1 1

魔法科高校の劣等生

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

Enrollment Chapter (I)





Satou Tsutomu

Illustrations by Ishida Kana





ASCII Media Works / Dengeki Bunko • Tokyo, Japan





Copyright © 2011 by Satou Tsutomu


Illustration © 2011 by Ishida Kana


All rights reserved.


Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei / Satou Tsutomu ; [illustrations by Ishida Kana] — digital ed.


ISBN: 978-4-04-870597-4


Summary: The story follows Tatsuya Shiba, a bodyguard to his sister Miyuki Shiba who is also a candidate to succeed the master clan, Yotsuba. They enroll into First High School which segregates its students based on their magical abilities. Miyuki is enlisted as a first course student and is viewed as one of the best students, while Tatsuya is in the second course and considered to be magically inept. However, Tatsuya’s technical knowledge, combat abilities, and unique magic techniques causes people to view him as an irregular to the school’s standardized rankings.


[1. Romance-Magic—Fiction. 2. Magic-Engineer—Fiction. 3. School—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Series: Tsutomu, Satou. Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.





ePub meticulously crafted by hand by Roah Nosh.


Translation by Baka-Tsuki.





[Translator: Dreyakis, Sashiko, Joay, Seitsuki, Setsuna86, larethian / Checker: larethian / Editor: Arczyx, ColdFront, Zeru, Genesis, nukie, Wakusie, Chancs, Cliff]





All materials’ copyright reserved by their respective authors and the associated publishers. Please respect their rights.




Works will be deleted upon request by copyright holders.


Visit the disclaimer page for more details.





If you like the book buy it once localized in your area. Support the author.





v1.5.5





Title

Copyright

Magic High Schools are——

Chapter 0

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Afterword

The Late Great Favourite

Illustrations

Notes





Magic High Schools are——




Nationally established high schools for the purpose of nurturing “Magicians,” the practitioners of modern magic.

There are a total of nine such schools set up in the country.

The locations of the premises are as stated.





First High School: Hachioji (Kanto, Tokyo)

Second High School: Nishinomiya (Kinki, Hyogo)

Third High School: Kanazawa (Hokuriku, Ishikawa)

Fourth High School: Hamamatsu (Tokai, Shizuoka)

Fifth High School: Sendai (Tohoku, Miyagi)

Sixth High School: Izumo (Sanin, Shimane)

Seventh High School: Kochi (Shikoku, Kochi)

Eighth High School: Otaru (Hokkaido)

Ninth High School: Kumamoto (Kyushu, Kumamoto)





Among these, the First to Third schools have a fixed quota of two hundred students who are divided into two courses, Course 1 and Course 2 (The Third High School terms them as “Specialized Course” and “Normal Course”). The difference between Course 1 and Course 2 students lies in the availability of instructors; if we take away the availability of a personal instructor, then the curriculum between the two courses are the same. While the Fourth to Ninth schools, each with a quota of a hundred students, provide instructors to all the students, the level of their instructors is a notch lower compared to those of the First to Third schools. Even though various schools follow the curriculum guidelines set by the National University of Magic, there are also schools that have their own special characteristics. For example, the Third High School places emphasis on practical battle magic, and, in contrast, the Fourth High School places emphasis on many types of highly complex manufacturing magic which are valuable in areas of magic engineering. Aside from the different focuses in the types of magic, there are also schools that specialize in magic usable in a particular environment. The Seventh High School teaches, separate from the normal curriculum, high level magic that has practical usability above water or seas, while the Eighth High School integrates practical outdoor lessons on magic useful in regions of severe cold or mountainous regions where the living environments are extreme.





Chapter 0




Magic.

It is a product of neither legends nor fairy tales, but instead has become a technology of reality since a time unknown to people.

The first verifiable record dates back to AD 1999.

The incident, in which police officers possessing special powers stopped a nuclear act of terror carried out by a fanatic group in order to fulfill the prophecy of destroying humanity, became the first verifiable case of magic in modern times.

Initially, that unusual ability was termed “Supernatural Power.” An ability that was present in a person as a result of a purely inherent, sudden mutation, whose systematization as a technology which could be spread among the masses was thought to be an impossible thing.

That was an erroneous notion.

Through the research of “Supernatural Power” by both the influential Eastern and Western nations, the existence of people who were imparted with “Magic” was gradually made public. It became possible to reproduce “Supernatural Power” through “Magic.”

Of course, talent is required to do that. However, only those who are blessed with a high aptitude can attain a mastery that can put them at a professional level, much like those who possess ability in the fine arts or sciences.

Supernatural power became a technology systematized through magic, while magic became a technical skill. A “Supernatural Power User” became a “Magic Technician.”

Skilled Magic Technicians, capable of suppressing even nuclear weapons, are powerful weapons to a country.

At the end of the 21st century —— in the year 2095 —— the various nations of the world, which are far from unified, are locked in a race to nurture Magic Technicians.





The First High School is affiliated with the National University of Magic.

It is an upper-level, magic institution known to send the most graduates to the National University of Magic every year.

At the same time, it is also an elite school that churns out the largest number of excellent Magic Technicians (in short, Magicians).

With regard to magic education, there is no official stance on providing an equal opportunity in education.

This country does not have the luxury to do so.

Furthermore, childish, idealistic debates revolving around the clear disparity that exists between the capable and the incapable are not tolerated.

Thoroughly talent-driven.

Harshly competence-oriented.

That’s the world of magic.

In this school where only elites are accepted, right at the start of enrollment, the students are already divided into high achievers and low achievers.

Even if two individuals are both freshmen, they are not necessarily equal.

Even if they are blood-related siblings[1].





Chapter 1




“I can’t accept this.”

“You’re still going on about that…?”

It was the day of the school entrance ceremony, but it was still early morning, two hours before the start of the ceremony.

The freshmen whose hearts were filled with anticipation at the future their new life would bring, along with their even more exultant parents, still numbered few and far between.

Standing before the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was going to take place, a man and woman pair, clad in brand new uniforms, was for some reason locked in a verbal disagreement.

They were both freshmen, yet their uniforms were strangely and distinctively different.

We are not talking about the difference between slacks and skirt, nor the difference between a man and woman’s attire.

But rather, on the female student’s chest was the eight-petaled flower design of the First High School’s emblem.

That emblem was not present on the male student’s blazer.

“Onii-sama, why are you a reserve[2]? Didn’t you top the entrance exams? Typically speaking, the one who should become the freshman class representative should be you, not me!”

“Putting aside the question of where you got hold of the entrance exam results… since this is a Magic High School, it’s obvious that they’d place more emphasis on practical magic skills rather than on paper tests, right?

Miyuki, you are well aware of the extent of my practical abilities, aren’t you? I’m quite surprised that I even got accepted here as a Course 2 student.”

It was a scene where the male student was trying to pacify the female student who had been lashing out angrily with her sharp tongue. From the fact that the female student had called the male student “Onii-sama,” we can probably presume that they are siblings. It is also not unlikely that they are closely-related relatives.

If they are siblings…

Then they are siblings who don’t resemble each other at all.

On one hand, anyone who sets eyes on the younger sister will no doubt be captivated by her; ten out of ten people, or even a hundred out of hundred people, will agree that she is a lovely, beautiful girl.

On the other hand, for the elder brother, other than his erect posture and piercing eyes, nothing in his ordinary appearance could be said to be attention-grabbing.

“How can you be so unsure of yourself?! Even when there’s no one who’s a match for you in studies and taijutsu[3]! The truth is, even for magic—”

The younger sister reprimanded the elder brother for his weak proclamation, but…

“Miyuki!”

As he called out her name in an exceptionally strong tone, Miyuki sobered up and shut her mouth.

“You understand, right? Even if you say that, it can’t be helped.”

“…I apologize.”

“Miyuki…”

He put his hand on her lowered head and slowly stroked her glossy black hair, which had not a single kink in it. “Now, what should I do to fix her mood…” the young man who was the elder brother pondered with a miserable face.





“…I’m really happy you feel that way. I always feel that I’m being saved whenever you get angry in my place.”

“Liar.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Liar. Onii-sama, you’re always scolding me…”

“I’m not lying, I said. But, I too hold you in my thoughts the same way you do about me.”

“Onii-sama… ‘hold me in your thoughts,’ you say…”

(…Huh?)

For some reason, the young woman blushed.

Even though the young man could feel that a seed of dissonance that he could not ignore had been sown, in order to resolve the most immediate problem, he shelved that doubt for now.

“Even if you back out of giving the orientation address, there is no way I’ll be selected as a replacement. If you back out at this eleventh hour, you won’t be able to avoid a blemish on your appraisal.

You do understand that, right? Miyuki, you are a smart girl.”

“But…”

“Besides, Miyuki, I’m looking forward to it.

Show this useless big brother of yours the glorious moment of his cute little sister.”

“Onii-sama is not a useless big brother!

…But, I understand. Please pardon me for being willful.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. I’ve never thought of that as being willful.”

“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave.

…Please watch me, Onii-sama.”

“Yeah, break a leg. I’ll be looking forward to your performance.”

“By all means, see you later.” The young woman bowed and disappeared into the auditorium. After ascertaining that she had left, the young man breathed a sigh of relief.

(Well… what should I do now?)

The young man who had escorted his little sister, who had reluctantly become the freshman class representative, to school before the ceremony rehearsal started, was now at a loss as to how he should spend the remaining two hours before the start of the school ceremony.





The main building, the practice building, and an experiment building made up three of the school buildings.

An auditorium/gymnasium whose internal layout can be altered via transformation machinery. A library with three levels above ground and two levels below. Two small gymnasiums. A preparation building equipped with a changing room, a shower room, an equipment-storage room, and club rooms. The canteen, the cafeteria, and the procurement department are in another building. And above all that, the construction of various large and small annexes make the design of First High School appear more like the campus of a suburban university than a typical high school.

The young man looked left and right as he walked along a path paved with a layer of bricks, searching for a place to rest until it was time for him to enter the auditorium.

The ID card that would allow him to use the school facilities would only be given out after the school entrance ceremony ended.

In order to avoid a scene of chaos, the open cafe that was meant to serve visitors was also closed today.

After five minutes of walking around while referring to the campus map displayed on his mobile terminal, beyond a row of trees, which were positioned in such a way that they couldn’t escape his field of vision, he spotted a bench in the courtyard.

It’s a good thing that it’s not raining, a frivolous thought entered his mind as he sat down on the three-person bench, opened his mobile terminal, and started accessing a book portal that he liked.

This courtyard seems to be a shortcut from the preparation building to the auditorium.

They were probably roped in by the management of the entrance ceremony to help out. That is, the current students (upperclassmen to the young man) who were passing by the young man a small distance away. All of them had the same eight-petaled flower emblem on the left side of their chests.

As they passed by, a trail of artless, ill-meaning words escaped around their backs.

—Isn’t that kid a Weed?

—He’s early… he sure is enthusiastic for a reserve.

—In the end, he’s just a spare.

A conversation, which he didn’t really want to hear, flowed into his ears.

The word, Weed, refers to a Course 2 student.

The students who have the emblem design of an eight-petaled flower on the left breast of their blazers are called “Blooms,” while the Course 2 students who don’t have that are likened to weeds that have no blooming flowers, and are sneered upon as “Weeds.”

The quota for the freshmen in this school is two hundred.

Among them, one hundred of them entered this school as Course 2 students.

The First High School, which is affiliated with the National University of Magic, is an institution established under national policy for the purpose of nurturing Magic Technicians.

In exchange for a budget granted by the country, it has the obligation to produce definite results.

Every year, this school produces over a hundred graduates who either enter the University of Magic or enroll in a Magic Technical Institute of Specialized Higher Training.

While it’s a pity, the fact is that magic education is a trial-and-error thing. Accidents, which go beyond the level of minor mishaps, can easily happen directly through magic slip-ups from practice training and experiments. Even while the students are aware of the dangers involved, one will bet one’s future on one’s own talent in magic and the possibility that exists in oneself, and walk the path to become a Magician.

When there are only a handful who possess such talent, and that talent is highly valued by society, few would throw it away, even more so for the young men and women who have yet to reach their individual maturities, rendering them unable to pursue a road outside of a “brilliant future.” Another fact, as a consequence of such a belief system getting fixed inside of them, is that many children have been burdened with “wounds” from that belief system.

Thanks to the accumulation of know-how, most accidents resulting in deaths or crippled bodies have been eradicated.

However, one’s talent in magic can be easily impaired via a psychological element.

Every year, the number of students who have dropped out as a result of being unable to use magic due to the shock of an accident is by no means small.

The ones who fill the gap are the “Course 2 students.”

Upon enrolling in a magic high school, they are allowed to participate in classes, use the facilities and access data, but they lack the most important component in their studies, they are not entitled to receive personal instruction in practical magic skills.

They can only learn on their own, and show results through their own efforts.

If they can’t do that, they will have to graduate from a normal high school.

If one does not graduate from a magic high school, one cannot pursue studies in a university of magic.

Given that the number of people who can teach magic is very insufficient, it is unavoidable that the more talented ones be given priority. Right from the beginning, Course 2 students are accepted under the condition that no one will teach them.

Publicly, it is forbidden to call the Course 2 students “Weeds.”

However, in part, one can almost say that this has become a well-known derogatory term for them, a term that is rooted even within the Course 2 students themselves. Even the Course 2 students have to recognize that they are no more than spares.

This was the same for the young man.

That was why there was no need for them to have purposely spoken that aloud for him to realize that. He had entered this school while being fully aware of that.

What an unnecessary favor from them, the young man thought as he turned his attention to the book portal that had loaded on his data terminal.





On the open computer terminal, a clock was displayed.

His consciousness, which had been immersed in reading, returned to reality.

There were another thirty minutes until the school entrance ceremony.

“Are you a new student? It’s almost time for the ceremony.”

Around the same time as he was about to stand up, having logged out of one of his favorite reading portals and closed his computer terminal, a voice came from above him.

The first thing that came into view was the skirt of a uniform. Following that, wrapping around a left arm was a wide bracelet.

Broader and thinner than a normal bracelet, it was the latest model of a CAD that was made with fashion in mind.

CAD (Casting Assistance Device) — spell support processor.

In this country, it is also known as a (Magic Operator).

Something that replaces tools such as spell chants, talismans, hand seals, magic circles, magic tomes, and other traditional methods of invoking magic, it is a tool of necessity for any modern Magic Technician.

These days, there is no research into using a single word, or a single phrase to invoke magic. When used in conjunction with talismans and magic circles and others, the shortest invocation will take around ten seconds, while the longer ones can take above a minute depending on the magic, and in place of that, the easy-to-use CAD can reduce that to under a second.

While it is possible for magic to be invoked without a CAD, the number of Magic Technicians who do not use CADs, which can rapidly accelerate the invocation of magic, equates to nil. Among those who have dedicated themselves to the specialization of one particular skill in bringing about supernatural phenomena with just their will alone, the so-called “Supernatural Power Users,” the ones who seek the speed and stability that an activation system can bring and love using the CAD have become the mainstream crowd.

However, it does not mean that anyone who possesses a CAD can use magic.

The CAD only provides the activation sequence, and it is the ability of the Magic Technician himself that invokes the magic.

In other words, CADs are red herrings to those who can’t use magic, and are only carried by those involved with magic.

And then, according to the young man’s memory, the students who were allowed to constantly carry a CAD within the school compounds were either executive members of the student council or particular committee members.

“Thank you, I’ll be on my way.”

On the left breast of the other party, was of course the eight-petaled flower emblem.

The bulge from the chest that was pushing up the blazer did not stir any part of his consciousness.

He did not hide his left chest.

He did not perform such a cowardly act.

But, it didn’t mean that there was no ill feeling of any sort.

He could not imagine himself getting actively involved with a high achiever who appeared to be a student council executive member.

“I’m impressed. A screen type?”

However, the other person seemed to think otherwise. While looking at the film screen of the mobile data terminal that the young man had folded in three folds with his hand, the person grinned, as if delighted at something.

At this juncture, the young man finally looked at the face of that person.

The face of that person was twenty centimeters lower than the height of the young man who had stood up from the bench.

The young man’s height was a hundred and seventy-five centimeters, as such, even for a female, she was short.

She was just at the right height to ascertain that he was a Course 2 student with her line of sight.

But her gaze did not have the slightest hint of belittlement, and was filled with a pure, innocent wonder instead.

“Our school disallows the use of virtual display terminals. Despite this, it’s regrettable that many students still use the virtual display type.

