Chapter 52

The Flowering Festival commemorated the full blooming of flowers between spring and summer, but it was also a festival to celebrate the full blooming of wisdom for the students who had just entered the Academy.

In other words, the protagonists of the festival were bound to be the newly enrolled freshmen.

“Theo! Won’t you join our club? Physical strength is national power! Let’s train our bodies!!”

Although some students had already joined clubs, most had not.

The feeling of being stopped and solicited every five steps was a bit strange.

“I’m sorry, I don’t plan on joining a club.”

I politely refused and pushed away the senior who was holding onto me.

Even though I was a troublemaker who caused a lot of trouble one way or another, since I was a professor’s son and had good grades, many seniors were after me. So many that it was a problem.

At this rate, instead of enjoying the festival, it feels like I’ll spend the whole day being solicited by seniors!

“Should I write ‘No clubs, please’ on my back?”

“Wouldn’t that be a bit funny?”

I fell silent for a moment at Fel’s laughter-filled question.

But it was so annoying. I had planned to buy some food from the stalls set up by the clubs with Fel, but damn it!

“Theo!”

Just then, I heard a familiar voice from a distance. It was Laurel-sunbae’s voice.

“Sunb─”

I was about to wave my hand in welcome when my body suddenly froze.

Wait, why is Laurel in ‘that’ state? Isn’t that a ‘combat uniform’ she usually only wears for important battles?

“I was waiting for you!”

Laurel, who had sprung out like some kind of monster, snatched Fel and me with perfect control of her strength in an instant and brought me to a tent.

In the tent, decorated in what is commonly called a princess style with a pinkish look, girls in similar outfits to Laurel were gathered in a huddle.

In their midst, Fel and I were outsiders and a spectacle.

“Is this that Theo?”

“Laurel-sunbae, wasn’t the Magical Girl Club only for girls?”

“Don’t call it the Magical Girl Club! It has a proper name, the Vivian Rose Society!!”

The words ‘It’s the same thing’ almost came out of my mouth before I swallowed them back down.

It was absolutely not because Laurel’s tightly clenched fist felt threatening, but to respect my senior.

“Why! Are you ashamed of us? Laurel-sunbae!?”

At another black-haired magical girl’s outburst, Laurel shouted loudly.

“Do I look like I’m not ashamed!!!”

The reason Laurel was called a Magical Girl (Physical) was right here.

The true nature of this club, the Vivian Rose Society, which seemed like a place to sip tea in a garden full of roses, stemmed from a certain magic left behind by the first president, ‘Vivian.’

Its name was ‘Magic for All the Magical Girls in the World.’

“Why is the combat uniform’s name Magical Girl!!!”

Laurel, wearing a frilly magical girl’s shalalala dress, roared like a lioness, scattering tears.

Geez, why would the club president say something like that?

* * *

Magic for All the Magical Girls in the World.

This magic, which made one want to ask ‘What is that,’ was a secret art that increased attack power by a whopping 100% by wearing a special outfit—read as a magical girl outfit—through a magical girl transformation.

However, there was a weakness: attack power was reduced by 50% when not wearing the magical girl outfit.

But even considering that weakness, the potential of magic that could make one twice as strong in an instant was outstanding.

Therefore, the Vivian Rose Society, also known as the Magical Girl Club, was a club with a long and storied tradition that had maintained its status as a regular club for a whopping 300 years.

“Sunbae, are you ashamed of us?”

“I’m nineteen, how could I not be ashamed?”

“It’s the club you chose, sunbae! Endure it with grit and guts!”

Despite her junior’s urging, Laurel, in her frilly magical girl outfit, covered her face with her palms.

“You’re very confident, sunbaenim.”

Another senior in a magical girl outfit gave a thumbs-up.

“You couldn’t do this if you were embarrassed.”

Ah, has she already reached a state of enlightenment? No wonder she had somewhat sad eyes. How did that senior end up becoming a magical girl?

I was curious, but I decided not to ask. It would be better for both the senior and me to keep such a sad story buried in our hearts.

“And, it’s not just girls who can join the Vivian Rose Society. Our Vivian Rose Society has opened the path of the magical girl to everyone, regardless of gender!”

What is that. That’s hella scary.

This was no longer enlightenment, but the realm of madness. However, the senior was only proud, as if she had no shame at all.

“Actually, here there are a few─”

“Ahem, for the sake of protecting the magical girl’s fantasy, please be quiet from now on.”

Laurel-sunbae, with pitch-black dead eyes, covered the mouth of the senior who was about to continue speaking.

Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear anything. That was more for the other seniors who belonged here than for the magical girl’s fantasy.

“So you’re trying to recruit me?”

“Of course! If you become a magical girl, you can solve your weak durability in an instant.”

“Sunbae, I don’t want to give up my dignity for durability.”

She was a real ghost trying to drag me down with her. How could she even think of such a cruel idea as ‘I became a magical girl, so you should become one too’?

Perhaps magical girls aren’t actually born from sugar, spice, and everything nice, but from the obsession of ‘I can’t be the only magical girl,’ the revenge of ‘you become a magical girl too,’ and the tears of being scammed.

