Chapter 13: First Lecture and Bazaar

The morning after the entrance ceremony.

Having officially become a student of Babylon Machinist Girls’ Academy, today marks the start of my classes to become a Trooper.

As expected of a Machinist Academy, the first lecture I attended was ‘Armed Gear Basics.’

To put it simply, it’s a lecture where we learn the fundamental knowledge needed to operate an Armed Gear.

Since I rode with Principal Quun and operated one once, I somewhat understood what the teacher was saying. What they were talking about was the basics of the basics.

Students who had never ridden an Armed Gear at all, probably commoners, listened intently, while students from noble backgrounds like Lirisha, Carrol, and Sherry looked bored, as if to say, “I already know this.”

And as soon as the lecture ended, we moved on to piloting training.

That said, all we did was go out to the spacious athletic field, get into a fairly old Armed Gear, and make it walk about twenty meters.

We took turns getting in one by one and making it walk according to instructions. Most students could make it walk without problems, but some stopped midway or lost their balance and fell over.

Perhaps because I had the experience of moving one once, I was able to make it clatter along with almost no trouble.

There was none of the sluggishness I felt with Achilles. Maybe because it’s an old model that uses almost no mana? It only used mana during the initial startup.

Honestly, it was unsatisfying. I wanted to make it walk more, or even run…

Having changed into gym clothes to ride the Armed Gear, we sat at the edge of the ground, absentmindedly watching other students make the antique Armed Gear walk.

“They mentioned it in the lecture earlier, but Armed Gears haven’t changed much since they were developed three hundred years ago, have they?”

“They’ve evolved in terms of performance and safety compared to the past, but the basic construction is the same. Or rather, it seems that when they were completed three hundred years ago, they were already nearly perfect. After that, it just depends on the pilot controlling it.”

Carrol, who was sitting next to me, replied to my mumbled mutterings.

“But wait, wasn’t our Principal involved in the development of the Armed Gear?”

“Eh!?”

I involuntarily raised my voice at Sherry’s words. Principal Quun did?

Apparently, Armed Gears were created by improving the civil engineering golems made by dwarves and combining them with Frame Gear technology.

It seems Principal Quun didn’t develop the Armed Gear herself, but she worked with that development team to create the second and third generation Armed Gears.

I think it’s a tremendous feat to excavate and renovate legacies of the Ancient Magic Era, like Golems and Frame Gears, and develop them by combining them with modern magic engineering.

Come to think of it, it seemed like Principal Quun made an Armed Gear by herself… That unit called Achilles was difficult at first, but once I got used to it, it was easy to ride. I wonder if she’ll let me ride it one more time.

After finishing the basic training with the Armed Gear, we changed from our gym clothes back into our uniforms and left the school building.

Today’s classes were only in the morning, so we’re free from the afternoon onwards.

“Ah, over here!”

When we went to the meeting place, Lara was waving her arm widely.

By the way, Lara was in a different lecture room for the earlier class. Since there were too many students to do it all at once, they divided us into two groups based on countries from the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent. Even the grounds were separate. This Academy is seriously huge…

I plan to go around the bazaar with Lara in the afternoon, but apparently, the venue is on the opposite side of the ground where we had our practical training. This Academy has four grounds alone, after all…

It seems that once we become upperclassmen, there are classes where we actually ride real Frame Gears, so it would be dangerous if it wasn’t spacious. I can kind of sense it, but there’s probably a barrier set up too. The safety measures must be solid.

“Is there anything you want to buy, Lara?”

“I want to buy a magic engine if they’re selling one cheaply. I was thinking it would be nice if I could make an Ether-Car myself.”

A magic engine is the component that powers the Ether-Car, the self-driving vehicle. You could say it’s the heart of the Ether-Car.

Or rather, getting a magic engine and building an Ether-Car yourself, isn’t that casually amazing?

“Lara, by any chance, are you aiming to be a Meister instead of a Trooper?”

“Yes! I’ll get the Trooper qualification too, but my main goal is to become a Frame Gear Meister. I want to try assembling a Frame Gear from scratch…”

Oh, that’s an impressive goal. It’s said that to become a Frame Gear Meister, it’s advantageous to have a Trooper qualification as well.

It seems the creator needs to consider the feelings of the pilot, but I think studying both would be quite tough.

In Lara’s case, since being a Meister seems to be her main focus, she might not need to achieve such excellent grades as a Trooper.

Conversely, it means Troopers also need to know the structure of Frame Gears well. Otherwise, they can’t deal with trouble immediately, and if they don’t understand the cause of a malfunction during combat, they won’t be able to continue fighting.

Whether it’s weapons or armor, ‘Neglecting the things you entrust your life to is something only a brainless idiot does,’ as my master used to say.

I need to study too…

As I was thinking about that, the number of people passing by gradually increased.

Are there people other than Academy students? Though they’re all women. For a man to enter our all-girls Academy, he apparently needs a legitimate reason and detailed procedures.

“Ohh…”

When we finally reached the ground, there were many people selling all sorts of things packed closely together.

From everyday necessities to real Armed Gears, various things were on display. This is amazing. My excitement is really ramping up.

