Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 03 - Nine Schools Competition (I) (5 page)

Despite this, there was still a price to pay.
New drivers — or to put it bluntly, bad drivers — wouldn't run the risk of causing accidents, but it was easier for them to cause traffic jams.
Even if consecutive crashes could be avoided, there was no avoiding situations where everyone slammed on the brakes, so this result was only natural.

To prevent this — at least on the outside — even if there wasn't a pressing need for safety, driver's licenses were still mandatory.

Next to his new electric bike, Tatsuya was waiting for his little sister to arrive.

Tatsuya had purchased this bike after obtaining his license in early April.
Though the purchase was strictly for practical purposes rather than joy rides, the bike had still accrued considerable mileage.
Even so, Tatsuya regularly maintained the bike every day, so even after two months, the bike was still in mint condition.

"Onii-sama, sorry for the wait."

Upon hearing the voice, Tatsuya shifted his gaze over as the headlights illuminated his sister's slim body.

Miyuki's long hair was done up in a bun while she wore a biker's suit in the same fashion as Tatsuya's own.
The custom fit suit hugged her curves, hinting at the fullness of her womanly charms.

As Tatsuya put the helmet on Miyuki's head, Miyuki smoothly lifted her chin.
His little sister's seemingly natural motion caused Tatsuya to wryly grin, but he still buckled on the chin strap for her.

Miyuki shrank her neck as if ticklish, to which Tatsuya responded with a smile as he put on his own helmet before climbing aboard.

He took out his goggles, then motioned Miyuki to hold on tight.

Tatsuya verified that Miyuki was holding on to his waist and that she was pressed against his back before adjusting his goggles and raising the output of the continuous motion device (equivalent to the gas pedal of motor vehicles).

The electric bike that the siblings rode sped away beneath the night sky.

Their destination was Yakumo's temple.

However, the one training tonight was Miyuki and not Tatsuya.

Miyuki had already been selected as a participant in the Nine Schools Competition, so additional preparation was necessary.

The events in the Nine Schools Competition heavily emphasized the need for magic talent, but at the same time did not wholly ignore physical characteristics.
In the "Battle Board" event, contestants with faster reflexes and a better sense of balance held the advantage, while the "Crowd Ball" event required a good balance between tactics and stamina.

For Miyuki, who excelled in Speed and Freezing Magics, "Icicle Destruction" was almost specifically designed to show off her talents.
Forget the Newcomers Division, she could probably cruise to victory even in the Official Division.

However, with the individual contests split by gender causing the number of events to increase, Miyuki was also going to participate in the "Mirage Bat" event, where she would have to "use a bat to split open the balls of light floating in the air".

Miyuki also received martial training from Yakumo alongside Tatsuya, so her frail frame belied her superb physical status.
Even so, given that there weren't many opportunities lately for her to exercise, this training served as a precaution for the main event.

Tatsuya turned off the engine near the entrance before pushing the vehicle into the temple.
After leaving the vehicle in the temple garage, the two of them went to greet Yakumo.

At this hour, Yakumo should be doing night training with his disciples.

Just as they expected, as they approached the darkened dojo, they could detect various concealed presences, as well as the occasional footstep that couldn't be completely muffled and the sounds of bodies hitting the floor.

Tatsuya slowly pried open the ancient doors to avoid distracting the disciples from training.

Even though the door opened without a sound, a kunai still came flying towards them.
Tatsuya used the blade-proof and bullet-proof jacket to deflect it before pulling out a lead ball concealed in his biker suit and firing back.

However, Tatsuya's "marble" (a type of concealed weapon that is hurtled using finger force alone, from the same system as "point ball") didn't seem like it hit the target.

"Tatsuya, it looks like your marbles haven't improved much.
Don't think magic is enough to cut it, you need to practice your projectile weapons as well.
However, you made the correct decision in deflecting the kunai rather than catching it."

There was no detectable presence, only the voice.

Tatsuya didn't aim right in front of him where the voice came from, but instead fired a second marble towards the rightmost wall.

"Oh ho?"

Accompanying this surprised shout, a force rippled outwards from the spot Tatsuya aimed at.

Tatsuya quickly put an arm around Miyuki and sprang backwards.

A split second later, a pitch black sword wave slashed down vertically from the ceiling above, barely missing Tatsuya's back by a hair as he covered his little sister.

Tatsuya quickly stepped forward with one foot.

A bokken painted completely black was rendered completely still with Tatsuya firmly stamping on it.

Yakumo abandoned the idea of striking a second time as he let go of his immobile weapon.

".
.
.
.
.
.
Sensei, you have such an interesting way of greeting people."

".
.
.
.
.
.
I should be the one saying that.
Wasn't your marble filled with killing intent?"

Master and disciple faced one another in the darkness, before simultaneously breaking out into evil laughter.

Tucked inside Tatsuya's bosom, Miyuki was blushing furiously.
Thankfully, that was difficult to discern in the surrounding darkness — at least that was what Miyuki thought, but Tatsuya had already noticed due to being in contact with her stiff body, while Yakumo had detected this through her erratic breathing.

Somewhere within the temple illuminated by torches in the four corners, in a place usually reserved for homa ceremonies (this temple should be under Hisanyama's jurisdiction, but Tatsuya and Miyuki have never seen Yakumo chant sutras or pray to Buddha), the area was faintly lit by blue light, with orbs glowing with a dim red light softly dancing in the sky.

