| “ | The same technique won’t work twice against Hayashizaki-style! | ” |
–Kazuki's catchphrase | ||
Hayashizaki Kazuki (
Appearance[]
Kazuki is a young male with black hair (occasionally brown in official artwork) with brown eyes who has a slim, muscular body. He usually wears the National Knight Academy uniform which consists of a grey jacket with a white shirt, black pants, and a black tie, wearing a blazer which had an atmosphere of high quality, made from alchemist silk. His Stigma is on his left hand. He wears a Phenex feather-shaped necklace which Mio gave to him as a present on their first date.
Personality[]
Kazuki is a nice person. He cares about his sister, Kanae. He is also grateful to his dad for adopting him into the Hayashizaki family. Kazuki likes doing chores and cares about the Hayashizaki family a lot as seen when Mio called the Hayashizaki style trash, or when he said he wanted to become a Knight just to make the father who adopted him happy. Kazuki is very honest about his feelings as when he said that Hiakari Koyuki is beautiful because he meant it from the bottom of his heart rather than saying simple flattery. He also has an older-brother personality as stated by Mio. Kazuki always says what he thinks from the bottom of his heart about other people so it usually causes him trouble.
Kazuki is skilled at cooking and chores, which double as his hobbies. In fact, Kazuki gets more frustrated and bored when he not allowed to help with any of the work, as shown on the cruise ship. Kazuki has a sincere and poor person mentality, being comfortable as long as he has the minimum amount of what he needs. Because of this, he tends to put the fact that he's still a student first before a King.
During his time in the Witch's House and any other places that Kazuki goes to, Kazuki is struggling to keep his male instincts in check when his Harem members are naked in front of him, seeing them dressed in alluring maid outfits and clothing that shows their bare skin, and sleeping next to them as they push their bodies on him. Kazuki is usually being pushed to his limits whenever he gives his love out to his Harem members while trying not to go further in their relationships. He admitted that he would turn into a lustful beast should they go any further than the love that they have now.
Despite his impressive skills and having the powers of a King, Kazuki doesn't value himself that much. He would usually put himself in dangerous situations without a second thought or degrade himself as being a normal student despite the fact that he's supposed to be a King. This aspect of his usually upsets both the people closest to him and the ones who support him. Loki, on the other hand, views this as the most dangerous part about Kazuki. Since he doesn't care if dies or not, he (Kazuki) can fight without fear and will use everything he's got to win. Loki even explains that this makes him the scariest type of human, even when compared to the other Kings.
Kazuki can also be a sadist to the girls, but only when purposely teasing the girls that like it, examples being Koyuki and Kazuha.
History[]
Background[]
When Kazuki was just an infant, his mother abandoned him at the front gate of the orphanage called Nanohana House. Like many orphans there Kazuki didn't know exactly when he was born, but he apparently looked older than he actually was. Because of his kindness and maturity he was much loved by the other orphans who considered him a kindly older brother, among them were Mio and Kaya. He often cooked for them and cared for them, and they missed him terribly after he was adopted by the Hayashizaki family, a famous family skilled in an Ancient Sword Style who discovered his natural talent.
Another reason he was taken in was so that his new sister Kanae, whose mother had just died wouldn't be so lonely. Originally when Kazuki was an orphan he didn't know his own age, and the family treated them as if they were the same age, celebrating their birthdays on the same day every year. The relationship between him and Kanae was pretty much of a "kind big brother and his lousy little sister". When Kanae turned 14 nothing happened to Kazuki or Kanae, but in the following year, suddenly an Enigma appeared on Kazuki's hand and from that incident, Kazuki finally found out that he was younger than Kanae.
Originally extremely proficient in sword skills, he was suddenly chosen to bear an Enigma. This was shocking to both him and Kanae. He had originally planned to enter the National Knight Academy Swordsmanship Division, to carry on the proud tradition of their family. But since he was given an Enigma he was forced to enroll in the Magic Division instead. This was bound to be uncomfortable as male contractors were unheard of and he would certainly be the only guy in the department. Although he is a Magika student, he is far more adept at swordsmanship and has no problem taking down a high-level magician with only a sword. Because Kanae's mother had died of a disease, Kazuki took the lead and was responsible for housework.
Plot[]
Volume 1[]
Chapter 1:
- Hayashizaki Kazuki wakes his sister Hayashizaki Kanae on their first day of school. She has a serious brother complex and insists on being spoiled. He isn’t strongly tempted by his sister even though Kazuki was adopted and she isn’t blood related to him. They had both been trained in the Ancient Sword Style of their family by their father. They both planned to honor family tradition by entering the National Knight Academy Swordsmanship Division and then join the Knight Order but once an Enigma had appeared on Kazuki’s hand he was obligated to join the Magic Division instead which Kanae was unhappy and resentful about. He didn’t even bring his sword, having resigned himself to his fate.
- What made his situation unique was that he was the first male in Japan to receive an Enigma, which was the prelude to forming a legal contract with a Diva. This was because girls naturally had greater magic power than boys and therefore were always chosen in the past. This meant that Kazuki would essentially be attending an all-girls school. The appearance of the Enigma had also proven that Kazuki was a year younger that Kanae, though she continues to refer to him as her big brother, which confused many people.
- They arrived on campus early so Kanae could give him a guided tour. But she was immediately called away by Torazō Yamada, who told her a fight had broken out between students of the Magic Division and as the Swordsmanship Division Student Council President she was the only one with the courage to confront them. Kazuki wandered the Magic Division campus aimlessly where he drew a lot of attention and was already the subject of rumors. He had a memorable first meeting with Otonashi Kaguya, who was eager to meet the first male and Swordsman in the Magic Division. She wanted to become his personal mentor and was delighted when he accepted her offer of friendship. Since Kanae had been called away, Kaguya offered to take over the role of tour guide. They wound up noticing the nearby battle.
- They found Kanae holding her own against two Magika Stigma who couldn’t cope with her speed. After hearing the situation Kaguya broke up the fight. Kazuki was shocked to learn Kaguya was the Student Council President of the Magic Division. It was the unfortunate view that Swordsmen were to be treated as disposable meat shields to protect the Magika Stigma while they cast their Summoning Magic. It was a philosophy spread by members of the staff and even the Knight Order. This was why the Magic Students held the view of being superior and often bullied the Swordsmen. Kaguya hoped to change these attitudes and make things more equal. But nobody but Kazuki seemed to take her seriously or think things could change. Kaguya and Kanae then got into an argument over who would continue Kazuki’s tour.
- The opening ceremony of the Magic Division was conducted by Kaguya who gave a speech on the history of magic and the duties expected of Knights to protect the nation to arrest Illegal Magicians and to defeat Demonic Beasts. To illustrate the threat of the latter and the power of Summoning Magic a massive dragon was set loose near the students but Kaguya obliterated it easily before it could do more than frighten them.
Chapter 2:
- Kazuki was sorted into Class 2 taught by Liz Liza Westwood, who was fond of verbal abuse. As the only guy, Kazuki was attracting a lot of attention. The teacher put an end to that by referring to him as “E-Rank trash” and not worthy of their time. Kazuki accepted her criticism as valid but vowed not to be the lowest rank for long, meeting her approval. Liz Liza-sensei also noted the only two Rank-A students in their year were also in this class. Amasaki Mio immediately stood up and arrogantly declared her ambition to be the next Student Council President. She was lectured by the teacher for speaking out of turn. A girl named Hiakari Koyuki seated behind Kazuki raised her hand and identified herself as the other Rank-A. She was an Elf and Kazuki was enchanted by her beauty and didn’t hesitate to tell her so. But she viewed herself as a “monster” and found his words hard to accept. Liz Liza-sensei told Kazuki off for ignoring her. As they waited their turn to have the Contracting Ceremony they decided to go around the room so the students could introduce themselves. The teacher was going to skip Mio but she got up to talk about herself again. As she talked she seemed to recognize Kazuki and waved to him. But though she looked familiar, he couldn’t place where he met her before which upset her greatly. When Kazuki listed swordsmanship as his strong point he was roundly criticized, even by the teacher. This was due to Swordsmen being looked down on and the rivalry between the schools. But Koyuki thought it was more praiseworthy to have a talent achieved through training and hard work rather than a level of magic power determined at birth.
- On their way to the ceremony Kazuki broke down and asked Mio where they met before but she got mad. Kaguya was once again in charge of the Contracting Ceremony. In this case she would use Telepathy Magic to guide them to the Astrum where they would attempt to make a contract with their Diva. They were told no one in Class 1 had managed to succeed. Mio lived up to her own hype when she became the first one in their year to succeed, making a contract with Phenex. She immediately wanted to try out her Summoning Magic but was stopped by the teacher. When it was Kazuki’s turn Kaguya asked him to help her in her aim to improve the reputation of Swordsmen in the Magic Division and he agreed. Kazuki was the second student to succeed but his Diva was a small naked girl who fully materialized and kissed him to seal their contract. The problem was she was not one of the 72 Pillars and thus this could be declared an Illegal Contact. This girl called herself Leme but claimed to have lost her memory and had no powers at all. After Kaguya offered the girl her robe Leme promptly fell asleep while ignoring Kazuki’s many questions. Koyuki became the third and last to make a successful contract bonding with Vepar.
- Kazuki was nervous and distracted while he awaited the verdict of the staff. Apparently there were many calls to erase his Stigma at once and throw him into the Swordsmanship Division but both Kaguya and Liz Liza-sensei argued on his behalf. The 72 Pillars were the only Divas allowed to be contracted in Japan but Leme had followed the same procedure they did to make a contract. Thus it was possible she might be related to them and they could be offended if she were treated poorly. Also since Kazuki had neither Summoning Magic nor a Magic Dress it seemed to convince them it might be safe to wait and observe. They scrapped the original plan to arrange off-campus housing for him. Kazuki and Leme would be placed in the Witch's House, the house where the Student Council lived so they could observe him. Kazuki expressed his gratitude and carried Leme as he followed Kaguya to his new home. As he entered he is told the newbies are expected to aid with housework which he is eager to assist with. Leme wakes up and demands the bathroom. As Kaguya takes her there she tells Kazuki he can claim any bedroom upstairs without a nameplate. Unfortunately the first unlabeled door he opens he finds Mio behind it changing her clothes. He shuts the door and apologizes. Her scream draws out Koyuki who is in her usual casual outfit of a loose shirt and panties which he finds distracting. The top students were always housed here as trainee Student Council members. Kaguya joins them and explains why Kazuki is here although Mio makes her objections clear.
- They all gathered downstairs to get acquainted and he was told the only absent resident was the Vice-President who was busy on a Quest. Kazuki had been so nervous about his future earlier that he missed most of the orientation lecture but found out Quests were done to aid the Knight Order and those and Duels were part of their evaluation process. Hoshikaze Hikaru arrives to greet them. Koyuki had lived there for a while already but she greeted the new people with interest. She was excited about Kazuki; finally there was someone who looked more like a boy than she did. She was shocked to find out he was a boy and she became bashful, having come from an all-girls school she was nervous around men. Leme noted there were some interesting “conquest targets” here but Kazuki didn’t know what she meant. Hikaru had bought plenty of snacks and the welcome partly lasted till midnight.
Chapter 3:
- His bedroom was far away from the girls because Mio insisted. He found Leme waiting for him. She encouraged him to “aim for a Harem”. She said she recovered a little of her memory but decided to only to reveal it to him. Despite appearances she wasn’t a powerless Diva but had the power to create a Harem for him. She revealed her true name was Lemegeton the “Lesser Key of Solomon”. She said Solomon was contracted to her and though her commanded the 72 Pillars. In other words as her contractor Kazuki is the new King. She tells him she is not limited to 10 kinds of Summoning Magic but can use all the spells from all 72 Pillars. But there was a condition to access those powers. The amount of power he had would depend on the “intimate bonds” with the Magika Stigma. This was why she had encouraged him to become a “Harem King”. She said there was a great threat approaching Japan and a leader was needed. Kazuki wasn’t confident in his skills but Leme gave him a Magic Dress “Solomon’s Ring”. Magika Stigma would have their Positivity Level displayed to him as a number. The ring would give him a visual cue to the girl’s reactions to his words and actions. Once the number hit 65 he would obtain the “Key to their Heart” and unlock their Summoning Magic. He found it strange that Mio had the highest score when she seemed to hate him. He found it repugnant to seduce a girl just to gain power and decided to earn points through friendship. Leme decides not to argue but insists on sleeping next to him because her body depended on his magic power. He got an e-mail from Kanae wishing him goodnight.
- As was his habit when he was training Kazuki got up early and decided to get a start on contributing to the housework. He cleaned up the mess from the party and prepared breakfast and then lunch. Koyuki was surprised to find the cleaning done. He invited her to help but she insisted she was a disaster in the kitchen. Even Mio couldn’t hide how excited she was about the tasty lunch he was making. Again he invited her to contribute but she insists such things were beneath her and decides to declare Kazuki her personal “slave”. The delicious meal was enough to boost his Positivity Level with the entire household at once. Kazuki attended various classes that day. In Magic Practice class most of the students were still trying to make a contract with their Diva while Mio and Koyuki were trying to improve their Summoning Magic. Since Kazuki had not been given any Summoning Magic he was doing rudimentary magic practice, stirring water in a bucket. This was rather humiliating but Liz Liza-sensei insisted improving his control would help him in the future. Mio and his other classmates teased him for this and she bragged about already having reached Level 2 with her Summoning Magic. One classmate pushed herself so hard she passed out. Kazuki swallowed his pride and resolved himself to add basic magic to his daily training regimen.
- Leme suddenly decided to materialize in time to enjoy Kazuki’s lunch. Despite being the ringleader of the girls who made fun of Kazuki Mio sat with him to eat lunch (while complaining it was sub-standard). Kazuki didn’t understand this at all, but at least Koyuki seemed to appreciate his food. Their classmates were confused by Mio’s behavior too but when she referred to him as her “slave” it seemed to settle their concerns. Leme noted the other girls had no business looking down on Kazuki when they hadn’t even managed to make a contract yet. It was the last straw for Kazuki when Mio insulted the Ancient Sword Style of his adopted family. Kazuki could tolerate insults to him but not to those he cared about. Leme encouraged him to challenge Mio to a Duel, his sward skill against her Summing Magic. Though he hesitates she insists she would not have chosen a contractor who was weak. Kaguya was stunned to receive their official Duel request and tried to talk them out of it. There had never been an official Duel between a Swordsman and a Magika Stigma before. They were interrupted by Kanae who had heard the news. She interpreted this as his attempt to undermine the Magic Division from within which he denied. He was delighted when she handed him his favorite sword, which he had left at home. Despite his resolve to give up the sword he was thrilled to hold it again. Kanae used her own authority to overrule Kaguya’s objection and approve the Duel. Quite a large crowd gathered to watch the battle. Koyuki acted as referee. Kazuki used his training to Foresight and dodge all of her magic and completely dominated the fight. Mio refused to admit defeat but finally broke down and told him how they knew each other from the Nanohana House. He felt guilty for not realizing it earlier. She ran back to the dorm in tears as Kazuki was declared the official winner.
- Later on Kazuki went to Mio’s room to call her down for dinner. When she refuses to come out he bursts in to lecture her about skipping meals only to find her partially dressed again. He gave her a heartfelt apology for that plus having not recognized her for all this time. She remains stubborn so he plays upon her ago and vows to act in the role of her “slave” until she forgives him and begs her not to skip meals. She realizes he still cares about her like he did back then and at that moment Kazuki obtains the Kay to Her Heart and is no longer a useless Summoning Magician.
Chapter 4:
- Kazuki and Mio go shopping where she picks out the ingredients for curry. She was very fond of his mild curry but her own attempts to re-create his recopies in the past have never measured up. On their way home they are spotted by some classmates and they get the wrong impressions about their relationship, which Mio doesn’t bother to deny. Their roommates also notice the abrupt change in their relationship as they watched the two prepare dinner. After having Koyuki test the curry he decides to prepare one mild batch for Mio and himself and a second stronger one. Kaguya suggests Koyuki should be the first year representative in the Inter-Division Tournament this year because she hasn’t had a chance to show off yet. Kanae suddenly barges into the house, having just found out he was living here with a bunch of girls. She insists that he transfer to the Sword Division at once and the others object, particularly Mio. Kazuki feels at home here and doesn’t want to leave but Kanae had already spoken to the teachers behind his back. Since he has shown such remarkable sword skills and no ability use Summoning Magic it was easy to get most of them on her side. They were introduced to Kamiizumi Iori who was Kanae’s Vice-President, best friend and pupil. From that Kazuki realized she could use Foresight too. If Kazuki can’t defeat this person during the Inter-Division matches with only Summing Magic he will be forcefully transferred. By the time this talk is over Mio’s special curry had burned on the stove, upsetting her.
- The next morning Kazuki showed Mio and Kaguya that he could use Barrett, just like Mio. The only person he’d actually told the true story about Leme was Liz Liza-sensei. When she heard the story that he gained power through “intimate bonds” she wasn’t sure how people would react. So for the time being the story was to be that Leme could copy the low-level Summoning Magic of other Diva. Mio wasn’t sure how she felt about him using the same magic. Kaguya suggested he should use her magic too but he said vaguely they weren’t “compatible enough”. This comment seemed to upset her and he promised to work on it. He practices all day and it’s noted that his chanting speed is rather slow due to him lacking a proper Magic Dress. He also is pretty sure Barrett alone won’t be enough to defeat someone who can use Foresight. Leme suggests to him in his mind he should ask Mio out on a date and raise his Positivity Level with her. He works up the courage to do so but is terribly clumsy in his delivery. It turns into a minor squabble but in the end she agrees to go out the next day but denies it’s a “date”.
