Chapter 51 ~ Final Day of the Nine Schools Competition

"I've received word from the clan meeting…"

Meeting inside a conference room of the military-owned hotel near the venue of the Nine Schools Competition, Mayumi stood with her back facing Juumonji Katsuto, who had just finished his morning workout and was still dressed in his sleeveless, black, workout clothing.

He couldn't see her expression. But simply from the tone of her voice, it was clear to him that she was… upset.

"Oh?"

"You know how Ichijou-kun was defeated, and utterly at that, by Yuuji-kun the day before yesterday, right?"

"And?"

"As magicians, the Ten Master Clans reign at the top in this country. Even if it's just high school students playing games, they can't allow any result that undermines the power of the Ten Master Clans… That's what they're saying."

Mayumi turned towards him, her face deeply frowning at the message she had received.

"In other words, they're seeking a contest that would flaunt the Ten Master Clan's power, is that right?"

She nodded as a heavy sigh escaped her pink lips.

"Seriously, how ridiculous… Even if it's just a branch, if only Yuuji-kun had the blood of the Ten Master Clans in his veins, he wouldn't be subjected to this third-rate farce…"

"...Leave it to me."

Juumonji rose from his seat and walked to the door. But before exiting, he turned to look at Mayumi with a meaningful smile.

"You know, there is one other way that he could be associated with the Ten Master Clans."

"Hm? What do you…"

Mayumi tilted her head confusedly, unsure of what he meant. But soon after, her face turned red in an instant, realizing the meaning behind his words.

"Eh?! J-Juumonji-kun!"

"I'm just saying. Your actions were quite obvious. And you will make a nice couple with him."

"W-What are you saying!!!"

"Well, think about it. From my perspective, he seemed to be rather interested in you as well."

He turned away and exited the room, leaving Mayumi alone and embarrassed.

She looked down and held her burning cheeks with her hands. Her heart was beating wildly just from thinking about what Juumonji implied.

"Geez… Am I that obvious…?"

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Last day of the Nine Schools Competition.

Under the clear blue sky, the finals for the Main Event Monolith Code Match was held. Yuuji, Aika, Erika, and their friends all gathered to watch the event with great anticipation.

With First High's team consisting of Hattori Hanzou, Kirihara Takeaki, and Juumonji Katsuto, their victory was assured. But it was still exciting to see the moment their school achieved first place in this prestigious competition first hand.

But as soon as it started, Yuuji noticed something unusual…

"Hm? Is Juumonji-senpai going by himself?"

Instead of handling the defense like he would in previous matches, Juumonji Katsuto marched forward with his Phalanx.

Spells flew towards him, but nothing managed to go through the multi-layered barrier that continuously refreshes itself. Like an unstoppable fortress, Juumonji Katsuto continued to march forward, and reached the enemy team's monolith.

All three of his opponents stood defensively in front of their monolith, ready to intercept him by focusing their fire power.

But Juumonji suddenly shifted the shape of his barrier, making it smaller. He moved his foot backward and lowered himself, like a sprinter getting ready for a race. And in the next moment, he burst forward and rammed each and every one of his opponents with his Phalanx, slamming them with incredulous speed and power and turning them into ragdolls.

In an instant, all three of his opponents were defeated, and First High gained their victory, filling the entire venue with deafening cheers and applause.

That's… anticlimactic…

"He certainly was incredible, right, onii-sama!"

"Yes. But that last attack… I don't think that's how he'd normally use Phalanx."

Tatsuya glanced at Yuuji, who was still staring at Juumonji's figure on the screen with scrutiny.

"It must be because you defeated Ichijou Masaki, Yuuji."

Yuuji's eyes widened in shock and realization, before he let out a sigh.

"It seems so… Hah, they're such a hassle, huh?"

"I agree."

"Hm?"

Miyuki, who was listening to their conversation, tilted her head confusedly.

"Onii-sama…?"

"I'll tell you later."

"I understand…"

Miyuki nodded slowly.

And with Juumonji team's victory, the end of this year's Nine Schools Competition was announced.

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

The award ceremony went quickly and the banquet to celebrate the "successful" end of the Nine Schools Competition was held.

Beautiful orchestral music filled the grand ballroom as students from all nine schools gathered and mingled amongst each other under the brilliant, glimmering light from the massive chandeliers made of multicolored gems hanging down from the ceiling.

And as usual, Yuuji and Aika were immediately surrounded by a massive crowd.

