The butler, looking bewildered, tugged at his suspenders and asked, "So, are you going to take the flower arrangement class now?"
"No," Yuka explained, "my current supposing persona is someone who, apart from being good-looking, is utterly useless. I lack physical strength, have no psychic power, and can't pilot a mecha – seriously, I can't. I'll just scrape by with average scores of sixty and then get kicked out of the Combat Department, shifting over to History to be a lazy sloth."
And then, four years later, she'd return home to inherit a fortune.
Yuka nodded in satisfaction: "Perfect."
The butler: ...
UUA's cafeteria is entirely self-service. Yuka walked to a corner, sat down, and, ignoring the glances others threw her way, browsed the menu and ordered herself five plates of steak.
A chubby, intelligent robot brought the plates over. Yuka scooped up a big spoonful of mashed potatoes, ready to take a bite, then suddenly remembered her newly adopted persona.
She paused, pretended nothing happened, took a tiny bite, and then quickly scooped up a second spoonful, planning to compensate with speed.
Those who originally intended to chat her up lost interest after seeing her polish off five plates alone.
Yuka, sipping the seaweed soup provided by the cafeteria, overheard a nearby boy telling his friend, "She's so cute, why does she eat so much? Could she be a freshman in the Combat Department?"
The boy's companion nodded, speaking with an air of experience, "Only those with high physical strength eat that much. Never date a solo fighter; one punch from them could send you to the heavens."
Yuka: ...
She shifted her gaze away, placed the now-empty bowl back on the table, and waited for the robot to collect it.
After eating her fill, Yuka paid and reopened the map, ready to head back to her dorm.
The dorms of the Combat Department were on the easternmost part of the campus, next to a barren hill. The girls' and boys' dorms were separated by just one wall, which also divided the practice field in half.
In red spray paint, the wall read: [No Climbing!]
Using her personal page's information, Yuka found her room in the last building. The dorm was a double, and upon swiping her opticomputer on it, she gently twisted the door open.
"Ah!"
A round-faced girl with freckles exclaimed in surprise. Seeing Yuka, her face instantly reddened, and she murmured, "H-hello."
"Hello." Yuka walked to her bed on the right, smiling at her, "I'm Taira Yuka, specializing in mecha. I'll be your roommate from now on."
"I'm Ayoi, also specializing in mecha," Ayoi mustered the courage to explain, "A robot came by earlier with our uniforms. I've put yours on your desk."
"Thank you," Yuka said.
Ayoi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The dorm room had loft beds with desks underneath. On the desk lay six sets of uniforms: two for summer, two for spring and autumn, and two for winter, all in dark blue with the Combat Department's emblem on them. Beside them was a card:
Dear Yuka of the Combat Department,
Please wear your uniform on campus!
Yuka found the smart washing machine in the washroom, tossed her clothes in, and then returned to her bed to unpack her luggage from her spatial button, arranging her living space alongside Ayoi. After finishing, Yuka lay back on her narrow bed and sighed, turning to see Ayoi's hesitant expression.
"What's up?" Yuka asked.
Ayoi first shook her head, then blushed and whispered, "Well, you're so pretty, and you have that expensive spatial button. Everything you use seems pricey, so your family must be wealthy. I want to be your friend, but I feel like I have nothing impressive to offer, like I'm not worthy..."
Yuka: ?
Uh-oh, her carefully hidden rich heiress identity was still detected.
Yuka's brain raced before she replied, "I'm actually quite useless. I get tired easily, I'm clueless about mecha, and I scare easily. I'd love to be your friend, is that okay?"
Ayoi blinked, then suddenly perked up, exclaiming, "Yes!" She flexed her arm muscles, "I'm pretty strong, I'll protect you!"
Gaining confidence, Ayoi hopped off her bed, approached Yuka, and said clingingly, "Yuka, is there anything you want to buy? Let's go to the store."
"Sure," Yuka was about to jump off the bed when the butler's coughing echoed in her mind. She paused, and then daintily lifted her skirt, tiptoed down the ladder, descending slowly step by step.
Ayoi watched Yuka enviously, thinking how ladylike and princess-like she seemed.
The all-in-one smart washing machine had already dried the uniforms. Yuka changed into her summer outfit in the washroom and came out to find Ayoi in the same uniform. The summer uniform had a dark blue short-sleeve top with a red and white checkered bow at the collar and a knee-length skirt of the same color.
"Let's go," Yuka smiled at Ayoi.
The entire UUA had only one store, located at the junction between the dormitories and the academic buildings.
The store was mostly frequented by freshmen. Yuka followed Ayoi inside and casually opened her opticomputer to check the forum section.
