ANIMT - Chapters 22-25

Edit: Updated 4th June 2021 to fix errors and improve flow

ANIMT - Chapter 22. A Pre-game Commotion

“Are you sure you’re okay, onee-sama?”

“Yeah, I’m fine now. I’m sorry for worrying you, Kokomi.”

After the opening ceremony, we each went our separate ways. Hayashi-kun was worried after seeing me trembling and went to call Kokomi, who knew me best.

Kokomi rushed over to me, and seeing how pale I looked, tried to take me to the infirmary as if it was a big deal. I managed to calm her down and slouched in a corner of the training room in an attempt to recover my composure.

“Do you need water? A towel? How about food?” Thanks to Kokomi’s overbearing care, I was able to recover, and now I’m standing up doing my preparatory exercises.

“Mm, please don’t strain yourself. You said you didn’t get enough sleep last night. Sister has three games today, right? If you push yourself too hard and collapse… ”

This was Kokomi’s worrisome nature at its peak.

The magic mock battle would be held in this training building for two days, starting today. Multiple battles would be held at the same time in the large and small halls on the first and third floors of the building.

The games themselves are not played on a winner-takes-all basis; instead, each team will play five games over both days according to a pre-arranged schedule. Teams are given one hundred points in advance, with the winning team of each bout receiving fifty points and the other team losing fifty points.

While the game setup is simple, win battles and earn points, of course there is more to it. Everyone is desperate to come out on top, and most teams have spent several days strategizing to capitalize on any advantage they can find.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already recovered. Anyways, your first battle is a little later in the day than mine, so you and Umetaro-san will be cheering for me, right? You should probably move to the spectator area.”

“Oh, that’s right! Well then, onee-sama, please don’t overdo it, and be careful! I’m rooting for you with all my might!”

Fight, onee-sama! I saw off Kokomi, who was waving away with a buzzing wave.

She really cheered me up, so I have to thank Hayashi-kun later for calling her over.

----What was that gaze that put me on edge though?

I had no clues to work with, but I have a strong suspicion that it was the same person who pushed me down those stairs, and to tell you the truth, I’m still scared. It’s creepy and scary. I’m not sure if I can manage this, but I’ll try my hardest.

I’ve worked so hard to get to this point. In order to prove myself to that teacher, and to repay Kokomi’s kindness for training with me, I have to get a good result in this battle. I have plenty of time to think about that sinister gaze, the likely culprit of my death, after this match.

“… Right!”

I directed my new found determination into a small shout and busied myself finding my partner, Kitora.

The difficult thing that was all too easy to forget about these magic mock battles was that you couldn’t aim for a high score simply by winning and earning points. This was because of that so-called additional evaluation system.

There are various types of points that can be added, such as collaboration points, skill points, and judgment points. It’s really a tricky system.

For example, if you won and earned fifty points, but the way in which you fought did not merit any points from the additional evaluation system, that wasn’t a good result. In fact, even if you lost, the extra points earned from the evaluation system could largely offset the fifty points you lost.

The most unique feature of this tournament was that the way you won, or the way you lost, played a large role in your rank.

And as a player aiming to make it into the rankings, I need to win properly and earn extra points on top of that. In particular, the collaboration points are known to be given out generously, so I would like to find my partner, Kitora, and have a final strategy meeting before the battle.

----And actually, there was one more thing. There was one reason in particular why I could not afford to lose this first game…

“Huh? Isn’t that Nobana-san?”

As my gaze wandered around the room, a voice called out to me from the side, so I turned to look in that direction. There they were, the three dumpling sisters in gym clothes standing close together with oversized grins on their faces.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I mean, are you just loafing around here, or are you feeling super confident?”

“I’m impressed that you even turned up to face us. We were almost ranked last time.”

“Nobana-san, what were your results in the last mock battle? Since you’re so carefree, you must have gotten a high score, right?”

I felt nostalgic as their angry, sarcastic attacks bombarded me. If it wasn’t obvious, these guys are my first opponents. Remembering how surprised I was when I saw the match-up list handed out the day before yesterday, I couldn’t help but shake my head ruefully. I had no idea that I would be playing against my old rivals right off the bat! These match-ups were randomly arranged for all teams.

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This was just another reason, among many, why I couldn’t afford to lose. I never want to lose to these guys, no matter what.

“It’s not that. The last mock battle… didn’t end up going well for me either.”

I managed to suppress my irritation and replied calmly.

By the way, I ended up scoring negative one hundred and fifty points in the last magic mock battle. In other words, I lost five times in a row, each battle reducing my score by fifty points. It’s not like you get disqualified or the mock battle tournament ends for you when your points reach zero. You’re forced to play exactly five games, regardless of whether your score goes negative. This was a really bad experience, now that I think back on it.

