Chapter 169: Clown Union Club 16
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 169: Clown Union Club 16
The day before the Special Class students saw that shocking club name on the bulletin board.
Idra was walking through the Academy, her lip pouting in a look of clear dissatisfaction.
Classes were over, and she had originally planned to call the Captain for the first time in a while to grab some drinks and reminisce about their adventuring days. But just as she was rushing to get ready to leave, she was suddenly told she had to attend a faculty meeting.
‘Shouldn’t professors be left alone after classes are over, just like the students?’
For the record, only Idra’s specific classes had ended. There was still over an hour left until the official faculty clock-out time.
As Idra indulged in thoughts that would have made other professors say, "She’s back to being a problem child again," a male and female student approached from the opposite direction.
The two students were walking with their arms locked tightly as if to flaunt their relationship, gazing into each other’s eyes and laughing. They only noticed Idra’s presence at the last second.
"Hello, Professor."
"Hello. Are you off to your next class?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
Idra began to stare intently at the male student, causing him to scratch his cheek awkwardly.
"Professor, is there something on my face?"
Idra let out an "Ah" and opened her mouth.
"I was wondering where I’d seen you before. I saw you at a cafe yesterday. Were you on a date then, too?"
The female student, who had been looking uncomfortable with Idra’s staring, suddenly glared at the boy.
"Hey! You told me yesterday you were resting at home because you had a headache! Were you hanging out with another girl?"
"N-no! The professor must be mistaken!"
"Forget it. Don't follow me!"
"W-wait!"
The girl yanked her arm away, shoved the boy, and ran off. The boy went sprinting after her. Watching the scene, Idra flashed a bright, innocent smile.
"Oh? On second thought, maybe it wasn't that student after all?"
But there was no one around to hear her.
Having successfully broken up a couple, Idra continued walking with her lip still pouted in a grumpy expression until she spotted a woman standing in front of the meeting room. She waved happily.
"Captain~!"
"Sigh... I’m sure I told you to stop calling me 'Captain.'"
The woman in front of the meeting room, Elicia, let out a heavy sigh. Most professors would have been intimidated by Elicia’s aura, but Idra was no ordinary professor.
"I called you 'Captain' for way longer, so it’s stuck in my mouth. How am I supposed to change it so easily? But are you attending today’s meeting too, Captain?"
"Yes. A professor came by earlier and asked me to attend."
"Hmm, calling both of us. I have no idea what this is about. Do you know why they called you?"
"We’ll find out once we go in."
"Ah, wait a second!"
Elicia reached for the handle to open the meeting room door, but Idra grabbed her hand with both of her small ones. Elicia didn't shake her off; she simply asked with her eyes what the problem was.
"Let's go out for drinks together after the meeting."
"I can't. I have work left to handle after this. Besides, there’s still over an hour until the end of the workday. What do you mean, going 'right after' the meeting?"
Elicia gave her a sharp look, but Idra just giggled and waved it off.
"Oh, come on~ The meeting might last longer than an hour. And besides, all you do during class is hit the kids anyway, so what 'work' could you possibly have? Student Loki tells me every time he helps me—he says there’s no difference between being hit by you and being hit by a magic beast."
"Ho? Loki said that? I’ll have to tell him to stay behind after school today."
"That’s none of my business. Anyway, we don't have to go right after the meeting, so let's definitely get drinks. Please? Pretty please? I’m so boooored. Whenever I go home, my parents keep asking if there are any decent men around."
Of course, it wasn't that Idra couldn't get married. She chose not to.
Idra was genuinely young, but perhaps because of her looks, she appeared even younger than her actual age. She looked so young that anyone would believe her if she claimed to be a freshman entering the Academy.
Though her personality was a bit eccentric, she was flawless in every other regard: her reputation as a magic tool creator, being the youngest Academy professor, her cute appearance, and her background in a Marquis household. Naturally, many letters requesting marriage alliances arrived at her family home. The Marquis and his wife showed her every single letter, but Idra rejected them every time.
However, the Marquis couple did not give up. The reason they wanted Idra to marry wasn't to gain some advantage for the family. No. It was because they thought that if she got married, she might stop her eccentric behavior—like saying she was going out to play for a bit, only to become an adventurer and not return home for years.
"Sigh... Fine, I get it, so stop whining and let go of my hand. If I keep arguing with you, I’ll be late for the meeting. We’ll go for drinks, but only after all my work is finished."
"Yay!"
Elicia let out a deep sigh—she had lost count of how many she’d exhaled lately—and tried to open the door again. But with another "Ah," Idra grabbed her hand once more.
