Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 1 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 3===

Mononobe Mitsuki was my sister, but we were not blood related.

Mitsuki and I had become family as foster siblings back when I was six. We studied in the same year group at school because our birthdays differed only by a month. Even so, Mitsuki still insisted on calling me "Nii-san."

This rigid personality remained unchanged even now, but apart from that, everything else differed quite substantially from my recollections.

Three years ago, she spoke in a more childish manner. Furthermore, she was shy and introverted, and disliked showing herself in public.

Standing fearlessly in front of everyone to give a speech like this was something beyond her in the past.
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"...Hence, despite being male, more importantly, he is a D—in other words, one of our rare comrades. Only by accepting him as one of us without gender discrimination would we prove that we are humans with a highly developed sense of social awareness—"

The current location was the school gym at the center of the island. All students were arranged neatly in rows while the faculty was lined up along the wall. On the other hand, Mitsuki was standing on the podium with everyone's gaze gathered on her, speaking fluently through the microphone.

Standing beside her, I was dressed in the school uniform, similar in style to the other students, but mine was a male uniform of course. The size fitted me to a frightening degree.

"—Naturally, even so, I believe there will still be many worrying issues. Hence, I hereby promise everyone that I will do everything I can to protect your daily lives. Although he is my brother, precisely because he is family, I shall deliver even harsher punishment if he were to cause trouble—"

The current full-school assembly was being held to explain my transferring into Midgard.

After yesterday's commotion, I was roused from bed early in the morning and suddenly brought to this place. (As a side note, Mitsuki had used the master key to open my door.)

When I stood up on the podium together with Mitsuki, inquisitive gazes gathered on me—But right now, all eyes were on Mitsuki. Everyone was listening attentively to her with no one whispering among themselves.

—She really was the student council president.

I felt impressed in my heart. Based on the atmosphere, I could feel everyone's respect and trust in her.

I swept my gaze across the students who were gazing at Mitsuki with fervent eyes. The students were not that many. Since I had nothing to do after all, I counted them. A total of sixty-five. Forming lines of between five to nine students, there was a total of nine lines. Perhaps that was the number of homerooms.

I had heard before that Midgard's homerooms were divided in consideration of combat teams, hence they were relatively small in class size.

The silver-haired girl, Iris, who had gotten into a dispute with me yesterday, was standing in a line of five on the very side. That line seemed particularly short in number, perhaps due to Mitsuki's absence. I remembered both of them saying they were in Brynhildr Class.

"—I hope everyone will give him a warm welcome and at the same time, I demand that he return the sincerity and trust we have extended to him. So please look after him—please look after my brother."

Mitsuki took a deep bow and ended her speech. Thunderous applause instantly sounded throughout the gym.

"Here, Nii-san."

Amidst the subsiding clapping, Mitsuki handed the microphone to me.

"Uh... My name is Mononobe Yuu. I may not be good at anything, but please be kind to me, everyone."

I did not expect myself to be so pathetic, only able to give such an unbelievably cliched greeting due to nervousness.

But the applause was even louder than before and I could hear heartwarming cheers of "Nice to meet you!" "We will look after you!"

They were supposed to be quite opposed to the idea of a boy enrolling in their school, but with just a ten-minute speech, Mitsuki altered the student's perceptions.

The two of us bowed and withdrew behind the curtains on the stage. Mitsuki exhaled deeply and smiled.

"With this, the school should exhibit a friendly atmosphere towards you, Nii-san, but please do not mess it up, okay?"

"S-Sure, I got it. I'll be careful and not cause you trouble, Mitsuki."

To be honest, my mind had yet to catch up to the situation, but the transfer to Midgard was an official order whereas Mitsuki was my superior. I had no authority to decline.

Everyone must follow orders issued from above. This was common sense ingrained in my mind during the past three years.

Perhaps my answer sounded half-hearted, hence Mitsuki looked up at me with eyes of suspicion, then she advised me:

"Let me inform you in advance, Nii-san, that your assigned homeroom consists of problem children entirely. I am not confident that they will listen to me so you will need to work hard on your own if you want them to accept you. Please bear this in mind."

Actually, I had already guessed for the most part—I was assigned to Brynhildr Class, the same as Mitsuki's.

Inside the small classroom, the desks were arranged in a 3x3 array.

Sweeping a glance at the girls in the seats, I understood very well what Mitsuki meant by problem children.

For some unknown reason, the blonde girl sitting in the front row was glaring angrily in my direction. Ignoring me while I was standing at the lectern, a short-haired girl was reading her paperback book. In the second row, a red-haired girl was engrossed in playing on her laptop. A tomboy had her face turned away in displeasure.

Iris Freyja's seat was in the third row. She kept stealing glances towards me from time to time, but as soon as we made eye contact, she would turn her head away immediately.

The girls were all sitting on the edge seats, leaving the middle column unoccupied. How should I put it?

—Were they on bad terms with one another?

They felt rather divided.

"Well then, I shall make introductions anew. He is my older brother, Mononobe Yuu, sixteen years old. Since the Student No. is determined by order of enrollment, he is No. 8."