Of course, the first thing is the Armed Gear!

I ran up to a blue Armed Gear placed nearby.

It has a stocky form and a rectangular shield attached to its left arm. The small scratches on the unit make me feel it’s a veteran warrior.

“Welcome. This is a customized Tsimak model. It has over three hundred wins in total. It’s a bit slow on its feet, but it’s incredibly sturdy. The handling isn’t bad either, so I think it’s perfect for a new student.”

A young woman, about eighteen, sitting next to the blue Armed Gear explained. A current student… she’s not wearing a uniform, so maybe a graduate?

This Armed Gear was probably her beloved machine. It certainly looks like a simple and sturdy Armed Gear.

“By the way, how much is it?”

“Just two platinum coins.”

Expensive! No, is it cheap? A new one would cost at least ten platinum coins… Considering I can buy it for twenty percent of the price even though it’s used, is it ridiculously cheap? Judging from my expression that I couldn’t buy it, the woman turned her gaze to Lirisha who was next to me.

“What about the noble lady over there?”

“Me? I plan to have one sent from my family home.”

“Oh my, so you were a high-ranking noble lady.”

At Lirisha’s words, the woman gave a wry smile.

Basically, commoners can’t buy them, and even among nobles, high-ranking nobles have the financial power to buy new ones. Her target must be lower or middle-class nobles for whom buying a new one would be tough.

Naturally, the latest model of Armed Gear has better performance.

And the latest model of Armed Gear is the ‘Armed Gear sold at the Academy.’

After all, this is the center of the magic city, backed by the Ducal House. The latest Armed Gears made in the Duchy are proactively supplied to the Academy.

In other words, the Armed Gears bought by current students who saved up G are the newest.

Even if Lirisha obtained the latest Armed Gear available in the world, there’s a possibility that the Armed Gear bought from the Academy with G has better performance.

After all, it’s a unit certified by Brunhild, which is at the cutting edge.

However, since the Academy’s Armed Gears can’t be bought with cash, there’s no choice but to buy the latest model on the market. It takes time to save up G.

This blue Armed Gear must have been the latest model a few years ago, and it has accumulated a lot of experience data since then. You can’t simply say this unit is inferior to the latest model. Taking that into account, that price could be called a bargain.

That said, there’s no way I can buy it.

Well, if I used all my savings, it wouldn’t be impossible to buy, but…

The antique Armed Gear without learning functions that we rode in class would probably be sold for a cheap price, but I’d rather rent a normal unit than use a machine like that…

We said goodbye to the woman with the blue Armed Gear and walked around looking at the bazaar.

“Hee, marquetry. This is a good item.”

Carrol’s eyes were shining as she held a small wooden box. It’s a small box with an unusual pattern, right?

“Marquetry?”

“It’s a craft where patterns are created by combining various types of wood. I’ve never seen such a magnificent piece before.”

Is that so? I don’t really get it.

“You have a good eye. This marquetry is a masterpiece made by a renowned craftsman in our Mismede. It’s not something you can get your hands on easily.”

The stall owner, an older woman, spoke happily. Mismede… the country of beastmen and demi-humans ruled by the Beast King. This woman also has animal ears and a tail on her head. Is she a wolf beastman?

“Normally it would cost more than two gold coins, but to celebrate your enrollment, I’ll make it one gold coin as a special offer…”

“I’ll take it!”

“Fast.”

I’m a little surprised at Carrol’s decisiveness. One gold coin for such a small box? I still think that’s expensive. The difference in monetary sense around here really makes me feel the gap between nobles and commoners.

“Hm?”

Casually looking at the stall next door, I saw something unbelievable.

Haua!? That’s the reprint edition of the Frame Gear plastic model released ten years ago, said to be a phantom!

And it’s the Valkyrie model of the nine Duchesses from the initial series! The Grimgerde, the annihilation battle bombardment type Frame Gear said to have been piloted by Duchess Leen, Principal Quun’s mother! And at such an affordable price!? I-I must buy this!

As I quickly reached out for the plastic model box, a hand reached out from next to me in the same way, and we grabbed the box at the same time.

Holding the same box, Lirisha and I glared at each other.

“Let go.”

“No.”

Neither of us yielding, we pushed against each other’s bodies.

“A noble has no business building plastic models!”

“What nonsense are you saying…! Plastic models are a respectable hobby for nobles! Do you even understand the value of this kit!?”

“I do! I wanted to buy it but couldn’t because of the premium price! I’m going to build this!”

“Haa!? If you build it, the value of this kit will drop! I will finish it into a masterpiece!”

Gununu…! This is bad, if we fight any longer, the box will get crushed! I can’t let the beautiful box art be ruined!

My eyes met Lirisha’s. She seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

“”Rock! Paper! Scissors!””

I threw Rock. Lirisha threw Paper.

“I lost!”

“I won!”

I put my hands on the ground and hung my head, while Lirisha held the plastic model box above her head to show her victory.

Damn it! Has heaven abandoned me!? God is dead!

“What are you guys doing…”

Sherry’s exasperated voice fell upon me as I lamented my grief.