A New Friend
The Academy dormitory.
She'd expected as much, but the place was truly magnificent. Just looking at it made her heart swell like a balloon.
"So this is my room."
Sierra was stunned by the sight. It was far more spacious than the one she'd used at Yohan's house.
The dorm room consisted of a living area, private bedrooms, and a bathroom. There were two private bedrooms in total, since this was a double occupancy room. Aside from the private dorms granted to the top three ranked students, Academy dormitories were fundamentally shared. But given how lavishly they were built, even the shared rooms received glowing reviews from the students.
The furniture gleamed with luxury, and the view beyond the window was spectacular. The storage room hadn't had a view at all.
Of course, that didn't mean she liked this place more than the storage room. No room could ever be better than the one Yohan had given her. At least, not to Sierra.
"The Academy dorms are two to a room, right? So my roommate is..."
"That would be me~!"
"Eek!"
A blonde girl had appeared behind her without warning, and Sierra shrieked as she landed hard on her rear. The blonde had both arms raised like a tiger, striking a Gyaooh~! pose. It was a face Sierra had seen somewhere before.
"Ah! I didn't mean to startle you that badly.... Wait, no, I totally meant to startle you, but I didn't think you'd jump that much!"
The cheerful girl with vividly golden hair knocked herself on the forehead with a thunk and held out a hand. Sierra took it and pulled herself up.
"We met at the entrance exam, didn't we.... What was your name again?"
"The adorable mascot of the Janette Merchant Guild! Elie Janette, at your service~!"
The girl spun in place as she introduced herself. Her identity was Elie Janette, the young lady of the Janette Merchant Guild.
"I'm Sierra Bak... no, Grimkeeper. Not Baker. Grimkeeper."
Sierra Baker. It sounded so much softer and nicer than the stiff name Sierra Grimkeeper. Every time she introduced herself to someone, Sierra felt a powerful urge to attach the Baker surname instead.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sierra! Feel free to speak casually! I'm a commoner too, after all~!"
"Alright then. You can drop the formalities too."
"Nope! This is more comfortable for me. I couldn't possibly speak carelessly to a customer, now could I~?"
Elie Janette had made a striking impression from their first meeting, and she was indeed a very unique character. Between Professor Reina and Miss Elie, the Academy was packed with distinctive personalities.
"I'm not really a customer of the Janette Merchant Guild, though."
"Hehe! Every person, every animal, and every monster in the world is a potential customer of the Janette Merchant Guild! I couldn't possibly neglect a single one of them."
Elie waggled her finger as she said this. Every little gesture of hers screamed merchant's daughter. Even so, counting monsters as customers seemed like a bit of a stretch.
For Sierra, who'd been worried about ending up roommates with some arrogant noble, Elie was an excellent roommate. The heart that had leapt at Elie's surprise appearance settled down just as quickly.
"Have you picked a department, Elie?"
"Of course! Most people decide before they even enroll. Miss Sierra, you're going to be shocked when you hear which department I chose!"
"Huh? Shocked?"
"Yes~! The department I chose is none other than the Rogue Department!"
"The Rogue Department?"
"That's right! The Rogue Department! The poster child for the dirtiest, most thankless work around, with a reputation as filthy as a sewer! When I heard the Academy actually had a department that trains the Rogue class, I just had to apply!"
Elie declared this with her modest chest puffed out proudly. She looked like a cheerful girl announcing her ambitions to the world, but her words were packed with negative commentary that didn't match her attitude at all.
"But here's the thing — I heard the Academy has a Rogue Department, yet I can't find the department office anywhere. I even asked other professors, and they all said they had no idea. I heard the department registration period is a full week, but I'm worried I'll never find it at this rate!"
"I'm in the Rogue Department too. I registered today, actually."
"Whaaaat!? Why would someone with such a bright future like you walk down such a thorny path!? Miss Sierra! Is someone threatening you!?"
"Uh, Elie, you said you're in the Rogue Department too."
"I have my own reasons! But what on earth is your reason!?"
"I just... Yohan said he was doing it, so..."
"Yohan — as in the top-ranked incoming student!? Come to think of it, you two were together on the day of the entrance exam! Don't tell me you two are... you know... that kind of close?"
Sierra's face flushed at Elie's sharp question as she answered.
"Well... I guess you could say that?"
"H-how far have you two gone!?"
"Just kissing, I guess...?"
Sierra told the truth. Elie's eyes went round as a rabbit's as she raised her voice.
"That's amazing! I'd heard a lot of couples form after enrolling at the Academy, but you're already a couple! B-but Miss Sierra! Even if he's your boyfriend, you can't take your career path so lightly! If your boyfriend told you to die, you wouldn't actually die, right?"
"What are you talking about? If Yohan told me to die, of course I would."
