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Chapter 39

August 3rd 2095 / Nine Schools Competition Venue.

"At last, the time has come to open the National Magic Highschool Goodwill Tournament of Magic Skills, better known as the Nine Schools Competition. This year's tournament will follow the usual format with five days each of official matches and rookie competitions, for a total of ten days.

This year, all eyes will be on First High School. Will they get their third straight title, or will Third High School break that streak?"

On a clear, sunny day, the opening ceremony of the National Magic Highschool Goodwill Tournament of Magic Skills was held within the main stadium. All participants, both athletes and engineers, from all nine schools had lined up side by side as the opening ceremony was held. 

Immediately after the opening ceremony, the qualifier for the Women’s Battle Board was held in the Battle Board Qualifying Venue. 

Battle board, also referred to as “Surfing”, also referred to as "Surfing", is a game that originated as a method for training naval forces. 

Players receive a board similar to a surfing board and must complete three laps on an artificial channel 3 km in length by making full use of magic to propel them forward against the backwards flow of the water.

Use of magic to directly interfere or target other competitors is forbidden. However, indirect interference, such as casting a spell onto the surface of the water, is allowed. 

The Preliminaries consist of six races, four players each. Two Semi-Finals games are held with three contestants each. A playoff is held to determine third place, while the top Players from each Semi-finals race will compete one-on-one in the finals.

Tatsuya, Miyuki, Mikihiko, Leon, Honoka, Shizuku, Aika, Erika, and Mizuki came to watch the qualifiers match where Watanabe Mari will be competing in the Battle Board competition. 

Despite the clear sunny day with little to no clouds shading them from the sun, many students from all nine schools came to watch one of the first competitions to be held on the first day of this extremely prestigious and competitive event between the nine magic schools of Japan. Thus, they had to split the group into two; Tatsuya, Miyuki, Mikihiko, and Leon had to sit on the front row, while Honoka, Shizuku, Aika, Erika, and Mizuki sat on the row behind them.

"Honoka, how are you doing, physically?"

Tatsuya looked back towards Honoka, asking for her condition. As her engineer, Tatsuya was also concerned with her training and physical condition. He wanted to make sure she was physically healthy and at peak condition, ready for her events.

"I'm fine. I've been training to build up my stamina, and I've also been getting more sleep."

"Uhn~ Honoka's been taking care of body and especially her skin veeeeery closely recently~ I wonder if it's only for the competition~"

Aika leaned forward, turned to Honoka with a teasing grin, and she immediately blush red to her ears. Even without having to explicitly say it, there was only one thing in Honoka’s mind about what she could be referring to. 

"A-Aika-chan! I-I was just taking care of my p-physical condition for the competition!"

"Fufu~ Is that so~? Buuuuut, I noticed you putting on body lotion and cream on your skin recently~ Is it really not because you want to look good in front of a certain someone~?”

"G-Geez, what are you saying, Aika-chan!!!"

"Speaking of whom, where is Yuuji? I haven't seen him since this morning." 

From the front row, sitting beside Tatsuya, Leo turned back towards Aika and asked. If it was about Yuuji, Leo knew that Aika would be the one to know the most.

And as he expected, Aika immediately answered and pointed a finger into the distance.

"He's there~! Look~"

"Hm?"

Leo, Mikihiko, and the rest of the group turned their gazes towards the direction Aika was pointing at and saw a large crowd of female students from various schools gathering in a specific area of the spectators' seats. 

The entire venue was filled with students excited for the competition. But this particular area was burning with excitement as girls tried to fit themselves into seats that were fewer than them. 

And when they looked closer, right below was the First High School's bench, where their engineers and staff in charge of Watanabe Mari, who will be competing in the Women's Battle Board event, were staying in. 

At the center of it, they could see Yuuji's figure looking off to the starting line, where the four participants, including Mari, were getting ready on their surfboard. He was holding a tablet in his left hand and wearing an earpiece in his right ear.

Once in a while, he'll tap his earpiece and begin speaking to it while tapping on the tablet in his hand. And as he did, the sound of female squeals and shrieks would always accompany his every movement. 

