Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 04 - Nine Schools Competition (II) Read online

  Shizuku's words were only right.

  Tatsuya put such things out of his mind, and switched to Shizuku's perspective.

  "At first we'll go according to plan. But from the quarterfinals on will be match format. I'll service your CAD in the morning, so be sure to let me take a look."

  "Got it."

  The format between the qualifier and finals is different. The qualifier is to see how many of the 100 clay targets you can destroy in five minutes, a test of the speed and reliability of your magic. In the finals however, it's a test to see which player can destroy the most targets being fired into the same area. The factors of speed and reliability are joined by raw power and the ability to overcome interference from your opponents. As per the nature of this competition, the magic you normally use will also change accordingly.

  Depending on the type of magic to be used, it's not uncommon to change the specialized CADs used for the competition themselves.

  Tatsuya was now making preparations for the next contestants — for the next match that would follow, and the one after that.

  Shizuku went alone to the storage tent to fetch the CADs used for the tournament finals.

  ◇◇◇

  "All three of them qualified huh......"

  Back in the tent which served as the headquarters of First High, Mayumi went over the results of the Speed Shooting preliminaries.

  Whilst looking, Mayumi gave a small soliloquy.

  "Maybe the 1st Year girls this year are just of a special level?"

  Eight names had qualified for the finals from a preliminary of twenty four.

  Three of those eight names were from the same school, having made it through to the finals of the Newcomer's Battle, an unprecedented number.

  "Mari, won't you give up your pretense?"

  Mayumi's remarks were normally followed by a tsukkomi by Mari, but this time she simply shrugged in silence.

  Her pose seemed to suggest futility.

  "I wonder how the Battle Board will turn out."

  At Mayumi's question, Suzune deliberately took out her terminal and checked. ('Deliberately' in the sense that she knew in her head already.)

  "The men's team missed the cut even after the second race, while the women's qualified after the first."

  "The men are down to one last guy huh. On the girls' side, Mitsui-san's in the last race and is certain to make it through the prelims...... it seems A-chan has been working hard."

  As Mayumi muttered to herself,

  "We may want to devote a bit more time to technical skills on our side as well."

  Looking over the same report card from his own terminal, Katsuto responded in disgust.

  ◇◇◇

  The quarterfinals of Speed Shooting took place on four shooting ranges.

  If the eight who had advanced to the tournament proper were all from different schools the semis could have been resolved in four simultaneous games, but at the presence of competitors from the same school, the games had to be adjusted so as to not overlap (there is no competition between entrants of the same school during the semis.)

  That being said, compared to conducting the semis one by one on a single range, the interval between each game was rather short. As three of First High's women's team had advanced to the semis, the engineers were kept very busy.

  "......Tatsuya-san, is everything alright?"

  Being last in turn, Shizuku reflexively spoke up when Tatsuya rushed in as she sat in the waiting room (although since she was in a tent, it couldn't strictly be called a 'room').

  Maybe it was a trick of the mind, but it seemed to her that he was also slightly out of breath.

  "It's fine."

  With that short answer, Tatsuya began a final check of the CAD.

  As Shizuku looked on — or rather stared — he rapidly scrolled through the monitor of the adjustment device ensuring there were no abnormalities, before finally meeting Shizuku's eye.

  "I think you already know, but this is a totally different model from the ones used in the preliminaries. There's almost no time now, but if there's even the slightest discomfort, I'll re-adjust it as much as possible so please feel free to tell me anything."

  Taking the CAD from Tatsuya, Shizuku took a stance and after repeatedly pulling the trigger with her finger two, three times, she put the CAD down.

  "There's nothing of the sort. Rather, it fits so well it's almost frightening."

  "I see."

  She didn't thump her chest or anything, but at Tatsuya's relieved look, Shizuku's expression filled with fighting spirit.

  "The other two won didn't they?"

  "Yeah."

  The other two, referred to her teammates who had already gone.

  Those two, who had along with Shizuku advanced to the finals tournament, seemed to have clinched a win in the semi finals as well.

  "It's fine."

  Once again, Tatsuya used the same words, but with a different meaning.

  "If Shizuku performs as usual, you'll definitely win."

  "Of course."

  At that, Shizuku gave a brief yet far more vigorous than usual nod.

  "Tatsuya-san has already made all the arrangements I need for victory, so all that's left is for me to take it."

  "That's the spirit."

  Without challenging her early declaration of success, Tatsuya saw her off with a smile.

  ◇◇◇

  "It's finally Shizuku-san's turn."

  "Hey hey, if even Mizuki is nervous how should I cope?"

  "But aren't you all excited as well Erika-chan? If Shizuku-san wins here, three of the final best four will be from our school!"

  "Aren't you a bit too nervous regardless? Shizuku is definitely going to win after all."

  At that confident affirmation, mingled with a teasing remark from Miyuki to 'take a deep breath and calm down', Mizuki obediently cleared her mind and inhaled.

