Ten Master Clans.
The Yotsuba Family.
"Shiba Tatsuya, you need to curb the hostility you brought back from the battlefield."
A middle-aged man spoke to the mature-looking young man with short black hair before him.
"…Yes."
Shiba Tatsuya nodded.
The man cast him an indifferent glance.
"Your next mission is to enroll in the National Magic University's First High School and protect your younger sister, Shiba Miyuki."
"…"
My sister…
Shiba Tatsuya's eyes flickered slightly. He seemed to recall having a younger sister he'd met once in childhood, but since enlisting in the army, he hadn't seen her again.
Shiba Tatsuya's background was far from ordinary.
He was the biological son of Shiba Tatsurou and Shiba Miya (the current head of the Yotsuba Family's older sister, Shiba Maya).
When he was born, he possessed a magic calculation zone capacity far beyond average. However, he could not use magic in the conventional sense and was judged to have no standard magical talent.
Hence, at age six:
He became a test subject in the artificial magician experiment planned by his aunt, Yotsuba Maya, and carried out by his mother, Yotsuba Miya. Through that experiment, he gained an artificial "magic calculation area" and memory-like abilities.
But as the cost of that mental reconstruction, the part of his mind that experienced strong emotions was essentially wiped clean—he could no longer feel excitement or react to things that might excite him. Because of this, he always remained calmly composed and could not truly comprehend other people's goodwill or affection toward him.
Later, owing to his formidable capabilities, he was sent off to war as if he were a weapon. Only now had he returned.
And they wanted him to protect a sister he barely remembered. Shiba Tatsuya felt nothing in particular, but he just needed to know the objective and complete the mission.
"Yes."
…
[Ding! Mafuyu Kirisu has invited you to join "Study Group"!]
"!!!"
Furuhashi Fumino had just finished showering and was wearing a short-sleeve T-shirt and tight shorts while blow-drying her hair. The phone notification startled her.
"Miss Kirisu…?"
Seeing the invite from Mafuyu Kirisu, she thought for a moment and accepted.
Setting down the hairdryer, she sat on the sofa and, as she rubbed her smooth, white calves, she typed a message:
Furuhashi Fumino: "@Mafuyu Kirisu — Sensei, what's this chat group for?"
Ogata Rizu: "I'd like to know as well."
Ogata Rizu had also just been invited. She had returned from delivering udon, as her family ran a udon shop. Because her father wasn't good with finances, she handled the accounting. She also did all the deliveries whenever there were takeout orders.
"Rizu, no more deliveries today. You can rest,"
her burly father told her.
"Oh,"
Ogata Rizu replied, heading upstairs, eyes fixed on her phone. She noticed that, besides herself, Furuhashi Fumino, and Miss Kirisu, there was one more member in the group.
Just then, Mafuyu Kirisu sent an explanation:
Mafuyu Kirisu: "Furuhashi Fumino, Ogata Rizu, let me introduce the other person in this study group—Rei Ao."
Even mentioning Rei Ao's name made Mafuyu Kirisu feel jittery inside, but she had to follow through.
Furuhashi Fumino: "Rei Ao…would that be the same Rei Ao from our school?!"
Furuhashi Fumino's eyes widened. She even stopped rubbing her leg.
Ogata Rizu: "Eh?"
Ogata Rizu was equally astonished.
Rei Ao: "Hello, I'm Rei Ao."
Rei Ao: "Furuhashi-san and Ogata-san, I've heard a bit about you two from Miss Kirisu."
Furuhashi Fumino: "Rei Ao-kun, can I have your autograph?"
They were supposed to be talking business, yet Furuhashi's request came out of nowhere.
Rei Ao: "An autograph?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "Yes, yes! I'm a fan of yours!"
Mafuyu Kirisu: "???
She'd gone to the trouble of creating a small group for tutoring, so how had it turned into a mini fan meetup?
Rei Ao, however, grasped the meaning at once.
Rei Ao: "You're my fan because of my recent academic progress, right?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "Yes, exactly! Climbing the rankings so fast is amazing!"
Ogata Rizu: "Indeed it's impressive; I could never do that, no matter how I tried."
Rei Ao: "Haha, about that autograph—maybe we can handle it in person. But it won't be me who's teaching you."
Furuhashi Fumino: "Ugh, I know that…"
Furuhashi Fumino: "But I'm super curious—how did Rei Ao-kun manage such rapid improvement?"
Ogata Rizu: "I-I want to know, too."
With the conversation returning to academic matters, Mafuyu Kirisu breathed a sigh of relief.
Rei Ao: "I don't have any special tricks. If I had to say, I guess I just 'became enlightened' all at once."
Furuhashi Fumino: "'En…lightened'?!"
Ogata Rizu: "How does one become enlightened?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "Or, put differently, how do you study on a day-to-day basis?"
Rei Ao: "There are many ways to 'become enlightened.' But day to day, I just pay attention in class. After that, I enjoy spending time with my girlfriend."
Furuhashi Fumino: "Eh?!"
Ogata Rizu: "G-girlfriend?!"
Although they weren't physically together, the two could smell the scent of juicy gossip from afar. As they say, curiosity is human nature, and even these geniuses weren't immune.
Furuhashi Fumino: "Rei Ao-kun already has a girlfriend? Who is she? I'm so curious."
Ogata Rizu: "Um, I'm also a bit curious. But… but Miss Kirisu is still here…"
Mafuyu Kirisu: "…"
Oh, so they remembered she was here?
Mafuyu Kirisu: "I already know. I live just downstairs from Rei Ao, so I've seen them."
With that revelation:
Ogata Rizu: "They're living…together?"
Furuhashi Fumino: "Co-cohabiting?!"
To these innocent girls, that word was a bit too spicy.
Rei Ao: "Mm-hmm. That's one reason I rarely study. If you have a girlfriend, why spend your time studying? Time is better spent researching deeper topics with your special someone, right? For example, right now, I'm here snuggled up with Futaba on one side and Mai on the other. So warm and soft."
Furuhashi Fumino: "That's… impressive."
Ogata Rizu: "Mm."
Mafuyu Kirisu: "What are you people even talking about?! This is a study group! Get back on track!!!"
She could no longer endure. Fearing the conversation would go further off the rails, she hastily stepped in to stop it.
~~~
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