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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Have I ever spied on you?
Thankfully, Tia didn’t bother denying it.
If she had, any goodwill I had towards her would have evaporated.
“I apologize for the inconvenience.”
I apologize for the inconvenience.
Not “I’m sorry,” but “I apologize for the inconvenience.”
As if she wouldn’t have apologized if she hadn’t been caught.
But that was probably the best apology Tia could offer.
“You must have heard about what happened to your raven.”
“Yes, I have.”
Tia possessed the ability to communicate with animals.
She also had a natural affinity for spirits.
Ravens served as her eyes and ears, providing her and the Erze Trading Company with valuable information.
“It won’t happen again. You have my word.”
Tia’s blue eyes met mine.
Pushing her further would only backfire.
It was time to be magnanimous.
“That’s all I needed to hear. It was an unfortunate incident, but what matters is the future.”
I turned to leave, my demeanor cool and collected.
I had no intention of making an enemy of the Erze family.
Even I was impressed by my smooth exit.
But then,
“Wait.”
Tia called out to me.
“I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“Were you spying on me, too?”
I was speechless.
I understood what she meant.
It must have been strange for her to encounter someone who knew about her secret hobby.
But…
I couldn’t exactly tell her that I knew everything about her because this world was a fictional setting from a novel I had read.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I’ve never spied on you.”
Tia was silent for a moment.
Then she nodded, as if she understood.
“I see. Alright.”
I left Tia and headed back to my dormitory.
As I walked, I briefly regretted not telling her to apologize to Sepia.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
My agreement with Sylvia was effectively over.
She couldn’t provide private lessons forever.
I returned to my room and collapsed onto my bed.
The unfamiliar peace and quiet felt strange.
There were no messages from Sepia.
Should I apologize?
The thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head.
I could be the bigger person and reach out to her.
But I didn’t want to.
I was a petty person.
Whatever.
I didn’t want to get involved with Sepia anymore.
Our protagonist could handle the rest.
When the Logness territory was attacked by demons, Sepia could turn to Arthur for help.
Arthur returned to the room after his training session.
I wondered how many stat points he had allocated.
If the story was progressing as intended, he would be thinking about forming a club around this time.
As expected,
Arthur, fresh from his shower, asked,
“Ethan, have you decided which club you’re joining?”
Why was he asking?
He wanted me to join his club, didn’t he?
Arthur’s club was essential to the story.
Not only would its members form the core of his harem, but they would also play a crucial role in defeating the forces of evil in the future.
The club’s formation was a prerequisite for the main story to unfold.
“I haven’t given it much thought.”
“I’m thinking about starting a club.”
Yes, you should.
Form a club, build your harem, gather your allies, and save the world.
“Want to join?”
“Join you?”
I tried to appear nonchalant.
Surely he wouldn’t abandon the idea just because I declined?
“Um… well, I think I’d prefer to join an existing club.”
I immediately felt a twinge of guilt.
Our protagonist looked disappointed.
“Ah, I see. I asked Reus, too, but he also declined.”
“……”
“I guess it’s not meant to be. I was hoping to start a club if you joined…”
Damn it.
Why me?
The thought briefly crossed my mind.
“No, go ahead and create it. If you want to do it, you should.”
“We need at least five members to form a club… I guess it’s not possible.”
He looked genuinely dejected.
I felt a pang of sympathy.
I quickly racked my brain.
Who were the founding members of Arthur’s club?
Princess Tesha, Arthur, Anya, Tia, and Sonny, the reincarnation of Sun Wukong.
Arthur, in the original story, had befriended them and formed a club.
“Hey, can I borrow your communication crystal for a moment?”
“My crystal?”
“I need to check something. Can you show me your contacts?”
“Ah, sure.”
I quickly scrolled through Arthur’s contact list.
There were only two names: Anya and me.
I knew I was screwed.
Tesha was rescued during the demon attack. It was only natural that she wouldn’t be in his contacts yet.
But why aren’t Sonny and Tia in his contacts?
Because of me, of course.
Honestly, I had hoped that Tia, drawn by Arthur’s charismatic aura, would initiate a conversation with him during the sparring session, leading to a budding friendship.
To be fair, I had been too preoccupied with surviving in this world to keep track of the main story.
