Chapter 3 - Entrance Ceremony

The largest hall closest to the school gate.

It’s a ceremonial hall that’s open to the public for the entrance ceremony.

By the time I got here, there were already 1024 new students, many parents, and the majority of the available teachers.

Up to this point, I’d say it’s pretty much the same as every other year.

There’s nothing to worry about.

The entrance ceremony started at 9 am.

It’s already been 20 minutes since it started.

So far, nothing unusual has happened.

It’s almost the same as last year.

It’s like peace itself.

To give you an idea of what’s going on, the new students are listening quietly and nervously while Takashi Isobe, the head of the student guidance department, is explaining the school’s policies and rules without regard for time.

I wonder if it’s the same at all schools when it comes to the flow of things?

The entrance ceremony is a long time.

For the students, it’s the first time they’ve been told about it, which is fine.

I wonder if the attendees who hear the same story every year got tired of it?

As for me, I’ve actually been through the entrance ceremony before, and this is the second one I’ve attended, so I’m already getting tired of hearing it.

I’d like to hear a different story if I could, but unlike a normal school, there’s so much prior information that needs to be explained that it’s going to take forever.

But…..what do they think?

I wondered the same thing last year,

The new students who were listening quietly were so quiet that I wondered if they were all asleep.

It’s a place where private conversations should be kept to a minimum, so I don’t want to be bothered by normal chatter.

Still, it’s weird that it’s too quiet.

It’s not like they’re sleeping with their eyes open….right?

I stopped thinking about such trivial things and casually looked at the new students.

…So, I have one thought.

No, actually, I have a lot.

But for now, there is one.

Yes.

This is, well, that.

There were quite a few students…..who actually fell asleep.

…..Yeeeaah….

I wonder if they have good courage, or if it’s something out of the ordinary.

It’s not a situation that should be admired, right?

Personally, I think it’s a problem.

But, hey~.

The entire contents of the explanation that will be given at the entrance ceremony are written in the student handbook, so there is actually no problem even if you don’t listen to it here and now.

You can always look it up if you feel like it, so you don’t have to worry about it.

But, you know~.

It’s not very likable, to say the least, is it?

I’m not a teacher, but speaking as one,

If there are two kinds of children, one that listens to you and one that doesn’t, the one that listens to you is cuter, no matter what you think.

That’s why I don’t like students who are asleep.

I think I should wake them up, but,

In the end, it’s their responsibility to take care of themselves.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to break the tension of the students who are listening to it seriously,

And I don’t want to go to the trouble of interrupting the ceremony to warn the new students.

I do think that it’s important to be a sensible adult and tell them what to do.

But I think it’s more important for me to fight the sleepy eyes that are steadily attacking me.

I’m trying to concentrate on waiting for my turn while secretly holding back a yawn.

…I can’t speak for others, either.

But when I’m sleepy, I’m sleepy.

I can’t fight sleep.

It’s something that you can’t control with your mind.

If I let my guard down, I’m sure I’ll fall asleep right now.

…But if I fall asleep here, my dignity as the chancellor will easily fall to the ground.

I have to avoid that.

It’s simply uncool, and it would cause a lot of trouble for the other teachers.

So I swore in my heart that I wouldn’t sleep.

I’m watching the entrance ceremony progress smoothly, for better or worse.

That’s right.

I’ve been listening to a story that’s almost like hypnosis.

…Yeah.

I can sleep like this for now.

I seriously don’t think I can hold back anymore.

I pretend to be listening to the story, and close my eyes gently.

And just as I’m starting to think good night…

One of the teachers seemed to have walked up to the principal, Seiji Kondo, who was sitting next to me.

I looked at him to wake up from my sleep.

He put his face close to Principal Kondo’s ear and started whispering something to him.

Hmm?

What are they talking about?

It’s rare for us to talk in private in the middle of the ceremony.

It’s not something I would normally do.

Isn’t it as unmannerly as students falling asleep?

It didn’t interfere with the proceedings of the ceremony in any way.

I feel sorry for him, giving his best for the speech.

The students and the principal don’t even pay attention to him.

I feel sorry for the head of the year. 1

But that’s beside the point.

I’m curious to know what’s going on.

Is there an urgent problem somewhere?

Something that needs to be reported in a hurry….

Un.

I have no idea.

If so, is it something sudden?

If that’s the case, I have no guesses.

The situation wouldn’t be possible unless there was a serious problem.

At least this didn’t happen at last year’s entrance ceremony.

So I’m kind of curious.

What are they talking about?

I try to sneak an earful,

But I can’t hear what they’re saying because they’re talking in a low voice.

It’s possible that it’s something they don’t want us to hear?

If that’s the case, I don’t see the need to have such a conversation right here and now,

These things bother you even more when you can’t hear them, right?

