I Became the Academy’s Pink Airhead

The deepest part of .

Where the central headquarters of the is located.

The highest executive meeting of the was being held there.

Beyond the doors strictly guarded by numerous students from . The interior of the conference room was very plain with only a large iron table and chairs, and miscellaneous report documents.

Due to the characteristics of the prestigious where daughters from warlord family backgrounds gather, all facilities including the school do not indulge in luxury beyond necessity. That atmosphere influenced even the dominated by graduates.

Three students were sitting in that plain and silent room. Originally four students should have been seated, but one of them was currently absent due to external duties.

A black wolf beastkin.

A white-skinned elf.

And the highest authority in the academy city.

Twitch

Twitch

Among them, the 2nd year Vice President Sieglinde twitching her black wolf ears. With her long black straight hair tied up without a single gap, she was continuing her report in a stiff attention posture.

“…That concludes the progress of the total 27 simultaneous kidnapping incidents that occurred until early April. Since the northern incident where the president directly intervened last time, sightings of ‘followers’ have been rapidly decreasing.”

“…”

“However, as this could also be a deception tactic by the enemies, I instructed not to lower our guard through patrols by students trained in the ‘Ratatoskr’s followers response tactics’ directly established by the president.”

“…”

“And the movements of and have also been passive since the president’s inspection until now when exchanges between the east and north have become active.”

“…”

Brunhilde felt Sieglinde’s devotion as she inserted subtle flattery even while giving the briefing, but she didn’t react and was reading the report. The reason for sitting here wasn’t to receive others’ respect.

Rustle

Rustle

Brunhilde stopped while turning the pages of the report with an indifferent gesture.

‘…Lara.’

In the middle of the stopped page, there was a photo of a female student smiling brightly with bandages. She was eating snacks with bandages wrapped around her slender arms and legs.

Brunhilde looked at that appearance for a while.

“…”

It was heartachingly cute with her cheeks puffed up like a hamster.

A smile full of satisfaction, like a flower bud just about to burst.

A cuteness that would surely make anyone who saw it lose themselves staring.

‘That’s, extremely unpleasant.’

The thought of sharing Clara with someone else made her nauseous.

My only rival

My only match

My only pink

My only spring breeze

My only fragrant flower

My only… only mine…

‘Yet to share that…?’

Her fist clenched unconsciously.

Grind…

“…”

No…

It was unsightly to burn with hatred over something that wouldn’t even happen.

Brunhilde unclenched her fist and looked at the photo again.

The sight of others eating had only looked like a physiological function to survive, but she thought that someone eating deliciously could warm her heart like this.

‘Crumbs… You’re eating with so much getting on you, Lara.’

She wanted to wipe it off for her, but unfortunately it was a photo.

‘…But who took this picture?’

It was probably one of the health department students…

Someone had already seen an appearance she wanted to keep only for herself.

Somehow that felt regrettable, and a little angering.

‘No… I already have one memory to keep only for myself…’

The scent of hair resembling lavender fleetingly passed through Brunhilde’s mind. Even while knowing it was strange behavior, somehow an unpleasant pleasure rose from a deep corner of her heart.

Pale neckline.

Guilt and immorality.

Loneliness and reunion.

Pink lips, fragrant breath.

Smelling Clara’s scent.

It was an extremely cruel and one-sided greed like violence.

A gloomy act desperately performed as if she would disappear from this world. And feeling an unpleasantly deep satisfaction at the situation where the other person directly permitted that.

“…”

A superiority oozing out stickily.

Only I can do such an act to her.

Only I…

Only I alone…

-I’m only your eternal rival―☆

Thump, thump, thump, thump…

Brunhilde’s heart started pounding frantically.

But she didn’t want the sensitive high-level ether ability users, the vice president and secretary, to notice that, so she drew up a small amount of the lightning ether skill to regulate her heartbeat.

‘[Gungnir]… Minimum output…’

Thump, thump, thump, thump…

Thump, thump…

…

…

Thump―

Thump―

Her heart beating at its original rhythm again.

“…”

Brunhilde continued reading the report without showing any reaction.

When her heartbeat stopped momentarily, her mind became a little hazy, but this much was manageable. The vice president and secretary still hadn’t noticed and were just repeating the meeting content they already knew according to procedure.

Rustle

Rustle

The pages turn one by one.

“…”

Rustle―

Bothered again… she turns back the report to look at that photo again.

Then Clara’s dazzlingly beautiful appearance is visible again.

She unconsciously slightly covered the photo, as if light might leak out.

‘Haah…’

How could such a cute creature exist?

