Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance Chapter 55

It’s only been a month since they joined the Academy.

 

After a period of adjustment, the new students had an event waiting for them.

 

“Clubs?”

 

“Yes. If you didn’t know, you’ll probably find out tomorrow, because there’s going to be a whole bunch of posters put up to attract members. Me and Mr. Miller are in Ancient Script Interpretation, by the way.”

 

Emma, who had explained the club to Eileen and Cordelia, turned to Jacob.

 

“Jacob, what did you say your club was?”

 

“Horseback riding, if you’re interested.”

 

Eileen’s face turned intrigued. Apparently the school encouraged clubs for all kinds of activities, not just academics.

 

“There are a lot of clubs at the Academy, all kinds of academic, athletic, and hobby clubs. It’s mandatory for freshmen to join one.”

 

“Popular clubs like social clubs have auditions, so you should apply early.”

 

Clubs.

 

A small social circle where you can bond and interact with other classes. The next day, recruitment began, and the entire Academy was buzzing.

 

Flyers for over forty clubs, large and small, lined the walls of the first-floor hallway. Eileen, Cordelia, and Laquerta walked slowly, scanning the flyers quickly.

 

“This is a lot, where are you going to fit in?”

 

Eileen asked, confused by the sheer number of options, to which Laquerta replied sharply.

 

“I don’t want to go anywhere.”

 

“Of course you don’t.

 

She smiled bitterly. But as a first year, he had to join one of them. Understanding the meaning of Eileen’s laughter, Laquerta spoke up, his tone blunt.

 

“I just want to be in the same place as you. It’s nice to have you around.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Eileen’s eyes widened at Laquerta’s unexpected response. She had grown much closer to him than she had expected, contrary to her original purpose for joining the Academy, but she didn’t hate it.

 

On the contrary, it’s kind of cute.

 

Eileen chuckled softly, remembering the royal lizard striding majestically across the lake with his baggage.

 

“And what if I end up in some really boring club?”

 

“It doesn’t matter.”

 

“Oh, I’m impressed.”

 

Eileen laughed teasingly, and Cordelia, who had been watching the scene, joined in.

 

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. I’m thinking of joining the same club you’re in.”

 

“Cordelia, you too?” Eileen said, a little surprised, as if that hadn’t come as a surprise.”

 

“I thought you were joining the gymnastics club or the sword studies society or something.”

 

“That’s what I usually do, but rest is also essential to building the right muscles.”

 

Eileen nodded with a look of agreement.

 

“Why are you two giving me the choice? I don’t have anything I want to do yet.”

 

Eileen flicked back her bangs in embarrassment. Pass on the academic subjects. She quietly dismissed the social and etiquette clubs as well.

 

“Sports, I don’t think there’s a game suitable for three, and I don’t like to sweat at all.”

 

Her dilemma lasted until classes started, meals were eaten, and the day ended when Eileen, still undecided, asked Jessie, who had just gotten out of the shower, as she returned to her dorm.

 

“So what club are you in?”

 

“Me?”

 

Her orange hair still damp, she replied as she sat on her bed and dried her hair with a towel.

 

“Newspaper Clipping Club.”

 

“Really?!”

 

She liked to bake candy, and had even received it a few times, so Eileen naturally assumed that Jessie was in a baking club.

 

“What, I don’t fit in?”

 

“No, it’s just that you make really good cookies, so I thought it might be a baking club.”

 

Jessie shook her head in disbelief.

 

“It’s a popular club, with a huge membership, and I get tired just thinking about it. I just rent a kitchenette and bake occasionally.”

 

“Aren’t there a lot of people in the clipping club?”

 

“About four, including me. It’s an unpopular club, and the oldest members graduated this year.”

 

That’s when a little light bulb went off in Eileen’s head.

 

An unpopular club with a small membership. Activities that seemed easy. There was a club nearby that fit what Eileen was looking for.

 

And if I can get to know Jessie better, that’s a plus!

 

Unlike Laquerta, Jessie was like a cat, and it was hard to get close to her. Eileen exclaimed, killing two birds with one stone.

 

“Are you recruiting by any chance, because me and my friends are looking for a club to join!”

 

Jessie, momentarily taken aback by the unexpectedly enthusiastic response, put down her wet towel and muttered, “Well, we’ve lost a lot of members and we need to recruit at least four more people…”

 

Eileen’s eyes widened even more. Jessie let out a small laugh when she met those expectant eyes.

 

“Okay. I’ll talk to the manager tomorrow.”

