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

At the café entrance, Tatsuya met Sayaka and offered to grab drinks while she secured a seat, but she shot down the idea.

"It's not that crowded. Let's go together," Sayaka said.

She was right—it wasn't packed—but Tatsuya couldn't see why they needed to go together. Tempted to tilt his head, he suppressed the urge with iron will.

"Come on, let's go!" Sayaka urged, sounding cheerful.

"Alright," Tatsuya agreed.

Finding no reason to argue, he went along. Tatsuya got coffee, Sayaka a juice, and they settled at an empty table.

"So, what's this about, senpai?" Tatsuya asked, sipping his coffee.

He was ready to dive into the main topic, but his thoughts froze for a moment as Sayaka chugged half her juice in one go. Noticing his stare, her face turned as red as the juice's pigment.

"You like that stuff?" Tatsuya asked.

"What, you think it's childish?" Sayaka snapped, pouting and glaring.

Her gesture only amplified the childish vibe, but Tatsuya wasn't one to point that out. "No, I haven't tried it, but I drink juice at home too."

"Really? That's surprising," Sayaka said.

"Surprising?" Tatsuya echoed.

"Just my image of you. I figured you only drank coffee," she admitted.

Coffee was his go-to, sure, but not exclusively. Curious how Sayaka saw him, Tatsuya didn't press further. She thanked him for helping during the earlier incident, but Tatsuya felt it was just his disciplinary committee duty—not worth special thanks, especially since he didn't save her alone. When he pointed out her apparent bias against the committee, Sayaka fumbled, flustered.

"Can we get to the point?" Tatsuya prompted, unwilling to drag things out.

"Right… I'll be blunt. Tatsuya-kun, join the kendo club," Sayaka said.

As expected, Tatsuya sighed inwardly. He had a ready answer for predictable questions. "Thanks, but I'll pass."

Sayaka froze, stunned by the instant refusal. She'd expected pushback, but not an immediate shutdown. "Uh… can I ask why?"

"I should be asking you. I'm trained in hand-to-hand combat, not kendo. Why invite me?" Tatsuya countered.

"Because… you'd be great at kendo!" Sayaka said.

Her reasoning sounded plausible but felt like an afterthought to Tatsuya. He was certain her real motive lay elsewhere.

"Putting aside committee point-chasing, it feels like you've got another reason, Mibu-senpai," he said.

Phrased as a question, it was bait to draw out her true intent—and Sayaka bit harder than he expected.

"We're uniting non-magic clubs to form a group separate from the club alliance. This is a magic high school, so grades leaning on magic is unavoidable, but prioritizing magic in club activities? Unacceptable! We're launching this group within the year to push the school to listen. I want your help, Tatsuya-kun!" Sayaka declared, her voice heating up.

"I see…" Tatsuya said, a faint, wry smile crossing his face.

Sayaka, mistaking it for mockery, flared up. "What's so funny!?"

"Nothing's funny. I just realized my people-reading skills are off. I thought you were just a kendo beauty," Tatsuya said.

"Beauty…?" Sayaka's anger shifted to embarrassment, her face reddening for a different reason.

Tatsuya noted her emotional swings with mild exasperation but voiced something else. "So, senpai, you'll present this to the school. What exactly do you want them to do?"

"Huh?" Sayaka blinked.

Caught off-guard, she had no answer—she hadn't expected to be pressed for specifics.

"You don't know?" Tatsuya asked.

"Uh… well…" Sayaka stammered.

"How about you tell me later?" Tatsuya suggested.

"Y-Yeah, that works. Here's my number," Sayaka said, thrusting it at him.

Tatsuya didn't need it but registered it anyway, just in case.

After parting with Sayaka, Tatsuya headed for the library to pursue his original goal but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Hey, isn't that Siba-kun?" Remi called.

"…Hello," Tatsuya replied.

"You haven't dropped by since!" the school nurse, Remi Yasutomi, teased.

"As I said before, I don't want a high school life where I'm constantly visiting the nurse's office," Tatsuya said, turning with a resigned sigh.

"But you got attacked a bunch, right? No injuries?" Remi pressed.

"If I were injured, I'd have visited properly," Tatsuya said.

A white lie, but effective for keeping things calm.

"Right, you promised!" Remi chirped.

"Yeah, well… I'll be going," Tatsuya said.

He thought he'd escaped, but Remi wasn't done. "Let's head to the nurse's office. I'm going back anyway."

"What? I don't need—" Tatsuya started.

"You're still on campus this late, so you're free, right? Let's have tea!" Remi insisted.

"No, I'm—"

Tatsuya meant to say he was heading to the library, but Remi had already decided on their tea time, linking arms with him, ready to drag him along.

"Come on!" she said.

"Fine, but let go of my arm. Someone might misunderstand," Tatsuya said.

"Misunderstand? Like what?" Remi asked, eyes gleaming.

"You don't know how popular you are?" Tatsuya replied.

He didn't actually know but assumed her looks and vibe drew attention. He meant that being seen so close might spark rumors, but Remi took it differently.

"With you, I don't mind," she said.

"Huh?" Tatsuya blinked.

Their mismatched conversation continued as Remi hauled him to the nurse's office. When Miyuki found out, it took considerable effort—and some cash—to smooth over her mood.