Chapter 14
Thursday, April 26th. While riding the train to school, Tatsuya wore a slight “Oh?” expression when he engaged in his customary practice of pulling out the information terminal and scanning the news.
“Onii-sama, is there something on the news that drew your attention?”
The alteration in his facial expression was minute as usual, but as usual, even this was not enough to escape Miyuki’s eyes.
Sitting in a seat across from Miyuki, Minami raised her head. Any emotional expression on her part was more cautious and not a true poker face. The gaze Minami sent Tatsuya’s way also declared her interest in the question Miyuki posed for Tatsuya.
“It’s just regarding the experiment you two helped out with yesterday.”
Tatsuya turned his face towards Miyuki sitting by his side and spoke in a volume sufficient to allow Minami sitting diagonally across from him to hear.
“I had already anticipated that both positive and negative news would appear today. However, I feel that there are more positive responses than negative.”
Miyuki’s eyes and expression clearly asked “What is strange about that?” as she urged Tatsuya onward.
“Setting aside the national congressmen who has an ear to the wind, I didn’t think that a demonstration of that level could cause reporters from major newspapers to capitulate. Here I thought they would stubbornly continue to compose more news with one-sided appraisal. To be honest, I had planned to use this line as a trap for those manipulating public opinion.”
Hearing Tatsuya’s confession, Miyuki’s eyes widened as if to say “Really”.
“Now that we’re at this point…… However, Onii-sama, you’re evil.”
Though Miyuki was not earnestly criticizing him, Tatsuya had long since come to the conclusion that he had no other choice but to chuckle wryly in situations like these. –On the other hand, Minami seemed honestly stunned.
“As I suspected, the writing in these articles is simply ridiculous……”
As he said this, Tatsuya showed Miyuki the screen of the information terminal he was holding. The headline was “Magic high school students challenging water explosion experiments” and, compared to major newspapers, this smacked even more of yellow journalism aimed at inciting the entire city.
“Even I could not predict this.”
While saying this, Tatsuya removed the displayed news article and another chain of articles appeared on the information terminal’s screen.
“—Challenge of youths, facing the 22nd century – eh? Looks to be a special bulletin from this newsgroup. Are they writing about what happened yesterday?”
Miyuki must have shared Tatsuya’s surprise as she tilted her head to ask him. This bulletin was organized by subject and contained the positive news about the revolutionary undertakings attempted by the youth. This was clearly incompatible with the subject of inciting anti-magic sentiment.
“Ah. Yesterday, a reporter from this newsgroup also came, so it should come as no surprise that this was posted. Yet, I recall that this bulletin was completely covered by the anti-magic movement until yesterday……”
“Have they had a change of heart thanks to Onii-sama’s Stellar Furnace?”
In comparison to the absolutely bewildered expression on Tatsuya’s face, Miyuki’s tone seemed to imply that this was perfectly natural.
“……That is a possibility if this reporter was interested in novel things or this resonated personally with them. Given that this is a bulletin, it does not necessarily preclude the possibility that everyone in the editorial department also shares this sentiment.”
Tatsuya understood that organizations were things that could not be closely united and the greater the organization, the greater the inclination of fracturing, and he also had personal experience in this matter. There were situations where one department went off the rails in regards to the company’s policy, so Tatsuya tentatively accepted this outcome for the moment.
In truth, things were not so simple. Among the major newspapers that were uniformly anti-magic, yesterday’s experiment did prove to be one of the catalysts that caused the appearance of perspectives in support of magic. The fact that a national congressman was surprised and acknowledged the magic high school students was also a newsworthy event for more than a few newscasters, but of course that wasn’t all that happened.
Tsuzura’s recording of Congressman Kanda’s declaration was passed along to the congressman himself thanks to an assistant from his time at the Magic University. In addition, there was also a roundabout request to slightly curb his activities. A major reason why this recording wasn’t shown on the newspapers was of course thanks to the reporters working for him.
Furthermore, Principal Momoyama lodged a serious complaint with the upper echelons of the opposition party in regards to the unannounced visitation on campus with reporters in tow, forcing Congressman Kanda and other congressmen also in the anti-magic camp to temporarily lower the scale of their activities. From a certain perspective, Principal Momoyama made full use of Tatsuya’s little ploy.
