Chapter 3:
The Hero Enlisted
It had been three days since the entrance ceremony. Okegawa Kuon was put in class 1-A, reserved for the twenty students with the best results in the mock battles. With En in tow, Kuon set foot in that class for the first time.
“G-good morning…”
With his magic completely drained, he’d been unable to move, and was given permission to rest for two days—quite an awkward way to start school. His hesitant greeting immediately silenced the class. Everyone turned to look and froze in their tracks.
For a moment, he was worried. Did I make myself a target? he wondered. But then…
“Okegawa!” “Okegawa Kuon!” “Okegawa-kun!” “Okegawa!” “Kuon-kun!” “That guy?” “The Division 1!” “The one who tied with Suzuka Hanabi-senpai!” “He was scouted into the Lunatic Order!” “Smaller than I imagined.” “Cuter than I imagined!” “Is that Device a Guide?” “Yo, Okegawa, you’re amazing!” “How’d you do that?” “What was that?” “You gotta teach us!” “Machine Fencing?” “Is it true you’re the headmaster’s pupil?” “Is that why you’re so good?” “Are you really Division 1?” “You joined the Lunatic Order already?” “The Fuji Squad is so cool!”
He was surrounded and aggressively questioned. Kuon was on the small side and was unable to free himself from the circle. He wound up nervously answering as best he could.
“I’m really Division 1.” “I haven’t officially joined the Lunatic Order yet.” “Yeah, her name’s En.” “Yes, Machine Fencing.” “The headmaster is my master and she’s scary.” “If I try teaching anyone else Master will get angry, sorry, she’s scary.” “Look, she’s really scary.”
When the bell rang and the teacher had come in, Kuon was finally released. The teacher informed him that his seat was in the front row by the windows. She was a sweet-looking young woman by the name of Kadono.
“Okegawa-kun,” she began asking, “is it true you’re the headmaster’s pupil?”
“Yes. She’s scary.”
After homeroom, classes began. Jogen Maneuver Academy might be a Cavalleria military training school, but they also covered the usual subjects. Nearly all of these included a bias toward how they could be practically applied to combat, however.
There was a display set on his desk, and when he tapped the screen it opened an electronic textbook titled New Math 1. He skimmed it. The first chapter was titled “Positive Numbers and Negative Numbers,” and the former Hero smiled fondly, reminded of his first twenty-two years of life.
Everything after that was a mad rush.
Everyone wanted to see the Division 1 who’d been scouted to the Lunatic Order on the first day of school. Upperclassmen from the junior high, and even a few students from the high school, swung by to gawk at him.
One day, he was called out by a senpai. His classmates all went pale. The nature of the school made it home to many violent types, as well as many students who took camaraderie quite seriously. Several classmates offered to accompany him, which he appreciated but politely declined. He went alone to the designated location outside the auditorium. Seems like a crowded location for a fight, he thought.
He found four tough-looking male students from the high school waiting for him.
“Will you join my squad?!” “No, join ours!” “We asked first!” “No, wait!”
There were eight squads in the Lunatic Order; four of them were trying to recruit him at once.
Hanabi had been right. She warned him people would begin fighting over him, so he should be careful not to accept any offers. She ignored the fact that she’d given him one herself.
“I’ve already been asked to join the Fuji Squad…” Kuon said, feeling very small around these four.
They simply begged him to at least think about it, growing very insistent, until, suddenly, a beautiful girl swooped in to save him. She pried the poor child away from the coarse men, hugging Kuon’s face tightly between her large breasts. “Never!” she said. “He’s mine! I won’t let anyone have him!”
That touching moment sent a shockwave running through the crowd around them.
The Warrior Princess had gone full dere.
From that day forth, the phrase “Warrior-dere” could be heard in all corners of the school…referring, of course, to Suzuka Hanabi.
Before starting school, Kuon had just been hoping to get into the Lunatic Order somehow. He even worried about whether any squads would be willing to consider a Division 1 like him. It never occurred to him he’d be in such high demand.
It was all thanks to Suzuka Hanabi.
That alone was enough reason to accept her offer, but even beyond that was how much he enjoyed their mock battle. The idea of fighting alongside her excited Kuon. He’d never felt anything like that in his previous life.
So Okegawa Kuon resolved to join the Fuji Squad.
He wasn’t trying to make up for having accidentally contributed to the creation of a weird buzzword like “Warrior-dere,” nor was he just there because of her boobs. Definitely not!
It never occurred to him Hanabi may not have talked to the Squad Leader about it.