Chapter 7
On Wednesday after school, Tomitsuka Hagane visited the School Council Room. Even Igarashi Yousuke, Chairman of the Club Management Group, rarely came to the School Council Room, and Tomitsuka’s appearance here in general was an exceptional case.
"...When is Tatsuya planning to start attending school?"
"Unfortunately, he didn't tell me about that." With reluctance on her face, Miyuki answered the question of Tomitsuka, the meaning of which was something like: “When is the next time Tatsuya is to come?”.
Her answer was not a lie, and her facial expression wasn’t an act.
For a while, Tatsuya will not go to school, because he is observing how the situation changes after the press conference. The resumption of school attendance depends on this situation in society, and Tatsuya himself cannot in advance say, "from what moment" he will return.
And Miyuki, day after night, grew discontent that Tatsuya was not free to come to school.
"Then... Will you tell me where Shiba-kun is right now?" With unconcealed despair, Tomitsuka asked Miyuki the next question.
"Do you have something to discuss with Tatsuya?" Miyuki asked this answer with a suspicious voice. Anyone in her place felt that something was wrong with Tomitsuka.
There was no freedom of action in his behavior. Putting pressure on the interlocutor with his circumstances was not like Tomitsuka.
"Excuse me."
However, he noticed that he was making Miyuki feel unpleasant.
"Um... There's something I'd like to talk to Shiba-kun about."
"Talk? If you don't mind, I'd like to know about what?"
Tomitsuka’s eyes ran from side to side. He hesitated for a while, but eventually he overcame his indecision and met Miyuki with a look.
"My mother is hospitalized."
"Your Mother!"
Miyuki opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with her hand.
Tomitsuka was fussing from such a reaction.
"Oh, no, even though I said she was hospitalized, there's no danger for her life. She has a severe stomach ulcer.. .she will be discharged from the hospital after a month of rest."
"I understood... I hope she has a quick recovery."
"Thank you very much."
Thanking Miyuki for her words of sympathy, Tomitsuka looked as if he wanted to say something else. While he was looking for the words to say, Izumi spoke to him.
"Isn’t Tomitsuka-sempai’s mother the chairman of the Magic Association?"
"Yes, she is, Saegusa-san."
"Does your mother's illness have a psychological origin?"
This time Tomitsuka’s eyes were already wide open.
"...The doctor said it was caused by stress."
"In other words, Tomitsuka-sempai wants to say that the cause of his mother's illness, is Shiba-sempai?"
"I wasn't going to say something like that!"
The face of the answering Tomitsuka blushed. This proved that Izumi's assertion was not entirely wrong. Tomitsuka, who was worried, realized, and took a deep breath.
"...Your mother has recently been severely pressured by the government. With regards to Tatsuya-sama?" Miyuki asked Tomitsuka imperturbably.
"Yes, that's right. They want her to persuade Shiba-kun to cancel the energy plant project and take part in Project Dione..."
"What does that mean!" Honoka said loud and indignant. Izumi and Shiina, also considering it absurd, sent cold gazes to Tomitsuka.
"Can you talk about something like that? Don't you have to keep it a secret?"
"...A member of my family already went to the hospital, though unofficially. And as long as it’s for my family and to the extent that it will help the people involved in the case to identify the circumstances, it will not be a problem."
The open tone of Tomitsuka’s voice showed his discontent with
"government-related people."
"I'm not going to accuse Shiba-kun of my mother's hospitalization. Even I understand that it is ridiculous to shift the responsibility to Shiba-kun."
"Tomitsuka-Sempai. If you aren’t going to complain, what are you going to talk about with Shiba-sempai?"
Miyuki’s question again was voiced aloud by Izumi.
"...Regardless of the Government's opinion, I believe that Shiba-kun should take part in Project Dione. This is undoubtedly an important project for the future of mankind, and the USNA is trying to invite Shiba-kun with the most courteous attitude.
