The Peace-Addled Classroom

The classroom the next morning was blindingly bright. Nauseatingly so.

Sunlight streaming through gaps in the curtains. Swirling dust motes. The cloying smell of deodorant and fabric softener mixing together.

And the laughter of my classmates scraping against my eardrums.

(… So noisy.)

I was at my seat, the quintessential window seat in the back row, resting my cheek on my hand and stifling a yawn.

My body was heavy as lead.

The price of last night's Heavenly Circulation. Every muscle in my body had mild inflammation, and my joints were screaming.

But this was a pleasant pain.

Like the frictional heat from oiling rusted gears and forcing them to turn. Proof that my body was trying to live.

"Hey Kurose, did you hear? The new 'DraFan' game got delayed."

The male student in the seat in front of me turned around, phone in hand.

Tanaka, was it? Average grades, hobbies were games and anime. The poster child for peacetime youth.

"… Huh, is that so?"

"That's it?! You were so hyped for it! What about the preorder bonus?"

"Sorry, lost interest."

"Huh? Did you reach enlightenment or something?"

Tanaka shrugged in exasperation and went back to his phone screen.

On it, a hero wreathed in flashy special effects was defeating a cartoonish dragon.

What a ridiculous sight.

These people getting excited over "adventures" on a screen had no idea.

In just a few weeks, creatures far more hideous and far more real than that dragon would be kicking down this classroom door.

(Peace-addled, huh?)

No other phrase fit better.

Their conversations were all peaceful, all focused on the distant future.

What would be on the final exams. Summer training camp for their clubs. Which universities they could get into based on practice test scores.

As if they had no doubt that tomorrow would be the same as today.

Even though that "future" no longer existed.

"… Kurose."

Suddenly, a low voice came from above.

I looked to the side. Sakaki was standing there.

Unlike Tanaka, his expression was somewhat stern.

In his hand was a yakisoba bread from the school store. But he showed no sign of eating it.

"What is it, Sakaki?"

"Did you do something?"

"… You're missing a subject there."

"Don't play dumb. Your vibe is different."

Sakaki placed his hand on my desk and lowered his voice.

Sharp guy.

Not as sharp as my past-life self, but he had something like animal instinct.

"Until yesterday you were more… listless. Impossible to read. But now…"

"Now?"

"… You're like a freshly sharpened blade. Like you'd cut anyone who touched you wrong."

I laughed inwardly.

Maybe micro-amounts of mana were leaking from my body after forcing open my mana circuits. Or perhaps killing intent from my past life was unconsciously seeping out.

Either way, a normal high school student shouldn't have noticed.

"You're giving me too much credit. It's just lack of sleep and a bit of working out."

"Working out?"

"Yeah. My body was getting soft. Thought I'd get some abs before summer."

"… Hmmm."

Sakaki looked unconvinced, but he didn't press further.

He opened the yakisoba bread wrapper and muttered:

"Well, fine. Just don't do anything dangerous… The news has been pretty suspicious lately."

"News?"

"You haven't heard? There's been ground subsidence in the next town over, and more gas leak incidents. My dad was grumbling that it might be a precursor to tectonic activity."

Sakaki's father was in the Self-Defense Forces, if I recalled correctly.

So people on the ground were already sensing the "anomaly."

"I'll be careful… You too, Sakaki."

"Huh?"

"Just saying, when the time comes, make sure your legs are trained enough to run."

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't say ominous stuff like that."

Sakaki laughed and returned to his seat.

I rested my cheek on my hand again and surveyed the entire classroom.

Forty students. One teacher.

Wooden desks. Thin glass windows. A boxed-in space with no escape.

(Might as well run a simulation.)

Almost unconsciously, I began constructing battlefield maneuvers.

What if a horde of goblins invaded through the hallway door right now?

The students in the front rows would only serve as meat shields.

My course of action: grab a mop from the cleaning supply closet by the window, snap off the end to make a makeshift spear.

Kick over desks to form barricades and funnel the enemy's approach.

The corner of the teacher's podium was hard enough to crush a goblin's skull.

… My thoughts were growing grim.

But this was my daily life now.

While they memorized English vocabulary, I was remembering how to kill.

While they worried about test scores, I was calculating survival rates.

Lonely.

But strangely, I didn't feel sad.

In fact, the more carefree my surroundings, the sharper my cold rationality grew.

Only I knew.

Only I was preparing.

That fact was my only mental anchor right now.

"… Well then."

The bell for fifth period rang. The subject was P.E.

I lifted my heavy body.

Hellish muscle soreness and all, but perfect timing.

A perfect chance to see how well this dull blade of a body could move now.

I grabbed my gym clothes and headed to the changing room faster than anyone else.

Leaving the peace-addled classroom behind, my battle had already begun beneath the surface.