Act 1
Start of a Study Case
Chapter 2
To Begin Learning
If Kirika would choose a word for what she was feeling now, it would be 'bewilderment.'
It was not out of alertness, or anything of the sort. Since leaving the park earlier, the Shinobi that was tailing her had left - probably a sign that supervision was no longer necessary - and Claudia had escorted her through the school facilities, with the student council room as their destination.
Kirika had heard that the combat academies of Asterisk city incorporated the most cutting-edge tech available to the generation, so she expected it to look like a fortress.
At first, it certainly seemed so. The three main buildings of the Seidoukan, which belonged to junior high, senior high, and university respectively, all looked very modern on the exterior, even the courtyard surrounding the three buildings didn't have as much trees or grass as the other parts of the facility.
Compared to the girl's dormitory where Julis resided, the dormitory was much more classical and colorful.
But as it turned out, the interiors of the building looked rather… mundane. The cafeteria she passed by appeared to be fairly traditional despite being well-equipped, and the class hallways didn't seem too different than the ones she was familiar with in her hometown.
It was not until Claudia escorted her to the elevator that the 'futuristic' part of the school finally showed up.
Minus the door, the elevator was probably made entirely of glass, which was something Kirika could appreciate; she could see the sight of the school facilities outside of the main building through its floor and walls, and eventually some part of the Asterisk city as the glass box ascended to the top floor.
The top floor was different from the ground floor at least, but even then it didn't appear like a military fortress at all. The polished hallways and the large windows gave it the feeling of a very rich corporation building, instead.
On hindsight, Kirika supposed she shouldn't be too surprised. After all, the ones who built the whole War Academy City Asterisk were part of the largest corporation in the world, [Integrated Enterprise Foundation]…
However, it was the student council president herself whom Kirika found to be the most confusing aspect of her trip.
For some reason, Claudia seemed to find it suitable to transform from a calm and composed figure of authority into a talkative high school girl when private.
"Ara, I forgot. You haven't heard about this, but you and I are of the same age, so feel free to relax and drop the formalities from earlier."
Claudia suddenly said that, turning her gaze to Kirika as the two of them walked side-by-side through the hallway.
Kirika wanted to suppress her surprise like she usually did, but for now she supposed she had no need to.
"...That's impressive. You are already the student council president in your first year of high-school?"
Apparently, combat academies had a different student council system than typical schools; the student council of a combat academy consisted of a single body that drew members from all three levels.
It was one of the few things Kirika liked about combat academies; even the youngest junior high students could be working with the oldest university students, if they had the ability to prove themselves.
However, being the student council president of a combat academy was on a whole different level of 'competent.'
"That's true. As a matter of fact, this is already my third term as the president of this school."
"You must be an extraordinary woman, then… Claudia."
As Kirika voiced her thoughts and obeyed the request of informality, Claudia stopped walking - prompting Kirika to halt as well - and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Quite an interesting choice of words you are using. Not 'student', but 'woman'?"
It was Kirika's turn to raise an eyebrow. Was Claudia being modest?
"You are more than just an accomplished student, are you not? You are a beautiful young woman with a levelheaded mind. Your achievements are worthy of being the student council president for this academy. What part of that isn't extraordinary?"
Her choice of words might make it seem like flattery. Yet, to Kirika's own ears, her tone of voice felt like she was describing a summarized report. And to be honest, it was one.
That description had omitted all of her analysis and presumptions of the president, of course. Nonetheless, Kirika respected what was factual about Claudia.
"That's... well, if you put it that way, I suppose I am quite different from ordinary women my age. Thank you for the compliment."
Claudia stuttered at first - whether it was out of surprise or because she was flustered, it remained to be seen - but she quickly masked it with a pleased smile.
Closing her eyes, Kirika shrugged.
"Your thanks is wasted on me. I am simply describing what I see. And that description likely doesn't reach what you really are, anyway."
"Hmm… what I really am, eh? And what do you see about it?"
The president's tone was that of a polite curiosity, but her eyes and her smile were confident and challenging. She turned to face Kirika completely now.
Despite her force of habit, Kirika couldn't help but smile a little. It was her fourth time smiling today, which had surpassed her expectations somewhat.
"A lady with a sly personality. Sweetly and dangerously chatty. Eyeing me with predatory curiosity and sincerity."
