The third year of my education had begun, but that wasn’t to say the daily routine of my trek to school had changed in the least. As always, I found myself trudging up the steep incline toward the academy.
I could hear a group of upperclassmen chatting happily as they walked in front of me. Their voices carried no hint of anxiety or trepidation for the beginning of a new school year.
Interesting. Perhaps most students would treat this change casually.
To me, becoming a third-year student represented a dramatic shift in my school life. I don’t mean to imply I went through a sudden physical change—I hadn’t woken up to the realization I’d sprouted a new pair of wings, or anything of the sort. In fact, on a purely personal level, I could safely say I’d hardly changed at all. The fact that my elder sister Leila had graduated, however, had had a substantial impact upon me.
My sister’s strength was overwhelming, and for many a long year, she had reigned over the student council with an unshakable and indisputable authority. I appreciate that I’m making her sound like a certifiable dictator, but the truth was rather less impressive. For all the perfection she projected at school, deep down, Leila was a slovenly and apathetic woman who would find the rigors of despotism to be more trouble than they were worth. As a matter of fact, her legacy as the student council president despite her lack of responsibility was now posing a problem in and of itself.
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There was a very real chance that the order and discipline of the Red-Dragon Academy for Girls was about to go through a total upheaval.
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I could say with confidence that I was not the only one feeling those apprehensions. I had not forgotten the persistent air of nervous tension that had lingered in the student council chambers all throughout the last year. For the time being, however, no such change had occurred. The academy had carried on as normally and naturally as ever. Its environment represented an anxiety-inducing unknown for the new first-year students, of course, but to those in the upper grade levels, I imagined it felt as if they’d simply returned to the same daily lives they’d grown used to.
As I pondered the state of affairs in the academy, I felt a presence behind me and leapt forward, putting some distance between me and the interloper before I spun around.
“Oh, so you noticed me, Sister? A shame.”
I found Hialis standing behind me. She was a classmate of mine in the same grade level as I was, and yet for some reason, she looked up to me as an elder sister figure.
“You seemed so absent-minded, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use my body-breaking technique to give you a pulled muscle.”
“No need to worry about my absentmindedness, thank you very much. Also, using a technique of that nature as a sneak attack is hardly fair play,” I replied.
Strength was everything in the red dragon world, but one had to play by a certain set of rules in order to be accepted as truly strong. Sneak attacks were broadly looked down upon. If you were to challenge your opponent to a duel, and they accepted that challenge, then there would be no issues in the court of public opinion, but if you did not go through the proper procedures, any victories you may have won would be rendered invalid.
“You don’t deny you were acting absent-minded,” said Hialis. “Whatever might be the matter? If you have troubles to discuss, I would be happy to lend an ear.”
I was starting to lose track of which of us was supposed to be the elder sister in this relationship. Still, I chose to be frank and explain what was on my mind to her.
“…In short, you were expecting upheaval in the new school year, and you felt let down by the fact the transition has, in fact, been entirely peaceful,” Hialis said after I was finished explaining myself.
“Ugh,” I grunted. “It all sounds so very simple when you sum it up on those terms…”
I certainly look like a fool now.
“That’s the only truth to be found in your words, Sister. That being said, it baffles me why the one responsible for bringing about this peace would fret so on account of it,” Hialis said with an exasperated sigh as she gracefully scaled a cliff side. Lagging behind would mean seeing up her skirt, so I climbed alongside her. The road to the Red-Dragon Academy was so perilous by ordinary standards, even the most experienced human mountain climber would take one look at it and flee in terror. “You defeated the previous student council president and ensured order would be preserved in the academy’s hierarchy, did you not? It would be one thing if you’d failed, of course, but as is, I see no reason for you to worry.”
That was true. I had challenged my sister prior to her graduation and ultimately defeated her in battle.
“I didn’t challenge her for the sake of protecting the academy, for the record. I simply wished to battle my sister at least once before her graduation, that’s all,” I replied.
“Be that as it may, the end result was a plethora of our fellow students witnessed the student council president they thought to be untouchable be defeated by her younger sister. That means so long as you remain in good health, order within this academy will be preserved. Our lives of peace and leisure will continue on as they always have,” Hialis said, giving me a pat on my back as we pulled ourselves up onto the top of the cliffside. “Intentional or not, there can be no mistaking that you are the one who brought about this peace. You ought to be proud of what you’ve done!”
“I wish I could be as confident as you are that everything will play out that perfectly,” I said.
There was every chance some students would conclude my victory over my sister was a fluke. I, myself, could not confidently claim I would come out on top if we were to battle anew. Moreover, I was only in my third year at the academy. Surely the fourth-years and those above them would not look kindly upon my newfound status?
“You certainly can be paranoid sometimes, can’t you, Sister?” said Hialis. “But even if trouble did arise, you’re the secretary of the student council, which means you’d learn about it before just about anyone!”
“I suppose that is true, yes,” I admitted. No word of any major issues had reached the student council’s ears…for now, anyway.
“Then what more is there to do but enjoy your life at the academy to its fullest?” Hialis said as she gave my back another firm slap. A little too firm—it hurt quite a bit—but it also blew away both my drowsiness and my hesitation in one solid smack.