by Sato Tsutomu
"Don't say that... Seriously, Onii-sama. I'm not the only one competing today. This is called blatant favoritism!"
In spite of the wry smile, the brilliancy of Miyuki's smile was second to none.
At least, that's how Tatsuya saw it.
Seeing his sister's smile restored, Tatsuya was satisfied and at ease. His hands dropped from his sister's face to her shoulder as he directed them inside. When he lifted his head to look at the pavilion, he suddenly felt another subtle change in looks he was receiving. This time, the change was in a more interesting direction.
Hidden within the secret glances in their direction,
Was a lukewarm gaze that was both irritated but unable to take their eyes off of them.
"Ah, Tatsuya-kun."
Presently, as if the Student Council President spoke on behalf of all the students present, Mayumi used an especially cold voice and gaze to welcome Tatsuya.
"When I heard from the board that 'one of the students from your school abruptly assaulted someone', I was at wit's end trying to figure out what happened... So, apparently a certain sis-con brother flew into a rage when someone attempted to act against his beloved little sister!"
While this wasn't a very flattering way to describe the circumstances, Tatsuya got the distinct feeling of someone in the path of a tornado and feeling the cold wind nipping at him. Realizing that he was in a completely inferior situation, Tatsuya helplessly chose to make a tactical retreat.
Thus, he quickly retreated into the work room allotted for technicians.
This way, Tatsuya finally managed to avoid being ostracized within First High, though whether this result was brought about by his own will... Even he was not able to say.
◇◇◇
The day broke over a darkened sky and showed no signs of turning for the better by the time the second match started around 9:30 AM.
"It's a fine day today... Hopefully, this will continue into the evening."
"Might get sunny around the evening."
"Though starlight presents its own challenges... Oh well, still better than a rainy day."
The siblings' conversation seemed to assume that advancing beyond the preliminaries was a statement of fact. However, Azusa, who was sitting in a nearby chair, seemed completely "indifferent" with this.
Generally, the difference in strength between Year 1 and Year 2 students exceeded the difference between Year 2 and Year 3 students. This was because customized magic education officially began at the high school level.
Thus, if not present during the Newcomers Division, rarely do Year 1 students appear in the Official Division. Usually, players that were suddenly promoted to the Official Division from the Newcomers Division had a tough time getting through the preliminaries, not to mention placing in the standings.
That being said—
(That sort of common sense probably doesn't apply to Miyuki... And on top of that, there's Shiba-kun as well.)
Excluding her more timid nature, Azusa was undoubtedly one of the top tier Magicians (chicks) in her cohort. The fact that she was selected as one of the brass within First High despite her weaker personality was a testament to her skills.
Yet in Azusa's eyes, Miyuki possessed the power to challenge for First Place.
Just the sister alone was already a formidable opponent with superlative skills, now there was an older brother who was fully supporting her.
Even Mari, the favored champion, would be hard pressed to defeat her even in peak condition.
While Azusa was contemplating these other details, in reality, she was the technician responsible for the third match, which is why she was here so early to help make any final CAD adjustments and system diagnostics.
The Official Division's Monolith Code and Mirage Bat were the final two gender exclusive events in the Nine Schools Competition, so each school's personnel were busy preparing for the events.
First High chose to pair one player with one technician to handle these two events.
To be brutally honest, as a Technician, Tatsuya was also Azusa's opponent.
However — before the first shot was fired, regardless of who won or lost, Azusa's will to compete had completely evaporated.
The earlier incident.
The board sent word that Tatsuya assaulted some of the staff. Upon learning this, she was more "terrified" than shocked.
Rather than being surprised, somewhere in her heart she knew — "if it was him".
Even though they were nothing more than recent, casual acquaintances, Azusa believed that "he wasn't the type to act violently without cause". On the other hand, if he did have a reason, he wasn't the sort to hold back.
This readiness to resort to unbridled savagery chilled Azusa to the core.
A considerable proportion of magic usage fell within the purview of the military, both in terms of military strength and active deterrents. Azusa was perfectly clear on this point. But regardless of whether it was the military or public safety, this was still an institutionalized "violence". In order to activate this "violence", the responsibility was divvied between the decision maker, the one who gave the orders, the executors, and the supervisors.
Yet, he was willing to make the decision, execute, and bear the full responsibility.
Perhaps, he wouldn't even bat an eyelid if the man had to die — executed with his own hands.
She was absolutely terrified of that ice-cold heart forged of steel.
The shock came afterwards, when he shared the details behind his actions.
He came across illegal CAD modifications and apprehended the culprit on site.
The tear-stricken, tortured expression on Hirakawa, the Year 3 student who served as Kobayakawa's Technician, was deeply imprinted into Azusa's eyes. That sort of harrowing regret was easy to imagine and could resonate with anyone.
