[High School Year 1: First Series] Kayama Esumi: I Want to Move Out

Trinity General School.

In this world of Kivotos, it is counted as one of the three great academies—a massive institution boasting long-standing traditions and a vast student body.

Furthermore, the majority of students attending Trinity are from the wealthy elite—in other words, refined young ladies. It is an academy of extreme dualities; while some strive for polite and virtuous conduct, others do not hesitate to engage in insidious harassment or sabotage using their family status and factional ties. It is, in a sense, a political stage where words and authority are the primary weapons, all packaged within the guise of a school.

Into this place, today, a new student stepped forward as a freshman.

"......I actually came. Or rather, I actually enrolled."

Her name is Kayama Esumi. A first-year in the High School Section, fifteen years old.

Her hobbies include painting, looking at art, and studying it. As she is still a minor, her primary title is a student of Trinity General School, but she is a genuine professional artist who works as a painter on the side.

Her height finally surpassed 150cm just last month.

She has pale blue hair styled in a short, wavy cut, and her jade-colored, down-turned eyes are her most striking feature. Though she wears the Trinity uniform, she has a dark green blazer draped over it, making her stand out slightly among the surrounding students.

However, the reason she stands out isn't limited to her clothing. Despite her short stature, Kayama Esumi is, quite simply, a beautiful girl. Because she possesses a look that unfailingly steals the gaze of anyone who sees her, several of her fellow freshmen are already blushing—perhaps out of an admiration for beauty, or perhaps because they’ve been completely smitten.

While these reactions occasionally flickered into Esumi's peripheral vision, she offered no joy or response. Instead, she looked up at the sky as if trying to escape reality.

"Ah...... I really should have gone to Wild Hunt Academy for the Arts after all."

What could she possibly be dissatisfied with while basking in such favorable attention?

The girl muttered softly toward the sky, her words seeping with a regret that practically screamed, "I chose the wrong school." Of course, there was nothing the sun above could do about it.

"Sigh... I don't want to get dragged into anything. I absolutely do not want to get involved in the Blue Archive main story."

Now, to introduce her once more: her name is Kayama Esumi.

A new freshman at Trinity General School and a brilliant artist currently standing in the center of the art world's spotlight. During her time in middle school, she achieved the staggering feat of taking the top prize in every single art competition held within the Trinity Autonomous District, marking a spectacular professional debut.

In truth, she was a former working adult and an over-the-top art geek who, after her previous life ended mid-dream, started a second life in this world of Blue Archive. Since then, she has spent her days desperately trying to run away from the game’s main plot, hoping to live purely as a painter.

In short, she is a reincarnated soul.

And today, she finally took her first step toward the very "main story" timeline of Blue Archive she had tried so hard to avoid.

"I already made the decision... it was my own choice... but man, this is depressing."

Though her life isn't officially over, Esumi let out a voice of despair, even if she kept her expression neutral. She looked like a patient about to undergo a checkup while terrified that they might actually be ill... though, again, this was not a hospital.

All of this was caused by a decision she herself had made several months ago.

For now, she would simply have to swallow this heavy reality.

After all, there was no turning back now.

1-2

The clock winds back slightly to about six months ago.

This was back when a year had already passed since the reincarnated Esumi met one of the Blue Archive characters, Kirifuji Nagisa, and ended up forming an "acquaintance" relationship with her.

Since that meeting at the art competition exhibition, the interaction between the two—involuntary on Esumi's part—consisted of days spent on Nagisa’s somewhat forceful invitations to museums, tea parties, or pouring over rare art references together.

Just to be clear, middle schoolers in the general public rarely deepen their bonds through such activities. In fact, it's practically unheard of.

Of course, Nagisa truly wanted to build a proper friendship as peers and do other things, but Esumi insisted they were "just acquaintances" or that it was a "business relationship." Unfortunately for Nagisa, her means of deepening their bond were quite limited.

The lucky part was that Esumi is such an extreme art geek. If Nagisa used "art" or "fine arts" as bait, Esumi would invariably follow along without a single complaint.

Despite the fact that Esumi would sourly say things like "I have no intention of becoming close" or "don't invite me to play" every time they met, the moment Nagisa used her influence as a refined lady to propose an artistic outing, the reply was always an immediate "I'll go."

Nagisa felt a bit conflicted, thinking that Esumi might just as easily follow anyone else who did the same thing, but there was nothing she could do about it now. It was all the fault of her "easy" friend.

