The Infinite Dimensions of Mixed Anime, Starting with The Irregular at Magic High School Chapter 48

Perhaps feeling that her praise was not enough, Kitayama Shizuku added that.

It was enough to express the astonishment in her heart.

"That's nothing, really."

Yotsuba Mahiro smiled and explained, "It's only what I should do. And my skills aren't the best either. All I can do is deeply optimize the activation sequence for you and add a little extra seasoning.

If it were Tatsuya, he'd probably even install an aiming assist system on it for you."

"This is already enough."

Kitayama Shizuku said calmly, then shifted her gaze from the CAD in her arms to Mahiro.

"Hey, Mahiro, do you want to come to my house and be my personal technician? As for salary, you can name any price you want."

"...?"

Yotsuba Mahiro, who had already turned back toward the screen, turned around again when he heard that and looked rather strangely at the inhumanly rich, expressionless little girl in front of him.

"What, are you planning to keep me?" he teased slightly.

"Yes, something like that."

Perhaps because she simply did not know how to lie, she nodded very honestly and said, "After being tuned by you, I'm afraid I won't be able to accept the people at my father's company anymore. So can you come to my house and be my personal technician?"

The girl asked again.

Only, why did that wording sound so strange?

What did she mean, "after being tuned by me, she can't accept anyone else"?

I only tuned a CAD and optimized a magic sequence. Could you please not say such easily misunderstood things with such a calm face?

"Looks like you're in good form, Kitayama. You still have energy to joke around before the match."

"I'm not joking," Kitayama Shizuku said. "I'm serious."

"Yes, yes, I know you're very serious, Kitayama."

Mahiro rose from the swivel chair and casually patted her short gray hair. "Let's talk about this after the competition."

"What matters more right now is winning Speed Shooting."

"All right. I understand."

Hearing him say that, the girl did not pester him. Instead, she nodded sensibly and let it go for the time being.

And with his help, Kitayama Shizuku's victory was already set in stone.

During the match, all she needed to do was deploy the Multiple Observation spell, use her "eyes" to see and distinguish the colors of the launched clay targets, then pull the trigger and activate her vibration-type magic to score points.

"Amazing."

During the match, Kitayama Shizuku shouldered her rifle-shaped CAD and revealed a smile of certain victory.

Originally, she had been unable to activate spells like Multiple Observation, and even when using them, she would experience an intense sense of dizziness. But after Mahiro had tuned it for her, she no longer felt that way at all.

Even the spells she excelled at had become light, without the slightest sense of fatigue.

The spectators outside the field could not help crying out in admiration.

Although she could not compare to Yotsuba Mahiro, who was also in the rookie tournament, her speed and precision were still among the very top tier. Even if she participated in the official division, there would be no problem at all.

Looking at the footage transmitted onto the screen, Mayumi could not help showing a heartfelt smile.

She could finally relax.

After she graduated next year, First High School could be considered to have capable successors.

And just like that, the fourth day of the competition ended.

Yotsuba Mahiro and Kitayama Shizuku won the championship in Speed Shooting, while the other competitors also achieved respectable results. Mirage Bat did not have any further accidents either, and everyone advanced perfectly.

They had already pulled nearly two hundred points ahead of Third High School, forming an unprecedentedly huge advantage.

"Not bad at all."

After the match, Mahiro lay alone in the swivel chair, hands behind his head, gazing at the cool-toned metal ceiling above.

Without No Head Dragon getting in the way, everything had already begun developing in a good direction.

Then came the events of the fifth and sixth days.

For those two days, Mahiro still stayed in the engineering department, in charge of Kitayama Shizuku for the rookie division of Monolith Code.

"By the way... are you planning to compete in that outfit?"

"Yes. Since the rules allow it, it would be such a waste not to wear it."

As she spoke, the girl asked back with an expression that seemed to say, "Is something strange? Or does it not fit?" causing Mahiro to take a deep breath despite himself.

"All right. It's very pretty, and it suits you."

That was the truth.

The Kitayama Shizuku at that moment was indeed very beautiful, even a little too beautiful.

She was wearing a pale blue furisode kimono, tying the sash around her waist right in front of him without the slightest hesitation, and also fastening the somewhat cumbersome sleeves in place.

"If you were going to pin the sleeves in place, why did you choose a kimono with long swinging sleeves in the first place?" Mahiro retorted helplessly.

In fact, it was not just Shizuku. The other girls participating in Monolith Code were the same.

As mentioned before, Monolith Code had long since turned into a costume show for the JKs from each school.

For example, the second-year Chiyoda Kanon wore a long-sleeved tracksuit top on her upper body, but black rhythmic shorts on her lower half, making the sports jacket look almost like a miniskirt.

There was also the first-year mixed-race Eimi Akechi, who wore a white turtleneck top, a red riding jacket, white slim riding breeches, black long boots, and a black riding cap to match. The whole outfit was equestrian in style, setting off the elegance and heroic air of her British blood to perfection.

And then there was Miyuki.

Dressed in a shrine maiden outfit of white robes and scarlet hakama, the way she held up her CAD when releasing magic made her look as if she really were a shrine maiden dancing with kagura bells to please the gods.

