Chapter 146

August 5th. The 2096 Nine Schools Competition was finally starting. Not only had the events changed this year, but various procedures had as well.

First for [Ice Pillars Break] and [Shield Down], there were three separate group preliminaries each involving nine contestants (or nine pairs) who competed three times (three sets), with the winners of each bracket coming together for the finals. [Rower and Gunner] would be decided by each pair making one run, with their score being based on number of targets hit and the amount of time taken.

The event with the least rule changes, [Mirage Bat], also had 27 contestants with three qualifiers from each school. The fixed four competitors per set had been changed to three rounds with four competitors and three rounds with five. Which set a competitor would go into would be decided by lottery. Usage of sustained flight was restricted to one minute bursts. This meant that competitors were required to land within one minute.

[Monolith Code] was changed from its irregular tournament format of qualifying league then finals to a round-robin league spanning two days. Using five stages four matches could be staged at a time, meaning a school's eight matches would take place over 10 rounds. [Monolith Code] competitors therefore compete in their eight matches on the 9th and 10th, then on the last day of the tournament compete in [Steeple Chase Cross Country] on the 11th. A heavy physical and mental burden was to be expected.

The first day featured the men's and women's qualifiers for [Ice Pillars Break], as well as [Rower and Gunner].

"If the competition times had overlapped, it would be quite problematic for you, Isori-sempai."

"It seems that's a needless worry now though."

Early in the morning inside the First High tent, Tatsuya coughed in relief. Isori answered with a smile. They were studying the game schedule for the day.

There were nine matches each of qualifiers for both men and women. This was half the number of last year, so each pair would only compete twice a day. The burden on players for this event had been greatly reduced.

While there had been two courts for both men and women up until last year, this year only one court was available to both. This meant that while the overall schedule density had not changed, a margin was freed up in each school's schedule.

Tatsuya breathed a sigh of relief after finding out that Eimi's race and Shizuku's bout would not overlap.

Tatsuya was responsible for Shizuku's CAD in [Ice Pillars Break], and Eimi's CAD in [Rower and Gunner]. He had been strongly solicited by both, but if Eimi's race and Shizuku's and Kanon's match had clashed, he would have had to leave Shizuku's and Kanon's follow-up to Isori.

Besides, both [Pillars Break] and [Rower Gun] (the contraction for Rower and Gunner) had very little for the technical staff to do during the event. The only events requiring CAD exchange and fine-tuning during the match were [Shield Break] with two rounds, and [Mirage Bat] over three periods. Therefore even leaving a pair to one technician was technically not an issue, but Tatsuya did not like the idea of leaving his responsibilities to someone else. If it had come to that, he would have been quite ashamed.

The match schedule had Eimi in the first race of the morning, and Shizuku in the fourth and seventh matches. There was no overlap.

"Then, I'll be going to the [Rower Gun] course."

"Good luck. With Shiba-kun, I'm sure there's no need for worry." With a sunny smile that was wasted on guys, Isori saw Tatsuya off.

Next to the starting point were three doors provided for players and staff; Tatsuya entered the first one. There was nobody inside. That being said, there was still half an hour before the race began. The technical staff had to begin their work, but there was still time for the competitors.

"Good morning!"

Immediately after that thought came to mind, he was greeted by the spirited voice of Azusa.

"Morning, Shiba-kun!"

Faster than he could return the greeting, Eimi poked out from behind. Caught a bit on the back foot, Tatsuya nonetheless replied in order.

"Good morning, President. Eimi, you came together?"

'Together' referred to the third year student who had entered with her. Due to her quiet personality she simply bowed to Tatsuya, and Tatsuya for his part did likewise.

"Yeah, we had breakfast together. Did you have to wait?"

Eimi asked Tatsuya, although she didn't seem overly concerned.

It would only have troubled Tatsuya if she were, so he just shook his head normally.

"No, not at all."

"That's great!"

Clapping her hands together, Eimi grinned. Although it would have seemed sly by anyone else, it suited Eimi perfectly well.

"Then let's get the CAD adjustment started." As Tatsuya spoke to Eimi,

"Let's go over there." Azusa spoke to her player.

The results of that first day were Eimi's pair in first place, and the men's [Rower Gun] team in third. The Shizuku-Kanon pair qualified for the finals, with the men's [Ice Pillars Break] team also comfortably making it through.

"Eimi, nicely done. Your shooting was almost perfect."

"Thanks, Subaru. I was pretty shocked myself."

Similar bright voices swirled around at dinner, but there was no feeling of an easy win.

"Seventh High doing so well was unexpected."

The executives — Azusa, Hattori, Isori, Kanon, Tatsuya and Miyuki — were gathered in a corner in order not to disrupt the mood, and evaluated the results of the first day frankly.

"We got third for men's and first for women's. They got first for men's and second for women's."

At Azusa's words, Hattori glanced at the results for the day. Taking those into account, they were in second place. And the [Rower and Gunner] solo event tomorrow was the one First High had struggled the most with.

"They are truly [Seventh High of the Seas]. I don't think we lost out in terms of accuracy, but their proficiency was amazing."

As Isori spoke heavily, Hattori went on in a careful tone.

"If Seventh High claims first place in the solos tomorrow, it may be advantageous later."

"Because their point difference will be closer to Third High?"

"It's something I'm reluctant about myself."

Placing second in the men's and third in the women's division, Third High had earned 60 points. First High was ahead by 20 points. Although they had the lead, the prevailing thought was 'this won't last'. This was because they had no confidence whatsoever in the solos tomorrow.

"...Maybe it would have been best for Shiba-kun to be in charge of the [Rower

Gun] solo after all? If it were him, whoever we send out would be able to win."

That sudden remark was from Kanon. Well, the theory was somewhat sound, but it was still pure recklessness to say the least.

A chilling pressure descended upon the executive gathering. Kanon reflexively went on the defensive, but Tatsuya suppressed Miyuki while Isori did the same for Kanon and a confrontation was avoided.

"...Changing engineers now is impossible. And even if it weren't, there's no guarantee that I could salvage the situation."

At the first point everyone — even Kanon — had to nod their head in agreement, but she seemed rather suspicious about the second. That was because the victory of the women's pair today was clearly owed to the superlative accuracy and efficiency of their magic shooting.

"It was my feeling while watching today that the first trial round had a significant impact on performance. I'm sure having those pairs give advice would achieve the same effect."

Although that was certainly a sound argument, it was obvious that Tatsuya was changing the topic. However, no one protested this time.

◊ ◊ ◊

It was an open secret that Miyuki was staying in Tatsuya's room, the implications of which were varied and questionable. Because of that, he could no longer just camp in his room like he did last year.

