Entering the Academy - 2
The long-unridden carriage and the atrocious state of the roads had combined to put Karl in genuine danger of forcibly confirming whatever he had eaten earlier. Oblivious to his plight, the vice principal guided him along, cold sweat beading on his brow. Around the same hour, as the morning sun climbed into the sky, the students of the Academy began to open their eyes one by one, ready to head to class.
Outside, crowds streamed toward shops and livelihoods; inside, students prepared for the day’s lessons. The vast Academy’s day had begun.
Sunlight slipping through the curtains tickled a girl’s face. She twisted this way and that, annoyed by it, but finally gave up and opened her eyes. That light was as good as an alarm telling her it was time to rise.
The girl, who had been rolled snugly in her white blanket, turned over once and slipped free of it—only to shudder at the sudden chill against her skin. It was mid-March, roughly ten days after the entrance ceremony, and the mornings were not yet fully free of winter’s bite.
“Hwaaaam~”
The abrupt cold seemed to wake her completely. She carefully sat up and stretched. There was still plenty of time before class, but if she moved too leisurely the minutes would vanish in a flash.
In these past ten days she had already nearly been late twice. She would have to be more careful. Moving swiftly yet thoroughly, she finished getting ready, checked her reflection in the vanity mirror one last time, nodded in satisfaction, and rose from her seat.
“Fighting today too!”
The girl possessed a vitality so bright and lively that most people found it hard to look her straight in the eye or approach her casually. Quite a lot of it, in fact.
“Hmm-hmm, hm-hmm♪”
It did not particularly sound like humming, yet she insisted it was humming as she lightly set off. With every step her long pink hair swayed, looking for all the world like cherry-blossom petals that had bloomed far too early. Her sparkling eyes held a pure, cloudless blue, as though they had scooped up the sky itself.
Passersby who turned at the unidentifiable sound would nod and admit that yes, they had heard humming after all. Humming, after all, was completed by the face.
“Luise!”
The pink-haired girl humming to herself—Luise—turned at the call. Recognizing who had spoken, she broke into a wide smile.
“Irina!”
As though reuniting with a friend she had not seen in ages, she rushed over and linked arms with Irina. Of course the two of them had eaten dinner together just the evening before. Still, the close friends joined forces, and their walking speed promptly halved. After that the group only kept growing.
Whenever someone passing by called out to Luise, she greeted them cheerfully and pulled them into the party. One-third speed, one-fourth, one-fifth. Luise’s pace dwindled as though she were strolling straight across a floor covered in movement-debuff zones. But what of it? Not one of the five suffering the collective slowdown complained. For friendship… was it not only right to risk being late?
“You’re going to be late at this rate. Yesterday you nearly didn’t make it either, didn’t you?”
Fortunately a shield existed whose sole purpose was to keep Luise from actual tardiness, and thus she had managed to avoid being late so far.
“Ah, Erich! Good morning!”
“Yeah. Morning.”
Erich, who had spoken to Luise, smirked as he returned the greeting. He naturally drew closer, and Irina, who had been nearest to Luise, casually made room. Erich smiled awkwardly at the consideration yet made no move to decline it, slipping into place at Luise’s side.
Irina and the other three girls, watching the little scene up close, whispered among themselves and giggled. One’s own romantic affairs might be a fierce battlefield, but other people’s were as entertaining as watching a fire from the far bank of a river. Sadly this was still only one-sided interest rather than mutual romance—but sometimes that made it all the more fun to watch.
Turning that one-sided interest into something mutual would require considerable effort from Erich, yet that was hardly the spectators’ concern. The desperate party would handle it themselves.
In the end the group had swelled to six. Yet Erich seemed to possess a movement-speed buff of his own; they were able to walk faster than before. The fact that conversation not only failed to dwindle but actually increased along the way could also be counted as a talent, of sorts.
“Erich, you’ve got a white hair.”
“It shouldn’t be showing up already.”
“Just kidding. It’s only a thread.”
Luise plucked a single white thread that stood out glaringly against Erich’s black hair and giggled as she let it flutter away on the breeze. Irina, thoughtfully looking elsewhere to spare what little remained of Erich’s pride as his face slowly reddened, followed the thread’s flight—and then tilted her head.
“Who’s that?”
At her words every gaze swung toward Irina, then followed the direction of her stare.
“You’re right. Not a student, and not faculty either?”
“Strange. An outsider?”
“Can outsiders even get in at this hour?”
No school uniform, so not a student; no blue cloak, so not faculty. As the questions spread, Erich—having finally managed to calm his flushed face—turned his eyes the same way.
“Huh…?”
They were just far enough that he had to squint, yet once Erich confirmed the identity of the mysterious outsider, a voice thick with bewilderment slipped out. The other party seemed to have recognized Erich’s face as well; he began striding straight toward them.
“Erich, do you know him?”
Sensing they had recognized each other, Luise asked. Erich’s reaction suggested he knew the man, and the man had started approaching the moment he saw Erich.
