After finals were over, Tatsuya spent almost every afternoon in the HQ of the Public Morals Committee.
Immediately after summer vacation, the election for the new Student Council President would be held.
After a new President was elected, a new Public Morals Committee would be selected, along with its new corresponding Chief based on the new elections.
According to tradition...... More like according to bad habits, there had never been a smooth transfer between Chiefs of the Committee. More often than not, the unorganized activities record and current members were tossed to the incoming Chief to handle.
-- That being said, after Mari took over as Chief during her first year, there would be no problem with the transfer the following year. --
However, the 2nd Year students in her Public Morals Committee had insufficient experience, so Mari wished to minimize the confusion during the transfer of power between Chiefs.
—Regarding all the documents necessary for the transfer, Mari tossed that responsibility to Tatsuya.
"I'm starting to think I'm a goody two-shoes......"
"A goody two-shoes that's bad to the core? I think this dual nature of yours is quite interesting."
"............"
This comment was overly pertinent, rendering Tatsuya unable to reply.
"However, this time I'm very grateful for your good side, since without your help, we would only be repeating past disasters."
Mari comforted him in this way probably because she felt a little guilty seeing Tatsuya silently plugging away at his work.
Yet, Tatsuya did not possess split personalities, nor was he merely helping to organize the material. He was the only one organizing the materials.
These words achieved no comforting effect whatsoever.
"Even so, you've started preparing for the transfer very early?"
Tatsuya asked a piercing question without stopping his hands from their work.
The documents he was preparing would be completed in a week.
If no further input of additional details was needed, this would create a two month buffer zone.
Also, there was no guarantee that major events or incidents would not occur during this time period.
This wasn't the type of material that should be created as soon as possible.
"Once we start preparing for the Nine Schools Competition, we won't have the time to compile this. There's a mountain of things to do, from verifying the roster, training, adjusting equipment, gathering and analyzing data, to devising strategies."
All these things had nothing to do with Tatsuya.
"......When is the Nine Schools Competition going to be held?"
That being said, cutting off the conversation here would be awkward, so Tatsuya focused all his attention back onto data organization as he asked this.
"Ten days, from August 3rd to the 12th."
"That's quite a long time."
"Hm? You've never seen it?"
"Yeah, since I've always been busy with errands during summer vacations."
Tatsuya's answer thoroughly confounded Mari.
"But according to Mayumi, your little sister goes to see it every year, to the point that she even remembers what events we competed in......"
Tatsuya almost burst out laughing.
"No, it's not like we're attached at the hip 365 days a year...... Occasionally we move separately as well."
"Eh? ......No, that's true. It's just that whenever we see the two of you, it's like you're always with each other."
"Speaking of which, we're usually on our own at school."
After Tatsuya objectively pointed this out, even if Mari's expression revealed her incomprehension, she nevertheless still accepted it.
"If that's the case, no wonder you were completely lost when I started talking about the preparations for the Nine Schools Competition."
"Yes, to be honest, I don't even know what competitions are being held. I only know about 'Monolith Code' and 'Mirage Bat'."
While it was true that he was multitasking between making conversation and creating the data files, this only served as a refresher for Tatsuya. And for Mari, who was currently idle — or more like the one who didn't want to do anything — this was a good way to pass the time, so Tatsuya was more talkative than usual.
"That's because those two are the most famous......"
Mari tilted her head, as if she didn't know where to start. She held her fist before her mouth, as if she were about to cough (but didn't actually make the coughing sound).
"The contests in the Nine Schools Competition focus on the events in athletic magic contests that require more Magic Power."
"This I know."
Tatsuya replied without stopping his fingers from working.
"In the past, they would change the events every competition, but recent years have seen the same contests every year.
There are six contests: 'Monolith Code', 'Mirage Bat', 'Icicle Destruction', 'Speed Shooting', 'Crowd Ball', and 'Battle Board'.
Kenjutsu, Chinese magic martial arts and other combat related contests, as well as athletic competitions like gymnastics and basketball are held at a different event."
"Don't 'Crowd Ball' and 'Battle Board' rely heavily on physical abilities?"
"Yes. Magicians are only human, so there's no reason to undervalue physical capabilities. Even in 1 on 1 duels between Magicians, there are cases where the individual with the superior physical abilities has emerged victorious. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on this point."
"That's true."
