Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Several tables inside the cafe were already occupied.

When the students saw Yusina, they stood up and tried to greet her, but sat back down when she waved her hands.

“Anyone would think you were here first~”

“Well…”

As Yusina bantered while looking at Roan, who was sitting casually in his seat, he shrugged instead of answering.

After they ordered their respective drinks and some simple snacks.

Thud—!

As if she could no longer hold back, Yusina lightly struck the table with her clenched hands and said:

“Do you want to join a club?!”

“P-Pardon?”

Sion, hearing her proposal, was flustered, and—

‘As expected.’

Roan nodded.

It was just as he had expected.

Yusina leaned in close to the two of them as if others shouldn’t hear, speaking in a whisper.

“Right, the club’s name is ‘Sanctuary’.”

Sanctuary.

It was a secret club at Acherandir, and a place where incredibly famous figures belonged.

Only a very small number of members were enrolled, and new members could only be accepted through the recommendation of existing members.

Naturally, just because one received a recommendation did not mean they could enter unconditionally.

Their outstanding ability and character had to be proven to that extent.

‘Normally, only Sion would join in this batch, but…’

Roan looked at the flustered Sion with a fresh gaze.

By joining Sanctuary, she would grow even further.

Rather than just quietly attending classes like now, she would begin to stand out in earnest.

Not to mention, instead of avoiding the hardships that rushed at her, she would stand up and fight them head-on.

She would also build a network of connections that would help her all the way from being a Saintess candidate to reaching the seat of the Holy Emperor.

If so, what about Roan joining the club himself?

‘Joining is not bad either. No, it is actually very good.’

Of course, joining did not mean he would immediately get the direct help of the club members.

Not only did it go against the purpose of the club, but the personalities of the members were like that as well.

However, he could obtain the information or materials he needed, and above all…

‘I can definitively obtain one divine beast’s egg.’

This was the most important thing.

No matter how much Roan was a veteran among veterans, the difficulty of obtaining a divine beast’s egg was notoriously brutal.

Acquiring one naturally was actually harder than obtaining authority.

To think they would give such a divine beast’s egg just for joining the club.

It was stranger to refuse.

‘Moreover, a divine beast’s egg is also needed for the Gray Cycle of Life.’

To be precise, it was not the egg of the divine beast, but the shell left after the divine beast hatched.

Of course, joining Sanctuary also allowed him to obtain several tricky ingredients needed for the Gray Cycle of Life or high-level black magic.

It would probably be of great help.

“I will join.”

Roan calmly decided to join the club.

Sion, who was next to him, was startled.

“P-Pardon?”

It was her way of asking if it was alright to make such a sudden decision when he didn’t even know what the club was about.

“Huh? You’re joining?”

And Yusina was just as surprised.

Roan looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

“You’re the one who told me to join…”

What was she doing, getting surprised after proposing it herself?

Yusina spoke with an awkward expression.

“Ah, no. I didn’t think you would say you’d join so quickly… I haven’t even explained anything yet.”

Perhaps he had made the decision a bit too fast.

Meanwhile.

As if realizing something, Yusina wore a smile that was ‘in its own way’ trying to look sly.

“Aha~ Now that I look at it, Roan… you wanted to hang out with your big sister?”

“!!!”

Hearing that suggestive tone, Sion, who had just been listening, was startled.

‘Could these two be…?!’

It was a moment when a teenage girl’s characteristic imagination was stimulated to the fullest.

Roan glanced back at Sion.

‘Why is she acting like that by herself?’

She definitely wasn’t the type to be startled so easily when he played the game.

Roan didn’t think it was a situation where even Sion would have no choice but to be surprised.

Anyway, since it seemed Yusina was completely mistaken, Roan needed to correct her.

“What nonsense. I’m going to get a divine beast.”

“Hmm? How did you know about that again?”

“…”

Roan pondered for a moment how to answer naturally.

“I heard about it when I was at the Holy Emperor’s Palace.”

“Liar~”

Yusina pointed out immediately.

Roan flinched inwardly.

‘What?’

Was she saying that, as a Saintess, she could distinguish truth from lies?

“You’re just making an excuse after looking into your big sister’s club in advance, aren’t you? It’s a secret club, so there’s no way you would have just heard about it even at the Holy Emperor’s Palace~”

But that tension quickly cooled down.

Roan glared at Yusina with cold eyes.

Let her misunderstand whatever she wanted!

