Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A day had passed since Tatsuya had tuned the twin's CADs for them and Tatsuya was finally enjoying a quiet day for a change. His parents had left on a date and he had stayed home, stating that he wanted to remain fresh for tomorrow's tournament. However, like all things in life, his peace came to an end when an unexpected visitor came to his house.

Of all the people that Tatsuya knew in this life, the last person he had expected to see in front of his house, ringing the doorbell was Ichihana Suzume. Since Tatsuya had made a habit of keeping an eye on his surroundings using the Elemental Sight after the recent events, he was aware of her visit as soon as she had entered the block.

"Good morning, Ichihana-san. How can I help you?" Tatsuya asked politely.

Since it was a holiday, Suzume was wearing a casual dress which, in his opinion, suited her well. Among the girls that he knew, she was definitely on the slimmer side but her figure was quite shapely as a result. However, Tatsuya tried to avoid looking for too long to not come off as a pervert.

"Good morning, Prez. I am sorry for the sudden visit but I would like to formally invite you to visit the Ichihana family on behalf of the clan head." She said formally while handing him a letter.

Tatsuya accepted the letter before reading it. As she had said, it was a formal invitation from the head of the Ichihana Family, Ichihana Shuuzou, requesting a meeting with him. Although the Ichihana Clan had been on the decline for a while now, Tatsuya still decided to give them a face as they had no issues with him. He changed into a formal attire, one that had been given to him by his dad when he entered high school. After sending a quick message to his parents regarding his whereabouts and locking the house, Tatsuya entered the black sedan that the Ichihana had sent to pick him up, along with Suzume.

"So, Ichihana-san, how was your summer vacation?" Since the location they were traveling to took two hours to reach, Tatsuya decided to make small talk with the girl sitting opposite him. Although the Ichihana was a Numbered family, they were one of the weakest of the bunch and as such, had a relatively weak influence in the city. Their manor was located on the outskirts of the city of Tokyo.

"It was great, Prez. " Suzume said, with a light smile on her face. "With your help, the clan has stabilized a lot and as such, there are fewer things for me to worry about. In fact, we have entered into a business cooperation with the Yotsuya Family recently. After Yuuzou-sama's performance in the Combat Tournament, there have been talks about an engagement between Yuuzou-sama and one of the daughters of the Yotsuya clan, Yotsuya Yumiko-sama." Suzume said excitedly.

As far as Tatsuya knew, the Yotsuya family was one of the weaker families among the numbered families, just like the Ichihana. However, during his previous life, they had managed to hold on to the number in their name, unlike the Ichihanas. Therefore, he was genuinely surprised that they had agreed to ally with the Ichihanas. However, if he thinks about it, the fall of the Ichihana clan was mainly due to Yuuzou being incompetent and the rest of the clan being obscure due to a lack of opportunity. In this timeline, Yuuzou wasn't incompetent and Suzume was a notable member of the younger generation, being the Vice-president of First High and all.

"Are you fine with this, Ichihana-san?" From what he knew, Yuuzou and Suzume had gotten married in his timeline, which had led to the birth of Ichihara Suzune. Therefore, he had assumed that they had some attraction to each other.

"Why would I not be fine, Prez?" Suzume looked genuinely confused.

"I mean, you are really close to Ichihana-kun, right?" Tatsuya asked.

"Well, yes. But Yuuzou-sama has always been a little brother to me. I do not have any romantic feelings for him." From her body language, Tatsuya judged that the girl was not lying. "Moreover, Yuuzou-sama is my first cousin. We are not a good match genetically." She added.

"I suppose I misjudged your relationship." Tatsuya was not very knowledgeable about relationships and as such, he was under the impression that Suzume liked Yuuzou.

"No problem, Prez."

The rest of the trip was uneventful and soon, they reached the location. Compared to the other mansions that Tatsuya had visited in his two lives, the Ichihana Clan's mansion could be said to be small. From what he could identify with the Elemental Sight, the number of servants on the premises was quite low. That said, they were welcomed by a few maids and butlers dressed in proper uniforms.

As he made his way to the guest room, Tatsuya noticed that the mansion was properly furnished, which meant that the family's financial troubles weren't as bad as he thought it would be.

"Welcome, Shiba Tatsuya-sama." As Tatsuya entered the guest room, he was greeted by a middle-aged man. From the looks of it, he was probably the head of the family. He also noticed Ichihana Yuuzou was standing in a corner of the room, looking much more confident than before.

