Entering the rge, military base tent of the First High School, Yuuji looked around for a moment and quickly found the person he was looking for. She was fiddling with her ptop that was currently ected with a bracelet type CAD.

  “Ah, Hirakawa-senpai?”

  “Hm? Ah, T-T-Tsubakihara-kun? W-What’s wrong?”

  Yuuji smiled softly at the flustered, light brown haired, third-year girl. It was the first time he had ever met her. Well, at least in person.

  He had seen her briefly in the anime. She was the engineer in charge of Kobayakawa Keiko in the Mirage Bat event, which would start in just a few hours. The girl who was traumatized by the “act” that befell Keiko.

  Although it might ge some things, Yuuji, Aika, and Tatsuya had decided to not let the act that befell Kobayakawa Keiko to happen and save both the athlete and the engineer from their trauma. If saving them ges things, then they will deal with the ge.

  “I was told to assist you with the final checks of Kobayakawa Keiko-senpai’s CAD for her Mirage Bat Event. If it is not a bother to you, may I be of any help?”

  Seeing her blushing expression, Yuuji felt a pang of guilt in his heart lying and taking advantage of his senpai’s gullibility with his looks. But this was for her sake… If she found out about his lie and demanded an apology, then he would bow his head.

  “Eh?! A-Are you sure? Y-You just finished your Monolith atch, didn’t you? Ah! gratutions on winning!!! I was watg you! You were amazing!!! I ’t believe you used the flying magic that had just been released a few months ago to such a degree!!!”

  “Thank you very much for your pliment, senpai. I tried my best t the best result for our school. And knowing I would be against the Crimson Prind Cardinal Gee, I just know I ’t hold baything.”

  “Uhn uhn!!! You were amazing!!! Ah, you said you wao help me, right? But unfortunately, I’ve already checked it with the tour ittee. I’m just here to recheck everything to make sure it’s fine, so there isn’t really anything you help me with…”

  Dammit… So I was already too te…

  Yuuji cursed in his mind. If he could, he wao join her when she was going to the ittee to check Kobayakawa Keiko’s CAD because he khat would be when they would tamper with it, and caught the staff i. But now, he was too te…

  Wait, no… it’s not too te. Maybe I destroy it…

  “It’s fihen may I take over for the final cheg? At the very least, I would like to see the CAD that one of the greatest engineers in our school had calibrated from scratd learn from it, senpai.”

  “G-Greate- I-I’m not that great!!!”

  She waved her hands bad forth, her face blushiremely redly as she averted her face away from him.

  She had 0 defense against him!!!

  Firl who had been fog all her time and attention on studies, this was her first time experieng spring, and with such a handsome guy at that!!!

  B-But… he’s still a first year student. H-How could a pin girl who’s two years older than him catch his eyes?!

  B-But maybe…

  She stole a g Yuuji, who was still looking at her with his unfair smile and trying his best to ceal his sense of guilt.

  It’s okay to dream, right…? A-And I’ll just be showing him the CAD I calibrated! T-There’s nothing wrong with a senpai helping her kouhai!!!

  Overwhelmed by her desire to get closer to him, Koharu made her decision. If she let go of this, who knows when she could get the ce to be this close with the most popur boy in school again!!!

  “T-Then, please take a seat. H-Here you go, you do the final chegs. You eveart it if you want!”

  “Eh? Would it be fine? Will we make it in time if we restart it?”

  “U-Uhn! It’ll be fi’ll just take ara few minutes!”

  “Then, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

  Yuuji nodded gratefully and sat down on the bench beside Koharu as she scooted over. Looking at the bracelet-shaped CAD, Yuuji used his Elemental Sight to exami.

  Ah… As expected. It’s already there.

  Although he doesn’t know the exact structure of the Golderon Silkworms’ magic sequence, he could easily identify a fn presen the system. And now, in the fra of a sed he took to examihe CAD, he grasped its magic sequeructure, and purpose.

  What a nasty virus…

  The “Golderon Silkworms” was a magic spell that disables precision onry and was capable of passing across es to invade eleic devices. It doesn’t rewrite the process itself, but instead, it interferes with the output signal and may even alter the signal, deying the spell activation by hampering the eleic meism without triggering the OS or anti-virus programs.

  This was what caused Kobayakawa Keiko’s CAD to malfun while she was in mid air during her Mirage Bat matd made her fall. Although she was saved just in the nick of time before plunging into the water by a security member, the trauma and distrust she had towards magid her CAD left a deep scar in her aroyed her career as a magi.

  Hiding his disgust by putting up a ral and focused expression, Yuuji waved his hand above Keiko’s CAD and cast Gram Demolition to reduce the magic sequence of the Golderon Silkworms into a group of Psion particles without any meaningful structure.

