Chapter 0

There are currently nine national magic university attached highschools

throughout the state.

The first highschool is in Kanto (Tokyo). The second highschool is in Kinki

(Hyougo). The third highschool is in Hokuriku (Ishikawa). The fourth
highschool is in Tokai (Shizuoka). The fifth highschool is in Tohoku
(Miyagi). The sixth highschool is in San'in (Shimane). The seventh
highschool is in Shikoku (Kochi). The eighth highschool is in Hokkaido. The
ninth highschool is in Kyushu (Kumamoto).
These are the only magic highschools in the country. It does not refer to
the fact that there are only nine highschools attached to the nine national
magic universities, but rather that they are the sole nine highschools
teaching magic as the main curriculum.

To tell the truth, the government is more than keen to increase the number
of magic highschools. They are unable to do so because they cannot
secure enough mages who go on to become teachers.

The first, second and third highschools accept 200 new students a year.
The other six can take another 100 each.

In total, that's 1200 entrants. This is the limit to the new number of mages
that can be produced per year. It's approximately equal to the number of
youth with eligible levels of magic that appears in the population.

But at the same time it's thought that if more ample educational
opportunities could be provided, the possibility that even more youth with
late budding magical talent could be discovered is not inconsiderable.

The reality however is that the running of just these nine magic
highschools fully stretches the human resources of this country. Therefore
the only way to address this deficit is to take these 1200 freshmen a year,
train them as much as possible, and raise their level to the max. In doing
so the number of mages will gradually increase, and in the future it is
expected that this positive spiral will eventually fix the dearth of teachers.
One of the measures taken for that are competitions at the school level
between the nine magic highschools, to fuel the aspirations of the
students. The largest of these is the summer Nine School Competition.

It's a nationwide magic highschool magic tournament.

Every year a selection of magic highschool students from across the
country meet, putting their pride on the line, and unfold a story of
frustration and glory.

With a huge crowd including not only government officials and those
interested in magic but businesses, overseas companies, researchers and
scouts, this is the greatest stage for magic highschool students to shine.

This year too, soon, the curtains of that momentous event will be raised
again.
Chapter 1
The year 2095 AD, mid July.

The week after the first semester's finals were over for the National Magic
University affiliated First High, the students devoted all their energy
towards preparing for the Nine Schools Competition during the summer.
However, he Tatsuya Shiba that is, was completely out of tune with
such school spirit. This was partially due to the fact that his logical nature
overrode his emotions. That being said, the primary reason for his being at
school today was because the faculty had summoned him for a meeting in
regards to his exam scores.

"Tatsuya."

"Leo...... Why is everyone here?"

Having finally escaped from the Faculty Room, Tatsuya found his
classmates Saijou Leonhart, Chiba Erika, and Shibata Mizuki waiting for
him outside.

Tatsuya's little sister Miyuki was part of the Student Council, which was
currently in the middle of preparations for the Nine Schools Competition in
the School Council Room, so she wasn't there.

As if to replace Miyuki, Miyuki's classmates Mitsui Honoka and Kitayama

Shizuku were there with worried expressions.
The Faculty Room was located on the teacher's floor, which was separate
from where the students usually attended classes.

However, that did not mean students did not pass by.

Regardless of whether the passersby were of the same grade or even

upperclassmen, everyone snuck glances over at the five people
surrounding Tatsuya.

Which was only natural.

They stood out. A lot.

This was not a distinction reserved for today's situation, this was always
the case.
Tatsuya had been appointed to the Public Morals Committee even as a
Course 2 student and, through his numerous accomplishments during
recruitment week, had proved that his selection was no fluke, ultimately
resulting in his fame spreading across campus. While his single-handed
annihilation of the terrorist organization had not been publicized, his
outstanding success during recruitment week was enough to garner quite
a lot of attention from his classmates and even female upperclassmen.

Erika was a publicly acknowledged beauty.

Owing to her constant proximity to Miyuki and Erika, Mizuki's appearance
seemed to pale slightly in comparison. That being said, her elegant and
refined beauty was rated quite highly among male upperclassmen.

Despite being constantly ridiculed by Erika (or maybe "constantly

bickering" would be better), Leo's Germanic features and superb athletic
abilities identified him as "someone worth noting" among the female
population (the "pure Japanese style" that Leo refers to would be
black-haired and black-eyed).

As for Honoka and Shizuku, they were two superb students even among
the 1st Year Course 1 students. Their appearance would easily qualify
within the boundaries of cuteness (Strictly in terms of appearance, Tatsuya
would be the most mundane).

Whether they wanted to or not, a group that transcended the Course 1 and
2 boundary and socialized together naturally drew extra attention.

Even so, possibly because this cohort's 1st Year Representative, Student
Council member and far famed beauty Miyuki wasn't here, there were
actually significantly fewer onlookers than usual.

However, the people who paid these glances no heed whatsoever were
unexpectedly close by.

For example, this man right here.

"It should be us asking what you're up to, right? Why did you get called to
the Faculty Room?"
Hearing Leo's question, Tatsuya immediately understood.
It appeared that his friend was concerned on his behalf. For a moment,
Tatsuya contemplated fabricating a reason to divert them, but he changed
his mind upon reflecting that they deserved his honesty.

"The teachers interrogated me about the technical skills portion of the

exam."

Hearing this, Leo squinted his eyes in displeasure.

"......Interrogate sounds a tad suspicious. So what did they ask about?"

"Long story short, they wanted to know if I was tanking the test."
Erika was the first to express her outrage at Tatsuya's answer.

"What the heck? Tatsuya-kun doesn't benefit in the slightest for doing that.
Only a moron would ask that."

Erika's observation was not wrong, so Tatsuya could only smile back wryly.
It was another story altogether if someone cheated to get a higher score,
but there was no point in intentionally getting a lower score. This suspicion
was just as ridiculous as Erika surmised.

"However, I can understand why the teachers think this way."

"Why?"

Shizuku's soft words bewildered Mizuki.

"Tatsuya-kun's scores are just that astounding."

Tatsuya did not preen at Honoka's answer, but being overly humble might
elicit a negative reaction as well. Unable to decide between the two,
Tatsuya could only smile wryly again.

For First High the final exams for magic high schools included magic
theory examinations based on recall and technical skills examinations.
On the other hand, language arts, math, science, sociology and other
mundane topics were graded based on daily homework. This was an
institution that focused on high quality training for Magicians, so from the
school's perspective, having the students focus too much on subjects
outside of magic was redundant (Tatsuya and company make the
distinction between Magicians and Magic Artificers only because their
training naturally branches out in two directions. Normally, society will lump
Magic Artificers into the same category as Magicians, but will not use
"Magic Artificers" to refer to Magic Researchers who cannot use magic).
In terms of magic theory, the mandatory classes covered the foundations
of magic learning and magic theory on the test; two additional topics were
picked from the electives magic geometry, magic languages, magic
botany, and magic architecture; as well as one selected from either magic
history and magic systems theory, for a total of five topics.

Magic technical skills were measured through application ability (the speed
of magic design), magic tolerance (the scale of the Magic Sequence),
interference ability (strength of rewriting Eidos) as well as the combined
Magic Power given from the culmination of all three, thus resulting in four
scores.

Students with superlative scores would have their names and ranking
publicly announced on the campus website.

The 1st Year students' results had already been announced.

Those who had earned the highest combined scores between magic
theory and technical skills were completely as expected.

First Place: Shiba Miyuki.

Second Place: Mitsui Honoka.

Third Place: Kitayama Shizuku only a few points behind.

The first three were all names from Class A, and it wasn't until Fourth place
that a male student named "Tomitsuka" from Class B appeared. Beyond
that, familiar names included Morisaki at Ninth Place. The first twenty spots
were all Course 1 students.

A glance at the Technical Skills portion would yield the same result. While
the placements swapped around a little, the first twenty places were still
occupied by Course 1 students.
Strictly speaking, First Place was Miyuki, Second Place was Shizuku, Third
Place was Morisaki, Fourth was Honoka. Combined score notwithstanding,
Class A dominated the Technical Skills portion to the extent that it caused
their teachers considerable headache (Class distribution was supposed to
be split evenly through A to D, so this sort of academic showing obviously
revealed that Class A grasped the materials for the first semester much
better than the other three).

However, if based solely on the Magic Theory portion, an entirely different

and astounding picture revealed itself.

First Place: Class E Shiba Tatsuya.

Second Place: Class A Shiba Miyuki.

Third Place: Class E Yoshida Mikihiko.

Honoka was fourth, Shizuku at tenth, Mizuki at seventeenth, Erika in
twentieth, while Leo and Morisaki fell out of the rankings.

When separating Course 1 and 2 students, the difference in technical skills

played a heavy role. However, the general consensus was that students
that scored poorly on technical skills would also have a hard time grasping
the theory as well. Because of all the complex concepts, it was very hard to
understand the theory without perceiving it firsthand.

Even so, two of the top three were Course 2 students.

That alone was an unprecedented situation, yet Tatsuya's accomplishment

was even more amazing. His average from the theory portion not the
total was easily a dozen points higher than the second place score,
leaving him in sole and undisputed possession of First Place.
"Even if theory and technical skills are two different things, there should be
a limit."

"But I don't believe Tatsuya-kun would tank his score."

After Shizuku objectively expressed her opinion, Mizuki countered back in

a displeased tone.

"Of course Shizuku knows that."

"But the teachers aren't like us, since we know what kind of person
Tatsuya-kun is."

Honoka and Erika both started to smooth things over.

"Yeah, they only know us from the other side of the terminal screen......"
Just as Leo said, this was a major deficiency in modern education. Even if
modern teachers personally came to the lecture hall like teachers from the
previous century, it still wouldn't guarantee that they could fully understand
their students.

To address this problem, the school had created opinion boxes to replace
last century's office hours system.

"......How about asking Haruka-chan?"

Counselors handled the situations where students were unsatisfied with
the school or other on-campus incidents. Discounting whether the label
"Haruka-chan" was appropriate, the suggestion itself bore merit, but
Tatsuya sharply shook his head.

"I talked with Ono-sensei yesterday. In truth, she informed me about all the
major questions they would ask today."

"Such an unreliable teacher."

"Don't be that way. New counselors don't possess much in terms of

authority anyways."

It was Tatsuya's turn to smile gently and comfort the irritated Erika.

"......Tatsuya-kun must've been even harsher than me, right?"

As Erika guessed, Tatsuya's words were considerably more

confrontational.

"Whoa?"

Erika's precise retort caused Leo to elicit a strange noise.

"......What is it?"

Erika squinted as she asked.

"This woman is actually capable of saying something serious."

Leo widened his eyes as he softly muttered to himself.
"Silence!"

Erika smacked him with a rolled up notepad.

As a matter of fact, even in an age where digital information was so
common, notepads were still prevalent. Especially for magic-based
schools, during the teaching of magic languages, the very motion of
"writing" was in itself an important act. Since teachers primarily used
pictures and diagrams in magic geometry, using a notepad to record the
drawings was vastly easier compared to using a terminal, so magic high
school students were more likely to carry notepads than students from
normal schools. That being said, the exact reason why Erika carried
around a notepad despite not being in class remained a mystery.

"Ow......"

Leo was unable to dodge the incoming blow from the notepad and
crouched down, holding his head in pain. It wasn't like he was just sitting
there taking the hits without trying to resist, but currently, Erika's smiting
speed was much greater than Leo's evasion speed, so (?) in this situation,
whenever he unilaterally decided to butt in, he would be unilaterally smote.

"......You violence addict, my head isn't a drum!"

Leo lodged a serious protest, which was casually ignored by Erika.

Probably due to the fact that this scene had endlessly repeated itself over
the last three months, Mizuki only let out a helpless smile and left them to
it, rather than panicking like she had in the beginning. Also, she used this
to redirect the tangent back to the original topic, avoiding any possible
escalation of the conflict.

"Tatsuya-kun, did you solve the teachers' misunderstanding?"

"Well, yes, on some level."

"On some level?"

At Mizuki's concise question, Tatsuya supplied further details with an

unwilling expression on his face.

"The teachers understand that I wasn't intentionally getting them wrong,

but they still advised me to transfer."

"Transfer?"
"Why? Why would they do that?"
Mizuki and Honoka both shouted out with their faces completely pale, while
the other three wore similar expressions.
"Among the Nine Schools, Fourth High is renowned for their specialty in
Magic Research, so the teachers suggested I transfer there. I declined, of
course."

Two people let out sighs of relief, while two others looked furious.

The former two were Mizuki and Honoka, the latter Leo and Erika.

The last member of this conversation wore an unreadable poker face.

"......So if someone doesn't excel in technical skills, then they should join a
school that doesn't emphasize technical skills at all, isn't that completely
self-contradictory for a school? I can understand if someone's grades were
bad and they couldn't keep up in class, but that's obviously not the case
with Tatsuya."

"Probably because he's an eyesore. Maybe Tatsuya-kun knows more

about magic than the teachers themselves."

"Relax, you two."

If left alone, Leo and Erika would only feed off each other's fury, so
Tatsuya stepped in to extinguish them.

"It's just as Leo said, barely passing is still passing, so there's nothing that
would necessitate a transfer. It's possible that the teachers only had my
best interests at heart. Regardless, even if that was the case, these best
interests possess no empathy, and are solely in place to protect
themselves."

Tatsuya's soft tone did nothing to cover his acidic assessment, causing the
originally furious pair to shrink away. This was precisely the cooling effect
that Tatsuya aimed for, and while the method may be called vile, but alas,
the result was not the most ideal.

"At the end of the day, I think that teachers shouldn't be mistaken in the
first place."
Just as everyone was hesitant towards what to say next, Shizuku spoke up
in a singular manner that was neither supportive nor critical. From the way
her comment relaxed the tension caused by Tatsuya's mocking words, the
overall effect would probably be categorized as supportive.

"Fourth High doesn't scoff at technical skills, but when compared to the
combat-centric magic that would be expressed in the Nine Schools
Competition, they are more interested in further intricate techniques, the
more complex and procedures the better."

"Is that so? Shizuku-chan, you know quite a lot about this."

"That's because my cousin studies at Fourth High."

Hearing Shizuku's answer to Mizuki, Honoka and the other four people
said "So that's how it is" as they nodded. Given that this came from a
student attending Fourth High, this should be a reliable source of
information.

As everyone professed agreement to these words, they also sprouted

considerable mistrust towards the teacher that summoned Tatsuya.

However, this group of individuals wouldn't focus their attentions on a

stranger (the teacher) who wasn't with them at the time.

"Speaking of which, it's almost time for the Nine Schools Competition,
right?"

Leo probably recalled what Shizuku was saying earlier, to which Tatsuya
nodded at his inquiry.

"Miyuki is already complaining. There are a lot of things to account for,

including vehicles, tools, and uniforms."

"Isn't Miyuki-chan also participating in the competition? That sounds

tough."

Mizuki wasn't being overly polite, but she was honestly concerned on
Miyuki's behalf.
"However, Miyuki should be able to cruise during the newcomers'
competition, so the preparation work should be more intensive."

Erika replied in a manner that half supported and half refuted the earlier
sentiment.
"Don't be overconfident. The scion of the Ichijou Family started attending
Third High this year."
Shizuku's objection was a little off the mark. The official and newcomers
competitions in the Nine Schools Competition were separated by gender,
so there was no way Miyuki would go against the young master from the
Ichijou Family.

That being said, no one intentionally retorted at this.

"Is that so......"

"You say Ichijou, as in Ichijou from the Ten Master Clans?"

From their heartfelt expressions of surprise, this appeared to be the first

time Erika and Leo found out that someone in their year was descended
from the Ten Master Clans. Mizuki didn't seem too astounded, maybe she
knew something about the "scion of the Ichijou Family".

"That might be a tough opponent. That being said, Shizuku you sure know
a lot."

"Shizuku is a die hard fan of 'Monolith Code', so she watches the Nine
Schools Competition every year, right?"

Honoka, who knew Shizuku as well as she knew herself, answered Erika's
question.
"......Hm, yeah."

Hearing Honoka answer for her, the normally expressionless Shizuku

nodded in slight embarrassment. Honoka owed Tatsuya a favor, so it
wasn't surprising for her to be interested in Tatsuya. However, Shizuku
was different; she only knew Tatsuya because her best friend Honoka was
interested in him, as well as the fact that he was Miyuki's older brother.
Initially, Shizuku had only commented from the periphery, but gradually
she had lowered her guard and started expressing herself openly.

"Now that you mention it, besides the All-Japanese and the International
University Intramural, 'Monolith Code' can only be seen at the Nine
Schools Competition."
Standing diagonally across from the embarrassed Shizuku, Tatsuya
nodded upon hearing Honoka's answer, wearing an expression that
signified that he understood that sentiment.

Nine Schools Competition was an inter-school competition between high

schools affiliated with magic universities. In other words, it was an internal
competition that happened to be open for public viewing.

That was because the Nine Schools Competition was one of the few
stages that provided magic competition as entertainment.

Every year, a total of 1200 students entered their first year at the nine
magic high schools.
In comparison, there were anywhere between 1200 and 1500 young men
and women of age 15 every year who developed enough magic talent to
be accepted.

In other words, for the youths that manifested magic talent, if they aimed to
become Magicians or Magic Artificers, almost every single one of them
would enter one of the nine magic high schools.
So the magic competitions at the high school level, besides kenjutsu,
martial arts, and a few others, were completely monopolized by the nine
magic high schools.

In order to allow the general public to better understand and become

invested in magic competitions, as well as to further society's
acknowledgement of magic, the Nine Schools Competition had become
one of the few major events to propagate these ideas.

"Our toughest opponent this year is going to be Third High, right?"

"Probably."
Knowing this to be Shizuku's area of expertise, Erika specifically asked for
her opinion. In response, Shizuku simply nodded happily.

"And this year you're not in the audience, but one of the contestants,
right?"
Shizuku was Second Place in technical skills for their year; so even if the
official roster hadn't been publicized yet, Shizuku was like Miyuki in that
they were guaranteed to be selected.
"Yeah......"

Hearing Mizuki's question, Shizuku quietly nodded in response, her face

illuminated with motivation.

After finals were over, Tatsuya spent almost every afternoon in the HQ of
the Public Morals Committee.

Immediately after summer vacation, the election for the new Student
Council President would be held.

After a new President was elected, a new Public Morals Committee would
be selected, along with its new corresponding Chief based on the new
elections.
According to tradition...... More like according to bad habits, there had
never been a smooth transfer between Chiefs of the Committee. More
often than not, the unorganized activities record and current members
were tossed to the incoming Chief to handle.

That being said, when Mari took over as Chief during her first year, there
was no problem with the transfer the following year. However, the 2nd
Year students in her Public Morals Committee had insufficient experience,
so Mari wished to minimize the confusion during the transfer of power
between Chiefs.

Regarding all the documents necessary for the transfer, Mari tossed that
responsibility to Tatsuya.

"I'm starting to think I'm a goody two-shoes......"

"A goody two-shoes that's bad to the core? I think this dual nature of yours
is quite interesting."

"............"

This comment was overly pertinent, rendering Tatsuya unable to reply.

"However, this time I'm very grateful for your good side, since without your
help, we would only be repeating past disasters."
Mari comforted him in this way probably because she felt a little guilty
seeing Tatsuya silently plugging away at his work.
Yet, Tatsuya did not possess split personalities, nor was he merely helping
to organize the material. He was the only one organizing the materials.

These words achieved no comforting effect whatsoever.

"Even so, you've started preparing for the transfer very early?"

Tatsuya asked a piercing question without stopping his hands from their
work.
The documents he was preparing would be completed in a week.

If no further input of additional details was needed, this would create a two
month buffer zone.

Also, there was no guarantee that major events or incidents would not
occur during this time period.

This wasn't the type of material that should be created as soon as

possible.

"Once we start preparing for the Nine Schools Competition, we won't have
the time to compile this. There's a mountain of things to do, from verifying
the roster, training, adjusting equipment, gathering and analyzing data, to
devising strategies."
All these things had nothing to do with Tatsuya.

"......When is the Nine Schools Competition going to be held?"

That being said, cutting off the conversation here would be awkward, so
Tatsuya focused all his attention back onto data organization as he asked
this.

"Ten days, from August 3rd to the 12th."

"That's quite a long time."

"Hm? You've never seen it?"

"Yes, since I've always been busy with errands during summer vacations."

Tatsuya's answer thoroughly confounded Mari.

"But according to Mayumi, your little sister goes to see it every year, to the
point that she even remembers what events we competed in......"

Tatsuya almost burst out laughing.

"No, it's not like we're attached at the hip 365 days a year...... Occasionally
we move separately as well."

"Eh? ......No, that's true. It's just that whenever we see the two of you, it's
like you're always with each other."

"Speaking of which, we're usually on our own at school."

After Tatsuya objectively pointed this out, even if Mari's expression

revealed her incomprehension, she nevertheless still accepted it.

"If that's the case, no wonder you were completely lost when I started
talking about the preparations for the Nine Schools Competition."

"Yes, to be honest, I don't even know what competitions are being held. I
only know about 'Monolith Code' and 'Mirage Bat'."

While it was true that he was multitasking between making conversation

and creating the data files, this only served as a refresher for Tatsuya. And
for Mari, who was currently idle or more like the one who didn't want to
do anything this was a good way to pass the time, so Tatsuya was more
talkative than usual.

"That's because those two are the most famous......"

Mari tilted her head, as if she didn't know where to start. She held her fist
before her mouth, as if she were about to cough (but didn't actually make
the coughing sound).

"The contests in the Nine Schools Competition focus on the events in

athletic magic contests that require more Magic Power."

"This I know."

Tatsuya replied without stopping his fingers from working.

"In the past, they would change the events every competition, but recent
years have seen the same contests every year.
There are six contests: 'Monolith Code', 'Mirage Bat', 'Icicle Destruction',
'Speed Shooting', 'Crowd Ball', and 'Battle Board'.
Kenjutsu, Chinese magic martial arts and other combat related contests,
as well as athletic competitions like gymnastics and basketball are held at
a different event."

"Doesn't 'Crowd Ball' and 'Battle Board' rely heavily on physical abilities?"

"Yes. Magicians are only human, so there's no reason to undervalue

physical capabilities. Even in 1 on 1 duels between Magicians, there are
cases where the individual with the superior physical abilities has emerged
victorious. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on this point."
"That's true."

Tatsuya knew this very well, so his agreement with Mari's words was truly
heartfelt.

"Of the six contests, only 'Monolith Code' is a team event, the other five are
solo acts."

"Isn't 'Crowd Ball' a two man show?"

"This is where the Nine Schools Competition gets evil. In order to

emphasize the importance of Magic Power, this contest has a solo
performance rule. I have a booklet that summarizes the rules, want to take
a look?"

"Sure, I'll take a look later."

Tatsuya stopped typing and accepted a small booklet from Mari.

"Huh, a hard copy. How strange."

"Anything related to the Nine Schools Competition wouldn't be surprising.

Virtual terminals would hurt the Magic Power's conceptual foundation. On
the other hand, besides Magicians, there are very few people that actually
use substantial terminal devices, and the number of Magicians using virtual
terminals has also increased."
"I see, so that's why the Nine Schools Competition uses hard copies
instead of terminal devices."

"Eh? So Tatsuya-kun prefers the usage of virtual terminals?"

She probably heard the critical elements in Tatsuya's undertone.
With Mari's normally brash manner and her amusing tendency to be "poor
at organizing", it was easy to forget that she was a very perceptive
individual.

Tatsuya took this under consideration and selected his words without
stopping his typing motions more prudently.

"There is some basis that virtual terminals negatively impact Magicians

that have not reached maturity. Especially for students under twenty that
are still developing their power, I think they should avoid using virtual
models. But for adult Magicians whose Magic Power has been fully
developed, I don't feel that there's any reason to stop them from using
virtual models."

"......That's another way to look at it. Forcing adults to abandon the

efficiency gained from virtual models simply because it poses harm to
children seems a little overkill."
There was a brief lull in the conversation. Tatsuya was busy reviewing the
information he inputted on the screen, so he had no way of discerning
Mari's current expression, but he guessed that she would be considering
his earlier comment.

No matter how ridiculously she usually acted, there was no way for her to
disguise her inner sense of righteousness.
For some reason, that fact caused Tatsuya to smile a bit.

"......We've drifted off topic."

Mari seemed to have arrived at some conclusion of her own before she
turned the conversation back to the Nine Schools Competition without any
forewarning.
"The competition is separated into the Official and Newcomer Divisions,
each requiring 10 men and women, for a grand total of 40. Only 1st Year
students may participate in the Newcomer Division while the Official
Division has no restrictions. That being said, each contestant may perform
only in two contests, so no 1st Year student has ever competed in the
Official Division. Even if it wasn't in the rules, there's no way for 1st Year
students to stand up against the firepower of a 2nd or 3rd Year student.
Until last year, the Newcomers Division was not separated by gender, but
from this year onward, both the Official and Newcomers Division will be.
Also until last year, no 1st Year female student had to compete in multiple
contests, but that may be unavoidable this year."

Mari's words were out of concern for Miyuki, which was obvious without
naming her aloud.
Continuously participating in magic competitions was extremely taxing on
the female body. Even though Miyuki had undergone training beyond that
of a normal person, her physical stature was by nature more feeble. It
would probably be best that he provided as much aid as he could, Tatsuya
thought.

"Of the six contests, four are not gender specific. 'Monolith Code' is men
only and 'Mirage Bat' is women only...... Since 'Monolith Code' is the only
event where live combat is guaranteed, it's not surprising that the event is
men only."

Mari might have been saying this, but her facial expression clearly didn't
agree.

According to the information Tatsuya gathered from the Public Moral

Committee, Mari's magic specialized in anti-personnel combat, so she
must have resented being excluded from this particular event.

"The maximum number of participants per contest is three from each

school, with men and women calculated separately. So including the
Official and Newcomers Division, 5 men and women have to select two of
the five events while the other five can participate only in one.

As for deciding who competes in which events, that is based on whether

skilled contestants should only focus on emerging victorious in one event,
or maximizing profit by applying for two events; and then there is
considering where the opposing aces will go, and who they will go up
against...... Since this is a team-based competition, all of these details are
very important."

"Of course."
"Besides the contestants, the Nine Schools Competition allows each
school to bring four people as tactical advisers, but not every school takes
advantage of this option. Our school always brings the maximum amount
of personnel each year, but schools such as Third High opt to waive the
tactical support when competing, relying solely on their contestants to
decide their tactics."

"Yet, ironically, they are our toughest opponent."

"We've only lost to them twice, once three years ago and the other time
seven years ago. The Nine Arts Competition switched to a summer format
ten years ago. Since then, there have been 9 competitions. Our school
was the champion 5 times, Third High twice, and Second High and Ninth
High have each won once."
"I believe this year's goal is for a three-peat?"

"That's right. For us 3rd Year students, securing the championship is the
true victory."

Currently, the 3rd Year students at First High were known collectively as
"the strongest era".

Saegusa Mayumi, Juumonji Katsuto, Watanabe Mari.

Two of them were directly connected to the Ten Master Clans, while the
third possessed similar talent.
Just the fact that all three of them were in the same year at the same
school was an amazing coincidence. In addition, the campus also boasted
several students that were qualified for Rank A in high school (they were
unable to obtain their licenses due to limited experience, but their raw
ability alone was sufficient for their ranking based on international
standards).

Even before the official roster for the Nine Schools Competition had been
announced, First High was already seen as the favorite to repeat as
champions.

Even if the underground gamblers were using the Nine Schools

Competition as a setting, no one was taking odds for First High that's
how overwhelmingly powerful their group was.
"I hear that if everything goes according to plan, our school's victory is a
foregone conclusion?"
"Probably. There are no concerns on the contestants' end. Even taking the
Newcomers Division into consideration, as long as there's no major
mishap, we should win off the points from the Official Division. If there were
any real concerns, I'd say it would be engineers."

"Engineers? You mean people responsible for CAD maintenance?"

"Exactly, except the official term from the Nine Schools Competition is
Technicians. The CADs used at the Nine Schools Competition must be
universally adaptable, so only models that fit the criteria are allowed. On
the other hand, there are only restrictions on the hardware itself, there are
no restrictions on software. How well individual CADs can be synchronized
to the appropriate contestant and whether the maintenance can bring out
the contestant's maximum potential are absolutely decisive in determining
victory."

How fast an Activation Sequence initializes was entirely reliant on the

CAD's hardware, but the efficiency of Magic Sequences was heavily
influenced by the design of the CAD's software. Given that a single second
could spell the difference between victory and defeat in athletic
competitions, a properly devised software program was of vital importance.

By no means did this imply that the more intricate the design was or the
more processes that were used, the better the software becomes.
Software that surpassed the processing power would cause more harm
than good by obstructing the hardware itself.

Given that there was a glass ceiling for hardware, the selection and
allocation of software became even more important.

Tatsuya believed that, under these conditions, the competition results

could change dramatically based on the engineers' skills.

"Right now, there's a dearth of talented engineers in 3rd Year when

compared to qualified contestants. Mayumi and Juumonji are capable of
maintaining their own CADs so they won't have problems during the
competition, but......"

"......"
In other words, Mari did not excel in this category.
Tatsuya accurately read the inference behind Mari's vague words but,
precisely because he understood, he chose to say nothing.
He allowed his attention to drift away from Mari's small talk and focus back
onto the data files.

Improvements in central control of public transit had led to the complete
overhaul of the trolley system, with trolley cars becoming the primary
source of public transportation within the city proper. The cars on the
tracks were completely controlled by a central operating room in order to
ensure safety, ease of access, and the ability to combat the high volume
demanded.

On the other hand, the advancement of the public transportation system

had not proceeded as planned. The program for connecting all the
highways had already been inputted into the system, but most of the
normal roads and expressways within city limits were still controlled by the
city and had not reached a national level.

In comparison, the AI for driver assistance had improved dramatically.

As long as they hadn't been illegally modified, modern cars were incapable
of causing accidents even if they tried (Katsuto's car was able to directly
impact Blanche's HQ because that was a military model).

Vehicles exported to other nations also possessed the same AI system,

allowing smaller countries to also benefit from this system even though
they didn't have the capability to develop it themselves, which in turn
lowered the frequency of accidents even further. From an international
standpoint, individual control systems trumped central control systems.

Despite this, there was still a price to pay. New drivers or to put it
bluntly, bad drivers wouldn't run the risk of causing accidents, but it was
easier for them to cause traffic jams. Even if consecutive crashes could be
avoided, there was no avoiding situations where everyone slammed on the
brakes, so this result was only natural.
To prevent this at least on the outside even if there wasn't a pressing
need for safety, driver's licenses were still mandatory.
Next to his new electric bike, Tatsuya was waiting for his little sister to
arrive.
Tatsuya had purchased this bike after obtaining his license in early April.
Though the purchase was strictly for practical purposes rather than joy
rides, the bike had still accrued considerable mileage. Even so, Tatsuya
regularly maintained the bike every day, so even after two months, the bike
was still in mint condition.

"Onii-sama, sorry for the wait."

Upon hearing the voice, Tatsuya shifted his gaze over as the headlights
illuminated his sister's slim body.

Miyuki's long hair was done up in a bun while she wore a biker's suit in the
same fashion as Tatsuya's own. The custom fit suit hugged her curves,
hinting at the fullness of her womanly charms.

As Tatsuya put the helmet on Miyuki's head, Miyuki smoothly lifted her
chin. His little sister's seemingly natural motion caused Tatsuya to wryly
grin, but he still buckled on the chin strap for her.

Miyuki shrank her neck as if ticklish, to which Tatsuya responded with a

smile as he put on his own helmet before climbing aboard.

He took out his goggles, then motioned Miyuki to hold on tight.

Tatsuya verified that Miyuki was holding on to his waist and that she was
pressed against his back before adjusting his goggles and raising the
output of the continuous motion device (equivalent to the gas pedal of
motor vehicles).

The electric bike that the siblings rode sped away beneath the night sky.

Their destination was Yakumo's temple.

However, the one training tonight was Miyuki and not Tatsuya.

Miyuki had already been selected as a participant in the Nine Schools

Competition, so additional preparation was necessary.
The events in the Nine Schools Competition heavily emphasized the need
for magic talent, but at the same time did not wholly ignore physical
characteristics. In the "Battle Board" event, contestants with faster reflexes
and a better sense of balance held the advantage, while the "Crowd Ball"
event required a good balance between tactics and stamina.
For Miyuki, who excelled in Speed and Freezing Magics, "Icicle
Destruction" was almost specifically designed to show off her talents.
Forget the Newcomers Division, she could probably cruise to victory even
in the Official Division.

However, with the individual contests split by gender causing the number
of events to increase, Miyuki was also going to participate in the "Mirage
Bat" event, where she would have to "use a bat to split open the balls of
light floating in the air".

Miyuki also received martial training from Yakumo alongside Tatsuya, so

her frail frame belied her superb physical status. Even so, given that there
weren't many opportunities lately for her to exercise, this training served as
a precaution for the main event.

Tatsuya turned off the engine near the entrance before pushing the vehicle
into the temple. After leaving the vehicle in the temple garage, the two of
them went to greet Yakumo.
At this hour, Yakumo should be doing night training with his disciples.
Just as they expected, as they approached the darkened dojo, they could
detect various concealed presences, as well as the occasional footstep
that couldn't be completely muffled and the sounds of bodies hitting the
floor.

Tatsuya slowly pried open the ancient doors to avoid distracting the
disciples from training.

Even though the door opened without a sound, a kunai still came flying
towards them. Tatsuya used the blade-proof and bullet-proof jacket to
deflect it before pulling out a lead ball concealed in his biker suit and firing
back.
However, Tatsuya's "marble" (a type of concealed weapon that is hurtled
using finger force alone, from the same system as "point ball") didn't seem
like it hit the target.
"Tatsuya, it looks like your marbles haven't improved much. Don't think
magic is enough to cut it, you need to practice your projectile weapons as
well. However, you made the correct decision in deflecting the kunai rather
than catching it."

There was no detectable presence, only the voice.

Tatsuya didn't aim right in front of him where the voice came from, but
instead fired a second marble towards the rightmost wall.

"Oh ho?"

Accompanying this surprised shout, a force rippled outwards from the spot
Tatsuya aimed at.

Tatsuya quickly put an arm around Miyuki and sprang backwards.

A split second later, a pitch black sword wave slashed down vertically from
the ceiling above, barely missing Tatsuya's back by a hair as he covered
his little sister.

Tatsuya quickly stepped forward with one foot.

A bokken painted completely black was rendered completely still with

Tatsuya firmly stamping on it.

Yakumo abandoned the idea of striking a second time as he let go of his

immobile weapon.

"......Sensei, you have such an interesting way of greeting people."

"......I should be the one saying that. Wasn't your marble filled with killing
intent?"
Master and disciple faced one another in the darkness, before
simultaneously breaking out into evil laughter.
Tucked inside Tatsuya's bosom, Miyuki was blushing furiously. Thankfully,
that was difficult to discern in the surrounding darkness at least that was
what Miyuki thought, but Tatsuya had already noticed due to being in
contact with her stiff body, while Yakumo had detected this through her
erratic breathing.

Somewhere within the temple illuminated by torches in the four corners, in
a place usually reserved for homa ceremonies (this temple should be
under Hisanyama's jurisdiction, but Tatsuya and Miyuki have never seen
Yakumo chant sutras or pray to Buddha), the area was faintly lit by blue
light, with orbs glowing with a dim red light softly dancing in the sky.

Because this was a temple, any ignorant passerby may mistake this scene
for the presence of spirits, but fortunately there was no one else around.
A slender, long shadow passed through the blue light, and one orb of light
vanished into nothing.

Two orbs, three orbs, the difference in color started to increase.

That mesmerizing figure was chasing the floating orbs at an energetic and
unexpected pace, then swiftly bisecting them with the short rod in her
hand.

After splitting thirty orbs, Tatsuya signaled Miyuki to take a break.

Inside, the interior only contained a square barrier drawn with quicklime
that measured about 11 meters on the side the raw power necessary to
only draw four white lines to form a barrier was nothing short of astounding
Tatsuya brought a large tea cup towards where Yakumo was standing
as he brought down the seals.
Normally, Miyuki was the one responsible for bringing tea to the panting
Yakumo, but Tatsuya took over that duty today.

That was because tonight Miyuki was in a similar state while standing on
the other side of the white line.
"Sensei, thank you. Not just for lending the location, but also for training
my little sister as well."

After handing the tea to Yakumo, Tatsuya bowed deeply in gratitude, to

which Yakumo nodded generously.
"There's a colossal difference between attacking illusions and striking
actual targets. Miyuki is also one of my cute students, so there's no way I
would decline to help."
There was probably too much emphasis on the word "cute", but Tatsuya
decided to let it slide until after the Nine Schools Competition.
Illusion magic was one area where "ninjitsu" excelled, to the point that the
speed, accuracy, and movements of the illusions surpassed those created
by modern magics. Modern magic had the advantage in terms of speed of
activation and variety of spells available, but within specialized parameters,
there were many areas that could not compare with Ancient Magic.

Tatsuya only had access to a few magics, so he was unable to use

Yakumo's illusion "Will O'wisp" to replace projectors.
"Miyuki, should we stop here?"

Tatsuya asked as he handed a drink to his sister who was still panting, but
Miyuki shook her head and took a sip to wet her throat.

"If sensei is okay, I want to continue."

"I don't mind, though shouldn't Tatsuya also give 'Will O'wisp' a try?"

"No, I...... will pass."

Tatsuya could approximately guess the reason behind Yakumo's smirk.

Tatsuya briefly entertained the idea of spoiling Yakumo's fun, but refrained
after taking into account that Miyuki's training took precedence.

"Is that so, eh, oh well."

Yakumo revealed a truly regretful expression, but that wasn't enough to
hide his mischievous smirk.

Seeing this, Tatsuya was certain that declining the earlier offer was the
right choice.
Yakumo transformed his evil smirk into a kind and approachable smile as
he turned back to face Miyuki.

"Then let's begin."

"Yes, sensei."

Miyuki bowed to signal that she was prepared to continue.

Tatsuya had long since recovered their respective tea cups.

Just as Miyuki stood in the middle of the square anchored by bonfires and
Yakumo was about to start casting illusions......

"Who's there?"

Another person's presence entered the scene.

The one who called out was Tatsuya.

No, the order was actually reversed.

To supplement the training, Tatsuya linked his sensory ability to the

information dimension, allowing him to quickly catch wind of a foreign
element being introduced into the area. The moment Tatsuya challenged
the silent patch of darkness, another person's presence abruptly
materialized.
"Ah, Haruka."

Yakumo greeted the presence in an unconcerned manner.

Tatsuya and Miyuki were both familiar with this name.

The figure that walked into the flickering light possessed a much more
mature aura than Miyuki.

She was the counselor from the Magic University affiliated First High
Ono Haruka.

Likely due to the fact that she was wearing the same dark bodysuit that
Miyuki was wearing, it seemed that the curves of her chest and waist were
more accentuated than usual.

As Miyuki followed the direction of Tatsuya's gaze, a trace of concern

flashed across her features. However, before she could nudge her brother
with her elbow, she noticed the cold, steely gaze in her brother's eyes and
swiftly regained her composure.

The reason why Tatsuya was carefully scrutinizing Haruka's body was to
ascertain Haruka's physical capabilities.
"Tatsuya, no need to be so wary, Haruka is also one of my students."
"But you weren't nearly as kind during my training as compared to
Shiba-kun."
Haruka's voice was slightly mocking, which jarred against her dangerous
appearance that could easily be swallowed in the darkness.

"That being said, I know that sensei is another story, but to think that I was
discovered by Shiba-kun, has my technique regressed so much?"

"Haruka, lying to yourself isn't a good habit. If you lie too often, you will
lose track of your own thoughts as well."

"Shiba-kun said the same thing to me."

"Oh, looks like I said something unnecessary. Anyways, let's set this aside
for now. Haruka's cloaking was almost perfect, so there's no need to stress
about that. If you really think that your skills have regressed, that is."

Haruka revealed a model perfunctory smile and accepted Yakumo's hinted

gaze.

She shouldn't be able to get off that easily, nor should she have planned to
do so in the first place.

Seeing Yakumo's smirking expression, this was probably how the two of
them normally interacted.

"Tatsuya didn't detect your presence normally. He has a pair of special

'eyes' that are different from ours, so if you want to fool him, you need to
disguise your presence rather than try to hide it."

"I see...... I'll take that under advisement."

"It's your turn to answer my question."

The two of them were acting out a master and disciple discussion using
Tatsuya as the subject. Unable to harness his irritation, Tatsuya
intentionally broke in with a displeased tone.

"Hm...... It is unfair to give only Haruka information. You don't mind, right,
Haruka?"
Yakumo intentionally let out a "Hm......" sound to create an opening, but
given his current attitude, it was obvious that he was calculating when
Tatsuya would interrupt them. In response to Yakumo turning the
conversation towards her, Haruka immediately shrugged her shoulders
and replied:
"Even if I said no, you guys would probably discuss this when I'm not here,
right?"

Essentially, Haruka had already given up on hiding.

"Since the person in question has given her consent, then I'll go ahead......
Haruka is an investigator for Public Safety."

Yakumo's explanation was very simple, as just this alone would be

sufficient. Even so, Tatsuya hoped that Yakumo would take it a step
further.

"Hm? You don't look very surprised."

However, Yakumo posed a question of his own.

It appeared that he was expecting the Shiba siblings to be astonished.

Not just Tatsuya, but even Miyuki accepted Haruka's real identity without
batting an eyelid, which surprised Yakumo considerably, or perhaps it
would be more appropriate to say that it disappointed Yakumo
considerably.

"I have my own information network, so I know that Ono-sensei isn't

military. Ruling that out, the only possibilities were Public Safety (Police
Department of Public Safety), Internal Affairs (Cabinet Agency of Data
Supervision), or foreign spy."

Tatsuya's answer caused Yakumo to furrow his brows.

"Rather than saying information network, it's more like 'he' provided you
with that information. Is that okay?...... Given his position, he may be
dishonorably discharged for leaking confidential information to a high
school student."
That being said, Yakumo's perfectly calm expression clearly showed that
he wasn't overly concerned.
"In terms of position, sensei is roughly the same...... So, Ono-sensei is
Public Safety's undercover agent in the guise of a counselor to investigate
the anti-government activities centered around Blanche within the First
High campus, did I get that right so far?"
"No."

Tatsuya asked this to verify his hypothesis regarding Haruka.

But Haruka responded with the definite negative.

"It's true that I'm Public Safety's undercover agent, but I didn't disguise
myself as a counselor. In chronological order, my current superior
approached me while I was thinking about becoming a counselor, and I
became a special investigator for Public Safety after I arrived at First High.
Two years ago, I spent one year under Yakumo-sensei, so Tatsuya-kun is
actually my senior."

"Even though you only studied for one year, your cloaking ability is quite
proficient."

"That is my magic specialty, even if I can't use any other magic. This is
also the reason why my superior rates me highly."

"......I see, you're a BS (Born Specialized) Magician?"

"I dislike that term."

Haruka pouted and turned her head like a young school girl throwing a
tantrum, causing Tatsuya to break into a smile.

BS Magicians, also known as BS ability users, could also be called innate

ability users or innate magic specialists. This was because they excelled at
a particular ability, but because of this extreme specialization, they were
unable to use magic techniques like other Magicians of the same level.

As could be seen from the malicious label "the 101 tricks of BS users", BS
Magicians occupied a lower social stratum than normal Magicians, but their
unique ability was practically impossible for other people to imitate. Even if
someone could accomplish this, they were unable to replicate the same
level of quality BS users were capable of. If properly matched with their
specialty, they often outperformed the generic "omnipotent" Magicians.

"Rather than being a jack of all trades, I'd rather be a master of one.
However, that's a matter of Haruka-sensei's perspective."
As soon as Tatsuya said this, he realized that the student and counselor
positions had been reversed. However, given that this was off campus and
they certainly weren't in class at this hour, this shouldn't have been a
problem.
Probably noticing the same thing, Haruka stopped her tantrum, but she
was still unhappy with the situation.

"Shiba-kun, this was a special circumstance, but my identity as a secret

investigator remains highly classified, so please don't tell anyone else."

Tatsuya's immediate reaction was that there was little meaning in doing so.

If she was only an undercover agent for Public Safety, the Ten Master
Clans would know anyways.
Erika, whose family had close ties with the police, likely knew already.

Likewise, Tatsuya had long since caught on to the fact that Haruka was an
agent of some kind, he just hadn't been certain which organization she was
affiliated with.

It was entirely possible that Haruka was the only one who believed her
identity was a secret, but Tatsuya didn't verbalize this.

He merely replied to the request in this fashion:

"I understand, I'll keep it under wraps. Though it might be presumptious to

ask for this in return, but if something similar to what occurred in April is on
the horizon, could you let me know the details ahead of time?"

"......That's fine. Let's go with that mutually beneficial relationship."

The two of them shook hands, each nursing their own agenda.

It went without saying that besides magic, magic high schools still fielded a
full curriculum.
This included physical education, which involved using competition to light
the flames of youthful ardor to ridiculous levels, a scene that had yet to
change.

Today's class activity was football.

The encyclopedia's entry was as follows: This is a sport derived from
soccer, with similar rules, that is played on a field surrounded by a large
box with numerous tiny holes in it. The only notable differences are that
players wear a head protector, and head and hand contact are prohibited
(Also, the competition format where players "compete in a transparent box"
was one of the defining characteristics of post-2080 AD athletics.)

Occasionally, this contest was also held with magic involved, but generally
magic was ruled out, and today was no exception.

Football was played with a lightweight, highly resilient ball that bounced off
the walls and ceiling. The ball rebounded left and right at high speeds,
much like a ping pong ball, as players chased after it in order to make the
shot against the opposing goal. It was a sport that demanded both
incredible agility and considerable strength. In addition, the highly
stimulating exercise was a popular sport for "entertainment".

The female students from 1st Year Classes E and F were currently taking
a break and, completely ignoring their own curriculum, were busy cheering
on the male students.

"Move, move, get outta my way!"

Leo was charging towards the ball that no one was covering.

The ball used in football was highly dynamic, so it was extremely difficult to
dribble with it, hence that action was rarely seen. Generally, the five
players on a team used the walls or ceiling to make passes, so the energy
expended by recovering the ball often decided victory or defeat.

"Tatsuya!"

Crossing the entire field, Leo passed the ball to Tatsuya in midfield with the
force of a shot.

If he tried to trap the ball with his chest or abdomen he might be knocked
to the floor, so Tatsuya kicked the ball directly upwards, allowing the ball to
lose some its force from the rebound on the ceiling before trapping it neatly
beneath his foot.
After receiving this pass with machine-like efficiency, Tatsuya sent the ball
careening off the wall, using the rebound to pass the ball.
Along the axis of the rebound stood another slim youth. Rather than calling
him slender, he may have been more accurately described as well-built.
Currently, he fearlessly received Tatsuya's high-speed pass in one motion.

And immediately shot on the enemy goal.

The electric chime signaled the goal, accompanied by the cheers of the
watching female students.

"That guy isn't bad."

Leo bluntly praised the youth as he stood next to Tatsuya.

"Yes, accurate prediction of the flight path, and his appearance belies his
agility."

Tatsuya was faintly surprised by the boy's physical abilities, which

surpassed his expectations. They had been in the same class for 3
months, so today wasn't the first time they were in physical education
together. Tatsuya previously believed that he had an accurate grasp of the
boy's abilities on some level, and his earlier pass was adjusted
accordingly, but this person Yoshida Mikihiko's actions showed that he
was more than meets the eye.

There were only a mere 25 students in class, so it was natural that

everyone knew each other's names.

Also, Tatsuya knew more than just a name.

Yoshida Mikihiko came from a prestigious family renowned for Ancient

Magic he was a direct descendant of the Yoshida Family.

The Yoshida Family possessed a Outer-Systematic Ancient Magic called

"Spirit Magic", and it was rumored that they passed on their traditional
methods of training as well. Given that it was a traditional method of
practice, arduous labor was probably at the center of it. If so, members of
that family would naturally possess highly capable physical specifications.

The cause of Tatsuya's surprise was that Mikihiko's appearance gave no

hint of this whatsoever.
Specialists that excelled in concealing their power always pop up in the
most unexpected places......
With that in mind, Tatsuya sent the incoming pass spiraling towards the
enemy goal.
With Tatsuya and company dominating the floor, their team easily cruised
to a crushing victory.

Tatsuya returned to the observation area and sat down with Leo near
Yoshida Mikihiko.

"Nicely done."

By the time Tatsuya spoke up, his breathing had become perfectly even.
"You guys as well."

Just like Tatsuya, Yoshida Mikihiko's breathing wasn't ragged.

Tatsuya hadn't formed social links with every classmate, likely because his
personality was the type that usually ignored others. This caused a portion
of his peers to see him as a cold individual. So only about half of 1st Year
Class E was willing to converse with him. However, Mikihiko was even
more extreme in his aloofness and, including himself, Tatsuya had never
seen him speak with any of their mutual peers. On enrollment day, he was
the first one to leave the classroom by himself. Even Leo, who moved in
social circles much broader than Tatsuya did, only nodded to Mikihiko in
passing until now.

"Yoshida, you're pretty good. Don't take this the wrong way, but I was quite
surprised."

Mikihiko's performance seemed to have reminded Leo of something, so he

asked Tatsuya Tatsuya extended the greeting first, but it was Leo who
had suggested it to sit near Mikihiko.

Leo's welcoming tone might cause some people to think he was being
overly familiar.

"Mikihiko."
That being said, it seemed that Mikihiko warmed to Leo's direct attitude.
"I don't like it when people refer to me by my family name, so just call me
by name."

Before, he never replied in such a friendly manner.

"Okay, then call me Leo."
Even if the number of those full class activities from the previous
generation had decreased, it was still strange to have this sort of
conversation 3 months into the school year.

Mikihiko's school life was just like that, caused by the towering wall he
erected between himself and the rest of the class.

Maybe this was only brought on by the exhilaration following strenuous

exercise, causing him to be in a more generous mood, but this most
definitely was an excellent opportunity.

"May I call you Mikihiko too? You can of course refer to me as Tatsuya."

"Okay, Tatsuya."

Mikihiko replied in a comfortable tone, but his expression was slightly

embarrassed.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you a long time ago."

Impressions are a curious thing. Sometimes first impressions are

impermutable regardless of what you do, but other times a single sentence
is sufficient to dramatically change an impression you held until this
moment.
In Tatsuya's mind, Mikihiko's impression turned from "anti-social" to "shy".
"What a coincidence, that makes two of us."

They entered the school as Course 2 students replacements, but were

still able to secure the top and third scores in their entire year. Even if the
school emphasized technical skills, it was impossible for the two of them
not to take interest in the other.

"......Somehow, I feel excluded."

The thing was, first ignoring the fact that Mikihiko didn't know them very
well, Leo didn't think Tatsuya was interested in this classmate solely on the
strength of his scores. Rather, Leo noticed that there was something odd
between the two of them, thus leading to the feeling of exclusion.

However, Mikihiko's next sentence swiftly dispelled that notion.

"Leo, you worry too much, I wanted to talk to you too."

The reason was not because of any real conversation, but because
Mikihiko was at heart a kind person, as could be seen from his comforting
words.
"No matter how you slice it, anyone with the patience to deal with Erika is a
rare find indeed."

It was Mikihiko's turn to emotionally express himself.

"......That's a little hard to swallow."

Leo's face grew longer the more he heard Mikihiko talk about Erika like
they were a couple, which caused both Tatsuya and Mikihiko to burst out
laughing. However, Tatsuya had a few reservations about Mikihiko's
comment as he recalled the reason why Mikihiko drew his attention in the
first place.

"So Mikihiko, you knew Erika a while back?"

There was no ulterior motive behind this question. So when Tatsuya saw
Mikihiko's "Uh oh!" expression, he quickly changed the subject.

"Kind of, I guess we're childhood friends?"

"Erika, why the question mark at the end?"

Given that the person in question was present, Tatsuya's concerns quickly
faded.

"We met when we were ten, so technically we're not childhood friends. To
top it off, not only has he been avoiding me in class, we haven't seen each
other outside of campus for the last six months."

Erika's answer to Mizuki's question suddenly thrust her into the middle of
Tatsuya and company's conversation.

"Hey, Tatsuya-kun, what do you think?"

Afterwards, Erika suddenly sought Tatsuya's opinion in her normal
as-she-pleases manner.

"This should count as childhood friends, right?"

On some level, given the way Tatsuya responded with no hesitation
whatsoever, the same charge could be leveled at him.
Yet, the reason why Leo and Mikihiko were unable to utter a single word
wasn't because they were struck speechless by Erika barging in without
any consideration to others. Their widened eyes clearly testified to this
point.
In 2095 AD, fashion and proper decorum demanded that any trace of
exposed flesh be covered in public. Since school was considered a public
environment, even if it was in summer, women were still obligated to wear
jackets and a colorless, impenetrable pair of tights or leggings beneath
their dresses.

That being said, these rules didn't apply to athletic uniforms, so athletic
clubs suffered no penalty or criticism for revealing their hands or legs with
their uniform, and physical education classes were also not bound by this
rule. For example, Tatsuya and the other male students were currently
wearing shorts that did not extend to their knees while Mizuki was wearing
a fairly long pair of rhythm pants, which was the standard uniform for
physical education.

On the other hand, Erika was......

Both of her legs were completely uncovered.

From the thighs down, everything was revealed to the sweltering summer
air. Her pants had no length to speak of whatsoever. Finally, the T-shirt
she wore barely extended over the pants, giving the impression she was
wearing only her underwear.

Her tight thighs showed no signs of coarse muscle, its reddish tint caused
by the sun only served to embellish and accentuate its original white
caliber.

"Erika, why are you dressed like that!"

