The Next Day.

After completing the final full-body check-up, Moen was promptly kicked out of the hospital room. The bald, middle-aged, single doctor seemed particularly displeased with how Moen had spent the previous day chatting with several attractive girls in the ward. When the doctor chased him out, it was with a clear sense of urgency.

It was still morning when Moen left. His senior had class, and there was no way Celicia would visit him twice in a row. With no one there to meet him, Moen walked alone towards the dormitory building.

Thankfully, his hands were empty, so being on his own felt rather relaxing.

The weather was as pleasant as ever.

But just as he stepped onto the wooded pathway leading to the dormitory area, a female student—someone he had never met before—seemed to be waiting there for him and blocked his path.

“Moen Campbell.”

“Hmm? And you are?”

Looking at the girl who had suddenly appeared in front of him, Moen couldn’t help but feel a bit wary. She was fairly attractive—not on the same level as his senior or Celicia—but at least a seven out of ten girl.

There was something imposing about her demeanor, and Moen couldn’t shake off a certain uneasy thought: Could this be a sin of the original Moen? Perhaps an ex-girlfriend here to settle old scores?

He glanced around. This little wooded path would indeed make for an excellent spot to stab and dispose of a scumbag boyfriend.

But no matter how thoroughly Moen scanned his memories, he couldn’t recall ever seeing this female student before.

“Fennie, third year,” the girl introduced herself.

“Oh, so it’s Senior Fennie.” Moen breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that she introduced herself meant she wasn’t an acquaintance of his and definitely not an ex-girlfriend.

“What can I do for you, Senior Fennie?”

“I’ll get straight to the point.”

Fennie seemed to be the straightforward type and wasted no time. She looked Moen directly in the eye and asked seriously:

“Moen Campbell, would you like to join our Magic Painting Club?”

“Magic Painting Club?”

Magic Painting Club?

What was that?

Moen was momentarily taken aback, then quickly pieced it together.

The so-called Magic Painting Club was probably just an art club. Being in a magic academy, they had naturally given it an appropriately "magical" name. The club’s activities likely revolved around studying art since, being an academy with a significant number of nobles, traditional artistic pursuits wouldn’t be out of place.

In other words… was Senior Fennie inviting him to join her club?

“Why?”

Moen couldn’t help but ask, “Shouldn’t my reputation… bring a negative impact to the club?”

For a club, having a member with too terrible a reputation could make it difficult to recruit new members. That’s why Moen was so surprised at her invitation.

“Moen, your reputation is indeed not great, but after recent events, we feel there may be some misunderstandings involved,” Fennie answered earnestly. “For someone as handsome and well-built as you, it would be a real waste not to join our Magic Painting Club.”

Handsome and well-built… Was this really about recruiting for a club? It was starting to sound more like they were trying to hire a nude model.

Moen secretly mocked the thought in his head but couldn’t help feeling slightly pleased.

Since someone was willing to invite him to join a club, just as Senior Fennie said, perhaps others were beginning to perceive him differently. His image in the eyes of others appeared to be shifting a bit.

At the very least…

The days of being shunned by women like the plague seemed to be over.

This was a good start. Encouraging even.

However…

“I’m sorry, Senior Fennie, but I’ve already been invited to join another club,” Moen politely declined.

“Oh?”

Fennie seemed a bit surprised.

“Someone beat me to it? Which club?”

“The Ancient Magic Potions Club,” Moen replied, then added, “It’s a pretty niche club.”

“Ancient Magic Potions Club… isn’t that the one run by Anna Kablin?”

Fennie frowned slightly, as if something had occurred to her, and said, “Moen, while it’s not my place to interfere in your choices, I feel I should remind you that Anna’s reputation among upperclassmen isn’t exactly stellar.”

“Not stellar… in what way?” A flash of coldness seemed to pass through Moen’s eyes as he squinted slightly.

“I’m not entirely sure; I’ve only overheard a couple of off-hand remarks from senior members in other clubs.”

“I see.”

Moen thought for a moment, then smiled. “Thanks for the heads-up, Senior Fennie, but having been the subject of baseless rumors myself, I’ve learned not to trust hearsay—at least not before seeing evidence firsthand.”

“Fair enough.”

Fennie didn’t push the matter. She gave Moen a polite nod.

“Thank you for your time, Moen Campbell.”

“It’s nothing. I’m happy to have been invited.”

“Well then, see you.”

“See you.”

…

Once Moen walked away, several small heads popped out from behind the shrubbery behind Fennie.

They belonged to a group of first-year girls who still bore the telltale innocence of new students.

“So, Senior Fennie, did he agree?” The moment Moen was out of earshot, the girls couldn’t wait to bombard Fennie with incessant chatter.

“No, he seems to have already joined another club.”

“Huh? That’s such a shame,” lamented a freckled girl.

“Didn’t they say he was hated by all the girls in the academy? How did someone else beat us to him?”

“Exactly!”

Another girl with a bit of baby fat huffed indignantly. “Senior, maybe you didn’t explain clearly enough. Our Magic Painting Club is full of beautiful girls!”

“I didn’t mention that part, true, but…”

Fennie thought back on the earlier interaction and said, “I don’t think someone who becomes upset the moment rumors are mentioned about a particular girl is likely to be swayed by other women for the time being.”

“Wasn’t Moen Campbell supposed to be a playboy?”

The last girl, in pigtails, grumbled in frustration, “So all those stories were just nonsense? My family runs a publishing house, so I’ve known for ages not to trust those dumb tabloids. The moment I saw him in the cafeteria on the first day of school, I knew it—Moen must be a decent guy.”

“What decent guy? You’re just a shallow fangirl smitten by his looks!” said the freckled girl aggressively.

“Don’t forget his background!” the round-faced girl added.

“A duke’s son… nice ring to it, huh?”

“But isn’t there a rumor that Moen Campbell might be gay?”

“Gay is even better, don’t you think? Ah, my nose is bleeding…”

“What a pity we couldn’t recruit him. If only we could use painting as an excuse to freely admire his body… Hehe—oops, my nose is bleeding too.”

“…Ugh.”

Fennie glanced at the lively banter between the younger girls in front of her, feeling both exasperated and helpless.

These little brats had to be the quirkiest members of the Magic Painting Club. Of all people to idolize, they’d chosen Moen Campbell, whose reputation was nothing short of scandalous.

Sure, his recent heroic leap had earned him some admiration, but still…

This was someone who had dared to go fully nude in front of the entire academy. Coupled with the previous rumors, who could really say he wasn’t some sort of deviant?

Lately, new stories had surfaced suggesting that maybe Moen Campbell wasn’t so bad. But Fennie wasn’t ready to pass judgment just yet—better to remain cautious for now.

Still, her reasons for approaching him were twofold: one, to appease these insistent underclassmen; and two, because the Magic Painting Club was a large, well-established group with plenty of senior members, making it a relatively safe environment, even for someone like Moen.

“However…”

Fennie replayed her brief conversation with Moen in her mind and found herself slightly agreeing with the underclassmen’s reassessment.

“He really is… quite different from the rumors.”