Zoku Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

Magian Company Vol.02

By: Satou Tsutomu

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents 3

Credits 4

List of Illustrations 5

Keywords 7

Initial Illustrations 9

Chapter 1 10

Chapter 2 20

Chapter 3 28

Chapter 4 39

Chapter 5 58

Chapter 6 67

Chapter 7 74

Chapter 8 81

Chapter 9 94

Chapter 10 114

Chapter 11 136

Chapter 12 164

Chapter 13 193

Chapter 14 224

Afterword 234

Translator’s Notes 236

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Credits

Original Work
Author: Satou Tsutomu

Illustrations: Kana Ishida

English Translation Team

Translator & Translation Checker: Aehein

Main Editor, Formator, & Proofreader: Blakegriffin89

Editor & Proofreader: Khuma2, thevoidzero, TaTSUMI, &

HiroYoshida
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List of Illustrations

● Front Cover - Saegusa Mayumi & Tookami Ryousuke standing

back-to-back with each other
● Title Page - Saegusa Mayumi & Tookami Ryousuke standing
back-to-back with each other
● Colored Illustration #1 - Ryousuke & Mayumi working together at the
office of Magian Company, Minoru & Minami supplying psions to awaken
the Parasite Doll, and Tatsuya, Miyuki, & Lina seated together on a bullet
train (Shinkansen)
● Colored Illustration #2 - Ryousuke rushing towards Mayumi who was
fainting due to the toxic gas released by members of the New Humanity
Front
● Rocky Dean sitting at his desk in his office
● Rena Fehr, cries out in embarrassment, while blushing from seeing
Ryousuke, half-naked, wearing just a pair of shorts & underwear
● Minoru became extremely angry because his opponent, a member of
FAIR, tried to use magic against Minami
 6

● Miyuki apologizes for inconveniencing Masaki, who was blushing, and

Kichijouji Shinkurou sighed while being exasperated due to Masaki's
actions
● Fumiya & Kurenai Anzu towards the end of their battle with each other
● Mayumi laid out on the floor, due to the toxic gas released by members
of New Humanity Front, while she reached out to bombard them with
magic, which was a barrage of dry ice bullets
● Back Cover - Chibi Minoru, floating in space, with his eyes closed
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Keywords

FAIR
Ostensibly, FAIR is an organization that, like FEHR, works to protect its brethren from
the anti-magic movements within the USNA.

The truth of the matter, however, is that they are extremist of magic-supremacism who
regard people who cannot use magic as inferior and are more than willing to use
violence to achieve their own interests.

The organization's undisclosed official name is [Fighters Against Inferior Race].

New Humanity Front

Originally an organization formed by Japanese individuals who, inspired by FEHR leader,
Rena Fehr, dedicated themselves to protecting magicians from the anti-magic
movement.

Despite FEHR's denial of violence, the group considers that if politics and laws do
nothing to stop the persecution of magicians, then a certain amount of illegal acts are
necessary to achieve their goals.

They were once forced to disband due to an aggressive act carried out by the original
founding leader, but have since regrouped as an outlaw organization.

The chosen word of New Humanity Front's name, "New Humanity," instead of "New
Breed" reflected its strong self-identification that "Magicians weren't merely a new
breed of humans, but instead were a humanity that had evolved".
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Relic
A generic term for an out of place artifact1 which possesses magical properties. Each
one has its own unique characteristics and has long been considered extremely difficult,
if not impossible, to replicate even with modern technology. They have been unearthed
in various parts of the world, and there are numerous varieties, such as "Antinite", which
hampers the activation of magic, and the "Red Magatama Relic", which has the property
of preserving magic sequences.

Through a series of analysis of the [Red Magatama Relic], the replication of the Relic
with the properties of preserving magic sequences has been successful. Thus, the
Artificial Relic "Magistore" which constitutes the core of the system that drives the
Stellar Reactor.

Even with the successful efforts of devising a manufacturing method of Artificial Relics,
there are still many unanswered questions about Relics, which are being further
investigated by parties such as the National Defense Force and the National University of
Magic.

1
Out-of-place artifact - Wikipedia
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Initial Illustrations
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Chapter 1
[Industrial Magic Academy (Makouien) (1)]

The incident involving the attempted theft of the Artificial Relic at the Stellar Reactor
Plant on Miyakijima and at the FLT Laboratory in Machida had been brought to a close
in mid-May.

After being absent from the campus for a long time, Tatsuya was in the cafeteria of the
Magic University.

Next to him at the table sat Miyuki, and across from her was Lina. And, finally, right
across from Tatsuya was his friend from high school, Mikihiko, who had just sat down.

"Tatsuya, it's been a long time, right?"

Just as Mikihiko had said at the beginning, it had been a long time since he and Tatsuya
had seen each other. More specifically, almost two months.

"Have things finally settled down at the companies?"

The companies that Mikihiko referred to were both Stellar Generator Inc. and the
Magian Company. And, although it wasn't a company, he was probably talking about the
Magian Society too.

Last month, Tatsuya was involved in the establishment of three organizations in a row.
Or rather, he was the central figure in all of them. He was the president of the stock
company, Stellar Generator Inc., the executive director with representative rights of the
general incorporated association, Magian Company, and the vice president of the
International NGO2, Magian Society.

Since both Magian Society and Magian Company used the new word "magian" in their
names, and the fact that Tatsuya was a member of the executive board of both, they
were sometimes misunderstood as affiliated organizations. However, there was no
hierarchical relationship or any financial ties between the two organizations. Instead,

2
Non-governmental organization
 11

they merely shared the goal of "Implementing the human rights of those who possessed
the magical factor3".

While Stellar Generator Inc., the company that operates the Thermonuclear Fusion
Reactor through Gravity Control-type Magic, aka 'Stellar Reactor' plant, has been the
main focus within the general public; Magian Company has been an equally important
topic for all of those involved in the magic world, not just for magians.

"I guess things are sorted out for the time being."

"It looks like there's still a lot of work to be done."

"Well, sure. Not limited to the company, but the management of an organization hardly
sounds like an easy task."

Tatsuya lightly shrugged his shoulders at Mikihiko's comment.

"Yeah, it certainly isn't."

Mikihiko let out a weak chuckle. Being the second son of the Yoshida family, he was also
in charge of managing an organization. Because of that, he knew very well what Tatsuya
was talking about.

".....By the way, Tatsuya."

At that point, Mikihiko suddenly lowered his voice.

"What is it?"

Although it sounded like there was a hidden meaning behind Mikihiko's words, Tatsuya's
tone remained unchanged.

"Are the rumors true?"

Mikihiko inquired, keeping his voice low.

"Rumors?"

Tatsuya wasn't playing dumb. He was wondering what on earth the rumors were.

".....There's a rumor going around that Saegusa-senpai is working at your company."

3
Magians
 12

"It's true that Saegusa-senpai is working for Magian Company, but...... Why did it end up
becoming a rumor?"

"The eldest daughter of the Saegusa family got a job at a corporation affiliated with the
Yotsuba family. Of course it would become a rumor."

Mikihiko's tone in response to Tatsuya's question was one of dismay, emphasizing the "Of
course it would" part.

"Right, I guess that's true......."

It indeed might have seemed like an unbelievable turn of events to a third party, Tatsuya
thought after hearing Mikihiko's remark.

"There's been a lot of speculation that the Yotsuba and Saegusa families have finally
joined forces, or that the Saegusa family has fallen under the thumb of the Yotsuba
family....... So, what's the real story?"

Tatsuya knitted his brows in response to the irresponsible spreading of rumors.

"There's no truth behind that. I don't know Saegusa-senpai's true intentions, but I do
know how capable she is. That's why we accepted her as an employee. That's all."

"Haha...... That's right. Even if, by some chance, the Yotsuba family and the Saegusa
family form an alliance, there's no way that one can be under the umbrella of the other,
right?"

Tatsuya gave a silent nod to Mikihiko who forced a laugh.

"What about Yoshida-kun, how are things going on your side?"

Seeing that the topic had reached an end, or maybe because Tatsuya didn't want
Mikihiko to ask any further questions, Miyuki, who was now taking part in the
conversation for the first time, asked about something unrelated to the previous topic.

"Is the digitalization of the charms working out?"

Although not as much as Tatsuya's, Mikihiko's research was also attracting attention in
the magical community as a valuable technology. It was no surprise that it garnered the
attention of the students at the Magic University.

"Thanks to your help, it's progressing little by little. Shibata-san is also a great help."
 13

"Oh yeah, and how's it going in regards to that?"

Lina joined the conversation with an ill-intentioned smile on her face.

"Eh? "that"? What do you mean?"

"Hoh, are you trying to play dumb? I'm talking about Mizuki. You guys are living
together, right?"

"T-That's not true."

While he didn't quite so much as jump up from his chair as one would expect, Mikihiko
frantically shook his head from side to side in apparent consternation.

"We're not living together like that, we're just living in the same house!"

"But you're both still living under one roof, aren't you?"

Lina pressed the issue with a straight face. There was a glimmer in her eyes, however it
was one akin to a cat cornering a mouse.

"That's because we're living in the same house....... But, even so, we each have our own
separate rooms."

Perhaps Mikihiko himself knew that it would be counterproductive. But he still couldn't
help but be worked up about it.

"That said, don't you two share a bathroom? Didn't you ever, by some chance, enter the
bathroom when Mizuki was in there?"

Lina asked in a nonchalant tone, while keeping a straight face. But, just as before, the
light in her eyes betrayed any sort of seriousness in her.

"T-There's no way that would happen!"

Mikihiko denied Lina's unjust suspicion, his features turning red as he did so.

"And what about the other way around? Did Mizuki ever end up in that sort of
situation?"

"The bathrooms at my house are separate for men and women!"

"......Is that so?"

 14

The way Lina tilted her head, it wasn't something she did knowingly. Both the words and
the gesture were meant as a genuine question.

"Well, that's not surprising for Mikihiko's house."

Tatsuya, in contrast, merely nodded his head in agreement.

Although often misunderstood, Mikihiko's house wasn’t a shrine. It was an ancient-style

magic dojo that offered private instruction. There were many disciples who spent the
night at the dojo. So the bathrooms must be of a considerable size and separated by
gender — even if there was a disproportionate ratio of men to women.

"Lina, I don't think the kind of accident you're thinking of would happen in real life."

"Yes, that's right! Lina, you watch too much anime."

Using Miyuki's chiding remark of confusing reality and fiction, Mikihiko launched a
counterattack at Lina.

"Hey, don't be rude. It's not like I watch that much anime."

So, you do watch it........ Mikiko thought that, but didn't say it out loud.

◇◇◇

Saegusa Mayumi's employment at Magian Company had become a major topic even
outside the university.

Magian Company was an organization chaired by Miyuki, the actual next head of the
Yotsuba family, and regardless of what Tatsuya thought, it was regarded by the rest of
the world as an association run by the Yotsuba family. And that's where Mayumi, the
eldest daughter of the Saegusa family, got her job.

Mayumi wasn't the next head of the family like Miyuki, nor did she have any particular
role in the Saegusa family. So it wasn’t that surprising that she got a job at a place that
had nothing to do with the Saegusa family.

That being said, the fact that the actual daughter of the current head of the Saegusa
family had now joined an organization under the umbrella of their rival, the Yotsuba
family, was bound to invite all sorts of speculation.
 15

Not only the other families from the Ten Master Clans, the eighteen auxiliary families,
the Hundred numbered Families, the Magic Association, and other members of the
Japanese Magic community, but also the authorities from the National Defense Forces
and police, and even the radical groups such as the Humanism movement and the Magic
Supremacy Movement, took an even greater interest in Magian Company.

◇◇◇

Mayumi was given administrative work related to the opening of the [Industrial Magic
Academy].

The purpose of the Magian Company was to protect the "human rights" of the magians.
By paving the way for people with the Magic Factor to play a more active role in society.
Independent of whether they met the current standards of what was considered
utilitarian4 or not.

To that end, Magian Company's concrete plans involved offering "vocational training"
and "job placement". Moreover, the job placement wasn't a business scheme to recruit a
wide range of job seekers. The plans were to provide employment opportunities to the
magians who had taken the course in the Company's vocational training. In other
words, there would be training first. The establishment of the [Specialized Academy of
Industrial Magic Technology], or [Industrial Magic Academy] for short, was the first step
in achieving this.

◇◇◇

During the day in mid-May of the year 2100.

Tatsuya was flipping through some paperwork at the desktop terminal in the president's
office of Stellar Generator Inc. on Miyakijima when a message with an option popped up
on the display, and he quickly chose "yes" in response. The message was from Mayumi,
asking if it was okay to call him now.

An icon of an incoming videophone call appeared on the edge of the display.

After Tatsuya clicked on the icon, the screen switched from showing the quotation.

[Director, thank you for your time.]

4
Functionl; serviceable; useful; practical; sensible; effective
 16

Mayumi's polite speech wasn't something Tatsuya specifically enforced. It was merely a
reflection of her social etiquette.

[I would like to ask you about one thing regarding Makouien's5 establishment
application.]

"What is it?"

Tatsuya prompted Mayumi to continue with a short reply.

"Who will be the head of the academy?”

Mayumi then questioned in turn.

Since Makouien wasn't legally an educational institution, there was no requirement for
the name of the head of the academy to be listed on the school's registration form. This
was probably a question regarding something like the school brochure or pamphlet.

Tatsuya had no trouble answering.

"It hasn't been decided yet."

He answered simply and honestly.

[......Really?]

The look in Mayumi's eyes wasn't one of blame for the lack of a decision; she was
looking at Tatsuya from within the screen, questioning whether or not he was telling
the truth. She was beyond just "half-doubting".

This wasn't necessarily a misguided assumption. It was true that it hadn't been decided
yet, but Tatsuya had already settled on his first choice.

"For reference, Saegusa-san, what kind of person do you think would be best?"

Without revealing his true intentions, Tatsuya reversed their positions and asked her.

[As the head of the academy, you mean?]

Mayumi questioned and Tatsuya nodded.

5
Makouien is the nickname for Magian Company's Specialized Academy of Industrial Magic Technology or its
commonly known name as Industrial Magic Academy.
 17

[Let me see....... I think it would be good to have someone with a good reputation within
the magic community. As there are likely to be many people who will try to interfere in
various ways.]

"Like, for example, someone who has experience as an executive in the Magic
Association?"

[No, I think it's better to keep a distance from the Magic Association.]

Tatsuya's expression as he nodded had a hint of satisfaction on it.

To Mayumi, on the other end of the call, that expression made her think, "This feels like
a test".

[Also, it would be better to rule out people related to the Yotsuba and Saegusa families
as candidates. I think it would be best to invite people from the Numbers, who are
considered to be equidistant from both families.]

That was why Mayumi's following line was somewhat more forceful.

"I understand."

Looking at Tatsuya nodding, Mayumi was sure that he had a good candidate of his own
for the head of the academy.

At the same time, she thought to herself, "It doesn't seem like he will answer my
question".

◇◇◇

"Saegusa-san. What did the Director say about the matter regarding the head of the
academy?"

After the videophone call ended, just after Mayumi exited the communication room and
came back to the office, Tookami Ryousuke, who was working with her on the
preparations for the opening of the Industrial Magic Academy, asked her this question.

Ryousuke had just returned from the USNA, more precisely Vancouver, a former
Canadian territory, at the end of last month. Upon returning to his home country, he
made a beeline to the Magian Company's headquarters office, and after a hard sales
pitch, just like a "wife who forced her husband into marriage" — more like an "employee
who forced their employer into letting them work" — won a position as an employee.
 18

According to his own words at the time, he wanted to join the Magian Company because
he sympathized with the principle of "The self-defense of the human rights of the
magians", but the truth was different.

He had infiltrated the Magian Company under orders to determine Tatsuya's true
intentions.

The order was given to him by Rena Fehr, the leader of [FEHR], a political organization
based in Vancouver that was dedicated to the protection of the human rights of
mageists. And Ryousuke was a member of this FEHR.

As it turned out, both Tatsuya and Miyuki were aware of this fact. Although Ryousuke
thought he had managed to keep it a secret, Tatsuya was suspicious of his relationship
with FEHR from the start, and after three days Ryousuke started working for them, he
got his confirmation. He kept silent about it as he believed that Ryousuke had some
value to him.

Furthermore, Mayumi was also kept in the dark about Ryousuke's relationship with
FEHR.

"He said it hasn't been decided yet."

Mayumi didn't tell Ryousuke that Tatsuya seemed to have already narrowed down the
list of candidates. That was because it was just an unreliable guess, since Tatsuya didn't
explicitly say anything himself.

"I see...... Then I guess we'll have to put it on hold for now."

The Industrial Magic Academy was scheduled to open in September. There were less
than four months left until then. Even with all the attention that it was garnering, it
normally wouldn't be viable as a school without a good amount of student applicants.

Even if the students were to be attracted to the school via different approaches, it was
surely time to make the school guide. Ryousuke had been working on the online
pamphlet. That's why Mayumi had asked Tatsuya who was going to be the head of the
academy.

As for why Ryousuke didn't ask Tatsuya directly, it was because Mayumi was closer to
Tatsuya than he was. Not because Ryousuke felt he couldn't deal with Tatsuya. At least,
that was what Ryousuke thought.

"But...... What else am I supposed to do?"

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Neither Mayumi nor Ryousuke had any know-how regarding school administration.
Fortunately — or perhaps understandably — they weren’t the only ones in Makouien's
administration, the two of them were working under the guidance of experts who had
been involved in the preparations for the opening of the school, since before the Magian
Company was established.

This was where Ryousuke's poor office skills were made apparent. He was probably an
engineer by nature. In addition to that, there was the fact that he had lived in the former
Canadian territory of the USNA for the last four years, where he had hardly been
exposed to the Japanese language for such a long period of time.

However, regardless of such circumstances, Ryosuke's lack of skills was still an

undeniable fact. Having already received a notification of dismissal from working on
paperwork, he had been sent to work on the institute's website.

"Indeed...... Why don't you go ask Fujibayashi-san about it?"

After some thought, Mayumi offered this advice to Ryousuke's plea.

"Ask Fujibayashi-san......?"

Fujibayashi Kyouko had been sent by the Yotsuba family to work with Tatsuya soon after
the Magian Company had been established last month. In a way, she was the first formal
employee of the company.

She didn't have a specific title in relation to the company's administration, but she was
effectively Tatsuya's assistant in handling the administrative side of Magian Company.
And it was Fujibayashi who told Ryousuke to set up the website.

"All right."

Ryousuke thought about Mayumi's suggestion for a moment and then nodded.
 20

Chapter 2
[Infiltration into the USNA (1)]

Orbiting the Earth at an altitude of about 6,400 kilometers was the orbital residence
[Takachiho]. This huge artificial satellite, measuring approximately 180 meters in length
and up to 20 meters in width, was neither meant for military nor research purposes, but
rather to provide a home for a pair — a man and a woman that could no longer live on
Earth.

The man's name was Kudou Minoru.

The woman's name was Sakurai Minami.

After becoming Parasites, those two were offered a home in space by none other than
Shiba Tatsuya.

Tatsuya had given Takachiho to Minoru and Minami for the sake of relieving the anguish
of the woman he loves more than anyone, Miyuki. However, he wasn't solely motivated
by emotions when he gave Takachiho to Minoru and Minami.

Tatsuya regarded Minoru's skills highly. And that hadn't changed even after he had
renounced his humanity and became a Parasite. There was a clear intention in Tatsuya's
mind to secure him as an ally due to his high potential for covert operations.

Minoru was aware of this fact as well. So, he didn't plan to just indulge in idleness either.

Even though he was no longer human and had become a Parasite, he still needed food,
water, and air. While Takachiho was able to recycle water and air, he still had to rely on
the surface to provide him with food.

Moreover, clothing was also included as consumables. While Minoru didn't mind
wearing the same clothes over and over again, he couldn't afford to let his male vanity
cause inconvenience to Minami, a young woman in her own right.

Minoru had abandoned humanity to become a Parasite of his own volition, but he had
no intention of becoming a Parasite on Tatsuya's wallet. Minoru wanted to be of use to
Tatsuya.
 21

As he was asked by Tatsuya to investigate [FAIR] ─ a radical magic supremacist

organization that was based in San Francisco, California ─ Minoru quietly burned with
fighting spirit as he prepared for his infiltration.

Friday, May 14th. Current time was seven o'clock in the evening.

Tatsuya sat in his lab on Miyakijima, facing the communication device.

[──Tatsuya-san, everything is ready here.]

He looked at Minoru's face on the monitor's screen, not of the videophone, but of the
infrared laser communication receiver.

Tatsuya and Minoru were about to experiment with moving Takachiho.

Takachiho was embedded with a flight system which utilized the same principle as the
AirCar by utilizing the Earth's gravity. But it wasn't possible to use that system to move
freely in space. Supposedly, the system would be able to remain stationary, accelerate,
and change course at will as long as the satellite orbit was within range of Earth's
gravity. However, in reality, the defining principle of "without thrust, satellites would
remain in the same orbit as long as they weren't subjected to the gravity of celestial
bodies other than its home planet" was just too strong. Therefore, so far, they had only
been able to modify the trajectory to the extent that would be regarded as a margin of
error.

However, as a result of Minoru's intensive trial and error in a short period of time, the
possibility of being able to move around freely with some conditions attached came to
light. He calculated that if Takachiho could maintain its ground altitude and return to its
original orbit in a short time, it would be possible to shift the orbit by up to 30 degrees
to the north or south.

Tatsuya designed an activation sequence based on Minoru's calculations that satisfied

the necessary requirements in about two weeks. They were now about to experiment
with it.

"Takachiho's tracing status is in order. Minoru, you can begin."

[Okay.]

Minoru's eyes closed halfway on the monitor, and any expression he had before had
vanished from his face. Minoru had always had an unusually good appearance, even
 22

before he resigned his humanity and became a Parasite, but the lack of expression
brought about by his intense mental concentration gave his appearance an even more
mysterious6 quality.

As soon as he began to mentally focus, more specifically, about three seconds later, the
monitor suddenly blacked out. Takachiho had moved out of range of the laser
communication. Besides being able to transmit a large amount of information, laser
communication had the advantage of having a narrow area of coverage and therefore, a
low risk of being intercepted. But when the other side was moving at high speeds, the
laser wouldn't be able to reach them, and this very same factor would become a
disadvantage. For the purpose of maintaining stealth, the infrared laser used to
communicate with Takachiho had been made with a higher degree of focus than that of
ordinary lasers.

The laser transmitter on the roof of the Miyakijima branch of the Yotsuba family's
communications facility tilted it's head slightly. Tatsuya's claim on the tracing of
Takachiho's movements wasn't a lie. The antennae caught Takachiho’s position within a
second after the disconnection, and communication was restored.

[Tatsuya-san, how was it?]

"......I see a movement of about one degree on the celestial sphere in the past forty
seconds. In a twenty minute interval, it will move to 30 degrees. As expected of Minoru,
that's right on the mark. Precisely as specified in the Activation Sequence."

[Thank you.]

The activation sequence was the blueprint for the construction of the magic sequence.
In regards to modern magic, it could be said that the construction of the magic
sequence was the process of compiling the source code which was the activation
sequence into an object code that was called the magic sequence. In that sense, the
activation of magic was the same process as executing the object code on a computer.

Incidentally, just as the performance of the same source code varied depending on the
performance of the hardware used to run it, the performance of a given magic may vary
depending on the mageist executing it, even if the activation sequence remained the
same. To execute a magic just as it was specified in the activation sequence demanded a
high level of skill on the part of the mageist.

In regard to that, Minoru just demonstrated his ability by moving the giant body of
Takachiho, which was 180 meters long and 20 meters wide, at the speed of 7.9

6
bewitching
 23

kilometers per second just as it was specified in the Activation Sequence. By modern
magic standards, Tatsuya's praise of him was rather modest.

[It will take twenty minutes to complete the orbital shift, the satellite will remain in the
revised orbit for twenty minutes, and then it will return to its original course in twenty
minutes...... It will be about an hour until we get the results of the experiment.]

Minoru recapped the schedule of the experiment in a calm tone, but he couldn't hide
the grin on his face. During his human days, even if he had to remain on bedrest due to
his physical condition, his talent was something that everyone recognized, so he was
used to the shower of praise, but it was a different story when Tatsuya was the one
giving him praise. Tatsuya was one of the few mageists that Minoru recognized as
superior to himself.

"I'll keep observing from here as well to prevent any problems. I need you, Minoru, to
keep an eye on things from the inside."

Tatsuya didn't address Minoru's embarrassment.

[Understood.]

Minoru was aware of Tatsuya's concern, but he didn't mention it either.

Tatsuya nodded towards the monitor screen and then cut off the communication.

Thirty minutes later, Tatsuya reestablished communications with Takachiho. Miyakijima

could only communicate with Takachiho up to five times a day, for up to two hours each
session. This was due to Takachiho's orbit and the degree of focus required for the
communication's lasers necessary to maintain the stealth aspect.

"Minoru, is everything all right over there?"

[So far, so good.]

"I don't see any problems on my end either."

[That's good....... By the way, Tatsuya-san. Can we talk about something a bit unrelated to
this?]

"Unrelated to this?"

Tatsuya made a quizzical expression at Minoru's sudden suggestion.

 24

[Ah, no, it's just that it's not directly related to this experiment, but it's not completely
unrelated either.]

As the camera conveyed Tatsuya's expression, Minoru hurriedly uttered an excuse.

"I don't mind."

The puzzled look on Tatsuya's face was very brief. As he returned to his placid
expression, he gave a small nod.

[Thank you very much. It's about the investigation of FAIR you asked me to do the other
day.]

"Ah, that matter."

Tatsuya chimed a back-channeling and urged Minoru to continue with his eyes.

[After this experiment is over, I'm going to land in America.]

"As long as there are no problems in this experiment."

Minoru had an expression on his face that said, "What is this guy talking about?". Which
was the opposite of the confidence Minoru had in him, that said "like something you
made would ever fail".

[……I'm speaking under the assumption that it will be successful.]

Minoru quickly regained his serious look.

"Go on, then."

Tatsuya obliged, with his unchanging, expressionless face from earlier.

[While I'm down on the surface, Minami-san will be alone, won't she?]

"That's true....... So you want to take Minami to the surface with you because otherwise,
you would feel sad for her?"

[......Exactly. You understand it well, don't you?]

Minoru couldn't hide his surprise. Although Minoru was aware that Tatsuya wasn't
entirely a heartless person, he didn't think of him as understanding before the
sentimentalism he expressed in his previous remark.
 25

"But I wasn't considering that Minami would be left alone. It was you who thought that.
Also, you don't plan to be away from Takachiho that long, do you?"

[Of course, I intend to return every day. But if I were the only one who got to come
down to the surface, that would be.....]

Minoru couldn't finish his answer to Tatsuya's query.

"You would feel guilty?"

[......Yes]

Minoru nodded hesitantly. He understood that they, as Parasites, were frowned upon by
people in general. And, aware of this fact, he was the one who had turned Minami into a
Parasite, and thus had no right to speak of such things.

"......I understand that feeling very well. So, Minoru, what do you want from me? Should I
keep Minami here with us while you are infiltrating the USNA?"

[You can do that?!]

Minoru's astonishment was evident. Considering the underlying circumstances which

made Takachiho the only place they could live, his surprise was justified.

"We can harbor her if it's only for a short time. And, as you would imagine, any other
place beyond this island is out of the question."

Miyakijima is a sort of extraterritorial territory. There are certain hidden authorities in

Japan that do not tolerate the existence of Youma7 in the country, but as long as they
remained on the island for a short period of time, those hidden authorities would refrain
from interfering. Currently, it wouldn’t be difficult for Tatsuya to allow her a sojourn8 on
the island for a couple of days.

[I'm sure Minami-san will be happy if you do... but what I was going to ask of you,
Tatsuya-san, is something a little different.]

"If it is something I can't do, I'll say it, so you don't have to worry — just say it."

At Tatsuya's rather heartless words, Minoru almost involuntarily nodded and said,
"That's true, isn't it?".

[Thank you very much.]

7
One of several Japanese words for monster.
8
A temporary stay.
 26

But instead, he actually just gave a safe reply.

[Actually, I was just thinking of letting Minami-san step on American soil with me.]

"I don't see why not. With the skill you both have, I'm sure there will be no danger."

Tatsuya immediately agreed.

Minoru had already gotten over being surprised.

"But in that case, there will be no one taking care of9 Takachiho."

"Is that what you're worried about? Well, the risk of an attack is certainly not zero."

From the viewpoint of other countries, Takachiho was a giant artificial object with no
affiliation nor identity. Moreover, it was originally a ballistic missile submarine. Despite
taking all possible measures to ensure all aspects of its stealth, if it were to be spotted,
there was a good chance that it would be mistaken for a military satellite and therefore
attacked.

[That's just one thing, if we both go down to the surface, in the unlikely event that
something goes wrong with Takachiho itself, we won't be able to respond.]

"I see. We should surely take that risk into account."

Takachiho was a former New Soviet Union submarine that Tatsuya had refitted himself,
but he didn't have the hubris to believe that something he had built would never break
down.

[So, could you have someone stationed at Takachiho while both of us are on the
surface?]

"You mean having someone house-sit?"

[Ah, no... well, in a nutshell, yes.]

Minoru mumbled awkwardly, then acknowledged Tatsuya's words.

