Chapter 4
August 1st.
The departure date for the Nine Schools Competition finally arrived.
Otaru's Eighth High and Kumamoto's Ninth High would leave earlier due to their respective locations, whereas First High, conveniently located on the eastern outskirts of Tokyo, usually departed for the competition dormitories the day before the contest begins.
Rather than attaching any strategic importance to this, it was mainly because the remote schools had priority access to the training facilities.
The official competition arena was restricted until the day of the competition, so there was no real reason to arrive earlier—
"That's how it is."
"Is that so...... At any rate, thank you for your simple explanation."
Tatsuya wanted to ask Mari, in a tone laden with sarcasm, if there was any reason she was telling him all this, but he patiently waited for her to finish her explanation and quickly shook his head to dispel this ridiculous impulse that wouldn’t serve anyone.
The two of them were speaking beneath the blazing sun reigning in the middle of the blue summer sky. Exactly why were they making themselves more heated on this hot and humid day? Even if you asked him, Tatsuya had no answer for that one.
This was not in his interest.
"Sorry~!"
This exclamation was accompanied by the music of sandals lightly tapping on the pavement. Looking towards the sound's source, Mari let out a sigh and smiled beneath her parasol while Tatsuya, completely heedless of the sun beating down on him, wordlessly checked off the last member of the roster on his terminal device.
—One and a half hours late, everyone was finally here.
"Mayumi, you're so slow."
"Sorry, sorry."
Both the reprimand and the apology were just as concise.
The two of them proceeded to embark onto the bus as if nothing had occurred.
At least, until Mayumi came off the bus empty-handed.
"......Did you forget something?"
Tatsuya asked, slightly concerned that his poker face was slipping.
Spare change of clothes, cosmetics and other living supplies — Miyuki was obviously the one who taught him that cosmetics were a must-have for overnight stays — have already been bundled into the storage compartment, and the checklists mailed from each of the contestants' families have already been matched with the luggage, so nothing was missing.
Even if something was left behind, the dormitories had plenty of spares. This was at most a two hour bus trip, so there shouldn't be a need for much luggage.
"No, it's not that...... Tatsuya-kun, I apologize that you had to wait so long for me."
"Please don't concern yourself with that. I’m well aware of your situation."
Mayumi wasn't tardy because of some preposterous reason like oversleeping or getting the time wrong.
Three hours ago, she suddenly sent word that she would be late due to family business.
In her message, Mayumi asked for everyone to depart without her and that she would meet them at the destination later. Still, the 3rd Year students unanimously agreed to wait for her, so they asked Mayumi to get here as soon as she could.
This wasn't because she was next in line for the Saegusa Family.
She had two older brothers.
Even if she was a direct descendant from the Ten Master Clans, Mayumi was the little sister who was still in high school, so there were very few cases where she was responsible for handling family business. That being said, the very fact that the family recalled her the day of the school's official event clearly hinted that this was extremely important.
From Mayumi's perspective, if the other students set off on time, she could get there at a more leisurely pace rather than hurrying along. However, since everyone — Tatsuya actually disagreed in private — was set on waiting for her, Mayumi was forced to pick up the pace.
Thus, Tatsuya was not going to call her out for being one or two hours late.
"Isn't it too hot?"
"It's still in the morning, so it's OK, and this temperature isn't bad at all."
Tatsuya was the only 1st Year student in the auxiliaries, so he was responsible for roll call.
There were 40 contestants, 4 strategic advisors, and 8 technicians.
Of the 12 people that were not contestants, only Tatsuya was a 1st Year student.
Of course, there were other auxiliary members besides these 12 people. Not counting the strategy and technician team, there were also 20 volunteers that performed all the busywork, but they already departed for the premises, so there wasn't even a faculty member present. Only the drivers and the official participants were taking the bus and four cargo vehicles.
"But you're sweating like a horse...... Wait, what? You're not really sweating that much."
"No, I have at least enough magic to ward off the sweat...... but I'm not gross enough to not sweat at all during the summer."
He was using magic to purify the sweat and releasing it through the skin and clothes.
Tatsuya's intrinsic magic "Dissolution", in terms of categorization belongs to a derivative of Separation Magic. It was a combination of "Gather", "Disperse", "Absorb", and "Release", but to be honest, "Release" probably made up the highest percentage.