Even so, Erich could not answer. It was unmistakably someone he knew—and at the same time someone who absolutely should not be here. A man who constantly complained he never had enough time even to go home would never be found at an Academy this far away. The shock of seeing a person who should not exist standing in a place he should not be was not easily absorbed.
In the meantime the unknown figure had come to a stop right in front of them and looked at Erich.
“Long time no see. You been well?”
I managed to locate a bathroom just before the climax of my misery forced a public finale. Once I had thoroughly emptied myself, my stomach settled a great deal. I had never once heard anyone call me fragile—so why the hell was this happening?
Lately I had been cooped up in my office for endless hours, had gone ages without seeing sunlight, had ridden a carriage for the first time in forever, and of course the roads had been garbage while the driver pushed for speed, making every jolt brutal. On top of that I had forced myself to eat even though my gut already felt wrong.
Yeah… that was more than enough reason.
Self-reflection complete, I stepped out of the main building and surveyed the Academy grounds. Like it or not—no, I fucking hated it—I would be stuck here for the next several months. The Academy was enormous; I needed to learn the layout.
If an emergency came up and I got lost trying to reach somewhere, how pathetic would that look? Word would somehow reach the Minister, and I would be roasted for it. “The Audit Department Chief who can’t even find his way around.” Just imagining it made me angry, as if I had already heard the real thing.
I raked a hand through my hair and headed for the building that looked closest to the main hall. If the fantasy alone felt this bad, the real thing would be unbearable. I could not afford that future, so I intended to map the place as fast as possible. It would have been perfect if the students’ arrival time had not overlapped with my wanderings.
What now.
I could hear the students murmuring as they passed. Fair enough—spotting a sudden outsider would get anyone talking. In the end I turned back toward the main building, planning to hole up there until the morning rush ended. That was when I saw an impressive sight.
“What the hell is that clump?”
While everyone else walked in groups of two or three at most, one solitary mass of six people moved together. The gender ratio was apocalyptically skewed. One to five? Whoever the guy was, he had my respect…
Wait. That’s my little brother.
You little shit. While your older brother is suffering, you casually enjoy the lifelong wish of every man and walk around dating. More infuriating than the Second Division Chief. Erich had noticed me too; his expression stiffened. Perfect. Time to go mess with him.
I walked toward Erich with a much lighter step. The closer I got, the more his pupils seemed to tremble. For some reason he had always been cowed in front of me, even though I had never particularly bullied him.
“Long time no see. You been well?”
“Uh, y-yeah. What about you, hyung?”
“Same as always.”
The words “I’ve never been fine” rose all the way to my throat, but with so many eyes and ears nearby I decided to keep them inside. Whining about civil-servant life in front of students I had never met before would be embarrassing.
I turned my gaze toward the five clustered around him; they awkwardly bowed in greeting. After the exchange just now they had realized I was their friend’s older brother. One of them, however, showed no awkwardness at all as she bounced forward.
“Hello! Are you Erich’s older brother?”
The sheer energy of the greeting was far beyond mere courtesy. If this had been a comic, the sound effect “sparkle—” would have been written next to her eyes.
Blue eyes, pink hair, high tension. The type that would draw attention no matter where she went.
…
…?
So why did she feel strangely familiar when I was seeing her for the first time?
A faint sense of déjà vu made me look carefully at the pink-haired girl who had stepped forward. Pink… blue… something was trying to surface, but it stayed foggy. Had her photo been attached to some list I saw at work?
“Yeah. Karl Crassius. You’re Erich’s friend?”
If the other party introduced herself first, it was only proper manners to give one’s own name. If I still could not remember her, hearing the name would be enough. At the very least the family name should jog my memory of where I had seen her.
“Yes! I’m Luise, Erich’s friend. Luise Naiad!”
“I see.”
Fuck.
My body nodded calmly, but my brain slammed into emergency mode.
The name brought it all back. Luise of House Naiad, a baron’s daughter. Pink hair, blue eyes. A human capybara who drew people after her like the Pied Piper. Or maybe human catnip? Anyway—the girl whose looks and personality made her beloved by everyone. That was the setting.
She’s the protagonist.
I shot a sidelong glance at Erich. His body was rigid with tension, yet his eyes kept drifting toward Luise. And his cheeks were faintly flushed. Son of a bitch.
“Not four… so it was five…”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
I had meant to say it only inside my head, but it slipped out. Well, the situation justified it.
My gaze, carrying a subtle sorrow, returned to Erich. He flinched under the direct stare, yet I could not look away.
You poor bastard. You’re the weakest link.
One imperial prince, two royal princes, and one strong candidate for sainthood. Status differences existed, but at the Academy they could still compete as equals. And into that lineup you drop the second son of an imperial count? Yeah… that’s rough.
I gave Erich’s shoulder an affectionate pat, offering what comfort I could to a little brother who was clearly going to lose before he even reached the starting line.
My first day of Academy assignment, and I had already met the original protagonist—as my brother’s friend, no less.
Moreover, as a friend for whom the “I want us to stay good friends” ending looked all too likely.