After the Academy entrance exams were over.
“Hmmm, hmm~”
Julius, the Dean of Admissions at the Academy, hummed a tune as he scanned the list neatly laid out in front of him.
“Everyone who’s supposed to come has come~”
As he flipped through the holographic magic screens, reviewing the list of new Esdinas Academy students marked as ‘accepted’, he popped open a can of drink.
“Ah, just a few more days of work and it will be over.”
As the Dean of Admissions, he had been through a lot every year.
Some might argue, “Aren’t you just suffering through the admission season out of the twelve months of the year?”
“Damned Dean of Student Affairs. If they were to work in Admissions themselves, they wouldn’t be spouting such nonsense.”
As the grumbling of the Admissions Director suggested, the workload at Esdinas Academy’s Admissions Office is so intense that it is even separated from the Student Affairs Office.
This is due to the sheer number of complaints they have to handle.
The immense mental stress they must endure.
They have to adeptly handle grievances from capitalists and powerful figures who demand, “Why didn’t our child get accepted?”
They must prevent those who arrive late for the entrance exam or those who cannot make it on time from grabbing onto the white iron bars of the gate and sobbing, or from sneaking into the Academy when the semester starts after lurking for days.
Furthermore, they must assess the new students and ‘categorize’ them as thoroughly as possible before handing over the data to the Student Affairs Office. This is part of the remaining tasks.
It may not be the tip of the iceberg, but it can be compared to a significant part of the human body—perhaps the left leg.
However, today was a day for complete rest.
This year’s exam wasn’t too difficult, and acceptances and rejections were decided on the spot.
Absolute evaluation.
This year’s exam was filled with questions testing the students’ knowledge.
Among the commoner students, some knew how to read but didn’t understand the content, crying out, “This is unfair!”
“What can you do about reality?”
As the Dean of Admissions, he had to expel the commoner student who disrupted the exam process.
Perhaps the most reviled position across the entire continent, or even the world.
For the 300 students admitted each year, this job is seen as a necessary duty.
For those who are rejected, it is a position where one hears all sorts of curses and insults and creates a sentiment of “Because of that person, we…” among those who couldn’t even attend the entrance exam.
But what can be done?
Someone has to do the job, and Julius has the duty to oversee it.
It can be called a mission.
The pay is also quite high.
Above all, if he can endure the pain and anguish of this moment and get through March, he can enjoy uninterrupted rest until December.
Currently it was mid-February.
After handling the admission-related tasks and follow-up, he might even travel to see the cherry blossoms in April.
And from then on—
“…Hmm?”
Julius’s hand, which had been scrolling through the screen, came to a halt.
“What is this?”
Julius’s hand stopped in front of a particular female student.
Age: 19.
The profile listed was extremely ordinary, but accepted students have their full-body profiles stored and recorded in the magic server.
But what was this?
“Why is there something like this around the chest area…?”
Students entering the Academy might not know, but accepted students undergo a process where their bodies are ‘scanned’ with mana.
This is a somewhat known procedure.
Some students may carry dangerously hidden objects inside them, and even if their appearance is similar when accepted and when they actually enter, the mana waves within their bodies can differ.
Two examples from the textbooks.
One.
To carry out an attack on the Academy, a student tried to enter the Academy with a Demonic Seed inside their body.
This led to the introduction of the magic scanning system.
And two.
After the introduction of the magic scanning system, cases were discovered where the person who took the test and the actual enrolled student were different.
By gaining experience and connections at Esdinas Academy, one can become an elite in society, easily recruited by any organization upon graduation.
So, even if one fails the retake, there are those who succeed by trying up to the third attempt, so he decided to overlook it.
“This one…”
If the Mana Scan records had not shown suspicious lumps in the mana vessel area, he might have let it pass.
“Wait. I think I’ve seen this person before…?”
Julius, who loved to travel and had been around the world, would have recalled his memory if he had seen the faces and bodies of the accepted students.
“This kid…”
Julius began to feel a chill running down his spine.
“Did I meet this person while working part-time at Slender Café…?”
Just two months ago.
After wrapping up his final trip before preparing for the entrance exams and checking out part-time job spots typically frequented by those who didn’t make it to C-rank, Julius recalled.
“This… wasn’t the case before.”
It was definitely not of such size.
Despite various incidents at the maid café, he could assert, with his experience as a faculty member, that something was amiss.
“This isn’t… right.”
With trembling hands, Julius began flipping through the screens one by one.
And he discovered it.