“Hmm. Well, I know that Nobana-san’s final mock battle record was the lowest.”

Then don’t ask! They’re still the same insidious bullies that they always were.

“… I mean, you’ve been getting too carried away lately, haven’t you? Yamatori-kun and other classmates have accepted you, and you casually talk with them, even though you placed last in the test. Even though you can’t even use any magic properly. Even though you’re the only student at risk of dropping out of this school.”

I clenched my fists at the directness of this outburst. I wanted to say something back, but I couldn’t retort since she only spoke the truth. At this point, the best thing to do here was to endure. I’ve already decided on the best come-back… I’ll return the favor during our battle.

“And also, Nobana is… ”

I’m sure the three of them got carried away when they saw me being quiet, so they continued to say mean things to me.

----At that moment, someone yanked my arm from behind.

“Eeek… !”

After letting out a strange voice, I noticed that in front of me was someone’s broad back, sheltering me from the three dumpling sisters.

It was Kitora, his flaming red hair easily distinguishing him from any other student she knew.

“What do you guys want with her?”

I couldn’t see his face, but from the low tone of his voice, he must have glared at the three sisters with his trademark, piercing eyes. As I glanced out from behind his back, I could see the three’s shoulders shaking in fear.

“Hey, what the hell, we’re not… ”

“Oh?”

If Kitora took a threatening step forward, the three sisters would surely shrink even more.

“Anyway, let’s go already. These guys should save it for the match… !”

“Yeah, that’s right! There’s no need to do anything right now! See you later, Nobana. I’ll be waiting for our match!”

“You better be ready!”

With that, the girls quickly fled. As for me who was left behind, I remained puzzled for a moment, wondering what had just transpired.

“Hey, we’re going now.”

“Oh… !”

I hurried after him. Somehow, I had found myself indebted to him again. I had to find a chance to thank him again.

“Wait, Kitora! Thank you for saving me just now… !”

“Shut up. Don’t shout.”

“Hey, you’re walking too fast! Slow down a little!”

I managed to catch up to him, and he slowed down slightly as I matched his pace alongside him. An uncontrollable smile broke out across my face, and I turned to take in the sight of the side of his face. He wasn’t looking at me, but I said it again, “Thank you.”

“Let’s do our best in the battle, Kitora! Let’s aim to get ranked!”

“I don’t care about any of that… I’ll just take it as it comes.”

I couldn’t hide my laughter at the typical unfriendly response I had become used to. I have a lot of problems to deal with, and a lot of depressing things to think about, but at this very moment I felt a little lighter. Once again, I inwardly thanked him and Kokomi. Friendship was a wonderful thing.

“I’ll do my best!”

“I already told you to shut up!”

The magic mock battles, and my first match, were finally about to begin.

----

Chapter brought to you by The Patrons.

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ANIMT - Chapter 23. The Start of the Game and Its Consequences

“Now then, we will begin the match between the Nobana Mitsuba and Futaki Kitora team and the Mizumura Mai, Numata Saki, and Kawasaki Ai team. Both teams, please step forward.”

Hearing the names of my tormentors for the first time, I stepped into the arena. My heart pounded from the tension, and I let out a deep breath in an attempt to regain my clarity.

The arena was not so grandiose. In fact, it was no different from a basketball court. The two teams were separated by lines drawn on the floor, and the game would begin as they faced each other.

Behind each team, there was a box containing the items they brought, and a floating white crystal ball. The game would end when one of the crystals was destroyed. The winning team would earn fifty points, and the other team would lose fifty.

The egg-sized crystal ball was magically floating and could be broken by a surprisingly light impact. The game could last up to fifteen minutes, with each team focusing on destroying their enemy’s crystal ball and protecting their own. In order to do this, each player needed to use all of the magic they had at their disposal, a simple but surprisingly difficult task while under pressure.

I glanced at the three dumpling sisters on the other side of the battlefield. They seemed smug and relaxed, talking happily about what they would do in the break before their next match. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wanted to see them fail.

“Kitora, follow the plan.”

“… If you mess up, I’ll blow you away.”

“Don’t mess-up, Kitora.”

After we exchanged some light words, the teacher who was acting as the referee stirred into action, “Then let the match begin!” The mood in the room instantly changed; the air around us grew sticky with tension.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

At the signal, Kitora moved before anyone else. He made a cleaving motion with his hand and a gust of wind erupted from it. It was a splendid opening move that did not demand a great deal of mana, but required our opponent to go out of their way to handle it. Great bang for our buck.

