Chapter 9 – ９ – Inui Dormitory Room ０３０４

Entrance Ceremony Arc

“Now then, time to check things out.”

Room 0304 of the Inui Dormitory… I stepped into the room that would be my home for the next three years.

The room was equipped with all the basic furniture necessary for living: a desk, a chair, a television, a bed, a dresser, and curtains.

As far as I could tell, the only thing missing was a mirror large enough to see my entire body at a glance.

Personally, I’d also like some equipment or a mat for light strength training, but…

“Hm? A catalog? Ah, I see…”

Just as I was thinking that, I noticed a furniture catalog placed on the desk alongside various documents.

Apparently, the current furnishings are only the basics that anyone would want; if I want additional furniture, I can simply choose from this catalog and order it.

As for the cost, it seems that each student receives a monthly allowance from the government based on their Magic Capacity and academic performance, and payments are to be made within that budget.

However, since all personal expenses—private clothes, snacks, accessories, socializing costs, and so on—must be paid from this allowance, I’ll need to be careful not to overspend.

“Dishes and a frying pan in the kitchen… so I can cook for myself. But since ingredients are out-of-pocket and I can eat at the first-floor cafeteria for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I probably won’t use it very often.”

Naturally, the refrigerator was currently empty.

Next.

“A toilet, a bath, and a washing machine? Even though the dorm has communal baths and laundry?”

The toilet was no problem.

Next, I looked at the washbasin and bath—facilities that are typically shared within the dormitory.

I wondered why they were also provided here, but as if answering my question, a message card from the academy was placed atop the washing machine.

According to the card:

“Ah, I see. This is another one of the preferential treatments for A-Rank Magic Capacity Holders.”

Apparently, the personal belongings of those with A-Rank Magic Capacity tend to be targeted by various people.

Furthermore, they are often subjected to strange forms of harassment.

Therefore, by allowing them to bathe and do laundry in their own rooms, the school aimed to help them avoid such troubles.

There must have been theft incidents in the past.

Otherwise, this would seem far too wasteful—or rather, excessively indulgent.

Incidentally, the room is cleaned once a week by a professional service, and I was instructed to at least put my trash in the bin as a minimum level of tidying up for those occasions.

I’ll keep that in mind.

“Room check complete. Next is this ‘Masutter’ thing.”

After that, I installed Masutter on my smartphone and began checking various pieces of information.

Well, it was mostly as Dormitory Head Katsura had described.

The bulk of it was about where to go starting tomorrow and how I should spend my time.

There was also a yearly schedule among other things, so I decided to read through it more thoroughly later.

“Oh, a mail from Suzu.”

Suzu sent a message asking for my Masutter address, so I replied.

I also registered the addresses for Suzu, Ichi, and Marie so that we could stay in touch.

“Right. Before I forget, I should register Public Morals Committee Chairman Maruta’s address too. I don’t intend to be in her debt, but since she gave it to me, it’s only polite to register it.”

I proceeded to register Chairman Maruta’s address.

At the same time, since I was at it, I decided to take a look at her personal page.

The personal pages for new students like me and Suzu were, naturally, unedited and blank, but Chairman Maruta, a third-year, would be different.

I figured I could use her page as a reference for my own editing.

So, I looked… and…

“A robot…?”

For some reason, characters that looked like steel humanoid robots were placed all over the page.

There were links to the Public Morals Committee page and a consultation window for the Chairman herself, but the robots’ presence was overwhelmingly strong.

Chairman Maruta… it was impossible to imagine such stern robots associated with a girl who looked two heads shorter than me, yet they were everywhere, inevitably drawing my eye.

No, wait—could it be? Or rather, it almost certainly is: is Chairman Maruta’s Masked Form a robot?

There was even a drawing of the robot that had put me in a cage today.

Hmm, since she’s the Public Morals Committee Chairman, she’s probably quite famous. I’ll ask Suzu later, or maybe I’ll find out if I do a quick search.

For now, I just registered her.

“And then… ah, so this is the ‘anonymous’ board that isn’t actually anonymous.”

Next, I found the Anonymous Board and accessed it.

The terms of service only stated the obvious; in short, “If you post something too stupid, we’ll reveal who and where you are, so don’t do it.”

“Debut Live-Commentary Thread, School Life Warnings for New Students, Public Morals Committee Chairman Maruta Fan Club, Broadcast Accident Thread, Broadcast Accident Thread @2, Broadcast Accident Thread @3… Alright, I’ll pretend I didn’t see the latter half.”

I likely won’t have any use for the Anonymous Board in the future.

Just looking at the thread titles, I could feel my mental fortitude being ground away with an audible screech.

Though, this might be a precious chance to see my own Masked Form from a third-party perspective…

“Hm? Oh, I see.”

Just as I was thinking that, several threads were deleted.

In their place appeared a single warning notice.

It read:

“Please refrain from posting images that offend public order and morals. If this warning is ignored, not only will the entire thread be closed, but a penalty may be imposed.”

Yeah, that makes sense.

When you think about it, those were photos of naked women.

Of course they can’t be posted.

“Ah, a message from Suzu. ‘Please don’t look at the Anonymous Board? Ichi, Marie, and I will handle it?’…Yeah, I’ll pretend I didn’t see it.”

I think I’ve figured out whose hand was behind this “deletion festival.”

However, I believe Suzu is right, so I decided to follow her advice and act as if I hadn’t seen a thing.

“Well, it’s almost time for dinner.”

Dinner afterward was spent under the somewhat lukewarm gazes of the surrounding students, but I enjoyed a lavish meal with Suzu and the others. Then I returned to my room, and without any further incident, the first day of my school life came to a peaceful end.

Now, I wonder what the actual start of school life tomorrow will bring?