Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Color of the Star in Your Heart☆ (2)
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I placed Sir Penguin, the royal guard with a fearsome scar on his beak, in the very front row of the pink shelf.
Driven by a burgeoning collector's spirit, I had filled the pink shelf with countless items. Numerous plushie soldiers stood there, lined up for inspection, breathlessly awaiting their general's command.
‘I’m heading out, Penguin. Guard Central Prism Academy well during my three-day, two-night trip.’
-As you command. I pray for your well-being.
Sir Penguin, who had received my order.
His button eyes gleaming, he made a determined fist-and-palm salute.
Though, of course, this all took place entirely within my imagination.
His aura was truly that of a general defending a nation.
I glanced around my room one last time and shouldered my pink backpack.
The backpack was incredibly light, containing only a spare uniform, underwear, a tracksuit, and some emergency rations. Not that I had anything more important to pack anyway.
‘It’s only a three-day, two-night stay, after all.’
Mimir Industrial High School was on a completely different level from us, a much wealthier institution. It was more advantageous to use the items they provided for guests. Besides, this time I could take the aether levitation train, which I normally couldn't afford…
‘…It’s a one-way ticket, and according to train regulations, bicycles are prohibited, so the return trip is the problem.’
But I wasn't too worried.
At Mimir Industrial High School, there was someone I could call an acquaintance.
The head of the architecture club, the .
A Mimir Industrial High School student named ‘Maya.’
A connection I’d made quite by chance.
She had only appeared as a quest NPC in the game, so when I first arrived in Academy City, I never even thought of meeting her.
In fact, I hadn't been in touch with her much since I went into seclusion, so I didn't know her current situation in detail.
‘The last I heard was that Maya was scheduled to become the head of the Facility Engineering Department in her final semester of her second year.’
Still, based on her game profile, she wasn't the type whose position would likely change. Being quite compassionate, she would probably grant my request.
‘Unlike with Hilde, I won’t have to chat with her about the fighting festival.’
Mimir Industrial High School often had vehicles traveling all over Academy City Yggd for materials and equipment installation. On our way back, we could probably borrow a ride in one of the club’s vehicles heading near here.
Even the hardship of the journey to and from was gone.
It was a truly luxurious trip where I could travel without getting a speck of dust on me. Plus, this time, I was just participating in an event at Mimir Industrial High School and persuading one problem child to come along.
‘This has become much easier than I originally planned.’
To receive such a reward for a single good deed made me bow my head and offer thanks to the heavens.
With gratitude in my heart, I put on my shoes and stepped out into the hallway.
Alvitt and Lotha were already waiting in the dormitory hallway, their bags packed.
“Sorry―☆ Have you been waiting long?”
“You don’t have much luggage either, senior.”
“That’s because we’re a school of cute, poor girls―☆”
“On a fun day out like today, could you maybe not say such sad things?”
Alvitt chuckled, perhaps feeling a sense of kinship upon seeing my modest backpack.
She, too, was dressed simply, with just a small backpack containing a few items and a Central Prism Academy practice sword at her waist.
For the record, ever since the day of the chase, Alvitt would freak out and hide the last remaining practice weapon whenever I tried to touch it.
“Ahaha☆ Sorry, sorry for making you sad~ And actually, we’re not just going out to play―☆”
“Huh…?”
“A girl’s little secret―☆ We’re actually invading Mimir Industrial High School! To let them know! That we’re the cutest girls in all of Academy City Yggd! It’s a declaration of war! Kyaa―so bold♡”
“Sigh, my mistake for taking you seriously.”
As I was having this silly conversation with Alvitt.
Twitch.
Twitch.
“…”
For some reason, Lotha was anxiously twitching her cat ears, looking restless. Because the pack on her back was so large it could easily pass for military gear.
*Whoosh—*
*Whoosh—*
It was so big I wondered how Lotha’s slender legs could support it.
The sound of the overstuffed backpack cutting through the air, with its immense presence, was intimidating. From the shapes vaguely visible on its surface, it seemed she had brought magical tools and various books as well.
‘Bringing books is a classic rookie traveler move.’
A girl on an outing.
Excitedly packing all sorts of things.
I found her child-like appearance somehow cute.
“Hehe☆”
Seeing my chuckle, Lotha grew even more flustered and restless.
“Am I… strange…?”
“Nope~ You can go just like that―☆ Cute girls are supposed to have lots of secrets and luggage☆ That’s right, that’s right☆”
“Then I guess you’re not a cute girl, senior.”
“…”
“…Please don’t suddenly shut up and stare at me. It’s scary.”
“Okay―☆”
Suppressing Alvitt’s cute little rebellion.
We left the school grounds, still cool with the early morning air, making a cheerful racket.
The large field connecting Central Prism Academy’s main building, the auditorium, and the dormitory. We locked the doors to all the facilities. Finally, we double-checked the main gate.
*Clang—*
With the sound of the gate closing completely, we left the school.
The white coats of the three high school girls fluttered as they walked side-by-side, met by the chilly early morning wind.
As we walked down the hill from Central Prism Academy, past the shopping district, and toward the city center where the aether train station was located.
The reality that we were finally going on a trip together began to sink in.
“…”
The sound of Alvitt and Lotha chatting softly beside me.
The dwarves in the shopping district waving and wishing us a fun trip.
The bustling sounds of the city center, a place I rarely visited.
