"Why does it feel like things have gotten so much more boring since the Nine Schools Competition ended?"
Inside the Student Council room, Chiba Yeyou listlessly skewered a piece of fried chicken with a fork; even his favorite fried chicken couldn't pique his interest.
" The Thesis Competition is coming up soon, which is quite an interesting event."
Mayumi Saegusa reached out and snatched the fork from Chiba Yeyou's hand.
"Please, leave this piece of fried chicken alone!"
"Come on, open your mouth, ah~"
Mayumi Saegusa broke off a piece of chicken, picked it up with a fork, and held it to Chiba Yeyou's mouth, feeding it directly.
"Awoo!"
"The fried chicken that my senior skewered tastes better!"
"Hey, there are still so many people here, can you two please keep an eye on things?"
"It's been so long since the Nine Schools Competition, aren't you two tired of each other?"
Mari Watanabe looked like she'd had a full meal, and watched the couple showing off their affection with a pained expression.
Uh, I think I ate too much.
Ever since the relationship between Chiba Yeyou and Mayumi Saegusa was revealed during the Nine Schools Competition, the two have become increasingly unrestrained.
"Right now, it seems like only those two can rival them, right?"
Erika Chiba also looked utterly dejected, pointing her index finger at the Shiba siblings beside her. That's right, Miyuki Shiba was imitating them.
" Miyuki, I can actually do this myself."
Tatsuya Shiba felt a little awkward under his gaze and said to Miyuki Shiba.
"Isn't it only natural for a sister to feed her brother when he's still alive?"
Miyuki Shiba looked at her older brother with deep affection.
"Eh~"
"Alright, alright, stop with the supernatural powers already. Even I, a young man deeply in love, find this cheesy."
"Fine, we won't provoke you anymore!"
Chiba Yeyou got goosebumps watching the two of them.
"Seriously, you two really don't seem to be acting."
Suzune Ichihara delivered a direct and devastating blow.
Miyuki Shiba felt a little embarrassed, her face turning slightly red.
"By the way, speaking of Thesis Competition, let me tell you a secret!"
"Actually, Tatsuya Shiba invited to become his deputy this time."
Mari Watanabe revealed a secret that wasn't exactly a secret.
"Oh?"
Really?
"Um."
Tatsuya Shiba nodded.
"Actually, I was invited by Ichihara- senpai."
Tatsuya Shiba offered an explanation.
Upon hearing Tatsuya Shiba's words, everyone turned their attention to Suzune Ichihara.
"That's right."
The Thesis Competition had one lead writer and two assistants; one of them was unable to participate due to illness.
"My thesis topic is the technical feasibility of a gravity-controlled, Magic Sequence thermonuclear fusion reactor, which happens to be the same as Tatsuya's research direction. With only three weeks left, I can't think of a better choice than him."
Suzune Ichihara explained.
"What exactly is the Thesis Competition about?"
"It's just about publishing a paper?"
"Erika Chiba asked curiously."
" The Thesis Competition is a place for high school students to publish their research findings in magic or magical engineering. Published papers may be included in the Magic Encyclopedia. After all, not everyone dislikes publishing their research findings like Chiba Yeyou; many people are willing to publish and discuss them."
"You can introduce me if you want, but why mention me?"
That's right, during the Nine Schools Competition, Chiba Yeyou rejected all the magicians who came to the Magic University to enroll in magic.
Are you kidding me? Chiba Yeyou's magic isn't something that can be easily copied!
Of course, Suzune Ichihara was just getting a little revenge on Chiba Yeyou, since he had refused her invitation!
That's right, Chiba Yeyou has also done some research on this thing, but his research isn't in-depth, so he declined Suzune Ichihara's invitation.
"Of course, if the published results can be realized and their practical application value is proven, they may be used by universities or companies. Naturally, the author will receive some compensation."
The competition starts on the last Sunday of October each year.
The events will alternate between Kyoto and Yokohama.
This year's venue is the Yokohama International Conference Center.
Suzune Ichihara gave a brief introduction, and that was all; after all, they weren't participating in the Thesis Competition.
"Is it one of the three major challenges of gravity magic?"
"A good topic."
Chiba Yeyou nodded.
"I didn't expect that Tatsuya had some knowledge in this area!"
Azusa Nakajo had been silent until now, asked with some surprise.
"Yes, I found out by chance."
Suzune Ichihara spoke, she glanced at Chiba Yeyou.
Chiba Yeyou didn't mind. He was happy to help with technical research and development, but as for papers, forget it. It was more meaningful to get hands-on experience.
After all, practice makes perfect!
Miya, Chiba Yeyou was conducting his research alone when a momentary light suddenly appeared in the dimly lit room.
"Phew~"
"Did it fail again?"
How many times has this happened?
Chiba Yeyou took out her terminal and looked at the experiment log.
"Did you eat it once?"
The problem has been resolved.
Looking at the data, Chiba Yeyou crossed out a line of questions.
"Depend on!"
"How come there are ten more?!"
"Are you keeping them in the womb to breed?"
"So, solving one problem leads to a whole host of others?"
Chiba Yeyou scratched her hair in frustration.
He sighed and wrote the problem down again.
"Ding-a-ling~"
" Tiffany, is there something you need from me?"
Chiba Yeyou looked at Tiffany in the picture with some confusion.
I do need your help with something.
"Take a look at this."
Tiffany sent over a document detailing the experiments in the D4 Test Area.
The image shows a magician standing in a magical interference field, calmly conducting experiments using various spells.
"Are you conducting an anti-anti-magic experiment?"
Although the content was simple, Chiba Yeyou immediately understood what they were doing.
"That's right."
"We've already used Anti-Magic Stone to disrupt spellcasting and conducted many experiments. Just yesterday, the project was successfully completed for the first time, but it's still undergoing repeated testing."
"Just now, this technology was announced to be mature. I want you to try this Magic Sequence to see if it can resist your magic."
Tiffany explained.
"Don't even think about it, it's impossible."
"My magic ' Quantum Vacuum ' and the Anti-Magic Stone are completely different things; that Magic Sequence has no effect on me at all."
Chiba Yeyou shook her head and gave her answer decisively.
In fact, no experiment was even needed; Chiba Yeyou already knew the result.
"If you say that, wouldn't other mages be completely at your mercy?"
Tiffany was starting to get a little flustered.
How is that possible?
"That's very limiting, isn't it!"