Chapter 7

Although the Magic High School is special in many ways, its basic system is no different from that of ordinary schools.

This first high school also has club activities.

To be recognized as an official club by the school, a club must have a sufficient number of members and achievements, which is the same in this regard.

However, there are many clubs closely related to magic, which are unique to the Magic High School.

If it is a mainstream magic competition, the first to ninth national magic universities' affiliated high schools will compete against each other, and the competition results may also affect the evaluation of each school. The school's investment in the competition might even surpass the efforts of sports schools in traditional national competitions. Clubs that perform well in the "Nine Schools Battle" will receive benefits in various aspects, from club budgets to individual evaluations of club members.

Recruiting capable new members is a crucial issue that directly affects the power dynamics of each club, and the school also officially recognizes this. No, it even seems to encourage it.

Therefore, during this period, the competition for new members among the clubs is extremely intense.

"…Due to the upstream reasons, conflicts often arise between clubs during this period."

The location is the student council room.

Daisuke carefully savored the bento made by Mii, while listening to Mori's explanation.

"Recruitment activities can be so intense that they affect normal classes, so club recruitment activities can only be held at fixed times. Specifically, this week starting today."

The one who said this was Mayumi, sitting next to Mori.

Incidentally, Mii was naturally accompanied by Daisuke.

Rin and Azusa were not present. Yesterday, Mayumi had specifically requested it, and usually, the two seemed to eat with their classmates.

Additionally, Mori, like yesterday, brought a bento she made herself. As a result, only Mayumi was eating a mechanically prepared meal from the automatic meal dispenser, which made her quite upset, but she finally seemed to have recovered and was even determined to make her own bento tomorrow.

"During this period, the clubs will set up recruitment booths together, creating a grand and lively festival atmosphere.

The clubs will vie for new members based on the privately circulated entrance exam scores, targeting those with excellent grades or competition achievements.

Of course, there are official rules on the surface, and if a club violates the rules, the members will also be held responsible and punished. However, unfortunately, it is not uncommon for physical altercations or the use of magic to occur in private."

Mori's words made Daisuke look doubtful.

"Aren't CADs prohibited?"

Even without a CAD, it doesn't mean magic can't be used. However, without a CAD, it is almost impossible to cause a conflict intense enough to be described as "mutual attacks."

Mori's response to this question left Daisuke speechless.

"The school allows clubs to use CADs to demonstrate to new members. Although they are reviewed, in practice, it is almost completely open.

Therefore, the campus becomes a lawless place during this period."

Of course, this would naturally become a lawless situation—Daisuke reflexively thought so. Why would the school allow such a situation... Normally, they would certainly discuss countermeasures, such as raising the review standards.

Before Daisuke could ask, Mayumi provided the answer.

"Because the school also hopes to improve the performance in the Nine Schools Battle. Perhaps to increase the proportion of new members joining clubs, they turn a blind eye to minor rule violations."

Forcing students to participate in extracurricular activities is considered a violation of student rights, so the government agency responsible for education has banned it for decades. However, many students are still recruited by clubs, and the recruitment activities of sports teams, which use the "freedom to choose a school" as an excuse, are also practically unregulated. Therefore, this ban is self-defeating and meaningless, but it still maintains a certain level of effectiveness on the surface.

"That's how it is, so the discipline committee will be fully committed for a week starting today.

Oh, it's a good thing we managed to fill the vacancy in time."

Mori glanced to the side, probably to mock.

"It's great to find such talented people, Mori."

Mayumi smiled and brushed it off, and neither of them was moved. From this, it seemed that such interactions were commonplace.

Daisuke swallowed the last bite of his meal and put down his chopsticks. Immediately, Mii, who was by his side, poured tea into his cup.

After taking a sip to moisten his throat, he tried to resist a little.

"The clubs are targeting top students, so I don't think I can be of much use."

This declaration was a rephrasing of Mori's statement yesterday, "Second-year students should be regulated by second-year students," hinting that he did not want to attend.

"Don't worry about that. I expect you to be a capable force."

However, Mori immediately rejected it.

With such a direct rejection, Daisuke ultimately couldn't respond again.

"...Well, I understand. Will we be patrolling after school?"

"Report to headquarters after school."

"Understood."

Daisuke obediently accepted Mori's orders. Whether to call it cool or knowing his place, it was hard to determine.

Mii, by his side, asked Mayumi for instructions.

"President... Are we going to join the regulation team?"

Mii's "we" referred to the members of the student council. Her early integration into the student council, despite her seemingly easy-going but actually poor interpersonal skills, made Daisuke smile.