In addition, there was also supporting fire coming from the private sector.
“Hey, look, Tatsuya. This interview is still being shown.”
During lunch in the cafeteria, Leo pointed his index finger at the recommended news image being displayed on the wall monitor. Without bothering to look in the direction Leo was pointing, Tatsuya continued to silently dine.
“It’s quite rare for the Rozen side to voluntarily appear on the news in Japan, Onii-sama.”
However, just because he could ignore Leo, that didn’t mean that Tatsuya was able to deny Miyuki.
“Given that someone bearing the Rozen name has been assigned to Japan, a major policy change may be afoot.”
Paying heed to avoid looking towards Erika and Mikihiko, Tatsuya replied in a carefree manner.
Of the 16 widescreen monitors on the wall, four of them were broadcasting the interview with Einst Rozen, CEO of Rozen Magicraft’s Japanese branch. On the screen, Einst Rozen was answering the newscaster’s questions in fluent Japanese.
“—I never thought that high school students would be able to wield such high level magic. I am astounded by the level of Japanese magical techniques.”
“Isn’t he applauding you guys?”
“…………”
Completely unlike her usual flair, Erika had remained silent since the very beginning. In comparison, though this was not exactly the right way to put it, Tatsuya once again ignored Leo’s merry attempt to engage him in conversation.
“After seeing the successful experiment conducted by students at First High yesterday, I caught a glimpse of how the techniques and possibilities of magic can bring about greater prosperity to mankind.”
“Incredible. He even said the prosperity of mankind.”
Seeing Shizuku frankly express, without any ulterior motive, her amazement to this recognition, Tatsuya once again blandly replied “That was thanks to everyone’s hard work”.
“Hm, both Miyuki and Honoka were amazing.”
“I, I didn’t do anything that impressive……”
Watching the ruckus brewing between Shizuku and Honoka, Tatsuya was caught between contemplating “what is Rozen’s goal here?” and surprised that “they appear to be wise enough to make sure that the names of the high school students were not revealed”.
Though unexpected, the various positive responses garnered by the Stellar Furnace experiment significantly lifted the spirits of the students at First High. Even if they were not the ones responsible, they were still students at the same school acknowledged by society. Even if this was a superficial manner, the desire to be recognized at their tender age was satisfied upon recognition being bestowed on the group they belonged to.
During 5th period, or shortly after the end of the last period after lunch. In Year 1 Class A, Takuma was preparing to head for Club Activities Group after class when an unpleasant conversation resounded in his ear for the umpteenth time. The topics his female classmates were conversing about were the CEO of Rozen Magicraft’s Japanese branch, Einst Rozen, as well as the comments the CEO made yesterday. Other female students in class were also clamoring to join the experiment. Takuma suddenly rose to his feet, without paying any heed towards masking his agitated mood. Noticing Takuma’s sudden, sinister burst, the chatting girls halted their conversation.
The reason behind his attitude was because the class’s atmosphere was too giddy. Plainly, students from Class A had not directly participated in yesterday’s experiment. Kasumi and Minami were from Class C, Izumi was from Class B, and Class A didn’t send any supporting personnel to operate the machines. That being said, after receiving high marks from the cadre of a world-famous corporation, almost all of the students were as excited as if they were the ones responsible for this feat. That is to say, every student save Takuma himself.
Damn it, while that thought ran through Takuma’s mind, he was unable to finely control his own emotions at this time. Praise directed towards the Saegusa Family – that was what he believed – or whatever it was had exhausted all of Takuma’s patience. Finally, without any word to excuse himself, Takuma left the classroom as if fleeing.
Takuma’s rotten mood failed to dissipate even during his time at the Club Group Activities HQ. His techniques were a mess thanks to his lack of concentration, causing his stress to amplify as he failed at things that normally posed no challenge to him. After school, Takuma’s agitation had reached a peak.
For Takuma, today was an unlucky day.
After retrieving his own CAD from storage in the office, Takuma ran into Kasumi wearing her Public Moral Committee bracelet in the school quad on the way home.
