NAOKI

Somehow actually being here, in the Higashi Academy, Naoki realized just how special he probably seemed to the rest of the Angels. All thirty-eight students that had been present at the auditorium when Naoki had arrived were girls. The faculty present, eleven in all, were female as well.

The teacher finished taking attendance and introduced herself as Arisa-sensei. Apparently she would be the Magic Programming teacher and the homeroom teacher of class A. Magic Programming, she said, was a subject required by the Pacific Treaty. Then she launched into the details, what to expect in class, things like that.

Naoki cracked a smile and removed his focus from the podium. Sure, Arisa-sensei was interesting to listen to, but he already knew what she was talking about. He could even answer the sample questions she asked the first-years without giving it a second thought. He’d dealt with “Magic Programming” by himself long, long ago, when he’d first started training himself.

He let his gaze wander around the auditorium. It was awfully big, with a ceiling twice as high as the usual auditorium ceiling—which was already quite high. There were hundreds of seats as well, hinting that maybe the Higashi Academy used to have students numbering over a hundred every year.

The walls on three sides were built with weird patterns, indicative of the latest acoustics engineering. The wall on the side behind the podium, where the students were all facing, was built almost entirely differently. Seven rectangular panels stood behind a clockwork of pistons and sliders. From his seat just a row from the front, Naoki could see almost everything. He compensated for the parts he couldn’t see by analyzing the air currents within the auditorium.

The panel from which he’d entered had already retracted. He could make out a thick sheet of glass above the “wall” panel, probably the “window” the panel had been. He knew from his brief contact with the window that the glass had been bulletproof.

Which got his attention. Why would Angels need protection against guns? Shizuka’s bullet had been fast, just like a bullet, but it lacked the physicality of a real bullet. Shizuka’s bullets would utterly shatter the bulletproof glass.

Naoki finally allowed himself to look around at his fellow first-years. Seeing them so immersed in Arisa-sensei’s demo lesson surprised him. They were Angels, weren’t they? Shouldn’t they already know all this stuff?

Arisa-sensei’s lesson ended, and another teacher took the podium. She introduced herself as Mamoru-sensei. She was the teacher for general subjects for the first term and was also class B’s homeroom teacher.

Naoki didn’t pay attention to her, either. He was finished with the normal high school curriculum. He’d studied accelerated lessons during his “summer breaks.”

Mamoru-sensei finished, and another teacher took her place.

Each student would be required to join at least one club. They could choose from two different types of clubs.

The first type was composed of the usual high school clubs, which had activities similar to the normal high school clubs. The Higashi Academy even competed with other schools, on the condition that magic wouldn’t be used. The notable clubs of this type were the basketball club, which had made it to the nationals two years in a row before; and the laser rifle shooting club, which had won the nationals five times in the past twenty years.

The other type allowed the use of abilities—in fact, those clubs encouraged the use of magic and were devoted to the growth of magic. For competitions, the Higashi Academy regularly invited the West Academy in the USA over and vice versa. The notable clubs were the Enhancement Research Club and the Higashi Academy Knights. The Enhancement Research Club didn’t really need much explanation. As Naoki understood from the name and from snippets of listening, all they did was research possible enhancements for magic and weapons. Not really a fun club to join when Naoki already knew how to do those for himself. The Higashi Academy Knights were a special club made up of chosen students within the “elite.”

Naoki wondered what “elite” meant here.

After the teachers spoke in turn for their subjects and the clubs they were the advisers of, the Headmistress finally took the podium.

“Good morning, first-years,” she said with a warm smile. Naoki suddenly had the urge to listen, and he did. He even turned his music off so that the tiny sound wouldn’t distract him.

“As some of you know, there are four systems in place here in Higashi Academy.

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“The first is the Duel System. All problems that cannot be settled peacefully must be settled with a Duel. You’ll be able to find copies of the section of the Pacific Treaty that deals with Duels in our library. We expect you all to comply with the set rules. As for judges, feel free to drop by any faculty offices. If there are any free teachers, they’ll most likely be happy to judge your Duels for you.”

