"Ne, Mahiro-kun, do you know about the two-course system in our school?"
Saegusa Mayumi tilted her head slightly, her silky hair swaying with the motion, eyes gleaming with genuine curiosity.
Yotsuba Mahiro glanced at her, unfazed by the question. "Of course I know. It refers to the different teaching policies between Course 1 students and Course 2 students. The main differences are whether or not a student is assigned a homeroom teacher for personal guidance and how much access they're given to advanced instruction."
His tone was blunt, calm, almost indifferent.
"That's also the biggest reason for the gap between students in this school," Mahiro added, brushing a strand of hair out of his face.
Students with the eight-petal bloom badge were Course 1 students—commonly called Blooms. Those without it were Course 2, dismissively referred to as Weeds.
The system was simple: placement by exam results. The ones at the top wore blooms, while those who fell behind were trampled like weeds underfoot.
"Then, Mahiro-kun…" Mayumi leaned forward a little, her voice carrying both hesitation and anticipation, "do you have any different views about this system?"
"I don't really have any special views," Mahiro replied casually.
"Eh?"
Mayumi blinked in surprise at his unusually detached answer. She had expected him to either defend or criticize the system like everyone else.
"It's just," Mahiro continued, his sharp gaze locking with hers, "a way of putting the distinction between the so-called 'elite' and the 'inferior' right on the surface."
"W-what do you mean by that?" Mayumi pressed, unable to stop herself.
Ever since she became Student Council President, she and the Disciplinary Committee had been trying to reduce the friction between Blooms and Weeds. But Mahiro's words cut directly at the heart of the matter, as if peeling away the layers of excuses everyone else wrapped around it.
"Think about it, Mayumi-senpai. First High only accepts two hundred students a year. Do you know how many apply?"
"Mm… thousands."
"Exactly. At least two thousand candidates. Which means those who passed the exam and entered First High are already the elite among elites. Children of the Ten Master Clans, the Eighteen Support Houses, the Hundred Families, and even branch houses of prestigious bloodlines. Ordinary people don't even make it this far."
His voice carried a quiet authority, leaving no room for doubt.
"In other words, everyone here is already an 'elite.' So I don't see this two-course system as a flaw. If anything, it motivates."
"M-Motivates…?"
Mayumi tilted her head again, puzzled by his perspective.
Mahiro smirked faintly. "Do you know why fishermen put catfish in a tank of tuna, Mayumi-senpai?"
"Eh? Catfish…?" she repeated, completely thrown off by the sudden analogy. "Gomen, Mahiro-kun, I'm not sure."
"Heh." Mahiro let out a low chuckle. "I didn't understand at first either. But I was told once: if you keep tuna alone in a tank, they grow lazy and sluggish. But if you add a catfish, the tuna remain constantly alert, always swimming, always sharp."
His words sank in, like ripples in a pond.
"This school is the same. Course 1 students are the tuna, and Course 2 students—the Weeds—are the catfish. The frustration, the unwillingness of the Weeds, stirs the waters. It challenges the pride of the Blooms. And when the Weeds strive to climb upward, they too have the chance to turn into tuna."
"So," Mahiro concluded with a shrug, "I don't think the system itself is the problem. Apart from the labels, there's not much difference. Both groups attend classes, join clubs, and use school facilities. The only real difference is a slight change in uniforms and whether or not you get personal guidance in practical magic."
He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "The system isn't the issue. The issue… lies with the students themselves."
Mayumi's lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
He was right.
The Weeds had forgotten that they, too, were once chosen as elites. Instead, they accepted the label, thinking of themselves only as shadows for the Blooms. Meanwhile, the Blooms grew arrogant, treating themselves as coronas—brilliant suns towering above lesser stars.
The environment that should have fostered competition had become stagnant, poisoned by pride and resignation.
"…Mahiro-kun," Mayumi said softly, "what you said makes a lot of sense. But… in the world of magicians, talent is everything. And talent is decided by bloodline, by innate ability."
She exhaled, her expression tinged with quiet resignation. "A catfish will always be a catfish. A tuna will never become anything else. At least, not in the way this society defines it. That is the weakness of the system."
"This is a flaw in the system, isn't it?"Yotsuba Mahiro spread his hands with a calm smile as he looked at Saegusa Mayumi. His tone carried that mixture of light teasing and sharp observation that often caught people off guard.