- Kazuki and Mio meet at the fountain square to avoid being seen. Kazuki noticed Mio wearing a necklace shaped like a Phenex feather. From Mio he learns the proper way to date a girl. As they enter Tokyo Kazuki regrets not bringing his sword. He is out of magic and they might be targeted by Stigma Hunters. They eat at a nice reactant and are offered a free dessert if they act like a real couple, which they do. Later Mio excuses herself for an errand and he is approached by a young girl. She seems to know him and Mio. He finally recognizes her as Kaya before she takes off again. When Mio returns he describes his encounter with Kaya and how she had been dressed in rags, acting strangely and how her black hair had turned silver. Mio gives him a gift, a necklace just like hers. As they walk home they both realize they are past being friends and want to go out again. But suddenly they are under attack by a Stigma Hunter. Kazuki carries Mio and flees but she is unable to focus on her magic. But when she gets down and faces him the fact he can use magic without chanting gives him a huge advantage. They are bailed out by their housemates who counter-attack the enemy, who escapes. Kaguya curses herself for hesitating to use a sure-kill attack. Kazuki guesses she had never killed before. They were on a Quest to stop that guy who is called Earth Snake. Kazuki and Mio are teased for being on a date. He learns that Possessed Contractors can use manic without chanting but their minds are gradually eroded until the Diva seizes their body.
- Kazuki noted that Mio’s Positivity Level was 100 already, sufficient for Level 5 Magic. But in spite of that no new spells had appeared in his head since Barrett. Leme tells him there is a last resort he can use. When he kisses a Magika Stigma, the connection with them is temporarily strengthened. This would allow him to use their Summing Magic at any level. But this shortcut only works once for each girl before she develops immunity so he should save it for emergencies. Kaguya enters his room in a strange state and tries to seduce him. He slaps her and brings her back to her senses. She says the magic of Asmodeus affects her like this and apologizes. He knows what kind of person she is and vows not to let this change his impressions of her. This earns him the Key to Her Heart. But again no new spells appear in his head.
Chapter 5:
- The tournament was a rare occasion where the public was invited to see Summoning Magic for themselves. The Student Council assured Kazuki that Barrier Magic was being used to shield the stands from errant shots. Kaguya was worried about Illegal Magicians sneaking in as spectators but no one else seemed to think that likely, they tended to be too irrational. Kazuki ran into Torazō backstage, who said he had been inspired by Kazuki’s victory in the Duel a few days earlier. He had decided not to be timid anymore and to try his hardest. Koyuki was once again the referee for these matches and Torazō and Hikaru were to face off first. Torazō impressed the entire crowd during his match. He was able to dodge simple magic and even cleverly used his own sword as a lightning rod to avoid damage. But once Hikaru used Ride Lightning, she was able to dominate. In fact Koyuki had to stop the fight before she got carried away and killed him. Kazuki faced Iori in the second match. As he thought, she was able to dodge Barrett but he was also athletic enough to dodge her attacks too. When he saw the girls cheering for him he realized that what he was missing was to believe in their feelings for him. He was then able to use Desire Tentacle to restrain Iori and Blazing Wings to finish the match. He was glad he didn’t hurt her and offers her his jacket as her clothes were burned away. After this performance, even Kanae had to admit he belonged in the Magic Division. In the stands, Kaya became outraged seeing how Kazuki had found a home and acceptance that always eluded her and launched a sudden attack, summoning dragons.
- Fortunately the dragons focused on the barrier rather than the fleeing spectators. Kanae gave him one of her short swords before taking on one of the dragons. Kazuki and Mio paired up to face their childhood friend Kaya. Kaya generated a sword, but Kazuki found it hard to read her movements. It wasn’t Kaya but the Diva possessing her who was controlling it. Kaya seemed to want to impress him with her power. Kaya used large-scale fire magic which Kazuki couldn’t dodge, but he was saved by Koyuki, who used large-scale ice magic. Kazuki was focused on chipping away Kaya’s magic power, hoping he could save her. Kanae ran over to assist him, thinking her opponent defatted, but the dragon could regenerate. Their only chance to win was for the Swordsmen to hold the dragons back while the Magika Stigma chanted their strongest magic. Kazuki had almost deprived Kaya of the last of her magic when Kaguya managed a Complete Summon of Asmodeus and the deadly magic not only hit the drains but Kaya as well. Kazuki asked Kaguya to show mercy, but it couldn’t be reversed. Besides, they had to end this quickly, as nearly everyone had passed out. He could only watch in horror as Kaya begged him to save her. At the last moment, Kaya surrendered tonally to Loki, who took over her body and emerged unscathed. As Loki celebrated this, everyone but Kazuki lost the will to fight. Loki was unable to defeat Kazuki with a sword, but his Defensive Magic was impenetrable. Loki recognized him as Solomon’s King. Mio dove in front of a powerful fire aback that would have killed Kazuki and was mortally wounded. In his fury Kazuki pulled off an untested skill called Dream Sword that penetrated Loki’s defenses and wounded him. As Loki fled, he acknowledged him as a worthy King. Mio confessed her love for Kazuki before dying. Kazuki kissed her and did a Complete Summon of Phenex to save her, in spite of it being risky in his current state and passed out.
Epilogue:
- The body camera of an approaching member of the Knight Order had recorded Kazuki performing the miracle that saved Mio’s life. After that it became impossible for Liz Liza-sensei to hide the truth of Leme’s powers from the staff and the Knight Order (though the news was withheld from the student body). Rather than settle things it only made the controversy surrounding Kazuki more complex. While drifting through the Astrum, Kazuki sees a forgotten memory of being left at the orphanage. He realized it was this early trauma of being abandoned (apparently unloved) by his own mother that made it hard for him to accept the feelings of the girls as genuine. He talks to Diva he had made connections to. Phenex speaks of the reason he was selected as their King. Asmodeus asks him not to keep Kaguya waiting and to use the bond he shared with her to find his way back, which he does.
- Kazuki awoke in his own room and wondered how long he’d been asleep and what happened to Mio. The house was mostly deserted but he was extremely relieved to find Mio hard at work in the kitchen. He noticed she was wearing a maid outfit (he once suggested she wear one while doing chores as a joke). She was delighted to see him awake. It became clear she had no memory or knowledge of her near-death experience and he didn’t bring it up. She insisted he go back to bed to rest and soon brought him some food. She told him that he had been asleep for five days. Loki had already united the Illegal Magicians udder his rule. It was easy to draw them in by promising to share the secret of his success. The Knight Order was quite worried and was busy hunting him down. This meant their housemates were busier than normal with other Quests. Kazuki wanted to help in the hunt for Loki and save Kaya but as a Rank-E it was doubtful he would get the chance. Mio suggested they form a party together so they can raise his rank. Koyuki returns and he invites her to join their party too, but she insists on working solo. Their seniors also return home and are very happy to see him awake. All three girls are still affected by the Chorus Magic used to summon Asmodeus and cuddle up in his bed without warning. Mio finds this irritating but Leme is happy his Harem is making progress.
Volume 2[]
Chapter 1:
- Kazuki and Mio had taken on their first official Quest, to clear Demonic Beasts out of a Haunted Ground. Kazuki, armed with his sword, mostly acted in the role of vanguard to protect Mio. They fought enemies resembling slimes that were of different colors. The slimes were different because his sword was not effective against them. Mio’s magic worked just fine but the slimes seemed to possess elemental properties and the red ones were immune to fire. This was a serious problem because neither of them could use any non-fire attack spells at present. The red slime seemed able to melt away Mio’s Magic Dress, weakening her battle power. While she was concerned about her modesty, a tentacle monster in a nearby swamp seized Mio and began dragging her away, exposing even more. Kazuki cut its tentacles and managed to free her. The substance coating the tentacles seemed to be affecting her mental state, acting like a cross between alcohol and an aphrodisiac. Just as things looked dire Koyuki once again turned up in the nick of time and saved them with ice magic. Koyuki suggested he return home while she covered for them. It was obvious Mio was in no state to continue and he took her advice. But before he left, carrying a naked Mio in his arms, he warned her to be cautions of the blue slimes. He had a strong impression that they would prove immune to ice. Their first Quest as a party had ended in a humiliating failure.
- Three hours earlier the two of them had been on a train on their way to the Haunted Ground. Kazuki was quite nervous about the prospect of the approaching challenge but Mio didn’t seem worried at all. Instead of doing sensible things like making plans and discussing strategy she only wanted to spend the trip cuddling up and acting like a couple. It was their Golden Week, about a month since school started. Mio was delighted he had remembered her favorite dish and prepared it for their lunch. The Knight Order had been operating shorthanded recently due to them being preoccupied with the search for Loki. Students like them were helping out with Quests normally done by the Knights. The Haunted Ground was only a few minutes’ walk from the station; a fence prevented any civilians from entering. There was a security checkpoint at the gate, manned by a retired Knight. He seemed to think students weren’t suitable for this work. When he scanned their Stigma to conform their identities he was surprised to see one on a male, though he had heard the rumors. He certainly seemed to doubt their abilities. After they passed the checkpoint Mio arrogantly dismissed the words of the guard and was confident of massive success. Kazuki saw this as an obvious flag and it definitely ended up that way.
- On the train on their way home, a mortified Mio asks Kazuki just how much he saw of her nude body. He insisted he hadn’t seen much and had been focused on the battle. But far from sounding relieved, she seemed offended that he hadn’t ogled her body. It seemed impossible to win this illogical argument so he brought up the strange state she was in, to her embarrassment. Kazuki had come to the conclusion that their party was too small and their breath of tactics too narrow to find success. But Mio refused to consider adding someone she didn’t know to their group, wanting more alone time with him. Mio insisted she could make up for their shortcomings by getting stronger. From a practical standpoint however, it would be make more sense for Kazuki to unlock other types of magic. Kazuki checked where all the current Positivity Levels were at as the train arrived at the Academy.
- Kazuki was called to the staff room and was shocked when Liz Liza-sensei told him flat-out that Mio was on the verge of being demoted to Rank-B. She was already on thin ice after losing to their Duel, and now she had failed again. By contrast, there were other students showing real improvement. If Mio were demoted she would be evicted from the Witch’s House. He was encouraged to add Koyuki to their party and get closer to her. He agreed but those girls were rivals. Liz Liza-sensei asked if it was possible to learn the magic of Diva outside the 72 Pillars. Leme confirmed it was possible if their Diva chose to become their ally. After the meeting he bumped into Koyuki in the hall. She asked if he was in trouble. He tried to take the blame for the poor evacuation, but she knew he was doing quite well. She took advantage of the rare alone time to thank him for the warning about the blue slime. It had helped her to avoid panic and find another tactic to win. Kazuki was impressed by her resourcefulness and again invited her to join their party. He thought it was dangerous for her to work alone. She deduced that Mio was facing demotion. Koyuki knew Mio’s pride would never permit her to admit she needed help. Kazuki spoke of all of Koyuki’s wonderful qualifies, embarrassing her. Koyuki abruptly challenged Mio to a Duel telling her she was facing demotion. Though Kazuki tried to stop them, Mio was provoked to the point of accepting. Kazuki sat next to Kaguya and Liz Liza-sensei as an observer while Hikaru acted as referee. The Duel proved the two were well matched. Kaguya criticized Kazuki for not showing confidence in his teammate. Kazuki was also made to recognize that Mio had abnormal reserves of magic power. The Duel ended in a tie, resulting in Mio's evaluation increasing slightly and she was no longer in immediate danger of demotion.
- That evening after dinner Kazuki visited Koyuki’s room for the first time. He found it lined with bookshelves. She was dressed as usual and he still found it distracting. She doesn’t seem able to accept Kazuki’s praise. She also sees his flirting as a betrayal of Mio. He asked her if everything had gone as planned with the Duel. Liz Liza-sensei had implied that perhaps Koyuki had gone easy on her opponent. But Kazuki was grateful regardless that she had found a way to help Mio without damaging her pride. He apologized for not understanding her intent from the start, though Koyuki denied doing Mio any favors. He heaps praise on her again and invited her to join the party once more. Koyuki seemed worried about becoming the third wheel between Kazuki and Mio. She insisted their relationship remain totally professional. Kazuki really wanted to get closer to her and though she denied feeling the same, his ring told him she liked the idea. Kazuki insisted teamwork was what made them strong. Koyuki rejected his invitation and dismissed him. In his bed that night Leme encouraged him to get close to a variety of girls and develop his Harem to gain strength. He still refused to seduce girls only for power, but admitted wanting to get closer to Koyuki. He told himself he just wanted to be friends with her. As he was about to fall asleep Mio knocked on his door. Leme saw an opportunity and vanished. Mio asked to sleep next to him (just sleep) and crawled into his futon. They had done this as kids, and the thought calmed him down. She spoke of the intense magic training she had done with her foster family, similar to his own experience. She recognized her shortcomings and promised to not be so possessive about new party members. As he watched her sleep he was curious about Koyuki’s sleeping face too.
- Kazuki was doing morning training with Hikaru. She had asked Kazuki to teach her sportsmanship. She was learning very quickly. Hikaru saw Kazuki as a friend oj the same gender. She thought she looked like a boy, but he disagreed. Despite them getting closer, her Positivity Level was not increasing. Leme believed her man phobia was to blame. A girl emerged from the bushes where she had been watching them. The girl was clearly from the Sword Division, and highly skilled. She carried seven swords and introduced herself as Hikita Kōhaku. The girl rudely ignored Hikaru, who tried to sneak attack the girl but was easily overpowered. Kōhaku stunned them by proposing to Kazuki. She did so for the absurd goal of uniting the sword styles of their families. When he insisted on marrying for love, she vowed to pursue him romantically. Leme said it was pointless to get involved with a girl who didn’t have a Stigma. She invites Kazuki join her Swordsmen-only party. A party without a Magika Stigma wasn’t allowed, but Kazuki was the loophole she needed. He thought her militant attitude was outdated. Things on campus were already improving for Swordsmen. But she insisted official policy must change as well. He noted certain enemies were immune to swords. But she insists such a problem could be solved if they lifted the ban on Sacred Treasures. The Knight Order claimed they were dangerous. Kōhaku pointed out there was no proof offered, and insisted it was a conspiracy to deprive the Swordsmen of equipment that could level the playing field. It didn’t seem farfetched to Kazuki once he thought about it. Kazuki turned down her invitations (though she refused to give up) but the two became friends. Torazō turned up and he refused the suggestion of a rematch from Hikaru. Kōhaku changed her mind about joining their Student Council and ran off. Torazō admitted their council was far more dysfunctional than the one on the magic side.
Chapter 2:
- Kazuki and Mio were greeted warmly as they arrived in class. One girl invited them to join her party. Several of the girls who used to tease him had changed their minds about him after the Duel with Mio. Kazuki forgave them for their rudeness but didn’t respond the invitation out of consideration for Mio’s feelings. Leme encouraged him to get closer to any girl who had a contract from the 72 Pillars. Koyuki encouraged him to pursue party members other than her but he kept asking. He tried to talk about her hobbies but she ignored him. He successfully made her laugh by using Body Reinforcement Magic to transform his face into a series of anime characters. Their classmates were also laughing as they noticed this. Liz Liza-sensei arrived and was also unable to keep her composure. Kazuki apologized but was unable to undo the effect right away. She then introduced them to a “transfer student”, a concept unheard of at this school. The girl introduced herself as Charlotte Lieben Frau, and though she spoke fluent Japanese she was blonde and didn’t look remotely native. Liz Liza-sensei said this girl was her relative and did have some Japanese blood. She was also only 14 but was allowed to skip a grade because her magic power already Rank-A. She went by the name Lotte and was drawn to Kazuki at once because she was an otaku and loved the face he was making. Lotte was the center of attention that day. While Kazuki and Koyuki were off talking by themselves, Lotte approached him and asked to see those amusing faces again. He played along but he definitely got the impression she wasn’t native to Japan.
- The residents of the house were called to a meeting. As Lotte would be living with them, Liz Liza-sensei admitted they weren’t related. Lotte wasn’t Japanese, but the “princess” of a small nation in Europe. She had fled to Japan as a political refugee. Lotte had managed to learn Japanese in three days with Telepathy Magic. Lotte called out her Diva, who looked like a young boy. Leme appeared, amused to meet a Diva in even worse shape than her. He had not only lost his powers but had forgotten his own name, Lotte called him “Prophet”. All small countries like hers were now under the rule of a Magically Advance Country, in her case it was Germany. She fled because being an Illegal Magician carried an automatic death sentence under German law. “Prophet” was clearly not from Norse Mythology. She had accepted being possessed by him because she had suffered from an illness and she was on death door when she met him. He possessed the diseased parts of her body and made her healthy. At the same time he also got the chance to recover his strength. He had chosen someone with the menial fortitude to resist being eroded by him. She fled to Japan because their laws were less strict and she was a fan of their culture. Kazuki was worried, thinking of Kaya, but tests confirmed she hadn’t been harmed. It was “Prophet” who flew the stolen jet to Japan. Liz Liza-sensei suspected he was a Diva of Greek Mythology. She asked Kazuki and Mio to add Lotte to their party. They decide to hold a mock battle to test Lotte’s powers. Lotte was criticized for being too affectionate with them. “”Prophet” declares himself an ally and Lotte was added to his list of conquest targets.
- Kazuki prepared food for Lotte's welcome party. Mio assisted him with the prep and he found out her maid uniform was homemade. He expressed admiration for her appearance, which made her happy and they grew closer. They all enjoyed Lotte’s requested meal of sashimi and tempura. Though Lotte struggled with her chopsticks, Kazuki fed her. The others found this cute and also did the same thing. He noticed Koyuki sitting by herself and not participating. He tried to include her in the conversation but she refused. She insisted she liked being alone but he knew she was lying. Kazuki tried to feed her and was so persistent she gave in. While he is doing the dishes, Lotte walks in stark naked, needing help operating the electric water heater for the bathtub because other nations reject technology as part of their Faith Doctrines. While helping her, the sheltered Princess is told that doing things like this and kissing people all the time was not normal behavior over here. When he returned to his room Kaguya was waiting on his bed, again in a strange state. She seems to want to vent at him, jealous of him getting closer to other girls. The Germans had demanded Lotte’s return, but that would mean an innocent girl’s execution. The German Knights were the experts on Loki and had offered to aid in his subjugation. At first they tried to make it conditional on Lotte’s deportation back to her home country. Kazuki resolved to get stronger and hopefully find a way to rescue Kaya. It seemed this was Kaguya’s roundabout way of warning him of danger. She also hinted she knew about his powers as a King.