However, you are using the screen type even before enrolling into the school.”

“The virtual type is not suitable for reading.”

Anyone could tell that his terminal was a well-used one with one look, so she did not bother asking further.

The young man’s reply that sounded like an excuse was a fruit of careful thought, since if he was excessively blunt, it would become more of a disadvantage to his younger sister than himself, as he was certain that his younger sister, who was the freshman representative, would probably be chosen by the student council.

Upon hearing that calculated response, the upperclassman became even more impressed.

“Instead of watching animation, you read huh? This is even rarer.

I also prefer book-based information to animation-based ones, so I’m kind of happy.”

This is indeed an era where virtual content is preferred over text content, but book readers are not really that rare.

Somehow, it seemed like this upperclassman had an uncommonly sociable personality. Judging from her tone and speech, she appeared to be getting friendlier.

“Ahh, I beg your pardon. I’m the student council president of the First High School, Saegusa Mayumi. Written as ‘seven grass,’ read as Saegusa.”

Nice to meet you.”

Even though she added a wink at the end, there was not a hint of wonder in her tone. With a pretty girl’s looks and together with a well-proportioned body despite her small frame, she radiated such an alluring atmosphere that it would not be surprising if newly matriculated male students misunderstood her intentions.

Yet, on hearing her self-introduction, the young man seemed to frown involuntarily.

“A number… and to top it off, a ‘Saegusa (Seven Grass)’.”

A Magician’s ability is greatly influenced by heredity.

A Magician’s qualities are greatly related to his lineage.

And in this country, the houses that possess a superior blood lineage in magic carry a number in their family name by tradition.

Among the numbered Magician lineages that carry a superior hereditary factor, the Saegusa is one of the two houses deemed to be the most powerful in this country currently. That young woman who was the student council president of this school was probably of their direct descent. In other words, she was an elite among elites. It might even be apt to say that she was the exact opposite of him.

Holding back a bitter mutter, and somehow managing to bring out a courteous smile, the young man returned with his name.





“I’m, no, my name is Shiba Tatsuya.”

“Shiba Tatsuya-kun… I see. You are that Shiba-kun huh…”

The eyes of the student council president went wide with surprise, after which, she nodded meaningfully.

Well, at any rate, while he was the elder brother of the freshman representative, the top entry student Shiba Miyuki, he was a dunce who flat-out couldn’t use any magic. The “that” was probably referring to that.

Thinking about that, Tatsuya politely kept quiet.

“Among the teachers, you have been quite a hot topic,”

Mayumi said with a cheerful smile, appearing unconcerned with Tatsuya’s silence.

It was probably due to how rare it was to have a pair of siblings who were that much of a far cry from each other, thought Tatsuya.

However, no such incredulity nor negative emotion could be sensed from her. He could feel no sign of ridicule embedded in that smile.

He could only feel a friendly positivity emanating from Mayumi’s smile.

“Out of a hundred marks, the average mark of all seven subjects in your entrance exam was ninety-six.

Especially outstanding were Magic Theory and Magic Engineering. Even though the average mark of those who passed was no more than seventy, you received a perfect grade without a hitch for both subjects that had essay-based questions.

It’s an unheard of record high.”

It wasn’t his imagination at hearing those unreserved praises, thought Tatsuya. The reason was because,

“Those are merely paper test results. They are just data inside an information system.”

In the appraisal of magic high school students, more emphasis was given to practical results, and not paper test results.

While a bitter civil smile surfaced on Tatsuya, he pointed to his own left chest.

It was not possible for the student council president to not understand.

However, Mayumi shook her head with a smile at Tatsuya’s words.

Not vertically, but to the left and right.

“That kind of terrific score, at the very least, I won’t be able to reproduce that, you know?

I may not look like it, but I’m really much stronger in theory-based subjects. If my entrance exam had the same questions, I definitely wouldn’t be able to score such a high mark like you, Shiba-kun.”

“It’s about time… please excuse me.”

Tatsuya took his leave from Mayumi, who seemed to have something more to say, and turned his back towards her without waiting for her reply.

Somewhere in his heart, he feared the smiling face of Mayumi, and at what might happen if he were to continue talking with her.

Even though he was not conscious of what he was afraid of.





As a result of the conversation with the student council president, by the time Tatsuya entered the auditorium, more than half the seats were already filled up.

Since there was no seat designation, be it the first row, the last row, right at the center, or right at the edge, he was free to sit anywhere.

Even now, depending on the school, there are schools that follow the traditional style of arranging the seats by class that will be announced prior to the entrance ceremony, but as for this school, one can only ascertain one’s class upon receiving one’s ID card.

Therefore, the seats were not arranged in class order.

However, there was clearly an order to the distribution of seats for the freshmen.

The first half at the front would be taken up by the Blooms. The students who wore an eight-petaled flower emblem on their left breast. The freshmen who would be able to receive the full benefits of the curriculum of this school.

The second half at the back would be taken up by the Weeds. The students whose left breast was left blank. The freshmen who were only allowed to enroll in this school as reserves.

Even when they were the same freshmen, who were becoming the students of this school on the very same day, they were cleanly divided into a group with the emblem and a group without it.

And this was not something that was enforced.

(The people who were the most conscious of the discrimination accepted the discrimination, huh…)

It was certainly a kind of common sense in itself.

Without the intention of openly going against the flow, Tatsuya chose at his own discretion an empty seat near the center of the back one-third rows of seats and sat down.

He turned his eyes to the clock on the wall.

Another twenty minutes more.

He couldn’t access any site in that auditorium where electronic communication was restricted. The data saved in his terminal was also no longer new information to him, and more importantly, it was forbidden to open a terminal in this place.

Tatsuya tried thinking about his sister who should be doing her final rehearsal at this time… and shook his head.

That little sister wouldn’t become flustered right before the main event.

In the end, Tatsuya, who did nothing, adjusted and sat himself upright on the hard seat and closed his eyes. Just as he was about to slip into a nap,

“Er, is the seat beside you occupied?”

A voice called out.

He opened his eyes, and just as he thought, the voice had been directed at him.

As expected from the voice, it was a female student.

“Help yourself.”

Even though he was bewildered as to why she purposely chose to sit beside a random male student, despite the fact that there were still many empty seats, on top of the seats here being made large enough with comfort in mind, the other party was a young woman with a slender build (note that this is referring to the horizontal aspect), and thus, Tatsuya did not feel any unease with her sitting beside him. Rather, it was much more comfortable than if a grimy muscle block were to sit beside him.

Thinking about that, Tatsuya gave a polite nod.

Thank you, the young woman nodded as she took her seat.

Beside her, three other young women sat down one after another.

I see, Tatsuya acknowledged to himself.

It seemed like they were looking for a place that could accommodate all four of them sitting together.

They are probably friends, though it’s quite rare to see four friends making it into a difficult school like this one and to be in Course 2 together on top of that, thought Tatsuya. It won’t be strange even if one of them were a high achiever, he felt— but it didn’t matter to him anyhow.

“Er…”

The voice called out to Tatsuya again, who had turned back to facing the front after having no further interest in the same year student beside him whom he had just met by chance.

What on earth does she want?

Clearly, she wasn’t an acquaintance, nor did he bump her elbow or foot.

If Tatsuya were to say it himself, he was sitting with good posture.

He shouldn’t have done anything that would warrant a complaint but—

“I’m Shibata Mizuki. Nice to meet you.”

Unexpectedly, she introduced herself, in a seemingly timid tone, to Tatsuya who cocked his head. Even though it could be dangerous to judge someone by appearance, she didn’t seem to be the type who was good at impressing others.

She probably forced herself to do it, judged Tatsuya. She might have done it with the thought that they would need to help one another since they were both disadvantaged Course 2 students.

“I’m Shiba Tatsuya. Nice to meet you too.”

Upon returning a soft introduction as he thought about that, the eyes beyond those large lenses appeared relieved.

In this era, it was quite rare for girls to wear glasses.

Since the middle of the twenty-first century, as a consequence of vision correction procedures becoming widespread, the ailment known as myopia had become a thing of the past in this country.

Unless one was born with a hereditary form of vision abnormality at a serious level or such, one would not need any vision correction tool, and even in the event that one would need it, it was more common for people to affix ten-year long persistently worn contact lenses that were harmless to the body.

If she was wearing glasses despite this, it could be because it was her hobby, a fashion accessory, or due to—

(Over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission, huh…)

Just from a quick look, he could tell that there was no degree in the lenses. At the very least, he knew that they were not used for vision correction. From his impression of this young woman, rather than wearing them for fashion, it was more probable that she was wearing those glasses because of a particular need, Tatsuya naturally thought.

“Over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission” refers to a condition of the body where one can see spirit particle emission without conscious effort, and cannot shut it out with conscious effort, in other words, a type of disorder where complete cognizant control cannot be achieved. Thus, it was not really an illness, nor a handicap.

It was a disorder where one’s senses were excessively sharp.

Pushion (Spirit Particles) and Psion (Thought Particles). Both were particles observed in “Para-Psychological Phenomena”—which included magic as well—comprised of non-physical entities that neither corresponded to Fermions[4], particles that make up the composition of matter, nor were they the same as Bosons[5], which bring about the interaction between matter. Psion were particle manifestations of intention and thought, while Pushion could be thought of as particle manifestations of the emotions brought about by intention and thought. (A pity that this was still at a hypothetical stage.)

Normally, it was Psion that was used in magic, and in the technology systems of modern magic, emphasis was placed on the control of Psion. Magicians first started from learning how to manipulate Psion.

People who suffered from “over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission,” a hereditary disorder, showed symptoms of being oversensitive to spirit particle emission— non-physical light generated depending on the activity of Pushion.

Those who were visually exposed to spirit particle emission would have their emotional state affected. Consequently, Pushion were hypothesized to be particles formed by emotions, and as a result, a person suffering from “over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission” tended to be susceptible to the breakdown of his or her mental stability.

Fundamentally, to prevent that required control over Pushion sensitivity, and those who were unable to do so would require a technological aid. One of these aids were glasses made from a special kind of lenses known as “Aura Cut Coating Lenses.”

In reality, to Magicians, “over-sensitivity to spirit particle emission” was not that rare of a condition. Since a Magician’s sensitivity to Pushion and sensitivity to Psion were more or less directly proportional, the number of Magicians who consciously manipulated Psion and were troubled by being oversensitive to the radiation of spirit particles fell on the higher side. One could even say that it was something that could not be helped.

However, it would indeed be rare to see a person who had it as a disorder such that he or she needed to constantly block the spirit particle emission with glasses. It would not be much of a concern if it was because of a lesser manipulative ability, but, if it was due to an extremely superior sensitivity, then it would be bad news for Tatsuya. (Though it would be the opposite for the person in question.)

Tatsuya had a secret.

It was a secret that could not be uncovered from his outward appearance alone, and as such, not of concern, but, if she did have those special eyes that would allow her to sense Pushion and Psion as if they were completely visible to her, his secret might be discovered by random chance.

—He would have to be much more alert and act cautiously whenever she was around.

“I’m Chiba Erika. Nice to meet you, Shiba-kun.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

The voice of the young woman sitting beside Mizuki cut off Tatsuya’s thoughts.

But that was a welcome interruption.

Tatsuya’s look had unconsciously turned into a stare, and Mizuki’s bashfulness was pretty much approaching its limit, but it had gone unnoticed by Tatsuya.

“But, can I say that this is an interesting coincidence?”

Different from her friend, Erika appeared to be an extrovert and of an unreserved type.

Her short, bright hair and her distinct facial features amplified the impression of her being a lively girl.

“What is?”

“Well, you know, we are Shiba, Shibata, and Chiba, right? Don’t they rhyme somehow? Though they are a little different.”

“…I see.”

He could understand what she meant by that.

(But still, Chiba huh… another numbered one[6]? I didn’t know that the Chiba House had a daughter by the name of “Erika,” but it’s possible that she’s of collateral descent…)

As he thought about that,

really interesting,

a somewhat out-of-place laugh escaped from him, but it was not to the extent that it drew cold looks from those around him.

After the remaining two students on the other side of Erika had finished introducing themselves, Tatsuya felt like satisfying his trivial curiosity.

“Were the four of you from the same middle school?”

Erika’s reply was an unexpected one.

“Nope, all of us just met for the first time.”

Tatsuya’s surprised look might have been a strange one, for Erika started giggling as she explained.

“I didn’t know where this place was and I was staring at the information board. That’s when Mizuki called out to me.”

“…Information board?”

That’s strange, thought Tatsuya. The data for the school entrance ceremony included the location of the venue, and had been sent to all the new students. By using the LPS (Local Positioning System), a standard feature in a mobile terminal, even if a new student didn’t read the information board, or remember any of the information, one shouldn’t lose one’s way.

“The three of us didn’t bring our data terminals.”

“Well, the virtual-screen models are banned and I had the school entrance guide stored in mine.”

“We managed to luck into this school after all. It wouldn’t make sense to get marked off right at the school entrance ceremony.”

“I forgot mine actually.”

“So that’s the reason for you, huh…”

He really couldn’t accept it. It’s your own school entrance ceremony; at least verify the location of the venue before coming, he thought honestly to himself, but didn’t say a word.

There was no need to stir up any meaningless trouble— thinking about that, Tatsuya restrained himself.





Miyuki’s orientation address was outstanding as expected.

Tatsuya never had the slightest thought that his little sister would fumble at something like this.

Even though she was fired up and included a number of pretty dangerous phrases like “everyone alike,” “as a single body,” “aside from magic” or “in an integrated manner,” she managed to set them up properly and they didn’t sound thorny at all.

Her openness, innocence, and modesty, coupled with her lovely, beautiful appearance, had captured the hearts of not just the guys, the freshmen, but the upperclassmen as well.

Miyuki would probably be surrounded by commotion from tomorrow onward.

That was not an unusual thing.

Using the society’s standards, one could call Tatsuya a siscon from the way he pampered her. He wanted to commend her immediately, but unfortunately, what followed immediately after the ceremony was the issuing of the ID cards.

Since the individual cards were not made beforehand, the arrangement was to have each and every person go to a certain place to personally have their data written into the cards meant for use within the school premises, so whichever counter they went to, the procedure could be completed, but here, a wall naturally appeared in Tatsuya’s heart.

Miyuki probably, undoubtedly, skipped this step; as the freshman representative, she had probably already been conferred with this card.

And right now, in the midst of the visitors and student crowd.

“Shiba-kun, which class are you in?”

Erika, with a face that could not hide her excitement, asked Tatsuya, who was the last in line among the group (in other words, he was practicing the “ladies first” rule).

“Class E.”

On hearing Tatsuya’s reply,

“Yay! We are in the same class.”

Erika hopped up and down happily. She seemed to be overdoing it but,

“I am in the same class as well.”

With just the accompanying action missing, Mizuki also had a similar face, so this might be a natural reaction for freshmen.

“I’m in class F.”

“I’m in class G.”

Even so, it was not like the reactions of the remaining two were cold and unfeeling. After all, they were in high spirits about enrolling into a high school.

This school has eight year one classes, and each class has twenty-five students.

In this respect, they were equal.

In the first place, the Weeds who were not expected to bloom into flowers were placed in classes E to H, and the Blooms who were expected to bloom into large flowers were never mixed among them.

The two girls who were assigned to different classes naturally went along their way. It seemed like the two of them were headed towards their homerooms. Even though classes A-D and classes E-H were located on different levels, it did not appear that their enthusiasm was any the less for that.

It was not like all the Course 2 students would stick around together in one group.

There were also a number of them who would straighten their backs, and be proud about getting accepted into a reputable school.

Since this school was also ranked among the top in the country in areas not pertaining to magic.

The two of them probably went off to search for new friends among those whom they would spend the rest of the year with.

“What shall we do? Shall we go take a look at our homeroom as well?”

Erika asked as she looked up at the face of Tatsuya. While Mizuki didn’t ask, she was also probably looking up at Tatsuya.

Save for a few schools who were continuing the old traditions, these days, high schools did not employ the system of having homeroom teachers.

Administrative circulars did not need to be handed out one by one, and besides, there was not that much extra budget to waste on such human resources, so the circulars were distributed through the terminals that were connected throughout the entire school.

A system of having one terminal for school use assigned to each individual had already been in existence decades ago.

Except for individual instruction or practical lessons, almost everything was done using the data terminals.

If more care were needed, counselors who held expertise in multiple disciplines would be assigned by the school.