"All right. I will have someone in charge of Takachiho's safeguarding when you're both
away, as you suggested."

[I would really appreciate it.]

Assuming that the matter was now settled, Minoru bowed his head looking relieved.
9
留守 house-sitting; house-sitter; being left unattended
 27

However, it was premature of him.

"I'll send you the latest battery-powered gynoid that will serve as the primer for a
Parasite Doll, and a doll with a sealed Parasite from three years ago."

[Huh......?]

Minoru didn't immediately understand the meaning behind this unexpected conclusion.

[You want me to make a Parasite Doll?]

"I think it would be most suitable for Minoru's intended purpose."

[......Well, it would.]

If it was a battery-powered gynoid, it wouldn't consume the limited oxygen and water,
and it could be charged at any time from the onboard stellar reactor or even from the
solar panels that were deployed outside the ship. Moreover, it wouldn't require any
sleep, rest, or food.

And this wouldn't be Minoru's first time creating and subjugating10 a Parasite Doll under
his control. Three years ago, he even controlled several at once. The chances of him
losing control of his Parasite Doll were slim to none.

A servant that he could use tirelessly and without any worry of betrayal.

It certainly fit Minoru's needs to a tee.

[......Don't tell me you'd anticipated my request?]

Still, Minoru couldn't help but feel everything was happening too fast, and he couldn't
help but ask him such a question.

"Not exactly, but......."

Tatsuya let out a wry smile.

"The Parasite Doll is a useful tool as long as you don't misuse it. I was planning on having
you try some things with them eventually, so it's like hitting two birds with one stone."

While Minoru didn't feel like all his questions (worries) were answered, he still bowed
his head once more, saying, "Thank you very much."

10
to conquer; to subjugate; to subdue; to leash
 28

Chapter 3
[Industrial Magic Academy (Makouien) (2)]

Sunday, May 16th. Tatsuya was in the linear shinkansen11 bound for Fukuoka.

On the seat adjacent to him was Miyuki, and across from her was Lina. Their destination
was the terminal station, Hakata. It was a two-hour trip, only stopping at Shin-Osaka on
the way.

"I guess we didn't have to fly for this one."12

As the train entered Chubu from Kanto, Lina muttered to herself as she looked out the
window. Though her voice was rather loud for a soliloquy.

"Flying is faster, but it wouldn't make much difference, and the procedures take a lot of
time, you know."

Assuming she wasn't talking to herself, Miyuki replied to Lina.

"Oh, that's a pain in the ass, I know. It's annoying how much more time it takes for
mageists."

Miyuki gave a big nod to an indignant Lina, and Tatsuya chuckled.

"There was even a time when Magians weren't allowed to fly on commercial airliners.
Considering that, this is an improvement."

"Yeah, I know, but..."

Lina's anger faded when Tatsuya pointed that out. At the time when she came to Japan
again three years ago, some states of the USNA prohibited not only mageists, but also
magians, from using commercial airliners. With that in mind, she couldn't help but
admit that it was still better than the additional pre-boarding procedures.

"Lina, we don't get to ride the linear shinkansen very often, so why don't you just try to
enjoy it instead of thinking about all the bad things?"13

11
Shinkansen - Wikipedia (Bullet Train)
12
Lina's line in the colored illustration
13
Part of Miyuki's line in the colored image
 29

"......I guess that's true."

With Miyuki's appeasement, Lina once again turned her attention to the scenery flowing
at a high speed outside the window.

◇◇◇

After disembarking at the last stop, Hakata Station, they had lunch at a rather fancy
restaurant. As having Miyuki and Lina together meant that they would need a private
table, or at least a semi-private one, to enjoy their meal in peace.

After the meal, they boarded an autonomous taxi instead of a conventional Cabinet and
arrived at their destination in the suburbs of Fukuoka City at 2:05 p.m., slightly later than
the appointed time.

"How should I say it... it's fairly average, isn't it?"

As Lina got out of the taxi, she looked through the gate and made a remark, sounding
surprised, which neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki disagreed with. The house of the head of
the Yatsushiro family of the Ten Master Clans, which they were visiting for the first time,
looked just like an ordinary two-story traditional wooden house.

Tatsuya pressed the intercom button.

He got an immediate response. It was in a rather faltering tone of voice. As they were
told "Please come inside and wait a moment", they traversed the premises and stood in
front of the front door.

They didn't have to wait long.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Accompanied by a high-pitched voice, the figure that appeared was a boy about the age
of an elementary school student.

"P-Please come in. My father is waiting for you."

He said "father", which meant that this boy was probably the son of the head of the
Yatsushiro family, Yatsushiro Raizou. Being thirty-four years old, it wasn't surprising that
he would have a kid of this age.

The boy's red face was probably due to being nervous in the presence of Miyuki and
Lina. No wonder. Both of them were extremely beautiful women, where calling them
 30

"peerless" wouldn't even be an exaggeration. The fact that he was able to speak
coherently, except for a bit of fumbling, was a rather remarkable feat of courage.

The boy led them to the parlor. There, Yatsushiro Raizou and his brother, Takara, were
waiting for them.

Raizou and Takara stood up to greet Tatsuya's group.

One by one, they exchanged greetings. It was the first time Lina was meeting the
Yatsushiro brothers, so she introduced herself. When that was over, they also exchanged
greetings with Raizou's wife, Iori, who had brought them tea, and then the five of them
got down to business.

Tatsuya's proposal was to have Takara take over as head of the Industrial Magic
Academy.

"......So, in other words, the Yotsuba family wants my brother to become their
subordinate?"

"Formally, he would be a subordinate of mine and Miyuki's, but we wish to have him as a
co-worker."

Tatsuya flatly countered Raizou's barbed remark.

"Takara-san, if you don't mind me calling you that."

Tatsuya gave Takara a quick glance.

Takara responded with a small nod as a sign of approval.

"I believe that a place of work that would require more of you as a researcher than as a
Magician would be preferable for you, Takara-san."

Yatsushiro Raizou possessed the magical power befitting the position of head of the Ten
Master Clans. But apart from that, he was also recognized as a brilliant physicist in the
field of Gravitational Theory, to the extent that he had been asked to teach at a
university in Fukuoka City — not by a Magic University, but by a University that had
nothing to do with magic.

He was the de facto custodian of the still-operational Eighth Institute of Magician

Research and Development, and his position wasn't based on his competence as a
magician. The staff of the institute found Raizou's deep insight into magical theory
worthy of having him as their supervisor.
 31

While Raizou was the head of the Yatsushiro family, he was more of a scholar than a
magician, but it was with his younger brother, Takara, where this aspect was even
stronger. Yatsushiro Takara's name was better known in the international community as
an expert in radio-frequency engineering14 rather than his status as a magician. He was
only thirty years old, but even if Takara didn't have the Magic Factor, he would be an
world-class expert in radio-frequency engineering. In addition to his knowledge in the
field of radio engineering, it was impossible to ignore his specialty in emission-type
magic and his high sensitivity to electromagnetic waves.

"The Specialized Academy of Industrial Magic Technology, scheduled to open in

September, will be devoted to teaching the technologies of the practical application of
magic in the fields of manufacturing and infrastructure development and management.
Through the use of these technologies, we hope to help the magians, who have difficulty
making a living through magic, to be able to make a living even with low magical power.
The academy is an educational and vocational15 institution for that purpose."

"And then you would ensure employees who would be an asset to your company?"

Takara asked Tatsuya. Despite the words used, there was no hint of irony in his tone.

"We don't intend to commit our graduates. Stellar Generator Inc. will be just one of
many employment opportunities for them."

Tatsuya instantly, without a moment's delay, denied Takara's inquiry.

"Shiba-san. You say that your aim is the 'self-defense of the human rights of the
magicians' or so, I've been told. However, your first attempt was not to speak out against
human rights violations, but rather a development project aimed at lesser magicians.
Now, where do your true intentions lie?"

Takara peered at Tatsuya directly in the eyes.

Tatsuya met his gaze head on.

"I'm not only concerned with restoring only magicians to their rights as persons; I'm
concerned with all the ones that possess the magic factor, including the magians whom
Takara-san referred to as lesser magicians."

"Is that what you meant by Magians?"

14
Radio-frequency engineering - Wikipedia
15
training; drill; practice; discipline
 32

Takara had been aware of both the formation of the Magian Society and the founding of
the Magian Company in the news. But honestly, he had paid little to no attention to it.
He didn't really seek to learn the details before today's meeting. It wasn't that he wasn't
interested in what Tatsuya had to say, but he simply thought that he could ask what he
didn't understand on the spot.

"An old Jewish prophet once said, 'Man shall not live by bread alone,' but at the same
time, one must eat to live. Beliefs and ideals are essential, but they alone are insufficient.
It is said, "If one has enough food and clothing, one will know civility" but if a person is
in need, they will be willing to give up not only civility, but even their rights as a human
being. Having the financial ability to support oneself is a major prerequisite."

What Tatsuya had said was, in a sense, self-evident.

"That's true enough."

Takara didn't look particularly impressed and just gave a perfunctory response16.

"How will I live? What will I do to live? Freedom of choice is only possible when there is
a wide diversity of possible workplaces where one can earn a living. I believe that
people can live the way they want to live only when there are not only diverse
workplaces, but also opportunities to learn the skills that are needed for the job they
want. This isn’t something that is exclusive to Magians."

"What about yourself, Shiba-san? You have the skills and the opportunities. How has that
made you free? Is your position as a military deterrent itself really what you wanted?"

"It was my own choice."

Tatsuya didn't flinch when Takara pointed out the contradiction.

"I admit that I had practically only one choice. But now, I am not just a deterrent.
Excluding the magician that is a Strategic-Class weapon, I'm proud of what I've made
with my own hands."

"And that would be the Stellar Reactor Plant... the Stellar Generator?"

"Yes, it is. It's an alternative for Magians, other than becoming weapons."

There were no lies behind Tatsuya's words. Just not quite the whole truth.

16
casual response; routine response; aizuchi; back-channeling; interjections indicating that one is paying
attention
 33

The Stellar Reactor Plant was built to break the trend in society that Magians are
supposed to be treated as weapons. In that way, it was meant for all magicians, for all
Magians.

The underlying motive was that he didn't want Miyuki to become a tool for destruction
and slaughter as he did. He wanted to remove any possible future in which Miyuki was
forced to live as a weapon. That was Tatsuya's true goal.

"However, as I mentioned earlier, the Stellar Generator is not the only option."

After saying so, Tatsuya shook his head, with a visible "No......."

"Or, rather, I should have said that the Stellar Generator shouldn't be the only option."

"So you think it's important to have more options?"

Tatsuya responded to Takara's question without any hesitation, nodding his head with a
resolute "Yes, that's right". Neither Takara nor Raizou could find any hint of falsity or
concealment in Tatsuya's demeanor or tone.

"I know that there is no such thing as a person with infinite choices, but I still believe
that this status quo, where a Magian is given far fewer choices than the Majority, after
all, just isn't right."

"Magicians, or, as Shiba-san calls them, Magians, aren't forbidden to work in professions
that are unrelated to magic, though, are they? If they study just as hard as the Majority,
they can get a regular job just as easily."

Still, Takara wasn't entirely convinced. He continued to argue, refuting Tatsuya's story
because he found himself taking it more seriously.

"Is that really true?"

And Tatsuya too, for his part, had no intention of ending the discussion half-heartedly.

"Are you referring to the substantial work restrictions?"

"Let's put the informal restrictions to the side for now."

As if to give a moment's pause, Tatsuya took a sip of the tea, which he hadn't yet
touched.

"Those who have given up on their magical talents by the time they reach junior high
school may find it easy to switch careers. However, for those who entered a magic high
 34

school and acquired magic skills of a certain level or higher, but when the only career
paths where they can make use of their talents and skills are the military or police,
would they ever be able to choose another path?"

"In that case, there's no choice but to give up on that, is there? This whole story about
not being able to get a job where you can make use of your talents isn't something that's
only limited to Magicians."

"If the job doesn't exist, then that may be the case. Alternatively, that would also be the
case if they have no means to adapt their talents for the purpose they desire."

"So, in short, Shiba-san, your goal is to increase the number of alternatives, and you
want to ask my brother's help to do so."

Raizou interjected at this point.

His voice wasn't harsh, nor was there a demand for an answer from Tatsuya in his tone.

"Takara, Shiba-san's answers have been consistent. It doesn't sound like he is trying to
benefit the interests of the Yotsuba family."

"Yes, you are right. Shiba-san, I apologize if I seemed to only be trying to find fault in
your words."

Takara gave a small nod to Raizou and then bowed to Tatsuya.

"It wasn't just nitpicking. All of your points were perfectly valid."

Tatsuya returned the bow to Takara. He didn't do it because social etiquette demanded
it, he truly meant it.

The Magian's right to choose his profession was a delicate topic that was rarely spoken
about. Given these circumstances, Tatsuya didn't have many people with whom he could
have this kind of discussion.

"You know, both of us brothers have always wanted to live our lives by studying what
we love since we were children."

Tatsuya wasn't really startled by Raizou's words. He just back-channeled "I see" in
response.
 35

"Fortunately, the Eighth Institute had a strong inclination towards academics, so it was
relatively easy for me to double as both a magician and a researcher of the Ten Master
Clans."

Takara nodded at Raizou's words.

"Since we cannot ignore the duties of the Ten Master Clans, we cannot live on research
alone, though."

"Well, I suppose that's true."

Tatsuya's back-channeling had a real emotion laced into it. He wasn't bound by the Ten
Master Clans' duties, but by the 'world-destroying magic' in his possession. Still, the
fundamental issue of not being able to live freely because of it was the same.

"Therefore, my brother and I do understand the suffocating feeling of not being able to
live as you had wished to. Now that I'm convinced that you don't have any ulterior
motives involving the Yotsuba family's self-interest, I'm more than willing to lend you
my brother. Takara, what about you?"

"I would like to take up Shiba-san's offer."

"Shiba-san, I'll take your word for it. But I have two conditions."

"What would they be? Feel free to tell me."

Tatsuya urged Raizou on without a trace of perplexity.

"First, once the Specialized Academy of Industrial Magic Technology is on track, I want it
to become a legally incorporated educational institution, allowing the Yatsushiro family
to participate in its management."

"Agreed."

The Yatsushiro siblings looked clearly surprised at Tatsuya's immediate answer.

However, that expression soon disappeared. Both of them figured that the condition for
participation in the management must have been predicted by Tatsuya.

"The other condition is your personal cooperation, Shiba-san. We would like to ask for
the help of the genius magic engineer 'Taurus Silver' in our research."

".....May I ask about the details concerning it?"

 36

This time, however, the answer wasn't so immediate.

"A temporary competition to the Stellar Generator business, that we believe will
eventually lead to an expanded and profitable market."

"A competition in the energy industry....... You mean a Degeneracy Reactor!?"

Tatsuya asked wide-eyed.

In a nutshell, the Degeneracy Reactor was a system where energy was extracted from a
micro black hole. Theoretically, black holes were thought to lose mass as they radiate
heat, in other words, they evaporate. This phenomenon was called Hawking radiation.

According to the theory, the smaller the mass of a black hole, the higher the energy
from the Hawking radiation was expected to be. And, at the same time, it would
evaporate and disappear in a short time.

A micro black hole would be created and the thermal radiation from the evaporation
would be used as an energy source. If the heat energy recovered was sufficiently larger
than the energy required to create the micro black hole, it should have been feasible to
use it as a power generation system.

Since micro black holes disappear in an extremely short span of time, the risk of them
running out of control was also minimal. And because the mass of the black hole was
directly converted into heat energy, there was no radioactive waste.

This was the Degeneracy Reactor, a high-powered, emission-free power generation

system. It made sense for the Yatsushiro brothers to work on its implementation,
especially considering their expertise in gravity and electromagnetism.

Raizou gave a wry smile at Tatsuya's question.

"Good grief, you sure didn't mince words with this, did you? You are correct. We've been
researching for some time to see if we can achieve a Degeneracy Reactor using Gravity
Control magic."

"…………"

"……Tatsuya-sama."

"……Tatsuya."
 37

Miyuki and Lina, who had so far remained silent, addressed Tatsuya in a serious tone of
voice, when he became speechless.

This time, it was the Yatsushiro siblings who were wide-eyed, wondering what had
happened.

"......Yatsushiro-san."

With Miyuki and Lina looking attentively, Tatsuya opened his mouth in a grave tone.

"Have you forgotten? The creation of a micro black hole carries the risk of inviting
Parasites into this world."

In early February of 2096, news from the USNA reported that a micro black hole
experiment was the cause of the Parasite outbreak. This was a fact that should have
certainly been shared among the Ten Master Clans.

"We are aware of the risk of the invasion of Parasites during the formation of the micro
black hole. We would like Shiba-san's help with the countermeasures for that as well."

".......I understand. I will cooperate with you."

After a brief consideration, Tatsuya agreed to the condition.

Miyuki and Lina, both pulled on Tatsuya's sleeves from each side. Surely both of them
wanted to say, "is it really okay to cooperate with a plan that risks a Parasite incident?"

As for Tatsuya, he didn't like the idea either. But he was sure that the Yatsushiro family
wouldn't stop the development of the Degeneracy Reactor regardless of his lack of
cooperation. These two were clearly scholars bent of mind17. He felt that they would
prioritize their own intellectual satisfaction over a small amount of risk. Since they were
going to do it regardless, he preferred to be a part of the plan so that he could keep an
eye on it.

"Really?! Then I'll gladly look forward to working with you."

Raizou beamed with joy at Tatsuya's reply.

"I look forward to working with you, Shiba-san. When would you like me to come to the
Industrial Magic Academy?"

Takara straightened his posture and bowed.

17
“Bent of mind” means inclined to something and fixed on to it and so on.
 38

"Then, as soon as both of you are ready, circumstances permitting, it would be great if
you could come."

Although the sooner the better, it wouldn't be a good idea to rush it. It was obvious
enough that Tatsuya didn't need to be the one to tell them that.

"Then, how about this Saturday?"

"Are you sure you can come so soon?"

Tatsuya asked back, deliberately showing his surprise.

"Yes. Unlike my brother, I don't hold any lectures, that's why."

Takara's answer was a straightforward one. Tatsuya knew that he had quit his job at the
city's university in October last year. If that hadn't been the case, Tatsuya wouldn't have
extended the invitation for the Industrial Magic Academy, but it seemed that Takara had
even less lingering attachments to the university than Tatsuya had previously thought.

"Then, I'll be waiting for you on Saturday."

Thus, Tatsuya succeeded in inviting Yatsushiro Takara as the head of the Industrial
Magic Academy at the cost of a great deal of anxiety about the resurgence18 of a Parasite
outbreak.

18
another; re-; again; repeated;
 39

Chapter 4
[Battle for the Relic (1)]

There was an organization known as [FAIR] that was based in the suburbs of San
Francisco, California. Ostensibly, it was an organization that sought to protect its fellow
citizens from the relentless persecution of Magicians by the Humanism movements —
activists groups that put magicians under ostracism, as they held an arbitrary view that
magic was an unnatural force for humans, and humans should live only with the forces
of nature given to them by the heavens (or even God) — such as the Anti-Magic
Movement against Magicians.

But as the obscure full name "Fighters Against Inferior Race" suggested, FAIR was a
self-righteous, as well as militant, organization. Although it hadn't yet been brought
under scrutiny by the judicial authorities, FAIR considered the non-magical "Majority" to
be of an inferior race, and they were willing to resort to violence to protect their
interests.

This aspect was the biggest difference between FAIR and FEHR. While, for the moment,
FEHR was committed to legitimately fighting, FAIR, on the other hand, was always
willing to use illegal means. This was the difference in stance between the
representatives of the two organizations, Rena Fehr and Rocky Dean. It would be no
exaggeration to describe FAIR as a group of magic supremacist extremists.

In the USNA, on May 11th, a beautiful woman of about 30 years old entered the office of
the FAIR leader, Rocky Dean. His desk interposed this beautiful woman standing before
him, with Dean seated in his chair that was simple, or rather, that emphasized
practicality. The beautiful woman's name was Laura Simon, and she was his aide and
mistress

"My Lord. We've compiled the results from our investigation regarding the location
where the Original Relic was unearthed."

"Let's hear it."

Bringing his hand off the desk, Dean regarded Laura with visible and strong interest.
Despite the lack of further prominent reaction, the report Laura had brought him was
the information Dean placed first on his list of priorities at the moment.
40
 41

"The Original Relic excavation site is at the foot of Mount Norikura, a three thousand
meter high mountain located in the Chubu region of Japan. Here is the map."

Saying this, Laura holds out the electronic paper.

Dean zoomed in and out of the map displayed on the electronic tablet several times
before placing the device on his desk and looking back at Laura.

"That's a long way from both the coastline and the airports....... Seems like it would be
difficult to send our subordinates there."

"Well, partly because of the geography of the site, but even more so because the
excavation site seems to be heavily guarded by the Japanese military."

"So, stealing there would be difficult?"

"I think so."

Although Laura's answer was under a reserved tone, it was a prompt reply that showed
no pretense of thinking.

"Hmm.... did you find out anything about the raw materials of the Relic?"

Dean let out a sigh and changed the topic.

"It appears that there are multiple varieties of Relic that are made from differing
materials. From what we currently know, it is jadeite. Its production site is in Itoigawa
on the coast of the Sea of Japan."

"Jadeite?"

Dean tilted his head at Laura's answer.

"Considering the color of the Artificial Relic, I thought it was red agate."

The Artificial Relic's appearance was that of a reddish, transparent, and glossy gem. It
was from a clearly different coloring than jadeite.

"As you may or may not know, pure jadeite is colorless. The Relic appears to be
magically processed from green jadeite, extracting the compound that is the source of
the pigment, and replacing it with infused mercury sulfide to form a magical circuit."

But after hearing Laura's explanation, Dean found it satisfying.

 42

"Mercury sulfide? If I recall correctly, that's a magical component that is sometimes

associated with the Philosopher's Stone, isn't it?"

And at the same time, he was highly intrigued by the material.

"Yes, that's right. In the Far East, as it is called cinnabar, or red earth, it had even more
value as a magical component than in Europe."

"I see. So it's a combination of jadeite, said to have been more prized than gold in the
ancient Far East, and mercury sulfide, which is highly valued as a magical component,
huh......."

Dean sunk into his own thoughts.

Laura waited patiently in silence until her boss opened his mouth again.

".......The production site19 is in Itogawa, right? Mark that on the map, please."

Laura picked up the electronic tablet on the desk and used it.

"It's much more preferable than the base of Mt. Norikura from earlier......"

Dean's face turned into a scowl as he looked at the map that was handed to him again.

"My Lord, I believe that if we are going to attempt to recreate a Relic, then we should
take the ancient artifacts that have been excavated and use them as material, rather
than trying to use rough gemstones."

"......Is that so?"

Dean didn't ask, "Why?"

Laura Simon was a "Witch".

She has several abilities that were very distinct from that of modern Magicians and
couldn't be rationally explained by magical theory.

Intuitive insight, Inspiration20 was one of them, and Dean was well aware of that fact.

"Fortunately, two years ago, a Relic was unearthed that was only mid-processed, and it
was on display at a nearby museum."

19
Production site of Jade
20
ability to sense the supernatural
 43

"So, since it's still mid-processed, thus having no magical effects, it's on display as a
mere archaeological artifact, is that correct?"

What Laura had just told him was mentioned in the report, the one that Dean had read
earlier, so he remembered it.

"Just as you said, sir."

"And the security is far weaker than the Relic's, I assume?"

"Precisely."

While watching Laura bow reverently, Dean quickly gathered his thoughts.

"──So, shall we ask our friends in Japan to handle things?"

"I also think that would be the best course of action, sir."

Laura, once more, politely bowed her head and expressed her agreement with Dean's
decision.

◇◇◇

The Itoigawa region of the former Niigata Prefecture in the Chubu region of Japan was
known as the oldest source of jadeite gemstone in the world as well as the oldest
excavation site of processed jadeite in the world.

The jadeite magatama and its workshop were unearthed in the latter half of the
twentieth century, and since then research has been ongoing until the present day, only
interspersed with the World War III period. Two years ago, a new mid-processed piece
of magatama was unearthed, believed to be from the Kofun period.

However, this was not the first time that a relic from the Kofun period had been found,
and several similar objects had already been excavated, so, although it was valuable
from an archaeological point of view, it wasn't deemed particularly special and was
donated to a local museum.

Given such circumstances, the semi-processed magatama was put on exhibit at a local
museum as if it had little to no monetary value. Collectors with a passion for ancient
history might pay a reasonable price for them, but that was about it. The museum itself
also had no special security system in place.
 44

Still, it wasn't enough to accuse them of being careless. Just because they didn't take any
special measures didn't mean that they were totally defenseless.

But as it turned out, the head of the museum's security had to resign from his post to
shoulder the responsibility.

On the night of May 17, thieves broke into the aforementioned museum and took away
the unearthed mid-processed jadeite magatama, without so much as a glance at the
cash in the office.

On Wednesday, May 19, Ichijou Masaki, a student of Tokyo's Magic University, was
summoned back to Kanazawa by his father, Ichijou Gouki, head of the Ichijou family of
the Ten Master Clans. He was called back home with no prior warning, right in between
his first and second classes at the Magic University, and although puzzled, he took the
train back to Kanazawa without even having lunch.

His mother, Midori, greeted him wide-eyed when he suddenly appeared back home.
Apparently, she hadn't been told by her husband that he had called their son home.

Seeing the look on his mother's face, Masaki was at his wits' end and simply thought,
"This again...". This wasn't the first time that Gouki had been so cryptic.

"......Mom. Where is Oyaji21?"

"In his study."

"Okay."

He only stopped to leave his belongings in his room, which was unchanged since his
high school days, and headed straight for his father.

"Old man, I'm coming in."

"Masaki, I see you're finally back."

Gouki greeted Masaki, who had just walked into his study, with a look that said, "Took
you long enough".

21
the old man
 45

"Even after I came straight from college for this......."

"Mmm, is that so? So you haven't had lunch then, have you?"

"No, I did. I got something from the Trailer."

Cabinets were primarily for short distance transportation. Trailers, on the other hand,
were larger-sized railcars that allowed passengers to stow their Cabinets and provide
them with a spacious and relaxing space in order to eliminate the need to transfer when
traveling long distances. Trailers were composed of two floors: the first floor was used
to store the Cabinets, and the second floor was a free space for passengers to stretch
their legs.

On the second floor, there was a simple restaurant and a store. Masaki, who had missed
lunch at the university, had a quick meal — albeit it had been fast food — at the trailer
restaurant.

"So what's the reason you called me all the way out here? Is it so delicate that you
couldn't tell me by phone or mail?"

"I can't judge how important it may be at this stage."

"In other words, is it a case that might become highly confidential by some chance?"

"Yes, that's right."

"What is it about?"

Gouki assented to Masaki's request with a grunt, 'Mmm'."

However, at that point, the conversation was interrupted as Midori came in with some
tea.

"Mom, if you had told me, I would have gone to get it."

"It's fine, don't worry. You've just arrived home from a long trip. But if you want
something cold, you will have to get it yourself, okay?"

With that, Midori stepped out of the study.

"On the night before last..."

Not bothering to clear his throat or make any forced transition, Gouki promptly
resumed their conversation.
 46

"...an artifact from the Kofun period was stolen from a museum in Itoigawa."

"An artifact? What, exactly, was stolen?"

"It was a jadeite Magatama. A mid-processed piece, to be exact."

Upon hearing Gouki's answer, Masaki frowned dubiously.

"A Magatama....... Is it really that valuable?"

"It was thought that, other than a precious archaeological artifact, it had no further
value."

Masaki's suspicions weren't entirely off the mark. As Gouki's answer hinted at a deeper
meaning.

"It was thought that?"

"An examination of the scene revealed that magic was used in the theft."

"So the thief is a Magician!?"

"I had someone from the house investigate it yesterday. There's no doubt about it."

"I see......."

Masaki's voice was heavy with disappointment. Not all magicians were born virtuous.
Still, he felt a sense of bitterness at the thought of all magicians suffering yet more
prejudice because of a handful of criminals.

"But that's not the point. While it's unfortunate that crimes committed by Magicians are
not that uncommon, I would not call you back over something of that magnitude."

The fact that it wasn't uncommon was, unfortunately, true.

"Then, what's the issue?"

Masaki's mind switched gears.

After ascertaining this, Gouki also returned to the subject at hand.

"When I found out about the involvement of a Magician, I looked again into the stolen
Magatama. If it's only worth its weight as a mere archaeological relic, then I imagine it
would be difficult to cash in on it."
 47

"Indeed......."

"As it turns out, the Magatama was something that was being processed into a Relic."

"A Relic? Don't tell me, like those Relics that preserve magic sequences?"

Masaki exclaimed in astonishment.

But he was jumping to conclusions.

"We don't actually know of its intended properties22."

But then, Masaki probably wouldn't be the only person in the field of magic23 who would
be so under the impression of the artificial Relic used in the Stellar Reactor that they
would equate 'Relic' with a tool for preserving magic sequences.

"......but it's a Relic with some kind of magical effect, right?"

"That's for sure."

Pulling himself together, Masaki raised a suspicion which Gouki immediately confirmed.

Masaki sank into silence for a while. Apparently, taking some time to digest the
information he was just given.

