Han Lua... I'm Twelve Years Old
Somewhere on the artificial island, under cover of a dark night.
In the gloom, the only light was the red glow of a cigarette tip at the corner of Park Haengsin's mouth. He exhaled a stream of smoke and spoke to the person on the other end of the line.
"There's nothing I can do about a competition between the students themselves."
"…Is that so."
"The best time to sabotage the event would be during a big match when everyone's eyes are on it."
"Something like the obstacle race?"
"Exactly."
Park Haengsin snapped his fingers.
"I've already set things up for the obstacle race—the highlight of the whole event. If something goes wrong with the obstacles, it's one hundred percent the academy's fault, which lines up perfectly with what the boss wants."
"The boss?"
"Uh… then what should I call you?"
"Doesn't matter. Just handle the job you've been given."
"Yes, sir. Don't you worry. All you need to worry about is my payment, boss. Deposit it the same way as last time, when I report in…"
"No. I'll deliver the payment in person."
"Sorry?"
Park Haengsin's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected reply.
"In person, meaning…?"
"I'm going to the academy. That much is necessary if this is going to look like a serious protest—and he'll be far less likely to push back if we meet face-to-face."
"I see."
"We'll make contact then."
"Understood. Then at that time—"
—Click.
The call cut off before Park Haengsin could finish. Same as always—the man did whatever he pleased.
Whatever. Doesn't matter to me.
He slipped his phone into his pocket and lifted his gaze. Tomorrow—no, in just a few hours—the massive circular stadium where the event would unfold filled his entire field of view.
"Heh."
The corner of his mouth curled upward.
"Those brats are gonna pass out cold mid-race."
—Bang!
—Ba-bang!
The crack of fireworks bursting beneath a clear blue sky.
The academy sports festival was held in the circular stadium at the heart of the artificial island. Owned by the Felix Foundation, it was a full-scale multipurpose arena capable of hosting international competitions.
On ordinary days without a match, the place was dead quiet—but today was the once-a-year athletic meet. For this one day, ordinary civilians were allowed onto the island, so the roads leading in were jammed with private cars and buses, and the plaza in front of the stadium thronged with street stalls and food trucks. It wasn't only guild agents and students' families who came; plenty of people with no connection to the academy at all showed up just to watch and enjoy themselves.
…Your attention, please. The opening ceremony will begin shortly at eleven a.m. Visitors are kindly requested to take their seats…
The circular stadium's stands were packed to capacity. The heat and energy of countless spectators turned the whole place into a festival.
The temporary clinic tucked into one corner of the stadium, however, was a world away from any celebration.
"I twisted my ankle going up the stairs!"
"Excuse me, my kid's hand is bleeding!"
"Hey, you don't have any vitamins, do you? I'm feeling a little run-down…"
People poured in without end. As the staff member in charge of health services, Lua had been scrambling to tend to them since morning.
Barely half of them actually needed treatment, but the chairman had ordered her to be courteous to outside visitors, so she couldn't turn anyone away.
Don't come in here over a little cut on your finger…!
"H-here… there's a b-bandage…"
"You're not going to use Healing?"
"I-I'm… conserving my mana… in case of a real emergency…"
"Hmph! What's the point of you, then?"
The middle-aged woman cradling a child snorted and stalked out of the clinic. Lua collapsed onto a chair, utterly drained.
At this rate I'm going to pass out before I even get anything done.
At least she wasn't working alone. The foundation had sent nursing staff from the hospital ward for support, and three nurses had been assigned to Temporary Clinic No. 1 alongside her.
"Teacher, why don't you take a short break?"
One of the nurses, reading Lua's complexion, made the suggestion.
"Ah—n-no, I should still…"
"It's fine. The opening ceremony is starting, so there won't be nearly as many people."
Accepting too eagerly would look transparent—but this was an opportunity. A chance to figure out what Park Haengsin was plotting.
"Th-then… I'll be back by lunchtime…"
"Got it!"
Lua offered an awkward goodbye and stepped out of the clinic. A veritable angel in white.
"WAAAAAH!!"
"?!"
The instant she left the clinic, a massive roar from the stands slammed into her ears.
Looking down toward the field, she saw today's stars—the students—making their entrance. Apparently the dull formalities, like the chairman's speech, were already over.
Presenting the second-year athletes!
At the announcer's cue, the second-years standing in the center of the field waved in every direction. Lua narrowed her eyes and picked out Sua among them. That bright smile of hers was as lovely as ever.
Next up—the first-years, competing in their very first sports festival!
The second-years filed out, and the first-years marched in. Another wave of applause and cheers crashed down from the stands.
I wonder if I'll spot Himari and Juju too?
Juju was somewhere in the middle of the line, but she was bouncing up and down and waving so hard that Lua recognized her instantly. Himari, by contrast, looked a little nervous—hands folded, bowing politely toward the surrounding stands.
Cute.
