Seeing her, Yosho chuckled internally. I thought I felt an odd affinity… She’s a little bit like Seto-sama. I wonder if my fate binds me to these types of people. He looked over at Airi, who was peering into Yosho’s face. “What is it?”
“Maybe it’s still the same thing in a different way…” Airi mumbled to herself.
A chill went up Yosho’s spine. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Oh, I’ll tell you one thing. Like you said, your existence means nothing here.”
He may have thought it, but being told outright by someone else made even Yosho feel depressed.
Airi chuckled, then pointing at Yosho, said gently but forcefully, “But it’s an opportunity. What you create here will be undoubtedly all your own. The reputation you earn here will spread far and wide.”
“My own…?”
“Yes! So work hard… And there’s going to be a welcome party for you tonight. It’s just a private, informal thing.”
“Thank you.” Walking behind Airi, he felt a lump in his throat. What you create here will be undoubtedly all your own… These words might have been what Yosho had wanted the most. What could he establish here?
Coming to Galaxy Academy, what Yosho obtained first was the possibility called Freedom.
That night…
“Airi-dono…how is this private and informal?” Yosho shouted at Airi even though she was right next to him. The town was teeming with crowds of people as far as the eye could see. It was like a festival or parade of the entire Academy, completely the reverse of the tranquility during the day.
Airi winked at Yosho as he blinked in astonishment. “Ha ha, surprised?
But this isn’t just for you.” “What do you mean?”
“People from all over the galaxy come here, from a variety of backgrounds, religions, and faiths. They all have special holidays. Birthdays, too. You want people to celebrate them, and you want to celebrate for them. That’s why there’s some kind of celebration every day. It would be a pain to celebrate each and every one of them, so we do them all together.”
“Does that mean…there’s a party like this every day?”
“Not every day. Every night. You gotta study during the day, that’s what students are here for. Here, put this on.” She shoved a hat with a large mark on Yosho.
“What is this?”
“Don’t take it off. It’s to mark you.”
“Mark?” He looked around to see others with the same things on their heads. At the same time, someone slapped him on the back, and Yosho saw a man he had never met before smiling at him.
“Congratulations.”
“Th-thank you?” Yosho stared blankly as the man walked off again, and many more came to talk to him. It seemed to be that anyone wearing these hats was someone celebrating something that day.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” As the night wore on, their excited welcomes got more flamboyant. A woman with bright lipstick and a form-fitting dress clung to him, drunk. “Oh, he’s so cute! Come on, won’t you let me be your guide? I can take you places. You know what I mean!”
“Well, that’s…” Yosho was flustered in spite of himself. “Oh, how precious!”
“I’m afraid he’s too young for the places you can take him.” Airi wedged herself between them.
“Oh, you’re his guide, Airi? Oh, poor thing,” she chuckled. “What do you…”
“Later.” The woman disappeared into the crowd without answering his question. The congratulations were incessant, but their curiosity seemed focused on seeing the student for whom Airi had chosen to be a guide.
Airi-dono seems to be famous, Yosho understood from the snippets of conversations.
“You’re the foreign student. Congratulations. What’s your name?” “Masaki Yosho Jurai.” As soon as Yosho answered with his full name to the women who surrounded him, the place instantly fell silent.
“Yes, he’s the Crown Prince of Jurai.” Airi smiled, and the original party mood gradually returned.
Why did everyone fall silent at mention of Jurai? When he tried to ask Airi, another onslaught of shrill (female) voices squealed. Older women tended to flock to him. Alcohol-fueled, the women hugged him and showered his cheeks with kisses. Without even needing to inhale the scent of perfume and alcohol, Yosho was drunk on their soft cheeks and bosoms.
Boom. Boom. Fireworks lit up the sky.
“Is it that time already? Well, good night.” Everyone around him bid him good night one by one and left. The fireworks were the signal for curfew for those in junior high and below.
“Yosho-kun, let’s go.”
“Oh, right. Thank you for today,” Yosho bowed to the people waving. Reluctant to part, several women surrounded him and would not let go. Airi practically snatched him away.
“You’re so popular, Yosho-kun.” Airi gave a sidelong glance. She was clearly having fun with this.
“That’s not true.”
“Oh yeah?” The two of them walked on, pushed by the flow of the crowd, but that crowd dwindled in the side streets. The night breeze felt good on their tired bodies. Airi stopped and turned in front of the junior high dorm. “I’ve registered you for your room already, so just do what they say. Good night.”
Yosho hastily stopped her from walking off, “Airi-dono! I’ll walk you to your dorm.”
“Mine? But you’re younger than me…” She paused. “Well, thanks.
But there’s some place I have to go. I have a few more friends who are celebrating tonight. Good night.” She winked at him and ran towards the crowd.
“Oh…” Yosho stared at her receding form and felt he had missed his chance to ask why everyone reacted strangely when he stated his full name. I’ll casually ask when I see her tomorrow, he thought and cut through the dorm courtyard towards his room. Just then…
Someone’s there…! He felt someone watching him. It was obvious to Yosho, since their ability to mask their presence was still immature—by the standards of Juraians, who had unparalleled combat skills. Judging by another star system’s standards, they were good enough to be professionals.
Yosho pretended to be distracted by something to create an opening, and five shadows leapt towards him. They’d been tricked.
They’re Juraian. Their self-carriage and combat style confirmed it for Yosho. The battle among obstacles using the trees in the courtyard was the specialty of Jurai martial arts, and the movement of the shadows were naive but demonstrated its basics rules of combat. Because of that, Yosho could read their moves. The battle was over all too easily, not even befitting the description of combat.