Time flew like a galloping horse, like an arrow, like a shuttle on a loom. It slipped away like sand through one's fingers, and the years passed silently, leaving their marks.
In the blink of an eye, Baifeng Uesugi's suspension had come to an end.
Now that his suspension was over, Maya Yotsuba had to return to the Yotsuba Family.
A Japanese airport.
"Have a safe trip, Sister Maya," Baifeng Uesugi said.
"Little Feng, what if I kept staying at your place instead?" Maya Yotsuba said, reluctant to leave.
"Sister Maya, my classmates come over from time to time, and it wouldn't look good if Tatsuya or Miyuki saw you there, either."
Baifeng Uesugi said.
"All right, then. Make sure you take good care of yourself." Hearing that, Maya Yotsuba had no choice but to drop the matter, though she still reminded him.
"I will, Sister Maya."
After the two hugged goodbye, Maya Yotsuba boarded a plane back to the Yotsuba Family.
The next day.
After putting on his school uniform, Baifeng Uesugi rode the eye-catching Little Black to First High School.
"Good morning, Bai Feng."
After entering campus, Baifeng Uesugi ran into someone he knew: Erika Chiba.
"Good morning, Erika," Baifeng Uesugi replied.
"Is your suspension over?" Erika Chiba asked.
"Yes."
"The great expert who got suspended on the first day of school has finally returned," Erika Chiba teased.
"Come on, Erika, stop making fun of me. I didn't want that to happen either, but I couldn't do anything about the Public Morals Committee's punishment."
Baifeng Uesugi shrugged as he spoke.
"Hehe, Bai Feng, something big happened at school while you were away," Erika Chiba said with a mysterious smile.
"Oh? What happened?"
Baifeng Uesugi asked.
"An organization infiltrated the school while you were suspended, but luckily everything turned out fine."
Erika Chiba said.
"That exciting? What a shame I missed it."
Baifeng Uesugi spoke with a regretful look.
"That wasn't all that important, though. What comes next is the main event."
"What comes next?" Baifeng Uesugi asked, puzzled.
"That's right. The Nine Schools Competition is about to start. Are you planning to participate, Bai Feng?" Erika Chiba said.
Hearing Erika Chiba's words, Baifeng Uesugi finally remembered that it was almost time for the Nine Schools Competition.
"Good morning, Baifeng Uesugi," Honoka Mitsui greeted him, suddenly appearing in front of him.
Shizuku Kitayama was beside her.
"Good morning, Bai Feng," Shizuku Kitayama greeted him.
"Good morning, Honoka, Shizuku," Baifeng Uesugi greeted them.
"Huh? You seem to know each other pretty well."
Erika Chiba said, puzzled.
"We're reasonably close. We've just had a few meals together."
Baifeng Uesugi said.
"Oh, oh, oh! Is there something I don't know about? Come on, tell me."
Erika Chiba immediately became interested.
"Bai Feng, I made this bento for you as thanks for the meal at your house before."
Shizuku Kitayama took out a bento and handed it to Baifeng Uesugi as she spoke.
"Oh, thank you. As it happens, I didn't prepare a bento for lunch today."
Baifeng Uesugi accepted the bento and thanked her.
"You're welcome, Bai Feng. You just have to make me a bento tomorrow."
Shizuku Kitayama said.
"Uh... all right. I'll make one for you tomorrow."
Caught off guard by Shizuku Kitayama, Baifeng Uesugi replied in surprise.
"Bai Feng, I want one too."
Honoka Mitsui looked at him expectantly.
"Okay, I'll make one for you too."
Baifeng Uesugi smiled helplessly.
"In that case, I want one too. Make one for me too, will you, Bai Feng?"
Seeing this, Erika Chiba spoke up as well.
"You?" Baifeng Uesugi looked at her in confusion.
"Yeah. You're all getting one, so I can't be left out."
Erika Chiba said with a smile.
"All right, I'll make one for you tomorrow too."
Baifeng Uesugi said helplessly.
The group then walked toward the classroom building, chatting and laughing.
The student council room.
"For the nine high schools affiliated with the magic universities across the country, the Nine Schools Competition is the most important event. The autumn thesis competition is a study of academic ability, while the summer Nine Schools Competition is a sporting magic competition, a contest between the various schools."