"Fufufu~ He must be feeling suuuuuper awkward now~"

Aika said with a giggle, enjoying the spectacle of her sexy boyfriend getting so much more attention that he’s comfortable with. On the other hand, Erika let out a sigh and shook her head tiredly while Mizuki laughed weakly. 

"D-Damn... I know he's super popular, but this is the first time I've seen this kind of crowd gathering around him." 

Leo said, amazed by the sheer popularity he had garnered in just a few days. 

"U-Uhn, I saw him being surrounded by girls during the banquet, but it was still nothing compared to this." 

Mikihiko, who was seated to Leo’s left, added. 

"By the way, what is he doing there? He's not Watanabe Mari-senpai's engineer, right?" 

Leo asked. 

"He's given the task to help the chairwoman in organizing the security details of our school's athletes and engineers~! So since Mari-senpai is competing, he's got full control of the security details that had been lent to our school by the organizer~"

"Eh? Really? But why? He's an athlete, right? Why is he the one doing that?" 

Mikihiko turned his head back towards Aika in astonishment and confusion. Not only was he an athlete, he was also just a first-year student. Why was he in charge of the security details of the school’s athletes?

"Mm, maybe because Mari-senpai trusts him and his ability the most~!"

"I see... That makes sense..."

Mikihiko slowly turned his gaze back towards Yuuji, who still seemed to be talking with someone through his earpiece, and looked at him with amazement. 

It might be due to his extremely handsome appearance, but he looked extremely reliable and gallant by just standing there now that he knew what responsibilities he had. Even he was dazed momentarily by his appearance. 

Meanwhile, Tatsuya was also staring at him as well, just like Honoka, Shizuku, and Mizuki. But instead of having an infatuated gaze like them, he was looking at him solemnly for a moment.

Then, he swept his gaze across the entire venue and used dhis Elemental Sight for a moment. Fortunately, he didn’t find anything suspicious as of yet. 

"Onii-sama, is something wrong?"

"No. It's nothing. Don't worry."

Meanwhile, standing at the center of the crowd of girls’ attention, Yuuji let out a sigh inwardly after returning to the awkward reality after his communication with the leader of the security team lent to First Highschool for the duration of the competition ended. 

He locked his tablet, held it to his side, and turned his gaze back towards the starting line as he reflected on his most recent conversation.

Despite being a first year high school student, the person in charge for his school’s security was surprisingly easy to talk to and was open to working with him. He even accepted suggestions and changes Yuuji made to concentrate more security personnels on areas that would be tampered with from the anime. 

I’ll have to thank Juumonji-senpai, Mayumi-senpai, and Mari-senpai for this… They must’ve given a word in for me…

That was the only explanation he could think of. The words from members of the ten master clans and an established magician lent his words more weight, giving Yuuji an easier time to manage the security detail in place of Mari. 

And while he had become even busier with this in addition to his own events and calibrating Aika and his own CADs for their events, he was able to be in the midst of things and have some sort of justification and authority to step in when something happens.

Nothing should go wrong yet at this point, but I still need to be alert. I can't know for sure they won't try anything different if they notice the changes in the security details.

“Welcome to the Official Women’s Battle Board event. The third match of the trials will begin shortly. Athletes, please take your positions.”

The venue began to be filled with cheers as the event was starting. All of the students clapped their hands and shouted to support and encourage the representative of their school. 

“First High School, third year, Ms. Watanabe Mari.”

Immediately, female fans of Watanabe Mari shrieked in delight as the announcer introduced First High’s representative. With her cool demeanor and appearance, it was easy to see why she would be popular with girls, Yuuji thought. 

And after all four participants were introduced, a countdown for the race started. 

A loud horn blared as three red lights lined up in a row shined and dimmed one by one in order from right to left. And the moment the light turned green, Mari and the other three participants launched in a tremendous burst of speed. 

The athlete from the Fourth Highschool cast a spell that caused a massive explosion behind all of them, causing the water surface to undulate greatly to try and throw off other contestants. 