He may have had a lot of plans, but I believe that for Japan, for the sake of Japanese magicians, he must accept the invitation of the USNA. So far, I was silent because it didn't concern me, but when it affected my family, I became involved."
There was no one among the members of the School Council who would support the argument of Tomitsuka. But there also were none that interrupted his speech.
"Although I am annoyed that I have to follow unreasonable government requests, I still want to try to persuade Shiba-kun to take part in Project Dione."
Making sure that Tomitsuka finished his speech, Miyuki spoke.
"If that is your goal, then I can't tell you anything."
"Huh..?"
Tomitsuka, it seems, did not expect a refusal. He stared at Miyuki like a person expressing their complete misunderstanding of an answer.
"If you have such a goal, I can't afford to tell you the address of Tatsuya."
"Why... Can I ask why...?"
"Because I understand that you want to stop Tatsuya, and I can't help you with that."
The face of Tomitsuka distorted, as if to say "I can't believe it".
"But... The selfishness of Shiba-kun can bring problems to everyone else! If Shiba-kun shows a little patience, everyone will end up better!"
"Selfishness, you say...?"
Miyuki did not even conceal that she was unpleasantly surprised.
"Tomitsuka-kun, it looks like you're confused about your mom getting sick. Please, forget today. It will be better for everyone."
The usual Tomitsuka is completely different and would not say anything smug. Miyuki knew this and wanted to solve the problem peacefully. For her, it was an exceptional occasion when Tatsuya was offended, and she ended it all with reasonable measures.
Her magic did not get out of control because the seal was removed, and she thus regained the primordial control of her magic. However, to her opponent, feeling like he got pushed into a corner, and trapped in his thinking, it produced a reverse effect.
"...President Shiba. I'm challenging you to a duel."
"Under a duel you mean a fight for resolving the conflict of opinions?"
"Yes. If I win, please tell me where the Shiba-kun is."
Miyuki quietly listened to the willful statement of Tomitsuka. No, she was completely calm. But there was no blazing anger inside her, because those hostile and murderous intentions were frozen.
"...I accept your challenge."
"Miyuki-sama, please wait."
The phrase of the acceptance of the duel was blocked by another voice.
"Minami-chan?"
With a mixed sense of wonder and suspicion, Miyuki asked about Minami’s intentions.
Minami did not say "President", but "Miyuki-sama".
The fact that Miyuki is the successor of the title the "Head of the Yotsuba family" was well-known. At the same time, everyone here understood that Minami is not really a cousin, but is in the service of the Yotsuba family. Nobody really asked about it, but everyone suspected this kind of a relationship.
Therefore, Minami called Miyuki "Miyuki-sama", without feeling any discomfort. She even said, "Miyuki-sama", in cases where Miyuki wasn't around. However, Miyuki did not like it when it happened at school, and she insisted on the greatest possible deterrence of this behavior, showing their relationship as a master and a servant.
So she had to have some reason for saying "Miyuki-sama" in this place, showing the behavior of a servant in the presence of their kohai.
"Tatsuya-sama told me to protect Miyuki-sama. Followed with Tatsuya-sama giving me his trust, I cannot allow Miyuki-sama to participate in unnecessary battles."
Miyuki had no way to object the words of Minami. When Tatsuya’s intentions are mentioned, Miyuki cannot have any objections.
"But in that case, Tomitsuka-sempai maybe will not be satisfied? That instead of Miyuki-sama, I will become the opponent of Tomitsuka-sempai."
"...I got it. Tomitsuka-kun, is that fine with you? If Minami-chan loses, then like you, Tomitsuka-kun, asked, I will tell you the location of the villa, where Tatsuya-sama now lives."
"...If it results in you telling me the location of Shiba-kun, then I do not mind."
These unexpected developments puzzled Tomitsuka. Perhaps more precisely it could be said that he was not good in such matters.
But he decided not to object. He didn't have time to worry about anything but his goal.
In disputes between students the one who is right and who is wrong, is proven by force. This was the one way of solving problems that was officially included in the rules of First High.
