"All right, all right, keep it up, Bai Feng. I'm counting on you for the other events too."
Mayumi Saegusa walked up to Baifeng Uesugi and patted him on the shoulder, her meaning unclear.
"Senpai Mayumi, you really know how to put people to work."
Baifeng Uesugi spoke helplessly.
"Keep at it a little longer, Bai Feng. When the Nine Schools Competition is over, I'll be sure to reward you properly."
After saying that, Mayumi Saegusa discreetly gave Baifeng Uesugi a look.
"Really?"
Baifeng Uesugi immediately brightened and asked for confirmation.
"Of course. Why would I lie to you?" Mayumi Saegusa said, rolling her eyes.
"All right! I'm fired up!"
Baifeng Uesugi was like a fully fueled fighter jet, bursting with energy.
Third High School's conference room.
"So, Masaki, couldn't First High School's contestants have achieved those results through their individual skills?"
"Kitayama, who won the championship, was certainly outstanding, but I didn't get the sense that the other two were equally skilled," Masaki Ichijo said.
"Judging by their magic alone, they couldn't have taken second and third place."
"It doesn't look like First High School's new students are the only ones who are especially strong this year," George said.
"Yes, just as George said, our individual contestants aren't weak. In other words, there's a factor beyond the contestants' individual abilities," Masaki Ichijo said.
George looked at Masaki Ichijo and saw from his eyes that he was thinking the same thing.
"It's the technician, isn't it?" George said with a smile.
"I imagine the technician responsible for their women's Speed Shooting must be exceptionally good at tuning."
"Exactly. George, did you notice the champion's calculation device?" Masaki Ichijo asked.
"Yes, it was a general-purpose model," George said with a nod.
"How is that possible? It had an aiming assistance system installed," bystander A said.
"Yeah, I've never heard of a rifle-shaped general-purpose calculation device," bystander B said.
"I haven't seen a model like that in any manufacturer's catalog," bystander C said.
"True, there really aren't any for sale on the market. But a general-purpose model combined with an aiming assistance system has appeared right before our eyes. That's a fact," Masaki Ichijo said.
"And there's a precedent for it, too."
"What? Seriously?" bystander A asked in surprise.
"A new technology was presented in Dussel, Kabul, last summer," George said.
"Last summer? It's already usable?" bystander B asked in confusion.
"Yes. I only found out after this incident prompted me to look into it again," Masaki Ichijo said.
"But the prototype presented in Dussel back then shouldn't have been ready for practical use. It was sluggish and lacked precision. It really was just a combination of the two, a prototype of purely technical significance," George said.
"However, the calculation device Kitayama used this time was in no way inferior to a specialized model in either speed or accuracy, while retaining the general-purpose model's advantage of being able to handle Activation Sequences from different systems.
"And George, did you notice? We'd always been ahead of First High School in the Surfing Race, but after yesterday, we fell a little behind."
"Yes, I noticed too. It was because of that contestant Uesugi. His technique looked like a beginner's to me, but there seemed to be something unusual about his magic," George said.
"As far as I know, Uesugi is a technician himself, and I suspect he was the one who tuned Kitayama's magic formula for her," Masaki Ichijo said.
"What?" George was visibly shocked by Masaki Ichijo's words.
A first-year newcomer, and a Course 2 Student at that, was actually so capable. And from what he had observed, Baifeng Uesugi's magic was clearly not that of a Course 2 Student.
"You noticed it too, didn't you, George? With his abilities, how could he possibly be a Course 2 Student?"
From George's expression, Masaki Ichijo had more or less guessed what he was thinking.
"Uesugi is no ordinary person. His level is already far beyond that of a high school student. He's practically a monster," Masaki Ichijo said with feeling.
"Masaki, for you to describe him like that..." bystander A said.
"For a single technician to handle every event is, theoretically, impossible," bystander A said.
"But from now on, whenever we face a team he's on or one whose equipment he's tuned, we'll be in for a tough fight. We need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that we're two or three generations behind them," Masaki Ichijo said.
The competition venue.
Baifeng Uesugi had brought Tatsuya Shiba and Miyuki Shiba to find Azusa Nakajo and Honoka Mitsui.
"What is it, Bai Feng?" Azusa Nakajo asked.
"There are still two hours until Honoka's event."
"Though I could go back to the dorms first, opportunities like this are rare, so I wanted to see if there was anything I could help with."
Baifeng Uesugi spoke.
In truth, he was still a little worried about this event. After all, they were up against Third High School's contestants in the Surfing Race. Although Honoka Kokei was also very capable, she was facing Third High School on its home turf.
There was still some uncertainty.
"Really? Then please, you have to take a look at my CAD."
Hearing this, Honoka Mitsui spoke up excitedly from beside them.
"Honoka, you shouldn't do that. Saying something like that is very rude to Senpai Nakajo," Baifeng Uesugi said, somewhat helplessly.
It was rather inappropriate to say that in front of Azusa Nakajo. After all, Azusa Nakajo was the one who had tuned Honoka Mitsui's CAD for this event.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Only after Baifeng Uesugi pointed it out did Honoka Mitsui realize what she had said. She hurriedly bowed to Azusa Nakajo and apologized.
Seeing how slow Honoka Mitsui was to react, Baifeng Uesugi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Although she had been very rude, he thought this side of Honoka Mitsui was rather cute too.
"Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean any harm. Besides, I know how capable Uesugi is. He really is much better than me. If he tunes it for you again, I'm sure it'll be a great help in this event."
Azusa Nakajo spoke.
(P.S. Keep the "power-ups" coming, and the happiness won't stop! As a new author, I thank everyone for your support. I hope you'll click to request more updates and send some power-ups.
Give this new author a little more encouragement and motivation. Wishing everyone happiness and joy in advance!)