Lucky Encounter on the Academy Express (2)
As ever, the train bound for the academy can be summed up in one line describing my current mood: 'What luck.'
Truly, what luck. Escaping from underground, re-entering the atmosphere from the moon—it was annoying getting attacked by those angels on the way down, but the moment I snuck onto the train, my spirits lifted right away.
Why? 'To think I'd run into a main heroine in the luxury compartment.'
The golden-haired, blue-eyed bob-cut beauty by the window—precisely the empty seat I deliberately chose next to mine—is the number one heroine I need to conquer.
"Nice to meet you, milady."
"M-Milady...?"
Her eyes brim with excessive wariness toward me. I get it. A guy suddenly sits next to you and starts talking—better to stay on guard.
"I don't know what you take me for, but if you're thinking I'm the one who kidnapped the duke's daughter, I'll be deeply offended."
"Ah, that's..."
"No worries. I'm pretty shocked myself. That someone who looks so much like me would pull off such a deplorable stunt."
A young man with golden hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. His hair, build, and finer features differ, but there's plenty of room for misunderstanding. In fact, because this kidnapper resembles Regiph so closely, Regiph himself got mistaken for him by academy students.
Fate, huh.
Maybe it's the destiny of being Regiph. And the heroine he inevitably kidnaps is right here—this beauty.
"I'm Red Sol Phoenix."
"Uh, yeah?"
"It's an unusual name, right? I get it. Single-syllable names aren't common. Heh."
Red Sol Phoenix. The new name I'm planning to use at the academy, since I can't go by Regiph publicly.
"You can just call me Phoenix. That's more familiar to me anyway."
"Isn't that... your family name? With a middle name even...?"
"Since I'm representing my house at the academy, calling me Phoenix is no big deal."
This world—well, it's a bit of a stretch to call it fortunate, but 'Phoenix' is accepted as just a name. If anyone reacts to it? That means they know one of the forms of Demon Lord Chang Yeom, the Hell Duke.
"I think that's enough about me. And you, milady?"
"......"
The girl is still wary of me, but...
"...Unia. Seventeen. Heading to enroll at the academy."
She introduces herself, her guard lowering just a fraction.
"Looks like we're colleagues then?"
"Huh?"
"We are. Fellow freshmen enrolling at the academy together. Oh, I'm seventeen too."
"Liar."
Unia shakes her head firmly, scanning me up and down.
"You look like a full-grown adult."
"An adult, huh. How old do I seem?"
"......At least over twenty, I'd say."
Doubt flickers in Unia's eyes—different from her wariness; it's pure disbelief in my words.
"I don't look seventeen?"
"No."
"You say it so definitively."
Even as I speak with a hint of hurt, Unia shows no sign of backing down.
"You're right. I'm actually mid-twenties, faking my age to enroll as a freshman. That's why I'm headed to Esdinas right now."
"......"
"It's a lie, so don't take it so seriously."
"For real? I've never heard of the Phoenix family..."
A family name means nobility.
"Yeah. I made it up."
"Um, you could get arrested for impersonating nobility and forgery. Commoners can't just—"
"That's only if you haven't contributed enough to a nation or the world. It's also a privilege for any commoner who graduates in the top three overall at Esdinas Academy."
"......"
I lay out Esdinas Academy's policy—or rather, its lore—and Unia's wariness eases a bit more.
"I'll proudly place in the top three, then declare my family name as Phoenix. I promised I would."
"Ah, okay."
She gives a half-hearted reply, averting her gaze. Her reflection in the window screams 'I got stuck with a lunatic.'
"Lady Unia."
"......"
"Aren't you curious why the train stopped?"
"......!"
Unia perks up at my words. Not just her—the other passengers, who'd been idly listening around in their own ways while waiting for the train to move, twitch their ears too.
"It's a magic train, after all."
"...Why?"
"Caught in a powerful mana storm. Remember that blue flame flickering in the sky earlier?"
Unia nods.
"That flame was probably a mana wave from some massive experiment. Something huge went down, so they can't move the train recklessly."
"What..."
"But it looks like they've got it under control now..."
I snap my fingers lightly.
"So, it should start moving soon, right?"
"......"
No reaction. 3, 2, 1—
Announcement: This train will resume operation in 1 minute. We apologize for the inconvenience...
With the broadcast, a loud clunk echoes through. The train lurches into motion, and Unia blinks at me.
"How did you..."
"Nothing to it. I just said it was about time."
