After handing a robe to his sister, who just rose from the bed of the psion wave examination device in nothing but her underclothes, Tatsuya watched the examination results while his customary, machine-like poker face contained slight traces of concern that could not escape Miyuki's eyes.
"......Are you troubled by something? Onii-sama, please feel free to tell me anything. No matter what Onii-sama needs to say, I am always willing to listen."
Rather than calling this an overreaction, this was more like overly motivated.
As this thought ran across Tatsuya's mind, he was mystified as to how to respond and what expression to greet this with, and in the end only adopted a dry chuckle.
"No, rather than saying what troubles me, I think this time it's my own problem. Since the upper ceiling of the scale of magic design exceeded original expectations, the processing power of the CAD can no longer keep up with your Magic Power. I was planning on setting a larger magic calculation area inside...... You're over thinking this."
"I apologize."
"What are you apologizing for? I should be the one praising you."
Gently caressing his sister's hair as she kept her head bowed, Tatsuya smiled warmly at Miyuki when she raised her head.
Miyuki followed her brother's lead, more like mirrored her brother's smile. Everything was fine up until this point—
(......This is not the time to start blushing.)
Cognizant of the inherent danger — largely presented by the cleavage peeking through the gaps in the robe — Tatsuya quickly picked up the conversation.
"Looks like Lina transferring into the same class became an excellent stimulus."
Upon hearing Lina's name, the brilliant blush across Miyuki's face immediately faded.
"Indeed...... This may sound a little arrogant, but I've yet to meet an opponent of her caliber before."
This was not because the mood had been ruined. Miyuki wasn't the sort of woman who would be upset that another woman's name came from Tatsuya's lips. Her expression contained a visible degree of transparency for another reason altogether. A quiet, burning fighting spirit lurked in Miyuki's eyes.
"Oh yes, Onii-sama, your question earlier this morning was indeed?"
"You noticed?"
Tatsuya chuckled lightly as he said this.
"As I suspected, Lina is 'Sirius'."
Tatsuya declared this as his smile was replaced by a sharp expression.
"As surmised, there's no way to hide these things from Miyuki."
Seeing Tatsuya laugh once more and raise his arms to stretch, Miyuki couldn't keep a straight face any longer and smiled mischievously while raising a finger towards Tatsuya.
"Of course, because Miyuki watches Onii-sama more closely than anyone else."
Tatsuya intentionally laughed aloud. There was no way to tell whether he felt that Miyuki was joking or he was simply trying to regard it as a joke.
Seeing her brother laugh, the only thing on Miyuki's mind was how badly she really wanted to know what Tatsuya was truly thinking about.
Rather because the basement (more like underground facility) air conditioning was still running, it was more like a flimsy robe covering her undergarments was the true reason why neither one of them could relax.
Miyuki needed to return to her room and change, so the two of them returned to the house.
What covered Miyuki's slim and exquisite legs were not a pair of black leggings or tights, but black stockings. The clothing around her upper body was rather loose and there was a hint of Miyuki's pale flesh between the mini-skirt and stockings.
This was all well and good while standing, but the moment Miyuki sat down, he immediately noticed that, wasn't this a terrible situation? — And exactly why was this terrible, Tatsuya calculated.
Unaware of her brother's feelings — not that he had any way of telling — Miyuki placed the coffee mug in front of her brother.
Except today, she sat across from Tatsuya rather than on the sofa next to him.
She did not adopt a lotus-like posture and place her legs atop one another.
Rather, she placed her knees together and kept them slanted diagonally.
This was a very amorous posture which hinted at the secret charms beneath her skirt.
Uncertain of Miyuki's intention (the superficial intent was obvious, but the true meaning remained elusive), Tatsuya elected against focusing on that.
After making that decision, Tatsuya's gaze ceased wavering.
Across the table, he could detect a trace of displeasure from Miyuki, but he chose not to call her on it and began to speak while watching Miyuki.
"Continuing our earlier conversation, I believe there is a high possibility that Lina is 'Angie Sirius'."
Last month, Tatsuya had received a warning from his aunt Yotsuba Maya that the USNA's Army Magician unit Stars had begun investigating the Magician responsible for the Strategic-Class Magic "Material Burst". At the time, Maya had made it very clear that Tatsuya and Miyuki were likely to be included among the possible suspects.
