The Bitter Welcome
Tiana’s crimson eyes rolled playfully as she scanned the lineup of new students. “Hmm~♪ Of course the first one should be this year’s star, a first-year, right? Let’s see…”
Her gaze swept over the nervous little faces until it settled on one particular spot. A mischievous glint lit her eyes, and a sly smile curved her lips, revealing a flash of pointed fang.
“Oh, there you are! You, come here!”
The silver-haired girl with her hair tied in twin tails blinked in confusion. “Huh? Me… I mean, are you speaking to me…?”
“Yes, you. The Interest Warrior. Looks like you’ve cleaned up your speech a bit since last time?”
It was Derke.
“Y-yes…! I fixed it!”
“Tch, boring. Where’d you ditch the Interest Warrior badge?”
“Ah, well… they said casual clothes were fine over the weekend, so…”
“Even so, I don’t recall anyone saying you could leave the badge behind.”
Tiana’s interest only grew. The rumors about Derke had already made her famous among the upperclassmen—the academy’s one and only Interest Warrior who spoke in that peculiar way. It was like a transfer student from the capital suddenly showing up with a thick regional accent. Of course, the biggest reason for her notoriety was the badge Vice Principal Benetric herself had awarded.
“I-I’ll make sure to wear it from now on!”
“That’s obvious. Anyway, come here. When the other seniors and my classmates arrive, I’ll teach you how to introduce yourself properly.”
“Y-yes, understood…!”
Derke answered in the common tongue, but her usual bright, energetic tone remained unchanged beneath the polite words.
—Step, step, step…!
Despite her cheerful voice, Derke approached with tense, cautious footsteps, drawn toward Tiana’s unsettling gaze.
—Splash…!
“Here, take this with both hands.”
When Derke reached her, Tiana scooped a ladleful from the liquor barrel.
“Gulp…!”
Without a word of protest, Derke accepted the bowl with both hands, swallowing dryly.
—Hoo-ee-ee… Derke, what do we do…?
The other first-years watching felt the same dread. Just moments ago they had been happily enjoying sweet desserts; now their faces were tight with tension.
‘D-don’t tell me I have to drink all of this, desu-yong…?!’
Quick-witted Derke already knew there was no choice. Only by finishing the bitter, unpleasant liquid could she regain her freedom.
“Don’t be so nervous. It’s not as bad as you think.”
“C-can I just drink as much as I can…?”
“Huh? What are you saying? Of course you have to finish it all. Once you put it to your lips, it won’t be that hard.”
“Huuuee…?!”
“Everyone else, watch carefully! When a senior offers you a drink, you accept it without complaint and down it in one go. Then you clearly state your year and name. Simple, right?”
Tiana explained the centuries-old, unsavory tradition of the academy to the gathered freshmen.
“……”
The first-years’ expressions froze. Tiana, however, couldn’t stop smiling, licking her lips in anticipation. She had gone through the exact same ordeal as a freshman, yet felt no sympathy—now she was on the other side.
“Huuu…”
“What? Not drinking? Interest Warrior?”
“D-do I really have to drink it…?!”
Derke’s green eyes trembled as she tried her best to look pitiful. The coercive atmosphere didn’t affect her much; she simply didn’t want the bitter liquid anywhere near her mouth. Her tastes were still very much those of a child.
“Haa? You think I’m doing this for fun?”
“B-but it’s bitter…”
“This won’t do. If a first-year acts like this, then the second-years who failed to manage their juniors will have to—”
“Big sis! Stooop…!!!”
“……?!”
Just as Tiana was about to scold the second-years, a young voice suddenly cut in—addressing her as “big sis.”
“Hm? Tina…? Why are you suddenly…?”
“Don’t bully my friend! Please!”
“Hah…? This senior is Tina’s big sister?”
Both Derke and Tiana looked startled by the sudden intervention.
“Tina, you idiot little sister—?! If you’d stayed quiet, I would’ve let your turn slide on its own, but you just had to open your mouth and make it worse…?!”
—Tina’s big sister is a third-year senior…?
—I had no idea! Never heard that before!
—The first-year representative is the little sister of the third-year representative…?
—That kid’s academy life is completely set.
—Murmur, murmur.
The atmosphere grew chaotic with Tina’s appearance. Indeed, the first-year representative Tina and the third-year representative Tiana were sisters—names and looks alike, as expected.
“Derke is my best friend and classmate…! So please don’t bully her!”
“Geez, you dummy! It’s nice that you care about your classmate, but even I can’t cover for everything today!”
Tiana found her little sister exasperating. She had tried to look out for Tina without making it obvious, yet Tina had gone and made everything bigger.
“Hah? If it’s you, big sis, you could totally handle it, right?! There’s no need to force them to drink…”
“I could sneakily help someone like you. But if you step forward like this, it puts me in a tough spot too, you know?”
“I-is that how it is…?”
“Haa, forget it. Hey, Interest Warrior?”
Tiana shook her head and called Derke, her earlier excitement completely ruined.
“Yes, senior…!”
“Just take one sip and go back. Thanks to Tina, you’re getting off easy.”
“Kuh…?!”
“Even if you stall now, you’ll still have to drink it all eventually. And the fourth-years might show up soon, so hurry up.”
“……”
Though the amount had been reduced from a full bowl to a single sip, Derke still couldn’t bring herself to drink. She had never tasted alcohol before, and even the sharp scent made her nose wrinkle.
