Battlefield calls
AN: This will feature events from the eighth light novel but set off on an alternate path from what happened afterwards.
Chapter 11I was not very surprised when my uniform came and it had no insignia on the shoulders or breast. Today was the entrance ceremony for first years into high school. I did not have anything better to do so I grabbed my bag and headed towards school. There was still plenty of time before the entrance ceremony. By the time, I arrived on the campus of First High I knew I was early.
The main building, the practice building, and an experiment building made up three of the school buildings, an auditorium/gymnasium whose internal layout can be altered via transformation machinery, a library with three levels above ground and two levels below, two small gymnasiums, a preparation building equipped with a changing room, a shower room, an equipment-storage room, and clubrooms. The canteen, the cafeteria, and the procurement department are in another building. Above all that, the various large and small annexes constructed makes the design of First High School appear more like the campus of a suburban university than a typical high school.
I looked to my left and right as I walked along a path paved with a layer of bricks, searching for a place to rest until it was time for me to enter the auditorium. The ID card that would allow me to use the school facilities would only be given out after the school entrance ceremony ended. In order to avoid a scene of chaos, the open cafe that was meant to serve visitors was also closed today.
After five minutes of walking around while referring to the campus map displayed on his mobile terminal, beyond a row of trees, which were positioned in such a way that could not escape my field of vision, I spotted a bench in the courtyard. 'It is a good thing that it is not raining', the frivolous thought entered my mind as I sat down on the three-man bench, opened my mobile terminal, and started accessing a book portal that I enjoyed.
This courtyard seems to be a shortcut from the preparation building to the auditorium. Plenty of upperclassmen were passing through the courtyard. They were probably roped in by the management of the entrance ceremony to help. That is, the current students who were passing by me at a respectable distance. All of them had the same eight-petaled flower emblem on the left side of their chests. As they passed by, a trail of artless, ill-meaning words escaped from their backs.
—Isn't that kid a Weed?
—He's early... he sure is enthusiastic for a reserve.
—In the end, he's just a spare.
It was conversation, which I did not really want to hear, and yet it flowed into my ears. The word, Weed, refers to a Course 2 student. The students who have the emblem design of an eight-petaled flower on the left side chest area of their blazers are called "Blooms", while the Course 2 students who do not have that are likened to weeds that have no blooming flowers, and are sneered upon as "Weeds".
The quota for the freshmen in this school is two hundred. Among them, one hundred of them enter this school as Course 2 students. The First High School, which is affiliated with the National University of Magic, is an institution established under national policy for the purpose of nurturing Magic Technicians. In exchange for a granted budget from the country, it has the obligation to produce definite results. Every year, this school produces over a hundred graduates who either enter the University of Magic or enroll in a Magic Technical Institute of Specialized Higher Training.
While it is a pity, the fact is that magic education is a trial-and-error thing. Accidents, which go beyond the level of minor mishaps, can easily happen directly through magic slip-ups from practice training and experiments. Even while the students are aware of the dangers involved, one will bet one's future on one's own talent in magic and the possibility that exists in oneself, and walk the path to become a Magician.
When there are only a handful who possess such talent, and that talent is highly valued by society, few would throw it away, even more so for the young men and women who have yet to reach their individual maturity, rendering them unable to pursue a road outside of a 'brilliant future'. Another fact, as a consequence of such a belief system getting fixed inside of them, is that, many children have been burdened with 'wounds' from that belief system. Thanks to the accumulation of expertise, most accidents resulting in deaths or handicapped bodies have been eradicated. However, one's talent in magic can be easily impaired via a psychological component.
Every year, the number of students who have dropped out as a result of being unable to use magic due to the shock of an accident is by no means small. The ones who fill the gap are the "Course 2 students". Upon enrolling in schools, they are allowed to participate in classes, use the facilities and access data, but they lack the most important component in their studies, that they are not entitled to receive personal instruction in practical magic skills. They can only learn on their own, and show results through their own efforts. If they cannot do that, they will have to graduate from a normal high school. If one does not graduate from a magic high school, one cannot pursue studies in the University of Magic.
Given that the number of people who can teach magic is insufficient, it is unavoidable that the more talented ones be given priority. Right from the beginning, Course 2 students are accepted under the condition that no one will teach them.
