Chaotic Clubs

"Excuse me, Brother?" Miyuki entered his workshop. "Are you busy at the moment?"

"Just give me a few minutes, Miyuki," Tatsuya replied. "I am almost done."

Out of curiosity, the younger Shiba decided to approach the older one. When she was close enough, the girl could see that instead of working on his favorite hobby, her brother was currently reading some files.

"Hm?" She picked up one of them. "This is…Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"Do you know about her, Miyuki?" Tatsuya asked. "A classmate of yours?"

"Yes, she is. But I don't know her personally." Miyuki answered. "She came not long before the teacher entered the classroom, so Honoka and Shizuku – who appeared to know her better – were unable to introduce her to me."

"I see." He nodded before focusing his attention back on the files.

"Um, Brother," She couldn't help but ask. "Why are you investigating her?"

"Remember when she knocked out Morisaki Shun?" Upon receiving a nod, he explained further. "I did not notice her presence right until she performed the attack."

"Eh?" Miyuki blinked. "But, Brother, that is…"

"It's not something anyone can just do. Not without sufficient training." He finished.

"So, what did you find so far?"

"Nothing much. Fujimaru's record is clean; too clean, if you ask for my opinion." The boy stated. "The only information that I believe is of any worth is about her legal guardian."

"Legal guardian?" In response, he gave his sister a file.

Opening it, Miyuki blinked several times, making sure that she was indeed not hallucinating before turning her eyes on her brother; his face pretty much begged her to not ask about it, something that she decided to honor.

"Goredolf Musik, the Director of Chaldea." Tatsuya began to explain. "Though at the moment, he's more famously known as Phoenix Musik, the winner of this year's NASCAR Cup Series in the USNA."

"That is…interesting." That wasn't something to be expected from a director of a company. "What kind of company is Chaldea?"

"Research and development. Chaldea branded itself as the 'next Menlo Park' which is where the company of Thomas Alva Edison used to stand." He closed the file that he was reading and opened another one. "And it appears to be more than an empty boast; less than a month after its founding, Chaldea made a breakthrough in cryopreservation technology."

"Cryopreservation?"

"To put it short, extending the lifespan of biological materials through the usage of low temperature. At the moment, we can only do that to simple matters such as stem cells or plant seeds. However, if this report is correct, then Chaldea managed to discover a method for the preservation of a full human being."

"Full human being…like in those sci-fi stories?" Upon receiving a nod of confirmation, Miyuki couldn't hold back her surprise. "Why haven't we heard of it?"

"When was the last time we paid attention to medical news?" Tatsuya pointed out. "Besides, it's still in the testing phase, though considering how optimistic the medical world is…

"Anyway, it's currently unclear what role Fujimaru Ritsuka played in Chaldea, but considering that her legal guardian is the director of the company himself, it could range from anything, up to including the heiress of the company."

"So, kind of like Shizuku?"

"It could explain her skill in martial arts, but not the stealth skill." He sighed. "Until there's more information, we could only speculate. So, what is it that you want to ask from me?"

"Ah," Remembering the reason she went to him in the first place, the younger sibling blushed. "Um, can you…help me with the math homework?"

"Ah…"

He knew exactly what the problem was then.

"It cannot be denied that Course 2 has a lower practical score in comparison to Course 1," Waver stated. "However, the practical test itself is quite flawed, focusing less on what truly is practical and more on determining which students fit the molds that the government provided the best."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Mizuki asked.

"Magicians are treated as living weapons by many nations. Their rank is determined according to the internationally agreed standards. However, not all of them use these exact standards to determine which magician is suited to be on the battlefield." He explained. "The UK, for example, demands that their magicians be physically fit, capable of working together, not relying completely on their magic, and more."

"So, why does the school only use the international standards?" Leo asked.

"They're good enough to determine a magician's raw power and flexibility. For the government, that is enough." The British stated. "It's not surprising that 'big boom' is going to be what interests them the most."

He then stopped talking for a while, allowing his students to digest and comprehend what had just been explained to them.

"With that in mind, it's clear that raw power and flexibility are not your fortes. Instead, try to focus on what you're good at." He continued. "The best examples would be the Hundred Families, such as the Chibas."

Unsurprisingly, this caused a certain girl to be the center of attention of the class, much to her surprise.

