Child of Destiny

“I think I will join a music club.”

Right after Alice said those words, the group came to a sudden halt as they looked at her. They were not sure how they were going to react. And when she received their gazes, she could not help but feel a little uncomfortable and could only lower her head to look at the floor.

The first to recover was Arthur who forced out an awkward laugh. “Ah! Yeah! You are an idol, so it will be a waste if you did not join a music club. It is very fitting for you. We will support whatever you want, but hang out with us a little more so that we can be familiar with each other more.”

“After all, you are one with us now. Not only you are staying with our big sister and the others, but you are also a part of our Adventurer Team, so we have to know and understand each other more, don’t you agree?” he added.

He then swept his gaze at the others and saw that they still did not know how to react, so he took the initiative to voice out his choice. “Well, I don’t have a specific type of club in mind. As long as I can have a lot of freedom when joining them and get a lot of time for exposure, then I will not have a problem joining them.”

This time, Leonard quickly added. “I am not specifically good at anything aside from doing all kinds of odd jobs. I guess I will join whatever you or Shin Bro are going to pick.”

Arthur shook his head and clicked his tongue as he gave some exaggerated “Tsk! Tsk! You should know that this guy knows to do anything. He is good at cooking. The food that he makes is like a gourmet for gods.”

“He is also good at singing and playing all kinds of instruments. Heck, he can even make his own music. I will not be surprised if he chooses a music club too.”

“Even if he is only a freshmen high school student, I can say that he is smart enough to join those thesis-loving clubs,” he added before turning to Shin while asking. “What do you think? Do you already have a choice in mind?”

Shin rolled his eyes at Arthur before replying. “You are exaggerating it a little too much. Let’s go. Let’s take a look at the clubs that the school has and make our choice later.”

Arthur clicked his tongue once again before suddenly saying. “Ah! The idea of making our own club is also quite good too! What do you think of making Empyrean Talons a School Club?”

Shin shook his head and turned around. “Let’s go.”

After that, the group resumed their steps and made their way toward the Academy Square. Shin, Arthur, and Leonard banter with each other a little while Cloe and Lorraine laughed at them from the side and also poked fun at them from time to time.

Molton silently walked behind them while observing everyone. He rarely socialized with others because of his introverted nature. But the atmosphere of this group gave him a refreshing feeling and sense of belonging, so he did not mind hanging out with them.

Jillian was only here to keep an eye on her brother. She and their mother were worried that he would not be able to make friends after transferring here, so she had to support him from the side. She was always been with him, so it would not be a problem.

But after seeing her honest brother being badly influenced by Arthur, she could not help but have conflicting feelings.

Alice stayed rooted in her spot for a few moments as she watched them. She still did not know how to feel about this group, but she had to admit that she was starting to like them more as time passed.

It was a new feeling for her since she was usually alone. Moreover, the people around her, before she met this group, were always looking at her with expectations.

Whether they were from her family, from her fans, or from her agency and career manager – all of them were looking at her with such gaze. Especially from her family which started when her big sister ran away from home and disappeared.

It made her feel pressured and suffocated. She thought that this must be what her big sister was feeling at that time. She might be trying to escape from everyone, unable to cope with the pressure.

This was the reason why she built up her cold and indifferent personality. Most of the time, she was also acting like a spoiled princess, who demanded everything from the others. It was to protect herself from the pressure and those gazes directed at her.

She was used to that kind of life until she met Shin and the others. After meeting them, she felt that she could act more relaxed and showed them her other side, her real self. They were treating her like everyone else and looking at her without any kind of expectations.

“It was really not a bad feeling,” she muttered as she looked at their backs.

While she was lost in her thoughts, the group suddenly paused their steps once again after noticing her absence. They then turned around and saw her looking at them from the distance.

“Are you not coming with us?” asked Lorraine. She was the closest to her compared to others, so she felt more comfortable talking to her.

Alice was finally able to recover herself and responded. “Wait.”

She then started running toward them while wearing a bright smile unknown to herself.

…… ．

The group stood dumbfoundedly when they reached Academy Square. They were already expecting that the place was going to be lively given that Professor Kyrie emphasized the importance of joining a school club, but they were still not expecting that this was going to be like this.

The whole square was filled with people and stands. There was a continuous flood of students who were looking for a suitable club that they could join while the seniors that represent their respective clubs were doing all kinds of things to attract new students.

“There are a lot of people.”

“It is like a festival.”

“Are we going to squeeze our way in?”

“It looks like this is going to be a little bumpy.”

“It looks fun.”

The group started giving their comments as they stared blankly at the scene in front of them. The girls were starting to have second thoughts, especially Jillian, who did not like crowded places. Even Molton was feeling uncomfortable. Given his personality, being in this kind of place scared him a little.

Alice was also wearing an unwilling look on her face. She was an idol and a lot of people knew her, so she was afraid that someone might recognize her and these people would suddenly charge at her.

Fortunately, she was a mentalist, so she could just put on a disguise with her mentalism techniques like what she usually did whenever she was going out or shopping in the mall. When she remembered that, she could not help but sigh in relief before quickly shrouding her face with mental energy which altered her appearance a little.

After adjusting their composure and readying themselves, Shin walked forward and lead the others. “Let’s go. Let’s take a look around.”

The group joined the flow of students as they looked at the stands that the seniors had put up for recruitment.

They really felt that this event was like a festival. They also saw all kinds of people who were doing all they could to attract the attention of the new students. Some were doing martial exhibitions to showcase their martial prowess while others were doing some mentalism techniques.

They also saw the clubs that were focusing on the arts. They saw their artworks and crafts. Even though most of them could not understand what was the meaning behind each artwork and craft, looking at them was fun.

There were also some clubs that were doing entertaining performances such as dancing and singing. Even though they were not as good as the ones that could be found on television and great idols, who were doing big concerts, their performance was quite good.

The group watched those clubs for a few moments before moving on. And when they continued, they stumbled upon a particular section of the square where all of the clubs related to cooking were gathered.

“Wow! A food bazaar!”

Smoke mixed with a rich aroma of different delicacies filled the air as they looked at the sight in front of them. The stands lined up on the side were very busy at making all kinds of delicacies and presenting their signature dish.

And most of all – everything was free!

“I suddenly feel hungry!” said Arthur as he looked at the food stands with bright eyes and a slightly salivating mouth.

“Let’s try some,” said Shin as he walked to the stand nearest to them.

Cloe, on the other hand, quickly followed while saying. “What do you mean ‘some’? Let’s try them all!”

And just like that, the group temporarily forgot their real purpose in coming to this place and started their food adventure.

From the looked of it, they seemed to be really going to try all of the delicacies presented by each club. After all, these were all free, so why not enjoy them to the fullest?

…….