The attack itself was known as attribute-based magic, and it was S-rank in terms of difficulty, a type of magic that could only be used by the chosen few. Amongst attribute-based magic, you can find a lot of different types that create and manipulate the elements: wind, water, fire, and lightning. This was the kind of magic that fantasy readers yearned for and would give up anything to use at least once.

It was not something that anyone could pull off, no matter how high their magical aptitude and power was. As with healing magic, compatibility and sense are far more important than any other concerns, so only a few people could use these types of magic.

The other thing to note about attribute-based magic, each person has an affinity for a single attribute. Kitora-kun was a first-year student, so for him to be able to use wind-attribute magic made him a veritable genius for his age, equal to Kokomi.

Even though he was a delinquent who barely attended any classes, seeing that almost made me feel sick. I hope someone can understand my feelings as a near-dropout who trained in the shadows of two geniuses. No, I mustn’t get discouraged here. I’ve already changed my outlook on life.

Besides, it’s very reassuring to have him on my side.

“Kyaa!”

With a gust of wind, Kitora ran through the three dumpling sisters who had lost their balance. In no time at all, he had closed in on the enemy’s crystal ball, and his brilliant move caused a groan to rise from the audience.

Perhaps it was the unusual combination of the school’s worst delinquent and student, or perhaps it was simply a coincidence in scheduling, but there was a surprisingly large number of spectators for our match. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kokomi and Umetaro cheering us on from the front row, and I could tell they were also fascinated by Kitora’s opening move.

Kitora swung his leg up and was about to smash the crystal ball with a powerful spinning kick.

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“Don’t look down on me!”

One of the three dumpling sisters, Numata Saki, managed to cast barrier magic on their crystal ball just in time to prevent Kitora’s attack. Kitora bounced off the transparent membrane and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Yeah, no way it would be that simple.

Barrier magic was hard to maintain for an extended period of time, but if you managed to cast it at the right time, your defense would be ironclad.

“Nice save, Saki! We’ll get going too, Ai!”

“Okay, Mai!”

With our attack thwarted, the other two of the three dumpling sisters sprung into action. Ai Kawasaki cast a levitation spell on Mizumura Mai, causing her to float. She pointed her fingertips at the crystal ball beside me, releasing a mass of air.

It was an air cannon using B-rank compression magic.

“Hey, watch out!”

“It’s okay!”

In the midst of Kitora’s sharp voice, I used movement magic to shift the position of the crystal ball as much as I could. The air cannon hit the floor and fizzled out with a bang.

Two or three more air cannonballs flew at the crystal ball, but I managed to avoid them by moving it again. This was the only skill I had, and this was its chance to shine!

“Oh my god, that’s so depressing!”

Mizumura Mai, showing her irritation, now shot a blast of air directly at me, the magic user, as I floated up.

In a magic mock battle, direct attacks on humans were not necessarily prohibited. The criteria was vague, but disabling or distracting your opponent was allowed as long as it did not cause serious injury. Injuries were a natural part of any sport. It was said that this game was meant to make the students understand the danger of magic, so a little bit of injury was considered part of the lesson. In addition, a few healing magic professionals were on stand-by for the duration of the tournament, just in case of an emergency.

Mizumura’s attack wasn’t exactly against the rules. But it’s not like I am planning to get hit by it.

“Hey-ho.”

I leapt to the right, avoiding the attack directed at me. Right after that, there was an attack directed at the crystal ball, which I narrowly neutralized by moving the ball with my movement magic.

I used to be on the volleyball team in junior high school, so I’m pretty confident in my reflexes. I actually tried to use my technique during the last tournament, but the situation quickly turned for the worse after I ran out of stamina and magic.

And most importantly, I now have a partner, Kitora.

The first step in our strategy was a very simple division of roles, with Kitora in charge of attack while I handled the defense. If this was not enough to decide the game, we would move on to the second phase of the strategy. Until then, my most important job was to keep the crystal ball safe.

----I can’t lose here.

While chanting this phrase like a mantra, I continued to avoid the attacks directed at the crystal ball with all my might.

And so the back-and-forth battle continued, until there were only five minutes left in our battle. The skirmish waged on, with no end in sight.

As expected of the three sisters who were close friends, our side gradually fell behind when faced with their well-coordinated strategy. The three of them formed a well-balanced team, with Numata Saki’s defensive barrier magic, Ai Kawasaki’s supporting spells, and Mizumura Mai’s all-out offensive. Their movement showed no weakness nor signs of slowing down.

It seemed like their boast of being on the verge of getting ranked had not been a lie.

In order to make up for the disadvantage we faced in terms of team size, the three dumpling sisters had a slight restriction: they were not allowed to bring any items into the fight, but as this match had proven so far, that did not seem to matter much to them.

