Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 06 - Yokohama Disturbance Chapter (I)

by Sato Tsutomu

  Erika declared.

  ◇◇◇

  The sun had already set on the road home leading to the bus station that was illuminated by streetlights.

  Today, instead of Leo and Erika, it was Kanon and Isori who walked with them.

  "......So that's the motive."

  After hearing the details from the hesitant Kanon, Tatsuya nodded in comprehension.

  "What is that! That's completely trampling over your good intentions!"

  "Strictly speaking, she was projecting her rage onto you?"

  Next to the enraged Honoka was Shizuku, who was tilting her head in confusion. For the two of them, Chiaki's words were utterly nonsensical.

  "She couldn't live with herself if she didn't do that......"

  "She must dearly love her sister...... Even though I cannot condone what Hirakawa-san did, I can somewhat understand her feelings."

  On the other hand, Mikihiko and Mizuki responded with almost compassionate words.

  Tatsuya observed the interesting dichotomy between the opinions from the Course 1 and 2 students, but naturally he couldn't let anyone know he found this fascinating.

  "Even if that's the case, there shouldn't be a problem if we just let her be, right?"

  Tatsuya's words weren't directed at this particular incident, but what to do afterwards.

  Hearing Tatsuya's opinion, Kanon and Isori both nodded.

  "Even though you were the target?"

  Kanon's question was intermixed with concern and amazement.

  For some reason, Tatsuya looked apologetic as he shook his head.

  "Correct...... Everyone was pulled into this because I was the target. Still, this won't constitute a problem since my safeguards can't be broken by the password decoder's brute force methods."

  "No, I'm not talking about the operational safety of the device since I also asked the Technical Research Club to look it over, so I'm not worried on that account...... But once they know they can't break through, they'll take more desperate options. Since Hirakawa-senpai is the root cause, if she can persuade her sister then I think that would be for the best......"

  With his brows knit — most people would be struck speechless at this (charming?) expression that mushroomed needless worries — Isori provided the most effective countermeasure, but Tatsuya still shook his head.

  "Let's end Hirakawa-senpai's involvement right here. Even though they are siblings, she has no direct connection or responsibility for what occurred."

  Strictly speaking, the older Hirakawa wasn't entirely unrelated to the reason why her sister went off the deep end.

  That's why Isori was so moved by Tatsuya's words to "let the issue drop".

  "Eh~, so you are a gentle person."

  This wasn't a joke on Kanon's part. She was sincerely astonished.

  Seeing the slightly miffed Miyuki duck off where the upperclassmen couldn't see her without a word, Tatsuya shook his head for the third time.

  "I just feel that this could become even more troublesome. Also, our recent lurkers are not restricted to only the younger sister of the Hirakawa siblings."

  Although they didn't detect any suspicious individuals, Isori and Mikihiko both felt a slight energy fluctuation — an unexpected psion wave.

  "......Shouldn't you take bodyguards after all?"

  He wasn't shaking because of the dilation in the air but because Isori's face let slip his faltering, which gave proof to the fact that Tatsuya's hint wasn't directed to the obtuse Kanon, as he asked back.

  "There's no use. Without someone with Saegusa-senpai's sensory abilities, it will be very difficult to catch the one shadowing us."

  Tatsuya shook his head for the fourth time to subtly hint that there was no one they could call on for assistance.

  ◇◇◇

  In a certain Japanese restaurant located in the Shinagawa District that was neither in the city outskirts nor a high class restaurant in Yokohama, a certain man in his forties and a youth in his mid-twenties met up with another young man in his early twenties.

  "My apologies, have you been waiting long?"

  The young man seemed to have just arrived. Based on his earlier words, he appeared to be quite embarrassed. Even so, there was no sign he was kowtowing to his guests and was more like a dignified heir of a well-to-do family exchanging polite greetings.

  "Ah, no, we've just arrived as well."

  The older man replied back. Regardless of whether his words were appropriate, his attitude was arrogant in the extreme. Even if this wasn't entirely coarse, this would still qualify as incredibly rude, but the man in question would have taken any accusations of boorishness or impetuosity in stride. Just like that, the last and highly capable young man in his mid twenties also sat down without a word.

  "Let's keep this short, Mr. Zhou."

  The older man spoke to the younger man.

  "Is that young lady reliable?"

  "I can perfectly understand Master Chen's concerns."

  Zhou smoothly defused the man's forceful question.

  "However, that girl is entirely ignorant of us, so there's no danger of any leaks."

  "Oh?"

  At Zhou's unexpectedly confident answer, Chen watched him with judicious eyes.

  "In that case, then that collaborator did quite well."

  "That's the age when they are ruled by passion. They are in a sensitive phase where they wish to display their own value, so in order to make themselves more conspicuous, they rather tell others than be told and wish others to understand them rather than the other way around."

  And that was why they taught her this and that, but Zhou didn't mention this as he smiled thinly with a hint of self loathing in his expression. However, his voice never gave a hint of this.

  "Since Mr. Zhou said so, then there shouldn't be any problems. Still, I'm still concerned that something should happen on the off chance."

  "I understand. I will personally examine the situation soon."

