Volume 8 Chapter 9 Exchange Battle
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The final week of April. On the afternoon just before Golden Week began, Shisei High School’s auditorium was thick with tension.
We’d come here today to determine our opponents for the Exchange Battle.
The District 13 High School bus had carried all participating groups, and we’d disembarked in Shisei’s parking lot. Walking through the campus, I’d felt eyes on me from every direction.
Effectively an all-girls school.
No wonder the four Majin among us—myself included—drew attention.
Yes, four of us.
After that match, Utsui hadn’t withdrawn from the Exchange Battle.
Not that he was trying to go back on our agreement and force his way into Manaka’s group. It was just that the Shisei group—this school—that had once canceled their participation had reapplied.
The leader had temporarily changed, but apparently the original leader had taken back control within a short time.
Utsui was scheduled to battle that group as originally planned.
”…”
”…”
I’d intended to bet Utsui’s group’s Exchange Battle participation against our groups’ third-ranked members fighting each other. But in truth, we’d never explicitly written down what would happen after the match was decided.
We’d intended to demand they withdraw from the Exchange Battle. But they could argue they’d only been asked to stop interfering—not to cancel their participation entirely. It’d just turn into a pointless back-and-forth.
In the end, Utsui’s group was participating as originally scheduled, the whole thing left unresolved.
Well, as long as they didn’t cause trouble for us, I’d turn a blind eye. If they did try something, next time there’d be no mercy.
Our group and Utsui’s group waited at a distance, with the remaining two groups sandwiched between us. Whether our tension had spread to those sandwiched groups or not, they seemed oddly restless.
”You’ve been waiting.”
A female teacher from Shisei High School led the way as the four opposing groups entered.
The very last group to come in was Manaka’s companions, dressed in Shisei High School’s sailor-style academy uniform. Manaka led the way; Sawa brought up the rear.
Our District 13 group sat in the left half of the auditorium; the Shisei group occupied the right.
After confirming everyone was seated, the Shisei teacher spoke.
”Everyone from District Thirteen High School, welcome to Shisei High School today. I’m Aga Mayumi, this year’s Exchange Battle coordinator. Please treat me well.”
To her elegant bow, everyone in the room nodded in return.
Basically, private school teachers are graduates of private schools.
Among teachers, those who didn’t aim for National High School faculty positions are the ones who take these jobs—Strong-Females with excellent grades. The percentage of hardcore Yuri among them is high.
The teacher before me might be one of those “Breaking Teacher” types—excellent at her job but messing with students behind the scenes.
Can’t judge by appearances.
National High School teachers, on the other hand, are Strong-Females who haven’t given up on their chance with a Tsuyo-Osu. In other words, they swing both ways.
Or they’re talented Strong-Females who’ve succeeded with a Counter-attack and graduated High School.
”Thank you for this opportunity to exchange with you,” Tamai Kanae, the District 13 side coordinator, said. “Everyone, please treat us well.”
The Exchange Battle coordinator was last year’s homeroom teacher, Tamai-sensei. Each school had two teachers present, and each group pair would have one supervising teacher assigned.
Aga-sensei distributed today’s meeting agenda.
Words from the dignitaries, participant self-introductions, voting for desired opponents, and the final decision. Plus miscellaneous notes and precautions.
First came the dignitaries’ speeches.
An old woman stepped up. Apparently she was Shisei’s principal.
Even longer-winded than District 13’s principal. She started with “today’s sorcerers are different from the old days” and somehow segued into a monotonous, flat retelling of her own youthful experiences. Lady, I don’t care about your hardships—just wrap it up already…!
Being invited guests, we couldn’t exactly ignore her. I kept a solemn expression while letting her words flow in one ear and out the other, somehow surviving it.
After that came the participant self-introductions.
Two schools × four groups × six members = forty-eight people taking turns introducing themselves.
