Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 03 - Nine Schools Competition (I) (22 page)

Even if something was left behind, the dormitories had plenty of spares.
This was at most a two hour bus trip, so there shouldn't be a need for much luggage.

"No, it's not that.
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Tatsuya-kun, I apologize that you had to wait so long for me."

"Please don't concern yourself with that.
I’m well aware of your situation."

Mayumi wasn't tardy because of some preposterous reason like oversleeping or getting the time wrong.

Three hours ago, she suddenly sent word that she would be late due to family business.

In her message, Mayumi asked for everyone to depart without her and that she would meet them at the destination later.
Still, the 3rd Year students unanimously agreed to wait for her, so they asked Mayumi to get here as soon as she could.

This wasn't because she was next in line for the Saegusa Family.

She had two older brothers.

Even if she was a direct descendant from the Ten Master Clans, Mayumi was the little sister who was still in high school, so there were very few cases where she was responsible for handling family business.
That being said, the very fact that the family recalled her the day of the school's official event clearly hinted that this was extremely important.

From Mayumi's perspective, if the other students set off on time, she could get there at a more leisurely pace rather than hurrying along.
However, since everyone — Tatsuya actually disagreed in private — was set on waiting for her, Mayumi was forced to pick up the pace.

Thus, Tatsuya was not going to call her out for being one or two hours late.

"Isn't it too hot?"

"It's still in the morning, so it's OK, and this temperature isn't bad at all."

Tatsuya was the only 1st Year student in the auxiliaries, so he was responsible for roll call.

There were 40 contestants, 4 strategic advisors, and 8 technicians.

Of the 12 people that were not contestants, only Tatsuya was a 1st Year student.

Of course, there were other auxiliary members besides these 12 people.
Not counting the strategy and technician team, there were also 20 volunteers that performed all the busywork, but they already departed for the premises, so there wasn't even a faculty member present.
Only the drivers and the official participants were taking the bus and four cargo vehicles.

"But you're sweating like a horse.
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Wait, what?
You're not really sweating that much."

"No, I have at least enough magic to ward off the sweat.
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but I'm not gross enough to not sweat at all during the summer."

He was using magic to purify the sweat and releasing it through the skin and clothes.

Tatsuya's intrinsic magic "Dissolution", in terms of categorization belongs to a derivative of Separation Magic.
It was a combination of "Gather", "Disperse", "Absorb", and "Release", but to be honest, "Release" probably made up the highest percentage.

Thus, he was more adept at Release Systematic Magic.

"You actually used the word gross.
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The word wasn't particularly odd, but Mayumi smiled brilliantly, as if encountering something especially comical.

Must be the season.

At this moment, Tatsuya thought her smile was as radiant as the sun.

This must have been a hallucination brought on by the sun, the temperature, and the humidity.

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The best evidence came from the way Mayumi's smile instantaneously switched to her usual teasing smile.

"By the way, Tatsuya-kun, what do you think of this?"

The "this" that she spoke of.
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must be the same one Tatsuya had on his mind.

Mayumi was referring to the summer dress that she wore.

She used both hands to hold the large-brimmed hat and posed, making it very hard to misunderstand.

They were only checking in to the dorms today and there were no official activities.

Probably because of this, even if it's a school activity, there was no obligation to wear school uniforms.

The 1st Year students including Tatsuya were all garbed in their uniforms, but less than half the 2nd Year students were in uniform, while almost all the 3rd Year students were in casual clothes.

With that in mind, taking into account how modern decorum frowned upon skin that was not covered in clothing, the majority of the students were dressed like Mari in long sleeved tunics and pants that were easy to move in.

One notable exception was a 2nd Year female student named Chiyoda.
She was wearing shorts and long socks that extended to her thighs; it was hard to tell if it was a wardrobe suitable for summer.
As for Isori, Chiyoda seemed to have forced him to wear pants that only extended to mid shin with longer socks as well, just as if they were a couple (which, in fact, they were).

Among this group, Mayumi's appearance was very conspicuous.

As a matter of fact, she was "extremely conspicuous".

Both her arms and shoulders were revealed in her summer dress.

The length was also above her knees.

Her bare legs were matched with a pair of high heeled sandals.

Her skin was lightly browned, probably because she applied an anti-UV and infrared protection layer.
Taking this into account, she technically wasn't revealing anything, but this skin coloring only served to help people think that she had been sunbathing.

