Chapter 549
The next afternoon.
Inside the Mutant Club room.
“Finally, it’s time for the freshmen’s interviews! Ugh, I’m so nervous!”
Toto rubbed his own shoulders up and down in a frenzy. Simon calmly chuckled and patted his shoulder.
“You’re not the one getting interviewed. Just relax.”
“Y-yeah, but still!”
Toto suddenly grabbed his head with both hands.
“What if the freshmen forget and don’t show up?! What if they get mad at the way we test them?! What if they think the clubroom is so shabby they leave after one minute?!”
‘…Man, this guy worries way too much.’
Simon shrugged.
“They want to join our club, so why would they do that?”
“R-right, I guess?”
Click.
“Time’s up.”
Just then, Fitzgerald came up from the club’s basement floor. Simon turned toward him.
“What were you doing down there?”
“Had to make something simple. Are preparations ready?”
“Already finished.”
Since seventeen freshmen were coming, the room would’ve been cramped, so they had moved aside bulky furniture like sofas to clear some space.
The only things left were a desk and a chair.
Thunk.
Fitzgerald, the club president, sat down. Simon and Toto stood at his side. With an overly serious expression, Fitzgerald placed something down.
A nameplate he had apparently just made.
[President: Fitzgerald.]
“Hmph.”
He adjusted his glasses, crossed his legs, and leaned back with smug pride. Simon quietly chuckled.
He really takes pride in that kind of thing.
“Sounds noisy outside. The freshmen must be here. Before we begin the entrance test…”
He lifted his head.
“Let’s assign positions among ourselves.”
Simon blinked.
“Positions?”
“Mm. More precisely, we need a drill sergeant to keep the freshmen in line.”
Simon gave a wry smile.
“Do we really need that?”
“Of course, I don’t mean we’ll do the disgusting things certain third-years used to do. But since it’s hard to control freshmen, they need someone they’ll find a little scary. The right person is—”
He slowly turned his gaze toward Toto.
“M-meeeee?!”
Toto jumped up in shock.
“W-wait a sec! I can’t do that kind of thing!”
“Logically speaking, you’re the best fit, Toto. As president, I order it.”
“Even if it’s an order, I can’t! You guys would be way better at—!”
Fitzgerald shook his head.
“Let’s consider. First, Simon is Student Council President. He’s not suited for that role, and his personality doesn’t fit. Freshmen like Simon—he’s better as the kind, comforting senior. And as for me…”
Fitzgerald tapped his own chest.
“I’m the president, so I refuse.”
“W-wait a minute, Fitz!”
Suddenly, Fitzgerald rose and shoved a book against Toto’s chest.
“For someone who only says he can’t do it without even trying, I present this.”
“A Position Makes the Person.”
“What the heck is this supposed to mean?!”
“Think back to the last day of club season, Toto.”
Fitzgerald spoke with absolute seriousness.
“When you cross-dressed and handed out flyers, what happened?”
“Huh? Well…”
“Sorry if this sounds harsh, but if you’d gone around handing them out with your usual pitiful lack of confidence, no freshman would’ve even looked at you.”
‘He apologized in advance, but that’s way too harsh!’
Simon broke into a cold sweat, nervously glancing at Toto.
“But when you cross-dressed, your popularity was incredible. The flyers ran out instantly. Some freshmen boys even—”
“Waaah! Aaaagh! Please, please, please don’t bring that up, Fitz!”
“Anyway, how did you feel then?”
Fitzgerald poked the book cover against Toto’s chest.
“Explosive popularity and attention like you’d never experienced before. That was the power of position. It doesn’t matter if you’re Toto Amoriya, or what kind of person you are. If you fully embody the role, people won’t see you as yourself, they’ll see and accept the position.”
Toto’s pupils trembled.
“M-my own personality… doesn’t matter?”
“Exactly.”
Simon, listening quietly, turned his head.
“…Fitzgerald. Don’t you think you’ve been influenced by Dick a bit too much lately?”
