# Part 1: Freshman
Hello, diary. Did you sleep well?
I was so excited and nervous last night that I could hardly sleep.
Because today is the entrance ceremony for Saint Edelweiss Imperial Academy!
I wonder what the academy looks like.
Will it look like an incredibly cool castle?
Or will it be as enormous as the buildings I saw for the first time in the capital yesterday?
What will the people there be like?
I heard most of them are girls my age, and that there are second- and third-year seniors too. I hope the seniors aren’t too scary.
I hope I can make lots of friends, and learn lots of things I couldn’t learn back home!
And what will we learn at Saintess Edelweiss Imperial Academy?
I heard it’s a place where you study to become the “finest young lady,” suitable to be the wife of Prince Estel.
They say you undergo harsh training and exams to become a perfect lady, equipped with etiquette, culture, literature, and martial skill alike.
Will I really be able to pass the exams?
And will I be able to keep that promise between Estel and me…?
Sorry! I talked so much about myself that I forgot to introduce myself.
I’m Hanae. Just an ordinary country girl.
This morning, I couldn’t simply pass you by when I saw you on the stationery store shelf.
So I spent a little of the allowance Father gave me and brought you with me.
From now on, whenever something fun happens, I’ll come see you!
Ah! The carriage stopped.
I think we’ve finally arrived at the academy.
Then I’ll see you later, diary!
✻✻✻
Hanae closed her diary.
For a moment, she looked into the mirror mounted inside the carriage and tidied her appearance.
Her dark chestnut hair tied into twin tails, the two pink ribbons serving as a headband, and her two eyes sparkling like emeralds.
Wanting to show the classmates she would meet at the entrance ceremony as flawless an appearance as possible, Hanae tightened her ribbons one last time.
Then, grasping the handle of her huge duffel bag in one hand, she opened the carriage door.
“W-Wow…”
Before her, as she stepped down from the carriage, stretched a vast plain, and in the middle of it stood the magnificent academy buildings.
Ivory-colored walls and blue-roofed buildings were clustered neatly within an iron fence; on one side lay a broad sports field, and on the other were facilities that looked like training grounds.
The sight was no different from a small city.
Hanae stared at the scene in a daze.
Creak.
Once Hanae had fully gotten out of the carriage, the door slammed shut on its own, as if urging her along.
“Eek!”
Unaccustomed to magic, Hanae was so startled that she jumped.
The automaton sitting in the driver’s seat gave her a perfunctory bow without the slightest emotion, then pulled the lever of the mana engine.
A light humming vibration sounded, and the magic carriage went off on its way.
“Right, magic… I have to get used to magic…”
Hanae had never seen magic in her life.
She had heard plenty of stories, but the first time she had actually seen it was yesterday, when she arrived in the capital for the first time.
The farther one went from the capital, the center of all mana, the more magic lost its power—and Hanae’s hometown was Baratoria, a rural territory located farthest from the capital.
The capital, however, was filled with infrastructure built on an advanced magical system, to the point that it was called the pinnacle of magical engineering.
Until now, all of that had been nothing more than a distant tale to Hanae.
But now, things were different.
This Imperial Academy existed on a great plain not too far from the capital, so the people here could use magic.
“I wonder if they’ll teach magic here?”
Her heart swelling with anticipation, Hanae looked up at the spire of the school’s broad main building.
In front of the main building hung a white banner visible even from afar.
On that banner, in large letters, was written: “The 68th Saint Edelweiss Imperial Academy Entrance Ceremony.”
And Hanae’s eyes caught sight of girls her age gathering there.
They were all busily making their way toward the main building’s auditorium, where the entrance ceremony was being held.
“All right. Then… Hanae, let’s go!”
She slung the duffel bag over her shoulder and put on a confident expression.
Then she took her first step toward Saint Edelweiss Imperial Academy.
✻✻✻
“Er, well…”
The principal, Siegfried von Stahl, stood blankly atop the podium and tapped the small magic crystal containing amplification magic with his finger.
