10 After Beating

"Okay, now that we have everything clearly recorded, there's no need for further interrogation, right, Mari?" The student council president stepped forward with a slight smile, addressing a tomboyish girl whose name I remembered: Watanabe Mari, the chair of the discipline committee at First High.

"The student council, along with the discipline committee, will conduct a thorough investigation and report the findings to the teachers. As the president of the student council, I must warn you against practicing magic. Mistakes can often occur, and they pose a danger to both the user and others. Do you understand?"

After the student council president finished her warning, we all nodded in understanding.

'Practicing magic is forbidden, let alone using it in a trivial fight. Do you understand, idiot!?' That was another point.

The two senior students turned around, but just as they took a step, Watanabe Mari stopped and turned her head.

"Your names?"

"First-year E class, Shiba Tatsuya."

"..."

"Hey, you too!"

"Oh? Yuki Haku."

"I'll remember that."

With a deep sigh, I rolled my eyes, wondering why this was taking so long. I lowered my head and looked at my right hand, which had just released magic.

Although it seemed that this ability of mine was 'installed,' I realized that I had no mental control over it and lacked experience.

As someone who had been unable to fulfill military obligations in the past due to my illness, I found it frightening.

'Seriously!? Are kids these days allowed to possess this kind of power?'

Once again, my common sense shattered.

The idea of children with legalized magic roaming the city felt as strange as carrying a gun around your waist without anyone finding it odd.

I sighed, turned around, and went over to Mizuki.

"Hey, are you hurt anywhere?"

Looking into Mizuki's eyes, I hoped she was okay, even though I knew she might be a little traumatized.

"Y-Yeah! Thanks, Haku-san..." She nodded, her face slightly blushing.

Since the situation was still tense, I refrained from teasing her. With her cute demeanor, it was hard for me to resist teasing her.

"Tsk!"

I glanced over and saw Morisaki leaving with an annoyed and embarrassed look on his face. His friends followed suit, not daring to glance at our group.

"H-Haku-san, I apologize for my mistake. Mizuki almost..."

"Not to me, but apologize to the others, especially Mizuki."

With a nonchalant expression, I said to Miyuki.

"Miyuki-san, it's fine. No one got hurt, right?"

Mizuki seemed to regain some composure upon hearing Miyuki's apology.

"B-but..."

"It's okay, Miyuki. That's what friends do, right?"

Erika approached us with a baton-shaped CAD leaning on her shoulder, followed by Leo, and grinned.

I looked at Tatsuya with an expression that said, 'What the hell are you doing? Are you just going to stand there without apologizing?'

He looked back at me in silence, but his eyes seemed to say, 'I wanted to handle this quietly without involving the disciplinary committee and the student council, but damn, you recorded everything.'

He smiled slightly and moved closer to us.

"Sorry about what I said earlier. I thought Haku wasn't recording, so I tried to defend us that way."

"I understand, Tatsuya. I didn't expect that behind Haku's beautiful face, there was a cunning mind, fufu." Erika glanced at me, hoping I would fall for her teasing.

"That's called being smart, not cunning."

Crossing my arms with a hint of pride, I replied.

"Ermm..."

We fell silent and turned our attention in the other direction upon hearing that hesitant voice.

As if to interrupt our relaxed atmosphere once again, a pair of class A girls stood a little distance away. Their body language clearly indicated that they had no ill intentions.

I tilted my head and blinked a few times, recalling that they were light magic users.

"I'm Mitsui Honoka. I apologize for everything that happened earlier."

She bowed sincerely.

"Thank you for protecting me. Morisaki-kun deserves punishment, but thanks Onii-san and Onee-san, it's not a big deal for me."

"It's nothing. And please, stop with the 'Onii-san' since we are in the same year. Just Tatsuya is fine. Also, you misunderstood; he's not a girl."

"Eh...?" The two girls' eyes went blank for a moment, then they tilted their heads. Their faces now wore expressions of confusion, as if their minds had temporarily stopped functioning.

"Ohh!? Another victim, pfft!" Erika started teasing, holding her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Hey! Seriously..."

