Chapter 6
During lunch break, the student cafeteria at magic high school differed a little from a normal high school or even a middle school (which may be because institutions for upper class education for children were all the same).
It was filled with disorderly chaos and noise.
Yet, there was a pocket of order within this chaos.
The area around the entrance of the cafeteria suddenly stilled, an atmosphere centered entirely around one person.
In the open student cafeteria, the one who possessed the ability to influence the atmosphere of a single area — or the ability to dominate — was none other than Miyuki, who was putting her beauty on display more often these days.
Completely heedless of the gazes tossed her way by those she passed by, Miyuki directly advanced towards the table where Tatsuya was waiting.
"Onii-sama, I apologize for making you wait so long."
Tatsuya smiled and waved his hand at Miyuki's impeccable etiquette. Behind Miyuki, Honoka nervously dipped her head in greeting while Shizuku gave an imperceptible nod that would easily have been missed if he hadn't been paying attention.
Tatsuya's group would get the table first, followed by Miyuki's group meeting up with them. This format wasn't something decided ahead of time, as the reverse was also a frequent occurrence at a roughly 6:4 ratio.
However, Miyuki almost never failed to join Tatsuya wherever he was.
"Ah, Miyuki. You're here."
"Yes, we just arrived, Mizuki."
As if on cue, Mizuki and Mikihiko returned with their meals.
"Then, I'll go get mine."
Switching places with Mizuki and Mikihiko, Tatsuya stood up and visually urged them "let's go".
Leading three beautiful young ladies towards the buffet area, Tatsuya was subjected to an entirely different sort of stare than Miyuki received.
By the time the four of them returned, the only two people to greet them were Mizuki and Mikihiko.
"Erika and Saijou are still practicing?"
Since she didn't see the two of them, Honoka asked with concern. Still, she wasn't particularly worried, since it's not like everyone was always present during lunch. For example, these past couple of days Tatsuya was busy working on the stage devices (making system adjustments would be more accurate), so he didn't frequent the cafeteria (Miyuki naturally followed Tatsuya).
On some level, based on the relaxed format of modern education, it was quite normal for students to have individual plans after instruction was over.
Honoka's question was synonymous to saying "we have fine weather today", and was only meant to be a conversation starter. —However.
"Ah, those two are probably resting today."
Tatsuya's thoroughly unexpected answer caused a flash of excitement to spark in Honoka's eyes.
"Ah, the two of them together?"
"The two of them together."
Honoka's expectant eyes quickly discerned Tatsuya seemed to misunderstand her words at some point.
Following that, she revealed a mischievous smile and intentionally modified her speaking pattern with a lofty air.
"It might not be an accident, right?"
Shizuku tilted her head and murmured to herself. Despite her easy-going tone, her eyes were also very excited.
"Eh, is that how it is!?"
"Mizuki, even if you asked me, there is no way I would know."
At Mizuki's wide-eyed question, Miyuki could only reply with a wry smile. As Mizuki was in the same class and Miyuki wasn't, Miyuki's response was only to be expected.
"Ah, you're right."
A bemused Mizuki used her eyes to search for a target who would have the answer.
"............" "............" "............"
"Eh? No, I don't think there's anything special about that."
The four women seemed to be in cahoots as all their eyes fell on Mikihiko, who frantically replied back.
"Speaking of which, the two of them went home together yesterday."
And then, Tatsuya threw even more fuel onto the fire.
Wow, Really, Ah, amid the frenzy their friends went into, Miyuki watched her brother with a gentle gaze.
Did you accumulate too much stress? That gaze seemed to ask, but Tatsuya pretended not to see her and turned his head.
"But why would Erika-chan and Leo-kun suddenly need to rest?"
"Indeed. Since it's these two we're talking about, they wouldn't just suddenly fall sick."
After everyone finished eating their meals and proceeded to the after meal tea time, "the two of them resting together" once more ignited their passions.
"I think we're getting worked up over nothing. Still, at least until yesterday, the two of them showed no signs of any abnormalities."
Mikihiko and Tatsuya both arrived at the conclusion that "it's not an illness".
"Of course, there is still an outside chance that is true."
Though Honoka was the one who spoke to Tatsuya, the one who answered her was Shizuku.
