Once Upon the Maiden of Sorrow

Nayami Ayanami has no mana.

I swear, I may have been expressionless─but let this inconsistency slide for once and say, "Wry!"

Snow White let out an inaudible chuckle after an obnoxious shirk no one in the room noticed.

Nayami Ayanami apologized, and for reasons not contextually humble at all. She wields Level 5 Black Magic and her main elements are fire and wind. I suppose there's no evident gloat that I'm bothered when our class is composed of elite Mages sharing her level.

However, "What is this tingling feeling like she's not telling the truth?"

Else, why did it feel like Snow White's nape would dissolve under immense heat?

Must be the product of our imagination.

We're to work on perspectives for the current section: regarding the transfer student Nayami Ayanami, she promoted herself in the Magekind race.

Else, she demoted herself.

Some of the class eyes her for being frivolous yet they don't speak of it.

I find her a disappointment for how she's literally calling herself weak.

No matter how she'd try to hide herself underneath a cover now though, we already heard what she first said.

She's human, such was the reason she managed to quieten the room once more.

When you're hit by more than one surprise in a short period of time, the process would definitely be stuck.

For them anyways, I'd like to exclude myself of the matter fairly because I have more experience in human contact.

I only chose to hide under their consensus.

"Do you have any other things to say?"

If anything, I wasn't the only one.

Uncaring about her introduction, our homeroom teacher lightly tapped her shoulder.

No, she's not a hooligan.

Narumi Narukami has all in her book the proper spell to conceal information from leaking out. She trusts said spell, and she's not given Mind Mages from outside their luck into sniffing the confession. She cared for the mysterious transfer student's safety, all the while introducing her to a friendly environment despite our hostile predisposition.

I'll tell you now, our class doesn't care whether she's plainly human or a sorcerer.

We'd welcome her to the best of our accommodation, adding another liberator in our organization of treasonists.

Miss Ayanami exacted upon herself a meaningful breathing pattern.

"I'm very sorry..."

One look at Naru, she bowed in accordance with her behavior.

"I guess there's none." Our troubled homeroom teacher read from her mood, and smiled it off─like most teachers living the dream do. "For starters, take a seat."

Naru and I exchanged looks, as within our knowledge the expected outcome. Fair should it be for everyone to notice as the obvious. Such is a cliche when you call out fiction, but let's cast aside my involvement as the protagonist and narrator.

They walked forward, closer to my direction.

Heavy footsteps and evident breathing out of nervousness, the mysterious transfer student and I looked at each other too.

"And where do you have to sit now? Great, this seat between Yomi and Shiro is vacant." Naru pleasantly put her hand atop the polished desk, for all I know, she was displaying her effort. "Gosh, I hate that truant..."

I chuckled, and she darted unto my direction.

In disregard of my effort to annoy her, she continued on, "Seems she's still enjoying her summer break."

Whoever was the truant, it's forgivable to give up her seat to someone else.

Upfront, the transfer student bowed lightly, leaving some of her insistent nervousness. "...I'm sorry for the trouble."

She likes to apologize, and it's fine in itself.

However, I could like her a thousand more times if she thanked her instead.

You should know the jazz every author pushes between an introvert and extrovert─and it's all too normal that I want to see it in real life.

While she sat down in the vacant seat, it's not like we had an on-the-bat interaction.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't take interest in her.

She was such a sweet change in our classroom filled with familiar faces.

I'm a man myself so looking her way couldn't be called sinful or wicked.

What's pleasant about her character was her chestnut hair compromised for medium. It felt refreshing just burning my retina at the sight. She's one of those girls who has nice cuticles for hair. How enviable, and how nice that I get super irritating bed hairs and these girls don't─mortifying to a certain extent. I feel like investing for my hair to grow is a futile act, or should I claim it has been futile all these years?

Although it was relatively short for Miss Ayanami, the vibrancy showed it was damning for my male head to maintain such health.

It definitely is a girly problem but to be blunt here, I'm a bit jealous.

"Yukihime, why don't you keep your thoughts just for yourself for once?" And so, the contemptuous turn of events ensued. "What the actual fuck is with your bed hairs?!"

From the seat before mine, Kafka Ikari furiously debated.

"It's not like your hair looks like a bird's nest or something."

And for another, Tsukuyomi Origami, from the seat apart, spewed his utmost appreciation of the prized asset Snow White would always protect.

"...Just so you know, I am jealous of your hair too. It's not something you'd want to worry about, though," I retaliated, our eyes met in playfulness.

"No, no, I mean it! Rapunzel looks only subpar compared to you."

I took notice of my bangs and pulled it down until it passed my jaw. "C'mon, please don't use your lip service on me. I'll tell you now, you're uncut for the conning industry."

"Shut up, Yukihime!"

United in freakish unison, the class reprimanded─all synchronized as if handily crafted to antagonize their immediate antagonist.

"Wait! Seriously, each and everyone of you?"

They blew their horns, everyone celebrated my demise─but I detest such shows of love. Nor they were, but I prefer to dwell within the delusion rather than accept I was being bullied. I mean, it's easier and lighter for my ego.

