Shiro had begun formally studying martial arts around the time Yugen started learning Shinsin-ryu sword techniques, whereas Leo had only started shortly before the Yokohama Incident.
Normally, given the gap in their martial arts experience, the scales would tip in Shiro's favor. However, factoring in magic, Leo had undergone magic capacity training under Yugen and received personal instruction in combat techniques. Combined with his superior physical stats, the result displayed on the monitor of Yugen's device showed that Leo possessed the higher overall combat capability.
"Leo's gotten downright nasty, hasn't he… What?" "Honestly, Erika, I don't think you're one to talk." "Agreed." "You guys are taking their side?!" "Now, now, Erika-chan."
Erika's comment wasn't entirely wrong, considering she was hardly in a position to judge, but when Yugen and Mikihiko—who had dropped by to observe—called her out, she snapped back, prompting Mizuki to gently soothe her.
In addition to practicing Shinsin-ryu sword techniques, Shiro had gained combat experience against military magicians at the Third Lab since childhood. While his proficiency in both magic and martial arts had certainly grown, struggling against Leo—or even Mikihiko—was inevitable given the direct involvement of Yugen, a magician of exceptional caliber.
"So, Disciplinary Committee Chair, is it alright for you to be loafing around here?" "We got a report that a student had collapsed. Looking at him now, though, he seems fine." "Miki, aren't you getting a bit corrupt yourself?"
Under the initiative of Leo and Vice President Toya, the Mountaineering Club had added actual outdoor activities. Previously, thanks to Mika's influence, it had been mockingly dubbed the "Physical Conditioning Club," "Survival Club," or "Pickaxe Club" (which wasn't entirely inaccurate in terms of building fundamental stamina). Now, members who didn't participate in the game of tag were eagerly tackling an overhanging rock wall.
Meanwhile, Mizuki was sketching the students challenging the wall for an Art Club assignment titled Dynamic Muscles—a subject bound to delight a specific demographic of female students. The moment Yugen heard the title, he immediately declared, "I heard nothing," and refocused on his training. Erika and Mikihiko quickly followed suit, leaving Mizuki tilting her head in confusion.
After twenty-eight restarts, Shiro lay sprawling on his back, utterly exhausted.
"Hey, still alive? Cold water's about to rain down on you." "…I'm alive, so please spare me the supercooled water." "For the record, what's inside this kettle is supercooled barley tea." "That's way too cold for no reason!"
It wasn't meant as torment, but rather a gesture of appreciation for enduring such a lengthy game of tag; no actual supercooling was involved. As Yugen delivered his joke with a straight face, a weary Shiro retorted without missing a beat.
"I have a general idea of how hard Shiro has been training. In terms of combat experience against battle-hardened military magicians, he certainly has a head start, but excluding Mizuki, Shiro is the weakest among everyone here." "…" "Well, talk is cheap. Alright, Mikihiko, you take him on." "Me?"
Not to mention Yugen, but Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko had all accumulated ample real-combat experience against terrorists, foreign military magicians, and ancient magic users—often through incidents involving Tatsuya. Designated by Yugen, Mikihiko couldn't help but tilt his head in surprise.
"Think about it. If he's struggling against Leo, matching him against you makes the most sense." "…I don't need to use magic, right?" "You're not enforcing rules as the Disciplinary Committee Chair here, so I'll leave that to your discretion."
Yugen was out of the question, and knowing Erika's capabilities, matching Shiro against Mikihiko seemed logical if he was already struggling with Leo. Raising no further objections, Mikihiko simply asked for clarification.
Thus began the match between Mikihiko and Shiro. Though Mikihiko possessed the lowest martial proficiency among the four third-years present, his martial skills—honed through spirit magic training and augmented by ancient martial arts recently learned from the Todo family—completely overwhelmed Shiro.
The bout lasted roughly thirty minutes, during which Shiro spent very little time actually standing on his feet.
Just as the match concluded, Kasumi rushed in toward Shiro, crouching beside him without a second thought for the dirt smudging her uniform.
"Shiro, why did Shina suddenly vanish?!" "Shina… vanished?" "…"
Gasping the situation from their exchange, Yugen noticed Shiro was so stunned he had forgotten to breathe, and lightly slapped him on the back. Pain jolted Shiro back to reality, causing him to cough violently.
"Cough, cough… Hey, Yugen-san?!" "You're going to suffocate, you idiot. Hurry up and contact Shiro-san to verify." "A-Ah, yes!"
