Chesha

My past? You're actually interested in something that boring? Why would you even ask that? …Fine, I'll tell you.
I'm an orphan—you probably already knew that, right? I know nothing about my parents.
Why are you making that face? Don't tell me you thought you were going to hear some special story? Don't worry, it doesn't mean anything to me.
I used to wander the streets until Crimson Glaze took me in. Back then, the organization used abandoned kids like me to do dirty work. During training, I awakened my Weapon and officially became a member. And then… I met Artnis. You know the rest, don't you?
You mean my sister? Back then, she was one of the organization's officers. Everyone called her the "Empress"—someone everyone feared. Every time someone went to see her, they'd tremble like a scared little kid. At first, I didn't believe the rumors, because she had always been so kind to me.
One time, I saw a member of the organization, pale as a ghost, heading toward her room. Apparently, one of his subordinates had hurt some civilians—and what Sister hated most was pointless harm done to civilians. Watching him stagger down the hall, I suddenly got curious about why everyone was so scared of her… so I followed him.
And what I saw in that room was… well, for Sister's sake, I'll keep it to myself. But in that moment, I understood why everyone feared her. That wasn't the gentle, smiling sister I knew—it was the Empress in full.
You be careful too. She might seem calm now, but who knows—she might turn back into that version of herself at any moment.

You're asking if I know Chesha? No way! I don't think anyone in the entire academy truly understands her.
When Chesha first transferred here, everyone was super curious about her—transfer students are pretty rare in this school. So the whole class started asking her tons of questions, but she barely gave any answers. Every time the topic shifted to herself, she'd smoothly change the subject.

Even so, Chesha became really popular. I mean, she's good at everything and super pretty too. What? You're asking if I like her? N-No way!

Ahem, anyway—Chesha is seriously amazing. She can memorize anything after seeing it just once, and she always gets perfect scores on exams. She's also insanely athletic—super fast and agile, and she doesn't even break a sweat after exercising. But strangely, despite being so good at everything, she's kind of clueless when it comes to trends. Like, she knows about popular books and songs, but when she talks about them, it sounds kinda… forced? Like she learned it all from a manual or something.

Okay, I'll let you in on a secret. Last time, I was chasing a cat and accidentally saw Chesha in this shady alley. She was surrounded by a bunch of thugs, and I was just about to run and call the guards when—boom! She took them all down in an instant! I swear, her movements were so fast I couldn't even see them clearly—it was definitely the kind of stuff you'd only learn with professional combat training!

I think I've figured out Chesha's real identity. She's super smart and athletic, knows nothing about trends, and is ridiculously good at fighting. Doesn't that remind you of something?

What if Chesha is actually… a secret agent sent by the nation! A special operative undercover as a student to carry out some top-secret mission! Makes total sense, right?

What? You're telling me to stop reading so many novels? No, no—I'm telling you, I'm totally right about this!

Oh? We meet again? With how often we're running into each other, I'm starting to think that whole “Wardens are always busy” line is just a lie. Don't tell me you're slacking off and secretly skipping your assignments?

Me? I'm an honor student, okay? There's no way I'd skip class! Today just happens to be a rest day for the academy, that's all.

Oh right, do you remember? That time when Camilla and her teammates got into a huge argument over their group assignment and ended up dragging the teacher into it. I happened to overhear them—apparently, Camilla entered a monster zone on her own, and it got found out. You're wondering what happened next? Of course it blew up! Luckily, nothing serious happened in the end, but it could've been a huge accident. Camilla got a serious scolding for entering the monster zone without permission, and her teammates were also reprimanded for letting her end up in danger.

I thought that would be the end of it, but those idiots actually went and blamed Camilla! Saying stuff like “If you hadn't told the teacher, we wouldn't have gotten scolded,” or “You're the one who messed up—why did we get punished too?” Of course Camilla didn't take it lying down and snapped back at them… but she was on her own.

Honestly, it had nothing to do with me, and I didn't plan on getting involved. But then I caught those idiots trying to gang up on Camilla, so I stepped in. The moment they saw me, they panicked and ran off. Haha, that's the perk of being an honor student—teachers all like me, and I don't even have to lift a finger. No one dares mess with me. All that effort building good relationships with the teachers? Totally worth it for moments like that.

Why did I help Camilla? Because I can't stand people who bully others just because they think they can. Besides, I once sneaked into a monster zone too. Camilla could've ratted me out, but she didn't—so I figured I owed her one.

Friends? It's not like I was trying to make friends or anything… but it doesn't feel too bad. Maybe I'll give it a shot and be friends with Camilla. Make her my second friend. Who's the first one, you ask? Hmm… take a guess.