by Sato Tsutomu
"Good work."
"Ah, Onii-sama, I'm sorry."
Miyuki hurriedly took the towel Tatsuya handed to her.
After handing her the towel, Tatsuya used his other hand to clasp his sister's hand and gently pulled her graceful figure to her feet.
"Ah, thank you very much."
"You appear uninjured."
After taking a look at his sister standing there in a thin training shirt and pants that fell to her knees, Tatsuya smiled as he spoke to his sister, who was getting her breathing back under control.
Miyuki's flushed visage wasn't entirely caused by her recent strenuous activity, though did Tatsuya manage to notice that?
Of course, there was no answer to that question.
Nodding his head at his sister's concise answer of "I'm fine", Tatsuya walked towards the center of the platform.
Miyuki wasn't displeased by this aloof attitude.
They didn't come here to play around.
If she caused her brother to be unduly worried on her behalf, then she was doing him a disservice.
Of course, such a thing would never happen.
As Tatsuya lightly paced forward, he drew his favored CAD before his chest.
He bent his elbow and adopted a ready position.
Without waiting for Miyuki to leave the platform, the training session began without any signal given.
Three of the walls sent out orb-shaped targets.
They were immediately disintegrated the moment they appeared.
Tatsuya reached out his right arm and adopted a shooting position.
He only squeezed the trigger — pressed down on the CAD button only once.
Twelve targets were decomposed just like that.
Not missing a beat, targets shot out of the ceiling and the walls.
This time there were twenty four.
Tatsuya didn't aim at any individual target and merely squeezed the CAD's trigger. Then, he dashed aside to avoid the powdery debris.
As he turned, he raised his right arm upwards and pressed the trigger.
Like they were trying to replace the gaps formed by the ruined orbs, swarms of orbs repeatedly materialized.
Twice, thrice, he continued to squeeze the trigger time and again.
However, even when all the targets had been exhausted, not a single retaliatory shot was fired.
"Onii-sama, that was amazing!"
After the device came to a halt, Miyuki fairly flew towards where Tatsuya lowered his CAD.
"Seriously, a complete victory. Is even that level of difficulty not enough?"
Yakumo followed behind with a bitter expression on his face.
Tatsuya smiled in response to Miyuki and moved towards Yakumo.
"This is my area of expertise after all, but even then it was still a stretch. Who came up with this devious layout that takes advantage of the blind spots?"
"I got the design from Kazama-kun."
"I see, so this is Sanada's work."
Thinking of the technology officer with the candid smile who was one of the wiliest within the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, Tatsuya murmured quietly.
As Yakumo's face relaxed to hide his "so you know" reaction, Miyuki stepped between the two.
"Speaking of which, Onii-sama, when could you handle 36 targets at the same time?"
These words weren't out of concern for her brother but more because she couldn't contain her excitement.
"I remember that 24 was your limit three months ago."
Miyuki was referring to the number of targets that could be sniped by magic at the same time. Even though the Specialized CAD was shaped like a handgun, that did not mean the magic was fired from the muzzle. If this was a Generalized CAD, it might not even be in the shape of a gun.
Modern magic in the form of the Four Great Systems and Eight Major Types relied on Eidos manipulation of the chosen target rather than using magic bullets to shoot at a target. Thus, so long as one could focus on the targeted phenomenon, it was possible to target multiple instances of the same phenomenon.
To accomplish this, each of the replicated targets needed to be defined and considered simultaneously.
Rather than lumping all the targets together and identifying all the phenomena together and changing them at once, magic needed to be applied to each individual target, so it was necessary to identify the subtle differences between each of them.
If the number of the targets was only one digit, then anyone could accomplish this with sufficient training. Anything above that was the realm where qualities other than magic were required, as even adding one target became incredibly difficult.
Miyuki's eyes shone brilliantly. Needless to say, this was her bro-con personality on full throttle.
However, Tatsuya only laughed and shook his head at his sister's question.
"No, although this opponent does actually retaliate, it is more like they were set to wait to retaliate. In live combat without any breaks in between, currently 24 is already my limit."
"Please don't be so humble. Even if that's the case, even with the training set towards waiting to retaliate, I can only manage 16 at a time. Onii-sama is truly amazing!"
"Hey, flattery won't get anything from me. You are capable of using magic at a wider scale than I can, and if you weren't constantly keeping an eye on me, you would be able to do this too. In terms of defense, you are far ahead of me, aren't you?"
"In that case, can't Onii-sama reach even farther than I can by increasing the level of interference?"
Yakumo's wry laughter cut through their enigmatic conversation.
"Hey, you two remember that the walls have ears, right?"
The two of them shared embarrassed expressions, then exchanged knowing smiles.
Afterwards, the siblings left the training grounds in the basement and came to the corridor where Yakumo's room was.
Yakumo was undoubtedly the one who led them here. Even though Yakumo claimed that he would bring them tea after training, the very fact that they were in his private quarters rather than the main hall hinted that this odd gesture entailed something special, Tatsuya thought.
