Disclaimer: I do not own Typemoon and Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.
Hello guys, Caelus here. Sorry for the late release, been busy lately. Anyways here is the next chapter. Hope it is to your liking.
CHAPTER 5: ARC 1 - First Order - |Part 1|
April 2095, First Day of School.
4 Hours after First High's Entrance Ceremony...
"Well that should wrap things up. Any questions?"
Seeing how the people inside the headquarters shook their heads, Mayumi Saegusa let out a sigh of relief. It was the first day of the new school term and with it was the Annual Entrance Ceremony for the new students. Being the President of First High's Student Council, it falls on her responsibilty that she must see to it that the event didn't have a slightest hitch.
She, alongside the members of the Student Council; her handsome Vice-President Hanzou Hattori, her cute Secretary Azusa Nakajou, the Council's cool Treasurer Suzune Ichihara, and the Public Morals Committee Chief Mari Watanabe and the Club Management Committee Leader Katsuto Juumonji, had just finished discussing about the school's year round activities and some potential members in their respective organization.
While everyone were about to stand up from their respective chairs, seeing that it was already late afternoon, Azusa noticed something on the floor. She was, for a better description, a girl who is even more petite than the President and possessed a more childish face. But despite of that, she is an intelligent teen who excels both in Practical and Technical skills.
"Umm, whose flash drive is this?"
She said, her hand waving the matte black memory stick in the air for all the people inside the room to see.
"That's not mine."
Suzune replied while looking at the stick in Azusa's hand. Suzune was a woman with a tall frame and willowy limbs and is someone whose solemn face displays a stern impression. Her purple orbs then hovered at her fellow comrades who only shook their heads, the others portraying a quizzical yet intrigued looks.
"I'm sure that I don't have any of those when I entered here."
Mari said as she raised her right hand in the air as if making a gesture. Mari was a young, beautiful woman of average height with short black hair and brown-gold eyes, though her features and aura caused her to be called a quite handsome, young woman. She is a strict, resilient, and outspoken young woman and because of her tough, disciplined, sporty personality and excellence at combat, she was appointed to be the Chief of the Public Morals Committee.
"Me neither."
Katsuto iterated, his hands already at the door knob. He could be described as a rather big man,with a thick chest and broad shoulders, with rippling muscles that are easily recognizable even under a uniform. He also gives off an incredibly heavy sense of presence.
"Anyways, better put it under the school's lost and found office. Someone might search for it tomorrow. Hattori-san, you coming?"
"Ah. Yes Senpai. Well please excuse us, everyone."
Hanzou bowed his head before grabbing his things and leaving the room alongside Katsuto. He has a handsome visage that does not warrant additional words to describe and an unremarkable build and because of this trait, he is somewhat popular among the female populace in his year.
"I'll take care of it, A-chan."
Mayumi said causing the petite Secretary to deny the nickname much on her effort. Though the other people thought that it was a fit for her. Much to her chagrin, Azusa handed the stick to Mayumi with a cute pout.
However as soon as the flash drive landed on the President's soft hands, Mayumi give a coyly smile. The next approach that she made caused everyone to look at her with a bewildered and shocked gaze.
Mayumi Saegusa just plugged the device on her laptop.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Looking for the name of the owner."
The President chortled, her fingers dancing on the laptop's black touchpad.
"You know about privacy right?"
"Uh-huh."
"And what you're doing is a violation of such."
The eldest daughter of the Saegusa just smiled, much to Mari's disbelief. As her close friend, Mari knows this side of Mayumi and once the cat is out of the bag it is impossible to stop her. Suzune and Azusa were aware of this behavior of their President and decided not to say anything.
Not that everything that they say won't matter to her at this point.
After the system's scanning was complete, Mayumi then went on accessing the drive's files. As soon as she did that, she, Mari, Suzune, and Azusa were presented a single folder with a name "The Exiled Prince".
"The Exiled Prince?"
"What an unusual name for a folder."
