"Hello, Ryujin. I'd like you to do me a favor."
"What?" Ryujin on the other side was groggy, as if he had just woken up.
"I'll report you if you were to cut classes-"
"N-No! Y-You got it all wrong! I fell asleep while doing the remaining paperwork!" Ryujin defended himself,
"Alright. Well, I have something here."
"O-Okay? W-What is it?"
"Could you ask Stella-Senpai about something?"
"Why couldn't you ask her yourself?"
"I'm in the middle of our skills assessments training. It may take her longer to answer."
"Oh, yeah. She's quite busy since it's the start of the school year,"
"Yes. Anyway, can you ask her for information regarding Aoki Reina, currently class A-1?"
"Aoki Reina... I believe you mentioned her as one of the most interesting in the first year,"
"Yes. But, something feels off about her. Two similar incidents happened involving her."
Still groggy, Ryujin's voice turned serious.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember the incident I've stumbled upon? The one where someone from the class E attacked her?"
"Yes, I do."
"She was accused by that man, of using illusionary magic. That same incident happened today, not that she was being accused, but this person experienced something related to that."
"Oh..." Ryujin stopped for a minute, "I see, I'll do what I can."
Kyouko thanked him and promptly hung up the call.
Illusions without magic... That's interesting.
She mumbled under her breath as she returned to the gymnasium.
...
Upon arriving back, the next match already ended.
Agatha Mijahlovich Zaitseva - Aikawa Yasu, and Aikawa easily won.
The next in line were preparing, Arata and Laura.
She walked back towards, Ryo and the others.
"I've only been gone for a few minutes, and yet the match had already been concluded," Kyouko remarked as she stood next to Ryo, watching the field.
"Agatha was slow, while Aikawa was quick. That's about it." Ryo replied,
Kyouko glances over to Airi, who seems to have regained her composure now.
Satisfied, she turns her gaze to the upcoming match.
"Have you had any direct encounters with Aoki-san?" Kyouko asked Ryo, while still watching the upcoming match,
"Not yet. Why?"
"Nothing."
With their conversation dying, she pondered Aoki deeply.
She isn't a threat per se, but someone the council could focus on.
She is interesting.
Kyouko thinks that the man from Class E wouldn't randomly accuse some girl of sabotaging, and that, his statement wasn't exactly false.
Instead, Kyouko believes that Reina has something to do with it.
But how? Stella-Senpai concluded that Aoki-san is indeed a nature-based magician, yet something similar to illusion magic occurred again. And again, involving her.
Could it be that... Stella-Senpai was... Wrong? Well... But no, it was also checked through a device.
Just as she was pondering deeply, her phone vibrated. She excused herself for a minute and went back outside again.
She pulled out her phone, and it was Ryujin
"Here,", with an image attached, of Reina's files.
[Aoki Reina, 16, ...]
All of her information was displayed, with some only exclusive to the council's eyes.
Kyouko skipped over and looked immediately at the middle part.
[Middle School: Tenko Magic Academy]
Her eyes widened in surprise.
TMA, or Tenko Magic Academy is a former academy. One of its specialties is psychological magic. Unfortunately, last year, an incident occurred, and it was burned down due to unknown reasons.
The incident caused 8 deaths among the students and 11 injuries. Aoki Reina was one of those students who lived.
She was the Survivor of that incident.
That aside, her record is clean. No disciplinary actions, no offenses. She was on top of her class.
As for her family, all was written as N/A. It turns out, she was an orphan at some orphanage near the Tenko Magic Academy.
Then, Kyouko looked at her score from the first unofficial entrance exam, which was an "A", the second-highest score of all.
Perhaps her history with a psychological-based magic high school could explain her "illusion" skills. But then again, she is a natural, single-aptitude magician.
Kyouko thought again. She is much more curious now about Reina.
She first noticed Reina during her sparring with another person in class A. Kyouko accidentally stumbled upon them while they were practicing for the entrance exam.
Her way of fighting was elegant and calm. She isn't fast, and she isn't flashy. However, there's a sense of elegance within her attacks that's captivating to watch, even though she only used a wooden stick as a weapon. Although Kyouko has yet to discover her magic powers, her way of physically battling another person has already caught her attention.
Moreover, she has that mysterious aura around her, perhaps something deep inside her carefree smile.
Generally, having a unique and strong magician is beneficial, as it sets the potential for the school's lineup in national tournaments and such. However, the council also has the responsibility of taking them under their control. If one were to surpass the control and power of the council, the balance within the school may be overturned, and the academy may succumb to chaos.
That being said, these types of students are both an "asset" and at the same time, a "threat", requiring an intensive look-out from the council.
She closed the files and replied to Ryujin.
I'm interested in her. I'll keep a lookout, I'm yet to see her magic. But, she seems quite the figure.
As she was typing, she heard footsteps coming her way.
"Fujimoto-san, Hello there."
She turned her head and saw Reina, just a few feet away from her, smiling.
Kyouko stopped typing and closed her phone.
"Hello there, Aoki-san. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing really, Fujimoto-san. I just stumbled upon you as I was walking by."
"Is that so? What a coincidence then."
"Yes. By the way, the next match should be yours, Fujimoto-san. Takahashi-san is just finishing his."
