Today is the day when the clubs begin their activities. Isabella and I were summoned by the club's president to attend the first meeting. As expected of a club with a bad reputation, there were barely enough members that allow this gathering to be considered a club.
There were a total of 7, including the members of the third year. The president was a man with scars all over his face. His long and messy hair was giving off the air of a wild animal, he also had a penetrating stare, his red eyes were like sharp knives that seemed to dissect you the longer he looked at you. If anything, I'd say he was what a true hunter must look like.
We were inside a classroom located on the fire grounds. The walls were covered in maps and weapons, there were also piles of books and documents with information about plants and monsters living in the forest, caves, and sea. The skull of a large bear was decorating the door by which we entered the classroom. The yells from the chivalry club could be heard in the distance as they trained in the open.
The president and the club members were all sitting around a long wooden table with knives and other hunting devices taking space on its surface. Or at least that's how it should have been because currently, the only people present were the president and ourselves, the rest of the club's members were nowhere to be seen.
"All right rookies. Here's the deal. We take quests from the adventurer's guild and the academy, as long as we cover the payment for the classroom you get to do with the money of the bounty whatever you want. If you take multiple club members to the same quest we share the money according to rank, the higher your rank the more you get from the bounty. Try not to die and help a club member if they need you. Questions?"
I can't tell if his voice was deprived of any interest or life in itself.
Isabella and I looked at each other with awkward faces before turning to the president. Jasmine silently judged the man's attitude from behind us.
"Are there any rules at all?"
"Uhh... Don't kill each other without reason. And don't steal the prey of another member... The rest you can read it from the manual... Oh, I know! That's gonna be your first task as new members of the club"
The president showed us a couple of books. They were torn and stained by unknown liquids. I could barely read a word from this piece of crap.
I let go of a long sigh before asking a question myself.
"Can you at least tell us your name, president?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I forgot I had to do that... The name's Jason Doe Wolv"
"... And the rest?"
"They can tell you their names once they arrive, it's gonna be a pain in the ass if I do it myself"
And with that last response, Jason put a book over his eyes and rested deeper into his chair.
"... Right..."
I could tell that Isabella was as irritated as me thanks to her facial expressions. The fact that the hunting club has a bad reputation among other clubs is not just because is conformed by low-rank nobles, but also because of the unpleasant personalities of its members.
I already knew this due to my knowledge of the novel, but hearing it firsthand is quite the experience.
After another sigh, I stood up from my chair and walked to the wall with several requests attached to it by a dart.
"Is it okay if I get one of these?"
"Yhea, sure, just don't try anything stupid like hunting a chimera or somethin' like that. Our permission to hunt will be revoked if any of you rookies die"
My eyes scanned the papers in search of something that could give me a good amount of money in a single shot. It wasn't long before Isabella got beside me.
"Have you found something?"
"... The best quests are usually involved in the eradication of a monster or a nest. Sometimes fetching strange materials from dangerous places is good too, but most of these are just too simple or easy. I know the guild has more options than these, so what is going on?"
"It's because of the academy. Since the last president graduated our permission to take other quests was demoted"
"The last president was a high-rank noble?"
"You got that right"
"I see... I guess we'll have to take a detour to the guild if that's the case"
Jason laughed at my comment and finally separated his ass from the chair.
"Hah! It's the guild the one that sends us these crappy quests. You're only wasting your time by going there. Especially when you're an irregular"
Isabella frowned, and when she was about to say something I placed my palm on her shoulder to stop her.
"Trust me, president, I can be quite convincing"
Jason looked at me as if he was seeing a person tell a bad joke, but he just shrugged his shoulders before flashing me a tired smile.
"You know what? Go ahead, at this point, I'll even take the words of an irregular if that means getting better requests"
He then walked to the door and grabbed a sword that was leaning against the wooden furniture.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
This attitude of his was tiring, to say the least, but I didn't hate it, and after checking on Isabella I knew she was feeling something similar to me.
"Right behind you, president"
We quickly went to the stables. I gave Jasmine the task of cleaning the classroom and telling the other members about our trip while we were gone. She objected a little and made me promise to take her out for a meal, but she agreed to do it in the end.