 

“Really?! Thank you!”

 

Jessie’s expression relaxed a bit as Eileen laughed genuinely and happily. Maybe it was because her smile reminded her of someone she’d left behind at home.

 

 

 * * * 

 

 

The last time Eileen, Cordelia, Lucian and Felix met at the café was the afternoon Eileen handed in her application.

 

“You’re already in the club…?”

 

Lucian looked dismayed and Felix was shocked as well.

 

“Where did you get in?”

 

The two had come out with the intention of encouraging each other to join the club. It had only been two days since the clubs had been announced, and they hadn’t expected them to have made their choices already.

 

“Newspaper Clipping Club. Cordelia’s in it.”

 

“Newspaper clipping?”

 

Lucian stood dumbfounded for a moment, confused by the unexpected choice, then turned grumpy. Cordelia smiled in satisfaction as she watched their disappointed expressions.

 

It reminded her of the year Felix and Lucian had entered the Academy.

 

I can’t let Cordelia have Eileen all to herself again.

 

Lucian’s eyes flashed with unreadable eagerness, and Cordelia, closing her eyes and savoring the taste of her tea, realized that Felix had come to a decision.

 

 

 

 * * *

 

 

 

Newspaper Clipping Club.

 

It was a small club, two juniors and two sophomores, very small among the forty or so clubs in the city.

 

George Water, the club’s president, was the eldest son of a reclusive landowner who was lucky to have a cow in his village.

 

Growing up surrounded by green meadows, farmers singing, and the stale smell of manure, he was never greedy; his only desire was to maintain the small club his squadron leader had entrusted to him until graduation.

 

So when he struggles to recruit enough new members to meet the eight-member minimum, he’s thrilled when Jessie brings in three of her roommates and their friends. Add to that a freshman who signed up on the first day of recruitment and another who joined after Jessie’s kids, and his problem is solved.

 

That is, until a few days ago.

 

“It’s closed, it’s closed, it’s closed!”

 

“Just this one! Just take me!”

 

George, his usual benevolent smile and good-natured laugh, turned into a scream, the students swarming behind him with their application forms.

 

Eileen, Cordelia, and Laquerta were the first to arrive.

 

After George had gotten them, Lucian and Felix had approached him, wanting to change their club.

 

George was suspicious that two of the Academy’s most prominent figures would suddenly join such a tumultuous club, but there was nothing he could do to stop them, especially since they had already left their existing club.

 

“I shouldn’t have let them join then!”

 

He hadn’t told anyone that they were joining, but from that night on, he was inundated with applications.

 

Applications flew at him as he ate his lunch, slipped through the stalls when he went to the bathroom, and poured out in waves of white paper whenever he opened a cabinet.

 

“I’m not interested in big clubs!”

 

George, who wanted a small, close-knit group, broke down in tears and closed the door on Felix and Lucian’s application. There was a lot of criticism and protest, but no one could stop him, whose stress was already at breaking point.

 

The newspaper clipping club is booming after six years of existence, with seven new members.

 

 

 

 * * *

 

 

 

It’s Wednesday afternoon, the end of the recruitment period for all clubs and the start of the first club meeting. After taking his stomach medication, George stood nervously in front of the office.

 

“Okay, even if you’re a genius and come from a powerful family, you’re still a junior and a member of our club, so don’t be afraid to do what you’re supposed to do.

 

With his fists pumping, he pushed open the door to the room and entered to find the members gathered around.

 

Lucian, a minor duke of the Duchy of Gaudium and renowned for his fierce swordplay.

 

Felix, a survivor of an unprecedented catastrophe and a man of overwhelming genius who has already attracted the attention of the tower.

 

The two elementalist in the first grade with the full support of Duke Gladius Gaudium, and a Suyin, who was notable in a different way.

 

It was an overwhelming lineup.

 

‘I don’t understand why they’re all in our club!’

 

Eileen looked at Andrew in surprise.

 

‘I didn’t realize he was in the same club.’

 

It was hard to read Andrew’s expression because he was just grinning from ear to ear.

 

Finally composing himself, George addressed everyone.

 

“Good to see you all. We’re still missing one first-year member, so I’ll introduce the club when we’re all here.”

 

“So, Jessie said there was a girl who put in an application before me?”

 

Eileen thought dismissively, turning her head to the chatter at the door. Soon, the door to the common room opened, revealing a familiar beige head.

 

“Uh.”

 

The grizzled head looked up. He stood in the doorway and peered inside, his face completely contemplative.

 

Neumann was the last member to enter the room.