Thump, thump. The sound filled the auditorium.
“With seven third-years, twenty-four second-years, and ninety-nine newly admitted freshmen, making a total of one hundred and thirty students, I bless the beginning of this new semester…
And especially, here today, to all of you in the fourteenth cycle and sixty-eighth class of freshmen, I once again congratulate you on entering Saint Edelweiss Imperial Academy, which trains and selects the most perfect heroines…”
“How many times is he going to congratulate us?”
“This is seriously boring.”
“When is this going to end?”
Contrary to Hanae’s expectations, the entrance ceremony was truly tedious.
Mr. Stahl, who had introduced himself as the principal, was a small, unimposing man with a bushy beard and a hunched back, with not a shred of dignity to him. His manner of speaking was filled not with intelligence, but with mumbling.
The students, their concentration waning, were whispering to one another or tapping their feet, struggling to somehow pass the time.
Hanae sat among those children her age, stiff and uncomfortable on a metal chair.
‘Do they all know each other?’
Hanae thought as she watched her classmates chatting together.
To her, every one of them was someone she was seeing for the first time, and because of that, they seemed difficult to approach. But the others already seemed to know one another.
They were busy talking among themselves, and not one of them so much as glanced at Hanae.
Since she had nothing else to do, Hanae observed them for a while.
Unlike Hanae, who wore only her plain uniform, everyone else had various garments layered over their uniforms, and most of them looked quite expensive, even to Hanae, who had little knowledge of clothing.
Several students wore swords or daggers at their waists engraved with shining crests, while others had handbags set beside them, studded with large gemstones.
On top of that, all of them had smooth skin and beautiful features.
This morning, Hanae had felt proud after making herself up in her own way, tying her hair into pigtails and adding pink ribbons. But now that she was sitting in the middle of these gorgeously adorned girls, she felt a little intimidated.
“Therefore, to all ninety-nine freshmen gathered here…”
The principal raised both hands, apparently preparing to conclude his speech.
Then he looked out at the students seated in orderly rows and columns throughout the auditorium.
“…Um…”
The principal’s eyes wavered this way and that as he looked at the students.
What entered his eyes were students filling ten rows and ten columns.
“Er… to all one hundred freshmen gathered here. With this, I shall conclude the entrance speech…”
The principal corrected the number of freshmen and spoke again.
“Haa, is it finally over?”
“Ugh, I’m so stiff…”
As signs that it was nearing an end appeared, groans broke out here and there.
However, as if to mock them, a middle-aged man in a suit hurried up onto the podium and whispered into the principal’s ear.
After hearing the man’s whisper, the principal nodded and corrected himself a second time.
“…Ah. Right. Yes. To all ninety-nine freshmen gathered here. With this, the entrance speech…”
The principal looked at the students again.
“…Hmm…?”
Hanae realized that he was counting the students.
There were ten chairs across and ten chairs down arranged here in neat rows… so the number of freshmen certainly appeared to be one hundred.
“To all one hundred freshmen gathered here. With this, I shall conclude the entrance speech…”
“Oh, for fu…”
At the principal’s third correction, exasperated cries burst from the students.
“Ahem. I shall conclude the speech.”
“Uwaaaah…!”
At the finally ended speech, everyone was completely exhausted and melted into their chairs.
Hanae, too, had struggled to endure that boring stretch of time, so she took a handkerchief from her bag and wiped the sweat that had formed on her forehead.
The principal dragged his bent body down from the stage in an unsteady manner.
Immediately after, a middle-aged woman wearing a witch’s hat stepped up into the empty place on the podium.
“After a short break, there will be a reading of the freshman representative’s oath, followed by the placement examination. Students, please rest for ten minutes and prepare for the upcoming placement examination.”
After the brief announcement, the students immediately turned their heads toward one another and began chatting.
Some fixed their makeup while looking into hand mirrors, and others left their seats to go to the restroom.
‘I need to make friends.’
