Enrollment Arc, Part II

by Tsutomu Sato

  “I consider it divine providence that Sayaka became friends with you. I honestly can’t thank you enough for that. I would have liked a man like you to continue supporting Sayaka in the future…”

  “…I’m not someone capable of supporting anyone like that.”

  “…We’ll leave it at that, then. Forget it—that was just an absurd request from a foolish father. Of course, I haven’t told anyone, not even my daughter, what I’ve heard from Kazama, so you needn’t worry. I just wanted to tell you that you’re someone capable of saving my daughter, and that you really did save her in the end. Really, thank you.”

  After he finished, he returned to where his wife was standing, without waiting for a reply—without letting Tatsuya abase himself any further.

  He gave a slight shake of his head to drive away the not-so-slight sense of agitation he felt, then went back to his sister and the others.

  “Oh, Shiba. What were you talking about with my dad?”

  Sayaka addressed him immediately, as though he were a godsend, or like she was trying to find any possible way out of her current situation. It looked like Miyuki couldn’t contain Erika by herself.

  “Someone who took care of me long ago was a friend of your father’s, and we were talking about him.”

  “Huh, really?”

  “Yes, the world is a small place.”

  “I knew you and Saya were connected by fate!” Erika immediately involved herself in the conversation. She was on top of her game today, it seemed. “Hey, Saya, how come you switched from Tatsuya to Kirihara? Weren’t you in love with Tatsuya?”

  “W-wait, Eri?” Sayaka got flustered, but Tatsuya was thinking of something a little different.

  Just “Eri,” huh… He speculated that they had quite an affinity for each other—as though it had nothing to do with him.

  “Erika, you’re getting a little carried away today.” Miyuki’s rebuke went in one ear and out the other. This was beyond the point of being “on top of her game.”

  “If we’re just talking about looks, then I think Tatsuya’s got him beat.”

  “…You’re a really rude woman, you know that?”

  “Don’t worry about it, Kirihara! It’s not all about the face.”

  “…Seriously, you’re gonna make me cry!”

  “Whatever. So Saya, what was it? The sincerity? The kindness of awkward guys is pretty nice, huh?”

  Sayaka’s face went red all the way up to her ears. She tried to look away, but Erika would quickly move around her every time—probably using magic. Eventually she looked down, seeming like she was about to cry.

  “Erika, maybe it’s time—” to give it a rest. Tatsuya was interrupted in the middle of the act, though.

  “Yeah…I think you’re right,” confessed Sayaka, beginning in a weak voice. Her inner turmoil must have reached its peak, her mental barriers crumbling. “I think I was in love with Shiba…”

  “Whoa!” For some reason, the one most visibly surprised by this was Erika.

  “He had this unwavering strength that I admired. But at the same time, I think I was afraid of it.”

  Miyuki glanced at him in concern. Tatsuya responded with a subtle, dry grin. Apparently his sister had taken to thinking his feelings could be easily hurt.

  “It wouldn’t matter how hard I ran, because I wouldn’t be able to catch up to him. To become like him, I would have to keep on running forever. No matter how long I did, I would never get that strong… It may be a rude way to put it since Shiba helped me so much, but that’s what I felt like.”

  “…I think I get it. Tatsuya definitely does make people feel like that sometimes.”

  “As for Kirihara, well… The first time I really talked to him was when he came to visit me here. But I thought I could walk along at the same pace as him, even if we fought sometimes. I guess that’s why…”

  “…Yeah, yeah. You make a lovely couple.”

  Tatsuya didn’t know if he agreed with Erika’s way of putting it, but on an emotional level they were of one mind. Back then, Sayaka hadn’t just been pretending to be a cute girl—she really was one.

  “What about you, Kirihara? When did you start to like Saya?”

  “…Annoying brat. What does it matter, anyway? It’s none of your business.”

  “That’s right, Erika. It doesn’t matter when it started.” Tatsuya had been keeping quiet until that. But now, having said something a little mean-spirited, Erika turned around, a question mark popping into metaphorical existence over her head. “What’s important is that Kirihara is seriously in love with Mibu.”

  “Wha—you—?!”

  “Wow…”

  “I can’t say any more because it’s a privacy thing, but when I saw Kirihara facing down Blanche’s leader, I knew he was more manly than I am.”

  “I see…” muttered Erika. “Hey, Tatsuya?”

  “What?”

  “Tell me in secret later!”

  “Chiba, you little…! Shiba, I swear, if you say anything, I’ll deny it!”

  “I won’t tell.”

  “Oh, come on, what’s it matter?”

