Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 12 - Double Seven Chapter

by Sato Tsutomu

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  AD 2096, April 10th. For the freshmen, this was the noon break of their third day.

  Tatsuya faced Kasumi and Izumi in the Student Council room. Even though it was put that way, he was not the only one facing them because he was seated with his fellow Student Council officers.

  He was hit with a sense of déjà vu over the situation. Spring of last year, on the same third day of school, Tatsuya had been called to this room. Of course, he was not the only one who had been invited and he had not been the main guest. His role had been nothing more than a supplement to Miyuki. Due to some kind of error, he had been pressured to take up the mantle of a member of the Public Morals Committee.

  Since that event, big unimaginable changes had been forced on his high school life. If he had not come to this room on that day, Tatsuya would probably be enjoying a peaceful high school life. At least, he himself thought so.

  —People other than himself would have some doubts about agreeing with him on that.

  The one who had invited Miyuki and Tatsuya at that time was Mayumi. And now, Tatsuya had become a member of the Student Council that had invited Mayumi’s sisters. Maybe this is karma, was Tatsuya’s slightly disjointed thought.

  “So you wish to promote one of us to the position of Student Council officer, is that what you are saying?”

  Tatsuya’s mind was drawn back to this place by Izumi’s words that touched on the main topic. Right across from him, Kasumi was glaring at Tatsuya as usual with eyes that seemed to growl. That was the reason Tatsuya has taken a break from reality.

  “To be able to work together with Miyuki-senpai… it’s like a dream.”

  He couldn’t tell what Miyuki was thinking behind her iron wall of an amiable smile looking at Izumi, who had a hand on her cheek directly across from her. Kasumi, who was open in her hostility, and Izumi, who was open with her desires. Azusa, Isori, and Honoka were completely overwhelmed by the pair’s strange attitudes. As a result, the roles of interacting with the pair fell to the targets of their hostility and lust, Tatsuya and Miyuki.

  “If you wish, there is no problem with both of you working together.”

  He felt that there was something wrong with leaving the job of interacting with them to their targets, but he couldn’t let his sister bear the full brunt of it alone. With that in mind, Tatsuya returned to the table. However,

  “I have no intention of joining the Student Council.”

  His effort only elicited a brusque response from Kasumi. The way she phrased her answer showed her strong determination to reject Tatsuya. And the fact that her speech pattern was slightly different from how she spoke to her sisters probably meant she was rejecting any form of familiarity between them.

  “Kasumi-chan, you have been rude to Shiba-senpai for a while now.”

  As expected, Izumi could not ignore what was going on and spoke to her in a candidly needling tone — Izumi was clearly paying attention to Kasumi. The fact that she wasn’t whispering might mean that giving excuses for each other’s behavior was an aspect of their relationship.

  On their side, Azusa, Isori, and Honoka could not conceal their surprise over the fact that Miyuki had said nothing. Her sisterly love for Tatsuya was practically a credo for her; it was normal for anyone who showed ill will to Tatsuya to be burned (frostbitten?) by her wrath. Despite that, the gaze Miyuki was directing toward Kasumi could be called a pleasant one. Rather than suspicious, the three of them found that terrifying. It was typically the calm before the storm.

  Of course, Azusa and the rest were over-thinking it. Miyuki, who was attuned to any ill will directed against Tatsuya, completely understood that Kasumi did not despise her brother — her attitude was a mix of jealousy and wariness. Miyuki felt sympathetic to Kasumi’s feelings of hostility to any male who came too close to her beloved older sister, and to Miyuki, since there was little chance of her developing a crush on Tatsuya, Kasumi was a cute junior she could associate with in a relaxed manner.

  “I see, that’s unfortunate.”

  By that Miyuki meant that it was unfortunate for Miyuki herself that Kasumi had decided not to join the Student Council.

  “So then, Izumi-san, can we count on you to join the Student Council?”