The Ichijou family was in charge of the oversight of the Hokuriku region, which included
Itoigawa. So, if a magician stole something of magical value from a public facility, it was
certainly a matter that the Ichijou family of the Ten Master Clans couldn't afford to leave
unattended.

And if it happened to have a Relic involved, it was imperative to be careful about

information management. Then, it was only natural that he would be called back out of
the blue, Masaki thought.

"......So, what am I supposed to do?"

"The stolen Magatama in question had no magical effect of its own, despite its magical
value. And I doubt the criminal would be satisfied with just that."

Gouki's line wasn't quite a direct reply, but it was enough of an answer for Masaki.

"You think they're going after other sacred relics? And, do you want me to prevent that?"
22
of the original manufacturing/processing.
23
person related to magic
 48

"It isn't limited to sacred relics. It could be an artifact that was in process into becoming
a sacred relic, just like this one. Right now, I have people looking into possible targets
for the criminal."

Gouki didn't quite confirm Masaki's guess, but neither did he deny it.

"Then I guess I won't come into play until after that investigation is over......."

"Yes, that's the plan. Go back to Tokyo for the time being and be prepared for when your
turn comes."

Masaki firmly took Gouki's instructions into consideration.

"......By the way, if I'm allowed to go back to Tokyo, considering how sensitive this case
might be, why didn't you just have me use the Magic Association's encrypted line for the
Ten Master Clans?"

When Masaki casually asked, Gouki just grunted, "Mmm......" and didn't answer.

◇◇◇

A hastily arranged online meeting between the Ten Master Clans was held the next day.

[──So, Ichijou-dono. The main topic, please.]

This conference was held at the request of Ichijou Gouki, who wished to "share
information". After a brief greeting, Futatsugi Mai, the oldest member present, urged
Gouki to share his information.

"Let's get right to it."

Stopping the preamble with that, Gouki got to the point as prompted.

"On the night of the 17th, a group of Magicians broke into a museum in Itoigawa, in the
former Niigata Prefecture, and took away an item from the exhibition. The stolen article
is an archeological artifact from the Kofun period: A mid-processed Magatama."

[A Magatama from the Kofun period, you say?]

The first reaction came from the head of the Itsuwa family, Itsuwa Isami.

[Is that Magatama of any value to us?]

The head of the Saegusa family, Saegusa Kouichi, followed with his own question.
 49

"None, or so we were led to believe. That's why it was on display in an ordinary

museum."

[And that evaluation proved to be mistaken?]

Yatsushiro Raizou entered the conversation at this point.

"When it became clear that the theft was the work of a magician, I had the theft
investigated again. It seems that the Magatama that was stolen had been on its way to
be processed into a Relic."

[A Relic, you say!? And such a thing was on display in a public museum?]

The head of the Mitsui family, Mitsuiya Gen, responded to Gouki's answer by raising his
voice.

"The Magatama displayed in the museum didn't possess any magical power whatsoever."

Under normal circumstances, it would be Gouki's role to be the one raising his voice in
this fashion. But today, he was the one under questioning. So, he answered Mitsuya
Gen's question in a particularly calm tone.

"So it was in a primed state24, prior to the imparting of the magic, right?".

"I suppose that is the case."

Gouki nodded broadly at the words of Shippou Takumi, the head of the Shippou family,
to a degree that seemed almost exaggerated.

[Does Ichijou-dono expect more thefts?]

Asked the head of the Mutsuzuka family, Mutsuzuka Atsuko.

"I believe so."

Gouki nodded at this question as well.

[Incidentally, Ichijou-dono. Do we know anything about the whereabouts or the identity

of the thieves?]

The question came from Juumonji Katsuto, the head of the Juumonji family, alumnus of
First High and a fresh graduate of the Magic University.

24
Meaning that it was in the preparatory stage or it was at the mid-process of being turned into a Relic.
 50

"In a manner of speaking, I offered to cooperate with the police, but they refused."

Gouki, who had maintained a calm demeanor until now, twisted his face in annoyance.

[We can't impose our cooperation. At this point, he's just a thief, and we will have to
leave it to the police...... So, Ichijou-dono, what are your thoughts regarding future
actions?]

Placating Gouki, Mai then proceeded to ask him what his next steps were.

"I'm having people looking into places where similar excavated articles to the stolen
items are stored. As soon as I know, I shall share the information I have."

[I'll investigate on my end as well. I'll notify you of the results as soon as I can.]

The offer was made by Saegusa Kouichi.

"I would appreciate it very much."

Gouki bowed his head before the monitor.

With no further statements, the online meeting was over.

Standing up from the front of the now turned off camera and swinging his stiff neck
around, Gouki then realized that the head of the Yotsuba family, Yotsuba Maya, had not
asked any sort of question or expressed any opinions whatsoever. However, he didn't let
that weigh on his mind, assuming that "she probably just didn't get a chance to speak".

◇◇◇

An air shuttle service by way of small VTOLs connected the Yotsuba family's private
facilities in the western district of Miyakijima — or the Miyakijima branch of the Yotsuba
family, as it should have been called — to the Magian Company headquarters in Machida.
Instead of a single aircraft making the round trip, two VTOLs flew simultaneously, one
from Miyakijima and the other from Machida. There were four scheduled flights a day,
starting at 8:00, 11:00, 15:00, and 17:00.

However, this wasn't the only means of transportation for the Yotsuba family, as they
owned a heliport under their legal name a short distance away from the Kobuchizawa
station in the former Yamanashi Prefecture, which they often used to get to Miyakijima
from the main house.
 51

May 20, 4:30 p.m. A VTOL arrived at the old airport in the northern part of the island,
instead of the giant mega-float [Western Pacific Ocean Airport] on the southeast coast,
and had departed from the very same heliport near Kobuchizawa.

Tatsuya, who was working on the improvement of the artificial Relic [Magistore] in the
laboratory of one of the Yotsuba family private facilities, looked up at the ringing
intercom.

[Tatsuya-sama, is this a good time?]

Immediately after pressing the answer button, Tatsuya found his personal butler,
Hanabishi Hyougo, bowing on the monitor as he asked that.

"Yes, no problem. Did something come up?"

He was actually in the middle of some cumbersome calculations, but he was in no

particular hurry, so Tatsuya urged Hyougo to go ahead and tell him what he wanted.

"Tsukuba Yuuka-sama is here to see you."

The Tsukuba family was one of the seven Yotsuba branch families, with Yuuka being its
heir. At the present time, she worked at the main house's laboratory as a skilled user of
powerful Mental Interference type magic.

"Yuuka-san? Where is she now?"

"She had some luggage, so she's in the conference room on the first floor waiting for
you, sir."

"I understand. I'll head there right away."

Despite her favorable attitude towards Tatsuya, among the members of the Yotsuba
family, she was hardly completely on his side. Either for her competence or her political
power, Yuuka wasn't someone that he could afford to take lightly.

Tatsuya shut down the terminal he was using to draft the molecular magic circle that
the artificial Relic would use and headed from the basement lab to the first floor.

◇◇◇

"Yuuka-san."
 52

"Tatsuya-san, long time no see."

The last time he had seen Yuuka was in early April, which, in Tatsuya's opinion, wasn't
long enough to call it a "long time". To Yuuka, however, who was used to working with
the same faces every day at the main house, it indeed must have felt like a long time.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Tatsuya didn't try to compare their differences in perception, and simply offered an
apology as his greeting.

"I'm sorry that I didn't call you beforehand, I know this is a bit sudden."

Yuuka's "I'm sorry" wasn't exactly heartfelt.

Of course, just like Yuuka, Tatsuya naturally didn't care about such things at all.

"Yuuka-san. What business brings you here?"

"I'm here on an errand for Toushu-sama25. I came to deliver a package and a message
from her."

"Thank you very much for that. Is it in that baggage?"

Tatsuya turned his attention to the large coffin-sized container that was brought to the
corner of the conference room.

"Yes. I'm sure you know what to expect, but please do confirm it."

Tatsuya and Yuuka walked up to the container together.

Yuuka took out a remote control key to unlock the container.

Tatsuya opened the lid as she urged him to with her eyes. With a gentle touch on its
surface, the container opened automatically.

"Is this... a combat gynoid multi-role type 2100?"

Within the container was a woman-shaped combat robot that was deactivated at the
moment.

"You are correct. To recognize it at first glance, you're as knowledgeable as ever."

25
Head of the Family
 53

Yuuka showed a reasonable amount of surprise when Tatsuya was able to guess the
model number. "reasonable" because she had the assumption that being Tatsuya, he
would probably know something about this military robot.

"How did she get a hold of the state-of-the-art model?"

This gynoid (female-shaped android)'s model '2100' indicated that it was a model of 2100,
that being, the latest; this year's model. Unlike the non-humanoid type of combat robot,
the humanoid type was intended for use by the police as well as the military, but the
latest models were still supplied first to the National Defense Forces. So, Tatsuya's
comment had relevance.

"Since it's for making something that wouldn't be easily replaceable, she arranged for
the latest model."

"That makes sense."

The service life of androids, whether they were combat or non-combat type, was
considered to be ten years. Depending on the usage, they may reach their mechanical
limits even earlier.

Pixie, the frame that hosted the Parasite serving Tatsuya, had been in operation for five
years now. Although it was only halfway through its service life, the fuel cells were
already starting to show signs of deterioration. That said, the actuators in its legs were
already replaced, due to damage from being used beyond their original design. Combat
gynoids used all-solid-state batteries instead of fuel cells, and even though their power
mechanisms were designed to be robust enough for combat use, they would reach their
mechanical limits before a human life expectancy.

Being a machine, it could be just a matter of replacing anything that stopped working.
When it comes to the vessel of the Parasite, things don't work quite smoothly. Although
not impossible, transferring the main body of the Parasite from one frame to the other
required a considerable amount of effort. Besides, the plan was to use this model to
operate in Takachiho at an altitude of 6,400 kilometers above the surface. An overhaul
wouldn't be easy. It was a matter of course to choose something that could be used for a
long time.

Beside Tatsuya, Yuuka gave a small nod, bending down and reaching into the corner of
the container to pick up a small, tightly-packed box, and presented it to Tatsuya.

"And here's the aforementioned item."

 54

Tatsuya made no attempt to open the box. He already knew what was inside. It was one
of the Parasites that Fumiya had sealed into a doll on this island three years ago in July.

Tatsuya returned the small box to the container and closed the lid. He didn’t lock it with
the key, rather, he disabled the semi-automatic locking mechanism. The container was
going to be shipped into space that evening. The Parasite and the gynoid were the
materials Minoru would use to create the Parasite Doll. It would be a big problem if the
contents were scattered around by some accident.

"This is good, just as I asked. Now, what would be the message?"

"Yuuka-sama. Please, have a seat."

After Tatsuya's words, Hyougo offered Yuuka a seat.

Yuuka took up his offer and sat down in the chair that he pulled out.

Tatsuya pulled out his own chair and sat in front of her.

"An interim Master Clans conference was held online this morning."

"What was discussed there?"

Tatsuya knew that the matter of the Magian Society and Company might be brought up
at the Master Clans meeting. Still, if it was going to be on the agenda, he would have
been made privy to it. There were no other major incidents of his knowledge that would
call for one. If anything, it could be the recent attempted theft of the artificial Relic by
the foreign magic supremacist extremist group FAIR, of which Tatsuya was an involved
party himself, but even in that case, it was highly unlikely that Tatsuya wouldn't have
been informed of the meeting in advance.

"It was regarding the theft by some mageists in Itoigawa."

"I don't think mageist crimes are that uncommon to require a Master Clans meeting for
every one of them."

"If it was just a simple theft."

Tatsuya frowned at Yuuka's meaningful tone.

"What was stolen?"

"A Magatama from the Kofun period that was on display at a museum. A mid-processed
jadeite one, to be precise."
 55

"......And it was considered that it may possibly be material for a Relic?"

Yuuka rounded her eyes at Tatsuya's guess.

"Very correct! As expected of a Relic expert!"

Yuuka's voice dropped its serious tone at that point.

"It's not like I'm an expert or anything."

"There's no need for modesty between us, you know. No one knows Relics better than
you, who has managed to crack its mysteries and successfully replicate it."

"I just made a replica of the original, that's all."

Yuuka's eyes narrowed as she heard that, and she glared at Tatsuya as if to say, "You
can't fool me".

"Then wouldn't that be false advertising? You call it an artificial Relic, but the original
Relic was a magical tool made by human hands. Your artificial Relic is a reproduction of
the original using modern manufacturing methods. So, therefore, it might be able to
outperform the Original. Am I wrong?"

"Let's get back to the topic."

So Tatsuya offered, not due to embarrassment, but due to the bother that it would bring.

"──Ok, I understand."

Realizing the digression, Yuuka returned to her business mode and then nodded in
agreement.

"Is there any clue as to who was the culprit?"

Tatsuya asked her after Yuuka finished explaining the situation.

"No, it seems that wasn't that much of a point of mention at the Master Clans
conference."

"You already told me the results of the Master Clans conference."

Yuuka let out a light sigh upon Tatsuya's scrutiny.

 56

"......I was not instructed to tell you that much, though."

"But it's not like you were prohibited either, right?"

In essence, Tatsuya was asking her not of what the Ichijou family had reported at the
Master Clans meeting, but about what the Yotsuba family had discovered so far.

"Well, I indeed wasn't prohibited from doing so......."

Yuuka waved her head in a small motion as if to shake off a headache.

"......This information wasn't confirmed. Do you still want it?"

"I don't mind. Please go ahead."

Yuuka's appeal that she didn't want to talk about it failed to convince Tatsuya.

"There's a high probability that the group responsible is the New Humanity Front."

Yuuka did her best to express she had no choice in the matter in her voice, but disclosed
the information Tatsuya was seeking in the end.

"New Humanity Front being that outlawed magic supremacist extremist organization in
Japan?"

'New Humanity Front', a magical supremacist group. Not as in a "new breed of humans'',
but rather an "advanced human race". It stands for an "evolved human race". As their
name implies, they consider magians to be an evolved form of humanity.

This ideology wasn't exclusive to the New Humanity Front, FEHR (Fighters for the
Evolution of the Human Race) and FAIR (Fighters Against Inferior Race) also shared it.

"Yes. It seems that they are in a cooperative relationship with FAIR, who targeted the
artificial Relic the other day."

Yuuka confirmed Tatsuya's statement, topping it off with another piece of information
he was unaware of.

"They are allies with FAIR, huh......"

"Yeah. It seems that the organization was originally formed as an attempt to create a
Japanese branch of FEHR."

This explanation was at odds with Tatsuya's assessment of the matter.

 57

"I don't think FEHR has enough power to branch out into Japan as of yet."

This was a question in the form of a rebuttal by him.

"It wasn't founded by FEHR's leader — a group of Japanese Magicians who sympathize
with her ideas formed it on their own."

Yuuka's answer brought a new set of questions to Tatsuya's mind.

"Then, why are they working with FAIR and not FEHR?"

"Many of the members of the New Humanity Front had the belief that the use of
illegitimate force is unavoidable if it is to counter the unlawful anti-magic movement.
FEHR's leader, Rena Fehr, however, has so far remained committed to non-violence. So,
it seems that the New Humanity Front has grown tired of this idea and has switched
from FEHR to FAIR."

"I see."

Sounds plausible, Tatsuya thought.

"──So, Toushu-sama26 thinks that the theft of the Relic's materials this time is part of a
series of incidents instigated by the same mastermind behind the last incident, right?"

"That's right."

Yuuka nodded at Tatsuya's guess and then added a message she wasn't meant to deliver
today.

"Toushu-sama said that 'depending on how things go, Tatsuya-san may have to lend a
hand'."

"Yuuka-san, please pass on to Haha-ue that 'I understand'."

To the members within the Yotsuba family — and, of course, to the outside world — it
was established that Tatsuya was Maya's biological son. Tatsuya's answer was in
consideration of that.

26
The Head of the Family
 58

Chapter 5
[Industrial Magic Academy (Makouien) (3)]

On Saturday, May 22nd, the Industrial Magic Academy (Specialized Academy of Industrial
Magic Technology), which was in the process of getting prepared for its opening,
welcomed the person who would become the head of the academy.

When Tatsuya brought him up to the office, Mayumi's eyes stared blankly. She appeared
to be so surprised that Ryousuke couldn't help but ask her in a low voice, "Do you know
him?"

The first impression Ryousuke had of the person who had been chosen as the head of
the school was that "he was pretty young". Even though he seemed young, he was
probably much older than Ryousuke, but perhaps not by much more than ten years. He
might still be in his twenties.

He was roughly the same height as Ryousuke. Although Ryousuke might be a couple of
centimeters taller than him, that was about it. He had a slender body, and even though
Ryousuke also seemed to be slender, he had a lot of muscle mass. He was the male
version of "I'm amazing when I take off my clothes". However, the young man who was
chosen as the head of the academy didn't only seem to be slender, but was actually
slender.

His appearance and his demeanor gave off a very "researcher-like" impression. In this
respect, he seemed to be a natural fit for the position of head of the academy...... But, in
actuality, the position of head of the academy required more management skills than
academic knowledge, still, that was just the impression Ryousuke got of him.

"I'd like to introduce you all to Yatsushiro Takara-san. He will be assuming the role of the
head of the Industrial Magic Academy."

Tatsuya introduced the head of the academy before Ryousuke could get an answer from
Mayumi.

('Yatsushiro'?)

"Executive Director, I don't mean to come across as being rude, but......"

 59

A reflexive question popped out from Ryousuke.

"Yatsushiro-san is the younger brother of the head of the Yatsushiro family of the Ten
Master Clans."

However, before he could complete his question, an answer came from Tatsuya.

(So it was the Ten Master Clans.......)

Ryousuke realized the reason behind Mayumi's expression. Of course she would be
surprised. Ryousuke himself couldn't help but be surprised as well.

The Industrial Magic Academy was a vocational training institution managed by Magian
Company.

While it was founded by Tatsuya, Magian Company had clear connections with the
Yotsuba family, as evidenced by having Miyuki, the next head of the family, as the
chairwoman of the board. Since the power relationship between Tatsuya and the
Yotsuba family was unknown, it wasn't possible to say for sure if the Company was fully
under the thumb of the Yotsuba family, but it was undoubtedly part of the family
business.

And it was in such a place with close ties to the Yotsuba family that the younger brother
of the head of the Yatsushiro family had been appointed as the head figure. Despite also
being a member of the Ten Master Clans, this was a bit different from Mayumi's case.
Mayumi was just an ordinary employee, and she was the one who came looking for the
job. And likely sent by the Saegusa family to just investigate the Company's goals.

Yatsushiro Takara, on the other hand, was personally approached by Tatsuya and asked
to take the position. And the Yatsushiro family seemed to have agreed to Takara's
appointment as head of the Industrial Magic Academy on the spot, though there may
have been some prior negotiations as well. Actually, it was more logical to assume so.
Then it would be safe to presume that there was some sort of arrangement between the
Yotsuba family and the Yatsushiro family behind Takara's appointment.

Because there was no indication that the Yatsushiro family had become a part of the
Yotsuba family. Much less the other way around. So, did the Yotsuba family and the
Yatsushiro family form an alliance?

──So was the thinking of Ryousuke. Takara must have taken on the role of head of the
academy because he and his brother Raizou had agreed with Tatsuya's ideals, and
 60

although Takara had said so himself when he greeted Mayumi and Ryousuke, he couldn't
bring himself to take his words at face value.

◇◇◇

Naturally, the repercussions weren't limited to within the academy and Magian
Company.

"Is that really true?"

That was the first thing Saegusa Kouichi said when he heard from Mayumi, who
returned to her parents' house after a two-week absence, that Yatsushiro Takara had
been appointed the head of the Industrial Magic Academy. Not even a figure like him
was able to suppress his surprise. No, he was so shocked that his voice came out before
he could even think of masking it.

As a matter of fact, Mayumi was squealing with joy inside as she saw it happen first
hand. She was feeling what could be described in layman's terms as, "it serves you
right!". Having always been pushed into crazy situations by Kouichi, Mayumi found
herself enjoying the sight of her father's dismay. She couldn't deny that the repeated
stress caused by her father had led her to become a bit mean herself.

"Of course it's true. I have no reason to lie about something like this."

"No, it's not that, but......"

"You just can't believe it?"

Mayumi asked her father in a slightly snarky tone.

"Honestly, I cannot believe it, but I have no choice but to accept it."

Kouichi dejectedly leaned his body against the back of the sofa.

"But there is still the question..... are the Yatsushiro family joining hands with the
Yotsuba family?"

The Ten Master Clans considered themselves as the body that stood for the interests of
Magicians. And although the Magic Association of Japan existed with the same principle,
the Association, as an official organization, couldn't ignore the whims of the
government. In order to achieve their inseparable goal of the prevention of nuclear
warfare, the Association seemed to have no choice but to make major concessions to
the government.
 61

The Ten Master Clans, on the other hand, occasionally catered to the politicians,
financiers, and other powerful people; but often got themselves into hot water with
them, just for the sake of protecting the interests of Magicians, and preventing them
from suffering detriment. Within those activities, the Ten Master Clans were willing to
make backroom deals with those in power, as well as engage in illegal activities, as they
had always done.

Incidentally, once someone started to accept illegal activities as a necessary evil, they
tended to use it as an excuse to unscrupulousness. As a result, they ended up either
being brought into judgment for overstepping their bounds, or end up in
self-destruction. To avoid that, the Ten Master Clans had established an unwritten rule
of mutual surveillance.

In light of that principle, it was contrary to the rules of the Ten Master Clans when one
family joined forces with another. As an aggregation of people, the formation of factions
was unavoidable. However, it must remain within a reasonable degree as to not
interfere with the mutual surveillance. Forwarding a joint project without consulting
the other clans invited a great deal of potential harm to the Ten Master Clans system.

"Is it possible that Yatsushiro Takara is personally cooperating with them?"

"Personally cooperating... with the Yotsuba family?"

"No, not with the Yotsuba, but with Executive Director Shiba personally."

Kouichi sunk into thought after Mayumi had raised that point.

"......No, it's hard to imagine that Takara-san made a secret deal with Shiba-kun
personally; even if he did join forces with Shiba-kun personally instead of with the
Yotsuba, the decision would still ultimately fall on the Yatsushiro family."

Kouichi's eyes weren't trained on Mayumi. Judging by his tone, he was probably talking
to himself.

Under that conclusion, Mayumi remained silent.

"Financial aid? No, I haven't heard of any projects in the Yatsushiro family that would
require significant funding....... Maybe technical assistance? That seems plausible.......
Mayumi, have you heard anything about it?"

"What do you mean by ‘anything', what exactly do you want to know?"

 62

As her father was finally ready to resume their conversation, Mayumi asked back in a
curt voice.

Kouichi didn't particularly mind, as this was the sort of attitude Mayumi always
displayed towards him.

"Did Yatsushiro-san mention anything about why he took on the role of head of the
academy?"

Mayumi wondered "Finally, and that's what you're going to ask?" in her mind, but she
didn't say it or let it show in her expression.

"He mentioned that he sympathized with Director Shiba's ideals."

"Sympathized......?"

Kouichi muttered quizzically. His voice was low, but not so much that Mayumi couldn't
hear it.

"Yes. That's why I suggested that the head of the academy might be cooperating with the
executive director for personal reasons."

"That's ridiculous... because of his ideals? Like that’s even possible."

"Are you sure?"

"…………"

Kouichi had no answer to Mayumi's retort. He fell silent, and "I'm unable to
comprehend" was written all over his face.

With her sisters keeping her from going back to the company housing, Mayumi stayed at
her parents' house. Her room was still in the same state as when she left, so the only
thing the servants had to do was make her bed. Even then, since they prepared the bed
every morning even if the owner of the room wasn't present, she would only need a
minor touch-up to get to sleep.

After getting into bed and turning off the lights with a voice command, Mayumi sat
under the summer bedcovers and thought about the conversation she had just had with
her father.

(It's not like father can understand it.......)

 63

Her father had been dismissive of the Magian Company's philosophy of giving Magians,
whose magic skills didn't allow them to make a living out of it, a way to make use of the
Magic Factor they were born with, calling it insignificant in terms of monetary and
technological gains. It was true that the support of a hundred or two hundred grateful
people wouldn't be as much as a margin of error for either the Yotsuba or Yatsushiro
families. And, in the short term, it wouldn't be of any benefit to the magical world.

However, the impact of the Magian Company's project to create a way for Magians with
skills below combat level to use their magical talents wouldn't be restricted to the
graduates of the Industrial Magic Academy and the new employees of Stellar Generator
Inc., who would all directly benefit from the project.

Mayumi knew it well. She had seen the tears of her seniors and classmates who aspired
to become Magicians, but were unable to enter Magic University, because their magical
skills weren't up to par. And although she didn't see it personally, Mayumi knew that
there were many students who were enrolled in high schools affiliated with the Magic
University, but gave up on going to Magic University from the very beginning because
they didn't have access to proper education like others did. And the fact that there were
many people with the magic factor who didn't make it into a magic high school because
of the standards of the entrance evaluation.

Being able to make use of the gifts you were born with.

Without a doubt, that brought a sense of purpose to one's life.

It was true that there were situations where the things one liked and what they were
good at were at odds with each other. And there were those who didn't wish for their
talents to limit their lives. However, in today's society where the applications of magic
were severely limited to a few fields, there were probably many magians who were
stuck in the dark, because there weren't any jobs where they could make use of their
talents.

The Magian Company's venture provided the present magians with a reason to live, and
helped create a future where hope trumped over resignation.

What Tatsuya was after wasn’t the mere pursuit of financial gain. To say nothing of a
desire for influence.

His goal was to change27 society.

27
transformation; innovation; reform; revolution; revolutionizing; upheaval
 64

Mayumi didn't believe that this was the whole reason why Yatsushiro Takara had signed
the deal with him. The heads of the Yatsushiro family weren't so simple-minded as to let
a single factor determine their decision. However, Mayumi believed that this played a
huge role in his decision to take on the position of head of the Industrial Magic
Academy.

The ideal of changing society was a powerful force that could motivate people.

And that was a foreign concept for father — Mayumi thought as she layed in bed.

◇◇◇

The news regarding Yatsushiro Takara's appointment as the head of the Industrial Magic
Academy spread quickly throughout the Ten Master Clans, the Eighteen auxiliary
families, the Hundred numbered families, and the top brass of the Magic Association
within the next day, even though it was a Sunday. The Yotsuba and Yatsushiro families
were inundated with as many inquiries as the Yotsuba had received at the time of the
establishment of the Magian Society. In front of the inquiries (confrontation) regarding
the nature of the relationship between the two families, both the Yotsuba and the
Yatsushiro simply stated "There was no such alliance".

Among the inquiries, the one made by the head of the Mutsuzuka family to the Yotsuba
family had a completely different spin.

"......So, Mutsuzuka-dono is willing to support Tatsuya's project?"

Even Maya couldn't hide her surprise at Atsuko's unexpected proposal.

[Yes. Is there anything I can assist with?]

"I am grateful for your offer. But, considering the suspicion that was cast on us and the
Yatsushiro family, wouldn't it be difficult for the Mutsuzuka family to help us?"

Maya, not wanting to raise any more of a ruckus, was indirectly declining Atsuko's
proposal.

[Then what if it's like Yatsushiro-dono's brother's case, would it still be difficult if it was
from an individual?]

But Atsuko didn't back down so easily.

 65

"Mutsuzuka-dono, your house is quite far away, isn't it? Wouldn't it make it impossible to
reconcile with your duties in the Ten Master Clans......?"

[......I guess that's right]

She finally backed down after the objective facts persuaded her. But it didn't sound like
she truly accepted it. It was an audio-only call, but even from her voice alone, the extent
of Atsuko's disappointment was clear.

"Why don't you try talking to Tatsuya about it?"

Even though Maya's suggestion didn't stem solely from sympathy, there was no denying
that it played a major part in it.

[You won't mind if I do?]

"I don't mind. But why are you so eager to help my son and my niece with their
business?"

It was unusual for Maya to ask, but she was seriously curious about it. And, moreover,
she was exposing it before others.

[......Something that probably wouldn't be praised from a member of the Ten Master
Clans.]

The voice of Atsuko answering that question made Maya let out a "Oh" with a small tilt of
her head in an expression of shame.

[When I heard about it, I felt that Yatsushiro-dono had beaten me to the punch.]

"Why do you think so?"

[When I learned of the project that your son had started, I thought. I wanted to change
it, too.]

"Change what?"

[Your son is seriously trying to change the world. When I learned about that, I found
that I had the same desire dormant inside me.]

"My goodness."

There weren't any elements of derision or cynicism in Maya's voice. It was, shall we say,
a pleased tone of voice that one would use with a much younger brother or sister.
 66

[Please, feel free to laugh. I'm already over 30 and yet here I am, talking just like a
petulant28 girl. I never thought I'd still have this kind of drive in me.]

From Atsuko's voice, on the other side of the line, it was easy to imagine that she was
blushing.

"Isn't that good? Tatsuya is also no longer a young boy, for that matter. So, I don't think
age has anything to do with such feelings."

[I guess so, right? Thank you very much.]

Atsuko's embarrassed chuckle could be heard from the phone.

Maya too, in fellowship, replied "Yeah" with a small laugh herself.

28
Teenage; impatient; ill-mannered; bad-tempered
 67

Chapter 6
[Society and FEHR (1)]

On the evening of Sunday, May 23, when the Japanese magic community was reeling
with suspicion and uncertainty concerning the relationship between the Yotsuba and
Yatsushiro families, Tatsuya, despite being one of the concerned parties, had completely
ignored the turmoil and was instead facing a terminal dedicated to international
encrypted communications.

