"Aria~ my little adorable angel. You hair is so beautiful~!" My mother squeals in delight. As usual, she woke me up and dressed me up for school. I was wearing the same clothes I usually did, but this time, I didn't have my bandages on. I sit down on the bed, facing the mirror on my wardrobe while my mother combs my very long hair.
After she finishes doing my hair, we leave the room and head downstairs for breakfast. There, my father finishes cooking us breakfast. Just like on my first day of school, she tried to feed me, but I refused her. I leave the house after eating breakfast, and walk towards school. It's been a day since I went to the Kazaric Ravines with Thoth, where my bandages were removed and I was given a new curse. Yesterday, I tried reading the skillbook given by the [System], but I wasn't able to learn the magic.
Apparently, it's a skillbook [Summoning Magic], a new type that I haven't learnt yet. It's requirements is for me to at least be level 5 in that category, so obviously, I wasn't able to learn it. The magic is supposedly a spell that allows me to summon the [Frozen Viper] as a familiar for me to use. I don't know much about this kind of magic, so I can't explain the concept of these familiars, but perhaps I'll be taught about it soon.
Also, another event occurred yesterday during my reading. A worldwide message from the system was announced, which caused a huge hype. The message was;
"Worldwide Announcement: World [Cyvish] has been conquered. Level limit has been increased by 100. Stat limit has been increased by 2,000.
Conditions for [Duel System] has been fulfilled. World system upgraded. [Duel System] accessible by reciting [Mode: Duel] in the mind."
I don't know how duels previously worked in this world, but in my old world, a spar or duel stopped when blood was shed. Yes, this tended to make duels fairly quick, fast and lame, but it was to keep both fighters safe. Although I have no idea what this new [Duel System] will bring, but I'm going to guess that it provides a safety mechanism so that duels won't end after just shedding blood.
Anyway, today would be the first day I attend school without these bandages on. Just like when I returned home from the ravine, people stared at me strangely on the way there. It didn't stop even after I entered the school. Students and teachers were watching me as I walk by, and groups cleared a path for me in the hallway until I reached my [Homeroom].
I enter the classroom where everyone was talking, and one of them notice me. He whispered to his friends, who then in turn, looked at me as well. I ignore them and walk towards my seat, but I've already attracted the attention of the entire classroom. I don't think my appearance is that strange, but they all seemed to have their attention me. Just as I reach my seat, I hear a yell from the front of the room.
"Aria Brynhildr!?" It was the martial artist that continues to challenge me.
"What!?" Many of my classmates yelled out. Some even have shocked expressions on their faces.
"...?" I tilt my head in response to this. They began to surround me just like they did on the second day of school, asking me several questions.
"What happened to your bandages!?"
"Why did you take them off?"
"Why were you trying to even wearing them!?"
They continued on with this manner, to the point where it began to give me a headache, and I couldn't concentrate on keeping my mana from leaking. A blue aura begins to surround me, and the classmates felt the pressure of power much higher than their own. They all begin to back off, and return to their seats quickly, intimidated by my aura. This actually worked out for me, but now they know the difference in power between us.
At least, that's what I thought until I heard the whispers that began to go around. Apparently, they believe what they felt was an 'untouchable aura.' I won't deny it, this situation works on my favor, and I'll take it. After that, my classmates continued to look at me, but remained distant and didn't approach me. Even my teacher, who came in later, felt the atmosphere of the room and just looked at me without doing anything else. I feel like I'm getting too much attention. Maybe I should wrap myself again, or bring my cloak next time.
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My next two classes after that had similar events occur, and when we were supposed to study in groups during [Basic Studies], I was left completely alone. It wasn't this bad when I had my bandages on. Am I that strange to them?
Anyway, I went to my usual spot during lunch on the room, and found that there were 7 people there. You can guess who.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing taking my meat!?"
"What does it matter? Why are you even eating anyway, when you're a damn skeleton?"
"Don't question it and stop stealing my food, you stupid poison-elf!"
Currently, I'm just hanging off the edge of the building, listening to Ghost and Haki bicker with each other. For some reason, the new student council group was eating their lunch on the roof of the building as well. They were making one hell of a commotion too, luckily no one was able to hear them. After all, no one was allowed up here.
"Calm down guys, quit making such a racket. Aria's going to arrive soon, so don't scare her away." Ash scolds the two that are arguing, but they still continue bickering.
"Can you two shut the hell up before I throw the both of you off this roof?" This managed to shut them up. Good job, Minaya!
"...she's here." Raina's cold voice says out loud. Seems like I've been discovered, so I climb up the roof.
"Good afternoon, Aria, sorry that we..." Deome begins to greet me, but upon seeing me, he became quiet. In fact, just like everyone else, the whole group just looked at me. Even Ghost and Haki kept quiet, just staring at me. Though Peria was licking her lips for some reason, while Ash and Raina's cheeks were red.