"Maybe it contains military grade documents or something like that... right?"
As soon as Suzune expelled those words from her lips, the atmosphere around them changed.
"There's only one way to find out."
With a double click, Mayumi took it to herself to open the folder. If what Suzune said was true, even if it was only a mere suggestion, then this would be a security concern of the school and to the Student Council.
The screen then displayed a dozen of black video clips. Each with an episode title underneath them.
Without any delay, the black haired President opened the clip with a video player software.
ARC 1 Episode 1: First Order |Part 1|
"It appears to be a movie of sorts..."
"A work of the Movie and Film Making Club perhaps?"
The rest of the girl could only nod to Azusa's words. Though it might be true that the club are capable of creating something like this, still they didn't dismiss the fact that this came from a third party.
First Day of School Term, Monday morning...
|Tatsuya's P.O.V.|
Everyone was surprised to hear the day and the duration when it was filmed but what surprised them more was the name of Tatsuya being mentioned. They knew Tatsuya, especially Mayumi. Who wouldn't? After all, the guy was famous for his unsual behavior which was in the form of sleeping in the cafeteria in broad daylight.
"Why Tatsuya-kun...?"
Mayumi thought as she stared back at the monitor.
"Sorry, Ooguro-san but... I don't like you."
"Wait a minute, this looks like..."
Suzune trailed off and although she didn't finish her sentence, everyone knew what she intend to say.
Her words resounded in my ears. There was some sincerity put into it despite the sting that it holds. Kobayashi-san is no doubt, a beautiful woman in my opinion. Her dark brown hair that swayed with grace and eyes that radiates life every time she coupled it with her bright smile. Though she may not able to compete with the beauties like Saegusa-san and Watanabe-san, she is still a dazzling flower worth admiring.
Mayumi and Mari blushed upon hearing this. Of course, though they knew about the charms that they hold, it was still different hearing it from someone else.
It wasn't her beauty that made me to fall for her. Rather, it was her character, her determination every time she practiced and honed her craft and abilities and perfection every after class. The way she give it all what she got as she rehearsed for Mirage Bat and Battle Board and the accompanied smile she displayed that day...
...Yeah, those were the charms that made me to be captivated by her.
But here I am, Tatsuya, being rejected by Ms. Keiko Kobayashi on the get go despite giving it all my courage and swallowing gallons of embarrassment and pride just to confess my feelings to her. To her who I cherished for almost 2 years in my high school life here in First High.
"Eh... so Tatsuya-kun likes Kobayashi-san and got rejected?"
All of the people inside the room knew who Keiko Kobayashi is especially Mari, since she was her team mate in Battle Board during their 1st and 2nd years.
Everyone didn't say a thing as they watched the scene unfold in their eyes. Mari in particular, can only sympathize with Tatsuya since she knew what it feels like to be rejected by someone you like.
A month ago, she confessed to a guy whom she like but got rejected instead. She was still sore about it.
A mixture of feelings began to swirl in my chest, gripping my beating heart as if it was being compressed by something heavy and solid.
Frustration - because I can't do much about it now, Anger - because things didn't go the way I expected, planned or hoped, Disappointment - because I didn't expect her to behave in such a heartless, ruthless manner, Pain and Sorrow - because I feel I lost something beautiful and life would never be the same again, and Futility - of anything and everything in life, because I've lost all that ever mattered and ever would.
This cacophony of emotions that I'm feeling right now inside my chest... is something that I could say normal, for people like me who has been rejected by the girl they hold dear for more than a year.
"I know what it feels like."
Mari commented, which earned a look from both Suzune and Azusa. Mayumi didn't bother to look at Mari since she knew about her friend's unfortunate outcome as her orbs were staring at the bespectacled lad on the screen, a frown on her lips.
"Don't take it personally Ooguro-san. You see, I already like someone else. And besides,"
Mari's brows furrowed in irritation seeing that Kobayashi's reason was the same as the man she like had told her.