"Magicians of the Families are known for their magic specialties. The Chibas specialize in Speed and Weight Magic to help them in close combat. Weight – according to physics – is mass times gravity, so manipulation of weight also means manipulations of mass and gravity. In turn, mass is associated with inertia, and manipulation of inertia could be used for manipulation of speed."

"So, the magic spells of the Chibas are interconnected?" Erice concluded. "If they can use one, they can use the others easier."

"Quite so." Waver nodded. "Do not underestimate these basics. It's due to their mastery of these basics that the Hundred Families manage to create some of their most powerful spells."

Hearing that, Tatsuya immediately looked at Erika and saw that she was becoming nervous.

"The Chibas are nicknamed 'Magic Swordsmen' due to their proficiency with bladed weapons. To enhance their swordsmanship, they use Speed and Weight Magic. The former is rather obvious, but the latter is actually quite…trickier. Gravity is a very powerful force to the point of being able to manipulate the concept of time itself. This means that – at least theoretically – using gravity to do the same with psion is…"

"Professor, apologize," The older Shiba sibling interrupted him. "But the time is…"

As if on cue…

DING DONG

"I see. I guess I am too focused on my lecture." The British then picked up his tablet and headed toward the door. "Considering what day today is, good luck."

After the teacher departed, Tatsuya found himself surrounded by his friends.

"Thank you so much for that, Tatsuya," Erika said, letting out a heavy sigh. "If Professor Velvet continued with his explanation, I…I…"

For once, Leo did not make any comment about it, nodding in sympathy instead. Her reaction was quite understandable.

The Hundred Families – though not limited to them – possessed special magic spells that they kept secret from others. Considering the detailed explanation that Waver Velvet had just given, he might end up blabbering about the secret of the Chiba clan…which would mean that Chiba Erika would be duty-bound to stop him through any means necessary.

Assaulting a teacher would likely result in her immediate expulsion. And that was the best-case scenario.

"Don't worry about it." He assured her. "Though I admit that that was quite reckless of him."

"Yeah, Professor Velvet," Erice muttered. "He's insensitive when it comes to people wanting to keep things secret."

"You know him, Erice?" Mizuki asked.

"I know of him." She corrected it. "He was known as the 'Pillager Lord' back in Britain due to his habit of figuring out how secret spells work, changing them just enough so that they wouldn't be considered plagiarism, and then patenting them to gain royalty."

"…I don't know how British patent policy works, so I am not going to ask that," In spite of his tone, it was clear that Tatsuya was pretty much shocked. "But how did he manage to avoid being chased by assassins?"

"Who said he did?" She replied with a smirk.

Just like normal high schools, First High also had various clubs that its students could join. Some of them focused on helping the members prepare themselves for the Nine Schools Competition, but there were also clubs with a more recreational activity in mind. Regardless of that, every club needed to make sure that it had a sufficient amount of members to receive funding from the faculty.

Thus, during the week when clubs were recruiting freshmen, things could get…quite chaotic.

PEW

PEW

"Yes! 10 out of 10! The perfect score!" Ritsuka exclaimed as others looked at her achievement in amazement.

As a demonstration, the Speed Shooting Club created a range where students could try shooting down clay targets that flew around. Since it was just a demonstration, the club members used magic to make the targets move around. For now, they were looking for freshmen who could aim straight at the very least.

"Here, Senpai." She said, giving back the rifle CAD. "Thanks for allowing me to try."

"Of course, you're…" The senior was about to reply when she remembered it. "Wait, hold on! Don't go!"

Unfortunately for her, Ritsuka managed to escape into the sea of students.

"I present to you, a simple tamagoyaki." The orange-haired girl put the dish on the table. "Please enjoy it, Senpai."

Armed with chopsticks, one by one the members of the cooking club each picked up a piece of the rolled omelette. Even before they gave their opinions, Ritsuka could already tell what their judgment would be considering how much they enjoyed the egg.

"It's warm and fluffy…"

"It has the subtle sweetness, not overpowering the tongue…"

"This might be a home cooking, but nevertheless is made skillfully." The leader of the club nodded in eagerness. "Yes, it has been decided! Fujimaru, you…!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he realized that the girl in question had gone missing.

