Chapter 25

It was the fifth day of the Nine Schools Competition and the second morning of the Newcomers Division.

Tatsuya arrived in front of the arena that was busy preparing for the Newcomers Division's Icicle Destruction.

Several large cranes were unloading 1 meter x 1 meter x 2 meter icicles from large battlefield vehicles specially modified for this purpose. Seeing this would naturally cause people to believe that the days where super robot anime became reality were not too far off.

"...If we could completely ignore energy efficiency, that is."

"Onii-sama? What are you talking about?"

As if to reject this outrageous line of thinking, Tatsuya involuntarily started muttering to himself.

"No, it's nothing."

She did not pursue this vague answer. "Let's go quickly."

"Yes."

Originally, this was only a stopping point along their route to the competition location.

Tatsuya urged Miyuki onward towards the resting area located on the top floor of the Arrow Tower.

◊ ◊ ◊

There was still 30 minutes until the start of the first round in the morning.

When Tatsuya entered the arena, there was still plenty of spare time. "Good morning!"

...Still, the players for the first round were already there.

"Good morning...

Sorry for making you wait so long."

"Oh please, I was the one who came too early."

The player for the first round of Icicle Destruction, Akechi Eimi, smiled as she shook her head and swept a lock of her ruby red hair back from her face.

"Good morning, Eimi. How early did you get up?"

"Good morning, Miyuki. For some reason, I woke up before the alarm went off. It's like I haven't recovered from yesterday's excitement."

Her other name was Emilia Goldie. Her full name was Akechi Emilia Goldie Eimi. Eimi was a quarter British stock. Her nickname "Emmy", rather than originating from her Japanese name "Eimi", probably came from her British name "Emilia".

A Magician's ability was heavily influenced by genetics.

Due to the connection between magic and national power, each country jealously guarded its magic bloodlines and either officially or unofficially forbade international marriages between Magicians. (This country that superficially allowed freedom of marriage belonged in the "unofficial" category.)

Yet, in the generation of Tatsuya's grandparents, allied countries actively encouraged international marriages between Magicians. The goal was to "cross"

"excellent stock" to "develop" superior Magicians.

The ensuing result was that over half of the current students at magic high schools boasted bloodlines from Western Europe or India.

Leo was one of them, and the female student known as Akechi Eimi was another.

As could be inferred from her words, she also appeared in yesterday's Speed Shooting competition. This was the second day in a row she was working alongside Tatsuya. Besides Miyuki and the two others, Eimi was the first one on the Women's Team to jell with Tatsuya. For Tatsuya, she was also the most relaxed young lady on the team.

After the two of them exchanged greetings, they delved into girl talk as Tatsuya smoothly removed the CAD from the case he was carrying, performed a cursory examination, and handed it to Eimi.

This was a clumsy looking, shotgun-shaped Specialized CAD that measured 50 cm in length and completely dwarfed a young lady's hand.

The weapon looked quite heavy, but because recoil wasn't an issue, the weight was significantly lower than a normal firearm thanks to its lightweight materials. Yet Eimi's movements were like something straight out of a Western flick as she swung the gun around and took aim out the window.

"...Eimi, you're not British, but American, aren't you?"

"How many times do I have to say this, no. Now even Miyuki is saying this too? My grandmother's family was knighted by the Tudors themselves."

Contrary to the content of her words, her tone remained unperturbed.

She maintained her current posture and started to supply the CAD with psions. Somewhere along the way, the safety was removed. Just like Morisaki's Quick Draw, this was an entirely different type of pristine CAD drawing.

"How is it?"

"Hm... Now I know how Shizuku feels."

Everyone in the 1st Year Women's Team knew about the fact that the Ojou-sama from the wealthy Kitayama Family wanted to "reserve" Tatsuya.

"Are there any problems?"

"Yep, it's perfect!"

Eimi relaxed her posture and smiled in delight.

Apart from her ruby hair and moss green pupils, her outward appearance was thoroughly Japanese. Even among her peers, she was the one who had the most childish impression. Rather than calling her earlier smile "delightful", a more innocent "teehee" was probably closer to the mark.

"I have no idea what you're talking about..."

Eimi tilted her head at Tatsuya's muttering, but her smile didn't fade in the slightest. One of the chief reasons was likely because she had no idea what he was talking about.

"At least let me run a few calibrations. Can you put on the ear set?"

"Eh? Why?"

"Eimi... In truth, you didn't get up early, but didn't sleep at all, right?"

At being asked this sudden question, Eimi's smile grew a tad forced. "...How could you tell?"

Seeing Eimi's widened eyes, Tatsuya silently nodded and, in response, took the CAD from her hands and restarted the calibration process.

"...You're sharper than my parents."

Eimi obediently put on the headphones used for measurement while nagging with an "I can't believe you" and placing her hands on the measuring pads.

Seeing the numbers scrolling down the screen, Tatsuya's expression darkened.

With Tatsuya's minute facial changes, Eimi's body also started to curl up. This scene didn't escape Miyuki's eyes.

"Well, Onii-sama?"

There was no reprimand hidden in her words, but when Tatsuya heard her words, he raised his head in realization and smiled as he rubbed the space between his brows with two fingers.

"Unless Eimi also forgoes Sound Sleep?"

"Also? You mean Shiba-kun does that too?"

Eimi's reaction prompted Tatsuya's expression to soften somewhat as he nodded.

"Wow, I discovered a comrade. How should I put this, doesn't that give you an uncomfortable feeling? Especially those weird sound waves."

"There's no actual health risk... But I do agree that it is quite uncomfortable. I do make an exception for sleepless nights though. Especially if I have a competition the next day."

"OK~."

Eimi's response was perfect for a child that had just been scolded by a parent. Tatsuya could only smile wryly at this.

"Then, I'll raise the feedback loop a little higher... This might be a little irritating, so bear with it for a little bit. Certainly you wouldn't want to be accused of 'losing the contest owing to lack of sleep', right?"

"I'll bear with it, please! If that really happened, they'll never let me live this down."

There was nothing worthy of note in her tone. Eimi blushed as she pressed her hands against several interesting points on her pants. Tatsuya paused and was frozen for a solid second.

"I really didn't want to bring this up, but, Miyuki...

What do you people do in your rooms?"

"N, nothing, Onii-sama, Miyuki hasn't done anything shameful!"

"Oh, really~? Miyuki's room is a complete safe house."

"Eimi! Do not speak of such strange nonsense in front of Onii-sama!"

An awkward silence covered the resting area. To break this stalemate, an abrupt change in the conversation was inevitable. He wasn't entirely sure who this excuse was directed to, Tatsuya thought to himself.

"...Fortunately, the first round is in the early morning so you can take a nap before the second round begins. Sorry, Miyuki, but could I trouble you to prepare the 'Sleeping Dock' for immediate use?"

"I understand. I will be right back."

After Miyuki departed to setup the sensory inhibitory dock (soundproof, shockproof, light-shielded, sealed single bed), Tatsuya started CAD calibration.

◊ ◊ ◊

Although the first round got a little tense at one point, victory was finally achieved with three icicles still left in allied territory.

Speaking of which, the ending result was that Eimi was currently deep in dream land without any opportunity to complain that "It's too dark~" or "It's too cramped~".

This was the fifth event, which was the second event for the female students from First High. They were currently in the resting area before the match began.

(I seem to recall saying something very similar recently.) Tatsuya thought of this, but was still forced to say it aloud.

"Shizuku... Are you really wearing that uniform during the competition?"

"Yeah?"

When Shizuku replied with an "Is something wrong?" expression on her face, Tatsuya really wanted to cover his head and was completely at a loss.

Icicle Destruction involved the players standing on four meter tall platforms and defending the 12 icicles in their own territory that measured 12 square meters while simultaneously knocking down or destroying all their opponent's 12 icicles.

The players were strictly using long range magic, so there was no need to move their physical bodies.

In other words, the player's wardrobe played no role in this event. (Besides the uniforms that hinder the grip on their CADs.)

The only criterion for wardrobe was that it "must be decent".

And the ensuing result was that — while unintentional — at some point Women's Icicle Destruction became a fashion show.

In addition, when Kanon appeared for the Official Division on the second and third days, she was wearing a fairly normal sports uniform. She wore tights, a mini jacket, an adequate shirt, as well as long socks and tennis shoes.