After club invitation week, members of the Public Moral Committee returned to duties by shift. Generally, patrols were conducted by one person alone, and this was no exception even for new students, thus Kasumi was alone. After taking the time into account, she was probably on her way back to headquarters. This is why there was nothing odd in Kasumi passing a cursory glance over Takuma before passing by him. In all likelihood, what transpired next was the product of Takuma’s inferiority complex.
“Looks like everything is going according to plan, Saegusa.”
Takuma believed that Kasumi was mocking him.
“……What are you referring to?”
Kasumi coming to a stop and turning around with a shocked look on her face was not an act.
However, in the eyes of Takuma and with all the leftover stress from his father’s careful reminder from two nights ago, Kasumi was playing dumb.
Continuing along this misunderstanding, Takuma vented all of his frustration on Kasumi.
“I’m talking about yesterday’s public experiment. Haven’t you even won the attention of the Rozen branch CEO?”
“Public experiment? Shippou-kun, is there a misunderstanding somewhere?”
Kasumi was most definitely not a young girl of genteel personality. Even if she pretended to be an obedient child, her nature was that of someone who got into fights easily. Never taking the dark and treacherous route, she was someone who walked beneath the daylight. Here, she had no intention of hiding her displeasure at the malice lurking within Takuma’s words.
“Stop playing dumb. You knew ahead of time that a national congressman hostile to Magicians was coming, so that’s why you put on a show yesterday, right? You clearly took advantage of Shiba-senpai and successfully bolstered your own fame.”
“You said took advantage of? Don’t even think of bullshitting your way into this.”
Kasumi’s response grew coarse. Although Takuma’s point regarding their forewarning about Congressman Kanda’s arrival was true, Takuma also fully believed in his speculation.
“How careless of me. That guy’s reputation goes beyond this school and extends even into the 9 schools. As expected of the Saegusa, leaving nothing to chance. After your older sister, are you the one to seduce him? After all, you siblings are unimpeachable when it comes to appearances.”
“Stop joking around!”
Kasumi suddenly exploded. This force was sufficient to silence Takuma for a while. Still, blood rushed to Kasumi’s head for only a second.
“…...Seduce, eh. The Shippou line of thinking is certainly debased. We, the Saegusa, haven’t even considered something like seduction. You aren’t too bad looking yourself, so why don’t you go serve as some Magician’s gigolo? Though, anyone who would want a gigolo in this day and age would probably have to be a lecherous entertainer.”
This time, it was Takuma’s turn to color in fury.
Kasumi’s metaphor did not contain a more profound meaning. The term lecherous entertainer referred to the recent news heatedly talked about over the porn websites about the liaison between a certain veteran actress and a young man that Kasumi heard a passing reference to. She wasn’t using the term “gigolo” specifically because it referred to a mature woman’s younger lover, but merely because she wanted to borrow the term from the headlines.
However, for Takuma, that term seemed to be mocking his relationship with Sawamura Maki.
“……Are you picking a fight with me, Saegusa?”
“I believe it was you, Shippou, who fired the first shot. Furthermore, have you already forgotten? I have already said that I will fully play along until I grind you into the dust, until you never dare to pick a fight with the Saegusa again.”
Takuma and Kasumi glared at one another. Both their respective right hands grabbed their left sleeves. Both of them used the same bracelet-shaped CADs. The two of them had far surpassed the point of no return.
“You two over there! What do you think you’re doing!?”
“You two, drop your hands now!”
Nevertheless, just as the two of them were about to manipulate their CADs, voices originating from behind them called out for them to stop.
The voice behind Takuma belonged to a male student.
The voice to the rear of Kasumi came from a female student.
Takuma pulled back the left sleeve with his right hand as he turned around.
On the other hand, Kasumi dropped her right hand and turned.
In Takuma’s field of vision, a slightly familiar-looking upperclassman reached his right hand towards his left breast with a serious expression.
He was planning on pulling out the pistol-shaped CAD stored in the shoulder holster, Takuma judged.
Takuma’s counterattack was all reflex.
His right hand touched the CAD’s power switch.
The upperclassman who was his opponent also drew his CAD.
I won, just as Takuma thought this,
Wobbling from being struck by concussive waves from the front and back of his body, Takuma was knocked unconscious as he fell to his knees.