On the other end was the representative of the Magian Society, Asha Chandrasekhar. He
knew that she wouldn't be at her home in the region of the Indo-Persian Federation
formerly known as Hyderabad, but on the island of Sri Lanka, where the Society's
headquarters were situated. Even now, she was communicating from the Society's
headquarters in Galle, a city at the southern tip of Sri Lanka.

After a brief round of pleasantries, Tatsuya asked Chandrasekhar, "Have you ever heard
of an organization called FEHR?".

[Isn't that a magic supremacist organization based in Vancouver?]

Chandrasekhar replied without so much as a delay.

"You told me earlier, Doctor, that you had no plans to join forces with a magical
supremacist group, I assume you haven't changed your mind about that, have you?"

[......Are you considering an alliance with FEHR, Mister?]

This time around, she returned with a question instead of an answer. There was a slight
pause followed by this counter-question.

"I was thinking about reaching out to them to see if they are someone we can cooperate
with."

[That organization seems to have maintained a policy of abiding by the law so far, so I
guess that would be fine.]

Chandrasekhar agreed even more easily than Tatsuya had expected. It seemed that she
possessed much more than a passing knowledge of FEHR than he had anticipated.
 68

[By the way, Mister, what made you consider getting in touch with FEHR? I believe this is
the first time FEHR has been mentioned between us."]

"It's because FEHR has sent one of their members to my place"

Tatsuya's honest answer prompted a faint smile and a "Oh my....." from Chandrasekhar.

[......By 'my place', Mister, you mean Magian Company?]

It might not have come as a surprise, but Chandrasekhar was fully aware of the
Company. Being neither a branch nor an affiliate of Society, there was essentially no
requirement to get Chandrasekhar's consent to establish the Company, but Tatsuya had
explained the Company to her beforehand regardless.

"That's right."

Tatsuya readily confirmed. No words of concern, caution, nor questions about the
identity of the spy were spoken by Chandrasekhar. The subject of the spy sent out by
FEHR consisted of no more than that.

At the end of the day, the discussion ended with Chandrasekhar stating that she would
draft the terms of the partnership with FEHR by tomorrow, and that she would leave the
first phase of negotiations to Tatsuya.

◇◇◇

Tatsuya told Miyuki and Lina over dinner that day about his discussion with
Chandrasekhar about establishing a cooperative relationship with FEHR. The reason as
to why he also shared with Lina, and not just with Miyuki, was because, considering the
fact that FEHR was an organization located in the USNA, Tatsuya was thinking that
situations may arise in which she would need to be able to act.

Since she started living with Tatsuya and Miyuki, Lina had become more
straightforward, for better or worse. She was probably a good natured person at heart
who just couldn't lie. Because of how honest she had become, she was less prone to
shooting herself in the foot by attempting to hide secrets. She probably felt much more
at ease, mentally.

"I think you already know this, but I am totally against the idea."

Even now, she expressed her honest thoughts boldly, like this.
 69

"I am well aware of the risks. But if we don't do anything because of the risks it poses,
not only will we miss out on the opportunity, but the situation could get significantly
worse."

"What situation are you saying we can avoid if we ally ourselves with FEHR?"

There was a bit of belligerence in Lina's tone of questioning.

"If an isolated FEHR were to become inclined to do illegal activities and join forces with
organized crime groups such as FAIR, it would be a major headwind for Society. That
would give momentum to the Anti-Magic Movement's claim that Magians are a danger
to the Majority."

This 'Majority' referred to the population who weren't magians; who weren't born with
the magic factor. Tatsuya wasn't uncomfortable being identified as a minority. Since the
fact that Magians were an absolute minority was irrefutable.

"So, it's to keep an eye on FEHR to make sure they don't turn to terrorism or commit
crimes?"

Lina asked Tatsuya back, looking taken by surprise29.

"That too."

"Hmmm....... If so, I guess I can accept it."

Once Lina had buried the hatchet, Miyuki raised her own question to Tatsuya.

"But Tatsuya-sama. In that case, wouldn't it be better to have them directly involved
through the Company?"

"No......."

Tatsuya slowly shook his head in response to Miyuki's question.

"That would be correct as far as surveillance was concerned. But Magian Company's
activities are focused solely on the Japanese domestic market. We’re considering
accepting foreign personnel at some point, but if we were to form a direct partnership
with FEHR, there's a high possibility that either, or both, the Magic Association and the
National Defense Force would be suspicious of us without cause."

"I was shallow in my thinking. You are completely right."

29
to take (someone) by surprise; something unexpected
 70

Tatsuya shook his head when Miyuki displayed her embarrassment.

"Not really, It's just that I have been considering this matter for a long time."

"Okay then. So, are you done with this thing? Then let's eat. The food is going to get
cold."

Lina, feeling that the exchange of ideas was about to turn into an intimate tangle
between the two, sought to forcibly bring it to an end.

While displaying a wry smile, Tatsuya and Miyuki complied with her.

◇◇◇

On the following day, Monday, May 24, Chandrasekhar sent the draft of the collaboration
proposal to Tatsuya's attention, as agreed.

Tatsuya immediately reviewed the document that had been sent to him by mail. The
contents were well within his expectations, except for one point. That particular point
didn't disadvantage Tatsuya in any way. However, he couldn't resist the urge to find out
Chandrasekhar's true intentions.

One hour after receiving the mail, Tatsuya finally managed to reach Chandrasekhar via
encrypted communication.

"──Doctor. May I have a word with you for a moment?"

[Yes, no problem, mister. Was there anything that was unclear?]

Fortunately, Chandrasekhar was available.

"There's just one item I'd like to address. It's regarding the personnel exchange with
FEHR."

[Ok, what about it?]

"Are you really going to send Miss Shastri to FEHR? Even though she isn't officially
recognized as one, isn't she still a Strategic-Class Magician?"

Arya Krishna Shastri was an unofficial Strategic-Class Magician who acted as

Chandrasekhar's bodyguard. Yet, her duties were nothing more than a mere escort. The
true value of a Strategic-Class Magic was only demonstrated when it came to targeting
 71

cities, fleets, and large forces. The same applied for [Agni Downburst] that Shastri had
mastered.

Agni Downburst was a magic that used adiabatic compression to create a massive,
high-density mass of air near the boundary between the troposphere and the
stratosphere, which was then brought down while retaining its high-density state.

As the high-density state was maintained through magic, the mass of air would then
reach high temperatures via the phenomenon of adiabatic compression. Thus, creating
a phenomenon that couldn't occur naturally, where the densely compressed air mass,
although hotter, would still be much heavier than normal uncompressed air and the
cold air found at high altitudes.

And, even in that state, the heavier cluster of compressed air would then begin its
descent. The mass was then accelerated with magic, slamming it into the ground (sea
level), in conjunction with the air on its downward path, that was compressed and
heated up by friction, which spread heat and shockwaves to the surroundings. Which
was the Strategic-Class Magic, Agni Downburst.

This magic wasn't dependent on geographic conditions. By adjusting the size of the air
mass, the power could be tailored to either the strategic level of destroying a city or to
the combat level for dealing with small units.

On the other hand, it could be affected by large-scale meteorological phenomena such

as hurricanes, that could cause the time lag between the activation and the striking big
enough to turn it into a disadvantage.

Due to how the power could be regulated, Agni Downburst was a very convenient and
easy-to-use magic. However, it was still powerful enough to be worthy of the title of
Strategic-Class Magic. Tatsuya considered that it was only natural to avoid the risk of it
falling into the wrong hands as much as possible.

[Agni Downburst requires a special CAD system, so there's no worry about a leakage.
Besides, there are pieces of information that can only be obtained from within the
organization. So, isn't it reasonable to send someone we can trust?]

"If obtaining information is all you want, I'm sure there are more qualified people. I don't
think that Miss Shastri is the only mageist that you, Doctor, have at your disposal."

[......I'd like to keep this between us.]

Chandrasekhar's voice sounded distressed, Tatsuya nodded silently.

 72

[Lately, the federal army has been demanding that I give Arya to them.]

It went without saying that the "federal army" she was referring to was the Indo-Persian
federal army.

"Is the intention of the government to use the strength of having two nationally
recognized Strategic-Class Magicians to establish diplomatic superiority over the Great
Asian Union?"

[It does seem so, doesn't it? And to add to that, I think there's also a competitive spirit
against Japan, which now has two "apostles". ......You, mister, are a whole different story.]

'Apostles' was how the nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magicians were commonly
referred to. With the recognition of Ichijou Masaki as a Strategic-Class Magician three
years ago, and the already acknowledged Itsuwa Mio, Japan raised its number of
'Apostles' to two. And, with Tatsuya's disposal of Bezobrazov of the New Soviet Union
shortly thereafter, only two nations, USNA and Japan, were left with more than one
nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magicians.

"So, you, Doctor, would prefer to keep Miss Shastri in your hands rather than handing
her over to the military? Then I don't think it would be any more meaningful to send her
to FEHR."

[You see, I don't want Arya on the battlefield. Because she just isn't fit for war. And the
only reason I taught Arya the Strategic-Class Magic was because I knew that a
Strategic-Class Magician wouldn't be thrown onto the battlefield as easily.]

At the end of that line, Chandrasekhar muttered in an empty voice, "Though it turns out
it was a miscalculation on my part".

"......But if we try to do that, won't the government refuse to allow Miss Shastri to leave
the country?"

[I can work out something about that. I've already told the military that Arya's abilities
are still too unstable to be used in actual combat.]

"Will Doctor be okay by telling such a lie?"

[It's not entirely a lie, it's true that Arya has an unstable side.]

On the monitor's screen, Chandrasekhar exhaled a sigh.

 73

[The military and government have reached an agreement to find a new suitable
candidate from among the mageist officers. But if it takes too long, I'm afraid the
military high command will grow impatient.]

"Those things will take time. Finding a match for Strategic-Class Magic isn’t that easy."

[Yes. That's why part of the point is to ensure that Arya is out of the country.]

"If that’s the case, I will say nothing more. Then, I would like to open negotiations on the
terms you have offered."

[That's right. Then, I'll be looking forward to working with you, mister.]

After Tatsuya bid her farewell, he closed the encrypted communication line.
 74

Chapter 7
[Battle for the Relic (2)]

The mid-processed jade magatama, stolen from the Itoigawa museum, was brought to
FAIR's base in San Francisco despite the police roadblocks and the sea blockade.

It arrived on May 20th, and was analyzed over the course of three days.

"My lord. Unfortunately, it seems that we were unable to figure out the Relic's
manufacturing process with the altered30 relic."

"I imagine you at least found out something, didn't you?"

When the two of them were the only people left in the room, Dean asked back in
regards to Laura's report. They were in the same positions as the other day, Dean sat
behind his desk and Laura stood in front of it.

"I've only been able to corroborate a speculation. But there's nothing actually new."

Laura shook her head sideways.

"──What exactly did you find out?"

But Dean wasn't satisfied with that answer.

Without much of a choice, Laura gave a report that she didn't previously provide.

"It was no mistake that the relic we obtained was in the middle of being processed into
a Relic. I'm now fairly certain that the manufacturing method of the Relic consists of
drawing a three-dimensional magic circle in its interior by rearranging the pigment of
the ore."

"Don't you think that seems like quite an accomplishment?"

"I don't think I need to explain this again, but simply drawing a magic circle won't
achieve the desired effect. To put it in an old fashioned way, you must pour magic power
into the completed magic circle."

30
remade, remolded; converted; reconstructed; adapted
 75

Laura was an ancient-styled Magician known as a 'Witch'. As such, she was probably
more familiar with the traditional terminology than the newer terms of modern magical
science.

"Magic power, huh? It's odd when you think about it. While we're constantly using
magic, we still don't really understand what its source, the 'magic power', is."

"A strong theory was published last year that argues that the true nature of magic power
is, in fact, the event interference power."

"And the event interference force itself would be the Pushion waves, right? But it's not
like all Pushion waves induce event modification. That particular paper didn't suggest
how the Pushion waveforms could be translated into event interference force."

"And that's just where the question is. In order to obtain a Relic that can preserve magic
sequences like we want, it is essential to have a system that can either incorporate
'magic power' externally or one that can accumulate it internally."

"......Well, he's the one who wrote that paper in the first place. So it's possible that he's
deliberately keeping the secrets of Relics under wraps."

The paper Dean and Laura were referring to was one published by Tatsuya. Dean's
speculation couldn't be said to be completely unjust suspicion.

Laura didn't offer any personal comment of her own on that statement.

"And, unfortunately, there were no clues about that system that were present in the relic
that we obtained."

She turned the conversation back to the relics and the Relic31.

"So, Laura. What do you think we should do next?"

"I would advise that we steal an Original Relic from the excavation site."

Laura's answer was immediate. It was quite clear that she had intended to make this
suggestion all along.

"You mean that the Original is essential in order to replicate a Relic with the propriety of
magic sequence preservation?"

31
The first mention of “relic” refers to a standard artifact. and the second means Relic, as in, but not limited to,
the Original Relic and Tatsuya's Artificial Relics (Magistore).
 76

"That's right."

Since she didn't have the Original at hand, she had no basis to say that she could
duplicate it if she had it. However, she was certain that it would be impossible to
reproduce the magic sequence preservation effect with the materials she currently had
available.

"There are many people in our organization who are limited in the types of magic they
can use. In order to fight against the persecution from the inferior race, we need
magical weapons that will allow magicians with no aptitude for combat to use
military-grade magic. And to manufacture such magic weapons, a sufficient number of
Relics are indispensable."

"It's exactly as you say, My Lord."

At that point, Dean suddenly became mildly contemplative.

"......But, as we had concluded, given the geography of the excavation site where the
Original was extracted from, it would be difficult to find a member of our organization
who could do it. So, who shall we use?"

"How about commissioning the New Humanity Front one more time?"

There was no hesitation in Laura's answer.

"Even though the excavation site is guarded by the Japanese military? Don't you think
they're not up to the task?"

Dean's question was reasonable32.

"The New Humanity Front isn't an essential piece of FAIR to begin with. I believe that
even if they were to be wiped out due to a lack of resources, it wouldn't be detrimental
to us."

Laura's answer was also very natural, as far as their methods were concerned.

"What if the New Humanity Front gets captured?"

"I think we should do nothing and just cut them off. The New Humanity Front was
originally formed by a group of Japanese magicians who glorified, that, Rena Fehr.
Despite unilaterally glorifying her and then unilaterally disappointing her by joining
forces with us there are still quite a few who think New Humanity Front is an
32
natural; right; proper; just; appropriate; deserved
 77

organization affiliated with FEHR. So, if the New Humanity Front is arrested, there will
be some sparks that will be directed at Rena Fehr."

"To that woman, huh? Sounds good to me."

Dean nodded with a wicked smile on his face. He didn't like Rena Fehr's overly lenient
stance. She never seemed to be willing to get her own hands dirty. It seemed to Dean
that it would be quite ironic for her, who would deny any act that strayed from the law
and order that the lesser race had established, to suffer a false accusation.

"And there is one more thing I would like to suggest."

Laura bowed and continued to speak as she kept her head down.

"Tell me."

"I think we should assemble a survey team and send them to Mount Shasta."

Returning to her original stance, Laura explained her proposition.

Mount Shasta was a 4,000-meter high mountain in northern California. It was known as
the source of a famous mineral water.

"Mt. Shasta, the one considered sacred by the aborigines? You're saying that there might
be a clue to the magic sequence preservation Relic there?"

Laura gave a brief bow, and this time she immediately raised back up.

"When I saw the pictures of Mt. Norikura, the site of the Relic excavations in Japan, I felt
that it had similar spiritual geographical features based on the lay of the land33 to Mt.
Shasta."

"Is that due to your intuition as a Witch?"

"Yes."

"Hm....... Ok. Then, Laura, you'll be in charge of the investigation team. I'll leave the
selection of the members to you as well."

"Yes, My Lord."

Laura gave a deep, reverent, bow towards Dean.

33
地相:geographic features; divination based on the lay of the land
 78

◇◇◇

The base of the New Humanity Front was situated in the southern part of the Bousou
Peninsula on the Tokyo Bay coast. Although the group operated closer to the center of
Tokyo at the time of its formation, the current sub-leader reconstituted the New
Humanity Front in this area after an incident involving the then-leader, which caused
the organization to disband.

The incident caused by the former leader would have been a felony, but due to various
reasons, no charges were pressed and the media coverage was restricted. Nevertheless,
even if the records of the criminal acts remain undisclosed by the authorities, it was still
impossible for the group formed by the former members to be recognized as legitimate
even if they didn't use the name [New Humanity Front]. It would also be impossible to
avoid being under the surveillance of the authorities. The location of its new base of
operations on the Boso Peninsula was also kept secret from all but a limited number of
people.

Just before noon, on May 25, the sub-leader of the New Humanity Front, Yasuhiro
Fukami, received an encrypted message from the USNA while stationed at that secret
location.

"Hello, Fukami here.”

The caller ID was indicated on the transmitter, and Fukami gave his real name without
hesitation.

[This is Dean, Fukami, are you alone?]

"The leader is currently absent."

The leader of the New Humanity Front, a twenty-six-year-old woman named Kurenai
Anzu, was away paying a courtesy visit to her supporters. And, as a side note, Fukami
was twenty-five years old.

Thank you for the other day.

"It was our pleasure. We've been remunerated34 as well, so it's reciprocal in this
regard35."

34
pay (someone) for services rendered or work done.
35
“it's reciprocal in this regard” in other words meaning that it's a win-win
 79

This was a voice-only encrypted communication that placed the highest priority on
avoiding interception. Neither side was aware of what expression the other party was
making as they spoke to each other.

"So? Are you offering us another job?"

While the New Humanity Front and FAIR had a cooperative relationship, they weren't in
that close of a relationship as to contact each other without some sort of business to
discuss. Fukami's curt remark wasn't entirely misplaced.

[Will you be able to oblige?]

Dean's reply backed up Fukami's presumption.

"As long as there is an appropriate compensation."

[Of course, you have my word on that.]

Dean responded amiably to Fukami's business-like reply.

"Then what would you need us to do?"

Fukami urged him to get into specifics.

[I want you to acquire an Original Relic for me.]

Upon hearing the nature of the request, Fukami furrowed his brow.

"You don't mean the Original that's stored at the Defense Force's Technology
Development Headquarters, I suppose? It's impossible with just our forces."

[I'm not aiming for the Relic under custody of the military labs.]

Fukami firmly refused to do what he knew was impossible to do, yet the reward FAIR
offered was too good to pass up. If the requirements were any different from the ones he
had thought of, he might have had to reconsider.

"Then you want us to get it while it's being transported to the Technology Development
HQ after it's been excavated?"

[No, I want you to steal from the excavation site.]

Dean's answer, however, wasn't too encouraging either.

 80

".....Isn't it guarded by the military?"

The level of risk didn't seem to be much different from the case he had initially assumed.

[There will be a good deal of security. But it should be better than to get one from the
labs at HQ]

"That may be so, but still....... What's the location?"

Fukami was reminded of the grim current state of the organization as he questioned
Dean. They had no shortage of funds for their immediate activities, but it was getting
harder and harder to keep group cohesion unless they did something big soon. Such
was the state of affairs for the New Humanity Front at the moment.

"Other than it's on the southwestern foothills of Mt. Norikura, nothing more in
particular."

Fukami judged that, while outmaneuvering the security of the National Defense Forces
wouldn't, by no means, improve their image in the eyes of society, it would, at least, give
the members of the organization some confidence.

"......I guess that's where we'll start. I expect the reward to be worth it."

[I promise you won't be disappointed.]

"All right. I will consult with the leader and give you an answer by the end of the day. Do
you mind if it's by mail?"

The promise of consulting their leader was just a pretext. The policies of the New
Humanity Front's activities were decided by Fukami, their sub-leader, and not by their
leader, Kurenai. Her sole task was to act as a liaison with the sponsors.

[No problem. Use the encrypted mail for any further communication. So, I'll leave you to
it. I expect a good answer at the end of the day.]

"Yeah, count on it."

Fukami cut the communication from his end just as he said so.

Fukami reported the contents of FAIR's request to Kurenai when she returned to the
secret base. And, as he promised to do, he sent a cryptic email to Dean later that day
with the confirmation of the acceptance of the request.
 81

Chapter 8
[Infiltration into the USNA (2)]

May 25, a Tuesday night.

Tatsuya came with Miyuki and Lina to the base of the virtual satellite elevator in the
southwestern part of Miyakijima. They came from the Yotsuba family's private facility in
the northwest of the island by means of a private autonomous van. This kind of van
could automatically load and unload the luggage in the cargo hold with the flick of a
switch.

They unloaded the cargo in the center of the magic circle of the virtual satellite elevator,
and then moved the wagon outside of the magic circle for Mock-Teleportation, which
was actually the main body of the elevator. After dropping off Lina at one side, Tatsuya
moved to the other side of the magic circle, where he and Miyuki got out of the vehicle.

"Hyougo-san, can you patch me through to Takachiho?"

Tatsuya called out over the radio to Hyougo, who was stationed at the laser
communications facility.

[Yes, sir. It's connected.]

"Minami, can you hear me?"

Using the radio that was relayed by the laser communications facility, Tatsuya spoke to
Minami inside Takachiho.

[Yes, Tatsuya-sama. Our preparations are in order.]

There was no time lag and the sound quality was clear. Despite the 13,000 km distance
between them, the quality of communication was excellent.

"Then, we're going to send it now."

[Yes, go ahead.]

While keeping the communication line open,

 82

"Miyuki."

Tatsuya addressed her in a low voice.

"Yes."

Miyuki nodded firmly to Tatsuya.

Tatsuya nodded back to Miyuki and raised his right hand high, looking towards Lina
who was about 200 meters away.

Lina raised one hand in response.

As Tatsuya swung his right hand down, both Miyuki and Lina activated the magic circle
of the virtual satellite elevator.

The magic circle was engraved 30 centimeters underground with a sequence for
Mock-Teleportation. The package placed on top of it was a "coffin", which contained
both the body for the Parasite Doll and the doll, the vessel, that contained a sealed
Parasite.

The magic of Ultra Long Distance Mock-Teleportation activated.

In an instant, the coffin that contained the materials for the Parasite Doll were
transported to satellite orbit at an altitude of about 6,400 kilometers from the surface of
the Earth.

The destination point of the Mock-Teleportation was at the outer reaches of Takachiho's
outer shell in the void of space.

There was no such thing as real instantaneous travel in modern magic. The method of
transporting objects through walls had not yet been achieved.

Nevertheless, with Minoru's magical power, there would be no problem in retrieving the
package. The virtual satellite elevator not only moved the package from the ground to
satellite orbit, but also synchronized the speed of the arriving package with Takachiho's.
So, to Minoru, bringing the object floating a few dozen meters away to the airlock using
movement-type magic wasn't much different from picking up a package from the
delivery box.
 83

In spite of this, Minoru was now floating in the darkness of space. The reason was
simple: he enjoyed it. Swimming around outside Takachiho without something like a
spacesuit was his favorite pastime these days.36

At first, that reckless hobby of Minoru's had gotten on Minami's nerves. Back in the day,
she would have been so worried that her heart would have stopped. Maybe it was
different because they had become Parasites. Now, she even sends Minoru "outside"
with a nonchalant sigh, saying, "He is helpless, isn't he......?"

However, he wasn't so defenseless even without his spacesuit. Even considering that,
even though he was a Parasite, his flesh and blood couldn't withstand long periods of
exposure to direct cosmic rays, plus he would need air eventually. He had used magic to
create an object and radiation resistant shield that also kept air inside.

Minoru swam outside and arrived next to the "coffin", standing by it and shoving it with
his hand towards Takachiho.

Takachiho was a refit of a salvaged New Soviet Union missile submarine. The VLS37 had
been replaced with a large airlock that also allowed it to bring in cargo.

Minoru manually opened that airlock. Normally, the airlock was kept securely locked so
that it couldn't be opened from the outside, but when he went outside, he left the key in
the lock.

He accompanied the coffin into the airlock and closed the outer door. After making sure
that it was completely locked, he opened the inner door to find Minami waiting just
beyond it.

"Welcome back."

Minami welcomed Minoru back with a casual bow. While her words were polite in
nature, there was no overt formality in her demeanor.

"I'm back."

"Is the package in the workroom?"

"I'll carry it."

Minoru nodded in response to Minami and lifted the coffin into the air. Takachiho's
pressurized sections were kept at Earth-like gravity by means of gravity control magic
36
See back cover of this volume. It pretty much depicts what is written here.
37
Vertical Launch System
 84

powered by the Artificial Relic. Although it was possible to temporarily release the
magic, it was much more convenient to just cast a movement-type magic on the coffin.

Aside from Takachiho's equipment, the home electric appliances used in the living room
and bedroom were ordinary household items. Even if they didn't necessarily break
down, some minor malfunctions should be expected as usual.

They were in the emptiness of space at an altitude of about 6,400 kilometers above the
surface of the Earth. It was just unreasonable to simply call service and have a
technician come there to help as people from the surface usually do. So, to some extent,
they had to take care of such problems themselves.

They had a workroom set up for that very purpose. Using a database that was regularly
updated, an AI manipulated the actuators to perform automatic maintenance on their
household appliances. In addition to the maintenance of consumer goods, the AI and
manipulators were also capable of performing more sophisticated maintenance and
modifications on electronic and electrical equipment.

After placing the coffin next to the workbench, Minoru first took out the doll with the
sealed Parasite main body and placed it on a small desk beside the workbench. Next, he
used magic to lift the gynoid that would serve as the host body and placed it on the
workbench. The gynoid weighed only a little more than a person of the same height —
more specifically, being 170 centimeters in height and 70 kilograms in weight — so it
wouldn't be hard to lift it manually. But, he felt somewhat unwilling to carry something
that had the shape of a woman in his arms in front of Minami's eyes.

Having already skimmed through the gynoid's user manual, Minoru removed the
connector covers that were disguised as belt buckles and connected the power cable
that doubled as a data line.

The monitor displayed the status of the unit.

The battery was fully charged.

The electronic brain was in suspension mode.

The pre-installed combat gear was non-existent.

The items he can't see in the monitor he checks with his own "eyes".

There were no residual thoughts.

 85

Almost completely neutral, with very few residual Psions or Pushions.

It could be said that this was the best condition to have for a Parasite transplant.
Probably the work of Tatsuya. He probably knew of that fact, and delivered it in such a
condition.

"Minami, you can go and rest if you want."

"No, even if I can't help, I would like to at least be present."

"Really? Ok then, feel free to stay."

There wasn't any sort of argument, and Minoru simply let Minami be there.

The process was as simple as it sounded. The Parasite sealed in the doll was released,
and the emancipated Parasite's main body was then brought under control. The Parasite
was then guided into the gynoid's electronic brain and bound with non-systematic
magic.

Minoru accomplished this process without effort and within the blink of an eye.

Therefore, instead of letting out a heavy "phew......" he muttered a simple "Right".

"Minami-san, can you lend me a hand?"

Despite her expression of surprise at being asked, when she was supposedly just an
observer, Minami said, "Yes" without further ado.

"Then, what do you want me to do?"

Next, she asked for specific instructions.

"In order to awaken the Parasite Doll, I have to fill this [vessel] with Psions at the end. I
would like you to help me with that."

"So, I just have to pour Psions in the dormant Parasite Doll?"

"Together with me, ok?"

As he said that, Minoru held out his left hand to Minami.

Minami, even if a bit embarrassed, placed her right hand on top of Minoru's left hand.

How yearned and how cherished.

 86

The urge to desire and the wish to be desired.

Through their linked hands, the swelling feelings they held for each other, unfurled.

With their hands clasped together, they each held their free hand over the Parasite Doll.

Through his left hand, Minoru's psions flowed to Minami.

Through her right hand, Minami's psions flowed to Minoru.

From Minoru's right hand, and

From Minami's left hand.

Their psions, mixed and melted together, poured into the Parasite Doll.

Their thoughts, merged with the psion flow, awakened the Parasite Doll.

After raising its body up on the workbench, the Parasite Doll stood up, lowering its feet
to the floor in a brisk motion. Immediately afterwards, it dropped to one knee and hung
its head towards Minoru and Minami. Perhaps it was because this gynoid was designed
with combat in mind, it's outward appearance, though feminine, was slim and more on
the neutral side38. So this kind of behavior suited it well.

[Master, please tell us your name.]

It's telepathic voice reached Minami and Minoru. It was a slightly different approach
than the usual Parasite consciousness-sharing, where egos were not yet integrated.
Parasite-style telepathy, if you will.

[I am Kudou Minoru.]

[I'm Sakurai Minami]

Minoru and Minami also used thought waves to answer. Both of them were Parasites.
Usually, they tended to use more of their normal voices to communicate with each
other, but conversing through thoughts was more in line with the Parasite way of being.
They were no strangers to telepathic communication.

[So, Minoru-sama and Minami-sama, if I'm not mistaken. Now, please tell us, whose
orders take precedence?]

38
as in being in the middle between male and female in appearance
 87

[Precedence?]

Minoru asked back quizzically.

[To whom, Minoru-sama or Minami-sama, orders should we give priority, we wish you
to establish the order of priority.]

[There is no such thing.]

[No, Minoru-sama's orders should take priority.]

