Chapter 70: New Member (2)

Due to the impact of recent events, I paid little attention to the afternoon classes.

‘How could anyone look at that poster and decide to contact us?’

It made no logical sense. If someone had actually been impressed by such a visual disaster and applied, they were undoubtedly not a normal person.

‘Even Speedweapon had an expression of disbelief.’

Speedweapon had stared at the black screen of his phone with a dumbfounded look for quite a while. Then, he raised his head proudly and patted his chest.

He boasted confidence, but the fact that he himself was surprised was as absurd as it was amusing.

“…On the other hand.”

What if it was a spy sent by some enemy faction to keep an eye on me? That suspicion crept into my mind over and over again.

I still didn’t know all the details of what the instructor and Lei Shen were trying to tell me. There was no other logical explanation for someone responding to such a poster.

‘It doesn’t hurt to be cautious.’

After organizing my thoughts, I checked the time. There were ten minutes left until the last class ended. Soon, it would be time to meet the new person.

By the way, not even Speedweapon knew who it was this time. He told me he had frowned because the call had come from an unknown number, which had put him on alert.

Since Speedweapon was friends with practically every important person, whoever it was probably wasn’t a key figure. In any case, we’d find out soon enough, so there was no point in worrying too much.

I looked out the window toward the sunset. The sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, painting the earth with an orange glow.

“Alright, that’s all for today’s class.”

While I was briefly lost in thought, I heard the sound of the teacher’s chalk marking the end of the class.

At the same time, Ryozo and Chloe jumped up as if they had wings. They looked at each other and quickly nodded as they finished packing their things.

Apparently, they had similar thoughts to mine. I hurried to pack my belongings and headed to the meeting place.

***

We left the faculty building and headed to the Starbucks café in the main building.

Although the coffee prices were somewhat expensive, since this was an interview, we couldn’t exactly hold it in the backyard.

I ordered an espresso and sat at an appropriate table. Chloe ordered her usual avocado smoothie, and Ryozo went with yokan.

Before I realized it, both had taken their usual seats—Chloe on my left and Ryozo on my right.

For some time now, they had adopted the habit of sitting in those spots beside me.

That caused several gazes in the café to land on me. The female students glared at me with disdain, while the male students showed a mixture of jealousy and envy.

“Huh, what’s up? Is everyone here already?”

Speedweapon arrived late and slumped into an empty chair. He pulled out some club-related documents and smacked them against the table to organize them.

A strange atmosphere filled the café. Each person sipped their drink in silence, contributing to the overall muteness. A mixture of complex emotions lingered—expectation, nervousness, and distrust.

“Excuse me.”

A voice from behind made all of us turn simultaneously.

A girl with light green shoulder-length hair and thick glasses stood there. The lenses of her glasses gleamed, slightly obscuring her vision.

Aside from that hazy appearance, her height and overall look were quite average. The only notable feature was her pale, almost translucent skin, as if she had never been exposed to sunlight.

“Are you the members of the Exploration Club?”

“Ah, yes. Please, have a seat.”

Speedweapon, still looking somewhat stunned, gestured toward an empty chair.

She gave a deep bow and sat down delicately. Ryozo covered her mouth with her hand and whispered to me.

“What is this? She’s more normal than I expected.”

I nodded slightly, confirming her observation. Then I turned my gaze back to the applicant.

Despite our initial prejudices, she seemed to embody the definition of normalcy. Surrounded by so many eccentric personalities, her presence felt oddly plain.

‘…Although there’s something about her atmosphere that feels familiar.’

While I observed her, she adjusted her glasses with her middle finger. The oversized glasses looked like a mask concealing her face.

“Thank you for applying to our Exploration Club⎯”

“Could you start with an introduction?”

Ryozo immediately interrupted Speedweapon. She tried to raise her voice, but Saki’s glance made her grumble under her breath.

Then she intertwined her fingers and rested her chin on them, starting to speak.

Despite her faint smile, her face was utterly devoid of emotion.

Hiding your true intentions was essential when facing someone unfamiliar.

“Oh, yes. I’m San Ha-na, second year, standard class. Oh, and I’m from Busan.”

“Are you Korean?”

“Ah, yes.”

When I asked, San Ha-na nodded while still adjusting her glasses.

‘…Is there even a Korean surname that starts with San?’

But that doubt was fleeting. This was a world different from Earth.

It wasn’t unusual to find uncommon surnames in this world.

‘After all, my surname, Kang, doesn’t exist on Earth either.’

With her pale skin and light green hair, I had assumed she was a foreigner, but it turned out she was Korean.

Also, I had once lived in Busan. That connection made me speak without thinking.

“When I lived in Busan, I ate a lot of pork rice soup.”