Thus, he was more adept at Release Systematic Magic.
"You actually used the word gross......"
The word wasn't particularly odd, but Mayumi smiled brilliantly, as if encountering something especially comical.
Must be the season.
At this moment, Tatsuya thought her smile was as radiant as the sun.
This must have been a hallucination brought on by the sun, the temperature, and the humidity.
......The best evidence came from the way Mayumi's smile instantaneously switched to her usual teasing smile.
"By the way, Tatsuya-kun, what do you think of this?"
The "this" that she spoke of...... must be the same one Tatsuya had on his mind.
Mayumi was referring to the summer dress that she wore.
She used both hands to hold the large-brimmed hat and posed, making it very hard to misunderstand.
They were only checking in to the dorms today and there were no official activities.
Probably because of this, even if it's a school activity, there was no obligation to wear school uniforms.
The 1st Year students including Tatsuya were all garbed in their uniforms, but less than half the 2nd Year students were in uniform, while almost all the 3rd Year students were in casual clothes.
With that in mind, taking into account how modern decorum frowned upon skin that was not covered in clothing, the majority of the students were dressed like Mari in long sleeved tunics and pants that were easy to move in.
One notable exception was a 2nd Year female student named Chiyoda. She was wearing shorts and long socks that extended to her thighs; it was hard to tell if it was a wardrobe suitable for summer. As for Isori, Chiyoda seemed to have forced him to wear pants that only extended to mid shin with longer socks as well, just as if they were a couple (which, in fact, they were).
Among this group, Mayumi's appearance was very conspicuous.
As a matter of fact, she was "extremely conspicuous".
Both her arms and shoulders were revealed in her summer dress.
The length was also above her knees.
Her bare legs were matched with a pair of high heeled sandals.
Her skin was lightly browned, probably because she applied an anti-UV and infrared protection layer. Taking this into account, she technically wasn't revealing anything, but this skin coloring only served to help people think that she had been sunbathing.
"It suits senpai very well."
A daring summer outfit embroidered with flowers truly suited Mayumi perfectly.
"Is that so......? Thank you."
The surprised tone coupled with a bashful expression was also a killer combination.
"......If only you were slightly embarrassed while complimenting me, then that would be perfect."
The young lady who was 2 years older than Tatsuya extended both arms straight onto her hips and leaned forward to look upwards at him.
Though petite, she still possessed average measurements around the bosom and, once squeezed by both arms, a lovely cleavage could be seen.
At this point, it almost seemed intentional.
"......Looks like a lot of hard work."
"......Ah?"
Presently, Tatsuya had no way of knowing what pressing business had detained Mayumi, but she most likely accrued considerable stress.
"President, it's time to go. Please catch some shut-eye during the ride."
—Tatsuya chose to explain himself this way.
"Wait, uh...... Tatsuya-kun? Have you misunderstood something?"
Tatsuya's attitude suddenly switched to a comforting one and, combined with his compassionate gaze, threw Mayumi for a loop.
"......Seriously, Tatsuya-kun actually thought I’m bipolar. How rude."
In the moving bus, Mayumi angrily puffed out her cheeks, while Suzune, who was sitting beside her in the aisle seat, watched her warmly.
"I obviously wanted him to sit next to me, but he fled to another car."
Speaking of which, as a technician team member, Tatsuya was supposed to sit in the storage vehicles, so from an objective point of view — or maybe from a superficial perspective, he wasn't avoiding Mayumi.
"Who does he think I am......"
"That was the correct decision."
"Eh, Rin-chan, what did you just say?"
Mayumi continued her lively complaints, to which Suzune calmly retorted back.
Mayumi was wearing a sweet smile, but her eyes were not smiling. Even though she was wearing such a terrifying smile and superficially — and only superficially — asked in a cheerful tone, this didn't impact Suzune's calm expression in the slightest.
"I said he made the correct decision, otherwise he might suffer at the President's hands."
"Wait a minute, that's too much! Aren’t you taking this a little too far?"
Suzune's utterly serious assessment caused cracks to appear in Mayumi's steady facade.
"There are very few male students that can resist the President's beauty, and that beauty has a powerful magic of its own."
"......That......"
"............"
