When Kazuki and Mio entered the classroom together, several greetings of "Good Morning" welcomed them. Even though it happen's every morning, the barrage of greetings from this many girls was still overwhelming.
"Hey, Amasaki-san, Hayashizaki-kun, won't you two join our party!?"
One of the classmates didn't stop at greeting and came over near their side.
Without waiting for Kazuki's reply, the girl panicked and kept on talking without pause.
"Surely, after I thoroughly made fun of you about that matter with the sword, it might be too shameful to form a party together! But I, when Hayashizaki-kun fought against Amasaki-san using a katana, I thought it was really cool!"
Looking carefully at this girl, she is the one that triggered the impetus of the duel with Mio.
"Moreover, I thought that if we challenge a quest, it will be helpful if a swordsman accompany us, Rather than asking the people at the Sword Division, it would be easier to just ask Hayashizaki-kun who is a classmate...besides I heard Hayashizaki-kun and Amasaki-san are currently facing some troubles!! I wonder!?"
Inside the classroom, jeering voices rang out "Aah, she is stealing the march on Hayashizaki-kun-!" "Not fair!" and so forth. Hearing that, the girl retorted back "Wait, be quiet you guys-!"
As a [swordsman]. It seems that Kazuki had noticed those classmates who made those cheerful voices.
It has been one month since his enrollment to this school. The number of students that managed to contract successfully with their Diva had increased rapidly.
Those students immediately formed their party and actively challenged the quests.
"As expected, I wonder if it's no good... before when I made fun about the sword..."
Even though Kazuki hadn't said anything, that classmate had already got down on herself.
"It's okay, I don't mind see. In the end it became a chance to fix my relationship with Mio."
A heart mark floated from the girl after hearing Kazuki's answer.
The classmates around exclaimed "There is a chance!?", and made a stir as well.
"Really!? Then after school today let's take a quest together immediately..."
"I'm sorry, I want to think about the party a little more carefully."
Kazuki asked with a glance at Mio's face.
Just now Mio was watching in suspense whether Kazuki would accept the invitation, but when she caught Kazuki's eyes, she made a pouting expression, as if she was trying to hide her agitation.
Her face seems like it wanted to say 'isn't it fine if you do whatever you like?'
But as expected, it seems she was not okay with just anyone.
"Uh... in short you want to wait until we get along better first right? ...Well, it can't be helped. But thank you that you didn't make a big deal about my behavior last time! Sorry about that, let's get along from now on!!"
The girl's look changed like she had been released from her guilt and she returned to her own chair.
{That girl is also a contractor of the 72 Pillar, that's why you should use everything you can to get friendly with her.}
Inside Kazuki's head, Leme raised her dissatisfaction . Even though I had said before that I didn't want to have that kind of honourless behavior.
"What the heck is that, it feels like there was no consideration for me and she only aimed for Kazuki! Even though I am the one that is rank A. ...Weell, I'm happy though that Kazuki considered me."
Mio smiled a little with her last words, then she went to her own chair.
As Kazuki reached his own chair——from behind, Koyuki talked to him absent-mindedly.
"Rather than inviting somebody like me, isn't it better to accept that offer from before?"
"However it is my dream for me, Mio, and Hiakari-san, the three of us to become a party."
"...How obstinate. Are you a stalker?"
Kazuki turned his face behind, but Koyuki turned her face 'Puih' away.
"...Hiakari-san, let's talk before sensei comes okay?"
Kazuki called out toward the girl's translucent and noble side face.
"I don't want to talk about anything trivial. Such things are useless no matter how much we do it."
"There were many books in Hiakari-san's room weren't there? What kind of book do you like to read?"
"I just read books that were already completed regardless of the person. That's why, please don't try talking to me."
"...Come to think of it, does Hiakari-san like rabbits? Somehow it suits you."
"I prefer it rather than humans. That's why, please don't try talking to me."
"...Hiakari-san, right now I'm doing a funny face, so look this way."
"Your face is relatively well-ordered, so I think it won't be interesting no matter what you do."
"It's no good if Hiakari-san praises and mocks me even when you are not even looking at me. You won't regret it, so look here a little."
Kazuki used a drastic move by using body reinforcement magic to power up his face muscle to make an expression.
Hayashizaki-style Secret Party Performance ——also known as [Ougi[1]-Murder at First Sight].
"Saying things like that, like it is anything big..."
Koyuki looked at Kazuki with a brief sidelong glance, at that instant "——Bufuhh!?" she burst out.
Due to the reinforced muscle, the bone structure of Kazuki's face was transformed to the level of it's utmost limit.
"...Come eat my face."[2]
Imitating the voice from the hero that was loved even now by the kids, Koyuki hid her face with both hands while her whole body was shaking and trembling. A heart mark flew from her chest.
...No way, I never thought her positivity level can increase with this.
Kazuki got carried away and repeated his [Anime Character Face Mimicry Medley] intently. Koyuki was shaking like the vibration of a cellphone and the surrounding classmates were laughing too when they noticed Kazuki's face. With precise timing, the door of the classroom opened.
"Be quiet all you trash! It's already the time for Short HomeroomSHR, how much do you guys want to be nuisan——BUFUUHH!?"
