"Why do I have to go to school?"
Yami is still complaining about this, even at this late stage. I wish she would just accept it.
The day after Kuro and Tina ambushed me. I was able to wake up feeling truly peaceful and refreshed. Maybe because I went to bed early and got some relaxing exercise, I was able to wake up early despite sleeping soundly.
I was able to clean up without anyone seeing me.
And as I said yesterday, I'm going to school. Yami, Yo, and Tina are coming with me. Yami will be in my grade and class, Yo in Yukina's, and Tina in Kuro's.
Yo's transfer was decided the moment she was summoned, but the other two were transferred thanks to a lot of people pulling some strings.
"I already have a higher education, you know."
"You're wearing the uniform perfectly, so stop grumbling..."
"I didn't put it on of my own free will..."
"Asuna and Riko, huh..."
Those two have a remarkable power. Not in combat, but in that other area.
"I feel like some kind of irresistible power is at work with those two."
"So you didn't resist."
"You're not just a pervert; you're also incredibly rude. I don't particularly enjoy fighting. I won't hurt anyone unless I have a good reason to."
"...I see."
"You're an exception, though."
Wow, the underwear thing is really hanging over me. I guess what's done is done. I hope I can laugh about it someday.
Well, I'm off to school, my home.
Having confirmed that my affection level with her had not recovered at all, I started heading to school with my large group.
--------
No matter how accustomed to violence Butei High is, the students still react to transfer students like normal students.
Specifically, with whispers like, "I heard there's a transfer student today," or "Is it a guy or a girl?" And when they get to the classroom, they ask them about their favorite foods or if they have a boyfriend or girlfriend.
The only difference is that the transfer student's information, complete with a photo, is already circulating before they even enter the classroom.
The moment I entered the classroom after dropping Yami off at the faculty room, someone shoved a photo in my face and asked me what our relationship was. I was impressed by how they were using their abilities to the fullest.
That's how it was, and of course, Yami was warmly welcomed. Well, she's as unsociable as ever, though.
There's no special treatment on the first day of class. She was called on again and again, but she answered without any difficulty. It seems her higher education wasn't just for show. What's more, it's not like she just crammed for a test; she actually has the information firmly in her head.
I got a text message. It was from Kuro.
"My friend really wants to meet you guys, Onii-chan. If you have time, can you come to [Location] after school today?"
Hmm. Her friend must be the member of Vivid whose name I heard before. I know there's no way to escape, and I can't think of a reason to refuse. I'm also curious about how Tina is doing.
I replied with "okay" and closed the screen.
"Yami, how is school?"
"I don't have any particular thoughts on it."
"By the way, after school today, I'm going to go meet Kuro's friends―"
"I'm not interested."
She answered immediately. It can't be helped, though.
"Besides, why is my name registered as 'Yami'?"
"I'm not the one who registered you."
"Dr. Mikado...!"
Dr. Mikado is just so playful.
In the first place, there's a problem with this system that allows for fake name registration. I wish they would be more consistent about whether they're accurate or sloppy.
"I get that you don't want to come with me, but what are you going to do after school?"
"Is it any of your business?"
"Well, if Yami does something, there's a chance I'll get blamed for it."
"Sigh... I'll be in the library reading books today."
She hasn't changed in that she loves books. The bell rang, and I returned to my seat, glancing at Yami's profile. She looked bored and lonely.
Maybe I should do something on my own.
--------
Kuro looked exasperated as she held up her black and white dual swords.
In front of her stood a girl slightly older than her, wearing comfortable clothing. She had no weapons, but her stance was perfect. In other words, a martial arts stance.
Her glaring eyes were different colors, and they looked like those of a beast hunting its prey.
There was, of course, a reason for this.
Kuro had become friends with three girls at school: Vivio, Rio, and Corona. These three practice a martial art called Strike Arts under the coaching of a woman named Nove Nakajima (though she denies it herself).
Because of this, Kuro also began to participate in their practice.
Kuro was also interested in this, as she wanted to be able to fight with something other than swords and bows to conserve her magic. She had borrowed the Infinite Bandana from Sho, so she no longer had to worry about arrows.
When she was called to this location, or more precisely, to a nearby outdoor cafe, with the pretext that there were people Kuro and Vivio wanted to meet, she had naturally assumed she was meeting their martial arts instructor.
The four of them—Vivio, Rio, Corona, and Tina, who had also just started school—went to the meeting place, and they found Nove, as well as many girls who claimed to be Nove's sisters, making it an incredibly large group that needed three tables.
