Departing from the international airport, it takes about an hour by car to reach the campus of Hagun Academy.
Although the school is officially designated as being in Tokyo, its actual location is quite different from the widely recognized metropolitan area.
Tokyo is a massive administrative region and Hagun Academy's campus is not within the urban city proper.
To put it bluntly, it is located in a small town on the outskirts of Tokyo, nestled in the suburban mountains and largely isolated from the urban sprawl.
Therefore, the closer one gets to the campus, the fewer pedestrians there are on the road, until there are almost none.
Since it was the season of cherry blossoms, beautiful pale-pink trees lined both sides of the winding mountain road.
"Cherry blossoms, huh."
Regardless of how excited Stella was, even Noah found the scenery quite novel.
After all, cherry blossoms weren't seen in Orario.
In Danmachi world, they were mainly distributed in the Far East, a place he never reached before.
In this modern world, too, this was his first time leaving the Vermillion Empire and his first time seeing the famous cherry blossoms with his own eyes.
The gently falling petals were indeed quite poetic.
"A knight academy built on a mountaintop. It feels a bit unusual," Noah murmured softly.
Kurono Shinguuji sat across from them with her legs crossed.
Ever since the trio had exchanged greetings at the airport, she had acted as if they were already familiar friends, completely unleashing her carefree lazy personality.
However, this relaxed version of her felt much easier to get along with than her strict examiner persona.
"Our school's footprint is as large as ten Tokyo Domes. Because the planned area is so vast, selecting a location took quite a bit of effort. The functional facilities within the campus are highly comprehensive, so you don't need to worry about any inconveniences in your daily life. Rest assured, you will get used to it quickly."
Hearing her speak so knowledgeably, Stella grew curious.
"Chairwoman, you were once a student at this school too, right? I have heard that the World Clock is the only exception at Hagun Academy to have ever reached A-Rank Knight status while still enrolled!"
"My, my, is the Royal Princess actually interested in the history of us commoners?" Kurono teased.
"Chairwoman...!"
"Haha, sorry, just joking. You are right, Hagun Academy is indeed my alma mater. I never expected to be invited back here to serve as the head of the school. I guess it is all fate."
As a top competitor in the KOK A-Rank League, she had chosen to marry and have children at a young age, leading to her early retirement.
Many fans and officials were dissatisfied with her choice at the time.
There were widespread doubts and regrets.
And once she truly left the competitive league, it didn't take long for the fast-paced world to forget about the World Clock.
Only active competitors receive widespread media attention.
For Mage-Knights, it didn't seem much different from other sports professions.
After fading from public view, few are ever mentioned again in history, and most who are happen to be notorious villains.
Entering the massive campus, the vehicle continued driving for a while before finally arriving at the central administration building.
It had over a dozen floors, looking almost like a luxury hotel.
Following the Chairwoman up to her top-floor office, Noah and Stella each received their official student handbooks.
"You have had a long journey. How about changing your clothes first? My private changing room is right next door; you can borrow it."
"That would be a great help. Thank you, Chairwoman."
Stella happily took her suitcase into the adjacent room to change out of her overly formal royal attire.
After all, it was expected that paparazzi would appear at the airport.
As the princess of a nation, she had to maintain a certain level of dignity when traveling abroad.
"Aren't you going to change?" Kurono asked Noah.
"Hmm? I'm not uncomfortable though." Noah casually replied.
He unbuttoned the stiff collar of his dress shirt, loosened his tie and pulled it off.
"Oh ho, it seems you have a casual side to you too," Kurono observed, noting the shift in the boy's demeanor.
From the polite and somewhat aloof young man from earlier, he had become noticeably more relaxed.
Noah sighed. "Well, even Stella had to put on her strict princess act for the cameras. If I were too casual out there, she would definitely nag me about my posture later. To avoid a scolding, a little temporary restraint isn't unacceptable."
"Hmm? Are you two close?"
Kurono picked up a cigarette and without caring whether there were "minors" present, lit it and began puffing away.
'Close?'
"Hard to say," Noah mused. "We are friends, but not exactly childhood friends."
"Heh—how should I put it? You give off a rather mature vibe. Not like a teenage boy, but more like a weary old man."
"Are you trying to say I am boring?"
"Hahaha! Even if you noticed, don't say it out loud." Judging by her cheerful expression, "boring" was likely just teasing.
After all, she was laughing happily.
Click.
The office door opened, and the princess walked in, having changed into her casual clothes.
Noah had just taken a sip of coffee provided by the office.
But when he turned to look at the girl in her new outfit, the hot coffee he hadn't yet swallowed violently sprayed out of his mouth all at once.
