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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Treasure Hunt
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"I found out which club Arte is going to join."
Just before lunch break ended, Shiu heard a voice calling him.
Amelia was hurrying towards Shiu.
"Where...?"
"Arte intends to join the same club as you."
"What?"
"I don't know why. But she's showing a lot of interest in you. Just as you said."
Shiu's expression turned grim.
What on earth had he done wrong?
Had he sold his country in a past life?
"So I'll ask. Where do you want to join...?"
"Well. Maybe the Swordsmanship Club, something safe?"
"Swordsmanship, huh. That's also goo—"
...Strange.
It felt as if the world had twisted once.
Shiu felt that something had changed.
But what exactly?
He thought something had changed, but it might have been a misconception.
Even though he clearly hadn't been attacked, it felt as if his intuition was screaming.
Shiu decided to attribute it to his imagination.
Had he been under a lot of stress lately?
"No, how about an Exploration Club instead of Swordsmanship?"
"...Exploration?"
"Yes. Her goal is the hidden secret room in the academy. So, an Exploration Club, which allows you to roam freely inside the academy, would be perfect."
"That sounds good. Let's go with that, then."
"Alright. In that case, let's tell Arte."
He felt reluctant, but there was no helping it.
To keep an eye on her, it would be best to be in the same club.
"Arte... We probably don't need to look for her. If we just wait, she'll show up soon."
"You're that certain."
"You just experienced it yourself. She seems to know where we are. At the very least, it's safe to assume she's monitoring us."
"Hmm..."
"When I met her alone, I was too nervous, but now it's fine. I've gotten used to it."
He couldn't refute Amelia's conjecture.
She had clearly not been visible, yet she had suddenly appeared out of nowhere during their conversation.
Just as she said, they waited for a moment, and sure enough.
Less than ten minutes passed before she appeared.
"Oh, everyone. What are you doing in a place like this?"
"Oh, nothing much. We were just thinking about what club to join."
"Hmm... Shiu, which club are you joining?"
"The same as me. We decided to join the Exploration Club."
Arte's lips curved into a smile.
She seemed to be in a good mood.
"That's great! I was thinking of joining that one too. All three of us together!"
Amelia said she intended to join whatever club he joined.
In that case, that was a lie.
She was just saying it because he said he wanted to join.
He felt like he was being played by her.
But there was no other way.
Teachers would likely dismiss their words as nonsense without evidence.
And just leave her be?
Artifacts that could overturn the world would leak out.
He had to stop that, at least.
He had entered the academy to become a hero who protected people, after all.
This club, which made it easy to move around the academy under the pretext of exploration, was perfect.
Because he had to find the secret room without her knowing.
He'd have to consider her monitoring him as an unavoidable cost.
It was fortunate that Amelia was there to share the situation with.
If he had been alone, the pressure might have driven him insane.
"Then, shall we go apply for club membership!"
"Alright, let's go."
***
"Three prospective members?!"
A female student, presumably a senior, was utterly thrilled.
Was having three prospective members really that joyful?
"Senior, what about the other club members?"
"Uh, well..."
She hesitated, unable to answer his question.
Alright, he generally understood.
"Don't worry too much. Even if there are no other members, we'll still join the club."
"Huh? How did you know?!"
"Hehe, it's a secret."
"Amazing! Amazing! Tell me!"
[Is it too cliché, after all?]
It was nothing much.
A club on the verge of disbandment, with no members.
The protagonist and friends joining it.
The club's status skyrocketing from rock bottom to the peak, thanks to the protagonist's achievements.
It was a cliché you could see anywhere.
But he couldn't exactly say, "Oh, I just read it in a novel~"
When he vaguely pretended to be mysterious, the club president's reaction was excellent.
It felt good somehow. Is this why people who react well are popular?
"Ah, ah right. ...Um, I'm sorry, but our club has a small tradition!"
"A tradition?"
"Yeah. When you join, we hide a piece of paper in the clubroom and you have to find it... It's just for fun, it's fine. You don't have to do it if you don't want to."
"That sounds fun. I'll do it. What about you two?"
Shiu and Amelia nodded.
They seemed interested.
Perhaps this was also a plot device the author put in because they were bored?
First of all, it's an exploration club. Finding hidden objects is a skill, something like that.