Because this was a temple, any ignorant passerby may mistake this scene for the presence of spirits, but fortunately there was no one else around.

A slender, long shadow passed through the blue light, and one orb of light vanished into nothing.

Two orbs, three orbs, the difference in color started to increase.

That mesmerizing figure was chasing the floating orbs at an energetic and unexpected pace, then swiftly bisecting them with the short rod in her hand.

After splitting thirty orbs, Tatsuya signaled Miyuki to take a break.

Inside, the interior only contained a square barrier drawn with quicklime that measured about 11 meters on the side — the raw power necessary to only draw four white lines to form a barrier was nothing short of astounding — Tatsuya brought a large tea cup towards where Yakumo was standing as he brought down the seals.

Normally, Miyuki was the one responsible for bringing tea to the panting Yakumo, but Tatsuya took over that duty today.

That was because tonight Miyuki was in a similar state while standing on the other side of the white line.

"Sensei, thank you.
Not just for lending the location, but also for training my little sister as well."

After handing the tea to Yakumo, Tatsuya bowed deeply in gratitude, to which Yakumo nodded generously.

"There's a colossal difference between attacking illusions and striking actual targets.
Miyuki is also one of my cute students, so there's no way I would decline to help."

There was probably too much emphasis on the word "cute", but Tatsuya decided to let it slide until after the Nine Schools Competition.

Illusion magic was one area where "ninjutsu" excelled, to the point that the speed, accuracy, and movements of the illusions surpassed those created by modern magics.
Modern magic had the advantage in terms of speed of activation and variety of spells available, but within specialized parameters, there were many areas that could not compare with Ancient Magic.

Tatsuya only had access to a few magics, so he was unable to use Yakumo's illusion "Will O'wisp" to replace projectors.

"Miyuki, should we stop here?"

Tatsuya asked as he handed a drink to his sister who was still panting, but Miyuki shook her head and took a sip to wet her throat.

"If sensei is okay, I want to continue."

"I don't mind, though shouldn't Tatsuya also give 'Will O'wisp' a try?"

"No, I.
.
.
.
.
.
will pass."

Tatsuya could approximately guess the reason behind Yakumo's smirk.

Tatsuya briefly entertained the idea of spoiling Yakumo's fun, but refrained after taking into account that Miyuki's training took precedence.

"Is that so, eh, oh well."

Yakumo revealed a truly regretful expression, but that wasn't enough to hide his mischievous smirk.

Seeing this, Tatsuya was certain that declining the earlier offer was the right choice.

Yakumo transformed his evil smirk into a kind and approachable smile as he turned back to face Miyuki.

"Then let's begin."

"Yes, sensei."

Miyuki bowed to signal that she was prepared to continue.

Tatsuya had long since recovered their respective tea cups.

Just as Miyuki stood in the middle of the square anchored by bonfires and Yakumo was about to start casting illusions.
.
.
.
.
.

"Who's there?"

Another person's presence entered the scene.

The one who called out was Tatsuya.

No, the order was actually reversed.

To supplement the training, Tatsuya linked his sensory ability to the information dimension, allowing him to quickly catch wind of a foreign element being introduced into the area.
The moment Tatsuya challenged the silent patch of darkness, another person's presence abruptly materialized.

"Ah, Haruka."

Yakumo greeted the presence in an unconcerned manner.

Tatsuya and Miyuki were both familiar with this name.

The figure that walked into the flickering light possessed a much more mature aura than Miyuki.

She was the counselor from the Magic University affiliated First High — Ono Haruka.

Likely due to the fact that she was wearing the same dark bodysuit that Miyuki was wearing, it seemed that the curves of her chest and waist were more accentuated than usual.

As Miyuki followed the direction of Tatsuya's gaze, a trace of concern flashed across her features.
However, before she could nudge her brother with her elbow, she noticed the cold, steely gaze in her brother's eyes and swiftly regained her composure.

The reason why Tatsuya was carefully scrutinizing Haruka's body was to ascertain Haruka's physical capabilities.

"Tatsuya, no need to be so wary, Haruka is also one of my students."

"But you weren't nearly as kind during my training as compared to Shiba-kun."

Haruka's voice was slightly mocking, which jarred against her dangerous appearance that could easily be swallowed in the darkness.

"That being said, I know that sensei is another story, but to think that I was discovered by Shiba-kun, has my technique regressed so much?"

"Haruka, lying to yourself isn't a good habit.
If you lie too often, you will lose track of your own thoughts as well."

"Shiba-kun said the same thing to me."

"Oh, looks like I said something unnecessary.
Anyways, let's set this aside for now.
Haruka's cloaking was almost perfect, so there's no need to stress about that.
If you really think that your skills have regressed, that is."

Haruka revealed a model perfunctory smile and accepted Yakumo's hinted gaze.

She shouldn't be able to get off that easily, nor should she have planned to do so in the first place.

Seeing Yakumo's smirking expression, this was probably how the two of them normally interacted.

"Tatsuya didn't detect your presence normally.
He has a pair of special 'eyes' that are different from ours, so if you want to fool him, you need to disguise your presence rather than try to hide it."