So, the reason homerooms were needed was for the convenience of practical and experimental lessons. When practical and experimental lessons ended within time, so as not to have a time surplus, they needed somewhere to hold a certain number of people. (Notwithstanding, detention was a daily affair.)

Besides, with the personal terminal system, it also made some things very convenient.

No matter what background people came from, once the time they spent in the same room lengthened, they would mingle with one another naturally.

By dispensing with the homeroom teacher system, the bonds between classmates tend to strengthen.

At any rate, if one wanted to make new friends, going to the homeroom was the fastest route for that. But, Tatsuya shook his head at Erika’s invitation.

“Sorry. I’m meeting up with my little sister.”

There were no lessons nor further things to be communicated to them for today.

Tatsuya had an agreement with Miyuki to go back together immediately after the procedures were done.

“Heehh… if it’s Shiba-kun’s little sister, then she must be really cute, right?”

On hearing Erika’s thoughtful and questioning murmur, Tatsuya was troubled as to how he should answer her.

If it’s his little sister, then she must be cute. What could that mean? thought Tatsuya. He felt that he couldn’t quite connect the cause and effect well.

Fortunately, he didn’t really need to force himself to answer that.

“Could your little sister be… the representative of the freshmen, Shiba Miyuki-san?”

Since Mizuki had asked a more basic question.

This time around, there was no need for him to hesitate. A nod from Tatsuya was enough to confirm the answer to that question.

“Eh? Really? Then, are you twins?”

The question from Erika was a natural one. To Tatsuya, it was a question that he had heard since young.

“I have often been asked that but we are not twins. I was born in April while she was born in March. If I were born one month earlier or she were born one month later, then we wouldn’t be in the same school year[7].”

“Hmm… I guess that really makes things complicated huh?”

With a little sister who was a high achiever in the same school year, it was bound to be complicated, but Erika did not ask that with any bad intent. Tatsuya smiled and let the question slide.

“That aside, it’s surprising that you can tell. Shiba is not that rare a family name after all.”

On hearing Tatsuya’s reply, the two young ladies smiled faintly.

“No no, it’s pretty rare.”

However, the way she said it gave off a considerably different feel. In contrast to Erika’s smile, which was mixed with a sense of wryness,

“Your features look alike…”

Mizuki’s reserved smile appeared to lack confidence.

“Do we look alike, I wonder?”

Tatsuya’s head did not turn at Mizuki’s words. In the same manner as Erika’s words just now, as if his highlighting tone had taken root, Mizuki’s words felt unreal to him.

Rather, he couldn’t believe them.

Even if one didn’t actively look for the good points in Miyuki, she was a rare beauty. Even if you took away all her superfluous talents, just by being there, she would not be able to help but gather attention— A born idol. No, a star.

Looking at his little sister, he could understand that the idiom, “God does not give two gifts,” was but an unpleasant lie.

Conversely, was he himself perhaps above the norm, or above average? Tatsuya evaluated himself.

During middle school, to an onlooker, while love letters (to Tatsuya, they appeared as fan letters) were shoved at his little sister, Tatsuya had never once received such a thing.

Even if it were only partially, they should still inherit the same genes, but even Tatsuya had doubted not just once or twice whether they were blood-related or not.

“If you put it that way… uhn, you do look alike. Shiba-kun is quite the hunk as well. It just kind of feels like your features can’t be any more similar than that.”

Just as Erika replied to Tatsuya’s query, Mizuki also nodded in agreement.

“ ‘Hunk’ you said, which obsolete word from which era is that… and doesn’t that mean if you take away my face, there’s no resemblance between us, right?”

Feeling-wise, Erika’s words might be a little difficult to understand, but it seemed like it was not just their faces that looked alike. After Tatsuya had interpreted this as such, he made a dull jab at her.

“That’s not it. Hmm, how should I put it…”

It seemed like Erika couldn’t quite express it well either.

If not for Mizuki’s lifeline, she would probably still be fumbling for a while.

“It’s your aura. Your dignified features look alike. As expected of siblings.”

“That’s right! Aura, it’s your aura.”

Slapping her own thigh, Erika gave a strong nod as well.

This time, it was Tatsuya’s turn to smile wryly.

“Chiba-san… aren’t you someone who gets carried away easily?”

Carried away? You’re so cruel, she started protesting but he let it slide. From her tone, it was not like Erika was really flaring up at his comment.

“That aside, Shibata-san, it’s amazing for you to be able to tell by our auras… Your eyes must be really good.”

But it was Erika who jumped at his words with a deep implication woven into them.

“Eh? Mizuki is wearing glasses you know?”

“I don’t mean that. Besides, Shibata-san’s glasses have no degree in them, right?”

Huh? Erika peered into Mizuki’s glasses with a bewildered face.

On the other side of those lenses, Mizuki’s eyes widened and hardened.

Was she surprised at being seen through, or was she chagrined at a secret of hers being discovered? Whichever it was, it seemed to Tatsuya that it was something of no consequence to her.

As to why she had made such a face, he had no chance to inquire about it.

The time was just up. And it was probably for the best for now.





“Onii-sama, sorry for the wait.”

From behind Tatsuya and the rest, who were talking in the corner near the exit of the auditorium, the voice of the person whom he was waiting for called out.

Miyuki slipped out from the crowd surrounding her.

Initially, Tatsuya felt that she was a little early, but thinking about his little sister’s character again, it was perhaps just about time.

Even though she wasn’t one who would shy away from socialization, it was undeniable that she had a tendency to be obsessively displeased with flattery and compliments. While you could say that she was behaving like a child, since she was young, there had been no lack of opportunities for her to receive praise, and among them, the times when such compliments were coated with a mix of jealousy and envy numbered not just a handful.

If you think about that, then it was quite understandable that she would be somewhat suspicious of the adulation she received. You can even say that she was bearing it well for today.

“You were quick” was what he had intended to say as he turned around, but even though the words remained the same as planned, his intonation turned into a questioning one.

Accompanying the person he was expecting from behind was someone whom he hadn’t seen.

“Hello Shiba-kun. We meet again.”

In response to that amiable, disarming smiling face and words, Tatsuya nodded his head without saying anything.

Despite his inadequate acknowledgement to her courteousness, the smile of the Student Council President, Saegusa Mayumi, did not give way in the slightest. Perhaps it was a type of poker face of hers, or perhaps this was something inborn in this young lady who was older in age. Which it was, Tatsuya, who had only just met her, could not tell.

But, more than the elder brother’s strange response to the student council president, his little sister appeared to be bothered by the two young ladies who had snuggled up intimately to her big brother beside him.

“Onii-sama, they are…”

Before explaining her own situation as to why she was not alone, Miyuki was seeking out an explanation on why Tatsuya was not alone. Even though he was a little taken aback by her abruptness, he had nothing to hide. Tatsuya answered without a second’s delay.

“This is Shibata Mizuki-san. And that is Chiba Erika-san. We’re in the same class.”





“I see… isn’t it a little too soon to be dating your classmates?”

With her adorable head tilted to the side, it’s not like I have something against it, Miyuki’s face seemed to say as she asked. Her lips formed a lady-like smile. But her eyes were not smiling.

Oh my oh my, thought Tatsuya.

It seems like immediately after the ceremony, she has been bombarded with flattery from left and right, setting her on edge, resulting in plenty of accumulated stress.

“There’s no way that could happen, right, Miyuki? We were just chatting while waiting for you.

You are being rude to both of them, aren’t you?”

His little sister’s pouting face looked cute to him, but to not give her own name after being introduced to the other party might not be favorable for her reputation in front of the upperclassmen and the same year students. Upon seeing Tatsuya’s slightly reproachful eyes, a look of resignation flashed across her face for an instant, and following that, Miyuki fixed up an even more gracious smile on her face.

“Good day, Shibata-san, Chiba-san. I am Shiba Miyuki.

I’m also a freshman just like Onii-sama, so I look forward to being in your care.”

“I am Shibata Mizuki. Same here, I also look forward to being in your care.”

“Nice to meet you. You can just call me Erika. Can I call you Miyuki?”

“Yes, please do. It’ll be hard to distinguish between my brother and I from our family name.”

The three young women introduced themselves to one another again.

The greetings exchanged between Miyuki and Mizuki seemed appropriate for people who have met for the first time. But for Erika, right from the start, she was surprisingly (if this is the right way to put it) friendly.

However, only Tatsuya felt bewildered at Erika’s forward manner of speaking.

There was no sign of Miyuki being bothered by the almost overly-familiar behavior from her nod.

“Ah-ha, Miyuki, I didn’t expect you to be so sociable from your outward appearance.”

“You are just as candid as you appeared to be. Nice to meet you, Erika.”

After getting exasperated by all the flattery and compliments, it was understandable that she would be quite fond of Erika’s frank attitude, but it seemed like both of them had somehow acquired a mutual understanding beyond that. Miyuki and Erika were both exchanging unreserved smiles with each other. While Tatsuya could not help but feel left behind, it would not do to remain rooted there. Since the group with the student council president who had followed his little sister were of the same crowd, they weren’t really obstructing anyone, but because of this, if they continued to stand around here, they would become an obstacle to people who would want to pass through.

“Miyuki. Are you done with your business with the student council? If you are not, I can go kill some time myself, you know?”

“It’s fine.”

The one who had replied to Tatsuya’s question and suggestion was the other party.

“I’m here just to say hello for today.

Miyuki-san… may I call you that as well?”

“Ah, yes.”

As Mayumi addressed her, Miyuki nodded, her unreserved smile replaced by a solemn expression.

“Well then Miyuki-san, we’ll catch up on another day.”

Mayumi bade goodbye lightly with a smiling face and started to make her exit out of the auditorium. However, one of the accompanying male students at the back called Mayumi to a stop. On his chest, blooming proudly as if it were a natural thing, was an eight-petaled flower emblem.

“But President, what about the schedule on our side…”

“We didn’t really make an appointment beforehand. If she already has another engagement, she should give that priority, right?”

After the male student, who appeared to want to press further, was restrained by her eyes, Mayumi gave a meaningful smile to Miyuki and Tatsuya.

“Well then Miyuki-san, I shall take my leave. Shiba-kun as well, I’d love to catch up with you one of these days.”

After bidding them off again, Mayumi left. Following that, the male student who was following behind her turned around, and he glared at Tatsuya so hard it was as if one could hear his tongue clicking.





“…Now, shall we go back?”

While he had somehow managed to provoke the displeasure of not just the upperclassmen, but the student council executive members as well, when he had just enrolled into school, it was something quite beyond his control. Of course it was not like he was going to experience a smooth-sailing life where he could just brood over things like that. Despite having less than a full sixteen years of life experience, Tatsuya had already experienced negativity to such a degree.

“I’m sorry, Onii-sama. Because of me, people are getting a bad impression…”

“It’s nothing you need to apologize for.”

Without letting the distressed-looking Miyuki finish her sentence, Tatsuya brought his hand up and placed it on Miyuki’s head from the side with a small pat. As he continued to stroke her hair in a combing fashion, her downcast face became colored with an enraptured expression. To any onlooker, this pair of siblings appeared to be approaching a dangerous boundary, but perhaps, still withholding their reservations as a consequence of having just met the siblings, Mizuki, and Erika as well, said nothing about it.

“Well, since we are all here, why don’t we go have a cup of tea?”

“Sounds great! There seems to be a nice cake shop around.”

In other words, it was a teatime invitation.

There was no need to ask them whether their families were waiting for them. Asking such a thing would probably be a needless consideration. It was the same for Tatsuya and Miyuki.

That aside, Tatsuya had something else to ask. In truth, it was really an insignificant thing, but it was something that would gnaw at him if he didn’t ask.

“You didn’t check up on where the school entrance ceremony would be held, and yet you know where a cake shop is?”

It might be a question of a slightly teasing nature.

“Of course! It’s something important, isn’t it?”

But Erika nodded confidently without the slightest bit of hesitation.

“ ‘Of course,’ huh…”

His acknowledgement turned into a groan. But, as if it were somebody else’s business, Tatsuya thought that someone would receive the brunt of that.

“Onii-sama, what do you think?”

But it seemed like Tatsuya was the only one shocked at Erika’s rash remarks.

Even Miyuki did not appear to have paid heed to the lack of common sense in prioritizing a confectionery over the ceremony venue. —Though in the first place, Miyuki was not familiar with the details of the whole story.

“Well, sounds good. After all, we just got acquainted with one another. Be it the same gender, or the same year, we won’t find another friend too many.”

Even though he said that, he had not really put much thought into his assenting response. There was no particularly pressing matter awaiting him at home either. Originally, Tatsuya did think that they should go somewhere to spend the afternoon to commemorate his younger sister’s enrollment before going home.

Since it was not a well thought-out line, it offhandedly reflected his true voice.

Apparently aware that it was his true voice speaking, Erika and Mizuki returned their words in this manner.

“Shiba-kun I say, when it comes to Miyuki, you don’t ponder too deeply over it…”

“You really care about your sister, don’t you…”

Whether it was a compliment or a comment from blank amazement, before each of their differing gazes combined, Tatsuya could only remain silent with a bitter face.





The “cake shop” that Erika brought them to was in fact a “French cafe with delicious dessert.” They took their lunch there and spent some time chatting merrily (it was the three girls talking, and Tatsuya was only listening), and by the time they got home, it was close to evening.

There was no one to welcome them.

The house, which vastly exceeded the average in size, appeared to be inhabited by just Tatsuya and Miyuki.

He returned to his room and took off his uniform first.

He really didn’t want to think that such a “makeshift mantle” could affect him that much, but after taking off the blazer that was intentionally fashioned to look “different,” he felt a little lighter. He clicked his tongue once at these feelings of his and quickly finished changing.

As he was relaxing in the living room, before long, Miyuki, who had finished changing, came down from her room.

Even though materials had become much more advanced, apparel design had largely remained the same as a hundred years ago.

With her beautiful shapely legs revealed below the short skirt of a style from the start of this century, Miyuki approached him.

For some reason, this little sister’s fashion sense tended towards a more revealing nature at home. Even though he seemed to be more or less used to it, her considerably increased femininity due to it frequently caused Tatsuya to feel troubled about where he should rest his gaze.

“Onii-sama, would you like something to drink?”

“Sounds good. I would like a coffee then.”

“Certainly.”

As she headed towards the kitchen, her loosely bound ponytail swayed behind her slender back. It was to prevent her hair from interfering with her kitchen work, but from the fleeting glimpses of the fair nape of her neck, which was normally covered by her long hair, an inexpressible loveliness radiated from the center of the wide neckline of her clothing.

In an advanced country where the use of Home Automation Robots (HAR) was widespread, women—as well as men—who involved themselves with kitchen work belonged to the minority. There were few people who performed any actual cooking in general, such as toasting bread or brewing coffee, with their own hands unless it was a hobby.

And Miyuki belonged to this minority group.

It was not because she was technologically challenged.

When friends came to visit, she would normally leave it to the HAR.

But, when together with just Tatsuya alone, she would definitely opt to perform the labor herself.

The grinding sound from the beans and bubbling sounds of boiling water faintly reached Tatsuya’s ears.

She could be said to be pretty hung up to even go to the extent of using a most basic paper drip, rather than using an old coffee maker model.

He had tried asking her once, and her reply was that she wanted to do it that way, so it was probably indeed a hobby for her. He also recalled the time when he had asked her whether it was a hobby, and she had glared at him with a pouting face.

At any rate, the coffee Miyuki brewed was most suiting to Tatsuya’s taste.

“Onii-sama, here you go.”

She placed the cup on the side table, came around from the other side and sat beside him.

The coffee on the table was black, while the one she held had milk added to it.

“Tastes really good.”

There was no need to compliment further.

Just from that alone, Miyuki broke into a grin.

Then, peering into the satisfied face of her elder brother with her smiling eyes, a relieved look surfaced on her face as she brought the cup to her mouth— that was the usual Miyuki.

With that, the two of them savored their coffee.

Neither of them struck up a forced conversation.

Both of them were not bothered by the presence of the other person besides themselves.

The times when it felt uncomfortable to not speak to each other for a long period of time had long since passed.

The topics they could talk about were plenty. Today was the school entrance ceremony. They had made new friends, and for some reason, they had encountered worrisome upperclassmen. Miyuki was invited by the student council as expected. The things that could be recalled, and the things that could be discussed, were too many for one night.

But facing that pair of siblings, in that house of theirs, were merely cups being tilted in silence.

