The sliding door to the clubroom had become so familiar that it now felt more comfortable than the door to my own dorm room.
Sliiide—.
The moment I opened the sliding door with a cheerful scrape, a boisterous voice burst out from inside.
"Ah! Look at this!"
No sooner had the door opened than Eileen spotted me inside the clubroom and rushed at me as though she had been waiting for me.
Stopping in front of me, she proudly held out something she had been clutching tightly to her chest.
It was a thick stack of papers, sharply aligned at the edges.
In the exact center of that enormous pile of documents was an elaborate, bizarre sketch that appeared to depict Niklas, while dense notes were neatly written all around it, as though they analyzed every one of his traits point by point.
Could it really be an item?
In Dawnstar Academia, the original game, undertaking club activities or conducting related research required at least an hour of in-game time before you could earn a reward item.
But perhaps because this was reality, or because of the peculiar nature of the Ancient Documents Club—which had not existed in the game—the research had not ended even after club hours were over.
Apparently intending to shut herself in her dorm room and finish the research even if it meant staying up all night, Eileen had asked me if she could take Niklas with her and look after him just for today. I had readily accepted her proposal.
Unlike Kafka, Niklas was a pet, so he could be toggled on and off like equipment. He also followed Eileen well, and she was not the sort of person who would mistreat him, so there was no reason for me to refuse.
Perhaps that was why; having stayed up all night making this report, her face did look a little gaunt.
Screech!
In contrast, Niklas, perched on her shoulder, looked perfectly energetic.
I took the thick stack of documents she handed me and slowly turned through it page by page.
Niklas’s innate traits, his behavioral patterns, even the kinds of treats he liked.
Practically every conceivable piece of background information on Niklas had been perfectly condensed into these few pages.
…And she wrote all of this in just one day?
"Niklas is a hippogriff, right? So I referred to the materials on griffins that we researched last time…"
President Eileen seemed to be offering some explanation beside me.
But right now, none of her explanation was reaching my ears.
And when my eyes reached the final page—
Ding!
[Insight Eye activates.]
Along with the notification, the dormant Insight Eye activated.
A bluish UI window floated in midair, and a description of the documents began to appear.
[Record on Niklas’s Ecology]
A record compiled by Eileen, president of the Ancient Documents Club, documenting the traits of Niklas the hippogriff.
◈ Grade: Advanced
◈ When equipped by Niklas, Attack increases by 15.
◈ When equipped by Niklas, acquired experience increases by 15%.
I thought it would be, at most, a pet experience book…
The documents she had handed me were themselves an item.
And not just any item, but an item exclusively for Niklas that could be equipped by a pet.
At that moment—
Ding!
Dazzling translucent log windows began appearing in rapid succession, filling my field of vision.
[You have fulfilled the requirements for the club to level up.]
[The level of ‘Ancient Documents Club’ increases.]
[The level of ‘???’s Dungeon’ increases.]
[Selectable club buff options have been unlocked.]
[The probability of acquiring higher-grade items through research slightly increases.]
[The stamina recovery rate of members within the clubroom slightly increases.]
[The number of dungeon monsters that can be deployed expands to 10.]
[The total available energy in the dungeon increases to 200.]
The Ancient Documents Club had leveled up upon acquiring an advanced-grade item, one of the requirements for leveling up.
More buff options, an increased chance of obtaining higher-grade items through research, increased stamina recovery, and so on.
The status windows streaming across my vision bore the exact same wording as the notification windows I had seen on the monitor.
The dungeon, which supposedly shared the club’s level, had also reached Level 2. Its maximum number of monsters had increased from five to ten, while its available energy had doubled from 100 to 200.
At that moment—
[Your first collaborative research project has been rated Advanced.]
[You have completed the achievement [Showing Promise as a Graduate Student].]
[The title [Graduate Student Prospect] is granted to Eileen, who made the greatest contribution.]
…What was with that ominous wording?
My face creased as I read the message that appeared in my vision.
"Why? Is there some kind of problem…?"
Perhaps because my expression did not look good, President Eileen cautiously spoke to me.
"No, it’s nothing."
There was a problem, but it was on her end.
I shook my head with forced calm.
[Graduate Student Prospect]
A title granted to someone who produces material of such a high grade in a single day.
◈ The chance of obtaining higher-grade items through research increases by 10%.
◈ Stamina consumed during research decreases by 20%.
Unlike its ominous name, its effects were not bad.
If anything, they were quite good.
The chance of obtaining advanced items was 3% higher than the club buff, and the stamina consumed during research was reduced by 20%…
It had options roughly equivalent to combining two club buffs.
But why did it have to be called that…?
Feeling my gaze, she slightly tilted her head and gave me a look that asked whether something was wrong.
"Why? Is there something on my face?"
"…No, not that."
She did have dark circles under her eyes, and her face had grown gaunt.
