Miyuki, Maya, and Masaki (11K)

As if to prove her determination, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pressed her cherry lips against his once again.

"Qiuqiu..."

He felt the intensity and directness emanating from Honoka.

Elemental Families.

It can be said to be one of the oldest lineages in the magical world, even older than the Ten Master Clans, and is said to be an experimental type from several generations ago.

Moreover, the Light family is a rather unique existence among the elemental families.

Legend has it that when the 'Light' element family was created, a dependency disorder was added to them. They are born with a love for depending on and relying on others, and regardless of whether the feelings are genuine, they will unleash a fierce and passionate intensity.

The most loyal love.

Now, Mahiro has come to understand this from Honoka's experience.

"... Mahiro- kun... Mahiro- kun... Mahiro! It's okay, please try a little harder...?!"

Chapter 183 Yotsuba Miya and Maya and Mahiro (11K)

Since that day, Honoka felt that the air had become sweeter.

Although she remained shy and easily embarrassed, everyone noticed a change in Honoka.

Changes from the inside out.

It seems she has gained a bit more womanly charm compared to her original girlishness?

However, despite their persistent questioning, they were unable to get Honoka mouth.

Every time, the answer I got was a shy, silly smile.

Yes, it's confirmed, this kid is in love, but who is the other person?

The Nine Schools Competition tournament is still ongoing.

Miyuki, Shizuku, and the others led the first-year female students, and with Mahiro's help, they marched all the way, winning battle after battle.

Although the rankings of other schools were not as good in comparison, the overall points of the First High School were significantly higher than those of the second-ranked and Third High School.

It's even worse than last year, with a difference of almost 100 points.

Today, however, is the highlight of the final match of the season.

"I really didn't expect your Nine Schools Competition to be so unconventional. It was one thing to use one of our USNA's training programs, 'Battle Board,' but now you've brought out 'Steeplechase.' It seems your defense department is preparing for war."

Lina sat in the audience, speaking eloquently about the upcoming project based on her experience.

The event in this competition is the final "Steeplechase".

As the name suggests, this event is an obstacle course race in the mountains and wilderness, where the race is conducted in the time it takes to complete the course through a forest with obstacles set up.

Similar in nature to "Battle Board," it is also one of the military training exercises used by the armies of various countries when conducting mountain and forest training.

In addition to physical natural and artificial obstacles, automatic gun mounts or magic can also be used to hinder players.

The rules are simple: both boys and girls can participate, but the only restriction is that first-year students are not allowed to participate.

Other restrictions are basically the same as those for "Monolith Code," which prohibits the use of magic with a destructive power exceeding A-level, and there are no detailed requirements for physical combat.

But it is precisely these simple rules that highlight the difficulty of this competition.

"I remember your girlfriend was participating in this project, and you arranged it yourself, right?"

Lina noticed that Mahiro, sitting next to her, didn't seem to have any particular reaction to this, which made her a little curious.

"Aren't you afraid something might happen to her?"

"Sayaka isn't as fragile as you think; she's actually quite strong."

Mahiro smiled slightly, a hint of smugness in his smile.

He then raised an eyebrow at Lina and teased, "And if we're talking about girlfriends, aren't you the same, Major Angelina?"

"Hmph, who's your little girlfriend... And stop calling me that, I'm no longer Sirius."

Lina gave a soft snort, turned her head away, and ignored him.

However, the slight blush on her face betrayed her true feelings.

"... The match has begun."

Just then, Shizuku whispered a reminder.

The large screen that was suspended also displayed the broadcast footage.

However, when they saw the details of the "Steeplechase," the expressions on Mahiro's group's faces were quite different.

Lina and Erika looked on with great interest, while Miyuki, Shizuku, Honoka, and Mizuki clenched their hands tightly, sweating for Sayaka who was competing.

As for the others...

"This competition doesn't seem like anything special. Isn't this just a training program we used to do a few years ago?"

Pony, holding his head, said dismissively, "Is something like this even worth comparing? I could do that myself."

Not only Pony, but also Tsukushi, Akame, and others thought so.

They were able to do this several years ago, and they also had to deal with the group of Level 1 dangerous species that were entrenched along the way.

It's not difficult at all.

Finally, Cornelia scolded them, and only then did they calm down and start watching the game seriously.

However, their idea was not wrong. It was indeed just like their training program, simply jungle cross-country running with some obstacles.

This is much simpler than carrying dozens of kilograms of weight back then.

Of course, this is also very simple for Sayaka.

It was so simple that Sayaka was quite surprised.

She held a katana-shaped CAD that Erika had prepared for her, and the bullets fired by the machine guns that were meant to obstruct her view seemed to move in slow motion.

Without even using magic, a simple swing of the sword is enough to cleave them all in two.

"So easy..."

I feel that the pressure I felt when sparring with Kisara Tendo it was during my training session.

