It's the fourth day of the tournament.
There's a break before the finals, five days from now, and the fight between the 1st Years in the Newcomer's Battle will take place in the meanwhile.
So far the results stand with First High being at number one with 320 points, Third High being at number two with 225 points, and the positions of third place and below being a wild free-for-all between the other schools. The difference between first and second place is a massive 95 points. However, the battle is such that even that point difference could potentially be reversed if Third High is able to win the Newcomer's Battle by a large margin, which for them is not impossible. Conversely, even if First High doesn't manage to win, yet they avoid a huge difference in points, final victory would still be theirs.
The aim for every school is overall victory, but in this case, as only half the points gained from the Newcomer's Battle will be added to the overall ranking, to the competing 1st Years what they are fighting for in the Newcomer's Battle is their own glory. The spirit in these matches is in no way inferior to the finals themselves.
The order is the same as the finals.
Today's events are Speed Shooting (Qualifier, Finals) and Battle Board (Qualifier).
They differ from the finals in that the schedule for Speed Shooting includes the women's event in the morning and men's in the afternoon, with everything being finished in one stretch (the reason being that the Speed Shooting finals is carried out straight after the opening ceremony, and there's no way to finish everything by the morning.)
Not just Speed Shooting, but CAD adjustment cannot be carried out in the middle of any event, so the major work of fine tuning whilst listening to the contestants' specifications is done by the engineers in between matches.
That's why engineers are basically always around the players they're responsible for during the match. In order to ensure as much as possible that contestants from the same school in the same competition are not competing at the same time, the Convention Committee have made numerous adjustments to the timetable.
However, in events like Crowd Ball where many matches would occur in a day, overlaps can't be helped, and engineers would often be paired as a duo of main and sub.
This can occur even in the same competition, and one engineer cannot be responsible for another match occurring at the same time.
Even if that match ostensibly occurs at an unrelated time.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Honoka is in the last race huh......"
"Yes! It's in the afternoon, so it doesn't clash with the women's Speed Shooting!"
Honoka, grinning earnestly while subtly emitting an overbearing pressure, made Tatsuya relive the heat of being popular.
Tatsuya was responsible for the women's Speed Shooting, women's Icicle Destruction, and Mirage Bat.
He didn’t get himself assigned to that host of women's events because he was a womanizer, but because there was a strong backlash against him from the men's 1st Year division.
Not only that, but he was in high demand amongst some of the women's 1st Year contingent.
For example Miyuki, Honoka, Miyuki and Honoka, Miyuki and......in other words, those two had appealed rather earnestly. But here lay a problem.
Miyuki's sheer magic power was most suited for the competition Icicle Destruction.
Both her classmates and the council knew full well her proficiency in slowing down vibrations. When all is said and done, cooling magic is pretty much second nature to her.
Miyuki's participation in Icicle Destruction was decided, as well as in Mirage Bat as the star athlete and ace of the women's team — the problem was what Honoka would participate in.
In terms of First High’s practical results, in first place was Shiba Miyuki, second was Kitayama Shizuku, third was Morisaki Shun, and fourth was Mitsui Honoka. Therefore amongst the 1st Year female students Honoka ranked right alongside both Miyuki and Shizuku in practical excellence, but in truth her skills were not particularly suited for a sporting magic competition.
Her specialization in magical illusions involving manipulating light was impressive, but Shizuku's ability in high output vibration and acceleration was more suitable for Icicle Destruction.
It was a given from the start that Tatsuya would be responsible for Miyuki. Not even the seniors were foolish enough to try and challenge that.
So in order to be looked after by Tatsuya, it's most reliable to get into the same competitions as Miyuki, but for the number one, number two and number three top players to appear in the same competition is not a very sound strategy. ......or rather, it's impossible.
Therefore it would fall to a competition which does not overlap, but unfortunately, Shizuku was also more suited for Speed Shooting. The competition had initially called for contestants to enter in their field of expertise, so you could say she had little hope of being considered from the start.
Following that train of thought, it was decided that Honoka would compete in Battle Board and Mirage Bat. (The organizers had at first floated the idea of Battle Board and Crowd Ball, but due to her own wishes and the vocal support of her friends, she was able to get into one event with Miyuki.) ......In a situation like this, with her line "the events won't clash", just what is Honoka really trying to say, Tatsuya wondered.
But even if the time was compatible, from a team perspective, changing the engineer responsible at this late stage was impossible.
And even if today was alright, on the sixth day — the third day in terms of the Newcomer's Battle — no one could guarantee that there wouldn’t be an overlap between Icicle Destruction and Battle Board.
Honoka too should have been well aware of that, but......
It seemed that Miyuki was not about to come to his rescue today. Faced with Honoka on one side and his sister on the other, each with a different motive, Tatsuya sighed and came out with a bifurcated response.
"......I'd like to maintain your CAD in truth, but that's not possible, so
I'll watch your race at the least."
"Really? It's a promise!"
Someone gave a small ominous laugh. Tatsuya knew more than well whose voice that was, but his consciousness chose to pretend he didn't.
From an outsider's perspective, maybe he really was a 'womanizer'...... probably.
◊ ◊ ◊
Although the parties involved would never think of it as 'trivial', from the perspective of the main story, this was just a side episode.
When the curtains rise, one must be absolutely focused.
With the final checks complete, Tatsuya handed over the dedicated Speed Shooting CAD shaped like an elongated rifle, and confirmed its condition with Shizuku.
The CAD absorbs psions from the magician, which the Psion Information Aide transmits into the Activation Sequence. If a problem occurs in this process, no matter how well the other parts are serviced, it's pointless.
If the problem occurs with the hardware it has to be replaced with a spare device, and if the problem lies in the software it has to be reworked on the fly.
"Nn...... perfect. It feels better than my own."
As both her face and voice were rather deadpan, after initially being paired with Shizuku, Tatsuya had sometimes been confused as to whether she was serious or not; but now he was pretty much used to it.
Basically, she doesn't lie.
In the worst case, she would simply remain silent. "Tatsuya-san, you won't consider being hired?"
However, in cases like these, he still can't get used to whether she's serious or joking.
"If you're in a position to joke like this right before the match, you'll be just fine."
"It wasn't a joke."
"......"
By the way, what she was saying had the meaning of "formally signing on a contract to perform CAD maintenance".
Shizuku had asked him "won't you be hired" more than 10 times already. Considering her personality, Tatsuya had thought it a long running gag, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
"It won't be an exclusive contract so you don't have to worry."
In order to make references for CAD arrangements, Tatsuya had taken her CAD in hand and adjusted it.
Before that, the one who had maintained Shizuku's CAD was a famous engineer who could be ranked amongst the top five in the country.
Or rather than Shizuku, it would be more accurate to say the Kitayama house.
When Tatsuya had first heard he was not surprised, but then again Shizuku's family were 'extremely rich' after all.
In the first place, the mages of the Kitayama house did not hold the same prestige as the Ten Master Houses or the 100 Families.
Shizuku's mother, a magician, had fallen in love with her millionaire father at first sight, and after much strife they were finally married, at which, the paternal lineage turned up no mages — her young brother having some measure of practical ability but not enough for true magic.
Whether because of those circumstances, in contrast there was Shizuku — her raw magic potential being extraordinary.
Shizuku's addiction to Monolith Code could be said to stem from her father's financial prowess, being able to tour the country seeing magic competitions every year.
"......I think I've said this numerous times, but that would require me to have a license wouldn't it?"
When Tatsuya had not responded Shizuku had presented him with down payment and contract fees which, even considering his position as part of Taurus Silver and the considerable income that came with it, was an unprecedented sum.
If he had been just a normal student, that dazzling amount would have made his eyes water.
But although doing this as part of a school event meant he received no compensation, it would have been different if he took it as a real job with remuneration. It's not illegal to work without a license, but in the eyes of the world, he would be seen as a 'fake'.
"I understand."
As always, Shizuku gave a dutiful nod.
But whether she truly understood was doubtful.
What it was for Shizuku only she herself knew, but for Tatsuya it was a conversation that significantly lowered tension in the moments before the match.
Well, whatever the effect, as long as nothing adverse happened it'd be nice.
They had gone through strategic meetings many times before.
For Shizuku, Tatsuya had devised a CAD and a secret plan to go along with it. (The début of the 'plan' was meant to be in the finals of the tournament, but still.)
"You're up, Shizuku."
"Yeah."
There was only one thing to say in this moment before her time. "Alright, do your best!"
"Yeah, I will!"
It was simple, but that was also a strategy of last resort.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Is this seat available?"
"Ah, Miyuki. It's fine. Go right ahead."
In truth that question had been asked to the sitting girls by various people for a while, but unlike the one asking now all had various ulterior motives (if you don't mind sitting between Leo and Mikihiko!). In this rather menacing way, Erika had scared off countless lying chick cruisers and kept the seat vacant.
The order in which they sat was Mikihiko, Mizuki, Honoka, vacant, Erika, Leo. They had left Miyuki's seat in the middle because if they were not on guard some unknown shady character might approach from either side. At first Erika had been reluctant to sit next to Leo, but at Mizuki's subtle argument that Leo and Honoka were not only in different classes but hardly knew each other, she had been finally persuaded. That incident almost but not quite resembled the nowadays rare event called a catfight.
Before Miyuki had come, the four excluding Honoka had been looking over the schedule of the Newcomer's Battle, and were holding a pamphlet intended for the audience (Honoka was a contestant so she had no need to recheck at this point).
After looking up to greet Miyuki, Mizuki returned to looking at the pamphlet, but not before noticing Honoka's faint expression.
"......Honoka-san, are you prepared?"
"It's fine. My race is in the afternoon."
Honoka answered Mizuki with a slightly forced smile. Miyuki replied to that in an incredulous tone.
"Ho-no-ka. If you're this nervous before the match, you'll be in big trouble later you know?"
"Uu, I know but......"
"You'll be fine, Honoka. Onii-sama said so as well didn't he?"
"Ye, yeah......"
"You came to see this to take your mind off your race didn't you? For now, let's cheer Shizuku on."
"......yeah, you're right."
From her rather exaggerated nod, it was evident she wasn't totally relaxed. That serious-to-a-fault way of thinking was a strong point of her personality, so you could almost say it was unavoidable tension.
"......um, did I say something unnecessary?"
At Mizuki's follow-up, devoid of malice, Honoka simply lowered her face.
◊ ◊ ◊
A bit away from those 1st Years, or rather their boisterous play, the 3rd Year trio Student Council and Public Morals Committee chiefs were gathered.
"Mari, is it alright for you not to sleep?"
"I'm not sick. As long as I don't have to fight I'll be fine. More than that, Mayumi, is it alright for you to be away from your duties?"
"It's fine. It's not like I'm kilometers away, and if anything comes up I can be informed instantly."
Saying so, Mayumi brushed away the hair hanging over her cheek. That act revealed the receiver in her ear for voice communications.
"Still, if it were just Mayumi it would be business as usual, but for Ichihara to be away as well makes me wonder."
"No problem. It seems I've been forced off duty today."
"......your jokes are hard to understand as ever, Ichihara."
At that tongue in cheek answer, Mari was suspicious for a moment if there was any dissatisfaction at that supplanting of their staff role.
Of course, she knew full well that wasn't the case.
Suzune bore overall responsibility for the operations staff (although there are only four people in that capacity), but individual strategic planning followed division of labor. The greatest responsibility was divided, with male staff going over strategies for the men's matches and female staff going over strategies for the women's matches.
Today's competition was the women's Speed Shooting contest, under the charge of Suzune.
—But, this was an event which didn't allow for fine strategies in the first place, being largely dependent on technical ability. It wouldn't be far off the mark to even say brute force. Any staff involvement would merely detail the selection of magic to match the characteristics of the competitor, and the setting of the CAD to suit, but...
...this was a region which overlapped the work of the technical staff.
Furthermore for the 1st Year women's Speed Shooting, the CAD magic selection, settings and all, Tatsuya handled everything from planning to execution.
That being said, Suzune had been aware of the plan and approved it from the start.
She wasn't the type to be put on the back foot by something of this level.
"Now then...... come to think of it, this will be the first time I see something he's engineered used in a combat capacity."
At Mari's words brimming with curiosity, Mayumi also looked over at the arena with interest.
"That's true. During my time, he was a great help. I'm looking forward to seeing how a CAD he's adjusted from the start will perform."
"Starting with Kitayama-san, it seems he's become very popular with the team."
Suzune's words held no exaggeration.
Initially amongst First High's 1st Year women's team, with the exception of Miyuki, Honoka and Shizuku, Tatsuya being in the same year, and furthermore a Course 2 student, seemed to provoke an almost allergic reaction from the other members when it came to giving him their CAD for adjustment.
But after a few practices with the CADs he calibrated, any such negative feelings completely vanished.
Perhaps it'd be more suitable to call that change of heart 'being blown away'.
"It seems that today there are also a few contestants who have brought their own CADs."
At Suzune's words, Mari made a sound of surprise.
"Hey hey...... wouldn't that cause problems in the match?"
"That's just another sign of Shiba-kun's amazing control. It seems he'll service them after the match is over."
Service refers to the adjustment of the CAD.
The contestants using Tatsuya's competition adjusted CADs were even bringing him their personal CADs to adjust. Furthermore, rather than just one or two, it was more like the entire female 1st Year team.
"His fans seem to be steadily increasing."
"The good natures of people come out in the strangest of places." Both Mayumi and Mari, exchanging a glance, shared a small chuckle.
◊ ◊ ◊
If Tatsuya himself had been faced with Mayumi's remark 'his fans are increasing', he would have vehemently denied it.
In fact, during social events, he went out of his way to avoid women (or so he felt).
Needless to say however, he didn't possess any such 'divine ears'.
His attention was focused solely on the shooting range Shizuku now stood at.
He did not possess 'eyes' like Mizuki.
He did however have the power to analyze data structures.
The data structures he had himself written and programmed into the CAD were all in his head.
If she put her hands even slightly together, while he could not perceive the 'hand' he could predict the 'result'.
Shizuku took her stance.
The lights on the start ramp began to light up. (It seems this time it’s alright.)
There was no evidence of the tampering which had caused problems such as in Mari's case, Tatsuya thought, yet he didn't divert his 'eye'.
◊ ◊ ◊
The moment all the lights came on, a clay target flew into the air. And the moment it entered the scoring area, it was blown apart. The next target was shattered in the middle of the area.
Next, two were simultaneously destroyed at either end.
A sigh rose from the audience. If one looked closely, Miyuki and the others were also sighing in relief at this brilliantly smooth start, letting out the breath they had been holding.
Shizuku's eyes didn't deviate for a second.
She simply gazed straight ahead, almost as if not looking at the targets.
"Uwah, amazing!"
In contrast to Erika's simple admiration,
"......is the Magic Activation Zone set for the entire area?"
Mizuki asked Miyuki and Honoka rather doubtfully.
"That's correct. Shizuku is able to tag all solids that enter the area with magic vibratory waves, destroying the target. By generating compression waves inside the target, it undergoes repeated partial expansion and contraction. If this rapid heating and cooling is repeated, it's only logical that even solid rock would weaken and collapse."
"To be precise, she sets numerous epicenters within the scoring area, which generate the virtual waves that give rise to the vibratory waves within the targets. Rather than directly applying the waves to the targets with magic, she has set up an area which causes the phenomena of applying such waves to the targets. The moment the waves from the epicenter come into contact with such a target, the virtual waves become real waves within the target and affect it in reality."
As Honoka and Miyuki carried out their polite commentary whilst their eyes remained fixed on the shooting range, Mizuki simply nodded.
◊ ◊ ◊
"......is the mechanism involved."
Whether by chance or necessity, the 3rd Year trio was also having the same conversation at the same time.
"As you know, the effective scoring area in Speed Shooting is a cube of 15 meter proportions set in the air. Shiba-kun's Activation Sequence sets another cube within this which is 10 meters on each side, with the vertices and the center, nine points in total, being designated as epicenters."
The one who had first made that explanation was Tatsuya. Suzune had been shown the plan.
"Each point is labeled with a number, and when that number is entered into the live Activation Sequence, virtual waves spread from that point.
The reach of the waves is six meters. In other words the moment the magic is activated, all targets within a six meter radius from the epicenter will be destroyed."
