Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Chaos at the Arena
Tatsuya had underestimated what it meant to tour club activities with Erika. As a Public Morals Committee member, he figured his presence would keep things under control. But—
"Let go of me!" Erika's voice rang out.
In front of Tatsuya, Erika was surrounded by a mob. Non-magic clubs, eager to claim her as their mascot, were practically fighting over her.
"I might've brought this trouble on myself…" Tatsuya muttered.
He'd misjudged what it meant to team up with Erika. Unlike Miyuki's refined beauty, Erika's vibrant charm drew bold suitors willing to risk rejection. Why hadn't he realized non-magic clubs would see her as prime advertising material before agreeing to this? Tatsuya sighed.
"Hey! Where do you think you're touching?!" Erika snapped.
"This is getting bad," Tatsuya said.
Mere recruitment was outside his jurisdiction, but inappropriate touching crossed a line. Tatsuya could slip through the crowd untouched, but Erika couldn't. He activated the CAD on his left wrist and lightly kicked the ground.
Using a spell to disrupt the crowd's balance, Tatsuya wove through the disoriented mob, grabbed Erika's arm, and barked, "Run!"
Erika hesitated, processing the chaos, but nodded and bolted. They escaped to the shadow of a school building, where Tatsuya figured they were safe. He turned to her.
"Erika, you okay—"
His words caught as he saw her disheveled uniform—tie gone, shirt unbuttoned, chest exposed.
"Don't look!" Erika shouted.
Tatsuya instantly spun around, averting his gaze. Accident or not, he had no interest in ogling a classmate.
"Did you see?" Erika demanded.
"…"
"Did. You. See?" she pressed.
The sound of rustling fabric stopped, signaling she'd fixed her clothes. Tatsuya turned back to apologize, relieved to see her tie neatly knotted and buttons fastened.
"(Her loose uniform didn't help, but that's not the whole story…)" Tatsuya thought.
Seeing Erika properly dressed, he considered apologizing but noticed her near-tears expression. An apology might make things worse, so he stayed silent.
"Idiot!" Erika yelled, aiming a kick at his shin.
Her kick was likely a protest at his silence, but Tatsuya's shins, toughened like oak, made her wince in pain.
"(Is her foot okay? Better not say that either…)" Tatsuya thought.
Though he didn't see her face, he imagined her teary-eyed. Deciding to avoid further trouble, he followed her quietly.
Around the same time Erika was mobbed, two top students—Honoka and Shizuku—were also caught in a frenzy.
"It hurts…" Honoka whimpered.
"This isn't recruitment…" Shizuku muttered.
Hands reached from all directions, and the crowd pressed in with crushing force. As Shizuku said, this was beyond recruitment.
"Eek?!" Honoka yelped.
"What?" Shizuku asked.
Two figures pushed through the mob, hoisting Honoka and Shizuku effortlessly and carrying them off.
"These are the ones, right?" one asked.
"Yeah, no doubt. Second and third in this year's practical entrance exam," the other confirmed.
Shizuku wondered how they knew their exam rankings, which weren't public. Honoka, overwhelmed, couldn't think that far.
"Stop, you delinquents!" a voice shouted.
"Oh, it's Mari!" one of the abductors laughed.
"What are you graduates doing here?!" Mari demanded.
The culprits, Manya and Kazama—school alumnae with ties to Mari—had kidnapped Honoka and Shizuku. Using magic, they escaped in a dramatic chase, successfully recruiting the girls to the SS Board Biathlon Club before leaving the task to their juniors to avoid Mari's wrath.
With Erika's mood improved, Tatsuya accompanied her to the Second Gymnasium, dubbed the "Arena," at her insistence. Surprisingly, he found it interesting.
"Huh, a kendo club at a magic high school?" Erika remarked.
"Every school has a kendo club," Tatsuya replied casually.
Erika stared at him, surprised. Tatsuya realized his assumption was off—his sense of "normal" didn't align with the world's.
"At a magic high school, swordsmanship is more common than kendo, so a kendo club is rare," Erika explained.
"Really? I thought kendo and swordsmanship were the same," Tatsuya said.
"That's surprising… I thought you'd be skilled in weapons too," Erika said, then gasped. "Oh, I get it!"
Her loud realization drew sharp glances from nearby students.
"You think combining magic with weapon techniques is normal, right?" Erika said. "And supplementing physical skills with fighting spirit or prana?"
"Isn't it?" Tatsuya replied. "Muscles aren't the only thing moving your body."
"It's normal for you, but not for others," Erika said.
"I see… I'm the odd one out," Tatsuya said. "Speaking of, maybe you should notice your own oddity."
"My oddity? …Oh!" Erika realized she'd been shouting, blushing as she shrank under the crowd's stares. Tatsuya quietly looked down, avoiding further comment.
His gaze fell on a female regular scoring a clean point in a kendo match. Impressed, he let out a sigh of admiration. But Erika seemed dissatisfied, prompting him to ask, "What's wrong?"
"It's so scripted. That point was boring," Erika said. "This isn't practice—it's choreography."
"Even if it's a serious match, it's bound to be like that," Tatsuya said.
"Why?" Erika asked.
"A true serious match is a fight to the death. They can't show that at school," he explained.
"…You're so mature," Erika said.
"It's just a difference in perspective," Tatsuya replied.
He'd never thought of himself as mature—or immature. But he'd certainly never mistaken himself for an adult.
As the girl finished her match and removed her mask, the crowd erupted in excited murmurs.
"Isn't that Sayaka Mibu, runner-up at the National Women's Kendo Tournament two years ago? The press called her the 'Kendo Princess'!" someone said.
"Runner-up, huh?" Tatsuya noted.
"Well, the champion's looks were…" another voice trailed off.
"Makes sense," Tatsuya said, nodding.
Looks still trumped skill in this era, he thought, but his musings were cut short. A male student stormed into the kendo club's practice.
"This looks fun! Let's get closer!" Erika said, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the action.
"Erika, wait!" Tatsuya called, stifling a sigh.