Third day of the Nine Schools petition.

  The Female's Official Division for Battle Board, where those who had passed the qualifiers would be peting in, was about to start.

  Uhe clear blue sky, excitement and tenseness permeated throughout the etle Board venue as the match between two heated rivals, Watanabe Mari from First High School and Kuroki Risa from Seventh High School, was about to begin.

  But, within First High School’s bench, a different kind of excitement and tenseness filled the air as Yuuji stood awkwardly in front of a redly blushing Mari, stared at by all the staff members of his school and the spectators behind him.

  “Y-You prepared all of this… for me?”

  Mari said with a trembling voice, referring to the presence of security staff lining the perimeter of the course she was about to pete in.

  Although Mari was supposedly in charge of the security personnel lent to the First High School by the board members of the event, she had pletely left everything for Yuuji to handle and chose to focus on her match. It wasn’t until she ehe vehat she found out and saw just how many security staff were stationed along the course.

  “Yes… While major acts were rare, I don’t feel fortable in simply taking the risk that would harm you or any members of our team. So I prepared this.”

  And it was difficult to do so. At first, the board member in charge of security erplexed by Yuuji’s request aed it. But after Yuuji expio them that this year’s match might be especially intense due to the rivalry between Watanabe and the athlete representing the Seventh High School, they finally agreed to a discussion.

  It was only after some promises that Yuuji mao get 30 security staff members for this and station one every 100 meters along the entire 3km long course. And of course, he pced 1 security staff right at the turn where he khe i would happen.

  He prepared these security measures to hopefully make sure Mari and the Seventh High School athlete wouldn’t suffer from any major injuries. But since he couldn’t say that, he made it seem like he’s doing this for the safety of all the athletes that would be peting in this event.

  But judging from Mari’s rea, Yuuji had a feeling that his iion wasn’t pletely delivered to her.

  “I-I see. G-Good job on ving the board member in charge of security to do this. I heard you were having a hard time dealing with some of them, but… I-I didn’t know it was for this… Thank you.”

  “...You’re very wele.”

  “T-Then, I’ll be going now!”

  With her surfboard held under her arm, Mari quickly walked away in her skin tight swimsuit uniform for the race. Her face still blushing up a storm.

  And without even looking, he could already guess the questions everyone around him had from their gazes.

  There were a lot of women who had crowded around him on the spectators’ seats, and his iion with Mari seemed to have roused their thirst for juicy gossips.

  …I hope they won’t misuand. Mari-senpai already has a lover. I wouldn’t want to e iween her and Erika’s half-brother…

  A sigh escaped his lips. The st thing he’d want is to destroy the retionships of someone he’s close with.

  With his [Divine Physique], he had long since given up in the belief that he won’t cause problems with someone else’s romantic retionship. It may have sounded narcissistic, but it ainful lesson he learned when Aika told him that some girls had broken up with their boyfriend because they fell in love with him.

  So, at the very least, he didn’t want to destroy his friend’s romantic retionship. He’ll make sure to keep an arm’s length of distaween him and the couple and try his best to not ruin his friends’ romance.

  Stop thinking about other things. I o focus on this now.

  He shook his head and shifted his gaze towards the starting line where Mari had readied herself on the board.

  Silence filled the entire venue as everyo on the edge of their seats, bated in anticipation for the intech they’d expect to happeween Mari and the athlete of the Seventh High School.

  And a few moments ter, the gunshot from the starting pistol broke the silend all four athletes burst into speed on their surfboards.

  Mari, as expected, took the lead in a fsh with her superior casting time, speed, and strength. But, she wasn’t without a rival.

  As everyone had expected, the athlete from the Seventh Highsao keep up with her, just like the year before.

  Yuuji’s expression tensed as he moved his hand to his earpiece, activating it, while keeping his gaze obsp;

  With a fident smile, Mari maneuvered her board into a drift, lifting up the front side of her board and turning it close to y degrees to the right, and tio cruise the straight course with her board perpendicur to it, anticipating the ing turn while maintaining her speed.

  The Seventh School Athlete, surfing close behind, also began to make adjustments for the ing sharp turn. However, instead of decelerating to take the inner course, she accelerated, and at tremendous speed, straight towards Mari.

  “Over acceleration! Security, prepare to catch the two athletes in the lead!”

  Yuuji shouted as Mari raised her hand towards the charging girl and cast a spell, causio be flung forward away from her board, and prepared to catch her.

  But in that moment, she felt an ued dip oer surface right beh her pivoti.

  Eh?

  Her body began to fall backwards, losing her bance. And the moment she caught the seventh high school girl, the impact propelled the two off the course.

  A collective gasp of shock resouhroughout the venue upon witnessing such a fatal i.

