The Infinite Dimensions Starting from The Irregular at Magic High School, Vol. 31

Maybe because she thought it was interesting, on a whim?

Or perhaps because the one who had spoken was Yotsuba Mahiro?

It had to be the latter.

After all, that was her brother Mahiro...

Hearing their conversation and then seeing Mibu Sayaka there, Kitayama Shizuku and Honoka, who had come along with them, froze.

Even Kitayama Shizuku, who usually seemed almost expressionless, could not help parting her small lips slightly at that moment, looking rather shocked.

"Mibu-senpai, why are you—"

Honoka let out an instinctive cry of surprise, but Miyuki and the quick-reacting Kitayama Shizuku covered her mouth in time.

"Honoka, keep your voice down."

"That's right, dummy Honoka. If you cry out, you'll cause trouble for Mibu-senpai and Mahiro." Kitayama Shizuku said it expressionlessly, clearly much calmer than Honoka.

This was what someone capable of great things looked like!

The silenced Honoka nodded to show she understood, and only then was she released.

Then she asked:

"Hey, Mahiro, are you really going to be all right doing this?"

Her eyes were filled with worry. This was an open provocation against the order of the Nine Schools Competition!

"Don't worry, Honoka. Since Mahiro is doing this, he must already have made thorough preparations." Before Mahiro could speak, Kitayama Shizuku answered for him.

"That's right, Honoka, you don't need to worry too much.

"Oh, right, there are some tasty-looking things over there. Come take a look with me."

Kitayama Shizuku and Miyuki chimed in one after the other, like a pair of guardian deities. Each of them grabbed one of Honoka's arms and simply hauled her away from the area.

Seeing this, Sayaka finally let out a breath of relief.

"So? Nervous? Exciting?"

"Mm, very nervous. This feeling... it's my first time." Hearing Mahiro's question, she honestly nodded.

"Heh, it's fine. You'll get plenty more chances like this in the future. You'll get used to it."

Compared with Sayaka, whose heart was practically jumping into her throat, Mahiro seemed perfectly calm.

But one wave had barely settled before another rose.

The trio had only just left when someone else came over to strike up a conversation.

Naturally, it was Mayumi and her good friend Mari Watanabe.

But when Mayumi saw Sayaka beside Mahiro, dressed in a Course 1 Student uniform, her small lips parted slightly in surprise.

"...You really are bold..."

Mari Watanabe, however, could not help exclaiming, "Mibu, why are you—"

Her reaction was almost identical to Honoka's, and that cry even drew quite a bit of attention.

"Watanabe-senpai, it's not like that, I..."

Sayaka wanted to explain that this had nothing to do with Mahiro, but before she could finish, Mayumi stepped between the two of them and interrupted:

"Mari, you're making too much fuss. Have you forgotten? Mibu is also one of First High School's competitors, isn't she?"

Calm and graceful, she playfully winked at Mari Watanabe.

So much so that Mari Watanabe was stunned for quite a while after hearing it before finally coming back to herself.

She nodded seriously and said:

"Oh, right. Sorry, Mibu, I forgot. You're also a competitor in this Nine Schools Competition..."

But this time, it was Sayaka's turn to be dumbfounded.

She had not expected these two upperclassmen not only to refrain from exposing her, but to play along with the act instead, even giving her a reasonable identity.

There was no helping it.

Although sneaking into the banquet was not that big of a deal, if it were discovered, it would still embarrass the organizers.

So they could only see the mistake through to the end.

If there was anything to discuss, it could wait until after the banquet was over.

After the commotion passed.

Mari Watanabe had already left, and only Mayumi remained.

"Mahiro, you really are bold, daring to do something like this," Mayumi said softly.

She could tell at a glance that the mastermind was definitely Yotsuba Mahiro.

Although it was true that Mahiro would help maintain order, sometimes, when it came to minor rules and details, he would trample over them without the slightest hesitation.

Mayumi knew that very well.

Mahiro had no intention of hiding it either, and admitted it openly.

"What's the big deal? The banquet hall is huge. One extra person won't matter, right?"

As for those taking part in the Nine Schools Competition, the competitors alone numbered three hundred and sixty, with seventy-two technicians, making the total number of the nine schools' teams exceed four hundred and fifty.

Though plenty of people were bound to be absent for one reason or another, there had to be at least three hundred people present.

Who could possibly remember every single one of their names and faces?

"Hehe, that's true enough, but if you do this, where does that leave the organizers?"

"I didn't think about that. And it's not my place to think about it."

"How selfish of you, Mahiro."

Hearing their exchange from the side, Sayaka could not help biting her lower lip tightly before asking, "Um... President Saegusa, is this really that serious? If it is, I'll leave right now..."

"Wait."

"Hold on!"

