The development is so entirely in context that I can only apologize, apparently ever since Persia left, I had been standing near the glass door— without moving an inch for more than 30 seconds already.
And Kuroyuki ignored my existence completely by reading her book silently, not even bothering to take up her guard towards me.
Yet, she does not have any openings.
…Scary.
Is this the confidence of the strongest student?
Unlike Persia Silverlight— Kuroyuki Shiroha doesn't seem to be the interactive type. Awkwardness and tension has no meaning to her, because she's the one who created them instead. I would be feeling a whole lot less stressed if they had just left me by myself. Being in an isolated environment as I usually am, would make me feel more at ease.
…The sound of a page of her book flipping was so dreadfully slow that I could hear it flapping loudly.
The blanket of tension in this very classroom is truly and extremely suffocating. Even though I had my complaints about this situation, such was already anticipated right even before from the start, so anything related to my complaints were now all turned to nothingness.
…So awkward.
Not even having myself interviewed by Restia`s school teacher gives me this sort of feeling…
Anyways…
Kuroyuki Shiroha.
The very legendary celebrity of the Imperial Knights Academy is right in front of my eyes.
I originally thought I was going to scream excitedly like an extremist fan who saw his favourite idol. But things definitely do not turn out to how I expected to be. I guess any random schoolmate who got the chance to sight her might try to get an autograph, but I guess it will be futile till the very bitter end. The ‘stay away from me’ aura she`s emitting is too freakishly strong.
…That's why I was forced to stay on edge, near the door.
I doubt there`s any student in this school here other than Persia is able to get hers. How could she even manage that?
At any rate, I never thought that through this turn of events, I could be acquainted with her. What's more, it turns out I`m the only one in this school who had such a privilege to be sharing the same classroom with the school`s legend.
Ever since I`ve known about the achievements she`d made, which the information was sent to me by ‘that guy’, also known as the principal of the Imperial Knights Academy (I had some grudge with him, so whenever I mentioned ‘that guy’ or ‘that person’ or ‘that bastard’, all of it meant him)— my interest was piqued.
Because she had such amazing talent, I`d never thought she could be this stunningly beautiful.
Normally talented people were usually average looking... or worse, perhaps. Though beauty is not something that can be decided about oneself subjectively… But anyways, I judged based on my opinion… If I say my little sis is cute, then you`d have no choice but to think she's cute.
In other words, she's talented and beautiful— exactly what Persia had told me. And the word ‘unfair’ had crossed my mind for a moment.
The thought of the God of Creation to be ‘unfair’, crossed my mind— until I saw her expression.
A pained expression that I could never forget— that etched deep into my heart.
The God of Creation was too fair, in fact.
I know she suffered through hell once. Such a thing was not supposed to happen to a young teenage human girl like her. That's why, as who she is now… I had no complaints.
Now then, back to where I started…
“…………”
How awkward. Nothing has changed.
Should I approach and talk to her? But then again, I think I shouldn't be hasty. I don't even know what to talk about. If I approach carelessly, I might end up being dead, at worst case— or so I was told by Persia. Okay… I might be exaggerating about this life and death matter. Let's just assume this as something like ‘near death’.
…I`d rather choose to end up dead than being near death.
At any rate, I had been trying to read her for quite a while, but there's nothing I could read at all.
I sort of understood Persia`s feelings now.
You can't blame me for acting like a chicken. I had never been through such an awkward situation in my life. If I were to explain our current situation, it`d be…
One boy and one girl, locked in a room.
A déjà vu.
If there`s the slightest misunderstanding, my reputation will be gone for good.
When I was with Persia— I don't even have the time to think about our situation. Both of us are guiding our conversations and we are having our little chat the whole way. Why does everything turn out to be this different when I was with Kuroyuki Shiroha?
I need an SOS— Hmm…? An email icon suddenly popped up.
Could it be Persia…?
