The first thing that greeted me after I stepped through the academy's great gate was not the sound of people, nor the grandeur of the distant buildings.
It was a light breeze brushing across my face.
It was not strong, only enough to stir the hem of my clothes and lift the hair over my forehead for a brief moment. A few blue strands hidden among my black hair were exposed along with it.
Almost on instinct, I raised a hand to cover them, smoothing my hair back down before continuing forward.
To be honest, I still was not fully used to those blue strands occasionally choosing the perfect moment to show themselves in front of other people, like a reminder that I had a blessing. There were not many of them, and they were not so noticeable that they stood out too much, but they were still enough to make me feel a little self-conscious.
Thinking that, I slowly looked around.
Of course, I did not head straight to the gathering area.
The reason was simple: I had no idea where the gathering area even was.
On my first day at the academy, all I had was a letter of admission, a vague collection of knowledge pieced together from rumors spread by merchants, and a rather fragile belief that this place would at least have decent signs.
Fortunately, that belief turned out to be correct.
Right across from the main gate stood a long row of guide boards, lined up so neatly that it was obvious they had been prepared specifically for freshmen like me.
I silently admired the academy's thoughtfulness and walked toward the nearest one.
Quite a few people were already gathered around it. Some were reading every line carefully, as if afraid they might miss something important. Others were turning to share what they had just read with the friends who had come with them. There were also those who only gave it a quick glance before moving on, looking perfectly calm, as though they had already known exactly where they were supposed to go.
I belonged to the first type.
I did not have any friends to be the second.
And I did not know enough to pretend to be the third.
I stopped in front of the guide board.
On the left was a full map of the academy. On the right were instructions for freshmen.
I looked at the map first.
And then I started counting.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
I paused for a moment, then counted again just to make sure I was not mistaken.
In the end, the number I got was sixteen.
Sixteen large buildings.
And that was not even counting the dining hall, an absurdly large shopping district off to the left, and an area that looked like either a training ground or practice field on the other side. Farther to the right was a huge arena, so large that even on the map it clearly took up a considerable amount of space. Right in front of the arena were the student dormitories. At the top of the map sat a building much larger than the rest, which was probably the main hall. In front of that were countless other structures packed together in clusters, not to mention the smaller areas marked all around them in dense symbols.
I stared at the map for a few more seconds.
Then looked at it again.
Why the hell is it this huge?
Only now did I truly begin to understand that the phrase the academy takes up nearly half of Dusk might not have been an exaggeration made by drunk merchants after a few drinks.
If anything, it might have been the toned-down version.
After silently marveling at it for a moment, I finally shifted my eyes to the freshman instructions on the right.
At the very top, written in clear letters, were the words:
"Welcome, new students, to Astral Academy."
Below that was the actual information.
"As the academy does not require an entrance examination, students may proceed directly to the main hall at the rear to attend the opening ceremony before 11:00."
"After the ceremony ends, students may visit Room P-11 nearby to receive the necessary communication devices."
"After that, the first class will begin at 1:00 PM."
"Sincerely."
After reading it, I could not help feeling a little impressed.
Very detailed.
So detailed that, for a brief moment, I almost felt bad for doubting the academy's decency earlier.
Then I looked at the map again.
The hall at the rear.
All the way at the rear.
Way, way in the rear.
A very short silence appeared in my mind.
I lowered my eyes to the instructions again.
Then looked back at the map.
Then at the road in front of me.
I take back what I thought earlier.
There is nothing thoughtful about this place.
Why the hell is this damned academy making me walk from the front gate to the farthest building on my very first day?
I stood in front of the guide board, quietly checking the route one more time as if hoping I had misread something.
But no.
From where I was standing to the main hall really was the kind of journey that could age a person emotionally by several years.
My heart cried a little.
Then, because I had no other choice, I started walking.
After only a few steps, I suddenly realized something was off.
Why did everyone around me look so relaxed?
I glanced to both sides. The other freshmen were all walking at a perfectly normal pace, their expressions calm to an almost suspicious degree. Some were chatting as they walked. Some were even looking up to admire the surrounding architecture as if they were sightseeing.
What is this?
Can they all fly or something? Why does every single one of them look like time is absolutely not a problem?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I immediately looked up at the clock tower near the small plaza ahead.
The hour hand pointed at ten.
The minute hand pointed at forty-five.
I fell silent.
A very faint chill ran down my spine.
