She did not wake very quickly.
There seemed to be a thick cloud hanging over her consciousness, so it was difficult to grasp her surroundings.
What was she doing here......?
This was the first question that flashed across Mari's mind as she awoke.
"Mari, are you awake? Do you know who I am?"
An evil friend — even at this time in the privacy of her mind, Mari still didn't apply the term "friend" — could be seen in front of her face.
Mari knew the literal meaning of the question, but was unable to comprehend why the question was asked, so she murmured in confusion—
"Mayumi, what are you talking about? Why would you ask......"
—Halfway through her sentence, Mari recalled the reason why Mayumi asked the question as well as her current predicament.
"So I'm in the hospital......"
"Yes, the hospital at Susono Base. Thank goodness...... Looks like there was no mental damage."
"How long was I out?"
There was still a dull throbbing coming from the back of her head, which allowed Mari to realize that she didn't fall asleep, but was forcefully knocked unconscious after failing to erect defenses in time.
"Since just after noon. Ah, don't get up yet."
Mari wanted to sit herself up, but Mayumi quickly pushed her back down.
She didn't apply a lot of strength, but Mari's physical mobility was reduced to less than half.
"Your ribs are broken and while they've used magic to reconnect them, they still need some time to stabilize. I think you know very well that healing magic is ultimately only an emergency measure."
"There's only the outward appearance of recovery during the stabilization period, rather than instantaneous recovery — don't worry, I know at least that much."
Mari took the words right out of Mayumi's mouth as she murmured to herself and sank back down onto the bed.
"How long will I be out?"
"At least a week for a full recovery, though you are cleared for daily activities after one day of bed rest. Still, to be on the safe side, you are forbidden from strenuous activity for the next ten days."
"Hey, then......!"
"You'll have to withdraw from "Mirage Bat" too. There's nothing we can do about that."
"Is that so......"
Mari sighed and closed her eyes.
She reopened them after a short interval.
"What was the conclusion of the contest?"
"The instigator from Seventh High was banned as punishment with Third and Ninth High advancing to the finals. Kobayakawa-san was highly motivated, so I think we have a chance to seize Third Place."
"Kobayakawa is more than capable so long as she doesn't mentally handicap herself."
"Indeed. By the way, the player from Seventh High didn't suffer major injuries, so your efforts weren't wasted."
"......It doesn't really count as helping if I'm seriously injured myself."
Mari scowled as she was complaining, though her "pretense" at negativity drew a light laugh from Mayumi.
Mayumi averted her head and feigned ignorance.
"On the Men's Team, Hattori-kun advanced to the finals, but Murakami-kun just barely missed out. Juumonji-kun and Kanon-san both advanced to the single elimination portion of 'Icicle Destruction' on their respective sides."
"So I'm the only one who couldn't fulfill her end of the bargain......"
"It's not your fault. Mari, you made the right decision. If you didn't halt your acceleration, you might have been able to narrowly avoid the collision and advance to the finals, but...... The player from Seventh High would likely have suffered serious injury to the point that her life as a Magician might be over, that's how dangerous her situation was. Tatsuya-kun also concurs."
"......Hey, why are you bringing up this guy's name now?"
"Because he was the one who escorted you here and stayed on station while you were undergoing treatment."
"What?"
"Well, of course we didn't leave it all to Tatsuya-kun himself...... Shocked?"
Mayumi sported a grin while Mari turned around with a miserable expression on her face.
It was precisely because she felt a tight knot unraveling inside her that Mayumi's grin irked her even more.
"Naturally, men wouldn't be present while ladies are changing, so he obediently waited in the corridor while treatment was ongoing. But you better thank him later on. He arrived practically at the same time as the emergency response teams and helped bring you to shore. He also spotted your fractures in one glance and gave the orders for treatment."
"......Who the devil is this guy?"
Mari's eyes were wide with amazement while Mayumi nodded deeply.
"How should I put this, he seems very adept at dealing with accidents and victims...... Speaking of which, what's your status?"
"Why are you asking this now...... I have a small headache, but that's a strictly physical injury, and my head is clear."
"Looks like there's no trauma...... In that case, let me get this over with now."
"?"
Mayumi pinned the still befuddled Mari with a serious look.
"What's with the sudden serious attitude?"
"Mari...... At that time, were you hindered by an outsider's magic?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just as Mari was about to catch the player from Seventh High, did you lose your balance because a third party maliciously used magic to disrupt the water's surface? This is what I want to express."
Upon comprehending the intent behind Mayumi's words, Mari's eyes glinted with alertness.
"......Just before the board started sinking, I did feel an odd vibration near my feet, but I have no idea if that was caused by magic and even less of an idea if it was malicious...... Why would you think that?"
