That day, the Mountaineering Club joined them for dinner. During climbing practice in the morning, Koharu heard a third-year girl from the Mountaineering Club complain that ‘cooking for ourselves is hard’, so she negotiated with the training institute.
As a result, though lunch couldn’t be prepared on such short notice, from dinner onwards a portion for the Mountaineering Club will also be prepared.
After dinner, the Magic Arts Club had practice spars at the training institute’s gymnasium. The alumnus from the Mountaineering Club, Leo, was there.
“Looking forward to working with you!”
Marika bowed to Leo, her whole body overflowing with enthusiasm.
“Yeah. I’m not confident I’ll be able to teach you well, but let’s do our best.”
Pushed by that momentum, Leo casually nodded.
How exactly did this come to be?
It all started during dinner.
Apparently the Mountaineering Club is lacking in cooking skills and Leo seemed quite dissatisfied with the previous night’s dinner. Though he is a glutton, he is actually particular about food. He is the type that will eat anything, but if possible, he wants to eat something tasty.
The training institute’s meal appeared to satisfy his stomach and tongue. “Hey, I have to do something to return the favor.” “Isn’t there anything I can do for you?” “Anything is fine.”, Leo asked in a good mood. He was addressing Chigusa and Chika, the Club Presidents of the Magic Arts Club, but Marika, who had been sitting next to Chika (not Alisa), raised her hand to say “Please teach me the Mountaineering Club’s fortification magic!”
“By the way, Tookami... that was your name, right? Can I ask you one thing?”
“Yes, what is it!”
Typical for a sports-minded girl, Marika promptly replied to Leo’s question.
“Why did you think of learning fortification magic from me? I graduated First High, but I’m a weirdo who went to Rescue University where magic isn’t used, you know?”
“I heard that the Mountaineering Club’s fortification magic was originally yours, senpai.”
“Well, that’s true. I’m not the original creator of that fortification magic, but it’s true that I was the one who taught it to the juniors in case of accidents.”
Leo nodded.
Marika’s gaze grew warm as she looked at him.
“I understood when I saw it during climbing practice in the morning. Kagari-kun was able to withstand Juumonji Tatsuki’s magic because he used that fortification magic!”
But that ‘warmth’ was a different kind of ‘warmth’ than the one directed at the opposite sex.
“Juumonji? Of the Ten Master Clans?”
“Yes. Juumonji Tatsuki is a direct descendent of the Juumonji Family, he’s a first-year at Third High.”
The reason Marika is referring to Tatsuki without an honorific is because his attitude towards Alisa infuriates her just by hearing about it.
“A direct descendent of the Juumonji Family is going to Third High instead of First High...”
Leo added “Looks like there’s some circumstances there...” in a murmur with a low voice that may or may not have been audible to other people.
But Leo did not ask what those circumstances were.
“So you thought that fortification magic looked like something you could use in Magic Arts too?”
“Yes. Seeing it so close by earlier convinced me.”
Marika was not confused over why Leo didn’t ask anything to quench his curiosity. Her consciousness was turned towards obtaining a new tool, a new ‘armor’.
“Okay. Then let’s begin. First, yeah, hit me as hard as you can. You can kick me if you want. I’ll catch it with fortification magic.”
Experience over theory, it seems.
It’s clear from Leo’s demeanor that he intends to allow her to practice on him. He doesn’t have the slightest fear that his defenses could be broken through.
He is absolutely convinced he will prevail.
That ignited Marika’s fighting spirit. — No, it was already ignited, it just flared up even more.
“Understood! I’m doing it!”
Marika unconsciously activated ‘Reactive Armor’ and, with her fist covered in magic armor, she threw a punch at Leo.
“Ah!?”
Seeing Marika involuntarily activating the single-body armor magic, Alisa, who was watching, reflexively raised her voice.
Alisa, knowing the power of ‘Reactive Armor’, tried to stop Marika. But before she could shout ‘Stop!’, Marika’s fist reached the T-shirt Leo is wearing.
Leo’s T-shirt wasn’t depressed in the shape of the fist, it wasn’t even creased.
The air between the fist and the T-shirt made a plosive sound.
