Chapter Text
She was hardly any different from a no-mage, that's what her brother always told her. And her parents, though they never said it out loud, clearly felt the same. That she brought shame to the Hanasato name.
Being a level 1 magic user, if she had been born in the 50% of the world who were no-mages, maybe would've been something to be proud of. However, in a family of level 3 and 4 magic users — especially ones as high-strung about their reputations as Minori's family was — she might as well have been dirt on the bottom of their shoes.
That's probably why when she told her brother about how she wanted to join the Affiliates, what she was met with was him laughing in her face and saying she'd be the last person to ever be accepted.
Joke's on him, Minori thought as she as she smiled at her wall. This acceptance letter I framed says otherwise.
True, she'd been applying to the Magecraft Battalion Academy every year since she turned 18 without success. And true, the only reason she was able to get in this year was because the academy lowered their acceptance bar to encapsulate all magic users.
But that didn't matter. What did matter was that she didn't have to throw away a rejection letter for the fourth year in a row.
And so, taking one last look at her framed acceptance letter, she headed out of her room into the living room, where her mother and her brother were waiting for her.
"Took you long enough, lazy." Masao huffed as he got off the couch and headed towards the door.
Minori merely shrugged at her brother's attempted jab. She was in such a good mood that nothing could bother her today. "Don't be jealous because I'm actually doing something meaningful with my life, I'm sure you will too one day."
Masao snorted in response. "Yeah right. Like I'd ever be jealous of a 1."
"What, I don't see you in a prestigious academy uniform."
"If I were old enough to apply, you know as well as I do that they'd take a 4 over a 1 any day."
"Doesn't change the fact that you spend all your days sitting at home, doing nothing productive whatsoever."
"Alright you two, that's enough," their mother interrupted the bickering siblings. "Your father's already waiting in the car, we don't want to be late for the ceremony."
As Masao rushed out of the door, Minori took a moment to look at her mother's face, trying to decipher if she was proud of her, or simply relieved to have gotten her embarrassment of a daughter off of her hands now.
×××××
The car had been parked outside of the Whimsy Woods. And the Hanasatos have been following the large group of people also heading their way through the trees that were radiating magic.
And as they arrived at the clearing of the woods, the regal castle where the Magecraft Battalion Academy was located appeared in front of them. Minori couldn't help but look at the building in awe. She'd only ever seen it in pictures before today, and the building looked more enchanting in person than she ever could've imagined.
Just as Minori, followed by the rest of her family, had finally made her way to where the large group of people were all standing, a woman suddenly appeared on the steps of the academy, a cloud of purple smoke fading around her.
"Hello, one and all, to the welcoming ceremony; where we've all gathered today to celebrate our new Affiliates coming from all over Diatoran as they take the first steps towards mastering their abilities and using them to protect and serve our country," the woman said, her voice commanding authority. Though she wasn't using any sort of microphone, her voice was loud and clear enough that she was able to be heard by everyone in the audience. "My name is Nova Demille, and from today on, you will all refer to me as Principal Nova."
As Minori heard all of the excited whispers around her, she couldn't help her own heart from pounding faster and faster. This was really it. This was her chance to finally become an Affiliate and make something of herself.
Principal Nova continued her speech. "Being an Affiliate is an honor, a privilege. But with that privilege comes responsibility. Each Affiliate carries the responsibility of developing their skills in order to protect our country from the creatures born of dark magic. This responsibility is even heavier for our new recruits this year.
"Being an Affiliate is no easy task. It requires constant training and regularly risking your life for the betterment of Diatoran. We've lost many valued comrades in the past, whose efforts and sacrifices we will be eternally grateful for. And as you are all aware, this year we changed our entrance requirements. While we used to only accept level 4 and 5 magic users, this year we made it so our system could encapsulate all magic users. We wanted everyone who wished to serve their country to be able to have the chance to achieve this prestigious title."
Minori made eye contact with Masao, who was looking at her with a smirk and a look in his eyes that said, Doubtful. And unfortunately, he was right. No matter how noble Principal Nova tried to make this decision seem, pretty much everyone was aware of the real reason. The death rates have been at an all-time high in the past five years, after all.
Too many high-level magic users are dying. The lower levels can be better used as sacrifices instead.
Her brother was clearly having a field day using this fact against her. Minori didn't care though. The reason didn't matter to her, she was just glad to be able to get into the Academy at all.
If people thought little of her, if they saw her as an easy sacrifice, she would just have to prove them wrong.
Principal Nova continued her speech. "Tough times await you, recruits. I can't promise that you will make it out of this path with your sanity, or life, intact. But if you train as you're supposed to, develop your skills, and learn to work together with your battalion, you have the chance to earn honor, glory, and make your families and your nation proud. With that being said, please make your way inside the Grand Hall, where you will find your name and reveal the battalion that you have been assigned to.
