The wave of unexpectedly positive media coverage regarding the Stellar Reactor experiment had sent a thrill through the student body of First High. Even those who hadn't participated felt a surge of vicarious pride; the fact that their peers had earned the world's acclaim—however superficial—satisfied the students' youthful craving for recognition through a shared identity.
Naturally, there was an exception.
It was just after the fifth period, the final lesson of the afternoon. In the Class 1-A room, Takuma was packing up for his club activities when the day's latest round of nauseating chatter drifted into his ears. A group of girls were gushing over an interview with the Director of Rosen Japan, specifically his praise for the girls in their class who had assisted in the experiment.
Takuma stood up abruptly, making no effort to hide his vitriol. The hostile air radiating from him was so sharp that the girls instantly fell silent, their conversation dying in their throats.
His attitude was a jagged outlier in the classroom's atmosphere. No one in Class 1-A had been directly involved in yesterday's experiment—Kasumi and Mizunami were in Class C, Izumi was in Class B, and even the mechanical support staff were from other classes. And yet, almost every student felt as if they had been personally honored by the executives of a global conglomerate. Every student, that is, except him.
Takuma practically fled the classroom, but even during club practice, the murky cloud in his mind refused to clear. His lack of focus made his sequences sloppy; he failed at basic activations he could usually perform in his sleep, only fueling his mounting frustration. By the time he headed for the gates, his irritation had reached a breaking point.
As he walked through the front courtyard after retrieving his CAD from the administration office, he ran straight into Kasumi, who was wearing her Disciplinary Committee armband. She was on her way back to headquarters and attempted to pass him with nothing more than a fleeting glance. It was a perfectly normal reaction, but in his skewed state of mind, Takuma took it as a deliberate snub.
"You certainly played your cards well, Saegusa."
Kasumi stopped in her tracks, looking at him with genuine confusion. "…What are you talking about?"
Her bewilderment wasn't an act. However, to Takuma—who had been nursing a growing pile of stress ever since his father had reprimanded him two nights prior—it looked like she was playing coy. Blinded by his own misconceptions, he lashed out.
"I'm talking about yesterday's public experiment. To catch the eye of the Rosen Director himself… it's quite the achievement, isn't it?"
"The experiment? Shippou, what on earth are you on about?"
"Don't play dumb! You knew that MP who hates magicians was coming, so you rigged the whole thing, didn't you? You used Shiba-senpai to sell your own name. Pretty clever."
"Used him?" Kasumi's voice sharpened. "Stop making baseless accusations."
Her rebuttal lacked its usual bite, mostly because Takuma's guess about her knowing of Dietman Kanda's visit was actually correct. To Takuma, this slight hesitation was the ultimate proof that his theory was flawless.
"I was careless. I didn't realize that man was a minor celebrity among the Nine Schools, not just here. As expected of a Saegusa—always looking for the angle. Did you follow in your sister's footsteps and seduce your way into his good graces? I'll give you this much: you sisters certainly have the faces for it."
"Don't you dare!"
Kasumi exploded with a sudden, fierce intensity that left Takuma momentarily speechless. But her rage was a flash fire, extinguished as quickly as it had ignited.
"…Seduction? Your mind really is in the gutter, Shippou," she said, her voice dropping to a frigid, mocking calm. "A Saegusa would never even dream of something so tawdry. Besides, that kind of thing wouldn't work on Shiba-senpai anyway. It only works on brainless celebrities. Though, considering how 'cute' you look, maybe it would work on you."
"…Are you picking a fight, Saegusa?"
"You're the one who started this. And didn't I tell you before? I'm going to beat you so thoroughly you'll never have the nerve to challenge me again."
The two glared at each other, right hands already hovering over their left sleeves. Both used bracelet-type CADs. They had already crossed the line of no return; the air was thick with the scent of an imminent explosion.
"You two! What do you think you're doing?" a male voice barked from behind Takuma.
"Both of you, lower your hands!" a female voice commanded from behind Kasumi.
At the exact moment they prepared to engage their CADs, the voices of authority cut through the tension. Takuma began to turn, his right hand already sliding his sleeve up, while Kasumi lowered her hand and looked back.
In Takuma's vision, an upperclassman he recognized was reaching into his blazer with a grim expression. He's drawing a gun-type CAD from a shoulder holster, Takuma realized.
Takuma's finger was already on his activation switch. He thought he had won—but in the next heartbeat, his entire world jolted. A violent, concussive force rocked his body, sending his brain rattling against his skull. Dizziness swamped his senses, and his knees hit the pavement before he even realized he'd been hit.
Kasumi turned around the moment she felt the surge of magic from behind her. Her eyes widened as she saw Morisaki, the Disciplinary Committee member, standing over the fallen Takuma.
"Drawless…" she whispered.
She was struck by a profound sense of shock. Takuma had clearly been faster in his initial movements. Specialized CADs were supposed to be faster than generalized ones, and given the distance, Takuma should have had the advantage. That would have been true—if Morisaki had followed the standard procedure of "draw, then aim."
To be honest, Kasumi hadn't thought much of Morisaki until now. His magical scale and interference strength were mediocre at best, and while his construction speed was decent, it wasn't world-class. She had even questioned why someone of his caliber had been chosen for the Committee. Now, she silently admitted she had been a poor judge of character.
(I guess I still have a long way to go…) she thought, tightening her fist.
"Kasumi."
A flat, toneless voice called her name. Kasumi jumped, her spine snapping straight as if pulled by a wire.
"Kitayama-senpai…"
She turned around sheepishly to find Shizuku staring back at her with a distinctly displeased expression.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"