Of course, the "mock battle" procedure was strictly defined, and it was also required to obtain permission from the President of the School Board and the Head of the Disciplinary Committee.
It was a measure to prevent the use of training fights for unilateral violence, so basically when there is a large difference in force between the participants.
"...I thought there wouldn't be a duel against the Student Council this year.”
The Head of the Disciplinary Committee, Mikihiko, complained to Izumi, who came to ask for approval of the mock battle. Since the President is the related party this time, the organization of the mock fight is handled by the Vice President, Izumi.
"This is not a duel, but a match, Yoshida-sempai."
Having made a small amendment to the words of Mikihiko, Izumi gave him the approved resolution of the Student Council together with its written form.
Seeing what it says, Mikihiko rounded his eyes with surprise.
"Hand to Hand combat!? Is that okay? I mean, the fight is between Tomitsuka-kun and Sakurai-san, a guy and a girl?"
Usually, hand to hand combat for competitions was only used by guys.
Because sexual harassment is a possibility in a fight between a guy and a girl.
"The 'Using a mock knife and stopping before hitting the opponent'-
rule. Sakurai-san seems to be sure of herself."
The explanation of Izumi did not calm Mikihiko at all. Even if it is said that the end of match is determined by the simulation of the impact of the mock knife, it still means that punching and kicking is allowed.
"...I will serve as the referee."
He could not simply put his seal of approval on this, thinking that he could not leave a place unattended where a pupil could be injured by another pupil. With this thought in mind, Mikihiko decided to be the referee.
Tomitsuka, who changed into a club uniform and waited in the third room for practical training, looked with round eyes at the appearance of Minami, who entered the room after Miyuki.
"Are you going to participate in the match in that outfit!?"
"But it doesn't violate the rules." Minami answered with an indifferent tone to the involuntarily screaming Tomitsuka.
"That is... so, but.."
Tomitsuka was in the uniform for Magic Martial Arts.
The upper part is a long sleeve shirt without buttons with cushions on the elbow parts, then loose belt-less trousers whose cushions were on the knee parts and only the part at the ankle is tightened. On his feet, he wore soft shoes that were designed for martial arts sports.
On the other hand, Minami was in a T-shirt with short sleeves and in short thigh shorts worn by gymnasts. Although her right thigh was covered with a weapon belt with an attached mock knife, she still had the usual appearance of an athlete with exposed arms and legs.
"Aren't you worried about injuries?"
Tomitsuka was speechless towards Minami who just spoke to him.
"Of course, if you receive a blow from Tomitsuka-sempai, you can get a bump or a bruise. Maybe even a fracture."
(In that case... You need more protection.) Tomitsuka wanted to say.
"Tomitsuka-sempai. This is the essence of a mock battle."
But Minami was faster than him.
"Even with the rules, when close combat is forbidden, the danger of being traumatized does not change much."
In a rare occurrence, Minami was quite talkative today.
"If Tomitsuka-senpai doesn’t mind being injured by girls, he would have already lost this match today."
Minami intentionally made a short pause.
"At your own convenience."
She struck down these condemning words on Tomitsuka. He could not object to Minami’s criticism .
"...Tomitsuka-kun, do you want to cancel the match?" Mikihiko turned to the dumbfounded Tomitsuka.
"Even if you win or lose this match, you will only have a poor aftertaste left, so it’s better to stop now and you will not regret it."
Mikihiko extended Tomitsuka a life line.
"...Yoshida-kun, give the signal for the beginning of the match."
But the concern of Mikihiko only reinforced the stubbornness of Tomitsuka. Now Tomitsuka definitely needed to know the address of Tatsuya.
When Mikihiko mentioned "regret", Tomitsuka thought that "I do not want to withdraw here and regret it later, even if I injure a girl and end up regretting it".
"...Got it. Both parties know the rules? The rule is to stop before making contact Please obey the judgment of the referee."
Tomitsuka and Minami simultaneously nodded. Unfortunately for Mikihiko, neither Tomitsuka nor Minami had shown that they want to retreat.
