On South Gunha Island, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, there laid one of the military universities set to train Mage Hunters in Japan.
The island was about the size of Long Island, New York and contained a max student body of 800 with staff members numbering only 100. Yearly, it produced highly successful Mage Hunters only second to Hong Kong’s.
The date was March 16th, the beginning of a new school year.
Located outside of the South Gunha Military University’s High School sector, approximately 100 students crowded in front of a bulletin board, filled with names and class numbers.
Some students clasped hands and jumped in excitement after finding out that they would be in the same class. Most of these happy students had just newly graduated from the Middle School sector. And there were students that had just newly enrolled.
Amongst the newly enrolled students, there was one who particularly stood out despite him trying to hide his presence.
He was Satomi Tatsurou, a tall and lean-built young man, starting his first year in the High School sector. Tatsurou was average-looking, though his size and muscular feature was enough to force people to avoid him, and had short-to-medium wavy black hair. His intense blue-gray eyes were enough to tell that he was “smart”—probably.
Hmm, looks like my room is in Class 1-E. Hmm?
Tatsurou frowned when someone bumped into him. Looking down, he saw a girl just a head shorter than he was, slender with light brown twin ponytails and fiery green eyes.
Do girls still keep their hair like that nowadays?
“Ah, excuse me!” the girl apologized. “Jeez, the crowd’s so thick.”
“I’m sorry, too, for blocking your way. I will step aside,” Tatsurou said, inclining to move.
The girl stopped him.
“No, no, no, you don’t have to! I was in the wrong! Besides, I already got what I came for. It’s the ‘leaving’ part that I’m having trouble with.”
“…Is that so? May I help you then?”
Without waiting for an answer, Tatsurou grabbed her hand and began marching out of the crowd they were currently in. He pushed them out of the way with a straight face, oblivious of their annoyance.
When they finally made it out, he let go of her hand and met the angry glares he was receiving. Instead of cowering away, Tatsurou raised an eyebrow at them, challenging them for a fight. None came.
“Thanks, though that just earned us a few marks of resentment from our future classmates.”
“I will deal with them my own way. What are you going to do?”
“Hmm, guess I’ll manage somehow. I’ve been in a lot of fights since I was little. I’m a tough girl.”
Tatsurou released a wry smile as he looked at her a second time.
She definitely isn’t lying.
“My name is Tsukishima Mirai. I’ll be in Class 1-E. What about you?”
For a moment, Tatsurou scrutinized when he heard that name. But it was only for a second.
“I’m Satomi Tatsurou, and I’ll also be in Class 1-E. Let’s get along from now on.”
“Same here. How about we go to class?”
With that being said, Tatsurou and his new acquaintance made their way to their class on the ground floor. Other students follow the same example.

Like any school in Japan, there was a uniform code. The classic uniform for the South Gunha Military University consisted of a white blazer outlined in red, a light-blue collared shirt and black trousers—for girls, it was all of the above with a black skirt. No jewelry or accessories were to adorn the body, but there were loop holes in that rule if a higher-up granted permission.
As of now, Tatsurou sat in Class 1-E, the very last class for the First-years. His “desk” composed of a long black-topped table, housing two students, and chairs. On the tabletop was an automatically installed laptop.
In this day and age, there was no such thing as “paper.” In order to preserve the remaining trees left in the wilderness, trees were added to the list of endanger species. All products made from trees were replaced with something else.
Everything was electronic.
Books were kept as information on the net, easily accessible after buying it online. One could find people reading “books” on their mobile phone anywhere.
Long-distance education became the norm for students to attend “school,” though South Gunha still preferred students to attend class in the flesh and blood.
Online shopping became another common occurrence for shoppers and stores. As technology aged, people became lazier. That was expected in future predictions.
And lastly, virtual reality games, especially MMORPGs, raised in the popularity ranks. Now, every home had a cable and channel to hook up to the internet for virtual simulation.
In simpler words, the internet became a major world leader of the late 21st century.
Pulling up the school’s website, Tatsurou began typing in keys, and the screen moved in rapid fire. He was looking at the school’s news archive for anything interesting.
Beside him was Mirai, who had clearly decided to sit by him—watching YouTube, a billionaire creation from the early 21st century that survived the “Purge of Electronics in 2014” and still remained a popular site for youngsters—Tatsurou included.
“What are you watching, Tsukishima-san?”
“Oh, I’m watching ‘Cute Spiritis Akina-tan!’”
“And that would be…what?”
Tatsurou could only stare blankly at her. For starters, he wasn’t a big magical girl anime lover, though he does watch some anime from time to time. But the last time he watched anime was…Pokémon: Ricochet Silver Shade about ten years ago?
Just before Mirai put enough strength to break away from the screen, a new girl joined them.
“You’re watching ‘Cute Spiritis Akina-tan!’ as well? That’s one of my favorite shows!”
The new girl was tall and slim with light brown hair in a bob-hairstyle, decorated with blond highlights. Her chestnut-colored eyes never once left the screen as well.
“And you would be…?” Tatsurou asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
“Oh sorry, my bad! It’s kind of a bad habit of me to say whatever’s on my mind. The name’s Miyoshi Shino. You can call me Shino. Starting today, I’ll your classmate.”
“Satomi Tatsurou, nice to meet you.”
“I’m Tsukishima Mirai. You can just call me Mirai. By the way, you love watching it, too?”
“Of course, I do! I’ve been watching that show nonstop! I even have all of the figurines!”
“Shino-san, can I come to your place after school? I really need to see them!”
“Sure, come on over, Mirai-chan!”
As the two girls conversed happily, Tatsurou was left out of the conversation, not that he wanted to join anyways.
Looks like they’re bonding quite quickly. Is this the power of a magical girl anime?
He shook his head and continued reading what was displayed on the screen. It was an article, written by a student from last year. It was basically about the Seven Wonders of South Gunha. Nothing really interesting in the least, but he read it nonetheless.
“Hey, Tatsurou-kun, what are you reading?” Shino asked, looking over his shoulder.
Apparently, this girl had no awareness for other people’s personal space. But Tatsurou didn’t tell her that. He decided to ignore her rudeness and answered her question instead.
“I’m reading about the Seven Wonders of South Gunha. Apparently, I’m surprised there’s even something like this here.”
“I didn’t know you were into horror?”
“I’m not. I’m reading it to pass the time, of course.”
“If you want something to pass the time, Mirai-chan and I could always use a third party to discuss about ‘Akina-tan!’”
“Sorry, but I’m not into magical girls.”
“Huh, then what are you into then? Are you into historical samurai shows?”