"Good luck, Affiliates. You're going to need it."
Despite the slightly off-putting ending, Principal Nova's speech was met with roaring applause. Minori herself couldn't help the smile growing on her face as she turned back to look at her family. Her parents were nodding for her to follow the the other leaving recruits, while Masao stuck his tounge out at her, followed by a "Good luck, loser."
"You mean, good luck, Affiliate." Minori corrected, not caring about his teasing. She turned her back to her family and walked towards the giant castle, which only got bigger and bigger the closer she got to it.
Once she got inside, she was met with a giant hall, which she assumed was the Grand Hall, as the walls were covered with gold and she had to lift her head up all the way to see the ceiling.
Minori watched as the other recruits headed towards the walls, which had scrolls hanging on them. As she got closer to the scrolls, she noticed that they all appeared to be blank.
That was, until she saw someone's name appear on a scroll, the letters burning into the scroll before all that was left was a name in black letters.
We have to find our name, Minori thought as she tried to push her way past the group of people in front of the first scroll.
Once she had gotten close enough, she whispered "Revelio." and waited for her name to appear.
It did not.
That's fine, she thought. It doesn't have to be the first one. I'm sure it'll be the next one!
It was not.
The next one!
It was not.
Scroll after scroll, she casted her magic on only for her name to not appear. And the more scrolls that bore no results she passed, the bigger the dark hole sitting in her gut got.
What if it was some kind of fluke? What if I really wasn't supposed to be here after all?
As she made her way past yet another scroll, she suddenly felt a pull of magic.
And as she walked further down the hall, the pull on her was getting stronger and stronger, until she was practically running, completely out of her control.
At last she stopped in front of a scroll — one of the last scrolls in the whole line — and she instinctively knew this was it. This was where she was supposed to be.
The seven other names on the scroll had already been revealed, meaning that Minori was the last of her group to make it here and unveil her name.
And sure enough, when she lifted her hand and uttered "Revelio," in a hushed voice, the blank part of the scroll suddenly appeared to be burning, letters appearing underneath the small flames.
AFFILIATE BATTALION
NUMBER 147
Minori Hanasato, Level 1
Airi Momoi, Level 5
Akito Shinonome, Level 4
Tsukasa Tenma, Level 2
An Shiraishi, Level 5
Emu Otori, Level 3
Shiho Hinomori, Level 1
Haruka Kiritani, Level 3
Please make your way to floor 14, room 7
The future of our nation is in your hands.
×××××
As Minori headed up the stairs to the fourteenth floor, she was surprised that she wasn't feeling at all tired. She had never been the fittest person in town, or even in her family for that matter, but today she was climbing up 14 flights of steps as if it were nothing.
It probably had something to do with all of the magic that was, quite literally, in the air. Aside from the magic powers of the instructors and students here, it was clear that every object she walked past was infused with magic.
When she finally made it to the fourteenth floor and walked past the 6 doors before her own, she could feel her heart hammering in her chest with each step she took. And when she finally made it in front of door number 7, the air she was breathing got caught in her lungs.
This is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for for years.
However, before she could put her hand on the doorknob, the door was opened from the inside by a short girl with short pink hair. She studied Minori for a couple of seconds before a giant smile appeared on her face.
"You must be the last one of us!" she said excitedly. "Come in, come in! We've been waiting for you!"
The girl grabbed Minori by the wrist and dragged her into the room, the door closing behind them on its own.
The room in front of her was much larger than it appeared from the outside. It held walls full of bookshelves, a couple of couches in front of a fireplace, a small table with a few chairs around it, and two staircases on either side of the room, which Minori assumed to be leading to the boys' and girls' bedrooms.
Inside the room were 6 other people, who all turned to look at her upon her entrance, and none of whom looked as excited to see her as the girl who was currently holding on to her wrist.
So these are the people I'm going to spend all of my time with from now on, Minori thought as the girl finally let go of her. Here's hoping we all get along.
"Okay," the short girl clapped her hands, commanding everyone's attention. "Now that we're all here, I think we should all introduce ourselves, so we can get to know each other!"
Another pink haired girl sitting on one of the couches with a book in her hand let out a snort. "What are we, 5?"
Meanwhile, the boy sitting next to her jabbed her in the stomach lightly with his elbow. "Come on, Airi. Think of it as our first activity as a team! These sorts of activities are important for a team's success!"
"Yes, exactly! I'll start:" the short girl smiles as she makes eye contact with everyone in the room. "My name is Emu Otori, I'm from Salen, and I'm a level 3 healer! Wonderhoy!"
Minori furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Wonderhoy? she mouthed as she made eye contact with the boy who was sitting next to the girl called Airi. What's that?
