Creating a club itself wasn’t so difficult.

The problem here was that I had to make a club that ‘didn’t stand out’ as much as possible.

If possible, I’d like it to be a bogus club that had nothing to do with other people so that I could make it and get my mind off it.

I mean, I was just trying to fulfill the school regulations anyway, the details didn’t matter.

“...So, what’s the name of the cub again?”

That was why…

For the time being, I’d need to get this out of the way first.

“Exorcism Club!”

“...”

Hearing that, I sent Iliya, who said those words while smiling, a dissatisfied look.

Creating a whole new club was her idea in the first place. Getting myself to create that club with her was her idea too, since we’d need at least two members to form one.

But, wasn’t her idea a little too catastrophic?

“...Would that really be a good idea?”

“I mean, you were the one who said that you want to make a club that no one else would want to join, Teach.”

“...”

“It fits that purpose, no?”

I see her point.

Of course, the profession ‘exorcist’ really existed—Just look at Viszla, the guy I’ve met before. The thing was that the word ‘exorcism’ was commonly related to ‘Devils’.

As you already knew, the whole continent would shake in fear whenever they heard the word ‘Devils’, so no sane student would apply if exorcism became the name of the club.

But, there was another problem with that…

“Would Elfante give us the permission to do that?”

“So what if they don’t? I’m the Hero.”

“...”

“Just think about it, the only person in the entire continent who’s able to defeat the Devils is showing her desire to make such a club. What kind of idiot would prevent me from doing so?”

That…actually made sense, huh…?

If it were anyone else, I would’ve dismissed their words, calling it absurd, but she wasn’t just anyone else.

“So, this is the club building?”

“Yes.”

I looked around while letting out a sigh through my nose.

In front of us was an old school building that looked like an abandoned building more than anything.

This dreary building was located in a remote place—reminded me of the place Yuria used to live in the past.

Seeing this building up close, I’d believe it if someone were to tell me that it was haunted or something.

In any case, Iliya picked this place to be the club’s building.

“...How did you even find this place…?”

We somehow agreed to make it a club that people wouldn’t willingly join, it was just I never expected that she’d be this thorough about it.

As I thought while letting out a chuckle, Iliya nodded next to me while making a ‘Mhm’ sound, as if she was satisfied by my reaction.

“In any case, no one will come here for sure.”

“...”

“So, it means Teach and I would meet up here every day after school. Just the two of us. Without anyone to disturb us.”

She ended her words with an ‘Uhu, uhuhuhu’ laugh and a shiver ran down my spine the moment I heard that.

“You know, I only created the club because it’s mandatory. We don’t need to—”

“Oh, you didn’t know?”

“Huh? Know what?”

"After you establish a club, you’re required to attend it for a period of time. They added the rule so that students won’t just register a club for the sake of it and not attend it afterwards.”

“...”

“That means you need to abide by that rule too, Teach.”

So, what she was trying to say was…

Once this club was officially recognized, I’d need to spend this time alone with this punk after classes and I wouldn’t be able to get away from it…

“...”

Fuck…

That means…

I stepped on a huge ass landmine…

“Alright, let’s come in now, Teach!”

“Hey, wait! D-Don’t push—”

I said as she dragged me into the abandoned building. To my surprise, the interior building was more cozily decorated than I expected.

“…?”

No, uh, was cozy the right word here?

If anything, the discrepancy between how it looked outside and how well decorated it was inside was strange.

The inside was packed with furniture. It was clear that the wallpaper and flooring were installed with care—this evaluation came from me, someone who had just seen the living space of THE high ranking nobles, the Tristans. The whole place was decorated with lovely-looking heart decorations and pink lights.

If the outside seemed as if it would collapse at any moment, the interior seemed so bright that it was blinding.

At a glance, I could say that this room would be good for a newly married couple who were on their honeymoon.

Also, there was one thing that stood out the most here.

A bed.

It wasn’t a simple bed, but a big one; Made of expensive-looking wood, with a beautifully arranged blanket made of the best silk.

The size was perfect for two people to lie down.

“Would you like to lie down,Teach?”

“...Why?”

“Because it’s a bed? That’s what a bed is for, no?”

