When you think "high school life", the word "rose-colored" comes to mind.
And when you think "rose-colored", "high school life" comes to mind.
It's natural to think that way, since society expects high school life to be rose-colored.
Nevertheless, I don't think that all high school students desire a rose-colored life.
Surely there must be people who aren't interested in studying, sports, or romance.
Surely there must be students who want a "gray" life, so to speak.
Though, I would call that a pretty sad way to live.
I didn't know you had such self-hatred.
Self-hatred?
One who's against studying, sports, and romance.
Always gray.
Doesn't that describe you, Houtarou?
It's not like I'm against those.
Maybe from your perspective.
"Conserving energy" is what you would be, Houtarou.
To you, doing anything is simply tedious,
and you have no interest in anything that seems like it would waste energy.
And your motto is:
If I don't have to do it, I won't.
If I do have to do it, make it quick.
Precisely.
But you know, Houtarou...
Considering the huge variety of clubs that Kamiyama High School has,
to not belong to any of them makes you the very definition of gray.
And for you to call your way of life "sad" is nothing if not self-hatred.
You sure can run your mouth.
Did you only just notice?
We've known each other since middle school.
Whatever, go home already.
Before you? What's up?
What...
No way...
Club
Club Name
Classics
Year
Class
Student
Oreki Houtarou
Name
Club Entry Form
A club entry form?!
You're joining a club?!
Classics
Club Entry Form
And the Classics Club, at that!
You've heard of it?
Of course!
But why would you join the Classics Club?
A letter from your big sister?
She sent it from some place in India called Benaras or something.
Let's see...
You're in quite the pickle.
A request from your sister, huh?
Apparently there aren't any members, so the club is facing termination.
She wants me to join to keep it alive.
If I remember right, your sister's specialties were...
Aikido and arrest techniques.
She can definitely bring the pain if she wants to.
Now that's an offer you can't refuse!
Well, I guess she's right when she says I don't have anything better to do.
It doesn't have any members, right?
Right.
In that case, you get the club room all to yourself!
It might be pretty nice to have your own private space at school.
Private space?
Those who expend great energy in their lives, I salute you.
Staff Room
People tend to get the wrong idea about me.
I don't think that a life of energy conservation is superior.
I don't look down on those willing to expend energy.
I'm just true to my own motto.
If I don't have to do it, I won't.
If I do have to do it, make it quick.
Gymnasium Entrance
Audio Visual Room
Geography Prep Room
Geography Lecture Room
Field Entrance
Main Gate
Geography Prep Room
Gymnasium Entrance
Audio Visual Room
Geography Prep Room
Geography Lecture Room
Field Entrance
Main Gate
Gymnasium Entrance
Audio Visual Room
Geography Prep Room
Geography Lecture Room
Field Entrance
Main Gate
Oreki
Check this out!
Geography Prep Room
Fourth floor of the Lab Building...
Pretty remote.
taikutsu na madobe ni
Sitting bored by the back window,
fukikomu kaze ni
A breeze blew through the room
kao wo shikameta no wa
The reason I screwed up my eyes
terekusasa no uragaeshi
Was to hide how embarrassed I was
Hyouka
aimai ni unazuku tenohira no kyou
I gave a faint nod from the edge of my palm
egaiteru jibun wa sukoshi oogesa de
The "me" I was trying to be was a bit more than I was
nani ka kawarisou na ki ga shiteiru yo
I get the feeling that something is going to change soon
kokoro ni yobikakeru kimi no sei da ne
You reached out to touch my heart; it must be because of you
kumorizora nozoita yokan
I had a feeling, looking into the clouds
te wo nobasou itsu yori mo chikaradzuyoi yuuki de
I reached out my hand, with a stronger courage than I'd ever had
hikari mo kage mo mada tookute
The light and the dark are still so far away
sore demo bokura wa
But even though they are
yasashisa no riyuu ga shiritai
We still want to know how people could be so kind
ima wa dare no namae demo nai
Now it doesn't matter whose name it may be
kagayaki no kanata he
Beyond the horizon's light,
zenbu kako ni naru mae ni
Before it all becomes the past,
mitsuke ni ikou
Let's go and find out
Good afternoon.
