With Shizu handing me the rein to face the last three club presidents, I had no choice but to step forward.
I adjusted my armband as I took my seat in between my two girls.
As much as I wanted to complain, this was her way of helping me prepare.
It's not like she's pushing me to this role. If Shizu wanted me to step up, I'd do it my way.
Furthermore, this was a great way to pass the time rather than just have me sit next to them until they wrap up everything.
The club president seated at the other end of the table, a second-year girl with short, bobbed hair and a nervous grip on her proposal, blinked rapidly.
She was still processing Shizu's declaration. Her eyes darted between me and Shizu as if trying to gauge how serious this was.
I put on my usual smile and spoke softly, "Senpai, don't worry, I'm not here to grill you. Let's just get through this smoothly, alright? What's your club, and what do you need?"
I already knew which club she came from but this was standard protocol. I mean, there was Komoe who had to record the important bits of this meeting which would then be reviewed by the Student Council at a later date.
The club president swallowed audibly as though gulping down nervousness before she straightened up, clutching her papers a little tighter.
"Uh, thank you, Onoda-kun. I'm from the Calligraphy Club. We're requesting a budget increase for new brushes and ink, plus a small booth space for the Cultural Festival to showcase our work."
I nodded, glancing at the clipboard Watanabe had left with me. The Calligraphy Club's previous budget was modest, barely enough for basic supplies. How are they surviving in it? Are they only doing calligraphy practice once in a while?
"I see. How much are you asking for, and what's the plan if sales don't cover it, senpai? It says here that your booth will be a personalized calligraphy shop. You'll take requests from visitors but you're not requiring them to buy the finished product."
Her eyes widened slightly, clearly not expecting me to jump straight into the details. "Yes. You're right. We don't really look to profit from it so… it's fine if we just cover the cost of the materials. W-We're asking for an extra 10,000 yen. The brushes we have are worn out and good ink isn't cheap. We're also planning to sell custom bookmarks and small scrolls. Nothing fancy, just enough to break even. If we don't make it back, we'll… um, fundraise?"
Haruko snorted softly beside me, twirling her pen. "Fundraise later? That's optimistic. What's your backup if that falls through?"
The girl flinched, her confidence wavering. I shot Haruko a quick glance. Her playful jab was meant to test, not scare. And I stepped in before the poor president could spiral into panic.
"Relax," I said, keeping my tone calm but firm. "It's a reasonable ask. The booth's small, so space isn't an issue. If you're confident in your sales pitch, 10,000 yen is doable. I believe anyone who requests to have you write for them will pay. I'll see to it that they will."
Not understanding what I meant by it, the club president tilted her head slightly before nodding and scribbling a note on her proposal. "Y-Yes, Thank you, Onoda-kun. You're a lifesaver!"
Shizu tapped her pen against the clipboard as she signaled the end of the Calligraphy Club's deliberation.
"Not bad, numbskull. Approved. It doesn't matter if they hit their sales target. They're basically doing this just to promote their passion. Next."
The Calligraphy Club president scurried out, clutching her revised proposal like a lifeline. Before exiting, she turned to us again and bowed deeply. What a polite senpai. She reminds me of my Kana.
Shortly after, Minami Shouko ushered in the next one.
It's a tall and thin third-year girl from the Astronomy Club. She carried a rolled-up star chart and a slightly nervous grin. Her earlier composure when I saw her outside seemed to have vanished. She was clearly unprepared for the shift in interrogators.
"Uh, hi, President, Kojima-san and… Onoda-kun" She started, unrolling her chart across the table.
"Our Astronomy Club is asking for funds to repair our telescope. You see… It's old and the lens is cracked. Also, a spot near the rooftop for festival stargazing. We don't need a booth on the ground, just a viewing area."
Hearing that, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. She sounded like she was just going to use the cultural festival to have their club's telescope repaired. The stargazing booth was secondary.
I scanned the chart briefly before meeting his gaze. "Telescope repair is pricey. How much are you looking at, senpai? What's the draw for the festival? Stargazing's cool, but it's not a big crowd-puller unless it's night and you make it special."
She nervously nodded, scratched her head, and glanced at her notes. "Y-you're right, Onoda-kun. The repair cost about 20,000 yen. We figured we'd charge a small fee, maybe 200 yen per person, to offset it. And, uh, we could add a mini-lecture on constellations? Make it educational?"
Haruko propped her chin on her hand, grinning. Once again, she's going to wield the iron stick to drive this deliberation forward.
"Two hundred yen for stargazing during the day? You'll need more than a lecture to convince me, stargirl. Furthermore… are you confident that your club will get more than 100 visitors if you're located near the roof?"
With her eyes watering slightly, the tall club president stammered, "W-We could add glow-in-the-dark stickers! Like, giveaways? We have a lot of those in stock!"
I held up a hand to stop Haruko from piling on. "Stickers are a start, but you're still banking on turnout. 20,000's steep for a cracked lens. Did you get a quote, or is that a guess?"
"It's… a guess," She admitted. Somehow, I could see her shrinking visibly. What is she? Some kind of plant?
"Let's see. Get a real quote first, senpai," I said softly, making sure that my tone wasn't as harsh as Haruko's, "If it's under 15,000, we'll approve it with the fee structure. I won't suggest anything since I, too, am quite ignorant about astronomy. But I believe you'll do well to make it more interactive. Get the visitors more involved." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel-fire.net
She nodded vigorously, rolling up her chart. "G-great idea Onoda-kun, thank you! I'll get the quote tomorrow."
Upon saying that, her cheerful expression returned as she let out a sigh of relief before moving towards the door.
Shizu hummed approvingly, jotting a note. "Conditional approval, pending the quote. See, numbskull. You're so good at this. Last one."
It's not just her. Even Komoe and Minami Shouko near the door were staring at me as if they were seeing me in a new light. Did they not expect me to do well in this kind of scenario?
In any case… last one and we're done here. I can pamper my girls again… Mhm. I'm still filled with energy even after Edel drained me to the point that those downstairs heard us.
Can I blame my lovely koala for that? Obviously not.