Landing
Max Republic.
A nation governed by a head of state elected by its own citizens.
A country that denounced monarchy, condemned the discriminatory aristocratic societies of other nations, and built itself on the ideal that all citizens are equal.
In reality, it was just the head of state and the politicians beneath him trading power in an endless merry-go-round — but the citizens here couldn't have cared less.
Unlike other lands, where your station was fixed at birth and you were sometimes treated as less than human, a republic that actually issued proper citizenship papers was, by their reckoning, the better deal.
Politicians at least had to mind public opinion too, so they didn't throw their weight around the way nobles did.
Anyway, we would be taking our midterm examination on this republic's stage.
Pwoo-ang!
A resounding ship's horn that rang through a man's chest.
Docked at the harbor, the ship blared its whistle at the passengers in its cabins, announcing that it had arrived at its destination.
“Everyone, please keep to the order and disembark one at a time.”
Following the guidance of the instructor leading the students, we filed off the ship in turn.
“We've arrived.”
Marin set her first foot on the harbor.
Hopping like a rabbit, she left her footprints on the pier where the ship had moored.
“Marin, don't run ahead by yourself — stay with us!”
Arlan, following close behind, wore a worried expression.
With the heart of a mother looking after a child who might wander off, she took Marin by the hand.
“That side looks busy too.”
Next off the ship, Chloe let out a hidden sigh and glanced sideways.
Where her gaze landed stood Eva, layered in padding and jackets, bundled up again and again.
Despite it being the warm weather of fresh spring flowers in bloom, she marched along, armed to the teeth with clothes and blankets, waddling like a penguin.
“Le-let's go, Chloe.”
“...Yeah.”
The two of them, holding hands tight the way lovers do.
I would stake my life on it — this was the first time Chloe had ever regretted dating her.
The way she covered her face with her free hand, unable to even meet Eva's eyes, was proof enough of it.
Everyone's got it rough, huh.
I stepped off the ship shouldering a mountain of luggage.
An amount impossible to believe belonged to a single person.
Looking at the bags dangling from both my arms, I couldn't help but think of a grape stem holding up its fruit.
Let me say this up front: none of this is my luggage.
A man needs, at most, one case when he travels. That's plenty.
What I was carrying belonged to my friends — my party.
“Our dear porter, would you kindly get out of the way instead of blocking the road?”
“Terrya, you're supposed to thank the person who carried your bags, not hassle him.”
“Sorry, but I don't owe a porter any courtesy.”
Ter stuck her tongue out, teasing me with every fiber of her being.
Part of me wanted to reenact her full-frontal nude dogeza from last time, but I had no desire to watch everyone else's belongings rolling around on the ground, so I magnanimously decided to let it slide.
Anyway — Academy Yuri Princess, the protagonists of the novel.
We have entered the Max Republic.
Waaah, clap clap clap!
Midterms already.
Time really does fly.
“Everyone, be careful not to get separated, and listen well to the instructors.”
“Oh my, do you take us for little children? Worried we might get lost, really.”
“In my experience, the ones who say that are the ones who get lost the most.”
Truth be told, the notion of Ter wandering around lost was simply impossible.
She'd visited the Max Republic as often as her own backyard back in her childhood.
The one I worried about was somewhere else entirely.
“Arlan, keep a good grip on her. If she gets lost here, finding her alone would take ages.”
Just as Arlan had done, I too stood beside Marin like a parent minding their child — like her personal bodyguard.
If it were the Academy, maybe, but even I don't know my way around this place.
If Marin, all excited about setting foot somewhere new, went darting off this way and that and vanished, there'd be no way to find her.
By her divine authority, ordinary people simply couldn't perceive her.
Even if someone brushed past her, they'd forget her in an instant — ask any citizen about her appearance and they'd have no way to help you find her.
In the original story, there had been an incident where Eva got lost and caused a whole commotion.
With Chloe on close mark, and me and the others keeping an eye out, I doubted anyone would go missing — but still.
“Students of Purity Academy, welcome — from the bottom of my heart — to the Max Republic.”
The moment the students disembarked, a man approached as if he'd been waiting for exactly this.
A middle-aged man smoothing his neatly groomed mustache.
He carried himself with a grace so pronounced it was almost overbearing, and at his entrance, Instructor Sylvia, who stood nearby, immediately straightened her posture and bowed.
“Greetings, Governor Thomas. Thank you sincerely for coming out to greet us in person like this.”
“Ohohoho, to think the celebrated First-Class Guardian Lady Sylvia herself would recognize me. The honor is entirely mine, I assure you~.”
