After leaving the Occult Research Club, Takamine Rinji headed to the Judo Club.
The Judo Club captain was someone Takamine had been fairly acquainted with back in the day. As soon as he heard that Takamine was planning to cut their budget, he immediately put on a pleading face and said, "Come on, we've known each other for a while now—can't you let this slide? Our club has pretty high expenses too."
Then, when Takamine proposed, "How about a match? If you beat me, I'll increase your funding," the Judo Club captain showed great integrity and replied—
"Can you just cut a little less instead?"
In the end, the judo club had their budget cut by 5%.
Originally, Takamine Rinji had followed Miyuki Shirogane's instructions to the letter: given the economic downturn and the drop in donations, every bit of savings counted. But after combing through all the figures, he discovered there would actually be quite a lot of surplus funds left.
After that, he visited the football and baseball clubs, two of the most couple-heavy sports clubs in Shuchiin Academy.
Logically speaking, Takamine Rinji should've slashed their budgets down to the bone. But since any surplus wouldn't end up in his own pocket anyway, he decided to leave their budgets as they were.
As for the rugby club—
Takamine Rinji arrived at their activity room and pulled out his form, facing several muscular men.
"Alright, tell me—why hasn't Shuchiin Academy's rugby club made it to the nationals in all these years? Who's slacking off?"
"Um... Takamine-kun, you mean you don't know?"
"What would I possibly know?"
The rugby club members exchanged awkward glances until finally the captain spoke up.
"For the past few years, we've been knocked out during the qualifiers for the global tournaments."
"By who?"
"A school also located in Tokyo—Jindai High in Chofu."
"Jindai High...?"
Takamine Rinji lowered his head in thought.
He'd heard of that school—his Aunt Kaya and Uncle Sagara both graduated from there, and apparently even his old man had studied there too.
"I mean, Shuchiin Academy's a century-old elite institution. Don't you guys have any pride as students of a top school? Getting crushed by the same school year after year?"
"You don't understand… their rugby team isn't even human!"
The rugby club captain, a big guy, had fear in his eyes.
"During the last Tokyo qualifiers, we came up against them… and those guys had nothing but bloodlust in their eyes. Every one of them fought like their lives were on the line. When they hit you, it was like being mauled by wild beasts… After that match, several of our members dropped out of the club entirely."
"That terrifying, huh?"
Hearing this, Takamine Rinji was momentarily stunned, but still proceeded to write down the rugby club's budget allocation.
"Whatever the reason, the fact is you haven't achieved results. Even other clubs without big wins have at least made it to nationals in recent years. You guys? Completely bottom-tier. A 10% budget cut sound fair?"
"...Yeah."
"Then train harder. Once you make it to nationals, I'll consider giving you more."
…
Leaving the rugby club, Takamine Rinji glanced down at the data on his form.
Most clubs had already been budgeted out. Only a few scattered ones remained.
In the sports category, only the archery club was left. In the cultural category, there were still the journalism club, drama club, and finally the one he was heading to now—
The Tabletop Gaming Club.
This club was an odd one. Rumor had it that there wasn't a single normal person among its members, including the president. They were constantly engaging in borderline-rule-breaking activities, earning the nickname "The Devil's Den."
Standing at the door of the clubroom, Takamine Rinji hesitated briefly before knocking.
Knock knock knock!
"Coming~!"
A bright and energetic voice came from inside. The door opened to reveal familiar long pink hair and the iconic black bow.
"Ah~ it's Takamine-kun."
"Secretary Fujiwara, huh... I'd already heard rumors you were here."
Seeing the cheerful Chika Fujiwara, Takamine Rinji had the strong urge to turn and walk away.
"What brings you to the board game club today?"
"It's student council business. The quarterly budget's come in. As treasurer, I need to inspect the status of each club before allocating or adjusting funds."
"Oh! Then come on in~"
Chika Fujiwara grabbed Takamine Rinji's hand and dragged him inside.
He looked around the clubroom—several tables pushed together with unfinished games on them. Trash bins were overflowing with snack wrappers.
"Hm? Who's here?"
A short-haired girl sitting at the front of the room asked. She was also a first-year student like him.
Makihara Kozue, aka "Makkii-senhai," was the permanent club president of the Board Game Club, and was referred to with a senior's honorific despite being a freshman herself—an impressive figure.
"Hello, Makihara-san."
"Oh~ Takamine-kun." She smiled, "Don't tell me you're here to join?"
"No, I'm already in the astronomy club."
He casually grabbed a chair, sat down, and pulled out the form from his pocket.
"I'm here to assess your club's finances and allocate your budget for the quarter."
"I see."
Mashihara nodded, then signaled Chika behind him with a glance.
"Got it~"
Chika playfully saluted and skipped to a drawer, returning with a cup of cola.
"Takamine-kun, here's some soda for you."
"...Thanks."
Takamine expressionlessly opened the can and took a sip.
"Secretary Fujiwara, you're not trying to bribe me with soda, are you?"
"Of course not~"
Chika feigned innocence, whistling quietly—though no sound came out.
Takamine scanned the room. Including Chika and Makihara, there were four girls total.
"I had a quick look around. You guys have a ton of board games here, including many of the latest releases."
"Yeah, those cost quite a lot…"
"But altogether, they don't even amount to half of your club's current budget," Takamine suddenly said. "Your budget is already double that of a normal cultural club."
"Well… there's a reason for that…" Makihara looked off to the side.
"I also noticed your trash can is full of snack wrappers, and when Fujiwara took out the soda, I saw a whole drawer full of junk food," Takamine frowned. "So most of your funds are going to snacks instead of actual board games."
"That can't be helped!"
Chika shouted from the side.
"Board games need snacks! They're essential!"
"Okay, let's say snacks are essential. Have you guys achieved any results recently? Won a competition? Promoted board games as a cultural hobby? Raised Shuchiin's public image?"
"Jeez, Takamine-kun, you're so stingy," Chika pouted.
"It's not about being stingy. It's about whether this money is being used for club activities or just entertainment. Unclear spending isn't acceptable."
Takamine still couldn't understand how this club hadn't been disbanded. He suspected it had something to do with Fujiwara being a student council secretary… and Makihara's influence.
"So how much do you plan to allocate us this time?" Mashihara asked.
"Factoring in your membership count, your board game needs, and potential school event costs… let's see. I'm thinking of cutting 50% compared to last quarter."
"EEEEHHHHHHH!?"
"Don't give me that look. Right now, I'm just a ruthless budget-cutting machine," Takamine said calmly. "If you have any objections, feel free to bring a detailed activity plan to the student council office—"
SLAM!
Before he could finish, Mashihara smacked the table.
"About that budget decision, Takamine-kun, how about we settle this with a duel?"
"Oh?"