"You really do like yourself boiled alive, huh, Shiro?"

Naru called, her face might seem like she's not the least bit angry.

Her calmness didn't hide her fury, though.

I've known her since childhood.

Intuition alone saves us from listlessly awkward situations.

"Well uh, I guess? Not quite..." I replied, now stung with the smile sported.

"Hahaha! You're quite funny Shiro, don't you think so?" The rather sagacious teacher smiled, in an attempt to faze me. "Because you're such a sorry excuse of a human being, I have a small task to give you."

I crossed both my index fingers─heralding a flippant disapproval.

"No, I refuse to guide her in town."

Obviously, our mysterious new face looked at me in a daze.

Judging from the chaos in the classroom brought upon by yours truly, I could only be sure she's trapped inside a bubble. Enclosed in confusion─so to tell an agonizing "Huh? Huh?!" sequence where she has no ability to control the loose nonsense babblers. Whatever happened that was in her direction now, she would never comprehend─as much as I imagine how Naru took the bright bulb and assigned me as her guide.

She smiled awkwardly, adding unnecessarily the cringe.

The shyness really counts as her default character.

Oh, now it has become cuter if I have to be honest.

"I'm surprised you'd know what I'm about to tell you."

"Well, it's a cliche after all," I replied candidly.

"Now that you mention it, I guess you're right. But I refuse your refusal!"

"It goes that way, as expected." I groaned, causal for my forehead to meet the wooden desk. "Sure, I'll be her guide on a condition you treat me to Giorno's."

"Now why is the son of a billionaire asking someone poor for a treat at a family restaurant?" Naru murmured for herself, the intention to hit my head denied because violence is no-no.

I set my eyes towards Miss Ayanami, at the horrible expense of ignoring Naru's ridiculous comment.

She can't do anything: if someone in my caliber went to a family restaurant, who knows who I would meet and be kidnapped for ransom.

"It's nice to meet you though, Miss Ayanami," I greeted her, with no handshakes offered but only the purest of smiles.

Although even if I tried, I can only vouch it didn't merit any charm or whatsoever.

Likewise, she regarded─albeit only with a polite bow.

I hate Naru: she looked like she wanted to gouge my eyes out and preserve it in a jar of formalin.

Not that she knows what formalin is.

"Well then, aren't you glad, Nayami?" I'd rate ten out of ten for how suspicious she smiled towards our dainty newcomer. "There's someone here who's willing to tour you around the city."

And so she declared, who is also our closest neighbor and an acting sister. She's the best guide for everything in Nichiyoubi City, so I don't understand the trust. "Miss Narukami" can push her responsibilities all she wants but I won't heed her, though.

Our awkward newcomer nodded in response, and curved her lips onto mine enough to give a smile.

"There's nothing to worry about Shiro…Shirayuki Otogibanashi. You can call him Yukihime, too, like the others. He doesn't mind!"

I do mind, and I hate it.

"Despite being a problem child, he's still a gentleman."

"Whoa, nii-chan! Naru thinks you're a man."

Amaterasu commented from the sideline.

"How inconsistent, sis."

Naru breezed a relieving sigh, and cast it for the overwhelmed mysterious student.

"Out of all these problem children, I think you would get along with him in a blink." Sarcasm emphasized, no doubt, and a hundred percent─she'd leave our statuses hung in the middle. "Now that we have a new friend coming in, I'm going to do a roll call."

She picked up her black folder and opened the students list─the day starts regularly, as always.

None of the expected alienation happened, and I can only be sure that her impression of our world progressed towards the bright side.

Like how it has been for the previous alliterations, not being a Mage is not a normal occurrence…I only tried to make it sound like it.

It's hard being the most thoughtful person in class, but I can only progress into deluding everyone that everything should be fine.

Looking at her made me realize whether I like it or not, she'd be sitting beside me for the course of the school year, about half a year left.

It's going to be a troublesome six months.

I feel sorry for her.

"Um, do you want some youkan?"

Although hesitant, she took it peacefully.

"Thank you," she said, ever so softly.

If I didn't intently stare at her, she might not have consciously tore the wrapper. "I'm sorry for imposing this to you, but do you happen to know a person named Sayaka Orihara?"

Slightly jumping out from the suddenness, she hid her youkan under her hand. Slowly and nervously, she answered, "Nope! Uh…"

"Hmm… is that so?" I shrugged. "No worries, Miss Ayanami."

Thus, an unusual friendship was marked.

Although I don't know if she'd even accept it or not.

All I can perceive now is that I have to do what I need to do.

Nayami Ayanami, and my teacher Narumi Narukami's ploy of getting us together, wasn't at all carried away because of my stupidity.

The punchline isn't a secret in itself.

Six fortune deities stood behind me and her, all twelve eyes exquisitely watching their meal.

Insignificance and the terrorful have met in secret, and no one has yet noticed that they're dancing at the palms of entities larger than life.

No matter, being followed by the fortune gods is a fairly common occurrence.

I unwrapped a youkan and chose to savor life.

"Shiro!" As we're in the classroom, Naru bellowed ever so furiously in an unhinged show of ire. "Eat, and I'll feed you to my spiders."