Likely because Suzune's expression was overly serious as she said this, Mayumi wasn't certain if she was being honest or simply poking fun at her — however, for someone who aimed to be a Magician to say "beauty has magic", this was most likely a joke at her expense.
"Still, I hear that Shiba-kun excels at nullifying other people's magic, so the President's magical appearance cannot entrance him."
Even if she only heard the sound, Mayumi knew for some reason that Suzune said "magical appearance" and not "magic eyes". [1]
"......Rin-chan!"
Mayumi finally realized that she was being teased.
"OK, OK, President, please relax."
"You don’t have the right to tell me that!"
Her good friend maintained her perfectly serious demeanor despite Mayumi edging closer with an outraged expression on her face, so the only thing she could do was turn her back to Suzune and throw a small tantrum by herself in the corner.
Seeing her body hunched together from the side at a certain angle would lead to—
"Uh...... President, are you feeling unwell......?"
—This.
The voice from across the aisle where Suzune sat was both worried and nervous.
"Ah? No, it's not that......"
For Mayumi, this was an unexpected misunderstanding.
As she was hesitating, Hattori, who had specifically come over to check up on her, misinterpreted the situation even further, or rather, her reaction simply reinforced his preconception.
"Shiba mentioned earlier that the President looked tired. Looks like he wasn't far off the mark. If that guy knew where the boundaries were...... No, this isn't the time for that subject."
"Uh, Hanzou-kun. I just said, I'm not feeling sick......"
"I know the President doesn't want us to worry and I understand that I should respect that, but forcing yourself beyond your limits wouldn't do us any favors."
Hattori was completely serious — he was earnestly concerned about Mayumi's physical condition as he watched her.
The reason he was blushing was likely because of Mayumi's slightly outrageous sitting posture, where her thighs were slightly visible around the edges of the summer dress. However, both her legs were neatly placed together.
"Vice President Hattori, where are you looking?"
For the record, Hattori was completely focused on Mayumi's face.
He did not look anywhere else, but at the same time, this meant — he was desperately trying to not look anywhere else.
He originally came over out of concern for Mayumi, but he hurriedly averted his gaze — likely out of guilt that he did look in that direction, causing Hattori to look incredibly out of sorts.
......Given that this alone was enough for him to be guilty and wavering to this degree, only served to prove that he was an honest and innocent teenager.
"Ichihara-senpai! I didn't look there...... No, uh, I just wanted to offer the President a blanket......"
Unfortunately, his innocent teenager image only served to be the perfect prey for his senpais.
"Vice President Hattori wanted to bring the President a blanket? Then by all means, go ahead."
Suzune revealed an understanding expression as she rose and used her eyes to signal Hattori to hurry up.
As for Mayumi, she pitched in by pretending to avert her eyes out of embarrassment and used both her hands to cover her slightly exposed chest.
With a spread blanket in both hands, Hattori was rendered completely immobile.
A definite trace of mischief could be seen in Mayumi's eyes.
Looks like Mayumi has become even harder to control than ever.
......Shiba-kun made the right decision — Suzune thought to herself.
He washed his hands of the whole deal.
"What the heck are those guys doing......?"
Hattori was frozen in place, Mayumi was watching with expectation dancing in her eyes, and Suzune was calmly watching from the sidelines. This awkward three-way caused Mari to sigh and comment in a helpless tone.
As usual, Hattori was dancing to Mayumi's tune. After verifying this, Mari sat back down after rising from her seat (as a matter of fact, her seat was facing Suzune and company's position from across the aisle).
Mari didn't say this aloud, but she too was concerned on Mayumi's behalf, but her inability to do anything was more pronounced.
"Eh...... Just like old times......"
Mari secretly suspected that Hattori was under a lot of stress due to Mayumi's constant teasing, which in turn brought about his harsh attitude towards Course 2 students, and that led to Mayumi's headaches regarding her Vice President's actions and created a vicious cycle. This was something that did not sit well with her.
That being said, Mari also knew that Mayumi's stress level was far heavier than hers.
Mari's family boasted considerable history — rumor said that they were descended from General Watanabe Tsuna from the peaceful eras, although no one knew if this was true — but based on the current standings, they were barely on the fringes of the "Hundred Families".
