About an hour later, they stopped in front of Keropolis Middle Division… which was middle school in this world.
As for why it was called a division, Kōya did not know but what he did know was that in the middle school… the children were trained in martial arts a bit to be able to defend themselves before they awakened.
'It seems this body didn't go there, huh?' He thought, scrolling through the fragmented memories that belonged to the original Kōya.
He had no recollection of any martial arts classes, neither skills nor muscle memory.
Strange, considering most kids attended Middle Division as a matter of course.
Reona left the back seat of the car and waved at them enthusiastically, her school bag bouncing against her back, this wasn't fleshed out in the manga so he wouldn't know.
"Onii-chan! Don't let Nami-chan get her cooties all over you!" She called as she ran toward the gate, her voice carrying across the morning air with that particular brand of sibling teasing that transcended worlds.
Kōya waved back at her with a smile, genuinely amused at her antics.
He watched her disappear past the gates and into the school, her ponytail swinging behind her until she merged with the other students flooding in.
He turned back to Nami immediately, who was currently reversing out of the driveway with practiced ease.
"Thanks for doing this…" He said. If she hadn't offered, then he might as well have been forced to buy a car.
Not that he knew how to drive in this world anyway. The vehicles here ran on mana cores rather than gasoline, and the controls were slightly different from Earth's, he hadn't even gotten to drive back on Earth.
"Kōya-kun…" She said cutely as she cut into the main road once more and the car lurched forward as she picked up speed. "You don't need to thank me for simple things, ne? It was partly my fault that you got involved with the Kagutsuchi family so I'll make up for it any way I can."
Her hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel as she said it, her knuckles going white for just a moment.
"True… though I'll miss the cakes on Kumo Terrace." He said, leaning back in his seat.
They were soft and melted into his mouth immediately like butter and each bite was a small moment of heaven.
"Ara, I can snag some for you later… are you going to be staying within the Academy dorms?" Nami asked, glancing at him briefly before returning her eyes to the road.
She was right.
The Academy did provide personal dorms for students but it was not a must to live in them… he would be meant to share a room with another guy, especially since he was in Class 5 which was the lowest class in ALI.
The thought of sharing a room with some random guy from the manga didn't appeal to him.
"No, I guess you can pick me up later." He said.
Kōya in the manga was also one of the people that had to go home daily. "Maybe I'll move close by."
That would make things easier. Living nearby meant he could maintain some independence while still accessing the Academy's resources.
"Sou ka… will you continue going to the Outer Zone now that you are in the Academy?" She asked, genuine curiosity coloring her tone.
He was still an Awakened registered at the KCAC after all.
"Of course, I guess I'll be going on night raids instead of morning ones." Kōya said, already planning out his schedule mentally.
The faster he ranked up… the faster he got stronger because the monsters at the Institute were not to be trifled with.
He needed every advantage he could get.
"I see… Let's speed up then!" She adjusted the throttle of the car and jammed her leg down on the accelerator pedal with sudden enthusiasm. "I'll get you there in an instant!"
The car jerked forward violently and began accelerating down the road at speeds that definitely violated several traffic laws.
Kōya's body pressed back against the seat as the scenery outside blurred into streaks of color.
He grabbed onto the seat handle for dear life, his knuckles going white.
"Aren't you breaking some speed limits?" He asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice as they weaved between other vehicles with barely inches to spare.
"Daijoubu, daijoubu!" Nami said cheerfully, taking a turn so sharp that the car tilted slightly. "I've never gotten a ticket before!"
'That doesn't make me feel better!' Kōya thought, closing his eyes and praying to whatever gods existed in this world.
…
ALI. The Aurora Leadership Institute was the biggest academy amongst all of the Supercities… and one of the only Academies that simulated the politics of the real world.
They didn't promise that you wouldn't be bullied by nobles and they didn't promise equality either, but what they did was separate you. Like in the manga, it was split between Class 1-5 and everyone had to take it seriously.
Class 1 housed the elite… children of Dukes, corporate heirs, and prodigies with S-Rank potential. Class 5? That was where they dumped everyone else. The rejects, the commoners, the students with "potential" that didn't come with a famous surname attached.
They operated on a system known as Class Points and Individual Points.