Kitora-kun was really close to ending the match in the beginning, but he couldn’t deal the finishing blow. I can’t blame him for being disheartened.

As the time limit approached, the girls seemed to have changed their strategy and started working towards ensuring the match was a draw.

In this game, if neither team broke the enemy’s crystal ball within the time limit and the game ended in a draw, the team with the higher number of additional points would have the advantage. The winning team would not gain fifty points, but whichever team gained more evaluation points was essentially deemed the winner, resulting in the other team losing fifty points.

A draw would not earn you nearly as many points as a win, but it was not a bad strategy. It damaged your opponent and allowed you to evade the point penalty. With how close the clock was, it was a safe strategy.

At this point, the three dumpling sisters had definitely gathered more coordination points than us. Having come to the same conclusion, they switched their attention to Kitora, since I was forced to stand in one place to protect the ball anyway. Their previous actions seemed to be a show designed to earn a lot of coordination points, and now they just needed to protect their crystal ball. All three of them concentrated on this task, facing off against Kitora.

Gauging the atmosphere of the room, I could tell that no-one was paying much attention to me any more. When even everyone in the audience began to forget about my existence, I finally decided to move on to the next strategy.

I gave a small nod to Kitora, who gave me a brief glance of acknowledgement, and pointed my finger at the box of items I had brought in. With the help of my well-practiced material manipulation magic, a Shirotama doll made by Umetaro popped out of the box.

I focused my attention on the doll, imagining the real Shirotama. On Saturday and Sunday, I practiced moving the doll over and over. The Shirotama doll ran noiselessly out of the arena, its movements not unlike that of a real cat’s.

While Kitora used his flashy wind magic to create several petite tornadoes to draw the attention of the three sisters, the Shirotama doll moved closer and closer to the enemy’s crystal ball.

Some of the audience seemed to notice the doll, “Hey, is that a real cat?” “It’s a puppet being moved by material manipulation magic.” “But it’s so lifelike! It looks just like a living creature.” and other voices could be heard.

“Hey, Mai, look behind you!”

When the Shirotama doll finally made it to the crystal ball, the three sisters seemed to have finally recognized their enemy.

Mizumura Mai fired an air cannon at the doll, but I remained calm and focused only on controlling it.

----Calm yourself. Don’t worry. Just focus on pulling this off.

Amongst the crowd, not too loud, but not too quiet, I heard a voice I recognized. “That’s my onee-sama!” I could hear Kokomi shouting in awe.

Kitora lifted the doll’s body with a small breeze, and the Shirotama doll flew up to the top of the enemy’s crystal ball.

In a panic, Numata Saki tried to put up a barrier, but it was blocked by Kitora’s petite tornado that he had created beforehand, delaying its activation.

There was nothing left to get in the way.

“Please, Shirotama!”

Concentrating on all of my effort into my fingertips, I flicked the doll’s tail vigorously. With the support of Kitora’s wind, the tail swung down at the crystal ball with all the strength I could muster.

Just as everyone gasped, the ball vigorously hit the ground, and with a loud sound, broke into shiny pieces.

----

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ANIMT - Chapter 24. Mock Game, Over!

The crystal ball shattered as the Shirotama doll landed beautifully. Utterly dumbfounded, the three dumpling sisters stood in shock. And then, for a moment that stretched to eternity, the hall was completely silent, before a round of applause roused everyone from their stupor as cheers shook the air.

“Wow! That pink-haired girl is good!”

“That red-haired guy, isn’t he that notorious delinquent, Futaki Kitora? It’s amazing that he’s able to use magic like that… ”

“I saw that girl get beat up in the last match. And yet, to be able to use matter manipulation magic like that… this was a nice fight!”

“I also liked the teamwork between the two at the end!”

“Onee-sama is wonderful! That’s my onee-sama!”

Various voices rang in my ears, but the faint sound of Kokomi’s voice gradually made me take in my current situation. In disbelief, I looked at the referee and saw our names listed as the winners along with the declaration that the match was over.

“I won… ?”

I slumped to my knees and let out a mumble as if I were still dreaming, and before I knew it, Kitora came to my side and looked down at me with an equally dumbfounded look.

He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up.

“Of course. You’ve won… so stand tall.”

Wobbling to my feet, I finally snapped to my senses. With Kitora’s words, the victory finally started to feel real. A delayed, itchy feeling of joy slowly spread through my body.

“K-Kitora, we won. We’ve won!”

“… Oh great.”

“We did it, we did it! Our first victory! Yay!”

The look on his face was a little gentler than his usual scowl, and I couldn’t contain my increasing happiness. However, while the venue was boiling with excitement over our victory, a high-pitched voice that couldn’t read the mood rang out, putting a damper on the festivities.