"There's also the chance that this isn't a coincidence."
"That's also true."
Probability bounced off probability and Honoka's conversation partner changed from Tatsuya to Shizuku.
"Now that you mention it, if 'not coincidental', would the two of them be engaged in such close behavior?"
"I don't think that's strange even if it did happen, but......"
"Hm, yeah, I think so too."
Shizuku's gaze inquired "what do you think" from Mizuki, hence she hurriedly expressed her agreement.
"But, if the two of them are together right now, what are they doing?"
Hearing Miyuki say this with a gentle tilt of her head, Mizuki and Mikihiko blushed one after the other.
"You two, what are you thinking of?"
"No, no, nothing at all."
"Y-Yes! Nothing at all!"
"Well, forget it."
At their blatantly obvious reactions, Miyuki sighed and turned her eyes back to her brother.
"Well, looks like both of them are thinking of the same thing. Even though there's no evidence in this area, but maybe Leo has his sights on Erika."
Tatsuya joked with a wink.
"Haha, that might be possible."
Miyuki's lips also curled into a smile.
Tatsuya's abilities did not include the "All Seeing Eye".
Still, he was capable of similar feats.
Just as magic isn't affected by physical distance, sensory abilities through the information dimension are not affected by physical proximity either. So long as the target has been locked on through the information dimension, one could "see" the target no matter how far away they were. For example, a powerful telescope could see the moon's surface, and if it could home onto a lunar landing vehicle, then one would be able to see the status of that vehicle on the moon's surface (in reality, such a powerful telescope does not exist).
However, at this moment, it was pure coincidence that he wasn't secretly watching what Erika and Leo were doing.
"Hey, you're distracted again!"
Erika scolded her opponent who knelt at her feet holding his head.
"~~That hurt...... I've said this enough times! Use your mouth before using your hand! What do you think language is used for!"
"That's because you wouldn't understand even if I said it."
"Don't think for a second that socking me would make it sink in."
And so, Leo's objection slowly lost steam until he finally gave up.
This was partially because he was being taught and had no basis for resistance, but the main reason was the defeatist air surrounding his repeated failures.
"That's true. Let's take a break."
Yet Erika never felt that Leo was incompetent. She likely knew very well how hard it was to learn a new technique.
"Here."
"Oh, thanks."
Erika gave a lukewarm bottle of water to Leo, who had just flopped down on the dojo floor, before standing before him in her kendo uniform.
"You were able to do this when wearing that cloak...... So the situation is that different?"
Erika unconsciously mentioned this aloud, but Leo frowned in displeasure upon hearing this.
"You mean during the Nine Schools Competition?"
No matter the result, his outward appearance was something that Leo desperately wanted to forget. Still, since this had something to do with the technique he was learning, he couldn't just pretend to have forgotten.
"At the time, the cloak wasn't straight like a metal plate, nor did the creases affect its ability to serve as a shield. Looks like some sort of assistance magic was incorporated into the fabric."
Erika maintained her sitting position and rubbed her chin with her fingers.
"Hm~, while we can also add assistance magic spells, it would still be far faster to ask Tatsuya."
"No, don't do that."
Leo shook his head at the words that slipped from Erika's mouth.
"This time, if we bothered Tatsuya then the entire thing becomes pointless. If casting assistance magic is all that's necessary, then let me invoke that spell."
"How manly."
Erika chuckled.
This unexpectedly brilliant smile forced Leo to avert his gaze.
Today was Saturday, but school was still in session. Magic high schools haven't adopted the two days off per week format.
Even though he still had to attend class (including practical skills) today, Tatsuya still visited Yakumo's temple. He even had Miyuki in tow today.
Actually, he had been invited by Yakumo to test the renovated "long range ki attack" training grounds.
There were very few locations to train magic shooting with live ammunition. Especially for someone who couldn't use training facilities on campus like Tatsuya ("Mist Dispersal" was definitely out of the question on campus), it would be optimal if he found a local area for shooting practice without heading all the way out to Tsuchiura.
Though Miyuki was different than her brother in that she didn't have to hide her abilities, the campus practice facilities for students and clubs didn't allow her to bring her full might to bear. In addition, the magic she excelled in was closer to wide-area magic rather than targeted sniping. Since she usually lacked a venue or time for shooting practice, Tatsuya pulled her along saying that "this is an excellent opportunity".