  Zhou respectfully bowed, an attitude that pleased Chen very much. Following that, Chen pressed the ringtone button to make his order.

  Zhou had long since noticed the sharp gaze from the young man to his side, Lu Gonghu, but the only thing that appeared on his face was a slight smile while his countenance never slipped for a moment.

  Chapter 6

  During lunch break, the student cafeteria at magic high school differed a little from a normal high school or even a middle school (which may be because institutions for upper class education for children were all the same).

  It was filled with disorderly chaos and noise.

  Yet, there was a pocket of order within this chaos.

  The area around the entrance of the cafeteria suddenly stilled, an atmosphere centered entirely around one person.

  In the open student cafeteria, the one who possessed the ability to influence the atmosphere of a single area — or the ability to dominate — was none other than Miyuki, who was putting her beauty on display more often these days.

  Completely heedless of the gazes tossed her way by those she passed by, Miyuki directly advanced towards the table where Tatsuya was waiting.

  "Onii-sama, I apologize for making you wait so long."

  Tatsuya smiled and waved his hand at Miyuki's impeccable etiquette. Behind Miyuki, Honoka nervously dipped her head in greeting while Shizuku gave an imperceptible nod that would easily have been missed if he hadn't been paying attention.

  Tatsuya's group would get the table first, followed by Miyuki's group meeting up with them. This format wasn't something decided ahead of time, as the reverse was also a frequent occurrence at a roughly 6:4 ratio.

  However, Miyuki almost never failed to join Tatsuya wherever he was.

  "Ah, Miyuki. You're here."

  "Yes, we just arrived, Mizuki."

  As if on cue, Mizuki and Mikihiko returned with their meals.

  "Then, I'll go get mine."

  Switching places with Mizuki and Mikihiko, Tatsuya stood up a
nd visually urged them "let's go".

  Leading three beautiful young ladies towards the buffet area, Tatsuya was subjected to an entirely different sort of stare than Miyuki received.

  By the time the four of them returned, the only two people to greet them were Mizuki and Mikihiko.

  "Erika and Saijou are still practicing?"

  Since she didn't see the two of them, Honoka asked with concern. Still, she wasn't particularly worried, since it's not like everyone was always present during lunch. For example, these past couple of days Tatsuya was busy working on the stage devices (making system adjustments would be more accurate), so he didn't frequent the cafeteria (Miyuki naturally followed Tatsuya).

  On some level, based on the relaxed format of modern education, it was quite normal for students to have individual plans after instruction was over.

  Honoka's question was synonymous to saying "we have fine weather today", and was only meant to be a conversation starter. —However.

  "Ah, those two are probably resting today."

  Tatsuya's thoroughly unexpected answer caused a flash of excitement to spark in Honoka's eyes.

  "Ah, the two of them together?"

  "The two of them together."

  Honoka's expectant eyes quickly discerned Tatsuya seemed to misunderstand her words at some point.

  Following that, she revealed a mischievous smile and intentionally modified her speaking pattern with a lofty air.

  "It might not be an accident, right?"

  Shizuku tilted her head and murmured to herself. Despite her easy-going tone, her eyes were also very excited.

  "Eh, is that how it is!?"

  "Mizuki, even if you asked me, there is no way I would know."

  At Mizuki's wide-eyed question, Miyuki could only reply with a wry smile. As Mizuki was in the same class and Miyuki wasn't, Miyuki's response was only to be expected.

  "Ah, you're right."

  A bemused Mizuki used her eyes to search for a target who would have the answer.

  "............" "............" "............"

  "Eh? No, I don't think there's anything special about that."

  The four women seemed to be in cahoots as all their eyes fell on Mikihiko, who frantically replied back.

  "Speaking of which, the two of them went home together yesterday."

  And then, Tatsuya threw even more fuel onto the fire.

  Wow, Really, Ah, amid the frenzy their friends went into, Miyuki watched her brother with a gentle gaze.

  Did you accumulate too much stress? That gaze seemed to ask, but Tatsuya pretended not to see her and turned his head.

  "But why would Erika-chan and Leo-kun suddenly need to rest?"

  "Indeed. Since it's these two we're talking about, they wouldn't just suddenly fall sick."

  After everyone finished eating their meals and proceeded to the after meal tea time, "the two of them resting together" once more ignited their passions.

  "I think we're getting worked up over nothing. Still, at least until yesterday, the two of them showed no signs of any abnormalities."

  Mikihiko and Tatsuya both arrived at the conclusion that "it's not an illness".

  "Of course, there is still an outside chance that is true."

  Though Honoka was the one who spoke to Tatsuya, the one who answered her was Shizuku.

  "There's also the chance that this isn't a coincidence."

  "That's also true."

  Probability bounced off probability and Honoka's conversation partner changed from Tatsuya to Shizuku.

  "Now that you mention it, if 'not coincidental', would the two of them be engaged in such close behavior?"

  "I don't think that's strange even if it did happen, but......"

  "Hm, yeah, I think so too."

  Shizuku's gaze inquired "what do you think" from Mizuki, hence she hurriedly expressed her agreement.

  "But, if the two of them are together right now, what are they doing?"

