Chapter 59: Premise

『──And here we are, kicking off the third block’s first event: the “Three-Legged Race”! …Man, this is such a pain to announce. They keep rearranging the order of events for each block, so it’s a mess to keep track of. Ah, and commentary for this block will be brought to you by your familiar Pirate Radio DJ and…』

『…and yours truly, Belly-Baring Headband. For the record, I’m sitting this one out today.』

────And then, just moments before the competition began.

Listening to the play-by-play echoing through the venue, Reicia and Yumetsuki stood ready at the starting line.

The two already had their ankles strapped together with a band, looking—at least on the surface—like they were studying their surroundings with focused attention.

But in reality—

《…Pirate Radio DJ and Belly-Baring Headband… Huh. Headband-san’s way of speaking feels familiar somehow… What was it again…?》

《Isn’t Belly-Baring Headband that person? You know, the one who’s a senior to Kamijou’s senpai.》

One of them—the one with a split personality—was just casually making small talk.

They looked anything but tense, yet still managed to give off the impression of being alert. That alone spoke volumes about their skill in keeping up appearances.

In any case, their mental conversation continued.

《…Ah—Kumokawa-senpai. I’m impressed you remember, Reicia-chan.》

《A rival in love is not someone one forgets.》

《…R-Right…》

When it came to things she cared about, her memory was sharp.

Reicia might not match Shiren when it came to recalling the “official history,” but when it came to Kamijou Touma’s love life, she could recall it even more vividly than Shiren.

Which, inversely, said a lot about just how uninterested Shiren was in romantic subplots. She could read every volume and remember the story fairly well, yet when it came to the romance, she drew a complete blank.

And then—

『──And in lane four, we have the pairing from Tokiwadai: Reicia Blackguard and Yumetsuki Sashika! This is going to be a heated match!』

『…Speaking of Reicia Blackguard, I’ve been hearing rumors about her stirring up trouble lately. Might be wise not to get too full of herself, though.』

The Pirate Radio DJ’s player introductions wrapped up, with the color commentator’s muttered grudges leaking through—something best ignored.

“Reicia-san! This is our chance to unleash our full strength and leave the others in the dust!”

“But of course. Although—”

Reicia ran her fingers through her long, curled hair draped over her shoulder, and then—

Bang!! A starting pistol cracked through the crisp autumn morning air.

But Reicia didn’t flinch. She didn’t even make a move to run. Instead, with a calm, confident expression, she finished her thought.

“…our victory has already been decided.”

Chapter 1 – No Such Thing as the Cooper’s Wind – Psicopics.
Episode 49: Premise – Stalwart’s_Duty.

Zwao!!

A moment later, a transparent “fracture” materialized like a wall before the eyes of every competitor—except Reicia.

Shizuna High School team—a tall, surly girl paired with a petite, smiling girl.
Kirigaoka Middle School team—a feisty-looking blonde paired with a quiet, bookish girl.
Shinshikimi Middle School team—a masked-and-hatted girl paired with an athletic girl.

Every one of them looked like they’d be a handful—but the fracture played no favorites.

It rose up from the ground, visible only because the dust it disturbed clung to its surface. But rather than comfort them, the dust’s shape revealed something far more ominous—

It showed that the fracture had formed a barrier that enclosed all the competitors.

“Wha—…?! You can’t be serious!?”

It was no surprise that one of the Kirigaoka girls shouted.

In a race, erecting an indestructible wall was as blatant a foul as it gets—something that could decide the outcome from the very start. Yet in the Daihaseisai, where esper competitors are free to wield their abilities to the fullest, such outrageous acts were still allowed.

Like a monarch surveying the field, Reicia and Yumetsuki left the “prisoners” behind and set off at a leisurely pace.

…But—

“…!? It’s gone!”

“…! …I see… range limitation. I did wonder why the fracture was transparent but dust was made to cling to it… So her ability originates from the ground itself, and the maximum range between the user and origin point is about ten meters…”

Once Reicia and Yumetsuki had gained about a ten-meter lead, the fracture vanished.

This, of course, was no true limitation. Rather, it was a ploy—both theatrical and practical—by Shiren.

No Level 5 esper like “Jagged Edge” would have her barrier break simply from being ten meters away. But for a Level 4, it was believable—especially with the “ground origin” constraint for authenticity.

The performance served one purpose: camouflage.

The other was insurance—if they just trapped everyone and ran off, objections might be raised. But with only a ten-meter advantage, rivals could still plausibly catch up with their own abilities, keeping it within the bounds of “strategy.”