The afternoon's announcement turmoil had mostly subsided. All posts about low psychic power being able to pilot mecha and speculations about new types of mecha had been deleted, but everyone understood that this was just the beginning of something bigger.
Seniors students with infantry specialization had summarized a post, filled with essential tips about physical training classes. Yuka clicked in to read and found it said:
Physical training classes include endurance training, combat training, and solo combat. Endurance training is straightforward, it's the usual cross-country stuff, and combat training involves either one-on-one fights or group brawls.
In these two phases, remember two things: never say you're tired! Never say it hurts!
Otherwise, your instructor will make your life twice as miserable! (Here should be an evil smirk emoji from Instructor Yonda, but I don't have one, as I'm too scared to snap a picture.)
In the solo combat phase, remember, everyone around you is an enemy!!!
You never know what kind of insane things your usual buddies will do to eliminate you and score points!
Attached is a list of essential medicines for your emergency medical kit.zip
Yuka quietly downloaded the medicine list and said to Ayoi, "I'm going to buy some medicine. Let's meet up at the entrance later. Oh, let's exchange contact numbers."
Ayoi quickly put down the snacks in her hand and exchanged contact numbers with Yuka.
As Yuka walked towards the medicine section, she opened another post.
This post was made by seniors specializing in mecha, stating:
Mecha practical courses include basic operation, advanced operation, virtual map combat, and real-life combat.
We have no experience to offer here, as everyone's situation is different. How much you learn and how well you adapt to the mecha depends entirely on you.
Tremble, newbies!
Attached is a list of 100 comforting items when you cry.zip
Yuka: ...
Due to the large number of medicines she had to buy, Yuka chose a home delivery service. She placed an order on her opticomputer and confirmed it with the checkout robot, then sent Ayoi a message that she had finished shopping.
As she was about to leave, she heard a roar from the next aisle: "You're lying!"
The boy in the next aisle threw a fierce punch forward, hitting the shelf filled with goods. The loaded shelf suddenly tilted, crashing towards Yuka.
At that moment, only Yuka was standing there. She could run backward to the safe area, but then the shelf would hit another shelf, causing a domino effect and more damage until someone could brace it, or until the last shelf fell.
Alternatively, she could stay where she was and support the shelf — something she could easily do with her strength. But doing so would instantly shatter her ladylike persona, leaving nothing of it behind.
Or, she could stay still and let the shelf fall on her, subtly bracing it just enough to prevent it from collapsing further. After all, she wouldn't die from it, and she could use the injury as an excuse to skip classes, excusing herself from deliberately lowering her grades.
The nails fixing the shelf to the floor creaked under the strain, and Yuka had made up her mind to stand her ground. She gently closed her eyes, a slight smile curving her lips, imagining a scene where others attended classes while she blissfully skived off.
Just as she closed her eyes, a strong arm braced the shelf.
"Still daydreaming?" A cool male voice sounded from above her. "The quality of students in the Combat Department is getting worse every year."
Yuka looked up.
The man wore a deep gray shirt, his skin a sickly pale, with sharp features and a gaze filled with cold disdain. Yuka noticed a slight bulge on his back, especially visible as he turned his head, revealing a piece of black metal extending from his collar, clinging to his neck, moving with his actions - as if it were embedded in his bones.
The man averted his gaze, his arm muscles tensing, veins bulging, as he pushed the shelf back into place. The store's repair robot hurried over, pulling out a repair kit from its abdomen and bending down to reinforce the shelf.
The man spoke, "The two behind the shelf, come out."
Within two seconds, two boys emerged from behind the shelf, pushing and shoving each other. Both were in the Combat Department's uniform and quickly bowed their heads upon seeing the man, standing obediently in front of him like scolded children.
Yuka suddenly realized that the entire store had become very quiet, without her knowing when it started.
The taller of the two boys tentatively looked up and whispered to the man, "Admiral Kuba, what brings you here?"
Yuka raised her eyebrows. From her limited knowledge of the military, she knew that an Admiral was a rank just below a Fleet Admiral, and there was only one around here. His name was...
Kenji did not answer his question, instead reprimanding, "Why are you fighting?"
The boy cautiously replied, "He said those of us in infantry specialization are weaklings, unworthy of taking mecha classes with them."
"I couldn't help but hit him. Those in the mecha department are all weaklings," the boy said through gritted teeth, "And does he think I really want to take mecha classes? I wonder which idiot came up with the idea of mixing infantry and mecha!"
Kuba Kenji let out a cold laugh, "I proposed it."
The boy's face turned green instantly.
Yuka couldn't help but chuckle. Kenji turned to look at her as if he just realized she was still there and said to the two boys, "Apologize to her."
The two boys, faces flushed, quietly said to Yuka, "Sorry."