Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 02 - Enrollment Chapter (II) Read online

  "So... It was my misunderstanding... all along...?"

  An awkward silence flooded the Nurse's Office.

  "I feel like such an idiot...

  I selfishly misunderstood senpai's intentions... put myself down..."

  Only Sayaka's whimpers prodded the silence.

  "I don't think it's a waste."

  Until Tatsuya shattered it with his words.

  "... Shiba-kun?"

  Sayaka lifted her head and gazed directly at Tatsuya, who continued to speak in a vague tone.

  "That was what Erika said after seeing senpai's techniques.

  To the best of Erika's knowledge, you were vastly stronger than the 'kendo belle' that took silver in the middle school competition.

  It might be sad that your new found strength came from resentment and hate.

  But, it is without question that Mibu-senpai's swordsmanship improved through your own dedication and diligence.

  You were not consumed by hatred, nor were you overwhelmed by despair as you spent the last year training yourself to the next level. So I don't think it was wasted."

  "..."

  "There are many junctures in growing stronger.

  There are a myriad reasons behind hard work.

  You only truly waste your time if you deny the hours, hard work, and results that came from what you've done, isn't that right?"

  "Shiba-kun..."

  Tears welled up her eyes as Sayaka looked upwards at Tatsuya.

  However, this time, she smiled.

  "Shiba-kun, I have a request."

  "What is it?"

  "Can you come a little closer?"

  "Is this enough?"

  "A little more."

  "Ha."

  The atmosphere changed; the once tense atmosphere became fluid.

  However,

  "Then, please."

  It quickly,

  "Just stand there and don't move."

  Turned back into a nervous atmosphere.

  Sayaka tightly gripped Tatsuya's clothes, and buried her face into Tatsuya's chest.

  "Wah, wah..."

  The sniffling quickly turned into full blown sobbing.

  Pressed into Tatsuya's chest, Sayaka was bawling her eyes out.

  Everyone looked at one another in dismay as Tatsuya wordlessly held her slim shoulders. Seeing this, Miyuki lowered her head.

  After finally settling down, Sayaka started explaining what she knew about Blanche, the organization that backed the alliance.

  "Just as you foresaw, Onii-sama."

  "It was so accurate that it got boring."

  "That's just how reality is, Chief.

  However, the real problem comes next."

  Tatsuya spoke as if he had already charted out the next course of action.

  "... Tatsuya-kun, are you planning to fight them?"

  "That's an incorrect way to put it. I'm not going to fight them, I am going to annihilate them."

  Hearing Mayumi's trepidation, Tatsuya bluntly replied back with the most incentive method possible.

  "That's dangerous! You've already gone above and beyond the call of duty for students."

  The first one to object was Mari.

  Even within the confines of the campus, Mari was someone who was constantly doing firefighting, so her sense of danger was particularly sharp, which was only natural given the circumstances.

  "I object as well. You should leave off-campus cases to the police."

  Mayumi solemnly shook her head.

  However,

  "Is this before or after we release the details surrounding Mibu-senpai's attempted robbery and hand her over to the family court's jurisdiction?"

  At Tatsuya's words, Mayumi froze and was unable to utter another word.

  "I see. So you don't want the police to intervene.

  And that's why this is something you can't ignore.

  In order to prevent future repetitions from occurring.

  Is that right, Shiba?"

  Katsuto's burning gaze caught Tatsuya's eyes.

  "Your opponents are terrorists. If you let down your guard, you will die.

  It doesn't matter if it's me, Mayumi or Watanabe, we will not let students from this campus run that risk."

  "Of course."

  Despite that, Tatsuya did not cower before that gaze, and immediately replied.

  "From the beginning, I never planned to request assistance from the Public Morals Committee or the Club Activities Group."

  "... You plan on going alone?"

  "That was the plan."

  "I'm going with you."

  Hearing his sister's immediate answer, Tatsuya revealed a bitter smile.