She paused for a bit, her eyes gazing at my shoulders. What is she look-
"You're not my type."
-Ah, I see. I think I already know.
"She instantly rejected him because she's a Course 2 student!?"
The petite Azusa voiced out loudly, disbelief marring on her tone.
"I think that's only one of the factors... but I have to say this, she's not worthy of Ooguro-san's affection."
Mari retorted much to everyone's agreement.
"Ah... well then. I apologize for wasting your time and disturbing you."
I know beforehand that she like someone else, a guy from Course 1 Class A. And despite knowing my chances are pretty low and slim, still I pushed forward. I just didn't think that the blank patches laid on the sides of my shoulders will have a factor for plummeting my chances down to zero or in the negative integers. It seems that being a "Weed" was the major component for my rejection. Of course, this is only one of my assumptions. Bowing my head, I decided to let her be and immediately walked out from the secluded clearing.
The Student Council members could only watch Tatsuya's figure with a sad smile, seeing how the discrimination between Course 1 and Course 2 students had reached an unprecedented level.
The moment I turned around, I saw 2 ladies dressed in First High's female uniform, their gaze silently dawned all over me. In my perspective, it seems that they were scrutinizing me with their analytical gaze.
"A Weed..."
"What a fool, to think a Weed like him would have a chance with a Bloom like Keiko-chan..."
"What's wrong with them?"
Azusa glared at the monitor, especially at the 2 females displayed on the screen, her hands clenched tightly on the hanky that she held.
"It seems I need to get more tighter and stricter about this discrimination delimma."
Mayumi said, her face portraying a disapproving look on the female students in the video clip. Mari on the other hand, had some other plans as her eyes etched on the girls' faces. This however, didn't go unnoticed by Suzune who decided to give a slight elbow nudge on the short haired woman.
"Are you sure?"
"More than sure. I'll give them more than a lecture."
It was a brief whisper and almost inaudible, but I heard them clearly as they walked past me. I never took the liberty to look back at them. Instead, I hurriedly sought a place where I can breath some fresh air. Somewhere that I could find comfort in expelling these emotions running inside my beating heart. The trekking on the pavement was just like any other day, like any other year. A couple of students, both male and female, which have a blooming eight-petaled flower patches on their shoulders were looking at me with gazes that I can discern portrayed some meaning...
...But I couldn't care less about that. They can give me a look like that as much as they want.
"It seems that Ooguro-san has a high mental fortitude, judging on how he chose to dismiss them rather than being upset."
Suzune commented as everyone nods in agreement with her evaluation on Tatsuya.
Officially designated as Course 2, Weeds is the name for people who scored in the bottom half of entrants. As opposed to the Blooms with a flower on their uniform, the Weeds do not have it, hence their name. People in Course 2 generally have weaker magical capabilities compared to those in Course 1. On the other hand, Blooms, officially designated as Course 1, is the name for the top 50% of people who enter First High School. As opposed to the Weeds, Blooms have higher magic capabilities as sorted by the entrance test. This tests magic technical skills including application ability -speed of magic design-, magic tolerance -scale of Magic Sequences-, interference strength -strength of rewriting Eidos-, and Magic Power which is a combination of the three.
The name Blooms comes from the symbol of First High, a flower with eight petals, being present on the clothing of the Course 1 students and not the Course 2 students. There is a general feeling of superiority among the Blooms just by being in Course 1. Because of this, there is a rift between these 2 distinct types of society that exists in the school.
Azusa, Mayumi, Suzune, and Mari somehow felt responsible for this existing bigotry that roamed in First High. They felt responsible since they were the ones who were placed in power and has the means to change the status quo.
And despite their efforts, it seems that the majority of the students still hold on that negative tradition and didn't want to embrace the platforms that they wanted to implement.