"I see, thank you for informing me. I will return now."
Kyouko promptly left. Their conversation was flat and cold.
Reina looked at Kyouko as she left, seemingly with interested eyes. As Kyouko's figure slowly getting small into the distance, Reina's golden eyes emitted an intriguing golden glow.
"Fujimoto Kyouko, I like you."
She mumbled, as her smile deepened. Suddenly, a figure appeared behind her.
"What are you doing out here?" It was Souta.
The glow in her eyes disappeared as she heard Souta's voice, and her expression turned back to normal.
She turned around, and smiled,
"Nothing in particular. I got eliminated, so I have a ton of time to spare." She replied,
Souta looked at her with doubt. He knew she was here for something else. But nevertheless, he decided to shrug it off.
"So, how were they?" Souta asked,
"They're fine. Candi, was it? She's an interesting figure."
"She played that match with ease. But, Ayane Hina was just slow and all."
"Hmmm, I guess so, you're right."
"So, Reina. Are you starting your plots right now?"
Reina stopped for a second and looked up in the sky.
"Not yet. The timing isn't right yet." She calmly answered.
Souta decided that it was enough questions for now.
"Okay. I'll go back now, it's my match in line."
"Good luck!" Reina cheerfully cheered as Souta turned around and walked back, leaving Reina alone.
Reina stood motionless, staring deeply into the sky.
"The eight council members, the honorable, and the upper echelons... I see... Interesting."
She was mumbling to herself, deep in thought. The image of Kyouko appeared in her mind.
"A council member..."
...
Back in the gymnasium, after some time, the matches were concluded.
Kyosuke Ryo
Hayashi Silas
Candi Aeneias
Akamine Airi
Aikawa Yasu
Takahashi Arata
Haruto Sora
Fujimoto Kyouko
Tokita Souta
Tsubasa Rin
Asahi promptly spun the wheel, and the next set of competitors was randomly decided.
Fujimoto Kyouko - Candi Aeneias
Akamine Airi - Aikawa Yasu,
Takahashi Arata - Haruto Sora,
Tsubasa Rin - Kyosuke Ryo
Hayashi Silas - Tokita Souta
The first match was for Candi Aeneias and Fujimoto Kyouko, and upon rolling, Candi was the It.
"Goodluck!!! Defeat her!" Hina cheered with intense determination.
"C-Calm down, Hina." Airi tried to calm her down.
Kyouko only curled her lips into a small smile, before proceeding to go inside the field.
Ryo on the other hand, was curious as to how this match would turn out.
Candi against Hina was one-sided. Now that she's against Kyouko, the scenario outcome could be different. For this match, I think the victor will be,
Ryo pondered himself. Then, the match started, and the buzz sounded.
As soon as the buzz sounded, Kyouko immediately placed some far distance away from them, landing eventually on the upright poles area, the same field Hina was beaten on...
Candi immediately followed after her and swiftly chased over her. Kyouko then proceeds to easily jump over the poles without any missteps, swiftly reaching the highest pole.
She briefly looked behind her and to her surprise, Candi was just a few centimeters away from her.
Instinctively, she bent down and jumped down to the farthest pole away from her, and from there on, she returned back to the ground.
20 seconds.
She ran towards an area far away from the poles in order to have a clear lookout for Candi.
Candi wasn't anywhere to be seen. Kyouko raised her guard up, and carefully looked around everywhere. After a few seconds, Candi still wasn't anywhere to be seen.
As she was looking around, she felt a presence incoming from above. She looked up, and there was Candi, jumping onto her.
With insane reflexes, she managed to jump away from the spot and put some distance between them as Candi landed on the ground.
Kyouko didn't waste any time. After realizing Candi's Insane jumping skills, she decided to go to an area far away from the poles, and upon stopping, she carefully looked around, Candi was again nowhere to be seen.
Thinking that she might try the same trick twice, Kyouko looked up. However, she was wrong.
As she was looking around, Candi suddenly appeared behind her.
Kyouko noticed at the last second and dodged at the skin of her teeth.
At this point, Kyouko is quite in disarray.
Candi, noticing this, immediately ran after her. She sped up, unlike before, and in no time, caught up to Kyouko.
"Got you," She whispered as she was able to run beside Kyouko.
10 seconds left,
Candi extended her hand out to tag Kyouko, but Kyouko in response was able to quickly change directions and dodge Candi's hand.
"You're so persistent, Fujimoto-san!" Candi mumbled under her breath.
7 seconds,
In just a matter of seconds, Candi once again managed to keep up with Kyouko. She was extremely surprised. All this time, she had been running to her fullest, but Candi kept on catching up with her.
Even though Kyouko's movements were swift, she couldn't shake Candi off. She can easily follow Kyouko without fail, even with gimmicks, and fakes.
Unfortunately, at one point, Candi managed to leap in and tag Kyouko with exactly two seconds left in the clock.
And Candi was the victor.
Everyone, while watching the scene was nervous, and locked on. Their match was outstanding, even more so than Gushiken and Hayashi.
Both of them were swift, and there's no telling who will win.
But in the end, by the littlest technique, Candi won, proving her physical prowess against the eighth of the council hierarchy.