“Nothing in particular, Miyoshi-san.”
“Come on! Call me ‘Shino’, Tatsurou-kun!”
Sighing, he wondered how much energy this girl possessed.
“Alright, Shino-san, but I’m not into anime or anything related to it.”
“Ah, that’s no fun. Right, Mirai-chan?”
So far during their conversation, Mirai had been engrossed in the anime she was watching. She wasn’t even paying attention to their conversation. When being asked that, Mirai only nodded without really knowing what was directly being asked of her.
“I’m surprised this school hasn’t blocked those websites.”
“Don’t be such a letdown, Tatsurou-kun. If they block out YouTube, what you think would happen? The students will drop out of school. However, it’s only a ‘might’ that the students should retaliate.”
Tatsurou raised an eyebrow at her. Apparently, Shino was more perceptive than he had first thought. In a flash, she was able to comprehend the students’ emotional state if YouTube was banned in school.
You’re quite a perceptive girl. I’ve got to keep my guard up around you.
Feeling Tatsurou’s eyes upon her, as if looking through her clothes and directly at her naked body, Shino wrapped her arms around her torso and took a step back.
A smirk appeared on Tatsurou’s straight face, which was quite rare.
“Don’t fret. I’m not into that kind of harassment.”
“Huh, you know that’s an insult to me? You’re not into that kind means that you don’t look at me as a girl. Do you know how offended girls can take that?”
“Hmm, what I mean is: I’m not into checking out girls because I respect their privacy. Each girl has their worth and merits. You, on the other hand, are very beautiful and gorgeous. You would make a lovely wife.”
Instantly, Shino’s face flushed bright red.
“D-Don’t just say such embarrassing lines in the open! Do you know what kind of misunderstanding it could lead if people overheard you?”
Frantically, Shino looked around in the classroom to see if anyone overheard Tatsurou’s words. Luckily, no one heard them.
Still smirking, Tatsurou leaned on his elbow and crossed his left leg over his right. His intense eyes bored right into Shino.
“Apparently, I have a bad habit of speaking out my mind as well. I do apologize.”
“Oh yeah, that smirk on your face doesn’t say so!”
His smirk widened, and Shino was left with no choice but to retreat. Luckily, she was saved when the Home Room teacher walked into class to start off the day.

There was a total of six periods in South Gunha, each lasting about an hour. First-years have no choice in choosing classes since this wasn’t a normal high school. The students were trained to become Mage Hunters, and those classes were already prepared ahead of time.
First period was English. It became an international language, where two foreigners would be conversing in English instead of trying to speak the native language of the country they were in. That just proved how important the Americans still were.
Second period was Calculus. It was imperative that Mage Hunters knew math, especially calculus. Not all Mage Hunters were fighters. Some became Mage Troopers instead, responsible for overseeing the international “routes” leading in and out of a city. There were other positions, too.
Third period was History. As far as Tatsurou knew, History was the class that he was nervous about. It wasn’t because History wasn’t his forte. In fact, it was his forte. Tatsurou was nervous about what the teachers would say about the Magic Faction. As it turned out, they weren’t on that chapter yet, so he could breathe easily.
In between third and fourth period was lunch. Apparently, it was the only universal “break” that every being in the world knew.
Fourth period was Chemistry. Despite it being a subject that most Mage Hunters didn’t need, it was a necessary skill for Mage Scouters. They were the ones responsible for espionage and tracking targets. Chemistry was a needed knowledge, which they used to measure if the air was acidic, and the length of time before an event happened—that sort of thing.
Fifth period was Technology. Despite what the media says about Mage Hunters being as supernatural as the Magic practitioners, Mage Hunters were, in fact, quite normal. Mage Hunters still use technology to scope out locations via GPS, spy on targets, hack to retrieve information, and create malwares to infect computers. Much to be said that Technology was as much part of a normal human’s life as it was to Mage Hunters.
Lastly was sixth period: P.E. Although it was called “P.E.,” the class dealt with a lot more than just physical education. It incorporated martial arts training. A standard rule about Mage Hunters was: they need to protect themselves at all times.
Currently, those hours breezed through until it was sixth period. Tatsurou was standing in line inside the gym. Mirai was on his left, and Shino was on his right. Somehow, the two girls just stuck to him like glue.
Out of the storage room, the P.E. teacher, a young muscular man came out. Judging from his looks, the P.E. teacher was a newly graduated Mage Hunter, accepting the role as a teacher to gain experience. That was how some graduated Mage Hunters work these days.
The P.E. teacher gazed around the 100 students presented in front of him.
Another thing: all the First-years have the same schedule, so they also attended P.E. at the same time.
“I see some very promising students before me,” the P.E. teacher said with a small smile. “Now, let’s get things testing. First, I want to gauge your ability in wielding a MDA.”
Since today was the start, the P.E. teacher wanted to test out their MDA, which stood for “Multidimensional Arms.” Other than its fancy scientific name, it was just a ten-inch metallic rod.
Once a person embedded a small computer chip into a small port, it will transform into a weapon. The mechanics behind it was simple enough. The computer chip contained the infrastructural details of the weapon, such as weight, what it looks like, and etc. The MDA will read those infrastructural details and take the form it was given. The most specific was: a sword.
Tatsurou raised his hand.
“Sensei, I’m afraid I don’t have a MDA.”
The P.E. teacher frowned when he heard this.
Most students were given an MDA at the start of their enrollment. The school trusted them to be responsible individuals. If ever caught misusing them, the MDA would be confiscated, and the student expelled. That was the harsh reality of enrolling into a military university.
However, there were exceptions to that rule.
“Are you an Irregular?”
In military universities, the word “irregular” referred to someone who refused to wield a MDA, or refused to follow protocol. Tatsurou was both.
“…Yes.”
“Alright, what do you use, if not an MDA?”
The P.E. teacher sounded skeptical as he said this.
Out of his blazer, Tatsurou revealed two leather holsters underneath his armpits, containing two silver pistols. Normally, it would be dangerous for students to wield firearms, but in this day and age, those were long gone—even in a military university.
“Oh, you’re a Gunslinger,” the P.E. teacher said, nodding his head sympathetically. “…Well, I guess there’s no helping it. You can go practice shooting at the corner over there. As for the others, I want you to get into groups of two or three. I will come by and—”
Without waiting for the P.E. teacher to finish, Tatsurou walked out of line and headed towards the corner the P.E. teacher was saying earlier.