"When you lost your balance, the water movements were very unnatural, to the point that there is suspicion that this was caused through illogical means like phenomenon rewriting magic. Yet, neither player from the other schools used this magic, so the only remaining possibility is that an outside third party cast this magic. Tatsuya-kun also concurs. I heard that he's requesting the recording from the committee in order to analyze the fluctuations on the water's surface. At least we can find out if this was actually caused by unnatural, foreign forces."
"I would like to call into question why a high school freshman is capable of such an analysis, but let's table that for now...... Since the other players and I were all using magic, why are we investigating if there were unnatural, foreign forces at work? I for one think this is pointless......"
"Tatsuya-kun said that the players' magic effects could be taken into account as well to determine if outside forces were acting on the situation. Isori-kun also said that he would go help him after the contests were over today, so I think between the two of them, we can find some meaningful answers. Mari, if you can think of anything else, please let me know. This doesn't just concern us — the overall standings for First High, this may impact the entire Nine Schools Competition and all the magic high schools combined."
"............"
As Mari silently digested this from the bed, Mayumi said "I should go" and departed from the room.
Now alone, Mari directed a solemn gaze towards the ceiling.
Upon hearing the knocking sounds, Miyuki went to open the door and found a pair of 2nd Year students waiting outside.
"Please come in...... Onii-sama, Isori-senpai, and Chiyoda-senpai are here."
Miyuki's words prompted Tatsuya to stop typing and rise from his chair.
"Sorry for calling you here."
"No problem, please don't worry about that. After all, I was the one who volunteered and couldn't bring the still active terminal device over here."
Tatsuya nodded slightly in agreement whereas Isori casually waved a hand.
After thanking him again, Tatsuya turned towards Kanon.
"Chiyoda-senpai, congratulations on winning the gold."
"Thank you. Since Mari-senpai got caught up in that incident, the rest of us have to work harder on her behalf!"
Hot-blooded would be the perfect way to describe Kanon with her fists clenched, causing Tatsuya to reevaluate her as dazzling.
"So, did we find anything?"
"I've gone through the recording once and arrived at the conclusion that this is definitely the work of an outside party. Isori-senpai, would you mind verifying this one more time?"
"Got it...... As expected of Shiba-kun, that was fast."
Isori accepted the invitation and sat down while using a hand gesture to express his admiration.
There was a modest monitor (standard size, 20 inches) on the table that was split into two screens, one displaying the actual recording itself while the other was strictly the outline of what happened.
Isori picked up the visual pointer shaped like a monocle with a brain wave supplementary add-on and smoothly unfurled the thin, long C-type metal frame around his head, adjusted the monocle over his right eye, and placed his finger on the buttons near the bottom center of the keyboard.
The brain wave supplementary add-on and the visual pointers were originally intended for users to input data without the need to remove their hands from the keyboard, but have since progressed to the point that direct input on the keyboard has become unnecessary.
However, Isori chose to use the original function, which was a pure supplement to keyboard input.
The actual recording and the model images both started moving under Isori's direction.
He quickly fast forwarded to the moment the incident occurred, then proceeded to play the sequence in slow motion.
Above the model images, lines of data described the changes in the water's surface.
Within the scene in question, which was when the water's surface dipped downward, an unknown quantity arose, signifying that the "power" released could not be explained by magic interference from the three players.
Isori paused the image and turned around.
"......This is even more troublesome than we imagined."
"Kei, what happened?"
"Kanon, you know that in order to prevent outsiders illegally using magic to interfere with the competition, the Nine Schools Competition hired highly skilled counter magic Magicians and stationed them as committee members all over the various arenas, then placed cameras all over the place to observe the situation. Since the network didn't catch this, I suspected that the culprit acted from a high altitude that exceeds the security network and fired a compressed block of air downwards to cause the dip in the water's surface. But if that were the case, there's no way Watanabe-senpai could have missed it and I also realize this is an outrageous hypothesis.
Yet, based on Shiba-kun's analysis, the dip in the water's surface originated from within the water itself. If someone utilized a Magic Sequence from outside the aqueduct, the security network would immediately pick up on it. The only natural way for the water's surface to dip downwards would be a leak, so that possibility can also be ruled out. The only possibility remaining is that someone was hiding in the water for this precise moment...... But that's almost impossible......"
"Could Shiba-kun's analysis be incorrect?"
Kanon's blunt question caused Miyuki to stiffen.
"No."
However, before Miyuki could speak, Isori denied Kanon's assertion.
"Shiba-kun's analysis is flawless, at least it is not within my capability to discern any errors."
