The monumental first step of the volunteer club!
…Though it sounded grand, in the end, we didn’t actually do much.
After all, the ultimate goal of creating this club was to connect our lovely, romantically inexperienced heroines with Pollo. Not because we seriously wanted to engage in volunteer work.
Of course, we’d have to do some activities from time to time, since people were watching and Pollo might get suspicious, but the frequency wouldn’t be anything too demanding.
We found ourselves at another building on the academy grounds for our club activities.
A building just for clubs? This continent’s top academy really does spend big.
Given how vast the academy grounds were, it made sense that there’d be a separate building just for club activities.
Sports clubs could use the training grounds or gyms with attached courts, but since most clubs involved indoor interactions, the school had apparently built a dedicated facility for students’ convenience.
Still, I didn’t expect we’d be assigned a place like this…
The allocation of clubrooms was entirely based on the opinions of the faculty.
If you were on good terms with the professors in charge of assignments, you had a better chance of getting a room on a lower floor with a convenient location. If not, you might end up with a room on a high floor tucked away in a corner, which would turn every club meeting into a hiking session.
There were even rumors that members of the Ancient Language Research Club had their calves double in size thanks to the constant climbing.
Thankfully, we had Her Highness, the absolute pinnacle of power, on our side, so we were assigned to a secluded spot on the first floor where almost no one came by.
Considering our club’s purpose was more questionable compared to others, we preferred not to be easily seen, so I was quite pleased with our current clubroom assignment.
“Since today’s our first meeting, let’s start with a simple self-introduction.”
Gathered together in that very room were the members of the club.
I, Pollo, and the three heroines: the princess, the saintess, and the noble lady. We formed the five-member volunteer club. The room was already packed with fancy furniture, likely chosen by someone with rather extravagant tastes.
At the center stood a flashy table, around which the members of our fledgling volunteer club had taken their seats.
Pollo and I were sitting on one side, while the three heroines sat across from us.
It was a strategic seating arrangement to prevent any unfortunate incidents that might occur if Pollo had ended up sitting next to them.
“Since it’s our first meeting, let’s start with a simple round of introductions.”
A standard self-introduction session.
As for me, I was half-threatened into this by the heroines and was currently in a contractual relationship aimed at forming romantic ties. But since Pollo had no connection to them, it was also a chance for him to get to know them directly.
“To begin with, I’m Mars Noctus, second son of the Noctus Barony. I’ll be serving as the president of this volunteer club. I look forward to working with you.”
Clap, clap, clap!
Pollo clapped excitedly at my simple introduction, but the other three reacted with clear indifference.
They didn’t even bother to clap. Damn bit*hes.
“Hi! I’m Pollo Helios! Uh… Honestly, I joined because I was following Mars, but I really like helping others, so I’m super excited! I hope we can do a lot of volunteer work together!”
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!
Unlike with me, an explosion of enthusiastic applause rang out.
The deafening welcome from the girls was so intense, that I felt my brain go a little numb.
It’s fine… I’m used to discrimination… It’s not the first time I’ve been treated differently because of my face.
The heroines looked more thrilled than ever, probably because the very Pollo they’d only admired from afar was now sitting right in front of them and breathing the same air.
“…Let’s have the rest of you introduce yourselves now.”
“Hmm. Then I suppose I’ll go first. Greetings. I am Asteria von Caelum, student council president of the academy and also the second princess of the Caelum imperial family.”
“A noble princess acting as both the student council president and a member of this little club… I guess you don’t have much else to do, huh?”
An unexpected uppercut from the saintess in response to the princess’s self-introduction.
At the first sign of the catfight I had only heard about in stories, my heart started racing before I even realized it.
“The student council is a path any ruler-in-training must naturally walk. Still, I believe I have the right to join at least one club where I can participate freely, don’t you? Besides, I’m quite capable. Dealing with this much work hardly even registers for me. But thank you for your concern.”
“Tch.”
The Saintess clicked her tongue. She seemed to be frustrated that her surprise attack had failed.
The duke’s daughter sitting beside her didn’t say much, likely out of respect for the princess of the Empire, but she looked visibly displeased.
She likely thought the princess should’ve stuck to student council duties instead of barging in here and interfering with her romantic plans. She was clearly not happy about it.
“Um… but Princess, you’re the student council president, right? Since you’re part of the student council, are you even allowed to join a club?”
“It’s quite alright. The student council is a completely separate organization from the clubs. To explain further, it’s more like an administrative body directly under the academy, so it’s different in purpose from clubs that exist for social exchange. Students can’t join more than one club, but since the student council isn’t a club, it doesn’t count. So yes, I’m allowed.”
As expected of the princess. True to her reputation for being well-versed in law and regulations, she showed that she was fully informed on these matters too.
