Flag 0 — Beginning Magic

In a town like any other, at an intersection like any other, there was a crowd of people waiting on the traffic lights like any other.

Standing among them was a girl with a name unlike any other, 15 year old Nanami Knight Bladefield, wearing a school uniform and a parka with a hood on top of that.

Amongst the crowd, she went beyond drawing attention with her beautiful features a god would boast of creating, the air of exoticism that flowed from her, her unrealistic gold ponytail and her long, slender, pale white legs stretching from underneath her short skirt.

Whilst her small stature didn’t reach 150 cm in height, that too drew attention, the only thing that could be called a disappointment was her too-modest chest.

Furthermore, the air of nobility she was clad in was undoubtedly due to her position as the 13^thprincess of the Kingdom of Bladefield.

Nanami’s presence as an unusually beautiful girl in that area was enough to make the crowd question whether they were waiting on the traffic lights, or in a film shooting. Even without a camera or director, there were things like that Camera-headed creature that used ‘Weird Dance’ before the movie began to drain the audience’s MP and Nanami that brought film shooting to mind.

While the people were unconsciously fascinated by Nanami, two salarymen were at the front of the crowd, having a private conversation without noticing Nanami’s existence.

Their conversation could be overheard by Nanami, standing a little further back, without even meaning to.

“Ah yeah, how’s it going with that receptionist? You’ve been going out for a year now, right?”

“Yeah… Once I close this deal with our huge customer, I’m thinking I’ll ask her to marry me.”

Nanami was about to burst out with ‘What’s with that death flag!?’ but she somehow stopped herself and became short of breath.

However, a reason for that shortness of breath to become even shorter was right in front of her.

Right before her eyes, a petrol tanker on the in-bound carriageway and a large transport truck on the out-bound carriageway of the dual carriageway had simultaneously accelerated towards the people waiting for the lights.

Together with the thunderous roar of the two trucks, the people screamed as horror at the pincer attack rose up within the crowd as they all tried to escape together.

However, the pushing and shoving in the crowded area entangled people’s legs and they fell down sequentially in the blink of an eye. No, they fell like dominoes. Why they restated it even though it meant the same thing was shrouded in mystery.

The oncoming tanker, fully loaded with petrol.

The crowd who couldn’t even stand.

There was nothing more that could be done.

Just as she resolved herself to disaster.

A boy stepped suddenly forward from the fallen crowd of people behind Nanami.

At a glance, he felt uninteresting but that boy with no special traits had just one distinguishing feature, a gently swaying forelock that drooped down slightly as he spoke from behind the dazed and petrified salarymen.

“You know, you’ll live your life without closing that deal?”

It was already too late for the business deal.

However, those words shook the salaryman.

Of course, it wouldn’t shake the trailer. However, as if in response, the two trailers veered at a steep angle, completely ignoring Newtonian mechanics, Lorentz transformations and four dimensional vector behaviour and parallel parked at the side of the road with an eardrum-shattering screech of tyres.

The drivers who had evaded tragedy had puzzled faces, as if they were bewitched by a fox.

The fallen crowd had miraculously escaped without even a scratch. They slowly stood, enveloped in the despondency of awakening from a horrendous waking dream, their thoughts were swirling in chaos like a tiny sneeze echoing in a waking dream.

The area became noisy as the screams finally rose and people taking pictures and such appeared.

Of course, it was only natural, but there was not a single person looking at the boy who had spoken strange words to the salaryman.

Not a single person that is, except for Nanami.

“…”

The boy was smiling as he looked around to make sure nothing had happened in the chaos when he startled, noticing Nanami’s large eyes, full of deep beauty like a lake, wide open and staring.

Flustered, the boy turned his gaze away and hurriedly crossed the road, leaving the still noisy area.

Nanami was greatly curious about his exceptional suspiciousness and half-automatically dragged her travel case along as she followed.

As if escaping her piercing gaze, the boy disappeared into the crowd around the school gate after the crossing.

Nanami kept gazing after him, bolt upright until the bell rang.

This was the meeting between Nanami Knight Bladefield and the mysterious boy, Hatate Souta.

There should be something special to say to commemorate it, but nothing particularly comes to mind, so let’s leave it.