Most of them were girls who were fangirling over Yuuji as well as, surprisingly, Aika. She had made quite a bit of girl fans as well after her brilliant performance in both Ice Pillar Break and Mirage Bat.

Many of the male students from all nine schools were also trying their best to get close to Aika. But with most of the girls vigorously fighting over them and each other to try and reach Yuuji, as if he was an extremely limited item on a massive sale, they had no choice but to stand back and wait for the girls to disperse.

Though after waiting for a few minutes, it was starting to get unlikely… No girls ever walk away from him, which further infuriates them while making them extremely jealous at the same time.

Why is he getting all the girls?! He already has the Goddess by his side, and he's still stealing other girls too!!! Is it because he's handsome?! Is it because he's strong?! Or is it because he's got a huge package!!!

Kuh… How could this world be so unfair!!! How could one man have the looks, powerful magic, a huge package, and girls?!?!?!

Even from a distance, with this many people, Yuuji could feel the anger and envy-filled glares of the guys who were standing behind the crowd of girls stabbing him like a thousand blades.

I didn't ask for this, okay?! I just wanted to hangout with Aika, Erika, and my friends!!!

He yelled inwardly in frustration. He was also tired of having to handle this many girls. He just wanted to relax and hangout with his friends.

Noticing his inner turmoil, Aika glanced at her darling and grinned playfully.

She then suddenly wrapped her arms around his arm and hugged it, burying it in between her breasts, and winked at the girls.

"I'm sorry girls~ It's time for us to dance and meet with our senpais~ See you~ It's nice meeting you~"

"Eh? Ah- Please excuse us! Aika, stop pulling!"

Yuuji quickly excused himself with a nod to the surprised girls and let Aika drag him away. Although it was sudden, he was thankful for her.

"Fufufu~ Escape successful~ Where's my thanks, hubby~?"

Aika whispered and winked at him, making him smile helplessly at her.

"Thank you for that, Aika. I owe you one. I was just getting tired of it."

"Hehe~ You can repay me with your body later. For now, let's just dance and enjoy the party, okay~?"

"Mm."

Still arm in arm, Yuuji and Aika headed to the dance floor as many eyes followed their figure.

But the two ignored them and began to dance with the music.

Holding her slim waist with his right and her hand with his left, Yuuji began to lead the dance slowly.

Before this, Yuuji never knew how to do ball dancing. But he had watched many around him do it. With his enhanced memory and accelerated learning capabilities, he was able to recall the dance and do it himself.

Meanwhile, Aika simply let her man lead the dance. She doesn't know how to ball dance as well. The only dance she could do was ballet, which she has proficiency in thanks to the group chat. But because of that proficiency and her ability to control her body perfectly thanks to her SSR, she could perfectly follow his lead.

After a few minutes, the two no longer had to pay attention to the dance and simply looked at each other with a smile in silence.

It was said that the eyes were windows to the soul.

Right now, even without words, they could feel the connection and bond between them grow. Simply by staring at each other's eyes, they could convey their love for each other in a much more intimate manner than by words.

Soulmates… This must be how it feels to be with your soulmate…

Without realizing it, their dance became the center of attention of the entire ball. And once the piece ended, they separated and gave each other a bow and a curtsy.

"Fufu~ You were so good, Yuuji~ I didn't know you could dance~"

"I've been watching others do it. Thankfully, I didn't mess up."

"You did well~! Ah, Erika's there! Hold on, I'll bring her to you so you can dance with her!"

Before Yuuji could answer, Aika had gone off and dragged Erika, who was in her maid outfit, to the dance floor and in front of Yuuji.

"W-Wait, Aika!"

"Hehe~ There you go~! I'll be dancing with the girls now since I've learned how to lead from you~ Have fun~"

Aika waved her hands and immediately left them as the next piece from the orchestra started.

"Hah… That girl…"

"Well, that's Aika for you."

Yuuji smiled before he bowed towards Erika and offered her his hand.

"May I have this dance, my lady?"

Her face blushed red, but she nodded and shyly took his hand.

And as the two began to dance, Erika suddenly pouted.

"What's wrong?"

"...Nothing?"

"Hm? It can't be nothing if you're pouting like that."

"...I just can't believe my first dance is in a maid uniform."

Yuuji blinked for a moment, before he began giggling at her.

"H-Hey! You can't giggle at me like that! Are you making fun of me?!"

"Ahahaha! I'm sorry. But you're just too cute!"

"Y-You… Hmph!"

Erika turned her face away and puffed her cheeks.