Just name and group role. About fifteen seconds each: stand up, speak, slight bow, applause—that pattern repeated endlessly. Everyone was tired from the principal’s long speech, and their desire to get this over with seeped into every introduction.
I couldn’t care less about the District 13 students, but I was somewhat interested in the Shisei participants—other than Manaka’s group.
Naturally, everyone had magnificent builds. Wide frames, round bellies.
First impression: raccoons in sailor uniforms—and I mean the cartoon-type raccoons, not actual animals. Sorcerers’ appearances, besides the belly, have enough flesh on their arms, legs, necks, and cheeks, but it’s somewhat different from the typical Japanese image of obesity.
In this world, a sorcerer’s excess fat directly connects to Mana capacity—the source of their strength. Fat is a symbol of power. Sure, there’s the association with laziness or gluttony, but overall it’s a positive image.
Of course, there are genuinely lazy people who just got fat, but you can usually tell from their vibe. Whether a fat plain-folk is just lazy or a beauty-conscious girl’s worked hard to gain weight well—those in the know can tell at a glance.
One way to tell: skin folds. If sweat and grime accumulate in the folds, even in this world that’s considered unhygienic. Sorcerers are expected to get fat without skin folds, and they practice it. They’re highly conscious of appearance and take proper measures against sweat. The result? Smooth, silky skin surfaces. Add makeup to that, and you’ve got an adorable raccoon girl born.
Only their builds are raccoon-like; their faces are fox-type, cat-type, dog-type—all sorts. I watched the Shisei girls introduce themselves one after another and was impressed. As expected of Strong-Females in groups that make it to the Exchange Battle. With some exceptions, most had appearances that radiated beauty consciousness.
Among them, the only group with all members having lean builds was Manaka’s.
They kept themselves neat, so there was no negative impression in terms of cleanliness, but the general sorcerer perception inevitably made them seem unreliable. On the other hand, in Japan’s beauty standards, Manaka’s companions were the ideal physique.
My values, once bugged, could now handle this contradiction smoothly.
In other words: if they’re unreliable as sorcerers, I’ll just make up for it. Slender plain-folk build girls are exactly the ones my son desires to unite with.
Manaka, Sawa, Yui, Yuu, Megumi, Miku.
I was very much looking forward to seeing how these six would change over the year’s Exchange Battles.
The introductions ended, and we took a short break.
The Shisei members left the room once, while each District 13 group received a form to write down their preferred opponent group. No need to consult anyone. I wrote Manaka’s name and submitted it to the teacher.
After the break, the Shisei members returned. They seemed to have already finished their voting as well.
Before our eyes, the two teachers checked each other’s forms and announced the pairings.
Aga-sensei made the announcement.
”I will now announce the pairings,” she said. “First… District Thirteen High School, Utsui-san’s group will face Shisei High School, Shigemasa-san’s group.”
Each group leader stood and stepped forward.
The leaders shook hands, everyone applauded, and the next pairing was announced.
”District Thirteen High School, Tatemiya-san’s group will face Shisei High School, Kuga-san’s group.”
I stood and shook hands with Manaka, who’d stepped forward as well. A soft but trained hand.
Manaka wore an expressionless, neutral look—impossible to read whether she was interested in me or not. Then she gave a thin smile, pulling off that delicate feat.
I returned to my seat amid the applause.
”Next…” the teacher continued.
As the teacher continued announcements, Chifumi next to me seemed to want to say something.
I asked with just my eyes, but she looked away and that was that.
The pairing announcements finished without issue. Next came discussions between groups about the Exchange Battle details.
We split into four groups and moved to separate rooms. With one teacher supervising, we’d discuss how to proceed with the exchange going forward.
My group and Manaka’s group—twelve people total—packed into a discussion room.
It was a relief that the supervising teacher was Tamai-sensei.
In the heavy atmosphere, Manaka spoke first.
”Minoru,” she said. “Long time no see.”
”Long time,” I replied. “Manaka, been well?”