"You two still have to go to school, so I'll keep this short."
After bringing tea for three, Yakumo sat next to Tatsuya and cut to the heart of the matter.
"It appears you have received quite a special item."
While there was no way to confirm that the "special item" Yakumo spoke of was the Magatama, he wasn't overly surprised or astonished. There was no way one could associate with Yakumo if they were shocked by comments on such a level.
"Are you talking about the item placed in my care?"
Tatsuya frankly and directly confirmed that he possessed the item Yakumo spoke of. There was no point in trying to play fast and loose with Yakumo, something that Tatsuya had learned through long experience. Likewise, Tatsuya also knew that Yakumo did not favor individuals who engaged in pointless conversation to discover other people's secrets.
"If that is the case, I advise you to return that as quickly as possible. If you must hold onto it, store it somewhere other than your home."
Although Tatsuya knew that Yakumo would warn him, the seriousness in Yakumo's voice surpassed his expectations. Surprise and anxiety welled up inside his body and he couldn't help but straighten his body in front of Yakumo.
"There's no sign that someone is on to us."
Tatsuya's comment contained the subtle inquiry "Is someone spying on us?". Since he received a painful (physical) lesson during the Sayuri incident, he had begun to prudently monitor the auras around him recently. However, excluding a few minor incidents, at least no major threat like Yakumo hinted at had materialized yet.
"That's because they're being very cautious and not because they're lacking in talent."
Yakumo's reply not only served as a warning to their opponent's capabilities, it also hinted that he was on their trail.
"Who are they...... I suppose it would be pointless fo
r me to even ask."
"Not entirely pointless."
Yakumo's response was entirely theatrical, but Tatsuya did not fret.
On the other side, Yakumo saw that Tatsuya didn't take the bait, so he slowly went with the hook "Hm, in that case......"
"I'll give you another piece of advice, if the enemy appears before you, be very wary of their bearing."
"Bearing...... Is it?"
The one who asked in surprise was Miyuki.
Tatsuya was also curious as to the answer of that question, so he wordlessly glanced at Yakumo.
"The price will be considerably higher if you want to ask more questions."
Yet Yakumo didn't answer Miyuki's question.
◇◇◇
There were 8 days until the Thesis Competition.
The support level for the live demonstration on stage had practically reached full mobilization for the school.
There were people in charge of creating the components for the device, people acting out the stage performance, people serving as the audience, people who directed transportation and handed out lunchboxes, anyone in the indoor camp who couldn't appear in the Nine Schools Competition was there putting their talents to full use.
On the other hand, athletic students also had their own mission to accomplish and were also giving it their all. Even the core members who usually didn't have to prepare were sweating it out in practice just in case they were needed.
There was an outdoor training facility standing on the remodeled hill next to the school. Magic high schools were not military or police training academies, but there was still a considerable amount of people who progressed in that direction, hence the need for both indoor and outdoor facilities.
Within this artificial forest, Mikihiko hid his presence and watched the upperclassman who was his training partner.
He was hidden within the shadows of the trees, but his opponent stood exposed in the middle of open terrain. Just and honorable, that description fit him perfectly. He was able to intimidate Mikihiko without even looking in this direction.
His training opponent was the Club Activities Group Leader, Juumonji Katsuto.
During this Thesis Competition, Katsuto served as the supreme commander for all security personnel from the nine schools. Since he was to work alongside representatives from other schools, he needed to practice leading from the front in order to inspire the other students selected as security personnel and bolster their morale.
Mikihiko was selected as his opponent largely due to his outstanding performance during the Nine Schools Competition.
However, he wasn't Katsuto's only training opponent.
In the beginning, there were ten against one. Thirty minutes later, seven had already been defeated.
Mikihiko had already launched several long range attacks, but even though he hadn't received a single attack yet, he was already covered in sweat.
And cold sweat to boot.
(Too anxious, eh.)
When he heard that he had been selected as a training opponent, he almost leaped for joy. A Year 1 student, and a Course 2 student too, who had not joined any magic competition club would have found it nearly impossible to beg for the opportunity to serve as the training partner for the Juumonji Family's next heir.
Not only did he nod in thanks to Sawaki, who brought the news, he also vigorously bowed.
Of course, he knew very well that he couldn't stand on an equal footing with Katsuto. Thus, he planned to give this his all and learn from this experience.
However—
(Relax. This is mock combat.)
From the very start, Mikihiko constantly reminded himself of that.
Katsuto was holding back. None of the seven defeated individuals suffered serious injury. Even with that in mind, Mikihiko was almost crushed by the pressure Katsuto was exerting.
This wasn't because Mikihiko felt that he was weak, but because he felt the overwhelming pressure radiating from Katsuto. Three minutes ago, a Year 1 student from the Hundred Families panicked in the face of that pressure and was defeated after recklessly attacking.