"Man, it's quite a shame that I have to quickly run away after trying them," Ritsuka commented as she rested on top of a tree.

Unsurprisingly, with so many clubs available, she wasn't immediately sure which one she wanted to join which was why she decided to give each of them a try. However, seeing how…enthusiastic the clubs were in recruiting freshmen, the Master of Chaldea knew that she needed to make a break for it the moment that the clubs showed any interest in her.

"I guess normal people are just as capable of shenanigans as Servants are." She muttered before noticing something. "Hmm?"

A few feet away, a pair of students was being surrounded by many; likely freshmen who were about to be dragged away by club members. A closer look revealed that she actually recognized the pair: Honoka and Shizuku.

Jumping off from the tree, Ritsuka silently approached them. As it turned out, they were surrounded not precisely because the clubs wanted to recruit them.

"You're Fujimaru Ritsuka's friends, aren't you? That means you know where she is!"

"Come on! Tell us where she is and you two could become special members!"

"Hey, hands off them! We got them first!"

"Awawawa…!" While Honoka was already in a panic, Shizuku was not that far behind.

Once she was close enough, the orange-haired girl raised her hand and cast a spell.

BAM

"GYA!"

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

"WHERE THAT NOISE COME FROM?!"

In the midst of confusion, Ritsuka managed to slip through the crowd and extract her friends from them. She dragged them away as far as she could; only when they were pretty much at the other side of the faculty that she stopped, allowing the trio to rest.

"We should be far enough." The Master of Chaldea stated. "Are you two alright?"

"We're…fine." The brown-haired girl replied, rubbing her ear. "Thanks for the save, Ritsuka."

Her stoic friend nodded in agreement.

"Nah, don't think about it." She waved it off. "Well, if that's all, then…"

"W-Wait!" Honoka stopped her from leaving. "Ritsuka…where…have you been? You've been ignoring us since…that day."

"Well, considering what I did yesterday to one of your friends," The orange-haired girl scratched her chin. "I can imagine that you might have some…complicated feelings as a result."

"Friend?" She looked confused at first before realizing who she was talking about. "Oh, no! Morisaki and I aren't friends! We were just…so happened to be in the same group due to wanting to talk with Miyuki."

"That's right. Honoka has no mean bone within her." Shizuku supported her friend. "Not wanting to lose the opportunity of befriending Miyuki, she decided to tolerate our…less egalitarian classmates."

"Huh, I see." Ritsuka smiled. "Good to hear then."

Growl

"…so, why don't we continue over lunch? My treat."

"O-Oh, no need to do that, Ritsuka. We can buy our own. But, yes, let's have a lunch."

The stoic girl hummed in response.

Tatsuya had to admit that the entire event went beyond his expectations.

It was common knowledge that the students who attended the Magic High Schools – not just First High – were mostly affiliated in some way with the Hundred Families or at least people of influence. Because of that, it was expected that many of them would be trained in the art of proper decorum.

Yet now, he witnessed how those students throw all of it away for the sake of acquiring new members for their clubs to the point of dragging away freshmen; literally in some cases.

Such as now.

"How many times should I tell you," Erika exclaimed, surrounded by her seniors. "I am not Fujimaru Ritsuka! My uniform doesn't even have a flower emblem!"

Seeing her being trapped (again), Tatsuya activated his CAD and caused a small tremor which in turn allowed him to extract the orange-haired girl from the crowd. Once they put a distance between them and their seniors, he turned his attention to her.

"You're alright?" He asked.

"Yeah," Erika said before sighing. "I thought that I could get along with that Bloom who saved us, but after that, I don't think it would be the case."

"Bloom?" The boy then remembered the name that she mentioned earlier. "You mean Fujimaru Ritsuka."

"Yes, her." She grumbled. "It appears that she managed to impress many clubs here and since my hair is the same as hers…"

Tatsuya tried to remember the clubs that attempted to recruit Erika earlier; they were members of the Speed Shooting, Kenjutsu, cooking, and literature clubs. While there wasn't anything intriguing about the last two, the Speed Shooting and the Kenjutsu clubs' willingness to fight to have her meant that she must have truly impressed them in marksmanship and swordsmanship respectively.

Now that he thought about her, the elder Shiba sibling realized that he hadn't seen her since this week started.