“Oh? You think this is unfair? Both I and the second-years went through the exact same thing back then. You have no right to complain.”
Tiana pressed Derke with an exasperated tone, clearly wanting her to just drink something and return to her seat.
‘The clear liquid smells like it’s stabbing my nose… I don’t understand why I have to drink something that already looks disgusting just from the smell, desu-yong…! But if I don’t drink it now, I’ll probably get scolded…!’
Derke’s hesitation came more from the alcohol’s sharp smell than any sense of injustice. Honest to a fault when faced with something unpalatable, her inner conflict dragged on.
“If you don’t drink right now, every second-year will have a turn with you?”
There was no other option left for Derke but to drink.
“Huuup…!”
Just as the cornered Derke finally squeezed her eyes shut and resolved to take one sip—
“Excuse me? What exactly are you doing over there?”
A gentle female voice drifted over from a distance.
“…Ah?! Senior Sofia?!”
Sofia’s voice reached them just before the liquor touched Derke’s lips. And she wasn’t alone.
“Hohwawa—?! Tiana? Were you really about to make the kids drink?”
Two women approached side by side—Sofia and Raylin. Both wore surprised expressions at the scene before them.
Sofia had just finished the closing ceremony and was on her way back when she ran into Raylin. The two had been heading to see Breeder when they stumbled upon this unsavory tradition in action.
“Tiana? Would you mind explaining why a third-year like you is leading the freshman welcome party?”
Sofia’s tone was displeased. Not only had Tiana gathered all the juniors without permission, she was also forcing alcohol on them.
“Ah, Senior Sofia? I was simply preparing the welcome party as we always have. The professors gave their approval, and more importantly, Senior Hiyuki gave me permission to proceed.”
Tiana had her justification—she had obtained prior consent from both a professor and a senior, specifically Sofia’s close friend.
“Hiyuki did?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Haa, Hiyuki really is too indecisive for her own good…”
Sofia shook her head at the answer, then spoke again in a slightly softer voice.
“I fully agree that spending time to get to know the freshmen is important. But this particular custom needs to go.”
“S-senior? Get rid of it…?”
“Tiana? Don’t you remember?”
“Pardon? What exactly are you referring to…?”
“You got drunk during your own freshman welcome party and suddenly started throwing your clothes off, running around completely—”
“Hiyaaaaaaa—?! S-senior! There are juniors here! What on earth are you saying?!”
When Sofia brought up a past only the two of them knew, Tiana’s face flushed and she hurriedly cut her off, sounding like an indignant cat.
Indeed, Tiana herself had once been a victim of the coercive welcome party. Yet now, with seniority, a sense of payback had kicked in, making her forget her own embarrassing memories and repeat the same misdeed.
“If you understood, then stop what you were about to do right now.”
“B-but this liquor… Senior Diora set it aside in the hideout for over a hundred years just for today…”
“Tiana? Did you just dare to bring up Diora’s name? No matter how much you respect that senior, are you saying her wishes matter more than those of the student council president standing right in front of you?”
—Hiss…
The usually calm and gentle Sofia shot Tiana a look of contempt, her voice colder than ever.
“……”
Tiana froze, unable to respond. She simply hung her head in place. Sofia was particularly sensitive about this—after all, Tiana belonged to Diora’s faction. Hearing Diora’s name invoked so casually in front of the student council president had clearly soured her mood.
“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean anything by it…”
“Tiana? I’m not saying you can’t drink. I have no intention of ruining today’s free time either. I simply don’t want you forcing alcohol on the juniors.”
“Yes, I understand…”
At Sofia’s now-calm voice, Tiana nodded with her head bowed, thoroughly intimidated.
“Make sure to tell the rest of the third-years and my classmates as well. Tell them I ordered a ‘wholesome’ welcome party.”
“Y-yes…”
“Good. We have some business to attend to, so we’ll be stepping away for a bit.”
With those words, Sofia walked straight through the circle of gathered freshmen.
—Pat, pat…!
Raylin, following behind, gave her classmate Tiana’s shoulder a reassuring pat and whispered that they could have a drink together later. Even if they belonged to different factions, classmates were still classmates.
“Ah, and Derke? You can put that down now.”
“Hah…? Thank you, desu-yong—!”
“Good. Shall we walk together for a bit?”
“Ah, where are you seniors headed right now, desu-yong—?”
Derke immediately set the bowl down and followed after Sofia and Raylin, her face bright once more.
“We’re on our way to see Breeder, of course.”
“Ah, I want to see Big Brother Breeder too, desu-yong—!”
“I thought you might. I feel the same.”
“By the way, Senior? Earlier you mentioned you had something to tell all of us. Something about the white puppy…?”
As they left the banquet hall, Raylin turned to Sofia with the question. While she was happy to see Breeder, Sofia’s cryptic remark back at the temple had been nagging at her.
“Hehe, I suppose it’s natural to be curious. This afternoon, I witnessed something unbelievable from Breeder. I wanted to share it with him and with all of you.”
“Huh? You saw something unbelievable?”
“Did something happen to Big Brother Breeder, desu-yong—?!”
Both Raylin and Derke reacted at once.
“I’ll explain the details once we meet Breeder himself. It’s not something to discuss just anywhere…”
Sofia turned away once more, heading toward the outdoor kitchen where Breeder was working.