#018 The Eccentric Student Council President
“Let’s create something new.”
When Ruby brought up an unexpected topic, everyone, including myself, had a bewildered expression.
“You mean create a club?”
“Yes. Since there’s nothing we want, we’ll make it ourselves.”
Was it even possible to create a new club from the beginning?
There was no such function in the original game where you could directly establish a club.
It was merely a means to support stats and express one’s personality.
Setting aside how we would propose the club creation, I was curious about what kind of club Ruby wanted to create.
“So, Miss Ruby, do you have a club in mind?”
“I’ll start thinking about it from now on.”
How could she be so confident?
There was not a trace of embarrassment or hesitation in her expression.
“For example… Yes. The Free Activities Department.”
“···Free Activity Club···?”
Just listening to it, the name of the club didn’t evoke any specific activity.
“Let’s create a club where you can do whatever you want without being constrained by the name of the club.”
“Is there a difference between that and not joining any club at all?”
“It’s about a sense of belonging. It’s more enjoyable to have fun together if you’re going to hang out anyway.”
“···.”
‘Oddly persuasive.’
Honestly, I thought it was an unreasonable club, but coming from Ruby’s mouth, it was strangely convincing.
Amethyst, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, asked Ruby.
“Do you know how to establish a club? It seems daunting to figure out who to ask.”
“Well···.”
***
Following Ruby’s opinion that when asking for a favor, you should go to the most powerful person in the academy, we decided to approach the student council president.
Naturally, we thought all four of us could meet the president, but the senior in the student council had a different opinion.
“Four of you? That won’t work. Interviews must be conducted one-on-one without exception.”
“···So, only one of us can go in?”
“Yeah. Our president has a unique personality. Sorry, but you’ll have to choose one representative from the four of you.”
At that moment, the voice of a woman who seemed to be the president echoed loudly from beyond the door.
“Out there! It’s too noisy-!”
A sound of something hitting the door, thud, reverberated all the way here.
At the sound of that harsh remark, our expressions froze.
“…Did you hear that just now? She’s been a bit on edge lately.”
I naturally turned to Ruby as I spoke.
“Miss, what do you want to do?”
Since Ruby was the one who voiced her opinion, I assumed she would take the lead.
After a moment of contemplation, Ruby opened her mouth with a determined expression.
“If we don’t submit, we lose…”
“…What!?”
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
She suddenly extended her hand with a gesture of determination.
As if it were a unanimous decision, everyone except me presented scissors. I lost at rock-paper-scissors.
“…?”
As I stood there bewildered, for some reason, the girls discreetly stepped back.
Ruby, wearing a serious expression, grabbed my shoulders with both hands and said,
“I’ll trust only you, Amber.”
“Uh…”
And so, it was decided that only I would enter the president’s office.
Just before entering the dimly lit office with no windows, the female student who had been guiding us since earlier looked at me with a pitying gaze and said,
“Don’t be too nervous. Even if he’s the president, he probably won’t be too harsh on a junior. …Probably.”
“…”.
She pushed me away and closed the door to the president’s office. I stood in the dimly lit space, where the sunlight barely touched, facing a desk emitting a somber aura.
How did I end up here?
Well, it’s because I lost in rock-paper-scissors.
Gulp. Swallowing dry saliva, I took a step towards the desk.
“Excuse me…”
“…”
Then, I noticed red hair scattered messily among the piles of documents on the desk.
“Excuse me?”
“…I’m listening.”
Two dark circles and freezing yellow eyes stared at me like a cat’s in the darkness.
Right after, a girl with red twin tails staggered to her feet from the desk. She rummaged through the documents, found a cup of coffee, and gulped it down.
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“Should I take a guess? You’re here about a club matter, right?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“Just a hunch. So, what, you want an increase in budget?”
“I want to start a new club.”
-Thud.
Her coffee cup made a heavy sound as it hit the desk.
“…What did you just say?”
The atmosphere of the conversation changed instantly.
“···So, I want to establish a new club.”
“···Sigh.”
The girl, exhaling deeply as if digging up the ground, staggered to her feet. She then decisively pulled the blackout curtains hanging on the window of the president’s office.
As the sunlight filled the previously dark room, the hidden interior structure gradually revealed itself.
Among them, the first thing that caught the eye was a wooden nameplate with her name written on it.
Student Council President, Citrine Scarlet.
I had known about her identity from the beginning.
The sole second-year heroine in the original game [Lily Magic Chronicles], also the student council president of the academy.
While characters with senior attributes often evoke a mature and tidy impression, Citrine shattered the expectations of players who held such fantasies. The twist was her overwhelmingly petite stature among the previous heroines.
With sharp eyes, Citrine looked up at me and asked, “You’re a first-year?”
Although she stood tall, emphasizing her senior status, she still seemed a bit short.
Expressing her displeasure, she revealed her pointed fangs.
Judging from the atmosphere, it seemed necessary to adjust to her mood. So, I slightly bent my knees, matching her eye level, and replied, “Yes, I’m a first-year.”
“···Hmph, you look clueless with that baby face.”