"It suits senpai very well."

A daring summer outfit embroidered with flowers truly suited Mayumi perfectly.

"Is that so.
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Thank you."

The surprised tone coupled with a bashful expression was also a killer combination.

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If only you were slightly embarrassed while complimenting me, then that would be perfect."

The young lady who was 2 years older than Tatsuya extended both arms straight onto her hips and leaned forward to look upwards at him.

Though petite, she still possessed average measurements around the bosom and, once squeezed by both arms, a lovely cleavage could be seen.

At this point, it almost seemed intentional.

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Looks like a lot of hard work."

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Ah?"

Presently, Tatsuya had no way of knowing what pressing business had detained Mayumi, but she most likely accrued considerable stress.

"President, it's time to go.
Please catch some shut-eye during the ride."

—Tatsuya chose to explain himself this way.

"Wait, uh.
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Tatsuya-kun?
Have you misunderstood something?"

Tatsuya's attitude suddenly switched to a comforting one and, combined with his compassionate gaze, threw Mayumi for a loop.

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Seriously, Tatsuya-kun actually thought I’m bipolar.
How rude."

In the moving bus, Mayumi angrily puffed out her cheeks, while Suzune, who was sitting beside her in the aisle seat, watched her warmly.

"I obviously wanted him to sit next to me, but he fled to another car."

Speaking of which, as a technician team member, Tatsuya was supposed to sit in the storage vehicles, so from an objective point of view — or maybe from a superficial perspective, he wasn't avoiding Mayumi.

"Who does he think I am.
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"That was the correct decision."

"Eh, Rin-chan, what did you just say?"

Mayumi continued her lively complaints, to which Suzune calmly retorted back.

Mayumi was wearing a sweet smile, but her eyes were not smiling.
Even though she was wearing such a terrifying smile and superficially — and only superficially — asked in a cheerful tone, this didn't impact Suzune's calm expression in the slightest.

"I said he made the correct decision, otherwise he might suffer at the President's hands."

"Wait a minute, that's too much!
Aren’t you taking this a little too far?"

Suzune's utterly serious assessment caused cracks to appear in Mayumi's steady facade.

"There are very few male students that can resist the President's beauty, and that beauty has a powerful magic of its own."

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That.
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Likely because Suzune's expression was overly serious as she said this, Mayumi wasn't certain if she was being honest or simply poking fun at her — however, for someone who aimed to be a Magician to say "beauty has magic", this was most likely a joke at her expense.

"Still, I hear that Shiba-kun excels at nullifying other people's magic, so the President's magical appearance cannot entrance him."

Even if she only heard the sound, Mayumi knew for some reason that Suzune said "magical appearance" and not "magic eyes".
(TL note:
magic eyes and magical appearance sound the same in Japanese.
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Rin-chan!"

Mayumi finally realized that she was being teased.

"OK, OK, President, please relax."

"You don’t have the right to tell me that!"

Her good friend maintained her perfectly serious demeanor despite Mayumi edging closer with an outraged expression on her face, so the only thing she could do was turn her back to Suzune and throw a small tantrum by herself in the corner.

Seeing her body hunched together from the side at a certain angle would lead to—

"Uh.
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President, are you feeling unwell.
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—This.

The voice from across the aisle where Suzune sat was both worried and nervous.

"Ah?
No, it's not that.
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For Mayumi, this was an unexpected misunderstanding.

As she was hesitating, Hattori, who had specifically come over to check up on her, misinterpreted the situation even further, or rather, her reaction simply reinforced his preconception.

"Shiba mentioned earlier that the President looked tired.
Looks like he wasn't far off the mark.
If that guy knew where the boundaries were.
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No, this isn't the time for that subject."

"Uh, Hanzou-kun.
I just said, I'm not feeling sick.
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"I know the President doesn't want us to worry and I understand that I should respect that, but forcing yourself beyond your limits wouldn't do us any favors."

Hattori was completely serious — he was earnestly concerned about Mayumi's physical condition as he watched her.

The reason he was blushing was likely because of Mayumi's slightly outrageous sitting posture, where her thighs were slightly visible around the edges of the summer dress.
However, both her legs were neatly placed together.

"Vice President Hattori, where are you looking?"

For the record, Hattori was completely focused on Mayumi's face.