Chapter 3:
- Kanae wasn’t happy when she found out about Kazuki training with Hikaru. She was paranoid something more was a going on. Hikaru insisted Kazuki doesn’t see her as a woman, which didn’t make sense and Kanae was confused. In exchange for sword training Hikaru had been giving him magic lessons. Kazuki insisted he saw Hikaru as an attractive woman. They are joined by Lotte, and Kanae got angry because Lotte was acting like a little sister said something about “nakedness” last night. Kazuki tried to explain Lotte’s situation but failed to diffuse Kanae’s temper. Kanae said she accepted the right of the other girls to live here and Lotte needed to prove her strength too. Kōhaku suddenly sprang up from the bushes (from where she had been spying) and volunteered to test Lotte’s skills. Lotte recognized Kōhaku as a suitable opponent for the mock battle planned for later. Kōhaku was caught tonally off guard when Lotte’s magic included machine guns, as well as armor and electricity. No Diva in Japan had such modern weapons. Kōhaku was undeterred by Lotte’s casting speed and clearly could detect magic. Kanae mentioned Kōhaku having a trump card but she decided not to use it and Lotte was declared he victor. After that it became impossible to hide from the class that Lotte had a contract outside the 72 Pillars. Liz Liza-sensei enlightened his ignorance on how Lotte’s abilities could compensate for their party’s weaknesses. She urged him to re-challenge the same Quest they failed before.
- On their way to the Haunted Ground, Lotte is nervous to see a female Knight from Germany teamed up with Knights from Japan but Kazuki is confident there will be no trouble. The same guard is manning the gate and remembered them. The size of the Haunted Ground had shrunk quite a bit due to Koyuki’s efforts. Lotte is indeed able to compensate for their shortcomings and they make great progress. Mio is even able to get revenge on the tentacle monster that attacked her before. They find a small shrine and a katana which has been enshrined there has become a Sacred Treasure. Two young Knights show up out of nowhere, chewing them out and confiscating it, treating them like they were trying to commit a crime by keeping it. The girls are annoyed by their rude behavior, but Kazuki is curious why the Knights were there, as they were all supposed to be busy searching for Loki. They pushed ahead and completely cleared the remainder of the Haunted Ground, though they were quite exhausted. This was a struggle for Lotte, who had low stamina due to being an invalid for years prior to meeting her Diva. The German Knight from before Beatrix Baumgard knew they were at their most vulnerable and chose this moment to attack them. They fight back and Kazuki is just barely able to match her skill with a sword. However, her experience in battle gives her a clear advantage. The two Knights from before try to intervene, implying they are there to protect Mio. But the Swordsman is very easily overpowered by Beatrix and would have died had Kazuki not covered for their escape. The Swordsman comes back briefly to try to return the favor when Kazuki was in a tough spot but couldn’t do much. They needed an opening so they can escape too using Blazing Wings. That opening is provided when a monster appears out of nowhere behind Beatrix. As they flee they see her do a full summon of Thor. She then uses that power to crush the monster easily with terrifying power.
- When their party returned to the school to submit their report, Kazuki was asked to meet the teacher alone. Mio was unhappy but Kazuki figured the teacher didn’t want him to bring Lotte. Kazuki is outraged to find out the whole thing was staged from the beginning. Japan could not hand Lotte over openly. But they also didn't want to anger Germany so they made a secret deal. The presence of the Knights in Japan was a cover so they could assassinate Lotte while the Knight Order was ordered to "look the other way." If it had succeeded Kazuki's team would have been ordered to keep their mouths shut and it would have been written off as an accidental death during a Quest. Kazuki refused to go along with the plot to kill an innocent girl. His teacher was delighted; it was exactly what she expected. She had placed Lotte in their party because she knew he was the only one who could protect her and knew their magic would allow them to escape. Leme also said she would never have accepted him as a worthy King if he stood by and let Lotte become a victim. He also knew Mio would side with him. Kazuki and Mio were expected to head out on another Quest soon to give Beatrix another shot at Lotte. The Germans were only in Japan for a month, if they could overpower the Ace of Germany they could probably ensure Lotte's safety. The Knight Order could say he acted on his own. But due to the powerful forces at work he could not turn to his other friends in the Student Council for help. She believed his best bet was to focus on raising Lotte's Positivity Level. Both she and Leme saw this as a key first test of his qualities as a King. Before he left he told her about the two young Knights who get involved in the fight. She was baffled as all the Knight in Tokyo should have been under orders not to get involved.
Chapter 4:
- After he left the meeting, Leme materialized and they talked about today’s events. Kazuki suspected who was behind the convenient diversion that helped them escape. Suddenly Kaya showed up and claimed credit. Kazuki was stunned and relieved to see she still existed. It seems that Loki decided not to destroy her after seizing her body. She insisted she was much happier now and didn't want him to try to rescue her. Kaya suggested they form a temporarily alliance to defeat their common enemy, namely Beatrix / Thor. They chatted in private in his room. Loki temporarily allowed Kaya to appear in his list of conquest targets, proving that it was really Kaya. Loki was still recovering from his wound. Loki knew all about Thor and about his contractor. They talked about their powers and the Sacred Treasure she had. Kazuki didn't trust Loki but Kaya insisted he wasn't evil and hadn't killed anybody yet (other than Mio, which was accidental). Loki simply believed people should have the freedom to believe and act as they pleased, as opposed to strict Faith Doctrines. The 72 Pillars were balanced between Order and Chaos. Frankly Kazuki thought that both sides were too extreme for him. In the end he agreed to work with them and again they suggested he get closer to Lotte. She said she would clear most of the Haunted Ground before the battle to prevent problems. Kaya also attempted to seduce Kazuki but he threw her out. Lotte had been smart enough to understand the German Knight was after her. She would rather surrender to them than endanger her friends again. But Kazuki refuses and vows to protect her. Due to Lotte's Telepathy skill she understands his pure and honest affection for her. It was the first time she felt such genuine affection from anyone. She was delighted when Kazuki works up the courage and asked her out on a date. Being an otaku, Lotte asked to visit Akihabara.
- To avoid being seen they met at the school gate. Kazuki was waiting for her there and she was wearing a fancy dress. He praised her for her outfit. The lessons he learned on his date with Mio as well as the advice Kaya gave him to treat Lotte like a proper partner quickly paid off. Lotte was very excited to experience her first date. They arrived at their destination, which was still a popular tourist attraction. Here magic was researched for the pure purpose of entertainment. They were shocked to see adult-themed games boldly displayed for sale. They were a little embarrassed but “Prophet” suddenly materialized, finding it thrilling and giving a speech. Leme also materialized, wanting to go shopping for material to help develop Kazuki’s skills at seducing women. Lotte gets mad at them for getting in the way of their alone time and they vanish. They shop and buy some anime they hadn’t seen before. She explains how the anime she watched in her sickbed was banned by the Faith Doctrine that gradually took over her country. People with strong magic like her had high status there and people tried to take advantage of her, but she could always tell. There was a German Knight on patrol, but they were safe in public. They visited an arcade where Lotte showed him how to play the games. They visit a photo booth where she kisses his cheek and confesses her love. Kazuki obtains the Key to Her Heart. They also visit a cosplay café themed after the 72 Pillars. Leme found the costumes offensive and kept complaining in his head. They offered costumes to the guests as well as a small corner with puppies to play with. Lotte wanted to cosplay so Kazuki played with the puppies while he waited. Lotte returned in an adorable puppy outfit and licks his face. They plan to visit again and her Positivity Level was already to Level 3.
Chapter 5:
- Kazuki saw no reason to put off the confrontation and was planning to take on the Quest after school. That day he received a summons to meet with Tsukahara Hisatada, a teacher from the Sword Division. He found this a little odd. He had never set foot on their campus before and didn’t know where to find the staff room. He placed a call to his sister, who was delighted to guide him. Though Kanae tried to invite him to her room he told her he had been summoned to the staff room and wondered if he was in trouble. Kanae said that Tsukahara-senpai wasn’t that kind of person but seemed to have some sort of private agenda. She guided him to the staff room and was disappointed to have to leave him so soon. He was greeted by the teacher who had heard much about his from Kanae and Liz Liza-sensei, who was his former partner in the Knight Order. He taught practical skills but had already lost to Kanae. Tsukahara-sensei had been asked to arrange an introduction and led him to a room where Kazuki was formally introduced to the two young Knights who fought Beatrix with him Swordsman Kondō Hajime and his partner Souma Yukari. Kondō was eager to thank him for his help but his partner was more reserved. They couldn’t speak directly about the reason why were at the Haunted Ground but Kazuki suspected the truth. They hadn’t known about the situation with Beatrix at the time. Both young Knights were disgusted by the plot. To help him confront Beatrix Kondō hands over the Sacred Treasure they confiscated from hm. Though Souma disapproved, both Kondō and Tsukahara-sensei opposed the policy of restricting Sacred Treasures. Needing all the help he could get, Kazuki accepted it.
- Kazuki got an e-mail from Kaya, arranging the meeting place and time. The gatekeepers were confused because Kaya had already cleared out the Demonic Beasts in secret. Only one was left, which would act as a beacon to draw Beatrix. Kazuki doubted she would walk into such an obvious trap but his worries were unfounded. Kazuki made the sensible decision to employ more effective tactics than last time, but Beatrix seemed disappointed. The Sacred Treasure he received was certainly useful. Beatrix seemed poor at thinking on her feet and her range of tactics was poor but she soon identified Kaya as Loki’s contractor and became serious. Kaya urged Kazuki to focus on disrupting Beatrix's chanting of high-level magic. Beatrix tried to target Lotte and was confused when she used the same magic as Kazuki. Beatrix identified Mio as the weakest link. Kazuki made a foolish blinder when he dived in to protect her, briefly forgetting his priorities. This allowed Beatrix to use her Level 10 spell. Kaya protected Kazuki with her body and with help from the others is barely able to hold up against the attack. With her magic nearly deleted Kazuki has a golden opportunity to free Kaya from, Loki but he would not betray an ally, however temporary. Thor tried to persuade Loki to return home, without success. Kaya was no longer able to fight and made her escape. But she told Kazuki that the power of his bonds would give them his last chance at victory. By this point Lotte is ready to surrender, unwilling to let her friends suffer any more for her sake. But Kazuki refuses to abandon her and kisses her. A full summoning reveals her Diva's true identity as Prometheus, the Titan of Greek Mythology. By using his power, combined with Mio's magic, he is able to overpower Beatrix. She finally realizes his true power as the King of the 72 Pillars. At this point Mio demands to know the truth about Kazuki's power.
Chapter 6:
- They were shocked as Kazuki told them how his power worked. He made it clear he hadn’t kissed Lotte just for power and she understood. Mio was looking forward to it, forcing Kazuki to admit the truth. Since she didn’t remember the kiss, Kazuki kissed her again. They had called the Knight Order to collect Beatrix, but instead Kaguya and Torazō turned up. They suddenly found themselves under attack by their seniors without an explanation. It was a dire situation because they were exhausted. Kaguya felt compelled to obey her orders, though she was clearly conflicted. Kazuya intended to give Lotte an opening to escape, but she wouldn’t abandon Kazuki. Kazuki hoped being King might give him protection from Kaguya’s magic, but Leme told him that wasn’t the case. Leme noted Japan might be abandoned by the 72 Pillars for betraying their King at this rate. Kazuki was weak in Telepathy Magic and very vulnerable to Kaguya’s illusionary pain. Kaguya used Near Death Roulette to rob the girls of their sight and Kazuki was quickly running out of options and magic. He was saved by Koyuki, who used Moves on the Field to help them escape. She refused to blindly obey orders like Kaguya. They skated away while carrying the other two; Koyuki told him if he was caught his Stigma would be forcibly transplanted. Their opponents chased them while riding on tentacles. They couldn’t afford to surrender but Koyuki’s magic wasn’t effective. Koyuki noted Kaguya was also torn over this Quest and even Asmodeus backed her up, but for Kaguya duty came first. They were saved by Kōhaku, who used a Sacred Treasure to cover their escape and offend them shelter in the Sword Division.
Intermission:
- The two blind girls were frightened; Kazuki was confident Kaguya’s magic was only temporary and encouraged them to rest. Koyuki had pushed herself too hard during their escape and passed out due to Magic Intoxication. Kōhaku apologized that they had to share a room, but space was at a premium in the dorm. Kazuki only felt gratitude. She explained that she was able to rescue them because Liz Liza-sensei had contacted her old partner Tsukahara-sensei for help, Kazuki was glad he still had a few allies left. The man himself turned up and explained they planned to use the scandal concerning Lotte to expose the corruption of the Magic Division and the Knight Order while glorifying their role in protecting the innocent refugee Princess. They were hoping use public opinion to place themselves in a dominant position over the Magic Department. Kazuki found this shocking, while that may be the only way to protect Lotte, the last thing they needed now was to deepen the divide between the schools. They revealed they had secretly stockpiled Sacred Treasures and made it sound like they were about to start an armed revolt against the Magic Division and then take it nationwide. After they left, Leme materialized, shocked that things had gotten this bad, seeing it as hopeless. Kazuki thought of Kanae and the friends who were being forced to choose sides. He decided he couldn’t endorse the corruption of the Magic Division or the militarism of the Sword Division. He finally finds the resolve to fully embrace his role as the King to bring everyone together.
Volume 3[]
Kōhaku kept them confined for the next two days but apparently felt a little guilty about it. So she pretty much provided anything they asked for to relieve their boredom. Lotte talked about the date she went on with Kazuki to a maid cosplay café and Mio got jealous. They asked for maid costumes and animal ears and made a contest out of who is more talented at licking Kazuki’s face. Kazuki finds this embarrassing, especially when Koyuki finally wakes up and glares at him like a pervert. Kazuki checked the Positivity Levels and found all the girls in this room had steadily increasing scores. But he noticed Kaguya’s number was jumping all over the place and couldn’t be read, like her heart was in turmoil. They tell Koyuki where they are and why they're confined. She thought their hosts foolish if they thought they could defeat somebody as powerful as Kaguya with Sacred Treasures. Their phones had been taken and while they could escape, they were wanted fugitives. They all thanked Koyuki for saving them. Kazuki noted that wasn’t the first time she had appeared in the nick of time to rescue him and she seemed evasive on that topic.
Kazuki can tell she's uncomfortable being in this room with them but he insists his intentions are honorable. But Koyuki doesn’t see herself as someone that would inspire lust from a man, even though Kazuki insists she’s wrong about that. Koyuki was in a much better mood when he showed her a stack of books that were provided. Kazuki said he wanted to discuss the books when she finished them but she didn’t seem interested. She found it embarrassing when they told her there was a maid uniform for her too and it was the only change of clothes they had. Koyuki insisted they wouldn’t look god on her and Kazuki denied it so strongly it made the shy Koyuki uncomfortable. Leme warned him she was too shy for this kind of direct approach and he needed to avoid talking to her like that. She was in dire need of food and was in a weakened state. Kazuki made her rest while they prepared her a meal. After dinner Kazuki enters the bath first. As he is soaking in the tub Lotte enters in her Magic Dress, wanting to take a bath with him. She apparently waited until Mio was in the toilet. They talk about her situation and she seems to have found the resolve to fight and to live, no longer as depressed and fatalistic as she was before.
Mio notices what she’s done and enters in a towel. Lotte insists that she can’t enter in a towel and her Magic Dress isn’t suitable for a bath. In the end she drops the towel altogether but is stopped by Koyuki who wraps a towel around her and hands another to Kazuki so he can finally escape the embarrassing situation. He thanks her for saving him again. When Koyuki finishes her bath and shows her appearance in maid clothes, Kazuki showers her with compliments. At this point he seems to have fully embraced his maid fetish. He tries to give the shy girl some confidence. He gives some praise to the other girls too, naturally. Koyuki isn’t comfortable enough to sleep in the outfit, so he handed her some fresh pajamas. Thus he revealed he had lied about not having any changes of clothes so he could see her dressed up. She storms off to change but she isn’t really angry, just embarrassed. Mio and Lotte have been sleeping on either side on Kazuki on one futon. But Koyuki doesn’t trust nothing perverted will happen. So she and Kazuki share one futon and the other girls share the other. The girls have a brief tickle fight before going to sleep, as do Kazuki and Koyuki.
Kazuki woke up to find Koyuki with her arms and legs wrapped around him and snuggling him. He finds her cute and wants to cure her loneliness. She apologizes for her recent embarrassing behavior but he certainly isn’t offended. When Lotte wakes up Kazuki asks her to teach him Telepathy Magic. She was the only one who had resistance to Kaguya’s illusionary pain in that battle. He asks her to remove her mental defenses so he can understand it completely. This kind of thing is the ultimate test of trust between magicians but she agrees at once. He is able to learn the trick in only an hour. Kōhaku came to visit. She told them they were allowed to wander freely on the Swordsmanship Division campus now. She told them that she had defeated Kanae and taken the position of Student Council President. Kazuki found this shocking and impressive. The old Student Council was under arrest for assaulting them, and was confined in their rooms. Since the Magic Divan was banned from their campus they would be fine until the other side tried to forcefully intrude. Kazuki had been telling her that it was wrong to promote dissension between the schools when there are greater threats facing Japan. Kōhaku had always dismissed this argument before but now she was taking him seriously. He insisted the charges were false. There was some nefarious force at work behind the scenes in the Magic Division and it was a threat to all of them. She decided to introduce them to her best friend.
They are introduced to Tsukahara Kazuha, the daughter of the teacher he met before. They find out she is an Illegal Magician. She sees Kazuki as a disgusting womanizer. She summoned her Diva Futsunushi no Kami, who was quite friendly and didn’t seem to be a threat to her sanity. Leme recognizes him as a Diva of the Japanese Mythology. Leme told him that Kazuki was her chosen King of the 72 Pillars. But there was a conspiracy at work to ruin him, by people selfishly clinging to their own power. The 72 Pillars had granted Japan power without putting restrictions on their free will and were reserving judgment of their worthiness based on how they used that power. If things continued like this, they would judge Japan unworthy of their support and leave, which would be an utter disaster for the nation. The swordsmen were preparing for an attack by the Magic Division because he had detected a sinister magic power in the facility built beneath the Magic Division. But as it turned out he was the only Diva on campus who was detecting this dark magic and none of them knew about this facility before. If they could investigate and prove an Illegal Magician was responsible they would earn his trust. But the security measures meant no one without a Stigma could enter, and Kazuha was the only such person they had. Realizing this could tie into the conspiracy they recognized, they agreed to take on the job. But Kazuha insisted Kazuki must prove his skills in a duel with her first.