Detecting the signs of magic being activated behind her, Kasumi couldn’t help but turn around. While she understood that unnecessary movement in her current predicament was not a wise choice, she couldn’t ignore the activation of combat magic even if the target was not herself.
The ones who planned on using magic were the opponent she was previously in a standoff with, Shippou Takuma, and the Public Moral Committee member, Morisaki-senpai – by the time Kasumi realized this, magic had already been activated.
The first one to activate was Morisaki’s magic. Although the influence of Takuma’s Data Fortification lowered the strength quite a bit, Morisaki was still able to activate magic that caused severe shaking in front and behind the body, so from the standpoint of interrupting Takuma’s attack, he was entirely successful.
“Drawless……”
Slightly shocked, Kasumi involuntarily murmured this. It was obvious that Takuma was quicker at preparing his CAD. Specialized CADs were faster than Generalized CADs, but under those circumstances, Takuma should still have been faster regardless of the speed difference between Specialized and Generalized CADs. That was because Morisaki should have had to follow the “draw, aim” process.
Yet, prior to drawing the CAD from the holster, Morisaki had already used his own senses to aim the prepared magic. This was a high level technique for pistol-shaped CADs known as “Drawless”. Since there was an assistance device built in that “activated in the direction that the CAD was pointed in”, it was very difficult to fire pistol-shaped CADs without drawing them. Nonetheless, Morisaki did this perfectly without sacrificing the Specialized CAD’s advantage in speed.
In truth, Kasumi didn’t rate Morisaki really highly in her book. Both the scale of Magic Sequences and strength of interference were only average, it was his deployment speed that was faster, and only that alone. She once harbored the doubt as to why someone like him who clearly only possessed this degree of talent was selected into the Public Moral Committee, but at this moment, Kasumi could only frankly admit that she didn’t have a good eye for people.
Even now, her belief that Morisaki only had average Magic Power remained unchanged. Unrelated to the Magic Power that one was born with, this level of technique should come naturally to an upperclassman, Kasumi thought.
(I too need to work even harder.)
Internally buoyed with motivation, Kasumi clenched her fists,
“Kasumi.”
But when a flat voice called out her name from behind her, Kasumi’s body immediately tightened as if she jumped.
“Kitayama-senpai……”
Directly before her abashed self, Shizuku stared at Kasumi with a dark expression on her face.
After being brought back to the Public Moral Committee headquarters by Morisaki and Shizuku, Kasumi and Takuma felt like they were sitting on pins and needles. Members of the Public Moral Committee present included the chief, Kanon, as well as Morisaki and Shizuku, who had brought them here (Shizuku was not on duty today, but was coincidentally dragged into this). The Club Activities Group were represented by the head, Hattori, and the executive officer, Tomitsuka, as well as the representative from the Student Council, Tatsuya, here for some unknown reason.
“Kasumi, as a member of the Public Moral Committee, what the hell were you doing? And you were even on patrol……”
Kanon deeply sighed whereas Kasumi averted her gaze in shame.
“Shippou, you are aware that unauthorized use of magic is against school rules, correct? Using magic after getting into a fight is already a serious enough infraction, then you went ahead and attacked the Public Moral Committee member trying to defuse the situation……”
Tomitsuka’s sigh passed into the ears of Takuma as he sat there tightly with his eyes gazing straight ahead.
“At any rate, I feel that there is a need to get the whole story first.”
After hearing Hattori’s words, Kanon nodded unhappily.
“Seriously…… And here I thought we would be free of any hassle after club invitation week......”
Kanon rudely scratched her head while dipping it before raising her head to gaze sharply at Kasumi and Takuma.
“I will say this first. Kasumi’s case was attempted, so expulsion is off the table, there is still the possibility of suspension. Although also an attempted case, Shippou’s case belongs to the worst offenses for CAD related infractions and can result in expulsion.”
Takuma received Kanon’s declaration without moving a muscle. In order to prevent his body from trembling, he forced his body to stand.
“I want you both to keep that in mind as you speak. Now, what was the cause for all this?”
Kanon looked towards Kasumi’s side first.
