Tatsuya was called to the guidance office, and Shizuku nodded, unsurprised by the reason.
"Why're you nodding?" Honoka asked.
"Teachers find Tatsuya hard to handle. He knows more than them," Shizuku replied.
"Guess so. They suggested I transfer," Tatsuya said.
"Transfer?" Honoka echoed.
"Yeah. They think Fourth High's tech focus suits me better."
The girls—Honoka, Mizuki, Eimi, and Erika—panicked at the thought of Tatsuya leaving.
"You're transferring?!" Honoka gasped.
"No way…" Mizuki murmured.
"We were just getting close!" Eimi protested.
"What'll you do, Tatsuya-kun?!" Erika demanded.
"I refused. Even if it's well-meant, it's meddling. Arrogant," Tatsuya said.
The four sighed in relief but bristled with anger.
"So the teachers see Tatsuya-kun as a nuisance? Maybe because he's smarter, like Shizuku said," Eimi fumed.
"He's a First High student! They can't just force him out!" Honoka snapped.
"The premise is flawed. Fourth High emphasizes tech, but they don't neglect combat magic," Shizuku noted.
"You know a lot, Shizuku-san," Mizuki said.
"My cousin goes there," Shizuku replied, a bit embarrassed.
Erika flared up again. "They just want Tatsuya-kun gone! Trying to oust our Tatsuya!"
"I'm not your teacher, Erika," Tatsuya said dryly.
"Why not talk to Haruka-chan?" Eimi suggested.
"Actually, Ono-sensei tipped me off yesterday. The staff's been arguing over my test results," Tatsuya said casually.
"Useless counselor," Erika scoffed.
"Don't be harsh. She's a rookie with little authority," Tatsuya countered.
"You're both brutal…" Mizuki muttered.
"She said it herself, so no worries," Tatsuya shrugged, easing Mizuki's concern.
"Did you clear the cheating suspicion?" Honoka asked.
"Mostly. They made me redo the test. If they're satisfied, it wasn't a waste," Tatsuya said.
"Good you're not transferring," Eimi said.
"Surprisingly sensible, Eimi," Leo teased.
"Shut up!" Erika snapped, rolling a booklet and smacking Leo's head.
"Ow! My head's not a drum!" Leo yelped.
"You asked for it!" Erika shot back.
Mizuki, watching fondly, asked, "Tatsuya-san, you topped magic theory. What about practicals?"
"Near the bottom. I'm bad at practicals, like I've said," Tatsuya replied.
His actual rank was slightly below mid-tier among Course 2 students—decent enough for Course 1 consideration.
"If Tatsuya-san joined the Nine Schools Competition, we'd win for sure," Eimi said.
"No chance," Tatsuya said.
"But we're the top contenders," Honoka added.
"True, but don't get cocky. Third High has Ichijou's heir, Isshiki's daughter, and several Numbers this year," Shizuku warned.
"That's trouble," Tatsuya agreed.
"With President Saegusa, Head Tenmonji, and Chief Watanabe, we're nearly unbeatable," Honoka said.
"Depends on the rookie matches. I might not make it, but good luck," Tatsuya said.
Honoka, Shizuku, and Eimi nodded eagerly, wishing Tatsuya could join, but only Course 1 students qualified.
"Found you!" Mari called.
"Chief? What's up?" Tatsuya asked.
"Remember I said I'd need you after exams? Got a job," Mari said.
"Now?" Tatsuya asked.
"Before summer break, ideally," Mari replied.
With a week left before break, Tatsuya hoped for an easy task. Mari dragged him off, and the group watched reluctantly until Shizuku spoke up.
"I saw a Third High girl nearby recently."
"Really? Scouting us?" Honoka asked.
"Don't know. But she was staring at Tatsuya," Shizuku said.
"At Tatsuya-san? A friend?" Mizuki wondered.
"Why would a Third High student be here?" Eimi mused.
"Like Honoka said, scouting," Erika said casually.
They glanced at Leo, sprawled on the floor, then resumed. "They can't just waltz into our school. I saw her near the station," Shizuku clarified.
"What was she like?" Eimi asked.
"Looking around nervously, then fixated on Tatsuya," Shizuku said.
"Maybe she's got a crush," Erika teased.
The Course 1 trio flinched, Mizuki looked uneasy, but Erika seemed more rattled than anyone.
