Academy Entrance Preparation (3)
Hidden deep within a vast forest, [Arantree] Academy was sealed away behind magical barriers woven into the surrounding trees and concealment enchantments laid over its buildings — so thoroughly hidden that no one could ever find it by accident. The only ways in were to borrow the power of a girl gifted with teleportation magic, or to use a Return Stone crafted by the academy itself. Because of this, no outsider could ever set foot inside, and even the existence of [Arantree] was known to precious few.
Though it sat in the middle of a forest, the grounds were surprisingly expansive. There were buildings dedicated to classrooms, of course, along with a great hall, a swimming pool, and even a wide training field for magical sparring matches — everything one could ask for, fully equipped. Without magic, crossing it all on the legs of an elementary schooler would have been quite the trek.
"Wow! What's that place for?"
Our protagonist, Mika, found everything so fascinating that her eyes sparkled nonstop as she darted her gaze from place to place, like she'd equipped "Shining Eyes" as a passive skill. I was equally curious about the strange new world, but the most wondrous thing of all was the girl clutching my arm and dragging me along by it.
Reincarnation? Possession? Either was fine by me. Ever since I came back to life, nothing had made any sense. So the moment I arrived here, I adapted faster than anyone and settled in. But having the protagonist of an anime I knew strike up a conversation right in front of me... it was a strange feeling.
"You're even cuter than I expected."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
Cherry-red lips like fresh berries, a long cascade of pink hair that announced magical girl to anyone with eyes, blue eyes that seemed deliberately chosen to contrast with that hair color, and a dress that fluttered like it weighed nothing. She was a walking textbook of cuteness and charm — the kind of daughter I'd have wished for, if I'd ever had one.
That said, I wasn't some lolicon harboring desires toward the kid, so I didn't dwell on it. I had no intention of ever blurting out an excuse like "you just reminded me of my daughter."
Come to think of it, I've never felt prouder than the day I assassinated a child molester in my past life.
Over my years as a killer I'd crossed paths with countless pieces of trash, but even among the whole wide world's garbage, that particular waste of skin ranked among the absolute worst. I was a professional who specialized in clean, painless deaths — and the moment I met him, the very first thing I did was cut off his genitals. That says enough.
At least there shouldn't be anyone like that in this world.
I did wonder what kind of lunatic would try something like that against a magical girl with actual mana at her command. But what about the demon beasts? If any of those things possessed the intellect to do such a thing... I was already fighting back nausea. If such a creature existed, I'd have to shred it past the point where even its shape was recognizable.
Out of habit, my hand drifted to my waist where a sheath would sit. Unfortunately, neither sheath nor dagger existed there anymore.
"Does your back itch or something?"
"No."
And so, a pair that looked mismatched to any observer, we arrived at the hall where the entrance ceremony would be held.
***
"All incoming first-years, please come this way. Kindly form a single line and keep orderly."
The girl giving directions guided the flock of little kids using a magical megaphone. No matter how mature they looked, they were middle-school-aged students at most, and they were busy herding and managing us.
"It's a little sad, watching them scramble around like that."
There were no adults here — the academy was composed entirely of girls. That was [Arantree] for you. The worldview of this anime was a bit on the extreme side. The title of magical girl came with a catch: everyone who stood against the demon beasts had to be a girl.
So what did the adults do when demon beasts invaded?
Naturally, they cheered the magical girls on, folded their hands, and prayed. In this world, mana dwindled steadily as one approached adulthood, until a fully grown person retained only the barest dregs of it. The mascots — the summoned beasts that granted Unique Magic — vanished as well, and with them, a woman's function as a magical girl was lost entirely.
And so the peak age was thirteen, the sixth year of elementary school. From third grade to sixth, the girls served on active duty against the demon beasts. Once they entered middle school, they took on support roles within [Arantree], such as the student council, and by high-school age they became the teachers who trained the next generation.
At this point a reasonable objection would be: why risk your life being a magical girl at all, if that's the endgame? The answer was that retirement came with treatment and compensation befitting their service, so few complained. What's more, exceptional magical girls were sometimes granted noble titles upon reaching adulthood, which drew in those hungry for honor. And above all — nothing in this world was more glorious than keeping the peace. That counted for something.
"Serena, look over there! They're all using magic!"
"Come on, let's get in line."
Like a child seeing magic for the very first time — which, for her, was exactly the case — Mika couldn't close her mouth, her eyes glued to the other girls. Well, it wasn't as though kids who'd done their homework in advance, like me, were anything but vanishingly rare, so this reaction was only natural.
Counting Mika and me, roughly a hundred children were taking part in this entrance ceremony. As far as I knew, even a hundred was considered a remarkably large intake.
After all, the first criterion for admission to [Arantree] was whether your parents possessed mana. It was a class-based society obsessed with bloodline, and unless you were a mutation — or a demon beast — mana was something you inherited.
"I wonder how many of the hundred will pass."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Serena?"
"Ah, that... you'll find out soon enough."
"Hmph! You came all the way to [Arantree] without even knowing that? How truly low-class."
The voice was so shrill that my brow furrowed on its own. I looked up to see a girl glancing back at us, arms crossed, regarding us with the contempt one reserves for insects.
"Mother always told me — watch out, dear, you may end up sharing a classroom with these lowly little things!"
The girl snorted and flashed a derisive smile. Speaking so rudely to complete strangers — she had to be a noble's daughter.
