Chapter 7 – Newcomers Competition — The Night Sky Dancing Battle
The events of the third day of the newcomers competition concluded.
As rounds 6 through 10 of Monolith Code are left for tomorrow, the final ranks are undecided. However, First High lost to Third High, so winning this event will be difficult.
In the other events, the male pair in Speed Shooting got first and the female got third. In this event, both the male and female pairs from Third High for second place, so there was no point difference.
The provisional rankings in the newcomers competition haven’t changed, with First High in first and Third High in second. But there is a 20-point difference between first and second in Monolith Code. It appears that the overall victory in the newcomers competition will be decided by the results of Mirage Bat.
“...Well, if Mei and I clinch a 1-2 finish, we’ll win the newcomers competition, right?”
Marika, who was told by a first-year girl like her at dinner to give it her best tomorrow because it will decide who wins in the newcomers competition, replied with a look that showed she apparently isn’t feeling that much pressure.
At this, even Ichika’s friend who gave her a deliberately mean encouragement, looked daunted and was at a loss for words.
“Wait, Marika. That answer is really irresponsible...”
The one who became flustered was Mei, who will participate in Mirage Bat with Marika.
“Irresponsible? Why?”
Marika slightly cocked her head towards Mei.
But right after, an expression of comprehension, ‘Aah, I see’, appeared on her face.
“I’m not saying that I’m absolutely confident that we’re going to win, okay?”
“What do you mean...?”
Mei couldn’t hide her confusion.
“When you go into a match, you naturally intend to try to win, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but...”
“Ichijou-san from Third High will participate. I understand it will become an intense battle. But if we don’t confront it with the intention to win, we won’t even win the matches we can win.”
“...That’s so like you, Marika.”
Mei expressed her thoughts in a half-impressed, half-exasperated voice.
But unfortunately, there weren’t only students who felt positively about Marika’s strength of turning pressure into a propulsion force.
The number of female students who turned their animosity towards her were also not zero.
Those gazes weren’t blatant, but at least Alisa noticed them.
◇ ◇ ◇
In First High, hotel rooms are allocated and the pairs in Pairs events share the room. This isn’t something that happens every year, it’s a policy that the Student Council President Shiina discussed together with Aki (Public Morals Committee Chief) and Usui Takemitsu (President of the Club Activities Group). — Also, it an established tradition that the Student Council President, the Public Morals Committee Chief and the President of the Club Activities Group serve as organizers in the Nine Schools Competition delegation.
However, this room allocation isn’t an absolute rule, and the room sharing partners can also be changed with the agreement from all parties.
Marika, who was promoted from substitute to competitor, is lodging at a room for competitors at the hotel from today on. The competitor she replaced, Ichika, returned to her home in Tokyo. Usually, Marika would be in the same room as Mei in Ichika’s stead.
But Marika ended up sharing a room with Alisa. Alisa’s original roommate, Hiyori, moved to Mei’s room to replace Ichika. This wasn’t even proposed by Marika nor Alisa, it was the result of Mei and Hiyori using their own tact.
“Mina, your matches are tomorrow, so you have to go to bed soon.”
“Hm, you’re right.”
“Also, if you continue like that, you’ll get a cold even if it’s summer.”
“Hm, you’re right.”
“Hey!”
Marika, wrapped in nothing but her bath towel, embracing Alisa and not wanting to separate from her, was struck in the head by Alisa with a clunk.
“It huuurts.”
“Liar.”
Alisa turned her unamused eyes to Marika who was protesting while holding her head with both hands.
Though she hit her, it was just a swing. She put no more force than needed for a strong pat.
It was clear from her childish tone that it didn’t seriously hurt her.
“Here. Stop that and put on some clothes.”
Alisa took out pajamas from Marika’s luggage and held them out to her.
“Asha, you’re so cold.”
Marika made an unnaturally lonely expression and reluctantly accepted the pajamas.
“You were hugging me the whole time, it was hot.”
