✦ Chapter 47 ✦
「Translator — Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
“We can decide the name of the club later, at our leisure.”
Professor Idra shook her head as she spoke, her tone caught somewhere between disbelief and resignation.
Was a Clown Alliance Club really that strange of a name?
“How do you plan on recruiting members? You know you’ll need at least five more people, right?”
“Heh, of course I know that.”
When I responded confidently, Professor Idra clapped her hands together, her eyes narrowing with curiosity. “Don’t tell me… Have you already gathered all five?”
“Well, not exactly.”
She sighed, muttering, “What a tease,” under her breath. “Do you at least have anyone in mind for your club members?”
“Yes! I plan to recruit every single student from the Special Class into my club!”
Her reaction was immediate.
Hearing my words, Professor Idra’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth falling open.
“All… all the students in the Special Class?”
“Yes! Every last one of them!”
I declared, throwing both hands up in the air.
There was a reason I wanted to recruit all of them into the club.
Those students—given their extraordinary talents—would excel in any club they joined. But if I could leverage my insider knowledge of the game’s mechanics, I could help them grow even faster, become even stronger.
The stronger they become, the sooner we can eliminate those corpse-dealing bastards.
One year. That’s all I had to finish everything. My goal. No—my mission.
This time, Professor Idra pressed further. “So, has even one of the Special Class students expressed interest in joining your club?”
“Yes! Exactly one person!”
Hearing my response, Professor Idra let out a deep sigh.
“Haah… Should I be sad that it’s only one person… or happy that you managed to convince even one…”
Then, after a moment’s pause, she leaned forward, curiosity sharpening her features. “And who’s that one person?”
I pointed at myself with an outstretched finger.
“Me, of course!”
“…………”
Well, I’m part of the Special Class too, aren’t I?
So technically, I’m not wrong.
“…I wonder if this is how my own professors felt. No, thinking about it, I surely wasn’t as… concerning as you…”
Professor Idra, who had been muttering quietly to herself with her head down, suddenly looked up, “And how exactly do you plan to convince the rest of the Special Class to join your club?”
Well, that’s obvious.
“I’ll have to charm them.”
Professor Idra groaned and started thumping her chest as though trying to soothe an invisible wound, “That’s what I’m asking! How exactly?”
How, indeed…
“Hmm… with my handsome face?”
This time, she let out an aggravated groan.
“Loki, do you know what they’re calling this year’s first-year students?”
Of course I know that.
“Loki’s generation?”
“Miracle! They’re calling it the Miracle Generation! Really!”
Professor Idra, perhaps to cool her frustration, grabbed the glass of chilled water on her desk and downed it in one gulp; the glass’ contents vanished in an instant.
“Professor, drinking cold water too quickly will give you a stomachache later.”
“My head hurts more because of you than my stomach ever could!” she retorted, rubbing her temples as though the rapid chill of the water had struck her directly.
“The Academy evaluates clubs on various aspects – achievements, scale, membership, and so on – to determine their activity funding. Among these evaluations, one of the most crucial is ‘future potential’ – how much growth the club shows promise for.”
Professor Idra continued, “In other words…”
“Every club will try everything they can to recruit the Special Class students – the starring players of the Miracle Generation – to secure more funding.”
“Huh- Is that so?”
When I responded nonchalantly, Professor Idra raised her voice slightly.
“The Spear Arts Club, Magic Research Department, Economics Club, Spirit Club, Merchant Club, Swordsmanship Club.”
She rattled off names of some of the academy’s most prominent clubs.
“All the clubs I just mentioned are large and well-established. They aren’t just after the funding tied to high evaluation scores. Their real aim is prestige. Recruiting Special Class students like you boosts their status more than any amount of money ever could.”
“Hm. There’s more competition than I thought.”
“At least this many clubs are targeting the Special Class students,” she said, nodding grimly. “These are powerful, resource-rich organizations. They’ll offer those students everything from top-tier resources to exclusive opportunities.”
But then, Professor Idra added,
“Can you make proposals as compelling as these established clubs, Loki? Don’t tell me you’re planning to appeal to their emotions?”
Professor Idra wore an unusually serious expression.
Perhaps this showed how seriously she was taking me.
“How could I use such methods when it would disappoint Professor Idra?”
Even at my flattery, Professor Idra didn’t laugh but asked seriously,
“Then what do you plan to do?”
“It’s simple, really. I’ll make them a proposal far more attractive, extraordinary, and appealing than anything those clubs could offer.”
“…And what would that proposal be?”
“That’s a sec-“
I was about to say ‘That’s a secret,’ but stopped myself.
I didn’t want to give such a response to Professor Idra, who was regarding me so earnestly.
“Professor, currently there are eight students in the Special Class, including myself.”
