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chapter 2
In the end, as if bewitched, I joined the club. I had basically fallen for his looks.
I can’t believe I made such an impulsive decision without even knowing what kind of club it was. What on earth have I done?
…Well, what’s done is done, so I decided to just let it go.
More importantly, I recently learned something new.
That boy from yesterday named Karsion was actually very famous in the academy.
You’d think it was obvious, considering his inhumanly beautiful appearance.
But the kind of “famous” I meant wasn’t about his looks.
Karsion was infamous for having a terrible personality.
According to rumors, when he was young, he nearly killed a few nobles, and his family hurriedly enrolled him in the academy to cover up the incident.
And just a few days ago, during a swordsmanship spar with another student, he apparently threw away his sword and started spamming magic because he didn’t want to sweat.
He did seem like the type who doesn’t listen to others, but was he really that bad?
From how he acted toward me yesterday, he didn’t seem that awful.
The rumors must be exaggerated.
Yeah, even right now…
I looked out the window at Karsion, who was helping someone up in the hallway with a bright smile after they had fallen.
There’s no way someone who smiles so kindly and beautifully like that could kill people. At most, he’s probably just caused a few incidents.
Karsion grabbed the back of the neck of a student who had bumped into his shoulder and slammed him to the ground.
Bang!
“Argh! What bastard—!”
“Bastard?”
The boy who had been thrown down shouted angrily, but upon hearing the familiar voice, he hesitantly raised his trembling gaze.
This is bad.
Of all people, he had to run into Karsion.
“If you bump into someone, you should apologize.”
“S-Sorry…”
“Why are you trying to fix it only now?”
“I—I didn’t know it was you, Karsion.”
“So if it wasn’t me, you wouldn’t have apologized. Right?”
“N-No! That’s not true!”
“Hm.”
Karsion stared at him silently for a moment, then suddenly smiled and held out his hand as if to help him up.
The boy hesitated, then quickly grabbed his hand, realizing he didn’t really have a choice.
Still holding the boy’s hand, Karsion beamed.
“You almost dislocated my shoulder, but I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll let it slide.”
“Huh?”
Crack.
“AAAAAGH!”
Karsion looked down at the boy screaming while clutching his broken hand, his expression annoyed.
Then, as if something occurred to him, a smile returned to his lips.
“Today’s the first day of club activities.”
In truth, Karsion was in an unusually good mood.
He had successfully recruited the last member for the club yesterday, and they’d finally received approval to establish it.
‘It was lucky I happened to find her.’
Last year, instead of joining a magic-related club—his major—he deliberately joined the swordsmanship club.
That part was fine.
As expected, there weren’t many girls in the swordsmanship club, and no one followed him in.
But who would’ve thought girls would come every day under the excuse of using the training grounds?
He should have expected it, seeing how many people still followed him despite knowing his personality.
He couldn’t just kill them all.
So Karsion decided to create his own club.
When word spread that Karsion and Fior were starting a club, many people tried to join.
Even if not for Karsion, Fior was popular with both boys and girls due to his friendly nature.
The two of them were always first and second in the academy rankings, so some probably aimed for the grades too.
But from Karsion’s perspective, none of the applicants were satisfactory. One had this flaw, another had that flaw.
So he kept rejecting them…
And before he knew it, everyone had already joined other clubs.
The minimum requirement for a club was three members.
He only needed one more person, yet he couldn’t find that one.
At Arena Academy, clubs were a big deal.
Which meant there were almost no students like Rien who missed the deadline and didn’t join one.
In the end, Karsion had no choice but to find a “sacrifice” and force them into the club.
He wandered around campus in search of one, holding the club application form, when he overheard a conversation.
“Hey, do you know her?”
“How would I know if you say it like that?”
“The new black-haired girl. She transferred in recently—apparently the transfer exam is insanely hard, but she passed it easily.”
“Oh, Rien?”
“You know her?”
“I’ve never seen her, but she’s famous. They say she’s really pretty.”
“Yeah, I saw her once before, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”
“So what about her?”
“Everyone’s been watching to see what club she’d join, but no one knows yet. If she joined our club, I’d brag about it everywhere.”
“Maybe she missed the deadline?”
“No way. Who would be that dumb?”
“Haha, true.”
Hearing this, Karsion’s eyes lit up.
Could it be?
It wouldn’t hurt to check.
As soon as he decided, he approached them, grabbed both by the collar, and threatened them to find her within an hour.
After their “voluntary” cooperation, exactly an hour later, he heard the brown-haired one make an excuse: “We found someone similar.”
Karsion smiled kindly and gave them 30 more minutes.