But Mari, unaffected by the spell, simply gained the lead as the other participants tried to regain their balance. 

Mari looked back for a moment, and saw the other three participants already started to regain their balance and went back into the game. 

So to keep her lead, she cast multiple spells and gained even more speed as she turned the corner. 

Applying fortifying magic while multi-casting movement magic… As expected of the chairwoman…

Fortifying magic wasn't magic that strengthened an object. It was more specifically strengthening the relative position of the molecules in an object, thus making it stronger. 

Mari was fortifying and anchoring her relative position to her surfboard to keep her from falling, allowing her to cast movement magic on herself and the board as a single entity without needing to fear falling off. 

Moreover, she was also applying Vibration Magic to dampen the shaking of the board… 

Yuuji couldn’t help but be impressed at her skill. She was multicasting four different types of magic continuously while racing. 

Well… I guess I’ll look like I’m copying her when I race…

Yuuji sighed inwardly… 

His plan was to use fortifying magic as well to anchor his relative position to the board, and use his “gravity” magic to stretch the fabric of space around him in a wave to contract the space in front of him and expand the space behind him, pushing him forward. 

He got the idea from one of the most popular faster than light travel methods he came across in the past. Though of course, he won’t be going faster than light. He’ll just do it enough to make him win. 

And, he could simply disguise it as using wind and movement magic to propel him forward, which was quite simple. 

As he mused, the blaring sound of a horn signaling the end of the race resounded. And as he expected, Mari won convincingly. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

In front of a hotel room. 

Tatsuya, Yuuji, and Aika stood as the soldier escorting them to the room knocked on the door and announced their presence. 

And soon after, the familiar voice of a middle-aged man resounded from within. 

The three entered and saluted towards the people inside the room before standing at rest.

““Please excuse us.””

Within the room, five members of the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion had gathered. 

Major Kazama Harunobu, the commanding officer. 

Captain Yanagi Muraji. 

Captain Sanada Shigeru. 

Major Yamanaka Kousuke. 

And lastly, the beautiful first lieutenant Fujibayashi Kyouko. 

And with their presence, all members of the battalion were now present.

“There you are. Well, have a seat.”

“No, I am fine right here.”

Tatsuya answered, keeping his eyes forward and keeping his soldier’s mannerism before a superior, while Yuuji and Aika smiled helplessly. 

“Tatsuya-kun, we didn’t call the three of you here today as Strategic-class Magicians, Special Officers Ryuuya Ooguro, Akatsuki Shin, and Tsukino Miko. We invited you as our friends, Shiba Tatsuya, Tsubakihara Yuuji, and Kiryuu Aika. If you stand on ceremony with us, we would be troubled.”

“Captain Sanada…”

Tatsuya glanced at Yuuji and Aika by his side. And after seeing the two nod, he nodded back.

“I understand. Then please excuse me.”

The three then took their seats. Yuuji sat to the Major’s right, Aika, then Tatsuya who sat on Sanada’s Left. 

“I’m glad to see all three of you fine and well. Especially the two of you, Yuuji-kun, Tatsuya-kun.”

“Thank you very much for your concern, Major.”

“Thank you very much.”

“You did well handling those intruders. Especially you, Yuuji-kun. I have to say, I’m quite surprised when I got the report from Yanagi about your encounter.”

“Ahahaha, I just got a bit unlucky to meet them during my experiment with my new magic. And if it wasn’t for Captain Yanagi’s timely arrival, I would’ve been troubled by the disposal of evidence.”

Yuuji smiled and bowed towards Yanagi, who was sitting opposite of him. 

“I did nothing. Just stop being humble for a moment and take the praise.”

Yanagi smirked, making him smile helplessly.

“Thank you very much.”

“Being humble is good, but doing it too often would only trouble the other side, Yuuji-kun. You need to stop with that bad habit, and also…”

Sanada’s words dwindled to a halt. And for a moment his eyes widened, before he began averting his gaze away from Yuuji.

