Claiming the Fifth-Floor Clubroom
I opened my eyes on the first day at the academy, and morning had already arrived. I stood at the podium. A scene I'd seen countless times before, actions I'd repeated endlessly. Yet in this moment, for the first time, I truly felt that my real academy life was beginning.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Allen Jest. Starting today, I've been assigned as a new teacher here at Everlight Academy. I'm still a total rookie when it comes to teaching, but I want to go through the academy with you, experience all sorts of things together, and learn alongside you."
These weren't just empty words to build a respectable teacher image—they came straight from the heart. Standing at the podium, I slowly scanned the students settling into their seats. Overwhelmed by my unnecessarily solemn aura, they didn't toss out their usual jokes, which was a departure from the norm.
Unnecessarily solemn atmosphere, huh. Even to my own eyes, I looked ridiculously pumped up, the kind of thing that made me want to laugh.
After Lydia finished morning roll call, we headed to the staff room together. As we chatted casually to set the mood, I suddenly shifted topics as if it had just occurred to me.
"Oh, by the way, I heard Everlight Academy really encourages club activities."
"Mr. Allen, are you interested in club activities, by any chance?"
"Of course! Isn't it the essence of youth for vibrant young men and women to gather around shared interests, forge friendships, and pour their bright, healthy energy into something? Club activities are the flower of the academy—no, it's no exaggeration to say the academy exists for club activities!!"
"Th-that much? Even so, isn't that a bit of an overstatement…?"
Lydia stumbled, caught off guard by my sudden burst of enthusiasm. One upside to this loop starting on the academy's first day was that, since it was my official debut as a teacher, my character hadn't been established yet. In other words, even wildly out-of-character antics could pass because I was still a total stranger—they'd just shrug and think, Oh, that's just how he is.
"That's why, if it's allowed, I'd love to spend a hot-blooded youth with the students through club activities. No, I will! The students are the future and seeds of the Hipnia Continent! And for those seeds to grow beautifully and strong, they need the nourishment of friendship and memories—it's absolutely essential! I'm just a fresh newbie who arrived today, but as a teacher, I see guiding the students' bright, passionate youth through club advising as my calling! My mission! My destiny!"
"…Ah, Mr. Allen, you're quite the passionate one, unlike how you seem."
Impressed by my forceful declaration, Lydia murmured softly to herself, Come to think of it, his self-introduction during morning roll call was pretty intense too… nodding in understanding.
"Of course! So, to get to the point—could I borrow the key to the unused club rooms in the 1st Main Building to take a look around?"
"Huhu! A teacher bursting with passion on his very first day—what a find! The staff room's about to heat up from now on, huh?"
There it was. Fresian, the grade chair who'd been subtly watching me ever since I brought up clubs, approached openly now that I was asking for the key, inserting himself into the conversation.
"But isn't it a bit too fired up for your first day? You don't seem fully settled into the academy yet. I'm worried you might be taking on too much."
"It's fine. Advising a club is something I've dreamed of since before coming to Everlight Academy! I can do it!"
Of course, I'd never dreamed any such thing. I hadn't even felt a shred of a teacher's sense of duty. But who cared? All I needed was to fool the grotesque human masquerading as Fresian.
"Hoho. Even so, it's your first day—why not take it easy and get used to the academy vibe? It must be chaotic enough already."
But Fresian showed no intention of handing over the key easily.
"No. If I can't check the club rooms today, it'll nag at me so much I won't sleep tonight! Or is there a rule that new teachers fresh on the job can't participate in club activities? If not, is there some special reason I can't?"
"Th-that's…"
Of course, no such rule existed. Unable to counter, Fresian fell silent. Lydia, oblivious to the odd tension between us, fetched the master key for the 4th and 5th floors without suspicion.
I thanked her with a smile and took the master key.
"…In that case, I'll accompany Mr. Allen and introduce him to Everlight Academy's club activities."
"Looking forward to it."
But Fresian wouldn't give up, volunteering as my guide—and effectively my watchdog.
Of course. No way it'd be that easy.
…
And so began my bizarre companionship with the grotesque human disguised as Fresian.
"That's all for the clubs on the 4th floor. Truth be told, the real clubs are the ones here. The 4th floor's lower position makes it popular with students, leading to fierce competition. That's why the top-performing clubs tend to cluster here."
"I see. But I'm looking forward to whatever's on the 5th floor, too."
"…"
"…"
After thoroughly touring the 4th floor, Fresian subtly signaled it was time to head back. Pretending not to notice, I smiled and gestured toward the 5th floor. We stared at each other with smiles, wordlessly, until the grotesque human—forced to mimic natural human behavior—buckled first. Refusing a simple request without reason wouldn't look natural.
Silent, Fresian led me up to the 5th floor and introduced the remaining clubs one by one.
"And with that, I've shown you all the rooms on the 5th floor. The clubs up here do feel a bit less impressive than those on the 4th, don't they? Oh, don't tell the students I said that—they'd be hurt. Hufu!"
