It has been a few days since I equipped the cursed armband.
And it seems that all the various formalities have finally been wrapped up. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be attending a place called the Magic Academy.
Just the day before such an exciting and nerve-wracking occasion, Principal Gustav had come over to my house, and for some reason, he was in my room with my parents and my little sister.
Honestly, having five people in this room is kind of cramped… Hey, Toko! Stop poking around under the bed!
Our parents and the principal are right here!
“Teacher, is something wrong with my room?”
I turn to the principal after grabbing Toko by the collar of her shirt.
“Yes, indeed. As you’ll be attending the academy starting tomorrow, I thought it’d be best to give you a preliminary tour of the academy today,” the principal explained.
I see.
That makes sense. I wasn’t really aware of anything about the place I’m supposed to start attending tomorrow.
“By the way, I’ve heard about traveling through some sort of teleportation. What should I do? I mean, I don’t even know what teleportation magic is, let alone how to use it.”
“I’m fully aware of that. That’s why we’ll be setting up a door that connects to Astral.”
A door?
“Does this mean that stepping through this door will take me to a different world?”
“Exactly.”
Whoa…
Where should we place the door…
“Setting up the door, huh… Maybe over there?”
I point to an empty wall.
“Then that will be the designated spot…” The principal walked over to the wall I pointed at and touched it. As he did, the wall started glowing, and before I knew it, a black door appeared.
“Amazing! Toko, does your room have one too!?”
“Yep. Cleaning around it was quite the hassle.”
I haven’t entered Toko’s room recently, but I remember it being filled with stuffed animals back in the day.
“Hmm… So stepping through this takes me to another world?”
“Yes. Before we proceed, however, I have something to give you.”
Principal Gustav then produced a white uniform from somewhere and handed it over to me.
“A uniform?”
Guess it’s for school.
“Yes. It’s the uniform. Actually, wearing the uniform isn’t mandatory, but we do have them available.”
“Huh? You mean I don’t have to wear it?”
“That’s correct. Some of our students have part-time jobs, so it doesn’t make sense to force everyone into them.”
Right, there are people like that. Imagine adults in their forties or fifties wearing school uniforms—it’s cringeworthy.
“Toko, do you wear it?”
“Of course. Wearing a uniform is one of the privileges of being a high school girl.”
I see…
“I think I’ll wear mine too. It might make me seem a little less like a slacker.”
“Good choice,” Toko nodded approvingly.
“The uniform isn’t necessary starting tomorrow, but now that it’s ready, let’s move on to the tour. Tsukasa, open the door please.”
The principal handed me a key after saying this. I took it, inserted it into the keyhole on the doorknob, and turned it. There was the metallic click of the lock opening, and as I gripped the doorknob, a grand soundtrack started playing in my head.
If this were an anime, this would definitely be the end of episode one with the opening credits rolling.
“My first step as a wizard…”
“Don’t get all dramatic. Your lack of charm comes from stuff like that, you know.”
Shut up. Let me savor the moment.
I twisted the doorknob and opened the door. But instead of finding myself in some grand mystical world… I ended up in what looked like a drab room.
“Huh? Where am I?”
“The grasslands?
The flying airships?”
“The students are given individual rooms in the academy. You can sleep here, conduct magic experiments, and set up portals, like yours, for people like you who live outside the academy,” the principal explained.
Ah, so that’s how it works…
“So, I’ll be commuting from here?”
“Indeed. This is part of the boys’ dormitory within the academy premises.”
So Toko’s in the girls’ dormitory then…
“Can you access the girls’ dorm from your room?”
“Absolutely not. Any boy caught entering the girls’ dormitory will be immediately imprisoned.”
Prison, huh…
“Alright then. Shall we proceed?”
With Principal Gustav urging me with a smile, I stepped through the door into another room. It was about 10 tatami mats in size, roughly the same size as my room.
But since there was only a closet and a desk, it felt larger than usual.
“So, my room’s effectively doubled in size now, huh?”
Awesome.
I’ll convert this side into a storage room for manga or something.
“With that said, Mr. and Mrs. Makoto, and Toko, I’ll take Tsukasa for the tour.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
My parents bowed their heads in gratitude. With that, Toko rushed out of the room, and I followed, closing the door behind me.
The room was standard, about ten tatami mats, comparable to my current room at home. The lack of clutter makes it feel much more spacious though.
“So, the space doubles as my living quarters now?”
“Yes, of course. You may live here if you wish. That over there is the bathroom and toilet,” Principal Gustav gestured to a door in the corner of the room.
“I see. If I can’t stand Toko’s long baths or bathroom breaks, I can just come here instead.”
Toko always uses her phone in there, so it takes forever.
“Well, that’s something you should discuss with your parents. Now let’s head out of the dormitory.”
With that, Principal Gustav stepped out of the room, and I followed close behind.
As we stepped into the hallway, there were no signs of any other students.
“Are there no dorm residents around?”
“They’re out either visiting their families or enjoying a day out in town since it’s a Sunday.”
Ah, I see.
Maybe I’ll go check out that town too. I’m a little curious.
Apparently, my room was on the second floor since the principal descended the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs and near the entrance, stood a beautiful girl with long platinum blonde hair tied into a sided tail, clad in a pristine white uniform.
“Good afternoon, Principal.”
“Hello, thank you for waiting,” he greeted with a smile.
“Um… is this the new student starting tomorrow?”
The girl turned her attention towards me.
“Yes, this is Nagase Tsukasa. Tsukasa, this is your tour guide, Student Council President Charlene.”
Student council president?
“Huh? Won’t you be the one giving the tour, Principal?”
“Ah, I must attend to some research.”
On my armband, I assume.
“So, I just follow Charlene then?”
“That’s correct. Charlene, you have it from here?”
“Of course.”
Charlene bowed politely again, and with that, the principal left, heading off somewhere else.
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