"Who are you?"
Oblivious to all of it, Mika tilted her head with pure, innocent curiosity and asked the girl her name. Ah, so the story really was unfolding just the way I remembered it.
"Ignorant commoners — you can't even recognize my name!"
"Liria Stefani. Her mother served as a proper magical girl, distinguished herself in the last great war against the demon beasts, and retired. She was then granted a count's title and elevated to the nobility. Her mother's magical attribute was of the ice-freezing school. Of three siblings, Liria is the only girl and the youngest."
"Wh-what?! How do you know all that!"
"Shall I go on? Apparently, as a child, she used to hide maps under her blank—"
"S-stop that!!"
The prickly noble girl Liria, rattled to her core by my recitation of her life story, waved her hands in frantic denial. Profiling a target was standard procedure for a killer — an occupational habit drilled in before every mission. On the way here, I'd dredged up every scrap of information on the main heroines and analyzed it. Right down to what each of them liked and disliked.
"Not bad, for a commoner...! But know this — my true talents start now!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Mika still stared at Liria, her face a portrait of unquenched curiosity. Explaining everything from A to Z was too much effort — maybe I'd leave the rest to the busybody.
"Oh, honestly, how low can you get. Do you even know why we're all gathered in this hall?"
"Isn't it for the entrance ceremony?"
"The entrance ceremony? Ha! You think all hundred of us are going to become magical girls? Wake up! A commoner like you is going to fail the entrance exam the moment it starts!"
"The entrance exam?"
"Ugh, seriously!! I've spelled it out this far — figure it out! We're not here for a ceremony, we're here to take the entrance exam!"
Magnificent. Mika's untainted, guileless curiosity had prodded Liria's frustration and her busybody nature in exactly the right spots. From here on out, I'd just stay quiet.
"You there. Silence, please."
The girl with the megaphone called out to Liria, who was now shouting in her excitement.
"Ugh... I got scolded by Lufia because of you two."
"Sorry. But seriously, that's amazing! You seem to know so much."
"Of course I do! Commoners like you could never hope to match my network of information!"
Between Mika, who complimented someone even while being insulted, and Liria, who puffed up the instant she received a compliment — they were still just little kids. The grown assassin inside this girl's body wanted nothing more than to escape this noisy place as quickly as possible.
"Attention! Now that everyone is assembled, the entrance exam will begin."
At the megaphone girl's shout, a group that appeared to be the student council filed forward, carrying gravestone-like stones, and gathered at the front of the hall.
"Place your hand on the Magic Stone before you, and it will measure your mana. Anyone whose mana reads zero fails."
Every child in the hall held their breath at once, eyes fixed on the Magic Stone. At a glance it looked like an ordinary rock, but set into its center was a transparent gem.
"If the gem glows red, that's the lowest tier of mana. From there, the colors follow the order of the rainbow — and violet marks the highest tier of all. If no color appears at all, your mana is zero."
The moment the megaphone girl finished speaking, the children at the very front began to be measured, one by one. Red, orange, yellow — a dozen colors bloomed bright within the Magic Stone. Some children let out whoops of joy; others burst into tears loud enough to empty the hall.
"About thirty passing so far. Grim."
The girl with the megaphone heaved a deep sigh and muttered to herself.
By the time I glanced around, most of the children had already filed out of the hall, leaving only a handful who had passed.
"Next!"
"I am Liria Stefani! I have always admired you, Lady Lufia!"
"Oho, the youngest daughter of House Stefani. High expectations, then. Rest your hand on it, and it will draw out the mana within you on its own."
Liria swallowed dryly a couple of times, then placed her hand on the Magic Stone.
"Blue. Excellent. Truly the blood of House Stefani."
"Thank you!"
After finishing her test, Liria flashed us a beaming smile and whispered, just loud enough to be heard:
"See that, commoners? That's the wall between you and me — one you'll never climb."
Having finished her exam, Liria didn't join the line of those who'd passed. Instead, she stayed behind to watch us. Her goal, no doubt, was to laugh herself sick if we failed. I wanted to tell her she was wasting her breath.
"Next!"
"I'm Mika Kaerin!"
Mika glanced nervously back at me as she stepped up. I waved at her with an easy smile. There was no doubt she'd register the highest possible mana — passing was a foregone conclusion. The smile said it all: don't worry.
"Hmph. She's definitely going to fail."
Liria shrugged and shook her head. A moment later, Mika laid her hand on the Magic Stone — and the stone erupted with brilliant light.
The megaphone girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief, checked the stone again, and cried out:
"V-violet!"
Violet — the topmost rank on the Magic Stone's scale. Well, it was the obvious result. Did she think "protagonist privilege" was an empty phrase? I grinned and gave Mika a thumbs-up as she stared at me, dazed.
"Impossible! How could... a mere commoner!"
"You there, student. Regardless of whose blood runs in your veins, remarks like that are beginning to become unpleasant."
"I-I'm sorry."
Liria's triumphant face crumpled. Tormenting elementary schoolers wasn't exactly my hobby, but I couldn't deny it served her right.
Speaking of which — what was Serena's rank again? I couldn't quite remember.
"Next student! And the last one."
The faces of the students who had already passed grew complicated. Understandable, perhaps, after a girl with violet — the highest tier of mana — had just appeared. For some reason, their eyes carried an expectant weight, a level of attention so intense it almost felt apologetic.
"I am Serena Silphiel."