“We don’t approve!”

The owner of the voice was Mizumura Mai, the eldest of the three dumpling sisters. The other two, their faces twisted in anger, come stomping towards us.

“There’s no way you’re a dropout and can use that kind of matter manipulation magic! What kind of trickery did you use?”

“That’s right! You must have used some dirty tricks! We’re not going to let you win!”

“We want a rematch! I demand a rematch!”

I was in a state of ‘what the hell are they talking about?’ as the three sisters pressed me with their absurd comments. I’m sure they know that it was impossible to cheat in this magic mock battle under the watchful eye of all the teachers, who are magic professionals, who are watching for any irregularities.

I guess their pride was wounded by the fact that they lost to me. The audience seemed to have lost interest in the girls after their display of ineptitude. I guess I unintentionally gave them a pitying look, too. They did lose to the worst student after all.

As the three dumpling sisters prickled in agitation, I couldn’t help but shy away from their now demon-like forms. Kitaro must have had enough of this though as I heard him say in a low voice, “Annoying” before waving his right hand in the air.

“Oh!”

With that, the girl in front of me was suddenly blown backwards by a gust of wind.

“Kya!”

“Wait, wow!”

“What? What?”

----Of course, the two remaining dumpling sisters did not escape from his ire.

I’m not sure what to make of this.

“… Kitora, aren’t you overdoing it?”

“It was self-defense. I let them off with a light breeze instead of using my fist to knock some sense into them.”

Kitora was pretty nonchalant about it and I thought, “Well, it’s the three dumpling sisters after all.”

On the contrary, I remembered something, and thought that this presented the perfect opportunity. While everyone was distracted, including the referee who hurried to call the first-aid team, I used movement magic to summon a certain object from the box of items I had brought to the fight.

With my skillful manipulation of the mystery objects, I moved them closer and closer to the three dumpling sisters. The items in question were of course bamboo skewers given to me by Umetaro on the same day I received the Shirotama doll. I already knew who my first opponents were while I ate the molasses-coated Shirotama-styled dumplings that he had made for me. The mental picture of these skewers sticking out of their dumpling heads almost made me choke at the time. Who knew I would actually get a chance to pull this off?

Of course, actually doing it would only be a prank: eighty percent a joke and twenty percent pure mischief.

I didn’t go into this match with the intention of harming them physically or mentally, but since I couldn’t think of any other items to bring besides the Shirotama doll (and I didn’t think I could handle anything else well), I just put them in the box and left it at that. There were exactly three of them. As long as I bluntened the tips, they would not be deemed dangerous and easily passed the inspection.

Feeling like a naughty kid who secretly let off small fireworks, I nervously inserted the bamboo skewers one by one into the girls’ dumpling hair. The dumplings and skewers were perfectly arranged and thanks to the subtlety of it, they looked like one giant plate of tri-color dumplings.

“Done.”

“… No, what the hell are you doing?”

I might have been extremely nervous while doing it, but I managed to commit the deed without a hitch. Many times I had thought to myself, “I’m going to skewer those dumplings one day! I’m going to skewer those dumplings!”

Today was the day! A little revenge like this is fine.

“Good work, onee-sama!”

Before I knew it, the crowd began to disperse and as people were leaving their seats, Kokomi came running towards me, holding a towel. Umetaro stood behind her, smiling.

After taking one more look at the sorry state of the three dumpling sisters, firmly engraving this image in my mind, I picked up the Shirotama doll and sent them a peace sign.

“You did it, Kitora!”

“… You’re too happy after winning a single match.”

I waved my hand up towards my partner, and he sighed and raised his hand the same way for me to reach. And just like that, we completed a victory high five.

-----On this note, Kitora and I won our first match with flying colors.

* * * *

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On the first day of the magic mock battle tournament, we won two out of our three games, including the game against the three dumpling sisters. As you can imagine, it was tough fighting against third-year students, even with their various handicaps. The best we could do against such a strong team was get some bonus points.

On the second day, we won our fourth match and lost the last. The one we lost was to a pair from the same class as us, Yamadori-kun and Morido-san. They seemed to be two promising rookies in the magic sports research club, and while we put up a good fight, we could not beat them in the end.

As a result, Kitora and I won three of our five games and lost two. However, thanks to the high evaluation we received in terms of cooperation in every game, the total number of points was a figure far beyond any I had seen before.

I don’t know what the criteria are, so I have no clue whether this is enough to get us ranked.

----And before we knew it, it was time for the closing ceremony.

I was currently seated next to my partner Kitora in the unranked area, listening to the jovial chairman Uedo announce the rankings while I prayed earnestly.