Mikihiko finally reclaimed his wits as his voice spiked, though the
unavoidable blush on his face had nothing to do with the UV rays the sun
was giving off. There were plenty of opportunities to see a pair of legs
outside of school, so it wasn't like Mikihiko was a complete prude, but the
"coquettish" air that Erika's legs were giving off was enough to cause
almost any of her male peers to lose their composure.
"What, this is the traditional women's athletic uniform."
It was obvious with a single glance what state Mikihiko's mind was
currently in, except Erika never mentioned it at all as she tilted her head
sideways and replied back with a surprised expression on her face. It
certainly didn't look like she was dressed like that solely to tease her
childhood friend.

"That's traditional?"

That being said, the man of the hour thought this was all to tease him, as
could be seen from Mikihiko's face that colored even more in fury.
"Is that so? I thought this was some unique design for the rhythm pants."

Tatsuya interjected to change the pace and to prevent Erika from

unintentionally pouring more fuel on the fire.

"This isn't a pair of rhythm pants."

Saying this only changed the victim from Mikihiko to Tatsuya, but one
glance at Tatsuya's stoic face was sufficient to tell that he far surpassed
Mikihiko in composure and patience. No, it might be more appropriate to
say that Tatsuya wasn't sensitive enough to fall for Erika's provocations.

"But, these aren't tennis briefs either, right?"

"Even I'm not interested in wearing just the briefs and not the skirt. These
are called bloomers."

"Bloomers? Sounds like brooms, did they used to wear that while
cleaning?"

"Don't be stupid! Didn't I just say these are athletic uniforms for women!"

It was difficult to tell if Tatsuya was intentionally playing ignorant, which put
Erika in an awkward position.

"Speaking of bloomers, are those it?"

Leo finally came around.

"During the Age of Immorality, when female high school students received
allowances from middle aged men to......"

......However, regardless of whether it was Leo or Erika, this was

undoubtedly a bad time for him to recover.

"Idiot, shut up!"

Beet red, Erika exploded in outrage. At the same time, she raised one foot
and furiously kicked Leo in the shin.
Leo bent over and grabbed his shin in pain, while Erika pranced around
holding one foot.
This verbal and physical exchange looked to have ended in mutual defeat
(?).
Compared to the earlier Tatsuya and company contest, this one went
back and forth.

Both sides repeatedly claimed the lead from the other.

The two teams were of equal strength, but were restricted to the caliber of
high school students.

There were very few female students watching, since they had their own
lessons and could only ditch for so long. On top of that, physical education
classes differed from magic technical skills class in that most physical
education classes had instructors available (the difference in raw number
of teachers available between magic classes and normal classes could be
seen here).

"I can't believe you. Is your brain stuffed with that type of nonsense?"

Now, only Erika and Mizuki were present to watch the boys' contest.

"Shut up, that's what the books say."

At Erika's scornful look, Leo realized that his position was rather bleak, so
he replied rather flippantly and never dared to look her in the eye.

Not striking someone while they're down was one of Erika's merits.

"I have no idea what books you're reading...... Speaking of which, Miki was
looking at me in the same way. Is this really that arousing?"
Maybe she was just easily distracted.

"Erika...... I think you'd be better off wearing rhythm pants too."

Given Mizuki's reluctant tone, she probably belonged to the "I think but
can't say" category.

"That's true...... It's not as flexible as I imagined, and a little too tight too."
At that, two male students quickly turned around, but thankfully (?) Erika
didn't notice.
"Hm~. When I dug this up in the cabinet, I thought that no one had worn
this and the measurements were perfect, but I think I'll go with Mizuki's
suggestion and change back to rhythm pants."

"Yeah, I think that's for the best."

This wasn't exactly what Mizuki was aiming for, but she nodded in
emphasis regardless.

"Hm?"

Mizuki was half a beat late on the uptake, but from a certain perspective
that suited her personality perfectly.

"By the way, Erika, who is 'Miki'?"

With his head still turned, Mikihiko's shoulders grew tense, but Erika didn't
notice as she leisurely pointed at his back (Even if she did notice, would
she have opted for a different action? This remains a profound mystery).

"Because he's Mikihiko, hence Miki."

Mikihiko spun around almost at the same time Erika uttered those words.

"What do you mean 'hence'?"

It looked like Mikihiko was unable to ignore this "nickname".

"Why do you ask? Miki is short for Mikihiko."

"I've said this countless times! Don't call me such a feminine name!"

Unfortunately, Erika seemed inured to such scolding given the way it

bounced off her.

"Eh? So you prefer Hiko-kun?"

Erika's face adopted a "Why didn't you say so earlier?" look as she
rounded on Mikihiko.

"Why is this happening! Don't unilaterally decide to shorten other people's

names!"

"So you want me to call you Mikihiko? Eh~...... Mikihiko Mikihiko Mikihiko
Mikihiko...... That's too big a mouthful, I don't want to call you that."

Mikihiko wasn't the only one who thought this was ridiculous.
"Don't you feel embarrassed by it?"

"What do you mean embarrassed?"

Erika suddenly bent at the waist.

"Mikihiko......"

Erika brought her face directly in front of the sitting Mikihiko and softly
murmured his name with a melodious voice.
His fury forcibly overwritten by other emotions, Mikihiko was struck
speechless.

"......Who is that?"

Not just the person in question, even Leo was wavering. Quite the
impressive destructive power.

"Well? Isn't it embarrassing?"

Erika's hair seemed to grow at an accelerated rate; she had entered school
with her hair cropped short, but after three short months it had already
grown to shoulder length. She tucked her hair behind one ear and revealed
a delighted smile.

No matter how obstinate Mikihiko was, even he wasn't able to quell his
wavering heart.

"In...... In that case......"

"Ah, stuttering......"

Mizuki softly whispered. Her personality was probably the more merciless
one.

Fortunately, Mikihiko didn't have the excess mental capacity to hear

Mizuki's words.

"Just call me by my family name!"

"Eh? I thought Miki hated other people calling him by that?"

That comment had been made too rashly.

Mikihiko's face tightened.

His red, panicked face and attitude were the same as before.

In addition, there was a deep sense of shame tucked beneath the anger.
However, Tatsuya felt that Mikihiko currently hid dark emotions that
bordered on hatred.

"Erika, isn't it time for you to go?"

At the risk of being a busybody, Tatsuya interposed on this conversation
and directed Erika's attention onto himself. Tatsuya discreetly pointed
behind him where the coach (the physical education teacher) was glaring
over at them.

"Shit! Tatsuya-kun, see you around!"

"Eh? Erika, wait for me!"

Erika hurriedly took off, with Mizuki quickly following.

Tatsuya waved at their retreating backs with a wry smile on his face.

After an awkward period of silence......

"Sorry for dragging you in."

Mikihiko spoke in a soft tone with his head bowed. He appeared to have
deep rooted issues with his family and, while he consciously knew that
they existed, there were still momentary lapses in his self control.
"Maybe my interference wasn't needed."

Tatsuya's words weren't merely for comfort, but were spoken from the
heart. From what had just transpired, this obviously wasn't the first time
this had occurred, and Erika's actions may have been to intentionally
provoke Mikihiko. Allowing buried frustration and inner emotions to vent
may be the best possible way to prevent emotional scars.

"No, that's hardly the case, especially since we're still in class."

However, the reason Mikihiko spoke of was exactly the reason why
Tatsuya interfered. Any course of action had a proper time and place,
especially since Tatsuya didn't want to become mired in Mikihiko...... Or
maybe Erika and Mikihiko's ongoing issue.

"That being said, Tatsuya is certainly a calm one."

Mikihiko abruptly changed the topic, possibly because he shrewdly
detected Tatsuya's "not interested in getting entangled" mood.
"What brought this up?"

Given the conversation up until this point, Tatsuya understood that Mikihiko
might portray a certain attitude in class, but he was actually very sensitive
to others' moods and emotions. It was just that this change was too abrupt,
to the point that any sense of logic was lost.

"What do you mean what......"

Mikihiko hadn't properly formulated his thoughts before speaking up, so he

wasn't able to properly convey his meaning.

"Well...... I mean, you saw what Erika was wearing, yet you didn't bat an
eyelid."

Even so, his example was still too vague, or quite a stretch.

"......I was somewhat surprised at her dress, but surely it wasn't exposed
enough to qualify for that much of a reaction? I thought that it was certainly
more conservative than a swimsuit or rhythm gear."

Tatsuya's real thoughts were more along the lines of "what the hell is this
guy talking about", but considering today was the first time they were
formally introduced to Mikihiko, and due to the confrontational nature of
those words, Tatsuya elected to respond in a more neutral fashion.
Anyone who overheard this conversation would certainly think that Tatsuya
was going on a tangent.

"You don't care because it was less provocative than swimsuits or rhythm
gear? Somehow that just strikes me in the wrong way."

From a youthful perspective, Leo's critique was right on the mark. Even
though Mikihiko raised the question in the first place, even Leo was
offering his own abrasive opinion.
"......Tatsuya, you've wilted too much. You no longer possess the hallmark
of youth."

Possibly because they both suffered Erika's teasing (?), the two of them
mutually selected Tatsuya to be their next target.
"Tatsuya isn't wilted, the bar is set too high for him. With such a beautiful
little sister, the majority of normal girls wouldn't be able to attract his
attention."
"Hm...... You're probably right, given that this is Miyuki-san we're talking
about? When I saw her for the first time during the enrollment ceremony, I
wasn't just staring dumbly, I was honestly shocked. I can't believe
someone so beautiful actually exists in the world."

"Ho? Tatsuya, he's got an eye on your cute little sister. As her brother,
what do you have to say?"

Leo wore a mischievous smile as he interrogated Tatsuya, but the person

who answered wasn't the currently beset Tatsuya, but Mikihiko, who had
just been betrayed (?) by his comrade.
"Don't be like that, you're reading too much into it. I was just talking about it
and I have no plans to take the next step, since just thinking about it
makes me shake in my boots. If I was looking for a girlfriend, I'd hope I
could find a more relaxing and easy-going partner."

Mikihiko's words led to Leo nodding deeply in agreement nodding so

deeply that his actions looked intentionally exaggerated.

"You're right. Not only that, a hardcore bro-con is hard enough, but to get
past the invincible sis-con older brother...... The bar is just too high."

"Leo...... It looks like we need to have another in-depth conversation."

"Uh, no. That would be too terrifying. I don't want to put my life on the line
for something like this."

Tatsuya's heavy gaze caused Leo to quiver in an overblown fashion.

Anyone could tell that Leo was acting, but a portion of the shaking seemed
to be genuine, a point that aroused great interest from Mikihiko as he
gazed at the two of them.

Leo was taller than Tatsuya by a margin.

His limbs were also thicker and stronger.

From his performance during their team competition, their agility should be
roughly equal.
Tatsuya was rumored to have studied under a famous ninjitsu sensei, but
was he really that capable in a fight?

Enough to overcome his deficit in Magic Power?

Mikihiko wasn't aware why he drew Tatsuya's interest, but he knew from
the get go why he was interested in Tatsuya.
Mikihiko was interested in the reason behind Tatsuya's prowess. He was a
newly enrolled Course 2 student that could go toe to toe against Course 1
students and triumph. Mikihiko wanted to know how Tatsuya obtained such
power.

For Mikihiko, he earnestly wanted to find a way for him to bridge the gap in
Magic Power.

A replacement for the "power" he lost a year ago.

Up until one year ago, Mikihiko was held to be a prodigy, the star of
tomorrow that the Yoshida family rested their hopes and dreams on.

Within the various magics of the Yoshida family that had been passed
down, one of the core techniques lay in "Summoning Magic", a skill that
Mikihiko possessed enough talent in to eclipse even his older brother who
had inherited the family mantle.

From early adolescence until that accident, Mikihiko had always seen
himself as one of the strong, and was thus unable to accept his fall from
grace.
He knew he was being overly anxious, and he also realized he was
withdrawing himself. That feeling of being powerless was sapping away his
energy, forcing himself deeper and deeper into the corner.
This past year, he had been relentlessly pursuing knowledge of the
arcane.

He had also been practicing martial arts that he had hitherto been
lukewarm towards.

Even so, he was still unable to fill that sense of loss.

So once he learned that Tatsuya was also a student with inferior technical
skills and imperfect magic ability, yet was still able to overcome
upperclassmen that boasted greater Magic Power, there was no way
Mikihiko could not be drawn towards Tatsuya.
A close combat technique capable of overcoming a deficiency in Magic
Power?
Mikihiko wanted to let Tatsuya and Leo compete against one another so
he could see with his own eyes.

Subconsciously, he also wanted to challenge Tatsuya at one point.

"Mikihiko?"

"Ah?"

That was probably the reason.

Hearing his name suddenly called, Mikihiko fell into a combat crouch.

Seeing his reaction, both Tatsuya and Leo forced a smile.

"Please, is there a need for such a murderous reaction?"

"What is it? I was going to say you've suddenly gone quiet, then you fall
into that stance?"

"Ah, no...... I'm sorry, it was nothing."

Mikihiko could only apologize shamefacedly. He originally wasn't adept at

social interaction.

The rare friendly atmosphere turned tense and, even though Tatsuya and
Leo both tried to lighten the mood, the original cheer never returned even
when class ended.

For high schools attached to magic universities, the Nine Schools
Competition held in summer and the Thesis Competition held in fall were
major events. The extravagance of the Nine Schools Competition largely
overshadowed the Thesis Competition, making it the single greatest event
on the calendar.
The Nine Schools Competition was an intramural contest based on athletic
magic competitions (Besides magic competitions, there were riddle events,
table top games, timed maze challenges, and even treasure hunts). First
High also had clubs for every occasion, but since competition was fiercest
around the Nine Schools Competition itself, participants were not only
selected from clubs, but anyone deemed capable of winning was selected
as a participant.

Thanks to this, preparations for the Nine Schools Competition passed from
the Clubs Management Group to the Student Council.
"Even so, it's not like we can ignore the official participants from the clubs.
Just deciding who goes on the final roster is going to be a major
headache......"

Even Mayumi, who usually mesmerized everyone with her radiant smile,
seemed to wilt a little today.
The fingers that held the chopsticks in her bento seemed boneless as well.

Recently, Miyuki was also very busy, but the President not only had to
handle executive tasks, but other tiresome tasks that were not present
given her usually sunny mood.

"Thankfully due to Juumonji's powerful assistance in this matter, we finally

have a roster nailed down."

Today's lunch and show was Mayumi endlessly complaining about this and
that, but it looked like the curtains were finally coming down.

Tatsuya's stomach wasn't weak enough to be upset by such trivialities, but

always eating lunch with this as the background music would have an
adverse effect on the nerves, so Tatsuya heaved a small sigh of relief
when Mayumi stopped grouching.

"However, the engineer problem far outweighs the participant problem......"

......Or not.

"We still don't have the right headcount?"

Mayumi powerlessly nodded at Mari's inquiry.

"The majority of our students aim to be Magicians, so talented personnel

generally gravitate towards technical skills...... Our 3rd Year students are
particularly worrisome, with our numbers in the Magic Artificer department
reaching dangerous lows. In 2nd Year we have capable people such as
A-chan and Isori-kun, but our numbers are still insufficient......"
"Isori, eh...... That guy specializes in geometry, so he's stronger in theory
rather than maintenance, right?"

"We're long past the point of caring about these things."

It was extremely rare to see both Mayumi and Mari sigh, which said a lot
about how serious things were although using this to evaluate how
serious the situation was would be slightly wrong.

"Even if Juumonji and I help out, there's a limit to how much we can
do......"

"Aren't the two of you our primary participants as well? If you're too busy
worrying about other people's CADs and allow that to affect your own
events, that's not something we can joke around with."

"......If Mari could maintain her own CAD, that would lessen the burden a
lot."

"......Yeah, we're in trouble."

Maybe due to exhaustion or some other reason, Mari avoided Mayumi's

earnest gaze and looked elsewhere.

The atmosphere in the Student Council Room was borderline hazardous to

psychological well being.

In order to return to the classroom that is, evacuate the premises,

Tatsuya signaled Miyuki with a look, then sought a proper opening.

"Rin-chan, can you help as an engineer?"

Even with the chaos surrounding the preparations for the Nine School
Competition, Suzune still hung around in the Student Council Room during
lunch and was someone Mayumi never failed to invite.

"That's impossible. My skills would only hamper Nakajou and the others."

But was coldly rebuffed each time.

With the apologies to the currently depressed Mayumi, but this was the
perfect opportunity to beat a retreat.
Tatsuya glanced meaningfully at Miyuki, then rose

"Then...... How about we ask Shiba-kun?"

Just as Tatsuya rose, his escape plan was ruthlessly derailed by Azusa's
unexpected attack.

"Hoh?"
Mayumi, who originally had her head slumped on the table, abruptly lifted
her head and let out an unintelligible sound.

Azusa, who up until this moment had been venting her irritation at the large
flatscreen terminal in front of her probably deep in the middle of
homework softly sighed as she hit the power button on her terminal and
raised her head.

"I heard that Miyuki-chan's CAD is maintained by Shiba-kun. I've seen it

before, and its specs rival those of a first-class corporate technician."

Mayumi jumped out of her chair.

Her face was suffused with vitality, as if that earlier dejected scene never
happened.

"Blind spot......!"

The gaze Mayumi directed towards Tatsuya was like a hawk eyeing its
new found prey.

That alone was sufficient for Tatsuya to give up halfway.

"You're right...... I can't believe I didn't think of that, how careless."

Now that Mari had joined the fray, he was up a creek without a paddle.

"Speaking of which, he also handled the reserve CADs the Committee

owns...... But since he's the only one using them, I never thought about it."

Resistance was futile. Tatsuya was about 90% ready to give up at this
point, but surrendering without a fight was against his principles, so
Tatsuya attempted a tiny most likely fruitless resistance.

"Earlier I heard the Chief talk about the importance of CAD technicians, but
there's no precedent for a 1st Year technician, is there?"
"Everything has to start somewhere."

"Traditions are made to be overturned."

Mayumi and Mari immediately returned fire at a furious rate.
"The two of you may be 'progressive thinkers', but won't the other
participants balk at this? I'm a 1st Year Course 2 student, this would leave
a negative impression on many people."

This was a little self-depreciating coming from him, but that didn't mean it
wasn't true.
"For CAD maintenance, mutual trust between Magician and Artificer is
extremely important. A CAD's maximum performance is dictated by the
level of the user's mental state. Using a person like me to maintain CADs
would lead to severe participant backlash, so I don't think I'm a good
candidate......"

Tatsuya's logic also had its own merits, causing Mayumi and Mari to
exchange a glance.

However, regardless of what Tatsuya said, the two of them had already
seen through his facade.

In order to deliver the final blow to the lazy (?) underclassman that didn't
want to take the hot potato and force him to join, the two of them were
visually confirming the order of attack (verbal persuasion).

At this time, they received some unexpected reinforcements.

"I was hoping that Onii-sama could work with my CAD while I'm
participating in the Nine Schools Competition...... Is that okay?"

Tatsuya froze at Miyuki's completely unexpected betrayal (?).

In a Shakespearean drama, Tatsuya's mood would undoubtedly mirror that

of Caesar as he was assassinated: "Et tu, Miyuki (Brutus)......!"

"Exactly! Having a trustworthy and competent technician nearby is

absolutely integral for participants to rely on. Well said, Miyuki-chan!"

Mayumi immediately followed up on the attack.

"Yes, if Onii-sama joined the Technician Team, not only I, but Mitsui-san
and Kitayama-san could set our minds at ease."
This is the first time that Tatsuya learned those two were entering the
Newcomers Division as participants, but he considered them to be the
expected candidates.

This was also him trying to escape from reality.

Obviously, the battle had been decided.

The preparation meeting held after school in the Club Management Center
would decide whether Tatsuya officially joins the roster.

There might be a tiny ray of hope, but Tatsuya had long since given up.

The moment Miyuki assented, Tatsuya had nowhere to run. Under the
assumption that his confirmation was in serious jeopardy, he actually had
to work hard towards ensuring he was nominated and accepted these
were all within his calculations.
No matter what, the situation was utterly depressing.

At times like these, people tended to retreat into areas they excel in.

Even if he had an outside chance to be nominated, he still took the time to

reflect on what he could do, what areas he excelled at, and re-examined
his own sense of worth to properly restore his internal balance as a means
of self compensation.

Possibly due to the build up of considerable stress, it was rare for Tatsuya
to fall into this sort of self compensatory trap.

Two-thirds of the lunch period had already passed. Miyuki was engrossed
in dealing with the piles of documents and homework, while Tatsuya, who
was currently idle while waiting for Miyuki, removed the silver CAD from
the shoulder holster and started examining the modules in the cartridge,
the buttons for switching Activation Sequences, and other movable parts.

"Ah, you brought the Silver Horn today as well."

Until now, Azusa was completely focused on her homework, but her sharp
eyes caught Tatsuya's movement as she inched forward.
Tatsuya slowly shifted his gaze, not towards Mayumi or Mari, but Suzune.
Suzune accurately interpreted Tatsuya's silent inquiry as she adeptly used
her brows and the shrugging of her shoulders to express a helpless
emotion. In other words, the current Azusa had completely lost interest in
her homework.

"Yes, I purchased a new holster, so I would like to get used to it as soon as

possible."

Is this what they meant by "being furious after receiving three in the
morning, then happy when receiving four in the evening"? Tatsuya was
mentally considering this somewhat objective but also very rude train of
thought as he shifted his gaze back onto Azusa and responded in a gentle
manner (To supplement, Tatsuya was thinking of what it meant to play fast
and loose).

Azusa's eyes shone brilliantly as she approached him. It seemed that she
was not only interested in the CAD itself, but the supplementary equipment
as well.
"Eh, is it okay if I took a look?"

Truthfully speaking, Azusa generally avoided more like was terrified of

Tatsuya. Precisely because of this impression, Tatsuya wanted to smile
wryly. However, given the way Azusa was bouncing around like a small
animal and unable to calm down, he probably shouldn't treat her too
poorly.

This may be a form of popularity Tatsuya thought as he removed the

jacket he wore even in the heat of summer with built-in cooling systems,
of course and took off the shoulder holster before handing it to Azusa.

"Wow~ It's an original model for the Silver series.

Such an amazing trim would draw incredible lines when drawing and firing.

Something that didn't just cater to high technical skills but also a design
that also took the user's skill into account.

Ah, I worship your genius, Silver-sama......"

After she received the holster, Azusa was happy enough to almost rub her
face against it.

Tatsuya was barely able to maintain his poker face.

After Azusa meticulously went over every centimeter of the holster or
maybe finally satisfied herself she returned it to Tatsuya with a pleased
smile on her face.

"Shiba-kun is also a fan of the Silver series? If based only on price and
specs, the Maximilian Speed Shooter, Russ Type-F, or even Sagittarius
series developed by FLT (Four Leaves Technology) are better deals, but
the individual customization of the Silver series is so good that no one
cares about the price!"

Tatsuya recalled that Mari once described Azusa as a "Device-taku".

At the time, he was considerate enough to consider this an exaggeration,
but after witnessing her behavior today, he reflected that such a nickname
was probably inevitable.

From Tatsuya's perspective, if the contrast between price and performance

efficiency, in other words, was too low, then satisfaction would also
drop. Even if that was the case, true performance may differ from official
documentation. Simply put, qualitative performance that could not be
converted into numerical format was also very important. If one could be
"satisfied" without making this sort of analysis, Tatsuya considered that to
be nothing more than brand loyalty.

That being said, that was a matter of personal values, so if she said she
was satisfied, he had no reason to rain on her parade.
"No, I actually have a few connections, so I can buy Silver Series at a
discount thanks to my work as a beta tester."

The moment Tatsuya said this, Miyuki's shoulders visibly shook a little as
she faced the other way towards the terminal, but no one noticed.

"Eh~! Really?"

The word "envy" was stamped all over Azusa's face.

This time, even Tatsuya's expression revealed a little spasm.

"......Next time I test the new model, would you like me to get you one as
well?"

"Eh?
Really?

Like, really, really?

Thanks!"

There was no way for him to fit in a response.

After Tatsuya was finally able to nod in assent, Azusa grabbed his empty
left hand with both of her own and shook it up and down.

"......A-chan, relax a little bit."

Mayumi couldn't watch any longer, temporarily stopping her work on the
pile of documents to speak to Azusa.

Azusa suddenly stopped.

Filled with trepidation, she looked at her hands.

Her hands were tightly wound around Tatsuya's hand. Azusa felt this not
only with her sense of touch, but confirmed it visually as well.

She slowly raised her head towards Tatsuya, then quickly dodged
Tatsuya's expressionless gaze and looked back at her hands.

Azusa let go and jumped back as if her hands had grasped fire.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry......!"

"Flushed face" wasn't sufficient to describe Azusa's current state, since her
face was red to the root of her ears. She repeatedly bowed towards
Tatsuya in apology.

Tatsuya was starting to get really worried that Azusa would keep bowing
until she was dizzy, and glanced towards Mayumi for help.

"......A-chan, you can stop now. Tatsuya-kun is a little overwhelmed right

now."
Mayumi was probably thinking along the same lines as Tatsuya, so she
didn't add to the mayhem (not without cause) and focused on comforting
Azusa.

Azusa took a deep breath as she was instructed and finally managed to
settle down.
Mayumi let out a helpless sigh before turning back to her work.

Azusa turned an embarrassed smile towards Tatsuya and quickly turned

solemn.

"Then, Shiba-kun wouldn't happen to know Taurus Silver in person?"

She asked in this manner.

It went without saying that she was doing so to cover her
embarrassment.

Unfortunately, this question was a very difficult one to answer for Tatsuya.
"......No, I'm not entirely certain."

Electric clamors rang out from near the wall.

The workstation that Miyuki was using activated the alarm by accident.

Everyone hits a typo every once in a while, but it was extremely rare for
Miyuki to erroneously activate the alarm.

Both Mayumi and Suzune wore an "Eh?" expression while looking at

Miyuki who was facing the wall, but Miyuki soldiered onward as if nothing
had happened, so the two of them didn't ask any further and returned to
their respective piles.
"......Miyuki-chan actually made a mistake, how strange."

"Occasionally, yes."

In comparison, Tatsuya's response was overly level, but Azusa didn't

notice as she returned to the original the recent conversation.

"No matter how much he hides himself, the people in the same lab should
know something, right? Unless, he invented everything by himself?"

"......No, I'm certain that would be impossible."

"I think so too. Oh yeah, Shiba-kun, can't you use your 'connections' at the
lab to get some more information?"
"......No, the connections I spoke of aren't in that category...... Also, FLT
keeps most of their corporate secrets under wrap, so I think it's highly
unlikely to get anything out of the lab technicians."

"Oh~ that's true......"

"......I'm sure senpai already knows, but using Informational Manipulative

Outersystematic-type magic to uncover secrets is a felony."

"Ah? Nah...... No way, why would I think...... about that kind of thing......"

Tatsuya looked at Azusa with his eyes half closed, causing Azusa's
already petite body to shrink even further.

"......It's okay, as long as senpai is clear on that point, I just wanted to

remind you."

"Don't...... don't worry about it, of course I know about something like that,
Ah, ha ha ha......"

Seeing that Azusa wasn't making a metaphor and actually breaking out
into a cold sweat, Tatsuya took his foot off the gas.

"Speaking of which, why is Nakajou-senpai so interested in Taurus Silver's

real identity?"

The CAD Azusa used wasn't FLT's brand either. Even though she
obviously wasn't a Silver Series user, why did she care so much about the
identity of the developer?

For Tatsuya, this was a perfectly natural question.

"Ah?"

From Azusa's expression, she was completely dumbfounded that Tatsuya

even asked this question.

"Of course I care, Tatsuya-kun, I mean, do you not?

This is Taurus Silver.

The first person in the world to develop the 'Loop Cast System', raising the
speed of Activation Sequences for Specialized CADs by twenty percent, he
also reduced the variability of wireless models from 3 percent to less than
1 percent. Taurus Silver is just that amazing.
Also, rather than guarding his secrets for personal profit, he openly
publicizes his findings for the betterment of the magical community as a
whole, which makes Taurus Silver even more incredible.

He is called the genius engineer that advanced CAD software technology

by ten years within one short year, so I think that no one who aims to be a
Magic Artificer would be uninterested in him."

This overbearing pressure that was almost synonymous to scolding forced

Tatsuya to shrink back. He was completely caught off guard by how much
the world had built up "Taurus Silver".
"Excuse my ignorance. As a user, I'm not dissatisfied with the Silver series,
I just wasn't aware that it had such glowing reviews......"

"Ah...... That makes sense, Shiba-kun is a tester, so for you, Silver series
isn't all that rare...... Hence why you have a different outlook than I do."

Azusa didn't completely understand, but allowed herself to be convinced.

"Hey, hey, Shiba-kun, let me ask you, what do you think Taurus Silver is
like?"

A purely inquisitive gaze.

Wanting to change the subject, Tatsuya replied back trying to stall for time.
"Well...... I wonder how shocking would it be if he turned out to be a
Japanese teenager like us."

Once again, electric clamors rang out from near the wall.

Miyuki continued to sit in a posture with her back completely straight as

she toiled away.

But she didn't allow anyone to see her current expression.

"Speaking of which, A-chan."

"Yes, President, what is it?"

In the end, Mayumi finally extended a helping hand towards Tatsuya, who
was almost unable to handle Azusa. This might be a little biased, but this
was the first time Tatsuya felt like Mayumi was someone dependable. At
any rate, Mayumi's stance was that she wanted Azusa to hurry back to her
work on the Student Council.

"Weren't you supposed to finish your homework before the end of lunch?"

However, even if this was lending a hand to Tatsuya, this was undoubtedly
the knell of doom for Azusa...... That description might be a hyperbole, but
Azusa's expression was just so. The very fact that she was engrossed in
talking about Taurus Silver was likely a way for her to escape from reality.

"President~"

From the way Azusa tearfully implored Mayumi for help, she was likely
doomed.

"Don't make such an embarrassing sound."

Mayumi smiled wryly and turned her gaze from the completed inventory
invoice towards Azusa.

"I can help a little bit, so what's your assignment?"

Mari directed a "You're pampering her too much" gaze towards Mayumi,
who promptly ignored it more like pretended not to see it as she smiled
towards Azusa.

"I'm sorry...... It's a report on the 'Three Great Puzzles of Weight Systemic
Magic'......"

At this, Suzune, Mari, and Tatsuya immediately turned their gazes on the
glum Azusa.

"......W-what?"
Like a deer in the headlights, Azusa shrank into a ball in terror. Her tearful
eyes and terrified movements gave the impression that everyone was
bullying her, at which Tatsuya turned his eyes away, with Suzune mirroring
his thoughts and actions.

Only Mari still stared at Azusa.

"Ho ho......"

Mari watched Azusa with deep interest, though she was more focused on
the flat screen terminal in Azusa's hands.

"I was wondering what was puzzling the annual top 5 honor student
Nakajou and it turned out to be this."

"Isn't this the topic they ask every year?"

After Mari spoke, Mayumi continued with an uncomprehending expression.

"A-chan, what's this year's prompt?"

Because the prompts were routine, there were already enough prompts
that the school was incapable of creating new ideas. This wasn't just
homework, it was also one of the primary essay topics for magic university
entrance exams. A cursory search would reveal a bountiful harvest of
model answers to this prompt.
"The subject of the homework involves how to solve the bottlenecks of the
'Three Great Puzzles'. The first two I get, but I am unable to explain the
reason why Generalized Flying-Type Magic hasn't been successfully
developed......"
Hearing this, Suzune nodded with an "I understand" expression on her
face.
"In other words, Azusa-kun is unable to accept the currently proposed
concepts."

"Exactly!"

With Suzune able to express her inner thoughts for her, Azusa nodded
vigorously.

"The foundation for magic that can defy gravity and allow the physical body
to float into the air has already been laid down by the Four Great Systemic
and the Eight Major Types of Modern Magic and has already entered the
practical phase."

"Yes, though injury caused by free fall remains one of the major dangers
for Magicians."

Azusa shifted her gaze to Mayumi, who supported her argument.

"Magicians adept in Speed and Weight Magics are already capable of

leaping dozens of yards at a time, and the world record is held by a
Magician who leapt over 100 yards in one try. The record for landing is
even greater, with some Magicians able to drop 2000 meters successfully
without any equipment."

"If that's the case, why is Flying-Type Magic...... Free movement in the sky
still elusive...... Right?"

"To be precise, Generalized Flying-Type Magic that anyone can use

remains elusive. There are a handful of Ancient Magic users that can freely
fly through the sky."

Suzune added a few details to Mayumi's explanation.

Hearing this, Azusa shook her head, though this was probably an
involuntary action.

"That type of magic approaches the unique abilities of BS Magicians. Since

it can't be shared, it can't really be called a technique.
Theoretically, you can use Speed and Weight Systemic Magic to nullify the
effect of gravity and soar into the sky. In reality, long jump and floating
magic have already been developed, so why can't we fly......"
"Wouldn't higher level reference tomes contain the answer to this
question?"
Mayumi visually interrogated Azusa as to why she couldn't accept the
answer chronicled in the books.

"Magic Sequences must include an end point, as the effect of overwriting

reality is sustained until the ending conditions are met. While a target
object is under the effect of magic, if you want to cause a different type of
magic to manifest on the target, you need to use magic that has superior
phenomena interference ability.

When using Flying-Type Magic, every time you adjust speed or height, you
aren't just overwriting the original magic with a new one, you also need a
stronger phenomena interference ability. A single Magician is only able to
separate the phenomena rewriting ability into ten segments, so he or she
can only adjust the flying status ten times before hitting their limit.

......This is the publicly acknowledged hurdle to why there's no practical

solution to Flying-Type Magic, right?"

Mayumi didn't ruminate very long before nodding her assent to Azusa's
long-winded explanation.

"What, A-chan, you've done your research. You've organized all your
arguments, so what's the problem?"

"According to this line of thinking, the problem lies in the fact that new
magic needs to constantly overwrite the currently active magic, correct? If
that's the case, I think that it would be easier to cancel the current magic
than activate the new magic."

By now, Azusa had completely shaken off the earlier tearful expression,
and was now plunging ahead at a feverish pace. Suzune calmly asked
Azusa the next question:

"The theory is sound, but from a practical standpoint how would you cancel
the active magic?"
"Why don't you insert a condition for ending the magic during the design of
the Magic Sequence? In other words, by preemptively entering a small
Magic Sequence into the active Magic Sequence, this can be turned into
the ending condition for the magic."
Azusa was immersed in her theory while, conversely, Suzune was calmly
stating her counter argument.

"Unfortunately, Magic Sequences are unable to affect other Magic

Sequences. Magic Sequences can only be used to affect the Information
Body, even if two types of magic are both trying to influence the same
Information Body, only the one with the stronger interference strength
would actually manifest, as Magic Sequences don't possess a strong
versus weak relationship.
Counter magic that can dissolve Magic Sequences do exist, but that's high
level magic that directly influences the Information Body. This would be
okay at the experimental level, currently there no Magicians who can freely
wield practical levels of Counter Magic."

"Is that so......"

By the time students reached the second semester of their second year,
Foundations of Magic class would progress to Applications of Magic. This
class started with concepts surrounding "Counter Magic" magic that
nullifies opposing magic which was what Suzune was explaining right
now. Normally, this was something that was taught during the first
semester of 3rd Year, which was why Azusa wasn't familiar with the
subject. That being said, to hear the term "Counter Magic" and not be
hopelessly lost, Azusa's knowledge was broad indeed.

"However, this is still a worthwhile theory."

Azusa's emotions bounced between zealous and gloomy. Suzune smiled

at her in a gentle and comforting manner.

"To cancel magic the moment its effects manifest, I believe this is the
correct approach."

"That's true. Because of the need to rewrite the activated magic, the
necessary interference strength becomes a vicious cycle."

Following Suzune, Mayumi also supported Azusa's theory.

"No one has proposed this until this point, but if a new magic can be
activated the moment the currently active magic is stopped from affecting
the phenomenon, then there shouldn't be a need for stronger interference
strength...... Given that the target is flying in the air, the delay between
magics must be reduced to zero, so if a Specialized CAD was used, then
in theory the next magic should be activated before the target starts
dropping......"
Mayumi seemed to be muttering to herself, then abruptly made an "Eh?"
sound as she turned her head.

"But if it's just removing the effects of magic, shouldn't someone have
attempted this long ago? In the end, this is like working with 'Zone
Interference' after the fact."

At Mayumi's question, Suzune pulled up the search function on the public

workstation located in the Student Council Room.
"Give me a second...... Last year, England attempted a massive
experiment based on the same conceptual design the President spoke of.
They wanted to use 'Post-Event Zone Interference' to create a practical
Flying-Type Magic."

Suzune swiftly located the news articles on magic that contained the
information she wanted.

"Then, the result was?"

The inquiring voice was a little high pitched likely caused by the
excitement bubbling out of her, which proved that Mayumi was still a high
school student beyond all doubt.

"Complete failure. According to the report, in comparison to the normal

situation where magic is repeatedly used, this method only served to
increase the demand for interference strength at a geometric rate."

"......Is that so......"

At Suzune's report that so betrayed (?) her hopes, Mayumi drooped in

disappointment.

"Did they cite a reason?"

"No, the article wasn't that detailed. President, why do you think it
happened?"
When asked by Suzune, Mayumi pointed her index finger at her chin and
let out a "Hm!" sound as she considered this.
"The previous magic should've stopped functioning by then......
Tatsuya-kun, what do you think?"
The reason Mayumi had asked Tatsuya was to buy time for her to organize
her thoughts.

She didn't actually expect him to answer.

"The English experiment provided by Ichihara-senpai has a basic

conceptual error."

Thus, Tatsuya's decisive answer completely caught Mayumi offguard.

"......Where is the error?"

Astounded, Mayumi was barely able to ask her question. Neither boastful
nor proud, Tatsuya calmly began his explanation.

"Magic Sequences that have not fulfilled their ending requirements will
naturally fade with time, but will remain with the target Information Body.
When a new magic nullifies the previous magic's effects, the previous
magic looks to be canceled, but in reality is merely being overwritten."

Mayumi, Suzune, Azusa, and even Mari were now staring at Tatsuya
outright, but Tatsuya remained unmoved by the pressure of their gaze. He
remained expressionless and his tone did not change in the slightest.

"Let's assume the previous magic is called Magic Sequence A, while Magic
Sequence B is used to nullify the other one.

With the activation of Magic Sequence B, Magic Sequence A loses its

phenomenon effect ability. However, even if Magic Sequence A loses its
effect, it still remains with the target's Information Body.

Both Magic Sequences A and B are still acting on the target's Information
Body, it's just that only the effects of Magic Sequence B are visible. Just as
Ichihara-senpai said, Magic Sequences can only affect the Information
Body and are unable to affect one another. This is true even in Zone
Interference. Unless the original Magic Sequence is itself nullified, using
Counter Magic would yield the same result."
"......So the English experiment used unnecessary magic that was not part
of Flying-Type Magic?"
Tatsuya nodded his assent to Mayumi's question, then continued his
explanation.

"In other words, every time you make adjustments in flight, you would
rewrite the Magic Sequence again. In order to maintain flight, the extra
rewrites would pile on, so of course you would rapidly hit the upper limit for
phenomenon interference ability. The English scholar who designed this
experiment must have been mistaken on the nature of Counter Magic."

The portable terminal that Tatsuya wore in his breast pocket chose this
moment to start vibrating, signaling the first warning bell for the end of the
lunch period.
"Miyuki, let's return to class."

"Yes, Onii-sama."

Miyuki, whose back was to them the entire time, rose immediately upon
being called.

Her voice, expression and movements were just as gentle and graceful as
usual.

Hence Mayumi, Suzune, Mari, and Azusa hadn't noticed.

Couldn't have noticed.

When Miyuki had been seated before the workstation, her back was
ramrod straight with pride, and her fingers fairly danced across the
keyboard in pleasure.

The preparation meeting for the Nine Schools Competition held in the Club
Management Headquarters was suffused with a nervous aura from the
onset.
Students with outstanding performance in the events would receive extra
credit for their classes. Just for being one of the official participants,
students would receive no homework, extra days off and guaranteed
straight A's.
Not only did this apply to participants, but to the students selected as
engineers as well.
Thanks to the school putting such a high emphasis on the Nine Schools
Competition, the students selected as the representatives for the Nine
Schools Competition received such incredible rewards. Thus, it was
unsurprising that the competition was particularly fierce for the last few
slots on the official roster during this meeting.

If Tatsuya had been merely a bystander, he would probably have viewed

the mixed feelings of the surrounding students in a compassionate light.
However, he was there as a candidate with a giant target on his back, so
he could only depressingly keep himself from sighing aloud while praying
for this circus to end quickly.

It was not that he was wholly uninterested in the Nine Schools

Competition.

The desire to measure one's personal skills against other Magicians

(saplings) of similar age was markedly different from the hunger he
experienced while staying in his father's lab and the subsequent desire to
bring about practical upgrades to CADs, but Tatsuya still had that much left
in him.
Tatsuya was "constructed" to have less emotion than the average person,
but he was still at that headstrong age, so no matter what value his peers
assigned him, he wasn't shriveled enough to completely not care.

However, at the same time he had to deal with the pride, jealousy, vanity,
disgust, and other related emotions in this meeting. That was what truly
filled him with melancholy.

Separate from his thoughts of course the seats in the conference

room were gradually filled. When the last seat was occupied, Mayumi
stood before the chairman's podium.
"Then, let's start the selection meeting for the Nine Schools Competition
roster."
The meeting for upperclassmen, club leaders for the various participating
clubs, Student Council members (Miyuki remained on station in the
Student Council Room) and the Club Management Group members who
received the internal notification that they were possible candidates for
participant or engineer slots officially began.

Tatsuya sat with the various candidates in the visitors section to the side,
Any organization that exceeded a certain size would naturally contain
bigots that swiftly identified Tatsuya as an outsider.

As expected, not long after the meeting began, someone asked what a 1st
Year Course 2 student was doing here.

That certainly did not imply that no one looked upon Tatsuya kindly.
There were actually a surprising number of favorable opinions.

The upperclassmen differed from the 1st Year students in that they knew
Tatsuya was a special Course 2 student in addition to being a formidable
asset to the Public Morals Committee.

Despite this, there were still more opposing than supporting, often in the
form of negative emotions rather than objective logic, which caused the
meeting to deadlock and waste more valuable time.

"In summation......"

Suddenly, a solemn voice dominated the conference room.

The voice was not particularly loud, yet all the squabbles quickly died away
as everyone focused on the speaker.
Juumonji Katsuto, who had hitherto remained silent, cast his gaze across
the room before starting to speak:

"In my opinion, the problem lies in that everyone is unfamiliar with what
level of skill Shiba possesses. If so, the most efficient solution is to submit
that to a live test."

The spacious room was dead silent.

This would bring about a simple and effective result that no one would
bemoan, but because of the risk involved, no one had dared to propose
this course of action.
"......That's not a bad suggestion, but how do we go about it in a practical
manner?"
"Simply having him perform a maintenance right now would suffice."

Mari broke the silence with her question, to which Katsuto provided a
simple answer.

"Allow me to be the guinea pig."

The CADs currently on the market must be intricately synchronized with

their respective user after maintenance.
Even if ten Magicians used the same model, there were ten different
methods to adjust their CADs.

The Activation Sequences provided by the CAD would be directly

absorbed into the Magician's subconscious domain.

In other words, a Magician's mental state was completely defenseless

against their own CAD.

Recent CAD models were equipped with a function that improved

Activation Sequence processing, but at the same time made it easier for
them to affect the user's mental status.

If there was a problem during maintenance, not only would magic

efficiency decrease, other side effects would include discomfort,
headaches, dizziness, vomiting, or even major harm such as hallucinations
or mental scarring. Thus, the higher the CAD's capability, the more skilled
the maintenance needed to be.

For Magicians, voluntarily yielding their CAD to be maintained by an

Artificer whose strength was unknown posed a substantial risk.

Even if it was Katsuto's own suggestion, his willingness to offer himself as

a test subject showed considerable courage.

"No, I was the one who recommended him, so I should take that role."

Mayumi immediately requested to take responsibility likely out of a sense

of duty, but from another perspective, this likely implied that she didn't
wholly trust Tatsuya, which was something that Tatsuya easily read
between the lines to his discomfort.
"Wait, please let me do it."
That being said, the fact that Kirihara was willing to pinch hit caused
Tatsuya considerable shock the mettle displayed by this man was
certainly comforting.

The school's CAD maintenance facility open to faculty and students was
located in the Technical Skills Building.

However, this time they weren't using the preset maintenance devices in
the Practical Skills Building, but bringing the mobile maintenance devices
used in the Nine Schools Competition to the conference room to conduct
their test.
The CAD in question was also one that qualified under the regulations of
the Nine Schools Competition.

Seeing as how the pre-competition preparations proceeded so smoothly

both in materials and procedure, the continuously delayed selection
process was a particularly glaring issue.
Tatsuya sat before the maintenance device with Kirihara on the other side
but the two of them couldn't see one another. The members of the
Student Council and various clubs leaders crowded around Kirihara.

The first step involved activating the school device, a process where many
malicious gazes were focused on Tatsuya's hand movements; but Tatsuya
was long accustomed to working with much more complex devices than
the school device, so this was a procedure he could have completed
flawlessly in his sleep. He adeptly completed the preparations and adopted
a poker face to ward off the abhorring gazes.

"My task involves copying Kirihara-senpai's CAD schematics onto the

competition-use CAD, making any necessary adjustments without
changing the Activation Sequence, am I correct?"

Tatsuya once again verified the test's contents.

"Yes, sorry for bothering you."

Tatsuya on seeing Mayumi nodding shook his head slightly. Not nodding,
shaking.
"......What is it?"
"I wouldn't advise directly copying the schematics onto a different model
CAD...... But there's nothing for it, so let's put safety as the first priority."

"?"
Mayumi wasn't the only one dumbfounded. "Copying CAD schematics"
was a simple task that occurs when users changed machines, so many
people were also wondering why Tatsuya viewed this as a problem.

However, the Technician Team centered around Azusa knew exactly why
Tatsuya asked this question. The team members either nodded slightly in
agreement or smirked as they prepared to enjoy Tatsuya's performance.
Tatsuya didn't say anything else and plunged into the maintenance.

First, he connected Kirihara's CAD to the maintenance device.

The schematics replication process was semi-automatic, so there was no

way to gauge the difference in skill here.

However, Tatsuya didn't just dump the schematics replica directly into the
calculation device of the competition-use CAD, but stored it into the
processing area of the maintenance device, a move that caused quite a
few people to raise their eyebrows.

Next he measured Kirihara's personal psion oscillation nature.

Following Tatsuya's instructions, Kirihara put the headset on his head, then
placed both hands on the examination board.

This was also normal procedure; if this was an automatic maintenance

device, the steps required were to connect the CAD then read the psion
waves and the process would automatically complete itself.

Generally, students that used the school devices for personal maintenance
would adopt that precise procedure.

On the other hand, not relying on automatic maintenance and manually

making minute adjustments to the CAD's OS showed an engineer's true
strength.
"Thank you senpai, you can take it off now."

Tatsuya indicated that the measurements were concluded and Kirihara

removed the headset.
Ordinarily, the next step involved connecting the CAD that needed to be
modified, then making any adjustments beyond the automatic
recommendations. This required a preset CAD to be prepared in advance,
then copying all the data onto the destination CAD.

Just about everyone in the audience thought that Tatsuya messed up the
procedure.

As if to prove this point, Tatsuya stared at the monitor without moving a

muscle.

However, he didn't give off the air of someone who was hopelessly lost
because of a misstep.
His gaze was focused to a terrifying degree without giving a hint of that
unsteady feeling.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Azusa poked her head around Tatsuya's
body to glance at the monitor.

"Uh?"

Her voice let out an awkward sound that was wholly incompatible with her
youthful image.

Tatsuya was completely unaffected by this interruption.

Mayumi and Mari didn't dare to ask what was going on, so they both came
to Azusa's side to look at the monitor and were barely able to contain
their gasps.

The monitor didn't display the expected measurement results and graphs,
but was filled with character strings scrolling across at high velocity.

The two of them were only able to pick out a few numbers here and there,
but their eyes were wholly unable to keep up with the scrolling pace.

The numbers abruptly came to a stop.

Roughly a few dozen seconds had elapsed, which was less than 5 minutes
since Tatsuya started staring at the screen.
After the character strings stopped scrolling, Tatsuya immediately plugged
in the competition-use calculation device and swiftly started hitting the
keyboard.
Many windows started opening and closing.
Only Azusa noticed that one of the opened windows was the original
document with the recorded measurement results, while another window
was the original document that contained the replicated CAD schematics
on the maintenance device.

Very few people recognized how insanely advanced the procedure

unfolding before their eyes truly was, since the majority of the audience
was held spellbound at the unheard of speed at which Tatsuya was hitting
the keyboard. Even so, Azusa believed that the truly astounding part was
the technique Tatsuya displayed when he was directly reading the nature
of the psion oscillations from the original document.

With that method, the engineer could perfectly allocate the resources
within the parameters of the calculation device to best suit the
measurement results reflected in the maintenance device. This was a
completely manual process wholly independent of the automatic processes
provided by the system.

Before Azusa's gaze, the settings temporarily stored in the work area were
steadily being rewritten in a flash.

The original document still remained on the main screen, but Azusa was
barely able to detect the modified settings.

This definitely fell within the boundaries of safety. He was really adhering
to "safety is the first priority" condition.

This way, it would lower the user's risk from relying on automatic
maintenance, and provide Activation Sequences that exceeded automatic
maintenance in efficiency.

There was absolutely no need for a practical test.

This 1st Year student's skill far surpassed anyone in the Technician Team.

Azusa made up her mind right there that she was going to drag Tatsuya
onto the team no matter what, objections be damned.

Under the condition "without changing the Activation Sequence" the

maintenance quickly came to an end.

He was so fast that the audience wasn't thoroughly entertained.

The next part was the actual live test.

Unnoticed by others, Kirihara's expression was slightly nervous and tense,

but fell within the expected boundaries.
In reality, there was no incident, nor was there anything that could even be
remotely called an accident.

The CAD Tatsuya modified was "completely the same" as Kirihara's

beloved CAD.

"Kirihara, how do you feel?"

"No problem at all, it's just like I'm using my own CAD, there's no
incompatible feeling at all."

Kirihara immediately answered Katsuto's question.

Everyone was perfectly clear that this was not an inflated evaluation based
on friendship. Given Kirihara and Tatsuya's past history Kirihara was
forcibly subdued by Tatsuya during the kenjutsu club's performance during
recruitment week in April people who knew the particulars were aware
that there's no way Kirihara would protect Tatsuya. However, even
excluding this "misunderstanding", everyone who saw the way the magic
invocated knew that the CAD was functioning perfectly smoothly.

That being said, "able to smoothly invoke magic" was a fairly low criterion
and it was hard to see any further results.

"......Looks like he has the fundamentals down, but this isn't enough to
qualify him to be one of the school representatives."

"Time spent was pretty average, nothing special."

"He didn't follow proper procedure, but there may be some reason behind
that......"

Unsurprisingly, the 2nd Year participants were the first to react negatively
to this seemingly normal result.
The backlash wasn't solely from Tatsuya's unprecedented nomination, but
also since he was specifically picked by the President, everyone
subconsciously expected him to floor them all with some outstanding
technique, so naturally higher expectations led to greater disappointment.
"I fully support bringing Shiba-kun onto the team!"

Abandoning her usual cowed expression, Azusa furiously countered.

"What he just displayed before our eyes was a technique that far
surpasses our wildest dreams as high school students. Just the very fact
that he doesn't need to use automatic maintenance and is able to do this
entirely manually is already a feat that I cannot accomplish."

"......Even if his technique was amazing, but what's the point if it's such a
mundane result......?"

"It only looks mundane, but the contents are completely different! To be
able to completely abide within the safety parameters at no loss of
efficiency is an incredible accomplishment!"

"Nakajou, relax a little bit...... Rather than staying confined within the safety
parameters, wouldn't it be better to take a few chances to raise the
efficiency rate?"
"That's...... because they suddenly want to test......"

Debate wasn't one of her strong suits, so her vigor quickly diminished.

Just as Azusa was floundering, a male student raised his hand to be

recognized, which swiftly brought everyone's attention onto him.

"Kirihara's personal model boasts superior performance to the

competition-use models, but even with this difference, the user was still
unable to detect any difference, so I believe this technique deserves high
praise."

"Eh? ......Hattori-kun?"

Out of the blue, the one who came to the rescue was Hattori.

"President, I also support Shiba joining the Technician Team."

"Hanzou-kun?"

Mayumi was entirely unable to mask her startled expression.

Even faced with the somewhat negative reaction on part of his beloved (?)
President and excluding his personal thoughts, Hattori continued fearlessly
(on the outside) and graciously extolled his opinion.
"The Nine Schools Competition is an event that affects the very reputation
of our school, so we should send the best and strongest candidates,
without placing too much emphasis on who they are. The engineer's job is
to support the participants so that they can focus exclusively on the events
themselves. Just as Nakajou said, for Kirihara to say 'there's no
incompatible feeling', I must admit that is a job done admirably well. With
our current desperate lack of engineers, this isn't the time to bemoan that
'he's a 1st Year student' or 'this is unprecedented'."

Hattori's words were saturated with verbal barbs, but he strenuously

defended his heart-felt position.

However, the very fact that Hattori threw in on Tatsuya's side was a large
enough blow to rock the meeting.

"I also think that Hattori's opinion bears merit.

The talent Shiba put on display is more than enough to qualify him as one
of the school representatives.

I also support Shiba joining the Technician Team."

With the opposition stunned into silence and Katsuto's public declaration of
support, Tatsuya's nomination was certain.
Chapter 2
After the siblings shared their customary dinner together, the telephone
picked this precise moment to start ringing.

Speaking of which, as everyone knows, almost all modern telephones

were equipped with "web cams", a detail that third rate social
commentators never failed to decry, saying that they aren't tele"phones"
but tele"screens" or some related but meaningless subject. Even with this
projected function brought into fruition, they are still referred to as
"telephones".
Back on topic

Miyuki was currently in the kitchen cleaning up.

