This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, organizations, and settings depicted are entirely fictional and created for storytelling purposes.
Yosen High,
Shane's face paled as he heard her call him. "No." Shane declined with a shake of his head.
Again, he shook his head with another "no"; lastly, he vigorously shook his head, saying, "Absolutely not."
Much to his dismay.
*Stare~*
His question was met with a sharp, warning look from the instructor—the kind of gaze that silently asked,
'Do you want me to send you out of my class too?'
"..."
"Haah. Fine."
Seeing no way out, Shane raised his hands in surrender.
The instructor motioned for him to step forward, and he complied, much to his other classmate's displeasure.
Especially one. One classmate to his left that scowled, their fingers twitching against the desk in what looked like suppressed frustration.
However, Shane ignored him.
"Alright then. Smart Creed—"
"—It's Shane, ma'am."
He was already halfway to the front.
The instructor's smile froze for a heartbeat, the cigarette still balanced between her lips.
Then she laughed under her breath.
"How bold," she said, pulling in a drag. Smoke curled around her face. "But yes, Shane... if that's what you want."
She turned away from him and faced the class, lifting the cigarette from her mouth.
It pointed outward like an accusing finger.
"From today onwards, this guy is your representative. Well… just do well to get to know each other better."
The smoke dispersed slowly in the silence that followed.
Getting to know each of themselves better? Such a thing was impossible in the first place.
For the Affiliated family, who were all fighting for the top spot in the academy, seeing four take over that spot had been crossed as humiliation from their family.
In the first place, most families were gung-ho about supremacy, all for four random children from who knows where to sweep the top spot.
There were families like the Rosebells who weren't concerned about the rankings, and there were other families who had it out for the four.
Shane took a look at the woman, opening his mouth, seemingly about to say that, but closed his lips the moment he did that.
There was no use; he came to the conclusion.
"Alright then. Tomorrow, we'll get straight down to the fuckery, so ease up today."
With all necessary documents in hand, the woman scratched the side of her hair with a lazy look as she exited the class, closing the class sliding door as she left.
"...."
"...."
Now left alone, there was a particular silence that seemed to drag for some moments.
But after a few seconds, there was a sharp exhale, followed by someone standing up.
"If there's nothing else to be said. I'll take my leave first."
Then from there, slowly, everybody started standing up, leaving the classroom, leaving behind Shane, Damian and Kaiden.
Looking at his brother from where they sat, Shane raised his hand in suggestion.
"Shall we explore the school? What do you suggest?"
With a finalised nod of agreement, they all stood up, exiting the class.
Magic Affiliate.
An organisation that runs deep, dating back to centuries ago, to the first opening of the gate.
Originally, they served as an organization to maintain law and order along with battling the entities that came from the fractures of the gates.
However, over the years, their influence has expanded so rapidly that they now dictate a lot of things that happen now.
In short, replacing the government.
The government still exists, but it is suppressed under the weight of anti-gate organisations like the Magic Affiliate.
And that is to say, from crime fighting to economics to politics, down to their specialty, battling beings from beyond the fractures of space—
Affiliates handled everything.
Of course, later down the line, the Affiliates split due to four great powers that emerged from beings who couldn't bring themselves to listen to the Affiliates.
Ever-present of the World Entropy. Illuminator of the Sanctuary. Monarch of the Clandestine. And lastly, Overlord of the Nemesis.
These four great powers eventually branched out from the Magic Affiliates to maintain shared power amongst them.
Of course, they still worked in unison to preserve mankind, that is.
Even Yosen Magic-Affiliated Academy was merely an extension of their reach, another limb of the Affiliates.
Its purpose: to cultivate new talents capable of facing the beings beyond fractured space in defense of humanity.
The campus stretched across several acres, both in length and breadth, outfitted with facilities powered by technologies not yet available to the public.
That alone spoke volumes about how highly the Affiliates valued this institution.
Afternoon
The sun had long passed its peak, afternoon had settled in.
Most of the morning had been consumed by orientation, which began at 9:00 a.m. and wrapped up by 10:00.
From there, students made their way to the student secretariat to collect their Identification Cards which in a sense was their key to accessing campus facilities like the library and training grounds.
Afterward came the class assignments, posted on the boards, followed by the wait to meet their respective instructors.
All of it had led to this moment this exact hour.
Student council office.
Inside a spacious office with a desk positioned at the far end and a polished mahogany table set in the center.
Several chairs on both edges, except for the shorter edge in front reserved for the president.
Yosen high's student council gathered here at this table.
"Oh~☆ So this is our new member? Nice to meet you~☆ I'm Astrea Starlight!"
The speaker was a girl with soft pink hair, tied loosely to the left side.
