Academy's Savior

I felt a burning gaze from behind.

It was Hyodo Yuuki. His face had gone rigid. The guy who had been playing the good person the whole time was now deliberately serious, and tension crackled in the air.

It's because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Mieko. From the outside it looks like she's nestled right in my arms.

Yuuki had feelings for his childhood friend Mieko. The whole reason he had joined the Shinto department was because she belonged to it.

I pushed myself up from where I had been leaning against her. Part of me wanted to stay right there, but I had more than just Yuuki's stare to worry about—Shinbo Reika's eyes were on us as well.

"…I know your injuries are serious, so you can keep leaning on me if you need to."

"I'm fine. Thanks to the magic you used on me, the wounds have improved a lot. I can move."

I said it lightly and swept my gaze around.

The shrine was half-destroyed. Beyond my line of sight, black smoke still rose from various corners of the academy. The one silver lining was that the endless string of explosions had finally stopped.

Looks like the situation's pretty much over.

I looked toward the place where Tsukuyomi's Magatama had been kept. The Magatama was nowhere to be found. In the end, Hattori's clone had successfully fled with it. Hattori's actual corpse, however, lay at Tenrai Nagisa's feet.

The expression on Nagisa's face as she stared down at the body was not good by any stretch of the imagination.

Of course she's furious. Tsukuyomi's Magatama got stolen.

I catalogued every point that had diverged from the original story and started mapping out the next steps.

Madojeong's Hattori is dead.

In the original, Hattori did not die at this stage.

The variable was Seong Ha-ri being at Arashi Academy. Because of her, Tenrai Nagisa reached the shrine a lot faster.

That single change had killed Hattori. And he had completed the mission by throwing his own life away.

The story will move on to the next arc. There's still another chance later… but since things have already strayed from the original plot, I have no idea how it'll play out.

Originally Hattori survived whether he stole the Magatama or not, only to reappear later and die then. Here, he had died on the spot.

Will some other Madojeong executive show up instead?

Either way, a stretch of peaceful daily life was about to be handed to me.

The raid on Arashi Academy would create all sorts of headaches… but none of that was my problem.

Arashi Academy had been hit by Madojeong, yet not a single person had died. At worst, a handful of people—including me—had taken injuries. The real problem was that I was one of those injured people.

The moment Seong Ha-ri checked the wound on my side, her eyes spun. She stormed straight off to confront the principal, Tenrai Nagisa. An explosion rocked Arashi Academy—louder than anything Madojeong had set off during the raid.

When Ha-ri came back, her long black hair was a wild mess.

"Yujin. Mom brought you medicine."

"Medicine? The side's fine. I already used a potion; by tomorrow there won't even be a scar."

I deliberately left Complete Recovery unused. The fact that I was injured was an advantage in itself. I could skip classes with it as an excuse, and I could use the injury as a conversation opener with both Mieko and Reika.

"It might look fine on the outside, but the inside could still be a mess."

"The doctor said I'm fine."

"Oh, come on, son. Listen to your mother. Just take this and you'll be completely better."

Ha-ri held out a glass bottle. Clear liquid sloshed gently inside.

"Just water?"

"It's an elixir. Made by purifying thousand-year snow that holds the energy of Mt. Fuji. Mom spent a whole hour talking with that old hag—I mean, Principal Tenrai Nagisa—just to get this."

Had it really been only talking? I decided not to ask.

My stats are already high. Raising them with an elixir is inefficient. It would be far more effective to give this to Lee Si-eun or Choi Dayeon…

Ha-ri's eyes sparkled as she watched me. She clearly had no intention of leaving until she saw me drink it with her own two eyes.

"Drink it. Now!"

Under her urging I uncorked the bottle.

"No matter how I look at it, Mom should be the one drinking this instead of—"

"Mph?!"

Ha-ri snatched the bottle and jammed it straight into my mouth. She moved so fast I only realized what she had done after the elixir was already on my tongue.

"Mother's orders. Swallow."

Gulp.

I drank it. The Millennium Essence of Mt. Fuji was ice-cold, like pure meltwater. A chill spread through every corner of my body.

Only a partial increase.

Strength and Durability each went up one rank. That's all. I drank an S-rank elixir and got this little? Exactly as I thought—terrible efficiency.

Elixirs had their limits. If elixirs alone could make someone strong, the rich would already own the world. Of course, even money couldn't easily buy something this rare.

Ha-ri climbed onto the bed. She lay down beside me and pulled my body into her arms with one hand.

"Do you have any idea how worried Mom was when she heard you got hurt? My heart dropped straight into my stomach."

"Heroes get injured all the time. Making a fuss ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over something this small is—"

"I know it can't be helped. But still… Mom just wants Yujin to never get hurt."

She rested her head on my shoulder. With her eyes closed, her body trembled faintly. I quietly lifted a hand and smoothed out the tangled mess of her hair.