I think it’s human nature to want to know, whether it makes sense or not!

Maybe I should just ask them directly?

Or I could use the power as the Republic’s representative to force them to speak.

But it’s not good to disturb the students when they’re quit,

It’s also a question position,

And disturbing the atmosphere is not my thing.

So I’ll give up worrying about the conversation next to me.

I’m curious, but I don’t care.

I was looking at the head of the class, who was doing his job alone, thinking that way.

The teacher who had been talking to Principal Kondo during that time seemed to have suddenly pulled out something.

“…This way, please.”

After handing over some documents,

The teacher walked away discreetly.

Apparently, the report was over.

But that’s not the point.

I’ve got more things to worry about now!

Hmm.

A document.

What kind of document?

I’m curious, but I won’t take a peek because it’s not something I’d do.

If I want to look at them, I’ll look at them and pick them up without hesitation.

So I just ignored the papers and watched the teacher walk away.

I tried not to pay too much attention to it.

For some reason, Principal Kondo seemed to have a smile on his face as he looked over the documents he had received.

Then he suddenly spoke to me.

“Chancellor, may I have a moment of your time?”

“Yes, it’s fine, but keep it short.”

….I said that, but the truth is that I’m very curious.

But don’t forget to give off the vibe that I don’t care on the surface.

I have a certain position.

You have to be able to read the atmosphere, right?

We’re in the middle of an entrance ceremony, remember?

And yet, you’re talking to me.

I turned around, pretending to be questioning him about his normally unthinkable behavior.

As I turned around, a chuckling Principal Kondo presented me with a document he had just received.

“Please take a look at this. There seems to be a slightly interesting boy among the new students this year.”

Interesting boy?

That doesn’t make any sense.

Maybe I should just look at the documents he received?

Well, it looks like a normal document.

It’s just a report on a cover.

I don’t know what the purpose of the report is.

There are three sheets.

The first one is a cover page, so it looks like there are only two pages of the report itself.

Now, now.

What does this really mean?

I slowly look over the text on the document without saying a word.

Then I mutter to myself.

“What is this?”

It wasn’t that it was funny, it’s just that it didn’t make too much sense.

The first page of the report,

Is an enrollment form for a student.

The contents are nothing short of heretical.

The contents of the form were suspicious to anyone who looked at it.

Everything is blank except for the name and age.

There is no information about where he is from, his date of birth, his blood type, or anything else.

And yet, he received perfect scores in all subjects on the entrance exam.

He was the undisputed winner of the entrance exam.

…I mean, a perfect score in every subject!?

How is that even possible?!

Even I couldn’t get those results!

…I mean.

Isn’t this the first time in the history of the school?

I’ve got a lot on my mind, but the fact that I’m questioning what’s on the paperwork has caused me to raise my eyebrows.

“No matter how free this school is, I’m still curious about this.”

“Yes, that’s why I was so curious to find out, and the results of my investigation are as you can see in the second report.”

A single line of text is on the formal report.

It was simply, “All past history has been erased.”

“What does this mean?”

I was surprised and asked what the report meant.

“It’s exactly what it says.”

Principal Kondo answered me with an amused smile.

Hmm.

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I don’t know what you mean, but is that okay?

In a nutshell, the Adventurers’ Guild, the Mages’ Guild, and the Republic’s domestic and international informants.

They did as much research as they could.

Still, it seems there was no information at all.

I’m sure they’ve been secretly investigating since they found out about the test results.

The only thing they had on hand was the results of a week’s research.

“I had them looking into it until the last minute, but in the end they didn’t find anything.”

And here we are.

“Hmm. This is intriguing.”

“I agree. I was going to wait and see for a while, but I can almost move ‘them’ if necessary, what do you say?”

“Right. I think we should take the time to find out who they are first.”

After that, we can figure out what to do.

I averted my gaze from the report, which wasn’t worth looking at, and returned the papers.

Principal Kondo told me what he was going to do as he cleaned up the report.

“I think it’s best to wait and see. There is a possibility that he is not worthy of our attention. We’ll keep a minimum level of watchfulness, but it’s best to wait until we’ve assessed their capabilities.”

“Yeah, I know. But it’s been a while since I’ve had any fun. Don’t be too reckless and destroy it, okay?”

“If he gets crushed, then he simply wasn’t good enough.”

“Ahhh. That’s true.”

I think that’s a rather selfish thing to say, but that’s the way it really is.

For the time being, I’ll just smile and let it go.

After putting away the documents, Principal Kondo simply ended the discussion.

…Then, an hour later.

Before I knew it, my drowsiness had disappeared and I finished the entrance ceremony with a smile on my face.

After watching the ceremony until the end, I decided to walk to the Chancellor’s office, my room on the top floor of the school building.