She wasn't adamant on doing the dishes herself since she could pass
them to the HAR, but their household wasn't equipped with the 3H
(Humanoid Home Helper, or simply "Housework robot") that had just hit the
market for mass consumption. The two of them unanimously agreed that
having a pair of robot arms extending from the ceiling was more of a
hassle than anything, so they were better off cleaning up after themselves.

Miyuki said that if they were too lazy to do even this, their fitness would
rapidly decrease.

Once again, back on topic

Simply put, this was the reason why Tatsuya picked up the phone, though
occasionally that's how it was.

"Long time no see...... Did you intend to do that?"

"......Wait a minute, I have no idea what you're talking about...... Long time
no see, Special Lieutenant."

Onscreen was a familiar face wearing a very surprised expression.

"It's been two months since we last spoke, but...... If you're using that title,
does that mean this is an encrypted transmission? I can't believe you can
tap into the civilian line every time."
"It's not that easy, Special Lieutenant. Compared to the standards of an
average household, isn't the security surrounding your house a little too
tight?"

"That's because there are a lot of hackers active recently, and the
household servers have sensitive information stored within them."

"No wonder. We were almost traced on our end."

"You deserved that. As long as you don't delve too deeply into the
database, the defense system shouldn't activate."

"I think this serves as an excellent warning shot for my newest

switchboard."

Onscreen, the face that had been baptized into coarse leather by long
exposure to sunlight and gunpowder revealed a mischievous smile.

As he saw this smile, Tatsuya reflected that the man hadn't aged a day
since three years ago.

Based on his rank and department, he must deal with a myriad of details
daily, but he never betrayed any trace of exhaustion...... As these thoughts
chased one another around in his mind, Tatsuya suddenly recalled that the
one on the other side of the line The Army's 101 Independent
Magic-Equipped Battalion CO Major Kazama Harunobu didn't like to waste
unnecessary time on small talk.

"Major, what's on the agenda today?"

"That's right, let's cut the small talk. Business first."

"Please go ahead."

"Today we completed modifications on the 'Third Eye'. We upgraded some

components to the latest models and updated the software, so I would like
you to test it out."
The 101 was pronounced "One Zero One", and not "One Hundred and
First".
This was a primarily magic-based experimental detachment that was
separate from the normal chain of command. In addition, the Independent
Magic-Equipped Battalion was also responsible for the development of
cutting edge equipment.
Compared to regular military classification, the security clearance for this
detachment was five to six levels higher. Accordingly, a regular high school
student had no business interacting with such a division, to the point that
he or she would be wholly ignorant of its existence.

However, due to certain classified events, Tatsuya was actually an official

member of Kazama's division.

"Understood. I will report in first thing tomorrow."

"......Wait a second, this isn't so important that you need to take a day off
from school."

"No, next weekend I plan to visit the lab to test out a new calculation
device."

"Although I'm in no position to say so...... But ever since you entered high
school, you've been leading a decisively non-student-like lifestyle."

"I dislike your impression, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"That's true...... No matter how busy we get, there's nothing we can do

about it. In that case, meet up at the old place tomorrow morning. I'm sorry
I won't be there, but I will contact Sanada ahead of time."
"Understood."

Tatsuya saluted in acceptance, while Kazama repeated that action on the

screen.
This type of salute went entirely against regulations, but since Tatsuya was
an irregular, the standards were slightly relaxed.

"Next subject. Special Lieutenant, rumors say that you are joining this
summer's Nine Schools Competition?"

"......Affirmative."

Tatsuya hesitated for a split second, but given the circumstances, the fact
that he only hesitated for a "split second" was quite an accomplishment.
It was less than three hours after he had been confirmed as a member of
the Technician's Team.
Knowing that asking was fruitless, Tatsuya put a lid on his curiosity and
refrained from asking how the Major got the word.
"The arena is located in southeast sector of the Fuji Exercise Grounds, so
this is only customary...... That being said, Tatsuya, stay on your guard."

Kazama's everyday speech was already abrupt, but today's seemed even
more so than usual.

He wasn't referring to Tatsuya by rank, surname, or alias, but calling him

directly by name, which signified that he was warning Tatsuya as an old
friend rather than a superior officer. After obtaining the information
intercepted by the military's intelligence network, he wasn't alerting the
police or the general public, but a mere high school student without any
social standing. This was highly odd.

Tatsuya focused all his attention as he continued to listen.

"There are suspicious circumstances surrounding that area, with signs that
we have illegal aliens in the area."

"Did someone infiltrate the military's exercise grounds?"

"Quite lamentable indeed. Also, several witnesses claimed seeing East

Asian members of an international crime syndicate in the area, which did
not occur this time last year. Based on the timing, it's very likely they have
something planned for the Nine Schools Competition."
It's just a high school intramural competition...... Tatsuya was about to say
this aloud, before switching to another tack.

Even if they were high school students, this country's elite young
Magicians were about to publicly compete against one another.

For example, if there was a major terrorist attack using explosives during
the awards ceremony, that would severely impact this country's talented
personnel.

"You mentioned an international crime syndicate?"

This was not the same type of organization as Blanche (pretending to be
an anti-magic political organization) that Tatsuya encountered in April. If
this was a criminal syndicate, then they shouldn't have any interest in
causing unnecessary harm. Terrorism was another thing altogether.
Kazama was a soldier, so he shouldn't have had any experience dealing
with international crime syndicates.

How did he figure out their identity?

"I asked Mibu to give me a hand. You probably know him."

"The father of First High's Year 2 student Mibu Sayaka?"

"Exactly. After retiring from the military, Mibu transferred to Internal Affairs
(Cabinet Agency of Data Supervision). He's currently Chief of Foreign
Affairs, specifically international crime syndicates."
"......I'm surprised."

Tatsuya wasn't merely parroting back, he was honestly surprised.

Tatsuya was astounded that the Major would reveal the identity of one of
his sources of intelligence over the telephone so easily; the Cabinet
Agency of Data Supervision generally remained neutral between politics
and the military so they weren't particularly friendly with the military, yet the
Major simply asked them for assistance in a clear-cut manner, which also
amazed Tatsuya. However, what floored Tatsuya the most was that the
daughter of a foreign intelligence expert actually became the accomplice to
a terrorist organization affiliated with foreign countries and the father who
was the chief of foreign affairs merely turned a blind eye to the situation.
Salutary neglect, much?

"Criminal syndicates and underground terrorist cells are handled by

different departments. Tunnel vision on their own affairs is a common
fallacy in government agencies."

The reason why Kazama was able to accurately mirror Tatsuya's thoughts,
rather than due to their long friendship, was more because Kazama could
also read between the lines and thus resonate with Tatsuya.
"However, information from areas within his expertise is trustworthy.
According to Mibu's calculations, these might be members from the
criminal syndicate based out of Hong Kong called 'No Head Dragon'.
Currently, their objective remains unknown and we will let you know as
soon as this changes."

"Thank you, Major."

"I won't see you tomorrow, but we may meet up at Fuji."

"I look forward to that meeting."

"Likewise...... Ho, we talked too long. The new rookie is starting to panic,
so it's about time for me to hang up."
The web police probably detected traces of the network invasion. Based
on this assumption, it was too ambiguous for Tatsuya to tell whether he
should praise the skills of the web police or lament over the skills of
Kazama's subordinates.

"Make sure to greet your sensei for me."

"Understood."

"Goodbye."

Tatsuya wasn't able to reply before the screen turned blank.

"That was probably a broad hint that I should make contact with
sensei......"

Then, how much was he supposed to reveal? The face of his sensei who
owned the title of head monk, but was more appropriately described as
"imposter" floated into Tatsuya's mind as he slightly sighed.

"Onii-sama, if you don't mind, would you like some tea......?"

Sometime after closing the door leading to the living room, Miyuki's voice
came floating in.

She appeared to be trying to avoid eavesdropping on the conversation, so

she waited in the kitchen until Tatsuya finished his conversation.

Originally, Miyuki occupied a much more privileged position than Tatsuya

and possessed the right to listen in on any military or foreign secrets, but
the little sister never exercised that right before her elder brother.
Tatsuya silently padded towards the kitchen and opened the door before
Miyuki could ask again.
As expected, Miyuki stood there stiffly with her eyes wide open, with a tray
that had a tea kettle and some silverware and snacks perched on top.

"......Onii-sama, please don't scare me like that, you could've said

something...... I can't believe you moved silently just to laugh at Miyuki's
terrified expression. Onii-sama is bullying me."

"Sorry, sorry."

Miyuki turned her head aside with a huff. Tatsuya smiled as he took the
tray from her hands while apologizing every step of the way.

"But I wasn't trying to bully you, I just thought that you were carrying
something heavy so I rushed over. I certainly don't want my cute little sister
to haul around heavy objects."

"......I know very well that this is a fabrication...... But I'll just let Onii-sama
mislead me this one time."

Even if she maintained her displeased expression, the corners of her

mouth relaxed slightly.

It only took one word from Onii-sama to calm her down.

But Miyuki was perfectly willing.

"Black tea today?"

"Yes, I bought some excellent summer extract and I thought occasionally
having tea would be nice."

Tatsuya nodded in response to Miyuki and returned to the table before

sampling the tea cup.
"Muscatel, quite rare...... It must've taken you some time and effort to get
this, right?"

"No, it was really a coincidence...... As long as Onii-sama is happy, then

that is the highest praise for Miyuki."

Tatsuya slowly took a sip and let out a satisfied smile. Seeing this, Miyuki
smiled with a happiness that welled from the bottom of her heart.

"Hm, the tea is excellent and the butter biscuits look delicious. Did Miyuki
bake these?"
"Yes, though...... They don't look very nice."

"Nonsense, I don't mind at all, they taste wonderful."

Miyuki ducked her head in embarrassment, but the sight of her Onii-sama
raising the butter biscuits and enjoying them was enough to prompt her to
raise her head and smile in happiness.

Tatsuya didn't bring up the topic of Kazama's conversation, and Miyuki

didn't ask.

Tatsuya was busy sampling his little sister's exquisitely prepared snacks
and meticulously purchased tea. For Miyuki, just the sight of her
Onii-sama's satisfied expression was more than enough compensation for
any arduous task.

There's no need to repeat this, but Miyuki was the publicly acknowledged
honor student.

Not only was she talented beyond all belief, but she also was extremely
diligent.

Besides taking care of her Onii-sama's day-to-day life, she also studied
until late in the night.

Today also, she studied until near midnight before shutting off the electric
monitor and storing it in the table.

She wasn't exhausted yet.

According to her experience, it was hard to fall asleep when going to bed
in this stimulated state. This could be quickly remedied with the sleeping
device, but Onii-sama frowned upon using the technology that nearly 70%
of the country uses. Since Tatsuya objected to this technology, Miyuki
would have no reason to use it.

Then let's make another cup of tea to change the mood, Miyuki thought.
It was totally worth it for her to hunt down the best quality Muscatel, as
evidenced by her Onii-sama's delight with the tea. Simply reflecting on
Onii-sama's smile was more than enough for her to have a wonderful
dream, but if she could see it one more time, and maybe even have
Onii-sama rub her head, then that would be even better.
Miyuki was just heading to the kitchen, when a sudden thought crossed
her mind when she stopped in front of the mirror.

Miyuki nodded slightly, then a slightly mischievous smirk formed on her

face.

"Onii-sama, this is Miyuki, I'm coming in with tea."

"Perfect, come in."

Miyuki would bring tea or coffee around this time every night and her
brother would usually thank her in an apologetic manner, but tonight he
seemed to be waiting for her to appear, which slightly bewildered Miyuki.
Regardless, if Onii-sama was waiting for her, that was definitely something
that pleased her.

"I was just about to go get you"

He got only that far before silence forcibly swallowed the next word.

When she saw her Onii-sama turn around on the chair and stare fixatedly
at her, Miyuki felt a small shiver of satisfaction run through her. She carried
the tray with one hand while the other lightly clutched the hem of the skirt
as she playfully curtseyed.

"............Ah, is this the uniform for 'Fairy Dance'?"

"Indeed, Onii-sama knows very well."

The miniskirt was formed by layers upon layers of dazzling colors that
floated together and perfectly matched the tights that covered her beautiful
legs along with the bright, leather boots.
The outer garment was open down on the back, made of a translucent
material whose thickness was hard to tell. The lines were not embroidered,
but naturally created by the fabric itself, allowing it to perfectly complement
the bosom.
Beneath the outer garment was a shirt in the same vein as the leggings.
No, maybe it wasn't a shirt and pair of leggings, but an entire long-sleeved
spandex. If there wasn't the outer covering, it could very well have been
mistaken for a figure skater's uniform.

A pair of hair decorations with wings sprouting out the sides held her long
silky hair in place, connected by a long thick band seen on most earmuffs.
Considering air resistance and chest protection, this gorgeous uniform was
undoubtedly the uniform used for "Mirage Bat" also known as "Fairy
Dance", one of the most anticipated magical events in the Nine Schools
Competition.
"How does it look?"

Miyuki placed the tray on a nearby table before spinning around with a
smile.

Even though the softly flowing miniskirt was very short, when matched with
the fluttering hair dancing in the air it created an aura of impossible grace.

"Devastatingly cute, suits you perfectly, and your timing is excellent."

Miyuki stopped twirling when she faced Tatsuya and grabbed with both
hands the hem of her skirt in a deep curtsey as Tatsuya complimented her.

"Thank you Onii-sama for your praise......?"

Miyuki was 100% certain that her elder brother would praise her, so she
only prepared one response, as one response was all that was needed.

However, she was unable to comprehend what Tatsuya's last words

referred to, so she altered her response to include a question mark at the
end.

Miyuki straightened her legs and waist before "looking up" to the seated
Tatsuya.

Just as she was about to direct her gaze towards the usual height to
inquire the meaning of "your timing is perfect", Miyuki quickly realized
something was wrong.
She just as quickly grasped the reason.
Even though Tatsuya was seated, his gaze was still level to his normal
standing height.

Miyuki swiftly glanced downwards, then swallowed hard.

The chair that was supposed to be beneath him was gone.

Tatsuya's right leg was crossed over his left and his right elbow was
directly perpendicular atop the right knee, like he was stretching the upper
half of his body forward...... As he sat in mid air.

"I also wanted Miyuki to test out this calculation device."

Tatsuya maintained this position as he slid towards Miyuki until he was

roughly an arm's length away before stopping. He then uncrossed his legs
and straightened his feet much like how he would rise from a chair.

With this series of motions, his physical body naturally returned to earth

"......Flying-Type Magic...... Sustained Gravity-Control Type Magic has

been completed!"

She was only distracted for a split second.

Miyuki nearly pounced on her brother as she seized his hand in joy.

"Onii-sama, congratulations!"
This was one of the magics that Tatsuya had been researching for some
time.

Among the Four Great Systemic and the Eight Major Types of magic, the
first category is the "Speed/Mass" System.

This was morphed out of the simplest of Super Powers, commonly

acknowledged to be most basic magic in modern systemic magic.

That being said, while Flying-Type Magic is theoretically possible under the
Speed/Mass Systems Sustained Gravity-Control Magic, even though
the basic proposal existed since the early days of modern magic, it was
never successfully developed in official channels before this day.
Today during lunch, Flying-Type Magic was the subject of considerable
debate. Modern magic's general consensus was that while the theory was
sound, the practical application was impossible.
Even so, another cornerstone of modern magic laws was overturned
before Miyuki's eyes.

"Once again Onii-sama has turned the impossible possible! To be able to

witness this turning point in history, and the fact that the person who
accomplished this towering achievement is my elder brother, I am
extremely proud to be called your sister!"

Her hands tightly clasping Tatsuya's right hand, Miyuki looked ready to
throw her arms around him, while Tatsuya gently covered his sister's
hands with his left.
"Thank you, Miyuki. Although they didn't intend to use it solely towards
flying, Ancient Magic has already reached this level of flying capability, but
today we took another big step towards realizing the goal."

"The flying abilities of Ancient Magic can only be used by a small minority
of Magicians and are a unique ability that depends on the subject, right?
However, isn't Onii-sama's Flying-Type Magic usable by anyone with
sufficient Magic Power?"
"At present, I have set that as the first objective. I hope Miyuki will help me
test this."

"Delighted to!"

Miyuki's eyes shone as she nodded quickly.

After listening to the instructions, Miyuki looked towards the newly

maintained CAD in her left hand.

Just like Miyuki's regular CAD, this was a model shaped like a mobile
terminal.

However, the dimensions were much smaller than Miyuki's originally tiny
model and could be comfortably obscured within her slender palm.

The only similarity was the overall shape of the mobile terminal model.

This CAD was a Specialised Calculation Device.

Miyuki wasn't familiar with Specialized models, but the operation was
simple enough.
There was only a power switch and, once activated, the CAD would
automatically absorb psions from the user in order to continuously fuel the
Activation Sequence until the power was exhausted. On some level, this
was a fairly barbaric item.

However, the psion consumption rate for the device had been lowered to
the absolute minimum.

The purpose behind the design was to minimize the stress placed on the
user.

"Begin test."
Her throat quivered slightly from the overwhelming nervousness she felt.

The fact that her hand wasn't trembling was enough for Miyuki to want to
congratulate herself.

Even if the test failed, Onii-sama wouldn't blame her.

Rather, Onii-sama would likely redesign the "Flying Calculation Device"

from scratch.

She refused to allow her own inadequacies increase her brother's burden.

Miyuki thumbed the CAD's power switch.

She knew without looking that the calculation device was currently
absorbing her body's psions.

Even so, the amount was small enough that she had to pay extra attention
to detect it.
It was only at a slightly elevated level compared to the normal loss of
excess psions.

By the time she realized this, the Activation Sequence had already been
stored into the Magic Calculation Area.

Though she was forewarned by Tatsuya's instructions, the tiny scale of the
Activation Sequence still caught her by surprise.
With Miyuki's technical ability, she was able to execute dozens of copies of
the same Activation Sequence with ease.

Even if the scale was tiny, every critical detail was recorded within.
Miyuki felt that this was an Activation Sequence completely stripped of
anything unnecessary to boost efficiency to the max.
The variables were inputted into the Activation Sequence, beginning Magic
Sequence construction.

Generally, Magicians wouldn't pay attention to these phases.

Magicians would typically use language, formulas or images to properly

formulate the desired phenomenon change, then dive into the
subconsciousness.

The Magic Calculation Area's job was to transform the imagined reality into
data for the Magic Sequence. The "variables" in the Activation Sequence
refer to the portions that must be created from the Magician's imagination.

Magicians can feel the Activation Sequences that have been absorbed into
their physical body, just as they are able to sense the Magic Sequence
being constructed within them. However, the construction process for
Magic Sequences is partially involuntary and is not subject to conscious
interference.
If this wasn't the case, based on human limits of understanding and
comprehension of data, there would be no way to create Information
Bodies capable of influencing reality.

Miyuki imaged herself floating to the ceiling's height.

All of a sudden, the bounds of gravity disappeared.

Her five senses lost touch with her environment as if her body had phased
out of reality, causing Miyuki to panic slightly.

That being said, Miyuki's soul was filled with a delight that far exceeded
that paltry sense of panic.

She never knew flying was such a liberating experience.

She was almost envious of the astronauts that strode across the stars with
80% of this feeling.
She also pitied them for having to wear cumbersome space suits in order
to enjoy such pleasure.
Miyuki earnestly wished to leave this narrow basement and freely soar
through the skies.

"How is it? Is the Loop System too stressful?"

Her brother's voice quickly pulled Miyuki's mind back to earth.

Miyuki was terribly embarrassed that she was engrossed in the pleasure of
flight during such a critical experiment.

Even so, this wasn't the time for self-loathing.

Miyuki, you have to step up Miyuki mentally scolded herself before

answering her brother's question.

"No problems whatsoever. There are no headaches or sense of

exhaustion."

"Excellent. Next is gradual parallel motion, get used to slowly accelerating

yourself, then fly as you please."

"Understood."

Miyuki followed her brother's instructions and imagined herself slowly

floating parallel to the ground.

The tiny Activation Sequence automatically spread out and copied itself,
constructing the Magic Sequence that changed the direction of gravity to
parallel motion.
The design behind Flying-Type Magic revolved around using the Loop
System to continuously invoke magic.

According to this process, as long as new conceptual ideas are not

introduced into the Calculation Area, the variables would continuously
mirror the original values.
With the Activation Sequence added into the self-replicating
Non-Systematic Magic data near the final stages of the Magic Sequence
construction process and allowing the Activation Sequence to be applied to
the Magic Calculation Area, even if the CAD is not being operated, the
same Magic Sequence can still be invoked using the Loop System, that
is. Thus, the same Activation Sequence, construction of the Magic
Sequence, and the data variables can be endlessly plugged in. This is the
truth behind Flying-Type Magic.
Taurus Silver's magnum opus "Loop System", was the perfect
complement to the Flight Calculation Device that Tatsuya invented.

"Is the magic disjointed?"

"Not at all. As expected of Onii-sama, the timing is simply perfect."

The key to this system lies in recording the exact times the magic
activates.

Humans are unsuited for such precise number management, so machines

were absolutely necessary to fill this gap.

If the design stubbornly refused to take anything besides magic into

account, then the system would be simply impossible.

Miyuki continued to follow Tatsuya's directions and incrementally raised

the spiraling speed.

She used the limited space within the basement to the maximum extent.
She turned, maneuvered, and flipped as she danced in the air.

The softly floating skirt and long, silky hair followed the outstretched body
to display absolutely beautiful curves.

At some point, Tatsuya forgot to objectively analyze the situation and

simply stood there mesmerized at the wholly unexpected fairy dance.

Four Leaves Technology (the literal translation is "Four Leaves
Technology", but the official company records and brand name
intentionally used only "Four Leaves") often shortened to FLT, had a
CAD development center situated in the boondocks, nearly two hours
away from Tatsuya's house by public transit (it was only one and a half
hours by electric bike, but they chose to use public transit because of the
rain). Tatsuya had long since familiarized himself with this route and,
precisely because he was overly familiar, the long and arduous ride only
served to irritate him.

"Miyuki......?"
"Yes, Onii-sama, what is it?"

"......Never mind, I apologize. It was nothing."

"Huh......?"
Unlike the labs near the main corporate headquarters, whenever Tatsuya
came to this lab, Miyuki usually tagged along as well, so she was probably
just as familiar with this route. But despite the dismal weather, her outlook
remained much like they were on a picnic, causing Tatsuya to inquire to
the reason behind that.

The reason he cut himself short after starting to ask was because when
Tatsuya thought about it, he felt that this was a rather odd question.

Of course, Miyuki was quite confused, but her sunny disposition quickly
returned, to the point that she was almost humming in joy.

However, the two of them had already entered the research lab, so she
didn't actually make any sounds.

This was the hub for all corporate related technical research, the veritable
beating heart of FLT itself, with all the security that accompanied it. Not
only were there cameras watching every angle, the number of deployed
security personnel was also astounding.
Even so, no one halted Tatsuya and Miyuki.
They didn't even bother to check in at the counter before walking down the
window-less corridors that led to the deepest part of the facility.

Finally, the two of them arrived at a room with one wall that was covered in
windows from the ceiling to the floor.

On the other side of the windows, a deep chasm extended nearly half a
floor beneath the earth that was large enough to house a hangar.

Across this open space was another room with the same observation area.

This was the CAD testing center.

Over a dozen engineers and researchers were bustling about the office
debating or manipulating various measuring devices.

"Ah, young master!"

Even though everyone was buried in work, someone greeted Tatsuya the
moment he stepped into the observation room.
Which was quite rare this was probably the only place since
everyone's greeting was extended towards Tatsuya and not Miyuki.

The name "young master" was initially applied to Tatsuya because he was
the son of one of the corporate higher ups with the ability to enter as he
pleased, but was now the respected title directed towards their future
leader.
Tatsuya was slightly embarrassed by this moniker and wished that they
would stop referring to him as such, but he knew that everyone called him
that out of genuine friendship, so he didn't force the issue.

"Sorry for the bother, where's Director Ushiyama?"

The respectful gazes directed towards her brother made Miyuki glow with
pleasure, causing no end of people there were very few males capable
of resisting Miyuki's smile to get distracted from their work. Tatsuya
allowed Miyuki to accompany him as he interrogated the first researcher in
the white lab coat who greeted him.

The voice that answered this question came from far behind the crowd.

"Looking for me, Mister?"

A tall but hardly fragile-looking engineer wearing gray work clothes
threaded through the crowd.

"Director, my apologies for visiting when you're so busy."

"Wait, Mister, please don't say that."

Tatsuya's respectful greeting caused the engineer named Ushiyama to

color and shake his head.

"It is your right to act casual, but these men are your subordinates, so
there's no need to be overly humble like this."
"Not so, everyone here was recruited by our father, so they hardly answer
to me......"

"What are you saying. You are the far famed 'Mr. Silver' himself and we
are honored to serve beneath you."
Every engineer and researcher who heard Ushiyama's voice nodded in
agreement.

This was Four Leaves Technology's CAD Development 3rd Division.

The development team that created what the world called the "Silver
Series".

Currently, it is publicly acknowledged that the "Silver Series" is the defining

work of FLT's technical abilities. Once seen as rebels and renegades, the
surplus employees from the technical department that made up the 3rd
Division now held considerable sway in FLT after the advent of the Silver
Series.

Thus, the engineers and researchers here swore eternal loyalty to one of
the core developers Tatsuya, who was "half" of Taurus Silver.

"Seriously though, I think that you, 'Mr. Taurus', are the actual leader of
this group, right? It's because you were always reluctant to accept the
directorship that 3rd Division still doesn't have managers and group
leaders."

"Please don't say that, I'm not capable of being 'Mr.' or 'Taurus', I'm just an
ordinary engineer who does the grunt work so that your ingenious theories
can be facilitated. I'm the one who cannot stand the fact that my name is
placed alongside the original developer. I'm not that brazen. It's just that
the young master is still an underage student, so your patent would be a
difficult issue, hence why I had to throw my name into the ring."

"......Without Ushiyama-san's skills, the 'Loop System' would be impossible

to realize. I am not nearly as capable in terms of hardware knowledge,
performance, and creativity, so regardless of whether its skills or theory,
the only thing that matters is that we are able to complete a model capable
of mass consumption, correct?"

"Ah~ Stop, just stop. There's no way I can beat the young master in a
debate, so let's get down to business. You didn't just pop in to see us, did
you?"
As Ushiyama scratched his head in surrender, Tatsuya relaxed his solemn
expression and let out a deliberate smile.

"OK, Ushiyama-san, today's test subject is this."

Tatsuya intentionally kept his tone and motions casual as he pulled out a
CAD shaped like a smart phone. Ushiyama stared at it for more than 10
seconds without blinking at all.

This was the T-7 model CAD that Ushiyama prepared for Tatsuya for a
specific reason.

To upload software into the test model meant that......

"Is that...... the Flight Calculation Device?"

Ushiyama's hands shook as he took the CAD from Tatsuya's hands.

"Yes, the testing hardware that I had Ushiyama-san make is already

loaded with the Activation Sequence for Sustained Gravity-Control Type
Magic. With this test model it was easy to access and manipulate the
system, making it very easy to use."

"Then the test......"

"As usual, only Miyuki and I have tested it, but we don't rate as normal
Magicians."

Everyone present, and it wasn't just one or two either, who overheard them
sucked in a breath and tensely stared at Ushiyama's hands.

"......Akira, how many T-7 Models do we have in the lab?"

Finally, Ushiyama used a fairly calm tone to ask his subordinate.

Upon getting the answer "ten", his half closed eyes abruptly sprang open.

"Damn! Only ten? Why weren't they replaced!

What? Order them later, grab every model we currently have plugged into
the maintenance machines and copy the system the young master wrote!

Hiroshi, summon all the testers! What? Someone is on break?

I don't give a damn!

Drag them here by the neck if you have to!

Everyone else, stop whatever you're doing and prepare for precise
measurement!
Do you guys understand? This is Flying-Type Magic! This will change the
history of magic itself!"

He was probably using the internal broadcast.

Not just in this room, even the testing room on the opposite side burst into
action as even the researchers on break started working.

This indoor CAD testing facility rivals a large gym in terms of area and
height. The communication line hung down from the ceiling and was
attached to the back of the testing personnel.
The line also doubled as a lifeline if needed.

Floating-Type Magic has already become widespread and this facility had
also tested that before, but Flying-Type Magic was on a whole different
level than Floating-Type Magic, to the extent that their actual designs were
fundamentally different. It was also different from leaping and slow-motion
descent, a hitherto unknown magic.

The tester's face was pale with anxiety.

New magics were usually created from already familiar magics, but no one
knows where danger may be lurking.

There have been precedents where Magicians lost their lives due to tiny
bugs in the Activation Sequence.

If they were using a brand new and (until now) unprecedented magic, no
amount of caution was enough.
The surface changed to a shock-absorbing material and, once the
suspension test was cleared, the preparations were finally complete.

"Start the test."

After evacuating to the observation room not just for the safety of the
observers, but for the testers as well Ushiyama gave the order to begin.

From below, it was impossible to see what kind of expression the tester
wore as he put on his safety helmet.
However, the tester, who had amassed extensive experience as the
primary tester before reaching age 30, visibly clenched his teeth.
Even so, he thumbed the CAD's power switch without any hesitation.

"Confirm lift off."

"According to the measurements, there is no reverse force putting

pressure on the ground."

Before the naked eye could make any confirmation, the personnel at the
various measuring devices were already reporting in.

"Errors in upward acceleration within acceptable parameters."

"CAD performance is stable."

The tester's body was gradually rising.

Now, they could clearly see that his feet had left the ground.

The line was sagging, proving that the tester was not hanging from the
suspension device.

Inside the observation room, excluding the sounds of the machines

processing data and reporting back, there wasn't even the sound of clothes
rustling.

Everyone forgot to move as they stared at either the scene before their
eyes or the values displayed on the measuring devices.
"Upward acceleration still dropping...... and zero, now maintaining rising
velocity."

The tester gradually rose until he was level with the 3 meter high
observation room.

"Upward acceleration entering negatives...... Upward velocity has reached

zero, confirmed immobile."

Up until this moment, this was still within the boundaries of what
Floating-Type Magic could accomplish.
"Testing parallel acceleration."
Someone...... More like everyone held their breath.

"Halt acceleration, begin 1 meter/second parallel movement."

Without waiting for the measurement reports, it was obvious to the naked
eye that the tester was currently moving in the air.

"It's moving......"

"He can fly......"

The incredulous words only served to confirm that the sight before
everyone's eyes was reality.
"This is Tester #1 to observation deck, I'm currently walking in the air......
Belay that...... I'm flying, I'm free......"

The surprising transmission from the speakers released the emotions

suspended by everyone's amazement.

"Awesome!"

"We did it!"

"Congratulations, young master!"

The observers shouted in joy.

The tester was freely tracing flight paths in the sky.

Only Tatsuya remained immune to the fiery emotions of the people around
him as he calmly observed the expressions around him and accepted their
delirious well wishes.

"Are you all morons......?"

Ushiyama gestured helplessly at the testers that sprawled on the ground

due to magic overuse.
This test ran massively over schedule and continued until all 9 testers were
down and out for the count.

It wasn't that there was a problem with the process, it was because the
testers didn't want to stop.
At their request, the communications line that also served as a life line was
swapped for wireless communications so they could go completely off
script and play hide and seek.
"How can you use Sustained-Type Magic for so long!"

Modern magic is almost always activated in an instant or over a short

period of time.
Generally, magics with sustained effects are only valid within a specific
time, so there are very few Magicians who can use magics that require
constant activation. For example, "Sonic Blade" belongs to the
Sustained-Type Magic category, but in reality, most users refresh the
activation after each strike.
Until recently, magic that requires repetitive activation was seen as unique
abilities for select Magicians and it wasn't until the introduction of the "Loop
Cast" system that the automatic replication of Activation Sequences in the
Magic Calculation Area became available to the general public.

"You are responsible for your own actions, I'm not handing out worker's
comp."

Thankfully, no tester exhibited symptoms of magic deprivation.

Since this remained within the boundaries of hilarity, Ushiyama snorted at

the protests and walked towards Tatsuya, who was staring intently at the
test results.

"Is there any area you're concerned about?"

When Tatsuya turned around, his expression was a far cry from satisfied.

"Honestly, the areas for improvement are limitless...... But based on the
current status, the stress for continuously executing Activation Sequences
is still overly high."

For some reason, a knowing expression crossed Ushiyama's face as he

heard this and he glanced at Tatsuya and Miyuki, who was standing
behind her brother.
"Of course, when compared to Hime-sama or the young master, these
Magicians have a fairly limited psion count."

By Magic Power standards, Tatsuya was on the tail end of Magicians.

However, Magic Power standards fluctuate with the advancement of magic
and the passage of time.
For example, thirty years ago Activation Sequences weren't as well
understood as they are today, so the transition from Activation Sequences
to the construction of Magic Sequences was so slow that it cannot be
compared to today. Magic Sequence efficiency was also pretty low and,
when compared to the current day and age, it required several times more
psions to construct an equally effective Magic Sequence.
At that time, the standards for power of Magicians emphasized the psion
count within the Magician's body (which included both the physical body
and the mental "body") rather than focusing on the speed of Magic
Sequence construction. By the old standards, both Tatsuya and Miyuki's
psion count would rate as top tier.

Thanks to the improvements in Activation Sequences, Magic Sequences

and CADs, a limited psion count wouldn't cause the same problems with
magic invocation. Excluding "Non-Systematic Magic" techniques that
directly released psions, a high psion count is only seen as a beautiful
decoration now.

That being said, the use of Activation Sequence and construction of Magic
Sequences still consumes psions and, even if each consumption is a small
amount, hundreds or thousands of incremental amounts still add up to
considerable stress on the Magician.
"We have to streamline the design for the CAD's automatic psion
absorption to make it more efficient......"

"......Let me handle that. If we rely more on the hardware portion than

software, that should lessen the load somewhat. We could probably set the
timing mechanism as a feedback loop as well."

Ushiyama said this after a moment's consideration, which Tatsuya

responded to with a knowing smile.

"I was just about to discuss that with you."

"I'm honored."
Both of them revealed the exact same smile.

While there were a few hardware modifications still remaining, all in all the
technical portion yielded a satisfactory result. Today's most important gain
was the verification that the average Magician is able to execute
Flying-Type Magic with a CAD obtainable on the general market.

There was no time to waste. After organizing the results of this experiment,
next week he would publicize the details regarding Flying-Type Magic
under the name Taurus Silver. Speed was more important than quality
here, because the impacts of "first in the world" and "second in the world"
were completely different. "First" was also an incredibly powerful tool for
dissemination.

On the other hand, the CADs specifically designed for Flying-Type Magic
would have to be objectively redesigned from scratch, so they would
probably hit the market around September (the end of the first half of the
fiscal year).
With these two objectives established, the meeting adjourned.

Tatsuya headed to the rest area to collect the waiting Miyuki and began
the long trek home.

Despite all the work that needed to be done...... more like he adamantly
insisted on sending them off, Ushiyama scratched his head in an awkward
manner.
"I'm terribly sorry, I did contact the Vice President, but......"

Regardless of whether it was during the experiment or after the

confirmation of success, the VP in charge of all FLT R&D divisions
Tatsuya and Miyuki's father never showed up at all, a detail that Ushiyama
couldn't get over.

"Don't worry about it. It's our day off anyways, and even if he's at work, he
should be at corporate headquarters."

Honestly, from Tatsuya's point of view, not seeing him was probably for the
best.

As a matter of fact, Miyuki didn't want to see him at all.

However, that was probably too much information for Ushiyama. Ushiyama
knew that the siblings' father not only held an important position in FLT, but
was also the majority shareholder. Even if Ushiyama was a key
developmental engineer, the skeletons in the manager's closet should be
kept far away from employees.

With this in mind, Tatsuya used this excuse as a response, but that only
served to deepen Ushiyama's guilty expression.

"......No, the VP is actually here today......"

Even though Tatsuya's back was facing Miyuki, he could still feel his
sister's emotional turbulence as she frowned.

Tatsuya himself actually let out a breath.

Thank goodness they didn't run into their father.

"As the VP, he probably doesn't have the time to check every site
personally. I hardly think that he looks down upon R&D."

"No, that I understand. Also, the VP allocated a larger budget to us

anyways."

Tatsuya intentionally steered the conversation back on its head and turned
around to comfort Ushiyama. It was a shame that he had to treat the even
more nervous Ushiyama like this, but Tatsuya also didn't want dwell on this
subject.

As usual, fate had other ideas.

After the siblings said their goodbyes to Ushiyama and left the research
labs, they encountered the people they least wanted to meet at the corridor
leading to the threshold of the main area.

"Long time no see, Miyuki Ojou-sama."

As the three family members silently stared at one another, the first to
speak was actually the fourth person present. This man was known to
Tatsuya and Miyuki, but the emphasis was on "known" and not "close".

"It's been awhile, Aoki-san. I would like to say long time no see as well, but
I'm not the only person present.
Otou-sama, you look well, thank you for your phone call last time, but I
think that occasionally greeting your own son isn't grounds for divine
retribution, is it?"
The smooth and lovable voice was tinged with barbs, but her opponent's
skin and defenses were proof against the rose's thorns.
"Ojou-sama, forgive this one's impertinence, but this Aoki serves as the
butler and financial manager for the Yotsuba Family. Your request for me
to greet a paltry attendant is against our house rules."

"He is my Onii-sama."

Miyuki was striving to maintain her calm tone, but Tatsuya was very clear
that she was reaching her breaking point.

"Again, forgive this one's impertinence, everyone in the house earnestly

wishes for Ojou-sama to inherit the Yotsuba Family. He's only Ojou-sama's
guardian, and thus stands on an entirely different level than your own."

"Hold, Aoki-san, I understand that interjecting here is considered boorish,

but choose your words carefully."

Just as Miyuki was about to breakdown and scream, Tatsuya coldly

overrode his sister's words.

His voice was chilling to the extreme.

Even such contempt found no purchase on Tatsuya's will.

Tatsuya's heart was "forged" this way.

Rather than affronted, Tatsuya was more concerned that Miyuki would hurt
herself being enraged on his behalf.

"It doesn't matter. Although you are a mere attendant, you are still
Miya-sama's son, so I am forced to overlook this breach of decorum."

So Tatsuya had no time to deal with his opponent's haughty attitude.

"Earlier, you claimed that all who serve the Yotsuba Family wish for Miyuki
to be the next head of the Yotsuba Family. I do believe this is an unfair
charge to the other candidates, correct?"
In order to avoid letting Miyuki be subjected to the negativity projected
towards him any longer, Tatsuya must continuously press the attack,
forcing the opponent to yield without allowing Miyuki to interject in any way.
"I believe our aunt has not selected a successor, unless you are telling me
that you are privy to our aunt's decision?"
The shrewd and capable gentleman in the prime of his years that looked
more like a lawyer than a butler was stunned into silence by the sixteen
year old youth's inquiry.

"If her will is decided, then I need to begin preparations for Miyuki
immediately. This is an excellent opportunity today, so I would be most
indebted to you if you can verify this."

Tatsuya's voice was perfectly even, without a single rise or pitch in his
volume.

"......Maya-sama has not made a decision."

Aoki answered with a suffering expression on his face.

Tatsuya intentionally widened his eyes to express his amazement.

"This is astounding! The fourth butler of the Yotsuba Family actually

passed on his personal wishes in the guise of the family directive towards
the candidates for succession? If so, who here is the one who violated the
house rules?"
Tatsuya pretended to sigh as Aoki glared furiously at him, his face
completely red. Tatsuya judged that Aoki's position was now untenable, so
he prepared to depart with a victorious message.

Unfortunately, that judgment was too naive.

"......That was no assumption. As we all serve the Yotsuba Family, it is a

common feeling that we all possess. Even though we cannot see heart to
heart, as long as we aim for the same goal, then we are all on the same
wavelength."

This was a fabricated excuse that abandoned all theory and logic. Even so,
his opponent still prepared the forbidden poison for the last moment.
"You're nothing more than a heartless, false Magician. You wouldn't be
able to understand."
The moment Aoki spat out this malicious sentiment, the walls were
suddenly covered in frost.
The air conditioning kicked into overdrive trying to restore the rapidly falling
temperature.

Swirls of cold air congregated around Miyuki's feet.

However, Tatsuya reached out with one finger on his left hand and,
accompanied by the sound of a cassette player rewinding at high speed
a hallucination that only people that can sense magic can hear the cold
air vanished.

Miyuki's face alternated between angry red and green before turning
completely pale. Tatsuya gathered his sister into his bosom with one hand
before directing a chilling gaze that cut like a blade towards Aoki.
"My mother was the very one who created this 'heartless fake Magician',
the older sister of the Yotsuba Family's current head Yotsuba Maya, she
who was called Yotsuba and now Shiba Miya.

She used the forbidden Non-Systematic Magic 'Mental Design

Interference', forcibly altering the area in the consciousness, most likely to
create strong emotions called the limbic system by inputting a Magic
Calculation Model, creating an artificial Magician. The one who designed
this experiment was Yotsuba Maya, who had recently been appointed the
head of the Yotsuba Family, while the one who conducted this experiment
on her six year old son that had no magic skills was Shiba Miya.

In other words, to apply the word 'imposter' to me as the target of the

experiment is to call the magic experiment conducted by the current head
of the Yotsuba Family and her older sister as a fake. I'm sure you are
aware of the consequences?"

Tatsuya gently held his beloved little sister who was sobbing into his chest.
On the other hand, he continued to mercilessly press the attack on Aoki,
who was responsible for driving his little sister into this state.

"............"

"Tatsuya, stop."
Tatsuya's father, who had remained silent until now Shiba Tatsurou,
covered for the immobile Aoki who had been cowed into silence and
stepped forward to halt Tatsuya.

"Don't speak poorly of your mother."

But his words were completely off topic.

This was probably done to avoid irritating the main house and to protect
himself.
This corporation was secretly funded by the Yotsuba Family, so even
though he was the majority shareholder thanks to the stocks from his
deceased wife, the actual power of attorney still remained in the hands of
the Yotsuba Family, hence it wasn't surprising for him to speak softly
around them, but......

Tatsuya almost broke into laughter.

"Tatsuya, it's not that I don't understand why you bear hatred towards your
mother......"

And, this father couldn't even read Tatsuya's expression.

Tatsuya truly believed that, for the sake of everyone's mutual mental
health, it was best to leave as quickly as possible.

Even so, Tatsuya felt that he needed to add one extra comment before
departing.

"Otou-san, you misunderstand, I don't hate my mother."

"Is...... Is that so......"

That was all that was necessary.

There was no need to tell him the words Tatsuya didn't say.

Tatsuya's heart did not possess the ability to "hate".

He could not feel any strong emotions like fury, despair, envy, hatred,
disgust, gluttony, lust, sloth, and...... love.

Never would he forget himself in anger.

Neither would he wallow in despair.

Nor struggle with envy.

Unknown to hatred, nor known to disgust.

Or fall in love with women.

To hunger, but not gluttonous.

To arouse, but not lustful.

To tire, but not slothful.

The unique magic that only his mother possessed in the entire world
erased all the strongest emotions and urges from his heart.

He did not hate his mother.

Nor was he furious.

That was because he was "unable" to enrage and "unable" to hate.

The only "emotion" they left for him was intentionally left behind to bind him
to the Yotsuba Family with a chain forged of duty.

Of course, this was not filial piety.

And so, Tatsuya cradled the sobbing Miyuki as they left the premises
without a word of goodbye.
Chapter 3
One of the advantages of having a set classroom at school was that it
fostered building interpersonal relationships.

Regional proximity and blood relations are both powerful impetus for
developing bonds and, regardless of whether they are official or unofficial
organizations, serve to differentiate and categorize groups within groups.

For the practical application of this sentiment......

"Morning, Shiba. I heard about it already, nice going."

"Morning, Shiba-kun, great job."

"Good morning, Shiba-kun, I'm rooting for you."

"Hey, go for it, Shiba."

......And so, even students who normally weren't very close to him were
voluntarily bridging out towards him through greetings and words of
encouragement.

As soon as Tatsuya entered the classroom on Monday, he received a

string of support from his classmates.

The reason why they did this was natural: Tatsuya was selected as one of
the representatives for the Nine Schools Competition.
"The grapevine is quite active."

"Yep. This was only decided last week and there hasn't even been an
official announcement yet."

"Yeah, so where did they get the news?"

Leo, Mizuki, and Erika did not appear to be feigning ignorance, so they
probably weren't the culprits.

However, it's not like those responsible were issued gag orders either.
At the time, only upperclassmen attended the meeting, so they likely heard
the news from their club leaders.

"Speaking of which, didn't they make the announcement today?"

Erika tilted her head to one side and asked, at which Tatsuya nodded in a
solemn manner.
Including the technician team, the official roster for the Nine Schools
Competition was finalized last Friday.

The original timetable called for the roster to be finalized two weeks ago,
so they were obviously several steps behind.
The fact that the contestants were already decided may have been a
blessing in disguise, since all the competition-use CADs and uniforms that
usually took the longest time to prepare had already been assembled. The
only bottleneck was that because the engineering candidates hadn't been
settled, all of the maintenance and testing work was yet to be done.

Miyuki was a contestant herself, but owing to the constant stream of

preparation work she was entirely unavailable. For her, Tatsuya was willing
to sacrifice anything, but still couldn't dispel the notion that he was being
railroaded.
"I think 5th period will be changed to an assembly, right?"

Mizuki said this as she gazed at the terminal screen set into the table
before them that listed today's class schedule.

All grades shared the same schedule with three periods in the morning and
two in the afternoon.

Even so, besides labs, technical skills, and physical education classes,
standardized classes (classes set as progression goals) advanced
according to the student's own pace. Modern schools allowed for
personalized education to be displayed on the terminal screens in class
and did not heavily restrict start and end times.

In modern schools, the higher the grade level, the less emphasis was
placed on determining class time and break time. The fact that the school
changed the entire 5th period into an assembly to properly send off the
representatives was a clear sign of how highly the school viewed this
event.
"Tatsuya-kun will also be onstage during the ceremony, correct?"

"Hm, yeah......"
Tatsuya stammered out a reply to Mizuki's question because this was
precisely the point of contention that plagued him.

"And Tatsuya is the only First Year student, right?"

Just as Leo said, the only First Year student accepted into the technician
team was Tatsuya.

Experience in CAD maintenance was absolutely necessary, so naturally

upperclassmen should be the ones selected for the technician team,
except that Tatsuya's skills were vastly different from the masses.

Of course, when taking into consideration that he was a pioneering expert

in the development of CAD software, he would definitely be overqualified
for serving as an engineer in a high school competition.

But, regardless of whether they were in his year or higher grades, no one
was aware of this detail.

Only his sister Miyuki knew.

"Those Course 1 students look so~ very~ aggrieved."

The Course 1 students were still smarting from the results of the finals and
this selection would only serve to throw more oil on the fire. This was
blatantly obvious even without Erika verbalizing it.
"But all the contestants are Course 1 students......"
That was Tatsuya's perspective.

Since all the contestants for the Newcomers Division were Course 1
students and Tatsuya was only an auxiliary member, no one on the outside
would comment on this.

But for the people in question, this was insufficient to comfort the other
Course 1 students that aimed to become Magic Artificers.

Tatsuya was rarely in a position that aroused jealousy.

He also lacked the ability to envy others.

His life experiences were not rich enough for him to observe all the minute
details.
"There's nothing they can do about it. Jealousy alone isn't a good enough
reason."
So when he heard Mizuki's piercing comment, Tatsuya was unable to
formulate a reply.

"Relax, this time no one is going to throw stones or magic at you."

At Erika's overly extreme method of comforting him, Tatsuya could only

smile wryly.

After 4th period, Tatsuya reported on time to the backstage, where he was
handed a thin jacket by Miyuki, who arrived before him.

"This is?"

For all intents and purposes, this was a normal jacket, but Tatsuya still
wanted to verify that.

"This is the uniform for the technician team. Please put that on during the
ceremony in place of the actual uniform."

The one who answered was Mayumi.

With the expected answer.

Mayumi herself was wearing a western-styled sports jacket.

That was probably the uniform for contestants.

Miyuki, who was still in her school uniform, let out an expectant smile as
she held out the jacket to Tatsuya with both hands.

A brief, mischievous urge flashed across his mind, but Tatsuya knew that
resistance was futile.

Tatsuya frankly removed the jacket of his school uniform and hung it on the
coat hanger prepared ahead of time.
Next, he slightly bent his knees and allowed Miyuki to help him put on the
jacket.
Standing behind him, Miyuki tugged the jacket over her brother's shoulders
before looping to the front and adjusting the collar and sleeves. Afterwards,
she took a step back to glance over her brother's torso and letting out a
wide, satisfied smile.

Tatsuya was largely aware of why his sister was in such a fantastic mood.

Her happiness was likely caused by the school emblem embroidered over
the jacket's left breast.

The emblem was styled after a flower with eight petals.

Miyuki's uniform had the same emblem over the same location.
The emblem of First High.

And not a replacement either, but the symbol of a Course 1 student.

"Onii-sama, that suits you perfectly......"

The intramural competition uniforms were largely the same as the normal
ones, which was natural since it was only intended to identify which school
the contestants belonged to.

However, in Miyuki's eyes, Tatsuya's appearance was finally restored to its

rightful state.

Tatsuya honestly couldn't care less but it was precisely because he didn't
care that he didn't want to spoil the mood. There was still some time until
the commencement of the ceremony, so Tatsuya waited around wearing
the uniform for the technician team.

Miyuki was completely mesmerized by the dashing figure Tatsuya cut in

his uniform. She remained standing there without tiring in her uniform.
Tatsuya gazed around him but failed to catch sight of Miyuki's western
sport jacket. Even with the copious amount of time remaining, Tatsuya still
felt that she should get ready as soon as possible.

"Don't you need to change?"

"I'm serving as the ceremonial assistant."

Hearing Tatsuya's question, Miyuki snapped out of her mesmerized
expression to reply with her usual smile on her face.
In other words, this was the only time that Miyuki was excluded from the
participant standing and served instead as the representative for the
send-off party...... At least that's how Tatsuya interpreted Miyuki's words.

"Is that so, that's quite a heavy responsibility."

"Please don't remind me......."

There was no way she would shrink at such a marginal duty, but she still
employed that weak tone and faltering gaze, prompting Tatsuya to smile
softly and lay a hand on his sister's head.

The surrounding onlookers directed cold gazes towards the two of them.

The team members responsible for organizing the so-called send off
ceremony got the event started on time, and everything proceeded
according to plan.

Even if Tatsuya stood onstage, there would be no stones or magic hurtled

his way that was a given.

However, for him, this was a very foreign location.

The participants and engineers assembled into two lines. Among the
technician team, only Tatsuya was an underclassman. All the others were
upperclassmen, which naturally lent the feeling that he was the odd man
out.
Thanks to Tatsuya's performance during the selection meeting, he was
spared the outright hostile or contemptuous gazes on stage.

That being said, it wasn't like the gazes were friendly. Favorable evaluation
does not equate to a favorable impression.

Regardless of how they looked at it, his acceptance onto the team was an
unprecedented elevation and special treatment.
To top it all off, Tatsuya was presently garbed in the jacket with the
coveted eight petal flower emblem embroidered on it.
Surely someone must consider this offensive, which inevitably led to
further backlash that he could do nothing about. Beneath the luminous
lights, Tatsuya calmly thought about this as if he wasn't the principal.

During this time, they were introducing each contestant in turn on stage.

Mayumi was the master of ceremonies.

Upon being called, each participant would receive a special medal that
concealed the ID crystal needed to enter the competition arena.

To improve the presentation, Miyuki was responsible for presenting the

medal to each individual.

Just the contestants alone numbered 40 people (excluding Miyuki and

Mayumi there were 38), so this was a very time-consuming process, but
probably owing to her excellent upbringing, Miyuki maintained a sweet
smile throughout as she smoothly pinned the medals onto each individual.

In such an extreme proximity that they could feel her breath, no male
student was immune to Miyuki's smile as they desperately tried to fight
their blushing and shaky expressions.

If that was the case, this scene would undoubtedly rouse the ire of the
entire female student body, but even the female students that received the
medals had succumbed to flushed faces or faltering gazes, so no one in
the audience (especially the upperclassmen) was irked and instead smiled
in agreement.
The medals were not just presented to the participants, but to the auxiliary
team as well.

After the tactical advisory team was introduced, it was finally the technical
support team's turn.

"Somehow I feel a little nervous."

Someone next to him suddenly spoke to him, causing Tatsuya to slightly
turn his head.
The male student to his flank also turned his head slightly, catching
Tatsuya's gaze directly.

The level of Tatsuya's sight was slightly higher.

If he recalled correctly, this was the Year 2 student named Isori Kei. Of
course, he was a Course 1 student (and Tatsuya was the only Course 2
student onstage anyways).

"Yeah."

He was one of the very few that were openly friendly to Tatsuya.

This handsome youth possessed a mild temperament and, coupled with

his slender figure, if he exchanged the pants for a dress, would perfectly fit
the description of a "tall female student". However, he was also First Place
in Magic Theory for the Year 2 class as well as one of the foremost
Magicians with technical skills.

As Tatsuya re-examined his "beauty" at close range, he got the distinct

impression that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

They were still on stage, so the conversation ended there.

However, even for a slower individual like Tatsuya, to be able to find one
shining light of friendliness in this murky ocean of negativity was enough to
lessen the gloomy emotions welling up in his heart.

As he felt his depression lighten, he had the excess energy to survey the
audience.

Since there wasn't any assigned seating in the audience, the student body
naturally split into two, with the Course 1 students in front and the Course 2
students in the rear.

That being said, a few outsiders had managed to infiltrate the front half.

They probably detected Tatsuya's gaze.

Erika vigorously waved at him from her seat in the third row from the front,
which was close enough to be called front row seating.

