Chapter 706
“Excellent!”
The club seniors were impressed by Lee Han’s words.
To think that students who had only just become second-years would react so sharply to an attack from the Skull Principal.
The second-year students of Blue Dragon Tower already possessed a virtue absolutely necessary at Einroguard.
“That’s a good attitude. The Skull Principal is going to launch a few attacks this week anyway.”
“……”
After hearing information they would have preferred not to know, the expressions of Lee Han and his friends rotted away.
Without knowing what the second-year juniors were thinking, the club seniors continued talking among themselves.
“This year’s Blue Dragon Tower students are no joke. Perseda, how does it feel?”
“Hmph. I won’t deny it. Now then. Everyone, move.”
Perseda pointed to the opposite side from the door connected to the common lounge.
If they followed the hill, the slope, and the path leading downward, a large village appeared.
It was <Exile Village>, the students’ autonomous district and living ground, serving as the most central area on the vast seventh floor.
At the sight of the large village packed tight with bizarre, complicated buildings made of stone, wood, and materials impossible to identify, the second-year students stared as if entranced.
No matter how used they had become to life inside Einroguard’s insanity, there was no way this would not feel strange, seeing such an enormous region appear inside a single floor and a thriving village established there.
“L-look at that manor over there, Lee Han. It’s moving! It has legs!”
Gainando shouted, eyes wide.
A manor that puffed smoke from its chimney and walked on its own legs.
The moment he saw it, he realized that every splendid villa he had imagined until now had been wrong.
A truly magnificent villa was a manor that clanked and walked like that…!
“These lunatics!”
“There they go again, again, again with this bullshit!”
The seniors guiding the second-years spat curses.
“I’m sure moving manors was banned! After causing that kind of accident last time, and they’re still—”
“Those bastards again! Can’t you stop right now?!”
“You fools who refuse change! You don’t deserve to be mages— Gah!”
The manor belching smoke and marching along suddenly tilted and began exploding.
When the nearby area caved in from the blast, students from neighboring buildings burst out one after another and started screaming curses.
“You cursed bastard!”
“I saw your face this time! I’m really putting out a bounty on you now!”
“……”
“……”
As the atmosphere darkened, Lee Han spoke up to change the subject.
“By the way, why is it called Exile Village?”
“Hmmm. As far as I know, hundreds of years ago, a senior who failed to graduate fled the Skull Principal’s pursuit and the building that senior founded became the start of this village…”
Better ask something else.
That answer sounded like it would only make the mood darker.
“Then do the seniors use that village?”
“That’s right. You can use it too if you want. Though you’ll need to secure a building. There may seem to be a lot of them, but there aren’t many usable ones. You’ll have to subdue or clear them out.”
“…Subdue and clear them out?”
“Ah. I forgot to explain. Since it’s a place that’s been used since the seniors of seniors of… ancient seniors, there are a lot of dangerous buildings. I recommend not entering an empty manor carelessly.”
Since the countless buildings in the village on Einroguard’s seventh floor mostly held old magic, there was no telling what might come out when you opened a door.
Even veteran Einroguard students mainly used buildings that had already been checked and declared safe.
As the mood darkened even further, Lee Han wondered whether it could possibly get any darker than this.
At this point, it feels like nothing they say could make this any darker.
“Now then. We’re here. Sit down for now.”
After arriving at the village, Perseda guided the juniors to an open lot.
Behind the lot stood a large tent and a storehouse, and under them more than ten cauldrons were boiling furiously, belching steam.
A few students shouted and swung their wands. The piled-up vegetables shattered to pieces and plopped into the cauldrons.
It was a fairly familiar sight to Lee Han, who had sometimes prepared meals for an entire year with help from other friends.
“This is the kitchen of the Kitchen Club, or by its formal name, <Iactus Soup Club>. Starting this year, you’ll all be coming here often.”
During first year, they were at least given rough, hard meals so they wouldn’t starve to death, but from second year onward, that was gone too.
If they wanted to fill their stomachs, they had to get food themselves or buy it elsewhere with money.
And the place in Einroguard with the largest stockpile of food was the <Iactus Soup Club>, also known as the Kitchen Club.
Whether they liked it or not, if students of the four towers got hungry, they had no choice but to buy food here.
Clatter!
Soup bowls flew in from afar and stopped one by one in front of the students. Delicious smells rose from the soup in the deep bowls.
The seniors gestured for them to eat, as if saying they understood.
But the Blue Dragon Tower students, who had already eaten a solid breakfast, looked at one another.
“We actually already ate breakf—”
“Hey. Be quiet and eat.”
With a glance, Lee Han suppressed his friends.
If you behaved tactlessly when others were showing goodwill, then that goodwill would stop coming your way next time.
His friends sensed the killing intent from Lee Han and began eating the soup. Fortunately, it tasted fine.
There aren’t many ingredients and it’s a bit thin, but it’s not bad.
While the juniors ate, Perseda continued the explanation.
“Normally the Kitchen Club doesn’t give food away for free like this. Since you’ve just advanced to second year, they’re treating you only this once as an exception.”
“Thank you.”
From beside them, Gainando grumbled, “It doesn’t even taste as good as what Lee Han made. Aren’t they showing off too much?” and immediately got pinched from both sides.
“Keep listening while you eat… This Kitchen Club included, all of these people here are members of Einroguard’s official clubs.”
“??”
Lee Han was puzzled inwardly.
Official clubs?
Then does that mean there are unofficial clubs too?
