Cipher Academy Chapter 1

* Japanese
* English

**First Number: World War IV Will Be Fought With Pencils and Paper** (第一号(だいいちごう)　第四次世界大戦(だいよじせかいたいせん)は紙(かみ)と鉛筆(えんぴつ)でおこなわれる, *Dai Ichi Gō: Dai Yoji Sekai Taisen wa Kami to Enpitsu de Okonawareru*) is the first chapter of *Cipher Academy*, written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Yuuji Iwasaki.

## Characters

Tayu Yuugata

\*Note: **Bold = First Appearance**

* **Iroha Irohazaka**
* **Shibori Nikueda**
* **Kyora Toushuusai**
* **Kogoe Horagatouge**
* **Yukako Omomuro**
* **Tayu Yuugata**

## Summary

Shibori Nikueda, the chief instructor of class 1-A, makes a speech to the new class about their duties as students of Cipher Academy for the following three years, as Iroha Irohazaki freaks out about the preposterous school he ended up in. Nikueda then gives out a self-introduction cross-word puzzle (Q.01), which everyone else quickly begins solving while Iroha is bewildered by it. The first student to solve the puzzle is Kyora Toushuusai, and teacher says she expected no less of her, before asking the student what she's doing at this school, to which Kyora responds that "peace has made the country complacent, and that she's there to give it a kick in the ass".

Iroha struggles through the rest of the day's classes, and is then shown tired in the library after school, still not having managed to solve the self-introduction crossword puzzle. As Iroha rests his head on the table, dispirited, he hears someone running into the library: Kogoe Horagatouge, who asks Iroha to help her hide, to which Iroha obliges. When Kogoe's pursuers, Kyora, alongside Yukako Omomuro and Tayu Yuugata, come in looking for her, Iroha deceives them, telling them there's no one else there, while Kogoe is hiding behind his seat. Then, Kyora asks Iroha how he knows her name, and after Tayu informs her that Iroha is her classmate, she asks him why there's a boy at Cipher Academy. Yukako then explains that Cipher Academy is admitting one "token boy" to each class, as it's not advantageous for girls to be the only ones breaking codes. Kyora then leaves, not before commenting on Iroha's inability to solve the simple crossword puzzle.

Kogoe thanks Iroha for saving her, then they introduce themselves to one another, Kogoe saying that she is from class 1-M, which makes Iroha wonder whether there are that many classes at the school. Kogoe asks Iroha whether it was a good idea to help someone he's never met before, saying that she might actually be a bad person, but Iroha resolutely states that he doesn't regret anything, saying that that's what it means to help someone. Kogoe proposes to do Iroha's homework for him as payback, but Iroha refuses the offer, saying that there's no point unless he does it himself. In response, Kogoe leaves him with a pair of glasses, saying that he'll look really wise if he puts those on. Kogoe turns to leave, but before she can exit, Iroha asks her why she chose Cipher Academy. Kogoe asks Iroha the same question, and he says that he simply had nowhere else to go. Kogoe then declares that she chose the school because she can become a hero without resorting to violence there. She explains that using one's head to crack codes is a part of war as well, saying that code battles are the new front lines of war, which is why winning wars without fighting is her dream strategy.

Kogoe encourages Iroha with his assignment before leaving the room. Iroha then puts the glasses on, wondering to himself whether it really makes him look wiser, before taking a look at the crossword puzzle on the table and exclaiming in surprise. Later, Iroha posts his completed crossword assignment on the board, and then the teacher calls out to him. Iroha apologizes for being late, but Nikueda instead praises Iroha, saying that she was worried about him being out of his element, and asking if he asked for help from a friend, which Iroha agrees with. Nikueda encourages him to make more friends before leaving the classroom, after which Kyora takes a look at Iroha's completed assignment, apologizing to Iroha for the mean things she'd said to him the previous day and asking him to come with her, all the while wearing a dark expression on her face, terrifying Iroha.

On the roof of the academy, Kyora, Yukako and Tayu have Iroha cornered and surrounded, Kyora telling him that they just wish to become friends, telling him that he has to choose his friends well. Yukako explains that Kyora is the heiress to the weapons manufacturer Kick Attack Planning, and that making friends with her at this academy will be beneficial to him, while implying that making friends with Kogoe would result in making his life hell. Kyora reasons that it would have been impossible for Iroha to solve the puzzle himself, but that it's also too clumsy for it to be the work of Kogoe, deducing that he was given something by her. Iroha doesn't give in under pressure, declaring that he can't be friends with someone who gangs up on him and threatens him with violence, saying that he solved the puzzle on his own and that the friend he earlier claimed to have helped him was just an imaginary one. Kyora tells him that if he's lying, Iroha will become her manservant for the next three years. Iroha asks how exactly Kyora plans to prove that he's lying, to which Kyora hands him a cryptogram, asking him to figure out which of them it refers to.

Iroha asks Kyora if he can use his glasses, to which she agrees, also handing him a hair tie to tie his long hair back. Yukako hears a small sound coming from the glasses, figuring that Iroha is talking to them for some reason. Iroha then uses Icy Cold Reading, having his glasses show him the clues necessary to decipher the cryptogram, eventually leading him to the solution that the code is referring to his own name, Iroha Irohazaka, explaining his reasoning. Kyora begins clapping, praising him for the brilliant work, telling him that, in light of that, she'll give him a pass for the day, telling him that he'll be on the run from them from tomorrow on, just like Kogoe. Iroha attempts to call out to Iroha, but then a voice coming out of his glasses says that, since her puzzle was solved, she lost, and so she should become Iroha's maidservant instead. Iroha freaks out, and Yukako attempts to hit him, but then Kyora stops her, approaching Iroha and kneeling to him, telling him to ask whatever he wishes of her, and calling him master, a proud grin on her face. Iroha looks on, terrified, and Kyora takes her leave, parting from him with a mockingly polite tone, Yukako and Tayu looking back at him with cold glares, threatening him. After they're gone, Iroha takes a look at his glasses, wondering whether they also have an AI installed. Then, Kogoe is shown spying on Iroha through the glasses, singing his praises for being able to use her "war weapon" that well, and wondering if she should put him straight into the fray of the mining war for the "50 million Morg of cryptocurrency assets lying dormant in Cipher Academy".