by Sato Tsutomu
The individual responsible for delivering the victory to Second High during the Nine Schools Competition — the Electron Sorceress.
For Haruka, who gave up on being a Magician from the moment she took the high school entrance examination, she was a young girl who aroused both envy and awe.
After graduating from the magic university, rumor had it that she joined the Defense ministry, but what was she doing visiting First High's room instead of her alma mater Second High?
Still, it wasn't like it was completely unnatural. There was nothing strange about wearing casual clothes on Sunday. Maybe she was here to recruit students who were about to graduate and didn't know that only the Shiba siblings were inside. Heck, maybe she came to see Miyuki.
However, Haruka's instincts told her that this woman was a clue to Tatsuya's background.
Not knowing that they were under such rigorous observation — no, maybe precisely because they were aware — the siblings were conversing with Fujibayashi, who dropped in to visit.
"Miyuki, long time no see. The last time we met face to face was at least half a year ago."
"Ah, the last time we met was in February, so it has been a long time indeed."
"I went to see the Nine Schools Competition too. We held a small get together in the room to welcome Tatsuya, wouldn't it have been better if Miyuki came along too?"
Saying this, Fujibayashi leveled a "why didn't you bring her" look at Tatsuya.
Nevertheless, if he was cowed by this he wouldn't be Tatsuya.
"Bringing Miyuki along would be too eye-catching."
Tatsuya's gaze swiftly added that catching too much attention would cause difficulties.
Miyuki was a tad embarrassed whereas Fujibayashi smiled with a helpless look on her face.
—Looks like he wasn't going to get an answer by beating around the bush.
"Speaking of which, Fujibayashi."
He didn't call her lieutenant because this was a normal public facility. Although he had already checked for bugs, he still couldn't let down his guard.
"Is it OK for you to visit First High's waiting room?"
For the uninitiated, this might seem like an incomprehensible statement, whereas those who were slightly in the loop might still interpret this incorrectly. People who only knew of Fujibayashi's exploits during her high school years would likely wonder "is it OK for the previous champion from Second High to have a friendly conversation in the waiting room of a rival school".
"No worries."
Of course, the people in question had no misconceptions.
"Times like these, having an official capacity helps a lot. As one of the technical officers attached to the Weapons Development Division of the Defense Department, there's nothing odd about visiting someone like you who exhibited a high degree of skill during the Nine Schools Competition."
"Just as it's natural for a member of the Fujibayashi Family, right?"
"Exactly. So Tatsuya-kun, feel free to call me 'Lieutenant Fujibayashi', 'Fujibayashi', or even 'Fujibayashi-nee', OK?"
"Uh, I think nee-san is going to be impossible."
Tatsuya smiled halfheartedly at Fujibayashi's mischievous joke. —Of the wry smile variety.
"Then, let's leave the greetings there...... I have good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"
A familiar conversation began, Tatsuya thought, then allow me to respond to a classic question with a classic answer.
"Let's hear the good news first."
"......Don't people usually respond with 'let's hear the bad news first'?"
"Then let's hear the bad news first."
Seeing Tatsuya reply back while feigning ignorance, the normally stoic Fujibayashi sighed.
"......Forget it, it's OK. Let's start with the good news first. The Mobile Suit from beforehand has been completed. Captain Sanada said that they will be delivered tonight."
"Really...... As expected of him. Still, is it too late to run live tests tomorrow after returning to Tokyo......"
"Tomorrow, there will be a parade. Of course, in reality the captain wants to test this out as soon as possible, so he wanted to show off to you as soon as he could. The primary components were all furnished on your end, so at the very least he wants to bring out the assembled model in order to encourage himself. Yesterday, he even said something ridiculous like 'this way I can save face'."
"That's hardly ridiculous. The actual question was whether we could create something that could stand the rigors of live combat."
"I will convey your words to the captain. I believe he'll relax a lot more now."
Tatsuya chuckled wryly when Fujibayashi winked at him.
"Now...... for the bad news. No matter how we look at it, there's no way the earlier incident will just end there."
"Is there a problem?"
Tatsuya's face tightened, or more like his face became oddly solemn. By his side, Miyuki uneasily gazed at him.
This time, even Fujibayashi couldn't simply joke about it.
"The details are here."
She said as she handed a data card to Tatsuya.
Apparently, the contents were so classified they didn't want to send this over the wireless.
"Although I've added several layers of protection on my side...... There's still a chance this has already been leaked."
"Understood. We will make preparations on our end."
The siblings nodded in unison.
Seeing this, a trace of concern flashed across Fujibayashi's face, but she didn't forbid them to do so.
"We hope that nothing will happen, but...... If the worst case scenario does occur, we'll be relying on you."
No matter how much it hurt her, he was still an invaluable asset, so her position did not afford her the luxury of saying "stay out of it".
◊ ◊ ◊
The time was 8:45 AM. The audience stands were almost entirely filled.
After Tatsuya reviewed the information Fujibayashi passed him, Isori and Kanon came in.
"Shiba-kun, time to switch."
