by Sato Tsutomu
"Indeed......."
As the siblings were discussing this, Erika was in the process of tearing her brother a new one. -- And wholly ignoring Mari to one side.
"Nii-sama should be in Thailand serving as a swordsmanship trainer until next week! Why are you here now!?"
Erika was already burning with fury.
Normally, she was indifferent to the coming and goings of other people and the world at large. Today, this scene was certainly a surprise.
"Erika...... Settle down a little."
The young man — Chiba Naotsugu sought to calm his sister's towering fury, but this seemed to have no effect on Erika's animation.
"How can you tell me to settle down! I have no idea what Onii-sama would do, but I could never imagine that Nii-sama would abandon his post!"
"That's not it, calm down...... I didn't return by abandoning my post......"
Chiba Naotsugu appeared to be at odds with his fame, given his weak, or maybe gentle, disposition. In front of his little sister's agitation that showed no signs of diminishing before a crowd, he never scolded her and couldn't muster any defense save for a few excuses.
"Ho...... Is that so. Then as you said, cooperating with the Thai Royal Magicians and serving as a swordsmanship instructor was my complete misunderstanding?"
"Well, no, that part is just as Erika said...... But I didn't go AWOL, I was granted furlough......"
"Really. Since you had to put a diplomatic mission involving Japan and Thailand on hold, this surely must be a mission of absolute importance.
In that case, what is so important and demanding that Nii-sama was forced to return home and appear at a hotel reserved for a high school competition?"
In Tatsuya's eyes, Erika's tone may have improved, but her mood had plummeted straight down.
Naotsugu likely noticed this too.
As evidence of this fact, his face started cramping.
"No, it's not diplomatic or anything that grave...... It was only an exchange of goodwill for military officer candidates about to receive their postings, so it's nothing more than a university student exchange activity......"
"Nii-sama!"
"Present!"
"Goodwill exchange or not, student exchange activity or not, isn't that still an official mission?! That's not a reason for you to be lax on your duties!"
"Yes, just as you say!"
Seeing one of the world's finest reduced to such a state, Tatsuya could only gape in shock.
"......I've certainly heard of being hen-pecked, but I have no recollection of someone being whipped by his little sister......"
Feeling that the sight was too much for him, Tatsuya averted his gaze to find Mizuki fidgeting anxiously to one side. After waving her over, Mizuki seemed to relax somewhat and skitter over.
"Tatsuya-kun...... What's up with Erika-chan?"
"Seriously, what's going on......?"
Hearing Mizuki's question, Tatsuya could only shake his head in bewilderment.
"Onii-sama, I believe Erika is venting?"
Miyuki could barely contain her laughter bubbling up from within and gave Tatsuya this vague answer.
"Venting? Venting what?"
"You'll find out very soon."
More and more mystified, Tatsuya and company could only keep watching as this "sibling fight" turned a new corner.
"Nii-sama, don't tell me that you abandoned your post because you wanted to see this woman, did you?"
"Again, I already said I didn't abandon my post......"
"I don't want to hear that!"
Erika ruthlessly curtailed her brother's words and glared at Mari, who she had (likely consciously) ignored until now, before turning back to Naotsugu.
"Really, how appalling...... Nii-sama, known as the Chiba Kirin, would actually abandon his duty for this kind of woman......"
"......Erika, at the very least, I am still your senpai at school. I don't recall slighting you in any way to deserve being called 'this kind of woman'?"
Up to this point, Mari patiently endured in silence, but finally broke her silence to interject.
Yet Erika completely ignored Mari's words.
"Speaking of which, I do believe that Nii-sama fell from grace after starting a relationship with this woman. A swordsman that mastered the Arts of the Thousand Blades neglected to practice his training and became infatuated with those petty magic tricks......"
"Erika!"
For Naotsugu, that must be a taboo subject. He shed his gentle nature like an actor removing a mask. Faced with this blistering castigation, Erika quivered in shock.
"In order to hone the talent, one must always absorb new techniques.
This is what I believe and have always done.
This has nothing to do with Mari.
After hearing Mari got hurt, I was the one who could not sit still.
Even so, Mari told me that it's fine if I couldn't make it.
In spite of this, from the very start, as a daughter of the Chiba Family, you should be ashamed of your behavior!"
"............"
She bit her lip in silence, but even so, Erika never shifted her gaze from Naotsugu.
"Come, Erika. Apologize to Mari."
"......Never."
"Erika!"
"I refuse! It's true that Nii-sama dropped his official task to come here! And all because of that woman!"
Once again, the tables turned.
"I'll never budge on this point! Nii-sama started to degenerate after going out with that woman!"
Erika swiftly pivoted and fled from her brother with rapid footsteps.
◇◇◇
"Erika-chan, hold up, Erika-chan!"
By the time she reached the elevator — and completely out of sight of the lobby, Erika finally turned around to face Mizuki's voice.
Then, she opened her mouth to form an "Oh".
"......Tatsuya-kun. Miyuki as well...... Don't tell me both of you heard that?"
Her tone and expression were both typical of Erika.