Since it was pretty clear that Kokomi was already ranked, she sat closer to the stage than us. If you saw her game record, you would see numbers that made you think things like, “Is this the bank account of a billionaire?” “I guess her being ranked was inevitable.” “If this is not considered a good result, just what is mine worth?” “She might be the youngest, but this has to be the first place result hands down.”

“Er, sixth place is… ”

The chairman’s voice echoed cheerfully in the same gymnasium where the opening ceremony was held. Each announcement ended in a round of applause and we had already reached the half-way mark in the rankings.

At this point, I was starting to lose confidence in myself. I had hoped that I could make it to tenth or ninth place in the rankings, but anything higher than that was in the realm of gods. I was not conceited enough to believe myself worthy of such a rank.

Still, I couldn’t give up on the slightest hope. So I waited with bated breath for the chairman to proclaim a miracle.

“Fifth place, and first year students at that! This has been a formidable batch of first years! It’s the Futaki Kitora-kun and Nobana Mitsuba-san team!”

“Eh… ?”

Oh! I couldn’t believe my ears as a voice came out of nowhere. Fifth place is… Fifth place? Kitora and me?

“You’re the duo that stole the show with your exquisite teamwork and nerve-wracking fights. Now, come on up to the stage.”

The chairman smiled like a spring breeze, living up to the meaning of his name, and held out his hand to the area where we sat in shock. “Come on, Futaki Kitora-kun, Nobana Mitsuba-san,” he said, calling our names once more.

Hearing my name for the second time, I finally snapped to my senses, realizing that I hadn’t misheard anything.

“Hey, hey, did you hear that? Did you hear it too, Kitora? We’re number five in the rankings. Fifth place, fifth place!”

“Shut up, I heard.”

“No, no, let’s be more happy! We’re number five! That’s great! Oh, our names have two and three in them, so it adds up to five! That’s even more awesome!”

“I don’t get what you’re saying… Hey, let go of my arm!”

The joy and numbing excitement of my first victory enveloped my body, and I found myself hugging Kitora’s arm beside me. He tried to shake me off, but I clung all the harder, refusing to let go. I think he should be more involved in this overflowing vortex of joy consuming me.

“What am I going to do, get an interview or something on the stage? I don’t have any idea! What do you have in mind, Kitora?”

“I don’t know! I mean, I told you to let go of my arm!”

“What should I do? I’m going to be seen by so many people, and my hair is so scruffy!”

“Are you listening? Can you actually stop, Mitsuha!?”

----Hmm? What was that?

“Hey, Kitora, did you… ?”

My mind was plunged into disarray.

Replaying the moment in my head one more time… Yeah, I’m certain I wasn’t imagining things.

“K-Kitora, one more time! Say it one more time! You called my name just now, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“No, you called me by it. I’m sure I heard you correctly! What the hell, Kitora, you remembered my first name… ?”

“Shut up, you goof! If you’re going to get your ass to the podium, let’s go!”

I stood up abruptly, my chair clattering to the ground behind me. Kitora quickly righted it, grabbing my arm roughly and pulling me through the crowd. The people around us clapped and gladly cleared the way for us.

My arm was a little sore, but I was in such a good mood that I didn’t care. With surprise after surprise, starting with my first victory and the accomplishment of getting revenge on the three dumpling sisters, I somehow ended up ranked. And the distance between myself and my partner, Tora and I, had definitely shortened.

I already understood him well enough to know that his crude behavior was just a cover for his embarrassment, so I didn’t mind if he called me a jerk. I won’t call him out on it though, since I’m sure he’d get mad.

At any rate, on the best possible note, the magic mock battle ended!

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TLC: Dima

RW: askinkov90

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ANIMT - Chapter 25. What We Won

“Well, sir. Could I have your apology?”

I spoke with a sly smile as I thrust the evidence, my match record, in front of sensei’s eyes.

As soon as the closing ceremony ended, I took Kokomi and a reluctant Kitora on a suicide mission to the chemistry room. Since I hadn’t seen him at the ceremony, I assumed that he had already returned to his own territory, and my prediction was right on the money. Here he was, in the chemistry room. The door was locked since he was playing with Pochitaro, but when I made it clear who I was, he let me in surprisingly easily, and I cut straight to the chase.

Looking down at the seated teacher, I waited breathlessly for his next reaction. My guess was that his next reaction would take one of three possible patterns.

The first, and best pattern, would be where he honestly admits his misunderstanding and bows his head sincerely as he said he would.

In the second pattern, he would develop another theory and continue being suspicious of me, refusing to apologize for his misunderstanding.

The third, and most troublesome pattern, would be where he apologized but is very reluctant to do so, and likely tries something else in the future whenever he finds a chance.

