His friends shouted at him sternly.

“Delete it!”

“Erase all of it!”

This time, even Lee Han couldn’t accept the deletion and argued back.

“Hey. If I delete everything, what am I supposed to use to get investment?”

“...”

“...You already have more than enough!”

At that heartfelt cry, Lee Han gave them an exasperated look, then called out to Senior Palcrius, who was passing by.

“Senior Palcrius. When you’re trying to secure outside support or investment, is there such a thing as being prepared enough?”

“Puhuh. Of course not. It’s always better to overdo it. Prepare excessively. Even that won’t be enough!”

“Thank you, Senior.”

“No need to thank me for something so obvious!”

Palcrius laughed heartily and strode off, carrying a thick iron cauldron.

Because of that, Lee Han’s friends missed their chance to argue.

“No, wait...”

“Senior! Senior, you should hear our side before you go!”

“You heard that, right? There’s no such thing as enough.”

At Lee Han’s triumphant declaration, his friends shot him looks full of irritation.

No matter how they thought about it, if they included everything Lee Han wanted, the mood would turn into, Is Einroguard really okay?

“Lee Han.”

Yonair carefully raised a hand and spoke.

“What is it, Yonair?”

“What do you think when you see the achievements the Skull Principal says he accomplished in his youth?”

“...?”

Lee Han tilted his head.

What did he think when he saw the achievements the Skull Principal claimed from his youth?

“That he’s a really insane mage?”

“Outsiders would probably think something similar if they saw what you wrote...”

“...”

Lee Han looked deeply wounded.

Yonair looked guilty and quietly turned away. The others were startled and began whispering among themselves.

“Wasn’t that too cruel?”

“That comparison was a little much...”

“...Everyone, be quiet. I did what had to be done!”

*****

In the end, Lee Han had no choice but to complete a drastically shortened self-introduction.

The main contents were: taking courses in every school and ranking first, participating in various outside mages’ work, exchanges with fifth-year seniors, and completing fifth-circle magic.

Hmm. This is worrying. Will this be enough?

While Lee Han was pondering, Princess Yukbeltire and several students from the enchantment magic school emerged from the passage connecting the Blue Dragon Tower dormitory to the Exiles’ Village on the seventh floor.

She wasn’t someone he especially wanted to associate with, but she was still a senior, so Lee Han greeted her first.

“Good day, Senior.”

“What are you doing there?”

“I’m preparing a self-introduction for outside guests in preparation for club week...”

“Actually, I wasn’t curious enough to ask. That was a metaphor telling you to help with my research instead of wasting time. Was the metaphor too difficult?”

“...”

Lee Han looked at the enchantment magic seniors behind her.

He meant for them to stop this insane fifth-year.

But the seniors who had entered the enchantment magic school even after seeing Professor Verdus were completely different from Diret.

They had no interest in whatever Princess Yukbeltire was babbling about in the first place.

Regardless of what Lee Han and Princess Yukbeltire were arguing about, they were absorbed in thought, staring intently at papers covered in their research notes.

What a garbage school. Even if I get mountains of gold in investment, I’m not donating a single coin to the enchantment magic school.

“Senior Diret told me not to go to the workshop.”

“You could just come secretly, couldn’t you?”

“...What brings you here, Senior?”

“The same reason. Club week. Oh, right. You don’t have many friends, do you?”

“...???”

Lee Han realized that when he heard something too absurd, he momentarily lost the ability to speak.

What was someone who seemed like she would have no friends in Einroguard except Diret babbling about?

“That’s not true.”

“You’re eccentric enough to hang around with Ilendil, and since you’re from the dark magic school, your social circle is probably narrow and lopsided, right? It doesn’t matter. Social relationships aren’t essential for mages. But there are times when social activity becomes necessary. I’m inviting you to my club in preparation for such occasions.”

“What the...”

Lee Han learned something.

When spouting nonsense, one shouldn’t stop at one piece of nonsense. One should spout dozens at once.

Then the other person wouldn’t know where to begin arguing and would inevitably react a beat late.

“What... kind of club? I didn’t know you participated in club activities, Senior.”

“<Einroguard Social Club>.”

“?????”

Lee Han was even more shocked by the name of the club, which seemed like the thing most distant from the disciple of Professor Verdus standing before him.

Wait. Could it be a cult instead of socializing?

If it was an evil religious club, Lee Han was prepared to report it before anyone else could.

However, surprisingly, it really was social.

“Hey. This research presentation requires a party of at least five enchantment mages to participate.”

“What? Where am I supposed to find four people?”

“...Your school has plenty of people, you crazy bastard.”

“What does my school having plenty of people have to do with finding four people?”

“...”

It was easy to forget when one only saw sociable mages like Lee Han, but Einroguard had quite a few antisocial mages too.

The enchantment magic school had an especially high proportion of them, which often put its mages in difficult situations.

“For this magic project, there’s a preliminary ball... attendance with a partner required...”

“Can’t be helped. I’ll have to give up the commission.”

“The sponsor says they don’t want to support eccentric mages with no colleagues because they seem likely to cause trouble?”

“What an eccentric bastard. What do colleagues have to do with magic?”

Princess Yukbeltire herself had suffered losses in those areas, so she felt the need for countermeasures.

And that countermeasure was <Einroguard Social Club>.

“Do you participate in any club activities?”

“I belong to <Einroguard Social Club>.”

“Do you have any hobbies?”

“I belong to <Einroguard Social Club>.”

“Do you have any close mage friends?”

“I belong to <Einroguard Social Club>.”