"It's how she greets people, I guess," he replied with a nonchalant shrug.
Interesting. Maybe it's a Salen thing.
Putting her greetings aside, Minori wasn't necessarily surprised when the girl, whose name she now knows as Emu, said she was a healer. Though your type of magic was mostly dependent on your genetics, it was a general stereotype that healers were usually cheerful and positive people.
The blond boy on the couch spoke up next. "Hello, comrades! I'm Tsukasa Tenma. I'm from North Elau and I'm a level 2 planescaper." he then looked at the girl next to him and raised an eyebrow, urging her to speak.
The pink haired girl sighed before putting her book down. "Airi Momoi. North Elau. Level 5 nature manipulator."
A girl who was standing in front of one of the bookshelves also looked up from the book in her hand. From the way she was looking around warily at everyone in the room, her furrowed brow giving away her defensiveness, Minori had a feeling she knew who this one was. "My name is Shiho Hinomori, I'm from Hallgerd, and I'm a level 1 chronomancer."
Yep, figured. It wasn't unusual for level 1 magic users to feel themselves as lesser than other magic users, especially in an environment where there were 4s and 5s. Many of them spent their lives being belittled by higher-level magic users, after all. It made sense for Shiho to be defensive of the others.
Next was a girl with short blue hair, who was sitting on the couch next to Airi and Tsukasa. "My name's Haruka Kiritani. I'm from South Elau, and I'm a level 3 telekinetic."
A boy with ginger hair, who was sitting at the small table, spoke up next. "Hey, my name is Akito Shinonome, I'm from Naroa, and I'm a level 4 abjurator." He then looked at the girl sitting across from him. "Your turn."
Not that the girl needed any introduction. Minori was sure that everyone in the room already knew who she was before they had ever seen her in person. "My name is An Shiraishi. I'm from Adria, and I'm a level 5 elemental manipulator."
Though the girl's voice was as lifeless as her facial expression, everyone in the room couldn't help but hang on to each word she spoke.
An Shiraishi, youngest daughter of the renowned Shiraishi family, who were one of the four ruling families of Diatoran. While your magic type depended on your genetics, your level didn't. That was completely random. And yet, every member of the four ruling families was born a level 5 magic user. An herself had appeared on television along with the rest of her family multiple times.
Minori couldn’t believe her luck; she was going to be able to train with a Shiraishi. She was already making plans in her head on how to befriend the girl (the boy sitting with her, Akito was his name? He seems close with her, maybe I could ask him for some pointers.) when she realized everyone in the room was looking at her.
"Huh, wh— oh, right," she startled as she realized she was the only one who hadn't introduced herself yet. "My name is Minori Hanasato, I'm from Thornafer, and I'm a level 1 light manipulator. It's nice to meet you all."
"Nice to meet you too!" Emu exclaimed, her bright smile showing no sign of dimming anytime soon. "Now that we all know each other, that makes us all friends!"
As Minori watched the rest of the room's reactions to Emu's statement, she noticed that, aside from Tsukasa giving her an encouraging nod, everyone else just stared at her blankly or confused. And yet, Emu didn't seem deterred by the lack of reactions she was receiving at all.
Such amazing willpower! Minori thought. And I had always thought that I was a positive person.
Airi let out a sigh before she looked around at the rest of the room. "So, when do we start training?"
"Tomorrow," Akito replied. "We need to be out in the training field at 6 in the morning."
"Then I'm going to bed," Airi said as she got up from the couch, looking down at Tsukasa. "Don't stay up too late, either. You're not gonna be able to perform your best tomorrow."
As Tsukasa reassured her that he was also going to bed soon, Minori noticed that, compared to everyone else — who was sitting or standing off in a corner on their own, mostly minding their own business — Airi and Tsukasa seemed to be closer to each other, and so did An and Akito.
Airi and Tsukasa were both from North Elau, if I remember correctly, Minori thought. So they probably know each other from there. But what about An and Akito? Neither seem like especially friendly people, either.
Eh, whatever. That was something Minori could think about another time. But as she watched Airi head up the stairs towards the girl's bedroom, followed by Shiho, a wave of fatigue came over her, and she realized she could do with some sleep as well.
"I'm also going to bed," she said as she followed Shiho up the stairs, waving at the rest of the group who were still in the common room. "Goodnight everybody! See you tomorrow!"
As she had come to expect, Emu was the only person who reciprocated her energy, wave and all. Tsukasa and Haruka both responded with a "Good night" of their own, while Akito simply nodded. An seemed to have not heard her, as she was staring at her hands on the table, not giving any sort of reaction to Minori's words.
Minori wasn't going to let any of that get her down. She came here to be an Affiliate, to prove to her family that she was worth something. And tomorrow was the first day of her new life.
She just hoped it would turn out like she imagined it to be.