Volume 1 - Chapter 1.4

Damn, I’m going to be late. But that’s okay, the Student Council President’s building is just right in front of me. It’s the same as the picture.

I’m currently on the left side of the building. Then, the main entrance is probably on the other side facing the other buildings.

Thus, I walk to the main entrance, clearing the rest of the icicles sticking on me at the same time.

“Phew… just in time.”

I patted my clothes, getting rid the rest of the snow on me, then walks towards the main entrance as I fix my collar, tie, and sleeves.

As I step by the outside of the blurry glass door, the doors opened sideways, allowing me to enter.

“…!”

My foot immediately stopped from the surprise.

Isn’t this… just a lobby?

Wanting to observe clearly, I walked in.

The lobby is designed to act as a waiting place for the students before the appointment with their respective presidents… But—

—fancy chairs and tables are placed across the lobby, the ceiling was made of glass, there are high-class paintings hanged on the walls, ornamental plants for decorations and a beautiful crystal lamp on the centre of the ceiling.

HOW LUXURIOUS! HOW MUCH MONEY DID THEY SPEND ON THIS!?

Though this lobby looks just like my house, I assume it’s large enough to fit in at least 100 students. But why does it need to fit so many people in the first place? It’s not like a whole group of students will be meeting with the presidents, and even if it is, I don’t think it will be packed even if it’s a busy season.

Huh. There’s a coffee maker machine over there. There’s all sort of coffee beans bred from different countries. Is that the reason?

Speaking of which, a fragrant smell had been bugging my nose for a while now. Because this sweet aroma… is not coffee.

It’s the fragrance of a tea— Chamomile tea; it seems someone made some.

Where is it coming from?

CLACK.

This sounds like someone placing a tea kettle. It’s coming from the right side from the main entrance.

Thus, my head reacted to the sound and faced it.

At the right end corner of the right side; a girl that was sipping a cup of Chamomile tea, caught my eye.

To be accurate— I was captivated.

From where she sat, her back is facing the window.

As sunlight shines in through the window, her long, white-blonde hair that weaved around her shoulders and waist reflects the light, sparkling and glittering beautifully. Like fairy dust, perhaps?

Plus, the way she sits and drinking her tea elegant is exceptionally alluring.

Are all the girls here extreme beauties? If the girl just now is gorgeous, then she’s pretty.

A black colour blazer… Is she S ranked…?

But, she’s the only person here. So…

“Erm…”

As if she already expected my arrival, she placed her teacup naturally on the saucer and faced my direction. Then— she stood up from the chair, walking towards my direction gracefully with a tender smile.

Click, clack, clack, click.

The click-clacking sounds from the heels of her shoes are in a moderate pace, echoing throughout the lobby.

We had been at least thirty steps away from each other, but now we were down to ten.

That’s when I’m able to look at her face clearly.

Her hair had a short braid, covering from the middle of her head and to extends till the left of her chin, tied with a black ribbon. She wore black lace gloves and lace stockings, covering every inch of skin below her neck. Adding the features of the tea, black ribbon, black laces gloves and stockings, this makes her emitting an aura of a noble.

Still, not a word. Only silence.

Can’t you at least say anything or at least something random? It’s really awkward.

Now we were down to three steps away.

“…?”

Yet— her walking pace does not show any sign to slow down at all.

“W-Wait! Stop! Too close!”

I said to her, placing both of my hands on her shoulders before her chest is going to come in contact with mine.

“Ahhn~!” A jolt shook her.

“Stop making that weird moaning sound like you are in heat!”

I’m not the kind of person who’d normally fling retorts at people I’m meeting for practically the first time, but she managed to draw one out of me.

“Oh my… I’m sorry. What an unthinkable thing to do. I was just so surprised… You suddenly grabbed my flesh, after all.”

“′ Flesh?′ Come on.”

Her shoulder.

“Allow me to make up for the faux pas with my body,” she said. “I might pretend to resist a little, but it’s all a performance to make the scene more exciting, okay~?”

