Chapter 4

◊ ◊ ◊

After placing the CAD back into the workroom, Tatsuya returned to the Student Council Room, where Mari immediately grabbed his wrist.

Miyuki, who was being tutored by Azusa near the terminal on the wall, raised an eyebrow at this, while Tatsuya could only signal through his eyes that this couldn't be helped... Although, Tatsuya harbored doubts as to whether she could understand this.

He forcibly suppressed his subconscious urge to throw the other person aside. Though come to speak of it, to be able to capture her target in such a narrow window, Mari's physical abilities must be quite impressive as well.

"While a lot of unexpected events occurred, let's go with the original plan and head to the Public Moral Committee HQ!"

As if not caring about Tatsuya's (largely confused) mental concerns, Mari dragged him away by the arm.

Miyuki finally noticed Tatsuya's confused expression, and redirected her gaze back to the terminal. Albeit, with great difficulty.

Hattori never raised his head since Tatsuya entered the Student Council Room.

It looked like he was trying to ignore everything in that direction, which was probably his greatest concession from an emotional standpoint. For this, Tatsuya was extremely thankful.

Mayumi hastily batted her hand. Exactly what that was for, or what meaning it was trying to convey...? Among the people that Tatsuya had already met, she was probably the hardest to understand.

That should probably be tabled for a later date.

After much difficulty (largely persuasion), Tatsuya was able to free his wrist, and obediently followed Mari.

In the room's farthest corner, in a spot where there would normally be a fire escape, there was instead a staircase leading to the Public Moral

Committee HQ.

Are we ignoring fire safety standards? (!)

Tatsuya ruminated on this, but even if the students were learning on the job, or even brand new, as long as there were excellent Magicians on hand, the lack of firefighting equipment shouldn't have been a problem. Simply using vibration or speed magics was enough to put out a fire, then the use a combination of Gather-Move Smoke Magic would be enough to expel it. In truth, large scale fires in tall skyscrapers were yet another area that Magicians could display their skills.

Given that the lack of an elevator was within the boundaries of fire safety, the rest can be forgiven, Tatsuya thought.

In regards to Tatsuya, who was right on her heels through the door into headquarters, Mari pointed towards the chairs next to the table, and said,

"It's a little bit of a mess. You can rest there for a second."

So this only qualified as a little. That being said, it was not like there was no place to put one's foot down, or that all the chairs were covered with luggage. It was probably because they just came from the neat and tidy Student Council Room, so this image was especially jarring, but that was as much as could be expected.

Books, portable terminals, and even CADs, all sorts of items covered the table. Tatsuya slightly cleared out a space on one of the half-pulled out chairs beside the table.

"The Public Moral Committee Room is like a bachelor's home. Even though I've told them to pick up after themselves time and time again, there's still no one who listens..."

"It can't be helped when no one is around."

Not knowing if Tatsuya's comment was out of mockery or comfort, Mari wrinkled her brow upon hearing this.

"...Our primary objective is patrolling school grounds. The state of affairs within HQ couldn't be avoided."

Presently, there were only two people in the room. The Public Moral Committee consisted of nine people, but the space within the room could accommodate a group of people many times greater than the current roster. Within this space, the idle atmosphere and dispersed items only served to increase the sense of uncleanliness.

What drew Tatsuya's attention, aside from the obvious messiness of the room, were the cluttered objects on the table.

"Even so, Chief, would it be okay if I tidied up a bit?"

"What..."

At Tatsuya's sudden proposal, Mari raised an eyebrow in surprise. — Surprise was well within a senpai's acting repertoire. (!)

"As someone aiming to be a Magic Artificer, I can't stand it when I see CADs scattered around like this. I have the same stance towards abandoned or disabled terminals."

Because of this, Tatsuya's priorities in task management had changed.

"Aiming to be a Magic Artificer? Even with that level of anti-personnel combat capability?"

At Tatsuya's words, Mari earnestly tilted her head a bit. From the recent contest, despite the brief time that had elapsed, the level of anti-personnel combat was superb.

"No matter how hard I try, my abilities can get me to a C-Rank License at best."

But, just as if he was discussing someone else's affairs, Tatsuya mildly used a self-depreciating comment to counter Mari. Mari was too astonished to find any words to rebut that.

In most countries, Magicians operated under the licensing system. The system was based on international standards, from which this country was not an exception. It doesn't matter if you work for the corporations, the government, or even open a private practice, the difficulty and need both reflect upon the level of licensure. Magicians with higher licensing levels received a higher level of compensation; this is the rule of society.