"...hello?" I speak to them, and just like when I was in the dungeon with Thoth, they were startled from hearing my voice.
"We caught an ice princess guys! An ice princess! This girl definitely Aria, right? The one that'll be part of our council, right?" Haki overreacts, yelling out things I don't understand. Ice princess? What's that supposed to mean?
Ghost joins in on the scene, and while they do that, Deome regains himself and speaks again. "Ah, yes, sorry Aria, we'll be intruding on your personal lunch spot for today." Deome finishes his sentence quickly.
"I know this is sudden, but we came here to discuss what we needed from you in the Student Council!" Ash informs me immediately.
"...then discuss." I say, and I turn my back to them, before sitting down at the edge of the roof. I let my legs hang off, and open the lunch box my father made for me.
"Would it hurt if you just sat over here and talked to us?" Minaya asks me.
"...that works." Minaya gives a good idea, and a minute later, I'm sitting with the group of 7. This feels a bit too crowded, I liked being alone by the edge of the roof better.
"Okay then, Aria, thanks to the efforts of Peria and Deome, we won our campaign and became elected to the Student Council. I'm the president, Peria is the–"
"Too long." I interrupt Ash immediately, because I didn't want to listen to this. He stopped immediately, and had a worried expression on his face.
"...then I'll get to the point. We need you to become a member of the student council."
"...obviously?" I reply. What was the point of saying that? Is he stupid?
"Not just a normal member working in it. We need you to be our hidden member."
...Huh? What the heck is that supposed to mean? I tilt my head, confused at what this is supposed to mean.
"He wants you to be a council member in guise of a student. Along with that, you'll be our secret weapon when it comes into combative conflicts, but the chances of that are pretty close to none." Peria explains.
"...and?"
"That's it. You're pretty much going to be a regular student, a back up member that we'll call on when we need you." Peria claims.
"No, that's not it! She also needs to tell us about any students that are violating the rules outside of our watch! We can't be everywhere at once, so we need her to catch the smart-alecks who think they can avoid us!" Ghost adds.
"Oh yeah, there was that. I mean, honestly, considering who we are, she's probably not going to be doing anything unless there's an emergency situation."
"...why me?" They literally could have anyone else doing this, yet, it had to be me. Honestly, I know that I'm probably the most unsocial person here, and I want it to be that way. So what's the point of having someone like me do a job that involves social interactions?
"Two reasons. One, it's because you have an unapproachable atmosphere around you. So when you catch people violating the rules and reporting to us, you'll be the last person suspected to be the rat. This pretty much lets you continue going around and catching those breaking the rules much more easily than a regular student.
"Two, your abilities. Based on what we've seen and went through, you're a complete monster in guise of a human. This means that you can catch these violators without even being seen, so they won't know which people and places to avoid. You'll be helping us with our duties whilst keeping your support a secret, similar to an undercover spy of some sort within the students. This way, your identity will remain hidden, and our jobs become a bit easier. Also, just like Peria says, you can be our secret weapon in times of physical conflict." Deome explains the reasons why they picked me, but it still seemed kind of strange.
"...third reason?" Those two couldn't be the only ones.
"I knew she would've seen through it! Ghost, that's 5 bucks from you." Haki says in the background, but I ignore it.
"...me." Raina finally speaks, but I didn't understand what she meant by that. Is this how it feels to speak to someone who's unable to speak very well?
"Raina picked you herself. That's what the test was for in the beginning of the year. She wants you to be her sparring partner." Ash says.
"...no, wrong." Raina immediately denies his claims, and faces me while grabbing my hands. Her normally expressionless face now seems serious, and her eyes looked as if a bright fire has lit inside of them.
"Please, be my friend!" She suddenly says.
An awkward, moment of silence went by, as everyone waited for my answer. When I befriended Thoth, she didn't ask me to do so. It was an implied request through her words, and I accepted it. This time, I was being asked directly by someone who had a cold personality similar to mine. It was a bit strange, being in this kind of situation. But based on her actions and the surprised expressions of the other people, it seems like this was a completely serious request from her.
"...only you." I reply.
The entire group reacts to this, and many of them congratulate Raina. It seems like I've become her first friend that she's made herself. I just crossed that threshold a month ago, so I understand her feelings. A smile appears on her face, and she suddenly gives me a hug. After letting go, Ash clears his throat, and asks me again;
"So, can you become our hidden member?"
The three reasons were a bit strange, the first one because it seemed just weird in general. An unapproachable aura makes me more unsuspected? The second one seemed a bit more solid, and then the third reason was just a personal choice by one of the members. Although they only provided one good reason, I nodded anyway. It didn't seem like something that can potentially expose myself. They all celebrate to this, yelling out cheers. This group overreacts too much.
"...I work alone." I add at the end. This causes them to freeze.
"I mean, I guess it would decrease the risk of people figuring out that you're working with us. Will you at least see Raina, though? Even if it's outside of school." Ash requests of me.