  "......I wonder if this also counts as a sort of promise."

  "......I guess even Mizuki-san can be playful at times."

  Rather than as a result of the deep breathing, but more from not wanting to cause Miyuki and Honoka any more worry, Mizuki finally regained her composure.

  "I wonder what kind of twist we'll see this time."

  Hearing Mikihiko's voice bearing a hint of excitement, Erika made a 'huh?' expression.

  "Good point. What will jump out this time, I can't even begin to guess."

  The one who actually responded aloud was Leo.

  "His mind is almost like a jack-in-the-box."

  "You can talk."

  For Mikihiko to look forward to and show interest in magic was something Erika hadn't seen for a long time.

  Whether this change had been brought about simply by watching the competition with others, she couldn't say. Perhaps without her knowing, something had happened between Tatsuya and Mikihiko...... without voicing anything aloud, Erika pondered such things.

  "Eh? That's......"

  Breaking her out of her train of thought and back to reality was a querulous voice.

  "What is it?"

  "That CAD.....?"

  Mikihiko's gaze was fixed on the CAD Shizuku held under her arm by a strap.

  That rifle shaped CAD at first glance, with the exception of the strap, was no different from the CAD the other contestants were using. But the area of the gun where ammunition would normally be stored was thicker than the others.

  Mikihiko's school traditionally didn't place much emphasis on CADs. They still mainly utilized magic activated by charms. But ever since the accident last year, Mikihiko had obsessively been studying up on modern magic technology.

  To compensate for what he had lost.

  The result of that had been evident in his test results.

  Mikihiko had considerably more confidence in CADs than comparable modern mages.

  If his eyes weren’t mistaken.

  "Is that...... a general purpose CAD?"

  "Eh, you're kidding?"


  "Yeah, well, it is."

  "I've never heard of a general CAD shaped like a rifle before. Firstly, isn't combining auxiliary sighting systems into a general system technically impossible?"

  It was only natural that Leo, Mizuki, and Erika would ask one question after another.

  But Mikihiko simply shook his head with confidence.

  "The arrangement of the body portion just above the trigger of the CAD is without a doubt FLT's general purpose 'Centaur' series. The Centaur series is a type which doesn't have any interfaces on the main body and can be used without any external input devices, but the connector has had a grip and auxiliary aim assist system attached."

  "You really know your stuff."

  Miyuki's words as she turned around and grinned confirmed Mikihiko's observations.

  "Eh? Then, that is?"

  "You're right Erika. That's specially handcrafted by Onii-sama. It was specifically made to incorporate auxiliary aiming systems into a general purpose CAD."

  At Miyuki's proud words, the knowledge that the CAD was a special made-to-order model, Erika was rendered speechless at the amount of effort that must have taken.

  "I don't think I could feel any more surprised but...... just what is it all for?"

  "Of course, for the match."

  Honoka's brief answer was not near enough to satisfy Leo's, and the other three's questions.

  But no subsequent explanation followed through.

  As if by common consent, the six of them faced forwards. The signal for the start of the match began to light up.

  ◇◇◇

  Red and white clay targets danced in the sky.

  Shizuku's targets were the red ones.

  The three red targets that twisted through the air and entered the scoring zone, flew together towards the centre and shattered.

  "Movement system...... no, that's wrong. Convergence system?"

  In the tent used by each school as a headquarters, large monitors covering every aspect of the competitions gave full view of the matches underway.

  Both Suzune and Mayumi were watching Shizuku's match on the monitor with their full attention.

  "Correct."

  This time, all red targets which entered the scoring area were being drawn into the middle and destroyed.

  "That's the magic used in the qualifiers isn't it?"

  "Yes. It's a continuous invocation of convergence magic and vibration magic."

  Two of the white targets collided and broke apart.

  The opponent from Second High was using an orthodox tactic of targeting the clay itself using movement magic, and turning it into a bullet to hit other targets.

  Although orthodox, its effectiveness had been amply demonstrated by past performances.

  But from the outset, the majority of the targets being removed from around the outer area were white.

  Since most of those had been hit around the outer edge, the problem lay not in the technical ability of the contestant but rather...

  "I get that the area of effect is able to recognize the targets on a macro level and enhance the density of red targets in the centre via convergence, whilst displacing the white targets from that centre but......"

  The basic form of Convergence Magic works by defining existing space via the Magic Ritual, then taking that defined 'data' and selectively manipulating it via designated coordinates using that same Magic Ritual.

  For example, Mayumi's magic which utilizes dry ice to make bullets and send them flying, in order to create a sufficient number of bullets, initially also uses Convergence Magic to gather carbon dioxide.

  In this case, carbon dioxide is collected in one place while other gases are pushed aside, but this does not mean a high density mass of carbon dioxide is made, as the CO2 rather flows through designated coordinates whilst other gases are drawn out.

  In the same manner, Shizuku's magic replaced carbon dioxide with red targets.

