Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 05 - Summer Holiday Chapter Page 4
Perhaps encouraged more by his voice than his words,
"I... uhm, I... I like you!"
These words that Honoka finally managed to squeeze out, after all her hesitation, may have even managed to penetrate through to the other side of the darkness.
But Honoka didn't think about that at all.
Right now, to her, the two of them were the only ones in the whole world.
"—So how does Tatsuya-san feel about me?"
Unable to look him in the eyes Honoka squeezed her eyes tightly shut, yet an answer didn't come.
"...Did I cause you trouble?"
Gingerly opening her eyes Honoka asked in a tearful voice, but Tatsuya simply shook his head with a smile.
"Not at all. I had a feeling you might say something like this. Though I only realized around afternoon today."
As they looked at each other, Honoka felt she could sense a deep indescribable sadness in his eyes.
Preparing herself for the sorrow that was sure to come, Honoka squeezed her hands tightly. But Tatsuya's response, for better or for worse, was something unexpected entirely.
"...You know, Honoka, I'm actually a human missing part of his soul."
"...eh?"
"When I was a child, I was involved in a magic accident of sorts... some of my mental functions were erased."
Honoka's face paled visibly. Her pallor was evident even in the dark night.
Her eyes were open wide, and only a 'no way...' leaked out as she covered her mouth with her hands.
"At that time, I guess, I lost all of what you could call feelings of love. They weren't sealed, so they can't be released. They weren't broken, so they can't be fixed. That which is lost, cannot be recovered."
Tatsuya spoke casually as if it were someone else's affair.
"I can't feel love. I can like someone, but I could never fall in love with them. In a way, only the knowledge remains. Searching my mind, I can tell a part is missing."
As Honoka covered her mouth, she didn't utter anything like 'that's a lie' or 'I don't believe it'. She was literally shocked speechless. Only Tatsuya's profession rang though her mind.
"This may be an underhanded way of speaking, but, I do like you. However, that's only as a friend. No matter how hard you try, I will never be able to think of you as a special woman. That will definitely be something painful for you — something that will hurt you."
Saying so, a powerless smile drifted across his face.
"Which is why I cannot answer your feelings."
Tatsuya fell silent.
Honoka likewise.
Only the sound of breaking waves filled the dark night.
As the tide gradually crept up the shore,
and at length, finally reached their feet,
Honoka raised her head.
"Please don't be mad... you know, I had thought, Tatsuya-san liked Miyuki. Not as a sister, but as a woman."
"...That'd be a misunderstanding."
"Yes, it seems so. Tatsuya-san is smart, so... if you were lying, you'd definitely be able to come up with something more credible. I've never heard of a magic capable of erasing partial features of the mind, yet even so, I believe you. Still, that being said, it also means you'll never be able to love any other girl right?"
Somewhat puzzled at this unexpected turn of events, Tatsuya answered 'well, yeah...' with a nod.
"...If so, then it's fine."
"?"
"From now on always, Tatsuya-san will never have a lover right? If so, for me to like you, wouldn't turn into an illicit love right?"
"That's... true, I suppose."
"Then there's no problem. From now on as well, I'll continue to like you! Um, until I can like someone else that is!"
Her declaration was bright.
"...I don't mind."
Tatsuya nodded with a wry smile.
He wasn't so dull as to not understand why Honoka had purposely added 'until she likes someone else'.
◊ ◊ ◊
The sun aggressively asserted itself the next day as well.
The temperature was in excess of 30°C from the morning.
In that sweaty weather, upon the sandy beach—
A fierce scorching battle was being waged.
"Onii-sama, my back. Won't you help me with this sunscreen?"
"Tatsuya-san, want some juice?"
Or,
"Shizuku is lending us her jetski. Want a ride?"
"Apparently there's a nice dive spot just over there, want to go?"
And so on, while the others around felt the oppressively heated atmosphere.
"Miyuki, you really were holding back yesterday, huh..."
"Honoka-san, it seems a great weight has been lifted from you, huh..."
As Erika and Mizuki looked on in amazement,
"..."
Shizuku's face was troubled,
"Well, it seems he really has it tough."
Leo's face was filled with compassion,
"...Yoshida-kun, what's the matter?"
"Eh, no, it's nothing."
and Mikihiko was — no, well, for the sake of his honour it'd be best not to say.
Anyway as their friends each had their own separate thoughts as they gazed their way, Tatsuya alternated between Miyuki and Honoka's requests, sighing at every turn.
When jet skiing, he rode tandem with Miyuki in the passenger seat (afterwards was Honoka).
Truth be told, Honoka was actually a fairly competent swimmer — yesterday she had panicked for a different reason — as he went with her via motorboat to the dive spot (Miyuki also came along).
After applying sunscreen (or rather reapplying), he had food pushed into his mouth one after the other, like a goose being fed for foie gras ('ahhn's accompanied and all).
