Chapter 67: First Day at Class

"*Yawn* Are we there yet?" Ray yawned with a boring expression while looking out of the limousine window, staring at the rapidly passing building.

"Almost." Roseweisse in a professional office lady outfit replied while sorting information on her data pad.

Meanwhile Lancelot is silently sitting opposite to Ray while attending to him with drinks and snacks prepared inside the limousine.

"Hmn.. if only we can skip all these formalities bullshit and teleport directly to the academy or even fly there instead of sitting through a two hour long ride from the airport. Like, IS is a thing. So, why hasn't a flying device isn't invented yet for quicker travel when IS can fly at mach 3 at least." Ray keeps on complaining while Lancelot and Roseweisse let him have his moment, sharing his problem with the car window.

Suddenly the limousine stopped and the door was opened by women in military outfit for them to leave the vehicle.

"Finally, we arrived!" Ray shouted to Roseweisse's embarrassment. "Why use a damn limousine? At least using a heli or something that is faster. We are wasting time riding this damn thing." Ray grumbled as he walked through the line of soldiers that stand parallel to each other while at the end of the line is an important looking person along with Chifuyu and another green haired lady that look very clumsy and shy.

"No military salute? I thought it's customary when a foreign leader arrives in another country." Ray said with a belittling tone to the person from the Japanese government and caused her face to twitch but Ray paid no heed and continued to annoy the person.

Since he is forced to sit in a class with bunch of kids three times younger than him, Ray will do his best to annoy everyone involved in forcing him through this torture until he is satisfied. Not that they can do anything to him at all since they are the one needing him and not the other way around.

"I will leave this to you, Miss Orimura. My job is done here." The representative of the government said before she huffed and stomped her way out with frustration as she had to put up with Ray's act since he exited the private jet.

"Cheh, no fun at all." Ray grumbled before looking at Chifuyu.

"Ah, we meet again, Miss Orimura." Now Ray turned to a more polite tone as he addressed Chifuyu and Roseweisse had to hold herself back to not facepalm.

"They are?" Chifuyu asked while looking at Roseweisse and Lancelot.

"Oh, let me introduce them." Ray said with a pleasant smile on his face. "Uh, she is my secretary… sort of and also wife. Sixth wife to be exact." Ray introduced while ignoring Chifuyu that forced herself to calm down and smiled back to Roseweisse, to act professionally but the heavy twitching on her face betrayed that. Meanwhile Roseweisse gives a nod to Chifuyu and the woman with green hair.

"The next one is my bodyguard and personal chef, Lancelot." Then Lancelot gave a light bow with his right hand to his chest.

Ray noticed both Chifuyu and the woman on her side starred more on Lancelot than Roseweisse before their eyes laid on Ray himself.

"You do know that the IS Academy only permits females… with you as the only exception." Chifuyu tried her best to put on a stern expression and ask Ray.

"Of course but I have the permission to bring them both with me. Roseweisse I needed since I have a business and shs is needed on my side all the time to help me manage my business or else I have to frequently leave the academy to manage my company."

"You have a company?" Chifuyu asked in surprise.

"Yes, Miss Orimura. I had a business prior but couldn't really do it openly and had to resort to relying on the underworld and it was torn apart, thanks to those hyenas that called themselves governments trying to steal my manufacturing secret but wouldn't admit it. However now thankfully, I can legally operate my business after being recognised again as human by the governments." Ray said while making fun of how previously the governments revoked the right of citizenship for male and denied them their rights as human during the virus outbreak.

Both Chifuyu and Maya winced as both of them didn't share the same view as most and isn't supporting the current women society view on men.

"As for Lancelot, he is mostly my bodyguard since I have bad blood with few underworld organisations and I need to have someone protecting me. Can't underestimate my enemies and hand over my safety to an organisation I barely trust."

"I see… if you have permission then we will allow it but if they cause trouble in the academy then we will have to remove them from the academy." Chifuyu said before she led them to the monorail which is the only transportation leading in and out of the academy which is a private Island belonging to the academy itself that no other countries have the right to interfere with their governing, on paper that is but the reality is slightly different.

———

"Silence!" Chifuyu shouted while hitting the table with her palm to quiet down the female students that were talking about Ray's arrival which spread like wildfire in the academy that everyone is talking about, including the current Class 1-1.

When the students quiet down, Chifuyu sighed before announcing that this class will have a new student joining. The whisper and talk suddenly started again as the rumor turned out to be true.

"I.Said.Silence!"

*Bam*

Chifuyu hits the table again before the students quiet down and give her attention.

"Good. Now let me introduce you to your new classmate. Come in." Chifuyu called Ray after informing the class.