Though Yugen spoke with detached calm, their families belonged to different branches despite sharing bloodlines, making it proper for Shiro to take the initiative. Shiro rushed to his bag, pulled out his mobile terminal, and placed a call. Meanwhile, Yugen pulled out his own device to compose an email.
Shiro began shouting into his device, unconcerned with those around him, yet despite his animated gestures, no sound leaked out into the surroundings.
"Huh? Shiro's voice… Is that Yugen-niisan's magic?" "Less magic and more just utilizing a bit of my innate trait. Anyway, Kasumi, explain what you know so far." "Ah, right. Um…"
According to Kasumi's explanation, about thirty minutes ago, Shina left the Student Council room for a meeting. Concerned when she failed to return, Shizuku and Honoka questioned Pixie, only to discover that Shina had already left school—leaving her personal belongings behind in the Student Council room.
"I understand the situation. We'll need Pixie to disclose more information, though…"
Saying this, Yugen tapped Shiro on the shoulder and extended an open palm toward him. Reading his intent, Shiro excused himself to his caller, detached the voice communication earpiece, and placed it in Yugen's hand. Yugen put it on and spoke.
"Shiro-san, it's been a while. It's Yugen. I've heard everything Shiro said." "Ah, Yugen-sama. How may I assist you?" "Just to confirm, is Shina the only person related to the Mitsuya family whose whereabouts are currently unknown?" "Please hold for a moment."
Yugen was asking about the location of everyone connected to the Mitsuya family—those bearing the name "Mitsuya" or closely associated with them. Specifically, he needed to confirm whether his mother Shiho, Motoharu's wife Honami, or the adopted daughters Laura and Alisa had been targeted by the National Defense Forces.
After about a minute's wait, Shiro-san's voice returned.
"Thank you for waiting. Madam and Honami-sama are at home, Laura-sama is being escorted by Chiba-dono, and Alisa-sama has been confirmed safe at the main Kamiizumi residence."
Yugen had already briefed Toshikazu and Mototsugu, taking into account potential moves stemming from the feud between the Mitsuya and Toyama families. Since both sides held elements that could be leveraged as hostages, both men had agreed to the precautions. With the safety of Alisa—whose monitoring resources were allocated through [Osiris Sight]—as well as Marika confirmed, Yugen spoke to Shiro-san.
"Understood. Please tell my father and brother to stay inside the house today. And make sure to emphasize that we will handle everything else from here." "…Understood. If you require Shiro's assistance, please feel free to utilize him. Master and the Young Master will surely permit that much."
Reading the intent behind Yugen's words, Shiro-san effectively delegated full command of Shiro to Yugen. Hearing this, Yugen simply replied, "I'll pass you back to Shiro," and returned the earpiece.
"Now then, we can't proceed without getting Pixie to disclose the information. That's enough training for today, Shiro. We're heading to the Student Council room." "…Aren't you being remarkably calm?" "Getting emotional won't solve anything. Taking it out on others will only create more trouble." "Fair point."
Since Shina's situation involved his own responsibilities, Yugen was fully committed to taking action, but he refused to cause unnecessary complications through reckless emotional behavior. Hearing Yugen's calm response to Erika's question, Leo nodded in understanding.
"But will Pixie actually disclose the information to us?" "Did you forget? The administrator rights belong to the Kagurazaka family—and I hold a portion of that authority." "Ah, right! Since it's kept in the Student Council room, I just assumed Tatsuya-kun was the only one managing it."
In truth, Pixie was housed in the Student Council room occupied by Tatsuya largely due to her emotional development; formal ownership rested with the Kagurazaka family, while all hardware maintenance was handled by Yugen. Thus, to Pixie, Yugen was effectively a secondary administrator.
At any rate, to gather details from Pixie, Yugen and the group set off for the Student Council room… after using magic to clean the dirt off Kasumi's uniform and grabbing the utterly bewildered Shiro by the scruff of his neck.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Pixie, I am exercising my Administrator authority. Disclose the identity of the party who requested a meeting with Shina Mitsuya." "Understood. The visitor identified themselves as an envoy of the Mitsuya family." "That went so smoothly…" "Don't worry about it, Honoka."
Even though Honoka's emotional essence contributed to Pixie's core, the master Pixie wished to serve was Tatsuya, while the person she felt indebted to was Yugen. Nevertheless, this was a legitimate query based on administrative procedures, so there was no reason for Honoka to feel disconsolate.
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