The next day, Monday.
My first weekend of academy life had come to an end, and another week of classes was beginning.
I woke up at four in the morning, got ready, and headed over to the dorms to walk to school with Frank and Cedric. Once we reached the classroom, I took my usual seat at the very back. The three of us spent the time before the bell rang engaging in mindless small talk.
Eventually, Yuika entered the room.
She scanned the classroom, walked straight toward us, and plopped down in the seat directly in front of mine.
"I managed to smooth things over with Noelle," Yuika said, turning around to fill us in on yesterday’s conclusion. "I told her I was just delirious because I was still recovering from my illness..."
"Isn't that a bit of a stretch?" I asked.
"I didn't really need a progress report on that anyway," Frank added.
"Could you please leave us out of your mess?" Cedric pleaded.
Since the reason for the apology involved her groping Noelle's chest, it was definitely a subject we guys shouldn't be poking our noses into.
"Hmm..."
Yuika tilted her head slightly and stared intently at me.
"What? I'm not lending you money," I said.
"Can I talk to you for a second?"
Yuika stood up and started tugging firmly on the sleeve of my uniform.
"Seriously, what is it?"
"Just come here."
I had no choice but to stand up. Yuika led me toward the corner of the classroom. Once we were out of earshot, she leaned in close while scanning the room.
Frank and Cedric were watching us, of course, but so were Ilmera and Noelle from the front of the class. I even locked eyes with Toko, who looked puzzled.
"...Seriously, what's up?" I asked in a low voice, assuming she wanted to share a secret.
"...Hey, what's your deal with Toko?" Yuika whispered back.
"Why do you ask?"
"You have the same face."
She’d gone and said the one thing I didn’t want to hear...
"Isn't that just a coincidence?"
"No, it's more than that. Plus, you smell the same."
She was really doubling down on things I didn’t want pointed out.
"I'm Nagase, so I'm Japanese. She's La Forge, so she's French. Totally different."
"Making fun of race or nationality is taboo, so nobody says it out loud, but Toko looks Asian no matter how you look at it. I mean, she's Japanese."
Well, she had a point. "La Forge" certainly didn't seem like it fit her as a surname.
I pulled 100 yen out of my wallet and pressed it into Yuika's hand.
"We're twins. Don't tell a soul."
I couldn't talk my way out of it at this point.
"I won't say anything, but why are you hiding it?" Yuika asked as she pulled out her own wallet to tuck the 100 yen away.
"Twins are the same age, so we end up in the same grade, right? We share friends and social circles. It just leads to a lot of teasing."
"Is it really that bad? I don't think people would tease you much at this age..."
"Ilmera would laugh. She'd try to hold it in and then just burst out."
Ilmera was an honest person, for better or worse.
"Well..."
"Try to imagine the hardship of a pathetic brother with a genius for a sister. Especially when you're twins."
"Mmm... true. You are an idiot, Tsukasa. You fell right for my clever Squinting Strategy."
People who call themselves clever are usually idiots.
"I'm not an idiot, but that's why you have to keep quiet about it."
"Even from Noelle?"
Noelle... I felt like she’d be fine, but...
"Keep it a secret. You never know where it might leak from."
"Got it."
Yuika nodded just as Professor Jenny walked into the classroom. The professor stood at the podium and shot a suspicious look at Yuika and me, so I hurried back to my seat.
"Good morning, everyone. Let's begin our Basic Studies lesson."
The second the teacher started speaking, Yuika fell asleep in the seat in front of me.
"You're seriously going to sleep...?"
I sighed in exasperation but focused on the lecture without taking notes. I already had someone lined up to lend me theirs later.
As I listened seriously, I realized I understood what the teacher was saying a bit better than I had last week. I figured it was probably thanks to Shar's tutoring.
I kept my focus on the lesson, but since there was no practical training scheduled for today, the lecture continued straight through until noon. When the bell finally rang, the teacher and students began to file out of the room.
"Ah, finally over." Yuika sat up and stretched her arms.
"Why were you sleeping the whole time?" I asked.
"Because I don't understand anything the teacher says."
"Then why did you even come to this academy?"
I never thought I'd be the one saying those words to someone else.
"Who cares? It's thanks to this place that I was able to learn Space Magic."
Well, I suppose I could relate to that.
"Hey, hey, you two seem awfully close. When did you meet?"
Ilmera, who had been sitting near the front, walked over with Noelle to join the conversation.
"We met at the training grounds yesterday," Yuika answered. "He gave me a stomach punch."
She made me sound like a monster.
"You cut my arm, though," I reminded her.
"Oh, you fought? Who won?" Ilmera asked, her eyes lighting up. I’d suspected it for a while, but she was definitely a bit of a combat junkie herself.
"I did."
"I won strategically," Yuika countered. "It's what you call losing the battle but winning the war."
This girl was really trying to claim the moral high ground based on that pathetic Squinting Strategy...
"What are these two even talking about?" Unable to make heads or tails of it, Ilmera turned to Frank.
"No idea. But it's true that Yuika went down after a palm strike that looked nauseating just to watch."
"It was awful. I couldn't breathe. Ilmera, you should try taking one too."
"No thank you. I have no intention of fighting maniacs like you who lack common sense."
Maniacs...
"No common sense..."
Yuika and I both felt a bit dejected at that.
"U-Um, Yuika-san, Tsukasa-san, what were you two whispering about before class?" Noelle asked, reading the room and changing the subject.
I really wished she hadn't chosen that particular topic, though.
"Just, you know..."
"Umm, it's a secret?"
Yuika, don't say it like that.
"Suspicious... You were handing over some money, weren't you?" Ilmera narrowed her eyes.
"I got 100 yen."
"I gave her 100 yen."
"Wait, why?"
Eh? Why indeed...
"Why?"
"Who knows?"
"Talking to both of you at once is giving me a headache..." Ilmera groaned, holding her head.
"I'm sure there's a good reason. They're both from Japan, after all," Noelle offered, trying to be helpful.
"Yeah, exactly. Noelle is so kind."
"You'd better not do anything to make someone that kind angry," I warned. Especially over something as stupid as this.
"Angry? What are you talking about?" Noelle asked with a gentle smile.
"I-It's nothing."
Terrifying.