“So, we really gonna play a video game for club activity?”

“That sounds fun as heck! The best club!”

That was the mentality of most candidates who came to apply for the Classmancers club.

“.......” Kai was dead silent. She handed out the registration forms like a robot and didn’t utter a single word the whole time.

“Something wrong?” Yuel asked.

“........” She glanced at him, then returned to the registration forms. “No, nothing.” She sighed.

Yeah, sure. “Nothing”. Yuel rolled his eyes. “You’re disappointed that this is all we got? I admit it’s pretty weak. Back in StormBlitz, we held a big entrance exam and lots of people attended.”

“That’s not the issue,” Kai said. “Did you notice how many girls applied so far?”

“I believe there weren’t any.”

“Exactly. Not a single one. Nada. We got like ten applications but not a single one of them was a female.”

“I see,” Yuel didn’t know what to say. Kai’s prophecy seemed to be on point: very few girls at this age had any interest in Classmancers.

However, it was too early to draw any statistics from just one sample. Even if boys were more interested in the club on average, surely some girl will eventually show up as long as they continue drawing people’s attention. But...

Do I really want to find such a girl? Yuel wondered. As far as he was concerned, picking the most capable candidates was the entire purpose of going through such a selection process. So, prioritizing a player’s gender over their skill went against that belief.

But, at the same time, he wanted some girls to apply to dismiss Kai’s statement. He wanted to prove that enough girls had an interest in the game. But, why? It had nothing to do with him. He shouldn’t have cared in the slightest. And yet...

Why do I keep thinking about Julia? Yuel knotted his brows. Somehow, every time this topic came up, his mind couldn't help but wander back to Julia.

According to Lars, some of his classmates in grade school didn't like playing Classmancers with Julia because she was a girl. That undoubtedly stifled her ability to improve at the game. After all, without a supporting group to play with, it was difficult to improve or even get motivated enough to play. Even Yuel started off by playing with some of his classmates, though that story didn't go so well...

Anyway, having other people to play with was incredibly important when starting out, especially in a team-based game like a MOBA. It was a thousand times harder to be invested in the game when you didn't have any teammates to share your good and bad times with.

And, Julia didn't have that privilege at first. She only had Lars, who agreed to play with her unlike the rest of the boys. But, Lars wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed so he couldn’t give Julia much advice on how to improve.

So, it came as no surprise that Julia’s skill was so unpolished when Yuel met her. Back then, Yuel thought she was a terrible player who had no idea what she was doing. But, given the kind of stifling environment she played in, it only made sense she struggled to develop as a player.

If Kai's theory was correct, there were many girls like Julia who couldn't get into Classmancers due to the similar gatekeeping. And, most of them weren't lucky enough to meet a nice goof like Lars or a knowledgeable coach like Yuel. So, these girls never got, and might never get, into Classmancers even though they could've really enjoyed the game and even reached a high level at it. That was unfortunate.

Still, it's not my business. It really isn't. Yuel tried to convince himself. But, the thoughts kept creeping back to his mind. Even though it was ineffective and illogical, a part of him wanted a girl to join the club so she could flourish in a proper competitive environment. Or. at least, as "competitive" as one could call a tiny club that was tucked away in the basement.

"Maybe we need to do some advertising that’s aimed specifically at girls..." Yuel mumbled without thinking. Oops! He really didn’t want to step into this conversation but he did anyway. Darn it...

"Like what?" Kai asked.

"I'm not really sure," Yuel said.

"Well," Luke started. "For starters, it'd sure help if we had an actual girl here to advertise the club."

"What's that supposed mean?" Kai gave him a look.

"I mean, look at how ya dressed. Jeans, a T-shirt, and a cap. Anybody would mistake ya for a boy from afar."

"Yeah, most likely," Kai nodded, probably missing the point.

"So, ya think this kind of presentation gonna draw any girls? They gonna see a bunch of 'guys' here and hard pass on the whole thing."

"I'd like to think that those who are serious about the game will come over here regardless."

"I think you're overestimating grade-schoolers," Luke shrugged. "I knew a bunch of guys who played Classmancers with me on a decent level back in grade school. But, during summer break, we didn't get to play much and almost everybody moved on to play the latest trending games like Forknite. Actually, I kinda joined them too. I only stayed loyal to Classmancers because I’ve gathered so much juicy memeing material that it’d be sad to throw it all away."