The train picks up speed.
"But."
As the others lose interest in my voice, I reach toward the back of Unia's seat.
"Gonna be a boring ride. Shall we chat about the academy entrance exam?"
"......!!"
Unia's face goes pale.
Not because of my words, but because she noticed the letters I traced on the seatback with my fingertip.
Train. Terror. Kidnapping.
"......"
"Unia?"
"...Is that real?"
Unia traces a '?' on her armrest with her finger.
"Of course. In that sense, meeting you is incredibly lucky."
Because...
"I can share entrance exam info with you."
Unia ends up late for the entrance exam and flubs it. The protagonist does too, of course—saving someone in distress, then getting tangled with Unia and the other dropouts. That's how the story kicks off.
Better to hint slyly than make her worry needlessly.
With a terrorist attack on the train, easing her tension is key for our future relationship.
"The academy's freshman entrance exam. Last year..."
Schwick, scritch.
I trace 'us' into the exam details for Unia with my fingertip.
[Rumor. Extra exam for dropouts maybe.]
"......Can I trust this?"
"Heh heh heh."
I shrug lightly.
"If it's real, doesn't that mean I was right?"
Terror.
"......Got it. You're trying to enroll at Esdinas too, so you must have some special ability."
I can see her swallow like me.
"Then..."
"Shh."
I lean toward Unia as she starts to rise, whispering so only she can hear, my lips to her ear.
"Not an enemy two freshmen can handle."
"......!!"
Unia freezes. She turns to me, eyes questioning: How? What? How much do you know?
"It's..."
"Kyaaah!"
A woman's scream from the car ahead—not ours.
Tututu! A sharp sound like magic rifle shots rings out.
"Wh-What's happening?!"
What else? When the blue flames blanketed the sky and stopped the train, they seized the chance to sneak aboard—their surprise guests.
Specifically, the ones who boarded with me.
"Unia."
I signal her to stay put as she fidgets uncomfortably.
"It's fine. No need to worry about the others. Because..."
Kaboom!
"They're probably after 'us.'"
"Nobody move!!"
The door between cars swings open, revealing a woman wielding a magic rifle. Her face is masked like a dragon's. Her uniform coat hangs open, her upper body wrapped only in white bandages over her chest.
"This train is under Binyu Group control! Stay still if you don't wanna die!!"
"Kyaaak?!"
The masked ones calling themselves Binyu Group aim their muzzles at the passengers, threatening them. Fingers on triggers, ready to fire—but
"You insolent wretches!!"
An elderly gentleman draws a conductor's baton-like staff and thrusts it forward.
"Mana-less paupers daring to waste my precious time!"
Undaunted by the armed women, he steps into the aisle and swings his staff wide.
"Wind Blaster!"
Oh.
"Mid-tier wind magic...?"
Unia instantly recognizes the old man's spell.
Whoooosh! Green winds whirl from the staff's tip, surging toward the Binyu train hijackers—but
Pababat!
The terrorists leap onto seats, dodging the magical gale, then swing their magic rifles at the old man with blinding speed.
"Sh-Shield...!"
The old man hastily casts a barrier—but
Kang!
The terrorist smashes through the half-formed shield with mana-reinforced rifle butt, jamming the barrel into his solar plexus.
"Resist, and I pull the trigger."
"......!!"
"Think just 'cause you can use magic, mana-less folks like us are pushovers?"
The woman in the black dragon mask sneers at the old man, raising her rifle.
"Guhk!"
"Listen up, mage."
The terrorist growls through gritted teeth.
"We hate this world where everything's decided by magical talent."
This terrorist group and their masks—the villains who show up early in Esdinas of the Blue Heavens.
"This world where everything's set by innate mana limits."
Named after their leader Binyu, but knowing the truth just makes you chuckle bitterly.
"Unia. You know them?"
I whisper to her, and she nods gravely.
"Innate..."
"Under the C."
"......?"
Esdinas Academy. Nicknamed Breadcademy.
Under. The. C.
No enrollment below C-cup. So what about girls who hit seventeen still under C?
They become academy rebels.
Flat. Pancake. Small-chested.
The villain group spawned by Esdinas Academy, Breadcademy.
"We hate it! This world!"
Terror from those barred from elite education for being flat.
"No one will set foot in Esdinas Academy!"
Unia misses her exam because of these flat-chest radicals. In other words:
Breasts? Innocent.
No breasts? Guilty.
That's the world.