International licenses have 5 levels between A and E.

Selection and ranking are based on Magic Sequence design and usage speeds, scale, and interference strength, which were the exact same scales used in high school technical skills testing. In other words, the educational technical skills grading scale was designed to naturally lead into international licensing standards.

There is a separate, special set of standards for law enforcement and the military, but at the end of the day, those standards are for "law enforcement" or "military types", and not designed to measure Magicians.

"...So, it's okay if I clean up this area?"

"Ah? Hm, I'll help too. We can talk while we work."

Mari hurriedly stood up, probably because she was the type that naturally looked after other people.

Or maybe it was because just sitting there watching Tatsuya toil away at the piles of books was simply rude.

While both of them worked at similar speeds, when compared to the empty space in front of Tatsuya, the pile in front of Mari did not decrease in size, and the surface of the table still wasn't visible.

Tatsuya gave it a brief glance. And let out a small sigh.

Mari stopped her hands in a clear sign of surrender. "Sorry, I'm really bad at this type of work."

She might bear the biggest responsibility for the state of the room, Tatsuya thought.

That only remained in his thoughts and was not verbalized, given that he was a mature adult... maybe. (!)

"Speaking of which, you're quite familiar with those."

"What are you referring to?"

"The book categories. I thought you were just going to put them somewhere else, but I didn't expect you to sort them by subject."

"...Excuse me, sitting on the table is a little..."

In a sudden change of attitude, Mari sat down on the table in the open area that Tatsuya cleared away, looking at the disorganized pile of books. Her dress was directly touching Tatsuya's wrist. The cloth subtly covered the thigh area, leading to a charming pair of slim legs. Even though the flesh was completely covered, the outline left nothing to imagination, thus rendering that position a terrible distraction to mental state.

"Ah, sorry."

Needless to say, Mari's voice did not show a trace of apologetic tone. — Any intentional response would only bring about the reverse effect, thus proving the idiom, silence is golden.

He dug out the bookcase from the pile of books, and placed them properly on the shelves. In this day and age, both paper-based books and bookshelves are considered rarities.

Not to mention that they were magical texts.

"In terms of why we scouted you — on this matter, we went over this earlier. It is to properly adjudicate cases of improper magic usage, and to improve the perception of Course 2 students."

"I remember, but I think that this tactic may cause considerable backlash...

May I take a look at this book?"

After sorting the books, the terminals still needed work. After asking Mari for permission to examine the data, to which Mari had nodded in agreement, Tatsuya restored the terminal to working order, cut the power, shifted the terminal to storage mode, and gathered the parts in one area.

"Why do you think that way?"

"Even though we never mentioned this aloud, if an underclassman were apprehended by someone of equal standing, this would naturally lead to negative reactions."

He left the seat, and began searching the cabinets by the wall.

After placing the terminal within an empty cabinet, he heard a completely irresponsible comment of "That's true" coming from behind him.

"But at the same time, 1st Year students would welcome this change. Haven't your fellow students talked about this?"

"Yes..."

After sorting the terminals, he looked towards other cabinets.

"I think that if a Course 1 student took over, the negative reaction would outnumber the welcoming reaction."

After locating the target, Tatsuya straightened himself, rotating his shoulders before taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves.

"Resentment is likely inevitable. But in regard to newly enrolled Course 1 students, they might not have been exposed to the discriminating thinking long enough to become prejudiced, right?"

"Who knows?"

The object that Tatsuya carefully removed from the cabinet seemed to be a CAD case.

"Just yesterday I ran into the 'I don't acknowledge you' declaration."

After wrapping the grounded protector around his sleeveless wrist, he reached his hand towards the pile of CADs.

"Thank goodness you carry even this type of equipment... Was that person Morisaki?"

"This is quite convenient... You know him too?"

"The teachers recommended him to join the committee."

"Eh?"

The hand that was examining the CAD status faltered slightly. He hastily picked up the CAD that fell to the ground.

"So even you can be surprised."

"Of course."

In response to Mari's laughter, Tatsuya's response was colored by his sighing tone.

If only there was a way to undercut all this antagonism...

"Due to yesterday's ruckus, there are grounds for withdrawing the recommendation, which was what I planned to do, but yesterday's event had nothing to do with you."

"I was involved as well."

"Well then, if we were able to recruit you, it would be much harder to reject him."

"Why not simply take neither of us, what do you think?"

"Do you dislike it?"

Upon receiving such a direct question, Tatsuya stopped the work of his hands.

Temporarily, he put the CAD back into the box, and raised his head.

