Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 03 - Nine Schools Competition (I) (6 page)

"I see.
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I'll take that under advisement."

"It's your turn to answer my question."

The two of them were acting out a master and disciple discussion using Tatsuya as the subject.
Unable to harness his irritation, Tatsuya intentionally broke in with a displeased tone.

"Hm.
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It is unfair to give only Haruka information.
You don't mind, right, Haruka?"

Yakumo intentionally let out a "Hm.
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sound to create an opening, but given his current attitude, it was obvious that he was calculating when Tatsuya would interrupt them.
In response to Yakumo turning the conversation towards her, Haruka immediately shrugged her shoulders and replied:

"Even if I said no, you guys would probably discuss this when I'm not here, right?"

Essentially, Haruka had already given up on hiding.

"Since the person in question has given her consent, then I'll go ahead.
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Haruka is an investigator for Public Safety."

Yakumo's explanation was very simple, as just this alone would be sufficient.
Even so, Tatsuya hoped that Yakumo would take it a step further.

"Hm?
You don't look very surprised."

However, Yakumo posed a question of his own.

It appeared that he was expecting the Shiba siblings to be astonished.

Not just Tatsuya, but even Miyuki accepted Haruka's real identity without batting an eyelid, which surprised Yakumo considerably, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that it disappointed Yakumo considerably.

"I have my own information network, so I know that Ono-sensei isn't military.
Ruling that out, the only possibilities were Public Safety (Police Department of Public Safety), Internal Affairs (Cabinet Agency of Data Supervision), or foreign spy."

Tatsuya's answer caused Yakumo to furrow his brows.

"Rather than saying information network, it's more like 'he' provided you with that information.
Is that okay?
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Given his position, he may be dishonorably discharged for leaking confidential information to a high school student."

That being said, Yakumo's perfectly calm expression clearly showed that he wasn't overly concerned.

"In terms of position, sensei is roughly the same.
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So, Ono-sensei is Public Safety's undercover agent in the guise of a counselor to investigate the anti-government activities centered around Blanche within the First High campus, did I get that right so far?"

"No."

Tatsuya asked this to verify his hypothesis regarding Haruka.

But Haruka responded with the definite negative.

"It's true that I'm Public Safety's undercover agent, but I didn't disguise myself as a counselor.
In chronological order, my current superior approached me while I was thinking about becoming a counselor, and I became a special investigator for Public Safety after I arrived at First High.
Two years ago, I spent one year under Yakumo-sensei, so Tatsuya-kun is actually my senior."

"Even though you only studied for one year, your cloaking ability is quite proficient."

"That is my magic specialty, even if I can't use any other magic.
This is also the reason why my superior rates me highly."

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I see, you're a BS (Born Specialized) Magician?"

"I dislike that term."

Haruka pouted and turned her head like a young school girl throwing a tantrum, causing Tatsuya to break into a smile.

BS Magicians, also known as BS ability users, could also be called innate ability users or innate magic specialists.
This was because they excelled at a particular ability, but because of this extreme specialization, they were unable to use magic techniques like other Magicians of the same level.

As could be seen from the malicious label "the 101 tricks of BS users", BS Magicians occupied a lower social stratum than normal Magicians, but their unique ability was practically impossible for other people to imitate.
Even if someone could accomplish this, they were unable to replicate the same level of quality BS users were capable of.
If properly matched with their specialty, they often outperformed the generic "omnipotent" Magicians.

"Rather than being a jack of all trades, I'd rather be a master of one.
However, that's a matter of Haruka-sensei's perspective."

As soon as Tatsuya said this, he realized that the student and counselor positions had been reversed.
However, given that this was off campus and they certainly weren't in class at this hour, this shouldn't have been a problem.

Probably noticing the same thing, Haruka stopped her tantrum, but she was still unhappy with the situation.

"Shiba-kun, this was a special circumstance, but my identity as a secret investigator remains highly classified, so please don't tell anyone else."

Tatsuya's immediate reaction was that there was little meaning in doing so.

If she was only an undercover agent for Public Safety, the Ten Master Clans would know anyways.

Erika, whose family had close ties with the police, likely knew already.

Likewise, Tatsuya had long since caught on to the fact that Haruka was an agent of some kind, he just hadn't been certain which organization she was affiliated with.

It was entirely possible that Haruka was the only one who believed her identity was a secret, but Tatsuya didn't verbalize this.

He merely replied to the request in this fashion:

"I understand, I'll keep it under wraps.
Though it might be presumptious to ask for this in return, but if something similar to what occurred in April is on the horizon, could you let me know the details ahead of time?"

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That's fine.
Let's go with that mutually beneficial relationship."

The two of them shook hands, each nursing their own agenda.

It went without saying that besides magic, magic high schools still fielded a full curriculum.

This included physical education, which involved using competition to light the flames of youthful ardor to ridiculous levels, a scene that had yet to change.