Behind him, he heard the 99 other students began murmuring to themselves. Their voices sounded disapproving. Apparently, in this day and age, “gunslingers” were outdated and rendered as “useless” by the military. Anyone wielding firearms were looked down upon.
The point was: when dealing with Magic practitioners, long-range combat was out of the picture. Even if bullets could travel at 90 km/sec, Magic practitioners were capable of deflecting the bullets. The only way to outclass a Magic practitioner was close-quarter combat, where the Magic practitioner wouldn’t be able to utilize their spells.
In other words, the military booted out “gunslingers” and incorporated traditional combat, such as martial arts, swordsmanship, spears and jousting, and staff and club-wielding, back into the training program.
At the corner, there was a broken down human mannequin with targets and bullet holes all over, though they missed about 50-percent of the targets. Apparently, there were students before him that used pistols.
Tatsurou grabbed a black marker from a whiteboard close by and drew some dots on the mannequin. Putting it back, Tatsurou stood about 10 meters out and drew one of his pistols.
It was a long-barrel sliver pistol, etched with the insignia “EV-5,” which stood for “E-Vector Quintus-Series,” commonly known as “E-Vector.” In short, that was the name of this pistol, as well as the second one. These were the last back in 2020 before all firearms were expunged and melted down.
One could say that Tatsurou was holding an antique in his hands.
The E-Vector was an open-bolt automatic pistol, using bullets much smaller than the norm, which makes them faster and last longer in combat. With a barrel of 7-inches, its max range of firing was about 100 yards. And it weighed roughly 3-pounds.
With a customized version of the E-Vector, Tatsurou, who personally upgraded himself though not saying it out loud, could do twice the damage, speed, and power.
Pulling out the magazine from the stock, he checked for any jammed bullets. Then he pushed it back inside, pulled back the slide, and took aim. Not even a second passed before he fired eight bullets simultaneously.
Before anyone could blink, the bullets flew through the air and impaled themselves perfectly into the targets Tatsurou had previously drawn. All of this happened with no sound reverberating inside the gym.
Sighing, Tatsurou pulled out a Swiss Army Knife from his pockets, picking out a plier set, and went to pluck out the bullets he had just fired. Despite his perfect aim, it was a pain to get back his bullets and remake them all over again.
“That was a nice shot,” Shino spoke behind him. “I’m not too big with guns, but I can definitely tell it was a bull’s eye.”
“Thank you.”
“Tatsurou-kun, why are you using guns instead of MDAs?” Mirai asked him.
Now, you’re calling me by name, too?
Despite being irritated by the girls’ way of addressing him so familiarly, Tatsurou didn’t voice out his objection. Instead, he decided to get used to it and let it be.
“I’m not fond of hitting people with anything connected to my hands. So, I prefer pistols because the bullet does the work for me.”
“Hmmm, I can certainly see that. But why are you fond of it?”
“Shino-san, I hope you don’t pry into my private life. It’s traumatizing for me.”
“Oops, sorry, Tatsurou-kun.”
“Anyways, what are you girls doing over here?”
“Ah, you didn’t hear?” Mirai made a tiring tone. “That sensei asked us to duel our partners for the time being while he checked everyone else. We figured that we could waste time over here since you might be lonely.”
“Why, I appreciate the thought, but what would you do when other students are looking down on you? Associating with a Gunslinger like me might make your school life horrible.”
Shino burst out laughing.
“There’s no way that could happen. If any of that do, we’ll just take it as a form of adventure.”
“Shino-chan is correct! There’s nothing but hardship in our lives.”
What optimistic girls you two are. I’m impressed.
Plucking out the last bullet from the mannequin, Tatsurou stuffed it inside his pockets and began drawing more targets for him to shoot.
“By the way, Tatsurou-kun…” Mirai said in a defensive manner. “Where do you live?”
Frowning, Tatsurou wondered if her asking was an invitation for him to invite her over. Given the miraculous opportunity to invite a girl over, a dream most boys would want, Tatsurou could only stare at her blankly.
Obviously, he didn’t understand that concept at all.
“Well, I live by myself in a small apartment not far from here. Why do you ask?”
Surprisingly, Mirai shifted uncomfortably, casting her eyes down to her feet.
Oh, brother…could this be…?
“You don’t have a place to stay and was wondering if you could stay with a classmate. Am I right?”
Tatsurou nailed it with his guess, and Mirai nodded embarrassingly. Her expression was cute, and any man would fall head over heels for her, but Tatsurou was a man of much caliber and high standards. He was unaffected.
“…I-It’s just that…my guardian gambled all of the money a few nights ago. I talked with the Housing Office about letting me stay in one of the dorms. My scholarship can cover my tuition and supplies, but…”
“It didn’t work out, and now you’re going to camp outside?”
Tatsurou shook his head at Mirai’s helplessness and looked over at Shino for help.
“Don’t look at me! We already talked about it while you were busy shooting. I’m afraid I can’t help her. I live in the dorms and already have a roommate. It would be late to change rooms now. Plus, I don’t think there’s even a spare room left.”
Mirai held up her hands in a plea and bowed towards Tatsurou.
“Please let me stay with you for the time being! I’ll do whatever I can to repay you!”
Tatsurou began thinking, holding his chin with his left thumb and knuckles.
“Hmmm, you do know that it’s improper for a boy and girl of the same age to be living together? And if it’s found that there are no parental guardians watching over us, we would be expelled? Are you prepared to face that consequence?”
Hesitating, Mirai started thinking. When the thinking became too much to handle, she scrunched up her eyes—in a cute way—and nodded frantically.
“Yes, yes, yes, I’m prepared! So, please let me stay with you! It’s only for a while until I can get a place of my own!”
Mirai bowed even deeper.
Sighing, Tatsurou guessed that there was no escaping it. As much of a man who liked to live alone, he couldn’t bear to see a girl living on the streets—or the woods, for that matter.
“Aright, I’ll permit you to stay at my place. But it’s only temporary. I have my career on the line as well.”
“Thank you very much!”
Seriously? We’re talking about a cliché event only fiction can have while in school, where the sensei could overhear us. What kind of development is this?
Tatsurou could only sigh tiredly. Already, he was tired of this school life, and it hasn’t even been a full day yet.
“It’s good that it’s settled, right, Mirai-chan? How about we get to some sparring? That sensei over there seems to be writing something up about us.”
As the two girls walked a few meters out to spar with one another, Tatsurou checked the magazine before taking aim and firing a perfect shot.

Living alone wasn’t permitted in this day and age due to the lack of housing. In other words, people weren’t allowed to have more than one house under their names. Plus, paying for it all was a bigger pain than talking with the law.
