Chapter 4

High school life on the second day, waking up was also as usual.

Even after advancing to high school, the Earth's rotation period would not change.

After Tatsuya simply washed his face—planning to wash up more thoroughly later—he changed into his usual attire.

Descending to the dining room, Mii was already preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, Mii, you're up early this morning."

The sky was only slightly bright, and the spring sun had not yet risen.

Of course, it was too early to go to school. Classes started at 8:00, and it took about 30 minutes to walk to school, so he only needed to leave by 7:30. Preparing breakfast, eating breakfast, and cleaning up the dishes... even considering all the necessary time, there was still over an hour to spare.

"Good morning, big brother... please have some."

"Thank you."

The cup she handed over was filled with fresh juice.

Tatsuya politely thanked her and drank the juice in one go, then returned the cup to the outstretched hand—Mii had already mastered Tatsuya's body rhythm.

Mii turned back to the sink. Just as Tatsuya was about to say "I'm off" to her back, Mii stopped her actions and turned around.

"Big brother, I hope I can go with you this morning..."

As Mii said this, she showed Tatsuya a basket filled with sandwiches. It seemed she wasn't just starting to make breakfast but was almost finished.

"I don't mind... but are you going to wear your uniform?"

Tatsuya alternated his gaze between his sports clothes and Mii's uniform under her apron.

"I haven't reported to my teacher that I've advanced to high school...

Besides, I can no longer keep up with big brother's training."

This was Mii's response.

She had changed into her uniform so early to show her high school student appearance.

"I understand. Although Mii doesn't need to do the same morning training as me, if it's for this, the master should be very happy...

...I just hope he doesn't get too excited and lose control."

"Then big brother, please protect Mii."

Seeing her sister give a cute wink, Tatsuya's face naturally broke into a smile.

◇◇◇

The girl's long hair and skirt were blown by the cool, fresh morning air as she glided up the slope on her inline skates.

Mii did not push off the ground even once, defying gravity and sliding at high speed on the long, gentle slope.

The speed was nearly 60 kilometers per hour.

Tatsuya moved alongside her.

Although Tatsuya was running, each step he took covered a distance of ten meters.

However, his expression was not as calm as Mii's.

"Should we slow down a bit...?"

"No, it wouldn't be training then."

Mii lightly turned around, skating backward on one foot, and asked. Tatsuya, who showed a hint of fatigue but was not out of breath, responded.

Neither of them had any external power installed in their shoes.

Needless to say, this speed came from magic.

The magic Mii used was to reduce gravitational acceleration and to move her body along the slope in the direction of her goal.

The magic Tatsuya used was to enhance the acceleration and deceleration generated by stepping on the ground and to reduce the vertical vector to prevent his body from leaving the ground too much.

Both were simple composite spells for movement and acceleration. Because they were simple, Mii, of course, and Tatsuya, who could only be a second-year student, could also activate and maintain these spells.

In this situation, it was not easy to say which was more difficult: Mii on inline skates or Tatsuya running on his own feet.

At first glance, Mii, who used inline skates to reduce the physical load, seemed to have it easier, but since she wasn't using her feet, she had to control her direction entirely with magic.

On the other hand, Tatsuya determined his direction with his running movements.

Tatsuya had to activate the spell with each step, while Mii had to continuously control the spell without letting up.

Each of them imposed different types of training on themselves.

◇◇◇

Their destination was a small hill about ten minutes away from home—though that was based on their current speed—a temple.

If described in the simplest terms, it was a "temple."

However, the people gathered there did not look like "monks," "priests," or "novices."

If one had to describe them with existing terms, "ascetics"... no, "monk soldiers" would be more appropriate.

In this atmosphere that could easily make women hesitate, especially young girls, Mii glided through the gate on her inline skates without hesitation. This was not like her usual polite self, but the owner repeatedly emphasized "don't worry about it," and she had gotten used to it.

As for what Tatsuya was doing at this time, he was not lagging behind but was rudely greeted as soon as he crossed the gate.

This "greeting" was essentially a sparring match.

When he first came to this temple to train, he sparred with each person in turn. Now, he faced about twenty junior disciples, all at once—not in a round-robin but all together.

"Deep snow! Long time no see."

As Tatsuya was surrounded by the crowd, Mii turned around in the courtyard of the main hall, worried. At that moment, a cheerful voice came from a blind spot.