“Shippou-kun insulted the Saegusa Family.”
Kanon turned her eyes towards Takuma.
“I received unforgivable slander from Saegusa.”
Both Kasumi and Takuma refused to look at one another.
“Huh…… Hattori, how do you want to handle this incident?”
Upon hearing Kanon’s words, Hattori opened his tightly closed eyes.
“Shippou belongs to the Club Activities Group. I do not have the confidence that I can make an unbiased decision.”
“If you say that, isn’t Kasumi a member of the Public Moral Committee?”
“Then let’s have a third party that is not the Club Activities Group or the Public Moral Committee, the Student Council, make the decision.”
With both Kanon and Hattori looking at him, Tatsuya inwardly sighed loudly. This was a sigh that everything was happening exactly how he had foreseen it. The fact of the matter was that he was only here as the representative of the Student Council because Azusa fled after getting a premonition that something troublesome was on the horizon. Isori also secured his own avenue of retreat by giving off a smile that said “the representative of the Student Council should be the Student Council Vice President”. While there was one other Student Council Vice President, Tatsuya was unwilling to push this task onto his sister, so he could come here with the determination to do his duty. In short, he had mentally composed himself to handle this irksome business the moment he had stepped into the room.
“I think it would be better if they were allowed to fight it out.”
Hattori’s brows moved slightly.
“Eh, then, we’re letting the two of them go?”
Kanon asked back in shock, but Hattori said nothing. Tatsuya had an inkling to what his thoughts on the matter were, but that was not something to be verbalized.
“Since there’s no way to discuss an appropriate solution, then strength will decide this. I heard from the previous Chief of the Public Moral Committee that this was the school’s recommendation.”
Tomitsuka displayed astonishment at Tatsuya’s declaration, but Kanon and Hattori both wore looks that said all this was natural. Speaking of which, Shizuku was looking off to the side with a sleepy expression, an expression that wished that all of this would end quickly.
“While unauthorized use of magic is a major infraction, there is no need to penalize students who only attempted it. Isn’t this a common occurrence among new students?”
This time, it was Morisaki’s turn to avert his eyes with a bitter expression on his face, but fortunately no one followed up with any barbs.
“I think that since both sides have put their honor on the line, using strength to determine the outcome would leave no cause for complaint.”
“I think that the Vice President’s idea is sound, Hattori?”
After listening to Tatsuya’s opinion, Kanon immediately asked Hattori without thinking about it.
“I have no objection. Shiba, we will rely on you for the procedural forms.”
“Understood.”
Tatsuya nodded at Hattori’s words and walked towards the direct staircase in order to obtain Azusa’s confirmation letter.
“Shiba-senpai.”
Behind him, Takuma spoke up.
“Shippou, anything you’re unsatisfied with?”
Tomitsuka was the one who issued the reprimand.
“No! But if I’m going to have a match with Saegusa, I have a request.”
Takuma was in no position to dictate terms, a fact he was well aware of himself.
“Go ahead.”
Thus Kanon urged him to speak on quickly.
“I wish for my opponent to not be Saegusa Kasumi, but Saegusa Kasumi and Saegusa Izumi both at the same time.”
“Shippou, are you looking down on me?”
Setting aside whether or not she was using the correct courtesy while surrounded by upperclassmen, Kasumi’s inquiry was a legitimate one.
“Reason being?”
Still, when she heard Tatsuya’s question for Takuma, Kasumi temporarily shut her mouth and listened carefully.
“This is a match that puts pride on the line for the Shippou and Saegusa Families. Furthermore, isn’t it public knowledge that 'the Saegusa twins can only reveal their true strength when both are gathered together'?”
“So a victory achieved without both of them being present is not a true victory?”
“Exactly.”
Tatsuya momentarily stopped speaking before turning towards Kasumi.
“That is Shippou-kun’s position. Do you have any objections if that is the case, Kasumi?”
“Nothing at all. I will make him regret this dearly.”
“Then, so shall it be.”
With that, Tatsuya walked towards the staircase leading to the Student Council Room.
After returning with the permission slip carrying the seal of the Student Council President, Tatsuya was followed by Izumi and, for some unknown reason, Miyuki and Honoka.