”Yes,” she said. “Thanks to you. No problems here whatsoever… That District Thirteen uniform looks good on you.”
”Thanks,” I said. “Shisei’s academy uniform suits you too.”
”…Thank you,” she said, her expression subtle.
I felt Chifumi silently pinch my arm. “Don’t say unnecessary things!” she seemed to be communicating.
Crap. That’s right—Manaka’s companions were all slender now.
That meant they’d become weaker as sorcerers, and in that context, saying “the uniform suits you” was generally insensitive. Insult-level, even.
I had no intention of looking down on them, and Manaka’s companions knew that. But Tamai-sensei here had no way of knowing my true intentions. …Well, if he knows about my preference for slender builds, maybe he would understand? Which is it?
Seeing me hesitate for a moment, Manaka casually changed the subject.
”…Minoru,” she said, “I heard you had excellent grades last year. Especially your performance in dungeon training. ‘Simulated Dungeon,’ ‘Commercial District,’ ‘Sword-Hammer Cave’—the last one in particular is no easy target. Clearing it was impressive.”
” ‘Sword-Hammer Cave’ hasn’t been cleared yet,” I said.
”But you got passing marks, didn’t you?” she asked. “I heard from Chifumi.”
We were exploring Sword-Hammer Cave’s surface freely.
The boss—the Scale Earthworm—had troublesome magic resistance, so we hadn’t challenged it yet. We planned to soon, to earn the right to challenge the middle layer.
Sword-Hammer Cave’s middle layer, beyond the boss, is a C-rank dungeon. No rush to enter at our current difficulty level. In terms of difficulty, I’d rather explore Commercial District’s middle layer first—the D-rank “Entertainment Town.” It’s easier to get to since it’s on the shopping street, and we can earn money through uniform patches. If we’re going in free, it’s obviously the better choice.
”I’d like to learn from Minoru’s strategies, combat techniques, situation assessment…” Manaka said. “Please take care of me.”
”Yeah, likewise,” I said.
If I kept talking, I’d slip up.
I’d leave the rest to Chifumi.
With a look from me, Chifumi nodded and began speaking.
”I’ll be the point of contact~,” she said. “For the other side… Manaka-chan, that work for you~?”
”Yes,” Manaka replied.
Normally, Chifumi should be coordinating schedules with Sawa, Manaka’s group’s current No. 2. Not that Sawa lacks scheduling ability, but honestly, she’s probably too lazy to want to do it. Dealing directly with Manaka would be faster.
”So, for the next meeting time and place~…” Chifumi continued. “How about this weekend at Onigahara Dojo~? A practice match to gauge each other’s initial strength~”
”No problem on our end,” Manaka said.
Manaka immediately accepted Chifumi’s proposal.
Mitsuki had been part of Manaka’s group originally, after all. Going forward, Manaka’s companions would officially have permission to visit Onigahara Dojo.
That settled everything that needed deciding.
There was still time before we were supposed to gather back in the auditorium. We’d kill a bit more time in the discussion room.
I looked at Manaka’s companions again. Come to think of it, I’d seen them in uniforms at last year’s school festival, but was this my first time seeing Megumi and Miku in Shisei’s academy uniform?
”…?”
Megumi caught my gaze and stared back with a quizzical look.
Manaka spoke.
”Indeed,” she said. “For the first session, perhaps Megumi-san and Miku-san could practice against those two.”
Her gaze was directed at…
”Risa and Yurina?” I asked.
Manaka’s companions had never seen those two use sorcery. Wanting to gauge their ability was understandable. She hadn’t specified Asari—probably because their inherent sorceries were too different in strengths and weaknesses? I wanted to see Megumi and Miku’s inherent sorceries too, so this worked out.
”I don’t mind,” Risa said.
”I’m fine with that too,” Yurina added.
It was natural for Risa and the others to want to know the strength of their Manaka group opponents.
”Good,” Megumi said.
”Wau!” Miku added eagerly.
