The day after Zastin's visit, regular classes started again. I was restless all day.
Even though she's in a different grade, it was no joke. I was sure the second-year classroom was in an uproar right now. And that buzz had made its way down to the first-year classroom as well.
During lunch break,
"Hey, hey, did you hear, Yoru-yan? I heard a really beautiful girl transferred into the second year!"
Tsuchimikado, who called me 'Yoru-yan' without permission, was probably left over from when he used to call Kamijou Touma 'Kami-yan' in the original story. The mood in the classroom was light, but this guy's excitement was off the charts.
"I heard she's a VIP from some country, right? I wonder why she transferred all the way here."
Yase joined the conversation. He, on the other hand, was calm.
You guys are so obvious. I bet you already knew.
"That's what I heard."
"What's wrong with you two! Why are you so unenthusiastic! Let's get more excited!"
"But, you know, transfer students aren't that rare at this school, are they?"
"And Tsuchimikado, aren't you supposed to be a siscon?"
Yase and I remained composed.
"Why would you say that!? No, that's a different matter. Even if she's a little outside my strike zone, a cute girl is always a sight for sore eyes!"
"That might be true..."
"No, I have a girlfriend who's an upperclassman, so I don't really care."
Yase smoothly dodged the bullet.
"WHAT!? YOU TRAITOR!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONE OF US, ONE OF THE LONERS!!"
A furious Tsuchimikado grabbed Yase.
"H-Hey! Stop it! If you're going to say that, what about Yozuki!? I heard you're always surrounded by girls!!"
!!
Tsuchimikado's head snapped to face me. I wanted to retort that this was old news, but unfortunately, he was not calm. His face was sending out an attack signal. I braced myself for a punch, but then,
"What's with all the noise, you idiots."
Our homeroom teacher's voice came from the front. Her gaze was fixed on us.
"Hey, Yozuki Sho."
She called out to me in her usual slightly-lisping voice. Natsuki-sensei, dressed in her usual black lolita dress, was looking straight at me.
"She came for me so soon..."
I complied without resistance.
---------
We walked to the faculty room, talking along the way.
"So, do you have anything to say to me?"
"No, not really."
"You're quite a brazen one."
It's not my fault.
"You said yesterday you wouldn't cause me any trouble."
"Please tell that to the Deviluke people. I was surprised, too."
I heard they had been preparing this for a week. But I was only told yesterday. Maybe the King of Deviluke did this on purpose. As a form of harassment.
"Hmph, well, what's done is done. No matter how much of a princess she is, we can't refuse her transfer without a valid reason."
"That sounds difficult."
"It is, isn't it? So I thought I'd ask a capable student like you to help out a little."
"Ugh..."
When I stayed silent, Natsuki-sensei continued.
"Well, you don't have to worry too much about it. It's just about taking care of a princess."
"If it's so simple, why don't you do it, Natsuki-sensei?"
"We're in different grades."
"So am I..."
We got on the elevator, going up. Students were usually not allowed to use it, so this was my first time. We kept going up, past the floor where the faculty room was.
ding
The door opened on the top floor. She led me to the room at the very end of the hall.
"The top floor, the room at the very end... Isn't that where the most important person is?"
"Then that would mean I'm the most important person, wouldn't it?"
"I guess so."
It would be a waste of breath to argue.
I entered the room. Inside were,
"Oh, everyone."
"Sho-kun!"
"You've finally arrived."
The second-year students, Asuna, Kurumi, Riko, and Aria. And in addition to them,
"Oh, hi! Sho, it's been a while~"
"...Yes, it has."
The innocent Princess Lala, dressed in a Butei High School uniform, was waving her arms. Her tail was swaying behind her.
"Alright, Yozuki Sho, sit down. Let's begin the discussion."
I took a seat on the black leather couch in the center of the room.
"As you know, Princess Lala will be transferring to the second-year classroom today. We're here to discuss her security—or rather, taking care of her."
A tense atmosphere filled the room at her words. The only one who seemed oblivious was Lala.
"Oh, that's okay~ You don't have to go to all that trouble."
"That's not an option, Princess Lala."
Natsuki-sensei's tone was difficult to read.