Liz Liza-sensei finally came so Kazuki turned around to face the class platform, then sensei was bursting out too .
"Tra, trash! Rank E trash, what happened to you bastard!? I mean what happened to your face! ...Oi, are you okay?"
From Liz Liza-sensei's slip of the tongue, an echo of worry stuck out.
"I'm sorry, this can't be fixed immediately."
"Is that body reinforcement magic...? So there is that kind of practical use for that skill, huh... It might be useful for disguise. Well, no matter, as your punishment you must keep your face like that until I say it's fine. Anyway first things first, right now I'll introduce a transfer student. ...Come on in."
Transfer student!? Liz Liza-sensei faced the corridor and called out, the classroom turned into an uproar.
What kind of transfer student had came ——the noise from that expectation lasted for only a moment.
If you thought about it carefully, everyone realized that such thing was impossible.
It was impossible for a transfer student to come to the national Knight Academy
Why was it? Because other than people who got Mystery MarkEnigma at their 14th birthday, nobody else could enroll into this academy. An addition at a later time was impossible.
What in the world is going on, rather than expectation, confused gazes concentrated on the door.
The door was opened with a scraping noise and the one who appeared was ——a slightly short foreigner girl.
With her long golden hair fluttering around, she walked toward the platform with a refined manner. When she moved to face toward the class' direction, shining particles were released from her golden hair and white skin.
The combination of her shining hair and white skin were just like pure gold and silk.
"Nice to meet you. I am Charlotte Liebenfrau desu."
An unexpected fluent Japanese. An elegant and composed smile, accompanied with a moderate tone of voice that felt just right to the ear. Everything was clad with an atmosphere of a gorgeous high class item.
"She might not look like a Japanese, however, as my distant relative she holds Japanese nationality. Actually she is still 14 years old, however... because of some circumstances she is skipping grades into this academy. She is younger than you all, but this girl's magic ability was already qualified as rank A. There is no problem with her."
Skipping grades? ...So that means, the girl received her stigma at 14 years old and without waiting for her promotion, she immediately transferred into the Magic Division, like that?
Why was she given such special treatment? From Liz Liza-sensei's explanation, rather than explaining about the girl's origin, it was more like giving a warning not to look too deep into it.
"Please call me Lotte."
In contrast with the silence inside the classroom, she presented a smiling face with more affection than anyone. Then she looked around the classroom ——and her eyes met with Kazuki, her eyes opened round and wide like a jasper.
Her body leaned forward leaving her hair trailing behind and she leaked an excited voice.
"——Japanische Animation!"[3]
The pronunciation in English sounds a bit different.
——As the fate of the transfer student, every break time Lotte was surrounded by her classmates.
The figure that did her best to answer all kinds of questions honestly, really exuded the charm of a junior.
"Your hair is really pretty! And the skin is really white! Are you really a Japanese?"
"Erm...My family and Liz Liza-oneesan's family had lived in Japan since the time of my grandfather. Even though I am like this, I am a Japanese through and through desu."
"Eeh, really!? Didn't you talk in a mysterious language before?"
"Lotte-chan, what kind of food do you like?"
"Eeeto... sushi and tempura... especially tuuna, I like it desu!"
"No way-! Lotte-san is absolutely a foreigner after all-!"
"Hey, let me touch the hair too! Uwaa, it's really pretty when seeing it this close! Like pure gold!!"
"Her cheek is really smoothhh-! Cuteee!!"
"Uuuuu... being touched here and there like that feels really good desu..."
Even when she was jostled by her classmates, she stayed docilely like a puppy with pedigree and showed an elegant, happy smile. With that kind of attitude, Lotte had became a really popular person in the class.
Gazing at that scene distantly——Koyuki talked with Kazuki with amazed tone.
"...If she was surrounded by that many people like that, won't she die because of stress?"
"But conversing moderately is needed you know, Hiakari-san."
"...It is not needed. That kind of thing is a hindrance, please don't talk to me."
"The side who came and started the conversation was Hiakari-san, wasn't it!?"
The moment when the questions paused accidentally, Lotte glanced towards Kazuki's seat.
After that, she said to the surrounding students "Excuse me, just a little, excuse me." While bowing and apologizing repeatedly ,the crowd of people parted and she approached towards Kazuki direction. Koyuki averted her face with a 'puih'.
"Excuse me... that anime face from before, can you do it one more time?"
Kazuki hid his face like doing a peek-a-boo using his hands, and then after using the face technique, showed his face. Lotte didn't laugh when witnessing that, but her eyes glittered in excitement.
It looked like Lotte didn't understand about recent anime so Kazuki tilted his head.
"...Do you like old masterpiece anime like this?"
"Yes! As Japanese, it's natural to be fond of anime desu!"
No wait, no matter how you see it, from her tastes of food and anime it didn't look like a Japanese person at all though. Or perhaps I should say that from her excitement she looked more like a country bumpkin...
It made me want to doubt whether she really had lived in Japan for a long time.
Nonetheless, if she was neither born in Japan nor a foreigner who went through naturalization, then this was a really baffling matter.
——That was because the present Japan didn't have any diplomatic relations with other foreign countries