“…”
I’d left the school grounds many times, but it was always the same routine: riding Red Hare out alone at dawn and returning silently with goods late at night.
This noise felt fresh and enjoyable.
“Hehe―☆”
I hope we can go on outings like this together more often.
That was the thought that crossed my mind.
***
“Yes. Invitation confirmed. Please enjoy your trip.”
“Okay―☆”
The female dwarf employee, dressed in the aether train station’s suit uniform. She gave a final tip of the hat she had placed on her mechanical head and retreated from the cabin.
*Rattle—*
Silence returned.
Looking around the quiet cabin, Alvitt marveled.
“Wow… this train seems so much cleaner and nicer than the one I took on my first day of school. They even gave us a private four-person cabin instead of a group one…”
“Even though it’s a short-distance route, Mimir Industrial High School is rich enough to have an exclusive service contract with the regular line―☆”
“Ah… now that you mention it, on my first day at Public Vana Boarding School, I think the upperclassmen were bragging about having exclusive service on the line that crosses the eastern part of Academy City Yggd.”
“That’s a long-distance route, so it’s shockingly☆ expensive―! Wow―☆ As expected of the richest school in Academy City Yggd☆”
“I’m so jealous… exclusive service.”
“You~☆ Snap out of it―☆”
“I didn’t say anything.”
As the name suggested, an exclusive service line was a regular route that a school had contracted exclusively with the aether levitation train company.
Polite staff.
A quiet cabin.
Clean seats.
As befitting a train carrying only a limited number of passengers, the facilities were far more comfortable than those of a regular aether train. Even the students’ voices, faintly audible from beyond the cabin partition, sounded much more refined.
‘I couldn’t even afford the regular line.’
True to its name, it was a vehicle that incorporated magical engineering using aether conductors. It wasn’t priced for casual use like the trains or subways I rode in my past life.
‘It felt slightly more expensive than a budget airline ticket…’
However, considering the attacks from delinquent students one might encounter while traveling on foot and the uniquely sparse population density of Academy City Yggd, it was sometimes a necessary expense.
That’s why most schools provided their own exclusive service lines as a basic welfare benefit for their students.
‘But for me, there was only Red Hare.’
As I was reminiscing about the days when I roamed the world with Red Hare, an announcement came through the loudspeakers connected to each cabin.
[Good morning, passengers. This is an exclusive service train bound directly for Mimir Industrial High School. Please check your tickets and be careful when moving between cabins.]
[The doors are now closing.]
*Ring—*
*Ring—*
*Ring—*
*Wheee—*
With the sound of a whistle from the platform far away, signaling that no more passengers were boarding or alighting.
*Vwooom—*
A slight feeling of levitation spread through the entire train as it began to glide slowly out of the station.
And so, the journey began.
A more leisurely pace than the trains of my past life.
Alvitt stared blankly out the window before starting to doze off.
Lotha rummaged through her bag and pulled out a grimoire to read.
Occasionally, she would eat some of the snacks she brought or gaze out the window.
A peaceful time.
After about two hours had passed.
The scenery of the Mimir Industrial High School grounds slowly came into view outside the train window.
‘Looks like they’ve built more new stuff.’
As befitting the mecca of architecture and facility engineering in Academy City Yggd.
Returning to the Mimir Industrial High School grounds after about a year, I saw that massive, unfamiliar buildings had sprung up like mushrooms.
Unlike the surroundings and shopping district of Central Prism Academy, which were built primarily in white, this place was filled with dense, massive, gray rectangular buildings. The streets were filled with unusually tall female students in work clothes, bustling about.
Countless shops related to steelmaking.
All sorts of heavy machinery constantly coming and going.
A city built to be more robust and functional than any other school’s.
The place was busily preparing for the new student welcoming ceremony.
We had arrived at Mimir Industrial High School.
***
Meanwhile.
A factory at Mimir Industrial High School was operating at full tilt.
A site where numerous dwarves moved about, transporting various basic materials and ingredients. Among them, a mustached dwarf serving as the work foreman loudly urged on the surrounding staff.
“Hurry up! We’ll have to pull an all-nighter to deliver the additional items ordered by the Facility Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Departments on time!!”
“…E-excuse me.”
Amid the chaos, a young dwarf wearing a baker boy cap timidly raised his hand, clutching the pocket of his work apron.
“What is it?! Can’t you see we’re busy?”
“I need to use the restroom…”
“Don’t ask, just go and be quick about it!!! A man shouldn’t be so timid!!”
“Eek…?! S-sorry.”
*Scampers—*
The baker-boy-capped dwarf passed by, clutching his bulging stomach and unnaturally bent over. But the busy factory workers paid him no mind, engrossed in their tasks.
“…”
*Tap, tap, tap*
The place the baker-boy-capped dwarf reached, his short legs scurrying, was not the restroom.
It was an area dense with large containers for the factory’s waste.
The baker-boy-capped dwarf knocked on one of the containers there.
*Knock, knock*
[The pigeon?]
“T-to the east.”
[The color of the flag?]
“R-red.”
*Pop—*
“Your business?”
Out popped a tall female student with ultramarine hair, wearing goggles.
“I-I brought… the stuff.”
“Welcome, comrade of the revolution.”
“W-what does that mean, Kara?”
“It refers to the brethren who harbor a red star in their hearts.”
The female student beamed, like a lightbulb turning on.