"Pfft… ha ha ha!"
Claudia tried to stifle her laughter, but it seemed what Kirika said was so funny to her, she couldn't help but laugh wholeheartedly.
Amusing as it was, Kirika honestly found Claudia's current behavior rather strange.
Kirika had met with Claudia once before; when the student council president first extended an invitation for her to become a transfer student for Seidoukan, which she had rejected. But Claudia's behavior back then didn't really match the current Claudia at all.
Before, her persona was more of an unwavering lady whose mask of smile betrayed none of her own thoughts except to the most perceptive; thoughts that were constantly scheming to manipulate others with subtlety and efficiency.
A behavior befitting a student council president of a combat academy, really. After all, Claudia was 'sly, sweet and dangerous'
But now, the woman beside Kirika didn't fit that description at all. This Claudia was trying to be friendly. And Kirika couldn't decide whether that was out of 'curiosity' - the kind you had when studying a potential enemy - or genuine sincerity.
As though she realized that it was improper, Claudia coughed to stifle her laughter and regain her composure, although her smile betrayed the fact that she was still amused.
"Fufu. Your attempt of creating rhymes is not half-bad."
At that statement, Kirika wanted to roll her eyes.
"Not bad? I was trying to make it sound bad."
"I doubt a normal person can make that up on the spot. Not to mention, you are spot on with your assessment."
Kirika widened her eyes.
"Did you just…?"
"Give you an example of a bad wordplay? Yes, I just did."
Claudia giggled again, even though it was at her own expense.
For Kirika though, that was funny. Not enough to smile for, she supposed, but amusing nonetheless.
"It was not half-bad."
"You are just saying that. My poor attempts of comedy aside, you really are an interesting fellow, Kirika."
As Claudia said that, she finally resumed the walk to the student council room, prompting Kirika to do the same.
"Your description of me is quite close to how I would describe myself."
Kirika was a little surprised that the student council president readily admitted that her assessment was correct. Was this really the same 'Claudia Enfield'?
The observation was still uncertain. Kirika needed to know what the president was thinking. In that case, gauging Claudia's response was necessary.
"Self-depreciating, aren't you?"
Against her expectations, Claudia smiled. Though the bitterness in its conveyance made it look and feel fake.
"That's assuredly not the case. I am not as virtuous as I appear to be; I believe you are aware of that as well."
Kirika suppressed the urge to narrow her eyes at Claudia. Was that genuine humility? Or did Claudia want to appear humble?
"Alright, we are here."
The two of them stopped at one of the many doors in the hallway.
Using her school badge, Claudia authenticated herself at the ID locked door, which slid open to reveal a vast and spacious room which felt a bit excessive for a student council room.
"Please come in."
The design and the furniture were clearly way too expensive; the floor of the entryway was covered in a dark brown, leather rug. A painting depicting the Seidoukan Academy's school grounds was hung on the wall on the right.
At the other end of the room was a window even larger than the ones in the hallways made of glass, and in front of it was placed a heavy, large oaken conference desk with matching number of chairs, and a fewer number of computers. Even with those, there was still plenty of room to spare.
Simply put, it was probably suited to be boardroom of a large corporation, rather than a simple student council office.
Just goes to show how well-funded a combat academy actually is, I suppose.
After Kirika was done observing the room, her eyes went back to Claudia, who was already seated at the head of the oaken table with a practiced ease, her fingers tented under her chin. Her eyes were focused on Kirika the entire time, a smile on her lips.
"Now that we are here… once again, welcome to Seidoukan Academy, Kirika."
The president turned on her chair, now facing the window behind her.
"And… welcome to Rikka, the Asterisk City."
As Kirika followed her in looking out over the city from their high vantage point, a neat and tidy skyline filling her gaze, one that she would rarely see anymore with what's been happening throughout the world for the past few years.
Floating atop the crater-lake in North Kanto of Japan - left by one of the many immense meteorites that fell upon the Earth during the events of [Invertia] in the last century - lay the artificial-island city, lined with massive buildings across the sky to the occasional helicopters.
In the center of its hexagonal layout sat the central district, with one of the six combat schools reaching out in each direction, giving one the impression of a large snowflake. The name of this city; Rikka or Snowflake, was rooted in this fact.
Each school had its own district, with a large road leading up to the school itself, the architecture of which resulted in a star shape, or more precisely, an asterisk hexagram.
