Chapter 93: Mandatory Club Activities
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93: Mandatory Club Activities
Once we reached the back kitchen, I gave Senior Sister Tang Yihan a brief explanation of the situation.
After all, it was a fairly mundane matter; the person in question was just my roommate.
Because of that, Tang Yihan quickly shifted the topic away from her.
"Xiao Han, you’ve been at the Witch Academy for a while now. Even though the semester hasn't officially started and that school atmosphere isn't quite there yet, this is pretty much the standard state of academy life outside of actual classes."
"True. It does feel a bit too peaceful," I agreed with a nod. These past few days, I’d spent my mornings helping out at the shop and my afternoons practicing flight. It was starting to feel like a repetitive, three-point routine.
"So, do you like this kind of life?"
"Uh... I wouldn't say I love it, but I can't say I hate it either."
For a moment, I wasn't sure what the Senior Sister was getting at. I did enjoy this "salted fish" daily life to an extent, but it did get boring after a while. It was a far cry from the transcendent world I had imagined.
"You actually like it a little?" Tang Yihan chuckled at my response. "Actually, everyone who enters the Witch Academy is considered a Prospective Witch, and witches are the type of people who can never sit still. Want to change things up? You’re a member of the Baking House now, but working the register and baking isn't all our club does. Have you heard of club activities?"
"Club activities? I've heard of them." My drowsiness vanished the moment she mentioned that.
Every club had its own unique activities. Some were tedious, while others were thrilling. For instance, the flight license training club’s activities involved recruiting students to teach them maneuvers, and they occasionally held flight races and events.
I’d heard that if an activity was meaningful or interesting enough, the academy would even provide financial support.
Could a club like ours, with a membership count in the single digits, actually have something exciting planned?
"Um, Senior Sister, does our club have some kind of interesting activity?" I put down my tools and looked at her expectantly.
"I can't guarantee it'll be 'interesting.' The Shopkeeper organizes everything; she just whips up a club activity whenever she’s bored. In the past, there were so few of us that we just ignored her. But now that it's a new semester and we've recruited new members, she’s got that itch again."
"Oh... that sounds kind of lame, then." My curiosity was instantly dampened.
If even the Senior Sisters ignored these activities, how could I possibly like them?
Speaking of new members, if I recalled correctly, we only recruited two. Tan Han probably didn't have the time to mess around with the Shopkeeper. If this activity actually got off the ground, wouldn't I be the only one doing the heavy lifting?
At most, the Senior Sisters would just give me a hand if they saw me getting overwhelmed.
"It really isn't that interesting, but it’s an activity we have to do. Then again, the Shopkeeper is loaded, so she’s offering some pretty decent rewards. There are Mana Sources and Spellbooks up for grabs," Tang Yihan added nonchalantly when she saw my lack of enthusiasm.
"Ahem... actually, on second thought, I think this activity sounds fascinating." I immediately changed my tune. Why didn't she mention the rewards earlier?
This meant an increase to my max mana and new spells! This could give me a massive head start over the other freshmen before the semester even began!
"Senior Sister, I think I’m the perfect fit for this activity. Could you tell me more about it? What exactly do I need to do? As long as it’s not too over the top, I’m down for anything!"
"New Student Guidance," Tang Yihan said succinctly.
"Huh? What's that?"
"New Student Guidance. Before the official start of the term, many students currently at the academy perform 'unregulated' New Student Special Recruitment. This results in a significant number of freshmen entering the academy without completing the full registration process. Many don't even have their room cards yet. It’s not uncommon to see freshmen sleeping on the streets..."
"Wait, wait! Doesn't the academy do anything about that?" I interrupted. Setting aside the fact that she just described kidnapping as "Special Recruitment," was this lack of regulation actually the norm?
"That’s why we’re doing this, isn't it? But for things to get done, someone has to actually go out and do the work."
"This... this is basically just wiping the asses of those irresponsible Senior Sisters!" I protested. Then I realized I’d already done something like this—take that unlucky girl Quan Xiuzhu, for example. If I hadn't stepped in, she really would have been sleeping on the street that night.
"But there are rewards."
"That... I..."
I was speechless for a moment. The rewards were indeed tempting. Whether it was a Mana Source or a Spellbook, I needed them.
"So... are you and the others going, Senior Sister?"
"I don't want to go," Tang Yihan stated flatly. "Ying Shiqian probably feels the same."
"What about... Tan Han?" I asked tentatively.
"Her? The academy gave that Top Scorer incredibly generous treatment. That obviously included things like Mana Sources and Spellbooks. She probably wouldn't care for these," Tang Yihan sighed, her voice heavy.
"I see..."
In that moment, I truly felt the gap between people. But I quickly followed up with a soul-searching question: "So I’m the only one in the whole club who might go? Why is the Shopkeeper even bothering with this activity then?"
"This is a legacy activity for every club whenever new students arrive. It’s a club obligation. If our club doesn't fulfill it, the pressure on the Shopkeeper will only increase. But don't worry—if you feel like you're being mistreated, just do the bare minimum to meet the assigned quota. Our club is small, so the quota isn't high. If it comes down to it, I’ll go cry to the Shopkeeper on your behalf and get her to give you some extra compensation."
"Hey, it’s not that serious." I quickly grabbed her arm. Going to the Shopkeeper to cry for me was definitely overkill.
"Then I’m leaving this in your hands. You are our club’s last hope!" Tang Yihan then took my hand solemnly and looked me in the eye, giving me zero chance to back out.
And so, I was forced to accept the commission. She also mentioned that my part-time wages during this period would be calculated at the full-time rate.
After all, no matter what I was doing, I was working for the Baking House. How could they not pay me?
I could start on this as early as tomorrow. Actually, I could even start today if I wanted. This activity would last until the official registration day. After that, everything would follow the formal process instead of being the chaotic mess it was now.
If you asked me, this was just looking for trouble. All they had to do was modify the requirements for the "Kidnap a Freshman" task in the academy system to require the completion of the official registration process. That would solve most of the problems.
But clearly, I was overthinking it. The Senior Sisters who went around "recruiting" probably didn't care about the task rewards at all. Some did it purely out of personal grudges against other academies, while others just enjoyed snatching up cute juniors.
If the rewards for these "Special Recruitment" tasks were actually high, the kidnapping trend at the Witch Academy would likely be even more terrifying. The Three Great Academies wouldn't just sit idly by; they would definitely retaliate.
As it turned out, the number of "Special Recruitment" cases was actually quite low—lower than I had imagined. When I first arrived, I’d probably just caught the wave of freshmen who voluntarily came early after receiving their admission letters, which made the numbers look high.
The number of new arrivals had dwindled now. The most direct evidence was when I accompanied Dongli Yiren to pick up her four-piece set; we hardly ran into any other freshmen. The Senior Sisters responsible for registering and handing out school uniforms were looking exceptionally bored.