"...... it rather feels like it's using unnecessary force...... is Kitayama alright with those settings?"
"Although it has to be said that Kitayama-san is better known for her power than her precision......"
At Mari's pause, Suzune was wearing her typical cool poker face. But within her eyes, the shadow of a sympathetic laugh could be found.
"The aim of this magic is not to compensate for accuracy, but rather to increase speed at the expense of accuracy."
"......In other words, you're implying that a more pinpoint aiming solution is possible right? Please elaborate?"
"The feature of this magic is that it is coordinated by numbers."
Returning her gaze to the 1st Year before them, Suzune began her explanation to Mayumi's question. Her fluent reply was probably because she had gotten an answer after earlier asking the exact same thing.
"In Speed Shooting, the position of the contestants and the distance, direction and size of the scoring area is always the same. In other words the focal points necessary in this magic to set the virtual cube in relation to the distance, and viewing angle of the player, are constants.
Therefore there is no need to enter variable coordinates separately each time, but instead you can simply input into the Activation Sequence the number you desire and instantly invoke the magic. For this rough degree of aim, using the auxiliary aiming systems built into the CAD, it's possible for the optimal point to be automatically picked out.
Furthermore, this magic doesn't require changes in duration or power either. There isn't any need. In truth, they're treated as constants by the Activation Sequence. The contestant, just by selecting a point with the aid of the CAD without needing to think of any other variables, can simply pull the virtual trigger and end up destroying the target."
The shoot was approaching the end. Not a single target had been missed.
"Since there's no need to physically interface with the controls, merely invoking the magic will fully realize the potential of effect. I do believe the continuous Activation utilizes Multicast as well." The shoot drew to a close.
Final result, perfect.
"The proper name of the magic is 'Active Air Mine'. It seems to be a Shiba-kun original. Well, all the numerous elements jammed in make the final Activation Sequence quite a beast, but Kitayama-san's formidable magic power makes up for it."
"......it's pretty much the exact opposite of Mayumi's magic isn't it?"
"......coming up with a sequence like this is quite something."
Mayumi's voice held not so much admiration as outright amazement.
"Still...... it's rather intriguing."
On the other hand, Mari's voice was filled with interest.
"In battle the relative position between you and your opponents will by no means remain the same, so from the view of marksman magic it's not quite combat worthy, but...... if instead of setting the cube in the air, you center it as a sphere around yourself, wouldn't it serve very admirably in all directions as an active shield?"
"The problem is activation duration. If you set it too short the timing will be difficult, but too long and you risk yourself being caught in the area of effect."
Despite these issues presented by Mayumi, Mari's enthusiasm didn't dampen in the slightest.
"That will be up to the operator's skill. As you said, if you're able to gauge the timing you can set the duration to be short no problem.
......alright, immediately after this I'm going to nab him and install it by tonight."
"......try not to cause any problems for the competitors."
Mayumi's voice as she responded was now 100% amazement.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Good work."
As Shizuku returned from the shooting range, Tatsuya offered up words of praise along with a towel. The engineer isn't the manager so there's no need for him to have a towel handy, but he wasn't one to fall for such petty pride.
"It was somewhat anticlimactic."
She wasn't blustering in any way — it seemed she really felt so.
Whilst wiping the sweat from her brow, Shizuku had a slightly dissatisfied look.
Still at the same time, her joy was plain to see (it wasn't like she was trying to hide it or anything anyway.)
The qualifying score needed for the Newcomer's Battle was yearly around 80%.
Because it was impossible to score any higher than what she had gotten, regardless of the borderline she would obviously advance to the finals.
"I don't think anything went through the blind spots, as expected; they didn't try such obstinate unsporting things."
The magic Shizuku had used did not cover the entire scoring area. The area around the outer edges could be considered blind spots.
However, as seen from the performance of the machine launching the clay targets, there were no last minute changes to the trajectory of the targets. If a target had not passed right through the scoring area, the entire shoot would have to be redone out of issues of fairness, a blunder on the part of the tournament committee. Due to the nature of the competition, that was a risk they didn’t need.
They had made a strategy covering even that eventuality so it wasn't particularly a big concern, but not having to rely on that backup was something to be relieved about after all.
"Tatsuya-san, you worry too much. To try for that they'd have to deliberately probe for the blind spots, something too high level for the Newcomer's Battle."
Shizuku's words were only right.
Tatsuya put such things out of his mind, and switched to Shizuku's perspective.
"At first we'll go according to plan. But from the quarterfinals on will be match format. I'll service your CAD in the morning, so be sure to let me take a look."
"Got it."
The format between the qualifier and finals is different. The qualifier is to see how many of the 100 clay targets you can destroy in five minutes, a test of the speed and reliability of your magic. In the finals however, it's a test to see which player can destroy the most targets being fired into the same area. The factors of speed and reliability are joined by raw power and the ability to overcome interference from your opponents. As per the nature of this competition, the magic you normally use will also change accordingly.
Depending on the type of magic to be used, it's not uncommon to change the specialized CADs used for the competition themselves.
Tatsuya was now making preparations for the next contestants — for the next match that would follow, and the one after that.
Shizuku went alone to the storage tent to fetch the CADs used for the tournament finals.
◊ ◊ ◊
"All three of them qualified huh......"
Back in the tent which served as the headquarters of First High, Mayumi went over the results of the Speed Shooting preliminaries.
Whilst looking, Mayumi gave a small soliloquy.
"Maybe the 1st Year girls this year are just of a special level?"
Eight names had qualified for the finals from a preliminary of twenty four.
Three of those eight names were from the same school, having made it through to the finals of the Newcomer's Battle, an unprecedented number.
"Mari, won't you give up your pretense?"
Mayumi's remarks were normally followed by a tsukkomi by Mari, but this time she simply shrugged in silence.
Her pose seemed to suggest futility.
"I wonder how the Battle Board will turn out."
At Mayumi's question, Suzune deliberately took out her terminal and checked. ('Deliberately' in the sense that she knew in her head already.)
"The men's team missed the cut even after the second race, while the women's qualified after the first."
"The men are down to one last guy huh. On the girls' side, Mitsui-san's in the last race and certain to make it through the prelims...... it seems
A-chan has been working hard." As Mayumi muttered to herself,
"We may want to devote a bit more time to technical skills on our side as well."
Looking over the same report card from his own terminal, Katsuto responded in disgust.
◊ ◊ ◊
The quarterfinals of Speed Shooting took place on four shooting ranges.
If the eight who had advanced to the tournament proper were all from different schools the semis could have been resolved in four simultaneous games, but at the presence of competitors from the same school, the games had to be adjusted so as to not overlap (there is no competition between entrants of the same school during the semis.)
That being said, compared to conducting the semis one by one on a single range, the interval between each game was rather short. As three of First High's women's team had advanced to the semis, the engineers were kept very busy.
"......Tatsuya-san, is everything alright?"
Being last in turn, Shizuku reflexively spoke up when Tatsuya rushed in as she sat in the waiting room (although since she was in a tent, it couldn't strictly be called a 'room').
Maybe it was a trick of the mind, but it seemed to her that he was also slightly out of breath.
"It's fine."
With that short answer, Tatsuya began a final check of the CAD.
As Shizuku looked on — or rather stared — he rapidly scrolled through the monitor of the adjustment device ensuring there were no abnormalities, before finally meeting Shizuku's eye.
"I think you already know, but this is a totally different model from the ones used in the preliminaries. There's almost no time now, but if there's even the slightest discomfort, I'll re-adjust it as much as possible so please feel free to tell me anything."
Taking the CAD from Tatsuya, Shizuku took a stance and after repeatedly pulling the trigger with her finger two, three times, she put the CAD down.
"There's nothing of the sort. Rather, it fits so well it's almost frightening."
"I see."
She didn't thump her chest or anything, but at Tatsuya's relieved look, Shizuku's expression filled with fighting spirit.
"The other two won didn't they?"
"Yeah."
The other two, referred to her teammates who had already gone.
Those two who had along with Shizuku advanced to the finals tournament, seemed to have cinched a win in the semi finals as well.
"It's fine."
Once again, Tatsuya used the same words, but with a different meaning.
"If Shizuku performs as usual, you'll definitely win."
"Of course."
At that Shizuku gave a brief, yet far more vigorous than usual nod.
"Tatsuya-san has already made all the arrangements I need for victory, so all that's left is for me to take it."
"That's the spirit."
Without challenging her early declaration of success, Tatsuya saw her off with a smile.
◊ ◊ ◊
"It's finally Shizuku-san's turn."
"Hey hey, if even Mizuki is nervous how should I cope?"
"But aren't you all excited as well Erika-chan? If Shizuku-san wins here, three of the final best four will be from our school!"
"Aren't you a bit too nervous regardless? Shizuku is definitely going to win after all."
At that confident affirmation, mingled with a teasing remark from Miyuki to 'take a deep breath and calm down', Mizuki obediently cleared her mind and inhaled.
"......I wonder if this also counts as a sort of promise."
"......I guess even Mizuki-san can be playful at times."
Rather than as a result of the deep breathing, but more from not wanting to cause Miyuki and Honoka any more worry, Mizuki finally regained her composure.
"I wonder what kind of twist we'll see this time."
Hearing Mikihiko's voice bearing a hint of excitement, Erika made a 'huh?' expression.
"Good point. What will jump out this time, I can't even begin to guess."
The one who actually responded aloud was Leo.
"His mind is almost like a jack-in-the-box."
"You can talk."
For Mikihiko to look forward to and show interest in magic was something Erika hadn't seen for a long time.
Whether this change had been brought about simply by watching the competition with others, she couldn't say. Perhaps without her knowing, something had happened between Tatsuya and Mikihiko...... without voicing anything aloud, Erika pondered such things. "Eh? That's......"
Breaking her out of her train of thought and back to reality was a querulous voice.
"What is it?"
"That CAD.....?"
Mikihiko's gaze was fixed on the CAD Shizuku held under her arm by a strap.
That rifle shaped CAD at first glance, with the exception of the strap, was no different from the CAD the other contestants were using. But the area of the gun where ammunition would normally be stored was thicker than the others.
Mikihiko's school traditionally didn't place much emphasis on CADs. They still mainly utilized magic activated by charms. But ever since the accident last year, Mikihiko had obsessively been studying up on modern magic technology.
To compensate for what he had lost.
The result of that had been evident in his test results.
Mikihiko had considerably more confidence in CADs than comparable modern mages.
If his eyes weren’t mistaken.
"Is that...... a general purpose CAD?"
"Eh, you're kidding?"
"Yeah, well, it is."
"I've never heard of a general CAD shaped like a rifle before. Firstly, isn't combining auxiliary sighting systems into a general system technically impossible?"
It was only natural that Leo, Mizuki, and Erika would ask one question after another.
But Mikihiko simply shook his head with confidence.
"The arrangement of the body portion just above the trigger of the CAD is without a doubt FLT's general purpose 'Centaur' series. The Centaur series is a type which doesn't have any interfaces on the main body and can be used without any external input devices, but the connector has had a grip and auxiliary aim assist system attached."
"You really know your stuff."
Miyuki's words as she turned around and grinned confirmed Mikihiko's observations.
"Eh? Then, that is?"
"You're right Erika. That's specially handcrafted by Onii-sama. It was specifically made to incorporate auxiliary aiming systems into a general purpose CAD."
At Miyuki's proud words, the knowledge that the CAD was a special made-to-order model, Erika was rendered speechless at the amount of effort that must have taken.
"I don't think I could feel any more surprised but...... just what is it all for?"
"Of course, for the match."
Honoka's brief answer was not near enough to satisfy Leo's, and the other three's questions.
But no subsequent explanation followed through.
As if by common consent, the six of them faced forwards. The signal for the start of the match began to light up.
◊ ◊ ◊
Red and white clay targets danced in the sky.
Shizuku's targets were the red ones.
The three red targets that twisted through the air and entered the scoring zone, flew together towards the centre and shattered.
"Movement system...... no, that's wrong. Convergence system?"
In the tent used by each school as a headquarters, large monitors covering every aspect of the competitions gave full view of the matches underway.
Both Suzune and Mayumi were watching Shizuku's match on the monitor with their full attention.
"Correct."
This time, all red targets which entered the scoring area were being drawn into the middle and destroyed.
"That's the magic used in the qualifiers isn't it?"
"Yes. It's a continuous invocation of convergence magic and vibration magic."
Two of the white targets collided and broke apart.
The opponent from Second High was using an orthodox tactic of targeting the clay itself using movement magic, and turning it into a bullet to hit other targets.
Although orthodox, its effectiveness had been amply demonstrated by past performances.
But from the outset, the majority of the targets being removed from around the outer area were white.
Since most of those had been hit around the outer edge, the problem lay not in the technical ability of the contestant but rather...
"I get that the area of effect is able to recognize the targets on a macro level and enhance the density of red targets in the centre via convergence, whilst displacing the white targets from that centre but......"
The basic form of Convergence Magic works by defining existing space via the Magic Ritual, then taking that defined 'data' and selectively manipulating it via designated coordinates using that same Magic Ritual.
For example, Mayumi's magic which utilizes dry ice to make bullets and send them flying, in order to create a sufficient number of bullets, initially also uses Convergence Magic to gather carbon dioxide.
In this case, carbon dioxide is collected in one place while other gases are pushed aside, but this does not mean a high density mass of carbon dioxide is made, as the CO2 rather flows through designated coordinates whilst other gases are drawn out.
In the same manner, Shizuku's magic replaced carbon dioxide with red targets.
A special zone — in this case, the centre of the scoring area — was set up as a 'space where red targets are gathered' by that Systematic Convergence Magic.
More specifically a square space 20 meters per side, comfortably covering the entire scoring area and more, was magically altered to become a 'space with a high density of red clay targets in the centre.'
The volume of that area is huge, but as the total number of clay targets at any one time is small, there isn't a large burden on the operator. What is modified isn't the space itself, but rather the distribution of clay targets within that space.
The modification of data via the Magic Ritual results in red targets being drawn to the centre of the area, while white targets are repelled. The targets the Second High contestant directly controlled weren’t affected by such minor interference, but the targets the Second High student tried to hit, due to not receiving any magic from her, had their trajectories changed by Shizuku's magic and as a result, white targets began to be missed.
The rules of the Speed Shooting tournament finals state that as long as you do not directly attack your opponent, interference is allowed. But as the clay targets fly for only short irregular periods, it's very hard to block your opponent and shoot your own targets at the same time.
There were many cases when vacillating between sniping and interfering resulted in self destruction, but as Shizuku's Systematic Convergence Magic flawlessly linked disturbing the opponent and destroying one's own targets, it was a very skillful strategy.
While few, there are some examples of this strategy being used in the past, all of which shared one effect. As strong interference strength is needed, the strategy involves the selection of an appropriate contestant. Therefore while the window of opportunity is small, Mayumi had also firmly studied this tactic.
So what Mayumi was asking concerning this magic was not that in itself.
"But then, how is she able to turn on and off the Systematic Vibration Magic at the end?"
If multiple targets flew together, they would shatter as is.
If a red target was alone however, vibration magic was used to destroy it.
It had been configured as a single magic, so for her to be able to independently trigger the Systematic Vibration Magic to destroy targets was peculiar.
"I wonder if it's been scheduled that multiple targets would fly together before the Vibration Magic has a chance to trigger?"
Mayumi's tone as she reasoned to herself said that not even she believed it.
There's no merit to applying such a time difference.
"Pres, I did say it was 'continuous invocation of Systematic Convergence Magic and Systematic Vibration Magic' didn't I?"
With a sly smile, Suzune corrected Mayumi's misunderstanding. Mayumi immediately understood the meaning of those words. And upon reflection, immediately cried a rebuttal.
"No way! The systems in a specialized CAD should only be able to store one single Activation Sequence!?"
"Your doubts are well founded, except that's not a specialized CAD, but a general one."
Suzune's answer only brought Mayumi still more confusion.
"That's impossible! The hardware, OS and architecture between specialized and general CADs are totally different.
And auxiliary aiming devices are subsystems which only fit within the architecture of a specialized CAD.
Connecting an auxiliary aiming device to the body of a general CAD is technically impossible isn't it?"
