The Irregular at Magic High School: Everyone Loves My Brother?!

Morisaki, enraged, aimed his CAD at Tatsuya. Leo lunged, Erika swung her baton, but Tatsuya was faster, kicking Morisaki's hand, dislodging the CAD.

"Too aggressive, and you'll be disliked," Tatsuya said, addressing all Class 1 students, implying their belligerence would alienate Miyuki. Most understood, but some persisted, shifting to verbal attacks.

A Class 1 girl tried to intervene, but her magic fizzled before activation—someone had disrupted her startup sequence. Tatsuya and Miyuki turned to the voice.

"Stop! Attacking outside self-defense is a crime, not just a rule violation!" It was Student Council President Saegusa Mayumi, beside an unfamiliar girl.

"Disciplinary Committee Chair Watanabe Mari. You're from 1-A and 1-E. Come with us for questioning," Mari ordered.

Silenced by their authority, the students complied, especially the girl whose magic failed, visibly shaken.

"Sorry, it was a prank gone too far," Tatsuya said.

"A prank?" Mari raised an eyebrow.

"Morisaki's Quick Draw is famous. I wanted to see it for study, but I countered when targeted," Tatsuya explained.

Morisaki gaped, unaware of his own reputation.

"And the girl's aggressive spell?" Mari pressed.

Tatsuya glanced at Mari's arm, then back. "Just a flash spell, low power, no blinding risk. Meant to calm the crowd by drawing attention."

"Hmm," Mari said, intrigued. Reading startup sequences was rare, even for casters, yet Tatsuya seemed to.

"You've got sharp eyes," Mari noted.

"I'm weak at practicals but good at analysis," Tatsuya replied, dismissing suspicions about his unique vision.

"Enough, Mari," Mayumi interjected, stepping close to Tatsuya—perhaps too close.

"Tatsuya-kun, it was just observation, right?" she asked, switching to his first name.

"Y-yeah," Tatsuya stammered, caught off-guard by the familiarity.

"If the president says so, I'll let it slide. Be careful," Mari said, leaving with Mayumi. Both groups bowed silently, but Tatsuya caught Mari glancing back.

"Your name?" she asked.

"Shiba Tatsuya, 1-E."

"I'll remember that."

After they left, Morisaki grumbled, but Tatsuya ignored him. The flash spell girl blocked his path.

"Something?" Tatsuya asked.

"I-I'm Mitsui Honoka! Thank you for helping!" she blurted, blushing.

"Just told the truth," Tatsuya said.

"But without you, I… I'd…" Honoka faltered.

Another girl spoke. "Thanks for saving Honoka. Without you, she'd have faced the Disciplinary Chair's wrath. I'm grateful too."

"No big deal. And you are…?" Tatsuya asked.

"Shizuku. Kitayama Shizuku."

"No 'onii-san.' We're same-year students," Tatsuya said.

"Then what should I call you?" Honoka asked eagerly.

Shizuku, expressionless, seemed just as expectant.

"Tatsuya's fine. Surnames get confusing with Miyuki," he said.

"Okay, Tatsuya-san!" Honoka chirped.

"Thanks, Tatsuya-san," Shizuku added.

"No honorifics. We're peers," Tatsuya insisted.

"Honorifics suit you, Tatsuya-san," Honoka said.

"I'll skip them," Shizuku said casually.

Tatsuya gave a wry smile, heading home, but Honoka called, "Can we walk to the station together?"

This led to a large group heading out. Erika and Mizuki demanded first-name privileges, pressuring Tatsuya to allow it in exchange for calling them by name. Leo asked why Honoka's spell failed, so Tatsuya explained, unaware of Honoka and Shizuku's adoring gazes—Miyuki noticed, though Tatsuya pretended not to, avoiding her reaction to prevent complications.

The next day, Tatsuya and Miyuki met Erika, Mizuki, and Leo at the station, nearing the school gate when a voice called.

"Tat-su-ya-kun!" Mayumi's overly familiar tone rang out.

"She's awfully friendly," Miyuki noted.

"Too much, too fast," Tatsuya muttered, puzzled by Mayumi's intent. It didn't seem coercive, but her motive was unclear.

She invited them for lunch in the student council room. Tatsuya, wondering why he was included, spent morning classes pondering Mayumi's goal.

(No reason for Saegusa's heiress to care about me. If it's Miyuki, why invite me? Something from yesterday?)

No answers came. At lunch, Miyuki was excited, unlike Tatsuya's unease.

"Lunch in the council room sounds fun, Onii-sama!"

"Yeah…" Tatsuya replied.

Miyuki likely felt constrained by Class 1 students yesterday. They reached the council room.

"Shiba Miyuki, 1-A, and Shiba Tatsuya, 1-E," Miyuki announced.

"Enter," a voice replied.

