August 4th.
The second day of the Nine Schools Competition.
Mahiro, wearing a technical team jacket, arrived at First High's tent area set up in the competition zone.
Today's events were "Battle Board" and the preliminary rounds of "Ice Pillar Break."
Originally, he was only supposed to compete in the rookie division of "Ice Pillar Break," not the main division.
But Juumonji Katsuto had insisted he join the main division under the pretext of "demonstrating the dignity of the Ten Master Clans," leaving only "Speed Shooting" as his rookie event.
His match happened to be right after Mayumi-senpai's "Battle Board," so his task this morning was once again to accompany her during warm-ups.
However, when he saw what Mayumi was wearing, he nearly lost his composure.
"...You're going on stage like that?"
"Yep."
Faced with his question, Mayumi nodded matter-of-factly, even glancing down at her outfit before asking, "Is it strange? ...Does it not suit me?"
"....No, it suits you very well. It's quite captivating."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Mayumi's gaze toward him turned peculiar. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest and took two steps back, saying:
"Even though there's no one around, anything h-related is absolutely out of the question, you hear me?"
Recalling the intimate moment in the library, her face flushed involuntarily.
"..."
Am I really that kind of person?
But it had to be said—Mayumi's current outfit was practically a blessing for lsp!
The polo shirt paired with a miniskirt radiated youthful charm.
Not to mention the pair of slender, jade-like legs on full display—it was nothing short of a visual impact!
A complete tennis outfit through and through!
Though wearing tennis attire wasn't unusual, given that the "Crowd Ball" competition mode was similar to tennis—just with magic involved.
But this wasn't the kind of metaphysical tennis that could break the heavens, like in Prince of Tennis.
"By the way, Mahiro-kun, don't you have a match later? Is it really okay for you to stay here with me?"
"Of course it's fine. It's just a preliminary round."
Mahiro replied nonchalantly.
Compared to preparing for his own match, watching Mayumi's stretching routine was far more interesting.
"Then... will there be any surprises today?" Mayumi asked with a hint of anticipation.
With Mahiro's assistance, it was like unwrapping a Christmas present—each time brought her something new.
During yesterday's preliminaries, he had first optimized her magic activation sequence, then helped refine her magic for the finals.
She was eager to see what changes he might bring this time.
"Sorry, nothing today."
Mahiro shrugged. "I was completely drained after modifying your magic yesterday. There's really nothing left now."
"Mmm... don't phrase it like that!"
Mayumi muttered shyly, her cheeks flushing. "Drained... I didn't do anything that extreme..."
Unfazed by her bashful tone, Mahiro pursed his lips and said, "If you really want a surprise, I suppose I could still prepare something."
Under her expectant gaze, he added:
"Worst case, I could just borrow the Juumonji family's ancestral magic, 'Phalanx,' and use multiple mobile barriers in 'Monolith Code.' That should be fun, right?"
"Absolutely not!" Mayumi immediately protested.
Her deep amethyst eyes locked onto him, filled with resolve.
Leaving aside whether she could even use the Juumonji family's "Phalanx," Mahiro's actions alone would be enough to provoke many.
While the Ten Master Clans didn't mind others using their secret techniques, that didn't mean they would tolerate it unconditionally.
If this continued, he would inevitably face reprimands from the various families of the Ten Master Clans.
"Suit yourself."
Mahiro remained indifferent.
After all, Juumonji Katsuto would be participating in the "Monolith Code" event, so the "Phalanx" magic would eventually be his anyway.
...
Soon after, the "Monolith Code" match began.
The outcome was a foregone conclusion—Mayumi would undoubtedly win—so after watching for a while, Mahiro headed to his own event.
The spectator stands for "Ice Pillar Break" were already packed.
Aside from a few outsiders, most of the audience consisted of students from various high schools.
With no restrictions on magic power, competitors could freely showcase their abilities, and the spectacle of shattering ice pillars was breathtaking.
As a result, "Ice Pillar Break" was the second most popular event in the Nine School Competition.
Among the spectators were Sayaka and Erika.
Miyuki, Shizuku, Honoka, Mizuki, Leo, and even Tatsuya, who was overseeing the rookie matches, were all in the stands.
"Hey hey, Sayaka, what were you up to yesterday? You didn't come to watch the matches at all."
"Eh? I... I wasn't feeling well, so I slept in my room all day..."
Faced with Erika's questioning, Sayaka fidgeted in her seat, her hands nervously rubbing between her thighs as her gaze darted around.
"What a shame~"
Erika immediately picked up on Sayaka's unease—it reeked of a lie!
Then, with a teasing tone, she casually remarked, "But if I recall correctly, Sayaka-chan, you didn't show up the day before yesterday either. It seems even your meals were personally delivered by Yotsuba-kun~"
"Th-that's because..."
Sayaka's body trembled slightly, her face flushing bright red in an instant.
She had already run out of excuses and didn't know how to respond.
She couldn't very well tell Erika that she'd spent the entire night rolling in bed with Mahiro, leaving her too physically exhausted to move and needing two days to recover, could she?
"Alright, Erika-chan, Mibu-senpai is already quite embarrassed. Besides, the match is about to start."
"That's right. The next match is Mahiro-kun's. I suggest we shouldn't miss it."
"Mhm, with Mahiro-kun's abilities, I'm sure he'll win decisively!"
Miyuki, Shizuku, and Honoka all spoke up one after another, coming to Sayaka's rescue.
Seeing this, Erika had no choice but to temporarily let it go and turn her attention to the arena.
However, one thing she was certain of—something definitely happened between Sayaka and Mahiro.
Though she could already guess, if possible, she still wanted to hear Sayaka describe it herself.
After all, that would be much more entertaining.
"By the way, Onii-sama, do you know what magic Mahiro-nii will use in the match?"
"...Sorry, Miyuki. I can't guess either."
Faced with Miyuki's question, Tatsuya could only shake his head regretfully.
As far as he knew, Mahiro was proficient in an extensive range of magic, covering all systems.
And the number of spells applicable to "Ice Pillar Break" was countless.
For example, Blazing Domain, Domain of Ice Mist, Ice-Flame Hell, Phonon Maser, Mist Dispersion, and so on.
He might even use Maya Yotsuba's Meteor Stream or his own Material Burst!
Though the latter was a Strategic-Class magic, the tournament rules didn't restrict the magic level for "Ice Pillar Break."
Given Mahiro's unrestrained personality, he was absolutely capable of publicly using Strategic-Class magic without hesitation.
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