Publicly, it is forbidden to call the Course 2 students "Weeds". However, in part, one can almost say that this has become a well-known derogatory term for them, a term that is rooted even within the Course 2 students themselves. Even the Course 2 students have to recognize that they are no more than spares.
That was the same for me. That was why there was no need for them to have spoken that aloud on purpose for me to realize that. I have entered this school while being fully aware of that. 'What an unnecessary favor from them', I thought as I turned my attention to the book portal that had loaded on his data terminal.
On the open computer terminal, a clock was displayed. My consciousness, which had been immersed in reading, returned to reality. There was still another thirty minutes until the school entrance ceremony.
"Are you a new student? It's almost time for the ceremony."
Around the same time I was about to stand up, having logged out of one of my favorite reading portals and closed my computer terminal, a voice came from above me. The first thing that came into view was the skirt of a uniform. Following that, wrapping around a left arm was a wide bracelet. Broader and thinner than a normal bracelet, it was the latest model of a CAD that was made with fashion in mind. According to my memory, the students who were allowed to persistently carry a CAD within the school compounds were either executive members of the student council or particular committee members.
"Thank you, I'll be on my way."
On the left chest area of the other party, was of course the eight-petaled flower emblem. The bulge from the chest that was pushing up the blazer stirred feelings within me, which the Yotsuba had tried to wipe out. I did not act on the urges I felt. I have been trained to resist the urges by the military along with my ninjutsu master. I did not hide my left chest. I would not perform such a cowardly act. I am trained better than that. Although that did not mean that, there was no ill feeling of any sort. I could not imagine myself getting actively involved with a high achiever who appeared to be a student council executive member.
"I'm impressed. A screen type?"
However, the other person seemed to think otherwise. While looking at the film screen of the mobile data terminal that I had folded in three folds with my hand, the person grinned, as if delighted at something. At this juncture, I finally looked at the face of that person. The face of that person was twenty centimeters lower than my height as I had stood up from the bench.
My height was a hundred and seventy-five centimeters, as such, even for a female, she was short. She was just at the right height to ascertain that I was a Course 2 student with her line of sight. However, her gaze did not have the slightest hint of belittlement, and it was filled with a pure, innocent wonder instead.
"Our school disallows the use of virtual display terminals. However, it's regrettable that many students still use the virtual display type. However, you are using the screen type even before enrolling into the school."
"The virtual type is not suitable for reading."
Anyone could tell that his terminal was a seasoned one with one look, so she did not bother asking further. My reply that sounded like an excuse was a fruit of careful thought, since if I was excessively blunt, it would become more of a disadvantage for my future at this school and dad wanted me to graduate as soon as possible. Upon hearing that calculated response, the upperclassman became even more impressed.
"Instead of watching animation, you read huh? This is even rarer. I also prefer book-based information to animation-based ones, so I'm kind of happy." Indeed, while this is an era where virtual content is preferred over text content, book readers are not really that rare. Somehow, it seemed like this upperclassman had an uncommonly sociable personality. Judging from her tone and speech, she appeared to be getting friendlier. "Ahh, I beg your pardon. I'm the student council president of the First High School, Saegusa Mayumi. It is written as 'seven grass', read as Saegusa. I am glad to meet you."
Even though she added a wink at the end, there was not a hint of wonder in her tone. With a pretty girl's looks and together with a well-proportioned body despite her small frame, she radiated such an alluring atmosphere that it would not be surprising if newly matriculated male students misunderstood her intentions. Nevertheless, on hearing her self-introduction, the young man seemed to frown involuntarily.
"A number... and to top it off, a 'Saegusa (Seven Grass)'." A Magician's ability is greatly influenced by heredity. A Magician's qualities are greatly related to his lineage. In addition, in this country, the houses that possess a superior blood lineage in magic carry a number in their family name by tradition. Among the numbered Magician lineages that carry a superior hereditary factor, the Saegusa is one of the two houses deemed the most powerful in this country currently. That young woman who was the student council president of this school was probably of their direct descent. In other words, she was elite among elites. It might even be apt to say that she was the exact opposite of him.
Holding back a bitter mutter and somehow managing to bring out a courteous smile, the young man returned his name. "I'm, no, my name is Kazama Tatsuya."