Of course he couldn't stay in the cafeteria or lobby talking forever either. To make matters worse, the hotel was full, so the number of supporters from each school who could stay there was just 20. The rest had to be based outside. Lingering for too long would draw chilly looks.

The spot Tatsuya's group chose for their talk was beside the CAD adjustment work vehicle.

"...It somehow feels like a camp."

"Camping at a hotel?"

Honoka's impression was tsukkomi'd by Shizuku. "That's why it's weird, don't you think?"

"You're right."

The exchange however ended somehow with Honoka's victory.

They were sitting in collapsible chairs for camping. Before them was a foldable camping table. Overhead an awning tent was stretched from the roof of a camper- van.

The work vehicle used by the technical staff of First High was a camper-van with an over-cab. Given that they only had a small wagon last year, it was a remarkable improvement — almost a luxury. Indeed the students of other schools had been wide-eyed at First High's work vehicle.

One may have thought that the mastermind behind this ridiculousness was clear, but it was actually Miyuki. Last year she had been outraged her beloved brother had been forced to travel in such a piece of junk, and even one year later this dissatisfaction had not subsided — rather, she had forcefully pushed through a decision to improve the conditions for the technical staff. Miyuki had intended for FLT (in other words their father) to foot the bill, but in the end she had been unable to turn down the kindness of Shizuku's father.

Even while doing so, she had pressed for a seat on the bus for him to sit together with as well; Miyuki was rather selfish when it came to her brother. Well, in the end it had not been Tatsuya's transport environment which improved but that of the rest of the technical staff, so maybe she was actually being fair after all.

—Although, that had only been an afterthought. "Here, coffee."

"Ah, thanks."

This conversation was not between Miyuki and Tatsuya. Although very reluctantly on Miyuki's part, it was Pixie who served coffee to Tatsuya. Not just Tatsuya, Pixie was handing out coffee to everyone.

"...Thank you."

"..."

Neither Miyuki nor Minami hid their displeasure. However Pixie was systematically integrated with the camper-van kitchen. There was nothing for the two of them to do here.

"Oh, thanks."

Kent thanked Pixie as naturally as if speaking to another human. He was Tatsuya's assistant this 9SC, having won his position admirably.

"Mizuki, Erika isn't actually unwell is she?"

Perhaps to distract herself from her mood, Miyuki questioned Mizuki on the matter they had heard earlier.

There were eight people here: Tatsuya, Miyuki, Honoka, Shizuku, Mikihiko, Mizuki, Minami, and Kent. Pixie, technically not a person, served as their waitress.

"No... Eri-chan said she has something to take care of."

It was late at night, and there were few students still out and about. That being said, it wasn't just First High that had parked next to the wall for their technical staff to perform CAD adjustment; the engineers of other schools had been passing by and staring at the impromptu tea gathering for some time. By tomorrow this tea party would probably be known by the other contestants of First High. In that case, the number of participants would definitely go up for tomorrow night.

In fact Tatsuya and Miyuki were the only ones here who had not been called either directly or indirectly. The two had of course invited Leo and Erika as well. However, there was no sign of either of them.

"Leo said he would come..."

Mikihiko spoke as if apologizing. He had invited Leo over a voice communicator; he hadn't actually been in the same room with him. It thus couldn't be helped that he was unaware of Leo's movements, but Mikihiko was the sort of person who felt the need to apologize for that sort of thing.

"Um, about Saijou-sempai, I saw him on the way here."

Someone unexpectedly provided information. The one who spoke was Kent, smiling at Tatsuya (both Honoka and Miyuki sitting on either side of him tensed, although he remained facing forwards.) He had been working here since after dinner, so had rushed back to his room when it was tea time to take a shower.

"He was stopped by the Japanese branch director of Rozen."

"Rozen?"

Tatsuya's quizzical remark was due to the preliminary information heard from Mikihiko.

When he turned to glance at Mikihiko, Mikihiko returned the same questioning look.

"Yes, that man was without a doubt Ernst Rozen."

Tatsuya and Mikihiko's eye contact lasted for only a moment; Tatsuya's eyes were back on Kent immediately.

Kent appeared to be unaware of the exchange, and answered Tatsuya with a smile like a puppy running up, tail wagging.

"Saijou-sempai looked like he was quite troubled." Immediately after Kent spoke,

"What about me?"

As if waiting for the right timing, Leo entered on cue.

Kent hadn't exactly been gossiping, but he was unable to escape the awkwardness of such banter about his sempai.

"He was talking about how he saw you in the lobby with Ernst Rozen."

Before that could manifest, Tatsuya stepped in to talk to Leo.

"Ah, ahhh... well. That took a while. Sorry about that."

"It's not a problem. This isn't some formal gathering anyway."

As Kent had felt, it seemed Rozen's talk with Leo had not been pleasant. Not prepared to pry any further than that, Tatsuya offered Leo a seat.

The tea party adjourned at 10pm. Mikihiko, Leo, and Kent (technically a man) escorted Shizuku, Honoka and Mizuki back. Miyuki and Minami remained, ostensibly to help clean up.

That Miyuki and Tatsuya were staying together in the same room was an open secret. That being said, Miyuki didn't have the courage to be seen going back to Tatsuya's room by Honoka and the others. She was not yet that bold. On Honoka's side, she likewise didn't want to see Miyuki and Tatsuya happily disappearing behind a door together. Miyuki was remaining there for both their sakes. — Minami's reason for staying behind actually was to clean up, her 'maid mission sense' being particularly high.

Minami's pride was fully satisfied. This was because Pixie had been called to work on Tatsuya's behest, and did not participate in the clean-up.

Pixie was sitting on a camping chair under Tatsuya's gaze. She had closed her eyes, and was blocking her ears with both hands. A 3H body received audio input not only from the ears, and even if she closed her eyelids the optical sensors would still be capable of visualizing her surroundings. Cutting off external information could be accomplished just by shutting down the sensors anyway, so this was technically pointless behavior. The reason for Pixie undertaking such human actions was that she was exercising her non-mechanical senses.

"How is it? Can you detect anything?"

"I cannot sense any of my brethren."

Pixie answered Tatsuya, who was standing before her, with active telepathy. Immediately after the tea party ended, the Parasite infused within the female robot had been directed by Tatsuya to search for the Parasite Dolls.

According to the intel from the Kuroba, Parasite Dolls were essentially the same thing as Pixie. They were likely attempts by the Kudou, who knew of Pixie, to duplicate her. That was Tatsuya's thought anyway. Of course, their bodies were not for something like housework, they were no doubt made for battle. But considering their feminine rather than masculine forms, it was evident they had Pixie in mind.