"Shizuka will support the patrol mission. And to be prepared, I and Fanzang will be on standby at the joint headquarters of the clubs, so Mii and Rin will stay here."

"Understood."

Mii nodded seriously, but Daisuke could see that she was somewhat disappointed.

Although she is not aggressive, her skills are not a problem.

Perhaps she wanted to try out the new constraint magic she had just installed.

If she heard such a statement, she might shout, "Not at all!" and then mutter, "...Big brother is an idiot" under her breath—Daisuke, with this misunderstanding, asked the question that had just come to mind.

"Is Naojo supporting the patrol?"

This statement implied, "Naojo is not very reliable, right?"

Although it was also a "hint," perhaps because the target was different, this time it was explained.

"I understand her appearance can be worrying. But, Daisuke, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

"I understand that, but..."

Daisuke, on the contrary, viewed Naojo's timid personality as a problem.

Mayumi, probably immediately understanding Daisuke's hesitation, smiled and shook her head.

"Her timid personality is... no, it's quite a... significant drawback, right?

However, in situations like this, Naojo's magic is very reliable."

Mori's face also showed a similar wry smile.

"Exactly.

If the situation gets out of hand with a large group, the effect of her magic, 'Azusa Bow,' is unmatched by any other magic."

Modern magic is a technology, and many magic spells have been standardized and shared. Of course, there are some spells that are not publicly disclosed, but most magic is registered in public databases. These magic spells are usually identified by their system and effects, but highly original magic has a separate name.

"Azusa Bow...? This is not an official name, right? Is it a system-external magic?"

However, to Daisuke's knowledge, there is no magic called "Azusa Bow" in the publicly disclosed database. Unregistered magic is mostly system-external magic, so Daisuke asked this question.

"...Do you remember all the magic with official names?"

However, no one answered his question. Instead, Mori asked in surprise.

"...Daisuke, do you connect to a large database via satellite signals or something?"

Mayumi was also genuinely surprised.

The reactions of the seniors made Mii almost laugh, but since this was not the first time, she didn't take much effort to maintain a dignified expression.

Modern magic, which began with the study of superpowers, classifies the phenomenon of magic not by its surface properties like "fire" or "wind," but by its mode of action.

That is:

[Acceleration / Weighting]

[Movement / Vibration]

[Aggregation / Dispersion]

[Absorption / Release]

These are divided into four major systems and eight categories.

Of course, as with any classification, there are exceptions. In modern magic, some magic cannot be classified into these four major systems and eight categories.

Magic that does not belong to the four major systems can be roughly divided into three types.

The first type, abbreviated as ESP, is "perception magic" that does not fall within the five senses (this ESP does not refer to "superpowers" but to perception abilities).

The second type is not to temporarily rewrite the "individual information body" that accompanies an event to change the event, but to control the Imagons themselves. This type of magic is called "non-system magic." The magic Mayumi is good at, "firing Imagons," is a typical example of non-system magic. The magic Daisuke used to KO Fuji was, strictly speaking, not vibration magic but non-system magic. However,

the control of the Imagon form also applies to some extent to the classification of the four major systems and eight categories, so there is no strict distinction between the four major systems and non-system magic.

The last type is magic that controls mental phenomena, not material phenomena. This type of magic is generally called "system-external magic." System-external magic is not part of any system and cannot be classified into any system. It includes a wide range of types, from summoning spirits and elementals to mind reading, astral projection, and consciousness control.

"As Daisuke suspected, Naojo's 'Azusa Bow' is a system-external magic that interferes with emotions.

It can guide all people within a fixed range into a certain state of trance."

Perhaps after the initial surprise and satisfaction, Mayumi finally answered the question about "Azusa Bow." The "emotion interference magic" she mentioned is a type of mental interference magic that does not affect thoughts or consciousness but emotions or impulses.

"Azusa Bow does not deprive consciousness or occupy the mind, so it cannot put the other party in a state of complete resistance.

However, because the effective range is not individual but regional, it can be used simultaneously on multiple people, making it a rare and highly suitable magic for calming an agitated group in the category of mental interference magic."

After hearing Mori's additional explanation, Daisuke frowned.

"...Isn't that classified as a Level 1 controlled magic...?"

System-external magic, due to its nature, is subject to stricter usage restrictions than the four major systems. The usage conditions for mental interference magic are particularly stringent.

Just from the explanation, it is clear that this magic can become a very terrifying brainwashing tool depending on how it is used. People in a trance are more susceptible to suggestions.

If the existence of such