Mari was sitting on the table looking downwards at Tatsuya's face without a smile on her face.

Her slender and delicate gaze seemed to see right through Tatsuya. "...To tell the truth, I find it very troublesome."

"Hm... And?"

"Despite thinking that it's troublesome, I don't plan on backing out at this point."

Mari's face once more revealed her delighted smirk.

Her devilish expression seemed to have increased her beauty two-fold. "Senpai is the type of person who hates trouble too..."

"You're also the type who likes to cut corners."

Alas, Tatsuya could only admit that she won that round.

◊ ◊ ◊

"...This is the Public Moral Committee HQ, right?"

That was Mayumi's first question after descending the stairs. "That was quite the unexpected greeting."

"What, this is all because of you, Mari. No matter how many times Rin- chan reminds you or how much A-chan begs you, you still haven't cleaned up the place."

"I object to your hurtful and inaccurate description of the situation, Mayumi! It's not that I don't want to clean up, but that I haven't started yet!"

"As a woman, you should pay more attention to this."

Mayumi narrowed her eyes as she squinted at Mari, who hurriedly turned around.

"It's not like I don't want to... Ah, that."

Upon seeing Tatsuya busily examining a terminal's internal condition after removing the protective cover, Mayumi displayed an understanding expression as she nodded.

"So it's because he's been put to good use already."

"Meh, just so."

Mari's back was still facing Mayumi as she replied, just as Tatsuya closed the protective cover and turned around.

"Chief, the inspections are complete. The damaged parts have already been replaced. There should be no more problems."

"Good work."

Mari nodded quickly, but maybe he was reading too much into it, because

Tatsuya thought he could see sweat beads on Mari's temple. Cold sweat.

"Eh... So you address Mari as Chief, which means we have successfully recruited you."

"I thought I never had the right to refuse in the first place..."

Tatsuya didn't even look at Mayumi's teasing expression, and deadpanned his response.

Mayumi looked like she disapproved of Tatsuya's attitude. She placed one hand on her hips, raised the other forefinger, directing her most displeased gaze towards him as she was about to unleash her most exaggerated attitude to voice her objection.

"Tatsuya-kun, isn't your response to your older sister simply too rude?"

...In short, the way Tatsuya framed his response was because he didn't have an older sister. If he admitted this aloud, Tatsuya felt that the situation would only grow worse, so he did not verbalize it.

No matter where it started or where it ended, it was so archetypal that no real response was possible.

If anything, Mayumi's attitude towards him was overly casual, Tatsuya thought to himself.

He had entered this type of situation with similar impressions in the past, and managed to sidestep the issue every time. This time however, Tatsuya somehow felt that he was unable to do so.

"President, just in case, I want to clarify one thing with you."

"Hm, what is it?"

"We met for the first time just before the enrollment ceremony, right?"

It goes without saying that meeting for the first time might constitute an overly familiar attitude, not to mention all the additional meanings behind those words, as Mayumi's eyes widened upon hearing them. However, they quickly reverted to their normal size and narrowed even more, to the point that her expression could only be described as "wicked".

Tatsuya finally realized what a terrible move he made.

Just before, Mari had a very similar facial expression, now that Tatsuya thought about it. So, this must be what people mean by birds of a feather flock together, Tatsuya thought as he wished he could escape reality.

"Is this how it is... Ho ho ho ho ho."

Tiny devil would be a perfectly appropriate description for that smiling face.

"Tatsuya-kun thinks that we've met before, right? And the day of the enrollment ceremony must be our fateful reunion!"

"No, wait, President?"

Exactly why were the tensions rising so quickly?.

"A long time ago we might have met once, then thrust apart by cruel fate, only to be united by destiny once more!"

If she was really reveling in those words, she would be a dangerous person. But if she was acting this entire sequence out while purposefully allowing everyone else to know she was acting, there was something terribly wrong with that kind of personality.

"...Unfortunately, that was undoubtedly our first meeting."

"...I thought so too."

"I say, I say, unless you really got those fateful meeting vibes?"

Mayumi clasped her hands in front of her chest and pressed her face closer towards Tatsuya. —She looked very excited, but in reality she was fooling around. This suited her quite well... Truly, a terrible personality.

"...Sorry, why are you so happy about this?"

Even if he used a question to answer a question, he wouldn't receive an answer.

The only thing he received was that gaze filled with expectations. She is an "S", Tatsuya jotted down in his mental notebook. Seizing the opportunity, Tatsuya replied.