"Just give me a second, Twilight gets a little moody when she meets new people"
"Sure, just make it quick"
I left the group for a moment, I had to get my drake out of her cocoon once again.
**
POV: Isabella
"So, are you two dating?"
"Huh?"
The question took me off guard, I was only able to make strange sounds as a response.
"You are both the only irregular students here, and you've been ogling the guy for a while now, so I thought maybe you two were a thing"
As much as I would have liked that to be true, the reality was different.
"... We are just friends..."
"But you like him, don't you?"
What's with this guy? He's so annoying!
"A-And what if I do?! Do you have a problem with that?!"
"Not really, I'm dating the former president after all"
"You're in a relationship?!"
His face turned into a frown when I asked that question.
"Why is that so surprising?"
A bit of cold sweat slid down my back.
"No... well... you're kind of..."
He rolled his eyes before giving me a tired sigh.
"Kind of an asshole and a slacker, I know, I know. She tells me the same thing"
I don't think he noticed, but he made such a relieved smile that is hard to believe he gets any pissed by that comment.
A swift pain landed in my chest.
"Seems like she means a lot to you..."
He averted his face while scratching the back of his head.
"Yhea... well... She's my everything..."
I couldn't contain it anymore, so my face and throat showed just how unhappy I was in the form of a long and raspy sigh.
"Hahaha... I guess it's quite painful to hear these things when you're single, huh?"
"... Just shut up already..."
This is just great. Even a jackass like him can be in a relationship but I can't even confess my feelings when I already know I'm going to get rejected...
Life can suck so much!
"... Listen, it's actually a good thing that you two are not a couple, especially when you are now part of this club..."
His change of tone made me raise an eyebrow.
"Why is that?"
"Love is never a good thing when you're in a team, much less when you're out there in the wild... There are a lot of misunderstandings and problems related to fairness and teamwork... People can get jealous and those feelings push them to do stupidities..."
He was looking at the sky with melancholy in his voice, even though he was showing a smile, the sorrow was palpable.
"... Speaking from your own experience, I suppose?"
"... More than I would like to..."
I looked at the ground, my mind now running wild with questions and scolding words to myself.
This was a bad idea... why did I bother to get into the same club...? I should have just stayed out of his way...
"I truly am scum you know... I'm telling you this even though I did the thing that put us in that situation... I'm the kind of guy that would shatter his team if that meant I get to date the girl of my dreams... It didn't matter to me that she was already dating another guy"
My head automatically rose from the ground, when I looked in his direction with peeled eyes I noticed the warm eyes he was giving me.
"Has he already rejected you?"
I shake my head.
"Then there's still a chance... many people may not like it, but if it's a decision that gets your heart in peace, and your special person is okay with your approaches, then don't give up until the last of your breaths..."
I bite my lip and clunch my hand into a fist.
Do I really have the nerve to do something like that?
Amongst my doubts, I feel a hand on my shoulder.
"People are not objects that can be owned by a partner, they can't be stolen. Everyone has the right to look for someone that makes you feel unique and loved, even the scumbags like us"
"... How can you say that to a girl that clearly wants to give up?"
He rested against the wall with his arms crossed.
"I guess that's exactly the reason why I'm doing this"
"..."
A smile creeped out of my mouth. Somehow, this failure of a man managed to give me the final push that I needed.
"Oh look, he's already coming... is that blood on his hand?"
A giggle escaped from my lips as I walked to the man riding a black drake.
"President, you better treat me to something with your girlfriend if I get rejected. This is now your responsibility too"
"Heh... what a rascal of a junior I just got... sure thing, give it your best and we'll be glad to shove our love into your face"
I showed him the middle finger before reaching out for the hand of Dominique.
"Sorry, took me longer than expected. Things got a little messy"
"You can tell me everything on the way, for now, show me your hand, I can heal it"
"Hm... you seem to be in a good mood, did something happen with the president?"
I got on the seat behind him and grabbed his hand from behind, my magic flowing to the palm covering his while I hid my blushing face on his back.
"We just talked a little..."