Today's class activity was football.

The encyclopedia's entry was as follows:
This is a sport derived from soccer, with similar rules, that is played on a field surrounded by a large box with numerous tiny holes in it.
The only notable differences are that players wear a head protector, and head and hand contact are prohibited (Also, the competition format where players "compete in a transparent box" was one of the defining characteristics of post-2080 AD athletics.
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Occasionally, this contest was also held with magic involved, but generally magic was ruled out, and today was no exception.

Football was played with a lightweight, highly resilient ball that bounced off the walls and ceiling.
The ball rebounded left and right at high speeds, much like a ping pong ball, as players chased after it in order to make the shot against the opposing goal.
It was a sport that demanded both incredible agility and considerable strength.
In addition, the highly stimulating exercise was a popular sport for "entertainment".

The female students from 1st Year Classes E and F were currently taking a break and, completely ignoring their own curriculum, were busy cheering on the male students.

"Move, move, get outta my way!"

Leo was charging towards the ball that no one was covering.

The ball used in football was highly dynamic, so it was extremely difficult to dribble with it, hence that action was rarely seen.
Generally, the five players on a team used the walls or ceiling to make passes, so the energy expended by recovering the ball often decided victory or defeat.

"Tatsuya!"

Crossing the entire field, Leo passed the ball to Tatsuya in midfield with the force of a shot.

If he tried to trap the ball with his chest or abdomen he might be knocked to the floor, so Tatsuya kicked the ball directly upwards, allowing the ball to lose some its force from the rebound on the ceiling before trapping it neatly beneath his foot.

After receiving this pass with machine-like efficiency, Tatsuya sent the ball careening off the wall, using the rebound to pass the ball.

Along the axis of the rebound stood another slim youth.
Rather than calling him slender, he may have been more accurately described as well-built.
Currently, he fearlessly received Tatsuya's high-speed pass in one motion.

And immediately shot on the enemy goal.

The electric chime signaled the goal, accompanied by the cheers of the watching female students.

"That guy isn't bad."

Leo bluntly praised the youth as he stood next to Tatsuya.

"Yes, accurate prediction of the flight path, and his appearance belies his agility."

Tatsuya was faintly surprised by the boy's physical abilities, which surpassed his expectations.
They had been in the same class for 3 months, so today wasn't the first time they were in physical education together.
Tatsuya previously believed that he had an accurate grasp of the boy's abilities on some level, and his earlier pass was adjusted accordingly, but this person — Yoshida Mikihiko's actions showed that he was more than meets the eye.

There were only a mere 25 students in class, so it was natural that everyone knew each other's names.

Also, Tatsuya knew more than just a name.

Yoshida Mikihiko came from a prestigious family renowned for Ancient Magic — he was a direct descendant of the Yoshida Family.

The Yoshida Family possessed an Outer-Systematic Ancient Magic called "Spirit Magic", and it was rumored that they passed on their traditional methods of training as well.
Given that it was a traditional method of practice, arduous labor was probably at the center of it.
If so, members of that family would naturally possess highly capable physical specifications.

The cause of Tatsuya's surprise was that Mikihiko's appearance gave no hint of this whatsoever.

Specialists that excelled in concealing their power always pop up in the most unexpected places.
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With that in mind, Tatsuya sent the incoming pass spiraling towards the enemy goal.

With Tatsuya and company dominating the floor, their team easily cruised to a crushing victory.

Tatsuya returned to the observation area and sat down with Leo near Yoshida Mikihiko.

"Nicely done."

By the time Tatsuya spoke up, his breathing had become perfectly even.

"You guys as well."

Just like Tatsuya, Yoshida Mikihiko's breathing wasn't ragged.

Tatsuya hadn't formed social links with every classmate, likely because his personality was the type that usually ignored others.
This caused a portion of his peers to see him as a cold individual.
So only about half of 1st Year Class E was willing to converse with him.
However, Mikihiko was even more extreme in his aloofness and, including himself, Tatsuya had never seen him speak with any of their mutual peers.
On enrollment day, he was the first one to leave the classroom by himself.
Even Leo, who moved in social circles much broader than Tatsuya did, only nodded to Mikihiko in passing until now.

"Yoshida, you're pretty good.
Don't take this the wrong way, but I was quite surprised."

Mikihiko's performance seemed to have reminded Leo of something, so he asked Tatsuya — Tatsuya extended the greeting first, but it was Leo who had suggested it — to sit near Mikihiko.

Leo's welcoming tone might cause some people to think he was being overly familiar.

"Mikihiko."

That being said, it seemed that Mikihiko warmed to Leo's direct attitude.

"I don't like it when people refer to me by my family name, so just call me by name."

Before, he never replied in such a friendly manner.

"Okay, then call me Leo."

Even if the number of those full class activities from the previous generation had decreased, it was still strange to have this sort of conversation 3 months into the school year.