《…Though I guess some of them could probably escape with their own powers anyway. Still, injuring someone badly by pushing too far would be a whole other problem…》

『That said—ten meters head start is huge! And the Reicia & Yumetsuki combo is fast, fast! Especially Reicia—she’s got curves you’d never expect on a middle schooler, but she doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by them!!』

『That’s… quietly the worst, Pirate Radio DJ. Still, there are such undergarments. They’re designed with artificial muscle tech to reinforce the body from the outside—so much that it goes beyond “support” into clear “enhancement.” In a normal setting, that’d be banned outright, but in the Daihaseisai—mockingly called the “Technopic”—as long as you’ve got a halfway-decent excuse, it’s fair game.』

『Behold, world!! THIS is the Daihaseisai!!!』

The pirate radio DJ’s roar was quickly echoed by the crowd, who erupted in wild cheers of their own. Even Reicia looked a little awkward now, her hand instinctively moving toward her chest.

“…Perhaps I was a bit too careless. Reicia-chan, sorry abo—” “Stop staring, commoners!! If you want a photo session or a hero interview, I’ll gladly hold one later, but for now, direct your attention to my strength!”

『You’ve got guts, Reicia=Blackguard!!』

It seemed, in truth, that the only one feeling awkward here was Shiren. Watching the exchange, Shika muttered under her breath. “…Honestly, making such a fuss over nothing more than a lump of fat… This is why men are such a pain…”

“—! Ufufu! I get that you’re strong, but don’t you think you’re getting a little too full of yourself?!”

A shadow quickly closed in on the two. Compared to other schools, these girls had larger builds—it was the team from Shizuna High School. The two high school girls were running in a skipping motion that seemed ill-suited for a race, leaning forward like they were playing around, but the strange thing was their posture and stride length.

『And here come the Shizuna High School contenders! One is a current Judgment disciplinary committee member, the other a Level 2 esper who can lighten weight! Are they reducing their own body weight—!?』

『Impressive as that is, I think the real amazing one is the girl who’s maintaining her balance in that state. Look closely. The esper is clinging to her partner and barely moving. And yet, even in that awkward skipping posture, she’s moving with perfect stability—that’s a Judgment member for you.』

Like one person clinging to a tree, one girl held tight to the other as they ran. Despite the awkwardness of the pose, the pair was rapidly closing in on Reicia and Shika faster than anyone else. But the race wasn’t so simple that this alone would decide the outcome.

『No!! That’s not all! The Kirigaoka pair is accelerating too! This is…』

“You thought you were the only ones with strong powers… big mistake…!”

—Ice. They were running on a sheet of ice forming under their feet, skating forward with speed.

『A combination of a water manipulator and an ice-freezing esper!? The water is…』

『Looks like they’re gathering moisture from the air. In this crowd, there’s no shortage of it.』

“Easier said than done… Controlling individual water molecules instead of a stream, and the ability to solidify a liquid… both are rare abilities…”

“Don’t underestimate Kirigaoka, Tokiwadai—!! This race is ours!”

The ‘ice road’ writhing like a giant serpent surged toward Reicia and Shika, the Kirigaoka team in hot pursuit. If it reached them, it wouldn’t just be a shortcut—it would also serve as a snare to bind them in place.

『Ohhh! Kirigaoka’s on a roll! They overtake Shizuna High and move into second place! But…!?』

Suddenly, something strange happened to the Kirigaoka Middle School team, right after they passed Shizuna High. Up until now, their handling had been smooth despite the speed, but now—right at a curve—they weren’t turning at all.

“What…? H-Hey, what’s going on!? We’re sliding—we’re sliding!!”

“…Our weight’s been lightened… we can’t kill the momentum…”

No matter how hard they kicked at the ground to change their trajectory, their speed wouldn’t drop. Watching them struggle, another team smirked.

“…Good grief. You got a little too carried away.”

“Ufufu! Don’t worry! The outer walls of the course are cushioned, so it’s perfectly safe if you crash!”

The Shizuna High School team. The larger girl carrying the smaller one moved with light, nimble steps—the culprit behind the Kirigaoka team’s mishap was obvious. Without effort, they forced the Kirigaoka team out of the race, and their charge showed no signs of stopping. As they ran, the smaller girl reached out and touched the still-present ‘ice road’—

“…Perfect. Let’s make use of this.”

The larger girl kicked it with all her might. With a tremendous GOGAN!!!, the ten-meter-long ‘ice road’ shattered into pieces—then hurtled straight toward Reicia and Shika. It was an ice shotgun blast. Thanks to the nature of the ability, the moment the ice shattered it regained its original weight; while it wouldn’t cause injury, it would almost certainly knock them off the course—

“You’ll have to do better than that!”

