Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Encounters, Fates, and Buckets ☆ (2)
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“Heehee☆ Thank you! I'm the only one who comes here, so I thought I'd be stuck, all alone, crying for my mommy until I wasted away. But then a kind student happened to pass by and help me—☆ You could call this a connection... or maybe even fate? Wow—☆ Amazing!! Fate is the best!!”
“…I see.”
“Oh☆ Do you happen to believe in things like fate~? Are you interested in tarot cards or fortune-telling? Or how about MBTI, horoscopes, birthstones, or birth flowers? Isn't it just so romantic to discover your own destiny? I run to the bookstore every Monday to check the magazines☆ Since I have no one to talk to at school...☆ Anyway, if my horoscope is romantic, my heart flutters all day long! Eek—☆”
“…No, not really.”
I borrowed the power of the Pretty Filter, a force akin to wicked dark magic.
With the Pretty Filter, I could talk for thirty minutes about a single rolling twig.
Truth be told, I wasn't just poking at Alvitt's mental state for no reason.
Although, I'll admit, there was some fun in teasing my very first junior.
This was all strictly foreshadowing to build up the sense of responsibility Alvitt shows in the main story.
‘After the entrance ceremony, Alvitt is horrified when she realizes how terrible Central Prism Academy is. And even though she's just a first-year, she ends up acting as the de facto student council president.’
With the power of a filter that smelled of wicked, pink rosé tteokbokki.
And by showing her that her only upperclassman was... well, this.
I figured I could sufficiently amplify Alvitt's disappointment.
‘Did it work…?’
While pretending to mop the rain-soaked stone floor, I watched Alvitt neatly stacking the buckets scattered around.
“…”
Alvitt's bag and clothes were set aside in a corner.
She had rolled up the sleeves of her middle school uniform and was diligently cleaning up the area.
“She's so loud. Could she just be quiet…”
The girl, who had tied her hair back, continued picking up the buckets.
I could tell she was quietly mumbling something to herself.
But it wasn't quite the expression of despair described in the game's depiction of their first meeting.
‘Alvitt is the main story's protagonist, and her past is mentioned quite a bit in mini-stories, so I tried to reenact a fan-made episode. Is the impact still too weak?’
It seemed my efforts were too feeble to make her completely lose hope in Central Prism Academy.
In that case, it was time for me to steel my resolve and play the villain.
‘Despair forges a girl.’
They say the story of ‘a lion pushing its own cub off a cliff’ has dubious origins.
But the famous quote by Cao Hong, ‘Despair forges a man,’ was written even in the ancient records of the game.
The words of the great general.
The sentiment of Cao Hong, who had said, ‘The world can do without a Hong, but it cannot do without a hero like Cao Cao,’ struck a chord deep within me.
‘The main story can do without a pink-haired comic relief, but it cannot do without a protagonist like Alvitt.’
Grow strong, Alvitt.
With the heart of Cao Hong advising Cao Cao, I spoke to Alvitt again.
“Ah, now that I think about it, the auditorium is pretty run-down. It'll probably need repairs☆”
“Yes, it... what? The auditorium? By yourself?”
“Well, since I'm the only student in the whole school... Heehee☆”
“The entire student body of Central Prism Academy is just one person...?!”
“Heeheehee—☆”
Was it because the state of Prism Academy's enrollment was far worse than she'd imagined?
For the first time, Alvitt turned to me with a look of surprise.
‘This kid, she's been tuning me out this whole time.’
For the record, the fact that I was the only student here had been mentioned several times during my pretty-talk. No wonder it was strange she could maintain her sanity through my relentless, pretty-pink chatter.
I decided to unleash my secret weapon to turn this tougher-than-expected girl's mental state into soft, wobbly jelly.
“Heehee, but cleaning the auditorium with the two of us is more manageable than I thought! This is true girl power! A pact of maidens—☆”
“The, the auditorium?! This is it?!”
“Yeees! What do you think? Doesn't it feel kind of vintage, like a garden in a fairytale forest? Does that make me a fairytale princess—☆”
“Huh.”
Alvitt looked around in bewilderment, her expression aghast.
Typically, all students in Academy City Yggd were superhumans who could wield Ether. Furthermore, as befitting active young women, it was common for the auditorium to house facilities for all sorts of athletic activities, combat festivals, and training.
Courts for every ball game imaginable.
Training grounds to hone their individual skills and Ether abilities.
And an arena where the school's best could test their might against one another.
An auditorium containing all these facilities, even at a small school, would boast the size of a decent sports complex.
Moreover, mega-schools for the elite, like Aesir Girls' High School or Public Vana Boarding School, had more than five such auditoriums.
‘Though I've only ever heard about them from Hilde, never having seen them myself.’
The auditorium was the heart of each school's training facilities.
Considering that cultivating one's own martial prowess was a virtue for students living in Academy City Yggd.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the very heart of each academy.
So, what about the auditorium of our proud Central Prism Academy?
