April 8th—the morning of the Entrance Ceremony at National Magic University Affiliated First High School.
The morning commute was peaceful, free from any of the lingering, blunt stares that had dogged them previously. Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Minami arrived at the school gates two hours before the opening bell. Their early arrival was, naturally, to assist with the final preparations for the ceremony.
"Good morning, Tatsuya-san! Miyuki, good morning to you, too!"
"Good morning, Shiba-kun. Right on time, as always."
Honoka and Isori were already waiting in the prep room. While Miyuki and Honoka exchanged morning greetings, Isori turned to Tatsuya.
"Good morning. You're quite early, Isori-senpai," Tatsuya noted.
"It's just my nature. I can't settle down unless I'm early. By the way... who is she? A freshman?"
"That's right. This is Minami."
"Yes, Tatsuya-niisama."
At Tatsuya's call, Minami hurried over. Isori's eyebrows shot up at her response.
"Niisama? Shiba-kun, I didn't realize you had another sister besides Miyuki-san."
"No, she's my cousin," Tatsuya replied, offering the pre-arranged cover story. "Minami, this is Isori-senpai."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Isori-senpai. I am Minami Sakurai. Thank you for always taking such good care of Tatsuya-niisama and Miyuki-neesama."
Minami followed Tatsuya's earlier instructions, keeping her language polite but not overly formal. Thanks to her composure, Isori didn't seem to find anything amiss.
"Nice to meet you, Sakurai-san."
As Minami bowed once more, the door opened and Azusa, Kanon, and the freshman representative, Takuma Shippou, entered the room.
"Good morning... Am I the last one here?" Azusa asked timidly.
"Good morning, President. You're right on time," Miyuki replied with a smile.
In truth, Azusa was about three minutes late. However, the sheer radiance of Miyuki's smile carried a peculiar pressure that seemed to forbid any further apologies or excuses. Azusa simply looked like a startled rabbit.
"Since everyone is here, let's review the order of events," Tatsuya interjected.
Seeing Miyuki offer Takuma nothing but a distant, icy smile, both Azusa and Isori turned to Tatsuya with pleading eyes. He stepped in to lead the briefing without hesitation.
"Right. We shouldn't waste any time," Azusa agreed, looking relieved.
"Then, regarding the positioning thirty minutes before the start: Miyuki will lead the guest reception, and Honoka will be in the broadcasting room..."
Tatsuya took over the duties that would normally fall to the President. Amidst the flurry of instructions, the slight oddity of Minami's presence in the room was overlooked and quickly forgotten.
The final pre-ceremony rehearsal concluded without a hitch, though the air remained thick with the kind of tension that leaves no room for stage fright.
"I'm heading out to guide the incoming students," Tatsuya announced.
"Yes. Take care, Onii-sama," Miyuki replied.
"Ah, thank you for your hard work!" Azusa added.
Tatsuya left the auditorium, seen off by Miyuki, Azusa, and a silent, bowing Minami. His role before the ceremony was to guide any freshmen who had lost their way—the exact same job Mayumi Saegusa had held the previous year. Tatsuya had once thought it was an odd job for a Student Council President, but he now realized it was likely an excuse to step outside and clear one's head before the formalities began.
Tatsuya himself wasn't particularly nervous, but he did appreciate the small sense of liberation. It was simply his temperament; he felt more at ease out in the fresh air than inside preparing for a rigid ceremony. He wondered if Mayumi had felt the same way.
Perhaps it was because he was thinking of her that he ran into her almost the moment he reached the front courtyard.
"Oh, Tatsuya-kun!"
"Saegusa-senpai? Good morning."
"It's been a while... though I suppose saying that feels a bit strange. Are you on guide duty?"
"Yes, something like that."
"So you really did join the Student Council. It hasn't even been a month since graduation, but... you look like a different person, Tatsuya-kun."
Tatsuya had been thinking the same of her, seeing her in a professional suit, so being told he looked different caught him off guard.
"That uniform—it's the one for the Magic Engineering Course, right? I knew it. You look much better in a uniform with an emblem."
"Is the difference that significant? I don't feel like I've changed at all."
"It's a matter of aura. Now that you've escaped the stifling environment of being a Course 2 student, you seem... livelier."
"I see... I give up. I suppose one is always the last to notice things about themselves."
Tatsuya raised his hands in a mock gesture of surrender. He hadn't realized he'd been carrying that subconscious weight until she pointed it out.
"By the way... how do I look?" Mayumi asked, gesturing to her suit.
"It suits you. You look much more mature—like a different person entirely."
"Is that so? Thank you... Wait, what do you mean 'like' a different person?"
"I meant nothing by it," Tatsuya replied smoothly. "It's not as if I think you have a baby face or a childish build or anything of the sort."
"Baby face... childish build..."
Tatsuya truly didn't mean it as an insult, but Mayumi was famously sensitive about those specific traits. She slumped her shoulders, looking dejected. To an outside observer who didn't know their history, the sight of the tall Tatsuya standing over a moping Mayumi would surely look like—
"Hey! Stop bullying my sister!"
—exactly like that.
A young girl came charging toward them, screaming at the top of her lungs. Mayumi was the one who looked truly shocked.
"Kasumi-chan?! Wait, I'm not being bullied—ah!"
If Mayumi had been her usual, composed self, she never would have committed the blunder of tripping over her own heels. But her heart was currently in a state of extreme agitation. As she began to fall, Tatsuya didn't just stand by; he reached out and caught her by the shoulder to steady her. Had he ignored her, he surely would have earned the title of "heartless," but Tatsuya wasn't quite that cold.
"Th-thank you..."
"Don't mention it. She's your sister, I assume?"
"Wait, what? You weren't bullying her?"
The girl skidded to a halt, looking disappointed that her rescue mission was unnecessary. However, she had built up too much momentum. She couldn't stop, and she was headed straight for Tatsuya.
"W-whoa! Move! Out of the way!"
"Kasumi-chan?! Why on earth have you already deployed magic?!"
Kasumi, who had intended to attack, was now flying toward Tatsuya with full force—and her magic activation sequence was already live.
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