"Please wait here until the time comes."
"Understood"
I was led to a large waiting room.
I look around the room and sit down in any available seat.
Currently, there are 11 people in the room, including me.
"Hmm."
"... Fuah."
The pair consisted of a nearly two-meter tall, muscular man and a petite woman in a white coat; judging by their ages, they were almost certainly faculty or staff members.
"Oh, something new has arrived."
"It seems like it."
"He's so handsome."
"..."
"Thank you"
There were five male students other than me.
In the order that they spoke, there was a guy with a shaved head, a guy with a red mohawk, a guy with green curly hair, a guy glaring at something, and a nice guy with pink hair.
This is pretty much my first impression based on appearance alone.
For some reason, it feels like the minds of the first three are not that different from mine.
I don't really understand the person glaring at me so I'll just ignore him.
As for pink hair... I feel like being on good terms with her would help a lot.
"Yeah, I'm counting on you, fellow members of the Magic Power A-rank group."
So, I'll just say hello honestly.
There's nothing to be gained by picking a fight from the start.
"You make nine. The other one is the freshman representative, Mamoru-san. I heard that there are ten people who will be graded as A-ranked this year, so I guess that means we've seen all of them."
"I guess so. Tsk, there are more men than women."
"Is there really no point in worrying about that?"
There are three female students present now.
In order of voice, there is a bright and boyish one, a delinquent girl with blue twintails, and an easygoing girl with fluffy blonde hair.
That's also my first impression.
Hmm, well, when it comes to interacting with female students, I think it's enough if you can just hang out with normal classmates.
If we get too close, Suzu will... well... how should I put it... be scary.
Sometimes I feel a strange pressure from Suzu, yeah.
"Sorry I'm late."
"Protection of the country? No problem. It's still before the meeting time."
At this point, Gokoku-san, a girl with long red hair in a ponytail, arrived.
She is neatly dressed in her uniform and there is not a single flaw in her appearance.
Well, if we believe what the boyish female student said earlier, then this means that all of this year's freshmen with magical power level A are now complete.
"Tarui-sensei. We may be a little early, but we're all here now, is it okay?"
"...Please do as you like, Ajitori-sensei."
"Now, I will begin the explanation about the Masquerade's debut. Everyone, please listen carefully. If you forget to listen and make a mistake, you will be greatly embarrassed."
Looks like the story is about to begin.
I straightened my back and prepared to listen carefully.
"As you all know, those gathered here are those who received an A-rank rating in this year's magical power test. Usually there are around five people, but this year there are double that, ten people. This is what they call a bumper harvest."
""""""
"In whatever form, you will all become central figures in your year, become very visible, and are expected to distinguish yourself as leaders of the duelists of this country. And today is the first step! As those with superior magical power, one of the most important factors for a duelist, you will construct an imposing mask and show your classmates both at home and abroad that I am here! So, you are feeling excited, aren't you?"
""""""
Personally, this is a story that brings me down.
Well, I don't think there's anything bad about standing out, and I don't feel bad about it knowing that people have high expectations of me, but...imposing, imposing...rugged, muscular, etc...hmm.
"...There's no need to get excited. Professor Ajidori's words are merely the opinion of someone who actually fights as a duelist. There are many paths you can take when it comes to having a great amount of magical power. However, no matter what path you take, it doesn't hurt to have a great Masquerade, so it doesn't need to be an imposing mask, but you should make sure to do a good job with the unveiling itself. Don't worry. Unlike in the past, you won't fail even if it's your first time."
"Hmm... Well, we do need engineers like Professor Tarui, so that's true."
It may be a little late now, but it's good to hear that it's okay even if it's your first time.
Today was the first time I had ever come into contact with Masquerade and the device used to activate it.
So I was a bit worried about what I would do if there were any complicated operations, but if there aren't any of those, I feel a lot more at ease.
「All right! Just be yourself! Put your true self forward and perform a masquerade that matches the future you want! If you do that, the results you desire will come naturally! You all have the qualities to do so!」
""""""
Being yourself, your desires, huh...hmm.
"... Now, let's move on to the actual procedure."
After saying that, Dr. Tarui...the woman in the white coat took out two items from a cardboard box.
"... First of all, please put this on, everyone. This will conceal your true identities, and it is also a device to assist in activating the Masquerade. If you wear this properly, there is no way the Masquerade will fail to activate, so please rest assured."
One looks like a hooded raincoat.
It's a long design that can cover my feet even at my height.
"Why do you hide your identity?"
"It's a kind of aesthetic beauty, or maybe a surprise. If you don't know who they are until the last moment, the impact after the masquerade will be stronger."
"I see."
"That's what makes sense."
Ajidori-sensei answers the shaved boy's question, and as the shaved boy nods in response, the red mohawk and green curly hair guy let out a gasp.
"...Next, this. This is the device used to activate Masquerade. It is a model that is distributed to all students upon enrollment at Duel Academy, and although it is a cheap and low-output model, it is also an extremely stable model. Ah, please do not activate it here and now under any circumstances. If it does activate, we will subdue it for your safety."
"It wasn't Professor Tarui, it was me though."
The other was a plain white mask that covered the face from the nose up.
There are a bunch of electrode-like things attached to the back.
When I tried placing it on my face, it stuck to my face as if it was being sucked in, and even when I moved my head slightly, there was no sign of it slipping off or coming off.
"Oh, it's not falling."
"...That's the kind of technology it is."
"Plastic? Metal? Which is it?"
"It doesn't matter which one."
There are roughly two types of reactions here.
Apparently this was her first time wearing the device, and although the boyish, gentle girl looked puzzled, she was doing various things just like me.
However, the delinquent girls, who apparently weren't new to the experience, seemed calm.
"... Now that everyone is dressed, let's move on to the next step, Professor Ajidori."
"Yes. When the time comes, we will move to the stage in the center of the large hall. Then, according to the results of the magic power measurement, we will activate Masquerade one by one. The order will be from the most magical to the least magical."
In order of most magical power... Ah, I see, so that's why they announced that I was number one.
First up... can I go?
No, they said it wouldn't fail, so it's probably fine.
Yeah.
"Why not start with the most magical power? If we're talking about impact, then as an amateur, I think it would be more exciting to start with the least magical power."
"That's a natural question. But the answer is simple; it has to do with the amount of time the masquerade can be maintained. We'll go into the details in class, but while the masquerade is activated, magical power is consumed. If we start with one with a low amount of magical power, we might not be able to show all ten masked figures at the same time in the end. That's why we start with one with a high amount of magical power. Are you convinced?"
"...I understand. As long as you have a reason, that's fine."
The guy who was glaring spoke up, and Ajidori-sensei replied.
But, that's not the point for me.
Well, it should be fine, but... hmm.
「Well then, I will announce the order once again. I will also give some important information regarding the masquerade. It will soon be time, so I wish you all the best of luck!」
And so the order was announced, and we followed that order and began to move towards the stage in the great hall.