Once you got there, your crowns would be rendered useless as Individual Points were worth a lot more than regular currency… the Individual Points existed per student while the Class Points existed for each class as a collective resource.
If the end of the Semester reached and your class didn't get over the cut-off points, then the whole class would be expelled immediately.
There were second chances, neither were there appeals. Just a one-way ticket back to whatever hole you crawled out from.
It was brutal, cutthroat, and exactly the kind of system that bred the toxic environment depicted in the manga.
Kōya stood outside the whole complex now, taking it in properly for the first time.
It was pretty large and even wider… taking up a whole section where there could be streets.
The main building stretched toward the sky like a glass and steel monument to excess, surrounded by smaller structures that housed everything from training facilities to shopping districts.
After all, it was a place where you could live, not a simple secondary school or college back on Earth.
This was a self-contained city designed to prepare the next generation of Awakened for the harsh realities of their world.
As he walked through the gates, immediately he felt the stares.
Everyone in the academy gave him looks that were different from simple curiosity. There was judgment there, disgust, and something that looked uncomfortably like fear.
Whispers followed him like a second shadow.
"Is that the man who Akari-sama talked about…" a girl whispered to her friend, not bothering to lower her voice much.
"Hai… she said that he's a predator that preys on younger women, ne…" her friend responded, covering her mouth with her hand in mock horror.
"I heard that he attacked staff at Kumo Terrace and that was why he was banned from there, yo." A guy with spiky hair added, loud enough for Kōya to hear clearly.
"Maji de? Well… I heard that he tried to force himself on Akari-sama. If her guards went there… only the White King knows what would have happened." Another student chimed in, shaking his head with exaggerated disgust.
Kōya's jaw tightened, but he kept walking. Getting angry wouldn't help. Defending himself would only make things worse. In situations like these, denials only sounded like excuses.
'As if the things with the cabs weren't enough…' he thought bitterly.
「Congratulations, you have effectively destroyed your Academy life」
"Thanks for the update," Kōya muttered under his breath. "Really helpful."
He was more or less very surprised at how the rumors had spread… especially within the Academy.
It had only been what, three days? Maybe four at most since the incident at Kumo Terrace, and already the entire student body seemed to know his name and face, especially since the Academy opened for the first time today.
The efficiency of the gossip mill here was honestly impressive in the worst possible way.
'Influence does a lot of things I guess.' He thought as he walked toward the front hallway door, trying to ignore the stares that followed him like spotlights.
Then he realized that he really didn't know where the orientation would be held.
He looked to the side. There were two girls standing near a bulletin board, chatting animatedly about something.
"Hey, do you guys know where the Orientatio—"
"Kyaa! Stay away from him… do you want him to try and assault you too?" One of the girls immediately pulled her friend back, as if Kōya had just pulled out a weapon instead of asking a simple question.
The other girl's face went pale, and she nodded frantically while hiding behind her friend.
Kōya sighed deeply before walking past them regardless, not bothering to finish his question.
'Just a simple question… the accusations don't even make sense.' He thought, frustration bubbling beneath his carefully maintained calm exterior.
He really hated spoiled nobles... They could destroy someone's reputation with a word and face zero consequences for it. 'However, at the end of the day… there's nothing I can do.'
Arguing would make him look defensive. Explaining would make him look guilty and the court of public opinion had already reached its verdict, and no amount of evidence would change their minds now.
Kōya walked around for a while, navigating the pristine hallways that all looked frustratingly similar.
Finally, he found a map pasted to the wall near a drinking fountain. He brought out the acceptance letter once more, scanning the details he'd half-memorized already.
"Main hall, huh?" He muttered, tracing the route with his finger on the map.
He glanced at his phone.
The time was currently 8:50, so he had a little more than ten minutes to get there.
However, according to what he saw on the map, it was just a straight walk from the hallway he currently was in. The main hall was marked with a large star symbol, impossible to miss.
'Should be easy enough,' he thought.
He immediately dashed down the hall, his shoes squeaking slightly on the polished floor.
As he passed, he caught sight of one of the many posters lining the walls which said "No Running in the Halls" in bold red letters.
'Sorry, not sorry.' he thought, ignoring it completely.
ALI was very strict about punctuality, and he didn't want to be tagged as a late student alongside his already teeming accusations.