Mayumi's stressful speech gradually settled down, but from the blush of her cheeks it was still possible to glimpse her raw excitement.
Suzune's smile, now calm and mature, turned into something to soothe her companion.
"I thought so too. But, I guess it really is possible. This isn't something original to Shiba-kun, but was announced in Germany a year ago."
"......one year ago, isn't that pretty much state of the art?"
"It's best if you're not surprised simply by this much, Pres. He's being real coy about it, but Shiba-kun has something even more cutting edge in store."
"Hahh...... Well, if it's confidential it can't be helped. But for him to tell Rin-chan about it and not me is a bit of a shock."
"The Pres is a contestant. I'm sure he simply didn't want to upset you."
"I guess...... if I had known about a technique like this in advance, I certainly might have become a bit agitated."
As their eyes returned to the monitor, the scores of both players and the remaining time were displayed onscreen.
With the clock ticking down, victory had already been decided.
◊ ◊ ◊
(30 seconds remaining)
Having been repeatedly training these past two weeks, practicing over and over, she was now able to measure exactly the flow of the 5 minutes of the competition.
The moment red clay flew into the blue sphere projected by her goggles, Shizuku triggered her CAD.
The target shattered.
The competition allows the use of the protective goggles to double as a sighting aid. In fact, the number of competitors who don't do so are rare. (The case of players like Mayumi who have their own sights aside.) However, rather than aiming directly at the target, Shizuku's functioned as a HMD (head mount display) in order to distinguish space. Or rather, it should be called Tatsuya's.
As with all the unorthodox techniques Tatsuya had proposed, Shizuku had also been puzzled with this at first. However, possibly because she had no actual competition experience, she fortunately didn't take any time to get used to it. Once she was comfortable, it matched her more perfectly than any other equipment or techniques than she would have believed.
Anyway, it was easy.
There was almost no stress associated with the normal use of magic. Shizuku herself was aware that her weakness was fine control.
That was why she had requested her CAD engineers to add features that assist in the smoothing of detailed settings.
Even at the expense of speed, her aim was to ensure that her CAD would be able to output power at a reliable level.
She was confident her own ability could compensate for the speed of processing.
However Tatsuya's Sequences made detailed settings unnecessary.
Rather than making up for her shortcomings, the concept was to maximize her advantages.
The intent capitalized on her processing power to continuously trigger a Sequence at high speeds, and her capacity to build large Magic Rituals.
The result was the CAD she now held in her hand.
She had been surprised at his being able to connect an auxiliary aiming system to a general type CAD, but she had been even more surprised at the Activation Sequence speed.
In terms of processing speed, general CADs lose out to specialized ones.
This was not so much common sense, but rather a matter of structure.
General and specialized CADs differ both in their hardware and software.
The difference between them, between a dedicated processor and general processor, is similar to the difference between a dedicated supercomputer and a general one.
Comparing CPU performance in terms of speed, a generic type will never be the equal of a specialized type. This difference in level can usually be felt clearly.
And yet — this CAD demonstrated speed no less to that of a specialized CAD.
(5 more seconds)
—A target came flying. —She pulled the trigger. —Magic activated.
—And the target shattered.
This processing speed, even when compared with the specialized CAD used during the preliminaries, showed almost no difference.
Tatsuya had said the trick was because 'it was limited to only two Sequences'.
Since it had been designed exclusively for the competition, he was able to use a trick that would not be viable for daily use.
Shizuku could not understand the detailed theory. She didn't think it necessary.
Magic was a tool.
The CAD was also a tool.
A tool just needs to be usable.
Any more than that, could be left to the experts.
The last two targets weren't shattered by the 'Air Mine', but by Loop Cast Convergence magic.
"Perfect."
Confirming her performance aloud, Shizuku gave a smile of triumph.
◊ ◊ ◊
Noon.
Inside First High School's tent, a jubilant atmosphere filled the air. "That was brilliant, Tatsuya-kun! What an amazing achievement!"
Having been patted and slapped on the back countless times, Tatsuya was growing tired. Just as Mayumi's slender figure suggested there was no actual pain involved, but her persistence was certainly wearying.
"......Pres, please calm down a little."
Making eye contact with Suzune in a plea for assistance, she immediately began to remonstrate with Mayumi.
Quite the dependable senpai — if not for the fact that she had gone along until being asked for help, making her feel rather more like a 'partner in crime'.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Perhaps having too much fun and finally coming to her senses, Mayumi immediately stopped the slapping. ......but it didn't seem like she intended to let him go anytime soon.
"Still, that was truly astounding! We took all first, second and third places!"
"......the winner, runner-up and third place are all contestants, not me."
"Of course Kitayama-san, Akechi-san, and Takigawa-san were also amazing! Everyone did so well!"
At the Student Council President's broad smile, the 1st Year women's Speed Shooting team bowed in unison with a happy 'thank you'.
"But at the same time, your own achievements are no less. They were without a doubt spectacular."
Although without Mayumi's sheer energy, Mari also joined in the praise with a good natured face.
"Uh, thank you very much."
"It's not like this is a contest. As the engineer who significantly contributed to our contestants' monopoly of all the placings, you should have your share of the recognition."
At Mari's words, Shizuku and the others nodded deeply. "I couldn't believe it myself."
"My magic suddenly became so good, it was like an illusion." Unlike Shizuku, the other two added their own comments. Shizuku simply nodded as if everything was a matter of course.
"Especially concerning the magic Kitayama-san used, there has been an approach from the Universities to officially adopt it into the 'Index'."
However, at Suzune's words Mayumi's eyes widened, Mari was lost for words and Shizuku stiffened.
The official name of the Index is the 'National Magic University Compiled・Magic Encyclopedia・Index of True Names'.
For a magic to have its proper name recorded in the encyclopedia the National Magic Universities are creating, in this context, means the magic would not be considered a subset of any existing magic, but officially recognized by the Universities as an entirely new branch of magic.
To researchers engaged in the development of magic in Japan, this was the one single honor they all strove for.
However—
"I see. Then, please submit Kitayama-san as the developer's name."
"What!? No way!"
At Tatsuya's utter lack of interest, Shizuku drew close in a hurry. "That was Tatsuya-san's original magic!"
"......It's normal for the developer name of a new magic to be registered as the name of the first user is it not?"
Distancing himself from Shizuku's pleas, Tatsuya replied with no tension.
"Hm......excessive humility is also unpleasant you know?"
At Mari's chiding, accompanied by a slightly chilling glance, Tatsuya simply shook his head reluctantly.
"It's not humility."
"Then what is it?"
"I just don't want the shame of having my name registered as the developer of a magic I can't even use."
Certainly, if one is known as the developer of a new type of magic, they are often asked for demonstrations.
If one is 'unable to use' a magic they developed themselves, suspicions would arise that maybe the magic was actually developed by others.
Tatsuya's reason was not unjustifiable, but......
"......Just how then did you manage to confirm the operative readiness of a magic you can't use?"
Building up a magic by theory alone is surpassingly non-standard but, even if it were possible, to let another use a magic that was not tested and verified as functional was the work of a mad scientist who ignored all the risks, and it was extremely immoral.
"It's not like I can't use it at all. It's just that it would take me far too much time to set up, to the point it's not really at the level you could say I can truly 'use' it."
"Well well, Mari, Tatsuya-kun, let's not quarrel over such a thing now."
Seeing Mari preparing more ammunition to throw at Tatsuya's comeback, Mayumi intervened between the two.
"We're finally back to a good start. Tatsuya-kun, please help the other competitors just as much."
As Mayumi tapped his shoulder with a smile, Tatsuya gave a modest bow.
The performance of First High School’s women's Speed Shooting team had created a stir in the other schools.
There was an enthusiastic feeling of 'we can win this year' throughout the Nine Schools Tournament, especially Third High School, who thought of the accident in the women's Battle Board 'we feel bad for them, but this is a chance!' — While such thoughts may seem excessive, they were shared amongst the others.
"So Masaki, First High's performance, you don't think it was due to the personal skill of those girls themselves?"
Of the twenty people gathered — all the 1st Years of the Third High School Newcomer’s Battle contestants —
"It has to be said, the magical power of the winner, that Kitayama girl, is astounding. I'm sure she would have won either way. But the other two, I don't feel were anything special. If the results had been decided by magical power alone, I'm sure they wouldn't have gone so far as to claim second and third place as well."
"Not to mention that the advantage in Battle Board lies with us this year, seeing how I think First High only has one 1st Year in it with a particularly high level."
The results of the Battle Board so far had seen the two guys from Third High School both qualify, and of the two girls they sent forth one had qualified. By contrast only one of the men from the three First High School sent qualified, and the one girl they sent qualified too.
"It's as Jouji says. We don't lose out in terms of the quality of our contestants. If that's so, there must be some other factor."
"Ichijou-kun, Kichijouji-kun......what do you think it is?"
At the question from the girl who had lost to First High in the semifinals of the Speed Shooting, both Ichijou and Kichijouji made eye contact, confirming their suspicions.
"It's probably, their engineer." Kichijouji responded out loud.
"The engineer for their women's Speed Shooting team is probably quite the ace."
"I concur. Jouji, the device that winner girl used...... did you notice?"
"Yeah...... that was a general purpose wasn't it."
Kichijouji's answer, aside from the two of them, made a considerable impact on the other Third High 1st Years.
"No way......I mean, it had auxiliary sights attached right?"
"That's right! I've never heard of a general purpose device shaped like a rifle either!"
"That's true. Whichever maker's catalogue you look through, you'd never find anything like that would you?"
At the objections being raised, Ichijou remained somber.
"......certainly, something like that has never commercially appeared.
However, examples of general devices with integrated sighting aids do indeed exist."
"You gotta be kidding......"
At Ichijou's words, stunned voices floated through the air.
In fact a strong air of disbelief permeated throughout, until Kichijouji came out with his own support.
"It's new technology, only just announced in Dusseldorf last summer."
"Just last summer!? That's freakin' state of the art!"
"Yeah, I didn't know either until I looked into it for this thing."
"Not even Ichijou knew, there's no way we would......"
An uncomfortable silence followed. Surprise, anxiety, doubt......and awe.
"......Kichijouji-kun sure knows a lot though. As expected of our brain."
The words of that female competitor were intended to loosen up the heavy atmosphere.
But Kichijouji remained unmoved.
"Sure......but, the prototype unveiled in Dusseldorf was not meant to be a practical model. The operation was sluggish, accuracy was low
— from a technical standpoint it was simply an experiment that had been cast aside."
Kichijouji knotted his brow as he replied, his voice bitter.
"The device the winner First High's Kitayama-san used however fully combined the strengths of the speed and accuracy of a specialized type with the versatility of a general type. If that was all the work of one engineer......that's not the level of a high school student anymore. It's almost monstrous."
"Masaki, for you to describe someone that far......"
"It's physically impossible for a single engineer to be responsible for every competitor though......"
"Competitions that guy is responsible for in the future are likely to be beastly. It's very likely our devices will be handicapped by at least two or three generations."
At Kichijouji's ominous speculation, silence reigned amongst the gathered teammates.
◊ ◊ ◊
Tatsuya, who was at this moment receiving such unjust treatment from the athletes in their rival schools without any knowledge (obviously) after finishing a late lunch proceeded to the girls' Battle Board course.
Planned for the afternoon were the fourth to sixth races.
Honoka would appear in the sixth. If he only needed to keep his appointment with her, there should be no need to come so early.
"Ah, Shiba-kun, what's the matter?"
At the sight of him accompanied by Miyuki and Shizuku, Azusa tilted her head. Her posture was so similar to a squirrel holding a nut that despite his melancholic mood, he couldn't help but twitch a smile.
At his careless chuckle he consciously tried to tighten his lips, but there wasn't enough tension. In resignation, he relaxed.
"......You were making fun of me just now weren't you?"
"Not at all. I was just impressed by Nakajou-senpai's diligence."
"......You really are making fun of me aren't you?"
Being glared at with those half-lidded eyes so much like a child sulking forced Tatsuya to look away to hold back his laughter.
"......It's fine, I don't care."
Azusa kept glaring at him for a while, then with a sigh, muttered to herself.
This was probably something she went through every day. Somehow, her figure also exuded an air of melancholy. Leaving her like that would make one feel terrible.
"—I really wasn't making fun of you."
"......Really?"
"Really."
"Really really?"
"Really."
Being looked at with suspicion — due to the height difference, straight up — by Azusa, Tatsuya showed a strong front.
Seeing that proud bearing, Azusa finally seemed to relent (was she fooled?) and smiled.
"Alright. Because I believe in Tatsuya-kun."
Saying so as she laughed at him, she drifted over to his side. Tatsuya knew without even looking.
The image of Miyuki's eyebrows rising floated into his mind. (Ooh boy......)
It seemed his sister would be in a pretty bad mood tonight as well, he sighed to himself — although he couldn't resent her for it, it did pain him a little inside.
—That aside.
"So, what's the matter? There's still two more hours before Mitsui- san's match."
"I felt rather uncomfortable outside, so I came here for some shelter."
As Azusa tilted her head again, next to Tatsuya, Miyuki laughed. "......Onii-sama is too concerned."
At those questioning eyes, Miyuki's tone suggested 'it can't be helped'.
"They've become very motivated, so I'm sure the end result will be just fine."
On his other side, Shizuku reassured him.
"Ah, ahhh, is that what it is......"
Guessing the circumstances immediately, Azusa was pretty sharp too.
The monopoly of Shizuku and the others had been the subject of praise even throughout lunch.
Not just the executives, but the seniors who had the day off and had been watching that day went to compliment the three, yet the number of people who also went to mention Tatsuya's achievements were not inconsiderable.
At that, the men's Speed Shooting team had begun burning with an extraordinary rivalry.
That in itself, as Shizuku said, was not undesirable.
If they become fired up and increase their desire for victory, as long as they aren’t idle, it works as a plus.
But being stared at with eyes that seemed to burn with vengeance for their dead father, made you want to tell them to get a life.
Of course, to say such a thing out loud would lead to a fight. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had come to the competition venue as early as possible.
The location of the Nine Schools Tournament was the southeast area of the Fuji Armed Forces Training Grounds. While it's called an area, the Fuji training grounds were huge to begin with, and simply moving between venues would end up being a considerable hike. Without that much land, it would be impossible to prepare for areas such as the Battle Board course and the Monolith Code battlefield.
The Battle Board course was a winding flume circuit of approximately three kilometers.
With two sets for the two genders, as well as the spectator stands meant that quite a bit of land was needed just to make this course.
When considering moving around the venue, the Battle Board course had been constructed right at the edge of the area provided for the Nine Schools Tournament in order to avoid having to bypass that large course on the way to other venues, and it can safely be said that there were no competitors from other events around such as those participating in the concurrent men's Speed Shooting.
"I could also have gone back to the dorm, but I decided since I'll be coming here anyway I might as well see if there's anything I could help with."
"Really!?"
It wasn't just Azusa who raised a cry.
Perhaps overhearing from somewhere, Honoka suddenly came flying out from the competitor's area.
"Then please, by all means! Have a look at my CAD!"
Recently, under the influence of Tatsuya, Honoka had also began calling her device not 'Assistance' but 'CAD'. At Honoka's momentous leap Tatsuya had almost laughed out loud again. Tightening his face against the impulse, he scolded Honoka.
"Hey, come on Honoka. That way of speaking is kinda rude to Nakajou-senpai you know?"
Honoka's attitude, and her words just now, couldn't help but be taken as some level of dissatisfaction at Azusa's work.
"Eh, ah, I'm very sorry!"
Honoka lowered her head in a hurry.
"Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean it in that way." Azusa shook her head with a dry smile.
Her tone was almost sisterly.
Resisting his urge to laugh this time was a difficult task.
The average time for a Battle Board round was about 15 minutes.
However, the loading and unloading of the boards as well as the inspection of the waterway, as well as the repair of areas damaged by magic meant more time was needed to prepare for each race.
Allowing for that, as well as extra time to give leeway, meant the competition schedule for Battle Board had been organized into blocks of one hour.
