Chapter 443: Chapter 442 - New Visitor to the Club!

The academy pathways remained lively as students continued pouring out from various classroom buildings, their voices blending together beneath the bright afternoon sky while groups headed toward training grounds, libraries, dormitories, and countless club activities scattered throughout Arcadia Academy.

Among those moving through the bustling pathways—

Luca, Eric, Lilliane, and another figure walked together at a steady pace, blending naturally among the crowds of students crossing the academy grounds.

A cool breeze drifted through the stone walkways, lightly stirring uniforms and hair alike while sunlight filtered through the trees lining the paths. Around them, occasional laughter and conversation echoed freely, yet their small group moved in a comparatively calmer silence.

Then—

A voice broke it.

"...Exactly what kind of club is it?"

The question came from Sylthara.

The silver-haired elf walked beside Lilliane quietly, her elegant features carrying genuine curiosity as her sharp eyes shifted toward Luca and Eric while waiting for an answer.

***

Earlier—

Back inside the classroom—

Lilliane had stood quietly clutching her books against her chest after saying there was something she wanted to ask.

Luca and Eric both looked toward her expectantly while Sylthara remained beside her in silence.

Lilliane hesitated faintly for a moment before slowly lifting one hand and pointing gently toward the silver-haired elf standing next to her.

"She..." Lilliane began softly, "...doesn’t belong to any club yet since she joined during the middle of the semester."

Sylthara blinked once in mild surprise at suddenly becoming the center of attention while Lilliane continued carefully.

"She seemed curious when I mentioned the meeting..." she said quietly before lowering her gaze slightly. "So... can she come with us?"

Before Luca could even think of answering—

Eric immediately jumped into the conversation with complete enthusiasm.

"Of course she can!" he declared without hesitation, grinning shamelessly. "The more people, the better!"

Luca glanced sideways toward him.

"...You sound like you’re recruiting people for a suspicious organization."

"We practically are."

***

Back to the present—

Luca looked toward Sylthara after hearing her question, his expression carrying faint amusement as he placed both hands casually behind his head while continuing to walk.

"It’s probably better if you see it yourself," he replied vaguely.

Sylthara observed him for a brief moment longer before simply nodding calmly.

"...I see."

Beside them, Eric looked far too excited for reasons nobody fully trusted while Lilliane quietly followed along, her expression calm though there was faint anticipation hidden beneath it.

As they continued walking, the academy gradually began thinning out around them. The noisy groups of students slowly disappeared one by one as the pathways became quieter, the bustling atmosphere fading behind them the farther they moved from the central academy buildings.

Soon enough—

They reached a far more secluded area of the academy grounds.

The lively noise of students had almost completely vanished by now, replaced instead by the soft rustling of trees and the quiet sound of wind moving through the isolated pathways surrounding the old club buildings ahead.

The secluded pathways eventually came to an end as the group continued walking deeper into the quieter side of the academy grounds, far removed from the lively noise of ordinary student activity.

Towering sycamore trees stretched overhead, their branches intertwining to cast shifting shadows upon the stone pathway below while ivy-covered walls and overgrown hedges almost completely concealed the area from the rest of Arcadia Academy.

And nestled quietly between all of that—

Stood a small old building.

Its appearance alone looked suspicious enough.

The roof sagged slightly beneath age, parts of the wood faded and worn by time while ivy crept lazily across the walls as though nature itself had slowly begun reclaiming the place. Compared to the polished academy structures surrounding the campus, this building looked more like something abandoned years ago and forgotten entirely.

Sylthara stopped walking for a moment as her golden eyes slowly took in the scene before her.

Then she turned toward the others.

"...This isn’t some illegal club, right?" she asked cautiously.

For exactly one second—

Silence.

Then Luca completely lost it.

A laugh escaped him instantly as he covered part of his face with one hand, clearly unable to stop himself.

"Don’t worry," he said between faint laughter, "I had exactly the same doubts the first time I came here."

Even Eric looked mildly offended.

"Why does everyone react like that?"

"Because this place looks like it’s hiding criminal activity," Luca answered immediately.

"...Fair."

Still chuckling lightly, Luca stepped forward first and pushed the old door open before the rest followed him inside.

The interior somehow looked even more questionable than the outside.

The room was small and cluttered, filled with scattered books, rolled parchments, maps pinned carelessly onto walls, and random artifacts stacked without any visible organization whatsoever. A single coffee table sat near the center while several dusty couches had been arranged around it, looking as though they had survived countless years of questionable use.

And sprawled across those couches—

Were five people lounging around with absolutely no dignity whatsoever.

The moment the door opened fully, one dark-haired young man immediately shot upright from the couch, his loosely worn academy coat nearly slipping from one shoulder as his entire expression brightened dramatically.

"Hahaha!" he laughed loudly while spreading his arms as though greeting honored guests. "My dear juniors are finally here!"

The sheer enthusiasm radiating from him felt genuinely dangerous.