…God, she’s quite the character.

A bankrupt character like my little sis.

Is she even in a normal state of her mind?

“Have some shame, woman! Wait, do you even have one?”

“Obviously I have~ I had so much shame that I’m covering every inch of skin on my body except for my neck and face.”

“Aren’t you supposed to cover your face when you were shameful?”

“Are you telling me to take it off? Oh my~ Aren’t you quite bold~?”

“Take what off!?”

“Any piece of my clothing to hide my shameful face.”

In here? At the lobby?!

“Don’t do it! Are you trying to shame yourself even further?!”

“Which piece? My undergarments? But there’s two of it. Do you want the upper part or lower part?”

“I don’t care which part! I already said not to take anything off! Are you even listening to me?!”

She’s not even looking the least bit bashful!

“But I’m wearing a full set of black laces today. Do you want a full set~? It includes my gloves and stockings too~!”

“I said, listen to me!!!”

“Yes~?”

“……”

Why am I struggling so much just to tell a girl not to take off her undergarments...?

For now, let’s just put that aside.

“Sorry for asking now… but who are you?”

“Shouldn’t you tell your name first before asking for someone’s name? But anyway, I’m more curious about your time with her~ So how is it~?”

“…Hah…?” It seems she’s already into something else. I can’t keep up.

What on earth is she talking about? Her? Could she mean her? The girl who attacked me? But I’m sure it’s at least a kilometre away from here so how did she know?

How was I supposed to respond?

What was I supposed to answer at a time like this?

“No comment? Hmm… but the principal highly recommended you. He even forced the school to admit your enrolment. Having authority sure is convenient, isn’t it~?”

She’s already into something else…

So… the principal.

My enrolment.

Authority.

…She doesn’t look like it.

“Umm… are you by any chance the Student Council President who’s I’m supposed to meet up…?”

“Yes I am~” She replied as if it was the most natural thing to do. “By any chance, will both of you end up in a romantic relationship~?” She continued.

Somehow, I think she’s using ‘by any chance’ on purpose.

Okay… my reply.

“Impossible, I suppose.”

My answer’s not supposed to matter anything to her, but she seems quite displeased with it.

“Fine then. So for how long are you going to caress my shoulders~? I don’t mind if you want to try somewhere else~ And I suggest you to be gentle while you were at it~”

Her way of tone is just like bragging.

Hold on. How long have I grabbed her shoulders?

“Ah, uh, sorry.”

I quickly retreated both my hands and body backwards. However, she closed our distance again by moving forward, with our distance maintaining within one step.

“As a punishment, you are going to carry me to my room. You can grab here and here.”

Left chest, buttocks.

She’s literally squeezing it with her palms.

This girl can really pull off such lines without a shred of embarrassment.

Don’t look down on me, woman. I’ve dealt against situations like these for many years!

THOK!

I landed a sharp blow— a karate chop on her head.

She was completely caught off guard.

She inadvertently let out a cute shriek and cradles her head at the same time.

But it seems to work too well. She’s in so much pain till she was on the verge on kneeling and crying.

Ugh.

I immediately regretted. I shouldn’t have hit her, the Student Council President. That’s the same as getting her reputation a good smack too.

“Um, sorry. I didn’t mean to hit so hard.”

I stroke her head as an atonement.

“N-Ngh… I’m sorry with the jokes, please come with me.”

… I’m really sorry.

She then guides me to the lift, where it’s at the right side of the lobby.

We entered. The system then scans for her badge as she passes through the door, then scans her thumbprint when she presses the floor button on the lift. It authenticated her to her own personal floor, that is, the fourth floor.

Judging from the buttons, there are only ten floors. I was expecting it to be around 30 floors when I looked from the outside. Perhaps the building design on the exterior confused my judgement.

And…

Awkward.

The same, usual, dreadful silence when I stepped into the lobby, staring at each other without saying a word. So—

Should I say something…?

Should I apologize again…?