Tatsuya believed that Lina coming to First High was likely one aspect of the ongoing intelligence war.
"Currently, the problem is that we have uncovered Sirius's identity despite our opponent's efforts to conceal her identity. In addition, we can also see that they are trying to unravel our true identities."
It was only natural that Tatsuya was confused, given the inexplicably weak personal and mental defenses around Lina, at least by USNA standards. The reason behind this remained beyond Tatsuya's grasp at the moment.
"Furthermore—"
Maybe he would burst into laughter upon learning the truth, but right now Tatsuya wore a serious expression as he continued his analysis.
"Why would USNA send Sirius, who is practically their trump card, over here?"
Miyuki had long since switched gears and was following Tatsuya's example by adopting a serious tone of her own.
"Just so. Based on the observations in the past week, I feel that Lina's strengths do not lie in intelligence work. I fear that her real mission may lie elsewhere and her disguise is meant for that."
"'Sirius' simply covers too many angles......"
"Assuming Lina is Sirius...... Her infiltration mission may just be a cover. Her real target may lie somewhere else."
"To force the USNA to invest Sirius into an international mission...... What could it be?"
They might be dwelling on this too much, but fortunately the two of them were still in the dark.
"I have no idea...... However, I think right now we don't have to focus on that."
From an omniscient perspective, Tatsuya's speculation had already drifted off subject as his tone suddenly lost its earlier intensity.
"We are very fortunate that America has provided you with an excellent opponent, Miyuki."
Nonetheless, his earnest tone did not disappear.
"Indeed, Onii-sama."
At her brother's sincere tone and gaze, Miyuki changed her tone.
"Compete against Lina with all your might. We were just talking about it this morning, but we should care about victory or defeat. That will push you to a higher plane than ever before."
"Yes."
"Mutual competition as the fuel for growth applies towards Lina as well, but right now you don't have to worry about that. This is a rare opportunity."
Hearing Tatsuya's powerful words, Miyuki revealed a serene smile without a trace of unease.
"That's true. Also, Miyuki has Onii-sama with her. So long as Onii-sama is by my side, I will fear no foe, even if they be Sirius herself."
Tatsuya's words spoke of a rival and not an opponent.
There was a slight feeling from Miyuki's words that she was a little off topic.
However, in the face of Miyuki's limitless faith, Tatsuya nodded his head without any hesitation.
There were quite a few alterations in Tatsuya's extracurricular activities. On paper there were only two, staying in the library or patrolling the grounds as a member of the Public Moral Committee, but the latter presented many interruptions.
Enough to give one pause and consider if someone was conspiring something.
Today, this feeling was particularly prominent.
While Public Moral Committee members were bestowed with the right to carry CADs on campus, Tatsuya typically didn't use one while executing his duties to the committee.
Originally, CADs were tools that shortened the time needed to activate the Four Systematic Magics. It was only of limited use to other magic, such as Outer-Systematic Magic, Non-Systematic Magic, Ancient Magic, and especially if Non-Systematic Magic was only releasing psions to the point that the lack of a CAD would not seem unnatural at all.
After accidentally revealing his ability to use Gram Demolition during the Nine Schools Competition, Tatsuya restricted himself to Non-Systematic Magic outside of class since the start of the second semester. This was more than enough to handle any trouble, so there was no need to carry a CAD.
The reason he carried the committee's CAD while on patrol was because of its demonstrative power. Although they did not possess great power as a deterrent, Tatsuya customarily returned to HQ before his patrol and put on CADs on his two wrists.
As was usual, Tatsuya headed for the committee HQ after class today and saw Lina's figure. Even from afar, that blaze of golden hair was unmistakable.
Suppressing the urge to flee based on premonitions of trouble, Tatsuya worked hard to keep his voice level.
"Good morning."
He had long become accustomed to the committee members' greetings that paid no heed to the time of day. He walked past the crowd — which was actually no more than 5 people, and deftly finished the preparations on his hands.
"Ah, Shiba-kun, perfect."
Unfortunately, Tatsuya was nabbed by Kanon.
His ability to hide his disappointment was the product of his daily training(?).
"What is it?"
