Academy Drills and an Unexpected Encounter
“End! Rest for five minutes, then we’ll wrap up!”
“Ugh.”
“Agh…”
Groans echoed from every direction. I, too, braced my hands on my knees and sucked in ragged breaths. The cadets who had never learned even basic formation drills stumbled through every movement. They stepped out of line, made noise when silence was required, or spoke too softly, earning repeated penalty sprints. Even I, who hadn’t made a single mistake, wasn’t spared. Collective punishment was that unreasonable.
Training was over, so I supposed it was time to wake the pink-haired girl still sprawled on the ground. We hadn’t even exchanged names yet, but we kept crossing paths.
“Hey. Time to get up.”
“Mmm… Mom… just ten more minutes…”
How old was she, calling for her mother? I gave her back a sharp pat and hauled her upright, but she was still half-asleep, so I steered her to the washbasin and splashed cold water on her face. The moment the water hit, she jolted awake—then jolted again when she saw me. Water really did know all the answers.
Alitus was a powerful kingdom far from the orbital elevator that served as the main battlefield in the Aindium series. No neighboring country dared provoke it. While the Empire, the Republic, and the space colonies had spent the last fifty years locked in fierce conflict, Alitus had remained at peace. From what I had crammed about the kingdom before arriving, cadets here received no formal drill training before entering the academy. That explained why the instructors’ expectations for the new students were at rock bottom.
“The new cadets today weren’t half bad.”
Really? From where I stood, it had been a complete mess. Lining up in rows was something even children could manage, yet everything else had been chaos. Aside from the pink-haired girl and a few others I had personally corrected, everyone else had been flailing.
With classmates like these, how were we supposed to survive whatever the academy would throw at us next?
“Haa…” A sigh slipped out on its own.
Five minutes later the instructor gathered us and laid out the schedule ahead.
“The rest of your classmates will keep arriving until the day after tomorrow. The day after that, all new students will begin practicing for the entrance ceremony. Until then, rest well—but don’t forget what you learned today. Dismissed!”
The moment the instructor finished, the cadets stampeded toward the dorms. Some trudged along in small clusters, still bonded by the shared misery, while others simply collapsed back onto the ground, completely spent. With the entrance finally clear, I figured I might as well head in too. We had a few days to rest, so I needed to get used to communal living in the meantime.
“Um…”
A faint tug at my sleeve made me turn. The pink-haired girl stood there, head bowed, fingers clutching the hem of my uniform.
“Me?”
“Yeah. Um, sorry, but could you…?”
Her voice was barely a whisper, and her legs trembled. She must have been cramping. If someone this shy was actually asking for help, she really needed it. Whether from embarrassment or exhaustion, her ears had turned bright red. She peeked up at me through her lashes.
…What was with this creature? She was adorable. I almost reached out to pat her head without thinking. She really was the female lead who dominated every meme. I was completely charmed.
I couldn’t afford to miss a chance to get on the good side of a capable and cute junior. When I tried to support her, the way she limped along with a pitiful expression made me feel sorry for her, so I turned my back instead.
“Hop on.”
“I-I can walk.”
Her frantic waving reminded me of a scene from the anime, and I couldn’t help laughing.
“Want to crawl the rest of the way?”
“Ugh.”
She hesitated for a moment, then placed her hands on my shoulders. Something soft pressed against my back—
“Aah!”
“Kyaa!”
I had almost made a huge mistake; I had no experience carrying girls. I still wasn’t ready. Ruwina’s body didn’t bother me anymore when I looked at or touched it, but physical contact with another girl still felt too soon. Startled by my sudden movement, the girl nearly fell, so I caught her, slipped one arm behind her knees, and lifted her in a princess carry.
“%@(*@#!!”
She flailed and squealed the entire way to the dorm.
**
“…And that’s what happened.”
The young female staff member narrowed her eyes at me and the pink-haired girl—Neria.
“Haa. Fine. I’ll let it slide since you’re new today. But from now on, don’t carry anyone like that unless they’re actually injured. Remember you’re cadets at the Aindium Academy. Maintain some dignity. Understood?”
“Yeees.”
“Don’t drag out your answers.”
“Yes!”
Satisfied, the staff member nodded and turned to Neria.
“With stamina that weak, how do you plan to pilot an Aindium? You’re tiny, too.”
“I-I’m going to be a mechanic…”
Neria answered in a small, miserable voice. The staff member looked genuinely surprised.
“Goodness. You’re a mechanic cadet? Then why did you arrive so early? Mechanic students only need to show up the day before the entrance ceremony.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. Mechanics are in high demand, so they barely do any training to avoid injuries. You came early for nothing.”
Neria let out a long sigh. I couldn’t tell if it was relief or regret over the unexpected drills.
“As a mechanic, you have priority for a different dormitory. Would you like a single room?”
“Ah, um… well…”
Neria hesitated, then grabbed my sleeve again. Huh. Had I already tamed this painfully shy girl?
“I-I heard single rooms have worse facilities…”
Ah. She must have heard that from her senior, Kirié.
“Where did you hear that? Most mechanic cadets get tricked into taking the old single-room building.”