Meanwhile, Sion, who had been unable to catch up with the rapidly progressing conversation, chimed in.

“Excuse me, what does that mean… and what is a divine beast?”

“Ah~ I should explain to Sion!”

Yusina briefly explained about ‘Sanctuary’ to Sion.

What kind of club it was, roughly what they could get, and what kind of people joined.

Naturally, once she learned the details, the content was even more astonishing.

Furthermore, Sion’s eyes grew even wider at the part where they would receive a divine beast’s egg just for joining.

“Really?”

“Yeah~ Since you’ve heard this much, you have to join, okay? Otherwise…”

Yusina slightly stiffened her expression and drew her thumb across her neck.

Flinch!

“I-I will join…”

At Yusina’s threat (?), Sion nodded before she knew it.

‘There’s no way that’s a real threat.’

Roan clicked his tongue at the sight.

What a mean senior, bullying an innocent freshman!

“Hehe, it’s a joke. Anyway, welcome since you’re joining~ I’ll tell the other members too!”

Yusina said this with a bright smile.

Then, she added in a small voice.

“…Though I don’t know when I’ll be able to tell them all.”

“What did you just say…?”

“Nothing, nothing! More importantly, I brought this from the dormitory to give to you guys~”

Yusina pulled out a small coin purse from her waist, looking excited.

‘Ezelin’s mark?’

Roan’s eyes widened slightly.

Even though it was just a coin purse, it was stamped with the mark of the famous artisan Ezelin.

Ezelin’s items were known for their quality, but she herself was also famous as a master of subspace holy arts.

True to form, two golden eggs about the size of chicken eggs emerged from the tiny purse.

“Here, crack it and eat it quickly before the food comes out. They say it’s an egg laid by a golden chicken, and it’s really delicious.”

“?”

Yusina handed a golden egg to each of Roan and Sion with a mischievous smile.

“Hurry up~ This is pretty rare.”

“Th… Then…”

Sion looked as if she wondered why she was suddenly given an egg, but since Yusina was the one who gave it to her, she didn’t doubt it and was about to strike the egg against the table.

Tap—

“!!!!!”

At that moment, Roan suddenly snatched Sion’s wrist, which was holding the egg.

Sion was startled and dropped the egg, but Roan quickly caught even that.

Sion’s face flushed as she tried to protest.

“W-What is this—”

“That’s my line. Can’t you even recognize a divine beast’s egg?”

Roan asked back, looking baffled instead.

A divine beast’s egg?

Sion stared blankly at her share of the egg in Roan’s hand.

It was certainly golden, but didn’t Yusina say it was a golden chicken’s egg?

However, as Roan channeled mana into his own egg—

Woooong—!

The egg vibrated vigorously and repelled the mana.

“!!!”

“Although they look similar, divine beast eggs cannot absorb holy power and mana. Understood?”

A divine beast’s egg only absorbed the owner’s soul and energy from pure nature.

Because Roan spoke so firmly, Sion nodded before she knew it.

‘But how did Darc know?’

If she thought about it, didn’t that mean he wouldn’t know until he channeled holy power and mana?

It was a bit strange, but she felt that if she asked, she would look even stupider, so she decided to just keep her mouth shut.

“As expected, Roan recognized it?”

Yusina nodded with a giggle.

Actually, Roan found Yusina’s behavior even more baffling than Sion did.

Sion, who seemed to have grasped the situation now, looked at Yusina with wide eyes.

‘The sooner the illusion about Yusina is shattered, the better!’

The mischievous prankster hidden behind that exceptional face was someone to always be wary of.

“What were you thinking? Why would you present a divine beast’s egg in a place like this… and act like it’s something to eat?”

Normally, it would be officially handed over in Sanctuary’s club room.

In truth, because a golden chicken’s egg and a divine beast’s egg looked almost identical, it was halfway a gamble for Roan as well.

In particular, divine beast eggs were even harder to distinguish because, unlike spiritual beast eggs, they did not have a separate challenge process.

It was to the point where countless players fell victim to scams that sold golden chicken eggs as divine beast eggs.

In this state, a divine beast could only be completely distinguished after transitioning into its unique elemental form without any intervention from holy power or mana.

For instance, taking the form of water, wind, fire, sand, light, or darkness.

Also, there was another, most decisive reason.

Namely, the suspicion that there was no way Yusina would suddenly bring out boiled eggs out of nowhere in a cafe!

Moreover, she had even taken them out of a subspace pouch.