Isori and Kanon both lapsed into silence.
The silence lasted around two minutes before it was broken by more knocking.
Miyuki visually interrogated her brother and only moved to open the door after her brother nodded in agreement.
She quickly returned.
With two classmates in tow.
"Mizuki said that Onii-sama wanted them to come over......"
"Sorry for calling the two of you all the way over here."
Tatsuya verified his sister's question and turned to the two upperclassmen.
"Allow me to introduce you: These two are my classmates Yoshida and Shibata. I think you two know these two are Isori-senpai and Chiyoda-senpai from 2nd Year."
Mikihiko and Mizuki were both a little tense and, after a quick round of self introductions from Isori and Kanon, Tatsuya used a concise answer to respond to the five questioning looks sent his way.
"I asked the two of them to come and identify our culprit."
This sentence alone was a little too vague for anyone to understand.
Tatsuya knew from the get go, so he kept explaining without pausing.
"We are now examining the possibility that Watanabe-senpai's incident was caused by malicious interference from an outside party."
This was for Mikihiko and Mizuki's benefit.
Mikihiko knit his brows while Mizuki revealed an astounded expression.
"As Watanabe-senpai was losing her balance, an unnatural dip appeared on the water's surface, which disrupted the timing for her Inertial Neutralization Magic and forced her to collide with the railing. The change on the water's surface was almost certainly caused by magic cast from within the water."
Mizuki still hadn't shaken off her astonishment.
Yet, upon hearing Tatsuya's words, Mikihiko's eyes took on a hard look.
"It is strictly impossible to cast magic on the water from outside the stadium without detection. The possibility that this is caused by delayed magic is also low. Because if that was the case, Kobayakawa-senpai would have detected this in the first race."
Modern magic also had magic that activated after a set delay, but the Magic Sequence must be "recorded" onto the object. Once the delayed magic was cast, the target object would be under the influence of magic rewriting and interfere with the next magic cast on the target object.
"If that is the case, then the only possibility remaining is that something hidden in the water cast the magic — this is the conclusion Isori-senpai and I arrived at."
Tatsuya visually sought confirmation from Mikihiko and Mizuki, who both nodded in understanding.
"Still, having a living, breathing Magician submerge themselves in water sounds ridiculous. Currently, neither modern magic nor Ancient Magic is able to accomplish this feat flawlessly."
This time, Tatsuya's words prompted Isori and Kanon to nod in agreement.
"If that's the case, a more suitable hypothesis is that 'something inhuman' cast magic while hiding in the waterway."
Isori and Kanon glanced at one another, mirroring each other's confusion.
After a while, Isori finally asked.
"......Shiba-kun thinks this may be the work of Spirit Magic?"
Tatsuya nodded in response to Isori's words.
Magicians that use modern magic typically use psion surges to identify magic.
But SB, or Spiritual Beings, are primarily composed of pushions. Pushions are supplements used to "move" the objects around — precisely like ordering spirits around — this was the current dominant theory.
It wasn't that Magicians couldn't identify pushions.
Yet, in ordinary circumstances, they couldn't identify them as readily as psions.
For example, even though the human senses could detect infrared rays as "warmth", there was no way to distinguish between colors the same way they could for visible light.
Magicians could use their senses to identify active pushions.
But had a very difficult time identifying inactive ones.
In other words, Magicians using modern magic couldn't detect dormant Spiritual Beings.
If they were using a Spiritual Being planted ahead of time — a type of delayed magic using Spiritual Beings, there was a high probability that they would elude the committee's detection.
"Yoshida is an expert on Spirit Magic and Shibata is especially sensitive towards pushion light."
"Hence why you called the two of them."
Tatsuya once again nodded towards Isori and turned to face Mikihiko.
"Mikihiko, I would like your expert opinion. Is there a way for Spiritual Magic to delay activating for several hours and then selectively create a dip in the water's surface?"
"Yes."
Mikihiko immediately replied.
"Based on those conditions, all you would have to do is set the start of the second race as the primary condition, then someone's approach as the second condition and order the water spirit to create a wave or whirlpool. Even if spirits are off the table, a shikigami can accomplish that too."
"Can you do it?"
"With enough time to prepare. I cannot do that right this moment, but give me half a month to prepare and repeatedly enter the arena to make the arrangements, I should be able to."
"Would you need to infiltrate the arena the day before?"
"No need. As long as I'm familiar with the lay of the land, I can use the ley lines to send the spirits, which is the point of investigating beforehand. However......"
"?"
"Even if they managed to accomplish this, there's almost no power to speak of. Spirits are empowered by the user's emotions and will, so if it was set several hours beforehand, I feel that the only thing lingering would be something like a practical joke at best."