On the other hand, Eimi was dressed like a jockey, complete with a white collared shirt, red riding jacket on the upper body, tight women's pants and black riding boots below, along with a black duck-billed hat.

Still, those still fell within normal boundaries and didn't qualify as anything particularly gaudy.

Then, there was Shizuku

...

"Uh, Shizuku..."

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't the tamoto...

Get in the way?"

Yes.

No need to flog the dead horse, but that was a "tamoto" from a kimono.

"There's no problem. The sleeves are short enough, and I also have the obi."

Speaking of which, Shizuku deftly tied the obi in front of Tatsuya.

Such a fluid motion clearly showed that she had plentiful experience in a kimono.

Yet—

(If you needed to use the obi to keep the tamoto in check, wouldn't you be better off forgoing the kimono in the first place?)

Tatsuya thought of this, but managed to hold his retort in.

There wasn't much time before the next round, so Tatsuya quickly gave up on persuading her otherwise — after all, this was the "official garb" for boosting one's spirits. In that case, he'll just have to turn a blind eye.

Shizuku chose — correction, the CAD that Tatsuya chose for her was a Generalized CAD.

This implied that the event demanded a careful energy allocation that possessed a balanced strategy.

It wasn't like Tatsuya could keep pulling rabbits out of a hat. To be precise, Tatsuya himself had no interest in creating devious tactics.

For him, it was all about providing the players with the most appropriate tools and the strategy that could bring about their maximum potential, and nothing more. In light of this, if direct assault was the most effective strategy, he would ruthlessly adopt that as his course of action.

Just like this match.

The moment Shizuku appeared on the platform, the audience raised a clamor likely due to her outfit.

However, the person in question was steady even if a light breeze had grazed her face as she lifted her left arm before her chest, the tamoto held firmly in place by the obi.

Shizuku's CAD was just like the one she normally used, with the command console facing the inside of her arm.

In the recent age, most female Magicians used CADs with command consoles facing towards the outside. Despite the height of fashion, Shizuku still preferred to use the feminine inward facing console, which befitted her status as an Ojou-sama. Still, given her usual taciturn and emotionless nature as well as the occasional merciless snarking, this honestly gave people an incompatible feeling.

If voiced aloud in front of aforementioned young lady, this would undoubtedly end with a beating. Tatsuya adjusted the focal point on the monitoring device and set these thoughts aside.

In the following time period,

Shizuku's mission was to focus entirely on this match. Tatsuya's mission was to gather his attention entirely on her.

◊ ◊ ◊

"Miyuki...

Aren't you going where Tatsuya-kun is?"

Honoka piped up from beside her. At this time, Miyuki was sitting in a different section of the stands reserved for players and auxiliaries that was not part of the normal audience stands and was patiently waiting for the match to begin.

Just as she did during Eimi's match in the first round, the moment Tatsuya entered the monitoring room, Miyuki split apart from him.

It was perfectly natural for players from the same school to cheer on their teammates from the monitoring room, but—

"Icicle Destruction is a solo performance. Sooner or later, Shizuku and I will meet on the field, so wouldn't it be unfair for me to sneak a peek at her trump card?"

In terms of trump cards, there were certainly opportunities during practice to see them. Even First High wasn't extravagant enough to prepare several large scale practice facilities for the Nine Schools Competition.

So, what Miyuki was actually referring to was something else.

They were fated to be opponents. Miyuki didn't want to see Tatsuya, who was serving as their mutual technician, worry needlessly about such trivialities. This was probably Miyuki's real concern.

At the same time, she didn't want Shizuku to be distracted by her presence.

Honoka and Shizuku were close friends and rivals since elementary school. Until middle school, Honoka saw Shizuku as her strongest opponent and conversely, Shizuku also saw Honoka as her most formidable opponent.

In their cohort and circle of friends, no one could match them in terms of magical talent.

Upon entering high school and receiving official magic training, both Honoka and Shizuku yearned to meet someone other than each other who could push them to their limits. Yet, somewhere in the depths of their hearts, a stubborn belief that could not be eradicated told them that they would never meet someone who mirrored their talents.

In the same school, in the same tutoring class, there were no children from the Ten Master Clans, but several children from the "Numbers System". Still, none of them was worthy of being a new rival.

However, upon entering the high school entrance examination, their "conceit" was thoroughly annihilated.

By this divinely crafted young lady sitting next to her.

Based on their grades on the standardized magic tests, Honoka was fourth place behind Miyuki, Shizuku, and Morisaki. In Honoka's opinion, even if Shizuku didn't count, she didn't feel that she was any weaker than Morisaki.

The first subject in the high school standardized exam was a simple technique involving ten processes. (Only someone of Honoka's caliber would be able to call "ten processes" as simple.)

There was no real stress from the technique and Morisaki only seized the advantage because of his superior speed. If this was a more complex technique with additional processes, Honoka was adamant that she would have outperformed him.

Yet Miyuki was an "exception".

She possessed the overwhelming ability and strength that made jealousy itself ludicrous.

Even if someone claimed she was from the Ten Master Clans, Honoka would undoubtedly hold that to be true.

But that was only natural.

—That was what Honoka thought when she first beheld Miyuki's magic in the entrance examination area.

Honoka was completely unaware how close she was to the truth, proving beyond doubt how utterly Miyuki's magic astounded and overwhelmed her.

This impression followed her for the next four months in school and, rather than being diluted, only intensified even more.

Honoka felt that even the solitary Shizuku would not be able to calmly manipulate her magic normally if Miyuki stood before her.

When she learned that Miyuki was being switched to Mirage Bat for the Official Division, and thus avoided meeting her on the field, Honoka let out a huge sigh of relief.

As she thought back to the time of the entrance exam, Honoka was naturally reminded of the first time she saw "him".

In reality, Honoka's first encounter with Tatsuya was not the incident that occurred shortly after the day of enrollment. It was not the time when Erika and company were arrayed against them, with Honoka casting magics against school rules that would have landed her in a world of trouble with the Public Morals Committee Chief had Tatsuya not intervened. Honoka had encountered Tatsuya long before this incident.

Coincidentally on the day of the entrance examination, not just Miyuki, but Tatsuya was also in the same testing group as Honoka.

This pair of siblings was not outwardly similar.

Honoka didn't possess the excess mental finesse to remember everyone's names.

The reason Tatsuya left a lasting impression on Honoka wasn't because he was Miyuki's older brother.

His technical scores were only so-so.

Regardless of speed, strength, scale, every subject was thoroughly mundane and unappealing, to the point that they could be labeled as below average.

However, his magic was so beautiful it was breathtaking!

Honoka was incapable of analyzing Magic Sequences like Tatsuya.

Neither was she like Mizuki in her sensitivity towards psions and pushions.

When compared to normal Magicians, Honoka, who specialized in light wave oscillation magic, was only acutely sensitive towards the magical side effects that created light wave background noise.

An overabundance of interference or remnants of Magic Sequences would all form into surplus psion surges and oscillate in the empty air. When photons interact with these responses, the ensuing result is light wave noise.

But this cacophony was wholly undetectable in his magic.

In other words, there were no excess materials in his Magic Sequence. His Magic Power was expanded to its limit and entirely devoted towards phenomenon rewriting, making for a magic that was calculated down to the last detail.

Honoka thought that it was a work of pure art.

Hitherto, she had never seen such a beautiful piece of magic.

Afterwards, even though she bore witness to Miyuki's dominating magic, she still couldn't forget that magic.

That's why Honoka felt deeply betrayed when she saw the lack of the eight petal flower on Tatsuya's breast during the student orientation.

This was the reason why Honoka nursed an overly antagonistic attitude towards Tatsuya's group that day.

—Why are you on that side (Course 2)!? —Why aren't you on this one (Course 1)!? Honoka's eyes were blurred by this illogical fury.

True, in terms of speed, strength and scale, every category clearly set him far from the standards (of a Course 1 student).

Yet, the fact that "he" who could weave such wondrous magic had to be satisfied with being a mere "substitute (Weed)", Honoka felt that this was utterly unforgivable.

"...Honoka, what's wrong?'

Shocked, Honoka turned to her side to find Miyuki watching her in confusion.

She must have noticed that Honoka had fallen into an odd state of silence in the middle of their conversation.

"S-Sorry, it's nothing."