The Parasites could sense their fellows. Not only those occupying a human host, but those in human hosts and those in mechanical hosts could sense each other as proven by the incident in February. Even if each party was now in mechanical hosts, the mutual detection should still hold true.

The reason Pixie couldn't sense the Parasite Dolls was because they were in a state they couldn't be traced, Tatsuya thought. There was no way the actual Parasites within the machines would be unable to sense each other. It was also not unthinkable that perhaps the Kudou had simply not brought the Parasite Dolls there yet.

(Perhaps they're dormant. Pretty cautious of them...)

Tatsuya had heard from Pixie that an inactive individual was harder to sense. Were the Kudou engineers aware of that as well? What he had ascertained that night anyway was that searching for the Parasite Dolls storage location like this would be difficult, at least until they became active.

When Minami came to stand next to Tatsuya, the clean-up had all been completed. There was nothing more — nothing productive to be gained from continuing.

Tatsuya ordered Pixie to lock up the vehicle and enter a suspended state, before returning to the hotel with Miyuki and Minami.

◊ ◊ ◊

August 6th, the second day of the 9SC.

The summer morning dawned fast. Even so, the sky at the moment was dark, and had only begun to be tinged with blue. At that middling time, Miyuki was in a dim room sitting at the side of a bed. She was watching the sleeping face of her beloved brother.

No doubt many would have been surprised if they knew, but Tatsuya slept soundly. Miyuki had left the room dark, but turning on the lights wouldn't have woken him. Even someone in the same room making noise wouldn't have woken him.

As many would agree with, regardless of the depth of his sleep Tatsuya was a good riser. He would always reliably awake at the time he set for himself. There was no need for an alarm. His biological clock was very accurate. Furthermore, he would still react to any malice or ill-will when asleep. Even if someone sneaked up quieter than the sound of a needle falling, had they the intent to harm him or Miyuki he would immediately awaken. That being said, if someone came close enough even without any ill intent, Tatsuya's awareness would still open his eyes.

That boundary distance varied according to time and circumstance. Sometimes he wouldn't awake until close enough to breath on him; other times as soon as someone entered the room. Miyuki thought Tatsuya probably set the boundary himself before he went to sleep.

She guessed that the reason she could get so close was that Tatsuya had fallen asleep before he had set anything.

In this situation where they slept in the same room, the range wherein she would normally move about after waking up should have been set outside the boundary. Yet even after bringing a chair to sit beside him, he showed no signs of waking.

She was not confident about how much further she could get. If she moved closer by even just 10cm, he might wake up. Or she may be able to snuggle up beside him without him opening an eye.

Miyuki wanted to know.

How much closer could she get to her brother? What was a distance he would consider with her present?

(Just how far would Onii-sama allow me go...)

Miyuki suddenly felt a chill. That thought beating within her, however, did not cool. Even in midsummer, the temperature before dawn was cold, and she was in nothing but a nightgown. If she remained as she was, naturally her body would cool down.

At this point Miyuki's awareness began to wander in a strange direction. (I wonder if Onii-sama is cold?)

In fact, this was the first time Miyuki had spent a night together with Tatsuya in the same room. Last night — or rather the evening the day before yesterday — she had been so elated she'd simply dropped asleep at some point like a switch being thrown. She'd slept soundly until morning. From yesterday night to this morning, however, she'd been so acutely aware of Tatsuya sleeping next to her that she had awoken countless times. To top it off, even though it wasn't yet fully dawn, here she was at her brother's bedside almost like a stalker. The lack of sleep was beginning to melt Miyuki's self-control.

As if in a fever, Miyuki reached out to Tatsuya. Although it appeared to be a deliberate act, her consciousness was vague; the foremost thought once on her mind, 'he might wake up', no longer present.

Fortunately, Tatsuya did not open his eyes. His forehead was cool against her palm.

(Cold...)

Thinking clearly why that was so — Tatsuya's body avoided useless metabolism and was cooler to begin with, while Miyuki's temperature was higher due to the lack of sleep. Miyuki's thinking however—

(Oh no...I have to warm him)

—had already short-circuited.

(Umm, skin contact is better for situations like these...was it?)

That was more something for times of emergency.

Such a thought, which had her head been functioning properly would no doubt have caused her to overheat, had at some point been fixed under the pretext of 'nursing' in Miyuki's mind.

(...I guess stripping is no good after all...)

It seemed a modicum of shame was left to her yet. Completely forgetting about waking him, Miyuki gently snuggled up next to Tatsuya.

(Onii-sama, let Miyuki warm you...)

Already on the border between wakefulness and sleep, Miyuki descended into dreamland while holding on to Tatsuya.

Confirming that Miyuki's breathing had evened out, Tatsuya opened his closed eyes.

(She's finally asleep...)

Gently lifting Miyuki's arm off his chest, Tatsuya slipped out of bed. He had actually been awake when Miyuki stretched out her arm towards him. However, his sister had been in some strange mood (he could tell even without looking), so he had ascertained her condition while pretending to be asleep.

[[Fortunately]], he was not overcome by sexual desire even with such a peerless beauty sharing the same bed with him. That did not mean he had not felt anything at all however, and when he thought of sleeping together with his similarly aged sister he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. The pleasant sensation of Miyuki's soft body increased the embarrassment several times over. He could no longer sleep any further.

That being said, his sister was competing today, and he couldn't wake her. Tatsuya didn't know just when Miyuki had woken up, but there was at least time to sleep a little longer.

Tatsuya dressed roughly without making a sound. Stroking Miyuki's hair and thinking 'sleep well', Tatsuya breathed in the early morning air and quietly left the room.

◊ ◊ ◊

"Good morning."

"Ah, good morning ... ... ?"

Azusa had tilted her neck as she replied back to Tatsuya and Miyuki, who had entered the HQ tent bringing in breakfast sandwiches. And for this, the greeting ended up unfinished.

Miyuki, always trailing behind Tatsuya, looked strangely, no, very embarrassed. From Azusa's view the distance between them was a bit -- basically about 30 cm -- further apart than usual. And Miyuki's eyes were a bit red at the corners and were slightly directed downwards.

Today, Miyuki would play in the preliminaries for [Ice Pillars Break] solo category. The tactics of First High, aiming for the overall championships, called for grabbing the championship in the Girls' [Ice Pillars Break]. Computing the events where the maximum number of points was obtainable, and avert crashing out of preliminaries even if the worst were to happen -- that was what the prudent Azusa was thinking. In Miyuki's case, they couldn't foresee her losing this event, but now she was giving off a tinge of anxiety.