  But fortunately, a security staff mao slow down both athletes, who had lost their sciousness from shock, ahem down at the edge of the course.

  Yuuji, along with a few other staff of his school, immediately made their way to the site of the i with hurried steps.

  “Call the medic! Hurry!”

  Yuuji ordered the moment he arrived and checked on Mari’s dition. He didn’t see any major injuries, but with them dressed in a full-body swimsuit, he couldn’t be sure.

  The security staff, who had saved them, immediately obeyed his words and ran to get the medics as he and the staff from his school began to move both athletes away from the course carefully.

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

  Seeping through the windows of the hospital room, the e-red light from the afternoon sun basked upon Mayumi’s figure as she sat beside a hospital bed.

  On it was Mari, ying there unscious with bandages ed around her head and limbs.She had been here for quite a while, waiting patiently and worriedly for her friend to wake up. And after a few hours, Mari began to stir and slowly opened her eyes.

  “Mari…?”

  Her gaze was unsteady as she slowly came into sciousness, and upon hearing Mayumi’s voice, she shifted it towards her side.

  “Are you here with us? Do you know who I am?”

  “Mayumi…? What are you saying- Uggh…”

  Mari flinched and groaned in pain the moment she tried to move her body. The feeling of her muscles tensing and twisting prevented her from moving, so she rexed it once more and fell bato her bed.

  “Is this the hospital…?”

  “Yes, it’s the hospital on the Susano Base. Thank goodness… There doesn’t seem to be aal damage. Ah, but you shouldn't move yet. Although you don’t have any broken bohere are still bruises and sprains that you suffered from catg the athlete from the Seventh Highschool.”

  “Hah… How long would it take for this to heal?”

  “Three days at the very least. Normal activities won’t be a problem for you after a good night’s rest. But to be safe, you’ll have to abstain from strenuous exercise for a week.”

  “Eh? But that means…”

  “Mm… You’ll have to withdraw from Mirage Bat as well. But it ’t be helped…”

  Mari let out a deep sigh.

  Mayumi was right. It couldn’t be helped. It was an act. But it didn’t lessen her disappoi. All the hard work and time she had spent for this petition had all turned into waste due to her injuries.

  She averted her gaze and turned her face to the side, away from Mayumi.

  “How did the race go?”

  “Seventh High was disqualified for reckless duct. Third and Ninth High will go to the finals. I hear that the Seventh High athlete’s injuries weren’t serious. Your efforts to protect her weren’t in vain.”

  “...Doesn’t do us any good if I get injured myself.”

  “No. If you hadn’t decelerated at that moment and protected that girl, she would’ve been flung much further and faster. In that case, even the security staff there wouldn’t be able to catch her in time. She would’ve suffered tremendous injuries and her career as a magi would’ve ehat’s what Yuuji thinks as well.”

  Upon hearing that name, Mari immediately turned bright red as she looked at Mayumi in shock.

  “I-I-Is that so…”

  “Mm. He praised you for your valiance. Even though there was a security member there, you still chose to help her instinctively at the price of withdrawing from the match. It was something not anybody could do.”

  “H-He said all that?!”

  Mari turo look at her friend in a fluster.

  “Yes~ He’s also the one who immediately came to your rescue, carried you here, and stayed with you while you’re being treated~”

  “What?”“You should thank him yourself ter~”

  “...”

  Mayumi giggled as she watched her friend tremble in embarrassment at her words.

  Just then, a knock came from the door, pulling the two away from their little versation.

  “Hm? Who could it be?”

  Mayumi turowards the door while Mari simply turned her head. And soon after, they could hear a familiar voiing from it.

  “Please excuse me, Mayumi-senpai. May I e in?”

  Mari flinched a her heart skip a beat the moment she heard the voice. She was unnaturally embarrassed and flustered because of the versation she just had with Mayumi.

  “Ah, of course~ Mari is already awake as well, so you e in~”

  “Is that so? Then please excuse me as well, Mari-senpai.”

  The sound of the meical door sliding open and close resounded and they could slowly hear footsteps approag until the familiar figure of Yuuji holding a basket of fruits came to sight.

  He lowered his head to both of them and his gaze immediately went to Mari.

  “I’m gd to see you have awakened, Mari-senpai. How are you feeling?”

  “I-I’m fine! I’m feelier, t-thanks to you…”

  Mari cursed herself inwardly for stumbling on her words in front of her close friend and her junior. It was all Mayumi’s fault for saying something straht before he came!

  “I see. I’m gd. I’ve brought you some fruits. Please enjoy it.”

  “A-Ah… Thank you.”

  He pced the basket of fruit on the bed side table before standing beside Mayumi.

  “President, chairwoman, there is something I wish to ask of you…”

  “Hm?”

  Seeing his expression turn serious, Mayumi and Mari both focused their eyes on him with a solemn and slightly surprised expression.

