Hi, I’m Yuria. I returned from the Twilight, somehow defeated Sherry, and became a Rank 1 Exorcist…
…It all happened really quickly. I’m confident enough in my abilities, considering that I managed to survive in the Twilight… but now, for some reason, I seem to be a bit of a loner. I got a room in the dorms, and I was really excited to get to go to school again. Oh, and for some reason, I got the room right next to Sherry’s. Apparently, it was the only available room, but living in the women’s dorm is gonna be bad for my heart…
But despite all of that, I was excited! I was finally going to get to live out a bright, happy school life!
…Or so I thought.
“N-nice to meet you. I’m Yuria Curtis. I moved here from the Third Barriered City. I’m looking forward to studying with you all!” I said, bowing my head. Good, I nailed the introduction.
“Do any of you have any questions for him?”
“Yes! I have one!”
“Go ahead, Ms. Sophia…”
She asked, “Is it true that you spent two years in the Twilight?”
“…No… I came to this city for… reasons…”
“Did you really beat Sherry?”
“Since she’s the daughter of the Headmaster, I happened to meet her while filling out paperwork. We only talked; there was no winning or losing involved.”
“That makes sense…”
Of course, everything she asked about actually happened. However, I was told to keep quiet about yesterday’s events. That’s why I gave her a prepared answer to cover everything up.
I have no intention of mentioning that I’m a Rank 1 Exorcist. I don’t mind if they find out, but I want to keep it a secret for now. I want to fit in at school, so I don’t want to bring up anything that might create distance between me and the others.
“…Tch.” Sherry, who happened to be in the same class, clicked her tongue, glaring at me.
Wh-why is she making that face at me?? People will get suspicious! I focused on keeping those thoughts from displaying on my face. If people find out I lived in the Twilight, it’ll be a pain in the neck… I’d like to just graduate quietly without raising much of a fuss. As I was thinking, another question came flying in.
“Can I ask a bit of a personal question?”
“Sure, but what is it, Sophia?”
I really hope she doesn’t keep asking about the Twilight, I thought. But instead, the question she asked came completely out of left field.
“Yuria, um… so which are you?”
“Uh… what?”
“Um, well, you know, are you transgender? I heard you live in the women’s dorm. Is that true? Your name is female, too.”
“Uh…… um…… I may look like this, but I’m actually a guy…… sorry…… They said there weren’t any rooms in the men’s dorm, so I had to go to the women’s dorm… But I’m in a corner of the dorm, so I promise I won’t cause any problems!”
”
”
All of a sudden, everyone started talking at once.
“He really lives in the women’s dorm!”
“With that almost feminine appearance, maybe he’s a real player!”
“A man that looks like that? Perfect!”
“Uh… did someone just awaken to a new fetish?”
I guess this was to be expected. I haven’t cut my hair yet, after all. I wanted to keep it as a memory of my time in the Twilight. I have a ponytail right now, but does my face really look that feminine? Ah, but when I went to the men’s bathroom in the morning, they all looked startled… No, that was because of my hair! Definitely!
“Alright, alright. Settle down. Mr. Yuria, please take a seat behind Ms. Sherry.”
“Okay…” I said, taking my seat behind Sherry. My seat was right in the corner, by the window. I feel really comfortable in this position. It feels like home.
“Hey, Sherry.”
“…Hi.”
Seeing her sulking, I wondered if maybe I overdid it yesterday.
***
The Exorcist Academies in the Barriered Cities are not like regular schools. In a regular school, the curriculum would be fixed. At an Exorcist Academy, the so-called “core classes” are held in the mornings, and electives are in the afternoons. Those core classes teach the fundamental information that every Exorcist needs. There’s basic physical training, basic magic training, and basic combat training. But since people have strengths and weaknesses, the afternoon electives are different for each student.
I spent the morning classes thinking about what I’d take as electives. Finally, it was lunchtime.
By the way, no one actually crowded around to talk to me during the breaks. They just occasionally glanced at me and whispered to each other. I guess it can’t be helped. People don’t usually transfer between the Barriered Cities, I thought.
It’s possible to move between the cities, but you need a Rank 1 and a Special Rank Exorcist to escort you. There aren’t many reasons to travel between the cities nowadays, except for the occasional competitions between cities.