The Psion field shook.
The physical sound that shook the air was not that loud, but the ‘sound’ of Psions that couldn’t be perceived by the body’s ears was a ‘thundering roar’ that gave the illusion of a collision between two gigantic rocks.
“No way...”
Alisa muttered, dumbfounded.
Even though he is a graduate, it was beyond her expectations and she found it unbelievable that Marika’s ‘Reactive Armor’ could be so perfectly stopped.
Marika’s — The ‘Tookami’ Family’s ‘Reactive Armor’ is a magic that was given to the ‘Toogami’ by the Former Tenth Institute. Its strength is not at all inferior to the Juumonji Family’s ‘Phalanx’ that was also developed by the Former Tenth Institute.
The Juumonji Family’s barrier magic is considered among those involved with magic to be hardest in Japanese society. That this alumnus’ fortification magic rivaled that magic barrier... it surprised her.
“Could it be...?”
Mei, next to her, raised her voice in admiration.
I’m not the only one surprised, Alisa thought.
“That pendant is Rosen’s thought-operated CAD? To think there is someone in Japan who uses it!”
But Mei’s surprise was directed elsewhere. ‘That’s what you’re surprised about?’, Alisa thought, but considering Mei wants to become a Magic Artificer, it isn’t strange.
The first to make completely thought-operated CADs into a commercial product was Rosen Magicraft, but Japan’s FLT, excellent in versatility and cost-performance, currently holds 70% of the global market share. Rosen’s products have some points where they are superior too. However, they are mainly used in West Europe and they will almost never be seen in Japan.
As an enthusiastic fan of Shiba Tatsuya — a fangirl, rather — the FLT-made thought-operated CAD he developed is, of course, her favorite, but, as a specialized engineer, it’s not like she has no interest in Rosen-made products, which are fascinating in various ways.
“Come to think of it, Saijou-senpai’s name is of German descent. Could it be that he has a connection with Rosen...?”
Mei’s monologue reached Alisa’s ears.
Not knowing the truth, Alisa thought ‘Isn’t that a huge leap in logic?’.
“That’s surprising.”
That comment wasn’t a soliloquy. Her expression was exactly as she described, and Chika’s eyes were pointed at Marika and Leo, but from her tone it was obvious she was talking to Chigusa, who was standing next to her.
“To think Marika’s magic wouldn’t even shake him a little bit...”
Chika was surprised in the same way as Alisa.
“I’m surprised too. The strength of the fortification magic too, but Saijou-senpai’s legs are impressive.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
Chika turned her eyes to Chigusa.
“I think Saijou-senpai applied the fortification magic to his own clothes.”
“It looked like that, yeah. But does that have to do with his leg strength?”
“Unlike shield magic, fortification magic only prevents changes to the target. There is no spatial coordinate anchoring effect.”
Shield magic is a kind of area-of-effect magic. By using magic to interfere with a specific space, special effects like blocking objects or electromagnetism are attributed to the space.
Due to its nature, shield magic is, in general, anchored to specific spatial coordinates. Moving a shield and moving while covered in a shield are actually an advanced application of the concept.
“I see. Shield magic is usually fixed, so you won’t get pushed away when receiving a blow. As long as the anti-object shield is maintained, kinetic energy won’t spread inside. But with fortification magic hardening his clothes, even if you can prevent the impact, the momentum is still transmitted.”
“Exactly. But Saijou-senpai didn’t step back, nor did he bend back even a little. Incredible strength in his legs and torso.”
Chigusa praised him and Chika also agreed with a big nod.
◇ ◇ ◇
The gallery received a shock due to Leo’s unexpected strength, but the one actually facing him, Marika, was unshaken. There was no feeling of surprise in her. Inside her there was only exhilaration from meeting a strong person. While they were jogging the day before, Marika had had a hunch just by looking at his back while he was running.
‘This person is strong’, she had thought.
The real reason behind asking for an initiation to fortification magic was also to ascertain his strength with her own eyes, and, if possible, fighting him.
“... And those are the principles of fortification magic. I say that but you probably won’t understand with this explanation. And I’m not confident I can explain it well anyway.”
