Gloria Allstatt was a female knight of the Klein Kingdom.
Until last year, she had served as a royal guard, but she had since been assigned to Avalon, where she was scheduled to reside for the next two years. Naturally, she was granted about twenty days of leave per year, allowing her to return home. On those occasions, she was bound by an absolute duty of confidentiality regarding the details of Avalon and the nature of her studies.
Her primary duty was to "learn." Furthermore, whenever the World Conference was held at Avalon, she was expected to serve as security.
Avalon was equipped with the world's most advanced facilities, but it suffered from a severe lack of personnel to fully utilize them.
The several dozen people currently stationed there were able to study various subjects day and night as First Class Officer Candidates.
During their first six months—from September 3459 to April 3460—they had completed a Basic Education Course, where they studied a broad range of academic disciplines.
Following that, they had proceeded to a Specialized Course based on their aptitudes and personal preferences.
"Phew, another day done."
At 4:00 p.m., having finished her sixth-period class, Gloria stood on a deck overlooking the ocean, letting the sea breeze rustle her hair.
Her hair, which had been cut very short during her time in the royal guard, had grown long and was now tied back in a ponytail.
"Ah, Gloria-san."
"Oh, Rianna-san."
The person who called out to her was Rianna, a former unit leader of the Royal Secret Maids of the Kingdom of Egerea.
Her blonde hair, gathered in a bun, glittered in the slanting rays of the autumn sun.
"The breeze feels lovely here, doesn't it?"
"It really does."
Rianna was twenty-nine years old, three years older than Gloria.
"You were aspiring to join the World Security Guard, weren't you, Gloria-san?"
"Yes, that's right. And you were hoping to become a training instructor, Rianna-san."
"Yes, well."
The two shared several common subjects and attended the same lectures for a few hours each week.
They were together for classes like swordsmanship and self-defense, and both were among the top-ranked students.
While martial arts in different countries were often split into various schools with inconsistent forms, the training instructors—who were automata—taught a synthesized system that Laojun had compiled through Trans Info.
The plan was for the First Class students to eventually take over as instructors.
On the other hand, their classroom studies didn't overlap much; Rianna was on the Humanities track, while Gloria focused on Science and Engineering.
"It's starting to get dark. Shall we head inside?"
Gloria nodded at Rianna's suggestion.
"Yes, let's do that."
The two descended the stairs leading into the ship's interior. Their destination was the communal bath.
While it wasn't a natural hot spring, one of the luxuries of Avalon was the ability to take a bath every day.
For everyday grime, one only had to place their clothes in a dedicated locker. The magi-craft Cleanup would activate, cleaning the garments while they bathed so that no spare change of clothes was necessary.
Freshly laundered towels were provided for rent, so unless someone was particularly insistent on using their own, they could go to the bathroom empty-handed.
"The facilities here truly are magnificent," Rianna remarked as she undressed.
"Indeed. I wonder if this sort of thing was common before the Great Magic War," Gloria said, voicing her curiosity as she followed suit.
"No, apparently not."
Being in the Humanities track, Rianna was well-versed in history.
"I believe this is based on the lifestyle of the Progenitors, the Origin clan, from much further back."
"The Progenitors..."
Gloria, who had only taken an introductory course in history, didn't seem to quite grasp the significance.
Conversing all the while, the two placed their clothes in the Cleanup lockers and entered the bathing area.
Opening the sliding door revealed a room filled with drifting steam. The space was cavernous, covering about a hundred square meters.
"Oh, looks like we have company."
"Ah, unit leader!"
"Please, stop calling me that."
The early arrivals were Kate and Leeza, also formerly of the Royal Secret Maids. The third member of their group, Mary, was nowhere to be seen.
"I'm sorry. It's just a habit."
Rianna had been their superior—their unit leader. Because of that, the girls couldn't quite break the habit of addressing her by her old title.
Rianna and Gloria rinsed themselves off and stepped into the tub. The water was a pleasant 40 degrees Celsius, making it a slightly lukewarm soak.
There was another tub kept at a hotter 43 degrees, though it was currently empty. Since there was no sauna, Jin was reportedly considering adding one in the future.
"Phew..."
"It really melts the tension away, doesn't it?"
"Well, I did four laps around Avalon today," Gloria said, massaging her calves.
During practical sessions, students sometimes ran the perimeter of Avalon for physical conditioning. One lap was approximately six kilometers, making it a perfect distance for training.
"Still, every day feels so fulfilling."
"It really does. I feel fortunate to have been born in an era like this," Rianna said, narrowing her eyes with a nod.
After warming their bodies, they moved on to washing their hair.
In addition to soap, they were provided with a rinse made from honey.
One would dissolve it in hot water, work it into the hair, and then wrap a towel around their head to let it sit for a few minutes to achieve the best effect.
Since arriving at Avalon, the hair of all the women had become remarkably glossy and smooth.
"I used to think long hair was a chore to maintain, but it's quite simple here."
Gloria, who had worn her hair in a very short cut as a royal guard, was amazed by how the rinse transformed her hair quality after every wash.
"Fufu, it is, isn't it?"
Rianna had also undone her bun and was working the rinse into her hair. Her wet blonde hair took on a deeper luster, exuding a certain mature charm.
Rianna was often looked upon with admiration by the younger women in their class, though it was unclear if she realized it herself.
"Hair care is vital, you know. Kemeria hair oil is very effective, and you must never skip your daily brushing," Rianna said, coaching Gloria on the finer points of grooming.
However...
"...That's a bit much for me."
Gloria gave up on the idea almost immediately.
"But you don't find it a chore to maintain your sword, do you?"
"No, of course not."
"It's exactly the same thing."
"..."
Fully rejuvenated, the two left the bath and dried themselves off.
The clothes inside the Cleanup lockers had been returned to a pristine state.
"Now then, I wonder what's for dinner today."
"Hehe, the food is certainly another highlight of this place."
Rianna and Gloria walked toward the dining hall, side by side.
"Let's see..."
The dining hall operated on a cafeteria system—self-service.
Students would choose what they liked from the menu items laid out before them.
As a rule, wasting food was strictly forbidden. If one's portion wasn't enough, they were free to go back for seconds.
Any surplus ingredients were effectively utilized—for example, as feed for the fish in the holding tanks—to ensure that no waste was produced.
The menu that day included white rice, pigu (pork) cutlet, Meat-Topopo, cream stew, shalot and tofu miso soup, grilled fish, pickles, and vegetable salad. For dessert, they had citran and persica. The variety of dishes was expected to increase gradually over time.
Both women selected rice, pigu cutlet, shalot and tofu miso soup, grilled fish, pickles, and salad.
For fruit, Rianna chose persica, while Gloria went with citran.
"Oh, good evening, you two."
"Good evening, Fritz-sama."
"H-Hello, Fritz-dono."
As they entered the dining hall, they bumped into Fritz. He had just finished loading his tray with his own dinner.
"Would you mind if I joined you?"
"E-Eh? Yes, if that's alright with you."
And so, the three of them sat down to share a meal at the same table.