Or should I ask for her name again…?

Anyways, aren’t we standing a little too close? Our arms are touching each other.

It seems she realized I’m staring at her. So in turn, she stared back at me with an upward gaze.

“Erm… Could you stop caressing my head?” She said, with her cheeks slightly redden.

“Eh? Oh, oh, um, sorry. I didn’t realize it.”

Crap. I totally didn’t realize. How long have I stroked? This is embarrassing. Though she’s completely a healthy high school student, a human girl with a 16-year-old body. But I’ve been treating her like a little girl.

“Do I still look like a little girl to you…?”

“What?! Do you have telepathy? How on earth do you know what I’m thinking!?”

That’s impossible…! My body is immune to any kind of mind-reading magic…!

“Don’t be silly. Of course, I don’t. It’s all over on your face.”

“My face? Really? Is it that obvious? That can’t be. Then what else am I thinking right now?”

“My cup size. Aren’t you a quite the pervert~?”

“Absolutely not!”

She’s slightly off the mark. But she’s good.

“Anyways, I will let you know just in case. It’s 70-D. But it’s not like you’d understood the number and letter~”

“Erm… I do, in fact. Your top bust measurement is 70cm with a D cup. Yeah, sure they are pretty big… Are you sure it’s not 75-D?”

“Huh? Uwaawawawa…! W-Wh-Why do you know how to measure?! You really are a pervert! A beast!”

“How rude! You are even insulting the beasts! Some of the brassieres in this world are designed by men! Though I’m not a designer, but I still know how to measure a girl’s bust!”

“No men would design a bra or measure bust if there aren’t any woman around! You just wanted to feel a girl’s body! You are just a horrible, disgusting, filthy pervert!”

“Be careful with your words, lady! You have no idea how hard it is to keep in check on two girls who are in their puberty period!”

“...Eww.”

Such a despising stare.

It’s just a simple ‘eww’. But why is it I felt so much disgust and loathsome in it?

“Ehem.” I coughed. Hope this would brush off the conversation earlier. But why would I even talk about bust size and brassiere to a girl in the morning?! It’s her fault, it totally is! She’s been guiding the conversation all along!

It’s my turn.

“Earlier, what do you mean by ‘still look like a little girl’ just now?” I asked.

“… It’s nothing. You must be mistaken.”

“……”

I’ve got nothing.

It ended.

It ended just like that.

And then— the lift opens. Revealing a classy looking hallway, with the design similar to the lobby.

“We are here~”

The fourth floor.

Though, the ceiling is merely around 9 foot if not mistaken. But it really feels like the elevator went up higher than expected.

“Don’t be sad~”

“Seriously, that was freakishly scary.” That actually gave me a fright. “Why are you telling me ‘don’t be sad’ all of a sudden?”

“Well… because the conversation you started died off just like that. So…”

Too sharp. This girl is too sharp. Is she a knife or something?

“That’s rude. It’s a needle, at most.”

“I think a needle’s even worse. You can cut, slice and stab with a knife, but now you are down to pierce only, which makes this even sharper— Hey! Now, this is really scary! Just how many is it reflecting on my face!?”

“Umm… it’s all over on your whole body.”

“What!? I just got a promotion!?”

Promoted from face to whole body.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff~ I’m just a bit better than reading body languages compared to most people~”

“You are practically seeing through it rather than reading it!”

“Thanks for the praise~”

“It’s not a praise! I need some privacy here!”

“But I like you.”

“……”

Did she just confess to me?

Oh no, my pulse is rising.

Is this what Restia had gone through for more than several hundred times?

Something’s not right here. I just received a confession from a girl I literally met for the first time out of the blue, outside her personal office. Come to think of it, I don’t even know her name. What happened? Didn’t I ask for her name before?

“Oh my… That was rude of me. My name is Persia, nice to meet you.”

“Took you long enough to introduce your name!”

And stop it! Stop reading my thoughts!

Hold on. Did she say Persia?

No wonder.