"Then... Start!"
By the signal of Mikihiko, Tomitsuka and Minami simultaneously activated magic.
To reduce the distance, oscillation magic was used to break the balance of the enemy and get victory without injuring her... This plan, invented by Tomitsuka for this fight, was stopped by an Anti-Object barrier, which appeared directly in front of him.
Although Tomitsuka already saw the ability of Minami in last year's
"Stellar Furnace" experiment and at the Nine Schools Competition, he couldn't help but be surprised at the activation speed of her magic. The barrier preventing his approach was created the moment after the signal for the beginning of the match.
With surprise, but without panic, Tomitsuka flew into this transparent wall.
His disadvantage that he could not project psions at a distance from his body, has not changed. For magic that was able to attack enemies from far away, it only affects the influence of magic that was invoked nearby into the continuous space, so a magic can be set on a remote location.
But the peculiarity of wearing high-density psion armor, which can neutralize any magic touching his body, also has not changed. No, this ability to neutralize magic, which can be called "Contact-Type Gram Demolition", has became stronger because of his improved psion control.
Tomitsuka’s shoulder pierced the magical barrier of Minami. Resistance was felt for less than one second. After that, Tomitsuka felt that the barrier that was unseen by the naked eye, collapsed.
Next he was going to hit Minami with his hand. However, in the time when Tomitsuka was focused on the barrier, Minami had the time to flank him from the side.
The installation location of the magic barrier can be specified in either relative or absolute coordinates.
When setting the barrier by absolute coordinates in the true sense of the word, it is necessary to take into account the huge speed of rotation of the Earth and its orbital movement, so, even when they say "absolute coordinates", in most cases it means a relative position based on the coordinates on the Earth's surface. In human perception it can be expressed as absolute coordinates. Many people know that the magic that sets a wall using the true absolute coordinates, so that the enemy at breakneck speed flew into it, is an extremely advanced type of attacking magic.
At the moment, Minami has created barriers in the usual sense of the concept of absolute coordinates. On the other hand, Tomitsuka acted with prejudice that the enemy is on the other side of the barrier. For this reason, he lost sight of Minami at the time of the destruction of the barrier.
Minami released a compressed air bullet which can be said to be a basic version of attacking magic to Tomitsuka.
The modified "Sakurai" series has a high aptitude for magic barriers, and the second generation Minami is particularly talented.
But it does mean that she, like Tatsuya or Tomitsuka, was bad at using other spells, that weren’t related to her specialization.
Besides that, compressed air bullet “in a compressed state”
conceptually has some compatibly with barrier magic, so it is an easy magic for Minami to use. It is synonymous with “magic” which can
“give great power”.
Perhaps because the degree of threat was high, this intuition of his payed off.
Driven by a strong sense of danger, Tomitsuka created a magical barrier in the form of armor.
Tomitsuka could activate magic on objects or areas in his direct physical contact.
However, at a distance of zero meters in the Contact State, the "Range Zero", he demonstrated an unparalleled force. Such a magician was Tomitsuka Hagane.
Unlike Fortification magic, this Anti-Object barrier, activated a form that overlapped his worn clothing, and was able to take the compressed air bullet from Minami. The armor Tomitsuka created protected him from both the compressed air, and from the explosion caused by the release of the compressed condition.
Tomitsuka continued by activating Movement-Type Magic.
To move his own body using magic is the basis for his favorite technique, "Self-Marionette". Due to his possession of this skill, he was able to jump toward Minami with such speed, that she could not prepare her next attacking magic.
As soon as his feet felt contact with the floor, Tomitsuka pulled his right hand to the right. From this position he consistently took a step forward with his right foot and thrust his right palm.
But Tomitsuka’s arms and legs stopped moving due to the unexpected scene that caught his eye.
On the face of the suddenly attacking Minami, excitement appeared.
From her position, she was happy that Tomitsuka suddenly appeared before her, ignoring the distance between them.