It truly couldn’t be anything but a demonic pink.

Brunhilde thought with an anxious heart.

‘Next time… Should I… send more snacks? I thought sending food to others was… insulting, but to think she’d like it so much…’

As I command.

She eats the food I send.

She follows my taste in eating.

Somehow a tingle rose in a corner of her chest.

“…!”

Brunhilde felt satisfaction deep in her heart.

‘I should tell Bell at the garrison to interact more actively with .’

She wanted to know more about Lara.

More intense and rich than the lost year of time…

Preparation was needed to spend such a rewarding time.

Brunhilde lost in fantasy while flipping back and forth through the report like that. There was one indifferent gaze watching her.

“…”

An elf girl with light lemon-colored straight hair swept back.

Erda, the 3rd year general affairs manager from .

She looked at Sieglinde talking alone and Brunhilde lost in fantasy.

“…Haah.”

Erda shook her head.

* * *

An empty wilderness lot a little away from .

I drove a truck here with Maya under the pretext of going for a drive.

Baby chicks who whimper and follow me whenever I try to leave the room. The minimum physical activity they would allow was only sitting in the passenger seat and enjoying a drive.

‘Really… It’s been weeks now and I’m fine.’

Really.

I swear to the heavens now.

Except for ether, everything has healed.

Even the wounds have barely left any scars, except for the marks remaining on my palms.

‘It was just 3 days ago that they allowed me to walk alone, at this rate I don’t know how long I’ll have to postpone training.’

But if I train openly in the main hall, it seems I really won’t be able to set foot outside my room for a month. So I asked Maya, who has been shamelessly staying as a freeloader for a week, to drive me here.

‘I don’t know how long she plans to stay.’

I was worried Maya wasn’t returning, so I had asked her before.

-By the way Maya, is it okay not to go back☆ You’re the head of the facilities engineering department♪

-If we do the processing the materials engineering department wants with the facilities engineering department’s facilities, even what’s there will all break. So I told our kids to each hide out somewhere they know.

In short, the facilities engineering department had declared a strike. And since such check actions by had been going on for days, everyone said they were running away until things calmed down appropriately.

Gulp gulp gulp

Maya sprawled out in the vehicle like that, sipping water from her flask. Even while sticking with me, she really didn’t care at all what I was doing.

Though it would be natural to be curious about what on earth I was doing.

It felt like a kind of belief to absolutely not ask or pay attention.

‘When all of was in danger, she was so serious…’

I turned away from that languid gaze in the wilderness under the noon sun. And a few steps away from the truck, I took out one practice weapon I had been carrying on my back.

Whoosh―!!

A blade over 1 meter long coming down with a fierce wind.

It was a greatsword much larger than the straight sword Alvit uses.

Of course, it was a much cruder item than the crafted gifts for my juniors, but.

‘It’s sufficient for practice.’

I was holding it stably.

“…”

Though I had just gripped a greatsword and taken a stance, my body that would tremble just from holding weapons until now is calm.

‘There’s no rejection reaction.’

I can use weapons.

I felt thrilled seeing that.

And I recreate movements I had seen countless times in my [Pink Spiral] days.

Numerous enemies.

Numerous students.

Numerous competitors.

Among them, attacks unleashed by those who used ‘greatswords’.

From sky to earth, falling vertically. A very basic slash.

I unleash that.

Whoooosh―!!

The swung greatsword makes a threatening sound. Following the flow of the wind, I change to a diagonal horizontal slash.

Whoooosh―!!

The greatsword finishing an ordinary horizontal slash along with the whirling view. And finally I spin my body for a rotating slash.

Whoooosh―!!

“…Whew.”

Cross slash and rotating slash.

Basic movements even an elementary school girl can do in this world.

The greatsword that moved following that basic sword form accurately obeyed the control of force.

Though not a single bit of ether manipulation was done, so forget about sword energy that could split the sky, not even wind came out. It was just a very ordinary strike… merely swinging a sword.

“…I succeeded.”

I succeeded.

I finally succeeded.

I finally succeeded in that ordinary strike.

For 2 years it was just trembling and dropping weapons.

“I… now have weapon aptitude too♪”

Declaring that.

I felt an exhilaration like my brain was being seared by electricity.

The feeling of wings growing on a bird that was allowed to run at 100 km/h but absolutely could not fly in the sky. Though the flight speed was not even 50 km/h, I was able to look at the expanse of sky and vast earth spread out before my eyes.

Finally.

I too can see the same view as other students.

‘I can head towards the realm beyond wuji, I can challenge the legends of this world.’

With Hilde.

The same path.

I can walk it.