“Ahem. Quiet.”
Snap.
From subspace, Fitzgerald pulled out a black cap.
It had horn-shaped ornaments on each side, and in the middle, a blazing flame and menacing skull glared out as the logo.
“From the moment you wear this hat, Toto Amoriya ceases to exist. You will become the Mutant Club’s version of Senior Will Douglas.”
“M-me, Senior Will…?”
Toto’s eyes spun dizzily.
Like a hypnotist, Fitzgerald spoke in a slow, languid tone.
“Hide your weakness with this hat, and become the drill sergeant who upholds order.”
“…Drill sergeant who upholds order.”
“Yes.”
Fitzgerald carefully pressed the black cap down on Toto’s head. The brim slanted low, casting his eyes in shadow.
Then Fitzgerald stepped back and folded his arms.
“Mm. It suits you. I see no trace of the weak Toto Amoriya. Do you feel more confident now?”
“…Yeah.”
Toto adjusted the black cap, clenched his fists, and shouted with renewed spirit.
“I-I’ll do it!”
“Good. A drill sergeant must dominate the first impression.”
Fitzgerald sat back down and thrust out a hand.
“Bring the freshmen in as forcefully as you can.”
“Got it!”
Toto pressed both hands to his head and muttered to himself like casting self-hypnosis.
‘I’m scary Senior Will. I’m scary Senior Will.’
Then, eyes snapping open, Toto stomped toward the door and kicked it wide open.
BANG!
“You damn freshmen brats!!”
From outside came shrieks of terror: “Kyaaah!”
“You think this clubroom is your front yard? Huh?! Get in here, NOW!”
“S-sorry!!”
The freshmen rushed inside in a panic. Even Princess Molly and special admission No. 1, Sasha, were no exception.
Toto blinked, stunned.
‘T-they actually listened… The freshmen… listened to me!’
He stood there dumbfounded, as if struck by a great revelation. Simon nudged Fitzgerald’s shoulder.
“Hey… you sure this is okay?”
Fitzgerald pushed up his glasses.
“You don’t know Toto well enough yet. His personality has always held him back from his potential. I believe this role will help him grow.”
“…I hope so.”
But the silence among the freshmen lasted only ten seconds.
The moment they entered, they began giggling, gawking around, and chattering noisily.
Off to the side, Sasha waved her hand cheerfully. “Simon oppa~!” Simon returned the wave with a smile.
“You damn freshmen brats!”
Just then, Toto screamed from behind.
“You can’t even last one second without yammering?! You swallow up basic manners for breakfast, huh?! You think seniors are a joke?! Back in my day, seniors would shove your head into a skull-pot toilet! Line up straight, NOW!”
Startled, the freshmen immediately shut their mouths and lined up politely.
‘Isn’t he getting… a little too into this?’
Simon gave an awkward smile.
‘…Guess someone who’s been on the receiving end is good at imitating it.’
Even Fitzgerald, who hadn’t expected this much, was sweating nervously.
And that day, Toto awakened to the art of ‘hazing’.
The last applicant, White, arrived a little late.
As he strolled leisurely into the room, the freshmen glared at him with eyes that said, What’s his deal?
Unbothered, White simply took a spot at the very end of the line of freshmen, right next to the window.
“Everyone’s here now.”
President Fitzgerald adjusted his glasses.
“From this moment, the Mutant Club’s entrance examination will begin. Out of you seventeen…”
He raised his fingers.
“Only seven will be chosen.”
At those words, tension filled the freshmen’s eyes.
Sasha and Molly side-eyed each other, openly wary. The only ones looking relaxed were Arthur, the Mercenary King, grinning carefreely, and White, who seemed more focused on a bird flying outside the window.
“The test will consist of three stages, each overseen by me, Toto, and Simon. First, I’ll administer the opening test.”
Simon and Toto went around handing out mats and exam sheets. Each freshman spread out their mat, sat down, and prepared with feather pens at the ready.