She managed to avoid the attack of Tomitsuka thanks to her reflexes, cultivated through her training at the Yotsuba main house.
At the same time as Tomitsuka, she entered the position to prepare a blow to the chest, she bent her back backwards and pushed herself away from the floor.
Because of the backflip that happened in front of his eyes, Tomitsuka’s attack missed.
No, the delay in his movements wasn’t caused by the surprising back flip, but because his gaze caught a piece of bodily color, that appeared after the bottom edge of the T-shirt was lifted.
At least Minami felt Tomitsuka’s eyes were directed towards her because she took her distance.
Instead of feeling disgusted, Minami thought that it was the only thing that saved her.
It was an opening that could lead to the end of the mock battle, if Tomitsuka hadn’t created a gap.
There is no way you can miss seeing the satisfactory belly button.
(If the enemy were Tatsuya-sama, this fight would have already been over)
Even though she pushed her palm of the floor and thrust back by backflipping, she could not find the next attacking posture immediately after she landed.
?
?
If she had attacked Tatsuya, this situation would be hopeless. And if this was Tatsuya, he wouldn't stop his attack just because he saw the naked skin of a woman.
Minami jumped further to the side and created a new magic barrier.
Tomitsuka recovered from his rigidity and approached Minami quickly.
Destroying the barriers.
Until that moment, everything happened the same as it did the last time. However, Minami did not come from the flank this time, but instead retreated to the back.
When the shield was destroyed, she built the next shield.
If it was Tatsuya’s demolition magic, or his Gram Demolition, the destruction of magic would only take a moment. Magic Sequences displayed in the information dimension cannot resist "Gram Demolition", which decomposes Psion information bodies.
But Gram Demolition [spell dismantling] is a technique to blow away Magic Sequences attached to the Eidos using psion pressure.
Depending on the force with which the Magic Sequence is stuck to the Eidos, there is a delay in time until the dismantling occurs.
Area Magic that fixes the Magic Sequence in a space without anything is usually weak against Gram Demolition. But the barrier magic of Minami was far from "ordinary". The "Sakurai" series’ Anti-Object barrier, which can withstand a tremendous amounts of momentum, was extremely powerful in the concept of "holding something". Minami has also inherited these magical characteristics.
In other words, the magical barriers of Minami can withstand Gram Demolition for a short amount of time. Even if he will eventually break through, it also means that it can give you time to prepare your next magic.
Minami’s Anti-Object barriers were used to stop Tomitsuka’s advancements. The barrier was quickly destroyed, but it took about one second. During this time, Minami retreated back and had finished erecting her next barrier.
It could be called a pseudo Phalanx.
But it does not mean that Minami does not feel anything from the broken barriers. The fatigue caused by the activation of magic is undoubtedly accumulating.
But Minami gradually receded back, making sure that there was a small gap between each barrier, so that the Psion armor around Tomitsuka could not touch them at the same time.
Tomitsuka could quickly destroy these barriers, so he did not move out of the way, but progressed forward. Gradually moving, almost as if he were standing still, if looked at from the outside.
This was not Tomitsuka’s original style. Facing his troubles directly, using his coordinated hand and foot work, was his way of fighting. But Tomitsuka could not do this when these struggles made his legs immobilized and he is required to grab or push his opponent like you would in sumo wrestling or rugby.
Minami retreated diagonally across the practical training room.
Looking at the distance left between the walls and her left and right, Minami realized she was approaching the corner of the room.
She did not miss the moment when Tomitsuka’s eyes were looking behind her.
(...I drove her into the corner,) Minima could clearly read Tomitsuka’s thoughts.
Two more steps, and she's into the corner. There will be no further retreat.
Simultaneously with the destruction of her barrier, Minami took one big step back instead of two ordinary ones.
Without building another barrier.
Leaning forward to destroy the next barrier, Tomitsuka’s body lost stability.
A disadvantage of Contact-Type Gram Demolition is that it can’t demolish magic without physically touching it. This created a convenient opportunity for Minami because Tomitsuka was careless, since he was obsessed with destroying the barriers.