"What happened?"

Azusa was asking that because she couldn't shake off that vague feeling of worry. "What, you ask?"

Asked in return with a forced tone by Tatsuya, she was shut out from asking any more questions.

◊ ◊ ◊

Results-wise, Miyuki stormed past the preliminaries with a wide lead. Things got a little scary for the boys, but they safely advanced past preliminaries. And as First High executives had dreaded, both boys and girls ended in an ignominious fourth in [Rower and Gunner] solos, gaining no points.

As for the other schools, Seventh High won both boys and girls with 100pts; with 200pts total, they were on the forefront for the 2nd straight day. Third High got 2nd place at both; with 120pts total, they'd slipped past First High for 2nd place overall. Considering the events from tomorrow onward, they could quickly upset Seventh High -- that was what Third High should have been thinking. It should have been a good start for Third High.

However, the dinner scene at Third High was definitely not totally joyous. The second years gathered in a corner were suffused with a heavy atmosphere. The source of their dark clouds was the [Rower and Gunner]'s solo player Kichijouji, who was unable to grab the championship.

"Kichijouji, even 2nd place isn't that bad. Don't let it weigh you down."

"Yeah. I was 2nd place once, but I paid no heed to that."

There were even third years, having finished eating and heading for trailer clean- up, cheering him up as they passed by with not much visible effect.

"Who could have seen that Seventh High would pull something like that off...?"

Until then he had been at ease, but the unexpectedly frustrating grumble escaped from Kichijouji's silent mutterings. If it weren't for the tableware before him, he would have been falling forward.

He was shocked not because he was defeated that easily, but because of how he was defeated. For someone like Kichijouji, who relied on ingenuity, tactical defeats were an even bigger blow than ability defeats. And he felt today's defeat was not due to ability, but tactics.

"No use griping about it."

Those were easy-to-say words, more comforting for all the complaints and grumblings than just falling into dead silence. The second years surrounding Kichijouji were saying this to him at the critical moment.

"That's right, using the rules to abandon all shooting is unorthodox."

Seventh High's tactic was simple and unexpected -- targets hit by mechanical spray-firing were a bonus, and so their magic power was diverted into board control, intent on shortening the time. Rower and Gunner rules stipulated that the fastest team's time be divided by the number of hits from the team with the most hits to calculate the time per hit. This value was multiplied by the hit count and the resulting product was subtracted from the running time to get the time difference. The team with the smallest time difference would then be chosen as the champion. This meant if the time difference was small the team with the most hits had the advantage; conversely, if there was no big difference in the hit count, the team with the fastest time had the advantage.

Incidentally for the Boy's solo event, Third High's Kichijouji had the most hits. This meant that from the results of precision firing and spray-firing, the time difference was too big. A result where brute-forcing won over seeking accuracy was something Kichijouji couldn't comprehend.

"For the pair event, all teams focused on their hit counts."

"In truth, that was where First High's girls trumped over Seventh High."

"Seventh High might have been blessed with an unexpectedly lucky shot. It has happened before in competitions. Don't you think so, Masaki?"

The second year boys, in search for a consensus, brought the story to Masaki. There, all who were consoling Kichijouji, noticed something strange.

Looking back, up to now Masaki hadn't said even one comforting word to Kichijouji. On the contrary, he hadn't said a thing since dinner had started. He'd been eating all right, but he gave the impression that his mind was focused on a totally different matter.

"Masaki?"

"Hm? True, the strongest doesn't always win, but today's victory will affect

Seventh High negatively. First High might have lost to them, but they'll catch up. Looking at it objectively, I believe it's far from bad. It was within their calculations."

It seemed he'd been following them, but for some reason the unnatural feeling couldn't be shaken off. Both male and female classmates surrounding Kichijouji, in spite of gender, looked at each other.

"I see ... you're right. First High will catch up."

"Our final objective is the overall championship. We have our work cut out for us starting tomorrow."

"Dwelling on today's results is not the best action, you said? I understand, Masaki."

However, it seemed that Kichijouji got over his shock due to Masaki's words. On that note the dinner was concluded, and no one bothered asking about Masaki's unnatural behavior.

Today's night tea party was scheduled because at the start various work, including CAD tuning, was coming to an end. Tomorrow morning would be [Shield Down] for the Boy's pair, and the afternoon would be the finals for [Ice Pillars Break] for the Girl's pair.

Even though he was in charge of Shizuku, who charged past preliminaries, he was serving as engineer for Kirihara, of the Kirihara and Tomitsuka pair. What was more, the day after tomorrow he was taking care of Miyuki's [Ice Pillars Break] Girl's solo in the morning and Sawaki's [Shield Down] Boy's solo in the afternoon. This was expected to be the busiest two days *especially for Tatsuya at the 9SC*.

"Shiba-senpai, voltage checks for Kirihara's CAD have been completed."

"Hook them up to the auto-debugger next."

"Okay."

With Kent as his assistant, Shizuku's and Kirihara's CADs were tuned. This work had strong tinges of inspection rather than tuning, so making Kent the assistant had strong educational impact in guiding him in "orthodox" CAD tuning protocols. However, Kent was unexpectedly skilled and knowledgeable, and he was turning into a capable help for Tatsuya.

Just as the pair's work appeared to be ending soon, a visitor came for Tatsuya. "It's you, Ichijou. What's up?"

Coming to visit the operations van was Masaki.

"Sorry to visit you at this hour. Do you have a moment?"

"We're running on schedule. If it's just for a moment, then it's fine. Kent, I'm taking a break."

"Okay, senpai."

Tatsuya called out to Kent with this, then went along with Masaki to a spot unlit by the van's headlights.

"You're entrusting the engineering work to a freshman?" Masaki, walking alongside and a bit surprised, asked him that. "I was once a freshman last year."

However, on hearing Tatsuya's slightly sarcastic answer, Masaki bitterly smiled, thinking "That's way too rude."

"Well then, I believe you've come to me only for the Steeplechase case."

Ignoring Masaki's relatively friendly façade, Tatsuya went ahead and spilled out what the former would say. Masaki instantly hardened his expression, then changed his mind figuring this was no time for idle chat.

"Yeah, it's as you've said. Somehow, it's more suspicious than I thought."

"What did you find out?"

Tatsuya stopped walking and turned towards Masaki. The latter directly took on the former's inquiry.

"It's still far from the point where you can say that I've found them out. It's just that the JSDF hard-liners appear to be involved with it."