Being known as the predator who couldn't even show up on time? That would be the perfect cherry on top of his disaster sundae.
Just as he crossed a junction where there were hallways leading to other places… training facilities to the left, administrative offices to the right, and what looked like a cafeteria straight ahead… he heard something that made him slow down.
The sound of whimpering.
Kōya's eyes darted to the source. There was a blue-haired girl sitting on the floor, burying her face in her legs with her back pressed against a locker.
Her shoulders trembled slightly, and her breathing sounded labored and uneven.
Just as he was about to run past… duty called, after all, and he was already cutting it close…
「You have been given a new mission」
The system notification appeared in his vision.
「Console Heroine: Aozora Miyuki and arrive at Orientation in time」
「Reward: 1,000 F.P (Note: This will be used to pay your loan)」
'Don't you forget about all that…?' He thought with irritation. The system had been suspiciously quiet about the massive debt hanging over his head until now.
He looked at his phone again. It was 8:52 right now, which meant a little over eight minutes remaining.
Could he help her and still make it? The hallway stretched straight ahead, maybe a two-minute sprint if he pushed it.
'Damn it.'
He walked over to her, slowing to a stop just a few feet away.
"Miss… is there any problem?" He asked, keeping his voice gentle and non-threatening.
The girl's head snapped up immediately, and Kōya found himself looking into a pair of striking blue eyes that shimmered with unshed tears.
He knew Aozora Miyuki from the manga, and she was his next favorite heroine other than Shion.
She was from the Aozora clan, which was one of the top ten clans in the entire supercity structure... A family so influential that even the Kagutsuchi had to tread carefully around them.
Her character was shy, mostly because she was isolated right from birth due to some clan tradition about protecting their heirs.
She had come to ALI specifically to make friends and experience a normal life. She really didn't care about all that academics and competitive ranking stuff, but regardless, she was in Class 2… which meant her raw talent was undeniable even if she didn't pursue it actively but even then, she was one of the only heroines that got character development along the volumes.
"I need… water." She said, looking at him with teary eyes that made her look like a lost puppy.
Her blue hair flowed downward like a waterfall, reaching past her shoulders, and she looked immensely cute.
However, what stood out most was the single golden crest trailing in a zigzag pattern from under her left eye to the side of her left cheek.
"I f-forgot my water." She added, her voice small and pained.
Without hesitation, Kōya reached for the storage ring on his finger and materialized a can of cold water that he had taken from the fridge this morning.
She grabbed it with both hands like a drowning person grabbing a lifeline, and gulped everything down in three massive swallows.
Her throat worked desperately, and when she finally finished, she let out a long, relieved breath.
Immediately she stopped trembling.
"S-sorry… my stomach gets really painful when I forget to hydrate." She said, looking embarrassed as she clutched the empty can. "It's… it's a condition. I need to drink water every two hours or…"
She trailed off, clearly uncomfortable explaining her medical situation to a stranger.
"Where is everyone…?" She asked suddenly, looking around the empty hallway with confusion.
"They're in Orientation." Kōya said, extending a hand toward her.
His phone read 8:54 now which meant there was six minutes left. "Shall we go? We might be late if we delay."
She stared at his hand for a moment, hesitation clear on her face. Then slowly, carefully, she reached out.
"W-we… shall." She took his hand, her palm surprisingly cold despite the warm hallway. "B-before we go, may I ask your n-name…?"
"Kōya Amagi."
She had heard of the name… it was that guy that Akari had been spreading rumors about throughout the entire Academy network.
However, she didn't believe the rumors one bit.
She was already aware of what lengths Akari would go to reach her goals.
Miyuki had seen it firsthand during middle division, watched the girl manipulate and destroy anyone who stood in her way.
She was sure that this man in front of her was innocent and had simply rejected Akari's advances.
Anyone who rejected Akari Kagutsuchi faced her wrath... That was just how it worked.
"M-m… my name is… A-Aozora M-Miyuki." She stuttered badly, her nervousness making the words tumble out awkwardly.
Her face flushed pink with embarrassment at her own inability to speak clearly.
Kōya's palm tightened gently around hers.
"Alright Miyuki… let's go."
And then the two of them began to run.