Volume 1 Chapter 2.1
Secrets Told at the Fountain, Parties
Won't Save Anyone Part 1
Translator : PolterGlast
The legend associated
with that girl began 10 years ago.
She was five years old
at the time, and caused a [major incident] when she and her butler went hiking
in the mountains. As soon as she casually pointed to a mountain in the
distance, the slope collapsed with a tremendous noise, scattering mud and soil.
Since then, this innocent destroyer has accumulated numerous legends, and
before long, the name of Nina Stingray spread throughout the empire.
After all, the
misfortune of the three boys who challenged her to a fight just a few moments
ago was due to their doubts about the authenticity of the legend.
At first, it was
supposed to be just a little prank.
They provoked a famous
person who was exempted from the entrance exam, and then they showed everyone
around them that they were strong and unafraid of anything, and they took the
lead in the race for survival.
With the entrance
ceremony scheduled to begin in 20 minutes, they thought there was no
possibility of a battle breaking out, and even if it did, they were under the
illusion that the three of them would be able to handle it.
It did not take long
for them to realize that this was a big mistake.
Nina looked at the three
of them as if she were sizing them up, and then muttered with a blank
expression on her face.
"Do you truly
understand what it means to make an enemy of me?"
She had beautifully
braided platinum-colored hair and azure eyes that shone like works of art. Even
her beauty was now nothing more than an element that accentuated the
disconcerting nature of the situation.
As if to suppress her
tremendous destructive impulse, Nina spoke on cautiously.
"Every opponent
I've ever fought has had their limbs torn off, without exception."
The sun hid behind the
clouds, casting an ominous shadow on Nina's face.
Her azure eyes glowed
mysteriously as she unceasingly ogled the bodies of the three men. Her
fractured smile gave the impression of a definite lack of humanity as a living
creature.
The poor victims
instantly understood that there was no way they could talk to such a person.
"Since it's pure
psychokinesis, there doesn't seem to be any particular means of resistance.
...... Ah, it's not that they were in the wrong, you know? It's just that I
still can't control my abilities very well. Of course, this time too, I will do
my best to prevent you all from being killed. ......"
The three of them
stopped breathing as they cowered under the words that sounded as if it were
someone else's problem.
"Now that I think
about it, it's strange that I've never been charged with a crime before. I
wonder why? Could it be because my father has such a strong influence on the
judiciary as well?"
Nina turned around and
tilted her head like a child who doesn't understand how the world works.
No one could not help
but shudder watching the expressions on her face change from one second to the
next.
A monster with great
power, yet unstable and uncontrollable. Moreover, she has a powerful background
that can cover up her crimes.
Everyone present
understood that it was a big mistake to get involved with Nina.
Three against one, you
say? What makes you so naive to think that you can compete against her?
This monster is no
longer in their realm ────.
It is an existence
like an inevitable disaster, advancing through the battlefield as if it were
taking a walk, producing countless corpses in its path.
It is only her whim
that allows them to survive now.
"Shall we begin
then? At least let me have a little fun, okay?"
With a smile that did
not match her emotions, Nina held her palm out in front of her.
The three of them were
in a state of panic, and in the next moment, they fell on their butts in
disgrace. They slumped and backed away, making meaningless pleas.
"Hiih~, help me!
Please help me!"
Nina's innocent
killing intent gushed out from her entire body, like a young child trampling on
ants. She turned to the three of them who were crawling away on the ground and
said as if proclaiming.
"I've memorized
your faces, gentlemen. I look forward to seeing you again."
◇
When the auditorium
opened, Nina was guided by the instructor to the front row.
Only six students in
this year's grade were exempted from the entrance examination and were allowed
to sit in this section. Located at the bottom of the bowl-shaped auditorium,
this is where all eyes were on her from every possible direction.
"Nice to meet
you. Are you by any chance Nina Stingray?"
Suddenly, a male
student sitting in the chair next to her smiled at her.
Nina squinted her
azure eyes and observed the good-looking boy. The expression on the boy's face,
who introduced himself as Bennett Rohr, already revealed a hint of intimacy.
A high level of social
skills unique to people who have been educated from an early age as gifted
children. His slender stature and center-parted black hair exuded elegance.
Nina, having no choice
but to mobilize all of her social skills, smiled back at him.
"I was a little
surprised. I never knew there were so many psychics in my generation."
"Even if it's
only one in a thousand, it's still not something one can easily perceive,
huh?"
"Yes. There were
only a few of them living around me after all."
Although the
percentage of people with psychic abilities among the number of births has been
increasing year by year, in Nina's generation it is only about 0.1% of the
total.