  However, Miyuki did not reveal any of her feelings about that or show that she wanted to keep her distance from Izumi; Miyuki just cheerfully asked the question.

  “Happily.”

  Although the feverish gaze Izumi aimed at her grew gradually hotter, Miyuki’s perfect ladylike smile did not falter.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  After school and after Kasumi wasted time in the library for a while, she went to the café alone. Thirty minutes still remained of the time she had to wait until she met with Izumi, who had gone to the Student Council earlier. The time seemed to be slightly longer than that as she waited alone. Izumi had told her that it was alright to leave first if she got tired of waiting, so what should I do, Kasumi mused lazily.

  “What’s wrong? You don’t look okay, somehow.”

  Without warning, a voice addressed her. When she lifted her face, there was a young staff member in a pantsuit in front of her.

  “Uh, no, I’m not ill or anything.”

  Kasumi had intended to indicate ‘I want you to leave me alone’ with that answer. However, her words were enunciated less clearly than she had planned, shocking even herself.

  The female staff member offered a smile that seemed to see right through Kasumi’s bewilderment and sat down across from Kasumi without asking. Kasumi was slightly taken aback by this unilateral maneuver, but as she looked at the somewhat disingenuous smile, she quickly decided it did not matter.

  “I’m a counselor at this school, Ono Haruka.”

  “I’m Saegusa Kasumi, first year.”

  Haruka had aimed her self-introduction for the precise moment that the troubled look vanished from Kasumi’s face and Kasumi had automatically given her name in return.

  “Saegusa-san is in Class C, I believe?”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  Because Haruka had stolen the initiative, Kasumi was following Haruka’s lead.

  “Class C isn’t in my charge, but I’ll listen to any worries you have.”

  “I’m not really worried about anything.”

  Her mental resistance didn’t last long and Kasumi earnestly talked about how she had to spend too much time waiting for Izumi, who had joined the Student Council.

  “I see. You have mixed feelings about it?”

  Haruka, who had leaned forward to listen to Kasumi’s tale with a serious face, offered those words in a whisper.

  What do you mean by mixed, Kasumi thought suspiciously, but Haruka’s words continued faster than Kasumi could question her.

  “Saegusa-san, why don’t you give the Public Morals Committee a try?”

  For Kasumi, Haruka’s suggestion was abrupt and completely unexpected. Haruka smiled agreeably as she peeked into the eyes of Kasumi, who couldn’t make an immediate response.

  “Do you know of our school’s Public Morals Committee system?”

  The question just now required a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.

  “Yes… I heard about it from my older sister.”

  Although Kasumi remained perplexed, she was still able to answer this question.

  “Okay. Then I can make this quick.”

  Haruka did not ask who Kasumi’s ‘older sister’ was. The family name of ‘Saegusa’ was both uncommon and well known so she knew who Kasumi’s older sister was without asking; moreover, Haruka had known Kasumi’s identity before she had introduced herself.

  “Actually, the staff recommendation is one way to get on the committee. To make it short, we pick freshmen to fill the vacancies in the committee.”

  “You mean me? Excuse me, is it alright to unilaterally decide that right here?”

  “If you were to accept it, no one would complain.”

  Haruka smiled slightly at
the expected outburst from Kasumi, who had finally regained her vitality.

  “I thought that you would be able to do work that would not be inferior to Shiba-kun’s last year.”

  And this remark, spoken in a superficially casual manner, made the eyes of Kasumi, who until now was not really interested, change color.

  “Shiba-senpai, do you mean the elder brother?”

  “Yes.”

  For an instant, Haruka’s face displayed a ‘gotcha’ look but Kasumi didn’t notice.

  “Last year, Shiba, who was recommended by the Student Council, stood out as much as a member of the Public Morals Committee as Chief Watanabe-san herself. The staff-recommended Morisaki is also remembered for his reliable battle skills, but it is undeniable that he was seen as somewhat overshadowed by Shiba-kun. Besides last year, problems occurred with one of the other committee members recommended by the staff. If things like that continue a bit more, then people will look suspiciously at the staff. It would help us a lot if you would undertake this.”

