student council only provided half the activity funds of other regular clubs, so everything had to be used sparingly.
Although Ritsuka wasn't initially keen on the Kyudo Club, after spending time there, she realized it was actually quite nice to have such a peaceful place, and kyudo itself was quite stress-relieving.
With her good talent, she shot quite well after getting the hang of it. Perhaps she really did have this talent?
Japanese bows are very long, and at first, they were quite awkward to handle, but now it was fine.
With the 2.2-meter bow drawn, Ritsuka naturally entered a state, standing perfectly straight with her arms naturally hanging down. Since it was a casual personal practice and she wasn't participating in any competitions, Ritsuka unconsciously avoided excessive movements.
Whoosh!—
"Phew~ My archery is quite accurate, isn't it?"
With a slight smile, Ritsuka recalled a famous hilarious scene and said something that left the others bewildered.
The arrow squarely hit the bullseye. Shinji, accustomed to the sight, wiped the table, while Sakura gently applauded, making Ritsuka, who had exited her (chuunibyou) state, give an embarrassed laugh.
Taking the water Sakura offered, Ritsuka and Sakura tidied up the area together, while Shinji carried a pile of cleaning tools, putting them all back in their original places.
With nearly an hour left before class, the group pulled a small table to the center, arranged cushions, and rested on the spot. Cleaning a dojo dozens of meters long was quite a test of stamina. Usually, it was the energetic Taiga who led them.
But today, Taiga, for some unknown reason, had roped in the lazy Shinji, and the workload suddenly felt like it had skyrocketed... Taking a sip of cool water, Ritsuka pulled out several bags of treasured snacks, tore open the packaging, and piled them on the table, then turned to the storeroom to get drinks.
Just then, Shinji suddenly awakened, his eyes quick and hands even quicker, directly plunging his paw into a bag of potato chips, only to have his hand smacked by a ruler descending from above.
"Hiss! Sakura, what are you doing?"
Shinji gasped, glaring at Sakura, who slowly retracted the ruler, a look of bewilderment on his face, but more so a disgruntled 'tsk'.
He was so close to succeeding just now!
Trying to sneak some food when Ritsuka wasn't looking was harder than breaking free from the blanket monster's seal.
Sakura looked at the indignant Shinji and couldn't help but sigh, feeling helpless to have such an older brother. "Brother, Senpai will get angry if you do that."
"Tsk, you only care about Senpai, not me, your brother. It's just a tiny bit of sneaking a snack."
Shinji, like a monkey, was scratching his ears and cheeks in agitation, his stomach rumbling. He hadn't eaten breakfast since Taiga dragged him out that morning and was starving.
Watching Shinji stir again, Sakura subtly averted her gaze, which made Shinji's eyes light up, but he didn't notice Ritsuka standing behind him...
"Shinji!" Ritsuka, with an expressionless face, directly gripped his seaweed-like hair with her five fingers and unleashed an 'Immortal Grip'.
Shinji, who had just put a potato chip in his mouth and was crunching it happily, bit his tongue in pain, his body trembling uncontrollably. "It hurts! It hurts! It hurts… You jerk, let me go!!"
A moment later, Shinji, having escaped Ritsuka's grasp, his eyes darted around.
"Oh, right, Emiya, you also made a bento for Sakura today, didn't you? How about we discuss something?"
"What?"
"I'll marry my sister off to you, and starting tomorrow, you'll also bring me a bento… Pwagh—!"
A hand chop descended from behind. Shinji, completely unprepared, was knocked flat by Sakura's slap, his head hitting the floor.
"Hey! You guys, keep it down a bit, you'll disturb the other clubs!"
The Kyudo Club door was pushed open, and a man with a stern face poked half his body in, stunneding at the familiar scene, then spoke to attract the attention of the three.
"Julian?"
"Student Council President?"
Ritsuka and Sakura both spoke, greeting the unexpected guest instinctively, and Julian responded to each of them.
Casually swatting Shinji down, Ritsuka walked towards the door and stopped not far from Julian.
"Julian, is there something you need to say?"
Looking at the overly familiar Ritsuka, Julian's expression was slightly gloomy. This was a woman he couldn't handle, and in the past, he would have tried to avoid her as much as possible.