Tatsuya was thoroughly astounded by this.

Taking a closer look, Mizuki sat next to Erika, with Leo on her other side
and Mikihiko occupying Leo's other flank. Even the faces behind them
were all familiar.
In sheer defiance of the disapproving looks sent their way by the
surrounding Course 1 students, First Year Class E stormed the front of
seating and claimed a section for themselves.

As Tatsuya was drawn to their courageous actions, Miyuki arrived in front

of him with a small cart before her.

Of the 40 contestants, 4 tactical advisors, 8 technicians and removing the

master of ceremonies and assistant, there were a total of 50 people on
stage. Forty-nine of them had already received their medals.

Last, but not least, it was finally the 50th person's turn.
In other words, Tatsuya was up next.

Mayumi loudly proclaimed his name.

Was Tatsuya over thinking too much, or did she place extra emphasis on
his name?

Tatsuya stepped forward to acknowledge the announcement.

Miyuki revealed a brilliant, melting smile enough to cause Tatsuya to be

worried about his sister's mental status and stood before Tatsuya.

Miyuki clipped the medal onto Tatsuya's jacket.

At the same time, thunderous applause broke forth.

There was no need for any visual confirmation.

It was Erika and Leo leading the rest of his classmates in applause.

To Mayumi and Miyuki, who were responsible for directing the ceremony,
this was an unplanned for ruckus.

However, just as the First Year Course 1 students were about to hush the
clapping......
Mayumi and Miyuki seized the initiative to start clapping from the wings of
the stage.
After introducing the last representative, the entire assembly started
applauding.
This perfectly coincided with the applause for the entire team, which
spread throughout the auditorium.

After the conclusion of the colors ceremony, the entire campus was
completely focused on preparing for the Nine Schools Competition.

With the events they would be participating in settled, Miyuki spent every
day practicing with Shizuka and Honoka until the last second before the
campus closed.

Tatsuya needed to perform CAD maintenance at the same time he was

assisting Miyuki with her tasks, so he was also occupied until late in the
day.

Both Erika and Leo were affiliated with athletic clubs, so they were also
drafted to help deal with the myriad tasks that needed doing.

Mizuki was the only one in the literary clubs, so this week she usually
waited by herself for everyone else to finish.

Last week's colors ceremony filled her with anxiety.

Even though there was no assigned seating, it still took a lot of courage to
disregard that unspoken rule.

There was no way she could do that alone, though the situation was more
like if Erika hadn't been there, none of their classmates would've taken the
plunge either.

Mizuki acknowledged her own introverted and cowering personality, so she

was doubly impressed by and envious of her friend.

(But why was Erika striving so hard like that......?)

Mizuki was forcibly dragged along by Erika into participating.

Of course, she wanted to support Tatsuya as well, but reflecting on the
situation, she would be more than satisfied with applauding from the rear.
Erika was inclined towards reckless behavior, so her ulterior motive may
also be to taunt the Course 1 students.
At the same time, Erika was a flighty individual that usually didn't think
things through.

In Mizuki's eyes, she was someone who loved to get in on the action, but
rarely was the source of any troublesome business. This could be easily
explained if it only involved her best friends like Mizuki, but to be motivated
enough to involve all of their classmates, this didn't seem to fit a practical
joker's state of mind.

(So Erika is really like that towards Tatsuya...... Right......?)

From Mizuki's perspective, the male who hit it off the best with Erika was
Leo.

Erika also had an extensive back story with Mikihiko, who took Third Place
in the Theoretical portion of their exams.

But Mizuki felt that Erika held something special for Tatsuya that weighed
far differently than the others.

For some reason, Mizuki refused to assign this feeling Erika had a specific
definition in her mind.

She arrived at the school entrance less than 5 minutes ago.

The time was too short for her to claim that she was tired of waiting.

However, this was more than enough time to jolt her thinking.
Without any conscious effort, an assortment of things flowed through
Mizuki's mind.

This situation would perfectly fit the criteria for being distracted.

And so, with her sense unfocused towards any single point, she spread
her senses outward and detected a foreign wavelength.

Mizuki pondered this for exactly one second.

Then she made up her mind to remove her glasses.

Instantly, a tidal wave of flowing colors came rushing in.

Her vision was filled with colorful lights from a myriad shades.

Mizuki temporarily sustained the pain in her eyes brought on by the excess
stimulation.
For her, the act of removing her glasses was like walking from pitch
darkness into the sun's radiant rays.

The things she usually avoided looking at suddenly became visible.

The surplus data gave her a rudderless feeling as her ocular nerves and
brain were overloaded by processing all this information.

If this happened to the average person, they might've been knocked

unconscious by this information deluge, but for her, this was "another
world" that had been by her side since birth.

Even people that were suddenly exposed before the powerful rays of the
sun swiftly adapted after a short period of time.

For people with dark pupils suitable for intense light, this time would be
even shorter.

All Mizuki had to do was blink two or three times and her eyes adjusted to
be able to see a psion light several dozen times stronger than what the
average Magician perceives as well as the pushion light that average
Magicians couldn't even identify.
Mizuki cautiously replaced her glasses into the carrying case, then directed
her gaze towards the odd vibration from earlier.

She swiftly found the frequency that allowed her to penetrate the anti-spirit
light lens.

The pushion signal that possessed a wavering but regular beat like
breathing.

Now, even the source of the light could be easily seen.

Mizuki advanced towards the Technical Skills Building where the vibration
originated from as if drawn to it.
The closer she got to the Technical Skills Building, the more she felt the
seeping cold air in the surrounding environment.
This was the middle of summer, and even if the setting sun was partially
blocked by the neighboring hills and cut a horizon that was not altogether
"curved", the temperature was still more than high enough to be sweating.

This was an illusion.

"Something" was pretending to be cold air, tucked within the folds of the
warm summer air.

This "something" seemed to order Mizuki to turn back.

Like threatening her to desist her advance.

However, her feet did not come to a halt.

Logic demanded that she turn back, but Mizuki was a member of the magic
community and destined to walk side by side with magic, so Mizuki's
instincts instructed her to use her pair of "eyes" to ascertain what this
something was.
There were very few people in the Technical Skills Building, so there were
no sounds of friction or loud laughter.

The overhead lights on the ceiling maintained a degree of brightness that

made for comfortable browsing of tiny letters.

Just as usual.
No, this was a school for magic instruction and this was the Technical
Skills Building frequented by many individuals.

If an incident had occurred, it couldn't have gone unnoticed by the

instructors and upperclassmen.
In comparison to ordinary high schools, magic high schools had no place
for ghost stories or urban legends.

Since no alarm was triggered, that meant that the unusual situation that
Mizuki detected was the product of magic.

Otherwise the true spiritual manifestation that could not be detected by

modern magic.
An ominous feeling wrapped around her heart and caused her back to
quiver, but Mizuki pressed forward as if being herded in or dragged in
without her control.

As Mizuki was led upstairs, she noticed a faint, pleasant smell lingering in
the air.

She had encountered this fragrance during Magic Medicine class.

The fragrance was a combination of many incense woods that produced a

sedative effect.
She pursed the pulse towards the medicine labs.

The irregular pushion lights seemed to be caused by a certain student's

magical experiment.

After verifying that this wasn't a true spiritual manifestation, Mizuki let out a
sigh of relief.

And so, the sense of curiosity that was lurking behind her wall of unease
peeked its head out.

One of the fundamental lessons first taught in Magic Technical Skills class
is that one must never intrude on another person's magic experiment site
without permission. Unannounced guests run the risk of accidentally
triggering the magic area and may even cause the magic to spontaneously
burst out of control. The school has repeatedly reminded them that it is
extremely dangerous and foolish for Magicians-in-training such as new
students like them to barge into magic experiments unannounced.

However, the current Mizuki had completely forgotten that warning.

Mizuki's misdirected sense of caution prompted her to surreptitiously sneak

over and nudge a small crack in the door.

She meticulously avoided making any noise and peeked into the room's
interior from the crack.
In that instant

Mizuki was barely able to swallow her scream of terror.

No, rather than being one of terror, it was simply a scream of surprise.
Inside the medicine lab, there were many blue, sky blue, and dark blue
orbs dancing through the air.

Each orb had an independent "strength" and "consciousness".

Mizuki knew through "visual confirmation" that all things in the natural order
possessed differing strengths that did not tilt towards any particular
direction, but maintained a constant state of flux. Mizuki was quite familiar
with scenes of "strength"-based natural phenomena that congregated as
floating orbs. In her "eyes", the myriad details of the world were similar to
the pushion flow that the human consciousness released.
However, this was the first time Mizuki felt that the floating congregates
possessed a "consciousness".

(Spirits......?)

Is this what they call spirits she thought.

Mizuki was deeply moved by this, enough to abandon all other thoughts.

And the person who summoned these spirits was

"Yoshida-kun......?"

Completely abandoning any caution whatsoever, Mizuki softly murmured.

This was an entirely subconscious action.

Even so, the one whose name was called was no pushover.

Especially because he was situated in a private location where no one

would pass by and the fact that someone witnessed his secret "magic".

"Who's there!"

A completely reflexive inquiry.

His words were laced with the fury of being discovered, causing the
"consciousness" in the "orbs" to react.

"Ah!"
As the orbs swarmed forward, Mizuki screamed and clenched her eyes
shut.
Simultaneously, a "strong gust" approached from her flank, forcing her to
duck down.
But this was a flow of psions that would neither disturb a hair nor rustle her
dress.

The gust swept back the swarming orbs and protected Mizuki, but she had
no way of knowing with her eyes closed.

Trembling with trepidation, Mizuki slowly opened her eyes to find Mikihiko
hatefully glaring at Tatsuya, who calmly accepted this gaze without
expression.
"......Mikihiko, relax, I don't want to throw down with you here."

At Tatsuya's sudden appearance, Mizuki could only stare with wide eyes
from her kneeling position. Before her, Tatsuya had two empty hands
raised before him.

This was universal for both Magicians and mundanes, a sign that the
person in question did not wish to fight.

Mikihiko revealed a thoroughly astounded expression and his enmity

vanished at the same moment, as if it had never appeared in the first
place.

This quickly dispelled the tense atmosphere. Mizuki finally shed her frozen
posture and rose with a crestfallen Mikihiko in front of her.

"......Tatsuya, my apologies, I didn't mean to do that."

Mikihiko looked like a lost child without a home.

All of a sudden, Mizuki felt the urge to "comfort him", but was anxious
because she couldn't find the appropriate words.

Fortunately, they managed to avoid the awkward period of silence.

"I don't mind, so put your mind at ease. At the end of the day, it was
Mizuki's fault for disrupting the caster's concentration during the magic
invocation phase."
"Eh? Me?"
Mizuki hurriedly turned around only to find Tatsuya mischievously smirking
at her and quickly realized that he wasn't really scolding her.

"No, it's not her fault."

However, Mikihiko didn't see it that way.

When he rejected Tatsuya's comment, he spoke in a fairly rapid manner.

This was probably because Tatsuya's comment hit too close to home,
causing him to panic slightly.

"It is only because of my own inadequacy that I would become frantic at

just being called by name...... Also, I'm sorry I forgot something very
important. Thanks, Tatsuya. Thanks to you, I didn't accidentally hurt
Shibata-san."

"She would be fine even if I didn't do anything. Just then, that was Spirit
Magic right?"

Mikihiko nodded at Tatsuya's question, but hesitated for some reason.

"Based on the Buddhist spirits of heaven and earth, our family calls it
'Divine Earth Magic'."

Even so, Mikihiko stuck by his guns, probably because this was a
non-negotiable point for Magicians.

Spirit Magic is a type of Ancient Magic which uses independent Information

Bodies commonly called "spirits" to interact with other Information Bodies.
Magic studies often refers to this magic as "Spirit Magic", but also shortens
spirits to SB (Spiritual Being), but users generally refer to them as "spirits".

"I don't have the ability to identify spirits, but I do know that you're the one
controlling the rite. On top of that, Mizuki actually managed to bypass the
dispersal ward, so it would be fairly difficult for her not to surprise you."

"How did you know about the ward...... Oh right, Tatsuya also studied
Ancient Magic, so you would know if a rite is effective or not...... Looks like
you are truly out...... No, you've surpassed the limits of my knowledge."
"You can go ahead and say 'outrageous'."

Tatsuya spoke in a teasing manner, to which Mikihiko replied with a wry

smile the tense corners of his mouth relaxed.
"At any rate...... No matter how much you don't want other people to see
you, I think that setting a ward within the school labs also qualifies as an
outrageous action."

"True."

Their combined laughter completely erased the previously tense

atmosphere.

"Just now, were you using summoning magic on natural spirits? This is the
first time I've seen it."

"......Hiding anything at this point is fruitless. Tatsuya is correct, I was using

water spirits to practice summoning magic."

Mikihiko gathered the burning incense wood from the table stove and
answered Tatsuya.

Beside him, Mizuki was using a cleaning cloth to wipe away the ashes that
stuck to the tabletop.

Of course, Mikihiko wanted to politely decline this gesture, but Mizuki's

diligence proved particularly stubborn on this point.

"Water spirits...... Unfortunately, I only know that they are the

congregations of pushions...... Mizuki, what did you see?"

"Eh? Ah, me too, the only thing I saw were blue-colored orbs."
Hearing Tatsuya's question, Mizuki made a vague smile and shook her
hands in a wavy manner before her.

Because Mizuki was still holding the wet cleaning rag in her hand as she
did this, a small portion of the murky water splashed onto Mikihiko's face,
but she was wholly unaware because the question caught her completely
off-guard.

As Mikihiko himself...... he also seemed unaware.

His eyes were wide open as his expression tensed.

"Colored......? You can see differences in color......?"

"That, uh...... Yes."
Mizuki didn't understand why Mikihiko wore (from Mizuki's perspective) a
terrified expression, so she answered back in a quavering voice.

"For example...... blue, sky blue, or dark blue...... Ah!"

Mizuki didn't dare to look Mikihiko in the eye, so she didn't stare directly at
him as she replied. However, she let out a small cry upon noticing the
small droplets of water on Mikihiko's face.

"S-s-sorry! That...... Oh, right, handkerchief, handkerchief."

Mizuki scrambled to get her handkerchief from the school bag to wipe
Mikihiko's face.
However, Mikihiko roughly grabbed her extended hand.

And dragged the terrified Mizuki right before him.

Mikihiko caught the off balance Mizuki and stared at her eyes from such a
close proximity that it seemed like he was about to kiss her.

"Uh...... This......"

Mizuki was so confused and frantic that she was incoherent, but Mikihiko
didn't seem to notice that.

Mikihiko just kept staring without batting an eyelid, while the panicking
Mizuki didn't dare to turn around.

Without any warning, the two of them just continued to stare at one
another.

"......If this was a consensual scene then I'd have to excuse myself, but
otherwise that may be a slight problem."

"Wah!"

"Ah!"
The two of them froze like they had forgotten how to breathe, but, likely
recovering upon hearing Tatsuya's innocuous voice, quickly sprang apart.
"......I apologize."

"Please...... Please don't say it like that...... I'm the one who should
apologize."
Quite the conundrum.
It was fairly obvious why Mikihiko was asking for forgiveness that was
borderline sexual harassment, and he shouldn't complain even if he got
slapped in the face but why was Mizuki also apologizing?

Most likely out of panic. Tatsuya also felt that the atmosphere was putting
him off as well.

"......Miyuki, Erika and Leo are already at the rendezvous, so if you feel like
staying, we can head back first."

"Eh? Ah, Tatsuya-kun, so that's why you came looking for me...... Wait,
ah!"

Mizuki seemed to take half a second to process what Tatsuya told her
(more like she took half a second to do this from her perspective), let out a
cry of shock, then lapsed back into silence. No, she likely had something
she wanted to say, but her frozen mouth was incapable of uttering words. It
appeared that her distress had caused a blockage in the speech area of
her brain.

At any rate, this should only be a temporary setback Tatsuya thought as

he put this in the rear view mirror alas, his expression was a far cry from
his usual "poker face" as he directed his view towards Mikihiko.

"So, Mikihiko, what was that all about?"

Tatsuya started to dissect Mikihiko's astounding action with considerable

interest.

"Sorry, I was just so shocked......"

Mikihiko let out a small sigh of relief at the change in topic and quickly took
this opportunity to respond to Tatsuya's query.

"Wait, there's no need to apologize to me. Why were you so surprised?"

"Well......"

Hearing Tatsuya's words, Mikihiko once more bowed towards Mizuki.

"I'm terribly sorry.
That was because I never thought someone could tell the difference in
color between spirits......
At the thought that you might possess crystal eyes, I simply couldn't sit still
and lost control of myself......

I know this just sounds like an excuse, but I definitely didn't plan anything
nefarious.

I truly just wanted to verify that fact."

Mikihiko's earnest apology achieved the desired effect; Mizuki's frazzled

state returned to normal.

Just as he said, this was only an excuse.

This was entirely on Mikihiko and his unrestrained curiosity and had
nothing to do with Mizuki.

Even so, at Mikihiko's desperate explanation, Mizuki responded with both a

warm and gentle gaze, signifying that she had already forgiven him.

"Yoshida-kun, it's alright, I was just surprised, that's all."

After saying this, Mizuki revealed a sweet and relaxing smile and quickly
added, "But that would be terribly embarrassing, so please don't do that
again."

His face completely flushed, Mikihiko nodded vigorously.

It looked like the earlier attempted sexual harassment had reached a

peaceful conclusion and Tatsuya's satire never occurred, but Tatsuya
didn't want to dwell on that too much.

"Speaking of which, Mikihiko, why are you surprised?"

Seeing the two of them return to normal, Tatsuya resumed the earlier
questioning.

"Based on what you said, the ability to identify the colors of the spirits is
extremely rare?"
Tatsuya possessed the ability to decipher psion information bodies, but did
not view the information body as an image during his analysis, so he
wasn't aware whether color identification was special or not. No, the ability
to identify pushion information bodies was definitely rare, but Tatsuya
could not comprehend why "color identification" had any special meaning.

At Tatsuya's question, Mizuki also looked at Mikihiko with the same look in
her eyes. She probably had the same question as well.
"Also, what do you mean by crystal eyes? If convenient, can you explain
that to us?"

Mizuki's eyes clearly showed that she wanted to know as well.

"......Yeah, it's not like the information is any sort of secret."

Mikihiko's brief delay before answering clearly hinted that what he was
about to say wasn't so simple. Tatsuya detected that Mikihiko occasionally
showed lapses of irresponsibility...... that bordered on self-destructive
impulses.
"Spirits have colors, and we as Summoning Magicians rely on these colors
to identify the different types of spirits."

That being said, Mikihiko seemed very sincere as he began to explain the
nuances of Summoning and didn't give off an irresponsible feeling.

"Even so, it's not like we can actually see the spirit's color."

Mizuki was confounded.

Tatsuya also didn't follow, but he didn't immediately ask and merely used
his eyes to signal Mikihiko to continue.

"In reality, spirits don't possess set colors at all. The colors that the
Magician "sees" change depending on what system or style they belong to.

Take my style for example: water spirits are blue.

But in Europe, the local style claims that water spirits are purple.
On the mainland, the dominant opinion is that the color is a dark blue-ish
hue that is almost black.
This wasn't because the vibrations of the spirits differed based on location
and magic.
It was because the Magicians used different methods of identification,
hence why they 'see' different colors."
"......In other words, they aren't identified by sight, but through magic
recognition of the vibrations?"

"Correct.

In order to better identify the spirits, we use colors to categorize the

oscillations.

You could say that we've embellished the spirits a little.

So, we each have a method of identifying spirit colors.

In my style, water spirits are blue, fire spirits are red, earth spirits are
yellow, and wind spirits are green.

No difference in shade or brightness.

We all apply the same color in our minds, so there's no discrepancy in hue.

So all water spirits are strictly blue.

According to this identification system, it's impossible to see sky blue or

dark blue water spirits."

"......But Mizuki saw them."

"She probably felt the discrepancy in hue due to the strength and nature of
the water spirits and 'truly' saw the spirits color.

My style refers to those types of eyes as 'crystal eyes'.

This term is likely used by other styles under different circumstances, but
for our style, they refer to the eyes that can see 'god'.

Rumors say that those who can see the colors of the spirits are also able
to see where spirits spring forth and congregate, as well as the 'divine
spirits' of the natural order and the key to accessing those systems.
To us, the people with crystal eyes are mikos that can connect to the divine
spirit systems."

"In other words, Mizuki is exactly the person you guys are looking for?"
"Yes...... But there's no need to worry. Currently, I don't have the power to
stand against 'god'. If it was the me from a year ago, I might have
arrogantly claimed her for myself, the current me possesses neither the
desire nor the mettle to try. That being said, I also won't reveal to other
Magicians that she's such a critical individual for divine magics. Even if it's
my own brother, I could never bear to simply watch as others ascended to
the heights of Divine Earth Magic. I won't tell anyone about Shibata-san's
crystal eyes."

Mikihiko's gaze was unyielding.

Flecks of madness danced just below the surface.

Tatsuya read that as a metamorphosis of his original possessiveness.

This wasn't "claimed for himself", but "refusal to allow anyone else to do
so".

Mikihiko was staring at Mizuki with those kinds of eyes.

"......That's true, I will also keep this a secret."

Based solely on the fact that neither "wished for their friend to be used",
Tatsuya and Mikihiko could agree.

So he signaled his agreement by nodding his head.

Signaled to Mikihiko.
And to Mizuki as well.

Mizuki wore an open expression of astonishment at Tatsuya's motion and

quickly responded with a placating smile without comprehending the
reason behind it.
Chapter 4
August 1st.

The departure date for the Nine Schools Competition finally arrived.

Otaru's Eighth High and Kumamoto's Ninth High would leave earlier due to
their respective locations, whereas First High, conveniently located on the
eastern outskirts of Tokyo, usually departed for the competition dormitories
the day before the contest begins.
Rather than attaching any strategic importance to this, it was mainly
because the remote schools had priority access to the training facilities.

The official competition arena was restricted until the day of the
competition, so there was no real reason to arrive earlier

"That's how it is."

"Is that so...... At any rate, thank you for your simple explanation."

Tatsuya wanted to ask Mari, in a tone laden with sarcasm, if there was any
reason she was telling him all this, but he patiently waited for her to finish
her explanation and quickly shook his head to dispel this ridiculous impulse
that wouldn't serve anyone.

The two of them were speaking beneath the blazing sun reigning in the
middle of the blue summer sky. Exactly why were they making themselves
more heated on this hot and humid day? Even if you asked him, Tatsuya
had no answer for that one.

This was not in his interest.

"Sorry~!"

This exclamation was accompanied by the music of sandals lightly tapping

on the pavement. Looking towards the sound's source, Mari let out a sigh
and smiled beneath her parasol while Tatsuya, completely heedless of the
sun beating down on him, wordlessly checked off the last member of the
roster on his terminal device.
One and a half hours late, everyone was finally here.

"Mayumi, you're so slow."

"Sorry, sorry."

Both the reprimand and the apology were just as concise.

The two of them proceeded to embark onto the bus as if nothing had
occurred.

At least, until Mayumi came off the bus empty-handed.

"......Did you forget something?"

Tatsuya asked, slightly concerned that his poker face was slipping.

Spare change of clothes, cosmetics and other living supplies Miyuki was
obviously the one who taught him that cosmetics were a must-have for
overnight stays have already been bundled into the storage
compartment, and the checklists mailed from each of the contestants'
families have already been matched with the luggage, so nothing was
missing.

Even if something was left behind, the dormitories had plenty of spares.
This was at most a two hour bus trip, so there shouldn't be a need for
much luggage.

"No, it's not that...... Tatsuya-kun, I apologize that you had to wait so long
for me."

"Please don't concern yourself with that. I'm well aware of your situation."

Mayumi wasn't tardy because of some preposterous reason like

oversleeping or getting the time wrong.
Three hours ago, she suddenly sent word that she would be late due to
family business.

In her message, Mayumi asked for everyone to depart without her and that
she would meet them at the destination later. Still, the 3rd Year students
unanimously agreed to wait for her, so they asked Mayumi to get here as
soon as she could.

This wasn't because she was next in line for the Saegusa Family.
She had two older brothers.
Even if she was a direct descendant from the Ten Master Clans, Mayumi
was the little sister who was still in high school, so there were very few
cases where she was responsible for handling family business. That being
said, the very fact that the family recalled her the day of the school's official
event clearly hinted that this was extremely important.
From Mayumi's perspective, if the other students set off on time, she could
get there at a more leisurely pace rather than hurrying along. However,
since everyone Tatsuya actually disagreed in private was set on
waiting for her, Mayumi was forced to pick up the pace.

Thus, Tatsuya was not going to call her out for being one or two hours late.
"Isn't it too hot?"

"It's still in the morning, so it's OK, and this temperature isn't bad at all."

Tatsuya was the only 1st Year student in the auxiliaries, so he was
responsible for roll call.

There were 40 contestants, 4 strategic advisors, and 8 technicians.

Of the 12 people that were not contestants, only Tatsuya was a 1st Year
student.
Of course, there were other auxiliary members besides these 12 people.
Not counting the strategy and technician team, there were also 20
volunteers that performed all the busywork, but they already departed for
the premises, so there wasn't even a faculty member present. Only the
drivers and the official participants were taking the bus and four cargo
vehicles.

"But you're sweating like a horse...... Wait, what? You're not really
sweating that much."
"No, I have at least enough magic to ward off the sweat...... but I'm not
gross enough to not sweat at all during the summer."

He was using magic to purify the sweat and releasing it through the skin
and clothes.
Tatsuya's intrinsic magic "Dissolution", in terms of categorization belongs
to a derivative of Separation Magic. It was a combination of "Gather",
"Disperse", "Absorb", and "Release", but to be honest, "Release" probably
made up the highest percentage.

Thus, he was more adept at Release Systematic Magic.

"You actually used the word gross......"

The word wasn't particularly odd, but Mayumi smiled brilliantly, as if

encountering something especially comical.

Must be the season.

At this moment, Tatsuya thought her smile was as radiant as the sun.
This must have been a hallucination brought on by the sun, the
temperature, and the humidity.

......The best evidence came from the way Mayumi's smile instantaneously
switched to her usual teasing smile.

"By the way, Tatsuya-kun, what do you think of this?"

The "this" that she spoke of...... must be the same one Tatsuya had on his
mind.

Mayumi was referring to the summer dress that she wore.

She used both hands to hold the large-brimmed hat and posed, making it
very hard to misunderstand.

They were only checking in to the dorms today and there were no official
activities.

Probably because of this, even if it's a school activity, there was no

obligation to wear school uniforms.

The 1st Year students including Tatsuya were all garbed in their uniforms,
but less than half the 2nd Year students were in uniform, while almost all
the 3rd Year students were in casual clothes.

With that in mind, taking into account how modern decorum frowned upon
skin that was not covered in clothing, the majority of the students were
dressed like Mari in long sleeved tunics and pants that were easy to move
in.
One notable exception was a 2nd Year female student named Chiyoda.
She was wearing shorts and long socks that extended to her thighs; it was
hard to tell if it was a wardrobe suitable for summer. As for Isori, Chiyoda
seemed to have forced him to wear pants that only extended to mid shin
with longer socks as well, just as if they were a couple (which, in fact, they
were).

Among this group, Mayumi's appearance was very conspicuous.

As a matter of fact, she was "extremely conspicuous".

Both her arms and shoulders were revealed in her summer dress.
The length was also above her knees.

Her bare legs were matched with a pair of high heeled sandals.

Her skin was lightly browned, probably because she applied an anti-UV
and infrared protection layer. Taking this into account, she technically
wasn't revealing anything, but this skin coloring only served to help people
think that she had been sunbathing.
"It suits senpai very well."

A daring summer outfit embroidered with flowers truly suited Mayumi

perfectly.

"Is that so......? Thank you."

The surprised tone coupled with a bashful expression was also a killer
combination.
"......If only you were slightly embarrassed while complimenting me, then
that would be perfect."

The young lady who was 2 years older than Tatsuya extended both arms
straight onto her hips and leaned forward to look upwards at him.

Though petite, she still possessed average measurements around the

bosom and, once squeezed by both arms, a lovely cleavage could be
seen.
At this point, it almost seemed intentional.

"......Looks like a lot of hard work."

"......Ah?"

Presently, Tatsuya had no way of knowing what pressing business had

detained Mayumi, but she most likely accrued considerable stress.

"President, it's time to go. Please catch some shut-eye during the ride."

Tatsuya chose to explain himself this way.

"Wait, uh...... Tatsuya-kun? Have you misunderstood something?"

Tatsuya's attitude suddenly switched to a comforting one and, combined
with his compassionate gaze, threw Mayumi for a loop.

"......Seriously, Tatsuya-kun actually thought I'm bipolar. How rude."

In the moving bus, Mayumi angrily puffed out her cheeks, while Suzune,
who was sitting beside her in the aisle seat, watched her warmly.

"I obviously wanted him to sit next to me, but he fled to another car."

Speaking of which, as a technician team member, Tatsuya was supposed

to sit in the storage vehicles, so from an objective point of view or
maybe from a superficial perspective, he wasn't avoiding Mayumi.
"Who does he think I am......"

"That was the correct decision."

"Eh, Rin-chan, what did you just say?"

Mayumi continued her lively complaints, to which Suzune calmly retorted

back.

Mayumi was wearing a sweet smile, but her eyes were not smiling. Even
though she was wearing such a terrifying smile and superficially and
only superficially asked in a cheerful tone, this didn't impact Suzune's
calm expression in the slightest.
"I said he made the correct decision, otherwise he might suffer at the
President's hands."

"Wait a minute, that's too much! Aren't you taking this a little too far?"
Suzune's utterly serious assessment caused cracks to appear in Mayumi's
steady facade.
"There are very few male students that can resist the President's beauty,
and that beauty has a powerful magic of its own."

"......That......"

"............"

Likely because Suzune's expression was overly serious as she said this,
Mayumi wasn't certain if she was being honest or simply poking fun at her
however, for someone who aimed to be a Magician to say "beauty has
magic", this was most likely a joke at her expense.

"Still, I hear that Shiba-kun excels at nullifying other people's magic, so the
President's magical appearance cannot entrance him."

Even if she only heard the sound, Mayumi knew for some reason that
Suzune said "magical appearance" and not "magic eyes". (TL note: magic
eyes and magical appearance sound the same in Japanese.)
"......Rin-chan!"

Mayumi finally realized that she was being teased.

"OK, OK, President, please relax."

"You don't have the right to tell me that!"

Her good friend maintained her perfectly serious demeanor despite

Mayumi edging closer with an outraged expression on her face, so the only
thing she could do was turn her back to Suzune and throw a small tantrum
by herself in the corner.

Seeing her body hunched together from the side at a certain angle would
lead to

"Uh...... President, are you feeling unwell......?"

This.
The voice from across the aisle where Suzune sat was both worried and
nervous.

"Ah? No, it's not that......"

For Mayumi, this was an unexpected misunderstanding.
As she was hesitating, Hattori, who had specifically come over to check up
on her, misinterpreted the situation even further, or rather, her reaction
simply reinforced his preconception.

"Shiba mentioned earlier that the President looked tired. Looks like he
wasn't far off the mark. If that guy knew where the boundaries were...... No,
this isn't the time for that subject."

"Uh, Hanzou-kun. I just said, I'm not feeling sick......"

"I know the President doesn't want us to worry and I understand that I
should respect that, but forcing yourself beyond your limits wouldn't do us
any favors."

Hattori was completely serious he was earnestly concerned about

Mayumi's physical condition as he watched her.

The reason he was blushing was likely because of Mayumi's slightly

outrageous sitting posture, where her thighs were slightly visible around
the edges of the summer dress. However, both her legs were neatly placed
together.

"Vice President Hattori, where are you looking?"

For the record, Hattori was completely focused on Mayumi's face.

He did not look anywhere else, but at the same time, this meant he was
desperately trying to not look anywhere else.

He originally came over out of concern for Mayumi, but he hurriedly

averted his gaze likely out of guilt that he did look in that direction,
causing Hattori to look incredibly out of sorts.

......Given that this alone was enough for him to be guilty and wavering to
this degree, only served to prove that he was an honest and innocent
teenager.
"Ichihara-senpai! I didn't look there...... No, uh, I just wanted to offer the
President a blanket......"
Unfortunately, his innocent teenager image only served to be the perfect
prey for his senpais.
"Vice President Hattori wanted to bring the President a blanket? Then by
all means, go ahead."
Suzune revealed an understanding expression as she rose and used her
eyes to signal Hattori to hurry up.

As for Mayumi, she pitched in by pretending to avert her eyes out of

embarrassment and used both her hands to cover her slightly exposed
chest.

With a spread blanket in both hands, Hattori was rendered completely

immobile.
A definite trace of mischief could be seen in Mayumi's eyes.

Looks like Mayumi has become even harder to control than ever.

......Shiba-kun made the right decision Suzune thought to herself.

He washed his hands of the whole deal.

"What the heck are those guys doing......?"
Hattori was frozen in place, Mayumi was watching with expectation
dancing in her eyes, and Suzune was calmly watching from the sidelines.
This awkward three-way caused Mari to sigh and comment in a helpless
tone.

As usual, Hattori was dancing to Mayumi's tune. After verifying this, Mari
sat back down after rising from her seat (as a matter of fact, her seat was
facing Suzune and company's position from across the aisle).
Mari didn't say this aloud, but she too was concerned on Mayumi's behalf,
but her inability to do anything was more pronounced.

"Eh...... Just like old times......"

Mari secretly suspected that Hattori was under a lot of stress due to
Mayumi's constant teasing, which in turn brought about his harsh attitude
towards Course 2 students, and that led to Mayumi's headaches regarding
her Vice President's actions and created a vicious cycle. This was
something that did not sit well with her.

That being said, Mari also knew that Mayumi's stress level was far heavier
than hers.

Mari's family boasted considerable history rumor said that they were
descended from General Watanabe Tsuna from the peaceful eras,
although no one knew if this was true but based on the current
standings, they were barely on the fringes of the "Hundred Families".
Mari didn't know if it was because of a mutation, if her genes skipped a
generation or she simply didn't inherit the bloodline, but at any rate she
was the only one in her family with vaunted magic talent. Thus, even
though her family had great hopes for her, Mari didn't have to concern
herself with the family rivalries that were abundant in magical society.

On the other hand, the Saegusa and Yotsuba Families currently dominated
the upper echelons of the Ten Master Clans and while Mayumi wasn't the
next head, she was still a direct descendant and the eldest girl, so even
though she was still a high school student, there had been quite a few
marriage proposals even before she reached high school (which were not
rumors, but grounded in fact).
As for Mayumi herself, even compared with the other Magicians within the
Ten Master Clans, she still possessed "outstanding" magical talent. She
was the subject of intense scrutiny, the veritable rising star of tomorrow
among pure bloods.

On top of that, she was also the Student Council President, which only
added to the things on her plate.

No matter how resilient her personality was, her days were by no means a
walk in the park.

She's only playing a little bit, Mari thought, so leniency is probably the best
approach.

While she was considering this, Mari did not add in "from a friend's
perspective", likely because she also possessed a slightly shameful
teasing side to her. But if someone actually said that to her face, Mari
would probably knock them to the floor.

Back on topic,

Unless the ruckus got out of hand, she wasn't going to interfere Hattori
seemed to be a willing participant anyways so after making that
somewhat one-sided decision, Mari directed her gaze out the window.

She sat in the aisle seat of a two person row.

So she had to look at the person sitting in the window seat.

"......Mari-senpai, what's up?"

An equally listless female student asked Mari after noticing her gaze.

"Hm? No, Kanon, I'm just looking outside."

Mari transferred her focal point from outside to the 2nd Year student sitting
next to her, Chiyoda Kanon, who was wearing a handsome smile that was
particularly popular among female students.

She was an underclassman that Mari especially favored and Mari was
actively prepping her to be the next Public Morals Committee Chief.

Thanks to Tatsuya (if he heard this, he would strongly protest that he was
coerced and not asked), Mari had already prepared the transfer documents
just for her. If it wasn't Kanon, Mari likely wouldn't even bother.

They were both of the Hundred Families, but Kanon belonged to the
Chiyoda Family near the pinnacle. Talented Magicians from prestigious
families were the true representation of "Hundred Families".

Here, the "Hundred Families" didn't actually mean the number broke one
hundred.

Just as the hundreds digit followed the tens digit, the same meaning
applied in that they were "families that were second only to the Ten Master
Clans".
In addition, the Ten Master Clans did not consist of only ten families. There
were a total of 28 families worthy of the name the Ten Master Clans, and
whoever possessed the strongest magic (notice that this was not the most
talented, but the strongest), the top ten would be collectively known as the
Ten Master Clans.

Mayumi's Saegusa Family always boasted a large number of talented

Magicians, whereas the Yotsuba Family possessed one of the strongest
Magicians in the modern era. The "Demon Lord of the Far East", the
"Midnight Queen", Yotsuba Maya was the current head of house, which
caused both families to be acknowledged as the twin aces of the Ten
Master Clans.
Currently, the Ten Master Clans consisted of "Ichijou", "Futatsugi",
"Mitsuya", "Yotsuba", "Itsuwa", "Mutsudzuka", "Saegusa", "Yatsushiro",
"Kudou", and "Juumonji", which just happened to number from one to ten
chronologically. However, this was the first time this had occurred since the
Ten Master Clans had been formed, and there have been situations where
one or two numbers were either duplicated or missing altogether.
The strongest of the strong became the Ten Master Clans, with the other
18 families as replacements, followed closely by the authentic "Hundred
Families".

Kanon belonged to the Chiyoda Family, which was one of the Hundred
Families. Kanon's direct attack power rivaled Mari herself and if she had a
weapon in hand, her firepower could match Magicians from the Ten Master
Clans themselves. No wonder she had the magic worthy of the name of
the Chiyoda Family.

However, the crowning difference from Mayumi was that Kanon wasn't
listless because she was overwhelmed with family business.
Hearing Mari's response, Kanon softly said "Is that so" and directed her
gaze outside, followed with a lazy "Heh......" sigh.

This ridiculous response only irritated Mari further.

"Kanon......"

"Yeah?"

Kanon turned around again, but this time she smiled in a fashion
completely different from before.

Unfortunately, the imitation paled before the original, as Mari smiled back
in an equally radiant manner from a female perspective.

"It's at most two more hours to the dorms, can you not wait for that long?"
"Hey, that's mean! I'm not a child, I can wait for a paltry two or three
hours!"

At Mari's casual question, Kanon was suddenly fired up like she was
another person.

Her middle length hair bobbed as she pouted and complained.

"But, but, I thought we would be on the bus together today, so it's OK if I'm
a little upset."
"Haven't you guys been together...... Even if you're engaged, counting the
time you two have been together, that's probably longer than 'that pair' of
Shiba siblings, right?"
"It's impossible to share a bus trip these days, so I was really looking
forward to it. I mean, last year I was all alone. And when compared with
siblings, of course engaged couples share more time together!"

"......Really?"

"Of course!"

Kanon puffing out her chest which was slightly insulting and not
altogether flattering declared this to which Mari secretly sighed again.

This underclassman was usually decisive and dependable with a strong

and active personality, which were qualities Mari admired in the young
lady, but......

(Every time, the moment she gets to Isori it's like she's someone else
entirely......)

"Speaking of which, why does the technician team have to hitch a different
ride! It's not like they can do anything during the ride, so why are they in a
separate car! This bus has enough seats for all of us, and even if that
wasn't the case, we could still charter a double-decker bus!"

Kanon seemed to have seized upon the proper venue and started to loudly
vent her frustration. At this, Mari could only sigh again.

On the bus, there was another young woman who also shared Kanon's
displeasure.

This young lady did not make a fuss like Kanon, which only served to
increase her friends' trepidation.

"............."

"......Uh, Miyuki, would you like some tea......?"

"Honoka, thank you. However, I'm sorry, but I'm not thirsty right now. I'm
not like Onii-sama, who was ordered out into the hot sun to stand watch."
Her voice was both calm and gentle.
Just like the chill that someone would feel upon gazing at the fine layer of
frost that covered the landscape.

"Ah, uh, you're right."

Honoka quickly agreed as someone on the other side of the aisle sharply
nudged her flank.

(Why are you reminding her of her brother!)

(It's not like I meant to do that!)

Honoka and Shizuku weren't telepathic but were still able to communicate
with their eyes because maybe they both wanted to "do something" for the
silently fuming Miyuki?

".......Seriously, since we know who was going to be late, there was no

reason for him to wait outside the bus...... Why is Onii-sama always doing
so much......"
Miyuki finally started to mutter aloud, which only increased the terrifying
tension around her.

Honoka wanted to flee.

At the very least, she wanted to switch places with Shizuku.

But if she switched seats at this juncture, she would surely incur Miyuki's
wrath.

Scratch that, Miyuki wouldn't actually do anything to her friends, but the
dangerous feeling surrounding her was enough to cause people to let
one's imagination run wild (speaking of which, the 1st Year female student
sitting next to Shizuku was huddled in a ball and keeping her eyes glued
outside).

"......And he's sitting in a tiny storage vehicle crowded with equipment......

At least during the trip, I had hoped Onii-sama could get some proper
rest......"

Shizuku glanced at the terrified Honoka and sighed.

Shizuku believed that Miyuki omitted the three words "next to me" (in other
words, Shizuku mentally adjusted this to be "Onii-sama could get some
proper rest next to me"), but she said something completely different.
"Still, Miyuki, this is where I think your older brother is amazing."

Shizuku took the opportunity of starting a conversation to switch seats with

Honoka.
Honoka clasped both her palms together in thanks, but Shizuku couldn't
see this with her back to her and Miyuki didn't notice this either.

Miyuki was wholly unaware that someone else had caught her muttering to
herself, so she was unable to immediately react.

Shizuku seized the opening to keep speaking, completely shattering her

normally stoic image.

"Even if he waited on the bus, I don't think anyone would actually complain
about it, but your brother dutifully fulfilled his mission to 'verify all
contestants had boarded'. It's true that this seems like an unimportant
chore, but he didn't take this boring task lightly and was able to maintain
his composure even though something unexpected happened, which isn't
easy at all. Miyuki's brother is really amazing."
It was thanks to Shizuku's personality that she was able to say such a
mushy comment aloud. Honoka was more the type to think those thoughts
in the privacy of her mind.

"......You're right, Onii-sama is the nicest person in the oddest areas."

Finally, Miyuki was able to contain her embarrassment and the icy
pressure around them faded as well.

Hiding behind Shizuku, Honoka made a victory sign with her hand.

With a few exceptions, human beings chose only to see things they wish to
see.

More likely, "they chose to ignore objects that they did not want to
perceive".
For biological organisms, bad news from the five senses was usually more
vital than good news. Objects and situations that were displeasing often
caused harm to the physical body, so identifying these threats were
integral to survival.

However, humans often avert their eyes from what they do not wish to see.
For example, even knowing that a weapon of mass destruction was
currently aimed at them, they still chose to ignore this aspect of reality.

This was especially true for citizens of first world countries that are so
removed from struggling for survival in their day to day activities.

Even without this exaggerated example, there were countless examples

every day where people pretend not to see things that are repulsive and
pretend that they didn't exist.

Such as, the sheer killing intent emanating from a beautiful young lady.

Miyuki, who had returned to her usual serene grace, was surrounded by
male students.

Who, until this moment, did not dare to approach.

Miyuki was gorgeous enough to cause anyone to stop in their tracks, so no

one dared to crowd her too much, but whenever an opportunity presented
itself someone would immediately try to strike up a conversation. The
majority of these offenders were 1st Year students, with the occasional 2nd
or 3rd Year student.
Finally, Mari couldn't stand it any longer and forcibly relocated Miyuki and
the other two to sit behind her.

Thus, with Miyuki and the now tranquil Kanon, much happier after venting,
occupying the two window seats, Mari sitting beside Kanon, and Katsuto
holding down the fort behind Miyuki, peace finally returned to the bus
(Mayumi was sleeping soundly, likely satisfied after thoroughly teasing
Hattori).
While it was pleasurable to speak with people of the same gender, there
was something missing.
The two young ladies who shared this thought both absently watched the
scenery passing by.

So Miyuki and Kanon were the first two to discover the situation.
"Watch out!"

Kanon was the one who shouted out.

Following her voice, just about everyone in the car looked out the window
on one side of the bus.

From the opposite direction, a large vehicle this was a smaller bus used
for leisurely pursuits was sliding towards them on the ground, scattering
sparks everywhere.

Someone shouted that the tires burst.

Another agitated passenger claimed that the tires fell off.

There was no sense of danger in their voices.

There was a central divider between the two sides of the highway, further
fortified by a protective barrier.

Basically, there was no way for the accident to spread over here.

In their young and inexperienced eyes, this disaster on the other side was
only something to stimulate them.

A stimulation that lasted for one second.

Someone shrieked.

Maybe more than one person.

This was hardly their fault.

The large vehicle suddenly spun as it collided with the central divider and,
for some reason, flipped into the air towards them.

The bus slammed on the brakes, sending everyone careening forward.

The screams of pain were likely caused by the students who ignored the
safety regulations and failed to buckle their seat belts.

The bus stopped.

Thankfully, they stopped short of impact.

However, the fallen vehicle was still sliding towards the bus while aflame.
"Let me shove it back!"

"Disappear!"

"Halt!"

"Oh!"

There was no panic aboard the bus, which was something worthy of
praise.

But that only served to worsen the situation.

Without warning, several instances of magic shot forward and all tried to
apply the phenomenon rewriting ability at the same time on the same
object.

The only thing this would achieve would be to scramble all the magics
against each other and do nothing to prevent the incoming disaster.

"You idiots, stop now!"

Mari quickly realized this.

Fortunately, everyone was still in the activation process and had not
finished yet.

So everyone was forced to recall their half-formed magic, leaving a few

precious seconds for some sort of meaningful defense.

They needed a powerful magic to instantly rewrite the current

phenomenon.

Everyone gathered on board were the saplings and seeds of future

Magicians, but they were all capable of doing this.

However if they were able to logically follow Mari's orders, they wouldn't
have tried to recklessly use magic.

Also, in order to overwrite the original effects of the magic and achieve the
desired result, they had to use a stronger magic to forcibly overwrite the
currently activated magic
"Juumonji!"

Mari summoned a Magician capable of performing this feat.

Katsuto was currently readying his magic.

But Mari almost despaired at seeing his pale and agitated visage.

Mari understood as well.

This pocket of space where Magic Sequences were running amok was just
like what would happen during "Calculation Interference".
Even Katsuto had no way of handling both the oncoming impact and
roaring flames at the same time......

"Leave the flames to me!"

The slim and beautiful figure of a 1st Year student rose near the window.

Her magic was already prepped and ready.

Seeing this, Katsuto immediately started designing the Magic Sequence for
a fortifying barrier.

Yet, regardless of how incredibly talented she was, was this 1st Year
student able to use her magic in this veritable storm of psions?

For a second, Mari thought she was hallucinating.

She was a Magician fully capable of understanding magic, but she still
questioned her own senses there.
Just as Miyuki was about to invoke her magic with the flaming metal hulk
bearing down on them......

The rampaging Magic Sequences all disappeared in an instant.

As if waiting for this moment to occur, Miyuki immediately activated her

magic.

She wasn't freezing the flaming vehicle nor cutting off the air supply to
suffocate the driver (though in this case, the chance that the driver
survived was remote), she was efficiently using magic to dramatically lower
the temperature to extinguish the flames.
Mari could not help but applaud her choice of action.

At the same time, this proved that Mari's magic perception ability was
working normally.
Katsuto spread out the protective barrier magic this was a
Movement-Type Systematic Magic that creates a force field that renders
any object that enters its boundaries immobile causing the already
ruined vehicle to crumple upon impact. Mari looked elsewhere when she
heard the sound of impact (Mari trusted that Katsuto's magic would be able
to hold the incoming vehicle).

What the heck just happened?

The interfering remnants of Magic Sequences suddenly disappeared just

before magic was applied to avoid the accident, but what the heck caused
that?
Was it Mayumi's magic?

Mari immediately rejected this notion that floated into her head.

It was true that Mayumi was able to handle the rampant Magic Sequences.

However, Mayumi's Counter Magic (magic deployed specifically against

magic) was shaped like psion bullets that used copies of Magic Sequences
to tear them apart.

That type of magic couldn't completely annihilate every Magic Sequence

down to the last iota.

If Mayumi's magic was synonymous to precision anti-aircraft guns, then the

earlier magic (if it was magic at all) was something that would have carpet
bombed the entire district. Not a single pillar would be left standing, steel
would turn molten, the foundations and cement would scatter everywhere
from the explosions, rendering this entire area into complete rubble that
was how violent that attack was.

While Mari and Katsuto were both frozen before the primal chaos of the
rampaging Magic Sequences, Miyuki seemed to know from the start that
this situation would fade and activated her magic without any hesitation.

Did she know who cast that "magic"?

Hold on, was that magic......?

"Is everyone alright?"
Mari was staring at the storage vehicle currently parked behind them
that was following them, and only recovered herself and turned around
upon hearing Mayumi's steady voice.

"That was cutting it a little close, but there's no need for concern. Juumonji
and Miyuki-chan's excellent performances saved us from disaster. Anyone
who's hurt better realize how important safety belts are, so make sure to
buckle up next time."

Mayumi added "so long as there isn't a next time" with a smile, causing
laughter to fill the bus.

Everyone shook off the intense anxiety and terror and resumed a more
relaxed expression.

"Juumonji, thanks, you're just as dependable as ever."

"No...... Thanks to the fire quickly being extinguished, I could focus solely
on stopping the vehicle. Also, did Saegusa get rid of the rampant Magic
Sequences?"
Hearing Katsuto's question, Mayumi's eyes drifted awkwardly.

"Ah! I only noticed after the bus stopped......"

Speaking of which, Mayumi was sleeping up until the moment of the

accident.

Katsuto also realized this, so he only raised an eyebrow slightly but made
no further comment Katsuto was undoubtedly the most honorable
person among the student body leaders.

"Ah, Miyuki-chan as well. Your execution was flawless. You were able to
use such a narrow window to construct a perfect Magic Sequence. That's
an accomplishment that even us 3rd Year students would be hard pressed
to emulate."

Katsuto and Mari both nodded in agreement at Mayumi's words.

All three of them knew very well that being able to correctly choose the
appropriate magic and modulate it under such critical circumstances was
no small feat.

Mayumi's praise caused Miyuki to blush deeply.

"President, I am honored by your praise. However, thanks to
Ichihara-sempai's powerful assistance in halting the bus, I had sufficient
time to construct the Magic Sequence, otherwise even I'm afraid that I may
have hurried my move in such a trying condition. Ichihara-sempai, thank
you."

Miyuki gravely bowed in thanks, to which Suzune silently nodded in

response.

Kanon, who was sitting in front of Miyuki, turned around in her chair with an
utterly gob smacked expression.

Mari was also unable to hide her astonishment.

Just as Miyuki said, there was no way the bus could've come to a halt in
time with the brakes alone.

The moment the driver slammed on the brakes, it wasn't hard to imagine
someone also using Speed Magic to help out.

But Mari only noticed everyone using magic to stop the incoming vehicle
and was wholly ignorant of Suzune casting magic to stop the bus.

While everyone was preoccupied with visually confirming the danger, she
accurately made the correct response.
Suzune's proficiency in magic was said to rival Mari and company, and
today she more than sustained that reputation. Also, Miyuki was the only
one who detected Suzune's magic while everyone else remained ignorant;
her talent was truly awe-inspiring.

"In comparison, you......"

"Ow! Mari-sempai, why did you hit me?"

Suddenly being knocked atop the head, Kanon complained tearfully.

"Stuff it, Kanon, do you have any right to complain? Morisaki and Kitayama
both panicked and used magic to complicate the situation, but that's only to
be expected since they're 1st Year students. But what's the deal with you
as a 2nd Year student panicking first!"
"Uh, but my reaction was the fastest, I just didn't expect anyone else to
overlap on magic......"
Kanon's explanation caused both Morisaki and Shizuku to droop in shame.

Quite a few others revealed awkward expressions.

"Fastest isn't always better! At least evaluate the situation first, then make
some sort of rudimentary communication between each other to avoid
ambiguity, alright? On top of that, based on the fact that you still didn't
deactivate your magic even after noticing the conflicting situation proves
that you had already lost your objectivity."

"......I was wrong, I'm sorry."

Seeing Kanon's dejected state, Mari didn't go any further.

Even with this lecture, without the requisite training and experience, it was
very difficult to remain calm under those circumstances.

When taking that into account, it was even more amazing that Miyuki was
able to clearly communicate her decision to extinguish the flames.

This wasn't something that relied on talent alone. Usually, geniuses tend to
try and stick out too much, which actually hurts more since it compromises
communication.

By this definition, Kanon possessed an exemplary genius mentality.

Miyuki must have gone through extensive and arduous training.

Her serene patience in waiting for the bus to resume moving was perfectly
suited for her experiences, or completely unsuitable at the same time.

"Speaking of which, Shiba."

"Yes."

Mari called Tatsuya by name, but referred to Miyuki by surname.

Generally, she preferred to address others by surname and only called

closer companions such as Mayumi, Kanon, and members of the Public
Morals Committee by their name. To her, Tatsuya was someone who she
was especially close to.
"Do you know how those Magic Sequences...... No, never mind, don't
worry about it, you performed magnificently."

"Ah? Thank you for your compliment."

Originally, Mari wanted to ask the question "Do you know who used
Counter Magic to erase those Magic Sequences?"

In the middle, she ruminated on whether she wanted to know the answer.

For some reason, Mari felt that the answer would cause devastating
damage to "certain" objects in her immediate vicinity.
Outside the window, the male students from the technician team
descended from the storage vehicles and commenced rescue operations.

That being said, the all-terrain vehicle not only violently struck the
protective barrier and flipped through the air, it was also ablaze as well.

There was no chance the driver survived.

There were no women present, likely because the male students wished to
spare them from the sight of the burning corpse.