I pressed the icon. My screen immediately shifts and expands to an A4 letter size.
‘From: The Principal of the Imperial Knights Academy’
“…………”
Speak of the devil.
Such perfect timing. Is he stalking me?
If there's a choice, I`d like to delete or ignore his email— and he knew I was going to do so, so he spammed another three times afterwards.
Fine then. Let's see what you wrote…
‘Dear special student number 2,’
…Now he didn't even bother to put my name. But come to think of it, at least it's better than the nickname he gave me.
‘First and foremost, I`d like to congratulate you for finally enrolling in my academy. It seems you scored second in the entrance exams— second. Haha, I laughed for quite a while. Is the confidence you boasted so proudly about was nothing but a farce? If you'd like, I could send you my laughing recording.’
On vague impulse, I deleted the email.
YOU SHITTY OLD MAN!!! WHAT DID I EVER DID TO YOU!? IT'S NOT EVEN MY FAULT!!!
…Curse the other me. He's the one who simply made a deal to him!
The second email expands afterwards.
‘I`d assume you already deleted my email once at this point. Why such a hurry? Did something good happen? Well… of course you were. After all, you were arranged to the same class with the school's number one flower. And I'm sure you'd realize by now, but I will remind you just in case.
One boy, one girl. Inside a locked room. And will be living under the same roof.’
On another impulse, I deleted the email.
Damn. I hate it when he's right.
The third email pops up.
‘I assumed you deleted my email again. At any rate, I don`t think you`ve the guts nor power to assault her, and thanks to that— I`m now rest assured. I will leave this troublesome student under your care, and it will last till you graduate.’
…From his words, it seems like he just threw a troublesome job to me.
‘Anyways, do you like to know why I have sent you an email? Because you were now standing at the edge of the classroom, with nothing to do but to struggle inside your mind— trying to start a conversation to the girl in front of you. And you were unable to do so because you were such a useless brat. So I sent you an email because you clearly needed help.’
I deleted the email.
...the fourth and last email pops up.
‘Be careful now. This is the last email. You sure don't know how to appreciate my help, don`t you? But I'm a nice guy, so I will let this slide through. Remember, I'm a nice guy, so here's a present for you to kill time as well. If you look at the file below, it contains the plans about the building you currently stand. And I suggest you should check the classroom first.’
I breathed heavily as I tried to forget his sarcasm.
…Maybe not. The next time I see him, I'm definitely going to punch him with all I`ve got.
Putting that aside, I selected the file below. Another screen appeared and expanded to an A3 size— displaying the whole structure of the special building with a 3D view.
Huh… this building has a name, known as ‘The White Mansion’. Hmm… I guess it`s copying the name like ‘The White House’.
I selected the first floor.
The screen then zooms in to the first floor, with the first floor`s structure placed on top view.
By the way, the first floor contains three rooms.
My classroom, Kuroyuki`s room, and my room.
Our bedrooms are one-sixth of the whole first floor each.
The path at both sides when you walk outside the lift was actually an entrance towards our room. Kuroyuki`s room was at the right while mine was at the left.
I then selected the classroom.
It then zooms in again to the classroom, still at top view. It's like we were inside a box.
If you look in from the main entrance, the left side— one third of the area was covered by the kitchen and dining section. In that one third area, the kitchen section is twice the size of the dining section.
Since we were allowed to cook, I selected the kitchen`s three dimensional model.
Wow. I will skip the details here— this kitchen is something like a dream kitchen for chefs. It contains the most advanced and best kitchenware as well as a 100% guarantee of ingredients with great quality and freshness. This means I can cook anything as long as I know how to. Sweet.
Now, the dining section. It consists of two tables for dining— one big and one small. The large table is suitable for around 18 persons while the small one is suitable for 4 persons. There are several other sofas and tea tables. From the look of it, it seems we are allowed to invite some friends to come over— but it's not like I have a friend or something…
Next, the centre. Ignoring the door from the entrance as well as both of the doors connected to our rooms, the centre was limited to a square space. The square space contains our personal chairs, freely movable and some highly advanced function— like some sort of butler serving drinks or massages.
