Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Military Order

At the podium, the Chinese teacher was teaching ancient Japanese literature in a serious manner.

Saionji Gyoon was drowsy after listening to this. After experiencing several different worlds, this knowledge was not her first time to learn, so it was nothing new to her.

In sharp contrast to her was Keigo Atobe, who sat at the next table. He was flipping through the textbook carefully and taking notes from time to time. As a self-proclaimed emperor, he pursued perfection, but ancient Japanese history and literature were relatively unfamiliar to Atobe, who grew up in the UK, and he was very focused in class.

Therefore, it's no surprise that Atobe always gets the highest scores in the grade in all subjects. Especially since he's a real boy, it's impossible not to admire him, Saionji Tamane thought absentmindedly, holding her chin.

Perhaps because she was too distracted in the first row, the Chinese teacher frowned and called on her, "Xiyuanji, translate the poem I just mentioned."

"Well, yes."

Saionji Tamon stood up in response, but she was so distracted that she had no idea what the teacher was saying.

At this moment, a light knocking sound of "dong dong" came from the side. She turned her head and saw the profile of the purple-haired boy was very handsome. He was obviously not looking at her, but the pen in his hand was tapping on a line in the specially spread out textbook.

Saionji Gyoon suddenly understood and said confidently, "This poem means that I have become accustomed to living like this in my life. We don't need to meet again in the future. As long as I hold this feeling in my heart until I die, I will be satisfied*."

The Chinese teacher hesitated for a moment, not expecting her to actually be able to answer. He had noticed that Saionji wasn't paying attention in class, so he deliberately called her out for being difficult. The reprimand he had prepared couldn't come out smoothly, so he had to save face by saying, "Well, Saionji-san's translation is good, but you still need to pay attention in class. Next sentence, please continue with Atobe-san."

Atobe stood up and answered fluently, "Nothing in this world can last forever, and nothing is certain about what will happen. Let's just live our lives this way, and when we die, we will be as fleeting as the morning glow."

"Very good, let's talk about..."

While the teacher turned around to write on the blackboard, Saionji Tamane whispered a thank you.

Atobe snorted lightly, implicitly acknowledging the help he had just given.

Perhaps because they had a common secret, after the incident on the tennis court last Saturday, her relationship with Atobe had upgraded from classmates who could only call out their names to people who could communicate with each other on a familiar basis.

For example, at this moment, she faintly heard Atobe muttering in a low voice, criticizing the poem he had just appreciated, saying things like "it's really not gorgeous" and "it's an unglamorous attitude towards life", and she couldn't help laughing. In the past, he would have been more confident in his so-called dignity as the student council president in the classroom.

Obviously, Atobe did not appreciate Ono Komachi's poetry at all.

They had just translated the love poems of Ono Komachi, a renowned Heian-era poetess. Her poems often depict the poignant and impossible romances between women of low status and noble men. Atobe certainly couldn't empathize with the tangled emotional complexities of these women, so it's a relief that he was able to accurately appreciate their feelings. Perhaps the girls at school who enthusiastically pursued Atobe would be able to relate.

Whenever she sees those girls with passionate and unrestrained emotions, Yuyin can't help but sigh, it's great to be young.

Having experienced one, two, three, and four lifetimes, she can no longer remember what she was like as a girl.

Yuyin: Believe me, if the outstanding men around you are like me, who are always workaholics and only want to exploit your surplus value, you will also be as calm as me, and see through the truth that "male beauty is all clouds, only salted fish is the road to life."

*

However, recently, Saionji Gyoon's orderly and peaceful life is facing severe challenges.

"Senior Yuyin!"

In the Bingdi Canteen, which is decorated as luxuriously as a high-end French restaurant but is actually a student cafeteria, such a shout is not loud, but it is enough to attract attention.

Saionji Tamon, who was eating, didn't need to look up to know that it was Morimoto Kyoko.

Seeing that her senior had to say hello, she couldn't change the girl's mind no matter what. Every day when they met in the cafeteria, Morimoto Anzi would stick to her and sit together, under the pretext of keeping in touch, and today was no exception.

