Seconds before the clash,
"Mahiro-kun won't actually kill him, right…?" Honoka's soft voice trembled as she looked at the brutal scene unfolding before her eyes. Her hands were clutched tightly against her chest, as if holding her breath could change the outcome.
Kitayama Shizuku, calm as always, gave the faintest shake of her head. "No. Mahiro-kun isn't that reckless. He knows how to hold back… probably."
But her certainty faltered the moment their eyes caught each other.
The mocking laughter that echoed across the courtyard belonged to Morisaki's lackey. "Hah! I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius, but in the end you're just another dropout with a scary face! Pathetic!"
Honoka and Shizuku exchanged worried glances.
Their doubts only grew when they saw what Yotsuba Mahiro did next. With a single hand, he grabbed Morisaki Shun by the head, lifting him effortlessly into the air. The crowd gasped. Then, without mercy, Mahiro slammed him into the concrete as though cracking open an egg. The sickening crack echoed across the training ground.
The scene was almost unbearable.
Morisaki's once-proud sneer had vanished, replaced by a bloodied, broken expression. His nose was crooked, several teeth scattered across the ground, and his breath came out in painful wheezes.
Within just a handful of strikes, Mahiro had turned the proud heir of the Morisaki family into a pitiful mess.
The spectators who had gathered didn't know what to say.
Morisaki's companions looked pale, their earlier arrogance shattered. They glared at Mahiro with fear and anger, but not one of them dared to step forward. The rest of the students—ordinary onlookers—remained silent, their eyes wide as they watched.
"You… you can't be serious!" Morisaki groaned, spitting blood. "You're just… just an outcast of the Yotsuba family. A dropout! What's so great about some cheap martial arts tricks?!"
But even his insults lacked weight.
The students who should have rushed to his defense stayed frozen in place, feet glued to the ground. The most courageous of them managed to stay standing instead of collapsing outright.
And then Mahiro's gaze swept over them.
Just a glance—cold, sharp, and heavy with killing intent.
Several students stumbled backward, nearly falling. A suffocating pressure spread like an invisible force, and for a moment it felt as if Mahiro wasn't a high school student at all, but some terrifying oni from an old folktale.
"Yamero!"
"Mahiro-kun, stop right now! Any more and he'll die!"
Two firm voices cut through the tension.
The first belonged to the Student Council President, Saegusa Mayumi, her usual gentle tone laced with authority. The second was the sharp command of Watanabe Mari, the tall, short-haired head of the Public Morals Committee.
All at once, the atmosphere shifted.
Mahiro released Morisaki and straightened, dusting his hands off as if the whole thing had been nothing more than a casual workout.
Mari stepped forward, expression cold. "Yotsuba Mahiro, right? I am Watanabe Mari, head of the Public Morals Committee. I'm ordering you to come with us immediately."
Her tone was harsh and official, as though she were addressing a criminal.
Mahiro tilted his head slightly, unfazed. "And which school rule did I break, exactly?"
"You assaulted a fellow student using magic outside of self-defense. That's not only a violation of school regulations—it's practically a crime!" Mari's voice rang clear, and her hand brushed against the CAD device strapped to her wrist.
If he resisted, she was ready to suppress him with force.
But Mahiro's reply was as casual as ever.
"Oh, that's impossible. I didn't use any magic, so it doesn't count as a disciplinary violation."
The courtyard buzzed with murmurs.
Mari's brows furrowed. "You expect me to believe that? You beat Morisaki half to death, and you're saying you didn't use magic?!"
Her initial impression of Mahiro—thanks to Mayumi's prior recommendation—had been somewhat favorable. But seeing this side of him made her question whether he was someone worth trusting.
"Of course." Mahiro clapped his hands lightly, as though wiping away invisible dust. "Everything I used was pure martial arts. Ask anyone here—they all saw it. And besides—" his gaze slid to Mayumi, "President Saegusa can back me up. She just issued my CAD this morning. I haven't even debugged it yet. How could I possibly have cast magic?"
Mayumi, suddenly pulled into his defense, pressed her fingers to her lips, suppressing a sigh. Then, with a small, graceful smile, she nodded.
"That's correct, Mari. Mahiro-kun received his CAD today. He was planning to calibrate it after classes, with Azusa-chan helping. In fact, Azusa has been waiting in the Student Council room all afternoon for him."
Her words carried weight. Everyone knew Mayumi's word was trustworthy.
Mari frowned, her stance softening slightly. "…Is that really true?"
Still, she wasn't fully convinced. She glanced back and forth between the bloodied Morisaki and the calm, almost smug Mahiro.
"What about CAD-less casting then?" she pressed. "It's rare, but some mages can perform spells without external devices. If you used that—"
"Baka," Erika's voice cut in, laced with sharp sarcasm. "CAD-less casting strong enough to beat down Morisaki-kun? That's impossible. The Morisaki family is known for their quick-casting techniques. No way Mahiro-kun outsped them without even a CAD."