"Hard-liners?"

Tatsuya inquisitively asked back; Masaki immediately found out that Tatsuya didn't know what [hard-liners] was simply referring to.

"Oh, sorry, it's the anti-GAA hard-liners within the JSDF."

"And they are the ones maneuvering behind the 9SC?"

With a little thinking, it was an easy-to-understand plan. The powers that desired a war victory were in a hurry to expand their battle strength by selecting combat- capable magicians. High school students may not be ready fire-power, but even the hard-liners wouldn't be wishing for a war outbreak in a day or two. Besides, if they were to see results in the 9SC, it would be easy to guess that this method would be expanded into the university magicians' athletic meets.

However, house Kudou, no, Kudou Retsu and the hard-liners joining together -- to consider it would be a troublesome combination. Tatsuya had heard that Kudou Retsu hated to see magicians used as weapons. It was all rumors, but it had high credibility. Just hearing it from Fujibayashi could be for the benefit of her relatives; such was worth considering, but Kazama, critical of the Ten Master Clans organization, would say pretty much the same thing.

Retsu hated the use of magicians as weapons, and yet he was not denying the use of them as soldiers. Paradoxical, yet that was the very reason there was no way for that old man to use high school students as guinea pigs for such a foul-looking method. For soldiers are not expendable, but are important resources.

"I heard Col. Sakai wants us high school students to join up the JSDF, bypassing the Ministry of Defense in the process."

With Masaki continuing to explain, Tatsuya sensed he was getting more and more confused. I see, if the hardliners' objective is to secure volunteers as ready firepower then confrontations against Kudou Retsu cannot occur. If they are to introduce strong combat-type events, then their plan is crystal clear. Perhaps they'd try to instill to the high school students the exhilarating feelings when battle instincts and destructive urges were unleashed. If that's the case, it's no different from trying to increase the number of youth that aim to join as combat magicians.

Even himself as among the youth --- on the contrary, in spite of not being on a youth's level, Tatsuya thought of it as someone else's problem. Motivating for combat instincts and destructive urges was a MO even used in Yotsuba training.

Nevertheless, that did not explain the spell to make parasite dolls go on a rampage. The hardliners had to know how much, how far the connections went. Either they were tied to the puppet master or they were mere minor actors.

And then a small problem suddenly popped up within Tatsuya's mind. "... You got as far as finding out Col. Sakai's name."

Even the Ichijous probably had a channel of their own into the JSDF. But it should have been no easy task to thoroughly check out the ringleader's name in a short time. Since it was no public political party, there were no written registries going around about each faction.

Masaki showed a bitter expression at Tatsuya's monologue on abrupt question. "Col. Sakai was my father's old acquaintance..."

As expected, even Tatsuya was astounded by this *acknowledgement*. "Ichijou, I didn't expect that..."

"No, that's way off! Don't take it for something else, Shiba!"

As expected, Ichijou openly denied the confusion even when going as far as suggestively taking a stab at it. Even Tatsuya felt relief for the denial. Better that the enemies keep on increasing; if this situation deteriorates any further, he would turn the tables over with bothersome brute force.

(No ... ... I'd rather end up destroying the steeplechase course. Doesn't matter what kind of action I have to take if I do that.)

"That they were acquaintances was a matter for the past."

Masaki was flustered over something else, totally unaware that Tatsuya was thinking of something far more dangerous.

"Col. Sakai was the top commander in that area during the Sado invasions four years ago."

(From the start I have nothing to do with the Kudou's objectives or with the JSDF predictions.)

"Perhaps you knew about it, but a volunteer force with my father as the leader was formed to recover Sado. At the same time father appealed to Col. Sakai for whether a regiment-sized unit can be dispatched to Niigata, Hokuriku. That time both the gov't and the JSDF were focused on Okinawa, so the JSDF had intended to send in a battalion once the volunteer army had recovered Sado."

(Having First High win the 9SC is optional. Or at least on the last day's Steeplechase, Miyuki or Honoka or Shizuku's championships will wait until after this is over. A premature 9SC termination would be a complete humiliation for the Magic Association well into the thesis competition --- but that's out of my hands.)

"Col. Sakai answered my father's appeals. We're thankful for that even now. At that time a large military force had been virtually thrown our way. We haven't seen an offensive that big, as my father would say, and I believe so, too."

(If I hit the ground just below the surface with a Material Burst it would probably be misidentified as explosions from conventional weapons. Targeting for an infinitesimal mass is possible with a *self-made* Third Eye and a *short distance of a few kilometers* and shouldn't trigger any volcanic ranges. Doing it at the dead of night won't cause any harm to all students. That leaves persuading Miyuki and to whom to pin this action on ... I think.)

"However, just after the first part of the Okinawa battle, the colonel tried to pull a counter-invasion on the New Soviet Union! My father protested, but the colonel would hear none of it. Of course, there's no way the GHQ would approve such a venture. As a result the counter-invasion didn't happen, but father was at loggerheads with the colonel until the regiment stood down. From there they quarreled and split up, and they haven't spoken to each other since."

(If only there were criminal syndicate members prowling about just like last year to be able to pin this on them. Don't they have the latent strength to go against the armed forces?)

"I talked to my father yesterday and he was troubled, saying 'it's better off without that mutiny nonsense', but then he said, 'it's already other people's problem so we can do nothing about it' as he shook his head with finality."

"Mutiny, you said?"

Tatsuya thought it was totally different from Masaki's *explanation* thus far. However the single word that would match with his thoughts came flying through his hearing, spontaneously focusing his consciousness onto Masaki's story.

For Masaki, Tatsuya suddenly giving out a response after silently listening to his explanation (that's what he saw) was a surprise, and he learned that the word [mutiny] was extreme for a new irritant.

"No, there's no such thing as suspicions of mutiny against Col. Sakai's group. I myself know little of the details, only the [it's only a matter of time for a mutiny to occur] kind of rumors."

"That means you don't have any proof."

"Y, yeah."

"Only rumors then."

"That's probably the case ... anyway!"

Masaki must have felt this conversation was going in a direction he himself didn't like. He raised his voice to force the conversation back on track.

"Right now the Ichijous have nothing to do with Col. Sakai. We did some socializing back then so we have many connections; it was through these connections that we're aware of this case. Col. Sakai's group probably isn't planning on a mutiny. If they are plotting on something, I believe it's to gather a considerable number of young magicians and take them into their own faction, then take the battle to the GAA's shores."

"That much is enough for a not-so-quiet conversation, ... but thank you. I'll keep those in mind."