Even she would suspect herself if something of that sort had happened. When she considered her actions as well as her misdirected "anger displacement" and the reason why she consciously noticed "him", Honoka blushed to the roots of her hair and drooped her head.

◊ ◊ ◊

"It's finally Kitayama's match."

"Looks like she's carrying a Generalized CAD."

Two ladies from the Women's Team brass were hunched shoulder to shoulder in front of a screen at the pavilion. Suzune, who was overloaded with work from the unending stream of results, sighed as she beheld this sight.

Yet, the two of them blatantly ignored this obvious sign of displeasure. "I wonder what trick he's got up his sleeve this time."

"Hard to say. Maybe he's intentionally playing mind games with us and will launch a full frontal assault precisely because we're thinking that way."

Mayumi and Mari were congregated in front of the widescreen monitor just like two young children sharing their favorite television show.

Suzune had long since given up. Sighing once more, she accepted the inevitability of working alone.

Neither Mayumi nor Mari batted an eyelid at Shizuku's choice of wardrobe.

For three time Nine Schools Competition veterans like them, this didn't qualify as anything outlandish.

In fact, they may be thinking "Huh, there are actually less of them this year!"

Also owing to this reason, Shizuku was someone who came to watch the Nine Schools Competition every year, so she wasn't embarrassed by her dress either.

"Ho, we're starting."

The two of them edged closer to the screen.

◊ ◊ ◊

The lights next to the flanks of the arena flashed red.

The lights advanced to yellow, and the moment when the lights turned green—

Shizuku's ring started dancing along the command console. Toward her own 12 icicles.

She set all of them as targets and fired the Magic Sequence.

Immediately afterward, her opponent's magic came rushing towards Shizuku's field.

This was a popular tactic involving Move-Type Magic to blitzkrieg the opponent's field.

Except Shizuku's icicles stood rock solid against her opponent's magic and didn't shift at all.

◊ ◊ ◊

"Ho, Data Fortification."

Every HQ was equipped with a widescreen monitor that could analyze the magic being used as well as the type of magic used and its strength. Much like a heat display, the various displays were expressed through various shades of color.

Using this function, it was a simple matter to determine the offensive and defensive positions.

Data Fortification.

Eidos was a record of the current status of an information body. Through this information body, parts of the information or even the entire whole could be replicated and projected back into the target to protect the Eidos from being altered any further. This was known as Data Fortification within the Counter Magic field. The copied portions from Data Fortification possess the ability to prevent magic from affecting the target.

Shizuku used Data Fortification to emphasize the target's location "right there". As the screen plainly displayed, her opponent's Move- Type Magic was nullified by Shizuku's magic.

"Quite the direct confrontation."

"Wasn't this precisely how Mari predicted?"

Suzune, who overheard the conversation, couldn't help but think: "Not really, I hardly think that this strategy was created solely to play with your heads..." Of course, this thought couldn't be passed to the mesmerized observers.

"Still, I think that for Magicians with high interference strength like Kitayama-san, rather than using Data Fortification, she should use wide area interference as a 'frontal assault'."

"Based on yesterday's results, Kitayama also has high magic capacity that is hard to find. She shouldn't feel any stress from copying the Eidos. Also, for Interference-Type Magic, Data Fortification is more efficient compared to wide area interference."

On the screen, her opponent once again tried to use Move-Type Magic to attack, but was nullified just as before.

Simultaneously, just as the attacking magic faded away— Three of the icicles in the opponent's field shattered.

"...What just happened right now? Mayumi, did you catch that?"

Mari asked in confusion, but Mayumi turned around without any confidence in her expression.

"I can only guess based on the data from the screen..."

Obviously, observing the analysis was vastly different from feeling the magic from the front lines.

"I think, that may have been the application of 'Resonance'."

The monitor was unable to keep up with the effects of indirect magic on the target, so the only way to narrow down what magic was used was through the surrounding environment.

"She shifted the irregular frequency from the Oscillation Magic into her opponent's field and locked the frequency just as it started to resonate with the icicles and raised the output at the same time, thus creating resonance. I think that's how it was."

"So that's how she did it... To avoid Counter Magic, she didn't directly attack the icicles using magic attacks, but used the ground as a medium. While they both used the ground as a medium, when compared to Kanon's 'Mine Genesis' that relied purely on physical power, this is a much higher level technique. Sometimes I really can't tell who the upperclassman is."

"Precisely because finding the resonance point takes some time, she used Data Fortification to buy time. She looks very adept with manipulating the oscillation frequency."

"Indeed."

Mayumi and Mari were both thinking about the Non-Systematic Magic Tatsuya used to crush Hattori. It also utilized precisely manipulated psion surges to create overlapping oscillations.

What was being displayed on the monitor wasn't just Shizuku's artistic ability, but the hand of Tatsuya working from behind the scenes. On that point, neither of them disagreed.

◊ ◊ ◊

(As expected of Shizuku, she's doing admirably...

)

Tatsuya quietly nodded as he surveyed the players from the opposite side of the screen.

Four icicles had already fallen in the opposing field. All 12 icicles were still standing in the allied field.

The biological displays on the screen revealed only minor exhaustion, so there was no impact on the ability to maintain magic invocation.

There was no trace of any symptoms that could exhaust a player like the ones Eimi displayed. And regardless of whether it was "Data Fortification" or "Resonance", her performance was just as expected. Nay, her performance surpassed what she could do in training.

Half of Mayumi and Mari's hypothesis was spot on, but the other half was incorrect. Shizuku's mother was the one who specialized in "Resonance". Before teaming up with Tatsuya, Shizuku was already well versed in that technique (by a high school student's standards).

By using magic that raised the oscillation frequency at irregular levels and directly projecting that on the target while synchronizing the frequencies, this destroyed the target using precise oscillation frequencies at the exact moment when resistance was the weakest. Originally, "Resonance" was this type of two-stage process. When applying oscillation-type magic onto the target object, a Magician can feel out the resonance point based on the Eidos' resistance to the interfering Magic Sequence; if using regular intervals, then an alternate method would have to be used to identify the target's resonance.

This was not reliant on monitoring devices, but done while compiling Activation Sequences into Magic Sequences. That was the part that Tatsuya was responsible for.

This technique was created by adding a new process into the "Resonance" magic that Shizuku was familiar with. Yet, Shizuku was able to wield this at will. Obviously, this level of skill was not obtained by just training in school, but honed through long hours of practice outside of class.

As another icicle collapsed in the enemy's field, one of the allied icicles collapsed as well.

However, this was only her opponent's "last gasp". Tatsuya could tell with a glance.

The opposing player threw everything she had into that last attack. She most likely knew the writing on the wall, but desperately wanted to avoid being defeated without knocking down a single icicle.

Tatsuya watched Shizuku's back with his own eyes and not through the monitor.

The psions she was releasing were not ruffled in the slightest.

No sense of wavering, no hint of pride. At the same time that she vigorously defended her own territory, she retaliated against her opponent's field.

Probably because she wasn't fixated on her opponent for some bizarre reason. She was fighting in a manner that put anyone watching her at ease.

Her opponent, who had expended all her energy, did not put up any futile resistance.

The three icicles in the enemy's territory shattered apart like a sand castle standing against the incoming tide.

◊ ◊ ◊

Miyuki's match was the last one in the first round.

This was a long wait from early morning, but since lunch time was also figured into the time, this didn't feel that long for her.

Speaking of Tatsuya, he was also up since morning and this was his third match, so he was hardly "waiting".

Miyuki and Tatsuya were the only ones in the resting area for players. Honoka and Shizuku were nowhere in sight.

They had mentioned during lunch that they would be cheering her on during the match. Now, they probably already met up with Erika's crew.

In recompense, which was hardly the issue at hand, Isori and Kanon as well as Mayumi and Mari came to support her.

(It's a huge cheerleading party...)

Tatsuya wore a helpless look on his face as he murmured in the privacy of his mind. Of course, he actually said something else.

"I'm glad that you all came to cheer on Miyuki, but...

Chief, shouldn't you be in bed?"

"What, even you're treating me like an invalid? It's not like I have to hop around and dance, so there's no problem."

Yet, it was still a serious injury. Tatsuya swallowed those words and directed the conversation towards Mayumi.

"Oh... Then shouldn't the President be at the pavilion? I thought the

Men's Team is still in the middle of their event."

