Chapter 187: Chapter 187 Joining the Club.
As the name implies, the club is an organized group of students with common interests or goals and is usually often facilitated by a teacher or staff advisor. Clubs can cover a wide range of topics and activities, such as academic subjects, hobbies, cultural interests, or social causes.
Like any common club in any high school, these clubs typically meet regularly, plan activities or events, and provide a platform for students to develop skills, pursue passions, and collaborate with peers.
Xiao Lian, who seemed happy with the choice, was unusually in a brighter mood compared to her neutral. Soma loosened his lips as he already knew what club she would join, and Soma also planned to enter it because there would be a significant event in her club that he couldn't miss out on.
"So, Silver hair, what club do you want to join?".
Hina, still oblivious to Xiao Lian's choice, opened her mouth while Xiao Lian tilted her head in wonder. She ponders it for a moment before deciding to let Hina know.
"Mm, It was a traveling club".
"Heeh, didn't expect that from you. What is the club pursuing?".
"It is the same as the name implies to travel around the world".
"Wait, that's it? I thought there would be something different about the name".
Soma, who heard their talk, seems to need to lend his help not to make the situation turn fiery.
"Well, it is indeed a bit different from what traveling is. I read about the club description earlier. A traveling club is a group dedicated to exploring new places and cultures through organized trips and activities. Members of the club, usually guided by the advisor, participate in various excursions. These can range from local day trips to museums, historical sites, and dungeon-related sites.
The club often focuses on educational travel, aiming to enhance students' understanding of geography, history, and different cultures. Also, as we are currently in Hero Academy, it is also necessary for us to enhance not just our brain but our power. So, there is also an expedition that involves a dungeon".
"I see. It seems like a pretty joyful club".
"Right?".
"Why are you so unusually high in tension?".
Hina and Xiao Lian, as usual, began to strike at each other with heartwarming feelings between them. Soma, who saw them, could only smile wryly. He turned his gaze at Hina and asked the question he already knew the answer.
"How about you, Hina?".
"Hm, Me?!".
"Yes, what club do you want to join?".
"Mm, Soma is right. It is not fair for me to say it out loud?".
Hina, who received both gazes from the people she was close with, shrunken her body as she fidgeted by twirling her hair tips with her finger.
"...I plan to join a magic creation club".
"I see". ("So, Hina still chooses the same path").
"What kind of club is that?".
"Wel it was…".
Xiao Lian and Hina start their conversation while also sometimes turning their attention to Soma, who sees them with a warm gaze. However, contrary to their thought, Soma was in deep conversation within himself, trying to solve both problems that would arise in the future.
The three of them leisurely walked towards the building where the traveling club is usually used as an operation base.
They went northwest from the academy building until their eyes caught a building that stood alone in the corner of the place with multiple floors above. It was the same architecture as the school, where it was built in the European style with a lot of glass that reflected the hue of the fading light of the sun that soon would be submerged in the horizon.
Soma and the girl approached the place. A huge twin door was blocking their way to enter inside. Xiao Lian, who saw a red button within a terminal com beside the door, quickly pressed it, and a chime of a bell rang inside the building, alarming the people inside.
{Yes, wait a moment, please}
From the terminal, a melodious voice that soothed their hearts as they waited for the person in question to arrive. Not long after that, the door creaked, leaving a big enough gap to pass, letting the person inside come out, a female student Soma faintly remembered.
"My, It's rare for us to have a guest, Mm you are?".
The female with dark circles around her eyes who saw Soma's face began to knit her brows as she closed the distance between her and him, making the two girls who saw that bloated their eyes. The senior faintly remembered that he had met him somewhere. Then, a light bulb appeared on her head as she clapped her hands.
.
"You are the boy at the dungeon in Meiji Jingu place, right? It's been a while. I am sorry, but, recently my schedule has piled up and made a mess of my routine. I couldn't even remember your face properly, nor your name".
"Meiji Jingu?".
"...Dungeon?".
Hina and Xiao Lan seemed to be shocked because of the revelation the senior had in hand. They simultaneously turned their attention to Soma as they wondered how he could enter the dungeon when he didn't have the permit.
"Ah, it's okay. It's a bit rude but, I've also already forgotten about the names of the people who kindly gave me a map to explore that dungeon. So, let's start over. My name is Soma, and these two are".
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Akabane Hina".
"...Xiao Lian, we are here to join the traveling club".
Kaori's eyes opened wide in shock because it was not the first time she received a new application from the current first-year students. Actually, there are a lot of other applicants, which makes her distressed because of the flooded request. However, her heart starts to beat as she feels delighted for the new members who are willing to join their club.
Because the more they get a new member, the more support from the Academy will come to their club.
"Thank you for joining our club. Oh yes, My name is Shinjou Kaori, a second-year student. Please meet you, Soma, Akabane, and Xiao. Please enter inside, where I will explain the rules and purpose of our club".
"Thank you".
Soma and the girls begin to follow Kaori's lead and enter the building, which makes them stand still for the vast interior with a minimalist setting. Two-way stairs lead to the upper floors, red carpet that spread on the floor, and a single chandelier that hung above the ceiling, but the place was deserted, and the fact that the place lacked furniture made the room much more vast from their views.
"Ryu, we have visitors that want to join our club".
"Ah, thank you, Kaori, for the trouble".
"It is not troubling at all. Ne, Ryuu, look who is joining?".
"..I see, So, Soma plans to join our club".
"You still remember me?".
"Of course, I remember you. Do you still remember me?".
"I am sorry, but…".
"It's okay, let's introduce ourselves properly this time. My name is Tanaka Ryu, a second-year student and also the current president of the traveling club. Pleased to meet you".
***
As the sun begins its descent, the sky is painted in a breathtaking array of oranges, gradually fading into deeper shades of twilight.
In one of the desolate rooms in the female dormitory, a single green-haired female beauty with her drenched hair, wearing only her black underwear, exposing the bountiful curves of her body, was looking at her figure in the mirror's reflection while drying her drenched hair.
As the hustling voice from the dryer echoed, she suddenly stopped her action because she felt that someone had entered her detection range. When she looked in a certain direction, a single letter floated in the air, being brought by the wind that came from her opened window with its fluttering curtain.
The letter dropped to the floor as she approached the place. When she felt a trace of the familiar Mana on the letter, she opened her eyes in shock.
"This is, Mother dearest?!".
The woman swiftly took the letter before she tore it and began to take the paper inside, which showed a blank line. However, her pupils started to change in color into a deep shade of purple, and she could read what had been written inside.
Her expression soon changes into nothingness as she evokes a small spark from her hands, burning the paper into ash.
"Very well, Mother dearest. I will certainly fulfill your wish. Everything is for our Great Lord".