"I, it's nothing much. I'm investigating for my own sake, no thanks are necessary. Anyway that's as the situation goes so maybe no one's making a move on the matches. They might when the tournaments are over. I'll contact you when I find something ... whether during the closing party, or by discreetly contacting you."

"Thanks."

Tatsuya sent off Masaki, who was taking his leave very hurriedly, with a terse thanks. He knew Masaki's conjectures were off, and he didn't intend to drag the latter into the Parasite Dolls matter.

(Hardliners...)

Offered with a definite candidate for a possible scapegoat, Tatsuya instead regained his composure. There was clearly no time even if diversionary tactics were executed. It was less than ten days until match day for Steeplechase Cross- country, where the parasite doll experiments would be performed. To complete an operation with such a short time interval would be difficult even with Yakumo's help. It might be possible with Yotsuba help, but it was highly unlikely that Maya would give her support to the partial explosion at Fuji training grounds from the onset.

(It's so unlike me to be too indecisive over this or that...)

With that, Tatsuya finally recognized that he was wearing out. For now, tonight, Tatsuya ordered himself to drive out the Parasite Doll matter from his mind and relax in a tea session with his younger sister and friends.

◊ ◊ ◊

Day three of the 9SC. In the morning the prelims and finals for Shield Down, boys pair, and the finals for Ice pillars break, boys pair, were carried out.

And currently they were in the midst of the third finals match for Shield Down, boys pair. Both First and Third High were tied for first in the finals, so the winner of this match would be the champion of Shield Down boys pair.

Tomitsuka hoisted up his shield, then charged on. The Third High players, aware from the matches thus far that the First High pair were both close-range types, always kept their distance from both Kirihara and Tomitsuka as they fought on. However, the immediately effective remote magic was a high-strength area interference instead of the narrow one created by Tomitsuka -- that's what the Third High players believed. The truth was they were kept out because of contact- type Gram Demolition. In that situation the Third High players lobbed compressed air masses at them.

"Yaaah!"

The shockwave unleashed from Tomitsuka's shield blew up the compressed air masses into mere "quite strong" winds. It was a composite of Movement-type magic [Rest] and a derivative of acceleration magic [Explosion]. It was not the application of radial acceleration to solid masses, but an alteration where the gases directly in contact with the shield face were given acceleration vectors that were perpendicular to the shield face ([Rest] here was meant to restrain against its backlash).

Until 9SC training had started, Tomitsuka was unable to learn the air-based attack magic that was popular among Modern Magic users. This magic type mostly required continuous state maintenance of the compressed air until it rushed towards or touched an opponent. For Tomitsuka, unable to control magic beyond the range of his limbs, there was no getting around the fact that there were things he knew he was not good at.

However, being 'totally' unable to learn this type of magic was really a problem of the 'consciousness'. As long as one was on solid ground, air was everywhere. It existed 'where it is within one's reach'. By only accelerating the air close at hand, long-range control was unnecessary. An example would be Sawaki's Mach Punch, where it was just a mass of solidified air surrounding the fist pushing out the air in contact with said mass. A spell to accelerate part of a body, no, the entire body into sonic speeds after moving solidified air through sonic speeds without any time lag was a tough proposition, but the remote control for the 'process' of firing out a shockwave wouldn't be used at all.

Tatsuya, serving in a double role as tactical officer, drew up the basic theoretical framework. But, it was through Hirakawa Chiaki's efforts that an activation sequence for [Blast] that Tomitsuka could master was devised and its CAD optimized.

Chiaki was by nature more proficient in CAD hardware than in software-based activation sequences; she too was proficient in adjusting activation sequences, but she was bad at arranging them. But after hearing from Tomitsuka the concepts behind [Zero Range Blast], Chiaki, under Professor Jennifer Smith's daily guidance, grappled with her weakness that was activation sequence arranging, before she succeeded in a rearranged activation sequence for Blast that Tomitsuka could easily handle. One could say that thanks to Chiaki, a zero-ranged Tomitsuka could use Blast.

Kirihara, taking his cue from Tomitsuka blowing away Third High's attacks, rushed forward. For the ring positions, Tomitsuka was in the middle, the Third High pair were on the edge, and Kirihara was smack between them.

He then lowered his body, kneeling down on one knee as if going down, then struck the ring with his shield.

A beat later the ring shook. Along with the counter vibration due to the ring being struck, magic to create frequency-controlling vibratory waves was fed in.

The shaking was great in the center. However, it had a big psychological impact on the Third High pair, who were standing on the edge. Should they fall out of the ring, they would be eliminated.

Their consciousness focused on their footing, they veered away from Kirihara and Tomitsuka.

The pair didn't let that opening slip through. Using self-acceleration magic, Tomitsuka rushed forward and past Kirihara, ramming one Third High player with his shield. This time it was his specialty, an Explosion that affected solid bodies.

The other Third High player had no time to realize that his partner had fallen out of the ring as Kirihara had stabbed into that player's shield with his Shield Edge.

It was a variant of Sonic Blade. The Third High's shield did not break, it was shattered. And without going for round two, the Shield Down boys pair championship went to First High.

Kirihara took Tomitsuka's hand and raised them up high. At the ringside staff chairs, Chiaki was clapping her hands with joy. She had an always sour look due to Tatsuya sitting beside her, but it appeared even that was forgotten.

◊ ◊ ◊

On the third day First High took third for men's Ice Pillars Break pairs, and first for the women's. The men's Shield Down pair took first, but the women's pair dropped out in the prelims. This was an unexpected result, but they had been grouped with Third High who ended up winning overall. If they had beaten Third High at that match they likely could have ended up winning themselves; so intense was the fight.

But what's done is done. Third High placed no lower than second for all their events today. The point gap which had been 40 at the end of the second day was now 100. At the dinner table, even the pairs who had won were in a sombre mood.

Instead--

"Shizuku, congratulations on your win!"

"Well, with Shizuku's abilities that was a given."

"Yep yep, congrats Shizuku!"

At the evening tea party at Tatsuya's work vehicle, words of praise to Shizuku flew fast.

"Thanks, everyone."

No matter how many times, it was still something to be happy for. Shizuku lightly inclined her head.

"Tomorrow is Miyuki's turn, huh?"

Slightly abashed, but covering it magnificently as always, she turned the focus to Miyuki.

"Yes, I'll have to do my best, too."

Without jesting or subtlety, Miyuki replied with a determined smile.

"I think it'd be best if you didn't think like that. If you focus all your effort into that you might make a pitfall when you least expect it."

"There's no way any sort of trap could defeat Miyuki, right? Rather, I think the most important thing is to take care not to make a false start."