"Pfft—!"
"Cough! Cough!"
"Whoa, Noah, what happened all of a sudden?! You scared me..." Seeing Noah's exaggerated reaction, Stella blushed slightly and self-consciously fiddled with the ends of her hair.
Noah's wide-eyed gaze was fixed squarely on the girl's neck.
Because she was actually wearing that leather collar!
The terrifying thought that his own name was permanently engraved on the inside of it immediately made his stomach drop.
He glanced discreetly at the Chairwoman and noticed she had no reaction to it at all.
Well, for the highly developed nation of Japan, edgy fashion that the Vermillion Empire might not yet accept had probably been popular here for a long time.
Wearing ribbons or tight chokers around the neck wasn't unusual for teenagers here.
"No, it is nothing. I tried to speak and accidentally choked. It is fine now."
Noah casually manipulated the coffee he had sprayed across the desk, cleanly evaporating the liquid directly with a brief flash of heat.
Seeing this display of elemental magic, Kurono let out an impressed "Oh," much like an ordinary person watching a street magic trick.
...
Kurono straightened up in her chair and tapped her cigarette.
"Well, to get down to business, there is actually one more issue regarding the two of you."
"What is it?" Stella asked.
"This year's enrollment number is exactly one higher than usual because a certain student was held back. Because of that math, there is a slight logistical issue with the dormitory assignments." Kurono took a drag from her cigarette and explained.
"Our school's dormitories are strictly two students to a room, complete with private bathrooms and amenities."
"And according to the strict school rules, only students of the exact same Blazer Rank can share a dorm room. Right now, there are only three students who haven't been assigned rooms yet, and two of them are you."
"T-Two in one room?" Stella echoed, hearing this detail for the first time.
'If it is two person in one room, doesn't that mean... having to expose skin and change clothes in front of someone else?!'
Thinking this, the princess blushed furiously and lowered her head, almost burying her face in her chest.
She glanced discreetly at Noah beside her and found his expression perfectly normal, he wasn't nearly as flustered as she was!
Noah then asked the key tactical question. "May I ask, what is the gender of that third student?"
"It's a boy."
Hearing this, Stella gasped, slapped her hands on the desk, and stood up.
"Huh?!?!"
One room?! With a b-boy?!
That meant she would potentially have to share a bedroom with someone of the opposite sex!
If it were Noah, it might be fine, but what if she was paired with that unfamiliar boy?!
That would be problematic in so many ways!
"In that case, why don't I just share a room with that boy, and Stella can have her own room?" Noah naturally proposed a very logical, reasonable solution.
Only then did Stella realize it.
'Oh right! That works perfectly! With three people, it wasn't necessarily up to me to be the one sharing!'
'But why...?'
Somehow... she felt a little disappointed by how quickly he suggested it.
However, the Chairwoman didn't immediately agree to the logical proposal.
Instead, she leisurely finished her cigarette and stubbed it out in an ashtray.
"That won't do." The Chairwoman's reply was an unexpected, flat refusal.
Noah narrowed his eyes slightly and pressed, "Why not?"
Kurono answered smoothly, "Co-ed dormitories are not an exception at this school, they are actually the progressive norm. The strict rules dictating that roommates must share the same Rank, don't compromise for individual convenience. Do you understand?"
'Tch. This woman.'
Sure enough, his initial feeling about her at the airport was right.
Kurono Shinguuji was a thrill-seeker, actively looking to stir up drama and amusement for herself when there was none to be had.
They had just become this woman's toys for entertainment.
"Well, let me ask you this, Stella. How do you think it should be arranged? Should the two boys share a room, or...?" Kurono's lips curled slightly upward, and she even covered her mouth with her hand to hide a smirk.
"Huh? Me?" Stella was taken aback.
She immediately fell into a fierce internal conflict. Logically, as an unmarried royal princess, she definitely couldn't share a room with a man.
She should vigorously support Noah's proposal to room with the stranger.
'But... but...'
In that moment of constant internal struggle, the office air conditioner shifted direction, blowing a cool breeze over the three of them.
But instead of cooling the girl's heated panicked mind, the breeze only fanned the flames, making her racing thoughts spiral entirely out of control.
"No! I want to share a dorm room with Noah!"
Noah's hand trembled, nearly spilling his coffee a second time.
He stared at the girl in total shock, but she wasn't looking at him.
Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut in embarrassment!
"..."
"Excellent! In that case, you two can personally go and inform the other student of this final decision!"
Kurono Shinguuji, acting as if she had perfectly anticipated this exact outcome from the start, immediately finalized the paperwork without giving Noah a single chance to speak.