  It might not have been necessary for Haruka to articulate two reasons. When she made the point about Tatsuya standing out, Kasumi was filled with a blend of fighting spirit and antagonism.

  “I understand. Please let me do it!”

  She was so enthused right now, she seemed to have flames behind her.

  “…Thank you. I’ll contact the Public Morals Chief. I think you might even be contacted by them tomorrow.”

  Since she knew that trouble had occurred before and after the admissions ceremony, Haruka had used that knowledge to incite her. However, she had been more stirred up by it than Haruka had predicted. What on earth had actually happened, Haruka could not help wondering.

  Chapter 7

  The freshmen representative deciding not to join the Student Council was an unthinkable event, but without any other fuss, First High School went into club recruitment week. (Azusa muttered something like ‘this year, let there be peace…’ which all the Second Year officers pretended not to hear.)

  However, without exception each year, trouble to a greater or lesser extent (in this case, ‘lesser’ might be an unneeded adjective) occurred during new club member recruitment week, so there was no way it would end peacefully. The recruitment week started on the second Monday in April and went until Friday the thirteenth. Azusa’s prayer of ‘may we get through it this year without anything happening’ was an impossible dream that would die a noble death.

  On this day and every day prior to it, Tatsuya and Miyuki were on standby after school in the club affairs headquarters. That way they could respond instantly when trouble erupted. Last year, Mayumi and Hattori had occupied this position. Having two Student Council Vice Presidents was an irregular configuration and emptying the Student Council room of these two Vice Presidents might be perceived as presenting an easily destroyed battle formation, but doubting Miyuki’s magic abilities was an indulgence no one dared attempt and Tatsuya’s true strength had been proven beyond doubt in a different dimension than practical skills classes, which is actual practice (actual combat). If the siblings patrolled as an actual unit, whatever anyone actually thought beneath the surface, no one would oppose it.

  In that room, they were on stand by with one of the executives of the club affairs’ Public Safety Division. Since before Hattori’s inauguration as Chairman, a system had been in place where each club sent one member to the Public Safety Division as needed, but since he had become Chairman, the regular system had undergone a change — the scale had expanded. All twenty members in a four shift rotation were stationed in their main office in a battle array; it was the largest force in school exceeding that of the Public Morals and the Student Council. Although he was undeniably inferior in terms of charisma to the previous Chairman, Katsuto, Hattori’s abilities as an organizational manager were superior to his predecessor as shown by this action.

  Yesterday, the headquarters was stuffed with Public Safety Division members. The members were almost entirely students Tatsuya hadn’t had much contact with, including the Second Years. He didn’t know much more than their names and faces. However, today there was a senior with whom he was more than vaguely familiar with.

  “Nevertheless, it’s quite strange. I, who clumsily caused an incident last year that nearly got me suspended, now one of the people controlling the chaos this year.”

  “Senpai, is that something you should say about yourself?”

  “Kirihara, please don’t talk about that too much… I’d be troubled if someone came in and took it the wrong way.”

  Tatsuya’s response had a ‘shocked’ tone, but Hattori really put on a show with his response: an elbow on the desk, fingers rubbing his forehead and sighing deeply.

  “It’s probably okay. Since no one’s listening.”

  Currently, there were only four people in the club affairs room: Hattori, Kirihara, Tatsuya, and Miyuki. There were four members of the Public Safety Division on duty today, but two of them were making sure that the schedule for the use of the small gym for demonstrations was kept to by apparently going to watch them, and the other two had been patrolling around campus from the beginning.

  “Oops, I jinxed it. We’ll cut off this conversation here.”

  However, immediately after Kirihara claimed ‘there’s no one here’, the third year female member of the Public Safety Force came back from the small gym.

  “The Kendo club’s demonstration has just started.”