Being caught in this pressure hotter than the Ogasawara air mass (love pressure?), Tatsuya who was being constantly buffeted around in this burning atmosphere...
More than yesterday, more than ever, looked forward to being able to relax again.
The honour student's supplementary lesson
Entering into the second half of summer vacation, First High’s campus became rather deserted.
With the Nine Schools Competition – a major event of the summer season – drawing to a close, the various athletic clubs fell into a state of self-guided practice. Another week into the future, all the clubs would once again be bustling with activity in order to welcome the new semester, but currently even club activities fell prey to summer vacation.
Yet, the place was not completely deserted as a small minority of students still came to engage in individual practice. This was especially the case for Year 1 students, who found it difficult to use the training facilities when certain upperclassmen were present and could now take full advantage of this opportunity to fully employ the facilities.
In the sealed practice field for mock battles, the figures of many a Year 1 student could be seen.
◊ ◊ ◊
Someone was running amidst the irregularly erected large, square pillars.
With vision so severely limited like this in a room, this was practically a maze even if there were no walls. The intermittent flashes of light as well as the abandoned terrain littered about one’s feet aroused the terror that one might stumble at any moment.
Nevertheless, deceleration was out of the question even under these conditions. This was a timed exercise that was in progress. Even if this was individual practice, leaving behind a terrible blemish was unacceptable.
The forest of pillars split into a fork in the road.
The choice was made in a flash – take the right path. There was an automatic turret set just ahead.
As if on reflex, the right hand holding the CAD aimed the “muzzle” and pulled the trigger.
The preset Mass-Type Magic for competitive use was triggered.
The gravity sensory devices flipped a switch and the automatic turret ceased moving.
Cold sweat drippe
d down his back a little after the fact, but there was no time to ponder this. In order to salvage the time lost when his footsteps came to a halt on reflex, he had to pick up the speed to complete the exercise. Thus, he passed to the side of the motionless automatic turret and corrected his trajectory by following the curve formed by the pillars on the left.
At that instant –
--His flank suffered a vicious impact.
--The alarm signaling his disqualification rang out.
◊ ◊ ◊
Along the racetrack that was illuminated once more, Morisaki grimaced as he glanced down at his body. A red paint pellet was tightly stuck to the right side of the practice uniform worn by the Battler Shooting Club.
The pellet could be directly peeled off by hand since it had already dried off, but in order to properly clean the uniform he needed to use the removal fluid stored in the preparation room. Morisaki swiftly headed for the exit in order to avoid obstructing the next user.
The sound of him brutally shoving the door open caused the female student performing maintenance on the shooting device used for Guided Shooting to widen her eyes and turn around. (Guided Shooting utilized bullets fired with magic rather than employing gunpowder or compressed air. This was a magic competition that fired small bullets that had a diameter of 2.54 cm (1 in). The shooting device used specifically for Guided Shooting was shaped like a rifle and the stock of the rifle was altered so that there were four channels fixed in place so bullets could be inserted from four different locations and a CAD was mounted within.)
“……Morisaki, you’re rude.”
This female student – Takigawa Kazumi from Year 1 Class C, stopped working on the shooting device and turned a caring voice towards Morisaki.
“Takigawa…… You’re a member from the Guided Shot (Guided Shooting Club). What are you doing here?”
“Woah, you actually responded like that.”
Just as Takigawa said, Morisaki’s response was “like that” and certainly rubbed others in the wrong way.
“I came to look for a few components for the internal CAD and I have received permission from your club leader. That’s why I think there’s no reason for you to ask something like “What are you doing here”?”
“Hmph…… And this can’t be done in storage?”
“So sorry about that. I’m going to say this first, sharing excess components has always been a tradition among the shooting clubs. Morisaki had no idea because you always use your own CAD.”
Setting aside members of the Student Council or Public Moral Committee who have been granted the right to carry CADs on campus, “normal club members” had to configure the reserve CADs provided to the various clubs and equipped with restrictions in the Local Positioning System for personal use. Upon entering high school, Morisaki had immediately joined the Public Moral Committee and had always used his own CAD even during club activities, so there was no chance he could have learned about the club’s processes and procedures for CAD maintenance.
This rejoinder was normally proof against any rebuttal, but Morisaki only snorted and turned his back on Takigawa. Wholly ignoring her words about “rubbing the wrong way”, he removed the spray can from the cabinet by the wall and sprayed it over his flank. The paint pellet stuck to his side fell off and landed on the ground in one piece. Several similarly red contours lay scattered across the floor.
“Morisaki…… How many times has it been now? Aren’t you pushing yourself too much? You should probably call it a day now.”
“……Are you worried about me?”
“Of course I’m worried about you.”
Morisaki rubbed away at the sweat that endlessly dripped from his forehead and spoke with a mocking tone. Takigawa nodded in earnest in reply.