"In other words?"
"Even if they could disrupt the water's surface, they couldn't use this method to create large enough waves to disrupt Watanabe-senpai's balance. If the player from Seventh High didn't happen to lose control at the exact same time, this would be relegated to kid's play."
For some reason, Tatsuya gave a massive nod at Mikihiko's words.
"That's only under the assumption that it was an accident in the first place......"
"Ah?"
Mikihiko was unable to follow Tatsuya's cryptic words, but Tatsuya didn't immediately reply and instead turned his gaze on Mizuki.
"Mizuki, during Watanabe-senpai's incident, did you see the movements of the SB?"
"......I was wearing my glasses at the time ......Sorry."
"Please don't say that. You're right, that's my mistake. Mizuki, you don't have to apologize."
Tatsuya bowed his head towards the glum Mizuki and Miyuki also came over to comfort her.
"In regards to what we were just talking about......"
Tatsuya turned back to Mikihiko.
Yet Isori and Kanon both knew these words were also directed towards them.
"I feel that the loss of control from the player from Seventh High was not a pure coincidence. Take a look at this."
Tatsuya brought Mikihiko in front of the monitor and restarted the model images.
He was also paying attention to Isori and Kanon, who were peeking around to take a look, and stopped the recording shortly before the accident occurred.
"The player from Seventh High would normally decelerate at this point."
Then proceeded to advance the recording frame by frame.
"But as everyone can see, she was actually continuing to build up speed."
"......You're right, that is extremely odd."
"Indeed. A Magician who would make such a fundamental mistake has no business being in the Nine Schools Competition."
Tatsuya nodded in agreement with Isori and Kanon's opinions, then returned the playback to normal speed.
"I suspect that the CAD the player from Seventh High was using had been tampered with."
The room was suffused with shock.
"This is the first major turn that requires deceleration along the entire route. If the decelerating Activation Sequence was swapped for an accelerating Activation Sequence, an accident here is unavoidable. Based on last year's results, it is well within predictable boundaries that Watanabe-senpai and the player from Seventh High would be neck to neck at this stage. If my goal was to sabotage them, this would be the perfect opportunity to eliminate two favored candidates for First Place in one fell swoop."
"That sounds reasonable...... But could they tamper with the CAD? And if so, when would they do that?"
"Unless there's a traitor that snuck into Seventh High's technician team?"
Tatsuya slightly shook his head at Isori and Kanon's questions.
"Alas, we have no proof. Even if we petitioned Seventh High to review their CADs, they are guaranteed to rebuff us. Still, I think there's an opportunity to do so."
"So there really is a traitor?"
Tatsuya once more shook his head at Kanon's speculation, but this time he was noticeably slower.
"While there's no way to properly gauge this possibility...... I think there's a much higher chance that there is a mole in the committee."
His words stopped there.
Isori, Kanon, and Mikihiko were all struck speechless.
They all wore skeptical expressions.
"......But Onii-sama, assuming there is a mole on the committee, how and when would they tamper with the CADs? Each school jealously guards their own competition-use CADs......"
Miyuki would never question Tatsuya's judgment. She was only assuming her brother's hypothesis was true and asking for the next step in the puzzle.
Tatsuya did not reply directly, but told everyone a publicly known piece of information.
"All CADs are guaranteed to leave each school's control and be turned over to the committee once."
"Ah......!"
Miyuki let out a gasp since she had never thought of this. On top of that, she was the only one who gasped, since Isori, Kanon, Mikihiko, and Mizuki were all struck dumb.
"Still, there's no way of telling what their methods are, that is the truly puzzling area......"
Just in case, they could not let down their guard even for an instant.
Miyuki and Tatsuya, the former who was about to begin her competition and the latter who was responsible for calibrating CADs, carved those words into their hearts.
For the third day, First High took First Place in both "Icicle Destruction" contests, Second Place in Men's "Battle Board", and Third Place in Women's "Battle Board".
Third High took Second Place in both "Icicle Destruction" contests as well as First Place in both "Battle Board" contests, so the two schools were much closer than the day before.
Before the competition began, Mari had told Tatsuya that the Newcomers Division shouldn't have an impact on the final result. In this case, she appeared to be mistaken.
Tatsuya meticulously examined the CADs for the players he was responsible for and prepared for tomorrow's Newcomers Division. It was this moment Mayumi sent a message via terminal requesting his presence.
Bewildered, he paused his work and thought "What does she need me for at this hour?". As he headed for the conference room reserved for First High, he ran into Miyuki at the door.
"Did the President call for you too, Miyuki?"
"Yes, Onii-sama as well?"