Megumi and Miku were eager too. A spirited bunch.
”It’s settled, then,” Manaka said. “I look forward to it.”
Manaka said that and stood up from her seat.
”What’s up?” I asked.
”I’m going to powder my nose,” she replied. “Sawa. Handle the rest.”
With Manaka gone, Sawa and the others started talking with Chifumi and Mitsuki.
I found myself at loose ends.
”I’ll step out for a bit,” I said.
”Okay~,” Chifumi replied.
I told Chifumi and headed for the men’s restroom. Apparently only faculty/visitor restrooms were available, so on the way to a somewhat distant facility, I saw Manaka walking back from the opposite direction. Judging it’d be bad to act familiar at this point, I passed her in silence. At that moment, she slipped a small piece of paper into my pocket.
”!?”
The movement was too fast.
As I instinctively stopped, Manaka acted as if she couldn’t even see me—without slowing her pace or looking back—and silently departed.
I looked at the paper after entering a stall in the men’s restroom.
A piece with a date written on it. Further, a string of numbers resembling a phone number.
This meant… Manaka wanted a way to contact me directly.
A hotline not through Chifumi. I memorized the contents, disposed of the paper, and returned to the others with an innocent face.
All groups reassembled in the auditorium for today’s wrap-up.
District 13’s principal—who hadn’t been here just an hour ago—was inexplicably present, subjecting us to more irrelevant speeches.
I endured the drowsiness, and finally, it was over.
The District 13 members boarded the bus, returned to school, and disbanded.
Our group stopped at that café for a short break. I was exhausted and wanted something sweet.
I treated everyone to parfaits. Today was special.
”Ahhh… it’s over!!” Mitsuki said.
”We managed somehow~,” Chifumi added, relieved that the plan was progressing.
”Next is Onigahara Dojo,” Asari said.
”A practice match against those two~…” Risa said. “Need to train for coordinated combat with Yurina…”
”I’m looking forward to fighting alongside Risa,” Yurina said.
Asari, Risa, and Yurina’s minds were already on the next training session.
A good sign.
At the smooth progress, I silently enjoyed my sweets and coffee.
Notes:
• Shisei – An elderly woman serving as the principal at Shisei, where she acts as an authority figure. Though she is involved in high-profile activities, she is known for being a long-winded speaker.
• Utsui – Job: Duty-Bound Theorist; Relationship: Leader of opposing group; Item/Magic: Binding vows; Note: Uses theorist tactics, made agreement with narrator. Job: Majin and leader of Group 5; Relationship: Leader of Group 5; Item/Magic: Unknown; Note: Arrogant and strength-worshipping. Believes strong sorcerers should claim everything. Uses delinquent speech patterns. Job: Student and group leader; Relationship: Rival to Tatemiya’s group; Note: Leader of the only group with three Majo in second year. Job: Student/Majin; Relationship: Leader of rival District 13 group; Note: Did not withdraw from Exchange Battle despite agreement.
• Manaka – Manaka Kuga is an elegant, sharp-featured Shisei High student and authoritative leader of the Kuga family’s Founding Strong-Females. Minoru’s refined childhood friend, she maintains a lean, trained build and uses a short staff for air-shaping sorcery. Now an obstacle in the upcoming Exchange Battle, she is a skilled strategist known for her aristocratic bearing and year-long deceptions.
• Sawa – A confident, bespectacled Nieda student and IT-savvy Shisei member who serves as a core strategist for Manaka and Mitsuki. Though a skilled green-manipulation sorcerer and competitive Onibara disciple, she is prone to laziness and dislikes scheduling. A blunt, broad-framed game otaku, she manages security using farming tools and frequently complains to her childhood friend, Minoru.
• Mayumi – Job: Teacher/Coordinator; Relationship: Shisei side coordinator/Exchange Battle coordinator; Note: Private school teacher.
• Kanae – Minoru’s former homeroom teacher, now serving as the District 13 side coordinator.