The final race would begin at 3:30 in the afternoon. Already, players were moving to the starting positions. The too long wait time was not good for tense nerves, and there were many instances of competitors ending up being unable to utilize their full strength (every year, such examples would occur for both genders in both the 'real' finals and the Newcomers division), but possibly because of the chatter Honoka had shared with Miyuki and Shizuku before the match, she seemed in great condition as she stood poised upon her board.
The sight of Honoka constantly sticking to Tatsuya had gradually stirred up Miyuki's mood, but instead of separating them she had gone along and entered into their chat, the result of which seemed to have been a positive diversion for Honoka.
The heavy swim shoes and thick wet suit that covered the wrists and ankles were meant to protect the competitor's body from the friction of impacts and falling. But the pressurized uniform stuck fast to the wearer, and sharply emphasized the curves of the body even more (?) than usual.
Over the thigh, in large letters, was the logo 'ICHIKO'. With her stimulating proportions unbefitting a 1st Year highlighted by her colorful wet suit, Honoka crouched with one knee upon the board awaiting the start.
The CAD over her forearm was thinner and wider than usual, increasing its area and allowing for larger buttons. As he had said earlier, Tatsuya did not tamper with Honoka's CAD.
After looking over the system, he found nothing which absolutely needed work.
Being asked for advice by both Honoka and Azusa, he had just one thing to offer.
The dark goggles that Honoka now wore had been brought by him.
To be sure, the midsummer sunshine was inclining in from the west to the extent that facing that way directly would be uncomfortably dazzling.
Due to water splashing on the glass and blocking their view, however, few competitors opted to use goggles or sunglasses.
Azusa had felt that narrowing the field of view would only be a disadvantage, but Honoka had taken the goggles without hesitation.
"......come to think of it, why has Mitsui-san prepared so many optical
Activation Sequences?"
It's rare for an engineer to issue Activation Sequences.
With the exception of Tatsuya, who plans out the Activation Sequence lineup himself, normally engineers install Sequences based on the wish of the competitors.
Azusa had known too that Honoka was adept with illusionary magic of the light wave system from her profile, but due to the nature of the competition, Azusa had honestly believed there was no place for illusionary magic.
"The rules of Battle Board state that interfering with other players via magic is prohibited. However, interfering with the water and thus indirectly interfering with other players is not."
"......what does that mean?"
Despite being asked repeatedly by Azusa, Tatsuya had only returned an evil smile.
The signal for the start of the sixth qualifying race of the Newcomer’s women's Battle Board came on.
Immediately after.
The audience in near unison turned away from the waterway. As if lit up by a flash, the water surface poured out light.
One competitor fell overboard.
The others had their balance disrupted whilst in the midst of accelerating, and one lone figure dashed to the front.
As if expecting the situation — although it has to be said that she was the one who created the situation — wearing dark goggles, that lone figure was Honoka. "Alright."
Looking up at Tatsuya, who gave a voice of affirmation, Azusa's face was full of amazement.
"......Was this Onii-sama's strategy?"
Miyuki's voice as she removed her sunglasses was also filled with wonder. (By the way the sunglasses the three of them wore had been issued beforehand. Miyuki and the others had been mystified as to their purpose, but put them on anyway.)
"To be sure, it's not prohibited by the rules but......"
Shizuku's voice had a hint of reproach in it.
One couldn't help feeling that this was rather against the spirit of fair play.
However the yellow flag which would indicate any significant unfair play remained unwaved, and the match continued. The red flag that signaled a player's disqualification for rules violations likewise remained unused.
It meant that the tournament committee deemed Honoka's magic, and Tatsuya's strategy, a legal move.
"......Performing optical magic on the water's surface, I didn't expect that at all."
Her personality straightforward at all times, Azusa muttered in admiration.
"Interfering with the water surface, whether to generate waves or vortexes, affects the consciousness and orientation of other competitors yet it is allowed since it complies with the rule that 'you may affect another competitor via magically targeting the water surface'. Doing something like freezing the water solid or boiling it would certainly be too dangerous, but I did find it strange that no one until now had used it to cause dizziness."
If one is suddenly blinded without any warning, it takes a while to restore vision.
Meandering slowly along the course, unable to sprint due to their obscured vision, the difference between Honoka and the other players was already decisive.
◊ ◊ ◊
"......It's in the bag."
"......Who thought of this strategy?"
Mayumi who was watching through the monitor did not experience any discomfort as the monitor automatically adjusted the amount of light displayed, yet now while she was calmly assessing the originality of that tactic she remembered her initial surprise (although calm surprise is a bit of an oxymoron).
Following behind Mari's mutter and Mayumi's question, Suzune answered.
"It was Shiba-kun."
"Eh, but I thought Tatsuya-kun wasn't involved in this match?" Hearing that answer, Mayumi tilted her head as if going 'huh?' Suzune's reply was possibly a bit too polite.
"The one who submitted the plan in the first place was Mitsui-san. But the one who decided the Activation Sequence lineup and brushed up the finer details of the strategy was Shiba-kun, or so I'm told."
Suzune's deliberate mention of him 'deciding the Activation Sequence lineup' was because of the perception that doing so was the exception, not the rule.
"......it really is one thing after another with him, isn't it."
A touch of reproach could be heard in Mari's voice. "What's the matter? You seem somewhat dissatisfied." Mari didn't answer Mayumi's question.
However, her silence itself spoke volumes on what was on her mind, "......Planning is very important. As the masters say."
From what Mayumi could tell, Mari was cranky at being shown a tactic she hadn't thought of. For Mari who prided herself on being a strategist, it decidedly wasn't very fun.
"It's a tactic no one has thought of for nine years, so this is the point where you should be nice and impressed."
".....I am impressed. That's why I'm so annoyed."
Being cut into by Suzune, reluctantly, Mari admitted her jealousy.
Mari was magnanimous enough to accept it, so Suzune let her off for now.
"Still, this is a one-off strategy isn't it? I wonder what he'll do for the finals?"
Mari didn't come up with a follow through, so Mayumi responded instead.
"No worries. There's no way that man hasn't thought that far ahead."
"That’s true. This is also just a strategic move for the next match." Seems like it was a needless anxiety.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Yeah...... seems like I've done something bad to Honoka."
Watching Honoka take the lead from her earlier move, and maintain it all the way until the finish, Tatsuya muttered in a bitter voice. Next to him, Miyuki looked up at her brother's clouded face.
"......What's the matter?"
Their appearance was noticed by others, and Azusa spoke up to Tatsuya.
"Ah, nothing......"
His answer was evasive, or in other words an excuse. Still, he didn't become silent.
"She could have won this race easily based on her speed alone...... there was no need for the confusion."
"Well...... even so, she did take the lead thanks to her initial dazzle, so couldn't you still call it a successful strategy?"
Azusa, not knowing the nature of Tatsuya's regret, tilted her head. "When you stand out so much, it's going to mean you'll be marked by the other contestants......"
"The semis are a race between three people...... it's a possibility that in the next match, the other two will pair up."
Miyuki complemented Tatsuya's words.
Finally, Azusa understood what they were worried about. "Oh, is that what it was."
And laughed at their concerns.
"Something like that......
I'm pretty sure it'd be a disadvantage right?"
At Miyuki's countering hesitance, Azusa merely shook her head happily.
"That won't happen, since we've been marked from the start."
"Haahh......"
She had said it so cheerfully that for a moment Tatsuya wondered if she was actually proud of that.
—Well, just for a moment.
However insensitive he was, he wasn't so far gone as to not realize she was just comforting them.
◊ ◊ ◊
"I won! I won, Tatsuya-san!"
As soon as she rose from the waterway, Honoka immediately hurried over to where Tatsuya and the others were without even changing from her wetsuit, hopping all the way.
"Ah, yeah. We saw. Well done."
Aware of the other staff who had come down to greet their teammates, Tatsuya hastily put both hands out in front of him while congratulating her in an attempt to calm her down.
But it had the opposite effect. "Thank you so much!"
Perhaps misunderstanding, Honoka clasped the hands Tatsuya held out and stared up at his face, tears of joy threatening to spill out from her eyes. Even Miyuki didn't expect her to show her emotions so straightforwardly.
While Tatsuya stood frozen from a lack of experience with such things, Honoka really did start to cry.
"Whenever it comes to competitions, I become so weak......I hardly ever win competitions in athletic meets or tournaments like these."
It was the first time he heard of this. If that were true, then maybe using the strategy in the Newcomer's division wasn't such a miscalculation after all.
But as Tatsuya stood helplessly looking left and right, behind Honoka the figure of Shizuku waving her hands flew into view.
From her appearance, it seemed she was saying 'that's not the case, not at all.'
With his hands still firmly grasped by Honoka, and establishing line of sight with Shizuku, she began to mouth words to him. Her lip movements read 'she's・talking・about・during・primary・school'.
(A story from their primary school days, huh......
)
Tatsuya sighed whilst looking towards heaven.
She probably didn't intend to lie or anything...... but her conviction was just a little too intense.
Despite the icicle glare Miyuki directed at him (that is to say icy cold, and very sharp), he still required some time to regain his composure.
◊ ◊ ◊
Both in athletics and on the board, if one does not have the will then victory will be uncertain.
It's the same with magic competitions.
Looking at the success of one's teammates and thinking 'now it's my turn' is a system which raises the willpower of the team, and is like a magic bullet which boosts morale.
'Willpower' is linked with 'fighting spirit', but 'fighting spirit' also easily links to 'futility'.
Before the girls' eyes, such an event was occurring.
"Morisaki-kun was the runner-up, but......"
Mayumi's words were wrapped in disappointment.
"The other two missed the cut huh......"
Mari's words continued the disappointed trend.
At the close of the first day of the Newcomer's Division, in the meeting room, the 3rd Year executives stood before the results of the men's Speed Shooting rankings and let out a collective sigh.
"The results of the men's and women's are reversed......"
"I wouldn't say that. Third High took first and fourth place, so the girls still give us a positive balance.
You're being just a little too pessimistic."
Suzune's sober analysis countered Mayumi's gloomy remarks. It was all in an effort to dispel the stagnant mood.
"......Right. As Ichihara said, it's not good to be too negative. In the first place, the results of those girls are far more than we could have expected. We must be positive about the lead they have given us today.
"But the slump with the guys isn't just in 'quickdraw'. In 'surfing' as well, only one guy qualified compared to two girls."
At Mari's remarks, in a tone as if reminding herself, Katsuto agreed with a grim look. (By the way 'quickdraw' is a nickname for Speed Shooting, as 'surfing' is for Battle Board.)
"If their poor performance continues like this, even if we do well this year it's possible we'll be disadvantaged in the years to come."
"That losing would become a habit?"
"It is a possibility."
At Katsuto's point, both Mari and Mayumi bitterly fell silent.
Being leaders of a Magic High School, especially the executives of First High who prided themselves upon victory, they were unable to live with the easy thought 'we did good enough this year'.
"The mens' side may require some support."
"Still Juumonji, even if you say support what can we do at this late hour?"
Mari's rebuttal to Katsuto's murmur was bitter. It was certainly a 'late hour'.
The Newcomer's Division had already begun. It wasn't possible to change the staff or competitors anymore.
Even when she glanced at him, Katsuto had no reply.
That atmosphere however, rather than being at a loss, gave the impression not of mere silence but that a plan was forming.
◊ ◊ ◊
At last tomorrow, or rather 'today' already, was Miyuki's turn.
There had been no move from the organized crime related sabotage warned of by Kazama since the incident involving Mari, but Tatsuya couldn't put it out of his mind.
If his hypotheses were correct, the 'enemy' had tampered with the CADs just prior to the competition. It was a low possibility for more sabotage to be carried out overnight, but it never hurt to double check.
For the enemy's actions to be immediately undetectable by him, they held very high skill.
Finishing the final adjustments, he systematically tightly locked the CAD, then further added a triple lock before finally stopping work.
There isn't a trace of any other person.
Not just humans, but no other life signs could be detected at all. In regards to the enemy, it would be expected that security here is much higher.
Kazama and his subordinates, the elites of the Independent Magic- Equipped Battalion were secretly helping behind the scenes, so even if there was an attempt, a direct attack was unlikely to succeed.
Without wandering around unnecessarily, he proceeded through the entrance of the hotel (of course, requiring bio-metric identification), and went straight to his room.
Before he entered, he noticed at the door.
His only roommates were non-breathing machines.
At this time of night, when he was confident the minute hand of the clock should be announcing a date change any time now, there shouldn't be any sign of life aside from him in the hallway — but he turned the key and walked inside regardless.
"Hey now, just what time do you think it is?"
Unlike usual, his slightly stern voice seized the initiative.
Unlike usual, his posture suggested this wasn't something that could be let off with a smile.
Unlike usual, the one on the receiving end of all this must have realized that as well.
Her shoulders trembling, Miyuki hastily got up off the bed she had been sitting on, and fearfully looked up at her brother.
"A lack of sleep will reduce your ability to concentrate. Even if it's you, where careless mistakes may not necessarily lead to defeat, that won't always be the case."
"I'm very sorry!"
Being scolded by Tatsuya in earnest, Miyuki bowed deeply in a voice verging on tears. Hearing his sister like this, seeing her like this, Tatsuya was simply unable to keep up his tough stance for any longer.
"......It's good you understand. Now come on, let's go back to your room. I'll escort you there."
Perhaps his voice was a little too forceful, as when Miyuki timidly looked up, she refused to look at her brother's face.
"Miyuki?"
"......Onii-sama, for a bit, just a bit, could I have a little of your time?"
"......Just a little."
A competition in obstinacy would be a waste of time.
Tatsuya knew from prior experience that his sister was rather passively aggressive in this way.
"I heard from Shizuku. Onii-sama, you turned down the honor of having your name added to the 'Index'."
"Not formally at least."
"Rather than formally or anything, you were prohibited weren't you?"
"Yeah."
At Tatsuya's brief affirmation, Miyuki, as if struggling with something, stood whilst biting her lip a while.
"......Was that, upon the orders of our Aunt?"
"Yeah."
Another brief affirmation.
Miyuki, once again teary eyed, looked down.
"The investigative powers of the Magic Universities are very high. The gossip sites masquerading as news sites of normal media organizations can't even begin to come close. They're almost comparable to military or intelligence agencies.
Developers of new magic in addition to being given access to the resources of the Universities are also granted various privileges, but their identity is also examined in detail. It's in order to root out national spies and terrorists. It's an investigation on a totally different level to high school admission. It's not unlikely they'll discover not only my identity as 'Silver', but 'Shiba Tatsuya's' identity as a Yotsuba which the Yotsuba themselves have been blocking so carefully."
Faced with his sister's tears, Tatsuya explained in a slightly cool voice.
It was not only because he had to be uncompromising in the face of her tears, but because he had to convince himself.
"......"
For a while, her head bowed, Miyuki said nothing. Tatsuya felt relief at not hearing her sob anymore.
"To be sure, just entering the Nine Schools Competition carried some risk of my identity coming under scrutiny. However, leaving my name in the Magic Encyclopedia is far different from being in a high school competition. The 'Guardian' of the Yotsuba exists as a shadow. Do you think for such an outcast to be in the limelight would be acceptable to our Aunt?"
Miyuki kept silent. She didn't even mouth any words of comfort. That was her answer to his question.
"For now, I still don't have enough power. In a head on situation, there is a possibility I could defeat the 'Queen of Night' Yotsuba Maya. My 'Decomposition' has good compatibility as a counter to her 'Night' after all.
But the me as of now, even if I could beat our Aunt, I can't do anything about the Yotsuba. Force of arms alone, the threat of violence alone is not enough. If I displace our Aunt, another worse manipulator would simply show up in her place. At this moment, I can only follow."
Those words weren't so much to convince his sister, as for himself. As he tried to satisfy himself that way,
Miyuki, moving from the front, embraced him.
Her face shining with tears buried itself into his chest.
Such an appearance might be better described as 'clinging', yet that was somehow inappropriate.
"......I'm on your side."
"Miyuki......"
"I will always no matter what, come what may, be on your side.
That time will definitely come. Without a doubt, it will come. Until then, and forever after, I will always be on Onii-sama's side."
"......"
The hands of the clock accused them of far exceeding the realms of 'just a little'.
But let's go along with her 'just a little more'......
Tatsuya thought as he gently wrapped his arms around Miyuki's back.