“—It’s almost time to make dinner.”

Holding her empty cup, Miyuki stood up. Handing over his coffee cup to his little sister’s outstretched hand, Tatsuya also stood up.

The evening deepened into night as usual for the two siblings.





Chapter 2




He awoke to the second day of his high school life, and it was quite ordinary.

Even though he had started to attend high school, it didn’t mean that the earth’s rotation cycle would be affected.

He lightly washed his face — since he was going to properly wash it again later — and put on his usual attire.

Then he went downstairs to the dining room and saw that Miyuki had started to make breakfast.

“Morning, Miyuki. You’re quite early today.”

It was still the break of dawn, and there was no sign of the Spring sun yet.

It was still too early to go to school. The first lesson was at 8am sharp and commuting to school would take roughly 30 minutes, so it would be ideal to leave the house at 7:30am. Preparing breakfast, eating, cleaning up… if we considered the time needed for all this, there would still be over an hour of extra time.

“Good morning, Onii-sama… please help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

She handed him a glass of fresh juice.

After a sincere word of gratitude, he emptied the glass in one breath, then returned it to Miyuki’s outstretched hand. —Miyuki had a perfect grasp of Tatsuya’s breathing pattern.

Just at the exact moment he was about to say “I’m leaving” to his little sister, who was once again facing the kitchen table, Miyuki’s hands stopped and she turned around.

“Onii-sama, I was actually planning to go with you today…”

Upon saying that, she lifted a basket full of sandwiches. It seemed more accurate to say that she had “finished making breakfast” rather than “started to make breakfast”.

“I don’t really mind, but… will you be coming in your uniform?”

He asked while eyeing the school uniform under her apron, a stark contrast to the sweatshirt he was wearing.

“I haven’t reported to sensei about school enrollment yet… and also, I can no longer accompany you in your training, Onii-sama.”

And that was Miyuki’s answer.

The reason why she had already changed into her school uniform this early in the morning was to show her high school look to him.

“Understood. Miyuki, it’s not like you need to carry out the same morning training as I do, but Master will probably be happy to see you.

…Though I hope that he doesn’t start running amok from being overly happy.”

“If that happens, then Onii-sama, please protect me.”

The sweet wink from his little sister naturally brought a smile to Tatsuya’s face.





In the slightly chilly, refreshing air of the early morning, a young woman was gliding up the hill road on her rollerblades, her long hair and skirt fluttering in the wind.

Without kicking off the ground to propel her, she was zooming up the gentle but long hill road against gravity.

Her speed probably reached 60 kph.

Tatsuya was keeping pace beside her.

Though he was jogging, each stride he took went as far as 10 meters.

But, he did not look as relaxed as Miyuki did.

“Perhaps, I should slow down a bit?”

“No, then it wouldn’t count as training.”

Miyuki asked, having spun around, gliding backwards on one foot, to which Tatsuya replied without losing a single breath despite the evident fatigue.

Neither of them had any kind of propelling device installed in their shoes.

Needless to say, this speed was an effect of magic.

What Miyuki was using was a magic that decreased the acceleration due to gravity and a magic that would allow her body to follow the slope of the road to move towards her destination.

What Tatsuya was using was a magic that would amplify both acceleration and deceleration forces generated when he kicked off the ground, and a magic that would suppress his upward motion in order to prevent him from jumping too high.

Both of them were using a simple combination of motion and acceleration spells. As a result of their simplicity, not just Miyuki, but even Tatsuya who could only enroll as a Course 2 student, was able to maintain a persistent invocation.

In such a situation, it couldn’t be said which magic -- the one employed by Miyuki who was wearing rollerblades, or the one employed by Tatsuya who was running with his own legs -- was of a higher difficulty level.

At one look, with the rollers to reduce the burden of motion, it seemed like it was more effortless for Miyuki, but, without using her own feet, it meant that she had to control her motion vector completely with magic.

On the other hand, for Tatsuya, he could determine the direction of his movement with his running legs.

Tatsuya who had to continuously reactivate his spell at every single step, and Miyuki who could not release her control on her spell, even an instant.

The training each of them was imposing on themselves were of completely different natures.





Their destination was about ten minutes away from their house — at the speed they were moving — on top of a slightly elevated hill.

If we were to use a single word to describe it, it would be “Temple”.

However, the people who were gathered there did not resemble any “priests”, “monks”, nor even “novice monks” in the slightest.

If we are daring enough to put a fitting label on them, “Practitioners of Austerities” or “Soldier Priests” might be more appropriate.

Shrouded by the atmosphere of being rigid towards girls, especially towards young ones who would make them so fearful that they wouldn’t be able to get close, Miyuki glided in on her rollerblades without a single moment of hesitation. While it was an act that was unlike her usual courteousness, the head had repeatedly told her “It’s fine” to the point of irritation, so she just dispensed with the formalities.

As to what Tatsuya was doing at that time, he had not kept up his pace. No, that wasn’t it, he had in fact met with a violent reception as he passed through the temple gate.

When one first starts going to this temple, one would start off sparring with a single person at a time, but right now there were about twenty of the middle-ranked or lower disciples coming at Tatsuya all at once — not round-robin — an unusual thing.

“Miyuki-kun! Long time no see.”

A merry voice suddenly called out from Miyuki’s blind spot. Miyuki, while standing at the front yard of the main temple building, had turned around to look worriedly at her elder brother who was buried in a mass of people.

“Sensei… please stop erasing your presence and sneaking up on us. We have been looking all over for you…”

Despite any extra vigilance, the same kind of thing kept happening over and over again, to the point that it’s not so much a shock as a pointless waste to Miyuki.

“Telling me not to sneak about, Miyuki-kun, is giving quite a tall order.

I’m a ‘shinobi’. Sneaking about is what I do.”

Wearing the black robe of a monk, with a clean shaven head, he did not seem at all out of place here but did not give any impression of age.

The only description that could really be used was “aloof”, and even though he was dressed as a monk, that was impossible to believe.

“In this day and age, there’s no such occupation as ninja. I wish you’d correct that as soon as possible.”

Even as Miyuki earnestly protested,

“Tut tut tut, don’t misunderstand by labeling us ninjas. We are fully legitimate ‘shinobi’. It’s a tradition, not an occupation.”

He replied while wagging his finger back and forth. —It was altogether rather rude.

“We respect your legitimacy. So please stop it with all the mystery. Why is sensei so…”

Frivolous, she had been about to say, but gave up. It was pretty pointless, she had learnt that by now.

This wannabe monk — well, actually, he does have the qualifications of a genuine monk — Kokonoe Yakumo, is a self ascribed “shinobi”.

Or more liberally, a “ninjutsu user”.

Just as he insisted, he is an operative who draws the line with only surpassing physical capabilities, teaching the ways of ancient magic.

At a time when magic was becoming the target of science, yet still concealed from the public world, and thought of as fiction, it was revealed that masteries such as ninjutsu had somehow become classified not just as mere forms of medieval martial arts but categories of magic.

Yet rather than fiction, it’s probably closer to think of it as a mysterious “art”.

Naturally, as with other magic systems, the legend doesn’t tell the whole truth.

The “transformations” in the ninjutsu of storytellers are just high speed movement and illusions.

Not just ninjutsu, but all traditional forms of magic rely on tricks like that, and things such as transformations, shape shifting, and alchemy are considered impossible in many fields of modern magic.

The Kokonoe Yakumo whom Miyuki calls sensei, and Tatsuya calls master, was one who passed on such traditional shinobi magic knowhow.

However, putting aside his priestly attire (which screamed of falsehood anyway), his appearance and residence notwithstanding, no matter how you look at it he lacked a sense of propriety-

“Is that the uniform of the First high school?”

“Yes, we had the entrance ceremony yesterday.”

“I see I see. Mmm, it’s nice.”

“… Today, I have come to inform you about our entrance ceremony. But I believe you already know…”

“That brand-new green uniform, neat and clean, has some sort of hidden charm.”

“…”

“Almost like a flower bud that is about to open, a shoot about to sprout.

Ah yes… moe, this is truly moe! Mrmph?”

At this massively rising tension Miyuki was slowly backing away, then suddenly Yakumo twisted around while raising his left hand above his head.

Thwak, the sound of an arm chopping down.

“Master, you’re frightening Miyuki. Could you please calm down a bit?”

“…Not bad, Tatsuya-kun. Taking me from the back, hah.”

Whilst blocking Tatsuya’s right arm with his left, Yakumo lashed out from the right.

Weaving his arm in a figure 8, it was enveloped by a fist just as it was about to reach the side.

As Yakumo effortlessly somersaulted forwards, aiming a kick at the back of Tatsuya’s head, Tatsuya deftly spun around and dodged.

The gap between the two closed.

A sigh rose from the spectators.

At some point in time, those two had been surrounded by a large circle of people.

Yakumo and Tatsuya exchanged blows again.

It was not just Miyuki whose hands were clenched in anxiety.





Ever since Tatsuya was a middle school first year student, or to be precise since October, this kind of chaos would occur and finish before a relative peace would settle upon the grounds every morning. The disciples would return to their own exercises, and the only ones who would remain before the main building would be the siblings, Tatsuya and Miyuki, along with Yakumo.

“Sensei, here. Would Onii-sama like some as well?”

“Ooh, Miyuki-kun, thanks.”

“…Please wait a little.”

With one hand Yakumo, still sweating, took the cup and towel from Miyuki with a smile while Tatsuya, breathing roughly and sprawled out on the ground, raised a hand in acknowledgement before painstakingly picking himself up. “Onii-sama, are you alright…?”

As Tatsuya struggled to rise, Miyuki, with a worried expression, knelt down beside him without concern for her clothes and began to wipe him with a towel in hand.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Neither of them noticed the warm expression Yakumo was making as Tatsuya took the towel from Miyuki and, after a pause, gathered his strength and sprang up.

“I’m sorry, I ended up getting your skirt dirty.”

Tatsuya’s jacket was, naturally, also stained with dirt, but Miyuki did not need to point that out.

“This much is nothing.”

Miyuki smiled in response and instead of brushing off her skirt, took out a thin mobile terminal. The front of the device was almost entirely taken up by a force feedback panel, upon which she began entering digits.

Miyuki was holding a type of general mobile CAD. The most popular form is a bracelet, as the risk of dropping a mobile is considerable. The advantage of Miyuki’s CAD is that it can be used with one hand. Since advanced magicians dislike having both hands occupied, these are preferred. A complex pattern of light was drawn with the left hand holding the CAD, as the magic was initiated.

The tool of a modern magician, in place of wands and tomes, a machine produced by magical engineering: the CAD.

This device, which incorporates synthetic materials that convert psion signals into electric signals, uses the psion from a magic ritual to produce a collection of electronic magic—the activation ritual.





The activation ritual is the blueprint of magic. Within it exists information equal or greater to the combined data of lengthy incantations, complex symbols, and rapid shift mudras.

Mages infuse Psion particles inherent in their bodies into the activation sequence output by the CAD, and feed that from the subconscious magic processing system present in all magicians into the magic operations area. Here the activation sequence is expanded, and all the necessary parameters input, in order to assemble the magic ritual.

In this way, the CAD allows the processing of all the necessary components for magic in a single moment.

Evanescent clouds appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Miyuki from her skirt to her black leggings, all the way down to her sandals.

Particles also flew out from the air, and poured from Tatsuya’s back all the way around his whole body. After the thin mist cleared up, the uniform and jacket of the two were immaculate as ever.

“Onii-sama, would you like breakfast? If sensei wants, you may join as well.”

Miyuki, as if that had been only natural, asked in a light tone as she raised the basket.

In fact, Tatsuya knew full well that such an amount of magic was indeed “nothing at all” to his sister.





Both Tatsuya and Yakumo were sitting down on the veranda, stuffing themselves with sandwiches.

Miyuki held a sandwich in one hand, and with the other gallantly serviced Tatsuya by handing him tea and plates.

As he watched this scene with a smile, Yakumo had sensed ill will coming from somewhere. After wiping his hands and mouth with a towel held out by a shaven pupil, he put his hands together and bowed towards Miyuki, whispering something in a quiet voice,

“It’s possible that I’m unable to beat Tatsuya-kun in pure martial arts already…”

There was unmistakable admiration. If any other student had been around, envy would have been inevitable. Indeed, the disciples waiting on Yakumo were directing a mixture of jealousy and envy at Tatsuya upon hearing those words.

Miyuki was beaming as much as if those words had been directed at her.

However, Tatsuya’s heart was unable to be moved by such simple praise.

“I can’t say I’m terribly gratified by those words, considering you just demolished me earlier…”

At Tatsuya’s grumbling rebuttal, Yakumo gave a surprised laugh.

“That’s only natural, Tatsuya-kun. I am your master after all, and I had faced you in an arena where I am dominant.

You are still fifteen. If I had fallen to someone who’s only half my age, all my disciples would be running out on me.”

“I believe Onii-sama should be more honest. It’s rare to be praised by sensei, so I think you should take this opportunity to laugh proudly.”

Miyuki was still preaching in her virtuous tone, but her mouth was shaped in a smile.

“…I think that would make me look just a bit like a prick…”

Both Yakumo and Miyuki were laughing happily, and even Tatsuya was not so stubborn as to not chide himself and join in.

Tatsuya’s bitter smile changed into wryness, all the severity fading away.





In general both commuting to work and school is now accomplished via mini railcars in depots that leave on a systematic schedule. The concept of the “full train” is a thing of the past.

It’s not just trains, but all major forms of public transportation have undergone drastic changes in the last century.

Large vehicles that accommodate dozens of passengers in designated seats are no longer used, except in some high speed long haul cases.

A small vehicle called the Cabinet, which consists of a small linear two or four seat car linked to a central control system, is now mainstream.

Both power and energy is derived from the tracks, so the size is about half of a self-propelled car of the same capacity.

People line up sequentially on a platform to board the Cabinets, that derive the destination from a ticket or pass, then move off along the tracks.

The tracks are divided into three speeds and there is a traffic control system that manages the flow of traffic, as well as overseeing the transitioning of cars from the slow tracks to the high speed tracks, the shift from high speed back to slow as the car approaches the destination, and the docking of the car at the destination platform.

It’s similar to lane changing while on a highway, and such a high density operation was only made possible thanks to advances in control technology, as it’s necessary to securely consolidate the running of dozens of cars that transport the same amount as larger vehicles would have in the past.

In the case of medium to long haul commutes between cities, Cabinets are shelved and trailers run on a fourth high speed track instead. The larger trailers allow the passenger to travel in greater comfort with more amenities, but these are rarely used in regular commuting.

The romantic clichés of the past, such as the chance meeting on the train, can no longer occur on the daily commute to school anymore.

In return for not even being able to meet with friends, the threat of the “chikan” is thoroughly eradicated.

Within the Cabinet there is no security camera or mike.

One cannot leave the seat while the car is moving, and there are emergency bulkheads that separate the seats. Furthermore, the public consensus is that privacy is preferred.

The train nowadays has the same privacy as a private car. There are Cabinets with security measures that seat only one passenger, or one can ride a two seat car alone (taking a four seat with two or fewer people incurs a surcharge), but of course, Tatsuya and Miyuki don’t travel separately, and today they’re commuting to school together as well.

“Onii-sama, the thing is…”

Tatsuya, who was looking at the news via the terminal screen, heard those hesitant words and looked up in a hurry.

It was rare for his sister to speak in such a reluctant manner. It had to be something bad.

“Yesterday evening, I received a call from those people…”

“Those people? Ahh… by that, did Father do something to anger you again?”

“No, it’s…

Those people, have been vigorously celebrating their daughter’s school admission. And… Onii-sama, have they really…?”

“Ahh, that’s what you’re talking about… it’s the same as always.”

At her brother’s words she dropped her face as her features clouded, and in the next moment the sound of her teeth grinding together in anger could be heard drifting out from under the long hair that hid her expression.

“I see… no matter how you look at it, it was a rather fleeting hope, but in the end, they didn’t even bother sending an email to Onii-sama… those people are, those…”

“Calm down.”

As Miyuki struggled against an anger that could not be expressed with words, Tatsuya who was sitting beside her, took her hands into his firm grip and gave a squeeze.

The temperature inside the car, that had suddenly plummeted, activated the heaters out of season, and a warm wind blew throughout the now silent cabin.

“…I’m very sorry. I became upset.”

After making sure that the uncontrolled flow of magic had stopped, Tatsuya let go of Miyuki.

