Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 03 - Nine Schools Competition (I) (21 page)

Mikihiko just kept staring without batting an eyelid, while the panicking Mizuki didn't dare to turn around.

Without any warning, the two of them just continued to stare at one another.

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If this was a consensual scene then I'd have to excuse myself, but otherwise that may be a slight problem."

"Wah!"

"Ah!"

The two of them froze like they had forgotten how to breathe, but, likely recovering upon hearing Tatsuya's innocuous voice, quickly sprang apart.

".
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I apologize."

"Please.
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Please don't say it like that.
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I'm the one who should apologize."

Quite the conundrum.

It was fairly obvious why Mikihiko was asking for forgiveness — that was borderline sexual harassment, and he shouldn't complain even if he got slapped in the face — but why was Mizuki also apologizing?

Most likely out of panic.
Tatsuya also felt that the atmosphere was putting him off as well.

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Miyuki, Erika and Leo are already at the rendezvous, so if you feel like staying, we can head back first."

"Eh?
Ah, Tatsuya-kun, so that's why you came looking for me.
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Wait, ah!"

Mizuki seemed to take half a second to process what Tatsuya told her (more like she took half a second to do this from her perspective), let out a cry of shock, then lapsed back into silence.
No, she likely had something she wanted to say, but her frozen mouth was incapable of uttering words.
It appeared that her distress had caused a blockage in the speech area of her brain.

At any rate, this should only be a temporary setback — Tatsuya thought as he put this in the rear view mirror — alas, his expression was a far cry from his usual "poker face" — as he directed his view towards Mikihiko.

"So, Mikihiko, what was that all about?"

Tatsuya started to dissect Mikihiko's astounding action with considerable interest.

"Sorry, I was just so shocked.
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Mikihiko let out a small sigh of relief at the change in topic and quickly took this opportunity to respond to Tatsuya's query.

"Wait, there's no need to apologize to me.
Why were you so surprised?"

"Well.
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Hearing Tatsuya's words, Mikihiko once more bowed towards Mizuki.

"I'm terribly sorry.

That was because I never thought someone could tell the difference in color between spirits.
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At the thought that you might possess crystal eyes, I simply couldn't sit still and lost control of myself.
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I know this just sounds like an excuse, but I definitely didn't plan anything nefarious.

I truly just wanted to verify that fact."

Mikihiko's earnest apology achieved the desired effect; Mizuki's frazzled state returned to normal.

Just as he said, this was only an excuse.

This was entirely on Mikihiko and his unrestrained curiosity and had nothing to do with Mizuki.

Even so, at Mikihiko's desperate explanation, Mizuki responded with both a warm and gentle gaze, signifying that she had already forgiven him.

"Yoshida-kun, it's alright, I was just surprised, that's all."

After saying this, Mizuki revealed a sweet and relaxing smile and quickly added, "But that would be terribly embarrassing, so please don't do that again."

His face completely flushed, Mikihiko nodded vigorously.

It looked like the earlier attempted sexual harassment had reached a peaceful conclusion and Tatsuya's satire never occurred, but Tatsuya didn't want to dwell on that too much.

"Speaking of which, Mikihiko, why are you surprised?"

Seeing the two of them return to normal, Tatsuya resumed the earlier questioning.

"Based on what you said, the ability to identify the colors of the spirits is extremely rare?"

Tatsuya possessed the ability to decipher psion information bodies, but did not view the information body as an image during his analysis, so he wasn't aware whether color identification was special or not.
No, the ability to identify pushion information bodies was definitely rare, but Tatsuya could not comprehend why "color identification" had any special meaning.

At Tatsuya's question, Mizuki also looked at Mikihiko with the same look in her eyes.
She probably had the same question as well.

"Also, what do you mean by crystal eyes?
If convenient, can you explain that to us?"

Mizuki's eyes clearly showed that she wanted to know as well.

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Yeah, it's not like the information is any sort of secret."

Mikihiko's brief delay before answering clearly hinted that what he was about to say wasn't so simple.
Tatsuya detected that Mikihiko occasionally showed lapses of irresponsibility.
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that bordered on self-destructive impulses.

"Spirits have colors, and we as Summoning Magicians rely on these colors to identify the different types of spirits."

That being said, Mikihiko seemed very sincere as he began to explain the nuances of Summoning and didn't give off an irresponsible feeling.

"Even so, it's not like we can actually see the spirit's color."

Mizuki was confounded.

Tatsuya also didn't follow, but he didn't immediately ask and merely used his eyes to signal Mikihiko to continue.

"In reality, spirits don't possess set colors at all.
The colors that the Magician "sees" change depending on what system or style they belong to.

