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

After lunch in the student council room, Tatsuya, summoned to the disciplinary committee headquarters, rises as the final bell rings. Academic classes are trivial to him.

"Hey, Tatsuya, straight to committee work?" Leo asks, barely hiding his amusement. As a second-course student, he never expected a disciplinary committee friend, so he'd encouraged Tatsuya's appointment.

"Club recruitment starts today," Tatsuya replies.

"What's that got to do with the committee?" Leo probes.

"Trouble always brews over grabbing freshmen," Tatsuya explains, relaying what he heard at lunch. During recruitment, CAD carry permits are issued.

"Sounds rough. Good luck, man! I'm joining the mountaineering club, by the way," Leo grins.

Tatsuya smirks at the fitting choice and parts with Leo. As he leaves the classroom, Erika calls out, likely waiting for him.

"Tatsuya-kun," she says.

"Erika? Alone? That's rare. What's up?" he asks.

"Decided on a club yet?"

"Nope."

Tatsuya prefers reading the school's accessible texts over club activities. Erika's face lights up at his answer. "Wanna check out clubs together? Mizuki's already picked one."

"Mizuki too? Leo's set as well," Tatsuya notes.

"Mountaineering for him, right? Too perfect," Erika laughs.

Tatsuya suppresses a chuckle—he'd thought the same. "What's Mizuki joining?"

"Art club. Fits her, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Tatsuya agrees, picturing Mizuki's delicate artwork, though he scolds himself for assuming after knowing her so briefly.

"Sorry, Erika, I've got committee patrol after this," he says.

"Ugh, seriously?" Erika deflates, her earlier excitement fading. "Guess I'll head home then…"

"Erika," Tatsuya calls.

"What?"

"I'll be touring the clubs anyway for patrol. Join me if you're fine with that."

"Really?!" Her face brightens instantly.

"Y-yeah," Tatsuya stammers, caught off guard by her shift. Her emotions swing hard, he notes mentally.

"I mean, you might find a club you like too, right?" Erika adds, covering her enthusiasm.

"I've got a committee meeting first. Meet up after?"

"Ugh, fine," she grumbles, but her beaming face betrays her joy. Tatsuya finds her transparency endearing.

"Thirty minutes, in front of the classroom," Erika chirps, practically skipping away.

Tatsuya, smiling wryly, heads to the committee headquarters.

At the same moment, Miyuki stands in the hallway with Honoka and Shizuku, awestruck by the recruitment frenzy visible through the window.

"Rumors didn't do it justice. This is insane," Honoka marvels.

"No one's getting home easily through that," Shizuku observes.

"Say, Miyuki, are you only doing student council?" Honoka asks.

"Yeah, I don't have time for clubs," Miyuki replies.

"That's too bad," Honoka says, disappointed.

"Sounds tough," Shizuku sympathizes.

Honoka, blushing, ventures, "What about Tatsuya? Is he joining a club?"

Miyuki's gaze sharpens briefly but softens before Honoka notices. Shizuku misses it too. "Tatsuya could excel in non-magic or magic clubs alike," Miyuki says. "He'd hold his own among first-course students."

"Definitely," Honoka agrees. "He wouldn't get crushed."

Their praise for Tatsuya delights Miyuki more than personal compliments. Though tinged with romantic interest, their recognition of him warms her heart.

"He's busy with the disciplinary committee starting today," Miyuki adds. "Probably won't join a club."

"Oh… really?" Honoka's voice dips.

"Kind of a shame," Shizuku adds.

Both clearly hoped to share a club with Tatsuya, given the many co-ed options. Their disappointment is palpable.

"Tatsuya's got a lot on his plate," Miyuki says. "Even without the committee, he wouldn't join."

"Yeah, he's busy," Honoka concedes.

"Makes sense for him," Shizuku adds.

Miyuki's certain both girls have feelings for Tatsuya. While she cherishes his recognition, the thought of someone taking him stings—a loneliness she's never felt before.

At the disciplinary committee headquarters, Tatsuya browses a favorite book site to kill time when a shout interrupts.

"Why are you here, Tatsuya Shiba?!" Morisaki demands.

"Shouting the moment you walk in? That's rude," Tatsuya retorts.

"What'd you say?!"

"Calm down and sit."

"You're the rude one! Listen up, I'm here on faculty recommendation—"

"Pipe down, newbie!" Mari cuts in, smacking Morisaki's head with a rolled-up booklet, just as she did to Tatsumi yesterday. She must've come from the student council room, unnoticed by Morisaki.

"Only committee members are here. You'd think that's obvious," Mari says. "Anyway, folks, it's that chaotic season again."

As Mari explains the recruitment period's issues, Morisaki glares at Tatsuya, his hostility clear.

"We're lucky to have replacements this year," Mari continues. "Faculty pick: Shun Morisaki, Class 1-A. Student council pick: Tatsuya Shiba, Class 1-E."

Introduced, Tatsuya and Morisaki stand. Morisaki's rigid with nerves, while Tatsuya moves with his usual ease. Surprisingly, most gazes toward Tatsuya are friendly, though not all, as Mari warned.

"Will they be useful?" a committee member asks, eyes on Tatsuya's emblem-less uniform, questioning a second-course student's value.

"I've seen Shiba's skills," Mari says. "Morisaki's decent too. If you're worried, you babysit him."

"No thanks," the member backs off, cowed by Mari's presence.

Tatsuya notes her authoritarian streak but keeps his face neutral.

"No questions? Move out! Shiba, Morisaki, stay," Mari orders.

"Understood!" the others reply, filing out. Tatsumi and Sawaki briefly chat with Tatsuya, to Morisaki's visible annoyance.