Evening after school.
At a café near the station, a group of First High students sat together.
Despite the visible distinction between First Course and Second Course students, they weren't seated separately like they would be at school.
Everyone chatted freely about their varied experiences that day—
Things like incidents in their club activities, how boring it was to man recruitment booths, or people using club recruitment as an excuse to hit on others.
But the main topic of concern was undoubtedly the disturbance at the Second Small Gymnasium.
"That second-year Kirihara used a lethality-class B magic, right? As expected of someone from the Yotsuba family, walking away unscathed from that."
"It's nothing special. High-frequency blades mainly increase lethality, but the range is still limited to wooden swords. At most, it's like wielding a real blade. Not a big deal."
Leonhard had been expressing admiration since earlier, while Mahiro spoke as if it were trivial.
After all, compared to the experiments at the Fourth Research Institute and that woman Maya's magic, a mere high-frequency blade was hardly worth mentioning.
"But that's like stopping someone wildly swinging a real sword bare-handed, isn't it? Isn't that dangerous?"
"If you're careless, it could be life-threatening," Shizuku stated expressionlessly.
"Eh?! Really?" Honoka exclaimed.
"Oh, it's fine. You're all underestimating Yotsuba-kun too much. You didn't see how Mibu-senpai's eyes changed when she looked at Yotsuba-kun after being saved."
"That's right, Mizuki, Kitayama-san, and Honoka. When it comes to martial arts, Mahiro-nii-sama is on par with Onii-sama."
Erika teased as usual—or rather, she'd been using this incident to poke fun at Mahiro the whole way here.
Meanwhile, Miyuki calmly reassured the pale-faced Mizuki, expressionless Shizuku, and terrified Honoka, though her gaze kept drifting toward Mahiro.
Mibu-senpai, huh...?
"It wasn't as exaggerated as you're making it out to be, Miyuki."
Mahiro looked up from his terminal, meeting Miyuki's gaze directly with a smile.
"I'm still far behind your brother Tatsuya. After all, Tatsuya-kun took on the entire Swordsmanship Club alone, while I only defeated one Kirihara-senpai."
"Mahiro-nii-sama is always so modest."
"Right? These two are both in the same freak category."
Miyuki and Erika bantered back and forth while the others sipped their drinks in agreement.
This left Mahiro at a loss for words.
Regarding Shiba Tatsuya's solo fight against the Swordsmanship Club, everyone present except Erika had heard about it, but none had witnessed it firsthand.
From Erika's perspective, Kirihara's sword techniques were undeniably sharp, with lethality that couldn't be underestimated.
She never expected Mahiro to counter with a single strike, his movements devoid of any excess tension—proof that even subconsciously, he felt neither nervousness nor fear.
Though Tatsuya's subsequent Aikido techniques were also impressive, they paled slightly in comparison.
This sparked in her a desire to spar with Mahiro.
"Perhaps the earlier claim about defeating Mibu Sayaka wasn't an exaggeration after all."
The others recalled that day when Mahiro had beaten Morisaki Shun to a pulp.
Only this time, the victim had been replaced with Kirihara.
Thinking about it that way, it really was quite pitiful.
"No, I don't think I could compare to Yotsuba-san's level of skill."
At that moment, Tatsuya—who had been quietly sipping his coffee—suddenly set down his cup and spoke, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"Oh? Does Tatsuya-kun have some juicy gossip to share?"
It was Erika who spoke. The moment she heard there might be dirt on Mahiro, her interest was instantly piqued.
The others also perked up with interest, their gazes shifting to Tatsuya.
"It's not exactly gossip. It's just that when Yotsuba-san was at the Club Alliance headquarters, he single-handedly opposed a decision made by the school's Big Three and insisted that Kirihara-senpai apologize to Mibu-senpai."
Tatsuya recounted everything calmly.
But as soon as he said this, the others gasped in shock, looking at Mahiro with disbelief.
Their expressions seemed to say, "How bold..."
Even though Mahiro bore the Yotsuba name, in their minds, he was still a discarded heir. Yet he had openly defied Saegusa and Juumonji—figures who held real power within the school!
"And Yotsuba-san successfully persuaded them, forcing the Club Alliance, the Student Council, and the Disciplinary Committee to back down and revise their judgment," Tatsuya added nonchalantly, twisting the knife further.
Mahiro's face had darkened completely by now.
He remembered the events of that day all too clearly.
"If it's just an apology, then I agree. Let's settle it like this. How about it?"
"I have no objections."
"I have no objections either. Mahiro-kun's point is quite reasonable. If we follow Mari's judgment, it really does seem like we're favoring First Course students."
They had been working hard to improve the relationship between First Course and Second Course students.
Naturally, they wouldn't reject Mahiro's well-reasoned proposal.
However, Juumonji Katsuto's expression had darkened at the time. It was only later that Mahiro learned Kirihara Takeaki was someone Juumonji had his eye on—or rather, someone he intended to bring into his own faction.
Before leaving, Mari had asked him again if he wanted to join the Disciplinary Committee.
In her eyes, Mahiro was the perfect fit.
But he remained firm in his refusal.
Still...
"At the end of the day, the reason I ended up opposing Mayumi-senpai and Watanabe-senpai is because you didn't tell the truth, Tatsuya!"
This time, it was Miyuki's turn to be surprised. She blinked in astonishment and looked at Tatsuya. "Brother, did you really lie, as Mahiro-nii-san said?"
"No."
Tatsuya shook his head. "I merely withheld part of the truth to seek a more peaceful resolution."
"Right, right, you have your reasons. So you think the initial judgment that held the Kendo Club equally responsible was a 'peaceful resolution,' is that it?"
Tatsuya fell silent, offering no reply.
There was something else Mahiro didn't say.
The Disciplinary Committee's role was to handle improper magic usage, not to act as mediators smoothing things over.
The others watched their heated exchange without daring to intervene.
Tatsuya was composed; Mahiro was unrestrained.
That had always been their impression of the two.
But no one had expected these two to clash—let alone to see Mahiro assert himself so strongly for the first time.
"Um..."
At that moment, Mizuki's soft, hesitant voice broke the tension between them.
"What is it, Shibata-san?"
"If Yotsuba-san rejected the decision of the Club Alliance and the Disciplinary Committee, wouldn't he face retaliation later?" Mizuki asked worriedly.
That was something the others were concerned about as well.
After all, the dignity of the Ten Master Clans was not to be challenged—that was a consensus among all families.
"Who knows? Maybe tomorrow, the Student Council will team up with those two departments and demote me to the Second Course. Don't go looking down on me if that happens."
Mahiro took a sip of tea and joked casually.
"Huh? Seriously?!"
The group froze for a moment before Honoka was the first to speak up. "Do they... really have that much authority?"
Shizuku replied, "Quality answer: I have no idea."
"Don't worry, if Yotsuba-san becomes a Second Course student, we'll welcome him with open arms!"
"Idiot Leo, you make it sound like you're hoping Yotsuba-san gets demoted!"
"What's that supposed to mean, woman? I never said that!"
"That's exactly what you implied~"
Unsurprisingly, Erika and Leo were at it again.
Watching them, Mahiro couldn't help but smile.
School really was the best.
Still, while getting demoted to the Second Course was impossible—just a joke—the aftermath of this incident would definitely not be minor.
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