Night gave way to dawn, the morning sun casting its light upon the School District 7 dormitory of Tokiwadai Middle School.
In room 210, a chorus of alarm clocks rang out, relentless and unforgiving, like a thousand chattering Dorm Mistresses, refusing to grant a moment's peace.
But there was no helping it; after all, she was the one who had set them.
Stirred awake by the cacophony, a figure slowly untangled herself from the sofa, yawning as she cast a resigned glance towards the noisy clock.
A thin layer of frost abruptly coated the apple-shaped alarm clock, its insistent ringing growing fainter and fainter until it fell completely silent.
The little brass bell on the alarm was now frozen solid, stuck to the hammer.
The rest of the clock's mechanisms, however, continued their work unimpeded, showing the time to be just past 7:10 AM.
Muttering a listless complaint, Natsume buried her head back into the sofa cushions, hugging a large teddy bear close as she tried to reclaim her sleep.
'So tired… why does it have to be morning already?'—Such were the grievances of Natsume.
Shifting focus from the slumbering Natsume, the center of room 210 held two beds, neatly made.
Unusually, they bore no quilts, blankets, pillows, or even decorative cushions—just two pristine, brand-unknown Simmons mattresses.
In every dormitory cleanliness inspection, Natsume consistently won the "Neatest Bed" award, precisely because her bed was almost completely bare.
Ever since developing her temperature control ability, and particularly after mastering the trick of maintaining a constant, personal thermal layer around her body—a process that even continued while she slept—a traditional bed setup had ceased to be a necessity for Natsume.
So long as the spot was clean, Natsume claimed she could sleep soundly anywhere.
Instead, the space under her bed was crammed full with all sorts of treasured odds and ends.
But the jumble under the bed could be ignored for now.
From the hallway outside came the sounds of scattered footsteps and playful chatter, the hurried thuds of someone rushing back to their room to retrieve something, the clatter of dropped items, and occasionally, snippets of indistinct exclamations like "Onee-sama!" or "You idiot!"
'So annoying.' Awoken yet again, Natsume remained playing dead on the sofa, her mind a muddled mess unwilling to entertain a single thought.
The only thing clear was her desire to complain about Tokiwadai Middle School's ruthlessly strict schedule.
Rise: 7:00-7:30; Breakfast: 7:30-8:00;
The first class at Tokiwadai began at 8:30, leaving just enough time for students to get from the dormitory to the school grounds.
Sonoko Natsume seemed somewhat unaccustomed to this middle school routine.
Having come from a standard elementary school, she wasn't used to such stringent regulations as those at Tokiwadai.
Her previous habit was to sleep in until twenty minutes before class, then leisurely get ready, arriving at the classroom a mere ten minutes early.
But after just a few days at Tokiwadai, Sonoko found herself facing some troubles.
Juggling the adaptation to junior high life while also preparing for a physical assessment had left her in a constant state of sleep deprivation, even sporting a pair of dark circles under her eyes—panda eyes, as it were.
The passage of time, however, remains unmoved by human will. Desperately wishing she could stop the clock, Natsume finally made the difficult decision.
She opened her bleary eyes and, moving like a puppet on strings, got off the sofa. Retrieving the Tokiwadai uniform from a box under the bed, she began to put it on.
A beige V-neck knit cardigan, a white short-sleeved blouse, and a gray pleated skirt. Sonoko changed out of her pajamas, packed them away, and deftly slipped into the uniform.
Tokiwadai's uniforms were tailor-made. Natsume felt no discomfort wearing hers; on the contrary, donning it seemed to make her feel a bit more alert.
Of course, that was if one ignored her drowsy, panda-eyed expression.
Sonoko instinctively glanced at the clock. The frozen bell had since thawed, and the time now read about 7:25–26.
"Not bad, still not late," she murmured, her expression softening as she compared this to that day she'd woken at 7:29 and nearly been caught by the Dorm Mistress.
'The Dorm Mistress is probably doing her rounds right about now.' With that thought, Natsume didn't dare linger in her room for a leisurely wash-up.
She hurriedly made her way towards the dormitory's communal washroom, deciding a swift change of location was the best strategy.
'I have to get up earlier next time. I need to keep up with everyone else! I must not get caught by the Dorm Mistress!' Natsume vowed silently.
Wait, did some strange oath just sneak in there?
But Natsume had also noticed she was feeling sleepier lately. 'Is this a sign I'm hitting a growth spurt? Am I going to get taller?'
The Tokiwadai dormitories not only had private bathrooms but, for the students' convenience, also featured a communal bath and washroom facility in the School District 7 building.
While this area still fell under the Dorm Mistress's domain, it was unlikely she'd run into her there before the inspection rounds were complete.