  “What is it?”

  “Is it possible for us to make a request to the anizers of the event to i and iigate the board members in charge of cheg our CADs before the match?”

  Their eyes widened in unison. The words he said… the implications of it wasn’t something they could take easily.

  “What? Are you ser-”

  “Are you suspeg that the ones who sent those armed forces had pheir operatives amongst the board members and the event ittee?”

  “Mayumi?!”

  “Yes. Although we are still in the process of iigation, Tatsuya and I noticed an unnatural sway oer surface below Mari-senpai’s feet that would only be present in a phenomenoing spell after reviewing the video caught by the security staff at the site of the act.”

  In truth, Tatsuya was currently reviewing the tape along with Isori-senpai, Mikihiko and Mizuki. But, knowing it would take a while to get this request passed on to the ittee, Yuuji and Tatsuya agreed to let him tell Mayumi and Mari the result of their iigation he knew of from the anime.

  “Ah… I firm that I felt it that time…”

  Mari’s frown deepened, recalling the exaent she felt a sway under her pivoting foot when she was trying to catch the Seventh High School’s athlete when she fell.

  “Moreover, I don’t think someone who would mistake a deceleration spell for an acceleration spell would be chosen as the athlete and eo represent their school, the Seventh High School, in this Nine Schools petition. I suspect that their CAD had been tampered with. And the only time our school’s CAD that we used for petition was held in the hands of another party would be…”

  “When it is checked by a board member of the event ittee…”

  “...”

  The two fell into silence as the notion they first thought was absurd starting to make sense.

  If the ones behind the intruders and the bus “act” had truly pheir agents into the ittee, then they’d certainly be able to sabotage the matches in more ways than one… Even tampering with the athletes’ CADs.

  “Alright. I’ll talk about this with Juumonji-kun as well and we’ll try what we .”

  “Ah, I’ll try to do what I as well. Though I won’t be able to do much if it s a board member of the event ittee, especially when I’m in this state.”

  “Thank you very much. Then, I shall excuse myself now. I wish you a speedy recovery, Mari-senpai. Please excuse me.”

  Yuuji bowed, but as he was about to turn and head out, Mayumi called out to him.

  “Yuuji-kun.”

  He turned around and faced Mayumi.

  “Yes?”

  “Will you and Aika-san e to the meeting I’ll be having ter on with Juumonji-kun and the rest?”

  Yuuji looked at her for a moment, surprised.

  Is it about my request? I guess we’ll discuss it further ter on…

  As he expected, questioning the board members a ittee who run the Nine Schools’ petition would be quite difficult without proper evidence even for a member for the ten master s despite there already being an “act”. They must tread carefully.

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you. I’ll message you which meeting room it is ter on, okay?”

  “Yes. Is there anything else?”

  “No. Please go ahead.”

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

  Night time.

  Every night, leaders of the First High School team gathered for a meeting with the team’s Strategic Advisors to discuss their strategy for the petition as a whole.

  Mayumi sat at the ter of the long U-shaped table with her assistants, Mari and Juumonji Kaito, by her side. A bit further dowable on the right side was Hattori Hanzou, and standing before the white board and representing the strategic advisor team was Ichihara Shizune.

  And after Shizune finished her presentation, all four of them let out a simultaneous sigh.

  “The official matches still left to be pyed are Mirage bat and Monolith Code. And to assure ourselves of an overall victory, we’ll have to take first p both, huh?”

  “Not only that, but with the added perk of having to watch out for interference by… an unknowy.”

  Mari added, crossing her arms, and frowned.

  Just then, a knog came from the door and Yuuji announced his and Aika’s arrival, asking for permission to enter.

  And as soon as it was granted by Mayumi, the eleic door opened and they entered.

  “Excuse us.”

  “Please excuse us~”

  “Mm. Wele. Please take a seat.”

  They bowed and took a seat right o each other on the left side of the U-shaped table.

  “I’ve brought you here because there’s something important to sult you on. Rin-, would you mind giving them the rundown?”

  Shizune o Mayumi and turowards the two.

  “I think you’re both aware of today’s results.”

  The rge s behind her, previously dispying the emblem of their First High School, ged to dispy a graph representing the scores and current pts of the schools in the petition and their scores.

  “Although we did suffer an act, our school’s scores are more or less in lih our projes. However, sihe Third High School has been making greater gains than we’d anticipated, our lead is less fortable than projected.”

  Currently, the First Highschool held the first pce with 320 points, while Third High held the sed pce with 225 points. The lead might seem rge at first, but it was still not enough to ensure victory.

