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Chapter 1 - 43

Chapter 43: Nine Schools Competition Begins

The day after the banquet, there was still one free day, and the Magical Engineering Technicians team became busy, making their final push.

The athletes also rested in their own ways, preparing to face the upcoming competitions in their best condition.

The next day, the Nine Schools Competition officially opened as scheduled.

The competition venue, capable of holding a hundred thousand people, could now be described as completely packed. The seats were filled not only by students who had specifically given up their summer vacation to cheer for their schools, but even more so by socialites who came specifically to watch the competition!

Although it was just a high school competition, those who came here were basically elite students from various magic high schools.

Students selected by their schools to participate, as long as they didn't perish prematurely, would without exception later become pillars in the military and various magic enterprises.

However, perhaps because magic competitions themselves are very flashy, there was no need for a grand and elegant ceremony, nor lengthy guest speeches. The competition began punctually at 9 AM.

Starting today, for ten days, the official competitions (all grades) for five male and five female events, and the rookie competitions (first-year students only) for five male and five female events, totaling twenty magic competitive events, commenced.

The first day's events were the preliminaries and finals of the official competition's "Precision Shooting," and the preliminaries of "Surfing Race."

Normally, the Magical Engineering Technician should be responsible for the projects, and then the athletes would choose their preferred technician for adjustments.

But Yotsuba Mahiro did the exact opposite.

This also led to a problem—

Senior Mayumi and Senior Watanabe's events clashed.

Mayumi had signed up for "Precision Shooting" and "Group Ball Scoring," while Senior Watanabe had "Surfing Race" and "Star-Picking Mirage."

This meant that Mahiro had been busy since early morning today.

Fortunately, "Surfing Race" was only a preliminary, and Senior Watanabe herself was a popular contender for the championship, so he didn't need to pay too much attention to it.

After preparing the CAD and handing it over to Senior Watanabe, he focused all his energy on Senior Mayumi.

"Is this much force okay?"

"Hmm~ You can use a little more force, it's fine."

According to Mayumi's request, he increased the pressure again, pressing down hard.

And Mayumi's body was pressed by him as if it were folding.

Don't misunderstand, this wasn't some strange position.

It was a simple pre-competition warm-up exercise.

However…

"Senior, your body's flexibility is really good," Mahiro praised in surprise.

She could cross her legs, then bend her waist to touch her toes, a posture like a closed seashell.

In his understanding, even someone who specialized in dance would probably find it difficult to perform such an incredible stretching pose.

Not to mention doing it as effortlessly as Mayumi.

At the very least, Sayaka, who practiced kendo, definitely couldn't do it, after all, they had tried many things that night…

"Mm, that's enough."

Mayumi finished after stretching left and right four times each, and this sentence brought his wandering thoughts back.

He held her small, tender hand, and with a slight pull, lifted Mayumi from the ground.

"Thank you~"

"You're welcome."

Nanagusa Mayumi, standing up, stretched her waist, and a bright smile appeared on her face, especially when she looked at him.

"By the way, Mahiru-kun, when you were helping me warm up just now, were you thinking something rude?"

!!!

Was he found out?

"Of course, you were clearly a bit distracted just now. You were with a beautiful girl like me, yet you were still thinking about other things."

As if complaining, Mayumi's mischievous personality was exposed again, even puffing out one cheek in annoyance.

She looked very cute.

"No, I was just thinking that Senior Mayumi looked a bit like a seashell just now."

Mahiro spoke his initial thought.

"Seashell?"

"Yeah, like a seashell. Opening and closing, it's exactly like that."

Mahiro even gestured with his hands to demonstrate the movement.

But for some reason, Mayumi's face suddenly turned red.

Seeing that opening and closing, she seemed to connect it to something, her expression flustered, her eyes wide, her legs pressed tightly together, and she unconsciously pulled down her uniform and retreated a few steps.

"Mahiru-kun, h!"???

Yotsuba Mahiro couldn't help but type out a few question marks.

No, I don't think I did anything, did I? Did you misunderstand something?

He wanted to explain, but it was already too late because the announcement had already sounded.

In five minutes, the Precision Shooting competitors would enter the arena.

So, he handed the adjusted long-rifle CAD for the competition to Mayumi and asked:

"Senior Mayumi, are you sure you don't want to try it out? I've slightly simplified the activation sequences for the 'Multiple Observation' and 'Hail Meteor' spells, making them activate faster than before."

"I trust you, Mahiru-kun. And thank you~"

To simplify the activation sequences of the two spells that make up Magic Bullet Shooter, that was something even the Seventh Lab found difficult to achieve.

Although there was a risk of failure, she still chose to trust Yotsuba Mahiro.

"No need to be so polite. After all, I'm your exclusive technician; it's what I should do."

"Hmph, if Mori heard that, she'd definitely be sad, you know."

"It's fine. As compensation, I've already prepared a gift for Senior Watanabe, so she won't be angry."

"A gift?"

Hearing his words, Mayumi tilted her head curiously.

"Yes, it's a passive defensive activation sequence. If anything unexpected happens, the defensive magic will automatically activate."

"Eh~ I didn't expect Mahiru-kun to be so good to Mori~" Mayumi's tone held a hint of teasing and a bit of envy.

"Don't worry, I've also prepared a gift for you, Senior Mayumi. You should be able to use it in the finals."

"Really? Then I'll really look forward to it!"

"Mm, don't worry. So, Senior, you must let me truly experience the splendor of Fairy Sniper!"

He had heard this title from Miyuki.

It was said that Senior Mayumi received this title when she first participated in Precision Shooting as a First High student.

However, Mayumi herself didn't seem to like it.

Her cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish, and she glared at him, saying word by word:

"Don't. You. Dare. Call. Me. That. Name!"

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