Chapter 15
At the very moment Dean Raymond was screaming inwardly.
Fortunately for her, the flames in Lunaris’s hand went out in an instant with a soft pop.
At the same time, she sank weakly to the floor.
In fact, Lunaris was a terribly fuel-inefficient mage.
Because she couldn't control her mana, every spell she cast burned hot and burned out fast—a pathetic mage with no staying power.
“Looks like I won this one, doesn’t it? Ohohoho!!”
Only then did Dean Raymond’s expression brighten.
Glaring at the dean, who was childishly delighted over beating just a single student, Lunaris grumbled wearily.
“No... cough! Summoning spirits against a student is... cheating... cough, cough!”
“Weren’t you the one who said not to hold back, no matter the means?”
“Grr...!”
Lunaris let out a groan, wearing the most wronged expression in the world.
Dean Raymond looked at her with a pleased expression.
“Well, still, that was impressive. At this rate, she’ll be worth teaching.”
She said that, but inwardly she was breathing a sigh of relief.
What if she had lost?
...The mere thought was catastrophic.
The more she thought about it, the hotter her head felt.
At the same time, her heart thudded hard.
The fallen girl before her was starting to look more and more appealing.
This girl was the real deal.
To think she could unleash magic of this magnitude without even making a contract with a spirit.
Dean Raymond was certain that if she were properly guided, her talent would bloom.
“Ahem—”
Then a particularly loud cough echoed through the ruined hall.
A woman in a neat maid uniform approached, clearing away the debris as she came.
“Good morning, Dean Raymond. Lady Lunaris.”
A face with a business smile and a cold stare.
It was Odette, the head maid of Linnea Hall.
“As a maid, I’m truly delighted to see you diligently studying so early in the day.”
Her polite voice dripped with chill.
Dean Raymond couldn't help flinching.
Knowing the head maid's temper well, Lunaris lay sprawled on the floor, staring only at the ceiling with a face that said, 'I know nothing—'.
“However, I do wonder whether there was any reason you had to spar in the dormitory instead of the practice building.”
“No, there was a reason here...”
Just as Dean Raymond hurriedly opened her mouth to explain.
Lunaris smoothly cut in.
“Dean Raymond said she'd take full responsibility, so I could let loose as much as I wanted.”
There was a bit of embellishment there, but it was true enough.
Dean Raymond looked at Lunaris with the most aggrieved expression in the world, but...
“Grrr...”
Keeping her eyes closed, she was making pained noises and pretending to be unconscious.
“Dean Raymond, would you mind speaking with me privately for a moment about the restoration work?”
Dean Raymond nodded with a dazed face, then immediately clutched the back of her neck.
The arrival of a bill with a staggering number on it was bad enough, and then...
At her age and in her position, the thought of having to write apology reports to the chairman, the Magic Tower, and the imperial family turned the world dark.
*
In the world I lived in before my reincarnation, everyone was busy debating a 4.5-day workweek or even a 4-day workweek.
There were talks about working only Monday through Thursday and either getting Fridays off every other week, or taking them off entirely.
Of course, none of that had anything to do with me.
You’d have to be crazy to expect that from a black company where the '996' system—9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—was rampant.
And I never dreamed I’d get to enjoy that advanced four-day-week system in a medieval fantasy world that was far behind in civilization.
“Grrr... kiyaaak,,,!!”
No, that’s not the sound of someone dying.
It’s the sound of a refreshing stretch.
“Slept... so well...!”
I got out of bed leisurely, basking in the warm sunlight.
I didn't even know how long it had been since I’d slept in all the way until noon.
“Hwaaah~ So refreshing!”
Today was Friday.
A day with no classes at the academy.
*
I crossed the dormitory main hall, where restoration work was still in full swing, and headed to the dining hall to get something to eat.
The time was currently 2:00 p.m.
At this point, it was too late to call it brunch. It was just lunch.
The dining hall was incredibly quiet.
After excluding the chef and the maids, I was practically the only one there.
“Come to think of it, I did get up a bit late.”
Everyone really was diligent. Going out even on a day off like this—guess they must have energy to spare.
“Lady Lunaris, have you come for a meal?”
An all-too-familiar voice sounded.
Odette, who'd been tidying up in one corner of the dining hall, came over to me.
“Yeah, a little late.”
I scratched my tousled hair and yawned. “Huaaam—”
“What would you like me to prepare?”
“Something filling. A balanced meal centered on meat. Leave out the vegetables.”
“If you leave out the vegetables, the balance is already broken.”
“How is a person supposed to eat grass?”
Even if I said that, vegetables would still be quietly mixed into my plate.
