Chapter 29

The celebrations for both the Newcomers Division and overall victories happened at the same time.

The three replacements who took First Place and were directly responsible for the triumph in the Newcomers Division were all injured in the finals, so this wasn't exactly the time for reckless celebration. Even with that in mind, the real reason was even though overall victory was assured, preparations still needed to be made for tomorrow's Mirage Bat event, hence they didn't have time to really celebrate.

Thanks to First High's newcomers turning the table, the difference in score between First and Third High grew even further.

Currently, the difference was 140 points.

For tomorrow's Mirage Bat event, First Place earned 50 points, Second Place received 30 points, Third Place gets 20 points, and Fourth Place nabbed 10 points.

For tomorrow's preliminary round and the finals for Monolith Code, First Place obtained 100 points, Second Place received 60 points, with Third and Fourth Place each receiving 40 points.

Based on tomorrow's result, First High's overall victory might become a certainty before reaching the final day.

The players and technicians were overwhelmed with work trying to procure the essentials (such as the uniforms and CADs for the Monolith Code players), so any member with time on their hands was also thrown into the fray.

Tatsuya intentionally avoided using "Restoration" on his ruptured right eardrum and received the usual medical treatment from the infirmary. Afterwards, he used Self Restoration to fully repair the damage and covered it up with the medical patch issued to him. Currently, he was alone with Miyuki and busy preparing for tomorrow.

None of the other team members, especially the upperclassmen, knew that he had fully recovered, so they were still in the throes of worry. While Tatsuya felt slightly guilty about deceiving them, he had his reasons as well. In atonement, he chose to silently endure the discomfort caused by wearing the ear protector in the scorching heat of summer. —He was quite aware that such a trivial matter did not constitute as atonement.

Still, even though they were "overwhelmed with work", this could not compare to the sheer madness from the day before.

Scratch that, maybe it wasn't even close.

Yesterday evening, he had to fully equip two people from scratch — three, including himself — CADs included, which created a level of frantic industry rarely seen in this field.

Although Miyuki had switched from the Newcomers Division to the Official Division, she was originally slated for Mirage Bat anyway, so her preparations proceeded apace. Events outside of their control had cost them a day, but that wouldn't affect the outcome by much.

"Don't force yourself, Tatsuya-kun, take a break. You already pushed yourself too hard yesterday."

"Miyuki-chan, you too. If you always work so hard, we'll never stop incurring injuries."

Tatsuya expertly completed the CAD examination. Along with Miyuki, he was practically forcibly expelled by Mayumi and Suzune, drawing today's activities to a close.

◊ ◊ ◊

Elsewhere, at this time during the same night, another group of people were plagued by insomnia as they were backed into a corner.

"At this point, First High's victory is practically written on the wall..."

"Fuck that! Do you want to give up? Do you want to sit down and die?!"

"If First High wins like this, we're going to lose over a billion. In U.S. dollars!"

"We'd be better off dead in the face of that kind of loss! HQ was never interested in this plan because upon failure, the loss in capital would be enormous. We were the ones who forced this plan through. Now, if we're lucky we would be turned into 'Generators', and anyone unworthy would become 'Boosters' to slave away for the organization until the day we die."

The men sitting around the table turned fearful gazes on the four frozen men standing in the four corners of the room.

"Without this plan, we might not be able to meet our quotas... but I think we overreached ourselves."

"This isn't the time to say that! ...In that case, let's do it, by any means possible!"

"He's right! We already spent considerable energy forcing the favored candidates to lose their matches. By now, we shouldn't hesitate to adopt more brutal tactics. Even if our customers are suspicious, so long as we don't leave any evidence behind, those are only empty accusations at the end. Now, we go all the way or bust!"

"Send agents to the assistants. For tomorrow's Mirage Bat, force all of First High's players to withdraw — by any means possible!"

"They won't die if they're lucky. Otherwise, I guess they weren't lucky."

The men looked at one another with maniacal smiles on their faces, their thoughts in accord.

◊ ◊ ◊

The ninth day of the Nine Schools Competition. The pleasant weather that lasted until yesterday took a turn for the worse, with thick clouds that hinted of rain covering the skies. It was a dark and overcast day.

Still, there was no blinding sunlight with the dark clouds in the sky, creating perfect conditions for Mirage Bat. For the players, Miyuki included, this forecast was undoubtedly "excellent weather".

"While this is an ideal condition for Mirage Bat... Yet I somehow feel that this is the harbinger of conflict."

Hearing Tatsuya murmuring to himself as he watched the skies,

Miyuki creased her brows.

"Is something else going to happen...?"

