The Irregular at Magic High School: Mayumi Route

Volume 33.5: Mao

One hundred years prior to the official discovery of magic to the general public, there existed a parasite called Mao.

This small ball of particles managed to reach the house of a well-established family, and after some time, it took over the body of their newborn. And thus, within the confined walls of a famous household in China, Mao was born.

Having the body of this newborn, Mao grew up rather privileged, with almost everything she desired. However, one thing which her father had made clear to her was that this wealth and power she could have now come at a cost.

It came at the cost of inheriting their family's power. The power of magic, a force unknown to the majority during the time.

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In the arms of a cold woman, the newborn Mao sobbed tears as she was pampered by an entourage of servants.

The woman took a look at Mao's fierce yet sorrowful eyes and handed the baby to the man by her side, "You name it,"

The scornful look on the mother's face made a couple of the maids frightened before the father spoke, "From today, you shall be Mao Zhou."

He handed Mao to the maids to take care of and placed his body on the window as though looking into the future ahead.

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Five years had passed since, and Mao sat in her all-mighty throne-like seat whilst eating dinner with her family.

"Mao, I'll be assigning you a couple of tutors soon. One for magic so that you can inherit the title of head of our family in the future, and one for your other studies. Be prepared, Mao. It won't be easy."

"Yes!"

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Two years flew by, and she managed to beat her tutor in terms of magical prowess. A sense of triumph came over her.

"Father! Did you see that!?"

Despite being a girl, Mao's father knew her potential as a candidate for the head of the Zhou family, so from the day she was born, her true gender was kept secret from the public, and she was forced to cross-dress as a boy.

She ran up to her father, jumping into his arms.

"Oh, you've gotten stronger again, Mao!"

"Yeah!"

"Well then, now that you've beaten you're tutor, I'd like you to meet someone."

As they walked closer to the main hall, Mao, even despite being the fragile age of five, could sense true magical power radiating.

And there he was, a small boy who looked to be the same age as her.

"Here's you're cousin, Jia Zhou. I took him in after my brother died, but I think he'll make a good sparring partner for you."

And thus, for the first time, Mao found a friend.

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Eight years passed as Mao and Jia Zhou grew up together. Day by day, fight by fight, the two strengthened each other through their encounters.

Under the guise that Mao was a boy, Jia Zhou thought nothing strange of Mao, continuing to fight her over and over, "Mao! I bet I can beat you now! My teacher taught me something new today!"

Mao readied her fighting pose, and the two engaged in a friendly fight.

With one punch, Mao infused her fist with psions, releasing them at impact and causing Jia Zhou to fall backwards. However, the split second after he was hit, Jia Zhou backflipped down to the ground, landing to release a wave of energy into the ground, causing a small earthquake of sorts.