A powerful shield against the rough and vicious questions that came with outside social activity.

That was exactly what <Einroguard Social Club> was.

...She really is insane.

Lee Han had always thought this senior was crazy, but today he decided to raise ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) that assessment a little higher.

To about 0.85 Professor Verdus.

“So what kind of activities do you do?”

“Activities?”

“...Don’t clubs usually have activities?”

Even the <Teleportation> Club had regular and consistent activities.

“We put names on the list when we need to fill numbers.”

“That’s more like... I understand. Anything else?”

“Not really. Spending a lot of time on club activities doesn’t help with magic at all.”

“Are there any rules, by any chance?”

“There are.”

“What are they?”

“No small talk.”

“...”

It was quite an original rule for a social club.

Lee Han clung to his sanity and said,

“I’ve already joined many clubs, so I’m fine.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

I shouldn’t ask what’s surprising. I shouldn’t ask what’s surprising...

Lee Han tried not to get angry at a crazy person.

The moment he did, it would be like stepping into a swamp.

“I think we talked about this before anyway...”

Princess Yukbeltire tilted her head.

Her attitude made it clear that whatever Lee Han had said, if it wasn’t necessary to her, she wouldn’t remember it.

“...It’s nothing. Anyway, did you come out because of the club too, Senior? Wait. You said there were no activities except filling numbers.”

“Sponsorship funds are the exception.”

“!”

Surprisingly, <Einroguard Social Club> was a club that consistently received sponsorship funds from outside.

The brilliant magical achievements of its members, most of whom were students from the enchantment magic school; regular social activities, heavily embellished; and so on.

Judging by the documents alone, there were quite a few things for investors and sponsors to admire.

“There are people who sponsor this club?!”

“Outstanding members. Flawless slogans. Perfect work. It would be strange not to receive sponsorship.”

“Do you split all the sponsorship money?”

Princess Yukbeltire nodded.

At that sight, Lee Han immediately changed his answer.

“Actually, I have no friends. Senior, please help me.”

“I thought so. I’ll put your name on the club list too.”

*****

Saturday.

With the weekend, outsiders began appearing one by one in the Exiles’ Village on the seventh floor.

Seeing this, Einroguard’s second- through fourth-year students began to stir.

“That person is...! A master craftsman from the capital’s bakery guild really came!”

“I can’t even imagine how many gold coins that person has collected from developing magical rising dough!”

“Everyone, get lost! That’s a guest of the Kitchen Club. Anyone who approaches gets thrown into the cauldron!”

The club members showed fierce vigilance in case their guests were stolen by outsiders.

But students who didn’t belong to the clubs were no pushovers either.

If they were the sort of mages who would give up obediently just because someone stopped them, they never would have entered Einroguard in the first place.

BANG! POP-POP-POP-BANG!

“Oh, what on earth is happening?”

“A fusion spirit! A fusion spirit has been summoned! This is something that might happen once in a hundred years, my friend!”

“Oh. I must see that!”

The upperclassmen desperately tried to catch the guests’ attention.

If outside guests grew curious and wanted to watch, even the club members couldn’t bring themselves to stop them.

“Interesting. May I take a look?”

“Ugh. Those bastards...!”

“Go ahead and try. You won’t be able to wring out a single gold coin with such petty tricks.”

“Be careful! You might get kidnapped!”

“Haha. Are you joking?”

“Is this your first time at Einroguard? You really might get kidnapped!”

It’s a festival, all right... but quite a brutal one.

Lee Han, who was waiting in the Exiles’ Village on the seventh floor with the other students, thought this as he watched the upperclassmen’s fierce competition.

As several outsiders gathered out of curiosity, the upperclassmen used every trick they could think of to entice them somehow.

“Do you see this pitiful sprout dying here? If only we had a certain insignificant liquid to give it, we could bring it back to lush, green life!”

“What kind of liquid do you need?”

“Dra... a little dragon’s blood...”

“...”

“Shouldn’t we move too?”

“No. Let’s wait a bit. If we rush in now, we’ll just get pushed aside by the upperclassmen.”

“Wardanaz. Any thoughts on kidnapping?”

While the second-year friends were chattering, more outsiders gathered, and more upperclassmen targeting those outsiders gathered with them.

Then the impromptu self-introductions began.

“Respected guests. I sincerely thank you for visiting this honorable magic school today. I am from the summoning magic school...”

“Boo! You’re only fifth place!”

“Fifth place in summoning magic! Failed a course last year!”

“You’re a disgrace to Einroguard!”

“...”

“...”

Lee Han and his friends winced and shut their eyes at the upperclassmen’s sordid interference.

To think they would be this sordid!

I really don’t want to end up like that.

Fortunately, despite that interference, the upperclassmen’s introductions went fairly well.

Some of their appeals were genuinely persuasive, and several outside guests showed signs of paying close attention.

“Excuse me.”

“?”

Lee Han turned his head when an unfamiliar guest spoke to him.

The guest was wearing clothes he had never seen before.

What region are those clothes from?

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Ah. Yes. Who might that be?”

“Lee Han of House Wardanaz. Do you know him?”

“...I think I may have heard of him...”

Lee Han answered without thinking.

His countless experiences at Einroguard had made him grow.

“But excuse me, who are you?”

“I am called Intarendals. I came here on Lord Gonadaltes’s orders.”

“...Ah. You work under the Skull Principal?”

“The Skull Principal?”

“...”

When the other party looked puzzled, as if hearing that name for the first time, Lee Han’s face instantly turned pale.