Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Color of the Star in Your Heart☆ (3)
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We got off the train immediately.
On the platform, direct and local trains from all over Academy City were still arriving and departing endlessly.
[The train has arrived. All passengers, please mind your safety…]
From a single stopped ether train, hundreds of students in different uniforms poured out. And as that train passed, another one opened its doors. Another few hundred female students disembarked.
A murmur—
A rumble—
The sounds of laughter and footsteps from girls in a variety of uniforms and appearances filled the air. An orchestra of non-verbal noise and chaos unfolded here.
But there were also those trying to maintain order in this scene.
“Welcome to Mimir Industrial High School!”
“All visitors, please proceed to the information desk on the first floor of the platform!”
“It’s dangerous if you stop suddenly, so we ask for everyone’s cooperation—!”
Whirr—
Clank!
Several large security mechs patrolled the platform.
The second-year students of the Mimir Industrial High School Disciplinary Committee, riding them, were working hard to maintain order.
The sight of female students, averaging over 170cm tall, atop three-meter-tall motorized mechs. The word ‘giant’ truly came to mind.
Considering that the disciplinary committees of other schools were mainly composed of students with outstanding ether application abilities, it was a rather impressive sight.
Perhaps because of this, Alvitt and Lotha were engrossed in looking around, craning their necks ever since we got off the train.
“…”
“…”
“A rich school is really on another level—☆”
A sea of countless students.
We were wanderers, drifting aimlessly within it.
The shabby wanderers could only feel overwhelmed by the massive mechanic manufacturing facilities and the walls of the square buildings visible beyond the tens of thousands in the crowd.
The sheer power of the most sturdily fortified city.
Compared to this city, the hilltop town where Central Prism Academy was located was nothing but the countryside.
“Hehe—☆”
While subtly guiding Alvitt and Lotha towards the information desk, I also helped them get a good look at the city.
‘Cultivate a noble spirit, my dear juniors.’
I hoped that seeing this city wouldn't intimidate my juniors, but rather become an opportunity for them to clash with its students and come to be proud of themselves.
Didn't Liu Bei also gaze at the mulberry tree in Zhuo County, not worrying about his next meal, but cherishing the dream of Luoyang in his heart?
‘This senior will be your Zhuge Liang.’
First, I’ll have to go find a Guan Yu in this city whose heart, not face, is bright red. Sooner or later, when that girl starts her antics, I’ll be able to spot her right away.
‘When we’re all gathered, it will be the formation of the Peach Sisters.’
Each of us holding our own thoughts in our hearts.
We finally made our way completely out of the long platform.
We headed straight for the information desk on the first floor of the train station.
There, a second-year girl wearing an armband that read [Information Desk Staff] was watching the amazed expressions of the newly arrived students with a pleased look.
The satisfied expression of the information desk staff.
It was a surprisingly popular event position.
‘The kids who go here love showing off their school…’
A tall female student in a perfectly tailored uniform bearing the Mimir Industrial High School emblem. The image reminded me of the receptionists at luxury brand stores or car dealerships I’d seen in my past life.
She greeted us with a vibrant smile as we approached.
“Thank you for visiting. Welcome to the Mimir Industrial High School Freshman Welcoming Ceremony!”
“Hello—☆ You’re working hard☆”
“Not at all! Just hearing words of praise after seeing our school gives me a boost of moti… ahem. Anyway! Please have a wonderful time!”
We then received our guest dormitory assignment sheet.
And with leisurely steps, we walked toward the dormitory area of Mimir Industrial High School.
Alvitt spoke in a voice full of admiration as she looked at the streets.
“Seeing this city in person, it’s much more amazing than I heard. There are so many vehicles and facilities I’ve never seen before.”
“Public Vana Boarding School has a lot of money poured into its streets, including the Golden Magic Tower where the student council is, but it didn’t have this kind of overwhelming presence… It’s just as you’d expect from the school with the best architecture club in Academy City.”
“The schools in the Academy City Union are all elites, each holding a top title in the city—☆”
“What exactly does our school have?”
“[The School with the Cutest Girl in Academy City]—☆”
“…”
“Hmph.”