"No problem. I left that to Hanzou-kun. I'm also stepping down two months from now, so it's not a good idea to rely on me for everything."

This was a valid argument, but smacked of someone feigning silliness.

Still, their presence wasn't going to negatively affect the match, so continuing this conversation would do more harm than good.

"Miyuki, we have so many reliable senpais here to cheer you on, make sure you're not more anxious than usual."

Pfft, someone was snickering in the back, but Tatsuya chose to ignore that.

Apparently, he was doting on Miyuki too much. But for Tatsuya, his sister was always (logically) going to be his sister.

"Please do not concern yourself. Because Onii-sama is by my side."

Following that, Miyuki raised her head and gazed at her brother whom she had complete faith in. In her ears, all other sounds became inaudible.

◊ ◊ ◊

Miyuki's appearance on the platform threw the crowd into pandemonium.

"That, incredibly, that is..."

"But suits her quite well. What do you think, Kanon?"

"I say, that's simply gorgeous."

Tatsuya tuned out Kanon and Isori's conversation like it was a BGM and focused on preparations to monitor Miyuki's status. In the blink of an eye, the preparations were complete. Tatsuya peered towards Miyuki and suddenly realized: "Right, that's what everyone is staring at."

Miyuki was dressed in a fine white hakui paired with a crimson hakama. Her hair was held back by a white strap.

True, the hairstyle was slightly different and if in place of a CAD she held bells or a sakai, she would be even more stunning. It was that kind of garb.

Originally, she was already gorgeous and now paired with this wardrobe, she gave off an almost divine aura.

No, perhaps she had already surpassed divine possession and was now approaching the realms of the gods themselves.

"Ouch, her opponent seems to have been submerged."

"Nothing they can do about that. Even I must admit that I can't hold a candle to that. ...

Ah, unless that was the goal all along?"

Mayumi and Mari's voices from behind him were plainly directed towards himself. Tatsuya turned around and replied.

"By goal, you mean what? There's nothing particularly astounding about using that attire for magic ceremonies."

Still, his answer was literally the answer to a literal question, but there was clearly a mismatch in what both sides wanted to communicate.

"...Tatsuya-kun's family follows the Shinto system?"

This time the question was even more off the mark. After Mayumi's unrelenting pursuit, Tatsuya didn't hesitate as he shook his head.

"Hardly, it's simply because we're Japanese."

"...Really, maybe, fine."

Mayumi reluctantly nodded. Tatsuya left with a "Let's end the conversation here" and turned back towards the monitors.

Tatsuya's words themselves were hard to deny and were fairly logical.

Yet, if someone witnessed the entire process, they would immediately be able to tell that he wasn't being uniform the entire time.

They were both kimonos, but Tatsuya had a conflicted view of Shizuku's tamotos yet didn't question his own sister's miko getup. Tatsuya's sensibilities on this — objectively speaking — were indeed suspicious.

◊ ◊ ◊

Miyuki was wholly unaware of the drama unfolding on the back stage

—well, that was only to be expected — as she calmly waited for the start signal.

"False starts" were a major violation of the rules.

Being overly enthusiastic could subconsciously activate magic, which was your own fault. Well aware of this fallacy, Miyuki wasn't fired up during the waiting period like all the other players, but was concentrating on restraining herself.

...In the eyes of others, this was a "posture of silence".

The signal lights on both ends of the arena flashed red.

Miyuki opened her faintly closed eyes and gazed directly at the enemy field.

A sigh arose from the audience.

And not just in one area either, but from nearly the entire arena.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the young men, but the young women who were mesmerized by that fiery gaze.

This was no longer the atmosphere expected from mere spectating.

With apologies to the other player, the entire audience was fixated on Miyuki's every move.

The signal light flashed yellow, and just as it turned green—

An intense psion light flooded the entire area without heed to allied or enemy territories.

Yet, the arena — had turned into two different seasons. An absolute chill enshrouded Miyuki's field.

A burning heat wave flooded her opponent's field. The icicles in her opponent's field started to melt.

Her opponent was desperately trying to apply cooling magic with no apparent effect whatsoever.

Her own position had turned into a frozen hell that surpassed the winds of winter.

Her opponent's field transformed into a scorched purgatory that rivaled summer's might.

Still, all of this lasted only the briefest of moments. Swiftly,

Her field was completely enveloped in chilling mist.

While her opponent's field was devoured by the rising steam.

◊ ◊ ◊

"That can't be..."

"Inferno

...?"

Behind him, Tatsuya could hear Mari and Mayumi's murmurs and groans.

They were certainly spot on, Tatsuya thought, yet he didn't turn around.

Tatsuya's gaze was still locked on the display of Miyuki's back from the monitoring device.

Medium-Scale Oscillation-Type Magic "Inferno".

By dividing the target area into two sections and decreasing the kinetic and rotational energy of all objects within one section, this surplus energy could be released into the other section in the form of heat. This way, conservation of energy was still maintained while applying the principle of reverse entropy from thermodynamics.

Occasionally, this magic served as the test for A-Rank Magicians. Many testers shed bitter tears at their inability to wield this highly difficult magic, but for Miyuki, this was merely a triviality that she could manipulate at will.

Since this was originally an area-of-effect magic, there was no need to worry needlessly about magic leaking outside and breaking the rules. Still, the very definition of magic forced Magicians to be extremely careful even with the simplest of techniques. If an incident were to occur, she would immediately be disqualified from the match, which would prompt him to intervene by any means necessary. This was what was running across Tatsuya's mind as he watched Miyuki.

However, he appeared to be agitated over nothing.

The temperature in the enemy's field rocketed past 200 degrees Celsius.

Flash freeze icicles that were formed in a hurry were nothing more than rough ice cubes with countless pockets of air within. These pockets would rapidly expand when heated, causing the icicle itself to crack despite the icicle becoming more fluid under the heat.

Suddenly, the temperature stopped rising.

Immediately afterwards, a shock wave burst spread across the enemy field.

Miyuki had switched magics.

She was compressing and releasing the air.

Every frail icicle within the enemy field shattered as one.

◊ ◊ ◊

There were a total of 360 contestants and 72 technicians. While some schools waived their right to tactical advisors, the number of total participants in the Nine Schools Competition still exceeded 450 students. If there was a ball (or even banquet), this number of people could still be managed, but that was practically impossible to achieve on a daily basis during the main event.

Breakfast was done buffet style on a first come, first serve basis. Lunch consisted of bentos being delivered to each school's pavilion or engineering vehicles, though some people chose to take them back to their rooms. Dinner was served in the three dining halls over three separate sessions, with each school getting one hour to dine. (The schools dined separately to avoid their tactics leaking to other schools.)

Actually, dinner was the only opportunity for the entire school team to congregate in the dining hall.

This one hour of dinner was an invaluable time for sharing the day's triumphs and regrets.

Tonight, at the First High tables, a clear line was drawn between light and darkness.

Darkness covered the corner where the 1st Year male players were gathered.

Light enshrouded the corner where the 1st Year female players were gathered.

And among the dense jungle of female players, the small dash of red (or maybe green is more appropriate in the jungle?) was, of course,

Tatsuya.

"Miyuki, that was totally awesome."

"So that's 'Inferno'? The senpais were completely shocked. It's said that even A-Rank Magicians have problems with that ability."

"Eimi, nicely done! Your first match was a little tight though."

"Cavalier gear with carbine stance, nice!"

"Shizuku was great too! Your kimono with tamoto was simply beautiful, then you forced your opponent steadily into a corner. Cool~!"

While the Newcomers Division Crowd Ball only clinched one Second Place and one Sixth Place, yielding a "so-so" result, the dominating performance from the Icicle Destruction players allowed all three to advance to the third round, continuing the triumphant performance from the Speed Shooting event. This caused the female players to bask in a festive mood.

The format of the Icicle Destruction event had 24 players in total, with 12 matches in the first round and 6 matches in the second round. With three people advancing to the third round, First High laid claim to fully half of the players still in the field.

The three victors from the third round would then engage in a round robin to decide the ultimate victor, though based on the current situation, there was a strong possibility that all three of those positions may be claimed by players from First High. If so, that would truly be an astounding feat. The very fact that this remained a distinct possibility made it "impossible" for them not to be beside themselves with joy.

The upperclassmen all wore smiles that said "What are we going to do with you guys" as the underclassmen danced around in joy.