"Kazama Tatsuya-kun… I see. You are that Kazama-kun huh…" The eyes of the student council president went wide with surprise, after which, she nodded meaningfully. I wondered why she expressed my name as 'that Kazama'. I had good scores on my written exams but other than that, I should be forgotten. I am not a notable person to the public. Thinking about that, I politely kept quiet.
"Among the teachers, you have been quite a hot topic." Said Mayumi after a cheerful smile, appearing unconcerned with my silence. He could only feel a friendly positivity emanating from Mayumi's smile. "Out of a hundred marks, the average mark of all seven subjects in your entrance exam was ninety-six. Especially, the best were Magic Theory and Magic Engineering. Even though the average mark of those who passed was no more than seventy, you got a perfect grade without a hitch for both subjects that had essay-based questions. It's an unheard of record high."
It was not my imagination at hearing those unreserved praises, I thought. "Those are merely paper test results. They are just data inside an information system." In the appraisal of magic high school students, more emphasis was given to practical results, and not paper test results. While a bitter civil smile surfaced on Tatsuya, he pointed to his own left chest.
It was not possible for the student council president to not understand. However, Mayumi shook her head with a smile at Tatsuya's words. Not vertically, but to the left and right.
"That kind of terrific score, at the very least, I won't be able to reproduce that, you know? I may not look like it, but I'm really much stronger in theory-based subjects. If my entrance exam had the same questions, I definitely wouldn't be able to score such a high mark like you, Shiba-kun."
"It's about time... please excuse me." I took my leave from Mayumi, who seemed to have something more to say, and turned my back towards her without waiting for her reply. Somewhere in my heart, I feared the smiling face of Mayumi, and at what might happen if I were to continue talking with her.
Thanks to the overly cheerful student council president, by the time I got to the auditorium most of the seats were filled. I know that there should be no assigned seating. Even without that, there is still a clear divide.
The first half at the front would be taken up by the Blooms. The students who wore an eight-petaled flower emblem on their left chest. The freshmen who would be able to receive the full benefits of the curriculum of this school.
The second half at the back would be taken up by the Weeds. The students whose left chest area was left blank. The freshmen who were only allowed to enroll in this school as reserves.
Even when they were the same freshmen, who were becoming the students of this school on the very same day, they were cleanly divided into a group with the emblem and a group without it. In addition, this was not something that was enforced. The people who were the most conscious of the discrimination accepted the discrimination, huh... It was certainly a kind of common sense in itself.
I held no notion of going against the grain of society. I chose to go to the back of the auditorium and take a seat away from others. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was about another twenty minutes before the ceremony started.
I could not access any site in that auditorium where electronic communication was restricted. The data saved in my terminal was also no longer new information to me, and more importantly, it was forbidden to open a terminal in this place. In the end, I did nothing, adjusting and sitting myself upright on the hard seat and I closed my eyes. Just as I was about to slip into a snooze, a voice called out to me.
"Um, is the seat beside you occupied?"
I opened my eyes, and just as I thought, the voice had been directed at me. As expected from the voice, it was a female student. My reply was as indifferent as is normal for me. "Help yourself."
Even though I was bewildered why she purposely chose to sit beside a random male student, despite the fact that there were still many empty seats. On top of the seats here being made large enough with comfort in mind, the other party was a young woman with a slender build. Thus, I did not feel any unease with her sitting beside me. Rather, it was much more comfortable than if a filthy muscle block were to sit beside me. Thinking about that, Tatsuya gave a polite nod.
Thank you, the young woman nodded as she took her seat. Beside her, three other young women sat down one after another. I see, I acknowledged to myself. It seemed like they were looking for a place that could accommodate all four of them sitting together. They are probably friends, though it is quite rare to see four friends making it into a difficult school like this one and to be in Course 2 together on top of that, I thought. It would not be strange even if one of them was a high achiever, I felt but it did not matter to him anyhow.
"Um."
The voice called out to me again, after I had turned back to facing the front after having no further interest in the same year student beside me whom I had just met by chance. What on earth does she want? Clearly, she was not an acquaintance, and neither did I knock against her on the elbow nor on the foot. If I were to say it myself, I was sitting in a good posture. I should not have done anything that would warrant a complaint but still she was talking to me.
