Tatsuya woke up shortly after noon and headed for the competition
area, only to find the area covered by a rattled atmosphere.
Scratch that, it was a complete state of panic that enveloped the
pavilions.
First High's pavilion was the center of it all.
"Onii-sama!"
The moment he stepped into the pavilion, Miyuki ran over to him as if
this was a predetermined event. Shizuku was right alongside her.
"Miyuki...... Shizuku too, weren't you two with Erika's group?"
According to the plan, before Honoka got up — she had to prepare for
the finals around 5 PM — Miyuki and Shizuku should have been
watching Monolith Code with Erika and the others.
Yet, the two of them were here, which implied that......
"What's going on? Did something happen during Monolith Code?"
Without waiting for an answer, Tatsuya immediately followed up with
another question.
There was no reason to ask if something had occurred, the very mood
testified that an incident occurred.
Tatsuya had an inkling that this was likely worse than he had feared.
"Yes, there was an accident, but......"
"Miyuki, that was no accident!"
As Miyuki hesitated to speak, Shizuku forcefully overrode her words
as she interrupted.
"That was intentionally overkill. It was blatantly against the rules."
Although she kept a tight rein on her tone, Shizuku's eyes betrayed her
fury.
"Shizuku...... This is not the best time to make wild accusations. We
don't have proof that Fourth High intentionally did this."
"Indeed, Kitayama-san."
Behind them, Mayumi interjected into the conversation.
"It is hard to imagine that this was purely an accident...... Even so, we
cannot jump to the conclusion that this was premeditated. If we hurtle
suspicions around blindly, some people who do not know any better
may assume that's the truth."
This may be a little impolite, but that was certainly a worthy argument
from the upperclassman leadership.
As he saw Shizuku reflect upon that gentle reprimand, Tatsuya also
thought, "The President does have a few tricks up her sleeve".
......Unfortunately, Mayumi immediately squinted at him from the
side.
"......Is there a problem?"
"......You were just thinking something impolite, weren't you?"
(H-how sharp......!)
Tatsuya faltered slightly at how adeptly she saw through him.
Still, when he stood there, his life experiences belied his actual
physical appearance.
"No, I was just thinking, as expected of the Student Council
President......"
He wore a mask of honesty and feigned that he was being unjustly
suspected in order to carefully gauge her reaction.
"......Is that so?"
While her eyes remained suspicious, Mayumi reined herself in at least.
Not only was she unable to find any chinks in Tatsuya's acting, she
also felt this wasn't the right time to pursue this issue.
"Then, what's our injury situation?"
"So you realized from the conversation alone that Morisaki-kun and
the others are injured......"
Mayumi sighed, her expression had "what a troublesome issue"
written all over her face.
"......They are seriously injured. The event was held in an urban setting
and they were crushed beneath the rubble from a ruined building that
crumbled when the attacks from 'Battering Ram' struck."
"......If used against people in closed environments, the magic
"Battering Ram" rates as A-rank in destructive power. This is on a
completely different level than the danger encountered during Battle
Board and is a blatant violation of the rules."
The "Battering Ram" that the two were speaking of was also known as
"Point Burst", which was a magic developed through PK research.
This magic functions by rewriting the Eidos of the target object and
applying a massive Weight-Type Magic on a single point. When used
against buildings, the target requirement was usually a wall or the
ceiling, or at least a "single surface" that was separated from any
pillars and also required a colossal magic capacity as well as high
interference strength.
If simply destroying a building was the goal, it was more efficient to
use Move-Type Magic and sling a hammer around. In comparison,
"Battering Ram" was a highly demanding magic that, besides BS
Magicians, was not something that could be casually treated like a toy.
"Agreed...... Even if they were wearing military-use protective
equipment, that's not going to help against tons of rocks and dirt
falling on top of you. Thanks to the protective helmets and the
observers casting Light Weight Magic in time, disaster was averted......
The three of them have undergone magic healing, but even then this
will take two weeks. They are confined to bed for the next three days."
Still, Mayumi avoided making a judgment on whether the accident
was truly intentional and subtly altered the direction of the
conversation.
"......It's more serious than I imagined."
Tatsuya could sympathize with Mayumi's stance on not voicing an
opinion and thus avoiding the need to pursue the issue.
"Indeed. This may be a little rash, but once I saw the magic healers
going, that was a horrible sight."
Just as she said, this was a somewhat harsh opinion regarding the
injured members.
At any rate, the fact that Mayumi faltered so badly was also a clear
indication that she was probably not on guard against Tatsuya.
"Wait, I'm still unclear on this point. Were all three in the same
building?"
This may not have been a matter Tatsuya needed to worry about, but
in Monolith Code, the typical strategy called for either one person on
the attack and two on the defense or vice versa. Tatsuya had a hard
time figuring out what situation would call for all three members of
the team to be struck down by the same attack.