"Shiba-kun, Shizuku's ability was a 'Resonance' variant, right?"

The 1st Year female student who came over was not one of the players Tatsuya was responsible for. He was aware of who she was, but was not overly familiar. Wholly ill at ease (Miyuki vetoed his request to sit elsewhere) as he dined, Tatsuya was suddenly the center of attention and finally managed a somewhat ordinary reply. "That is correct."

Quite the detached reply but even so, his voice was slightly gentler than usual. While they were peers in the same cohort, the other person was a Course 1 female student that he rarely interacted with normally. Tatsuya was taking precautions not to frighten her off by accident.

Unfortunately, this caution brought about a crescendo in response. "So the Activation Sequence was really designed by Shiba-kun?"

"I heard that Shiba-kun developed the technique Shizuku used during Speed Shooting, right?"

"Shiba-kun also devised the strategy for Inferno too."

"Rumor has it that Shiba-kun was also the mastermind behind Honoka's flashbang strategy."

The continuous stream of questions gave him no room to maneuver and continuously drained his mental facilities, not that there was anything Tatsuya could do about it. Still, they were currently in a stimulated state which likely used the current festive mood as stress relief for the continuous anxiety from the competition. From another perspective, this exaggerated praise may even be seen as flaunting in order to raise their self-confidence to combat that feeling of unease that couldn't be easily dispelled. Tatsuya could understand that feeling, so he intentionally avoided dampening their enthusiasm and patiently continued to listen.

"That's great...

If Shiba-kun was my support, I could probably win too."

However, this phrase was still taking things too far and couldn't be ignored.

Despite this, he probably shouldn't be the one who pointed this out. Tatsuya glanced subtly at Miyuki, who was sitting beside him.

"Nanabi, I think there's something wrong with that sentiment."

Upon being gently reprimanded, this female student immediately realized that her words could be easily mistaken for her dissatisfaction with her supporting technician.

Her attitude did a complete 180 as she frantically rose to her feet, babbling the entire time, and searched the upperclassmen for the engineer responsible for her. Upon discovering the engineer smiling and waving at her, she finally let out a deep sigh of relief, bowed deeply in apology, then returned to her seat.

"I-I spoke poorly."

"Nana, you can't place your own inadequacies all on the CAD."

"Teehee... Reflecting."

The volume level for the young ladies' conversation had dropped considerably, but didn't nearly qualify as whispering.

"But there is no doubt that thanks to Shiba-kun, I'm performing much better than usual."

This time it was Takigawa, a female student that took Third Place in Speed Shooting, who spoke up. Eimi nodded excessively at this.

"On some level, CAD calibration is the same thing as telling your darkest secrets, isn't it? And towards a male engineer to boot...

While I did think like that in the beginning, but to have Shiba-kun be my engineer is simply incredible! Here's to the boys who were willing to yield Shiba-kun to us!"

Tatsuya could only smile wryly at the massive misunderstanding hidden behind that innocent smile.

However, there were also people who couldn't muster even a wry smile.

"Ah, hey!"

With a violent "bang", one of the boys stood up.

Heedless of anyone trying to stop him, Morisaki picked up his silverware and headed towards the catering area before leaving the dining hall altogether.

◊ ◊ ◊

Coincidentally at the same time.

Though it wasn't a sumptuous feast, there was an entire array of high class Chinese cuisine — far more lavish than any high school banquet

—spread across the table that was surrounded by a crowd of dismal expressions. There was a colossal difference between the luxurious gold and red decorations and the dour faces of the men present.

"...Wasn't Third High supposed to be favored for the Newcomers

Division?"

They were conversing in English.

"We finally managed to force Watanabe to bow out, but... If this continues, wouldn't First High triumph again?"

However, the people present showed clear signs of mixed European and East Asian heritage.

"If the favored candidate wins, the house will be hemorrhaging money!"

"There are a lot of VIPs in the casinos this time. Even if we do pay out, this isn't a small sum for us. We'll probably be facing a gaping deficient in the beginning of the business quarter. If that's the case..."

The men peered at one another with grave expressions.

"...Everyone here will be purged by headquarters. Based on the size of our loss, the head may do the honors himself!"

One of the men murmured softly as he peered at the snaking dragon embroidered with gold thread in the middle of the hanging axle.

A heavy silence fell over all the men.

"Dying might be the best thing that could happen to us..."

Someone muttered.

In a voice quaking with terror.

◊ ◊ ◊

Unlike magic related sports events, gender differences didn't really impact magic competitions.

Even so, when taking into account that physical abilities still hold the decisive edge in events like Battle Board or Crowd Ball, the Newcomers Division separated the genders from this year forth.

In other words, this was the first year that the men and women competed separately in the Newcomers Division.

Until last year, there was no separation by gender, so men usually competed in events like Battle Board or Crowd Ball, while women chose to participate in events such as Icicle Destruction or Speed Shooting that were less taxing on the physical body. Thanks to this (the ratio favored male participants due to school differences), the audience was generally split between watching two different types of events.

So which was more popular, the Men's competition or the Women's competition?

Based on the Official Division from previous years, the average spectator usually observed the Women's events, while the military, police, firefighters, and university related personnel paid closer attention to the Men's competition.

—Then again, speaking of this year's Newcomers Division.

"There are a lot of people here..."

"There were plainly more open seats during the Men's competition."

Two young ladies were sitting in the empty reserved observation area and cast pitying gazes across the spectator stands that were filled to capacity.

They were Mayumi and Mari.

"Somehow, I feel that there are a lot of people from the universities." Mayumi said this as she directed her gaze towards the VIP stands.

"After seeing that yesterday, they wouldn't be satisfied with just a recording, would they?"

Mari completely agreed.

"Exactly. Aren't we here to watch as well?"

To preserve all fairness, the order of the matches was reversed from yesterday.

It was the sixth day of the Nine Schools Competition and third day of the Newcomers Division.

The first match of the third round in Icicle Destruction was about to take place.

Mayumi glanced at the time and waited for Miyuki to take the stage.

◊ ◊ ◊

Turn back the clock for a few moments.

As Tatsuya and Miyuki were headed towards the resting area for Icicle Destruction, two students from Third High appeared before them.

Both of them were male students.

One of them matched Tatsuya's physique in terms of height and shoulder width, to the point that it was extremely difficult to tell the difference. However, that student had a much more stunning appearance.

The other student was significantly shorter. Thanks in part to the school's reputation for emphasizing martial abilities, this did not give off a weak impression.

They appeared to have noticed Tatsuya at the same time and directly walked towards him.

"I am Ichijou Masaki, Third High, 1st Year." The taller one spoke first.

For people that have just met for the first time, his tone was slightly overbearing, but amazingly, Tatsuya didn't seem to mind.

While both of them were 1st Year students, Ichijou Masaki naturally fit into a leadership role and seemed to exude the charismatic aura of a true leader.

Both his eyes were focused on Tatsuya.

"Likewise, Kichijouji Shinkurou, also from Third High's 1st Year."

The shorter youth spoke politely and identified himself with a more traditional air, though his eyes teemed with a challenging glint.

"First High, 1st Year, Shiba Tatsuya. So, the 'Crimson Prince' and 'Cardinal George' in the flesh, what may I do for you?"

No sense of malice.

Slightly different from sheer enmity.

Still, there was no question that this was not a friendly attitude. Strictly speaking, it was a naked fighting spirit.

Just like Masaki, Tatsuya also responded in a tone that would be considered overly rude for first acquaintances in his usual manner.

Tatsuya felt that putting on a mask of false friendship would be insulting to these two.

"Ho... So you know of George's reputation as well as mine? Well that makes this simple."

"Shiba Tatsuya... A hitherto unknown name, but I shall never forget this name. You are probably the most ingenious technician since the advent of the Nine Schools Competition. I'm afraid we are lacking in manners here, but all we wished for was to meet you once."

"I am honored to be called a 'genius' by the prodigy that discovered the Cardinal Code at age 13... But you are right in that this is against the norm."

As for his own manner of speaking, he replied back in a frank and straightforward fashion.

Yet, neither of them appeared irritated. They came with absolute determination and maintained a posture one usually reserves for a serious opponent.

"Miyuki, go ahead and prepare."

Tatsuya did not lift his eyes from these two as he gave his instructions to Miyuki. Tatsuya estimated that they would be here for a while.