Nope.

Hell no.

Why do I need to lie down in bed in broad daylight?

Especially not in front of you who’s making such a sly expression!

“Boohoo, I’ve prepared everything to the best of my ability and you aren’t even going to try it?”

“...”

“Don’t be like that, come on…”

Iliya approached me, wiggling her fingers with a slightly blushing face.

“...Hey, wait. Stop for a moment. Let’s talk this out.”

“Sure, we’ll talk! After we lie down together!”

“That’s not what I’m saying…!”

At some point, she started breathing roughly. Her pupils had lost their focus and she looked as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Before I realized it, I already stepped back as my face went pale. I could feel a lump of something from her.

Her ‘desire’. Its intensity was no joke.

Fortunately, before any of us could say something about it, a helping hand came from an unexpected place.

“Is someone inside—?”

“...”

Hearing the voice from outside the building, Iliya stopped approaching me.

Then, I could hear clearly the sound of her clicking her tongue.

“...Strange. I swear I’ve made it so that no one could even come close to this place…”

“...”

You punk.

Just how thoroughly did you prepare for this thing?

As I thought so while breaking out in a cold sweat, Iliya walked towards the entrance of the building. It was clear from her steps that she seemed to be reluctant to go there.

Then, as soon as she opened the door and saw the face of the people outside, her expression instantly stiffened.

“...What are you doing here, Riru?”

Iliya asked fiercely. In front of the door were Riru and Seras. They cleared their throats at the same time, trying to play innocent.

“...Nothing? I was just passing by.”

“...M-Me too.”

“...”

Iliya wore an incredulous look on her face, as if trying to say ‘Did you two even hear yourselves?’, but Riru ignored her and said her piece, arm crossed, full of confidence.

“I came here because I heard a familiar voice while I was passing by.”

“...So, who was it? Who told you that we’re creating a club?”

​

Iliya let out a deep sigh as she asked that question. As if trying to say, ‘We know each other, let’s not kid ourselves here’.

Then, as if she knew what Iliya was trying to say, Riru replied.

“No one. I just followed you around.”

“...Uh, what?”

“I’ve noticed that you’ve been sticking close to that guy behind my back. You even went to the Duchy just a while ago, no?”

Riru asked in a grumpy tone.

“That’s why I figured I’d follow you guys around to see what you two are up to, that’s all.”

“...Riru, that’s called stalking.”

“Stalking? What’s that?”

“...”

Hearing Riru’s innocent reply, Iliya held her forehead, as if saying that ‘Where do I even begin if I were to explain this thing…?’.

Then, she slowly shifted her gaze to Seras, who was standing beside Riru.

“...Then what about you?”

“In my case, I’ve been collecting all sorts of information about Senior Dowd’s whereabouts.”

“...”

“Of course, my skill in collecting information is incomparable to this barbarian over here. I know everything about him, from his favorite food, hobbies, what he does when he’s alone—”

“...I get it. You don’t need to tell me that far, Miss Seras.”

As Iliya’s reply came out of her mouth, my face gradually turned pale.

You punks…

Have you guys ever heard the concept called privacy…?

“...In any case, we’ll be using this building as our club building from now on. If you have no business here, please leave—”

“Oh—! Really—? This is a club building—?”

“Whoa— Both of us aren’t part of any clubs, you know—? Can I hear what kind of club it is—?”

“...”

Riru and Seras said one after another in monotone, as if they were reading a line out of a book. Seeing what they were doing, the veins on Iliya’s face slightly bulged.

Her face wriggled, as if telling them to stop disturbing her.

“...Exorcism Club.”

“Yeah?”

“That’s the name. Ex. Or. Cism. Club. It’s a club that aims to repel the Devils.”

Iliya said while grinding her teeth, as if telling them that the club was created so those two wouldn’t join. Her eyes shone viciously to the point that it wouldn’t be surprising if she were to throw hands here.

She looked so fierce that even Riru and Seras, who purposely wore thicker skin to confront her, backed off for a moment.

But, they still continued what they were doing.

“I know.”

“Then why are you here if you know it?! Both of you are related to the Devils!”

“Well, I can play the role of the one that is being repelled for you two.”

