Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 06 - Yokohama Disturbance Chapter (I) Page 7

  There were simultaneous attacks from multiple channels, signifying that this hacking attempt was not done by an amateur.

  This was done by specialists specifically to data mine the construct.

  There was a high possibility that this was not by chance, but a specific attack on this household's IP address.

  No matter how many times they were beaten back, they continued pressing forward.

  Quite the determined bunch indeed.

  Looks like we have to switch to another IP address, Tatsuya groaned to himself as he sighed while activating the tracer.

  During lunch break the next day.

  Tatsuya stopped by the Counseling Room.

  His target was obviously Haruka.

  Of course, the subject of this conversation wasn't something trivial like teenage worries or fancies.

  "......Unfortunately, the link was cut in the middle. Hence the source of the attack was not uncovered."

  Haruka did nothing to hide her unwillingness to help — more like intentionally put that on full display — despite the fact that this wasn't an attitude a counselor should display. Nonetheless, after taking into account that Tatsuya's business had nothing to do with counseling and their history, this was hardly Haruka's fault.

  "......And then? I'll say this ahead of time, I'm not capable of tracing them over the web."

  Hearing that highly exasperated voice, Tatsuya almost burst into laughter. Still, doing so would undoubtedly rouse her ire, so he made sure to wipe that off his face.

  "Naturally, I'm aware of sensei's strengths, nor do I plan to venture into such troublesome territory."

  "Then what do you want?"

  A wary expression spread across Haruka's face.

  Whenever Tatsuya looked like he was about to cut into a serious conversation, she had to suspect that he had some ulterior motive up his sleeve. That was a lesson she had already learned by now.

  "Regarding organizations that have recently been secretly trafficking in magic intel, could you elaborate on anything within your purview?"

  Seeing Tatsuya adopt a "friendly" smile with a placating attitude, Haruka furrowed her brows in displeasure.

  "......I say, Shiba-kun. You do know I have to maintain confidentiality, correct?"

  "Naturally."

  "............"

  Haruka's mouth pressed into a thin line and stopped.

  She probably wanted to say "Brazen little......", Tatsuya thought.

  As to why, he himself thought this way.

  That being said, it's not like that comment stung him.

  "......From the end of last month to the first days of this one, several illegal aliens managed to infiltrate Yokohama and the surrounding environs."

  In a tone that one could almost hear her sighing in, Haruka began anew.

  Once enthralled by sweet temptation, escaping its grasp became difficult. For people working in the intelligence field, this was one of the rudimentary lessons.

  Can't believe she fell for that...... Haruka's heart was filled with regret.

  "Despite the county police and coast guard combining their efforts, they don't have much to show for it. At the same time, both 'MaxiMilian' and 'Roazen' suffered thefts."

  MaxMilian and Roazen were the top of the line in global CAD production. In other words, their goal lay in the production facilities for magic devices.

  "Hard to think this is a sheer coincidence."

  "Right now there is no confirmation that this was done by the same group. Shiba-kun, I advise you to avoid submitting the thesis online and bring a hard copy instead."

  Only her last words were spoken with any sincerity.

  Haruka diverted her gaze to her desk as Tatsuya sought to verify her intentions.

  This was a sign that she didn't wish to continue the conversation.

  Tatsuya knew better than to push onward.

  After school at the HQ for the Public Moral Committee, Tatsuya was conveying last night's events to Isori.

  "......So, there was no loss?"

  "Nothing really happened."

  Tatsuya raised a hand to stop Isori, who had risen in concern, as he smiled wryly and shook his head.

  Isori was someone who could instantly transform into a "neutral, beautiful young lady" simply by changing a set of uniforms, so having him approach unnecessarily was still an uncomfortable experience.

  Of course, since these opinions couldn't be expressed, he had to ensure that he didn't unconsciously tilt backwards.

  "Compared to that, anything happen at your residence, Isori-senpai?"

  Isori started before furrowing his brows and lowering his voice.

  "You mean that the hacker's goal was......"

  His soft voice oddly contained a hint of feminine charm.

  Rumor had it that the man once despaired over the small number of male friends, but apparently that wasn't because they disliked him and was more likely they kept him at arm's length for a reason...... Contrary to the words he spoke, these thoughts were running through Tatsuya's mind.

  "Given the hacker's modus operandi, their target is likely the research files associated with a magic thesis. Based on the timing, we cannot rule out that this is related to the competition itself."

  Actually, based on the time frame, another reason boasted a higher probability, but that information was too sensitive for him to be that open about it.

  Also, prudence harmed no one.

  Tatsuya's words caused Isori's brows to bunch together, displaying an expression that he was considering whether there were any premonitions lying down that path.

  "Right now, there aren't any clues on the table...... Still, I think we should inform Ichihara-senpai about what happened."

  "You're right."

  Tatsuya originally planned to do just that, so he immediately nodded in assent at Isori's proposal.

  "Kei, sorry for the wait~."

  A delighted voice that ended with a trill interrupted their conversation.