Minami quickly corrected Minoru's reply.

"Minami-san."

"Minoru-sama, it will be better this way, right?"

Minoru was about to argue, but Minami reminded him and he held his tongue.

[──Very well, as you wish. Minoru-sama's orders will take the highest priority.]

Seemingly judging that the matter was settled. The gynoid reverently told them, still
down on one knee. There were no objections to that.

[Then, Minoru-sama. Could you please bestow us with a name?]

[What is the common name given to this model?]

With a renewed expression, Minoru asks the gynoid.

[It's Mr. Co (Maruko)].

The model number of this Gynoid was a Multirole Combat Gynoid T-2100.

Mr. Co (Maruko) was probably an abbreviation taken from that model number. Still......

".....I don't think 'Maruko' fits well with a female-type model."

Minoru muttered in his normal voice, pondering for a moment.

In the meantime, the gynoid was still on one knee with its head hanging down, waiting
patiently. Since it was a machine, it probably wasn’t difficult for it to maintain a
stationary posture, but with its human-like appearance it seemed as if it was embodying
a sense of loyalty.
 88

"......Okay, let's go with 'Maggie'."

The reason why Minoru used his own voice wasn't out of a conscious intent.
Nevertheless, the gynoid had the feature of voice recognition, so there was no
inconvenience caused by it.

[Name bestowed to this individual is: "Maggie". I am at your service, sir, please state your
orders.]

[You will be in charge of the management of this facility.]

[Permission to communicate with the Control Unit?]

[Permission granted. Follow me as we communicate. I'll tell you the rest in the living
room.]

[As you wish, sir.]

Maggie finally stood up. Towering ten centimeters over Minami, its height was still a few
centimeters shorter than Minoru. From her silhouette alone, she looked more like a
slender man than a woman. Its standing figure combined with the design of the facial
features also made her look even more gender neutral than feminine.

Minoru and Minami moved to the living room and settled down on the sofa. Admittedly,
they were both feeling a little tired from working on the Parasite Doll's awakening.

[Maggie, do you understand the structure of Takachiho, this place we are in?]

[I have a grasp of it.]

The Parasite Doll didn't mean any pretensions. Maggie's information processing ability
seemed to be at a high level, as befitting of her state-of-the-art physical body.

[You will be in charge of two jobs. One, you'll be the hands and feet of the control unit,
troubleshooting problems big and small. You don't need to engage in any home
automation tasks.]

[As you wish, sir.]

If that was the only duty, there would be no need to make a Parasite Doll to take care of
it. The maintenance robots that were originally packed in Takachiho would be sufficient.

[The other is to support us when we are on the surface, including the operation of the
Virtual Satellite Elevator.]
 89

It was necessary to be able to use magic in order to operate the virtual satellite elevator.
That was why Minoru asked for someone to take care of Takachiho other than the
control unit. So, Tatsuya gave him all the materials needed for a Parasite Doll.

[Understood.]

As it said so, Maggie leaned her upper body forward exactly thirty degrees.

◇◇◇

Tomorrow would be a Wednesday, meaning that Magic University would have classes as
usual. It would be rather difficult to get to the first period lecture if departing from here
in Miyakijima, so they would normally have to return to Tokyo by the middle of the
night. Yet, not only Tatsuya, but also Miyuki and Lina opted not to return home.

Not because they were in any mood to skip classes, but so that they could assist in any
follow-up problems that might arise on Takachiho, where Minoru was conducting some
experiments with the Parasite Doll. Unfortunately, Tatsuya was unable to reach the 6,400
km altitude of outer space by himself.

As a result of his research on the Event Interference Force itself, Tatsuya had succeeded
to some extent in addressing the shortcomings in performance of his virtual magic
calculation area. But even so, it wasn't yet at the level of single-handedly operating a
virtual satellite elevator.

Aside from Miyuki and Lina, Miyakijima had another magician on standby to operate the
virtual satellite elevator. However, even if they were members of the Yotsuba family,
Tatsuya didn't want anyone else to be involved in the experiment. Miyuki and Lina
agreed to stay in Miyakijima for the night to accommodate Tatsuya’s request.

Departing from the southwest area where the virtual satellite elevator was located, they
returned to their secondary residence in the northwest area, and had a brief dinner.

And, luckily, they didn't receive any news of complications after that. When Lina retired
to her room, after taking a bath, Tatsuya and Miyuki were now left alone on the sofa,
relaxing comfortably side-by-side.

Rather than alcohol, they had some herbal tea on the low table to help them have a
restful sleep. Neither of them had the habit of drinking alcohol. It wasn't like Tatsuya
couldn't drink, he just didn't have the desire to do so. That probably had less to do with
his restricted emotions, but more a matter of taste. Alternatively, perhaps it was a way
to cater to Miyuki's tastes, since she wasn't particularly good with alcohol.
 90

"......Minoru-kun is going to descend to America tomorrow morning, right?"

Miyuki sat on his left side, avoiding the hand Tatsuya used to hold his cup. With her right
hand on the seat of the sofa and her left hand on her right thigh, Miyuki had her upper
body twisted and looked up at Tatsuya as she spoke to him.

"If nothing happens until then, that's the plan."

"So, then, if nothing happens, he and Minami will be in San Francisco the day after
tomorrow......."

"That's what's on the schedule."

"Minoru-kun really cares about Minami-chan, doesn't he? I envy her......."

Both Miyuki's eyes and face were downcast.

Suddenly, Tatsuya extended his left arm and wrapped it around Miyuki's shoulders.

Now in his arms, Miyuki looked up, so taken aback that she couldn't even speak.

"Miyuki, why don't we go on a trip, just the two of us? Say, sometime next month."

"......Aren't you busy?"

"If it's for a couple of days I can manage it. Although it would mean skipping classes at
the university."

Miyuki's face glowed with joy.

"I don't mind! I would love to!"

She leaned closer to Tatsuya, presumably as an involuntary motion.

"Ok, then. Well, where do you want to go?"

Without as much as changing his position, Tatsuya asked Miyuki in a whisper, while
leaning close to her with a smile on his face.

"Anywhere Tatsuya-sama is willing to take me."

"Then, how about somewhere a little cooler?"

"Yes!"
 91

Miyuki's eyes shone brightly as she nodded. Tatsuya loosened his hold on Miyuki's
shoulders, sure that the melancholy had disappeared from her beautiful face.

But Miyuki didn't move an inch away from Tatsuya.

With a bashful smile, she closed the distance even further between them.

Tatsuya looked down at Miyuki with a warm gaze. It was the sort of gentle, sweet gaze
that no one would expect from Tatsuya when he wasn't alone with Miyuki. That kind of
gaze from Tatsuya was probably something that only Miyuki was aware of.

Miyuki, who had been looking up at Tatsuya, raised her chin, turning her face upward.

Miyuki's eyes looking upwards, and Tatsuya's eyes looking downwards, met.

Miyuki's eyes, stained with intoxication, closed.

Tatsuya slowly moved, decreasing the distance between his face and Miyuki's. And,
before long, the distance between their lips was zero.

◇◇◇

On the morning of the next day, Minoru descended into San Francisco. It was May 25th,
5:00 p.m. local time.

The arrival spot was at the shore of Lake San Andreas, which Minoru had confirmed
from satellite orbit to be deserted. Minoru chose the north shore of the long, narrow
lake, which was located inland from the San Francisco Peninsula, west of the
international airport.

Minoru was the only one who descended. There were still some parameters that needed
to be tested before he could bring Minami with him.

[Maggie, can you hear me?]

Minoru called out to Takachiho via telepathy, rather than through the communicator.

[Yes, Minoru-sama. I can hear you clearly.]

The first stage cleared, Minoru thought to himself. He knew that on Earth, Parasites
could freely communicate with each other regardless of the distance that they were
within the same country. Still, he had never tried to use long-distance telepathy with
 92

Parasite Dolls, he had a feeling that it would be the same as the usual communication
between Parasites.

Nevertheless, telepathy between the surface and outer space was completely uncharted
territory, and while communication was essential to ensure adequate backup from
Takachiho, radio transmissions had to be avoided at all costs due to the risk of
interception. While it may be true that convergent laser communication was doable
with portable communication devices, if not impossible sometimes, it would still be
difficult. So telepathy was the best way to go.

Fortunately, the concept of boundaries with regards to the Earth's surface and outer
space didn't seem to apply when it came to telepathy. Thought exchange went without a
hitch. In a sense, since it was dependent on countries, it should be the same thing as the
high seas, but it seemed to be treated differently between the Earth's surface and in
outer space. He didn't know why, but it must have been like that. Minoru thought about
that, and felt satisfied with it.39

[Ok then, lift me up.]

Minoru ordered as he put up his anti-material and radiation resistant magic shield,
making sure to keep the air around him inside. In the next moment, his figure
disappeared from the shore of the San Andreas Lake.

From Minoru's subjective point of view, the entire scenery instantly changed.

Right before his eyes, blue stars floated in the jet-black darkness. At his feet, a huge
man-made structure blended into the darkness.

From the surface of the Earth to the Orbital Residence, Takachiho.

(It worked.......)

Minoru breathed a sigh of relief. It was neither him nor Minami who had activated the
magic circle of Mock-Teleportation that had been carved on Takachiho's inner shell, but
Maggie, the Parasite Doll. Although physical distance wasn't a substantial obstacle to
magic, activating a magic circle that was inside an orbiting satellite from the surface
was no easy task, even with Minoru's magic power. Whether or not Maggie could
activate the virtual satellite elevator would be the deciding factor as to whether or not
Minoru and Minami would be able to go down to the ground together.

39
See ”Translator’s Notes” page for an explanation on this.
 93

Now that he was near Takachiho, due to the Parasite Doll's activation of the Ultra Long
Distance Mock-Teleportation, Minoru used flight magic of the same system to adjust his
own momentum and speed in small increments, then swam through space towards the
airlock.
 94

Chapter 9
[Society and FEHR (2)]

Based in Vancouver, FEHR was a political organization that legitimately advocated for
the protection of the human rights of Magians. Although FEHR's main opponent was
humanism supremacist groups that persecuted Magicians, like the Anti-Magic
Movement, its leader, Rena Fehr, saw Magician associations that dabbled in illegal
activities as an obstacle to FEHR's legitimate activities.

If Magicians systematically broke the law, it would give the Anti-Magic Movement the
pretext to persecute them. Currently, the extremist group she was most wary of was
FAIR, which was based in San Francisco. Rena had her members with perception-type
superpowers monitor FAIR continuously.

On the afternoon of May 26th. Rena received a report from one of those watchmen.

"FAIR is at Mount Shasta? What on earth could they be scheming there......?"

Rena let out a quizzical monologue as she looked over the report in the representative's
office at their base. However, judging that she couldn't get anywhere if she thought
about it alone, she immediately called her chief strategist, whom she always consulted
with.

Not too long after that, there was a knock on the door of the representative's office.

"Please come in."

"Excuse me."

While saying that, the door opened to reveal a woman in her early forties. Her name was
Charlotte Gagnon, and in the midst of the many young members of FEHR, she belonged
to the most senior generation.

"Charly, I need your wise words, as always."

Charly was Charlotte's nickname.

 95

"Yes, how can I help?"

Charlotte had a background as a former FBI agent and was also a licensed attorney.
Though her looks and fashion were suitably stiff given her background, her tone was
soft in comparison.

"Read this first, please."

Rena held out to Charlotte an electronic paper with the written report on it.

Charlotte took the device and beckoned a chair that was set near the wall.

The chair raised up, just barely above the floor, and returned to the floor when it was
right beside her. Charlotte Gagnon wasn't a Magician, she was a ESP40 user (Psychic), an
owner of telekinetic powers.

Her power output was just slightly beyond the muscular strength of an average adult
male. It was useful, but not enough to be used in place of conventional weapons. That
was why she wasn't subject to any form of substantial conscription, and when she
retired from the FBI, she wasn't subjected to any excessive restrictions on her activities
beyond the usual confidentiality requirements.

Charlotte turned her chair around with her hands and sat down in front of the desk,
skimming through the report.

"Mt. Shasta was a sacred place for the natives, wasn't it......? Maybe they are plotting to
go tomb robbing in some undiscovered ruins."

"I thought of that too, but....... There are no archaeological sites found on Mount Shasta,
right?"

Charlotte confirmed Rena's question with a simple, "That's right", but there was more to
her answer.

"Indeed, there are no reports of ruins being found, as far as I'm aware. But as you may
know, that mountain is said to be full of spiritual power. So, I wouldn't be surprised if
there was something there."

"They are trying to get their hands on something magically valuable, after all."

Rena looked a little uneasy. With that kind of expression on her face, she looked even
more like a teenage girl, even though her apparent age was far below her actual age.
40
Extra-Sensory Perception.
 96

"It's possible that it's for observational purposes, but judging from FAIR's tendency, I
think it's highly likely that they're planning to obtain artifacts, minerals, or plants that
could lead to immediate profits."

"I just hope that it's not something that is forbidden to be taken or excavated......."

"I'm sure Rocky Dean won't even bother to consider that."

Charlotte didn't reciprocate at this impromptu reassurance.

"Rena, I think, apart from the regular surveillance personnel, we should send a member
to Mt. Shasta."

Unlike the other members, Charlotte didn't refer to Rena as "Milady". Other than her
legal expertise, that was another reason why Rena had chosen Charlotte as her advisor.

"To stop FAIR from doing something illegal?"

Charlotte didn't nod in response to Rena's question.

"If there is indeed any kind of illegal activity, we will record it and submit it to the
authorities. It would be in our best interest to use this as a chance to publicly emphasize
our, FEHR's, stance, that we are different from criminal organizations, and demonstrate
that Magician criminals are just as out of line as any civilian criminals."

"So you're saying that we should avoid getting into fights."

"Private struggles are also considered a crime, so I think it should be avoided at all
costs."

"I understand. ......Then I think I'll send Louis."

Rena mentioned the name of one of the members with a bit of concern.

"The sub-leader? Although his competence is more inclined towards combat?"

Instead of disagreeing, Charlotte expressed surprise.

"Because Louis has a lot of experience, and I think his magic will allow him to escape no
matter what kind of superpower the people that FAIR sends at him have."

However, Rena didn't change her opinion on her choice.

 97

"If that's your intention, I don't have any objection. However, Rena, make sure to clearly
explain that to him."

"Of course."

Charlotte emphasized while returning the electronic paper, and Rena received it back
with a smile and an acknowledgement.

◇◇◇

Rena's decision to inform Ryousuke of FAIR's movements was an intuitive one, there was
no clear rationale behind it. The conversation regarding the possible existence of
archaeological sites and the possibility that the artifacts at those sites might be targeted,
reminded her of the recent attempted theft of the artificial Relic.

(I think it's..... probably past 6 a.m.. Then, Ryousuke is probably awake at this time.)

Although he had probably just woken up, it would be difficult to contact him at any
other moment, when he would be working or with others around. Rena sank deeper
into her chair, closed her eyes, and casted her consciousness towards Ryousuke.

Tookami Ryousuke was an early riser. Unless he had stayed up too late on the previous
night, he would always be up at five in the morning, regardless of the time of year. On
days without rain, he would work up a good sweat with running and martial arts forms
practice, and then take a shower before breakfast. On rainy days, he spent the time he
would have been running by stretching and practicing the martial arts forms
thoroughly, and then took a shower. On days without any particularly special work to
do, that was his daily routine.

Perhaps the rainy season was just around the corner. The sky was covered with clouds
that morning, but there was no rain. The clouds weren't that dense, and it was only
dimly lit outside. He finished his usual running and martial arts forms practice, and
finished taking a shower by six o'clock.

He had yet to install air conditioning in his room. He left the bathroom wearing only a
pair of half shorts and leaving his upper body bare. He went to the kitchen and peeked
into the refrigerator. Then, at that very moment, Ryousuke sensed a faint presence
behind him.
 98

Ryousuke immediately turned around without panicking or leaving any sort of

openings.

As he looked, a figure of a young woman was being formed before his eyes.

The figure looked more like a teenage girl rather than a young woman. The divine figure
that transcended the word "beautiful" (in Ryousuke's subjective view) was of someone
he would never mistake as someone else.

"Milady."

Ryousuke called out to that mysterious figure. The person who suddenly appeared in his
room was, without a doubt, Rena Fehr, who was meant to be in Vancouver.

[Ryousuke……]

Her look gradually changed from a hazy, as if blurry image into something more focused
and solid.

[──Kyaaah!]
99
 100

And a scream, all of a sudden. Ryousuke couldn't tell whether it was a voice he heard
with his ears, or one that just echoed in his head. Although the correct answer was that
the thoughts of shock and embarrassment were being translated as a scream in
Ryousuke's head. Rena's "voice" was indistinguishable from her physical voice.

[I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know you were changing!]

Rena quickly spun her back to him. Looking closely, he saw that there was a small gap
between her feet, still wearing shoes, and the wooden floor. Seeing that, Ryousuke
finally realized that this wasn't the actual physical Rena.

"Milady, is this Astral Projection......?"

[Uh, yeah. Is this the first time I've shown it to you, Ryousuke?]

Rena answered Ryousuke's question with a shaken voice laden with embarrassment.
Because her thoughts were being transmitted directly to him, Ryousuke could clearly
feel that she was still feeling embarrassed.

The visage of an embarrassed Rena was cute and charming, but he couldn't let his
beloved leader dwell on it forever. So, with great haste, Ryousuke put on a shirt and
rolled up the sleeves.

"Milady, you can turn around now."

Rena's astral body gingerly turned back around in trepidation. There was a blatant look
of relief on her face when she saw that Ryousuke now had his upper body properly
clothed.

She apparently, for some reason, didn't fully believe in my words. So thought Ryousuke,
yet he didn't feel any anger in his mind. He could only think of the girlish wariness as
charming.

[I'm sorry to intrude all of a sudden.]

Rena, the astral body, quickly bowed her head down. Even those kinds of gestures of
hers were as cute as a young girl's.

"That's fine, you just surprised me. I never thought you could send an astral body across
the Pacific like this. As expected of Milady."

Ryousuke's exaggerated praise came from the heart. Because she could sense it, Rena
couldn't get angry at him even if she was embarrassed.
 101

[My Astral Projection can't fly about as freely as that of a real user. I can only fly to
places I know well, or to someone whom I really trust, and that is, regardless of
distance.]

"What an honor......!"

Ryousuke's boastful voice was full of jubilation.

[Eh?]

Rena realized that what she had just said could be wildly misinterpreted, just as she was
right now.

[Um, by trust, I mean like comrades......]

"Not as someone of the opposite sex", Rena tried to say, but Ryousuke didn't let her finish
the line.

"That's good enough for me!"

[Eh?]

The dumbstruck sound that came out of Rena's mouth — actually, it wasn't "out of her
mouth" and it wasn't "a sound" — was slightly different from the one that came out just
before.

"My heart is satisfied just by knowing that I am a fellow comrade of Milady's. For me,
there is no greater joy than this!"

But Ryousuke had no qualms about it, and spoke passionately of his joy.

[......I'm sorry to bother you, but I have one thing to tell you.]

Suddenly, Rena's tone began to sound peculiarly smooth and calm. She probably
couldn't keep pace with Ryousuke's intensity.

"What is it?"

Ryousuke didn't appear to have noticed that. Although his sensitivity wasn't dull to that
extent, once Rena was involved, he became like a different person.

[FAIR has made a new move.]

"Are they sending agents to Japan again?"

 102

Ryousuke had a bitter memory of getting into trouble because of the run in he had with
a pair of criminals that were sent by FAIR the other day.

[No, it’s a move within the States. Ryousuke, do you know of Mount Shasta?]

"I reckon it's a famous tourist spot in northern California. I heard that it's a power spot
of sorts."

[It seems FAIR is sending some of their members there, to Mt. Shasta.]

"......Other than being a tourist spot, is there anything else really going on at Mt. Shasta?"

Ryousuke's knowledge of Mt. Shasta comprised much more than what could be found
on tourist guide websites.

[It's a matter of fact that the mountain is considered holy ground by the natives. I think
there might be something going on there.]

"I see. If Milady says so, then it must be true."

Rena knew that Ryousuke wasn’t trying to mock her. Nevertheless, it was an inevitability
in human psychology to want to try to find ill meaning with such unconditional
acceptance, even when there was none.

[......I have a hunch that FAIR's aims are somehow connected to the recent attempted
theft of the Artificial Relic. Which is why I wanted to inform you.]

"Your hunch, Milady......?"

This time, Ryousuke pondered seriously, instead of reflexively agreeing and praising her.

[Ryousuke?]

"Milady. Would you mind if I reported this to Shiba Tatsuya......?"

[That's right...... I don't think it would be a problem. Since they might make another
move in Japan.]

Rena's decision was quick.

[Ryousuke, it will also be fine if you use my name at your discretion.]

Ryousuke's eyes widened as he looked at Rena.

 103

"That would be just like confessing that I'm a member of FEHR!?"

[It's fine.]

There was no hesitation in Rena's answer.

[If an ounce of the rumors about the Yotsuba family are true, it's not likely that we
would be able to keep it hidden from them for very long anyway.]

"......I have no doubt about that. Understood. Thank you very much for your permission."

In his true opinion, there was no adulation in this concurrence. In that regard,
Ryousuke was already prepared — in his subjective opinion — to disclose his true
identity.

[So, Ryousuke, if you will excuse me. I'm afraid I've intruded enough on your time.]

"Not at all, Milady. Your visit was an unexpected pleasure for me."

[......Ryousuke, you always exaggerate too much.]

With a face filled with bashfulness, Rena's figure disappeared.

Ryousuke stood there, a grin on his face at that innocent, girlish display. It took some
time before he was able to get back to reality.

◇◇◇

About an hour after Rena had left, Ryousuke managed to pull his face together in a
somewhat presentable state and went to the Industrial Magic Academy to work.

"Tookami-san. Did something good happen to you?"41

Still, it seemed like he wasn't able to return it completely to normal, since even Mayumi,
whom he hadn't known for very long, pointed it out to him at a glance.

"......No, it was nothing. If I had to pick, I'd say I had a good dream."

"I see."

But fortunately for Ryousuke, she didn't inquire any further.

Rather than keep asking questions, Mayumi let out a light sigh.
41
Mayumi’s line in the colored illustration.
 104

"......And what about you, Saegusa-san, did something happen?"

Ryousuke asked, and Mayumi answered, "Oh, no, no." while she shook her head in
dismissal with a smile.

But it was plain to see that the smile on her face seemed strained.

Ryousuke silently stared at Mayumi.

"......It's just that lately, I've been feeling like I'm getting more stares than usual. That's
why I can't feel at ease......"

Mayumi, losing to the pressure of the staring, reluctantly shared her concerns.

"Is it a stalker?"

Ryousuke asked further, brows furrowed and with a hint of concern in his voice.

"I feel that it's more than one person, so I don't think so. It's probably related to the
rumors going around about me, that I am working here as a member of the Saegusa
family."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Though Ryousuke verbally showed his agreement,

(If it isn't the case of being just one person, then could it be that Saegusa-san is being
systematically monitored?)

In his mind, he was thinking of other possibilities.

But Ryousuke wasn't able to keep thinking about it at that particular moment. He was
forced to break his train of thought when a figure walked into the office.

"Good morning, Executive Director."

Mayumi quickly stood up to greet Tatsuya, when the person in question suddenly made
an appearance.

"Good morning."

Ryousuke quickly followed suit. And while Mayumi showed no signs of agitation,
Ryousuke was shaking considerably.
 105

Tatsuya hadn't shown his face at the Industrial Magic Academy since the 22nd, when
Takara took over as the head of the academy. It wasn't often that he came to Izu, as he
was essentially working in either Machida or Miyakijima, but five days without a visit
was hardly surprising. Sure enough, the whole timing must have caught Ryousuke off
guard, as he had just met Rena that morning.

"Good morning. Tookami-san, please come to my office in ten minutes."

And then, all of a sudden, this happened.

"Yes."

It was only by chance that Ryousuke's voice didn't crack up in his reply.

Exactly ten minutes later, Ryousuke knocked on Tatsuya's office door. The plaque on the
door said "Director's Office" instead of "Executive Director's Office". Although Industrial
Magic Academy wasn't an incorporated educational institution, it used the name of an
educational institution for internal purposes.

There was a "Come in" from within, and Ryousuke opened the door. There was no one in
the office but Tatsuya.

Tatsuya stood up behind the desk and moved to the head of the lounge set, and
recommended the sofa across from him to Ryousuke.

Both sat down at the same time. Right at that moment, a non-humanoid robot brought
them tea.

Tatsuya took his own cup before the robot arm placed it on the table, and Ryousuke did
the same with his share.

"Tookami-san, have you gotten used to working here?"

"Yes, I have. Thanks to the help from the others, I've become quite familiar with it."

Unsure of the intent behind Tatsuya's question, Ryousuke's tone grew cautious.

"That's good to know. However, I'm sorry to say this, even though you've just gotten
used to working here, I'd like to ask Tookami-san to leave the Industrial Magic Academy
temporarily and work on something else."
 106

When he heard Tatsuya's words, "Could it be that I'm going to lose my job?" was the first
thing Ryousuke thought.

He had already been deemed unfit for office work at that point. The website he was
ordered to work on instead was also falling into arrears42. And the only reason why it
was stalled was because the content of it had yet to be consolidated43. And, although the
technical part was complete, Ryousuke wasn't sure if people would appreciate it or not.

"......Could you tell me the reason for this?"

Ryousuke asked fearfully, keeping his voice and tone humble.

"It's regarding a commission from Magian Society."

Tatsuya cut his words off briefly and stared into Ryousuke's eyes.

Ryousuke's mind was filled with bewilderment.

Both Magian Company and Magian Society were, in Ryousuke's mind, organizations that
were actually controlled by the same individual, Shiba Tatsuya. However, in less than a
month, he had come to learn that the Company and the Society were two separate
organizations with no connection other than that.

The Magian Society was an international organization that was deeply involved with the
Indo-Persian Federation, one of the four major powers. He wondered why Tatsuya
would ask him to work on this request when he was just an ordinary person, an
employee of another organization, with no connections to the Indo-Persian Federation
and no international reputation like he had?

What on earth were they planning on having me do?

In Ryousuke's mind, his bewilderment quickly turned into unease.

He was about to ask about the specifics of the request in order to relieve his uneasiness.
But before he could, Tatsuya answered his question as if he were trying to get the drop
on Ryousuke.

"Society has been looking into forming partnerships with other Magian organizations
since its founding. And they've chosen FEHR as their first potential partner."

42
the state of being behind in the discharge of obligations; an unfinished duty.
43
Consolidate | Definition of Consolidate at Dictionary.com
 107

Ryousuke tried desperately to hide his turmoil. But all he succeeded in doing was barely
contain himself from screaming.

Tatsuya didn't point out the growing urgency on Ryousuke's tense expression.

"So, since you, Tookami-san, are familiar with Vancouver, where FEHR is based, I'd like
to leave the preliminary discussions to you."

"......What would this preliminary discussion entail?"

"You will meet with FEHR's leader, Miss Fehr, to determine whether or not she will be
willing to negotiate a partnership. Firstly, you will approach them with a team-up
negotiation. And confirm if they would be willing to accept our invitation, in the event
that we set up a table for discussions on a possible team-up.”

Tatsuya was speaking under the assumption that Ryousuke would be able to meet with
the leader of FEHR. He didn't seem to have in mind the possibility that he might not be
able to even make it to the gate.

(So, he already knows about everything.......)

Ryousuke thought so.

Ryousuke resigned himself to the fact that Tatsuya already knew that he was a member
of FEHR.

"Executive Director. As you may already be aware......"

Ryousuke decided to confess that he was a member of FEHR before the other side
confronted him with the facts. Although he had made up his mind earlier when he
talked with Rena, sure enough, in the end, he couldn't confess so easily and stammered.

"What is it?"

As Tatsuya asked,

"......I'm a member of FEHR."

Ryousuke finally spat out the truth. He felt his shoulders lighten at that, which was
probably a sign that he was fundamentally unsuited for games of deception.

"Is that so? That’s very convenient then."

 108

Tatsuya appeared only mildly surprised at Ryousuke's confession. The way he responded
would seem rather barefaced to someone who was already aware of the circumstances.

"I'll take care of the travel details. I ask that you, Tookami-san, take care of your own
preparations for the trip."

"Executive Director. Before I go, there's something I'd like to bring to your attention."

It wasn't necessarily a question of "if you've eaten poison, lick the plate44", but Ryousuke
was about to reveal something he probably didn't need to. Perhaps he was caught up in
a kind of confessional urge because of the mental overload he was experiencing.

Tatsuya looked at him, urging him to continue.

Ryousuke told him about Rena's visit to his room this morning in her astral body and
what she told him regarding the recent movements of FAIR.

The topic of Rena's Astral Projection was something that he should have kept to himself
for all intents and purposes. However, Ryousuke wasn't quite aware of that detail at that
time.

While Tatsuya was also somewhat surprised to find that Rena's abilities were more
impressive than he had anticipated, he showed no pretense of being intrigued.

"......Thank you very much for the valuable information. Now let me give you one thing
from my part as well. I dare say that FAIR is involved in this too."

Ryousuke leaned forward to listen, probably because he knew Rena would be interested
to hear about FAIR's movements.

Tatsuya told him about the fact that artifacts believed to serve as materials for Relics had
been stolen from a museum in Itoigawa, and that he suspected that FAIR was involved in
the theft.