"That's the biggest pitfall."

"Jeez... Subaru, Erika, do you really think I would be that careless?"

The reason Subaru and Erika had framed their concerns as jokes was because they couldn't take the pure atmosphere radiating between Shizuku and Miyuki. With Miyuki's light protest, the air in the group relaxed again.

"No, it's not that."

Subaru answered with a wry smile, and Miyuki likewise pursued no further.

The breezy chatter of the girls melted into the night sky. The number of people attending the parties had increased steadily and things were becoming livelier.

Erika hadn't come the first day, saying she was 'busy', but had joined since last night as if there were no more problems. Tonight, Satomi Subaru and Akechi Eimi had also come along. The camping table would be full soon. If even more people came, they'd have to find another table and chairs. --All the second year girls were here now, however, so it was probably unlikely any more would turn up.

The first tea party was known to all of the First High team by the next morning. The reason Eimi and Subaru had joined tonight wasn't because they were reserved about staying the night.

"That said Eimi, it's good you're feeling better. Spending a night like that wouldn't have been very nice."

"I, I wasn't sulking! Not at all!"

It wasn't like she had pressed the issue because she thought it was that big a deal...but seeing Eimi frantically refute it, Subaru heaved a sigh. Based on her attitude, it was questionable if she was really calm, but Subaru had been able to feel that Eimi was troubled.

Subaru and Eimi shared a room. They weren't as close to Tatsuya's group as Honoka and Shizuku and since coming to the 9SC, outside of matches, they mainly spent their time together. So when Subaru felt that something was bothering Eimi, she herself would feel affected and as a friend, would feel the need to do something.

"What happened?"

Miyuki questioned not Eimi herself, but rather Subaru. "Nothing at all!"

Her facing reddening, Eimi tried to interfere. But something like that wasn't able to stop Subaru.

"It's about Tomitsuka..."

At that answer which Subaru gave with one eye closed and a shrug, Miyuki, Honoka and Shizuku all breathed out with expressions of understanding.

"What did Tomitsuka-kun do?"

Mizuki turned to question Shizuku, who sat next to her. It was Erika who answered, however.

"He was probably flirting with that chick."

"That chick.....?"

"Hirakawa. Hirakawa Chiaki."

It seemed Mizuki finally understood what Erika was driving at. Still looking unconvinced, however, they turned to Eimi.

"Eimi. It's Tomitsuka-kun, I'm sure he was just expressing his gratitude." Talking about how Tomitsuka and Chiaki had been getting along well during dinner(although Chiaki had her head down most of the time), Honoka spoke words of comfort to Eimi.

"I said there was no problem."

Eimi persisted in her denial, but it hadn't been only Honoka who had seen Tomitsuka with Chiaki. Shizuku and Miyuki had seen the same thing. Even if they hadn't, it was evident with a glance by comparing Subaru and Eimi's expressions who was more trustworthy here.

"Eimi, Tomitsuka-kun is hopeless."

"What was that?!"

Displaying such a predictable reaction, it was questionable whether she was really holding something back. That said though, Shizuku's words had been fairly confrontational--to put it lightly.

"Unlike Tatsuya-san, Tomitsuka-kun is honest-to-god dense. You'd have to clearly spell things out to him."

After Shizuku elaborated, Eimi was left with a delicate expression. It appeared she wouldn't go to his defense--or rather, it was a face which conceded there was no defense.

Speaking of delicacy, Tatsuya seemed lost as to what sort of expression to make. Perhaps mercifully, his troubles didn't last long.

[Master.]

Being telepathically called by Pixie all of a sudden, Tatsuya suppressed his tension and stood up with a neutral expression. He had forbidden Pixie to use telepathy except in one specific scenario. In other words, that situation had occurred.

"Onii-sama?"

"Tatsuya-san?"

"Something sounds off. I'm going to go have a look."

Leaving Miyuki and Honoka that excuse which could be rather openly interpreted, Tatsuya headed inside the vehicle.

Once inside, Pixie led him over to the map located on the panel at the driver's seat. In the center of the map the SCCC course was laid out, adjoining the military road opposite them.

[I have caught readings of my compatriots in this location.] "Are the signals still ongoing?"

Scrutinizing the map with a pained expression, Tatsuya contacted Pixie. [It is. It seems my presence has likewise been compromised.]

"How many?"

[I can identify 16.]

That number coincided with what Tatsuya had gleaned from the former Ninth Institute lab.

[Ah...]

Pixie voiced her feelings reflexively. This sort of personal behavior had become increasingly common lately.

"What is it."

[I have suddenly lost all contact. I believe they may have gone dormant.] "Any signs of movement?"

[From what I had intercepted, negative.]

At this stage the Parasite Dolls were yet unable to be developed in military facilities. Tatsuya did not know just how much they had been informed, but this Parasite Doll performance test was most likely a secret. If that was the case, Tatsuya believed it was likely they had been brought in via a mobile lab of some sort.

Tatsuya likewise didn't know the effective distance it would have to be in to effectively monitor the Parasite Dolls. But for the sake of a performance test, he deduced that they wouldn't want to be too far when the competition was under way. A position close to the course should therefore be the logical choice. The only problem was--

(If we could determine the location of the Parasite Dolls from here, they likely know the position of Pixie as well...)

That point caused him considerable concern. If Pixie could recognise the Parasite Dolls, the reverse also likely held true. Meaning the fact that the presence of the Parasite Dolls had been compromised was a fact also known to the Kudou experiment team.

If Tatsuya was in their shoes, he would have moved out immediately. That meant finding a different position until the day of the experiment. However, these people were complacently operating under the aegis of Kudou Retsu's protection, and there was a good chance they wouldn't be that wary.

(...Didn't I just decide yesterday that there was nothing to be gained from wondering here. It's not like there's much to lose. Let's go have a look.) Tatsuya finally decided upon that course of action.

By the time he had collected his equipment and headed back outside, the tea party was already wrapping up.

"Tatsuya-san, see you tomorrow."

"See you, too, Miyuki."

"Tatsuya-kun, thanks for the party."

"Shiba-kun, Miyuki, thanks again~"

"See ya, Tatsuya."

"Shiba-sempai, good night."

The lively group of friends (+ one junior) returned to the hotel. Having seen them off, Miyuki cheekily smiled up at Tatsuya.

"Onii-sama, are you heading out?"

"Yeah."

She knew him so well that there was no point trying to hide anything as he nodded.

"I thought as much, so I got everyone to head back early."

He had been seen through to a frightening degree, but thinking 'this isn't new', his disturbance faded before it ever surfaced. Her next words, however, did affect him.