In the end, Mahiro was too lazy to keep retorting about this, and instead changed the subject.

"By the way, Shizuku, do you want to beat Miyuki?"

Perhaps it was because this was the first time he had addressed her so familiarly, or perhaps it was because she had heard him say he would let her beat Miyuki, but the girl who was tying up her sleeves froze slightly.

Then she turned back to look at him.

A faint doubt surfaced in those calm, waterlike brown eyes, as if asking him why he would say that.

"The reason is simple. You know the final stage of Monolith Code is a single round-robin tournament, right?"

"Mm."

"I looked into the contestants for this Rookie Tournament a little. You could say no one can surpass Miyuki in magic power. On top of that, with Tatsuya supporting her, making it to the finals and winning the championship will be incredibly easy.

So my prediction is that in the end, you will definitely face Miyuki. If you want to truly win Monolith Code, then you have to beat Miyuki.

Of course, if you choose to forfeit, Shizuku, no one will say anything."

"I won't forfeit."

For the first time, another emotion seeped into the girl's calm voice—an emotion called fighting spirit.

Those brown eyes stared fixedly at Mahiro, reflecting his figure. With her cherry lips pressed lightly together, she seemed to be asking a silent question.

But seeing that he did not respond and clear up her doubts as he usually did, and only met her gaze, Shizuku understood.

So she asked, "Miyuki is your cousin. Why would you help an outsider like me?"

"Call it a whim."

Mahiro's answer was very unexpected, yet also perfectly reasonable.

Because he was exactly that kind of person—capricious, and obedient to his own desires.

But before Shizuku could speak again, he suddenly added, "However, although I do have some selfish motives, what matters more right now is—

Kitayama, you are the competitor I'm in charge of. Answering your expectations and fulfilling your wish is my responsibility and mission as your dedicated technician for the time being.

If you want to win, then I will do everything in my power to answer that wish.

So, Shizuku, what is your answer?"

Hearing his words, Kitayama Shizuku pursed her lips, and a faint light flickered in her brown eyes.

Then her cherry lips parted slightly.

"...I want to win."

This was not an answer she gave because she had been moved by Yotsuba Mahiro's words, but the desire hidden deep within her heart.

She wanted to win.

She truly wanted to win, to beat Miyuki and prove herself.

Although on the surface she looked as if she had no emotions and cared about nothing, Kitayama Shizuku was actually an extremely competitive girl.

Just like Honoka.

She had been her rival in elementary school. Although they had become friends, by the time they reached middle school, they still maintained a competitive relationship.

Honoka's best opponent was always Shizuku, and Shizuku's best opponent was also Honoka.

In their circle of friends, no other child's magical talent could rival the two of them. Even those from the Hundred Families were far inferior to them in talent.

But after they entered First High School, all of that changed.

That arrogance of theirs suffered a devastating blow in the high school entrance examination.

The reason was that beautiful girl who served as the student representative, Miyuki Shiba.

Her appearance was outstanding, practically perfect, and even her magic power was so immense that they had never seen anything like it before, as if it belonged to an entirely different dimension.

But she wanted to win.

Even knowing full well that she was far inferior to Miyuki, she still wanted to win once, no matter what.

So now that the even stronger Yotsuba Mahiro was standing on her side, how could she possibly not seize this chance?

"I'm absolutely going to win!"

This was her declaration, and also the obsession she and Honoka shared.

And everything unfolded exactly as Yotsuba Mahiro had expected. On the sixth day, in the finals of Monolith Code, Kitayama Shizuku really did face Miyuki Shiba.

The two girls stood on the left and right sides of the arena.

On one side was a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit, cold and striking to the eye.

On the other was a cool, pale-blue, long-sleeved kimono.

Miyuki had not tied up her hair, and Shizuku had not tied back her long sleeves. Their long hair and the sleeves of Shizuku's kimono swayed in the summer breeze.

They were like two generals, gazing at each other from afar.

The silence that spread through the arena, heavy enough to freeze the air itself, made every spectator present afraid to breathe too loudly.

They knew very well that this would be the most spectacular match since the Nine Schools Competition had begun, and more than that, it would be a showdown between the strongest.

Because behind them stood the two strongest magic engineers in First High School's history.

Rather than a duel between two competitors, it was even more a clash between two engineers.

At that moment, even in First High School's headquarters tent, everyone watching the live broadcast could not help but feel their hearts tighten, their palms damp with sweat.

Even Suzune, who was busy organizing and filing the competition results that kept being sent in one after another, was stopped by Mayumi.

Although Suzune sighed to express her dissatisfaction, neither Mayumi nor Mari was moved in the slightest.

"Hey, Suzu, who do you think will win... Kitayama or Miyuki?"

"Hard to say."

Suzune set the files aside, turned back to look at the live broadcast of the arena, and came to that conclusion. Then she continued analyzing:

"In terms of technical skill, Tatsuya is somewhat stronger than Mahiro, but in a competition on the scale of the Nine Schools Competition, that difference won't really show."

"So I believe the outcome of this match will rest entirely on the competitors themselves."

"But by comparison, while Kitayama's magic power is certainly excellent, Miyuki's strength completely surpasses others her age. So I would say this match will be Miyuki's victory."

"Ah, I thought so."