In the back row of the stands, Shiori sat alone, her gaze distant. The sting of her unexpected loss in the Women's Speed Shooting semifinals lingered, exposing a fragility in her heart that had cost her in the third-place match.
What am I even doing here? she thought, her mind adrift.
Holed up in her room, Shiori had absentmindedly switched on the monitor, catching Tōya's qualifier round. His display of "Arithmetic Chain" stunned her—a spell born of relentless effort, wielded by a First High first-year tied to the Ten Master Clans, like Shōki. Compelled to see him in person, she'd rushed to the venue, leaving without a word to Airi, Kuzuko, or her classmates. They were probably exasperated by now.
A woman's voice broke her reverie. "Is this seat taken?"
"Oh… no, go ahead," Shiori stammered.
The girl in a First High uniform was Suzune Ichihara, a third-year strategy staff member—and someone tied to Shiori's past. Before her adoption into the Jūnanaya family, Shiori had borne the surname "Ichika," a name linked to Suzune's lineage.
"I watched the women's matches," Suzune said, her tone measured. "You've grown."
"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Shiori asked, her voice edged with skepticism.
"I'm afraid I lack the skill for comfort," Suzune replied coolly.
Suzune knew better than to offer empty solace. Their past taught her that Shiori's position—different from her own—made cheap words hurtful.
"But I'm relieved," Suzune added.
"Relieved?" Shiori echoed, puzzled.
"Yes. To see you express yourself, even after such pain, when you used to stay silent no matter how much you were hurt."
Shiori blinked, caught off guard. Suzune offered a faint smile and stood. "You've found good friends. Seems I'm not needed here."
"Wait—" Shiori began, but her gaze shifted. Airi and Kuzuko approached, the latter in a cooler jacket, fresh from the Battle Board qualifiers. Shiori looked away, embarrassed.
"By way of apology," Suzune said, "here's one tidbit: the engineer behind Kitayama's adjustments is competing tomorrow in Men's Pillar Break. Keep an eye out."
With a nod to Airi and Kuzuko, Suzune slipped away. Before Shiori could process her words, her friends called out, prompting a reflexive apology.
Meanwhile, Tōya faced Crimson Prince in the Men's Speed Shooting finals. Crimson Prince's expression flickered with surprise and déjà vu before he steadied himself. "Rokutsuka, right? I saw your semifinals. Replicating 'Arithmetic Chain'—impressive."
"Thanks," Tōya replied, a sly edge to his voice. "Didn't expect praise from a genius."
"But I'll win," Crimson Prince declared. "Even against a Ten Master Clans member, this is a serious fight."
Mutual respect laced their words, but the air crackled with rivalry. Tōya's smirk was fearless. "Serious, huh? I'll take on 'Cardinal George' and see how I measure up."
Crimson Prince steeled himself. His history with Shōki, another Ten Master Clans scion, taught him not to underestimate Tōya. Something else nagged him—a battle-hardened aura, unusual for a magic technician, reminiscent of Shōki. As Tōya moved toward the range, he tossed out, "I'll settle that score from back then."
Score or grudge, Tōya's cryptic words left Crimson Prince tilting his head, puzzled.
The Men's Speed Shooting finals: First High's Tōya Rokutsuka versus Third High's Crimson Prince. A Ten Master Clans heir against the discoverer of the Cardinal Code. The crowd buzzed until a "Quiet, please" flashed on the monitors, hushing them.
Both competitors, goggles on, gripped rifle-shaped CADs. The signals lit up, and Tōya unleashed his finals spell: "Frozen Arithmetic Pillar." Four ice pillars materialized outside the scoring field, drawing gasps from the crowd. Crimson Prince, startled, muttered inwardly, Pointless.
Ice pillars that tall in this situation? The Psion cost must be astronomical. He's going all-in… wait—
His "Invisible Bullet" failed to activate in the scoring field. The CAD was flawless, leaving one conclusion: Is he interfering with the entire field?
Half-right. "Frozen Arithmetic Pillar" combined powerful field interference with weight-system Cardinal Code fixed-speed interference, blending "Arithmetic Chain's" cascading effect with "Active Air Mine's" convergence magic to disrupt opponent clay trajectories. Tōya's "Arithmetic Chain" already incorporated convergence magic as an aid—without it, he couldn't mimic Shiori's original. His skill made it seamless, so he stuck with his version.
The four one-meter-wide, ten-meter-tall ice pillars were Yugen's playful flourish, leveraging Tōya's freeze magic expertise. Creating Pillar Break-sized pillars was energy-intensive, but Yugen optimized a vibration-dampening freeze spell—tinkered with during study sessions—to cut the load to under a third. The energy balance was offset by movement and convergence magic, plus field-wide fixed-speed interference.
Crimson Prince, realizing "Invisible Bullet" was countered, tried another spell—then froze. The scoring field shimmered with light, obscuring the clays. Yugen's spell mimicked a sun pillar: pulverized clay fragments seeded ice crystals, creating a pseudo-diamond dust effect with sunlight. The pillars were a setup for this blinding spectacle.
