Vol 3 Chapter 2 (2/2)

Seron and the others were quite surprised to hear this

“…All right Come in”

Jenny grinned took a step back, gesturing for Sophia to come inside

Seven students sat in the club office

Jenny sat on a chair, and the others on sofas with the boys on one and the girls on the other Sophia sat in the middle, across from Seron

Cups of stea-hot tea sat on the coffee table Sophia was taken aback to see such expensive cups

“Is it… really okay for me to use this?”

Jenny took up her pen and notepad “Don’t worry about it Noould you like to have us investigate?”

Sophia took a deep breath A serious look rose to her eyes

“I want you to find so for me on campus”

“Oh? Like what?” Jenny inquired, leaning forward The others listened quietly

“I know this e, but I don’t actually knohat it is I’ for”

“Hm”

“If you knohat this is, tell ht out Okay?” Sophia hesitated, then, and continued “Arthur used a teraze

Jenny took down every detail like a seasoned investigator “We won’t laugh or anything, no ht be So as this term he used?”

Sophia must have made up her mind She returned to her usual self and confessed,

“The ‘50th bee’”

“…Huh?”

The club members furrowed their brows

“The ‘50th bee’ That’s the teran “It was still exam season, so we didn’t have practice that day I was on ates It was as crowded as ever And I spotted Arthur walking about twowith a boy I’ve never met”

“I see I see” Jenny nodded along, furiously taking notes

“They sounded like they were having fun, and it was so crowded I decided not to talk to hi But that’s when I overheard theonna do about the “50th bee”?’ Arthur didn’t sound any different when he replied ‘Hot serious then ‘Get a hold of yourself We’re fifth-years now—you’d want to sell your own parents for the ‘50th bee’, wouldn’t you?’ Then Arthur just said, ‘…you’re right I’ll try Sorry to make you worry’ He sounded so faint then”

Seron and the others on the sofas could not respond

Jenny stopped taking notes She looked like she had taken a bite out of a chocolate bar she had thought was a haer

“That’s it They went in different directions at the gates, and I didn’t talk to Arthur then” Sophia concluded

“SC Sophia… just ?” Jenny asked

“No I knohat I heard”

“Really?” Jenny was unconvinced

“I don’t think SC Sophia is ue” Seron said, the eyes of six students—including the girl he loved—on hiht, SC Sophia SC Arthur wants to get his hands on so from the context, the 50th bee is somewhere in this school”

“Yeah That’s what I think”

“And you want to find this 50th bee for SC Arthur, am I correct?”

“Yeah…” Sophia nodded She picked up her tea and took a sip

Seron noticed that Sophia and the other girls seemed to be very interested in the subject And he realized that his suspicions were correct

Looking around at each of the ht be? I think ‘bee’ in this case means the insect”

No one answered

Unsurprised, he looked at Sophia

“To be honest, I don’t knohat this ter like it SC Arthur must have used a term that only his close friends would understand”

“Yeah… I expected as ht know”

“Have you asked around the drama club?”

“This is the first I’ve told anyone about the 50th bee”

Larry, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up

“SC Sophia, why are you trying to get this 50th bee for SC Arthur anyway?”

“I…”

Sophia could not answer such a direct question

“Ugh Talk about dense” Jenny rolled her eyes No one else responded

“No, well… I… I was just curious” Larry sta to Nick for answers

Nick noticed his gaze, but looked away as though avoiding the question

Finally, Larry turned to Meg

She looked quite troubled

“Aheroup” Natalia said with a straight face

“Hold it Look I ad on here” Larry pleaded

For soht Several seconds passed

Sophia was the one to break the silence

“It’s because I love him”

“Huh? Wait, what?” Larry asked in confusion

“You’re hopeless SC Sophia deserves a whole lotta gratitude right now”

“That’s right Maybe you should train more than just your muscles sometimes”

Natalia and Jenny scolded Larry in turn

“Right Sorry Er… I’ back

“It’s all right I was going to tell you guys anyway” Sophia replied kindly “It wouldn’t be right to just ask you to do this foryou why But please don’t tell anyone else Please”

“Of course We will protect your secret and do our utht, president?” Nick said

“Definitely Like our club motto says, ‘accept all requests, and research the rest’” Jenny replied

“That’s the first I’ve heard” Natalia co

“‘Mottos are meant to be made on the spot’”

“Is that one of our mottos too?”

“Sure”

“I’ jumped in

“SC Sophia!”

“Whoa!”

Meg clasped her hands tightly over Sophia’s, tre with excitement

“It is cool! It is a! I will cheer for your love! I will cheer, I promise! I will pray that your love will become—er, come true!”

“Th-thank you, Megmica”

“You’re welcome!”

Meg let go of Sophia’s hands and began gesticulating in a way very foreign to Roxche, and probably even Sou Be-Il

“We will find the caves in the ground! Perhaps it is the newest kind of bee only in our school no one knows yet! You will be resting easy, SC Sophia! We are very good at finding underground things!”

Meg’s Roxchean began degenerating

“Huh? …What?”

