"What do you two think of this year's freshmen?"
In the vice principal's office, Raiden's face was all spring breezes; even the old wrinkles on his brow had smoothed out—he looked positively delighted.
And of course, Vice Principal Raiden's good mood had everything to do with the new student intake.
This year's admissions had gone unusually smoothly.
Well—"smoothly" wasn't quite right. "Explosive" was more like it.
This year, Fusion Academy's incoming Duelists broke a hundred-year record, reaching as many as 108.
Bear in mind, previously, the combined total of the two grades barely reached that. Yet this year, first-years alone surpassed a hundred.
Credit where it's due: Fusion Academy's trump-card publicity during the end-of-term Academy Festival.
The rumor that the three Legendary Dragon cards had been given to students as festival prizes spread across the entire Spirit Continent in just a few days, exactly as Raiden had envisioned.
One can only say the allure of those legendarily rare cards was even greater than Raiden imagined.
Even though the backup publicity plan—an upset run in the Spirit Sanctuary's ranking matches—was shelved when Alester left midway, just the item of the Legendary Dragon cards alone multiplied this year's enrollment at Fusion Duel Academy several times over.
"Hahahaha! The era of Fusion is finally upon us! Which means the day I become the continent's number one headmaster, standing at life's summit, isn't far off!"
"Vice Principal, Vice Principal. Your desire—your heart's desire—you're saying it out loud. Reel it in a bit," Miss Erin said to him.
"Ahem!" Raiden coughed into his hand to cover his embarrassment, thankful there were no outsiders in the office.
"So then, you two—what are your thoughts on this year's freshmen?"
"Mm…"
From the moment he entered, Professor Field had been glued to the new intake list in his hands, carefully observing and analyzing.
The roster didn't just have basic personal details. It also listed which family each student hailed from and—most importantly—the Deck the first-years had registered.
Since they were first-years, most had only just reached enrollment age. Their families had bundled together the most basic forty-card Decks and sent them for systematic Duel education.
Compared to summoning aimlessly, the Academy's credit system and its purpose-built Magic Directory would obviously make a Duelist's growth twice as effective for half the effort.
Before enrollment, most freshmen's Decks were low-level monsters—Axe Raider trade-blows tier. Professor Field had long since stopped being surprised by that.
However, three students nevertheless caught his eye.
First was the third princess, Nova Kaiser.
The twelve-year-old little princess's plan to enroll early was hardly news in Livorden.
That the numbers surged this year owed a bit to the star power of the royal daughter as well.
Though Professor Field had heard long ago that Nova would enroll this year, this was his first time seeing information about the princess's Deck.
As a royal Duelist, the rarity and power of the Spell cards in her Deck were bound to be high—Field had expected as much.
That said, what was with these monsters?
There were only five monsters in the whole Deck, and every single one was from the Dragonmaid series.
Could a first-year really summon monsters of that caliber? Compared to other first-years still in Axe Raider slap-fights, she wasn't even on the same plane.
And Nova was a few years younger than the typical first-year to begin with.
Not to mention the rumors said the princess had always despised Dueling and had never truly performed a Duel Monster summon before.
Sneaking a look at the dossier in Professor Field's hands, even Erin couldn't help sighing.
"To be this level the moment she starts dueling… so this is what they call exceptional talent. The Kaiser royals really are something—each one a monster that pursues victory by sheer power."
"Too soon to say, Miss Erin. If we're talking about monstrously gifted freshmen…"
Professor Field flipped two more pages down and showed Erin the other two newcomers who concerned him: one boy and one girl.
"Names: Arnold and Lishia. No surnames… so they're awakened Duelists from the commoners, are they? Both come from an undeveloped region in western Livorden."
In the Kingdom of Livorden, only nobles possess surnames. Commoners generally have only given names. Even if a commoner awakens as a Duelist, they won't receive a surname unless they attach themselves to a great house.
A typical example would be Irena—hers is a family of magi, but without noble ties, so she has no surname. Likewise, Professor Field himself, a commoner who rose from the army's bottom ranks to instructor of a special unit, had no surname.
Perhaps because they were fellow awakened commoners, Field paid these two special attention. Awakened commoners weren't rare on the Spirit Continent; spread across Fusion's incoming class, there were a few every year.
What drew Field's eye, first, was that both hailed from the kingdom's western "undeveloped" zone.
To call it "undeveloped" was just to say countryside… even more remote than the Carlos family's fief—farther out than the border town of Lukao.
The terrain was mostly Gobi Desert. Lacking water, agriculture was limited; without sufficient forests, fauna and flora alike were underfed. The west had long struggled to develop.
Second, for first-years, these two commoner Duelists' Decks were—honestly—almost too reasonable.
Commoners obviously didn't have the wealth to amass rare royal-level cards. If the Decks they held were all self-summoned before enrollment, that would be even more astonishing.
"This year is truly interesting."
Having pored over the roster again and again, the Iron Demon's face split into that especially terrifying smile of his (genuine).
"Miss Erin, let me run something by you."
"Say your piece, Professor. Just—stop smiling like that."
"Let me take the first-years this year. You keep handling the second-years you've got."
"I don't mind." Miss Erin drew deep on her cigarette, exhaling a cloud. "If you're volunteering to take the larger group, that just means I can relax a bit longer. It's just…"
Halfway through, Erin sensibly fell silent and traded a look with Vice Principal Raiden.
It was clear they shared the same concern.
In the end, Raiden spoke.
"Errr, Field… Are you sure? About what happened to you in the capital—we all felt it was such a shame."
He was referring, of course, to how Professor Field had lost Spirit Eyes during the upheaval in the royal capital.
To protect the students, Field, under the control of the Millennium Rod, had destroyed his own Spirit Eyes, leaving only the last light that illuminated his students' hearts.