Anyway, we passed by various new technology presentations and street stalls unfolding on the bustling streets.
They were each showing off the technical skills mobilized for their clubs and hobbies.
In truth, this event itself was practically a small-scale cultural festival disguised as a freshman welcoming ceremony.
“Come on in! Come take a look at the latest vending machine made by our !!”
“Hey! Hey! Hey! Students from other schools! Come this way and you can see an unmanned mech that moves all by itself! This way!”
“Hey, students passing by! Do you like ice cream?”
The second and first-year students of Mimir Industrial High School, dressed in work clothes emblazoned with their club logos, were hawking their wares.
Many students from outside schools eventually couldn't resist their temptations, getting their feet stuck on the street with their backpacks on or trunks in hand.
I, who had visited Mimir Industrial High School several times, and Lotha, who was used to the splendor of the golden streets, were unfazed. But Alvitt, in particular, reacted to every single call from the industrial high school students.
“If you come now, we’re giving out free ice cream made with ether rapid-cooling technology!”
“I-Ice cream…!”
Alvitt flinched and looked back at the words, but she resisted the temptation and continued straight ahead.
Since it was more convenient to leave our luggage at the dormitory first, we headed directly for the outer dorms that were open to visitors.
Alvitt vowed in a small voice.
“Ugh… I must have that ice cream…!”
“Yes, yes—☆”
“Alvitt, you like sweets? That’s unexpected.”
And so, we navigated through the massive crowd and finally succeeded in reaching the outer dormitory.
A calm atmosphere with clean gray exterior walls and a small flowerbed. The interior of the dormitory also had a calm, modern design using dark-colored wallpaper and exposed concrete. On top of that, there was even a digital clock neatly placed on the desk.
‘Just like the ‘mechs’ of the Mimir Industrial High School characters. When modern items like this pop up out of nowhere, it really hits home that this is a game world, not pure fantasy.’
The imbalanced development of technology.
I try to just let it go now.
But it still bothers me sometimes.
“All visitors, please come this way and fill out a visitor form~!”
In the lobby, second-year students acting as temporary dorm supervisors were checking the assignment sheets of the outsiders. And numerous dwarves were busily distributing guest toiletries.
“…?”
Alvitt murmured as she watched the scene.
“Come to think of it, we’ve come all the way from the train station to inside the school. I haven’t seen a single third-year student from Mimir Industrial High School, have you?”
“…Huh?”
A sense of unease.
Twitch.
Lotha must have felt the unease too, as she moved her cat ears and looked out the lobby window at the street again. Surprisingly, among the countless industrial high school girls, not a single one had a badge on her sleeve or collar indicating she was a third-year.
Lotha said, with her hand on the window.
“It’s common for third-years to be out working on dungeon explorations or in ether mines, but for there to be this few is strange…?”
“…”
“It’s strange.”
Alvitt and Lotha stood side-by-side at the dorm lobby window, watching the street.
The fact that this event itself…
Was an open house disguised as a freshman welcoming ceremony.
And also a surprise resolution ceremony for Mimir Industrial High School.
I didn't bother to explain it.
It was more convenient for me if all the third-years who knew my face were plotting something deep inside the industrial high school’s main building.
Events that, in the game, had occurred where the hands of Central Prism Academy couldn't reach.
[Mimir Industrial High School will be seceding from the Union.]
The declaration of independence by Mimir Industrial High School’s student council president, Skadi, which had drawn the attention of the entire Academy City. And amidst it all, our final junior, who caused a scene, got expelled for insubordination, and drifted all the way to Central Prism Academy.
‘The United Student Council, distracted by the sporadic kidnapping incidents happening all over Academy City, was flustered when they belatedly heard the news of Skadi’s secession declaration.’
I considered myself lucky to have been able to come to the center of all these events.
＊
We left our luggage inside the guest dormitory. Then we went back out to the streets to look around at the stalls and technology demonstrations run by the Mimir Industrial High School students.
A two-meter-long giant mechanical arm that tied shoelaces quickly.
A headphone-style alarm clock that you wore on your head to hear the alarm.
A chair that changed color when the person sitting on it sang.
And so on and so forth.
