Chapter-03 · EP-044

Episode 44: Why Can't We Join?

It was Sendo who raised the first objection.

He pushed up his glasses and protested to the club member.

"No? Why can't we join if we want to? I've read both the academy rules and the First Swordsmanship Club rules. There's no rule anywhere that prohibits non-nobles from joining the First Swordsmanship Club. Therefore, we should be allowed to join."

Sendo and Murasakimura stared at the club member with smug expressions.

Whether it was Sendo's snide tone or their smug looks that annoyed him, the club member answered with an angry face.

"That's not the point! I'm saying you don't have the qualifications to join!"

"Then please tell us the reason. You're not going to say it's because we're commoners, are you? That wouldn't be a valid reason."

Sendo's face was full of glee. This guy seemed to have a nasty personality.

The club member shouted even louder.

"What were you thinking, trying to join this proud First Swordsmanship Club when you're just commoners?! You commoners should just go to the Second Swordsmanship Club!"

"Then why is that? If commoners can't join the First Swordsmanship Club and can only join the Second, please tell us the reason."

"You bastard! How dare you!"

"Arrogant? That may be so, but that doesn't answer my question. Your argument isn't logical, you know?"

Faced with Sendo, who refused to be convinced no matter what, the club member was silent for a moment, then calmed down and began to explain.

"...It's not written in the rules, certainly. But the First Swordsmanship Club has been a training ground for the sons of distinguished families for generations. If commoners join, the club's tradition and dignity will be ruined!"

Sendo answered with a slight smile on his lips.

"I see... 'Dignity will be ruined.' So, in the First Swordsmanship Club, 'strength' isn't about swordsmanship skill, but about birth?"

"Don't be ridiculous! It's laughable for first-year scum like you to talk about strength! Let's see you say that after you've beaten me!"

"It's not like we could beat you, senpai. What level are you? Level 4 or higher, right? Isn't it only natural for a level 4 second-year to beat a level 1 first-year?"

The atmosphere was about to erupt into a fight. Should I stop it?

Hoping that, being a noble herself, she might stop it, I looked over at Hikaru Kujo.

But she was also watching with her arms crossed to see how this dispute would turn out. She didn't seem inclined to stop it.

I decided to follow her example and watch over Sendo, while thinking I'd step in if things got too serious.

The club member sighed and said.

"Then what would satisfy you? No matter what you say, your admission to the First Swordsmanship Club will not be approved."

Sendo seized the moment to convey his request.

"If you claim that only those with excellent swordsmanship can join the First Swordsmanship Club, then the first-years who joined before us must have skills you acknowledge. Then, if we fight those new members, and we win, please allow us to join."

"Huh?"

Probably, the entire conversation up to this point had gone according to Sendo's plan.

From the start, he intended to ask to fight the new members who had already joined, and if they won, to demand membership.

The strength of new members who just joined was limited.

But in the current flow of conversation, if they refused the match, it would look like the First Swordsmanship Club was running away, and if Sendo won the match, they shouldn't be able to refuse membership.

This second-year club member had lost to Sendo's strategy. If he had just ignored the provocation without getting angry, he would have been fine, but he lost the moment he got angry at Sendo's taunts.

The club member was silent for a while after Sendo's proposal, but finally opened his reluctant mouth.

"Fine. If you win, I'll allow you to join. In exchange, if you lose, you'll apologize for your earlier rudeness with a dogeza."

Perhaps not expecting his demand to actually be accepted, a look of joy appeared on Sendo's face.

Then Sendo answered.

"Fine. But it won't be me fighting; Kyoya will fight."

"Huh?"

Replacing Sendo, who had been negotiating with the club member, Kyoya Murasakimura stepped forward.

"You're not letting me join either, right? Then it doesn't matter which of us fights, does it?"

This was probably also Sendo's strategy. Murasakimura, the top first-year student, should be known. If Murasakimura had stepped forward immediately, they might have refused the match, so Sendo negotiated first, and Murasakimura stepped in at the end. With the confidence as the top student that he wouldn't lose to any fellow first-year.

The reason Murasakimura had been silent until now was probably because he'd heard this strategy from Sendo in advance.

The club member glared at Murasakimura's face with disgust.

Just then, another club member called out.

"I know who you are. You're the one who picked a fight with all the nobles at the entrance ceremony, aren't you?"

That member approached, glaring at Murasakimura with narrowed eyes.

"Senpai, it's a waste of time to deal with such low-class commoners."

"Haijima…"

A new member called Haijima stepped forward.

"I'll take care of it instead. I'll beat down these commoners in no time. A little pain will make them go home quietly."

Haijima's face, smirking confidently, was clearly looking down on them.

"Seriously. It's troublesome how poorly raised people are all talk. I suppose giving them a lesson is a noble's duty."

"Fine, Haijima. You show them reality!"

"Yes!"

"I'll hear your request. We'll lend you protective gear, so go change in the changing room! Haijima, you go get your own gear ready."

And so, a fight for Murasakimura and Sendo's admission to the First Swordsmanship Club was about to take place.