"...that's fine." I say, and a satisfied expression appears on the sibling's faces.
For the rest of lunch, the group talked and bickered while I returned to the edge of the roof, swinging my feet in the air. When the bell rang, I climbed down the building while using invisibility magic so no one sees me coming down. Unfortunately, while I took this harder way down, I didn't realize that the Student Council group had a key to the roof, and went down normally.
––––––
"Who the hell are you?" Avern asks as soon as he sees me.
"...Aria?" Everyone else was able to guess it right so why couldn't he?
""..."" A moment of silence came between both of us.
"...the hell were the bandages for then? You use them to cover wounds and hide scars, not to disguise your appearance. I thought you had several wounds or scars under those, making me think you had to be treated a little bit more delicately than the others." He complains to me about something stupid.
A little bit more delicately? This guy, he's funny. I'm sure the extreme training that he gives me is the total opposite of delicate. If anything, he's treating the normal students more delicately than me. He sighs to himself after a bit, and just decides to begin the lesson.
"Okay, you guys, stop staring at the 8 year old princess! You're all three to four years older than her anyway, you perverts!" He yells at the other students.
A lot of them gave surprised reactions. Well, not very many students knew my age, and I definitely didn't look it. People generally started attending at around 13 to 14 years old, because that's when they're able to get their statuses to meet the school requirements. I am most likely the youngest person attending this school, so that makes me a wild exception.
"Everyone, except Aria, you're all going to be running 2 laps around the school before starting sparring practices! You, little girl, are going to be doing something else. Follow me." After sending the students off, he walks away from the training fields, and leaves the [Generalized Zone]. In fact, he enters the [Marksman's Zone], and walks all the way to their firing range.
"Wait here." He says to me outside the firing range, and I do so. He enters a building near the firing range, and after a few minutes, yells at me to come in. I enter the building, which looked half as big as the firing range. Upon doing so, a projectile comes straight at me at high speed. I immediately dodge it, but notice that a second one was already fired to where I was dodging. Using my high speed, I was able to catch whatever came right at me. After verifying that the surprise attack stopped, I looked at the object that I caught, and it seemed to be a bullet. It was made of rubber, though, so it wouldn't have dealt any serious damage to me.
"What did I say? She's a Brynhildr, after all. I easily saw this coming." Avern's voice appears behind me, and I turn to see him standing by the doorway.
"So the [Walking Armament] gave birth to a girl who can catch bullets. A bloodline of monstrous [Gun Knights], it seems." An older voice comes from behind, and I turn to see a man who looked like he was in his mid-40's standing there with a pistol in hand.
"Well, I'll do it for a year, but then she'll have to ask her mother after that." He says to Avern, who nods. I was confused, what was happening? Did they have some sort of agreement between each other? Did they know my mother?
"Let's get going, Aria. I got other kids, to look after." He says, and he walks away immediately.
So we suddenly arrive at the firing range, I get tested by someone, they talk about my mother, and I have to ask my mother about something? As I chase after Avern who's walked away, I was just about to ask what just happened, but he began talking before I could.
"You know, I figured you out instantly." He said. "On the first day, right after switching the grip of your weapon, I could tell you were better than you showed. I provoked you after that to see what you would show me, and when you threw that dagger, it confirmed my thoughts. The way you handled the knife was like watching a flowing river, nice and smooth. And your accuracy was point on."
So I did screw up on the second day. I was trying so hard to look clumsy with my combat ability, that I forgot about my natural handling of the dagger. He took notice of that and realized I wasn't pathetic at using the weapon.
"When I heard 'Brynhildr' in your name, I immediately thought of 'Hana Brynhildr,' the legendary [Gun Knight]. When you showed me your accurate throw, I immediately decided that you were going to become just like her. I'm not able to train you in that subject, though, and I wasn't able to tell how physically capable you were. That's why I made you do continuous strength and stamina training.
"Now that I see that there's nothing wrong with you, I decided to just transfer you over to a professional [Marksman]. Although he can't train you to become a [Gun Knight], he can teach you the basics of [Gun Magic]. Like he said, after one year, you're going to have to ask your mother to help you down that path."
So his crappy attitude, his harsh training, he was doing that to try and prepare me for this? Why was he trying so hard?
"You're probably thinking, why am I trying so hard?" Wow, I actually was! "Well, it's because I owe your mom something. I can pay her back this way, helping her daughter. Therefore, I set this opportunity up for you. To be honest, I don't want to see an 8 year old girl going through an [Advanced Class] for adventurers, that's really damn scary. But you're obviously capable of handling it, so I'll support you for now."
Honestly, my impression of him went up quite a lot from listening to him. He was much nicer than he looked. Though I still had several questions for him, especially about my mother, I kept quiet for now.
"Anyway, as soon as we get back, you're going to do 5 laps around the school as a final test in my class. And I expect you to finish it before the bell rings, got it?"
Forget what I just said about him being nice. This guy's a total ass.