Sighing inwardly, Julian raised his gaze. "Call me Student Council President."
"Well, we're so familiar, you're really stiff, aren't you?"
With a slap, a hand landed on Julian's shoulder. Being hit like that by the strongest legend in the industry, Julian's face slightly twisted. He had no way to deal with this person.
"I actually do have something to say. The photography club next door complained that your club member Shinji keeps making strange noises all day. They hope he can tone it down."
"Hey, hey! What does that have to do with me?! It was Ritsuka… Wuwuwu…"
Julian naturally knew the reason. He glanced at Matou Shinji in the center of the open space; that guy was currently having his mouth covered by his own sister, Sakura, unable to speak.
Tsk tsk, what a pathetic life. Julian, whose younger sisters at home were all'super obedient,' scorned Shinji in his heart.
He cleared his throat, fist clenched at his mouth, and took out a small notebook, writing as he spoke, "If there are any more complaints, you will be penalized with a reduction in activity funds."
"Eh, we already get half as much as other clubs, and now it's even less?"
Upon hearing that it concerned funds for slacking off, Ritsuka's face immediately darkened. She grabbed a nearby bow and gave the Student Council President a friendly chokehold with it.
Julian, his face turning liver-colored, was subdued on the spot.
However, perhaps due to insufficient quality, the long-used bow suddenly snapped, breaking into two with a 'crack', allowing Julian to roll away and escape Ritsuka's attack range.
"You, do you want to kill me?"
"Not at all, but President, please take a good look. I even broke the bow to restrain you. The old equipment is severely substandard. How about you consider adding some funds to the Kyudo Club this month?"
Ritsuka, with her incredibly thick skin, scratched her head a little awkwardly, saying something that shattered Julian's worldview.
You broke something trying to kill me, and I have to pay for it?
Julian was bewildered. He glanced at Ritsuka, who wore a 'kind' expression, and once again affirmed the fact that this woman should not be provoked. There was no chance to reason with her.
"Add some, or else... I'll give you a massage?"
Ritsuka slammed the Kyudo Club door shut, blocking Julian's retreat. Her gentle smile made his heart tremble.
As for the massage, there was once a brave soul who, under the hands of this seemingly cute girl, was massaged so intensely he felt like he ascended to heaven, breaking a rib in the process. The tragic extent was appalling.
That boy had initially vowed to make her pay, but the next day, he simply vanished from the school... "No, no need to be polite. You'll get your normal budget this month."
Having received a satisfactory answer, Ritsuka opened the door and let the president out. This most tragic president in the world, named Ichigi Julian, reluctantly scurried away with his small notebook.
Watching that somewhat disheveled figure
"Come back again soon, President."
Watching Julian almost slip and fly out while jogging away, Ritsuka closed the Kyudo Club door with satisfaction and returned to the small table to enjoy her snacks.
Beside her, Shinji, who had witnessed the entire process of Ritsuka playing with the Student Council President, showed his utter admiration for Ritsuka's cruel methods and proactively offered up the snacks on the table.
"As expected of Senpai, only you can handle the Student Council President so precisely."
Sakura sighed slightly, then handed a drink to Ritsuka... Having run all the way back to the Student Council room, Julian opened the empty room, and all expression instantly vanished from his face.
The cold-faced President sat down in his chair and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
The harder he tried to maintain the dignity of the Student Council President, the easier it was for problems to arise. After all, this persona didn't fit his personality, but he had to endure until he found the Divine Child.
Glancing slightly to the side, Julian looked into the corner where a well-endowed blonde woman with twin tails stood in the shadows, her blue eyes hollow and cold.
"Lord Julian."
"Still haven't found her yet... we must find the Divine Child as soon as possible to restart the ritual known as the Holy Grail War."
Julian leaned back against the chair, his body slightly tilted, covering his face with his right hand while tapping his knee with his left index finger.
Looking through the gaps in his fingers at the broken light bulb, his eyes narrowed sharply, and the corners of his mouth curled into a strange arc.
"Send Beatrice out. Tell her if she doesn't find the Divine Child within a month, she can expect to be scrapped!"
Julian's expression was cold as he spoke words he didn't truly mean. He glanced sideways at the slightly bowing Angelica, then reverted to his Student Council President persona of helplessness and gloom.
His time was running out...