Chapter 56: Persuasion
"…Ah! There you are. Hey!"
"Hm? Kay! Finally, you came out. What took you so long?"
"I was going my fastest, Okay? I was going to ask my teacher some questions when your text message came out of nowhere. Just be thankful I came out at all."
Standing in front of the big water fountain found in front of Raeparth's Academy, Dan and Lexi had been waiting for Dan's sister, Kay Foster, to come out of the school. After dropping Kay a text message, Dan and Lexi had to wait longer than they expected before Kay finally came out. Once Kay was able to locate her big brother, she walked towards him with an unhurried gait.
"…!? Hey! Dan! Come here for a second."
"? What's up?"
Not understanding what has gotten into Kay, Dan walked up to her before finding himself being pulled aside by the arm away from Lexi. Confused even more, Dan could only obediently follow what Kay is doing. Lexi, on the other hand, remained smiling the entire time as she saw the strange events unfold right in front of her. She even seemed to find the situation amusing.
Once far enough away, Kay let go of Dan's arm before turning around to face him. On her face was both a surprise yet curious expression.
"Dan, why is it that you are standing together with Alexis Owens!?"
"…? You know about her?"
"Who in the school doesn't know about her? She's that, isn't she? That fashion YouTuber!"
"Oh yeah… it slipped my mind for a bit."
"Who cares about that. What I want to know is why is she here with you? I heard about it, you know. About how there is a certain male student who somehow tricked Alexis to do his bidding. It can't be that yo—"
"Those are all false accusations! I'm no— I might be the male student in the rumors. That much I admit. However, the rest are just malicious lies made sabotage me due to jealousy. It's the truth! Please believe me."
"… You're not lying to me, are you? It can't be… your plan on tricking me as well!? What a beast… to actually try to lay your hands on your little sister like that."
"You…," Against Kay's overly ridiculous accusations, Dan could not help but have his eyes half close as he looked at her in exasperation, "Who do you think I am?"
"… Hehe, it's a joke. Just a joke. I know already. Dan isn't the type to do something like that."
"Haaa~… You got to stop with those types of jokes. It's not funny."
"Haha, sorry."
Watching Kay go into a small laughing fit, Dan let out a big sigh in defeat. It took a bit, but Kay was finally able to get her fit under control.
"But really, why are you together with her? Knowing you, there's no way you could possibly be friends with her."
"Too bad for you, that's how it is."
"What is?"
"We are friends."
"Who is?"
"Me and Lexi."
"… Wait. You and who?"
"Like I said, Lexi. It's Alexis."
"… Haha. Is this supposed to be payback? To joke about that kind of thing… if your gonna make a joke do it better. I accidentally laughed due to how bad that joke was."
"I'm not joking."
Kay, unable to accept Dan's words, tried to play off his words as a joke. However, Dan did not allow that. Dan could see the exact moment when his words had finally sunk into Kay's brain.
"… Are you serious?"
"Why would I lie?"
"I mean, this is you we are talking about here. When I had already thought it was a miracle that Katie had become your friend and now you are telling me you became friends with Alexis Owens too? 'That' Alexis Owens… with you, a person with a personality of a wet rag? Impossible."
"… Like I said, who the hell do you think I am? One of these days we are going to have to put a side some time to have a looo~nng talk about this."
Dan sighs once again.
"Fufu~ You two seem very close. As expected of brother and sister."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lexi who had been left on the sidelines all this time came right up behind Dan to join in the conversation. Dan nearly jumped up in surprise. Until he heard her talk, Dan was unable to notice that Lexi came up behind him the entire time.
'When did she… I couldn't hear her at all.'
"Lexi, you came."
"Fufu~ Sorry about that. At first, I held back from eavesdropping. Giving time for family bonding, you know? But then I heard my name being mentioned so here I am. Did I interrupt anything?"
"No, you came at just the right time."
"… Ah, nice to meet you."
"Fufu~ Nice to meet you too. You're Kay, right? I heard about you from Dan-Dan."
"... 'Dan-Dan'? To call Dan by a nickname, that means—"
"Fufu~ That's right. Dan-Dan and I really are friends. For now anyway."