"Thank you for the hospitality, Ichihana Shuuzou-dono." A scrutiny of the man opposite him gave Tatsuya enough information about the reason why the Ichihana had fallen. For lack of a better term, Ichihana Shuuzou was weak. He didn't mean it disrespectfully but the truth remained that the frail-looking guy opposite him had a low Psion count and his Magic abilities could barely scratch the C-Rank magicians of Tatsuya's time. While it would be an acceptable evaluation for a civilian who had taken up magic, for someone who was a clan head of one of the Numbered Families, it was bordering on the edge of being unacceptable. That said, Tatsuya also understood that the man was a scholar, not a fighter, having read a few of his research papers in the past.

"Please have a seat, Shiba-sama."

"Thank you. " Tatsuya replied as he took a seat in one of the sofas in the room. "I apologize if this comes off as rude but can you tell me why you invited me here?" Tatsuya asked, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Before we can get to that, will you not try some of the refreshments that we have prepared for you?" Shuuzou gave a signal to one of the servants who went out of the room. Soon, a few maids came in with an assortment of drinks which included various kinds of juices.

"Thank you." Since this was most likely a business deal of some sort, Tatsuya took a glass of orange juice and drank it. The juice itself was quite tasty.

"I suppose it is time for us to get to the business. First, I would like to thank you, Shiba-sama for helping my son with his CAD." Shuuzou rose from his seat and gave a heartfelt bow after he said this, which showed that he was serious.

"It is not a big problem. Ichihana-kun's CAD was not that hard for me to fix. It didn't take me much effort." Tatsuya tried to be as humble as possible.

"Still, the fact remains that it was your help that helped my son get over his fears. I was aware that he was troubled by his lack of abilities, but I did not think it was our clan's fault. The fact that the spells that our clan had relied on for so long, were filled with such redundancies, was an eye-opener. For that, we thank you, from the bottom of our hearts." Tatsuya gave a light nod of acknowledgment. Since the other party was so grateful, it would be rude of him to not accept their gratitude.

"Is there something else that you want to ask me?" Tatsuya knew that there was very little chance for Shuuzou to call him to their house, simply for thanks.

"Yes, you are right, Shiba-sama. As the head of the Ichihana Clan, I would like to formally request your help as a Magic Engineer to improve the efficiency of our magic spells. Of course, we will pay you, five times the market price, if you are willing to accept."

"I see." If it was the Tatsuya of the previous life, he would have declined the request almost immediately, just as he had declined the request made by Shizuku to be her personal engineer. After all, he had a sizable income from being a part of FLT and the Yotsuba did not allow him to form connections outside the family. Setting aside the money, which was no longer a factor for him due to his joining the Yotsuba all but guaranteed, helping out the Ichihana clan did not carry any drawbacks for him. After all, he had no real reason to hide his Engineering Skills after Ayame had caught him.

"How many devices and magic sequences are we talking about here?" Tatsuya decided to get a good grasp of the situation first.

"If we take into account the devices of all the Main Family and Branch Family members, it would be exactly sixty-seven CADs. The number of spells varies between thirty and fifty on these devices." Shuuzou replied honestly.

"I see." To be honest, it wasn't as crazy a work as Tatsuya had initially expected. Although there were a lot of Devices, most of them used the same OS which meant that Tatsuya only had to modify the OS once and it could be applied to all the devices. If there were any Specialized CADs, it would require a bit more work since the OS requirements were different in those cases but the Ichihana weren't a Specialized clan and as such, they used Generalized models, most of the time.

As for the spells themselves, it was easier to optimize as he only needed to modify a spell once and then it could be installed on different devices based on the user's requirements at a later date.

"How many Magic Engineers are employed under you, at this moment?" Tatsuya asked.

"There are fifteen engineers contracted to us." Fifteen was quite a small number of Magic Engineers to be employed in Numbered House but Tatsuya understood that it was mainly because of the financial situation. For comparison, most of the bigger houses had personal engineers for almost all the family members with the Yotsuba being the only exception with Miya tuning most of the main family's CADs. Even then, the Yotsuba had more than a hundred Magic Engineers employed.

"I see. Then I will accept your proposal." Tatsuya said.

"Really?! Thank you, Shiba-sama." Shuuzou was ecstatic.

"I will perform the required modifications on next Sunday. Make sure that all the devices are made available here, on that day. Also, make sure that all fifteen of your Magic Engineers are present here." Even for Tatsuya, doing that much work alone would be an uphill task.

"Of course, Shiba-sama. As for the payment? "

"There is no need for any advances. We can deal with the payment on the date of the job." As a minor, Tatsuya was unable to enter into an official contract and he highly doubted that the Ichihana would try to scam him.

"I see. Thank you once again, Shiba-sama."

After their deal had been finalized, Tatsuya soon left the Ichihana manor.

At the same time, The Yotsuba Mansion.