  Then, he quickly began cheg the system from beginning to end with the ptop to see if there were any remnants of the virus or not and to make sure he didn’t mess anything Koharu had made.

  All the while, Koharu was staring at him in a daze.

  His focused gaze. His brilliance. His prodigious skill with the CAD. He’s… amazing in all regards.

  She had heard plenty of rumors about him from word of mouth, and now that she witnessed his brillian person, even the rumors failed to do him justice.

  He was far more handsome, far more brilliant, far more skilled, and far more powerful than she expected.

  He was beyond perfe her eyes…

  Ah… If only I was cuter… Maybe I could’ve caught his attention…

  A gloomy thought entered her mind as she recalled seeing a particur girl who was often near Yuuji.

  Kiryuu Aika. No one iire First High School would not know the name of the most beautiful first year girl in the school. Her appearand figure alone had ented many males and females alike. And she was also a prodigious magi who could rival, no, surpass the famous freshman representative Shiba Miyuki in magibsp;

  Her performan the Pilrs Break match had caught the eyes of many and her popurity just rocketed even further.

  pared to her, a pin girl who was only slightly more skilled than average in engineering, the difference was like heaven ah.

  After seeing her being so close to the boy she was ied in, there’s no way she wouldn’t lose her fidence…

  “Alright. I’m done, senpai. Thank you very much for letting me have this opportunity. I have learned a lot from just seeing your work.”

  “Eh?! A-Ah, you’re done?! U-Uhn, you’re wele!”

  “Yes. Then, I wish you and Kobayakawa-senpai good lu the match. I will be watg along with my friends and support you two.”

  “U-Uhn… Thank you.”

  “Please excuse me.”

  Yuuji raised from his seat, bowed, and walked away as Koharu kept her lingering gaze on his babsp;

  Ah… He left…

  Before she noticed, her hand reached out for him. But it froze just before she held onto the hem of his bzer uniform.

  A sense of loss, regret, and fear filled her heart. Lost from watg his back recede into the distance. Regret for not having the ce to stop him. And fear at the thought of never being able to be that o him ever again.

  No… Wait. It’s not the end… I still be near him.

  Her eyes began tain its light.

  The Thesis petition… That’s right, I have him bey bodyguard!

  --------------------------------X--------------------------------

  Without the virus in her CAD, Kobayakawa Keiko mao win her first mai Mirage Bat matbsp;

  It was challenging, but her skill and Koharu’s engineering mao let her triumph over the others.

  “gratutions, Hirakawa-senpai.”

  “Uhn! gratutions!!!”

  “As expected of Hirakawa-senpai. The performance of the CAD you calibrated is amazing.”

  “Yes. gratutions.”

  “T-Thank you very much, everyone. B-But I really didn’t do much. It was Keiko’s efforts and skills that made her win.”

  “Don’t be like that, senpai~! You are chosen to represent our school as ihat means you’re amazingly skilled at what you do~!!!”

  “Mm. Please take pride in your skill more, senpai.”

  “U-Uhn… T-Thank you, you two.”

  Koharu fidgeted in embarrassment as she stood beside the two greatest beauties of the school. Kiryuu Aika and Shiba Miyuki. Although she had only seen them from afar, she had heard numerous rumors about their beauty, talent, and character. They were individuals beyond anyone’s reach except for those like Yuuji. Flowers on a high peak.

  But now that she talked to them in person, they seemed very close. They were… kind and friendly. Although she was still a bit overwhelmed by their brilliahey didn’t feel so far anymore.

  Perhaps, being friends wouldn’t be so out of reach like everyone made it seem to be, Koharu thought.

  Meanwhile, after gratuting Koharu, Yuuji and Tatsuya redirect their gaze towards Kobayakawa Keiko, who was still receiving a resounding appuse as she waved her hands to the spectators on the Mirage Bat ns.

  “Good work. You’ve erased the virus pletely.”

  “Thank you. It was the first time I’ve ever tried using Gram Demolition like that. I’m gd it worked out.”

  Yuuji shook his head a out a sigh of relief.

  He khat it would work, in theory. And he had learensively about Gram Demolition and Gram Dispersion from Tatsuya, and even started developing a third type of magic dismantling spell that would work more like an armor.

  But dispelling a magic spell that had already tched itself into a CAD was a first for him.

  “You did very well on your first try.”

  Tatsuya pced a hand on his shoulder. His lips curled into a small, yet still present, proud smile for his “student”.

  “Thanks, Tatsuya. I couldn’t have do without you.”

  “I believe you could’ve figured it out with your proficies. Well, enough about that. You should go and prepare for Aika’s match.”