Depending on how he reacts, I will have to change my response.

I’m guessing two or three are the most likely candidates. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten used to his usual cold treatment, but I just can’t believe that he would honestly apologize to me. Especially in the case of pattern two. The worst that could happen would be him refusing to even honor the deal he made on the condition of me getting ranked. When you hold all of the cards, you can do whatever you want at the cost of your pride. If you have no pride, then there is nothing stopping you from doing what you want.

Kitora didn’t seem happy to be dragged along to this, evident by the fact he leaned against a wall far away from me. He had made it clear in his body language that he would only watch from the sidelines. I think his attitude has softened though, since it doesn’t look like he’ll leave on his own.

Kokomi stood behind me in a supportive position. Incidentally, she was, as most of us expected, ranked first by far. When I praised her, she turned red and panicked, which was adorable. It’s no secret that I felt a little frightened seeing her blow away three older male students with the one spell all by herself. This reaffirmed my vow to never get on her bad side.

“… ”

As the silence continued, and as I continued ruminating on unnecessary things, the teacher finally looked up from his crouched over position, albeit silently.

And then, out of the blue, he leapt to his feet with a clatter.

“Oh. I fully admit that I was wrong and I sincerely apologize to you. I’m… sorry.”

He stated his apology while bowing his head deeply.

“Huh?”

I was blatantly upset by this unexpected pattern one. Even Kokomi behind me didn’t expect it, and I could feel her gasp in surprise.

He did not seem to care though, as he kept his silver hair visible to me and spun needless words.

“I’ve seen all of your matches since the first round. I just didn’t get to play referee. Every good fight you put up in your matches was brilliant. Especially… ”

He looked up slightly and gently plucked the game record from my hand. His movements were careful, and I was finally confused by the difference from his usual mannerisms.

“The matter manipulation magic you showed in this match. I’ve never seen a student use that kind of magic so well. I could feel your will dwelling firmly in the movements of that cat doll. Improving your magic power in such a short period of time and demonstrating such vivid imagery powering this magic, there’s no way I can say that you possess fake magic power obtained through ill-gotten means.”

The devil-glasses teacher cleared his throat somewhat self-mockingly as he looked over my match record.

“It’s a bit of a trite expression but I seem to have been genuinely moved by your matches. Normally, it would make sense for me to come to you and apologize, but… pathetically, I didn’t know how to go about it. I’ve been waiting here with Pochitaro for you to come. I’ve made some unwarranted accusations against you, and I’ve been horrible to you because of it. It’s not something that can be forgiven, but I want to apologize again. I’m really, really sorry.”

With that, the teacher once again hung his head deeper than before towards me. The look on his face was unquestionably serious. It was a straightforward apology, and anyone could tell that it was not an act.

I’ve had a lot of unreasonable treatment from him over things I did not do. When I thought about it, I wondered if I could get away with it. I could easily take this unique opportunity to say something like, “Your apology is lukewarm! You should apologize more sincerely, mainly on your knees!” No, I don’t want to demand him to get down on his knees, but it’s a matter of feeling.

Two conflicting emotions tossed around in my mind: should I forgive him now, or should I not?

A strange silence followed, and as Kitora and Kokomi watched my every move, I let out a distressed huff and opened my mouth.

“Raise your head, sir. That’s enough.”

“… But I can’t do that.”

“Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up and you’ve apologized, I’m done. Now, as long as you keep your promise, I’ll be fine with it. If you change your attitude toward me in the future, then… I will not say anything about this then either.”

I urged him again to raise his head quickly, and he finally turned his face to me, his glasses slipping down. His silver hair, which had always been in order, was in disarray, and his clear face was contorted in a pathetic manner. Seeing his face like this, I was somewhat satisfied. Besides…

“And Pochitaro, I’m done with you.”

“Wafu… ”

Actually, Pochitaro, who had been at the teacher’s feet all along, had since moved to lay his round head down against me, along with his master. Maybe he was just sleeping? I thought that he was just sleeping, but when I realized that he was bowing his head and apologizing as the teacher had done, I felt quite distracted.

“Thanks for this… Nobana. It seems that I was quite wrong about you. It may be too late, but as your homeroom teacher, I’d like to deal with you properly from now on. This is a list of promises.”

The teacher held out the document on his desk to me and smiled at me with the eyes of a teacher looking at a student for the first time. I see, this was a very beautiful smile. I could now understand why the girls were so excited about him.

I carefully held the materials I had received in my chest and soaked in the feeling of accomplishment that washed over me once again.

All the hard work I had put in over the past month has paid off. Next time, I was definitely going to throw a party to celebrate being ranked, including Kokomi and Kitora. At that time, I’ll ask the teacher to bring a gift or two. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to oblige.