But it didn't matter. As long as it tasted properly of meat, I was willing to let whatever ingredients they used slide.
“Understood. I’ll have it ready soon.”
Odette went to the kitchen and laid out my menu requests to the chef in detail.
It wasn't easy to satisfy the palate of a professional picky eater like me while also keeping the meal nutritionally balanced.
After finishing the order, Odette returned behind me and stood there with her hands neatly clasped, then suddenly brought up a different topic.
“Lady Lunaris, do you still not belong to any clubs?”
“A club? What’s that?”
“It’s a group organized by students who share the same interests. At the academy, all students are encouraged to join at least one club.”
Recommended meant it wasn't mandatory, right?
“Then I don’t have to join one, do I?”
That worked out. After I finished eating, I thought I could spend the rest of the time reading in bed and then just conk out.
But my hopeful plan was shattered right away.
“As it happens, the dormitory is currently running a special program for students who aren't in any club.”
“???”
At Odette’s words, I swallowed hard without meaning to.
A special program.
How ominous did that sound.
“It’s nothing major. You’ll be doing 'house activities' with us maids here in the dormitory.”
“And that is... what exactly?”
My voice came out slightly shaky.
Odette added with a perfectly calm expression.
“Please have your meal first, miss. Once you’ve finished eating and changed into a maid uniform, I’ll tell you today’s schedule.”
“Ah??”
I discreetly looked around.
Only then did I notice the expressions on the maids stationed throughout the dining hall.
...Every last one of them was wearing a meaningful smile.
“At last, you’ll get to experience even a little of our hardship, miss.”
“Lady Lunaris in a maid uniform—wouldn’t that be cute?”
Heehee, the laughter spilling out was chilling.
I quietly pushed my chair back and stood up.
Odette looked at me in puzzlement.
“Lady Lunaris?”
“Ah, come to think of it, I forgot I had a lunch appointment with the people from the club I just joined.”
“But just now you said you didn't belong to any club...”
“Sorry I made you go to the trouble of preparing this. I’m off.”
The moment I finished speaking, I spun around and ran—no, flew using telekinesis.
The sweet smell of food tried to hold me back, but I didn't give in to temptation.
No matter what, I wasn't about to fall to maid corruption.
*
After escaping Linnea Hall, I stopped in front of the club recruitment board in the middle of the plaza.
To kill time, I looked over the recruitment notices one by one.
[Swordsmanship Club]
-Special training all day every Friday, from the moment you wake up until you collapse from exhaustion and faint
-Those who want extra weekend training are very welcome!
[Volunteer Club]
-A two-night, three-day program at orphanages and monasteries
-Separate sponsorship costs required
[Tea Ceremony Club]
-Starting from tea-leaf cultivation...
Wow, there's not a single one I can skip, seriously.
How is it that every single club here is one that works you to the bone?
Just in case, I looked over the other notices too, but there wasn't a single place I liked.
“Isn't there a club where I can just put my name down and never actually show up...”
At this point, I was even thinking that I might as well endure the hassle and start a club myself.
For example, the after-school dessert-devouring club that was most famous in my past life.
Or maybe a nap club—no, a lucid-dream research club.
But if I made a club, there'd definitely be all kinds of annoying things like recruiting members and filing activity reports coming at me in droves...
“Huh? Lunaris, what are you doing here?”
While I was in the middle of wracking my brain, a familiar voice came from behind me.
It was Claire.
The girl who had sat next to me in our first class.
“Just checking to see if there’s any club worth joining.”
“You’re only looking for a club now? What were you doing last week when the upperclassmen were promoting them... oh.”
Last week? I was asleep the whole time.
Claire must have remembered that too, and nodded with a sour look.
“Honestly, I don't really want to join a club or anything...”
But if I didn't join one, I'd end up being harassed by the maids.
“So? You’re looking for some ghost club you can just sign your name to and never actually attend?”
“Exactly.”
At that moment, Claire's eyes sparkled.
“Then do you want to join the club I'm in?”
At the unexpected offer, I blinked.
“Huh? What club is it?”
“Just, you know, a club where we sit around in a quiet room, chat, and munch on something tasty?”
“Oooh...”
Sure enough, the venerable, storied after-school dessert club was everywhere.
“So what's the club's name?”
“Ghost Story Research Society.”
“...Huh?”
For a moment, my mind went blank.
“You definitely said it was a club where we'd meet in a room and just chat...”
“That's right. We're a club that talks about ghosts.”
I was definitely trying to join a ghost club.
But it looked like I was going to end up joining a club with actual ghosts after all.