"Since their goal remains a mystery... No evidence of something afoot does not guarantee that nothing will occur. Regardless, Miyuki doesn't need to worry. No matter what happens, only you, I will protect to the absolute end."

Tatsuya's words had no superfluous meaning.

For Tatsuya, his sole purpose was to safeguard Miyuki.

To be brutally honest, in Tatsuya's mind, sacrificing the other players was nothing more than a method to the madness.

However — Tatsuya probably gave thanks that no one was around to overhear their conversation.

If a third party was present... If someone saw Tatsuya watching the sky and, out of his sight range, Miyuki drooping her head in embarrassment while wearing a thoroughly delighted smile as she drifted towards him, they might report the siblings for the crime of "homicide by headaches".

◊ ◊ ◊

Miyuki was set to appear in the second match.

Actually, appearing in the first match with the maximum amount of rest was the best case. But now that Tatsuya thought about it, not everything goes their way, so they should be thankful that she wasn't scheduled for the third match.

The two of them chose to observe the first match from the auxiliary observation deck on the side.

While there was a 45 minute break between the first and second matches, moving from the main audience stands to the competition arena was a waste of time.

The players from the other schools apparently thought the same, given the way they were congregated around one side of the arena.

"Kobayakawa-senpai looks pretty fired up!"

That was Miyuki's assessment of their senpai, who was one of the players waiting on one of the upraised circular pillars in the middle of the lake for the starting signal.

That was Tatsuya's opinion as well.

However, Mari once complained that Kobayakawa was an unstable individual. Now that he thought about it, since this might be the decisive match that clinched First High's overall victory, it was probably impossible to tell her to relax.

Still, the bottom line was that victory or defeat was entirely up to her, but there didn't seem to be any problems, Tatsuya thought.

Under the combined gaze of the audience, related personnel, and fellow teammates, the starting signal rang out.

The first match turned into flurry of activity to decide the standings, but Kobayakawa maintained a slim lead.

Breathless, Erika could finally let out a sigh of relief and turned to speak to her neighbor Mizuki — only to find her friend staring at the scene with widened eyes thoroughly unlike her.

"Mizuki... Is it OK for you to take off your glasses?"

Magicians who were oversensitive to pushion light wore special glasses to inhibit the effects of pushion light as well as to avoid becoming emotionally stimulated by active pushions. In the current situation, taking off her glasses in such a furious event surely brought incredible stress on her spirit.

"In truth... It's a little uncomfortable."

Erika noticed that Mizuki's hands that were holding her glasses on her thighs shook from time to time.

"But, I don't think that always evading the issue is the answer."

"...I don't think Mizuki is evading the issue at all."

Erika had heard Mizuki's reason for attending magic high school numerous times.

Of course, the chief reason was to be able to take advantage of this rare talent. Specifically, she hoped to enroll in the magic universities as a Magic Artificer.

Yet at the same time, she also wished to learn how to control this pair of "eyes" that often saw simply too much. Within the limits set for Course 2 students, she wished to receive the fullest amount of training.

While still immature, but precisely because she saw this as her "strength", this certainly did not qualify as running away. And precisely because it wasn't fully developed yet, Erika believed that using supporting tools and equipment was the right approach.

Precisely because of this.

"Rome wasn't built in one day. Likewise, you won't fully control your abilities in one shot and, though I shouldn't be the one to say this, doing so usually ruins your body as well. Mizuki, this could cause irreparable damage!"

That's why she chose such a stern lecture.

"Yeah... But, if I avert my eyes at a time something that I must see is visible, I think that's also incorrect..."

In spite of this, Mizuki still kept her glasses on her lap.

"When Watanabe-senpai was injured, if I was watching carefully, I might have provided some assistance to Tatsuya-kun and the others."

"...So this time, you're keeping watch in case another incident occurs?"

"Exactly. You know... I think Miyuki will be perfectly fine. That's because if something was wrong with Miyuki, there's no way that could escape Tatsuya-kun's eyes. However, he's simply unable to handle all the other players today. In addition, he was overworked yesterday. So if..."

"If the other players ran into trouble, Tatsuya-kun wouldn't just sit there twiddling his thumbs either. That's most likely the case... He looks cold on the outside, but he's a good guy inside."

"Tatsuya-kun's warmth comes from looking after his friends...!"

"Yes, yes, I got it!"

(If not towards his "friends", he would definitely be the sort to make the coldest, most objective decisions.)

Erika kept that thought to herself. She pressed both palms together in front of her and sought to comfort the slightly annoyed Mizuki.

Mikihiko, who was sitting on Mizuki's other side, interjected upon hearing their conversation.