The Revival of the Classics Club and Its Traditions
You were in the Classics Club, Oreki-san?
The Revival of the Classics Club and Its Traditions
Who are you?
You don't remember me?
I'm Chitanda.
Chitanda Eru.
Sorry, never heard that name...
You're Oreki Houtarou-san, right?
In class 1-B?
Yeah.
I'm in class 1-A.
That doesn't really explain anyth-
Class 1-A? Electives?
Wait, are we in the same music class?
Yes!
We've only had that class once...
How good is this girl's memory?
So, Chitanda-san...
Why are you in this room?
Well...
I joined the Classics Club, so I came to introduce myself.
I joined the Classics Club...
The Classics Club?
Why would you do that?
I have personal reasons...
What about you?
Well, if there's already a member, that's good enough.
Good for you, Sis.
The Classics Club will live on.
Well, I'll be off then.
Are you going home already?
Yeah. Good luck.
Don't forget to lock up.
I can't do that.
Why not?
I don't have the key.
Here.
Why do you have that?
"Why?"
I can't enter a locked classroom without the key...
Wait, weren't-
I mean, how did you get in here, Chitanda-san?
The door wasn't locked.
But it was locked when I got here-
Wait, you mean this door was locked?
Yeah...
Which means that I was locked in?
Didn't you lock it?
From the inside?
I didn't do anything of the sort!
But I have the key...
Who besides you could have locked it?
By the way, would that be a friend of yours?
Satoshi.
Sorry about that!
I didn't mean to listen in or anything.
You totally did.
Well you see, I caught a glimpse of the room from outside,
and I saw the normally stone-hearted Houtarou speaking alone with a girl in a sunset-stained classroom...
I couldn't help but be curious.
But I didn't want to get in the way of your afterschool rendezvous, and I've never been the peeper type-
Um, I-
Are you being serious?
Of course not. I'm just joking.
I see...
Sorry, he's just like that.
A joke lasts but for a moment.
If it leaves a misunderstanding, it becomes a lie.
That's my motto.
Oreki-san, who is this?
Fukube Satoshi.
A fake "man of the world".
Fake?
Good one!
That was a nice intro, Houtarou.
Pleased to meet you...
I'm Chitanda Eru.
Chitanda-san?
You mean that Chitanda?
What's the matter?
Houtarou! Don't you at least know the name?
There are plenty of old families in Kamiyama City,
but the Chitanda family is famous for being one of the four distinguished "rising power" families.
Juumonji
Sarusuberi
Chitanda
Manninbashi
Juumonji
Sarusuberi
Chitanda
Manninbashi
Juumonji
Sarusuberi
Chitanda
Manninbashi
Juumonji
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Chitanda
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Juumonji
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The Juumonji family of Arekusu Shrine,
Juumonji
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the bookstore owners, the Sarusuberi family,
Juumonji
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Chitanda
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Juumonji
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Chitanda
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Juumonji
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Chitanda
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Chitanda
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Chitanda
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Chitanda
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Chitanda
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Chitanda
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Chitanda
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Chitanda
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Juumonji
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Chitanda
Manninbashi
Juumonji
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Chitanda
Manninbashi
Juumonji
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Chitanda
Manninbashi
Juumonji
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Chitanda
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the farmowners, the Chitanda family,
Juumonji
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Juumonji
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Chitanda
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Juumonji
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Chitanda
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Chitanda
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and the Manninbashi family that owns the mountainside.
Juumonji
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The numbers in their names increase by powers of ten as you go down the list,
so they're called the four "rising powers".
Is that true?
I don't know about being distinguished, but this is the first time I've heard that title.
You made that up, didn't you.
Every now and then I feel like being the one to start these things.
But they really are "rising powers" aren't they?
Don't boost his ego or he'll get carried away.
And the eldest daughter of the Chitanda family is supposed to be a top student,
as well as a stunning beauty, and the purest of nobility.