Mari didn't know if it was because of a mutation, if her genes skipped a generation or she simply didn't inherit the bloodline, but at any rate she was the only one in her family with vaunted magic talent. Thus, even though her family had great hopes for her, Mari didn't have to concern herself with the family rivalries that were abundant in magical society.
On the other hand, the Saegusa and Yotsuba Families currently dominated the upper echelons of the Ten Master Clans and while Mayumi wasn't the next head, she was still a direct descendant and the eldest girl, so even though she was still a high school student, there had been quite a few marriage proposals even before she reached high school (which were not rumors, but grounded in fact).
As for Mayumi herself, even compared with the other Magicians within the Ten Master Clans, she still possessed "outstanding" magical talent. She was the subject of intense scrutiny, the veritable rising star of tomorrow among pure bloods.
On top of that, she was also the Student Council President, which only added to the things on her plate.
No matter how resilient her personality was, her days were by no means a walk in the park.
She's only playing a little bit, Mari thought, so leniency is probably the best approach.
While she was considering this, Mari did not add in "from a friend's perspective", likely because she also possessed a slightly shameful teasing side to her. But if someone actually said that to her face, Mari would probably knock them to the floor.
—Back on topic,
Unless the ruckus got out of hand, she wasn't going to interfere — Hattori seemed to be a willing participant anyways — so after making that somewhat one-sided decision, Mari directed her gaze out the window.
She sat in the aisle seat of a two person row.
So she had to look at the person sitting in the window seat.
"......Mari-senpai, what's up?"
An equally listless female student asked Mari after noticing her gaze.
"Hm? No, Kanon, I'm just looking outside."
Mari transferred her focal point from outside to the 2nd Year student sitting next to her, Chiyoda Kanon, who was wearing a handsome smile that was particularly popular among female students.
She was an underclassman that Mari especially favored and Mari was actively prepping her to be the next Public Morals Committee Chief.
Thanks to Tatsuya (if he heard this, he would strongly protest that he was coerced and not asked), Mari had already prepared the transfer documents just for her. If it wasn't Kanon, Mari likely wouldn't even bother.
They were both of the Hundred Families, but Kanon belonged to the Chiyoda Family near the pinnacle. Talented Magicians from prestigious families were the true representation of "Hundred Families".
Here, the "Hundred Families" didn't actually mean the number broke one hundred.
Just as the hundreds digit followed the tens digit, the same meaning applied in that they were "families that were second only to the Ten Master Clans".
In addition, the Ten Master Clans did not consist of only ten families. There were a total of 28 families worthy of the name the Ten Master Clans, and whoever possessed the strongest magic (notice that this was not the most talented, but the strongest), the top ten would be collectively known as the Ten Master Clans.
Mayumi's Saegusa Family always boasted a large number of talented Magicians, whereas the Yotsuba Family possessed one of the strongest Magicians in the modern era. The "Demon Lord of the Far East", the "Midnight Queen", Yotsuba Maya was the current head of house, which caused both families to be acknowledged as the twin aces of the Ten Master Clans.
Currently, the Ten Master Clans consisted of "Ichijou", "Futatsugi", "Mitsuya", "Yotsuba", "Itsuwa", "Mutsudzuka", "Saegusa", "Yatsushiro", "Kudou", and "Juumonji", which just happened to number from one to ten chronologically. However, this was the first time this had occurred since the Ten Master Clans had been formed, and there have been situations where one or two numbers were either duplicated or missing altogether.
The strongest of the strong became the Ten Master Clans, with the other 18 families as replacements, followed closely by the authentic "Hundred Families".
Kanon belonged to the Chiyoda Family, which was one of the Hundred Families. Kanon's direct attack power rivaled Mari herself and if she had a weapon in hand, her firepower could match Magicians from the Ten Master Clans themselves. No wonder she had the magic worthy of the name of the Chiyoda Family.
However, the crowning difference from Mayumi was that Kanon wasn't listless because she was overwhelmed with family business.
Hearing Mari's response, Kanon softly said "Is that so" and directed her gaze outside, followed with a lazy "Heh......" sigh.
This ridiculous response only irritated Mari further.
"Kanon......"
"Yeah?"
Kanon turned around again, but this time she smiled in a fashion completely different from before.
Unfortunately, the imitation paled before the original, as Mari smiled back in an equally radiant manner — from a female perspective.
"It's at most two more hours to the dorms, can you not wait for that long?"