  Needless to say, the one who sat beside Isori with a flourish without waiting for a response and latched onto his arm before flirting with him was Kanon.

  "Tatsuya-kun, long time no see."

  With a wry smile that said, what am I going to do with her, Mari also arrived and greeted Tatsuya.

  While questioning whether 10 days constitutes "long time no see", after considering that they used to meet every school day up until last month, this did give off the impression that they hadn't seen each other for some time.

  "Indeed. Long time no see."

  Tatsuya rose and gave Mari his seat.

  "Oh, thank you."

  Mari didn't bother to decline and sat with a smile.

  As usual, she was still a vibrant, handsome woman, Tatsuya thought as he said "You're welcome", and pulled up another chair to sit next to Mari.

  "So, Tatsuya-kun, how is Kanon handling her new responsibilities?"

  And Mari promptly dropped this bombshell.

  Well, the former Chief inquiring on the effectiveness of the acting Chief was still within expectations, but if she and Isori were present, this conversation topic became a little awkward.

  "Mari nee-san!?"

  Then again, the sight of Kanon panicking swiftly illuminated the reasoning behind that question.

  Quite the pleasant upperclassman-underclassman relationship, no?

  "Since we don't run patrols together, I'm not familiar with the particulars, but......"

  Given the hilarious potential, Tatsuya decided to put on an act.

  "She is very well organized and specializes in throwing out unnecessary junk. At times, she seems overly decisive."

  Tatsuya finished speaking with a perfectly serious expression and a tone with no voice inflections whatsoever, prompting both Mari and Kanon to squirm in their seats. Mari did so because she was well aware of her own deficiencies in organizational skills, while Kanon was reflecting on the numerous times she tossed something that shouldn't have been thrown a
way and had been forced to retrieve them.

  Tatsuya's comments weren't just directed to Kanon since Mari plainly read between the lines of his words, but Isori was hopelessly lost.

  Isori directed an outwardly solemn (?), but actually gentle reminder to Kanon.

  "......Despite Shiba-kun's words, doesn't Kanon have a lot of things on her plate too? Relying on me is one thing, but everything else has been handed over to Shiba-kun."

  "......So I'm not good at those things. I'm a firm believer in division of labor."

  Her tantrum and flirtatious behavior were a world of difference from her usual — whenever Isori was not around — fiery attitude. Seeing this, both Tatsuya and Mari chuckled wryly.

  "OK, we can talk about everything else some other time......"

  That's about enough of that, Tatsuya thought as he turned over a new leaf as he urged Mari to "cut to the chase".

  "OK, let's leave it at that. Actually, I came to discuss security for the Thesis Competition."

  "Security? Is the Public Moral Committee on duty?"

  "Exactly."

  Having students serve as "security" for extracurricular activities was odd to say the least, but Tatsuya seemed to be the only one ill at ease. That was probably because this was the case every year.

  "Even though we're called security, we don't actually provide guards for the site itself. The Magic Association will dispatch specialists for that purpose."

  Rather than dodging the question, Mari provided an explanation before the question could be asked.

  "The topic I want to discuss would be personal bodyguards for the team members as well as guards to watch over the report materials and supplies. After all, the Thesis Competition contains restricted information that 'may not be publicized to personnel unrelated to the magic universities'. This is public knowledge. Owing to these reasons, participants for the Thesis Competition are often the target of industrial spies."

  Tatsuya was slightly surprised by this oddly appropriate topic. Even though this fell within his projected predictions, he still couldn't contain his astonishment.

  "......Such as breaking into household servers?"

  "......No, this is at the high school level after all...... Despite calling them spies, they are only small timers trying to make some money off this event. There's no precedent for someone hacking in to steal information......"

  That makes perfect sense, Tatsuya thought as he heard Mari's answer.

  In modern age, network intrusion was a serious felony. Stealing information through the network warranted heavier punishment than normal theft and belonged in the same category as homicide. At the same time, network protection had also improved substantially, making this an unprofitable venture for professional criminals.

  Then the hackers from last night were indeed from....... As Tatsuya drifted into his thoughts, Mari's words picked up steam.

  "Instead, we should say that security is required to prevent theft and burglary. Four years ago, there was a precedent where one of the speakers was attacked en route. Following that, each school arranged for guards to accompany key personnel in the weeks approaching the event."

  Luckily, Tatsuya was able to focus in time before the conversation concluded.

  "Of course, our school also follows this practice every year. The guards are selected from the Public Moral Committee and the Club Activities Group, though each principal will pick from this group."

  "I will be responsible for Kei."

  Of course! Kanon interrupted.

  Quite the amusing reaction, Tatsuya thought, but this time he didn't break into a wry smile or break into laughter.

  "......Well, looks like Isori has no complaints, so let's go with that. Of course, that includes an assistant...... Kanon, don't kick aside your teammates, OK?"

  "Hey! No one is going to do something like that. I'm not that childish."

  Seeing that pout and puffed up cheeks, Kanon's words "not that childish" were a little hard to take at face value, but three warm gazes chose to overlook the words "not that childish".