Even though the fire was put out, the possibility that the ethanol-based
gasoline would re-ignite was not zero.

Behind the 3rd Year students trying to cut out the door, a 1st Year student
was using a camera to record the evidence.

Realizing that her eyes were continuously following his back, Mari swiftly
averted her gaze.

After the incident, including the time spent during police interviews and
assisting with clean up so that the bus could pass, roughly 30 minutes
elapsed since the incident ended. Figure in the delay from the start of the
trip, the group arrived at the dorms shortly after noon.

From a strictly competitive standpoint, most of the contestants that excel

during the Nine Schools Competition eventually join the military.
To safeguard their source of talented Magicians, the military heavily
invested in the Nine Schools Competition in both the competition arena
and the dormitories. Hotels previously reserved for government officials
during inspection or visiting foreign dignitaries and their followers were
instead allocated for students and related personnel during the Nine
Schools Competition.

That being said, it wasn't like the situation was all-encompassing.

In the end, the hotel was a military building, so there was no valet parking
or suites. Usually, the soldiers on duty at this location would be responsible
for these missions, but the Nine Schools Competition was a high school
event, so the students were responsible for carrying their own luggage.
The larger devices were left in the storage vehicles for easy access so they
didn't have to be removed, but the smaller tools and CADs had to be
shifted from the vehicles to the individual rooms for maintenance.

A certain 1st Year student from the technician team quickly accomplished
his objectives, pushed a cart full of luggage forward and was accompanied
by a smiling female student walking next to him, a sight that caused Hattori
to shake his head with a heavy expression on his face.
"Hattori, what's up? Take a look at your hangdog expression."

Behind him, a warm voice struck up a conversation.

"Kirihara...... Nah, it's nothing."

Hattori turned around and verified that the man was indeed his good friend
based on his voice, and reflexively responded with a vague answer.

"Really? At least you look like something's awry."

He probably noticed himself.

Hattori didn't continue to deny Kirihara's words and let out a masochistic
smirk.

"I've...... lost some confidence."

"Oh please, the competition is the day after tomorrow, what's with the
doom and gloom?"
Kirihara was only responsible for "Crowd Ball" on the second day, but
Hattori was scheduled for "Battle Board" on the first and third days as well
as "Monolith Code" on the ninth and tenth days.

Hattori was on a different competition tier than Kirihara and was one of the
primary aces for the 2nd Year cohort.
If his status was anything short of excellent, this would severely impact the
overall team strategy.

Thus, it was surprising for Kirihara to panic at this stage.

"So why are you so depressed?"

In Kirihara's eyes, Hattori Gyoubu was a studious young man bursting with
confidence, or maybe someone who worked arduously to earn that
confidence.

Just in his second year alone, Hattori possessed the strength just second
to the big three. This distinction was not earned on talent alone, although
this did feed his arrogance a point that his friend didn't try to defend
and was the subject of much misinterpretation, but his diligence matched
his abundant talent at the highest level. At least, that was how Kirihara had
always seen Hattori.

Hard working, talented and accomplished. With these three under his belt,
there was no reason why he should suddenly lose the wind in his sails......

"Looks like you haven't noticed, how I envy you......"

"What is this? Are you insinuating that I'm stupid?"

"No, but I do think you're slow."

"Hey!"

Hattori's usual mocking smile that was easily misunderstood by others

returned.

He appeared to have recovered his balance.

That Hattori was able to improve his mood by digging Kirihara put a sour
taste in Kirihara's mouth, but at least he wasn't worried any more.

"......This isn't like you, right? What exactly has dragged you down
recently?"

Kirihara asked again with the full intention of returning the favor.
Hattori was not dull enough to misunderstand his friend's clumsy concern.

"That earlier incident......"

"Ah~, that was too close."

"Yeah, and if nothing happened, I think a lot of people would've been hurt
or even lost their lives."
"But didn't the President and company handily deal with it? Isn't worrying
about nonexistent injuries a sign of general anxiety? This sort of reverse
thinking is harmful to mental health."

Kirihara's forthright comment caused Hattori to laugh lightly.

"Kirihara, I really envy your ability to let it go, but that's not what I'm
considering."

Hattori stopped for a moment then shook his head again.

"......At the time, I couldn't do anything at all."

"That's because if you acted without thinking, that would only worsen the
situation. I think that holding back shows that you maintained a level head
during a crisis."
Kirihara's words were meant to be comforting and not superficial lip service
at all. From his objective analysis of the situation, Hattori also
acknowledged his words.

Even so, Hattori's expression remained heavy.

"However...... Shiba-san adopted the correct choice of action. She chose

the appropriate task based on her expertise and did not forget to alert
everyone of her actions. Even if the conflicting Magic Sequences did not
suddenly disappear before she invoked her magic, she should have been
able to team up with Group Leader Juumonji to handle the situation."

"At the time, Chief Watanabe also didn't act. Given that Shiba-san
specializes in Freezing-Type Magic, isn't this just a matter of magic
suitability?"

"Watanabe-senpai's expertise lies in anti-personnel combat, so she was

holding back as a method of self-restraint for the benefit of the whole. In
that situation, I am able to accomplish more objectives.

......No, the question at hand isn't about Magic Power. Watanabe-senpai

instantly made the correct assessment that she was not the correct person
to do the job and called on Group Leader Juumonji to assist. Before she
even said anything, Group Leader Juumonji already realized that this was
a situation he would be called upon and was already constructing his
Magic Sequence. They also came to the conclusion that just the Group
Leader alone was insufficient to combat this threat, but didn't panic and
use magic haphazardly. Shiba-san calmly determined what she could do
and verbalized this to everyone.

The problem is not just about strong or weak Magic Powers or the ability to
use diverse or powerful magics or simply a technical issue, but as a
Magician, are you able to use the appropriate magic in the right
circumstances yes, the problem isn't 'magic' talent, but the 'Magician's'
talent. There is no doubt her Magic Power is staggering and on pure
strength alone there's an 80% chance I would lose to her. However, until
today, I've never worried about that point, because a Magician's quality is
not measured solely by the level of their Magic Power. But when
compared to my underclassman, I am not only lacking magic talent, but
also in talent as a Magician...... This is thoroughly depressing."

Hattori once more turned a glum expression while Kirihara adopted a "what
am I going to do with you" look.

"Ah~ that's a matter of life experiences, and that's where I think that pair of
siblings are particularly special."

"Siblings?"

His evaluation was not on "her" but "that pair of siblings", catching Hattori
off guard and causing him to look at Kirihara in a quizzical manner.

"That brother of hers...... I'm guessing he's offed someone before."

"Offed?"

Hattori's incredulous voice carried a note of shock.

"Yes, he's killed someone before, and not just one or two people."

"......You don't actually mean homicide, do you? You're referring to actual

combat experience?"
"He does give people that feeling...... You know that my dad was in the
marines right?"
"Yeah, I remember he had been deployed to Tsushima Island several
times?"
This felt like an abrupt change in topic, but Hattori didn't dwell on this point
and continued with Kirihara's conversation.

"Dad was only a corporal, but on the other hand, because he was a
low-ranking officer, he was deployed to the front lines where he got to
know a lot of soldiers who spent their days in the trenches. Occasionally,
some of Dad's old war buddies would come over to my house, and they
give off a completely different vibe from normal people. Regardless of
whether it's kenjutsu or shooting, no matter how much we train in combat
tactics and martial techniques, the sheer killing intent given off by soldiers
who have killed in the heat of combat differs from athletes that haven't. Do
you know the details behind the incident in April?"

Another change in topic.

"Why did you bring this up...... I heard that was caused by anti-magic
terrorists. I only know that the terrorist cell was cleared out by Juumonji."

Hattori was displeased with the abrupt change in direction but kept a lid on
his annoyance. Instinctively, he felt this was all connected.

"Is that so...... Then I can't go into too much detail...... Although since it's
you, I think I can take it to this level. I was present at the suppression of the
terrorists, as well as the Shiba siblings."
"......Really?"

"I can understand why you would ask that, but that's the truth. There, I
think I saw Shiba the older Shiba's natural instinct."

"Natural instinct?"
Compared to Kirihara's current words, his voice also carried a tinge of
trepidation, which caused Hattori to immediately fire back a question.
"Yes, natural instinct, or at least a part of it. It was terrifying. He had the
same quality the soldiers on the front line had but his killing intent was
several times more intense, like a thick coating of killing intent covering him
like a great coat. He was dangerous enough to cause a shiver to run down
my spine, enough to make me wonder what a guy like that's doing in high
school."
Kirihara's mouth may have said this, but his expression seemed very
agitated.

"......There should be no way to hide his age."

Hattori was feigning naivety. This slightly off-tangent impression was a
better gauge of his astonishment than the expression on his face.

"This only goes to show that age doesn't equate to experiences."

Kirihara could understand why his friend was so stunned, but because he
had also been in the same position he didn't make light of Hattori's tangent
and only smiled wryly in reply.

Hattori looked to ask again, but this time there was a blatant hesitation in
his voice.

"......Shiba-san as well?"

This hesitation was largely born from an "unable to believe" mentality. On

the other hand, Kirihara seemed immune to this thought probably
heavily influenced by his girlfriend since spring and answered his
friend's question in a frank manner.
"I didn't witness exactly what the sister did, but given that the older brother
was willing to bring her to the combat zone, she definitely isn't an ordinary
girl. You know from today that the most beautiful rose has her own thorns,
but not only that, she's probably more like the peacock that possesses
both the sharp talons and malevolent beak capable of hunting poisonous
serpents, right? Pursuing her is like having a death wish. Ignorance is
bliss, eh?"

Kirihara's last two sentences weren't for Hattori's ears, but a subtle hint for
the hapless male students surrounding Miyuki on the car.
"But I never thought that the Hattori with 'that kind of personality' would say
something like this."

Hattori was still digesting all of this information while Kirihara sent a
bemused smirk his way.

"......What do you mean?"

The hidden meaning behind Kirihara's smirk rubbed Hattori the wrong way,
prompting his displeased rejoinder.

However, Kirihara's delighted smirk was not diminished in the slightest.

"A Magician's quality is not measured by their Magic Power alone, eh?
Wouldn't the President be very pleased upon hearing that you personally
said those words?"

"Huh......!"

Hattori glared darkly at Kirihara.

Yet, Kirihara maintained his bright smile, no, thanks to Hattori's

overreaction, his smile grew even wider, which caused Hattori to be the
first one to turn aside.

"Let's table quality for the moment, but Magic Power is definitely not the
only indicator of strength."

Hattori took a step forward without any warning at all, clearly signifying his
intent to leave Kirihara behind. Still, Kirihara ignored this blatant protest
and followed Hattori's footsteps as he continued.

"The difference between Blooms and Weeds lies in the difference in

technical scores on the entrance exam. Certainly there are Course 1
students who progress rapidly, but there are also people stagnating as
well. Take Chiyoda for example, she's completely different than her
arrogant self last summer who rested her laurels on talent. The Course 2
students are the same, and, so long as they don't self destruct, surely
some of them would become stronger? ......No, this isn't pure speculation,
there are quite a few 'capable' guys in Course 2 right now, and doubly
more so in this year's batch. Oh by the way, I'm not saying this just
because I lost to the older Shiba."

Hattori's shoulders shook violently.

Seeing this, Kirihara thought, "Oh right, this guy also got his ass handed to
him on a platter."
"At any rate, I admit that he's stronger than me right now. But even if that
guy is approaching cheating levels in terms of strength, I don't plan on
always admitting defeat. I will continue to train myself and triumph the next
time I challenge him. If I give up solely because I'm not as capable now,
then I'm always a loser.
Currently, many Course 2 students give up because they're not as capable
as others, hence why they've never improved. We have no obligation to
accept them as our equals. On the other hand, for those that seek greater
strength and better themselves along the way, we have no reason to scorn
them either."

Hattori still had no response as he quickly advanced towards his own room
without a word.
Kirihara shrugged and turned to see the pair of siblings who were the topic
of their discussion.

Not far behind Kirihara, the younger Shiba was solemnly watching her
older brother.

Seeing this, Kirihara thought, "Let's hope nothing troublesome happens".

And promptly mocked himself for this random thought.

Kirihara's premonition headed in the direction he least desired and struck
his fragile but earnest hope.
"Then, according to Onii-sama, that earlier incident was not
accidental......?"

His sister frowned as she asked this question, to which Tatsuya subtly
nodded in reply as he pushed the cart forward.

"The vehicle's trajectory was too unnatural and the investigation yielded
the expected results. There were remnants of magic left on the vehicle."

Tatsuya modulated his volume to avoid eavesdroppers and Miyuki

emulated her older brother's soft tones.

"But I didn't see anything......"

While the literal meaning of those words were a denial, Miyuki never
doubted her brother for a moment.
She had a front row seat to the "accident" from the start.

And until the last moment, she never felt a trace of the other side using
magic.
Her brother was different. Miyuki could only see the "present", but all of the
"past" were within her brother's purview.

Miyuki knew that if her brother had determined "there were remnants", then
that was the truth of the matter.
"At the time, they used small scale magic within the tightest time frames
possible, which is a high level technique designed to avoid leaving
remnant psions from the Magic Sequence at the scene. Our opponent was
likely an agent who had undergone specialized training, which is all the
more pitiful given that he was a sacrifice."

"A...... sacrifice?"

That sentence had an ominous meaning, causing Miyuki's voice to be

weaker than she intended.

"Magic was used three times during the incident, first the magic that burst
the tire, second the magic that caused the vehicle to spin, and the last to
apply force diagonally upwards in order to use the protective railing as a
launch pad.
All three were cast within the vehicle in order to hide the fact that they used
magic. In reality, most of the Magicians on hand didn't detect this, including
you as well. 'At the time', I was also unaware, that's how well this was
played. Especially the last technique, for the Magician to be aboard a
spinning vehicle and still be able to pinpoint the exact moment of impact
with the railing must have required intense training."

"Then, the one who used magic was......"

"The culprit is the Magician in the driver's seat. In other words, a suicide
attack."

Miyuki stopped short and lowered her head.

Her shoulders were slightly trembling.

"How despicable......!"
This was not an expression of sadness, but fury.
His sister did not bear a misguided sense of compassion towards the
criminal, but a deep sense of anger at the mastermind who gave the order.
Satisfied, Tatsuya nodded.

"Criminals and terrorists originally are the scum of the Earth, and their
leaders are rarely the type to gamble with their own lives, which can easily
be seen from this example. There would be no end if we became enraged
every time this occurred. Besides, I'm more concerned with the intent
behind all of this."

Tatsuya gently patted his sister's back a few times to comfort her, then
resumed pushing the cart forward.

Miyuki swiftly followed behind.

And stopped not ten steps away.

A young lady sitting on a couch near the wall waved at them. She wore a
pair of shorts and braided sandals that showed off her toned legs, as well
as a vest that clearly revealed both shoulders.

Tatsuya also came to a stop alongside Miyuki and glanced over at his
friend who then stopped waving and rose from the sofa. She apparently
mistook this location for a tropical beach resort.
"It's been a week, how have you guys been?"

"Hm, not bad...... Speaking of which, Erika, why are you here?"

"To cheer you guys on, of course."

After a short exchange of greetings, Miyuki asked in a bewildered manner,

to which Erika replied frankly.

Of course, Miyuki anticipated this sort of answer but was also unable to
accept it.

"But the competition starts two days from now."

"Yep, I know."

Erika's personality veered towards that of a mischievous child who

delighted in teasing others, often making it very hard to get to the point.
"Miyuki, I'm leaving first. Erika, see you around."
Tatsuya immediately elected to abandon further questioning and, leaving
Miyuki and Erika in the lobby, moved the overflowing push cart towards the
room reserved for the technician team.

"Ah, uh, see you later...... Hold it, at least let me say hi?"

"Sorry, the senpais from the technician team are waiting for Onii-sama. So
why are you here two days early?"

Miyuki apologized on behalf of her brother before asking further.

"Tonight's the meet and greet, right?"

"............"

"............"

"............So?"

Miyuki waited for Erika to reply, but she felt that no matter how long she
waited, she still wouldn't get a full answer, so Miyuki was forced to change
the subject.

"I should probably caution you. Unrelated personnel are not permitted
access to the dinner, and that includes students."
"Ah, don't worry, we got that covered."

"Ah? You said......"

"Erika, the key to the room...... Eh, Miyuki-chan?"

Miyuki wanted to ask "You said something about having it covered?", but
was interrupted by a voice of an approaching young lady.

"Mizuki, you came too?"

"Miyuki-chan, good afternoon...... What is it?"

Mizuki heard Miyuki questioning Erika and warmly greeted her, but noticed
that Miyuki was staring at her in place of a greeting, causing her to smile
awkwardly.

"......Quite conspicuous."
"Uh...... really?"
Mizuki glanced at herself uneasily. Today, she was wearing an upper
garment with thin shoulder straps plus a skirt that was several inches
higher above the knees. For some people, she was probably more
tempting than Erika.

On first impulse, Miyuki thought something like "Did everyone mistake this
for a summer resort?".

"Erika said not to dress too conservatively, so......"

"Is that so......"

Miyuki wanted to say a few choice words to Erika, but seeing her feign
ignorance and turn her head, Miyuki gave this up as a lost cause.

Miyuki could now sympathize why her brother often sighed when dealing
with Erika.

"Mizuki, I'm saying this for your benefit, but you might want to get changed.
The getup is adorable and suits you perfectly, but I think there's a better
time and place."

However, Miyuki didn't just smile and nod. Her personality was slightly
more righteous than her brother, and more obstinate as well.

"Is that...... so? ......Really?"

"Yes, you should."

Mizuki peered at Erika as she asked her, while Miyuki also watched Erika
as she nodded in assent.

"Eh~ Really~?"

Erika finally stopped play acting and disagreed with a huff.

"Speaking of room keys, where are you guys staying?"

......This time, it was Miyuki's turn to ignore that sally.
"Yes."

Mizuki answered while Erika was fuming by the side, but she didn't press
Miyuki.
During the past four months, Erika learned from their mutual interactions
that this beautiful young lady that looked like she would show leniency
towards even bugs possessed a strong and ruthless personality.

"I can't believe there are barred rooms...... No, even more importantly, it's
amazing how the hotel actually let you guys stay. I thought ordinary people
are barred from access......"

"Here's where you call on your connections."

Her mood restored, Erika revealed the answer without any guilt
whatsoever, forcing Miyuki to burst into laughter.
"That's the Chiba Family for you."

While her tone was still joking, Miyuki was in no way paying superficial
praise, but actually touching upon the truth.

Just as the Ten Master Clans bear the numbers one through ten in their
names, the primary families within the Hundred Families such as Chiyoda,
Isori, all bore numbers beyond 11 in their names. The size of the number
had no correlation with the strength of the family, but the very fact that one
possessed a number in their surname directly equated to a superior
bloodline and was an excellent indicator of an individual's potential as a
Magician. Magical families that have a number in their names are
collectively known as the "Numbered Family System" (This is only one way
of estimating ability. Even in First High's Student Council, only Mayumi
herself came from the "Numbered Family System").

Erika came from the Chiba Family, which was one of the primary families
within the "Numbered Family System".

The Chiba Family was renowned for using personal Speed and Weight
Magic in close quarters combat. The Chiba Family's strength lay not in the
fact they could adeptly use spells, but in the new system they pioneered for
the training and development of close combat Magicians.

Presently, of the Magicians serving as policemen or infantry in the military,

it was rumored that half of them were directly trained under the Chiba
Family's system. This was the case for the navy and air force as well. Any
unit that could encounter close combat situations often petitioned the
Chiba Family for training.
If solely dependent on connections within active duty troops, the Chiba
Family's influence may eclipse that of the Ten Master Clans.

"But is that OK? I thought Erika loathed using the family as backup......"
"I dislike other people simply seeing me as a 'daughter of the Chiba
Family'. Connections are made to be used, it's your loss if you ignore it."

If this was anyone else, this answer could cause a combative atmosphere,
but because the two others were Miyuki and Mizuki, they didn't take it to
heart.

"Hehe, you're right. Now, I should go organize my luggage. I don't know

how you guys are a part of this, but I'll see you at dinner."

Miyuki walked towards the elevator with Erika waving at her and Mizuki
looking on.

"Hey, Erika, can't you carry your own bags?"

"Shibata-san, I have your baggage over here. I apologize for bringing it

without permission, but there were too many people at the counter."

Halfway there, Miyuki heard two young men call out to Erika and Mizuki.

One of the voices was familiar, but the other was completely foreign.

So it wasn't two girls, but two pairs of men and women.

Miyuki secretly smiled without stopping or turning her head.

Speaking of which, why is it that Miyuki's bus arrived two days before the
competition begins?

That was because of the banquet being held in the evening.

Since this was a high school event after all, no alcoholic beverages were
served. The buffet-style banquet without any prearranged seating for the
contestants about to battle it out was almost like a miniature opening
ceremony. Compared to the festive aura of the previous years, anxiety
reigned supreme this year.
"In reality, I really didn't want to attend......"

As the Student Council President, this was something that Mayumi couldn't
and shouldn't say, so Tatsuya politely struck that from the record.
Technician teams were auxiliary members, but counted as official
members for the purposes of actual on site activities, so they were also
obligated to attend. Tatsuya, who was ill at ease with reception events like
banquets, privately agreed with Mayumi's sentiment.

The dress code for the banquet was each school's uniforms, so they didn't
have to worry on that account. That being said, the borrowed suit didn't fit
him very well, which raised his resistance towards attending.

"Should we have purchased a new one......?"

His fidgeting had been noticed after all.

Miyuki furrowed her brows in concern as she watched Tatsuya.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. Sorry for making you worry."

This sequence thoroughly shamed Tatsuya, as it was getting difficult to tell

who the older sibling was. In addition, this was an official event with
mandatory attendance, so one shouldn't complain that they were
uncomfortable or displeased.
"No, Onii-sama, please don't say that."

She probably noticed the minute adjustments to Tatsuya's expression and

realized that he had wiped out his depressed mood.

Miyuki smiled happily.

"OK, those siblings over there can stop flirting."

The slightly teasing words caused Tatsuya to glance aside strictly

speaking, he had to glance downwards to see Mayumi stifling her smile
as she watched them.

"I can't believe you said flirting...... What's this?"

On the Internet, Tatsuya had read that some young women have been
afflicted with a malady that causes them to see all interactions between
different genders as romantic interactions. Truth be told, Tatsuya had
several people around him suffering from the same illness, so he really
didn't want to broach that subject.

However, Mayumi seemed to be up to her old tricks and only wanted to

needle him a little.
Tatsuya had long since accustomed himself to not receiving a straight
answer, but still used his eyes to prompt Mayumi to respond.

But Mayumi's gaze wasn't resting on Tatsuya, rather on someone beside

him.

At the sight of her trying not to burst out into laughter, Tatsuya followed her
line of sight and......

"Miyuki...... Why are you so embarrassed all of a sudden?"

His sister ducked her head in shame.

"Everyone, let's go."

Mayumi retracted her teasing attitude and urged everyone onward, her
mood excellent for some unknown reason.

On some level, Tatsuya was irritated that he had turned into a device for
mood improvement, but upon seeing Mayumi's retreating figure move
away with lighthearted footsteps, he suddenly thought "Ah, forget it".

Of the people participating in the Nine Schools Competition, there were
360 contestants alone and over 400 members if the auxiliaries were added
in.

On the surface, the attendance of all members is mandatory, but there

were many who found some reason to decline.
Even so, this was still a large scale fellowship event that well exceeded
300 people.
The meeting area had to be large enough to accommodate the large
number of guests and servants.
As expected, just the hotel's employees and the support from the local
base were not sufficient to cover everything. There were also many
temporary employees that were obviously teenagers specifically hired for
this event walking around in servant uniforms, which was not surprising in
the least.

However finding a familiar face among these temporary employees

definitely constituted a surprise.
After a short keynote speech thankfully this speech was short enough
not to induce boredom Tatsuya immediately headed for the dining area
when a familiar voice rang out behind him.

When a familiar voice asked "Would you like a drink?", Tatsuya turned
around to find Erika holding a serving tray carrying drinks with one hand.

"So that's what you meant by having it covered......"

"Ah, you heard from Miyuki? So, surprised?"

"......Very."

Erika flashed a pleased smile while Tatsuya had no excess processing

power to come up with a witty retort, so he merely nodded in response.

"I can't believe you actually infiltrated here...... Belay that, it's just like you
to do this."
After all, that's just what this kind of place is.

Even if they hired hourly interns, they wouldn't easily hire high school
students.

Other than that, there's an age restriction as well. Even with a banquet
where alcoholic beverages are forbidden, they wouldn't relax the
restrictions either. Actually, most of the servants and waitresses circulating
the area looked to be in their twenties.

He should probably say "as expected of the Chiba Family".

But she appeared to have used her connections in the wrong place.
"By the way......"

"Hm? What's up?"

"Never mind......"

Tatsuya's tone was muddled, which was entirely unlike him.

After all, it's probably impolite to say "By the way, you've changed a lot" in
front of the person in question.

Erika should also be aware that her age was a little different.

Her makeup was considerably more mature.

Even at close range, she looked to be the same age as the other
waitresses.

Usually, Erika gave off the impression that she was a lively and beautiful
young lady that matched her age perfectly, but her slim figure was also
perfectly suited for a more mature look.

(And only her......?)

Tatsuya noticed to his dismay that his thoughts were slightly

uncoordinated.

Erika didn't come alone.

Mizuki should also be here.

Mizuki disliked places with too many people so it was hard to say that she
was suited for dealing with customers, so would she be able to serve in
this type of situation?

"Hey, Erika, your dress is adorable. I see what you meant by you had it
handled."

Miyuki joined the conversation and conveniently covered for the lull in the
conversation due to Tatsuya's silence.

"That's how it is. Well, isn't this cute? But Tatsuya-kun seems unwilling to
comment on it."
Erika twirled left and right, causing the Victorian-style servant uniform with
a miniskirt to lightly dance back and forth with an unhappy tone in her
voice.

With Tatsuya suddenly under siege, his naturally agile mind immediately
began to formulate a retaliation, but Miyuki beat him to it.
"Erika, it's useless to ask Onii-sama for these things."

Miyuki smiled and shook her head and, compared to Tatsuya, it was Erika
who was taken aback as she watched Miyuki.
Miyuki's comment was not covering for Tatsuya nor denying her words,
which completely surprised Erika.

However, that was only Erika jumping to conclusions too early.

"Onii-sama wouldn't be affected by external appearances like a woman's

clothes, but admires our innate qualities, so in this type of situation special
uniforms hold no interest to him whatsoever."
Tatsuya believed that Miyuki's assessment was both overly high and overly
low.
In this case, Tatsuya was concerned about his other friends especially
Mizuki, so he wasn't paying attention to Erika's garb. Of course, he is also
capable of praising women's fashion and, if the wardrobe was overly
risqu, he certainly wouldn't know where to look.

No, in this situation, the problem isn't the clothes themselves, but the
personality that lay beneath the clothes.

"Oh, so that's how it is, Tatsuya-kun isn't interested in cosplay."

"This is cosplay?"

"I don't think so, but I think the guys see me this way."

The two young maidens left the reticent Tatsuya by the wayside and kept
going.

"By guys you mean Saijou-kun?"

"That guy isn't even capable of voicing such an opinion. Miki was the one
who said this was cosplay, but I have already sternly chastised him for
that."

The last sentence that hinted of danger was clearly imprinted in Tatsuya's
ears.

Yet Miyuki didn't seem to understand.

"Miki?"
When the person one is speaking with suddenly sprouts a stranger's
nickname, it was only natural for Miyuki to fixate on that.

"......Who is that?"

At Miyuki's question, Erika let out an "Ah" expression.

"That's right, Miyuki wouldn't know."
Erika softly said and bailed before anyone could stop her.

"Nice moves, looks like she has a great sense of balance......"

Seeing Erika weave through the crowd with tray in hand and without
spilling a drop, Tatsuya was honestly impressed.
Miyuki thought this comment was a little off topic, but she continued
regardless.

"What is going on?"

Actually, Miyuki didn't expect a straight answer.

It was only because she was out of the loop that she actually asked.

However, her brother actually provided her with a clear answer.

"She's going to look for Mikihiko.

You've probably heard the name Yoshida Mikihiko?"

"That's Onii-sama's classmate, correct?"

Miyuki recalled that this name created huge controversy during the
announcement for the finals' scores.

"He grew up with Erika. Miyuki probably hasn't met Mikihiko, so she likely
wanted to introduce the two of you?"

No wonder, that does seem like something Erika would do.

Including taking off without saying another word.

"Miyuki, there you are."

"Tatsuya-kun is also here."

As the siblings glanced towards the direction Erika vanished off to, a pair of
female students struck up a conversation.

"Shizuku, were you looking for me?"

"Honoka, Shizuku...... You two are always together?"

Speaking of which, Tatsuya had always seen the two of them moving in
concert, so this question was only out of curiosity and had no intent of
probing deeper.

"That's because we're friends, so we have no reason to be apart."

"That's right."

Shizuku answered without any sense of shame, which caused Tatsuya to

chuckle wryly at his foolish question.

Starting last month, Tatsuya started to refer to the two of them by name.

The one who "demanded" he do so was Honoka, but from Tatsuya's

perspective, he was pressured into accepting by Shizuku's overpowering
silence.

"And the others?"

Miyuki was the one who asked.

But her tone was slightly odd.

"Over there."

In the direction that Honoka pointed, a crowd of male students quickly

looked elsewhere.

The 1st Year female students in the representation team also stood frozen
in the same place.

"They probably want to approach Miyuki, but won't dare with Tatsuya-kun
lurking nearby."
"What is this, am I a watchdog now......?"

Shizuku's speculation elicited a helpless sigh from Tatsuya.

There was a high chance she was correct, so he couldn't just laugh it off.

"Everyone must be in the dark about how to approach Tatsuya-kun."

Honoka's words were meant to be comforting, but Tatsuya knew this was
highly possible.

He was self-conscious of the fact that he was an "outlier".

Usually, he was the one who should initiate contact with others, but......
"Bullshit, everyone here is a student of First High and also on the same
team......"
This bombshell was dropped by a new voice.

"Chiyoda-senpai."

Kanon joined Tatsuya's group with a glass (without alcohol of course) held
in one hand.

Also holding a glass, Isori was following right behind her.

"Kanon, even though they know better, the body still refuses to obey, that's
just human nature."

"Kei, that kind of obstinacy is only allowed in certain venues."

Kanon and Isori referred to each other directly by name.

After all, since they were already engaged, doing so was perfectly natural.

"Both of you raise good points, but currently there is an even easier
solution."

Tatsuya suspected that both of them were also busybodies, but if he got
dragged into a debate over such a trivial subject, he would be quite
unhappy with himself.
Unwilling to interfere with the couple's conversation, Tatsuya sought to
deal with this as soon as possible.

"Miyuki, you should meet up with the rest, teamwork is very important."

"But Onii-sama......"

"See me in the evening, the only roommate I have is a machine."

Basically, contestants and auxiliaries are assigned double rooms, but

Tatsuya is the only 1st Year student and a Course 2 student to boot,
therefore Mayumi made this decision so "there would be no cause for
concern" and where he'd be "responsible for watching the machinery", and
assigned a two bed, double room (one person in a double room) for
Tatsuya to stay.

"Honoka and Shizuku too, drop by if you have the time."

Miyuki was still somewhat peeved, but she knew very clearly why Tatsuya
said this.
"......I understand. Then, Onii-sama, see you in the evening."

"We'll call upon you a little later."

"See you later."

Miyuki, Honoka, and Shizuku answered in sequence. Tatsuya felt a
displeased gaze sweep over him as he smiled and waved goodbye to the
three of them, forcing him to turn around.

"What a mature interaction, but I think that's only delaying the issue."

Tatsuya and Kanon's relationship did not exceed that of casual

acquaintances.

Kanon had no reason to comment on Tatsuya's personal relationships, but

Tatsuya knew Kanon spoke up out of chivalry, so he opted to face this
directly.
"Delaying is fine. That's because this question doesn't need to be solved
immediately, and time is the best solution to some problems."

"That......"

Kanon wasn't able to reply, but given her unwilling expression, this young
lady was not the type to give up easily.

"Kanon, Shiba-kun is right, speed is not the best solution to everything in

the world."

"Still, you are definitely lacking some youthful airs."

Isori's comment was meant to break the ice rather than directly help
Tatsuya, but was ruined by someone else cutting into the conversation.

"Mari-senpai."

Towards Mari, who had just entered the conversation, Tatsuya didn't refute
her words and merely nodded.
"Isori, Nakajou is looking for you."
Yet, Mari seemed to have taken Tatsuya's reaction in account ahead of
time and quickly got to the heart of the matter. Looks like she wasn't here
just to mess around with him.
"Excuse me, where is Nakajou-san?"
"Storage vehicle #1. The VIPs are about to speak, so quickly finish what
you need to do and drag Nakajou back here. The unimportant VIPs are
one thing, but it would be terrible for the school's reputation if we missed
the Patriarch's words."

"That's true, I understand."

"Mari-senpai, we're heading out."

Isori followed his orders and quickly departed the premises with Kanon
naturally on his heels. Seeing the two of them leave, Mari turned around to
face Tatsuya.

"Looks like the measurements are perfect."

"Just a little tight under the arms."

Mari commented as she took in the suit that Tatsuya was wearing and
Tatsuya responded while looking down at himself.

"Nothing we can do about that, since this is a backup. Even if the

measurements are the same, there's no way to take all the individual
differences into consideration. If you wore a larger size, the waist would
look terribly large."
"That's true, so there is nothing I can do."

Mari's words sounded like she was smiling wryly while her tone sounded
like she was shrugging although she didn't actually make those motions
so Tatsuya mirrored her as well.

"Wouldn't it be better to purchase a new one?"

There was no ill intent behind Mari's words.

"It's too wasteful to buy a new suit only to wear it twice. If this was a cloth
emblem that could be removed when worn then it would be fine, but
this......"

As he said this, Tatsuya glanced downwards at his left breast.

At the emblem with the eight petals.
This was a meeting with other schools, so it was integral to identify one
another based on school emblem hence why Tatsuya was forced to
wear this uniform.

"Might not just be twice. There's the thesis competition in the fall, so there's
no way of guaranteeing that you won't get promoted to Course 1."

Mari was smiling as she said this, but her eyes were dead serious.

Tatsuya scowled as he replied:

"Even if I am selected for the thesis competition, wearing my own uniform

shouldn't be a problem. Furthermore, there's no way I can get promoted to
Course 1, because to this day there's no precedent or even a rule for it."

Tatsuya's words drew a laugh out of Mari.

"Precedent? I think your current status is already unprecedented, right?

History has never seen a Course 2 student like you, so you cannot deny
the possibility by saying there's no precedent for it. Rather than saying
unprecedented, you should aim to become that 'precedent' and pave the
way for future underclassmen like you."
"............"

Seeing Tatsuya's pained expression, Mari once more burst into delighted
laughter.

"Well, I'm off to find the brass from the other schools, want to join me?"

"......No thanks, Erika should be looking for me."

The moment Tatsuya brought up Erika, a flicker of doubt flashed across
Mari's eyes.

This should probably be saved for future ammunition, eh? Such a thought
crossed Tatsuya's mind, but the two of them shared a considerable history,
so this was probably inappropriate for joking.

Tatsuya silently watched Mari depart.

"Eh? Where's Miyuki?"

Just as Tatsuya predicted, Erika returned with Mikihiko in tow.

"I sent her back to the other students. She'll drop by my room later this
evening, so introductions can be made there."

"Ah, OK."
The first half of Tatsuya's words was directed towards Erika, the latter to
Mikihiko.

Rather than being one of regret, Mikihiko's reaction was more like a sigh of
relief.

"......No need to force yourself."

"......Ah?"

He wasn't immediately aware that Tatsuya was speaking to him.

Hence why Mikihiko's reaction was half a beat slow.

"Hold on, it's not like that! It's true I'm a little nervous, but......"

"Ew~ Guys just love to show off in front of cute girls."

"Erika is just as beautiful, especially today."

"Eh? Wait a minute, stop that......"

"So?"

Towards the teasing Erika, Tatsuya struck first by using her own tactics
against her, then urged Mikihiko onward.

"Tatsuya, you...... No, I'm just embarrassed to be wearing this at my first

meeting."
Mikihiko stuttered to a stop then adopted an exhausted expression as he
shook his head.

Hearing this, Tatsuya carefully scrutinized Mikihiko and Erika's uniforms

again.

Mikihiko was wearing a white collared shirt paired with a black bowtie and
vest.
Erika was wearing a black dress that swished back and forth with her white
apron and headdress.
Simply put, they weren't butler and serving girl, they were servant and
serving girl.

"I don't think that's strange, don't all the employees wear that?"

All the servants in the room were wearing similar clothes as Mikihiko.

"See, Miki is too self-conscious."

"My name is Mikihiko."

It was blatantly obvious from their tone and expressions that they had been
down this road before.

Mikihiko seemed very uncomfortable in his current suit. This was probably
because he came from a traditional family and detested dressing up as a
servant.

"Speaking of which, where are the other two?"

Tatsuya really wanted to know why they were working here, but ultimately
decided against it.

"Do you really think Leo would be a good waiter?"

"He should at least know how to control himself......"

Tatsuya tried to subtly defend his friend, but Erika's laughing expression
didn't falter.

"Mizuki said she didn't like this uniform, maybe she's like Miki in this
regard?"

"My name is Mikihiko!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah~"

Rather peeved, Mikihiko voiced his protest, to which Erika casually agreed
before turning back to Tatsuya.
"Owing to these reasons, the two of them are working behind the scenes.
Leo is doing manual labor in the kitchen and Mizuki is in charge of the
dishes."

Tatsuya didn't know "which reasons" those were, but was able to follow
Erika's meaning. Probably.
"Because both of them are good with machinery."

"Yeah, their appearances are very deceiving."

In the modern age, no matter if it was dock work or dish washing,

manpower was very rarely directly applied.

Including all the details, machines could replace all manual labor.
Simply put, the two of them were responsible for operating the automatic
systems in the kitchen.

"I was originally on support as well, so why did you call me out here?"
Possibly because Mikihiko was unlike Tatsuya in this regard, as the person
in question he was unable to understand why and also unwilling to accept
as well.

"Didn't I explain many times that it must've been a clerical error?"

"That's not an explanation!"

"OK, OK, stop fussing. We're only interns, but we're still on the clock. Look,
the tray over there is empty."

"......Erika, I'll get you for this later."

Mikihiko left that behind as he walked over to the tables, but in Tatsuya's
ears, those words weren't "serious" at all.

"Plainly, it was Mikihiko who forgot in the first place......"

Erika grudgingly said this as she watched him leave, but it was hard to
decipher her mood based on her voice and expression.

Yet, Tatsuya believed those weren't Erika's true feelings.

"......I don't know if there are any ulterior motives, but shouldn't you go
easier on him?"

Erika didn't seem to comprehend Tatsuya's meaning, so she took a while

to respond.
"......There isn't any real ulterior motive. But you're right, I am being a little
spiteful. I knew that Miki wasn't good in this type of situation, but I still......"
"Wanted to annoy him?"
"Hm~ I guess? He beats around the bush too much, which irritates me
whenever I see him like that. Now I can understand why he can't smile
openly, but I cannot acknowledge why he refuses to get angry...... That is
being stubborn to the extent of four-legged animals."

"How kind of you."

"Please stop."

Tatsuya was simply sympathizing with her words without any other
intentions, but was taken aback by Erika's unexpectedly fierce reaction.

"Didn't I just say I was being a little spiteful? Miki and I aren't here of our
own volition, we're forced to be here by our elders. Even if I look like I'm
being kind, in reality we're just in the same boat."

Her stubborn attitude was undoubtedly born of an obstinate heart.

"......I'll skip the details. Not like I can do anything with the answers
anyways, so I'll just pretend I didn't hear that."

Tatsuya wasn't about to step into that minefield yet.

"Sorry, just don't ask...... By the way, Tatsuya-kun."

Erika didn't hold it against Tatsuya for not comforting her.

"What is it?"

"Tatsuya-kun...... is very detached."

Her tone and words were complete opposites of one another and were not
critical in the slightest.

"......That was quite the abrupt change in topic."

"But, I'm very thankful that you're so detached...... I think. You're not too
gentle, so I can safely vent all I want. Nor do you pity me, so I don't feel
embarrassed...... Thank you."
The last two words were so quiet that they almost couldn't be heard.

Seeing Erika flee towards the nearby tables, Tatsuya thought: everyone
has their own troubles.
For a buffet with no designated seating for upwards of 400 people, the
cuisines could not be set in one central location. The buffet sprawled over
the entire ballroom of the hotel's top floor, with three tables set by the two
walls and in the center in the front, middle, and rear for a total of 9 tables.
Cuisines suitable for teenagers were constantly being replenished on the
serving tables.

Historically, the students from each school usually congregated around

one of the tables.
That being said, only small fry (?) were able to focus on eating, but the
brass from each school weren't so relaxed.

At Mayumi's signal, Miyuki bid farewell to her peers and moved with the
Student Council.

As Mayumi and Suzune were greeting the leadership from the other
schools and engaged in ruthless spying, Miyuki was carefully
scrutinizing her brother, who was watching Erika, from behind them.
She didn't make any noise or reveal any expression, but inwardly sighed.

Miyuki esteemed Tatsuya more than anyone else (not only did Miyuki
respect Tatsuya more than anyone else, she also rated him higher than
anyone else).

She knew her brother wasn't perfect but still believed that her brother
was, on some level, superhuman.

Miyuki also knew that her brother possessed many glaring flaws.

One of these flaws was that he was unable to believe other people's good
will towards him.

This can be partially blamed on his dullness, in that he was unable to

comprehend goodwill directed towards him.
More importantly, Tatsuya honestly questioned why people would think
positively of him.

On some level, this was inevitable.

Because his own parents neglected to pour this emotion called "love" into
him, and even personally stripped "love" from his mind.
Miyuki knew it would take a miracle for her brother to return her feelings.

Even so, seeing an adorable classmate (even in Miyuki's eyes, Erika was
an undeniable beauty) display an almost affectionate Miyuki believed
this might be "love" towards him, Tatsuya still watched her go, behind
that unyielding mask of logic, causing Miyuki's heart to ache more than be
at ease.

Miyuki believed that her brother didn't even notice the gaze she was
directing towards him.

Or maybe he noticed that she was watching him.

But Tatsuya definitely wasn't able to comprehend what feelings Miyuki was
holding inside once she thought of this, Miyuki despaired.

And grew more furious.

This way, she must scold him sternly in order to calm down.

Her brother's overly dim personality would definitely be a stumbling

stone on his path to developing meaningful social relations.

Yes, this was for her brother, a scolding born of love.

Beneath the beatific smile normally seen on statues, Miyuki made this
decision.

......There was no way she could have remained ignorant of the looks she
drew from her surroundings, but maybe no one could understand the real
her.

Mayumi and company were (on the outside) chatting freely with the
Student Council members from Third High, who were likely the stiffest
opposition to First High's campaign.

In the rear, the 1st Year students from Third High were whispering to one
another.
If they were eavesdropping on their senpais' analysis of combat strength
and strategy, then they would be worthy of the militant nature of Third High
and even move their upperclassmen to tears, but......

"Ichijou, look, isn't that girl rad?"

"Who the heck says rad these days...... In which generation did you attend
high school?"

"Shut up, I wasn't asking you. So, Ichijou, what do you think?"

"Why are you so excited...... It's no use, that level of beauty is out of your
league, so don't bother trying."

"Man, would you quit it, even if I can't, Ichijou should be no problem, right?
Because Ichijou's got the looks and brains and is a member of the Ten
Master Clans to boot, surely we can get on his coattails, right?"

"I'm amazed you can speak so brazenly with a straight face......"

In reality, they were conversing in this manner which was very much like
regular highschoolers.

"Masaki, what is it?"

However, the male student in the center of the group did not respond to
the enthusiastic endorsement and focused all his attention on the female
student in question.

Instead of focusing on his charming visage, his handsome aura stood out
and perfectly matched the description of a "young and handsome warrior"
in the archaic fashion. Standing near 180 cm in height with a thick set of
shoulders, compact waist and slender legs...... 1st Year student Ichijou
Masaki of Third High was just as his teammates described, a man whose
physical appearance was quite popular with the ladies.

"......Masaki?"

Bewildered, Masaki looked towards the person who called his name. The
other person was also a male 1st Year student from Third High whose
build was well-trained but not overly tall.
"......George, do you know who she is?"
"George" was a nickname, as his outer appearance was thoroughly Asian
and his real name Kichijouji Shinkurou was purely Japanese. Upon hearing
Masaki's question, this student immediately replied without further
consideration.

"Hm? Oh, I think you can tell from the uniform, she's a 1st Year student
from First High. Her name is Shiba Miyuki, and she's participating in 'Icicle
Destruction' and 'Fairy Dance', so she must be the 1st Year ace from First
High."

"Whew, so both talented and beautiful, eh?"

Ichijou Masaki ignored his teammate who was bending back in a comical
fashion and muttered to himself.
"Shiba Miyuki, eh....."

This sound caused the male student known as George to turn a curious
eye on Masaki.

"It's quite rare for Masaki to show interest in the ladies, isn't it?"

The other students expressed their agreement.

"Now that you mention it, that's quite right."

"With Ichijou's merits, usually the ladies approach him directly, so he's
usually not the pursuing one, right?"
"You have no idea how many people are jealous of this fellow."

This surrounding environment gradually turned into one where "single men
were starting to get angry", but Masaki remained silent.

He would continue to observe Miyuki during several unobtrusive intervals.

His gaze possessed considerable warmth.

As the VIPs began speaking, the high school students that were the focal
point of the day stopped what they were doing and paid overly serious
attention to the adults speaking or pretended to do so at any rate.
After Erika returned to her station, Tatsuya had no one left to speak with
and finally obtained a modicum of peace.

Just taking in the famous figures from the magic community was a
sufficient way to spend the time.

Some he beheld for the first time, others had only been seen on TV.

Of course, there were also people he had met before or sat with in the
same room, but not conversed with.

Among these people, the one who held most of Tatsuya's interest was the
elder from the Ten Master Clans known as the "Patriarch".

Kudou Retsu.
He was one of the most important figures from the Ten Master Clans in the
21st century and, until around twenty years ago, was acknowledged to be
one of the strongest Magicians in the world.

After this elder, once renowned as one of the strongest, retired from the
front lines, he rarely appeared in public events but for some reason chose
to appear every year at the Nine Schools Competition. This detail was
public knowledge.

Likewise, Tatsuya had never met this man, but had seen him on video.

In his heart, Tatsuya discovered an excitement akin to witnessing a

historical figure striding into the light.
After the various VIPs finished encouraging or lecturing the crowd, it was
finally Elder Kudou's turn.

He must be over 90 years old now.

How much of that once astonishing Magic Power still remained?

Did he possess a physical body still capable of wielding magic?

As Tatsuya considered this, the master of ceremonies formally introduced

the elder's name.

Not just Tatsuya, every high school student held their breath as they
waited for Elder Kudou to take the stage.

The appearance of this famous figure made Tatsuya forget to breathe out.

The person who appeared beneath the congregated lights was a young,
blonde woman wearing a formal gown.

This immediately threw the audience into an uproar.

Tatsuya was not the only one shocked by this.

This incredibly unexpected turnout caused discussions to break out
throughout the audience.

Wasn't Elder Kudou supposed to take the stage?

Why was a young woman appearing in his place?

Did something happen, forcing her to speak in his place?

(No, that's not it.)

Tatsuya finally realized the truth.

The woman wasn't the only person on stage.

An elderly man stood behind her.

Everyone's attention was only drawn towards the outwardly captivating

young lady.

(Sensory Interference Magic.)

The elder likely invoked a large scale magic that covered the entire
meeting place.

By using an obvious distraction to capture everyone's attention, this sort of

"change" doesn't qualify as phenomenon rewriting, as it was a
"phenomenon" that occurred naturally.

The magic's scale was large enough to impact everyone present at the
same time, yet subtle enough to escape detection.

(So this was the man once called the strongest...... No, the "Sly Warlock"
hailed as the "pinnacle" and "craftiest" the magic of Kudou Retsu......)

He must have noticed Tatsuya's gaze.

The elder behind the young woman cracked a smile.

A smile that would not be out of place on a mischievous young man.

The woman in the formal gown stepped aside after receiving the elder's
quiet instructions.

As the spotlight fell upon the elder, a huge commotion spread throughout
the crowd.

Almost everyone believed Elder Kudou materialized out of thin air.

The elder's eyes once more locked onto Tatsuya.

Tatsuya subtly returned the greeting with his eyes.

The elder's eyes displayed a very satisfied smile.
"First of all, allow me to express my sincere apologies for creating this
subterfuge."
Even discounting the microphone's presence, his voice remained loud and
clear in definite contrast to his advanced age.

"This was just a small sideshow that was more like a magic trick than true
magic, but based on my observations, only five people detected the truth
behind the facade. In other words......"

Many high school students were deeply drawn into the elder's words and
intent behind his words.

"If I was a terrorist planning to destroy you all and smuggled chemical
weapons or explosives under the guise of a visitor, only five people would
be able to reach out and deny me. That's just how it is."

The elder's words did not possess any particular emphasis or reprimand.

However, a different sort of stillness enveloped the meeting area.

"To our youth studying magic.

Magic is a means, magic itself is not the end goal.

I created this little game hoping to remind everyone of this very point.
The magic I just used was on a large scale, but low in strength.

By Magic Power standards, this belongs to lower level magic.

Yet, everyone succumbed to this weak magic and could not discover my
presence, despite knowing that I would appear.

It is vital that you continue to train in magic.

You must diligently raise your Magic Power without relent.

Still, just this is insufficient. I pray that everyone here carves that into their
hearts.
An inappropriately used large magic cannot compare to a meticulously
prepared and executed small magic.
Remember, everyone, the Nine Schools Competition that begins two days
from now is a battlefield that is fought with magic, as well as a battlefield
where the use of magic is equally important.

To our youth studying magic.

I highly anticipate what brilliant schemes you will display in this

competition."

The audience burst into applause.

Unfortunately, this applause didn't spread throughout the audience.

Among the bemused but clapping teenagers, Tatsuya was also

applauding. Except, he differed from other youths in that he wore a quiet
smile.

To propose that the use of magic was more important than the level of
magic ran counter to everything the upper strata of modern magic society
was espousing. The value of magic comes from its proper use, which
hinted that magic should only be seen as an independent tool.

This old Magician stood near the pinnacle of magical society within the
country, but still advised everyone to go against the norms established by
modern magic society. From another perspective, this attitude was very
irresponsible, because his influence was enough to shake the foundations
of modern magic society.

If Kudou Retsu's speech was only empty words, Tatsuya would have
balked, yet this elder used a simple and easy to understand method to
demonstrate his point. He used a superlative technique far beyond
Tatsuya's means to use magic as a flexible and agile tool.

So this is the "Patriarch"......

Kokonoe Yakumo, Kazama Harunobu, as well as this Kudou Retsu, this

country still contained many Magicians that Tatsuya needed to learn from.
Surely there were many other subjects worthy of study, except Tatsuya
didn't know of them yet. This was something he couldn't learn in the FLT
research labs.
And he thought high school would be boring.

Tatsuya ruminated on this at the same time.


The banquet was held two days before the main event to preserve one day
for the contestants to properly rest and relax.

The technician team and the tactical advisors were busy with the final leg
of the preparations, just as the contestants were using their own methods
to mentally and physically prepare themselves for the start of the
competition tomorrow.
That being said, the 1st Year students would compete on the fourth day of
the event, so at this stage excitement and resounding feelings far
outweighed anxiety. From an age perspective, they were the ones who
usually departed on trips with their peers.

After dinner, Miyuki, Honoka, and Shizuku also visited Tatsuya's room, but
since Tatsuya was engaged in adjusting the Activation Sequences, they
quickly called it a night and returned to their own rooms. The itinerary for
the Official and Newcomers Divisions differed, so two 1st Year students
usually shared a room. Honoka and Shizuku were roommates, while
Miyuki shared a room with a young lady named Takigawa Kazumi from
Class C. However, since Kazumi's personality was geared towards athletic
club activities and she usually spent her days with the sempais from her
club, Miyuki spent most of her time with Honoka and Shizuku in their room.

The hour hand on the clock (for some reason, all the clocks in the hotel
were this type) pointed towards the Roman numeral "X", and the majority
of the high school contestants who were waiting for tomorrow to begin had
already turned in. Precisely because they understood this, not just Miyuki
and company, but all their teammates and 1st Year students from the other
schools knew to remain quiet and not cause a ruckus. Even so, their
overabundant energies rendered them unable to sleep peacefully like their
older peers.

The only thing that three girls would do while burning the midnight oil
would be talking to one another.
There are of course exceptions to this rule. From outward appearances,
Miyuki and Shizuku should belong to the "exceptions" category, but were
unexpectedly "ordinary".
The recent topics were all related to the Nine Schools Competition, and not
all girl talk revolved around fashion and romance, but since these topics
frequently cut into the conversation, it was all but inevitable.

As mentioned earlier, the time was approaching 10 o'clock, but it wasn't

lights out in the hotel yet. Hence why when someone knocked on the door,
there was no cause for alarm or suspicion.

"Ah, I'll get that."

The knocking caused all three to rise and Honoka, who was closest to the
door, halted the other two.
"Good evening!"

"Hey, Eimi, everyone, what's up?"

The person behind the door was a captivating petite girl with red hair that
shone with a ruby-like luster. She was Akechi Eimi, one of Miyuki's
teammates, with four other students behind her. In other words, First
High's Newcomers Division Women's Team was almost all gathered here.

"Uh, you know, there's an onsen here."

"......Sorry, you need to speak plainly."

Honoka didn't understand why Eimi was so happy as she said this.

"Now that you mention it, this hotel has an artificial onsen beneath it."

But Miyuki quickly grasped Eimi's meaning.

