Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 03 - Nine Schools Competition (I) (44 page)

Kirihara suddenly burst into laughter.

And he was laughing to the point that he was bent over the sofa.

Enough to thoroughly discomfit Sayaka by his side.

Tatsuya continued to watch him without any expression.

"Shiba.
.
.
.
.
.
You really are an interesting guy.
Usually, now would be the time to wear a totally~ awkward expression and quickly pass me pretending not to see me, not the time to actually sit down and talk."

That choice — intentionally overlooking him — was also on the table, but Tatsuya believed that wordlessly passing by wasn't cordial enough.
However, this time it looked like Tatsuya was being a "busybody".

Tatsuya realized that he shouldn't even be taking how cordial he was into consideration since that didn't jibe with his personality, but.
.
.
.
.
.

"Still, I feel a lot better thanks to you.
Since you said it was a 'Pyrrhic victory', then that must be how it was.
This shows that I've still got a lot of potential."

.
.
.
.
.
.
Looks like that wasn't the case.

Whether Kirihara truly believed that was immaterial.

Likewise, whether this was truly the result Tatsuya was aiming for was also immaterial.

Despite the outcome falling into considerable doubt, the basic personnel duties did not change very much.

The ones responsible for odd jobs and errands might claim otherwise, but since Tatsuya was a member of the technician team, the brass from First High wasn't foolish enough to have him work on menial tasks and run the risk of endangering his original duties.

After preparing for the Newcomers Division two days from now, double checking the physical and mental conditions of the players under his care and running a final compatibility test for CADs, today's work schedule came to a close.

Tatsuya received a long package in the mail from the hotel counter and returned to his own room.

It wasn't dinner time yet.

There was still ample time left, so Tatsuya opted to test the item in the package.

He took a glance at the clock to verify when the dining hall opened.

There was still a significant interval until he had to meet up with Miyuki.

Tatsuya unpacked the parcel and gazed at the contents within.

This was something he called Four Leaves Technology's CAD Development 3rd Division in the early hours of the morning for.

The components were all universal, the shape exceedingly simple, and was assembled to the point that an automatic construction device could do the rest by reading the manual.
Even so, the fact that this could be assembled and shipped all within half a day was quite impressive.

(I hope Ushiyama-san isn't pushing himself again.
.
.
.
.
.
)

Should he be saying pushing himself, or pushing his subordinates?

Tatsuya took great pains to carefully remind them that this item was "partially out of curiosity".

Regardless, Tatsuya couldn't "really" turn back the clock, so fussing over these details was useless at this point.

After he opened the package and took a look inside, he found a combination seal around a long, thin container.
This case was usually intended to transport CADs with the dimensions of a shotgun.

Tatsuya punched in the usual code.

There was a "sword" inside the box.

The item Tatsuya removed from the box had the outward appearance of a long sword with an upgraded hand guard.

The entire length measured 70 cm, and 50 cm without the hand guard — that was how it was shaped.

There was no blade.

This did not refer to the lack of an edge, but the fact that this tool was never forged to be a "sword".

The literal meaning of the words seemed paradoxical, but a better description would be "a metallic bokken forged to look like a long sword".

Or maybe it was "flat rod with an added hand guard".

This item was plainly not any ordinary rod.

After thumbing the activation button and upping the psion intake, a familiar feeling passed across Tatsuya's hand.

This item was in the same vein as Erika's police baton in that it was a weapon that concealed a CAD.

The utility was even more restricted than a Specialized CAD and could only provide one Activation Sequence.
Erika's CAD was a Specialized model that retained the ability to switch abilities.
In comparison, this was a Specialized CAD that possessed only one function, making it a prototype for "Weaponized Integrated CADs".

Tatsuya measured the distance to the wall to gauge whether he should take a test swing when someone knocked on the door.
The perfect timing caused Tatsuya to chuckle wryly as he placed the prototype on the table.

There was some time until the arranged meeting time, but given that the presence on the other side of the door did nothing to conceal themselves, he knew that friends had come calling.

And this prototype suited that friend very well.

Rather than testing this himself, it would be far more interesting to have that guy handle it — Tatsuya thought as he opened the door.

"Onii-sama, is this a good time?"

The leader and the one who spoke up first was his little sister.

Tatsuya pushed the door open and beckoned everyone inside.
Erika, who was following Miyuki, came close enough that the two of them were almost touching.

Next, Honoka, Shizuku, Mizuki, and Leo came in, with Mikihiko bringing up the rear.

Rather than saying ladies first, it would be more appropriate to say this was how the pecking order went.

Still, while this was a double room for the sake of storing equipment, it was still a squeeze with so many people piling in at once.

Just the chairs and bed weren't enough, someone even had to sit on the table — which was neatly ordered and not the least bit sloppy, so Tatsuya had no complaints.