Captain Yanagi and Major Yamanaka Kousuke, the large, burly man sitting on Kazama’s left side, also averted their gaze away, while Major Kazama awkwardly sipped his tea. 

Seeing their weird reactions, Yuuji tilted his head confusedly at first, before feeling shivers down his spine the moment he finally sensed a familiar presence behind him.

“Ufufufu~ It seems like you are still as reckless as ever huh, Yuuji…?”

Even though he had never actually “heard” it before, Yuuji couldn’t mistake this voice for anyone else. He knew it, intimately, from the memories given by the MCG. It was the voice of his “Older sister” in the battalion who he and Aika had been in the care of when she was upset.

In his predicament, Aika giggled mischievously and Tatsuya simply let out a sigh and kept his silence instead of helping him. And with the rest of the people here feigning ignorance, Yuuji tried to face his fears.

“F-F-Fujibayashi-”

He slowly turned his head towards her, but before he could, a finger poked his right cheek.

“I told you to not be that reckless right…? Or did you… Forget?”

“N-N-No… O-Of course not!”

Yuuji shook his head rapidly as he replied with a loud voice. His back straightened, even more than when he was saluting, as he kept his gaze forward.

“Mm, of course you wouldn’t, right? I’ve told you pleeeeenty of times before, after all… So? Why did you take on ten armed men alone?”

“T-T-That’s…”

“...Please just give him some slack, Fujibayashi. He’s strong enough to take care of himself. He also has a brand new magic that makes him untraceable even to me.”

Yanagi Muraji said.

“That’s right. He’s already a man who knows how to take care of himself. And even if he’s somehow injured, he has Aika right by his side.”

Sanada Shigeru added. But instead of placating her, Kyoko huffed and glared at the two.

“This is why he’s doing more and more reckless things. It’s because both of you are enabling it.”

“Now now. Please leave it at that, Second Lieutenant Fujibayashi. I’m sure Tsubakihara-kun has taken your words to heart. And the reason why he still decided to confront the hostiles was because he has that invisibility magic, right?”

Major Kazama waved his hand and turned towards Yuuji, who nodded to his words.

“Hah… I understand.”

She sighed and acquiesced to the Major’s words before he raised his cup of tea.

“How about a toast? For the reunion of the 101 Independent Magic-equipped Battalion.”

Everyone raised their cup and cheered together.

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

“About last night’s incident, there’s no question that those intruders are with the No-Head Dragons, which I mentioned to you the other day.”

Kazama started and Yuuji turned to him with a look of concern on his face.

“So they are targeting the Nine Schools’ Competition, as we suspected.”

“That is still under investigation. I’ll let the three of you know when we find out.”

“Please do.”

“Yuuji-kun, you seemed to be certain that they’re targeting the NSC. You even got control over the security details assigned to your school. ”

Sanada commented, his words earning the interest of everyone aside from Tatsuya and Aika. They all wondered why he would be so sure.

Yuuji turned towards the brown-haired man and replied.

“With the incident on the highway and last night’s incident, I couldn’t help but be paranoid over it, Captain Sanada. And it is always better to be safe than sorry.”

Sanada nodded with a smile and picked up his cup of tea.

“That I agree. But still, we’re amazed that you managed to gain control over it. You even reassigned some guards to various locations.”

Captain Yanagi said, earning the nods of Kyoko, Kousuke, and Sanada.

“It is thanks to Juumonji Katsuto-senpai, Saegusa Mayumi-senpai, and Watanabe Mari-senpai’s words of assurance that they listened. In truth, I was also quite surprised.”

“Hm, so you told members of the ten master clans, huh?”

“Yes. In order to ensure the safety of the students, I judged I would need their power and influence.

Kazama nodded to Yuuji’s words.

“Mm. That is fine. As long as this is kept under tight wraps, it’ll be fine to have them protect the students.”

“Yes, Major.”

Kazama took a sip of his tea and turned to the three once again.

“On a lighter note. How are the three of you doing regarding the competition?”