Each word she spoke was like a precious gem.
Citrine was notorious for her tough early-game dialogue with low intimacy.
Her condescending attitude and sky-high self-esteem were prominent features.
However, rather than the villainous young lady style like in the game, it felt more like a little devil.
It could be described as an image of an unassuming little kid.
“Well, should we join some club or something?”
She pushed her chair away from her desk and towards me.
“…?”
“What are you doing? Hurry up and sit.”
“Oh, thank you.”
I thought she was confidently pulling out a chair for me to sit, but it seemed she was planning to keep standing while making me sit.
Was it kindness or did she want to look down on me?
“I want to create a Free Activities Club.”
“Free Activities Club? What kind of club is that?”
Citrine asked, raising her eyebrows.
Yeah, I’m curious about what kind of club it is too.
“The Free Activities Club is, well, a club for students who don’t have anything particular to do, I guess?”
“…Doing nothing at all?”
“…Well, more like doing what each person wants to do, that kind of feeling.”
Citrine’s expression stiffened. Perhaps it was indeed an unreasonable opinion.
As expected, she shouted at me with a thunderous voice.
“Are you kidding!?”
“…”.
In response to the loud voice, I involuntarily shrank and, with a hesitant expression, looked at her.
“···How could it not work once?”
“Of course it won’t work! What do you think club activities are!? A club that does nothing···? Such a club wouldn’t be allowed···.”
Citrine took a thick, dusty book from the nearby shelf, opened it, and frantically flipped through the pages.
After thoroughly examining the book, Citrine made a serious expression and closed the book.
Then, with a complicated expression, she bit her fingernails.
“Why are you like this···? What was written in the book?”
“···Nothing.”
“What?”
“There’s no clause prohibiting a club that does nothing.”
While there were rules in the book gathering behaviors prohibited for academy students, there was no regulation prohibiting doing nothing.
In the first place, it was strange to prohibit doing nothing. Because it’s doing nothing.
With a puzzled expression, I cautiously asked her.
“So, does that mean we can create it?”
“···There’s nothing stopping us. But···.”
Citrine propped her chin with one hand, tilted her head, and said.
“Why should I allow that? I have no reason to cooperate in creating such a weird club.”
“···.”
“To establish a club, you have to apply for a budget, allocate space. As if I’m not busy enough, do you know how much more work this adds?”
Honestly, there was no argument to counter that. It was undoubtedly a peculiar club to anyone who looked.
“Well, if you really want to create it, it’s not impossible.”
“What’s that?”
As I blinked, Citrine smirked and opened her mouth, emitting a sinister laugh.
“Clean my office every day, organize the desk, fill the coffee. If you don’t omit these three things on my behalf, I’ll consider it.”
“…”
“How about it? Just hearing it gives you the creeps, doesn’t it?”
“Is that all? Anything else?”
“Huh?”
As I casually responded, Citrine looked bewildered.
“I didn’t expect that reaction…”
“If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it properly, right?”
Honestly, her requests were nothing more than tasks that were relatively easy compared to what I did every day, like having meals at the mansion.
Despite her awkward expression, I glanced around the dusty room and, as if conducting an inspection, asked Citrine.
“By the way, do you regularly ventilate the room? When was the last time you washed the blackout curtains?”
“Oh, I’ve never done that.”
“That’s a problem! It directly affects the president’s respiratory health.”
I sat her down and explained, tirelessly, the necessity of ventilation and the risks of dust.
“Do you know how much dust on the window frame can harm your body?”
“It doesn’t matter, it’s just a small thing…”
“No, it’s not! Ultimately, the one who spends the most time in this room is the chairman.”
Listening to that story with vacant eyes, Citrine finally stood up, banging the desk.
“Fine, fine! I’ll start a club then!”
“Really?”
“If I keep listening, I’ll go crazy. Hurry up and take this.”
Citrine handed me a paper that said ‘Club Establishment Application Form’.
Taking it, I asked her kindly.
“When should we start cleaning? This afternoon? Or tomorrow morning?”
“It doesn’t matter when, just take that and leave quickly! Please…”
Unable to resist Citrine’s almost begging request, I finally stepped out of the chairman’s office.
“I was worried about how scary she would be, but she turned out to be cuter than I thought.”
She didn’t give off the same arrogant vibe as in the game.
Perhaps it’s because she seemed inexperienced in expressing emotions, unlike Miss Ruby.
Anyway, I thought it was fortunate that we could communicate better than I expected, so I took the paper and walked out into the corridor.
The three people waiting for me in the corridor had worried expressions, but I smiled and waved the paper.
“She gave permission. Miss Ruby!”
Ruby’s eyes widened slightly as she took the paper.
“It’s true. How did you manage to charm that scary chairman?”
“That person wasn’t as scary as I thought. Even though their words were a bit harsh, they are a kind person.”
“···.”
Ruby, who was looking at my cheerful expression, spoke with a worried look on her face.
“I’m not sure if sending you to that person was the right choice···.”
“What?”
“···No, you did well, Amber.”
And so, with this crazy plan of creating a new club, we took a step forward.