  "Me too."

  "And me."

  Erika and Leo both stepped forward, expressing their intent to join the battle.

  "Shiba-kun, if you're doing this on my behalf, I beg you to reconsider.

  Just as the President said, please leave this to the police.

  I'll be alright. I will just be punished for what I've done.

  Compared to that, if Shiba-kun got hurt because of me, I wouldn't be able to take it."

  Sayaka hurriedly tried to stop him, but Tatsuya's expression was not very welcoming.

  "This isn't for Mibu-senpai."

  These cold words stopped Sayaka short, causing her to lower her head.

  "As someone whose personal life has been imperiled by terrorists, I too have a stake in this.

  I will exterminate any and all sources of harm directed towards Miyuki and myself. This is the highest priority for me."

  Was he intentionally shouldering all the responsibility in order to lighten Sayaka's sense of guilt? — It seemed unlikely, given his current expression. Lacking Miyuki's insight on her brother's thoughts, Leo, Erika, Mayumi and Mari concluded that Tatsuya was speaking earnestly from the heart.

  His piercing, chilly gaze alone was enough to convince them of that.

  There was no anger, no aroused fighting spirit, just calmly stating his intent to annihilate the terrorists. Before Tatsuya's confidence — or maybe determination — even Katsuto could say nothing more.

  "However, Onii-sama, how do we completely exterminate Blanche root and branch?

  They should have already evacuated from the temporary base that Mibu-senpai spoke of, so I don't think there will be many clues left behind."

  Only Miyuki was able to converse with her brother normally.

  "That's true, Tsukasa-senpai would likely say the same thing.

  Rather than saying no clues were left behind, it would be more appropriate to say that we never had any clues in the first place."

  "Then, what should we do?"

  Although there were no clues to be had, Miyuki continued to question her brother without a trace of dismay on her features.

  "In order to understand the unknown, the only thing that needs to be done is to ask someone who is familiar with the subject."

  "... Someone familiar with the subject?"

  "Do you have an idea, Tatsuya?"

  Tatsuya did not reply to Erika and Leo's questions. He merely opened the doors leading to the exit.

  "Ono-sensei?"

  Mayumi smiled in a bemused manner at the sight of Haruka in a pantsuit.

  "... I can't believe I was naive enough to try and conceal my presence against Yakumo-sensei's favorite student..."

  She forced a smile as she said this in an uncaring tone. Her target was obviously Tatsuya.

  An apathetic Tatsuya responded in a slightly surprised voice.

  "You never intended to conceal your presence in the first place.

  Thanks to all the untruths you've spoken, I can't tell whether you're telling the truth anymore."

  "I will take that into account."

  Tatsuya made a welcoming motion to usher her inside, while Haruka slowly paced towards the bedside.

  She bent down and matched gazes with Sayaka, who was sitting on the bed.

  "You look like you're OK..." />
  "Ono-sensei..."

  "I'm sorry I wasn't able to offer any assistance."

  Sayaka shook her head as Ono-sensei placed a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. After a short time, she directed her gaze to the bedside.

  "Haruka-chan, do you know where Blanche is currently located?"

  Who are you talking to? Ono-sensei decided to forgo her normal playacting.

  "Haruka-chan?"

  "Ah? Tatsuya, didn't you know?"

  The question itself was obvious, but now that he was on the receiving end, Tatsuya was hesitant on how to field it.

  "Our classmates refer to sensei as such.

  Haruka-chan also says she doesn't mind."

  "It's not everyone, only a portion of the boys.

  Tatsuya-kun, you've been tricked."

  "Ah..."

  This unexpected drama quickly defused the tense atmosphere in the room.

  That being said, rather than mishandling the situation and causing tensions to rise, this was probably the better alternative, Tatsuya thought to himself — at any rate, this was an explanation he could somewhat accept.

  "—Then, Ono-sensei."

  "You can call me Haruka-chan if you like."

