Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Color of the Star in Your Heart☆ (1)
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A spring afternoon, full of new encounters and new beginnings.
Two nights had passed since that first new meeting.
I sat in the student council room, basking in the leisure.
“Yaaawn—☆”
Sitting in the student council room, where coolness and warmth coexisted, I would find myself nodding off before I knew it.
It was the season when flowers, dormant in the earth all winter, bloomed vibrantly in the sunlight. Yet here I was, yawning endlessly, rubbing my slowly closing eyes.
A languid spring day.
A languid afternoon.
I considered just leaning on my desk and falling asleep.
“Hoo…”
But I pushed the sweet temptation of a nap from my mind.
I stretched to chase away the cloud-like drowsiness veiling my thoughts.
Then, I rose from my chair.
Twisting the cool handle, I opened the window to a view of the academy city.
*Fwoosh—*
With the wind that blew amidst the warm sunlight.
To the rhythm of the city's noise, a white waltz.
The old, musty curtains of the student council room fluttered like a dancer's skirt.
A scene where spring and the city danced, singing a song of peace.
“…”
The breeze felt good.
I brought a chair over and sat by the window.
*Creeak—*
As I sat there by the dusty window, the chime of a broadcast reached my ears. It was from the ether speakers installed in each district.
*Ding-dong—*
*Ding-dong—*
[This is an announcement from the United Student Council Press Corps. Today's weather is clear. The temperature is 17 degrees Celsius, with a slight breeze. The current time is 2 PM. The broadcast will begin shortly.]
A convenient broadcasting tool that delivered news from the United Student Council Press Corps across tens, even hundreds, of kilometers. Listening to the cheerful voice of a female student, one could catch up on the various happenings of the academy city.
[Hello, everyone. Are you all having a pleasant afternoon? Our new Press Corps juniors, who just enrolled, don't seem to be, but what can you do!]
[It's the afternoon news from the United Student Council Press Corps, always brought to you by the hard work of our junior reporters~]
[I'm Herr, the second-year mascot of the United Student Council Press Corps, always here to bring you the news by rushing my juniors!]
Sitting here, listening to the Press Corps' radio broadcast.
I could sense the subtle differences in the student announcer's tone at different times of the day.
It was a thoughtful consideration for the listener's situation, depending on the time.
Clear and crisp in the drowsy morning.
Cheerful in the weary afternoon.
Romantic in the languid evening.
The student named Herr always took care to ensure her voice wasn't an unpleasant noise, but a source of strength in someone's daily life. That's why many students and residents loved the United Student Council Press Corps' broadcasts.
I, too, had come to look forward to this broadcast in my life in the academy city.
‘Though, to be honest, I started listening because I didn't have the money to subscribe to other schools' newspapers and needed to hear outside news.’
When I heard news of United Student Council events, fighting festivals, and various school functions through the Press Corps' broadcast, I would ride out on my Red Hare, sweep up the free food and event prizes, and return in triumph.
Like Zhao Zilong, who cherished Liu Bei's young son in his arms as he cut down countless enemies. Fortunately, there was no Liu Bei, the expert baby-thrower, at our school, so I was able to bring the prizes back safely.
It was a routine I repeated on days when I wasn't training or exploring dungeons.
In truth, hardly any student would travel the tens or hundreds of kilometers to other schools in such a brutish manner.
‘Since I don't even have the money to leisurely ride the ether train.’
The elite schools of the Golden District were strict about students from other schools entering.
The schools from the slums were places where just showing up would trigger a super-massive incident.
Memories of my wild days, conquering the Academy City Yggd with Red Hare, using the ground as my bed and the sky as my blanket.
‘Well, I mostly just went to events held at the industrial high schools.’
Most schools in the academy city opened their gates wide to welcome students from other schools for their events. Among them, the two industrial high schools near Central Prism Academy were particularly earnest.
Mimir Industrial High School and Svart Industrial High School.
The students attending these two schools, which boasted the most advanced facilities in all of Academy City Yggd, were serious about showing off their technological prowess.
What's more, their research facilities and grounds were so close they practically threatened each other, so the two schools maintained a precarious rift of emotion, somewhere between competition and hostility.