Although Watanabe Mari was her senpai, Erika never bothered with politeness when her irritation flared, and a subtle hostility lingered in her words.
At that, Morisaki Shun fell silent, unable to argue back. After all, surpassing the Morisaki family's specialty of quick-casting magic without even using a CAD was nothing short of ridiculous.
The matter was hastily brushed aside. No one was punished, and Morisaki Shun was carried off to the infirmary by a group of classmates. As for Yotsuba Mahiro, he was escorted to the Student Council room—not for discipline, but to adjust his CAD.
Inside, the atmosphere was far calmer.
"Mahiro-kun, let me introduce you." Mayumi's cheerful voice carried a warmth that seemed to fill the entire room. She gestured toward the girl standing nearby. "This is the Chairperson of the P Committee, Watanabe Mari."
Mahiro bowed respectfully. "Hello, Senpai Watanabe. I'm Yotsuba Mahiro from Class 1-A. I apologize for the trouble earlier."
Mari folded her arms, her sharp eyes softening just slightly. "Yes, I know you. Mayumi has told me quite a bit. But don't misunderstand—I wasn't targeting you back there. It was just business. Don't take it personally."
Mahiro smiled faintly. "Understood."
Seeing the two had settled things, Mayumi's expression brightened mischievously. She then turned toward a petite girl standing nervously at the side. With an affectionate grin, she reached out and patted the girl's head.
"And next," Mayumi announced playfully, "this is Nakajou Azusa, the secretary of our Student Council—though we usually call her Azusa-chan."
The girl was even smaller than Mayumi, with a round, baby-like face that made her look more like an elementary school student than a high schooler.
"P-President…!" Azusa stammered, her soft, sugary voice wobbling as she waved her little hands in protest. "Please don't call me 'Azusa-chan' in front of Mahiro-kun! I'm a senpai too, you know!"
Her moist, upturned eyes gave her a pouty expression that made her look like she was on the verge of tears.
Kawaii… one wrong word and she'd probably start bawling.
Compared to the title of "senpai," Azusa really did feel more like the mascot of the Student Council. Just standing there, she inspired a dangerous urge to tease her.
But Mahiro wasn't the type to bully an innocent girl. Offering her a polite bow, he said sincerely, "It's nice to meet you, Senpai Nakajou. Please take care of me."
"Ah…! H-Hello, Mahiro-kun!" Azusa's cheeks flushed with joy, clearly delighted at being treated with genuine respect by a junior.
Mayumi giggled, eyes twinkling as she teased, "See, Azusa-chan? Isn't Mahiro-kun polite?"
Azusa's face puffed up adorably.
Mayumi clapped her hands together. "Well then, let's get started! Azusa-chan, I'll leave Mahiro's CAD adjustments to you."
"O-okay, President, leave it to me!"
But before Azusa could approach, Mahiro raised his hand lightly. "No need, thank you. I'd like to handle it myself."
"Eh?" Mayumi blinked, genuinely startled. "Mahiro-kun, you know how to debug a CAD?"
He nodded calmly. "Aa. I learned a bit from my landlord. I just need to borrow the equipment."
He didn't have a personal workshop at home like Shiba Tatsuya, but CAD adjustments weren't exactly a mystery to him. The process was, in essence, simple—organizing the activation sequences stored in the CAD, removing anything unnecessary, and optimizing them according to the user's casting habits.
For example, the general-purpose CAD Mayumi had given him could store up to 99 activation sequences. Organizing them properly, recording the user's precision parameters, and rewriting the data—these were tasks Mahiro had long since mastered.
And so, he set to work.
But the moment his fingers touched the console, the atmosphere in the room changed.
"Ah…"
Azusa let out an unladylike sound of surprise, her round eyes glued to the screen.
Mayumi and Mari both covered their mouths in shock, stifling gasps.
What appeared on the console wasn't the standard calibration interface they were expecting. Instead of neat parameter charts, lines of raw source code streamed down the screen in a torrent, like a rain of glowing characters.
Mayumi, being the daughter of the Saegusa family, had studied CAD calibration extensively and often adjusted her own. But what Mahiro was doing—pulling out the source code and recompiling it entirely—was something she had never seen before.
The strings of code scrolled so fast that even Mayumi's sharp eyes couldn't keep up. She could only catch scattered numbers here and there, too fast to make sense of.
Even without fully understanding the programming, she knew enough to recognize just how insane Mahiro's skills were.
Azusa, meanwhile, leaned forward with unblinking eyes, afraid to miss even a single moment. Her hands trembled slightly as if she were witnessing the work of a legendary engineer.
Mari narrowed her gaze, though her lips curled in a faint smile. "This kid…"
The three of them, each from different backgrounds and strengths, found themselves struck silent by the same realization.
Yotsuba Mahiro wasn't just good.
He was on a completely different level.
So, he was actually that amazing?