Hello. Nice to meet you.
I am Cheon Yu-seong, and I have entered the academy.
I am a 16-year-old male...
And I have awakened my ice powers.

First-year high school student.
I can’t help but feel my heart race just waiting to enter this prestigious academy, which often appears on broadcasts.

“Haha.”

The girl sitting next to me must also be a new student.
She’s wearing a black eye patch over one eye.
Cosplay?
The atmosphere feels unusual, making it hard to strike up a conversation.
Even a quick glance feels burdensome.

I regret sitting here, but it’s because there weren’t many empty seats.
It’s probably because I arrived late.

“Hehe.”

I keep smiling strangely.
Though the academy is a place of envy, I’ve heard there are many odd people here.
Indeed, I see many unique individuals.
There are plenty of intimidating figures too.

“…The oath.”

I can see the new student representative standing in front of the auditorium.
She has blue hair, just like mine.
Her name is Cheon Yu-hwa.
She’s my twin sister.
She’s holding a microphone and saying something, but I can’t focus.

“Hey, you.”

The girl next to me spoke in a strange tone.
The bandages wrapped around her hand are probably a fashion statement, just like the eye patch.
I wonder if her uniform originally had a ribbon on the sleeve.
Her eyes seem unfocused, which makes her even scarier.
I’ve been taught to be cautious around this kind of style.

“…Excuse me?”

I think she’s cute, but it’s also scary.
This isn’t what I imagined school life to be like.
I can’t hear my sister’s oath over her voice.
I’m guessing it’s something good about entering the academy.

“How dare you sit in the same space as me.”

Was she offended?

“I’m sorry.”

Now I understand why there was no one sitting next to her.
An eye patch and bandages—could this be what people call a “chuunibyou”?
I’ve heard there are often such cases among the awakened.

“Consider it an honor. You probably won’t see me in the academy much from now on.”

“I’m sorry…”

I keep apologizing.
What is she saying when we’re both new students?
It’s better to keep my distance.

“…This concludes the new student oath.”

Yu-hwa steps down from the podium.
I knew my sister would handle this well since she’s familiar with these kinds of events.

“Next, new student representative Han Si-hu will share his thoughts…”

Han Si-hu?
I think I’ve seen this person on the news.
A sudden rising star since last year.
I’ve heard he was the most notable talent in the middle school department.
I’d like to have a match with him someday.
But Yu-hwa in front of me is probably the better fighter.

“Hello, academy freshmen…”

Somehow, it feels like he’s looking this way.
It seems our eyes meet.
The gaze is fine, but the kid next to me is burdensome.
I want to change seats, but it’s impossible in this atmosphere.

“Um, may I ask your name?”

“Are you daring to ask my true name?”

True name?
My head starts to hurt.

“I acknowledge your courage. It’s Yoo Seo-ah. And you?”

“Cheon Yu-seong.”

Seeing the name Yoo Seo-ah makes me cautious.
If this continues, she might end up without any friends, and I feel sorry for her.

“Why are you wearing bandages and an eye patch?”

I’m curious.
I’ve never seen anyone like this before.

“It’s a seal.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m suppressing the power of darkness; it would be better if you keep your distance.”

If this were a normal situation, I’d probably think she’s just a hurt kid.
But the problem is that this is an academy for the awakened.
It wouldn’t be strange if something truly was sealed within her.

“Oh, I see.”

If other students look like this, school life might be pretty tough.
I hope that’s not the case.
It would be nice if there were some normal people here.

“You. You have the same hair color as Yu-hwa.”

That’s right.
Blue hair is rare.
Still, various colors seem to appear at the academy.
I wonder if it’s related to the awakening.

“We’re family.”

Since we’re twins, we should at least share the same hair color.

“Indeed.”

I have no idea what kind of environment someone must grow up in to speak like that.
But I understand.
Since the world is chaotic, anything is possible.

While worrying about the person next to me, time passed quickly.
Someone got on and off the podium several times.

Then someone who looks important climbed up.
I heard he’s the principal.
This isn’t the image I usually think of when I hear “school principal.”

The principal looks young.
From appearances alone, he seems to be in his 30s.
He’s probably one of the influential figures in the academy.
He must be an elite among the awakened.
Since today is the entrance ceremony, he might have something special to say.

“Welcome.”

The principal opened his mouth.
Even standing still, he exudes a strong presence.
I can feel he’s among the strongest of the awakened.

“Congratulations on becoming a proud student of this academy.”

The principal continues his speech.
The girl next to me finally averted her gaze.
That’s a relief.

[15 hours 4 minutes]

I used a bit more of the drugs to prepare for meeting a lot of people.
Han Si-hu might not know, but I packed five syringes as a precaution before the entrance ceremony.
I used two today.
That leaves three left.

Fortunately, I haven’t had any issues with the drug’s effect wearing off.

[15 hours 3 minutes]

No, I might have overused the drugs today.
Maybe that’s why my head feels a bit fuzzy.
But isn’t it okay as long as I’m happy?

“…That’s it.”

Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of applause grows louder.

The principal stepped down.
It’s time for me to rise as well.
The special class needs to leave their seats a bit early.

“I will remember today’s meeting. Consider it an honor.”