Leme encourages him to win this duel and add her to his growing Harem. They reserve a gym for the duel with Koyuki acting as referee. To his surprise, her Summoning Magic allows her to summon famous swordsmen of the past to fight against him. Kazuki can’t quite gain the advantage in pure swordsmanship but with Summoning Magic mixed in he is able to beat then. In terms of magic Kazuha is totally impressive. If she weren’t an Illegal Magician she would certainly qualify for Rank-A status in the Magic Division. But to his disappointment, once he got in close she proved to be hopelessly inept at swordsmanship and he won easily. The facility entrance was near the Witch’s House, but as morning classes were underway they didn’t expect to meet anybody. But they were stunned to run into Hikaru, who had overslept. At first she tries to capturing them as was her duty. But it’s evident she feels torn. He tells her there is a sinister plot at work and asks her as a favor to give them the chance to collect evidence of it. She agrees to forget she ever saw them and departs. Kazuha shatters the barrier concealing the entrance to the facility. Before entering, Kazuki asks them to report all this to the Knight Order if they don’t return, though there is no way to know who might be involved.
As they descend the place seemed to be a controlled Haunted Ground. They worried about Demonic Beasts and traps. Suddenly, a trap door begins to open at their feet. Kazuki, Mio and Lotte easily use their magic to leap to safety. At that moment Kazuki realizes that Koyuki’s magic isn’t working and she was in serious danger. He leaps back and clutches her body, using his own Defensive Magic to protect her from the fall that would otherwise have killed her. She admits her magic hadn’t been working properly since she awoke from Magic Intoxication. They discuss options to return the way they came and realize her magic is the best solution. He also reveals how his own magic works. Leme shows him how to verify the otters’ safety with the ring and how can use a new power to locate them. This facility proves quite a challenge for him, as he must focus on protecting the helpless Koyuki. Koyuki is stunned to identify the monsters as belonging to the Cthulhu Mythos, which should have been fictional. Koyuki is guided and cautioned by the Spirits. They grow closer and Kazuki gains the Key to her Heart. They also kill a strange blob-like creature that can use Summoning Magic and discover on its corpse signs it had once been human, an Elf.
They are confronted by the Headmaster Otonashi Tsukikurō, who confirms this was a government facility devoted to artificially boosting magic power. They sought an advantage over the other countries that rejected science. The Elven mutation was a side-effect of a classified project where newborns were subjected to experimental brain surgery to boost their magic power. In the end the mortality rate was high and the results weren’t spectacular so the project was abandoned. They also realized that Divas were obliged to obey their contractor, but could always choose not to grant powers to the next generation. They sought to bypass this through Stigma Transplant Operations, essentially enslaving the 72 Pillars to humanity. But the brain damage was too severe and the government abandoned the project and turned the facility into a school. The Headmaster had begun his own project, to create weapons whose souls had already been crushed and would use Summing Magic obediently and without free will. All this army needed was a King, and he insisted his daughter Kaguya was the only one “worthy” of that title. He explained how he had brainwashed her from birth to instill an obsession with being “the strongest”. When he gave her orders she turned off her emotions and became totally obedient t his will. The final thing he needed was Kazuki’s King’s Authority to make his dream a reality. They're a horrified and angered after this speech. The man refused to see his own insanity and couldn’t understand why they opposed him.
At this point Kazuki realized something the man himself had not. The Headmaster had become an Illegal Magician without even realizing it. At first he denied it, but his mind and emotions had clearly been eroded. There was also the simple fact that the door wouldn’t permit entry to anyone without a Stigma. Realizing he had ceased to care about himself long ago, he finally admitted the truth and surrendered what little free will he had to the Diva. The Diva revealed his identity as the Faceless God Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos of the Cthulhu Mythos. He admitted the Headmaster had been a useful pawn because he refused to see his own insanity until that last moment. He had also unwittingly molded his own daughter into an ideal new vessel for him. The last thing he needed was Kazuki’s King’s Authority and the 72 Pillars would become his slaves and he would use them to destroy the other Mythologies. He showed them the 12 living weapons, the Quad-Core Magicians that had been produced. He would test their power by destroying the rebellious Swordsmanship Division. As well as eliminating all the witnesses who discovered this place. One stayed behind to fight them and Koyuki is in such a state of shock after the speech she can’t move. Kazuki can’t defeat the casting speed of the enemy, but refuses to abandon Koyuki to seek greater advantage at short-range. But Koyuki receives support and advice from the Spirits and Vepar, and is finally able to use her magic to defeat their opponent and free her from torment.
Having no time to lose, they retraced their steps back to the pitfall. They had no time to find the proper passage. Kazuki needed to raise Koyuki’s Positivity Level to the point where they could both cast Tidal Wave. As they ran, he needed only 3 more points to reach Level 4. He encouraged her to express her true feelings honestly, hoping that would do the trick. Though she was dreadfully embarrassed, she revealed a few secrets she had been hiding and confessed to him. They reach their destination and cast the magic together to escape. Once they reached the top Koyuki used Ice Buster to break though the ceiling and they reached the upper level. Kazuki located the others with his power and they ran. Mio and Lotte were fighting a Quad-Core Magician and were struggling to defend four types of magic. As Kazuki and Koyuki approach from behind, they are able to catch the enemy in a pincer attack. Kazuki acted as vanguard for the two, who were battered and exhausted. The opponent was defenseless at close-range, but he couldn’t disrupt her casting. Mio was given the time to chant high-level magic and defeated the opponent by casting Israel Judgment. They had a moment of silence for the girl who lost her life then headed for the surface.
When Kazuki and his group reach the surface the attack was already underway. They are outraged that the Magic Division is taking shelter and not helping at all, but Kazuki figures they were ordered to do so by the Headmaster. Kazuki’s party arrives on the battlefield to assist Kōhaku and Kanae. At Kazuki’s order they quickly organize themselves for battle. Vice-President Hikaru jumped in to help. Kazuha also assists them. Given the crisis, she no longer cared if she was exposed as an Illegal Magician. He told them these things had their minds crushed already and there was no point in showing mercy. By making use of excellent teamwork they are soon able to defeat the 10 Quad-Core Magicians. Just as Kazuki’s group was done with the battle the German Knights arrived to attack them. Kazuki figured the Headmaster planned to kill all the witnesses and find a way to blame the attack on him. Beatrix introduced her friends Damian and Eleonora Abendroth. Kaguya would be supporting them from the rear but was clearly conflicted. Nyarlathotep (disguised as the Headmaster) casts Sanity Down to suppress her emotions, though nobody but Kazuki seemed to notice this. Kazuki asks his friends to take on the German Knights and offers them strategic advice. He also lends his Sacred Treasure to Kanae, who will be facing Beatrix. He charges after Kaguya in order to free her from control and finds a way to elude Beatrix who tries to intercept him.
Kazuki confronts Kaguya and encourages her to return to her senses. But she has no idea anything is wrong with her. Thanks to special training with Lotte Kazuki is now able to resist her illusionary pain attacks. She tried using a wide-area spell on him. But he could sense the kind of magic that was coming and was able to conjure the proper spell to resist it. Kaguya was shocked and truly began to see Kazuki’s potential as a Magical Swordsman. Though she is stronger than any past opponent, he is able to use his foresight and dodge her attacks. He thinks back on all the kindness she had shown him since the day he arrived at the school. He realized how much he loves her and he resolves himself to risk everything to save her. He practically dared her to cast her Level 9 magic. He simply stood there without moving knowing that spell would only work on him if she truly considered him an enemy. Sure enough, once the spell was cast Asmodeus told her it wouldn’t work on Kazuki because she held no hostility toward him at all. The feedback of this failed spell, along with the fact she had tried to use it in her emotionless state, finally snooped the control placed on her mind. She was shocked by her own actions and couldn’t understand what had driven her to act in such a manner against her dear friends. Kazuki hugged and reassured her.
Several of them thought the battle was over once the Germans retreated. But Kazuki confronted Nyarlathotep in his disguise as the Headmaster. He called out all the obvious flaws with his Quad-Core Magicians, which were easily defeated by them. He was no longer hiding the fact he was an Illegal Magician. Kaguya was stunned to learn the truth. So was Board Chairman Amasaki who popped up nearby. He realized the Headmaster must have been the one who created those strange magicians and no doubt sacrificed innocent lives to do it. Nyarlathotep then stabbed him though the chest, having decided to kill all the witnesses. Mio ran over to help her step-father and she is gradually able to heal him. Nyarlathotep reveals his true form, but seems weak in terms of magic power. He uses Psycho Noise to disrupt the chanting of the mages, including Mio’s healing magic. But Kaguya finds the resolve to fight of her own volition for the first time.
Asmodeus congratulates her by giving her a special powerful spell she uses to destroy the enemy in a single hit. Though she had resolved herself to kill her father in the process he somehow survived. As they celebrate, Koyuki sees several girls getting close to Kazuki. Her dark feelings of self-doubt return and Nyarlathotep exploits those emotions and begins consuming her body for his own. Her friends are shocked and unsure of what to do. But Kazuha keeps a cool head and produces a special Sacred Treasure which she gives to Kazuki. With it he is able to drive the evil Diva out of Koyuki’s body. Nyarlathotep has stolen her magic but is barely holding himself together. He is determined to at least kill Kazuki before he vanishes. Kaguya takes the initial attack and reflects the pain before collapsing in Magic Intoxication. Kazuki reassures Koyuki before kissing her. Nyarlathotep attempts to use the same Level 10 magic at the same time. But as Vepar says, that fake stolen power was no match for the real thing. Kazuki then destroys all traces of the monster with his sword.
Kazuki was delighted to finally be able to return to the Witch’s House. Koyuki comes to visit in maid clothes and bunny ears and they have a little perverted fun. She also asks to sleep next to him that night, and it proves to be another exercise in his self-control. The morning after his return home, Kazuki met Hikaru for their morning training session. They are interrupted by Kaguya, who is still half-asleep and under her Diva’s influence. She hugs him to her chest and won’t let go. As they squabble over him Kazuha interrupts them, giving him a nasty look indeed. She thanked him for his help in resolving the crisis. Her Diva does so as well and as an apology for doubting him he allows Kazuha to become a conquest target, though her number is only at the “friendship” level. Before she leaves he offers to include her in their training session, though she says no. Even after one fight Kazuki knows exactly why her style is so flawed. Kazuha is always practicing by herself so she won’t be teased. But he insists that if she didn’t start practicing with other people, she would never be able to correct the flaws in her technique. She thanks him for his helpful advice before departing. He gets back to his own training but Kaguya tells him the new Headmaster wants to meet with him before school,
Board Chairman Amasaki would be taking over as the new Headmaster. They had gained new respect for each other during the battle. Kazuki was no longer considered a probationary student. He apologized for the way Kazuki had been treated and intended to support him as a King. He was already using his influence to push the kind of reforms he knew Kazuki wanted. This included fair treatment of Illegal Magicians who weren’t hostile and the legalization of Sacred Treasures. The contributions of Kōhaku and Kazuha during the battle couldn't be denied. He was also working to expunge Kazuki’s false criminal record. Kazuki was no longer Rank-E and could take on more advanced Quests. The new Headmaster was also focused on leveling the playing field between the two schools. Prometheus had bought back evidence that key government officials were tied to those horrible experiments. The scandal was being used to force those people out and to advance the reforms they wanted. The only favor Kazuki asked for was to keep living at the Witch’s House. Leme insisted that being there was important to developing his Harem and is powers as a King. But since the dorm was intended for the Student Council, it was hard to justify it. Therefore, the Headmaster intended to endorse his election to the new post of Chief Student Council President, which would put him in change of both schools. Winning was a prerequisite to remain in his current home.
Volume 4[]
Kazuki is enjoying his breakfast with the residents of the Witch’s House. Mio keeps asking him questions about his preferences about her clothes and hairstyle. He gives non-committal answers. Hikaru insisted that girlish clothes would look bad on her because she sees herself as a man. Kazuki fiercely disagrees with her about that. Mio drags Kazuki away from their meal so they can talk in private. She more or less asks to go on another date (though she doesn’t call it that) and he happily agrees. Kazuki tries to enjoy this peace while he can, because soon the criteria for the election of Chief Student Council President will be decided.
While Kazuki was waiting in a neutral place for Mio, he was stunned to run into Beatrix. He prepared himself for battle at once but she told him there was no need to worry. After the scandal with the Headmaster the government had completely changed its stance and Kazuki and Lotte were now said to be off-limits for her. They were still here under the agreement to hunt for Loki. As long as she left Lotte alone, he had no reason to be hostile anymore. She had been helping the Knight Order with their patrols locally. She warned him not to be so careless about his surroundings. As a future King, he could very well be targeted by foreign agents. But Kazuki didn’t take her very seriously and insisted he would sense genuine killing intent. Mio arrives and is also shocked to see Beatrix. Beatrix realizes they were meeting for a date and gets a little jealous. Before leaving Beatrix warned him there were countries more extreme than Germany out there and they could very easily seek to take his life. She noted she had become obsessed with fighting him again and killing him ever since her defeat. She belies this means she is in love with him. They are very freaked out by her statement but soon focus on their date.
They had lunch and went to the local sports center. They enjoyed a good natured competition and it turned out to be an even contest. It had gotten dark as they made their way back. As the Harem expands he will have to share his affections with everyone. She insists she doesn’t mind as long as he reassures her of his true feelings. As they are kissing, he senses killing intent directed at him. The assassin was garbed all in black with her face hidden, she was surprised he could detect her when she was concealing her magic power. Kazuki could tell she was skilled in martial arts. She tried to attack him barehanded. He assumed it was a secret sure-kill method designed to leave no evidence behind. But since Mio was there he let the attack hit him while closely observing the style she was using, trusting her to heal him. Sure enough, she brought him back after the assassin left. He admitted that taking the attack was more dangerous than he expected but had identified her as an agent of China. Both Mio and Leme were angry with him for risking his life like that and he agreed to reflect on it.
In class, the format for the Chief Student Council President election was laid out. Each candidate would form a four-person team with two people from each division. They would compete in a tournament meant to display both their fighting skills and their leadership qualities. After that an election would be held with all students having an equal vote. During lunch the residents were called back to the house along with their friends from the Sword Division, all the people seen as likely candidates. Though most of them had been nominated only three of them were actually running. Kōhaku was already planning to resign as President and was unable to convince Kanae to take the job again. Though Mio hadn’t been nominated many of them had expected her to run. But she realized she couldn’t match Kazuki or Kaguya and would rather be his partner and protect him. She expected to have to have to fight with the other girls over it but it didn’t happen. Kōhaku joined the team as well. Kazuha reluctantly became their last teammate because she didn’t have any other close friends in the group. It seemed like they had a powerful lineup, but Kazuki was worried special rules would be imposed during the tournament. Kaguya’s team had Koyuki, Kanae and Torazō and would probably be the strongest team. The third team was Hikaru’s, her teammates were Lotte and Iori. They were a swordsman short and she later added Kimura Tomomi to her team.
They gathered for the meeting to officially join the tournament. The next group to appear was a pair of twin girls Ryūtaki Miyabi and Ryūtaki Shinobu. They were quite powerful but anti-social and only worked with each other. The twins were identical except Miyabi was an Elf. She thanked Kazuki for disposing of the former Headmaster, who apparently had been trying to capture her as a test subject. She made her romantic interest in Kazuki obvious. They had been recruited by twin boys from the Sword Division Takasugi Shūsui and Takasugi Harunari. They were radicals who advocated that Magika Stigma should be deprived of civil rights and locked away and brainwashed to prevent them from endangering the public. Another team was led by the delinquent Mibu Akira paired with her best friend Asamiya Anna. These girls were forced to attend the Academy against their will because they received an Enigma. In protest they refused to participate in things like Quests or duels so it was impossible to gauge their strength. One girl on Mibu’s team was staring at Kazuki in shock and he was pretty sure he knew who she was by her build and movements.
As Kazuki feared, as Liz Liza-sensei laid out the rules certain things were banned. Magicians were prohibited from carrying weapons, swordsmen could only use standard magic and Sacred Treasures were banned. In other words everyone on Kazuki’s team but Mio would be fighting with a handicap. A lottery was held for setting the bracket. He was approached by Hikaru and Kazuha but he and Kaguya were called into a meeting. The Headmaster was growing suspicious of the motives of the new Board Chairman Takasugi Takayoshi. He had managed to push through this strange tournament. The fact that all but 3 of the 16 teams were led by untested or irresponsible people was very suspicious. He feared they were on that man’s payroll. If he could install a puppet he could gain total control of the Academy. Not only could he derail the Headmaster’s agenda, he would be in a position to influence whole generations of Knights, just as the former Headmaster had done. When Kazuki mentioned the attempt on his life and his belief she was an agent of China, they all suspected they were the ones behind this whole plot. A number of students had been assaulted by a figure in black who was suspiciously able to avoid the security cameras.
When he gets home he finds Hikaru and Leme playing in his room. She asks to stay there for a few days, hoping to cure her man phobia. They have fun together and he even wins a bet and gets her to dress in a maid uniform. But she is still seeing herself as a man, and her Positivity Level hardly moves at all. In the morning she is so groggy she actually starts changing in front of him. As Kazuki and Hikaru begin their morning training Kazuha comes to visit. Since she doesn’t want to make a fool of herself during the tournament she asks Kazuki to teach her proper swordsmanship. Though she still claims to dislike him, she realizes he is the best qualified for the task. Her best friend had proved to be inept as a teacher.