"So," Kai crossed her arms. "You're saying there might be girls out there who used to play but lost interest by now because of whatever."

"Yep, both boys and gals. It be like that sometimes. Mancers is a tough game for grade-schoolers so these dudes need every little bit of motivation ya can give them."

"You got any specific ideas?"

"Welp, it's too late now but you should've dressed in something cuter."

"Cuter?" Kai raised an eyebrow.

The guy got balls. Yuel gulped. This didn't sound like a conversation that was about to go well...

"Yeah, cuter," Luke said. "Could've worn a skirt or something to give some girly presence in here. I bet it'd even draw some boys in, huehue."

"W-Wha," Kai trembled. "There's no way I'd wear something like that! I'm not here to sell myself."

"Well, too bad," Luke shrugged. "You could've drawn some customers for sure."

"I'm not a poster girl, you know."

They somehow into a lengthy argument over that point. Yuel had to think of something fast before this negative atmosphere drew away the few people who bothered to apply.

"How about we just emphasize that part?" Yuel suggested. "We'll advertise that both genders are welcome. Could you please do that, Luke?"

"You want me to yell stuff again?" Luke sighed but stood up anyway. "Alright, I'll be your marketing guy for today. But, remember: each freshman I bring in equals one day without yo nagging."

"Right, right" Yuel nodded. I suggested this deal on a whim but it might become an issue if I can't criticize Luke's memes for too long. Scrimmages will begin in two months, so I need him to be ready to play seriously by then. Well, I’ll figure something out. Hopefully.

"CLASSMANCERS CLUB!” Luke shouted. “Boys and girls! Ladies and gentlemen! Everybody, come play this awesome video game that's way better than Forknite!"

Again, the shoutout attracted a crowd. However, this time, there were only five students and only two of them had sufficient experience to be relevant. And, again, there wasn't a single girl among them.

Luke shouted again and again in different variations but it was to no avail. Not a single girl ever showed any interest in their stall.

"Can I get a new flyer?" A boy asked. "I messed up my ID number." He passed a flyer back to Kai but she didn't accept it.

"..................." She just stood there silently, like a robot whose power ran off.

"Um, sorry?" The boy waved the flyer in front of Kai's face.

"Oh, right," Kai took the flyer and handed him a new one. Despite her stoic expression, it was easy to see her melancholy. Meanwhile...

"Alright!" Luke pumped a fist. "This makes it 30 people. So, that's 30 days of invincibility! Maybe I can make it all the way to 300 and that'll cover the entire year!"

Seriously? I swear, the lengths some people would go just to not change their playstyle. Yuel shook his head.

Still, Luke's motives aside, there was no denying he was helping them a lot. He drew people in while Yuel and Kai answered everybody's questions and handled the registration. All in all, they turned out to be a nice team.

Alas, despite their hard work, they couldn't find a single girl for the club. They even went as far as making Luke shout an advertisement that was specifically aimed at girls.

"CLASSMANCERS CLUB! Boys and girls, everybody is welcome! We even got one girl on the team!"

Somehow, that only seemed to draw more boys than usual. However, still, zero girls.

"Let's take a break," Kai said. She adopted Luke's technique and snatched a chair from one of the classrooms. It was probably bad to take chairs without permission like that but Yuel’s knees were crying in pain. He couldn’t take this anymore so he became an accomplice and snatched a chair as well.

Once everybody sat down, a wave of tiredness descended on Yuel. Everything felt foggy. The skin-torching heat. The ceaseless noises of the busy crowds. His aching knees. And, above everything, of promising applications.

Just let me rest like this for the rest of my life. Yuel leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes. Apparently, the others shared his sentiments. They didn’t even want to talk about their current progress.

"Phew, my throat is dead," Luke gulped down his whole water bottle in one go. What a hard drinker.

"Tch!" Kai clicked her tongue while typing furiously on her phone. Apparently, she just missed a note in a rhythm game. How did she even have the strength to do anything right now? Or, maybe she was just trying her hardest to distract herself from reality?

Meanwhile, Yuel flipped through the forms they got so far. They got 12 applications, which wasn't that bad all things considered. In order to save themselves time later, he already sorted the flyers by player rank. The highest rank was Gold III while the worst was an Lv.20 player.

