by Sato Tsutomu
Also, she wasn't doing this on behalf of herself or Hirakawa's older sister who was in the same grade.
She was doing this for her alma mater.
The Ichihara Family was an Extra Family that had lost their number.
Now, discrimination against Extra Numbers was officially frowned upon, but that was a recent turnaround that happened twenty years ago. In her parents' generation, discrimination and bigotry ran rampant in their youth. Suzune's father was tragically ostracized in the magical community, hence they always hid the fact that the Ichihara Family was once the Extra "Ichihana" Family from her.
Suzune's childhood always had that shadow hanging over her. Once she reached middle school, she learned of the truth that her father hid from her as well as the reason for it. Possibly because of this reason, Suzune never felt that she belonged to the magical community.
Her first and foremost sense of belonging was to her school, the magic university affiliated First High.
Thus, she felt deeply indebted to Mayumi for giving her this opportunity as well as a powerful sense of school spirit that was second to no one.
During the Nine Schools Competition in the summer, Suzune and the other members of the brass from First High noticed a looming issue with the lack of magic engineers in the underclassmen.
The Year 1 Men's Team obtained unfavorable results not only because of their mentality; Suzune and the others reached an accord on another primary reason.
There were talented individuals like Azusa, Isori, and Tatsuya.
But, there were simply too few.
Remove those three, and the skill level dropped like a rock.
Underclassmen, especially the cultivation of magic engineers in the Year 1 students, became the first priority for the last semester that remained to them. In particular, encouraging talented Course 2 students was a focal point.
Course 1 students under direct teacher supervision was another story, but only the Student Council and Club Activities Group could locate quality talent lurking in the Course 2 students who weren't being nurtured by the faculty.
Among them, Hirakawa Chiaki walked into Suzune's line of sight.
A Year 1 student who loitered around with illegal tools. After some digging, she once scored very well in magic engineering and excelled in hardware repair and modification.
Her talents must be put to use for the alma mater.
In order to accomplish this, Suzune arrived at the conclusion that inciting her to compete against Shiba Tatsuya would be the most effective way.
(Oh well, not like this spells misfortune for anyone.)
......Using this sentence to draw her mental struggle to a close, Suzune truly was a young woman who befitted a "cool" description.
◊ ◊ ◊
The conference hall would be in Yokohama this year, so First High's representatives just had to meet up in the morning of the opening ceremony. Last year, the competition was held in Kyoto, so they had to depart the day before and spend the night over there.
For the same reason, representatives of schools in remote locations departed for Yokohama a day or two before and sought lodgings.
Kichijouji Shinkurou, bearing the title "Cardinal George", also did so as one of the representatives for Third High, one of the favorites to win this year.
Third High's representatives would present last. With modern transit's speed and comfort, they could reach Yokohama from Kanazawa even if they left the morning of, but that did not guarantee that nothing out of the ordinary would occur along the way. Thus, the team elected to leave school at noon the day before and spend one night in Yokohama.
"George, it's about time."
"Already? Got it, I'm on my way."
Kichijouji, who was currently reading something wholly unrelated to the Thesis Competition and the subsequent report, responded to Masaki's call and thumbed the power button of the Book Player in his hands.
(Wish I could bring this along. Maybe I could ask for permission......)
The trip to Yokohama took 3 hours.
It was simply too boring to sit there and stare.
Kichijouji reluctantly glanced at his Book Player carrying the unfinished article.
However, the data recorded within had been restricted by the National Magic University and it was forbidden to remove it from the premises.
Any request to borrow the material would undoubtedly be rejected.
With a sigh, Kichijouji forced himself to curtail any lingering attachments (not that there was anything important enough to warrant this overblown statement).
He put the book back on the shelf and stood up after picking up the travel bag by his feet.
The itinerary for Yokohama called for a large bus that could bring their stage device along.
Accurately speaking, they were taking the bus to the loading point, loading the entire bus onto the bullet train (cargo trains that could carry entire buses were now commonplace), and then heading to Yokohama at 600 kilometers per hour, so they would reach their destination without switching rides (mostly).
Although he wasn't exactly normal, he was still a 15 year old high school student. If he didn't have to worry about the other passengers, he probably wouldn't be bored if he could chat with his friends, he thought.
They were probably going to meet that man in Yokohama.
No, they were going to meet again, that was the more appropriate description.
Using the Year 1 student from First High whom they secretly saw as their rival as the topic, he could definitely use the man's young sister to tease his best friend to spend the time, Kichijouji thought with a wicked smile on his face.
◊ ◊ ◊
There was an upper class bar located near the top floor of the skyscraper "Yokohama Bay Hills Tower" that overlooked the Yokohama Harbor. A man and woman were taking in the scenery while raising glasses filled with ruby red fluid to their lips.
"The new wine from this year is quite exquisite."
"A pity I cannot identify the differences in taste. My apologies for wasting the choice wine you provided."