This initial division was caused by a mistake in management when First High initially expanded to accommodate 200 students. There were not enough instructors to teach all the students, so it was decided that half would receive immediate instruction while the other half would wait another year. Compounded to that, there was a mistake in uniforms so half had the symbol of First High, a flower, while the other half did not. This gave rise to the misconception that the half without the flower were only replacements for the Course 1 students. However, the teachers that were expected in the second year never materialized and the mistake with the uniforms was covered up by being ignored, leading to the continued division between the students.
Ironically, this division mirrors the overall relationship between those who are capable of recreating a Mystery (Magus) and and those who could not (Non-Magus) that exists in the common age throughout the world.
I can't blame if Kobayashi-san had fallen into such mindset, considering that such an ideology is highly contagious given by the fact that most Course 1 students see themselves as the superior ones. The "chosen" ones... as one of the "Blooms" pointed out boastfully, while most of the Course 2 students, specifically the sophomores, willingly accepted the notion of being a "spare".
Though it might be true that Course 1 students boasts higher magic capabilities, it is important to note that Course 2 students, especially the ones at First High School which boasts the hardest entrance exam, are still elites at using Magecraft, especially when it comes to using combat magecraft, which is usually quite simple and requires fewer processes than most other forms of Thaumaturgy. Well, in the Eidos Thaumaturgical Theory at least. If there is someone to blame in all of this depravity, both the school administration and the students, Bloom or Weed, holds responsibility; the administration for its incompetence and negligence and the students for putting more importance on status and prestige rather than upholding consensus, unanimity, and cooperation.
The Student Council could only agree with Tatsuya's assessment, seeing how all of it was true and legit. Though there were things that bugged them out.
"Magecraft? Is he referring to Magic? And what is this Thaumaturgical Theory? I mean we know Eidos but Thaumaturgical Theory... I never heard such term."
"We don't know, Rin-chan. We are in the dark the same as you."
Mayumi replied to Suzune who was already turning some gears in her head, trying to decipher what Tatsuya said. Azusa was also the same as her thumb and fingers were pressing the skin under her chin, indicating that she also was thinking of the terms presented to them.
Without minding the odd stares that the people around were giving me, my eyes busied themselves as they looked for some relaxing spot that I could take advantage of. Spotting a decent site located on the far edge, I sat on the bench as the foliage of the nearby tree give some shade all over my body. I let out a long sigh, with it were the emotions brought by Kobayashi-san's rejection.
As the clip showed the place, Mayumi's eyes widened upon realization. Her crimson orbs then glanced the memory stick plugged on the side of her laptop.
"Does this mean... its a recording?"
Normally, being rejected would give me the right to wail and forsake the world for its unfairness but I think such actions are nonsensical for me. I mean, of course it hurts. It stings. It sucks... but I've been here before. I've been rejected before, with this being the 3rd time, so experiencing this kind of "tragic" event is not new to me. Though it might be painful, experiencing rejection for once or a couple of times in my case, is also a very good thing. In Otou-sama's words, "What we often do not understand about rejection is that it is often simply temporary; sooner or later somehow helpful; or a simple course-correct. The problem with rejection is not the rejection itself, just the fact we cannot understand the greater plan behind it in that moment. Nor do we want to as we are too busy licking our wounds and cursing the world. Rejection only makes sense with hindsight."
The way I see it, what he said has a point and holds some truth in it.
The girls then etched those meaningful words in their memory, especially Mari. The way they understood it, it was telling them that their is a right person for each and everyone.
After a few deep breaths, my chest felt lighter. Enjoying the ambiance that the site provided, I reached for my Virtual Terminal Device in my pocket and began tinkering it. On school grounds such device is banned by the school due to the various problems with its usage.
Developed to replace screen type devices, virtual terminals creates illusions within the user's mind, allowing them to directly absorb the information. However, the effects are realistic enough that some mistake it for reality. Especially for immature magic technicians who have yet to know their own boundaries, the virtual terminal can provide illusions of feats beyond their capabilities. With the virtual terminal, "magic" can be performed effortlessly and without a chance of failure. However, immature magic technicians will go beyond their actual capabilities and once they return to the real world, they are unable to pull off the feats they did with the virtual terminal. Without the concepts of hard work and failure, people become unable to reflect on their inability to perform magic and lose the ability to think critically and the drive to do so.