"For now…?"
"Ahem, well now that we got introductions out of the way, Kay, I got something to say to you."
"… Oh yeah. Right, you did message me that."
With having the shock from having seen her own brother hanging out together with an online celebrity, Kay had almost forgotten why she came out here in the first place.
Dan cleared his throat once again. "Ahem. Kay, I want you to hear me out, okay? I want you to help out on something."
"What is it?"
"I would like you to join me to create in creating a Massage Club."
"......…Huh!?"
Dan had finally been able to say what he wanted to ask. Kay's response? She was like an old computer, unable to fully process what was being said she took a long time before she was able to reboot. But Kay finally got her bearings back enough to react, she was temporarily unable to speak in coherent sentences.
"I… you… W-wait just a minute. What did you just say."
Dan repeated. "I want you to become a member of the Massage Club."
"…Haa~ so I didn't mishear it. Though I wish I did," Kay grasped her head as though she got a huge headache, "…What the meaning of this?"
"It's like I said. I want you to—"
"That's not what I was asking!" Kay said, as she raised her voice to interrupt Dan, "I want to know why the hell you are planning on making a club. The Massage Club? What the hell is that supposed to be? Are you just making shit up?"
"Kay…"
"What the hell happened to finding a new part-time job? I know you were just recently fired and finding a new job is not easy. But to give up just to go make a club—"
"Kay."
"—and what do you mean 'Massage Club'? Not finding a job just to make such a ridiculous-sounding club. I misjudged you! Did you forget how much Mo—"
"Kay!"
"…~~!?"
"It's a misunderstanding, Kay. Don't worry, I didn't forget that promise."
"… Then what—"
"You remember, right? About how I recently got my System."
"I don't know where this is going, but yes, I do remember. May I remind you that you still have not once told me about what your System is? Though it's not like I could force you to tell me…"
"Well, I'll be telling you about it now. My System is actually a Massage-Type."
"A Massage-Type…?" Kay raised an eyebrow, "… it can't be what I think it is, but—"
"Just as you probably imagine, yes."
"… I'm utterly shocked. To make a 'Massage Club' just because you somehow have a 'Massage-Type System'… even B-rated movies had a better plot than this."
"Kay, I know you're still confused, but hear me out. I'm still not done."
"No, I think I heard enough. I don't want to hear anymore. As expected, you're not the big bro I thought you were."
While tried his best to make Kay hear him out, Kay remained stubborn.
'Just as I had imagined, convincing Kay isn't going to be easy. Of course, it would. Now, what should I do?'
Unsure of what to do next, Dan continues to ponder his next move. It was then the voice from the specific someone who remained quiet for a while interjected.
"Fufu~ It seems my turn has come."
"Lexi… thanks."
"… Eh? Um, I'm sorry, Alexis. I can call you Alexis, right? This is a personal business I ha—"
"Call me Lexi. In turn, I can call you Kay-Kay, okay?"
"Eh? That's not—"
"Hm?"
"… Lexi."
"Fufu~ Yes, Kay-Kay?"
Overwhelmed by Lexi's strange pressure, Kay could not help but give in to calling her by her nicknames. Satisfied, Lexi showed a proud expression.
Feeling déjà vu from seeing this conversation, Dan let out a wry smile.
'As expected of Lexi. My-pace as always.'
"Fufu~ It's not like I know exactly what's going on and I don't plan on asking. There is one thing I do know, though. Kay-Kay, you asked Dan-Dan why he is not trying to find another job, correct?"
"… Yes. That is correct."
"What if I told you that there is a way to earn money while you are part of a school club?"
"Is that really possible?"
With a face that shows how skeptical she is of the possibility of what Lexi is saying, Kay looked at Lexi with doubtful eyes. To her, if there was such a convenient system of earning money while just doing school clubs, why is it that she hadn't heard of it before?
"Normally, no. But if we didn't do it the normal way…fufu~, what do you think will happen?"
"Don't tell me it's something illegal."
"Don't worry. It's not that serious. You would just have to be prepared for either suspension of expulsion if you get caught though."
