“Well then, Master, I’m off.”
“Mm.
Take care on your journey.”
Master had lifted the Seirei Gate as though it were some sort of roller shutter.
Beyond it stood rows of buildings far grander than anything in Rukon District.
For so long, all I’d been able to do was look at that view.
At last, I could actually set foot there.
It had been about six months since Master gave me his seal of approval to sit the entrance examination for Shin’ō Spiritual Arts Academy.
I’d waited until the right time to start the exam application and entry-permit procedures, and between one thing and another, it had taken ages.
But today—finally!—I was setting off!
“Thank you all for coming to see me off, too.”
“Do your best!”
“You’ll be fine, Airi!”
“After all the time you’ve put in, I reckon you’ll pass.”
“If you fail, you’ve got to buy everyone here a drink!”
“Ahahaha!
Now there’s an idea!”
The owner and proprietress, who’d done so much for me, had come to the gate, along with some of the regulars from the izakaya.
One of them cracked a joke, and I couldn’t help smiling.
They were acting as if I’d already become a Soul Reaper, even though I was only going to take the Academy entrance exam.
Apparently, it was fairly unusual for someone from Riosa to set their sights on becoming a Soul Reaper.
I certainly hadn’t heard of anyone else doing so in the roughly fifty years I’d been here.
Perhaps that was why a few people seemed to have turned up simply to enjoy the spectacle.
“I promise I’ll come back as an Academy student.”
I took one last look at the bundle wrapped in my furoshiki, just to make sure everything was there.
Inside were my Academy application documents and a map, of course, along with my entry pass, a simple change of clothes, a bamboo-tube water flask and some food for the journey.
I’d been told Seireitei was enormous, so I might need to eat and rest along the way.
At worst, I might even have to spend a night or two there.
They’d given me some money as a farewell gift, just in case.
Somehow, it felt like being a student leaving the countryside for Tokyo.
“Well, everyone, I’ll be going now.”
With that, I passed through the gate.
I could still hear everyone cheering behind me.
It was a lovely feeling.
Every shout made me more determined to pass.
…
But what if I failed?
I’d be so embarrassed I might never be able to show my face back home…
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“Erm…
down this street, then.”
I was making my way through Seireitei towards the Academy, consulting my map and asking passers-by for directions.
Calling Seireitei ‘big’ hardly did it justice.
Apparently, walking from one end to the other could take several days.
If I’d only prepared myself for something roughly the size of Tokyo’s twenty-three wards, the sheer distance would have beaten me.
Now I understood why the entry permit specified both a start date and an expiry date.
Still, I’d spent fifty years training under Master.
I’m not such a delicate woman that a bit of walking will finish me off.
I was even using my imitation Blut to put extra strain on my body as I walked, turning the journey into another training session.
That said, I was already on my second day of walking.
Even I was starting to feel a little tired.
The cool autumn air felt wonderfully refreshing against my overheated skin.
“I really didn’t think I’d actually need money for an inn.”
I thought back to the cheap lodging where I’d spent the previous night.
Seireitei was a city built for nobles and Soul Reapers, but that didn’t mean everyone here behaved like some arrogant aristocrat.
The buildings were certainly far more impressive than those in Riosa, but there were ordinary drinking establishments and places to eat, too.
Apparently, the different divisions of the Gotei 13 had a lot to do with that.
Each area was almost like a division’s territory, and the character of that division seemed to be reflected in its streets.
People who admired a particular division would naturally gather around it, so I suppose that made sense.
—Hang on.
Did that mean there were loads of arenas and fighting pits around the Eleventh Division, the bunch who lived for battle…?
L-let’s not think about that right now!
“If I become a Soul Reaper, am I going to have to memorise my way around this ridiculously huge place?”
I’d at least need to know where each division’s barracks were.
And probably the nearby facilities as well.
I suppose it’d be like moving to a new town and learning where the council offices, post office and other public buildings were.
“…Ah!
That’s it, isn’t it?”
After wandering about with those thoughts in my head, I finally found my destination.
From the outside, it looked like a great mansion—or perhaps a small castle.
It was an imposing building, even compared with those around it.
Someone who looked like a guard stood near the entrance, and a large sign on the gate read ‘Shin’ō Spiritual Arts Academy’.
“Can I help you?”
The guard must have noticed me.
“I’m here to take the Academy entrance examination.
I have my documents here.”
I opened my furoshiki and handed over the papers I’d used for the application.
The guard took them, spent a little while checking what was written, then looked up.
“I see.
Everything’s in order.
Please follow me, and I’ll show you where to go.”
Thank goodness.
I’d been worried he’d say something like, ‘There’s a problem with your paperwork.
Please come back another time.’
I followed him inside the Academy.
“Please wait here.”
“Thank you.”
The guard passed me over to a member of the Academy staff, who led me to a room inside the grounds.
It was simply furnished, with desks and floor cushions arranged on tatami mats.
“…A waiting room?
Or is this where I’ll take the exam?”
There was nobody else there.
Not knowing quite what to do, I sat down and waited.
Eventually, a man who appeared to be an examiner arrived and told me the test would be held in the courtyard.
So off we went again.
“It’s unusual for someone to come and take the exam at this time of year.”
“Huh?
Is it?”
He mentioned it as we walked.
According to him, most applicants came either right after the examination period opened or just before it closed.
The people who arrived on the first or second day tended to be confident in their abilities.
Those who came just before the deadline, on the other hand, generally wanted every last bit of time to improve.
That left a quiet period in the middle.
To put it bluntly, hardly anyone chose such an awkward, in-between time to take the exam, so someone like me was a rarity.
I wondered whether Master had chosen this timing out of consideration for me as well.