That was the first thought that came to Hanae’s mind.
She would be spending the next three years at this school, so Hanae thought that if she made many close friends, she would receive a great deal of help later and enjoy her school life.
“U-Um, hello?”
First, Hanae gently greeted the green-haired student in front of her.
“…”
The green-haired girl was reading a book.
It was a fairly thick book, and its pages were packed densely with writing.
And she seemed not to have heard Hanae’s greeting.
‘Maybe she’s reading with incredible focus…’
Hanae quietly turned her gaze and looked at the blond twin-tailed girl sitting beside her.
She had taken out a hand mirror and was touching up her makeup.
“Hello…?”
“…What are you looking at?”
She glanced at Hanae and answered curtly.
Then her gaze immediately returned to the hand mirror.
“I’m Hanae. Nice to meet you!”
At Hanae’s self-introduction, her eyes shifted back to Hanae.
“What Hanae?”
“What do you mean, what Hanae?”
“Haa. I’m talking about your family name. Whether you’re from some baronial house no one’s ever heard of, or perhaps from a ducal house worth paying some attention to.”
“I, I’m…”
Hanae opened her mouth to answer, then stopped for a moment.
‘Father told me never to say my family name. He said it would put everyone in danger.’
Hanae chose her words for a moment and gave a restrained answer.
“I’m just Hanae. Please just call me Hanae.”
“You’re a commoner? How filthy.”
“Well, you can think that if you want!”
“Then don’t talk to me. I don’t exchange words with commoners.”
After saying this, she turned her body and showed Hanae her back.
“Hmm… Ludovica? So you’re Ludovica?”
“…Wh-What?? I didn’t even tell you!”
Startled that her name had been discovered, she stared at Hanae in shock.
Seeing that expression, Hanae smiled brightly and pointed to her half-open bag.
Inside the bag, her notebook was exposed.
Of course, her name was written quite large on that notebook.
“E-Enough! Don’t just peek at other people’s things!”
Instead, she huffed and zipped up her bag.
‘What a strange girl.’
Hanae thought to herself as she looked at her.
‘What a strange girl. I need to avoid her.’
The blond girl with her back turned, Ludovica, thought to herself.
‘…No. Better yet, I should teach her a lesson.’
Ludovica knew what would happen here in ten minutes.
No noble child who had enrolled here could possibly be unaware of just how vicious this place was.
Most noble families had put in tremendous effort for a very long time to send their children to this school, after all.
Ludovica was one of those noble young ladies who had completed that grueling preparation.
And in her eyes, this naïve commoner girl before her did not seem to have prepared at all.
This person called Hanae, letting her guard down without the slightest caution right before her eyes, was an utterly appetizing piece of prey to Ludovica.
‘I’ll kill you, Hanae.’
She wore a wicked smile.
•••
“The break has ended. Next will be the reading of the freshman representative’s oath. Miss Valentina von Lohengrin?”
Before anyone realized it, the middle-aged woman had climbed onto the podium. Raising her hand, she indicated the person seated in the far-right chair of the very front row.
The student seated in the first seat of the very front row, Valentina, rose, took hold of her skirt, and bowed gracefully.
Hanae craned her neck to get a better look at her.
Her hair was a shimmering, pale sky blue, and her eyes were a deep yellow.
Valentina ascended the platform with refined, dignified movements.
Then, toward the amplifying magic crystal placed on the podium, she gave a small cough.
“Ahem, pleased to meet you. I am Valentina von Lohengrin, entrusted with delivering the student oath as the representative of the new students. I am the eldest daughter of House Lohengrin, which has sworn brotherhood with the imperial family of the Edelgard Empire.”
After introducing herself in her uniquely sharp voice, she took hold of her skirt and bowed to the students, much as she had done to the headmaster.
Unlike the bow she had given the headmaster, however, this one was simpler and lighter.
She swiftly snatched up the paper placed on the podium and began to read aloud in a lilting voice.
“Oath.”
“Oath!”
