✦ Chapter 45 — Clubs (2) ✦
「Translator — Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
Of course, I hadn’t mentioned to anyone yet that I was planning to create a club.
I would announce it as a surprise when the club selection period arrived.
‘They’ll all love it, won’t they?’
For now, we were in the club trial period – no official selections could be made yet.
Creating a club takes time, like watching a garden grow from seeds; a club room needs to be secured, a supervising professor found.
Above all, permission must be granted by the student council.
Though Jorden, the student council president, saw me as his benefactor, his approval alone wouldn’t be enough to greenlight the club.
Still, plans had already taken root in my mind.
“By the way, Loki, are you ever going to tell us what really happened back then?” Lucas asked, interrupting my thoughts.
The ‘then’ he referred to was that moment within the mist, where the worm and I had disappeared from sight.
Their curiosity was natural — they had only seen him emerge trembling with fear like autumn leaves.
Even Yerika had asked about it when we spoke over the phone one night.
“Knowledge can be dangerous,” I replied, the same answer I always gave, like a familiar refrain.
Lucas, realizing I wasn’t going to budge, eventually dropped the topic.
“Let’s go grab lunch together in a bit,” he suggested.
I had eaten lunch with Lucas and the other special class students nearly every day, save for one occasion.
“Unfortunately, I have plans today, so I won’t be able to join you.
“Oh? With whom?”
“Senior Johanna.”
She had invited me during morning training, an invitation I had no reason to decline.
Hearing this, Lucas’s eyes widened in surprise.
“The Young Lady of Freya?”
Lucas’s expression shifted to surprise.
Strange — we had lunch together before, hadn’t we?
Just as I was about to ask why he seemed so shocked, someone else spoke to me.
“Um, someone’s here for you.”
The speaker was Frederic.
And following his words, I quickly turned toward the classroom door.
There she was—Johanna, waiting for me.
“Thank you for letting me know, Frederic. Enjoy your lunch!”
I thanked him and dashed toward Johanna.
“Senior, why did you come all the way here again? I could’ve gone to meet you, or we could’ve met halfway,” I said as I approached her.
“My class ended early.”
“Shall we head to the cafeteria, then?”
“Sure.”
As I was lost in conversation with Johanna while walking alongside her, I missed Lucas’s whispered words behind us—
“Should I tell them about this too…?”
.
.
.
“You haven’t forgotten what I said before, have you?”
Johanna suddenly spoke as we were walking.
“Pardon?”
Though I was merely startled into asking,
Unfortunately, Johanna seemed to take it as a sign that I had actually forgotten.
“……………”
While others might not notice the subtle shift in Johanna’s expression, I could read it clearly.
She was sulking now.
I scrambled to think fast.
The answer came more easily than expected.
“You mean about the club orientation?! About joining the Student Disciplinary Committee! Of course I haven’t forgotten!”
Johanna nodded, her expression softening slightly as she spoke again.
“Can you start tomorrow morning?”
“Since you’re the one asking, I’m available anytime, of course!”
Johanna seemed pleased with my response, the corners of her mouth lifting ever so slightly.
“Johanna!”
Someone called out to her as we walked down the hallway.
The disciplinary committee armband on their sleeve gave away their identity.
“If you’re heading to lunch, come eat with us!”
“Ah…”
Johanna let out a soft sigh and looked at me.
As if seeking my permission.
Since I knew none of the Disciplinary Committee members were bad people, I simply nodded to her in agreement.
It wasn’t until then that they seemed to notice me; their startled reactions were hard to miss. I wasn’t exactly someone who faded into the background, so their surprise was a little odd.
“Johanna! Could you wait just a moment, just a brief moment?”
They excused themselves to her and moved away to have a discussion.
They must have used mana to block the sound, as their conversation was inaudible. From their expressions and gestures alone, I could tell there were two opposing views being debated.
After a brief moment,
They seemed to have reached a decision and ended their discussion.
One member approached Johanna as their representative.
“Johanna, we’ll eat by ourselves today! So… so please eat with that person instead!”
Her eyes shut tightly, fists clenched, and her whole body trembling — anyone could tell she wanted to eat lunch with Johanna.
“You did great. That couldn’t have been easy to say!”
“We’re so proud of you!”
The other committee members even patted their representative’s back in encouragement.
Then they left, telling us to enjoy our meal.
I looked at Johanna, confused by the situation.
*Blink—, Blink—*
Johanna seemed equally puzzled by what had just happened, her eyes blinking uncertainly.
“Um… shall we head to the cafeteria then?”
.
.
.
Nothing particularly eventful occurred while eating lunch with Johanna.
There weren’t any vermin-like troublemakers stirring up conflicts.
Some people even slipped away quietly upon seeing me.
If anything was different from usual, it was how the disciplinary committee members kept watching throughout our meal; they watched me eating with Johanna with tearful eyes — some were even crying for real.
Reflecting on the oddities of the cafeteria encounter, I eventually found myself standing in front of Professor Idra’s office.