Since the teachers aren't allowed to enter The White Mansion, they will be teaching from their own simulation room. It seems the classroom will be projected by a three dimensional hologram; the teachers can interact with us through the hologram.
At the right side of the upper half corner of the classroom— is the arts and crafts section.
Starting from traditional arts such as drawing, painting, ceramics, sculptures, etc… And there`s modern arts such as digital drawing, printmaking, and so on. A variety of choices. I`m the art person type, but it seems I won't ever get bored with this.
Lastly, the bottom right corner— the meeting room.
It is specifically requested from the principal. Any meeting between us and the principal will be held inside that room, protected by an isolating system to make sure not a single byte of the data we discussed leaked out.
Huh… this is quite convenient. But it doesn't seem to be designed by that bastard.
Let's just finish what he has first.
‘Yeah, yeah. I know what you are thinking. As if I had time to design this stupid mansion that burned so much of my finance. Obviously, the girl in front of you was the one who designed it— from the structure till the interior systems. If you need the administration system as well as the specific details about this mansion— just ask her. I gave you an opportunity to talk, so cherish it.’
Fine, I appreciate it. But no matter how much you helped— I still hate you.
‘Lastly, here`s a warning. Persia Silverlight was just a first year`s student council president, and I'm sure you already know that your authority is higher than her and even the executives, just below me— any information you have been doing as a special student needs to be kept a secret. DO NOT RUN YOUR MOUTH AND EXPOSE ANY UNNECESSARY CLASSIFIED SECRETS TO ANYONE, GOT IT?
But of course, there are two students who are exceptional. Obviously, your partner, Kuroyuki Shiroha. As for the second one— I will tell you some other time. Try to deal with your partner first— although I may have told her about your arrival, but who knows what she will do to you? I can't wait to see how you were going to surrender. I will definitely record your face when you beg me to expel you.’
After finishing the last sentence, something inside my brain seems to have snapped.
GOD, I HATE HIM!!!
Just as I was about to delete the email, I noticed there was still something written below.
‘If by chance you didn't delete the email and saw this— Though I hate to say this to you, good luck and enjoy your school-life here. We will meet soon, very soon.’
Hmm… Maybe he's not that bad of a person after all. He just likes to tease me…
‘P.S. I`m short of funds lately, when will you resupply the funds for the academy?’
…or not.
What do you take me for? An Automated Teller Machine (ATM)?
Let's reply to something I'd learnt from social media.
‘FUCK YOU OLD MAN.’
And send.
“Ah…”Satisfying.“…how about you stop standing there, making that disgusting look and sit down already?”…A cold muttering.Her chilling voice made my spine shivered.Ugh. She was really displeased. Her eyes are glaring at me as if to say ‘You are annoying, why are you even alive?’ She's probably the only person who could glare at me with perfectly unwavering, shudderingly cold eyes.Really. Do you need to go that far? And you`d even told me to sit next to you, too. With that glare, anyone who sat just next to you would`ve felt pressurized.So… Maybe until I could get used to it.“Yeah… no thanks.”“…do I need to repeat myself…?”A soulless, cold, and scary glare toppe
“…Special Student Number Two?” Kuroyuki interrupted.“That's not a freaking name!”I yelled at her.“…I know. But the principal told me to call you that…”“Just ignore him!”That stinking bastard… My name isn't something to mess with!“…Fine then, Lucifer Nightwalker von Nightmare.”Ugh… She really knows my name.Someone high and almighty like her knew my name.I actually felt a little honoured… or even proud.But that tone— if I`m not mistaken… Persia called me by my full name with such a tone earlier— when she questioned me.“Go on.” I told her.“…Why did you come all the way here? W