Her gesture; her grace; her aura; her politeness.

“…The young mistress of the Silverlight family.”

I vaguely remembered her name.

Persia Silverlight.

“……...”

She’s all tensed up.

Her family, the Silverlight— are nobles, which means she’s a noble too. Their nobility was acknowledged by most countries worldwide. They are incredibly famous— even someone like me who was nearly cut off from the society knows their name.

“………I hate you.”

And there we have it— an unhappy, sulking look.

Once people tend to know she’s a noble, those around her will act differently. You can’t blame her for refraining herself from speaking her name— her family name.

Social gap.

She doesn’t want the gap. She hates it. What she wants is equality. She wants a person who would view her nobility as something indifferent, that will treat her equally like a friend would do.

Well, aren’t you in luck?

“Make up your mind, woman. Like or hate? Don’t think because I know you are a mistress from the Silverlight family and I will flatter you like those despicable dunces.”

“I love you~!”

She’s happy now. What a 180 degrees turn of attitude…

I stopped her from giving me a flying hug by grabbing her shoulders and press her on the ground.

“Just go in already!”

We had been standing outside her office for a while, now.

“Meanie…”

After making sure she’d give up, I released her. She then faced the white metal door and authenticated herself through a face scan and voice recognition.

The door slides up automatically, revealing a vast and spacious room, allowing us to enter.

Then— Persia heads directly to her desk, I looked around her office as I walked.

A depiction of the Imperial Knights Academy’s school grounds hung on the wall (as for what is the depiction is, I’m not interested). A beechwood conference desk with matching chairs, placed in front of the large window.

This feels like a boardroom of a large corporation. Even if she’s a Student Council President, it was still ridiculously huge for one person.

As Persia sat down at the head of the table with practised ease, the door closed.

“Enough sightseeing~? Please be seated~” She invited.

… She’s not even giving me a chance to say no.

I did as what she said and sat leisurely on the chair to her opposite. At the same time, she opens my personal data through her screen.

’First name: Lucifer

Last name: Nightwalker von Nightmare.

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Birthdate: July 7′

“Geez, that’s it?” She said.

She did those on purpose. Perhaps she wanted me to fill in the blanks. Mobile number, country, address, city, etc. What do you want me to fill-in? Stranded on an island? There’s nothing else I can fill in, so forget it.

“Mn…” She decided to give up.

After minimizing her screen, she placed her hands together and looked into my eyes with a serious expression.

Whoa, it totally doesn’t suit her casual and random image.

A serious atmosphere is building up.

“…Lucifer Nightwalker von Nightmare. Do you know why you were chosen to attend this academy?” She asked with a questioning gaze.

Her eyes narrowed.

…If this is what you want, then I will play along with it.

“To enjoy a high school life…? Ahaha…” I forcibly laughed.

I gave a bald-faced lie.

Obviously, I needed to. I had my own reasons to come here. But then again, maybe I needed one after I’ve finished dealing with my problems. Or perhaps I should just do both at the same time…?

“……”

My bald-faced lie received no reply from Persia. She then leaned back on her chair and sat leisurely. From the look of it, it seems she’s going to say something important.

“Within the school grounds of the Imperial Knights Academy, there’s a special white mansion located on a specific place— closest building to the pink drop tree, and isolated from any other facilities.”

“…!?”

Is this… a story?

You are telling me a story all of a sudden?!

“This mansion was protected by a force field, as well as security systems and spy cameras to prevent any outsiders from entering within its territory.”

Okay… now this feels a little familiar.

It can’t be that place, right? I even gave the force field a knock.

“Within it, lived a goddess— which her beauty was so overwhelming that it attracts tons of bad insects (stalkers and perverts) that’s around her, causing her nothing but head-aching problems. That’s why she spent her daily life inside that mansion, barely stepping out from it.”

“A goddess? Is it a celestial god like the legends?”

“Of course not. It’s just her beauty is comparable to even a goddess.”

A girl’s image suddenly pops up in my head.