"That is so true."
Azusa said, remembering the reports in the past about people who had fallen in the misconception caused by the virtual terminals.
However, it allows for planning out processes and for testing like for CAD's. And for a Magic Engineering student like me, such piece of a gadget come in handy. Not to mention that a handful of schematics and documents for my new projects are here. Unknown to most of the people, I have a life outside school. A life that is odd for an 18 year old teen like me. To be precise, if I could divide myself then I would split myself in 3 equal parts.
This came to a surprise from everyone. To think that Tatsuya, a 3rd year Course 2 student who always reprimanded by the teachers and the Student Council, the Public Morals Committee included, due to his unusual sleeping habits...
What could it be?
"Maybe this'll explain why he is always sleeping during class hours..."
As Mari's comment, Mayumi put all of her ears and attention on the screen. As the Student Council President, it is her job to take care the well being of the students in First High. The other reason was that of her curiosity on Tatsuya.
The first 1/3 of me is my life as a student. Though there were no teachers to educate us most of the time due to the lack of instructors, me and my classmates took it up to ourselves to make an effort in self-study although half of us would take a nap during the afternoon period, me included. What can I say, taking an afternoon nap is very enticing, it being an activity to relief boredom. I can only partly agree with this since my own reason is the tiresome all-nighter job that I had to pull off.
"Well I can blame him for that. But seriously, we need more teachers."
Everyone agreed to Mari's statement. Right now, the school is undermanned and lacks a handful amount of instructors to accommodate every class.
Even if Otou-sama had given me an allowance, I didn't even move a single penny from it. I'm already 18 and I don't want to be dependent with my dad when it comes to money. I need to earn it myself.
The 2nd one is my life as an engineer. Of course, if someone would ask for an engineer with a name of Tatsuya Ooguro, then the chance of finding one is zero since I use the pseudonym Taurus Siver instead of my real name. But I am only half of Taurus Silver. Such approach was the only option considering that when I developed the Loop Cast System, I was merely not of age back then. The other half of Taurus Silver, Mr. Taurus, is an engineer in FLT.
The students in the room had all of their eyes widened in surprise about that revelation.
"No way, no way, no way..."
Azusa could only mutter those exact words in a repetitive succession. The perfect image of Taurus Silver that was inside her mind for all of these years were shattered in an instant.
Suzune was bewildered by this disclosure. If what the video showed was true then that makes Tatsuya an engineering genius! And if this is 100% legit, then maybe he can help her with her proposal for the upcoming Thesis Competition.
Mari and Mayumi were also amazed by this fact. Who would thought that the sleepy head was in fact the famed engineer responsible for advancing CAD software technology by almost 10 years within just one short year.
This is a big revelation!
Another reason is that I don't want to cause trouble to my sisters, especially my mother. Taking into account that terrorist groups and radical zealots targets Magi families that belongs to the 10 Master Clans, the 18 Assistant Houses and the Hundred Families for their right-wing and left-wing "idealistic" goals, Otou-sama decided that I should use a fake surname in order to masked my connection within my mother's family.
"Eh...!"
Another bomb was dropped as the girls stared at the screen, questioning whether it was playing tricks on them or not.
"Ooguro-san is a member of the Ten Master Clans...? The 18 Assistant Houses...? The Hundred Families...? Which one is it!?"
Mari had a confused look on her face while Azusa was then again put into a daze as the new information hit her. She wasn't able to fully recover from the true identity of her beloved Taurus Silver.
"Or maybe he could be from one of the Extra Families, just saying."
Suzune added which increased the bewildered looks on everyone. Mayumi while still stunned by this disclosure of personal information, had another thought in her mind.