She hadn't noticed that the CAD was tampered with. Due to this, a player suffered a major accident, culminating in an exceptional peer possibly bidding farewell to her powers forever and being doomed to a broken life. In the face of that, she... If she was in Hirakawa's shoes, she might have fled the scene and cried herself to sleep in her hotel room, Azusa thought.
It was an undeniable fact that Tatsuya was a Course 2 student and, at the same time, a "dunce".
His technical scores hovered just above passing.
During the skill examinations after school commenced, roughly five students failed every year, so even if his grades were closer to "pretty terrible" instead of "fairly poor", there was nothing to be done.
Yet, the reality was — when excluding the "strength" based on artificial conditions like examinations and based solely on the Magician's ability to adapt fluidly to various situations, his assessment was completely inverted.
Regardless of whether it was development, analysis, calibration, or combat.
His strength went "beyond" First-Class.
Even if they didn't exclude his Magic Power and assessed him based on his ability to apply Magic, he was the true "valedictorian" worthy of standing at the top of the pyramid.
Then—
(Our "grades"... "Course 1 students", what of these? What's the point of differentiating between "Course 1 students" and "Course 2 students"?)
During the Nine Schools Competition, after watching Tatsuya at a close proximity, Azusa started seriously considering this question.
And remained bewildered.
That was the unease coming from her faltering values system, hitherto unchallenged and held to be truth, which had suddenly become vague and untrustworthy.
Azusa never held herself as an elitist who took pride in her "Bloom" status and derogatorily looked down at the Course 2 students as "Weeds".
At least, she wasn't conscious of it.
Despite this — her exceptional magical talent and her identity as a skilled magic high school student — she still took "pride" in these labels.
For Magicians groping their way through life, confidence in their own mag
ical abilities was synonymous to the courage that sustained them throughout their journey to blaze a new path as Magicians. Even if Azusa wasn't consciously aware of this point, the fact remained that her confidence as a Magician undeniably supported her throughout her life.
This wasn't restricted to just magic. For youngsters, anyone would be greatly uneasy about such murky concepts like "tomorrow" or the "future" precisely because they lacked the "experience" or "track record", hence they relied on their "self-confidence" and "self-esteem".
For Azusa, those things ("self-confidence" or "self-esteem") originated from her "magic" and ultimately gave her status as a "talented student within the magic high schools". To be precise, her self-confidence and self-esteem were born out of her "magic grades".
That being said, both self-confidence and self-esteem could only wilt before the spectacle that was Tatsuya.
Her test scores as a Year 1 student were plainly superior, but regardless of whether as a combat Magician, Magic Artificer, or even Magic Researcher, she never got the inkling that she was better in any way. Even her own unique talents, which she privately felt could rival even Mayumi or Mari, paled in front of Tatsuya.
Still, Azusa felt that she didn't need to stress out over this feeling of self-abasement.
She was more than 90% sure that Tatsuya was "him".
—Against "him", feeling inadequate was only natural.
—Against "him", feeling diminished was ludicrous.
Azusa used this to convince herself.
(But everyone doesn't know yet...)
Precisely because no one knew, this feeling became more prominent,
Became more obvious.
Surely the other Year 1 students in his cohort felt the same.
As a Course 1 student who was outshone by a Course 2 student — what did their "grades" even signify?
"A-chan, it's best not to dwell on that for too long!"
Azusa was startled when someone suddenly greeted her from behind and swiftly turned around to find Mayumi smiling wryly at her.
"That thing, is spe·ci·al."
Despite referring to her underclassman as a "thing", her tone was quite warm.
"There will be some children who simply cannot accept this...... But as high school students, they must learn to accept things that they do not agree with. Even if it's true that Course 2 students cannot match Course 1 students in technical skills, it is also true that Tatsuya-kun has surpassed our level."
"Eh? But..."
Hearing these shocking words, Azusa was struck speechless.
True, Tatsuya's level was above her, Azusa thought. —Even if she was against "him", she was forced to admit she would have some regrets.
But Mayumi's level was also superb, and Azusa didn't think she would lose to Tatsuya in any way.
"It's not like I'm completely out of his league."
Maybe seeing through Azusa's bewilderment, Mayumi smiled wryly once more.
"From an aggregate magic perspective, I should have the edge. If it turned into a shootout, so long as I keep a wide berth, I can still do it."
After downplaying her words, Mayumi's expression eased somewhat.
"However, there are areas where I am unquestionably behind. For CAD related skills, even though I'm not far behind, I'm definitely no match for him. Unfortunately, he also holds all the cards in terms of magic knowledge."
Mayumi added carelessly, as if the upperclassmen's complete loss of face didn't concern her in the slightest.
"Everyone is proficient and lacking in different areas, so there's rarely someone who's superior in every single way. When I say Tatsuya's level is higher, I mean that his knowledge and skills in magic engineering are unrivaled."
Mayumi caught Azusa's eye in order to carefully examine Azusa's gaze.