Tatsuya's voice did not betray any subjective or objective warmth. It was both a strong and weak point for Kanon that she paid no attention to details such as this.
"This is Shields-san. I believe you already know her?"
It wasn't much of a question. Of course, Tatsuya's only option was to nod.
"Shields-san wishes to observe the Public Moral Committee's daily activities. I believe she wanted to see how Japanese magic high schools govern themselves. Shiba-kun is on duty today, so would you be able to bring her along?"
How troublesome, Tatsuya thought. He was unclear on Lina's intentions, but he felt this definitely raised the probability of troublesome events happening. This was a guarantee, since he was sure they would run into male students (all the upperclassmen) enamored of Lina watching him with sharp gazes. Even if he was spared the jealous glares within the committee, he didn't dare to imagine how incredibly irritating it would be to walk around campus with Lina in tow. Alas, both Lina's request and Tatsuya's appointment were perfectly logical turns of events.
"Understood."
Tatsuya had no options but to offer an immediate and unconditional surrender.
Lina had recently transferred here so there wasn't much of a surprise, but this was the first time they were walking together alone. Strictly speaking, with all the students milling about, the two of them weren't walking alone on campus, but the uncomfortable atmosphere wasn't likely to change depending on whether other people were present or not.
First of all, in Tatsuya's defense, the uncomfortable atmosphere wasn't because he had an amazing beauty like Lina walking next to him, but because Lina never let up on that inquisitive feeling of hers. Every once in a while, she would secretly sneak a "Hm~~" peek at Tatsuya, and, despite her efforts at trying to conceal these looks, Tatsuya felt that they were only digging her deeper.
Even so, Tatsuya couldn't just directly come back with "You're a spy, aren't you". The pressure just kept building like a volcano ready to burst.
"Did Lina's old school not have this system?"
Tatsuya felt that he couldn't stand this silent drama any longer (technically, they were only a dozen yards from HQ). What sort of heavy silence is this, Tatsuya thought as he indulged in his rarely seen sense of public service and provided the initial question. —Now that he thought about it, that was a terribly malicious question.
"Eh? Uh......"
Malicious, because he could see Lina's anxiety.
Rumor had it that everyone bestowed with the title of "Sirius" was a front line fighter through and through. Surely it wasn't possible that Lina never went through infiltration training, Tatsuya thought, unable to decide if he wanted to laugh or cry.
"......It can't be helped if a Year 1 student doesn't know anything about it."
Feeling somewhat guilty for Lina's distressed state, Tatsuya tried to give her a way out. There was no need to shred her disguise, since putting all the cards on the table would only make things more troublesome.
"Eh...... Ah, just so. That's the reason why I wanted to understand the secret to why a Year 1 student could join in this activity on this campus."
She wasn't really adept at handling curve balls, but she had a good head on her shoulders, Tatsuya thought. She was nimble enough to grab the lifeline that other people threw to her, which might actually put her on a better footing than his own sister.
As he suspected, he was being stabbed left and right by all sorts of gazes. However, probably wary of leaving a negative impression in front of the transfer student, no one actually made a move against him.
As such, Tatsuya led Lina through the primary practical exercise rooms and research labs. This patrol accompanied with explanations gave the impression that he was giving a campus tour.
Lina halted her footsteps at one end of the building that ran alongside the research labs near the staircase that led to the neighboring building.
"Are you tired? Do you want to head back?"
Of course, he knew that this wasn't the real reason she stopped. He was only using this to open the conversation.
"No, I'm fine."
Her tone gave the impression that she wasn't sure where to begin.
"What is it?"
At Tatsuya's urging, Lina finally broke free of her hesitation.
"Tatsuya is a substitute — a Course 2 student, correct?"
"That's true, is there a problem?"
It had been a long time since someone came straight out with that question. Is it this again? Rather than having that feeling, he was rather refreshed by this and replied with a question of his own.
"When I asked Miyuki as to why you wore a different uniform than everyone else in Class A, she told me in a rather annoyed voice."
Lina burst into laughter when she recalled that incident. That certainly sounded like Miyuki's button being pressed, Tatsuya chuckled wryly.
"But, when I asked Kanon earlier, she said that Tatsuya stands in the top tier among Magicians in First High."
