The first week for freshmen at St. Ferris Academy was all about orientation, while the second week is when the classes officially began.
After finishing her lessons the next day, Yulia took Cathy and went to find Inev, intending to visit the book club together.
However, the moment they met, Inev couldn’t help but chuckle. “Lia, you’ve made it to the newspaper again.”
“What?” Yulia frowned. “Newspaper? Again?”
“This.”
Inev handed her a small, simple newspaper.
Yulia took it.
At the top, bold letters spelled out the title: St. Ferris Daily.
A quick glance told her that it was just a single page with about seven or eight reports.
Half of them were about some professor’s new research findings.
The other half covered student affairs.
Two articles stood out prominently.
One was about the freshman ‘Lia’.
The headline read: Outstanding Freshman Lia Boldly Defies the Student Council on Her First Day! Main Stage for Club Recruitment Left Empty While New Stage Packs a Full House!
Since when did I defy the Student Council?! I didn’t even know about this!
This headline is pure clickbait! I’ll report this newspaper to the Student Council!
But the second half wasn’t entirely wrong. With this kind of framing, I might end up in a feud with the Student Council…
Seemingly reading Yulia’s expression, Inev reassured her, “Don’t worry, everyone treats the Daily as entertainment. Anyone who’s been at the academy for a while knows that Flying Petals Press loves stirring up drama.”
Yulia let out a small sigh.
The actual content of the article was fairly straightforward, just a report about the stage she set up yesterday.
It was entertaining, and some of the performances had been more impressive than those on the main stage.
Damn clickbait!
Then she turned her attention to the other eye-catching article right beside it.
Exclusive: The New Professor Euphyllia! Powerful, Elegant, Beautiful—Is She One of the Most Stunning Professors?
The words ‘one of’ were deliberately shrunk so small that they were nearly invisible at a glance.
The rest of the article simply covered her lectures.
Admittedly, this news club was really good at this kind of thing.
By maximizing hype, they’re guaranteed to draw attention.
Quite talented.
“So there’s a news club like this? Why didn’t I see them at the recruitment fair yesterday?”
“They’re probably hiding somewhere taking notes. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to print this by noon today.”
Cathy feigned surprise. “Oh? You actually care about the newspaper? I thought you’re the type to ignore everything and keep to yourself.”
“…”
Well, that was true in the past.
“Of course I care about Lia’s affairs! Unlike you, a useless cat who just clings to her all day!”
Yulia cut in before they could bicker further. “So, the reason so many people knew about me yesterday, or even earlier, was because of this newspaper?”
“Most likely.”
It made sense. The academy was huge, so there had to be some way for information to spread.
This so-called St. Ferris Daily might be shameless with its headlines, but it clearly had some substance.
“Then their club must be recruiting too, right? Why didn’t they come to me?”
“Lia, are you interested in the press club?”
“Mhm, very interested. I’d love to have a chat with them about how to keep their mouths shut.”
Cathy immediately raised her hand. “Lady Lia, leave it to me! I’ll track down their lair for you!”
“It’s not a lair, it’s a clubroom.” Yulia swatted Cathy’s hand down. “The way you say it makes it sound like I’m planning to wipe them out.”
“Aren’t you? If they’re gone, they can’t talk.”
“…”
This girl’s hopeless.
“Hehe, just kidding! Anyway, leave it to me.”
“Fine. But right now, we should go check out the book club.”
Yulia led the two of them to the student activity zone.
After asking for directions twice, they found the right floor.
“This should be it.”
Yulia checked the room number, and it matched the flyer.
“But why does it feel so weird here? It’s way too quiet…”
Cathy glanced around. There was barely anyone in sight.
A cold breeze swept past, making her shiver and press closer to Yulia.
Inev didn’t seem bothered, but she looked up at the sign.
It was supposed to have three words, but the first word was missing, leaving only the last two: ‘Book Club’.
“This is the right place, but… is there really a book club like this before? I don’t remember anything about it.”
“Book clubs should be quiet. If we’re sure this is the place, let’s just go in.”
Yulia didn’t care at all.
She was just here to laze around and slack off.
She wasn’t as famously cold and unapproachable as Inev, nor could she fake that kind of demeanor.
If she didn’t join any club, not only would her professor nag her, but every other club would keep pestering her to join.
It’d be a headache.
So the best solution was to find some low-effort club to blend into. That way, she could shut everyone up in advance.
I’m definitely gonna slack off!
If it’s an unknown club, it’s even easier to slack off!
Yulia rummaged through her bag and pulled out three books.
“Here, each of you take one. We’ll go in like this.”
Inev looked at hers, and it was ‘Magic Theory and Fundamentals’. Yulia had ‘Introduction to Alchemy’, and Cathy held ‘The Classification and Characteristics of Combat Skills’.
Three textbooks…
Most people came to book clubs to read for leisure, but here they were, each holding a textbook.
“There’s no choice. It’s better than going in empty-handed.”
With that, Yulia knocked on the door. “Hello? We’re interested in the book club, so we came to learn more.”
The door creaked open, but no one answered.
Another gust of wind made Cathy shrink back. “Lady Lia, something feels off here…”
“It’s fine.” Yulia shook her head.
She was certain there were people inside.
If no one came out, they’d just walk in on their own.
She pulled Cathy inside, with Inev following behind.
The moment they stepped in, the door silently closed behind them.
However, the clubroom was eerily dark. The windows were shuttered, and the curtains were closed, with only a faint light coming from the innermost room.
Cathy tugged at Yulia’s sleeve. “Lady Lia… do people usually read in the dark like this?”
“There’s light inside, and I see shadows. Maybe they’re reading in the dark to set the mood.”
After a few more steps, Yulia pushed open the door to the innermost room.
“He raised the dagger and slashed his own wrist. Black blood flowed out from the wound. He pushed aside the dismembered limbs and walked among the piles of bones and corpses. Laughing madly, he knew that his ritual had succeeded!”
“Just then, the door swung open, and three figures appeared at the entrance.”
The person in the center suddenly turned around, their body twisting a full 180 degrees before flashing a ghastly smile towards the door.
“Ah… so it’s you. You’ve finally come.”
“Eek!” Cathy clung to Yulia’s arm, her fur standing on end.
But Yulia flicked her other hand, summoning a gust of wind that flung the curtains open, flooding the entire room with sunlight.
“Are you insane? What kind of idiots scare people in broad daylight like this?!”