She's held the top scores in the prefecture in mock exams since middle school, so I've seen her name a lot.
So you're famous...
I was just lucky...
Tests are just about practice, after all.
I beg your pardon.
On a side note, I heard what you guys were talking about.
It is rather intriguing.
About what now?
About how Chitanda-san was locked in this room.
That's right!
When I got here, the door was unlocked.
Open
But when Oreki-san came, it was locked.
Locked
How strange!
Locked
What is? You just forgot you locked it.
No, the doors in this school can only be locked by key from both inside or outside.
Which means Chitanda-san couldn't possibly have locked it from the inside.
That means...
You have far too much useless knowledge.
Call me a database.
Whatever, the lock was probably just someone's mistake.
I'm going home.
Please wait, Oreki-san!
What?
I'm curious!
Why was I locked in?
If I wasn't locked in, how was I able to enter this classroom at all?
And if this were someone's mistake, whose was it, and what was the mistake?
Please help me figure this out!
Oreki-san!
I'm curious!
I suppose it is interesting.
I guess I'll give it some thought.
Thank you so much!
Oreki-san, do you have any ideas?
Chitanda-san, wait a moment.
I'm just a database, so I can't draw any conclusions, but Houtarou is different.
If he just thinks about it for a bit, he'll come up with something plausible.
Oh, shut it.
Okay...
When did you enter this room?
I think it was about three minutes before you.
Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?
Come to think of it, I've noticed a rattling sound under the floor for a while now.
Huh? I don't hear anything...
I can hear it! Just listen!
You must have good ears.
Did something come to mind, Houtarou?
Maybe.
I suspect it's happening downstairs right now.
There we go...
So Chitanda-san entered the Geography Prep Room while he was doing that
and, by chance, had the door locked on her.
I'm holding the public key.
The only other one is the master key, but students can't use that.
So it must have been the janitor...
It's amazing how you figured that out!
Not really...
The only thing I still don't get is why you didn't hear the sound of the door being locked while you were inside.
Oh, that's because...
I was looking at that building.
It's pretty old.
Yes.
Is it?
Yeah, way older than the others.
By the way, we haven't done introductions yet.
Introductions?
Yes!
We'll be participating in the Classics Club together from now on.
Together?
What about you, Fukube-san? Will you join the Classics Club?
Sounds good!
Today was pretty interesting.
It means splitting time with the Executive Committee and the Sewing Club, but...
Sure, I'll join!
Houtarou too, right?
You've even filled out the club entry form.
You have?
Uh, about that...
Okay!
That's done then!
I hope we can make this successful!
Definitely!
You too, Houtarou.
Oh right, we need to decide on a club president.
Who should it be?
Well, let's see...
Houtarou definitely isn't cut out for that kind of job.
Are you happy now, Sis?
He isn't?
I thought that Oreki-san was ideal.
The Classics Club and its traditions have been revived.
And with them, I bid farewell to my peaceful, energy-conserving life.
Chitanda-san, you're under the wrong impression.
No, I won't say goodbye just yet.
Houtarou here is absolutely dedicated to a life of energy conservation.
I won't give up on my peaceful life.
I'll do everything I can to conserve my energy.
Not the save-the-planet kind, but the save-me-the-trouble kind.
But he seems very smart and clear-headed.
The biggest problem is...
This young lady.
Seimei
When all creation radiates pure, clear, and bright, And we learn what grass bloomed this sprout.
Hyouka
It was after school yesterday.
A first-year girl went to the fourth floor of the Lab Building.
When she got there, she heard Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata playing beautifully from the music room.
The sunset stained the halls a bright red, the beautiful melody-
Objection.
It was raining yesterday. There was no sunset.
Yes. The cold rain poured incessantly, the dark of night creeped closer...
A deathly gloom wrapped about her skin, the soft hiss of raindrops like noise in her ears.
Drama over accuracy, huh?
Drawn by the piano's sound, she entered the music room.
When she did, the music suddenly stopped.