There were no exceptions to that law.
However, if one knew what to do, they could bypass that law. And Tatsurou was one of those that do.
Beside him were Mirai, as expected with her suitcases and belongings, and Shino, who unexpectedly decided to follow them.
“So, this is your place, eh?” Shino said, sounding like she was surprised that he lived at a regular apartment. “When I saw you carrying guns, I thought your place would be like an armory or something. But this is pretty cool, too.”
“…Thanks, I think.”
Tatsurou didn’t know how to respond to that. Instead, he decided to ignore it and led the girls into his apartment.
He lived on the southern edge of Abeno Ward in Osaka City, roughly 10km from the harbor to Southern Osaka Bay, where South Gunha Military University was located.
The apartment was roughly three stories tall with him living on the third floor, having access to the rooftop. In all aspects, the apartment resembled a court house, though painted baby blue, yellow, and white. It was the only apartment on the block with such colors.
His apartment contained a living room, a kitchen with a dining room intermixed, a bathroom, two bedrooms, and a Laundromat. Located at the end of the hall, there was a stairway that led to the rooftop, open 24/7.
Inside, the halls and stairwells were newly renovated just a year ago, painted green—of all colors. Each door that they pass was painted black. It only took them roughly 5 minutes to get from the ground floor to the third floor.
Opening his door, Number 312, Tatsurou let the girls into his apartment. They dashed in while leaving Mirai’s belongings in the hallway.
Sighing, he decided to be the bellboy for the time being. Carrying the suitcases inside, he shut the door and went into the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker. He disliked coffee, rather prefer tea, but in certain times, coffee helped—a lot.
The girls were in the living room, mesmerized that his apartment was “normal.” They were obviously looking for something.
Did they think I would have porn hidden somewhere? How foolish do they think I am?
Sighing, Tatsurou took a seat in the dining room and read the newspapers from this morning, which he didn’t have time to read at all.
While reading, Tatsurou kept an eye on the two girls. Out of this apartment, it was his room that he didn’t want them to enter. There were certain things that he didn’t want anyone to find out about, especially students from South Gunha.
“Have you girls had enough looking around? If so, then I’ll show Tsukishima-san to her room.”
Tatsurou got up and guided Mirai to the second empty room. It was a fairly average room. There was a bed on top of a bed stand by the window; a desk and chair located beside it; and a drawer remained opposite of the desk.
“This is your room. Whatever you do, don’t go into my room. You’ll only find nightmares in there.”
“What kind of nightmares?” Mirai asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“The kind of nightmares that will leave you traumatized for life.”
Hearing that, Mirai looked over her shoulder at the room opposite hers, which was Tatsurou’s. She felt a shiver run down her spine.
On the other hand, Shino gave an uneasy laugh.
“You’re just pulling our legs, right? There’s no way you would have something like that here.”
Instantly, Shino regretted ever saying that. Tatsurou glared at her, and she instantly felt her insides turning to mush. His blue-gray eyes clearly said “No, you’re definitely wrong about that.”
“You may carry a MDA, which can break a bone or make a fatal cut. But remember: I carry weapons around me that can literally kill people. If I have such things, there is a possibility of me possessing even worse weapons. Just keep that in mind.”
The two girls stared wide-eyed at Tatsurou without blinking. They were probably regretting ever setting foot inside his home.
“I’ll go bring Tsukishima’s things here. Please wait a second.”
Speaking as if his threat didn’t happen, Tatsurou went around the girls with a straight face to get Mirai’s suitcases. As for the two girls, they felt as if they were tricked, but couldn’t leave out the possibility of it being true either.
Like nothing ever happened, Tatsurou handed Mirai’s suitcases to her, and the two girls began unpacking and decorating the room with Mirai’s belongings.
On the other hand, Tatsurou went back to the kitchen to read the newspapers.

It was a little over 8 PM and the sun was already below the horizon, casting a very dim purple glow in the evening sky. On the eastern front, the moon was already visible. Still, this was Osaka City. Like any other metropolis, city life was still bustling with activity, even till midnight.
At this time, the girls seemed to have finished their unpacking. Now, the room looked as if a kindergartner was living with him.
“What?” Mirai asked while glaring at Tatsurou, who stood in front of her doorway.
“I didn’t expect such childishness from you, Tsukishima-san. You’re more like a tomboy instead of a kindergartner.”
“I’ll have you take that back!”
“No, I certainly agree with him,” Shino said, nodding as she looked around despite being the one to put them up herself. “My room isn’t as cute yours. Dang, I’m jealous!”
“Shino-chan, are you in league with a guy who offended me?”
“Well…but he’s right, Mirai-chan. This room doesn’t fit your character at all. I thought you would be more of a…hmmm, a sports person?”
“I’ll have you take that back as well!”
Tatsurou decided to stop things here and stepped into Mirai’s room. He had with him a platter of sweets and milk tea.
“Oh, deserts! I can’t wait!”
Shino excitedly grabbed one of the sweets, something that looked like a mixture of a cupcake with pink frost and sprinkles on top. When she bit into it, Shino was surprised at the taste inside. It tasted like both strawberries and grapes!
“This…this is so wonderful! Where did you buy this confectionary?”
Tatsurou tilted his head to one side, wondering how he should answer her.
“I made it myself, of course.”
That answer stunned the two girls before him. They looked at one another before turning to look back at Tatsurou with renewed interest.
“Let me try this one.”
Mirai grabbed one that looked like a cross bun. Like Shino, Mirai’s eyes widened at the taste in her mouth. It tasted like oranges and grapes!
“T-This is so good! How could you make this? I mean no offense, but you’re a guy!”
Glaring at Mirai with his intense eyes, Tatsurou appeared offended.
“Excuse me, but a guy can cook as well as any other girls in the world. I just happen to like making sweets. Is there a problem with that?”
“Of course not—definitely no!”
Shino quickly butted in to save their lives. If she didn’t, Tatsurou probably would have banned sweets in his house, and that would be a very big problem.
“Whatever.”
Tatsurou sighed and checked his watch.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this short. Shino-san, isn’t the ferry supposed to close around 9 PM?”
Jolted with this news, Shino looked at her own watch and nearly choked on a bun when she discovered what time it was.
Students living in South Gunha dormitories were subjected to a curfew at 10 PM. The ferry that took students from the mainland over to the island opened at 7 AM and closed at 9 PM.
Given the distance from the harbor to his apartment, Tatsurou figured that it would be a 20-minute taxi ride—if traffic wasn’t holding out. If it was, then it could literally drag to a 45 to 50-minute ride.