"I understand Erika's concerns towards Shibata-san and share the same belief that Tatsuya has. Shibata-san's 'eyes' are undeniably the most reliable tool to prevent someone using Spiritual Magic to hinder the competition. Since we have a barrier erected around us to dampen the effects of pushion light, I don't think any residual after effects will linger."

Hearing the unnatural eagerness within Mikihiko's words (according to Erika), Erika revealed a mischievous smirk.

"Hm~...? So Miki will protect Mizuki now?

If something happens to Mizuki, Miki will take full responsibility now?

Of course, that's the type of responsibility men will take for women, right?"

"Wha, this isn't the time to talk about that!"

Beet red, Mikihiko's furious rebuttal wholly ignored his usual objection to his nickname.

Speaking of Mizuki, she was also blushing a deep red and seemed to be at a loss for words.

"...You truly are an evil woman!"

On the other hand, Erika utterly ignored the sighs and annoyed scoldings coming from the other side of her seat.

Between Leo, who was currently being ignored, and Erika, who was feigning ignorance, the usual lively conversation started. At this time, the bell for the second round started.

Both of them wore an "unsatisfied" expression and used their facial expressions to convey their meaning while shutting their mouths to avoid distracting the players and the other members of the audience.

Afterwards, shortly after the second round began, that incident happened.

Both Kobayakawa and another player leaped at the same time towards a green orb in the sky.

Unfortunately, the other player reached the target first. Kobayakawa used magic to stop her leaping momentum. Her body came to a stop in the air.

Next, she sought to use magic to return to her starting location, but found another player had already landed at that location.

Unruffled, she decided on the closest landing spot and switched the Magic Sequence to land there.

However, her body that was supposed to move in a diagonal pattern

— fell directly downwards through gravity's influence.

Even the spectators in the audience could see Kobayakawa's expression falter as she began to fall.

Shock.

Panic.

Terror.

The magic that was supposed to support her failed to activate.

Magic had supported her life to this day, yet suddenly betrayed her at this critical moment. She forgot to even struggle as she plummeted towards the surface of the lake.

Even though it was the water's surface, this was still a 10 meter fall. If the landing was poor, this might be fatal.

Nor did Kobayakawa appear to take any stance to prepare for landing.

Fortunately, this was an athletic competition with two or three layers of safeguards in place. There were emergency responses in place if a player suddenly lost control of their magic and began to fall.

The staff on hand immediately released Speed-Type Magic.

From the moment Kobayakawa started to fall until the staff used magic to catch her body, probably less than a second had elapsed.

Still, she was less than half way from the water's surface.

This was more than enough to completely crush her confidence.

With pitying eyes, Tatsuya watched them carry away his unconscious senpai on a stretcher.

The greatest reason why young men and women lost their ability to use magic was because of hazardous situations caused by magic failure and the subsequent distrust towards magic in general.

Magic is a power that deceives the world.

Magic itself exists outside the truth of the world, hence the deception.

Even so, if everyone could use their "eyes" to see magic like Tatsuya, then they could easily believe this deceptive yet truthful power.

Nevertheless, for most Magicians (especially the chicks and saplings), magic was an immutable, invisible existence. Even if they could see the psions, they couldn't see how magic was interacting with their world. In short, they were clueless beyond theoretical knowledge.

— When I'm using magic, is this really my own power —

Every Magician-in-training came across this question during their education. No, this suspicion. Once magic failed to materialize, resulting in danger that relied on magic to avert, this suspicion rapidly turned into belief.

— See, magic doesn't exist — This belief.

Once this idea was implanted into a Magician, magic would forever be out of their reach.

Magic was such a fragile existence that balanced on the tips of the mental scales.

(...Kobayakawa-senpai is likely broken for life.)

As if to comfort the utterly pale Miyuki, Tatsuya cradled her shoulders into his chest as he murmured to himself.

When in gravity's grasp and at the moment of inception, Kobayakawa's expression was covered with terror.

It was someone else. Even if he made that distinction, realizing that someone had forever lost their precious abilities certainly left a bitter after taste.

As if pressing a burning brand to the gaping wound, his messaging terminal in the chest pocket started vibrating and arrested his melancholy.

Miyuki, who was pressed tightly against him, turned a shocked expression towards Tatsuya. He calmly removed the fold up device and pressed it to his ear.

"Tatsuya, it's me, Mikihiko. Got a moment?"

"...Ah, no problem."

Even though the lights clearly showed that the sound wave interference module on the device was working, Tatsuya still lowered his volume.

"Unfortunately, during the earlier incident, I was unable to detect any magic at work."

"Is that so..."

"Sorry for disappointing you..."

"Please don't worry on that account, I failed to notice anything either."

"However, Shibata-san has something she wants to say to you."