"As I said before, the ones who manage to enter First High are supposed to be elites, right?"
He leaned back slightly, speaking as if he were telling a simple truth.
"And yet, the reason 'weeds' are called weeds isn't because they're worthless or untalented. It's mainly due to how the entrance exam is structured."
Mahiro's gaze sharpened, his voice carrying quiet conviction.
"The exam favors certain kinds of abilities, certain aptitudes. Those who don't fit into that narrow frame… get tossed aside. But their talents are real, just different. I believe even now, among the so-called weeds, there are people with amazing potential."
Mayumi remained silent, her elegant profile framed by the late afternoon sun filtering through the window.
Indeed, Mahiro wasn't wrong. Many Course 2 students did possess real skill.
For example, Mibu Sayaka of the second-year Kendo Club—nicknamed Kendo Komachi. A prodigy whose swordsmanship had already reached the level of Inka, a mastery even beyond that of Watanabe Mari, the current Disciplinary Committee Chair. Sayaka also inherited her clan's signature magic, the Weight-Enhancing Blade. A genius whose entire being was aligned with battle.
"…And also, Mayumi-senpai."
Mahiro tilted his head casually, as though plucking another example from thin air.
"Among this year's new students, there are quite a few with remarkable talent."
"Oh? Mahiro-kun, are you perhaps talking about yourself?"
Mayumi's lips curved into a teasing smile, her tone playful.
Mahiro chuckled and waved his hand in dismissal. "How could that be? What kind of talent would a roadside weed like me have?"
Mayumi narrowed her eyes slightly, unconvinced. Humility was one thing, but he was from the Yotsuba Family. A magician born from one of the Ten Master Clans could hardly be called ordinary.
"I'm talking about my landlord, Shiba Tatsuya. He and I entered as freshmen together. He's clearly a genius in magical engineering, especially when it comes to developing and debugging CADs. And yet, he ended up labeled as a weed."
"Ehh? Shiba Tatsuya… you mean that Shiba?"
Mayumi blinked, genuine surprise flickering in her eyes. Recognition quickly followed, and she nodded.
She had indeed heard whispers from the faculty. His younger sister, Shiba Miyuki, was the new student representative, having entered with flawless scores. Tatsuya himself scored a near-perfect ninety-six average across seven subjects on the entrance exam. In particular, his marks in magic theory and engineering had been flawless—an unprecedented perfect score.
And yet, because he ranked at the bottom in practical magic assessments, he had been relegated to Course 2.
What a contradiction… Mayumi thought, her mind briefly catching on an odd detail.
"…Wait. Did you just say landlord? Mahiro-kun, are you renting a place to live now?"
"Yes."
Mahiro froze for just a moment, then sighed in mock defeat. His lips curled into a self-deprecating smile, his tone dripping with exaggerated sorrow as he spun his tale.
"I'm not like you all, Mayumi-senpai. Sure, I carry the Yotsuba name, but the truth is… I'm just a roadside weed abandoned by the Yotsuba Family."
His voice lowered, almost dramatically.
"The head of the family, that cold-hearted old hag Yotsuba Maya, threw me out. She told me to fend for myself, rent some shabby place in town. Even my living expenses, I have to scrape together with part-time jobs. Can you believe it? I can't even afford a CAD of my own…"
The weight of those words lingered in the air.
Mayumi's eyes flickered downward, subtly studying Mahiro. Indeed, she noticed—he didn't even carry a CAD. For a magician, that was like walking around without a sword on a battlefield.
A pang of sympathy tugged at her chest. At the same time, she felt a rush of astonishment, as if she had stumbled upon some tightly guarded secret.
Could the Yotsuba Family really be this merciless?
The cost of a CAD alone was already steep, impossible to cover with odd jobs. Add in the tuning fees, the custom debugging… it was an unimaginable expense for an ordinary student.
And yet, the Yotsuba Clan, who even owned a CAD company themselves, hadn't granted Mahiro so much as a basic device for self-defense.
Mayumi's hands tightened faintly in her lap.
To think the Yotsuba—one of the most powerful clans in the nation—would treat their own blood in such a way…
It left her both baffled and strangely unsettled.