Ray slides open the door and comes in with Lancelot following him, much to Chifuyu's displeasure but she can't do anything about it since Ray is very adamant about it and will refuse to attend class unless Lancelot follows him.

Another round of whispers began again but more silently than before. Chifuyu ignored the class and asked Ray to introduce himself while she almost stuttered and called him Ichika again but Ray corrected her immediately.

"Hello, my name is Raymond D'Angelo or simply call Ray since my full name is rather mouthful to say. The one on my side is Lancelot, my bodyguard." Ray introduced and Lancelot gave a light bow after Ray introduced him too. "I actually have amnesia and have forgotten much of my life from two years ago before taking on my current name." Ray continued while looking at a student with long brown hair tied into a ponytail which had been looking at him with longing and relief then shock after he said he had amnesia.

"Take a seat on the empty table then, we are going to start the class." Chifuyu nodded before pointing to a table at the very back of the class and second row from the window.

While Ray walked there, he noticed Laura was among the students and he missed probably because she is very short and was hidden by other students when he was standing in front. Laura is looking at him with a complicated gaze as if wanted to say something but she remained silent and looked down for a moment before returning her gaze to the front, waiting for the class to begin.

When the class began, Ray's attention was lost to his screen only he could see as he played games and watched stuff online, waiting for the class to end. He isn't interested on learning anyway since his AI learned everything for him and can answer every question directed to him perfectly which surprised even Chifuyu, Maya and other students who thought he had little knowledge about IS because he never attended any formal education.

———

*Ring*

The bell indicated the end of class and its break time for all students. To Ray's expectation, none of the being crowded thing happened other than whispers among students happened unlike in the original Infinite Stratos world where Ichika is surrounded by students but Ray do notice the students Houki, Tabane's younger sister and Laura is following him up to the roof where he planned to have his meal.

"Yes? Anything I can help you two with, Miss Bodewig and Miss Shinonono?" Ray halted on the stairs heading to the roof. When he turned back he saw two of them startled like deer being hit by a car, they stood rooted on their feet and stared at Ray and Lancelot.

After seeing the lunchbox on Houki's hand, Ray hit his fist on his palm and guessed her intention.

"Do you perhaps want to join me to have a meal?" Ray asked which Houki immediately nodded vigorously. Laura however didn't have the lunchbox on her hand and couldn't use the same excuse as Houki for trailing him but thankfully Ray didn't interrogate her purpose and invited both of them to join him on the roof.

———

"Uh… what is he doing?" Both Houki and Laura asked when Lancelot pulled out the whole portable kitchen and started cooking for Ray and Laura who said she forgot her lunch.

"Cooking. I thought it's obvious by look." Ray replied while sipping on iced black coffee Lancelot poured for him before he started cooking skillfully almost like a cooking show.

"Right…, So you said you have amnesia before when you introduced yourself to the class." Houki said with complicated feelings. "Do you ever remember anything else from two years ago? Like at all?"

Ray didn't answer immediately and instead went into deep thoughts before answering Houki he did remember something but it's all about the war and fighting which is true since only that part of Ichika's memories he inherited when reincarnated into Ichika along with some vague memories about Chifuyu, that's all.

"Then, do you not remember my name? We used to be childhood friends." Houki asked with some desperate look on her face but unfortunately Ray said no and she felt her world came crashing on her. Her only friend in this world and the person she liked, didn't even remember her anymore.

They remained quiet as Lancelot cooked until someone suddenly barged into the roof. The person turned out to be Chifuyu who came after some students reported what was transpiring on the roof.

"I apologize, teacher Orimura but there are no rules against cooking on the roof." Lancelot said with a straight face while cutting the steak he just finished cooking and serving it to Ray and Laura who 'forgot' her lunchbox.

Chifuyu couldn't counter the argument as Lancelot said, there are no rules against it. Besides, her real intention isn't even about Lancelot cooking on the roof and she just used it as an excuse to get closer to the group as she ended up sitting with the group and ate the steak cooked by Lancelot.

"How about you, Miss Bodewig. Did you have any questions to ask?" Ray asked after seeing Laura wanted to ask something but kept it to herself because Chifuyu joined the group.

Both Chifuyu and Houki looked at Laura which the former made her almost squirm out of nervousness on her seat. She had to manually breath from her mouth and take a deep breath to calm herself back to her stoic and serious expression.

"Yes, your IS… is it really an IS?" Laura asked with a calm and serious demeanor.

"Why would you ask that?" Ray is still calm as his secret is being revealed by Laura which is because he doesn't really care if the secret is out.

"Your IS didn't have a core at all. I noticed this after reflecting on my defeat to you that night and reviewing the battle data and concluded your IS didn't have an IS core."