  A special zone — in this case, the centre of the scoring area — was set up as a 'space where red targets are gathered' by that Systematic Convergence Magic.

  More specifically a square space 20 meters per side, comfortably covering the entire scoring area and more, was magically altered to become a 'space with a high density of red clay targets in the centre.'

  The volume of that area is huge, but as the total number of clay targets at any one time is small, there isn't a large burden on the operator. What is modified isn't the space itself, but rather the distribution of clay targets within that space.

  The modification of data via the Magic Ritual results in red targets being drawn to the centre of the area, while white targets are repelled. The targets the Second High contestant directly controlled weren’t affected by such minor interference, but the targets the Second High student tried to hit, due to not receiving any magic from her, had their trajectories changed by Shizuku's magic and as a result, white targets began to be missed.

  The rules of the Speed Shooting tournament finals state that as long as you do not directly attack your opponent, interference is allowed. But as the clay targets fly for only short irregular periods, it's very hard to block your opponent and shoot your own targets at the same time. There were many cases when vacillating between sniping and interfering resulted in self destruction, but as Shizuku's Systematic Convergence Magic flawlessly linked disturbing the opponent and destroying one's own targets, it was a very skillful strategy.

  While few, there are some examples of this strategy being used in the past, all of which shared one effect. As strong interference strength is needed, the strategy involves the selection of an appropriate contestant. Therefore while the window of opportunity is small, Mayumi had also firmly studied this tactic.

  So what Mayumi was asking concerning this magic was not that in itself.

  "But then, how is she able to turn on and off the Systematic Vibration Magic at the end?"

  If multiple targets flew together, they would shatter as is.

  If a red target was alone however, vibration magic was used to destroy it.

  It had been configured as a single magic, so for her to be able to independently trigger the Systematic Vibration Magic to destroy targets was peculiar.

  "I wonder if it's been scheduled that multiple targets would fly together before the Vibration Magic has a chance to trigger?"

  Mayumi's tone as she reasoned to herself said that not even she believed it.

  There's no merit to applying such a time difference.

  "Pres, I did say it was 'continuous invocation of Systematic Convergence Magic and Systematic Vibration Magic' didn't I?"

  With a sly smile, Suzune corrected Mayumi's misunderstanding.

  Mayumi immediately understood the meaning of those words.

  And upon reflection, immediately cried a rebuttal.

  "No way! The systems in a specialized CAD should only be able to store one single Activation Sequence!?"

  "Your doubts are well founded, except that's not a specialized CAD, but a general one."

  Suzune's answer only brought Mayumi still more confusion.

  "That's impossible! The hardware, OS and architecture between specialized and general CADs are totally different.

  And auxiliary aiming devices are subsystems which only fit within the architecture of a specialized CAD.

  Connecting an auxiliary aiming device to the body of a general CAD is technically impossible isn't it?"

  Mayumi's stressful speech gradually settled down, but from the blush of her cheeks it was still possible to glimpse her raw excitement.

  Suzune's smile, now calm and mature, turned into something to soothe her companion.

  "I thought so too. But, I guess it really is possible. This isn't something original to Shiba-kun, but was announced in Germany a year ago."

  "......one year ago, isn't that pretty much state of the art?"

  "It's best if you're not surprised simply by this much, Pres. He's being real coy about it, but Shiba-kun has some
thing even more cutting edge in store."

  "Hahh...... Well, if it's confidential it can't be helped. But for him to tell Rin-chan about it and not me is a bit of a shock."

  "The Pres is a contestant. I'm sure he simply didn't want to upset you."

  "I guess...... if I had known about a technique like this in advance, I certainly might have become a bit agitated."

  As their eyes returned to the monitor, the scores of both players and the remaining time were displayed onscreen.

  With the clock ticking down, victory had already been decided.

  ◇◇◇

  (30 seconds remaining)

  Having been repeatedly training these past two weeks, practicing over and over, she was now able to measure exactly the flow of the 5 minutes of the competition.

  The moment red clay flew into the blue sphere projected by her goggles, Shizuku triggered her CAD.

  The target shattered.

  The competition allows the use of the protective goggles to double as a sighting aid. In fact, the number of competitors who don't do so are rare. (The case of players like Mayumi who have their own sights aside.) However, rather than aiming directly at the target, Shizuku's functioned as a HMD (head mount display) in order to distinguish space. Or rather, it should be called Tatsuya's.

  As with all the unorthodox techniques Tatsuya had proposed, Shizuku had also been puzzled with this at first. However, possibly because she had no actual competition experience, she fortunately didn't take any time to get used to it. Once she was comfortable, it matched her more perfectly than any other equipment or techniques than she would have believed.

  Anyway, it was easy.

  There was almost no stress associated with the normal use of magic.

  Shizuku herself was aware that her weakness was fine control.

  That was why she had requested her CAD engineers to add features that assist in the smoothing of detailed settings.

  Even at the expense of speed, her aim was to ensure that her CAD would be able to output power at a reliable level.