Club Activities from Day One
The opening ceremony at Benedict Academy was not much different from an ordinary class day. As always, Professor Magnus arrived for the morning assembly at the exact stroke of the hour. The day began with a slightly longer speech than usual, filled with the joy of a reunion after so long. Then the daily routine kicked off according to the exact same timetable as the first semester. Most of the classes consisted of explanations about how the second semester would proceed, but even that was more than enough to exhaust the students who had grown sluggish after their extended break.
"Ugh. I'm so tired."
Marily slumped over her desk like mozzarella melting on a hot iron plate. Her lush, bouncy golden hair—clearly styled with great care since early morning by a royal hair designer—spread smoothly across the surface. The strands flowed softly with her every movement, free of even the slightest tangle, like threads of the finest silk. Watching it, Arina unconsciously reached out toward Marily's hair. At that precise moment, Marily turned her head in Arina's direction. Startled by the sudden eye contact, Arina hastily pulled her hand back.
"How about tteokbokki on the way home after class?"
But Marily seemed completely unbothered. Her eyes sparkled as she sat up. "I heard a new shop opened next to the tteokbokki place. They sell tanghulu, a snack from the Fan Empire. I've never tried it, but they say it's sweet enough to rot your teeth, so it would be the perfect dessert after something spicy."
She nodded vigorously, praising herself for planning the perfect course from main dish to dessert.
"Ah, yes. That makes sense."
In contrast, Arina's expression remained awkward. She had no idea what tanghulu was, but seeing how much Marily—who loved strong flavors—was looking forward to it, she knew it had to be overwhelmingly sweet. In short, the menu Marily proposed was a mad collaboration of stimulating food plus more stimulating food. Unlike her friend, Arina disliked such intense flavors, yet she couldn't bring herself to say no while staring into those sparkling blue eyes.
I should message Uncle that I'll be home late today. The moment Arina took out her smartphone with that thought, she heard Togun calling from a distance.
"Arina! Marily!"
"He says club activities start today, so don't leave after class—stay behind."
Togun approached with a bright smile, delivering hopeful news to Arina and pure despair to Marily. He tilted his head in confusion at their wildly different expressions.
"What's wrong with you two?"
"...This cannot be." Unable to accept the reality of Togun's words, Marily shot up from her seat in outrage. She clenched both fists like an activist marching for an unbreakable cause and glared at him. Her eyes blazed with fiery intensity.
"I thought the Professor Karlsen I know would never show such diligent behavior from the very first day!"
Club activities starting on the first day of the semester? Their lazy Professor Karlsen doing something so earnest and responsible? Impossible!
"This is a conspiracy! It has to be a conspiracy!"
It was the outburst of misplaced faith in a Benedict Academy professor. Togun nodded in response.
"Yeah. From what I heard, Professor Karlsen planned to start things casually next week, but Jeon apparently gave him an earful. Said something like, 'What are you doing when we don't have time before the tournament?' With that kind of pressure, Professor Karlsen had no choice but to hold back his tears and begin club activities today."
"So in the end, that guy was the mastermind behind everything?"
What a useless fool! He really never helped with anything! Because of him, her perfect plan to spend time with Arina had crumbled to nothing. Marily ground her teeth and stomped her feet in frustration.
Still, we made a promise, so I can't skip. Throwing a tantrum here and refusing club activities would be no different from slicing open the belly of the goose that laid golden eggs. It wasn't an issue yet, but as the Academy Tournament drew closer, the number of classes they could skip would increase dramatically.
Frowning at the thought, she suddenly stared straight at Togun and flashed a sly grin. The smile was downright sinister, as if she'd hatched some scheme. Togun instinctively took a step back, but Marily closed the distance in two quick strides.
"Now that I think about it, I heard you were badly injured recently. Are you all right?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm fully healed now."
She leaned in close so Arina wouldn't overhear and whispered. When Togun answered without hiding his bewildered look, Marily shook her head firmly, her face stern.
"No. You're mistaken. You're still in pain."
A single, utterly decisive statement. It carried such unshakable conviction that even Togun himself briefly wondered, Is that so?
"Training is still too much for you. You need rest. That goes for both you and Raydel."
"......"
"So why don't you rest today and start club activities tomorrow instead?"
Just say one thing. Tell them your whole body still aches. That training seems impossible right now. One sentence, and we can all be happy.
Marily's eyes burned with half-mad frenzy. Staring into them too long made one's mind grow hazy, as if falling under a hypnotic spell.
"No, I'm really fine."
But this oblivious boy casually brushed off her desperate plea.
"Thanks for worrying about me."
Not only that—he sincerely thanked her for her concern. He was kind to a fault, upright, stubborn, foolish, and an absolute idiot.
"......"
In the end, with even her final gambit failing, Marily's lips jutted out in a pout.