Minami, taking advantage of this moment, activated the prepared magic.
Downward Whirlwind.
This magic only created a downward air flow centered around the user, and had a lack of killing power. However, Tomitsuka, who had been approaching Minami the entire time, was caught in the air current and lost his positioning.
Minami wrapped herself around Tomitsuka’s back, grabbed his mock knife and threw it away.
Tomitsuka’s face blushed, which definitely wasn’t just because he was nervous. Through the thin fabric of the gymnastic clothing a "soft feeling" was impossible not to be felt. But luckily for Tomitsuka, Minami did not notice his embarrassment.
Hooking his leg from the inside, Minami threw Tomitsuka forward.
Tomitsuka tried to use rotational movement to shake Minami off, but she, skillfully shifting her weight around, hung on to Tomitsuka’s body, thus throwing him on the ground.
Tomitsuka was under her.
As a result, Minami sat on Tomitsuka’s back, "like a horse", snatched the mock knife from her waist, and put it to Tomitsuka’s throat.
"The match is over! Sakurai-san wins!" Mikihiko announced when the training match was completed.
If the knife were real, it would mean that Tomitsuka’s throat would have been cut by Minami. The outcome of the fight was obvious to all.
When they finished with cleaning and formalities after the mock fight, it was almost time to close the school gates. Miyuki and the rest, having finished their Student Council work, merged with the group of Erika and Leo and they finally all gathered in the usual café.
"Hey, Sakurai-san, you were so strong."
"No, I was just lucky today..." Minami shyly tried to deny the words of Kasumi.
The interest of all present was focused on the past mock fight.
"I guess luck will always be involved, but without true strength, you wouldn’t’ve been able to win against Tomitsuka-kun." Erika intervened with a face that showed that there was nothing to be surprised about.
"Erika, did you know about the Sakurai’s real power?"
The one asking was Leo, because he was a member of the same mountaineering club as Minami and her physical ability was already well known to him. However, according to the idiom “don’t judge a book by its cover”, the impression that people got from Minami is that she is a “gentle girl” and because her muscles aren’t obtrusive, her superb motor functions also cannot be seen. If anything, it’s better to say that she shows the figure of a girl who doesn’t regularly exercise.
Therefore for Leo, this was unexpected behavior for Erika as if she had long been aware of Minami’s power.
"It’s difficult to understand unless you train enough. If you look carefully, you'll notice that this is the case."
"Is that so…?"
I wonder who Leo was more impressed by, Erika or Minami? Or maybe both.
"But I heard she's not very good at physical education."
Izumi did not have much malice when she asked Minami this simple question.
"I... am not very good at ball games..."
Answering seriously about her shortcomings, Minami looked a bit embarrassed. Izumi, who is also not that good at physical education, (It’s not that they can’t do it, but they’re just psychologically bad at it) stopped questioning Minami.
"But I think, like Sakurai-san said, the result was not only because of her abilities."
Apparently, thinking that too much praise is also bad, Mikihiko changed the direction of the conversation.
"It seems that Tomitsuka-kun was quite uncomfortable."
"Because his opponent was a girl?"
Mikihiko nodded to the question of Shizuku.
"Choosing hand to hand combat may have been a mistake."
"Do you mean that it would’ve been better if they only fought with magic?" Saburou, who did not knowing about Tomitsuka, expressed his doubts about the words of Mikihiko.
"Because of Tomitsuka’s special magic, he can't do that." Shiina immediately gave him this answer.
Next, Shiina explained the meaning of Tomitsuka’s nickname
"Range Zero" to Saburou, and Honoka accused Tomitsuka: "If that happened, it would’ve been better to stop."
"But he really liked it, didn't he?"
Even though Shizuku was making a bad joke, it sounded serious because of her voice.
"By the way, Tomitsuka-kun seems to have been fascinated by Minami-chan’s belly button..."
“Honoka, details" Shizuku poured oil onto the fire before Minami could stop Honoka.
