by Sato Tsutomu
"...If this is destiny, then it definitely isn't fate, and looks more like doom."
Tatsuya's reply caused Mayumi's face to darken as she turned around. "Is that so..." A lonely muttering meandered to Tatsuya's ear.
Dark clouds of depression gathered behind her back.
Tatsuya also felt that he might have gone too far. Even though his response was based on his estimation that Mayumi was completely teasing him, but if there was a shade of sincerity in them, then he needed to apologize.
However.
There was no way to tell if it was good luck or bad, but the sense of guilt didn't linger for too long.
That was probably due to confusion, given the circumstances.
"...Tch."
As her shoulders slumped slightly, Mayumi's lips dropped a sound that could only mean a sense of defeat.
It was Tatsuya's turn to widen his eyes.
It was only a small sound to be sure, and not graceful in any way, but could still be identified. (!)
"Um, President?"
"Hm, what is it?"
Mayumi turned around to face Tatsuya, her elegant smile would have charmed any newly enrolled male student.
"...Why do I feel like I understand you a little better now, President?"
Feeling utterly exhausted, Tatsuya thought that he glimpsed Mayumi's real face behind the mask.
And that is, a smiling face that loved to tease others.
"It's about time to stop the jokes. Tatsuya-kun, too much leisure time can be a bad thing."
Towards Mayumi, who was completely guiltless and treated the entire thing as a joke, Mari said.
"You can't use the same tricks you used on Hattori, Mayumi. Your appearance doesn't work on him."
Mari took the opportunity to throw in her two cents.
"Don't describe others in such an evil manner. It's as if I like messing with underclassmen."
Unable to ignore the previous comment, Mayumi answer became a little heated.
"Regarding what I just heard..."
Tatsuya deeply regretted opening his mouth with prior consideration, and began to clean up again. If he stayed too long in the miasma spread by the others, he would definitely suffer additional damage.
"The difference in Mayumi's attitude is because she's already acknowledged you, Tatsuya-kun.
She probably considers the two of you to be quite alike in some areas.
In other words, she's playing coy. She only takes off her mask in front of the people she acknowledges."
At Mari's oddly solemn expression, Tatsuya felt a sense of unease.
"Don't believe what Mari says, Tatsuya-kun.
But, I guess I do acknowledge you?
It feels like I can't deal with you the same way I treat the others.
Maybe the one touched by fate is me."
Hearing this, and seeing Mayumi's smiling face that no sane man could hate, Tatsuya's internal pace has been completely disrupted.
Looks like challenging these two directly from the front, would be an exercise in futility, Tatsuya thought.
◇◇◇
The reason Mayumi came to visit, was actually to inform them that the Student Council Room was closing early. She was only supposed to check on Tatsuya in passing, but that had quickly become her primary objective before long. It probably wasn't a good idea to dwell too long on that subject.
Since the end of the enrollment ceremony, many different action items have also come to a head. "Then, I'm going ahead." Mayumi waved and walked towards the Student Council Room.
Tomorrow marked the first day for the competition for new club members, so the activity level of the Public Moral Committee was going to increase as well. Mayumi's conversation with Mari and Tatsuya ended at this point.
Current information systems, much like their predecessors, required very little time to operate.
Several of them needed to be shut down, but even if this step was overlooked, they would still automatically enter sleep mode.
The only thing that needed to be done at this point was set safety protocols, but at this opportune moment — or maybe unfortunate moment, two male students entered the Public Morale Committee headquarters.
"Hi."
"Good morning!"
A vibrant greeting spread throughout the room.
"Oi, Nee-san, can we come in?"
Where the heck is this, and what year are we in, Tatsuya thought.
The subject in question was not overly tall, but possessed a sturdy build, with shortly cropped hair that was very suited for a headband. And to so casually use "Nee-san", he must be referring to—
(Must be Watanabe-senpai...)
Tatsuya glanced briefly at Mari, who was a little embarrassed.
That she still retained (at the very least) some sense of normalcy, brought a ridiculous amount of relief to Tatsuya. "Chief, today's patrol is done! No arrests!"
When compared to the other guy, this one had a bland appearance and his speech pattern was quite normal, but filled with an imposing manner. The unmoving stance he took while giving his report reminded people of a soldier, or maybe a police officer, or someone part of a system that has largely remained unchanged over the years. (!)
"...You're telling me that Nee-san cleaned this room?"
At the abrupt changes in the activity room, the sturdy one could not conceal his surprise as he walked towards Tatsuya.
There shouldn't be a major difference in weight, but amazingly, his footsteps were incredibly slow in comparison.
Just as the boy passed in front of Mari, she casually stood up, looked towards him—
"A-ya!"
SPA! There was a sound that was pleasing to the ear, just as the boy crouched down and covered his head.
Mari held a notebook rolled into a rod.
When did she pull that out.
"Don't call me Nee-san! How many times do I have to tell you for you to remember! Koutarou, is your brain a decoration!"
Tatsuya had not yet sorted through his confusion, but Mari had already roared her displeasure at the boy covering his head.
"Please don't hit me on the head, Nee... No, Chief. Speaking of which, who's this? The rookie?"
