episode_0027

Lucy, a red-haired girl proficient in fire magic.

She conceals her identity to revive her fallen family, entering the academy incognito as a commoner, a fallen noble.

Due to this, by the time she reaches her second year, she has no real friends and hasn’t joined any clubs.

Even if they do meet, it’s usually just once, like during last week’s duel.

Perhaps it was an unreasonable request.

Club participation isn’t mandatory, but there are benefits if you join.

Club activities can earn you favorable evaluations for promotions.

Moreover, there are advantages like fostering friendships, gaining new knowledge, and the importance of taking breaks while hanging out with friends.

Though she mentioned being a ghost member, occasionally coming to relax and take a break might be good for Lucy.

Graduating from the academy with good grades means she can support all her family back home, hence Lucy pushes herself relentlessly without looking back.

Given her nature, the suggestion to come and rest occasionally was meant well, advising her not to overexert herself.

Of course, the club I proposed may not be necessary for her at this point.

In reality, it may not be of much help.

However, what she needs now is a place where she can relax comfortably.

Like needing a roof to shelter from a harsh rain, she needs a place to find solace.

Feeling a strange sense of camaraderie with her, I might be encouraging her to join the club upon first meeting her.

Thus, I find myself going against my usual self, taking a risk.

It’s okay to decline. But I don’t want to see Lucy push herself to the point of collapse.

In a way, it could be considered fortunate that we crossed paths during the duel.

It allowed me to establish a connection with her.

Although it hasn’t happened yet, if things continue this way, Lucy will exhaust herself to the point of breaking down.

Depending on how the player acts, except for a few routes, she ends up retiring in almost every route.

Even in routes with extremely high difficulty, making one wrong choice leads to retirement.

Despite her exceptional talent, climbing to Class A without someone’s support would be challenging.

Someone needs to be there to support her.

She needs a pillar to lean on.

I may not be able to be that pillar, but I can provide shelter from the storm.

No matter how hard she tries, reaching the top ranks seems impossible.

Above her, there are many others with better backgrounds and talents.

Furthermore, her family back home, struggling, awaits her return.

She cannot stop; she must not stop.

She must continue racing in a competition without a finish line.

Even if Lucy graduates from the academy with flying colors, whether her family can rise again remains uncertain.

When that time comes, both the academy and her homeland will likely turn their backs on her.

Anyway, she needs some rest.

“I’m not interested in what the club does. But Bern, why are you asking me to join a club between us meeting for the first time last week? What’s the catch?”

“To establish a club, we need a minimum of three members excluding the president.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“I don’t know many people, so I’m asking you. Will you join? Club activities will be quite important for next semester’s evaluation.”

Embarrassed.

Lucy visibly reacts.

While Lucy’s promotion for the next semester is certain, having a club wouldn’t hurt.

“…So, what exactly does this place do?”

“Just as I said. You can practice magic, swordsmanship, study, or simply relax. It’s your choice.”

“Sigh.. So cliché. What exactly is this place..? Have you decided on a name?”

“Although I haven’t decided on a name yet, let’s just call it a place for self-discipline. You can come by occasionally just to check in.”

“…Then, can we have snacks there or cook and eat?”

“Do as you please.”

There’s no need to do anything distinctive.

Living a tough and unique life already, let’s just take it easy.

Both Elin and Lucy seem quite worn out.

I hope the club becomes a comfortable place for them.

The dorm room I use is a single room.

However, commoners with limited funds often share cheaper 2-4 person rooms.

Lucy probably stays in a 4-person room.

Since they all share, there must be many inconveniences.

As she doesn’t have many friends, interactions with roommates might still feel awkward, and she might not be able to study late.

Since she works part-time on weekends like me, it shouldn’t be too inconvenient.

So, feel free to use the club room without worry.

Club activities can include self-study or occasional dungeon exploration.

Or even decoding magic books together.

Anyway, the perks available through the club are overflowing.

Just enjoy those perks; it doesn’t matter what they are.

“Well then, I understand that as your intention to join.”

Lucy seems hesitant for some reason.

Her fidgeting hands remind me of my childhood self.

A childish feeling?

Wanting to buy a toy but unable to due to parental restrictions.

Kind of cute and childlike, isn’t it?

Well, it’s not entirely wrong.

After all, she is a student.

“Ah, figure it out yourself..! I don’t know! You figure it out!!”

Continuing to hesitate, she abruptly spoke her mind and left.

“Was I too rude?”

It’s fine either way.

Okay then? I told you to figure it out yourself, right?

“Okay, member secured. Now, only one remains…”

Where can we find the last one?

….

In the end, we couldn’t find the last member.

I tried approaching anyone, but they all avoided me.

You can apply for the club anytime, so let’s take it slow. We haven’t even decided on a name yet.

Darn it, it’s sad not having friends.

I can’t do much because of this darn reputation.

If there were a likability system here too, would my likability score be negative?

Come to think of it, games do have a similar likability system.

By giving gifts or spending time with party members, interactions increase, and stats gradually improve.

In dating sims, special CG scenes would unlock. Good memories.

Anyway, we still need one more person to establish the club.

Ron and Lloyd have already joined the Magic and Swordsmanship Departments, so they’re out.

Since Elin and Lucy have joined, everyone I’m acquainted with has also joined.

That means I need to find a student who isn’t affiliated with the club and whom I don’t know.

Looks like I’ll have to recruit from the named characters.

But all the significant characters are distinct personalities like the protagonist.

This is getting tricky.

Creating a club is tough.

But we absolutely need one more person to start the club.

The club system opens from the second round.

It’s a new feature for experienced players.

Establishing and maintaining a club is a content update.

While being part of the club offers slight benefits, you can gain additional experience points from all actions.

And it opens up new places for players to engage in activities.

You can customize the club room freely and display trophies and awards.

Since interactive objects can only be installed in the club room, it’s practically essential content.

Placing an alchemy table that can be obtained in the mid to late game will provide buffs to potions or alchemy-related skills, and installing a forge allows weapons to be repaired directly without going to the shop.

Moreover, trophies and awards also grant various beneficial buffs.

Joining a club has many advantages. There are also many additional events that occur.

Since this is reality, you have to write activity reports, but even if the club only maintains four members, it will never be disbanded.

Truly a sweet system.

Assuming you haven’t looked at any walkthroughs for the first round, you will definitely reach a happy ending.

However, from the second round onwards, multiple branches occur, so one wrong choice can lead directly to a bad ending.

Therefore, careful choices are necessary to follow the correct route.

The club is a system designed for users who are bewildered by the initial choices they face.

Most of the events that occur while active in the club are easy and enjoyable to clear, but these are also content with multiple branches.

After preceding with club events, gradually increasing your understanding of the game serves as a tutorial for the second round.

Anyway, the fact remains that it’s a good system.

I’ve also made heavy use of the club system.

“I spent a lot of time customizing the remaining club room after enjoying most of the content or tweaking character cosmetics.”

The important thing is recruiting the remaining person.

Fortunately, there is someone who comes to mind.

Luna, a student who will become the boss and sacrifice in Act 2.

I’m going to recruit that guy.

Despite my intervention, the story is somehow flowing well.

So saving one person shouldn’t be a big issue. Oh, maybe not a person.

Even if the story takes a major turn, the protagonist is still the protagonist.

Since that guy is strong, he’ll handle it himself.

Protagonist, please!