Magic.
Something out of fairy tales.
It had burst into reality with the mysterious disappearance of that mysterious ancient nation in the East.
Thus, the world's greatest unsolved mystery was born.
People raced to investigate, hoping to uncover the truth behind it.
The earliest recorded discovery of magic involved a clash between a group of fanatical believers and the police. Some people with unusual abilities emerged during the incident, and people named them espers.
The emergence of these espers followed no fixed pattern. No one knew who would become an esper, and some people, drawing on utterly chaotic data, concluded that espers arose purely through innate genetic mutations. Their supernatural powers were therefore deemed special abilities that could never become widespread.
Those conclusions, however, were all mistaken. As nations in the East and West continued researching supernatural powers, a vast group emerged-magicians.
Supernatural powers could be reproduced and controlled through magic. Yet while supernatural powers and magic shared common ground, they were also very different, and whether they could become widespread became the sole topic of discussion.
Then, in the early twenty-first century, all of this was invented as a functioning scientific system.
When science and magic intertwined, once-unattainable supernatural powers began to be activated through a framework constructed from magic, becoming an entirely new system of magic.
Magic became a body of knowledge and theory that could be widely disseminated.
Of course, none of this escaped the constraints of aptitude and talent.
People who mastered magical techniques through scientific methods became a new kind of practitioner-magic technicians.
Those who mastered magic through nonscientific methods were known as ancient magicians.
Because the new magic technicians and ancient magicians each had their strengths and weaknesses, and both used supernatural powers, they were collectively called magicians.
Around 2030, Earth entered an ice age, and food shortages worsened further.
Conflicts over resources grew increasingly frequent.
In 2045, the twenty-year-long Third World War broke out, and the world's population plummeted to three billion.
The reason this conflict did not escalate into nuclear war was that the world's magicians united.
Then, toward the end of the twenty-first century, with the international situation still unstable, nations competed to train magicians. Thus, a new weapon of war emerged-magicians.
First National Magic University Affiliated High School
Today was the day the incoming magic students enrolled.
New students continued gathering at the venue where the entrance ceremony would begin.
[The entrance ceremony rehearsal will begin shortly. All relevant personnel, please assemble at the venue immediately...]
"I can't accept this!"
"You're still hung up on that?"
A boy and a girl in brand-new uniforms were arguing about something.
"Why are you a reserve student, Brother?!"
"Didn't you get the highest score on the entrance exam?!"
"It shouldn't have been me. It should have been you..."
The girl, wearing a green uniform with a white gauze skirt trailing beneath it, earnestly voiced her dissatisfaction to her older brother.
Of course, what dissatisfied her even more was his utter indifference toward the matter.
Her older brother should have been the most dazzling of them all, yet she had taken that glory from him.
The girl's gaze fell on the blank spaces on her brother's sleeves, something she had been unable to let go of.
"Miyuki, this school places more emphasis on magic activation speed and practical skills than on the written exam."
"I may be a reserve, but at least I scraped through."
Compared with the agitated Miyuki, her brother sounded considerably calmer.
"How can you say something so defeatist?!"
Miyuki leaned forward slightly in agitation, as though she had suffered some injustice.
"No one can surpass you in academics or martial arts, Brother. And actually, even in magic..."
"Miyuki!"
Her brother suddenly raised his voice, cutting off Miyuki's insistence.
"Talking about it won't change anything. You know that too, don't you?"
Looking at the eight-petaled emblems on his younger sister's sleeves and chest, he patted Miyuki's head and smiled from the heart at how outstanding she was.
"Ugh!"
"Why is taking a little nap so hard? First the announcement, then an argument downstairs."
On the rooftop of a building beside the ceremony venue, a boy with regular features and a typically East Asian face sighed.
"What time is it?"
The boy abruptly sat up, his long blue hair drifting gently in the breeze. Viewed from the front, he looked very much like a gentleman from the ancient East.
"There's still so much time left!"
"Nope, I'm going back to sleep!"
Then, like a willow branch blown over by the wind, he lay down in the direction it was blowing.
"Hmm?"
As though something had pricked him, the boy who had just lain down suddenly sat up again on reflex and looked toward the harmonious pair in front of the auditorium, who resembled a couple.
He had inadvertently caught sight of them as he lay down, prompting him to sit up for another look.
Judging by the "qi" they gave off, they were clearly related by blood, and that connection was very strong.
Although he had not listened to their conversation earlier, he could still tell that they were older brother and younger sister.
Sibling lovers!
Interesting, interesting. Whatever anyone else says about this forbidden love, I, Chiba Yeyou, have to show you some support!
Just for daring to do what other siblings wouldn't, you have my moral support!
You can do it!
Behind Chiba Yeyou, on the path between the two buildings, a girl walking along caught sight of him on the rooftop and rubbed her eyes in surprise.
"Hey!"
"You on the roof, come down right now! It's too dangerous!"
The girl shouted anxiously.
This building's roof had been designed like the auditorium's, in the shape of an inverted V. Anyone up there risked falling off.
"Don't worry. This hardly counts as dangerous for me!"
Chiba Yeyou turned around and waved a hand, speaking nonchalantly.
Not only was he unconcerned, he even lay down on his side and began admiring the girl's beautiful face, no longer paying attention to the forbidden romance.
Her pretty face, combined with her petite yet shapely figure, created a distinctive allure capable of captivating even those who were not high school students.
Mm... mm... not bad, not bad!
With this here!
Why bother watching some forbidden romance?!
I'm still single myself!
"Come down right now!"
The petite girl's voice grew a little sterner, as though she was angry.
"All right, all right. I'll come down."
Chiba Yeyou sat up helplessly.
I'll do you this favor because you're pretty!
"It really isn't dangerous. I... oh, crap!"
Too busy looking at the pretty girl to watch his footing, Chiba Yeyou fell straight off.
"Look out!"
The girl raised her right hand, and a "bracelet" around her right wrist glowed white.
CAD!
Chiba Yeyou was just about to use magic when he noticed that the girl below had already deployed a magic activation sequence. He stopped and let her catch him in her arms.
CAD: a device that simplified the procedure for activating magic, greatly increasing activation speed. CADs came not only in bracelet form but in all sorts of unusual shapes, and were divided into specialized and general-purpose models.
The CADs the Ten Master Clans used to activate magic were almost all specialized models.
Among these, the specialized CADs used for strategic magic were particularly distinctive.
This school had quite strict regulations concerning CAD use.
For this girl to wear a CAD on campus and use it without any reservations, she clearly wasn't just anyone!
"Um, even if you're captivated by me, shouldn't you get off me now, junior?"
The girl's bashful blush had nearly spread down to her neck.
Not only did this guy refuse to leave her arms, he kept staring at her face without looking away. She had never experienced anything like this.
"Ah, right!"
Chiba Yeyou hurriedly got off her.
"I'm very sorry. I got so lost in thought that I spaced out. Also, thank you for saving me, and please accept my apology!"
Chiba Yeyou bent slightly at the waist in an apologetic bow.
"It's fine, but you mustn't do anything this dangerous again!"
The girl gave a playful smile and winked at Chiba Yeyou.
"Ahahaha..."
Chiba Yeyou laughed awkwardly.
Sorry, I'd still do it again!