[…Thus, the joint cultural festival between Mimir Industrial High School and Svart Industrial High School has been canceled. Without revealing any future plans, the representatives of both schools have returned to their respective campuses.]
[…Next, we have news that delinquent students have been crossing over from the slums and kidnapping students with increasing frequency. In response, Sigrun, the chief of the Gjallarhorn investigation squad, argued for an expansion of investigative authority during this morning's United Student Council regular meeting…]
The news was rather serious.
Herr reined in her previously joking tone.
She delivered the news in a calm voice.
“…”
Hearing that, I felt the time to meet my third junior was fast approaching. But recruiting that one required two conditions.
First, I had to go all the way to Mimir Industrial High School, dozens of kilometers away.
This could be solved with Red Hare, so I'll pass on worrying about it.
And the second was…
‘That kid… her ideology is a bit unsavory at this point. Should I secretly tenderize her into a milder version of herself to re-educate her?’
In the mobile collectible RPG, *Yggdrasil Gate*.
If you were to pick one comic relief character from all the characters that exist, it would be me, Clara.
But if you narrowed the scope.
To a character the player actually uses… that is, among ‘Alvitt's companions,’ if you were to pick one comic relief character, it would be her.
Because.
The ideology she held was—
*SLAM—!!*
At that moment, the door to the student council room was thrown open, and my two juniors strode in.
“Senior!!!”
“Senior!!!”
“We were all fixing the auditorium together, and you said you were going to the bathroom and then disappeared! Were you slacking off in here?!”
“Seriously, what’s with dumping everything on someone who’s only been at the school for two days—!!”
Ah.
Busted.
Alvitt and Lotha.
Their fine eyebrows were knitted together as they approached, their expressions and gestures of anger looking perfectly textbook, like something out of a webtoon or a chat emoticon.
I truly had nothing to say for myself, so…
“Ah, ahaha—☆”
“There you go again, laughing when you have nothing to say!”
“Don't think you can laugh it off, hurry up and follow us! As if it wasn't bad enough that you broke all the practice weapons, now you're trying to sneak out of repairing the auditorium too!!”
“Ah… ahaha—☆”
Alvitt shrieked.
‘I’ve got no excuse for that either.’
At the end of that fierce chase.
The weapons I had used to overturn the delinquent students' bikes had all been reduced to scrap metal.
Weapons made from cheap ether conductors mixed with tons of impurities were basically impossible to repair. So, except for the one sword Alvitt had been holding that day, all of Central Prism Academy's practice weapons were gone.
But I hadn't acted without thinking.
‘Once the last junior joins, I was naturally going to get them some decent gear from farming…!’
With the school having no money and custom orders being difficult, that was the most efficient route for acquiring equipment.
In *Yggdrasil Gate*, 3-person parties were the standard.
So, once I had met all three characters from Central Prism Academy.
I would feign coincidence and have them run the best early-game dungeon available.
It was the early-game route designed by a veteran player, my golden schedule for March.
A plan so brilliant it would make Sima Yi slap Cao Cao on the head.
But how can a sparrow know the will of a great roc?
The sparrow before me knew nothing of this, her eyes wide as she huffed and puffed.
‘Wait, when you think about it, isn't it standard for the strategist to sit back and command the generals with a wave of their hand?’
That's right.
I had already perfectly completed my duties as a strategist and was taking a well-deserved rest.
A perfectly legitimate right.
Realizing this, I proudly puffed out my chest and retorted to Alvitt.
“A scolding for you—☆ Rest is important for a maiden—☆”
“You're supposed to rest *after* you work, Senior!!”
“This senior has already finished her work—☆ Right here in this room, preparing for all of your futures—☆ This cute maiden's brilliant mind at work is the ultimate labor! A maiden's utmost devotion! This is truly a grand☆stra☆tegy—♡”
“Senior, what on earth are you talking about…”
Me and Alvitt, locked in a standoff.
Between us, with her two cat ears drooping.
Lotha's timid voice cut in, unable to stand still.
“I'm sorry. All the weapons getting destroyed… that happened because you were coming to save me. I'll get a part-time job and pay you back for it, I promise.”
At Lotha's sudden declaration.
We both looked at her, stunned.
Her two cat ears drooped so much they hid her fluffy fur.