"Mizuki? You mean, her glasses were off?"

Tatsuya's tone contained a level of astonishment that wasn't feigned. Yet, Mikihiko didn't immediately reply,

"Tatsuya-kun, this is Mizuki."

Because someone else had taken hold of the phone. "Mizuki, did you see anything?"

Are you OK? Those words were stuck in Tatsuya's throat.

Still, Tatsuya believed that this would be trampling over Mizuki's good intentions.

As someone affiliated with magic, she made the conscious decision to use her "vision".

Then, inquiring about the results was what a member of the magic world like him should respond with, Tatsuya thought.

"Yes, well... On Kobayakawa-senpai's right arm... maybe near where she was wearing her CAD, I saw a light, no, more like a 'spirit' bursting apart."

"Really... You saw that. So, you said this 'spirit' burst apart?"

"Uh...

Yes, that's the feeling I got. Like a really old electronic scattering sparks everywhere, something like that..."

"I see. So that's it, I get it now... So that's how they did it."

Tatsuya got a muddled image of what snare their "enemies" laid for them.

"Uh, Tatsuya-kun...?"

Apparently, his nodding movement could be detected through his voice over the phone.

A somewhat hesitant, but very hopeful voice (from Mizuki) traveled across the other end of the line.

"Excellent find, Mizuki. This is an invaluable piece of information!"

"Thank you, you are very welcome!"

Before Mizuki could ask her burning questions, Tatsuya replied first. Afterwards, Mizuki's anxious voice came back over the line.

◊ ◊ ◊

Unfortunately, in the first match, First High was forced to withdraw in the middle.

Tatsuya departed First High's pavilion that was currently suffused in a gloomy aura and made his way to the CAD examination pavilion staffed by the board.

He left Miyuki in the player's resting area — even in the pavilion, it still counted as a "room".

Based on the modus operandi, it seemed highly unlikely that they would strike in two consecutive matches, and they hadn't directly assaulted the players themselves. On the other hand, players usually focused all their attention on the upcoming match rather than worrying about details like mechanical inspections and the sort. Tatsuya adopted a similar line of reasoning with his companions.

CAD examination was a procedure that had been repeated numerous times in the past few days and should be the area of least hassle or concern. However, his optimism died the moment he plugged the CAD into the examination device.

This behavior was completely impulsive.

The moment the board member took the CAD from his hands and connected it to the examination device and started operating the controls,

Instantly, he detected the anomaly, and by the time he realized this...

His hand had already dragged the man across the table and thrown him violently to the floor.

A pained shriek rang out.

Immediately afterward, an angry roar — to be precise, it was the guard who let out this angry roar — rapidly approached.

But, even hearing this sound was insufficient to halt his intentions.

A suffocating aura of killing intent stopped the footsteps in their tracks and draped the scene in silence.

This was the manifestation of the last remaining remnant of his "sincerity" (emotion-wise).

"...You've severely underestimated me!"

The painful groan was likely a biological reaction because of the increased force from the kneecap pressed down on his chest.

The board member that was thrown to the floor was so terrified of Tatsuya's demonic aura that his teeth weren't even chattering and could only lay there with spasms breaking out over his face.

"Did you seriously think that you could tamper with Miyuki's personal effects and not rouse my ire?"

Despite hearing this, any third party unaware of his family situation could not comprehend his meaning.

At the same time, even if that was the case, no one would fail to understand—

The sinister smile on his lips.

The board member who was on the receiving end of this violence had touched that which cannot be touched — the scales of the dragon.

Completely ignoring the crowd around him, Tatsuya coldly spoke to the man crumpled on the floor.

"What did you plant inside Miyuki's CAD during the examination? That's not a typical virus!"

The man's face shook even harder now. This level of terror and despair went beyond someone looking Death in the eye. This was the face of the condemned being read their sins in the depths of hell.

"So, this is how you tamper with the CAD software. Owing to the rules of the competition, no CAD can avoid coming through this bottleneck."

In the crowd of security personnel who arrived to subdue Tatsuya, the foremost one overheard Tatsuya's muttering and sucked in a breath. He turned his gaze on the man responsible for CAD examination who was currently subdued by Tatsuya. The officer's eyes gradually switched from watching a victim to gazing at a potential suspect.

"Still, you aren't the only one responsible for all the shenanigans during this competition, are you?"

Under Tatsuya's knees, tears trickled out of the corner of the man's eyes as he weakly shook his head.

"Oh? You choose silence?"

Tatsuya expressively formed the fingers of his right into a karate chop before the man's eyes.

The finger tips approached the man like the fangs of a snake. Tatsuya's right hand slowly stalked towards the fallen man's throat.

