Volume 1 - CH 1.1

A School for the Returnees

Translated by Omkar

Edited by Omkar

――Three years later――

I am standing in front of a huge school with a majestic gate, new entrance, dormitory like a high-class hotel, and shiny school building. A plaque embedded in the side of the school gate reads “National Yugrasia Academy”. Incidentally, there are a few new students gathered around me as well.

Looking sideways at such classmates (tentative), I reflexively adjusted my appearance.

“Eh…… I’m not weird, am I ……?”

At that moment, I heard a voice from inside the bag draped over my shoulder.

“Kuh kuhkuh…… Come, come, you fledgling heroes”

A black cat with beautiful fur emerged from the gap in the zipper. I hurriedly yanked its head back.

“Hey Felice, I told you not to show your face !”

“Come on, don’t be stingy ! I’m bored in here !”

“Just stay put ! I would look like a weirdo !”

It’s not like I’m an anime heroine, taking a cat to school as soon as I enter the school would make me look like a weirdo.

“You are so jumpy and always worried about what people think of you. Perhaps you are one of those ‘komisyu-sho’ people ?”

(T/N: Being bad at communication; Komi-san is a good example)

“I- I can’t help it…… How long do you think it’s been since I’ve seen anyone other than you ?”

“Don’t exaggerate. It’s only been three years, right?” She teasingly replied, and I shook my head.

“Well, that’s in the real world, in real time.”

Well, it may not make much difference to this person, but not to an average person like me. Above all, this is the place to stay. It would be very dangerous for her to be found out, not to mention me. In that sense, it is only natural for me to be tense.

“Anyway, we’re not supposed to stand out. You should be quiet, too. Okay ?”

“I’m a cat, so I don’t understand.”

“You only pretend to be a cat at times like this……!”

And as I was struggling with Felice, who was trying to escape, my goal of “staying in peace” was quickly shattered.

“–Wow, it’s a cat !”

A ridiculously loud voice echoed from behind me. I turn around to see a girl running towards me in a straight line.

Oh no, I’ve been exposed too soon.

“Oh, um, this one is…….”

“Cute~! Good, good, good, good, good !”

The girl was so excited that she was petting Felice with great excitement while I was thinking of excuses. Because of her commotion, the gazes of the people around me were making me feel very painful. I have to distract her somehow.

“Oh, Umm…… are you a returnee too…..?”

……Oh, How meaningless my first words are ! Even though I am sure that people of my age here are like that.

But even with such a meaningless question, the girl answered with full of energy.

“Yes ! My name is Imari Komari ! I’m a new student !”

The girl, whose name seems to be Komari, smiles in a voice as lively as her name. I had not spoken to anyone other than Felice for a long time, so her carefree smile was quite dazzling to me.

Then, for some reason, Komari said with a smug look on her face.

“Look, I have the invitation too !”

Saying so, Komari showed the invitation card without asking for it…… or more accurately, “tried to show it”. Komari, who had been rummaging in her pocket, said, “Eh eh?” She began to search all over her body in a panic, muttering something to herself. After turning over every pocket, she pulled out a sealed letter from the backpack she was carrying. On it was inscribed the school emblem with a large tree.

It was an invitation from the same “Yugrasia Academy” that I received. ….. It should be called, in fact, a forced “letter of invitation”. In any case, we had no right of veto.

And while I was thinking about it, I heard a bell chime from the academy.

“Oh, the opening ceremony is about to start ! Let’s go !”

And so Komari rushes out like a rabbit. She is such an impatient child.

“Kuhkuh…… funny little girl. It’s nice to be petted by a girl’s hand.”

Felice was smiling and laughing, but I was not in the mood for it.

“This is no time to laugh. …… Look, just be on your guard. If they find out who you are here, it’s all over for us.”

Yes, at first glance, the girl Komari from earlier and the new students walking around her seem like normal kids. But there is no such thing as a “normal kid” in the actual sense of the word here.

In any case, the students here at Yugrasia Academy are all former heroes who, like me, have returned from being summoned to another world.