Take my style for example:
water spirits are blue.

But in Europe, the local style claims that water spirits are purple.

On the mainland, the dominant opinion is that the color is a dark blue-ish hue that is almost black.

This wasn't because the vibrations of the spirits differed based on location and magic.

It was because the Magicians used different methods of identification, hence why they 'see' different colors."

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In other words, they aren't identified by sight, but through magic recognition of the vibrations?"

"Correct.

In order to better identify the spirits, we use colors to categorize the oscillations.

You could say that we've embellished the spirits a little.

So, we each have a method of identifying spirit colors.

In my style, water spirits are blue, fire spirits are red, earth spirits are yellow, and wind spirits are green.

No difference in shade or brightness.

We all apply the same color in our minds, so there's no discrepancy in hue.

So all water spirits are strictly blue.

According to this identification system, it's impossible to see sky blue or dark blue water spirits."

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But Mizuki saw them."

"She probably felt the discrepancy in hue due to the strength and nature of the water spirits and 'truly' saw the spirits color.

My style refers to those types of eyes as 'crystal eyes'.

This term is likely used by other styles under different circumstances, but for our style, they refer to the eyes that can see 'god'.

Rumors say that those who can see the colors of the spirits are also able to see where spirits spring forth and congregate, as well as the 'divine spirits' of the natural order and the key to accessing those systems.

To us, the people with crystal eyes are mikos that can connect to the divine spirit systems."

"In other words, Mizuki is exactly the person you guys are looking for?"

"Yes.
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But there's no need to worry.
Currently, I don't have the power to stand against 'god'.
If it was the me from a year ago, I might have arrogantly claimed her for myself, the current me possesses neither the desire nor the mettle to try.
That being said, I also won't reveal to other Magicians that she's such a critical individual for divine magics.
Even if it's my own brother, I could never bear to simply watch as others ascended to the heights of Divine Earth Magic.
I won't tell anyone about Shibata-san's crystal eyes."

Mikihiko's gaze was unyielding.

Flecks of madness danced just below the surface.

Tatsuya read that as a metamorphosis of his original possessiveness.

This wasn't "claimed for himself", but "refusal to allow anyone else to do so".

Mikihiko was staring at Mizuki with those kinds of eyes.

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That's true, I will also keep this a secret."

Based solely on the fact that neither "wished for their friend to be used", Tatsuya and Mikihiko could agree.

So he signaled his agreement by nodding his head.

Signaled to Mikihiko.

And to Mizuki as well.

Mizuki wore an open expression of astonishment at Tatsuya's motion and quickly responded with a placating smile without comprehending the reason behind it.

August 1st.

The departure date for the Nine Schools Competition finally arrived.

Otaru's Eighth High and Kumamoto's Ninth High would leave earlier due to their respective locations, whereas First High, conveniently located on the eastern outskirts of Tokyo, usually departed for the competition dormitories the day before the contest begins.

Rather than attaching any strategic importance to this, it was mainly because the remote schools had priority access to the training facilities.

The official competition arena was restricted until the day of the competition, so there was no real reason to arrive earlier—

"That's how it is."

"Is that so.
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At any rate, thank you for your simple explanation."

Tatsuya wanted to ask Mari, in a tone laden with sarcasm, if there was any reason she was telling him all this, but he patiently waited for her to finish her explanation and quickly shook his head to dispel this ridiculous impulse that wouldn’t serve anyone.

The two of them were speaking beneath the blazing sun reigning in the middle of the blue summer sky.
Exactly why were they making themselves more heated on this hot and humid day?
Even if you asked him, Tatsuya had no answer for that one.

This was not in his interest.

"Sorry~!"

This exclamation was accompanied by the music of sandals lightly tapping on the pavement.
Looking towards the sound's source, Mari let out a sigh and smiled beneath her parasol while Tatsuya, completely heedless of the sun beating down on him, wordlessly checked off the last member of the roster on his terminal device.

—One and a half hours late, everyone was finally here.

"Mayumi, you're so slow."

"Sorry, sorry."

Both the reprimand and the apology were just as concise.

The two of them proceeded to embark onto the bus as if nothing had occurred.

At least, until Mayumi came off the bus empty-handed.

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Did you forget something?"

Tatsuya asked, slightly concerned that his poker face was slipping.

Spare change of clothes, cosmetics and other living supplies — Miyuki was obviously the one who taught him that cosmetics were a must-have for overnight stays — have already been bundled into the storage compartment, and the checklists mailed from each of the contestants' families have already been matched with the luggage, so nothing was missing.