“Chief, please press your seal here.”
“Eh, the seal? ……Where did I put that?”
Behind the panicky Kanon, Shizuku pulled out a small box carrying important items from the book cabinet. Clearly hiding her abashment behind a mask of courtesy, Kanon received the small box and pressed the seal on the permission slip.
As if to dispel the awkward atmosphere, Hattori coughed loudly.
“Where should we select as the grounds?”
“Please conduct this in Practice Room #2.”
Honoka was the one who answered the question Hattori directed at Tatsuya. Everyone here knew that she had come here with the passkey for Practice Room #2 without any verbal confirmation.
“Is Shiba-san the referee?”
This question came from Tomitsuka. It seemed that from the very beginning, he was highly curious as to why Miyuki was here for all this.
“No, I’m just the witness.”
Miyuki smiled as she denied Tomitsuka’s hypothesis.
“Then, the judge will be Tatsuya-kun?”
Shizuku’s question was phrased towards Tatsuya himself, but Kanon interrupted before Tatsuya could reply.
“That’s fine.”
“I have no objection.”
Hattori followed on the heels of Kanon’s words. Neither of them appeared interested in Tatsuya’s opinion on the matter.
“—Let’s go. We don’t have much time until the school closes.”
The one who proposed this match was Tatsuya, so there was no way they would allow him to say “No”. Tatsuya could only resist the urge to sigh as he urged everyone to move.
The ones who relocated to Practice Room #2 included the participants of this duel that was framed as a match, Takuma, Kasumi, and Izumi. Also present was Tatsuya in the capacity as the referee, Miyuki as the witness, and Honoka as the holder of the keys (passkeys). Rounding out the 8 people were Tomitsuka from the Club Activities Group and Shizuku from the Public Moral Committee. –Morisaki should have been here as a witness considering the duty shift of the Public Moral Committee, but Shizuku volunteered to be his replacement.
Faced with these witnesses, Takuma felt somewhat confused. Based on his knowledge, Tatsuya and Miyuki were in the Saegusa camp. With both the referee and witness on the enemy’s side, forget a stacked battle, this was going to be an uphill battle the entire way.
On the other hand, both Honoka and Shizuku were talented individuals whom Takuma wished to call upon for assistance in order to regain the Shippou Family’s rightful place. Takuma’s simple line of logic told him that if he could impress the two of them with his might here, they would be easier to persuade later down the line. –Well, this was nothing to knock a 15 year old young man for, seeing as Takuma’s mental age matched his real age. Broadly speaking, it was Tatsuya’s group that didn't seem like youngsters befitting their age.
A completely unfavorable position, as well as the rewards involved if he could beat the odds and obtain victory.
Faced with both Saegusa sisters, Takuma’s confusion only sharpened his fighting spirit.
On the other hand, Kasumi and Izumi weren't as invested as Takuma. Kasumi was just here because of Takuma’s one-sided meddling, though that was probably a falsehood, whereas Izumi felt like she had been roped along for the ride. Neither of them bore any particular feelings for the Shippou Family. To them, it was just irritating to be viewed hostilely, and so long as he kept to himself, they cared not the slightest that he had higher grades or was selected as the student representative.
In essence, neither of them cared for worldly status or reputation. Though they liked to be praised and detested being looked down upon, they were not the type to plot for their gain. On some level, this could be described as those blessed by the heavens lack nothing, but this wasn't because they wished for it either.
The two of them were of one accord when it came to “drawing a period on this irritating business”. For this, they needed to utterly crush him to the point that he would never dare to give provocation again. With this determination in mind, the two of them squared off against Takuma.
Practice Room #2 was even longer than the Practice Room #3 where Tatsuya faced off against Hattori one year ago. This was a classroom designed to use medium-range magic. The area extending one meter from the walls was colored in red.
Takuma stood in the blue area while Kasumi and Izumi stood in the yellow area.
Takuma was dressed in his usual school uniform and carried a pristinely bound book under his left armpit.