It probably didn't hurt that much, despite the boy named Koutarou's yammering. However, noticing the moving rolled up notebook, he quickly changed Nee-san to Mari's official title.
In front of Koutarou, who had gone rigid in nervousness, Mari lowered her shoulders and sighed.
"...It's just as you said, he's the rookie. 1st Year Class E Shiba Tatsuya. Recommended by the Student Council."
"Eh... There's no insignia."
Koutarou was very excited as he examined Tatsuya's coat, while at the same time checking out Tatsuya's build.
"Tatsumi-senpai, that's violating the ban on certain words! At this time, I think Course 2 student would be the proper description."
The other boy, despite saying this on the outside, could not disguise his coldly analytical body language. "The two of you should be careful, that kind of thinking may lead to a world of hurt in battle? I'll only say it once. He just thrashed Hattori."
However, just as Mari said this with a teasing smile on her face, the two boys' expressions became grave.
"...This guy, took out Hattori?"
"Yes, in a formal duel."
"What! The undefeated Hattori, losing to a newcomer."
"No need to shout, Sawaki. Didn't I just say that."
Tatsuya was not pleased at being stared at for so long, but these were not just upperclassmen, but his seniors in the Public Morale Committee. He'll just have to bear with it for a little longer.
"This guy is quite determined."
"He's got potential, Chief."
Like musicians recovering from a disrupted rhythm, their gazes changed. Almost as if they could change appearances on cue.
"Surprised?"
"Hm?"
The question was too vague, so it was hard to tell what was being asked, but it
didn't seem like Mari expected Tatsuya to answer anyways.
"This school is filled with people immersed in the idea that labeling Blooms and Weeds determines their superiority. To be honest, I hate that. So I am very pleased with the outcome of today's match.
Thankfully, Mayumi and Juumonji both understand my personality. Thus, the members recommended by the Student Council and the Club Management Group aren't people brainwashed into that sort of thinking. While I can't say that there's no sense of superiority here, but we're all people that can objectively evaluate another person's skills.
Unfortunately, the three students recommended by the teachers are more from the former category, so there's nothing we can do about it, but I think this place wouldn't be a bad fit for you."
"3rd Year Class C Tatsumi Koutarou. Welcome aboard Shiba. If you got the skills, you're fine in my book."
"2nd Year Class D Sawaki Midori. Welcome to our group, Tatsuya-kun."
Koutarou and Sawaki both reached out a hand. Just as Mari said, there wasn't a hint of insult in their expression. Their earlier evaluation, was simply to see if Tatsuya had any ability, and whether he was a Course 1 or Course 2 student made no difference to them, Tatsuya finally understood this.
He had to admit he was somewhat surprised. Indeed, this wasn't a bad atmosphere.
He returned their greeting and shook Sawaki's hand. For some reason, the hand wasn't released.
"Juumonji is from the Club Management Group; you can refer to him as Group Leader Juumonji."
Was it just to tell me that? You could've told me that after you released my hand.
"I'm up next. Please refer to me by my family name Sawaki."
Upon feeling pressure on his hand, Tatsuya's consciousness was pulled back to reality.
His grip strength had increased to the point where you could hear the movement, Tatsuya was surprised to find.
This school has excellent students, and not just solely in the magic department.
"Don't call me by my name."
That appeared to be the warning.
There was no need for such a roundabout warning, as Tatsuya was not in the habit of referring to upperclassmen by name, but since Sawaki took time to specifically mention this, he should respond as well.
"I'll remember that."
At the same time these words were spoken, his right hand was released.
Upon seeing Tatsuya's physical skills, Koutarou's surprise surpassed Sawaki's own.
"Ho, that's quite impressive. Sawaki's grip strength is at least in the triple digits."
"...I think that hardly qualifies as normal physical abilities, even for Magicians."
Tatsuya pretended not to know, giving only a light response.
He's probably going to get along quite well with these two, Tatsuya thought.
Chapter 4
When compared to traditional auxiliary equipment such as magic staves, tomes, or talismans, CADs possessed superior invocation speed, refinement, complexity, and were capable of executing large scale magics. They were the definitive auxiliary equipment in the modern age.
That being said, they weren't universally superior in all categories when compared to traditional auxiliary equipment.
Due to the precise nature of CADs, when compared to traditional auxiliary equipment, maintenance required additional effort.
This was especially the case when dealing with the compatibility between the user's Psion wave motions and the Receive-Release System.
CAD utilized the Psions released by Magicians as raw materials (it may be more appropriate to describe it as the ink for paintings), directed towards the Activation Sequence in the Psion Information Aide, where Magicians then use their own physical bodies as a conductor for reading the Activation Sequence before plugging the result into the magic design. Depending on the quality of CAD maintenance, this could influence the speed of magic invocation anywhere between 50-100%.
In other words, Psions are particles of thought or consciousness made concrete. Their manifestation can be extremely diverse. For every hundred people there would be a hundred different types, and a thousand users would create a thousand types. Every individual has a unique Psion wave motion, so if the CAD wasn't finely tuned to their specific use, the user would encounter difficulty managing the exchange of Psions.
