On August 1, the team set out for the Nine Schools Competition, but Mayumi was absent at the meeting time. Not due to oversleeping or a mix-up, but an urgent matter for the Saegusa family, one of the Ten Master Clans. Though she'd told them to go ahead, her many fans among the students—male and female—chose to wait.
"Sorry!" Mayumi called, heels clacking as she ran up.
"You're late," Mari scolded lightly.
"Couldn't help it. I said go without me," Mayumi replied.
Tatsuya checked off the last person as Mayumi boarded the bus, only for her to return. "Something wrong?" he asked.
"No, sorry, Tatsuya-kun. It's hot out here," she said.
"It's still morning, and I understand the circumstances," he replied.
"But you're not even sweating… Oh? Not a drop!" she noticed.
"I can use magic to dry sweat. I'm not so perverse as to avoid sweating in midsummer," he quipped.
Mayumi giggled at his humor. "By the way, Tatsuya-kun… how's this?" She twirled, showing off her summer dress. While no official attire was required, first-years wore uniforms, most second-years too, but third-years dressed freely. A notable second-year exception was Chiyoda and Isori, who stood out in matching outfits (Isori in half-pants, Chiyoda in shorts), clinging closely. Mari mentioned they were dating, but Tatsuya only half-listened.
"Does it suit me?" Mayumi asked.
"Very much," Tatsuya said.
"Thanks, but couldn't you be a bit shyer about it?" She leaned in, hands clasped, accentuating her figure with an upward glance. It seemed deliberate.
"Must've been tough," Tatsuya said, assuming her Saegusa duties were stressful.
"Huh?" Mayumi blinked.
"Let's go. You can rest on the bus," he added.
"Wait, Tatsuya-kun? You're misunderstanding something!" Flustered by his sympathetic tone, Mayumi visibly panicked.
The team split into two buses: one for athletes and strategists, another for technical staff with workspace. In the former, three girls looked bored, Mayumi among them. "Tch, Tatsuya-kun ditched me for the work bus after I asked him to sit with me. And treating me like I'm manic-depressive? Rude!" she huffed.
"Sound judgment," Rin, the strategy leader beside her, said dryly.
"What's that mean, Rin-chan?" Mayumi pouted.
"He wisely avoided becoming your prey," Rin replied.
"That's harsh!" Mayumi's composed facade cracked under Rin's deadpan jab.
"Few high school boys could resist your charm. Your beauty holds that much magic," Rin continued.
"Uh…?" Mayumi faltered, unsure if Rin was joking, given her serious expression.
"But Tatsuya-kun's skill at nullifying magic likely makes your 'bewitching face' ineffective," Rin added.
Mayumi caught the pun—Rin meant "bewitching face," not "magic eye." Realizing she was being teased, she snapped, "Rin-chan!"
"Calm down, President," Rin said.
"You're the one saying that!?" Mayumi turned away, curling up petulantly. To an outsider—
"President, are you unwell?" Hattori asked, concerned, mistaking her posture for illness.
"Huh?" Mayumi started.
"Tatsuya said you seemed tired. He wasn't wrong," Hattori said earnestly, his face slightly red, likely from glimpsing Mayumi's thighs under her dress due to her careless posture.
"Vice-President Hattori, where are you looking?" Rin interjected.
"Ichihara-senpai! I was just getting a blanket for the President…" Hattori stammered.
He hadn't been staring, but his innocent nature and feelings for Mayumi made him blush. "If Vice-President Hattori wants to cover the President, go ahead," Rin teased, straight-faced.
Mayumi, catching on, played coy, covering her chest. Hattori froze, her sadistic glint evident—she couldn't resist. "(Tatsuya-kun was right…)" Rin thought, glancing at the work bus, conveniently blaming Mayumi while ignoring her own role in teasing Hattori.
"Oi, Hanzo-kun!" Mayumi called.
"W-what!?" Hattori snapped out of it.
"Don't stand in a moving bus. It's dangerous," she warned.
"S-sorry! Here's the blanket!" Flustered, he handed it over and hurried to his seat.
"That was fun," Mayumi grinned.
"President, stop toying with Vice-President Hattori," Rin advised.
"You set me up," Mayumi shot back.
Sharing mischievous smiles, Mayumi wrapped herself in the blanket and drifted into a nap.