Seeing this, everyone present was mesmerized by the sight and, for some reason, they were all thinking about the same thing.

They were visualizing the same event.

The young man's fingers would easily tear through this piteous sinner's skin, gouge out the throat, and pass merciless judgment amid a sea of blood...

"What is going on here?"

Just before this tragedy could play out to its inevitable conclusion, an elder's composed voice released everyone from their stasis.

There was no sense of intimidation or majesty; instead, the voice passed over them like a spring breeze as it swallowed the towering murderous intent and neutralized it.

"—Kudou-sama!"

His demons exorcised, Tatsuya reined in his demonic aura, retracted his hand and knees before rising to bow towards Elder Kudou.

"My terrible apologies. I have disturbed you with an unsightly display."

"You are — First High's Shiba-kun. Yesterday's match left an indelible impression. So, what's going on here?"

Feeling Tatsuya retract his fangs, someone sought to arrest the young man responsible for this chaos, but a colleague in the front ranks who overheard Tatsuya's words restrained him.

"Due to the illegal activities directed towards our school's CADs, I am currently interrogating the apprehended suspect."

"Is that so."

Anyone who had been held in place by his demonic aura and murderous intent knew this was a lie.

Interrogate wasn't going to cut it.

However, Elder Kudou chose not to pursue that issue and merely inclined his head at Tatsuya's words.

"This is the CAD that was tampered with?"

"Correct."

The old Magician once known as the "wiliest" removed the CAD from the examination device and held it before his eyes before nodding in agreement.

"...Indeed, an abnormality is present. I've seen this before. While I was still in the service, during the battles in the East China Seas, the Magicians in the Guangdong Army used this sort of Golden Electron Silkworms."

As he said this, he directed a chilling gaze towards the man on the ground.

This cold voice sent the man crawling backwards.

"Golden Electron Silkworms pass across connections to invade electronic devices. It's a SB magic that disables precision weaponry."

SB Magic was the name given to magic that used self-regulated immaterial existences, also known as "spirits", as a medium. Elder Kudou briefly recalled his experiences and slowly unmasked this magic.

"The silkworms don't rewrite the process itself. Instead, they interfere with the output signal and may even alter the signal. This delays the spell activation by hampering the electronic mechanism without triggering the OS or anti-virus programs. Prior to identifying the Golden Electron Silkworms, our forces suffered terribly under its effects... Were you aware of this?"

"No."

At Elder Kudou's inquiry, Tatsuya avoided any unnecessary movement and maintained an "at-ease" stance as he replied verbally.

"This is the first I've heard of the term Golden Electron Silkworms. However, I immediately detected a foreign element intruding on the system I designed."

"I see."

Hearing Tatsuya's words, Elder Kudou revealed a delighted smile.

Still, by the time he turned his gaze on the perpetrator, this smile had morphed into a predatory smile that a veteran Magician of a hundred battles turned on a hapless foe.

"Now, where did you come across the spell for Golden Electron Silkworms...?"

With a screech, the spy attempted to flee the scene, but was quickly brought down by the guards who originally came to arrest Tatsuya.

"Well, Shiba-kun. It's about time for you to return to the stadium. Just use the backup CADs for now. Since this kind of situation has occurred, there's no need for further examinations. Speaking of which, board chairman?"

At these sudden summons, one of the older gentlemen behind him — that being said, he was still a dozen years younger than Elder Kudou

— hurriedly nodded his head.

"For such an unsavory individual to infiltrate the staff is a scandal of unprecedented proportions. Afterwards, I would like to hear your explanation."

The chairman looked ready to faint, but still managed to reply in the affirmative. Elder Kudou turned from his band of followers and once more turned a delighted gaze towards Tatsuya.

"Shiba Tatsuya-kun, I would like to speak with you sooner or later."

"Definitely, if the opportunity beckons—"

"Indeed, allow me to look forward to this 'opportunity'."

This was the first encounter between Tatsuya and Kudou Retsu.

◊ ◊ ◊

Upon returning to First High's pavilion, Tatsuya was acutely aware that the looks sent his way had developed minute, yet definitive, changes.

—Maybe, he should say they have "reverted to their original state".

The reason he said minute was because they were trying, but failed, to hide their subtle glances. They felt guilty about seeing him in a different light, yet could not suppress the wavering in their hearts.

Tatsuya was no fool.

His emotions were merely skewed in a certain direction, with one particular half becoming especially sensitive.

Hence, he was slow to accept good intentions. Yet very adept at picking up hostility.

Currently, he was very accustomed to reading the glances thrown his way. It was the bewilderment, terror, and avoidance one experienced when encountering an unidentified outlier.