“Really? Pork rice soup is delicious. You pour the rice into the white broth, add dadagi and green onions… Mmm⎯”

Despite her calm appearance, her tastes were surprisingly simple.

Her use of local expressions showed experience. She even managed to imitate the characteristic throat clearing of older men.

‘She’s definitely from Busan.’

Ryozo furrowed her brow and elbowed me in the side, murmuring under her breath.

‘Are you going to relax or what?’

That snapped me back to reality. It was the first time I had seen another Korean since entering Joaquin Academy, and I had let my guard down a bit.

Ryozo pointed toward the other club members. Speedweapon had his arms crossed and still looked annoyed. Chloe, on the other hand, sipped her smoothie, seemingly unfazed by San Ha-na’s normality.

‘…Ryozo is the only one taking this seriously.’

Only she maintained a cautious and observant attitude.

‘She’s definitely our problem detector.’

Ryozo shot me a cold look before turning back to San Ha-na with a smile that was both polite and unsettling.

“Why do you want to join our Exploration Club?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ryozo scanned San Ha-na with her gaze, analyzing every one of her movements. However, San Ha-na responded calmly.

“I saw the poster and noticed that the club focuses on travel and dungeon exploration. My score on the practical tests is barely passing, so I wanted to clear some dungeons. That’s why I applied.”

“We’re an exploration club. Dungeons are a secondary activity. There are senior clubs that specialize in that.”

Ryozo narrowed her eyes. San Ha-na sighed and shook her head.

“Senior clubs don’t accept students from standard classes like me. I don’t have much time left in the academy, so it’s natural for me to lag behind due to my lack of skills.”

“…I didn’t say that, but okay.”

Ryozo didn’t seem entirely satisfied with her answer, but she nodded.

The two continued talking for a while.

It was more of an interrogation than a conversation. Ryozo fired sharp questions, but San Ha-na answered sincerely.

“…Understood, I understand your situation.”

“Yes, I really want to join this club. Not just for the dungeons, but also because I want to make memories before graduating.”

“Hmm.”

After a while, Ryozo glanced at me and subtly raised her eyebrows. It was a signal of approval.

‘I think this is fine.’

I could vaguely deduce what kind of person she was from the atmosphere she exuded after working in customer service for so long.

Moreover, I relied on the sensitivity of the Blessing of the God of the Sword as I observed San Ha-na the entire time.

I hadn’t detected anything suspicious. Additionally, Ryozo had done her part.

And, at the end of the day, she was Korean, which was a bonus point for me.

“Welcome to the Travel Club, San Ha-na.”

“Oh? Am I accepted?”

She tilted her head slightly as she asked. I nodded.

Without changing her expression, she bowed.

“You can speak to us casually. We’re a year younger than you⎯”

“…Really?”

Before I could finish, she accepted immediately. Ryozo widened her eyes in surprise. I was also taken aback, but I let it slide.

“First, since you’re older, it’ll be easier for both sides to drop the formalities quickly.”

We’d be seeing each other for at least a year, so there was no need for unnecessary honorifics. Chloe’s polite tone was enough.

“Please, make it easy on yourselves too. After all, we’re only a year apart, so I don’t want to be treated like an elder.”

I thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement.

“Then, to keep things simple, I’ll call you Ha-na senior.”

When the conversation ended, we all began to stand up. The sound of chair legs scraping across the floor echoed around us.

Suddenly, Speedweapon pulled out a form and handed it to San Ha-na.

“Hello, Ha-na senior. Please complete this within the week, submit it to the administrative office, and let me know once you’ve done so.”

The letters reflected like mirrors in San Ha-na’s glasses. As her eyes lowered, they suddenly stopped on one point of the document.

“…The club advisor is the director?”

“Yes. The president asked her, and she accepted.”

Speedweapon shrugged. San Ha-na stared at me.

Although I couldn’t see her eyes behind her glasses, I could feel her gaze.

San Ha-na took the form and, for the first time, her mouth formed a gentle smile.

“Thanks to you, I think life at the academy will be more fun.”

She waved goodbye and left the café.

While the others gathered their belongings, I reflected on her smile and her words.

‘Fun, huh?’

I didn’t know what she meant. But her tone and smile felt strangely familiar.

‘Who was she?’

The more I thought about it, the more my memories scattered.

Ryozo snapped me out of my thoughts.

“What’s wrong?”

“Doesn’t she remind you of someone?”

Ryozo rubbed her temples and shook her head.

“No, I can’t think of anyone. Like I said before, I don’t forget faces I’ve seen. Maybe it’s because her glasses are so big and thick that we couldn’t get a good look at her face… Or perhaps her expression is just naturally blurry?”

“I see.”

I scratched my neck, feeling a vague sense of doubt. Then, I shook my head slightly to clear away my scattered thoughts.

I didn’t want to get distracted after barely wrapping up one matter.

“Ha.”