They changed the guard every time a presentation finished, with the order already prearranged. Isori was very interested in the second topic "development of magic assistance devices capable of molecular rearrangement" presented by Fourth High, so he volunteered to keep watch during the first presentation.
Tatsuya felt that there was no need to pay extra heed to the sequential order since there was a screen in the waiting room, but he still acquiesced to Isori's proposal.
"It's all yours."
Concisely handing over his responsibility, Tatsuya headed to the stands with Miyuki.
—But.
The two of them came to a halt in the main hall.
"Shiba-san."
Miyuki was the one who was addressed.
The voice came from a young man, or maybe a teenager was more appropriate. The voice was slightly uneasy, probably caused by his heightened anxiety. The face belonged to someone whom the siblings hadn't seen for two months.
"Ichijou-san."
Ichijou Masaki had called out to Miyuki.
He wore a "security" wristband on his left arm. Rather than being one of the supporting cast from Third High, he appeared to be serving in the security detail composed of students from all nine schools that was headed by Katsuto during the Thesis Competition. This turnout was likely because he saw Miyuki while executing his mission of patrolling the premises.
"Long time no see, Shiba-san. I believe the last time was during the evening ball."
"......Ah, likewise, long time no see."
This natural yet unnatural pause was caused by a cognitive dissonance because Masaki saw Miyuki as his dance partner during the ball, while Miyuki viewed Masaki as her brother's opponent during the Newcomer's Division.
In order to cover this, or muddle the waters, Miyuki bowed with extreme politeness.
"Ah, no, me too......"
This flawless etiquette rattled Masaki even though he was mo
re accustomed to moving through higher social circles than Tatsuya. The young man (probably another member of the security team who was Masaki's partner) also stood there mesmerized. Miyuki's devious plan worked perfectly.
"Are you patrolling the area?"
It was only now that Miyuki smiled and asked the rhetorical question.
"Y-Yes, indeed."
Isn't it a sign of immaturity to be shaken so easily? Tatsuya thought but changed his mind upon reflecting that when the opponent was Miyuki, such a result was inevitable.
Even he who was closer to her than anyone else and had had his mind reforged sometimes forgot himself while watching her. Thus, it was unsurprising that this outsider who stood in such close proximity to the fairest one would be overly conscious of Miyuki's presence.
Miyuki was not privy to her brother's ruminations. Her interest was roused and her mood excellent.
"Since Ichijou-san is giving this his all, I think we can safely relax. We'll be in your care."
True, it was heartening to know that the "Crimson Prince" was part of security. However, Tatsuya's thoughts were purely an objective assessment. —Still, isn't this laying it on a little thick?
"Yes! I will do my utmost to live up to your expectations!"
Completely nonchalant, Tatsuya wondered whether Masaki could make it through the day.
"Good luck to you too, Tomitsuka-kun."
"Ah...... Thank you for your encouragement."
Masaki's companion who had been left alone to one side dizzily replied back in a tone that was a little too stiff to be addressed to someone in the same year.
◊ ◊ ◊
Although they didn't need to be as uptight as security, after Erika accepted the job on the spot, objectively speaking she had no intentions of backing down.
After regrouping with Mikihiko since they missed him while taking Tatsuya and company to the waiting room and reuniting with Mizuki, who had sent word ahead of time she would be late, they sat down in four seats in the audience stands. Erika paid extra heed to "easy observation areas" as well as "suspicious individuals".
Her efforts were not in vain. In one of the rear corners of the audience stands, she found a familiar figure.
Speaking of familiar, it was more like she couldn't forget even if she tried. This was a face that she used to see every day, and even with their schedule clashes nowadays, they still saw each other once every two days or so.
The other person also noticed Erika. No, maybe the other person noticed Erika even sooner. While this wasn't anything surprising after taking the other person's ability into consideration, this still irked Erika to no end.
"Eh? Erika, over there is......"
Mikihiko caught on as well.
Again, it wasn't weird that he would recognize that person either.
"Erika-chan, is that someone you know?"
"Just a Casanova wannabe. He's probably waiting for a woman right now."
Before her compatriots in the adjacent seats could turn this into a conversation, Erika opted to behave as if she didn't know that person.
Well aware of Erika's rocky relationship with Toshikazu (well, one-sided on Erika's part), Mikihiko avoided rocking the boat and shifted his gaze as Leo, insensitive to the currents, was about to ask him to clarify.
"Miyuki, do you know Tomitsuka Hagane?"
"Ah, he's from the neighboring class, so I only know his name and face. Does Onii-sama know him?"
After finding an empty seat, the siblings' conversation drifted not towards their rare guest Masaki, but to the reticent Tomitsuka Hagane.
—This must be what people refer to as unrequited passions.
"Tomitsuka is one of Sawaki-senpai's subordinates. In addition, the Tomitsuka Family's 'Range Zero' is quite famous."
The Tomitsuka Family dominated one area within the Hundred Families.