The piano case was open, but there was no pianist.
The curtains were drawn shut, and the room was dark.
And then she saw it!
A girl with long, unkempt hair thrown about,
creeping with little strength in her bones, and bloodshot eyes looking at her from by the platform!
Yes, it was a former student of Kamiyama High,
a piano club member who died in an accident on the eve of the national competition!
Was there one?
Who knows?
There may have been, but I don't know.
I thought so.
But I have to say, I never expected you to get detention for forgetting your homework.
I did it all yesterday.
I just forgot to bring it.
And now I have to put up with your pointless chatter while redoing it.
I see.
By the way, apparently the ghost with unkempt hair really exists.
Everyone in 1-A was talking about it at lunchtime today.
How the story spreads from here on is what's important.
Kamiyama High's Seven Mysteries: Number two!
Now we see how long it takes to reach us in 1-D.
Wait a second.
From who, when, and where did you hear this story?
A few minutes ago in the club room, from Chitanda-san.
You said it was mystery number two, which means there's a number one, right?
Mind telling me that one?
So this is where you were.
Here you go, Fukube-san.
Oh, thanks. Sorry about that.
As part of the Executive Committee, I have to make you fill in all this annoying paperwork.
Not a problem.
I took on the role of club president myself.
Oreki-san-
You came at a perfect time.
Satoshi was just telling me about a strange story he heard.
About that! At lunchtime-
It was about a secret club recruiting members.
Have you heard about that?
A secret club?
Satoshi, mind telling her?
Then allow me to tell you the story of the secret club.
Please do.
I heard about this at the Executive Committee meeting.
Kamiyama High has a lot of clubs, so of course, there are a lot of recruitment posters.
The billboards around campus are filled with them.
When the Executive Committee finds an unauthorized flyer or poster, we remove them.
However...
Every year, a flyer for a club no one knows anything about appears.
Last year, it was a scrap from a notebook with a gathering place and time.
It would seem there is a secret club unknown to the Executive Committee, running recruitment in secret.
Hard Work,
Innovation is Success,
We know nothing of their goals or their members,
but they definitely exist.
And their name is...
Their name is?
The Silk Spider Society.
Silk Spider?
Last year, Executive Committee President Tanabe found this flyer and attempted to contact them.
But he couldn't find them.
They decided that the flyer was just a prank.
However...
However?
On graduation day, one of the graduates told Tanabe-senpai,
"I was the president of the Silk Spider Society."
"Send my regards to the new president."
"That is, if you can find him."
There's probably a recruitment flyer for it again this year,
though we haven't found it yet.
A single flyer...
The Silk Spider Society...
I'm curious!
Yes!
I thought you would be.
That's why I said you came at a perfect time.
What do you mean?
We're going to go look for the flyer.
Alright!
There are 30 billboards in total on campus.
That many? Will we look at all of them?
No way.
It's easier to think about where they would post it.
I see...
What kind of place do you think they'd put it?
If it were me, I would choose a billboard no one sees in a place where it wouldn't stand out.
That's not right.
It isn't?
If there were a single recruitment flyer posted,
then it would be on the billboard at the school entrance.
Wouldn't it stand out the most there?
Now, now, Chitanda-san.
It seems Houtarou has it all thought out.
Wow. Every time I see this, I can't help but think Kamiyama High is pretty amazing.
It really is.
Rose-colored
The Ink Wash Painting Club, Manga Research Society, Go Club, Basketball Club, Track Club...
Rose-colored
I can barely see the billboard itself.
Oreki-san? What's wrong?
Nothing...
I was just a little overwhelmed by the amount of energy expended here.
It must be like an alien world to an energy-conserving guy like you.
This is the first billboard that first years see.
In other words, the battlefront.
The battlefront?
Oh, I see!
With so many flyers here, unauthorized ones don't stand out.
That's also true.
Also? There's another reason?
Yeah...
Let's look for now.
Okay!
Global Act Club, Debate Club...
There's even a Karuta Club!
Oh, the Fortune-Telling Research Society!
