Dark Past and Seniors

 
 
 ☆
 
 
 After Teacher Val’s story, we all introduced ourselves one by one.
 
 “I’m Letia Einwell, from Heielland. My strong point is magic manipulation, but my weakness is… I actually still haven’t been able to invoke any sorcery. Also, I am able to use most spells up to intermediate class. I hope to get along with everyone.”
 
 I hesitated as to whether to tell them that I couldn’t use sorcery, but in the end decided to be honest.
 
 After listening to the teacher’s story, I realised that this school places more emphasis on teamwork than individual skill.
 
 In that case, it would be better if your classmatesfriends knew your strengths and weaknesses.
 
 I was wondering what kind of reaction I would get, but got some unexpected reactions from those around me.
 
 “Look, it’s that girl. The one that used some mysterious spell in the practical exam…”
 
 “Oh, the one that wrapped the fireball up in something and exploded it.”
 
 “You said you can’t use sorcery, but if you’ve got something like that, isn’t it unnecessary?”
 
 ——— Ugh.
 
 It is necessary.
 It’s for making magic tools!
 And yet I haven’t been able to use sorcery even once!!
 
 I covered my face in my hands, writhing in agony.
 
 After that, the introductions continued, and we learnt that the strong point of the elf girl — Feirulize — was spirit magic, and for Sharieq dressed in the traditional garb, it was magic and swordsmanship.
 
 And it seems that they both struggle with sorcery as well.
 I can relate to that a bit.
 
 I’ve got to quickly make a sorcery-practice magic tool, for their sakes as well.
 
 I renewed my determination quietly to myself.
 
 
 
 As everyone introduced themselves, there were some kids that caught my eye.
 
 They were Olga and Reina, Renee and my roommates.
 
 “Olga Hellqvist. I’m proud of my magic manipulation. I don’t want to say what I’m bad at.”
 
 Olga bluntly said this with a pout, then sat down straight away without checking the others’ reactions.
 
 That attitude caused a stir amongst those around her.
 
 “Hey, what’s up with her?”
 
 “Speaking of the Hellqvist’s, they’re the famous 『Freezing』 noble family in the north, right?”
 
 “Oh, so that’s why she’s like that. Gross.”
 
 As feared, she received some severe whispered criticisms from the girls.
 
 On the other hand, the boys seemed interested in her for a different reason.
 
 “… that girl’s nice.”
 
 “Huh, seriously? Though her face certainly is cute. But she seems to have a pretty harsh personality, no?”
 
 “But that’s what’s so good about her!!”
 
 A pervert.
 There’s a pervert here.
 
 Taken aback, I turned to face Olga.
 
 Although she could probably hear the noise around her, she faced forward with her back straight, not budging one bit.
 
 
 
 There was an awkward atmosphere in the classroom when Olga gave her self-introduction, but after that the greetings continued without a problem.
 
 I thought that things would end smoothly, but it seems I was being naive.
 
 The commotion came at the very end, when Reina, seated at the very end of the front row, gave her introduction.
 
 “Reina Celian. From Aetherstadt^[1]. Don’t have any particular strengths. I can’t think of anything I’m bad at either. I enrolled because I heard that graduating from this school would give me an advantage when becoming an adventurer.”
 
 And then right after Reina gave her introduction —
 
 “It must be the end of the world if pickpockets are being enrolled in Runefeld.”
 
 Someone muttered this in a hushed tone, and the atmosphere in the classroom became tense.
 
 ““…””
 
 A suffocating silence.
 
 “Uhm-…”
 
 Just as Teacher Val was about to open his mouth —
 
 “I lived in the slums before I was taken in by the orphanage. I did whatever I needed to survive. I have no shame in that.”
 
 Reina said this indifferently without the slightest movement.
 When she finished speaking, she sat straight down without a sound.
 
 While everyone looked at her in shock, Teacher Val gave the boy who called Reina a pickpocket earlier a stern look, then spoke to everyone.
 