I had foolishly assumed that our charming protagonist would easily make other friends and form the club. There were plenty of potential replacements for Tia.
But what about Sonny?
Was there anyone who could replace him?
In the original story, Sonny and Arthur had met at the training grounds, their encounter blossoming into a close friendship. The absence of Sonny’s name in Arthur’s contacts suggested things had gone terribly wrong.
My presence had distorted the story to this extent?
Where had he been training if he wasn’t at the swordsmanship training grounds?
“We have to form a club.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s start a club.”
There was no other choice.
It seemed I was destined to join forces with our protagonist.
The story was already deviating significantly from the original plot.
“You’re suddenly offering to help with the club?”
“Yes. Let’s form a club. It’ll be fun.”
Was there any way to avoid this?
Could I gather the members and then subtly slip out of the story?
“Ethan, if you don’t want to form a club… it’s fine, really.”
“No, what are you talking about! It sounds like so much fun!”
Even I was impressed by my swift change of heart.
“Really? I guess it would be fun to start a club with friends.”
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, it sounds like a blast.”
Spectacular encounters with demons…
Conquering dungeons and becoming stronger…
It sounded incredibly exciting.
Incredibly…
“That’s great! Haha.”
“Haha, hahaha! That’s what friends are for.”
I mentally reviewed potential club members.
Tesha, Anya, Arthur, and me.
Even after exhausting my network, I could only recruit four members.
Should I approach Sonny?
What would I even say?
“Hey, want to join our awesome club?”
He’d think I was crazy.
“Who were you planning to recruit?”
“Ah… well… you, Anya…”
“And?”
“I was planning to find the others later. I was half resigned to giving up, actually.”
My head throbbed.
Had our protagonist’s intelligence also been nerfed thanks to the novel’s plot adjustments?
Was this all part of the author’s plan to torture me? My suspicions grew.
It was time for a status check.
“Arthur, what are your current stats like?”
Thankfully, after hearing him out, there hadn’t been any major changes.
If there had been, my mental state would have crumbled into dust.
“Let’s start recruiting members.”
I sighed inwardly.
Professor Laf Terberg, a close friend of Sonny’s in the original story, was supposed to be the club’s advisor.
But could we even gather five members?
I might have to resort to recruiting ghost members.
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The first practical exam for “Introduction to Hunting” was upon us.
It was called “Find the Flag,” and it involved first-year students forming teams through a lottery and retrieving orbs hidden in a forest.
It was basically a glorified treasure hunt.
We were given maps and tasked with finding flags hidden in the forest.
It was supposed to be a way for us to practice our map-reading skills and combat skills, as we would encounter monster dummies scattered throughout the forest.
But during this exam, a demon would infiltrate the forest and attack Princess Tesha.
And our protagonist, Arthur, being on the same team as Tesha, would rescue her!
That’s how their relationship would begin.
That’s how it was supposed to happen.
I blinked, trying to make sense of the situation.
Team 3 consisted of Tesha, Sepia, and me.
I must have been added to the team due to the lottery, replacing Arthur and Anya.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Tesha.”
Tesha bowed politely.
She had entered the academy, concealing her identity as the princess, seeking to prove her worth.
And the demon was planning to assassinate her.
The original Team 3 should have been Arthur, Anya, and Tesha.
Perhaps it was fortunate that Sepia was on our team.
If I hadn’t been assigned to Team 3, I would have pretended to get lost and then “accidentally” stumbled upon Tesha and the demon.
Arthur, in the original story, had hesitated for a moment, allowing the demon to escape.
The readers had flooded the comments with complaints about the frustrating plot development.
And the author’s note, explaining that Arthur was still adhering to his pacifist principles, had only added fuel to the fire.
This time, I was going to eliminate the demon.
Fortunately, demons weren’t known for their loyalty to each other.
The chances of another demon seeking revenge were low.
At least, that’s how it was in the original story.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sepia and Tesha.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
Sepia replied curtly.
“Nice to meet you, Ethan and Sepia.”
Tesha smiled warmly.
“Each team, please proceed to your designated starting point.”
Rond gave the order.
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Why would not apologizing make him a petty person he wasn’t wrong in the first place