※※※※※

“――To begin with, our university is an educational institution established jointly by the Goddesses and the Japanese government, and it is a bridge between humans and Goddesses, so to speak――”

Boring speeches that echoed in the spacious gymnasium. Congratulatory speeches for the new students are being made on the stage where a banner reading “Yugrasia Academy 13th Year Enrollment Ceremony” is hung.

The ceremony is just as ordinary as any other school. …… except that the person standing on the stage is not the dull principal, but the current prime minister of Japan.

(Hey look, Felice, that’s the Prime Minister ! Whoa, I’ve seen the minister of something sitting over there too! As expected from the Academy of the Heroes….. there are different kinds of men…..!)

(T/N: The bracket ‘()’ used here for them speaking telepathically)

The prime minister was giving a speech, and the attendees were all government officials that I had seen on TV. I don’t know much about them, but they are all very important people. What I must admit is that this was the first time for me to see a celebrity in person. So, I was very excited. However……

(Don’t be so gullible. Look around you.)

Felice scolded me with a telepathic reminder, and I looked at my classmates around me. Some were yawning in boredom, some were absorbed in playing games on their smartphones, and others were chatting with their neighbors. It was as if no one was paying attention to him.

Hey, hey, that’s a lot of leeway. When I was impressed with…… she laughed at me with a snicker.

(Hmmm, of course they are accustomed to this kind of situation. They are heroes, you know ? They are the kind of people who would bring a king to his knees. People without that kind of aura are just stones on the side of the road. Ha ha ha, You are a cheeky little boy, aren’t you ?)

That explains why I suddenly felt like everyone around me was an adult.

Anyway, the congratulatory speeches that no one was listening to continued.

“――The facility is also very important from the aspect of cross-cultural exchange, and there are criticisms from international public opinion, such as the use of underage children and the monopolization of excessive military power. However, I believe that this point of view is not true――”

And the speech, which was supposed to be a congratulatory address, went the other way without an audience. When will it end ? There is a limit to how long I can keep my posture straight.

Just when I was wondering to myself.

“–Uh, sorry, Mr. Prime Minister, I’m actually a little pressed for time. Can I ask you to start wrapping it up soon? I mean, no one’s even listening to…… right ?”

“Na-”

A female student suddenly interrupts from the side of the stage. Her uniform is different from ours. She is probably an upperclassman. I was not sure if it was a senior student or not…… but that did not excuse such rudeness to the Prime Minister. “What’s the matter with you? Security, pinch him out!” I thought it would be a…… type of development.

“……Yes, well, here’s my instruction to you……”

“Good day, Mr. Prime Minister.”

As he is told, the prime minister shuffles off the stage. A female student took the podium instead and held the microphone more proudly than the prime minister.

“Hello everyone, my name is Kuzuha Mizuho. I am an executive board member of this place. I look forward to working with you all in the future. I’ll be explaining about the school from now on~”

Giving a conventional greeting, Kuzuha, however, immediately sighed with annoyance.

“But…… is just that, right. I’m sure no one will be interested even if I talk for a long time. I mean, you can probably guess why this school exists when there are so many government officials here, can’t you ?”

Kuzuha’s eyes light up meaningfully. “I don’t have to tell you that, do I ?” It seems as though she is trying to say. And the new students are also smiling with a “of course” look on their faces.

By the way, I have no idea about……. But fortunately, the answer was given immediately.

“Yes, frankly speaking, you are no longer individuals. But a National level military force. Tanks, fighter planes, battleships …… are nothing compared to that. You know, there are kids out there who could fight a country by themselves if they wanted to. You guys are like fickle nuclear bombs, if you ask me.”

Kuzuha shrugged her shoulders and then turned around and pointed at the new students.

“What are you grinning at? I’m not praising you. You guys, just think about it for a minute. For all of us good citizens, there is nothing more frightening than this. What kind of power is this, coming from a boy and a girl in the throes of puberty, of all people? If you don’t like what you see, you can just use the tip of your pinky finger and boom, the whole town is gone. It’s a horrifying thought, isn’t it ?”

Considering that the issue of firearms in a country is a thousand times larger than that of the rest of the world, well, it certainly doesn’t make anyone happy.

“As such, your country cannot let you go unchecked. And that’s why this academy was created. In short, this is an isolation facility for you.”

