At the same time—
Mayumi, exhausted after another long day at First High, dragged her tired body home. Her schoolbag slipped from her shoulder as she pushed the door open, and her voice came out faint when she called,
"I'm back…"
Her two older brothers, both college students who rarely returned, were surprisingly home today. They greeted her warmly from the living room. Out in the yard, their father, Saegusa Koichi, was practicing magic with her two younger sisters, Kasumi and Izumi.
"Mayumi, you're just getting home from school now?" one of her brothers asked.
"Mm… there's been a lot going on at school recently," Mayumi replied with a small nod. She wasn't in the mood to chat, so she plopped straight down on the sofa with a sigh.
Just then, Koichi finished sparring with Kasumi and Izumi and stepped into the house. His eyes immediately found Mayumi, and without wasting time, he asked in a serious tone,
"Mayumi, have you been in contact with Yoji recently?"
"..."
The moment she heard that name, Mayumi's expression froze.
Of course Father would bring this up right away…
The "Yoji" in Koichi's mouth referred to Gorin Yoji, of the prestigious Gorin family—one of the Ten Master Clans. He was also the younger brother of Gorin Mio, one of the famed Thirteen Apostles and a close friend of Mayumi's. Gorin Mio had always hoped that Mayumi would become her sister-in-law, and Koichi seemed to share that desire.
But the thought of it only made Mayumi's lips curl into a bitter smile.
"Dad, give me a break. Yoji-kun is kind and polite, sure… but I don't feel that way about him."
"Feelings grow in the small things," Koichi replied firmly. "If you don't put in the effort, how can any feelings develop?"
"Ugh…"
Mayumi let out a defeated sigh and shrank into the sofa cushions like a sulking kitten. She looked completely different from the elegant, dignified senpai her classmates knew at school—or the mischievous "little devil" that came out when she teased her juniors.
"Alright, alright. If you don't want to talk about Yoji, I won't push it," Koichi said with a smile, though his tone suggested otherwise. Then, casually, he shifted the subject: "Mayumi, what about that Yotsuba Mahiro you mentioned before?"
"Eh?"
Mayumi blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Father to suddenly bring up her kouhai, but she answered honestly,
"Mahiro-kun is still the same as ever. He's turned down every invitation from the Public Morals Committee, the Student Council, and even the Club Alliance."
Just saying it made her shoulders sag.
Someone so outstanding, with such presence and natural authority—if he joined the Public Morals Committee or the Council, it would be like giving wings to a tiger. But no matter how hard she, Mari, or even Jumonji-kun tried to persuade him, he refused every time.
It was the first time in her life that Mayumi, the always-capable Student Council President, felt this powerless.
"Hmm… It's good for capable people to have their quirks. But, Mayumi—what do you think of Yotsuba Mahiro?"
"Eh? Eh?! W-What do I think…? He's a good junior! Very dependable, very… outstanding."
"What if he were your partner?"
"EHH?!"
Mayumi nearly fell off the sofa, her cheeks instantly turning crimson. Her composure as a "refined ojou-sama" was shattered, replaced with the bashfulness of a girl caught off guard.
Why did Father suddenly turn the conversation this way?!
"Regarding Mahiro," Koichi continued calmly, ignoring her embarrassment, "I have already spoken with the Yotsuba Family head. It seems he cannot represent their main house at present. So, Mayumi—if you have no interest in Yoji, then marry him instead. The Saegusa Family will support you completely."
Mayumi's heart pounded wildly. She wasn't sure which shocked her more—her father's bluntness, or the fact that he seemed serious.
It was then that she noticed the terminal in Koichi's hand, displaying files on Yotsuba Mahiro.
There were video clips—footage of him fighting during the First High terrorist attack. Reports about the ruins of the factory left behind after the destruction of Blanche Japan's branch.
Beneath Koichi's sunglasses, his eyes burned with admiration and awe.
That speed of magic activation… even compared to the Watanabe family, famed for their high-speed casting techniques, Mahiro's activation was beyond comprehension.
It wasn't just "fast." It was—instantaneous.
And not only that—he had even mastered their clan's secret art, Magic Bullet Shooter, simply by adjusting a CAD on the fly.
It was beyond belief.
As for accusations of secret arts being "stolen," none of the Ten Master Clans ever entertained such outdated ideas. The truth was simple: each family's secret techniques weren't guarded so tightly out of paranoia—it was because those arts could only be activated by the unique genetic traits inherited within their bloodlines.
If an outsider somehow manifested those techniques, the clans wouldn't grow defensive. On the contrary, they would be shocked—no, ecstatic! Such an occurrence would prove that the person's genetic composition was extraordinary. If such an individual were to marry into their family, the possibilities for producing even more remarkable descendants would be endless.