"They immediately suffered a surprise attack once the match was
under way. It wasn't that they couldn't find anyone before the start
signal, but it was that they didn't have a chance to. Setting aside
'Battering Ram' for now, there's no question that jumping the gun is a
clear violation of the rules."
The one who answered was the fuming Shizuku.
"I see...... In that case, then the board will be busy too."
"Because they weren't able to prevent it...... Right?"
Seeing Tatsuya grin evilly, Miyuki tilted her head as she asked in
confusion.
Miyuki was too sincere and honest to comprehend Tatsuya's twisted
line of logic.
"This isn't anything too important. Rather, setting an easily
destructible ruin as the starting location was one of the key causes of
this accident — we'll call it an accident for now. The board may elect
to scrap Monolith Code from the Newcomers Division altogether."
"......That's also true."
Miyuki nodded in profound agreement to Tatsuya's reasoning. At this
time, Mayumi jumped back in.
"There are indeed calls for a halt to this. However, the ending result is
that the preliminaries are still going on for all the schools besides us
and Fourth High. The worst case scenario is that our school will be
treated as withdrawn from the second round of the preliminaries."
Hearing Mayumi's words, it was Tatsuya's turn to turn his head.
"What do you mean worst case scenario? The players are unable to
compete any longer, so aside from withdrawing, I don't see any other
options......"
"On this point, Juumonji-kun is currently negotiating with the board."
"Really......"
After the commencement of the Nine Schools Competition, changing
players was forbidden. In other words, since the other side violated the
rules, they were going to request an exception?
Even so, the Monolith Code team members consisted of the 1st Year
male students with the top three magic technical scores. Even if they
found replacements, victory remained elusive. Rather than looking for
replacements, a better option would be an unorthodox request to
remove the scores from Monolith Code from the aggregate score.
Behind these vague responses, Tatsuya made this consideration.
Naturally, Mayumi had no idea what dark plots were running through
Tatsuya's mind.
"—Tatsuya-kun, I wish to speak with you."
Mayumi's voice contained coquettish overtones. She must be
thoroughly unnerved by this chain of accidents and was
subconsciously looking for something or someone to rely on.
At practically the same time, his sister fixed a burning gaze on
Tatsuya. He really wanted to dig a hole and hide as he thought “I
didn't do it, don't glare at me, why aren't you glaring at Mayumi?”.
But there was no way he would be caught dead saying that.
"Can you come with me for a moment?"
Does this mean she was worried about other people overhearing their
private conversation?
The burning gaze doubled in intensity, but Tatsuya feigned ignorance
as he followed right behind Mayumi.
Tatsuya woke up shortly after noon and headed for the competition
area, only to find the area covered by a rattled atmosphere.
Scratch that, it was a complete state of panic that enveloped the
pavilions.
First High's pavilion was the center of it all.
"Onii-sama!"
The moment he stepped into the pavilion, Miyuki ran over to him as if
this was a predetermined event. Shizuku was right alongside her.
"Miyuki...... Shizuku too, weren't you two with Erika's group?"
According to the plan, before Honoka got up — she had to prepare for
the finals around 5 PM — Miyuki and Shizuku should have been
watching Monolith Code with Erika and the others.
Yet, the two of them were here, which implied that......
"What's going on? Did something happen during Monolith Code?"
Without waiting for an answer, Tatsuya immediately followed up with
another question.
There was no reason to ask if something had occurred, the very mood
testified that an incident occurred.
Tatsuya had an inkling that this was likely worse than he had feared.
"Yes, there was an accident, but......"
"Miyuki, that was no accident!"
As Miyuki hesitated to speak, Shizuku forcefully overrode her words
as she interrupted.
"That was intentionally overkill. It was blatantly against the rules."
Although she kept a tight rein on her tone, Shizuku's eyes betrayed her
fury.
"Shizuku...... This is not the best time to make wild accusations. We
don't have proof that Fourth High intentionally did this."
"Indeed, Kitayama-san."
Behind them, Mayumi interjected into the conversation.
"It is hard to imagine that this was purely an accident...... Even so, we
cannot jump to the conclusion that this was premeditated. If we hurtle
suspicions around blindly, some people who do not know any better
may assume that's the truth."
This may be a little impolite, but that was certainly a worthy argument
from the upperclassman leadership.
As he saw Shizuku reflect upon that gentle reprimand, Tatsuya also
thought, "The President does have a few tricks up her sleeve".
......Unfortunately, Mayumi immediately squinted at him from the
side.
"......Is there a problem?"
"......You were just thinking something impolite, weren't you?"
(H-how sharp......!)
Tatsuya faltered slightly at how adeptly she saw through him.
Still, when he stood there, his life experiences belied his actual
physical appearance.
"No, I was just thinking, as expected of the Student Council
President......"
He wore a mask of honesty and feigned that he was being unjustly
suspected in order to carefully gauge her reaction.
"......Is that so?"
While her eyes remained suspicious, Mayumi reined herself in at least.
Not only was she unable to find any chinks in Tatsuya's acting, she
also felt this wasn't the right time to pursue this issue.