As I was chewing on my victory in every way, my teacher, who had a calm face, suddenly opened his mouth as if he was having a hard time saying something.

“And… I don’t know if I should tell you this or not since it’s completely a result of my speculation. But please accept it as honest advice.”

“Advice… ?”

“It’s already a proven fact that you are not a user of magic awakening potion. As for that, I don’t have the slightest doubt anymore. Since that’s the case, then you and the Magic Research Institute have absolutely nothing to do with each other.”

I nodded at the teacher’s words, since I had never actually had anything to do with such an institute. The teacher, however, still had a mysterious look on his face.

“Your eye color, your hair color, and the delay in your magical aptitude were all coincidences that had nothing to do with the drug. That should have cleared up the whole story. Yet, I wonder why. For the life of me, I can’t help but feel that you are involved in something much bigger.”

“What… What do you mean… ?”

“This is really more like a hunch. I can’t explain any deeper reason why I feel this way. I just can’t help but think that there’s a deeper darkness swirling around you than I initially thought. I know I’m a chemistry teacher and I’m not supposed to say anything unscientific, but I just can’t shake this bad feeling.”

The teacher talked, but it was clear that he really wasn’t sure of what he was saying. He seemed to be lost for words, which was unusual for a man who always spoke so clearly.

To sum up what the teacher said, I guess he understood that I was not a drug user, but that I might be involved in something else beyond his wildest imagination. It also seemed like the teacher considered the possibility that the institute and I may be involved in some other matter that was not related to the mere use of a magic aptitude boosting drug.

He probably did not dare to tell me more since he didn’t have any proof either. Or maybe it was because he felt uncomfortable saying something that would raise new suspicions.

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As I listened to his words, for some reason, I unconsciously remembered that gaze that unsettled me during the opening ceremony. The bad premonition that the teacher was worried about, and that look that pierced through me. And the existence of the criminal who pushed me down those stairs.

Could it be that they were all connected?

The teacher noticed the change in my complexion and switched expressions to a more relaxed one.

“I’m sorry for making you feel uneasy. What I’m trying to say, however, is that if anything were to happen to you, I would spare no effort in helping you. It would be best if it never came to that, but if it did, I promise I will always be there to help you, even if I have to apologize again.”

“Sir… ”

What a sincere and decent statement, I was unintentionally touched. The feeling only lasted a few moments though, before a memory of what he had subjected me to resurfaced. I’ll definitely ask him to bring something for me at the party. Only then will my irritation be soothed slightly.

He looked as if he was a different person (perhaps this was the face he normally showed to the rest of the students), holding Pochitaro and putting on a kind face.

“Besides, you’ll be on summer vacation in three days. You should go and have fun like a student without thinking about anything else.”

I tilted my head at that statement, “Hmm?” It’s true that the summer vacation is just around the corner, but I deflated slightly at the thought of losing so much of it to make up lessons.

“Yeah, well, there’s the make-up classes though? In my case… ”

“Huh? Considering how well you did in the mock battles, on top of the results of this test, I don’t think you need any make-up lessons.”

Huh!? My eyes opened wide. I figured I might be exempted from the mandatory magic study camp, but I didn’t realize that I would also be exempted from the other make-up lessons too.

I heard Kitora muttering to himself in the distance, “How can there be make-up classes for those who made it into the rankings?” Kokomi, who had been silent for a long time, shouted gleefully, “Congratulations, onee-sama!” She was as happy as if this were her own achievement.

Caught up in the excitement, I forgot all about those depressing problems I’d been dealing with earlier and whispered, “Yes!” and clenched my fists tightly.

I have some research to do before the summer break using the materials I have at hand, but as long as I finish that, I can enjoy the last summer of my life to the fullest.

It would be impossible for me to not get excited.

“Onee-sama, I would love for you to spend some time at my villa! We’ll spend the summer in a summer resort together!”

“That sounds so rich and wonderful, Kokomi! Oh, but before we go on summer vacation, why don’t we all have a party to celebrate your ranking? We can do it in either Kokomi’s, Kitora’s, or my room!”

“… Hey, why is my name coming up?”

“Oh, maybe we could include Umetaro-san and use the dorm manager’s room! What do you think, Kitora?”

“Aren’t you ignoring more and more of what I have to say… ?”

We forgot where we were and got excited, but the teacher didn’t pay any attention to us and just watched us quietly. Porchitaro also seemed to be enjoying himself.

The footsteps of summer were almost upon us.

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Chapter brought to you by The Patrons.

TLC: Dima

RW: askinkov90

ED: Purplemen101

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