‘So it starts with a written exam.’
Princess Molly gracefully sat on her mat and tied back her hair. Then she sneaked a glance at Sasha.
For all her earlier confidence, Sasha now looked tense, feather pen trembling in her hand.
‘That’s right, you’ve always been weak at written tests. But theory is my specialty. I’ll get top marks and make it into the Student Council President Senior’s club!’
Then Fitzgerald spoke from the front.
“One subjective question. You have twenty minutes.”
He set the timer on his watch.
“Begin.”
Rustle—
Everyone flipped over their exam sheets. Molly did the same.
‘Summon beast knowledge? Easy! Whatever it is, I’ll—’
<Question: From a constructivist perspective, analyze the meaning of the club name “Mutant”. Did it deny the objectivity of knowledge and accept it as an independent cognitive structure, or was it recognized as an objective image formed through social consensus? Write at least 1,500 characters, based on the choice model of fact versus cognition.>
‘????’
Molly was thrown into utter chaos.
‘What… what is this?!’
Is this even proper continental language?!
To not even understand the question—none of the royal tutors back in the palace could have prepared her for this.
Was Keyzen education always this advanced?
Haaah—
Sigh…
Groans and laments came from all corners. The only consolation: every other freshman seemed just as lost.
Scritch—
But in the midst of it all, Sasha started writing.
‘She understood the question?!’
Her feather pen moved confidently, her brows furrowed slightly in thought.
She was definitely writing down the right answer.
Molly’s mouth went dry, her nerves rattled.
‘I-I can’t lose to her!’
* * *
Twenty minutes later.
Simon collected the sheets. Fitzgerald quickly flipped through them.
The freshmen all stood nervously.
“Hm.”
Fitzgerald sighed as he set the sheets down.
“Everyone fails.”
The freshmen’s jaws collectively dropped. Simon glared at him.
‘See? I told you so!’
Fitzgerald leaned in to whisper.
“I didn’t expect their level to be this low. But for a Mutant Club member, this much should be—”
“Even I couldn’t solve that!”
The freshmen buzzed in panic. Did this mean no one would be accepted?
“D-don’t worry!”
Simon wiped sweat from his brow and stepped forward.
“Actually, this was just to select a single freshman representative! Since no one passed, we’ll skip it and use the next two tests to determine members. Do your best there!”
Relief returned to the freshmen’s faces.
“Yes, Senior!”
They clasped their hands and giggled, “Thank goodness~!” Simon smiled outwardly but sighed heavily inside.
“And also.”
Fitzgerald waved a test sheet.
“Who’s Sasha Endrasil? No matter how hard the test is, scribbling is forbidden.”
“Sorry~”
Sasha bowed her head.
Molly’s expression froze.
‘It… it was just doodles?!’
“And Molly Dresden.”
Fitzgerald held up her sheet.
“You rambled about something completely unrelated, but you filled the entire page. For that effort, I’ll read it aloud and interpret it.”
‘Nooooooo!’
For a moment, a princess of the realm teetered on the brink of dying of shame.
Her face flushed red enough to drip. Simon shut his eyes with a pained expression.
‘Please, let the next test be normal…’
“The next test is mine!”
The freshmen tensed.
Marching forward was the short senior in the black cap—the terrifying “drill sergeant”.
“From what I saw, you’re all a mess! A mess! Who turns in a blank sheet?! You think exams are a joke?! The problem is your total lack of willpower!”
Toto now looked genuinely intimidating in his role.
“Anyway, it’s my turn. The test I’ll give you is—”
Click.
The door opened.
Everyone turned.
Walking in was a tall girl with cream-colored hair flowing down her shoulders.
“Oh my, am I interrupting?”
It was none other than third-year Benya Vanilla, waving cheerfully.
“B-Benya senior!”
‘No one said she was coming!’
And so, Toto’s reign faced crisis barely an hour after it began.
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