Though I was used to it, I felt genuinely embarrassed this time, especially since we were at school. I coughed slightly, feeling my cheeks redden, but I said it nonchalantly. "Hey, girls, wake up!"

"Ahh? Woah! Woah! Shizuku, what's going on!?"

Startled, one of the girls frantically looked at her friend behind her and then back at me repeatedly.

"Sigh... um, I'm Kitayama Shizuku. It's nice to meet you all. And I apologize for my rude reaction earlier. Um...?"

The other girl with short hair seemed to be waiting for me to provide my name.

"Haku is fine."

"Alright, so is it okay if the two of us go with you to the station?"

Kitayama-san, speaking on behalf of Mitsui-san, who was still flustered, asked us with a composed expression.

The others seemed surprised by this, as their preconceived notions about Course 1 students being arrogant brats were immediately shattered. Of course, we had no reason to refuse, and indeed, we didn't.

As we made our way back to the station, it was Tatsuya, Miyuki, Mizuki, Erika, Leo, the two A-class girls, Mitsui Honoka, and Kitayama Shizuku, who had caught Honoka when she fell from Saegusa Mayumi's Psion bullets.

During the journey, our conversation was light and casual, discussing various topics.

"Oh, I see. So Tatsuya-san was the one who performed the tuning on Miyuki-san?"

"Yes, I feel most at ease when I entrust something to Onii-sama." Miyuki smiled proudly in response to Honoka's question.

"I only made a few adjustments. Miyuki has excellent processing skills, so her CAD requires minimal maintenance."

"Even so, it's not easy for someone to access the CAD's core system. I find it hard to believe that someone like Miyuki, who is a model student, would simply trust Tatsuya's tuning because he's her brother, right?"

I was slightly surprised by this new information. If Tatsuya had set up Miyuki's CAD, it meant that his CAD programming skills must be exceptional.

Instead of answering, Tatsuya looked at me with a wry smile.

"Speaking of exceptional skills, Haku, how were you able to move so quickly? My eyes couldn't keep up with you. One moment, you were already in front of Mizuki, and the next, you were neutralizing Morisaki's magic. And speaking of that, what kind of magic was it?"

Leo asked, analyzing the situation with his hand on his chin. The question directed everyone's attention towards me.

"Sigh... I used a Ninjutsu technique to move quickly, and then I used Gram Demolition to destroy Morisaki's magic."

"Ninjutsu!?" Leo nodded in recognition. "Ninjutsu and Gram Demolition... I can't help but wonder why someone with your abilities didn't get into Course 1." Shizuku commented, surprised by this fact.

"Is that magic really that powerful?" Leo still seemed perplexed by what had transpired, prompting Erika to chuckle. "How did you even learn such advanced magic?" She asked teasingly.

"That's why I'm asking, woman!"

"[Gram Demolition] is a counter magic that employs compressed Psion particles to forcefully disrupt all activation circuits and magic circuits. It may sound simple, but this magic requires a considerable amount of psions, so only a few magicians can utilize it."

Instead of answering, Miyuki briefly explained the magic.

"Wow..."

Mizuki's eyes widened as she looked at me. I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed by her gaze.

"The three of you, Haku-san, Tatsuya-san, and Miyuki-san, were amazing. But Erika and Leo were impressive too. It seems like there are no ordinary people in our high school, huh?"

"I don't think there are any normal people in a magic school." Shizuku response.

I smiled resignedly, realizing that I was indeed a bit out of the ordinary.

---

April 5th, 2095

The next morning, I followed my usual routine and headed to the station to go to school.

Coincidentally, I ran into the Shiba siblings at the station.

"Good morning, guys~"

"Good morning, Haku." They replied in unison.

"Do you want to go to school together?"

I invited them, and both of them happily agreed. I noticed that Miyuki, who usually appeared cold, seemed a bit different today. Maybe it was because of what happened with Morisaki. Perhaps she was relieved that there were no longer any troubles surrounding her.

As we waited for the train, I heard whispers from the people around us.

"Did you see those two girls?"

"Two girls going to school together, how lovely. Wait, why is one of them wearing the wrong uniform?"

"Maybe she prefers a masculine look? She might be a tomboy..."