“...”

“A-As for me, I-I’ll do a-anything to join the club, so…!”

Riru and Seras said one after another, prompting Iliya to sweep down her face.

She seemed to have reached the limit of her patience.

However, there was one thing that they forgot about…

“...Uh, before that, there’s one problem that needs to be solved first.”

“Hm?”

“Huh?”

Those guys…

They’re actually counting the chickens before the eggs are hatched…

“...You know that it’s not up to us to decide whether someone can join the club or not, right?”

Yes. That authority belonged to the Advisory Professor, not us.

“...”

The moment they heard my words, they wore faces as if they were saying ‘He’s right’ as they looked at each other blankly.

●

Dean Percy, while yawning with a tired expression, read through the club proposal I gave her. She was the one in charge to advise our club, basically.

The Dean skimmed through the paper with a serious expression before a smile soon appeared on her face.

“No, you can’t.”

Upon hearing her words, Seras and Riru’s bodies flinched at the same time.

“...Um, can you tell us why can’t we join the club—”

“You guys joining it isn’t the problem here. In the first place, club creation isn’t as simple as you think. All the procedures and traditions involved in creating one are strictly supervised.”

Percy continued while sighing.

“The academy will fund your club and it will influence your grades as well. We can’t just accept everything you propose to us like it’s some kind of game. As a member of a club, you’d need to constantly prove your ‘expertise’ and ‘performance’ regarding your club’s activities. Most of the time, clubs that have been existing for a long time also function like a political faction, so there are cases where the Imperial Household would manage those clubs directly.”

“...”

After hearing those words, the expressions of the women around me turned blank in a flash.

It seemed like none of us expected that the whole procedure would be managed so strictly like that.

Especially Iliya, who was confident that we would get past the procedure easily as long as she was with us; She looked the most taken aback out of all of us.

“...U-Um, but, with Teach and my performances…”

“If we’re strictly talking about capabilities, frankly, I have nothing to say regarding ‘exorcism’. I doubt even any of the faculty members has a better capability to handle the Devils than you do, but…”

Percy spoke sharply as if it was a very simple and fundamental problem.

“I’m not the one who has the authority to acknowledge that. For this kind of club, you’d need Professor Walter to approve it, get him to think that it ‘has the value of study’ before you’re able to establish the club.”

“...”

“Since it’s an Exorcism Club, you’d need to prove your ability to do things related to exorcism. As I’ve said earlier, you need to showcase both your expertise and performance.”

“...Ah, if it’s that, in the previous Crimson Night Incident, I—”

“It’s not that. There has to be a result that ‘everyone’ here has achieved together. You’d have to do that much if you want to create a new club.”

She continued with a sigh.

“So, do you have the means to show a performance related to ‘exorcism’, that’s all of you had a hand in, that you could convince the Theology School’s Dean with?”

“...”

There was no way we did.

Everyone went silent at her words.

That silence persisted until the moment we left the Dean’s Office.

“...What do we do now? Should we give up and just look for other clubs?”

To Iliya’s question, I quietly shook my head.

It was best for me to create a new club and quietly lay low there, as much as possible. With Sera’s club system, joining any club would do nothing but harm for me.

But…

With the way Percy talked about it, it seemed like we’d only be able to create the new club if we showed a groundbreaking result related to ‘exorcism’ that Walter could acknowledge.

That meant, general knowledge regarding the means we could use to subdue the Devils wasn’t enough. We had to show him an exorcism method that could amaze him.

Well, there was something that could bring in an impressive ‘result’ that could persuade Professor Walter…

“...”

I silently looked at Riru and Seras.

For a while…

I just kept staring at them without saying anything.

“...”

“...”

As the silence dragged on for a bit…

Both of them seemed to notice the unusual atmosphere and called out to me.

“...Why are you looking at us with such a gaze?”

“Nothing.”

I smirked as I replied to Riru, who had asked that question in a trembling voice.

“You guys said that you’d do anything to join the club, didn’t you?”

“...”

“Anything?”

“...”

“That was what you guys said, right?”

Hearing my questions, their bodies started to tremble.

It seemed like they had really regretted saying those words.