“And, it’s the club you chose! Are you ashamed of your own club, sunbae?!”

“I was scammed! I was told I could get strong in an instant! That’s why I joined! Why do I have to wear such an embarrassing outfit!!”

We’ve decided to call that a self-inflicted disaster.

Tsk tsk, I clicked my tongue and shook my head. You should have looked into it more properly.

“I can’t even leave the club until I graduate! I should have known when sunbae was aggressively recruiting!!”

“So, you’re recruiting me now based on the spirit of ‘I can’t be the only one suffering,’ right?”

“Of course! Just bring me one of your gang!”

The madness filling her pink eyes made me shudder. How did the once-reliable Laurel-sunbae come to have such a crazed look in her eyes?

“Sunbae, you’re not forcing them, are you? I’m sorry, our sunbae gets a little like this around this time. Geez, if you explain everything and then try to scam someone, who would fall for─”

“So it’s a scam.”

“…Never trust someone who says ‘Make a contract with me and become a magical girl’.”

Even that senior, who seemed so sly, was a victim of the magical girl scam.

Was this really some grand multi-level marketing scheme, or a cycle of misfortune where victims become perpetrators, gathered by the sentiment of ‘I can’t suffer alone’?

“You there, the one with Theo, how about it? Won’t you make a contract and become a magical girl?”

“It hasn’t even been a minute since you said it was a scam.”

“But the part about getting stronger isn’t a scam.”

The two seniors gave a thumbs-up.

Even so, being a magical girl is a bit….

“I’m fine.”

“I don’t need it either! Don’t try to sell me weird things! Not to Cian or Zephyros either!”

“You even got a hideout from me!”

Leaving behind Laurel who was wailing in injustice, Fel and I scrambled out of the pink tent.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, it was fun.”

Unlike his slyly smiling face, his complexion seemed to have turned a little pale.

Anyway, how can this mess, a complete sham, be fun?

I knew about the Vivian Rose Society, but seeing the mess firsthand sent a chill down my spine.

It felt like an unknowing student would lose a lot if they joined.

“Theo! Catch!”

Laurel-sunbae, who had come out of the tent, threw something.

When I checked the shape of the thing that fit perfectly in my palm, it was a badge in the shape of a magic wand.

“A magitool that lets you experience the Magic for All the Magical Girls in the World just once!”

I don’t want it!

The badge I was about to throw back to Laurel naturally slips into my clothes pocket.

“Sorry, but it’s bound to you.”

Where in the world is something like that?!

“Any other juniors want one? The trial is free!”

Laurel asked with a bright smile.

“I’ll pass!”

There’s no way anyone would say okay after hearing that.

“Suit yourself!”

“Why are you only pushing it on me!!”

“Because I think it would suit you well.”

The other seniors who came out with Laurel also gave a thumbs-up.

I’m not doing it! I’ll never do it!!

* * *

Festivals are also about food. Many clubs had set up stalls to earn club funds.

I tore into a grilled corn I bought from a stall. The buttered grilled corn had an amazing flavor.

“Delicious.”

“You don’t have any plans to join a club? There are a lot of fun ones. Especially the Vivian Rose─”

“Are you trying to scam me with a smile too?”

As I stared at him with a straight face, Ferdiel smiled lightly. His constantly smiling and relaxed attitude was starting to get on my nerves.

“Isn’t gaining diverse experiences one of the purposes of entering the Academy? I thought it would be a rather unique experience.”

My purpose was to prevent the end of the world.

For some reason, my eyes started to get misty. Why is the genre a survival story and not an overpowered isekai protagonist? Are they discriminating against me because I’m an adult and not a high school student?

“I don’t plan on joining a club.”

I don’t have that much peace of mind. And thanks to the hideout Laurel told me about, I don’t particularly need a space.

“It looked fun, what a shame!”

Aren’t you just disappointed you didn’t get to see my downfall? The question almost came out of my mouth before I barely swallowed it back.

My blood is really running dry. It’s not a big deal, but having someone next to me openly teasing me with a smile is not a pleasant feeling.

“The Flowering Festival preliminaries start tomorrow, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I’ll finally get to see the Hero of Prophecy I’ve only heard about in rumors!”

Interest flared in his grey eyes that were close to white.

I could let them meet, but I decided not to. Lucian doesn’t have skills like I do, and it seems like he’d get caught every time he lied.

They’ll meet someday, but I felt like I wanted to postpone it as much as possible.

“You two are roommates, right? I use a room alone, so I’m jealous.”

Really? Do you have any idea how much I screamed when I first found out I was in the same room as Lucian?

I sincerely felt like I was abandoned by the world. Or maybe the heavens had carefully wrapped up a ‘fuck you’ and thrown it at me.

From my perspective, it was a malicious arrangement.

“Is the Hero of the rumors a special person? What do you think?”

“Well, he’s just a human like us.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Ferdiel quietly adds, “That’s a relief.”

…In what sense is it a relief? Mr. Ferdiel, let’s have a talk?!

I felt like I had done something wrong to Lucian.

But I’ll definitely solve it for you someday. Just trust me!

For some reason, I felt like I could hear the screams of my future self in my ears

—————–

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