Also, there were all kinds of rumours floating around the Academy about me: that I lived in the Twilight for two years; that I beat Sherry and became a Special Rank Exorcist; that I looked like a girl; that I lived in the women’s dorms; and that I was possibly transgender. People came by our class to take a look at me from all over the school.
“…Are you free?”
“Yeah…”
“Come with me.”
“What? Hey, wait up!”
Unwillingly, I followed after Sherry. “Here… it’s food.”
“…Rice balls! Thank you! It’s been so long since I’ve had proper food…”
We were on the roof. It was technically off-limits, but Sherry had the key. Must be nice being the daughter of the Headmaster. Isn’t this abusing her authority? Well, I guess it’s not abusive so it’s fine, I thought.
”
”
“Did you make these?”
“Y-yes, I did! What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh, nothing, I just haven’t had food made by somebody else in two years… thank you.”
“Um… can I ask you about the outside world?”
“Om nom… hm? Sure.”
“What did you eat out there?”
“Hmm. Monsters, usually. I think I preferred snakes, spiders, bees – anything rich in protein, really. Oh, I also ate bugs that were high in fat, sometimes. Well, I ate whatever I could get my hands on, really. Humans need proteins, sugars, and fats, so I tried to balance my nutritional needs… There were times I didn’t have anything to eat for a whole week, though. I had to kind of get by with just water. Ah, this is top secret, technically, but there’s a kind of magical wood that can store water. I used it as a water bottle. I’ll show it to you some time. I brought it home with me, after all.”
“…Looks like you lived pretty well. It doesn’t feel like you were desperate to survive.”
“No.”
“Hm?”
“You’ve got that wrong. I was constantly desperate to survive. I did anything and everything I had to in order to survive. I killed, stole, drank dirty water, and vomited blood at times. I did all of that to survive.”
“Why… did you end up out there?”
I was a little hesitant to talk about this. That betrayal was traumatic for me. I saw the dark side of humanity that day. Right now… I don’t know what I feel. I don’t know if I hate the three people who betrayed me. I don’t know if I want to kill them. It’s been two years since then, and I made it back safely. I think… it might be okay to tell Sherry about this.
“Do you have a system at this Academy where you form parties and hunt in the safer areas?”
“Yeah…”
“One time, the leader of the party I was in went to a dangerous area.”
“You don’t mean…”
“The other three members of the party used me as bait and escaped. They even put up a barrier to keep me from coming back.”
“That’s… that’s murder!”
“Yeah. After that I had to live out there, and now I’m here… I guess.”
“Are you still angry at them?”
“Hmm… at some point, I stopped thinking like that. The Twilight has a way of making all your other problems seem irrelevant.”
“You’re strong…”
“Nah. Two years ago, I was a Rank 5 Exorcist. I was the lowest-ranked student in my grade. I had no real combat skills.”
“Huh? With how skilled you are, how were you the worst student?”
“All the skills I have now are things I learned in the Twilight. I had to learn to fight in order to survive.”
“…Your mindset is completely different from mine… I think I understand how you ended up so strong.”
“I certainly hope you’re not planning to go into the Twilight to get stronger.”
“…”
“Looks like I was right. You were planning on going to a dangerous area of the Twilight tomorrow, right?”
“You could tell…”
“It’s written all over your face. You look like you’re in a hurry to get stronger. I was exactly the same way two years ago. I’ll tell you now: if you go into the Twilight as you are, you will die.”
“…I’m still not good enough?”
“No, you’re not. You have basic combat skills, but you’re completely unprepared to face the monsters and demons that live in the Twilight. The farther east you go, the stronger the monsters get. I was lucky, and somehow managed to get powerful. You’re better off not going out there.”
“Oh…”
Sherry said, looking down. It feels like I’m bullying her. I feel a little bad. There must be some reason she’s so desperate to get stronger.
“I…”
“Hm?”
“I can help you train. If you’re okay with it.”
“Really? I’ve been meaning to ask you that all day!”
“Oh…”
She leaned in suddenly, surprising me. She’s close… wow, she smells nice…
“After school! It’s a promise! You have to!”
“O-okay…”
“Honestly, you’re at least as good as a Special Rank Exorcist… I’ve gotta thank my lucky stars I get to train with someone like you!”
“You, uh, seem a little different right now?”
“Don’t worry about it! Ah, I’m so excited!”
“Hahaha…”
And so we sat there for a little while, just chatting with each other.
Living peacefully like this… it’s nice, I thought.