When Club Is Over

Chapter 2: Forgetfulness

   After practicing relentlessly all week during his free time, and some business time, Azul could rig the roll of the dice with a rate of 5/8. As he went to the game club, he thought about the look Idia would get when he realized that, yes, it was possible to rig a game of "chance". Azul got to the room and looked around, trying to scope out where Idia was sitting. A pointless endeavor, as Idia always sat in the same spot. A secluded table, hidden from the view of the rest of the room by the closet door when it was open.

   "Meh heh heh, are you ready to get nerfed Azul?" Idia leaned into Azul's face, taunting him. The shorter nodded, remembering all the hours of preparation he did over the week. Idia retrieved the bottle of dice for various games from the closet, and frowned when there wasn't any rattling.

   Azul realized the reason behind the silence, and groaned while mentally slapping himself. He looked back into his memories, specifically telling him to remember to grab the dice from his office before going to the club. He must have been so distracted with the thought of seeing Idia's distraught face that it slipped his mind until this moment.

   "I apologize, Idia. I seem to have forgotten to replace the dice after I borrowed them. If you'd like, I can run down to the mirrors and grab them from the Lounge." He pushed up his glasses anxiously, slightly embarrassed at his slight. He started figuring how long it would take him to get there and back, about a 30 minute round trip, plus more if he were to be stopped by anybody. Idia shook his head, confidence wavered by the unexpected setback, and murmured.

   "N-No need, I can just uh, j-just make more."

   His nimble fingers pulled small strips of metal and- were those wires- out of his giant hoodie pocket, as well as a multitude of various tools. He started tinkering around with them, not even looking at his hands. Less than 5 seconds later, Azul was staring at 3 perfectly shaped dice sitting nicely in the upperclassman's hand. They were about the same size as the dice sitting in Azul's office, except sleeker and they had number symbols on them instead of the regular dots. Azu turned one around in his hand, and marveled at how Idia had constructed the die. He hadn't seen Idia pull out a sautering iron, he had been done too quickly for that. So how? How did he get the numbers to stick? Idia was truly a genius when it came to this sort of stuff.

   They sat down at their regular table, and started the game, Magical Life this time. Azul soon started sweating, as the dice wouldn't roll the way he wanted them to. His first roll caused him to be stuck in place for three turns, while Idia somehow struck oil inside a SHOPPING MALL. He got more and more agitated the longer the game went on, before the game ended and he was left with a meager score, having only started to successfully rig the dice in the last three rolls. A wave of relief washes over him as he imagines how badly Idia would, as he would say, 'dunk' on him if he told him how he had practiced just to fail badly.

   "Geez, you almost beat me. I was sweatdropping over here lmaoo." Idia teased him, even though Azul did slightly better than the game last week. All he did in response was to push his glasses up again, once more reminding Idia of the school rival from Help! I've Been Isekai'd Into A School And My Class Rival Is In Love With ME??! Since he read the entire manga series throughout the week, he felt knowledgeable enough to compare Azul to the rival.

   "Wheehee, you know, you look like a S+ villain when you do that. You look like you belong in Help! I've Been Isekai'd Into A School And My Class Rival Is In Love With ME??! Total academic weapon but you suck at gym class, meh heh heh!" His mood flips on a dime and suddenly he's back to the self-deprecating personality he usually is. "Not that I can t-talk about that."

   The mood in the room suddenly turns gloomy and Azul breaks the silence with a cough.

   "Ahem, I ah, I don't suppose you would mind if I uh, took these dice with me?" He gestures vaguely with the hand holding the dice. Idia looks at him, effectively broken out of his head.

   "Erm, yeah. Those are noob level, so I can make a million of them if I wanted. Those posers can't compare ROFLMAO. Just keep them." Idia replied with a grin that split his face while he shrugged.

   Azul nods to Idia, surprised that he hadn't asked Azul for some sort of compensation in exchange. After all, that's what the mer would have done if it was Idia asking for something. Well, all this meant was that he now owed Idia Shroud something. He'd figure out what later. For now, he pocketed the dice and said his farewells to his clubmates. Always good to maintain relations so they'll be more comfortable asking him for help later. All he did was to further his business.