If so, I really couldn’t thank him enough.
The examination began in the courtyard.
First came a measurement of spiritual power.
Naturally, they needed to establish whether an applicant possessed spiritual power at all, but apparently the amount they possessed was also part of the assessment.
After that, they tested how well we could move.
In other words, something like a physical fitness test.
Strictly speaking, you could enter the Academy knowing absolutely nothing about swordsmanship or Kidō and learn it all there.
But they could hardly welcome someone whose basic physical coordination was hopeless.
Soul Reapers fought life-or-death battles against Hollows, after all.
As for me, I passed both the spiritual-power test and the physical test without any trouble.
They even told me it was rare for someone from Rukon District to move that well, and that I had a promising future.
…Ahahaha.
You’re looking at the fruits of fifty years of hard work.
The Academy normally took six years to graduate from, although skipping grades was possible.
And here I was, having spent almost eight times that long just to reach this point.
Sorry for getting your hopes up.
Anyway, that was the end of the examination.
Or so I thought when they sent me back to the waiting room.
There was still a written test.
The questions were all basic things that even someone from Rukon District would know, or matters of ordinary common sense.
I see.
They couldn’t exactly admit someone who didn’t know the first thing about proper manners.
I’d barely finished the written test when the examiner handed me another sheet of paper.
“Would you like to try this one as well?”
I looked at it…
What on earth was this?
It was crammed with questions I knew absolutely nothing about.
I’d lived in modern society in my previous life, so I’d received a higher education.
But most of the subjects on this paper were things I’d never even heard of.
“Ah, I thought you might not know the answers.
You see, that’s actually an examination for nobles.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a special examination offered only to noble applicants who wish to take it.”
“A special examination…?”
…Oh, wow.
I had a pretty good idea what this was about.
This was probably a way of giving them a leg up, wasn’t it?
Bumping up a noble who’d fallen just short of the required score, or giving a famous noble the prestige of entering at the top of the class.
So nobles really were a privileged class, then.
“That’s right.
But you’ve already done well enough in the other examinations to pass, Miss Yukawa, so there’s no need to worry about it.”
Unaware of what was going through my head, the examiner said this while looking over my answer sheet.
“Wait!
I’ve passed?”
“Yes, no problem at all.
Your spiritual power, physical ability and written examination results are all entirely normal.”
He said it so casually.
I’d passed…
He’d told me so quickly that it didn’t quite feel real.
“When there are a lot of applicants, we don’t announce the results quite so simply.
But you’re the only person taking the exam this time.”
“I-I see…”
“Now, let’s move on to the paperwork for successful applicants.”
Apparently, unsuccessful applicants were shown the way out.
Those who passed, on the other hand, had forms to fill in.
The Academy had student dormitories, so anyone who wanted to live there could also apply for accommodation.
People from Rukon District naturally didn’t have homes in Seireitei, and even some applicants who lived in Seireitei wanted a room because their families lived too far away.
Once all that was done, there was one final thing: taking my measurements.
Academy students were required to wear student hakama, rather like a school uniform.
But students came in all shapes and sizes, so the clothing had to be adjusted to fit each person.
Hence the measurements.
An outfit that was too big and baggy would be one thing, but it’d be ridiculous if it were too small to put on at all.
And I was particularly tall.
At worst, even the men’s sizes might not fit me.
I submitted to the measuring with some trepidation, and what a surprise!
They told me I was six shaku and one sun tall—185 centimetres.
Well, that explained why I’d towered over the men in Rukon District.
Oh, and they showed me the design of the student hakama, too.
The men’s were navy blue and the women’s were red.
They were rather cute, actually.
At the very end, I was given a split tally.
Apparently, it served as proof that I’d passed.
I could move into the student dormitory and stay there until classes began, or I could go home for now and return after getting everything ready.
Hmm…
In that case, I think I’ll…
…What?
You know my height now, but you want to know my bust measurement?
…That’s a secret.
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“Well then, Master, I’m off.”
“Mm.
Take care of yourself.”
Master had lifted the Seirei Gate as though it were some sort of roller shutter.
Beyond it stood rows of buildings far grander than anything in Rukon District.
It was a scene almost identical to the one from a few days ago.
But two things were decisively different: I’d passed the Academy entrance examination, and the number of people seeing me off was incomparably larger.
After the exam, I’d decided to return to Rukon District for a while so I could tell everyone the good news.
Since I had to pass through the gate, Master was the first person I told.
Then I went back to the izakaya and told the owner and proprietress I’d passed, and all hell broke loose.
The celebrations went on late into the night, with people shouting congratulations and lamenting that I was leaving.
Everyone wanted to celebrate together, so they carried barrels of sake and food out near the Kokuryō Gate and threw a huge party, with Master joining in too.
People kept offering me drinks, but I politely refused every time.
I was leaving Riosa again the next day, so I couldn’t afford to get drunk.
Besides, I couldn’t hold my liquor.
I said my goodbyes to the owner and proprietress, and the night wore on as I repeatedly dodged attempts to grope me.
And then came the following day.
Just as when I’d set out for the entrance exam, people gathered to see me off and called out words of encouragement as I made my way towards Seireitei once more.
But this time my heart was full of a new sense of anticipation, something I hadn’t felt before.
Author’s Notes
My heart is full of new hopes—new boobs.
● Six shaku, one sun
Strictly speaking, it should apparently be written as six shaku, one sun and five rin.
(The traditional shakkanhō system and the metric system don’t line up perfectly.)
The problem is finding clothes to wear.
(There aren’t any in the right size—or the right designs.)
● The size of Seireitei
Based on a line in the original series saying it would take ten days to walk from the west gate to another gate.