Finally, after covering every club on the 5th floor, Fresian flashed a natural smile and cracked a joke. But I wasn't falling for his innocent act.
"No, there's still one room left."
"…Left? What are you talking about?"
"The locked room at the end of the hallway. We haven't checked it yet, right?"
"Ah, that's just an unused storage room now. No relation to clubs, so no need to bother…"
"All the better, then! I'm looking to start a club, so an empty room would be perfect."
Fresian's smile cracked. Beneath it emerged raw murderous intent. His bloodshot eyes glared at me like he wanted to kill.
"Fine. If you're that insistent, go ahead and open it yourself."
That attitude was confirmation—clearer than anything—that what I sought lay behind that door. It was also a blatant prelude: the moment I opened it and uncovered the truth, he'd tear me apart.
In response to Fresian's chilling threat…
"…No. Actually, I won't open it."
I meekly handed the master key back to Fresian.
"…Pardon?"
"Your attitude's been off since earlier, Mr. Fresian. It's like there's some secret at the end of the 5th-floor hallway that I shouldn't know about."
"A hidden secret? Nothing like that exists. Hu, hufu."
"But it feels suspicious. Is there really no sinister secret behind this door?"
"Of course not. Why would an academy for students hide something sinister?"
The unused storage room at the far end of the 5th-floor hallway. The instant I was sure that was the answer, I thought it through.
Assume it is. So how do I get in? Sneaking in unnoticed was impossible. I could feel countless grotesque humans on alert just from me touring the 4th floor, let alone the 5th.
Wait until after school, late at night? Probably not. With security this tight, there'd surely be "coincidental" students studying late, teachers "working overtime," or guards obsessively patrolling just the 5th floor that night.
Shaking off these grotesque humans to reach the storage room alone was out of the question. If I'd gotten this far before their numbers swelled, it might've been easier…
No helping it. Time for a frontal assault.
"But suddenly, I'm terrified there might be something ominous behind this door. I just can't bring myself to open it."
"Hufu. Can't be helped, then. Let's head back to the staff room. Who knew you were such a scaredy-cat, Mr. Allen? It's fine—newbies need that kind of cuteness. "
Fresian laughed cheerfully. Relieved, perhaps?
Grotesque humans operated on simple principles: If the secret stayed hidden, blend in as a normal human. If exposed, kill the discoverer by any means. A two-line algorithm—clean, consistent, no contradictions.
Or so it seemed.
"So, Mr. Fresian, you open the door."
"…Pardon? Mr. Allen, what did you…?"
"I said, to prove there's no horrific, ominous secret behind this door, please open it yourself."
"Why should I…?"
"Because I'm deathly afraid there might be something terrible behind it—suspicious as hell. But you believe there's nothing—no secrets, no horrors, right? So, since you know it's empty, open it and ease my doubts."
"No, I can't open it…"
"Why not? Didn't you just say there's nothing behind it—no secrets, no horrors? So why refuse? Or do you actually know there's something evil and scary back there!?"
"N-no, of course not! It's just a normal empty storage room!"
"Then open it! Prove your innocence!"
Acting like a normal human meant hiding their true nature. Force a conflict between "act normal" and "reveal the secret yourself," and you exposed the contradiction in their logic.
Under my barrage, Fresian began sweating bullets like it was pouring rain.
"Mr. Allen! I can't open the door!"
"Why can't you? Is there really something there? Are you blocking me from the secret on purpose!?"
"No, that's not it. I know there's nothing behind it. It's a normal storage room."
Like a broken doll, Fresian repeated the same lines.
"Then open it! With your own hand! By your own will—show me what's behind it!!"
"Mr. Allen! Have you… figured something out!?"
"No! I haven't noticed a thing! I don't understand why you're asking! More importantly, take that key, stick it in the lock, and show me what's beyond the door!"
By now, Fresian's body was soaked like he'd fallen in a pool. I grabbed his trembling hand in extreme confusion and terror, forcing it toward the keyhole and jamming the key in.
"Mr. Allen! I…!! I…!!"
"There! Just turn it. Open the door! With your hand!! Prove it yourself! If you're truly hiding nothing, that'd be the most 'natural' thing to do!!"
I readied myself to bolt back to the underground cave at any moment, pressing Fresian harder. I'd vowed solemnly this was my last day in the loop, but running beat dying.
"Why are you hesitating!? Mr. Fresian! That looks incredibly 'unnatural'!!"
"I… Iiiiiiii…!!!!"
But I never had to flee to the underground cave. Perhaps because the principles clashed—protect the secret by acting normal, yet to act normal, reveal the secret with his own hands? Dripping cold sweat, Fresian finally melted like candle wax into a sticky puddle.
"…"
With that, I'd cleared the final guardian of the storage room. Before other grotesque humans noticed the anomaly and rushed up, I quickly turned the master key—still smeared with melting flesh—and slipped inside.