Mahouka Koukou no Re Volume 6 - Ch 2

This chapter is updated by Novels.pl

Modern short distance public transportation was developed along the lines of carpooling, with large scale public transportation being replaced by smaller systems that accommodated fewer individuals.

Thirty years ago, this plan started spreading among the large tropolises as well as 80% of the dium sized cities and suburbs. The remaining 20% utilized private cars and had no need for public transportation.

In terms of going to school or work, large buses and cable cars that could transport large amounts of people had gone out of style, so the scene where high school students took the bus to and from school has almost beco non-existent.

While Tatsuya really only went to school accompanied by Miyuki, he still shared the walk from the bus stop to the school with his friends. Even though he arrived later than usual to school, the usual crowd was still on hand waiting for him.

The predominant itinerary involved a simple walk to school, but sotis they would make a quick detour to a cafe or fast food restaurant. Along the approximately one kiloter path to school, there were countless stores that boasted dining, books, school supplies, clothes, and especially materials related to magic education. Students and teachers from First High were not the only ones to frequent this area, since many custors took the tram from far away to co and shop here.

Within one of the more orthodox cafes where they were frequent fliers, eight people were sitting together.

"Eh? Tatsuya's been selected as one of the representatives for the Thesis Competition?"

Today's detour was because Mikihiko asked why Tatsuya was summoned to the Magic Geotry lab. Seeing Mikihiko burning with questions while they were waiting for the waitress, Tatsuya couldn't help but notice a side to his friend as he briefly elaborated on the details.

Hence Mikihiko's reaction was embodied by the previous comnt.

Since he had already told Miyuki and Honoka when he picked them up from the Student Council Room yesterday, there were five people including Mikihiko who sat there with stunned expressions.

"Wait, I thought we only send three representatives from the entire school to the Thesis Competition."

"Yep."

At Mizuki's wide-eyed question, Tatsuya calmly replied with a decisive answer. Their two expressions were like night and day.

"Just a 'yep'......

Tatsuya-kun is completely lackadaisical about this."

Mizuki was struck speechless while Erika stared blankly. On the other side, Leo supplied an amused smile.

"For Tatsuya, that would be only natural."

"There's never been a case where we sent a Year 1 student out for the Thesis Competition."

"Not like it's impossible either, eh? Even the faculty can't ignore the genius who invented a brand new magic among us."

Hearing Shizuku's counter argunt, Leo smiled and added a rebuttal of his own.

"Let's stop it there with the genius talk."

Rather than being embarrassed by that title, Tatsuya felt an irritation like soone poking him with a needle.

"Tatsuya really dislikes people calling him a genius......"

"Because that term is too casual."

At Honoka's amazed comnt that was neither mocking nor filled with ulterior anings, Miyuki replied in place of Tatsuya.

Tatsuya could only chuckle wryly at his sister's reply, though he had to admit she was right on the money.

"No, that's still incredible!"

Likely noticing the mood taking a turn for the worse, Mikihiko quickly chid in to restore the balance.

"The winning thesis from the competition will be published annually in 'Super Nature', while a considerable amount of attention is still directed towards Second Place and below."

"Super Nature" is a British research journal that is held to be the highest authority on modern magic. Unfortunately, the journal also contained thes on dictatorship that were inappropriate for high school students. Fortunately, everyone here who had read the journal, including Mikihiko, Tatsuya, and Miyuki, were all quite familiar with the na.

"Ah, but......

There isn't a whole lot of ti left."

Mikihiko's euphoric mood swiftly turned to worry as he stated this.

Shouldn't Mikihiko also pay attention to these sudden mood swings? Tatsuya thought in surprise. Regardless, he kept these thoughts to himself as he nodded at Mikihiko's question.

"We have exactly 9 days until the school turns in our paper."

"That's it!? That's right around the corner!"

"There's no problem at all. At the end of the day, I'm only in a supporting role. The lead writer has been working on this since before sumr vacation."

Seeing Honoka's electrified expression, Tatsuya reassured her with a smile as he waved his hand a little. At Tatsuya's answer, Honoka relaxed into a "You're right" expression and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Even so, the fact remains that this is a pressing deadline. Did sothing unexpected happen?"

"One of the supporting upperclassn's physical condition suddenly worsened."

Miyuki wrinkled her brows as she queried Tatsuya, who maintained his earlier smile as he replied with a simple answer. Even though he didn't cut into the heart of the matter, there really was nothing to hide even if pressed.

Yet, Miyuki didn't seem wholly satisfied with Tatsuya's overly simplistic answer.

"That's quite unfortunate, but even so this is certainly a last minute change."

The reason apparently wasn't why this situation occurred, but a mood issue.

"Indeed, even if the entire thesis had to be done from scratch, Onii- sama would still be the best candidate."

Nonetheless, given that Tatsuya's situation had already turned into reality, Miyuki was only looking for a reason to convince herself, which was perfectly in tune with her character. In Tatsuya's eyes, even though Miyuki's comnt was fairly accurate, she was still thinking too highly of herself with this unconditional acceptance.

"That's not entirely the case. We would have quite the conundrum on our hands if I was utterly unfamiliar with the field of Ichihara-senpai's topic, but fortunately that isn't the case."

Thus, Tatsuya adopted a "smile and deny" tactic, but Miyuki didn't seem very happy with her brother's stance. Just as she was thinking of an appropriate rejoinder, a new question sprouted out from beside her.

"Hey, so what is the topic?"

Curious, Leo leaned forward as he asked this question. Despite the fact that all the young ladies watched him coldly with eyes that clearly said "Would you understand even if he told you?