[7] Entrance, Part 1

1 (Shana)

"Why. . .?"

I directed my discontent at the man by my side. Still, his expression maintained sternness and he replied with that lucid voice of his.

"It's for your own good."

He stated quite calmly, "You're the hero. The gift given to this world and to us. We don't want you to be influenced by. . .a defect."

That was not the calmness of Alice I was used to. Those words of his did not carry the warmth they should and they rung hallow. My own good? What nonsense was that? His statements went into one ear and out of the other.

". . .do you really believe she won't enter the academy?"

I wasn't good at reading things very well, especially when they pertained to social mavuevering.

But. . .

Even I could tell they wanted to keep her distanced from me.

Was it the '0' that showed whenever I read her level? Did that matter so much in this world? I bit my lips as he asked his own question.

"What makes you so certain she'll make it in?"

I only had one answer to that question.

"If she says she will, then she will. Alice always finds a way."

That was just the type of person she was. A level-headed, but stubborn, person who never relents from her words. I had no memory of a time when she had disappointed or let me down.

The star of the baseball team. The cool beauty of the school. The second ranked in the state. She was a near perfect human being. If she placed her mind onto something, she would overcome it.

"Even if her level is 0?"

"That just makes her more motivated," I nodded, twice, "She's the type of person who enjoys a challenge more than the result."

Still, Mr. Mass did not believe my words. He merely stared at my face for a moment and I smiled slightly, thinking how shocked he might become.

"You guys better keep your words," I muttered.

I wanted to be a hero but never at the cost of my best friend.

I was engrained in fantasy and iseikai novels even before I came to this world. Those main characters always seemed so forthright, strong, and courageous. Always without blemishes as the surrounding world moved at their finger tips. They could look a person in the eyes and speak their mind with either their words or their swords. They were so unlike the timid me. I wanted to be like them.

And I finally had that chance.

[Name: Shana Fraught

Race: High Human

Gender: Female

Fate: Gram

Level: 15]

It wouldn't show to others unless I wielded a sword, but it took me a bit less than 2 weeks to reach level 10 in my swordsmanship. I even went so far as to exceed their expectations and reached an overall level of 15. A normal person in this world would have required 9 times the time with the same training—or 9 times the effort—but here I was.

I was getting there. Slowly, but assuredly.

The carriage stopped and I followed Mr. Mass into the streets.

"Woah. . ." I couldn't help but mutter.

In front of me was a white gate that led into a place that looked akin to the college grounds on Earth. To the left I could see a rather large, rectangular, building of the same color. To the right of the garden stood a similar building. And at the back of that place littered with flowers and a fountain which speed water was one that overshadowed both of them. There was a line that extended as far as the eye could see, sticking to the corner of the street, and even reaching further back and winding in turns.

"Let's go."

"Ah—co—coming!"

I briskly walked to catch up.

I felt a tinge of a blush on my cheeks as eyes made their way to me. It was embarrassing to be stared at by that many people, Okay?

We skipped the line with a show of a card by Albein and directly entered the gates of the school.

2

We walked past the bustling of the school grounds amidst the gaze of students dressed in black. Black lined with gold. Males wore what you would expect; long or short pants with a tidy shirt that either had a short sleeve or long sleeve, while the females wore the same styled shirts, they had several choices in the leg department: A skirt, shorts, and a skirt plus tight fitting shorts combo—which looked like bike shorts to me. There were a few females that also wore long pants, but those were in the minority.

Alice would somewhat like the uniforms here, I thought, it was half of her favorite combination of colors.

Our destination was the immediate left after the gate, next to what Mr. Mass pointed out to be the male dormitory was a circular building.

There was a door with another line but we were able to skip that as well and, when we entered, I felt my heart beat in excitement.

It was much more quiet and cozy than it looked on the outside.

The room was circular, of course, but there were empty seats around it and it was constructed mostly of wood. In the center of such a space was two arenas of stone and a student in black sitting upon each, dangling their feet in mild boredom.

There was a desk, which we walked to and met eyes with a woman of short, lavender hair, and mystifying purple eyes. She wore clothing similar to the students I had seen outside but hers was lined white, she added a small overcoat of black, and she was the type who chose a rather long skirt that reached her ankle.

She crossed her legs and smiled as soon as she saw us.

"Oh I haven't seen you in awhile, Albein, what brings you back?"

Mr. Mass rolled his eyes, "You very well know."

She laughed, "Right right."

Her eyes turned to me and she showed her full whites. Her stare was intense in and of itself and I couldn't help but speak to rid myself of the awkwardness.

"H-hello."

Her smile deepened, "Hello there hero~You Don't have to be all too formal with me. Simply hand me your identification card and inject your mana into this orb here."

She pointed at a white orb.

"Really, I can tell your level at a glance and I'm sure once you equip a weapon it will jump up," She continued without me asking, her lips moving into a sort of exasperated pout, "But formalities are formalities."

I nodded, "Right. . .I don't like formal things either."

"See? I knew it at a glance."

I took out a white card from my suitcase, it had my name imprinted upon it along with my description, but it was also made out of a sort of metal that reacted to only my mana.

I didn't know how it was done, but this had been handed to us after a quick mana insertion in the castle.

"Thank you~" The lady received my card, "Now, the orb, please."

I placed my hand atop the green orb and maneuvered my mana within. It was hard to control it after it left my body, but she egged time to simply slap my hand atop and push even just a little bit in.

In time,

My data floated within the orb as she squinted at it.

[Shana Fraught — Level 15]

It seems it was a device that could see the 'True Level' of a person, equipped or not.

"Mhmm mhmm, as expected of a hero. This is the highest entrance level we've had so far today," She nodded, twice, taking out a parchment of paper and writing down some things before signing it, stamping it, and injecting a bit of her mana within.

I could not understand a single bit of the procedure as she handed me the now rolled up parchment.

"Go right, please. I'm sure Albein here can guide you no problem."

I blinked my eyes.

"T. . .that's it?"

"That's really it, little miss," She shrugged, "It's a simple procedure to enroll if you have the level for it. Plus, we've already gotten your enrollment funds from up top. Frankly, it's a bit boring this way, but what can I do but follow the rules?"

She smiled, her eyes staring at mine.

"Welcome to Albion's Knight Academy, Miss Hero."