And at the place he went to check just in case, he found her—with a name tag that read “Rien.”
As soon as he confirmed that Rien had missed the club application deadline, he asked her to join his club.
Interview or not, if he didn’t secure her, he and Fior would end up in an unpopular club.
And a random one at that.
So Karsion decided that if she refused, he’d have to threaten her anyway—so he might as well use charm first and spoke as kindly as possible.
But this girl, Rien, remained completely indifferent even after seeing his face.
If anything, he ended up staring at her longer. She even turned away without hesitation, saying she wouldn’t join the club.
At that moment, he almost let his real personality slip out.
Somehow, he managed to smile and get her to join.
But thinking back on it now, it felt a bit strange.
It was the first time in his life he had met someone who showed not even a hint of interest in him—whether good or bad.
Ah. Maybe her eyesight is bad.
…Though her face was as pretty as rumored. What a pity.
“What’s your eyesight?”
“2.0 in both eyes.”
At my answer, Karsion frowned deeply as if he couldn’t believe it.
What’s with that expression?
It’s like he’s unhappy that my eyesight is good.
“Is there a problem?”
But as if my question meant nothing, Karsion ignored me completely.
Maybe he’s not as bad as the rumors say, but he’s definitely not that nice either.
Was he only acting kind yesterday to get me to join the club?
Sensing the cold atmosphere, I quickly changed the subject, pointing at the person in the club room.
“More importantly, is he also a member? One of the minimum three?”
“Yeah. Fior, you introduce yourself.”
Karsion waved his hand lazily, and the boy called Fior waved at me.
“Hi, I’m Fior. You’re Rien, right? Kaon told me about you.”
He had blonde hair and green eyes, with a bright, cheerful smile that matched his gentle vibe.
Wow.
This club has gathered the two prettiest flowers in the academy.
I began admiring Fior’s handsome face.
Earlier, I couldn’t stare openly since he was a stranger, but now that I looked properly—he really had a kind-looking face.
Of course, by “kind,” I meant his face, not his personality.
“Hi. You look really kind, Fior.”
“Haha, thanks. I hear that a lot, but hearing it said so plainly makes it feel more convincing.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, a loud banging sound echoed.
Fior and I turned to Karsion, the source of the noise. He looked somehow displeased.
“Introductions are over, so stop chatting.”
What do you mean over? Does he not realize?
Fior and I may have greeted each other, but Karsion and I haven’t even properly exchanged names since we first met.
Well, I guess knowing each other’s names is enough.
“Alright. Then one question.”
“What?”
“So what exactly does this club do? What are we supposed to do now?”
“Nothing.”
“…What?”
“There’s nothing specific. Just do whatever you want during club time.”
…Wow. What kind of guy is this?
“Aren’t grades based on club activity records? And don’t clubs get shut down each semester if they have no results?”
At my words, Karsion frowned.
“We’ll fill the performance score with monster subjugation. Even if we do it, we’ll put your name in it too, so stop complaining.”
Never mind—he does think ahead.
I grabbed both his shoulders and spoke sincerely.
“You’re amazing.”
Karsion flinched slightly, then slapped my hands away and raised his voice.
Smack!
“Don’t touch me.”
I blinked, frozen in that position.
“Karsion, did that bother you?”
“Don’t call my name.”
His face slightly red, Karsion snapped.
I get not wanting to be touched, but then what am I supposed to call you?
Seems like yesterday’s kindness was just for show.
Not that it matters—I joined for his face anyway.
Shrugging, I looked away and brought three chairs together in the club room.
Fior’s confused voice followed.
“Rien, what are you doing?”
“Kar—”
Ah. He said not to call his name.
“That pink-haired guy said we can do whatever we want during club time. I didn’t bring anything today, so I’m going to take a nap.”
After answering casually, I lay down comfortably across the chairs.
Karsion shot me a sharp glare.
What now?
“Hey, pink hair. Got something to say?”
He looked away and muttered like a sigh.
“No.”
“I do.”
At that, his gaze returned to me.
“If you’re curious, come here.”
“Say it from there.”
“It’s a secret. Others can’t hear it.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Oh well.”
Guess he’s not curious.
Still, I managed to get rid of his bothersome stare.
I took off my cape and used it like a blanket.
After some time, just as I was drifting off to sleep—
“Ha, damn it.”
Karsion ran a hand through his hair irritably and approached me.
“What is it?”
I held back a laugh.
Curious how he’d react if he heard the “secret.”
I gestured for him to come closer.
He hesitated, then finally leaned down with a resigned look.
As his ear came close, I whispered with a playful tone—
“You actually believed that?”
And then I gently blew into his ear.