The door unlocked. Tatsuya opened it cautiously—a habit. Inside were the council officers, minus the vice president, and Mari. Tatsuya caught Mayumi and Mari's fleeting, amused smiles.

Miyuki entered the student council room with a refined bow and greeting, freezing everyone except Tatsuya.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"N-no, nothing! Please, sit," Mayumi replied, snapping out of it and offering seats.

Usually, Miyuki would insist Tatsuya take the head seat, but today, aware she was the focus, she sat there quietly.

"I'll introduce everyone," Mayumi said. "Before Miyuki is Ichihara Suzune, our treasurer. Before Tatsuya is Watanabe Mari, Disciplinary Committee Chair, not a council member but always here. And next to her is our secretary, Nakajou Azusa."

She called Suzune "Rin-chan" and Azusa "A-chan."

"Only the president calls me Rin-chan," Suzune said.

"I have a position to uphold! No 'A-chan' in front of underclassmen!" Azusa protested.

Tatsuya thought "A-chan" suited Azusa but kept it to himself.

"A-chan, operate the dining server," Mayumi teased.

Defeated, Azusa shuffled to the machine, looking smaller. Six people were present, but only five meals emerged. Miyuki noticed Mari's bento and held back her comment.

"Sawara today," Mayumi noted.

"You like fish, President?" Miyuki asked.

"Love it. Why?" Mayumi replied.

"No reason," Miyuki said, noting Mayumi's childlike excitement.

Tatsuya stayed silent, thinking Mayumi resembled a kid with her favorite food.

"Your bento, Watanabe-senpai—is it homemade?" Miyuki asked, seeing its quality.

"Yes. Surprising?" Mari replied, not maliciously but teasingly.

Miyuki hesitated, but Tatsuya answered swiftly. "Not really. You can tell someone cooks by their hands."

Mari, flustered by his gaze, hid her hands. "R-right…"

Miyuki shot Tatsuya a jealous glance for staring too long, though grateful for his help. To shift focus, she said, "Onii-sama, should we bring bentos tomorrow?"

"Your bentos are tempting, but finding a place to eat…" Tatsuya replied.

"Right…" Miyuki sighed, frustrated by Class 1 students' interference and Tatsuya avoiding her to dodge their glares.

"Your talk sounds more like lovers than siblings," Suzune remarked, her tone slightly displeased, noticed only by Tatsuya.

"If we weren't related, I might've considered her as a girlfriend," Tatsuya said casually.

The room froze—Mayumi, Mari, Miyuki, Azusa, even Suzune blushed. Tatsuya continued, unfazed, "Just kidding."

"""What!?""" they exclaimed.

"Why're you shocked, Miyuki?" Tatsuya asked.

"N-nothing!" she stammered.

"By the way, Ichihara-senpai," Tatsuya said, "you seem to struggle with fish. Trouble deboning?"

"Rin-chan has a weakness!" Mayumi teased.

"Didn't know that," Mari added.

Tatsuya, assuming it was common knowledge, was surprised they didn't know. "It's just a bit tricky," Suzune said. "No issue."

"Excuse me," Tatsuya said, standing and moving behind her.

Miyuki looked briefly annoyed but smiled again.

"What are you…" Suzune started.

Tatsuya took her chopsticks, deboning the fish. "This should help."

His mother struggled similarly, so he'd done this before.

"Thank you," Suzune said loudly, denying his谦逊. "It's not meddling."

Mayumi and Miyuki briefly scowled, unnoticed by others.

"You're kind," Mari said sincerely, wondering if her boyfriend would do the same.

"Maybe. My parents did this too," Tatsuya replied.

As lunch ended, Tatsuya asked, "President, why were we called?"

Miyuki admired his tactful directness, though it drew female attention, her one gripe.

"We want Shiba Miyuki-san to join the student council," Mayumi said. Top entrants traditionally join, she explained.

Miyuki hesitated. "You know my brother's entrance scores. If you want talent, can't he join too?"

Suzune shook her head—rules barred Class 2 students from council roles. Her regretful expression was noted by Mayumi, Mari, and Tatsuya.

"I see…" Miyuki said, not fully convinced but relenting.

"Wait," Mari interjected. "The Disciplinary Committee's council-appointed slot is open."

"It's still under review!" Mayumi said, trembling with realization.

"No Class 1 restriction for Disciplinary Committee, right?" Mari pressed.

"Mari…" Mayumi muttered, a bad feeling creeping over Tatsuya.

"Perfect! We appoint Shiba Tatsuya-kun to the Disciplinary Committee!" Mayumi declared.

"Onii-sama!" Miyuki beamed.

"Don't look at me like it's settled…" Tatsuya sighed.

He argued his practical weakness made him unfit to discipline Class 1 students, but Mari, aware of his unique skills from yesterday, insisted his magic analysis was valuable.

"Come back after school," Mayumi said.

"Fine…" Tatsuya agreed reluctantly.