  Behind the female student who was reporting on the status of the small gym to Hattori, Tatsuya checked the clock and, as ordered, changed the topic.

  “Ah. Apparently the Kendo club is adhering to the time limit quite punctually.”

  Kirihara said this because many clubs went over their time limit for demonstrations.

  “You’re not going Senpai? You spent more hours practicing with the Kendo club in March.”

  “You’re well informed…”

  “I was in the Public Morals Committee last month. Occasionally, I would watch the practices.”

  “Just when… I was completely unaware of you.”

  The look Kirihara was sending Tatsuya was tinged with horror and fear. However, seeing Tatsuya’s aloof face made Kirihara quickly unclench his shoulders. He recalled that it was all meaningless at this point.

  “Certainly, I participated in the practices, but I didn’t transfer to the Kendo club. The week after next, the Kendo club has a practice match.”

  As he spoke, Kirihara named the school that was the national high school champion.

  “They are taking part.”

  “So, that’s why you have been attending the Kendo club practices?”

  “That’s right. It’s a good opportunity, I thought it shouldn’t be wasted.”

  Tatsuya and Kirihara had met in close to the worst possible way, but now they were close enough to chat harmoniously like this.

  However, a bulletin chime rang out on Hattori’s desk, interrupting this calm interval.

  The sound of the old fashioned bell signaled Hattori that a report had just been received by the mechanism in the desk. After a short call, he stood up and called over Tatsuya and Miyuki.

  “Shiba, Shiba-san.”

  It was a complicated phrasing but this was Hattori’s default way of addressing the pair.

  “Yes?”

  Miyuki answered in a calm voice. Tatsuya silently stood up and waited for Hattori’s next words.

  “Trouble has broken out at the Robot Research club’s garage. Go arbitrate it.”

  Hattori looked at Tatsuya as he gave those directions. There was no deep meaning to it — Tatsuya was simply the easier person to give orders to.

  “Understood.”

  This time, Tatsuya was the one to respond vocally. Miyuki showed her agreement with a bow and the pair went to the scene.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Activities to recruit freshmen were limited to one week; afterward, they were limited to freshmen who voluntarily applied,
which was the principal source of conflict between the clubs who took part in magic-based sports. Nevertheless, that definitely didn’t mean clubs other than the sports clubs did not clash during recruitment week. Right now, in front of the garage the Robot Research Club used as a clubroom, the Robot Research Club and the Bike Club were glaring at each other with a single freshman caught between them.

  The Bike Club was not a club for the purpose of riding bikes; their club’s activities included making and remodeling bikes and were originally part of the Robot Research Club. It would be okay to say that the Robot Research Club had split on movement using legs and movement using wheels. Due to this background, the two clubs were normally at odds. The Bike Club, which rented a former car maintenance facility nearby, could be said to harbor more antagonism to its rival than the Robot Research Club, who had a garage on campus.

  Both clubs had their eyes on an extremely eye catching freshman with platinum blonde hair, silver eyes and white skin. His slight physique and winsome facial features gave off an impression of cuteness to observers. He was a boy that stirred up desires to ‘make him their mascot’ in the second and third year girls. The third year girls of both clubs were standing in the front rows of those glaring at each other.

  “Give up gracefully. Sumisu-kun said he would join the Robot Research club, right?”

  The name of the freshman who had become the prize in their battle was Sumisu Kento. The freshman Tatsuya had found wandering around lost before the admissions ceremony.

  “Haven’t your ears gotten bad from using the press machine too much? Sumisu-kun hasn’t said one word about that, right. Because we were the ones to talk to him first, your side has no cause to complain.”

  “We’re not first come first served elementary students. Have you been shaken up like the old fashioned reciprocating engines you try to fix?”

  “Old fashioned?! Those words are only to be expected from a cutting edge geek who is hooked on playing with life-sized mechanical dolls!”

  A pretty large crowd of riffraff had been drawn to watch the unsightly mudslinging match between girls as spectators. However, the male club members hanging back behind the girls,