Chapter 2: Enrollment and Various Matters
1.
“Hmm. It’s huge no matter how many times I see it.”
Though it was only the second time.
Time had passed and it was now April. Since then, I had taken the entrance exam as instructed by the military officer in charge and successfully enrolled in the military school. Now standing in front of the school’s entrance, I muttered those words.
By the way, while the main campus of the military school is located in Ichigaya, where the Ministry of Defense is situated, we mech pilots attend a branch school in Ome City, a bit away from the city center. This is due to the need for mech maintenance, operational experiments, and transportation using the air force base in Iruma City.
The number of students is 100 per grade. With three years in total, that makes 300 students.
The top 10 students are in Class A.
The next 20 students are in Class B.
The next 30 students are in Class C.
The last 40 students are in Class D.
You might wonder if 100 students per grade is enough in a world where war is intensifying, but apparently this department only admits students with high magic crystal compatibility rates, so it’s sufficient for now—of course, they want more students with high compatibility rates, so the more, the better.
Among these, students in Classes A and B are considered to have compatibility rates high enough to fully utilize the mechs. Students in Classes C and D can use them too, but their performance apparently drops. There’s a system where students can be promoted to Class B or A if they’re recognized to have improved during their time at school, so even if you start in Class C or D, there’s no need to be discouraged, yeah.
Setting aside the feelings of students placed in Classes C and D.
Once a mech is registered, it becomes that person’s exclusive machine unless reset. Therefore, because they’re too valuable to prepare for children who can’t use them satisfactorily, this school, despite being a training school for mech pilots, doesn’t have mechs for all students. Well, that’s understandable in terms of both space and inventory.
For that reason, the number of mechs prepared by the military school is 10 per year. In other words, they only prepare enough for Class A.
However, among the students who make it into Class A, some come from families with military connections. In fact, most of them do. And in some cases, they prepare mechs for their own children.
…Must be nice to be rich.
In such cases, the surplus mechs are given to the top performers in Class B. Of course, there are also cases where parents of Class B students prepare mechs, so when you look at the whole school, there are about 50 mechs in total.
By the way, what do students who aren’t given mechs by the school do? Apparently, they enhance their understanding of magic crystals and mechs by training on simulators and doing maintenance work.
There’s a difference between [completely useless] and [somewhat useful].
While they may not have the skills to get a G●, they have enough power to fight in ●all. Considering potential emergencies, it’s not wrong to provide basic education.
The important thing is which class I’m in… of course, it’s Class A!
Hehehe. My memories from my previous life aren’t for nothing.
Well, if I were to analyze it seriously, I probably have twice the compatibility rate—my previous life’s and my current one. Plus, with my memories from my previous life, I’m strong in written exams too. It would be a problem if I didn’t get into Class A with all that.
My entrance exam rank was third, though!
No, seriously, how did I only get third place with memories from a previous life and decent studying? I studied hard using the trends and strategies my little sister prepared for me, even while busy with moving preparations, and still only got third place. If I had gotten second place, I could have brushed it off thinking, “I guess there are real geniuses out there.” But third place…
At this point, with two people above me, I feel like I’ve hit my limit these days.
“…Well, let’s go.”
Although I’m feeling down inside, a third-place ranking isn’t bad at all. Belittling it would be an insult to the other students. Realizing this, I decided to enter the gates of the military school with my chest puffed out, as if full of confidence, thinking, “I’m Mr. Kawakami who entered in third place! Aren’t I amazing?” while making sure not to let my inner disappointment show.
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(So that’s the one they were talking about.)
Black hair, black eyes, average build and height. At first glance, he might look like just another young man, but upon closer inspection, the impression is quite the opposite. His sharp gaze carefully observes his surroundings, and you can see an aura-like something emanating from within him.
(His name was… Keita Kawakami, wasn’t it? He’s apparently not from a military or financial faction, but it’s hard to believe our intelligence officers submitted a report calling him “a somewhat clever child” after seeing that. What on earth did they see? Or maybe he realized he was being observed and disguised himself?)
It’s strange enough that a child from an ordinary family would be recommended for the military school. Moreover, the one who recommended him isn’t an amateur or a weakling who bows to the influence of military clans. It’s the personnel manager of the Second Division, who’s used to seeing the elite of the elite up close on a daily basis.
Considering all these circumstances, the seemingly far-fetched idea that he pretended to be incompetent to avoid being pestered by others before entering the military school doesn’t seem so wrong.
(Well, that’s water under the bridge now. I’ll bring up the issue of declining quality in our intelligence officers later. The question is what to do from here on out.)
With that fighting spirit, plus top-notch compatibility with magic crystals and written exam scores, there’s no way he’s incompetent. The fact that I came in second and that young lady came in first ahead of him is solely due to our family influence.
(The face of the military faction? It’s because they were thinking about things like that that the Third Division was annihilated.)
While it’s natural for the upper echelons’ intentions to be reflected in an organization like the military school, I can’t help but think it’s problematic that placing reputation over actual ability has become the norm in an educational institution like this.
But I can’t complain openly.
(If they say it’s our fault for losing to him, that’s the end of it.)
That’s right. After all, the reason the military school had to resort to such tricks is because we lost to a child from an ordinary family.
Both the second-place student (me) and the girl who became the top student are from military clans. Naturally, we’ve been educated to become soldiers since childhood. We were confident that we had done all the necessary studying, as our admission to the military school was predetermined.
Despite all that preparation, we lost. And to a civilian who was invited to join the military school when he went to take the military entrance exam in December, and ended up taking the entrance exam in a hurry.
This is utterly disgraceful. It’s only natural that they would intervene.
(If you want to complain, do it after you’ve proven yourself. That’s all there is to it.)
It’s humiliating. But it’s the result of my own lack of effort. I have to accept it.
Once I’ve come to terms with that, the next question is how to approach him, the de facto top student.
(Should I see him as a friend to improve myself with? A rival to bring down? Or should I maintain indifference?)
Obviously, the last option of indifference is out. A rare opportunity should either be kept close or eliminated; ignoring it would be the worst move.
It would be great if we could become friends who improve each other. But he was recommended by the personnel manager of the Second Division. This means he’ll be tied to the Second Division from now on. If I could have made contact before enrollment, there might have been a chance, but trying to scout him now would be pointless.
The relationship between the Seventh Division, which my family belongs to, and the Second Division isn’t bad. It’s not bad, but it’s not particularly good either—it’s rather ambiguous. Considering this, I can’t act on my own and cause trouble for my family.
(Wait a minute? Could he possibly be a subject of that rumored “savior project”? If so… Alright. Whether to form a friendly relationship or to bring him down, I should get permission from my family first. Until then, I’ll maintain an appropriate distance that works either way.)
Kazunari Fujita, the second-place entrant, entered the gates of the military school, feeling a slight self-loathing for prioritizing his family’s interests while outwardly claiming that family connections shouldn’t matter in school performance.
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