Kasumi and Izumi had changed into practice uniforms that maximized ease of movement, work clothes with long sleeves and pants made from heavy fabric. Typically, a sleeveless jacket with absorption properties would be worn on top of these clothes that would be worn during Outside Technical Exercises at the artificial forest behind the mountain, but right now neither of them wore this jacket. The skintight work clothes they wore perfectly displayed their delicate curves, but Tomitsuka appeared to be the only one present who had no idea where to look.
“The rules for this match forbid physical contact.”
Tatsuya made this declaration as he stood at the dividing line between blue and yellow areas. Forbidding physical contact referred to the rule that bodily contact was forbidden during this match, a common occurrence for matches between those of different genders unless special circumstances were involved (typically, matches between women also adopted this rule).
“I believe both sides already know this, but I will go over the rules again right now. Both sides are not allowed to step outside their colored areas. Either stepping into your opponent’s area or the red area would constitute defeat. You are forbidden from physically touching your opponent’s body. This rule also extends to contact by weapons. However......”
As he said this, Tatsuya sneaked a peek at Takuma’s face.
“Using long-range magic to manipulate weapons does not constitute an infraction.”
However, Tatsuya swiftly turned his gaze to a more neutral position between the two sides.
“Finally, fatal strikes or attacks that cause irrecoverable damage to your opponent are strictly forbidden. If I judge the situation to be at risk, I will forcibly end the match.”
For an instant, Takuma wore a derisive expression, which must be because he thought “bring it on if you can”. Though Tatsuya, Miyuki, Honoka, and Shizuku all noticed this, no one scolded Takuma for his disrespectful attitude.
“Then, both sides, prepare yourselves.”
Kasumi and Izumi shifted to the center of their area.
Takuma never moved from his position near the dividing line and let the book he held beneath his armpit flutter to the ground by his feet.
Tatsuya alternately switched his eyes between the three of their faces. As one, all three of them nodded.
Retreating to the wall, Tatsuya raised his right fist over his head before swinging it down forcefully.
With a flash of psions, they released their magic.
The ones launching magic attacks were Takuma and Kasumi, while Izumi was focused completely on defense with Zone Interference.
Alone as he was, Takuma was forced to attack and defend whereas Kasumi could focus entirely on offense.
The conditions clearly favored Kasumi.
“What do you think?”
Shizuku whispered to Honoka.
“They appear to be even now, I think…...”
Honoka’s whispered response was not filled with confidence.
Kasumi primarily relied on Move-Type Magic, setting Takuma himself as the target for the blocks of air sent flying towards him. This strategy aimed at forcing her opponent out of bounds to win. For defense, Takuma relied on Data Fortification and physical obstacles.
On the other side, Takuma used Oscillation-Type Magic to directly counterattack, but once deterred by Izumi’s Zone Interference, he switched strategies to firing compressed air bullets gathered in his hands. This was a popular magic known as “Air Bullet” and, given its popularity, its effectiveness was guaranteed. However, Izumi’s Zone Interference was broader than he imagined and the Air Bullet immediately dissipated once entering her Zone Interference, making it very difficult to land an effective attack.
“I get the feeling that Kasumi-chan doesn’t want to hurt Shippou-kun. That’s why the scope of her attacks has been restricted.”
“Indeed.”
“Shippou-kun, on the other hand…… Doesn’t look like he’s completely grasped how to use Air Bullet.”
“Wouldn’t it be the same for Izumi?”
“Yeah. Without putting the entire room under her dominion like Miyuki does, using Zone Interference alone is insufficient to completely block Air Bullet. The two of them are so inherently talented that they have neglected to put in the necessary hard work to perfect their skills.”
“They are new students after all.”
“That’s true. We were more or less just like them before the Nine Schools Competition.”
Although he was unable to hear Honoka and Shizuku’s conversation, Takuma was deeply conscious of the fact that “this can’t continue like this”. He frantically tried to settle his agitated heart and desperately searched for an opening while deploying his magic.
He didn’t feel that his Magic Power was inferior to theirs. He wouldn’t lose even 2-on-1 and he had the confidence that victory was his the moment he played his trump card. However, Takuma was aware that there was a high risk of injury to his opponents if he unleashed his trump card. Even though he was an upperclassman at First High, he didn’t believe that Tatsuya, who wasn’t a member of the 28 families, could stop his magic in time, but there was still the chance of him losing because he broke the rules. This was the source of Takuma’s hesitation.