"Pleased to meet you."

Following Mitsuki's introduction, I lowered my head and bowed.

Clapping was heard. Only Iris was clapping but as soon as she saw that none of her classmates were applauding, she instantly went red in the face and lowered her head.

The blonde girl, who kept glaring at me the whole time, her gaze turned even sharper now and she stood up.

"I do not approve! To think you would search for a man to bring to Midgard... Mitsuki-san, is this not abuse of power?"

The blonde girl pointed to Mitsuki and accused.

"This decision was reached through official procedures and review. If you have any objections, feel free to start a petition. So long as you gather fifteen or more signatures, an extraordinary general assembly of the students can be called whereupon a referendum can be conducted. If a majority of the student population agrees with your motion, Lisa-san, then I shall reevaluate the matter."

"Guh..."

The girl named Lisa gnashed her teeth. She was probably thinking of the thunderous applause earlier. With a face of chagrin, she turned her gaze towards me.

She was evidently one of the students who would not listen to Mitsuki. Her reaction was precisely what I predicted beforehand.

Indeed, this was the normal response. In the first place, it would not be surprising if the majority of students held this stance.

Hence, I did not feel offended.

"Speaking of which... Are you truly a D? First and foremost, this is the one fact I cannot believe."

"Hmm... What you mean is you'd like to see proof?"

Lisa nodded affirmatively in response to my question.

"Indeed, please prove it right now. Everyone is interested, isn't that right?"

At Lisa's call, all the other girls looked up from what they were busy doing, gazing in my direction. Now I had no choice but to proceed with it.

"Mitsuki, may I?"

"Eh? Oh, you may... So long as it is simple transmutation. Since phenomena involving kinetic energy or the transmutation of unstable substances is very dangerous, it is forbidden outside of training sites."

I confirmed with Mitsuki, prompting her to nod uneasily.

Mitsuki should know better than anyone the fact that I am a D. Why was she making such a facial expression?

"Don't worry, I won't fail. Just watch."

I smiled at Mitsuki to reassure her, then started the demonstration.

Extending my hand, I concentrated to picture my hand reaching into the interior of the world.

Then with my fingertips immersed in an imaginary parallel world, I grabbed the "world in the Far Beyond" and drew it out.

A black sphere the size of a baseball instantly manifested on my palm.

A commotion instantly arose in the classroom.

This allusionary act was something I had repeated thousands, tens of thousands of times previously. I could not possibly fail.

—The black sphere was known as dark matter, an all-purpose element that could be converted into any material or phenomenon in this world. Although there were many theories regarding dark matter, it is believed that it is very likely a part of the "world in the Far Beyond."

The ability to produce dark matter could be regarded as proof of a D's identity.

As proof, it was enough... But ending it here would be too boring.

Hence, I decided to perform my most familiar transmutation.

Anti-personnel armament—AT Nergal.

Retrieving the ''blueprint'' stored in my mind and melding it into the dark matter, I caused its shape and properties to change.

Then I felt from my hand the familiar weight and hardness. A uniquely shaped gun created from the transmutation of dark matter. As though assembled from multiple blocks, the gun's body exhibited faintly glowing lines that seemed like a pattern carved upon it.

It looked like a model gun from some kind of science fiction movie, but this was undoubtedly a real combat weapon used by NIFL in recent years. Strictly speaking, the ones issued by NIFL were the mass production (MP) models rather than my archetype (AT).

According to habit, I entered a stance while holding up the gun, leaning my back against the wall.

"Oh..."

At this moment, I came back to my senses and put down the gun in embarrassment while I surveyed the crowd. For some reason, they were all stunned.

What was going on? Dark matter transmutation should be something everyone here could perform with ease.

"Is that a... gun? Rather than a mere alteration of dark matter's form... it appears more to be a fully materialized gun?"

Lisa asked me in a trembling voice.

"Yeah, that's completely correct."

"It doesn't shoot actual bullets, does it?"

"What are you talking about? What's the point of making a gun that can't shoot?"

Upon hearing my answer, everyone showed an unmistakable expression of shock on their face this time.

"I-Impossible! To craft something so intricate through imagination alone, that would be impossible for a human!"

After seeing Lisa's reaction, I finally realized I had done something unnecessary.

At NIFL, other people would only think "this is the way Ds are supposed to be like" without making a big deal out of things. But here, where everyone was a D, I would be compared to them according to the same standards.

Since what's done is done, it could not be helped. I forcibly glossed over the issue.

"Uh, I can't help it if you say it's impossible... I just did it in an actual demonstration."

"T-True, you do have a point..."

Left speechless, Lisa bowed her head.

At this moment, the tomboyish girl with the displeased demeanor earlier raised her hand.

"You're so amazing... I even jumped in fright. Did you practice this?"

"Well, more or less..."

Despite feeling guilty about it, I lied.

"Wow... That's really amazing... But why are you putting so much work into something that's wasting effort?"

"Wasting effort?"

