Chapter 43

“Yes! I need it for my graduation thesis. But are you sure about this?”

“You said I just need to put my name on the list, right?”

“Yes, but you might have to participate in some club activities occasionally.”

Cedric shrugged.

“That’s fine. I can handle that.”

“Thank you!”

Elena, overjoyed, almost instinctively hugged him like she would Alice but caught herself and stepped back.

‘He must’ve been startled, right?’

However, instead of being flustered, Cedric furrowed his nose and said,

“I wouldn’t have minded if you hugged me.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Who knows.”

It had to be a joke. Cedric was good at joking around.

“Now we just need two more people.”

“I’ll try asking some of the Swordsmanship students. I’m sure I can find one or two.”

“Thanks. If the club gets established successfully, I’ll buy you a delicious lunch.”

“I won’t say no to that.”

They both laughed simultaneously and picked up their wooden swords. Now that they had recruited a club member, it was time for swordsmanship practice.

***

After sweating through their practice, Elena was cleaning up her sword when Felix approached from where he had been training nearby.

His expression seemed full of discontent, but since that was his usual look, Elena didn’t think much of it.

“What’s up?”

“Aren’t you going to ask about Little One?”

“Oh, right.”

Felix raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, right?”

“I’ve been so busy with the new semester that I didn’t have time to find you.”

It wasn’t that she had forgotten about Little One. She had genuinely been too busy to even catch her breath. Just today, the basic Alchemy class and Thomas Edison had left her mentally exhausted.

Besides, she now felt assured that Little One was safe, so she wasn’t as anxious as before.

Still, she was curious about Little One’s whereabouts. She quickly spoke before Felix could change his mind.

“We’re both sweaty from practice right now, so let’s meet at the cafeteria after we clean up.”

“Alright.”

After showering and changing back into her uniform, Elena headed toward the cafeteria, where she ran into Thomas.

“Oh, there you are!”

Like an overexcited large dog wagging its tail, Thomas ran toward her. Instinctively, Elena stepped back.

“Were you looking for me?”

“Of course! Why else would I come to this dorm?”

His words could easily be misunderstood by anyone overhearing. Elena frowned and asked, 

“Stop saying weird things. Why were you looking for me?”

“Oh? Ah, to give you this.”

He handed her a few sheets of paper. The top one was labeled “Club Membership Application.”

“Fill this out for yourself and hand it out to the others who are joining the club.”

“Alright, got it.”

“I’ll drop by the basic Alchemy class again next time.”

“Okay, see you then.”

Elena debated whether to drop off the application forms in her room first but decided to head straight to the cafeteria. Knowing Felix, even a slight delay would irritate him.

When she arrived at the cafeteria, Felix was already there, seated. As expected, he frowned as soon as he saw her.

“Why are you so late?”

She retorted, 

“I’m not even that late.”

“Have you had dinner yet?”

“No.”

“Then let’s eat first and talk after. What do you want?”

“Uh? Pasta.”

Caught off guard, she answered, and Felix got up to place the order. Soon, he returned with plates of pasta and sandwiches.

Although she hadn’t felt particularly hungry earlier, the appetizing smell of tomato sauce made her mouth water.

After all, swordsmanship practice had left her famished.

Elena stabbed a piece of penne pasta and popped it into her mouth. The minced meat and tangy tomato sauce blended perfectly, stimulating her appetite.

As she focused on eating her pasta, Felix, who had been half-heartedly nibbling on his sandwich, finally spoke.

“I told the professor that Little One showed up again.”

Elena swallowed and nodded. Felix continued.

“The professor also thinks Little One might’ve followed you. But since we can’t go back to the mansion right now, he suggested we keep an eye out to see if Little One appears to you again.”

“Got it.”

“Yeah. It doesn’t seem like Little One means you any harm.”

“That’s true.”

If anything, Little One had brought her happy memories rather than causing trouble.

Looking back, Little One had been the reason she had smiled so brightly amidst the joyful members of the Christian family.

Without Little One, she might’ve congratulated Lindsey and Tony while secretly wallowing in sadness.

“What’s this?”

Felix, having finished his sandwich, gestured toward the club membership application forms next to her.

“Club application forms? For what club?”

Elena mumbled as she ate the last piece of pasta.

“I’m joining an invention club for my thesis.”

“An invention club? Never heard of it. Does that even exist?”

“It’s a new club.”

She sighed softly, almost unconsciously, and lamented.

“But I don’t know if it’ll even get established. We need at least five members, but we only have three so far. Cedric said he’d bring a friend or junior, but honestly, who knows how many Swordsmanship students will join…”

Felix reacted to an unexpected part of her statement.

“Cedric Kaine? Why is he involved?”

“Huh? Oh, I told him we were short on members, so he offered to help. Alice and Penny both turned me down, so I had no one else to ask.”

Even though they were short on members, Elena didn’t bother asking Felix to join. She knew he wouldn’t anyway.

However, after a moment of contemplation, Felix spoke with an unusually resolute expression.

“I’ll join too.”

“…You? Why?”

“…”

Felix didn’t elaborate. Elena tried to figure out his reasoning and eventually came to a conclusion.

“Are you interested in inventions?”

“…Yeah.”

“Is your thesis about inventions too?”

“No, it’s not.”

Hmm… It felt a bit dubious, but Elena had no reason to refuse. If Felix joined, Cedric would only need to bring one more person.

With a mix of unease and relief, she handed him an application form.

“Then fill this out and give it back to me.”

“Got it. And if Little One shows up again, tell me immediately.”

“Okay.”

Elena stood up. After returning her dishes, she headed back to the dormitory with a light step.

Great, now only one more to go!

***

Fortunately, the last member was found quickly. Cedric had recruited a 6th-year junior from the Swordsmanship Department.

“Hello! I’m Oliver Gray!”

Oliver introduced himself with a lot of enthusiasm.

He had reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. Even without saying he was from the Swordsmanship Department, it was obvious.

Elena subtly asked Cedric how he had convinced Oliver to join. Cedric smiled brightly and explained.

“He said he really respects me, so I offered to teach him swordsmanship in exchange for joining the club.”

Hmm, using a young student’s pure admiration like that seemed questionable, but since Elena had also relied on Cedric’s pure friendship, she didn’t comment.

She waved at Oliver.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, you’re Elena Bellote, right? I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Rumors? What rumors? Oh, now that I think about it, Cedric mentioned something too…”

Cedric still hadn’t told her what the rumors were. But it seemed like Oliver might finally provide an answer.

Oliver began to speak.

“They say the 8th-year Magic student is incredibly bea—mmph!”

But Cedric clamped a hand over Oliver’s mouth before he could finish. All Elena heard was “incredibly.”

“Incredibly… what?”

Cedric stared silently at Oliver. Oliver’s eyes darted around nervously before he shook his head.

When Cedric finally let go, Oliver changed the subject.

“I must’ve misheard. Haha.”

It was obvious to anyone that Cedric had silenced him. Elena glared at Cedric.

“Cedric.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Alright, let’s stop this and focus. Everyone, fill out the application forms. The deadline is soon.”

Thomas interjected. He collected the completed forms and submitted the club registration. Approval came immediately.

And thus, the “Invention Club” miraculously came to life.