Really. This is all that Raydel guy's fault. It felt like watching a student raise their hand after class ended to ask a question, robbing everyone of their break time. Neither the professor teaching nor the students learning wanted it—except for him.
Finally accepting defeat, Marily let out a deep sigh and hung her head low.
Benedict Academy Annex Building B. Unlike the main building, this one had been constructed solely to house club rooms. Its interior buzzed with a different kind of student energy. First-years were still scarce, but the lively laughter of seniors congratulating new recruits who had fallen prey to club hunting echoed throughout.
"Haaaaah."
On the third floor of Annex B, in the most secluded corner room marked with a plaque reading 312, a man let out a sigh so heavy it seemed the world might collapse.
"Starting club activities on the very first day of the opening ceremony. This is truly the worst."
After all his classes ended, Professor Karlsen—who had been secretly hiding under his desk in the faculty office only to be discovered and forcibly dragged away by Jeon—collapsed weakly into a wooden chair. In stark contrast to the other club rooms blooming with joyful laughter for new freshmen members, he hung his head as if on the verge of tears. His already gloomy demeanor grew even darker, casting the entire room in a dismal shadow.
Is this Professor Karlsen in full serious mode?
No one had imagined that the idle curiosity about what the already gloomy professor would look like when truly depressed would be answered in quite this way. The sight was indeed tremendous enough to justify the students' wonder. If one had to compare it, it felt like indirectly reliving the sensation from when he had gathered all the first-years and unfolded his Inner World. The scene fully displayed why he was a seven-star dark mage.
"Take it easy."
Yet that oppressive, gloomy weight from a seven-star dark mage had no effect on Jeon whatsoever. His normally icy expression grew even colder. It was a student's harsh rebuke toward a professor shirking his responsibilities. Jeon's frigid aura violently pushed back the darkness Karlsen emitted, sweeping away the thick shadows that had filled the room. It was the manifestation of his fierce determination for the Academy Tournament. At the same time, it revealed his burning tenacity toward his dream. Overwhelmed by Jeon's passionate heat—which even overpowered Karlsen's presence—Marily, who had been about to complain about starting on the first day, swallowed her words and quietly stepped back.
He's serious.
He truly wanted to win this competition. The sincerity of that desire came through clearly. So much so that he showed not the slightest nervousness despite Arina's presence beside him.
So for men, work really does come before love.
Marily nodded, reconfirming the lesson she had learned from romance novels.
"......"
While Marily observed the standoff between Jeon and Professor Karlsen, Arina and Togun were busy looking around the club room. Honestly, it hadn't felt real until they actually arrived. They had only heard from Marily that she would create a club; Professor Karlsen had handled everything else on his own.
So this is the club room where I'll be spending the next half year.
Only after stepping inside did the reality of having formed a club truly sink in. She also realized they would be sharing joys and hardships here together for the next six months—or rather, several months until the tournament.
It's smaller than I expected.
In fact, it was rather small. Roughly two-thirds the size of the study in her house. A long bookshelf lined the left wall, while a square table and about six chairs sat somewhat forlornly in the center. A few board games tucked onto the shelves suggested this room had belonged to a board game club or something similar last year. Given that the room had now been handed over to them, there was no need to speculate about what had become of that club's future this year.
"It's small," Togun muttered quietly from the seat beside Arina. She silently agreed with his assessment. The space was adequate for five people to talk, but considering their goal was preparing for the Academy Tournament, it felt woefully insufficient. Training indoors like this—not even in a gymnasium—was unrealistic to begin with. Even if they handled individual training separately later, group sessions to build teamwork were an absolute necessity.
"Sigh. Well, now that we're all here, we can't just sit around sighing forever."
Yet every impossibility had become possible the moment Professor Karlsen became their club advisor. After all, he was a seven-star dark mage. Once they adapted to the mana of the negative dimension, he could provide them with vast open space anywhere, anytime.
With a rush, the world transformed. The narrow space suddenly expanded, revealing a desolate environment before their eyes. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling were replaced by a vivid red sky that looked as if it might drip down at any moment.
Had she grown somewhat accustomed to the negative dimension's mana? Or had Professor Karlsen adjusted it carefully for them? Either way, Arina gazed around with a sense of wonder for a different reason than before.
"......"
Meanwhile, while everyone else had been invited into the Inner World while still seated in their chairs, Jeon alone had entered without one. He landed hard on his backside on the bare ground and glared at Karlsen with a completely expressionless face.
"Before we begin training, shall we first establish a plan for how we'll proceed?"
Professor Karlsen naturally ignored Jeon's stare and addressed the other three. That nonchalant attitude made it obvious the act had been deliberate.
This childish...!
Jeon wanted to say something, but Karlsen had already begun the meeting. Grinding his teeth, he stood up, shot the professor one more glare, and moved closer to the table.