"Yes, as expected of Miyuki, you're brilliant!"

"......I'm sorry, but hearing you say that hardly fills me with joy."

Eimi meant no harm, but after being praised so leisurely (?), Miyuki felt a
headache oncoming.

As Miyuki pressed her temple, Eimi made an "Eh?" expression as she

tilted her head to one side.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it. So what about this onsen?"

At Miyuki's urging, Eimi broke into an innocent smile.

"So, let's go to the onsen!"

Eimi's sudden at least in Miyuki's ears words caused Miyuki and

Honoka to glance at one another.

Honoka seemed to share Miyuki's misgivings.

"Is that OK? This is a military facility."

Yet, the person who represented the three of them and asked Eimi was
Shizuku situated in the rear.

This wasn't an ordinary hotel it was one of the facilities attached to the
SDF's exercise grounds. Besides the facilities arranged ahead of time,
most of the other areas should have restricted access.

"I tried asking for permission and received it. We're OK until 11."

Eimi easily alleviated Shizuku's concerns.

"As expected of Eimi."

Honoka couldn't refrain from saying softly.

"You should say, thanks for the opportunity, right!"

Alas, such words had no effect on the ecstatic Eimi.

"Wait, I remember that swimsuits are required in the onsen. I didn't bring
one."
"That's also no problem, as the hotel will lend us bathing robes as well as
towels."

Eimi easily fielded Miyuki's practical concerns.

Given this level of preparation, Miyuki and company had no further reasons
to refuse. Honestly, all three of them were slightly interested in the albeit
artificial onsen.

"Then allow us to accompany you. Let me get some clothes, you guys go
ahead."
Hearing Miyuki's reply, Eimi nodded happily.

"OK, take your time, no need to hurry."

Miyuki lightly raised a hand and temporarily bid adieu to her teammates.

The underground bathhouse (artificial onsen) was completely monopolized

by First High's female 1st Year students.

It's not like they reserved the entire area, more like there weren't any other
guests, so they were in complete control from 10 to 11.
The large bathhouse was similar to public bathhouses in that they were
intended for similar purposes.

However, while this underground artificial onsen was called a large

bathhouse, in reality it could only hold 10 people or so. The onsen was
originally designed to help treat muscle and joint pain from extensive
exercise and heated the salty reisen that ran beneath the hotel to form this
medical facility. The primary users were usually higher ranking officers
(and middle-aged to boot), and it was never intended to be open to the
public. Owing to the fact that only those under the doctor's orders could
visit during specified hours, anyone entering had to rinse themselves off in
the shower area and don a swimsuit or bathing robe before entering.

Besides their group, no other group appeared to have applied for

permission.

Female bathing robes were literally "mini-coats that reached mid-thigh

without any pants". Though maybe describing them as "bathing robes the
length of mini-skirts without the belt" sounded sexier? The lack of a belt
certainly made it easier to relax in the onsen, but provided even less sense
of security than a swimsuit.

"Wow......"

"W......What is it?"

Anyone wearing this would undoubtedly be too ashamed to appear before

anyone of the opposite gender, but everyone here was a girl and
trustworthy teammates on top of that. However, at Eimi's explosive breath,
Honoka was overcome by a sense of shame and alertness as if a man had
seen her.
She couldn't help but wrap her arms tightly around the front of her robe.

Eimi's eyes were glued in that direction Honoka's bosom.

"How surprising, Honoka cuts a great figure!"

Eimi gradually advanced.

Honoka kept retreating.

Her back quickly encountered the wall of the bathing area.

"Honoka."

"What is it?"

The predatory aura that swirled around Eimi was almost enough to make
Honoka scream.
"Can I take a look?"

"Of course not!"

Eimi's eyes were laughing, so she was obviously messing around. The
question was how far she would take the joke.

Honoka quickly glanced around the bathing area for help. Her teammates
were either relaxing in the onsen or sitting on the edge soaking their feet.
Everyone around her had the same smiling eyes Eimi did, with one
exception.
"What's the matter, after all, Honoka's bust is huge."
"Is that the problem here!"

Eimi's eyes remained smiling, but Honoka could see something lurking in
her eyes that told her this wouldn't end in a joking manner.

"Shizuku, save me!"

Honoka couldn't help but appeal for help from Shizuku, "the one
exception".

Shizuku slowly rose.

"So what?"
After saying this, she left the bathing area.

"What!"
At her best friend's betrayal, Honoka screamed in pain.

Instantly, Shizuku lowered a sorrowful gaze towards her own chest.

"After all, Honoka's bust is huge."

After leaving these incriminating words, she turned and headed into the
sauna.

The bathing area was filled with Honoka's shrieks.

(What are they fighting over now?)

Miyuki could not comprehend what was causing the sounds of water
splashing everywhere in the bathing area as she continued to shower. She
had already washed off the sweat and dust of the day, but still went
through the motions and activated the "Personal Washer" in the shower to
thoroughly rinse herself off (from the collar down) before putting on her
bathing robe. She wrapped a towel around her silky hair to hold it in place
and finally padded into the bathing area that finally quieted down. At this
moment, every teammate in the area locked their gaze on Miyuki's figure.

"W......What's wrong?"

Miyuki shrank back as she came to a halt, but no one replied.

The number of looks never changed.

"Everyone, stop, Miyuki is straight!"

For some reason, Honoka said this in a solemn and stirring voice, which
shattered the unnatural silence.

"Honoka?"

Honoka's words were too vague for Miyuki to comprehend its meaning.

"Ah~ Sorry, sorry, accidentally lost track of myself."

Sitting in the innermost corner by the edge of bath was a young lady from
Class D named Satomi Subaru who spoke in a gentlemanly tone that
would not seem out of place on a young man. This allowed Miyuki to finally
make the connection regarding what Honoka was talking about and also
understand exactly what the looks directed her way signified.
"Hold on...... We're all girls here, what are you talking about?"
Miyuki frantically said and tugged her robe towards the inside of her thighs.
This movement actually once more ignited the tense atmosphere within the
bathhouse.

The moisture left over from the shower interacted with the steam let off by
the onsen, causing the thin fabric to cling tightly to the body, revealing
Miyuki's feminine curves as well as the vibrant twin orbs on her chest.

The front collar revealed flesh that was dyed to a faint pink.

Extending beneath the short hem of the robes was a pair of impeccable,
dazzling, and beautiful legs.

Especially in Miyuki's condition, even compared to being completely

unclothed, even in a bathing robe that was far less revealing than her
swimsuit, this brewed an irresistibly lovable charisma.

"......Are all girls, yeah, I understand, but......"

"I don't know how to say this...... But if it's Miyuki that's OK."

Everyone whispered in profound agreement.

"That's enough! Now you're just going too far."

Even at this disadvantage, Miyuki bravely strode into the bath.

She gracefully sank into bath and stretched out her legs under everyone's
unblinking gaze.

As she lowered herself to a sitting position, the water reached neck height.
The front collar swayed to the movement of the water and, for an instant,
Miyuki's nape was revealed.

Somewhere, a collective gasp could be heard.

This awkward atmosphere was neither joking nor was it intended to cause
a scene.

If this continues, Miyuki's chastity might be in danger.

"Miyuki, I'm with you!"

Fortunately, Honoka splashed down beside Miyuki, disrupting the spider's
web that was closing around the butterfly.
"If you don't stop now, everyone here runs the risk of bathing in frigid
water!"

Upon hearing this threat, all their teammates finally adopted serious
expressions and turned away from watching Miyuki.

Even with their eyes elsewhere, they were still consciously drawn to
Miyuki.

Plainly, there were many young girls present, but no one ventured to
speak.

On the other hand, Miyuki wanted to protest to Honoka's words, but felt
that rashly proclaiming that "she definitely wouldn't do anything like that"
may be a dangerous move that would upset the delicate balance, so she
refrained.
"......What happened?"

Shizuku, who had hitherto been staying in the sauna by herself, asked
innocently as she beheld the awkward atmosphere in the bathhouse.

Likely self-reflecting after someone finally asked, the young ladies returned
to normal.
Once the young girls adopted their regular behavior, the bathhouse was
once again filled with the sounds of talk and laughter.

The subjects that girls talk about are more than just fashion and romance.

Still, fashion and romance were truly two of the most popular subjects.
While soaking in the bath, the conversation naturally turned to the males
they met during the previous night's banquet. The primary target were
"boys", but included some "men" and a small group of "older men". This
sounds like the breath of their admiration spanned a large spectrum, but
honestly that was how it was:
"So, the bartender behind the counter was quite an interesting old timer."

"Whoa...... That guy's totally over 40. To think that you're interested in
middle-aged men, I think your life is over......"

"Correction, please say interesting gentleman. In my eyes, high school

students are all immature kids that are completely undependable."

"Really~? I don't think all the boys our age are like that, maybe because
you've been seeing the wrong people?"

"Yeah, Isori-senpai looks pretty tolerant, right? More importantly, he looks

like a decent guy."

"I feel kind of empty going after someone with a girlfriend already, you
know? Also in Isori-senpai's case, his girlfriend has already advanced to
fiance."

"Speaking of dependable, I guess that has to be Juumonji-senpai?"

"Nah, Juumonji-senpai is too dependable. Not only that, he's also the Ten
Master Clans' future successor."

"Speaking of successors of the Ten Master Clans, there's the successor

for the Ichijou Family from Third High, right?"

"Ah, I saw him, he's pretty hot."

"Yeah, I know you shouldn't judge boys by outward appearances, but it
certainly doesn't hurt if he is easy on the eyes."

......Just like that.

All of a sudden, Eimi suddenly thrust the conversation back to Miyuki, who
was sitting in the corner of the bath letting the (mental) exhaustion soak out
of her.

"Speaking of Ichijou from Third High, he was watching Miyuki with burning
eyes."

Eimi was speaking to Miyuki, but Miyuki was unable to respond to these
words.

"Eh, really?"

"Maybe it was love at first sight?"

"This is Miyuki we're talking about, it's highly possible."

"You should say that it would be strange for boys not to fall in love with
Miyuki at first sight, right?"

"Maybe they knew each other from long ago."

Everyone listening let out delighted shrieks.

"Miyuki, is that true?"

Shizuku didn't join the shrieking and adopted a serious tone Shizuku's
tone lacked the normal voice inflection, so even if she personally didn't
intend to, she still came across as being solemn as she asked Miyuki.

Miyuki's response was:

"......Allow me to be perfectly clear, I've only seen Ichijou-kun in pictures

and didn't even know where he was located during the banquet."

This might qualify as being callous or sheer overkill, and if Third High had
heard Miyuki's response, morale probably would have plummeted. The
young girls bursting with expectations were all taken aback upon hearing
this answer.

Even so, there were always people who refused to surrender.

"If that's the case, what type of guy does Miyuki like? Is it truly like your
brother's type?"
The one who reacted to Subaru's words was not Miyuki, but Honoka
instead. Her body tensed momentarily, which was only detected by
Shizuku who was sitting beside her.

Miyuki displayed an incredibly calm attitude and an almost wordless

expression as she answered Subaru.

"I have no idea where you think this is going...... But Onii-sama and I are
siblings by blood, so I've never seen Onii-sama as a romantic partner.
Also, I don't believe there's anyone else in the entire world that could be
the same as Onii-sama."
Hearing Miyuki's reply, Subaru and Eimi were distinctly disappointed
(Subaru's expression looked a little forced).

Afterwards, no one else questioned Miyuki and Tatsuya's relationship.

Yet, within the bath, two girls did not fully accept Miyuki's answer.

In Miyuki's tone, Honoka and Shizuku read something entirely different

from the words "I've never seen Onii-sama as a romantic partner".

After Tatsuya dispatched Miyuki and company back to their rooms
though he became the subject of their conversations with their teammates
in the underground onsen he continued adjusting the Activation
Sequences in the storage vehicles.

"Shiba-kun, it's about time to call it a night."

Hearing these words, Tatsuya glanced around to find only one other
person in the vehicle with him.

"It's that late already?"

The time was roughly midnight.

Isori revealed a gender neutral smile and nodded at Tatsuya's words (By
the way, Isori's wardrobe and hairstyle were both neutral, causing Tatsuya
to suspect this senpai of his intentionally dressed in a non-masculine
manner).
"The participants Shiba-kun is responsible for compete on the 4th day, so I
think it's not a good idea to be so tense from the start."

"You're right."

Tatsuya was on duty for the 1st Year female students in Speed Shooting,
Icicle Destruction, and Mirage Bat. This was partially born of Miyuki and
company's wishes, but also because of the 1st Year male students
(especially Morisaki) stonewalling him in defiance (Miyuki was participating
in Icicle Destruction and Mirage Bat, Honoka in Battle Board and Mirage
Bat, and Shizuku in Speed Shooting and Icicle Destruction).

The 1st Year Division the Newcomers Division was set between the 4th
and 8th days of the contest.

Compared to the auxiliaries in charge of the participants competing

tomorrow, Tatsuya had considerably more time on his hands.

Kanon was set to participate in Icicle Destruction on the 2nd and 3rd days,
but Isori was in charge of participants appearing on stage tomorrow.

"Then, senpai, I'm taking my leave."

Tatsuya intentionally avoided inviting Isori to also call it quits and left the
storage vehicle by himself.

Despite being near midnight, evenings in the height of summer did not
have a noticeably lower temperature.

Perfect for taking a stroll in T-shirts.

Tatsuya opted not to head directly back to his room and strolled around the
perimeter of the hotel, where he detected an oddly nervous presence.

This presence told him that someone was holding his breath while
surveying the premises.

Initially, Tatsuya thought this was a thief, but quickly rejected this line of
thinking.
A presence that desired to hide itself but was unable to, reeked of
bloodthirsty impulses.
Tatsuya spread out his senses and directly linked to the information
dimension the colossal information body that contained the data for the
myriad objects around him.

(Three people in total, located near...... The railings near the hotel
camouflaged to look like foliage.)

Each of them carried handguns and small explosives.

Even if they were in the outer periphery of the hotel, they were well within
areas under military jurisdiction, and the security around the base definitely
wasn't that relaxed. Pickets and cameras would monitor the entrances and
immediately deny all infiltrators and were especially merciless toward
armed and dangerous individuals.

These guys were malefactors who had penetrated the security perimeter
and had even prepared explosives.

Despite not having a CAD on hand, they were too dangerous to be

ignored.

Tatsuya soundlessly began to sprint.

His senses captured an ally that was also rapidly approaching the three
suspicious individuals.

His sneaking skills were not inferior to Tatsuya's own.

According to their starting positions, even though the two of them were
approaching the targets at similar velocity Mikihiko was going to make
contact first.

As Tatsuya sprinted forward, he also began constructing support magics.

His Magic Power was so specialized that he could only use certain magics
and, even without a CAD, as long as he was using those magics, he was
equal to any other Magician using a CAD in terms of speed, detail and
strength.
Mikihiko began invoking his magic.
He wasn't using a CAD.

The data provided through the information dimension told Tatsuya that this
wasn't an illusion, it was a concept.
Mikihiko pulled out three fortune tellers probably meant to be charms.

Mikihiko wasn't planning on using modern magic, he was using Ancient

Magic.
Before Tatsuya "knew" this, psions flew through Tatsuya's hands into the
developing technique.

Modern magic and Ancient Magic were grounded in the same fundamental
theory, which is using interference with the "data" attached to an
"existence" and taking one step further to rewrite the "phenomenon".

The difference lay in how the interference worked and was expressed.

The magic system that Mikihiko used did not construct the interfering
information body (the Magic Sequence) in the Magic Calculation Area, but
split this into three steps: add data into the charm in his hand to turn it into
a medium, float the now disconnected "material" into the information
dimension to morph it into "independent, non-material information body"
and control it, then try to rewrite the phenomenon.

Compared to the ability of information bodies that can directly interact with
phenomena, such as information bodies from modern magic, this system
possessed inferior speed and flexibility, but was less susceptible to
resistance to phenomenon-rewriting. If this was phenomenon rewriting
within certain parameters, Ancient Magic could accomplish large scale
effects while using less power than modern magic.

For Tatsuya, who could dissect Magic Sequences in an instant, all of these
details flashed across his mind in a short instant.

He also noticed a trace of distress within Mikihiko's technique.

(He's not going to make it.)

The magic Mikihiko was using had too many unnecessary hurdles,
lengthening the casting time to intolerable degrees.

Tatsuya set the target for "dissolution" as the handgun in the miscreants'
hands.

The reason Mikihiko detected the perilous presence was because he was
in the middle of magic training.
This was one of the deepest corners in the hotel gardens.

Far from any buildings, he found a location in the area surrounding the
hotel where no one would come snooping to begin his daily "training".
"Spirits" are an assemblage formed from "concepts" such as "wind, water,
fire, earth" and are far removed from individual phenomena. The basic
training from Divine Earth Magic (Spirit Magic) is to synchronize oneself
with the spirits' senses.

From modern magic's perspective, spirits are things that have broken away
from their actual bodies and are information bodies floating in an ocean of
data.
They move about as a concept in the information world, assemble together
as a conceptual expression, and materialize in the actual world.

Rumors say there is a way to detect these "non-material bodies".

Still, through contact with these types of "spirits", Mikihiko truly felt that
they "existed" in the actual world.

This was not grounded in theory, but through his perception and feelings.

For Mikihiko, spirits truly existed in this location and were existences that
possessed consciousness. With this type of contact, spirits were able to
inform Mikihiko about all sorts of "details" and "objects".
Just as Mikihiko started this synchronization training, he "learned" that
there were people on the outskirts of the hotel.

Originally, he thought they were people out on business or patrolling

soldiers, so he didn't pay much attention.

It was only after the spirits repeatedly notified him that Mikihiko realized
this might be a warning.

Synchronized with the spirits, he spread the spirits' senses towards the
direction they warned him.

What he caught was a thread of "malice".

Mikihiko's expression tightened.
For a moment, he debated whether he should call for backup or engage by
himself.
Mikihiko wasn't confident he could suppress any opponent in his current
state. He was reluctant to admit it, but it was true that he wasn't confident.
Thus, he bit his lip and elected to return to the hotel and call it in.

However, his emotions protested this logical choice.

Something other than logic told him that there wasn't enough time.

The agitation surging through his body was like the spirits warning him to
"act quickly".

Rather than head towards the hotel, Mikihiko charged towards the
"malice".

He was worried.

He questioned whether he was able to overcome the firearms the

opponents were carrying.

Very few Magicians were able to triumph over firearms in extreme close
quarters combat.

If there was cover, magic that was unaffected by line of sight or obstacles
had the advantage.
In situations where cover was not available, Magicians had a hard time
countering the speed at which a trigger could be pulled.

Still, Mikihiko expelled these concerns as cowardice and forged ahead.

Yesterday's events flashed across his mind.

Mikihiko was forced to work as a servant under his father's orders.

Erika said this was due to a clerical error, but Mikihiko knew the truth
behind the matter.

Go and behold where you should be standing.

Two nights ago, his father said that to him.

Working as a servant was only a method to get to his objective.

Maybe Mikihiko's father wanted him to see his peers in glory to shock him
out of his current state.

Maybe his father wanted to arouse an angry determination.

Yet, these words and methods only lodged themselves deep in Mikihiko's
soul as overwhelming humiliation.

At this time, Mikihiko wanted to demonstrate that "he wasn't powerless".

The location was a night sky illuminated by a few sparse stars, but the
Yoshida Family's training methods included nocturnal training in pitch
darkness.
Even relying only on star light, this was no obstacle whatsoever.

As he closed in on the sense of malice that could now readily be identified

as human, Mikihiko prepared his talismans.

Three targets required three talismans.

His targets should have already noticed Mikihiko's approach.

The enmity and malice directed towards Mikihiko verified that these three
were the malefactors.

No time to hesitate.

Enmity had already turned into killing intent.

Hesitation would lead to failure.

The targets' identification were not first priority.

Mikihiko channeled magic power into the talismans and started invoking
his magic.

A flashing light appeared in Mikihiko's right hand, which twinkled in time

with the electricity formed above the malefactors' heads.

Lightning would strike them in less than a second.

Still, it took less than one second to pull the trigger.

Seeing this, Tatsuya immediately made the call and invoked the prepared
"dissolution" magic.
The three handguns in the three malefactors' hands fell apart according to
the change in their information bodies.

Immediately afterwards

The miniature lightning strike threw down all three of the targets.

"Who is it!"
Mikihiko demanded in a stern voice, not towards the enemies currently
lying on the other side of the railing, but to the Magician who came to his
aid from behind.
Mikihiko understood perfectly.

His magic wasn't going to make it in time.

The reason he was uninjured was because another Magician offered his
aid.

This skirmish forced him to concede that his magic had lost its former
alacrity.

"It's me."

"Tatsuya?"

From Mikihiko's breath alone, one could tell that he suffered a terrible blow.
However, Tatsuya only made a brief response and didn't stop before
vaulting onto the railing.

Using personal Weight Magic to lessen the gravitational pull, he easily

flipped over the two meter tall railing.

Mikihiko blankly watched him leave before recovering himself and pulling
out a new talisman and executed the same Weight Magic.

When Mikihiko landed on the far side of the railing, Tatsuya was already
kneeling down next to the fallen intruders.

"Tatsuya?"
This word contained several intermixed questions.

Even Mikihiko himself wasn't sure what he wanted to ask.

"They're not dead. Well done."
Tatsuya appeared to be answering his question regarding the intruders'
status, or he may have seen through Mikihiko's state of panic and elected
to answer in the least confusing manner.

"Ah?"

Mikihiko didn't understand why Tatsuya was praising him.

He masochistically thought that he should be the one who was taken out.

"Limited visibility on the targets, precision large ranged attack on multiple

targets, even with capture as first priority, no fatal injuries were inflicted
and only one blow was sufficient to deprive mobility. I say this rates as an
excellent combat result."

Tatsuya's words were calm enough to be called callous, but just hearing
them alone was enough to know that he was just being polite or
comforting.

The one Mikihiko couldn't believe was himself, not Tatsuya.

"......But my magic originally wasn't going to make it in time and, without

Tatsuya's backup, I would have been shot."

The words sprouted from Mikihiko's mouth were self-derisively beyond his
own control.
"How foolish."

"......Ah?"

However, Tatsuya's direct reprimand was enough to render Mikihiko

unable to continue berating himself.
"'If there was no backup' is only an assumption. Your magic was
successfully able to capture the intruders that is the only truth."

"............"

Tatsuya's merciless scolding and subsequent points astounded Mikihiko.

"In reality, I did provide support, and your magic was successful, so what
do you mean 'originally'? Mikihiko, what exactly did you think was going to
happen?"
"That......"
"No matter how many opponents there are and how well-trained they are,
a Magician should be able to triumph without any backup. I sincerely hope
you are not operating under these assumptions?"

Mikihiko suddenly felt like the bottom of his stomach was giving out.
He understood very clearly how ridiculous the "assumptions" that Tatsuya
referred to were.

Yet, in the inner depths of his heart, did he never truly stop and consider
the assumptions Tatsuya was mentioning?

"Seriously...... I'll intentionally say this again. Mikihiko, you are very
foolish."

"Tatsuya......"

"Why do you reject yourself to this level?

Why do you disparage yourself to this level?

What is it that so dissatisfies you?"

"......Even if I tried to explain, Tatsuya, you wouldn't understand. There's no

point in talking about it."
"There may be."

Mikihiko reacted by throwing up a high wall and retreating behind it, but
Tatsuya's ensuing words smashed the wall to bits.

"Ah......?"

This time it was Mikihiko's turn to be speechless, while Tatsuya pierced

him with a sharp look.

"Mikihiko, you're concerned about the magic activation speed, correct?"

"......You heard that from Erika?"

"No."

"......Then how do you know?"

"Your technique is too verbose."

"......What did you say?"

"My point is, the problem isn't your capability, but the technique itself. This
is the underlying reason why you cannot wield magic the way you desire."

"How would you know that!"

Mikihiko roared.

Because he was in a state of panic.

Because he was exasperated.

The technique he uses was a product the Yoshida Family had refined over
many years by incorporating the aspects of the traditions in Ancient Magic
and the results of modern magic.

After seeing it once or twice, Tatsuya immediately tossed it out as a

blemished product, which threw Mikihiko into a rage.

He always rejected this line of thinking as a vain attempt to escape from

reality, but after hearing Tatsuya bring up this previously ignored topic,
Mikihiko panicked.

"I do know. But you don't need to force yourself to believe me."

Yet, Tatsuya calmly replied to Mikihiko's furious outburst, forcing Mikihiko

to respond with an even more wavering statement.

"......What did you say?"

Mikihiko used the same words as he did before, but this time the tone was
vastly different.

"I can comprehend any magic design that I can 'see', which allows me to
read the details behind any Activation Sequence and to provide an
in-depth analysis of the Magic Sequence."
Tatsuya replied with this outrageous answer.
Mikihiko's panic had hit a peak.
He had never heard of a Magician capable of such a feat and, if someone
with this unique ability truly exists, then half the mysteries facing modern
magic theory would be solved in an instant.

"......Again, you don't need to force yourself to believe me."

Tatsuya repeated his earlier words.

Mikihiko felt like he was telling him "what follows next is your own
problem".

"Let's table this topic for now. Ignoring that for the moment, we still need to
deal with these guys. I'll keep watch for the moment, could you call
security? Or do you want me to go?"

Honestly, with Mikihiko's mental state right now, he was unable to consider
whether Tatsuya's "confession" was true or not, so he desperately clung to
the life line thrown at him.

"Ah, I'll go."

"Understood, I'll wait here."

Mikihiko once more activated his "Leaping" technique and vanished over
the railing.

On the other hand, Tatsuya briefly considered how to restrict the intruders'
freedom of movement, and ultimately elected to bury them. He could use
"Dissolution" to remove the excess dirt, so he needed to use both
"Separate" and "Move" magics. Doing so without a CAD was truly a
tiresome task, but just like the earlier "Leaping", Tatsuya had already
memorized such a simple Magic Sequence and, as long as he performed
them sequentially and not simultaneously, this really didn't pose a problem.

Ironically, this was one advantage gleaned from the artificial virtual Magic
Calculation Area currently residing in his consciousness, which was the
ability to recall any Magic Sequence stored in his memory.

(I'm a devious man.)

He held onto the victim's perspective, but viewed the byproduct as an
efficient tool to use.

Tatsuya smirked at his unprincipled self and prepared to invoke his magic.
But there appeared to be no need for that.

A familiar presence approached, prompting Tatsuya to cancel his magic.

Shortly after, the other person initiated the conversation.

"Special Lieutenant, your earlier suggestion was truly merciless."

"Major, you heard all that?"

Tatsuya didn't detect Kazama eavesdropping.

Which was honestly not that surprising.

Kazama had studied under Kokonoe Yakumo longer than Tatsuya had and
was considered to be Yakumo's second best student. Without linking to the
information dimension, Tatsuya found it very difficult to trace Kazama's
presence.

Tatsuya saluted in greeting, to which Kazama smirked in response.

"Isn't it rare for the usually completely indifferent Special Lieutenant to do

such a thing?"

"Labeling this one 'completely indifferent' is uncalled for."

"Or maybe you sympathize with his plight? That young man shares similar
problems as you do."

"This one has long since graduated from that level of concern."

"In other words, you're someone who's been around the block?"

"......Could you deal with these people?"

Kazama revealed a foxy smile as he mercilessly pressed the attack and

Tatsuya, who had lost all avenues of retreat, finally managed to change
the topic.

"Leave that to me, I'll explain everything to the base CO."

Still, Kazama realized that continuing to pursue this line of questioning

served no purpose.
He retracted his smile and solemnly nodded towards Tatsuya.

"Sorry for troubling you."

"No worries, looks like many unexpected things were added to your plate
as well."

"True. But I wonder what these guys were trying to do?"

"God knows, handling criminals isn't in our job description...... Yet they are
surprisingly capable and proactive. Tatsuya, be wary."

"Yes, thank you for your concern."

"We'll talk in detail tomorrow at noon."

"Yes, sir, then allow this one to depart."

"Yeah, goodbye."

The two of them changed from superior and subordinate to two friendly
disciples bidding each other farewell.
Chapter 5
The day after Tatsuya's unplanned nighttime excursion.

The Nine Schools Competition began without further incident.

In the next ten days, the number of spectators alone exceeded 100,000
people. Even though the location was inconvenient, at least 10,000
spectators came every day to watch the contests, and the number of online
viewers easily surpassed 100 times this number.
While it couldn't draw the same numbers as popular professional sports
games, there was still a large number of people who paid attention to this
event. That being said, very few people knew about the details regarding
last night's incident.

The participants all possessed first class Magic Power but were still high
school students.

The malefactors' attack ended without any meaningful accomplishment, so

the military judged that it would not negatively impact the participants. As
such, they elected to keep the secret.

Rather than calling the opening ceremony glamorous, an orderly

impression was more obvious. The magic contests were gaudy enough in
their own right, so there was no need for any additional ceremony to
embellish the issue, and neither were there tedious speeches from
dignitaries. After the school songs from the nine schools were played in
succession, the events officially began.

The curtains were drawn for the next ten days, where men and women
each competed in 5 events for the Official Division as well as the 5 events
for men and women in the Newcomers Division for a total of 20 events.

The 1st day's events were the preliminaries and elimination rounds for
"Speed Shooting" and the preliminaries for "Battle Board".

The difference in scheduling reflected the time needed for each event.
"Onii-sama, the President is about to take the field."
"So our main strength is taking the stage for the first event, though I recall
Watanabe-senpai's preliminary round is the third one?"
"Yes."
Tatsuya and company headed towards the Speed Shooting stands to
watch Mayumi's event. From the left, the order was Shizuku, Honoka,
Tatsuya, and Miyuki. They were not seated in the participants' area in the
arena proper, but in the regular audience stands.

"Speed Shooting" involves using magic to destroy flying targets from 30

meters out within a limited period of time. The key lies in how accurate and
how fast one could fire magic outwards, hence the name "Speed
Shooting".

The contest was divided into two portions.

In the preliminary round, contestants advanced on individual merit based
on the number of targets destroyed within five minutes.

The preliminary round simultaneously used four shooting galleries to

conduct six contests, with the top eight advancing to the Elite Eight.

Also, only 24 contestants were allowed to participate.

If all nine schools sent three contestants, there would be a total of 27, but
three of the nine lost their right to participate due to their performance from
the previous year and were only able to dispatch two contestants.

Besides "Monolith Code", all events shared this rule.

After the Elite Eight, the event turned into a duel format.
There were 100 red and 100 white targets in the arena, with the total
number of corresponding targets destroyed determining the victor.

"Highly destructive magics can be used during the preliminaries to swiftly

destroy a large number of targets in one go, but after the Elite Eight,
precision targeting is far more important."

Shizuku nodded at Tatsuya's words, as Shizuku was the only one among
them to participate in the Speed Shooting portion of the Newcomers
Division.
"Generally speaking, most people use different magics during the
preliminary and elimination rounds......"
"But President Saegusa is renowned for using the same magic during
these two rounds."

In the middle of Tatsuya's explanation, a young lady behind them cut in.

"Erika."

"Hey, Tatsuya-kun."

"Yo."

"Morning."
"Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki-san, Honoka-san, Shizuku-san, good morning
everyone."

Seated behind Tatsuya and company, from right to left, were Leo, Erika,
Mizuki, and Mikihiko (but the speaking order was Erika, Leo, Mikihiko, and
Mizuki).

The reason why the four of them found these spots was that they were
sitting in the back row.

"Aren't there more spots up front?"

"That's because I saw Tatsuya-kun's group sitting here, and it's easier to
see everything from the back, right?"
"True."

The stands were built like a series of rising stairs, with the higher levels in
the back.

This is an event involving shooting targets at high speed, so the spectators

in the front rows have to possess the same eyesight as the contestants.

Even so, the spectators still crowded forward, because

"Because there are an amazing amount of stupid boys."

Erika disdainfully declared in a way that wasn't altogether joking.

"Looks like there are more than teenager boys mixed in."
Tatsuya replied in a sarcastic tone.

In other words, for this reason, there were no spare seats in the front rows.
"Is this what is called 'Onee-sama~'? How depressing."
"Don't be like that, there might be considerable value up front. Even for
someone like me who sees the President on a daily basis, she seems like
a completely different person now."

"Whoa! Miyuki, what shall we do? Your Onii-sama has fallen for someone
else!"

At Erika's ridiculous words, Tatsuya and Miyuki could only wryly smile.

The subject of their conversation was......

"The 'Elven Sniper', quite the suitable title."

"The President dislikes the term, so make sure not to bring it up in front of
her."

Tatsuya's admonishment caused Honoka to shrug in her neck.

The teenage boys and girls squeezed into the front rows to admire
Mayumi, who was waiting in the first shooting gallery for the contest to
begin.
Mayumi wore a pair of mufflers over her luminous locks of hair, a pair of
transparent goggles, an elastic pair of uniform pants and an upturned tunic
that could be easily mistaken for a mini-suit. Paired with a rifle-shaped
CAD that was mandatory for all Speed Shooting events, this created the
perfect combination of cuteness and heroism as if she was the female lead
in an upcoming movie.

"There are actually people who use the President as the subject for
doujins......"

Mizuki softly said this probably because this getup jolted something in her
memory.

"......That's the first I've heard of that."

However, this came so far out of left field that even Erika was barely able
to manage a response in time.
"......Mizuki, exactly under what context did you come by this knowledge? If
your 'interests' lie in that direction, I may have to re-examine our
friendship."

Looks like Miyuki and Erika were thinking of the same thing. This outwardly
serious voice contained roughly 10% earnestness.

"Eh? No, I don't have those kinds of interests!"

Still, Mizuki was undoubtedly the most shaken.

"It's starting."

Mizuki was in a full state of panic at realizing what they were hinting at, but
managed to snap out of it and quiet down at Tatsuya's words.

The spectator stands were deathly quiet.

The participants were wearing ear muffs, so no amount of audience noise

would affect them, but this was a matter of principle.

The participants raised their slender, elongated rifles that almost looked
like cane-shaped competition-use CADs, while their poise and
concentration caused the silenced audience to grip the edge of their seats.

The flashing light signaled for them to begin.

Targets flew through the sky accompanied by soft firing sounds.

"They're fast......!"

Were the soft words that burst out of Shizuku referring to the flight velocity
of the targets?

Or was she referring to Mayumi's magic that was busy smashing targets
left and right?

Mayumi didn't raise her head and stood stock still with her CAD aimed
forward.
This event never relied on using the rifle to shoot bullets, so there was no
need to visually line up with the target and the CAD never possessed a
muzzle or scope.

Rather than presenting arms, her stance was more akin to drawing a bow.
The targets shot forth at irregular intervals.

A total of a hundred targets in five minutes.

On the average, that was one target every 3 seconds.

Compared to normal shooting, this was a ridiculously fast pace.
Complicating the matter was that sometimes multiple targets shot forth
within a tight interval and sometimes, five or six would fly out after a 10
second interval.

Mayumi shot down every "individual" target without missing a beat.

The five minute contest was over in the blink of an eye.

"......She was perfect."

Mayumi removed her protective goggles and ear mufflers as she smiled in
response to the spectators' applause. Seeing her, Tatsuya murmured as if
he could think of nothing else to say.

"She was using sub-sonic bullets formed from ice particles, correct?"

Miyuki asked as she was applauding, prompting Tatsuya to smile and nod.

"Correct, I'm surprised you could tell."

"......That was trivial enough that even I could see that......"

Erika retorted in a huff, causing Tatsuya to chuckle wryly.

"That's true, seeing the same magic a hundred times certainly makes it
easier."

Someone averted their eyes in shame (probably because they couldn't see
it), but Tatsuya elected to pretend he didn't see them.

"One hundred? She didn't miss once?"

Honoka asked Tatsuya in honest surprise, likely brought about by her

direct personality.
"Correct, the amazing aspect is not the speed of magic invocation or
number of times activated, but the precision entailed. Even using Sensory
Magic at the same time, the individual still needs to use their brain to
process the data. I don't know if it's because she's accumulated enough
experience in repeated calculations or is simply that talented...... She is
truly worthy of being one of the direct descendants of the Ten Master
Clans."

"Did the President use Sensory Magic?"

Mizuki exclaimed in surprise, but the difference was that many people
mirrored her expression this time.

"Long Range Visual Systematic Sensory Magic 'Multi-Observation' is not

meant to examine non-material bodies or information bodies, but observe a
physical object from multiple angles like a visual radar. The President often
uses this sort of magic."

Tatsuya's gaze asked "Didn't you notice?" to which Mizuki shook her head.

"During the school assembly, she would use this magic to 'watch' every
corner, which is a very rare ability...... Don't you think that this level of
shooting is impossible for the naked eye?"

"That's true."

Shizuku immediately replied. During the competition, she was putting

herself in Mayumi's shoes and considering her options in the shooting
gallery.
"Still, the President is using Speed-Type Magic to turn air molecules into
ice particles then applying acceleration to sub-sonic levels and using
Sensory Magic at the same time, right? With Sensory Magic running, and
then using deceleration and acceleration back and forth a hundred times,
the President has amazing Magic Power."

At this point, the "Magic Power" Leo was talking about did not refer to the
"Magic Power" from the technical skills assessment, but the more generic
context of having the physical capacity of repeatedly casting spells.

A common misunderstanding is that magic is an activity that consumes

energy.

Phenomena are not rewritten by burning physical energy, but by editing

the data surrounding the phenomena.
In order to edit the data, a Magic Sequence formed from psions is required,
so the number of times magic can be invoked is limited by the difference in
the scale of Magic Sequences. The "Magic Power" Leo is talking about
here, if likened to an actual concept, would be similar to the mental strain
exerted on the body.

"The President is using a variant of 'Hale Particles'. The original 'Hale

Particles' is already a highly efficient form of magic and with the President's
ability, she could probably cast this 1000 times rather than a paltry 100
times."

Tatsuya's endless praise towards Mayumi elicited complex expressions

from Miyuki and the others.
They also acknowledged that Mayumi's Magic Power was incredible, but
hearing Tatsuya, who was usually very critical on all things magic, give
such unrestrained praise could not help but arouse some jealousy.

On the other hand, Leo was concerned about something else entirely.

"Eh, but to create ice in the heat of summer and then accelerate to
subsonic levels should require a lot of power. Even if conservation of
energy doesn't wholly apply to magic, I still find it hard to believe Tatsuya's
assessment that you can use such a small amount of magic to achieve
such a level of phenomena rewriting."

"While it may not wholly apply, that does not mean they are unrelated."

Tatsuya rose and headed towards the "Battle Board" spectator stands
while responding with this mysterious answer.

"What do you mean?"

Leo chased after Tatsuya and asked again.

"Magic is a technique that involves changing phenomena and is not limited
by conservation of energy. However, the object being rewritten remains
bound by the law of conservation of energy. For example, if you apply
Speed Magic to an object, without using magic to maintain its condition,
the accelerated object will turn cold, since the objects own heat is being
converted to energy of motion; if you cast Heat Magic on a speeding
object, without using magic to maintain its velocity, then the target object
will slow down, since the object's energy of motion is being converted to
heat. Generally, magic strives to avoid changing unrelated aspects by
adding in measures to maintain the status quo, so there's rarely an
opportunity to observe this in action.
The laws of physics are very difficult to circumvent and, even when altered
by illogical forces like magic, it will attempt to revert back to a logical
outcome. Thus, magic that does not break the law of conservation of
energy remains a 'natural' phenomenon and from a magic perspective, it
does not require high interference strength.

You should understand by now, right? The magic used to accelerate the
ice particles is based on taking the heat that is removed from the frozen
particles and converting it into the energy of projectile motion, thus
scamming the laws of physics. While this runs counter to the law of entropy
and is something that would never occur in nature, it's a more logical
explanation than simply constructing ice particles, accelerating the ice
particles with magic, then applying thermodynamics."

"......I get the feeling that I've just been conned."

"Leo, magic is an ability used to 'deftly deceive the world', remember that."

"In other words, we Magicians are con artists out to ruin the world?"

"The stronger the Magician, the more likely he's a crook."

Tatsuya was utterly serious as he explained all of this, but at Erika and
Shizuku's added commentary, he could only smile in response.

"Battle Board" was a contest where the participant used a spindle-shaped
surf board that was 285 cm long and 51 cm wide to navigate an artificial
waterway. The surf board had no propulsion of its own, so the participants
needed to use magic to arrive at the finish line. During the course, attacks
on other players themselves or their boards were forbidden, but magic was
allowed to be cast on the water's surface.

There was no unified set of rules for this event. This contest was originally
designed by the navy to train Magicians, so with magic as a prerequisite, it
was impossible for this event to be popularized enough to warrant a unified
set of rules.
The Battle Board portion of the Nine Schools Competition involved
completing three laps around a 3 km long waterway. The waterway
possessed straight courses and sharp turns as well as uphill and waterfall
portions.
Men and women each raced on a separate track, but there were no
notable differences in difficulty.

The preliminary stage contained six rounds with four contestants each,
while the elimination stage contained two rounds with three contestants
each, with the four eliminated players competing for third place. The finals
were held in a duel format.

The average duration of each round was 15 minutes.

The highest speed may exceed 30 knots which is roughly 55~60 km per
hour. Atop the surf board, the players had no cover against the incoming
wind. Unlike other nautical races that could benefit from being downwind,
Battle Board was entirely against the wind. Just dealing with the air
resistance alone quickly sapped the players' endurance.

"Female contestants usually have a hard time in this event. Honoka, how
are you physically?"

"No problems. On Tatsuya-kun's advice, I've been undergoing physical

training. After being selected, I've also lengthened my hours of sleep."

Unrelated to the Nine Schools Competition, Tatsuya was concerned about

Honoka's physical stamina from the first moment they met and thus
advised her to not just undergo magic training, but also physical training as
well. Tatsuya merely mentioned this out of hand, but Honoka surprisingly
took it to heart.

"Honoka really put on some muscle."

"Ew, Miyuki, don't be like that. I don't want to be a female body builder."

Hearing this two-sided conversation, even Tatsuya laughed aloud.

"You see...... Even Tatsuya-kun laughed."

"He's only laughing because Honoka's spoken in an odd manner."
"Now even Shizuku is saying so...... Fine, I know when I'm being excluded.
I'm not like the two of you Tatsuya-kun isn't willing to take care of my
event."
Honoka's sudden tantrum mystified Tatsuya so much that he couldn't laugh
any more.

Exactly why was she gunning for him now?

"......I'm responsible for Honoka's support and maintenance during 'Mirage
Bat'."

At any rate, Tatsuya only responded to her literal complaint.

However......

"So 'Battle Board' isn't included? Plainly, both of Miyuki and Shizuku's
events are within Tatsuya-kun's purview......"

This seemed to have achieved the opposite effect.

"......Instead, I've helped you train and strategize, so it's not like I'm
excluding you......"

While trying to justify himself, Tatsuya felt himself falling into a sticky
predicament and started to stutter.

"Tatsuya-kun, Honoka-san isn't referring to that."

Upon seeing this, Mizuki interrupted, but it didn't sound like she couldn't
stand this scene any longer.

"Onii-sama...... I think you're being a little too slow."

Following Mizuki, it was Miyuki's turn.

"We've discovered Tatsuya-kun's unexpected weakness."

And Erika next.

"Blockhead?"

Shizuku also joined in on the attack.

Under siege from the women, Tatsuya was struck speechless. He felt that
they were being ridiculously illogical, but at the same time he felt that
resistance was futile.
Not that he got any support from the guys.

Until the contest began, Tatsuya could only patiently endure this situation.

With the waterway ready and the contestants assuming ready positions,
Tatsuya finally escaped.

On route, he understood what Miyuki and the others were driving at.

That being said, understanding another's proposal was entirely different

from being able to act on it.

In the future, he needed to be more prudent and keep his mouth shut
Tatsuya inwardly promised himself as he watched the four contestants
float towards the starting line.

Being that this is on water, there's no way to draw lines (not that anyone
could even if they wanted to).

Four people lined up along the passage, with Mari standing in the middle.

The other contestants were kneeling on one knee or both to prepare to

charge, only Mari stood straight.

This scene primarily reflected the difference in balance between the

participants, but from another perspective, Her Majesty the Queen was
lording over the other participants (not just the queen, "Her Majesty" the
Queen).

"Whoa, that woman is just as arrogant as usual......"

Hearing Erika's whisper, Tatsuya felt that she was displaying her enmity
"as usual".

Still, he had just vowed to "keep his mouth shut", so he refrained from
commenting.

Leo and Mizuki, who were seated at Erika's sides, also seemed oblivious.

The giant screen hanging from the airship in the sky displayed all four of
the contestants' names.

Only Mari revealed a fearless grin.

She truly is the perfect type to play the antagonist's role, Tatsuya thought.
However, many among the female high school students would disagree
with him.
When the announcer responsible for identifying the participants proclaimed
Mari's name, the stands especially the front rows fairly shook from
feminine shrieks.

Mari waved in response, which only intensified the screams.

"......Looks like our senpai has a crowd of diehard fans."

Compared to the young men who supported Mayumi, the insanity of this
group was several times more intense.

"Watanabe-senpai cuts a dashing figure, so I can sympathize somewhat."

Miyuki agreed from a bystander's perspective. Ironically, after the Nine

Schools Competition, Miyuki would possess eternally loyal fans from either
gender that far outnumbered Mayumi's male fans and Mari's female fans. If
she could foretell her own future, Miyuki may resonate with the same
feeling lurking beneath Mari's mask as she smiled at her fans, but right
now she couldn't care less.

"Battle Board" was a contest held at the height of summer, but the
contestants did not wear swimsuits.

The bodysuits that tightly covered the entire body bore the emblems of
each school.

As Mari stood above the water, her hair fluttered as it hung from the hair
band keeping it in place, painting a picture that would not be out of place
on the cover of a novel about young cavaliers.

Erika should have heard Miyuki's words, but she didn't immediately
respond.

"Get set......"

The loudspeaker sent out the signal.

At the crack of a gun, the race was on.

"Self-detonation tactics?"

Erika murmured in disbelief.

Tatsuya was similarly struck speechless.

When the race started, the contestant from Fourth High detonated the
water behind them.
She probably intended to create waves to disrupt the other players while
riding the waves for further propulsion, but......

"Ah, she stabilized."

Creating a giant tidal wave was useless if it disrupted your own balance.

Mari had successfully charged in the beginning, so she wasn't affected by

the chaos caused by the contestant from Fourth High and was now
completely in the lead.

Mari's surf board was sliding over the water's surface.

She probably wasn't using Move-Type Magic to steer, but treated the
board and her physical body as one entity, or even casting magic on two
objects simultaneously her body itself and the board.

Regardless of which it was, this required precise target selection for magic.

The board clung to the water's surface and deftly rounded a sharp corner.

Her stability was so complete it was like her feet were glued to the board.

"So she's re-calculating Application-Type Fortifying Magic along with

Move-Type Magic."

Tatsuya didn't need to dissect the Magic Sequence. He saw through the
mechanism based on Mari's posture and methods for maintaining balance
as she coursed through the water.

"Fortifying Magic?"

Leo's ears pricked up at those words and immediately asked.

This was an area that Leo specialized in, so there was no way he wasn't
interested.
"What's the target for fortification?"

"Senpai stabilized the connection between herself and the board to avoid
falling off."
Leo adopted a questioning look probably because he couldn't follow
Tatsuya's meaning.

Naturally, Tatsuya never demanded that he catch on so adroitly.

"Fortifying Magic isn't only used for strengthening an object's durability, but
to stabilize an object's corresponding location, do you understand so far?"

"Of course, because I use it myself."

"Watanabe-senpai cast magic to stabilize her position and connected

herself to the board to form one object, then applied Move Magic to this
now uniform 'body' that consists of herself and the board. In addition, this
isn't a sustained-type magic but alternating between Fortifying Magic and
Move Magic at appropriate intervals based on the changes in the terrain to
deftly avoid magic overlap."

Owing to the fact this was a magic he specialized in, Leo could understand
this was an extremely complex technique.

"Wow......"

Leo sighed in amazement.

On the other hand......

"Yet, this method seems to be lacking something...... True, the target of

Fortifying Magic isn't restricted to objects formed from the same material.
Hm, given that......"
Thanks to his habits as an engineering prodigy, Tatsuya fell into a deep
thought that would not be out of place for a mad scientist.

"Onii-sama?"

Miyuki's voice roused him from his contemplation.

During the brief moment where Tatsuya averted his gaze, Mari's figure had
already disappeared around the blind spot and was lost to sight.

Tatsuya vaguely replied with "It's nothing" and focused his attention back
onto the large screen.
Mari was gliding up the waterways against the current.

"Speed Magic."
From her movements, she must have used a technique that reversed the
vectors for acceleration.

"And also used Oscillation-Type Magic, right?"

At the same time, she employed magic to create reverse waves to lessen
the water resistance.

"Nicely played, she's juggling three to four magics together during

re-calculation."

Tatsuya's praise burst from his mouth.

None of the magics were particularly powerful.

Yet, the combined effect was unimaginably powerful.

Compared to Mayumi, who had raised high speed precision magic to an art
form to stun the audience, Mari relied on lightning fast decision making and
wide variety of tools to paint a veritable rainbow of overlapping magics to
delight the audience.
The two of them had already far exceeded high school quality.

After Mari reached the peak, she leaped down the waterfall.

The moment Mari splashed down, an obvious tidal wave splashed

outwards.

The tidal wave generated by Mari not only propelled her forward, but also
nearly upset the player in second place who was behind her.

"What a strategist......"

"That's just a devious personality revealing itself."

Erika replied with an angry retort to Tatsuya's whispering. Tatsuya half

agreed, so he didn't make any particular rebuttal. That being said, "a
devious personality" was high praise for a strategist.
Before the first lap was even finished, Mari's victory was all but certain.

Battle Board's preliminary stage was slated for today and after lunch
only the fourth through sixth rounds were left. After deciding to watch the
semifinals and finals for Speed Shooting, Tatsuya bid farewell to his
friends.
He returned to the hotel and walked towards the rooms reserved for
higher-ranking officers. This is to fulfill the promise he made to Kazama
last night.

Kazama held the rank of major, but his experiences and the unique nature
of the troops under his command granted him treatment above his official
rank. In this suite that was normally restricted to colonels and higher,
Kazama was enjoying a quick break with the officer cadre while enjoying
the tea and snacks ordered from room service.

"So you're here, come, sit."

Tatsuya was brought into the room by the soldiers on duty (not soldiers
from this base, but under Kazama's direct command) and even though
Kazama extended a cordial invitation for him to be seated, Tatsuya
hesitated upon seeing who the officers were.

Tatsuya's rank "Special Lieutenant" was not a "commissioned officer" but

"a non-commissioned officer recognized as a soldier by international
standards" (presently, this country's battalions no longer possessed the
"associate officer" system). Soldiers that were not restricted by the
military's ranking system but still maintained the right to participate on the
front lines could only be found in the Independent Magic-Equipped
Battalion's command structure during active duty. However, even without a
built-in ranking system, everyone present was still a superior officer and,
more importantly, an elder, so he couldn't casually accept such an
invitation.

"Tatsuya, today we're not treating you as 'Strategic-Class Magician Special

Lieutenant Ooguro Ryuuya', but as our good friend 'Shiba Tatsuya', so
being too formal would only be inconvenient."

"It's also difficult to converse with you standing all the time, so why don't
you take a seat?"

At this time, the two officers at the table also motioned for Tatsuya to sit.

"Captain Sanada, Captain Yanagi...... Understood, pardon my interruption."

Friendship that transcended age prompted Tatsuya to abandon his overly
formal attitude to avoid being impolite. After a round of greetings, he sat
directly across from Kazama.

They were seated at a round table.

The afternoon tea time for the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion was
for them to relax and unwind.
Even though Tatsuya's seat was closest to the door, the adults still
welcomed him as one of them.

"First of all, long time no see. I know we shouldn't use tea cups for this, but
cheers."

"Second Lieutenant Fujibayashi, thank you."

The female officer serving as Kazama's adjutant more like secretary

handed him a tea cup, which Tatsuya accepted on a small plate while
signaling with his eyes.

Today, she was in casual clothes rather than in uniform, which gave off the
aura of "a young secretary from a major corporation".

Not just her, but everyone was in suits or casual garb where the shirts
didn't match the jacket.

"In reality, we met earlier, but let's cut Fujibayashi some slack."

"Dr. Yamanaka, you don't need to force yourself."

"No, I'm not that unsociable to ruin the moment when we raise cups to
celebrate our reunion."
"......The doctor's just looking for a reason to pour some brandy into the
teacups, right?"

"The situation demands alcohol."

"Really...... I thought 'doctors not treating themselves' meant something

else entirely......"
The one who leisurely replied to Captain Yanagi's confusion was doctor
and first class healer Combat Medic Yamanaka.

Including Kazama, there were 5 people in total who shook their heads in
exasperation, which were all the officers from the Independent
Magic-Equipped Battalion who greeted Tatsuya.
"Captain Yanagi, Second Lieutenant Fujibayashi, it's been a while. Captain
Sanada, thanks for your recent support."
Tatsuya started off with greeting the two he hadn't seen for some time,
then finished with thanking Captain Sanada who assisted him at the base
last month.

"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you. Only you are capable of
handling 'Third Eye's' long range precision targeting system."

"That's because that CAD was originally designed for this one to use......
Speaking of which, Doctor Yamanaka, I haven't received the examination
results from last time."

"......Tatsuya, am I the only one being treated differently?"

"Doctor...... I don't think anyone could view a doctor who directly asked for
permission to conduct human experimentation in a positive light."

Fujibayashi retorted at Yamanaka's words.

Yamanaka deliberately turned his head to one side.

Laughter suffused the round table.

Though they claimed that it had been a while, in reality it's not like they
haven't seen each other for years.

Yanagi was the one who had been absent the longest at approximately six
months, while Sanada and Yamanaka were last seen about a month ago.

The topic naturally turned to a sit rep where they conversed about the
criminal organization that may seek to act during the Nine Schools
Competition.