In fact, the information Tatsuya shared with him wasn't any sort of secret. The theft was
a fact reported in the news, save for the magical nature of the artifacts, and FAIR's
involvement was just a guess. Information of much less value when compared to Rena's
magical skills.

But Ryousuke was satisfied that Rena's "hunch" had been confirmed.

44
once you've committed a crime, commit to it; in for a penny, in for a pound; if you've eaten poison, (lick) the
plate
 109

"Executive Director, may I tell FEHR's leader what you just said?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

Tatsuya agreed to Ryousuke's request graciously with a one-word approval, while the
latter couldn't hide his excitement.

"Thank you very much."

That information was certainly going to be useful to Rena, Ryousuke thought with
delight. It would have been unreasonable for him to disturb her with "not-so-important
information".

◇◇◇

After talking with Ryousuke, Tatsuya headed for the university. There was still time to
get to the third period, and there were other things to do besides lectures.

After clearing up the missed assignments in his usual fashion, Tatsuya called Fumiya and
Ayako to the circle45 room. The name of the circle was [Unidentified Magic Research
Group].

From the name alone, it would appear to be a serious circle that focused on the study of
magic, but in reality, it was a club that had been inactive for some time, that Tatsuya
took over. The group members were students who were under the patronage of the
Yotsuba family, making the circle room a sort of base of operations for the Yotsuba
family at the Magic University.

Note that Miyuki and Lina didn't belong to this club, but they often frequented the circle
room, and no one complained about it. Even Ayako and Fumiya weren't members, but,
again, no one ever complained about them as hindrances.

"Tatsuya-san, excuse me."

"Sorry to intrude, Tatsuya-san."

The pair of twins, brother and sister, who looked like two beautiful women of different
styles as usual, entered the circle room where Tatsuya was waiting all by himself.
Fumiya followed by Ayako. The absence of the other circle members was attributed to
the fact that Tatsuya had ordered the room to be cleared of people in advance.

45
A group of students with a common interest.
 110

And, as aforementioned, all the members pertaining to this circle were either Magicians
under the authority of, or students under the patronage of, the Yotsuba family. None of
them refused to obey Tatsuya's directives. As of now, Tatsuya was acknowledged as the
second most prominent member of the Yotsuba family after the head of the family.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted your busy schedule."

"Not at all, if it's Tatsuya-san calling."

"We'll come no matter what."

Fumiya and Ayako shared a single line in perfect harmony. It was almost as if they had
practiced beforehand. Even though they were fraternal twins, the way they were in sync
with each other was especially evident after Fumiya took the leap and started wearing
women's clothes — or, to be precise, to dress in a way where he wouldn't mind if he was
seen as a woman.

"So, how may we help you?"

Although, there was a clear difference in the way Ayako spoke just as there was in her
fashion. Ayako's increasing penchant for using particularly feminine phrasing was
perhaps a conscious attempt to distinguish herself from Fumiya.

"I believe you're both aware of the theft of the artifacts presumed to be the raw
materials for a Relic in Itoigawa the other day, right?"

Fumiya and Ayako both nodded in unison in reply to Tatsuya.

"Tookami has provided us with some information that seems to be related to that case."

With that as a preamble, Tatsuya explained FAIR's movements, which had been brought
to him from Rena through Ryousuke.

"......That man... He finally admitted his true identity?"

Ayako's distaste was clear in her voice.

"So Ayako really sees Tookami as an enemy after all?"

Tatsuya asked Ayako in a neutral tone, neither to rebuke nor to mock her.

"I don't believe that he's an ally."

Ayako's answer came with no hesitation or confusion.

 111

"How do you plan to handle Tookami Ryousuke, Tatsuya-san?"

That question came from Fumiya.

"Actually, I'm wondering if we can use him to form a cooperative relationship between
FEHR and Society."

"Not with the Company, but with Society, you mean?"

"If it's Society, then it should be fine."

The former was Fumiya, the latter was Ayako. Neither seemed to be opposed to the idea.

"I'm planning to send Tookami to make the approach for the negotiations."

"The approach? Not the negotiations themselves, I take it."

"What I want Tookami to do is help invite them to the negotiations table."

Tatsuya nodded towards Fumiya.

"I think that's good. It would be even better if he just returned to FEHR straight away."

It was hard to tell if Ayako was being sarcastic or serious, but she agreed. Still, it seemed
like her distrust of Ryousuke had no intention of changing.

◇◇◇

"Can we trust him?"

The one to ask that question was Lina. The setting was the dining room of Tatsuya and
Miyuki's house. It was a reaction to Tatsuya saying "I'm sending Ryousuke to FEHR'' at
the dinner table.

"I guess Lina too has a distrust of Tookami on a consistent basis."

Tatsuya let out a chuckle.

"What do you mean, me too?"

"Ayako also sticks to her stance that Tookami is untrustworthy."

Lina uttered a "Humph....." and Miyuki interjected from the side.

"Did you mention it to Ayako-san before you told us?"

 112

Though not as obvious as before, Miyuki was clearly sulking.

"Ayako and Fumiya have been ordered by Oba-ue to investigate the theft of the Relic
materials from the museum in Itoigawa. Any information that might be relevant to the
case needed to be passed on as soon as possible. That's why I told them first."

"And how is this related to the Itoigawa case?"

Miyuki asked with an expression that took a sharp turn, and was now serious.

Tatsuya proceeded to explain to Miyuki and the others what he had heard from
Ryousuke from the ground up.

"She flew an astral body all the way from the States to Japan!? Was Rena Fehr really that
powerful of a mageist!?"

Lina seemed to be more concerned about that part of the story than FAIR's movements.

"I don't think she can cross the Pacific with no strings attached like that. Maybe she has
a requirement that says the target destination has to be in front of someone she's
familiar with or something like that. Because, you see, the perceived, psychological,
distance has more influence on the activation of magic than the actual, real, physical
distance."

"......I think Tatsuya is right theory-wise, but do you have any grounds for thinking so?"

"It's based on the fact that she had sent Tookami to us. If she could send an astral body
at will, she wouldn't need to send a human to investigate."

"......I guess so."

Lina seemed to be convinced for the time being.

"I doubt that FAIR has given up on the Relic, don't you think so?"

This time, Miyuki asked her question with unease.

"I think they may have given up on stealing the Artificial Relic."

"You believe they changed their aim to the Original Relic?"

Tatsuya nodded in agreement to Miyuki's guess.

 113

"Mt. Shasta in California has been a so-called power spot since the last century, and that
area is a well-known tourist destination for the people of Japan. As I recall, it was
regarded as something of a sacred place by the natives, right?"

"......Yes. From what I recall, yes, it is."

Tatsuya asked her, and Lina shook her head affirmatively.

"Perhaps they're looking for any possible artifacts that might have a similar capability as
the Original Relic's."

"Are you saying that we can find a Relic with magic sequence preservation even in
America?"

Miyuki inquired of Tatsuya in a voice that said, "I never thought of that".

"We couldn't find any clues as to the true nature of Relics. While it's just a guess, I
suspect it may be an artifact of a prehistoric civilization."

Miyuki and Lina both expressed surprise and astonishment in unison.

"Prehistoric civilization? Does Tatsuya think that there was a lost civilization that
developed magical technology?"

Lina questioned, in a "Are you serious?" tone of voice.

"We know that Relics aren't a product of a natural process. Antinite is likely a man-made
object as well. That being so, wouldn't it make more sense to think that there was a
civilization that imbued material objects with magical effects and used them?"

"Huuh......"

Rather than saying that she was uncertain about Tatsuya's speculation, Lina appeared to
be having problems processing it.

"And such a civilization existed not only in the Japanese archipelago, but also in the
North American continent?"

In contrast, Miyuki's question was based on the assumption that Tatsuya was correct.

"Antinite has been found all over the world. So there's no reason to think Japan is special
in that way."

Different from the ones said before, this line from Tatsuya was filled with conviction.
 114

Chapter 10
[Infiltration into the USNA (3)]

May 28, 2 a.m. Japan time.

Minoru and Minami descended to the USNA. It was May 27th at 10 a.m. local time. Just
the right time to do some sightseeing.

Minoru hadn't forgotten that his purpose here was to investigate FAIR. However, he
didn't intend to just stop there.

It was very difficult for a magian to get to visit a foreign country.

But for Minoru and Minami, it would be even more difficult for them to step on the soil
of their homeland. They were only barely allowed to disembark (or should it be called
descend?) on the part of Miyakijima that was exclusively owned by the Yotsuba family.

Minoru believed that it was his fault that Minami couldn't live on the surface anymore.
And Minoru knew that was just his own assumption. That was why Minoru didn't want
to miss the opportunity to let Minami enjoy some time on the surface.

Tatsuya had provided them with fake passports and credit cards with matching names
necessary for their sightseeing. Tatsuya kindly agreed to Minoru's request to let Minami
explore the city of San Francisco during his investigation. In order to repay his kindness,
Minoru would do his utmost to escort Minami around the city.

Minoru didn't realize that he himself was quite enthusiastic about his date with Minami.

Just like the day before last, Minoru descended from Takachiho in a deserted area on the
shore of San Andreas Lake. The only difference was that today, Minami was with him.

There, Minoru called an automated taxi. From there, they went to the San Francisco
International Airport. "Why the airport?" Minami asked quizzically, which was only
natural, considering that they had just arrived in San Francisco.

And to that simple question, Minoru's answer was.

 115

"A normal overseas trip should start from the moment you get off at the airport, right?"

Seemingly, Minoru wanted to go through the motions of a typical tourism trip. At that,
Minami responded, "Yes, you're right" in turn, with a smile, because she felt that
Minoru's childishness was, in a sense, endearing. But Minoru didn't quite understand the
meaning of the warm look that was being directed at him.

The San Francisco townscape had been well preserved since before the Word War. So
much so that many of the public transportation systems from the early 21st century
were still in service. Even the vehicle they used to get from the airport to the city center,
the old fashioned high speed train, was still in operation instead of the newer
decentralized transportation system like the Cabinets.

But that didn't particularly mean that Japan was more advanced than the USNA in terms
of public transportation. In the USNA, autonomous taxis were more sophisticated than
the Cabinets, more numerous, and cheaper than in Japan.

"These things are kind of more refreshing than nostalgic, don't you think? And the wind
feels good."

Minami shared her impressions of the railway ride. Minoru agreed with her mostly, with
the exception of the fact that the dense crowd packed into one place wasn't very
pleasant for him, especially since he wasn't used to such situations.

After entering the city from the airport, they headed to the northern part of the
waterfront, Fisherman's Wharf, which was a popular tourist destination in San
Francisco. After enjoying some window shopping, they went to a food stall and bought
the signature lobster roll to share with each other. Only after eating the lobster roll,
both Minoru and Minami found out that they were hungrier than they thought.

Instead of buying the same thing again, they decided to go for something different since
they were there, so they went to a famous bakery that was listed in the tourist guide.

They ordered clam chowder. After a short wait, a dish with a hollowed out sourdough
bread filled to the brim — with actually a little spillage — with clam chowder was
brought out for two. "Isn't that a bit too much?"

This time, instead of sharing one portion, they had ordered a portion for two, but the
quantity was much larger than they had imagined. Worried, Minoru asked,

"Do you think so?"

 116

To which Minami asked back with a quizzical look on her face.

"Mi-...... Hikaru-onii-sama, are you okay?"

As it turned out, the one who looked distressed and overwhelmed was Minoru.

The "Hikaru" that, at first, was nearly mispronounced with "Mi" and quickly corrected,
was Minoru's fake name written on his fake passport. Perhaps the term "false name"
wasn't strictly accurate. Officially, Minoru was considered to be dead. Currently,
Minoru's official name was 'Oujima Hikaru'.

"Mi-...na. I'm fine."

And Minami, who was also supposed to be dead — as she had become a Parasite, it could
be said that she was dead as a human being — and her official ID marked her as 'Oujima
Mina', Minoru's younger sister.

The brother-sister setup was a result of a compromise. Initially, Tatsuya intended to

make fake passports for them as a married couple. But Minoru objected, stating mainly
that it would be too embarrassing, and preferred that they would be just friends.
However, there was a concern that if they were legally unrelated to each other, it might
cause a problem or hindrance when they had to deal with the necessary formalities at a
hotel or airport.

And, in regards to Minami, she would prefer to use "sama" or "onii-sama" with Minoru
rather than "san" or "kun". As for Minoru, he didn't have as much of a problem with
calling her by her fake name as he did with her real name. If he ever wished to say so. To
"Minami", "Mina" would have been good practice in case they were to have that sort of a
relationship in the future.

As a result of various considerations, Minoru and Minami were now officially brother
and sister.

Still not too happy with the way things went, Minoru turned to Minami after regaining
his bearings, with a calm expression on his face. It couldn't be said that it was a very
successful effort. Still, Minami wasn't too insensitive to point it out.

She asked Minoru "Would you like to go see the ocean?". She thought that a short walk
would help relieve their full stomachs.
 117

Minoru wasn't blind to the fact that Minami was concerned about him. Besides,
regardless of his physical state, taking a walk on the beach in a foreign country together
with the girl he loved was a tempting offer for a man who had spent so much of his life
sick in bed.

Minoru accepted Minami's invitation with a nod without missing a beat.

"Isn't that the Golden Gate Bridge......? So, it's not really golden, right?"

The comment that escaped Minami's mouth as she looked at the reddish-orange
suspension bridge was surely the most common misunderstanding among travelers
who only knew it by name. And yet, it was unlikely that a tourist today would come to
San Francisco without finding out about this particular bridge in the first place. A group
of young women who must have overheard Minami's comment were giggling between
each other. They may have been of non-Japanese ethnicity, since neither their skin color
nor their facial features looked Japanese, but they just so happened to understand
Japanese.

"They say the name of the bridge comes from the name of this strait, the 'Golden Gate'."

"Ah, so that's why."

Although, neither Minoru nor Minami paid any heed to their insensitivity.

"It's said that the strait was named shortly before the discovery of gold in California. So
even though it's called the Golden Gate, it apparently wasn't named in the sense that it
was a channel where gold was passing through."

"That's an interesting coincidence, isn't it?"

"Quite so. I wonder if Captain Fremont, the person who named it, had some kind of gift
for prophecy."

Out of the corner of their eye, they saw figures skulking away, appearing to feel
uncomfortable. It was the group of young women who had laughed at Minami's earlier
misunderstanding. Minoru had managed to hear them say, in loud and clear
bad-mouthing, "It's named after the gold rush".

"Is that the island over there Alcatraz?"

 118

Minami, on the other hand, really didn't seem to care about it at all. To her it was "out of
sight, out of mind".

"Yeah, I believe so. Do you want to go there?"

"To be honest, I'm interested since it's a famous place. But, can we even go there?"

"Give me a minute......."

Minoru did a quick search on his mobile device.

"......You could walk on the island before the war, but now it looks like you can only go
around the area by boat. It's said that's because the facilities are too dilapidated and
going inside would be dangerous."

"Then I guess there's no helping it."

"Do you want to get tickets for an excursion boat? We can't get on this next one, but we
might be able to go on the evening one."

"I see, in that case....... Let's just apply for the reservation."

"Okay."

Minoru applied for a reservation on the website that was open on his terminal.

"I've applied for the tour boat that leaves at six. It said they'll let me know if we got it
around four o'clock."

"So, we still have over two hours before the confirmation of the reservation.
Hikaru-onii-sama, what will we do until then?"

Minami immediately got used to it and called Minoru by his fake name without any
problems.

As for Minoru, he felt a bit saddened that she didn't call him by his real name.

"You're right........ How about we rent bikes and go across the Golden Gate Bridge? It
appears that there's a bike lane, so it'll be safe."

"Sounds good! Let's do that."

But the smile that Minami gave him blew away any sort of selfishness from Minoru's
mind.
 119

They crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to the other side of the river to a hill with a
spectacular view in Sausalito, then returned to the San Francisco side and took an
autonomous taxi to Baker Beach on the Pacific Ocean side. There, they enjoyed their
date, strolling along the sandy beach.

After being asleep for almost three years, Minoru and Minami were far from being
newlyweds — they had essentially just become lovers. Perhaps it was unavoidable for
them to radiate their euphoria all over the place, paying no mind to the others around
them.

From a shadowy corner came a gaze staring at the two of them. Though, the intention of
that gaze seemed neither to be congratulatory, of longing, nor jealousy. It was the gaze
of an assassin that was lurking in the shadows, hiding his breath — aiming for his target.

"I'm so glad we managed to get the tickets."

Minami said cheerfully as the two of them successfully secured tickets to board the ship.

"Yeah, right. We should probably head there."

It was currently five o'clock in the afternoon. This time of year, the days were the
longest of the year, and since it was summer time (daylight saving), it was still far from
dusk. Sunset in San Francisco came after 8:00 p.m. Minoru thought it would be a shame
to leave the beach while it was still bright, but it would be even more of a shame to
waste the tickets they managed to get, so he suggested to Minami that they should get
going.

Minami nodded and they headed towards the road, while Minoru used his terminal to
call an autonomous taxi. The waiting time on the display was more than five minutes,
but not any longer than ten. It seemed to be a little more congested than it was before.
Perhaps it was because they were a little farther from the city center.

Five minutes later, a taxi pulled up on the sideroad, in front of them. It wasn't the
autonomous taxi that Minoru had called, but a manned taxi — a rarity these days.

"──Hey, handsome boy, won't you take a ride? You don't want to leave the cute girl
there waiting on the side of the road."
 120

The English spoken from the passenger seat sounded a little unnatural to Minoru and
Minami. The tourist guide that he had read beforehand had warned him that there were
no flowing taxis in San Francisco. So, it was probably an illegal taxi.

"I've already called another taxi, so I'm not taking it."

Minoru refused firmly, so as not to give the driver any leverage to impose on them.

"Hey, hey, I'm saying this out of my good faith."

As he said that, the man in the passenger seat leaned out of the window. His right arm
was resting on the window frame, and his left hand was holding a revolver pistol. The
muzzle of the gun was pointed at Minoru.

"Get in!"

The man demanded.

But of course, Minoru showed no signs of being frightened by the threat. His body had
the super-healing ability of a Parasite. Meaning that even if he was shot, the wound
would just disappear immediately. And prior to that, Minoru took pride in the fact that
his magic activation speed was on par with that of a psychic, so there was no way he
was going to let that happen.

"Hikaru-onii-sama, doesn't this seem strange?"

Minoru wasn't the only one who wasn't intimidated. Minami was still composed enough
to ask quizzically.

"Hey! You think I'm bluffin'!"

The man yelled in aggravation.

"You're annoying, aren't you?"

Minoru responded to the man, his voice sounding vexed.

Minoru had been disguising himself with Parade ever since they descended. His current
appearance was that of a normal, handsome man. So, the inhuman presence of his true
face wasn't apparent.

Despite that, with his voice and stare alone, Minoru overpowered the stranger. Perhaps
he could tell that Minoru was a creature of a higher order than his own. In fact,
although the man was angry at Minoru's attitude and wanted to pull the trigger of the
 121

gun, his fingers were stiff and refused to budge. His conscious command to attack
Minoru was obstructed by his unconscious fear of Minoru.

"You don't appear to have completely lost your will....... Are you under some sort of
minor suggestion?"

Minoru muttered what seemed to be a soliloquy.

"Is that like hypnosis?"

Minoru's line was fairly quiet, but Minami managed to catch it.

"I don't think it's just hypnosis, maybe it's brainwashing with drugs...... Though I'm not
very familiar with it."

After responding to Minami, Minoru turned his gaze back to the man. The chilling stare
was a stark contrast to the gentle look he had been giving Minami.

"Hey, you."

His voice was a match for the intensity in his eyes, of a quite natural condescending
tone, looking down at the other party. Minoru didn't come across as weird or
obnoxious. Even with his extravagant good looks omitted, Minoru still carried the air of
a young nobleman.

"Who asked you to do this?"

"......What... do you mean?"

The intermittent speech of the man in the passenger seat was the result of his difficulty
in breathing. It wasn't just the pressure of their difference in standing. As a matter of
fact, Minoru was actually operating a magic that caused continuous damage to the
mind. The ability to use magic just as quickly and accurately without the use of a CAD
was an ability he acquired through Parasitization.

The magic that Minoru was using now, however, was merely a way to exert
psychological pressure. It didn't have the mind controlling effect of forcing a confession;
it was just a few times more effective than the pressure that could be applied by a
non-magician.

The reason for using such passive magic was, of course, obvious. The USNA had much
stricter surveillance against unauthorized use of magic than Japan. Even if the forged
identities were perfect, Minoru and Minami were people who shouldn't be here. No,
 122

technically, they weren't even people, as in humans, anymore. They wanted to avoid
being spotted by the police as much as they possibly could.

In that regard, even if it was a mental interference-type magic, a magic that only applied
pressure without modifying the phenomena that was the "mind" was unlikely to be
judged as "magic". And, in such a situation, it was easier to use.

"I'll ask you one more time. Who asked you to do this?"

However, it still had limited direct effect, since it didn't interfere with the will to force a
confession. Minoru then intensified the pressure in order to elicit a confession.

"Du... Dunno. I... borrowed this car from a.... young couple and...... They said they'd let me
keep the car if I took you guys with me......."

"A young couple? What sort of people were they? Ethnicity? What were the colors of
their eyes and hair? How tall were they?!"

Minoru proceeded to ask even more questions, but he didn't get any answers.

"He fainted......."

Minoru muttered indifferently. To some listeners, he may have appeared to come across
as "inhumane". Fortunately for him, Minami thought of it as "cool", but there was no
guarantee that it was due to the fact that "love is blind".

Although, Minami undoubtedly must have had the image of it, because of the strong
impression the following act had left on her.

"Mina──!"

Minoru wasn't shouting "Mina" but rather "Minami", which he didn't manage to
pronounce until the end.

At the same time, he pulled Minami's body closer and left a projected image of himself
behind.

The next moment, accompanied by a muffled popping sound, fresh blood had gushed
out from Minoru's right leg.

Having received plenty of gun training at the Yotsuba village, Minami recognized that
small popping sound as the firing of an automatic pistol with a suppressor.

With Minoru stumbling, Minami hurriedly tried to support him from behind.
 123

But that was unnecessary, as Minoru quickly regained his footing with his right leg, the
one that had just been shot. A small amount of blood was coming out of the bullet
wound. The bullet had been expelled from his body.

Simultaneously, a self-driving car that had been passing by suddenly spun out of
control. It wasn't a flat tire. The car used airless tires.

It wasn't a flat tire; the wheel flew off it's axle. That kind of accident wouldn't happen in
2100, even with faulty maintenance, unless the vehicle was defective.

And it wasn't a defective vehicle in this case. It wasn't even an accident in the strictest
sense of the word.

It was Minoru's magic. In the instant that he was shot and the blood had sprayed, he
constructed the magic and released it.

As the road and the bottom of the monocoque body46 scraped against each other, the
self-driving car stopped on the shoulder of the road, and all the doors flew open with
great force. They weren't opened by any of the occupants trying to escape. It was
another magic used by Minoru.

Minoru called out to Minami, "Stay close" and then walked up to the self-driving SUV,
with Minami following close behind.

There wasn't any more blood flowing from Minoru's leg. The gunshot wound had
already healed.

Minoru and Minami stopped facing the driver's seat of the self-driving car. There was a
young man in the driver's seat and a young woman in the passenger seat. The man got
out of the car as if he was rolling down the street and pointed his gun at Minoru. The
muzzle of the gun wasn't steady, probably because he had been swung around in a spin
and hadn't recovered his senses yet.

The man paid that no heed and pulled the trigger.

The distance between him and Minoru was approximately three meters.

The bullet came to a stop in midair, about a meter in front of Minoru, and fell straight
onto the road. The shot would have missed its mark, but it was caught by the magic
shield that Minami had deployed for precaution.

46
Monocoque - Wikipedia
 124

The woman also had a gun. The first shot, the one that punctured Minoru's leg, was fired
by the woman. When she saw that the man's bullet was blocked by the shield, she must
have realized that their guns were useless. So, she tried to use magic against Minoru
and Minami.

(What is this? My body won't move.......?)

What Minoru felt was a sensation of helplessness. Although he had never experienced it
before, he wondered if this was what "sleep paralysis" felt like.

(It only prevents the body from moving. It's not like it's stopping the heart or
anything.......)

Minoru concluded that the woman's magic would only render him unable to act, and
was not directly harmful to his life.

(But, I still won't stand for it.......)

The woman's magic was binding Minami in addition to Minoru.

(If you dare to attack Minami-san, you deserve to die!)

In his human days, Minoru wouldn't have felt such a killing urge like that. This change in
mentality was unmistakably the influence of having become a Parasite.

Unable to point his right hand at the woman as it was unable to move, Minoru focused
his will on the woman through his gaze alone.

The next moment──

──the woman's body burst into flames!

With sparks shooting out from her body, the woman was instantly burnt to ashes.

That was Minoru's signature magic [Jintai Hakka].

It was a magic that forcefully caused the emission of electrons from the target's physical
body. As its electrons are stripped away from it, the object loses its bonding capability
and disintegrates at the molecular level. This magic didn't only limit its actions to the
human body, but also acted on inorganic materials as well. It was given the name [Jintai
Hakka] (Human body Ignition) because it was created under the auspices of recreating
the "spontaneous human combustion" phenomenon with magic.
 125

The apparent difference between this magic and Tatsuya's [Decomposition] was that the
sparks were created by the emission of electrons while the object disintegrated from
the outside to the inside. As a result, it appeared as if it was bursting into flames and
burning down. Also, if there was a flammable object nearby, the electric spark would
ignite it, adding to the illusion that something was burning.

The woman disappeared in less than ten seconds, leaving behind only a small patch of
ash.

(......What is that?)

He saw something wafting off from the ashes, or rather from the space in which the
woman was standing. It wasn't a material entity. It was a psion information body with a
highly complex structure.

(A familiar47.....?)

It resembled the "familiars" used by ancient-style magicians, but with a much more
robust structure. Minoru, who had absorbed Zhou Gongjin's residual thoughts —
"Ghost48" would be a better word to describe it — was well versed in the use of familiars.
However, even the knowledge he inherited from Zhou Gongjin wasn't quite relevant in
this case.

(Ancient....... This has been at least a thousand years since it was created.......!)

The muffled sound of a gunshot pulled Minoru's attention from the information
dimension back to the real world. The impact of the bullet being caught by the magic
shield reflexively diverted Minoru's "eyes" from the information body.

At the time that he tried to return his "gaze" to the "familiar", the psion information body
had already flown away.

Minoru glared at the man with visible displeasure.

"You're......?"

Then he noticed that he had seen the man before.

"Aren't you Bruno Ricci?"

47
A "Tsukaima" (使い魔), the japanese "familiar". As in sort of the same as the western familiars, such as a
black cat etc.
48
亡霊: Ghost/Apparition of the past; (fig.) What is supposed to be a dead past, but feared that it may have
revived.
 126

With dark brown hair and eyes of the same color. His shaggy, at best, wild appearance
hadn't changed much since Minoru had met him three years ago at FAIR's base in Los
Angeles.

"So you're really Minoru Kudou!"

Ricci's suspicion must have been confirmed when he heard Minoru call his name. He
figured out that it was Minoru, who was changing his appearance with [Parade].

He could sense Minami's surprised reaction from behind him. Perhaps she believed that
there was no way Minoru's [Parade] could be detected.

"This man is a FAIR member with a visual-type superpower. He has the so-called 'Evil
Eye'. It's a type of 'sight' that can distinguish Pushion patterns. So, even my [Parade]
didn't have the capability to disguise pushion information bodies."

Bitter with himself for his failure, Minoru couldn't help but utter an excuse.

That statement was akin to a clear confession of his identity. But then again, he had
already taken care of Ricci's partner. There was no way Minoru was going to let him
leave like this.

"By the way, Ricci. Those guys were instigated by you guys, right?"

Minoru said, pointing to the car behind them with the still unconscious duo in it.

"Kudou! Bastard, how dare you do that to Louisa?!”

Ricci yelled at Minoru with the muzzle of his gun finally fixed on him. Louisa seemed to
be the name of the woman that Minoru had incinerated.

Whether they were partners on the job or in private, they were still partners. Even if it
was only a business relationship, it was only natural to be furious if your partner was
suddenly burned to death.

"Those guys were instigated by you guys, right?"

"…………"

But when Minoru repeated the question in a firmer tone, Ricci's momentum quickly
faded. Regardless of the strength of his magical power, Ricci was being overwhelmed by
Minoru. Shutting his mouth was the best he could do to resist.
 127

"I'll take your silence as an affirmative. What were you planning on doing with us?"

"............"

"Answer me."

Minoru's voice resonated powerfully.

It wasn't a loud shout. It wasn't created by the use of magic.

His voice was infused with "cursing power".

"……We planned to take you to the hideout."

That was a technique he had acquired from Zhou Gongjin's ghost. Minoru's voice had a
compulsion in it that forced a confession out of Ricci against his will.

"For what purpose?"

"To ask what you Parasites are doing here in San Fran?"

Ricci called Minoru "Parasite" instead of "Demon". FAIR knew exactly what a Parasite
was.

"To ask us? If you wanted that you didn't have to be so rough. Or did you misspell
'interrogate'?"

Minoru let out a disgusted voice. The flicker of emotion must have loosened the
shackles of the cursing power.