"Onii-sama..."

Among them, one young lady did not shun him and approached him with subdued voice and expression.

"Sorry, I made you worry."

That was the only gaze that plucked his heartstrings.

"How can that be! Wasn't Onii-sama enraged on my behalf?"

At the same time as she shook her head vigorously, her brushed hair parted slightly.

"That was fast. Have you heard the details?"

Tatsuya gently adjusted the loose strands and caressed his sister's head. Shyly, Miyuki dipped her head, but still answered her brother's question clearly.

"No. That's because, whenever Onii-sama is actually furious... It's always because of me..."

Her clear answer trailed off into a sob. Tatsuya used one hand to stroke his sister's face and gently raised her head.

"...Exactly. I will only anger for your sake.

But, Miyuki. It is perfectly natural for an older brother to be furious for a young sister.

In my heart, that is the last scrap of something 'perfectly natural'. So, Miyuki, you don't have to be so sad."

Tatsuya released his right hand and pulled out a handkerchief, which he used to dab at the tear corners of his sister's eyes.

"Besides... Wouldn't it be a shame for your tears to ruin such a beautiful make up job? Today is an auspicious day when you will ascend to the stage."

"Don't say that... Seriously, Onii-sama. I'm not the only one competing today. This is called blatant favoritism!"

In spite of the wry smile, the brilliancy of Miyuki's smile was second to none.

At least, that's how Tatsuya saw it.

Seeing his sister's smile restored, Tatsuya was satisfied and at ease. His hands dropped from his sister's face to her shoulder as he directed them inside. When he lifted his head to look at the pavilion, he suddenly felt another subtle change in looks he was receiving. This time, the change was in a more interesting direction.

Hidden within the secret glances in their direction,

Was a lukewarm gaze that was both irritated but unable to take their eyes off of them.

"Ah, Tatsuya-kun."

Presently, as if the Student Council President spoke on behalf of all the students present, Mayumi used an especially cold voice and gaze to welcome Tatsuya.

"When I heard from the board that 'one of the students from your school abruptly assaulted someone', I was at wit's end trying to figure out what happened... So, apparently a certain sis-con brother flew into a rage when someone attempted to act against his beloved little sister!"

While this wasn't a very flattering way to describe the circumstances, Tatsuya got the distinct feeling of someone in the path of a tornado and feeling the cold wind nipping at him. Realizing that he was in a completely inferior situation, Tatsuya helplessly chose to make a tactical retreat.

Thus, he quickly retreated into the work room allotted for technicians.

This way, Tatsuya finally managed to avoid being ostracized within First High, though whether this result was brought about by his own will... Even he was not able to say.

◊ ◊ ◊

The day broke over a darkened sky and showed no signs of turning for the better by the time the second match started around 9:30 AM.

"It's a fine day today... Hopefully, this will continue into the evening."

"Might get sunny around the evening."

"Though starlight presents its own challenges... Oh well, still better than a rainy day."

The siblings' conversation seemed to assume that advancing beyond the preliminaries was a statement of fact. However, Azusa, who was sitting in a nearby chair, seemed completely "indifferent" with this.

Generally, the difference in strength between Year 1 and Year 2 students exceeded the difference between Year 2 and Year 3 students. This was because customized magic education officially began at the high school level.

Thus, if not present during the Newcomers Division, rarely do Year 1 students appear in the Official Division. Usually, players that were suddenly promoted to the Official Division from the Newcomers Division had a tough time getting through the preliminaries, not to mention placing in the standings.

That being said—

(That sort of common sense probably doesn't apply to Miyuki... And on top of that, there's Shiba-kun as well.)

Excluding her more timid nature, Azusa was undoubtedly one of the top tier Magicians (chicks) in her cohort. The fact that she was selected as one of the brass within First High despite her weaker personality was a testament to her skills.

Yet in Azusa's eyes, Miyuki possessed the power to challenge for First Place.

Just the sister alone was already a formidable opponent with superlative skills, now there was an older brother who was fully supporting her.

Even Mari, the favored champion, would be hard pressed to defeat her even in peak condition.

While Azusa was contemplating these other details, in reality, she was the technician responsible for the third match, which is why she was here so early to help make any final CAD adjustments and system diagnostics.

The Official Division's Monolith Code and Mirage Bat were the final two gender exclusive events in the Nine Schools Competition, so each school's personnel were busy preparing for the events.

First High chose to pair one player with one technician to handle these two events.

To be brutally honest, as a Technician, Tatsuya was also Azusa's opponent.

However — before the first shot was fired, regardless of who won or lost, Azusa's will to compete had completely evaporated.

The earlier incident.