Just as they had discussed over the phone, the malefactors from last night
were part of "No-Head Dragon". Unfortunately, they still had no information
regarding the group's intent and goals. That being said, any one of the five
people here (especially Yamanaka) could easily obtain results if they were
in charge of interrogations, but currently they didn't want to proactively join
the investigation.
"Still, that was quite the show you put on last night, or were you prepared
ahead of time?"
"The Major overestimates this one's abilities, this one only caught wind of
their presence while out on a stroll."
"That late?"

"Because CAD maintenance ran over time."

Owing to their similar age, the one Tatsuya spoke with the most in this
group was of course Second Lieutenant Fujibayashi. Thanks to her military
training, she possessed a magnificent figure that most people dared not to
look at too openly, yet her amicable attitude and mundane wardrobe and
make up allowed Tatsuya to comfortably converse with her.

"No wonder you're participating as a member of the technician team. Do

your teammates know about 'Silver'?"
"Negative, that remains a secret."

Tatsuya shook his head as he replied to Yamanaka's question.

"Given the class difference, am I the only one who thinks that you serving
as a CAD engineer in a high school contest constitutes cheating?"

"Captain Sanada, Tatsuya is a bona fide high school student."

Sanada grinned as he brought up a legitimate complaint. Fujibayashi

smiled as well as she deflected Sanada's comment and turned back to
Tatsuya.
"Why didn't you enter as a participant? I think that you would enjoy
considerable success with your flash cast abilities. If necessary, even
excluding 'Material Burst', you at least have 'Mist Dispersal' to fall back on."

"No, not only are both 'Material Burst' and 'Mist Dispersal' classified, their
destructive power also exceeds the limits set by the competition. In
addition, 'Material Burst' is only accessible with 'Third Eye'."

"But you brought the 'Trident' along, right?"

"That's also against the rules, specifically the ones regarding

competition-use CADs. Furthermore, flash cast is one of the Yotsuba
Family's secret techniques."

Tatsuya smiled wryly as he refuted Fujibayashi's suggestion.

Immediately afterwards, Yanagi continued in a helpless tone:
"Fujibayashi...... You're actually suggesting we use Strategic-level
'Disintegration' Magic 'Material Burst' in a high school competition. I'm
calling shenanigans."

"I also don't believe that there will be an opportunity to use 'Material Burst'
in the Nine Schools Competition. However, in last year's competition, the
scion of the Juumonji Family used 'Phalanx' and the young lady from the
Saegusa Family cast 'Magic Shooter', so I don't think using 'Mist Dispersal'
is out of bounds."

"Fujibayashi-san, the Juumonji Family's 'Phalanx' ability is defensive

magic, so there's no destructive power involved. Likewise, the greatest
advantage in the Saegusa Family's 'Magic Shooter' is its sheer flexibility in
force applied, so its destructive power also varies. On the other hand, 'Mist
Dispersal' is indisputably an A-rank magic in destructive power that is able
to reduce an object down to its molecular level, so they cannot be
compared side by side."

"Aha, Captain Sanada, didn't you know? Destructive power is only

measured in the events of the Nine Schools Competition that could affect
the players themselves, so Speed Shooting and Icicle Destruction are not
within its jurisdiction. Interestingly enough, the handbook that emphasizes
safety first glosses over this point."
The Nine Schools Competition was changed to the current format 10 years
ago. Of all the people present who had participated in the Nine Schools
Competition, the only who had fought under the current rules was
Fujibayashi, who assisted Second High in claiming the crown in her year.

Just as the two of them were about to embark upon a heated debate
regarding their specialties, Kazama halted them in their tracks.
"Regardless, we cannot reveal any magic that constitutes a military secret
before so many witnesses, so there's no point in discussing this, is there?"

Kazama intervened in his subordinates' debate like a man fighting off a

headache.

Suddenly, his face assumed an emotionless mask as he turned on Tatsuya

in a voice like cold steel:
"Speaking of which, Tatsuya, you understand that if you are called upon to
serve as a participant......"
"Major, this one understands. If forced into a situation where 'Mist
Dispersal' must be deployed, this one will choose to forfeit and accept his
defeat."

Even with the sword still in its scabbard, Tatsuya could still tell the
difference between real blades and bokkens. At any rate, seeing Kazama's
serious attitude with a merciless blade lurking behind him, there was no
way Tatsuya could misread Kazama's intention.
Kazama and Tatsuya both learned from the same master and there was a
definite bond of friendship between the two. Yet, their mutual
apprenticeship and friendship were not the first priority in Kazama's mind.
If necessary, Kazama would abandon Tatsuya without any hesitation, and
Tatsuya would do likewise.

"......However, this one cannot imagine any situation where he would be

forced to participate as a player."

"That's a mental block. So long as you understand the situation."

Among everyone else's laughter, Kazama and Tatsuya fixed each other
with an intense look and ended the conversation.

As the saying goes, "only God knows", but even with this in mind,
Tatsuya's perspective was the more logical possibility. Both of them were
of one mind on that point.
Nevertheless, neither Kazama nor Tatsuya were completely confident in
Tatsuya's assessment of his own predicament.

"Tatsuya-kun, over here, over here!"

This was the competition location for the Women's Speed Shooting event.
After bidding farewell to Kazama's group and leaving their tea break,
Tatsuya returned to find the stands bereft of spare seats. As he searched
through the crowd for his friends, Erika found him first and called out to
him.
"The Elite Eight must be that popular."

Tatsuya waded through the crowds and sat down next to Erika.
"That's because the President is on next the other rounds don't have
nearly as many spectators."
Tatsuya's words were only his private thoughts murmured aloud, but
Miyuki, who was comfortably installed on Tatsuya's other side, politely
responded.

This time, the sitting order was like this: Miyuki sat behind Leo, Mizuki was
behind Erika, Honoka behind Tatsuya, and Shizuku behind Miyuki.

"Honoka, am I in your way?"

Tatsuya had hit a growth spurt since entering high school and was now
nearly 180 cm (178 cm to be precise), and even with the difference in
seating height, he was still worried that he was completely eclipsing
Honoka's view.

However, Honoka grinned as she shook her head at Tatsuya, who had
turned around to ask.

"Is that so...... By the way, where's Mikihiko?"

"He said he wasn't feeling well, so went back to his room to rest."

As Erika replied to Tatsuya's inquiry, her expression clearly added a "how

useless" afterthought.

"He's likely affected by anxiety. I would probably faint if I wasn't wearing

my glasses."

Mizuki spoke on Mikihiko's behalf.

No wonder, Tatsuya thought, this was a natural side effect for those who
with acute senses.

He was highly interested in their respective emotional states, but opted to

leave it be for now.

The instant Mayumi appeared on the shooting platform, a storm of cheers

shook the observation area.
The screens placed around the observation deck flashed the words
"Silence Please", causing the cheers to die out immediately.

With the absence of any sound, the anxiety level spiked.

Tatsuya pitied her opponent a little.

Regardless of the competition, when facing a superstar, there was always

added stress and anxiety.

Maybe he was concerned on the opponent's behalf.

As if completely tuning out the spectators' cheers, Mayumi flicked the
safety off for the rifle-shaped CAD and prepared herself for the match.

The tournament used lights to signal the start of the match.

From the Elite Eight onwards, the contest format resorted to duels. A
hundred red targets and a hundred white targets were fired into the air and
the victor was decided by who destroyed more of their designated target.

Actually, so long as no targets were shot forth by the machine, the round
hadn't started yet.

Even so, for Speed Shooting players, the five signal lights remained the
horn that sounded the commencement.

The first light flashed.

The lights gradually increased. Once they hit the peak, porcelain discs
began filling the sky.

The white discs danced through the sky.

Mayumi's target color was red.

The red-tinted targets all shattered the moment they entered firing range.

"Impressive......"

Tatsuya privately agreed with the sighs coming from behind him.

It was truly impressive.

From a strategic perspective, this wasn't the most efficient method.

By taking down your own targets, your opponent wouldn't have to worry
about accidentally gifting you points. The opponent could fire at any target
they could see.

However, Mayumi's overwhelming power rendered this tactic moot.

"Eh?"

Honoka let out a gasp.

Shizuku made no noise, but from her breathing patterns, she was no less
astounded.

"The 'Magic Shooter'...... Is even faster than last year."

Tatsuya's eyes were locked onto the flying discs and nodded at Miyuki's
words.

For red discs obscured by the white discs in the sky, the ice particles shot
through them "from below".

They weren't homing projectiles, as no one would test their luck with such
inefficient magics.

This long range magic was attacking the red discs with ice particles from
locations that were not obstructed by white discs.

She wasn't creating magic bullets, but shooting them hence the name
"Magic Shooter".

There were many magic abilities that could affect targets at long range.
In the Speed Shooting contest, Mayumi's use of bullets to snipe the target
was actually the exception. Mainstream tactics involved casting
Oscillation-Type Magic on the discs themselves to shatter them, or
applying Move-Type Magic to have the discs collide into one another.
Magic is not hampered by physical obstacles, so discs that are usually
obscured from sight don't actually require a special skill to destroy.

In that case, why was the so-called "Magic Shooter" who specialized in
using magic bullets from long distances deployed in this contest? What
was her advantage?

The answer was that this magic allowed the user to strike from the blind
spots outside of her opponent's casting range.
For example, assume that both players are using Oscillation-Type Magic
on the discs in the same Speed Shooting round.
When the red and white discs are in close proximity, the two magics may
interfere with one another and cause an unpredictable result such as
fizzling altogether or releasing ultrasonic shock waves.

When casting magic in the same general vicinity as other Magicians on the
same long distance targets, one must carefully select the firing position
and then apply strong interference.

The duel format for Speed Shooting was originally designed to test magic
invocation speed and Magic Power, but with Mayumi sniping the targets
from beyond her opponent's firing range, she effectively created a pocket
of space where she was casting magic without interference.
Her opponent naturally enjoyed the same advantage.

In that case, the duel was decided solely on speed and precision targeting.

In terms of speed and precision targeting, Mayumi's Magic Power ranked

among the foremost in the world.

High school students simply couldn't compare.

The first day's round of "Speed Shooting" went as everyone predicted, with
Mayumi earning a crushing victory in the Women's Division and the Men's
Division also securing First Place.

"Congratulations, President!"

Mayumi smiled widely as she nodded to accept Azusa's praise.

"Thank you, Mari also advanced into the semifinals."

She shifted her gaze to the side.

"Currently, everything is going according to plan."

In her line of sight, Mari nodded in response.

As the night deepened, after catching a bite and some time in the bath, the
only thing left was proper rest to restore what was lost during the day, so
the female members (including the Public Morals Committee Chief) all
congregated in Mayumi's room.
The first day's events were over and Mayumi still had to compete
tomorrow, so they could save the official celebrations until after they seized
the crown. Presently, they only raised cups of juice to celebrate.

The reason only women were present was because of time constraints.
Still, it wasn't like they were planning on a pajama party, so even if men
were present it wouldn't be an issue.

Given that, the reason why only women were present was because
"It got tense for a bit, but Hattori managed to pull through."

Just as Mari's lifeless words implied, victory for the Men's Division was not
assured. "Speed Shooting" secured First Place as predicted, but the
"Battle Board" preliminaries turned out to be a hard fought contest.

"Seems like the CAD wasn't properly adjusted for him. After the round,
Kinoshita-senpai and I were both working on it, but......"

"It wasn't finished."

Hearing Azusa's words, Suzune examined the maintenance reports from

all members from her terminal.

"Kinoshita's skills aren't bad......"

"Alas, they're not exceptional either."

Mayumi stuck up in Kinoshita's defense, but could only smile bitterly at

Mari's direct analysis. Still, Azusa felt that this assessment was overly
critical.

"Well...... I don't think Kinoshita-senpai is at fault here. I feel that

Hattori-kun's been out of sorts since arriving here."

"What I'm about to say may be harsh, but it is also up to the technician to
take the player's mental status into account."

Yet, Mari swiftly rejected this defense.

"That may be true...... But......"
Mari was right in that this was the technician's duty, but the player also had
a responsibility towards their own mental preparation.

Azusa thought of this, but kept it to herself.

"OK, Mari. Stop picking on A-chan."

Mari's logic regarding players and Azusa's logic regarding technicians
weren't right or wrong, but frankly parallel to one another. This required the
leadership to intervene.

"Fortunately, Hattori-kun doesn't have to compete tomorrow, so it's up to

the two of them to work it out...... Still, now the question becomes what are
we going to do with the players Kinoshita-kun is responsible for
tomorrow?"

"Kinoshita-kun is the secondary technician for the Women's 'Crowd Ball'.

Since he is the backup, I think that we'll still be OK without him."

"Yeah...... With Izumi there, I think we'll be OK......"

"Isn't leaving everything to Izumi too risky? There are six locations for
Crowd Ball and two people appearing at the same location in the first
round, and three people advance during the first round, then all three are
in the second round at the same time. While Mayumi can cover for herself,
this scenario naturally assumes the two others require CAD maintenance.
Even if there is a larger interval between rounds, we still wouldn't have
enough time based on our initial estimates. Wasn't that the whole point for
having assistant technicians in the first place?"

Suzune supported Mayumi's decision but Mari looked reluctant. Her

protest was born of the profound understanding of the importance of CAD
maintenance and not disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing, but bringing
up a valid argument for debate. Assigning shorthanded personnel was just
such a difficult task.

"Why don't we pull the Men's assistant technician, Ishida, over to double as
the Women's assistant technician?"
The Women's competition was in the morning while the Men's competition
was in the afternoon, so Suzune's suggestion was valid from a scheduling
point of view, but Mayumi vetoed it.
"If he had to perform maintenance during the morning and afternoon, that's
too heavy of a workload for Ishida-kun. 'Crowd Ball' is the event with the
highest number of rounds on that day."

"Then, can we call on Shiba-kun, who has no players scheduled for events
for the next two days?"

After a brief moment of consideration, Mayumi nodded in agreement

towards Suzune's proposal.

"......That might be for the best. Then, Miyuki-chan, can you alert
Tatsuya-kun for us?"
"Of course."

Miyuki smiled as she nodded her head to accept Mayumi's request.

For Miyuki, any opportunity for her Onii-sama to shine was more than
welcome.

"......No wonder you visited at this hour."

Although they were siblings, this wasn't the time for young ladies to visit
rooms belonging to those of the opposite gender.

Tatsuya waved Miyuki to sit on the bed and helplessly murmured.

"......Did I inconvenience you, Onii-sama?"

Miyuki fidgeted as she watched Tatsuya nervously.

"No, thank you for notifying me, but......"

Until now, so long as Miyuki had that particular look in her eyes, Tatsuya
never took a hard line with her.

"Even at a hotel, this isn't the time for young women to leave their rooms
by themselves, right? Also, there's been a few incidents lately, so
suspicious individuals may be lurking in the corridors."
At the very least, this was a military facility, so the security was much more
intense than first class civilian hotels.
Miyuki felt that this was an exaggeration, but was very pleased that
Tatsuya was worried about her.

"Yes, Onii-sama, I apologize."

"I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with smiling and apologizing at
the same time......"

Tatsuya complained as he also smiled. Rather than calling his earlier

words a scolding, they didn't even qualify as complaints. On top of that,
Tatsuya dearly loved Miyuki, so he would never harshly reprimand his little
sister.

"At any rate, thank you for letting me know, I'll escort you back to your
room."

Tatsuya rose from his chair but Miyuki frantically stood up and waved her
hands.

"No, I can go back by myself. Isn't Onii-sama busy right now? I've already
interrupted your work, so I shouldn't take up any more of your time......"

"While I was in the middle of something, this was more for leisure than
anything else, so don't worry about it."
Tatsuya closed the lid of the notepad terminal as if he wanted to avoid
letting his sister see it.

"But, wasn't that a CAD code?"

Miyuki wasn't fluent with hardware, but under Tatsuya's influence, she had
a decent grasp of software specifications.

She was unable to fully decipher the meaning with just one glance, but
based on the serial numbers and coding language, she could identify the
code for Activation Sequences.
"This little thing isn't related to the competition itself, so there's no problem
if I set it aside for now. Also, the code itself is more like a toy than anything
else."

"A...... toy?"
"I came up with a new idea for a close combat weapon, but there's almost
no practical value in it besides shocking the opponent a little. Even if I
completed it, there's no market for it."

"If that's the case, it still qualifies as pioneering new magic, right? I don't
think Onii-sama's inventions are pointless."

"Probably reserved for entertainment purposes...... Anyways, this isn't

particularly important, so there's no rush to finish. You are, of course, 'first
priority'."

"Oh dear...... Really, Onii-sama, you actually said that I'm 'more
important'......"
(Wha?)

Seeing his sister clasp her face in both hands and lower her head, Tatsuya
plainly felt something odd had occurred.

Apparently, his earlier words had gone in a completely mystifying direction.

(She got the literal meaning right, but somewhere a fatal language error
must have occurred......)

This confusion could not be dispelled immediately, but Tatsuya still

snapped out of it faster than Miyuki.

"......Let's head out."

"Yes, Onii-sama...... And...... Miyuki is the same as Onii-sama."

"Meaning......?"

"Miyuki also sees Onii-sama as the most important person."

"............"

Looks like his sister was still out of it he hoped.

Right now, Tatsuya clung onto that belief.

Chapter 6
The second day of the Nine Schools Competition.

Wearing the jacket of the technician team, Tatsuya stood near First High's
pavilion in the competition area.

Since the colors ceremony, this was the second time he wore this jacket
(only participants were present for the opening ceremony).

Including the suit he wore for the meet and greet, and this jacket, he was
unable to dispel that uncomfortable feeling.
Still, Tatsuya knew that this was mandatory, so he had to get accustomed
to this.

"What is it? In a bad mood?"

"No, it's nothing. Why would you think so, President?"

Tatsuya solemnly replied to Mayumi's question, but was inwardly flustered.

Tatsuya believed that his poker face was flawless, but was he really so
easy to read?

"Hm~ I wonder why?"

"Hold on, you shouldn't be asking such a vague question either......"

Tatsuya felt powerless, but only mentally.

Looks like the reason wasn't because he was telegraphing his feelings or
that his breathing patterns gave him away.

However, Mayumi being able to pinpoint Tatsuya's thoughts without any

warning was far more terrifying and almost threatening.

"Ignoring that for the moment, is there anything you need, President?"

Tatsuya set aside this matter for now not like he could do anything even
if he was concerned and inquired why Mayumi sought him out before
the contest began.
"Just checking on your status...... Did you memorize all the data?"
The decision to appoint Tatsuya as the assistant technician for the
Women's "Crowd Ball" was made on the spot last night, so in order for
Tatsuya to adequately adjust the players' CADs, he had to hurriedly
memorize every player's psion specifications.

"Yes, I did."

"Everyone's?"

"Yes, I did."

After Tatsuya repeated the exact same, brief statement twice, Mayumi
stared at him with her eyes wide in shock.

"This might seem like hindsight...... But Tatsuya-kun is amazing. You don't
happen to have instantaneous recall or photographic memory, do you?"

"Compared to you, I rather have a more typical Magic Power."

"From a student's perspective, that's an impossible luxury."

Obviously, Mayumi was guaranteed a spot in the magic universities without

taking the entrance exams, but she still said this.

Accompanied by her using both hands to rub her puffed up cheeks.

"............"
"Hm? What's wrong?"

Tatsuya started massaging his temples using his thumb and index finger
while Mayumi slightly tilted her head to one side.

"President, are you...... Never mind."

"?"

Tatsuya originally wanted to say "Are you actually this way and not
acting?", but forcibly swallowed those words which was a wise decision.

"......Isn't the contest about to start?"

"Indeed, let's go."

"Ah?"

"I said, let's go?"

"......Yeah, you're right."

CAD calibration was forbidden while the contest was ongoing, but
calibration might be necessary immediately after the round was over.

That's why it was perfectly natural for the technician to follow the
contestant around rather than waiting by the pavilion even so, there was
no need to proceed into the court at the same time, but Tatsuya walked
alongside Mayumi the entire way.

"Miyuki-chan is at the observation deck?"

This was the first thing she said as they walked together.

"She went to watch 'Icicle Destruction'."

Mayumi's question didn't cause Tatsuya to think "Why do you ask?", but
rather "It's this question again?".

"So...... The two of you actually act independently sometimes."

Tatsuya was careful to keep his expression neutral and not allow his
displeasure to show at this answer, whereas Mayumi nodded in an
expressive manner.

Tatsuya felt somewhat miserable.

"......In your eyes, are we attached at the hip?"

His expression was probably thoroughly miserable.

Mayumi hurriedly shook her hands in denial.

"Ah, no, I know that's not the case. I know that you two are apart while
running errands for the Student Council and during class, so, how do I put
it...... Perception, it's all a matter of perception!"

"President...... For Magicians, perception is reality."

The increasingly humid and heavy gaze prompted Mayumi to break out
into an invisible sweat.
The heavy atmosphere persisted until the two of them reached the courts.
Once they reached the arena, Tatsuya felt that this would negatively
impact morale, so he forcibly reined in his expressions.
Yet, when Mayumi took off her cooling jacket (a sports jacket with a built-in
cooling system based on thermodynamics), Tatsuya's poker face almost
slipped.

"......Are you wearing that in the competition?"

"Yes."

Mayumi's matter of fact nod caused Tatsuya to feel a headache incoming.

"Are you really wearing that uniform during the competition?"

"Eh, is it strange? ......Does it not suit me?"

"............It suits you perfectly."

"Is that so......? Tee hee, thank you for your compliment."

Mayumi happily started stretching, while Tatsuya carefully scrutinized her

one more time for verification.

No matter how he looked at it, his eyes didn't deceive him.

Polo shirt paired with miniskirt could only be described as a tennis uniform,
which was more attentive to the latest fashions than competitive
practicality.

Leaning slightly would cause the skirt to sway and reveal the petticoat
beneath.

"Crowd Ball" was a physically demanding sport.

The shooting device uses compressed air to shoot a 6 cm diameter ball

with low elasticity which players used rackets or magic to send towards the
opposing courts, with the number of goals determining the victor. Each
round lasted three minutes in a court encased within a transparent box.
Every twenty seconds, another ball would be introduced to the mix with a
total of 9 balls in play in the end, leaving the players no time to catch their
breath.
Players usually wore T-shirts and shorts, though some opted to wear
elbow and knee protectors to help with diving.
If wielding magic alone, there would be no need for running or wearing
protective gear, though players that forgo the racket usually wear more
protective gear on the court.

Usually, no one would wear clothing that would leave their limbs exposed.

(Then again, given who this is, her dictionary probably doesn't contain the
word "impossible".)

Tatsuya arrived at this conclusion after a moment of observation and

accepted this facet of reality.

"Tatsuya-kun...... Are you contemplating something impolite?"

"I wouldn't dare. You don't need a racket?"

This piercing accusation forced Tatsuya to sidestep quickly and adopt a

more formal tone to change the topic.

"Yeah, this is my usual style."

For a moment, Tatsuya thought she was referring to the "tennis uniform"
style, but Mayumi obviously meant a style that "only relied on magic".

"Which CAD are you using?"

"This one."
After Mayumi spoke, she pulled out a handgun-shaped Specialized CAD.

The gun barrel was fairly short, hence it was commonly known as the
"short model" while a select minority referred to them as the "civilian
model" (Tatsuya's CAD was a "long barrel", which the select minority
referred to as the "carbine model").

Handgun and rifle-type CADs were both equipped with aim modifiers in the
gun barrel. The "gun barrel" was actually the location of the targeting
reticle for magic calculation (the relative coordinates for the Eidos within
the information dimension) that functioned like a motion sensor.

The longer the gun barrel of the CAD, the greater the emphasis placed on
the aim modifier.
On the other hand, for Magicians that only cared about the activation
speed of Specialized CADs and didn't require any aim modification, the
short model provided everything they could possibly want.

"I recall that the President usually ran Generalized CADs?"

"That's usually the case, but I'm only using one this time."

Mayumi's comment was very abstract, but Tatsuya correctly interpreted

this to mean "Since this contest only requires one magic, I chose a
Specialized model".
"Move-Type Magic? Or Reverse Speed Magic?"

"Correct, it's 'Multiple Bounce'."

Mayumi was carefully stretching, so she didn't play coy with Tatsuya
before answering his question.

"Tatsuya-kun, could you give me a hand?"

"No problem."

Mayumi sat on the ground with both legs spread and Tatsuya gently
pushed her back.

With practically no resistance, her chest was pressed against the ground.
"Using multiple bounces to take advantage of the kinetic energy
vectors...... But wouldn't relying only on this magic pose a considerable
risk? If the inelastic balls lose momentum along the floor or walls, you
would have no way of sending them back to the other side."

Tatsuya could feel some body heat flowing across his palm as he softly
whispered a warning.
"Hm! Hm hm hm...... Whew, I also prepared a few other Speed-Type
Magics, but I never resorted to them last year."

She spoke nonchalantly, but this required a significant difference in

strength to fuel this confidence.
Once again, Tatsuya realized how incredibly powerful Mayumi was
compared to everyone else.

"That's fine."
Mayumi stretched to the left and right four times then informed Tatsuya to
let go.
Tatsuya straightened and backed off a few steps whereas Mayumi closed
her legs and raised a hand towards him as she looked at him.

Initially, Tatsuya wasn't certain what Mayumi wanted, but once he noticed
her watching him intently with an increasingly displeased expression, he
quickly got the message.

Tatsuya came around to her front and grasped her outstretched hand.

A dainty, delicate hand.

With a soft tug, Mayumi rolled handily to her feet.

"Thank you."

"No, you're welcome."

Tatsuya personally felt that his response was very cordial, but for some
reason Mayumi was very happy.

"Hm~ What a novel feeling."

"Ah?"

That comment came out of the blue.

Tatsuya replied on reflex and Mayumi smiled in response.

"I have older brothers and young sisters, but no younger brother."

"Hm......"

Tatsuya was aware of this.

Unlike the Yotsuba Family that was shrouded in secrecy, the Saegusa
Family was always in the public eye.

Every birthday for the children drew crowds of guests to celebrate in

grandiose fashion.
This only required a cursory investigation of the members of the Saegusa
Family, so it wasn't very difficult.
If he remembered correctly, besides two older brothers, she also had a pair
of twin sisters in 8th grade.

"Tatsuya-kun never treated me differently, right?"

"I personally don't believe I'm pretending to be overly familiar with the
President......"

Wary of falling into a trap, Tatsuya replied cautiously, but Mayumi laughed
lightly.

"That's not what I meant. You wouldn't be on guard against me, flustered,
or uneasy, right?"

Ignoring the first one for now, wouldn't the latter two only occur under
conditions that Mayumi had created herself? Tatsuya thought but didn't
verbalize.

"You address me with the proper honorifics, but in reality you're not being
overly polite either. I thought you were a cold person, but you still go along
with my selfish requests, so I think this is what it would be like to have a
younger brother."
Tatsuya involuntarily widened his eyes at Mayumi.

Indeed, excluding her height, Mayumi had a well-rounded personality, a

surprisingly feminine side and, while it was hard to notice, she did care
about others in her own way so she fit the bill for an "older sister" perfectly.

Yet, in all honesty, having an older sister like that would probably mean a
lifetime of stress.

"......Heaven knows, I only have a little sister after all."

"That's true."

Mayumi smiled serenely as she gazed at Tatsuya. This smile was enough
to cause people to suspect she had forgotten the contest altogether.

Acutely uncomfortable, Tatsuya looked for an opportunity to escape.

"Excuse me, I think I should check on the other players' status."

"There's no need."
Unfortunately, with the intercession from a third party, his plan of egress
was dashed.

"Ara, Izumin."

"Saegusa...... You're still up to your usual name-calling."

The person who looked like she was fighting off a migraine was a female
student wearing the same type of jacket as Tatsuya. She was a 3rd Year
student in the technician team Rika Izumi.

"Would you prefer Rika-chan?"

"You're doing this on purpose! Eh, forget it, just call me Izumin."

"So Izumi-senpai, what do you mean by there's no need?"

Tatsuya had already learned this lesson; playing word games with Mayumi
was a ceaseless struggle.

He completely disregarded Mayumi and Izumi's exchange and focused

only on the first sentence.

"Hm? Oh...... Tatsuya-kun, you go ahead and take care of Saegusa's

contest, I'll handle the other side."

The female student called Izumi did not express a favorable attitude
towards Tatsuya's inclusion on the technician team.

Rather than being elitist, her problem likely arose from pride.

She probably believed that she was capable of handling the situation even
without Tatsuya's assistance.

"Is that so, I understand."

In reality, Tatsuya really wanted to beat a swift retreat, but since the
division of labor was so clearly defined, he had no way out.

So Tatsuya nodded without making any further comment.

"Then it's up to you."

Izumi left those words as a footnote and quickly departed.

"She's not a bad person......"

Mayumi exuded a powerless aura as she watched Izumi's departing figure,
but the soft words that she spoke for Tatsuya's benefit went in one ear and
out the other.

Regardless of what course of action Izumi took and how Mayumi tried to
defend her, both were utterly immaterial to Tatsuya.

"Crowd Ball" was a sport that shared many similarities with tennis and
racquetball, but there were no serving rules.

Each session lasted three minutes with a three minute break tucked in
between sessions, with a total of three sessions per round (the Men's
Division had five sessions).

After a signal announced the start of the contest, balls shot forth by
compressed air would be released every 20 seconds and an insane flurry
of balls would ensue until the ending signal.

Generally, that was the case.

However, the contest unfolding before Tatsuya's eyes was not so.

Mayumi's opponent mirrored her in that they only chose to wield magic.

As expected of the participants who signed up for this contest, they had an
exceptional grasp of Move-Type Magic.

Her opponent seemed to rely on physical movement to complement her

perception and hurriedly aimed the short model handgun-shaped CAD that
she held in both hands at each ball.

The balls caught in the Move-Type Magic changed direction before they
fell into her half of the court and flew towards Mayumi's half of the court in
an unnatural arc and rebounded at double the speed once they passed
across the net.

Every ball. With no exception.

Mayumi stood in the center of the court and held her CAD in both hands
before her chest.
As she held her CAD as if she was praying, Mayumi's eyes glinted with a
mysterious light as she gazed slightly downwards.
Just this alone was sufficient to deny her opponent from scoring a single
point.

Visually, the distance was roughly 10 cm.

That was how far her opponent's balls were allowed to invade her position.

Mayumi's magic did not make any precise adjustments to the balls.
Neither did she aim for her opponent's blind spots, but purely rejected
every ball back towards her opponent. Towards every trajectory that her
opponent altered, she retaliated from every angle with what must be an
incredibly difficult magic.

Yet, the only one relentlessly scoring was Mayumi.

The score was a complete landslide without Mayumi yielding a single point.

When the whistle sounded for the end of the first session, Mayumi's
opponent powerlessly fell to her knees on the court.

This crumbling motion perfectly reflected her opponent's overwhelming

despair.

Mayumi appeared perfectly calm and collected as she wielded her magic
with a majestic flair, but her emotions were nowhere near as peaceful.

Hearing the whistle, she couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

During this contest, she felt herself fall into a bitter struggle.

She wasn't being conceited, but she knew from a purely objective sense
that her Magic Power far outstripped her opponent. As long as she could
maintain the course, victory was assured during the next session.

The problem lay in the pair of eyes fixed on her from the side of the court.

Mayumi was accustomed to the gazes of other people.

Since her youth, she had always dwelt in the public eye.
No matter if the gazes were filled with pure admiration or hiding dark,
jealous, or other naked negative emotions, Mayumi dealt with it as if they
were the very oxygen that surrounded her.
Nevertheless, the gaze that she endured for the past three minutes was
altogether unlike anything she had felt before.

As if every inch of her was beneath a microscope.

That was not simply someone seeing her naked or something like that
(though that was also a major problem in and of itself).

The look that Mayumi felt from him from Tatsuya, was not something so
superficial.

Not just her skin, but everything beneath the flesh and bone that made
up her physical attributes, her consciousness, emotions, value system,
temperament, habits, hobbies, the experiences that made her who she
was today, the talent and diligence that supported her thus far
everything that constituted the person "Saegusa Mayumi" was being
decrypted and bared beneath the sun. This pair of eyes caused her to feel
an unfamiliar sense of dread.

This was the first time Tatsuya observed Mayumi's contest from a close
proximity.

Still, he should have observed the 1st Year participants under his care
multiple times during practice at this distance, yet none of the 1st Year
participants complained of being ill at ease.

Mayumi believed that none of the younger women could withstand this
feeling.
In that case, this feeling was either her own misconception, or
something that only she could feel.

Right now, she was in the middle of the three minute break where the
players would usually towel off the sweat or grab a drink of water.

Unfortunately, her bag containing her towel and water was next to Tatsuya.
Walking off the court was the same as actively moving towards where
Tatsuya was waiting where he lay in ambush.

Mayumi was a little scared of leaving the court.

That being said, she couldn't stay on the court either. Even though she
hadn't moved a muscle during the earlier session, she should definitely
take the opportunity to take a break right now. Not only that, she needed to
replenish lost moisture and head towards the next court.
She wouldn't have cared if she shocked the Operations Committee
Members, but with her position, she couldn't afford to worry the students
that came to cheer her on.

Mayumi took a deep breath and expelled all her unease and worry.

(Forget it, women need to be courageous!)

Mayumi ordered her feet to start walking.

"Good work."

At her underclassman handing her a towel, Mayumi felt a sense of

disappointment as that nameless dread seemed to fade away like a dream.

As usual, any thoughts he had beneath that serious visage were

completely obscured by the poker face that even she couldn't read. This
young man gave her a formless and unidentifiable sense of dread, but at
the same time provided a miraculous sense of relief that he would never
betray her.

Her earlier comment about "having a young brother" was something

spontaneous or intended to tease Tatsuya. While phrased as a joke, on
some level it reflected Mayumi's real thoughts.
Mayumi came to the conclusion that being afraid of him was ridiculous, so
she adopted an obstinate attitude.

"Don't say good work yet, the contest hasn't ended, so this isn't the time to
relax."

Tatsuya was on the representative team, but he wasn't a participant

himself.

He was only on duty before and after the contests and was merely a
bystander during the events, so telling him "this isn't the time to relax" was
very odd, but Tatsuya made no mention of it despite noticing this.
"No, it's over."

He was pointing towards a more practical matter.

"Ah?"
"The opposing participant is unable to continue and, even if she was going
to enter the second session, would definitely keel over from exhaustion in
the middle. The auxiliaries from the other side are also aware of this, so
this round will conclude with their surrender."

Mayumi turned around to find the opposing team's tactical advisors

discussing with the panel of judges about this exact topic.

The participant was sprawled on top of a long chair while covered in

medical detection equipment.
"Psion exhaustion due to continuous magic invocation. Most likely a
mistaken assignment. She was a little lacking to be your opponent,
President."

"......You understood that much just from seeing that?"

"So long as I can 'see clearly'."

There was no way the panel of judges could hear Tatsuya speak, but the
moment he finished speaking, the panel announced that Mayumi's
opponent had withdrawn.
Dazed, Mayumi stood stock still without budging, an extremely rare side of
her that would normally prompt a laugh. Yet, Tatsuya did not smile, merely
urged Mayumi to start moving.

"Let's return to the pavilion. It's best to review your CAD and prepare for
the next round."

"Yeah, you're right, I'll leave that to you."

Right now, Tatsuya was completely in control of the situation, but Mayumi
didn't make any pointless resistance as she followed Tatsuya after picking
up her bag.

After Tatsuya activated the maintenance device, Mayumi handed him her
CAD and plopped down beside him.
Not across from him.
Mayumi wasn't wearing her cooling jacket that extended to her knees so
she was still in her "tennis uniform" that she wore for the match, but this
wasn't because she was in a teasing mood, rather that Tatsuya was no
longer causing her to feel unnaturally cold.

The two of them were close enough that their shoulders could rub against
one another, but Tatsuya never spared a glance towards her exposed
thighs.

Nor was Mayumi upset by this.

Her concentration was completely devoted to the maintenance device as

well as the personal CAD currently attached to the machine.
"Don't you need to measure my current status?"

"The duration was only a paltry 10 to 15 minutes, so even if I could rewrite

the code, there wouldn't be any time to test it, so there would be little point
in taking the extra time to run measurements."

This occurred quite often during their mutual conversation, but this time
Mayumi involuntarily tilted her head.

According to what he just said, this sounded like he could get a ballpark
estimate completely independently of the machine......

"......You can tell visually?"

"Of course, surely the President knows as well?"

"That......"

"The President also knows that as long as they're Magicians, they can tell
whether magic's activated normally or if a CAD is functioning normally
without the use of machines, right?"

"This I know."

"On some level, I'm just a little more knowledgeable."

Tatsuya continued to watch the scrolling character strings.

Mayumi was very interested in exactly what this "some level" was, but she
didn't dare to disturb an engineer at work to satiate her curiosity.
Tatsuya removed the CAD from the maintenance device and turned off the
power before inspecting the trigger and Activation Sequence circuit, then
personally handed the CAD back to Mayumi.

Just as he promised, he never touched the code inside.

Mayumi privately heaved a sigh of relief (she thought she managed to hide
it, but Tatsuya saw everything), but owing to some reason, after she
received the CAD, she curled her finger around the trigger and put it on her
thigh.

"President...... That's a little disconcerting, can you not point the muzzle at
me?"

Strictly speaking, a CAD doesn't have a "muzzle".

Large, rifle-shaped CADs are usually equipped with image detectors at the
front that gives the impression of the "muzzle" from a laser gun, but
regardless of whether it was a long or short model, the "gun barrel" was
made of metal.

Still, the overall design mirrored that of a real firearm, so those that are
aware of the danger guns pose would naturally feel uncomfortable staring
down the "muzzle".
"Ah, sorry."

Tatsuya wasn't certain how familiar Mayumi was with this situation, but she
frankly apologized and shifted her CAD and left the muzzle pointed at
herself.

"I should be the one apologizing for troubling you with such trivialities."

"Please don't concern yourself, this is basic manners after all. So how is
it?"

Mayumi's question was once again overly simplified, but Tatsuya had no
problems navigating through her cryptic meaning.
"I felt that the calibration was well executed. No overclocking, no
unnecessary unique features, it was a faithful job done strictly by the rules.
There was an overemphasis on stability that led to a more convoluted
Activation Sequence in some areas, but taking the President's Magic
Power into consideration, I'd say this garners full marks."
At any rate, this wasn't the time for needless flattery or nitpicking, so
Tatsuya bluntly made his assessment.
Tatsuya answered this question with his eyes still watching the Activation
Sequence display on the maintenance device, so when he turned around
he discovered Mayumi in a profound state of embarrassment.

"Is that so......? Hehehe, that makes me incredibly happy."

The corners of her eyes were dyed pink as she slightly averted her eyes
with a bashful smile.

Compared to blushing obviously, this reaction was even more awkward.

"......Is that so?"

The reason why Tatsuya asked was that he was honestly lost on how to
respond, but the real question lurking at the bottom of his heart was that
Mayumi should have long been inured to hearing such praise on a daily
basis.

"Indeed, to receive the compliments of someone who usually gives scant

praise, isn't that something worthy of being happy about?"

Tatsuya didn't believe that he was a completely mature adult.

From an objective standpoint, he felt that he was still an immature child.

That being said, Mayumi's assessment made him out to be one of the
fringe members of society unable to feign politeness, which he thoroughly
disagreed with.

"......I can be just as polite as anyone else."

However, Tatsuya's rebuttal only earned a sweet smile from Mayumi that
clearly said she saw through his subterfuge.

"So you were just being polite just now?"

"......No, I wasn't."
Mayumi's delighted smile struck Tatsuya in the wrong way, but continuing
this conversation served no practical purpose.

Also, there was no reason he had to respond in the first place.

Unruffled, Tatsuya calmly accepted Mayumi's smile.

Among the Nine Schools Competition, "Crowd Ball" was the event with the
most matches this day.
In terms of pure number of matches, "Monolith Code" was the one sport
among the other six that had the most matches. "Crowd Ball" and "Icicle
Destruction" each had five, but "Monolith Code" and "Icicle Destruction"
were split across two days, whereas "Crowd Ball" had to finish all 5
matches within half a day.
The allotted time was short, but the nature of the event and the fact that
each session lasted three minutes with almost continuous magic invocation
with no chance to catch a breather combined to create a situation that was
in no way less arduous than the other events.

Thus, how to gauge the use of Magic Power was absolutely vital for seizing
the gold in this event.

The goal was, of course, two consecutive victories.

During the match, the players weren't trying to send back every ball
haphazardly, but to take into account which shots should be allowed to
score in order to properly pace themselves.

Mayumi, who could continuously channel her magic throughout the entire
session, was undoubtedly an outlier in this situation.

Even so, Mayumi didn't charge forward and rely solely on her strength in
battle.

She also adopted strategies of her own.

Two consecutive victories was absolutely mandatory this would prevent

people from saying "Wait, didn't she just power through to victory?"

By choosing magic that was unsuited to this event by solely rebounding

the balls back, this was to avoid exhaustion from continuously replicating
magic this also denied people from claiming that "She's not actually
rationing her Magic Power, right?"
Owing to these reasons, her philosophy in battle was to go all out from the
start without a trace of hesitation.
Yet, when the second round started, Mayumi was struck by a rare sense of
confusion.

Her status was excellent.

Just like earlier, half the round was already over with her opponent unable
to score a single point during the first match.

Her confusion came from a completely opposite reason.

(How......?)

True, thanks to her opponent withdrawing from the first round, she had
more time to rest than usual.

Still, this was a tightly packed schedule with 5 rounds crammed into half a
day.

Usually, her mental and physical status would be gradually worn down
from exhaustion, but they would definitely not show a marked improvement
that even she could notice.

Thus, there must be some reason behind this highly unusual circumstance.

Mayumi could only think of one possible explanation.

As soon as the ending whistle sounded

Mayumi decided to interrogate her perfidious underclassman.

"Tatsuya-kun, I thought you said you didn't alter the Activation Sequence?"

This was completely opposite from how the first round ended.
As soon as the judges confirmed the end of the round, Mayumi stormed to
where Tatsuya was on the sidelines.

Mayumi's accusatory appearance caught Tatsuya by surprise, but he still

replied back in a calm manner.

"I never touched the Activation Sequence and there shouldn't be any
performance issues, unless you noticed something wrong?"
"Liar!"
Mayumi pointed a finger at Tatsuya's nose, her whole stance quivered like
it was about to give off "Bishi!" sound.
"The efficiency of magic construction was significantly higher and, since
there was no time to change the hardware, the only possibility is that you
altered the software!"

"......So the efficiency coefficient wasn't lower, but higher?"

Tatsuya's clearly befuddled question took the wind out of Mayumi's sails.

"That's true...... But......"

This would be a whole other story if efficiency dropped, but Mayumi finally
noticed that her attitude was wholly ridiculous for someone coming to
complain that her performance had shown marked improvement.

"Regardless, why don't you take a seat first?"

Still wearing a baffled expression, Tatsuya handed her a towel, which

Mayumi accepted awkwardly before sitting down with a look of
consternation on her face.

"The efficiency coefficient rose likely because the garbage was removed."

Tatsuya sat half a body length away from Mayumi and intentionally didn't
watch her as he softly settled her down.

"Don't mess around with me. I was watching you the entire time. You didn't
take apart the CAD for cleaning, nor did you use any cleaning fluids,
correct?"

Mayumi said petulantly, but Tatsuya replied back patiently.

"No, I wasn't cleaning the hardware, I was removing the unnecessary

software."

CAD performance was also affected by the user's mental condition.

If the user didn't trust the engineer, then this would obviously negatively
impact the CAD's performance.
Since he did act without giving prior warning, which meant that he did not
go through the informed consent phase, Tatsuya still felt that it was
necessary for him to give an in-depth explanation.
"The President's CAD had system files left over from earlier versions of the
OS, so I had these removed. While previous system files rarely accumulate
these garbage files, that doesn't mean that they are completely removed
either. By completely erasing these files, CAD performance can be
improved by a few percentage points. However, this usually would not
bring about an immediately noticeable improvement, hence I didn't inform
you beforehand. This just goes to show that the President's senses are just
that refined and I was being overly rash."

"Ah, that...... If that's all it is, then don't worry about it."

Tatsuya's excessive bow and apology prompted Mayumi to frantically

wave both her hands.

"In that case, this also shows that Tatsuya-kun was dutiful in all regards, so
I should be the one apologizing for suspecting you in the first place."

When Tatsuya raised his head, Mayumi was also bowing to him in
apology.

Tatsuya couldn't help but note how swiftly she was able to shift gears.

"Then, let's end this conversation here."

He also felt that she was someone who could readily admit her own
mistakes.
"You're right."

Must be from a composure born of maturity.

"Then, Tatsuya-kun......"

Even so, it wasn't like she was taking the high ground either.

"What is it?"

"That calibration method...... or do you call it garbage cleanup? Can you

teach me later?"

No ill intent whatsoever.

"No problem, but please focus on your next match."

"Of course, leave that to Onee-san!"

At this stage, choosing to adopt an older sister's attitude could make
anyone smile.

And so, Mayumi completely denied her opponent from scoring a single
point. She won every match 2-0 without yielding a single point and took
sole possession of the crown for the Women's "Crowd Ball".

"Icicle Destruction", also known simply as "Pillar Knock", was held in an
outdoor arena that was 12 meters long and 24 meters wide. The field was
divided into two halves, each with 12 ice pillars that were 1 meter wide and
2 meters tall, with the victor destroying all the pillars in the opposite field
first.

Thanks to this, "Icicle Destruction" required preparation on a massive

scale.

Requiring hundreds of huge ice pillars that needed to be kept frozen during
the height of summer, it greatly limited the number of arenas, even with the
military's complete support.
Owing to the limits on ice production, the Nine Schools Competition could
only afford to prepare two arenas for both the Men's Team and Women's
Team for a total of 4 arenas. Each of the two sites had 12 matches in the
first round and six matches in the second round for a total of 18 matches,
which was the maximum limit for one day.

"Nevertheless, this is a contest that severely depletes Magic Power. If they

held every match in one day, many of the players wouldn't make it. For the
single elimination contest on the second day, there's an extremely short
interval between each match. Thus, there is some truth in the saying that
'Icicle Destruction is won by those with the greatest stamina'."

Tatsuya was lecturing on the details while the one listening and nodding
was Shizuku.
Miyuki was also present, but if his sister was the only one here, then
Tatsuya wouldn't have to explain at this particular time.

The three of them weren't in the audience stands, but the auxiliary working
area.
Their goal was to watch Kanon's match from close proximity to get a first
hand experience of what the contest was like.

Kanon was busy discussing the final details with Isori, so this wasn't a
good time to interrupt them.

Everyone went to watch the Men's "Crowd Ball" contest.

Sayaka came to cheer on Kirihara, Erika chose to accompany her and
roped Mizuki into the mix, then Mizuki invited Mikihiko to come along,
finally culminating with Mikihiko grabbing Leo. And that's how it was.

After hearing Miyuki's report, Tatsuya maintained a "what a duplicitous

bunch" feeling. As for who among them was duplicitous, some things are
better left unsaid.

Kanon finally stepped onto the stage.

There were two platforms that stood four meters high at the two ends of
the arena.

The players had to use magic to defend the icicles in their own half of the
court while simultaneously destroying their opponent's icicles.

After entering the arena, all restrictions on magic safety were removed, so
this was publicly acknowledged to be the most intense of all the magic
contests.

"Shiba-kun."

After seeing Kanon off to the platform, Isori turned to wave at Tatsuya.

"Let's go too."

Isori invited Miyuki and Shizuku, who brought Tatsuya with them.

Behind the platforms where the players stood, there was a special
observation deck for support personnel.

Here, there were several devices responsible for monitoring the players'
physical condition as well as a large window for viewing the competition.

"How's Chiyoda-senpai's status?"

Tatsuya felt that it was impolite to remain silent, so he supplied an
icebreaker question.
"She's very motivated, to the point that I'm a little concerned that she's too
fired up and will lose steam in tomorrow's matches."

With a smile on his face, Isori answered Tatsuya's customary question.

There was no trace of unease on his face.

"I heard that senpai won the first round in the fastest time ever recorded."

"Well, that is Kanon's personality...... I earnestly hope that she would be a

little more prudent, so those watching over her could relax somewhat."

Tatsuya was quite interested in Isori's wry smile and response.

Tatsuya was accompanying Mayumi all through the morning, so of course

he missed the first round in the morning.

He only knew that Kanon claimed the first round using the least amount of
time possible.

That being said, while the match time was very short, quite a few of her
own icicles had fallen

"It's starting."

Shizuku's soft voice prompted Tatsuya to direct his gaze back towards the
arena.

With the shrill sound of the starting whistle, the earth groaned.

"Mine Genesis."

This was no Mine Field, this was Mine Genesis.

The scene before Tatsuya's eyes forced him to speak its name.

Versatility and speed were the crowning advantages of Modern Magic.

Nonetheless, Magicians are also human, so there are fields where they
specialize at or are not adept at.
Since magic talent is inherited, blood relations within a family naturally
share similar aptitudes towards magic fields.
The Yotsuba Family, with each family member excelling in a unique area,
was a notable exception.
Within influential families, besides everyone's individual names, family
members that share a notable skill usually share a second name as well
almost like a special title.

Some of the more famous ones include the Juumonji Family's "Phalanx".

The Ichijou Family's "Rupture".

The Saegusa Family did not have a system that they did not excel at, so
they were ironically referred to as "Omnipotent".

The Chiba Family was known as "Magic Swordsman" this title referred
more to their skills and techniques than any unique talent the family
possessed, but was still used to refer to this family as a whole.

The Chiyoda Family was known as "Mine Genesis".

The Magicians of the Chiyoda Family specialized in using Long Range

Solid Matter Oscillation Systematic Magic, particularly when it comes to
using Earthshaker magic.

Dirt, rock, sand, cement, all materials were irrelevant.

A powerful oscillation could be applied as long as the solid matter was

recognized as the "Earth's surface". This was the true face of the Chiyoda
Family's specialty "Mine Creation", with the Chiyoda Family's title derived
from "Mine Creator" = "Mine Genesis".

The opposing field suffered vertical vibrations that ran perpendicular to the
epicenter, with two icicles collapsing each time.

Her opponent tried to counter with Move-Type Magic "Compulsory Arrest"

in an effort to stifle any motion on part of the object, but "Mine Genesis"
continued switching targets at a speed that her opponent was unable to
match, so by the time five of her twelve pillars had collapsed, her opponent
abandoned all pretense of defense and concentrated solely on the attack.

"Huh?"
"What?"

"?"
Tatsuya and the others all expressed their astonishment in different ways,
whereas Isori smiled wryly from the side.
As he watched the pillars on his side collapse without any resistance, he
shook his head helplessly.

"Should I commend Kanon for going all out or criticize her for being overly
reckless...... Her methodology revolves around going for the jugular before
she gets KO'ed."
"No, well...... I hardly feel that this is the wrong tactic."

Her opponent had switched from defense to offense, and her resistance
was suitably lowered.
By the time the number of pillars left on her side dipped to six, Kanon had
already collapsed every pillar in her opponent's territory.

"Victory!"

Kanon smiled widely as she flashed a victory signal while descending from
the platform.
The target of her smile was, of course, Isori.

Isori's face plainly said "what am I going to do with you", but he was
wearing the same smile.

"How should I describe this......"

"Match made in heaven?"

Miyuki was reluctant to voice her opinion, but Shizuku had no such
compunctions.

"You two should say that they understand one another perfectly."

Hearing the two of them, Tatsuya smiled wryly for a completely different
reason.

Still, Tatsuya also acknowledged that they were a "match made in

heaven".

The two of them had a lot of synergy.

The player and the auxiliary, even though they didn't step onto the stage
together, the two of them were in the fight as one.

Yet Tatsuya thought.

If they were a pair with so much synergy, would Isori be able to fulfill his
duties to the utmost when paired with other players?
There were 40 players and only 8 technicians.

On average, each technician was responsible for five players.

Tatsuya was in charge of the 1st Year Women's Team, but that was still six
people, seven if you counted the the impromptu addition in the morning.
Once they forged an intense emotional bond with one individual player,
could they put forth their all with the other players?

Tatsuya was also facing that quandary.

Would he really go all in for Shizuku or Honoka the same way he would for
Miyuki?

"......Shiba-kun, what's up?"

"No, it's nothing."

It's not like he could actually ask Isori something like "Do you work so hard
for every player?".

Tatsuya replied back in completely inane and normal manner to muddle

through Isori's question.

After securing advancement to the third round, Kanon and company
with Tatsuya, Miyuki and Shizuku in tow returned to the pavilion in high
spirits, only to frown at the dour atmosphere suffusing the camp.

"......What happened?"
Isori asked Suzune, who was probably the only one who maintained her
usual attitude.

Suzune turned around to reveal an even more blank emotion than normal.

"The Men's 'Crowd ball' event didn't perform as expected we're

recalculating the odds right now."
The standings in the Nine Schools Competition were determined by the
aggregate score from each event.
First Place received 50 points, Second Place received 30 points, and Third
Place received 20 points.

Fourth Place finishes in "Speed Shooting", "Battle Board", and "Mirage

Bat" netted 10 points. "Crowd Ball" and "Icicle Destruction" only awarded
points to the top three, so the three teams that are eliminated in the third
round each receive 5 points.
For "Monolith Code", First Place would receive 100 points, Second Place
receives 60 points, and Third Place only gets 40 points, which makes it the
single largest event in terms of points.

Half the points from the Newcomers Division would be added into the total.

This was the score breakdown for the Nine Schools Competition.

Anyone not in the top four or six would receive no points, so even if First
Place was out of the question, taking Second through Fourth place was
still valuable in scoring points to contest the overall victor. According to this
breakdown, advancing as many players in as many contests as possible to
the single elimination or duel phases was one of the keys to victory.

"Not performed as expected means......"

"The players were eliminated during the first, second, and third rounds."