Erika was the one sitting on the table, so of course she was the one who noticed the "sword" on the table, and it naturally aroused her interest.

"Tatsuya-kun, is that.
.
.
.
.
.
a blade replica?
Except it looks more like a sword."

"Negative."

"Then an iron whip?"

"Also negative.
.
.
.
.
.
I don't think the samurai of this country would use weapons like iron whips."

"Who uses the term samurai in this day and age.
.
.
.
.
.
Then what is it?
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ah, is it a Houki?"

Erika flipped it over and examined both sides and asked again upon noticing the trigger on the handle.

"Correct, to be precise, this is a Weaponized Integrated CAD, commonly known as weaponized calculation devices.
The CAD is specifically attuned to use one type of magic only that can also double as a close combat weapon that uses aforementioned magic."

"Wow.
.
.
.
.
."

The reason why Erika made this sound wasn't because the Weaponized Integrated CAD was incredibly rare, but because this was the first time she saw one in the form of a "sword".
Erika wasn't the only one gazing at the sword in her hand, both Honoka and Shizuku were looking on with deep interest.

Miyuki's faced revealed an "Ah, so that's what it was" expression, clearly because she remembered the conversation from last night.

Neither Mizuki nor Mikihiko expressed any interest, probably because they preferred familiar objects rather than foreign materials.

Tatsuya glanced at the other person standing to the side and smiled mischievously as he plucked the prototype from Erika's hands.

"Leo."

And tossed it towards Leo, who was standing off to one side with his face averted.

"Whoa!
Tatsuya, isn't that kind of dangerous?"

In reality, Leo was burning to give it a go, but he feigned disinterest due to his ongoing cold war against his nemesis (?
) Erika, so while he was outwardly frantic, he eagerly grabbed hold of the sword hilt.

Tatsuya completely ignored his protest and sent a challenging smirk his way.

"Want to give it a try?"

"Eh, me?"

Leo's mouth split into a wide grin.

To the side, Erika wore a "This guy is easy to read.
.
.
.
.
."
expression, to which Tatsuya spared only a single glance before directing his attention back to Leo.

"This weaponized calculation device was created by merging a striking weapon with the Fortifying Magic that Watanabe-senpai used during the 'Battle Board' event, with the blade also serving as a slashing weapon after being reforged, so I think this suits you very well."

"So Tatsuya made this?"

"Yes."

"Hold on."

Mikihiko inserted himself into Leo and Tatsuya's conversation.

Initially, he wore an apathetic expression, but he was paying attention to the entire conversation.

"Watanabe-senpai's event was yesterday, so you made this in one day?
This doesn't look like a ready-made product."

"The components themselves are all commonplace.
The outer frame is also a generic alloy, so there are no special materials involved."

"But this still isn't something you can manually forge, right?
You shouldn't have that much spare time.
.
.
.
.
."

"Why of course, I only came up with the design, then had a familiar factory construct this using automatic assembly devices."

Miyuki overheard the entire conversation and when she heard the term "familiar factory", she almost burst into laughter.
Thankfully, she regularly prepared several masks for occasions like these, so she didn't draw any attention to herself or her brother.

"So Leo.
.
.
.
.
.
Want to give it a try?"

Tatsuya's words were like the sweet whispers of the demon Mephistopheles.

Even while knowing something was afoot, the lure was irresistible.

".
.
.
.
.
.
OK, I'll be your guinea pig."

"He fell for it."

Shizuku's soft whisper succinctly reflected everyone's inner thoughts.

Next, Tatsuya pulled out a HMD with light refracting mirrors and a speaker attached.

"This is the instruction manual."

Seeing the HMD in front of him, Leo seemed to not comprehend Tatsuya's words as a question mark sprouted on his head.

"Take a look, the user's manual for the weaponized calculation device is recorded within."

"Ah?
Oh.
.
.
.
.
."

This object that Tatsuya handed him (more like tossed to him) appeared to have images and sound files stored on it, which included the Weaponized Integrated CAD instruction manuals.
Leo let out an "I get it now" expression and accepted the HMD from Tatsuya's hands.

"This counts as a virtual terminal device, right?"

Honoka, who asked the question, wasn't the only one wondering about this.

Virtual information terminal devices posed considerable harm to immature Magicians.

With this in mind, First High forbade students from using virtual terminal devices.

Tatsuya himself insisted on using a material terminal device, but asked his friend to use a virtual terminal device.
Even if the device was restricted to visual and hearing, everyone held the same misgivings.

"It's nothing that outrageous, but they do share some similarities."

".
.
.
.
.
.
Is this OK?"

"Huh?
Oh.
.
.
.
.
.
You're referring to the harm caused by the virtual terminal device?"