“…!”

Drip―

I didn’t hold back tears of emotion.

Though it was shabby to shed tears while unleashing an ordinary strike with nothing contained in it alone in the dusty wilderness. Still, the joy of becoming ‘the same’ as others was great.

I wanted to savor this feeling more.

“Ultimate technique―☆”

In that state, I drew up the very small amount of ether that had gathered over the past few weeks. The red energy didn’t gather to a terrifying level like before. Still, I called forth hearts and started sticking them all over the greatsword.

Crackle―

Crackle―

Red hearts slowly rotating in a ‘spiral’ along the greatsword blade. They naturally start to ‘vibrate’ and stably wrap around the weapon.

‘If [Basic Ether] succeeds, [Vibration Ether] is just a difference in operation proficiency…’

I couldn’t use more than this right away due to lack of ether…

But I prepared the maximum secret technique that could be used with 2nd stage ether manipulation.

Energy ‘resonating’ with the world, gathering countless hearts in one place to bloom a flower of death. The hearts going back and forth in a spiral along the greatsword blade gradually heat up white and make a chilling sound.

Crackle crackle…!!

That appearance was like a bouquet held by a bride.

A flower of resolve bloomed containing a girl’s love and excitement.

First ultimate technique

[Red Flower Dazzling]

Not a crude emission unleashed with fists.

With the marvelous principle of a warrior shooting along a rational sword path, I swung the greatsword that had changed into a faint pure white flower.

A spiral of countless resonating hearts.

Though not even a handful of [Unique Ether] is contained.

The scattering of brilliant flower petals was beautiful enough to make one stare unconsciously.

Chwaaak―!!

Like a typhoon rushing into a flower garden.

Sword energy with beautiful heart petals raging strikes the air.

I swing the flower sword.

Chwaaaak―!!

And the destructive energy disappearing in an instant.

Though the contained ether was incomparably little.

It’s cleaner and more threatening than unleashing with fists.

With the same ether manipulation understanding, it’s several times different.

‘Now I understand why other kids were terrified seeing [Pink Spiral] fight.’

The appearance of just shooting overflowing ether like energy blasts, fighting crudely with forcibly raised realms. Compared to ether martial arts using weapon aptitude, it was no different from that of a barbarian.

‘Damn those developers… To think they blocked only Clara from knowing this joy…’

I wiped the nosebleed flowing without me realizing and smiled with satisfaction.

“…Hehe☆”

Next time I get the chance, I wanted to try other weapons.

* * *

On the way back, waking up Maya who had fallen asleep at some point.

I snatched Maya’s flask and was washing away my nosebleed with the water contained in it.

‘Still, it’s fortunate I can wash it off quickly.’

Maya, holding the steering wheel, started saying something strange.

“By the way, why do you always eat the same kind of canned corn?”

“Hm? What do you mean―☆ We’re originally healthy girls who don’t have picky eating habits♪”

She’s asking about something obvious while clearly knowing our school’s circumstances.

“No, that’s not it… Um… Didn’t you feel a sense of discomfort looking at the box containing the cans?”

“Hmm…?”

Maya glanced this way and said:

“They’re all from the same company, same factory.”

“Hmm…?”

“I mean… It could just be that they were packed randomly… But it’s a bit scary that even the handler serial numbers are similar.”

“Hmm…”

I don’t know what she’s talking about.

Canned corn… I only remember mindlessly shoveling it in…

‘Ah.’

Come to think of it, I had one memory about canned food made by that company.

-Lara… Why do you eat this kind of thing? And piling up so much…

-U-Um―☆ It’s from a company I like♪

-I see.

And Hilde seemed to stare intently at the surface of the can.

‘Actually, it was something we got in bulk that other schools were going to discard, but I lied to Hilde because I was embarrassed to reveal that…’

I held my head at the embarrassing memory that suddenly came to mind.

“Haah…☆”

But apart from that memory, there wasn’t anything else that came to mind.

It was when I was lost in deep thought.

I raised my head at the sudden presence felt ahead.

A strange figure was moving in the middle of the distant plains wilderness. Maya noticed it belatedly and stepped on the brakes.

“Oh.”

“Hmm? What could it be☆”

On the wilderness road we were returning on, one student wearing rags was sitting. She raised her trembling hand and spoke in a feeble voice:

“Pl… Please help me, you riffraff there…!”

“…?”

“…Oh my☆”

Drooping purple cat ears.

One of the five strongest in the academy city.

She looked over the occupants of the truck and was shocked.

“Spi, Spi, Spi… [Spiral]?!”

“Hello, pissing cat―♪”