  He couldn't believe that he was in such a predicament because of this woman's playacting. The only thing Tatsuya could do was rein in his annoyance.

  "—Ono-sensei, given the situation, you can drop the act."

  "No sense of sentimentality whatsoever."

  "..."

  "... Cough."

  The opaque gaze directed at Tatsuya was quite clumsy no matter how you sliced it, but after that coughing sound — an overly exaggerated coughing sound — Haruka changed her posture.

  "Someone get a map. It's much faster this way."

  Tatsuya silently pulled out an information terminal.

  He opened the screen and set it to map mode.

  Haruka also pulled out a terminal — much more graceful and suave than Tatsuya's motion — and set it to directional transmission.

  After receiving the signal, a flashing light appeared on the map.

  "... That's literally right under our noses!"

  "... Are they mocking us?"

  The reason behind Leo and Erika's outrage lay in the fact that the enemy's lair could be reached by foot within an hour.

  The image was magnified before switching over to a more detailed layout.

  The location was the hills outside of the city proper, near the abandoned factories for the chemical dye industry.

  "... been confirmed that the factory was the hideout of the Eco-Terrorists, which was abandoned when they fled."

  Tatsuya was reading the additional notes.

  "They returned to this location without being detected by law enforcement officials."

  "So they're the same group?"

  Although phrased as a question, but given the looks on Mari and Mayumi's faces, their inner thoughts were hardly a secret.

  "Were toxic materials transported to this location during this time period?"

  "Hm, according to our investigation, there are no BC (biochemical) weapons on site."

  Hearing Katsuto's comment, Haruka nodded.

  "We should have no problems with transportation."

  "Have they detected our magic?"

  "Even if they did detect us, they wouldn't change their plans anyways. They're probably dug in and waiting for us to show up."

  Tatsuya referred to himself as "someone who was involved" not because all the victims were students affiliated with First High. The terrorists aimed to seize unpublished magic research and techniques. With that in mind, his own personal technique may also be targeted by the terrorists. Tatsuya inferred that Tsukasa Kinoe ambushed him in the first place to ascertain how effective his technique was.

  "Full frontal assault?"

  "That would probably be the tactic the enemy least expects."

  Tatsuya didn't need to say anything. The moment Miyuki announced such a warlike declaration, the two of them had already devised their strategy.

  Katsuto agreed on this point.

  "Yes, that is an acceptable tactic. Let me get the car ready."

  "Eh? Juumonji-kun is going as well?"

  Mayumi's question was probably mirrored in Tatsuya's thoughts.

  Katsuto definitely didn't seem like the type who would bar his subordinates from fighting, only to charge off to the front line on his own.

  "This is the duty of the Juumonji family who bear the name of the Ten Master Clans.

  But before that, I am still a student of First High, so there's no way I could watch this pass by without lifting a finger.

  I cannot leave this in the hands of the underclassmen alone."

  "... Then me too."

  "Saegusa, you can't go."

  "Mayumi, the situation would be problematic if the Student Council President wasn't available."

  "... I understand."

  It took the two of them combined to barely persuade Mayumi to reluctantly accept their proposal.

  "Then, if that is the case, Mari, you can't go either. There may be remnants still lurking on campus. As the Public Morals Committee Chief, leaving your post at this critical juncture would also cause difficulties."

  Now it was Mari's turn to grudgingly accept that condition.

  Completely ignoring the two women who were glaring (?) at one another, Katsuto turned his gaze on Tatsuya.

  "Shiba, are you leaving immediately? If we wait any longer, we may be forced to fight in the darkness."

  "This won't take too long. The battle will be over by dusk."

  "Is that so."

  Katsuto probably saw something in Tatsuya's adamant attitude.

  Thus, he didn't say anything further. He left the Nurse's Office after mentioning that he'd get the car.

  "The President and Club Activities Group Leader are both members of the Ten Master Clans, this I know... So what's Haruka-chan's background?"

