Chapter 53

I looked at Sena, who had a somewhat blank expression, and expressed my curiosity.

Well, pretending to be curious, but I did it anyway.

“Huh? Did I do something wrong?”

“…You’re quite skilled. Should I say you’re oblivious?”

“Huh…?”

Sena sighed and got up. She stretched her arms toward the sky, let out a yawn, and made a groaning sound.

Her gaze turned back to me. It was the usual gentle Sena.

“No, it’s just that I realized you’re indeed the Princess I know.”

“That’s not a compliment.”

“It’s a relief.”

“Really…?”

I wonder what kind of image I usually have. I don’t really know, but judging from people’s reactions, it seems like I’m a mess.

It’s a bit unfair. Even though I can catch and drift away from weird situations, of course, I’m the one who creates those situations in the first place.

Sena, with her dazed eyes, went along with the topic I changed. I felt a little guilty.

“Anyway, the deadline is in three days, so we need to decide quickly. Let’s think about it seriously.”

I waved my hand and sighed. I had only thought about it until Hans made a sudden move, but I hadn’t made any progress in days.

“That’s the problem. I don’t even know what war has to do with club activities. Forcing a connection just makes it peculiar rather than plausible.”

“What did you connect?”

“My skills or hobbies. Like, combat club or human chess club?”

“Hmm.”

Sena put her finger on her lips. She rolled her eyes as if trying to figure out what on earth I was talking about.

I also think it’s weird, so you don’t have to be so cautious.

“Is it bad?”

“Not exactly bad, but I can’t quite grasp it.”

Sena spread her index and middle fingers, then folded her middle finger again. She wiggled her index finger, mimed holding a teacup, and slashed it through the air.

“What exactly is a combat club? Is it training to smash enemy skulls with teacups?”

“Something like that.”

“Something like that, huh.”

Sena’s expression became unimpressed. It seems like it’s not great.

“What about human chess?”

“It’s playing chess with people. Two people act as commanders, and the others each take on the role of a chess piece. The chess pieces move according to the commanders’ instructions, and when it’s time to capture each other, they decide who dies through a duel.”

I think this is better than the combat club, which is more like entertainment. It’s a complex and efficient war training that builds basic strategic flexibility, debate, and direct combat experience while being fun.

The problem is the scale. To follow chess rules, you need thirty-two pieces and two commanders, totaling thirty-four people. Sena is trying to make a minimum-member club for me, who has degraded social skills, but this would be putting the cart before the horse.

Sena nodded but pointed out the obvious.

“It looks fun, but you didn’t forget that there are only four of us, right?”

I exaggeratedly spread my arms and shook my head.

Actually, I knew it wouldn’t work and just threw it out there. If I only brought up the combat club, I’d probably get scolded for not thinking it through.

From the start, the challenge was to do something war-related with a minimum of four members. If only the Academy would provide proper support. Just changing the name of the same club activities wouldn’t be a big deal.

“That’s the problem. We’re absolutely short on people. If we want to implement other board games with people, we’d need a bigger club room.”

“How about a compromise with golem chess or familiar chess? I can do that.”

“I can’t.”

I want to have fun, but I don’t want to just watch Hans and Sena play. Besides feeling left out, I’d feel dirty letting Hans take Sena away.

Sena laughed softly at my whining.

“Indeed, Princess, you’re terrible at magic.”

“Are you mocking me?”

I’m aware that my magic skills are trash, but it hurts a little to hear it from others. To remind them that I’m also a mage, I put on a haughty expression and gathered magic at my fingertips.

“I do have a magic I can use. Like a watering can spell.”

“That could be useful as a shower substitute.”

“The temperature control doesn’t work, so it’s not great.”

“You tried that too, huh.”

I tried.

The Adelian family was a knightly family, but the Duke didn’t want his daughter to engage in physical activities, so he encouraged her to take up etiquette and magic lessons.

Already exempt from duties because she was a woman, the Princess, lacking the social skills needed for noblewomen in high society, thought she had to excel in this and devoted more time to self-improvement.

She managed to reach an excellent level in etiquette. Magic, not so much. She had no talent.

That fact must have been a huge wound to the young Princess. She didn’t want to admit that she couldn’t even be mediocre. So, she spent more time on it. Even though she knew there would be no harvest.

It would have been better to spend that time finding other talents. How foolish.

Everyone is born with at least one talent. The Princess, blessed with her status, was never meant to have magic as her only path.

Whenever I look back at the Princess’s past, I’m filled with regret and pity. I vividly recall how clumsy she was at life and with people from her first-person perspective. Even if I hadn’t become her, her life wouldn’t have been smooth.

It’s heartbreaking.

I made a sullen face and sprayed water from the magic gathered at my fingertips.

“That’s the only magic I can use. I practiced hard to utilize it since long ago. The only method I found was spraying it like a mist.”

“That could be useful as a mist substitute.”

“The water’s too dirty to spray on skin.”

“Then where do you use it?”