This is perhaps a prologue about the secret of my partner who has not acknowledged me yet— Kuroyuki Shiroha.Also a very slight reveal of my mysterious background.‘Once registered, your ID will be set as ‘Anonymous #2207’. Is that okay?’Yes.WELCOME TO KUROYUKI SHIROHA`S FANCLUB~!!!Kuroyuki Shiroha (黒雪 白羽)Race: HumanAge: 16Birthday: 12th DecemberClass: First Year Special ClassRank: 1stMarriage status: SingleHobby: UnknownFavourite things: UnknownBattle history: 103 wins. Remains undefeated.Personal description:The best student of the Imperial Knights Academy.Extremely gifted and
“……!”Kuroyuki immediately stared at me with an unexpected, surprised look.“…………”Though she opens her mouth, yet she paused and not said anything.It would seem she wanted to tell me ‘it's none of your business’. But for some reason, she can`t.Then, I might as well go all the way.“…You know, it's easy to tell when a maiden fell in love.” I said.“…Humph…! …It`s a secret.” She said with a displeased look as she furrowed her brows, breaking her eye contact.By the way, whenever she made those girl-like sounds, it made my heart thump for a moment.Looks to me she had no intentions to tell me— and I have no idea who this mysterious person is…<
Before progressing back to the main story, allow me to tell you the origins about the tournament which Persia mentioned, and which I was going to participate in. With that, things will start from the history of ‘World War 4’ that happened a few hundred years ago. Needless to say, ‘world war’ is a world-scaled military conflict, and the word ‘4’ means such a large scale conflict happened for the fourth time. So… World War 4, was the deadliest military conflict that has ever been recorded in history. The participants are as so… Humans, elves, fairies, spirits, vampires, dwarves, beast-mans, giants, angels, demons, dragons, magical beasts, and even the celestial gods. An estimated total of 1.048 billion people perished, which was about 14% of the world population (estimated 7.7 billion). It lasted for 23 years. Or rather, in a mere 23 years… World Wa
“…You look quite disheartened.” Kuroyuki suddenly murmured.It seems she merely wants to kill time. I was bored too, so having a little chat with her wouldn't hurt.“I think anyone except a psychopath and a battle freak would`ve become disheartened if they were forced to fight the strongest student out of the blue. And besides, I haven't slept since 3am.”“…I know you can deal with it somehow.”The way she says is almost as if she knew me well enough to make such a claim.“Aren't you trusting me a little too much?”“…I never said I trusted you.”The way her tone gives… it`s as if she trusts and distrust me at the same time.“Then… is it something similar to Persia`s ability to read people?”&
With an outburst on my right foot— I sprinted forward, closing our distance at least 40m in less than a second.However, I know this speed is still not enough. She`s faster. There`s more than enough time for Kuroyuki to summon her spears and attack— like now.“…Pierce.”Although she summoned thirty spears, she shot three first.Before the first spear hit, I took a side step to move away from its trajectory. After taking another two steps, I parried the second spear to the left with the sheath on my left and deflected the third spear upwards with the sword.I continued to run forth.Huh, it's getting easier than I thought. I suppose I`m getting used to this. Now then, perhaps I should prepare to block the rest of her spears…As I was expecting her to shoot her spears, Kuroyuki gently tapped her right f
“…I will take you on seriously.” She uttered.“WHOA!?”THUNK!!!She appeared in front of me all of the sudden. I don`t know how she`s able to move that fast, but reluctantly— I managed to parry her spear thrust upwards with my scabbard.She was pushed back unbalanced.It's my chance...!“One Handed—”“…pierce.” She whispered.Three spears almost grazing the blazer at the sides of her waist, thrusts straight to me.“—the same thing won't work twice on me!”I was expecting this. I rammed two spears at the left into the ground with the scabbard, and deflected one at the right to the side with the blade.By the time I wanted to press my attacks on her, Kuroyuki already