A man delivering a manner of speech a woman would hesitate to use — and laying it on thick, greasy as butter.
The expressions of the girls beside me curdled at the sight, which I could hardly bear to watch myself.
Tch!
“Solis, that man is weird.”
“Marin, dear Marin, that could come across as rude, so keep it to your thoughts, not out loud.”
Strange as he seemed, he was one of the three councilors directly beneath the head of state — the highest leadership of the Max Republic.
He had pushed plenty of citizen-friendly policies, and his political skill was outstanding, so he enjoyed deep public trust.
It was true his foppish lisp got on my nerves, but he was hardly someone to dismiss over that alone.
Among the people of the republic, many of whom looked on Purity Academy unfavorably, he was a rare and vocal defender of ours.
“Hoho, you've all worked hard to travel this far. I'll brief you on the schedule tomorrow — for now, allow me to escort you to your lodgings.”
Under his guidance, we boarded a bus waiting near the harbor.
With a rumbling ignition and a puff of exhaust, the bus rolled its wheels down the well-paved road and sped toward our destination.
“Solis, look over there.”
Marin pressed her nose against the window, gazing at the scenery outside.
Skyscrapers dozens of stories tall rose up with floor-to-ceiling glass, and screens on the building facades blazed with slogans: ALL CITIZENS ARE EQUAL! THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY — MAX!
Beneath them stretched endless rows of buildings — constructed long ago, weathered by the passage of years, yet impeccably maintained.
Limestone facades of uniform height and lead-plated roofs marked their character.
We wound our way past that Haussmann-style architecture, evocative of medieval romance.
And when we finally pushed through the crowds of people in suits and dresses, we arrived at a quaint, old-fashioned hotel — its marble walls setting it apart from every other building around it.
“Everyone, unload your things — I'll hand out your room keys, so go settle in one by one...”
Upon arriving at our lodging, Sylvia gathered the students and distributed the room keys.
She announced that the detailed itinerary would be shared starting tomorrow.
Today we were free to go out and explore the city at our leisure — with the strict warning that curfew hours were to be honored without exception.
“So this is my room, huh.”
The moment I opened the door marked 302, a subtle hint of aroma brushed the tip of my nose.
A chandelier on the ceiling casting light over the dim interior, and a floor finished in the finest marble.
The sheen reflecting off it with every step was almost blinding.
The bathroom came with a freestanding bathtub, and beside the sink sat an array of toiletries — pink salt, bath essences, and more.
Befitting a luxury hotel, there was nothing wanting about the stay.
The bedding, too, seemed high-grade — it sank plush at the slightest press of a hand.
“So this is the room Solis is staying in?”
“Marin.”
She'd trotted along behind me, and now she threw herself onto the bed, sprawled out across it.
“This is my room. Why aren't you going to yours?”
“I don't have a room. Instructor didn't give me a key.”
“...Sorry about that.”
Ah, of course. That damned divine authority again, is it?
Her name might be on the student roster, but Instructor Sylvia's eyes simply can't perceive her.
Had it been Yupi, a Divine Artifact's master, she would have recognized Marin and handed her a key.
“I'll put word out in the group chat and ask if anyone wants to share a room with you.”
“Don't bother. Not needed.”
“You're planning to sleep outdoors? Let me tell you now — even if sharing with someone else is uncomfortable, a room is far better.”
“I know. I'll sleep in this room.”
With that, she rolled back and forth across my bed, tumbling around.
So utterly at ease, as if it were a corner of her own home — that calm audacity made me swallow involuntarily.
“Don't tell me... you're planning to sleep here?”
“Yes.”
“And my consent?”
“Not needed.”
Excuse me? This is a very important matter, you know?
This is, for the record, a room assigned under my name?
Still, I can't exactly have you demanding I clear out by brute force. That would be a problem.
“You're not going to give me permission?”
“That's...”
“Fine, then.”
Marin rose from the bed before my answer had even finished.
There was no hesitation in what followed.
Sssslik.
The delicate sound of fabric grazing skin filled the silence of the room.
Sweater, shirt, then skirt, and finally underwear.
Like shedding an old husk, she peeled off her clothes layer by layer, dropping them to the floor.
“Is this good enough?”
Through the gap in the window, beneath the glow of moonlight, Marin bared her naked body.
At that brazen seduction, I was so taken aback that a hollow laugh escaped me.
She thought a cheap honey trap would reel me in?
She's underestimating me, apparently.
“Sure. Treat this as your room and make yourself comfortable.”
This girl knows me far too well.
When a table is already set, there's no reason to refuse the meal.
I wrapped my arms around her just as she was and threw us both onto the bed.