"You think your club is the best, huh? Here, let me show you!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, you better give your best!"

Realizing that a fight with magic was about to occur, Tatsuya immediately ran toward the location. Upon seeing them, he was about to order them to cease their act before – without any warning – they turned their aim toward him, firing their magic before running away. The boy was able to dodge them, but not so much with detaining them due to his path being obstructed by other students.

Then, out of nowhere, a figure appeared in front of them and knocked them out using…a scythe? At the sight of the weapon, Tatsuya couldn't help but blink in surprise. He knew that some CADs had a rather unorthodox shape, but who in their right mind would make one in the shape of a scythe?

"This is Gray, teacher assistant currently providing support for the Public Morals Committee," The girl in the hood said as she activated the same type of recorder that he had. "I am currently detaining two students violating the laws regarding the usage of magic. They also…"

The nearby students started to chatter about the event.

"Hey, look. It's Professor Velvet's TA."

"Man, she's cute. Do you think I should take my chance?"

"Dude, she might not be a teacher, but she's still a member of the faculty!"

Tatsuya remained where he stood, simply watching as the slim-looking girl easily dragged two unconscious boys by their collars.

"Yes, Gray is indeed Professor Velvet's TA," Mari confirmed it. "He allowed her to help us since we were practically overwhelmed. Things have become…wilder compared to previous years."

"I see." Tatsuya nodded.

"I have to admit, at first, I am pretty doubtful of her being able to help us. The girl is very shy, like, she couldn't even bear to have people looking at her face which is why she wears that hood." She stated. "However, just like you, she ended up surprising me with her combat skills. I actually have to tell her to tone it down a notch since we wanted to arrest the misbehaving students, not putting them into graves."

"I take it that it has anything to do with her scythe?" He guessed, receiving a nod. "And she's allowed to use it?"

"She has shown the capability of using it non-lethally. Plus, there's that intimidation factor." The chief said with a smile before frowning. "Say, Tatsuya, are you or Miyuki by any chance religious?"

"No?" He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why the sudden question?"

Mari waved her hand, signaling him to get closer. Once he did, she whispered the answer into his ear.

"This is still unconfirmed," She told him. "But there's a rumor that said that Gray used to be a grave keeper before working for Professor."

Tatsuya realized the reason now. In Japan, the grave keepers were part of a group known as the Burakumin; these people were often ostracized and discriminated against due to being considered religiously impure.

"Personally, I don't care much about it, but I know some students who might have an issue with it," Mari explained. "So, I just want to make sure that her involvement with the Public Morals Committee wouldn't cause any incident."

"Worry not about it, Watanabe-senpai." He assured. "Miyuki and I care not about such a thing. If Miss Gray wants to help us, then let her be."

After all, what was being a grave keeper compared to being a killer?

"Excuse me, Fujimaru Ritsuka?"

"Yes?"

At the moment, Ritsuka was having lunch with Honoka and Shizuku when a female student suddenly approached their table. Judging from the lack of a flower emblem on her uniform, she was likely part of Course 2.

"My name is Mibu Sayaka of the Kendo Club." She introduced herself. "I…"

After saying that, the orange-haired girl's face had an awkward expression on it while her friends frowned.

"Ah, well, can I decide about it later?" Ritsuka said. "I still have some clubs that I want to check upon."

"Eh? Ah, no!" She raised her hand. "I am not here to recruit you!"

"Oh, thank gods." Honoka sighed in relief.

"The moment they found out we're friends of hers, those clubs kept hounding us of Ritsuka's whereabouts," Shizuku commented.

Mibu couldn't help but awkwardly laugh in sympathy. She then cleared her throat before continuing.

"As I said, I am not here to recruit you." She repeated her words. "Can we discuss this just between us? This topic…might be a bit uncomfortable."

Before answering, the orange-haired girl looked at her friends – the brown-haired one nodded while the sleepy-looking one just shrugged – before accepting the request; she stood up and carried her lunch to an empty table with Mibu taking a seat on the opposite side.

"So," The freshman asked. "What is it that you want to ask, Mibu-Senpai?"

"I'll go straight to the point." The senior explained. "I – along with other Course 2 students – have the desire to change the policies of the school in which Course 1 received all the attention while our own course is neglected. I have heard from others that you have no issue interacting with Course 2, so I am asking you for your support in this endeavor."