Tatsuya initially considered that Isori and company would ask him to come and discuss countermeasures against future sabotage, but that wouldn't explain why Miyuki had also been summoned.
"Let's go inside."
"Yes."
There were some things that could only be discerned after careful thought, and some that couldn't be discerned no matter how much one thought about it.
If pondering posed no benefit, then taking action was the way to go.
As the ancients say, pointless pondering is time wasting.
"Excuse us."
Tatsuya didn't want to be mired in such tiresome thoughts — likewise, he didn't do so by any great principle, but at least he didn't needlessly worry himself before opening the door.
Mayumi, Suzune, and Katsuto were inside — as well as Mari, who should be in bed.
"Thanks for your hard work. Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"No, I still need some time."
"Is that so...... I'm sorry, I called Tatsuya-kun as well."
According to Mayumi's guilty words, the primary recipient of these words was Miyuki.
"Please, take a seat."
The siblings did so side by side.
"There's a small detail I would like to discuss with you two...... Sorry, it's no small thing.
I asked the two of you to come to discuss something of vital importance."
It seemed like it had been ages since Mayumi's tone was so serious, causing Tatsuya to perk up a little.
"Rin-chan, can you explain?"
So she still uses "Rin-chan" even when in a serious mood, Tatsuya thought as he looked towards Suzune.
"I think you two are aware of the current standings."
This was obviously a rhetorical question on Suzune's part, but Tatsuya and Miyuki both nodded anyway.
"Although we ran into some unforeseen accidents, our school's running score is roughly the same as our predictions. Unfortunately, Third High's score is vastly greater than we anticipated, so the difference between us is a lot less than we had hoped."
At this point, both of the siblings nodded to show that they understood.
"That being said, we still possess enough of a lead. Even if we aren't the overall winner for the Newcomers Division, we can still claim the overall victory so long as we claim First Place for the last 'Monolith Code' and the score differential isn't too large. However, if we fall too far behind Third High, then it may come down to the 'Mirage Bat' event from the Official Division."
Everything that Suzune detailed were all assumptions, so was she telling them to perform well during the Newcomers Division?
If that's all it was, there should be no need to call them at this hour...... Tatsuya was quite confused beneath his poker face.
"The point total from the Official Division is worth twice as much as the Newcomers Division, so our school's tactical advisors have arrived at the conclusion that we should make some sacrifices in the Newcomers Division and channel our firepower into the Official Division's 'Mirage Bat'."
Tatsuya's brow twitched. He quickly read between the lines of "some sacrifices in the Newcomers Division", thus producing minute changes in his poker face.
"Yes, Tatsuya-kun, it is exactly as you surmised."
Mayumi adroitly read the fractional changes on Tatsuya's face and preemptively responded.
"Miyuki-san, we ask you to replace Mari in 'Mirage Bat' for the Official Division. Tatsuya-kun will continue to serve as Miyuki-san's technician and compete on the ninth day."
Mayumi's words clashed with her earlier words, this was no discussion.
This was a declaration of what will be done.
"But there are other senpais that are only participating in one event, so why was I chosen as a replacement knowing that this would imperil the Newcomers Division?"
Miyuki's voice was steady, not overjoyed that she was suddenly promoted but staying cool and calm as she raised her next question.
Her reaction prompted an "Oh?" expression from Mari, even Katsuto was caught slightly off guard.
"We believe this way we can maximize our gains."
Suzune's voice was even calmer as she replied.
"The biggest reason is that we did not prepare a backup for 'Mirage Bat'."
Mari, who was originally the attending player, also joined the ranks of the persuaders.
"Even for our school's representative players, asking them to suddenly compete in the air during the Official Division's 'Mirage Bat' is still a stretch. Compared to this, we have a better chance sending a 1st Year student that has already trained for this. On top of that—"
Mari paused here for emphasis.
She was a young lady that loved to indulge in histrionics.
"Tatsuya-kun, your sister will triumph even in the Official Division, correct?"
And struck the weak spot for massive damage.
Tatsuya felt that this argument was being a little crafty, but he had no reason to be humble.
"Of course."
"Onii-sama......"
Tatsuya's certain answer was given as if he was stating a fact, causing Mari to break into a grin, Katsuto to nod kindly, Mayumi to widen her eyes, Suzune to shift her brows slightly, and Miyuki to duck her head in embarrassment.
"Since everyone has esteemed us so highly, I will put forth my all as an engineer. Miyuki, are you willing?"
"Y.....Yes!"
Miyuki's beautiful back was straighter than ever as she replied to Tatsuya in an elevated voice.
This perfectly conveyed her willingness to charge into the breach.
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