The board sent word that Tatsuya assaulted some of the staff. Upon learning this, she was more "terrified" than shocked.

Rather than being surprised, somewhere in her heart she knew — "if it was him".

Even though they were nothing more than recent, casual acquaintances, Azusa believed that "he wasn't the type to act violently without cause". On the other hand, if he did have a reason, he wasn't the sort to hold back.

This readiness to resort to unbridled savagery chilled Azusa to the core.

A considerable proportion of magic usage fell within the purview of the military, both in terms of military strength and active deterrents. Azusa was perfectly clear on this point. But regardless of whether it was the military or public safety, this was still an institutionalized "violence". In order to activate this "violence", the responsibility was divvied between the decision maker, the one who gave the orders, the executors, and the supervisors.

Yet, he was willing to make the decision, execute, and bear the full responsibility.

Perhaps, he wouldn't even bat an eyelid if the man had to die — executed with his own hands.

She was absolutely terrified of that ice-cold heart forged of steel.

The shock came afterwards, when he shared the details behind his actions.

He came across illegal CAD modifications and apprehended the culprit on site.

The tear-stricken, tortured expression on Hirakawa, the Year 3 student who served as Kobayakawa's Technician, was deeply imprinted into Azusa's eyes. That sort of harrowing regret was easy to imagine and could resonate with anyone.

She hadn't noticed that the CAD was tampered with. Due to this, a player suffered a major accident, culminating in an exceptional peer possibly bidding farewell to her powers forever and being doomed to a broken life. In the face of that, she... If she was in Hirakawa's shoes, she might have fled the scene and cried herself to sleep in her hotel room, Azusa thought.

It was an undeniable fact that Tatsuya was a Course 2 student and, at the same time, a "dunce".

His technical scores hovered just above passing.

During the skill examinations after school commenced, roughly five students failed every year, so even if his grades were closer to "pretty terrible" instead of "fairly poor", there was nothing to be done.

Yet, the reality was — when excluding the "strength" based on artificial conditions like examinations and based solely on the Magician's ability to adapt fluidly to various situations, his assessment was completely inverted.

Regardless of whether it was development, analysis, calibration, or combat.

His strength went "beyond" First-Class.

Even if they didn't exclude his Magic Power and assessed him based on his ability to apply Magic, he was the true "valedictorian" worthy of standing at the top of the pyramid.

Then—

(Our "grades"... "Course 1 students", what of these? What's the point of differentiating between "Course 1 students" and "Course 2 students"?)

During the Nine Schools Competition, after watching Tatsuya at a close proximity, Azusa started seriously considering this question.

And remained bewildered.

That was the unease coming from her faltering values system, hitherto unchallenged and held to be truth, which had suddenly become vague and untrustworthy.

Azusa never held herself as an elitist who took pride in her "Bloom" status and derogatorily looked down at the Course 2 students as "Weeds".

At least, she wasn't conscious of it.

Despite this — her exceptional magical talent and her identity as a skilled magic high school student — she still took "pride" in these labels.

For Magicians groping their way through life, confidence in their own magical abilities was synonymous to the courage that sustained them throughout their journey to blaze a new path as Magicians. Even if Azusa wasn't consciously aware of this point, the fact remained that her confidence as a Magician undeniably supported her throughout her life.

This wasn't restricted to just magic. For youngsters, anyone would be greatly uneasy about such murky concepts like "tomorrow" or the "future" precisely because they lacked the "experience" or "track record", hence they relied on their "self-confidence" and "self- esteem".

For Azusa, those things ("self-confidence" or "self-esteem") originated from her "magic" and ultimately gave her status as a "talented student within the magic high schools". To be precise, her self-confidence and self-esteem were born out of her "magic grades".

That being said, both self-confidence and self-esteem could only wilt before the spectacle that was Tatsuya.

Her test scores as a Year 1 student were plainly superior, but regardless of whether as a combat Magician, Magic Artificer, or even

Magic Researcher, she never got the inkling that she was better in any way. Even her own unique talents, which she privately felt could rival even Mayumi or Mari, paled in front of Tatsuya.

Still, Azusa felt that she didn't need to stress out over this feeling of self-abasement.

She was more than 90% sure that Tatsuya was "him". —Against "him", feeling inadequate was only natural. —Against "him", feeling diminished was ludicrous.

Azusa used this to convince herself. (But everyone doesn't know yet...)

Precisely because no one knew, this feeling became more prominent, Became more obvious.

Surely the other Year 1 students in his cohort felt the same.

As a Course 1 student who was outshone by a Course 2 student — what did their "grades" even signify?

"A-chan, it's best not to dwell on that for too long!"