It's the fourth day of the tournament.
There's a break before the finals, five days from now, and the fight between the 1st Years in the Newcomer's Battle will take place in the meanwhile.
So far the results stand with First High being at number one with 320 points, Third High being at number two with 225 points, and the positions of third place and below being a wild free-for-all between the other schools. The difference between first and second place is a massive 95 points. However, the battle is such that even that point difference could potentially be reversed if Third High is able to win the Newcomer's Battle by a large margin, which for them is not impossible. Conversely, even if First High doesn't manage to win, yet they avoid a huge difference in points, final victory would still be theirs.
The aim for every school is overall victory, but in this case, as only half the points gained from the Newcomer's Battle will be added to the overall ranking, to the competing 1st Years what they are fighting for in the Newcomer's Battle is their own glory. The spirit in these matches is in no way inferior to the finals themselves.
The order is the same as the finals.
Today's events are Speed Shooting (Qualifier, Finals) and Battle Board (Qualifier).
They differ from the finals in that the schedule for Speed Shooting includes the women's event in the morning and men's in the afternoon, with everything being finished in one stretch (the reason being that the Speed Shooting finals is carried out straight after the opening ceremony, and there's no way to finish everything by the morning.)
Not just Speed Shooting, but CAD adjustment cannot be carried out in the middle of any event, so the major work of fine tuning whilst listening to the contestants' specifications is done by the engineers in between matches.
That's why engineers are basically always around the players they're responsible for during the match. In order to ensure as much as possible that contestants from the same school in the same competition are not competing at the same time, the Convention Committee have made numerous adjustments to the timetable.
However, in events like Crowd Ball where many matches would occur in a day, overlaps can't be helped, and engineers would often be paired as a duo of main and sub.
This can occur even in the same competition, and one engineer cannot be responsible for another match occurring at the same time.
Even if that match ostensibly occurs at an unrelated time.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Honoka is in the last race huh......"
"Yes! It's in the afternoon, so it doesn't clash with the women's Speed Shooting!"
Honoka, grinning earnestly while subtly emitting an overbearing pressure, made Tatsuya relive the heat of being popular.
Tatsuya was responsible for the women's Speed Shooting, women's Icicle Destruction, and Mirage Bat.
He didn’t get himself assigned to that host of women's events because he was a womanizer, but because there was a strong backlash against him from the men's 1st Year division.
Not only that, but he was in high demand amongst some of the women's 1st Year contingent.
For example Miyuki, Honoka, Miyuki and Honoka, Miyuki and......in other words, those two had appealed rather earnestly. But here lay a problem.
Miyuki's sheer magic power was most suited for the competition Icicle Destruction.
Both her classmates and the council knew full well her proficiency in slowing down vibrations. When all is said and done, cooling magic is pretty much second nature to her.
Miyuki's participation in Icicle Destruction was decided, as well as in Mirage Bat as the star athlete and ace of the women's team — the problem was what Honoka would participate in.
In terms of First High’s practical results, in first place was Shiba Miyuki, second was Kitayama Shizuku, third was Morisaki Shun, and fourth was Mitsui Honoka. Therefore amongst the 1st Year female students Honoka ranked right alongside both Miyuki and Shizuku in practical excellence, but in truth her skills were not particularly suited for a sporting magic competition.
Her specialization in magical illusions involving manipulating light was impressive, but Shizuku's ability in high output vibration and acceleration was more suitable for Icicle Destruction.
It was a given from the start that Tatsuya would be responsible for Miyuki. Not even the seniors were foolish enough to try and challenge that.
So in order to be looked after by Tatsuya, it's most reliable to get into the same competitions as Miyuki, but for the number one, number two and number three top players to appear in the same competition is not a very sound strategy. ......or rather, it's impossible.
Therefore it would fall to a competition which does not overlap, but unfortunately, Shizuku was also more suited for Speed Shooting. The competition had initially called for contestants to enter in their field of expertise, so you could say she had little hope of being considered from the start.
Following that train of thought, it was decided that Honoka would compete in Battle Board and Mirage Bat. (The organizers had at first floated the idea of Battle Board and Crowd Ball, but due to her own wishes and the vocal support of her friends, she was able to get into one event with Miyuki.) ......In a situation like this, with her line "the events won't clash", just what is Honoka really trying to say, Tatsuya wondered.
But even if the time was compatible, from a team perspective, changing the engineer responsible at this late stage was impossible.
And even if today was alright, on the sixth day — the third day in terms of the Newcomer's Battle — no one could guarantee that there wouldn’t be an overlap between Icicle Destruction and Battle Board.
Honoka too should have been well aware of that, but......
It seemed that Miyuki was not about to come to his rescue today. Faced with Honoka on one side and his sister on the other, each with a different motive, Tatsuya sighed and came out with a bifurcated response.
"......I'd like to maintain your CAD in truth, but that's not possible, so
I'll watch your race at the least."
"Really? It's a promise!"
Someone gave a small ominous laugh. Tatsuya knew more than well whose voice that was, but his consciousness chose to pretend he didn't.
From an outsider's perspective, maybe he really was a 'womanizer'...... probably.
◊ ◊ ◊
Although the parties involved would never think of it as 'trivial', from the perspective of the main story, this was just a side episode.
When the curtains rise, one must be absolutely focused.
With the final checks complete, Tatsuya handed over the dedicated Speed Shooting CAD shaped like an elongated rifle, and confirmed its condition with Shizuku.
The CAD absorbs psions from the magician, which the Psion Information Aide transmits into the Activation Sequence. If a problem occurs in this process, no matter how well the other parts are serviced, it's pointless.
If the problem occurs with the hardware it has to be replaced with a spare device, and if the problem lies in the software it has to be reworked on the fly.
"Nn...... perfect. It feels better than my own."
As both her face and voice were rather deadpan, after initially being paired with Shizuku, Tatsuya had sometimes been confused as to whether she was serious or not; but now he was pretty much used to it.
Basically, she doesn't lie.
In the worst case, she would simply remain silent. "Tatsuya-san, you won't consider being hired?"
However, in cases like these, he still can't get used to whether she's serious or joking.
"If you're in a position to joke like this right before the match, you'll be just fine."
"It wasn't a joke."
"......"
By the way, what she was saying had the meaning of "formally signing on a contract to perform CAD maintenance".
Shizuku had asked him "won't you be hired" more than 10 times already. Considering her personality, Tatsuya had thought it a long running gag, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
"It won't be an exclusive contract so you don't have to worry."
In order to make references for CAD arrangements, Tatsuya had taken her CAD in hand and adjusted it.
Before that, the one who had maintained Shizuku's CAD was a famous engineer who could be ranked amongst the top five in the country.
Or rather than Shizuku, it would be more accurate to say the Kitayama house.
When Tatsuya had first heard he was not surprised, but then again Shizuku's family were 'extremely rich' after all.
In the first place, the mages of the Kitayama house did not hold the same prestige as the Ten Master Houses or the 100 Families.
Shizuku's mother, a magician, had fallen in love with her millionaire father at first sight, and after much strife they were finally married, at which, the paternal lineage turned up no mages — her young brother having some measure of practical ability but not enough for true magic.
Whether because of those circumstances, in contrast there was Shizuku — her raw magic potential being extraordinary.
Shizuku's addiction to Monolith Code could be said to stem from her father's financial prowess, being able to tour the country seeing magic competitions every year.
"......I think I've said this numerous times, but that would require me to have a license wouldn't it?"
When Tatsuya had not responded Shizuku had presented him with down payment and contract fees which, even considering his position as part of Taurus Silver and the considerable income that came with it, was an unprecedented sum.
If he had been just a normal student, that dazzling amount would have made his eyes water.
But although doing this as part of a school event meant he received no compensation, it would have been different if he took it as a real job with remuneration. It's not illegal to work without a license, but in the eyes of the world, he would be seen as a 'fake'.
"I understand."
As always, Shizuku gave a dutiful nod.
But whether she truly understood was doubtful.
What it was for Shizuku only she herself knew, but for Tatsuya it was a conversation that significantly lowered tension in the moments before the match.
Well, whatever the effect, as long as nothing adverse happened it'd be nice.
They had gone through strategic meetings many times before.
For Shizuku, Tatsuya had devised a CAD and a secret plan to go along with it. (The début of the 'plan' was meant to be in the finals of the tournament, but still.)
"You're up, Shizuku."
"Yeah."
There was only one thing to say in this moment before her time. "Alright, do your best!"
"Yeah, I will!"
It was simple, but that was also a strategy of last resort.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Is this seat available?"
"Ah, Miyuki. It's fine. Go right ahead."
In truth that question had been asked to the sitting girls by various people for a while, but unlike the one asking now all had various ulterior motives (if you don't mind sitting between Leo and Mikihiko!). In this rather menacing way, Erika had scared off countless lying chick cruisers and kept the seat vacant.
The order in which they sat was Mikihiko, Mizuki, Honoka, vacant, Erika, Leo. They had left Miyuki's seat in the middle because if they were not on guard some unknown shady character might approach from either side. At first Erika had been reluctant to sit next to Leo, but at Mizuki's subtle argument that Leo and Honoka were not only in different classes but hardly knew each other, she had been finally persuaded. That incident almost but not quite resembled the nowadays rare event called a catfight.
Before Miyuki had come, the four excluding Honoka had been looking over the schedule of the Newcomer's Battle, and were holding a pamphlet intended for the audience (Honoka was a contestant so she had no need to recheck at this point).
After looking up to greet Miyuki, Mizuki returned to looking at the pamphlet, but not before noticing Honoka's faint expression.
"......Honoka-san, are you prepared?"
"It's fine. My race is in the afternoon."
Honoka answered Mizuki with a slightly forced smile. Miyuki replied to that in an incredulous tone.
"Ho-no-ka. If you're this nervous before the match, you'll be in big trouble later you know?"
"Uu, I know but......"
"You'll be fine, Honoka. Onii-sama said so as well didn't he?"
"Ye, yeah......"
"You came to see this to take your mind off your race didn't you? For now, let's cheer Shizuku on."
"......yeah, you're right."
From her rather exaggerated nod, it was evident she wasn't totally relaxed. That serious-to-a-fault way of thinking was a strong point of her personality, so you could almost say it was unavoidable tension.
"......um, did I say something unnecessary?"
At Mizuki's follow-up, devoid of malice, Honoka simply lowered her face.
◊ ◊ ◊
A bit away from those 1st Years, or rather their boisterous play, the 3rd Year trio Student Council and Public Morals Committee chiefs were gathered.
"Mari, is it alright for you not to sleep?"
"I'm not sick. As long as I don't have to fight I'll be fine. More than that, Mayumi, is it alright for you to be away from your duties?"
"It's fine. It's not like I'm kilometers away, and if anything comes up I can be informed instantly."
Saying so, Mayumi brushed away the hair hanging over her cheek. That act revealed the receiver in her ear for voice communications.
"Still, if it were just Mayumi it would be business as usual, but for Ichihara to be away as well makes me wonder."
"No problem. It seems I've been forced off duty today."
"......your jokes are hard to understand as ever, Ichihara."
At that tongue in cheek answer, Mari was suspicious for a moment if there was any dissatisfaction at that supplanting of their staff role.
Of course, she knew full well that wasn't the case.
Suzune bore overall responsibility for the operations staff (although there are only four people in that capacity), but individual strategic planning followed division of labor. The greatest responsibility was divided, with male staff going over strategies for the men's matches and female staff going over strategies for the women's matches.
Today's competition was the women's Speed Shooting contest, under the charge of Suzune.
—But, this was an event which didn't allow for fine strategies in the first place, being largely dependent on technical ability. It wouldn't be far off the mark to even say brute force. Any staff involvement would merely detail the selection of magic to match the characteristics of the competitor, and the setting of the CAD to suit, but...
...this was a region which overlapped the work of the technical staff.
Furthermore for the 1st Year women's Speed Shooting, the CAD magic selection, settings and all, Tatsuya handled everything from planning to execution.
That being said, Suzune had been aware of the plan and approved it from the start.
She wasn't the type to be put on the back foot by something of this level.
"Now then...... come to think of it, this will be the first time I see something he's engineered used in a combat capacity."
At Mari's words brimming with curiosity, Mayumi also looked over at the arena with interest.
"That's true. During my time, he was a great help. I'm looking forward to seeing how a CAD he's adjusted from the start will perform."
"Starting with Kitayama-san, it seems he's become very popular with the team."
Suzune's words held no exaggeration.
Initially amongst First High's 1st Year women's team, with the exception of Miyuki, Honoka and Shizuku, Tatsuya being in the same year, and furthermore a Course 2 student, seemed to provoke an almost allergic reaction from the other members when it came to giving him their CAD for adjustment.
But after a few practices with the CADs he calibrated, any such negative feelings completely vanished.
Perhaps it'd be more suitable to call that change of heart 'being blown away'.
"It seems that today there are also a few contestants who have brought their own CADs."
At Suzune's words, Mari made a sound of surprise.
"Hey hey...... wouldn't that cause problems in the match?"
"That's just another sign of Shiba-kun's amazing control. It seems he'll service them after the match is over."
Service refers to the adjustment of the CAD.
The contestants using Tatsuya's competition adjusted CADs were even bringing him their personal CADs to adjust. Furthermore, rather than just one or two, it was more like the entire female 1st Year team.
"His fans seem to be steadily increasing."
"The good natures of people come out in the strangest of places." Both Mayumi and Mari, exchanging a glance, shared a small chuckle.
◊ ◊ ◊
If Tatsuya himself had been faced with Mayumi's remark 'his fans are increasing', he would have vehemently denied it.
In fact, during social events, he went out of his way to avoid women (or so he felt).
Needless to say however, he didn't possess any such 'divine ears'.
His attention was focused solely on the shooting range Shizuku now stood at.
He did not possess 'eyes' like Mizuki.
He did however have the power to analyze data structures.
The data structures he had himself written and programmed into the CAD were all in his head.
If she put her hands even slightly together, while he could not perceive the 'hand' he could predict the 'result'.
Shizuku took her stance.
The lights on the start ramp began to light up. (It seems this time it’s alright.)
There was no evidence of the tampering which had caused problems such as in Mari's case, Tatsuya thought, yet he didn't divert his 'eye'.
◊ ◊ ◊
The moment all the lights came on, a clay target flew into the air. And the moment it entered the scoring area, it was blown apart. The next target was shattered in the middle of the area.
Next, two were simultaneously destroyed at either end.
A sigh rose from the audience. If one looked closely, Miyuki and the others were also sighing in relief at this brilliantly smooth start, letting out the breath they had been holding.
Shizuku's eyes didn't deviate for a second.
She simply gazed straight ahead, almost as if not looking at the targets.
"Uwah, amazing!"
In contrast to Erika's simple admiration,
"......is the Magic Activation Zone set for the entire area?"
Mizuki asked Miyuki and Honoka rather doubtfully.
"That's correct. Shizuku is able to tag all solids that enter the area with magic vibratory waves, destroying the target. By generating compression waves inside the target, it undergoes repeated partial expansion and contraction. If this rapid heating and cooling is repeated, it's only logical that even solid rock would weaken and collapse."
"To be precise, she sets numerous epicenters within the scoring area, which generate the virtual waves that give rise to the vibratory waves within the targets. Rather than directly applying the waves to the targets with magic, she has set up an area which causes the phenomena of applying such waves to the targets. The moment the waves from the epicenter come into contact with such a target, the virtual waves become real waves within the target and affect it in reality."
As Honoka and Miyuki carried out their polite commentary whilst their eyes remained fixed on the shooting range, Mizuki simply nodded.
◊ ◊ ◊
"......is the mechanism involved."
Whether by chance or necessity, the 3rd Year trio was also having the same conversation at the same time.
"As you know, the effective scoring area in Speed Shooting is a cube of 15 meter proportions set in the air. Shiba-kun's Activation Sequence sets another cube within this which is 10 meters on each side, with the vertices and the center, nine points in total, being designated as epicenters."
The one who had first made that explanation was Tatsuya. Suzune had been shown the plan.
"Each point is labeled with a number, and when that number is entered into the live Activation Sequence, virtual waves spread from that point.
The reach of the waves is six meters. In other words the moment the magic is activated, all targets within a six meter radius from the epicenter will be destroyed."
