The Club Fair That Calls the Storm #2
The club fair event was typically held once in the first semester and once in the second. A strong performance at the early-semester fair could attract a flood of new freshmen recruits. A strong showing in the second-semester event meant raking in a ton of Rene.
Either way, for anyone looking to make the most of club content, this was an event worth targeting first.
“Victor, do not let your mind wander during class.”
“……”
How did he know? That damn Berjurac kept staring at me the entire class. He was even directing almost every question my way. At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to doze off or do anything else during lessons.
“That is why the creatures known as wildrings generally have distinctive cries. Their subspecies include the spring wildring, the poison wildring, and the cloudring that exists only in legend—”
Ding-ding-ding-ding—
The strange bell rang, and Berjurac abruptly stopped speaking.
“The next lecture will be tomorrow.”
As the teacher Berjurac gathered his books and pointer, preparing to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned back to the blackboard and wrote:
1st Semester Spring Club Fair
“Starting the week after next, the club fair will begin. Practical experience in dungeons is important, but Ludens is filled with the gods’ arrangements hidden everywhere. So give everything your all.”
At that moment, someone raised a hand.
“What exactly are we supposed to do at the club fair?”
It was Luke, the protagonist of this game. Since he was a transfer student and the setting was that he didn’t know much about Ludens, Berjurac didn’t act too prickly and gave a brief explanation.
“Each club displays the results of activities that align with its founding purpose and philosophy to the public. You will naturally come to understand it when the time comes, even if you do not ask now.”
Indeed, you would naturally come to understand it when the time came. It was a minor sub-event, after all, so there wasn’t much need to worry about it.
Lunchtime.
I spoke to Nike, who was helping me prepare for business.
“Nike, tell me your schedule for this week—specifically any free time in the evenings past midnight. I assume you have heard the news about the club fair?”
“I’m pretty much free most nights!”
Nike seemed to have a lot of free time in the evenings lately. Unlike her wild days, life had become far more abundant after entering the strict dormitory.
“Arnoi, you always seem to have plenty of free time, so I probably do not even need to ask you.”
“Why do you assume this Arnoi’s schedule so definitively…? This is an act of disregarding this Arnoi…! This Arnoi is a delegate…! This Arnoi is busy…!”
Yes, Arnoi was a delegate. Delegates each had clearly defined areas of responsibility, so many of them were quite busy. Even in D&A, you had to memorize their random appearance times if you wanted to meet them.
Yet despite that, Arnoi’s attendance rate for club activities was remarkably high. Ever since joining the club, she had shown up without fail every lunch break and after-school activity period, stamping her attendance like clockwork.
Suddenly, I grew curious.
“Arnoi, exactly which ministry are you a delegate for?”
Delegates each possessed specialized domains and served as a check against the student council. For example, Enio was the delegate in charge of ‘Administration.’ As the name suggested, her broad role allowed her to audit and restrain the student council across many areas. That was why the relationship between the student council officers and Enio could never be good.
I had not met her yet since becoming Victor, but Delegate Morian was apparently in charge of ‘Island Defense.’ You could say she held auditing authority over Ludens Island’s defense and security.
In this way, each delegate had a domain that suited their personality. It was an honorable position given only to the capable and outstanding.
So what domain could this Arnoi possibly be responsible for?
In response, Arnoi puffed out her small chest like a girl who had just entered puberty and declared proudly,
“This Arnoi is the Nymph Delegate…!”
The Nymph Delegate?
I had never heard of such a position. It seemed Nike hadn’t either.
Nike asked, “A nymph delegate? Is that even necessary?”
“It is necessary…! Because many nymphs are still suffering in this nymph-hating environment of Ludens…!”
Apparently, the nymph delegate’s role was to protect the basic rights and welfare of nymphs.
To be honest, I didn’t really get it.
I asked, “I have looked into nymphs whenever I had the chance. From what I understand, there are roughly a hundred nymphs left on Ludens. Is that correct?”
Originally, quite a large number of nymphs had lived on this island. But at ‘some point,’ most of them had vanished. People said they had ‘gone to the land of the gods,’ but since that could not be proven, their whereabouts remained a mystery.
For that reason, the nymph population—which had exceeded ten thousand just a hundred years ago—had steadily declined with each passing year. Now only about a hundred remained.
“Roughly a hundred, yes…!”
To create an additional delegate position for a mere hundred members of another race… Did this strange DLC version of Ludens have some kind of nymph quota system?
Nike tilted her head. “There are a hundred more like Arnoi on Ludens?”
“What do you mean, ‘like Arnoi’…? What exactly are you implying…?”
“I heard the nymphs who used to live on this island were the gods’ errand runners. So they must all be good at running errands.”
Indeed, it seemed Nike had reached a rather creative and economical line of thinking. I agreed that it was an excellent idea.
“Not bad. If we find them all, we can use them as errand runners for the cooking club and the NVC we will establish later. A splendid thought.”
However, Arnoi let out a sly chuckle. “Mheheh— Finding my nymph sisters will not be easy…! They are hiding all across Ludens…! If you want to find them, go ahead and try…!”