However.
(Not good!)
He was trying to think while operating magic in a combat situation. As expected, this was not going to work.
He used “Dissipate” on the block of air aimed at his back. After exchanging blows thus far, Takuma had more or less grasped the differences between him and his opponents. Kasumi had the edge when it came to scale of magic, chaining spells, and versatility. Takuma was stronger than Kasumi when it came to interference strength, but he was at an impasse with Izumi in that regard.
Since his interference strength was stronger and the Magic Sequence itself was fairly simple, Takuma was able to activate “Dissipate” in a short period of time and nullify Kasumi’s “Wind Hammer” at the last second. Regardless, air released from its compressed state buffeted Takuma’s back like a strong wind. Wind Hammer’s air compression was far lower than Air Bullet. While the released air was not sufficient to deal any damage to Takuma’s flesh, it was still enough to cause his posture to buckle. Takuma’s body tilted forward, causing the accuracy of his magic to drop.
The numerous variables behind Air Bullet included size of the bullet, degree of air compression, speed of the bullet as a fixed rate once incorporated into the Activation Sequence, direction of the shot, and farthest possible range, all subject to change depending on the amount dictated by the Magician. Although direction didn’t require verification with the naked eye, line of sight was publicly acknowledged to be the easier approach to aiming.
This was why Takuma’s Air Bullets began firing towards a lower angle. A lengthy distance away from Izumi’s feet, one of the bullets along its trajectory was caught by the Zone Interference and released from its compressed state before impacting on the ground and rolling to Izumi’s feet.
With a small shriek, Izumi’s body was shaken by the wind. The unexpected wind surge caused her to lose her balance. Seeing this, Takuma immediately realized his error. It was only now that he realized that the Zone Interference nullified the compression of the air and continuously applied acceleration, but did absolutely nothing to remove the kinetic energy of the air.
The sphere of empty air that had been neutralized in mid-air expanded outwards in all directions. In short, the ones near the ground that were expanding met resistance from the ground which limited the expansion directions. The kinetic energy of the forward motion was incorporated into the air currents expanding downwards to turn into a surge of wind blowing towards his opponents.
(In other words, I just have to keep shooting in directions that will only nullify the magic and not the attack itself!)
Takuma formed 7 Air Bullets in the space in front of him. They were formed at the points of a hexagon with one of them in the center. The one in the center fired first, followed swiftly by the other 6 bullets with nary a lapse in time.
The Shippou’s magic – magic devised by the 7th Research Lab was called Herd Control. Here, the term herd does not refer to a group of biological organisms, but instead referred to a group that was connected together without any rules. Multiple independent objects, or even phenomena, were manipulated together as if they were one body.
More than just causing several hundred ice pellets to land, this Herd Control could also be used on techniques aimed at one target. For the eldest son of the Shippou Family, causing 7 Air Bullets to fire together was a piece of cake.
The first bullet fell on Izumi’s Zone Interference and detonated. However, the expanding air was immediately surrounded by the following 6 bullets and pressed forward again. In the end, the Air Bullets gradually lowered the density of the air until wind shrapnel rushed towards Izumi.
“Ah!?”
Izumi did not call out because she was struck by the wind shrapnel, but cried out after being suddenly pushed to one side. The speed that Kasumi lunged at Izumi was obviously the result of magic. She must have altered the Move-Type Magic originally targeting Takuma to herself, ignoring the increased burden that the body brought on by the acceleration process of Move-Type Magic. This was the same even if it was her own magic, just as the side being pushed aside will also suffer the same harm. My chance has come, Takuma thought.
Takuma clapped his hands in front of his chest. Within his area, the nature of sound altered. The sound of Takuma’s clapping was amplified in volume and the sound waves were gathered together before being released at Kasumi.
Even if the Zone Interference nullified the magic, the amplified volume would remain unchanged. Even if the gathered sound waves would spread somewhat, there should still be enough sound to rival a concussion grenade detonating at close range striking towards Kasumi. That should be more than enough to render her unconscious, or at least that was the plan.
Yet, Takuma’s sound wave attack was severed by the vacuum fault Izumi erected.
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