2
After that, since the officer said they would handle the enrollment procedures, I just signed a document stating my intention to enroll in military school and went home.
Of course, I did think the deal sounded too good to be true. So, considering the possibility that some dangerous contract might have been made without my knowledge, I carefully checked every corner of the document. But no matter how many times I looked, it only said [I intend to enroll in military school], so I felt reassured.
I also asked why I would receive a salary just for attending school.
The answer was that students who enter military school as mech pilots also serve as test pilots.
Apparently, while students get used to the machines, they also help with debugging processes.
That’s a proper job. Of course, they need to pay a salary for that.
There’s a possibility that the place I’m going to is actually an experimental facility under the guise of a military school, but surely proper military personnel wouldn’t deceive a child who wants to enlist and send them to such a place.
If it turns out to be that way… I’m not just any kid. I’ll make sure it becomes more than just a scandal.
With that determination in my heart, I returned to the 30-year-old apartment (2K layout, 40,000 yen rent, no guarantor required) where we had to move after our relatives sold our house.
“I’m home~”
Now, I’m about to face my next challenge. That is, persuading my sister, Yuna.
“Welcome back. …How did it go?”
Basically, My sister, Yuna is against me joining the military. That’s understandable. After all, from Yuna’s perspective, I’m throwing away my own happiness to join the military just so she can go to school.
If our positions were reversed, I’d be against it too.
But my decision to join the military is based on my judgment that if I don’t join now, we won’t be able to lead a decent life from here on. So this isn’t just for Yuna’s sake. It’s for my sake too.
I was planning to persuade her by saying that, but this time I’ll keep that strategy sealed. After all, there’s been a happy miscalculation!
“I passed the test. I’ll be joining the military next year.”
“…I see.”
Did the light disappear from Yuna’s eyes? Wait, it’s not time to panic yet.
“Y-yeah. But!”
Although it’s not time to panic, I don’t want to make my sister sad, so I decided to quickly explain about the happy miscalculation.
“But?”
Seeing me trying to continue the conversation in an unusually cheerful tone, my sister probably thought [something’s odd?]. Her eyes regained their light, urging me to continue.
“I’m not joining as a soldier, but first entering military school!”
“Military… school?”
It seems my sister doesn’t know much about military schools either. Well, that’s natural. I didn’t know about them either.
“In a word, it’s a school for training military personnel. If you graduate from there, you’re not treated as a regular soldier, but as an officer, a candidate for executive positions! Of course, you also get a high school diploma. And that’s not all! Apparently, experiments as a mech pilot count as military service, so you get paid just for attending!”
“…A candidate for executive positions? So, you won’t be used up on the front lines?”
“Oh, yeah.”
She was quite wary of something negative, huh. Well, even if she’s a child, if your only family member suddenly says they’re joining the military, you’d look into it, right?
And after researching how a child with only a junior high school education and no backing would be treated in the military, the result was probably [used up on the front lines].
Normally, that would be the case. I was prepared for that too. But it didn’t turn out that way. All because I have an aptitude for magic crystals — and apparently quite a high one at that.
“Huh?”
When I mentioned the aptitude, my sister’s eyes widened in surprise. Yeah, yeah. I understand that feeling.
I’ve never told her about my health check results before. I mean, usually, you don’t say anything unless there’s something unusual, right? I’ve never seen Yuna’s diagnostic results either. Our parents probably just got a report saying [no particular abnormalities], I guess?
Anyway. Although research on artificial magic crystals has progressed and more people are becoming compatible with them, it’s still said that only one in 1,000 people is compatible enough to actually operate a mech, making it quite rare and valuable.
Even Yuna probably wouldn’t have thought that her own brother would be that one in 1,000.
Actually, I didn’t think my aptitude was that high either, so when the officer told me the details, I was even more surprised than Yuna!
Setting aside my own feelings at that time.
“The mechs are valuable, but the pilots who can operate them are even more precious. That’s why, to avoid wasting lives, when a child with aptitude expresses a desire to enlist, it’s standard practice to send them to military school to acquire minimum knowledge and survival skills.”
“I-I see~”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Yuna, who had only thought of me as an ordinary brother until now, seems to still be in shock from learning that I’m actually one in 1,000 talent. It might be a bit mean to continue the conversation like this, but I might as well keep going with this momentum.
“So, when attending military school, you need to enter a dormitory managed by the military. That means we’ll be moving from this apartment to there next year. Of course, you’ll be coming with me as family.”
“Huh? We’re moving?”
“Yeah. There are various circumstances, including confidentiality concerns. And with that, elementary school… well, you’ve already graduated, so that’s not a problem, but you’ll be going to a different junior high school than we originally planned.”
“That means I’ll be going to a school near where we move, right?”
“That’s right. I feel bad that you’ll have to leave your friends. But…”
Friends are the most important thing for kids this age. Moreover, if you enter a junior high school managed by the military, you’ll definitely be starting without knowing anyone around you. In contrast, other kids will already have connections with each other from military families.
No matter how cute, intelligent, sociable, academically successful, and athletically gifted Yuna might be as a perfect girl, or rather, precisely because she’s a perfect girl, I’d like to think she wouldn’t be bullied… but there’s still a possibility of her becoming isolated.
What should I do if that happens? I can endure anything, but I don’t want Yuna to have to endure such things. However, if I don’t join the military, we can barely make ends meet. Therefore, not moving isn’t an option. But if that causes Yuna to become isolated…
“Well, that’s fine, isn’t it?”
What broke me out of my spiraling thoughts was a casual remark that sounded more relaxed than I expected.
“…Is it really okay?”
“Yeah. Because…”
“Because?”
“Well, I was already prepared to move when Mom and Dad died.”
“…Ah. I see. That’s right.”
Normally, we would have been taken in by distant relatives, which would have meant changing schools. Considering that, it’s not strange that Yuna had already prepared herself to transfer schools when those self-proclaimed relatives sold our house.
In fact, I’m the strange one for going to such lengths as begging the company executives who attended our parents’ funeral to find someone willing to be our legal guardian on paper if we paid them, and quickly renting an apartment nearby that didn’t require a guarantor to throw off those relatives’ pursuit. All this to buy time until the paperwork was sorted out, having realized that those people were only after our parents’ money.
Of course, they know where we live now, but since we already have a legal guardian on paper, those self-proclaimed relatives have no excuse to interfere with us. Still, we need to be cautious in case they try something forceful, thinking we’re just kids… but never mind that now.
What’s important is that I’ll enroll in the military school and enter the dormitory with my sister Yuna, and Yuna herself is prepared to enter a different middle school than planned, knowing she might become isolated.
…If she does end up feeling sad and isolated, I intend to do something about it as her brother, but that’s just a hypothetical situation. She might even become popular in her class. In fact, that’s more likely!
Yeah, let’s think that way. It’s okay to worry, but not too much.
Besides, it’s written even in the Kojiki that you shouldn’t interfere too much with a girl of that age.
“Alright! Then I’ll leave the moving preparations to you. I want to move right after your elementary school graduation, so please prepare accordingly.”
I want to act before those self-proclaimed relatives can meddle unnecessarily.
“Oh, right. Your middle school graduation ceremony is earlier. Got it. I’ll prepare everything.”
“Thanks!”
Yes! Mission accomplished in persuading my sister, the most important task!
— And so, feeling good about resolving my worries about the future and Yuna all at once, I decided to invite Yuna out for a meal, something we hadn’t done in a while.
By the way, after ordering dessert following our meal, she reminded me, “I’m happy to eat out with you, big brother, but let’s make sure to cut down on expenses from now on.” But I hope she’ll let it slide just this once.
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