"I understand."

Miyuki bowed towards Tatsuya and departed for the resting area without sparing Masaki a single glance, as if the pair did not exist within her dimension. There wasn't even a hint that she was intentionally avoiding them — that was how perfectly she rendered them to non-existence.

For an instant, Masaki's eyes followed Miyuki, but swiftly reverted back to Tatsuya.

"...'Prince', isn't your side about to begin?"

The split second of wavering and reluctance did not escape Tatsuya's eyes. Inwardly, he let out a small breath.

Unwavering, Tatsuya's eyes forced Masaki to reply. "...We will appear in tomorrow's Monolith Code."

Yet, the one who replied for him was Kichijouji.

Kichijouji was the champion for the Newcomers Division Speed Shooting event, while Masaki was favored to clinch the crown for the Newcomers Division Icicle Destruction event. Naturally, it was expected that each school would commit their aces to the Monolith Code event.

"What are your plans?"

Although he wanted to ask what he was referring to, there wasn't enough time left.

"I'm not responsible for that."

That being said, he had no obligation to reveal any details, so he went with the abstract answer.

"Is that so... That's unfortunate. One day, I wish to line up against the players you're responsible for. Of course, we will triumph."

Kichijouji's words caused Tatsuya to feel "Are you throwing down now?". But he quickly thought otherwise, since these guys originally came to challenge him in the first place.

"Sorry for taking your time. We look forward to meeting on the field of battle."

Before Tatsuya could respond to Kichijouji, Masaki made this declaration and walked past Tatsuya with Kichijouji.

—So they're still a rude bunch in the end. Tatsuya thought as he headed towards the resting area where Miyuki was waiting for him without turning his head in the slightest.

"What were they up to?"

The first thing Miyuki asked when she came out of the changing room was about the earlier scene.

"Scouting, I think? Still felt pointless though."

Tatsuya tilted his head and chose to reply in neutral terms and handed Miyuki the CAD he had prepared for her while she was changing.

If there were any extraneous distractions before the match, this would only negatively impact the match itself, so Tatsuya moved to curtail the conversation with haste. Yet, after Miyuki heard Tatsuya's reply, she burst into laughter as if finding some profound meaning in his words.

"I think that's their declaration of war, Onii-sama."

He wasn't ignorant of what his sister was referring to. He himself felt those two came to specifically challenge him.

But in Tatsuya's eyes, this was a pointless gesture. "...You don't believe me?"

Even though Miyuki rolled her eyes upward and pouted sulkily, this wasn't something he was going to let slide so easily.

"No, well... I'm not a contestant, right? I don't believe these two renowned individuals who have extended their reputations beyond the scope of magic high school students would view a nameless person like myself a rival."

"Rival" was based on the assumption that they acknowledged that both sides were equal.

Objectively speaking, from outward appearances, he wasn't even in the same strata as those two. Superficially, comparing themselves with him was a ridiculous notion. Furthermore, they didn't appear to have discovered his secrets either.

Ordinarily, it was frankly impossible for the "Crimson Prince" or "Cardinal George" to see him as an opponent — Tatsuya thought.

Upon seeing her older brother actually thinking this way and not out of humility, the sister sighed deeply.

"...Onii-sama, underestimating your own abilities would be fatal in battle. Exactly how highly you are valued, how greatly you are watched, even how much other schools view Onii-sama — how fiercely their antagonism burns because of Onii-sama's skills and strategies — I think Onii-sama should consider all of this objectively once more."

For Miyuki, this was an exceedingly rare, and blunt, counsel.

This was a completely unexpected boldness and unimaginable reproach. Tatsuya could only stand there and watch her blankly.

This was the third time Miyuki used her mysterious beauty to captivate the hearts of the audience at the same time that she wielded her terrible might to vanquish the enemy.

◊ ◊ ◊

On the waves where Battle Board would be decided, the first round of the Women's semifinals was about to begin.

The players were already at their starting positions. Honoka's figure was among them.

"Hm~"

"......"

"That's a little

..."

"......"

"OK, that, uh..."

"......"

"What the heck are you two doing?"

All three players were side by side at the starting line. In the stands, Erika was humming in frustration while Mizuki was utterly silent by her side. Finally caving, Leo asked reluctantly.

"Isn't that just~, a little strange? All the players are wearing sunglasses."

"Erika-chan, those are called 'goggles'..."

Indeed, just as Erika and Miyuki said, not just Honoka, but the other two were wearing dark protective goggles as well.

"Isn't that obvious? This is the most reliable countermeasure to Honoka-san's light magic."

Mikihiko's analysis was grounded in common sense, causing Erika to adopt a "How boring~" expression as she laughed mirthlessly.

"...What's wrong with that?"

"But~, doesn't that mean they fell for Tatsuya-kun's strategy? Battle Board players don't use goggles because the water droplets may interfere with their sight. This is a key reason. Yet they quickly adopted goggles after being flashed once...

There should be other ways to counter light magic..."

"Is Honoka-san planning on using the water to obscure their vision?" Erika nodded in disinterest.

However.

"That's hard to say...

I doubt that Tatsuya will rely on such a mundane tactic."

"...Possibly."

Mikihiko's words seemed to rouse some of Erika's interest.

This time, no flash occurred immediately after the start. "She's slow out the gate!?"

"No, she's right behind!"

As they navigated the snaking tunnel in front of the observation deck, Honoka was in second place entering the first sharp curve.

"Eh?"

At this location, the player in first place took an odd route.

Not only did she massively reduce speed, she even drew close to the middle of the route.

Honoka also decelerated, but took a steeper angle that just barely cleared the bend and snatched first place from the player who took the roundabout route.

"What, just happened?"

Normally, players either reduced speed drastically and hugged the inside route, or took a wider angle but controlled their deceleration.

The route taken by the other player could be described as amateurish. Not only did she drastically reduce speed, she also left a huge passing lane.

"...There seem to be shadows floating in the waterways."

Following Leo's observation, Erika squinted and shouted out. "Ah, there it is again!"

This time it was a wide arc way.

The player that Honoka passed once again left a huge gap between her and the wall and slowed down more than necessary to pass the angle. The ensuing result left her farther and farther behind Honoka.

"...No wonder, so that's how it is."

"Eh, what?"

Erika asked Mikihiko, who was nodding in appreciation.

"Tatsuya's intent was to have the other players don goggles that are shaded against light. This point coincided with Erika's guess."

Mikihiko spoke with animation, as if completely abandoning his usual irrational stubbornness.

"However, this isn't for using the water spray to occlude their sight, but to make the dark areas harder to perceive."

"So that's why! Illusions can also be used like this...!"

"Indeed. By turning the lit areas darker, you are able to manipulate

your opponent's moves. Ultimately, magic depends on application..."

"...Would the two of you care to enlighten me as well instead of

amusing yourselves."

At Leo's displeased voice, Mikihiko finally stirred from his daydream.

"Sorry, sorry. In other words, Tatsuya's strategy is..."

◊ ◊ ◊

"Shiba-kun's strategy is very simple.

He used light wave oscillation magic to control the light along the water route.

The protective goggles already restricted vision considerably. This is now compounded by the darkened route, causing people to misjudge the distance to the edge, hereby forcing the opposing players away from the darkness.... In summation, he narrowed the area the players dared to navigate through."

Hattori, with Kirihara in tow, was holding the fort in place of Katsuto, who had gone to observe the Men's Icicle Destruction event. They were currently listening to every word of Suzune's explanation.

"Even if the mind says otherwise and claims that the water's surface shoulder is wider, it remains a difficult task to override physical perception. At the same time, regardless of who the player is, anyone would have a harder time raising their speed along a narrow corridor. Thus, this strategy is grounded in denying the other players from bringing out their full potential."

"...But, wouldn't Honoka-san be affected herself?"

"That's why she has repeatedly trained under similar conditions." Hattori's question prompted a simplistic answer.

"...Generally, the user remains unaffected by the magic itself, so no worries."

"Don't relax just yet. Shiba-kun said that 'the width of the water way is fixed, so use your body rather than your eyes to memorize it'."

Hearing Suzune's reply, Kirihara muttered.

"...So rather than being a clever strategy, it turned out to be a full frontal assault anyway....

This could only come from someone with one hell of a mean streak."