Every student in the auditorium rose at once, placed a hand over their chest, and shouted.
“O-Oath…”
Hanae belatedly stood and followed along.
“Kekeke… O-Oa… Oath…”
From beside her came the sound of someone giggling while imitating Hanae’s manner of speech.
It was clearly mockery directed at her.
She glanced sidelong toward where the voice had come from.
And Hanae’s eyes immediately met Ludovica’s for a brief moment.
“Ahem…”
As if nothing had happened, she let a haughty smile slip across her face and turned her gaze away.
Hanae decided to pretend she had not heard it and ignore the voice.
“One, we shall love and venerate only our prince, Estelle von Edelweiss.
One, we shall do our utmost to qualify ourselves as suitable wives for Prince Estelle von Edelweiss.”
Hanae silently listened to the oath and repeated it in her mind.
As she heard the contents of the oath, Hanae finally began to feel that she truly had come here.
The ninety-nine students standing around her.
They were all her rivals.
Those who had gathered with one goal in mind—Prince Estelle—and to steal the single chair that had only one seat.
Surrounded by their beautiful faces and powerful-looking appearances, Hanae slowly began to shrink into herself.
“One, our lives belong to Prince Estelle, and our deaths, too, belong to Prince Estelle.
One, to prove our beauty and strength, we shall give our all without the slightest mercy.”
Crackle.
In the middle of the oath’s recitation, a faint but unmistakable sound reached her ears.
Hanae slightly turned her head toward the source of the sound—Ludovica, whom she had seen earlier.
She was carefully holding a small magic crystal in her left hand.
And her right hand was glowing red.
It was magic.
Curious about what she was trying to do, Hanae glanced over at her.
Ludovica had not noticed that Hanae was watching her.
A tiny flame flickered from her hand, and that flame was drawn into the magic crystal.
‘She must be storing fire inside it.’
Hanae had never seen magic being cast from so close before.
The jewel greedily absorbed the flame and gradually became dyed a scarlet hue. Soon, after absorbing all the fire, the magic crystal flickered ominously.
Fine cracks began to appear across its surface, and it vibrated as if it might explode at any moment.
Even to Hanae, who had no knowledge of magic, it looked quite dangerous.
The female student who had finished casting hid the magic crystal in her palm and quietly looked around.
At that, Hanae hurriedly turned her gaze away, hiding the fact that she had watched the whole process.
There was undoubtedly some dirty scheme behind it.
That was what Hanae thought.
From that suspicious look and attitude, and from the magic crystal containing dangerous-looking magic, it was not hard for Hanae to guess that whatever Ludovica was about to do would certainly be unpleasant.
Ludovica slipped the magic crystal into the bag of the student sitting right in front of her, a student whose green hair was neatly combed.
Sizzle…
With an ominous sound, the magic crystal rolled deep into the bag.
“N-No!”
Hanae cried out desperately and reached out, thrusting her hand into the bag.
The tip of her finger touched the magic crystal.
Sssssss—!!
“Ugh!”
The pain of intense heat burning her finger surged up from her fingertip.
But Hanae paid it no heed and grasped the magic crystal without hesitation, pulling it out.
Once she had fully drawn it out, Hanae quickly dropped it onto the floor.
“Wh-what is it?”
Only then did the green-haired girl in front turn around in shock, and her eyes met Hanae’s.
And immediately, both of their gazes turned toward the jewel lying on the floor.
The jewel was cracking with a sharp, splitting sound, and from between those cracks, a bright orange light spilled out fiercely.
“It’s a magic crystal with fire magic stored inside!”
The green-haired girl shouted.
At that, Ludovica swiftly reached out her hand.
Crackle!!!
Her palm shone brightly as it absorbed the fire within the magic crystal.
The magic crystal gradually lost its light, and soon returned to an ordinary crystal.
“…To threaten another classmate, Hanae.”
Ludovica glared at Hanae and opened her mouth.