The training area was set underground, beneath the main hall for the temple, and occupied quite a large area.
"—Kya! —You!"
They should say as expected of Yakumo's temple, as the secret training area used by ninjas was vastly different than their school's facilities.
Refusing to admit defeat, sweat streamed down Miyuki's face as she was breathing hoarsely.
Having rolled several times, her neat hair had become unkempt.
This was a square-shaped area.
Three of the four walls and the ceiling had numerous holes where targets came out. (They weren't on all four walls because there were very few actual conditions where one was completely surrounded by the enemy. In an actual fight, one should have retreated long before this occurred.)
Each time, dozens of targets would appear, only to hide themselves after one second.
Just trying to take all of them out was a chore by itself, and there was even a devious condition that any remaining targets would retaliate with shots of their own.
Although Miyuki managed to block all the merciless retaliatory shots, there were still multiple instances where she fell down trying to switch between offense and defense.
"OK, let's stop there!"
At the time Yakumo gave the signal to stop the training device, Miyuki couldn't help but powerlessly sit on the floor. The training difficulty appeared to be set a tad too high.
"Good work."
"Ah, Onii-sama, I'm sorry."
Miyuki hurriedly took the towel Tatsuya handed to her.
After handing her the towel, Tatsuya used his other hand to clasp his sister's hand and gently pulled her graceful figure to her feet.
"Ah, thank you very much."
"You appear uninjured."
After taking a look at his sister standing there in a thin training shirt and pants that fell to her knees, Tatsuya smiled as he spoke to his sister, who was getting her breathing back under control.
Miyuki's flushed visage wasn't entirely caused by her recent strenuous activity, though did Tatsuya manage to notice that?
Of course, there was no answer to that question.
Nodding his head at his sister's concise answer of "I'm fine", Tatsuya walked towards the center of the platform.
Miyuki wasn't displeased by this aloof attitude.
They didn't come here to play around.
If she caused her brother to be unduly worried on her behalf, then she was doing him a disservice.
Of course, such a thing would never happen.
As Tatsuya lightly paced forward, he drew his favored CAD before his chest.
He bent his elbow and adopted a ready position.
Without waiting for Miyuki to leave the platform, the training session began without any signal given.
Three of the walls sent out orb-shaped targets.
They were immediately disintegrated the moment they appeared.
Tatsuya reached out his right arm and adopted a shooting position.
He only squeezed the trigger — pressed down on the CAD button only once.
Twelve targets were decomposed just like that.
Not missing a beat, targets shot out of the ceiling and the walls.
This time there were twenty four.
Tatsuya didn't aim at any individual target and merely squeezed the CAD's trigger. Then, he dashed aside to avoid the powdery debris.
As he turned, he raised his right arm upwards and pressed the trigger.
Like they were trying to replace the gaps formed by the ruined orbs, swarms of orbs repeatedly materialized.
Twice, thrice, he continued to squeeze the trigger time and again.
However, even when all the targets had been exhausted, not a single retaliatory shot was fired.
"Onii-sama, that was amazing!"
After the device came to a halt, Miyuki fairly flew towards where Tatsuya lowered his CAD.
"Seriously, a complete victory. Is even that level of difficulty not enough?"
Yakumo followed behind with a bitter expression on his face.
Tatsuya smiled in response to Miyuki and moved towards Yakumo.
"This is my area of expertise after all, but even then it was still a stretch. Who came up with this devious layout that takes advantage of the blind spots?"
"I got the design from Kazama-kun."
"I see, so this is Sanada's work."
Thinking of the technology officer with the candid smile who was one of the wiliest within the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, Tatsuya murmured quietly.
As Yakumo's face relaxed to hide his "so you know" reaction, Miyuki stepped between the two.
"Speaking of which, Onii-sama, when could you handle 36 targets at the same time?"
These words weren't out of concern for her brother but more because she couldn't contain her excitement.
"I remember that 24 was your limit three months ago."