Seeing Sayaka about to leave, Mayumi and Mahiro grabbed her almost at the same time.

"It's actually not as serious as you're imagining, Mibu. At most, you'd have to prove your identity as a student of our school and get scolded a little. It won't affect our Nine Schools Competition results."

Mayumi smiled softly.

"The main reason I helped hide it just now was because I felt this would make this boring banquet a little more interesting~"

Mayumi herself had plenty to say about the opening banquet of the Nine Schools Competition, to the point that she had not even wanted to attend, but she had no choice but to come.

Besides, a situation like Sayaka's had never happened since the Nine Schools Competition was first held.

Perhaps this might even be the first case.

At least, no one had been caught yet.

"And if you leave now, Mibu, you'll actually expose your identity instead."

"Yeah, Mayumi's right. You idiot, Sayaka, just stay here like a good girl."

As Mahiro echoed Mayumi's words, he reached out and lightly flicked Sayaka's forehead, making her let out a small whimper.

Though in front of others, Sayaka was always that gallant, beautiful kendo upperclassman, when she was in front of him, she was somehow as timid as Nakajo Azusa, making her extremely easy to bully.

And that was only a minor interlude in the banquet.

As time passed, he too began to feel that the banquet was incredibly boring.

Students from each school had gathered together, yet they still split into groups according to their schools. What was the point of a banquet like this?

They might as well start the competition right away and have a real, no-holds-barred clash. That would be far more satisfying.

Mayumi, who had stayed by his side the whole time with no intention of leaving, noticed his state as well, so she took the initiative to introduce the competitors from each school to him.

"By the way, Mahiro, did you know there's an opponent in the boys' Monolith Code event this time who's strong enough to match you?"

"Hm? Who?"

At that, Mahiro immediately became interested.

An opponent who could match him? Then he definitely had to get to know him properly.

"That one over there."

Mayumi indicated with her eyes, her gaze falling on Third High's side, where the students wore red uniforms.

There was an extremely conspicuous boy there.

His appearance was like Suzaku Kururugi from Lelouch, and even his bearing was somewhat similar.

Quite a few students had gathered around him, but very few dared to go up and speak to him. Many stopped short, obvious looks of awe on their faces.

"He's your opponent in this event."

Mayumi introduced him softly, as though reciting something she knew by heart. "His name is Masaki Ichijo. He's the next head of the 'Ichijo' family of the Ten Master Clans. His magical power is also outstanding, and the magic he specializes in is [Burst]. It's said that he took part in actual combat at thirteen..."

"Ah, I know. He's that guy with the nickname the Bloody Burst Prince who plays with blood, right?"

Mayumi burst out laughing at his words, and even Sayaka had to hold back after hearing them.

The Bloody Burst Prince who played with blood.

How on earth had he come up with that name?

But it was actually quite fitting. The principle behind Burst magic was to vaporize liquid, thereby causing a living body to rupture or fuel to explode. When used on the human body, it evaporated the water in the blood.

Suppressing her laughter, Mayumi corrected him. "Not the Bloody Burst Prince who plays with blood. It's the Bloody Prince, who specializes in Burst."

"Same difference." Mahiro brushed it off unconcernedly. "Besides, Mayumi, why are you under the illusion that he can match me?"

"Are you looking down on me a little too much... or rather, looking down on the adjusted magicians who came out of the Fourth Laboratory?"

Hearing his bold, confident declaration, Mayumi was so surprised she could not speak.

She had never expected this junior Mahiro to look down even on the bloodstained prince of the Ichijo Family...

But when she heard the second half, she could not help covering her mouth and letting out a small gasp.

What had she just heard?

Mahiro had said he was an adjusted-body magician who had come out of the Fourth Laboratory?!

The shock of that information was like a bolt from the blue.

As a member of the Ten Master Clans, she understood all too well what an adjusted-body magician meant!

Through precise calculations, they were altered at the genetic level, or subjected to mental and physical modification, in order to achieve adjustment—such as enhancing magical power.

Mayumi wanted to learn more, but just as she was about to ask, the speeches began.

Everyone in the venue quieted down. They stopped eating and broke off their conversations, listening to the adults speak with an excessively solemn attitude—or perhaps only pretending to listen.

But the people standing on the stage were, without question, all important figures one normally never got to see.

However.

When it came time for the legendary figure everyone had been waiting to see in person, Kudo Retsu—the man who had once established the order of the Ten Master Clans—something unexpected happened.

"A woman?"

The students below the stage looked at one another, staring in utter confusion at the woman who had appeared beneath the soft spotlight.

By calculation, Kudo Retsu should already have been around ninety years old.

At the very least, Kudo Retsu was a man. How could he possibly be a young woman in an evening dress, with her hair dyed blond?

"Mind interference magic... What's this old man trying to do?"

Mahiro frowned in displeasure.