As for those automatons, they couldn't stop her at all.

After activating the acceleration spell, although the puppets kept chasing her, they were ultimately a step behind and were quickly left far behind.

"Who is this contestant? I've never seen him before. Is he a freshman pretending to be a senior?"

"What?! I heard that this contestant named Mibu Sayaka is a third-year student Nine Schools Competition First High School, and she's even Course 2 Student!"

"Course 2 Student?! Really? Are all the Course 2 Student at First High School this good these days?"

"Of course, after all, Mibu- senpai is the famous Kendo Komachi from back in the day!"

In the audience, all the university students were shocked, and many were even captivated by her dashing figure.

Despite the total distance being five kilometers, Sayaka took it down in less than ten minutes, leaving even the official organizers of the Nine Schools Competition speechless.

This achievement even surpasses that of active-duty mages in the military!

"It feels a bit too frivolous."

Mahiro crossed her arms, her feelings a slightly complicated mix.

The reason Sayaka was chosen to participate in the competition was to allow her to shine in the Nine Schools Competition during her final high school years.

But I also want to see how strong Sayaka is so far.

Now, they've certainly achieved their goal of shining brightly, but as for the rest...

I think we should let Kisara do it.

Ultimately, this year's Nine Schools Competition ended with the First High School retaining its title as champion.

After the Nine Schools Competition ended, the leisurely summer vacation officially began.

And he has very little time left before his next time travel.

However, on the first night of summer vacation, Maya Yotsuba suddenly sent him a message.

"Oh, it's been so long, my dear child. I'm sorry to bother you so late; are you still awake?"

Maya, as depicted on screen, remains as elegant and alluring as ever, and her tone is as affected as ever.

"Since I chose to connect, it means I'm still awake. Tell me, you must have something important to say to me so late, right?"

"Sigh, what a cold attitude. I was just a poor mother who missed her child after leaving him at home, so I called to try and reconnect."

"Really? If you really miss me, why don't you just come over? Your body isn't as immobile as it was before."

"Yes, that makes sense."

Maya deliberately feigned a look of sudden realization, as if to say, "Let's do it this way next time," and then added:

"However, I do have something else I'd like to discuss with you this time."

See? I told you this woman wouldn't come to the temple without a reason.

"Then tell me."

However, when he asked her, Maya did not speak immediately, but instead showed him a picture.

These photos were taken during a previous Steeplechase; they depict an automaton.

"Little Mahiro, do you know how this doll was made?"

"Isn't it just an ordinary doll? If there's anything special about it, it's that the core driver is special because it seals the parasite inside."

That's right, the thing that drives the puppet is indeed the parasite that USNA summoned from the black hole experiment.

However, these dolls are not from the same batch; they are similar in nature to familiars from ancient magic.

He found out on the day of the competition, because during the competition, Kitayama Shizuku told him that her brooch said it sensed the presence of its kind, and there were many of them.

As for their purpose, that remains unknown.

However, Maya Yotsuba showed no surprise; instead, she wore an expression that said, "So you knew all along."

"Little Mahiro, don't you want to know the purpose and origin of this automaton?"

"I'm not interested. The only purpose of making this kind of toy is to replace magicians as weapons."

As for the source, let me guess... It shouldn't just be the military; there should be other collaborators within the Ten Master Clans, such as the Kudou Family."

This is pretty easy to guess, after all, only the Kudou Family among the entire Ten Master Clans has continued and modified ancient magic.

The "Parade of Disguise" he uses originates from ancient magic and can even be perfectly combined with the Ghost Gate Dunjia.

"Oh dear, you guessed it. This was an idea proposed by the old man of the Kudou Family, my mentor Kudo Retsu, for his beloved grandson Minoro Kudou."

You've seen that child, haven't you? He's physically weak... so this old man did something like this. If he actually succeeded, we magicians would be out of a job!

On the screen, Maya Yotsuba pressed her cheek as if in a daze, expressing her confusion with a gesture that seemed detached from worldly affairs.

But judging from the emotion reflected in her pupils, there was no trace of worry.

"Hey Maya Yotsuba, you don't need to put on this act for me, do you? I'm not Shiba Tatsuya. If you want to interfere in this matter, you shouldn't be looking for me. I'm not a henchman of the Yotsuba Family."

"Hehe, of course I know. I've already asked Tatsuya to do it. He should be on his way now, right? I just wanted to talk to you, Mahiro."

Maya covered her red lips and chuckled softly, showing no panic at all after her scheme had been exposed.

He seemed to find pleasure in seeing his impatient expression.

Is this woman a sadist?

"Since you don't want to hear it, Mahiro, then Mom won't say anything more."

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but this woman seems to be getting better and better at understanding the limits of his temper.

However, what surprised him even more was the second half of the sentence—

"Oh, Mahiro, you should be on summer vacation by now, right? When are you coming back to visit your mom? I really miss you Mahiro."