Oran Knight is out (1/3 chapters for today)
Late-Arriving Freshman (2)
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When my homeroom teacher, Fol-sensei, pushed the classroom door open there was a small creak and it slid open. The noise that had been coming through the gap stopped immediately.
“Come on in.” (Fol)
Following Fol-sensei’s instruction, all eyes in the room focused on me as soon as I entered. I had never been so much attention in my village, so I felt a bit nervous.
“Well then, he’s Lux, who will be joining this class from today. Say hello.” (Fol)
After Fol-sensei’s brief introduction, I take a deep breath and bow.
“Um, from today on, I’ll be in this class. I’m Lux from the southern village. Um, I’m a sniper. Nice to meet you.” (Lux)
After bowing in greeting, scattered applause and Heinz’s voice saying “Nice to meet you” echoed through the classroom.
“There are three vacant seats. You can sit by the window. Take that one.” (Fol)
I sat in the third seat from the front by the window and leaned my long rifle against it. A soft voice from beside me said, “Nice to meet you,” and when I turned, a cute chestnut-haired girl was smiling at me.
“N-nice to meet you.” (Lux)
I managed to reply nervously. Just as I was about to ask her name, Fol-sensei began speaking from the podium.
“Now, Lux, watch how things flow from today. Sonia, you’ll be sitting next to me, so you can teach her all sorts of things. I want you to catch up on the classroom lessons by self-study. For now, even if you don’t understand something today, make sure you take notes. Training-wise, it’s… just observation. And, we need to decide on teams…” (Fol)
“Yes! Sensei, I need a sniper on my team!” (Heinz)
Heinz energetically raises his hand.
“That’s right, in terms of numbers, that would be good. Let’s put you in Team B.” (Fol)
Unbeknownst to Lux, discussions proceed one after another. Feeling a bit puzzled, Sonia, the girl next to him, said…
“I’m in Team B too, so we’re together.” (Sonia)
Considering that, I thought Team B might not be so bad even though I wasn’t entirely sure what Team B was. After that, I desperately took notes on the words written on the blackboard. Before I know it, it was lunchtime. The dorm mother had packed brought me a packed lunch.
“Lux! Let’s have lunch together. I’ll introduce you to the team!” (Heinz)
I was grateful because of Heinz’s invitation. So, the eight of us including me headed to the courtyard. Then, we formed a circle and introduce ourselves one by one.
“Since there’s a lot to remember for Lux today, it’s fine to learn names gradually,” I thought, leaning on those words.
“Lux, there’s a lot you have to remember today, so it’ll be fine if you remember the names as you go.” (Heinz)
I took advantage of this and tried to learn it one step at a time.
“So, what’s a team?” (Lux)
Everyone was quick to answer my questions. I was glad they were all nice people.
Summarizing their talk, it seemed everyone here must belong to a team and a club. Teams consisted of 7 to 10 members per class and functioned like pseudo-squads. The main purpose was to understand each other’s aptitudes through training with various military specialties and to learn group actions as a squad.
In general, three teams were formed per class, and if students perform well in the team competitions held twice a year, they can graduate at a higher rank than usual. Graduating in a high class would add prestige to one’s studies, so winning the competition was apparently a big goal for many students.
“Well, our team isn’t that competitive. So, if we win, it’s just luck.” (Heinz)
Heinz remarked between bites of his sandwich.
Then, there was about club, where membership was mandatory by military specialty. I was in the sniper circle. Unlike teams, it focused on mutual improvement among the same type of soldiers and sharing useful equipment information with more relaxed rules. It was about getting along well with others of the same specialty. The academy also informed us that clubs served to address requests and technical concerns raised by each military specialty.
“For clubs, just greet the captain. There will be occasional gatherings every now and then. That’s about it.” (Heinz)
Heinz summed up.
After that, we livened up with stories from my hometown, and my first lunch ended on a good note… except for some classmates who were looking at me uncomfortably from the classroom.
—
In the afternoon, practical training took the spotlight. I was there as an observer.
The academy placed more emphasis on training than classroom learning, and the training grounds took up half of the vast grounds. We were taken to the second Flat Training Ground for that day’s exercises. This area consisted of rectangular, flat grounds with six identical training fields arranged around a grove of small trees.
Our instructor for the training wasn’t Fol-sensei but a muscular old veteran-looking figure. Just as the instructor was about to speak ‘Well, then…, a well-dressed boy, whom I hadn’t yet talked to, raised his hand and said ‘Sensei, may I?’.
Heinz, beside me, grimaced and muttered…
“Ugh, Saxon’s about to say something unnecessary again…” (Heinz)
“What is it, Saxon-kun?” (Instructor)
Saxon stood up and grinned at me for some reason.
“Since we have a new student today, I think it would be beneficial for his future if we see his capabilities.” (Saxon)
He declared confidently.
“Hmm, there’s some merit in that.” (Instructor)
The veteran instructor nodded as he looked at me.
Saxon continued eagerly.
“Yes! Instructor, why not have him aim for that target at the far end of the training grounds?” (Saxon)
He pointed to a target at the farthest edge of the expansive training area.
After a brief thought, the instructor said it.
“As a sniper, you’ll need to hit targets at that distance eventually. Very well, give it a try.” (Instructor)
With that, he gestured for me to prepare.
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