“I am doing well, Major. I’ve prepared plenty for my Battle Board and Monolith Code events.”

“Hehehe~ I’m doing great, Major~ Especially since I have Yuuji to take care of my CAD~ Right, Yuuji~?”

“Yes… I’m also done with Aika’s CAD for her Mirage Bat and Pillars Break events.”

The major let out a small laugh and smiled at Aika, looking at her helplessly like a father looking at their daughter.

“I see.”

“What about you, Tatsuya-kun? Will you be joining any events? I would love to see you and Yuuji-kun forming a team for the Monolith Code event.”

“That would just be unfair to the other team, Sanada. The Crimson Prince and Cardinal George wouldn’t even stand a chance against Yuuji alone even if he didn’t use his “Gravity”. If Tatsuya were to join, it wouldn’t be a competition.”

“But wouldn’t you want to see the two in action once again, Yanagi? I think it’d be a spectacle to see. And if they could somehow add Aika-kun as their third…”

Sanada smiled and began nodding to himself, wondering what kind of spectacle he’d be able to see if these three were to truly join hands in that competition.

“Captain Sanada, we’re not going to war… It’s just a competition between schools. How could you have these three destroy other competitors?”

Kyouko sighed and turned towards the three.

“I’ll be looking forward to all of your competitions. Do your best, okay?”

“Uhn~ Thank you, Kyouko-nee~”

“I will do my best, Fujibayashi-san.”

“I will do my best as well.”

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

National Magic High School Goodwill Magic Game Convention event Speed shooting is a competition where clay targets are shot into a designated space and destroyed by magic. One-hundred red and white targets are released and players compete by destroying their colored targets. 

This morning, the Elfin Sniper and favorite, Saegusa Mayumi, from First Highschool would be competing against Matoba Keiko from Fifth Highschool. 

And just like with Mari’s battle board event, Yuuji was also standing in the bench along with Mayumi’s engineer, Izumi Rika, to protect the engineers, staff, and Mayumi herself while she was competing. 

At least… That’s what people think he was doing.

In truth, Yuuji doesn’t have to be here personally. He had assigned more than enough guards for Izumi Rika and Saegusa Mayumi as well as their school’s bench for this event so he could watch it with his friends.

And unlike Battle Board or Monolith Code, which were quite accident prone, the Speed Shooting event was a relatively safe event. Competitors would simply need to shoot down clay targets from a distance and compete for points. 

But Mari told him to stay here regardless. And when he asked for her reason, Mari sighed and told her that Mayumi was sulking, saying how unfair it is for Yuuji to be in her bench while she was competing but not hers.

So… he had no choice but to be here, monitor the security details, and stand awkwardly.

And to make things worse, the person standing beside him, Izumi Risa, was also not much of a talker. 

He was introduced to her by Mayumi so they were not complete strangers. But when he tried talking to her once, she’d simply reply with a few words and the conversation ended…

Ah… The awkwardness is killing me…

He sighed inwardly, and just as he was about to scroll through his tablet again, a loud cheer erupted from the audience as Mayumi in her competition outfit, complete with a pair of eye protection glasses and noise reduction ear muffs, entered the venue. 

She stood there in silence, dignified, and the air around her was unlike anything Yuuji had ever seen before. She was normally relaxed and cheerful, and sometimes, she had a dignified air around her like when she was giving a speech. But this time, she had an air around her that would make anyone turn silent as she was in a state of hyper focus. 

She walked up to the podium along with her competitor and raised her rifle-shaped CAD as the countdown for the competition started. 

And the moment the green light shined and the horn blared, Mayumi immediately shot down every single red clay target that was shot out into the air.

“...”

One… two… five… ten… fourteen…

Without missing a single one, Mayumi continued to destroy every single red clay target the moment it was shot out with every pull of the trigger while her opponent struggled. 

And from the very start of the match, the space before them were mostly filled with white clay targets that her opponent failed to shoot down. 

