I found myself alone with the student council president at the entrance of the Boys’ Dormitory.
“Uh, to introduce myself again, my name is Nagase Tsukasa. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes… Are you from Japan?”
Can she tell just by my name?
“Yeah.”
“I see… You seem quite young, how old are you?”
“16 years old.”
“Really? We’re the same age.”
Is that so…
She looks older than me.
Charlene is shorter than me but taller than Toko. She’s probably around 160 cm.
She has excellent posture and appears to have a good figure.
Not only is her face elegant, but her long side-tail is also adorable.
Hmm… There’s no doubt she’s not an ordinary person.
Could this be the young lady Toko mentioned? As the student council president, it makes sense.
“Is your name Charlene?”
“Yes, that’s right. My full name is Charlene Iver. It’s a bit long and hard to say, so just call me Sharl.”
Iver…
A name that sounds like it belongs to a prestigious family.
I don’t know much, but she is definitely a young lady.
I should be careful.
“It’s bad timing since it’s your day off.”
“This is part of my responsibilities as the student council president, so it’s fine.”
“Does this school even have a student council?”
“Of course, we do. We have to gather student opinions and handle various tasks.”
I see…
“Is showing me around part of those duties?”
“Normally a teacher would do it, but since your enrollment was rushed, there weren’t any available teachers, so I was asked to help. By the way, why did you suddenly enroll in this academy? If you’re 16, you’re a high school freshman, right? Which high school did you…?”
I can’t mention the bracelet…
“I failed to get into a regular high school and ended up a NEET. Then my parents decided I should come here.”
The sad part is that this excuse is actually the truth.
“O-oh, I see… uh… ”
Sharl is clearly flustered and looks like she wishes she hadn’t asked.
“Well, let’s put that aside. Sorry to bother you on your day off, but could you show me around? I honestly have no clue about the school.”
“R-right. Let’s start by heading outside… Uh, why are you barefoot?”
Sharl looked at my feet and tilted her head.
“Ah, that’s because I was in my room earlier.”
I guess I should get some shoes from now on.
“Ah… That’s how things are in Japan.”
“You seem pretty knowledgeable.”
“I’ll go fetch some shoes.”
“No, no, we have slippers for guests, so those will be fine.”
Sharl pointed at a pair of slippers.
“In that case, these will do.”
“Alright, let’s go then.”
After slipping on the slippers, I followed Sharl out of the dormitory. The dormitory was located on a hill, offering a panoramic view of the surroundings.
“Wow, Astral is huge!”
In the distance, I could see numerous buildings. However, there weren’t many tall ones, allowing me to see quite far.
To be honest, I had imagined a smaller world, but the horizon beyond the town was so vast that it defied comprehension.
“Is this your first time at Astral?”
“First time. In fact, I just learned about its existence a few days ago.”
“Then you’re not from a family of wizards?”
“Ah, that’s what you think?”
“No, I am from that kind of family, but I lacked talent, so I planned to live a normal life.”
“Lacking talent? But I can sense quite a lot of magic power…”
“Just raw magic power. I can’t use it at all. I can’t even cast basic fire magic.”
“Oh, I see… Then why are you here…? I’m sorry.”
At the mention of NEET, Sharl apologized.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. So, how big exactly is Astral?”
“The overall size of Astral is approximately a quarter of Earth. The town you see is named Ein, and it covers about 100 square kilometers, similar in size to Paris.”
Paris…
The capital of France that La Folle comes from.
However, even the mention of Paris doesn’t mean much to me.
“Are you from France, Sharl?”
“Ah, I suppose you could say that?”
Hmm, so we’re partly from the same place.
“Can I go to the town as well?”
“Why not? Why do you ask?”
“Well, because I escaped from witch hunts. Would people outside be discriminatory?”
“I don’t think so… It seems you really don’t know much.”
“I don’t. I haven’t heard anything.”
“Under normal circumstances, one would have a bit more knowledge before coming here, but… Ah, never mind. I’ll tell you.”
She’s reminded of the NEET again.
“Tell me.”
“First of all, only wizards can come here. Didn’t you pass through a gate?”
“A gate… that black door?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The principal mentioned the ‘gate’ too, so that’s its name.
“I just had one installed in my room.”
“Only wizards can use it. In fact, ordinary people can’t even see it.”
I see…
“Does Sharl use the gate?”
“Yes, I use it to come from the Girls’ Dormitory.”
Girls’ Dormitory…
Could it be that she knows Toko, who is the same age as me?
Though we can’t let it slip that Toko and I are siblings.
“So, what about the gate?”
“Only wizards can come here. Wizards are valuable comrades. They wouldn’t throw stones at each other.”
“Does that mean they’d throw stones if someone wasn’t a wizard?”
“I mean… Is there no conflict? Is it completely peaceful?”
“…”
“Which family do you come from?”
“I already said, the Nagase family. Though I doubt you’d know it.”
“Unrecognized, I see.”
“Are there any families that don’t get along?”
“Even that, I don’t know.”
“Hmm… Is it truly a land of peace without any disputes? There shouldn’t be. There are conflicts among prestigious families and plenty of bad seeds. Well, it’s the same as in the other world. After all, we’re human.”
It seems things are the same everywhere.
I guess I can handle a few thugs if they come my way.
“Maybe I’ll take a look around once I settle in.”
“That sounds good. Unlike the other world, there’s all sorts of magical items for sale here. Oh, but bringing magic items back to the other world is restricted, so I wouldn’t recommend it. And be careful not to get lost.”
I see.
“Will you take me along?”
“Are you inviting me on a date? That’s quite bold.”
“I don’t have any money.”
To begin with, can we even conduct transactions in yen?
“Yes. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Anyway, it will take some time to give you a tour of the town.”
I don’t know much about Paris, but 100 square kilometers sounds quite large.
“Is there a map?”
“I don’t have it now, but there’s one in my room, so I’ll give it to you next time. Today, the focus is on showing you around the academy.”
She’s a kind person.
“Thank you. Is that the school building?”
At the bottom of the hill, I could see four buildings in a row and a large circular arena.
“Yes, those four buildings. They’re labeled A through D blocks. Each floor corresponds to a grade – the first floor for first years, the second for second years, and the third for third years. What class are you in?”
“I think it’s D Class.”
“Then you go to D Block. That one there.”
Sharl pointed at the building closest to us.
“What about Sharl?”
“I’m in C Class, so C Block.”
Sharl pointed at the building next to D Block.
“By the way, does the class division have any significance? Is D Class the weakest?”
Since it’s my class…
“There’s no such thing. At least, I don’t think they rank based on grades.”
I see…
“What’s that thing that looks like the Colosseum?”
“Right over there next to the school buildings?”
“That’s the training ground.”
“Training ground?”
“It’s where you unleash magic. It’s dangerous to use magic carelessly elsewhere.”
“I see.”
“To me, it only looks like a Colosseum.”
“True, that’s also where some fights happen…”
“Fights?”
“Yes, there are enchantments placed there. Well, let’s talk about that later. For now, let me show you around the school building. Come along.”
With that, Sharl began walking down the hill. Along the way, we came across a small path that led uphill.
“What’s this path?”
“Beyond it is the Girls’ Dormitory. Boys are prohibited from going further.”
“I see…”
“Would I really be imprisoned if I went there?”
“You would. But honestly, I think jail would be the better option. Everyone here is a wizard, so you’d likely end up beaten severely.”
“You wouldn’t even let in a lover to visit?”
“Meet outside the dorms. There are places for that in the town… let’s go.”
Sharl blushed slightly before striding down the hill. I quickly followed so as not to be left behind.
Thank you for reading.
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