  Hearing Miyuki say this with a gentle tilt of her head, Mizuki and Mikihiko blushed one after the other.

  "You two, what are you thinking of?"

  "No, no, nothing at all."

  "Y-Yes! Nothing at all!"

  "Well, forget it."

  At their blatantly obvious reactions, Miyuki sighed and turned her eyes back to her brother.

  "Well, looks like both of them are thinking of the same thing. Even though there's no evidence in this area, but maybe Leo has his sights on Erika."

  Tatsuya joked with a wink.

  "Haha, that might be possible."

  Miyuki's lips also curled into a smile.

  ◇◇◇

  Tatsuya's abilities did not include the "All Seeing Eye".

  Still, he was capable of similar feats.

  Just as magic isn't affected by physical distance, sensory abilities through the information dimension are not affected by physical proximity either. So long as the target has been locked on through the information dimension, one could "see" the target no matter how far away they were. For example, a powerful telescope could see the moon's surface, and if it could home onto a lunar landing vehicle, then one would be able to see the status of that vehicle on the moon's surface (in reality, such a powerful telescope does not exist).

  However, at this moment, it was pure coincidence that he wasn't secretly watching what Erika and Leo were doing.

  "Hey, you're distracted again!"

  Erika scolded her opponent who knelt at her feet holding his head.

  "~~That hurt...... I've said this enough times! Use your mouth before using your hand! What do you think language is used for!"

  "That's because you wouldn't understand even if I said it."

  "Don't think for a second that socking me would make it sink in."

  And so, Leo's objection slowly lost steam until he finally gave up.

  This was partially because he was being taught and had no basis for resistance, but the main reason was the defeatist air surrounding his repeated failures.

  "That's true. Let's take a break."

  Yet Erika never felt that Leo was incompetent. She likely knew very well how hard it was to learn a new technique.

  "Here."

  "Oh, thanks."

  Erika gave a lukewarm bottle of water to Leo, who had just flopped down on the dojo floor, before standing before him in her kendo uniform.

  "You were able to do this when wearing that cloak...... So the situation is that different?"

  Erika unconsciously mentioned this aloud, but Leo frowned in displeasure upon hearing this.

  "You mean during the Nine Schools Competition?"

  No matter the result, his outward appearance was something that Leo desperately wanted to forget. Still, since this had something to do with the technique he was learning, he couldn't just pretend to have forgotten.

  "At the time, the cloak wasn't straight like a metal plate, nor did the creases affect its ability to serve as a shield. Looks like some sort of assistance magic was incorporated into the fabric."

  Erika maintained her sitting position and rubbed her chin with her fingers.

  "Hm~, while we can also add assistance magic spells, it would still be far faster to ask Tatsuya."

  "No, don't do that."

  Leo shook his head at the words that slipped from Erika's mouth.

  "This time, if we bothered Tatsuya then the entire thing becomes pointless. If casting assistance magic is all that's necessary, then let me invoke that spell."

  "How manly."

  Erika chuckled.

  This unexpectedly brilliant smile forced Leo to avert his gaze.

  ◇◇◇

  Today was Saturday, but school was still in session. Magic high schools haven't adopted the two days off per week format.

  Even though he still had to attend class (including practical skills) today, Tatsuya still visited Yakumo's temple. He even had Miyuki in tow today.

  Actually, he had been invited by Yakumo to test the renovated "lon
g range ki attack" training grounds.

  There were very few locations to train magic shooting with live ammunition. Especially for someone who couldn't use training facilities on campus like Tatsuya ("Mist Dispersal" was definitely out of the question on campus), it would be optimal if he found a local area for shooting practice without heading all the way out to Tsuchiura.

  Though Miyuki was different than her brother in that she didn't have to hide her abilities, the campus practice facilities for students and clubs didn't allow her to bring her full might to bear. In addition, the magic she excelled in was closer to wide-area magic rather than targeted sniping. Since she usually lacked a venue or time for shooting practice, Tatsuya pulled her along saying that "this is an excellent opportunity".

  The training area was set underground, beneath the main hall for the temple, and occupied quite a large area.

  "—Kya! —You!"

  They should say as expected of Yakumo's temple, as the secret training area used by ninjas was vastly different than their school's facilities.

  Refusing to admit defeat, sweat streamed down Miyuki's face as she was breathing hoarsely.

  Having rolled several times, her neat hair had become unkempt.

  This was a square-shaped area.

  Three of the four walls and the ceiling had numerous holes where targets came out. (They weren't on all four walls because there were very few actual conditions where one was completely surrounded by the enemy. In an actual fight, one should have retreated long before this occurred.)

  Each time, dozens of targets would appear, only to hide themselves after one second.

  Just trying to take all of them out was a chore by itself, and there was even a devious condition that any remaining targets would retaliate with shots of their own.

  Although Miyuki managed to block all the merciless retaliatory shots, there were still multiple instances where she fell down trying to switch between offense and defense.

  "OK, let's stop there!"

  At the time Yakumo gave the signal to stop the training device, Miyuki couldn't help but powerlessly sit on the floor. The training difficulty appeared to be set a tad too high.