"Hello, Kaa-san." Genzou was not always on the best of terms with his mother as they had opposite visions for the future of the clan. Even still, he could say without any doubt that he loved his mother. That said, it was a bit embarrassing for Genzou to go to his mom for advice, something that showed in his face.

"What's the matter, Genzou?" Ayame was sitting on the balcony of her room, sipping tea when Genzou entered into the room. After she had discovered Tatsuya's identity, Ayame managed to be at peace with herself. After all, with Tatsuya all but guaranteed to join them, the future of the Yotsuba was as secure as it could be and she didn't have to try as hard to strengthen them anymore.

"I need help, Kaa-san." Genzou decided to come clean.

"Is this about the Shiba boy?" Ayame pretended like she didn't know.

"Yes."

"Well, what is the matter here? Did something happen?"

"That boy is truly out of control, Kaa-san. He somehow managed to use Gram Demolition during that school tournament of his and this has caught the eyes of the other clans. They are now trying to pursue the kid themselves and it is nothing but trouble for me." Genzou sat down on one of the chairs.

"And? I believe that there is more to this."

"Well, I was planning on announcing an engagement between Tatsuya and one of the twins as soon as possible and there is a huge problem."

"You don't know which one of the twins to engage with Tatsuya, am I correct?" Ayame filled in the blanks.

"Exactly. It was easy in the beginning since Maya was the one that liked him more but now even Miya is smitten by him. Engaging him in either one will cause issues with the other." Ayame could hear a bit of sadness in her son's tone as he said this but she chalked that up to his daughter's complex.

"Well, Genzou, I will give you some information that will make your decision much easier. But first, let us move to a more private setting." Ayame and Genzou moved to her study and cast a few spells against spying.

"What is it, Kaa-san?"

"Remember the mysterious magician that ended Dahan? Well, your future son-in-law is him." Ayame dropped a bomb on Genzou. Of course, she had taken permission from Tatsuya first to reveal the truth to him as keeping it from Genzou could be considered as a lack of trust in him.

"What?!" If it wasn't for the soundproofing of the room, the entirety of the Yotsuba Household would have heard Genzou with how loud he had shouted.

"Quiet down, will you?" Ayame scolded her son.

"Sorry." Genzou apologized before he asked. "How?"

"I only found out a few days ago myself. The boy is too good at hiding his tracks. Even now, aside from me and you, only Juuzou and Yuuma know about it, and that too because Juuzou helped me connect the dots and I took Yuuma as security when I confronted the boy. "

"And he did not deny it?" Genzou asked. "Are you completely sure that he isn't lying?"

"Of course. I did manage to trace the spell that Maheshwara had used in the boy's room. It is a spell that he developed to be similar to Parade, despite not knowing of its existence. Also, Yuuma all but confirmed that the kid has killed a lot."

"Uncle Yuuma did?" Genzou knew that Yuuma was the best in the family when it came to identifying killers.

"Doesn't that make him a problem? I mean, he did kill more than twenty-five million people." Genzou asked.

"Do you feel bad for them, Genzou?" Ayame asked her son.

"Of course not. But the fact remains that he is a killer capable of pulling the trigger on a massacre without batting an eyelash. It is only normal to be apprehensive, right?"

"You don't need to worry about it. From what I can tell, the boy just wants to live a peaceful life and the events in Dahan were a way to achieve that peace. Regardless of what anyone would say, it worked, didn't it?" The past few years had been the most peaceful the world had ever been since magic had been discovered. After all, Maheshwara's existence made it so that most countries tried to avoid fighting as much as possible lest they get caught up in the wrong end of his wrath. Since no country had claimed the being, every country knew that they were at risk of facing him.

"I suppose you are correct. Now, what does his identity have to do with my current problem?" Genzou had an idea where she was going but he still voiced his concern.

"Simple, why engage him to only one, engage him to both of them and there will be no issues. " Ayame said.

"Somehow, that doesn't feel as outrageous as I thought it would be." Gezou was surprised at himself. After all, although Japan did not have a policy that promoted polygamy, there weren't any laws that explicitly banned it either. Said laws had been long removed from the constitution after it was discovered that magic had a lot to do with genetics. Although none of the higher-level magicians were polygamous in the open, most of them had a few mistresses outside.

"It really isn't a big deal. You have seen the boy's genetic material, right? You can easily explain that the potential offsprings are too good to pass up on."

"I see. Thank you for the help, Kaa-san."

Monday had arrived and with it, the knockout stages of the tournament were set to begin. Since it was an event that would be telecasted to the entire nation, there were a few speeches before the events started. Since there were only sixteen matches to be played today, only the biggest venue among the various battlefields, the school ground, was chosen. Those who had been knocked out of the tournament were around, acting as spectators in the stands. Tatsuya could also see a few strangers in the stands but he chose to ignore them.