And most of them are
so impotent that they can never be utilized in combat or espionage operations.
It is not possible to reach the Heiberg Academy, which is the best school in
the country, with just the ability to float or bend a spoon a little bit.
The 278 new students
in this auditorium, from all over the empire and from various races, are some
of the most extraordinary monsters in the country.
"But it's a
pleasure to sit side by side with someone as famous as you."
"You think too
highly of me."
"Just a few
minutes ago, you fought off some students who tried to gang up on you, right?
It's becoming a hot topic of conversation all over the place."
"I just repelled
some bugs that were flying around in front of me. It happens all the
time."
Although she tried to
lightly intimidate him with her childlike expression, as if she did not know
the standards of right and wrong, Bennett only shrugged his shoulders and
smiled. As expected, the six people sitting in these special seats must be
exceptional among the monsters.
At the scheduled time,
the Heiberg School's entrance ceremony began.
After the opening
greetings, congratulatory speeches by officials and local dignitaries were
delivered at length. It seems that even the most prestigious educational
institution is no different from other schools when it comes to mediocre and
boring ceremonies like this.
What was rather
strange was that the headmaster of the school, Jill Will Weiser, was still
nowhere to be seen.
The young instructor
who was reading out the greeting instead explained that the headmaster was too
busy to attend the ceremony, but what could he possibly prioritize over the
entrance ceremony of the school he runs?
Everyone in the Empire
knows that he is quite an eccentric person, but not to this extent.
After that, the
ceremony proceeded smoothly, yet tediously. The students' drowsiness was
awakened when the entire program of the entrance ceremony was over and a female
instructor appeared on the stage.
"...... Alright,
swine. That concludes our celebrations."
The beautiful female
instructor, who froze the air in the auditorium, began to look around at the
appalled students with her reptilian cold eyes behind her silver-rimmed
glasses.
After making sure all
the students' attention was focused on her, the female instructor opened her
mouth.
"I'm Isabella,
the person in charge of your school year. Pleased to meet you."
Without so much as a greeting,
the cold-hearted words continued.
"First of all, I
would like to say to you, you miserable swines who are dreaming of a happy
student life here at Heiberg Academy, you'd better request to be expelled from
the school right now. Of course, it is all right to make friends and lovers,
but you must remember that this is not a mere educational institution."
In the 30 years since
the end of the Great War, the number of Psychics has increased exponentially,
but their percentage of the country's total population is still tiny. Most of
them probably have never had anyone of the same generation with psychic
abilities around them before. That was why many of the students were so excited
to make new friends.
However, the female
instructor's words reminded them of the reality of the situation.
"As we already
explained during the entrance exam, now let's review some of the basic rules of
the Heiberg School."
Then, the instructor
began to give them a brief explanation of the school's rules and regulations.
The explanation, which
took about 15 minutes, could be summarized as follows.
◇Rule No. 1 : Points are allocated to all students
according to their performance on the entrance exam.
◇Rule No. 2 : Points will be increased or decreased
according to the results of the <practical exam>, which is held at the
end of every other week.
◇Rule No. 3 : Five students with the lowest points on
the last day of each month will be expelled from the school.
◇Rule No. 4 : Students who receive zero points will be
expelled from the school before the last day of the month.
◇Rule No. 5 : Expelled students will have their
memories erased immediately.
The female instructor
did not bother to explain, but each student had a string of numbers floating in
their minds.
It seemed to be a mechanism
that enabled them to grasp their respective possession points intuitively by
simply thinking about it. This was probably due to the influence of the
suggestion the headmaster had given them.
According to the
female instructor's explanation, the points possessed by other students will be
posted on the information board in front of the classroom building every
Monday.
"By the way,
several outstanding students - the six students who were exempted from the
entrance examination - were given a uniform initial score of 1000 points. But
on the other hand, the lowest-ranked swine who took part in the <Screening
Test> will probably get less than 50 points on average. Do you know what
this means?"
In other words, this
is what Isabella was trying to say.
─The first candidate to be eliminated has already been
decided.
Nina looked at the
handful of mud-covered students who were forced to stand at the top of the
auditorium.
While most of them
were overwhelmed with fear and anxiety, there was only one male student who was
welcoming the overwhelmingly unfavorable race for survival with a wry smile on
his face. His eyes, peeking through a gap in his disheveled black hair, glowed
with a vicious gleam.
"Come to think of
it, I haven't told you about the other rule yet."
The female
instructor's cold words brought Nina back to her senses.
"The sixth rule
is ......, you are allowed to have duels between students here. The students
involved are free to decide the rules and engage in a match."
The female instructor contorted
the edges of her mouth in a strange manner.