But today is different from usual days, and it is obvious that Anko Morimoto has other requests.

"Senior~"

Saionji Yuyin put down her chopsticks and said helplessly, "Tell me, what happened today?"

Morimoto Anzi clasped her hands together and pleaded pitifully, "Senior, please accompany me to the club funding seminar held by the Student Union after school today!"

Yuyin asked curiously, "Isn't this meeting under the charge of the Minister and Deputy Minister?"

After Kanda Rei transferred to the school, according to the rules, the position of president was taken over by Goto Rika, who had previously challenged her. As the next successor, Morimoto Kyoko is now the deputy president.

Morimoto Anzi sighed: "Senior, you know, Goto-senpai..."

Yuyin nodded sympathetically. Hearing the tone of Anzi's voice, she guessed the reason. It must be that Goto Rika pushed all the matters of participating in the meeting to Deputy Minister Anzi on the grounds that she didn't want to be bothered with mundane matters. This was indeed something that she, a crazy cultivator, would do.

"Ahhh, but this club research meeting isn't just any ordinary meeting," said Morimoto Kyoko, completely irritated by Goto Rika's seemingly impulsive attitude. "This is a crucial meeting that determines how much funding our club will be allocated this school year! If we don't have enough funds, many training activities won't be able to take place, which will directly affect our performance in the national competition!"

With tears in her eyes, Morimoto Anzi held Yuyin's hand and said, "So, Yuyin-senpai, please, please accompany me!"

With such a clingy and pitiful junior, what else could Yuyin do? She could only agree softly.

*

This is not good.

When sitting down in the conference room, Saionji Tamao realized belatedly that not only was the meeting chaired by the student council president Atobe Keigo, but the other participants were also the presidents and vice-presidents of major clubs, all of whom were influential figures in Hyotei Academy.

It can be said that if something special happens in such an occasion, most of the school will know about it after the meeting.

So for Saionji Tamon, who wanted to minimize her presence, the safest option was to remain silent. But she turned to look at Kyoko, who was mumbling nervously beside her. The prerequisite for this was that Kyoko's funding application be approved.

Yuyin patted Xingzi's shoulder and soothed her, "Xingzi, calm down and believe in yourself. According to your previous preparations, there will be no problem."

"I, I understand, but, but I heard from my classmates who work in the student union that Senior Atobe is very strict when he works. What if..." If the application report was rejected, she would be the sinner of the women's archery club. When she thought of this possibility, Anko Morimoto became so nervous that she couldn't control herself.

Yuyin sighed. The little girl lacked experience, and at times like this she needed the seniors to act as the mainstay.

She was still holding words of comfort in her mouth when she heard a loud noise. She turned around and saw Atobe walking into the conference room through the open door and sitting down in the main seat.

He glanced around the room and without saying a word, the entire conference room fell silent, and the previous whispers disappeared.

This was the first time that Saionji Tameon had come across Atobe at work like this. His temperament had completely transformed into that of a superior who gave orders.

When Atobe's gaze moved to the Kyudo Club, he paused slightly on Saionji Tamane, apparently not expecting her to appear here, and then quickly looked away.

"It seems everyone is here and no one is late. I'm very satisfied."

He got straight to the point and said, "I've reviewed all the funding applications submitted by the various clubs. Those that passed without issue are the following: Tennis Club, Baseball Club, Football Club..."

Without looking at the script, Atobe fluently read out a long list of club names, and every club leader he called out breathed a sigh of relief.

Until the end, there was no mention of the Women's Kyudo Club. Yuyin could feel that Morimoto Anzi's hands, which were holding her hands, were shaking with nervousness.

"...The funding applications for the aforementioned clubs have been approved. If additional funding is needed in the future, please submit an application to the Student Union, providing reasonable justification. Please note that each club is limited to a maximum of three additional applications per academic year; any additional applications will not be accepted."

After talking about the approved clubs, Atobe Keigo pondered for a moment and immediately said, "Applications for all other clubs were not approved. Here are the reasons for rejection: Chemistry Club!"