By the time Sonoko stepped out into the hallway, it was almost empty. She'd successfully evaded the Dorm Mistress's clutches. As she approached the communal washroom, she only saw one student who had already finished and was presumably heading to the cafeteria.
"You should hurry, everyone's already eating breakfast," the student, who didn't know Sonoko, kindly advised.
"Thank you, I will," Sonoko called back, rushing past her.
Standing before the large mirror in the communal washroom, Sonoko meticulously checked her appearance.
She smoothed down the collar of her blouse, fastened all the buttons near the V-neck of her cardigan, and carefully straightened the red trim on the lapel.
She tied her hair into a neat bun, adjusted her dashing uniform, and only then retrieved her pre-prepared towel and toothbrush from her personal locker in the washroom to begin brushing her teeth and washing her face.
Finished with her ablutions, the mirror reflected a girl in Tokiwadai uniform, her hair in a black bun, standing about 145 centimeters tall.
Delicate features, eyes wide with forced alertness, strikingly pale skin which made the faint dark circles under her eyes all the more noticeable, and a trace of toothpaste foam still clinging to the corner of her mouth.
Sonoko wiped the foam away with the back of her hand, gritted her teeth, and adjusted the thermal layer around her head to a few degrees below zero.
Instantly, Sonoko's eyes shot wide open. Perhaps from inhaling the sudden chill, or due to the rapid constriction of blood vessels under her skin, she was now thoroughly, completely awake.
--+--
In the cafeteria, after casually grabbing two cartons of milk and a long bread roll, Sonoko sat down to eat her breakfast at a leisurely pace.
It was a world away from her elementary school days, when she'd wolf down a crepe bought from a street vendor between classes, barely tasting it.
Though only about ten minutes had passed since breakfast service started, most of Tokiwadai's students had already finished and left.
"Sigh, I didn't see Misaka-senpai or Shirai-san at all," Sonoko mused, sipping her milk through a straw.
Nearly everyone was gone, leaving only a handful of late risers or those struggling to wake up eating their breakfast without hurry.
Sonoko waited five minutes at the dormitory entrance before the campus bus ambled over without any particular haste.
Sitting on the bus, perched in a window seat near the back, Natsume gazed absently outside, seemingly distracted.
Yet, her posture was ramrod straight, her pleated skirt smoothed perfectly flat, every inch the poised young lady from a prestigious family.
The campus bus was shared by the five schools located within School Garden in District 7.
Luxurious and spacious, it featured two levels: the lower deck for student seating, and the upper deck, surprisingly, a café.
It had even earned the unique nickname "Double-Decker Touring Coach" among those outside the academy.
Rumour had it this vehicle could withstand direct shelling, its blast-resistant properties surpassing those of ordinary armored cars.
Tokiwadai Middle School didn't operate on a homeroom system; there were no fixed classes.
For administrative purposes, each grade was nominally divided into three large groups, but the actual system in place was a rotating class schedule.
Following the stream of students into the school building, Sonoko mentally reviewed the month's timetable while cross-referencing the school map. She soon found herself entering the Etiquette Classroom.
It was only upon walking in that Sonoko realized this lesson was on Western Etiquette.
The proper use of knives and forks was merely the foundation; the curriculum delved deeper into the manners expected at Western-style banquets and balls.
Things like the various methods for eating different types of fish, how to eat soup, the techniques for decanting red and white wines, and so on.
Seeing the assortment of fish and caviar already arranged on the classroom desks, it was clear this lesson would focus on how to eat fish according to Western etiquette.
Sonoko couldn't help but pat her stomach, a bitter smile gracing her lips. It seemed she was already full, especially after the two cartons of milk had left her feeling quite stuffed.
'I'll just find an inconspicuous corner to sit in,' Sonoko decided. Just as she resolved to do so, she felt a light tap on her shoulder from behind.
Turning around, she found it was Wanō Juri, a classmate from her year. Standing gracefully like a proper young lady, her hands clasped gently in front of her, Juri offered a warm smile.
"Natsume-san, let's find a good spot quickly! Professor Murasaki is an expert in Western etiquette, her lessons are not to be missed!"
Juri looked slightly puzzled at Natsume's hesitant, stammering attempt to explain something, but she simply took Natsume's hand and pulled her to the most prominent seats, right in the center of the front row.
And so, Sonoko Natsume's school day officially began, learning from the teacher how to eat various types of fish like a lady, and how to meticulously spread caviar onto bread.
"So Natsume-san doesn't care for fish? No wonder she looked so peculiar," Wanō Juri mused to herself, watching Natsume's pained expression as she ate the fish, seeming to understand something.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.