When she clenched her fist tightly, the flame traveled up her forearm and seeped into her body.
“N-no… That stone… You were the one who…”
“How utterly cowardly.”
“Exactly! You’re seriously creepy!”
Behind her, girls who seemed to be her friends appeared and sided with Ludovica.
“No, I was just…”
“Silence.”
Below the platform, a woman wearing a witch’s hat raised a finger and shouted.
“What is this commotion during the sacred recitation of the oath?”
At the gaze she fixed on them, both Ludovica and Hanae shut their mouths and had no choice but to face forward.
‘B-but…’
Though she felt wronged, Hanae endured it.
Hanae glanced to the side and saw Ludovica’s face in her field of vision, looking at her sidelong with a mocking smile.
Behind her, her friends were also giggling and stealing glances at Hanae.
‘…’
Hanae took a deep breath.
‘I’m a good girl.’
Hanae repeated the words she always murmured to herself.
Her father truly hated those words.
Good people could not survive in this harsh world, he said. “Good people” were those who would be thoroughly used and then discarded.
That was what her father had always taught Hanae.
Even so, Hanae wanted to be a good person, and so she always negotiated with her father.
The bare minimum standard she had managed to obtain that way was this: “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
Hanae had read killing intent in Ludovica’s eyes.
The magical ability she possessed was clearly powerful enough to burn and injure a person, and just now, she had seemed to have a clear intention of doing exactly that to someone.
‘She thinks I don’t know.’
Hanae knew just as clearly as everyone gathered here what would happen after this oath recitation.
A battle of slaughter.
Every year, ninety-nine students entered this Saint Edelweiss Imperial Academy. And only one graduated.
It was quite obvious where the remaining ninety-eight students went.
Surely, to the church courtyard. Buried beneath that ground.
Candidates to become the prince’s heroine were overflowing in this world, so the world had no interest in their disappearance.
Ordinarily, a student who did not come from a noble family would have no way of knowing this fact.
Because everyone kept it quiet and hid it.
Only then could their own child secure a more advantageous position.
Sending one’s child to Edelweiss Academy was, in other words, the same as sending them to a battlefield.
And a battlefield that boasted a one percent survival rate, no less.
For a family to display outstanding merit in this war would soon become the glory of that entire family.
Because the emperor and the emperor’s wife were always observing every detail of this academy.
That was why they enrolled their children here.
So to speak, it was a kind of tribute sent to the emperor, a sacrifice, and an expression of loyalty.
And for them, this was a fairly decent bet.
After the three-year curriculum, the one girl who survived would become the prince’s wife.
If that happened, the girl’s family would immediately gain the status of being relatives of the imperial family by marriage.
That was why many noble lords coaxed and cajoled their children into sending them here.
Telling them only of the hope that if they endured the harsh training and cultivation at this school, where they could become the finest young ladies proficient in both letters and arms, they could become the prince’s “one.”
For that reason, students from prestigious noble families were often already well prepared when they entered.
In other words, they had completed their lessons in advance before admission.
Therefore, the higher the status of the noble family a student came from, the more cautiously one had to deal with them.
The one who required the most attention was Valentina von Lohengrin, who stood on that platform reciting the oath.
She was, so to speak, the candidate backed by the prince.
Each year, the prince could designate one family and have that family’s eldest daughter enroll here the following year.
Valentina was the one designated in that manner.
Of course, since she was already from a noble family of high status, it was obvious that she must have continued training long before receiving that letter.
But in addition to that, one year before admission, she had received the prince’s golden handwritten letter confirming her enrollment—the “Golden Ticket.”
Since her admission was already a foregone conclusion, the one who received that ticket could spend an entire year receiving every form of support from her family and focusing solely on thorough preparation.
That was why she looked so triumphant.
And then there was the irregular in this place.
However, Hanae herself, who by no means came from a prestigious noble family, had prepared just as much as the others.
Because…
‘I’m the one who received the real Golden Ticket.’
Hanae remembered the day she received the letter that shone with gold.
