Blair noticed her gaze but he decided to ignore it. In any case, he believed that this is an accepted practice among the Dark Arts practitioners so there is nothing to feel guilty for.
"They should be at Stall No. 22. Let's go..." Blair said as they passed over a few stalls made by various clubs.
There were many normal clubs like those related to cooking, music, and even tea enthusiast's club. Vale even saw a Fortune Telling Club. As far as he remembers, there shouldn't be a branch of Dark Arts that is close to divination or fortune-telling…
Well, there is a ritual to learn how many years a person has left before he dies. However, that requires a high-level ritual that must be done with expensive sacrifices and no normal student can do that.
Soon, their small group arrived in front of Stall No. 22, the Variant Research Club.
There is a table and a couple of students who were playing chess on it… They didn't seem interested in recruiting freshmen so it surprised the group momentarily…
"Excuse me. I'm a freshman student. May I ask if you guys are recruiting?" Blair was extremely polite as he interrupted the two students who are playing.
The two didn't realize that there are people in front of their stall so they were a bit flustered and immediately cleaned up the table.
They were not expecting that someone would actually think of joining their club!
"Y-yes… Did you make a mistake? Read the poster we placed again. This is the Variant Research Club. We research Variants most of the time in an operating table. It's filled with blood and can be a bit disgusting for weak girls and boys. You have to consider this carefully."
"That's right… We're trying to make various improvements and it can't be done by just giving theoretical papers. We would do it in a literal sense…"
The two seniors were seriously warning them! They're completely unlike the students of other clubs.
Their trustworthiness immediately increased, especially to Blair who was still hesitant until now.
"Great! I knew it! That's how it's supposed to be… I thought that you guys are just thinking of formulating theoretical papers and submitting them to the Dark Alchemy Faction to be tested… I'm relieved." Blaire truly sighed in relief after hearing their explanation.
It appears that he wanted to confirm this before joining this club.
The two members of the club were happy upon hearing this as they looked at Lisa and Aubrey…
"Yes! We're really doing it. However, since you are only first years students, you can only assist or watch us do the practical thing. Of course, we can give you a live experience in your third year. Is that alright? I can help you sign your names now."
"That's right! Next week, there will be a dissection and it will be done by a few sixth-year seniors under the professor's watch… It's a special activity done in our club. If you join now, I will let you watch them in the gallery. Ahem, may I ask for your names?"
Realizing that they were mistaken to be interested in the club, Aubrey and Lisa immediately shook their heads and said.
"No. I'm not interested. We're just coming along with our classmate."
"Me too." Lisa meekly said as she even stepped back for a bit.
The two recruiters didn't hide their disappointment after hearing the two.
"Is that so… I hope that we can still be friends. May I ask what class are you in?"
"You can still consider joining us if you can't find other clubs that suit your interest..."
Blair decided to interrupt them at this point. He even raised his double chin as he spoke proudly.
"Ahem. I'm the only one who wanted to join the club. But I still have a few questions. I wanted to know the name of the adviser of the club. How many members are there? Can I gain Contribution points here? What kind of path are taking in strengthening your Variants?"
His questions go on and on so Chad immediately interrupted…
"Since our friend has found the club he was looking for… We will be leaving now. We also need to find our clubs."
Blair immediately thanked everyone for accompanying him.
Then, in the next hour or two, the others also found the clubs they wanted to join except for Vale.
Lisa Grayback wanted to join the Reader's Hub since she needed plenty of knowledge. Unfortunately, after learning that the Reader's Hub focused on reading romance, adventure, and detective novels, she's considering joining the Library Committee instead.
Apparently, the Student Clubs were either made by a group of students after getting an adviser or made by the academy itself.
The difference in this is that the student-made clubs require a professor or an adviser to be established, while the academy-made is not.
Anyway, she's planning to observe the Library Committee for a couple of days before applying for it.
Aubrey Hall, on the other hand, was planning to join the Board Game Club!
Vale was actually curious why board games have their own Club in the Vermont Academy of Dark Arts.
Lisa also had the same thoughts as she knows one of the board games on the table. It is the Rack and Ruin that the Headmaster plays in his office.
"Isn't this game for the gamblers?" Lisa asked curiously.
Chad only smiled as he explained with a smile.
"Well, any game can be used by gamblers. Just think of it as some sort of entertainment. Who knows, it might be useful when we're doing missions outside the Academy someday."
The female member of the Board Game Club heard this and immediately agreed.
She clasped her hands and looked at Chad with a beaming smile.
"You're right! Many of the student clubs are aiming for that in the first place. The era has now changed, those of us who are treading the Arcane Path must learn how to blend into society… This board game will do just that!"
