Back in his room, Tatsuya smirked at a package from the front desk. "Ushiyama-san, you didn't overdo it, did you?" He mentally thanked the colleague who'd crafted his design overnight.
(I could test it myself, but it suits him better.) Picturing a friend's face, Tatsuya grinned mischievously as footsteps approached.
"Onii-sama, may I come in?" Miyuki asked.
"Sure."
Eight entered: Miyuki, Honoka, Shizuku, Eimi, Erika, Mizuki, Leo, and Mikihiko. Tatsuya noted the men trailed, not out of chivalry but weaker standing.
"Tatsuya-kun, a practice sword? Not quite a blade," Erika said, eyeing the case.
"Nope."
"Iron whip?"
"No martial artist uses those anymore."
"Martial artist…" Erika's wry smile met his archaic phrasing.
"Then what? A broom?" she teased.
"Close. An integrated weapon CAD, or armed device. A CAD specialized for one magic, combined with a melee weapon."
"Hmm."
Erika, legs crossed on the table, peered at the case with Honoka, Shizuku, and Eimi. Miyuki, recognizing it from yesterday, watched from afar. Mikihiko and Mizuki seemed uninterested, but Leo stole glances, drawn to the case but wary of Erika.
"You made this, Tatsuya-kun?" Honoka asked.
"Yeah, inspired by Watanabe-senpai's match yesterday."
"Wait!" Mikihiko interjected. "Yesterday? Already done? It's not makeshift, and you had no time!"
"I only drew the blueprint. A workshop's auto-machine built it," Tatsuya said, tossing the case to Leo.
"Whoa, careful!" Leo caught it, secretly thrilled.
"Wanna try it?"
"Me?"
"It's for hardening magic. Suits you."
"Hmm…" Leo hesitated.
"Obvious you want to," Shizuku said. Everyone nodded.
"Wanna try it?" Tatsuya pressed, Mephistophelean.
"Fine, I'll be your guinea pig," Leo relented, grinning.
"Your face betrays you," Erika teased.
Tatsuya handed Leo the manual. "Honoka, could this be a virtual terminal?" she asked cautiously.
"Not quite, but close," Tatsuya said. "Virtual terminals are risky if they blur reality and simulation, but they're useful for previews."
"I… don't fully get it," Honoka admitted, echoing the group's confusion.
Tatsuya launched into an impromptu lecture on virtual terminals' risks and benefits, noting their puzzled faces but explaining thoroughly, despite thinking, I can't be their crutch.
At the training ground, courtesy of Erika's connections, Tatsuya and Leo tested the device. "Can it really do that?" Leo asked, skeptical.
"That's why we're here."
"Right."
Leo activated it. Click. The sword tip floated. "It's floating! Cool!"
"Three… two… one…" Tatsuya counted.
Leo stopped the blade. At zero, it snapped back. "Success!" Tatsuya said.
"How's it stick?" Leo asked. "No screws or joints."
"Current-responsive shape-memory alloy. Current detaches it."
"Flinging a blade's wild."
"More like extending. It only moves along the blade's line."
"Still awesome. How'd you dream this up?"
"Just a surprising toy, though."
"Really?"
"It's got issues, but for fun, it's fine. Wanna try cutting targets?"
"Hell yeah!"
Tatsuya activated targets—straw dummies, relics in a magic-driven era. "Old-school…" Leo muttered.
"Whose taste is this?" Erika quipped.
"They work," Tatsuya said.
"No function in straw!" Leo laughed.
"Quit whining. Ready?"
"Yeah!"
Leo charged, slashing dummies with the extending blade. (Perfect for Leo. It fits Monolith Code's rules—magic-driven projectiles are allowed. He could've competed, but no point now.) Tatsuya, ever the researcher, pondered applications despite knowing Leo wouldn't participate.
Testing until the time limit, they left, visibly enjoying themselves.
Tatsuya, total mad scientist…
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