The staff member’s eyes widened slightly. Wait—had she just said “tricked”?
When Neria and I both stared in horror, the woman gave us a mischievous smile.
“I’m a pilot graduate myself. Of course I want to give the better rooms to as many of my direct juniors as possible.”
She even winked at me. Neria shot me a pitiful look from the side—like an abandoned puppy.
“Ahaha. I’ll room with her.”
“All right. There’s no rule against mechanics staying with pilots anyway. Here—Room 302. One key each.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Sure. If anything’s inconvenient or you have suggestions, write it down and drop it in that box over there.”
A suggestion box sat right outside the dorm supervisor’s office, but I doubted we would ever use it. The facilities here were far nicer than the studio apartment I used to live in; there was nothing to complain about. Maybe Ruwina, born a princess, would have had different standards.
We took the elevator to the third floor. Neria had completely deflated, so I half-dragged her into the room. It was spotless, just as expected—complete with a bathroom, shower, and a separate dressing area with a wardrobe. The space was quite spacious. Ruwina’s dressing room was probably larger, but that was a royal privilege, so I’d let it slide.
So I was going to be living with another girl now. We should probably set some ground rules to avoid awkward moments. Mostly to keep my face from turning red for entirely different reasons.
I left Neria on the floor for a moment and went back down to fetch our luggage. Three large trunks meant two trips, which took longer than I expected.
Shhh—
While I was gone, Neria had apparently gone into the shower. I would wash up later. Out of habit, I opened the fan site while roughly organizing my things.
“Huh?”
The word “junior” appeared in an unusual number of post titles. With a sinking feeling, I clicked one.
Wait a second. The protagonist had been watching the training ground earlier? I glanced toward the boys’ dormitory, but all I saw was a spiderweb on the ceiling. I swept it away with the broom by the door and clicked another post.
I brushed off the goosebumps on my arms and checked the rest of the reactions. It was true—the protagonist had spent the entire episode staring out the window and had watched Neria and me at the end. Viewers said the episode had been a bit dull without any battles or training, but the final scene had completely turned the mood around. The problem was that the person in question was me.
Just then, Neria stepped out of the bathroom. Thankfully she was fully dressed in light pajamas. Good. This roommate was starting to grow on me.
“All done?”
“Y-Yeah. Sorry for showering first.”
“It’s fine. You must be tired—get some rest.”
Neria gave a small nod, fetched her luggage from downstairs, and crawled straight into her bed. I showered, finished unpacking, and climbed into my own bed. It had been an exhausting day. At least we had some basic drill knowledge, so we could rest until the day after tomorrow. The cadets who arrived yesterday had trained with us despite their small numbers. Those arriving tomorrow would train until they passed, and those arriving the day after would be in for a rough time if they failed…
With those idle thoughts, I drifted into a deep sleep, ending my first day at the academy.
**
“Are you listening?”
Rendel’s childhood friend Ran stood with her hands on her hips, cheeks puffed out. Her navy-blue hair swayed gently in the spring breeze.
“Ah, of course I’m listening.”
Even as he answered, Rendel’s gaze remained fixed on the window. Outside on the training ground, several seniors were running Aindium mobility drills. Ran thought they were working hard even during break and carefully asked,
“You really want to pilot White Fang that badly?”
“…Let’s just say yes.”
Rendel was currently under light house arrest—not for causing trouble, but because his magic output had become unstable, which was crucial for controlling an Aindium. It was a common issue when a pilot’s mind was unsettled. Whenever it happened, riding an Aindium was forbidden for about four days. The CT Club members had planned to explore the island to keep Rendel from getting bored, but he had turned down every suggestion. Instead, he spent the entire day leaning against the clubroom window that overlooked the training ground.
“Stop acting all dramatic.”
Kirié lightly chopped Rendel on the head. He didn’t even try to dodge.
“Seriously, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been weird ever since the tournament.”
When Carson, another club member, asked, Kirié just shrugged. Rendel ignored their chatter, flexing his fingers as he stared outside. He had already run the simulation of facing the red Aindium that had defeated him last autumn countless times—five times today alone. Since that day, it must have been well over a thousand. He still couldn’t easily picture himself winning. Even if he deflected the red Aindium’s sword and accelerated to get behind it, the machine would somehow turn and paralyze his arm with gunfire before pinning him down. That memory had become a nightmare weighing on him.
Wondering if relying on acceleration was the problem, he had experimented with different approaches, causing his practical grades and evaluations to drop, but Rendel didn’t care. There was only one person’s evaluation he did care about. And the day he would meet that person again wasn’t far off. They might even be on the bus full of new students arriving right now.
“Oh. Looks like the juniors are here. They’re starting to arrive in earnest today, right?”
“Yeah. Think there’s anyone worth recruiting into our club?”
“Dunno. I heard my master’s daughter is coming in as a junior this year. When I asked, she said she won’t be joining any clubs. Maybe she’s just shy.”
“Really? That’s a shame.”
While half-listening to his friends, Rendel scanned the juniors stepping off the bus.
“Ah.”
He finally spotted her. A girl with long platinum-blonde hair. Watching her run at the instructor’s whistle, Rendel tightly clutched the handkerchief in his pocket.