He then clapped lightly while looking into Miyuki’s eyes, and smiled gently, showing there was nothing wrong.

“I ignored Father’s wish of continuing to help with company work and entered high school. I didn’t expect any congratulations at all. That much of Father’s nature at least you should understand, right?”

“For my own parent to act so pathetically childish, it’s infuriating. In the first place if he wanted to separate me from Onii-sama, he should notify me and then Aunt first, but he doesn’t even have the courage for that.

In any case, when will they stop thinking they can use Onii-sama however they please?

Is it not to be expected that a 15 year-old would enter high school?”

The thought of her Aunt being notified and so forth caused him to recall severe discomfort — just because someone ordered it, Tatsuya would never have any intention of leaving Miyuki by herself — but without bringing that up, Tatsuya’s face unintentionally slipped into a hollow mask and he gave a cynical laugh.

“There is no compulsory education, so it’s not exactly expected per se.

Both Father and Sayuri-san have approved my coming of age, so I’m sure they’re simply trying to find a way to make me useful. If you think of it as that they’re relying on me, then it’s not something to get angry over.”

“…If you say so, Onii-sama…”

There was considerable reluctance, but Miyuki gave a nod, and Tatsuya breathed a sigh of relief.

Miyuki does not know the full truth of Tatsuya’s involvement with the Magical Engineer equipment maker, “Four Leaves Technology”, where their father serves as the developmental section chief.

He had made up many things in his spare time, so misinforming her into believing he had a reasonable job was a simple task.

If she knew that in truth he was merely used as a piece of recovery equipment for research samples, it was very possible that she could have paralyzed the entire transport system.

In spite of his fears, the train moved on steadily as it began the transition onto the slow lane.





In the first year class E, there was a considerable sense of chaos. In all probability, a similar scene was playing out throughout the other classrooms.

Many students met each other just yesterday, and already small groups have formed up here and there chatting away.

With no new acquaintances to greet, Tatsuya was trying to find his own terminal by eyeing the numbers stamped into each desk when, suddenly his name was called unexpectedly, he looked up.

“Morning~!”

Erika’s voice was as vibrant as ever.

“Good morning.”

Beside her, Mizuki’s smile was comparatively modest.

As if they were already on good terms, Erika was seated next to Mizuki waving her hand.

It seems like they had been talking until they found him.

Tatsuya raised a hand in acknowledgement, then walked over to the pair.

Rather than a coincidence, it seems like they had been sorted alphabetically. Hence as Shiba and Shibata, Tatsuya was next to Mizuki.

“It seems we’ll be next to each other, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Yes, I’ll be in your care.”

Mizuki answered Tatsuya’s words with a smile. Beside them (or rather, above them), Erika had a rather dissatisfied expression, probably on purpose.

“For some reason, I feel left out?”

Her voice echoed out in a rather incredulous fashion.

However, this level of cuteness was not enough to reach Tatsuya.

“Leaving out Chiba-san would be an extremely difficult matter.”

His tone and expression deadpan, he looked over at Erika with lidded eyes. He didn’t seem like he was acting in the least.

“…The heck is that supposed to mean?”

“Simply that your sociability knows no bounds.”

Despite Erika’s unwavering gaze, Tatsuya’s poker face didn’t flicker an inch. Rather, it was Erika who broke first.

“…Shiba-kun, is actually a bad character?”

As Mizuki fell over laughing, Tatsuya set his ID card into the terminal and began an information check.

From course regulations, disciplinary regulations and rules concerning the use of facilities to admission associated events, automatic activity guides and the curriculum for the semester, countless flashes of information scrolled through his head as he operated the terminal with just the keyboard, and when he looked up, it was into the face of a male student looking back at him from the seat in front with wide eyes.

“…It’s not like I have a problem with you watching me, but…”

“Eh? Ahh, my bad.

It’s something pretty rare, so I ended up staring.”

“Rare?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s rare now, right? This is the first time I have seen someone only using keyboard input.”

“If you’re experienced, this method is faster. Although between this, visual pointers, and neural assistance, it’s also the least accurate.”

“Yeah. The speed is amazing. That should be enough to keep you comfortable for quite a while, right?”

“No… possibly a part-time job at best.”

“That so…?

Whoa, I haven’t introduced myself yet.

I’m Saijou Leonhart. My father’s a half and my mother’s a quarter, so while I look Japanese, my name is Western, and my specialty is Convergent Systematic Reinforcement magic. My desired course is to hone my body and become either riot police or a mountain corpsman.

You can call me Leo.”

For the youth of today, to have a career they’re already aspiring to by the time of high school is generally unusual, but magic high schools are the exception. The course that magicians (at this stage still eggs, or chicks) undertake are closely tied to their talent, or rather natural ability. That was why Tatsuya didn’t find Leo’s insertion of his hopes for the future in his self introduction strange at all.

“I’m Shiba Tatsuya, but Tatsuya’s just fine.”

“Ok, Tatsuya.

So, what magic do you specialize in?”

“My practical skills are severely lacking, so I’m planning on becoming a Magic Engineer.”

“I see… no wonder you look so smart.”

Magic Engineers, or Magic Artificers, are abbreviations for magical engineering specialists and refer to the ones who coordinate, develop and manufacture the machinery that amplifies, strengthens and assists with magic.

In terms of social standing they are below that of proper magicians, but their demand in industry is far greater than that of magicians. The income of a top Magic Artificer can readily surpass that of a top magician.

Because of that, it’s not uncommon for those who lack ability in pure magic to aim for becoming Magic Artificers……

“Eh, what’s this? Shiba-kun, you want to become a Magic Artificer?”





“Tatsuya, who the heck is this random guy?”

At the sight of Erika bounding up with all the tension of one who’s snooping around for a scoop, Leo pointed and asked with some distaste.

“Wha, calling someone a ‘random guy’ all of a sudden? Not to mention pointing? How rude, how rude! How absolutely rude! This must be why you’re not popular!”

“The hell? The rude one here is you! Just cos you’re slightly good looking, don’t get all stuck up!”

“Looks are very important y’know? Although I suppose someone as sloppy and wild looking as you wouldn’t understand.

And what’s with that slang, that kind of thing is from the wrong century. Why don’t you get with the times~?”

“Wha, wha, wha…”

Erika had a scornful sneer on her face, while Leo was speechless and sputtering.

“…Erika-chan, please stop. You went a bit too far.”

“Leo, just drop it. You’re both wrong and further arguing will be pointless.”

Both Mizuki and Tatsuya intervened, in an attempt to dispel the volatile air.

“…If Mizuki says so.”

“…Got it.”

The two of them averted their eyes while they turned around.

Tatsuya thought that with their similar strength of mind and unyielding nature, they were actually rather compatible.





As the first bell rang, the students began to dissipate and make their way back to their own seats.

This system had not changed from the previous era, although there were some differences.

The offline terminals all started up automatically, and those that were already on refreshed their screens. At the same time, a message opened up on the screen at the front of the class.

“—Orientation begins in five minutes, so please wait at your desk. Students who have not yet inserted their ID card, please do so as soon as possible—”

The message was utterly meaningless for Tatsuya. It was just sundry matters such as registering for classes he had already selected, along with online guidance and excessive visual effects. Just as he was considering skipping the whole process and going to browse through the school reference room, two unexpected things happened.

First, accompanied by the class bell, the door to the classroom opened.

It was not a late student. Instead of a uniform, the lady was wearing a suit.

As everyone watched, which wasn’t an exaggeration, the beautiful and moreover exceptionally charming woman went up to the teacher’s desk, set up a large mobile terminal, which she had been carrying under her arm, and then looked around the classroom.

It was not just Tatsuya who was surprised, but the whole class that was struck with a sense of confusion.

In schools that have adopted online courses, there is no teacher who stands at the front of the class. Since classes themselves are conducted through the terminals, there is even less reason to send staff members to classrooms simply to convey information. The only times the staff console is used in class is for exceptional circumstances, such as in the case of theory.

However, there was nothing to indicate that this woman was a faculty member.

“Alright, it doesn’t seem like anyone is absent.

Then first of all, congratulations to everyone for entering the school.”

There were quite a few students who returned the bow. In fact, the guy in the seat in front whom Tatsuya had just met actually answered “Ah, thanks”, but Tatsuya simply tilted his head at her strange behavior.

Firstly, in order to verify attendance, there is no need to look around with the naked eye. The ID cards in the terminals updated seating status in real time.

Then, there was no need for school officials to carry around a terminal of such size. The campus was riddled with Consoles. In fact, there should be a console monitor built into the teachers desk where she was standing right now.

Finally, just what was she? From the information gathered, this school did not use such an outdated system as homeroom teachers, or at least it certainly wasn’t in the prospectus—

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m the integration counselor for this school, Ono Haruka. I’m here to establish a mentoring relationship with each of you in case any of you feel like you would like counseling in regards to specialized aspects of your course.”

(…Come to think of it, there was something along those lines…)

Having someone to talk to about your concerns, was a concept Tatsuya had completely skipped over as unnecessary, but the fact was that the counseling system was one of the selling points of the school.

“There are 16 such counselors in this school. We are grouped in pairs of men and women, and will be responsible for one class in each grade.

Yanagisawa-sensei and I have been assigned to this class.”

At that she stopped talking and operated the console on the teachers desk; the upper body of a man in his mid thirties was displayed in front of the class.

“Good to meet you, I’m your counselor Yanagisawa. Along with Ono-sensei, I will be in charge of looking after you. I hope we will get along.”

As the screen projected the image of counselor Yanagisawa, “Ono-sensei” continued her explanation on the platform.

“Counseling is available through the terminals, so you do not have to come to us directly. Communication is done through quantum encryption, and the reports are stored via standalone data banks, so everyone’s privacy is secure.”

As she said that, Haruka lifted the large data bank book, which Tatsuya had mistaken for an over-sized mobile terminal.

“The school will fully support you all, so that you can each live a fulfilling life as a student to the fullest.

…As such, everyone, let’s work hard together.”

She had been speaking in a rather serious voice until now, but at that she switched her tone, and spoke softly.

All the energy seemed to leak out of the room.

Both tension and relaxation, even able to calculate her body language; her emotional control was superb.

Although outwardly she appeared young enough to be fresh out of university, her experience was palpable.

If you spoke to her one-on-one, you could easily end up saying more than you intended.

Such a quality is important for a counselor, but she seemed to possess enough to be a female spy.

This is someone to be on guard against, Tatsuya thought.

—That feeling only intensified as she turned to the screen in the background, bowed to her bemused looking senior colleague and cut the connection.

With a small cough her professional smile returned, and she continued as if nothing had happened.

“By now, the school curriculum and guides on the facilities should have been sent to your terminals. After that, you will register for your electives, and that will be the end of orientation. If there is anything you don’t understand, please use the call button. Those who have already familiarized themselves with the curriculum and facilities can feel free to skip guidance and proceed straight to registration.”

At this point, Haruka quickly glanced at the monitor on the teacher’s desk, and made an “oh?” expression.

“For those who have already finished registration as well, it’s fine to leave. However you may not do so after guidance has started, so if you wish to do so, please leave now. If that’s the case, please don’t forget your ID card.”

As if waiting for those words, the sound of a chair scraping across the floor echoed throughout the classroom.

It was not Tatsuya.

The one who stood up was sitting in the front row window seat, just a little distance away, a slender, nervous-looking boy.

He bowed towards the teacher’s desk, then exited into the corridor near the back of the classroom.

He faced forwards the whole way, looking neither to his left nor right, and it was rather interesting watching that figure put on a brave face and leave the classroom proudly, but that was just for a moment. It was not just Tatsuya, but almost half the class that watched the back of the youth as he disappeared down the corridor, but soon all eyes were back on their desks.

It didn’t seem like anyone else was about to go. Tatsuya did not want to leave so much that he was willing to risk all those stares as well.

Returning to the task at hand, Tatsuya placed his hands over the keyboard and considered things to do to kill time, when he sensed a glance and looked up.

From the other side of the teacher’s desk, Haruka was watching him.

Even as they locked eyes she didn’t look away, but went on to flash him a smile.

(What was that…)

As if even noticing that, Haruka’s smile broadened. It wasn’t for any length of time, rather so short and discreet that no other student noticed, but nonetheless carried an exaggeratedly secretive air.

He was certain that this was their first ever meeting.

Yet it was notably beyond a fake smile, so Tatsuya vigorously went through his memories.

Thanks to that, he killed plenty of time but…

(You should relax… was that the meaning behind it? Or is she trying to take away my composure…

I won’t even consider the possibility that she’s come to a classroom in a school without teachers to try to hit on students…)

As he considered, he didn’t follow the other students who had finished registration out of the class, but rather stayed in his seat pondering with interest. Then someone spoke up in a friendly tone.

“Tatsuya, what are you going to do until lunch?”

When he lifted his head, a voice rang out from the seat in front.

As if it were his signature pose, Leo was resting his chin on his arms crossed over his chair in the exact same position as earlier.

It is no longer customary, at both middle school and high school, to eat in the classroom. Despite advancements in both waterproofing and dust-proofing technology, information terminals remain precision instruments. If you end up doing something like accidentally spilling soup all over one, a rather miserable outcome is to be expected.

It’d be better to find a more suitable place somewhere, like the cafeteria, courtyard, rooftop or club room.

Although it was one more hour until the cafeteria opened.

“I had been planning to go look through the reference room catalog from here but… OK, I’ll accompany you.”

At Tatsuya’s reply Leo had mumbled dejectedly, but his eyes shone bright with enthusiasm. Tatsuya smiled at Leo’s easy to read expressions.

“Then, what are you going to look at?”

Magic is not taught in public schools until middle school. For children with the aptitude of a magician, public cram schools after school are the foundations of their magic knowledge. This step is not to look for technical skill, but to determine for both themselves and their parents whether they have enough raw talent to make it as a magician.

While some private schools incorporate forms of magical education as extra curricular activities, it is stressed that they are by no means a reflection of magic performance.

Magic begins as a full-fledged education from the high school curriculum onward. Although among the magic high schools, the First high school is considered the most difficult to enter, there are many students who come from ordinary middle schools. There are classes on specialized magic courses that some of the students have never seen before.

In order to alleviate confusion stemming from unfamiliarity with some of the specialized courses, they have the opportunity to go and observe classes in progress both today and tomorrow.

“Wanna go to the workshop?”

This was Leo’s reply to Tatsuya’s question.

“Not the arena?”

Taken aback by Tatsuya’s next question, Leo grinned.

“I guess I would seem to be the type.

Well, you’re not wrong.”

Although not looking down on his intellectual ability as he did pass the entrance exams, the fact remains that this guy has a more “lively outdoors” look to him, or rather, a mischievous air. Most likely it wouldn’t have just been Tatsuya who felt he was more suited to the action of the arena than fiddling with precision machinery in the workshop.

Listening to Leo’s next words however, Tatsuya admitted his mistake.

“Reinforcement magic produces the greatest effect when combined with weapon skill. I want to be able to maintain my own weapons as much as possible.”

Leo’s ambitions were the mountain corps or riot police. If those ambitions were realized, he’d have many opportunities to use simple weapons such as batons, shields, machetes, etc. Those are all compatible with reinforcement magic, and depending on the composition of the materials used, will produce different effects.

This classmate seemed to have a far firmer grasp of what he was capable of than he looked.

“If you’re going to the workshop, why don’t you come with us?”

While the two of them talked, they received a sudden proposal from the seats next to them.

“Shibata-san’s also going to the workshop?”

“Yes… I also want to be a Magic Artificer.”

“Ah, I see!”

Erika was barging in all over Mizuki. It was a rather similar pattern to what had happened earlier, but Leo’s face remained neutral.

“However you look at it, you’re far more suited for physical courses. Go check out the arena.”

“I don’t want to be told that by a wild animal like you.”

Tit for tat.

“What was that? You didn’t even hesitate in the slightest!”

The quarrel between them possessed the breakneck quality of a typing keyboard.

“Stop it both of you… You’ve only just met today, right?”

Their compatibility really is quite something, isn’t it? Tatsuya thought, while attempting to arbitrate with a sigh, but the two weren’t about to be so easily stopped.

“Heh, you must be a bitter enemy from some previous life.”

“You were some bear ravaging the fields, and I was the hunter hired to get rid of you.”

“Alright, let’s go! We’re wasting time.”

Mizuki had up to now patiently been refraining from interrupting, but now she finally weighed in and tried to forcibly change the course.

“Yeah! If we don’t hurry, we’ll be the only ones left in the classroom.”

