First High's tent buzzes with excitement as their three girls sweep the top three spots in the rookie Women's Speed Shooting.
"Incredible, Tatsuya-kun! A clean sweep—first, second, third! A historic feat!" Mayumi cheers, enthusiastically patting Tatsuya's back. Her light taps aren't painful, but the repetition starts to grate.
"President, ease up. You're bothering Shiba-kun," Rin interjects, responding to Tatsuya's pleading glance. Her delay in stepping in suggests she's complicit.
"Sorry… but this is a big deal!" Mayumi insists.
"The winners are the players, not me," Tatsuya deflects.
"True, Kitayama-san, Akechi-san, and Takigawa-san did great," Mayumi says, beaming at the tense but grateful team, who manage a "Thank you."
"But your contribution was huge," Mori adds, less animated but clearly pleased.
"Thanks," Tatsuya replies flatly.
Mori presses, "Don't be so lukewarm. Everyone here knows your engineering made this sweep possible."
Shizuku nods vigorously. "I can't believe it myself," she says.
"Feels like my magic suddenly got better," Eimi adds.
Tatsuya remains unmoved, but Rin drops a bombshell. "The university's considering registering Kitayama-san's spell in the Index."
Mayumi's eyes widen, Mori's speechless, and Shizuku freezes. The "National Magic University Compiled Magic Index" recognizes new spells as distinct, a prestigious honor for researchers.
Tatsuya, unfazed, says, "Is that so? List Kitayama-san as the developer."
"No way! It's your original!" Shizuku protests.
"It's common for the first user to be named," Tatsuya replies calmly.
Mori frowns. "That level of humility sounds like sarcasm."
"It's not humility. I just don't want the embarrassment of a spell I can't use listed under my name," Tatsuya explains.
"How'd you test it if you can't use it?" Mori asks.
"I can, but it takes too long to be practical."
Mayumi intervenes, "Enough, both of you. No arguing now—we're off to a great start! Tatsuya-kun, keep it up for the other events."
Tatsuya nods modestly as she pats his shoulder.
Third High's meeting room is grim. Aiming to dominate, their fourth and fifth places in Speed Shooting—despite Kanna and Keiko's efforts—are a setback against First High's sweep.
"George, what's your take on First High's girls?" Masaki asks.
"Kitayama's exceptional—she earned first. But the others? Not that powerful. They shouldn't have swept second and third," George replies.
"I didn't sense a huge skill gap either," Masaki agrees.
Neither Kanna nor Keiko attends, likely holding their own review.
"Then what caused it?" another player asks.
"You know, don't you?" another prods.
George answers, "The engineer."
Masaki nods. "Notice Kitayama's device, George?"
"Yeah, general-purpose CAD."
Others gasp. "With an aiming assist?"
"Impossible to connect specialized subsystems to a general-purpose CAD!"
"That tech exists," George says. "Announced in Düsseldorf last summer."
"Last summer? That's cutting-edge!" a player exclaims.
"No way we'd know if even Ichijou didn't," another grumbles.
"But George knew—our brain trust," a girl says, trying to lighten the mood.
George doesn't bite. "Düsseldorf's tech was slow, barely functional. This one matched specialized CAD speed and precision while handling mixed sequences—a general-purpose strength."
"If one engineer pulled that off, they're not high school level. They're a monster," Masaki says, darkening the room's mood further.
Meanwhile, in Airi's room, Kanna, Keiko, and Karen regroup.
"We lost," Airi says bluntly.
"Yeah…" Kanna sighs.
"They were strong," Keiko adds, dejected.
"We didn't lose on individual skill," Karen says. "We might've even been better."
"But we still lost," Keiko laments.
"I lost to all three First High girls," Kanna adds.
"It was more the engineer's strength than the players'," Karen insists.
Kanna and Keiko perk up. "The engineer… Tatsuya-san?" Kanna asks.
"He's that amazing?" Keiko wonders.
"Did you notice Kitayama's CAD was general-purpose?" Karen asks.
They shake their heads, so Karen echoes the meeting room's explanation.
"Wow… that's possible?" Kanna marvels.
"Tatsuya-san's incredible," Keiko says.
"He can't engineer every event, but we'll struggle against his," Airi notes, a hint of excitement in her voice.
"Why do you sound happy?" Karen teases.
Airi flusters, caught off guard.
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