The teams began to train but with 16 of them, and with them wanting to maintain secrecy, it was hard to find space. Kazuki’s team did their training on the grounds of the Witch’s Mansion. Kazuki wanted to come up with a formation that was original and would impress the voters. They also had to conserve their energy. Given the tight schedule they always ran the risk of falling into Magic Intoxication before the finals, Instead of sacrificing the front line to buy time for high-level magic, they would cast support magic on the swordsmen who would do the attacking. This would require practice. Kazuki and Kōhaku would especially need it. He also began discussing strategy against Kaguya’s team, who they would face in the second round. Kazuki didn’t let his team overdo it with magic training, other times were spent doing sword training with Hikaru and Kazuha. Kazuha was showing great improvement. He began thinking the problem was more with her confidence in herself. Hikaru needed more practice at how to move her body properly. Hikaru noted that she could still conjure weapons with her Summoning Magic. He realized both these girls had magic that could be useful to him if he could unblock it. They practiced until the girls were exhausted. He then asked Hikaru where to find a blind spot from the security cameras and said he would be out late tonight.
Kazuki made a show of walking off alone in order to draw out his attacker from before. He is easily able to lure out the same assassin and avoided her surprise attack. She demanded an explanation for his survival. He replied telling her he had figured out the style she was using. He stayed purely on the defensive and despite her incredible speed was able to avoid taking any hits as he analyzed her technique until he fully understood it. She gets increasingly frustrated about this. He finally used his secret technique to cut through her Defensive Magic. He could easily have used that to kill her, but he did so just to remove her mask and verify her identity as the girl who was glaring at him during the meeting. He even knew her name was Katsura Karin and that she was a first year in the Sword Division. He used Suicide Black to distract her with pain then restrained her with Desire Tentacle. But before he could get any answers from her she used her own Summoning Magic to strike back and free herself. Dakki told her she could never win against such an opponent who was able to keep a cool head and analyze her so perfectly. She was clearly impressed with Kazuki and ordered Karin to retreat.
Kazuki gets home later to find his room empty but Koyuki and Lotte come to visit dressed in cute outfits. It had been Koyuki’s idea to dress up. All the tension from his earlier battle went away. Koyuki admitted reluctantly that she had been lonely because he had spent so much time alone with Hikaru recently. He spends a while kissing the two girls. They then slept on either side of him as he fought to keep his self-control.
Kazuki’s team fought in the first match against the team led by Miyamoto Reina. His tactics concentrated on covering for each other and relying on teamwork. This went exactly as planned as Mio and Kōhaku disrupted Nagasaka Yuka’s high-level magic. With encouragement, Kazuha finds her confidence and defeats her opponent without help, stunning the audience. In the second match Kaguya’s team dominates the other side, employing the exact strategy Kazuki predicted. In the third match the twin brothers covered the twin sisters until Lunatic Labyrinth drew them all into a mental world where the other side lost quickly. Kazuki had prepared enough lunch for their whole group to eat together. Kōhaku hadn’t predicted that and had also prepared a feast so there was plenty of food. Even Miyabi snuck into their group and snuck some food. Before being dragged off by her sister she encouraged Kazuki to beat Kaguya and face them in the semi-finals. In the fifth match Hikaru’s team used excellent teamwork and skill to defeat the opponents easily. In the sixth match, Mibu’s team stunned everyone when their swordsmen Karin and Hayashi Shizuka didn’t even participate. The spell casters were trained enough in Chinese Kenpo to counter the enemy swordsmen and were able to dodge incoming magic. It became a decisive victory for them.
That night Kazuki told Hikaru of the plot to seize control of the school. Also that Karin and her partner were dangerous assassins and Illegal Magicians who had already tried to kill him. The second round began with Kazuki’s match against Kaguya. In a direct confrontation they could never win, but he had seen through the weaknesses of their opponents. Again using teamwork and the tactics Kazuki devised they are able whittle down the other side and they finally gang up on Kaguya and win. Kaguya was shocked and disappointed that she had been seen through so easily and started calling him Kazuki. The twin sisters won the second match exactly as they had before. Hikaru faced Mibu’s team next. The swordsmen on that team had hidden their true power before. While Hikaru and Lotte weren’t disadvantaged in magic, their opponents kept mysteriously getting back up every time they were beaten. It was clear they were cheating somehow but the Board Chairman refused to declare the match forfeit without proof. Kazuki’s group suspected they were getting Divine Protection from the Divas secretly used by the swordsmen. Hikaru received a savage beating from Hayashi who was able to pierce Defensive Magic and injure her gravely while laughing about it. Kazuki called for the match to end, while everyone else was slow to react. Realizing Hayashi intended to murder Hikaru, Mibu just barely managed to end the fight with her magic first.
Hikaru tried to downplay her injures after the match, but she had been seriously injured. The residents and Liz Liza-sensei ignored the final match to check on her but it seemed she would recover with rest. The others left her room but she asked Kazuki to stay and chat. That battle had left her especially shaken. She seemed to be getting over her man phobia. He vows to get revenge on Hayashi and she wants him to use her magic to do it. To her surprise, he still can’t use it though. Realizing that until she sees herself as a girl and him as someone of the opposite gender, they would be stuck like this, he insisted they go out on a date tomorrow. Kazuki calls Kanae, worried she seemed depressed after the fight. She had recognized her own limitations. She told him she would be working on a new technique to cut off magic power. Kaguya visits him in one of her erotic moods and they wind up taking things much further than ever before, he starts calling her Kaguya in their alone time. After a very erotic moment she returns to normal and asks to spend the night. Before sleeping he agrees to take her on a date as well.
While waiting for Hikaru before their date, Leme noted that his relationships had already become like a Harem. She urged him not to feel guilty because they were all having fun. She noted that she herself harbored a desire to be human and have fun like they do. When Hikaru arrived for the date she was dressed up like a “cool guy” and it looked very good on her. But she had completely ignored his request to go on this date as a proper girl. Kazuki dragged Hikaru to the same boutique he had visited on his date with Mio to buy her proper female clothing for their date. He happened to run into Mio there and she dragged him off to ask him what was going on. He told her there was something off about his relationship with Hikaru, due to the fact she refused to see herself as a girl and that was why he still couldn’t use her magic. She agreed to help with dressing her. Mio went back to Hikaru and quickly decided to get her a totally different outfit and did her hair with surprising results. No one was more surprised at how well it worked than Hikaru herself. Mio took the other clothes home with her. Kazuki was privately shocked by the bill but paid for everything, though Hikaru tried to volunteer. They attended a movie. Their PDA offended a small group of thugs. After showing his resolve to protect her, Kazuki finally obtained the Key to her Heart.
They went to a park to look at the stars, Kazuki nearly kissed her despite the cost, to prove his feelings, but sensed that numerous enemies were suddenly surrounding them. Ten of them, all were participants in the tournament who had already been defeated. While Kazuki protected her, Hikaru called to report the situation to the Knight Order. Beatrix and her squad arrived. Eleonora was protecting Kazuki and Hikaru while the others were on offense. But it was clear the attackers were being controlled. Kazuki soon unmasked Karin and Hayashi who were hiding nearby. The Germans recognized the latter. Her powerful Diva Joka could provide Divine Protection that allowed those attackers to keep getting up after their magic was exhausted. The Germans had no way of stopping them without killing those girls in the process. But Leme and Hikaru knew how to do it. Hikaru kissed Kazuki, who did a full summoning of Baal. The spell caused a swarm of flies which drained the magic power of their opponents and freed them from control. They attacked Karin too but her partner destroyed the flies with magic and teleported them away. The Knight Order had taken those freed girls into custody and planned to fully investigate the matter.
Kazuki had only a day to recover his magic power before the semi-finals. Hikaru spent time clinging to him on his bed, claiming it would help. She seemed to be over seeing herself as a boy and seemed to be quite a pervert and asks to see him naked. His self-control was tested again. The day of the semi-finals arrived. Confronting the twin brothers with dangerous ideals in the first match, Miyabi acknowledged Kazuki’s power, but said this would be a test of his heart instead. They were unable to prevent the casting of Lunatic Labyrinth and they were all drawn into a mental world. ☀Kazuki’s group started off separated so they could be picked off. But Kazuki had the ability to track his conquest targets and soon rescued and reunited with them. Miyabi chanted high-level magic and suddenly his companions turned on him. Kazuki dodged incoming magic and deflected the attack of the brothers. He realized the magic used might amplify negative feelings. Kazuki expresses his true feeling to each of his companions in turn, snapping them out of it. Kazuki’s group then ran as the sisters flew above them on Marchosias dropping powerful magic down on them. Miyabi cast a spell that suddenly conjured a mirror in front of him that made him pass out.
It made him recall his darkest memory, of being abandoned by his mother at the orphanage. A voice began questioning him and his motive to fight. He was reminded of his sad and lonely life as a child, but then recalled the voices of his friends and family and snapped out of that dark thought and freed himself from the spell. Lunatic Labyrinth ended, the brothers were out already and the sisters were dropping Burning Icicle on the party from the sky. Mio was trying to defend them but her magic wasn’t very effective. Kazuki woke up and cast Storm Fort to remove the threat. Miyabi was impressed by how quickly he had woken up. She told him the sword that appeared in his hand was his reward for conquering his trauma. The sisters cast their Union Magic but Kazuki cleaved the incoming attack in two with this sword. The audience cheered and Miyabi was stunned and impressed. She landed and immediately surrendered over her sister’s objections; they had no way to win any longer.
Her sister and the twin brothers question why she surrendered like that but she didn’t give any clear answers. But Kazuki had seen through her true motives. She admitted she was testing him and his worthiness as a leader. Miyabi suddenly kissed Kazuki on the cheek, shocking everybody, most of all her sister. Miyabi clearly confessed her love over her sister’s objections. It was revealed that her sister refused to recognize her as an Elf. Her mind wouldn’t accept reality and she wouldn’t spend time with anyone but Miyabi. But this fact also saved Miyabi from the loneliness other Elves experienced. She suggested that Kazuki should conquer them both. Leme accused Gremory of leaking information on his power. This had been another test of his worthiness he had passed, and Leme was also impressed with his performance. But the real battle was against the team he would face in the finals. As expected the most dangerous team won the second match and progressed to the finals.
As expected the most dangerous team won the second match and progressed to the finals. Kazuki was called into the Headmaster’s office; the results of the investigation were in. The Knight Order discovered that many of the tournament’s participants had been brainwashed and had been left with no memory of their actions. It also seemed that this brainwashing was also why they had all entered the tournament in the first place. Their behavior had been strange enough to attract the attention of their friends. It seems these girls were among those who were assaulted by that mysterious figure over the past weeks and were brainwashed while under Magic Intoxication. They had also investigated the background of Karin and Hayashi, who hadn’t been arrested because Kazuki’s word alone wasn’t enough proof. Karin’s father was a police officer killed in the line of duty by Illegal Magicians during the destruction of Tokyo. She was adopted by the Hayashi family after becoming an orphan. The Germans had told Kazuki Hayashi was a well known agent, so her identity was probably fake. The final match would be their last chance to assassinate Kazuki. They might end up going overboard and exposing their true colors.
When Kazuki got home all the residents of the house were wearing maid outfits, having prepared a party to celebrate him getting into the finals. They insisted on doing all the housework until the finals. Leme noted that he had finally conquered all the girls in the house. Hikaru and Lotte encouraged him to take revenge for them in the final match as they sat down to eat. Leme was pleased to note that Kazuki had adopted a philosophy very similar to that of King Solomon himself.
Volume 5[]
Before the finals a series of exhibition matches were held. This allowed the eliminated teams to display their talents again. It wound up being Kaguya and Hikaru in a battle for third place. The only other people who had been impressive were the twin sisters. Miyabi and her sister sat with Kazuki’s group. Kazuki was asked who he was rooting for. He wisely sidestepped the issue by cheering for his sister. Koyuki impressed everyone by defending Hikaru’s long-range magic. In the end it became a close-range brawl for everyone. While Hikaru and Lotte had an advantage in that scenario, Kanae was particularly critical in stopping Lotte and in the end only the leaders were left. Those two had fought many times and as always it ended with Hikaru’s loss. Hikaru and Lotte demanded special attention from Kazuki at lunch. Kaguya’s team joined them and Kazuki noted he was especially impressed by Kanae. They all had fun playing around together. Kazuki wasn’t allowed to make the lunch today and the girls were feeding him the dishes they prepared. When he gave Koyuki special attention and affection the other girls demanded it too.
Before the final match Kazuki spoke to them all about the plot behind the scenes. How the new Board Chairman had arranged this tournament. He also seemed to be in cahoots with that delinquent team to seize control of the Academy by installing a puppet. The group backing him advocated for the civil rights of Magika Stigma to be revoked. He also told them of the assassination attempts on him and that the swordsmen on the opposing team were contracted with Divas from China. Over the past few weeks Hayashi had brainwashed a number of students. Some of the candidates only signed up due to this brainwashing. He also told them how China was pulling the strings behind this whole plot to weaken Japan. The group was shocked by this. Kazuki also confirmed that it was Divine Protection by Hayashi’s Diva that allowed Mibu and company to continually regenerate magic. The Germans had told him that Hayashi was a well known operative and that those with her blessing could regenerate 70 times. They couldn’t win unless they could beat Hayashi first or cut off that blessing. Kazuha had a Summoning Magic that could do it, but it would violate the rules to use it. Kazuki planned to take on the dangerous two by himself. If he succeeded in backing them into a corner they might abandon pretense and use Summoning Magic in a last ditch attempt to assassinate the King. If that happened he encouraged Kazuha to use her magic. It was possible that Hayashi had brainwashed her entire team and if so Kazuha should be able to free them.
Liz Liza-sensei acted as referee. As was the plan Kazuki took grave risks to take on Hayashi and Karin alone. His team displayed excellent teamwork holding the magic users back. He was able to utilize numerous types of magic at once, shocking the audience and frightening Hayashi. She forced Karin to act as her meat shield, who suffered terrible pain as a result. Kazuki managed to attack Hayashi directly and forced them to use their Summoning Magic. Despite the danger the Board Chairman still refused to stop the match, having a logical argument prepared. Kazuha generated a weapon she was able to use to cut off the Divine Protection from the magic users. Though Kōhaku was forced to withdraw due to the damage she took while protecting her. But due to an attack by Mibu, who had never been brainwashed, her weapon was lost before Kazuki could use it to free Karin. Hayashi forced her sister to use a dangerous wide-area attack despite the risk to innocent people. Mio managed to rescue the enemy magicians and Kazuki did the same for Kazuha. In that desperate situation he had only one choice. He apologized to Kazuha before kissing her. Doing a full summoning of her Diva allowed him to disperse all the dangerous magic, free Karin from control and force Hayashi to escape while vowing revenge.
Karin was taken to the infirmary where Kazuki’s group gathered. The Headmaster said a seal would be placed on her Stigma to limit her magic. He planned to send her to prison for life without trial. But both Kazuki and Karin’s teammates objected. They believed she was forced to take those actions due to the influence of her cruel sister, who she desperately wanted the approval of. The Headmaster regarded those two delinquents as criminals too. But they just wanted to get stronger and help the pitiful Karin. They had no idea China was behind it all. They were only called delinquents because they resented having to abandon their goals in life to enroll in this Academy. Those girls believed strongly that if a kindly person reached out to Karin she could be redeemed. Several others, including the Headmaster's step-daughter Mio, also agreed they should give her a chance before condemning her. In the end Kazuki insisted he would take responsibility and monitor Karin. As her target this was the only way to verify she had reformed. He was confident she was no threat to him and he could put himself in a state of heightened awareness so he couldn’t fall victim in his sleep. Relenting to the King, the Headmaster told him to stay by her side full time and would give them a week before sending her to prison. K
Karin woke up on Kazuki’s bed and was quite shocked. Kazuki told her that Hayashi had already fled, leaving her behind. It didn’t take her long to accept she had been discarded. The room was heavily secured and monitored. There was also a bracelet limiter around her wrist to prevent the use of magic. She wasn’t happy but he told her the alternative was to send her to prison for life. He asked about her sister and she admitted she had never been given the family name of her adopted family. He told her he had also been an orphan, but he had been treated kindly. She kept refusing to eat the food he made her but he would eat it himself to prove it wasn’t poisoned. He had taken the week off school to watch her but didn’t interrogate her. After a full day the self-proclaimed “puppet” gave in to her hunger. She was clearly unused to good food. He insists she see herself as a person from now on. He borrowed an anime from Lotte to watch and she hadn’t seen anything like it and dismissed the value. But she became hooked and asked questions about the love story. They have a brief debate over it until Lotte barges in to discuss it, being a major otaku. She kept them up late discussing it and they all fell asleep together. A tired Lotte had to go to school the next day.
Meanwhile Kazuki noted that Karin was in dire need of a bath. He had been cleaning himself with magic but she didn’t know how to do so. So they wound up bathing together, wearing swimsuits. She wasn’t used to bathtubs or even hot water at her house. She tried to conceal how much she enjoyed the bath, without success. That night she prepared to kill him in his sleep but he stopped her. She didn’t know how to deal with these new feelings of hers. But he encouraged her to reject the dark views of her sister and seek a happier life. She would rather complete her mission and die. But Dakki told her it was hopeless without her help. She should have been sealed, but she had altered herself to bypass the seal. She was now the Japanese Diva Tamamo no Mae. She encouraged Karin to surrender her body to gain the power necessary to win. He told her not to give up on having a happy life. Forced to choose, she no longer had the desire to kill and he embraced her. Her Diva was delighted by this, she had given her that push to get her to embrace her true feelings. She now considered herself a subordinate of Kazuki, insisting he treat Karin well. She was a Diva of numerous faiths anyway, and ad no special loyalty to China.
Kazuki had spent the week in isolation with the captured spy Karin. In the end his kindness won her over and she became his ally. He returned to class just in time for the formal vote. Those radical twin brothers had put on an elaborate election campaign in his absence. Kazuki had left his own campaign to his teammates Mio and Kōhaku. The students were called to a meeting where the results would be announced. The sixteen candidates were up on stage with the Headmaster and Board Chairman waiting for the official tally. In all, 8 of them weren’t allied with the Board Chairman and among them were the top 4 in the tournament. The remaining 8 were suspicious and Kazuki worried about funny business with the vote count. But in the end Kazuki was elected by a wide margin and gave a speech focusing on unity between the two divisions.
