"No, the reception is already closed," said the man.
"Please, just this once!" pleaded the other.
"Think about it logically," the man sighed loudly on purpose.
"This is important. If I miss this, the story won't make sense!" exclaimed the other.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. You play games too much," the man shrugged, treating him like a customer service complainer.
"But it hasn't even started yet, the practice battle. Why can't I participate? Is it because I'm a transfer student?" asked the other.
"It's not like that. It's your fault for being late. Are you kidding me, showing up to enter ten minutes before it starts?" replied the man.
Damn it. He was right.
He had a point.
Oh well, he was late.
The other side was also bureaucratic.
Forced entry ten minutes before the start of the practice battle was an unrealistic idea.
"I understand. I have a proposition," the other said.
"What is it?" asked the man.
"This," said the other, taking out a wad of cash from his pocket.
"You...what the hell," the receptionist was speechless.
"Well, well. Keep that. So, can I participate now?" asked the other.
"...," the receptionist hesitated.
Money talks.
"So, what do you say?" asked the other.
"You're disqualified," replied the receptionist.
"What...the...hell!?" he couldn't believe it. He couldn't bribe his way out of this?
How stupid.
Is that really acceptable in this impermanent world?
"Players who try to solve things with money are quite common. You are disqualified from this practice battle, no questions asked," said the receptionist.
"Disqualified...?" he asked.
Yes, disqualified from the tutorial.
"Seriously?" he blurted out, asking the receptionist with a stutter.
"Seriously?"
"...It's over."
"From the next exam, you need to turn over a new leaf, Amachi-kun."
As I was hanging my head in despair after receiving this final warning, I was called out to from behind.
"What's wrong? Do you need help?"
"Huh?"
I turned around and saw a handsome guy with a student council armband on his arm.
Let's go back in time a bit...
On the day before an important event, it seems like people can't really sleep, right?
Even though I got into bed at 10 PM, I couldn't sleep and ended up staying awake all night.
And then in the early morning, an intense drowsiness hits for some reason.
Seriously, can't we just stop this?
It messes up your autonomic nervous system.
It's like your biorhythm goes out of whack.
"It's already noon..."
Humans are terrifying creatures, aren't they? They become incredibly calm when they reach a situation where there's no turning back.
I'm that type of person.
In a past life, I worked as a salaryman and once arrived extremely late for an important business meeting.
I woke up and checked my phone, only to find that my boss had been calling me non-stop.
It was already the time when the meeting was supposed to start.
No matter how much I rushed from home to the meeting place, it would take at least two hours.
Honestly, I thought, "Oh, I'm dead."
The first thing I did was not to hurry to the business negotiations.
First, I went out to the balcony, searched for interesting threads on a summary site, lit a cigarette, and elegantly brewed and drank coffee.
Humans are strange creatures; they become oddly calm when they realize that things are irreparable.
I even took a shower, something I wouldn't normally do.
I don't even want to remember what happened next.
All I can recall is... begging for forgiveness and being verbally abused.
"Is Moridori-san here?"
I went looking for Moridori-san and found him collapsed outside the house.
Or rather, sleeping.
He was sound asleep on the ground.
"You have a very peaceful expression," I said, feeling relieved.
I thought to myself, "He's just like me."
It's one of my bad habits; I feel very relieved when I find someone who is the same as or lower than me.
Yesterday.
When I said, "I don't live with Moridori-san," he looked surprised and reluctantly accepted it.
Of course, it was because I live in a tent base in the garden.
Moridori-san's house was so close it was almost as close as a dog kennel.
But during dinner, Moridori-san had bought and consumed copious amounts of alcohol without me noticing, and started to cry and rampage, saying, "Why can't you live with me?! Don't abandon me!".
At first, I tried to pacify him, but when he continued to sob and resort to violence, I dealt with him in the usual manner.
After calming Moridori-san down, I asked him to leave me alone, but he seems to have slept in the garden all night.
"Moridori-san, it's already noon. Do you not have to go to work?"
I shook his shoulder.
"...Yummy...," Moridori-san muttered in his sleep as I carried him and put him to bed in my house, gazing at his sleeping face with a smile on his lips, as if he was having a good dream.
"I want pizza..."
It seems that I'm dreaming about eating something.
"This won't do."
I brewed some coffee and spent a leisurely time basking in the sunshine filtering through the trees.
I closed my eyes.
That's right.
Today is the day of the simulated battle among upperclassmen and new students in honor of the latter's welcome.
I woke up after 12:30 PM.
The battles start from 1 PM and continue on a rolling basis.
It's a tutorial battle for the protagonist, Kazane.
It's a delicate matter whether or not to use forbidden spells in time.
If there were any kind of entry before the event, it would have already ended.
Moreover, there was no morning homeroom or transfer greeting.
Mahoro Academy doesn't have class reassignments.
There are 50 students per class and 6 classes per year.
For a newcomer like me, it's a tough environment where I'll be with the same classmates for four years.
The community has already been established, and the first greeting is very important.
I missed this opportunity.
I didn't take part in the simulated battle, which would have disrupted my plans.
I'm even trying to avoid the opportunity to lose to the protagonist, Kazane, on purpose.
"Now, what should I do?"
To be honest, participating in the simulated battle might not have any meaning as it's just a tutorial.
However, the restlessness in my heart doesn't subside, and I even began to sweat in a strange way.
Two opinions are conflicting within me.
What should I do? Flip a coin?
"No, no. That's not the way."
There's no other choice but to make a decision that won't lead to regret.
"What should I do..."
...Shall I go?
I have no choice but to go.
I might not make it on time or I might.
It takes about 2-3o minutes by car from the Moridori family's residence, which is also my home, to the school headquarters.
Some parts took a considerable amount of time due to the rough roads, so we are at most 10 kilometers away from here.
Only 6 minutes left until 1 pm.
If I can run at approximately 1 kilometer per 36 seconds, I will arrive just in time.
However, considering the time it takes to check-in and do some errands, I need at least 4 minutes.
In other words, I want to arrive in 2 minutes.
That means I need to move at 1 kilometer per 12 seconds.
I need to move 5 kilometers per minute.
The speed of 300 kilometers per hour.
It is theoretically impossible.
There is no way that the human body can achieve such a super speed.
But I have a forbidden jutsu called Tachyon.
I have never tried it before. Besides, I have never measured the speed of Tachyon before.
In addition, there are many obstacles in the forest.
Even if I can reach a speed of 300 km/h, it will only be in a straight line without obstacles.
Moving in the forest requires more speed and techniques to dodge trees in all directions.
That means I need a speed of 600 kilometers per hour.
And I need the skill to operate at that speed precisely.
Can I do it?
Can't I?
Is it worth risking my life for this kind of thing?
I shake my head.
No, when I believe I can do it, I can do it.
"... Should I try it?"