Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 03 - Nine Schools Competition (I)

by Sato Tsutomu

  "Why is this happening! Don't unilaterally decide to shorten other people's names!"

  "So you want me to call you Mikihiko? Eh~...... Mikihiko Mikihiko Mikihiko Mikihiko...... That's too big a mouthful, I don't want to call you that."

  Mikihiko wasn't the only one who thought this was ridiculous.

  "Don't you feel embarrassed by it?"

  "What do you mean embarrassed?"

  Erika suddenly bent at the waist.

  "Mikihiko......"

  Erika brought her face directly in front of the sitting Mikihiko and softly murmured his name with a melodious voice.

  His fury forcibly overwritten by other emotions, Mikihiko was struck speechless.

  "......Who is that?"

  Not just the person in question, even Leo was wavering. Quite the impressive destructive power.

  "Well? Isn't it embarrassing?"

  Erika's hair seemed to grow at an accelerated rate; she had entered school with her hair cropped short, but after three short months it had already grown to shoulder length. She tucked her hair behind one ear and revealed a delighted smile.

  No matter how obstinate Mikihiko was, even he wasn't able to quell his wavering heart.

  "In...... In that case......"

  "Ah, stuttering......"

  Mizuki softly whispered. Her personality was probably the more merciless one.

  Fortunately, Mikihiko didn't have the excess mental capacity to hear Mizuki's words.

  "Just call me by my family name!"

  "Eh? I thought Miki hated other people calling him by that?"

  That comment had been made too rashly.

  Mikihiko's face tightened.

  His red, panicked face and attitude were the same as before.

  In addition, there was a deep sense of shame tucked beneath the anger.

  However, Tatsuya felt that Mikihiko currently hid dark emotions that bordered on hatred.

  "Erika, isn't it time for you to go?"

  At the risk of being a busybody, Tatsuya interposed on this conversation and directed Erika's attention onto himself. Tatsuya discreetly pointed behind him where the coach (the physical education teacher) was glaring over at them.

  "Shit! Tatsuya-kun, see you around!"

  "Eh? Erika, wait for me!"

  Erika hurriedly took off, with Mizuki quickly following.

  Tatsuya waved at their retreating backs with a wry smile on his face.

  After an awkward period of silence......

  "Sorry for dragging you in."

  Mikihiko spoke in a soft tone with his head bowed. He appeared to have deep rooted issues with his family and, while he consciously knew that they existed, there were still momentary lapses in his self control.

  "Maybe my interference wasn't needed."

  Tatsuya's words weren't merely for comfort, but were spoken from the heart. From what had just transpired, this obviously wasn't the first time this had occurred, and Erika's actions may have been to intentionally provoke Mikihiko. Allowing buried frustration and inner emotions to vent may be the best possible way to prevent emotional scars.

  "No, that's hardly the case, especially since we're still in class."

  However, the reason Mikihiko spoke of was exactly the reason why Tatsuya interfered. Any course of action had a proper time and place, especially since Tatsuya didn't want to become mired in Mikihiko...... Or maybe Erika and Mikihiko's ongoing issue.

  "That being said, Tatsuya is certainly a calm one."

  Mikihiko abruptly changed the topic, possibly because he shrewdly detected Tatsuya's "not interested in getting entangled" mood.

  "What brought this up?"

  Given the conversation up until this point, Tatsuya understood that Mikihiko might portray a certain attitude in class, but he was actually very sensitive to others' moods and emotions. It was just that this change was too abrupt, to the point that any sense of logic was lost.

  "What do you mean what......"

  Mikihiko hadn't properly formulated his thoughts before speaking up, so he wasn't able to properly convey his meaning.

  "Well...... I mean, you saw what Erika was wearing, yet you didn't bat an eyelid."

  Even so, his example was still too vague, or quite a stretch.

  "......I was somewhat surprised at her dress, but surely it wasn't exposed enough to qualify for that much of a reaction? I thought that it was certainly more conservative than a swimsuit or rhythm gear."