She can't believe he's laughing at her! She's embarrassed enough as it is! How could he laugh at his own girlfriend!

"You don't need to be shy. It looks cute on you."

Yuuji leaned his head forward and whispered.

"So cute… that I might want to take your first time while you're in that outfit."

"!!!"

*Stomp*

Erika accidentally stepped on Yuuji's foot. But she didn't even realize it yet. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her face was blushing incredibly red.

And in the next moment, she glared at him with teary eyes, increased the strength of her stomp on his foot, and glared at him with puffed cheeks.

"How could you say that kind of thing, you pervert?! What if someone heard it!!! Are you Aika?!"

She whisper-shouted.

"I'm sorry. You're just too cute. I couldn't help but tease you a bit."

He giggled. Her stomping didn't hurt him a bit. But even if it did, it would've been worth it since he got to see her super embarrassed face. It reminded him of the time he made her orgasm with his tongue. She was super embarrassed to even look at him at the time, and he had to spend several minutes coaxing her along with Aika.

"You… Hmph!"

Aika puffed her cheeks and averted her head away from him with her eyes closed.

"I'm sorry, okay? What can I do to apologize?"

She peeked at him from the corner of her eyes. And a few moments later, she looked down, unable to meet his face.

"...I'll tell you later."

Yuuji smiled softly and nodded at her.

"Alright. Tell me later in my room, okay?"

She nodded back.

After his dance with Erika, Yuuji also danced with Mayumi, Mari, Miyuki, Honoka, Shizuku, and Mizuki.

And when he finally got a chance to take a rest, a familiar, tall, and muscular figure of Juumonji Katsuto approached him.

"Juumonji-senpai?"

"Tsubakihara. Come with me for a minute."

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Juumonji Katsuto led Yuuji outside the hotel and into the courtyard. The bright light from the hotel illuminated their surroundings, and the sound of the orchestral music from the grand ballroom was still audible, although faint.

Yuuji stopped in his tracks when Juumonji stopped walking, leaving a couple of meters of distance between them.

"Tsubakihara, you're a member of the Ten Master Clans, right?"

Yuuji widened his eyes in surprise. But his shock only lasted for a moment. He recalled this event happening to Tatsuya in the anime. But since he was the one who defeated the Ichijou scion, he was the one in this place instead.

"No, I am from the Ten Master Clans."

"...Is that so? Then, as per the clan meeting, I'm going to advise you as the magician who's serving as assistant head of the Juumonji Family. Tsubakihara, you should join the Ten Master Clans."

"..."

"Let's see… For example, how about Saegusa?"

"Mayumi-senpai?"

"Ah. She's beautiful, intelligent, and kind. And from my observation, you also seemed to be close with her."

"...By any chance, are you suggesting that she be my marriage partner?"

"That's right."

As expected, it's about this huh…?

Yuuji sighed inwardly.

He never really wanted to be involved in the politics of the Ten Masters Clan. He just wanted to come here for the mission and make this world a vacation spot that he could visit once in a while to meet his friends. Perhaps, he could also bring his family too and introduce them to this world.

"I know that you are also close with Kiryuu and the daughter of Chiba. But having a mistress or two would be fine, as long as you take proper care of your relationships with them. It's not uncommon for a powerful magician to have two or more partners. As long as you make Saegusa your official wife."

"..."

Relief filled his heart for a moment from knowing that polygamous relationship were also not uncommon for people in high society in this world. But he digressed.

Although he wished to be in a relationship with Mayumi, he didn't wish to be roped into the headache-inducing politics of the Ten Master Clans. At least, not at the moment.

Although he's powerful, his influence and wealth were still insufficient to be able to protect himself and those he cared about from the Ten Master Clans, if they wish to harm or exploit him for their own benefits.

"...Unlike you and Mayumi-senpai, I am a mere high school student. Although I can not deny my interest in her and my relationship with Aika and Erika, talk of marriage and engagement are still far from my mind..."

"Is that so? However, the fact that you utterly defeated Ichijou Masaki, the next leader of the Ten Master Clans, carries far more weight than you think."

Juumonji approached him and placed a hand on his shoulders.

"You can't languish for too long, you know?"

"Juumonji-senpai…"

"Just think about it. I'm not fond of meddling with others' relationships. But I am telling you this because I believe you will make the right decision."

"...I understand."

AN: This marks the end of the NSC arc~! Yokohama Disturbance Arc starting next chapter~!!! Hope you enjoyed it~!!!