Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Treasure Hunt
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"I've figured out which club Arte plans to join."
Just before lunchtime ended, Siu heard someone calling his name.
Amelia was rushing over to him in a panic.
"...Where?"
"Arte plans to join whatever club you pick."
"What?"
"I don't know why. But she's showing a lot of interest in you, just like you said."
Siu's expression darkened.
What on earth had he done wrong?
Did he sell out his country in a past life or something?
"So, let me ask... which club do you want to join?"
"Hmm. Something safe like the swordsmanship club?"
"Swordsmanship. That could wo—..."
...Something's off.
It felt like the world had twisted once.
Siu sensed that something had changed.
But what?
He thought something had changed, but maybe it was just his imagination.
Even though he hadn't been attacked, his intuition was ringing like an alarm.
Siu decided it was just his mood.
Was he under a lot of stress lately?
"No, how about the exploration club instead of swordsmanship?"
"...Exploration?"
"Yeah. Her goal is the secret room hidden in the Academy... So, an exploration club that lets you roam around inside the Academy would be perfect."
"That sounds good. Let's go with that."
"Great. Then let's tell Arte."
It left a bad taste in his mouth, but there was no helping it.
To keep an eye on her, joining the same club was best.
"Arte... We don't need to go find her. She'll show up if we wait a bit."
"You sound confident."
"You just saw it yourself. She seems to know where we are. At the very least, we can assume she's watching us."
"Hmm..."
"I was too tense when it was just me, but now it's fine. I'm used to it."
There was no arguing with Amelia's guess.
She hadn't been visible, but she'd popped up out of nowhere mid-conversation.
Sure enough, as her words predicted, less than ten minutes passed before she appeared.
"Oh? What are you all doing in a place like this?"
"Ah, nothing much. Just thinking about which club to join."
"Hmm... Which one are you picking, Siu?"
"Same as me. We're joining the exploration club."
The corner of Arte's mouth curved into a smile.
She seemed pleased.
"That's perfect. I was thinking of joining there too. Now the three of us can be together!"
Amelia said she'd join whatever club I'm going into.
So that must be a lie.
She's only saying it because I mentioned it.
It felt like he was being toyed with by her.
But there was no other way.
The teachers would dismiss their claims without evidence.
Let her be?
That world-shaking artifact would leak out.
He had to prevent that.
That's why he'd entered the Academy—to become a hero who protected people.
This club was perfect for wandering the Academy under the guise of exploration.
They needed to find the secret room without her knowing.
Her watching him was just a necessary cost.
At least he had Amelia to share the situation with.
If he were alone, the pressure might have broken him.
"Then, shall we go apply to join the club?"
"Yeah, let's go."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Three applicants?!"
The girl who seemed to be the senior was thrilled.
Were three applicants really that exciting?
"Senior, what about the other members?"
"Uh, well..."
She hesitated, unable to answer my question.
Got it.
"Don't worry too much. Even if there aren't many people, we'll join anyway."
"Huh? How did you know?!"
"Hehe, it's a secret."
"Amazing! Amazing! Tell me!"
[Is it too cliché after all?] Nothing special.
A club on the verge of disbandment with no members.
The protagonist and friends join it.
The club's status skyrockets from rock bottom thanks to the protagonist's feats.
A cliché you see everywhere.
Can't exactly say I know because I read the novel.
Playing it mysterious worked—the club president's reaction was great.
Feels good. Is this why responsive people are popular?
"Oh, right. Um... Sorry, but we have a little tradition in our club!"
"A tradition?"
"Yeah. When joining, we hide paper around the clubroom and you find it... It's just for fun. You can skip it if you don't want."
"Sounds fun. I'll do it. What about you guys?"
Siu and Amelia nodded.
They're interested.
Probably just something Writer-nim tossed in for fun?
It's an exploration club, so finding hidden stuff counts as a skill or whatever.
Protagonist finds it instantly, everyone goes Whoaaa! and praises him.
Shows off his abilities naturally. Something like that, right?
So I grabbed it eagerly.
She looked super tense, like it's optional, but for the plot, this is fine.
[Heh, treasure hunt! Sounds fun.] Unfortunately, that wasn't it.
No, wait.
"Ah, could you close your eyes for a sec? I need to hide the paper."
[...? Reader-nim, why the face?] She must have seen my dumbfounded expression crumple up.
Writer-nim voiced her doubt.
Just no thoughts at all.
My fault for expecting novel tropes from Writer-nim.
"...Done. Now find it!"
Siu and Amelia opened their eyes and started looking around.
The president grinned triumphantly, confident it wouldn't be easy.
"Heh, this one's pretty hard to find!"
"Hmm, doesn't look like anything's changed..."
Siu and Amelia glanced around the clubroom, realized it was trickier than expected, and started searching in earnest.
By the way, why is this place so big?
"The clubroom's pretty spacious."
"...It used to have a lot of members."
[Classic cliché setup. I like it.] She's not advancing the plot and just world-building instead.
Annoying.
"...Can't find it. You, Siu?"
"Sorry. Too hard for me."
[Intuition can only detect physical threats right now! Of course he can't find it!] What are you doing.
Shouldn't you hype up the protagonist here?
"Can't find it, huh..."
The excited president started hanging her head dejectedly.
Disappointed they couldn't find what she hid.
...Ugh, this is painful to watch.
No choice.
"Hmm, aren't you all a bit lacking in skill?"
"...Huh?"
"Here, here, and here. See? Pretty easy."
"Whoa! Amazing! Amazing! How?!"
"Hehe, secret."
I loosened my threads just a bit and instantly pulled out the papers the president had hidden.
One under the mustache of a statue whose purpose was unknown.
One between the tightly packed books on the shelf.
And finally, one poking out from behind the president's heel.
Three in total.
Wonder what's written on them.
"...Welcome to the exploration club?"
"Hehe, it's like an initiation. We always do treasure hunts for new members."
Heh.
I wondered what the exploration club's lore was. This is it.
[Oh, so that's the setting...] "I had no idea something like this existed."
[I didn't set it up, so it filled in with a decent default. If left alone, it'd solidify like that... Well, it's fine.] "How was it? Fun, right?"
"Yeah, it was fun."
Leaving the ecstatic president behind, I approached Siu and Amelia.
"...? Why the dark looks?"
"How did you find them?"
"Huh?"
"How did you spot those tiny papers so fast..."
"Oh, that?"
Hmm, not that tricky.
Simple and easy, but no one else could do it.
"Secret. Hehe."
I didn't want to tell them.
I mean, come on.
Can't say my squinted eyes let me see everything while pretending to close them.
She's so hyped over there—how do I say that's the trick?
She'd cry.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Finding those so easily..."
"Guess the hidden camera plan's off."
"What?!"
Siu was horrified.
...What? Hidden camera?
"Why so shocked? No choice. To get evidence."
"B-but that's a crime..."
"What? It's fine. As long as we don't get caught. And we can't worry about that when it's dangerous."
"..."
"Don't worry. I said it's canceled. She'd find it right away with skills like that."
She wasn't wrong.
If Arte had dangerous goals like Amelia said, they had to stop her by any means.
...Still, hidden camera.
She really didn't care about methods.
"How can we get evidence... Kidnap her? No, she'd have friends around. Wiretap? Hmm..."
He felt cold sweat trickling down his cheek.
He thought Arte was the only dangerous one.
...Apparently, there was another dangerous person right beside him besides her.