"Because the schools' reputations are at stake, everyone selected is highly capable," Mayumi Saegusa said.
"That's why the student council takes the lead and makes the relevant preparations," Miyuki Shiba said.
"Monji helped handle the competitors, so we finally managed to settle on a roster, but the problem is the magic engineering technicians...
We're short on magic engineering technicians," Mayumi Saegusa said, troubled.
"Don't we have enough yet?" Mari Watanabe asked.
"No. This year's outstanding third-years are more inclined toward practical work, though the second-years have talented people like A-chan and Isori," Mayumi Saegusa said.
"Kei Isori, huh?" Mari Watanabe mused.
"If you ask me, that guy is a pure theorist. He's not good at tuning, is he?"
"Ah, things would at least be a lot easier if you could tune your own CAD, Mari," Mayumi Saegusa sighed.
"That's right. The situation really is serious," Mari Watanabe remarked.
"Say, Rei-chan, would you be willing to serve as a magic engineer after all?" Mayumi Saegusa asked, smiling at Rin-chan.
"No way. With my skills, I'd only drag Nakajo and the others down," Rin-chan protested.
"Ahh!" Mayumi Saegusa cried helplessly.
Seeing that the situation was taking a turn, Tatsuya Shiba hurriedly picked up his bento and got up to take his leave.
"In that case, I'll be going now."
With that, he got up and prepared to leave.
"Um, in that case, why don't we ask Shiba?"
Seeing that Tatsuya Shiba was about to leave, Azusa Nakajo suddenly remembered that he seemed quite good at this sort of thing and spoke up.
"I heard that Tatsuya tunes all of Miyuki's CADs."
"What?" Mayumi Saegusa exclaimed in surprise.
She looked at Miyuki Shiba, then at Tatsuya Shiba.
"We overlooked that."
Mayumi Saegusa stood up excitedly as she spoke.
"That's right! I can't believe I forgot. How careless of me," Mari Watanabe chimed in.
Mayumi Saegusa looked at Tatsuya Shiba expectantly.
"There's no precedent for a first-year being selected, is there?" Tatsuya Shiba asked.
"There's a first time for everything," Mayumi Saegusa said excitedly.
"Precedents exist to be overturned," Mari Watanabe added.
"You two may have progressive views, or perhaps that's how I see it. I'm a first-year and a Course 2 Student, and there are many negative impressions of me," Tatsuya Shiba said.
"That's..." Mayumi Saegusa hesitated.
"When it comes to CAD tuning, trust between the magic engineer and the magician is very important. I don't think it's a good idea to have someone like me, who would make the competitors resentful, tune their CADs."
Tatsuya Shiba said.
"But I think there's someone who might be suitable for the position."
"Who?" Mayumi Saegusa asked.
"Baifeng Uesugi. He's also very good at this sort of thing."
Tatsuya Shiba replied.
"Bai Feng? He made a major contribution during the broadcasting room incident last time, and he has quite a good reputation at school. Quite a few Course 1 Students are friendly toward him, too."
Mayumi Saegusa said after thinking for a moment.
"I think it could work."
"But, President, Bai Feng was suspended on the first day of school. Is that really okay?" Mari Watanabe said.
"Mari, don't worry. I know Bai Feng fairly well. He's a good person."
Mayumi Saegusa said with a smile.
"Oh? President, is there something going on between you and him?" Mari Watanabe asked with a gossipy look.
"There's nothing going on. He just helped me find my two younger sisters and brought them to school.
But now that you mention it, I still haven't had a chance to thank Bai Feng."
Mayumi Saegusa explained.
"I see. Bai Feng helps those in need, so he's trustworthy," Mari Watanabe said.
"I think he'd be fine too. Didn't he help the student council resolve the broadcasting room problem before?" Azusa Nakajo said.
"I agree." Rin-chan didn't know much about Bai Feng, but so many people had already agreed that she could only go along with them.
"But, Brother, I want you to tune my CAD during the Nine Schools Competition," Miyuki Shiba said, standing up.
"Miyuki, I'll still tune yours for you when the time comes. Don't worry," Tatsuya Shiba replied.
"All right. In that case, there's a preparation meeting after school. We can discuss it in detail there," Mayumi Saegusa said.
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