 “There are people in all sorts of circumstances in this world. Especially when it comes to adventurers. Everyone lives with some sort of dark past. The most hated of these are those who gouge out the wounds of others, and traitors. If you don’t want to die an unhappy death, rather than looking down on others, try thinking of what you can do for your comrades. ——— That’s pretty much what I’d like to tell you as your senior in life.”
 
 It’s surprising, or rather, should I say it’s as expected?
 Professor Variendar warned everyone without calling anyone out by name.
 
 It is unclear how much of these words reached the boy in question, but judging by the way he looked down uncomfortably, it seemed he understood that he himself had been scolded.
 
 After the self-introductions, the schedule for after this and its contents were explained, and the first period’s orientation came to an end.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 After a ten-minute break, we were gathered in front of a small lighthouse on the northwestern tip of Porta Island.
 
 The second to fourth period was a 『Dungeon Tour』.
 
 Guided by second-year students, we toured the first floor of the Lake Aetherna Dungeon, which stretches from Runefelt’s underground to the bottom of the lake.
 
 By the way, it seems that there are many entrances to the lake dungeon on the island, and so it seems that different classes use different entrances.
 
 This means that we of Eugray will be relying on this lighthouse, with a crest of an owl above its door, for the next two years.
 
 “So those are the Eugray seniors who will be guiding us.”
 
 I shifted my gaze to the students who had arrived ahead of us.
 
 Same as us, they were wearing robes with the crest of an owl.
 
 They were acting at their own pace, looking at us, talking about all sorts of things, and laughing together.
 
 I could hear someone laughing 『Kyahaha』.
 
 “They seem like a lively bunch, no?”
 
 I replied “Seems so” to what Renee said.
 
 My impression of them in one word:
 “Free-spirited”
 
 The atmosphere is far from that of a model student.
 At a glance, it certainly does look like 『a class of dropouts』, but… I wonder.^[2]
 
 While I was thinking about this, Teacher Val called out to everyone.
 
 “Alright, let’s get started. Everyone, over here!”
 
 We all gathered in droves in front of the lighthouse.
 
 
 
 “We’ll begin the dungeon tour now. The second-year Eugray’s will guide you. Take this opportunity to watch closely how your seniors fight monsters and explore the labyrinth. ——— Well then, first off, form a group of six with those nearby. You’ll do the tour with that group.”
 
 Although the first-year students were confused by what Teacher Val said, they went and made their groups.
 
 “To start off, 3 people.”
 
 Anna smiled at me and Renee.
 
 “Right, next we need to find three more.”
 
 As I said this, I looked around.
 
 My classmates formed groups one after another.
 But of course, there are also people who never get called out to———
 
 “Reina, want to do the tour with us?”
 
 I called out to Reina, who was nearby.
 
 “You sure?”
 
 She turned to me with her usual cold expression and asked me a short question.
 
 I nodded in response.
 
 “Of course.”
 
 “Then, ok.”
 
 That’s four.
 And then…
 
 “Sharieq, Olga. How about going together?”
 
 I called out to those two, who were just loitering about with looks as though this had nothing to do with them.
 
 “Yeah.”
 
 Sharieq answered briefly.
 With cloth over his head and a mask hiding his face, his expression was unreadable, but he gave a slight nod and made his way over.
 
 On the other hand, Olga —
 
 “…”
 
 — just ignored us.
 She didn’t even move one bit.
 Well, that’s fine.
 
 I went round right in front of her, and spoke to her.
 
 “Hey Olga-san. We’re one person short. If it’s fine with you, want to go together?”
 
 While we were taking our time, everyone else around us had already formed their groups.
 
 In short, she doesn’t have a choice.
 
 “… fine.”
 
 As she said this, making sure not to make eye contact with me, she followed after me with a reluctant air.
 
 Teacher Val had a slight smile on his face.
 
 “Alright. The groups are sorted. Now then, let’s head into the dungeon in turns!”
 
 Thus began our first dungeon experience.