Sophia’s eyes widened in confusion Nick quickly stepped in

“There’s no need for a possessive between ‘50th’ and ‘bee’, Meg insect that flies around collecting pollen”

Meg was shocked

“Pardon? Do not bees in Roxche rounds? If there are 50 bees, I thought they would rounds and crawl in lines”

As Meg reeled in confusion, Natalia tilted her head

“I think you’re talking about ants, Meg?”

“Huh? Er… hm? This is…”

“Guys” Jenny finally spoke up with a twirl of her pen, knowing they were getting nowhere “In Bezelese, they use the same word to refer to both bees and ants They’re both hys, they have si bees’ are e know as bees, and ‘crawling bees’ are ants Usually people oenerally have to use context to figure out which insect they’re talking about”

“Yes! That is true!” Meg exclaimed “Thank you, Jenny Now I know differences ‘Ant’ My new Roxchean word for today”

“Fascinating Looks like I still have a lot to learn” Said Seron

“Anyway, let’s get back to the point” Jenny said “SC Sophia, you want to help SC Arthur because you’re in love with hi to find this ‘50th bee’ that he so desperately wants”

“Yeah I know this ht be able to tell him how I feel then Or maybe not, but I have to try”

“If you’ve come so far as to talk to us, you must be desperate”

“Yeah As long as I can tell him before the practice camp ends… by the last day…”

“I see Then we have no time to lose When does the camp end?” Asked Jenny Nick answered

“The camp lasts seven days, and today is the fourth day We have tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that—three full days in total”

“That’s right” Sophia nodded “But there won’t be much of a practice on the last day Just one full rehearsal, then cleanup and lunch and an afterparty at the dor—by this time that day, at the latest”

Larry scowled “So we really only have two days…”

“It ure out this 50th bee” Said Natalia “Me, Megmica, and Nick are tied up all day, and Seron and Larry probably can’t spare too much time Jenny’s about our only free member”

“Still” Jenny sla to complete this request Like our motto says, ‘assist all romantic endeavors’”

Larryyet another new motto Jenny remained confident

“This is going to be a challenge But we’re gonna solve this by the last day of the training camp, SC Sophia You can count on us!”

Meg rose to her feet and applauded

“You said so very cool, Jenny! I will help also!”

“Thanks, Jenny Megrinned

“The newspaper club will never let its fans down”

“Then let’s get started right away”

“Thanks, everyone”

Sophia left the club office first and headed for the dormitories

It was just about time for practice to end on a normal day

“Me and Meg about now So what do we do?” Asked Natalia Jenny turned froh

“What else? We act!”

“Like how?”

“Just go out there and do so lunch break And Seron and Larry?”

“Hm?” “Yeah?”

Jenny pointed at the tho had replied at the same time

“I’onna need your full support from tomorrow on The enemy will soon be upon us!”

“Sure, but who’s the enemy?” Larry asked dubiously

Jenny did not miss a beat “Love is war”

“I don’t get it”

“Lemme spell it out for you Love makes people suffer Sometimes it kills them People can die for love Please tell o over your head”

Larry could not respond He si across the coffee table

“Megmica”

“Yes? What is the matter?”

“Could you translate that into Roxchean for me? Please”

The newspaper club was dismissed

“I want everyone to ask friends and family outside the school about this ‘50th bee’ Maybe it’s a popular phrase on radio or TV, or a new product of some kind Larry, Nick, and I will try to ask SC Arthur discreetly if we can But s a secret Try not to discuss it outside the office We’ll report back tomorrow at lunchti with enthusiasm but not much else

“Please excuse us first —Ants crawl on the ground”

“No need to see us off Good luck with the investigation”

“I’ll bring spare keys for everyone tomorrow”

The girls left through the gates, saying goodbye

Seron, Larry, and Nick returned to the dormitory cafeteria and sat down at a table far from the drama club

“Coood enough for theh!”

Soirls fumed, frustrated that they never had the chance to speak to them

“Maybe they’re just shy Don’t be so angry at them” Sophia tried to calm them down

“Or ?” One of the third-years speculated, to screams of both horror and excitement

As frenzied voices echoed through the cafeteria, Larry cut a piece of roast chicken—that day’s dinner menu—with a knife

“So hoe gonna ue Seron sat across froht

Seron had also ordered chicken He chewed on a piece as he replied

“Our first priority is to protect our client’s secret We won’t hunt for information in the dorms If you need the phone, use the one in the club office And we can’t discuss the issue in our roo—in case one of the in their rooms from the hallway It’s best to keep all this information to the office”

“Of course” Nick nodded, placing a piece of steaotten the other menu

“Should we not talk about it here, then?” Larry asked Seron nodded

“Yeah This ht to lip-read e say We have to be careful We can’t let anyone know” Seron said gravely Larry nodded, knowing how personal this had become to Seron

“All right But you knoas pretty surprised when Jenny decided to help out”

Nick agreed “Indeed Our issue here isn’t particularly suitable for the papers, either”

“Yeah” Said Larry “Wonder if there’s a story behind that Maybe she had a bad experience with romance— Actually, let’s drop this” Larry stopped hi of Seron

“All I can say now is that we should do our best” Seron said, unaffected He popped a piece of steamed carrot into his mouth

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