“I can’t. Except for spraying it on people I don’t like.”

“Oh dear…”

Sena covered her mouth with her hand and made a pitiful expression. It hurt more because she was sincere.

At times like these, I wish I could just throw in a joke and laugh it off.

Yo.

Maybe it’s because the kid’s too nice, but they lack flexibility.

“Hmm, alright. Let’s think of a club where we can actively utilize the Princess’s magic.”

“Really…?”

Do we really need to go that far…? I thought, but since they seemed to be putting in effort for my sake, I decided to just watch quietly.

After a while, Sena made an “Ah!” sound as if she had thought of something.

“How about a Combat Gardening Club?”

“Now you think you can just slap ‘combat’ onto anything, huh?”

“This method started with the Princess’s Combat Tea Ceremony.”

“Combat Tea Ceremony is surprisingly systematic. If you see it in action, you’d be amazed by its power.”

The first attack with a teacup and the splash damage from the broken pieces create an unstoppable force. Even a sturdy adult man would be taken down in one hit.

Add to that the distraction tactics of Combat Tea Serving and the fire-attribute attack of Combat Hot Tea Pouring, and you’ve got a versatile combat technique that can handle any situation.

Comparing such a practical Combat Tea Ceremony to gardening, which is just about growing plants, is a bit hurtful. I mean, I seriously thought about this for days.

But what exactly is Combat Gardening?

“So, what’s Combat Gardening?”

“It’s gardening… but combat-style.”

“What the heck is combat-style gardening? Are you practicing sniping with a watering can?”

“Something like that.”

“Something like that, huh.”

I tried to figure out what she meant by that. No matter how much I thought about it, it just sounded like nonsense.

“…Is that it? It’s not really different from Combat Tea Ceremony.”

“Of course not.”

Sena confidently smiled.

As expected, Sena had it all figured out. Unlike me, thank goodness.

Feeling relieved, I listened to Sena’s words.

“Instead of plants, we grow people!”

“…?”

What kind of crazy nonsense is that now?

While my face turned dumbfounded, Sena continued confidently.

“You plant people in pots, water them, and grow them. It’s a training method where you learn how to subdue resisting opponents and persuade them with words at the same time.”

“Isn’t that just a new form of torture?”

“That’s why it’s Combat Gardening. It’s also highly effective for extracting information!”

I was speechless for a moment, then gave a concise response.

“Ariana would’ve loved it.”

Sena froze. It seemed she finally realized what she was saying.

I continued expressionlessly, not paying much attention.

“Somehow, it feels like I’ve been through something similar before. If you think about it, maybe it’s not that new.”

Sena’s pupils started trembling violently.

“…It’s a joke!”

“Really?”

Sena’s mouth moved busily, trying to find an excuse.

“Of course! If I were in my right mind, I wouldn’t seriously suggest such a crazy idea! No matter how fun it is to tease the Princess, I wouldn’t go as far as triggering trauma…!”

“It’s a joke, right?”

“O-of course.”

“Right?”

“……”

As I repeated the question, Sena’s head gradually lowered. Eventually, she was almost in a bowing position, apologizing in a barely audible voice.

“I’m sorry… My thoughts went in a weird direction…”

“It’s fine. I was just teasing you too.”

I smiled as I replied.

It was a bit dangerous, but it was still within the bounds of something we could laugh off. If anything, her excessive apology made me feel a bit burdened.

“My brain must still be playing around in that atmosphere… I was spacing out and saying things without thinking…”

If that’s the case, then it’s my fault for setting the mood and not giving her a chance to shake it off. My conscience hurts a bit. Alright, let’s just move on.

After calming her down from her endless apologies, we started brainstorming club names again.

This time, we were serious, no jokes. Since it was getting close to the time we had to leave, we needed to finish quickly to make the most of the remaining time.

Then, a small gasp escaped from Sena. My gaze, which had been staring into space, turned toward her.

“Ah.”

“Did something come to mind?”

“Since we’re joining anyway, how about we make use of Hans?”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head.

That would be the best if we could.

“How so?”

“Hans’s specialty is illusion magic. He can do almost anything within a limited space.”

Sena waved her hands, drawing pictures in the air.

A longsword. A knight. A mage. A fireball.

One by one, the things she drew were forced to collide by their creator. An explosion sound came from Sena’s mouth, and a mushroom cloud rose from her hands.

So, the knight and mage collided, causing a nuclear explosion.

It was a vivid explanation. I guess that’s the general idea. As I nodded, Sena grinned and got to the point.

“If we write down something like a Spectator Club and let the illusions fight each other, we can play around next to them without the professors noticing, right?”

“Oh…”

Like a war simulation, huh? If done well, it could feel like a game.

Anyway, I like it. Especially the part where we just leave it to Hans and have fun. I nodded in satisfaction.

“That sounds good.”

“Right?”

Hans’s opinion didn’t matter.

Immediately adopted by the two of us, the club name became the Spectator Club.