Classroom of the Elite: Amnesia Haven

Arc 1 - 2: Ambiguities of a Meaning

"Grimgar...?" Yousuke arched his eyebrows. "Is that the name of... this world?"

"Correct," Hiyo winked.

Did she think that such a gesture was appealing? I don't think that'll work out. At least, my fellow amnesiac comrades weren't buying it, especially Kikyou, for whatever reason. Her whole expression said as much. She'd be more fit to act the role of Hiyo than the person herself, honestly.

"Now, now, let's get to the matter at hand, shall we? Follow after Hiyo!"

I felt Suzune's stare out of the corner of my eye. I had no idea what she wanted, but I wasn't going to reciprocate her gaze. No particular reason why.

Hiyo walked through a hardened ground marked by humans leading to the town, somewhat forcing the group to follow along. Her twin-tailed hair was swayed by her funny, deliberate walk. How long has it lasted since she carried the role of "Hiyo"? I'm curious.

"I've always wanted to ask this but-" Kanji eyeing the hillside's white stones uncomfortably. "-are they graveyards?"

Hiyo issued an unsettling laugh. "Oh, don't you worry about it. You don't need to woooryy about it yet. It's too soon for you. Hehehe."

Kikyou clucked her tongue silently. Where did her hate come from?

"-uh?" I glance over to Kei. Her gaze went to the sky, wide-eyed. "Was the moon red?"

I followed after her. I hadn't seen it at first because it was covered by clouds, but now I can spot a red crescent moon hanging in the sky. What's wrong with the color?

"Oh, you're right," Yousuke slightly surprised as well. "That was... weird."

Suzune scowled. "That does look unnerving."

Chiaki appeared to be recalling something. But seemingly unable to do that, she gave up on it at once.

Kanji was quipping "That's cool!" while Ken was unresponsive. The latter seems to be in a daze.

"What is actually happening here...?" Kikyou lowered her head. As expected, she is the most affected by our circumstances. I agreed with her silently, nevertheless. Though it was in a different way.

***

The streets within the town were crudely built. It wasn't necessarily a problem. The cobblestone streets were pleasant on the feet and didn't appear out of sync with the buildings of the same material sandwiched around them. I simply thought that they could be improved further.

The drainage on both sides of the street was clean- the same with the residents. A good number of them had gone out for their morning activities, some were naturally passing us as they went about with their things. However, despite being all human, the group and the residents stare at each other as if others were a strange sight.

"Their outfits..." Kei trailed off. It seems she was having a hard time coming up with more explanation.

"They look old-fashioned," Chiaki picked up after Kei. "Is that it?"

"...Yeah."

It might be due to the materials and the design of our clothes. They were the most noticeable difference.

Suzune and I were wearing outfits that were flat in design. But the remaining girls had showy ones. Ken and Kanji were more eccentric, while Yousuke was somewhere between high and low end. That being said, the materials- or perhaps their handling- compared to Alterna's residents were distinctly different.

Cultural difference? I wondered.

Hiyo stopped in front of a building. "Here! We! Are! Volunteer Soldier Corps of the Alterna Frontier Army. Now get inside, people...!"