Then—

His eyes landed on Sylthara.

And froze.

"...Ohhhh," he muttered slowly, leaning forward with terrifying interest. "We have a guest here, do we?"

Sylthara instinctively stiffened slightly.

The man immediately turned toward Eric.

"Why don’t you introduce me properly?" he asked with suspicious excitement.

Eric grinned shamelessly, already fully aware of the disaster about to unfold.

"This is Sylthara," he began casually before suddenly leaning closer toward the dark-haired senior and whispering loudly enough for literally everyone to hear anyway—

"She’s from one of the lost Dark Elf clans."

The atmosphere changed instantly.

John froze.

Completely.

Then slowly—

Very slowly—

He turned back toward Sylthara.

Meanwhile Eric continued introducing him normally.

"And this," he said while gesturing dramatically toward the trembling senior before them, "is Sir John Bond, the glorious vice president of our club."

Sylthara blinked once as she found John staring directly at her with the expression of a man who had just discovered buried divine treasure.

His body actually began trembling.

"...A clan member..." he whispered shakily.

Then his voice rose.

"...A clan member from the Era of Heroes..."

His eyes widened further.

"...Huhuhuhuhuhu..."

The room grew quieter.

Very quietly.

Dangerously quietly.

"What more," John muttered while clutching his chest dramatically, "could the leader of the Hero Research Club possibly hope for?!"

Then suddenly—

He exploded.

"I HAVE ACHIEVED EVERYTHING IN LIFE NOW!" he shouted toward the heavens while standing atop the couch dramatically. "MY NAME SHALL BE ETCHED FOREVER INTO THE GOLDEN RECORDS OF THE HERO RESEARCH CLUB!"

His arms stretched outward wildly.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The manic laughter echoed throughout the tiny building while everyone else watched with the exhausted expressions of people who had already accepted this behavior long ago.

Meanwhile—

Sylthara slowly slid one step closer toward Luca.

Then another.

Her usually calm face now carried genuine concern as she quietly tugged at his sleeve.

"T-there’s... really a Hero Research Club?" she whispered uncertainly.

Sylthara continued staring at the scene before her with visible uncertainty, her golden eyes shifting slowly between the trembling dark-haired senior laughing manically atop the couch and the rest of the club members who looked far too accustomed to this kind of behavior.

Then her gaze turned toward Luca.

"...There’s really a Hero Research Club?" she asked again, sounding like someone desperately hoping the answer would somehow become different the second time.

Luca awkwardly scratched the side of his cheek before nodding.

"...Yeah," he admitted quietly.

The response did absolutely nothing to reassure her.

Meanwhile, the remaining four people lounging around the room had finally stood up properly after realizing there was a newcomer present. Almost immediately, all of their attention shifted toward Sylthara with varying levels of fascination and excitement, especially after hearing Eric casually mention her connection to one of the last Dark Elf clans.

One girl nearly dropped the papers she was holding.

Another senior adjusted his glasses so quickly it looked painful.

And the last two openly stared with the kind of scholarly curiosity that made Sylthara instinctively move another half-step closer toward Luca.

"...This is getting worse," she muttered under her breath.

Eric, sensing that their guest was approximately three seconds away from leaving permanently, quickly stepped forward before the entire club could descend further into chaos.

"Now, now," he said while raising both hands dramatically like a negotiator trying to prevent disaster, "let’s not scare our guest during her very first visit."

Several members immediately coughed awkwardly and attempted to regain some dignity.

John, however, still looked emotionally unstable.

Eric immediately pointed toward him before he could spiral again.

"Vice President," he said firmly, "why don’t you tell us about today’s meeting agenda instead?"

The moment the word meeting entered the conversation, John suddenly froze mid-laughter.

Then—

Almost miraculously—

He calmed down.

"...Ohh right," he muttered while clearing his throat with exaggerated seriousness before jumping down from the couch and landing dramatically in front of the coffee table.

The atmosphere inside the old club room shifted instantly.

Even the other members straightened slightly.

Luca noticed it immediately.

Despite all the chaos surrounding the Hero Research Club, whenever actual hero-related discoveries were involved—

Everyone here became frighteningly serious.

John slowly turned around toward the group, his expression carrying unusual intensity now while the faint light from the dusty windows fell across his face dramatically.

"So..." he began slowly.

"Today’s meeting..."

His body visibly trembled.

Not from madness this time.

But excitement.

The kind that consumed every member of this absurd club whenever ancient heroes were mentioned.

"...I have received information," he continued in a lower voice, "from the president of this club..."

The room grew quieter.

Even Sylthara unconsciously focused now.

John leaned forward slightly as though revealing a sacred secret.

"...That during a recent mission..."

Another pause.

"...he discovered a hidden site."

The tension in the room rose immediately.

And then—

John’s voice lowered even further.

"...A hidden site that is very likely connected to the Heroes of the Past."