High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 383: Chapter 52 Amish_1

”What is public order and good customs?”

Lin Guo’s curious voice echoed in the dormitory.

No one answered his question.

Even Xiao Xiao hesitated, stroking his notebook, staying silent.

Zheng Qing frowned, silently flipping through the rules and regulations sent with the letter, carefully discerning the meaning between the lines. But after studying for a long time, he couldn’t grasp the essence.

”Club name... public order and good customs...” Zhang Ji Xin muttered, reading over the text on the small card back and forth, and couldn’t figure it out: ”I never knew that ’absolution’ or ’Knight Group’ had anything to do with public order and good customs.”

”It’s definitely nothing to do with the ’Knight Group.’” Xin Fat Man confirmed, ”I remember several clubs in the school with the suffix ’Knight Group’... like Atlas’ Guardian Knights, and the Cossack Knight Group from Starry Sky College, aren’t they all knight groups?”

”’Absolution’ shouldn’t be a problem either,” Zhang Ji Xin hazarded a guess, ”Could it be because ’forgiving sins’ falls under the jurisdiction of the gods, so it conflicts with Atlas’ beliefs?”

”Could the person who reviewed the report have messed up and sent us a wrong letter?” Lin Guo muttered quietly.

The comment wasn’t meant to be serious, but it suddenly struck Xiao Xiao who lifted his head, showing a hint of comprehension.

Zheng Qing, sensing Doctor Xiao’s odd reaction, couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow: ”So, you think there was a mistake made by the Club Union?”

”No, no,” Xiao Xiao shook his head, speaking hesitantly, ”Maybe it’s just a coincidence... today when I went to the office to pick up the receipt, the letter was handed to me by a student from Atlas College... he didn’t have a beard yet, but he had on a black, wide-brimmed pointed hat, and his robe was coarse cloth... I’d guess he’s an Amish, maybe he tampered with our examination report.”

”An Amish?! If it was them, it’s definitely possible... you know, they’re all fanatically conservative wizards.” Zhang Ji Xin seemed to have suddenly realized something, turning to look at Xin Fat Man, ”He’s one of your kinsmen, what do you think?”

”Highlanders are not pure Germans.” Xin Fat Man corrected him with an unenthusiastic look, ”None of the people from the lowland banks would like their accents.”

”Oh, I almost forgot that.” Zhang Ji Xin apologized with a smile, ”You’re from the bank of Rhine.”

”So you mean he altered the conclusions himself?” Zheng Qing found it hard to believe, ”This is the formal document from the school... what could he gain from doing that?!”

”Gain? Don’t try to understand the thinking of a fanatic follower with normal logic.” Xin Fat Man’s words were a bit sharp, ”As an extremely conservative sect that’s continuously splitting over the width of a hat’s brim, the color of a wand, the material of a flying broom, if one of its followers did something irrational just because of the name of our club, it is entirely possible.”

Zheng Qing was still confused.

He had no choice but to turn to Doctor Xiao once more.

”The Amish are a group of Christian New Baptism Mennonite Believers, originally Germanic Highlanders... a very closed, very conservative community, you can consider them pure conservative wizards.”

Xiao Xiao flipped open his notebook, explaining patiently:

”After the official baptism, the Amish are not allowed to smoke, drink, or pursue enjoyment. They also do not participate in the development of the New World, do not accept modern magic theories including dimensional theory... most of the underage wizards in this community will even refuse to participate in primary or intermediate magic education.”

”Most of the time, they wear coarse black gowns and wide-brimmed hats with pointed tops, making a living by concocting ancient magic potions in those fixed magic towers.”

”’Come out from among them and be separate, and do not touch the unclean thing and I will welcome you’... Don’t let the surrounding world shape you.”

”Can you believe their wizards still use magic wands?”

Zheng Qing shrugged, spreading his hands.

Indeed, he was at a loss to imagine this - to be precise, he had no concept of it.

”So, we don’t need to have another meeting to discuss a new club name, right?” The young scholarship student breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t interested in continuing the discussion about Amish lifestyle. Instead, he focused on the card in the Club Union’s receipt: ”The review report says we can appeal within seven natural days... This is an opportunity.”

”This is not an opportunity, it’s the only way out.” Xiao Xiao stressed, ”We don’t have time to wait for a month to submit a new club application again, so this appeal is our only way to squeeze into the campus hunting party.”

”I still don’t understand,” Lin Guo sounded somewhat downcast, ”Why did that Amish guy tamper with our review report?”

”That’s just a guess, though very likely, but there’s no final judgment,” Xin Fat Man corrected the mistake in Lin Guo’s statement, then explained, ”As for the reason for the modification, he made it very clear in the report... Violation of public order and good customs.”

”To understand the Amish, you need to know their ’fear of pride’ and ’appreciation of humility’,” Xiao Xiao absent-mindedly flipped through his notebook, shaking his head. ”Compared to personal will, they tend to obey God’s will... this means that any behavior that affronts God’s authority will receive their ’non-violent, non-cooperation’.”

”Sounds like a very mild group,” Zheng Qing caught the drift, eyeing the wax seal on the parchment envelope with keen interest, mumbling to himself, ”It’s just a more traditional culture.”

”Traditional? No, this is not traditional, this is more like pandering,” Xiao Xiao snapped his notebook shut, adjusted his glasses, and made a sharp assessment, ”They used to adhere to tradition because society was too loose, and tradition maintained social stability. Now society has established far-reaching and solid measures, their adherence to tradition is just for the sake of making themselves stand out.”

”Luckily, Shi Yuan isn’t here today... We don’t have Atlas people here.” Zhang Ji Xin looked terrified, ”otherwise your words could easily incite a bloody conflict between two schools...”

”It’s a bit profound, I can’t follow the rhythm,” Zheng Qing squeezed onto Xin Fat Man’s bed, scratching Tuan Tuan’s chin, enjoying the cat’s purring, he looked content.

”In a community with social attributes, every individual has the desire to be different...” Xiao Xiao tried to continue explaining the topic, but his long-winded talk was cut off right as it began.

”What do you guys think of the name ’Cat’s Group’?” Zheng Qing suddenly lifted Tuan Tuan, disregarding the orange cat’s impatient gaze, he looked seriously at everyone. ”If our appeal is not approved, how about we name our new club this?”

”We are the ones who can’t keep up with you!” Xin Fat Man couldn’t help but roar, he snatched the fat cat from Zheng Qing’s hand, tossing it onto his own head, ”If the appeal is unsuccessful, what’s the point of establishing a new club?!”

”I think whatever we do, we can’t just give up halfway... Since the school won’t let us use ’Human’s Group’, ’Cat’s Group’ should be fine.” Zheng Qing sighed, adding seriously, ”Like Blue Bird could be Blue Cat, and Fat Man, you could be Garfield...”

”Maybe you should drag the Gypsy witch in, then we would have a Persian cat.” Zhang Ji Xin interrupted Zheng Qing’s imagination before he could find a suitable ’cat breed’ for him, then he turned to Fat Man and said, ”But this is an opportunity for you.”

”Opportunity?” Xin Fat Man rubbed the fat cat in his arms, his face full of confusion, ”I wasn’t planning on becoming a cat.”

”Not Garfield.” Zhang Ji Xin’s face, which was already red, seemed to turn somewhat purplish, ”I mean the Amish guy. If it really was him causing trouble, you could write another news story.”

”I have doubts about that.” Xin Fat Man leaned helplessly against his bed, snorting, ”The first rule of the campus newspaper editorial department is not to publish any articles that affect campus unity... I don’t even need the editor-in-chief’s approval to kill off this article.”