My name is Mikihiko Yoshida. I was born the second son of the Yoshida family, a lineage of Ancient Magic practitioners who follow the tenets of the Heavenly and Earthly Deities, specializing in Spirit Magic. According to my father, our family isn't a branch of the famous Shinto "Yoshida" clan. Rather, our roots trace back to the humble rain-making shamans who could be found in almost any village in the distant past.
However, a turning point came for one of those ancestors. A member of the prestigious Yoshida clan happened to visit the village, took a liking to him, and gave him his daughter's hand in marriage. It is said that the legendary swordsman Kamiizumi Nobutsuna himself acted as the matchmaker. In other words, a family that originally had no pedigree at all transformed into a legitimate house of Ancient Magic… or so I learned from a family tree I stumbled upon while cleaning out the family archives.
In my youth, I was hailed as a "prodigy" because my summoning magic surpassed even that of my older brother, the heir apparent. I grew arrogant. But during the "Starfall Rite" in my third year of middle school, I attempted to summon the "Dragon God" to rival the "Wind God" my brother had called forth. The sheer, overwhelming flood of information from the Dragon God forced my magical senses to expand beyond their limits. As a result, I fell into a deep, agonizing slump.
When I entered First High as a Course 2 student, I had no intention of forming close ties with anyone. I felt a reflexive sting of jealousy toward Erika, my classmate, and especially toward Yugen—who went by the name Yugen Mitsuya back then. Not only was he a member of the Ten Master Clans, but he also possessed an level of magical evaluation that was nothing short of extraordinary.
But then, as I began using empty classrooms to practice my summoning magic, I met Shibata-san and Tatsuya, and eventually reunited with Yugen. Seeing that he remained fundamentally unchanged at his core, the jealousy I had harbored eventually vanished like mist.
At my father's insistence, I went to watch the freshmen participate in the Nine Schools Competition. There, Yugen overwhelmed his opponents with a staggering array of magic. He didn't even break a sweat against the "Crimson Prince" of Third High—a boy with actual combat experience—and utterly crushed him in the Monolith Code finals.
Though I hadn't been chosen as a regular, a sudden vacancy in the Newcomers' Monolith Code team led Tatsuya to recommend me. Looking back, forming a team with Yugen and Tatsuya—two direct descendants of the Ten Master Clans—was practically cheating. Yet, because those two trusted each other and I had my own bond with both of them, we displayed a level of coordination that belied our improvised status.
I couldn't hide my shock when Yugen became the next head of the Kagurazaka family—a name anyone involved in Ancient Magic knows well. I asked him if he felt any conflict about discarding the name of the Ten Master Clans. He simply dismissed it, saying, "There is absolutely no need to cling to a name so burdened by political shackles."
I suspected his perspective was shaped by his experiences as a Modern Magician. It was only later, through Erika, that I truly came to understand the weight behind those words.
Then came a turning point I couldn't ignore. After the Nine Schools Competition, my father brought me a proposal to be adopted into the Todo family. He told me there was no rush and that I only needed to decide by graduation... but after the battle in Yokohama, I made my choice. I decided to accept.
Remaining in the Yoshida house would be difficult. Even if I felt a sense of rivalry with my brother regarding magic, I had no desire to feud with him over anything else. I think I was strongly influenced by Yugen, who left the Mitsuya house despite his immense power.
On New Year's Day the following year, I met Aoba Todo in person. It was there I learned that Tatsuya, who was also present, was a member of the Yotsuba family. I was stunned to realize he was connected to the "Untouchables," but considering the incidents involving the Yotsuba in the past, it finally made sense why he and Miyuki-san hid their surname.
After all, Yugen had also hidden his name until high school, and even then, he had apparently been targeted by the National Defense Force. I only heard that third-hand from Erika, who heard it from an acquaintance, but knowing that made it much easier for me to accept Tatsuya and the others for who they were.
Meanwhile, I found myself on the receiving end of an intense pursuit by Sana-san, Aoba Todo's daughter. Through her machinations, I ended up in a complicated relationship with both her and Shibata-san. Even though Yugen had taught me certain magics as "insurance for a rainy day," I swore to myself that I wouldn't let myself fall into depravity.
After all, I had a prime example right next to me: a man who, despite being pursued by multiple women, never let his guard down and continued to hone his strength.
After the temporary Clan Meeting following the appointment ceremony, Yugen returned to the Shiba residence, changed into his First High uniform, and headed straight to school. In just a few days, he would be a third-year student. Rather than sentimentality, he felt as though he was simply bracing himself for the next seasonal catastrophe.
In his first year: Blanche in the spring, No Head Dragon in the summer, the Great Asian Alliance in the fall, and the Parasite Incident in the winter. In his second year: Humanism in the spring, Rosen Magikraft in the summer, Chou Koukin in the fall, and Gu Jie in the winter.
He felt like giving himself a gold star just for surviving a lineup of events he'd never wish to associate with the phrase "the four seasons."
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