The Honor at Magic High School (魔法科高校の優等生)

2095-08-06 Speed Shooting Rookie Event Qualifying Rounds

This is Day Four of the Nine Schools Competition.

Today marks the start of the Rookie Events...

and the qualifying rounds for Speed Shooting are being held right now.

Wh-What's going on here?

Does she have air mines set up or something?

I've never seen magic like this before!

Shiori, do you know what kind of tactics she used?

Yes.

Contestant Kitayama must've divided the field into multiple sections

and activated Oscillation Magic at the areas where the clay scattered.

I wonder what would happen if she competed against you.

Let's see. The use of these tactics tells me

that Contestant Kitayama has a problem with range specification.

After the semi-finals,

the format will change to one where two types of clay will scatter.

That will call for magic of even higher precision.

Perfect.

Kitayama Shizuku (First High School)

That's my specialty.

If I make full use of my calculation prowess, I can nullify her magic.

You're Kitayama-san of First High, aren't you?

Hello. I'm Kanou Shiori of Third High.

Nice to meet you.

I can see that you're extremely skilled.

I can't wait to take you on in the semi-finals.

I see.

Meaning you don't intend for a second to lose before that.

Fine. I'll be looking forward to the semi-finals, too.

Watch me, Airi.

I won't let you down, no matter what.

Kanou Shiori (Third High School) Rookie Event

Secondary clear. Tertiary correct.

What's that?

If she's using Oscillation Magic to destroy the first clay target,

then how can those fragments hit the other targets one after the other?

A Movement Spell, maybe?

You mean she knows where all those fragments are,

and she's sending each one in different directions?

But just grasping the location of the object you're moving is hard enough.

How can she handle each fragment's movement in an instant?

Only a supercomputer could do that!

Don't tell me that's exactly what she's doing!

It looks like her precision is even sharper now.

2092 (3 years ago)

I knew I wasn't wrong about her.

You can reach even greater heights.

Don't you want to see the same scenery as me?

Shiori honed her natural spatial recognition and calculation skills

at the Kanazawa Magical Physics Institute.

As a result...

she acquired special eyesight that allows her to instantly convert anything she sees

into numerical formulas applicable to magic.

Shiori is able to predict everything.

The trajectory of all particles,

which appears random to most eyes.

Magic that belongs to Shiori alone, which can't be mimicked.

The gorgeous melody of formulas produced by calculating ability superior to any supercomputer!

Arithmetic Chain!

Kanou Shiori (Third High School)

I've analyzed the magic Contestant Kitayama used in the quarterfinals.

To make her clay targets easier to hit,

she cast Convergence Magic to increase their density relative to space.

Like that.

This changed the trajectory of her opponent's clay, resulting in a low score.

As you know,

the specialized CAD that she's using can store up to nine activation sequences.

Since Contestant Kitayama was using them separately, it fooled her opponent, as well.

But you'd be able to handle all nine of those sequences, wouldn't you?

Kitayama Shizuku (First Hight School) ― Kanou Shiori (Third High School)

Her opponent's clay is being thrown off course!

That's Shizuku's win-at-all-costs strategy!

No, that's not what that is.

That's...

Even if they're off course, the chain's still unbroken?

Does that mean she's reversed Shizuku's magic?

Shizuku is amazing, but...

Contestant Kanou is racking up points at an even faster clip!

No way!

Kitayama Shizuku...

Your mother is a magician renowned around the world, and your father is a man of means.

Your magical talents are being nurtured thanks to such a support system.

It's the complete opposite of my own plight.

My family lost its number and fell into ruin.

My parents fought nonstop.

Back then, I just wanted to abandon everything I had.

It was that hand that guided me into the light.

The moment I took her hand, I made up my mind

that I'd never go back to that place again!

My only goal is to advance toward victory by Airi's side!

This isn't looking too good, right?

Right.

Shizuku...

Don't worry, Honoka.

Who's Shizuku's engineer, after all?

There's no way that Onii-sama doesn't have a countermeasure in place.

Something's wrong.

I'm more exhausted than I thought I'd be.

No matter how draining Arithmetic Chain can be as a spell,

simulating Contestant Kitayama's tactics should keep it optimally adjusted.

So, why...

Don't tell me...

This is bad, George.

Right.

Contestant Kitayama's CAD...

Most likely, it's...

a generalized device!

Just as I thought, they were sure it was specialized and strategized accordingly.

Unfortunately for you,

that's a generalized CAD fitted with auxiliary sights, which was just unveiled in Germany.

The number of activation sequences it can store is 99.

Unless you have a countermeasure for all 99...

I win!

I missed?

I didn't see that coming!

A specialized device could never store that amount of activation sequences!

But there were limits on the output levels for the spells cast in the quarter-finals.

So, she was deliberately competing with fewer activation sequences?

Yes.

It was probably a tactic to throw us off.

To make us believe it was a specialized device, so we'd only counter nine activation sequences!

But the actual number of activation sequences is 99. It's a complete overwork.

So, someone came up with this strategy and crafted a cutting-edge generalized CAD?

And the contestant would have to have mad magical skills to achieve the needed activation speed

to make us mistake her device for a specialized CAD.

A unique strategy maximizing the player's characteristics.

Has First High been hiding an engineer as talented as that?

Kanou may not know it,

but it's like she's being forced to run back and forth across a tennis court.

She can't last much longer now.

I can't allow myself to stop in my tracks here!

I...

No...

I'm never going back there again!

I don't want to go back!

I'm joining Airi!

Winner...

First High's Contestant Kitayama Shizuku!

She's through to the final!

These are the final results

of the Women's Speed Shooting Rookie Event.

In Use ― Third High

First High's piling on their scores more than we expected.

None of us saw them sweeping the Women's Speed Shooting Events.

The real blow was having Kanou finish fourth when she was a lock to win!

Shiori, your opponent in the battle for third place

was someone you'd normally beat in your sleep.

So how could you make one improbable mistake after another like that?

Talent-wise, Kanou and Contestant Kitayama were on the same level.

Watching that match, Masaki and I came to a certain conclusion.

Yeah.

First High's win was no fluke.

They've got a beast of an engineer... who can raise the level of a CAD's functions by two or three generations.

First High School

How amazing is this?

1. Kitayama Shizuku (First High School)

2. Akechi Eimi (First High School)

3. Takigawa Kazumi (First High School)

4. Kanou Shiori (Third High School)

I mean, what a feat...

for First High to sweep the podium like that!

It was because of everyone's great efforts.

That may be part of it, but everyone knows that your talents played a big role.

Right! I never dreamed I'd come this far!

We really appreciate you, Shiba-kun!