Kirihara's impression caused Suzune to burst into laughter.

◊ ◊ ◊

After the morning matches, the pavilion reserved for First High turned into an ocean of festivities.

All three participants in the Newcomers Division Women's Icicle Destruction third round won.

In the round robin portion of the event during the afternoon, every player came from First High.

Honoka also advanced to the finals for Battle Board. This was a result that could only be described as "dominating".

The only people who couldn't join in the fun were the ten players from the 1st Year Men's team.

If they competed normally, the male members would surely achieve similarly impressive results. That being said, their blind animosity led to repeated mental errors that only increased as their numbers dwindled and their frustration mounted, throwing them into a vicious cycle of self-destruction.

Among them, the three players from Icicle Destruction — Miyuki, Shizuku, and Eimi, as well as Tatsuya, the technician responsible, were not present because they were summoned to one of the hotel's conference rooms.

"We're pressed for time, so I'll keep this short."

Mayumi was the one who called them here. She was the only one waiting for them.

"Until now, no school has ever monopolized the round robin portion of this event. Shiba-san, Kitayama-san, Akechi-san, your performances have been exemplary."

Politely, calmly, and frantically, the three of them displayed three different attitudes as they bowed in thanks to Mayumi's praise.

"In recognition of this feat, the board has a proposal. They say that regardless of what the standings for the round robin are, our school will receive all the points anyway, so there's no need to play this out. All three of you will share First Place collectively."

The three of them looked at one another, with Tatsuya smiling sardonically in the back.

No matter how they tried to disguise this, the board was obviously trying to lighten his workload.

"It is up to all of you whether to accept the board's proposal. The only criterion is that you don't have much time to consider this. Please make a decision here and now."

Upon hearing Mayumi's words, Eimi started fidgeting as her eyes roamed around.

With her skill level, she was well aware that she had no chance against either Miyuki or Shizuku.

Up until this point, she was satisfied with Third Place, but it was simply human nature for people to desire First Place. It was too much of a stretch for her not to want this to happen.

Miyuki glanced at Tatsuya.

Shizuku also looked towards Tatsuya.

"Tatsuya-kun, what is your opinion? If all three were to fight it out, you would have a hard time managing all three."

So, Mayumi wished for the three of them to share First Place together, Tatsuya thought.

In truth, this was the most desirable outcome from the leadership's perspective.

"To be honest, based on Akechi-san's current condition, she would be better off avoiding the next round. The third round was too heated and it's hard to imagine that she can recover in one or two hours."

From Tatsuya's perspective, he didn't feel that he has to worry on this account. He was just speaking candidly.

"Is that so...

Akechi-san, do you agree with what Tatsuya-kun said?"

"Well, that...

Before I heard what you said, I was already ready to give up anyway. It is true that I'm not in optimal condition, so I was planning on bowing out after talking it over with Shiba-kun anyway...

Because Shiba-kun knows me better than I know myself."

Her tone was diffident, likely because she felt that she was shirking her responsibilities by accepting the board's proposal.

"Really."

Mayumi smiled to console her and nodded before turning to Miyuki and Shizuku.

"I..."

Shizuku spoke up first. "Want to compete."

Her eyes burned with fiery determination as she looked Mayumi in the eye.

"After this, how many opportunities will I have to go all out against

Miyuki...

I don't want to miss this chance."

"How unfortunate..."

Mayumi dropped her gaze to the ground and sighed. "What does Miyuki-chan think?"

"If Kitayama-san wishes to compete against me, I have no reason to refuse."

Mayumi knew very well that Miyuki was made of sterner stuff that belied her appearance, so she was completely unsurprised by this response.

"I understand... Then, I will report to the board that Akechi-san has withdrawn whereas Shiba-san and Kitayama-san will engage in a duel to decide the final round. The match should be the first one of the afternoon, so you had best take this opportunity to prepare."

After Mayumi finished speaking, the first one to bow was Tatsuya.

As he left the conference room, Miyuki and Shizuku immediately bowed to Mayumi and left right behind him. Eimi frantically bowed as well and said: "I'll take my leave."

◊ ◊ ◊

The stands were overflowing with spectators.

The changes in the Newcomers Division Women's Icicle Destruction event were quickly announced and intentionally set as the first match of the afternoon to avoid conflicting with other events.

Not just the normal stands, but even the reserved seating area for members was quickly filled.

There, Tatsuya could be seen sandwiched between Mayumi and Mari.

After finishing the calibrations for both their CADs, Tatsuya didn't accompany either Miyuki or Shizuku, but sat in the last row of the reserved seating area.

Before leaving, he left the two of them with these words. The words, "Do your best".

"But in reality, you wanted to stay by Miyuki's side, didn't you?"

Alas, the rare "well meaning words" took on a different connotation when delivered from her lips as Mayumi revealed an evil smirk. For some reason, whenever she was with Tatsuya, her fiendish side seemed to rise dramatically.

"Yeah."

Undoubtedly because she was annoyed by Tatsuya's wooden reaction. "...You sure admitted that easily."

Although she gave pretense to being mean, Mari's real nature was — perhaps — much kinder than Mayumi as she interjected with her almost signature retort.

"Do you know what Sister Complex means?"

"I don't think I follow. How does cheering on your own kin constitute being a sis-con?"

His direct rebuttal while feigning ignorance had long since become customary.

Except Mayumi and Mari had wised up to his tactics.

"Wow, did you hear that Mari? This child is actually confident in his own cause!"

"Looks seriously ill to me. Is it hopeless?"

Isn't it pointless to loudly gossip about the person stuck between them? Tatsuya thought. He was thoroughly helpless against this special way of "bullying the underclassman".

This short skit was nothing more than the appetizer before the curtains were drawn.

As if to prove this, when both players took the stage, the entire audience fell into complete silence.

In the arena, two young women stood facing one another.

On one side, her white hakui and crimson hakama filled the eyes. On the other side, tamotos the color of water flooded the vision. Miyuki didn't bind her hair; Shizuku didn't bring an obi.

The long, wavy hair and silk tamotos fluttered in the slight winds of summer.

The two young women were suffused with a suffocating silence.

This was the chilling "fighting spirit" that shared the name of this purely magical contest and was far removed from its burning counterpart.

The preparation signal light lit up.

The colors changed, and at the moment the beacon responsible for starting the match went off—

Magic flooded outward at the same moment. A heat wave rushed towards Shizuku's field. Yet, the icicles stubbornly resisted the incursion.

The wide area heat wave from "Inferno" was denied by the "Data Fortification" magic that stopped the changes in the icicles' temperature.

The earth groaned as magic rushed towards Miyuki's field.

But the oscillations were stamped out the moment they tried to resonate.

Wide area magic prevented oscillations and movement within her own field and extended across the earth's surface and below it as well.

The two of them went back and forth, taking turns using phenomenon rewriting on the other's icicles. This was a perfect stalemate, worthy of the praise from all the pundits and experts — on the outside.

But the combatants involved didn't think so.

(I can't get in...

! As expected of Miyuki!)

Shizuku's "Resonance" was completely rejected by the enemy field. In comparison, Miyuki's heat wave was enveloping Shizuku's field.

"Data Fortification" is a counter magic used to prevent magic from passing through and altering the Eidos.

It was unable to prevent the physical effects from magic.

Even if the magic couldn't directly influence the icicles' temperature, the heated air would cause the icicles to melt. It was only a matter of time.

(In that case!)

Shizuku stuck her left wrist with the CAD attached into her right sleeve.

She pulled out a pistol-shaped Specialized CAD in her hand.

This was the final trump card that Tatsuya had prepared for Shizuku.

Shizuku pointed the muzzle towards the front row of icicles in Miyuki's field and pulled the CAD's trigger.

(Dual-wielding CADs!? Shizuku, you managed to accomplish that?)

Seeing Shizuku's left hand also holding a pistol-shaped CAD, Miyuki inwardly wavered.

Wielding multiple CADs simultaneously was her brother's trademark ability. It was an extremely difficult technique that was almost "unique".

Miyuki believed that, for someone who could so easily lose control of magic like herself, it was far too soon for her to challenge that ability that demanded absolute control of her psions. At the same time, she was terrified of infringing upon her brother's favored technique.

However, at the current moment, Shizuku was wielding a second CAD before her very eyes.

Without arousing interference from the psion signal waves, the second CAD completed its Activation Sequence.