  “You stupid cow!”

  Sayaka’s parents, the nurses, and even Sayaka herself watched with loving smiles as the rampaging Kirihara chased the giggling Erika around the room.

  As Tatsuya himself watched them actually start an all-out game of tag with slightly less-than-loving eyes, Miyuki quietly came up next to him. “Tatsuya?”

  “Yeah?” he replied briefly, eyes still fixed on Erika and the others.

  “Miyuki will stay with you forever—even if you run away at the speed of sound, and even if you pierce through the sky and soar up to the stars.”

  “…I’d think I’d be the one left behind, not you,” he said, smiling a little pathetically. “But for now, we need to get our feet firmly on the ground before looking upward.”

  Miyuki gave him a mischievous smile back. “Are we going back to school?”

  “Yeah. We’ll have to stay late this weekend if we don’t attend afternoon classes.”

  She knew he’d been speaking in jest. That’s why she could smile, too.

  But still, she couldn’t help but ask something. She wanted to make sure. “Tatsuya… Isn’t school difficult for you? With your real power, there is no need for you to attend high school in the first place… And you do it even though you’re looked down on. If you’re forcing yourself for my sake, I—”

  “Miyuki,” said Tatsuya, interrupting her question. “I’m not going to high school against my will. I know that I can only experience this kind of life now. I enjoy being a normal student with you.”

  “Tatsuya…”

  “So let’s get back to our normal life for today, shall we?”

  Tatsuya, a little awkwardly, reached his hand out for Miyuki.

  She happily took it.

  —But in the end, Erika came crying to them when she didn’t make it back in time for afternoon classes, and Tatsuya had to stay late that weekend anyway.

  Chapter 1 Fin

  AFTERWORD

  If you’re able to read this afterword, then it means this book has safely made it out into the world. It still feels completely unreal to me that a novel I wrote is now a book.

  In any case, for a lowly debut work, things got off to an extremely bold start with a duology right off the bat. And with only two months in between, too. At the time of writing this afterword, I haven’t yet seen the actual finished article. I even had the audacity to suggest releasing both volumes at the same time, so I guess my desperate struggle on such a tight schedule was just what I get. I’d like, however, to start by apologizing to Ms. Ishida first and foremost, who got mixed up in all this (?), as well as the rest of the staff.

  In all honesty, I was quite scared about whether some newbie with no notable achievements could really pull off the outrageous “continued in part two of two” business. I originally wrote this on media that didn’t require me to be conscious of
how many pages it was. I knew that if it became a physical book I’d have to either pare it down or split it up. When the editor told me I didn’t have to pare it down, I was extremely grateful as a writer, but I was still anxious.

  I felt again then that just the fact that it was irregular was enough to make me nervous. Of course, that nervousness did lead to me unhesitatingly agreeing with the editor when the two-month, two-book plan was brought up, so…

  Speaking of irregularity, the main characters in this book, The Irregular at Magic High School, are all irregular boys and girls, some more so than others. My original concept for the main character, Tatsuya, was that of a youth labeled as a poor student because he couldn’t be measured by a preexisting framework. The supporting characters are all irregular in some way or another as well. His little sister Miyuki, who could be said to be the other protagonist, is an honor student but certainly not normal by any stretch of the imagination…though I don’t believe I need to elaborate on that point, since you’ve already read the book.

  But while they all feel uneasy about being irregulars, it doesn’t result in conflict. Both the main and supporting characters all defiantly think in a “so what?” kind of way. Actually, it might be less acting defiantly and more seriously not caring that much.

  For heretics to push their heretical selves through and persist by force… There’s probably some of my own aspiration in that as well. Heretics fighting through, without yielding to orthodoxy, finally running out of strength and being defeated and killed—the aesthetic of such destruction is appealing, but I think there’s an important story to be told about heretics who calmly break all the walls in their way while saying “so what?”

  Using a group of irregulars taken from both the honor students and the poor students—Tatsuya and Miyuki, Leo and Erika, Mayumi and Mari, and many others…

  That was the sort of story I wanted to create.

  Let’s bring my talk of dreams to an end there.

  I’d like to thank Ms. Ishida for giving beautiful illustrations to this work, Mr. Stone for patiently putting up with all my selfish requests, and all the staff involved in the creation of this book. Especially M. Ki—I sincerely apologize for all of my many shortcomings.

  And my greatest thanks go out to all the readers who purchased this book.

  I hope that you will give a look to the next book, The Irregular at Magic High School, Vol. 3: Nine-School Battle Arc, Part I.