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

While the disciplinary committee scrambled with freshman recruitment, a relaxed air filled the student council room.

"Rin-chan, here's the memory stick with today's minutes. Check it later," Mayumi said.

"Understood," Rin replied.

"Phew! That's today's work done. Great job, Rin-chan, Miyuki-san!" Mayumi chirped.

"Great job," Rin and Miyuki echoed.

During this season, the student council's workload was light, so heading home after finishing was no issue.

"Where's A-chan?" Mayumi asked.

"Nakajou-san already left. Did you need her for something?" Miyuki replied.

"Nah, mediating overzealous recruitment is too much for A-chan. Her magic's one thing, but her personality…" Mayumi trailed off.

Azusa's rare skill, Azusa Yumi, could stop aggressive recruiters, but everyone in the council agreed her personality made follow-up persuasion impossible.

"We got some delicious cake, but A-chan's out of luck. Let's dig in!" Mayumi said.

"I'll brew the tea," Miyuki offered.

As Miyuki stood, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," Mayumi called.

"Excuse me," a voice replied.

Mayumi unlocked the door with voice recognition, and Miyuki keenly noticed her senior's face light up at the sight of the entering junior.

"Onii-sama, great work!" Miyuki rushed to Tatsuya, creating an atmosphere that left no room for others.

"Thanks, Miyuki. You too," Tatsuya said.

Unfazed by her approach, he gently ruffled her hair. Miyuki's dreamy expression made Tatsuya look slightly troubled.

"Ichihara-senpai, today's disciplinary committee report," Tatsuya said, handing Rin a notepad-like device.

"Good work. Received," Rin said, confirming the data to mark it accepted.

"Why physical media? Isn't the information sent to the council in real-time?" Rin asked.

"It's mostly pointless. Just habit," Tatsuya replied.

"Habit… I see," Rin nodded.

"Tatsuya-kun, you're not calling it irrational?" Mayumi teased. "Mari complains every time."

"Every time's an exaggeration," Rin admitted, agreeing with Mayumi, "but she does complain."

"It's irrational, but not intolerable," Tatsuya said.

"Hm. You're pretty flexible, Tatsuya-kun. In that case…" Mayumi mumbled, trailing off.

Tatsuya eyed her curiously. He alone noticed Miyuki watching him with concern.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"…Onii-sama, answer honestly," Miyuki said.

"That sounds serious," Tatsuya replied, turning to face her troubled expression.

He had a hunch what she'd ask but wouldn't bring it up himself.

"Did you get attacked with magic?" Miyuki asked.

"What!?" Mayumi and Rin exclaimed.

"I wasn't hit," Tatsuya said calmly.

"You're not denying an attack happened," Miyuki pressed.

"It's true," Tatsuya admitted.

Mayumi and Rin, overhearing, rushed to Tatsuya with startling speed.

"Tatsuya-kun, are you okay!? No injuries!?" Mayumi asked.

"Siba-kun, are you alright? Really attacked!?" Rin added.

"I'm fine, no injuries. Calm down," Tatsuya said.

Realizing their panic, Mayumi and Rin backed off as quickly as they'd approached, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"Who dared attack Onii-sama!?" Miyuki demanded.

"No idea. Didn't get a good look—it was quick. Plus, with one issue after another, I didn't have time to study them," Tatsuya said.

"About that," Rin interjected, recovering faster than Mayumi. "This year's recruitment has seen a lot of non-club-related incidents."

"Yeah, the committee head mentioned the same," Tatsuya said, easily syncing with Rin.

Miyuki, hearing this for the first time, was shocked. "You mean there's another cause besides recruitment?"

"Seems so. And it might involve me," Tatsuya said.

"Your guess is likely right," Rin agreed. "Most incidents happened near you."

Mayumi, also hearing this for the first time, forgot her embarrassment and closed in on Tatsuya again. "Any guesses, Tatsuya-kun?"

"Well… being a Course 2 student on the disciplinary committee, beating Kirihara-senpai, seeming close to you or the committee head… the list goes on," Tatsuya said.

He didn't mention it, but he suspected the main reason was his casual chats with Miyuki. It's normal for siblings, but it clearly sparked jealousy.

"Anyway, Siba-kun, prioritize your safety. An injury would be a problem for us, too," Rin said.

"Yeah. Mari'd complain, and the committee HQ would get messy again," Mayumi added.

"Mari aside, cleaning HQ isn't my job…" Tatsuya said.

The disciplinary committee was the action team, and cleaning HQ was a group effort, but Tatsuya was the only one capable of it right now.

"Don't grumble. We got tasty cake, so eat with us, Tatsuya-kun!" Mayumi said.

"…Who sent it?" Tatsuya asked.

"Don't give me that suspicious look. It's not club-related," Mayumi replied.

"So, not a bribe," Tatsuya clarified.

Tatsuya suspected budget-securing bribes for next year, but that seemed off the mark.

"Probably from the president's fan club," Rin said.

"Fan club? There's such a thing?" Tatsuya asked.

"Yup. Mostly girls, though," Mayumi said.

"Guys wouldn't join easily. Not that you're unpopular with them, President," Tatsuya added.

"Really…? Hearing you say that makes it feel true!" Mayumi said, nearly hugging his arm.

Miyuki almost activated her magic, but Tatsuya's glance stopped her, sparing the room from a blizzard.

"Let's have tea with Tatsuya-kun! Miyuki-san, the tea, please," Mayumi said.

"Of course," Miyuki replied.

Not for Mayumi, but for Tatsuya, Miyuki began preparing tea. Harsh as it sounds, Mayumi and Rin's portions were just an afterthought.