Unlike her usual inconspicuous garb, tonight Fujibayashi paid careful attention to her attire as she charmingly smiled, prompting Inspector Chiba Toshikazu to frantically wave his empty hand.
"No, this wine is a fresh product that the private bar here doesn't care about, so you can bring it into the store as soon as it's ready...... It's not really valuable......"
"Ara, isn't it wonderful to be able to sample this so quickly after its fermented?"
With Fujibayashi tilting her nose closer to the glass as she closed her eyes and slowly twirled the wine in the glass before opening her eyes to reveal a smoldering gaze, Toshikazu could only smile awkwardly.
"......Ah, so long as you like it. Thanks to Fujibayashi-san, the case was finally wrapped up, so please consider this my insufficient gift of appreciation."
"Pot, meet kettle, Mr. Inspector. After all, I couldn't just let them run wild either."
"Is that the Fujibayashi Family's stance? Or is it...... Nay, my apologies."
Noticing the clear eyes watching him without a trace of intoxication, Inspector Chiba recalled his agreement with Fujibayashi.
She only had one condition for providing information integral to the investigation.
And that was to "never ask of her background or goals".
Not asking about her background appeared to be an odd request for Fujibayashi Kyouko.
She was the daughter of the famous Fujibayashi Family who were renowned for Ancient Magic and the granddaughter of Kudou Retsu, one of the elders from the Ten Master Clans, which was something he knew in the beginning.
On top of this, she added a condition to "never ask for her background", which blatantly implied that she was more than meets the eye.
"Speaking of which, Mr. Inspector. Was the invitation today solely to 'return the favor'?"
"Eh!?"
Seeing the eldest son of the Chiba Family almost spray the con
tents of his glass all over the place, the young lady of the Fujibayashi Family smiled because of her successful surprise attack.
"If Mr. Inspector is available, I would enjoy his company beyond tonight and even tomorrow."
"Eh, ah, O-Of course! If you don't mind, of course I will accompany you!"
Chiba Toshikazu had not led a life wholly devoid of female company. The Chiba Family's dojo also had female disciples and his sister once fiercely berated him as the "dishonorable and lecherous Kazu-nii" owing to his wild days during his years as a student.
Rather than saying that he wasn't used to associating with women or was inept at dealing with women, it would be more appropriate to say that Fujibayashi was just special.
"Thank you very much. Then, shall we say 8:30 in the morning at the Sakura Town Bus Station?"
"......Morning?"
Inspector Chiba could only stare blankly at the smirking Fujibayashi.
"Are you unaware that tomorrow they are holding the National High School Magic Thesis Competition at the International Conference Hall?"
"No, I do know that......"
"I am acquainted with one of the young men presenting tomorrow, so I have to go cheer him on."
"Ha......"
Although he wasn't going to say this, Inspector Chiba's face seemed to betray his expectations for "I thought you meant something else". Fujibayashi's enticing words naturally led him to interpret her words as "accompany me tomorrow (night)".
Seeing Toshikazu's expression, not only did Fujibayashi not bat an eyelid, her smile remained the same as well.
"Oh, yes, make sure to inform all your subordinates as well. Make sure to prepare not only their CAD, but also weaponry and live ammunition would be of great assistance."
"Fujibayashi-san, what are you......"
The listless expression was swiftly dashed by shock and tightened as if someone had poured cold water on him.
"Of course, let's hope that nothing happens."
After answering Inspector Chiba's question this way, Fujibayashi quietly filled her wine glass.
Chapter 9
The opening day for the National High School Magic Thesis Competition.
Tatsuya and Miyuki arrived at the rendezvous site without any accidents along the way.
The path was clear because the cargo truck bringing the stage devices had already unloaded its cargo.
Isori appeared to have beat them here,
And they could also see Kirihara with Sayaka in tow.
Based on their timing, the siblings appeared to be the last ones to arrive.
"......Onii-sama, I believe you need to do something."
Tatsuya's consciousness, that had been doing its best to escape from reality as an innocent bystander, was forcibly dragged back into the mix by Miyuki's voice.
"Do I have to do something......?"
Faced with Tatsuya's sour expression, Miyuki nodded in "deep regret".
Before their downcast eyes, Erika and Kanon were glaring darkly at one another.
"What's the matter?"
Tatsuya was not the only one present who was a close acquaintance of both Erika and Kanon.
In terms of closeness, Miyuki also counted as one of their dear companions, whereas Isori certainly outranked Tatsuya from a relationship standpoint.
Yet, Kanon refused to listen to Miyuki's mediation or Isori's nudge to remain neutral.
Sighing, Tatsuya interposed between the two glaring individuals.
"Ah, Tatsuya-kun, good morning-"
After Tatsuya joined in, Erika quickly gave him a carefree greeting.
While completely ignoring her opponent in the glaring contest.
Now, Kanon's eyes darkened even further.
Seeing this, Tatsuya got a firm grasp of the situation.