Sierra answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Looking at her, Elie thought: This girl is going to do something disastrous if I don't take her under my wing.
The second day of department selection week dawned. Elie headed to the Rogue Department building with her roommate Sierra.
"Wow~ This doesn't look like the Academy at all. More like the slums of the Royal Capital. No wonder nobody can find this place, tucked away out here~"
Elie said this as she looked around. She wasn't wrong. The Rogue Department building sat at the Academy's outermost edge, far removed from every other department. That, too, was a reflection of the Rogue Department's poor reputation.
"Elie. Why did you apply to the Rogue Department, anyway?"
It was Sierra's question. She herself had joined because Yohan wanted to, but a rich family's daughter like Elie applying to the Rogue Department was something she couldn't quite wrap her head around. As Elie herself had said yesterday, the department's public reputation was terrible. Why a wealthy young lady would deliberately choose such a department was beyond Sierra's understanding.
"Haha~! That's a bit of a private matter, I'd say."
Elie deflected with a gentle laugh. Sierra didn't press further. There was no need to poke at something that made the other person uncomfortable.
"Ah! It's Yohan."
They ran into Yohan on their way to the department building. They lived in different dorms — as the Academy's top incoming student, Yohan had been given a private dormitory all to himself.
"Sierra. Good morning. And that's Miss Elie Janette beside you?"
"Good morning~! The beautiful mascot of the Janette Merchant Guild! Elie Janette, at your service~!"
Elie threw her hand up high in a bold greeting.
"Feel free to just call me Elie~!"
"I take it Miss Elie is applying to the Rogue Department as well, just like us?"
"Ah! What incredible deduction! You got it right away! Is this the power of the top-ranked student!?"
Elie struck an exaggerated pose of astonishment. Yohan smiled gently at her — a smile so bright even the sun would be jealous.
"Ugh! It's too bright! Miss Sierra, to have such a handsome boyfriend! Now I understand why you said you'd die if he told you to!"
"N-no. I don't like Yohan because of his face."
Sierra said this, lowering her voice.
"Haha. You two seem really close. Did you end up as roommates?"
"Ah! Right again!"
The three of them quickly fell into a lively atmosphere.
"Yohan. What's that you're holding? An egg?"
Sierra asked, looking at the oval object Yohan was cradling in his arms. It had a grayish tint that made it look almost like a stone. But it wasn't just a stone. It was closer to an egg, with geometric patterns engraved on its shell. More precisely, a petrified egg, perhaps?
"Ah, this. I happened to find it in the dorm basement. I'm not sure what it is, so I was going to ask the professor."
"I see. How's the top student's dorm?"
"It's incredibly nice."
Yohan smiled with a look of satisfaction.
The three of them arrived in front of the dilapidated Rogue Department building. Elie clapped her hands together in admiration.
"I see! So the Rogue Department uses a really huge supply warehouse! It's a bit run-down, but I suppose that can't be helped?"
"Elie. This isn't a supply warehouse. This is just... the department building."
At Sierra's words, Elie's gaze swung back to the building.
"Eeeeh~? This is the department building!? This thing that looks like it'd collapse if you so much as blew on it!? Does the Rogue Department run survival training around the clock or something!?"
Elie's startled voice must have carried all the way inside, because they sensed someone coming out from within.
Pitter-patter-pitter-patter!
"You're heeere...! I've been waiting for youuu!"
A woman poked her face out through the opened door. It was the female professor with seaweed-like hair hanging down and heavy dark circles under her eyes — Izumi Reina.
"Hiiiek! Th-the students have multiplied...!"
Reina pointed at Elie in shock. Yesterday, two students had come. And now there was one more...
"An improper relationship!?"
"Even if we were rushing things, it couldn't possibly be this fast."
Yohan shook his head, correcting this eccentric professor's misunderstanding.
"Rushing things with Yohan..."
Sierra murmured as if possessed by something. The look on her face was extremely dangerous.
"This is Miss Elie Janette, a fellow first-year like us. She came along because she's applying to the Rogue Department."
"Hiiiek...! I-is that so!? This is... this is a problem..."
"Pardon?"
"I bought snacks for the students, but I only bought twooo..."
Professor Reina said this in a deflated voice. Determined to make up for yesterday's cold reception, she'd gone and bought desserts from a shop that was currently all the rage in the Royal Capital — only to come up short on quantity. That fact left Professor Reina thoroughly dejected.
"It's alright. We didn't come here to eat, after all."
Having gotten a decent read on Izumi Reina as a person, Sierra soothed her with practiced ease.
"Th-then come inside for nowww...!"
Yohan, Sierra, and Elie went into the Rogue Department building together. And watching those four people were a pair of eyes.
"This place is always so dreary, no matter when I visit."
It was the Head of the Academy's Swordsmanship Department, Flora Tepes.