Damn it.
Fucking Astral.
I began seriously wondering whether I could still make it before eleven if I sprinted all the way from here to the main hall.
No, wait.
Thinking about that now might already be a little too late.
I almost immediately adjusted my posture, lowering my body slightly, mentally preparing to take off as if the finish line of my life was somewhere ahead of me.
But right then, I looked around once more.
Still, no one looked rushed.
No one was running.
No one was out of breath.
No one wore the face of someone standing on the thin line between life and death and an opening ceremony.
Every last one of them looked suspiciously calm.
Maybe... they really could fly?
Naturally, I killed the idea of running at full speed almost as soon as it appeared.
Too embarrassing.
If everyone else was walking normally while I was the only one charging ahead like I had just discovered the apocalypse, then I was pretty sure my worldview would suffer serious damage on the very first day of school.
Besides, maybe the academy only wrote before 11:00 to sound impressive.
Being a little late probably would not matter.
Probably.
I comforted myself with that rather flimsy belief and continued walking at a slightly more relaxed pace.
After about three more steps, my left shoulder suddenly felt an impact. It was not very strong, but it was clear enough.
Then came a small cry.
"Ow... that hurt..."
I stopped on instinct and lowered my eyes toward the source of the voice.
A girl was sitting on the ground.
Her cherry-colored hair had become a little messy from the collision, a few soft strands falling over her shoulders. Her black eyes were wide, still carrying traces of panic that had not yet faded. There was something a little airheaded about her face—or maybe it was just that her flustered expression made her look more innocent than usual.
Either way, she was still pretty cute.
Oh.
Looks like she just ran into me.
And judging by that expression... she might be on the verge of tears too.
I blinked once.
Wait a second.
This situation...
Isn't this exactly the kind of scene that shows up all the time in romance movies?
First day of school.
Accidentally bumping into each other.
And from there, some fateful story begins.
Love at first sight.
Oh.
Has Rain's spring finally arrived?
...Just kidding.
At the very least, I should help her up first.
I quickly bent down a little and held out my hand.
"Are you okay?" I asked. "Sorry about that. I was standing in your way and made you fall."
"Mm..."
The girl hesitated for a moment, as if she still had not fully recovered from the collision, but in the end, she took my hand.
Her hand was a little smaller than I had expected.
Soft too.
I gave her a gentle pull and helped her to her feet.
Not bad.
First day of school, and I already got to hold a pretty girl's hand.
Life really does know how to make it up to people sometimes.
The moment she had regained her balance, she immediately looked at me in a flustered panic.
"I-I'm sorry. It was my fault, really. I wasn't paying attention..." She bowed her head slightly, her voice growing noticeably smaller. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I said. "I'm not the one who fell."
"Ah... right." She blinked, then let out an awkward little laugh. "Haha..."
Her laughter was quiet and clumsy, the kind people made when they were desperately trying to save the atmosphere because they had no idea what to say next.
I looked at her for another moment.
She really was the type you could tell at a glance embarrassed easily.
Or at least, she was right now.
"You're here for enrollment too, right?" I asked.
"Y-yeah."
"Then come with me," I said, glancing ahead at the very long road in front of us. "I'm heading to the main hall too."
"Mm... okay." She hesitated a little before continuing. "M-my name's Selene."
"I'm Rain."
I looked at her and gave a small nod.
"Let's get along."
Selene blinked, then nodded back lightly.
"Mm."
And so, for some reason, right in the middle of my first day at the academy, I ended up with an unexpected companion.
We started walking forward again, blending into the stream of people still slowly making their way deeper into the academy grounds.
The wind blew past us once more.
This time, it was a little gentler than before.
I did not say anything right away, and Selene stayed quiet too. Still, the atmosphere between us was not uncomfortable. It just carried that awkwardness unique to two people who had only just met and still did not know where to begin.
I glanced at her once.
She walked a little to the right of me, both hands held in front of her, still carrying some of the tension left over from the collision a moment ago. If I had not spoken first just now, I was not even sure she would have been calm enough to start a conversation on her own.
Thinking that, I suddenly found it a little funny.
My first day at the academy.
I had been wondering the whole time whether I would even manage to get to know anyone here.
And yet the first person I met turned out to be through something like this.
Life really did have strange tastes sometimes.
At the time, I never once imagined it.
That meeting would become the beginning of a story—
both tragic
and ridiculous—
between the the two of us.