The protagonist would instantly find the hidden object, get praised with "Amazing!", and show off their abilities naturally. Something like that, right?
So he readily accepted.
Looking at her nervous expression, it seemed they didn't *have* to do it, but for the sake of the plot, he could handle this much.
[Heh, a treasure hunt! Sounds fun.]
But unfortunately, it seemed that wasn't the case.
No, hey.
"Ah, could you close your eyes for a moment? I need to hide the paper."
[...? Reader, why do you have that expression?]
Had they seen his dumbfounded, crumpled expression?
The author expressed doubt.
They really had no thoughts at all.
It was his mistake to expect plot devices from the author.
"...Done. Alright, now you can find it!"
Shiu and Amelia opened their eyes and began to look around.
The president smiled triumphantly. She seemed confident that they wouldn't find it easily.
"Heh, this one's quite tricky to find!"
"Hmm, nothing seems to have changed..."
Shiu and Amelia looked around the clubroom, then, realizing it would be harder to find than expected, they began to move more actively.
By the way, why is this place so big?
"The clubroom is quite spacious, isn't it?"
"...There used to be a lot of people."
[Hmm, a cliché setting. I like it.]
They weren't thinking about the plot development, just creating settings.
How annoying.
"...I can't find it. Shiu, how about you?"
"Sorry. I can't either."
[Intuition can only detect physical threats for now! It's natural you can't find it!]
What are you doing?
At times like this, shouldn't you naturally elevate the protagonist?
"You can't find it, huh..."
The previously excited president began to hang her head dejectedly.
She seemed disappointed that they couldn't find the item she had hidden.
...Ah, seriously. This is hard to watch.
No choice.
"Hmm, isn't everyone's training a bit lacking?"
"...Huh?"
"Alright, here. Here. And here. See how easy it is?"
"Woah! Amazing! Amazing! How did you do that?!"
"Hehe, it's a secret."
He swiftly pulled out the hidden papers by slightly unraveling the threads of his fingerless glove.
One was beneath the mustache of a statue, which he had no idea why it was there.
Another was between the tightly packed books.
And finally, one piece of paper was deliberately tucked out of the club president's shoe heel.
Three in total.
Let's see what's written on them.
..."Welcome to the Exploration Club'?"
"Hehe, it's like an initiation. Our club always did a treasure hunt when new members joined."
Heh.
He had been wondering what kind of setting the Exploration Club would have. So, it was like this.
[So that's the setting...]
"I didn't expect something like this."
[Things I don't plan out usually get filled in with suitable settings. If I leave it alone, it'll solidify into that setting. ...Well, this is fine too, I guess.]
"How was it, wasn't it fun?"
"Yes, it was fun."
Leaving the highly excited and joyful president behind, he approached Shiu and Amelia.
"...? Everyone, why are your expressions so gloomy?"
"How did you find them?"
"Huh?"
"Such tiny pieces of paper, how did you find them so quickly...?"
"Oh, you mean that?"
Hmm, it wasn't that difficult of a trick.
It was very easy and simple, but a trick only he could pull off.
"It's a secret. Hehe."
He didn't want to tell them.
No, seriously.
He couldn't say that because his eyes were so narrow, it looked like he had them closed, so he saw everything the president hid.
She was so excited there, how could he tell her it was just a trick?
She'd probably cry?
***
"To find those so easily..."
"Looks like the hidden camera operation needs to be canceled."
"What?!"
Shiu was startled.
...What? Hidden cameras?
"Why are you so surprised? There's no other way if we want to find evidence."
"Bu-but that's a crime..."
"What's the big deal? It's fine as long as we don't get caught, right? Besides, when it's dangerous, you shouldn't hold back on things like that."
"..."
"Don't worry. I said it's canceled. She's so good at finding things, she'd probably discover them right away if we set them up."
She wasn't wrong.
As Amelia said, if Arte had a dangerous objective, they had to stop her by any means necessary.
...Still, hidden cameras.
She truly seemed willing to go to any lengths.
"How can we find evidence? ...Kidnap? No, she wouldn't have anyone close by. Eavesdropping? Hmm..."
He felt cold sweat trickling down his cheeks.
He had thought Arte was the only dangerous one.
...It seemed there was one more dangerous person right beside him, besides her.