Granted, the origin of this name was something that had to be seen to be understood for the students who journeyed from around the world to be here.
Seeing this scenery, Kirika's heart fluttered. As terrifying as the Invertia event was, she could appreciate it for a few things - the aftereffects it left upon the world.
One, the apocalyptic levels of destruction had caused many nations to fall from power, allowing the [Integrated Enterprise Foundation], or [IEF] for short, to rise from their ashes to bring a change for the world at large, and the birth of new forms of society.
That being said, while Kirika could appreciate that the world was moving forward, she really didn't like the direction IEF was pushing the world to.
Two, the meteorites brought forth a new form of energy called [Mana] upon the world, which resulted in the inception of a new human species - the [Genestellars].
Known as the [Children of the Starpulse Generation], whom could harness mana within their bodies to achieve superhuman feats. The ores of the meteorites themselves were also unique materials that could harness mana, referred as [Manadyte].
As crystallizations of mana, it was originally a limited resource until roughly 50 years ago scientists were able to artificially produce them by using the mana infused in the very atmosphere of the planet Earth.
Meteoric engineering research into mana and manadytes had paved the way for new industry, not the least of which was centered around their usage as an energy source for weapons. Weapons of this type were officially known as [Shining Type Armaments – Lux].
When charged with mana, manadytes would discharge the overloading energy into a physical form; the shape, size and quality of which would be predetermined by the 'memory' within them, which was in turn manipulated through mana reactions catalyzed by Genestellars.
As such, close range weapons were the simplest and most common form of Lux weaponry, such as Lux swords, Lux shields, Lux axes, Lux spears, etc.
The more advanced type of Lux weaponry would be capable of even more complicated mana materializations. Lux guns, for example, materialized the entire gun out of mana alone, before proceeding to catalyze mana reactions within the weapon to materialize its bullets.
Although Lux guns and Lux swords were almost functionally identical to actual swords and guns, they carried several obvious benefits such as the ease of storing, the lesser cost of production and maintenance resources, and all-around superior performance.
For this reason, for the most part, Lux weapons had replaced traditional weaponry since their mass production, and they had become popular enough to be used as more than just weaponry; including self-defense tools, children's toys, and various merchandises.
If not for Mana, Manadytes and Genestellars, the world wouldn't have changed much in spite of so much destruction and the rise of IEF.
Three, it brought a new form of nature beauty. Invertia was a beautiful disaster after all, and in its aftermath the face of the Earth itself changed.
The change in the seasons became unnatural, sometimes winters could freeze the earth for entire years, sometimes springs would turn to autumn and then return back in only a few months, and sometimes, summers would not happen at all.
Of course, that was Kirika's preferred order - in truth, the seasons had become very random, in both order, length and intensity. Scientists theorized that it was a side effect of Mana upon the planet's atmosphere.
As Kirika was admiring the scenery though, a chuckle broke her from her daze.
"As I thought. Only natural beauty could make you react cutely like that."
With Claudia's words snapping her back to reality, Kirika immediately remembered where she was and what occasion she was in.
Kirika wanted so badly to kick herself now - letting herself distracted by a simple scenery in front of anyone was embarrassing.
"I apologize. I was distracted again."
"Fufu, that was on purpose, you know?"
Stifling a giggle, Claudia smiled as she turned again to Kirika; her gentle purple eyes meeting her own icy blue.
Kirika suppressed the urge to frown, and sighed instead. She was not going to be played by Claudia's cheekiness.
Unaware of Kirika's internal plight, Claudia continued to speak.
"Usually, the formal procedure for a special invitee transfer student such as yourself would require me to explain the expectations and regulations of this school. However, I am aware that you are already very familiar with those."
"Except for the more intricate rules, yes."
Claudia clearly didn't want to waste time with the formalities, and neither did Kirika. Thus, she nodded in confirmation.
"Well then. Shall we skip right into the important topics? I did promise you this information, after all."
Although her tone was pleasant and the smile never faltered, Claudia's gaze hardened. Kirika could tell - now she was serious.
"About your sister, Amagiri Haruka."
Kirika tensed.
Dear sister…
Whether that was out of reflex or out of emotion, Kirika didn't know.
Amagiri Haruka, the first daughter of the Amagiri household, who had disappeared without a trace six years ago.