Immediately, Tatsuya also jumped in. With their rapid-fire argument interrupted, both Leo and Erika glared daggers at each other, then immediately spun around and turned their backs.





As early as the second day of admission, there were some students who began to take action.

Tatsuya didn’t know whether to think of it as too quick or just par for the course.

All he knew was that if it came to a confrontation or backing down, it would most likely be the former.

Both Erika and Leo were bright and optimistic, and Mizuki seemed shy yet carefree.

While fully aware of his own inclination towards cynicism and moodiness, Tatsuya considered himself fortunate that his first friends in high school were them.

However, most likely is not 100%.

There had remained about 10-20%.

It was nice they hadn’t backed down servilely, but how would this turn out? Tatsuya was keenly contemplating the matter.

“Onii-sama…”

Miyuki was lightly grasping the hem of Tatsuya’s uniform with her fingertips, and her face as she looked up at her brother was a mixture of anxiety and embarrassment.

“Don’t apologize, Miyuki. You aren’t at fault in the least.”

In order to give strength to his sister, Tatsuya replied in a firm tone.

“Yes, but… will you stop them?”

“…That’d be counterproductive.”

“…You’re right. Still, putting Erika aside, for Mizuki to have that kind of personality was…unexpected.”

“…I agree.”

Watching from a step back — or in other words, directly in front of the siblings, was a group of new students glaring at each other with a volatile atmosphere simmering between them. One group was comprised of some of Miyuki’s classmates, and the other was, needless to say, Mizuki, Erika, and Leo.

The first act was in the dining hall during lunch.

The dining hall of the First high school was considerably larger than the cafeteria found in most other high schools, but as the new students were still rather unaware and unsure, this time of year was generally crowded.

However, as the four of them had left the visit of the specialist classes early and came to the dining hall, they had secured a four seat table without any trouble.

It was a four seat but due to the facing benches, they’d probably be able to squeeze three of the more slender girls on one side.

When they were about halfway through their meals (Leo had finished eating already), Miyuki had arrived surrounded by a group of male and female students, spotted Tatsuya, and rapidly made a beeline for him. The dispute started from there.

Miyuki had tried to eat together with Tatsuya. It wasn’t that she was the type who would refuse to interact with her classmates, but simply that, for Miyuki, the top priority partner would always be Tatsuya.

Only one more person could fit at the table. Whether to choose her classmates or Tatsuya was a matter Miyuki didn’t even consider.

However, Miyuki’s classmates, especially the boys, were of course striving to sit with her.

They had started off pretending to be polite saying things like “it’s pretty cramped” and “sorry to be a bother”, but seeing Miyuki’s unwavering determination, had gone on to say that it was unsuitable for a first course student to share a table with second course students considering the gap between them, and ended up telling Leo who had finished eating that he was to vacate his seat.

At this selfish display of supreme arrogance, both Erika and Leo were on the verge of exploding. Tatsuya finished his meal in a hurry, talked with Leo and the still-eating Mizuki and Erika, then stood up.

Miyuki had soundlessly apologized to Tatsuya and the others, before walking past the vacated seat to stand by her brother.

The second act had been the afternoon visit to a specialist class.

In the remote precision magic laboratory otherwise known as the “shooting range”, a practical class was being carried out by 3rd year class A.

It was the class of the Student President, Saegusa Mayumi.

The student council was not necessarily chosen by grades, but the president this term was a once in a decade prodigy in remote precision magic, and had brought countless trophies to the school.

That was something even the freshmen had heard.

They had also confirmed the rumor of her coquettish nature at the entrance ceremony.

There were many students packed around the range trying to get a look at her skill, but the number who could visit was limited. Due to that, among the numerous ostensible reservists for first course and second course students, Tatsuya and co. had grandly camped up at the front row.

Naturally, he had been unwilling to stand out.

Then during the third act, in progress this very moment, Mizuki caustically spat out.

“Won’t you all stop being such poor losers? Miyuki-san has said she wishes to go with her brother. It’s not the place of anyone of you to say otherwise, is it?”

Her opponent was a student from class A. It was the guy they had seen in the dining hall during the break.

Concerning the circumstances, after school, Tatsuya had been waiting for Miyuki, whose accompanying classmates had started to accuse. By the way, those classmates were girls. Obviously there was also a flock of male students in the vicinity (of Miyuki) who had started silent at first, but that restraint had already been lost and all decency rapidly followed.

“Hasn’t Miyuki treated you guys well enough already? If she wanted to go with you, she would have said so. What right do you have to try and tear those two apart?”

The one who had lashed out first at the unreasonable behavior of the first course students was, surprisingly, Mizuki.

While maintaining her polite demeanor, she slammed into them mercilessly.

Even now as Mizuki argued against the first course student, her eloquence didn’t give an inch.

Yes, everything had started out perfectly logically, but…

“I have to admit though, to say that they’re trying to tear us apart…”

Tatsuya muttered under his breath. He distinctly felt that something was shifting rather decisively.

“Mi-Mizuki, aren’t you misunderstanding something?”

Hearing her brother’s murmurs, Miyuki for some reason asked in a hurry.

“Miyuki… you seem kinda rushed?”

“Eh? No, I’m no such thing?”

“And also kinda forceful?”

Initially glancing at the siblings with the too good relationship in confusion, their friends, full of compassion, began to heat up more and more.

“We’ve asked her!”

That was one of Miyuki’s male classmates.

“That’s right! We’re sorry for Shiba-san, but we just want a little more time!”

That was one of Miyuki’s female classmates.

At their selfishness, Leo gave a hearty laugh.

“Ha! That’s just self-justification. Find a better time for it.”

Erika also retorted with a smile and edged sarcasm.

“If you really had asked, maybe you would’ve had her consent from the start?

You’ve ignored Miyuki’s intentions and didn’t consult her or anything. There’re rules for that. You’re high school students already, don’t you know anything?”

Erika’s words and attitude, designed to purposely offend the other party, as expected, affected one male student in particular.

“Shut up! Another class, much less Weeds, has no right to interfere in matters concerning us Blooms!”

Due to its discriminatory nature, the use of the word “Weed” is prohibited by school regulations. It is a rule still gradually being learned, but even so it’s not exactly a word to be used in this context with so many people listening.

The one who reacted to this rant head-on was, whether to say unexpected or to be expected (probably “to be expected” really), was again Mizuki.

“We are all the same freshmen. You guys are Blooms, but right now just how are you any better than us?”

It wasn’t particularly loud, but Mizuki’s voice rang out through the schoolyard.

“…Well.”

Thing’s are going to get pretty bad, Tatsuya thought, while sighing under his breath.

His murmur was drowned out by the angry howls of the first course students, and only Miyuki who was beside him heard.

“…If you want to know just how much better, I can show you.”

Although Mizuki’s claim was legitimate according to school regulations, at the same time, it was refuted by the school system.

“Hah, interesting! By all means, show us!”

At the first course student’s threat, Leo responded aggressively. Having come to this, no outcome other than “tit for tat” could be expected.

The right lay with Mizuki.

Because they understood that full well, those complacent with the current system, both staff and students alike, stood aside.

Though there had been a clear violation of the rules here, the vast majority would ignore their situation and pretend to have seen nothing.

Even if the violation was not only of the school rules, but the law itself.

“Then I will!”

The only ones allowed to carry a CAD in the school were senior members of the student council and certain committee members.

The use of magic off campus was tightly regulated by law.

However, the mere possession of CAD off campus was not restricted.

There would be no point.

CADs are currently indispensable tools for magicians, but they are not essential for the use of magic. Magic can be used even without a CAD. Therefore, the law does not restrict the mere possession of a CAD.

The procedure for students who possessed CADs was to leave them at the office before classes started, and to pick them up upon returning home.

So it was not surprising for students to have CADs on the way back from school.

“A specialized CAD?”

However, if they were directed at fellow students, then it would become a situation… no, an emergency.

Especially if the aimed CAD was an attack power emphasizing specialized type.

The two types of CAD are general and specialized. The general type placing a larger burden on the user but capable of a wide range of up to 99 activation sequences, while the specialized type is only able to contain up to nine activation sequences but possesses subsystems able to reduce the load on the user, making it possible to invoke magic faster.

By its nature, aggressive combat type magic sequences are generally stored in specialized CAD.

To the BGM of screaming onlookers, the “muzzle” of that specialized CAD, shaped like a small handgun, was thrust at Leo.

That student wasn’t just spouting lip service.

The finesse with which he drew his CAD, along with the speed with which he took aim, were the movements of someone accustomed to fights between magicians.

A large portion of magic is dependent on talent.

At the same time, that means lineage plays a vital role.

There are many first course students who enter school with excellent results not as a result of studying magic at school but because of parents, family business, possibly even gaining combat experience from there.

“Onii-sama!”

Even before Miyuki had finished her cry, Tatsuya’s right hand stretched out.

There was no way he could reach, but he reached anyway. Was it meaningful, or was it just a meaningless reflexive action.

Whatever it was, in this case, nothing came of it.

That was because—

“Eek!”

That scream came from the first course student aiming his CAD.

The handgun CAD had been knocked from his hand.

Before their eyes, casually swinging a baton that had suddenly appeared from somewhere, in a relaxed manner, Erika was smiling. There was no trembling or hastiness in that smile. Just by looking at that confident alertness, you could tell there was no such thing from the beginning. If the same situation had occurred 100 times, the first course student’s CAD would have gone flying 100 times. That was a certainty.

“At this distance, the body moves faster.”

“I agree, but you were planning on whacking my hand as well, weren’t you?”

The one replying as Erika relaxed her guard and triumphantly explained was Leo, whose hands were frozen in the midst of a grab for the other’s CAD.

“A~ra, I wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Don’t laugh it off so unnaturally like that!”





As Erika put the back of the hand holding the baton to her mouth and gave off an “ohohohoho”, her deceptive laughter hiding her real intentions, Leo was nearing the end of his patience.

“I’m serious. Whether you were going to engage or not, I can tell from your stance.

You seem like an idiot, but your arm speaks otherwise,”

“…Are you making fun of me? You’re making fun of me right to my face?”

“That’s why I said you look like an idiot, right?”

Forgetting the “enemy” before them, as the two engaged in another comical confrontation, not only Miyuki and Tatsuya were taken aback but everyone else as well, but the one who recovered fastest was Miyuki’s classmate who was facing them.

It wasn’t the male student whose specialized CAD had been knocked away, it was the female student behind who was running her fingers across her bracelet shaped general CAD.

The inbuilt system started up, and began an activation sequence.

The activation sequence is a blueprint of magic, a program that directs the construction of a magic ritual.

After expansion, the expanded activation sequence is read by the magic processing area of the subconscious and variables such as coordinates, output, and duration are inputted, the result is inserted alongside the activation sequence and gives rise to the completed magic ritual.

This complete magic ritual is taken from the operations area of the subconscious and transferred to the lowest level of the conscious, the “root”, from the area between the conscious and the subconscious, the “gate”, whereupon it can be projected upon the outside world, as the magic ritual projects and targets “information events” — in the study of modern magic, these are named “Eidos” from Greek philosophy, and refers to the event where the information of the target is temporarily overwritten.

Information is associated with events.

If the information is rewritten, the event will be rewritten.

As the nature of phenomena is written in Psions, modifications to these will result in real world events being temporarily modified as well.

This is the magic system under the use of CAD.

The speed with which Psions are written is the processing power of magic, the scale to which they can be built is the capacity of magic, and the strength with which magic rituals can rewrite the Eidos is interference strength. Currently, these three comprehensively are called magic power.

Even the blueprint for the magic ritual, the activation sequence, is a type of Psion. However, the activation sequence alone cannot affect reality.

The Psions processed by the user would simply scramble then return.

Broadly speaking, this is the function of CADs, to take the Psions initially provided by the activation sequence, and form them into Psions the magician can use to rewrite phenomena: the magic ritual.

Specialized CAD are often shaped in the form of guns because using the auxiliary aiming systems incorporated in the area corresponding to the barrel, coordinate data is input at the moment the activation sequence is initiated, and in order to reduce the calculation load on the user, Psions aren’t emitted from the muzzle.

From magician to CAD, then CAD back to magician.

If this flow of Psions is disrupted, then magic dependent on CADs will no longer work.

For example, if during calculation or expansion a load of Psions are fired from outside, the Psion pattern of the activation ritual will be scrambled, disallowing the building of an effective magic ritual and erasing the magic.

Like now.

“Stop right there! Using attack magic on others for any reason other than self-defense is not just a violation of school rules, it’s a criminal offense!”

The expanding activation sequence of the female student was shattered by a bullet of Psions.

Releasing a Psion bullet, while in itself the simplest form of magic, requires extremely precise control in order to destroy just the activation sequence and avoid any extraneous damage, and shows superb skill on the part of the user.

Upon recognizing the owner of that voice, the female student who was intent on attacking Erika and company became pale, and not as a result of the magic. She fell into another female student, and they collapsed.

The one who gave the warning, and had fired the Psion bullet, was the Student Council president, Saegusa Mayumi.

Her — as far as Tatsuya had seen — ever-smiling face, even now, did not have much severity in it.

However in the eyes of someone capable in magic, her small figure was wrapped in an aura of Psion light far beyond that of ordinary mages, giving her an inviolable air of dignity.

“You are students from 1A and 1E, aren’t you?

I will hear you out. Please come along.”

A hard, even cold voice, came from the girl next to Mayumi. According to the introduction of the Student Council during the entrance ceremony she was the 3rd year Public Moral Chief, Watanabe Mari.

Mari’s CAD held an already deployed and expanded activation sequence.

It was not difficult to imagine what any form of resistance here would lead to.

Leo, Mizuki, and Miyuki’s classmates, without a word, stiffened up.

Moving not out of rebellion, stepping up next to his classmates frozen by the atmosphere, without a trace of haughtiness or pride, neither downcast nor timid, Tatsuya walked with an even measured gait, followed by Miyuki, to stand before Mari.

Mari cast a quizzical glance at these first years who had suddenly come striding up.

To Mari, these two had not seemed like involved parties.

Tatsuya took her gaze without flinching, and stopped a respectable distance from her.

“We’re sorry, the prank went too far.”

“Prank?”

At those unexpected words, Mari’s eyebrows arched up.

“Yes.

Morisaki’s quick-draw is famed, so I asked him to give a demonstration for future reference, but it became too lifelike and got out of hand.”

The student who had confronted Leo with his CAD opened his eyes wide with surprise.

While the other first years were at a loss for words, Mari glanced at the baton in Erika’s hand, the pistol shaped device lying on the ground, then after giving the two students who had tried to illegally use their CADs a bloodcurdling look, turned back to Tatsuya with a cold smile.

“Then why did that girl from 1A try to use attack magic?”

“She was taken by surprise. Being able to start up activation processes as a conditioned reflex is truly worthy of a first course student.”

His expression as he answered was deadpan, although his voice was somewhat shameless.

“Your friends were about to be attacked by magic, but you still insist it was a prank?”

“Even if you call it an attack, all she intended to fire was a flash of blinding magic. It wasn’t on a level where it could have caused blindness or impairment.”

Again, there was a collective intake of breath.

The sneer turned into admiration.

“Hoou… it seems you’re somehow able to read the activation sequence before it’s deployed.”

The activation ritual is a large block of data for building a magic ritual.

Mages can intuitively guess what kind of effect the ritual would have.

By looking at how the magic ritual would interfere with the Eidos, and what parts wouldn’t be affected, it’s possible to read and attempt a guess at the effect the magic ritual would have.

However the activation sequence alone is simply a chunk of data, representing a massive amount of information, and even the magician deploying it can only dynamically interact with it in the subconscious.

Therefore, the act of reading the activation sequence requires the enumeration of endless strings of image data, then reproducing an image from those in your head.

Normally, such things cannot be done in the consciousness.

“I’m no good at practicals, but I’m confident in my analysis.”

As if it was nothing, Tatsuya dismissed that insane skill with the one word, “analysis”.

“…Your misinformation skills are also quite something.”

Her look was something in between an appraisal and a glare.

The person who stepped up to protect her brother from bearing the brunt of the investigation, Miyuki, came forward.

“As my brother said, this was all really just a misunderstanding.

We are very sorry for bothering you all, senpai.”

Without the slightest deceit, she gave a deep bow, and as if the miasma was dispelled Mari looked away.

“Mari, it’s fine already.”

“Tatsuya-kun, that really was just a demonstration, right?”