The revelation is a big surprise to Chifuyu and Houki because if something that isn't an IS yet stronger than IS, wouldn't that make real IS obsolete if this knowledge is learned by other people.

"Is that true I- Ray." Chifuyu asked, yet almost slipped with his name again.

"Well my IS isn't the traditional kind of IS as you all used to. As Miss Bodewig said, my IS didn't have an IS core like other IS. Although I would say my mecha suit is similar to an IS."

"How can something without an IS core be considered an IS?" Houki asked back with curiosity since her sister had created the IS and she knew how hard it is to create an IS. Meanwhile someone manages to create a not similar but more superior one.

(If only they know the thing is Artificial Sacred Gear that has a dragon god powering the mecha.)

"Then, what is the IS core?" Ray asked before taking another sliced steak to his mouth and chewed while waiting for someone to answer.

"IS core is a hardware that carries the AI necessary for an IS to function. The AI is capable of self learning and evolution which allows it to start from simple exoskeleton mech without combat ability to the IS we have today that is capable of wielding weapons." Chifuyu answered the question and only then the information clicked in her head as she remembered what Tabane said when Ray was first recovered and a certain government project of turning humans into IS core.

"You! You are the core!"

"What!" Laura and Houki look in shock at Ray then Chifuyu after what she just said.

"Congratulations, you answered correctly." Ray put down his cutlery and clapped his hand to congratulate Ray.

"Well, as Chifuyu said, I am the core of my own IS which allows maximum synchronization when using my IS unlike traditional IS that rely on the IS core's AI that is still not yet fully developed and evolved. It's like comparing an end product to an unfinished one." Ray cheerfully shared the explanation to everyone.

While Chifuyu and Houki are looking at Ray in horror, Laura is the only one unaffected and simply nodded in understanding.

"I see, Ray turns himself into the core which explains how he is invisible to all radars since the radar only detects the signal of the IS core. Wouldn't that make us similar? I also received cybernetics in the form of my left eye which unfortunately is a failed experimental result." Laura said while touching his left cybernetic eye which is called Odin's Eye, a hyper-sensor package that heightens the nerve processing to the brain at an explosive speed. It allows quick reaction in high-speed combat.

"Yes, very similar in fact after I decided to investigate the background of Ichika Orimura. Anyway, let's quickly finish our food because class is going to resume soon." Ray realized he almost slipped up the information about the Orimura as experimental subjects like how Laura is literally born from a lab and raised to be a perfect soldier.

Thankfully the rest dropped the subject and quickly finished their food because there's only three minutes left before the rest ended. Then Lancelot retrieved everything into the quantum storage device before they all returned to class except Chifuyu who went to the teachers office.

———

After the class ends, Ray, who is led by Maya, goes to the student dorm as she shows him his own room. Thankfully he manage to get a room to himself which Roseweisse and Lancelot being his roommates.

Only after he reached his room then Ophis appeared and hanging on his neck demanding sweets because she had been a good girl for sleeping inside his Artificial Sacred Gear until he entered a private location.

"Uh, wait a sec, Ophis." Ray said while rubbing her head. "Lancelot, do you have any desserts left?"

"None. Should I make some now?" Lancelot, who is washing the dishes and cooking wares he used during the lunch, asks back to Ray that is taking a seat on his bed.

"Later then, for now I just buy from the Marketplace for her." Ray sighed and went to the Marketplace screen and bought a whole bunch of cakes and other sweets for Ophis and let her keep them in her own version of pocket space.

Everything he opened his Marketplace, his heart feel pained because his trillions of points before he left DxD world now become hundred of billions with 40% of those points went down Ophis's stomach. At least he didn't give her food from more expensive categories or his expenditure might increase by a hundred fold because Shokugeki no Souma world foods are usually in million compared to normal food that cost only a few hundred or thousand. Then while on the topic of food, Ray also found another category of food which had been hidden from him because of their absurd prices which come with equivalent benefits.

The foods come from the Toriko world where their food has weird cells that enhance someone's strength when consumed which is why their price is in the billions but Ray wouldn't receive any benefit from the food unless his body is infused with Gourmet Cell. Then there are two ways of getting the cells, first is continuously eating and hopefully his body will adapt to the cell or the dangerous but faster route is injecting the cell onto his body with high risk of gaining mutation if his body fails to adapt. Ray isn't suicidal to test his luck and inject himself with unknown mutagen that have 90% chance to fail.

Even so, Ray did notice the food contained a very high amount of vitality which might have other uses. He will keep this one on hold until he can find a way to safely adapt his cells to Gourmet Cells.

For now, he is going to nap because staying in a boring class sapped all his energy away and made him tired. He can teleport back to his home at night after the curfew, when no one is going to disturb him.

—————