April 6, 2096—the first day of the new academic year. Tatsuya and Miyuki left for school, leaving Minami behind to look after the house. Their time as a duo during the morning commute would only last for today and tomorrow; perhaps sensing the impending end of their private time, Miyuki clung to Tatsuya's arm even more tightly than usual as they walked the short distance from the station.
In a school where everyone knew everyone, the Shiba siblings were already legends. While no one was bold enough to actually call out to them, more than a few students directed exasperated glares their way, weary of their constant, public display of affection.
Miyuki, however, was not the type to be bothered by such trifles. To her, those who couldn't even summon the courage to speak to her face were nothing more than background noise. She spent so much of her life at the center of attention that she had long ago realized that worrying about the gaze of others was a futile endeavor.
Tatsuya, on the other hand, didn't have the luxury of indifference. As Miyuki's guardian, he had to remain hyper-aware of his surroundings; he could never afford to overlook a seed of genuine malice directed at his sister. It was because of this constant vigilance that he noticed the stare.
It wasn't a gaze of clear hostility, nor was it friendly. It was a look of intense, calculated evaluation—rare for a boy to direct at a girl as beautiful as Miyuki.
(That would be the eldest son of the Shippou family...) Tatsuya noted.
He felt his brow start to furrow instinctively, but he caught himself, maintaining his mask of stoic calm.
"Onii-sama?" Miyuki asked, sensing his momentary shift.
"It's nothing," Tatsuya replied with a small shake of his head. He glanced back toward Takuma Shippou, but the boy had already vanished into the crowd. A moment later, a familiar voice called out from behind them.
"Mornin'!"
Tatsuya raised a hand in greeting to Erika. Soon, the rest of the group—Leo, Honoka, Shizuku, Mizuki, and Mikihiko—joined the formation.
"So, Mikihiko," Tatsuya asked, "how does the Course 1 uniform feel?"
"Don't tease me, Tatsuya," Mikihiko replied with a sheepish grin. "How about you? How does that brand-new blazer feel?"
"It's a new look, but the person inside hasn't changed," Tatsuya said dryly.
With the new school year, the group's appearance had shifted. Mikihiko had been promoted to Course 1, while Tatsuya and Mizuki had transferred into the newly formed Magic Engineering Course. For the first time, the three of them were wearing uniforms that set them apart from their previous year's status.
"Man, you're such a wet blanket," Leo groaned.
"Honestly," Erika chimed in, grinning. "Look at Mizuki—her face is practically glowing with joy."
"I... I'm not glowing!" Mizuki protested, her cheeks turning a bright pink. She had been trying to stay humble for the sake of her friends who remained in Course 2, but as Erika pointed out, her excitement was impossible to hide.
"You don't have to hold back for our sake," Erika teased, her mischievous smile making it clear that Mizuki's concern, while sweet, was entirely unnecessary.
The classroom for the Magic Engineering Course—Class 2-E—was located on the third floor of the main building, right next to the central staircase. For Tatsuya and Mizuki, it was situated directly above the room they had occupied until last month.
Erika and Leo had been assigned to Class 2-F. When the group had exchanged their homeroom assignments via the school's wireless network, the two of them had made a grand show of looking disgusted at being stuck together again.
When Tatsuya entered his new classroom, it was already half-full. He made his way to his seat: the first row by the windows, second from the front. Mizuki was seated right next to him. Given that the seating was alphabetical and "Shiba" was followed by "Shibata," it was a predictable arrangement.
"Mizuki gets to sit next to Tatsuya-kun again this year? No fair," Erika pouted as she leaned against the doorframe. "Maybe I should have applied for a transfer too."
"There's no need for that," Mizuki said, a hint of playfulness in her voice. "Your class is right next door."
"Exactly," Tatsuya added. "Being in different classes won't change anything. It's not like other students are barred from entering the room."
"It just means we take our lectures in different places," Mizuki said, nodding quickly in support of Tatsuya's point. It was a subtle attempt to keep Erika at arm's length, though in truth, Erika rarely skipped class despite her rebellious persona—whereas Tatsuya was the one with a track record of disappearing during school hours.
"I guess you're right," Erika conceded. She scanned the room, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Still... there are a lot of faces here I don't recognize."
Coming from Erika, that was a significant observation. Despite her carefree attitude, she was socially sharp and had memorized the names and faces of almost all one hundred Course 2 students in their year. The "unfamiliar faces" she saw were all former Course 1 students.
"It makes sense, doesn't it?" a female student nearby spoke up, answering Erika's unspoken question. "I heard a lot of people requested the transfer specifically because they wanted to be in Shiba-kun's class."
"Is that how it is?" Erika asked.
Tatsuya looked at the speaker. "We're in the same class this year, then. Don't worry about last year, Chiaki."
"Please, don't say that," the girl replied. "More importantly... is your sister okay, Hirakawa-senpai?"
"My sister was able to get into Magic University without any issues," Chiaki Hirakawa replied. "She told me it was all thanks to how kind you were to her, Shiba-kun."
"I didn't do much," Tatsuya said dismissively. "So, you decided to transfer to the Engineering course as well?"
"Yes. I've always wanted to be a Magic Technician."
Chiaki Hirakawa, the younger sister of Koharu Hirakawa—who had lost her confidence and withdrawn from the Thesis Competition the previous year—was now officially Tatsuya's classmate.
"My, Tatsuya-kun," Erika said, her voice dropping into a teasing lilt. "You've certainly gotten close with this one."
"Hm? I simply cleared up a misunderstanding," Tatsuya replied. "Beyond that, I just showed her how to tune a CAD and helped her with some of the trickier parts of the curriculum."
"He was a tremendous help," Chiaki added earnestly.
While Chiaki had placed second only to Tatsuya in the Magic Engineering written exams, her grades in other subjects had been lackluster. Having become acquainted with Tatsuya through her sister, she had asked him for help studying for the year-end exams. Tatsuya hadn't gone so far as to visit the Hirakawa home, but he had used his terminal to provide detailed explanations and tutoring, ensuring her successful promotion.
"Heh. So Tatsuya-kun wasn't just teaching us; he was tutoring Hirakawa-san on the side too," Erika noted.
"I guess we weren't the only ones who couldn't understand the material without Tatsuya's help," Leo added with a grin.
"It can't be helped," Mizuki said softly. "There are so many things that only make sense once Tatsuya-san explains them to us."
Tatsuya let out a long, weary sigh. "At the very least... try to put in some effort to understand it yourself before you come running to me."
As the words left his mouth, all four of them pointedly looked away at the same time.
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