Besides that, there are many essential points that lead to a custom fit CAD.
These would fall under the purview of the Magic Artificers charged with CAD maintenance, and the reason why exceptionally skilled Magic Artificers were seen as coveted treasures.
In addition, the fluctuations of Psion wave motions reflect the growth of the physical body, such as changes as a result of age, and are subsequently affected. In fact, these fluctuations could change daily.
Thus, the ideal situation would call for daily maintenance based on the user's physical status, but CAD maintenance requires equipment that is extremely expensive.
Generally, only the military, police, central government, first class research institutes, famous schools, and well-financed major corporations possess the power and funding for CAD maintenance equipment and related trained personnel, an impossible scenario for small to mid-sized companies or personal use. Magicians in the latter categories resort to using Magic Machine Customization Stores once a month, or Mechanical Service Stores once or twice for scheduled check-ups.
First High was also considered to be one of the country's premiere schools, and thus naturally possessed special facilities for student use. It was a common sight to see students or faculty undergoing CAD maintenance on campus.
However, due to special circumstances, Tatsuya's house also contained state of the art CAD maintenance equipment.
◇◇◇
After dinner, in the basement that had been converted into a CAD maintenance room, Tatsuya turned around upon hearing the only other occupant in the house speak.
"It's OK, go ahead and come in. It's about time I took a break."
That statement wasn't a lie. Probably because Miyuki had waited for a period of time to elapse before attempting to speak with him.
"Excuse me. Onii-sama, I was hoping you could adjust my CAD..."
She was holding a cellphone-shaped CAD.
On her approach, the soft, pleasant smell of soap buffeted the senses.
She was wearing a simple, large velvet robe, something commonly seen during medical examinations.
"Are the settings incompatible?"
That apparel was for someone intent on maintenance.
"That's impossible! Onii-sama's adjustments are always perfect."
Because her response was always superlative accolades, there was little point in telling her to change. From previous experience, Tatsuya knew that trying to do so was pointless.
However, the last time they did a full maintenance was 3 days ago. Usually, they only did a full maintenance once a week unless there was an urgent reason, thought Tatsuya.
"It's just, that..."
"Don't worry about it. Go ahead and say it like you used to."
"Sorry, I actually wanted Onii-sama to help me change a few Activation Sequences..."
"What, just that. It's nothing to worry about. I was getting worried for a bit."
He softly brushed his sister's hair and took the CAD from her hands.
Miyuki dipped her head in embarrassment.
"So, what systems do you want to add?"
General CADs were limited to 99 registered Activation Sequences. Even for Miyuki's highly customized CAD, this was an insurmountable limit.
The variability of Activation Sequences were dependent on where the Activation Sequence combination ended and where the individual's Magic Calculation Area began in terms of execution. In reality, there were unlimited combinations.
Generally speaking, targets, strength, and ending requirements are set as variables to be executed by the Magic Calculation Area; all other essentials would be incorporated into the Activation Sequence. However, it wa
s not rare to see strength as the Activation Sequence quantity to reduce hydrochloric acid execution to increase Invocation Speed. Many Defensive-Type Magics relied on using the self as a physical marker in relation to the target, whereas Contact-Type Magic quantifies all the numbers. All these were introduced in the practical skills class. (!)
Miyuki belonged to the minority who registered a wide variety of low fixed quantity, highly flexible Activation Sequences.
For fifteen year old Miyuki, who could grasp magical skills far beyond what her age could suggest and had an incredibly varied repertoire of magic, 99 types was far below her actual ability.
"Binding-Type Activation Sequence... I want to increase the types of Anti-Personnel Combat Magics."
"Hm? You already have Speed Magics, so do you need to add Binding-Types?"
Of all the different types of magic, Miyuki specialized in Speed-Type Magics. One division of Speed-Type Magic was Freezing Magic, capable of reducing a target's temperature to near absolute zero.
"Onii-sama should know that Speed Magic is rarely directed towards individual use and very difficult to work with. Partial speed reduction or partial freezing are practically impossible, and the Invocation time is very long. I thought of this after watching today's match. I'm lacking in magics that use speed as the primary focus, with the intent on using the minimal force to subdue the opponent." (!)
"Hm... But I don't think Miyuki fits that type. Attacking before the opponent is ready and using speed to disrupt the opponent is a legitimate strategy. However, striking with force born of absolute superiority, using Zone Interference to nullify the incoming magic, then using magic that is both stronger and greater in scale than the opponent's defensive capability, don't you think that orthodox style fits you better?"
Zone Interference involved using the user's own Magic Power to nullify opposing magics within the user's immediate surroundings. This occurs when a zone has been saturated with a user's magic, rendering the zone "Unable to be Changed", thus overriding the opponent's magic attempt to rewrite the surroundings.
Just as Tatsuya said, Miyuki's Zone Interference was incredibly powerful. Even in magical combat, it was unlikely she would be harmed in any way. Usually, whoever seizes the initiative has the advantage; this is a fundamental strategy in magical combat, but when up against an opponent like Miyuki, the advantage of seizing the initiative would be greatly decreased.