Karin had now become a hardcore NEET. Kazuki insisted she must start attending school again, this time in the Magic Division where he could monitor her. Karin was given her own room. Kazuki paid a visit to the Student Council room. His friends all joined them. It was agreed that Kazuki would be based here, as the Sword Division buildings were still being rebuilt. An election was held and Kanae became President again and Kōhaku Vice-President. He was confident with Kaguya and Kanae supporting him. They made suggestions on ways to increase interaction between the schools, and he was most interested in the creation of a school newspaper. Needing to have a proper talk with Kazuha, he walked ever to the abandoned clubroom. She opened the door but was beet red and uncomfortable and tried to flee from him. She understood how his power worked now. She was a little miffed but understood he had no choice in that situation. Not wanting their relationship to end over this he vows to atone for stealing her first kiss. The price she asks for is another kiss in a more romantic setting. She gives him one month to manage that and then runs off.
He was shocked to run into Kaya. She had come to congratulate him on his election and was amused to find him in that situation. She was accompanied by an Elf girl with dark skin who gave him the chills. The girl was named Maya and was the new host of the Faceless God. Loki had noticed the true identity of the former Headmaster. They tried to form an alliance but negotiations failed. But they were entrusted with a small piece of the Diva which they implanted in one of his research subjects. Maya was attempting to tame the Diva while he was still weakened. They decided to take the risk and try to gain a powerful ally which Kazuki told her was too dangerous. But she refused to believe he was that evil. Kaya tried to recruit him without success. She cites the corruption of those at the top. She encouraged him to join her and embrace anarchy but he refused. Kazuki used his power for the sake of others while Kaya had lost faith in humanity. Unable to recruit Kazuki, she declared him an enemy and vowed to crush him one day.
Yumeno Shiori won the post of newspaper chairman. Mio noted she was the top of the Rank-B students and frankly at Rank-A level. They spent the day beginning to set up the newspaper office in the Witch’s House. After finishing work Kazuki began to worry about how to fulfill Kazuha’s request. Leme was unable to offer him useful advice on romance. Leme had grown quite a bit and he began treating her more like a woman, but she insisted his attention should be focused on the other girls. Kazuki ran into Lotte and Karin dressed in sexy cosplay outfits. They played around acting out scenes from a favorite anime until they were interrupted by Koyuki. Koyuki admitted she fantasized about being dominated by Kazuki so he indulged her in some perverted fun of that nature. Hikaru liked acting out dramatic scenes of herself and Kazuki. She also encouraged him to grope her while they made out. Mio told Kazuki she wanted to hear his heartfelt words of praise for her. She enjoyed his words so much she tried on every outfit she had to hear his praise, including her birthday suit. When asked, Kaguya told Kazuki the setting was critical for romance. When she mentioned the date he had promised her it had completely slipped his mind. She punished him by handcuffing him to her bed and toying with him all night.
He thought he had grasped the idea of romance by the next morning. Kazuki met up with Kazuha outside the clubroom. But she tried to run off without listening to him. He was able to catch her and insisted he really wanted to repair their relationship. Though she didn’t think of herself anything special he told her of all about the wonderful qualities he admired in her and how much he valued their relationship. Though she complained loudly the whole time, her Positivity Level kept rising and he obtained the Key to her Heart. With her best friend so busy he made it a point to make her a boxed lunch every day and spent all the free time he could with her. A few days later they were ready to publish the first newspaper issue. Shiori had overworked herself and was exhausted. Kazuki focused on introducing himself and the other Student Council members. He also outlined his policy plans and welcomed suggestions and comments. He also included information on how each school operated. When he contacted the Headmaster for final approval he was told that the Board Chairman and his entire family had vanished without a trace. That night news reports stated there had been a massive coordinated strike on all Knight Order posts in western Japan by a mysterious force including mysterious Illegal Magicians. All of western Japan had now been conquered by this unknown army and was now under a complete communications blackout.
The former Board Chairman appeared on TV announcing that western Japan was declaring independence and calling itself Yamato. All the politicians with secret ties to China appeared to be involved in this plot and had made an alliance with Loki. They were claiming legitimacy under the banner of the Japanese Mythology rather than the 72 Pillars, which people weren’t necessarily opposed to. By doing so they could maintain the facade that Yamato wasn’t just a puppet state of China. The Japanese Divas appeared to have fallen into a Wild God state after being ignored for so long. Their contractors had apparently all joined this movement too. Kazuha had avoided this fate by building her Diva a shrine and caring for him. A border wall was being constructed. The Headmaster and Kazuki were annoyed that both Futsunushi no Kami and Leme had known something was going on with the Japanese Divas but hadn’t told anybody.
They met with two third years Kodzuki Kanon and Yagumo Akane who were already serving in the Knight Order. They were the Student Council members from last year. They knew all the rumors about Kazuki and were very interested. They greeted Kaguya, Hikaru and Koyuki. They were then introduced to Mio, Kanae, Kōhaku and Kazuha. They informed them of the situation and expected Yamato to invade further but it was hard to fully oppose them because Loki’s followers were causing trouble in the east and dividing their resources. When their leader was captured, Kanon was effectively pressed into the role, despite being a student.
The students were called into a meeting. To respond to an urgent request for reinforcement at the border, Kazuki would be leading an elite force of students from both schools to reinforce them. Kazuki told them this was entirely voluntary but urged those with the courage to fight to volunteer. They wound up with a force of about 150 people. The school had become the headquarters for the war effort. 10 more third years who escaped enemy territory gathered there. They were suddenly joined by the German Knights Beatrix, Damian and Eleonora too. They offered to cooperate as allies. Kazuki vouched for their strength. The Germans and the Student Council members were put in charge of squads under Kazuki’s command. They would meet up with the 200 Knights who escaped the west. But Kazuki insisted the seniors must rest first and prepared a meal.
On the way to the front lines Kazuki chatted with Miyabi and her sister Shinobu. He made his first attempt to get through to Shinobu. They passed quite a few people on the road who seemed to be refugees. Lotte told him that she detected hostile intent from then. The buses were suddenly fired on and destroyed. The students were slow to react due to shock but finally came to their senses. It was a perfectly executed ambush. Kazuki too was slow to react when he realized that Hayashi had brainwashed those ten third years and ordered them to target the leaders Kanon and himself. He only survived because Beatrix shielded him and fell deep into Magic Intoxication. Kazuha freed those girls and they enemy fled as the Knight Order arrived. They took several enemy prisoners including Earth Snake.
Eleonora, unlike Damian, refused to participate in the war any longer. The fact that they had been ambushed so perfectly could mean only one thing, and the Knight Order had already lost this war. Kanon had already woken up when he met with her and Akane. He told them about Joka and the power to brainwash people. He also mentioned that people who were backed by China were behind this plot. The fact that ambush had been so perfect meant there must be a spy, probably high in the Knight Order, leaking all their plans. He insisted they not do anything to reveal the fact they knew there was a traitor. He felt making a surprise attack was their best option then asked to question a prisoner to confirm his theory. Akane took him to the cell where Earth Snake was held. He collected Lotte along the way. There he ran into Hajime who was delighted to see him again. He thanks him for the gift of that Sacred Treasure which really helped him.
He asked Lotte to check to see if he was still hosting a Diva. Normally a Diva wouldn’t give up a flesh body so easily but that was just what had happened. He then told Kanon and Akane his theory. The fact that Loki, Joka and Nyarlathotep were all on the same team worried him. They all specialized in manipulating minds and hearts, meaning they might be able to combine their skills to easily grant new hosts to their allies whenever their old host was killed or captured. Illegal Magicians already had a huge advantage in casting time and if they could easily change hosts a prolonged war would be impossible to win. His plan was to take a force of just students from the Academy and sneak behind the enemy Ines to take out Hayashi before the Knight Order knew what was happening. Before the mission he presented Kazuha with a bouquet of pretty flowers. He was out of breath from running around to pick them. She called this foolish but was clearly torched. He told her of the surprise attack he was planning on the enemy and asked her to agree to go on a date with him if they succeeded, to increase his motivation and she agreed.
As a favor Hajime took over guard duty at the perimeter of the base. Akane had secured Kazuki wireless headsets for use in his operation. She also gave him information on the enemy camp. Kazuki and his close friends raided their classmates’ rooms and confiscated their cell phones. Given what happened that day, Kazuki suspected an information leak. There might even be a spy among the students. He told them they were conducting a surprise raid on the enemy. They were able to slip away because of Hajime.
Once they had escaped he explained his plan in more detail. He divided the students into squads based on their specialty. His friends’ unique skills allowed them to conceal their approach and take out the guards. They surrounded the enemy garrison and were able to destroy the building despite being detected and fired upon. With perfect coordination between the squadrons they attacked them from different angles and they fell into confusion. Kōhaku sent a signal when she located Hayashi. He carried Karin and raced there. Karin’s Diva was admiring his impressive leadership. With a little assistance from Miyabi Kazuki totally overpowered Hayashi and even cut through her escape magic, impressing even Joka. In the end she shamelessly ordered Karin to protect her. But Karin knew what real love and friendship was now and fought her sister instead. Karin defeated her easily and Kazuki made sure to capture her alive. Kaya appeared on the back of a dragon and ordered the troops to retreat. She offered her praise to Kazuki for this bold action. Behind her Maya was clearly terrified of heights. They returned to camp with captured prisoners and freed allies.
The Knight Order was in shock after finding out what he had achieved. He had given them a foothold in enemy territory. When he got to his room he discovered Kaguya had assigned herself as his roommate. They were interrupted by Hikaru and the girls fought over him for a while and he wound up sleeping between them Prisoners were interrogated. Kazuki and Kazuha were watching Futsunushi no Kami question one of the Divas. Her Wild God ate ended due to using up her power, Ame no Uzume had calmed down and responded to questions. Apparently all the shrines in western Japan were destroyed. The ones who did it claimed they were working for the government and showing devotion to the 72 Pillars. But the Headmaster and Lame insisted that didn’t make sense, the 72 Pillars didn’t demand devotion like that. Most likely they had been deceived so they would turn on Japan and the 72 Pillars and support a new state based on Japanese Mythology. But in their Wild God state they wouldn’t listen to reason. He was told the fastest way to calm them all was to calm the rage of Chief God found in Ise Grand Shrine. Hajime brought Kazuki and Karin to the prison where Hayashi had been found dead, having committed suicide. Kazuki comforted Karin as she cried.
He was called out by Akane who thanked him for his help. She also noted they had met as kids in a martial arts competition. She had devoted herself to studying tactics but still had trouble dealing with the unexpected. She admitted he was superior in his battle instincts. But he saw her strengths as well and suggests they might be able to compensate for each other’s shortcomings. Despite the fact that she had no confidence in her appearance he flirted with her openly. Kazuki and Akane arrived at headquarters where the Headmaster and Kanon were waiting, along with the regimental commander Yamagata Koyata. His plan was to push hard north and shave off the enemy’s numbers. But in secret it was a diversion so a small group could reach the Ise Grand Shrine. If the Japanese Divas could be calmed down Yamato would fall apart. Only the people in this room knew of this plan. Due to the leak they had to rely on Kazuki to carry it out. Kanon had suggested getting there by sea was the easiest way to get there undetected. They had arranged a small craft and it was their intention to send only Kazuki and Kazuha, which made him nervous. He called Kazuha to tell her the situation and she flipped out.
Volume 6[]
Kazuki was still sharing a room at the base with Hikaru and Kaguya. He woke up one morning to find Hikaru molesting him. She encouraged him to do the same to her while their roommate was still asleep. After a while he got his self-control back and stopped, as they had plans for today. Their group was headed to the beach in cars driven by Akane, Kanon and Lotte. From there Kazuki and Kazuha would slip away on a boat to infiltrate Ise Grand Shrine by sea. Some girls were unhappy that only the two of them were going, but since this was an infiltration mission, having a small group was essential. The plan was to calm the rage of the Chief God there, which was the fastest way to calm all the Japanese Divas down. After all, the Diva they had already calmed out of her Wild God state had been easy to convince of the truth. If they succeeded Yamato’s base of support and facade of legitimacy would crumble. In order to hide their purpose from the spy, it was said the group was allowed to take a brief vacation. They were given two beacons they were expected to light up after the mission to indicate success or failure.
The Knight Order had arranged to rent a beachfront property, complete with changing rooms. Kazuki, as the only guy present, was the fastest to change. As the girls gradually arrived he planned to offer them honest praise on their swimsuits. Kaguya and Mio wore simple bikinis and he enjoyed hugging them. Koyuki’s suit was just her Magic Dress, as her Diva had insisted on it. Hikaru wore a racing swimsuit and was showing off for him. He wasn’t sure what to say when two of them showed up in strange cloth wrappings they called “traditional”. Kōhaku was upset with Kanae for her bad advice. His heart definitely raced when Miyabi turned up in a string swimsuit. Shinobu soon dragged her away to change into a more modest swimsuit like hers, but in the process a great deal more was exposed. Karin wore a simple middle-school style suit. Kazuki was surprised Kazuha wore a revealing bikini. His words of praise definitely caused her tsundere traits to manifest again. Lotte announced she would be teaching Kazuki how to operate the boat while girls played on the beach. Akane was still wearing her uniform, as they had been ordered to remain professional. But Kanon suddenly appeared in her swimsuit and was the first to dive into the water.
Kazuki and Lotte went out on the boat, which was small due to the need to avoid detection. It was equipped with GPS and a silent motor but was designed to appear nondescript to avoid drawing attention. The Ryūtaki sisters wandered off alone. As Kazuki learned the basic operation of the boat he and Lotte had a little bit of perverted fun. They were interrupted by Prometheus, who reminded them Kazuha still needed to learn as well. They both thought it suspicious that there were no signs of the enemy increasing security at the shine. Either they were inept and hadn’t anticipated their plan, or the two of them would be walking into an ambush. At least he had magic they could use to escape. He was also worried about Beatrix and wanted to be there when she awoke. He wondered if Yamagata and Futsunushi no Kami were testing him with this mission. After he got back Kazuha took her turn learning to operate the boat.
Kazuki went off to find the twins. Miyabi was encouraging Shinobu to socialize with the others but she refused and ran off as soon as she saw Kazuki. Miyabi apologized for her earlier “wardrobe malfunction”. As much as she wanted to hang out with him and ignore her sister he said no. The sisters had been psychologically dependent on each other for years. Miyabi may have been ready to move on but Shinobu was in a fragile state right now. He told her he intended to add them both to his Harem, but it was important they be patient until Shinobu was ready to take that step too. Miyabi was deeply touched by his sensitivity and thanked him. He discovers Koyuki had been watching him flirt with another Elf girl. She demands special attention and they have some perverted fun. Kazuki and Kazuha changed into casual clothes that wouldn’t look out of place in Yamato and they boarded the rather cramped boat. They weren’t carrying swords, to seem less suspicious. Their friends waved goodbye as they set sail.
They were concerned about being spotted from the shore. The boat ride wasn’t all that long, but the shore where they planned to land had quite a few people on it. While they looked for a deserted area, they suddenly realized they had entered a Haunted Ground. Kazuki found a variety of ways to handle the monsters, but Kazuha made poor choices trying to protect herself. Kazuki managed to keep her safe and cleared the Haunted Ground but their boat was damaged and sinking. Kazuha redeemed herself by using magic to help them breathe underwater and reach the shore covertly. They had some uncomfortable moments as they dried and fixed their clothes. They saw what appeared to be a Demonic Beast-like bird but it spoke. It called itself Yatagarasu, known as the messenger of the Chief God Amaterasu. He claimed he was to guide them, and then flew off. They were confused but her Diva refused to comment on the matter. They stopped for lunch where Kazuki suggested they act like a couple to seem less suspicious. They overheard the patrons saying the Yamato government did nothing to stop the spread of Haunted Grounds and a particularly large one was surrounding Ise Grand Shrine. They saw the strange guide again as they left.
They entered the Haunted Ground. They noticed strange armored warriors patrolling the streets. Seeing they weren’t that observant, Kazuha suggested they jump across the rooftops while she muffled the sound with magic. They reach the roof of a tall building where they could see everything. But there they were spotted by a strange monkey-like creature. It followed them up and called to its master. A mysterious voice cast a spell to seal them in the Haunted Ground then ordered their extermination. As they attempted to flee the voice cast another spell that marked their position and proved impossible to remove. By this point even Kazuha was accusing Futsunushi no Kami of leading them into a trap. But he insists that both he and Yatagarasu are not their enemies. He explains that this was a request to save the Japanese Mythology. They were told there were two Chief Gods fighting for control. They were asked to defeat Susanoo and free Amaterasu from captivity. They couldn’t flee forever and were forced to fight the enemies who seemed to have an irrational hared of Stigma users. They managed to arm themselves and with Kazuha’s improved skills proved a powerful combo. Kazuha truly began to accept her feelings for Kazuki as they fought together.
The enemy never seemed to run out of magic power. As things were getting bad Yatagarasu appeared and cast a powerful spell that freed all those people from a curse. Defeating them began to clear the Haunted Ground. This spell could only work after the magic power had been worn down. Yamato had evidently used the methods of the former Headmaster to artificially create Magika Stigma. But the Wild Gods could only possess people, not make contracts. Those that lost their minds were left behind here. Susanoo and Amaterasu were the Yin and Yang of Japanese Mythology and totally opposite. Susanoo was power-hungry and had joined hands with Yamato and Loki. Normally each of them would nominate a King candidate and they would fight to officially decide the King. Amaterasu refused to grant her contractor this title because she was too weak to survive such a battle. But in the end Susanoo lost patience, ordered the murder of the contractor, to force her to choose another and was now trying to destroy Amaterasu by corrupting her temple. The plan was to make Amaterasu’s King candidate Kazuki’s subordinate. Thus Kazuki would be King of both Mythologies. Leme was thrilled by this idea. Kazuki wasn’t but it made sense. If he beat Susanoo’s contractor the Japanese Divas would be returned to normal. They would free the rest of the cursed people along the way.