In other words, Shino could literally kiss her ride good-bye tonight.
Realizing this, Shino instantly began to panic, flustering—in a cute way—and grabbing for her mobile phone.
“Ah, I was having so much fun that I forgot! What am I going to do? Who should I call? Oh, God help me, please!”
Seeing Shino in such a flustered and childish state, Tatsurou sighed tiredly and rubbed the nape of his neck.
“I’ll call the Housing Office to let them know that you’re at my place. That should give you an excuse for not being in your dorm after curfew. But you’ll receive a mark on your report card. What do you say?”
A three-second silence overlapped the three of them in Mirai’s room.
“What do I say? Of course, I’ll say ‘yes’! You just saved my life right here! Oh, I’ll be calling you ‘God’ from now on.”
“Don’t exaggerate, Shino-san. You owe me one. Treat me to a nice desert, and I’ll call it even.”
“Wait, wait, wait, isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?” Mirai said, incredulously.
Tatsurou crossed his arms over his muscular chest, increasing his size.
“I like sweets. Is there a problem with that?”
Another three-second interval of silence overlapped them once more.
“Definitely not, I agree!”
“Good. I’ll go make that phone call.”
Then Tatsurou left the room to make a call to the Housing Office.

10 PM came unexpectedly quick. In the Satomi apartment, it was quiet. Not like an hour ago when they were chatting, eating food, watching TV, and playing card games. It was chaotic.
Now, the two girls were taking a shower together in Tatsurou’s big bathroom, while he remained in the living room, unfazed about the situation he was in.
In front of him was a sixth-generation 40-inch plasma screen, loaded with all of the channels in the world. With this, Tatsurou can literally watch what was happening in the world. He liked to stay on top of things.
Currently, Tatsurou was watching a live news channel in America, talking about a crime scene concerning Magic practitioners killing people for another blood ritual. It was big headline news since the people killed were family members of a member of the House of Representatives.
The more he heard about the accusations about these supposed Magic practitioners, the more his anger raged inside him. Though keeping a straight face, Tatsurou was ready to kill someone.
He switched to another news channel. This time, it talked about another blood ritual being discovered in the back alleys of Egypt.
Once more, Tatsurou’s anger nearly exploded, but he forced himself to remain calm.
“Tatsurou-kun, where’s the towel?” Mirai’s voice called out from the bathroom.
Frowning, Tatsurou was sure that he had left towels in the bathroom.
“It should be in a cupboard above your head,” he called back.
There was a few rustling sound, and the last thing he heard was something wooden being pried open.
“Ah, found it! Thanks!”
He shook his head.
What kind of development have I gotten myself into?
A few minutes later, the two girls came out of the bathroom, dressed in simple T-shirts and shorts. Their bodies were still wet, so their clothes outlined their slender bodies and angles perfectly for the eye of a man to see.
But Tatsurou wasn’t interested in their developing bodies. He was focused on the news in front of him. This one happened to be in Japan.
“…Minister of Defense Ayamine FYumio has declared a new project to the world…” the news reporter was saying with utmost pride. “This project is called, ‘Project World Tree’. Now, let’s see what the Minister of Defense has to say?”
The scene shifted from the news reporter to a close-up shot of the Minister of Defense Ayamine FYumio, standing behind a podium. He was a middle-aged man with short wavy peppered hair and piercing hazel eyes. And people, especially Tatsurou, could still see the Minister of Defense’s prime about him.
“‘My good people,’” the Minister of Defense started. “‘Ever since that tragic Christmas Eve, about 27 years ago, the world has changed for the worse. People are killing other people, but it is for a righteous cause! Those Magic practitioners deserve their fate for practicing such a taboo existence!’
“‘What we have always dreamed of as fiction and a great gift, it has backfired on us as a plague. It damaged us both physically and spiritually. Project World Tree will change all of that! It will put this world back to its rightful place! This, I guarantee will happen on Christmas Eve, on the anniversary of Black Magic Massacre! The only way to get rid of a tainted memory is to bury it deep inside a glorified memory!’”
Tatsurou clenched his teeth in anger and turned off the TV. He rubbed his temples extremely hard and sighed tiredly.
I’m going to get an ulcer if I keep watching that crap. Hmm?
Noticing the girls’ presences for the first time, Tatsurou wondered what they were thinking. Judging from their postures, Tatsurou wondered if they were reevaluating his mental state.
“Tatsurou-kun, do you, by any chance, have any strong hatred for Mage Hunters?” Mirai asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, you look like you’re suffering because of that man’s words.”
You’re quite perceptive, too, Tsukishima-san. I’ll give you that.
“Yes, but I don’t hate Mage Hunters, Tsukishima-san. I just hate their way of operating things.”
“I can understand what you’re saying, Tatsurou-kun,” Shino said, taking a seat in one of the couches. “Mage Hunters are literally the police, the judge, and the executioner, all in one. And they kill the Magic practitioners without questioning them. But look, Tatsurou-kun, worrying about it won’t do anything at all.”
Tatsurou carefully looked at Shino for a long moment.
“Why do you join the military university? You don’t look like the type of girl who would care about this.”
Shino sighed, tiredly, and leaned on the couch.
“You’ve got that right. I don’t particularly care about all of this political stuff. But I joined the military university so I could become a Mage Hunter. I want to put an end to this schism. Back when I was a kid, I had this boisterous next door neighbor. He wasn’t any different from a normal boy, and cared about people. But one day, he got killed by Mage Hunters because his family was Magic practitioners. Don’t you find that stupid? All he ever did was being born into a Magic practicing family and got killed for it! He was innocent!”
It looks like we will be able work with one another in the near future, Shino-san.
“Jeez, I just spill something private to two people I barely know for a whole day. Guess I must be crazy, eh?”
Tatsurou nodded and released a tired sigh.
“I’m in the same boat. I have two people I really loved killed by Mage Hunters right before my eyes.”
A long silent awkward moment overlapped them.
Mirai shook her head to clear away the awkwardness in her head and tried to shy away from the saddening topic.
“H-How about we go to sleep, guys? It’s awfully late out!”
That managed to do the trick since both Tatsurou and Shino were tired.
“I think I’ll do just that.”
“Let me get a futon for you, Shino-san.”
“Thanks.”
Several minutes passed by as Tatsurou grabbed a spare futon for Shino, setting it up on the floor in Mirai’s room. Though it might be comfortable, it was better than sleeping on the couch and getting a stiff back the next morning.
Mirai clambered onto her bed while Shino slid inside the futon.
