The hallway was full of the hustle and bustle you’d expect during lunch break, and one young man, wearing the same uniform as everyone else, was standing stationary in the middle of it. Students walked around him as he remained frozen in place. Frankly, he was seriously getting in the way of traffic…and he didn’t even seem to notice.
Yes! It’s happening! Nobody’s looking at me! I’m not standing out in any way!
He was too busy letting his emotions get the better of him, his hands balled into tight fists.
It wasn’t that nobody was looking at him; they were just avoiding eye contact because he was acting so suspiciously—but he wasn’t making that distinction in his mind. He might’ve seen what was happening as “not standing out,” but the truth was he couldn’t have stood out more if he tried. He simply refused to notice. At all.
I’ve done it! I’ve finally done it! At long last, I’m finally a normal person!
He balled up his fists even tighter, emphasizing the word normal in his mind. Being normal was key, since people used to call him a “super-being.”
An overwhelming sense of normalcy is washing over me! I’m so incredibly normal it hurts!
His name was Blade, and after various events, he had transferred into this school.
Ahhh… Being normal is so wonderful. I love not standing out. All hail averageness!
With an almost audible zing, he gave the students around him a sneer from the depths of his very being. The ones exposed to it rushed past, assuming he was trying to catch their attention. But that wasn’t the case—he was just so excited that he couldn’t help putting his entire soul into his eyes. He was trying to act natural and blend in with all the normal students around him, but instead he was just standing out more than ever. And yet…as expected, that fact never dawned on Blade.
But there was a group of four curiously watching him instead of running for their lives. That group consisted of two girls and two boys, all of whom took an interest in the shady character named Blade, watching him from afar with fascination.
Blade noticed them as well. And the moment he did, he began stomping toward them. His eyes, brimming with excitement, gave the quartet the impression that he was coming over to stab them all to death. The most weak willed among them let out a tiny “Eep” of horror as she tried not to cry; even the boys reared back a little.
This is it. My first step as a normal person! Time to say hello!
Blade briskly raised a hand. “Hey!” he said loudly. “I’m the He—um, I mean, I am Blade!”
He quickly corrected himself before he could reveal his true identity.
“Uh…yeah, n-nice to meet you…”
The first to react, despite the tears in her eyes, was a girl with long, dark hair. She seemed timid, but there was more than a hint of kindness on her face. Her name was Claire, and she was from the junior class.
“I am Blade!” the boy said once again, each word brimming with energy.
Claire blinked a few times. “Huh?”
“I am Blade!” he said a third time, his face as carefree as a young child’s.
“Um…okay. I… My name’s Claire.”
“Claire? Wow!”
His face lit up. He grinned, seemingly filled with joy at the new piece of information. His childlike glee caused Claire to smile a little in return.
Blade kept beaming—he was acting like he had just made his first friend ever. In fact, that was completely true. At least, she was his first friend anywhere close to him in age.
He turned toward the other three, hope shining on his face.
“My name is Yessica,” said the other girl among them. She had shorter hair and looked sensible and put together. The boys followed suit.
“Clayde.”
“My name’s Kassim.”
“I am Blade!” came the boy’s answer. He couldn’t have looked happier.
“You already said that.”
“You’re a funny guy.”
The four of them smiled and laughed—a generally favorable reaction. The alarm they had felt was now firmly in the past.
Meanwhile, Blade was cheering internally. I’ve made four whole friends! Now it’s official! No matter how you slice it, I’m completely, perfectly normal!
But then a thought occurred to him, and he stopped.
Wait. Don’t people normally have more friends than this? Maybe four isn’t enough to make me normal. No, it can’t be. I need a lot more. B-but how many…? Ten? Would having ten be normal? No, wait, don’t jump to conclusions. How about…a hundred? Can I be normal once I befriend a hundred people? Would that work?
It was a profound question, and it troubled Blade mightily.
“What are you people doing over there?”
The four students facing him immediately turned toward the voice and winced. Blade followed their gazes, spinning around a few seconds after them.
A girl was standing in front of them with her arms crossed. With her blazing-red hair and red outfit, she looked like a student to be reckoned with. In this hallway where every other student was wearing an identical uniform, she alone was different. Her gaze was sharp and merciless as she glared at Blade and the four others standing with him in the hallway.
✦ ✦ ✦
This was Earnest Flaming, class president and the most feared student in the school.
“Oh crap,” Yessica said, “it’s the Empress.” She clearly intended for Earnest to hear her, and judging by the way the other girl’s face had twitched just now, the attempt had succeeded. But Earnest didn’t say anything more.
Blade was befuddled. “The Emp…?” he whispered, unsure what this meant.
“You are all standing in the middle of the hallway,” said the girl. “You’re blocking traffic. Think about all the trouble you’re causing everyone. If you see yourself as students of this glorious academy, you must always strive to follow the rules and protect the order of…”
She began to lecture them. They were all the same age, but there was clearly a gap between the regular student body and Empress Earnest Flaming—one just as wide as, if not wider than, that between teacher and student. In fact, even the school’s teachers were subject to this girl’s lectures.
…But none of it worked on Blade. He didn’t know, after all, just how scary this young girl could be. But more than that, as he was a former super-being, it would take an Ancient Dragon, or a magic beast of equal or higher rank, to even begin to scare him. None of the “mere” people walking around this town could possibly arouse such feelings.
So Blade simply stared dully at Earnest as she griped at the group of four by his side.
She’s…not a teacher, right? She’s a student, even though she’s not in uniform.
In fact, Earnest was lecturing Blade as well, but he didn’t see it that way. All the while, he was thinking, Why are Claire and her friends getting yelled at like this?
But as he stared at Earnest and leisurely pondered the situation, he had a sudden realization.
“Ohhh! Right! I needed to go to the chancellor’s office!”
His near-hysteric voice stopped Earnest’s lecture in its tracks. Her eyes swiveled almost audibly, settling on him.
“And you’re…who? I haven’t seen you before.”
Claire lifted her index finger slightly. “Um, uh, Lady Earnest…”
“No. Not ‘Lady.’ Do not call me that.”
“Okay! …Um, I think Blade’s a new transfer student!”
“A transfer student? Joining this glorious school in the middle of the semester? That’s unheard of—”
“Listen,” interrupted Blade, “I need to go to the chancellor’s office right now!”
He repeated himself, presumably because he thought nobody had heard him the first time. After he cut her off again, Earnest glared at him, her eyes practically boring holes in his face. But even exposure to this potentially lethal stare elicited no reaction from Blade. He stood there blithely, unaffected. The other four, watching from the side, were growing noticeably pale. Anyone who belonged to this school—the students, of course, but the teachers, too—knew that the Empress’s withering gaze was something to avoid at all costs. But it failed to work on Blade. In fact, it seemed doubtful that he even realized she was glaring at him.
The four of them turned toward Blade with looks of astonished respect.
“Oh, right. Can you show me the way to the chancellor’s office?”
Blade was talking to the Empress, of all people. “Why would I do that?!” she shot back, not disguising the wrath in her voice as she stared daggers at him. This combined package would have murdered anyone else. Twice.
“What, you don’t know where it is?” Blade asked.
“Yes, I do!!” she replied, taking the bait. And with that, she was now socially obligated to show him the way. The four onlookers stared wide-eyed as the pair left together.