There was a short bridge between them and the shrine and as Kazuki predicted that was where they were ambushed. After a long and hard-fought battle, the cursed people were freed and were now all collapsed in Magic Intoxication like the others. These people all hated and envied Stigma, but Kazuki and Kazuha both knew people trying hard to become equal without resorting to such things. The push for equality for swordsmen in Japan was meant to stop people from being this desperate. A girl spoke up who totally agreed. She was the owner of that mysterious voice Ikōsai Aisu. Beside her were the final two cursed people. They were shocked when those two were revealed to be the Takasugi brothers, who were outclassed. Kazuha soon insisted on taking on both brothers alone while Kazuki took on Aisu. Kazuki and Aisu were equally stunned to be evenly matched in pure swordsmanship. Aisu had come from a long line of masters who specialized in assassination. Kazuki struggled to understand all the tricks she employed against him. She was keeping score of all the fatal wounds he would have suffered without Defensive Magic to protect him but he was slowly doing better.
Kazuha was critical of Kazuki for struggling and easily saw through Aisu's technique and began to copy it. Once he was able to see how it was done from a distance, Kazuki was able to see through it too. Both he and Aisu were stunned when Kazuha managed to hit Aisu with her own skill, while Kazuki had yet to touch her. Kazuha also criticized him for not using Summoning Magic at all. They both had been fighting with pure swordsmanship but were ready to go all out now. She was stopped by Yatagarasu. He explained why it was to her advantage to postpone this battle. Her unique trait was the power to plunder the ability of Kings she defeated. But Kazuki would be Amaterasu’s King candidate shortly and was not yet officially Solomon’s King. She walked off with the brothers. They followed Yatagarasu inside and up the stairs. They found a room covered in blood, where that poor contractor and been brutally slaughtered. Kazuki was confused and disturbed they expected him to add a dead girl to his Harem. Amaterasu had taken the girl’s soul deep into her realm and was desperately using her waning power to keep it alive. If they could restore her power and combine it with Kazuki’s it should be possible to replace her girl’s destroyed flesh body. They reached the place where she was sealed. They were asked to supply power to her through the Astrum to help her emerge.
Kazuki was guided through the Astrum where he found Kazuha. But when he tried to hold her hand she reacted in genuine hostility. She accused him of abusing his power to seduce women. He recognized her as an impostor and she vanished and he swore to himself not to use this power for personal gain. Kazuha was confronted by a Kazuki who insulted her and treated her with hostility. She recognized it as a fake but still found it disturbing and was badly shaken. Both of them passed this test. She was glad to find the genuine Kazuki. He hugged and reassured her. They were greeted by a girl calling herself Kamimura Itsuki and a couple of strange creatures a blob-like man and a shark. They were told that Amaterasu was amused by love games and they would use them to draw her out. The perverted blob tried to attack Kazuha and when Kazuki protected her he got absorbed instead. He lost his composure and was almost led down the wrong path but Kazuha brought him back to his senses. He defeated the thing and they passed the second test. Kazuki realized the girl was Amaterasu’s deceased contractor.
Itsuki tells them that Amaterasu made these two to keep her company. Apparently she was shy and introverted and had no friends before Amaterasu. They both hated hard work and lived on their computers. Yatagarasu was a temporary existence sent to guide them here. Amaterasu made this area for her but was now in a state like hibernation. Without a contractor with a flesh body to recover in, she needed another source of energy. She might awaken if they held a festival, which Itsuki couldn’t do by herself and she seemed depressed. They were requested to perform a “lewd carnival”, in other words perverted acts. It was explained that Amaterasu drew her power though such interactions. They were told to “dance naked” in other words to interact with open and honest feelings. A dice game with a magical effect would help them honestly admit their feelings. They were given no choice but to agree. Kazuha was compelled to reveal her love for Kazuki openly. The two found themselves alone and in some sort of trance. They revealed more of themselves during the dance and soon things got perverted. They snapped out of it when Amaterasu finally awoke. Itsuki joined them as her Diva apologized for the trouble. Kazuki asked her to restore their clothes.
Futsunushi no Kami finally turned up. They were annoyed he hadn’t warned them about this task. But Kazuki probably would have brought someone else and Kazuha’s true feelings would have stayed hidden. She remained embarrassed by her recent actions. Leme was pleased this task was done without the Harem finding out and fighting over it. Amaterasu formally introduced herself and confirmed the plan. Aisu had been contracted on the basis of strength. Itsuki had been picked because they were best friends and was instantly defeated. Amaterasu felt guilty for that and was going to combine Kazuki’s power with hers to rebuild her body. The lifespan of this new body would depend on their shared bond. Itsuki didn’t care about things like romance but her Diva insisted real life was worth experiencing. Kazuki agreed to the deal because he felt sorry for this lonely and depressed girl too. She officially became a conquest target, but her Positivity Level wasn’t great.
One the recommendation of Itsuki they began to flee from the evil spirits after being detected in the world of the dead. They weren’t properly warned about the dangers of this place. Itsuki was out of shape and Kazuki was forced to carry her. The spirits chasing them weren’t strong but were unlimited in number. Their greatest advantage was they could outrun them. But they were ambushed by Aisu and the Takasugi brothers before they could escape. Aisu wanted to prove herself the strongest swordsman as well as become King. Itsuki volunteers to hold back the spirits chasing them while the other two fight. The brothers had degenerated into something less than human in their desire for power. They became a monster which blocked their path. As Kazuha prepared to take it on, even Aisu agreed with them that it was idiotic to go that far to get stronger. Aisu was totally focused on Kazuki and let Kazuha pass her unmolested and the battlefield was divided into three.
Aisu lectured Kazuki on the history of the two ruling Divas of Japan and their conflict. Like Kazuki she was trained in a style meant to fight magic users but was ironically chosen as one. She was thrilled to face a strong opponent with a similar destiny. She was confident in her superiority in skill. But once he was able to observe how her skills worked a few more times he was able to counter her attacks. Kazuki became dependent on his foresight as they battled with their Summoning Magic. Aisu became more and more disordered. He realized it was because she spent too much time training by herself. By contrast Kazuha had plenty of experience fighting opponents equal or even superior in strength and speed. In the era of Defensive Magic the tricky assassination style of her family wasn’t able to instantly kill. Like her, Kazuki had begun to see her as his rival. He encouraged her to find strong people to test her skills against.
Aisu ended up conceding her defeat on this occasion but managed to escape. Kazuha had also won her battle and reduced the brothers to a state of Magic Intoxication. Itsuki managed to vaporize the nearby spirits. Though Kazuki had allowed Aisu to flee the fact she had admitted her loss meant the influence of her Diva should be reduced. Most of the Divas who were originally loyal to Amaterasu should have returned to their senses. Kazuki wondered how many times he had to beat her to get her to submit. Kazuha joked he could always add her to his Harem instead. This should be enough to send Yamato into disarray so they made their way out to signal their success so the attack could begin. They brought the collapsed brothers back to the real world with them. Itsuki was disturbed to see the bloodstains where she had been murdered. Kazuki could tell from her body weight that she needed to recover more substance. They were interested in helping her. But Itsuki didn’t care much about herself and didn’t want attention only out of pity. Kazuha insisted it was out of goodwill.
When Kazuki’s group got closer to the entrance they found Aisu being confronted by Kaya and a group of masked people. They apparently had made a deal to help her become King. They had agreed not to attack Kazuki until their contest was settled. But Kaya had predicted all along that Kazuki would win in the end. Even if he lost, she knew that the nature of Aisu’s Power of Usurpation meant she would turn on the other Kings next. Aisu was ready to surrender herself totally to her Diva to power up and get her revenge but Kazuki stopped her and suggested they work together to escape. Kazuki predicts that Kaya had only brought her own close associates here. She couldn’t afford to have the deception they used to win over the Japanese Divas be exposed. Leme revealed she had unlocked more abilities. Now Kazuki could communicate with Harem members with Positivity Levels of 150 or better with Telepathy. That meant he could contact Mio without alerting Kaya. She asked her followers to hold the contractors of the strongest Japanese Divas back. She and the others were shocked when Kazuki unlocked the second part of his Magic Dress, Solomon’s Emblem.
Kazuki was able to contact Mio with Telepathy. He let them know the mission was a success. He said many enemy magic users will have fled and urged them to attack new. He also believed that the professional training and experience of the Knight Order would give them an edge. The group displayed their Summoning Magic as they ran down the stairs to intercept the force from Yamato. Aisu acted offended after getting help from Itsuki but still lined up with them. Among the masked figures facing them Kazuki recognized Maya. He also recognized other Divas from Norse Mythology such as Hel and Fenrir. But he knew from past experience that while Illegal Magicians had fast chanting speed, they tended to be limited to low-level magic. He was confident in his companions facing 3-to-1 odds and took on Kaya.
Leme told him this new skill allowed him to directly contract with Divas whose contractor had a Positivity Level of 150 or better. He used it to summon the powers of Phenex and a new Magic Dress. He easily used his improved power to overpower Kaya, who surrendered control to Loki. He summoned dragons and Kazuki used his unique skills and experience to defeat them. They are interrupted by Midgarsormr. The Yamato guys were under attack, many of the magic users had fled and asking for help, Loki figured out how Kazuki contacted his allies to signal is success. Loki and Kaya decided to ignore it, more interested in testing Kazuki’s new powers. Kazuki was able to counter skills that worked before. When Loki used a weapon, he couldn’t block, Kazuki went for mutual destruction.
Loki couldn’t believe Kazuki took such a foolhardy risk to win. Both of them were in rough shape but Kazuki was running low of magic after having fought all day. He was surprised when Loki decided they should retreat rather than finish him off. It seems they were satisfied having gotten an accurate picture of his growth. Kazuki was viewed as a necessary piece of their future plans. After they left, Aisu also retreated, promising to get her revenge on those guys as well as to defeat Kazuki. Since Loki had betrayed her it seemed like Yamato’s support from the Japanese Divas was over but it seemed neither of them were interested in Yamato anymore. Kazuki worried about the future and decided they should return to Japan’s territory.
Just as their allies had won, a couple of powerful magicians from China had suddenly turned up, broken thorough their lines and were approaching Kanon and Akane at headquarters. Kazuki wasn't really surprised. Kazuki arrived on the battlefield carrying Kazuha and Itsuki. They would be unable to reach their friends in time so at Kazuha’s suggestion they were thrown. They weren’t able to hurt the enemies but succeeded in distracting them. Kazuki also launched a high-speed attack and failed to affect anything. Kanon used a spell that removed the Sacred Treasures held by the enemies. The allowed them to fight back to some degree. But the Japanese Knights were still in disarray and helpless. It seemed things would get worse when Lotte detected more strange magicians approaching. But these figures on horseback had come to help Japan. Their leader used a Sacred Treasure that disrupted all the magic in the area. The enemies were left vulnerable by this and fled along with the Yamato troops. The Knights were ordered not to pursue. The strangers offered to join their ranks. It turned out they belonged to an alliance of Asian countries opposed to the aggressive expansion of China.
Kazuki attended a meeting with Commander Yamagata and Akane, it also served as a mission debriefing. The leader of Ryōzanpaku Lu Shang Xiang was also present along with Silirat Denkaosen. They were stunned Kazuki was a King, they had never heard of a male King before. China’s Taoist Mythology had become corrupted and they were extremely aggressive. Most of the smaller neighboring countries were clearly choosing surrender rather than face an armed conflict. Those who lost their freedom would essentially be forced to do forced labor to provide them resources produced through alchemy. This group felt that the worse price was that their language, Mythology and culture would be stamped out and replaced by China’s. This group was hoping to form an alliance with the first Magically Advanced Country to be targeted by China in this way.
Yamagata was encouraged to endorse this alliance to repay them for saving them. Yamagata hesitated because Japan had always remained neutral in these conflicts. Yamagata knew the international community would soon step in and force a cease fire. They would then investigate and issue a judgment of which government was the legitimate ruling body of Japan. If there was a divided opinion on this, things might not be settled until the battle between Kazuki and Aisu ends and Japan had am official King. They were interrupted by Eleonora and Beatrix, who had just recovered from Magic Intoxication. Kazuki was certainly treating Beatrix with far more affection. Eleonora had evidently overheard their meeting because she declared their alliance was suspended until the international investigation was concluded. Sure enough, things progressed just how Yamagata predicted, which was just what Loki was after.
Volume 7[]
Volume 8[]
Volume 9[]
Volume 10[]
Volume 11[]
Volume 12[]
Volume 13[]
Volume 14[]
Powers and Abilities[]
As the King of Japan and Chief Student Council President of the National Knight Academy, Kazuki is the strongest Knight in Japan. His strength and power rivals or surpasses both the Magic Division and Swordsmanship Division Presidents. Chief Yamagata even praised him for his strength on how he can take on an entire regiment of the Knight Order by himself. He is also a quick learner when it comes to combat, whenever someone attacks him with something that he foresighted at least once, he is able to counterattack should the same attack happen again. Loki describing Kazuki as a solid, all-around fighter with no weaknesses. Some of his fellow Kings such as Arthur and Hrotsvit Lesedrama even acknowledged Kazuki's abilities and judgment.
Perception Reinforcement Magic: An extra sense developed in order to see magic power and magical phenomenon. Kazuki is probably the most proficient in this general magic due to it being the main component of the Hayashizaki-style.
Enchant Aura: Body reinforcement magic. Kazuki is proficient in this general magic because of his status as a Swordsman. He can control his aura and imbue it to his sword. He also can change the structure of his bones and muscles and change his appearance. The downside of doing this is that he can't revert to his original appearance immediately.
Swordsmanship: Kazuki is a highly skilled Swordsman trained in the swordsmanship of the Hayashizaki style sword art. His skills are high enough to be recognized as one of Japan's best Swordsman by Ikōsai Aisu who is a highly skilled Swordsman herself. The Knight Order also recognizes him for being one of the strongest Swordsmen in Japan.
- Hayashizaki-style: A sword school with hundreds of years of history, it's a school that specials in observation, with people going as far as claiming "no skill works twice on them".
- Instant Positioning: It is a technique that consists of warding off the opponent's momentum by making a circular trajectory with a sword before a sword lock. By doing this, the trajectory of the opponent's blade changes, the clash is repelled, and the opponent's stance breaks. If this happens, the user can unleash an attack that is almost impossible to defend due to the posture change. This technique can also be used with other weapons. Kazuki has shown that he can use Instant Positioning with his bare hands.
- Foresight: As part of the Hayashizaki-style training, Kazuki learned to observe his opponents to the point he became able to predict/see the opponent's next move, allowing him to either evade/dodge/parry or launch a counter-attack on the opponent. This is possible through combining natural eyesight, general Perception Reinforcement Magic and the enemies' breathing and muscle tension. Using a Diva's reinforcement magic like Berserk or Ride Lightning enhances both his foresight ability as well as his ability to react to the predicted opponent's movements. When using Awakening Full Moon, Kazuki's foresight ability as well as his ability to react to the predicted opponents' movements can be seen through slow motion. His foresight is mastered to a high degree that any skill that someone used on him could be countered with relative ease. Kazuki's foresight is one of the most dangerous parts about him, even his fellow Kings acknowledge his skill in foresight. His high proficiency has also been shown again during the last war, where he was able to predict the flow of the battlefield by sensing the magic power from all the combatants to the point where he was able to take countermeasures against them.
- Killing Intent Detection: Due to his training with the Hayashizaki sword style and martial arts, Kazuki can detect bloodlust from people who are hostile to him. By combining this with his foresight and his Telepathy training developed with Koyuki, Kazuki can engage in battle with opponents that are much faster than him, like Ilyaelia Murometz.
- Hayashizaki-style Dream Sword Kasane: It consists by gouging a single scratch on the opponent's Defensive Magic power with the first stroke, and then before new magic power could gush out to fill the scratch, a second returning stroke following perfectly the same trajectory of the first stroke is performed. If the second slash connects, the attack pierces the opponent's defenses, making this a potentially fatal attack.
- Hayashizaki-style Dream Sword Shin’iki: A slash with perfect movement in the ultimate timing that not only stops the chanting of Magika Stigma but also disrupts the magical phenomenon. Like Kasane, it is called a Dream Sword because it theoretically can't be used in a real battle. This, however, was proven wrong in Volume 9. Using Shin’iki requires the Swordsman to have a strong body and a high mentality to focus on where to slash.
- Hayashizaki-style Dream Sword Midashi: The last dream sword that Kazuki learned from his father. It consists of interfering and twisting the vector of enemy spells by applying magic to the point of contact between Kazuki's sword and the enemy's magic. By doing so, Kazuki can change the trajectory of the attack to a direction that is harmless to him with minimum strength. While he initially used this technique by holding one sword with two hands, he was able to use it while dual-wielding Joyeux and Ame no Murakumo. This technique is similar to Instant Positioning, but unlike the latter, the former needs to control magic perfectly.
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: At a young age when Kazuki was adopted, he was trained with the Hayashizaki's variations of Japanese martial arts. The intense training gave him a sturdy body and superhuman reflexes. In Volume 4 it is shown that Kazuki can easily deal with multiple attackers with Aikido while defending Hoshikaze Hikaru at the same time. He could even parry Kanae's swords with his bare hands (but was taking more damage than her nonetheless). He never experienced fighting someone who was trained only using their fists in battle when he was fighting Mary Mayweather Jr. in Volume 10. He was able to learn boxing from Mary Mayweather Jr. from his match with her and used it on Red Metallica.
Weapon Mastery: Not only can he use a sword, he can use a variety of traditional Japanese weapon styles with great proficiency combined with his Summoning Magic.
Resist: Kazuki has some proficiency in countering magic attacks but he usually relies on the various defensive skills he has access to.
Master Tactician and Strategist: While initially inexperienced, Kazuki's unrivaled foresight and quick thinking have made him naturally skilled in forming plans. During the Election Tournament, Kazuki was able to win the tournament with his team, despite the fact that Kazuki couldn't use his swordsmanship, Kōhaku couldn't use her Sacred Treasures, and Kazuha couldn't use her Diva. The most noticeable display of his tactical skills during the tournament was shown when he was able to perfectly predict how Kaguya's team would fight and make proper countermeasures with his team before the match started, even though Kaguya's teammates were stronger than his own. During the Civil War between Japan and Yamato, it was thanks to Kazuki's knowledge and planning that they were able to win.