“No, I understood. Though it’s true that I won’t be able to use it just by hearing about it.”
Leo finished the explanation in a friendly tone and Marika replied with the polite wording of a martial arts girl.
“Right. So now, Tookami, you’ll get practical experience with fortification magic.”
Leo said, and signaled to the Mountaineering Club President, who was summoned for the role of assistant.
Club President Tamori Tokisuke, affectionately (?) nicknamed ‘Muscle Doll’ by the club members, gave Marika an open vest for mountain climbing and instructed her to wear it.
“Is this vest a magic tool?”
Marika finished buttoning up the vest after putting it on and questioned Leo with a careful posture.
“No, it’s a normal vest. But don’t worry. The juniors in the Mountaineering Club are also learning fortification magic using this training method, it was thought up by Tatsuya, after all.”
“Do you mean Shiba Tatsuya-senpai!?”
That loud question did not come from Marika.
It came from Mei.
She stepped forward from the spectator row and seemed like she was going to get closer to Leo at any moment.
“Y-Yeah. That Tatsuya.”
Though they were separated by two meters or more, Leo pulled back a little, overwhelmed by Mei’s energy.
“...Sorry for the disturbance.”
Alisa, next to Mei, whispered to rebuke her, and Mei apologized while returning to the row.
“No, don’t worry about it... Tookami, I’m going to touch your shoulder. Don’t move.”
Marika made a face showing she didn’t understand the point, while clearly replying “Okay.”
Leo approached Marika from the front and gently placed his right hand on her left shoulder.
In the next instant, the vest was covered in Psion light.
The magic activated and the residue Psions leaked out from the surface of the vest.
Marika reflexively stiffened her body.
“Sorry if that scared you. I’m pretty bad with magic.”
“—No, that’s not it.”
Marika’s response was not just flattery.
The magic Leo just activated was certainly rough. There was a lack of precision in his use of Psions.
But the speed of activation and its strength left her amazed.
“But the magic activated successfully.”
Leo himself, the process aside, seemed content with the result.
“Okay, Tookami. Try to move.”
“...What should I do?”
“Start by bending forwards and backwards.”
Like she was told, Marika bent her body forwards — or at least she tried to.
She couldn’t do it well. She moved with awkward, robotic movements.
No matter how flexible a person is, when the upper body is bent forwards, the back will be slightly curved. But that natural action was being prevented by the vest hardened with magic.
With a face showing she understood, Marika tried to bend backwards this time.
But this movement was also disturbed in a similar way.
She stopped bending backwards, made a fist with her right hand and tapped on her vest.
It didn’t make a ‘knock knock’ sound, but from the feeling in her hands, it was the same as a thick wooden door.
“This really is armor... ”
Marika revealed her thoughts as if talking to herself.
“Tookami. What you’re feeling isn’t what you’re touching, it’s the magic. The sensation of wearing clothes that have a fortification magic applied on them.”
“Got it.”
Marika closed her eyes and slightly bent and twisted her upper body. Each time she felt resistance, she knitted her brows and made a face like she was listening carefully.
“What do you think? Can you feel it?”
“...Sorry. Could you try hitting me?”
Marika slightly tilted her head and requested that. It’s a technique used for defense, so she thought it would be easier to understand its effects if she were to actually get hit.
Leo made a face that said ‘Hoh?’. He praised her with “Full of determination, aren’t you?”
“It would be better if someone else did that.”
Saying that, Leo looked around at the gallery.
“I’ll do it.”
Responding to his gaze, Chika stepped forward.
Leo agreed with “Okay, I’ll leave it to you” and yielded his spot to Chika.
“Marika, this is quite amusing.”
Chika, facing Marika, grinned.
“It is, President.”
Marika returned an innocent smile. It was a more childish smile than Chika’s, but their interest in the new technique was mutual.
“Let’s go, Marika.”
Chika looked directly into Marika’s eyes and gave her a signal.
“Please do!”
Marika stared intently at Chika’s face and responded.
Chika sharply stepped forward and, aiming for Marika’s body, unleashed a middle punch to her stomach—.
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