by Dojyomaru
“This is Command Center. Roger. Dispatching reinforcements immediately.”
There were the voices of older students’ engaged in enthusiastic (and in some cases weird) attempts at recruitment, and the screams of new students running around trying to escape. There was a scene of unexpected chaos playing out in this house of learning. Having witnessed all of the shouting, the three froze up.
“Th-This isn’t... quite what we were led to expect, huh?” Yuriga said, her cheeks twitching a little.
The three thought back to the advance knowledge of the Royal Academy that their teacher, Hakuya, had imparted to them.
The Royal Academy was largely divided into two sections. There was the school, where students learned the basic subjects, as well as the education, manners, and management skills they would require as nobles; and then there was the research academy where students performed further academic research.
If you were to equate this to Souma’s original world: the former would have been equivalent to a combined junior and senior high school, while the latter was equivalent to university. When a person graduated from the school’s four-year program they were deemed to be able to take care of themselves, but those with excellent grades who wished to continue down the path of a researcher could enter the research academy. Though, in the case of the nobility, the oldest legitimate son would need to manage his domain eventually, so many of those who wanted to join the research academy were people who had been disinherited.
In addition, the research academy was a total meritocracy, so they accepted talented researchers from outside without regard to their identities. Because of that, the research academy was even less hung up on notions of hierarchy than the school. Conversely, though the school was set up so that anyone who had the good grades to get through the entrance exam was able to enroll, it was still a class society, and the nobles acted full of themselves.
The children of the nobility were especially prone to viewing the school as a place to build connections. They looked at the rare commoners in attendance with cold eyes, and spent all their time ignoring their studies and holding tea parties with the children of any house with the slightest influence. Liscia hated this aspect of the academy, which was why she joined the Officer’s Academy instead, despite being a princess.
This had been their understanding of the Royal Academy before now. However, the school had changed greatly in the past two years or so.
“Come to think of it, when Mr. Hakuya was explaining the academy to us, he did say, ‘As for how the school is now... it may be faster for you to see for yourselves,’ didn’t he?”
“He looked exhausted by it, yeah. So, does that mean...?”
With Ichiha and Yuriga both looking to Tomoe, it hit her, too.
“This is Big Brother’s influence... right?” Tomoe concluded with a wry smile. That expression had a strange resemblance to the one her big sister made every time her big brother did something off the wall.
There were two major factors that led to a change in the overall environment at the academy. One must have been that King Souma’s If You Have a Gift event caused a change towards valuing talent highly. The way influential nobles ran around gathering personnel, and even competed to recruit slaves if they had some ability, was still fresh in everyone’s memories. That trend led people to look to the Royal Academy as a place to train talented personnel.
The other factor was the rise of another high school-level educational institution in the capital, Ginger’s Vocational School. This vocational school, which opened with the sponsorship of King Souma, constantly researched fields of study that no one had paid any heed to before, and had obtained quite successful results in many of them. Those results were then covered in the broadcast program Nameless Heroes, spreading knowledge of them throughout the country.
In addition, at Ginger’s Vocational School, if you had knowledge of a special field or ability, and a novel idea, they would accept any student there, regardless of wealth or class. That brought prospective students rushing to their doors. The more attention they gained from the people, the more talented personnel gathered there... and the result was that Ginger’s Vocational School was recognized as an academic center. That made the Royal Academy sit up and take notice of their predicament.
Unlike the Officers’ Academy, which turned out soldiers, the Royal Academy was tasked with training personnel in cultural fields, so there was overlap in their roles. Of course, the sort of research being undertaken at the vocational school would have been summarily rejected at the Royal Academy, so there was differentiation. Still, the Royal Academy couldn’t sit still while talented personnel in cultural fields were drifting to the vocational school, and they were forced to reform their old ways. Now, as for what result that led to...
“Instead of a focus on creating personal connections to powerful families, they’ve placed a greater emphasis on securing talented personnel. Is that it? It’s taken things in a more meritocratic direction,” Ichiha plainly stated the impression he got from this.
The children of the nobility wanted to form connections with talented personnel, regardless of their class background. That was because, under King Souma’s meritocratic politics, that was the road to fame and glory. Because there was a demand for it, if someone had something they specialized in, they would try to improve at it. The classes that everyone took were not sufficient for that, and, as a result, clubs and societies grew more active.
In order to maintain and expand those clubs, they needed people. What they wanted were talented people. But even if they were untalented, it didn’t matter. To even enter this school required a certain level of academic ability, so if someone lacked an area they specialized in, it was possible to train them from nothing into the kind of person that the group wanted.
They set their eyes on talented individuals in both the school and research academy while they were still enrolled, and plotted to have them join their research after graduation. These days, every person of talent in the academy had those sorts of eyes set on them, and even those who had still yet to develop any ability did, too, in their own way. The result was this mad rush to recruit new students.
As they watched the chaos unfold, Yuriga let out a frustrated sigh. “Honestly... this country makes no sense.”
