Chapter 158: Clown Union Club 5
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 158: Clown Union Club 5
Fortunately, every student in the Special Class promised not to join any other club until the final day.
The hardest one to convince, by far, was Clara.
I wasn't even asking her to join my club yet—just to hold off on joining any others until the deadline—and even that was an uphill battle. If it was this difficult just to get a "maybe," I had no idea how I was actually going to lure her into signing the papers.
‘Why should I do that?’
“Aww, don’t be so cold. Can’t you do it just for me? For old time’s sake?”
“If you’re going to say something like that, at least take off the mask.”
“That’s a Top Secret matter, so I can’t do that so easily. Besides, didn’t you say before that you had no intention of joining the Magic Club? If you don’t have a club you like anyway, wouldn’t it be better to just decide on the last day?”
“Better for you, maybe. And while it’s true I don’t have a club in mind, I have no intention of joining yours either.”
“You remember those two old books I found in the library and gave to you, right?”
“...Are you asking for them back?”
“Aww, come on. I’m not so petty that I’d take back a gift.”
“Then what?”
“It’s just that, from now on, every time you succeed at something, I’m going to go around the Academy constantly bragging that it was all thanks to the books I gave you.”
“Huh?”
“You remember what I did when I took first place in the midterm practical and you took second, right?”
“.............”
And so, through a very gentlemanly, polite, and intellectual negotiation, I managed to stop Clara from joining another club before the final day.
‘This isn't exactly how I pictured it, though.’
I thought that the moment I said, "I've started a club!" the Special Class kids would be dying to join, and I’d be the one graciously granting them permission. That was the dream.
In reality, I was practically clinging to their pant legs, begging them not to go anywhere else.
Excluding myself, there were seven students in the Special Class.
Including today, if I could win over one person a day, it was theoretically possible—but I knew it wouldn't be that easy.
* * *
Lunchtime at the Academy.
I sat down to eat with Johanna.
Since we were both famous, I could feel a lot of eyes on us. However, neither of us was the type to care about that sort of thing, so we just chatted and ate comfortably.
‘At least no one’s picking fights anymore.’
To be honest, ever since it became known that I was the Emperor’s disciple, people had been bothering me with so much chatter that it was getting annoying, but this part was nice.
The Special Class students and Johanna were all incredibly talented and had been famous even before entering the Academy. Because of that, there were people who looked down on me for hanging around them, and a few—though very few—would subtly try to provoke me.
Even after Rophri got crushed for picking a fight in the cafeteria, I was amazed that there were still people who tried. It made me seriously doubt the average intelligence of the Academy students.
“So, no one raised their hand?”
“No! Can you believe it? I was so hurt! I’ve been so good to them! Sure, I might have played the occasional prank—very, very occasional!—but still. How could not a single person raise their hand?!”
“...That’s too bad.”
Since Johanna’s default expression was a poker face, those words could actually sound like she felt sorry for me.
But who am I?
The world’s leading authority on analyzing Johanna’s expressions.
“Now, why do I get the feeling that you’re actually happy about this, Senior?”
“...It’s just your imagination. And call me Sister.”
“Hmm. Well, if you say so, Sister. Still, I am the icon of popularity, trust, and faith. Surely bringing every student in the Special Class into my Clown Union Club within a week will be a piece of cake, right?”
“We’ll see.”
“No matter how I look at it, it seems like you’re praying for my club to fail...”
“I told you, it’s your imagination. Just eat your food, Oppa.”
“Yes, Sister!”
Right, there’s no way my sweet Johanna would harbor such wicked thoughts.
“...By the way, if you fail to establish the club, you’re coming to the Disciplinary Committee, right?”
“Sister?”
* * *
Normally, I would have chatted with Johanna until afternoon classes started, but unfortunately, I couldn't today.
I had to win over the Special Class students as quickly as possible.
It definitely wasn't because Johanna was scaring me.
With the mindset of a hyena wandering in search of prey, I prowled the Academy grounds.
The Special Class students, who usually seemed to be everywhere when I wasn't looking for them, were nowhere to be found today.