"This is revenge for Louisa! Die, Kudou!"

Ricci pulled the trigger on his gun. This time, the bullet had magic with "enhanced
penetration" applied to it.

But it was all too easy for Minami's magic shield to stop it, and so, it pitifully fell to the
ground. Minami's magic proficiency had improved greatly since her Parasitization,
particularly in terms of durability. The current Minami was able to sustain her magic
shield for over an hour without any effort.

Realizing that the shield was Minami's magic, Ricci thrust out his left hand, the one that
wasn’t holding the gun, toward her. He must have been using a fully-thought-controlled
type of CAD because the activation sequence unfolded without him manipulating any of
the controls.
 128

But Ricci's magic didn't activate; the activation sequence was destroyed before it could
be read49.

"──Didn't you learn from what happened to Louisa, how did she end up like that?"

49
to fetch (e.g. CPU inst.); to read (data into a system); to load. Probably before it became a magic
sequence.
129
 130

A cold, hair-raising voice emanated from Minoru's mouth.

Only at this stage of the game did Bruno Ricci realize what he had done wrong. He
realized that he had signed his own death warrant.

The death sentence itself may have been decided. But the date of execution had not
been set yet. There was a slim chance that the execution wouldn't be carried out for
several years and it would be eventually forgotten.

However slim it may be, he clung to that faint glimmer of hope.

Out of instinctive fear, Ricci turned his back on Minoru. He tried to escape the Reaper's
scythe.

But at the same time Bruno Ricci took his first step to escape.

His flesh scattered in sparks and burned down in the blink of an eye.

Minoru cancelled the ride of the autonomous taxi and used [Parade] to change his
appearance to that of Bruno Ricci and Minami to that of his female partner. He then
woke up the two men who had been left unconscious and then drove back with them to
Fisherman's Wharf.

He let them have the self-driving car, as it was promised to them, and returned his and
Minami's original appearance. After that, they went to buy Minoru a new pair of pants to
replace the one that had a hole in it from the bullet. Taking the opportunity to give
Minami some clothes and accessories as well. Then, as if nothing had happened, they
enjoyed the cruise on San Francisco Bay and even had dinner before returning to
Takachiho at midnight local time.

◇◇◇

After taking a bath and a light nap on his return to Takachiho, Minoru opened the
communication line with Miyakijima on the 28th, at 7:50 p.m Japan time.

Although Tatsuya had returned to his home in Chofu, on the upper floor of the building
that served as the Yotsuba family's Tokyo headquarters, there was a dedicated line
between the Tokyo headquarters and the Miyakijima branch. Using this, Minoru asked
Tatsuya if they could establish a connection.

[Minoru, how was San Francisco?]

 131

[You went on a date with Minami-chan, didn't you?]

Not only Tatsuya, but Miyuki appeared with him on the monitor in front of Minoru on
Takachiho. When Minoru saw this, he called Minami to the front of the camera.

After a brief Q&A session between Minami and Miyuki about their visit to San Francisco,
Minoru reported to Tatsuya about the incident of their engagement with FAIR members.

[......Can you tell me what kind of magic that woman used?]

Minoru shook his head at Tatsuya's question.

"It was magic I didn't know about. I could at least tell that it's not a modern magic that
belongs to any of the four systems or eight types, it could be BS magic or maybe even
sorcery. Well, since it was a woman, I guess I should say witchcraft."

[A sorceress or perhaps a witch. Assuming that it was a witch, was the psion information
body that emerged from her ashes actually a familiar?]

At Tatsuya's question, Minoru shook his head, saying, "No."

"......It looked a lot like a familiar, but I think it was something else."

[Where did you feel that they were similar?]

"Let me see. I wasn't able to determine it for sure, but......"

Minoru said, then contemplated for a moment.

"......I have a feeling that her information body had some built-in functionality to assist in
the construction of the magic sequence."

He stated the result of his conjecture.

[To assist in the construction of the magic sequence....... Minoru, do you think that the
psion information body was using the witch? Have you considered that it might not
have been the witch that was using it, but rather the one possessing it?]

"Possessed, as in like a Parasite?"

Tatsuya's suggestion made Minoru ask back, his eyes slightly widening.
 132

[When the host dies, the magical information body breaks free. Although there is a
difference between a Psion information body and a Pushion information body, to me it
seems that the behavioral pattern is similar to that of a Parasite.]

Minoru didn't answer immediately, but instead pondered for around ten seconds.

"......I don't know for sure. It's certainly a possibility, but isn't there too little material to
draw any conclusions?"

[Yeah, I agree. You're right.]

Tatsuya nodded and changed the subject.

[Minoru, is there any chance that the FAIR members who you fought with could have
told their associates about you two?]

"I can't say there isn't. I wasn't aware that I was being watched until they attacked me. I
think it's safe to say they could have taken pictures of me."

[You were disguised with 'Parade'. So I can' t say that you were careless. But I'll have to
arrange for a new passport. I'll have it ready by the end of the day tomorrow, so why
don't you and Minami come down to Miyakijima the morning after tomorrow? I'll also
head there first thing in the morning.]

"Ok, I will. Thank you, I'm sorry to bother you."

Not the least perfunctory, Minoru bowed his head as a token of his gratitude.

Minami at his side, followed suit.

[Then... it's settled. I'll be waiting for you at six in the morning.]

"Alright. We'll descend at six."

After promising to meet him the day after tomorrow, Minoru closed the connection.

◇◇◇

May 30th, Sunday. 6 am, Miyakijima.

Tatsuya was waiting near the magic circle of the virtual satellite elevator, as they had
promised.
 133

In front of his eyes, two figures suddenly appeared as if they were emerging from thin
air.

"Tatsuya-san, good morning."

"Good morning, Tatsuya-sama."

Tatsuya returned the greetings to Minoru and Minami, who had appeared right next to
him after activating the Mock Teleportation magic on their own, and invited them both
to board the AirCar he had parked beside him.

There, in the Miyakijima branch of the Yotsuba family, located in the northwest part of
the island, Miyuki was waiting for them. Being a Sunday, the university was closed. And
perhaps the reason why Minoru and Minami were invited to come today, instead of
yesterday, was because Miyuki wanted to meet them.

Meanwhile, Lina remained in Tokyo. She said she wanted to relax by herself once in a
while, but she probably really didn't want to be mixed in between two couples by
herself.

While Minami was being bombarded by questions from Miyuki on the side, Tatsuya
briefed Minoru about FAIR's developments — information he got from FEHR.

"......So, Tatsuya-san, do you think that FAIR is trying to uncover a Relic in Mount Shasta?"

Minoru asked, and Tatsuya gave a small nod, with a "Yes."

"I'm sure Minoru knows that a Relic with magic sequence preservation would be of high
value to a mageist soldier50."

"Yeah, I am aware of that."

This time Minoru affirmatively acknowledged Tatsuya's words.

"Whatever FAIR's ultimate goal may be, I don't think they will give up on getting Relics,
provided they are willing to actively use violent means. If they can't get their hands on
the Artificial Relic, it's only natural to assume they'll try to get their hands on the
Original Relic."

"Indeed, that makes sense."

50
combat magician or magician who is a soldier
 134

After nodding once more, Minoru continued, "However"

"Even if they successfully find a Relic, one or two of them won't be that useful if they
intend on using them for weapons. After all, isn't replication technology the most
important part?"

Minoru posed the question,

"The secret of Relic refining was also buried in Mount Norikura, where the original was
excavated. There's no reason to assume that the same thing doesn't exist in Mt. Shasta,
and there's no reason to assume that there isn't anyone in FAIR who can do the same as I
did."

to which Tatsuya responded as such.

"So, an Original is something that was manufactured as well?"

"I am certain of that."

"In other words...... You mean that there was a prehistoric civilization that created and
used tools with magical effects?"

With just this much information, Minoru came to the same conclusion as Tatsuya.

On this day, Minoru and Minami stayed at Miyakijima until nearly eight in the evening.

"Here's your new passport. I've also taken the liberty of getting you a new international
license so that you can rent a car. Of course, it uses the same 3D model as the passport.
All the detailed data is in here."

After escorting them back to the virtual satellite elevator, Tatsuya said so and handed
Minoru their passports, international driving permits, and a card storage device.

"Alright. I'll use it as a reference for [Parade]."

Minoru carefully put it in his shoulder pouch.

"Then, Minoru, I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me, I'll make sure I find out what FAIR is up to."
 135

"I'm looking forward to it. But don't overdo it. Remember, you're not immortal. Keep in
mind that there will be a woman who will cry if something happens to you, so be very
careful."

Tatsuya's words caused Minoru to look at the person beside him. Catching Minoru's
reflexive gaze, Minami nodded while maintaining eye contact.

Minoru also nodded back to her.

Then he turned to Tatsuya.

"I can say the same thing back to you, Tatsuya-san."

"I know. I'm not immortal either, and I'll never leave Miyuki alone."

Tatsuya responded with a serious expression.

Minoru didn't blush in embarrassment either. Not only him, neither Miyuki nor Minami
showed any shyness. Rather, they took in Tatsuya's words with a rather solemn
expression.

"Tatsuya-sama, Miyuki-sama. Thank you for everything you've done for us today."

Minami had a slightly relaxed expression as she said this, and bowed politely to Miyuki
and Tatsuya.

"You can come again any time. You will always be welcome."

Miyuki responded with a heartfelt smile.

"Yes, I will, and thank you very much."

Minami lowered her head once again.

Shortly thereafter, Minoru and Minami walked to the center of the virtual satellite
elevator.

As they stopped, they waved to Tatsuya and Miyuki, and in an instant, their figures were
gone from the sight of Tatsuya and Miyuki, disappearing up into space.
 136

Chapter 11
[Battle for the Relic (3)]

On the morning of May 30th, Tatsuya and Miyuki were receiving Minoru and Minami at
Miyakijima. A young man named [Fukami Yasuhiro] came to see Ryousuke, who was at
the company housing on his day off. After giving his full name, he told Ryousuke, "I'm an
Extra of the Second Research Institute''.

"So, what can I do for you?"

The Extras weren't a topic that could be discussed where other people might hear. It
was inside his room that Ryousuke asked the man who introduced himself as Fukami.

There was no sort of fancy drawing room in the company house where he was living
alone. They were both facing each other across the small dining room table.

"It might be rude of me to ask, but Tookami-san, you're an Extra of the 'Ten', aren't you?"

"Yes, that's right. And yeah, you're right, that is indeed rude."

Ryousuke didn't bother to hide his displeasure as he replied. Extras were a sort of taboo
for Japanese Magicians, a testament to the inhuman nature of the whole Magician
development practice. Ryousuke himself never had the experience of being looked at
"that way". The ones who were directly affected were his father and grandfather.
However, even if he wasn't directly exposed to it, he still experienced the negative
effects indirectly. So, there was no way that bringing up such a subject was going to be
pleasant for him.

"I'm sorry."

Fukami apologized immediately. It was a timid attitude befitting of his slender, insecure
outward appearance. Or perhaps it was the quality of being overly concerned with the
other person's reaction. A person with a taste for playing with others might feel tempted
to torment him. On the contrary, however, Ryousuke felt a pang of pity for him, and he
was unable to press the matter any further.

"So?"
 137

But he couldn't let it stay in the way, and ended up being careless with Fukami.

"Tookami-san, are you satisfied with your current life?"

"Excuse me?"

Ryousuke couldn't understand the meaning behind the question, so he unconsciously

asked back.

"I mean, right now, working for the Magian Company that was created by the Yotsuba
family, alongside the daughter of the Saegusa family, Tookami-san."

"......And what's the problem with that?"

"The Yotsuba and Saegusa families are the heart of the Ten Master Clans. Who treated us
like pawns and discarded us as failures. Are you content with being used by such
people?"

Ryousuke felt immediate regret for letting Fukami into his apartment. He was too
dumbfounded to even think about refuting Fukami's argument.

The Ten Master Clans weren't the ones who banished the Extras. They were also the
children and grandchildren of those who were tampered with at the Magician
Development Institute under the pretense of national security.

They may have been the ones who had passed in the exams, but was it really they who
wanted to? After meeting Rena, Ryousuke began to think about such things.

Rena was different from most people, her mutated genes made her age very slowly. She
was already thirty years old, but her body was that of a mid-teenage girl. It wasn't that
she was trying to make herself look young with clothes, because she had a childish face,
or that she was keeping herself young through diet, it was that she was young on a
cellular level.

Eternal longevity was the envy of all. That was the saying of many people.

But was that really the case?

As far as Ryousuke knew, there was no one in Rena's circle who had the same
constitution. Nor had he ever heard of such an acquaintance.

She couldn't grow old at the same pace as others. Her pace of life was different from
others.
 138

She was the only one who was left behind.

Ryousuke didn't think that was a blessing to be jealous of.

And what about the Ten Master Clans on the other hand?

Sure, they've been heralded as a shining example of success.

They've been highly esteemed by those in power — no, they have been valuable; useful.

As tools.

Having left Japan and gained an outside perspective allowed Ryousuke to realize that. Or
at least, that was what he considered it as himself.

Fukami's argument made Ryousuke uncomfortable, it reminded him of his old self,
caught up in a one-sided view of things.

So, to the question that Fukami posed,

"That's none of your business."

──That was his answer.

After Ryouske set himself unapproachable to any further arguments, Fukami simply
walked away.

Ultimately, Ryousuke still had no idea of his purpose in coming, or what he was trying to
say.

◇◇◇

The culprits of the theft of the Kofun-era artifacts from the Itoigawa museum were those
in an extremist group of magic supremacists known as the New Humanity Front. And
apparently, they were allies of FAIR, the group to which the criminal mageists who
broke into Miyakijima's Stellar Reactor Plant and FLT's lab to steal Artificial Relics
belonged to.

Reaching that conclusion on May 20, the head of the Yotsuba family, Yotsuba Maya,
ordered the branch of the family in charge of intelligence, the Kuroba family, to
investigate further into the matter.
 139

On May 30, at 9:00 p.m. Soon after Tatsuya returned to his home in Chofu, on the upper
floor of the building that served as the Yotsuba family's Tokyo headquarters, he received
a visitor: Kuroba Fumiya, the next head of the Kuroba branch of the Yotsuba family.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late at night."

"No, it's fine. I guess it's a matter that can't be discussed over the phone."

Tatsuya smiled and invited his second cousin, younger than him by one year, inside.
Fumiya had his head down apologetically at the door, who — just happened to — look
like a boyish beauty with a short cut.

Fumiya, who followed behind Tatsuya, was slightly flushed on the cheek, no doubt
ashamed of his visit at such an inconvenient hour…… By no means should it have any
strange connotations.

"Welcome, Fumiya-kun."

As Fumiya was led into the living room, Miyuki came out of the dining room and greeted
him.

"Hi, Fumiya. You're still looking as cute as ever today, huh."

And from behind Miyuki, Lina appeared and lifted her hand lightly facing Fumiya.

"Hello, Miyuki-san, sorry to bother you, I see Lina is here too."

While Fumiya greeted Miyuki with politeness, he returned Lina's greeting in the usual
curt tone.

Miyuki placed a cup of coffee in front of Tatsuya and Fumiya who were sitting across
from each other. Without any milk or sugar. Although it didn't appear so based on his
image, Fumiya preferred to drink his coffee black. However, that started more as a result
of mimicking Tatsuya rather than as an original preference.

Following Miyuki's lead, Lina placed a bowl of bite-sized cookies of various shapes and
sizes between the two of them. There was only one small plate of jam that was in front
of Fumiya. And, as his image suggested, Fumiya was quite fond of sweets.

"This is something I baked for lunch today. Please enjoy it."

Hearing Lina's words, Fumiya's eyes widened slightly.

 140

"Oh really? So Lina baked this."

"Let's see," he said, picking up one of the cookies and biting into it without adding any
jam.

"I'm surprised....... They taste pretty good."

"Hey! It's nice that you complimented me and all, but what's with the 'I'm surprised'
part?"

"Did you burn yourself or anything?"

"Of course not! What does Fumiya think I am?"

"I mean....... No, I'm not going to tell you."

"Why not?!"

"Lina, let it go. Let's not get in the way of Tatsuya-sama and Fumiya-kun's conversation."

Miyuki appeased the agitated Lina.

"No, I think it would be better for you two to hear it."

But Fumiya, on the contrary, stalled Miyuki and Lina.

"Tatsuya-san, that would be fine, if you don't mind."

He then asked Tatsuya for his permission.

"If Fumiya thinks so, I'm fine with it."

"Then, if Tatsuya-sama permits......"

Hearing his answer, Miyuki sat down next to Tatsuya.

"Well, I'll prepare something for me and Miyuki. Miyuki, you want coffee too right? Do
you want me to put something in it?"

"Yes, thank you. Just milk, please."

"Okay."

Lina disappeared back into the dining room to make coffee for the two of them.
 141

Tatsuya and Fumiya passed the time by chatting until Lina came back after making
coffee herself instead of using the home automation.

"Oh, you waited for me?"

As she said that, Lina placed the cups on the low table and sat down next to Fumiya. At
the unexpectedly close distance, Fumiya took a moment to evaluate the proximity and
wondered if he should create more space between them.

In the end, he didn't move and went straight to business.

"It seems that the relationship between the New Humanity Front and FAIR is different
than we initially thought, they aren't connected or even an ideological cult, but have a
strictly business-like relationship."

"You mean they are connected via a financial relationship?"

"I wouldn't necessarily say only financial, though."

Fumiya gave a half nod to Lina's question.

"Does FAIR supply the New Humanity Front with weapons as well?"

"They supply, or should I say, reward them with it."

Fumiya nodded with a smile at Tatsuya's question.

"It seems that the New Humanity Front is being rewarded with weapons via the Chinese
mafia in exchange for fulfilling FAIR's requests."

"So FAIR has a weapons smuggling route into Japan?"

It was Miyuki who asked this question.

"It would seem so."

Fumiya nodded his head with a straight face.

"It seems to be a separate branch of Zhou Gongjin's, made by the remnants of Dahan."

"Come to think of it, Minoru said that FAIR was originally an organization formed by Gu
Jie."
 142

"Kudou Minoru did?"

Fumiya had only known Minoru as an enemy. So it was not surprising that there was no
amiability in his tone as he mentioned him.

"That's because Minoru was hiding at a FAIR hideout in Los Angeles for a short period of
time."

"So that's how he got the information......."

Fumiya made an expression that said, "In that case, it makes sense". Seemingly, Fumiya
found it hard to accept that, besides in terms of magic skills, he was somehow lagging
behind Minoru in regards to intelligence gathering capabilities.

"Did you find out anything else? For example, what is the New Humanity Front's current
aim?"

Tatsuya returned to the matter at hand.

"Ah, yes. I'm positive that the New Humanity Front has just accepted a new task from
FAIR. I just haven't been able to find out the exact details yet. But it seems to have
something to do with the Original Relic."

"Then wouldn't it be to attempt to steal an Original Relic from the excavation site?"

Tatsuya expressed his reasoning in a fluid motion, as if he had anticipated it in advance.

"As we spoke last time, FAIR was sending a research team to Mount Shasta in northern
California."

"Yes, I remember. You mentioned that their goal might be to find a Relic with the same
capability as the [Magistore] you created, Tatsuya-san....... Do you think that they're
planning to pursue the same thing in Japan?"

"FAIR's goal is most likely to develop a magical weapon using a Relic that can store
magic sequences. I don't know if they are considering using it to establish a controlled
region of their own somewhere around South America or if they are planning to exploit
the benefits by flaunting their military might."

"Tatsuya-sama. Wouldn't that still mean using mageists as weapons in the end?"

"Yes."

Tatsuya nodded at Miyuki's comment.

 143

"This is unforgivable....... Even though Tatsuya-sama went through all the trouble of
paving the way to free Magicians from living as weapons. To abuse this know-how to
ruin Tatsuya-sama's ambition is just....."

Miyuki muttered quietly.

"Miyuki, keep it down. You're about to chill the air, you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Three years ago, in the midst of his greatest hardship, Tatsuya had finally released the
seal that held his true powers in check. Along with that, Miyuki also regained the full use
of her magic control, which had been used to maintain the seal.

Since then, she had rarely let her magical skills get out of control, but there were times
when her emotions got the better of her, causing her enormous magic power to slip out
of her control and try to rewrite reality, skipping some of the regular procedures.

In the past, stopping those outbursts had been Tatsuya's duty, but as of now, Lina was
also playing the role of stopper. The main difference now was that Miyuki also took on
the role of stopping Lina's outbursts.

"Then, it would be a good bet to consider New Humanity Front's next target to be the
Relic excavation site at Mt. Norikura."

"But isn't that place guarded by the military?"

Fumiya tried to wrap things up, but Lina raised a question.

"It's a much more realistic target than trying to steal it from the Central Laboratory."

"That's true, too."

But with Miyuki's counterargument, Lina retracted her objection.

"Then we should assign personnel to the excavation site. I'll be on the lookout, too."

"Wait, Fumiya, that's not a very good idea."

Tatsuya curbed an eager Fumiya.

"The Ichijou family is working on the Itoigawa case. We should avoid the possibility of
the Yotsuba family being seen as interfering."
 144

"Even if that's so, I'm not going to make a bad call that would get us found……?"

"I trust you on that part. But I'd rather ask you to track down and capture the culprits if
the artifact is stolen than have you protect the excavation site from theft, Fumiya."

"So you want us to secure the culprit ourselves, then. Do you think they will be of any
use?"

"Because I don't want to be one step behind them every time. I want to find out any
information they may have about FAIR."

"Understood. I'll squeeze as much out of them as I can."

Fumiya nodded with the smile of a wicked woman.

Neither Tatsuya, Miyuki, nor Lina said anything about how that was all under the
presumption that both the National Defense Forces and the Ichijou family needed to be
outsmarted.

◇◇◇

May 31. Unusually, Tatsuya had been at the university since Monday, and today he
happened to meet Masaki during his lunch break.

Tatsuya had Miyuki and Lina by his side, and Masaki was accompanied by a few other
female students in addition to Kichijouji. They seemed to be on their way to eat outside
instead of in the cafeteria.

Perhaps, within this group, there was someone that Masaki could’ve had his eyes on, but
Tatsuya didn't show any restraint in calling out to him.

"Ichijou."

"Shiba."

Although it was directed at Tatsuya, Masaki's eyes were drawn to Miyuki. However, with
a sad dejection in his eyes, he turned them back to Tatsuya the next moment.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

"I'd like to have a few words with you about the Itoigawa matter."

Masaki furrowed his brow.

 145

One of the female students beside him widened her eyes when she heard the word
"Itoigawa". She seemed to have some idea of what was going on, since Masaki kept her
close by his side.

"I'm sorry, everyone, but it seems like Ichijou-san has something important to discuss
with Shiba-san. Could we all go on ahead, please?"

That female student also seemed to be in the lead of Masaki's crowd, and after a brief
round of complaining, only Masaki and Kichijouji were left there.

"I'm sorry. I believe that she's your cousin, right, Ichijou, a member of the Isshiki family?
Send my apologies to her later."

"She's my second cousin. No need to worry about her. That girl also knows about the
duties of the Ten Master Clans and the Eighteen families."

Masaki responded to Tatsuya's not-so-apologetic comment with a scowl.

"I see. Then come with me."

"Ichijou-san, I'm sorry to inconvenience you."

"Not at all, it's my pleasure."

Masaki scowled at Tatsuya, but as soon as Miyuki called out to him, his expression
suddenly switched to a bright smile.

Next to Masaki, Kichijouji had his hand over his forehead, letting out a silent sigh.
146
 147

They walked in the order of Tatsuya, Miyuki, then Masaki.

Behind them, Lina turned to Kichijouji and said, "I see you have your struggles, too," to
which Kichijouji nodded sympathetically.

Tatsuya took Masaki to the school cafeteria. Naturally, there were other students
present.

But as soon as Tatsuya placed the lunch tray on an empty table, the other students who
were sitting nearby began to voluntarily leave their seats. Those who had already
finished their meals took their trays to the return slot, while those who were still eating
moved down at least one table away.

Of course, neither Tatsuya nor Masaki had coerced them to do so. Surely, an alarm must
have gone off in their consciousness. They must have thought, "If I hear something I
wasn't supposed to know, I'll be caught up in it".

Miyuki and Lina left to get the drinks. Masaki and Kichijouji looked a little ashamed, but
they weren't the kind of people to get their priorities wrong. They sat down in a row
across from Tatsuya.

Tatsuya erected a soundproof barrier. Although they weren't able to see the activation
sequence being deployed, Masaki and Kichijouji were more surprised by the strength of
the barrier.

"Shiba....... Just when did you get this kind of magic power......?"

The Tatsuya that Masaki and Kichijouji knew although was unrivaled in terms of magic
activation speed, the power of his magic wasn't that great, except for certain types of
magic. A particular sort of magic that had so much power that very few people who
were related to the field of magic were even aware of it.

But now, the soundproof field magic that Tatsuya used was just as powerful, if not more
so, than if Masaki had used the same magic.

His lack of power was one of the only leads that could be used to defeat Tatsuya. Masaki
couldn't help but feel alarmed when he just displayed that he had overcome that
weakness. Then there was Kichijouji, who was even more shocked than Masaki.

"One of these days, I'm going to publish an article about it. Of course, I'm not going to
disclose everything."
 148

Tatsuya hinted that he had some secret know-how for that matter that wouldn't come
from ordinary training. Needless to say, it was bad manners for a magician to pry into
the magical skills of others. Aware of this fact, Masaki and Kichijouji had to settle with,
for the moment, that Tatsuya had figured out that the nature of the Event Interference
Force was the Pushion waves. That had already been announced within the field of
Magic Studies.

It had been general knowledge up until now that the magic sequence and the event
interference force were inseparable; that it was impossible to isolate one from the
other. The same applied to [Zone Interference], a zone where only Event Interference
Strength was exerted, where it could only be released in conjunction with a magic
sequence with "the phenomenon wouldn't be altered" defined in it.

However, in the course of his research on the Event Interference Force, Tatsuya had
been able to develop a method of disciplining himself to extract only the Interference
Force from himself. Moreover, he had even developed a method that disassociates the
Event Interference Force from the magic sequence and allowed it to operate separately.

Once activated, he would add the Event Interference Force to the magic. By doing so, he
succeeded in overcoming, to some extent, the shortcomings of the Virtual Magic
Calculation Area that was artificially installed in him and its lack of power. As a result,
Tatsuya was now able to freely use magic on a practical level, although not quite on the
level of the first-class mageists.

"Now then, let's focus on the main topic."

"Ah, yeah."

Though still not sounding quite rid of his surprise, Masaki somehow managed to nod.

At that point, Miyuki and Lina returned.

Tatsuya, Masaki, and Kichijouji each, respectively, thanked them for the tea, and the
conversation resumed.

"That incident was related to the Relics."

Masaki nodded at those words from Tatsuya.

"Considering that I also am related to that, I have been informed about it. The thieves'
next target is most likely to be the excavation site where the Original Relic was found."

"......You think they'll try to steal an Original from there?"

 149

Tatsuya nodded, and said, "That's right."

"Shiba, do you know the location of the excavation site of the Original?"

It was only fitting for Masaki to ask, considering the task his father had assigned him as
the head of the Ichijou family to him, as a Magician of the Ichijou family.

"All I can tell you is that it's at the foot of Mount Norikura. Anything more than that
would be a breach of the nondisclosure agreement between the National Defense Forces
and FLT."

It was true that the National Defense Forces were keeping the excavation site of the
Original Relic a secret, but not that this information was shared with FLT. The
information was obtained by Tatsuya through deals with his own contacts.

While the nondisclosure agreement was a lie, it would be detrimental for Tatsuya if the
National Defense Forces found out that he was the source of the information. Tatsuya
didn't have that much unconditional trust in Masaki.

"I see......."

Masaki exuded his dissatisfaction at Tatsuya's unhelpful answer.

"This is all we need to know, Masaki. We can look into the rest ourselves."

Kichijouji appeased Masaki and encouraged him.

After that, they had an idle talk about the usual Magic University student stuff over
lunch.

For Masaki, who didn't have many opportunities to talk with Miyuki leisurely, it was a
very enjoyable lunch time, even if Tatsuya was present.

◇◇◇

The next day, Masaki skipped his university classes to return to his hometown.

After stopping by his parents' house, he headed for the Maizuru Base of the National
Defense Forces.

Although the Komatsu Base was closer to his parents' house, the Maizuru Base was
home to one of the largest units of Magician Marines on the Sea of Japan side.
 150

Masaki's strongest magic showed its true value in naval battles. In terms of magic traits,
he was more suited to the Navy. Because of this, Masaki had earned stronger favor and
sympathy at Maizuru Air Base than at Komatsu Air Base.

It wasn't just a matter of which base favoured him more. Masaki was Japan's second
nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician. And if it so happened that the New
Soviet Union or the Great Asian Union launched an attack on Japan from the sea — and
that was by no means a foregone conclusion — Masaki's cooperation would be
indispensable. So, if Masaki were to ask for a favor, the Maizuru base commander
couldn't afford to ignore it, even if it was somewhat unreasonable.

"──The excavation site of the sacred relic with magic sequence preservation?"

"Yes, Commander, I would like to know the Original Relics excavation site that is being
kept secret by the National Defense Forces."

"Ichijou-san. Just for the record, why would you need that information?"