Without noticing it, Mikihiko's breath became ragged. The sound of his breathing had risen in volume until it was easily discernible.
He quickly noticed this problem and hurriedly hushed himself.
Only two or three sounds escaped during that interval.
Even indoors, this was a volume that would not travel more than 1 meter out.
Despite that, Katsuto's eyes truly drifted towards the trees where Mikihiko was hiding himself.
Cold sweat ran down Mikihiko's back again. Slowing modulating his breathing, Mikihiko concentrated everything on his sight and hearing.
He didn't have the courage to use magic to find out. Even if his opponent knew where he was, he didn't have audacity to announce himself unless his opponent directly saw his face.
He used his ears to carefully discern the air flow.
Through the fabric of his pants, he could feel the slight vibrations in the earth through his knees, but this wasn't enough.
He used his eyes to read the slight fluctuations that wouldn't disrupt the air flow, his nose and tongue to taste the changes in the chemical ratio within the air itself.
Mikihiko raised his five senses and combined that with his sixth sense to get an accurate reading of the situation.
Betraying neither a hint of anxiety nor extreme caution, Katsuto steadily advanced to Mikihiko's location.
(Three, two, one, now!)
Mentally counting down, Mikihiko pressed his right hand into the earth.
He transmitted the signal down the line and pumped psions into the magic formation.
The conditionally activated magic that he planted before hiding in the shade activated upon receiving the psion surge from the caster.
In order to hold Katsuto, four pillars of earth erupted around him.
These pillars were to his southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast; they were the perfect positions for the four gates of earth, man, heaven, and demon.
In the next instant, the circular area where Katsuto was standing suddenly sank into the ground.
Ancient Magic "Earth Pit".
This was not a technique that concealed himself within the embrace of the earth, but a spell that plummeted the enemy into an earthen tunnel, disrupting the senses and hampering movement to buy time to escape.
Against an inferior opponent, this would be sufficient to completely restrict their movement and capture them. However, Mikihiko wasn't optimistic enough to believe that he could achieve anything beyond buying time with Juumonji as his opponent. Mikihiko wasn't self-delusional about his own abilities.
Without wasting time to verify the effects of the invoked magic, Mikihiko fled at full speed.
Which was the correct judgment.
After the dust cloud passed, a pile of dirt stood within the round chasm in the earth, and Katsuto could be seen standing there without a speck of dust on him.
His barrier had completely blocked the attack that used the earth as a medium.
Still, it was also true that he lost visual on his fleeing opponent.
Katsuto smiled slightly and used his barrier's reverse reaction to slightly float up and return to the surface.
In order to prevent accidents and provide medical assistance, there were people manning the indoor and outdoor observation cameras during magic mock battles.
"Heh~......"
Watching the monitor, Mari sighed.
The fact that he could survive this long as a Year 1 student was a testament to Mikihiko's abilities.
His superlative ability that surpassed the boundary between Course 1 and 2 students had already been proven during the Nine Schools Competition.
Yet, seeing him in live combat again, it was easy to see that the effects of his unique way of applying magic far exceeded expectations.
"He possesses a different caliber of talent than Tatsuya-kun. We have a lot of interes
ting students in this year's batch."
Mari's lips curled upwards at Mayumi's words.
"If we had to separate them out, how ironic that the more interesting ones are Course 2 students."
Hearing this, Mayumi revealed a sour smile.
"That's incorrect, Mari. In terms of combined skills, the number of talented Course 1 students is still higher. We're getting this impression only because there are several unique ability users who are particularly conspicuous."
Mayumi's explanation was right on the dot, prompting Mari's nod with an air of "I see". Then she once more directed her gaze to the monitor.
"Still, that guy is undeniably more 'useful' than the other Year 1 students. Nicely put, birds of a feather flock together."
"With the experiences from the Nine Schools Competition under his belt, even the teachers have remarked on Yoshida-kun's massive improvement. I wish that sort of positive influence continues to spread."
"That guy isn't the type to exhibit leadership qualities."
"If I had to say, he's the type that mass produces enemies."
On the monitor next to where Mari and Mayumi were exchanging wry smiles, Mikihiko had been forced into a corner and was making his last stand.
◇◇◇
In the dojo that belonged to the Hundred Family's "Magic Swordsman" Chiba Family, Leo also directly came here today instead of going to school. Including the small break for lunch, Leo spent six hours sweating and swinging a bokken. The bokken he was swinging had a metal core and even the usual swordsman could only use it for three continuous hours. Even Erika, who was usually highly critical towards him, could express her amazement at Leo's incredible physical stamina and mental concentration.
"OK, let's stop."
Leo halted his hands at Erika's signal and let out a deep breath.
He accepted the towel Erika offered him and mopped at his sweat.
"You're really going at it despite having no experience with swordsmanship."
Her words were not gentle, but Erika's tone didn't carry her usual teasing tone and was purely an expression of her opinion.