The 26 metropolitan cities of Hero City each had their own unique characteristics.
It was as if all the countries on Earth had been forced together.
One example of this was D City, managed by the Okami family, which had changed to a Japanese style due to their influence.
And the best elementary school in Hero City, where I had decided to enroll this time.
The “Almighty Elementary School” is located in E City, known as the city with the best educational enthusiasm in the <Kaiju Frontline> universe.
E City, which is also called an educational special zone in its settings.
“Although I just took a bus for about an hour, it suddenly feels like the scenery changed from a Japanese tourist city to a neighborhood in Daechi-dong, Korea.”
In the original work, this place was frequently used as a “field trip location” to nurture the characters’ knowledge.
Maybe that’s why.
When I saw it on the screen, I didn’t expect it to be so unique.
The city was mostly covered in white, and it was common to see a school behind another school.
High-rise buildings tightly clustered together like apartment complexes were all dormitories for each school.
In E City, which only had restaurants or schools and dormitories, there was an estimated population of about 5 million people.
And within this educational special zone, there was an elementary school categorized as ‘Special Special Zone.’
I had finally arrived at Almighty Elementary School.
Gulp
“Huh?”
But isn’t this an elementary school?
Naturally, the gacha characters in <Kaiju Frontline> were all adults capable of “chest touch.”
Thanks to this, there was no way that adult heroes would enroll in elementary school.
Even I, a veteran of the original work, had never heard of a facility like Almighty Elementary School.
And no matter how good an elementary school is, I was thinking it would probably be something like a good private school in Korea.
A swimming pool?
Artificial turf?
I wouldn’t be surprised by something like that.
But then, when I got off the school bus that runs through the surrounding metropolitan cities,
Why was I standing in the middle of “Yeongji” instead of being at the elementary school?
“Almighty Elementary students, from here on, you’ll need to take the ‘school bus’ to move separately.”
Another bus?
Wait, does the elementary school even have a bus stop?
“If you go just eight stops, the elementary school will be right there, so be careful not to get off wrong and be late for class. Got it?”
“Yes, understood!”
The guide lady kindly informed the new students who had gotten off the school bus.
Normally, when young elementary school students take the bus alone, it’s common for someone to accompany them out of concern.
“Is this something everyone just does as a basic thing?”
It seemed like the students at Almighty Elementary, belonging to the ‘special special zone,’ had no difficulty at all using public transportation like adults starting out in society.
At this point, this elementary school didn’t even seem comparable to a regular private school but could probably rival Seoul National University.
“Wow, is that an aquarium? I heard it’s used as a practical location when studying ocean-related subjects!”
“Wow! I think that’s a space center for studying space development since there’s a rocket standing there!”
“There’s a cornfield stretching beyond the horizon. Does that mean it’s an artificial food cultivation site related to agriculture?”
…Actually, scratch that.
Even Seoul National University would probably be considered a small college here.
“I’m 37 years old and graduated from university, but why do I feel like I’m no different from the kids here…?”
The elementary school reminded me of a medieval European palace.
The scale was beyond even the Palace of Versailles, where the French royal family once resided.
“Okay, new students. Would you follow the teacher, please?”
“Yes, understood.”
And that wasn’t all that surprised me.
I thought I would be okay with the overly mature appearance of the kids since I had already gotten used to it.
The kids, about 50 of them, who had been with me since the school bus ride.
I had thought these kids were some of the new first-year students of Almighty Elementary.
But it turned out that these kids were all the first-year students.
“Wait, the school is this big, and there are only this few students?!”
The elementary school had six grades in total.
Even if you counted all the students from grade 6, the total number of students was barely more than half of 500.
So, every single kid here was a genius who could freely use this vast ‘domain of knowledge.’
“Am I really supposed to be here…?”
Each grade was divided into two classes, and then…
As soon as I entered the assigned classroom, my astonishment didn’t subside at all.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Now, cold sweat was flowing down my forehead.
That’s not surprising, though. <Kaiju Frontline> was a world where monsters existed, as the title suggested, but it was also a world where the gender ratio was skewed toward women.
According to Makoto-sama, the male-to-female ratio was about 1:8.
That’s a pretty low number of men.
But still.