  “Should we fall drastically behind Third High in the Rookie Events that start tomorrow, then depending on our score in the Official Mirage Bat event, it’s possible that we’d be overtaken. Official match points are worth twice as much as Rookie match points. And although I personally don’t think we’ll fall drastically behind in the Rookie Events… termeasures to assure viust be taken. Therefore, we, the team’s strategic advisors, have decided to pour our resources into the Official Mirage Bat event, even if it’s somewhat at the expense of the Rookie event.”

  During that little pause, Shizune shifted her gaze slightly at Yuuji, along with everyone else in the room. If there was one factor they’re fident in regarding the rookie events, it would be the fact that Yuuji was there.

  Even if he would o defeat the Crimson Prince, Iasaki, and Cardinal Gee, Kichijouji Shinkurou to obtain first p the Rookie’s Monolith Code event, it was… difficult to see how he would lose after everything he had shown them.

  As a member of the Disciplinary ittee, he had shown his dominance over every student in the school, evehird year students. Moreover, he had also shown an incredible skill of using two CADs at once wheopped the car from crashing into their bus.

  And apart from his magical skills, he had also shown an incredible talent and skill with strategiing and ma with his ret role of managing the First High School’s security detail.

  With all those put into sideration, it was only natural to put their trust and fiden him.

  But, to ensure victory, they still needed more assurance especially when their school seemed to be… targeted by unknowies. Thus, this was their decision.

  Upon hearing her words, Yuuji turned his gaze to Aika, who was now blinking in surprise, as everyone shifted their gazes from Yuuji to her.

  “Eh? Does that mean…”

  “That’s right, Aika-san. We’re going to have you take Mari’s pd pete in the Official Mirage Bat event. Yuuji-kun will tio serve as yineer and e to the arena on Day 9.”

  “Eh?!”

  Aika slightly smmed the table in shock as she sprang up to her feet.

  “B-But is this fihere are older students participating in just o. Not to mention, there’s also Miyuki- who had practiced even more than me for her Mirage Bat event. Why would you e as a rept?”

  “We never had a back up for Mirage Bat aside from you and Miyuki-san. And sih of you are skilled and talented, we decided to split the two of you and win both the official and rookie Mirage Bat events. As for why we chose you…”

  Mari snorted before her lips curled into a grin.

  “It’s because I’ve seen you use yic for the Disciplinary ittee. Moreover, Juumonji-kun has also seen it during st spring’s i and he reended you as well.”

  Juumonji nodded solemnly.

  “Watanabe is correct. From what I’ve seen, you have the talent and skill to wind the Official Mirage Bat event. That is why I reended you.”

  “Chairman…”

  “Call it ism, I don’t care. I believe you do better, and these two agreed.”

  “Chairwoman…”

  Gng from her side, Yuuji couldn’t help but let out a smile.

  She knew Aika didn’t care to show off and simply wao have fun by going against Miyuki in the event. She was excited about Pilrs’ Break since she could pete against her friend. But she knew she wouldn't be able to go against Miyuki in the Mirage Bat event since Miyuki would be peting in the Official event to repce Mari.

  But she didn’t expect it to be her that would be peting in the official event.

  From the looks of her face, Yuuji could somewhat guess why she was hesitant to accept it.

  In the anime, Miyuki was the one chosen to pete in the official Mirage Bat event. But now, she was the one chosen. She must feel like she stole her pbsp;

  But that’s not how it is. She didn’t steal anything. This world is not the same as the a’s real, and in this world, she is the one chosen for the role.

  But… If she dees and still wants Miyuki to be the oo take Mari’s pce, then he will support her. Though, truth be told, as her boyfriend, he still wishes to see her pete in the official match, have fun, and show off her prowess.

  After all, just as much as she loves making Yuuji show off, he also loves to see her show off and show everyone how amazing the woman he fell in love with was.

  As Aika hesitated, Mari turned his gaze towards Yuuji.

  “Besides, you’re also fident in her ability right, Yuuji?”

  “Of course.”

  Yuuji answered immediately, causing Aika to blush and the rest to smile wryly.

  “But, I will respect her decision. If she wishes to pete in the official Mirage Bat event, then I will support her with everything I have as her engineer. But if she doesn’t, then I will also support her as her friend.”

  “I see. Well, you heard him. What’s your decision?”

  “Geez… So that’s why you called Yuuji here as well… You’re all so sly…”

  Aika pouted her lips as the blush on her cheeks persisted. There’s no way she could reject it if Yuuji was this fident in her. All she could do roof that he’s right and show everyohat his girlfriend/personal slut was the best!!!

  “Alright! I’ll do it! Please let me pete in the Official Mirage Bat event!”

  “Ufufufu~ We’ll be ting on you, Aika-san~”

  AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please ent your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!! And if you want to read five chapters ahead et the PDF Version, avaible in Light & Dark mode, chey patreon at patreon./vergsx ~!