"Sure," Ritsuka answered immediately. "Though if you really want to do that, you will need support from those in the faculty. Like, maybe Professors Velvet and Moriarty."

"Of course! How could I have forgotten?" Mibu's eyes widened before frowning. "Though, regarding Professor Moriarty…I don't think it would work. While he treats both Courses equally, it's by holding us in contempt for not being able to finish his assignments."

"Haha…" She awkwardly laughed. "Anyway, you're going to need all support from the…factions of the First High if you want to succeed; Course 2 is given, there would be some in Course 1 who are sympathetic, but it's the faculty members that are the most important. After all, they're the ones responsible for the policies in the first place."

"I see what you mean." The black-haired girl smiled. "Thank you for the advice, Fujimaru. I…"

"You call this a sandwich, dechi?!"

Suddenly, there was a shout coming from the kitchen which attracted the attention of everyone.

"I barely eat any bread and even I know this is an insult to a sandwich, dechi! Do it again!"

"Well, that's one way to ruin the mood," Ritsuka commented as both of them giggled.

"So, our products would be ready when the NSC occurred?"

"Indeed. That event would be the best opportunity for us to make a breakthrough in the Japanese market."

Goredolf nodded in satisfaction. Never in his wildest dreams, he would even consider opening a business selling magical devices to the common public, but Chaldea always had a way of making the strangest things feel as if they were nothing but ordinary.

"Personally, I believe there's still a lot that we can improve regarding the CADs that we produced," Da Vinci stated. "But, for now, I guess we should just be content with being able to cut down the production cost to a fraction of it."

"That alone is already a pretty big selling point, you know?" Edison pointed out. "My good friend Henry became famous not by improving the performance of the automobile of his time, but by making it an affordable luxury for the middle classes of America."

"I suppose you have a point." She shrugged. "It's quite ridiculous how something so fundamental to the local magic system is so expensive for most of its practitioners."

"You tell me! I mean, I know some magical regents could cost an arm and a leg," The blond man stated. "But even mages who have to budget their research could still make do. I guess that's just another difference between a magus and a magician… Man, it's still weird calling them that."

"On another topic," The Rider-class Servant spoke. "We've just received the reports about Ritsuka's activities in the First High."

"Does she end up having to solve some bizarre problem that appears out of nowhere?" Goredolf asked, not sounding a bit surprised.

"Well, not exactly…" She stuck out her tongue. "This time, she's the cause of it."

For a moment, Goredolf became silent after the news was delivered to him. Da Vinci was about to ask if he was OK when…

"NNNOOOOOOO!" He shouted as loud as he could. "Fujimaru Ritsuka, what are you doing? You're supposed to be the one who brings back peace after it was destroyed by the troublemakers, not joining them!"

"Is it only me," The Caster-class Servant commented. "Or does that sound like a reference to you?"

"Well, you know how Gordy is," She giggled. "In spite of how he sometimes acts, he fits quite well in being part of Chaldea."

P.S. According to Adventures of Lord El-Melloi II, that is indeed how Waver gained money in order to pay the debts of the Archibald family. He deduced how the magecraft of a magus worked, changed it until just enough, and then patented it so that people had to pay him money to use it.

Needless to say, both Reines and Luvia pointed out that the moment Waver stopped being Lord El-Melloi II, hitmen would be sent to collect his head.

Related to that, Mahouka magicians can be just as ruthless as Nasuverse magi when it comes to keeping a secret. Eimi considered killing Tomitsuka - a fellow First High student and someone that she has a crush on - after he saw her using her family's secret spell, but changed her mind because he helped her fight off kidnappers.

Yeah, I admit that making cheap CADs is an idea that I got from Moon Cell Irregular. After thinking about it, Chaldea not doing that would be more unbelievable, especially considering the existence of Edison, Tesla, Da Vinci, Sion, and so on.

For those wondering, this is the link to the picture that Miyuki saw (just erase the spaces):

cdn. donmai .us/ sample/ a8/ 2f/ _goredolf_musik_and_jeancle_abel_meuniere_fate_and_1_more_drawn_by_lack_sample-a82f59f68fbf045852b53d1bd2ece9dd. jpg

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me!

Review, please~