Tatsuya knew this very well, so his agreement with Mari's words was truly heartfelt.
"Of the six contests, only 'Monolith Code' is a team event, the other five are solo acts."
"Isn't 'Crowd Ball' a two man show?"
"This is where the Nine Schools Competition gets evil. In order to emphasize the importance of Magic Power, this contest has a solo performance rule. I have a booklet that summarizes the rules. Want to take a look?"
"Sure, I'll take a look later."
Tatsuya stopped typing and accepted a small booklet from Mari.
"Huh, a hard copy. How strange."
"Anything related to the Nine Schools Competition wouldn't be surprising. Virtual terminals would hurt the Magic Power's conceptual foundation. On the other hand, besides Magicians, there are very few people that actually use substantial terminal devices, and the number of Magicians using virtual terminals has also increased (decreased?)." (!)
"I see, so that's why the Nine Schools Competition uses hard copies instead of terminal devices."
"Eh? So Tatsuya-kun prefers the usage of virtual terminals?"
She probably heard the critical elements in Tatsuya's undertone.
With Mari's normally brash manner and her amusing tendency to be "poor at organizing", it was easy to forget that she was a very perceptive individual.
Tatsuya took this under consideration and selected his words — without stopping his typing motions — more prudently.
"There is some basis that virtual terminals negatively impact Magicians that have not reached maturity. Especially for students under twenty that are still developing their power, I think they should avoid using virtual models. But for adult Magicians whose Magic Power has been fully developed, I don't feel that there's any reason to stop them from using virtual models."
"......That's another way to look at it. Forcing adults to abandon the efficiency gained from virtual models simply because it poses harm to children seems a little overkill."
There was a brief lull in the conversation. Tatsuya was busy reviewing the information he inputted on the screen, so he had no way of discerning Mari's current expression, but he guessed that she would be considering his earlier comment.
No matter how ridiculously she usually acted, there was no way for her to disguise her inner sense of righteousness.
For some reason, that fact caused Tatsuya to smile a bit.
"......We've drifted off topic."
Mari seemed to have arrived at some conclusion of her own, before she turned the conversation back to the Nine Schools Competition without any forewarning.
"The competition is separated into the Official and Newcomers Divisions, each requiring 10 men and women, for a grand total of 40. Only 1st Year students may participate in the Newcomer Division while the Official Division has no restrictions. That being said, each contestant may perform only in two contests, so no 1st Year student has ever competed in the Official Division. Even if it weren't in the rules, there's no way for 1st Year students to stand up against the firepower of a 2nd or 3rd Year student.
Until last year, the Newcomers Division was not separated by gender, but from this year onward, both the Official and Newcomers Division will be. Also, until last year, no 1st Year female student had to compete in multiple contests, but that may be unavoidable this year."
Mari's words were out of concern for Miyuki, which was obvious without naming her aloud.
Continuously participating in magic competitions was extremely taxing on the female body. Even though Miyuki had undergone training beyond that of a normal person, her physical stature was by nature more feeble. It would probably be best that he provided as much aid as he could, Tatsuya thought.
"Of the six contests, four are not gender specific. 'Monolith Code' is men only and 'Mirage Bat' is women only...... Since 'Monolith Code' is the only event where live combat is guaranteed, it's not surprising that the event is men only."
Mari might have been saying this, but her facial expression clearly didn't agree.
According to the information Tatsuya gathered from the Public Moral Committee, Mari's magic specialized in anti-personnel combat, so she must have resented being excluded from this particular event.
"The maximum number of participants per contest is three from each school, with men and women calculated separately. So for both the Official and Newcomers Divisions, five men and women have to select two of the five events while the other five can participate only in one.
As for deciding who competes in which events, that is based on whether skilled contestants should only focus on emerging victorious in one event, or maximizing profit by applying for two events, and then there is considering where the opposing aces will go, and who they will go up against...... Since this is a team-based competition, all of these details are very important."
"Of course."
"Besides the contestants, the Nine Schools Competition allows each school to bring four people as tactical advisers, but not every school takes advantage of this option. Our school always brings the maximum amount of personnel each year, but schools such as Third High opt to waive the tactical support when competing, relying solely on their contestants to decide their tactics."
"Yet, ironically, they are our toughest opponent."