It was fortunate that it was indeed a divine beast’s egg, but if it hadn’t been…

‘I would have ended up as a crazy guy who grabbed a Saintess candidate’s wrist for no reason.’

When Roan glared at Yusina like that, she giggled and said:

“I secretly swiped them from the club room. It’s fun~”

For Roan, it was a reason that drained all his energy.

“What if they broke—!”

“Ah, they won’t break, they won’t break~ I tried it…”

Yusina, who was joking around, realized her slip of the tongue and quickly covered her mouth.

The corner of Roan’s mouth twitched.

“You tried it?”

“Well… this is a secret. Got it?”

“I will think about it.”

“Ahhh~ Why. I even recommended you to the club!”

As Yusina began to pester him, the gazes of those around them shifted slightly toward them.

Roan hurriedly calmed her down.

‘There is nothing good about getting caught having a divine beast’s egg!’

Demona getting the Fanatic Rabbit King’s egg was already enough to cause that much trouble, so there was no need to even speak of a divine beast’s egg.

“Alright. I will keep it a secret.”

“Hehe, promise?”

Yusina nodded, seemingly satisfied with that.

“Good. I was even hiding this kid to give you guys the eggs. You can come out now.”

She said, looking at her right shoulder.

Porong—!

Then, what seemed like silver bubbles welled up from her shoulder, and soon, a small owl-shaped divine beast revealed itself.

“Wow…!”

Sion admired in a low voice at the mysterious sight.

“Cute, right? This is my divine beast, ‘Moonlight Watcher.’ Its name is Locke.”

Porororong!

At Yusina’s introduction, the Moonlight Watcher cried out with all its might.

Then it flew slowly around the cafe.

Soft moonlight dust fell from its wings and drifted down onto the people.

— Wow, it’s the Saintess’s divine beast…

— So holy.

The customers admired one after another.

It was indeed a beautiful sight to behold.

‘A Moonlight Watcher. As is the case with all divine beasts, it was an especially broken one.’

Meanwhile, Roan felt a slightly different emotion.

Moonlight Watchers, true to their name, became stronger at night…

‘No, wait.’

Roan suddenly tilted his head in confusion.

Locke.

Roan Darc.

No way?

“Um, that name, Locke—”

“Here is the food you ordered, Saintess.”

Roan tried to voice his doubt just in case, but—

Right at that moment, a drink for each of the three, along with a sandwich, salad, and a hot dog, was placed in front of them.

“Ah, the food is here! Let’s eat quickly!”

Whether Yusina had heard Roan’s words or not, she quickly grabbed her sandwich.

Sion, not knowing what to do with the divine beast’s egg, soon made a spot with a napkin and carefully stood it up on top.

Roan stealthily put it inside Harden’s lucky pouch while the two were distracted.

‘I did intend to get a divine beast’s egg… but I didn’t expect to get it this quickly.’

Although it was a bit bewildering, he had achieved his goal nonetheless, so should he be happy?

Yusina seemed to have already erased the divine beast’s egg from her mind, forgetting her dignity as a Saintess and stuffing her face with her sandwich.

Sion took a bite of her salad while reading the room, then asked her:

“Um, I will raise the egg with care. But, if I join the club, will I be able to get close to the seniors?”

It was a question Sion, who hadn’t yet built any notable connections since enrolling in Acherandir, was likely to ask.

However, Yusina couldn’t give a straight answer as usual and put on an awkward smile.

“Well, that…”

Roan spoke instead.

“It will probably be difficult. They all prefer to keep to themselves.”

“True. Heheh…”

Yusina nodded and scratched the back of her head.

“*Gulp!* I’m actually the most active one in the club.”

“Ah…”

Sion wore a disappointed expression but soon accepted it.

Because Roan had joined in so naturally, neither of them thought, ‘How does he know about such things?’

‘The other clubs will start moving soon too.’

Acherandir’s official club promotion began in the second week.

Since ‘Sanctuary’ was a secret club and didn’t have regular activities, double registration was not prohibited, but Roan had no particular intention of joining any other club.

‘…The problem is whether things will go my way.’

Acherandir’s club promotions had aspects that easily surpassed common sense, so it would become quite annoying.

‘That’s also why I obtained the Choir in advance to prevent that.’

“Anyway! I’m sure it will be helpful! Come visit the club room next week~ Sounds good?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Sure.”

At Yusina’s words, both of them nodded readily.