Finding hidden nymphs, huh?
Could this be an achievement?
My ten-plus years of playing D&A sent a spark up my spine. You know those achievements like “Collect all the hidden trophies scattered across every map.” Maybe finding these hundred nymphs was a newly added achievement?
It piqued my interest. There was no way I could let something like this slide.
Of course, right now this took priority.
“So, Arnoi, do you have time in the evenings this week?”
“Of course I do…! This time, I heard from my supervising teacher that if I do well in club activities, they might let me graduate…! I must work hard…!”
What? So she really was just free because she had nothing else to do. But what kind of student graduates by doing club activities? It felt like they were saying, ‘Just do this and please graduate already.’
Anyway.
That left only one person.
“Victor, why are you not asking me?”
Enio, who had been sitting in the corner of the clubroom listening to our conversation with amusement, spoke up.
There was no particular reason I hadn’t asked her.
“Enio, you must be busy. I did not want to burden a ghost member.”
“Even so, would it not be better if I participated?”
“Of course it would be better if you did.”
What reason did I have to refuse more helping hands? Especially now, with the fair only about two weeks away, I would welcome anyone’s help.
I was almost tempted to track down all one hundred hidden nymphs and hire them as part-timers.
“Enio, I need you.”
“…Is it really okay to say something like that so boldly in front of everyone?”
Enio seemed slightly flustered. Was there a problem with that?
Nike poked me in the side and whispered,
“I’ve felt this for a while, but she’s a little weird.”
I couldn’t exactly deny it.
* * *
This was the reception desk at the student council building.
Secretary Shady frowned at the unexpected request.
“For the reasons stated above, the club Victory Cooking Club wishes to hold occasional overnight training sessions this week and next. Can you approve it?”
It was Victor.
She had heard that Victor had been working hard on club activities lately. But looking at the details on the document, she couldn’t just let it slide.
“Nike, Arnoi, and even that Enio? They’re all girls? Victor, do you really think this kind of overnight training will be allowed?”
“Is there a problem? I have already received approval from the teacher, Domina. And it is not my fault that there are no male members, is it?”
That was true. This blunt guy had a talent for making the truth sound incredibly annoying.
It’s hilarious that someone like him is good at cooking.
Of course, Shady had eaten the tteokbokki from Victor’s club for lunch today. Yesterday she had eaten the spice soup she had bought in advance.
But that was a completely different matter from this document.
“I have no idea what kind of wind blew through that strict Medusa Domina to make her approve this, but this doesn’t seem like something I can handle on my own.”
Victor holding an overnight training with girls? It was hard to imagine him causing any trouble, but as her friend, there was one person Shady absolutely had to tell.
“Let’s ask Victorica.”
“Is it really necessary to escalate such a simple document all the way to the vice president, who is already swamped with work? This is not like you, Shady France.”
“Can’t be helped.”
Even as she said it couldn’t be helped, Shady felt a slight resentment toward Victor. He was the man who had dumped her best friend Victorica. There were even rumors that he had cheated.
I don’t know if he actually cheated, but he’s literally preparing to stay overnight with a bunch of girls. This is a confirmed offender.
In the end, Victor’s overnight training application made its way to Victorica.
Victorica sat in the office, staring at the document for a long time before her mood soured.
The entire training group is nothing but girls? Is Victor deliberately planning something like this…?
It was common knowledge among Ludens students that ‘unfortunate incidents’ easily occurred during club overnight trainings. Victorica knew plenty of senior anecdotes, so her face grew hot.
Whether he knew that or not, Victor spoke confidently.
“Since I have received the teacher’s permission, there is no issue according to the regulations. Repeating what I already told Shady would be a waste of time, would it not?”
Victor had become very sensitive about time lately. Still, his words were correct.
Victorica, who had grown irritated by that very correctness, deliberately took her time sipping her tea with a loud slurp. After neatly wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, she spoke.
“There is no problem. However, you are also aware of the regulation that states club activities such as overnight training, field trips, or events may be subject to student council inspection depending on the circumstances, yes?”
Victorica had been reading through the student council regulations a lot lately. There were over a thousand pages. She hadn’t memorized every single one like Victor, but she had roughly memorized about half.
“In other words, I will be joining this training as an inspector. That should be fine, yes?”
“Of course.”
Victor readily agreed. But inside Victorica’s head, the image of a black-haired girl had already formed.
Enio is participating in the training. She’s clearly up to no good. I’m going to monitor her. I have no other intentions.
“Then I will take my leave. We will likely begin training this evening.”
After Victor left, Shady, who had been listening, poked Victorica in the side.
“It’s an overnight trip with boys and girls together. Victorica, this is your chance. Just go for it. That’s why you said you’d inspect, right? Push him down with your chest!”
“Shady! I told you it’s not like that!”
“Sure. Sure.”
“If you have nothing to do, go organize the documents already!”
Unable to withstand Victorica’s outburst, Shady said, “Fine, fine. I’m going,” and left the room.
Now completely alone, Victorica took out a mirror from her drawer and checked her face. Then she suddenly grew angry.
“Ha, ridiculous. Why am I looking in the mirror right now?”