"Nothing to regret. If such a small price can buy a road to the future for the students, there's no better bargain. Besides, even without Spirit Eyes, nothing hinders me from educating them."
At Fusion Academy, because everyone's Decks differ, aside from fundamentals, most practical techniques must be realized by the students themselves.
"As teachers, what we must pass down—more important than combat tricks—is the Duelist spirit of never giving up. Only then, as Duelists wielding great power, will our students not lose their way on the road ahead."
Professor Field's will of steel and the way he never wavered once he'd chosen a path earned even Vice Principal Raiden's respect.
"I'm glad we brought you on as a professor, Field. The first-years this year are yours."
…
Meanwhile, Aisha welcomed a new roommate.
Per Fusion Academy's rules, not even royalty are entitled to a single room.
Before Luca moved in, Aisha had lived alone merely because her student number happened to be the last odd number—nothing more.
Given Princess Nova's willful temperament, even if she couldn't have a single room, she would certainly try to wield royal privilege to insist on rooming with Aisha.
Both Miles and Aisha had seen that coming.
Then, right at the dorm entrance, Aisha saw the tiny loli body of Nova being forcibly dragged away by Ms. Lily, the dorm manager.
"Hands off! Let go of me! Aisha is my knight! Knights and princesses are supposed to live together! I'm not living with anyone else!"
While tugging Nova along, Ms. Lily said blandly:
"Sorry, Nova. Princess or not, everyone is treated equally at Fusion Academy. Housing arrangements are non-negotiable—this is a hard rule from the Headmaster."
A personal decree from the Headmaster couldn't be overturned, not even by Vice Principal Raiden, who otherwise did everything for a fee.
"Uh-uwww, I don't want to be apart from Aisha! My knight, you must come find me!"
And thus the little princess Nova was hauled off by Ms. Lily to a first-floor dorm room—far from Aisha's third-floor top-level room.
As a result, Aisha Carlos' new-term roommate was a girl she'd never met.
Which was only natural—among this year's first-years, the only one Aisha knew was Nova.
The new roommate gave Aisha a feeling completely opposite to Luca's.
When Luca had moved in, that one enormous, overstuffed trunk had stunned Aisha on the spot—leaving a deep impression. The trunk had been packed with all manner of girly plushies and decorations; as a scion of a great house, Luca clearly lived a life of comfort.
Her fashion was always on point too—she could even wear different-colored over-knee socks on left and right.
By contrast, the girl who would be Aisha's new roommate carried daily necessities that looked even simpler than what Aisha had brought back this time.
Bear in mind, Aisha had already lived in the dorms a full semester; all her essential items stayed there—no need to haul them back and forth.
The girl's appearance was very plain: common flaxen hair braided into a simple plait, ordinary commoner clothes. Her face seemed fair and delicate enough, but a pair of big black glasses obscured most of it.
Ordinary!
From head to toe, the new roommate radiated ordinariness—she even had a hint of the country bumpkin about her.
The only thing that could be called distinctive was the golden eyes shining behind those lenses—brighter than a royal's.
Even so, because the lenses were so thick, you wouldn't notice the beauty of those eyes without looking closely.
'Still, being ordinary isn't so bad~'
If every roommate were a trouble magnet like Luca, Aisha would lose years off her life.
"Um…"
Seeing how Aisha, without a word, had been sizing her up since she entered, the bashful girl finally spoke, timid and soft.
"Good afternoon, senpai. Um… may I call you Aisha-senpai? That girl just now called you that."
(*≧∪≦)
"Senpai?!"
Bullseye. Despite her plain looks, the girl's voice was unexpectedly soft and sweet.
More importantly, it was the first time in Aisha's life anyone had called her "senpai."
Nice. With a kouhai as a roommate, she absolutely had to show just how reliable a senpai she could be.
"Please do call me Aisha-senpai! By the way, how should I address you?"
"Just Lishia is fine, Aisha-senpai."
"Lishia, got it."
No surname—just as Aisha suspected, Lishia was of common birth. That would explain her plain dress.
Of course, Aisha wasn't the type to judge with tinted glasses. Besides, an awakened Duelist from the commoners who made it into Fusion Academy was already impressive.
"Need any help, Lishia? Whether it's the dorms or the Academy—if you've got questions, you can ask your senpai!"
"I appreciate it, senpai. But for unpacking, I can manage on my own."
Throughout their chat, Lishia's cheeks stayed faintly pink. Clearly, she was extremely introverted; her tone was soft and downy.
After a brief tidy, she was done. Lishia's luggage really was so little that help wasn't needed at all.
Aside from the Academy-provided bed, her entire kit was basic toiletries, a few thin changes of clothes, and a single pair of pink slippers.
"Sorry to make you see that, Aisha-senpai."
Perhaps even Lishia herself felt embarrassed by how bare it was; she scratched her head and smiled awkwardly.
"Don't be so stiff, Lishia. We'll be roommates for a long time—no need to be so formal. It's almost mealtime; want to grab lunch together? I know lots of good-value places on campus."
A perfect chance to display senpai reliability. Before this, the Carlos family hadn't exactly been wealthy, so Aisha knew every trick to eat her fill at Fusion Academy for the lowest price.
"Sorry, senpai—I've already got plans with a friend today."
After a quick bow to Aisha, the blushing Lishia darted out the door.
From the hall came her soft voice:
"Next time for sure, Aisha-senpai!"
Miles teased, "Seems being a reliable senpai isn't so easy~"
"Shut up. This time I'm going to beat you to it, Mr. Miles—I'll clear Lishia first!"
A whole vacation of lying in bed had given Aisha time to think. To keep Miles from being tangled up by other girls, all she had to do was romance the girls first!
...
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