The girl who appeared in front of Kuro was this girl, Einheart Stratos.
As the conversation progressed, it turned into a situation where they were going to "talk with their fists," and they ended up at a nearby outdoor training space.
Vivio and Einheart's sparring match ended with Einheart winning easily.
Even from Kuro's perspective, Vivio wasn't weak. You could even say she was exceptional for her age.
Einheart, who had defeated her so easily, reluctantly accepted Vivio's request for a rematch, and then challenged Kuro to a match.
Einheart looked fierce, but Kuro had no intention of accepting. Whatever the reason, wasting magic could cost her her life.
But that's where the scary thing about being in a group comes into play.
Rio and Corona, as well as Nove and her sisters (who, according to Nove, had just followed them), were all completely hyped up.
Even Vivio, who had been looking down, became curious, and they were all too far gone to back out.
Kuro had thought it would be fine if she didn't use her projections, but Vivio and the others started chattering away about Kuro's projection ability.
At this point, the only thing to do was to finish it quickly with all her might.
Just in case, she had already contacted Sho. She had actually moved before Sho arrived. Sho had replied that he would come but hadn't said when, so they had Snowina and Yo wait at the outdoor cafe while Kuro and the others moved to a place where they could move around freely.
"Here I come."
Einheart was enveloped in light. When the light cleared, a mature-looking Einheart stood there.
This is a form of transformation magic, an extremely advanced form of magic that changes even one's own body.
This was a sign of Einheart's serious mode.
"...Transformation magic, huh. Maybe I should study that a bit..."
An idea popped into Kuro's mind, but she was brought back to reality by the words of the referee, Nove.
"Alright, let's go. Ready... GO!!"
The mock battle began.
Einheart instantly closed the distance with her unique footwork and threw a punch.
Kuro parried it with her Kansho and counterattacked with her Bakuya, which she spun around, but it was dodged.
The swords left black and white afterimages as they attacked dozens of times per second. Einheart deftly parried all of them without any problems.
It was a battle that was far from what you would expect from kids. The audience's eyes were wide with the high level of skill.
However, the two in the middle were not thinking about the audience. All they could think about was defeating the enemy in front of them.
When they were in a stalemate, Kuro asked,
"By the way, I have one question."
"What is it?"
"Why did you challenge me?"
"It's simple. Because you're strong."
Einheart answered immediately.
"You can tell just by looking?"
"Yes. At least, you're the strongest person I've fought so far."
"Is that so!!"
Kuro realized this was going nowhere and cut off the conversation, trying to put some distance between them. But Einheart had no intention of backing down.
She advanced at the same speed as Kuro retreated, not allowing her to create any distance.
(Got you!!)
Einheart found a moment of weakness. With the speed of her fist, she could land a clean hit before Kuro could defend herself.
"You're too naive."
A greatsword was thrust into the ground between Kuro and Einheart. It not only served as a shield but also caught Einheart off guard, slowing her down.
Einheart couldn't see Kuro anymore because of the greatsword. She quickly moved around to the other side of the greatsword, but Kuro wasn't there. Instead, three swords were stuck in the ground.
"Broken Phantasm."
The swords detonated all at once. Small craters were created on the ground. Kuro had calculated the magic needed for her action, so the power wasn't that high.
Even so, it would still cause a significant amount of damage if taken at close range.
And, of course, no one would think that swords would explode. Therefore, Einheart, who hadn't even bothered to defend, was swallowed by the explosion.
And just like that, the match was decided.
--------
"Why do you accept such pointless battles...?"
When I arrived at the location Kuro had texted me, I found Yukina and Yo having tea. There was a mountain of plates piled up on the table, and empty plates were still appearing like on a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. It's almost sickening to think that these were all cake plates.
When Yo saw me, she stuffed the remaining cake into her mouth, which even made the staff a little uncomfortable.
I met up with the two of them and went to the place where Kuro and the other original characters from Lyrical Nanoha were, and they had just finished their battle.
From what I heard, Einheart had challenged Kuro to a fight.
"It can't be helped. Everyone was telling me to do it."
"Even so... what if something happened?"
"Now, now, senpai. It's fine."
I stopped scolding her after Yukina calmed me down.
"Oh, yeah, my bad. I didn't think she'd have so little magical power."
"Oh, no, don't worry about it."
Nove-san apologized, scratching her head.