The hotel bathroom, unfortunately, was not wide enough for two people to get in together. As such, they bathed separately, first Alisa and then Marika.
Maybe unsatisfied with that, Marika, after her post-bath hair care, tightly embraced Alisa, who was in her pajamas, and didn’t let go for over 10 minutes.
“Good grief, Mina...”
Alisa operated a button-style CAD shaped like a portable terminal.
The bath towel Marika wrapped herself in after the bath was moist, but not quite wet. That warmth also transferred to Alisa’s pajamas. Alisa used magic to dry them.
The reason she didn’t use the thought-operated CAD she uses in matches is because doing it manually is more comfortable. There are many magicians use thought-operated models in situations where they need to keep their hands free and manual models in situations where that isn’t the case.
Alisa checked the fluffiness of her dry pajamas by touching them with her hands and smiled satisfactorily.
She looked around her. She couldn’t see Marika.
Was she aiming for this gap? Marika quickly — sloppily wore her pajamas and leaped into Alisa’s chest. Alisa couldn’t catch that momentum and, while screaming, fell backwards. If she hadn’t been sitting on the bed, this would have certainly not ended with just her scream.
“Geez... Mina, you have to go to sleep.”
Alisa tried to push Marika, who’s lying on top of her, away with both hands.
But she won’t move. Alisa is taller and their weight is practically the same. But no matter how much strength she put into it, Marika did not move an inch.
“Mina, stop playing around!”
“Let’s sleep together?”
Alisa strengthened her tone, and Marika smoothly pleaded.
“...It’ll be cramped?”
The hotel has twin beds. They’re not of a size where two people could use one bed.
But it was clear Marika had no intention to surrender.
“It can’t be helped...”
In the end, the one who surrendered was Alisa.
“I’ll turn off the light.”
“Okay.”
Marika’s response could be heard from the area of Alisa’s collarbone.
Marika is lying in bed, trying to coil around Alisa’s body. — No, she is already coiling around.
Despite this, Alisa didn’t seem to be in a particular awkward situation, perhaps because she’s used to it. Even in this state, drowsiness soon arrived.
“Asha.”
“Whaa?”
Alisa’s pronunciation had already become unclear.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Umm? Yeah, yeah.”
Alisa only vaguely noticed Marika’s tone had changed.
“I don’t think there’s anything I can do about the girls who aren’t happy about me replacing her anymore. I’m sure they don’t know what to do about their own feelings.”
“Yeah...”
Mina noticed too, Alisa vaguely thought in her half-sleeping state of consciousness.
“But there is no way out of this for me. There is no way out, so I won’t worry about them.”
“Fufu... Yeah.”
Alisa was thinking ‘That’s so Mina’ while snickering.
“And that’s why... I’ll do my best tomorrow. Not for anyone, I will just do my best... Are you sleeping?”
“...”
“I’ll sleep too... Good night...”
Drowsiness finally came to Marika, who had been too excited for her first ‘sleepover’ with Alisa in a while to get sleepy.
“Ow...”
Next morning. By the time she woke up, Alisa, who had been turned into a body pillow all night long because of Marika, had gotten stiff muscles that gave her dull pains all over her body.
◇ ◇ ◇
The 8th day of the Nine Schools Competition. The newcomers competition entered its final day.
Today’s events are the second half of Monolith Code and Mirage Bat. They’re the two most popular events at the Nine Schools Competition.
Rounds 6 to 10 will be held in Monolith Code. Excluding Third High which had two rounds with no match, every school has four matches. Third High alone will have five matches.
The other event, Mirage Bat, has two participating competitors from each school, for a total of 18, which are divided into three qualification groups, with six competitors, the top two of each group, making it into the finals. Also, as there is one Mirage Bat stage, with the three qualification matches being held in sequence in the morning and the final match under the stage lights at 7pm in the afternoon, the operations details are very different from other events.
Mei’s appearance in the qualification round is in the first match. The match starts at 9am. Also, Marika’s match is the second and it starts at 10:15am.