Miyuki was referring to the number of targets that could be sniped by magic at the same time. Even though the Specialized CAD was shaped like a handgun, that did not mean the magic was fired from the muzzle. If this was a Generalized CAD, it might not even be in the shape of a gun.
Modern magic in the form of the Four Great Systems and Eight Major Types relied on Eidos manipulation of the chosen target rather than using magic bullets to shoot at a target. Thus, so long as one could focus on the targeted phenomenon, it was possible to target multiple instances of the same phenomenon.
To accomplish this, each of the replicated targets needed to be defined and considered simultaneously.
Rather than lumping all the targets together and identifying all the phenomena together and changing them at once, magic needed to be applied to each individual target, so it was necessary to identify the subtle differences between each of them.
If the number of the targets was only one digit, then anyone could accomplish this with sufficient training. Anything above that was the realm where qualities other than magic were required, as even adding one target became incredibly difficult.
Miyuki's eyes shone brilliantly. Needless to say, this was her bro-con personality on full throttle.
However, Tatsuya only laughed and shook his head at his sister's question.
"No, although this opponent does actually retaliate, it is more like they were set to wait to retaliate. In live combat without any breaks in between, currently 24 is already my limit."
"Please don't be so humble. Even if that's the case, even with the training set towards waiting to retaliate, I can only manage 16 at a time. Onii-sama is truly amazing!"
"Hey, flattery won't get anything from me. You are capable of using magic at a wider scale than I can, and if you weren't constantly keeping an eye on me, you would be able to do this too. In terms of defense, you are far ahead of me, aren't you?"
"In that case, can't Onii-sama reach even farther than I can by increasing the level of interference?"
Yakumo's wry laughter cut through their enigmatic conversation.
"Hey, you two remember that the walls have ears, right?"
The two of them shared embarrassed expressions, then exchanged knowing smiles.
Afterwards, the siblings left the training grounds in the basement and came to the corridor where Yakumo's room was.
Yakumo was undoubtedly the one who led them here. Even though Yakumo claimed that he would bring them tea after training, the very fact that they were in his private quarters rather than the main hall hinted that this odd gesture entailed something special, Tatsuya thought.
"You two still have to go to school, so I'll keep this short."
After bringing tea for three, Yakumo sat next to Tatsuya and cut to the heart of the matter.
"It appears you have received quite a special item."
While there was no way to confirm that the "special item" Yakumo spoke of was the Magatama, he wasn't overly surprised or astonished. There was no way one could associate with Yakumo if they were shocked by comments on such a level.
"Are you talking about the item placed in my care?"
Tatsuya frankly and directly confirmed that he possessed the item Yakumo spoke of. There was no point in trying to play fast and loose with Yakumo, something that Tatsuya had learned through long experience. Likewise, Tatsuya also knew that Yakumo did not favor individuals who engaged in pointless conversation to discover other people's secrets.
"If that is the case, I advise you to return that as quickly as possible. If you must hold onto it, store it somewhere other than your home."
Although Tatsuya knew that Yakumo would warn him, the seriousness in Yakumo's voice surpassed his expectations. Surprise and anxiety welled up inside his body and he couldn't help but straighten his body in front of Yakumo.
"There's no sign that someone is on to us."
Tatsuya's comment contained the subtle inquiry "Is someone spying on us?". Since he received a painful (physical) lesson during the Sayuri incident, he had begun to prudently monitor the auras around him recently. However, excluding a few minor incidents, at least no major threat like Yakumo hinted at had materialized yet.
"That's because they're being very cautious and not because they're lacking in talent."
Yakumo's reply not only served as a warning to their opponent's capabilities, it also hinted that he was on their trail.
"Who are they...... I suppose it would be pointless for me to even ask."
"Not entirely pointless."
Yakumo's response was entirely theatrical, but Tatsuya did not fret.
On the other side, Yakumo saw that Tatsuya didn't take the bait, so he slowly went with the hook "Hm, in that case......"
"I'll give you another piece of advice, if the enemy appears before you, be very wary of their bearing."
"Bearing...... Is it?"
The one who asked in surprise was Miyuki.
Tatsuya was also curious as to the answer of that question, so he wordlessly glanced at Yakumo.
"The price will be considerably higher if you want to ask more questions."
Yet Yakumo didn't answer Miyuki's question.
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