Chapter 37: Joining the Club

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“Wait, did that girl with the blue hair just say she wants to join the Magical Tool Research Club… even after hearing all that?”

My senior leaned forward, her eyes wide with surprise, and directed her question towards Mil, who was sitting hunched over, hiding behind my back.

Feeling the pressure, Mil shrunk back, but still nodded in response.

“Y-Yes, I said it.”

“R-Really? You really want to join the Magical Tool Research Club, even after hearing all that?”

“If… if it’s not too much trouble…”

“Why… why would you…?”

“I’ve always been interested in magical tool creation. And since my father was a magical tool artisan, I thought I’d give it a try myself…”

My senior’s eyes widened in astonishment, and she blinked slowly for a moment.

Then, she walked slowly past me, extending her arms suddenly and leaping onto Mil.

“Thank you, Little Red Riding Hood! I was feeling so alone all by myself!”

“W-Wait, this was my own decision, so… I don’t think there’s a need for you to thank me…!”

“Um, senior, Mil is extremely shy, so it would be appreciated if you let her go…”

Upon hearing my words, my senior panicked and quickly released Mil, her face turning bright red.

“S-Sorry! I got carried away when I found out a new member would be joining! “

“…N-No need to apologize.”

“We lost most of the new recruits to other attractive research clubs, so I had almost given up hope of anyone joining us. But I’m really glad you two waited.”

Suddenly, my senior remembered something and spoke up.

“By the way, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet. I’m Pita Jia Insalata, a second-year student.”

“I-I’m Miltyu Glace, a first-year… nice to meet you.”

“I see. So that’s why you’re called Mil. Nice to meet you, Mil-kun.”

Mil hesitated for a moment but eventually reached out and firmly shook the extended hand.

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, my consciousness was left behind.

Mil, who had always avoided getting involved with others as much as possible, had voluntarily stepped into an environment like the research club, where interactions with others would be most frequent in this school.

To an outside observer, it may not seem like a significant moment, but to me, it felt like a big step.

Feeling a secret sense of admiration, Pita Jia, the senior who introduced herself, turned her gaze towards us once again.

“If you’re okay with it, how about you too?”

“Huh, me?”

“I’ve been talking about all the downsides of the Magical Tool Research Club, so you might not find it appealing, but if it’s not a bother, would you be willing to help liven up the club?”

“Well, I…”

In an instant, Mil firmly grabbed onto my right arm.

When I turned to look, Mil had a gaze like a frightened small animal and sent me a pleading look.

I had mentioned that I wanted to join, but with how enthusiastically my senior approached us, perhaps she wanted someone to rely on.

Besides, it would be more reassuring to have a familiar face with me rather than joining alone.

Well, there weren’t any other research clubs I wanted to join, so I didn’t mind.

“Then, um, I’ll join too.”

And just like that, I ended up joining the Magical Tool Research Club.

I’m weak when it comes to Mil’s troubled expression.

Well, I understand that it might be a little concerning to join a club with an unclear activity status, but Pita Jia-senpai seems like a nice person, so it should be fine.

There don’t seem to be any complicated rules in the club, and it shouldn’t interfere with my school life.

Oh, right. I remembered something at that moment.

“Um, Pita Jia-senpai.”

“Hmm? Do you have a question for your senpai already?”

“Um, well…”

Pita Jia-senpai had a delighted expression, so I decided to ask her something that had been on my mind.

“When you were a first-year, what kind of things did you do for the end-of-semester exams?”

“The exams?”

“I can more or less imagine what the written exams are like, but I’m curious about the practical exams.”

Pita Jia-senpai seemed surprised for a moment before responding.

“Practical exams, huh?”

The end-of-semester exams, which would serve as the first major filter in the Magic Academy, were approaching in two weeks.

I had been thinking about hearing from senior students in their second and third years about how to prepare for the exams, so I took this opportunity to ask Pita Jia-senpai.

If I could learn about the past exam contents, it might help me prepare to some extent.

“Come to think of it, I wonder what we did back then. I was only focused on livening up the club, so I didn’t pay much attention.”

“But you were able to pass the exams and advance to the second year. So it wasn’t that difficult?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say it was easy. Both the written and practical exams seemed challenging for everyone, and there were some students who dropped out as well.”

So there were indeed students who dropped out.

Well, that’s understandable. Even though we’re enjoying our school life every day, this is still the world’s top Magic Academy.

If you perform poorly in the exams, it would be determined that you don’t have the aptitude to become a mage, and you would be expelled strictly.

The approaching end-of-semester exams once again filled me with anxiety.

As I was contemplating that, Pita Jia-senpai suddenly widened her eyes.

“Oh, I remembered! I remembered! The practical exam I took for the first time was a chase game with the teacher.”

“A chase game?”

“It was a pursuit test where the teacher played the role of a fugitive. They said that as national mages, we might have to chase down criminals, so it was an exam designed with that in mind.”

The duties of national mages span various areas.

The main ones known to the public are subduing magical beasts, researching magic, exploring unexplored territories, and capturing criminals.

Choosing “pursuing a fugitive” as an exam to verify whether one is capable of fulfilling those duties is reasonable.

I’ve heard that among criminals, there are those who possess magical abilities at the level of national mages, so it’s crucial to be accustomed to combat against magic users.

So, will our end-of-semester exams be something like that too?

“Oh, but in the end-of-semester exams of the second semester, it was a regular exam for subduing magical beasts. And in the previous year’s exams, they did something completely different, so the previous year’s exam content might not be very helpful.”

Ah, I guess that makes sense.

It’s unlikely for them to repeat the same exam.

If that’s the case, it seems difficult to come up with specific strategies, so we’ll probably have to tackle it head-on when the time comes.

Well, I got to ask what I wanted to know, and the sun was starting to set outside, so I should take my leave soon.

After receiving a brief explanation about the club, Mil and I left the club room.