My cla.s.sroom was under siege by terrorists.

It was April; around the time that high school tutorials ended and real studying had begun to bare its fangs.

So tired… so exhausted… and it’s Tuesday. I hate Tuesday’s schedule. This is the worst. As I thought that absentmindedly during homeroom—— I heard the sound of heavy footsteps running in perfect sync from the corridor. It came from innumerable approaching shadows.

FWUUM—! They threw open the door and streamed into the cla.s.sroom.

The men wore uniforms like special forces and formed a line in front of the blackboard—it was plain as day that they were no amateurs.

“Silence. Keep quiet.”

The man in the middle demanded.

He had a calm tone akin to those terrorist masterminds that I’d seen in movies; it sent s.h.i.+vers down my spine.

Our homeroom teacher froze behind the podium. We didn’t move either. Some of the girls started crying.

“K-Kimito…”

Behind me, my childhood friend Ery pulled on my uniform.

“Be Ery’s s.h.i.+eld.”

Even at times like these you’re amazing in a way.

But then…

“…Yare, yare. Seems like it’s time to show you my true powers, huh?”

In the seat in front of me, Yamanaka stood up languidly.

T-True powers…?

Never standing out during usual cla.s.ses, it was the very two-simple-characters-Yamanaka[1]— usually either sleeping or gazing out the window— who walked up to the terrorists, aloof from the world and full of confidence.

Y-You couldn’t possibly…

Is it that he only pretends to be ordinary, but is actually a superhero? Or did he suddenly awaken a hidden power the moment he was faced with the dangers of this terror attack? Is he one of those ‘chosen characters’?

And I’m not?

“Hehe… GUEEEH—!”

Yamanaka was restrained within two seconds.

YAMANAKAAAAA——!

Speaking of which, I recall him having just joined the karate club…

n.o.body else was even trying to make a move and the only noise was coming from Yamanaka apologizing sincerely in some fake Kansai dialect, ‘Mah bad’—— when suddenly…

A maid entered.

A. Maid.

First of all, she emitted a real-deal aura.

That is to say, if you compared her to the maids you’d see in Akiba for example, the quality of the uniform she was wearing and the atmosphere around her were completely different. I gulped— along with my cla.s.smates.

She seemed a tad younger than me. Her hair was cut into an even bob and her youthful eyes were a beautiful deep black. She had the grace of a princess coupled with an ice-thorned air, how should I put it… the term ‘Super S Porcelain Doll[2]‘ came to mind.

This girl.

She closed in on me—— and said:

“Kagurazaki Kimito. Your acquisition has been completed.”

[1]His name uses the kanji for mountain and middle, which have few strokes (山中).

[2]The term used is “Super S” and a certain type of doll you can find in j.a.pan (and maybe someplace else). Look at Google’s results to get an idea here. Picture that with a “Super S” look.