The 3rd and final one that cause me to be labeled by the esteemed Student Council President as a sleepy head, beside being a student and a "renowned" yet enigmatic engineer, is that at night I work as a-
Everyone's ears were focused, wanting to know the 3rd reason-
"Virtual Terminal Devices are prohibited, you know."
-Only to end in failure and disappointment.
"Oh come on Mayumi, you have to show yourself and ruin it!"
"Hey! It's not my fault if I choose to appear on that particular moment!"
A blushed Mayumi retorted to Mari as she defended herself. She was also angry on herself for appearing there thus unable to hear the juicy part.
I blinked as a female voice, a vocal that I am familiar with brushed my ears. Arranging my spectacles with my fingers, I looked up to the person that was now in front of me. A maiden with a hair that is black as night and crimson eyes that sparkle like diamonds... A black night flower with crimson diamond stigma on its center...
The red tinge on her cheeks deepened upon hearing Tatsuya's description of her.
"Ohoh, someone's flustered."
"M-Mari!"
"I'm not using it for malicious activities if that concerns you, Kaichou."
I replied to the girl, my eyes gazing at her face and with a slight yet knowing smile on my own.
That's right. The woman who was in front of me now is no other than the Student Council President of First High School, Mayumi Saegusa-san. Her surname alone speaks where she stood among all students here in First High School and in the society; she is a member of the Ten Master Clans.
To be more descriptive, Kaichou is a young lady who is known for her beauty with a height that is slightly shorter than average. Her limbs are as quite long despite her short stature, and her chest is also large in proportion to her height. There is no any sexual connotation when I say that. As a man, it is only natural to appreciate a woman's curves and their profound gems without being a pervert or a voyeur outright.
With a blush that deepens every second, the black haired woman hugged herself as if covering her bosom from someone.
"Heh... it seems Ooguro-san has a good eye, what do you say Kaichou?"
Mari implied with a teasing smile and a knowing snicker plastered on her face.
"Tatsuya-kun you idiot!"
"Kaichou, you should appreciate Ooguro-san's words. He even said that it was not under lust or perversion."
"W-Well, if you think about it..."
With in reason, what Suzune said to her was true but she couldn't help but get embarrassed.
"Or do you prefer him looking at you with lust filled eyes?"
Suzune whispered to Mayumi's ear, causing the Saegusa to let out an embarrassed cry which brought a smile to Mari and Suzune.
"R-Rin-chan!"
Well excluding that and her height, Saegusa-san is someone with a well-rounded personality, a feminine side and, while it is hard to notice, she cares about others in her own way so she fits the bill for an "older sister" perfectly. She is generally quite confident in her appearance. A trait that made most of the male populace in school to have a crush on her at first sight.
Though what most of her fans don't know is that she is a coy person, a beautiful flower with a slight sadistic and childish tendencies. And despite being used by flattery since she is a member of the famed Saegusa clan and being the eldest daughter, somehow she is easily embarrassed by people who are close to her, every time they praised her.
"Oh she knows about you, Mayumi."
Mayumi for her part was frozen in her place. How could Tatsuya know so much about her? The others were also having their own thoughts about the lad.
How do I know much about her even though we aren't that close? My overall appraisal of her is a mixed of my few encounters with her -she calls me out due to my unusual habit of sleeping during school hours-, and my deductive observations of her since our freshman years. If one might wonder where did I learn the "science of deduction", I think it will be acceptable that I just picked it up from a detective who has an eccentric behavior and lives with me in the same house and who happens to be my older brother.
Remembering Aniki is like remembering his quirks and misadventures that almost made our household erupt in all of its weirdness... fun times.
"Science of Deduction, as in... Sherlock Holmes novels?"
Azusa queried, having regained from her stupor from the truth of her Taurus Silver.
"Not to mention that he has an older brother that works as a detective."
"And the art of deduction... if I'm correct, it takes years or even a lifetime to master that."