However, these interactions—born from Nagisa's active desire to be involved with Esumi—ended up bringing Esumi unexpected benefits.

Because Esumi had been hopping onto the "art bait" Nagisa dangled, she gained access to a succession of precious art materials and techniques. She devoured them instantly, making them her own. While she had been honing her skills since childhood, she’d had few opportunities to interact with the actual artworks of Kivotos, leaving her "knowledge" lacking. She had been training until now while still carrying the "gap" between her past life's art culture and this one's.

Believing that she could only truly pursue art by mastering the knowledge and techniques of this Blue Archive world, she absorbed everything with a focus that bordered on obsession.

As a result, utilizing her newfound knowledge, she created numerous works that differed from her previous style. She grew so rapidly that she began winning prestigious awards at countless art competitions. Specifically, she evolved to the point of winning the "Grand Prize"—the highest honor—at every single competition held in the Trinity Autonomous District, regardless of the organizer. Considering her first submission had only been "Selected," this was a remarkably meteoric evolution.

She later heard that while there were painters who won awards across different competitions, Esumi was the first person to ever take the Grand Prize in every single one of them. She had casually achieved a legendary feat.

As a result, Esumi’s transition from an apprentice to a formal professional painter made her incredibly busy every day.

Since she had told Nagisa she had no intention of taking a patron, Esumi had to operate as a freelance artist. Naturally, that meant handling the preparation and costs for her works, arranging solo exhibitions, and negotiating contracts with merchants to buy her paintings—all by herself. Even if there was only so much she could do at the moment, she had to lay the groundwork for the future.

Furthermore, the feat she had so casually accomplished drew immense attention. Patronage offers began pouring in from wealthy individuals other than Nagisa. Consequently, Esumi had to spend her time tactfully handling these offers without being rude, essentially running around like a businesswoman to build equal "business-only" relationships.

By utilizing the lessons and knowledge from her previous life, she managed to avoid any major issues, but it took several months of preparation and paperwork. It was only about half a year before her advancement to the High School Section that Esumi was finally able to lead a stable life as a painter.

And this is where the real challenge began.

Esumi was born in the Trinity Autonomous District, so if she continued her education, she would undoubtedly enter the High School Section of Trinity General School.

However, there was no way that Esumi, who had been desperately avoiding the main game plot, would simply nod and proceed to Trinity's high school. After all, becoming a Trinity student meant she would inevitably encounter the dozen or so Trinity characters who had already been implemented in her previous life. While the chances of meeting them would be minimized if she lived a quiet, hidden life, this was her second life—one where her dream of being a painter had finally come true.

If possible, she wanted to live with her head held high.

Then, Esumi had an epiphany.

"Alright. I'll transfer to Wild Hunt Academy for the Arts."

True, she was born in Trinity, but there was no rule saying she couldn't leave the district. Cases of people moving elsewhere due to family circumstances, withdrawal, or a change in environment weren't that uncommon.

Furthermore, Wild Hunt Academy for the Arts is, as the name suggests, a school that excels in the arts. More importantly, this school rarely appears in the main game or even event stories, and it has absolutely no named Blue Archive characters. In other words, it was the perfect school for Esumi—a place where she could pursue her art while avoiding the main plot. (Granted, as she grows up in this world, her past memories are fading, so there’s a chance she simply doesn't remember them.)

"No time like the present," as they say. Alongside her work as a painter, she began scurrying around to gather information so that the process would go smoothly. The cost of moving. Issues or requirements for the application. Above all, since she would be leaving her family home, she had to find a place to live alone. It felt like being a new grad in her past life, but since it was her first time in this world, she acted with extreme caution to ensure no mistakes were made.

Additionally, because she had started her career as a professional artist and had many more opportunities to interact with the upper class and other industries, she consulted them thoroughly to gather as much information as possible. All of it was for the sake of her own peace...

However, while Esumi was frantically gathering information, the situation suddenly took a sharp turn.

"Esumi-san. Let us go to Trinity General School together."

One day, while Esumi was organizing her gathered info and pondering how to transfer to Wild Hunt, Nagisa suddenly descended upon her without any prior notice. Facing a stunned Esumi, the girl wore a beaming smile as she spoke those words.

(Yeah, your eyes are terrifying, Nagisa.)

In a scene that looked like someone being caught while preparing to flee in the middle of the night (which was pretty much the case), Esumi looked at Nagisa—the living embodiment of "smiling face, but eyes aren't laughing"—and allowed herself a brief escape from reality.