"...... it rather feels like it's using unnecessary force...... is Kitayama alright with those settings?"
"Although it has to be said that Kitayama-san is better known for her power than her precision......"
At Mari's pause, Suzune was wearing her typical cool poker face. But within her eyes, the shadow of a sympathetic laugh could be found.
"The aim of this magic is not to compensate for accuracy, but rather to increase speed at the expense of accuracy."
"......In other words, you're implying that a more pinpoint aiming solution is possible right? Please elaborate?"
"The feature of this magic is that it is coordinated by numbers."
Returning her gaze to the 1st Year before them, Suzune began her explanation to Mayumi's question. Her fluent reply was probably because she had gotten an answer after earlier asking the exact same thing.
"In Speed Shooting, the position of the contestants and the distance, direction and size of the scoring area is always the same. In other words the focal points necessary in this magic to set the virtual cube in relation to the distance, and viewing angle of the player, are constants.
Therefore there is no need to enter variable coordinates separately each time, but instead you can simply input into the Activation Sequence the number you desire and instantly invoke the magic. For this rough degree of aim, using the auxiliary aiming systems built into the CAD, it's possible for the optimal point to be automatically picked out.
Furthermore, this magic doesn't require changes in duration or power either. There isn't any need. In truth, they're treated as constants by the Activation Sequence. The contestant, just by selecting a point with the aid of the CAD without needing to think of any other variables, can simply pull the virtual trigger and end up destroying the target."
The shoot was approaching the end. Not a single target had been missed.
"Since there's no need to physically interface with the controls, merely invoking the magic will fully realize the potential of effect. I do believe the continuous Activation utilizes Multicast as well." The shoot drew to a close.
Final result, perfect.
"The proper name of the magic is 'Active Air Mine'. It seems to be a Shiba-kun original. Well, all the numerous elements jammed in make the final Activation Sequence quite a beast, but Kitayama-san's formidable magic power makes up for it."
"......it's pretty much the exact opposite of Mayumi's magic isn't it?"
"......coming up with a sequence like this is quite something."
Mayumi's voice held not so much admiration as outright amazement.
"Still...... it's rather intriguing."
On the other hand, Mari's voice was filled with interest.
"In battle the relative position between you and your opponents will by no means remain the same, so from the view of marksman magic it's not quite combat worthy, but...... if instead of setting the cube in the air, you center it as a sphere around yourself, wouldn't it serve very admirably in all directions as an active shield?"
"The problem is activation duration. If you set it too short the timing will be difficult, but too long and you risk yourself being caught in the area of effect."
Despite these issues presented by Mayumi, Mari's enthusiasm didn't dampen in the slightest.
"That will be up to the operator's skill. As you said, if you're able to gauge the timing you can set the duration to be short no problem.
......alright, immediately after this I'm going to nab him and install it by tonight."
"......try not to cause any problems for the competitors."
Mayumi's voice as she responded was now 100% amazement.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Good work."
As Shizuku returned from the shooting range, Tatsuya offered up words of praise along with a towel. The engineer isn't the manager so there's no need for him to have a towel handy, but he wasn't one to fall for such petty pride.
"It was somewhat anticlimactic."
She wasn't blustering in any way — it seemed she really felt so.
Whilst wiping the sweat from her brow, Shizuku had a slightly dissatisfied look.
Still at the same time, her joy was plain to see (it wasn't like she was trying to hide it or anything anyway.)
The qualifying score needed for the Newcomer's Battle was yearly around 80%.
Because it was impossible to score any higher than what she had gotten, regardless of the borderline she would obviously advance to the finals.
"I don't think anything went through the blind spots, as expected; they didn't try such obstinate unsporting things."
The magic Shizuku had used did not cover the entire scoring area. The area around the outer edges could be considered blind spots.
However, as seen from the performance of the machine launching the clay targets, there were no last minute changes to the trajectory of the targets. If a target had not passed right through the scoring area, the entire shoot would have to be redone out of issues of fairness, a blunder on the part of the tournament committee. Due to the nature of the competition, that was a risk they didn’t need.
They had made a strategy covering even that eventuality so it wasn't particularly a big concern, but not having to rely on that backup was something to be relieved about after all.
"Tatsuya-san, you worry too much. To try for that they'd have to deliberately probe for the blind spots, something too high level for the Newcomer's Battle."
Shizuku's words were only right.
Tatsuya put such things out of his mind, and switched to Shizuku's perspective.
"At first we'll go according to plan. But from the quarterfinals on will be match format. I'll service your CAD in the morning, so be sure to let me take a look."
"Got it."
The format between the qualifier and finals is different. The qualifier is to see how many of the 100 clay targets you can destroy in five minutes, a test of the speed and reliability of your magic. In the finals however, it's a test to see which player can destroy the most targets being fired into the same area. The factors of speed and reliability are joined by raw power and the ability to overcome interference from your opponents. As per the nature of this competition, the magic you normally use will also change accordingly.
Depending on the type of magic to be used, it's not uncommon to change the specialized CADs used for the competition themselves.
Tatsuya was now making preparations for the next contestants — for the next match that would follow, and the one after that.
Shizuku went alone to the storage tent to fetch the CADs used for the tournament finals.
◊ ◊ ◊
"All three of them qualified huh......"
Back in the tent which served as the headquarters of First High, Mayumi went over the results of the Speed Shooting preliminaries.
Whilst looking, Mayumi gave a small soliloquy.
"Maybe the 1st Year girls this year are just of a special level?"
Eight names had qualified for the finals from a preliminary of twenty four.
Three of those eight names were from the same school, having made it through to the finals of the Newcomer's Battle, an unprecedented number.
"Mari, won't you give up your pretense?"
Mayumi's remarks were normally followed by a tsukkomi by Mari, but this time she simply shrugged in silence.
Her pose seemed to suggest futility.
"I wonder how the Battle Board will turn out."
At Mayumi's question, Suzune deliberately took out her terminal and checked. ('Deliberately' in the sense that she knew in her head already.)
"The men's team missed the cut even after the second race, while the women's qualified after the first."
"The men are down to one last guy huh. On the girls' side, Mitsui-san's in the last race and certain to make it through the prelims...... it seems
A-chan has been working hard." As Mayumi muttered to herself,
"We may want to devote a bit more time to technical skills on our side as well."
Looking over the same report card from his own terminal, Katsuto responded in disgust.
◊ ◊ ◊
The quarterfinals of Speed Shooting took place on four shooting ranges.
If the eight who had advanced to the tournament proper were all from different schools the semis could have been resolved in four simultaneous games, but at the presence of competitors from the same school, the games had to be adjusted so as to not overlap (there is no competition between entrants of the same school during the semis.)
That being said, compared to conducting the semis one by one on a single range, the interval between each game was rather short. As three of First High's women's team had advanced to the semis, the engineers were kept very busy.
"......Tatsuya-san, is everything alright?"
Being last in turn, Shizuku reflexively spoke up when Tatsuya rushed in as she sat in the waiting room (although since she was in a tent, it couldn't strictly be called a 'room').
Maybe it was a trick of the mind, but it seemed to her that he was also slightly out of breath.
"It's fine."
With that short answer, Tatsuya began a final check of the CAD.
As Shizuku looked on — or rather stared — he rapidly scrolled through the monitor of the adjustment device ensuring there were no abnormalities, before finally meeting Shizuku's eye.
"I think you already know, but this is a totally different model from the ones used in the preliminaries. There's almost no time now, but if there's even the slightest discomfort, I'll re-adjust it as much as possible so please feel free to tell me anything."
Taking the CAD from Tatsuya, Shizuku took a stance and after repeatedly pulling the trigger with her finger two, three times, she put the CAD down.
"There's nothing of the sort. Rather, it fits so well it's almost frightening."
"I see."
She didn't thump her chest or anything, but at Tatsuya's relieved look, Shizuku's expression filled with fighting spirit.
"The other two won didn't they?"
"Yeah."
The other two, referred to her teammates who had already gone.
Those two who had along with Shizuku advanced to the finals tournament, seemed to have cinched a win in the semi finals as well.
"It's fine."
Once again, Tatsuya used the same words, but with a different meaning.
"If Shizuku performs as usual, you'll definitely win."
"Of course."
At that Shizuku gave a brief, yet far more vigorous than usual nod.
"Tatsuya-san has already made all the arrangements I need for victory, so all that's left is for me to take it."
"That's the spirit."
Without challenging her early declaration of success, Tatsuya saw her off with a smile.
◊ ◊ ◊
"It's finally Shizuku-san's turn."
"Hey hey, if even Mizuki is nervous how should I cope?"
"But aren't you all excited as well Erika-chan? If Shizuku-san wins here, three of the final best four will be from our school!"
"Aren't you a bit too nervous regardless? Shizuku is definitely going to win after all."
At that confident affirmation, mingled with a teasing remark from Miyuki to 'take a deep breath and calm down', Mizuki obediently cleared her mind and inhaled.
"......I wonder if this also counts as a sort of promise."
"......I guess even Mizuki-san can be playful at times."
Rather than as a result of the deep breathing, but more from not wanting to cause Miyuki and Honoka any more worry, Mizuki finally regained her composure.
"I wonder what kind of twist we'll see this time."
Hearing Mikihiko's voice bearing a hint of excitement, Erika made a 'huh?' expression.
"Good point. What will jump out this time, I can't even begin to guess."
The one who actually responded aloud was Leo.
"His mind is almost like a jack-in-the-box."
"You can talk."
For Mikihiko to look forward to and show interest in magic was something Erika hadn't seen for a long time.
Whether this change had been brought about simply by watching the competition with others, she couldn't say. Perhaps without her knowing, something had happened between Tatsuya and Mikihiko...... without voicing anything aloud, Erika pondered such things. "Eh? That's......"
Breaking her out of her train of thought and back to reality was a querulous voice.
"What is it?"
"That CAD.....?"
Mikihiko's gaze was fixed on the CAD Shizuku held under her arm by a strap.
That rifle shaped CAD at first glance, with the exception of the strap, was no different from the CAD the other contestants were using. But the area of the gun where ammunition would normally be stored was thicker than the others.
Mikihiko's school traditionally didn't place much emphasis on CADs. They still mainly utilized magic activated by charms. But ever since the accident last year, Mikihiko had obsessively been studying up on modern magic technology.
To compensate for what he had lost.
The result of that had been evident in his test results.
Mikihiko had considerably more confidence in CADs than comparable modern mages.
If his eyes weren’t mistaken.
"Is that...... a general purpose CAD?"
"Eh, you're kidding?"
"Yeah, well, it is."
"I've never heard of a general CAD shaped like a rifle before. Firstly, isn't combining auxiliary sighting systems into a general system technically impossible?"
It was only natural that Leo, Mizuki, and Erika would ask one question after another.
But Mikihiko simply shook his head with confidence.
"The arrangement of the body portion just above the trigger of the CAD is without a doubt FLT's general purpose 'Centaur' series. The Centaur series is a type which doesn't have any interfaces on the main body and can be used without any external input devices, but the connector has had a grip and auxiliary aim assist system attached."
"You really know your stuff."
Miyuki's words as she turned around and grinned confirmed Mikihiko's observations.
"Eh? Then, that is?"
"You're right Erika. That's specially handcrafted by Onii-sama. It was specifically made to incorporate auxiliary aiming systems into a general purpose CAD."
At Miyuki's proud words, the knowledge that the CAD was a special made-to-order model, Erika was rendered speechless at the amount of effort that must have taken.
"I don't think I could feel any more surprised but...... just what is it all for?"
"Of course, for the match."
Honoka's brief answer was not near enough to satisfy Leo's, and the other three's questions.
But no subsequent explanation followed through.
As if by common consent, the six of them faced forwards. The signal for the start of the match began to light up.
◊ ◊ ◊
Red and white clay targets danced in the sky.
Shizuku's targets were the red ones.
The three red targets that twisted through the air and entered the scoring zone, flew together towards the centre and shattered.
"Movement system...... no, that's wrong. Convergence system?"
In the tent used by each school as a headquarters, large monitors covering every aspect of the competitions gave full view of the matches underway.
Both Suzune and Mayumi were watching Shizuku's match on the monitor with their full attention.
"Correct."
This time, all red targets which entered the scoring area were being drawn into the middle and destroyed.
"That's the magic used in the qualifiers isn't it?"
"Yes. It's a continuous invocation of convergence magic and vibration magic."
Two of the white targets collided and broke apart.
The opponent from Second High was using an orthodox tactic of targeting the clay itself using movement magic, and turning it into a bullet to hit other targets.
Although orthodox, its effectiveness had been amply demonstrated by past performances.
But from the outset, the majority of the targets being removed from around the outer area were white.
Since most of those had been hit around the outer edge, the problem lay not in the technical ability of the contestant but rather...
"I get that the area of effect is able to recognize the targets on a macro level and enhance the density of red targets in the centre via convergence, whilst displacing the white targets from that centre but......"
The basic form of Convergence Magic works by defining existing space via the Magic Ritual, then taking that defined 'data' and selectively manipulating it via designated coordinates using that same Magic Ritual.
For example, Mayumi's magic which utilizes dry ice to make bullets and send them flying, in order to create a sufficient number of bullets, initially also uses Convergence Magic to gather carbon dioxide.
In this case, carbon dioxide is collected in one place while other gases are pushed aside, but this does not mean a high density mass of carbon dioxide is made, as the CO2 rather flows through designated coordinates whilst other gases are drawn out.
In the same manner, Shizuku's magic replaced carbon dioxide with red targets.
A special zone — in this case, the centre of the scoring area — was set up as a 'space where red targets are gathered' by that Systematic Convergence Magic.
More specifically a square space 20 meters per side, comfortably covering the entire scoring area and more, was magically altered to become a 'space with a high density of red clay targets in the centre.'
The volume of that area is huge, but as the total number of clay targets at any one time is small, there isn't a large burden on the operator. What is modified isn't the space itself, but rather the distribution of clay targets within that space.
The modification of data via the Magic Ritual results in red targets being drawn to the centre of the area, while white targets are repelled. The targets the Second High contestant directly controlled weren’t affected by such minor interference, but the targets the Second High student tried to hit, due to not receiving any magic from her, had their trajectories changed by Shizuku's magic and as a result, white targets began to be missed.
The rules of the Speed Shooting tournament finals state that as long as you do not directly attack your opponent, interference is allowed. But as the clay targets fly for only short irregular periods, it's very hard to block your opponent and shoot your own targets at the same time.
There were many cases when vacillating between sniping and interfering resulted in self destruction, but as Shizuku's Systematic Convergence Magic flawlessly linked disturbing the opponent and destroying one's own targets, it was a very skillful strategy.
While few, there are some examples of this strategy being used in the past, all of which shared one effect. As strong interference strength is needed, the strategy involves the selection of an appropriate contestant. Therefore while the window of opportunity is small, Mayumi had also firmly studied this tactic.
So what Mayumi was asking concerning this magic was not that in itself.
"But then, how is she able to turn on and off the Systematic Vibration Magic at the end?"
If multiple targets flew together, they would shatter as is.
If a red target was alone however, vibration magic was used to destroy it.
It had been configured as a single magic, so for her to be able to independently trigger the Systematic Vibration Magic to destroy targets was peculiar.
"I wonder if it's been scheduled that multiple targets would fly together before the Vibration Magic has a chance to trigger?"
Mayumi's tone as she reasoned to herself said that not even she believed it.
There's no merit to applying such a time difference.
"Pres, I did say it was 'continuous invocation of Systematic Convergence Magic and Systematic Vibration Magic' didn't I?"
With a sly smile, Suzune corrected Mayumi's misunderstanding. Mayumi immediately understood the meaning of those words. And upon reflection, immediately cried a rebuttal.
"No way! The systems in a specialized CAD should only be able to store one single Activation Sequence!?"
"Your doubts are well founded, except that's not a specialized CAD, but a general one."
Suzune's answer only brought Mayumi still more confusion.
"That's impossible! The hardware, OS and architecture between specialized and general CADs are totally different.
And auxiliary aiming devices are subsystems which only fit within the architecture of a specialized CAD.
Connecting an auxiliary aiming device to the body of a general CAD is technically impossible isn't it?"