I frowned and ask. I originally thought she was mocking me but the girl's eyes were very serious. She sincerely found it incomprehensible.

"Yeah, because a small gun like that won't work on dragons at all, right?"

This answer made me realize the fundamental difference between these girls and me. Namely, the guiding principles of our educations were completely different.

These girls were trained to fight dragons.

A gun's transmutation was completely pointless to them. They most likely had far more powerful means of attack than guns.

Hence, even if I managed to surprise them to some extent, I would never win their approval with this. It would not affect perceptions of me at Midgard.

—My demonstration was nothing more than a funny trick.

Looking down at the gun, I muttered to myself mentally.

What I had learned in my days at NIFL so far was mainly methods of fighting humans. Using military force to pacify countries and regions where public order had broken down due to the passage of dragons—This was NIFL's main activity.

NIFL's military power was directed at humans, not dragons.

In other words, that was as far as my level of power reached—

"Nii-san, I have to confiscate this."

While I was lost in thought, Mitsuki took away my gun from the side.

"Mitsuki?"

"This sort of dangerous object is forbidden in school. I will be responsible for it disposal. Please do not frivolously perform this type of transmutation ever again."

After a harsh glare from her, I could only answer "...Understood" obediently.

The expression of uneasiness she showed in the beginning was perhaps from guessing this sort of development.

Mitsuki held the gun behind her back and swept her gaze across her classmates.

"I believe this is enough to prove that my brother is a D. Homeroom is almost over, so let us start simple self-introductions next. Excluding me, please introduce yourself according to Student No. sequence."

Saying that, Mitsuki looked at Lisa. Despite a defiant expression on her face, Lisa still stood up.

"Student No. 1, my name is Lisa Highwalker. Sixteen years of age. I still do not approve!"

Lisa pointed at me at Mitsuki then sat down angrily.

Next to stand up was the short-haired girl who had been engrossed in reading.

"I am Student No. 2, Firill Crest... Fifteen years old, my hobby is reading. Pleased to meet you."

The girl calling herself Firill bowed slightly then took her seat quietly.

Then the tomboyish girl stood up, the student who had called me out for "wasting effort."

"I'm Ariella Lu, fifteen years old, Student No. 5. If possible, I hope you won't drag us down. I hate weak people."

Ariella went with harsh words right off the bat, just as earlier. She seemed to be the straightforward and upfront type.

By the way... Why did the numbering suddenly jump to five?

Even if Mitsuki was skipped, that still meant one person was missing. However, no one corrected this in particular. The next student stood up.

This was the red-haired girl who had been using her computer the whole time. Once she stood up, I could see that she was especially petite.

"Mm."

The red-haired girl took out a small portable terminal to show me the screen. My vision was supposed to be quite good but I still needed to focus and stare to read it clearly. Leaning forward, I read out the displayed words:

"Student No. 6... Ren Miyazawa<!--katakana in western order-->... Don't look down on me just because I'm young... I'm ten times smarter than you...?"

After I read it out, the young girl Ren nodded silently and sat down immediately.

By my side, Mitsuki whispered to me a supplementary explanation.

"The various homerooms essentially gather students of similar age, but since Ren-san is what you would call a prodigy, she skipped grades and was assigned to our class."

A girl who looked quite difficult to handle. I was gradually losing confidence in my ability to get along with these girls.

Then the last to stand up was Iris Freyja.

As though committing her resolve, she made eye contact with me. An unnatural smile surfaced on her face.

"Mononobe... Sorry I called you a molester and pervert yesterday and said embarrassing things—Uwah!?"

Iris suddenly bowed her head to apologize but crashed her head into a desk with a thud.

Seeing Iris suddenly apologize instead of introducing herself, the other classmates all looked at her in surprise.

"H-Hey, are you alright?"

"I-I'm alright... But that's not important, listen to me! Mononobe! I was wrong! Just as Mitsuki-chan said, it's not right to discriminate just because someone is a guy! As fellow Ds, we have to cherish one another!"

It looked like Mitsuki's speech had touched Iris' heart deeply. Should I call her naive or innocent...? It was not a bad thing, but it made one worry for her.

"So I don't mind what happened yesterday anymore! Whether getting seen naked, pinned to the ground, or almost robbed of the shirt I was wearing, I don't mind anymore!"

"Hey—"

After hearing what Iris aid, the classmates all gazed at me differently.

Icy cold gazes were stabbing into me. The classroom's temperature felt as though it had plunged ten degrees all of a sudden.

"N-No! That was—"

I was about to defend myself when Mitsuki patted me on the shoulder.

"Nii-san and Iris-san are apparently ''extremely''~ acquainted already. Let us end the introductions here. Everyone, I shall conduct a thorough investigation regarding the matter just now, so please do not spread rumors based on groundless speculation."

Smiling to the class while she spoke, Mitsuki gave off pressure that made even Lisa nod and agree reflexively.

At this moment, the bell rang, sounding like any other school's.

Then Iris and I were instantly taken away to the student counseling room where Mitsuki interrogated us.