Chapter 103
Adela’s admiration and denial of Anette were inevitable.
Adela could beco a bulwark against the end. To recruit her, I needed to lay the groundwork.
Above all, Adela’s ‘denial of admiration’—
“Take it easy.”
“What?”
—was , too.
“You and I, we’re rotten-to-the-core villains, better suited as extras than protagonists, aren’t we?”
The protagonist party was among those following Anette. Their perfection was sothing both Kim An-hyun and Martin admired yet denied.
“….”
Adela smirked, as if agreeing.
“Well… that’s the best thing you’ve said. We extra villains have our own survival guide.”
She stood, naturally looking down at . As if villains like us belonged together.
“Fine. So, what’s today’s lunch nu? It better not be the sa as before. If it doesn’t suit my aesthetics or taste, you’ll pay.”
Damn it.
***
“Ugh, if only the princess weren’t here.”
“No chance. If anyone’s disappearing, it’s you.”
Luri and Princess Adela traded barbs, with stuck in the middle.
“Of course, give a nu recomndation before you go. Martin’s taste is abysmal.”
“No way. I’m eating with Martin.”
A flower in each hand? No… speakers on both sides. I’m losing it.
It looked like bickering, but Adela and Luri got along subtly. They clicked, which is why the mad princess tolerated her.
But with them chattering on either side, my eardrums were suffering.
“Oh, right.”
After lunch, on the way back to the classroom—
“I found sothing perfect for you two.”
“What now? What’re you scheming?”
Luri glared at Adela with narrowed eyes.
“A club, they call it.”
Right, the Café Exploration Club. I hadn’t visited since the Vistavern terror incident.
Teacher Hailey and the protagonist party were still active in it.
“They have a clubroom and funding. Why aren’t you using such a great resource?”
“No interest.”
The clubroom was tempting, but I’m the type to head straight ho after school. Why go anywhere when Lilac’s waiting?
Plus, Gilbert’s there. I’d die of high blood pressure.
“Let’s go.”
“…Huh?”
“The clubroom! I’m a proud mber of the Café Exploration Club!”
She pulled out her cadet handbook, and in the details—
[Club: Café Exploration Club]
‘What the—?!’
Words that shouldn’t be there. Luri’s face paled, too.
“How…?”
“W-What…?”
“Heh, how do you think I got into this Academy and dragged Anette in?”
She’d extended her influence to the Academy. Looking at our annoyed faces, Adela got serious.
“I’d be lying if I said I had no personal motives, but I told you—keep enemies close.”
That enemy was Anette. In a shonen manga, she’d already be an ally, but reality wasn’t so kind. The protagonist party might not see it, but…
She was still a dangerous figure, carrying the potential for disaster and rebellion, whether she wanted it or not. The world had shaped her that way.
“Well, seeing everyone for a day isn’t bad. Perfect. I’ll send a notice.”
Adela pulled out her cadet handbook and wrote sothing. Then—
“Hm?”
“Ah.”
Luri’s and my handbooks vibrated.
[Café Exploration Club]
[Adela: After lunch, everyone gather at the clubroom, no exceptions. Non-compliance ans expulsion.]
‘Damn it.’
The shock wasn’t just ours.
[Gilbert: …Huh?]
[Bord: Wait, what’s this…?]
Imagining the protagonist party’s confusion was oddly satisfying.
[Hailey: Uh…?]
Wait, even the advisor didn’t know…?
“The princess has arrived. Bow your heads.”
At the clubroom, everyone was already there. As expected, the room was illegally decorated to the protagonist party’s tastes.
“….”
“….”
Gilbert and Lina still looked at like I was a new villain.
“How did this happen…? Oh, Elisha von Tresha Harmadun, at your service.”
“Uh, um… Bord von Ludin Tauforos, at your service…”
“H-H-Hi… Mary von Airi Deminiyan…”
Bord, Elisha, and Mary looked incredulous. Elisha snapped.
“Hey, Martin. Luri. Did you sign us up without telling us?”
“Sign up? I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“ neither! I had no idea!”
“Heh, that’s how powerful I am. I permit you to bow.”
And there was another. The eye of this storm.
“Oh, hello! Seeing everyone in uniforms here feels so new!”
Anette, still adjusting to school life but smiling brightly.
But it didn’t end there…
“Move aside.”
Suddenly, Prince Kazaks, Muller, and Shuga appeared. Adela turned with a grimace.