Mayumi's stressful speech gradually settled down, but from the blush of her cheeks it was still possible to glimpse her raw excitement.
Suzune's smile, now calm and mature, turned into something to soothe her companion.
"I thought so too. But, I guess it really is possible. This isn't something original to Shiba-kun, but was announced in Germany a year ago."
"......one year ago, isn't that pretty much state of the art?"
"It's best if you're not surprised simply by this much, Pres. He's being real coy about it, but Shiba-kun has something even more cutting edge in store."
"Hahh...... Well, if it's confidential it can't be helped. But for him to tell Rin-chan about it and not me is a bit of a shock."
"The Pres is a contestant. I'm sure he simply didn't want to upset you."
"I guess...... if I had known about a technique like this in advance, I certainly might have become a bit agitated."
As their eyes returned to the monitor, the scores of both players and the remaining time were displayed onscreen.
With the clock ticking down, victory had already been decided.
◊ ◊ ◊
(30 seconds remaining)
Having been repeatedly training these past two weeks, practicing over and over, she was now able to measure exactly the flow of the 5 minutes of the competition.
The moment red clay flew into the blue sphere projected by her goggles, Shizuku triggered her CAD.
The target shattered.
The competition allows the use of the protective goggles to double as a sighting aid. In fact, the number of competitors who don't do so are rare. (The case of players like Mayumi who have their own sights aside.) However, rather than aiming directly at the target, Shizuku's functioned as a HMD (head mount display) in order to distinguish space. Or rather, it should be called Tatsuya's.
As with all the unorthodox techniques Tatsuya had proposed, Shizuku had also been puzzled with this at first. However, possibly because she had no actual competition experience, she fortunately didn't take any time to get used to it. Once she was comfortable, it matched her more perfectly than any other equipment or techniques than she would have believed.
Anyway, it was easy.
There was almost no stress associated with the normal use of magic. Shizuku herself was aware that her weakness was fine control.
That was why she had requested her CAD engineers to add features that assist in the smoothing of detailed settings.
Even at the expense of speed, her aim was to ensure that her CAD would be able to output power at a reliable level.
She was confident her own ability could compensate for the speed of processing.
However Tatsuya's Sequences made detailed settings unnecessary.
Rather than making up for her shortcomings, the concept was to maximize her advantages.
The intent capitalized on her processing power to continuously trigger a Sequence at high speeds, and her capacity to build large Magic Rituals.
The result was the CAD she now held in her hand.
She had been surprised at his being able to connect an auxiliary aiming system to a general type CAD, but she had been even more surprised at the Activation Sequence speed.
In terms of processing speed, general CADs lose out to specialized ones.
This was not so much common sense, but rather a matter of structure.
General and specialized CADs differ both in their hardware and software.
The difference between them, between a dedicated processor and general processor, is similar to the difference between a dedicated supercomputer and a general one.
Comparing CPU performance in terms of speed, a generic type will never be the equal of a specialized type. This difference in level can usually be felt clearly.
And yet — this CAD demonstrated speed no less to that of a specialized CAD.
(5 more seconds)
—A target came flying. —She pulled the trigger. —Magic activated.
—And the target shattered.
This processing speed, even when compared with the specialized CAD used during the preliminaries, showed almost no difference.
Tatsuya had said the trick was because 'it was limited to only two Sequences'.
Since it had been designed exclusively for the competition, he was able to use a trick that would not be viable for daily use.
Shizuku could not understand the detailed theory. She didn't think it necessary.
Magic was a tool.
The CAD was also a tool.
A tool just needs to be usable.
Any more than that, could be left to the experts.
The last two targets weren't shattered by the 'Air Mine', but by Loop Cast Convergence magic.
"Perfect."
Confirming her performance aloud, Shizuku gave a smile of triumph.
◊ ◊ ◊
Noon.
Inside First High School's tent, a jubilant atmosphere filled the air. "That was brilliant, Tatsuya-kun! What an amazing achievement!"
Having been patted and slapped on the back countless times, Tatsuya was growing tired. Just as Mayumi's slender figure suggested there was no actual pain involved, but her persistence was certainly wearying.
"......Pres, please calm down a little."
Making eye contact with Suzune in a plea for assistance, she immediately began to remonstrate with Mayumi.
Quite the dependable senpai — if not for the fact that she had gone along until being asked for help, making her feel rather more like a 'partner in crime'.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Perhaps having too much fun and finally coming to her senses, Mayumi immediately stopped the slapping. ......but it didn't seem like she intended to let him go anytime soon.
"Still, that was truly astounding! We took all first, second and third places!"
"......the winner, runner-up and third place are all contestants, not me."
"Of course Kitayama-san, Akechi-san, and Takigawa-san were also amazing! Everyone did so well!"
At the Student Council President's broad smile, the 1st Year women's Speed Shooting team bowed in unison with a happy 'thank you'.
"But at the same time, your own achievements are no less. They were without a doubt spectacular."
Although without Mayumi's sheer energy, Mari also joined in the praise with a good natured face.
"Uh, thank you very much."
"It's not like this is a contest. As the engineer who significantly contributed to our contestants' monopoly of all the placings, you should have your share of the recognition."
At Mari's words, Shizuku and the others nodded deeply. "I couldn't believe it myself."
"My magic suddenly became so good, it was like an illusion." Unlike Shizuku, the other two added their own comments. Shizuku simply nodded as if everything was a matter of course.
"Especially concerning the magic Kitayama-san used, there has been an approach from the Universities to officially adopt it into the 'Index'."
However, at Suzune's words Mayumi's eyes widened, Mari was lost for words and Shizuku stiffened.
The official name of the Index is the 'National Magic University Compiled・Magic Encyclopedia・Index of True Names'.
For a magic to have its proper name recorded in the encyclopedia the National Magic Universities are creating, in this context, means the magic would not be considered a subset of any existing magic, but officially recognized by the Universities as an entirely new branch of magic.
To researchers engaged in the development of magic in Japan, this was the one single honor they all strove for.
However—
"I see. Then, please submit Kitayama-san as the developer's name."
"What!? No way!"
At Tatsuya's utter lack of interest, Shizuku drew close in a hurry. "That was Tatsuya-san's original magic!"
"......It's normal for the developer name of a new magic to be registered as the name of the first user is it not?"
Distancing himself from Shizuku's pleas, Tatsuya replied with no tension.
"Hm......excessive humility is also unpleasant you know?"
At Mari's chiding, accompanied by a slightly chilling glance, Tatsuya simply shook his head reluctantly.
"It's not humility."
"Then what is it?"
"I just don't want the shame of having my name registered as the developer of a magic I can't even use."
Certainly, if one is known as the developer of a new type of magic, they are often asked for demonstrations.
If one is 'unable to use' a magic they developed themselves, suspicions would arise that maybe the magic was actually developed by others.
Tatsuya's reason was not unjustifiable, but......
"......Just how then did you manage to confirm the operative readiness of a magic you can't use?"
Building up a magic by theory alone is surpassingly non-standard but, even if it were possible, to let another use a magic that was not tested and verified as functional was the work of a mad scientist who ignored all the risks, and it was extremely immoral.
"It's not like I can't use it at all. It's just that it would take me far too much time to set up, to the point it's not really at the level you could say I can truly 'use' it."
"Well well, Mari, Tatsuya-kun, let's not quarrel over such a thing now."
Seeing Mari preparing more ammunition to throw at Tatsuya's comeback, Mayumi intervened between the two.
"We're finally back to a good start. Tatsuya-kun, please help the other competitors just as much."
As Mayumi tapped his shoulder with a smile, Tatsuya gave a modest bow.
The performance of First High School’s women's Speed Shooting team had created a stir in the other schools.
There was an enthusiastic feeling of 'we can win this year' throughout the Nine Schools Tournament, especially Third High School, who thought of the accident in the women's Battle Board 'we feel bad for them, but this is a chance!' — While such thoughts may seem excessive, they were shared amongst the others.
"So Masaki, First High's performance, you don't think it was due to the personal skill of those girls themselves?"
Of the twenty people gathered — all the 1st Years of the Third High School Newcomer’s Battle contestants —
"It has to be said, the magical power of the winner, that Kitayama girl, is astounding. I'm sure she would have won either way. But the other two, I don't feel were anything special. If the results had been decided by magical power alone, I'm sure they wouldn't have gone so far as to claim second and third place as well."
"Not to mention that the advantage in Battle Board lies with us this year, seeing how I think First High only has one 1st Year in it with a particularly high level."
The results of the Battle Board so far had seen the two guys from Third High School both qualify, and of the two girls they sent forth one had qualified. By contrast only one of the men from the three First High School sent qualified, and the one girl they sent qualified too.
"It's as Jouji says. We don't lose out in terms of the quality of our contestants. If that's so, there must be some other factor."
"Ichijou-kun, Kichijouji-kun......what do you think it is?"
At the question from the girl who had lost to First High in the semifinals of the Speed Shooting, both Ichijou and Kichijouji made eye contact, confirming their suspicions.
"It's probably, their engineer." Kichijouji responded out loud.
"The engineer for their women's Speed Shooting team is probably quite the ace."
"I concur. Jouji, the device that winner girl used...... did you notice?"
"Yeah...... that was a general purpose wasn't it."
Kichijouji's answer, aside from the two of them, made a considerable impact on the other Third High 1st Years.
"No way......I mean, it had auxiliary sights attached right?"
"That's right! I've never heard of a general purpose device shaped like a rifle either!"
"That's true. Whichever maker's catalogue you look through, you'd never find anything like that would you?"
At the objections being raised, Ichijou remained somber.
"......certainly, something like that has never commercially appeared.
However, examples of general devices with integrated sighting aids do indeed exist."
"You gotta be kidding......"
At Ichijou's words, stunned voices floated through the air.
In fact a strong air of disbelief permeated throughout, until Kichijouji came out with his own support.
"It's new technology, only just announced in Dusseldorf last summer."
"Just last summer!? That's freakin' state of the art!"
"Yeah, I didn't know either until I looked into it for this thing."
"Not even Ichijou knew, there's no way we would......"
An uncomfortable silence followed. Surprise, anxiety, doubt......and awe.
"......Kichijouji-kun sure knows a lot though. As expected of our brain."
The words of that female competitor were intended to loosen up the heavy atmosphere.
But Kichijouji remained unmoved.
"Sure......but, the prototype unveiled in Dusseldorf was not meant to be a practical model. The operation was sluggish, accuracy was low
— from a technical standpoint it was simply an experiment that had been cast aside."
Kichijouji knotted his brow as he replied, his voice bitter.
"The device the winner First High's Kitayama-san used however fully combined the strengths of the speed and accuracy of a specialized type with the versatility of a general type. If that was all the work of one engineer......that's not the level of a high school student anymore. It's almost monstrous."
"Masaki, for you to describe someone that far......"
"It's physically impossible for a single engineer to be responsible for every competitor though......"
"Competitions that guy is responsible for in the future are likely to be beastly. It's very likely our devices will be handicapped by at least two or three generations."
At Kichijouji's ominous speculation, silence reigned amongst the gathered teammates.
◊ ◊ ◊
Tatsuya, who was at this moment receiving such unjust treatment from the athletes in their rival schools without any knowledge (obviously) after finishing a late lunch proceeded to the girls' Battle Board course.
Planned for the afternoon were the fourth to sixth races.
Honoka would appear in the sixth. If he only needed to keep his appointment with her, there should be no need to come so early.
"Ah, Shiba-kun, what's the matter?"
At the sight of him accompanied by Miyuki and Shizuku, Azusa tilted her head. Her posture was so similar to a squirrel holding a nut that despite his melancholic mood, he couldn't help but twitch a smile.
At his careless chuckle he consciously tried to tighten his lips, but there wasn't enough tension. In resignation, he relaxed.
"......You were making fun of me just now weren't you?"
"Not at all. I was just impressed by Nakajou-senpai's diligence."
"......You really are making fun of me aren't you?"
Being glared at with those half-lidded eyes so much like a child sulking forced Tatsuya to look away to hold back his laughter.
"......It's fine, I don't care."
Azusa kept glaring at him for a while, then with a sigh, muttered to herself.
This was probably something she went through every day. Somehow, her figure also exuded an air of melancholy. Leaving her like that would make one feel terrible.
"—I really wasn't making fun of you."
"......Really?"
"Really."
"Really really?"
"Really."
Being looked at with suspicion — due to the height difference, straight up — by Azusa, Tatsuya showed a strong front.
Seeing that proud bearing, Azusa finally seemed to relent (was she fooled?) and smiled.
"Alright. Because I believe in Tatsuya-kun."
Saying so as she laughed at him, she drifted over to his side. Tatsuya knew without even looking.
The image of Miyuki's eyebrows rising floated into his mind. (Ooh boy......)
It seemed his sister would be in a pretty bad mood tonight as well, he sighed to himself — although he couldn't resent her for it, it did pain him a little inside.
—That aside.
"So, what's the matter? There's still two more hours before Mitsui- san's match."
"I felt rather uncomfortable outside, so I came here for some shelter."
As Azusa tilted her head again, next to Tatsuya, Miyuki laughed. "......Onii-sama is too concerned."
At those questioning eyes, Miyuki's tone suggested 'it can't be helped'.
"They've become very motivated, so I'm sure the end result will be just fine."
On his other side, Shizuku reassured him.
"Ah, ahhh, is that what it is......"
Guessing the circumstances immediately, Azusa was pretty sharp too.
The monopoly of Shizuku and the others had been the subject of praise even throughout lunch.
Not just the executives, but the seniors who had the day off and had been watching that day went to compliment the three, yet the number of people who also went to mention Tatsuya's achievements were not inconsiderable.
At that, the men's Speed Shooting team had begun burning with an extraordinary rivalry.
That in itself, as Shizuku said, was not undesirable.
If they become fired up and increase their desire for victory, as long as they aren’t idle, it works as a plus.
But being stared at with eyes that seemed to burn with vengeance for their dead father, made you want to tell them to get a life.
Of course, to say such a thing out loud would lead to a fight. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had come to the competition venue as early as possible.
The location of the Nine Schools Tournament was the southeast area of the Fuji Armed Forces Training Grounds. While it's called an area, the Fuji training grounds were huge to begin with, and simply moving between venues would end up being a considerable hike. Without that much land, it would be impossible to prepare for areas such as the Battle Board course and the Monolith Code battlefield.
The Battle Board course was a winding flume circuit of approximately three kilometers.
With two sets for the two genders, as well as the spectator stands meant that quite a bit of land was needed just to make this course.
When considering moving around the venue, the Battle Board course had been constructed right at the edge of the area provided for the Nine Schools Tournament in order to avoid having to bypass that large course on the way to other venues, and it can safely be said that there were no competitors from other events around such as those participating in the concurrent men's Speed Shooting.
"I could also have gone back to the dorm, but I decided since I'll be coming here anyway I might as well see if there's anything I could help with."
"Really!?"
It wasn't just Azusa who raised a cry.
Perhaps overhearing from somewhere, Honoka suddenly came flying out from the competitor's area.
"Then please, by all means! Have a look at my CAD!"
Recently, under the influence of Tatsuya, Honoka had also began calling her device not 'Assistance' but 'CAD'. At Honoka's momentous leap Tatsuya had almost laughed out loud again. Tightening his face against the impulse, he scolded Honoka.
"Hey, come on Honoka. That way of speaking is kinda rude to Nakajou-senpai you know?"
Honoka's attitude, and her words just now, couldn't help but be taken as some level of dissatisfaction at Azusa's work.
"Eh, ah, I'm very sorry!"
Honoka lowered her head in a hurry.
"Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean it in that way." Azusa shook her head with a dry smile.
Her tone was almost sisterly.
Resisting his urge to laugh this time was a difficult task.
The average time for a Battle Board round was about 15 minutes.
However, the loading and unloading of the boards as well as the inspection of the waterway, as well as the repair of areas damaged by magic meant more time was needed to prepare for each race.
Allowing for that, as well as extra time to give leeway, meant the competition schedule for Battle Board had been organized into blocks of one hour.