Saegusa Kōichi had this very thought swirling in his mind. It was the same reason he had quietly pushed his daughter Mayumi toward Gorin Yōji, that otherwise unimpressive boy. His bloodline was what Kōichi had been after.
But now… now something far better had appeared.
As he watched Yotsuba Mahiro's figure on the video screen, Kōichi couldn't help but feel a rush of nostalgia—memories of his own youth, back when he trained under Kudō Retsu alongside the Yotsuba sisters: Maya and Shinya.
He had once even been engaged to Maya herself. With the Saegusa and Yotsuba clans both towering over the Ten Master Clans, it had been considered a match made in heaven. Yet all of that vanished the day he lost his right eye to an unforeseen incident. His path diverged from hers forever.
But now fate, in its strange cruelty, seemed to circle back. His former fiancée's clan might yet become in-laws with his family.
The thought made Kōichi's pulse quicken. He immediately instructed Mayumi: "Seize this opportunity, no matter what!"
"F-Father!" Mayumi's porcelain face turned a deep crimson. She fidgeted, her tone coquettish but flustered. "He's just my kōhai right now…! And, and I don't even know how he feels about me…"
Compared to Gorin Yōji, she truly found herself more drawn to Yotsuba Mahiro. Leaving aside his overwhelming magical talent, his natural, relaxed manner of speaking—and the way he had stood up for Mibu-senpai earlier—were more than enough to pull her heart in his direction.
Not to mention… his looks.
Regardless of gender, almost everyone was influenced by physical appearance. And in this regard, Mahiro-kun earned full marks from her without question.
"Hmph. If you can't manage it," Kōichi said bluntly, "then let your younger sisters, Izumi and Kasumi, go instead."
"E-Ehhh?!" Mayumi's cry was so loud that it startled even herself. Her eyes widened, panic written across her face.
Kōichi smirked inwardly at his daughter's reaction. It wasn't often that he saw his elegant, composed eldest daughter looking so flustered.
Her voice carried, however, and it wasn't long before her younger sisters—Kasumi and Izumi—entered the room, having just finished their practice.
"What's going on, Mayumi-nee?" "Yeah, why are you yelling all of a sudden?"
Ignoring Mayumi's glare, Kōichi picked up his terminal and showed the girls the footage. "Izumi, Kasumi. Tell me what you think of this person."
Both girls leaned in. Their eyes sparkled.
"He's so handsome!" Kasumi squealed first. "Mmm… I think he might even be more handsome than Kazumitsu-nii," Izumi added honestly.
On the screen, Mahiro's figure appeared. Their attention sharpened immediately, however, when the scene shifted.
"Wait—look at that magic!" "Unbelievable… the frozen zone's already a hundred square meters!"
The two sisters practically pressed their faces to the display as they watched the monitoring footage of Yotsuba Mahiro instantly activating his Ice Mist Divine Realm, freezing the entire first floor of the library in an instant. Their eyes glittered with admiration.
"Dad, who is this person? He's wearing the same uniform as Mayumi-nee. Is he also from First High School?" Izumi asked, tilting her head curiously.
"That's right," Kōichi answered with satisfaction. "He's Yotsuba Mahiro, a student at First High. If he were to become your husband, would you be willing?"
Both sisters blinked. Then Kasumi raised her hand like an overeager child. "Willing! Totally willing! Not only is he handsome, but his magic is amazing! I wanna be his bride!"
The short-haired Kasumi, bold and straightforward, never hesitated when it came to voicing her thoughts. She had long accepted that, as a member of the Ten Master Clans, her marriage wouldn't be purely of her choosing. If that was the case, then why not pick someone strong and good-looking?
Izumi, with her slightly longer hair and a gentler, more refined air, puffed out her cheeks at her sister's enthusiasm. "By my intuition… Mahiro-nii wouldn't go for Kasumi. He'd definitely prefer someone like me instead, so why don't you let me have him?"
"What?! Izumi, you traitor! You can't steal from your onee-chan!" Kasumi shot back, puffing up like an angry cat.
"You're the baka here, Kasumi! Mahiro-nii wouldn't like a loudmouth like you!"
"You two… that's enough already!"
Smack! Smack! Mayumi tapped both sisters on their heads, her cheeks flushed with both irritation and embarrassment. She stood in front of them like an exasperated commander trying to reign in her unruly troops.
As she rubbed her temples, Mayumi muttered under her breath, How did things spiral into this chaos…?
Meanwhile, Kōichi simply nodded in satisfaction. Watching his three daughters bicker over Mahiro, he felt reassured.
The Saegusa family, he thought smugly, might just get a head start over the other clans after all.