When did she start calling me by name? Tatsuya thought, but he couldn’t refuse the timely help from Mayumi.

As he nodded with the same deadpan expression he had used up to now, Mayumi gave a somewhat triumphant — it was like she was saying “loan~” — looking smile.

“It is not prohibited for students to teach each other, but in terms of exercising magic, you are prohibited from executing it.”

This is taught in the first semester in the classroom.

“In terms of self studying the exercise of magic, it’s probably best to refrain.”

Returning to her grave look after Mayumi finished her inspirational speech, Mari also gave a word on the matter.

“…Since the President has said so, I will refrain this time. I don’t want there to be a second time.”

Without looking like bitter enemies, together they straightened and gave a bow. Mari turned around.

But after one step, she stopped and asked a question with her back to them.

“Your name?”

As her head turned, Tatsuya’s appearance was reflected in her long narrow eyes.

“First year class E, Shiba Tatsuya.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Holding back his tongue just before he almost instinctively let slip a “no problem”, Tatsuya swallowed a sigh.





“…Don’t think I owe you anything.”

After the officials had gone out of sight, the one who had acted first, in other words the first course student whom Tatsuya had protected, glared at Tatsuya and said as much in the same thorny voice.

Tatsuya’s expression had a rather “ah man” look to it.

All his friends had a face similar to his.

Relieved that this normally needlessly excited character wouldn’t play up here at least, Tatsuya returned the gaze of the course A student who suddenly grew a spine.

“I don’t think that at all, so don’t worry.

What got you off wasn’t my glib tongue but rather Miyuki’s sincerity.”

“I came along because even though Onii-sama is good at talking people down, he has problems convincing them.”

“Indeed.”

His artificial look of reproach faded, replaced by a wry smile.

“…My name is Morisaki Shun. As you thought, I am of the Morisaki house.”

Seeing the warm banter between the siblings, his hostility faded somewhat, and he gave his name.

“I’m just saying it’s not really that much of a big deal.

I’ve seen plenty of practical examples in visual materials.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, I think I’ve seen them before too.”

“You only just remembered it now didn’t you. As I thought, Tatsuya’s on a different level to you.”

“How patronizing. An idiot who tried to grab a Houki in the midst of activation has no business talking about levels.”

“Ah? Who’re you calling an idiot, idiot?”

“Uhm… that really is dangerous. Psions produced by another magician’s activation ritual would cause a rejection by your own subconscious…”

“What she said. Got it?”

“Erika-chan too, all right? Don’t use your hands directly, you’d receive the interference 1000 fold.”

“It’s fine. This is shielded.”

As the talk between his friends, meaningful in its own way, finally shifted back in their direction, Tatsuya and Morisaki shared a glance without moving.

“I still don’t acknowledge you, Shiba Tatsuya. Shiba-san’s place should be with us.”

On that note, without waiting for Tatsuya’s reply, Morisaki left. He probably said it precisely because it was a line that didn’t bear an answer, something his opponent was fully aware of.

“Suddenly calling me by my full name huh.”

As Tatsuya muttered to himself at a volume just loud enough to hear, Morisaki gave an involuntary shudder. His obstinacy was unlikely to stop there. However, it seemed likely his pride was a part of his nature.

Beside him, hearing his murmur, Miyuki seemed disquieted. She had always been worried that her brother’s knack for making enemies was a disadvantage for him.

But more than that, she had had enough of Morisaki’s prejudices.

“Onii-sama, shall we head back?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Leo, Chiba-san, Shibata-san, let’s go.”

Sharing a feeling of mental fatigue, the two of them nodded at the others, and began to leave.

As if to cut them off, to make things worse, a pair of class A girls stood in their way, but their body language clearly indicated they didn’t intend to do any more today.

Exchanging looks with Miyuki, the moment dragged on.

Understanding her brother’s intent, Miyuki was about to bid them farewell, but then the other opened her mouth.

“I’m Mitsui Honoka. I’m sorry for saying all those things earlier.”

She suddenly bowed, fully honest, and Tatsuya was rather embarrassed.

This girl, who earlier wasn’t hiding her elitism, to say the least, seemed to have gone about a complete turnaround.

“Thank you for protecting me. Morisaki-kun waved it off, but it’s thanks to Onii-san that it didn’t become a huge issue.”

“…It was nothing. Although, please stop with the Onii-san. We’re same year students.”

“I understand. Then, what should I call you…”

A fierce conviction blazed in her eyes.

It’d be nice if this didn’t become troublesome, he thought, as he took care to reply in a manner that didn’t come out displeased.

“Tatsuya is fine.”

“…Alright.

“And so, um…”

“…What is it?”

At the rapid eye contact, Miyuki stood before Honoka.

“…Is it alright to go together with you to the station?”

Nervously, but with a determined conviction hidden in her face, Honoka asked to accompany them.

With a sense of surprise not so much at Honoka’s words but the unexpectedness of the whole thing, Erika and Mizuki shared a look.

Though even then those two, plus Leo and of course the siblings Miyuki and Tatsuya, had no reason to refuse, and indeed didn’t refuse.





There was a delicate air on the way back to the station.

The members were Tatsuya, Mizuki, Erika, and Leo from class E, along with Miyuki, Honoka, and Kitayama Shizuku from class A, the girl who had caught Honoka during Mayumi’s appearance earlier.

Next to Tatsuya was Miyuki, then for some strange reason, on the other side was Honoka.

“…Then, the one who assists with Miyuki-san’s adjustments is Tatsuya-san?”

“Yes. I feel most at ease when entrusting things to Onii-sama.”

In response to Honoka’s question, Miyuki answered proudly.

“I just do a bit of arranging. Miyuki has amazing processing ability, so there’s not much maintenance required on the part of the CAD.”

“Even so, if you only have the knowledge to simply understand the device OS you can’t do much.”

Peering out from beside Miyuki was Mizuki, who joined in the conversation. Judging from Tatsuya’s light smile as he replied, it wasn’t really effective.

“I don’t have the skill to access the CAD core systems. That’s too much.”

“Tatsuya-kun, could you also look over my CAD?”

Looking back, Leo and Erika.

The reason Erika changed her way of referring to Tatsuya from “Shiba-kun” to “Tatsuya-kun” was because Mitsui-san called him that so it’s fine, she had unilaterally declared. In exchange, you can just call me Erika as well, she had imposed conditionally.

Naturally, Mizuki also insisted on the trade, and everything became official pretty fast.

“Impossible. I have no faith in my ability to handle such a specialized CAD.”

“Ah ha, you really are quite something, Tatsuya-kun.”

It was hard to tell if Tatsuya was being serious or just humble, but Erika’s reaction was simple praise.

“Why?”

“You realized this was my CAD.”

At Tatsuya’s question, Erika laughed merrily while twirling the retracted baton by the strap attached to the handle.

However, there was a glint in her eye that went beyond a simple smile.

“Eh? That baton’s a device?”

Sure enough, as if right on cue, Mizuki’s eyes went round with surprise, and Erika just gave two quick nods in satisfaction.

“Thank you for your normal reaction, Mizuki.

If everyone had already noticed, I would’ve face-planted.”

Listening to that exchange, Leo inquired further.

“…Where is the system built in? From the feeling earlier, it’s not totally hollow, is it?”

“No luck. Apart from the handle it’s totally hollow. It increases strength by using the technique of carving seals into it. Reinforcement magic is your field isn’t it?”

“…The technique takes a geometric pattern and engraves it into a sensitive alloy, which activates by injecting Psions, right?

If you do that, wouldn’t it bleed a considerable amount of Psions? You’d run out of gas pretty often, wouldn’t you?

Carved seals are pretty inefficient in the first place, so I thought it’s not a technique used very often nowadays.”

At Leo’s points, Erika’s eyes widened a little in both surprise and admiration.

“Ooh, your field indeed.”

“But there’s one more thing.”

“Strengthening is only needed during expansion and the moment of impact. If I limit Psion emission to those moments, I don’t waste too much.”

“It’s the same principle as the helm splitter. …eh, what happened guys?”

As a blend of admiration and shock filled the air, Erika asked that question.

“Erika… I’m pretty sure something like helm splitter was classified as a secret or mysterious technique.”

“That’s far more amazing than merely emitting large amounts of Psion.”

Miyuki answered on behalf of everyone.

It was pointed out rather casually.

Judging by Erika’s expression, she was startled.

“Both Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki-san are amazing, but Erika-chan is also amazing…

Are normal people rare at our high school?”

“I don’t think there are any normal people in a magic high school.”

At Mizuki’s natural remark, Kitayama Shizuku, silent until now, dropped a supremely precise retort, and the core of the matter disappeared in various ways.





Chapter 3




As the sign “First High School” obviously stated, this station was a mandatory stop for all attending students.

There was practically only one path between the train station and the school.

Due to the changes to the trams and their decrease in number, the event known as “riding the tram together” might be more accurately changed to “walking to school with friends”. For this school, this event is still quite common. Indeed, this event could be seen many times yesterday, the day after commencement, today, and has continued since the beginning.

Although it might not be so sudden, Tatsuya thought.

“Tatsuya-kun… Are you acquainted with the President?”

“We met for the first time before the entrance ceremony… So, yes.”

In regards to Mizuki’s question, Tatsuya was just as confused as she was.

“It certainly didn’t look like a first meeting.”

“It’s as if she intentionally sought you out.”

Tatsuya had enough confidence in his memory to say that the day of enrollment was definitely the first time he met Saegusa Mayumi. However, just as Leo and Erika said, that approach did not seem like a first acquaintance.

“…Maybe because of Miyuki?”

“…But she mentioned Onii-sama’s name specifically?”

Tatsuya was surrounded by Mizuki, Erika, and Leo, people that could be called “familiar faces” without difficulty. Just like yesterday and most likely into the future, the group would gather around Tatsuya and Miyuki near the station, exchange greetings, and go to school together.

It wasn’t a bad feeling at all.

In fact, it was quite a nice way to start the day.

However, just as the five of them were leisurely walking the short distance to school, they heard a call of “Tatsuya-kun~~” from behind them that any reasonable bystander would find embarrassing. It was accompanied by the rapidly approaching form of a petite individual and, according to Tatsuya’s groundless belief, the termination of peace and quiet.

“Tatsuya-kun, good morning~. And Miyuki as well, good morning.”

Compared to Miyuki’s greeting, the greeting directed towards himself was quite casual, Tatsuya thought. However, she was still the 3rd Year Student Council President.

“Good morning, President.”

It was necessary to observe proper protocol, just to be on the safe side.

Immediately following Tatsuya, Miyuki also bowed respectfully. The other three offered polite, albeit slightly awed, greetings. It was only natural to have such a reaction.

“Are you alone, President?”

Although obvious at a glance, the question was still offered, with a subtle invitation to walk together to school.

“Hm. There isn’t really anyone that walks with me to school in the morning.”

A confirmation to both the obvious query and the subtle invitation.

Although, speaking of which… the President was quite the personable individual.

“I would like to speak with Miyuki about a few things… May I walk with you to school?”

The comment directed towards Miyuki was spoken in an approachable tone, but on a different level compared to their earlier conversation.

It did not look like Tatsuya was misreading the situation.

“Hm, if it’s quite alright…”

“Oh, it’s not like the topic is a secret. Or do you prefer to talk at a later time?”

As she said this, the President smiled at the three slowly retreating individuals, who immediately froze.

“President.. I feel as if your attitude towards one of us is slightly different… or is that just my misinterpretation?”

Of course not, the three of them responded verbally or with hand gestures. Mayumi smiled and nodded her head at the same time that Tatsuya displayed a disappointed expression.

“Eh? Is that the case?”

By now, changing her word choice and pretending not to notice was too late. Her tone and expression had already betrayed her.

“Is the subject you wish to speak about related to the Student Council?”

At this point, Tatsuya did not plan on backing down, but he was feeling the pressure as well.

Miyuki frantically changed the subject back to herself.

“Hm, I meant to find an opportunity to speak with you in detail. Do you have any plans during lunch break?”

“I plan on eating in the cafeteria.”

“With Tatsuya-kun?”

“No, Onii-sama and I are in different classes…”

It seemed like she remembered what had happened yesterday.

At the sight of Miyuki slightly lowering her head and lowering her voice, Mayumi nodded as if in understanding.

“There are quite a lot of students that care about these little things.”

Tatsuya slightly glanced to his side.

To no surprise, Mizuki nodded in affirmation. It looked like yesterday’s incident wasn’t quite over yet.

However, if the President spoke like this, wouldn’t this be a problem? Tatsuya thought.

“In that case, why not join me in the Student Council Room for lunch? If you don’t mind bentos, the room has an automatic meal dispenser.”

“…The Student Council Room is equipped with the Dinner Server Module?”

The normally composed Miyuki could not conceal her amazement as she replied.

Which was accompanied by a sense of befuddlement.

What was something that is normally seen in airline terminals or long-distance trains doing in a Student Council Room?

“Before entering the Student Council Room, I didn’t want to talk too much about it. But it’s for students working late into the day.”

An embarrassed Mayumi smiled ashamedly while trying to persuade Miyuki.

“If it’s the Student Council Room, it’s not a problem if Tatsuya-kun tags along as well.”

At that moment, Mayumi’s smiling face became teasing and, to put it bluntly, mischievous. Hopefully, that was a mistake on Tatsuya’s part.

Even if it was a misinterpretation, that particular way of putting it still gave him a headache.

“…Speaking of problems, there is one. There appears to be some conflict between myself and the Vice-President. I’m terribly sorry.”

Tatsuya did not plan on interfering between Miyuki and the Student Council, and so he left the interruption at that.

On the day of enrollment, the male student behind Mayumi that continuously glared at Tatsuya was probably the Vice President.

That line of sight did not appear to be a misinterpretation.

If Tatsuya carelessly went to the Student Council Room to eat lunch, this undoubtedly would lead to conflict between the two of them.

However, it appeared that Mayumi had not grasped the meaning behind Tatsuya’s words.

“The Vice-President…?”

Mayumi slightly tilted her head but quickly clapped her hands, in an action straight out of movie dramas.

“If it’s Hanzou-kun, you don’t have to worry about it, there won’t be a problem.”

“But even if that’s the case…?”

In that instant, Tatsuya made up his mind to avoid the incident that led up to his sister receiving that nickname, no matter the cost.

“Hanzou-kun will be in the clubroom for lunch break.”

It was completely unrelated to what Tatsuya was thinking — that was only natural — but Mayumi’s smile did not diminish in the slightest as she continued to speak.

“In that case, everyone can come as well. Letting everyone know about the Student Council’s activities is one of our duties as well.”

Despite that, there were people who directly refused Mayumi’s social invitation.

“Even though it’s a rare opportunity, I think we’ll pass.”

Even using the word “pass” in this way, it still conveyed a definite “refusal”.

Erika and company’s unexpected response caused the situation to become slightly awkward.

Nonetheless, trying to get their underlying feelings across, or even to smooth things over, was frankly impossible.

“Is that so?”

But there was one thing that did not change, and that was Mayumi’s smiling face.

Was she simply obtuse or able to comprehend something that everyone else could not?

Tatsuya felt that she simply did not need a reason.

“In that case, just the two of you then.”

What do we do? Miyuki’s eyes silently asked Tatsuya.

Refusing was still a valid option up until that moment, but following the response from Erika’s group, there was simply no way to smoothly decline.

“…I understand. Miyuki and I will be intruding on you then.”

“Excellent. Then the details can wait until later. I’ll wait for the two of you.”

For some reason, Mayumi was very pleased by this response. Turning quickly, she left them with a spring in her step.

Even though they were all headed towards the same school, the footsteps of the five who watched Mayumi leave became quite heavy indeed.

Tatsuya sighed.





Lunch break quickly arrived.

Footsteps remained heavy.

Just climbing two flights of stairs became an exhausting task, and it wasn’t because of a lack of exercise.

The real weight came from the heavy mood; heavy footsteps was just a metaphor, though the reluctance towards going remained the same.

Compared to Tatsuya, Miyuki was the complete opposite. Her steps were light and energetic.

Tatsuya was not insensitive enough to completely misunderstand the cause of Miyuki’s joy, so he remained silent.

Their destination was at the end of the hallway on the fourth floor.

From the outside, they were all the same. They all had the same wooden doors.

What was different was the wooden engraving embedded in the door, the speaker on the wall, and the cleverly disguised safety devices.

The sign on the door clearly displayed the words “Student Council Room”.