"You’re not planning to just open the door, are you?"
Elicia looked at her as if to ask how else one opens a door, but Idra’s lips curled upward.
"This is how you’re supposed to open a door!"
With a mischievous grin, she kicked the door.
BAM!
"Hello, Professors! I’m here!"
Watching the door suffer such abuse, Elicia was reminded of a certain brat in the Special Class. The one who was always breaking doors.
"Idra, didn't I tell you several times back when you were a student? Doors are meant to be opened, not kicked."
Sitting inside the meeting room was Gedra, a man whose experience and skill made him the representative of the Academy faculty. He spoke while furrowing his brow.
"Hehe. I just wanted to relive my school days for a moment."
Idra let out a shameless laugh and took an empty seat.
"So, why did you call me and the Captain? I haven't done anything worthy of disciplinary action yet."
"Whew... A document came up to the Student Council requesting permission to establish a club. You were listed as the advisor, so we called you. We called Professor Elicia because she’s the homeroom teacher of the student who started it."
"Oh! Student Loki succeeded already? Hmm. I knew he would. He’s a bit peculiar, but those are the kinds of students who achieve great things. Just like me."
She had been grumbling until recently that no one from the Special Class had joined, but it seemed he had already managed to recruit four of them.
"But even though this is my first time advising a club, don't they usually only call the advisor? Why the homeroom teacher?"
Originally, a club could be formed as soon as the Student Council approved it. However, after the Social Club incident, the rules had changed so that faculty approval was required after the Student Council’s consent.
"Usually, that is the case. However, this situation is far from 'usual,'" another professor sitting next to Gedra remarked.
"Hmm. Really? But isn't the Student Council President Joden right now? Joden would never approve a problematic club."
As Idra said, Joden was very strict about club applications. Even things the professors thought were "good enough" were often rejected by Joden. Because of this, every club Joden had approved so far had also been cleared by the faculty.
"Sigh... Upon review, no rules were broken."
"Then what’s the problem? If no rules were broken, just approve it."
The professors in the meeting room let out a collective sigh.
"The club's name is the problem."
"The name?"
Idra recalled the club name Loki had proudly mentioned.
"The name is a bit unique, isn't it?"
Was it the Clown Union Club? Idra had been appalled when she first heard it, but the more she heard it, the more she thought it wasn't so bad, so she had accepted it.
‘But is it really something to be this disgusted by? Isn't it just cute?’
If Idra had known the rule that "a club name must be clear and concise," she would have known that "Clown Union Club" wouldn't pass. Unfortunately, since this was her first time attending a club approval meeting and her first time being an advisor, she had no idea such a rule existed.
"You mean you knew what the name was and didn't stop it?"
Gedra looked down at the club establishment application.
[Club Name — A Clown-created Union of members who Club together to strategize on catching Professor Elicia, force Frederick to exercise, and occasionally raid dungeons to find artifacts on the side.]
[President – Loki]
[Members – Lucas Leonhart, Kuran Isar, Ren, Frederick Nicholas]
"You knew this was the name and didn't block it?"
"Well, what’s wrong with it? It’s a bit unique, but names like that are what make your school days shine brighter."
".................."
The other professors were speechless at Idra’s words. That name was just "a bit unique"? A name that would "make school days shine"?
"Haven't you all been professors for too long? Is your brain getting stiff? Maybe it's because you're getting old. You know what the Academy values most."
Equality and freedom.
The professors thought this might be a bit too much freedom, but since there were no technical violations of the rules, they eventually gave their approval. It wasn't like they were the ones advising the club, anyway.
* * *
"Ugh... maybe I shouldn't have drunk so much."
After drinking all night with Elicia, Idra stumbled into work with a heavy hangover. Time had flown by as they talked about their adventuring days.
‘I’ll just coast through the morning with some practical exercises.’
They had drunk together all night, but the Captain was perfectly fine.
Maybe I should start exercising too.
Idra, making her 40th resolution of the day to never drink again, noticed a crowd of students gathered around the bulletin board. From a distance, she saw Lucas rushing away as if he were in shock.
‘What is it?’
Being naturally curious, Idra approached the bulletin board and witnessed "it."
[Club Name — A Clown-created Union of members who Club together to strategize on catching Professor Elicia, force Frederick to exercise, and occasionally raid dungeons to find artifacts on the side.]
"...................."
So. I’m the advisor for that club?
"Blegh."
The reason Idra gagged was the hangover, not the club name.
Probably.