Still, even with the club buff, an advanced-grade item—and not even a pet experience book, but a pet-exclusive item…
Even in the game, with buffs, you would be lucky to get one after making seven items.
Did she genuinely have the makings of a graduate student?
Of course, I decided there was no need to say that aloud.
With that silly thought in mind, I pointed to the documents in my hand and opened my mouth.
"Could this be copied, by any chance?"
"Copied? It probably can be?"
#
After that, things proceeded fairly smoothly.
Nothing special happened.
I did not know what Professor Luke and the headmaster had said to explain Arghalia’s attack, but unlike in the game, several countries dispatched a few additional people. The Holy Maiden, however, was not among them.
As a result, with the Holy Maiden—who was responsible for playing the villain and filling the gap between the midterms—absent, there was nothing that could trigger any events.
Since there were no events to get caught up in, it had been quite a while since I had last seen the Oath of Chivalry.
I simply attended classes, sparred with Angelica in the evenings, and collected the byproducts of Eileen’s research.
I just repeated that cycle.
But this was not exactly satisfying, either.
Sparring with Angelica was still grueling, and strangely enough, perhaps because I had raised my level too much in the fight with Arghalia, sparring with her no longer raised my level.
And perhaps the advanced item had been beginner’s luck, or perhaps because the research topic had never moved beyond Niklas, but unlike that time, the club research produced nothing but pet experience books.
Thanks to that, I could raise Niklas to Level 10, but since it produced only ordinary junk items, it seemed it was time to entrust weapons such as Carnwennan or Prydwen to them instead of Niklas.
The same went for the other protagonists.
Still, one difference from the game was that Isabella, who had joined the student council to oppose the Holy Maiden, paid little attention to the student council.
Rather, these days she had been actively participating in club activities by helping Eileen with her research.
As for Dolnesia, just as I had told her, she was thoroughly extracting every bit of value she could from Silves.
If I remembered correctly, she had said she became that man’s teaching assistant?
Nothing in particular had changed for Angelica.
She just kept sparring with me.
These days, it seemed she was even trying to alter [Breath Splitting] however she pleased.
I did not know whether the day would ever come when I could defeat her.
They all seemed to be growing stronger in their own ways, but of the four, the one who had changed the most was undoubtedly Iris.
First of all, as Professor Luke had instructed, Iris thoroughly concealed the fact that she had awakened as a Holy Maiden.
For starters, she no longer wore the silver ring whose holy power had been completely depleted. Apparently, Asdel had recently asked indirectly where the missing silver ring had gone, but she had brushed it off by saying she lost it amid the chaos when Arghalia attacked the academy last time.
For some reason, even from here I could feel that Asdel and all three members of the Iris Fan Club Trio had become more at ease.
Still, it seemed she was receiving lessons from the Holy Virgin whenever no one was looking.
The reason I knew that was—
"I think it would be best to stop here for today."
At the request of the Holy Virgin and Iris, I had ended up serving as her sparring partner.
I wondered if they had chosen me because I was among those who knew Iris was the Holy Maiden, but it could not really have been anyone else.
Angelica looked as though she might split Iris in half.
The Second Prince would be difficult because of his status.
Dante seemed like he might have been able to handle it, but—
"That will not do."
The Holy Virgin objected, saying that while Dante used a sword, he was fundamentally a mage.
Haede was too weak to serve as Iris’s sparring partner.
So, with no other options, the Holy Virgin had singled me out and asked me to take the role, leaving me no choice but to accept.
Of course, compared to sparring with Angelica, it was not even a warm-up. But I had to spar with Angelica immediately after sparring with Iris, so it was just as exhausting.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"No, not at all."
Before me, Iris drew rough breaths as she wiped the beads of sweat gathered on her forehead with one arm.
She lowered the long wooden staff she had been fiercely aiming at me throughout the spar, then smiled and gave me a small bow.
Iris, who had originally used a sword, had switched her primary weapon from a sword to a spear at some point, likely due to the Holy Virgin’s influence.
Of course, since the spear was easier to handle than the sword, there was no particular problem with the change. I did not know what change of heart had brought it about, but she was diligently keeping up with her training and sparring as well.
Perhaps because she had a natural talent for swordsmanship, even if not to Angelica’s extent—or perhaps thanks to the Holy Virgin’s teachings—her level was already 45 despite this still being the early stages.
That was a level surpassing most male protagonists.
Rather than the male protagonists protecting Iris, it was beginning to seem as though Iris would have to protect them.
Still, I had to face Angelica right away.
Normally, I would rest for a while after sparring with Iris before facing Angelica.
But I did not have time for that today.
Because—
"You said you have to go out today, so you will be sparring with Angelica immediately after this, right? Will you really be all right? Shall I… place a blessing on you before you go?"
I had to go out today.
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