"I'm Shibata Mizuki. Nice to meet you."
Unexpectedly, she introduced herself, in a seemingly timid tone, to me who cocked my head. Even though it could be dangerous to judge one by appearance, she did not seem to be the type who was good at impressing others. She probably forced herself to do it, I judged. She might have done it with the thought that they would need to help each other since they were both disadvantaged Course 2 students.
"I'm Kazama Tatsuya. It is nice to meet you as well." Upon returning a soft introduction as he thought about that, the eyes beyond those large lenses appeared relieved.
In this era, it was quite rare for girls to wear glasses. Since the middle of the twenty-first century, because of the vision correction procedure becoming widespread, the ailment known as myopia had become outdated in this country. Unless one was born with a hereditary form of vision abnormality at a serious level or such, one would not need any vision correction tool, and even in the event that one would need it, it was more common for people to affix ten-year long persistently worn contact lenses that were harmless to the body. If she was wearing glasses despite this, it could be because it was her hobby, a fashion accessory, or due to Over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission.
Just from a quick look, I could tell that there was no degree in the lenses. At the very least, I knew that they were not used for vision correction. From my impression of this young woman, rather than wearing them for fashion, it was more probable that she was wearing those glasses because of a particular need, I thought.
"Over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission" refers to a condition of the body where one can see spirit particle emission without conscious effort, and cannot shut them out with conscious effort, in other words, a type of disorder where complete cognizant control cannot be achieved. Thus, it was not really an illness, or a handicap. It was a disorder where one's senses were excessively sharp.
Pushion (Spirit Particles) and Psion (Thought Particles), both were particles observed in "Para-Psychological Phenomena", which included magic as well, comprised of non-physical entities that neither corresponded to Fermions, particles that make up the composition of matter, nor were they the same as Bosons, which bring about the interaction between matter. Psion were particle manifestations of intention and thought, while Pushion could be thought of as particle manifestations of the emotions brought about by intention and thought. A pity that this was still at a hypothetical stage.
Normally, it was Psion that was used in magic and in the technology systems of modern magic, emphasis was placed on the control of Psion. Magicians first started from learning how to manipulate Psion. People who suffered from "over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission", a hereditary disorder, showed symptoms of being oversensitive to spirit particle emission, non-physical light generated depending on the activity of Pushion. Those who were visually exposed to spirit particle emission would have their emotional state affected. Consequently, Pushion were hypothesized to be particles formed by emotions, and as a result, a person suffering from "over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission" tended to be susceptible to the breakdown of his or her mental stability.
Fundamentally, to prevent that, it required the control of Pushion sensitivity, and for those who were unable to do that, they would require a technology aid. One of these aids was glasses made from a special kind of lenses known as "Aura Cut Coating Lenses". In reality, to Magicians, "over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission" was not that rare of a condition. Since a Magician's sensitivity to Pushion and sensitivity to Psion were more or less directly proportional, the number of Magicians who consciously manipulated Psion and were troubled by being oversensitive to the radiation of spirit particles fell on the higher side. One could even say that it was something that could not be helped. However, it would indeed be rare to see a person who had it as a disorder such that he or she needed to constantly block the spirit particle emission with glasses.
It would not be much of a concern if it was because of a lesser manipulative ability, but, if it were due to an extremely superior sensitivity, then it would be bad news for me. I had a secret. It was a secret that could not be uncovered from my outward appearance alone, and as such, not of concern, but, if she did have those special eyes that would allow her to sense Pushion and Psion as if they were completely visible to her, my secret might be discovered by random chance. I have to be much more alert and act cautiously whenever she was around.
"I'm Chiba Erika. Nice to meet you, Shiba-kun."
"Nice to meet you too." The voice of the young woman sitting beside Mizuki cut off my thoughts, but that was a welcome interruption. My look had unconsciously turned into a stare, and Mizuki's bashfulness was pretty much approaching its limit. Still, Chiba huh... she is another numbered one. I did not know that the Chiba House had a daughter by the name of "Erika", but it is possible that she is of collateral descent.
After the remaining two students on the other side of Erika had finished introducing themselves, I felt like satisfying my trivial curiosity. "Were the four of you from the same middle school?"
