In the magic practice room stood a girl with a numb expression, while the boy opposite her stared at her like a creep, looking ready to pounce.
In reality, the boy opposite her was merely rattling off a whole slew of new theories, with no regard whatsoever for the girl's beautiful appearance.
Miyuki Shiba had found it interesting at first, but gradually she could no longer follow him, and finally she went numb.
Ten minutes! Ten whole minutes!
Do you know what I went through these past ten minutes?!
"Um, Chiba Yeyou?"
Miyuki Shiba cautiously tried to interrupt his casting.
Miyuki Shiba actually admired Chiba Yeyou's leaps of thought. She had gained something from hearing his new theories, and she was somewhat grateful that he shared these new concepts with her without hesitation, but!
She truly could not understand why Chiba Yeyou became like this whenever he encountered something new.
He looked exactly like a mad scientist from the last century. Wasn't the change a little too drastic?
Even the art style had changed!
"Uh, ahem!"
"Um, I got a little excited. Sorry!"
Chiba Yeyou suddenly came back to his senses. Thinking of how excited he had been just now, he figured he had probably frightened her.
"Um, could you take your hands off my shoulders?"
The girl lowered her head, her face red, and spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Oh!"
"I forgot!"
Chiba Yeyou hurriedly released her shoulders.
"The magic you were testing just now was 'Niflheim,' right?"
Chiba Yeyou changed the subject.
"Yes, that's right. Let's go look at the data."
Only after Chiba Yeyou's reminder did Miyuki Shiba remember that she had not checked the data yet.
The two walked up to the screen and examined the various data analyses for Niflheim.
"Whoa!"
"Not bad!"
"This is almost at 'Extreme Low Temperature'!"
Chiba Yeyou looked at the data in surprise.
He knew that Niflheim ranked quite highly even among Class A spells as a large-area destructive spell, but he had not expected Miyuki Shiba to be able to cast it to this degree.
"Extreme Low Temperature" was not magic, but a temperature state first proposed by Xili Xiya of France. It was also the greatest temperature threshold on record within the range psions could influence. Specifically, it referred to a temperature at which living organisms could no longer sense the cold. This did not mean that the temperature had no effect on them, but rather that it inflicted severe frostbite while their brains could not relay information about that frostbite. The temperature at that point was "Extreme Low Temperature."
This state was extremely difficult to achieve. It required magical interference with things to reach an utterly outrageous level, with rapid changes in the psions' effect on air temperature. The demands on the magician were also extremely stringent; otherwise, reaching this level was simply impossible.
"Yes, but it's still a little short. And I'm still not proficient at controlling and adjusting the temperature or the spell's coverage. I can't master them completely."
Miyuki Shiba looked at the data before her and spoke calmly.
She had some understanding of her own shortcomings, and the problems she mentioned were difficulties she had been working hard to overcome all along. Although Miyuki Shiba felt she was already diligent enough, this truly was not something effort alone could solve. For the first time, she had the illusion that her much-praised magical talent had stopped working.
Niflheim could be considered relatively easy to cast among Class A spells, but it was the hardest Class A spell to master completely.
Gaining proficiency in controlling and adjusting temperature and managing the spell's coverage involved fine adjustments to the details, requiring meticulous research through extensive magical practice. It truly was not a goal that could be achieved overnight.
"Say, what made you decide to come with me?"
"Those two fangirls of yours... uh, they seem to be your brother's fangirls."
Chiba Yeyou naturally meant Honoka Mitsui and Shizuku Kitayama.
"Fangirls... little man-stealing cats... wicked women..."
At the mention of her brother's fangirls, Miyuki Shiba's smiling face instantly darkened as though it might drip water. She kept muttering, and even the psions around her began to run wild.
"Hey, your brother isn't here. Wait until you get home to teach him a lesson!"
Chiba Yeyou helplessly patted Miyuki Shiba on the shoulder to calm her down.
"You're right. I'll teach him a lesson when I get home."
Miyuki Shiba came back to her senses and nodded calmly, agreeing with Chiba Yeyou.
"..."
Chiba Yeyou was speechless. She really was his own little sister!
"Honoka Mitsui and Shizuku Kitayama actually didn't invite you along?"
Chiba Yeyou asked curiously.
From what Chiba Yeyou knew of Miyuki Shiba's personality, she had a serious brother complex. Apart from her brother, she rarely-no, practically never-took the initiative to approach other men. Chiba Yeyou was not about to think that just because he had transmigrated, every beautiful girl with status would throw herself at him!
Chiba Yeyou was more inclined to believe that Miyuki Shiba wanted something from him, or that he could help her in some way.
"The two of them did come to me earlier, but I turned them down."
Miyuki Shiba glanced at Chiba Yeyou.
"Then what made you come to me?"