…The girl who tried to kill me several moments ago.

“So she’s human?”

“Yes. And that very person was known as the <Winter Princess>.” 

Winter princess…? Is that a codename? But don’t people always name these types as <Ice Princess> or <Ice Queen>?

…Right. I forgot.

The principal, that bastard is the one who gave them their codenames.

So what is she? A girl who takes over winter?

“Okay…? And why are you telling me all this?”

“You see… the academy’s rank has been dropping from the tournament since three years ago. The principal— our principal, searched for a solution to prevent it from dropping any further.”

“Prevent it from dropping? Are you sure? I think he wants us to take the first place rather than prevent from dropping.”

Perhaps I should’ve let the ranks drop even further after all.

“Well… we had a fellow student with an overwhelming potential this year which had a high chance to take the first place…”

“And the <Winter Princess> is that student with the overwhelming potential…”

Or else there’s no meaning from mentioning her.

“That’s right. We merely needed a compatible partner for the best, the strongest, the model student, the <Winter Princess>— Kuroyuki Shiroha.”

Kuroyuki Shiroha.

A first-year, and a name I’m overly familiar with.

Perhaps, she was the only student I’d know even before I came here. Don’t be mistaken, I may know a few things about her, it doesn’t mean she knows anything about me.

As for how I knew, I was told by the principal… about her achievements as a Student Council President and a special student. It was splendid.

Though I’d heard her name, but I’ve never seen her in person— nor her face.

Nevertheless, the principal mentioned before… the reason for not letting me see her picture.

‘Someone like you would’ve died from a simple cardiac arrest.’

Okay… perhaps she was hideous? He’d said there’s no need a match between her and my sisters.

“Your Ex-Student Council President,” I remarked.

Unlike other high schools, the Imperial Knights Academy consists of three Student Council Presidents, one representative from each year. It is a system created mainly to lighten the workload.

The third year’s president is Gerald Elbertstein— I knew nothing about him.

The second year’s president is Scarlet Night— I knew nothing about her.

As for the first year’s president— it was originally lead by Kuroyuki Shiroha, but she resigned from her post four months ago. And now the person who took over her place is Persia, who was her vice president during that time.

When Kuroyuki Shiroha is in charge, the whole group merely consist of only two people (Kuroyuki Shiroha and Persia Silverlight), which they even managed to do their tasks better than the second years and third years.

“You really were informed well by the principal…”

“Not really. If you didn’t tell me I wouldn’t know she’s the <Winter Princess>.”

“Is that so? I thought the reason you fought against her because you knew she’s the strongest and wanted to test your strength…”

“Eh?”

Say again? Fought?

“Oh my… You really do not know… You have my deepest salute~!”

“W-W-W-What!? T-T-T-That girl I fought is Kuroyuki Shiroha?! The <Winter Princess>?! The strongest student!?”

Such a big mistake…! Lucifer Nightwalker…! Why didn’t you realize it…!? No, wait… She did mention her name before…! It’s because I got so stressed out because of her request that I’d forgotten about it…!

…My heart really ached. Damn it, I hate it when he’s right.

“Eh~ Now I’m curious. Is she hard to handle~?”

“Hard? You must be joking, right? She held back on purpose!”

Persia paused for a moment.

“Eh… You noticed right away… So that’s our difference… No wonder you are recommended.”

“That’s our difference…? This means you had a duel with her before…?”

“Yes… I fought and lost miserably. Then later I found out she was holding back…”

She deliberately lets out a discouraged sigh.

“This seems painful. How long have you managed to hold on?”

“…Exactly one minute.”

Ouch.

“Wait. Aren’t you S ranked!?”

“No, I’m just a sad, pathetic C ranked student.”

“Even if you want to lie, shouldn’t you at least change the colour of your blazer?”

“Oh. So you knew… But even if I’d change my blazer right here, right now and even strip to my nude in front of you… I don’t think I’d feel any different from being a C ranked student…”

Double ouch.