"On the other hand, regardless of whether it is myself or A-chan, both of us tower over Tatsuya-kun in magic technical ability, so there's no reason to be so depressed. The contents of the magic skills examination each possess their purpose, just as the test scores are not representative of a person's value, test scores are only one part of a person's value."
Azusa wordlessly listened to Mayumi's words.
"Then again, heh..."
Whew, this time Mayumi actually let out a sigh.
"Those that fully believe in 'their own superiority' tend to be unwilling to accept that they cannot surpass someone in every way. They even forgot that the actual difference between Course 1 and 2 students originally arose because they needed to differentiate the grades for those who passed the entrance exam and who could receive instruction."
Somewhere, somehow, Azusa's eyes widened. Her mind had gone completely blank at Mayumi's unexpected words.
What did she mean forget? This was the first time she had ever heard that the difference between Course 1 and 2 students was caused by educational differences.
"In the end, it was still a uniform issue... In the beginning, it was simply because the number of students exceeded expectations and they couldn't change all the embroidery in time......"
"Eh, really?"
"Huh? You didn't know?"
Hearing the real story for the first time, Azusa received a wholly different shock than before and remained silent. Hearing Mayumi murmur, "Really, it appears that not many people know......", Azusa could only keep nodding.
"Did you know that First High used to accept 100 students each year? They had to accept more Magicians to follow international standards, so First High increased their student body size. The government at the time must have wanted immediate results. Adding new students at the beginning of the next school year would have been fine, but in reality, they added more students in the middle of the term.
However, the school was unable to increase the number of educators in the middle of the term. So, their temporary solution was to teach the theoretical knowledge to the students who joined in the middle of the term, then begin technical instruction during the second year. This became the Course 2 student system.
However, once the Course 2 students enrolled, there was an error in the orders for school uniforms. Because of this, the Year 1 students who were temporarily set as Course 2 students had to suffer the indignity of wearing uniforms without the school emblems. This led to an unexpected misunderstanding...... The Course 2 student system was meant to be a placeholder until they could enter the next level. They were simply students who were enrolled after the original spots were already filled. Yet, they were gradually seen as replacements. Also, the plan that called for increased students ultimately failed to provide the adequate instructors, resulting in the misinterpreted 'replacement treatment' eventually becoming reality. This is the true face of the Course 2 student system.
The uniforms also suffered the same fate. In order to cover up the error, no one bothered to correct the issue after the original plan was scrapped. This is the truth behind the matter. In hindsight, creating two different uniforms was a complete waste...... Since everything is done automatically until the school emblems are affixed, it would be cheaper to have one uniform design even if the measurements differ."
Once she started, the words just wouldn't stop.
Azusa's sincere opinion after hearing Mayumi's explanation changed drastically.
The deep antagonism between "Blooms" and "Weeds" that had caused numerous instances of friction actually originated from such a trivial matter.
These words definitely must be kept from Miyuki, Azusa thought — the outcome was too terrifying to imagine.
"...Please, don't tell Miyuki-chan?"
Mayumi seemed to arrive at the same conclusion.
Azusa nodded in agreement without another word.
◇◇◇
Miyuki was wholly unaware of the fact that she was seen as a dangerous individual by two senpais on the Student Council. She was standing in the arena and happily waiting for Mirage Bat to begin.
That was because this was the first time in the Nine Schools Competi
tion that her brother's time and energy were solely devoted to her.
Normally, by the time they returned home, their lives were restricted to each other.
There was limitless time for the two of them to be alone.
Yet in the dorms of the Nine Schools Competition, this was impossible.
Not that her unfulfilled desire was bursting from the seams (at least, that's what she thought), but after spending such a long time in a suppressed state, her joy was magnified in this instance.
In the box reserved for related personnel, her brother was watching her.
And watching only her.
Somehow, she felt that she could soar into the skies without the aid of magic.
She rendered the naked, lustful gazes directed towards her uniform that left none of her curves to imagination into oblivion. There was no reason to care because all stares other than Tatsuya's own were nothing more than trash. Turning the audience into beans — or even onions and carrots — was a widely known tactic that was rather useless to people who suffered from stage fright (anyone capable of turning people into beans wouldn't have stage fright in the first place). Yet for Miyuki, she honestly believed that all gazes other than from Tatsuya alone were utterly meaningless.
She knew very well that her brother admired well-taught and cultured individuals regardless of gender as she adopted a truly impeccable posture.
With such an incredibly beautiful young lady falling into a dancer's pose, many young men within the audience alternated sighs as their emotions ran rampant. At this rate, they were going to have to call for the stretchers before the match even began.
Possibly under the influence of the audience's warm reception, despite the sheer impossibility of this, the signal for the commencement of the match did go off a few seconds early.
Miyuki's frame lightly soared into the sky.
Every player for Mirage Bat prepared two uniforms.
One was a brightly colored uniform that could be seen beneath the brightest rays of the sun.
The other was a colorful uniform that glowed beneath the night sky.