Her most striking feature, however, was her eyes—star-shaped pupils that sparkled as if lit from within.
She wore the standard Yosen uniform in black and white, which complemented her well-proportioned figure and posture.
Astrea was the General Affairs Officer.
Her strength and popularity had earned her the position.
While all matters eventually passed through the Student Council President, anything involving student affairs filtered through Astrea first.
"Senri Tsubaki. That's all."
Next was a girl sitting across from Astrea.
She had long, straight black hair that fell past her shoulders and wore squared glasses that accented her sharp, intellectual appearance.
The girl who named herself Tsubaki…
Unlike most of the girls who tailored their uniforms with shorter skirts, hers extended well past her knees, nearly reaching the tops of her socks.
Anyone could tell she's a prim person.
"Come on Sen-chan~☆ At least be nice to the newcomer~☆"
"Pipe it, wench."
"Ouch~☆ That's harsh~~"
Senri Tsubaki, second-year student; freshman representative during the first year; treasurer.
Responsible for managing council finances, club budgets, and all formal reports.
And lastly was a male, with shoulder-length black hair and studious; however, with his male uniform, he wore fingerless gloves that matched with his kept figure.
"Hello, newcomer. I'm the vice president. Nice to meet you.."
Enma, who stood before the table, nodded at their words. Now that he looked at them, they were different.
Even among those he'd seen during the entrance examination, they were different.
Though…
The vice president, on the other hand, seemed off. Not as if he were strong but hiding it, but compared to the others, he wasn't quite on their level.
However, that didn't mean Enma looked down on him.
He's probably someone like Shane, Enma thought honestly.
Those who, in a fight, would layer different tactics upon one another, and even if those tactics failed, would always have a backup.
He had known his brother long enough, after all.
"It's… nice to meet you, too."
"Now let's get the greetings over with."
Finally, Eira Seraville, the student president, said this as she invited Enma to his seat.
As Enma took a seat, Astrea, who was next to him, handed him a device that resembled a tablet.
When he grabbed it, he noticed a list of agendas filled with details, pictures, and stats.
'Shane is… way better at this stuff… But… Haah I'll give it a shot…'
"Now then, with the acceptance of new students, activities like field exploration, club scouting, and candidate scouting will begin soon."
"In addition to that is the allocation of shared resources between freshman classes. Tsubaki, I'm counting on you for that."
Eira turned her gaze to Tsubaki, who nodded, her lips pressing into a soft smile before it immediately faded.
However, Enma, who had caught on, alternated his gaze between the two silently but didn't say anything and kept his attention on the agenda.
"Other committees will also soon start their scouts, such as the Disciplinary Committee and the Research and Development Division."
Astrea, upon that, sat up straighter, her hands stretched higher.
"Ah~☆ The disciplinary freaks. They're going to love the new batch."
There was something about her tone Enma couldn't put his finger on but decided not to bother with it.
It wasn't in his character to do so in the first place.
"It's their job, Strea. Well, with club activities resuming next week, all I can offer is condolences."
The vice president said that, his hands folded, his back resting on his chair before looking back at the president.
"Indeed. However, the hardest to please is the R&D Division."
Among those entering Yosen, the students who join the Research and Development Division usually have the highest chance of working directly with the affiliates in a research capacity.
Of course, that's only if they've made a significant breakthrough in a specialized field.
Seeing said documentation on the student council files, he leaned back, elbow on the table with his head propped on it as he deeply mused.
R&D Division was something up Shane's alley.
Given a few things to work on along with limited time, Shane was the type of person to complete it before the deadline.
An overly competent person.
But, knowing his brother, though, he doubts Shane would join.
To add to Enma's thoughts, Astrea tilted her head at Tsubaki, her starry eyes half-lidded.
"Still, a pretty cold way to say 'your future depends on impressing a bunch of people who never sleep and dissect energy signatures for fun'~☆"
"It's the truth."
Tsubaki replied without looking up, in a pretty harsh tone.
"Regardless of whether it's the truth or not,"
Eira dropped her tablet, standing up from her seat and heading towards the window as their eyes trailed her.
"My, no, our job doesn't change as the student council. My fellow council members, I'll reiterate. My goal is to make Yosen an even better place before my tenure as student president ends. Are you all with me?"
Yosen is tied up with a lot of intricate webs, and amongst them are the board members who, if something doesn't go according to their wishes, could…
"Of course. I'm with you, president."
"Same~☆"
"It's only obvious."
Last was Enma, whom everybody turned to.
The male glanced at the tablet, exhaled a sigh before speaking up.
"Well... there are probably others better than me... But if this is what you want... I'll join…"