"In the
<duel>, each of you will wager the points that have been allocated to
you. Do you understand? This system is, in other words, a means of salvation
for the lowest-performing students."
─A salvation.
Many of the students
engraved these words deep in their hearts.
Indeed, this system
can be a trump card for those with low grades to survive in the school.
Students whose points
are set unfairly low at the time of admission are in danger of being expelled
from the school on a monthly basis. The points that can be earned in the
bi-weekly examinations are meager, and there is too little hope for students to
have only two chances each month to earn points in the first place.
Nevertheless, with the
<duel> system in place, the possibility of overcoming these difficulties
increases.
"The procedure
for conducting a <duel> is simple."
The female instructor
pulled out an empty piece of paper from somewhere.
"On a form to be
handed out later, write down the [rules] agreed upon by the students, the [date
and time] of the duel, the [names and student ID numbers] of all the
participants, and the [number of points each is willing to bet on]. Of course,
if someone forged his or her name on the form, the duel would be deemed to be
invalid."
"Don't we have to
submit a form?", one of the boys asked.
"No, that's not
needed."
The female instructor
answered without changing her expression.
"As you may
already realize, the current Heiberg Academy's system is based on the psychic
abilities of the school's headmaster. The same goes for the<duel>. The
same goes for dueling. Once the necessary information on the form is filled
out, his ability will automatically be triggered."
[I'll explain the
rest.]
Not a single student
was able to immediately recognize the voice that interrupted the female
instructor's explanation.
Isabella was certainly
the only one standing on the platform.
[What are you guys
clamoring about? Be quiet.]
A voice that sounded
like that of a boy in the early transitional phase of his voice, or like that
of a woman who still had a childish voice. There were noises mixed in here and
there, and there was no intonation at all, so it was somewhat strange to hear a
voice coming from a real person.
It was as if the
voices were forcefully merged together from the radio.
"......Ah!"
A female student who
was sitting a little behind seemed to have noticed something. Like the other
students around her, Nina also looked in the direction she was pointing.
In front of the
podium, a tin doll in the shape of a cat stood on two legs.
[Have you finally
noticed it? This year's freshmen are a bunch of ninnies, huh.]
The cat doll was
opening and closing its mouth and swaying its body from side to side.
If it weren't for its
adorable appearance, this would look like nothing more than something out of a
horror movie.
[Well, since the
"duel" will determine your future fate, it has to be fair. That's why
I, Jake-sama, am going to be the witness.]
The cat doll,
oblivious to the confusion of the students, went on.
[No need to be scared,
guys. My duty is simply to watch over the <duel>. On the day of the
<duel>, by the order of the headmaster, I will attend the duel and
confirm that the rules you have set up are being followed. Of course, I won't
interfere in any way, no matter how crazy the rules are. It's your own decision
after all.]
Nina calmly analyzed
that Jake was probably in charge of monitoring the students' abilities.
The school values this
system so much that they have prepared such an existence that is beyond human
knowledge.
Considering the fact
that the mechanism of psychic abilities has not been fully understood even 30
years after their emergence, this educational policy that emphasizes actual
combat makes perfect sense.
"The maximum
number of Jakes allocated to you first-year students is four. That means that
no more than four dueling groups will be allowed to fight at the same time. The
end of the month will be particularly busy, so get your pledges ready as soon as
possible."
When incomprehensible
phenomena ensue so frequently, people are often at a loss for words.
Even though all of the
students here have the power to rewrite the laws of physics, it is clearly
beyond comprehension to give life to an inorganic object.
"That's all for
the explanations. After lunch break, class orientation will be held in each
classroom. The class assignment list will be posted in front of the classroom
building, so please check it yourself."
After scanning over
the silent auditorium emotionlessly, the female instructor, Isabella,
concluded.
"Well then, may
you have an enjoyable school life."
After a long silence,
the students finally understood.
In order to survive
here for the next three years, they had to let go of any unnecessary doubts.
If they were to be
surprised by every single one of those tin monsters, they would not be able to
survive. Instead, they should focus on the fact that everyone here has a
chance.
"You seem to be
enjoying yourself, Nina. You seem to be unable to contain your smile."
Nina gave Bennett a
smile, and he gave her the same kind of expression.
"Yes. I will do
my best to live up to the name of the Stingray family."
"You have a
humble attitude, huh? I must learn from you."
She covered up the
emotions swirling inside her and shook hands with him amicably. This was a
skill Nina had cultivated over the course of her life.
As she gazed at the
commotion of the students exiting the auditorium, Nina secretly clenched her
fists.
Three-year battle is
about to begin.
No one will ever know,
a one-man war is about to begin.
◇
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