Apparently, if a magician in this world uses too much magic, they get hit with an incredible amount of fatigue. She must think that's what's wrong with Kuro.
"Anyway, are you guys really siblings? Sorry, but you don't look alike at all."
"Haha. We get that a lot."
And your sisters are just as bad.
I didn't say that out loud, though.
"We're not actually related by blood."
"I knew it."
"Yeah, we're not."
"But we're connected in a way that's deeper than blood..."
"Stop."
That's a bit too much. Fortunately, they don't seem to get the double meaning, but what are they going to do if they do?
What's deeper than blood? I can only think of one thing.
I want to get out of here before this conversation goes any further, but it doesn't look like I can. They asked me to come if I had time, so it would be weird to say I have to leave now.
"Well, should we go back to the cafe...? Huh? Einheart?"
"Huh?"
The girl with silver-blue twin tails. She's looking straight at me, and her eyes are different colors. She has heterochromia.
Why is she staring at me so much? We've never met before.
"U-um―"
Just as Einheart opened her mouth, a loud bang that made the whole area go silent rang out. But it wasn't a bomb exploding or anything like that.
A girl holding a shinai bag was slapped by a large man. That was all.
"I told you that's not for you to think about, Kirin."
The incident, which was happening a little ways away, naturally drew the attention of the people around us.
"Jeez. How can they do that in a place like this?"
Nove-san shook her head as if to say, "Give me a break."
"Nove-san, do you not think anything of people like that?"
I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Huh? Well, yeah. It's pretty normal where I'm from. If words were enough, we wouldn't have any problems. Sometimes a leader has to be harsh."
It's fine that she thinks corporal punishment is a good thing, and I'm of the same mind. But that was...
"B-but, Uncle."
"I didn't give you permission to talk back."
The man raised his arm once more. Kirin squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the sharp pain that was about to come to her cheek.
The man's arm came down. But the slap never hit Kirin. Because someone had grabbed the man's arm and stopped it.
"Huh...?"
"..."
Kirin cautiously opened her eyes, and there was Yo, silently grabbing the man's arm.
When did she get there...? She's so fast. That's something I was supposed to do, right? I must have been spacing out too much.
"...Who are you?"
The man glared at Yo with hostility in his eyes. Even with the intimidating glare, Yo's expression didn't change at all. Instead, she responded in a small voice.
"Any more violence is not good."
The people around them had fallen silent and were watching, so even her small voice was heard far away. The man scoffed at her words.
"Hmph, don't make me laugh, little girl. You, who take a gun for money, have no right to spout such pretty words. Besides, that was just discipline. Outsiders who don't know our business shouldn't meddle."
He must have assumed she was a Butei from her uniform, so he was hitting a sore spot for Butei.
"That's wrong. Your face wasn't the face of someone trying to discipline someone. It was the face of someone venting their hatred."
She must have used her animal observation ability from her Genome Tree. Animals, apparently, are more observant of human expressions than humans think.
The man's face twisted in displeasure.
"You're being rude to an elder. It seems your parents didn't raise you properly."
Yo's face froze for a moment but immediately returned to its expressionless state.
"I think it's the lowest a person can go to belittle someone who isn't right in front of them."
"Sho?"
I stepped in front of her to shield her and joined the argument.
"You, are you this little girl's companion? Indeed, what I said was a slip of the tongue, but you were the one who interfered with our discipline. I'll forgive you if you leave right now."
The man motioned with his chin for me to get lost.
(Sho, you're not going, right?)
(Of course not.)
I answered without hesitation to Yo's quiet question.
"I have to disagree. Your violence is just violence. It was only meant to hurt the other person. That girl doesn't seem to be learning anything from it; if anything, she's afraid of you. Control through fear is the simplest and most fragile. It has never worked in history. If you really care about her, you should reconsider what you're doing."
"...A mere student being so arrogant. What's your name?"
"Sho Yozuki."
The man took out a device and started operating it. He was probably trying to pull up my information from my name. But it's useless. Because my official information is...
"An F-rank nobody, huh."
...complete nonsense.
"Tch, to be lectured by a nobody like this... hm?"
He noticed something and his lips twisted into a sneer.
"Fine. Kid, if you have something to say, then say it."
"Huh?"
What is it? What did he find?
"I said I'm listening. Go on and say it."
He says he's listening, so I'll say it.
"Don't ever use violence against this girl again."
"Hmph, fine by me... if you win this duel, that is!"
Ah, yeah. I knew this would happen.
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