On Thursday morning, the class representative was going around the classroom, asking the students if they had joined any extracurricular activities.
Even though Aegis Academy was a school, it surprisingly had various extracurricular activities.
Apart from the cooking club I joined, there were many peculiar clubs like the Magic Beast Research Club and the History Study Club. Since the original story never mentioned anything about extracurricular activities, it was quite surprising.
A common feature of academy stories is that the plot eventually moves away from the academy.
In "The Holy Swordsman of the Academy," this transition happened relatively quickly.
As the story progressed, the situation became such that we couldn't enjoy extracurricular activities leisurely.
The class representative approached Yun Siwoo and Sylvia, who were sitting in front of me, and asked if they had joined any clubs. Both of them shook their heads.
They probably hadn't joined any from the beginning.
Participating in extracurricular activities was voluntary, so there were quite a few students who didn't join any.
What's the point of forcing someone to join an extracurricular activity?
"Scarlett, have you joined any extracurricular activities?"
In response to the class representative's question, I nodded.
The class representative, along with Yun Siwoo and Sylvia, who had been glancing at me, looked surprised.
Is it that surprising that I joined an extracurricular activity?
"Can you tell me which one?"
"Cooking Club."
"Cooking Club, huh... I see."
After hearing my answer, the class representative seemed to think for a moment, then scribbled something on a piece of paper and nodded before moving on to other students.
"Miss Scarlett, you joined the Cooking Club?"
"...For now."
When the class representative left, Sylvia turned around and asked.
After I answered, Sylvia thought for a moment and nodded.
"Come to think of it, you said the macarons you gave me were homemade. It's a shame I can't join the same club because of my family duties..."
Sylvia's genuinely regretful expression made my heart ache.
My heart ached, but since Sylvia's ears perked up, I took out a macaron from my bag and offered it to her.
Sylvia took the macaron I offered with a guilty expression.
"Thank you... I always feel like I'm just receiving things. I want to give you something too..."
"That... There's no need. I just give them because I want to..."
I shook my head quickly and firmly refused.
Just being friends with someone like me was enough.
Receiving friendship fees from Sylvia would be weird.
A friendship reversal world?
While I was thinking about this, I felt Yun Siwoo's gaze.
He was looking at me with a somewhat melancholic expression. When I glared at him, he flinched and looked down.
*
After classes ended, almost all the students had left the school except for those enjoying extracurricular activities.
I sat in the open space next to the gymnasium used for sparring and watched the construction work in a daze.
Materials, whether they were superpowers or magic, floated and aligned neatly, gradually taking shape.
What was being built outside the gymnasium looked more like a wall than a door.
It seemed to be a shutter-like structure that could be raised and lowered, rather than one that could be pushed open.
In any case, it looked incredibly sturdy.
The construction must have started yesterday, but it seemed to have made significant progress.
It looked like it would be finished by Monday, but I wanted to be sure, so I approached a man who seemed to be the construction supervisor and asked him.
Although my question might have sounded like a rush, the man, who seemed to be the supervisor, smiled and said it would be finished by tomorrow at the latest.
Being a student at the academy was convenient in such situations.
Heroes were similar to soldiers in the original world, and people generally didn't complain about those who risked their lives to protect them.
In a unique country where most men had to serve in the military for several years due to certain reasons, there were exceptions, but this was usually the case.
While I was standing there watching the construction, the supervisor, perhaps out of boredom, started talking to himself about various things.
He complained about how he had to apologize to someone else because the upper management suddenly changed the schedule of a planned project.
His face reminded me of my former boss.
Middle management must be stressful in any organization.
After a few words of encouragement based on my past experience, the man looked at me with gratitude.
After a brief conversation, I told him to make it sturdy before heading home.
He laughed and assured me that even a powerful magic beast wouldn't be able to scratch it.
Hearing that, I felt a bit relieved.
I got ready to end the day and went to bed.
I closed my eyes and thought about the people I had met since coming here.
In the original story, they were just minor characters, like random citizens.
But the people I had met in person were not just a few lines of text.
They were just ordinary people.
They weren't disposable characters who could die just to advance the plot.
But all I could do for them was to install a door.
In the end, I was just another ordinary character, not the protagonist.
I didn't know if my actions would change the future or what the results would be.
Anxiety made my hands tremble.
Unable to bear the overwhelming sense of powerlessness, I clasped my hands together.
And I whispered to myself.
Please, I beg you, let us get through Monday safely...
As just one human being, all I could do was pray to a god who might or might not exist.
*
On Friday, after lunch, I was resting when I noticed a text message on my phone.
[Today, to celebrate joining the Cooking Club, I'll make something delicious. Meet at the cafeteria after school!]
The message was from Leonor.
She had mentioned that she cooked every Friday in the kitchen.
Since there was no reason to refuse, I replied that I would come.
This was the first time I would eat something other than bamboo shoots for dinner since coming here.
For the record, the 20 pieces of macaron I divided were not considered a meal.
It's not a meal...
Eating only bamboo shoots all the time could lead to monotony, so it might be good to have a break and eat something else occasionally.
If the bamboo shoots were my partner, tonight would feel like a date with someone else.
If the bamboo shoots found out I had used the allowance from a suspicious uncle to refill the fridge with other things, they would be sad, but as long as they didn't find out, there would be no problem!
Whatever it was, thinking about the extramarital partner that would fill me in a way the bamboo shoots never could, my stomach (or rather, my intestines) started to rumble.
Hurry up and end the class!
As soon as the class ended, I walked to the cafeteria with a pounding heart.
When I arrived, I saw Leonor waving at me with a smile.
I bowed and greeted her, then looked at her with anticipation.
She took out a bunch of keys and shook them, and the tag on one of them read "kitchen key."
The sound of the keys clinking made my mouth water.
Like Pavlov's dog...
"Just wait a moment, there's still someone coming."
What? I'm a baby, I don't understand. Hurry up, Mama.
While I was muttering to myself, I noticed someone else entering the cafeteria.
It was the class representative.
Why are you here?
Surprised by the unexpected appearance, I was flustered, but the class representative approached and greeted Leonor.
"I'm Mei from 1-A, who applied to join yesterday. Please take care of me."
"Sure. Please take care of me. I heard someone else joined yesterday too. Since it's a welcome party, I invited this one too. Are you two close?"
Leonor asked me if I was close to the class representative.
The class representative, trying to act like we weren't close, was listening to my answer.
How could I say no here?
When I nodded, the class representative's face lit up.
Looking at her with a bittersweet feeling, the class representative scratched her cheek, embarrassed.
"Alright, let's have a welcome ceremony. Follow me."
Leonor said with her usual grin.
The class representative looked a bit anxious.
It seemed like this was the first time the class representative had met Leonor, and it was natural to feel uneasy when a person who looked like a delinquent offered to have a welcome ceremony.
Moreover, historically, class representative characters were often weak against delinquent characters.
"Oh, by the way, I haven't introduced myself to you yet. I'm Leonor Lionel from 2-B. I'm the president of the Cooking Club for now. Most of the other members are ghost members, so I'm glad you two joined. If you have time on Fridays, let's cook together."
Leonor introduced herself to the class representative as if she had forgotten.
When she heard Leonor's name, the class representative, who had been anxious, widened her eyes and examined Leonor's appearance before nodding, as if she had finally understood.
It seemed the class representative had figured out where Leonor's appearance came from.
Just like how many heroines in academy stories have famous families, Leonor's father was a renowned hero.
And she had inherited her father's distinctive appearance.
The blonde and tanned skin were, in fact, genetic.
I didn't quite understand how that was possible, but with an elf in the class and someone with heterochromia, I decided to let it go.