Chiba Yeyou had been walking alone at the very back earlier, and Miyuki Shiba had only come over afterward.
"I've only met them once. How could they compare to you?"
A faint smile appeared on the girl's face.
"Why don't I believe that?"
"The two of us have only met... five, six, seven, eight times. Uh, we really have met quite a lot."
Chiba Yeyou counted it up in his head. The two of them really did see each other often. Aside from Tatsuya Shiba, Miyuki Shiba was essentially always with him. Even if they only exchanged a couple of words occasionally, it still added up to quite a bit. At the very least, they could indeed be called familiar with each other on the surface.
"See? Right?"
The smile on Miyuki Shiba's face grew.
"All right!"
Chiba Yeyou said helplessly.
He also knew that although the two of them were familiar with each other, they had not reached the point where they could ask or say absolutely anything. He understood the principle of not speaking too deeply with a casual acquaintance.
"Look, I always struggle to get these three aspects right. Do you have any good suggestions?"
Miyuki Shiba pointed at the data on the screen and asked Chiba Yeyou how she could make up for her shortcomings.
"Hmm, this takes more practice. Isn't there some sort of simulation facility?"
Chiba Yeyou folded his arms and asked curiously.
When Miyuki Shiba heard that Chiba Yeyou had not rejected her outright, her eyes instantly lit up.
He didn't say he couldn't do it, so that means he has a way!
"Do you think simulating Class A magic is that simple?"
"Apart from the magician's own psion reserves, their familiarity with the magic, the extent of the magic's interference with things, the temperature, the range, and so on are all unknown variables. Even Class B magic isn't that easy to simulate, let alone the fact that magicians are constantly improving. Plenty of things can't be accomplished through simulation alone. At least, not yet."
Miyuki Shiba explained.
"It can't be done?"
Chiba Yeyou did not quite understand. These things were indeed major factors, but wouldn't it be enough if they could be read?
Shouldn't Tatsuya Shiba be pretty good at that?
"Because there's no way to read and process enormous amounts of data simultaneously."
Seeming to see Chiba Yeyou's confusion, Miyuki Shiba stated it outright.
"I see."
Chiba Yeyou nodded.
"Then, could you tell me your method?"
Miyuki Shiba looked at Chiba Yeyou with some anticipation.
"Come on, let's go onto that circular platform. Get ready to cast your magic, and I'll help you get a feel for it."
With that, Chiba Yeyou took the lead and walked onto the circular platform.
Seeing this, Miyuki Shiba went up as well, then began activating her CAD. Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder, almost interrupting her.
"Focus!"
Chiba Yeyou hurriedly reminded her.
Hearing him, Miyuki Shiba immediately concentrated on casting her magic.
"Slow down the activation sequence!"
Chiba Yeyou spoke again.
Miyuki Shiba visibly froze for a moment, then did as he said.
She did not understand the point of doing this. Modern magicians, apart from those from ancient magic families, basically all pursued activation speed. The faster they cast their magic, the better they could seize the initiative and strike first.
After all, when two magicians fought, whoever could cast first would definitely have the advantage.
"Deploy Quantum Domain!"
"Activate magic: 'Situational Awareness'!"
"Activate magic: 'State Link'!"
Chiba Yeyou linked his view of the microscopic world of psions and magic to Miyuki Shiba's vision.
"This!"
Miyuki Shiba was stunned!
In her sight, the entire world underwent a dramatic change. Multicolored psions, spirits, the activation sequence of the spell being cast-all became clearly visible. It was as though everything invisible to the naked eye had been placed before her. The sheer shock of it made Miyuki Shiba feel, for a moment, as though she were dreaming.
This was a colorful world she had never seen before-or rather, perhaps no one could see such a dreamlike world. She had never imagined what the microscopic world of psions looked like.
Even more terrifyingly, Miyuki Shiba could not only see the manifestations of the microscopic world, but also the constantly changing data within it, including the activation sequence she was currently casting.
"Phew!"
Miyuki Shiba let out a soft breath and began concentrating on the magic she was activating.
As Miyuki Shiba continually changed the amount of psions she poured into the magic, her activation method, and its intensity, Niflheim kept changing.
"Shrink your Niflheim down to one square meter!"
"Otherwise, your body's psion reserves won't allow you to practice repeatedly!"
"And it takes far too much energy, too."
"Start small. Control the range first."
Looking at the enormous spell in the testing area, Chiba Yeyou could not help speaking up to remind her.
"Yes."
Miyuki Shiba nodded and controlled the magic, shrinking its range.
The enormous spell in the testing area began to contract until it enveloped only a single magic-testing pillar.
"Maintain this range and start adjusting Niflheim's low temperature!"
Seeing Niflheim's range begin to stabilize, Chiba Yeyou prompted her again.
"All right!"