Chapter 30.1 - Recruitment Period and Strange Group [3] – part 1 (1/2)

30. Recruitment Period and Strange Group [3] – part 1

Today, I survived an intense soul dress class, and was in the last period of homeroom.

Leia-sensei, who stood on the podium, gave a simple parting greet and message.

「-Fumu, that’s all for today… Which reminds me, next week is the『Club Budget War』. Participating students, try to do your best!」

「「「Yes!」」」

「Well, goodbye. See you tomorrow!」

After sensei left the classroom,

「…Club Budget War?」

Everyone seemed to know, but…

I didn’t know much about Thousand Blade Academy or Five Academy, so I didn’t know anything about it.

(……Was it written on the pamphlet?)

While thinking about such a thing, when I was packing up,

「Allen, it’s finally here… the Club Budget War!」

「I’m getting fired up!」

Ria and Rose approached me excitedly.

「……I don’t really know about this Club Budget War thing.」

「Eh, really!?」

「It’s one of Five Academy’s specialties, you know?」

「S-Specialty huh… Sorry, but can you please explain in detail?」

Ria nodded and gave me a detailed explanation.

「It is obligatory for clubs with more than 10 members to participate in the Club Budget War – it’s a real war!」

W-War huh, such exaggeration…

I thought so inwardly, but I listened to the continuation of the explanation without interrupting them.

「Each club selects three of their best members and aims for the pinnacle of the academy – a large amount of club budget! The match format is of course a one-on-one serious sword match! 」

「I-I see…」

In other words, the club budget war seems to be a serious battle over the『club budget』which is the activity fund.

「Look at this.」

Saying that, Rose took out a bundle of paper that read『Guideline for Implementation of Club Budget War』.

Detailed rules about the club budget war and the magnification of the club budget given for each rank were written there.

According to this, the clubs below the sixteenth place get an even budget amount each.

Best Eight is four times that amount, and the fourth place is eight times.

The third place is 16 times, and the second place is 32 times… The first place is 64 times.

「It’s 64 times the difference between the 16th place and the 1st place… Certainly, that is a large amount.」

「Well, if a large club like the swordsmanship club is placed less than 16th place… it would be hell.」

「Well, I suppose…」

If the swordsmanship club with that many members falls below the 16th place…

Equipment such as wooden swords and armor.

Consumables such as therapeutics and bandages.

Expenses such as when going on an expedition.

It would be impossible to cover all of them with such a low club budget.

「And so… At least one first-year student must be part of the three man team by all means. I mean, it’s not an exaggeration to say that all the recruitment to this day are for this budget war!」

「I see… So, that’s why senpais were so desperate…」

I finally understood slightly why they were so tizzy during recruitment.

Then, when I was reading through the guidelines for the implementation of the club budget war, I found two rules I was worried about.

『In the match where the first year student participates, the use of the soul dress is prohibited』 huh….

It seems that even the first year students who haven’t manifested their soul dress yet, or have not been able to control it, have been given a chance.

And this time, unlike the Big Five Holy Festival, it does not seem to be a『winning-through formula』.

It is the same as the Big Five Holy Festival to the point where it divides the members into – Vanguard, Center, General.

However, the vanguard who won in the first round cannot fight the opponent in the next round.

The vanguards will only fight once, and the next center match will be played by each others centers.

It is a simple and clear rule that the club which wins two out of the total three matches, wins.

「Of course, we are aiming to be the overall champion!」

「It’s better to have a lot of club budget!」

「…But, do we need that much budget? We are the practice-swing club…」

The only thing necessary for practice-swing club activity is… a healthy body.

To be honest, I don’t think we need so much budget.

Or more precisely, I doubt if we need any budget at all.