"We've only lost to them twice, once three years ago and the other time seven years ago. The Nine Schools Competition switched to a summer format ten years ago. Since then, there have been 9 competitions. Our school has been the champion five times, Third High twice, and Second High and Ninth High have each won once."
"I believe this year's goal is for a three-peat?"
"That's right. For us 3rd Year students, securing the championship is the true victory."
Currently, the 3rd Year students at First High were known collectively as "the strongest era".
Saegusa Mayumi, Juumonji Katsuto, Watanabe Mari.
Two of them were directly connected to the Ten Master Clans, while the third possessed similar talent.
Just the fact that all three of them were in the same year at the same school was an amazing coincidence. In addition, the campus also boasted several students that were qualified for Rank A in high school (they were unable to obtain their licenses due to limited experience, but their raw ability alone was sufficient for their ranking based on international standards).
Even before the official roster for the Nine Schools Competition had been announced, First High was already seen as the favorite to repeat as champions.
Even if the underground gamblers were using the Nine Schools Competition as a setting, no one was taking odds for First High. That was how overwhelmingly powerful their group was.
"I hear that if everything goes according to plan, our school's victory is a foregone conclusion?"
"Probably. There are no concerns on the contestants' end. Even taking the Newcomers Division into consideration, as long as there's no major mishap, we should win off the points from the Official Division. If there were any real concerns, I'd say it would be engineers."
"Engineers? You mean people responsible for CAD maintenance?"
"Exactly, except the official term from the Nine Schools Competition is Technicians. The CADs used at the Nine Schools Competition must be universally adaptable, so only models that fit the criteria are allowed. On the other hand, there are only restrictions on the hardware itself, there are no restrictions on software. How well individual CADs can be synchronized to the appropriate contestant and whether the maintenance can bring out the contestant's maximum potential are absolutely decisive in determining victory."
How fast an Activation Sequence initialized was entirely reliant on the CAD's hardware, but the efficiency of Magic Sequences was heavily influenced by the design of the CAD's software. Given that a single second could spell the difference between victory and defeat in athletic competitions, a properly devised software program was of vital importance.
By no means did this imply that the more intricate the design was or the more processes that were used, the better the software became. Software that surpassed the processing power would cause more harm than good by obstructing the hardware itself.
Given that there was a glass ceiling for hardware, the selection and allocation of software became even more important.
Tatsuya believed that, under these conditions, the competition results could change dramatically based on the engineers' skills.
"Right now, there's a dearth of talented engineers in 3rd Year when compared to qualified contestants. Mayumi and Juumonji are capable of maintaining their own CADs so they won't have problems during the competition, but......"
"......"
In other words, Mari did not excel in this category.
Tatsuya accurately read the inference behind Mari's vague words but, precisely because he understood, he chose to say nothing.
He allowed his attention to drift away from Mari's small talk and focus back onto the data files.
Improvements in central control of public transit had led to the complete overhaul of the trolley system, with trolley cars becoming the primary source of public transportation within the city proper. The cars on the tracks were completely controlled by a central operating room in order to ensure safety, ease of access, and the ability to combat the high volume demanded.
On the other hand, the advancement of the public transportation system had not proceeded as planned. The program for connecting all the highways had already been inputted into the system, but most of the normal roads and expressways within city limits were still controlled by the city and had not reached a national level.
In comparison, the AI for driver assistance had improved dramatically.
As long as they hadn't been illegally modified, modern cars were incapable of causing accidents even if they tried. (Katsuto's car was able to directly impact Blanche's HQ because that was a military model.)
Vehicles exported to other nations also possessed the same AI system, allowing smaller countries to also benefit from this system even though they didn't have the capability to develop it themselves, which in turn lowered the frequency of accidents even further. From an international standpoint, individual control systems trumped central control systems.
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 for 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 have been under Hisanyama's jurisdiction, but Tatsuya and Miyuki had 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 have mistaken 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.
The interior only contained a square barrier drawn with quicklime that measured about 11 meters on the side. The raw power necessary to form a barrier by only drawing four white lines 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 (to Yakumo), as she stood 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 with it, 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."
"I see...... 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...... It is unfair to give only Haruka information. You don't mind, right, Haruka?"
Yakumo intentionally let out a "Hm......" 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...... 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?...... 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...... 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."
"......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 on 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 presumptuous 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?"
"......That's fine. Let's go with that mutually beneficial relationship."
The two of them shook hands, each nursing their own agenda.
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