• Megumi – A 162cm former District 13 student at Shisei High and maternal-type Majo, she is a flexible, plump Sorcery user with a generous figure who wields a naginata. A submissive, eager-to-please member of Manaka’s, Minoru’s, and Tatemiya’s groups, she speaks in a pleading manner and maintains a highly proactive, desperate physical intimacy with Minoru. She is scheduled for an upcoming practice match.
• Miku – A former District 13 student and Majin member of Manaka’s group at Shisei High, she is a 147cm-tall courier with a unique, chubby yet long-legged build and a supermodel face hidden by modest dress. Known as a “strong-female” in Tatemiya’s circle, she uses Heaven-kick Sorcery and leg armor. Energetic and reactive, she is prone to Chihuahua-like outbursts and shares a scent signature with Seno.
• Tatemiya – Minoru Tatemiya is a pragmatic, observant, self-described introvert and student leader possessing Majin abilities. In a world with reversed beauty standards, he manages his group—Risa, Yurina, Mitsuki, Asari, and Chifumi—with analytical detachment, treating interactions as transactions. His family maintains tense ties with the Kugas following Manaka’s departure and holds a symbolic residential legacy.
• Chifumi – The 160cm, J-cup eldest daughter of the Takino residence is a kimono-clad sorcerer, Minoru’s sharp-tongued childhood friend, and trusted partner. Wielding ice and water magic, this loyal mage manages rearguard combat and administration. A casual negotiator who acts as the group’s social bridge, she hides the truth while fiercely protecting Minoru, often using subtle cues to guide his party.
• Minoru – A black-haired Demon reincarnated from Japan, this 183cm, sharp-eyed protagonist is a pragmatic, cautious narrator and eldest Tatemiya son. Burdened by the belief his childhood friends abandoned him, he now leads a female group including Asari, Risa, Chifumi, Mitsuki, and Yurina. He commands monsters and wields a handgun alongside spatial manipulation sorcery, acting as a calculated strategist.
• Onigahara – Onigahara-san is a stern, disciplined mentor from an influential sorcerer family and Mitsuki’s aunt. Dedicated to her lineage’s legacy, she manages logistics and drives the family microbus for dungeon training. She maintains hierarchical bonds with her students and stays involved in the party’s situation, having coordinated to pick up the group from a nearby parking lot after their training session.
• Mitsuki – Eldest daughter of the Onigahara estate, this 188 cm science-track student is a lean, athletic Majin with short brown hair and a mischievous grin. A former member of Manaka’s group now serving as Minoru’s vanguard and healer, she wields a golden mace or kanabō and Oni-Transformation Sorcery. Energetic and tactical, she bickers with Minoru, coordinates with allies, and uses recovery magic during training.
• Yurina – A 165cm stoic Plain-folk vanguard with a black ponytail, she is a humanities student, eldest of seven, and skilled with a katana and Severing Sorcery. Serving in Minoru’s party as a loyal, analytical observer, she protects Chifumi, fights alongside Mitsuki, and addresses Minoru with deference. While earnest and still honing her dangerous footwork, she remains unsettled by Minoru’s escalating violence.
• Risa – The youngest Naruse sister, a 167cm humanities student with semi-long light brown hair, black eyes, and an H-cup figure. A skilled, energetic long-range fighter and Majo-contractor for Minoru and Tatemiya, she wields magic pistols (AR, SR, SG types) and “Majo’s Tears.” Known for her protective nature and cookie-baking, she turns red-eyed to command fire and lightning when possessed by Asunaro.
• Asari – A 175cm Kasakura honor student with braided black hair and an E-cup figure, this analytical, pragmatic science-track strategist serves as Minoru’s devoted partner and Risa’s future host. Close to Mari and Nagase, she uses a gauntlet and Silicic Armor to manifest crystal barriers, switching between Vanguard and Mid-guard. Polite yet lecturing, she is a reliable, focused, and currently recovering Majin.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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