Since he was the first seed, as always, his fight was going to be the first. As he made his way to the battlefield, he was reminded about the Nine School Competition of his previous life.

"The first Round of 32 Knockout match between Shiba Tatsuya of Class 1-A and Morisaki Nagisa of Class 1-A will now begin. Contestants, please take your position." The proctor, a man that Tatsuya did not know, announced.

"I'm nervous, Prez. Let's have a good match, okay." For some reason, Nagisa had only managed to reach second place in her group, which was the reason why he was facing her. The girl in question was dressed a bit too casually for the occasion, which reminded Tatsuya of the Ice Pillar's Break event of the NSC but he ignored it.

"Likewise, Morsiaki-san."

"If both contestants are ready, begin." As always, the proctor announced and both of them sprang into action.

The Morisaki Family was, strictly speaking, not a member of the Numbered Families. However, they were considered to be one mainly due to their excellent interpersonal combat skills. After all, they were a family that ran a bodyguard company and as such, they had developed techniques for combat purposes, stronger than those of many Numbered Families. The Quick Draw was one such technique. The Quick Draw was a technique designed with the intention of knocking out a target as quickly as possible without dealing any lasting damage. The fact that Nagisa was able to activate the technique under 300ms, spoke volumes about how good it was.

That said, she was nowhere near quick enough for Tatsuya and before she could complete the spell, Gram Demolition had completely wiped it out. Nagisa was quick on the uptake and tried to recast the spell but to no avail as Tatsuya continued to bombard her with Gram Demolition continuously. The continuous failure to activate magic made Nagisa lose focus for a second and that was all that Tatsuya needed. He moved behind her using a Self-Accelerating Spell and used Expel, which ended the fight immediately.

However, at a time of more than two minutes, this had been the longest fight that Tatsuya had in the tournament by a mile. This told him that the next rounds wouldn't be easy. After making sure that the girl was okay, Tatsuya left the field to thunderous applause from the spectators. The opening match could be considered a success and Tatsuya knew it.

With his match finished, Tatsuya was free to do whatever he wanted so he decided to leave the school for the day. He did not have any duties as the Student Council President and the Twins match was only going to happen in the afternoon. After informing them about his decision to leave, Tatsuya reached home. Since he was curious, he decided to take a look at the website where the matches were being streamed and he was pleasantly surprised. The broadcasters had gone out of their way to make it as spotless as possible with detailed commentary on the spells being used as well as using a psion-sensitive camera to show the spells to the general public. All the matches that were finished were available to watch again and he could see that his own match had more than three million views, which, considering the fact that it had only been two hours since it was done, was an abnormal amount. Especially since the second-highest number of views was for Saegusa Koichi's match, at 500k views. He didn't think much of it and closed the site soon. After all, he didn't want to see his opponent's hands too early.

So, Tanaka-kun, since you are the one who pushed the idea, how do you rate the first day of the knockout rounds of the Magic Combat Tournament?" Akira Yamamoto, the Prime Minister of Japan, and his minister of Health, Haruki Tanaka, were having a meeting in the Prime Minister's office.

"For the most part, it is going as we have predicted, sir. Allowing the public, a peek into the magic world is a good idea and the responses have been positive so far. The cumulative views on the broadcasting site have already crossed 100 million." At the end of the day, First High had taken the top 3 spots in the number of views. Tatsuya's number one position was unshakeable with over ten million views while Miya and Maya had taken number three and two spots respectively at around six million views. Koichi had been relegated to number four with a little over four million views at the end of the day.

"However, there is a little problem." Haruki continued. "With Shiba-san coming from a normal background, a few unsavory individuals have tried to use him as an example that the Numbers system is outdated. This has led to a rise in his popularity among the civilians. Although there haven't been any troubles for now, we believe that it may cause some issues down the line." Haruki reported.

"I suppose, being too good can also be a problem for some. Keep a close eye on this development, Tanaka-kun. It might cause some serious issues in the future if we leave it be." Yamamoto said, wholly unaware that the problems had already started.

Hello there. Once again, the plot is slowly moving forward and we are getting glimpses of future events as we go. The twins didn't make an appearance here but they will return soon. I have something special planned for future fights, after all. (Special mention to Me, Myself, and I for the idea but I won't spoil what it is.)

Also thank you to all of the people who consistently drop a review for every chapter. Names like Shen1412, Fencer29, Maheshwara10, etc... come to mind as they have been with me and this fic since the beginning. The others are also starting to review consistently and as a writer, I can't ask for anything more. The only reason why my update speed hasn't dropped off is due to your continued support. Thanks.

I will hopefully see you in two days. Bye and stay safe.