“But I still like this country. The country that my big brother and big sister rule,” Tomoe said with a smile, to which Yuriga shrugged in exasperation.
“You would. But isn’t it about time you realized? The people know your face, right? There’s going to be plenty of people looking for you, aren’t—”
“Oh! Hey! Isn’t that Lady Tomoe over there?!” The voice of a female student cut Yuriga off mid-sentence, and the older students who were doing the recruiting all turned to look towards Tomoe.
“Despite being a refugee, she was adopted by the former royal couple because of her gift...”
“That means she’s incredibly talented, right?”
“Wasn’t there talk of royalty from another country coming to school with her?”
“Then, are those two...?”
“Indeed?! Then, perchance, could the young boy who stands next to Lady Tomoe be Sir Ichiha Chima who our society so admires? He of the Monster Encyclopedia...”
“I like the leg muscles on that winged girl with the twintails. She must have considerable athletic ability. I really want her for our club.”
There were hushed whispers. Then, a sudden gleam in the eyes of the older students. Yes... those were the eyes of hunters who had found their quarry. Their thirst for new blood was almost palpable.
“I-It looks like it’s not just me,” Tomoe winced. “You two are popular, too, huh?”
“Wh-What should we do?” Ichiha asked in a mild panic.
“This is unexpected,” Yuriga said, taken aback. “...I don’t want any trouble.”
“...Should we run?”
““No objection there.”” The three made an immediate decision to flee, b
ut the school building was on the other side of the older students.
“I’m starting to want to go home.”
“You know we can’t go home before the entrance ceremony has even started.”
While Tomoe and Ichiha were struggling with what to do...
“All right, you two, see you later.” As the only one with wings, Yuriga jumped up into the air.
“Hey! No fair, Yuriga!” Leaving a protesting Tomoe behind, Yuriga flapped her wings in an attempt to clear the human wall, but...
“Whoa, hate to break it to you, but you’re not the only one who can fly,” a girl who looked to be a dragonewt rose up to block her.
“Urkh!”
“Now, young lady, why don’t you work up a nice, youthful sweat doing some sports with me?”
“Nooooo!” The dragonewt girl began chasing Yuriga across the sky.
The realization that even flying was not enough to let them escape left a look of despair on Tomoe and Ichiha’s faces. Even now, the older students were closing the net around them.
You won’t get away. That was what their eyes said.
“I-Ichiha.”
“T-Tomoe...”
The two held hands as they trembled.
“““Please, join our society!””” As the mob was rushing towards them... it happened.
Suddenly, Tomoe felt herself scooped up by someone, and the next thing she knew she was floating in the air. Had they jumped about ten meters? From where she was, held in someone’s arms, Tomoe looked down at the green leaves on the branches of the trees. There, beneath them, she saw Ichiha being swept away by a wave of people.
“Ichi—mmph!”
“Shh!” a figure said, covering her mouth. “If you shout, the people down there will find us.”
They had acted fast, just before the human wave struck, so nobody had noticed Tomoe being spirited away.
“I know I was only able to save you, Lady Tomoe, but he is a boy, I am sure he will manage just fine by himself.” It was a girl’s voice that came from behind her. When Tomoe nodded to show her acceptance, they removed the hand covering her mouth.
When Tomoe turned around, behind her stood a girl with dark skin, white hair, and pointy ears—all traits that were the same as Aisha’s. If there was one thing that was different from Aisha, it was that this girl’s hair was cut short. Tomoe’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Are you a dark elf?!”
“Yes, Lady Tomoe. I believe we are not yet acquainted,” the dark elf girl said, bringing a hand to her breast and bowing her head. “I am Velza Norn, daughter of the warrior Sur of the God-Protected Forest. In order to gain the education I will need to, one day, be fit to serve a certain person, I have come here today to enter the same school as you, Lady Tomoe. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Velza smiled at Tomoe, who was clearly taken aback.
About an hour later.
Tomoe and the others were in the Royal Academy’s auditorium. They were in the middle of the entrance ceremony, and the new students sat in rows of seats, listening (disinterestedly) as the stout, white-bearded principal up on stage gave a congratulatory address. Yuriga and Ichiha were on either side of Tomoe, slouched in their chairs with exhaustion on their faces.
“A-Are you okay?” Tomoe asked in a worried whisper. The other two weakly waved their hands.
“I-I thought I was going to die. That dragonewt, she’s too stubborn...”
“I was forced into the Monster Research Society. I wanted to join a group like that if there was one anyway, and once I was in, my seniors protected me from the other recruiters, so it was fine, but...it still took a lot out of me.”
It seemed Yuriga had managed to give her pursuer the slip, but Ichiha had found refuge under the protection of this Monster Research Society. Seeing how exhausted they looked, Tomoe mentally thanked her rescuer, Velza, once again. Speaking of Velza...
“Now, new student representative Velza Norn.”
“Yes!”
The principal called her name, and she walked up on stage. It turned out she had been near the top of their class on the entrance examination, and was chosen to give an address as the representative of the new students.