When Tatsuya heard Kanon's name pronounced as "cannon", he unilaterally interpreted it as canon rather than cannon — calling Kanon a cannon was a little too insulting.
With so many unnecessary things running through his head, comprehending what Lina was trying to say took more time than usual.
"Tatsuya, why are you pretending to be a poor student? And since you are pretending to be a poor student, why did you so easily reveal your true strength? Tatsuya's behavior is highly irregular so I don't understand why you went about it the way you did."
After listening to Lina's question to the end, he finally understood what Lina really wanted to say.
"I have no idea what you asked Chiyoda-senpai, but it's not like I was pretending to do nothing. I truly am a poor student."
Fortunately, Lina gave a detailed explanation in order to convey her question and didn't just leave Tatsuya hanging, or he really might have embarrassed himself. He really needed to curtail those unnecessary thoughts, Tatsuya thought.
"The practical skills examination is dependent on speed, scale, and strength and is based on international standards. However, victory or defeat in live combat does not depend strictly on those three variables. Originally, physical prowess plays a huge role in live combat. While my practical skills examination labeled me a poor student, I can hold my own in a fight. Simple as that."
That was the indisputable truth. Tatsuya believed this was enough to answer the question, or on some level, deflect the question.
"......I do agree that practical skill scores and combat capability are two different things."
However, Lina's words were not expected and seemed to hint at something more.
"I too was someone who wasn't amazing at school but was a Magician who was useful on the battlefield."
A suspicious aura seemed to slowly emanate from Lina's body.
"Isn't that wonderful?"
The warmth in Tatsuya's eyes vanished.
"I can tell, you're good."
Before that cold, or rather, steely gaze, Lina let out a dazzling smile.
This was not a blossoming flower, but the beauty of a razor sharp blade honed to its finest.
Lina's hand suddenly moved!
Tatsuya swiftly intercepted the striking palm.
The edged right hand that Lina used the smallest possible movement to stab forward with was caught at the wrist by Tatsuya.
The thrusting palm aimed for Tatsuya's chin was intercepted before it could even reach the throat.
Lina shifted the captured right hand into a pistol shape and stabbed forward with her index finger.
A terrifying claw came whistling towards Tatsuya's face.
In a flash, Tatsuya flung Lina's right hand to one side.
Lina frowned as the psion light gathered at the tip of her index finger was dispersed before the blow landed.
"How dangerous."
"I believed that you would dodge it."
"Care to explain this for me?"
"Before that, can you let go of my hand? That stings, and this position is a little embarrassing for me."
In order to fling her hand to one side, the distance between Tatsuya and Lina's bodies had closed quite a bit. From the side, it looked like Tatsuya was attacking Lina — and forcing a kiss.
Tatsuya immediately let go of Lina's hand.
However, his eyes gave no hint of shame or remorse.
"Seriously, that hurt. You even left...... Huh? No trace? Precision strength control?"
Lina wore a perplexed expression as she used her left hand to pull back her right sleeve.
"After striking at the pressure point on another person's face, letting you experience a little pain is the least you deserve."
"That was only a simple psion block that contains no threat whatsoever. The most it could do was give the impression of being struck by a gun."
"I do believe that more than justifies your violent treatment."
Even after seeing such a warm smile, Tatsuya's expression didn't relax in the slightest.
Lina could only sigh and raise both arms.
"I get it, I get it. Please forgive my rudeness, Tatsuya-sama."
Lina reset her attitude and formally bowed to Tatsuya before raising her head.
The once severe expression on Tatsuya's face suddenly curved at the corners of his mouth for some bizarre reason.
"......Is there anything else?"
"No, that is sufficient. I think we can talk normally in the future. Though this refinement doesn't seem like Lina at all."
It appeared that the change in corners of Tatsuya's mouth was because he felt that it didn't suit her.
"In what way am I not refined!"
"Your character."
He wasn't sure whether she would get the meaning of a vague term like "character", but given Lina's fluent Japanese there should be no problem, hence Tatsuya skipped the explanation time.
Then, whether this was a blessing or a curse, she successfully interpreted his words.
"There's no such thing! At the very least, I've been invited to tea with the President!"
Propelled onward, Lina was trying to prove her elegance.