Shortly, our first event will be the third-years' Capture the Flag, so please…
Lua turned on her heel. She wanted to watch Sua, Juju, and Himari shine in their events—but she had work to do.
—Flutter.
She ducked into a restroom first, peeled off her white coat, and changed into clothes she'd prepared specifically to look like an ordinary tourist. If anyone got suspicious while she was wandering around, she could always claim she'd taken a wrong turn.
"There. All set."
Stepping out of the stall, Lua checked her reflection in the mirror. A civilian, pure and simple.
First things first—the achievement grind.
There were three main things to collect during the sports festival event. She figured she'd knock out the easiest collection achievement first.
All she had to do was walk around the stadium picking up the item called Commemorative Coins.
"Alright."
Of course, she already knew every single location, so it wasn't hard. Inside a hallway fire extinguisher cabinet, on the window ledge of the south entrance, behind the third seat in row five of the stands…
Done. All fifty.
Lua wiped the sweat from her brow and let out a breath. Handing the fifty commemorative coins over at the operations headquarters would get her the item High-Performance Telescope—something that let you watch the matches up close and in fine detail.
Naturally, Lua also planned to use it to keep an eye on whatever Hunter Park Haengsin was cooking up.
—Knock knock!
She rapped on the headquarters door, and a staff member opened it.
"…What do you want?"
A security guard roughly twice Lua's size. He stood in uniform with a hand on his hip, looking down at her—and his expression wasn't friendly.
"Uh… um… well…"
The unexpected wall of intimidation left Lua stammering.
I need to say I'm here to exchange the commemorative coins…!
"C-c-co…"
She clutched the strap of her crossbody bag in both hands, trembling as she tried to force the words out.
"Hm?"
Confirming there was no one else around Lua, the guard raised one eyebrow.
"Don't tell me…"
"Co-commemora…"
"You lost your mom, didn't you?"
"…Huh?"
His face transformed into a warm, kindly smile in an instant, and he scooped Lua up in both hands.
"Smart kid, finding your way all the way here by yourself. It's okay now. Uncle'll help you find your mom, alright?"
"N-no, I—um…"
Still holding her, the guard carried Lua straight down a floor to the lost children center.
He's from an outside security firm—he doesn't know who I am…!
Lua could only press a hand to her forehead. On top of having changed clothes, she looked for all the world like a kid who'd come to play and gotten separated from her parents.
"I think you'll need to find this child's parents. She showed up at headquarters."
"Oh, of course!"
The lost children center staffer crouched to Lua's eye level and held out a lollipop.
"What's your name, little friend? How old are you?"
If I insist I'm not a child after coming all this way, it'll just be even more humiliating…
Lua had zero confidence she could handle the awkwardness and mortification of the truth coming out. And so—
"H-Han Lua… I'm twelve years old…"
She said it with her own mouth. Somewhere deep inside, she thought she heard something snap.
"B-but it's okay! I-I can go by myself…!"
Her words never reached the staffer. The moment the woman heard Lua's answer, she turned and headed somewhere else.
The second Lua realized that "somewhere" was a microphone, her heart plummeted into her stomach.
"W-w-wait, no…!"
But the broadcast began without a shred of mercy.
This is an announcement from the Lost Children Center. We are currently looking after a twelve-year-old child named Han Lua. Would the guardian please come to the Lost Children Center on the third floor immediately.
"Ah… ah…"
Repeating once more. Would the guardian of twelve-year-old Han Lua please come at once…
"Himari, you not nervous?"
"Nervous… I'm fine. All I need to do is show what I have."
"That's amazing."
In the first-year special class waiting room, Juju—fresh off finishing the no-skills relay race—was chatting with Himari, who sat seiza-style on the floor waiting for her turn.
It was Himari who spoke up first from the silence.
"Juju, did you complete the assignment Teacher gave us?"
"Ah… I didn't. That one was way harder than I thought."
Juju scratched the back of her head, looking sheepish.
"What about you, Himari? Did the footwork on the moving platforms go okay?"
"Embarrassingly enough, I haven't managed it yet either."
Himari let out a small sigh.
"I can only apologize for failing to live up to Teacher's expectations."
"Yeah… honestly, it was a pretty tough assignment."
Neither of them bothered to hide their disappointment. The sports festival had already begun, which meant any chance to work on it with Lua was as good as gone.
"Still, Teacher must have had a reason for giving us an assignment like that."
"…Well, yeah, that's true."
Repeating our announcement. Would the guardian of twelve-year-old Han Lua please proceed to the Lost Children Center immediately—
"……"
"……"
Himari and Juju stared at each other.
Then, without either of them needing to say a word, they bolted out of the waiting room and sprinted for the lost children center.
"Teach!"
"Teacher!"
The two of them burst through the door—and the sight that greeted them was—
"—Ah."
Lua, peering at a picture book a staffer was reading aloud, contentedly licking a lollipop.