After the birthday party, the relationship between everyone became closer, and there was some special bond between them, especially when they all knew about Haru's real identity.
Haru still maintained his identity as a secret, and only some people knew about his identity.
Then with all of that, the time had passed, and it was in mid-July now.
If someone asked what was special about July, they would say it was a Nine Schools Competition.
The Nine Schools Competition is a nationwide annual magic tournament for the nine National Magic University Affiliated High Schools, and it is one of the biggest magic-related events in Japan. Its official name is "Nationwide Magic High School Athletics Competition."
Every year, a roster of select students from the nine 'National Magic University Affiliated High Schools' from across the country meet, putting theirs and their schools' pride on the line.
A huge audience is always expected, including not only the general public, government officials, and those interested in magic but also businesses, overseas companies, researchers, and scouts. It is also one of the few states that provide magic competition as entertainment.
The Nine Schools Competition is said to be the greatest stage for Magic High School students to shine, and its results are linked to the students' career paths. It is also one of the few major events to allow the general public to better understand and become invested in magic competitions, as well as to further society's acknowledgment of magic.
Haru had prepared his money and put his bet on his school to become a champion in the Nine Schools Competition, but before this big event was being held, there was something that he and everyone in the First High School needed to face, and that was an exam.
In Magic High School exams, it is expected that students would perform roughly the same between the practical skills test and written test for magical theory.
Everyone was working hard on this exam, and as expected, the result of the exam made everyone feel dumbfounded.
In Year 1 Class A Course 1, everyone was talking with Haru with some excitement, after all, without a doubt, he was the leader in this class, and at the same time, everyone was amazed by the result of his exam since he had taken the first rank whether it was on the practical skills test, written test, or the combination of both, which gave him a very dazzling result.
Haru talked with them for a while, then quickly told them to go away since he wanted to talk with a beautiful girl rather than being surrounded by a mob character, leaving only Honoka, Shizuku, and Miyuki.
It could be said that the four of them were known as the Quartet or the Four Heavenly Kings of the Year 1 Class A Course 1 since the result of their exam was also very dazzling compared to the rest of the people in this school.
When there were only four of them, Honoka couldn't help but say, "Haru, the result of your exam is just too amazing..." She looked at Haru full of amazement, thinking that he was simply a superman. After all, there was nothing that this guy could do from learning, magic, singing, cooking, and even flirting. Even if he had a girlfriend, sometimes, she couldn't help but feel tempted by him.
Shizuku looked at Haru, and somehow her expression was quite complicated. After all, she had worked hard, but her result wasn't satisfying. In the practical exam, she ranked 4th, losing to Haru, Miyuki, and Honoka respectively, and on her written test, she ranked 5th with four people on top of her, which made her sigh. Her results were good, and with the combination of both practical and written tests, she ranked 3rd in the entire 1st year, but there was a huge gap between her grade with Haru and Miyuki.
"Ok, Honoka, if you keep praising me, then I might mistake you for having fallen for me," Haru said.
"Eh?!" Honoka blushed instantly, but then she murmured. "Well... I might..."
"Sorry, what did you say?" Haru asked.
"No - Nothing!" Honoka quickly said with a red face and panicked expression.
"...." Miyuki and Shizuku.
Both of them knew what Honoka's feeling toward Haru was, but they also knew how hard it was to be together with Haru, considering this guy already had a girlfriend.
Miyuki looked at Haru and couldn't help but let out a sigh inwardly. She had asked her aunt about the matter of Sumire, and Maya told her that Maya knew about this matter and also accepted Haru that might have opened a harem. She had to admit that out of all the guys that she had met, Haru was different from any of them and didn't show that much interest in her, which made her quite comfortable around him, and at the same time, it was very fun to stay with him, especially when she heard he sang or tasted his food.
"What's wrong, Shizuku? Are you still sulking about the result of your exam?" Haru asked.
"....." Shizuku only stared at Haru silently.
"You're ranked 3rd. What are you unhappy about?" Haru asked speechlessly. After all, the result of Shizuku's exam was also very amazing.
"But there's a huge gap between you and me," Shizuku said while pouting. After all, she had worked so hard.
"Well, Shizuku, rather than thinking about an exam, how about we think about the Nine Schools Competition?" Haru asked.
"The Nine Schools Competition?!"
When Haru mentioned the Nine Schools Competition, Shizuku's eyes became very excited.
Honoka sighed and said, "Shizuku really loves the Nine Schools Competition."
"Um!" Shizuku nodded, but then her expression became serious and said, "But in this year's competition, we can't let our guard down since I have heard that the heir of the Ichijou family is going to enter from Third High School."
"Shizuku, did you forget that we also have Haru?" Honoka said without hesitation.
Shizuku was surprised, and then she looked at Haru. She quickly patted him and said, "Win this heir of the Ichijou family, Haru." She would enter the female division, so there was no way that she would face the heir of the Ichijou family since the heir was a male, so without a doubt, Haru would face the heir of the Ichijou family, and of course, she wanted him to win.
"Un." Haru nodded and said, "You don't need to worry."
With the result of their exam, without a doubt, Haru, Miyuki, Shizuku, and Honoka would enter the Nine Schools Competition since no one was better than the four of them in this school.
"Well, Haru, how about we go to the student council now?" Miyuki suddenly said.
"....." Haru was speechless and said, "Sorry, Miyuki, can you tell everyone that my stomach is hurt?" He didn't really want to go to the student council since he was sure that Mayumi was going to drop him a lot of jobs again. He didn't really mind, but he felt that it was very troublesome.
"....."
Miyuki let out a sigh and wondered how she and her brother could lose against this bastard on the exam. She directly grabbed Haru's collar and said, "Let's go, don't make everyone wait."
"Honoka, Shizuku, help me!" Haru cried out, but Miyuki kept pulling him without mercy.
Shizuku and Honoka could only smile, watching this scene, but at the same time, both of them had doubts about the relationship between Haru and Miyuki. After all, both of them were very close to each other, and they shouldn't be dating secretly, right?