Tōya, using specialized perception magic, tracked the clays effortlessly. Crimson Prince, reliant on instinct and launcher predictions, could only fire external magic bullets blindly.
The two-stage spell stunned the crowd. Katsuto, watching live, showed rare surprise. Mayumi, beside him, was equally floored. "Incredible… Tōya's victory is sealed."
"Suzune mentioned 'something big,' but pillars in the field? Only Tatsuya or Yugen could pull that off," Mayumi said.
The spell exposed "Invisible Bullet's" weakness, requiring immense Psion reserves and skill. Mayumi guessed Tōya aimed to flex his Ten Master Clans power, missing the personal grudge fueling him.
The score widened. Tōya hit his hundredth clay, triggering the buzzer. First High's students erupted in cheers. Final score: 100–11. A near-total rout.
"Both Speed Shooting titles secured," Mayumi said, beaming.
"Let's discuss that later," Katsuto cautioned, and she nodded.
In Women's Battle Board, Honoka took first in the final qualifier race, advancing. Takasuke cleared the men's qualifiers. In the meeting room, Yugen endured Mayumi's enthusiastic back-slaps as Mari looked on, bemused.
"Amazing, Yugen! Both your athletes won—huge achievement!" Mayumi gushed.
"President, calm down," Suzune interjected. "Yugen's not enjoying it."
"Oh, come on, it's not that bad, right?" Mayumi teased.
"I'm not into masochism," Yugen deadpanned, brushing her off. Mari stifled a laugh, but the mood wasn't entirely upbeat.
"It's great Tōya won, but…" Mari trailed off.
"Third High swept second to fourth," Suzune noted.
While Tōya claimed Men's Speed Shooting, Third High dominated the lower ranks, mirroring the women's results in reverse. The men's drive, sparked by the women's success, had tipped into overzealousness, then floundering. Motivation was key, but it could spiral into pressure and collapse—a pattern reflected in the men's scores.
"Men and women flipped results," Mari said, frowning.
"The women's lead cushions us," Suzune countered. "No need to catastrophize."
Her analysis didn't fully lift the gloom. "She's right," Katsuto said. "The women overperformed. Holding the lead today is enough."
"But the men's struggles aren't just Speed Shooting," Mari added. "Battle Board had one qualifier out of three."
The women swept Speed Shooting and all advanced in Battle Board, but the men faltered: one podium in Speed Shooting, one quarterfinal loss, one qualifier dropout, and only one Battle Board advancement. Engineering played a role in the disparity.
"If the men keep sliding, it could haunt us next year," Katsuto warned.
"Picking up a losing habit?" Yugen asked.
"Exactly," Katsuto confirmed.
Mayumi and Mari fell silent, their faces grim. As First High's leaders, banking on "this year's fine" was unthinkable. Mayumi turned to Yugen. "How were the other first-years?"
Before the meeting, Yugen had led a first-year athletes' briefing. The women were buoyant, but the men—bar Tōya and Takasuke—were deflated, the room split like a mild "Inferno" spell.
"The vibe's polarized," Yugen said. "The women are solid, no notes. The men in both events are holding up, but the single-event guys are down bad. I told them to ease up, not overthink, but more coddling's a bad idea. I've told the girls not to baby them either."
"That's… harsh, isn't it?" Mayumi ventured.
She had a point, but Yugen stuck to facts. "If it was just shock from losing, I'd step in. But some tech staff still resent Tatsuya, and others don't like me palling with a Course 2 student. That's their problem now."
Words wouldn't sway them, and Yugen feared they'd twist it into "pressure" later. With every athlete he and Tatsuya backed hitting the podium, the laggards' funk was a tough fix.
"Fair enough," Mari sighed, recalling her own clashes with Hattori over Tatsuya's disciplinary role. Mayumi, silent, mirrored her unease.
"The men need a boost," Katsuto said.
"What can we do now?" Mari asked.
It was late for major fixes. One option—overloading the tech staff—wasn't ideal. The other, Yugen knew from his grandfather, was inevitable, though it made him sigh inwardly.
"Reviving their morale is doable," Yugen said.
"You up for it, Mitsuya?" Katsuto asked.
"Someone's gotta do it. It's not about 'can'—it's 'must.' As rookie coordinator, I'll deliver. Tōya will pull his weight."
Tomorrow's Cloud Ball qualifiers-to-finals and Pillar Break qualifiers featured Yugen and Tōya, both Ten Master Clans scions. A win could lift the men, but Yugen faced a challenge: outshining Tatsuya's trio of Miyuki, Shizuku, and Emi in Women's Pillar Break. Katsuto's demand to flex clan power left no room for retreat. The risks of standing out could wait.
"Alright, Mitsuya. We're counting on you," Katsuto said.
Yugen nodded firmly. No one dared interrupt.