However, even with that understanding, he was still stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"—Shiba-kun, why don't you speak with this unreasonable ojou-sama?"
(Seriously...... Not even a "would you like to", but a "why don't you", eh......)
Whether or not Kanon consciously realized this, her word usage had thrown the entire burden over to Tatsuya for him to handle.
"Ha......"
Nonetheless, Tatsuya adopted a "it doesn't matter" kind of attitude. No matter how Kanon saw this, when compared to the two of them fighting it out, if he could swiftly put an end to all the fuss, at least the incident would be quickly handled even if he was a little heavy handed.
"If you're leaving all the decision making to me, then I'm not going to hold back."
Tatsuya didn't include any further conditions but asked for the power of attorney.
Realizing this, Kanon unwillingly furrowed her brows.
However, once she saw Isori next to her refrain from objecting, she grudgingly accepted this.
Tatsuya brought Erika and Leo to one side of the main conference hall and sat down on the sofa.
(Naturally, Miyuki sat next to him.)
"......Well, I get the overall gist of things."
Tatsuya said towards the two individuals who were set on causing mayhem.
"Erika probably didn't want a head-on confrontation either."
"......Sorry. I ended up causing Tatsuya-kun a lot of trouble......"
This rare, praiseworthy attitude that Erika displayed astonished Tatsuya. Based on her personality, she wasn't the type to read the subtle changes in other's emotions as her strong (more like "intentional") personality often rubbed people the wrong way despite her good intentions, thus leading to considerable awkwardness.
In this regard, Tatsuya still had a long way to go as a judge of character. The human heart was not something that could be so easily deciphered like magic.
"—It's not like you have to be part of the security detail, you can cheer us on from the audience stands. If anything happens, no one would complain if you chipped in to help."
Tatsuya intentionally placed emphasis on the word "help". Hearing this, Erika's previously downcast expression reverted to her usual warmth to the point that the corners of her lips twitched in a smile that clearly said "you evil man".
"Help, eh?"
"If you're bored before the match, then come play around in the back area. Since you're friends of mine, you don't have to hold back."
Hearing Tatsuya emphasize the words "play" and "friends" in his proposal, Erika and Leo exchanged a look before bursting into delighted laughter.
◊ ◊ ◊
As the hour of the opening ceremony drew near, the waiting room for every school became quite lively.
Based on the schedule, the last school would present many hours from now, but it was only natural for the students who came to attend the Thesis Competition to be highly interested in the subject regardless of whether they were the speakers on stage, the supporting cast, or simply just supporters from school.
Everywhere in the main hall, students could be seen chatting away with their peers from other schools.
Students were not the only ones who had surpassed their official affiliations when it came to communication.
Haruka came to the Thesis Competition not because of her job as First High's faculty member, but because of her work as an intelligence operative for Public Safety.
After the events in April, Public Safety became deeply interested in Tatsuya.
To be precise, the department within Public Safety that Haruka belonged to developed an interest in Tatsuya's background.
However, whenever they investigated the details around him, the higher ups would apply pressure on them.
Haruka didn't directly feel the heat, but she overheard her superior complain about it when she received her mission.
This only served to deepen her director's interest. Since they couldn't dispatch any official investigators, the mission was handed directly to Haruka.
Of course, Haruka resisted this. Back in April, Haruka tried her best to drive the point home that he wasn't an opponent who would fall fo
r her traps, but naturally this was completely ignored. Thus, she fell into a situation where she was forced to continue despite her inadequacies when dealing with Tatsuya.
She was ordered to uncover Tatsuya's real identity, but experts had already gone over his personal data with a fine toothed comb and came up with "nothing to report".
Originally, her talents didn't lie in this direction. Even so, she had planned to use counseling to sound him out, only to make no progress whatsoever, which was only to be expected when her observation target never utilized the counseling services.
Thus, her inefficient plan of action that had no guarantee of success was to investigate his acquaintances, especially the contacts that were not from school.
The target of her investigation was currently preparing the presentation device in the room assigned to First High. She had no excuse to enter the room, but as stated earlier, Haruka wasn't adept at handling Tatsuya.
Stuck between her personal feelings and sense of duty, the result was Haruka adopting a passive stance holding a cup of coffee while maintaining her surveillance of the entrance from the main hall (also, disposable cans had vanished in this day and age as all containers had recycling as first priority).
Fortunately for this, this was not without progress. Shortly after her observation began, a female guest visited the room. From her age and appearance, she was no high school student. She wasn't even a college student.
She was probably her own age. Matching the face against her memories, that woman probably wasn't affiliated with the school.
But she had an impression of her from somewhere.
"......So it is her."
After referencing the picture taken by the anti-theft camera issued from Public Safety with the numbers, the image search verified whether she recalled incorrectly.
"The Electron Sorceress......"
In Haruka's high school days, she was an individual of considerable renown. Taking her gender into account, she may be called a heroine, but Haruka felt that the term hero would be more applicable......