Azusa was startled when someone suddenly greeted her from behind and swiftly turned around to find Mayumi smiling wryly at her.

"That thing, is spe·ci·al."

Despite referring to her underclassman as a "thing", her tone was quite warm.

"There will be some children who simply cannot accept this... But as high school students, they must learn to accept things that they do not agree with. Even if it's true that Course 2 students cannot match Course 1 students in technical skills, it is also true that Tatsuya-kun has surpassed our level."

"Eh? But..."

Hearing these shocking words, Azusa was struck speechless.

True, Tatsuya's level was above her, Azusa thought. —Even if she was against "him", she was forced to admit she would have some regrets.

But Mayumi's level was also superb, and Azusa didn't think she would lose to Tatsuya in any way.

"It's not like I'm completely out of his league."

Maybe seeing through Azusa's bewilderment, Mayumi smiled wryly once more.

"From an aggregate magic perspective, I should have the edge. If it turned into a shootout, so long as I keep a wide berth, I can still do it."

After downplaying her words, Mayumi's expression eased somewhat.

"However, there are areas where I am unquestionably behind. For CAD related skills, even though I'm not far behind, I'm definitely no match for him. Unfortunately, he also holds all the cards in terms of magic knowledge."

Mayumi added carelessly, as if the upperclassmen's complete loss of face didn't concern her in the slightest.

"Everyone is proficient and lacking in different areas, so there's rarely someone who's superior in every single way. When I say Tatsuya's level is higher, I mean that his knowledge and skills in magic engineering are unrivaled."

Mayumi caught Azusa's eye in order to carefully examine Azusa's gaze.

"On the other hand, regardless of whether it is myself or A-chan, both of us tower over Tatsuya-kun in magic technical ability, so there's no reason to be so depressed. The contents of the magic skills examination each possess their purpose, just as the test scores are not representative of a person's value, test scores are only one part of a person's value."

Azusa wordlessly listened to Mayumi's words. "Then again, heh..."

Whew, this time Mayumi actually let out a sigh.

"Those that fully believe in 'their own superiority' tend to be unwilling to accept that they cannot surpass someone in every way. They even forgot that the actual difference between Course 1 and 2 students originally arose because they needed to differentiate the grades for those who passed the entrance exam and who could receive instruction."

Somewhere, somehow, Azusa's eyes widened. Her mind had gone completely blank at Mayumi's unexpected words.

What did she mean forget? This was the first time she had ever heard that the difference between Course 1 and 2 students was caused by educational differences.

"In the end, it was still a uniform issue... In the beginning, it was simply because the number of students exceeded expectations and they couldn't change all the embroidery in time..."

"Eh, really?"

"Huh? You didn't know?"

Hearing the real story for the first time, Azusa received a wholly different shock than before and remained silent. Hearing Mayumi murmur, "Really, it appears that not many people know...", Azusa could only keep nodding.

"Did you know that First High used to accept 100 students each year? They had to accept more Magicians to follow international standards, so First High increased their student body size. The government at the time must have wanted immediate results. Adding new students at the beginning of the next school year would have been fine, but in reality, they added more students in the middle of the term.

However, the school was unable to increase the number of educators in the middle of the term. So, their temporary solution was to teach the theoretical knowledge to the students who joined in the middle of the term, then begin technical instruction during the second year. This became the Course 2 student system.

However, once the Course 2 students enrolled, there was an error in the orders for school uniforms. Because of this, the Year 1 students who were temporarily set as Course 2 students had to suffer the indignity of wearing uniforms without the school emblems. This led to an unexpected misunderstanding... The Course 2 student system was meant to be a placeholder until they could enter the next level. They were simply students who were enrolled after the original spots were already filled. Yet, they were gradually seen as replacements. Also, the plan that called for increased students ultimately failed to provide the adequate instructors, resulting in the misinterpreted 'replacement treatment' eventually becoming reality. This is the true face of the Course 2 student system.

The uniforms also suffered the same fate. In order to cover up the error, no one bothered to correct the issue after the original plan was scrapped. This is the truth behind the matter. In hindsight, creating two different uniforms was a complete waste... Since everything is done automatically until the school emblems are affixed, it would be cheaper to have one uniform design even if the measurements differ."

Once she started, the words just wouldn't stop.

Azusa's sincere opinion after hearing Mayumi's explanation changed drastically.

The deep antagonism between "Blooms" and "Weeds" that had caused numerous instances of friction actually originated from such a trivial matter.

These words definitely must be kept from Miyuki, Azusa thought — the outcome was too terrifying to imagine.

"...Please, don't tell Miyuki-chan?"

Mayumi seemed to arrive at the same conclusion. Azusa nodded in agreement without another word.