Otaku Culture

"Perhaps, in the future, there will be occasions when we have to hold banquets too..." Saori sighed as if envisioning what lies ahead.

"Forget about the future for now. How can we not fully embrace the present? Wouldn't that be a waste?" Homura interjected, wanting to steer away from heavy topics.

"True..." Saori understood Homura's point, so she turned to Eriri as the hostess, and asked, "Do we have any plans for later?"

"None." Eriri shook her head. "Isn't this event supposed to be open to everyone? So, there won't be any formal speeches or anything like that."

"Well, that's good..." Homura felt content. "It gives us more freedom."

"Oh, by the way, why don't you two tell us about your recent experiences?" Eriri looked at Chika and Kaguya. "You guys have just started high school, right? Have any interesting things happened?"

"Interesting things?" Chika's current demeanor resembled that of a monk in meditation, trying hard to think of anything that could be considered interesting. "Joining the tabletop game club, perhaps?"

"A tabletop game club?!" Eriri was taken aback. "Does your school have such interest-based clubs?"

"Huh? The tabletop game is a lot of fun! What's so strange about that?" Chika answered with enthusiasm.

Homura pondered for a moment and gave a plausible explanation.

"It's not surprising to have such clubs at Shuchi'in Academy. It's practically an elite school, so it's only natural for some young masters and ladies to be curious about commoner's culture and games. Since they already receive elite-style education at home and excel in various skills like tea ceremony and ikebana, there's no need for them to start another club like that to deepen their skills."

"True, Homura-niisan is right. Since we already learned so much at home, we wanted to find something fun to do." Tsumugi agreed with Homura's explanation.

Eriri nodded. "I see... I see..."

"Why don't you inquire about what other interest-based clubs they have at their school? It might be entertaining." Homura grinned. "Who knows, there might even be a 'Commoner Club'!"

"A Commoner Club?!" Eriri widened her eyes and looked at Chika and Kaguya. "Is that even a thing?"

Kaguya furrowed her brows, somewhat uncertain. "There seems to be something similar... What was it called again? The Commoner Research Club, I think."

"..."

Homura shook his head helplessly. He was just joking, who would have thought it might actually exist?

"These young masters and ladies have too much free time on their hands..." Saori almost rolled her eyes but managed to hold back. "Moreover, what do they even research in that club? Do they have assignments or something?"

Kaguya glanced at Chika, and both of them shook their heads.

""We don't know.""

"Wow, you even managed to guess that!" Eriri looked at Homura sarcastically. "I couldn't even figure it out, not knowing what could possibly be so interesting to research."

Homura shrugged nonchalantly. "For example, experiencing public transportation, standing in line to buy things, visiting arcades, and stuff like that. In short, they research what ordinary people did."

"Just those?" Eriri expected more to come, but it seemed there was nothing else.

"For us, it's everyday life, but for the members of the Commoner Research Club, they find it intriguing." Homura glanced at Kaguya. "Don't believe me? Ask Kaguya if she has experienced any of the things I mentioned."

"Eh? Why would I want to experience those things?" Kaguya looked incredulous, not at all curious about them.

"Even I haven't experienced them before, so I wanted to give it a try..." Tsumugi said quietly, then glanced at Homura before continuing, "But ever since I joined the Light Music Club, I've had the chance to take walks, chat with friends, and even work part-time after school. It feels great."

Eriri nodded in agreement. Though she couldn't fully comprehend such feelings, wasn't there a saying—What you take for granted might be someone else's dream?

It wasn't just commoners yearning for wealth; wealthy people were yearning for a simple life as well. So, it wasn't surprising that some people were curious about it.

With this thought in mind, Eriri glanced at Homura and Saori, then remarked, "It's quite strange to find two fanatics of otaku culture in such a big financial conglomerate like yours."

"Well, there's always an opportunity, right? In my case, it's because of my sister." Saori said with a smile. 

She smiled, reminiscing the time when she and Homura had escaped a banquet at their own home.

"What about you, Homura-niisan? How did you become interested in otaku culture?" Tsumugi asked curiously.

Homura shrugged. "It's similar to Kaguya, but my dad didn't impose all those requirements on me. So, with nothing better to do, I just found something to occupy my time, and that's when I stumbled upon otaku culture."

"Are you saying that..." Eriri pondered. "If the Shinomiya family head hadn't pushed Kaguya so hard, she might be an otaku friend of ours too now?"

"Huh?" Kaguya looked bewildered, unable to follow their conversation.

Homura shook his head. "Hard to say. It depends on what you were first exposed to during your idle time. If it was otaku culture, there's a good chance you'd become an otaku. But if you were exposed to rock music..."

In their minds, a picture of a wild-looking rocker Kaguya involuntarily surfaced.

"Pfttt!" Eriri immediately covered her mouth, realizing that such behavior wasn't appropriate in this setting.

"Rock music would be a bit too much..." Tsumugi giggled softly. "I can't imagine Kaguya-chan getting exposed to rock music under the strict control of her family."

"That's why the Kaguya we see now is the Kaguya she's become due to her circumstances." Saori added with a playful smile.

"Um... what are you all talking about? Ah! This tastes really good too!" Chika said, interrupting their conversation.

"Yes... I understand every word you say, but when you put them together, it's like a different language..." Kaguya wondered.

The group exchanged glances and sighed with a hint of helplessness. Tsumugi had some understanding of these matters, but Kaguya and Chika's families were far too restrictive!

They seemed to have almost no chance of being exposed to otaku culture. No wonder Chika developed an affinity for board games—it was probably the only thing she could get into.

"...Well, otaku culture is a subculture based on novels, manga, anime, and games. Since it's not accepted by your families, you find it hard to comprehend."

Homura explained patiently although he felt that explaining it might be futile. One can never understand it without actually getting involved.

Thus, he glanced around and said mysteriously like a drug dealer.

"...Do you want to understand it?"

Kaguya and Chika seemed confused, but the other three were astonished!

"Homura... are you suggesting?" Eriri seemed to grasp his intentions.

Homura smiled and then looked at the two perplexed girls.

"Do you want... or not? Just tell me..."