Cheon Yu-seong.
Cheon Yu-hwa.
I know there’s something between them.
If something happens, Han Si-hu will probably handle it.

By the way, that tone is a concept.
As for the reason, it’s that...

Let’s go back a week.

Spending my days staring blankly at the TV screen.
I stopped scrolling through channels at the animation corner.
It’s an anime with magical girls.

If Seo-ah had grown up in a proper environment, would she have watched this and enjoyed it?
It’s fun to watch.

—Is it finally here?

It seems like it’s the final chapter.
The main characters are gathered to defeat the boss monster.

—Look at the evil deeds you’ve committed!

—Now that we’ve come this far, there’s no other way. It will be the final battle.

The scene of them fighting with wands is impressive.
If you look closely, maybe one of the awakened will fight like that?

—It’s the time of judgment.

I wonder if Seo-ah would have played along and had fun if she could see this.
Given her circumstances, she seems to have matured too quickly.
She shows a pure side, but I haven’t really seen her act like a child.

—With the power of love!

“Umm…”

To mimic something like that.
If it were the bright Yoo Seo-ah from back in the day, it might have suited her.
I’m curious what she would have looked like, so I give it a try.

The protagonist's pose.
Protagonist-like dialogue.

“With the power... of love.”

It’s not easy.
It feels pathetic.

Looking down at my arm, I see the marks from the injections.
I’ve wrapped the bandages around it.
At this angle, I look closer to the boss monster.

“Hey, even they have bandages on.”

—Hmph, it looks like I’ll have to use this after all.

If I were to mimic, that would be appropriate.
Should I give it a shot?
If there was a scene where Seo-ah played like this.
What would that have been like?

—I am one born from the abyss, destined to change the world! No one dares to stop me!

Is that a spell?
It’s hard to keep up.
Extending one hand forward, as if preparing an attack, I say.

“Born from the abyss... destined to change the world...”

I stretch my arm out into the air.
With one hand behind.
Hmm.
This might be more plausible than mimicking the protagonist.
I think it would look even more fitting with an eye patch.

Bang.

The door burst open.
Rena appears.
I was just striking a pose.

“Hmm?”

She’s smiling.
She looks more playful than usual.

“Ah…”

“Born from the abyss, destined to change the world… what was it again?”

She mimics me.
She strikes a pose too.
Thanks to that, my face turns red.

“So cute!”

“Ugh.”

I’ve been found out.
I didn’t even realize Rena was here.
Did she swap places with Han Si-hu?

“Yeah, yeah, it’s okay. It’s okay, so what? It’s good, isn’t it?”

Did I get caught mimicking the anime?
I’m going to high school soon, you know?
I just wanted to see Seo-ah striking poses like this.
I couldn’t even imagine it.

Well, in terms of height or growth, she doesn’t seem like a high school student.
Maybe she didn’t grow well because she didn’t eat enough.
It’s also possible she doesn’t know her exact age.
She lost her parents when she was young.

“Want to try again?”

“Again?”

“I’ll do it with you. Let’s show Si-hu when he comes later!”

It’s hard to refuse with her sparkling eyes.
She wants to play together, isn’t that what friends do?
I think that’s not a bad idea.
Although showing it to Si-hu feels ambiguous.

“W-why Si-hu?”

“Don’t be shy. You were practicing, right? Smiling and greeting. It’s similar to that.”

Was I caught?
Well, I’ve been doing that in my room every day.

“You’re already good at smiling. You just need confidence. Forget everything that happened before.”

“......”

“We need times like this. We can’t always be down. You don’t have to feel burdened. I just like seeing you play.”

The atmosphere has been quite down.
That’s why I practiced smiling.
I can’t bring out the ideal Yoo Seo-ah that Han Si-hu wants.
I tried practicing, but I couldn’t achieve a pure smile.
Returning to the past is impossible.

“Si-hu worries all the time. If you both are in that state, it hurts me too. I want to see you showing a side where you can play like this.”

“Is that so…”

“Okay, I’ll play the role of Sapphire!”

What’s Sapphire?
Is it the protagonist’s name?
She seems to know quite a bit.

“I used to play like this with my little sister. It’s nostalgic.”

She seems family-oriented.
I felt it when I dressed her properly and wrapped new bandages around her.
She had a little sister.

“…I am the one who will save the world…”

As we play in sync, the goal shifts.
I’m not mimicking a character; I’m creating a new one.
Maybe it’s the drug’s effect, but I’m getting more absorbed in the play.

“Right, right, that’s the feeling. Good.”

This might serve as an excuse for having the bandages wrapped around my arm.
If someone at the academy asks, it could be troublesome.
If I’m a character doing weird things because of chuunibyou, they’d probably understand.

It’s a good way to revive an active side while offsetting the dark image of the bandages.
There aren’t any characters overlapping with my memory concept.

I’ll show a side filled with pretense and self-indulgence.
Yep, my left hand is sealed with a black dragon.
It’s true.
Can I legally have this kind of concept while playing?

I can’t forget the startled look on Han Si-hu when he returned to the dorm.
The eye patch was something Han Si-hu bought me later.

I’m glad we could play together.

[47 minutes]

The thing in the corner of my vision is just a bit bothersome.