Her eyes are getting listless too.

She’s so disheartened from that duel she wouldn’t mind stripping herself to nude and brand herself as a C ranked student.

…I decided not to comment on the ‘stripping’ part.

“…If the gap between C rank and S rank is like crossing a road, then the gap between S rank and Kuroyuki Shiroha is like climbing over a fire mountain and swimming across a sea of ice.” She added.

Exaggerating.

But then again, her exaggeration actually might not be that exaggerating. After all, even against me, she fought with ease.

…Scary.

Speaking of which…

“If you are an S ranked student, then what’s hers? Wait, what’s my rank?”

“…Ah. I almost forgot you just transferred here today.”

“Hmm. Okay… I know I need to pass the enrolment test or something.”

“The principal allowed you to skip the paper test.”

“Really… Now that’s convenient— hold on. Paper test? There’s something else?”

“Yes. There’s a practical fight test too you needed to take.”

“Practical fight test? Don’t tell me I’m going to fight one hundred opponents at the same time…”

I will definitely fail if it’s like that. Wait a second… if it’s him, he might actually make me fight one hundred of them at the same time.

“If it’s like that, then I think anyone would’ve failed… except Kuroyuki Shiroha.”

Persia is serious about it. It seems she really respects her really much.

“So when should I take the test?”

“Oh my… I forgot I was supposed to take you there… let’s go now.”

She stood up, then make her way to the door.

I followed behind.

“For a Student Council President, aren’t you quite careless and forgetful?” I said.

Persia, who was halfway to her door, stopped suddenly, then faced me with a genuinely surprised look.

“I see… So this is what you want.” she said, “If you’d like to criticize me, then go ahead, criticize to your heart’s content.”

She said with a look acted as if she’s full of shame.

“…Uh, I wouldn’t over something this minor…”

“I can tell by your face you are itching to complain. If something you want to say, then why not say it like a man? I’ll get naked and get down on all fours to apologize to you in the middle of the city if that’ll make you happy.”

“Are you trying to make me out to be the most disgusting man on earth!?”

As if I’d let her do that in the middle of the residential area.

Plus, I not interested in her grovel in the first place.

“Getting down on all fours naked,” she said, “is a small price to pay to make Lucifer Nightwalker von Nightmare known to the world over as the most disgusting man alive.”

“Your pride is the only thing here that’s cheap.”

“But I’d be keeping just my stockings on,” she added.

“You say that like a punchline to wrap this up, but I’m not into weird stuff.”

“And by stockings, I mean fishnets stockings.”

“Getting more extreme doesn’t change a thing...”

Though on second thought. Even if I wasn’t into that, a part of me did want to see Persia, specifically, in fishnet tights— she wouldn’t even have to be naked. I mean, if she wore regular clothing in this fishnet stockings...

“… That’s the face of someone thinking improper thoughts, Lucifer.”

“Who, me? Do you really see me in such a vulgar light, a guy whose motto is mostly ‘the straight and narrow’? I can’t believe you’d say that about me, Persia.”

“Oh? I believe I’ve always been saying these things about you. Whether I have proof or not. It’s very suspicious that though you rejected the claim outright, but yet you’re imagining it for the first time.”

I forgot. She’s able to tell.

“Gulp...”

Because it happened before.

No matter what, I will protect Restia’s honour.

“So forcing me down on all fours to apologize to you naked isn’t enough, you want to write obscene things across every inch of my body with permanent marker?”

“l wasn’t going that far!”

“Then how far were you going?”

“Um, anyway, Persia,” I brusquely changed the topic. “So where will we be going?”

“The basement. The training room.”

“Let’s go! Let’s go already!”

I pushed her from behind with both of my hands. Though she refused to move at first, with her shoes sliding on the floor as I pushed, because of my strength, she eventually gave up and walks.

“So Persia, how do I pass the practical fight test?”

“Mnn… I think I will tell you when we get there. For now, perhaps I will explain about the class division system and ranking system to you.

“Sure.”