Erika's reply was an unexpected one. "Nope, all of us just met for the first time." My surprised look might have been a strange one, for Erika started giggling as she explained. "I didn't know where the place was and I was staring at the information board. That's when Mizuki called out to me."
"...Information board?" That is strange, I thought. The data for the school entrance ceremony included the location of the venue, had been sent to all the new students. By using the LPS (Local Positioning System), a standard feature in a mobile terminal, even if a new student did not read the information board, or remember any of the information, one should not lose one's way.
"The three of us didn't bring our data terminals."
"Well, the virtual-screen models are banned and I had the school entrance guide stored in mine."
"We managed to luck into this school after all. It wouldn't make sense to get marked off right at the school entrance ceremony."
"I forgot mine actually."
"So that's the reason for you, huh..." I really could not accept it. It is your own school entrance ceremony; at least verify the location of the venue before coming, I thought honestly to myself, but did not say a word. There was no need to stir up any meaningless trouble, thinking about that, I restrained myself.
I quickly found an unsurprising fact Shiba Miyuki is the freshman representative.
She was fired up and her speech included a number of dangerous phrases like "everyone alike", "as a single body", "aside from magic" and "in an integrated manner". She managed to set them up properly and they did not sound thorny at all. Her openness, innocence, and modesty, coupled with her lovely, beautiful appearance, had captured the hearts of not just the guys, the freshmen, but the upperclassmen as well. Miyuki would probably be surrounded by boisterousness from tomorrow onward.
What followed immediately after the ceremony was the issuing of the ID cards. Since the individual cards were not made beforehand, the arrangement was to have each and every person go to a certain place to personally have their data written into the cards meant for use within the school premises, so whichever counter they went to, the procedure could be completed.
"Kazama-kun, which class are you in?" Erika, with a face that could not hide her excitement, asked me, who was the last in line among the group. In other words, I was practicing the 'ladies first' rule.
"Class E."
On hearing my reply, "Yay! We are in the same class." Erika hopped up and down happily. She seemed to be overdoing it.
"I am in the same class as well." With just the accompanying action missing, Mizuki also had a similar face, so this might be a natural reaction for freshmen.
"I'm in class F."
"I'm in class G."
Even so, it was not as if the reactions of the remaining two were cold and unfeeling. After all, they were in high spirits about enrolling into a high school. This school has eight year one classes, and each class has twenty-five students. In this respect, they were equal. In the first place, the Weeds who were not expected to bloom into flowers were placed in classes E to H and the Blooms who were expected to bloom into large flowers were never mixed among them. The two girls who were assigned to different classes naturally went along their way. It seemed like the two of them were headed towards their homerooms. Even though classes A-D and classes E-H were located on different levels, it did not appear that their enthusiasm was any less from that.
It was not like all the Course 2 students would stick around together in one group. There were also a number of them who would straighten their backs. Being proud about getting accepted into a reputable school. Since this school was also ranked among the top in the country in areas not pertaining to magic. The two of them probably went off to search for new friends among those whom they would spend the rest of the year with.
"What shall we do? Shall we go take a look at our homeroom as well?"
Erika asked as she looked up at the face of Tatsuya. While Mizuki did not ask, she was also probably looking up at Tatsuya. Save for a few schools who were continuing the old traditions, these days, high schools did not employ the system of having homeroom teachers. Administrative circulars did not need to be handed out one by one, and besides, there was not that much extra budget to waste on such human resources, so the circulars were distributed through the terminals that were connected throughout the entire school. A system of having one terminal for school use assigned to each individual had already been in existence decades ago.
Except for individual instruction or practical lessons, almost everything was done using the data terminals. If more care were needed, counselors who held expertise in multiple disciplines would be assigned by the school. Therefore, the reason homerooms were needed was for the convenience of practical and trial lessons. When practical and trial lessons ended within time, so as not to have a time surplus, they needed somewhere to hold a certain number of people. Notwithstanding, detention was a daily affair. Besides, with the personal terminal system, it also made some things very convenient. No matter what background people came from, once the time they spent in the same room became long, they would mingle with one another naturally.
By dispensing with the homeroom teacher system, the bonds between classmates tend to strengthen. At any rate, if one wanted to make new friends, going to the homeroom was the fastest route to that. "That should be fine."
AN: Please review with which girl you think Tatsuya should end up dating.