Apparently pleased with Pollo’s question, the princess answered cheerfully and flashed a triumphant smile at the other two girls, who looked increasingly irritated now that they’d lost their chance to attack.
Next up was the saintess. She gave the princess a disapproving glare, then stood up to continue the introductions.
“Hello. It may be more than I deserve, but I currently serve as the Saintess of the Church. From the moment the Goddess entrusted me with this mission, my name has belonged to Her, so I ask for your understanding that I cannot share it with you. The only one who may know my name is the one who will live by my side for the rest of our lives, alongside the Goddess… For now, you may simply call me Saintess.”
After emphasizing the words “for now”, the Saintess looked straight at Pollo.
The princess and the noble lady seemed to catch the deeper meaning behind those words. Their eyes narrowed slightly.
Of course, I already know her name. I saw it mentioned in a game review article.
But if it’s revealed that I know her name right now, the Church might drag me off for interrogation, so I have to act like I have no idea.
“I heard rumors about the founding of a volunteer club that helps the weak and listens to the struggles of those in need. As someone who received a divine message from the Goddess to help those in hardship, I was overjoyed to hear about this club’s existence and applied to join with a glad heart.”
Even for an atheist like me, the aura of the Saintess said to be chosen by the Goddess felt undeniably powerful.
“Come to think of it, this isn’t the first time we’ve met, Brother Pollo.”
“Oh! That’s right! Thank you for treating that cat back then!”
“Fufu… It was nothing. I actually stopped by a few times afterward to check in, and it seemed to be doing well, without getting hurt again.”
“I see~ That’s a relief…”
From the conversation between Pollo and the Saintess, the other two seemed to get a rough idea of what had happened and looked rather jealous of the strong impression the Saintess had made on Pollo.
And there she was…the Saintess was quietly smiling to herself in satisfaction.
My heart is swelling.
“Ah, hi! I mean… Hello. I’m Selene Eus, the second daughter of Duke Eus. Um… I got interested in this whole volunteer thing… so… I joined…”
Our duke’s daughter’s self-introduction was simpler than I expected.
Perhaps because she had nothing in common with the princess or the Saintess and felt she had nothing to brag about, her usual confident demeanor was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she awkwardly fumbled through overly polite speech. She was clearly nervous under their gaze, which even made me feel a bit sorry for her.
“Hello! We’re in the same class, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah!”
“It’s such a pleasure to see you here! Honestly, I didn’t think a noble lady like you would be interested in something like volunteering!”
“I-Is that so?”
Well, judging by her usual way of speaking and behavior, she really didn’t seem like someone who would join a club like this.
Even if she did join something, it would more likely be a club with influence in high society or one focused on magical research. She never seemed particularly interested in volunteering.
“A-Actually, my father always told me that nobles should live for the sake of the people of the Empire!! I’ve done a lot of volunteer work at orphanages and welfare facilities since I was young!”
“Ooh! That’s amazing!”
Oh-ho. This is unexpected, even for me.
To be honest, the impression our young lady usually gives off isn’t exactly the warmest. She was more like the type to coldly say, “Get those filthy hands away from me this instant!”
But perhaps thanks to being raised by kind and upright parents, her values seem to have grown in the right direction.
…Then why is she like that to me?
“Anyway, with that, it seems we’ve pretty much wrapped up introductions. From now on, we’ll be working on helping others both inside and outside the academy. Whether it’s volunteering in professional facilities or solving students’ minor concerns, we intend to step up and offer support wherever it’s needed.”
I felt a bit sorry for Pollo who probably had high hopes, but honestly, I didn’t really plan to be all that active.
Most of the club activities were supposed to revolve around going to places like orphanages to volunteer and helping Pollo get closer to the heroines. We also planned to send fake requests disguised as love consultations, all to help Pollo better understand women’s hearts through more active involvement.
“Let’s wrap things up here for today. I think it would be best to start our official activities at the next meeting. When we gather next time, I’d like to hear your ideas on what specific activities you’d like to do.”
“So, Mars. When are you planning the next meeting?”
“Hmm… wouldn’t next Friday be good?”
“Oh? I think that might be difficult for me…”
“Ah, I see. Everyone will probably be busy then, so it might be better to postpone our next activity.”
“That’s true. Then how about pushing it to the week after next?”
Busy? Was something going on with everyone?
“Um… why is everyone saying they’ll be busy? Is there some special event or schedule coming up?”
“Hmm? There’s the first-year practical training next week, isn’t there? Since I’m part of the student council, I have to assist with supervising and managing the sessions. The Saintess will be on standby in case of any injuries, and you all are participants in the training. Of course you’ll be busy.”
“Ah.”
The practical training classes were closely tied to grades at the academy.
I was so distracted by the love affairs of our heroines that I had completely forgotten about the existence of the practical training.
“…I’m screwed.”
Leave a Reply