“I want to make this perfectly clear. This is not because I’m interested in you, crushing on you, or some sort of malicious joke. I just can’t stand by and say nothing as someone I know collapses in front of me.”
“—I’m aware of that.”
Heedless of her words, Morisaki left those words as he turned to leave. Takigawa pressed on.
“In that case, you should stop here today. Continuing to practice will only pointlessly waste your strength, nor can you derive any personal satisfaction out of it.”
Takigawa directly took in the ugly glare Morisaki sent her way without averting her eyes.
“—I got it.”
The one who looked away first was Morisaki.
He ceased to speak and vanished into the men’s changing room.
“I can relate to that sort of anxiety, but…… No, I probably can’t understand. After all, “he” and Morisaki are both boys.”
Takigawa watched his back disappear and murmured to herself.
◊ ◊ ◊
Morisaki took off the club uniform and changed into a shirt and the school pants. Just as he was about to put on the school uniform for the summer, his eye fell across the embroidered insignia on the pocket that lay over the left bosom.
--Four months ago, he took pride in that insignia.
--Yet recently, he was usually confounded by a frustration that found no release.
This unexplainable frustration continued to erode Morisaki’s heart. Nay, perhaps it was more appropriate to describe this as “a truth he did not wish to explain”.
Morisaki forsook wearing the coat and draped it over one shoulder as he walked out of the changing room.
He squinted his eyes and raised his gaze towards the blazing sun that illuminated the earth.
Even without Takigawa reminding him, Morisaki could feel the anxiety building in him.
Still, without her putting it so plainly, Morisaki might still be wasting his time on fruitless self-practice even now. That was something Morisaki comprehended.
Next time they met, he should buy her a popsicle, Morisaki thought.
His injury from the Nine Schools Competition was deemed as having to take over a month to heal, though thanks to the advent of magical healing, he was the picture of good health. Nevertheless, his body had grown rusty after staying in the hospital for a week and he hadn’t fully recovered to his original level. At least, that was how Morisaki felt about himself.
Also……
--Forget being boosted by the experience on the grandest stage, his magic skills seemed to have regressed compared to his state before summer vacation—
This doubt lurked in the recesses of his heart.
Morisaki was aware that this was not a healthy state of mind, but he was unable to beat down his frustration.
(After all, there’s no teacher present……)
Course 1 students possessed the “privilege” of being individually instructed by the instructors, but this was of course out of the question with no instructor on campus. This went beyond Morisaki, as even the participants of the Nine Schools Competition wouldn’t typically receive instruction during summer vacation and would have to make an appointment for some time after next week.
If all he wanted was to learn theory then a simple visit to the library would suffice, but at the moment Morisaki was contemplating how to improve his technical skills. He was not decadent enough to ask for practical experience, but at the very least he wished to improve his magical abilities. That was the thought that dominated Morisaki’s mind.
◊ ◊ ◊
When speaking of the Morisaki Family, the first thing that came to mind was the “Quick Draw” technique.
Among the Hundred Families, the Morisaki Family was a side family that did not possess a “number”. Though their magic power was rated as pedestrian, when it came to practicality under specialized conditions, they received high praise thanks to their unique talents. Even when compared to the “Numbered Families”, their talents matched if not exceeded them outright.
So, what sort of technique was “Quick Draw”?
In reality, this title did not contain any hidden meaning. “Quick Draw” was simply “quick activation”. This te
chnique was designed with one thing in mind – how to activate magic as quickly as possible when employing CADs. Specifically speaking, this was a technique that jumpstarted CAD activity and activation before the CAD had even been raised in hopes of using magic to subdue the opponent before they could release their magic.
Strength was a secondary priority.
Degree of difficulty was not within the realm of consideration.
Even if the strength of the magic was lowered, so long as the attack could be launched first then a successful incapacitation of the enemy could be achieved.
After CADs became available at large, the speed of magic activation also increased. This technique was developed with this consideration in mind to utterly maximize speed and its element lay in the development and modification of CAD operation to raise efficiency.
In pursuit of speed, the focal point naturally drifted towards Specialized CAD and not Generalized CADs. Specialized CADs in the form of handguns were currently mainstream, so the first developed technique was the motion of swiftly drawing the handgun-shaped CAD and firing.
Hence the English name “Quick Draw”.
This initial development brought about an unforeseen side effect.
From not holding a CAD, which is to say being “completely unarmed”, to striking down the ambusher by activating magic before they could. This technique was highly compatible with Japanese operatives who usually carried concealed arms.
American special agents might intentionally brandish a weapon to threaten the attacker, but Japanese agents were asked to conceal their weapons so as to reduce the anxiety level of their principals or related personnel.
Owing to the unique nature of this ability, the Morisaki Family frequently accepted bodyguard requests. Their primary clients were civilian corporations that could not always call upon the police or military for personal protection. Although their primary objective remained researching modern magic, the Morisaki Family was better known in society for their side job running a protection agency.