"The other girl has such an innocent and elegant aura. But the other one, she seems cool and reliable. And what about the guy with them? He looks pretty ordinary. How did he end up going to school with two beauties?"

I let out a tired sigh. It seemed like Miyuki and I had become the center of attention.

"...How dare they speak ill of Onii-sama?"

Miyuki whispered coldly, her icy demeanor sending chills down my spine. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and said, "Why do you care so much about what other people say? Just ignore them."

Miyuki nodded and followed my advice. I was surprised that she didn't resist or argue. Something seemed to have changed between us.

After the train ride, the three of us arrived at Hachioji station. The high school was within walking distance, so we strolled toward it without worrying about getting lost.

I wondered how Erika and Mizuki managed to get lost so easily.

As we walked, we ignored the stares and whispers from others.

Miyuki was undeniably beautiful, but it seemed like Tatsuya was used to the attention. He remained calm and composed as if being surrounded by admirers was an everyday occurrence.

"Tatsuya-kun!~~"

We halted in our steps as a soft voice called out to Tatsuya.

A petite figure quickly approached us from behind. I glanced at Tatsuya and asked, "Do you know her?"

"No, I just met her the day before yesterday."

It seemed like they had a chance encounter. Saegusa Mayumi reached us, slightly out of breath. "Good morning, Tatsuya-kun. And good morning to you too, Haku-san and Miyuki-san."

"Good morning, President."

She greeted Tatsuya with more enthusiasm, but her greeting to me and Miyuki seemed more formal. I wondered if we had ever talked before. Perhaps she was just naturally friendly and sociable.

Saegusa-senpai noticed the three of us and chuckled.

"Wow, it's still early in the morning and you're already surrounded by beauties, Tatsuya-kun. Well done."

"Do I look like a playboy?" Tatsuya asked with his usual stoic expression. He remained unfazed, not showing any signs of being flustered despite the teasing from an older female student, especially one as beautiful as Mayumi.

"Hmph! You should at least feel a little embarrassed when you're surrounded by beautiful girls!" Saegusa-senpai scowled, not accepting Tatsuya's nonchalant reaction.

I coughed lightly, wanting to change the topic. "Is there something the President wants to discuss with Miyuki?" I asked.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to Miyuki-san and Haku-san about yesterday's incident regarding the student council. Can both of you come to the student council room during lunchtime?"

She immediately extended the invitation after I inquired about her intention. I couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive. Did I do something wrong?

"Huh? Me too? Am I in trouble?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"Not at all. It's not a punishment or anything negative, although the teacher hasn't informed you. Tatsuya-kun, you should come as well."

Miyuki's face lit up when she heard that Tatsuya was also invited. "We will be there, President."

Saegusa-senpai smiled mischievously, and I couldn't shake off the sense of foreboding. But Tatsuya and I were both curious, so we agreed to attend. "Alright, I'll come too. By the way, I brought a bento for both of you, so let's eat together in the student council room, okay?"

"Eh!? Haku-san made a bento for all three of us?"Miyuki shocked.

"That's amazing! Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to taste your cooking." Saegusa-senpai expressed her surprise, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Oh~! Finally, I get to try Haku's food..."

Miyuki was taken aback and entered a dreamy state. I suppose she was already imagining her lunch.

LOL.

It's too adorable.

Then, a small amount of saliva dripped from her slightly open mouth.

Pfft! Where did her princess-like behavior go? But the current Miyuki resembled a delighted child when someone offered her favorite food.

I couldn't help but worry and wanted to spoil her even more. "Wake up, girl! Your saliva is about to drip." I took out a handkerchief and wiped away her drool. "E-Excuse me! P-Please, forget what you saw!"

Miyuki's face turned red, and she trembled with embarrassment. I chuckled at her reaction. "Pfft! No way, my memory is too good."

"Hmph!" Miyuki turned away, pouting in anger, but I found it cute. Suddenly, I felt Tatsuya's gaze on both of us. He looked at me as if I had taken something precious from him.

Damn.

But what is this feeling? Although I'm in a feminine body, a sense of male triumph surges within me.

I don't understand what's happening anymore.