“…………..”
Professor Idra blinked at the sudden shift in the conversation but remained silent, waiting for me to continue.
“This is what I’m going to propose to the Special Class students.”
They would accept my proposal.
Other clubs couldn’t make the same proposal as mine.
“If they join the club I’m creating, I’ll ensure that within a year, every one of them will rank within the top 10.”
Professor Idra arched an eyebrow, her skepticism palpable. “But the Special Class students are already in the top ten for first-years…”
I cut off Professor Idra’s words mid-sentence.
She was under some misunderstanding.
“The ranking I’m talking about isn’t the first-year ranking.”
“… Surely you don’t mean…?”
“Exactly. Not the first-year rankings. I’m talking about the overall academy rankings—first through third years combined.”
.
.
.
[Heeh~ So that’s why my brother was training so intensely after getting home earlier.]
Later that night, I found myself speaking with Yerika through the communication orb. As usual, our conversations wandered aimlessly across a variety of topics. Tonight, we were discussing the exam from earlier in the day.
[Hehee… Hahaha.]
Yerika’s laughter echoed through the communication orb.
She had been giggling like this throughout the conversation, and I couldn’t help but ask.
“Erika, did something good happen today?”
[My dear brother brought me a gift after returning from the academy. It was so perfectly to my taste that I can’t help but smile just thinking about it.]
A gift that made her smile just from looking at it?
I couldn’t imagine what it might be.
“What is this gift?”
Though I asked Yerika directly out of curiosity…
[Heehee, that’s a secret.]
She deflected with an air of playful mystery and quickly changed the topic.
[By the way, when did you make that doll you showed during the exam?]
“I didn’t make it during the exam — I made it before when I was bored. That’s why it has so many flaws.”
But had I mentioned anything about a doll?
“……….”
I thought for a moment before shaking it off. Lucas must’ve said something. No point dwelling on it.
[Ah, right! Mr. Humble Clown, I won’t be able to talk with you tomorrow.]
“What?!”
I unconsciously exclaimed upon hearing Yerika’s words.
Though my sudden outburst was impolite, she merely laughed.
[Heehee, are you really that sad about not being able to talk to me?]
“…Yes, it’s very sad.”
[Hueh?]
She made an odd sound and hastily cut off the communication.
“…………..”
Since coming to the Academy, I’d talked with Yerika every day, so I hadn’t considered – no, I’d deliberately avoided thinking about the possibility of not being able to talk.
How will I manage to sleep tomorrow….
.
.
.
I was walking alongside senior Johanna.
“Look over there, it’s an academy uniform.”
“That armband – they must be from the Disciplinary Committee!”
“And that boy next to her – never seen him before.”
The murmurs trailed behind us, drawn by the distinctive academy uniforms.
Spotting someone wearing one wasn’t uncommon—inside the academy, at least. But we weren’t inside. We were out in the city, where the sight of such uniforms turned heads.
The Disciplinary Committee armband adorned my sleeve,
marking the beginning of the club trial period.
“Originally, we were supposed to conduct uniform inspections….”
Johanna murmured softly beside me as we walked.
As she mentioned, we had planned to check uniforms at the school gates, but other committee members suggested we’d be better off patrolling outside in pairs. So here we were, making our rounds beyond the Academy walls.
A hesitation –
Johanna, who had been walking smoothly, suddenly stopped.
“Senior?” I asked, curious.
“……It’s nothing.”
But her gaze betrayed her.
Following it, I noticed what had caught her attention — there stood a bald vendor selling grilled skewers; the meat on the skewers sizzled, juices dripping tantalizingly onto the coals, filling the air with a smoky, savory aroma.
“Senior, how about we buy a skewer and eat while we patrol?”
“We shouldn’t eat while patrolling.”
Johanna’s words were firm, but her eyes remained fixed on the grilled skewers.
“Isn’t it also the Disciplinary Committee’s duty to verify that the skewers are safe by testing them ourselves?”
Even I couldn’t believe what I was suggesting.
“W-well…”
But somehow, it resonated with Johanna.
Just how badly did she want to eat them…
“If there’s something wrong with the skewers, it could cause serious problems, so wouldn’t it be prudent for us to prevent that by trying them first? Don’t you agree, Senior?”
*Nod—, Nod—*
Johanna silently bobbed her head in agreement.
In the end, both of us were patrolling the streets with skewers in hand, biting into the grilled meat as we walked.
“It’s Mr. Clown and the pretty big sister!”
Suddenly, a voice called out to us, bright and familiar.
It wasn’t a voice I heard often, but it was one I recognized nonetheless.
I turned toward the source of the sound — and running toward us was the little girl who had been there the first time I met senior Johanna.
END of CHAPTER
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