"Then, what's our injury situation?"
"So you realized from the conversation alone that Morisaki-kun and
the others are injured......"
Mayumi sighed, her expression had "what a troublesome issue"
written all over her face.
"......They are seriously injured. The event was held in an urban setting
and they were crushed beneath the rubble from a ruined building that
crumbled when the attacks from 'Battering Ram' struck."
"......If used against people in closed environments, the magic
"Battering Ram" rates as A-rank in destructive power. This is on a
completely different level than the danger encountered during Battle
Board and is a blatant violation of the rules."
The "Battering Ram" that the two were speaking of was also known as
"Point Burst", which was a magic developed through PK research.
This magic functions by rewriting the Eidos of the target object and
applying a massive Weight-Type Magic on a single point. When used
against buildings, the target requirement was usually a wall or the
ceiling, or at least a "single surface" that was separated from any
pillars and also required a colossal magic capacity as well as high
interference strength.
If simply destroying a building was the goal, it was more efficient to
use Move-Type Magic and sling a hammer around. In comparison,
"Battering Ram" was a highly demanding magic that, besides BS
Magicians, was not something that could be casually treated like a toy.
"Agreed...... Even if they were wearing military-use protective
equipment, that's not going to help against tons of rocks and dirt
falling on top of you. Thanks to the protective helmets and the
observers casting Light Weight Magic in time, disaster was averted......
The three of them have undergone magic healing, but even then this
will take two weeks. They are confined to bed for the next three days."
Still, Mayumi avoided making a judgment on whether the accident
was truly intentional and subtly altered the direction of the
conversation.
"......It's more serious than I imagined."
Tatsuya could sympathize with Mayumi's stance on not voicing an
opinion and thus avoiding the need to pursue the issue.
"Indeed. This may be a little rash, but once I saw the magic healers
going, that was a horrible sight."
Just as she said, this was a somewhat harsh opinion regarding the
injured members.
At any rate, the fact that Mayumi faltered so badly was also a clear
indication that she was probably not on guard against Tatsuya.
"Wait, I'm still unclear on this point. Were all three in the same
building?"
This may not have been a matter Tatsuya needed to worry about, but
in Monolith Code, the typical strategy called for either one person on
the attack and two on the defense or vice versa. Tatsuya had a hard
time figuring out what situation would call for all three members of
the team to be struck down by the same attack.
"They immediately suffered a surprise attack once the match was
under way. It wasn't that they couldn't find anyone before the start
signal, but it was that they didn't have a chance to. Setting aside
'Battering Ram' for now, there's no question that jumping the gun is a
clear violation of the rules."
The one who answered was the fuming Shizuku.
"I see...... In that case, then the board will be busy too."
"Because they weren't able to prevent it...... Right?"
Seeing Tatsuya grin evilly, Miyuki tilted her head as she asked in
confusion.
Miyuki was too sincere and honest to comprehend Tatsuya's twisted
line of logic.
"This isn't anything too important. Rather, setting an easily
destructible ruin as the starting location was one of the key causes of
this accident — we'll call it an accident for now. The board may elect
to scrap Monolith Code from the Newcomers Division altogether."
"......That's also true."
Miyuki nodded in profound agreement to Tatsuya's reasoning. At this
time, Mayumi jumped back in.
"There are indeed calls for a halt to this. However, the ending result is
that the preliminaries are still going on for all the schools besides us
and Fourth High. The worst case scenario is that our school will be
treated as withdrawn from the second round of the preliminaries."
Hearing Mayumi's words, it was Tatsuya's turn to turn his head.
"What do you mean worst case scenario? The players are unable to
compete any longer, so aside from withdrawing, I don't see any other
options......"
"On this point, Juumonji-kun is currently negotiating with the board."
"Really......"
After the commencement of the Nine Schools Competition, changing
players was forbidden. In other words, since the other side violated the
rules, they were going to request an exception?
Even so, the Monolith Code team members consisted of the 1st Year
male students with the top three magic technical scores. Even if they
found replacements, victory remained elusive. Rather than looking for
replacements, a better option would be an unorthodox request to
remove the scores from Monolith Code from the aggregate score.
Behind these vague responses, Tatsuya made this consideration.
Naturally, Mayumi had no idea what dark plots were running through
Tatsuya's mind.
"—Tatsuya-kun, I wish to speak with you."
Mayumi's voice contained coquettish overtones. She must be
thoroughly unnerved by this chain of accidents and was
subconsciously looking for something or someone to rely on.
At practically the same time, his sister fixed a burning gaze on
Tatsuya. He really wanted to dig a hole and hide as he thought “I
didn't do it, don't glare at me, why aren't you glaring at Mayumi?”.
But there was no way he would be caught dead saying that.
"Can you come with me for a moment?"
Does this mean she was worried about other people overhearing their
private conversation?
The burning gaze doubled in intensity, but Tatsuya feigned ignorance
as he followed right behind Mayumi.
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