Isori asked with trepidation while the voice that answered him was quite
indifferent by comparison.

"While we held onto next year's right to compete, this result was thoroughly
unexpected."

The voice was largely indifferent likely because the person being
questioned was struck heavily by the news.
Compared to the other events, the Men's "Crowd Ball" lineup was certainly
lacking in firepower.

Regardless of the fact they didn't possess an ace like the Women's "Speed
Shooting", "Crowd Ball", and "Battle Board" or the upcoming Men's "Icicle
Destruction" who was "assured of victory", they still should possess
enough talent to compete for First Place.
"The Newcomers Division is a little harder to estimate, but based on our
current lead, if the Women's "Battle Board", Men's "Icicle Destruction" as
well as "Mirage Bat" and "Monolith Code" all seize First Place, we're still in
the clear."

A 2nd Year student from the tactical advisory team made the report.
Tatsuya, who was just listening as a bystander, felt that this threshold was
a little high.
Including both the Men's and Women's contests, they wanted to claim First
Place in four of the six remaining events in the Official Division.

Katsuto and Mari could be relied on to win the gold in their respective
events, but based on these calculations, if any accident were to occur, they
ran the risk of morale reaching a breaking point.

Still this wasn't something that Tatsuya had to concern himself with.

He was probably overstepping his boundaries by worrying about these

things.

Compared to the points, Tatsuya personally was more mindful about

something else.

Kirihara was participating in the Men's "Crowd Ball" event.

Certainly, Kirihara had a reckless side to him, but he also possessed a

strong sense of duty.

He wouldn't be depressed because of this turnout, would he......?

After the day's events had drawn to a close, Tatsuya found Kirihara near
the hotel's rest area close to dusk.

Outwardly, he looked perfectly normal.

Sayaka was sitting next to Kirihara.

Kirihara was working hard to keep up a cheerful appearance, but Tatsuya

could tell at a glance that he was forcing a smile.

"Kirihara-senpai, thanks for your hard work."

"Ho, so it's Shiba."

Of course, Tatsuya could have chosen to pass by the rest area without
saying a word, but he didn't do so.
"I was taken out early in the second round, and quite badly at that."

He was definitely putting on a strong front, but he recovered faster than

Tatsuya suspected.
Maybe athletes were more accustomed to victory and defeat and were
more resilient when it came to dealing with the bitterness of defeat.

Tatsuya always lost when he was trading blows with his master so he
didn't have any real "competitive" experience, and could only rely on logic
to explain this.

Tatsuya was unable to judge whether this was an appropriate moment to

offer words of comfort, so he elected to speak the truth.

"Senpai was unlucky to draw Third High's ace that was favored to win the
event in the second round and only lost by a grand total of eight points
after losing three out of five matches. This favored player was exhausted
from the long struggle with senpai and was promptly eliminated in the third
round, so this was a Pyrrhic victory for him as well."
"......Man, you're one blunt guy."

Tatsuya never bothered to sugarcoat the defeat and delivered a cold

analysis that didn't smack of comfort, but Kirihara wasn't angry.

"You never thought that I would be depressed?"

Kirihara's tone and expression were more teasing than anything else.

"I did, but I couldn't think of any consolation."

The scene was dead silent for a few seconds.

Kirihara suddenly burst into laughter.

And he was laughing to the point that he was bent over the sofa.

Enough to thoroughly discomfit Sayaka by his side.

Tatsuya continued to watch him without any expression.
"Shiba...... You really are an interesting guy. Usually, now would be the
time to wear a totally~ awkward expression and quickly pass me
pretending not to see me, not the time to actually sit down and talk."
That choice intentionally overlooking him was also on the table, but
Tatsuya believed that wordlessly passing by wasn't cordial enough.
However, this time it looked like Tatsuya was being a "busybody".

Tatsuya realized that he shouldn't even be taking how cordial he was into
consideration since that didn't jibe with his personality, but......

"Still, I feel a lot better thanks to you. Since you said it was a 'Pyrrhic
victory', then that must be how it was. This shows that I've still got a lot of
potential."

......Looks like that wasn't the case.

Whether Kirihara truly believed that was immaterial.

Likewise, whether this was truly the result Tatsuya was aiming for was also
immaterial.

Despite the outcome falling into considerable doubt, the basic personnel
duties did not change very much.

The ones responsible for odd jobs and errands might claim otherwise, but
since Tatsuya was a member of the technician team, the brass from First
High wasn't foolish enough to have him work on menial tasks and run the
risk of endangering his original duties.

After preparing for the Newcomers Division two days from now, double
checking the physical and mental conditions of the players under his care
and running a final compatibility test for CADs, today's work schedule
came to a close.

Tatsuya received a long package in the mail from the hotel counter and
returned to his own room.

It wasn't dinner time yet.

There was still ample time left, so Tatsuya opted to test the item in the
package.

He took a glance at the clock to verify when the dining hall opened.
There was still a significant interval until he had to meet up with Miyuki.

Tatsuya unpacked the parcel and gazed at the contents within.

This was something he called Four Leaves Technology's CAD

Development 3rd Division in the early hours of the morning for.
The components were all universal, the shape exceedingly simple, and
was assembled to the point that an automatic construction device could do
the rest by reading the manual. Even so, the fact that this could be
assembled and shipped all within half a day was quite impressive.
(I hope Ushiyama-san isn't pushing himself again......)

Should he be saying pushing himself, or pushing his subordinates?

Tatsuya took great pains to carefully remind them that this item was
"partially out of curiosity".

Regardless, Tatsuya couldn't "really" turn back the clock, so fussing over
these details was useless at this point.

After he opened the package and took a look inside, he found a

combination seal around a long, thin container. This case was usually
intended to transport CADs with the dimensions of a shotgun.

Tatsuya punched in the usual code.

There was a "sword" inside the box.

The item Tatsuya removed from the box had the outward appearance of a
long sword with an upgraded hand guard.

The entire length measured 70 cm, and 50 cm without the hand guard
that was how it was shaped.

There was no blade.

This did not refer to the lack of an edge, but the fact that this tool was
never forged to be a "sword".
The literal meaning of the words seemed paradoxical, but a better
description would be "a metallic bokken forged to look like a long sword".

Or maybe it was "flat rod with an added hand guard".

This item was plainly not any ordinary rod.

After thumbing the activation button and upping the psion intake, a familiar
feeling passed across Tatsuya's hand.
This item was in the same vein as Erika's police baton in that it was a
weapon that concealed a CAD.

The utility was even more restricted than a Specialized CAD and could
only provide one Activation Sequence. Erika's CAD was a Specialized
model that retained the ability to switch abilities. In comparison, this was a
Specialized CAD that possessed only one function, making it a prototype
for "Weaponized Integrated CADs".
Tatsuya measured the distance to the wall to gauge whether he should
take a test swing when someone knocked on the door. The perfect timing
caused Tatsuya to chuckle wryly as he placed the prototype on the table.

There was some time until the arranged meeting time, but given that the
presence on the other side of the door did nothing to conceal themselves,
he knew that friends had come calling.
And this prototype suited that friend very well.

Rather than testing this himself, it would be far more interesting to have
that guy handle it Tatsuya thought as he opened the door.
"Onii-sama, is this a good time?"

The leader and the one who spoke up first was his little sister.

Tatsuya pushed the door open and beckoned everyone inside. Erika, who
was following Miyuki, came close enough that the two of them were almost
touching.

Next, Honoka, Shizuku, Mizuki, and Leo came in, with Mikihiko bring up
the rear.
Rather than saying ladies first, it would be more appropriate to say this was
how the pecking order went.
Still, while this was a double room for the sake of storing equipment, it was
still a squeeze with so many people piling in at once.
Just the chairs and bed weren't enough, someone even had to sit on the
table which was neatly ordered and not the least bit sloppy, so Tatsuya
had no complaints.

Erika was the one sitting on the table, so of course she was the one who
noticed the "sword" on the table, and it naturally aroused her interest.

"Tatsuya-kun, is that...... a blade replica? Except it looks more like a

sword."

"Negative."

"Then an iron whip?"

"Also negative...... I don't think the samurai of this country would use
weapons like iron whips."

"Who uses the term samurai in this day and age...... Then what is it?
......Ah, is it a Houki?"

Erika flipped it over and examined both sides and asked again upon
noticing the trigger on the handle.

"Correct, to be precise, this is a Weaponized Integrated CAD, commonly

known as weaponized calculation devices. The CAD is specifically attuned
to use one type of magic only that can also double as a close combat
weapon that uses aforementioned magic."

"Wow......"

The reason why Erika made this sound wasn't because the Weaponized
Integrated CAD was incredibly rare, but because this was the first time she
saw one in the form of a "sword". Erika wasn't the only one gazing at the
sword in her hand, both Honoka and Shizuku were looking on with deep
interest.

Miyuki's faced revealed an "Ah, so that's what it was" expression, clearly

because she remembered the conversation from last night.
Neither Mizuki nor Mikihiko expressed any interest, probably because they
preferred familiar objects rather than foreign materials.
Tatsuya glanced at the other person standing to the side and smiled
mischievously as he plucked the prototype from Erika's hands.
"Leo."

And tossed it towards Leo, who was standing off to one side with his face
averted.

"Whoa! Tatsuya, isn't that kind of dangerous?"

In reality, Leo was burning to give it a go, but he feigned disinterest due to
his ongoing cold war against his nemesis (?) Erika, so while he was
outwardly frantic, he eagerly grabbed hold of the sword hilt.

Tatsuya completely ignored his protest and sent a challenging smirk his
way.

"Want to give it a try?"

"Eh, me?"

Leo's mouth split into a wide grin.

To the side, Erika wore a "This guy is easy to read......" expression, to

which Tatsuya spared only a single glance before directing his attention
back to Leo.
"This weaponized calculation device was created by merging a striking
weapon with the Fortifying Magic that Watanabe-senpai used during the
'Battle Board' event, with the blade also serving as a slashing weapon after
being reforged, so I think this suits you very well."
"So Tatsuya made this?"

"Yes."

"Hold on."

Mikihiko inserted himself into Leo and Tatsuya's conversation.

Initially, he wore an apathetic expression, but he was paying attention to

the entire conversation.
"Watanabe-senpai's event was yesterday, so you made this in one day?
This doesn't look like a ready-made product."

"The components themselves are all commonplace. The outer frame is

also a generic alloy, so there are no special materials involved."
"But this still isn't something you can manually forge, right? You shouldn't
have that much spare time......"
"Why of course, I only came up with the design, then had a familiar factory
construct this using automatic assembly devices."

Miyuki overheard the entire conversation and when she heard the term
"familiar factory", she almost burst into laughter. Thankfully, she regularly
prepared several masks for occasions like these, so she didn't draw any
attention to herself or her brother.

"So Leo...... Want to give it a try?"

Tatsuya's words were like the sweet whispers of the demon

Mephistopheles.

Even while knowing something was afoot, the lure was irresistible.

"......OK, I'll be your guinea pig."

"He fell for it."

Shizuku's soft whisper succinctly reflected everyone's inner thoughts.

Next, Tatsuya pulled out a HMD with light refracting mirrors and a speaker
attached.

"This is the instruction manual."

Seeing the HMD in front of him, Leo seemed to not comprehend Tatsuya's
words as a question mark sprouted on his head.

"Take a look, the user's manual for the weaponized calculation device is
recorded within."

"Ah? Oh......"

This object that Tatsuya handed him (more like tossed to him) appeared to
have images and sound files stored on it, which included the Weaponized
Integrated CAD instruction manuals. Leo let out an "I get it now"
expression and accepted the HMD from Tatsuya's hands.
"This counts as a virtual terminal device, right?"
Honoka, who asked the question, wasn't the only one wondering about
this.
Virtual information terminal devices posed considerable harm to immature
Magicians.

With this in mind, First High forbade students from using virtual terminal
devices.

Tatsuya himself insisted on using a material terminal device, but asked his
friend to use a virtual terminal device. Even if the device was restricted to
visual and hearing, everyone held the same misgivings.
"It's nothing that outrageous, but they do share some similarities."

"......Is this OK?"

"Huh? Oh...... You're referring to the harm caused by the virtual terminal
device?"

"Uh...... Yeah."

"There's no need to worry on that account. The risks from virtual terminal
devices arise from the user's inexperience. If used strictly for testing
realistic conditions, then it's actually quite a valuable tool."

"I don't follow......"

Honoka's tone towards Tatsuya was very polite, but there were traces of
Miyuki's influence mixed in.

"Magic is a skill that uses perception to temporarily alter reality. Virtual

terminal devices create illusions that people mistake for reality."
Tatsuya's explanations were always attentive and exhaustive, which
possibly was a reflex on his part.
"The two of them share the distinction that they project an unnatural
phenomenon into reality. On the other hand, by experiencing the
phenomenon through the virtual terminal device, there's no need to expend
energy to rewrite reality, nor is there a risk for spell failure. Herein also lies
the risk for virtual terminal devices."

Tatsuya temporarily stopped at this point.

Because he felt that he was being overly loquacious.
However, his friends that were arrayed in front of him wore equal parts
understanding and incomprehension on their faces, so he felt that his
explanation wasn't detailed enough and plodded on.

"Virtual terminal devices would cause a Magician to hallucinate and believe

that they can effortlessly alter reality with no consequence. People
incapable of using magic wouldn't run into this problem in the first place.
Skilled Magicians would be able to differentiate what they are capable of,
but immature Magicians may confuse the difference between what they
experienced in the virtual world with what they can actually accomplish and
overestimate their abilities.

Once immature Magicians have become accustomed to altering reality

without the concepts of hard work or failure, they become unable to reflect
upon why they cannot use magic to successfully rewrite reality and lose
the ability to think critically and the drive to do so. Hence the popular belief
that immature Magicians still studying magic experience harm from using
virtual terminal devices."

Tatsuya paused again to survey his friends' faces.

Additional explanations were probably unnecessary, but he'd still conclude

as a precaution.

"In other words, the problem lies in whether the user believes he or she
has accomplished something they were previously unable to. Utilizing
virtual terminal devices to test the waters isn't a problem in and of itself.
That type of virtual experience actually benefits the planning phases for
constructing Magic Sequences. At the end of the day, it remains extremely
challenging to pick out only the benefits, so I feel that a global ban on
virtual terminal devices made perfect sense."

"Is that so...... I actually learned a lot from that."

Tatsuya felt that Honoka's nodding was overly zealous and also believed
he said too much.

Even if she heavily relied on him, he had no way of responding......

Those were Tatsuya's heartfelt words.

The test for the prototype calculation device was set after dinner, using one
of the outdoor combat training facilities on the outskirts of the Nine Schools
Competition area.

Tatsuya didn't make the arrangements; Erika was the one who called on
her connections.

Since arriving here, Erika seemed to be frivolously throwing around her

family's influence in a self-destructive manner.
Did something happen that caused her mental landscape to change?

Speaking of which, Tatsuya recalled that something similar happened

during the banquet.

Nevertheless, Tatsuya was powerless to act regardless of how worried he

was.

His own emotions were only faades anyways.

It was probably better to look the other way and let an engineer's curiosity
take first priority. This was probably a more honest method to go about it.

Tatsuya convinced himself this way and once again warned himself
against butting into other people's business.

"Leo, do you understand the mechanics?"

Next, he had to focus all his concentration on this test.

Even if this was something done during his leisurely time even if this
was an overly simplified way of applying modern magic this still broke
new ground for testing magic and calculation devices.

If an accident occurred due to his complacency, the one who would bear
the brunt of it would be Leo and not Tatsuya.

"Uh, I think so...... But, am I really going to do that?"

"That" likely referred to the demonstrated motions he saw within the HMD.

Likely was the wrong word to use, since that was the only possibility at this
point.
"We're undergoing this test to find out."

"You're right."

This training facility was 30 minutes away from the hotel by foot.

This would pose no problems during the day, but it was night time now.

Likewise, city districts would be fine, but they were located in a military
training facility in the mountains.
Miyuki and Erika stubbornly refused to cooperate, but were finally
persuaded to remain at the hotel.

Despite this, Tatsuya still remained uneasy, so he called on Honoka to

watch Miyuki and Mizuki to keep an eye on Erika.

Now, only Tatsuya and Leo were present.

"Let's begin."

"Got it."

Initially, they weren't going to use the slashing (more like striking) dummy.

Right now, they needed to verify the movements of the Weaponized

Integrated CAD without performing any physical actions.

"Starting now."
Leo thumbed the activation button on the bottom of the hilt.

With a "clang" sound, a feathery touch crossed his fingers.

He wrapped his index finger around the trigger near the top of the
handguard and started supplying psions.

Contrary to his physical impression, Leo's supply of psions wasn't

explosive, but possessed an inexhaustible durability. Correction, maybe
that would be the most suitable description for his youthful and energetic
side.
If a CAD was not calibrated for individual use, there would be practically no
assistance in constructing Magic Sequences, so there was a small delay
as the Activation Sequence was translated into the Magic Sequence.
Approximately 0.6 seconds.

Even so, this was still much swifter than during practical skills class.

This might be caused by his personal expertise in this field of magic, or the
outstanding performance from the CAD and Activation Sequence.
Regardless of which one it was or both at the same time, this detail
remained unimportant. What was important right now was to observe the
activated magic in action and not the time necessary to activate
aforementioned magic.

"Oh?"

Leo gasped, not because the magic was activating, but because the
effects of inertia far exceeded his expectations.

"Haha, it's actually floating, how incredible!"

Leo revealed a childlike smile and swung the "sword" that had less than
one half of the blade still attached.
The other half of the blade floating in midair mimicked his motion and
swung in a similar arc.

"Three, two, one......"

"Whoa......."

Leo stopped upon hearing Tatsuya counting down.

"Zero."

With the end of the countdown, the blade swiftly reconnected with the
"broken" blade and reformed into a complete "sword".

"Tatsuya, that was a complete success."

Leo was wearing a thoroughly delighted expression as he raised a thumb,

whereas Tatsuya mirrored his gesture.

"Still, I'm impressed that you could come up with something like this.
Detaching the blade from the hilt, then using Fortifying Magic to solidify its
position and 'shoot' out the blade. I still can't believe I just did that. Now I
know Fortifying Magic can also operate by separating objects."

"That is because the core concept behind Fortifying Magic is stabilizing

relative positions, and if you ignore all the stereotypes, you find that
objects don't have to be physically connected to one another. In addition,
the operational form of this CAD is more like 'extension' rather than being
'shot out'.

"The blade will only elongate in a linear fashion, since the middle segment
is empty space."

"I never thought about that, I'll just treat this like a really~ long sword."
Just as Leo said, this weaponized calculation device wasn't like other long
range system weapons that required additional energy to control, but was
simply matching the motion of the blade while flying at a set distance until
the magic lost effect.

"Speaking of which, why did the blade come back? I didn't activate any
other magic."
"Oh, that's simple. That's an electric current reaction-type recall alloy, so it
only separates the moment an electric current is applied to break the
connection."

Leo nodded to signify his understanding, since this was a popular design in
the modern era.

"So if a large force is applied during the state where magic isn't supplied,
this could easily be broken."

"That's not a problem, we just have to store it in a scabbard when not in

use, right?"

"That's true, shall we perform live tests on dummies? Or test the

fluctuations during separation?"

"Tatsuya, while this thing is separated, is the length adjustable?"

"That's not impossible, but exceedingly difficult. Currently, the Activation

Sequence tied to the activation button on the hilt is set as a constant, but
that can be easily changed to a variable. The challenge lies in that
whenever the length needs to be adjusted, a new magic needs to overwrite
the previous one."

"Is that the case? So if the return speed could be increased, then there's
no need to concern ourselves with the changing distances in between.
After all, a real sword can't elongate itself halfway through the slashing
motion."
"Yet Erika seems to be able to accomplish that feat. What do you plan to
do?"

"Well...... Let's do a dummy test first."

"Got it."

Tatsuya manipulated a control mechanism that was slightly larger than a

notepad and called up three man-sized straw dolls from the ground.
"......Oldschool."
"......I wonder whose hobby this is?'
Even though regenerating products had become mainstream in modern
society, the oddly outdated design still prompted the two of them to
exchange a helpless glance.

"Regardless...... In terms of sheer specs, they'll do as slashing targets."

"Straw dolls don't have any "specs"...... But there's no other choice."

Leo slapped his face lightly with his empty left hand to focus himself, then
fell into a stance against the straw dolls.

He thumbed the power switch.

The blade flew into the sky.

Leo swung the weapon with all his strength.

Ahead of his right arm, the detached blade built up rotational momentum to
a respectable speed before smashing into the straw doll.

"Lot of strain on the arm."

Leo looked like his hand had gone numb, but he lightly swung the restored
medium length, sword-like weaponized calculation device as he voiced his
thoughts.
"That's because while the flying part is physically small and despite the fact
that speed can supplement strength somewhat, inertia still remains an
issue, so you need extra arm strength to compensate."
"No wonder. So in actual combat, I would need to apply more strength into
each of my swings."

Leo acknowledged Tatsuya's explanations with a nod of his head and

aimed at the next target.

As he watched Leo fall into another combat stance, Tatsuya thought:

(Indeed, even after applying an actual blade, a slight increase in weight

would be perfect for combat conditions. Still, this level of power would be
appropriate for competition venues.)
The thought circulating in Tatsuya's mind was the restriction on direct
contact during "Monolith Code". This weaponized calculation device had a
flying blade, so it bypassed this restriction.
(......Not that there's any connection here.)

While he claimed this was strictly a toy, he was still actively considering
practical applications. Tatsuya could only secretly laugh at himself.
Chapter 7
It's the third day of the Nine Schools Competition.

The Men and Women's "Icicle Destruction" and "Battle Board" were being
held today, making this the biggest hurdle of the first half of the Nine
Schools Competition.
The players from First High that had advanced thus far included two men
in "Icicle Destruction", two men and women in "Battle Board", and one
woman in "Icicle Destruction".

This was not going according to plan, but was still within the acceptable
combat parameters.

"Hattori-senpai is on first for the Men's Team, Watanabe-senpai is in the

second round for the Women's Team, Chiyoda-senpai is set for the first
round, and Group Leader Juumonji is scheduled for the third round......"
Tatsuya felt a headache forming as he surveyed the schedule.

Even if the start of the contest didn't coincide perfectly with the schedule,
he could only watch either Hattori's or Kanon's event.

(Though Hattori-senpai probably doesn't want me to watch him

compete......)
That being said, Miyuki and Hattori were both part of the Student Council,
so not watching Hattori's contest was still a problem.

"Ah, found you, Tatsuya-kun!"

Still, Tatsuya no longer had to concern himself with this, or maybe he no

longer had to concern himself period.

"President, what's the matter?"

"I was hoping you could help."

Mayumi dragged Tatsuya towards the engineering vehicles.

"Onii-sama, it's about to start!"
In the end, Tatsuya barely got away in time to catch the start of Mari's
event.
Mari had dropped by when Tatsuya was working and specifically reminded
him: "You are going to come watch me, right?" If he stayed away after that,
even if he was just a little tardy and missed the opening segment, he would
never hear the end of it.

Tatsuya thanked his little sister and friends for saving him a spot, then
turned to look at the starting line.

Looks like he made it just in time.

Mari was wearing her customary headband with her hair fluttering as she
adopted the set position.

There were a total of three contestants in the semifinal round, which would
run for two matches.

The winners of the two matches would advance to the final round where
they would duel one another.

The two others were tense with anxiety, but Mari fearlessly awaited the
starting signal.

The "Get Set" whistle sounded.

The audience was dead silent.

After a split second, the second whistle rang out.

The race was on.

The first one out the gate was Mari.

Unlike the preliminary round, the one in second was right on her heels.

The player in third was only slightly further behind.

"They're tough......!"

"No wonder they're known as 'Seventh High of the Waves'."

"I remember that they had the same team in last year's finals."
The billowing waves on the surface were clear evidence that their magic
was interfering with one another.
Generally, Mari would use her position in the lead to take advantage of the
waves to disrupt her opponent behind her, hereby achieving greater effect
than the sum of its parts, but the player from Seventh High adeptly
maneuvered her board to compensate for her disadvantage in magic.

The three players threaded through the snaking aqueduct and rounded the
tight corner neck to neck.
After passing through there, they entered a passage that couldn't be seen
from the observation deck, so now the action had to be watched through
the television screens.

Tatsuya glanced towards the widescreen TV that was displaying the

images from the sharp turn.

"Huh?"

A small oddity onscreen grabbed his attention.

"Ah!"

So Tatsuya accidentally missed this moment.

Screams erupted from the stands.

Tatsuya frantically looked back.

The player from Seventh High had completely lost her balance.

"Speed Burst?"

Someone shouted out.

That's certainly what it looked like.

The player's board wasn't gripping the water's surface.

As if in full flight, the player from Seventh High was gliding across the
water's surface and was about to slam straight into the railing.
Under the assumption that no one was in the way.
Mari, who had just finished decelerating and was ready to sprint ahead,
was directly in the path of the trajectory.

Mari faced the railing.

Even so, she still kept her head turned behind her, likely because she
detected the oncoming presence from the rear.

Her following action, could only be described as superlative.

Mari canceled her forward acceleration and switched to parallel rotational

acceleration, using the waves crashing back from the walls of the aqueduct
and her own magic to spin the board halfway around.

Next, she used multiple recalculations to use two new magics and
prepared to receive the out of control Seventh High player.

First she used Move-Type Magic to fling away the player's board and then
applied Weight-Type Inertial Neutralization Magic to prevent herself from
crashing into the railing after catching the other player.

This would have been enough to avert disaster.

If the water's surface didn't suddenly dip.

It was only a minute difference.

However, Mari was in the middle of a high level technique to achieve a 180
degree turnaround.

Mari wasn't a surfing expert, she was just using superb magic and
personal buffing to change her stance. The moment her flotation faded, her
balance was destroyed as well.

Which in turn caused the activating magic to fizzle.

She successfully redirected the other player's board that was hurtling
towards her legs.

But the Inertial Neutralization Magic didn't activate, which sent the player
from Seventh High careening into Mari.
The two of them slammed into the railing together.

Shrill shrieks sounded from all around the stands.

Immediately, a flag rose to signal a halt to the competition.

Tatsuya couldn't help but rise to his feet.

Mari was sandwiched between the railing and the player from Seventh
High.

It looked like she wasn't able to successfully erect any protective

measures.

"Onii-sama!"

Completely pale, Miyuki was gazing up at him.

"I'll go take a look, you guys stay here."

Tatsuya had received military and guardian training since youth, which
more than qualified him for minor surgical operations.

"Understood."

Tatsuya's steady voice allowed Miyuki to realize that everyone going to

take a look would only add to the panic, so she waved her hands to signal
their friends to take a seat and nodded her assent towards Tatsuya.

Tatsuya charged down the observation deck and threaded through the
dense crowds as if performing a magic trick.

She did not wake very quickly.

There seemed to be a thick cloud hanging over her consciousness, so it

was difficult to grasp her surroundings.

What was she doing here......?

This was the first question that flashed across Mari's mind as she awoke.

"Mari, are you awake? Do you know who I am?"

An evil friend even at this time in the privacy of her mind, Mari still didn't
apply the term "friend" could be seen in front of her face.
Mari knew the literal meaning of the question, but was unable to
comprehend why the question was asked, so she murmured in
confusion

"Mayumi, what are you talking about? Why would you ask......"

Halfway through her sentence, Mari recalled the reason why Mayumi
asked the question as well as her current predicament.

"So I'm in the hospital......"

"Yes, the hospital at Susono Base. Thank goodness...... Looks like there
was no mental damage."
"How long was I out?"

There was still a dull throbbing coming from the back of her head, which
allowed Mari to realize that she didn't fall asleep, but was forcefully
knocked unconscious after failing to erect defenses in time.

"Since just after noon. Ah, don't get up yet."

Mari wanted to sit herself up, but Mayumi quickly pushed her back down.

She didn't apply a lot of strength, but Mari's physical mobility was reduced
to less than half.

"Your ribs are broken and while they've used magic to reconnect them,
they still need some time to stabilize. I think you know very well that
healing magic is ultimately only an emergency measure."

"There's only the outward appearance of recovery during the stabilization

period, rather than instantaneous recovery don't worry, I know at least
that much."

Mari took the words right out of Mayumi's mouth as she murmured to
herself and sank back down onto the bed.

"How long will I be out?"

"At least a week for a full recovery, though you are cleared for daily
activities after one day of bed rest. Still, to be on the safe side, you are
forbidden from strenuous activity for the next ten days."

"Hey, then......!"
"You'll have to withdraw from "Mirage Bat" too. There's nothing we can do
about that."

"Is that so......"

Mari sighed and closed her eyes.

She reopened them after a short interval.

"What was the conclusion of the contest?"

"The instigator from Seventh High was banned as punishment with Third
and Ninth High advancing to the finals. Kobayakawa-san was highly
motivated, so I think we have a chance to seize Third Place."

"Kobayakawa is more than capable so long as she doesn't mentally

handicap herself."

"Indeed. By the way, the player from Seventh High didn't suffer major
injuries, so your efforts weren't wasted."

"......It doesn't really count as helping if I'm seriously injured myself."

Mari scowled as she was complaining, though her "pretense" at negativity

drew a light laugh from Mayumi.

Mayumi averted her head and feigned ignorance.

"On the Men's Team, Hattori-kun advanced to the finals, but Murakami-kun
just barely missed out. Juumonji-kun and Kanon-san both advanced to the
single elimination portion of 'Icicle Destruction' on their respective sides."

"So I'm the only one who couldn't fulfill her end of the bargain......"

"It's not your fault. Mari, you made the right decision. If you didn't halt your
acceleration, you might have been able to narrowly avoid the collision and
advance to the finals, but...... The player from Seventh High would likely
have suffered serious injury to the point that her life as a Magician might be
over, that's how dangerous her situation was. Tatsuya-kun also concurs."

"......Hey, why are you bringing up this guy's name now?"

"Because he was the one who escorted you here and stayed on station
while you were undergoing treatment."

"What?"
"Well, of course we didn't leave it all to Tatsuya-kun himself...... Shocked?"

Mayumi sported a grin while Mari turned around with a miserable

expression on her face.

It was precisely because she felt a tight knot unraveling inside her that
Mayumi's grin irked her even more.
"Naturally, men wouldn't be present while ladies are changing, so he
obediently waited in the corridor while treatment was ongoing. But you
better thank him later on. He arrived practically at the same time as the
emergency response teams and helped bring you to shore. He also
spotted your fractures in one glance and gave the orders for treatment."

"......Who the devil is this guy?"

Mari's eyes were wide with amazement while Mayumi nodded deeply.

"How should I put this, he seems very adept at dealing with accidents and
victims...... Speaking of which, what's your status?"

"Why are you asking this now...... I have a small headache, but that's a
strictly physical injury, and my head is clear."

"Looks like there's no trauma...... In that case, let me get this over with
now."

"?"
Mayumi pinned the still befuddled Mari with a serious look.

"What's with the sudden serious attitude?"

"Mari...... At that time, were you hindered by an outsider's magic?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just as Mari was about to catch the player from Seventh High, did you
lose your balance because a third party maliciously used magic to disrupt
the water's surface? This is what I want to express."
Upon comprehending the intent behind Mayumi's words, Mari's eyes
glinted with alertness.
"......Just before the board started sinking, I did feel an odd vibration near
my feet, but I have no idea if that was caused by magic and even less of
an idea if it was malicious...... Why would you think that?"

"When you lost your balance, the water movements were very unnatural,
to the point that there is suspicion that this was caused through illogical
means like phenomenon rewriting magic. Yet, neither player from the other
schools used this magic, so the only remaining possibility is that an outside
third party cast this magic. Tatsuya-kun also concurs. I heard that he's
requesting the recording from the committee in order to analyze the
fluctuations on the water's surface. At least we can find out if this was
actually caused by unnatural, foreign forces."

"I would like to call into question why a high school freshman is capable of
such an analysis, but let's table that for now...... Since the other players
and I were all using magic, why are we investigating if there were
unnatural, foreign forces at work? I for one think this is pointless......"

"Tatsuya-kun said that the players' magic effects could be taken into
account as well to determine if outside forces were acting on the situation.
Isori-kun also said that he would go help him after the contests were over
today, so I think between the two of them, we can find some meaningful
answers. Mari, if you can think of anything else, please let me know. This
doesn't just concern us the overall standings for First High, this may
impact the entire Nine Schools Competition and all the magic high schools
combined."

"............"

As Mari silently digested this from the bed, Mayumi said "I should go" and
departed from the room.

Now alone, Mari directed a solemn gaze towards the ceiling.

Upon hearing the knocking sounds, Miyuki went to open the door and
found a pair of 2nd Year students waiting outside.
"Please come in...... Onii-sama, Isori-senpai, and Chiyoda-senpai are
here."
Miyuki's words prompted Tatsuya to stop typing and rise from his chair.

"Sorry for calling you here."

"No problem, please don't worry about that. After all, I was the one who
volunteered and couldn't bring the still active terminal device over here."
Tatsuya nodded slightly in agreement whereas Isori casually waved a
hand.

After thanking him again, Tatsuya turned towards Kanon.

"Chiyoda-senpai, congratulations on winning the gold."

"Thank you. Since Mari-senpai got caught up in that incident, the rest of us
have to work harder on her behalf!"

Hot-blooded would be the perfect way to describe Kanon with her fists
clenched, causing Tatsuya to reevaluate her as dazzling.

"So, did we find anything?"

"I've gone through the recording once and arrived at the conclusion that
this is definitely the work of an outside party. Isori-senpai, would you mind
verifying this one more time?"
"Got it...... As expected of Shiba-kun, that was fast."
Isori accepted the invitation and sat down while using a hand gesture to
express his admiration.

There was a modest monitor (standard size, 20 inches) on the table that
was split into two screens, one displaying the actual recording itself while
the other was strictly the outline of what happened.

Isori picked up the visual pointer shaped like a monocle with a brain wave
supplementary add-on and smoothly unfurled the thin, long C-type metal
frame around his head, adjusted the monocle over his right eye, and
placed his finger on the buttons near the bottom center of the keyboard.

The brain wave supplementary add-on and the visual pointers were
originally intended for users to input data without the need to remove their
hands from the keyboard, but have since progressed to the point that
direct input on the keyboard has become unnecessary.
However, Isori chose to use the original function, which was a pure
supplement to keyboard input.
The actual recording and the model images both started moving under
Isori's direction.

He quickly fast forwarded to the moment the incident occurred, then

proceeded to play the sequence in slow motion.

Above the model images, lines of data described the changes in the
water's surface.

Within the scene in question, which was when the water's surface dipped
downward, an unknown quantity arose, signifying that the "power" released
could not be explained by magic interference from the three players.

Isori paused the image and turned around.

"......This is even more troublesome than we imagined."

"Kei, what happened?"

"Kanon, you know that in order to prevent outsiders illegally using magic to
interfere with the competition, the Nine Schools Competition hired highly
skilled counter magic Magicians and stationed them as committee
members all over the various arenas, then placed cameras all over the
place to observe the situation. Since the network didn't catch this, I
suspected that the culprit acted from a high altitude that exceeds the
security network and fired a compressed block of air downwards to cause
the dip in the water's surface. But if that were the case, there's no way
Watanabe-senpai could have missed it and I also realize this is an
outrageous hypothesis.

Yet, based on Shiba-kun's analysis, the dip in the water's surface

originated from within the water itself. If someone utilized a Magic
Sequence from outside the aqueduct, the security network would
immediately pick up on it. The only natural way for the water's surface to
dip downwards would be a leak, so that possibility can also be ruled out.
The only possibility remaining is that someone was hiding in the water for
this precise moment...... But that's almost impossible......"
"Could Shiba-kun's analysis be incorrect?"

Kanon's blunt question caused Miyuki to stiffen.

"No."

However, before Miyuki could speak, Isori denied Kanon's assertion.

"Shiba-kun's analysis is flawless, at least it is not within my capability to

discern any errors."

Isori and Kanon both lapsed into silence.

The silence lasted around two minutes before it was broken by more
knocking.

Miyuki visually interrogated her brother and only moved to open the door
after her brother nodded in agreement.

She quickly returned.

With two classmates in tow.

"Mizuki said that Onii-sama wanted them to come over......"

"Sorry for calling the two of you all the way over here."

Tatsuya verified his sister's question and turned to the two upperclassmen.

"Allow me to introduce you: These two are my classmates Yoshida and

Shibata. I think you two know these two are Isori-senpai and
Chiyoda-senpai from 2nd Year."

Mikihiko and Mizuki were both a little tense and, after a quick round of self
introductions from Isori and Kanon, Tatsuya used a concise answer to
respond to the five questioning looks sent his way.

"I asked the two of them to come and identify our culprit."

This sentence alone was a little too vague for anyone to understand.

Tatsuya knew from the get go, so he kept explaining without pausing.

"We are now examining the possibility that Watanabe-senpai's incident

was caused by malicious interference from an outside party."

This was for Mikihiko and Mizuki's benefit.

Mikihiko knit his brows while Mizuki revealed an astounded expression.
"As Watanabe-senpai was losing her balance, an unnatural dip appeared
on the water's surface, which disrupted the timing for her Inertial
Neutralization Magic and forced her to collide with the railing. The change
on the water's surface was almost certainly caused by magic cast from
within the water."

Mizuki still hadn't shaken off her astonishment.

Yet, upon hearing Tatsuya's words, Mikihiko's eyes took on a hard look.

"It is strictly impossible to cast magic on the water from outside the stadium
without detection. The possibility that this is caused by delayed magic is
also low. Because if that was the case, Kobayakawa-senpai would have
detected this in the first race."

Modern magic also had magic that activated after a set delay, but the
Magic Sequence must be "recorded" onto the object. Once the delayed
magic was cast, the target object would be under the influence of magic
rewriting and interfere with the next magic cast on the target object.
"If that is the case, then the only possibility remaining is that something
hidden in the water cast the magic this is the conclusion Isori-senpai
and I arrived at."

Tatsuya visually sought confirmation from Mikihiko and Mizuki, who both
nodded in understanding.

"Still, having a living, breathing Magician submerge themselves in water

sounds ridiculous. Currently, neither modern magic nor Ancient Magic is
able to accomplish this feat flawlessly."

This time, Tatsuya's words prompted Isori and Kanon to nod in agreement.
"If that's the case, a more suitable hypothesis is that 'something inhuman'
cast magic while hiding in the waterway."

Isori and Kanon glanced at one another, mirroring each other's confusion.

After a while, Isori finally asked.

"......Shiba-kun thinks this may be the work of Spirit Magic?"

Tatsuya nodded in response to Isori's words.
Magicians that use modern magic typically use psion surges to identify
magic.
But SB, or Spiritual Beings, are primarily composed of pushions. Pushions
are supplements used to "move" the objects around precisely like
ordering spirits around this was the current dominant theory.

It wasn't that Magicians couldn't identify pushions.

Yet, in ordinary circumstances, they couldn't identify them as readily as

psions.

For example, even though the human senses could detect infrared rays as
"warmth", there was no way to distinguish between colors the same way
they could for visible light.

Magicians could use their senses to identify active pushions.

But had a very difficult time identifying inactive ones.

In other words, Magicians using modern magic couldn't detect dormant

Spiritual Beings.

If they were using a Spiritual Being planted ahead of time a type of

delayed magic using Spiritual Beings, there was a high probability that they
would elude the committee's detection.
"Yoshida is an expert on Spirit Magic and Shibata is especially sensitive
towards pushion light."

"Hence why you called the two of them."

Tatsuya once again nodded towards Isori and turned to face Mikihiko.

"Mikihiko, I would like your expert opinion. Is there a way for Spiritual
Magic to delay activating for several hours and then selectively create a dip
in the water's surface?"

"Yes."

Mikihiko immediately replied.

"Based on those conditions, all you would have to do is set the start of the
second race as the primary condition, then someone's approach as the
second condition and order the water spirit to create a wave or whirlpool.
Even if spirits are off the table, a shikigami can accomplish that too."

"Can you do it?"

"With enough time to prepare. I cannot do that right this moment, but give
me half a month to prepare and repeatedly enter the arena to make the
arrangements, I should be able to."

"Would you need to infiltrate the arena the day before?"

"No need. As long as I'm familiar with the lay of the land, I can use the ley
lines to send the spirits, which is the point of investigating beforehand.
However......"

"?"

"Even if they managed to accomplish this, there's almost no power to

speak of. Spirits are empowered by the user's emotions and will, so if it
was set several hours beforehand, I feel that the only thing lingering would
be something like a practical joke at best."

"In other words?"

"Even if they could disrupt the water's surface, they couldn't use this
method to create large enough waves to disrupt Watanabe-senpai's
balance. If the player from Seventh High didn't happen to lose control at
the exact same time, this would be relegated to kid's play."

For some reason, Tatsuya gave a massive nod at Mikihiko's words.

"That's only under the assumption that it was an accident in the first
place......"

"Ah?"

Mikihiko was unable to follow Tatsuya's cryptic words, but Tatsuya didn't
immediately reply and instead turned his gaze on Mizuki.

"Mizuki, during Watanabe-senpai's incident, did you see the movements of

the SB?"
"......I was wearing my glasses at the time ......Sorry."
"Please don't say that. You're right, that's my mistake. Mizuki, you don't
have to apologize."
Tatsuya bowed his head towards the glum Mizuki and Miyuki also came
over to comfort her.

"In regards to what we were just talking about......"

Tatsuya turned back to Mikihiko.

Yet Isori and Kanon both knew these words were also directed towards
them.

"I feel that the loss of control from the player from Seventh High was not a
pure coincidence. Take a look at this."

Tatsuya brought Mikihiko in front of the monitor and restarted the model
images.

He was also paying attention to Isori and Kanon, who were peeking around
to take a look, and stopped the recording shortly before the accident
occurred.

"The player from Seventh High would normally decelerate at this point."

Then proceeded to advance the recording frame by frame.

"But as everyone can see, she was actually continuing to build up speed."

"......You're right, that is extremely odd."

"Indeed. A Magician who would make such a fundamental mistake has no

business being in the Nine Schools Competition."

Tatsuya nodded in agreement with Isori and Kanon's opinions, then

returned the playback to normal speed.

"I suspect that the CAD the player from Seventh High was using had been
tampered with."
The room was suffused with shock.
"This is the first major turn that requires deceleration along the entire route.
If the decelerating Activation Sequence was swapped for an accelerating
Activation Sequence, an accident here is unavoidable. Based on last
year's results, it is well within predictable boundaries that Watanabe-senpai
and the player from Seventh High would be neck to neck at this stage. If
my goal was to sabotage them, this would be the perfect opportunity to
eliminate two favored candidates for First Place in one fell swoop."

"That sounds reasonable...... But could they tamper with the CAD? And if
so, when would they do that?"

"Unless there's a traitor that snuck into Seventh High's technician team?"

Tatsuya slightly shook his head at Isori and Kanon's questions.

"Alas, we have no proof. Even if we petitioned Seventh High to review their

CADs, they are guaranteed to rebuff us. Still, I think there's an opportunity
to do so."

"So there really is a traitor?"

Tatsuya once more shook his head at Kanon's speculation, but this time he
was noticeably slower.

"While there's no way to properly gauge this possibility...... I think there's a

much higher chance that there is a mole in the committee."

His words stopped there.

Isori, Kanon, and Mikihiko were all struck speechless.

They all wore skeptical expressions.

"......But Onii-sama, assuming there is a mole on the committee, how and

when would they tamper with the CADs? Each school jealously guards
their own competition-use CADs......"

Miyuki would never question Tatsuya's judgment. She was only assuming
her brother's hypothesis was true and asking for the next step in the
puzzle.

Tatsuya did not reply directly, but told everyone a publicly known piece of
information.

"All CADs are guaranteed to leave each school's control and be turned
over to the committee once."

"Ah......!"
Miyuki let out a gasp since she had never thought of this. On top of that,
she was the only one who gasped, since Isori, Kanon, Mikihiko, and Mizuki
were all struck dumb.

"Still, there's no way of telling what their methods are, that is the truly
puzzling area......"

Just in case, they could not let down their guard even for an instant.

Miyuki and Tatsuya, the former who was about to begin her competition
and the latter who was responsible for calibrating CADs, carved those
words into their hearts.

For the third day, First High took First Place in both "Icicle Destruction"
contests, Second Place in Men's "Battle Board", and Third Place in
Women's "Battle Board".

Third High took Second Place in both "Icicle Destruction" contests as well
as First Place in both "Battle Board" contests, so the two schools were
much closer than the day before.
Before the competition began, Mari had told Tatsuya that the Newcomers
Division shouldn't have an impact on the final result. In this case, she
appeared to be mistaken.

Tatsuya meticulously examined the CADs for the players he was

responsible for and prepared for tomorrow's Newcomers Division. It was
this moment Mayumi sent a message via terminal requesting his presence.

Bewildered, he paused his work and thought "What does she need me for
at this hour?". As he headed for the conference room reserved for First
High, he ran into Miyuki at the door.

"Did the President call for you too, Miyuki?"

"Yes, Onii-sama as well?"
Tatsuya initially considered that Isori and company would ask him to come
and discuss countermeasures against future sabotage, but that wouldn't
explain why Miyuki had also been summoned.
"Let's go inside."

"Yes."
There were some things that could only be discerned after careful thought,
and some that couldn't be discerned no matter how much one thought
about it.

If pondering posed no benefit, then taking action was the way to go.

As the ancients say, pointless pondering is time wasting.

"Excuse us."

Tatsuya didn't want to be mired in such tiresome thoughts likewise, he

didn't do so by any great principle, but at least he didn't needlessly worry
himself before opening the door.

Mayumi, Suzune, and Katsuto were inside as well as Mari, who should
be in bed.

"Thanks for your hard work. Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"No, I still need some time."

"Is that so...... I'm sorry, I called Tatsuya-kun as well."

According to Mayumi's guilty words, the primary recipient of these words

was Miyuki.

"Please, take a seat."

The siblings did so side by side.

"There's a small detail I would like to discuss with you two...... Sorry, it's no
small thing.

I asked the two of you to come to discuss something of vital importance."

It seemed like it had been ages since Mayumi's tone was so serious,
causing Tatsuya to perk up a little.

"Rin-chan, can you explain?"

So she still uses "Rin-chan" even when in a serious mood, Tatsuya thought
as he looked towards Suzune.
"I think you two are aware of the current standings."

This was obviously a rhetorical question on Suzune's part, but Tatsuya and
Miyuki both nodded anyway.

"Although we ran into some unforeseen accidents, our school's running

score is roughly the same as our predictions. Unfortunately, Third High's
score is vastly greater than we anticipated, so the difference between us is
a lot less than we had hoped."

At this point, both of the siblings nodded to show that they understood.

"That being said, we still possess enough of a lead. Even if we aren't the
overall winner for the Newcomers Division, we can still claim the overall
victory so long as we claim First Place for the last 'Monolith Code' and the
score differential isn't too large. However, if we fall too far behind Third
High, then it may come down to the 'Mirage Bat' event from the Official
Division."

Everything that Suzune detailed were all assumptions, so was she telling
them to perform well during the Newcomers Division?

If that's all it was, there should be no need to call them at this hour......
Tatsuya was quite confused beneath his poker face.
"The point total from the Official Division is worth twice as much as the
Newcomers Division, so our school's tactical advisors have arrived at the
conclusion that we should make some sacrifices in the Newcomers
Division and channel our firepower into the Official Division's 'Mirage Bat'."

Tatsuya's brow twitched. He quickly read between the lines of "some

sacrifices in the Newcomers Division", thus producing minute changes in
his poker face.

"Yes, Tatsuya-kun, it is exactly as you surmised."

Mayumi adroitly read the fractional changes on Tatsuya's face and

preemptively responded.
"Miyuki-san, we ask you to replace Mari in 'Mirage Bat' for the Official
Division. Tatsuya-kun will continue to serve as Miyuki-san's technician and
compete on the ninth day."

Mayumi's words clashed with her earlier words, this was no discussion.
This was a declaration of what will be done.
"But there are other senpais that are only participating in one event, so
why was I chosen as a replacement knowing that this would imperil the
Newcomers Division?"

Miyuki's voice was steady, not overjoyed that she was suddenly promoted
but staying cool and calm as she raised her next question.

Her reaction prompted an "Oh?" expression from Mari, even Katsuto was
caught slightly off guard.

"We believe this way we can maximize our gains."

Suzune's voice was even calmer as she replied.

"The biggest reason is that we did not prepare a backup for 'Mirage Bat'."

Mari, who was originally the attending player, also joined the ranks of the
persuaders.

"Even for our school's representative players, asking them to suddenly

compete in the air during the Official Division's 'Mirage Bat' is still a stretch.
Compared to this, we have a better chance sending a 1st Year student that
has already trained for this. On top of that"

Mari paused here for emphasis.

She was a young lady that loved to indulge in histrionics.

"Tatsuya-kun, your sister will triumph even in the Official Division, correct?"

And struck the weak spot for massive damage.

Tatsuya felt that this argument was being a little crafty, but he had no
reason to be humble.

"Of course."

"Onii-sama......"
Tatsuya's certain answer was given as if he was stating a fact, causing
Mari to break into a grin, Katsuto to nod kindly, Mayumi to widen her eyes,
Suzune to shift her brows slightly, and Miyuki to duck her head in
embarrassment.
"Since everyone has esteemed us so highly, I will put forth my all as an
engineer. Miyuki, are you willing?"

"Y.....Yes!"
Miyuki's beautiful back was straighter than ever as she replied to Tatsuya
in an elevated voice.

This perfectly conveyed her willingness to charge into the breach.

Afterword
Firstly, allow me to deeply thank all those who actually choose to pick this
book up to read.

It has been 3 months since we last met, however I am sure that there are
also those [who are meeting me for the first time today], however [these
kinds] of words are overly used, therefore please forgive me for using them
as well.

Now that Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei volume 3 has been released

into the market, and in terms of arcs its the <first> of the second arc, I must
apologise for ending it at such a delicate stage, though its because I have
tentatively set the beginning of volume 4 to be the moment when the first
years (that's the protagonist group) really start to liven things up.

The next volume will be the second arc's <final>, rest assured that there
won't be an <intermediate>, however, conversely the thickness of the
volume will be rather spectacular.

Although Dengeki Bunko (ASCII Media Works) are willing to accept any
level of thicknesses, however it would not be good to do this everytime and
that is why from the next next volume onwards I will conduct myself
better I simply cannot make such a promise, as it may be too much for
me to endure.

If you are someone who only reads the afterword after actually finishing the
volume, you will know that this arc's main stage is the inter-school
tournament.

Using invented magic to compete to decide a winner, to use magic skills to

differentiate from each other.

Rather, other than just the representatives abilities, the technician team's
skills also largely affects the chances of victory for the whole team.
For this, perhaps even more so than ball sports or track and field meets, it
is more akin to the relationship found in racing, though unfortunately the
wonderful atmosphere that is usually found in World Motorcycle
Championship (MotoGP) or Formula One racing (F1) is not present here.
.....It's really kind of pitiful that only now do I think of such things, however I
guess I can only content with adding racing elements into the next Nine
Schools Competition then.

For example, using sponsors or girls and et cetera, maybe the editor
will use this as the type of reference materials to focus their research on
(There is no such thing)

I will stop the jokes here. Perhaps some of the readers may have already
realised, the story line visualised this time is really similar to a certain
popular world-class novel's fourth entry.

However, the difference lies in the fact that that popular world-class novel's
fourth entry is about an individual's competition, whereas my story is about
a team competition, in addition to that the forms of magic are completely
different, therefore the competition's circumstances is in no way similar to
each other.

Speaking of similarities, I cracked my brains over (how to properly create

the settings of a fictional competition), and just like a certain popular
world-class novel's..... fourth entry, maybe I should say that the whole thing
is similar to Quidditch.

There are not many changeswrong, I should say that it has already
become a modern day type of a Quidditch competition.

Weirdly, the Author-sama of a certain (story) seems to not have cracked

her mind about how to create such a scene, however I certainly had a
headache over this. What I did manage to create is not nearly engaging
and appealing enough, perhaps this is my limits as a writer.

Each of the competitions rules and regulations aren't that difficult (there
shouldn't be any.....), I hope that all of you will use a light and relaxed
mood to [appreciate] the vigorous actions of the students from the Magic
High Schools.
In the next volume "Nine Schools Competition (II)", the main protagonist
will finally distinguish himself in the competition. And not just in the arena,
the protagonist will also have the opportunity to fully showcase his dark
hero's abilities wantonly in the outside world.

This kind of (abnormal conduct) may lead to a bipolar disposition, however

I hope that you will continue to accompany me onwards in my story.
Next, this time I would also like to extend my thanks to all those who were
involved in the creation of this light novel.

M-sama, thank you giving me so many precise suggestions, especially

[When on a trip, of course you need to go to an onsen]. Without this
suggestion, the colored illustration as well as the normal novel illustration
will not be able to depict such a wonderful scene.

Ishida-sama, Stone-sama, I am sorry that I made so many demands. The

two of you patiently handled all my complicated and difficult requests, and
designed such beautiful and wonderful illustrations for me, and for that I
really don't know how I should thank you guys.

Especially the female protaganist's softening smile (M-sama's name) which

caused me to sprout forbidden feelings for my own creation's character.

Furthermore, I would also like to thank the person in charge of the

illustrations' color schemes, Suenaga-sama, as well as all the other
helpers. It is all thanks to the assistance provided by everyone that an
even better form of my light novel could be published.

And most importantly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the

readers who have picked up this book. It is all thanks to your support that
the following volumes should also be able to be successfully published.

With that, I hope that I will be able to meet you all again in the next volume,
"Nine Schools Competition (II)".

(Satou Tsutomu)
 Disclaimer
Under no circumstances would you be allowed to take
this work for commercial activities or for personal gain.
Baka-Tsuki does not and will not condone any activities
of such, including but not limited to rent, sell, print,
auction.

Credits
Story : Satou Tsutomu
Illustrator : Ishida Kana

Generated on Mon Apr 22 16:35:10 2013