Tatsurou stood by the doorway, turned off the lights, and went into his room.
His room was the design as Mirai’s since the two were identical, but his was simpler and plainer. All it had was a bed on a stand by the window, a desk and chair, and a drawer opposite of the desk. The only things that belonged to him were located in the drawer and a big black metal box hidden underneath the bed.
Despite being tired, Tatsurou didn’t feel like sleeping at all. Instead, he changed into darker clothes to blend well at night. He strapped on the leather holsters containing the two E-Vectors, which he had taken off a while ago, and donned a black coat over his body. Lastly, Tatsurou put two bronze bracelets on each of his wrists.
Pulling the hood over his head, Tatsurou opened the window and jumped three-stories down.
The bracelets on his wrists emitted a dim light, and the next second, Tatsurou stopped falling completely. Instead, he was hovering three stories in the air.
No normal feat with technology could literally challenge this.
What he used was Magic.
Yes, Tatsurou was a Magic practitioner.
And his destination tonight was: the South Gunha Military University.
Looking around him, Tatsurou quickly flew in the direction of Osaka Bay, quickly blending in the night sky. Flying over their heads, no one suspected anything above them.

Flying took exactly 6 minutes from Tatsurou’s apartment to South Gunha Island. At night, the island looked dark and medieval.
Landing on the southern edge of the island, where a forest encompassed much of the southern region, Tatsurou moved about while blending in the dark quite well. His movements made no noise because he casted a spell that “prevent any noise from leaking out.”
His mission tonight was: to familiarize himself with the lay of the land until that “moment” came. Until then, Tatsurou was to remain idle by like a student.
Coming into the open, he saw one of the girl’s dormitories on his right, and the second on his left. The third and last was located just behind the second.
In South Gunha, most students remained in dormitories. There were few exceptions like him who lived within the Osaka City and Kobe City areas, where they could commute to school.
Shortly said, there were three girl’s dormitories in all. The “Accepted” students have a room to themselves while the “Excepted” students have to share dorms.
These two terms referred to the students’ background information. Accepted Students were typically from wealthy families that could provide the school with financial backup. They were treated slightly better than the Excepted Students, the opposites of them.
Who knew when this hierarchy ever came to be?
The same could be said for the boys, though there were only two dormitories available due to large number of female students compared to boys.
Tatsurou had no idea why this ever happened, but it seemed that most of the prominent Mage Hunters in the world were females. Though men do become Mage Hunters, they weren’t well known because they weren’t willing to take risk. That was the biggest difference between male and female Mage Hunters.
Pulling a folded poster paper from his pockets, Tatsurou bent down and picked up a handful of soil. Sprinkling it over the poster paper, he waved his right hand over it, causing his bracelet to glow, and the poster began shifting like piles of sand being blown by the wind.
This was a mapping spell. Using the soil of an enemy base on a piece of paper, a Magic practitioner would normally chant and could literally map out everything on the island.
When the shifting stopped, Tatsurou had a map of South Gunha Island—every crook and cranny. Of course, there weren’t any names, which was why he had to go to those places personally to upgrade the map.
After pointing out the length and density of the forest he had just crawled out of onto the map, Tatsurou carefully made his way to the first girl’s dormitory.
Maybe I should add some surveillance?
Tatsurou frowned, wondering if he should after posting the girl’s dormitories onto the map.
Well, it couldn’t hurt to put surveillance on the girl’s dormitories. The worst he could be called was a peeping tom. Nothing harsher than that, he presumed.
Tilting his head to one side, Tatsurou wondered where he should put his surveillance spells at. The best spots should be the four corners, and…
Suddenly, Tatsurou felt a sudden chill down his spine. This was his instinct telling him that something strange was happening. It pertained to both magical and physical phenomena.
Hiding on the left side of the house, he peeked off the side, gazing straight at the front entrance to the first girl’s dormitory. Despite its simple structure, the dormitories were built with the highest-level of security. Tatsurou made sure not to touch the walls in case of setting off the alarms.
As he wondered, a girl stepped out of the first girl’s dormitory. Judging from her stature, she must be a First-year, though Tatsurou didn’t remember anyone like that in his class. So, she must be from a different class.
What could she be doing up this late?
The girl looked both left and right before running towards somewhere.
Tatsurou didn’t want to get involved since he already had something else to do. But the girl’s movements puzzled him for a moment. In the end, he decided to follow her.
It was obvious that the girl’s destination was the main campus. She hid behind the bushes located on the side of the three-story-tall building. Apparently, she was well aware of the cameras.
Wondering how she would bypass this, the next second confirmed his suspicions.
The girl raised her left hand, and to a Magic practitioner’s careful eye, a dim magic circle appeared in front of the camera. It blocked its view. Carefully, she made her way inside.
Once more, she used an unlocking spell to pry open the locked doors without actually breaking it in. Then she quietly slipped in while the magic circle in front of the camera disappeared. It would’ve appeared to the security cameras that nothing ever moved.
Tatsurou thought about not following her inside, but the fact that another Magic practitioner had infiltrated the university meant that something else was being carried out. He wondered if it was the same organization that he belonged to.
Using the same spells the girl used, Tatsurou easily broke in. Those two spells were the simplest of simple to cast without draining a magic practitioner’s magic energy.
While inside, Tatsurou didn’t even need to use any spells to track her down. Her movements were easy to follow. Since she could hide away her noise and image from being caught on camera, the girl wasn’t very careful about hiding her presence.
Following her, Tatsurou came to the Administration Office on the second floor. It was a place full of student and staff profiles on individual computer chips. Both locked inside metal vaults. Of course, it wasn’t impossible to break in if the one breaking in was a Magic practitioner like the girl—and Tatsurou.
Hiding at the front entrance, Tatsurou cast his glance inside the Administration Office. He heard plastic chips hitting the tabletop quite often and the furious speed at which a keyboard was being hit at.
It seems like we have a serious hacker here. I wonder what you’re after.
It was obvious what the girl was trying to do. Her mission was: to look for someone.
But who was that someone was the number one question.
Not letting anyone to jeopardize his mission, Tatsurou grabbed one of his E-Vectors and silently pulled the slide back, setting the bullet into the pistol.
Having second thoughts, he took out the magazine and pulled a separate one from one stored at his hip. He exchanged real bullets for tranquilizers instead because he wanted to question this girl. All of this was done without making the slightest sound.
Just when he was about to take aim and shoot, a chill went down his spine, alerting him of danger.