In graphite pencil, pressed down firmly with each stroke, the prince had written the truth of this place, its curriculum, the things she had to be careful of, and a request for her to save him.
In addition, an academy admission certificate made of high-quality paper had also been enclosed with the letter.
Hanae and her father had looked at it and talked endlessly for a year, and after ceaseless worry and training, she had arrived here.
‘…Ludovica is already preparing. For the slaughter that’s about to begin.’
Hanae felt the heavy sensation of the weapon carefully strapped and hidden against her thigh, on the inside of her skirt hem.
But it was still too early.
Until the placement exam began in earnest, she had to appear as nothing more than an innocent and kind girl.
“It’s all right.”
A voice stopped Hanae’s thoughts.
When she raised her head and looked toward the source of the voice, the green-haired girl wearing neat glasses was looking at her.
“Hm…?”
“The magic crystal. You took it out for me.”
She whispered this and smiled brightly.
“Miss Hanae, you were trying to get it out, weren’t you? I believe you. And thank you.”
“Y-yeah… Thank you for thanking me.”
“Pfft, what kind of thanks is that? Then should I say, thank you for thanking me for thanking you?”
She laughed lightly and gently held out her hand.
“Sophie. I’m Sophie Lumiere. You said you were Hanae, right?”
“Yeah… Just Hanae.”
“All right. Hanae. It’s nice to meet you.”
Sophie gave a small bow and, still smiling, turned her head back toward the platform.
“…”
Hanae lowered her head and looked at the burn mark left on her hand.
It still burned and stung, but she thought that, because of this, she might have found an opportunity to build a bit of a connection.
“One, lastly, in this place, we shall willingly offer ourselves and one another to the prince who loves us, Estelle von Edelweiss.
This we swear on behalf of all incoming students of Saint Edelweiss Imperial Academy.”
“We swear.”
Everyone solemnly cried out, and the recitation of the oath came to an end.
Having finished her role, Valentina gave a light bow and descended from the platform.
The adults who had been overseeing the students were nowhere to be seen before anyone noticed.
Even the woman in the witch’s hat from earlier had vanished from this space.
An awkward silence flowed.
The students began to stir, visibly bewildered by the uncomfortable, artificial silence.
And then.
Rrrumble…
Bang!
Every door and window shut at once.
The sound of bolts sliding into place rang out with a clack.
“Wh-what is this?”
“Is it starting already…?”
At the sudden change in circumstances, the freshmen began to murmur in agitation.
Then the automatic dolls filed in one after another.
Every one of them held a spear fitted with a sharp blade.
Without the slightest wavering, they stood in a row with their backs to the walls of the auditorium.
In doing so, they completely surrounded all of the freshmen.
“…”
Hanae quickly looked around.
Many of the students who had realized what was about to happen immediately went on guard.
Valentina sat in her chair, lowering her posture as she waited for the right moment.
She gathered a bright light in her hand, preparing a spell.
A blue-eyed student with silver hair swiftly swept back his cloak and armed himself with a long straight sword drawn from within.
And then, the long-awaited Ludovica.
With her head fixed straight ahead, she was looking sideways at Hanae.
In her right hand, the glow of flames was already rippling beneath her skin.
Bzzzt… bzzt…
The same noise flowed from the mouths of the automatic dolls.
“Greetings, freshmen. We are the security dolls responsible for your safety and for the treatment of delinquent students who violate school regulations.”
The automatic dolls raised their spears in unison, taking aim.
“In accordance with the regular curriculum of Saint Edelweiss Imperial Academy, the class placement examination will now begin.
The evaluation area for the placement exam is ‘Fortitude,’ one of the Heroine Core Values.”
With creaking sounds, the dolls began to advance little by little.
“Students who display fortitude will be awarded bonus points.
The bonus points are ten points per head.”
Then the eyes of the automatic dolls flashed.
“Now, the placement examination shall commence. As of this moment, killing is permitted for everyone within this auditorium.”