Even so, how does it make sense that I’m the only guy in a class of 25 students?
“Wait, if I calculate this, there should be at least 3 male students in the class…”
Or, when split in half,
Did all the male students, except me, get assigned to different classes out of 50 students?
Even though it’s an elementary school, in a diamond-studded facility like this, I really needed at least one same-gender friend to talk to.
So, I kept a bit of hope and carefully peeked into the B class, which was next to our A class.
But it was, quite literally, a girls’ locker room.
“…Why?”
Returning to our classroom, I realized from the gossiping and whispers of the young girls around me what the situation was.
“Wait… Is this a world where it can only exist because women with supernatural abilities dominate the men?”
I hadn’t known it well since I had entered through connections,
But to actually enter this Almighty Elementary, one would have to solve an immense number of exams.
It was a world where women were superior by gender.
And this was the very top of that world’s elementary school.
In such a place, there was no way there would be a male student who would be part of the top 0.1% of elementary students, because in this world, men were expected to do chores like cooking and laundry rather than studying.
“Shit…”
I was just in a place where a male student shouldn’t be.
“Makoto-sama… I know you wanted to send Miss Hoshino to this school, but I never thought you would use me as ‘meat shield’ like this…”
So, was there really no such thing as ordinary kindness?
…No, wait.
Even if that were the case, to enter this elementary school without any exam and to suddenly admit a male student, not even a female one…
That in itself was already a problem.
From the beginning, my being here was probably already out of the ordinary, but Makoto-sama’s kindness toward me was probably genuine.
However, my level as a human was too low for me to fully accept that kindness.
“Well… Since I’ve already entered a prestigious school, let’s try to do my best.”
After all, there were about 10 years left until the original work begins.
I had nothing to do until then, so I might as well start studying again from the beginning.
Even though I was sure to be a loner with no friends from 1st grade,
Still, humanity smiles during tough times.
“Ka-Karmila-sama, is that you?”
“I saw you in that book! You’re the youngest hero in Hero City!”
“Wow… It’s really Karmila-sama!”
Right at that moment.
Unlike my surroundings, which were completely empty, there was a girl surrounded by young female students.
“Karmila? …I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.”
Karmila.
For some reason, the name felt familiar.
But maybe because it’s been over 10 years since I deleted the game,
I couldn’t immediately recall it when I just heard the name.
So, I focused my gaze through the group of girls and looked inside.
“Hehe. Just so you know, I’m a new student who entered this school two years late due to hero activities, so if you have any problems or difficulties, feel free to ask your ‘older sister’ at any time.”
The way she ended her sentence with “-sawyo” in a gentle tone.
At the same time, I noticed her brilliantly spinning drill-like hair in two braids.
“Wow… She’s really pretty, just like our Hoshino-sama.”
Her looks were so outstanding, she could easily be mistaken for a child actress.
Also, I accidentally overheard, but she was already doing hero work at such a young age.
To think she could defeat monsters with a body like that.
I didn’t expect there to be another ‘genius’ in our age group who could do such things, besides Hoshino-sama.
…So, who is she?
“Drill hair? I think there was a character with drill hair…”
Maybe it’s because it’s 10 years ago from the original work.
If it were the exact same body as the original, I might have recognized her right away.
But with everything having become so “altered” now, even with Hoshino-sama, unless there was something really obvious to identify her, it wasn’t easy to tell.
So, even though I don’t know right now,
Tap.
“Huh?”
“Ah, yes. Karmila-sama!”
“Well, we’re about to begin, so please take your seat.”
Since we were in the same class anyway,
I thought I’d find out later at my own pace, so I just planned to stay quiet.
But then, in the tiered classroom, maybe she didn’t see that her wallet had fallen.
“Hey, excuse me.”
“…?!”
She just passed by the wallet on the floor, so I picked it up and handed it to her, the owner, Karmila.
Then, I heard a thank-you message…
Smack.
“…Huh?”
It wasn’t a thank-you, but a sharp slap sound.
At the same time, my right cheek stung. Maybe because she was still a child who hadn’t even lost her baby teeth,
“How dare you…”
“Yeah?”
“How dare a man like you talk to a girl without knowing your place?!”
It felt like my teeth inside my mouth were shaking slightly.