Suzune supplemented Mari's words. As for Mayumi, she was looking at the figure of Tatsuya with a gaze that she doesn't normally do.
"What are you doing here anyways, Tatsuya-kun? Ara, don't tell me that you were waiting for me?"
Hmm... there she goes again with her games, again accompanied by the "innocent" look that she's portraying. It is always like this every time we come face to face. If I remember it correctly, this stream of repetitive meet ups started when she found out my magical theory entrance scores last year. I suspected that she took a peek from what supposed to be a "confidential" documents, but how did she got hold of that information I wouldn't know.
"Really, Mayumi?"
Mari asked the Student Council President who only reacted with flustered look, her finger scratching her left cheek.
To be honest, I could play along with her whimsical amusement. She's not the only one who knows how to play this sort of advertisement but... feeling the glaring daggers directed towards me, I think I'll pass. I can also tell that she is aware of our surroundings and using that to her advantage, she leans closer to me.
"So Tatsuya-kun, were you waiting for me so that you can ask me for, I don't know, maybe a date?"
Kaichou said while smiling although I can see the mischief behind those rosy lips of hers. Alright you win this round Kaichou.
"As devilish as ever."
"Rin-chan!"
"Could it be... Mayumi, you..."
Mari thought to herself as she observed how her close friend was reacting.
"I think you're mistaken Kaichou. The truth is that... Hm?"
A vibration from my pants' pocket caught my attention. Excusing myself, I grasped for my mobile phone. There, from its smooth lamination a text message captivated my interest along with my eyes.
"I'm sorry Kaichou-ojousama but I need to go now. Please excuse me."
"E-Eh? K-Kaichou-ojousama!?"
Her cheeks turned tomato red from my words. That's my comeback, Kaichou. Bowing my head, I hurriedly traversed the path towards the school's auditorium. While I was walking the pavement, Saegusa-san's fans, mostly males from 2nd and 3rd year Course 1 students looked at me with stares that hold some kind of envy.
"How dare he approach her...!"
"Only Magicians like us are allowed to speak with Kaichou."
Two of the males blurted out in a whisper but loud enough to be registered by my ear drums.
"How dare they talk to him like that!?"
It was the same thought that ran across the minds of the viewers. It seems that the discrimination was much worse than they imagined.
"Magician, huh?"
Continuing on my way, my mind then went to what those two students just said. With all their due respect, there are only 5 people who I considered as Magicians and those students, alongside the people around the world who are capable of reenactment of Mystery... they are not Magicians but Magi, including me.
"So Tatsuya-kun doesn't consider us as Magicians?"
Mayumi tilted her head in confusion. What does Tatsuya mean by that? And those 5 people who he considers as Magicians, who were they? And the term Mystery and Magi, what did he imply by that?
The same thought occured in Suzune, Azusa and Mari.
"The beginning first changed everything... The following second acknowledged many... The resulting third showed the future... The linking fourth concealed itself... And the final fifth had already lost its meaning... Had it only ended at the third, someone had said."
Unconsciously I recited those words. It is a poem that I learned from Otou-sama during the 12 years that I was under his care. A mystical oratorio dedicated to the remaining 5 True Magics of the Modern Era. It describes the only remaining Sorcery that Humanity are allowed to grasp on.
"Five True Magics...
"Of the Modern Era...?
Everyone was puzzled about this especially Mayumi. Being raised in the Saegusa household, she never heard of this before. Does her father knows about it? Maybe she could ask him when she got home after this.
What people called "Magic" in this world is really called Magecraft; a Mystery that pales in comparison to the five that I mentioned. Of course, I've met these 5 Magicians in the past and having witness the Magic that they hold... All I can say is that these people, in this school and all around the world, who pride themselves for being a "Magician", may it be Ancient or Modern... are only confusing themselves for something they are not.
The video then turned black and along with it are the confused looks displayed on everyone's face, their minds still recalling the last part of Tatsuya's thoughts.