‘They aren’t avoiding me, are they?’
Just then, my Clown Radar finally locked onto a target.
He was already the smallest in the Special Class, but with his shoulders hunched forward, he looked even smaller. His specialty: Curses. His hobby: (Forced) exercise with Kuran and Ren.
Frederick Nicholas.
I was about to approach him with the glint of a predator in my eyes when I paused.
Two fairly large men had Frederick flanked, linking arms with him and leading him somewhere.
At first, I thought it might be Ren and Kuran, but looking closer, they were smaller than those two. These hulking guys even had scars on their faces and stiff, grim expressions. Frederick looked like he didn't know what to do.
From the atmosphere alone, it looked like a timid student being shaken down by thugs. But Frederick was a high-ranking noble, even if he was a second son.
He might have money, but I didn't believe any student was stupid enough to mug a high noble. If they got caught, suspension or expulsion would be the least of their worries; the Nicholas family wouldn't just sit idly by.
As I was deducing the situation, the voices of other students reached my ears.
“Aren’t those the guys from the Sorcery Club?”
When two big guys are hauling off a small student, people are bound to notice.
Hearing the students' remarks, I realized what was happening.
Clubs at the Academy are evaluated on various factors—performance, scale, the abilities of their members—and receive activity funds accordingly.
Naturally, the total budget is limited, so various clubs engage in all sorts of activities every year and try to recruit as many people as possible to secure more funding.
However, simply having a lot of members isn't always enough; clubs want talented students.
And Frederick, despite being timid and stuttering, was peerless when it came to curses. Even if he didn't use mana, his curses were effective enough to work on Professor Elicia, who was a dragon.
If someone like Frederick joined the Sorcery Club?
They’d be rolling in activity funds.
One might argue that mugging someone and forcing them into a club are essentially the same thing.
And that would be true if they were openly threatening him.
But if they used that intimidating presence to "suggest" he join, the timid Frederick would have no choice but to agree.
Having realized their intentions, I followed them without hesitation.
I had no intention of letting these despicable punks snatch away a prospective member of my Clown Union Club.
They kept their arms linked with Frederick to ensure he couldn't escape. When I saw them turn into a secluded alley, I used an illusion to hide myself and followed them in.
In the alley, besides the two men who had brought Frederick, there were nearly forty people already waiting. Every single one of them looked like they’d be experts at shaking people down in a back alley.
‘Is that the entire Sorcery Club?’
It’s hard enough for a normal person to say no to a club when the entire membership is staring them down. For Frederick to say no?
Absolutely impossible.
The most menacing-looking man among them stomped toward Frederick and reached into his chest pocket.
‘Wait, is he pulling a knife? I heard some people are obsessed with their clubs, but is he seriously going that far?’
I dispelled the illusion and sprinted toward Frederick.
I’ve got this! At this distance, I can reach out and stop him.
As I lunged forward, I saw it.
The snow-white piece of paper the man pulled from his chest.
Huh?
Why a piece of paper?
The man, who looked like he could hunt monsters with his face alone, bent his waist ninety degrees and politely held out the paper to Frederick with both hands.
“An autograph! Please!”
Even the others were pulling out papers from their own pockets.
““Please!””
Even Frederick seemed used to it, as he reached into his pocket for a pen with a troubled expression.
Since I had dispelled my illusion before running, everyone there could see me. Their eyes widened in surprise at my sudden appearance.
“You are...?”
“Lo-Loki? Why are you here?”
Uh...
What do I say?
Frederick, and everyone else there, looked at me with the kind of expression you'd see if a high school boy suddenly barged into an all-girls school.
"I followed you secretly because you all look like you're about to commit a crime"?
That sounded way too trashy.
I reached into my Pocket Dimension as naturally as possible, pulled out a piece of paper, and thrust it toward Frederick.
“I’d like an autograph too!”
It’s okay. That was natural.
“Lo-Loki?”
“Yes!”
“This paper... it says ‘Club Application Form’ on it?”
“Tch!”
This is why I hate quick-witted brats.