“Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

“Well... no real class I like anyway.”

She had skimmed through other clubs, but nothing pulled her in.

As expected of a place full of nobles, every club had some refined, high-class theme plastered on it, making her unwilling to open any of their doors.

If she had to do something, wouldn’t it be better to choose a place where she at least knew someone—someone who desperately wanted a new member?

“And someone asked me.”

“Asked you?”

“...Something like that.”

Really—truly—she didn’t want to spare even a speck of dust’s worth of attention to it, but she felt oddly uneasy ignoring the director’s request completely.

It wasn’t wise to get on the bad side of someone who’d been revered almost like a god.

Well, and while she was at it, playing with the little brats once in a while wouldn’t be so bad......

That kid’s name was Rio, right?

The four-year-old who had run up asking her to read him a book flickered faintly at the corner of her mind.

“I need to go tell them the happy news.” 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Tell? Tell who?”

“My club members.”

“Ah.”

“Our club is especially short on members, so everyone’s pretty worried.”

That was expected. In times like these, who cared about volunteer work?

Isn’t this club going to get shut down as soon as I join?

Unpopular clubs naturally ended up closing. If they didn’t meet the required headcount, they wouldn’t be allowed to run next semester. The Academy simply cut the funding.

“And I have to tell the person who’s planning to join our club, too.”

“Huh? There’s someone like that?”

“Of course!”

Laila’s smile deepened.

“...Which club?”

“The Service Club.”

“Camilla joined the... Service Club? You mean Camilla Sorpel?”

“Yes!”

Arsian furrowed his brow over and over.

He had been about to ignore Laila, who suddenly approached him, but then she said something strange, so he halted for a moment.

He knew Camilla had stopped attending swordsmanship class.

And she had directly told him she was planning to pick a new major or start a club activity soon.

Up until then, she’d been considering the Ancient Language Department......

A Service Club... that doesn’t suit her at all.

Is she sick? Did she hit her head when she collapsed last time?

Otherwise, it made no sense.

The image of Camilla bursting into a bizarre laugh while holding the bank slip he’d given her flashed through his mind.

And that person was now spending her own money to go volunteer?

“Surprisingly, our club is popular.”

“I never even knew that club existed.”

“Oh my, really?”

Laila feigned shock with complete composure.

“Lord Petro joined our club not long ago.”

“...Who?”

“Lord Petro.”

Laila pronounced Petro’s name very clearly—for emphasis.

“When we visited the orphanage last time, Lord Petro and Lady Camilla came together.”

“They went together?”

“Yes! They were having such a good time.”

“......”

“They handed out candy together, read books to the children—”

“...Got room?”

“Pardon?”

“In that club. Got any spots left?”

Laila smiled brighter than ever.

“Of course!”

And just like that—another member was secured.

****

“Hm, cleaner than I thought.”

[We can’t just leave a storeroom messy, after all.]

Camilla had come to the storage to sort out unused items.

Everything from the things the original Camilla had used as a child to the things Rudvill and Ravi had used.

She planned to sort them and bring what was usable to the orphanage.

Though they were used, they were all spotless and, more importantly, top-tier quality—too good to leave collecting dust in storage.

Money isn’t for spending—it’s for saving.

Even when she lived as Ishia, she hated spending money on useless things.

How much had she spent when she visited the orphanage last time? No more, thank you.

Rudvill and Ravi agreed immediately when she explained. Both of them weren’t the type to get attached to old belongings.

Though......

Orphanage?

Yeah.

You?

Yeah!

...And what exactly do you do there?

Play with the kids.

......

What’s with that look?

Just thinking... what sin did those orphanage kids commit?

Ravi had stared at her strangely, but as always, she ignored him cleanly.

[You should have the others do this.]

While Camilla inspected items one by one, the ghost butler Derin spoke.

[It will be too much for you to sort everything alone.]

Normally, such a task would be done by maids or attendants, and quickly at that. He seemed unable to understand why she insisted on doing it herself.

“I just wanted to see.”

[See what?]

“The things I used.”

More precisely, the things the original Camilla had used.

Derin had watched Camilla’s life countless times, but never once her childhood.

That she had been very poor before entering the ducal house. That Camilla’s mother hadn’t loved her much.