"It's just as bad!?"
"Fufu~ You just don't get caught. That's all it is."
"… Dan, is this really what you want?"
"… I didn't hear about how serious it would be if I get caught until now. But I already made up my mind. I have gone too far to back out now."
"You could get expelled you know? Aren't you aiming for the scholarship? Is this really okay?"
"Fufu~ It's going to be okay, Kay-Kay. Your brother is not going to be the type to lose like that."
"I have been wondering for a while now, but why is it that Lexi is so knowledgeable about this?"
"Fufu~ Didn't I tell you? I am also a member of the Massage Club. KC is one too."
"KC?"
"She is talking about Katie," Dan explained.
"You got Katie in this too!? Isn't she already a member of the Tae Kwon Do Club?"
"She is planning on doing both clubs together. So it's okay."
"Unbelievable…"
Kay became speechless from the new information that keeps coming in. Switch looking at both Dan and Lexi in turn, Kay struggles to process the information. After a bit of hesitation, it seems that she has one question left to answer.
"… Lexi. I want to ask, but why is it that you of all people would take part in this club?"
To Kay, it's a question that she could not help but ask. From what she knows, Lexi is a super famous fashion YouTuber. Extremely popular, even her own classmates talk about Lexi despite being in a different grade. The type of person that would normally never had made contact with Dan who is not an extroverted person by any means. How did it happen that a person like her would somehow join her brother into making such a suspicious club?
"Fufu~ To fix that misunderstanding, it was not your brother who first came up with this club. In fact, it was both KC and me."
"Really!?"
"Fufu~ That's right! The reason for that was because both of us had received a very nice massage from your brother."
"Dan, massaged both you and Katie?"
"Fufu~ It was really good, Dan-Dan's massage. The best! With his System and technique, finding customers will be easy as pie."
"Eh? Dan, did you really massage them?"
"Not just any massage. A full-body massage too."
"F-full-body!? Dan didn't do anything weird, right? Did he make you uncomfortable or anything?"
"Fufu~ Don't worry. Nothing bad happened at all. It just felt really good. Ah♥, just imagining it made me excited."
Seemingly from remembering the day that Dan had massaged both Kate and her, Lexi made an ecstatic expression. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Dan looked away, not wanting to look at Kay in the eye. Kay, who was looking at Lexi making that expression, pulled back slightly.
'What the…? That face… why would only a massage make her make that face? Something is strange. But what is this feeling…?"
Kay's already skeptical outlook became even more skeptical the longer she looks at Lexi's expression. However, at the same time, beyond her understanding, a strange buzzy feeling was being born from inside her body. The longer she looks at Lexi, the stronger it becomes.
"Fufu~ Sorry about that. I seemed to let myself too loose for a moment. Anyway, just like Dan-Dan said, we would like it if you were to join our club. Don't worry, this isn't something we are forcing you to do. Right, Dan-Dan?"
"Yeah, that's right. Kay, this is your choice. I'll accept it even if you don't want to join."
"… Even if I were to decline here, you guys aren't planning on quitting, are you? You guys would try to invite another person, right?"
"Well, that would be what happens if you refused, yeah."
Kay becomes silent. In her mind, the cogs of her brain kept turning to the point they seem to smoke from overuse. After considering all the different types of options, it seems she finally had reached a conclusion.
"… I understand. I will agree to join your guys' club."
"For real?"
"Fufu~ Welcome to the club."
"However���"
With her index finger, she raised it in front of Dan's face.
"This is only a trial period. I still have work to do after school, so I might not be part of the club that often."
"That's fine—"
"And! This is me joining so I can keep watch on you so that you don't do anything weird!"
"Huh?"
"Fufu~ Seems she got you there, Dan-Dan."
To Kay's sudden declaration, Dan let out a stupid voice. Finding the entire sequence utterly amusing, Lexi continues to be in a giggling fit. Kay, having finished what she wanted to say, put down her raised finger.
"If you understand that, then it might for a short while, but please take care of me, Dan."
Showing a mischievous smile, Kay turned around and walked off.
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