One of my friends joined this.
Oh?
Koto Music Club, Table Tennis Club, Fine Arts Club...
It doesn't look like there are any for the Silk Spider Society...
I wonder about that.
I don't think it's the kind of thing you'd recognize instantly when you see it.
What do you mean?
They must be using some sort of trick to slip by the Executive Committee's eyes.
A trick...
Well, if it is here, we'll find it sooner or later.
Found it.
Silk Spider Society
A
It really was here...
I was thinking it would be in someplace less popular...
That's a naive way of thinking.
"The inexperienced draw attention by acting differently."
I figured that a smart secret club would do the exact opposite.
I suppose...
But it's strange...
When you put it that way, it seems so natural that I'm not surprised at all.
Posted without permission from the Executive Committee.
Guess I'll do my job.
Alright, I'm going to the staff room, turning in my homework, and going home.
I think I will, too.
Alright, we'll end here for today then.
"The inexperienced draw attention by acting differently."
I'll remember that!
Fighting a mystery with another mystery...
That was well done.
You were a big help.
I had a feeling she was going to show up.
And so you prepared that flyer and pin.
Well, it turned out as expected.
But Houtarou...
Why did you go to all the trouble to set that up just to divert her from the piano rumor?
Surely not because that mystery was over your head?
Because the music room was far away.
Is that all?
That's all.
I wanted to go straight to the entrance, turning my homework in at the staff room on the way,
and then go straight home.
I get it now.
That's just like you, Houtarou.
I'm curious!
If I do have to do it, make it quick.
That's no good, Houtarou.
If you want to be convincing, you should say it with pride.
The way you said it just now makes it sound like an excuse.
Fighting a mystery with another mystery...
Yep, that suits me.
That was a nice curveball.
But you know, Houtarou, that doesn't suit you.
When Chitanda-san came, why didn't you just say you didn't care?
That's the fundamental mistake you made today.
Isn't that what you've done up until now?
Maybe.
"The inexperienced draw attention by acting differently."
That describes you today perfectly.
You're still not used to having Chitanda-san around.
That's why you went out of your way like that.
You may have meant to refuse Chitanda-san's request today, but-
I didn't want to refuse it.
Of course not.
You considered the problem and decided to put it off.
Put it off?
I see... I put it off...
By the way, what do you think the music room mystery is all about?
That "ghost" had unkempt hair and bloodshot eyes, like someone who just woke up.
Really?
One of the club members was tired, so she decided to take a nap.
She set her CD player to play Moonlight Sonata before 6pm so she could wake up before they locked the front gates.
I see.
We would have seen that if we'd gone there.
The player may still be set to go off.
But the music room was far away.
I know.
But Houtarou,
I get the feeling that going to the music room may have conserved more energy in the long run.
Your preoccupation today may cost you more than you bargained for.
Whoops!
Houtarou!
You don't owe me for anything today!
Later!
Put it off, huh...
konya koi ni kawaru
Tonight's the night we fall in love
shiawase na yume de aou
Let's meet in our sweet dreams
kitto ne mitsukete ne
Please come and find me
madoromi no yakusoku
A promise for when we sleep
mebaeteta nukumori atatakakute tomadou
I felt a growing warmth; it felt so nice that I couldn't think
konna kimochi wo mada anata wa wakaranai no
But these feelings I have, you still don't know they're here
sono shisen ni wa imi nante betsu ni nai hazu
I don't think there's anything special in how you look at me
datte tomodachi ni shiteru no to onaji
It's the same way you look at your friends
akegata ni kieteku chiisana negaiboshi
Fading into the dawn, my tiny wishing star
yoru no aida de no mahou
Magic that lasts only the night
konya koi ni kawaru
Tonight's the night we fall in love
shiawase na yume de aou
Let's meet in our sweet dreams
kitto ne mitsukete ne
Please come and find me
madoromi no yakusoku
A promise for when we sleep
Next time:
The Activities of the Classics Club and Its Honor
The Activities of the Classics Club and Its Honor.