Before long we were both naked, and the air in the room grew hot and heavy.

"Hnn… nngh! Aaaah…! Aah!"

The Shinto department had been completely wrecked by the raid. Rebuilding the shrine would take at least two months even under the best conditions.

As a result, Mieko, Yuuki, and I were left floating with nowhere to go. If the department had more members we might have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠continued activities elsewhere, but right now the entire Shinto department consisted of exactly three people.

Tenrai Nagisa addressed us.

"If there is a major you wish to transfer into, go learn there. If not… helping the student council would be best. With the cultural festival approaching they are busy on every front, so they will welcome you with open arms. What will you do?"

Yuuki glanced at Mieko for cues while Mieko herself sank into thought. I answered immediately. According to the original story, Mieko eventually chose the student council. Before Yuuki—who already had feelings for her—could start getting suspicious, I made the first move.

"I'll join the student council."

"Mm. Understood. And you two? Do you need more time?"

Mieko stepped forward.

"I've decided. Until the shrine is rebuilt, I'll join the student council as well."

"A wise choice, Mieko."

"I-I'll join the student council too."

"All three of you, then. The student council will be delighted to receive such talent. The work may feel a little demanding at first, but I guarantee… it will not be a bad experience. Later you may even look back on your time there fondly. Now go."

After receiving Nagisa's parting words of encouragement, we headed for the student council building.

The student council occupied an entire four-story building. Unlike Maruhan Academy back in Korea, the student council of Arashi Academy in Japan wielded enormous power—enough that even the teachers could not casually ignore them.

A floor map was posted at the first-floor entrance, listing departments such as Administration, Enforcement, and Audit.

"I heard the situation from Principal Tenrai. You are the members of the Shinto department, correct?"

A girl in uniform stood waiting. She wore glasses and a yellow armband on her right arm that marked her as student council. Overall she was plain; her looks were average as well.

"I'm Aikawa Ayumi of the Administration Department. I'll guide you to the student council president's office. Please follow me."

We followed her up the stairs.

In the quiet atmosphere I asked her,

"Do you know which department we'll be assigned to once we join?"

Ayumi shot me a sidelong glance. Maybe she disliked my casual speech? If it bothered her that much she could just drop the formalities herself. I kept my tone bold.

"You'll most likely be placed in the Student Council Department."

"Student Council Department? What do they do?"

"It is the department that answers directly to the president. We carry out the president's orders and support the other departments."

"Is it rough?"

"With the cultural festival coming up, every department in the student council is busy regardless of assignment."

We arrived at the president's office. Having finished her duty as guide, Aikawa Ayumi turned on her heel and vanished.

We knocked on the door. It was an extremely old-fashioned wooden door, as if meant to project authority.

"Yes. Come in."

A woman's voice answered.

We opened the door and stepped inside. The student council president's office was clean and luxurious, more like a corporate chairman's suite than a school room.

Seated at the desk with her back to a sunlit window was a platinum-blonde woman. Her long hair caught the light and shimmered; the way she sat was as elegant as a swan. Anyone could tell at a glance she was a Western Caucasian.

And those breasts… massive. I-cup, maybe?

A nameplate sat proudly on the desk, so learning her name was easy.

Student Council President Rachel Craig.

"Welcome to the student council. I am Rachel Craig, the president. Until Tsukuyomi Shrine is rebuilt, all of you will belong to the Student Department under my direct command."

Her Japanese was fluent and refined.

"If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

"What exactly will we be doing?"

Mieko asked. Rachel rose from her seat with a gentle smile. Bounce. A pair of breasts larger than her head drew my gaze. My peripheral-vision skill was maxed out; there was no chance she would notice.

"Since we have guests, allow me to serve tea. Black tea or green tea—which would you prefer?"

"Green tea, please."

"Same for me."

"Just water for me."

I chose water. Every tea option was a bag. Better plain water than tasteless tea.

"Miyakado Mieko, I would like you to serve as the shrine maiden of Tsukuyomi Shrine during the cultural festival."

"The shrine is still under reconstruction. It will take at least two months before it's finished. By the time of the festival it simply won't—"

"I'm aware. Not only is the design being redone, but special barriers will be installed as well. The student council plans to construct a simplified temporary shrine for the festival. Because it is a cultural event we cannot bring in outside labor, so the quality will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be lower… yet we cannot omit Japanese Shinto culture. Many outside visitors come to the festival specifically to pay respects at Tsukuyomi Shrine. Miyakado, will you help us?"

"…If you grant me full management authority over the temporary shrine… then as the shrine maiden of Tsukuyomi, I will accept the proposal."

"Wonderful. I'll leave the temporary shrine entirely in your hands, Miyakado. As for the other two…"

Rachel's eyes turned toward Yuuki and me.