King's Authority:[]
Power of Harmony: Amaterasu's King's Authority given to Kazuki for his relationship with Kamimura Itsuki, Kazuki is able to gather and redistribute magic power among his teammates to increase the strength of spells or make Level 10 spells more easily usable. It can also be used to power himself up and refill the magic power he loses if he uses Zekorbeni.
Hayashizaki Kazuki is the contractor of Lemegeton, which makes him the King of the 72 Pillars of Solomon.
Power of Bonds (Conquest): Leme's King's Authority, Kazuki can use all powers of the girls he has conquered with the help of the Ring of Solomon. The magic that he can use increases along with the rise of their Positivity Level and when he kisses a Magika Stigma, he’ll be able to use their magic even up to Level 10 temporarily, but only after their first kiss.
Positivity Level and level of magic that Kazuki can use are:
- 65 - Level 1 magic.
- 70 - Level 2 magic.
- 80 - Level 3 magic.
- 90 - Level 4 magic.
- 100 - Level 5 magic.
- 110 - Level 6 magic.
- 130 - Level 7 magic.
- 150 - Level 8 magic.
- 175 - Level 9 magic.
- 200 - Level 10 magic.
Usually when he kisses a girl her Diva will appear before him saying that they will lend him their power, and sometimes give him advice or tell him to look after their contractor.
By the end of the story, it is heavily implied that he reached 200 points with the main heroines. He was able to chant Futsunushi no Kami by himself, which means that his relationship with Kazuha reached the top. With that assumption, it is likely that the girls who had equal or better Positivity Level than her reached the same level.
Conquered Contractors and Divas[]
72 Pillars of Solomon Mythology[]
Diva: Phenex
Positivity Level: 155 (Level 8), possibly 200 by end of series.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 1, Chapter 3)
- Level 1: Barrett: Shoots a fireball-like attack at the opponent.
- Tri Barrett (Mode・Phoenix): An enhanced version of Barrett which shoots three fireballs.
- Level 2: Fire Wall: After placing a hand on the ground, it creates a magic circle under the opponent and summons a wall of flame from it.
- Level 3: Self-Burning: It clads the targeted person with protective fire. Using psychokinesis it can be extended on different objects like a sword.
- Level 4: Anti-Aging: Healing magic that creates a small fire that accelerates natural recovery.
- Level 5: Blazing Wings: Summons wings made out of flame which grants the ability to fly for short distances. Can also be used like a shield or sword.
- Level 6: Israel Judgment: Fires concentrated flame and light in the form of a powerful laser.
- Level 7: ?
- Level 8: Imitation Flare: The flames of the Phoenix liberate all of their power, which creates a small pseudo sun. The converged energy can be directed to an opponent and detonate like a bomb. It possesses heat and light elements and the energy released is comparable to a solar flare.
Diva: Asmodeus
Positivity Level: 150 (Level 8), possibly 200 by end of series.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 1, Chapter 4)
- Level 1: Desire Tentacle: Summons black tentacles to strangle and restrain enemies.
- Level 2: Feel Pain: This magic inflicts hallucinations of pain to the opponent.
- Level 3: Suicide Black: Defensive magic that covers the contractor in a black mist and reflects all incoming pain to the enemy.
- Level 4: Cocytus: Summons a pure white cold wave that freezes anything it touches instantly.
- Level 5: Twilight Spectre: Summons a big black shark that devours its enemies.
- Level 6: Ultra Violence: Makes an aura that doubles the sense of pain of the people in its range.
- Level 7: ?
- Level 8: Near Death Roulette: Weapon creation magic that summons a scythe that has the ability to rob the victim of one of their five senses randomly with each strike, the sixth strike will disconnect the opponent's magic power and force them into Magic Intoxication.
Diva: Vepar
Positivity Level: 150 (Level 8), possibly 200 by end of series.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 3, Chapter 3)
- Level 1: Glacier Wind: Sends a chilly gust of arctic wind towards the enemy, freezing them.
- Level 2: Moves in the Field: A large area of the ground around the user is frozen and skates made of ice are created on the bottoms of her and her allies' shoes allowing them to skate across the ice quickly while also impairing the movement of her enemies. This also gives the caster the ability to use close combat by utilizing sharp kicks with the edges of their ice skates damaging the opponent.
- Level 3: Freeze Barrier: Defensive magic that surrounds the target in an icy wind.
- Level 4: Tidal Wave: Creates a large tsunami in front of the user that crashes down on the enemy with great force.
- Level 5: White Album: Large scale destruction magic that temporarily changes the space into a world of a winter blizzard that extinguishes all flames.
- Level 6: Ice Buster: The user slams their hand down on the ground and 6-10 sharp icebergs emerge from the ground flying through the air to pierce the enemy. The hardness, sharpness, and transparency of the icebergs increases the colder it is.
- Level 7: ?
- Level 8: Ice Age: An atmosphere of pure cold and ice that even surpasses the blizzard of the third level of Mt. Fuji's Haunted Ground is created where all enemies slow down and eventually freeze.
Diva: Baal
Positivity Level: 150 (Level 8), possibly 200 by end of series.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 4, Chapter 5)
- Level 1: Lightning Line: Creates a bow that fires arrows made of lightning. This power is weak compared to other Level 1 magic but it can be used multiple times upon one cast as long as she still has arrows.
- Level 2: Horoscope Stasis: Envelops the target in ropes made from light from which even a dragon couldn't break free.
- Level 3: Storm Fort: Creates a barrier of wind around the target. The barrier is big enough to protect 2 people.
- Level 4: Ayamur: Summons a spear Sacred Treasure with the power to control wind.
- Level 5: Ride Lightning: Creates a magical system that covers the user with electricity increasing the speed of thought and all physical abilities.
- Level 6: Crying Nimbus: Covers the sky with dark colored clouds which start to rain, making all thunder magic unusable for the duration.
- Level 7: Arc Flash Hazard: The power of the atmosphere is compressed into two poles of positive and negative energy and raises a vortex, where equilibrium is broken and it causes a pure white explosion.
- Level 8: Yagrush: Summons a giant hammer Sacred Treasure infused with the power to control electricity.
Diva: Gremory
Positivity Level: 82 (Level 3) probably much higher.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 8, Chapter 2)
- Level 1: Moon Scraper: Creates a blade in the shape of a crescent moon in Miyabi's hand that is then thrown at the enemy in an arc.
- Level 2: Lunatic Luna Light: Confuses the targets into attacking each other as well as show their insecurity towards their comrades etc.
- Level 3: Moon Ring・ Mirror Field: A magic that creates a mirror shield in front the target to defend against light attribute magic.
Ryūtaki Shinobu
Diva: Marchosias
Positivity Level: 82 (Level 3) probably much higher.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 8, Chapter 4)
- Level: 1: Blade Tusk: Creates twin swords that have boorish blades and look like the polished fangs of giant beasts they then attack the enemy as if they were being wielded by unseen swordsmen.
- Level 2: ?
- Level: 3: Cross Conflict: Summons red crystal wings that expand from the caster's back and emit both heat and cold. It protects the user’s body from the double elements of fire and ice.
Diva: Beleth
Positivity Level: 175 (Level 9), possibly 200 by end of series.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 9, Chapter 3)
Positivity Level: 70 (Level 2)
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 12, Chapter 2)
- Level 1: Black Barrett: Shoots feathers covered in black flames that burn the mind.
- Level 2: ?
Diva: Amon
Positivity Level: 40
Abilities: Locked
Diva: Agares
Positivity Level: 39
Abilities: Locked
Diva: Astaroth
Positivity Level: 42
Abilities: Locked
Diva: Gamygyn
Positivity Level: 38
Abilities: Locked
Contractors of the 72 Pillars who associated with Kazuki but whose Positivity Level is never shown:
Greek Mythology[]
Diva: Prometheus
Positivity Level: 152 (Level 8), possibly 200 by end of series.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 2, Chapter 4)
- Level 1: Mitrailleuse: Creates a gatling gun that rapidly fires bullets. It can be sustained as long as it has ammo.
- Level 2: Seusenhofer: It covers the users' upper body in jet black metal armor that can defend against physical attacks.
- Level 3: Collider Field: Creates a metal gauntlet on the users' hand that can discharge an electromagnetic field to cause electrical burns and paralysis. The gauntlet can be sustained as long as it has energy.
- Level 4: Blitzkrieg: It creates an electric lance that is approximately 3m long, it can also transform into a naginata.
- Level 5: Deep Striker: Creates a jetpack on the back of the user that can reach very high speeds. It excels at linear acceleration. It also has a visor with an enemy detection unit that displays magic power.
- Level 6: Custom Liberion: Angular shaped armor with flexible thrusters that are attached to the user's four limbs. Compared to Deep Striker, Custom Liberion excels at three-dimensional maneuverability. The user can freely accelerate, brake and change directions. Also, the armor has gatling guns installed in the arms and blades that are attached to the legs.
- Level 7: ?
- Level 8: Gustav Dora: Summons a gigantic gun battery (cannon) that protrudes out from the user's chest, with the length of few dozen meters and a thickness diameter close to one meter, and a propulsion system on their back to withstand the recoil of the fired projectiles. It can shoot highly explosive projectiles that are almost the same size as a human and weigh a few tons. It can be fired multiple times and can be sustained as long as it has ammo.
Japanese Mythology[]
Diva: Futsunushi no Kami / Take Mikadzuchi
Positivity Level: 150 (Level 8), 200 by end of series.
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 5, Chapter 4)
- Level 1: ?
- Level 2: Kenki Tensei: A globe of fire burns into existence at the caster's side and floats in place. From within the flame, a sword appears, a phantom of a famous Japanese swordsman/warrior starts floating faintly overlapping with the weapon and comes into existence they can then attack the opponent with the same skills and abilities they had when they were alive. The limit is a maximum of three phantoms.
- Level 3: Futsu no Mitama: It creates a copy of Futsunushi no Kami that possesses the power to tear apart magic power and purify evil.
- Level 4: Ameno Hidzukuri no Kazatsuchi: A composite attack that consists of a shockwave of wind and an explosion of flame.
- Level 5: Tenkū Battō Rengehō: The caster summons a giant wind of flame that creates Sacred Treasure katana. These katana can be launched at the enemy and are enhanced with many elements, like being covered in flames, or clad in electricity, or the ability to fly in an irregular trajectory.
- Level 6: Kenki Shihou Ken: A large number of bluish-white souls gather around the user, they then transform into 4 enormous arms and katana with each hand wielding a katana. The arms answer to the users' will and can be controlled remotely.
- Level ?: Mikafutsu no Mitama: The caster creates a large golden katana that has the speed and destructive power of lightning.
- Level ?:
Diva: Amaterasu
Positivity Level: 65 (Level 1)
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 11, Chapter 1)
- Level 1: ?
Diva: Tamamo no Mae
Positivity Level: 62
Abilities: Locked
Norse Mythology[]
Beatrix Baumgard (temporary ally Volume 5 - Volume 9)
Diva: Thor
Positivity Level: 97 (Level 4)
Abilities: Unlocked (Volume 5, Chapter 5), Locked (Volume 9, Epilogue)
- Level 1: Berserk: Magic booster that increases physical strength and reflexes.
- Level 2: Megingjord: Magic reinforcement that enhances physical strength further.
- Level 3: Fjorgyn Megin: Lightning is coated.
- Level 4: ?
Kaya (temporary ally Volume 2)
Diva: Loki
Positivity Level: 50
Abilities: Locked
Damian (temporary ally Volume 5-Volume 9)
Diva: Hodur
Positivity Level: 27
Abilities: Locked
Eleonora Abendroth (temporary ally Volume 5-Volume 9)
Diva: Ægir
Positivity Level: 22
Abilities: Locked
Native American Mythology[]
Diva: The Great Spirit
Positivity Level: 200 (Level 10)
Abilities Unlocked (Volume 11, Chapter 4), contractor deceased
- Level 1: ?
- Level 2: ?
- Level 3: ?
- Level 4: ?
- Level 5: ?
- Level 6: ?
- Level 7: ?
- Level 8: ?
- Level 9: ?
- Level 10: Mitakuye Oyasin: The user releases a huge concentration of magic power to a certain area. If said magic collides with something, that something would be distorted following the will of the user. It is said that this magic can manipulate probability itself.
Taoism Mythology[]
Diva: Taikoubou
Positivity Level: 50
Abilities: Locked
Long Distance Telepathy: In Volume 6, Kazuki gains the power to use Telepathy over long distances with girls whose Positivity Level reaches 150.
Conquered Harem members available for Telepathy
- Amasaki Mio
- Charlotte Lieben Frau
- Hiakari Koyuki
- Hayashizaki Kanae
- Tsukahara Kazuha
- Otonashi Kaguya
- Hoshikaze Hikaru
Power Granting: When Kazuki became the true King of Japan by defeating Aisu, Leme and the rest of the 72 Pillars acknowledges Kazuki as the King of Japan and allowed him to grant the full potential of their powers to his Harem. The girls' Positivity Level must reach 150 first, when they do they become a Favored Princess Magician of the Diva that they're contracted with. Those contractors can only use the full powers of their Divas for a short time and any other magicians that are contracted with the same Diva become unable to use magic whenever the Favored Princess Magicians of their Divas uses their full powers.
Equipment[]
Decorteo Brigieux: Because of Leme's weakened form, Kazuki's Magic Dress was incomplete. At first it was just a simple ring that gave him the ability to read Positivity Levels. As Leme’s powers were restored as he improved his relationships with his Harem, her other abilities were restored as well.
- Ring of Solomon: Kazuki's Magic Dress that takes a form of a simple ring, it has the power to listen to hearts of people around Kazuki, measure their feelings and quantify them. In Volume 3 Leme shows Kazuki how he can locate where his conquest targets are relative to himself on a map by focusing on them. In Volume 6 it was revealed it can also be used to communicate through Telepathy with those with a Positivity Level of 150 or higher as well.
- Solomon's Emblem―Zekorbeni: Kazuki's second Magic Dress takes a form of a complex pentagram pendant hanging on his neck. This dress can make the contracted Diva of a girl whose Positivity Level surpasses 150 possess the inside of this dress. Through this dress, he can contact directly with the Diva, become able to use Telepathy with them, and also become able to invoke magic with the same speed of those that are possessed by Drive (almost instantly). However, using Solomon's Emblem taxes Kazuki's magic power and stamina which makes it difficult for him to maintain his control over it. In Volume 6, Kazuki accessed Phenex through the circuit of his bond with Mio which created an original Magic Dress in the form of orange armor. He can also form this contract with other contractors. Known modes that Kazuki has used so far:
- Mode・Phoenix
- Mode・Veritas
- Mode・Weparl
- Mode・Asmodeus
Kazuki stated that if he uses Zekorbeni in order to chant a Level 10 spell, the burden would be great. By the end of the story, Zekorbeni began cracking because Kazuki was using 2 Level 10 spells simultaneously multiple times. After overloading more spells of the same Level, Zekorbeni broke apart.
- Solomon's Garment―Gematria: Kazuki's last Decorteo Brigieux. It takes the form of a mantle and a crown that represents the embodiment of the 72 Pillars of Solomon Mythology. With the mantle, he can sense the magic power and feelings from people who are very far from his position, even when they are dead. As a sign of it, the mantle flutters even when there is no wind. It also grants Kazuki the ability to use spells from other Mythologies without relying on Positivity Levels.
Doufuu: Kazuki's main weapon in battle. It is said to be nearly unbreakable. In Volume 8, the sword was broken by Ilyaelia Murometz.
Raikiri: Kazuki's Sacred Treasure that takes the appearance of a shirasaya katana with a simple design and a wooden handle, he acquired it in Volume 2, before the fight with Beatrix. The Raikiri's special ability allows its wielder to resist and cut down any electrical attacks.
Ame no Murakumo: A legendary sword from Japanese Mythology that Kazuki first used in Volume 8. He acquired for his personal use in Volume 9. It is the ultimate sword for the King of Japan. When Ilyaelia broke Doufuu, Kazuki uses the Kusanagi as his new main weapon in battle. One of the many abilities it has is absorption and compression of the spell for maximum firepower. This is not limited to one spell at a time. One example of use of this skill is after summoning Futsunushi no Kami the sword absorbed it and compressed it making the sword nearly identical to Futsunushi no Kami but much stronger. Whatever he cuts depend on the proportion and skill used. When he used a temporary Kusanagi on Ilyaelia, he was able to cut her magic power like it was nothing.
Yata no Kagami: One of the Three Regalia it takes a form of a mirror. The Yata no Kagami is the ultimate shield that Kazuki obtained from his battle with Ikōsai Aisu in Volume 9. It has the ability to absorb and release whatever attack is blocked by it. This mirror in mythology belonged to Amaterasu which was later stolen by Susanoo. In Volume 10 Kamimura Itsuki summoned a copy of this mirror using Amaterasu's magic to purify the ghost ship and shared how to properly use the mirror's ability to purify things. The mirror later shrunk and became a bracelet around Kazuki's wrist for convenience.
Yasakani no Magatama: One of the Three Regalia that takes a form of a bracelet of beads. The Yasakani no Magatama is the ultimate support item of movement for Japan's King that can be used to protect their allies to a minimal degree and can store them inside its beads. It was obtained after the battle with Aisu in Volume 9. It was first used in Volume 11 during the fight against the North American King Clark Moore after Kazuki's power of Solomon was temporally sealed.
Etymology[]
- Hayashizaki means "forest" (林) (hayashi) and "cape, peninsula" (崎) (saki/zaki), which literally means "Forest Small Peninsula" altogether.
- Kazuki means "one" (一) (kazu) and "tree" (樹) (ki).
- The kanji used in his nickname Cyclops translated as the magical demon eye.
Trivia[]
- Kazuki has a record of 141 wins to 118 losses against Kanae.
- Kazuki has a maid fetish thanks to Mio.
- Kazuki's hair is actually brown but sometimes is seen as black on covers and colored images.
- Kazuki obtained all three sacred Regalia in Volume 9 Chapter 3
- Kazuki had conceived children with Mio and Kaguya by the end of the series, and possibly all other harem members, but Mio and Kaguya were the representatives of his harem.