Central Prism Academy's auditorium did, as I'd just said, bring a fairytale to mind.
The problem was that, for some, it was an unbelievably grim fairytale.
“This shabby barn is the auditorium—?!”
“That's so mean~☆”
Where Alvitt was staring up in dismay.
Following her gaze, the first thing you'd see were holes revealing the blue sky. So many holes, in fact, that my earlier comment about "leaks" seemed like a joke.
You could almost call it a semi-open-air stadium.
Chirp, chirp.
A bird whose fluttering had been bothering me for a while.
It peeked down through one of the holes and met our eyes.
Then, the little rascal lifted its tail, turned, and aimed in our direction.
Splat—
Thwack.
The bird casually let loose a stream of droppings before disappearing into the distant sky.
Following the white line our friend left behind, my gaze fell upon the cheap stone path and the shock-absorbent sand on the floor.
Countless bird droppings littered the sand.
The white trails left by our avian friends on the sand were by no means a rare sight.
The facilities were cheap to begin with, but having been neglected for so long, the sight had become even more wretched.
The makeshift chairs, exercise equipment, and even the iron bars of the fence were completely rusted, turned a deep red. It was a scene that looked like you'd get tetanus just by brushing against something.
And what was even more wretched was the smell.
The cloying scent of rainwater and the stench of rotting sand assaulted the senses.
For a young lady, filth is a shock, but a foul smell leaves a scar.
Considering that auditorium facilities were generally built with rust-proof, Ether-shock-absorbent materials, this place, even viewed with the kindest eyes, was no better than a den of beggars.
Even that had long since been torn apart, leaving a scene that was practically a wasteland.
Taking it all in, Alvitt muttered in a dazed voice.
“I, I... I thought it was some kind of storage shed... but... it looked like a collapsing shack... I thought it was an abandoned storage shed…”
In any case, for the sake of the main story, she had to keep attending this school.
Alvitt was reeling with a sense of powerlessness against an unavoidable reality.
And I watched her trembling form intently.
Was she still not on the verge of tears?
Did I need to prepare an even greater trial?
It was around the time my own heart started to ache.
“Hic.”
Oh.
She's sniffling.
I'm getting a bite.
Her sharp eyes softened and rounded as tears began to fall.
‘Heh heh…’
I, Cao Hong.
Have received my orders.
I have planted ambition in the heart of a hero of this chaotic age.
‘Despair forges a girl—!!’
Feeling a sense of accomplishment, I decided to drive in the final nail.
Let's give her a despair so profound it'll be talked about until the latter half of the main story.
Pretending to be oblivious, I grabbed Alvitt's trembling shoulders and leaned in close.
“Oh! A-a-a-a-are you... could it be—☆ A, a new student?!”
“…”
“Are you a new student—?!”
“…Yes.”
“Wo... Wow—☆ I, ooh—☆ Eek!!! It's so nice to meet you!!”
“…”
Her shoulders shook listlessly, a pitiful sight, but now was the time to follow the spirit of Cao Hong.
Ignoring the tears welling in Alvitt's eyes, I grabbed both her hands with all my might and shook them up and down with enough force to move heaven and earth.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
“Kya-ha—☆ You're my junior, so it's okay if I speak casually, right? Huh? Right☆ It's nice to meet you, too. My name is Clara! I'm a third-year and the only student at Central Prism Academy! I'm so glad! It's so nice to meet you! What's your name?”
“Ugh?!… A-Alvitt.”
Whether she was flustered by the ceaseless handshake, Alvitt's tearful expression broke, and she stared at me with wide eyes.
I met her gaze, stopped shaking her hands, and spoke carefully.
“Um... Alvitt—☆ I know this is rude to ask since we just met, but…”
“Yes…?”
“C-could you maybe do your senior a little favor…?”
“Wh-what kind of favor…?”
Alvitt's expression was frozen, her eyes wide.
What on earth could this pink-haired girl possibly ask for, moments after they'd just introduced themselves?
I could feel her staring at me, her eyes full of that very question.
I carefully moved to Alvitt's side, cupped my hands, and whispered cautiously toward the pale ear revealed by her tied-back, brown bob.
“I... don't actually know how to use basic Ether... so could you teach me—☆”
“…”
“Tehe—☆”
“…”
For context, basic Ether.
It was the first step in wielding Ether to exert physical force.
It referred to the process of coating a sword or spear with red Ether.
In this world, that was called [Elementary School Education].
Alvitt's final trial.
The academy's only pink-haired upperclassman.
Hadn't even passed elementary school.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Tehe—☆”
Bonk☆
Finally, I stuck my tongue out and, with the heart of Cao Hong, gave myself a light knock on the head.
Alvitt's expression as she watched this…
…resembled that of Xun Yu upon receiving the empty food box.
Central Prism Academy was that empty box.
Thump—
In the end, Alvitt couldn't bear the despair and collapsed to the floor.
Ah, she's broken.
“Tehe—☆”