Instantly, a giant man tackled him to the wall, causing the wall to nearly crack. Tatsurou dropped his pistol—it sliding underneath a comfy chair—and was forced to keep his hood on his face as the giant man pushed him all the way to the wall. Together, they wrestled with one another.
Shoot! It’s a security guard! I let my guard down!
The security guard was immensely strong, more muscular than Tatsurou was, grabbing Tatsurou by the scruff of his coat and lifting him into the air.
Their scuffle alerted the girl inside the Administration Office. She panicked and instantly fled out of the room, running out of the doors.
Her escape caused the security guard to lose focus on Tatsurou for a moment, which was all he needed.
As the security guard trained his eyes on the runaway girl for a brief moment, Tatsurou instantly retaliated with a head-butt straight to the nose. The security guard screamed in agony and released Tatsurou in order to grab his bleeding nose.
The instance his feet touched the floor, Tatsurou grabbed the security guard’s head and slammed his knee into the security guard’s face, causing even more pain. As the security guard staggered backward, Tatsurou stepped and thrust out a powerful kick into the security guard’s stomach. The force propelled the security guard flying all the way to the end of the hall, where he broke right through an emergency exit and fell unconscious.
A second later, the fire alarm rang throughout the campus. In South Gunha, once a fire alarm was activated, it rang throughout the island.
Cursing under his breath, Tatsurou grabbed his E-Vector and ran after the runaway girl, who was heading back to the first girl’s dormitory. Already, staffs located within the island were already onto the scene.
He had to make it quick.
Swiftly changing ammos, Tatsurou took aim at the running girl and fired three consecutive shots. Like the time in the gym, no sound came out because he casted a sound-prevention spell onto the pistol.
However good his aim was, the girl stopped abruptly and turned around. She threw her hand out and a force field appeared before her. It deflected his bullets like an armor tank being hit with pellets from an air gun.
At the entrance of the first girl’s dormitory, some girls were already frantically outside and looking for the nearest shelter. Quickly, the girl intermingled with those girls, leaving Tatsurou no option to chase after her.
Tatsurou needed to get out of here before the teachers spotted him. He was the only one they knew had firearms, so it was a high probability that they would suspect him.
His bracelets emitted a bright light, and Tatsurou instantly took flight. His escape wasn’t a moment too soon or late because once he was out of sight, the teachers reached the campus. Using the night sky as a cover, Tatsurou flew back home.
There was a high probability that the staffs would call the students located outside the island to warn them of the sudden problem at hand. If that happened, he needed to be there to answer the phone. If not, then a tiny bit of suspicion could form.
And tiny suspicions could turn ugly if fuel was added to the small kindling fire.
Tatsurou flew at top speed.

The next morning, Tatsurou woke up at 4 AM. The sun usually rose out of the horizon between 5 and 6 AM. This was his typical morning.
However, last night wasn’t.
As soon as he got back to his room in less than 5 minutes, there was already a phone call from the university. It was surprisingly fast how they could calm down the situation in that short amount of time.
Of course, Tatsurou was there to answer the phone and gave the immediate reply the teachers wanted.
So far, nothing too bad could happen. But who knew what else could take place.
Setting those problems aside, Tatsurou got ready for morning. He got breakfast ready and took a nice shower to clean the filth.
Last night still troubled him to the point he forgot that girls were living with him and walked outside naked with the towel over his neck.
Choosing this moment to step out of their room to use the bathroom was Mirai. Since the bathroom was located at the end of the hall, right between Tatsurou’s and Mirai’s rooms, she had the luxurious view of Tatsurou’s naked body.
Instantly, her face turned as red as getting sunburn, with her mouth gaping open and eyes wide like umbrellas. Mira could hardly form words in her mouth.
Hmmm?
Tatsurou tilted his head to one side and then looked down. He was confused for a moment until the events from last night finally left his head, leaving him space to finally comprehend the situation.
Oh…
“By all means, please cover your eyes, Tsukishima-san.”
“Who the hell says that in the morning?”
Mirai dashed back into her room and slammed the door shut.
Leaning on the door, Mirai was breathing raggedly, still having the image of Tatsurou’s naked body imprinted behind her retinas. She shook her head frantically to clear the image away.
“Hmmm, what’s wrong, Mirai-chan?” Shino yawned from her messed-up futon, still sounding half asleep. “You look like you saw something a maiden shouldn’t see.”
“It’s was big!”
Mirai unexpectedly shouted it at Shino, who tilted her head to one side puzzlingly.
“What’s big?”
“Ah….n-nothing…you just go back to sleep, OK?”
“…Alright…”
Shino obediently went back to sleep. In a few short seconds, she was snoring.
Calming herself down, Mirai relaxed and waited for a long time before stepping out again. In her mind: by now, Tatsurou should have worn clothes to cover himself. But unexpectedly, Mirai saw a naked back facing in the hallway, directly across from her room.
“W-What are you doing, Tatsurou-kun?”
She covered her eyes while yelling. But there was enough space between her fingers for her to peek at him.
“I’m doing warm-ups. What else could I be doing?”
Tatsurou started stretching his arms. Every time his arms moved, the muscles bulged and loosen.
“Put some clothes on! I’m a girl here!”
“I usually don’t wear clothes in the morning.”
“Whatever! Just close the door before I call the police!”
With that being said, Mirai quickly dashed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. In there, she locked herself in and splashed cold water onto her face.
Out in the hallway, Shino woke up due to Mirai’s shouting and stepped out of the room. Directly in front of her was a naked Tatsurou, stretching and flexing his body.
“Tatsurou-kun, you have a very nice body.”
Shino kept her face straight, showing astonishment instead of pure maiden-like surprise.
“Thank you. I’ve been training at a young age.”
“By the way, did I hear Mirai-chan’s voice just now? What was she angry about?”
“Apparently, she was distressed at seeing me without clothes”
“Hmmm, now that’s quite troublesome. Maybe I should familiarize her with a man’s body?”
“I don’t want to!” Mirai’s voice reverberated from the bathroom.
Both Tatsurou and Shino exchanged glances with one another and shrugged their shoulders, as if saying, “It can’t be helped.” Tatsurou put on a black track suit while Shino went back to her room to get more sleep.
Other than a chaotic morning for Mirai, it was simple and easygoing.

The ferry took South Gunha students or visitors from the mainland around 7 to 7:30 AM. The trip to the island was about 10 minutes. If it was a stormy day, it could literally take twice the amount of time, or the ferry wouldn’t even depart at all.
Tatsurou, Mirai, and Shino arrived on South Gunha Island at 7:50 Am, with just enough time to buy 20 minutes before Home Room started. They were making good time.