“Ugh, Prince. What’s that ugly face doing here?”
“Hah! Because of you, Princess. I got intel that Anette of the Defardly Empire enrolled. Joined this club on her first day. I knew it was your doing.”
Muttering ‘I’d have done the sa’ under his breath, Kazaks scanned the room, scowling at Gilbert.
“So, you’re unhappy with my event?”
Kazaks’ eyes twitched, but he relaxed and conceded.
“…No. Unstable elents should be kept close.”
Strange. The confident, golden-eyed Kazaks, letting a rival like Adela off? Another story divergence? Did sothing happen between them? The closest event was… being kidnapped together by the Defardly Liberation Army.
“Seems this club was made for that purpose. Café exploration—pointless, but a good pick for commoners’ tastes.”
Prince, want to die?
“Fine. I’ll join. Muller, Shuga, you too.”
“Ugh, annoying. Fine, got it.”
“Yes!”
Three from the prince’s faction, five from the protagonist party, the last emperor of Defardly, the Elidore heir, the Golden Princess, and Ulvhadin’s hound.
Thus, the Café Exploration Club was reborn as a 12-mber group of extraordinary individuals… 13, if you counted the absent Hailey.
“This room is cramped! Too shabby for a prince’s club. Unacceptable.”
“For once, I agree. My bathroom’s bigger.”
Under Kazaks and Adela’s influence, the clubroom was upgraded to a larger, segnted space.
“Um, I’d like to grow flowers…”
Mary brought pots.
“Hmph, the furniture’s shoddy!”
Luri replaced it.
“Hmm, we need food.”
Bord brought a mountain of snacks.
“Books would be nice.”
Lina filled a shelf with them.
‘These guys…’
“Haha! I love this flower. What’s it called?”
“P-Pasque flower…”
“Hmph, this snack was hard to get. Have one, Gilbert.”
“Uh, thanks, Bord.”
“Wow! I’m an emperor, but this high-end furniture’s a first! Amazing, Cadet Luri!”
“If you want, I can get it at 50% off…”
Boisterous. Like kids finding a secret hideout, they laughed, chatted, and brought items to decorate their base.
I watched silently.
‘Ridiculous.’
Their heads are flower gardens.
‘Are they joking?’
They act like actual kids. Princes, princesses, noble heirs! Gilbert, don’t you have a mission to atone for your fallen nation? Adela, can’t you see your rival Kazaks?!
It felt like childish nonsense. I was about to leave a snarky comnt—
“Everyone’s got flowers in their heads…”
If not for Teacher Hailey appearing behind .
“Flowers? Calling ?”
“M-Master Hailey.”
“Not Master, assistant teacher, Cadet Martin.”
Right, I forgot. Hailey was the Café Exploration Club’s advisor…
All eyes turned to her sudden appearance.
“Hi! I’m Hailey von Lua Etrande, a nature magic assistant teacher and your club advisor. I rushed over because ‘non-compliance ans expulsion’ sounded scary, but I’m a bit late, huh? Hehe.”
Adela and Kazaks, who’d been confidently running things, flinched.
“An advisor? There was such a thing? Tch, troubleso.”
“Hm… who’s she? Wasn’t this club for monitoring Anette…?”
“Wow! A prince and princess! Oh, just cadets here!”
Hailey grabbed Adela and Kazaks’ hands, lifting them high. Smiling, she said—
“Ta-da! Let’s all get along! This is a peace and safety zone!”
It looked like a pink chick grabbing an eagle in each wing. Martin’s blood ran cold.
Kazaks and Adela’s faces scread—
‘Caught by sothing annoying.’
‘Got tangled in sothing weird…’
But even they couldn’t openly reject Hailey’s warmth and inclusivity. She was the real deal, after all.
“Since we’ve got so many mbers, maybe we can run a café at the Grand Festival!”
“…What?”
“A café?”
The Grand Festival. Like university festivals on Earth, Imperium Academy had one, too. It wasn’t just the world’s top institution for knowledge and martial arts—it taught social, economic, and moral skills.
Luri glanced at , hesitantly raising her hand.
“Do we really need a booth…?”
“Academy club rules state that clubs with 10 or more mbers must set up a booth.”
No escape.
‘Ugh… this is getting annoying.’
A common trope in academy novels—clubs setting up booths for major events. I considered bolting, but—
“Let’s start preparing!”
With Master Hailey in charge, I couldn’t run.
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