  Tatsuya's real thoughts were more along the lines of "what the hell is this guy talking about", but considering today was the first time they were formally introduced to Mikihiko, and due to the confrontational nature of those words, Tatsuya elected to respond in a more neutral fashion. Anyone who overheard this conversation would certainly think that Tatsuya was going on a tangent.

  "You don't care because it was less provocative than swimsuits or rhythm gear? Somehow that just strikes me in the wrong way."

  From a youthful perspective, Leo's critique was right on the mark. Even though Mikihiko raised the question in the first place, even Leo was offering his own abrasive opinion.

  "......Tatsuya, you've wilted too much. You no longer possess the hallmark of youth."

  Possibly because they both suffered Erika's teasing (?), the two of them mutually selected Tatsuya to be their next target.

  "Tatsuya isn't wilted, the bar is set too high for him. With such a beautiful little sister, the majority of normal girls wouldn't be able to attract his attention."

  "Hm...... You're probably right, given that this is Miyuki-san we're talking about? When I saw her for the first time during the enrollment ceremony, I wasn't just staring dumbly, I was honestly shocked. I can't believe someone so beautiful actually exists in the world."

  "Ho? Tatsuya, he's got an eye on your cute little sister. As her brother, what do you have to say?"

  Leo wore a mischievous smile as he interrogated Tatsuya, but the person who answered wasn't the currently beset Tatsuya, but Mikihiko, who had just been betrayed (?) by his comrade.

  "Don't be like that, you're reading too much into it. I was just talking about it and I have no plans to take the next step, since just thinking about it makes me shake in my boots. If I was looking for a girlfriend, I'd hope I could find a more relaxing and easy-going partner."

  Mikihiko's words led to Leo nodding deeply in agreement — nodding so deeply that his actions looked intentionally exaggerated.

  "You're right. Not only that, a hardcore bro-con is hard enough, but to get past the invincible sis-con older brother...... The bar is just too high."

  "Leo...... It looks like we need to have another in-depth conversation."

  "Uh, no. That would be too terrifying. I don't want to put my life on the line for something like this."

  Tatsuya's heavy gaze caused Leo to quiver in an overblown fashion.

  Anyone could tell that Leo was acting, but a portion of the shaking seemed to be genuine, a point that aroused great interest from Mikihiko as he gazed at the two of them.

  Leo was taller than Tatsuya by a margin.

  His limbs were also thicker and stronger.

  From his performance during their team competition, their agility should be roughly equal.

  Tatsuya was rumored to have studied under a famous ninjutsu sensei, but was he really that capable in a fight?

  Enough to overcome his deficit in Magic Power?

  Mikihiko wasn't aware why he drew Tatsuya's interest, but he knew from the get go why he was interested in Tatsuya.

  Mikihiko was interested in the reason behind Tatsuya's prowess. He was a newly enrolled Course 2 student that could go toe to toe against Course 1 students and triumph. Mikihiko wanted to know how Tatsuya obtained such power.

  For Mikihiko, he earnestly wanted to find a way for him to bridge the gap in Magic Power.

  A replacement for the "power" he lost a year ago.

  Up until one year ago, Mikihiko was held to be a prodigy, the star of tomorrow that the Yo
shida family rested their hopes and dreams on.

  Within the various magics of the Yoshida family that had been passed down, one of the core techniques lay in "Summoning Magic", a skill that Mikihiko possessed enough talent in to eclipse even his older brother who had inherited the family mantle.

  From early adolescence until that accident, Mikihiko had always seen himself as one of the strong, and was thus unable to accept his fall from grace.

  He knew he was being overly anxious, and he also realized he was withdrawing himself. That feeling of being powerless was sapping away his energy, forcing himself deeper and deeper into the corner.

  This past year, he had been relentlessly pursuing knowledge of the arcane.

  He had also been practicing martial arts that he had hitherto been lukewarm towards.

  Even so, he was still unable to fill that sense of loss.

  So once he learned that Tatsuya was also a student with inferior technical skills and imperfect magic ability, yet was still able to overcome upperclassmen that boasted greater Magic Power, there was no way Mikihiko could not be drawn towards Tatsuya.