Walking up the cement pathway from the dock to higher ground level, the three of them encountered other students as well as passed through a small business district.
Surprising for a military inhabited island, there were small businesses here and there, selling school supplies to the South Gunha students. This was done to give the students some leeway from having to travel to the mainland to buy school supplies.
It was also done to save cost because a ferry ride wasn’t cheap. And there were students that couldn’t afford so many rides to and back.
Yesterday’s and this morning’s ferry rides, Tatsurou paid for both Mirai’s and his share. Shino covered her own expenses, so no worries there.
The business district encompassed an area about roughly a small town. There were diners for students to dine at lunch and eat dinner; bathhouses for students because the dormitories didn’t have any personal cares, only a bathroom with no shower; and local convenience stores.
Along the way, Tatsurou stopped by a sweets shop, one he had discovered two days before starting school.
The shop was called “Baba’s Sweets.” It was run by an elderly woman, though she couldn’t be called “elderly” since she must only be in her mid-50s. Her name was Maebara Kanae, colloquially called “Baba-Bara.”
“Ah, Tatsu-kun, do you want another set of dumplings?” Baba-Bara asked and smiling sweet like the old woman she was.
“Yes ma’am,” Tatsurou answered sincerely. He turned to the two girls behind him. “Do you two want anything here?”
“My, my, Tatsu-kun already has friends. I’m Maebara Kanae. You can just call me ‘Baba-Bara’, everyone does. It’s a pleasure to meet you two girls.”
“I’m Miyoshi Shino, ma’am! You can just call me ‘Shino’ if you want. Also, I would like whatever Tatsurou-kun’s having!”
“Yes, yes, right away.”
“I’m Tsukishima Mirai. Please call me ‘Mirai’ if you want to as well. And I would like the same thing!”
Baba-Bara chuckled softly.
“Tatsu-kun has some nice friends.”
“Ma’am, what’s your relationship to Tatsurou-kun? You seem like a mother figure to him.”
“Oh, do I, Shino-chan? Well, let’s see…I guess you can say that he saved me three days ago. A small group of boys was roughing it out at my place and Tatsu-kun came and got rid of them for me. Ever since then, I guess he became a regular at my place.”
“Wow, I didn’t know Tatsurou-kun could be so chivalrous.”
Shino nudged Tatsurou in the ribs with her elbow, smiling at him like she had an ulterior motive.
He couldn’t guess what it was and decided not to follow up on her.
“It was nothing, Baba-Bara. People like them don’t deserve to be here on this island.”
“Um, who are these people you’re talking about?” Mirai asked, obviously clueless.
At the same time, Baba-Bara got three packs of dumplings inside a paper bag and handed it to Tatsurou. He paid her for all three shares and left.
“Come back soon, Tatsu-kun.”
As they walked away, heading up the cement pathway and into a forest, Mirai still wasn’t giving up on her cluelessness.
“Tatsurou-kun, what people were you talking about? Answer me already!”
Instead of answering straight away, Tatsurou looked over at Shino, making eye contact with her. She nodded gently before he proceeded to answer.
“I was talking about the Accepted Students.”
“Huh, the Accepted Students…what do they have to do with it?”
“Mirai-chan, you know how there are two different types of students in this university. Well, the Accepted Students act like royalties because they’re treated better than everyone else. Though they are still subjected to military and civilian laws, they are given leeway in many other areas, such as light punishments, better education, and living environments—that sort of thing.”
“Yes, apparently, Accepted Students tend to act recklessly—and ruthlessly—upon the Excepted Students. But not all of them are like that.”
As he said this, Tatsurou looked over at Shino and gave a wry smile.
Catching that small movement, Mirai started thinking about something. But it wasn’t even for a moment when it became frustrated for her to think anymore.
“Why do you keep looking over at Shino-chan for?”
“Oh, are you getting jealous here, Mirai-chan?”
Mirai’s face flushed instantly.
“W-Why would I get jealous? I’m just curious why the two of you keep making eye-contact!”
“You haven’t noticed, Tsukishima-san? Shino-san is an Accepted Student.”
Hearing this news, Mirai looked over at Shino in a new light.
“Is that true? But you have a roommate, Shino-chan.”
Shino laughed with no energy in it while scratching her head.
“Actually, I wasn’t supposed to, but I talked with the Housing Office and managed to persuade them to change my rooms. And besides, I’m not that rich to begin with.”
“If you remember correctly, Tsukishima-san, there was a court incident about 4 years ago concerning the Miyoshi Family with the Tenoujuku Family that owns the Mono-Tsuruhashi Enterprise.”
Mirai tried to remember back to four years ago, finding details about the world, but…none came. Even when she squeezed her head dry, nothing came.
Seeing Mirai wracking her brain for information, Shino smiled gently and shook her head.
“Mirai-chan, you don’t have to force yourself to remember. I rather you not remember such things. It was very unpleasant for me.”
“…I see…Sorry that I didn’t notice.”
“It’s really alright! I mean, I wasn’t trying to hide it or anything, but I couldn’t really tell you guys! I didn’t know what you guys would think of me once you know that I’m from a wealthy family.”
Suddenly, Mirai gently tapped Shino’s head with her knuckles.
“Don’t be stupid. Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. How you act around and treat other people determines whether you’re being liked or not. No matter what, I consider you as a good friend.”
Shino smiled and looked down at her hands.
“Eh, thanks. That means a lot to me.”
“I agree with Tsukishima-san. If I hated you, I wouldn’t have agreed to accompany you till today.”
“Thanks, Tatsurou-kun.”
They arrived at the top of the cement pathway, where the university lay out before them as a medieval fortress of Japanese origin. Ahead of them, other students were already heading to class.
With the time allowed, they have about 14 or so minutes before Home Room started.
“Let’s hurry be—” Tatsurou stopped in midsentence when he felt an icy chill run down his back.
Instantly, he turned to his right, where Mirai was, and pulled out his E-Vector from its holster. Before Mirai could react, Tatsurou grabbed her head and pulled her towards him while jabbing the E-Vector forward. In response, a blue blade shot forward and aimed at his neck, though the blade only touched his skin with the slightest intent of severing his flesh. On the other hand, his E-Vector barrel pointed at someone’s head, hammer cocked, and ready to put a bullet in someone’s head.
Shino took Mirai away from Tatsurou and then glared at the student who pointed its MDA blade at Tatsurou, which happened to be more than one person.
“Who might you be?” she asked in a threatening tone.
“I’m Daishouji Tsubakuro,” the other student replied in a steely voice. He was holding a spear in his hands.