Her orange twintails fell limply over her small shoulders.
Alvitt desperately argued against her reaction.
“Huh…? Ah…! That's not it! Lotha, I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to make you feel bad!”
“Okay.”
Alvitt suddenly broke into a cold sweat, flustered.
But seeing that, Lotha felt even more sorry and grew more dejected.
Even after enrolling at Central Prism Academy, Lotha was still walking on eggshells. Perhaps because she had been bad-mouthed by others for so long, she now showed an attitude of fearing she would lose the one person who finally understood her.
“I… I really didn't mean to make you feel bad…! It's just… uh…”
“…”
Alvitt truly didn't think it was Lotha's fault, which was why she had so casually brought up the events of that day. But that, combined with Alvitt's straightforward and earnest attitude, only served to further stimulate Lotha's inner fear.
‘One tends to feel anxious when they can't repay a great kindness.’
A deeply bowed head.
Hands clutching her uniform skirt tightly.
Drooping cat ears.
Lotha's small figure looked just like…
‘…A stray cat, worried about when it might be abandoned.’
Just as Yu Jin, who surrendered to Guan Yu, was forever forced to walk on eggshells, compared to Pang De who fought to the death, she, a former student of a rich school, was now self-conscious about having drained the assets of the already poor Central Prism Academy.
‘With things like this, you can only wait until she gets used to it.’
I was no Cao Pi, the psychopath of the century who mocked Yu Jin for that day until he died from a stress-induced illness. To break the vicious cycle of emotions, I forcibly changed the subject.
“Anyway, Lotha☆ That uniform looks great on you—☆ Not as good as on me, but. You look so cute, I'd believe you were born to come to Central Prism Academy—☆”
“Huh…? Oh, right. That's right! The color of the uniform matches Lotha's hair!! I'm so glad you came to our school, really!”
“…”
Alvitt instantly understood my intention and played along.
But it was such an obviously forced change of subject.
Lotha just kept her head down, remaining silent.
“…”
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence.
But Lotha soon lifted her head.
Timidly holding her twintails in both hands, she pleaded with teary eyes.
“…Really?”
“Lotha, you're so cute! You're the best first-year in the whole academy city—☆”
“That's right! I'm so happy that someone as cute as you came to our school!”
“…Am I really… you know… cute?”
*Slightly.*
She shifted one leg back.
Moved her shoulders from side to side.
Lotha peeked at us.
“Of course—♡ It's a given☆ You're about the third cutest student I've seen in my time in the academy city—☆”
“What kind of a half-hearted compliment is that… Ah! Anyway! Of course you're cute!”
“…What part of me… is… you know… cute? Hmm?”
We spent the next fifteen minutes showering her with a barrage of compliments.
Finally satisfied, Lotha successfully returned to her usual self.
‘…She’s been criticized for so long, she was starving for praise.’
Compliments she hadn't heard in a long time.
It seemed to have been a reward potent enough to paralyze even Lotha's intellect.
Just as I resolved to hold praise clinics for Lotha from time to time.
‘…Huh?’
My senses detected a presence.
I felt a presence entering the Central Prism Academy grounds from far outside. A few minutes passed. Just as Lotha's excitement had subsided, a sudden sound was heard.
*-Honk honk—!*
-
“…?”
“…?”
At the sound of the distant horn.
The three of us looked at each other's faces, puzzled.
***
Daily necessities, snacks, letters… and so on.
Countless items were laid out on the student council room table.
They were gifts brought by students who had driven over themselves.
A reward for our good deed.
They were sent from the schools of the hostages we had rescued.
We rejoiced at having obtained our daily bread and began opening the gifts one by one.
“Heehee☆ To think I'd live to see the day I get rewarded like this—☆”
“Hehe, not that we did it expecting anything in return.”
We were all smiles.
“Huh?”
Lotha suddenly noticed a piece of paper in the corner of a box.
“What's this?”
“Hmm…?”
What Lotha carefully picked out from the corner of the box.
It was an invitation to Mimir Industrial High School's welcoming event for new students.
[Present this ticket at the ether train station for a free ride to Mimir Industrial High School.]
“Ah—☆”
My dear Red Hare.
Enjoy your vacation.