“Einroguard clubs are divided into official clubs and unofficial clubs. Official clubs are clubs that obtained permission from the school by presenting honorable goals and outstanding results. As for unofficial clubs…”
“They’re trash.”
One of the seniors cut in and explained instead.
“……”
The second-year students stared in disbelief at that absurd explanation.
“Hey. Don’t interrupt.”
“What interruption? I explained it properly.”
“Unofficial clubs aren’t trash exactly… you can think of them as clubs that failed to get the school’s approval. Naturally, to become an official club, you need honorable goals and outstanding results.”
“Which club do you belong to, senior?”
“I’m a member of the Einroguard Jousting Club.”
Perseda answered with a smile, as if to say it was a good question. There was pride in that smile.
“But didn’t the Einroguard Jousting Club not do very well last year? The professors were cursing it out…”
“……”
Perseda’s smile vanished, and the face darkened.
The other seniors beside Perseda immediately turned on Gainando.
“It wasn’t that bad, you insolent little brat!”
“We just had bad luck in the finals! What do you know?!”
“Eek.”
Gainando quickly hid behind Lee Han. Perseda stopped the others.
“Everyone calm down. It’s true we lost in the finals.”
“You nasty little brat! I’m remembering your face!”
To rescue Gainando too, Lee Han raised his hand and asked a question.
“By the way, senior. Are there advantages to official clubs?”
From what he could see, official clubs seemed to have all kinds of annoying restrictions, from their goals onward to their required achievements.
If Einroguard students, who generally lived well enough without laws, were willing to endure those constraints, there had to be a reason.
“Sharp question. Yes. There are a few privileges. Funding from the Skull Principal, or in certain situations, the right to go out…”
“…But the most important thing is invitation authority.”
“?”
At the words invitation authority, the second-year students looked puzzled.
“What is invitation authority?”
“For official clubs, it isn’t the student who requests to join. The club can make the request and forcibly enroll the student.”
“…?!”
“!!!”
At those unexpected words, the second-year students stirred in shock.
And the one most miserable of all was, of course, Lee Han.
…So that was what Diret meant!
He felt like he finally understood why Diret had told him to act stupid.
Official clubs would obviously try to drag outstanding students into their own clubs…
In the worst case, Lee Han could end up being forced into several clubs at once.
Gainando seemed to realize that too and protested to the seniors.
“This isn’t right!”
“Aren’t you the one who was insulting Perseda’s jousting skills earlier?”
“I wasn’t! More importantly, just because they’re official clubs doesn’t mean they can enroll students however they want! If several clubs all force the same student to join, how miserable would that student be?!”
At Gainando’s protest, the second-year students nodded as if in agreement.
Because they all had one particular person in mind.
Of course, from Perseda’s and the seniors’ perspective, this was nothing but nonsense.
“Junior. That sounds ridiculous.”
“Come on, come on… Is that even something worth saying? You seem to be overestimating yourselves. Clubs have standards too.”
The club-affiliated seniors stared at the juniors with incredulous eyes.
Usually, students who belonged to more than two official clubs were extremely rare.
Because a person’s abilities and interests were normally limited.
How likely was it, for example, that a student deeply interested in jousting would also possess the abilities the Kitchen Club needed?
That invitation authority did not exist to torment one junior. It existed to forcibly give learning opportunities to juniors who were suited to a club.
“Then what if there’s a student who has aptitude for this club and aptitude for that one too? You just won’t pick them?”
“That would depend… how outstanding are we talking?”
“Mmm… just how outstanding?”
The club seniors fell into thought after hearing Gainando’s question.
If the aptitude really was exceptional, then even if another club had already picked that student, there was no way they could simply back down.
“Hey! I told you that junior is messing with you. He’s trying to sow discord!”
“Ah, right.”
“You little bastard. You’re no ordinary troublemaker.”
The seniors cast wary glances at Gainando.
There was always, every year, one crafty, sly troublemaker who rejected authority.
It seemed that this year’s second-year version was that blond boy.
“I was genuinely curious!”
“Everyone quiet. Anyway, that should be enough for the overall explanation of clubs. You can hear the rest when each club comes to find you, or by going to them yourselves. There are a lot of clubs in Einroguard even I don’t know.”
“Yes.”
“Then… everything is ready! You can begin now.”
“Really?”
At Perseda’s words, one of the students in the storehouse behind them opened the door and stepped out. It seemed to be a member of the Kitchen Club.
Thud, thud, thud—
With each step that student took, the faces of the second-year students turned pale.
Gainando muttered,
“An… an ogre half-blood?!”
The senior was enormous ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) enough to make them suspect monster blood had been mixed in. Even under the loose priest’s robes, the huge belly jutting out prominently swayed as the senior finally came to a stop.
“Puhuh. Nice to meet you all. I’m Falkrius, a fourth-year from Phoenix Tower. I belong to the <Iactus Soup Club>.”
“A-a priest from Phoenix Tower?”
“That’s right! Wahahaha! Were you surprised because you thought I was an ogre half-blood?”
“Yes!”
“Puhuh! I’m actually human. So many people mistake me for an ogre half-blood. If I tell them that, they fall for it every single time!”
“……”
Gainando, who had fallen right into the leading question, turned deathly pale.
“S-spare me! I was wrong!”
“Wahaha, I’m not going to eat you, I’m not going to eat you! What would there even be to eat on a junior like you?”
Falkrius burst into hearty laughter.
At that friendly laugh, the second-year students relaxed a little.
Even if blood was dripping from the enormous cleaver and ladle in both hands…