小嫂子的味道

"Okay, good to go," I said to myself, adjusting my blazer. 

I wanted to take the Requiem sword with me but they didn\'t allow students to carry weapons with them so that was a no-go. I didn\'t really understand the meaning behind this rule. I mean, now that the demons were attacking they should at least let the students carry a sword in case they were targeted. 

\'Ah well, whatever,\' I sighed internally before leaving my room. 

After that, I went to the cafeteria to have breakfast. I was expecting to run into Akumi there but it didn\'t happen. I waited there a bit but since it was almost time for the classes to begin I went on my way.

As I was walking down the hallway toward the classroom I began to think about how I would act and the atmosphere I would see in the class. 

I was more or less familiar with the class A students of the Zaforths academy but now that the other academies had combined I didn\'t really know what to expect. 

Of course, there were some people I knew via the novel but that was an entirely different thing. 

"Sigh, I\'ll see when it comes to it," saying that I put my hands in my pocket and continued to walk. 

A few minutes passed, then ten minutes, it was probably half an hour by then but I was still walking. In fact, I had been walking faster than before now. 

However, I still didn\'t reach the classroom. 

\'Oh come on, not again…\' I said inwardly. \'But well, I mean, this academy is a lot bigger than the previous one and there are a lot of hallways and corridors so it shouldn\'t be something new. And I\'m new here, it\'s my first day actually going through the campus.\' 

Still, no matter how I tried to escape from it, no matter what excuse I gave. The truth wasn\'t going to change. And the truth at this moment was…

"Fuck! I\'m lost!" I said out loud. 

Judging from how much time I\'d spent wandering around it was now an unavoidable fact that I was going to be late for my first class in the academy. I couldn\'t really say that I was fond of it. 

\'I mean, I did say that I wouldn\'t mind standing out a bit but this is way too soon!\' 

Hurriedly, I tried to look for a way. But I was completely lost in the maze of these hallways. It\'s not as if there weren\'t any rooms around me, just that they were either classrooms of a different year or rooms for the academy staff—sometimes I came across storerooms as well. 

Despite that, I still continued to look for a way out. Even though I was going to be late I didn\'t want to miss the class. 

A few more minutes and finally I saw an opening. To my misfortune though, it wasn\'t an opening to the main grounds. It was a garden area connected to these hallways—or well, many hallways I should say. 

Basically, it was like a hub that connected multiple hallways. There were flowers planted on the side and a beautiful fountain was running at the center. 

Other than me there was no one else here, except that was not the case. On the side of the fountain was sitting a girl, completely by herself as she stared into the water. 

She had long snow-white hair that came down to her waist and a pair of crimson-red eyes that were staring nonchalantly toward the water in the fountain. She wore the same uniform as me which meant she was also a student here. 

\'Finally, someone I can ask directions from,\' I thought to myself as I began to walk toward her. 

"Excuse me?" I said, standing at a distance of a few steps from her. 

Hearing me say that she was startled for a second before looking in my direction. 

"Yes?" she asked, her voice was soft and had a sort of calming tone to it.

"I actually got lost while going to the classroom, could you please tell me the way to class 1A?" I appealed. 

Right after I said that I was suddenly hit with a Deja Vu feeling. I felt like this entire thing had already happened before. 

After thinking about it for a second I finally remembered. I\'d lost my way during the entrance exams for the Zaforths academy too and at that time she was the one whom I asked the directions.

"Uhh, sure…you have to go this way," she said, pointing toward the entrance of a hallway. "After going straight for a while take a left, then a right, again a right, then straight, you\'ll be there."

"Got it," I replied. 

"By the way, if you don\'t mind me asking. What are you doing here?" I questioned. 

"Ummm…nothing really. It\'s just that this place is quiet and there aren\'t many people around," she said. 

Well, she was right about that. There weren\'t that many people here. 

"Are you a senior student?" I asked.

She seemed bothered by the question but then decided to answer it anyway.

"No, I\'m a first-year student. Class 1A," she replied.

"Wait, that\'s the same as me. Are you sure you should be sitting here?"

"Why?"

"I mean, the class already started. I\'m late too since I got lost."

"Oh no!" she was startled by this information. "I didn\'t notice the time at all," she said in a worried tone. 

"Wanna make a run for it?" I suggested. 

She looked like she was hesitating to answer and a troublesome expression on her face. 

"Are you sure…?" she asked.

"Huh? I don\'t see a problem, other than the fact that the more time we will waste here the more late we\'ll get," I said. 

"Okay then, if you don\'t have a problem…" she said in a low voice as she stood up.