  “Alright. I’ll see you ter.”

  Yuuji o Tatsuya before making his way to the girls.

  “Aika, I’ll be taking your CAD for cheg now. Wait for me ient.”

  “Okay~!!! I’ll reserve a private room ient~!”

  Aika winked, earning her a helpless smile from Yuuji. She looked so excited and could barely wait for it.

  He then turowards Miyuki and Koharu.

  “I’ll see you ter as well, Miyuki. And Kobayakawa-senpai, gratutions once again.”

  “Yes. See you ter, Yuuji.”

  “T-Thank you very much! I-I’ll see you ter as well, Tsubakihara-kun.”

  “Yes.”

  --------------------------------X--------------------------------

  Yuuji queued up along with the other partits who were here to have their CAD checked for the tour and received plenty of attention as usual.

  In his hand was Aika’s bracelet-type CAD, but it wasn’t the one she’ll use for her Mirage Bat match. Since Yuuji khat they’ll tamper with her CAD, he brought along the backup CAD so they won’t harm her personal one.

  After a few minutes of waiting, Yuuji finally arrived at the front of the line.

  Before him was a rge, pure white table with a device to s CAD and monitor dispy to the right. And sitting behind it was the same staff who tampered with Miyuki’s CAD in the anime.

  Yuuji pced the bracelet on the sing area, keeping his eyes fixed oaff and the bracelet.

  He began typing on his puter and a s popped up on the monitor, dispying Aika’s school picture and her information.

  Then, the sing process began as a line of light began sing through the bracelet type CAD.

  With his elemental sight activated, Yuuji kept his eyes on Aika’s bracelet. And as he expected, the staff ied the Golderon Silkworms into the CAD he calibrated.

  The audacity… I’ll pliment his poker face, at the very least.

  Yuuji grabbed his colr, lifted him up into the air with one hand, and smmed him down to the ground.

  “W-Whoa- Kuhaahhkk!!! Gghhkkh!!”

  And usuya, who held him down with his knee, Yuuji pced his legs on his upper chest and leaned forward, making it difficult for him to breathe. He grabbed onto Yuuji’s leg and tried to move it, but it wouldn't budge.

  Yuuji’s a caused some otion and a few members of security came to see what happened as Yuuji tio look down on the scum.

  “How sneaky. But not sneaky enough. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice if you tamper with the CAD I calibrated from scratch?”

  Yuuji pressed down on his chest even more as he struggled under his feet.

  “Gggghhkkkh!!!”

  “What did you i into this CAD with that examination device? I’m sure it’s not just a virus.”

  Witnessing the otion, the security staff were about to separate Yuuji from the examination staff. But upon hearing his words, they froze and began looking at each other in shod uainty.

  “Aah… I see. It seems like it was as I expected. All of the acts that occurred during this tour, to me, must’ve been your crafty work, huh?”

  Despite the pain he was suffering from, the staff’s eyes widened in shock at his words and averted his eyes away.

  “I see… So you’re not going to talk? Well then… perhaps you’ll learn how crushing winds could be with your body.”

  “H-Hiiiih!!!”

  “What is going on here?”

  Just then, the charismatic voice of an old man resounded and snapped Yuuji out of his focus on the scummy staff.

  He gowards the entrance of the tent and saw the Patriarch himself, Kudou Retsu, approag him with two of the tour’s board ittee members in tow.

  With a gesture of his , one of them approached the scummy staff that Yuuji had let go, and held him down along with a member of security.

  “I apologize for showing su unseemly dispy.”

  Yuuji bowed and apologized as Kudou Retsu began to walk closer with his hands behind his back. .

  “You are Tsubakihara Yuuji of First High, am I right? You mao astound me in your match yesterday. Well done.”

  “Thank you very much for your praise.”

  “Umu. So, what happened here?”

  “The CADs used by my school have been tampered with before my eyes. Upon notig it, I apprehehe culprit and was about to interrogate him for informatiarding his patron and the mastermind.”

  “I see.”

  A staff then brought over Aika’s bracelet CAD and ha to the Patriarch, who began looking at it for a moment.

  “It is true. A f has been ied into this. Back when I’m still active, the magis of the Guangdong Army used this during the battle of the East a Seas; the Golderon Silkworms.”

  The examination staff’s eyes widened in horror and shock as Kudou Retsu began expining the very virus he was iing into the First High school’s CADs. Everything was out of the bag now.

  “Until we were able to identify this, our forces suffered severely… Did you know about this?”

  “No… I was unaware of its il now. However, I reize at once when something simir to a virus has been ied into the system I designed myself.”

  “I see… So tell me, where oh did you acquire this magic sequence?”