The one who forged me.
Inhaling, Kirika calmed her nerves to speak.
"You said that Haruka had once attended this school. Is it true?"
In all honesty, Kirika could barely believe it.
Haruka detested Asterisk and the system built by the IEF. Its corrupted way of handling things, its materialistic views of everything. It was one of the few things that her sister had openly expressed hatred against.
Among the many things that Haruka had taught Kirika, being careful with anything related to the IEF - the Asterisk city in particular - was among the most emphasized lessons her sister had given her.
That being the case, why would my sister even take a step into this hive of filth?
Claudia extended her forefinger, as if to accept Kirika's gaze.
"Hmm, well, how to put this? All I know is a rumor, that she once attended this school. All information regarding her stay here has since been deleted by an unknown party."
Kirika narrowed her eyes. Deleted? From the records of a combat academy?
"Is that even possible?"
"Generally speaking, of course not. Even for someone in my position, deleting the records of a student would require a petition to the company who funds this school."
The blonde's radiant smile turned somewhat bitter at that comment.
Kirika didn't need to be told about what that meant. Then, the one responsible for the deletion of Haruka's data held a position even higher than the student council president - or in other words, a member of the Integrated Enterprise Foundation.
This was under the assumption Claudia didn't lie about not being able to delete it.
"There is no record of 'her' ever having taken part in any school events, either. As I am sure you already know, almost everything happening in this city is monitored by the media."
"..."
That was on point - Asterisk City was a metropolitan with extremely high levels of media exposure.
Even small incidents such as intra-school duels between students could not escape the media, any information of such events would be immediately spread to every corner of the city, and through the Net, the rest of the world.
Kirika nodded in affirmation. The president took that as a sign to continue.
"To be perfectly honest, whether or not she ever attended this school is questionable. Assuming she did indeed attend here, that was but some five years ago. There are both students and faculty here who have been here this entire time, and yet none remember her."
"Five years ago?"
She had to raise an eyebrow. That was suspiciously specific. If the record had been deleted, how did Claudia get that number?
"How did you…"
Almost as if to interrupt Kirika, Claudia extended a hand, which operated a holographic screen that conveniently appeared above her table. A moment later, a similar projected screen in mid-air, depicting what appeared to be a corrupted student biodata.
For once, Kirika felt she could not stop her eyes from widening in pure, unadulterated shock.
Most of the texts on the screen were corrupted and replaced by gibberish texts. Even the picture that accompanied the biodata was mildly corrupted as well. However, Kirika couldn't not recognize the facial features of the young woman in the picture.
The face which reminded her of her own face, the dark shade of night blue which colored the hair, and the perfectly circular pair of glasses over the large eyes with irises identical in color with the hair.
It was Haruka, without a doubt.
"This is all we've been able to recover. She entered five years ago, departing after just half a year for personal reasons. Her name, birth date, background; almost nothing remains."
As Claudia said that, Kirika turned her gaze from the screen back to the president.
"...How did you come by this?"
In order to recover lost information, one obviously had to be first aware it had been discarded.
However, of this student, neither records nor memories remained. That being the case, how did Claudia know?
Claudia turned from the computer to return her gaze.
"I apologize. I'm afraid I can't reveal that. Do you not trust me?"
"I want to, certainly. However, you cannot blame me for being suspicious, no?"
As a student council president, Claudia definitely had her own sources of intelligence.
It went without saying that such things were confidential. Kirika knew about it very well, both from what Haruka had taught her and from her recent years.
However, those same years had also taught her better than to trust people easily. Especially if they were a significant figure in the Asterisk, such as a student council president.
Kirika didn't know the full extent of Claudia's influences and resources, after all. While a member of the IEF would certainly be more influential, that was precisely why shifting the blame toward them would be convenient.
Her smile faltering, Claudia let out a sigh.
"Hah… I suppose that's true. You have already made your distrust of this school quite clear in our first meeting."
Internally, Kirika wanted to roll her eyes. Being 'quite clear' about her refusal was almost an understatement. It was essentially a speech about how much she detested combat academies and the Asterisk city as a whole.
"You and I are both aware that this place is nothing more than a playground of corruption. Here, dreams come true by crushing others and wishes are granted by selling yourself to become obedient dogs of the system."