"Tatsuya-san's kind and cool, so it's possible," Mizuki said.
"You're into him too, huh?" Erika prodded.
"W-What?! No, not like that!" Mizuki protested, puffing her cheeks and tapping Erika's shoulder.
The group, amused, couldn't shake their curiosity about the Third High girl's intentions.
Tatsuya was dragged to the Disciplinary Committee HQ to prepare handover documents for the next committee head.
"Sorry, Tatsuya. Without you, we'd be repeating old mistakes," Mari said.
"No helping my weak points, but stop dumping everything on me," Tatsuya replied.
"Seriously, you're a lifesaver."
"Starting to feel like a pushover," Tatsuya muttered.
As he said, the committee's paperwork and handover prep were entirely on him. Even for someone who called himself a bad person, Tatsuya felt he was being too nice.
"I'm not slacking either. Nine Schools prep is swamping me," Mari said.
"When's it start?" Tatsuya asked.
"August 3rd to 12th. Ten days."
"Pretty long event," Tatsuya remarked, unfamiliar with the competition, having never attended or watched it.
Mari tilted her head. "Your sister mentioned watching us compete, but you never came?"
"Summer breaks were always booked with errands."
"I thought you siblings were inseparable, but you do split up sometimes."
"We're mostly separate at school."
"Right, forgot," Mari nodded, oddly satisfied. Tatsuya sighed.
"If you don't know the Nine Schools, prep must feel vague, huh?" Mari asked.
"Yeah. I'm not competing, so I'm clueless."
"Want to see the materials later?"
"Please."
Tatsuya finished a chunk of work and took the Nine Schools pamphlet from Mari.
"Paper documents? Old-school," he noted.
"Not unusual for the Nine Schools. Virtual terminals are thought to drain magic power," Mari explained.
"So they stick to paper to avoid that," Tatsuya concluded.
Mari raised an eyebrow. "You're okay with virtual terminals?"
She'd assumed Tatsuya, a screen-terminal user, opposed them. His acceptance surprised her.
"Virtual terminals can harm developing teen mages, and I agree they should avoid them. But banning them for adult mages with stable abilities? No reason for that," Tatsuya said, flipping through the pamphlet quickly while resuming work.
"That's a fair point. Forcing adults to ditch convenience because it's 'harmful' to kids might be overkill," Mari mused, lost in thought. Tatsuya focused on his screen, missing her expression.
"Got sidetracked," Mari said, snapping back. Tatsuya didn't mind the silence but couldn't ignore his superior. "You know nothing about the events?"
"Just Monolith Code and Mirage Bat," Tatsuya replied.
"Those are famous. The Nine Schools is a magic-heavy sports competition. Each school sends 40 players—10 boys and 10 girls for both main and rookie events. Rookies are first-years; main events are open. Players are limited to two events, so first-years rarely join the main competition. They can't match second- or third-years' magic power."
Tatsuya nodded, aware first-years lagged in magical prowess.
"Last year, rookie events mixed genders, but this year, they're split like the main events. Girls will have to double up," Mari added.
"Monolith Code's male-only, Mirage Bat's female-only, right?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yeah. Monolith involves direct combat, even if striking's banned, so it's male-only," Mari said, her face screaming disappointment. Tatsuya recalled her combative streak.
"Isn't this our third straight win?" he asked, steering away from event details to avoid trouble.
"We third-years see this victory as the real deal," Mari said.
"I heard we're favored to win."
"If we don't flop in the rookie events, our main event points should clinch it. The only worry is the engineers."
"Engineers? CAD tuners?"
"Exactly. No matter how skilled the player, a bad engineer tanks their performance. With hardware limits, software tuning is where technical staff—engineers, in Nine Schools terms—shine. Our third-year tech staff is short-handed. Mayumi and Katsuto can handle their own CADs, but…"
Realizing Mari couldn't tune her own CAD, Tatsuya decided to stay quiet. Earlier, Shizuku's group teased about him as a tech staffer, but if Mari or Mayumi suggested it, refusing would be a hassle. Seizing the conversation lull, Tatsuya dove into the handover documents.
"If only we had someone good…" Mari muttered.
Unsure how to respond, Tatsuya pretended not to hear, finished the documents, and bolted from the HQ.