The invitation was for Miyuki; Tatsuya was purely complementary. Thus, the job of knocking fell to Miyuki. (Of course, this is another metaphor, since communication is through the speaker rather than knocking.)

After Miyuki solemnly requested entry through the speaker, from the opposite end came a cheerful welcome.

With a slight noise, so slight that even pressing one’s ear to the door would not have detected it, the lock opened.

Tatsuya placed his hand on the door knob and opened the door, adopting a stance that shielded Miyuki on the way inside.

In reality, there was nothing that called for such a response. Tatsuya was well aware of this point.

This behavior was something deeply ingrained into the siblings’ daily activities.

—And of course, nothing happened.

“Welcome. Don’t mind us, please come in.”

Directly in front, a voice came from the opposite end of the table.

Tatsuya really wanted to ask Mayumi what caused her such happiness to greet them with a smile like that as she beckoned them in.

Miyuki led the way into the room, followed hurriedly by Tatsuya. He stopped one step from the door, with Miyuki two steps from the door.

With both hands slightly before her, Miyuki bowed in greeting, a textbook example of formality.

When compared to such a honed movement, Tatsuya had no chance of imitating it.

Miyuki’s speech and movement patterns were completely different from Tatsuya’s. This was most likely the work of their deceased mother.

“Eh… No need to be so formal.”

After watching Miyuki execute a perfect greeting that would not be out of place in a formal gala, Mayumi seemed to shrink a little.

Even though there were two other members in attendance, they seemed to be overwhelmed by the atmosphere as well.

There was one other person present that was not a member of the Student Council. The representative from the Public Moral Committee wore a mask of composure, but anyone could tell that was a brave front, not to mention a veteran observer like Tatsuya. Truly, my little sister is quite motivated today, Tatsuya thought.

The only thing that puzzled Tatsuya was exactly why Miyuki chose such an intimidation tactic.

“Please sit. We can talk while we eat.”

Maybe it was because Miyuki’s opening salvo rattled her, but Mayumi’s voice had changed. To put it positively, the voice was still harmonious. To put it negatively, the intimate friendliness from before was gone.

She was probably referring to the long table in the meeting room.

At this moment, the signal reached the table interior, rearranging the table to be appropriate for dining.

Regardless, the siblings approached the expensive table and chose their seats. Miyuki slid a chair out and sat down, while Tatsuya chose a seat just below hers.

For someone who always adamantly insisted that her elder brother take a seat higher than her own, the only reason Miyuki controlled her outburst was because of the understanding that she was the focus of today’s meeting.

“Meat, fish, or vegetarian. Which do you prefer?”

What was amazing was not just the Dinner Server Module, but the complex selections available as well.

Tatsuya picked vegetarian, with Miyuki mirroring his choice. After receiving their orders, the 2nd Year student — probably the Secretary Nakajou Azusa — activated the large cabinet-like machine tucked near the wall.

Now the only thing that remained was waiting.

Mayumi was seated in the main chair. To her side and directly across from Miyuki sat another 3rd Year female student. One seat over was the Public Moral Committee member, who was across from Tatsuya. Azusa sat next on the other side of the committee member. After regaining her bearings a little, Mayumi began.

“Introductions were exchanged at the enrollment ceremony, but just in case, let’s go over this again. To my side is our Accountant, Ichihara Suzune, also known as Rin-chan.”

“…The only one who calls me that is the President.”

Every part of her solemn face gave off a stern impression, though with her tall frame and willowy limbs, Suzune would have done full justice to the description of “beauty”.

It must be admitted that “Rin-chan” fit her profile better than “Suzune”.

“The two of you should know the one on Rin-chan’s side, right? This is the Chair of the Public Moral Committee Watanabe Mari.”

Mari didn’t say anything, but her not taking exception to anyone would be natural.

“And following that is our Secretary, Nakajou Azusa, also known as A-chan.”

“Student Council President… Please don’t call me ‘A-chan’ in front of the underclassmen. I have my position to think of too.”





Because she was even more petite than Mayumi and possessed a more childish face, whenever Azusa directed a teary-eyed face upwards, she unintentionally gave off the impression of a child about to cry.

And that would probably be the reason she is called “A-Chan”, Tatsuya thought. That might be too cruel a truth for the person in question.

“The last one would be Vice President Hanzou. And that makes up all the members of the Student Council Committee.”

“Which I am not part of.”

“Oh yes, Mari is not a member of the Student Council. Ah, the preparations are complete.”

The cover of the Dinner Server opened, presenting neat and proper meals without a hint of character on a series of trays.

There were only five meals.

We’re short one… Even though Tatsuya thought of this, he did not mention it aloud because he was thinking of a solution. While Tatsuya was processing this, Mari quietly took out a bento box.

Seeing Azusa stand up, Miyuki also left the table. As its name implied, the Dinner Server was capable of producing meals, but without a matching table set, it was more efficient to manually bring the trays over.

Azusa first put her tray on the table, then brought Mayumi and Suzune’s portions as well.

Following that, Miyuki carried over the two trays for the siblings, and with that a most interesting lunch began.

In the beginning, the conversation was completely open.

Even then, Tatsuya and Miyuki had very few conversational subjects that coincided with the committee members.

The conversation naturally flowed towards the topic of food.

It couldn’t be helped that the Dinner Server produced what was more or less fast food, but modern processed foods have nearly the same quality as normal cuisines. That being said, if it can only match “normal quality” cuisines, then the deficiencies of processed foods cannot be denied.

“Did you make that bento yourself, Watanabe-senpai?”

Miyuki’s intention was simply to initiate a conversation with everyone else, and did not hide any other reason.

“Yes, are you surprised?”

However, when asked by Miyuki, Mari nodded and replied with a teasing question of her own that was difficult to answer.

In reality, Mari did not intend to torment Miyuki, but wanted to play a small joke on this sensible and polite underclassman.

“No, just a little.”

Just as Miyuki was starting to panic, a voice from her side responded for her in the negative.

“…I see.”

Tatsuya’s eyes were watching Mari’s hand motions, or her fingers to be precise. If it were made by a machine, or by hand, what kind of cuisines would, or would not, be possible…? It gave the impression that he could see through everything, causing Mari to feel quite embarrassed.

“Let’s start bringing bentos of our own tomorrow.”

When Miyuki spoke up as if nothing had happened, Tatsuya also shifted his line of sight.

“Miyuki’s bentos are certainly incredible, but as to where to eat them…”

“Oh, yes… First we need to find somewhere to eat them…”

The siblings’ dialogue — not only the contents, but the atmosphere itself - seemed a little too intimate for a pair of blood-related teenagers.

“…Just like a pair of lovers.”

Suzune adopted a smile that was not a smile, and dropped an explosive comment.

“Is that so? If we weren’t siblings, then we would be lovers, is that what you think?”

Tatsuya calmly countered and quickly defused the explosion.

Or more likely accidentally detonated it.

“…Of course, that was a joke.”

When facing a totally red Azusa, Tatsuya mirrored Suzune’s earlier “smile” and calmly continued. His face was not disturbed in the slightest.

“You, are quite boring.”

Mari said in an exasperated tone.

“I think so too.”

Tatsuya replied in an even manner.

“Ok, Ok, let’s end this subject here. Mari, I know it’s tough to swallow, but Tatsuya-kun is just a difficult person to handle.”

Maybe it was because she foresaw that this conversation would go on perpetually, Mayumi intervened with a slightly bitter smile.

“…That’s true. I take back my earlier comment. You are an interesting guy, Tatsuya-kun.”

With a slight smile — and for a beautiful young lady, she often reveals a smile before a boy — Mari changed her earlier evaluation.

First the Student Council President, now the Chair of the Public Moral Committee. I guess I better get used to people calling me by name.

“It’s about time we get to the point.”

It might have been a little unexpected, but the time allotted for lunch break was limited.

After everyone finished eating, both Tatsuya and Miyuki nodded upon hearing Mayumi’s words.

“Just as our school places heavy emphasis on self determination, the Student Council has been granted vast powers within the confines of the school. Not only our school, but most public high schools also adopt a similar method.”

Tatsuya agreed with the principle. Management-centric and Deterministic-centric were like the ebb and flow of the tides, fundamentally different but at the same time impacting one another. With the victory in the Okinawa Defense Battle 3 years ago and the subsequent rise in international voice, the old management-centric style that led to diplomatic disadvantages and internal unrest was swept out in favor of self-determination becoming the theme of society. In time, there was another reverse; a portion of private high schools adopted a harsh management-centric philosophy. Thus, it is difficult to unilaterally calculate the progression of events.

“Our Student Council uses the traditional method of concentrating the power and authority in the president. This presidential style can also be described as extreme centralization.”

Hearing these words triggered some unease, though this would probably be discourteous to Mayumi.

Tatsuya tightly clasped his fist.

“The president is elected by the student body, the other members are appointed by the president. With a few exceptions, the president has the right of appointment and removal for all officers.”

“My position as the Chair of the Public Moral Committee is one of those exceptions. The Student Council, the Club Management Group, and the teachers each select a representative to determine this position.”

“And because of this, on some level Mari holds the same authority I do. Under the rules, the president has a term period, but the others do not. The term lasts from October 1 to September 30 of the next year. Between this time, the president has the right of appointment and removal for all officers.”

(About time to get to the point.) Tatsuya did not interrupt, but merely nodded to indicate he understood.

“There is an annual tradition to invite the 1st Year representative to the Student Council, with the intent of training them to become the successor. Hopefully, the 1st Year representative will be elected to be the next Student Council President. Although it is not a guarantee, this has been the case for the past 5 years.”

“So the President was also a 1st Year representative? Quite impressive.”

“Ah~, err, yes.”

Mayumi blushed and stammered her reply.

Tatsuya’s response was merely flattery, since he already knew the answer. The odd part was that Mayumi should already be inured to such flattery given her position, yet she still reddened in embarrassment. This was no act, but true embarrassment. This is certainly quite devious… She looks like a perfectly normal high school student. — It can’t be that she intentionally lets people see that she is easily embarrassed, and that is the true acting portion?

“So… Miyuki, I hope you can enter the Student Council.”

At this stage, saying “enter the Student Council” is essentially becoming a member of the Student Council.

“Are you willing to accept?”

Taking a breath, Miyuki looked down at her hands, before raising her eyes towards Tatsuya in question.

Tatsuya shrugged, suppressed his own feelings, and slightly nodded his head.

Miyuki lowered her head again before raising it. This time however, her eyes were lit in the manner of someone about to take a plunge.

“President, are you aware of Onii-sama’s entrance examination scores?”

“—?”

At this completely unexpected development, it was all Tatsuya could do to remain silent.

What are you trying to say, little sister?

“Hm, I know of it. Truly incredible… To be honest, when I stole a glance at the teacher’s results, even I lost confidence.”

“…If the student council accepts students with high test scores and outstanding abilities, I believe Onii-sama fits the criteria as well.”

“Wait, Mi-”

“And in terms of Desk Work (Theoretical Manipulation), I believe that has nothing to do with practical skills and grades. In other words, knowledge and judgment are more important.”

For Miyuki, not allowing the other person to finish their sentence and bulling right over them is quite the rare occurrence.

And if the other speaker is Tatsuya, then the frequency would drop even lower.

“I am honored to receive an invitation to the Student Council. I would be more than happy to accept even the lowest position, but is there any way for Onii-sama to join?”

Tatsuya really wanted to cover his face and look skywards.

Is it possible that his negative influence on his little sister had reached this extent?

Miyuki should know that blatant nepotism can only lead to others’ discomfort.

“Alas, this is not possible.”

The one who answered was not the President, but the council member sitting to her side.

“Student Council members must be selected from Course 1 students. This is not an unwritten rule, but an enumerated one. This is the only clause that is attached to the right of appointment and removal for the president. To change this requires a special amendment meeting with the attendance of the full student body and carried by a two-thirds majority. Since the number of Course 1 and Course 2 students are practically equal, this is realistically impossible.”

Suzune softly said this in a tone that was slightly apologetic.

From her voice, it was obvious that she too was someone that was against the differential treatment between Blooms and Weeds.

“…I apologize. I said all of that without understanding the situation. Please forgive me.”

Miyuki could only frankly admit her mistake.

Miyuki rose to her feet and bowed deeply in apology, but no one reprimanded her.

“In that case, Miyuki will join the current Student Council with the title of secretary, is that acceptable?”

“Yes, I will work hard to fulfill my duties. Please look after me.”

Miyuki lowered her head again, but this time was more polite than apologetic. Mayumi nodded at Miyuki with a smile on her face.

“You can get the details from A-chan.”

“As I just said, President… Please stop calling me A-chan…”

“If there are no complications, can you come today after school?”

Completely ignoring the tearful protests on the side, Mayumi continued her conversation.

“Miyuki.”

Before Miyuki could turn and ask, Tatsuya stopped her with a short but powerful verbal tone. He nodded in agreement with Mayumi’s suggestion.

Miyuki nodded as well, before turning to face Mayumi.

“I understand. However, would it be fine for me to come here after school?”

“Of course. I’ll wait for you, Miyuki.”

“Hey~. Why am I called ‘A-chan’, while Shiba is called ‘Miyuki’…?”

On some level this was a valid question, but was once again ignored.

…Tatsuya started to pity Azusa a little.

“…There is still a little time left until the end of lunch break. May I say something?”

The reason that everyone ignored Azusa, and not out of spite or mischievousness either, was probably because everyone’s attention was directed towards the hand Mari raised in the air.

“The roster for the Public Moral Committee still has one empty spot that has not been filled.”

“I just said that we are still reviewing possible candidates. Besides, school just started a week ago, right? There’s no need to hurry, Mari.”

Displeased with Mari’s hastiness, Mayumi admonished her. However, Mari didn’t seem to care.

“I think, according to the rules of the student council, all members aside from the president must be Course 1 students, right?”

“Yes.”

Mayumi nodded in confirmation while her expression said that it couldn’t be helped.

“Only Course 1 students are allowed to fill the positions of Vice President, Accountant, Secretary, and related roles, right?”

“Yes. The rules stipulate that the council is made up of the President, Vice president, Accountant, and Secretary roles.”

“In other words, there is no restriction for bringing a Course 2 student into the Public Moral Committee.”

“Mari, you…”

Mayumi’s eyes widened, while Suzune and Azusa both wore similarly shocked expressions.

This proposal was every bit as surprising as Miyuki’s earlier suggestion.

Apparently, the 3rd Year student known as Watanabe Mari is quite the practical joker, Tatsuya thought.

—However.

“NICE!”

“Ah?”

Coinciding with Mayumi’s delighted outburst, Tatsuya let out a dull surprise.

“Yes, there’s no problem with the Public Moral Committee. Mari, the Student Council nominates Shiba Tatsuya as Public Moral Committee member.”

An unexpected development happened within an instant.

“Wait a minute! Shouldn’t you take into account my thoughts on the matter? Also, you haven’t told me what the duties of a Public Moral Committee member consists of.”

Rather than objecting from a logical perspective, it was more important to listen to the instincts that warned of a dangerous development.

“We didn’t really go into detail about your sister’s duties on the Student Council, correct?”

“…No, that’s true, but…”

—Unfortunately, Tatsuya’s objection was immediately countered by Suzune’s comment.

“Eh, Rin-chan, this is fine. Tatsuya-kun, the job of the Public Moral Committee is to uphold the public moral on campus.”

“…”

“…”

“…Is that all?”

“While the job doesn’t come with any sense of accomplishment, and is also quite troublesome… Err, it’s still a rewarding task?”

First of all, disregard the fact that she tried to hide her words behind that smile. The more important thing is that Tatsuya didn’t think they were going to listen to him seriously anyways. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

“Hm?”

Looks like they’re not pretending to be ignorant.

Tatsuya shifted his gaze to the right.

In Suzune’s eyes, he discovered a pitying look.

Despite that look, it didn’t look like she was going to help.

And on Suzune’s side.

Mari looked like she found this entire sequence of events very interesting.

And on Mari’s other side.

When locking eyes with Azusa, her eyes betrayed a harried look.

He continued to stare at her.

Despite Azusa desperately glancing left and right, Tatsuya did not take his eyes off her and continued to stare.

“Um, our school’s Public Moral Committee is an organization that is responsible for policing those who break school rules.”

—Just like her outer appearance, Azusa was weak to pressure.

“In terms of public morals, they usually consist of things like uniform regulations or tardiness, but these are handled by the members appointed by the Self-Governing Committee.”