"Here, here!" The president of the chemistry club, a boy wearing glasses, stood up.

"Regarding the procurement of chemicals needed for the Chemistry Club's experiments, there's no detail on the quantity or types..."

Atobe pointed out the clubs whose applications were not qualified one by one and pointed out the reasons for their rejection.

"Women's Archery Club!"

"exist!"

Anko Morimoto stood up nervously.

Atobe said calmly, "The funding requested by the Women's Kyudo Club this year has increased by 20% compared to last year. However, as far as I know, you achieved your best result ever last year, losing to the eventual champions in the second round of the national competition. And last year's performance was largely dependent on the former captain, Rei Kanda, who served as the general. Now that Rei Kanda has transferred to another school, the overall strength of the Women's Kyudo Club has declined. Are you submitting a report requesting a 20% increase in funding?"

Facing Atobe's question, Anzi nodded with difficulty: "Yes, that's right!"

Atobe threw out her report, knocked on the table and said, "Give me a reason why I must."

Xingzi took a deep breath and elaborated, "First, although Kanda-senpai has transferred, the rest of the club is still here, and their individual strength has increased compared to last year's competition. To make up for the loss of Kanda-senpai, the women's archery club needs more intensive training, which has led to an increase in funding. Secondly, our club recently brought in strong reinforcements, so even if we face a national tournament-level opponent, we'll still be able to compete. For this national competition, the women's archery club's goal is to strive to match last year's results while securing a place in the national competition, so we need to apply for more funding."

"Strive for last year's result, the quarterfinals?" Atobe chuckled. "That goal isn't convincing enough to me. The application form wasn't very clear about who the strong reinforcements you mentioned were, so it lacks any convincing evidence."

"This..." Xingzi was a little embarrassed. Of course, Senior Yuyin was the strong ally, but since they had agreed to use him as a secret weapon, she certainly couldn't tell everyone about it.

"It's me."

Saionji Gyoon stood up.

Seeing the younger generation in trouble, how can the older generation not lend a hand?

Atobe's sharp gaze came towards me, and there was a kind of understanding in his eyes that I had guessed long ago.

Saionji Tamane remained undaunted: "I am the guarantee of the Women's Kyudo Club's performance in this year's national competition."

"What kind of results? Guaranteed qualification for the national competition, or a top-eight finish?" Atobe snorted. "If we just stand still, I'll only approve a 10% funding increase."

Anzi bit her lip and said, "If I can make it to the top four in the country, will President Atobe approve my application?"

"That's right," Atobe leaned back in his chair. "If you want to increase funding, you must achieve better results. If so, I think the other club leaders here will not object."

The funds allocated by the school to the clubs are a piece of cake. The women's kyudo club will get more, and the other clubs will get less accordingly. Atobe spoke frankly and stated the conditions. The other clubs talked about it for a while, but no one stood up to object.

"In that case, then we should..."

Just as Xingzi started to speak, Yuyin reached out to stop her.

Saionji Tamane understood that Atobe wanted the women's archery club to issue a military order, but Anzi was only the deputy director at the time. If she took over the responsibility, it would easily cause controversy in the club and might even affect her future succession as the next director.

But she is different. She is a special existence in the Kyudo Club, and she doesn't care about any more criticism.

"Of course our goal is not just the semi-finals,"

She said in a resounding voice: "Our goal is to be number one in the country!"

Atobe Keigo looked deep into those sparkling eyes, feeling as if he were meeting Saionji Tamon for the first time. He suddenly laughed heartily, "Alright! I'll make the decision. Your department's funding is approved!"

The author has something to say:

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*Note: The heroine and the trace part respectively translated the preceding and following lines of Ono Komachi's poem "I am accustomed to this life now, and there will be no chance of meeting again. Only the love in my heart will linger until death. Everything is hard to exist, impermanence is like the tail flower, the empty cicada is like this world, and disillusionment is like the morning glow." The translation part was referenced from Baidu.

*