The final race would begin at 3:30 in the afternoon. Already, players were moving to the starting positions. The too long wait time was not good for tense nerves, and there were many instances of competitors ending up being unable to utilize their full strength (every year, such examples would occur for both genders in both the 'real' finals and the Newcomers division), but possibly because of the chatter Honoka had shared with Miyuki and Shizuku before the match, she seemed in great condition as she stood poised upon her board.
The sight of Honoka constantly sticking to Tatsuya had gradually stirred up Miyuki's mood, but instead of separating them she had gone along and entered into their chat, the result of which seemed to have been a positive diversion for Honoka.
The heavy swim shoes and thick wet suit that covered the wrists and ankles were meant to protect the competitor's body from the friction of impacts and falling. But the pressurized uniform stuck fast to the wearer, and sharply emphasized the curves of the body even more (?) than usual.
Over the thigh, in large letters, was the logo 'ICHIKO'. With her stimulating proportions unbefitting a 1st Year highlighted by her colorful wet suit, Honoka crouched with one knee upon the board awaiting the start.
The CAD over her forearm was thinner and wider than usual, increasing its area and allowing for larger buttons. As he had said earlier, Tatsuya did not tamper with Honoka's CAD.
After looking over the system, he found nothing which absolutely needed work.
Being asked for advice by both Honoka and Azusa, he had just one thing to offer.
The dark goggles that Honoka now wore had been brought by him.
To be sure, the midsummer sunshine was inclining in from the west to the extent that facing that way directly would be uncomfortably dazzling.
Due to water splashing on the glass and blocking their view, however, few competitors opted to use goggles or sunglasses.
Azusa had felt that narrowing the field of view would only be a disadvantage, but Honoka had taken the goggles without hesitation.
"......come to think of it, why has Mitsui-san prepared so many optical
Activation Sequences?"
It's rare for an engineer to issue Activation Sequences.
With the exception of Tatsuya, who plans out the Activation Sequence lineup himself, normally engineers install Sequences based on the wish of the competitors.
Azusa had known too that Honoka was adept with illusionary magic of the light wave system from her profile, but due to the nature of the competition, Azusa had honestly believed there was no place for illusionary magic.
"The rules of Battle Board state that interfering with other players via magic is prohibited. However, interfering with the water and thus indirectly interfering with other players is not."
"......what does that mean?"
Despite being asked repeatedly by Azusa, Tatsuya had only returned an evil smile.
The signal for the start of the sixth qualifying race of the Newcomer’s women's Battle Board came on.
Immediately after.
The audience in near unison turned away from the waterway. As if lit up by a flash, the water surface poured out light.
One competitor fell overboard.
The others had their balance disrupted whilst in the midst of accelerating, and one lone figure dashed to the front.
As if expecting the situation — although it has to be said that she was the one who created the situation — wearing dark goggles, that lone figure was Honoka. "Alright."
Looking up at Tatsuya, who gave a voice of affirmation, Azusa's face was full of amazement.
"......Was this Onii-sama's strategy?"
Miyuki's voice as she removed her sunglasses was also filled with wonder. (By the way the sunglasses the three of them wore had been issued beforehand. Miyuki and the others had been mystified as to their purpose, but put them on anyway.)
"To be sure, it's not prohibited by the rules but......"
Shizuku's voice had a hint of reproach in it.
One couldn't help feeling that this was rather against the spirit of fair play.
However the yellow flag which would indicate any significant unfair play remained unwaved, and the match continued. The red flag that signaled a player's disqualification for rules violations likewise remained unused.
It meant that the tournament committee deemed Honoka's magic, and Tatsuya's strategy, a legal move.
"......Performing optical magic on the water's surface, I didn't expect that at all."
Her personality straightforward at all times, Azusa muttered in admiration.
"Interfering with the water surface, whether to generate waves or vortexes, affects the consciousness and orientation of other competitors yet it is allowed since it complies with the rule that 'you may affect another competitor via magically targeting the water surface'. Doing something like freezing the water solid or boiling it would certainly be too dangerous, but I did find it strange that no one until now had used it to cause dizziness."
If one is suddenly blinded without any warning, it takes a while to restore vision.
Meandering slowly along the course, unable to sprint due to their obscured vision, the difference between Honoka and the other players was already decisive.
◊ ◊ ◊
"......It's in the bag."
"......Who thought of this strategy?"
Mayumi who was watching through the monitor did not experience any discomfort as the monitor automatically adjusted the amount of light displayed, yet now while she was calmly assessing the originality of that tactic she remembered her initial surprise (although calm surprise is a bit of an oxymoron).
Following behind Mari's mutter and Mayumi's question, Suzune answered.
"It was Shiba-kun."
"Eh, but I thought Tatsuya-kun wasn't involved in this match?" Hearing that answer, Mayumi tilted her head as if going 'huh?' Suzune's reply was possibly a bit too polite.
"The one who submitted the plan in the first place was Mitsui-san. But the one who decided the Activation Sequence lineup and brushed up the finer details of the strategy was Shiba-kun, or so I'm told."
Suzune's deliberate mention of him 'deciding the Activation Sequence lineup' was because of the perception that doing so was the exception, not the rule.
"......it really is one thing after another with him, isn't it."
A touch of reproach could be heard in Mari's voice. "What's the matter? You seem somewhat dissatisfied." Mari didn't answer Mayumi's question.
However, her silence itself spoke volumes on what was on her mind, "......Planning is very important. As the masters say."
From what Mayumi could tell, Mari was cranky at being shown a tactic she hadn't thought of. For Mari who prided herself on being a strategist, it decidedly wasn't very fun.
"It's a tactic no one has thought of for nine years, so this is the point where you should be nice and impressed."
".....I am impressed. That's why I'm so annoyed."
Being cut into by Suzune, reluctantly, Mari admitted her jealousy.
Mari was magnanimous enough to accept it, so Suzune let her off for now.
"Still, this is a one-off strategy isn't it? I wonder what he'll do for the finals?"
Mari didn't come up with a follow through, so Mayumi responded instead.
"No worries. There's no way that man hasn't thought that far ahead."
"That’s true. This is also just a strategic move for the next match." Seems like it was a needless anxiety.
◊ ◊ ◊
"Yeah...... seems like I've done something bad to Honoka."
Watching Honoka take the lead from her earlier move, and maintain it all the way until the finish, Tatsuya muttered in a bitter voice. Next to him, Miyuki looked up at her brother's clouded face.
"......What's the matter?"
Their appearance was noticed by others, and Azusa spoke up to Tatsuya.
"Ah, nothing......"
His answer was evasive, or in other words an excuse. Still, he didn't become silent.
"She could have won this race easily based on her speed alone...... there was no need for the confusion."
"Well...... even so, she did take the lead thanks to her initial dazzle, so couldn't you still call it a successful strategy?"
Azusa, not knowing the nature of Tatsuya's regret, tilted her head. "When you stand out so much, it's going to mean you'll be marked by the other contestants......"
"The semis are a race between three people...... it's a possibility that in the next match, the other two will pair up."
Miyuki complemented Tatsuya's words.
Finally, Azusa understood what they were worried about. "Oh, is that what it was."
And laughed at their concerns.
"Something like that......
I'm pretty sure it'd be a disadvantage right?"
At Miyuki's countering hesitance, Azusa merely shook her head happily.
"That won't happen, since we've been marked from the start."
"Haahh......"
She had said it so cheerfully that for a moment Tatsuya wondered if she was actually proud of that.
—Well, just for a moment.
However insensitive he was, he wasn't so far gone as to not realize she was just comforting them.
◊ ◊ ◊
"I won! I won, Tatsuya-san!"
As soon as she rose from the waterway, Honoka immediately hurried over to where Tatsuya and the others were without even changing from her wetsuit, hopping all the way.
"Ah, yeah. We saw. Well done."
Aware of the other staff who had come down to greet their teammates, Tatsuya hastily put both hands out in front of him while congratulating her in an attempt to calm her down.
But it had the opposite effect. "Thank you so much!"
Perhaps misunderstanding, Honoka clasped the hands Tatsuya held out and stared up at his face, tears of joy threatening to spill out from her eyes. Even Miyuki didn't expect her to show her emotions so straightforwardly.
While Tatsuya stood frozen from a lack of experience with such things, Honoka really did start to cry.
"Whenever it comes to competitions, I become so weak......I hardly ever win competitions in athletic meets or tournaments like these."
It was the first time he heard of this. If that were true, then maybe using the strategy in the Newcomer's division wasn't such a miscalculation after all.
But as Tatsuya stood helplessly looking left and right, behind Honoka the figure of Shizuku waving her hands flew into view.
From her appearance, it seemed she was saying 'that's not the case, not at all.'
With his hands still firmly grasped by Honoka, and establishing line of sight with Shizuku, she began to mouth words to him. Her lip movements read 'she's・talking・about・during・primary・school'.
(A story from their primary school days, huh......
)
Tatsuya sighed whilst looking towards heaven.
She probably didn't intend to lie or anything...... but her conviction was just a little too intense.
Despite the icicle glare Miyuki directed at him (that is to say icy cold, and very sharp), he still required some time to regain his composure.
◊ ◊ ◊
Both in athletics and on the board, if one does not have the will then victory will be uncertain.
It's the same with magic competitions.
Looking at the success of one's teammates and thinking 'now it's my turn' is a system which raises the willpower of the team, and is like a magic bullet which boosts morale.
'Willpower' is linked with 'fighting spirit', but 'fighting spirit' also easily links to 'futility'.
Before the girls' eyes, such an event was occurring.
"Morisaki-kun was the runner-up, but......"
Mayumi's words were wrapped in disappointment.
"The other two missed the cut huh......"
Mari's words continued the disappointed trend.
At the close of the first day of the Newcomer's Division, in the meeting room, the 3rd Year executives stood before the results of the men's Speed Shooting rankings and let out a collective sigh.
"The results of the men's and women's are reversed......"
"I wouldn't say that. Third High took first and fourth place, so the girls still give us a positive balance.
You're being just a little too pessimistic."
Suzune's sober analysis countered Mayumi's gloomy remarks. It was all in an effort to dispel the stagnant mood.
"......Right. As Ichihara said, it's not good to be too negative. In the first place, the results of those girls are far more than we could have expected. We must be positive about the lead they have given us today.
"But the slump with the guys isn't just in 'quickdraw'. In 'surfing' as well, only one guy qualified compared to two girls."
At Mari's remarks, in a tone as if reminding herself, Katsuto agreed with a grim look. (By the way 'quickdraw' is a nickname for Speed Shooting, as 'surfing' is for Battle Board.)
"If their poor performance continues like this, even if we do well this year it's possible we'll be disadvantaged in the years to come."
"That losing would become a habit?"
"It is a possibility."
At Katsuto's point, both Mari and Mayumi bitterly fell silent.
Being leaders of a Magic High School, especially the executives of First High who prided themselves upon victory, they were unable to live with the easy thought 'we did good enough this year'.
"The mens' side may require some support."
"Still Juumonji, even if you say support what can we do at this late hour?"
Mari's rebuttal to Katsuto's murmur was bitter. It was certainly a 'late hour'.
The Newcomer's Division had already begun. It wasn't possible to change the staff or competitors anymore.
Even when she glanced at him, Katsuto had no reply.
That atmosphere however, rather than being at a loss, gave the impression not of mere silence but that a plan was forming.
◊ ◊ ◊
At last tomorrow, or rather 'today' already, was Miyuki's turn.
There had been no move from the organized crime related sabotage warned of by Kazama since the incident involving Mari, but Tatsuya couldn't put it out of his mind.
If his hypotheses were correct, the 'enemy' had tampered with the CADs just prior to the competition. It was a low possibility for more sabotage to be carried out overnight, but it never hurt to double check.
For the enemy's actions to be immediately undetectable by him, they held very high skill.
Finishing the final adjustments, he systematically tightly locked the CAD, then further added a triple lock before finally stopping work.
There isn't a trace of any other person.
Not just humans, but no other life signs could be detected at all. In regards to the enemy, it would be expected that security here is much higher.
Kazama and his subordinates, the elites of the Independent Magic- Equipped Battalion were secretly helping behind the scenes, so even if there was an attempt, a direct attack was unlikely to succeed.
Without wandering around unnecessarily, he proceeded through the entrance of the hotel (of course, requiring bio-metric identification), and went straight to his room.
Before he entered, he noticed at the door.
His only roommates were non-breathing machines.
At this time of night, when he was confident the minute hand of the clock should be announcing a date change any time now, there shouldn't be any sign of life aside from him in the hallway — but he turned the key and walked inside regardless.
"Hey now, just what time do you think it is?"
Unlike usual, his slightly stern voice seized the initiative.
Unlike usual, his posture suggested this wasn't something that could be let off with a smile.
Unlike usual, the one on the receiving end of all this must have realized that as well.
Her shoulders trembling, Miyuki hastily got up off the bed she had been sitting on, and fearfully looked up at her brother.
"A lack of sleep will reduce your ability to concentrate. Even if it's you, where careless mistakes may not necessarily lead to defeat, that won't always be the case."
"I'm very sorry!"
Being scolded by Tatsuya in earnest, Miyuki bowed deeply in a voice verging on tears. Hearing his sister like this, seeing her like this, Tatsuya was simply unable to keep up his tough stance for any longer.
"......It's good you understand. Now come on, let's go back to your room. I'll escort you there."
Perhaps his voice was a little too forceful, as when Miyuki timidly looked up, she refused to look at her brother's face.
"Miyuki?"
"......Onii-sama, for a bit, just a bit, could I have a little of your time?"
"......Just a little."
A competition in obstinacy would be a waste of time.
Tatsuya knew from prior experience that his sister was rather passively aggressive in this way.
"I heard from Shizuku. Onii-sama, you turned down the honor of having your name added to the 'Index'."
"Not formally at least."
"Rather than formally or anything, you were prohibited weren't you?"
"Yeah."
At Tatsuya's brief affirmation, Miyuki, as if struggling with something, stood whilst biting her lip a while.
"......Was that, upon the orders of our Aunt?"
"Yeah."
Another brief affirmation.
Miyuki, once again teary eyed, looked down.
"The investigative powers of the Magic Universities are very high. The gossip sites masquerading as news sites of normal media organizations can't even begin to come close. They're almost comparable to military or intelligence agencies.
Developers of new magic in addition to being given access to the resources of the Universities are also granted various privileges, but their identity is also examined in detail. It's in order to root out national spies and terrorists. It's an investigation on a totally different level to high school admission. It's not unlikely they'll discover not only my identity as 'Silver', but 'Shiba Tatsuya's' identity as a Yotsuba which the Yotsuba themselves have been blocking so carefully."
Faced with his sister's tears, Tatsuya explained in a slightly cool voice.
It was not only because he had to be uncompromising in the face of her tears, but because he had to convince himself.
"......"
For a while, her head bowed, Miyuki said nothing. Tatsuya felt relief at not hearing her sob anymore.
"To be sure, just entering the Nine Schools Competition carried some risk of my identity coming under scrutiny. However, leaving my name in the Magic Encyclopedia is far different from being in a high school competition. The 'Guardian' of the Yotsuba exists as a shadow. Do you think for such an outcast to be in the limelight would be acceptable to our Aunt?"
Miyuki kept silent. She didn't even mouth any words of comfort. That was her answer to his question.
"For now, I still don't have enough power. In a head on situation, there is a possibility I could defeat the 'Queen of Night' Yotsuba Maya. My 'Decomposition' has good compatibility as a counter to her 'Night' after all.
But the me as of now, even if I could beat our Aunt, I can't do anything about the Yotsuba. Force of arms alone, the threat of violence alone is not enough. If I displace our Aunt, another worse manipulator would simply show up in her place. At this moment, I can only follow."
Those words weren't so much to convince his sister, as for himself. As he tried to satisfy himself that way,
Miyuki, moving from the front, embraced him.
Her face shining with tears buried itself into his chest.
Such an appearance might be better described as 'clinging', yet that was somehow inappropriate.
"......I'm on your side."
"Miyuki......"
"I will always no matter what, come what may, be on your side.
That time will definitely come. Without a doubt, it will come. Until then, and forever after, I will always be on Onii-sama's side."
"......"
The hands of the clock accused them of far exceeding the realms of 'just a little'.
But let's go along with her 'just a little more'......
Tatsuya thought as he gently wrapped his arms around Miyuki's back.