Alisa and Hiyori gave words of encouragement to Joui and came to the Mirage Bat stands.
Koharu is in the competitor waiting room as a technician. When the match starts, she should come out into the stand-by zone next to the stage.
And Marika who will be in the second match is sitting next to Alisa, wearing a cooler jumper (baseball jacket with thermoelectric cooling functions to protect against the heat) on top of the Mirage Bat costume.
The first match will end at 9:55. Mirage Bat is timed so the end time will not change. Since there will be 20 minutes left until the start of the second match, she won’t be late for the match even if she stays in the audience until the first match ends. Marika wasn’t the only competitor in the stands. On the Third High stands was Ichijou Akane.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Akane, Tookami-san is looking this way.”
The one who spoke to Akane was Ichijou Reira, former Nationally Recognized Strategic-Class Magician Liú Lìlěi, who came from Kanazawa to support her.
“She really is.”
Akane raised her arm a little, and then lowered it without doing anything. She was about to wave her hand at Marika, but stopped midway.
“So she is participating too, huh.”
“Her name wasn’t on the list of competitors at the start. I wonder if the girl who was going to compete got ill and got replaced.”
“I heard there was a girl who got examined by a doctor as soon as First High arrived. Isn’t it likely she is replacing that girl?”
Hiromi, who was listening to the conversation between Akane and Reira, joined in.
“Is that so... it’s unfortunate for that girl, but I’m looking forward to this even more now.”
A lively smile showed on Akane’s face.
“Tookami-san is in the second match. If she doesn’t advance to the finals, you won’t be facing her, Akane-san.”
Hiromi said, while looking at the list of competitors she opened on her terminal. Akane is in group 3 of the qualifications.
“I’ll turn out fine.”
There was no anxiety in Akane’s smile. She had absolutely no doubts that she would go through the qualification round and that Marika would advance to the finals.
◇ ◇ ◇
At that moment, some slight turmoil was occurring at the Monolith Code venue. It was near the competitor waiting rooms for the forest stage. In Third High’s waiting room and its vicinity.
“Ichijou-senpai! I am very thankful that you’ve taken the time to come!”
The leader of Third High’s delegation was deeply bowing with a tense expression. The recipient of that bow is an alumnus of Third High, and also the country’s second Nationally Recognized Strategic Class Magician, Ichijou Masaki.
“Please, there is no need to be that respectful. I just came to support my sister and thought to stop by.”
Masaki, with a friendly attitude, tried to soften his kouhai’s tension. At least in terms of his attitude towards his underclassmen, it can be said that he is more capable than his rival Shiba Tatsuya.
Even if that attitude is, perhaps, him hiding his embarrassment.
Even if it actually was to hide the pitiful fact that he was forced to come to the Nine Schools Competition venue even though he didn’t want to, to escort the girl who came to support his little sister — Liú Lìlěi.
“Tatsuki-kun.”
Masaki, who finished receiving the usual greetings — given the spectacle, it might be more suitable to describe them ‘audiences’ — from the upperclassmen, called out to Tatsuki.
“You won against First High. Well done.”
Masaki’s smile wasn’t insincere. Masaki was unable to forget, even if he wanted to, the memories of the bitter experience First High gave him in Monolith Code when he was a first-year student in Third High.
Reflecting on it, it was that match that began putting the name Shiba Tatsuya among those involved with magic. There are also sharp-tongued people in the world who spread gossip like ‘Ichijou Masaki was Shiba Tatsuya’s steeping stone’.
Masaki himself doesn’t think like that, but still, it seems ‘winning against First High’ holds a particular meaning to him.
“I am obliged. It was a far tougher fight than I had anticipated, but, thanks to you, we somehow got the win.”
“Hard or easy, a victory is a victory. I’m looking forward to today’s matches too.”
Masaki, in a good mood, hit Tatsuki’s shoulder.
“Yes. I will do my best to win.”
Tatsuki replied without losing his laudable attitude.
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