“Why did I ever agree to this?

By the time I dragged myself back through the front door that evening, I felt as if I’d spent the afternoon shoveling coal out of a freight car. Every muscle throbbed, my skull was pounding, and my brain flat-out refused to process the day’s revelations.

The moment I crossed the genkan, Auntie materialized in the hallway. Standing with her hands planted firmly on her hips, a triumphant grin stretched from ear to ear.

“Well?” she asked, casually dangling the coveted black brick of my console’s power adapter by its cord. “Did you join the club?”

“I joined,” I exhaled, kicking off my sneakers with the last dregs of my energy.

Naturally, I omitted the tiny detail that her beloved Student Support Club was actually a clandestine haven for monsters and mythological horrors. If she hadn't noticed that during her own high school days, she was either remarkably unobservant, or the local non-humans were masters of camouflage.

Securing my prize, I flatly turned down dinner under the pretense of utter exhaustion and retreated upstairs.

Dumping my bag in the corner, I collapsed face-first onto the mattress, fully clothed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Total chaos reigned inside my head. On day one in this town, I’d run into a deranged convenience store cashier doing feline acrobatics, followed by a schoolgirl dropping human digits on midnight asphalt. And now… now I was an official member of a club run by a vampire, a werewolf, a succubus, a kitsune, and a yuki-onna.

What the hell am I supposed to do now? I thought miserably, rolling onto my side. Maybe I just never go back? Play sick? If they wanted to, any one of them could tear me to ribbons in a split second…

Then common sense kicked in. If they actually intended to dispose of me, I wouldn't be lounging on a comfortable mattress right now. Inugami Haru, that wild wolf girl, could have snapped my neck in the hallway before I even took three strides. But they let me go. They were actually thrilled to have me.

Worn down by the emotional rollercoaster, my eyelids grew impossibly heavy, and I tumbled into a deep, dreamless sleep.

“Ren! Breakfast is on the table! You’re going to be late!”

Auntie’s shout from downstairs jerked me awake. I bolted upright, checked the clock, and cursed under my breath. I was cutting it razor-thin. Splashing cold water on my face and throwing on my uniform, I bolted downstairs, choked down two pieces of toast with a glass of orange juice, and burst out into the street.

The morning fog was noticeably thinner today; faint shafts of pale sunlight even managed to pierce the grey canopy.

I walked along the sidewalk with my hands shoved deep into my pockets, dark thoughts immediately crowding my mind again. Sure, the girls seemed surprisingly sweet yesterday. But forgetting what they actually were would be suicide. Inugami had closed the distance in a second and knocked me cold without breaking a sweat! One wrong move, and—

WHAM!

A heavy blow between my shoulder blades nearly drove the air straight out of my lungs. I stumbled forward, barely catching myself before eating asphalt. My heart plummeted straight into my shoes.

It’s happening! They’ve come to finish the job on my way to school!

I spun on my heels, ready to either throw a punch or drop to my knees and beg for mercy. But I whipped around so fast that my face ended up mere inches from my attacker’s.

I froze.

Standing right in front of me was Inugami Haru.

We were close enough that I could feel her warm, slightly ragged breath brushing against my lips. Her golden eyes blew wide with surprise, her lips parting just enough for me to catch the gleam of those charming, razor-sharp canines beneath her upper lip.

For a couple of endless seconds, we simply stood there, locked in each other’s gaze. Time ground to a crawl. I caught the faint, crisp scent of her shampoo—something natural and forest-fresh, hints of pine needles and wild berries.

Inugami cracked first. A violent crimson blush engulfed her cheeks. Jerking backward so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet, she flailed her arms in frantic circles.

“M-Morning! Sorry! I just wanted to say hi, but you spun around out of nowhere!”

I swallowed hard, willing my hammering pulse to settle down. Only now, taking a half-step back, did I get a proper look at her.

My brow furrowed. The weather was pleasantly warm, yet Inugami was wearing an absurdly long school uniform skirt that dragged down nearly to her ankles.

Noticing my bewildered stare, she shrank into herself, mortified. Clutches of fabric bunched in her hands as she rocked awkwardly on her heels, averting her eyes.

“What are you staring at? I have to hide my tail somehow! It’s way too bushy. I only switch into the short skirt in the clubroom where everyone already knows…”

I shifted my gaze to her head. Thick, unruly ash-colored hair spilled over her shoulders in voluminous layers.