"...If this is destiny, then it definitely isn't fate, and looks more like doom."

Tatsuya's reply caused Mayumi's face to darken as she turned around. "Is that so...?" A lonely muttering meandered to Tatsuya's ear.

Dark clouds of depression gathered behind her back.

Tatsuya also felt that he might have gone too far. Even though his response was based on his estimation that Mayumi was completely teasing him, if there was a shade of sincerity in them, then he needed to apologize.

However...

There was no way to tell if it was good luck or bad, but the sense of guilt didn't linger for too long.

That was probably due to confusion, given the circumstances. "...Tch."

As her shoulders slumped slightly, Mayumi's lips dropped a sound that could only mean a sense of defeat.

It was Tatsuya's turn to widen his eyes.

It was only a small sound to be sure, and not graceful in any way, but could still be identified. (!)

"Um, President?"

"Hm, what is it?"

Mayumi turned around to face Tatsuya; her elegant smile would have charmed any newly enrolled male student.

"...Why do I feel like I understand you a little better now, President?"

Feeling utterly exhausted, Tatsuya thought that he glimpsed Mayumi's real face behind the mask.

And that is, a smiling face that loved to tease others.

"It's about time to stop the jokes. Tatsuya-kun, too much leisure time can be a bad thing."

Towards Mayumi, who was completely guiltless and treated the entire thing as a joke, Mari said,

"You can't use the same tricks you used on Hattori, Mayumi. Your appearance doesn't work on him."

Mari took the opportunity to throw in her two cents.

"Don't describe others in such an evil manner. It's as if I like messing with underclassmen."

Unable to ignore the previous comment, Mayumi's answer became a little heated.

"Regarding what I just heard..."

Tatsuya deeply regretted opening his mouth with prior consideration, and began to clean up again. If he stayed too long in the miasma spread by the others, he would definitely suffer additional damage.

"The difference in Mayumi's attitude is because she's already acknowledged you, Tatsuya-kun.

She probably considers the two of you to be quite alike in some areas.

In other words, she's playing coy. She only takes off her mask in front of the people she acknowledges."

At Mari's oddly solemn expression, Tatsuya felt a sense of unease. "Don't believe what Mari says, Tatsuya-kun.

But, I guess I do acknowledge you?

It feels like I can't deal with you the same way I treat the others. Maybe the one touched by fate is me."

Hearing this, and seeing Mayumi's smiling face that no sane man could hate, Tatsuya's internal pace had been completely disrupted.

Looks like challenging these two directly from the front would be an exercise in futility, Tatsuya thought.

◊ ◊ ◊

The reason Mayumi came to visit was actually to inform them that the Student Council Room was closing early. She was only supposed to check on Tatsuya in passing, but that had quickly become her primary objective before long. It probably wasn't a good idea to dwell too long on that subject.

Since the end of the enrollment ceremony, many different action items had also come to a head. "Then, I'm going ahead." Mayumi waved and walked towards the Student Council Room.

Tomorrow marked the first day for the competition for new club members, so the activity level of the Public Moral Committee was going to increase as well. Mayumi's conversation with Mari and Tatsuya ended at this point.

Current information systems, much like their predecessors, required very little time to operate.

Several of them needed to be shut down, but even if this step was overlooked, they would still automatically enter sleep mode.

The only thing that needed to be done at this point was set safety protocols, but at this opportune moment — or maybe unfortunate moment

-two male students entered the Public Morale Committee headquarters. "Hi."

"Good morning!"

A vibrant greeting spread throughout the room. "Oi, Nee-san, can we come in?"

Where the heck is this, and what year are we in? Tatsuya thought.

The subject in question was not overly tall, but possessed a sturdy build, with shortly cropped hair that was very suited for a headband. And to so casually use "Nee-san", he had to be referring to—

(Must be Watanabe-senpai...)

Tatsuya glanced briefly at Mari, who was a little embarrassed.

The fact that she still retained (at the very least) some sense of normalcy brought a ridiculous amount of relief to Tatsuya. "Chief, today's patrol is done! No arrests!"

When compared to the other guy, this one had a bland appearance and his speech pattern was quite normal, but filled with an imposing manner. The unmoving stance he took while giving his report reminded people of a soldier, or maybe a police officer, or someone part of a system that had largely remained unchanged over the years. (!)

"...You're telling me that Nee-san cleaned this room?"

At the abrupt changes in the activity room, the sturdy one could not conceal his surprise as he walked towards Tatsuya.

There shouldn't have been a major difference in weight, but amazingly, his footsteps were incredibly slow in comparison. (!)