  A close combat technique capable of overcoming a deficiency in Magic Power?

  Mikihiko wanted to let Tatsuya and Leo compete against one another so he could see with his own eyes.

  Subconsciously, he also wanted to challenge Tatsuya at one point.

  "Mikihiko?"

  "Ah?"

  That was probably the reason.

  Hearing his name suddenly called, Mikihiko fell into a combat crouch.

  Seeing his reaction, both Tatsuya and Leo forced a smile.

  "Please, is there a need for such a murderous reaction?"

  "What is it? I was going to say you've suddenly gone quiet, then you fall into that stance?"

  "Ah, no...... I'm sorry, it was nothing."

  Mikihiko could only apologize shamefacedly. He originally wasn't adept at social interaction.

  The rare friendly atmosphere turned tense and, even though Tatsuya and Leo both tried to lighten the mood, the original cheer never returned even when class ended.

  ◇◇◇

  For high schools attached to magic universities, the Nine Schools Competition held in summer and the Thesis Competition held in fall were major events. The extravagance of the Nine Schools Competition largely overshadowed the Thesis Competition, making it the single greatest event on the calendar.

  The Nine Schools Competition was an intramural contest based on athletic magic competitions (Besides magic competitions, there were riddle events, table top games, timed maze challenges, and even treasure hunts). First High also had clubs for every occasion, but since competition was fiercest around the Nine Schools Competition itself, participants were not only selected from clubs, but anyone deemed capable of winning was selected as a participant.

  Thanks to this, preparations for the Nine Schools Competition passed from the Clubs Management Group to the Student Council.

  "Even so, it's not like we can ignore the official participants from the clubs. Just deciding who goes on the final roster is going to be a major headache......"

  Even Mayumi, who usually mesmerized everyone with her radiant smile, seemed to wilt a little today.

  The fingers that held the chopsticks in her bento seemed boneless as well.

  Recently, Miyuki was also very busy, but the President not only had to handle executive tasks, but other tiresome tasks that were not present given her usually sunny mood.

  "Thankfully due to Juumonji's powerful assistance in this matter, we finally have a roster nailed down."

  Today's lunch and show was Mayumi endlessly complaining about this and that, but it looked like the curtains were finally coming down.

  Tatsuya's stomach wasn't weak enough to be upset by such trivialities, but always eating lunch with this as the background music would have an adverse effect on the nerves, so Tatsuya heaved a small sigh of relief when Mayumi stopped grouching.

  "However, the engineer problem far outweighs the participant problem......"

  ......Or not.

  "We still don't have the right headcount?"

  Mayumi powerlessly nodded at Mari's inquiry.

  "The majority of our students aim to be Magicians, so talented personnel generally gravitate towards technical skills...... Our 3rd Year students are particularly worrisome, with our numbers in the Magic Artificer department reaching dangerous lows. In 2nd Year we have capable people in A-chan and Isori-kun, but our numbers are still insufficient......"

  "Isori, eh...... That guy specializes in geometry, so he's stronger in theory rather than maintenance, right?"

  "We're long past the point of caring about these things."

  It was extremely rare to see both Mayumi and Mari sigh, which said a lot about how serious things were — although using this to evaluate how serious the situation was would be slightly wrong.

  "Even if Juumonji and I help out, there's a limit to how much we can do......"

  "Aren't the two of you our primary participants as well? If you're too busy worrying about other people's CADs and allow that to affect your own events, that's not something we can joke around with."

  "......If Mari could maintain her own CAD, that would lessen the burden a lot."

  "......Yeah, we're in trouble."

  Maybe due to exhaustion or some other reason, Mari avoided Mayumi's earnest gaze and looked elsewhere.

  The atmosphere in the Student Council Room was borderline hazardous to psychological well being.

  In order to return to the classroom — that is, evacuate the premises, Tatsuya signaled Miyuki with a look, then sought a proper opening.

  "Rin-chan, can you help as an engineer?"

  Even with the chaos surrounding the preparations for the Nine School Competition, Suzune still hung around in the Student Council Room during lunch and was someone Mayumi never failed to invite.