As freshman recruitment week neared its end, Tatsuya was still swamped with disciplinary committee duties.

"…Understood, I'm on my way," he said.

Another brawl had erupted near his patrol route. Despite being close, Tatsuya didn't consider ignoring it—not that he'd choose to, even if the option existed.

"Feels like I'm being targeted, but what's their goal…?" he muttered.

One or two incidents could be coincidence, but five or six in a day? Someone was clearly orchestrating trouble.

"They're so hung up on a Course 2 student, they're admitting defeat without realizing it," Tatsuya scoffed.

He'd long figured out that Course 1 students, bitter over his victory against Kirihara, had teamed up to target him.

(Psion light—trying to trip me by collapsing the ground? Getting sneakier,) he thought.

Early attacks were direct, but now they used their surroundings, like this trap.

"Tch!" Tatsuya grunted.

Using a pseudo-Cast Jamming to nullify the magic, he moved toward the caster. Noticing, the attacker bolted from the shadows at high speed.

"Self-acceleration magic. Chasing them here would be tough…" Tatsuya noted.

His skills could track them, but with a hostile observer and three others watching, he couldn't reveal his full abilities. (Pseudo-Cast Jamming is one thing, but using my real magic would cause a mess—worst case, I'd have to leave school.)

Tatsuya wasn't attached to school, but if he quit while Miyuki was enrolled, she might lose control. As her brother, he wanted to avoid triggering her, so he abandoned the chase. Still, he caught a clear glimpse of the attacker's wristband.

Shortly before the attack, three girls observed Tatsuya from the rooftop. Two wore biathlon club uniforms; the third sported an odd equestrian outfit, necessary to avoid recruitment hassles.

"This shows I've got a club," Eimi said.

"Yeah, and uniforms get dirty," Shizuku added.

"Dirt's the same either way…" Honoka muttered.

Shizuku and Eimi ignored Honoka's comment, pressing on. Resigned, Honoka went along.

"Target… There!" Eimi pointed.

"He's busy," Shizuku noted.

"Yeah…" Honoka agreed.

After the arena incident, Tatsuya was the talk of their class—mostly hostile rumors.

"We're kinda like Onii-san's stalkers," Eimi teased.

"Stalkers!?" Honoka gasped.

"No way! We're just watching to make sure Tatsuya-san isn't attacked. Not following him or anything!" Shizuku protested.

"I know, but why're you two freaking out?" Honoka asked.

Eimi hadn't thought they were stalkers, but Honoka and Shizuku's overreaction made her wonder if it looked that way.

"Psion light!" Eimi exclaimed.

"Where… Wait, what?" Honoka said.

The psion light around Tatsuya vanished instantly.

"There! In the shadows!" Eimi pointed.

"Too late to catch them…" Shizuku sighed.

"But I saw their face!" Eimi said.

Failing to catch the attacker was a loss, but spotting their face was a win.

"That was Cast Jamming, right?" Honoka asked.

"Yeah, like at your place, Shizuku. But Tatsuya-san doesn't seem to have an Antinite…" Eimi said.

They didn't know the technique Tatsuya explained to his classmates, so their confusion was natural. Cast Jamming required an Antinite by conventional wisdom.

"Good thing Onii-san wasn't hurt," Honoka said.

"Yeah, if Tatsuya-san got injured, Miyuki wouldn't stay quiet," Shizuku added.

"The classroom would be an ice rink again…" Eimi said.

Eimi, from a different class, was shocked by the casual mention of Miyuki freezing a classroom.

"Is Siba-san that dangerous?" Eimi asked.

"Not usually, but if someone badmouths Tatsuya-san…" Honoka trailed off.

"Miyuki said she can't control her emotions and activates magic without a CAD," Shizuku explained.

"How'd they recover?" Eimi asked.

"Well…" Shizuku hesitated.

Seeing Shizuku struggle, Eimi's curiosity flared, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Come on, spill it! You can't hide from Eimi!" she pressed.

"I don't know," Shizuku admitted.

"Huh?" Eimi blinked.

Shizuku wasn't dodging—she genuinely didn't know, Eimi realized.

"But people don't just thaw from being frozen," Eimi said.

"Miyuki said she didn't melt them, but she looked like she had a guess," Shizuku replied.

"She seemed really pained, though," Honoka added.

The three pondered but, finding no answers, set the issue aside.

"That attacker… I feel like I've seen them," Eimi said.

"Where, though…?" Honoka wondered.

"The student council might know," Shizuku suggested.

"Wait! The kendo club captain!" Eimi exclaimed.

"Then we check with the student council," Honoka said.

Miyuki could help identify the culprit quickly. But…

"How do we tell Miyuki?" Honoka asked.

"If we say Tatsuya-san was attacked, she'll go after them the moment we confirm," Shizuku said.

"Self-inflicted, though," Eimi shrugged.

"But Tatsuya-san wouldn't want that!" Honoka insisted.

"How about saying we're curious about other clubs and want to see records?" Eimi suggested.

From Honoka and Shizuku's vibe, Eimi sensed Miyuki might actually freeze the culprit, so she proposed a safer approach.

"That wouldn't raise suspicion…" Honoka said.

"But we already told Miyuki we picked clubs," Shizuku noted.

"We got caught up in an OG's mess. Just say we're checking if the current captain's clean," Eimi said.

"That's so irresponsible…" Honoka muttered.

"No other way," Shizuku said.

Stunned by Eimi's boldness but swayed by Shizuku's agreement, Honoka relented. "Fine…"

She couldn't have done it alone, but Shizuku's support sealed the deal. Unbeknownst to them, their drive to catch the attacker stemmed from their own protectiveness over Tatsuya.