“It’s quite late. I’m sorry, but the bottom bed is already taken, so you’ll have to take the top one.”
“…I see.”
I somehow managed to squeeze out a response as I looked around the room.
The room was generally spacious, but in the middle, there was a bunk bed that looked like an S-shape from the side, dividing the room into two personal spaces. The bed on the other side was on the bottom, while mine was on the top. The opposite side of the bed had a wall, so even though we were in the same room, it seemed like there was a certain level of privacy between us.
For now, I went to the left side, placed my luggage on the desk, which was provided. There was a window at the back of the room, and I could see the Genbu Dormitory’s garden. It was already dark, and the sun had completely set. I took out my smartphone to check the time, and it was almost six o'clock.
“Is that alright? Even though we’re roommates, we’ll respect the boundaries. Please don’t put your things on this side.”
The blonde elf pointed from the center of the bed all the way to the middle of the door, as if drawing a line. I knew that already, you don’t have to tell me!
“Then, I’m going to the dining hall. Please excuse me.”
Saying that, the blonde elf left the room.
Ugh… Of all people, I had to get a roommate like her… A high-handed one at that… I really don’t have any luck!
I wonder if I’ll be able to get along with her? It doesn’t seem very likely… I might snap soon.
Feeling down, I sighed deeply, and at the same time, my stomach let out a loud growl.
I’m hungry… Should I go to the dining hall too?
I took out the Genbu Dormitory handbook and looked at the layout of the dorm. Hmm, the dining hall is on the first floor.
I grabbed the handbook and left my room. Oh, I need to lock the door.
I went down the stairs to the first floor and headed toward the dining hall.
The dining hall was at the far end of the first floor and seemed to be quite spacious.
Well, of course, it would be. Over 200 people live here, after all. Even though not everyone eats at the same time, it needs to be large enough to accommodate them.
That said, since the seniors aren’t here today… Ah, just as I thought.
When I entered the dining hall, there were long tables and chairs lined up in the spacious area, but there were surprisingly few people.
Well, that makes sense. Only about a fifth of the new students are here. Hmm, maybe around 40 people? No, there are probably even fewer. Some must have already finished eating and left, while others haven’t arrived yet.
Since school hasn’t started yet, there were no students in uniforms. It was interesting to see the distinct characteristics of each country in the clothes they were wearing.
As I glanced at a table, I spotted the blonde elf eating her meal. There was no one around her. Hah, a loner… Well, I’m one too, though.
Hmm? Some people over there keep glancing at me. Is it because I came late? Well, whatever.
Hmm, I think I’m supposed to buy a meal ticket from that vending machine over there, right?
By the way, the food here is free, provided by each student’s home country. How convenient, how nice.
When I reached the vending machine, there was an overwhelming number of dishes listed.
Can they really make all of these...? As expected from the magical kingdom of Brunhild, which leads the world in innovation. Their food is incredible too.
“Hmm, which one should I choose…”
With so many options, I wasn’t sure what to pick. Since it’s free anyway, maybe I’ll splurge and try the steak set?
“If you’re unsure, I’d recommend the ‘Daily Special.’”
“Huh?”
I turned around at the sudden voice, and there stood a strikingly handsome girl with short blonde hair. She looked androgynous, almost like a prince.
She looked mature, but she must be the same age as me… right? She was also tall. Standing next to me, she looked… Well, I won’t go there. I shouldn’t hurt myself.
“The ‘Daily Special’ here is made by the chef, who experiments with new dishes that aren’t on the menu, so you can try something rare.”
“I see. You know a lot about this, don’t you?”
“I have an upperclassman friend.”
I see. Information from a current student, huh? That makes it trustworthy.
“Then I’ll go with that.”
I pressed the ‘Daily Special’ button and took the meal ticket from the vending machine.
“I’ll have the same.”
It seems the handsome guy is also having the ‘Daily Special.’ This is promising.
“I’m Carolina Liette. Call me Carol. I just arrived from the Regulus Empire the day before yesterday.”
“I’m Nero. Nero Silhueska. I just arrived from Elfrau. Nice to meet you.”
A student from Regulus, huh? The Regulus Empire is our neighbor, Elfrau Kingdom. We’ve been friendly for a long time, and it’s also one of the countries that helped establish the Brunhild Principality.
“I’m a commoner, but are you a noble, Carol?”
“Yes, that’s right. The Liette family is a marquis family in the empire.”
A marquis… That’s quite a high-ranking noble family. For that, Carol is surprisingly friendly and easy to talk to. Unlike the arrogant blonde elf from my duchy, she hasn’t changed her attitude toward me, even though I said I was a commoner.
We both took our numbered meal tickets and sat at the same table. Heh, avoiding being alone.
But the Liette family? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before…
“The Liete family is one of the oldest of the twelve noble families in the empire. We’re descended from the ‘Twin Swords’ of the Empire’s Twelve Blades, ‘Kiel Liette.’”
“Oh! I saw that on the ‘Regulus Empire Founding Chronicles’ program in a hologram broadcast before.”
So that’s why. She really is from a prestigious family. Why would someone like her come to the Mech Academy…?
“Well, it’s to become a ‘Mech Trooper,’ of course. And one day, I’ll compete in the ‘Mech Great War Ragnarok.’ Aren’t you aiming for the same thing?”
Well, that makes sense. Most students coming to this academy aim for that. I’m one of them too.