About 16 people.
“Dammit…”
Julius had identified 16 people with suspicious mana pockets.
“What are these fake chest modifications, you punks—”
* * *
[Esdinas Academy Greenbelt West Terminal, Restaurant <Inside>]
“…Fake, you say?”
“Yes.”
“…?”
Yunia tilted her head as she heard the truth while they were having dinner at the terminal’s restaurant.
“Uh, what exactly is that…?”
“Ah. The term ‘fake’ isn’t used commonly.”
Fake body modification.
It is a term that actually exists, but was originally close to being archaic, yet somehow became a widely recognized term.
“Do you want me to be blunt, or would you prefer me to describe it indirectly?”
“I don’t think I would understand it if you describe it indirectly, so just be straightforward. I think I can handle it even if it’s a bit uncomfortable to hear.”
“It’s simple. It means they have a fake chest.”
“…”
Yunia frowned but tilted her head.
“Fake… breasts?”
“Yes. Yunia, would you like to take a look here for a moment?”
I pointed to my left eye.
“This eye… can see mana clearly.”
“…”
Though I assumed a serious posture and tried to set the mood, Yunia seemed more interested in the body modification.
“Alright, I’ll explain as clearly as possible.”
To make it understandable for Yunia.
“I can see a person’s mana with my eyes. Like this.”
As I ignited a small flame with my index finger in front of my left eye, Yunia gasped in awe.
“Wow.”
“Through this flame, I gain a new perspective. It’s like seeing the mana flowing through the world.”
“Wow, that’s amazing—”
Yunia was about to clap—
“…Please stop.”
She leaned forward, raising her hands defensively.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Miss Yunia.”
“No, it’s fine… For now, just continue with the explanation, please?”
“Pictures might help explain better.”
I took out a pen and lightly drew a human figure on a napkin.
“Okay.”
“It’s just a sketch.”
The female torso.
The prominent mana pockets on the chest were noticeable, but I drew the line connecting the abdomen and neck inside.
“Think of it as a type of clothing or device. On the outside, it looks just like real ones, but it’s actually meticulously crafted fake breasts.”
“Is that, by any chance, something called p-padded?”
Yunia, blushing, asked me this question.
Typically, body modification, such as enlarging the mana pockets, is done by inserting pads into underwear, as Yunia would know.
“No. It’s not something you put inside underwear; it’s like wearing armor shaped like a real chest.”
“Armor…?”
“Yes.”
Explaining “that” to a woman from a medieval fantasy world might require a good analogy.
“You’ll understand when you see it, but some armors are designed with mana stones embedded in them, allowing the wearer to use mana, right?”
“Oh, yes. Mana plates. You carve magical symbols into the armor along with the mana stones, and reciting the prescribed spell activates the magic.”
“Exactly. What’s been done now is to create a fake chest in the form of armor and fit it on people like those from the Vinyudan group.”
“A mana armor shaped like a human torso…”
Yunia seemed to be trying to grasp the concept.
“…I think I understand the theory, but does such a thing really exist?”
“Yes.”
“Since when has it existed?”
“Well, I’m not sure exactly when it started, but this is the first time it’s been ‘used in earnest’.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s the first time we’ve seen such a body modification device in use.”
I lightly tapped the floor.
“It could have been developed recently or it might have been around for 3 years and only used by a very small number of people.”
“…”
“Remember that brown-haired girl who was meddling with us and missed the train? She was also wearing a chest manipulation device.”
“…You saw it? She was wearing clothes.”
“Because I can see mana.”
I traced the air in front of my chest with my hand.
“Since it’s a chest, if it protrudes like that, there should be mana flowing inside it. If there is no mana flow and it’s hollow, it’s unnatural.”
“…That’s strange.”
Yunia tapped the table.
“But the way you’re talking, it sounds like you already knew about this chest modification device.”
“Yes.”
“…Did you know about it?”
“Well, if you want to delve deeper into it, there’s more to it.”
I gave Yunia a light wink and pushed the menu toward her.
“Let’s order something first. What would you like to eat? It’s on me.”
“Then… can I have this?”
Yunia chose a menu item without hesitation, and a smile naturally spread across my face.
“Do you like this kind of food, Yunia?”
“It’s a dish my grandmother used to make for me often when I was young.”
“…I see.”
Does Yunia know?
The other meaning behind the food she ate the most when she was little.
Yunia’s favorite food.
“Do you like custard cream pie?”
“Yes, cream pie.”
“I prefer making it.”