Yet, Tatsuya's instincts told him that Erika was barely holding back her tears.
"I apologize...... We didn't mean to."
"Tatsuya-kun, this time you foot the bill."
"What!? ......Fine, you win. Please be merciful."
"Negotiations complete."
Erika revealed her usual flighty and carefree smile.
Given that she had already adopted her usual facade, if Tatsuya overly pampered her, she would only raise her guard, which would defeat the entire purpose.
"Erika, have you eaten lunch?"
"Hm? It's still early..... Eh, OK. I haven't eaten yet, so let's go together."
At Miyuki's question, Erika gave a noncommittal answer.
"Onii-sama?"
"Fine. We were going to eat in the room anyway. If you don't mind, would you like to join us?"
"Sure, I'll go! Mizuki, want to come too?"
"OK, then excuse me."
"Please, you're not a bother at all."
"Eh? That's not what I meant!"
"Seriously...... Tatsuya-kun, picking on others is too much."
Mizuki was still in a bad mood because she was used as a tool to lighten the mood.
However, she wasn't really holding it against him, this point was obvious. Tatsuya smiled wryly as he took a large bite out of his sandwich.
Mizuki and Tatsuya both pretended to be oblivious to what happened earlier, so they didn't raise the subject again.
"Then...... Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki, Mizuki, do you guys have anything you wanted to ask me about?"
Still, the person in question — Erika, was ready to reopen Pandora's Box.
"The person going out with Watanabe-senpai seems to be Erika's older brother."
Miyuki was the only one who deftly answered the conversation in a carefree manner.
"Yep. That stupid brother of mine, it's both pitiful and infuriating at the same time that he's been conned by that woman......"
"Isn't he a world-class swordsman? Even if you don't praise him, I don't think you should refer to him as 'stupid brother of mine', right?"
"Eh? ......Ah, so that's how it is. If it's Tatsuya-kun, it wouldn't be surprising if you knew about Naotsugu Nii-san."
"E-ri-ka. Even though you're with us, you don't have to change your words, OK? Isn't it Naotsugu Nii-sama?"
"Ah~, forget about that! That's totally not like me!"
Erika wrapped her hands around her head and buried her head into the bed.
Apparently, the term "decorous" caused her no end of embarrassment.
......Compared to that, he was hoping that she would be more embarrassed about burying her head into a pillow that a man uses. Tatsuya thought worriedly.
"OK, OK. So Erika likes Naotsugu-san."
"............"
Erika wasn't the only one who froze.
Miyuki's frost bomb instantly turned Tatsuya and Mizuki into ice cubes.
"......No way in hell!"
Erika leaped to her feet and screamed.
Owing to the fact that her face was buried in the pillow as she started to reply, the only words they heard was "in hell". To be able to respond so swiftly in that situation was certainly worthy of praise.
Miyuki laughed merrily as if a cornered beast had let out a furious, but easily understood, bellow.
And dropped an even more explosive bomb.
"So, Erika. You turned out to have a Brother Complex!"
"Wha......"
Erika gaped at that.
The following explosion far surpassed her critical point.
"I don't want to hear that from you! You hardcore bro-con girl!"
—As to what happened afterwards, Tatsuya and Mizuki kept that to themselves.
◇◇◇
"......Hey, Tatsuya, you're looking pretty bad, eh? Are you alright?"
"Somehow, you look exhausted......"
When Tatsuya arrived at the audience stands, the first thing he heard was Leo and Mikihiko commenting on him.
"I'm a little tired. It's nothing really, it's more emotional exhaustion than mental stress. I'll be fine if I concentrate during the match."
Tatsuya waved his hands in a casual manner. On the other side, Miyuki and Erika sat down as if nothing had occurred.
Behind them, Mizuki's actions were slightly suspicious, but neither Leo nor Mikihiko noticed, since all of their focus was on the upcoming match.
"......Sorry. Looks like we're letting Tatsuya draw all the fire."
Mikihiko kindly (intentionally?) misinterpreted this.
"No, that's hardly the case. Relax, don't worry about it."
While the words "that's hardly the case" meant nothing of the sort, the fact that Tatsuya chose to respond in a dubious manner showed that he also possessed a slightly twisted personality.
"As long as you're alright. Tatsuya really took it too far last round, so don't push yourself!"
"I'll keep that in mind."
I am not worthy of such a kindhearted friend, Tatsuya thought.
"I'm keeping tabs on that as well, so don't worry about it."
He never intended to have such an honest friend worry about him. Hence, Tatsuya made an earnest effort to nod his head in agreement.
Still, once the match began, how grave his face became was no longer important.
Their attention — of course, Tatsuya included — was currently drawn away by the match between Third and Eighth High in the "rocky" setting.
Surpassing all their expectations, the match was a complete landslide.
Actually, it may be more appropriate to describe this as a solo performance.
Following the "Open Field", the Karst-like "Boulders" had the least amount of obstacles in the setting. While there were large boulders jutting out across the area, their difference in height wasn't noticeable, nor were there any trees to obstruct vision.
One player moved out of Third High's field and leisurely paced from between the boulders.