Of course, there are people who want to become Frame Gear mechanics or developers, so it’s not the same for everyone.
“Also, at this academy, you can get a chance to participate in the ‘Mech Great War Ragnarok’ before becoming a ‘Mech Trooper’ if you do well…”
“Wait, really?”
The ‘Mech Great War Ragnarok’ requires you to have the qualifications of a ‘Mech Trooper,’ doesn’t it?
“Huh? You don’t know about the ‘Nine Queen Recommendation Slots’? Here at ‘Babylon Machinist Girls’ Academy’ and at the ‘Brunhild Machinist Academy,’ the top nine students of the entire school are given special participation rights for the ‘Mech Great War Ragnarok.’ Of course, it’s not by grade level, but school-wide, so it’s really difficult.”
“Huh…? So, you mean the top nine students, including the upperclassmen? That sounds pretty tough…”
“Yeah. It’s pretty much impossible for a first-year to make it. Oh, wait, actually, there was one… A senior who took the recommendation slot in their first year.”
“What!? Someone got the recommendation slot as a first-year!? So they were one of the nine strongest students at the time!?”
“Yeah. Zeldigard Minas Lestia-senpai, currently ranked first at this academy. She’s the third princess of the Knight Kingdom, Lestia, and has overwhelming sword skills and piloting abilities. Her title is the ‘Sword Empress.’”
“W-What!? Ranked first…!?”
Wait, does that mean she’s the strongest at this academy? Even though she’s a third-year!?
She’s ranked above the fourth and fifth years! How strong must she be…?
“Getting a recommendation slot like Lestia-senpai did in her first year is probably really hard, but it’d be nice to aim for it. If I can get within the top 20 in my first year, that would be a good result.”
Hmm… Getting within the top 20, even including upperclassmen, sounds like a really tough goal. But I suppose it’s better to set such a goal. Simply put, if I can make it into the top 4 of my grade, would that be good enough?
I think this academy has a total of 900 students. With five students per country for each grade, from first year to fifth year… Yeah, that adds up.
To be one of the top nine, that means you have to be in the top 1%... That’s a long way off…
“Why nine, though? Why not just make it ten?”
“It’s based on the nine Grand Duchess who supported the first Grand Duke. The first Grand Duke’s nine duchess helped him in various fields, and their story is widely known.”
Ah, I see. The Nine Queens of Brunhild are famous. They were the nine wives of the first Grand Duke, each helping him in a different area. Some of the stories may be exaggerated, though…
“By the way, how do they decide the rankings? Is it by exams or something?”
“How do they decide? Well, it’s by the ‘Star Duel.’ If you win, you get star points, and if you lose, you lose star points. That’s how the rankings are set.”
Whoa… That’s pretty direct…
The ‘Star Duel’ seems to involve simulated battles using Frame Units or real combat using Armed Gears. There are detailed regulations and methods, but I’ll skip that part for now.
Simply put, you bet some of your stars, and if you win, you take all, but if you lose, you lose your stars in a star-taking battle.
Also, it seems you can get stars through events hosted by the school.
“Check the ‘Academy’ website on your smartphone. You can see the rankings there, and you’ll be able to see your own rank too.”
As Carol said, I checked the ‘Academy’ site and saw a rankings tab, and when I clicked it, a list of student names appeared.
Wow, ranked first is Zeldigard Minas Lestia… She really is the strongest at this academy, as a third-year…
As for me… 721st? Wait, everyone around me has the same rank. So, we’re all first years?
“...If I were to challenge Lestia-senpai and win, how would the ranking change?”
“Hahaha, well, you can’t even challenge her. You can only challenge up to one rank above your own.”
The rankings have tiers, from S-rank to F-rank, it seems.
As first-years, we’re at the bottom, F-rank. We can’t challenge someone like Lestia-senpai, who is S-rank.
“So, I can challenge an E-rank senior, right?”
“You can, but to do that, you need a ‘Challenge Right,’ so you have to collect 10 stars first.”
“‘Challenge Right’?”
According to Carol, to challenge someone in a higher rank, you have to acquire a ‘Challenge Right,’ which requires paying the required number of stars for each rank.
In other words, to challenge someone in a higher rank, you first have to beat opponents in the same rank and collect stars.
So, I need to stand out among the first years before I can even think about challenging higher ranks.
“All new students are given 5 stars. See the ☆5 next to your name? To challenge a higher rank, you need 10 stars. So if you bet all your 5 stars and win, you can get the ‘Challenge Right.’ But if you lose, you’ll have 0 points.”
“Wait… What happens if I get 0 points?”
“Well, if you have 0 points, you can’t participate in any Star Duels. But every six months, you get 1 point as a rescue measure.”
Ugh… That sounds awful…
Having 0 points is terrible. Betting everything is too risky. If I end up with 0 points right after enrolling, I won’t be able to do anything for six months. That’s tough.
On top of that, if I get the ‘Challenge Right’ by betting all 10 stars, no one will fight me if I don’t have any stars to bet.
Since we only start with 5 stars, maybe it’s better to bet 1 star at a time?
But if I bet carefully, I’ll only get 1 star more when I win. I need to take bigger risks to climb higher, but losing means losing a lot of stars…
“These rules are pretty harsh…”
“That’s why everyone takes it seriously when they fight.”
I see. I get it now.
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