*Knock— Knock—*
“Come in.”
After hearing the response, I opened the door and stepped inside.
“So, what brings you here today, Loki?” Professor Idra asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“I didn’t come with any particular matter – I just found myself wanting to see you today, Professor Idra.”
Professor Idra burst into laughter at my words.
“Ha ha ha! That’s flattering to hear, but is that really the whole story?”
“99% is for that reason, and about 1% is because I have a small favor to ask.”
“Whether it’s really just 1%, I’m not so sure. So what’s this favor?”
“I was hoping you could be the faculty advisor for the club I’m planning to create!”
Professor Idra’s eyes widened in surprise at my words.
“You’re creating your own club?”
“Yes. None of the existing clubs seemed like a good fit for me, so I decided to make my own.”
“Interesting. And what kind of activities will this club of yours focus on?”
I explained to Professor Idra about the activities planned for my ‘Clown Alliance Club’.
Upon hearing my plans, Professor Idra laughed again, her expression tinged with mischief.
“Hmm~ I wonder what I should do? Should I grant this favor to my precious student Loki? But I am quite busy with research these days. What to do.”
Considering the absurdity of my club, Professor Idra was clearly the only one eccentric enough to fit the role of its advisor.
As if recalling something, she murmured, “Ah, right. That’ll work,” and then spoke up.
“If you rank first in my test this afternoon, I’ll become the advisor for your club.”
“What kind of test is it?”
Professor Idra chuckled softly before responding.
“Now, where’s the fun in telling you that in advance?”
.
.
.
“Loki, do you know why we were asked to gather outdoors today?”
“I’m not quite sure myself.”
As Loki conversed with Lucas,
Professor Idra spoke up.
“Alright, everyone, quiet down! Today, we’re going to play a fun little game.”
The students exchanged skeptical glances; no one believed her.
After attending her classes, they all had a pretty good idea of what kind of ‘games’ Professor Idra enjoyed organizing.
“Not the most enthusiastic reaction, huh?” Idra remarked, amused. “Well, let me sweeten the deal: today, there’s a special prize.”
At the mention of a prize, the students’ interest noticeably piqued.
“And the prize is… ta-da!“
Every student gasped at what Professor Idra produced.
“No way… Is that an elixir?”
Indeed, what Idra held was an elixir.
And not just any — it was a high-grade one, at that.
As the students gazed at the elixir, some even drooling at the sight, Idra grinned, clearly satisfied with their reactions.
“The rules are simple. When I say ‘start,’ everyone will enter the forest to search for blue orbs. Whoever finds the most orbs within the time limit wins the prize.”
‘Simple, isn’t it?’ Idra asked as she surveyed the students.
“Does anyone have any questions?”
Her words barely hung in the air before students began stretching and warming up, itching to dash into the forest. A high-grade elixir wasn’t something they could easily come by.
“If there are no questions, then let’s starrt-“
“Wait! I have a question!”
The students, who had been poised to sprint into the forest, halted, startled by the sudden interruption
Someone had raised their hand and spoken.
“Ah, Loki, what’s your question?”
“I was just wondering, how much time do we have?”
“The time limit is one hour. You’ll hear a signal when time’s up,” Idra explained with a patient smile.
Loki continued to ask Idra various questions after that.
Everything from the size of the orbs to how many there were, and whether students could take orbs from each other.
“Aren’t you asking too many questions?”
As the questioning dragged on, some students voiced their complaints, but…
“Think about it, everyone. Since we’re all competing against each other anyway, there’s no need to rush. Isn’t it better to ask questions now rather than after we’ve started?”
Hearing Loki’s words, the students’ discontent melted away.
Just as Loki had said, starting late wouldn’t change anything.
In fact, other students began raising their hands to question Idra as well.
Lucas didn’t bother asking questions, focusing instead on stretching his muscles; though he’d consumed plenty of elixirs before, that didn’t mean one more wouldn’t be useful.
Then at some point, his attention shifted to Loki, who had fallen silent and stood motionless — meanwhile, the other students paid Loki no mind, continuing their barrage of questions to Idra.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t he raise his hand after Professor Idra said ‘start’?’
A sudden chill crept across his skin.
Two thoughts collided in his mind — ‘No way…’ and ‘But if it’s Loki, perhaps…’
“Loki.”
Lucas placed his hand on Loki’s shoulder, and—
*Swoosh—*
His hand passed right through Loki’s form.
‘You sneaky bastard.’
Having grasped the situation, Lucas called out to Professor Idra.
“Professor! How much time is left?”
The rest of the students looked at Lucas, puzzled. What was he talking about? The game hadn’t even officially started yet, so wasn’t there still a full hour left?
But Idra smiled and replied —
“About 40 minutes remain. Though I wonder when you all plan to start?”
— wiping the confusion off their faces.
.
.
.
Loki pulled out a blue orb wedged between stones.
“My, you caught on faster than I expected.”
In Loki’s hand already rested seven blue orbs.
END of CHAPTER
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