That was all he knew. Everything else was just scraps of gossip he’d heard from others.

Maybe I’ll find some kind of clue.

Like a diary.

The reason she suddenly felt this way was because of something Ravi said yesterday.

You’re sorting old stuff?

Mm.

Then if you dig behind the storage, you’ll find that too.

That? What?

The doll you loved as a kid.

...Doll?

What, you don’t remember? You carried it everywhere for years. You loved it because it was the first thing your mother ever bought for you.

......

Wow, you really don’t remember? You ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) know—the lion doll? I told you to throw it away, but you insisted on keeping it in a box.

...I did?

Sometimes, she felt uneasy.

What if someone asked about something from long ago—from her very early childhood?

She didn’t know a single thing.

Of course, she could brush it off by saying she hardly remembered things from when she was little. She had done just that this time.

But after talking with Ravi, she realized—maybe it was good to search for something about the past.

[These over here are the young lady’s belongings.]

Several wooden boxes were stacked in one corner of the storage.

Click.

She lowered the topmost box and opened the lid.

Inside were countless items. Clothes, dolls—overflowing.

There it is.

She spotted the lion doll Ravi had mentioned. It was very obviously cheap, easy to pick out among the rest.

Everything else except the lion doll looked practically new.

“These are ten-year-old things......”

Too clean. She expected some sense of age, but there wasn’t a speck of dust.

[The boxes are enchanted with preservation magic.]

“Preservation magic?”

[Ordered directly from the Tower.]

“...Wow.”

A ducal house truly was a ducal house. Even these boxes tossed in storage like junk turned out to be magical items.

[Are you donating all of these?]

“Yeah.”

Camilla checked each box carefully and set aside anything usable. Clothes too fancy for ordinary children were removed.

No diary after all.

She checked everything from her childhood but found nothing special. Not even a little memo.

“Well, still not bad.”

Seeing the pile of items she could bring to the children, she felt oddly satisfied.

“What about my brothers’ things?”

[Over there.]

Led by Derin, she found another set of stacked boxes.

Camilla opened the nearest box. Predictably, it was filled with luxurious items.

As with her own belongings, she set aside anything too extravagant and sorted out what could actually be used.

“Hm?”

Then she spotted something that caught her eye.

“A recording orb.”

[That is......]

“Hm?”

[...It’s nothing.]

“...?”

It came from Rudvill’s box. Camilla carefully picked up the recording orb set neatly in a corner.

“What’s something like this doing here?”

Recording orbs had designated storage places. They needed regular mana recharging and care, so it was rare to just throw them into storage.

“As expected, it’s not charged.”

[We should just put it back.]

I’m curious.

Why was something like this shoved away here?

[Gyuu!]

“...Huh?”

[Gyugyu!]

King, who had been tucked quietly into her coat pocket since they entered, poked his head out for the first time. Then he hopped down.

[Gyuu!]

“You want it?”

[Gyugyu!]

He stretched his face toward the orb in her hand and waved his little paws. Camilla tilted her head, then set the orb down in front of him.

Wuuuuung—

A faint light began to flow from King.

White light, like his fur, streamed out and was sucked into the orb in an instant.

After about five minutes, King collapsed limply to the floor.

“King!”

Startled, Camilla hurriedly scooped him up.

[Gyuu......]

“You charged it with mana?”

The recording orb, which had shown no reaction before, began emitting a faint glow.

[I did not know divine beasts could charge mana. A first for me.]

“Same here.”

King had passed out after charging just one orb, but Camilla found him so precious that she couldn’t stop patting his head.

“Then... let’s watch?”

...It should be fine, right?

She hesitated about viewing something that wasn’t hers, but it had practically been abandoned here.

It’s not like anyone would complain if she took a look.

The orb clattered softly as it activated, and soon it spat out a scene she remembered.

「Rudvill! Over here, over here!」

「Goodness! Did you see that? Our Rudvill walked!」

「Rudvill, come to Mama again.」

「No, this time come to Papa.」

“Ah......”

Inside the orb was the image of a warm, loving family. And from within it, a very familiar name rang out.

“That woman...”

Camilla knew immediately who the beautiful woman in the image was.