Naoki had already studied the Duel System proposed in the Pacific Treaty. It encompassed everyone. That meant Angels could challenge normal humans to Duels, and vice versa. Masters weren’t exempted either. All it took was a challenge and an acceptance of the challenge. Most Duels didn’t even have judges. Which made sense. Most Duels were fights to the death, after all. Judges wouldn’t really be helpful there, would they?

“The second system is the Duo system. If you checked your acceptance letters, your schedules were written on the third page. For those who didn’t, you’ll be having a set of tests later. After those tests, your homeroom teachers will pair you up into temporary Duos. But rest assured. Those pairings are temporary. Permanent Duos can only be made when two of you come to my office and ask to be made into one. After a permanent Duo has been made, only a Duel can break it.”

The Duo system was one of the things Naoki wasn’t so sure of. He could handle most things alone, but he knew somewhere along the line he had to be part of a Duo. That made him unsettled, since he’d always only done things alone. Sure, he’d played team-based games online, but even then, he’d always made sure he was the best player on the team so his teammates would have to base their playing styles on his. He had no idea how he’d fare in a Duo.

“The third system is the Level system. Some of you already have your Levels, but most of you wouldn’t have had a chance to take the official Level Tests.”

Naoki hadn’t taken the test, but it wasn’t because he didn’t have a chance to. Being a world-famous celebrity, he could have taken an official test any time he wanted to, but he didn’t know where he’d place. His dad had also been against it. Something about not being able to keep the results private.

“There are six sets of Levels. The first five are sets of five letters of the English alphabet. The sixth is the Level Z, but we don’t expect any of you to place there.”

Of course. Level Z was the theoretical “limit,” the point where an Angel ceased to be and Angel. Anyone who hit Level Z would have to have another title.

“I’m proud to announce that the Higashi Academy finally has a student who placed within the fifth set of levels. She is a third-year. Her name is Shizuka Minamoto.”

Shizuka Minamoto. The Higashi Academy’s “ace.”

“We hope all of you can reach similar heights.”

The Headmistress hesitated a bit.

“I’m sorry, let me change that. We need you to reach similar heights. There’s been a disturbing rise in mishaps throughout Japan lately. I’m afraid the Pacific…”

She didn’t continue, but Naoki knew what she meant, maybe. After all, he’d just met two Shades that claimed Angels shouldn’t have been able to touch them. And Shizuka actually hadn’t been able to. Luckily, Naoki had, so they’d been able to dispatch the second Shade together. But Naoki didn’t really know what being an Angel meant. He assumed they were an answer for something, but he didn’t know what that “something” was. And after meeting the Shades and listening to the Headmistress, all he could think was that the Shades were probably the weakest among the “mishaps” increasing within Japan at this very moment.

The auditorium suddenly filled with mutterings. Apparently the other students already knew something about what they would be facing.

The Headmistress cleared her throat.

“Continuing, the fourth system is the Rank system. There will be two ranks for each student. The first is academic rank. The results of the midterms and final exams for each term will determine your academic ranks. The reward for the students in the top five will be unlimited cafeteria food and an increased monthly allowance. The top two students and their permanent Duos will be gifted an all-expense-paid trip to our outpost city in the Pacific for the next summer excluding this one.”

Whoa. Naoki knew about the outpost city. Apparently it was blended in with an “exotic culture,” so everything there was different from the normal.

If he somehow placed first even once… But he gave up on the idea almost immediately. He couldn’t see himself being motivated enough to gun for first or second rank.

“The second is ability rank. The ability rank will take into consideration the use of concepts taught in your Magic classes. You will be ranked at the start of each term, starting next term. The top six students and their Duos at the time will be placed within the Higashi Academy Knights. And the top two students and their permanent Duos will be given a free pass to leave the Higashi Academy at any time.”

That reminded Naoki of Shizuka. She hadn’t been concerned with going to class, so Naoki assumed she had the free pass. Well, it wasn’t a stretch to think she ranked at the top in terms of ability. She probably wasn’t an “ace” for nothing, after all.

“So study hard, Angels. Enjoy your time here, especially now.” her tone suddenly became serious. “Enjoy you time here, because it may not last.”