"Onii-sama, please don't go."

"Miyuki...what do you mean?"

"No. Rather, Onii-sama. I won't let you go."

There was no longer any trace of amusement in her eyes. Rather, they glinted with an unshakeable will.

"Onii-sama, must you really go confront the enemy now? I personally don't think so."

"Pixie has detected the enemy's location. We finally have a lead."

"Before that. What I'm asking is, why must Onii-sama move to intervene with the experiment of the Kudou."

It was one of those rare moments Tatsuya was lost for words. From the moment he had received the message from the unknown sender, he had taken that they must be stopped as a given. However, that was only something *he* had thought.

"This may be selfish of me. I haven't exactly assisted you in this case either, so this may be rather shameless of me as well."

As she spoke, Miyuki was resolute. Whilst bearing her 'shame', she continued to stand before him.

"You may scold me as much as you like later. But Onii-sama. Before that, please hear me out."

Tatsuya's eyes never wavered from Miyuki's. After declaring he had intended to go face the enemy, he had not moved an inch from before her.

"There is not a single reason why Onii-sama should have to bear responsibility for the Kudou's plans. Onii-sama does not have any obligation to stop the Parasite Dolls at all."

Tatsuya himself knew that all too well. He understood it fully.

"Neither should Onii-sama have to bear responsibility for all the competitors in the Steeple Chase Cross Country."

It was like being struck by a warning stick during meditation. Tatsuya dimly began to realize what his sister wanted to say, and where she was right while he was wrong.

"Onii-sama. I'm about to say something extremely selfish. Something I'm ashamed to even think of."

There was not a trace of humility or pretentiousness in Miyuki's tone. Not a single trace of hesitation, either.

"All Onii-sama has to do is protect me. The only one Onii-sama has to be responsible for, is me."

Only her voice, even now, held a quaver close to tears.

"Whether they're from First High, or another school altogether, Onii-sama does not have to concern himself with anyone except me!"

Miyuki audibly clenched her teeth. Her downcast bangs hid her tear-stained eyes.

"It's fine to leave the Parasite Dolls alone until the actual day. If you don't consider the fact the actual Parasites would only be released, those creatures aren't even close to worthy of being Onii-sama's adversaries. It's fine to just destroy them all on the day. After the competition has ended, I will destroy the spirits themselves."

Slowly, bit by bit, Miyuki raised her gaze to meet Tatsuya's. Her eyes were now dry.

"If you will insist on going even then, while impertinent, I will have to stop you by force."

Now Tatsuya felt dismay in earnest.

He could feel forbidden powers now gathering inside her.

"Stop this, Miyuki! Are you intending to seal my 'eyes'!? If you do something like that, you'll end up being unable to use magic as well!"

"I'd have to drop out of the competition tomorrow. In fact I guess I'd have to drop out of First High. But I'd prefer that to seeing Onii-sama force himself on like this!"

For the first time, Miyuki laid herself bare. With a tearful cry, she revealed her true feelings.

"Onii-sama, do you not even realise how much you pile on yourself!? From the morning to the evening you've been busy adjusting the competitor's CADs, then after the matches you consult with the other technical staff and give advice, then teach the juniors late into the night while making preparations for the next day.

Taking on the military and the Kudou on top of that...Even for you, Onii-sama, it's far too much! You'll end up breaking!" Tears spilled down from Miyuki's eyes.

Tatsuya finally realised just how tired he was, and just how exhausted his sister had become worrying for him.

The hesitation which had been clouding him cleared, and he found his heart was now lighter for it.

"There's no need for that."

Miyuki looked up dumbfounded at Tatsuya as if she had been struck. The frustration had disappeared from his voice, and in its place a kind gentleness had reappeared.

"I'll return to our room."

"Onii-sama...?"

"Miyuki. You are correct. I was wrong."

Miyuki hadn't thought she would be able to convince him. As a human being, she had known all along that her brother was in the right. So she wasn't able to believe that she would be able to change his mind.

"It's as you say. You're the only one I have to protect. As long as I can keep you safe, the rest is superfluous. You are all I need."

Those were the words Miyuki had always wanted to hear, which now filled and bound her heart. As if her earlier eloquence had been a lie, she simply stood looking at Tatsuya in silence. Her gaze, as straightforward as it had been a while before, seemed to be staring into a dream.

"Let's go back."

Gently pushing on her shoulders, he began walking the puppet-like Miyuki back to the hotel.

--Behind them, Minami, who had kept to the background during the one man show, followed, keeping her head down to hide her twitching expression.

◊ ◊ ◊

The morning of the fourth day of competition. In the girls' Ice Pillars Break solo, Miyuki won both matches of the finals in under one minute.

Her victories were so decisive there was some worry that she might have traumatized her opponents; however, Miyuki did not seem worried over that. And the spectators could not even pay heed to the losers. So charming was Miyuki's smile that even though they saw that she had forgotten to offer a handshake to her opponents, they became even more entranced with her.

After the noon break was the Ice Pillars Break men's solo and the Shield Down men's solo. Tatsuya was in charge of Shield Down. On his way to the side of the ring, Tatsuya met up with Sawaki.

"Shiba-kun, you seem to be much better today."

He had been taking care of Pillars Break (in short, Miyuki) throughout the morning, but he had washed his face after breakfast.

"I'm that different?"

Simultaneously feeling that the comment was both belated and sudden, Tatsuya questioned Sawaki.

"Ah. The first day, the second day, the third day, I could somehow see that you weren't concentrating. I didn't intend to say anything because you were still doing your work properly. I thought you were gripped with worry about something."

Tatsuya was privately astonished. He had not been gripped by worry but by hesitation; however, he had not intended to let it show in his face. Even now, his friends--Honoka, Shizuku, Mikihiko and the rest as well as Isori and Azusa who were closer to him than Sawaki--each and every one of them had not seemed aware that his condition was off. Perhaps it was because Sawaki wasn't with him all the time so he was aware of a small change. Nevertheless, Sawaki's observation skills were terrifying.

"You look refreshed today. So I felt like mentioning it."

"Although I wasn't aware of it myself, fatigue might have been piling up on me. Yesterday, I had the first good night's sleep in a while that was enough to revive my constitution."

As an excuse, it wasn't a clever one, but it wasn't an unnatural one. Thinking that he wouldn't have accepted it himself, Tatsuya made that answer to Sawaki.

"That's great. Keep yourself fired up, Shiba-kun."

However, Sawaki didn't show any doubts. He was simply team spirited. He didn't consider anything else and remained focused on the upcoming match.