Since he did not recognize her, he must not have seen yesterday’s news.
“Look out!!” called a voice. The next moment, the man standing in front of Washu received a flying kick from the voice’s source. He screamed like a squashed frog as he plunged headfirst into the bushes.
“Do you hate me, Washu-chan?!” Naja stood in front of her.
She stared reproachfully at Washu, like a ghost in daylight. She did not check on the man she had just kicked to the ground, so she knew exactly what she was doing.
“Huh?”
“I stayed up all night to prepare the commemoration for your first arrival!” Naja professed, tears brimming in her eyes.
“It’s a nuisance.” Washu’s counterattack landed perfectly, and Naja froze. If I don’t say this now, who knows what she’ll do to me in the future. Washu stared at her with resolute eyes. Any weakness would mean defeat.
“Washu-chan, you meanie…!” It seemed that Washu had won.
The battered man crawled out from the bushes. “What was that for?! Urk… Naja!! I mean, Naja-kun…” He added the honorific reluctantly. He was covered in scratches, and purple veins bulged from his bright red temples.
“I’m sorry, Clay.” Despite Naja’s apology, she glared fiercely at the man she called Clay. Her sadness at Washu’s rejection of the welcome ceremony that she had spent so much effort preparing was transformed into anger. In other words, she was looking for a target to vent her anger at, and it was more than enough to dampen Clay’s momentum.
“Oh, so she’s your acquaintance… But there’s a problem. Most of this area is off limits to those not in the program.” Reevaluating the situation, Clay directed his wrath towards Washu.
“Let’s go, Washu-chan!” Ignoring Clay, Naja tried to lead Washu away.
“Hey, didn’t you hear what I said?!”
“What?!”
“I mean, that student there should not be…” Clay’s voice grew weaker as Naja’s presence overwhelmed him.
“If you’re a man, speak up!!” Naja barked.
“Well, I mean, uh…” His face twitched in humiliation.
“Naja-kun, what’s going on here?” Ikuma, the dean of the Department of Philosophy, just happened to be passing by. Any observer would have assumed the three were fighting, so his alarm was justified. “Hm…? You are…” Ikuma’s eyebrow twitched at Washu, who was standing next to Naja.
“Oh, Professor. I was just asking Naja-kun what she was thinking, bringing in an outsider.” Clay’s attitude upon seeing Ikuma became courteous, nearly servile. It was a complete 360 from his earlier arrogance. “Could you back me up, Professor?”
“Is that you, Washu-kun?!” Ignoring Clay, Ikuma approached Washu.
“Nice to meet you, Professor.”
“Yes, this is the first time we’ve met in person. Dear me, I didn’t recognize you. You’re so much more beautiful than the images.”
“Please. I don’t know how to thank you for the luxurious residence you’ve prepared for me.”
“Ha ha ha… Don’t worry about it. That only represents a fraction of the patent proceeds from our collaborative research. Just rewards.”
“Collaborative research?! P-Professor, you know her…?” Clay interrupted, with an incredulous expression. That was only natural. Not even other professors—let alone regular students—managed to co-author Professor Ikuma’s research. Merely being his research assistant was an extreme honor.
“Oh, you’re still here? Might as well introduce you… This is Hakubi Washu-kun. She is going to start this semester. She’ll be eighteen this year. She’ll beat Naja-kun’s record as the youngest student to be admitted into the department.”
“Professor, she was qualified four years ago after fulfilling all core coursework,” Naja interjected.
“F-four years…!” Clay’s face twitched so hard.
“Ah, yes, quite right. As you know, Clay-kun, you cannot be admitted until you’re eighteen. That’ll bring an end to any more records.”
Naja gazed with satisfaction at Clay, who could not even laugh, and only twitched instead.
“Do you think he learned his lesson?” Ikuma whispered to Naja, who responded by flashing a victory sign with her fingers.
“Professor, we still have to fill out some paperwork.” Turning into the model philosophy student, Naja saluted and headed for the campus with Washu.
“Oh, Washu-kun—I’m sure they’ll tell you at the office, but they determined that you’ll be placed in Class 6 with Naja-kun.” Ikuma added. He then promptly walked off in the opposite direction.
Clay, left behind, dejectedly sank down to the ground. He was in Class 9. A girl of eighteen, fresh into the Academy, three classes above me. How could that be…? He remained rooted on the spot for three hours before he could resolve his identity crisis. That was the first encounter between Washu and Clay.
As soon as Naja entered the building with Washu, she burst out laughing. “Ha ha ha! Did you see that stupid look on Clay’s face, Washu-chan?”
“Um, er…”
“I guess you don’t know him. Be careful, he’s the worst in the department…”
“Before that, Naja-san, I’m sorry I broke your record of being the youngest…” Washu apologized sincerely. She had a gut feeling that she should.
“It’s all right, I’m not studying to set records…” Naja seemed indifferent, but suddenly her face clouded over. “It’s just that…”
“What’s wrong?” Washu became anxious that she had done something wrong after all.
“There aren’t any young men…”
“Huh?”
“You know, incoming students here are generally married… Other departments call us ‘the nursing home!’” Naja turned her mouth down at the corners for emphasis, clenching her hands into fists.
“Is that so?”
“Is that all you have to say, Washu-chan? This is a serious problem for mature women!!”
“Y-yes, I suppose… Ha ha ha…” Washu burst out laughing at Naja’s serious look.
Naja laughed, too. “There are a lot of weirdos, but they’re all good people. Just be careful with Clay. His particular brand of weird is something else.”
“Pot, meet kettle…” Washu muttered under her breath, reflecting on Naja’s actions today and yesterday.
“Did you say something?”
“No, nothing.”
“Okay. Once the paperwork is done, let’s continue with the welcome party.”
“I-I thought I refused that?!”
“That was the reception for the welcome party.”
“Huh?”
“The real party’s yet to begin.” They climbed the stairs, and beyond, Washu saw a garden transformed into a festival venue capable of holding thousands of people.