“And your ears?” I asked. “How do you hide those?”

“Pin them flat against my scalp,” Inugami muttered, scratching her cheek with a guilty grimace. “My hair is naturally fluffy, so it covers them up.”

We fell into step together, walking side by side toward the school gates. I stole occasional glances at her profile. Side-by-side, she seemed just like an energetic, everyday high school girl.

“Hey… is that tough?” I asked quietly. “You know, keeping them hidden all the time? Never letting your guard down?”

Inugami let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping.

“Honestly? Yeah. It’s exhausting. It takes non-stop concentration. The second I get startled, excited, or just let my guard down—poof, they pop right out. Some days my head feels like it’s splitting open by evening from the strain.”

I didn't say anything. A sudden pang of sympathy tightened in my chest. Walking around in constant fear of slipping up and exposing yourself was no way to live. The rest of the walk passed in quiet reflection, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

At the lockers, we parted ways for our respective classrooms.

Stepping into 2-B, I headed toward my desk in the far corner. Hoshimiya Kyoka was already in her seat. Back ramrod straight, she was engrossed in a thick volume printed in a foreign language.

“Good morning,” I said quietly, sliding into the chair beside hers.

She didn't lift her eyes from the page. A long, painfully awkward pause stretched out between us. I was just about to shrug it off, assuming the Ice Princess had booted up her default silent treatment, when her slender fingers turned the page.

Without looking at me, she murmured under her breath:

“Morning.”

What a strange girl, I thought, pulling my notebooks from my bag.

The morning periods dragged on at a glacial pace. Teachers droned through their lectures while I rested my cheek on my hand, daydreaming out the window. Should I even bother going to the clubroom today? I’d already secured my power brick. Auntie wasn't going to conduct a campus audit. Maybe I could just quietly ghost them? Diving headfirst into a den of mythical monsters felt like tempting fate.

The sharp chime signaling the lunch break shattered my train of thought.

Food. Finally.

Buying a plate of beef curry and a bottle of green tea, I turned around to scout out an empty table.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

The cafeteria was packed to the gills. A suffocating wall of teenage chatter vibrated through the air. I was just about to cut my losses and find a quiet patch of grass in the courtyard when a piercing shout cut through the cacophony:

“Aoki! Hey, Aoki-kun! Over here! Come sit with us!”

I flinched, snapping my head toward the sound.

Gathered around a booth by the floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows was the entirety of my newly minted Student Support Club. Inugami was waving her arm with such violent enthusiasm she nearly sent a water glass flying. Flanking her were Kitsuragi Reiko, Yumeji Mei, Shirokawa Yuki, and even Hoshimiya Kyoka, who was wincing in visible irritation at the wolf girl’s racket.

Oh no… panic flared through my chest. Maybe I can pretend I'm deaf and slip out?

I began side-stepping toward the exit, but Inugami caught the retreat. She bolted onto her feet, cupped her hands around her mouth, and bellowed loud enough to shatter glass across a fifty-meter radius:

“AOKI REN! GET OVER HERE, I SAID! THERE’S A SPOT SAVED FOR YOU!”

Hundreds of eyes swiveled in unison, locking dead onto me.

It was over. Hanging my head, feeling every bit like a condemned man marching up the scaffold steps, I trudged over to their booth.

“Hey,” I grunted, setting my tray down on the sole remaining seat—squarely sandwiched between Yumeji and Shirokawa.

Yumeji immediately leaned in, propping her chin on her hands with a cat-like squint.

“My, my, someone looked awfully hesitant to join us. Were you trying to pretend you didn't see us, Aoki-kun?”

“Because you stand out way too much,” I said bluntly, digging a spoon into my curry. “Seriously. It’s twenty-five degrees outside, and half of you are wearing ankle-length skirts. It looks bizarre, and people are staring.”

Kitsuragi stirred her iced tea with a straw, offering a languid, knowing smile.

“Why don't you look around the room a little closer, Aoki-kun?”

Frowning, I looked up from my plate and scanned the cafeteria crowd. One group of girls. Then another. And another.

The spoon froze halfway to my mouth.

Nearly a third of all the female students packed into the sprawling hall were sporting the exact same floor-length uniform skirts. Several wore thick turtlenecks despite the stifling humidity; others wore high, tightly wrapped scarves around their necks.

A cold shiver snaked down my spine.