To be honest, I had a feeling that this was the case when I was given the invitation semi-forcibly. But I had no idea that they would make such a clear statement.

“Fortunately, we are a nation governed by the rule of law. We will not be forced to keep them here. There are many goddesses in this school. You can return to your daily life on the condition that [Your Memories and Abilities are sealed]. Or rather, that was the original rule. But there are some children who don’t want to do that, right ? It’s a power you worked so hard to acquire. We understand that you don’t want to give it up, nor do you want to lose it.”

Kuzuha, who showed a reasonable sympathy, then cut to the chase.

“So, we at the academy would like to make a deal with you. It may sound a bit fishy when I say it like this, but it’s not like we’re conducting any dangerous experiments or anything. If we were to use a movie analogy, it would be …… Oh, yeah, I didn’t mention this, but I love movies. What was so hard for me while I was in the other world was that I couldn’t see any of the new releases! Oh, especially not being able to see the Wildcat series in its original release is something I’ll be missing for the rest of my life――”

And just when we were about to digress into an unrelated topic for some reason, a voice arose from among the new students.

“I thought you were going to keep this short ?”

It was rude to the upperclassmen. But the new students around me nodded their heads in agreement. It seems that they really don’t like to wait.

But Kuzuha was smiling rather happily.

“Yeah, that’s right, that’s right, bear with me. Well, as you requested, here’s a quick……….. explanation.”

Then she snapped her fingers in a deliberate gesture. –A moment later, a magic circle appeared on the wall of the gymnasium, and from within it, a huge swarm of demons appeared.

(Hey, come on, are you serious……?!)

(Kuhkuh, what a funny thing to do !)

Felice was smiling, but of course, the crowd was having a hard time with all that. The VIPs lined up against the walls screamed and ran for cover, and the security guards rushed to the exits. …… but that was only “the guests”. The reaction of the students was quite the opposite.

Out of nowhere, the new students took out their respective weapons, including large swords, long spears, grimoires, and double guns…… They began hunting down the demons’ heads with accustomed hands. The burning flames, flying slashes, magic, and other unusual powers danced about as if they had no end in sight. The sheer force of it was beyond words. Swallowed by the overwhelming firepower flying wildly, the demons were torn into pieces in less than a second. Oi oi, there’s a limit to how much overkill you can do.

And the one who had summoned the demons was already being subdued by a few students.

“Ha-ha-ha, well, well, calm down, no need for such a scary face. It’s just a joke, a joke.”

Even with four blades at her throat, Kuzuha still maintained a nonchalant face. Then she laughed meaningfully.

“More than that…. What do you think? We just had fun, didn’t we? It’s been a long time since you’ve had the energy to kill your enemies with all your might, and it’s exciting, isn’t it ?”

She whispered as if she could see through it, and Kuzuha easily slipped out of her restraints and grabbed the microphone again.

“This is the price the school is offering and the demand itself. —I want you to use your power to save the world once again.”

The moment her powerful voice sounded, the hall was enveloped in silence for the first time today. The students, who had been so indifferent, were all waiting for the next words with shining eyes.

Then, Kuzuha continued as if she was folding up.

“As you can see from the rows of heroes next to you, there are as many other worlds as there are stars in this world. Many of them have been invaded by demons, a plague causing widespread trouble. We go around exterminating them ! You are the saviors of the world !”

Kuzuha laughed as if trying to flatter us, then added with a slightly serious look on her face.

“I know you may not care about other worlds, but this one is not so different from the others. In fact, there was once a world that was defeated by a demon tribe. Well, if that were all, it would not be so unusual, but the demon king was very strong. To give you an idea of how strong he was, he even invaded other worlds. By the time the …… goddesses realized what was happening, 3,000 worlds had already been destroyed by the Demon Lord. The worlds in the area were cut off and sealed off. The number of worlds that disappeared as collateral damage is said to be in excess of 10,000. And I heard that the case is called this ―― the 《Abandoned Demon King》of the《Abandoned World》.”

Kuzuha lowers her voice as if to intimidate. Felice whistles as if …… is making a mockery of it. I hurriedly seized the bag.