"The condition from her country was to have Yozuki Sho take on the role. But due to your different grades, that's not possible at all times."
"So you called us?"
Natsuki-sensei nodded at Asuna's question.
"Exactly. You will support him when he can't be there."
"That's quite a forceful request, isn't it?"
"Of course, this is a 'request.' We have no right to force you."
"So you gathered people who are connected to Sho-kun?"
Natsuki-sensei rested her elbow on the arm of the couch.
"Yes. We're asking for your cooperation to lessen his burden."
That's not a request.
"And to be more specific, 'security' isn't the right word, either. They only told us they wanted her to 'spend time with Yozuki Sho.'"
That's not true. I knew that from my conversation with Zastin yesterday.
"I understand. In the classroom, I'll be happy to be friends with her."
"Yes, that's right. As a good friend, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"I can't believe Sho-kun became acquainted with a princess while I looked away for just a moment. Your destiny is incredible."
"...Well, I guess so."
All four of them seemed to be satisfied with that.
"You're all going to be my friends? I'm so happy! Thank you!"
"Oh, that's wonderful... By the way, your voices sound similar."
Natsuki-chan said this as she looked at Asuna and Lala.
That's because the voice actresses are the same.
"Right!? If Asuna was a little more free-spirited, she'd be a perfect match, wouldn't she?"
"Huh, really~? I don't think so."
You can't really tell what your own voice sounds like.
"Why don't you try speaking with that in mind?"
"Sounds fun! Asuna, try it!"
"Uh, okay..."
At Kurumi's and Lala's urging, Asuna reluctantly said,
"Yay!! I'm Yuuki Asuna! Lala-san, it's a pleasure to meet you~!"
The reactions were,
"Hmm, yeah, it's similar."
"Yes. More similar than I thought."
"Yeah, I think you could pass for each other!"
I told you, they're the same voice actress!
"...Why did I do that?"
Asuna's face was a mix of embarrassment and disappointment.
---------
"And that's how it happened."
"Hi there!"
"You..."
After I went to Section 6 for work, I explained the situation to Yagami-san, who was dumbfounded. Next to me, Lala was looking around with a curious expression.
Lala didn't have to come with me, but she was interested, so she came today.
"Does something like that normally happen on your second day?"
"Normally, no. But I'm not normal..."
"Don't say such a chuunibyou-filled line with such a somber face."
I felt sorry for all the trouble I was causing.
"If that's the case, we'll do our best to back you up here. But what about the other girls? Are they okay with it?"
"They've agreed to cooperate."
"Really? All of them?"
"When you say 'all of them,' there are some who didn't really give a clear answer."
"Who?"
"Aria."
I had the impression that she was a little distracted in Natsuki-sensei's room and didn't give a serious response.
"That's strange... She's not the type to slack off on a job."
I had a suspicion why, though. It was because I had rashly gotten into a physical relationship with her.
I thought we had gotten closer after I rescued her from Sherlock, but my careless actions ruined everything. I hadn't actually talked to her about it. How could I? She was avoiding me, too.
"Maybe you should talk to her? She's probably misunderstanding something... both of them."
"You think so? Wait, what did you say at the end?"
With that, I finished explaining the situation.
---------
"Alright, we're going to start our training in earnest today."
Six of us—me, the new member, Asuna, Erio, Caro, and the trainees, Yukiina and You—were lined up in front of Nanoha-san.
The location was a large, flat, iron-colored lot near the Section 6 headquarters.
"Since it's the first day, I want to see your individual skills. So, one by one, you'll have a mock battle against a virtual enemy."
"Um, all of us... alone?"
Caro raised her hand with a worried look. Caro was a support-type. She wasn't good at fighting head-on. She had honed her skills for when she was working with others.
But Nanoha-san knew that.
"It's okay. We'll make adjustments on our end. For everyone else, you won't get an opponent that you're extremely incompatible with."
Hmm. So they wanted to see our skills in our strong suits. I also heard that the strength of the enemies would change to match our level.
It was just like an eye exam. An eye exam finds your current vision by showing you large rings and small rings alternately. This exam would find our current abilities. Based on the results, they would decide our positions and training content.