Heedless of any hostile fire, Ichijou Masaki "advanced" while disdaining to rely on any cover.
Nor was Eighth High just standing there helplessly as they continuously unleashed magic on Masaki's position. Even the attacker who was advancing on Third High's position from the shadows of the boulders was pouring on the fire.
Even so.
Masaki's pace faltered not.
The rocky fragments hurtled by Move-Type Magic were thrown away by even stronger Move-Type Magic.
Weight-Type and Oscillation-Type Magic fired at him were nullified by a wide area interference barrier that extended in a one meter radius around him.
As if mocking the "pointless gestures", Masaki's pace was slow and leisurely.
"......'Armor of Interference', eh. Move-Type Wide Area Interference should be the Juumonji Family's specialty."
Leo and Mikihiko were both struck speechless by this overpowering might. On the other hand, Tatsuya was the master of himself as he praised Masaki's strengths.
"To be able to freely wield this type of magic without breathing raggedly likely requires more than a large capacity within the magic calculation area. Looks like he's very adept at 'cyclical breathing'. I guess that should be called innate talent."
When continuously using the same magic, cyclical breathing referred to the space between when one magic ends and the next one begins. The less overlap between the first and second magic, the less stress was placed on the Magician. Magicians who excelled in shortening the dead time between the two were known as "adept at cyclical breathing".
Miyuki was also a Magician "adept at cyclical breathing", but in Tatsuya's eyes, Masaki possessed a talent that rivaled Miyuki's.
In face of the unyielding defense, the attacker from Eighth High stopped his assault.
He frantically hid and charged towards Third High's position.
He gave up on bringing down Masaki and chose to assault the enemy's monolith in hopes of pulling out a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Alas, his choice was overly reckless.
Probably because it was made in a panic.
With his attention completely in front of him and exposing his defenseless back, how could someone like Masaki let this opportunity simply pass by?
After suffering a point blank explosive shock wave, the attacker from Eighth was flung face first into the dirt.
"Convergence-Systematic 'Bias Release'. Simply using compression and release would be sufficient...... He's certainly someone who likes to put on a show."
"Bias Release, right? I've never heard of that magic."
"That's because it's a highly convoluted and inefficient, second rate magic.
For example, it's like pumping air into one side of a can and sealing it, then opening the other end towards the target. Compared with normal air, that sort of concentrated compressed air would strike with greater force and higher control over the direction of the force, so these are some possible advantages. But if it's only to increase the output, it would be far better to simply increase the amount of compression. If he wanted to add vectors to the attack, then direct contact with the compressed air would be sufficient.
......No, he's trying to decrease the power of the blow, hence he used a combination of the two.
Being overpowered is truly a hassle in this circumstance."
Tatsuya revealed an ironic smirk.
Miyuki gave him a look that said "Isn't Onii-sama the same way?", but he pretended to be oblivious.
While Tatsuya was explaining the mechanics, Masaki continued to close in on Eighth High's position.
Likely arriving at the conclusion that simply waiting was no solution, the two remaining defenders combined their strength to challenge Masaki.
The boulders split apart and rushed towards Masaki.
The Release-Systematic Magic used by the players from Eighth High set off a shower of electrons from the minerals, causing sparks to erupt around Masaki's feet.
Regardless of the scale of
the former or the difficulty level of the latter, both were of the highest caliber magic — which was no exaggeration.
When Tatsuya's team dueled Eighth High, their victory only appeared easy because they never gave their opponent the chance to put their best foot forward. If it was a head-to-head shootout, the battle undoubtedly would have been a very stiff contest.
However, Masaki easily nullified their full frontal combined assault.
The scattered fragments were flung away by a sphere of reverse vectors centered around Masaki, while the electric discharge was suppressed before it even started.
A block of air hammered into the players from Eighth High.
Upon contact with the released compressed air, the two of them were swiftly and easily incapacitated.
The ending signal sounded immediately.
For the entire duration of the match, Kichijouji and their other teammate stood stock still in Third High's field and contributed nothing to the overall result.
"He has far exceeded our expectations, this 'Prince' of the Ichijou Family......"
Mayumi said to Katsuto as she shifted her gaze away from the screen.
Her usual companion Mari wasn't present.
Currently, Mari was preoccupied to the point that "whoever disturbed her would rue that day".
Originally, she should have been confined to bed rest, but Mayumi and the other members of the brass turned a blind eye.
"Somehow I feel that he's very similar to Juumonji-kun."
Even if someone said they were similar, this would probably be a hard sentiment for Katsuto to respond to.
As expected, before he was able to reply, Suzune had joined the conversation already.
"That may be intentional. The combat dogma for the Ichijou Family revolves around proactively controlling the initiative through medium to long range bombardment. Today in the rotating preliminaries, he used long distance attacks to annihilate the defenders. I don't have a real basis for this but...... I think this may be Ichijou-kun throwing down the gauntlet."
"A challenge?"
At Mayumi tilting her head, Katsuto answered her.
"I'm not certain if he's conscious of my style, but I think he's calling out Shiba to 'trade shots with him if he dares'."