  "We can talk about that later. Let's move."

  Leo's overly impetuous question was casually brushed aside by Tatsuya.

  Immediately following Tatsuya and Miyuki, Leo and Erika left the Nurse's Office.

  A large all-terrain vehicle was parked outside the school dormitories.

  An additional member occupied the passenger seat in the front row.

  "Yo, Shiba."

  "Kirihara-senpai."

  "You don't seem very surprised."

  "... No, I'm actually quite surprised."

  The primary source of shock came from his greeting, though it must be owed that the flower dangling from his lips helped.

  "Hey bro, I'm coming too."

  "Do as you wish."

  Tatsuya was completely unable to comprehend the state of mind necessary for Kirihara to utter those words.

  Regardless, daylight was burning.

  And so, Tatsuya got into the all-terrain vehicle, with his sister and friends closely behind.

  Chapter 11

  In a world dyed into a madder red,

  A large all-terrain vehicle reflected the rays of the setting sun as it sped through the city,

  Before smashing through the main doors leading to the factory.

  "Nice work, Leo."

  "......Nah, that was nothing."

  "Man, that was exhausting."

  All of a sudden, Leo was asked to encompass the entirety of a large all-terrain vehicle speeding along above 100 kilometers per hour with high level Fortify Magic at the moment of impact, an extremely taxing task that consumed all his reserves.

  "Shiba, this is your plan. Call it."

  Tatsuya accepted the authority and responsibility that Katsuto offered without any hesitation.

  "Leo, you remain here on guard.

  Erika, support Leo and take care of anyone trying to flee."

  "......Is it OK to not apprehend them?"

  "There's no need for such a risky action. To ensure minimal risk, just take them out.


  Kirihara-senpai and the Group Leader should loop around the left to the back entrance.

  Miyuki and I will enter here."

  "Understood."

  "OK, let's do it. I'll take care of every single one of the stragglers."

  "Tatsuya, be careful."

  "Miyuki, don't force yourself."

  Leo and Erika both accepted this arrangement, so they did not reveal any displeased expressions.

  With blade in hand — but not drawn — Kirihara charged away, with Katsuto leisurely following behind.

  Tatsuya and Miyuki both walked into the dark interior of the factory with the same ease as if they were entering a convenience store.

  ◇◇◇

  They encountered the enemy much sooner than expected.

  Heedless of cover, Tatsuya advanced fearlessly out into the open, where their opponents stood in neat lines in the center of the meeting ground area.

  "Welcome! Nice to meet you, Shiba Tatsuya-kun!

  And this hime-sama must be your sister, Miyuki-kun, right?"

  "You must be the branch commander of Blanche."

  Tatsuya coldly interrogated the man who had his arms spread out in an exaggerated welcoming motion.

  Roughly 30 years of age. Unusually young for this line of work.

  He wore rimless glasses atop his tall, lanky figure. From his outward appearance, he seemed like some sort of scholar or lawyer.

  "Oh, forgive my rudeness.

  Just as you said, I am the commander of Blanche's Japanese branch, Tsukasa Hajime."

  There was no sense of pressure, but that may be a biased opinion. In Tatsuya's mind, this man gave off the impression that he was an intellectual of a failed revolution.

  However, based on those ridiculous actions and mesmerized tone of voice, a glimmer of emotions as dark as the deepest abyss could be detected.

  "Is that so."

  Even though he had seen through his opponent's wild antics, Tatsuya didn't flinch. It didn't matter which of the seven Hells he was in, Tatsuya had already become accustomed to it. He did not need to ascertain the relationship between this man and Tsukasa Kinoe of the Men's Kendo Club, so all he did was ask this question, then firmly nod his head.

  Although he didn't verbalize it, but his attitude was enough to express his intent. Tatsuya removed the silver CAD from its holster.

  "Hm, a CAD. I thought you would bring firearms at least.

  That being said, you're a bold one. You came forward without any heed to nearby cover.