"Teacher... I've told you many times, don't sneak up without making your presence known..."

Because her senses were more acute and she was more alert to avoid a repeat, Mii's heart was even more strongly affected. Even though she knew it was futile, she had to protest.

"Prohibiting me from sneaking up? That's a tall order for Mii.

I am a 'ninja,' so sneaking up is like a second nature to me."

The man, with his head shaved and a tall, slender figure in a black robe, looked very fitting for the temple. However, regardless of his actual age, he appeared to be not very old.

Although he seemed detached from the world, he exuded a hard-to-describe vulgarity. Even though he looked like a monk, there was a sense of pretense.

"There are no more ninjas in this era. I hope you can correct this nature as soon as possible."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Mii's request is too much.

I am a genuine ninja with a long and deep tradition.

This is not a profession but a tradition."

Even as Mii protested seriously, the man deliberately clicked his tongue and wagged his finger in a vulgar manner.

"I know it's a long tradition, so I'm not surprised.

But why are you so..."

Mii did not deliberately say the word "frivolous." She already knew it would be useless.

This fake monk—though he was indeed a monk—was named Kusunoki Yagumo. As he claimed, he was a "ninja."

A more common term would be "ninja master."

As he insisted, he was distinct from modern spies who only excelled in physical techniques and was one of the inheritors of ancient magic.

When magic became a subject of scientific research and what was once thought to be fictional magic was recognized as real, the secrets of ninjutsu were also revealed. Ninjutsu was not just physical techniques and medieval espionage systems; the part classified as "secrets" was a form of magic.

What was once considered fictional and shaped as fictional "spells" was the closest to the essence of magic.

Of course, the inheritance of ninjutsu itself did not represent the truth.

The "ninja transformation" symbolized in literature has been proven to be a combination of illusions and rapid movement. Not just ninjutsu, but the transformation system in traditional magic was all based on such tricks. Transformation, metamorphosis, and elemental transformation were areas that modern magic could not enter.

Mii called him "teacher," and Tatsuya described him as "master." Kusunoki Yagumo was an inheritor of ancient magic, following the old methods to learn such ninjutsu.

However, regardless of the monk's appearance (which looked fake even in that form), his aura and behavior did not seem to match the term "long and deep tradition"—

"Is that the uniform of the First High School?"

"Yes, the entrance ceremony was yesterday."

"Is that so, is that so, hmm~ that's nice."

"Today, I wanted to report my enrollment to the teacher..."

"The new uniform has a fresh feel, and there's an irresistible charm in its purity."

"..."

"It's like a bud about to bloom, a sprout of green.

Yes... it's cute! This is cute! Hmm?"

As Yagumo's excitement grew, he slowly approached Mii, who was backing away. Suddenly, he turned, lowered his center of gravity, and raised his left hand above his head.

With a heavy "thud," his arm blocked a hand strike.

"Master, Mii is scared. Can you please calm down?"

"..."

"Nice, Tatsuya, to be able to get behind me, hah!"

Yagumo used his left hand to restrain Tatsuya's right hand and swung a right straight punch.

Tatsuya freed his right hand with a diagonal swing and caught the punch, enveloping it and pulling it into his armpit.

Yagumo took advantage of the momentum to flip forward, kicking Tatsuya's back of the head, which Tatsuya dodged by twisting his body.

They pulled away from each other.

The onlookers sighed.

At some point, a crowd had gathered around the two opponents.

Tatsuya and Yagumo engaged in another round.

The person whose hands were sweating and clenched in a fist was not just Mii.

◇◇◇

After the daily routine that Tatsuya had been doing since the beginning of his first year in middle school, to be precise, since October of that year, the temple grounds returned to silence. The disciples returned to their posts, and only Tatsuya and Mii, and Yagumo remained in the courtyard of the main hall.

"Teacher, please have this. Does big brother need it too?"

"Ah, Mii, thank you."

"Wait a moment."

Yagumo, drenched in sweat but maintaining a calm expression, smiled and took the towel and cup from Mii. In contrast, Tatsuya, who was lying on the ground, panting, raised his hand in response and finally sat up.

"Big brother, are you okay...?"

Tatsuya, though he had stood up, remained seated. Mii, with a worried expression, knelt beside him, not minding the dirt on her skirt, and wiped the sweat from his face with the towel.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Although it wasn't because of