Instantly, Miyuki's magic stopped.

The sustained magic was curtailed in mid translation. Now, Shizuku's new magic stormed forward.

"Phonon Maser!?"

Hearing Mayumi's gasp, Tatsuya privately applauded as if this new magic had nothing to do with him: "She certainly is well versed in magic!"

The front row of icicles in Miyuki's field started to give off white steam.

For three rounds, Miyuki's icicles were untouched — at the magical level — by her opponents, and were now damaged for the first time by enemy attack.

Oscillation-Systematic Magic "Phonon Maser" — a high level magic that raises the number of supersonic oscillations to form a quantum heat ray.

Even if this was the tactic that Tatsuya gave Shizuku to defeat

Miyuki...

His expression remained oddly dark.

Not because Miyuki was in danger of being defeated.

But because he knew better than anyone else that relying on this level of strength to surpass that sister of his was nothing more than a pipe dream.

She faltered for all of one second.

Acting in concert with Shizuku's newly sustainable magic, Miyuki also switched magics.

The rising steam from the icicles — the sublimation of ice halted.

Not because she blocked the heat ray formed by the shooting supersonic waves, but because an absolute chill that surpassed the heat of "Phonon Maser" had materialized itself.

Miyuki's field was instantly enshrouded in a sublime, white mist. The mist gradually drifted towards Shizuku's field.

Miyuki knew that Shizuku would raise the inference strength on "Data Fortification".

Despite this. Regardless.

(...Alas, you are too naive, Shizuku!)

The flowing mist was "cold air". Temperature change — magic that prevented melting had no effect on this magic.

"...

'Niflheim'

....That's impossible, right? What magical dimension are we in here..."

Mari said in amazement.

Tatsuya shared that sentiment, but remained silent on the issue. Wide Area Freezing Magic "Niflheim".

At the basic level, this technique ignored heat and appearance, using magic to uniformly cool down all the objects within a set area. Even so, in terms of practicality, this magic could be used to create Diamond Dust, Dry Ice Particles, or even large clouds of nitrogen gas in a pinch that could be advanced towards the target.

Likewise, its strength was building towards the strongest level.

The nitrogen mist passed through Shizuku's field and vanished near the other end of the arena.

On one side of Shizuku's icicles — the side facing Miyuki that is, nitrogen was coated on its surface, creating "dynamite" on the icicles.

Miyuki disabled "Niflheim" and once again activated "Inferno".

Shizuku's "Data Fortification" could only affect objects that originally existed within the area and thus had no impact on newly applied materials.

Lowering the temperature of nitrogen gas produced a cooling effect. Likewise, rapidly heating nitrogen liquid at temperatures far exceeding normal room temperature would instantly evaporate the nitrogen.

Expanding it to 700 times its size.

With a huge roar, Shizuku's icicles collapsed as one. It was unknown whether the roar came from the icicles hitting the earth or the roar itself caused the icicles to fall, or even if it was caused by the gas explosion.

The very fact that the icicles were shattered into tiny pieces testified to the ferocity of the explosion.

The judges were probably stunned by this scene unfolding before their eyes.

Hence they hesitated briefly before announcing the end of the match.

◊ ◊ ◊

"Congratulations on your victory, Honoka."

Shizuku, who had returned to their room first, congratulated Honoka, who was fresh from her post-event medical examination.

"Thank you...

It was a nice try, Shizuku."

"Yeah...

But I can't accept it."

Her soft words would likely prompt some people to suspect: "Is that true?" But Honoka was her close friend from childhood, and there was no way she could misinterpret Shizuku's meaning.

"Shizuku..."

Honoka wrapped her arms around the slightly shorter Shizuku and pulled her into a hug.

Arms dangling, Shizuku dove into Honoka's embrace.

"Even though I never thought I had a chance from the beginning."

"Really..."

"But, there was nothing I could do."

"......"

"I still can't let it go, Honoka..."

"...You gave it your all."

This persisted for some time. "...Thanks. I'm OK now."

Shizuku said as she separated from Honoka.

There were no tear tracks on her face.

"Is that so

...? Shizuku, want to grab some tea? I'm a little hungry."

"...OK."

"Give me a second to change, alright?"

Shizuku smiled in embarrassment and nodded as she watched Honoka's sunny attitude.

The moment Honoka stepped into the cafeteria, she was immediately caught between a rock and a hard place and struck immobile.

She locked gazes with Miyuki, who had arrived beforehand.

They couldn't just retreat like this, but even so, it's not like they could just nonchalantly sit down next to her. This terrible situation almost caused Honoka to burst into tears.

"Congratulations on your victory, Honoka."

While Miyuki's warm smile was no less brilliant than usual, there was still a little stiffness in her upper lip. They were unable to "act normally" and, while there were some degrees of difference, Miyuki was no exception to this either.

"Honoka, congratulations."

If Honoka hesitated now or put on a stilted smile, this would only worsen the mood. In order to deny her that opportunity, Tatsuya immediately addressed her in his usual tone and simultaneously dispelled the awkward atmosphere around them. However, by doing so he also cut off Honoka's path of egress.

"Ah, err, thank you very much..."

"Tatsuya-kun, may we sit with you?" Shizuku broke the ice here.

"Of course, please do."

Tatsuya said as he rose and stepped behind an empty chair. Miyuki picked up the teacups and moved the tray before sitting down in an adjacent seat from her previous position opposite Tatsuya.

"Please."

"Thank you."

Shizuku didn't hesitate and sat down in the chair Tatsuya pulled out for her — directly across from Miyuki.

Honoka blushed as Tatsuya did the same for her and sat down.

After Honoka and Shizuku ordered a cake set from the waitress that just happened to pass by, Tatsuya once again looked over the two of them.

"This one's on me. Let's call this the celebration for taking First and Second Place."

"Eh, really?"

"...Then, I'll do just that."

While Honoka hesitated briefly, Shizuku merely nodded in acceptance. She seemed to comprehend that Tatsuya's real intention was to console her, so there was no reason to refuse.

Seeing her friend rebound faster than she expected, Honoka breathed a sigh of relief and finally focused her attention on her own situation.

"Um, well..."

"Hm?"

"Well, I was able to win all thanks to Tatsuya-kun! Thank you so much!"

After all the attention was drawn back to herself, Honoka faltered even more than earlier when she realized that she hadn't thanked Tatsuya for everything yet. She was finally able to deftly do so after great personal difficulty.

Seeing her like this, Tatsuya smiled and nodded his head. "Just a little."

He wasn't being humble nor was he denying her words, he just didn't want to blow it out of proportion. Honoka didn't take issue with the words "just a little" probably because she understood the meaning behind his smile.

After verifying this, Tatsuya wiped away his smile and turned his gaze on Shizuku.

"However, I do need to apologize to Shizuku."

"Eh?"

Shizuku stared at Tatsuya with a "I have no idea what you're talking about" expression.

"Disregarding the final outcome, this could have turned into a more even contest... My estimation was too naive. It was too strenuous a demand for you to completely master 'Phonon Maser' in two short weeks."

"Ah, that... No, that's not Tatsuya-kun's fault at all. Also, without that, I would have had no chance to retaliate at all."

Fully comprehending why Tatsuya was apologizing, Shizuku vigorously shook her head.

"It was my fault I couldn't control it. I should be the one apologizing. If I could wield it at will, that would have made for a much better match. As an inept opponent, I also extend my apologies to Miyuki as well."

"Please don't be like that. At the time, I was very surprised. You were able to use such an advanced magic ability while dual-wielding CADs at the same time."

Miyuki smiled and shook her head. Afterwards, she teasingly glared at Tatsuya.

"Onii-sama, were you really trying to make me lose?"

At this fairly complex to answer question, Tatsuya immediately responded.

"...I just wanted the both of you to bring out your maximum potential."

And the result was this dignified but brilliant rejoinder. Pompous, but it was no lie.

Miyuki knew this very well, but understanding this was one thing, being satisfied with this answer was another thing altogether.

"Seriously...

Does this person not care about his own sister?"

"I do believe you would be truly indignant if I went easy on you."

Anyone could encounter their friend teasing an older sibling, but this was an extremely rare occurrence for Miyuki. Her words not only brought about Tatsuya's rebuttal, they also caused Honoka and Shizuku to burst into laughter.