  The examination staff fli the pressure exerted by the Patriarch himself, and soon, any ce to fight or escape left him as he dropped his shoulders.

  The rest of the security staff apprehended him and began taking him elsewhere, most likely for questioning before log him up somewhere.

  “I am impressed that you caught it, Tsubakihara Yuuji.”

  “Thank you very much. But in truth… members of my school’s team and I have been suspeg foul py done by… some of the staff within the ittee ever sihe first ihat befell our athlete. We have requested the ittee to do an internal iigation on the credibility and trustworthiness of their staff. However… it seemed like some still mao slip through their keen eyes.”

  “!!!”

  The staff members, including the board ittee, all fli the gre and pressure Yuuji emahrough his presend eyes alone.

  “Mm. It seems so. To think that someone among the tour staff was involved in tampering… It's a sdal without pret. You expin yourself to me ter.”

  They flinched once again, this time from Kudou Retsu, before he turowards Yuuji with a kind smile.

  “You should be getting back to the stadium. I would use a backup CAD if I were you.”

  “The CAD that I submitted for examinations is actually the back up CAD I have prepared in case the examination staff tried to tamper with it. The inal CAD I have prepared is still in my athlete’s possession. Shall I… bring it here for examination again?”

  Yuuji g the board ittee members as they began panig, looking bad forth at each other and the Patriarch who was standing before them.

  “No. Uhese circumstahere is o have it checked pre-match.”

  Kudour Retsu shook his head and turowards the board ittee members.

  “Do you have any pints?”

  “...No.”

  “Good.”

  He turowards Yuuji once again.

  “Tsubakihara Yuuji?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “I would like to hear from you as well, sometime. “

  “Yes. Should the opportunity arise, it would be my honor.”

  “Mm. I suppose I shall be looking forward to that opportunity, then.”

  --------------------------------X--------------------------------

  Upourning to the First High School’s tent, Yuuji could immediately feel the heavy and temosphere that had filled the room.

  The people ient immediately turheir heads and looked at him with sho their eyes.

  And Mayumi, who was already waiting for him since she heard about the i, immediately approached him.

  “Yuuji-kun! What happened? I was informed by the tour ittee that one of our students had gone on a rampage… Was it you?”

  She was surprised, uo believe that Yuuji would go on a rampage against a member of the tour ittee. She knew he wasn’t the type of man who would use force against someone undeserving.

  But from what she heard, the student was definitely Yuuji from the way they described it. No, there was no doubt in that. With how famous Yuuji had bee after his matches, it was obvious who they would refer to even if they didn’t explicitly say his name.

  She o know why. Why would Yuuji do such a thing? She khere must be a reasonable expnation behind it.

  “Please calm down, president. I expin.”

  Mayumi snapped out of her daze when Yuuji held her shoulders firmly, and he began expining what had happened in the CAD examinatio.

  And as he expihe situation, Mayumi and everyone else in the room slowly came to an uanding of the whole situation.

  “Ah… I see. So you caught them i.”

  “Yes. And since I might not have another ce, I apprehended him right then and there.”

  A helpless smile appeared aayumi’s fabsp;

  “Aren’t you a bit rash?”

  “If they were to do their job properly and iigate their own ranks more credibly, then I wouldn’t have resorted to such means.”

  Yuuji shrugged. After all, he had given them plenty of ces to duct their own internal iigations. But, the tour ittee either didn’t do it or were just that inpetent, so there was no other choice but do what Tatsuya did.

  It was a more straightforward means of outing the rat. Especially since he khat the patriarch would e. His presend words alone made it extremely easy for him to get the scummy staff out of the picture.

  “I see… Well, it ’t be helped this time. But please be more careful ime.”

  “Yes, president. Then, will you please excuse me? I’ve promised to meet with Aika privately for a final rundown of our strategy for her Mirage Bat match.”

  “Alright. Aika-san had reserved a room in the back. She’s already waiting for you.”

  “Thank you very much. Then, please excuse me.”

  Yuuji bowed and made his way to the very back of the tent, a separate pce from where everyone normally gathered in, and knocked on the door of the room he sensed Aika in.

  “Aika, it’s me.”

  “e in~”

  Her sultry voice resounded from within, causing his lips to curl into a helpless smile.

  He opehe door, and within, he saw Aika standing before him in her mirage bat outfit. A pure white, shoulderless, short dress, ce gloves that stretched up to her elbow, and a pair of tight, white, thigh highs that squeezed her milky thighs perfectly with just the right amount of absolute territory between it and her skirt.

  This… was the R-18 version of her mirage bat outfit she had prepared for this moment.

  “Hi, darling~ Are you ready~?”

  VergsX