“Don't tell me…” my voice wavered. “Are all of them…?”

“Yep!” Yumeji chirped cheerfully, flashing a pair of delicate little fangs. “You catch on quick.”

My world tilted on its axis yet again.

“What kind of town is this?!” I hissed, leaning over the table. “Just how many monsters are living here?!”

“Oh, you’d faint if you heard the actual census,” Inugami snorted proudly.

“I don't want to know! Keep it to yourself!” I shook my head violently, desperate to derail the topic before full-blown hysteria set in. “Fine, change of subject. What does your club actually do?”

Before anyone could answer, hushed whispers from the neighboring tables drifted into my ears.

“Look at that guy… surrounded by all the top beauties…” “Isn't that the new transfer student from Tokyo?” “Lucky bastard…”

I glanced sideways at my tablemates. From an outsider’s perspective, this was practically a scene ripped straight out of a harem light novel. Every single one of them was breathtakingly gorgeous—the aristocratic, porcelain Hoshimiya; the elegant Kitsuragi; the soft, doll-like Shirokawa; the vivacious Inugami; and the sultry Yumeji.

If you guys knew what was hiding under those skirts and collars, you wouldn't be envying me—you’d be praying for me, I thought darkly, picturing Inugami casually ripping someone in half.

Suddenly, Shirokawa Yuki chimed in. Her voice was quiet, rhythmic, and soothing—like fresh snow settling on frozen ground.

“We help the students of this school,” the yuki-onna murmured.

“Help them? With what?” I asked.

“People come to us with all sorts of requests,” Shirokawa explained, her wide, unblinking eyes fixed on mine. “And we do everything we can to resolve their troubles. Or rather, the other girls help, and I…”

“Though we mostly deal with monster issues,” Inugami cut in around a mouthful of sandwich. “Adjusting to the human world comes with very specific problems. Normal humans drop by once in a blue moon, but that’s pretty rare.”

I chewed the inside of my lip, mulling it over. “And… how often do people actually come to you for help?”

“Quite a bit!” Yumeji reported happily. “Almost every single day!”

I groaned internally. There went my master plan to hide in a quiet corner. I’d banked on the old wing being totally abandoned so I could slack off in peace.

“Are you coming today?”

Shirokawa’s question cut through the air with sudden, piercing clarity.

I turned my head toward her, parting my lips to give a firm, resolute: “No. I’m busy.”

Then my gaze locked onto her eyes.

They were completely devoid of emotion. Flat, empty, and yet… mesmerizing. They pulled me in like the bottom of an icy abyss. A bizarre, almost compulsive urge to say yes flared in my chest.

The longer I stared into those pale blue irises, the deeper a biting, physical frost sank into my bones. The air caught in my throat; my fingertips grew completely numb. My brain was screaming at me to look away, but my muscles refused to respond. It was like sinking into a paralyzing trance, freezing from the inside out.

Suddenly, a violent tug on my blazer sleeve snapped the thread.

“Hey! What are you zoning out for?” Inugami’s voice crashed into my skull, shattering the icy spell.

I blinked hard, gasping for air as if breaking the surface of a frozen lake, and turned wide, panicked eyes onto the wolf girl.

“Huh? What did I…”

Slowly, cautiously, I glanced back at Shirokawa. The yuki-onna was watching me with that same placid, tilted expression, patiently awaiting my response.

“Yeah,” I croaked out, feeling a bead of cold sweat trace the line of my spine. “I’ll be there.”

The remainder of lunch passed in a hazy blur. The chime rang, and we dispersed back to our classrooms.

What the hell was that?! The panic gnawed at my insides throughout the afternoon lectures, the teacher’s voice fading into white noise. Did she hypnotize me? Did she try to freeze my soul with a glance?! God, I need to keep ten feet between me and that girl at all times!

Before I knew it, the final bell tolled.

Drifting down the creaking hallway of the school’s old wing, my feet felt like lead weights. Beyond the grime-caked windows, the evening fog was already gathering, twisting the abandoned corridors into a dim, murky labyrinth.

I came to a halt outside the peeling green door marked “Student Support Club.”

My hand hovered a millimeter above the brass handle.

I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. Voluntarily walking straight back into a monster’s den instead of sprinting home.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a deep, shuddering breath, filling my lungs with the smell of damp wood and old paper, and whispered under my breath:

“Why the hell did I say yes…”