“Der Freischütz”... So this is why she’s called the Elfin Sniper…

Yuuji watched her performance closely in awe and admiration

Her incredibly accurate shooting skills and finesse control of her magic that would allow her to shoot down these clay targets in such quick succession was nothing short of incredible. In addition to her beauty, it wasn’t difficult to see why she would be compared to a mythical, female, elven archer. 

It’s even more amazing seeing it in real life than in the anime…

But as he was admiring Mayumi in all her splendor, a voice from his side snapped him out of his daze.

“...What is your relationship with Saegusa?”

Yuuji turned towards the silent and stoic girl beside him in surprise. He didn’t expect her to start a conversation…

And even more surprising to him, she was asking him about his relationship with Mayumi.

He looked at her speechless for a moment.

If any other girls were to ask this question right now, he would’ve immediately thought they wanted to gossip. But he knew that Izumi Risa wasn’t the kind of girl who would do that. 

From the little time they spent together and from the trust Mayumi had shown to have for her, the black-haired girl was reserved, straightforward, and didn’t care for things like gossip and rumors. Moreover, as he had experienced first hand, she never cared much for conversation.

So the only reason why she would ask this question was because she truly cared for Mayumi that she would go out of her way to ask him this. 

Izumi moved her head slightly and glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. And seeing the seriousness in them, Yuuji decided to be truthful.

“She is an incredible student council president, a reliable upperclassmen, a nice friend, and an amazing woman.”

“...I see. So you look up to her?”

“I do. Who wouldn’t?”

“...I guess they would.”

Yuuji’s lips curled into a smile and turned his gaze back at Mayumi, who was still competing.

“But that’s not all. After having the privilege of knowing her a bit more, I found that she also has a clumsy side to her, even a mischievous one-”

“She does.”

His eyes turned towards her in surprise and began to giggle as Izumi tried her best to keep her stoneface before him.

“Ahahaha! So you’ve experienced it as well, senpai?”

She sighed tiredly and held a hand to her forehead.

“What do you think? I’ve been her engineer in these competitions and her friend for longer. It’s impossible for me to be spared from her teasing.”

“I guess so. But I think that is also one of her many charms.”

Yuuji leaned forward towards her slightly, surprising Izumi for a moment, before whispering to her.

“And if you tease her back, she’ll show you some extremely cute expression. You should try it, senpai.”

Her eyes widened at the unexpected words from the famous prince of First High, who was known to be mature and a gentleman. Not to mention, he was also showing a mischievous expression just like a child. 

And for a moment, his figure overlapped with Mayumi’s mischievous figure in her mind. 

A snort escaped her lips as a small, rare smile found its way to her face.

“Heh, alright. I’ll see to it. I wonder if I could tease her using you.”

“Eh? Uhm… Please don’t drag me into this. If Saegusa-senpai were to know you started teasing her because of me, she’ll…”

“I’ll be there to watch you get punished by her. Don’t worry.”

“What kind of consolation is that?!”

In that moment, the horn signaling the end of the match blared throughout the venue. And when they looked at the score, they saw Mayumi completely obliterating her opponent with a perfect score. 

“Alright. The result is as expected. Well then, I shall be going to prepare for her next match. Yuuji-kun, please stay here and welcome her back.”

“E-Eh? I-I understand.”

Izumi turned her heels and began walking back into the building to prepare for Mayumi’s next competition, leaving Yuuji by himself to welcome her back from her match.

And a few moments later, her lips curled into a smile when she heard Mayumi’s squeal of delight and laughter.

She turned her head around slightly, glancing back, and saw Mayumi giggling and smiling brightly before Yuuji. 

“She’s acting even more like a kid around him…”

Izumi shook her head with a small helpless smile, and continued walking away. 

AN: Just a little something~ Akatsuki Shin means the Dawn of Truth (Akatsuki = Dawn, Shin = Truth) while Tsukino Miko means Priestess of the Moon (Tsuki = Moon, No = of, Miko = Priestess). Just making their aliases in the military cool~

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!!

Also, if you'd like to read additional chapters ahead and get a pdf version (Light & Dark), please feel free to check out my at /verglasx ~!!