SHKKRRRMMM!!

A blinding wall of light burst into existence, cutting off the incoming storm of ice pellets.

Heat-Melt Ion Spray.

This was the true forte of a Level 4 Large-Scale Power user who manipulates ions—turning the very air into plasma, then wielding it like a scorching blade.

Different in method but similar in function to the black-and-white Jaggid Edge, she too was a wielder of a slicing-type ability. And by some twist of fate, such a user happened to be the No. 2 in Reicia = Blackguard’s faction.

And naturally—ice pellets exposed to such searing plasma heat…

『They’ve evaporated!! And it’s not just the leader—her faction’s No. 2 can’t be underestimated either, Tokiwadai!!』

『No—it’s more than that.』

The headband-wearing, midriff-baring commentator jumped in to clarify.

As she said, Shika’s plasma hadn’t ended at defense. The plasma itself dissipated as they moved on, but the high-temperature steam created from instantly vaporizing the ice still lingered in the air.

“Uh, ufufu!? What do we do, Kazuha-chan? This…”

“…There’s a bit of wind, so I can’t predict how the steam will move. If it were just me, I could tough it out… but I’m not going to force you to take that risk.”

“Kazuha-chan…”

The Shizuna High School team chose caution, coming to a stop.

Their core ability—weight reduction—was only Level 2, making fine weight adjustments mid-jump impossible. If the wind pushed the steam against their legs, the pain could throw off their balance. As Judgment officers, accepting such a risk was out of the question.

『A wise choice—but that’s the end for Shizuna High. At this point, losing this much time is fatal.』

『That leaves only Tokiwadai Middle School and Shinshikimi Middle School! Will Tokiwadai cruise to an easy victory!? Or will Shinshikimi mount a comeback!?』

『…That said, the steam barrier is just as effective against Shinshikimi. Without some trump card, they’re in trouble—』

“…Unfortunately for you, I’ve already got one!”

Tap!

With a light step, a girl sprang high over the steam.

She carried a classmate under one arm, and the sight was… unusual, to say the least. Not only was she wearing a white lab coat over her gym clothes, but the body beneath it was stitched together. It was as if she had once been taken apart piece by piece and then sewn back together again.

『Whoa! That’s insane physical ability!! Is she a physical enhancement user!?』

『No… looks like a last-minute substitute. Kuriba Ryoko. She was on leave for surgery until recently. Since she’s not yet at full strength, she’s been allowed to use the artificial muscle support system she designed herself.』

『…That’s “support”? She’s halfway to not being human.』

『That’s exactly why they call her Technopic.』

Deciding that her mask and red-and-white baton would only hinder her jump, she discarded them—and when Reicia saw her face, she gasped.

“Kuriba!?”

The girl’s name was—Kuriba Ryoko.

Reicia had tried to contact her before, but due to various circumstances, had never succeeded.

“Why are you—”

“Do you know her, Reicia-san!? Now’s not the time to get sentimental! At this rate, they’ll overtake us!”

“Tch… fine, I suppose there’s no helping it!”

This time, Reicia and Shika’s goal wasn’t just to win.

It was to take the lead from the start and never let it go—a flawless victory without a shred of risk. This wasn’t arrogance or carelessness. The stage they aimed for demanded nothing less.

Which was why, even now, Reicia still had an unplayed card.

“────We can talk later. First, we’ll be taking this win.”

At that moment—

The spectators saw it.

Within the space tinted by dust and steam, cracks began spreading like someone scribbling with an invisible pen.

These cracks built up under Reicia and Shika’s feet, pulsating like living muscle—until they produced a perfect void.

WHOOOOM!!

The instant the cracks released, the resulting gale launched Reicia and Shika into the air.

『They’re flying!!! The Tokiwadai team rides a sudden gale into the sky! This is—』

『An application of “Cracks.” By using the vacuum inside the cracks and precisely controlling the airflow when it’s released, they’ve created a gale.』

『Sounds complicated, but in short—Level 4 Large-Scale Power is awesome!!』

The commentator barely had time to finish explaining.

Reicia and Shika soared high, adjusting their posture with plasma control, then cut straight for the finish line.

The Shinshikimi team, who had bothered to jump over the hot steam, lost time on their landing. And in that time—

“This race—”

“—is our complete victory!!”

Reicia = Blackguard and Shika Yumetsuki crossed the finish line more than fifteen seconds ahead of second place.

Thus, GMDW flawlessly met their baseline condition, marking a perfect start to the Daihasai.