By the way, the enemies were modified versions of Scaglietti's gadgets. Apparently, they had a "let's use good things" mindset. Seriously, Scaglietti was a lifesaver.
"Alright, let's get started."
Nanoha-san operated her device.
"Wow..."
"I can't believe this..."
Asuna and Yukiina were in awe. So was I. High-rise buildings had appeared out of thin air. I had used this place for a ground battle before, but seeing the buildings standing there was an overwhelming sight.
"Okay, first up is..."
Nanoha-san announced the order, and the training began. I was last. I guess they had high expectations for me.
Being last was a bummer, though. Being watched and judged by everyone makes me nervous. I would have preferred to go first and just relax and watch.
Oh well, no point in complaining. Here's how everyone did.
First, the worried Caro. Thanks to the adjustments, no enemies got extremely close to her. Her partner dragon, Voltaire, was a good deterrent, and even when more enemies were produced to get close, they couldn't get past him.
Next, Erio. I heard he was on par with Fate-san in the ground battle, and he was incredibly strong. And fast. He'd accelerate in a straight line, pierce through armor, and move on to the next target.
Well, I guess that's what happens when you're trained by Fate-san and Signum-san every day... No, he's just a genius.
These two hadn't experienced the StrikerS original story due to the world's correction, but it seemed they had grown in other ways.
Next were Yukiina and Asuna. Both of them fought mainly in close combat, but there were clear differences.
Yukiina's weapon, Yukishiro, made her extremely effective against opponents using magic. But on the other hand, if an enemy's defense was high, she had a hard time. In reality, she also used magic-infused combat, so she could probably fight better against people, but still.
Asuna could force her way through even hard enemies with her sword skills. But the tradeoff was that when she was subjected to concentrated fire from multiple enemies, she had no choice but to run. Yukiina could use her spirit vision to dodge and attack, but Asuna couldn't slice bullets like a certain black swordsman. Maybe one or two, but not many.
As for the last person, You. She wasn't flashy, but she handled everything perfectly. She used her animal senses to easily find hidden enemies, and she handled the attacks with the power of the dinosaurs she had copied with Vlad's Scary Monsters.
She really was the world's greatest problem child. This was what she could do without even unlocking the full power of the Genome Tree.
...Alright, I guess it's my turn now.
---------
Hayate and Lala were watching the training together. They hadn't known each other for long, but they had already become fast friends.
"Wow~, Lala-chan, you're pretty good at this kind of thing, aren't you?"
"Yeah, when I was bored, I used to join Zastin and the others' training! Do you like it, Hayate?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't say I 'like' it. It's more of a job for me."
They were cheering like they were at a sports match.
"Hayate, good work~"
"Oh, good work, Fate-chan."
Fate appeared, returning from a mission.
"Who's that?"
"She's the princess of the Deviluke Kingdom."
"I'm Lala~, nice to meet you!"
Fate looked at Lala's face, then back at Hayate's.
"...Huh?"
"Haha, yeah, that's the reaction I expected. Nanoha-chan was the same."
"Come on, stop joking!"
"No, I'm not joking."
"...Huh?"
Fate froze again.
"H-Hayate? Are you... really?"
"Hmm. Oh, it's Yozuki-kun's turn. Fate-chan, let's watch together? Oh, what happened to Signum, who you were with?"
"Signum said she was going to watch the new recruits' training in person... No, wait, more importantly, you need to explain..."
Sho's mock battle was about to begin.
---------
<
"Yes, anytime."
I was standing in the middle of the high-rise buildings, wearing my BJ suit. A city with no signs of life was eerie.
By now, everyone was probably relaxed after their turn, watching my battle.
<
At Nanoha-san's voice, the enemies appeared in front of me.
--------------------------------------------
🚀 Want Early Access (80+Chapters ahead ) & Bonus Content?
"Loving this story so far? You can read ALL chapters RIGHT NOW by joining my P4tr3on!
✨ Unlock instant access to the full completed novel
✨ No waiting for daily updates
✨ Support your favorite degenerate author (that's me!)
Only $5.99 for the full experience!
🔗 Check my profile for the Link!!