  "Ichihara decided to take Hattori and Kirihara as her guards."

  "The Club Activities Group Leader himself, eh?"

  "I thought Hattori couldn't even look Ichihara in the eye?"

  Mari replied to Tatsuya's blandly voiced question with a mischievous smirk.

  "Next...... Is what are we going to do with you."

  "There's no need."

  Mari maintained her devilish smirk as she spoke, to which Tatsuya replied immediately in the negative.

  "Meh, that's also true."

  Likewise, Mari didn't have any intention of convincing Tatsuya otherwise.

  "There's no point in surrounding you with guards, since there's a higher chance of them getting in the way. I understand, so I'll pass that along to Hattori."

  At Mari's response, Tatsuya finally asked a question.

  "Speaking of which, why is Watanabe-senpai here?"

  There was no particular reason behind this question. Tatsuya was curious as to why the current Chief Kanon wasn't coordinating this, but the previous Chief Mari was coordinating between the Public Moral Committee and Club Activities Group.

  "......Uh, there's no real reason......"

  At Mari's vague mumbling, Tatsuya face colored in ire.

  He clearly received the signal at how much they were overly protected as Mari twisted to one side in embarrassment.

  ◇◇◇

  The products in First High's student store had far surpassed the level of "high school student stores".

  Still, each of the nine magic high schools was like this, so as to provide materials related to magic studies not sold in normal stores to reduce student stress and raise necessary supplies to meet the rising demand.

  In the end, this was still a small student store on campus, so if there was an item that simply couldn't be obtained on campus, then students still had to go off campus to obtain them.

  In this area, all nine magic high schools were also the same, as stores had sprouted along the nearby streets leading to the high schools to provide materials, notebooks, books, and miscellaneous items that could not be purchased in the student store.

  As mentioned above, the stores lined along the streets near First High had a plethora of selections available.

  Tatsuya and Isori were purchasing slides for the 3-D projector in one of the shops in front of the station. The deadline for the project was tomorrow, so they couldn't afford to wait for the student store to get new merchandise.

  "Plainly, we would be fine without the senpais accompanying us......"

  The reason that Tatsuya still said this halfway through the trip was partially because he was apologetic that the upperclassmen had to tag along the entire time, and partially to suppress Kanon, who latched onto her lover heedless of other people watching them.

  Clearly, the grass was greener on the other side, while the reverse was also true. Possibly, the bystanders had a more objective view of the situation.

  Since Kanon was the only one flirting whereas Isori seemed entirely at a loss what to do, the pair was not completely hopeless yet.

  Speaking of which, Miyuki was still on campus. Kanon had a legitimate reason in serving as Isori's protection, but even if this was a temporary jaunt, Miyuki didn't have the luxury of abandoning her responsibilities in the Student Council and following her brother. Currently, precisely because she was well aware that Kanon was with them, she was hammering away at the terminal with great irritation.

  "No, leaving everything to Shiba-kun would be bad form. Also, I want to verify the products as well."

  Basically, the overly diligent Isori's reply was only to be expected.

  At this point, Tatsuya didn't think he could just send the two of them packing either. His earlier comment was both a mild complaint and also an attempt to clear out the slightly feminine laughter that needled the ears. He could relax after making the conscious decision to block all this out, which was o
ne area that Tatsuya excelled in.

  Afterwards, using an incredibly slow pace that wasted another 5 minutes, they finally arrived at the shop.

  Tatsuya swiftly made all the necessary purchases and let Isori know that "I'm waiting outside", before stepping out of the store.

  Finally able to catch some peace and quiet, Tatsuya noticed that someone was spying on him.

  There was no sign that someone was shadowing him. Even if he had been harassed by sweet whispers expected (?) from a high school couple, he didn't lower his guard.

  However, even if they weren't Tatsuya, anyone would notice such an obvious gaze.

  This store was along the shortest route from the school to the station and was almost on the station's doorstep. If someone was waiting in ambush at the front of the station, it would be a simple task to identify students on their way home, so he estimated that they must have been camping here since much earlier. Although their figure remained hidden, their rampant hostility signified that they were up to some deviltry. On the other hand, in terms of sheer wariness, this level was altogether childish compared to the sniping attack Tatsuya weathered two days ago.

  As he debated over what action to take, Isori and Kanon came out with their purchases.

  "Sorry for the wait...... What happened?"

  Tatsuya could only sigh in appreciation at Isori's ability to sense something was off the moment he stepped out of the store and ask him the cause of it.

  He wasn't wearing such an opaque expression.

  As evidenced by Kanon tilting her head to one side with a "Huh?" expression on her face.

  Isori was an expert on magic utilizing delayed activation conditions, but these observation skills probably coincided more with sensory systematic magic.

  "Nothing, we're being observed, so I was thinking of how to respond."

  There was no need to hide this detail, so Tatsuya directly answered Isori's question.

  Still, he wasn't able to finish that answer.

  "Observed? By spies!?"

  Tatsuya remained thinking, because Kanon interjected before he could say "how to respond".