The Irregular at Magic High

Chapter 1

"I can't accept this."

"You're still going on about that...?" 

It was the day of the school entrance ceremony, but it was still early morning, two hours before the start of the ceremony. The freshmen whose hearts were filled with anticipation at the future their new life would bring, along with their even more exultant parents, still numbered few and far between. Standing before the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was going to take place, a man and woman pair, clad in brand new uniforms, was for some reason locked in a verbal disagreement. They were both freshmen, yet their uniforms were strangely and distinctively different. We are not talking about the difference between slacks and skirt, nor the difference between a man and woman's attire. But rather, on the female student's chest was the eight-petaled flower design of the First High School's emblem. That emblem was not present on the male student's blazer. 

"Dear brother, why are you a reserve? Didn't you top the entrance exams? Typically speaking, the one who should become the freshman class representative should be you, not me!" 

"Putting aside the question of where you got hold of the entrance exam results... since this is a Magic High School, it's obvious that they'd place more emphasis on practical magic skills rather than on paper tests, right? Miyuki, you are well aware of the extent of my practical abilities, aren't you? I'm quite surprised that I even got accepted here as a Course 2 student."

 It was a scene where the male student was trying to pacify the female student who had been lashing out angrily with her sharp tongue. From the fact that the female student had called the male student 'brother', we can probably presume that they are siblings. It is also not unlikely that they are closely-related relatives.

If they are siblings... Then they are siblings who don't resemble each other at all. On one hand, anyone who sets eyes on the younger sister will no doubt be captivated by her; ten out of ten people, or even a hundred out of hundred people, will agree that she is a lovely, beautiful girl. On the other hand, for the elder brother, other than his erect back and piercing eyes, nothing in his ordinary appearance could be said to be attention-grabbing. 

"How can you be so unsure of yourself?! Even when there's no one who's a match for you in studies and taijutsu! The truth is, even for magic-"

 The younger sister reprimanded the elder brother for his weak proclamation, but, 

"Miyuki!"

 As he called out her name in an exceptionally strong tone, Miyuki sobered up and shut her mouth. 

"You understand right? Even if you say that, it can't be helped." 

"...I apologize." 

"Miyuki..." He put his hand on her lowered head and slowly stroked her glossy black hair, which had not a single frizz in it. 

"Now, what should I do to fix her mood..." the young man who was the elder brother pondered with a miserable face. 

"...I'm really happy you feel that way. I always feel that I'm being saved whenever you get angry in my place." 

"Liar." 

"I'm not lying." 

"Liar, you're always scolding me..." 

"I'm not lying, I said. But, I too hold you in my thoughts the same way you do about me." 

"Dear brother... 'hold me in your thoughts', you say..." (...Huh?) For some reason, the young woman blushed. Even though the young man could feel that a seed of dissonance that he could not ignore had been sowed, in order to resolve the most immediate problem, he shelved that doubt for now.