That speech had summarized her thoughts back during their first meeting, and to be honest... it was not enough to explain her disdain for Asterisk and its systems.
That being said-
"It's nothing personal, Claudia. I might not trust someone in your position, but I have no intention to back out from transferring here."
"...Is that so?"
Kirika didn't miss Claudia's surprised look that slipped out of the president's mask for a moment.
"Pardon me for asking, but I am curious about why did you accept my second invitation. Is it only because of information about your sister?"
"No. Clues about Haruka's whereabouts are welcome for me, but it's hardly my only reason for coming here."
"That's odd, considering your rather negative opinion of the Asterisk. If you don't mind, may I ask why?"
"If I have to state a reason…"
"I have taught you about lots of things, Kirika. But I know you will try to learn about them yourself, nonetheless."
Kirika couldn't help but pause for a moment, recalling one of Haruka's prediction about her future.
Her sister really was rarely wrong about her.
"...It's because, I would like to see what kind of experience a place like this would offer me."
"My, how abstract."
Claudia smiled and spoke with a pleased tone, before a holographic projection appeared, displaying the numbers '08:00'.
"Ara, look at the time. I would like to keep you around to relay more details regarding your transfer, but unfortunately, it's about time for our class."
"Does that mean we will be scheduling another appointment?"
"Yes, of course. I will inform you when and where through a message."
"In that case… shall we go together? We might not be classmates, but we are both first years, so our class should be on the same way."
Apparently not expecting Kirika to offer that, Claudia widened her eyes for just a moment, before smiling.
"Then, let's."
"Well then, this is the special transfer student, Amagiri Kirika. Please get along well with everyone."
What a careless introduction.
Kirika didn't mind being ignored, but it should be common practice that because of their new environment, teachers would place extra emphasis on caring for transfer students.
In this instance, however, not the slightest hint of concern could be felt from this particular teacher.
Kirika glanced to her right, at the Japanese woman clad in red and black tracksuit which was probably the gym uniform. The homeroom teacher of Year 1 Class 3, named Yatsuzaki Kyouko, whose very expression seemed to scream 'It's your turn now.'
She was rather tall - nearly as, but not quite as tall as Kirika herself - her dark brown hair was long and wild, reaching down to the back. It completely enhanced the barbarian vibe which the narrowed eyes with green irises were already projecting.
For a Genestellar, this woman actually appeared very similar to a normal human... if not for the ferocious attitude she was giving off. It might just be Kirika's preferences, but her tone and her attitude seemed more fitting of a street thug than a teacher.
That said, that was not what was most surprising about her; which would be the nailed bat she held in her hands. Well-worn, and dyed a deep scarlet, its presence piquing Kirika's interest.
"Hey, hurry it up."
Kirika rolled her eyes.
"...I'm Amagiri Kirika. Pleased to see all of you."
Displaying lack of care that was comparable with the teacher beside her, Kirika was aware that she sounded exactly like the stereotypical aloof girl in manga comics she often read.
Even with that introduction however, Kirika found that every gaze in the room centered on her.
Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of students who were intrigued by her appearance.
Many tried to hide their whispers about her beauty while completely unaware she was listening.
There were also students who seemed to stare deeply for no reason whatsoever.
Much to her chagrin, there were only a few number of students who didn't seem to care.
Transfer students were always the subject of attention, but this was rather excessive.
Just one girl stared at her with a surprised expression, the reasoning for which Kirika was only too aware.
Julis Alexia Marie Florentia Renate van Riessfeld, the first princess of Lieseltania.
"About the seats, there are a lot of empty ones right there near the back, so pick whichever you like."
Indeed, there were quite a number of unoccupied seats, including the ones on either side of Julis' seat.
Kirika didn't mind wherever she sat, but she supposed being near someone she knew would be to her advantage.
I'll take one to your left, then.
As she walked, the pink-haired girl's gaze seemed to be focused on her - as if expecting her to say something.
How odd. Was Julis expecting a greeting? Just because she knew her name and vice versa?
Well, I am sorry, Princess. Consider this a payback for accusing me earlier.
Resisting her urge to smile, Kirika glanced only for a second, before turning to look the other way as she pulled her chair and sat down.
How about that, hum?
At the corner of her eye, Julis' eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before turning into a glare.
Kirika wished she could giggle without appearing like a freak to the class.