"Minami-chan was wearing gymnastic sports uniform."
"How bold."
"Well, that's it. Minami-chan made a backflip to avoid Tomitsuka-kun’s attack."
"Wow."
"...At that moment, the edge of her shirt was fluttering, exposing a rather large area of her stomach. Of course, it was quickly concealed again, but Tomitsuka-kun froze for a while, motionless staring at Minami-chan’s belly button."
"Guilty." Shizuku decided without hesitation, after hearing this story.
"And his face became red when Minami-chan grabbed him from behind..."
"Really!?" Minami cried out when she heard Honoka’s additional testimony.
"Yes. I guess... It was because your chest was touching him."
"..."
From the shame, Minami hid her face behind her hands. Leo and Mikihiko also blushed a little and quickly turned their faces.
"Hmm... Was the gymnastic uniform for this purpose?" Erika had no mercy for her shy junior.
"Minami-chan wanted Tomitsuka-kun to cancel the mock fight."
Minami was still unable to answer, and Miyuki voiced her idea instead.
"Originally, Tomitsuka-kun asked for a fight with me."
"Then it wouldn’t have been much of match." Erika cut her off.
It is not merely a matter of difference in ability. Tomitsuka, who cannot fight at a distance, and Miyuki, who can overwhelm her enemy with a magical bombardment from afar.
If the rules for a contactless battle were used, which are usually used in mock battles with the opposite sex, it would be a one-sided fight.
"Tomitsuka-kun had obviously lost the ability to make decisions calmly."
"And Minami stretched her body out so that he could cool his head."
Erika nodded with an understanding face.
"By the way, I haven’t heard about it, but why did Tomitsuka-kun ask for a mock fight?"
At this point, Mikihiko realized that he also did not know the cause of the mock fight.
"Tomitsuka-sempai wanted to know where Shiba-sempai is."
Izumi answered this question because she thought Miyuki wouldn't want to answer.
"Tatsuya’s address?"
Not only Mikihiko had a question mark surface above his head.
"Tomitsuka-sempai’s mother seems to have been hospitalized."
"The mother of Tomitsuka-kun... As far as I know, isn’t she the Chairman of the Magic Association?"
"Yes. As expected, Yoshida-sempai knows it too."
Mikihiko was not embarrassed by the praise of Izumi. Because his attention was focused on the continuation of the story.
"Hitsui-sama... That's the name of Tomitsuka-sempai’s mother, seems to have been severely pressured by the government, demanding her to persuade Shiba-sempai."
"To persuade him to take part in Project Dione?"
"Yes. It seems that she got an acute gastric ulcer due to the stress...
and will be hospitalized for about a month."
"...It's not Tatsuya's fault, is it?" Leo wedged into the conversation.
"I don't think so."
Izumi immediately nodded. No one objected to the judgement that Leo and Izumi came to.
"Tomitsuka-sempai said the same thing. But in reality... He clearly thought Shiba-sempai was responsible. He wanted to know the address of Shiba-sempai so he could try to persuade him to participate in Project Dione."
"He wanted to do something... For his mother." Mizuki muttered with sympathy.
"Speaking of which, Tomitsuka-kun... Looked very depressed after the match." Even Honoka, who previously condemned Tomitsuka for his rude behavior, yielded to this atmosphere of sympathy.
"But to blame this on Tatsuya-kun is, I will say, a misunderstanding." Erika hacked that sympathy at the root.
"Hasn’t Tatsuya already told them, what he is going to do now? And I think it's wrong to stop him or accuse him." Leo objected to the actions of Tomitsuka, looking at them from a different angle.
"However, I think that people who say the same thing as Tomitsuka-sempai are not going anywhere. I'm talking about the people who think that Shiba-sempai is wrong, and that they are right."
Kasumi was not emotionally attached to Tatsuya, and did not sympathize with him or his position. She could therefore draw conclusions from a convenient third-party position. Neither Miyuki, nor Erika, nor anyone else, could object to her prediction.
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