"Oh......"
Hearing this, Tatsuya chuckled lightly.
Amid this laughter, there were hints of chilling frost.
On reflex, Lina covered her mouth.
In Tatsuya's expression, she could see Mephistopheles grinning at her.
"The President, eh......"
There were many in positions of power that could give even Magicians, capable of murder without any weapon, pause. Even in a country like Japan that had very low walls, there were a few special people in power that even Magicians had to take periodical antidotes to defuse the poison in their bodies before meeting them.
In the USNA, the only Magician who could meet the President face to face was probably......
"I've been had, right......?"
Unwilling to accept the outcome, Lina glared at Tatsuya, but this debacle was entirely on Lina herself.
"My infamy precedes me. It was pure coincidence that the conversation went the direction it did. In regards to that question, I believe Lina imploded on your own, correct? After all, Lina was the one who instigated this."
And that is what it's like to suffer in silence. The only thing Lina could do was continue to stare at Tatsuya in frustration.
"So, should you explain why you went about doing this?"
"......I just wanted to know how capable Tatsuya is."
"How capable I am? For what?"
Lina's eyes drifted away from Tatsuya as he stood there frowning in suspicion.
"Nothing really...... It was out of pure curiosity."
"Curiosity...... You did all of this just for that."
Easily seeing through this blatant lie, Tatsuya continued to murmur.
Lina sulkily gave a small "Hmph".
"......Strictly speaking, that is true. Actually....."
Muttering softly, Lina dragged her gaze back to Tatsuya.
"I wanted to know if you wanted to come to the USNA."
"Me, to America?"
"In my opinion, you have such a high level of skill yet are relegated to such a lowly position, wouldn't you want to be on a stage that gives you the recognition you deserve. While a Magician's grade is assessed in America much like the international standard, there are still places that aren't like that. America is a free and diverse country. There's no way that you would be relegated to a substitute simply because you're lacking in one area. I believe that Tatsuya will be recognized as befitting your true potential."
"An interesting declaration."
Faced with an unexpected invitation, Tatsuya's attitude softened somewhat.
"In that case......"
Seeing this, Lina immediately charged into the breech.
"If that was the unadulterated truth."
However, Tatsuya's satire immediately took the wind from her sails.
"Lina, where exactly is this unorthodox place that prizes merit above all else? Say, Arlington?"
Arlington used to be a naval academy, but was now one of the primary providers for Magicians and magic researchers in the USNA military.
"......Yes. But, there are other places."
"Lina, assessment based on merit is designed to select the right way to use tools."
Despite the fact that Tatsuya's tone remained mocking, it lacked the chilling cold that deafened the soul.
"In regards to selecting Magicians best suited for the military, Arlington and the JSDF are two sides of the same coin. Although regarding their broad-mindedness, there might be a few differences."
Most of all, it sounded as if Tatsuya was teasing a friend.
"Oh well, forget it."
"Eh......?"
Suddenly Tatsuya murmured in a tone of "it doesn't matter anyways".
Lina was unable to follow this abrupt change in gears and could only reply with a befuddled voice and expression.
"You were just trying to test my skills, right?"
"Uh...... Yes."
"Then let's leave it there. Please refrain from doing such things in the future."
Isn't it about time for you to go? Urging her to do so, Tatsuya's expression was now no different than usual.
Lina could no longer tell the difference from the usual Tatsuya.
"Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
It was understandable that Tatsuya wanted to pretend that scene never happened. This was also in Lina's best interests. However, she had no idea why Tatsuya would do this, or his intentions.
It was incredibly fortunate that Tatsuya wasn't asking any questions and Lina knew she could be trampling on his kind gesture, but she couldn't resist her own question.
"Ask what?"
"What do you mean? Like...... My real identity or something, don't you want to know?"
"Don't worry about it. There are some stones in the world better left untouched."
Lina wasn't certain if he was being truthful or evasive.
The human being known as Shiba Tatsuya was too incomprehensible for Lina.
"......You, are incredibly irritating."
Tatsuya only shrugged his shoulders and turned around at Lina's blunt accusation.
At the same time that she was following his back, Lina was clairvoyant that the word "irritating" didn't refer to its superficial meaning.
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