  "That's impossible. My skills would only hamper Nakajou and the others."

  But was coldly rebuffed each time.

  With the apologies to the currently depressed Mayumi, but this was the perfect opportunity to beat a retreat.

  Tatsuya glanced meaningfully at Miyuki, then rose—

  "Then...... How about we ask Shiba-kun?"

  —Just as Tatsuya rose, his escape plan was ruthlessly derailed by Azusa's unexpected attack.

  "Hoh?"

  Mayumi, who originally had her head slumped on the table, abruptly lifted her head and let out an unintelligible sound.

  Azusa, who up until this moment had been venting her irritation at the large flatscreen terminal in front of her — probably deep in the middle of homework — softly sighed as she hit the power button on her terminal and raised her head.

  "I heard that Miyuki-chan's CAD is maintained by Shiba-kun. I've seen it before, and its specs rival those of a first-class corporate technician."

  Mayumi jumped out of her chair.

  Her face was suffused with vitality, as if that earlier dejected scene never happened.

  "Blind spot......!"

  The gaze Mayumi directed towards Tatsuya was like a hawk eyeing its new found prey.

  That alone was sufficient for Tatsuya to give up halfway.

  "You're right...... I can't believe I didn't think of that, how careless."

  Now that Mari had joined the fray, he was up a creek without a paddle.

  "Speaking of which, he also handled the reserve CADs the Committee owns...... But since he's the only one using them, I never thought about it."

  Resistance was futile. Tatsuya was about 90% ready to give up at this point, but surrendering without a fight was against his principles, so Tatsuya attempted a tiny — most likely fruitless — resistance.

  "Earlier I heard the Chief talk about the importance of CAD technicians, but there's no precedent for a 1st Year technician, is there?"

  "Everything has to start somewhere."

  "Traditions are made to be overturned."

  Mayumi and
Mari immediately returned fire at a furious rate.

  "The two of you may be 'progressive thinkers', but won't the other participants balk at this? I'm a 1st Year Course 2 student, this would leave a negative impression on many people."

  This was a little self-depreciating coming from him, but that didn't mean it wasn't true.

  "For CAD maintenance, mutual trust between Magician and Artificer is extremely important. A CAD's maximum performance is dictated by the level of the user's mental state. Using a person like me to maintain CADs would lead to severe participant backlash, so I don't think I'm a good candidate......"

  Tatsuya's logic also had its own merits, causing Mayumi and Mari to exchange a glance.

  However, regardless of what Tatsuya said, the two of them had already seen through his facade.

  In order to deliver the final blow to the lazy (?) underclassman that didn't want to take the hot potato and force him to join, the two of them were visually confirming the order of attack (verbal persuasion).

  At this time, they received some unexpected reinforcements.

  "I was hoping that Onii-sama could work with my CAD while I'm participating in the Nine Schools Competition...... Is that okay?"

  Tatsuya froze at Miyuki's completely unexpected betrayal (?).

  In a Shakespearean drama, Tatsuya's mood would undoubtedly mirror that of Caesar as he was assassinated: "Et tu, Miyuki (Brutus)......!"

  "Exactly! Having a trustworthy and competent technician nearby is absolutely integral for participants to rely on. Well said, Miyuki-chan!"

  Mayumi immediately followed up on the attack.

  "Yes, if Onii-sama joined the Technician Team, not only I, but Mitsui-san and Kitayama-san could set our minds at ease."

  This is the first time that Tatsuya learned those two were entering the Newcomers Division as participants, but he considered them to be the expected candidates.

  —This was also him trying to escape from reality.

  Obviously, the battle had been decided.

  The preparation meeting held after school in the Club Management Center would decide whether Tatsuya officially joins the roster.

  There might be a tiny ray of hope, but Tatsuya had long since given up.

  The moment Miyuki assented, Tatsuya had nowhere to run. Under the assumption that his confirmation was in serious jeopardy, he actually had to work hard towards ensuring he was nominated and accepted — these were all within his calculations.