The Gold division was perfectly acceptable for a grade-schooler so it seemed promising. If there was anybody in Platinum, that player would be talented for sure and Yuel would prioritize them above anybody. However, that was too much to expect from a grade-schooler. Yuel and Lars only got to Platinum in grade school by grinding a lot together, along with Julia...

So, there really won’t be any girls applying? Yuel should have felt relieved. No girls meant they’ll be able to pick the best players out of the bunch. However, his heart stung. Maybe this time, if a girl joins the club, he’ll be able to properly...

“Ah!” Yuel jumped. There was something bizarre in the crowd. Long black noodles, floating in mid-air!

No, wait. That was just somebody’s hair. Long and messy black hair, that nearly hid the entire face. Little black eyes peered through the long bangs. They seemed to be staring at the club’s table.

It was a girl! A pale and ghostly one, so much that she almost blended into the environment, but she was definitely there!

The skinny hairball fidgeted back and forth as she eyed the table. Did she want to sign up? She definitely did, right!?

“Hey!” Yuel called out in the girl’s direction and grabbed a flyer.

“What’s wrong?” Kai asked.

“There’s a girl there who seems interested.”

“Really!?” Kai jumped. “Where!?”

“There,” Yuel pointed toward the girl as he kept moving.

“Huh? Where?”

“There. You don’t see her?”

“Hmmmmm,” Kai squinted her eyes. “I’m not sure who you’re referring to.”

“That girl over there, with the black hair.”

“Can’t say I see anybody.”

“Me neither,” Luke even pulled up his sunglasses. “You sure you ain’t imagining stuff?”

“Huh?” Yuel was taken aback. What’s with these reactions? The girl was clearly still there. “Over there, the girl with the long black hair. The one that looks a little pale.”

“I don’t see anybody like that,” Luke shrugged. “Pale and long black hair? My guy, are you sure that’s not a ghost?”

“A-A ghost?” Kai jumped. “H-Huh, no way. They don’t exist. Is that supposed to be a prank?”

“No, she’s really there,” Yuel insisted. How came they couldn’t see her? Sure, there was a big sea of people walking around and that pale girl was a little difficult to notice at first. However, once Yuel locked down on her, she stood out like a sore thumb with that long black spaghetti hair.

“Fine, I’ll just go to her,” Yuel set out with the flyer in hand. “Hey, do you want to apply for the club?”

“E-Eh?” The girl’s eyes popped wide. It’s like she was shocked by the mere fact somebody could possibly address her.

“A-Ah,” The girl gapped like a fish and slowly retreated deeper into the crowd.

“Wait, I just-” Yuel broke into a run as the spaghetti hair girl vanished in the busy crowd.

“S-Sorry!” Yuel bumped into somebody but he didn’t slow down. He swam through the sea of people to find that elusive girl. Where could she possibly go!? She was just there a moment ago! That black hairball should stick out easily even with so many people around.

Where? Where did she go!? She might be interested in joining! If she does, Yuel will have a chance to redeem himself for how he treated Julia. This time, he’ll properly keep in mind that the other person was a girl and will coach her accordingly without getting on her bad side...

What am I even thinking? Yuel stopped. It was dumb. That girl wasn’t Julia. What happened between them couldn’t be repaired anymore. Even if he recruits a girl to the club and properly converts her into a competitive player, so what of it? Whom would that satisfy? Nobody but him.

Maybe the others were right and Yuel hallucinated the whole thing. Or, maybe it was a ghost. That pale girl barley looked like a living person.

“Heh, haha...” Yuel produced a dry laugh. He was thinking so hard about recruiting a girl it made him imagine a girl in the crowd. 10/10. Maybe the sun was too strong today and he was in the process of getting sunstroke. It was dumb. All of it.

Whatever. Yuel sighed and shook his head. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder: did he really imagine that girl? Even with his selfish interests clouding his mind, he was sure he saw a girl eying their table back there. Or, did he? He didn’t even know anymore.

Well, I’ll just leave it here. Yuel found a nearby billboard and pinned the flyer on it. Maybe that spaghetti hair girl will see it here.

Heh. Yeah, right. Yuel shook his head and walked off. That girl probably didn’t even exist. She was nothing more than a figment of his wishful thinking.

Unbeknown to him and without anybody noticing, the flyer he put on the billboard mysteriously disappeared a few seconds later...