Even people without Tatsuya's encyclopedic knowledge knew of the heresy incidents caused by Magicians of that family.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Suddenly, Erika joined in after arriving from the audience stands.
"Erika, are you alone? Where's Leo?"
The two of them were just together, thus prompting Tatsuya's question.
Yet, displeasure colored Erika's face.
"......Tatsuya-kun. I'd like to take this opportunity to make something perfectly clear."
Erika wasn't the sort to do something outrageous like throw a fit with so many witnesses around, but her commanding tone was charismatic in its own right.
"Can you stop lumping me together with that? I only taught him a few tricks and gave him a weapon, beyond that there's nothing going on."
"That's not what I meant......"
Despite the misunderstanding, Tatsuya was not an "honest guy", but this time he was being earnest. He truly meant nothing by his words.
Speaking of which, wasn't this overreaction a hint that she hadn't discerned this was an issue? Tatsuya turned that thought over in his head, but wasn't evil enough to verbalize it.
"Where's everyone else?"
Since the triumph during the Nine Schools Competition, their peers from Year 1 Class E had expressed great interest and all claimed that "We're all coming to cheer you on~!" or something like that, so everyone from class planned on showing up.
"Our classmates shouldn't have arrived yet, right? That's probably because they know we're set to go onstage in the afternoon. Ah, but Mizuki and Miki are here in the front row. There's a lot of chemistry going on there."
Erika chuckled mischievously as she sat next to Tatsuya.
So she disliked talking about her own business, but was quite intrigued when talking about others.
In this regard, Erika was a perfectly normal young girl, Tatsuya thought.
◊ ◊ ◊
It was 9 AM. The National High School Magic Thesis Competition kicked off with a solemn but not pompous atmosphere. Even with assistance from the military, but when compared to the student events during the Nine Schools Competition, the Thesis Competition was highly valued by universities, corporations, and research institutions. A properly handled introduction might even lead to an individual's career path (from a headhunting perspective). Taking into the account the magic knowledge being bandied around, this sort of scale at the event was perfectly understandable.
After going through the forms for the keynote speech, the introduction for the first presentation, Second High's "Usage of Convergence-Type Magic to Observe and Utilize Dark Matter" began.
Now that the Thesis Competition officially began, the hustle and bustle of the main hall died down.
Uninterested in magic technology, Haruka opted to take a break at the cafe to alleviate her boredom.
Just as she was about to do so.
"Ono-sensei."
A familiar voice called out from near the main entrance.
"Asuka-sensei."
As the school counselor responsible for the mental well being of First High's students, Haruka naturally shared a close relationship with Asuka, who headed the infirmary responsible for physical injuries, although their relationship had not progressed to "friends in private".
"Did Ono-sensei also come to see the thesis presentations? I thought you said you weren't very interested."
This comment might be too fiery depending on tone, but Asuka's amicable tone caused Haruka to suspect "Did I ever say that?". With Asuka's easily approachable personality, she was almost better suited to be a counselor than herself, Haruka thought enviously.
"No, there's just a few things on my mind...... Compared to that, Asuka-sensei, why are you here? Are you here with this child?"
Haruka was correct in that Asuka wasn't alone. By her side, there was a young girl out of uniform who was obviously a high school student. While she had some inkling, she didn't appear to be one of Haruka's students.
"Indeed. Hirakawa-chan said she wanted to watch today's presentations. Although she's recovered from her illness, her physical b
ody is still a little frail, so I tagged along."
While these words smacked of blatant VIP treatment, but once she heard the name Hirakawa, Haruka immediately recalled where she heard this name. While she had no part in handling the attempted data theft, Haruka still had to make her report to the division of Public Safety she belonged to, so she was familiar with the overall situation.
Stimulating her with the success of fellow high school students, helping to provide her with life goals and ultimately changing her mentality was perfectly logical from a psychological standpoint.
"Is that so. Keep up the good work."
Haruka frankly spoke words of encouragement to Asuka.
After taking a small detour, Haruka arrived at the cafe on schedule.
Strictly speaking, a customer that nursed one cup of coffee for 20 minutes wasn't a good customer for this cafe.
She could just whittle away the time here until her day's work was done. Although she wanted to think that way, the world wasn't as easy as one's imagination. More like, society's trials (?) demanded much of her.
"May I borrow a bit of your time?"
Haruka's heart almost stopped when someone reached out to her.
As if to fill the loss of time, the next instant her heart started beating violently.
—Maybe this was a misconception, but her shock had truly upset her heartrate and breathing patterns.
The one who spoke to Haruka was Fujibayashi.
"Eh...... Ah, please."
"Thank you."
Gracefully sitting down, she ordered a cup of red tea from the waitress who swiftly appeared with a gentle voice.
In comparison to Fujibayashi's coolness, Haruka could not contain her anxiety.
That was hardly her fault.
Her observation target suddenly directly initiated a conversation with her.
Though Haruka was frantic enough to spit fire, since she was unable discern the other person's motives, she could only sit and watch in silence as Fujibayashi took a sip from the red tea that the waitress brought and let out a deep breath.