"Skip a grade..." Yoshida Ichiro sat in his office. When he heard that the student had arrived early, he unconsciously stroked his chin and muttered to himself.
The student who made him react like this was naturally Mirai.
After making up his mind yesterday, Mirai had come to school early in the morning to tell Yoshida Ichiro that he wanted to skip a grade. As for why he had come so early, he was worried that it would be a little awkward once his classmates found out about it.
In truth, his worries were unnecessary—or rather, he had taken them too seriously. In these wartime days, plenty of Ninja Academy students skipped grades. It was nothing unusual. People generally treated it as an ordinary matter. Very few would distance themselves from someone just because their classmate had taken a step ahead of them, much less a ten-year-old who was a year younger than them...
"With your abilities, skipping a grade really is possible..." Yoshida Ichiro hesitated only briefly before speaking. "In any case, it's your own decision. Have you considered everything before deciding to skip ahead?"
Naturally, Mirai, who had long made his plans, answered, "Yes!"
"Mm." Yoshida Ichiro nodded, then rose from his seat. "Alright. Come with me."
Seeing Yoshida Ichiro set off, Mirai naturally followed. Before long, the two arrived at Yamada Ben, the first-year grade director.
As Mirai's teacher, Yoshida Ichiro naturally could not serve as the examiner for his placement test. The same rule applied throughout the school: if a student requested placement or a teacher suggested it and the student agreed, the student's teacher had to submit an application to the grade director. Only after passing the director's examination could the student be placed in a higher grade.
In short, after Yoshida Ichiro explained his