Things that were kind of amazing.
But also subtly useless.
At any other school, they would have been criticized for wasting ether-conductive ore, but here, they served as interesting curiosities, delighting the eyes of passersby.
“Wow…! It’s moving all by itself just with the power of machinery…! Amazing! To think this is possible without using servitor or telekinetic magic!”
“Ooh… So there’s a knife that can prepare vegetables so neatly without ether application techniques.”
‘Somehow, they’re all subtly trivial inventions.’
In a world where magic and ether abilities were common sense, it seemed the power of mechanical engineering was the rarer spectacle.
“Wow—☆ A chair that changes color when you sing! How romantic—☆”
I played along from the side, looking for the right time to slip away.
There was someone I needed to meet in secret soon.
‘That revolution addict gets kicked out after causing trouble following President Skadi's declaration, so before that, I should sneak into the Facility Engineering Department and go see Maya.’
I didn't want my title, ‘The Pink Spiral,’ to be revealed already, causing me to interfere in things these girls could handle themselves.
‘In the end, only these kids can resolve the main story.’
Therefore, I grandly declared to my two juniors that I would bring them ice cream, and then decided to put on a little act.
“Kya—☆”
“Senior!”
“Whoa?!”
I was carrying ice cream in both hands.
I stepped on a stone that jutted out from the path.
Because of that, I fell, and the ice cream flew from my hands.
‘It’s sticky, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.’
Didn't Liu Bei also play the coward in front of Cao Cao by dropping his chopsticks? For the greater good, sometimes you need to act the fool.
Whoosh—
Splat—!
Drip…
Like a scene from a slapstick silent film, the strawberry ice cream landed on my head as I fell.
It melted and trickled down.
Creating the ridiculous image of pink ice cream on top of pink hair.
“Ugh… this isn’t cute at all—☆”
I sat down on the spot with a tearful face.
Alvitt and Lotha ran over to me and looked at me with pitying eyes.
Their pure concern pricked my conscience, but I continued the act.
“Senior, are you okay—?!”
“Want to borrow my handkerchief—?!”
I stopped my juniors, who were about to wipe the ice cream off with their bare hands, not even caring about getting dirty.
“Ah, ahaha—☆ Sorry… I kind of ruined the mood—☆ I-I think I’ll go take a shower at the dorm first☆ Yep! I’ll come back as a clean and proper young lady… so don’t worry!”
“Senior…”
“Senior…”
Their expressions were as if they were looking at something truly pathetic.
Their gazes stung.
“W-Well then! See you—☆”
My sensitive perception made the furtive glances from those around us feel even more blatant, so I quickly moved my feet and decided to wash up at a nearby water fountain. Then, once I was far enough away that I could no longer hear the students’ murmuring, I changed direction.
Avoiding the eyes of the Disciplinary Committee students, I ran toward the main building where the Facility Engineering Department was located.
＊
“…”
“…”
Alvitt and Lotha did as Clara said and looked around the festival for a while, but they soon lost their enthusiasm and sat down on a bench to rest.
Of course, the amazing inventions,
the huge city that couldn't compare to Central Prism Academy,
and the laughter of the countless students passing by on the street still made their hearts flutter.
“Still, with Clara…”
“It’s better with our senior…”
“Huh?”
“Hm?”
Alvitt and Lotha had muttered the same thing at the same time. They looked at each other, realized they were thinking the same thing, and let out a small laugh.
They hadn't even known each other for a week, but their minds often worked in sync like this.
“It’s more fun when the three of us are together, right?”
“Yeah… even if she is a dense, stupid, foolish senior.”
She was the senior who welcomed ‘us,’ after all.
That foolish senior, so obsessed with her appearance and cuteness, must be dejected over her absurd mistake.
Just as Alvitt and Lotha were getting up from their seats.
Right at that moment, the students gathered nearby began to murmur.
“What?! From the United Student Council?!”
“Yeah! I just heard the news, too!”
“Then… is ‘that person’ coming too?!”
“The Azure-White Lightning Spear…!”
“The United Student Council President is visiting this event?!”
“The strongest in Academy City is coming—!!”
Alvitt and Lotha looked at each other.