“But the offer came to you and Ichiha, too, right?” Yuriga, who had recovered a little, asked, and Tomoe nodded with a wry smile.
Tomoe and Ichiha had both received good grades on the entrance exam (Yuriga had received just over a passing grade), and so, in light of their position and status, they were each asked to give remarks as prospective representatives.
“I didn’t want to stand out too much, so I turned them down,” Tomoe explained.
“The three of us already belong to the ruling families of our countries, and we live in the castle. That puts us close to His Majesty, a position which invites both excessive good and ill will. I wanted to avoid standing out too much and having people take note of me,” Ichiha agreed with her, but Yuriga wasn’t convinced.
“You already stand out plenty,” Yuriga replied. “That being the case, why not take in any talented people from among those who approach and build your own clique? You could call it the Tomoe Army.”
“...You think that would be fun?”
“I think it would be too much hassle, so I won’t be doing it myself.”
“Whaa...”
“But the idea of seeing you panic as people give you more praise than you deserve sounds amusing,” Yuriga said with a smug smile. “Seriously, why not do it? If you do, I’ll be your lieutenant.”
“You’re definitely planning to be in control behind the scenes. I don’t want an army like that, either.”
While the two of them were whispering about that, “Ahem,” a woman with pointed glasses cleared her throat loudly. The apparent warning not to chit-chat any more made them both shrink a little. While all this was happening, Velza’s address continued.
“...Therefore, with pride and an awareness of our role as students in my heart, I would like to do my best in academics, athletics, and amicable relations with my school friends. Not just as your new student representative, but as myself, Velza Norn.”
With that, it seemed her remarks were finished. There was a round of applause, and Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga joined the clapping. Velza bowed, then came down from the stage and returned to her seat.
The teacher who was acting as event coordinator tried to announce the next item on the program, but the piece of paper it was written on was shaking in his hands, and he looked tense about something.
“O-Our next guest will offer a congratulatory address. Yes. His Majesty Souma A. Elfrieden, King of Friedonia. I-If you will, please.”
“Huh? Big Brother?” When Tomoe looked up, Souma walked on from the side of the stage. In that moment, every student and every member of the staff rose in unison.
Souma, who was dressed in his black military uniform as formal wear, smiled wryly and said, “There’s no need to be so stiff,” tapping the nerve-wracked teacher on the shoulder as he took the podium.
You were the special guest for the entrance ceremony today, Big Brother?! You could have said something. Tomoe’s cheeks puffed up with a slight dissatisfaction, but this must have been Souma’s way of keeping the surprise for his little sister. Then Souma turned to the students and began to speak.
“I am Souma A. Elfrieden, as I was just introduced. New students of the Royal Academy, congratulations. You must be here because you demonstrated, through the entrance exam, that you were fit to be students of the Royal Academy. That means you may be one of the people who support this country in the future. As king of this country, I look forward to you learning in this academy, and becoming people capable of supporting my country.”
There was a regal confidence in the way Souma spoke, and the students were listening to him closely, without chatter. No one was going to be so impertinent as to talk when the king of this country was speaking. Nobody wanted to be hauled off for the crime of lèse-majesté right after gett
ing into school. Even Tomoe, who knew Souma wasn’t the type to mind, was standing up straight and listening to him now.
Big Brother really is a great king. Seeing him look regal for the first time in a long time, Tomoe felt a little proud, but...
“Okay... I’d say that’s enough of the stiff, formal address from the king. Oh! Standing at attention like that’s got to be hard on all of you, so, please, be seated.”
Souma broke the tense air in the room on his own. The way he suddenly shifted to casual speech left Tomoe and everyone else feeling bewildered. The students and teachers, who were looking at one another, wondering if it was really all right for them to be seated, began to sit down here and there.
“Okay, everyone’s sitting.” Souma spread his arms out towards the students, and grinned. “It’s a fact that our country is looking for smart people. Every person who can do something at an above-average level is valuable. A country can’t run on the people we call ‘geniuses’ alone. The country keeps running because of diligent workers who may never see their day in the sun. I’m sure, if you’ve watched the broadcast program Nameless Heroes, you understand that.”
The students nodded in agreement. Nameless Heroes was a popular broadcast program that shone a light on engineers who supported the country in ways people wouldn’t usually see.
“However! I’d be in real trouble if all I had were people who can study. It’s definitely true that personnel who can do one thing really well are appealing. Those who can run ahead of the pack, pushing into a new era, and those who will help lay firm groundwork. This country needs both of them!”
Souma spoke passionately, slamming his hands down on the podium as he did.
“I hear the Royal Academy has changed since my If You Have a Gift event and the opening of Ginger’s Vocational School. I want to see both kinds of people cultivated here. I want you to recognize every person with a gift, no matter how pointless it seems. Conversely, I also want you to recognize anyone who is able to do everything well because of their hard work, even if they have no outstanding talents. If there are people like that here, please, let the country know.”