Just as the boy passed in front of Mari, she casually stood up, looked towards him—

"A-ya!"

SPA! There was a sound that was pleasing to the ear, just as the boy crouched down and covered his head.

Mari held a notebook rolled into a rod. When did she pull that out?.

"Don't call me Nee-san! How many times do I have to tell you for you to remember?! Koutarou, is your brain a decoration?!"

Tatsuya had not yet sorted through his confusion, but Mari had already roared her displeasure at the boy covering his head.

"Please don't hit me on the head, Nee... No, Chief. Speaking of which, who's this? The rookie?"

It probably didn't hurt that much, despite the yammering of the boy named Koutarou. However, noticing the moving rolled-up notebook, he quickly changed Nee-san to Mari's official title.

In front of Koutarou, who had gone rigid in nervousness, Mari lowered her shoulders and sighed.

"...It's just as you said, he's the rookie. 1st Year Class E Shiba Tatsuya. Recommended by the Student Council."

"Eh... There's no insignia."

Koutarou was very excited as he examined Tatsuya's coat, while at the same time checking out Tatsuya's build.

"Tatsumi-senpai, that's violating the ban on certain words! At this time, I think Course 2 student would be the proper description." (!)

The other boy, despite saying this on the outside, could not disguise his coldly analytical body language. "The two of you should be careful. That kind of thinking may lead to a world of hurt in battle? (!)I'll only say it once. He just thrashed Hattori."

However, just as Mari said this with a teasing smile on her face, the two boys' expressions became grave.

"...This guy, took out Hattori?"

"Yes, in a formal duel."

"What! The undefeated Hattori, losing to a newcomer."

"No need to shout, Sawaki. Didn't I just say that?"

Tatsuya was not pleased at being stared at for so long, but these were not just upperclassmen, but his seniors in the Public Moral Committee. He just had to bear with it for a little longer.

"This guy is quite determined."

"He's got potential, Chief."

Like musicians recovering from a disrupted rhythm, their gazes changed. Almost as if they could change appearances on cue.

"Surprised?"

"Hm?"

The question was too vague, so it was hard to tell what was being asked, but it didn't seem like Mari expected Tatsuya to answer anyways.

"This school is filled with people immersed in the idea that labeling Blooms and Weeds determines their superiority. To be honest, I hate that. So I am very pleased with the outcome of today's match.

Thankfully, Mayumi and Juumonji both understand my personality. Thus, the members recommended by the Student Council and the Club Management Group aren't people brainwashed into that sort of thinking. While I can't say that there's no sense of superiority here, we're all people that can objectively evaluate another person's skills.

Unfortunately, the three students recommended by the teachers are rather from the former category, so there's nothing we can do about it, but I think this place wouldn't be a bad fit for you."

"3rd Year Class C Tatsumi Koutarou. Welcome aboard Shiba. If you got the skills, you're fine in my book."

"2nd Year Class D Sawaki Midori. Welcome to our group, Tatsuya-kun."

Koutarou and Sawaki both reached out a hand. Just as Mari said, there wasn't a hint of insult in their expression. Their earlier evaluation was simply to see if Tatsuya had any ability, and whether he was a Course 1 or Course 2 student made no difference to them, Tatsuya finally understood this.

He had to admit he was somewhat surprised. Indeed, this wasn't a bad atmosphere.

He returned their greeting and shook Koutarou's hand. For some reason, the hand wasn't released. !)

"Juumonji is from the Club Management Group. You can refer to him as Group Leader Juumonji."

Was it just to tell me that? You could've told me that after you released my hand. (!)

"I'm up next. Please refer to me by my family name Sawaki."

Upon feeling pressure on his hand, Tatsuya's consciousness was pulled back to reality.

His grip strength had increased to the point where you could hear the movement, Tatsuya was surprised to find.

This school had excellent students, and not just solely in the magic department.

"Don't call me by my name." That appeared to be the warning.

There was no need for such a roundabout warning, as Tatsuya was not in the habit of referring to upperclassmen by name, but since Sawaki took time to specifically mention this, he should respond as well.

"I'll remember that."

At the same time these words were spoken, his right hand was released.

Upon seeing Tatsuya's physical skills, Koutarou's surprise surpassed Sawaki's own.

"Ho, that's quite impressive. Sawaki's grip strength is at least in the triple digits."

"...I think that hardly qualifies as normal physical abilities, even for Magicians."

Tatsuya pretended not to know, giving only a light response.

He was probably going to get along quite well with these two -- Tatsuya thought.