TWLPOD 1

Year 110 of Liberty.

Pierce Central Center, Dormitory Room 5101.

Returning to his quarters after nearly a month at the front lines, Aran undid the buttons of his uniform first thing. The uniform, closer to armor than clothing, was made of heavy materials for durability, making it weighty.

He took off his blood-stained boots, gloves, coat, vest, turtleneck, trousers, and even his underwear, then, completely naked, he slowly lowered himself into the bathtub brimming with hot water.

“……”

Submerged in the water, he let the accumulated tension and fatigue melt away. As he floated in the quiet, enjoying his disconnection from the world, he opened his eyes at the sound of someone’s footsteps.

“Aran! I heard you were back! Where are you?”

An urgent voice shattered the peace, and the bathroom door was thrown open without a single knock.

Aran, who had surfaced from the water, spoke to Jude, whose face was full of smiles.

“I’m in the middle of washing up.”

“I can see that. Hey, something huge happened.”

Jude carelessly pulled off his socks, stepped onto the soaked floor, and crouched in front of the bathtub. Thwack! He slapped the edge of the tub, and as an added bonus, a basin’s worth of water splashed onto Aran’s face.

“The second induction ceremony is tomorrow, you know.”

“…So?”

Aran wiped the water from his drenched face and stared at Jude. He was as excited as if he had just gotten a major scoop.

“They say there’s a monster.”

“A monster?”

“A monster.”

“An Esper?”

Jude rested his arms on the edge of the tub and cupped his chin. He seemed to have no regard for his uniform getting wet.

“Yeah. A really, really, really strong one. And he’s even an Elemental Esper! He’ll be a huge asset.”

“Where did a guy of that caliber suddenly pop up from?”

“They say he’s from Willamere. Apparently, they tried to recruit him last year too, but failed.”

“Why?”

“He himself didn’t want to enlist.”

“Did he change his mind this year?”

“Apparently not. This is just a rumor, but…”

Jude brought his face closer and whispered.

“It seems they forcibly brought him in when he absolutely refused to come.”

“What do you mean?”

As Aran sat up straight, the lapping water overflowed.

“Usually… the ability users we bring from Willamere either need money or enlist to protect something they want to protect, right?”

In modern society, the land inhabited by humanity was largely divided into two. There was Lympus, made up of the upper domes, and Willamere, a desert hidden beneath those domes where people barely managed to survive.

Since the war with the androids began, Lympus had been enlisting Espers and Guides from Willamere to use as military assets, and in return, they made regular payments to their families, lovers, friends, or someone they wanted to protect.

To put it nicely, it was scouting; to put it badly, it was human trafficking. Nevertheless, the reality was that those from Willamere were happy to do it, as they could escape their life of poverty.

“But this guy, they say he rejected the offer every time, even when they offered to let him enlist as an exception outside of the official induction ceremony.”

“The reason?”

“I don’t know that.”

It was an irresponsible answer.

“So they forcibly brought him in this time? Are they idiots? There’s no way a guy like that would fight hard on the battlefield.”

“Don’t you think they brought him because they had a plan? Maybe they found a weakness?”

“In the first place, if he was as strong as you’re hoping, he wouldn’t have been brought in by force.”

Aran flicked the water from his hand toward Jude, who was harboring futile hopes.

“Hey! What are you doing!”

In the meantime, the bathwater had cooled and his private time had been shattered, so Aran got up and dried his body with a towel. Solid muscles rippled across his revealed physique. It was the product of long training and tearing through battlefields, but ironically, his skin was clean without a single scar, which only served to further accentuate his presence.

Jude, who had been watching Aran change into casual clothes, spoke in a low voice.

“There were twenty of them, they said.”

Aran only turned his head to look at Jude.

“A total of twenty Espers and Guides were mobilized to capture that monster. And all of them were A-class or higher.”

“……”

“They even said that three of them were on the verge of death. What do you think?”

“What do I think?”

“Aren’t you excited? If he’s an S-class, he’ll be a huge asset to the war.”

Jude was so full of hope, it was as if the war would end the very next day if the man enlisted.

‘The end of the war.’

A war of twelve years with no end in sight, where defeat seemed closer than victory. There were the ordinary people who acted as if the war didn’t exist as long as they could live for today, and the soldiers who had become so accustomed to their comrades dying that they could not survive without going mad with hatred. And then there were the Espers and Guides, who had become more used to thinking of themselves as weapons rather than people in order to fight the machines.

Aran thought.

That all of us, who forcibly capture a human being to use as a weapon in the war and cover it with the name of salvation, are all insane.

In the midst of an endless war, humans had to turn themselves into weapons, each for their own reasons. Those gathered on the training grounds for the induction ceremony also shared such a fate.

The induction ceremony at Pierce Central Center was held twice a year. Among the Espers and Guides accumulated over a six-month period, those who wished to be soldiers or had overwhelming talent in combat or security could enlist in the center under good conditions. It was an important annual event to commemorate that day, and it was one of the few occasions where the entire student body gathered, with the exception of essential personnel on the front lines.

“Hey. He’s here.”

“This is the first time I’m seeing him in person.”

“Look at the difference in impression from his magazine photos. I guess a soldier is a soldier, huh?”

The training ground was filled with uniforms. At the center of the pouring gazes, Aran made his appearance. Since his face was more famous than any celebrity’s in this land, it was an incredibly surreal sight for those who had come from Willamere, unlike the Lympus natives who were immune to it.

An appearance that no amount of admiration could do justice to. It was both sensual and so resplendent it bordered on divine power, yet it was a face so undeserved for a mere human that it induced displeasure, but one that you could not help but love.

Of course, the person himself, who had thrown so many into shock…

“Should I just push them over?”

“Don’t.”

“Why?”

…was in the middle of a childish conversation with his roommate while sweeping back his blond hair.

“Because the only thing you have that’s even tolerable is your face.”

Just as Aran was about to retort, an announcement was delivered through the microphone.

“Ahem— The induction ceremony will begin shortly. All personnel, please take your positions by unit.”

At the announcement, Iris, who had been leaning against a wall, asked Aran.

“They’re telling you to.”

“How can someone with no unit live with all this sorrow?”

“You can stand with us.”

“Your unit is at the front, so I don’t want to.”

Espers and Guides were separated, and unit assignments varied according to their class.

“Then do you want to go with me?”

“That would make me stand out even more.”

Iris, an A-class Esper, was at the very front, and following Jude, a Guide, would be far too conspicuous.

“Well, can’t be helped then. See you later.”

Jude straightened Aran’s crooked necktie, then waved and disappeared toward his unit.

“I’m going too. You?”

“I’ll stay here.”

“I’m going to tell the Corps Commander you were uncooperative during the induction ceremony.”

“……”

“You were just about to curse but decided it was too much trouble, weren’t you?”

Aran closed his eyes and turned away from Iris with an expression that said everything was a bother.

“Honestly.”

A disbelieving laugh faded as the sound of military boots grew distant. Opening his eyes again, Aran began to pass the tedious time by watching the emcee and high-ranking commanders ascend the platform.

Until the salute to the flag, the singing of the national anthem, the enlistment report, and the invariably long and pointless speech by a retired officer.

“Do not forget that the Pierce Central Center is the core of the military. I hope that faith! And blessings! will be with you in your future as you fight for the things you must protect—…”