"Hey, that's mean! I'm not a child, I can wait for a paltry two or three hours!"
At Mari's casual question, Kanon was suddenly fired up like she was another person.
Her middle length hair bobbed as she pouted and complained.
"But, but, I thought we would be on the bus together today, so it's OK if I'm a little upset."
"Haven't you guys been together...... Even if you're engaged, counting the time you two have been together, that's probably longer than 'that pair' of Shiba siblings, right?"
"It's impossible to share a bus trip these days, so I was really looking forward to it. I mean, last year I was all alone. And when compared with siblings, of course engaged couples share more time together!"
"......Really?"
"Of course!"
Kanon puffing out her chest — which was slightly insulting and not altogether flattering – declared this to which Mari secretly sighed again.
This underclassman was usually decisive and dependable with a strong and active personality, which were qualities Mari admired in the young lady, but......
(Every time, the moment she gets to Isori it's like she's someone else entirely......)
"Speaking of which, why does the technician team have to hitch a different ride! It's not like they can do anything during the ride, so why are they in a separate car! This bus has enough seats for all of us, and even if that wasn't the case, we could still charter a double-decker bus!"
Kanon seemed to have seized upon the proper venue and started to loudly vent her frustration. At this, Mari could only sigh again.
On the bus, there was another young woman who also shared Kanon's displeasure.
—This young lady did not make a fuss like Kanon, which only served to increase her friends' trepidation.
"............."
"......Uh, Miyuki, would you like some tea......?"
"Honoka, thank you. However, I'm sorry, but I'm not thirsty right now. I'm not like Onii-sama, who was ordered out into the hot sun to stand watch."
Her voice was both calm and gentle.
Just like the chill that someone would feel upon gazing at the fine layer of frost that covered the landscape.
"Ah, uh, you're right."
Honoka quickly agreed as someone on the other side of the aisle sharply nudged her flank.
(Why are you reminding her of her brother!)
(It's not like I meant to do that!)
Honoka and Shizuku weren't telepathic but were still able to communicate with their eyes because maybe they both wanted to "do something" for the silently fuming Miyuki?
".......Seriously, since we know who was going to be late, there was no reason for him to wait outside the bus...... Why is Onii-sama always doing so much......"
Miyuki finally started to mutter aloud, which only increased the terrifying tension around her.
Honoka wanted to flee.
At the very least, she wanted to switch places with Shizuku.
But if she switched seats at this juncture, she would surely incur Miyuki's wrath.
—Scratch that, Miyuki wouldn't actually do anything to her friends, but the dangerous feeling surrounding her was enough to cause people to let one's imagination run wild (speaking of which, the 1st Year female student sitting next to Shizuku was huddled in a ball and keeping her eyes glued outside).
"......And he's sitting in a tiny storage vehicle crowded with equipment...... At least during the trip, I had hoped Onii-sama could get some proper rest......"
Shizuku glanced at the terrified Honoka and sighed.
Shizuku believed that Miyuki omitted the three words "next to me" (in other words, Shizuku mentally adjusted this to be "Onii-sama could get some proper rest next to me"), but she said something completely different.
"Still, Miyuki, this is where I think your older brother is amazing."
Shizuku took the opportunity of starting a conversation to switch seats with Honoka.
Honoka clasped both her palms together in thanks, but Shizuku couldn't see this with her back to her and Miyuki didn't notice this either.
Miyuki was wholly unaware that someone else had caught her muttering to herself, so she was unable to immediately react.
Shizuku seized the opening to keep speaking, completely shattering her normally stoic image.
"Even if he waited on the bus, I don't think anyone would actually complain about it, but your brother dutifully fulfilled his mission to 'verify all contestants had boarded'. It's true that this seems like an unimportant chore, but he didn't take this boring task lightly and was able to maintain his composure even though something unexpected happened, which isn't easy at all. Miyuki's brother is really amazing."
It was thanks to Shizuku's personality that she was able to say such a mushy comment aloud. Honoka was more the type to think those thoughts in the privacy of her mind.
"......You're right, Onii-sama is the nicest person in the oddest areas."
Finally, Miyuki was able to contain her embarrassment and the icy pressure around them faded as well.
Hiding behind Shizuku, Honoka made a victory sign with her hand.
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