The commander immediately asked back about the reason. There was no trace of
hesitation in his reply. As he said "just for the record", he was trying to ascertain this
with the person in question first and foremost.

"Because a criminal organization of Magicians is eager to get their hands on a Relic. I

suspect they'll target the excavation site rather than the Weapons Research Center in
Tokyo, where security is much tighter."

"I can understand that, it's probably because the security is pretty short handed over
there."

The commander gave a broad nod. A glimpse of rivalry against the Army was evident in
his tone of contempt.

"One moment, please."

The commander picked up the handset beside him and held it against his head, giving
the order to immediately find out where the excavation site of the Relic was, which the
Army was keeping under wraps.

After spending fifteen minutes conversing while they waited, an adjutant came in with a
written note.

After reading the note without any change in expression, the commander held it out to
Masaki, saying, "Here you go."
 151

".....Is this alright with you?"

Masaki wasn't so dull as to not know what was written there. The real location of the
excavation site of the Relic was supposed to be a military secret.

So Masaki was hesitant, wondering if it would be okay to be given that information, be it

verbally or in the written form of a note.

"It's just the address of a training camp for the army."

I see, so that's how it goes — thought Masaki.

"I see. Well, I appreciate it."

"Not at all, after all, the nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician is going to give
encouragement to our officers and men in their training. It's only natural that I would
cooperate."

Such was the official stance on the part of the commander.

◇◇◇

That night, Masaki and a delegation of the Ichijou family headed for Hida-Takayama.
They split up into small groups to be inconspicuous and traveled under the guise of
groups of tourists. Kichijouji, who was still in Tokyo, also arrived in Takayama after
Masaki's group did.

"──So, what are we going to do tonight?"

Although it was nice to meet up with him, Kichijouji hadn't been told about the details of
what they would be doing. As soon as he encountered Masaki, that was the first thing he
asked.

"I'm dispatching two men to keep an eye on the excavation site. They will contact us as
soon as they have something."

"Two people....... That seems like too few. But, considering the size of our group, I guess
it can't be helped."

Kichijouji had tilted his head briefly when Masaki answered, but then convinced himself
that it was unavoidable.
 152

"I'll have to think about a rotation of shifts. I want to avoid a situation where we're sleep
deprived when the time comes to move in."

"It seems like we’re playing the long game, then."

Masaki and Kichijouji planned to stay there on the lookout for up to two weeks. If the
thieves didn't show up by then, they would only leave the place under surveillance and
pull out.

But fortunately, they didn't have to wait that long.

On the second night after Masaki and the others began their stakeout in Hida-Takayama,
an incident occurred.

"──Understood, we're on our way."

Masaki switched off his Uniphone (Voice Communication Unit for Portable Information
Terminals), leaving it attached to his ear.

"Was it from the watchman?"

"Yes. The garrison seems to have repelled a burglar who tried to break in. Apparently,
the National Defense Forces aren't just a bunch of scarecrows that can be robbed at
will."

"I see. But we can't rest easy yet, right?"

"Yeah. There is no guarantee that the burglar that was spotted wasn't a diversion.
George, we'll be on our way to the scene right away."

"Sure thing, Masaki."

──That conversation happened about ten minutes ago. When Masaki and his group
arrived at the Relic excavation site, they came across a fierce, though not flashy,
guerrilla warfare going on.

"It looks like the first group was just a decoy, after all!"

"I'll go talk to the garrison. Stand by until I give the signal!"

"Ah, I'm coming with you."

 153

Masaki left his subordinates behind and ran towards the garrison, accompanied only by
Kichijouji.

Fortunately, the head of the security force recognized Masaki. As a nationally recognized
Strategic-Class Magician, he had a lot of name recognition. And it was thanks to this that
Masaki's offer to provide support to the guards was gladly accepted.

The delegation of the Ichijou family consisted of thirty people. At Masaki's signal, the
group, which was roughly the size of a platoon, was divided into small groups of three.

As already mentioned, the enemy was waging a guerrilla war. Their objective was to
steal an Original Relic. They didn't need to seize the Relic stored by the military. There
were several pits that were still under excavation, and there were actually more than
one or two places where a Relic could be found. While the National Defense Forces had
their researchers, the thieves could have had members with them with extraordinary
perception-type abilities who could easily locate an undiscovered Relic and take it with
them.

Since they couldn't afford to disregard that possibility, they had to concentrate on
removing any bandits who entered this area. As a result, they had to prioritize repelling
them over capturing them.

Although the bandits didn't seem to total that many, they were also split up into several
groups of around five. And since they would immediately run away as soon as anyone
approached, it was difficult to determine the total number.

Even now, Masaki was one step behind the bandits who had just fled when he received a
radio message from the National Defense Forces. The message not only came to Masaki,
but to each leader of the guard units.

"Masaki, it looks like some bandits are digging in the north side!"

Kichijouji, who had been given the task of taking care of the comms instead, loudly
relayed the contents to Masaki.

"North? They've gotten that far in? Where the hell did they come from?

One of the members of the New Humanity Front — whose name Masaki didn't know yet
— was exiled from a secret group of ancient-style magicians that had been based in this
 154

region. The group knew of a hidden passageway that led to the back of the excavation
site which the National Defense Forces were unaware of.

Which of course Masaki wasn't aware of either. Yet he knew intuitively that it was the
more likely scenario.

"George, tell the others to head to the site in the north!"

Masaki entrusted Kichijouji to relay the message and headed for the northern area of
the excavation site as fast as he could.

On the gentle slope to the north, where the actual excavation hadn't yet begun, there
was a large hole about ten meters in diameter that appeared to have been dug with
magic. This was a violent act of vandalism with no regard for the respect towards the
ancestors or the archaeological value. It could be said to have been a typical criminal
way of doing things.

There were four people lying in front of the hole. Or perhaps, it would be more accurate
to say that there were four dead bodies lying there. Two of them were wearing military
uniforms, and the other two were wearing dark overalls. The latter were probably
dressed for the purpose of digging holes. One of the bodies of the people in overalls was
that of a young woman.

There was no one in or around the hole except for the dead bodies. Still, it was
completely dark. The rainy season was almost around the corner, and the night sky was
cloudy, without any starlight. Perhaps it was just that he couldn't see them, but they
may not be that far away yet.

Masaki turned up the light intensity of his handheld light to maximum and also activated
an emission-type magic for light wave magnification and diffusion. The beam of light,
which seemed to originate from a flare, illuminated Masaki's frontside.

He spotted another hole seventy, no more than eighty meters away, hidden in the
darkness. It was much smaller than the one in front of him. Only allowing for two people
to fit in, side by side. He couldn't quite see the inside of it, but it seemed to be dug into a
slope instead of straight down.

As the magic for light wave magnification and diffusion wore off, Masaki activated it
once more and jumped all the way down to the other side of the hole. "Is this... the
entrance of a cave?"
 155

Masaki stopped just before the hole and sank into thought. Although he wasn't very
good at "seeing", the vestiges of psions where people had passed through remained in
the hole so clearly that even Masaki could see them. Probably because of the priority
given to escape, the hole wasn't concealed all that well. The fact that the entrance
wasn't blocked suggested that the National Defense Forces may have cornered the
bandits pretty well.

If he wanted to catch the thieves, this cave was probably the quickest way to do it. But
he had no idea what to do once he got inside. He was confident that he could cut his
way through any traps that they might have set, but it would still be reckless to go in
alone.

But he also couldn't keep considering what to do for too long. The more time he spent
worrying, the harder it would be to catch the thieves. In this situation, that was the only
thing that was certain — that was the conclusion Masaki came to.

He stepped out onto the slope that led underground and slid down into the cave.

It was more of a tunnel than a cave.

There were clear signs of human work on the walls and ceiling, both of which were high
and wide enough for Masaki to stand and walk on without any difficulty. The "floor" was
also levelled. At first, Masaki was cautiously advancing, one foot after the other, but after
about fifty steps, he switched to a sprint.

The tunnel was quite long. The constant, unchanging confined space made the passage
of time seem even longer than it actually was. After running for about two kilometers —
with the sensation that it was three times longer than that — Masaki finally spotted the
presence of someone ahead of him.

Unfortunately, Masaki wasn't used to acting without any actual physical light. There was
nothing he shouldn't be able to do, but it would be impossible for him to perform as well
as he usually did in battle.

"I'm Ichijou Masaki from the Ichijou family of the Ten Master Clans!"

He took the offensive and, without switching off his handheld light, called out in a yell to
the end of the tunnel.

"If you have nothing to be guilty of, then stop!"

 156

The answer he got came in the form of a storm of stones and rubble.

Masaki blocked it with the magic shield he had prepared in advance, and then released a
mesh of lightning bolts that branched out in thin streaks.

Since he didn't intend to kill, he kept the power output at a level of paralyzation. If
someone had a heart condition, that could prove to be a fatal blow, but he didn't have
time to spare any thoughts for that.

And, as it turned out, it was an unnecessary worry.

The lightning bolts that Masaki unleashed were blocked by a magic shield. Even though
he had suppressed its power, it was an unexpected development for his attack to be
completely intercepted like this.

The light emitted by the electric discharge enabled him to determine the topography of
the tunnel. Masaki cast a movement-type spell on himself and closed the distance
between them in a single motion.

Two women came to intercept him. On the other side, two men were fleeing. Masaki,
who retained very traditional values, felt disgusted by this situation where the men
were running away, leaving the women behind.

In his reasoning, Masaki believed that it was reasonable for magicians to divide their
roles according to their specialties in magic and that it was disrespectful for men and
women alike to say "because it's a man" or "because it's a woman".

But this was a matter of emotion, or rather, a matter of sensitivity. There was no logic to
it.

As a consequence of that, there was no doubt that Masaki was clearly hesitant to attack.
Perhaps that was the intention of the bandits when they used the two women for the
role of stopping him. Using women and children to catch their opponents off guard was
a standard practice of terrorists and criminal organizations alike.

However, after receiving the preemptive strike, Masaki snapped himself out of it and
launched a counterattack without a moment's delay.

The difference in strength between them was obvious. Even so, it took him some time to
incapacitate the two female Magicians holding him back, perhaps due to the fact that he
was avoiding killing them. Not just because his opponents were women.
 157

Leaving the women moaning on the floor of the tunnel, Masaki attempted to chase after
the fleeing pair. However, he was stopped in his tracks by a rumbling sound coming
from ahead. He quickly put up his magic shield and prepared for the collapse. But the
tunnel didn't collapse.

(The exit was blocked......?)

To be sure, he released Active Sonar ahead. The tunnel was almost completely straight,
except for a gradual climb. It wasn't too difficult to identify the obstacles ahead by the
reflected sound.

(I knew it...)

Masaki decided to head back through the tunnel. He took the two women thieves with
him, levitating them with magic.

He hadn't been able to get the stolen Relic back. No, he wasn't even able to confirm
whether or not one was stolen in the first place.

But the fact that we were able to capture two of the criminals alive was an achievement.
At least he didn't come up empty-handed — Masaki consoled himself with that.

◇◇◇

The New Humanity Front had put nearly all of its members into that mission. Only the
leader didn't participate in order to avoid getting completely wiped out. And the
sub-leader didn't enter the excavation site in order to support the retreat of all the other
members of the organization.

Unexpectedly, thanks to this arrangement, the sub-leader and his small group were able
to escape. All the other members besides them were captured before they could
regroup with the sub-leader's team. Even the Relics they managed to dig up with great
pains were taken — or perhaps reclaimed — by someone else along the way.

The two members of the New Humanity Front who had escaped Masaki's pursuit by
sacrificing their female companions breathed a sigh of relief at the exit of the tunnel
that they had used to enter and was collapsed with a demolition-type magic.
 158

A Relic was in the pocket of one of them. Now all that they had to do was escape to their
hideout. If there was a spectator who could have heard their internal monologue, he or
she may have pointed out, "That's a flag51".

Just as the two of them were about to move and resume their escape by making their
way to the rendezvous point.

They were enveloped in "darkness".

That day had a cloudy night sky with no moonlight or starlight to begin with. There
were barely any houses in the remote foothills. But the fact that they couldn't even see
the faint lights coming from the nearest town was by no means an ordinary thing.

And that strange phenomenon didn't stop there. Even the light from the handheld lights
they were carrying were clouded by the darkness, not even illuminating the ground
beneath their feet.

"An illusion......?"

One of the men uttered a clueless comment that was neither a question nor a soliloquy.
This man was a former police officer. When he was on duty, he used magic to arrest a
fleeing criminal and severely injured the suspect. A member of the parliament, who was
also a lawyer, accused him of "violating human rights" and "excessive use of force". He
was forced to hand in his resignation after the media caused a huge uproar in support of
the accusation.

"No, this isn't an illusion. There's no sign of any art working on our consciousness."

The other man replied to him. He was an ancient-style magician formerly affiliated with
a secret order. He had been expelled from the order after being accused of breaking his
"Oath of Secrecy" when he used the secret arts to help people in a landslide. The tunnels
they used to escape were something he learned while he was a member of the order.

"But this is definitely not a natural phenomenon!"

The ex-police officer exclaimed strongly,

"Yeah, it's magic. But how on earth did this phenomenon happen......?"

51
A signal of a recurrent sequence of events in pop culture.
 159

And the member formerly affiliated with a secret order wracked his brain. In contrast to
him, the ex-police officer opened his mouth to say something. He was probably about to
give his own speculation.

"──Gaah!"

But what came out of his open mouth was a muffled scream.

The ex-police officer fell to his knees, holding his solar plexus with both hands. Unable
to support his body properly, he slumped forward and fell to the ground.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

The former order member at his side rushed down to one knee and shook the ex-police
officer's shoulder.

However,

"Ugh.....!"

The former order member swayed his head as if he had been hit in the temple by an
invisible hand and fell sideways on his own. He tried to check if his companion was
conscious, but was unable to do so, as he himself lost consciousness.

The "darkness" that had engulfed them receded.

The handheld lights that they had dropped were now casting a band of light on the
ground.

Emerging from somewhere, a figure of neutral features in a navy blue racing suit that
naturally blended in with the darkness of the night walked up to the collapsed and
totally motionless men. Their physical build was small for a man, yet large for a woman.
Their hips were narrow and chest flat. The silhouette resembled that of a lean man or a
woman with no breasts.

This person bent down and searched the breast pockets of the two men respectively. He
or she took out a hand-sized "jewel" from the pocket of the former order member and
gave a satisfied smile to themself.

"──Fumiya"
 160

The young man straightened his body as a beautiful young woman, who had just made
her appearance, called out to him. She was dressed stylishly, which was fitting due to
the overlooking nightscape of the metropolis.

"Nee-san."

The young man — Kuroba Fumiya responded to her.

"Was it there?"

Fumiya's older sister, Kuroba Ayako, asked in the least amount of words possible.

"Yes, it was."

Fumiya replied in the same brief manner, opening his left hand to reveal the "jewel". On
his right hand, he still wore the specialized CAD in the shape of a knuckle duster.

The magic that made the pair from the New Humanity Front faint was the
Outer-Systematic Type Magic [Direct Pain]. It was a Mental Interference-type magic that
inflicts pain directly on the mind, with so few people having the mastery to use it that it
was hardly an exaggeration to say that it was Fumiya's unique formula.

This knuckle duster shaped CAD was a specialized device for activating [Direct Pain]. The
reason why it was kept on like that, on the dominant hand, was because any other
magic could have been activated with the fully-thought-controlled CAD. And that was
one of the benefits that came with having a thought-controlled device, which ultimately
made it the new standard.

"So this is the only one that was stolen?"

Fumiya asked in confirmation to Ayako, as she peered into his hand and nodded.

"Yes. At least, that's what the people on watch reported to me."

Among the Yotsuba branch families, the Kuroba family was the house that specialized in
intelligence. As such, the Magicians under their command had a variety of special skills
suited for that purpose.

For example, Far-Sight. The ability to see across distances and obstacles, to see the
"sights" of a " location" regardless of whether it was light or dark. Ayako had three of her
subordinates with that ability monitoring the excavation site to determine if any Relics
had been stolen.
 161

Four men dressed in black came out of the darkness of the night and tied up the men
Fumiya had knocked out. Watching them, Fumiya turned to Ayako, and asked, "Are there
any more of the thieves we haven't caught yet?".

"We've subdued all the people who escaped from the excavation site."

Ayako replied to Fumiya's question hinting at an outlier.

"So there must still be members of the rear support team left, right?"

"Yes. But I would rather describe them as the getaway team."

Ayako nodded to Fumiya with a prideful expression on her face,

"I know their whereabouts. Let's go."

and extended her hand to her twin brother.

Fumiya took her hand in the next moment, and so, the figures of the twin sister and
brother disappeared from that place like they were a mirage52.

◇◇◇

The Magicians of the Kuroba family, who had spotted the rear support team, didn't make
a move and awaited the arrival of Fumiya and Ayako.

The three of them didn't know that it was the sub-leader of the New Humanity Front
who was leading the small group. However, because of the hint of the strong magic
power that he carried, they decided that it wouldn't be a good idea for them to attempt
something by themselves.

In the end, that may have been a win, and, at the same time, it was probably a miss. It
was a miss in the sense that it allowed them to escape. But it was a hit in the sense that
there were no casualties.

The magic used on the virtual satellite elevator connecting Miyakijima and Takachiho,
[Mock-Teleportation], was Ayako's specialty. In terms of activating that particular magic
on an individual level, Ayako was probably among the best in the world. When it came
to Mock-Teleportation, Ayako surpassed even Miyuki and Lina.

52
幻 phantom; vision; illusion; dream; apparition
 162

With that magic, Ayako and Fumiya appeared on the mountain road where the New
Humanity Front's rear support, or rather, their getaway team was hiding.

"──!!"

Upon movement, Mock-Teleportation formed a cocoon of air around the target. Either if
you were moving yourself or if you were sending someone (or something) else, the air
cocoon would be fixed in a spherical or ellipsoidal shape around the fixed target, you.
This "cocoon of air" was released upon arrival, but Ayako recreated it as quickly as she
could.

That was because the place they arrived at was covered in toxic gas.

"Ayako-sama!" "Fumiya-sama!"

As they were unaware of the state of affairs, their black-clad subordinates, who were
likewise protecting themselves with magic, came running up to them without
producing any sound.

"I'm very sorry, sir. They got away."

The leader of that group of black-suited men reported with a hint of regret.

"Because of this smoke screen?"

Fumiya's voice didn't contain any anger as he questioned them. In addition, the
poisonous gas that filled the place wasn't colorless and transparent, on the contrary, it
was of a dense black color, seemingly intended to block the enemy's vision and
discourage pursuit rather than to damage them with the composition of the gas.

"Yes, Fumiya-sama. About three minutes ago, the bandits that were hiding in this place
fled using a large wagon and created the gas with a smoke screen effect. The gas
produced by magic isn't lethal, but it has a very powerful hallucinogenic effect. So,
please be careful."

"Three minutes ago......."

It roughly corresponded to the time Fumiya had taken out the bandits who had a Relic.
Could it be that they were monitoring the condition of their comrades by some means?

"I suspect that the magic that created this smokescreen was developed by the Second
Research Institute."
 163

The subordinate in a black suit added to their report as Fumiya pondered.

The subject matter of the Second Research Institute was the development of magic that
interfered with inorganic matter. Particular emphasis was placed on the development
and improvement of absorption-type magic. The creation53 and neutralization of toxic
gases was a specialty of the Magicians of "2".

"Are you saying that there are Extras of the Second Institute belonging to the New
Humanity Front?"

"Most probably."

Fumiya's counter-question was met with agreement from the black suited subordinate.

"This might get a little more complicated......."

"Indeed."

Ayako chimed in on Fumiya's murmur, and the subordinate in a black suit kept silent this
time, bowing his head.

53
generation; formation; derivation
 164

Chapter 12
[New Humanity Front]

The chosen word of New Humanity Front's name, "New Humanity," instead of "New
Breed" reflected its strong self-identification that "Magicians weren't merely a new
breed of humans, but instead were an humanity that had evolved".

This organization started out as an antithesis to the "humanism" and other anti-magic
movements, and their constant persecution of Magicians. FEHR, an organization
established in the former Canadian territories of the USNA, was the catalyst for the New
Humanity Front. The concept of a "New Humanity" was also derived from FEHR's main
name, "Fighters for the Evolution of the Human Race". New Humanity Front started out
as an organization that admired FEHR.

But gradually, the members of the New Humanity Front began to see FEHR as a
half-hearted effort due to their refusal to use violence to fight back against the current
human race. Coming to the conclusion that "If politics and the law weren't stopping the
persecution of Magicians, then some degree of illegal conduct was just a necessary evil",
they decided to carry out their first full-scale act of a demonstration, which resulted in
the arrest of their first leader and forced the New Humanity Front to go underground.

From that point onwards, the New Humanity Front became an outlawed organization
and joined forces with FAIR. But how could the magicians, who were so closely
monitored by the authorities, start an organization that aimed to fight against the
ordinary people, even if they were from the anti-magic movement, without any backing
in the first place? Could they maintain the organization underground without sponsors
after their leader was arrested as a criminal?

The answer is: no. Behind the curtain of the New Humanity Front was a mastermind
whose name was only known to a handful of people.

To be more precise, behind those who backed the New Humanity Front, there was an
"Authority in the Shadows" that even the biggest politicians couldn't defy.

◇◇◇

Thursday evening, June 3rd.

 165

Back at home, Tatsuya received a visit from Fumiya and Ayako. Tatsuya was already
informed that they had captured more than two dozen of the New Humanity Front
members who were targeting the Original Relic last night. With the expectation that this
visit would be to report on the matter, Tatsuya welcomed them into the living room.

He sat in front of Fumiya, Ayako beside him, and motioned for Miyuki to sit next to him
as he led them through the doorway. Lina had already retired to her suite on the same
floor.

"We finished the interrogation of the captured New Humanity Front members."

"And we found out something troublesome."

Fumiya and Ayako stated in unison.

"What is it that's troublesome?"

It was Miyuki who asked back.

"Well, let me tell you what we discovered, first."

With an expression that quite matched "troubled", Ayako responded, but not with an
answer.

Tatsuya kept his attention on her, prompting her to continue.

At his attention, she looked at Fumiya, who also gave his approval, and then spoke up.

"The name of the leader of the New Humanity Front is 'Kurenai Anzu', a
twenty-six-year-old woman. She didn't participate in last night's raid. The sub-leader is
'Fukami Yasuhiro', a twenty-five-year-old man. His grandfather is an Extra of the Second
Research Institute."

Tatsuya grimaced at the mention of Extras, and Miyuki frowned. However, neither of
them had heard about Fukami visiting Ryousuke at his apartment. If Ryousuke had
reported it to Tatsuya, the following turn of events would have gone differently.

"As the sub-leader, he was part of the logistical support for last night's raid, but managed
to escape. His whereabouts are still under investigation as we speak."

"You sound like you know where the leader is, do you?"

"Yes, we do."
 166

Tatsuya asked, and Ayako took over for Fumiya.

"The hideout in question is the key issue."

"Is it with someone that's hard to make a move on? Don't tell me they're being harbored
by someone from the Ten Master Clans."

"Perhaps it would have made things easier if that had been the case."

Ayako let out a small sigh that was barely audible.

"Kurenai Anzu is being sheltered at the residence of Izayoi Shirabe."

"......If I am not mistaken, that man is the younger brother of the head of the Izayoi
family."

Fumiya and Ayako nodded in sync to Tatsuya's words.

"The Izayoi family is renowned for their ancient-style magic, said to be the strongest
even among the most powerful hundred families...... And why would a relative of such a
family, let alone the brother of the head of the family, be shielding a criminal
organization......?"

Miyuki's voice trailed off, "I just can't understand".

"Besides, isn't the sub-leader of the New Humanity Front one of the Extras? I can't even
imagine that someone from the main house of the Izayoi family would support an
organization that has an Extra in leadership."

The Izayoi were notorious for their aversion to engineered magicians. They openly
opposed the use of genetic engineering and biochemical measures to enhance magical
skills. Although, as was to be expected, they had a certain restraint when it came to the
Ten Master Clans. However, they didn't hide their disdain for Extras. The Izayoi family
was an outlier in the modern Japanese magical world in which discriminating against
Extras was a taboo practice.

Even so, the Izayoi family hadn't been ostracized by the magician society because of
their skills, often said to be the greatest in the hundred families. In particular, the Izayoi
were often brought up as the flagship by ancient-style magicians who were often
outnumbered by modern magic users. In addition, they were also known to take good
care of the magicians who relied on them.

"Ayako-san, there isn't some sort of special background to this?"

 167

"Yes. Precisely so, Miyuki-san. There is an absurd backstory behind this."

Ayako paused and took a breath, not aiming for a dramatic effect, but to recompose
herself and calm her breathing.

"It was one of the Four Great Elders of the Senate who had ordered Izayoi Shirabe to
protect Kurenai Anzu."

Miyuki covered her mouth with both hands.

Even Tatsuya had his eyes wide open on top of that.

The [Senate] that Ayako just mentioned didn't refer to the legislative body that existed in
the early Meiji period, before the establishment of Japan's legislative assembly. Of
course, it wasn't the successor to the Imperial Diet, and it had nothing to do with the
'Genrou54', which was a non-constitutional body. Also known as the 'Genrouin55'.

It was a group of powerful people who controlled Japan in the shadows. Or rather, it
would be more accurate to say that they controlled the shadows of Japan. The Senate's
purpose was to exterminate, seal, and remove "obscure" forces — any and all entities,
such as strange phenomena, youma56, magicians who had strayed off the path, and all
other entities whose existence and actions threatened to disrupt the "front" and the
order of this country.

For that purpose, the Senate had placed various "people with power" under its control.
The Yotsuba family was among them.

The Four Great Elders were the heads of the four most powerful families within the
Senate. The number of Senate members wasn't fixed and fluctuated between ten and
fifteen, but the four families that the Four Great Elders belonged to had remained firm
since the inception of the Senate. Toudou Aoba, the sponsor of the Yotsuba family, was
one of these Four Great Elders.

Tatsuya and Miyuki were told about the Senate and the Four Great Elders by Hayama
right after they graduated from First High. Fumiya and Ayako were also invited to the
main house after graduating from Fourth High School to learn from Hayama. All
accompanied with a strict oath of confidentiality.

"......Indeed, this is really tricky. Do you know the name of who it was?"
54
Members of the Genrouin
55
Genrōin - Wikipedia; Genrōin, written like "玄老院", describe a national assembly whose members were
theoretically appointed directly by the Emperor.
56
Japanese name for monsters.
 168

"Yes. It is Kashiwa Kazutaka-sama."

"............"

Tatsuya silently sank into thought.

"......Do you want to give up on the idea of capturing Kurenai Anzu?"

In the midst of the heavy atmosphere, Ayako tentatively asked Tatsuya.

"Even the Four Grand Elders aren't omniscient and infallible, and even the Senate isn't
bound to be monolithic. Let's consult with Toudou-kakka57 first."

Seemingly having already collected his thoughts, Tatsuya replied to Ayako's question
without any hint of hesitation.

"Tatsuya-sama."

Miyuki softly accosted Tatsuya from beside him.

"If you are going to ask for His Excellency Toudou's favor58, why don't you ask Lina to act
as an intermediary?"

Lina's official name was 'Toudou Rina'. She was naturalized as a Japanese citizen earlier
this year. On that occasion, she became the adopted daughter of Toudou Aoba.

"I will accompany Lina on her way to see His Excellency. I believe that it will arouse less
suspicion than if Tatsuya-sama were to go directly."

"That's right......."

"Indeed, that's right......."

Ever since the summer of three years ago, Tatsuya had been the focus of attention, or
rather, wariness, not only from Japan but also from military personnel around the
world. His every move, every second, was under constant watch.

"Then, Miyuki, I'll leave it to you."

"Okay, I'll do my best. First, let me call Lina."

57
His Excellency Toudou
58
blessing; permission; (lit) to borrow the power of their suffix
 169

Although Lina had already returned to her suite, it was still before nine o'clock in the
evening. No doubt she was studying for university or watching TV. Her current
obsession was the youth dramas from the USA era.

Miyuki made a video call to Lina on the house interphone extension.

Lina appeared on the wall display of the living room, holding an electronic pen in her
right hand.

"Were you studying? I'm sorry I interrupted you."

[It's okay. I'm just starting to get fed up with it.]

Ayako, who was listening nearby, giggled at Lina's overly honest manner of speaking.

The camera should have caught this, though Lina made no sign of being bothered.

"Then, could you please come over here?"

At Miyuki's request, Lina's expression shifted.

[Is it a serious matter?]

"Yes."

[Okay. I'll be right there.]

True to her word, Lina arrived soon after.

Lina sat next to Tatsuya. No, it was next to Miyuki.

"So, what's the serious matter?"

Before her was a cup of café au lait that she had prepared herself — or to be more
precise, she ordered from the Home Automation. Before sipping from it, Lina asked
Miyuki what she wanted to talk about.

"Actually, there's something we'd like to consult with His Excellency Toudou about......."

Miyuki then proceeded to summarize to Lina the conversation that had taken place
before her arrival.

After listening to her, Lina said, "Sure" without showing any pretense of deliberation.
 170

The answer was so immediate that Miyuki felt uneasy, but she didn't have the option to
abandon the idea of consulting with Toudou. It was decided that Lina would contact
Toudou tomorrow and set up an appointment to see him in person.

◇◇◇

By a stroke of good timing, they were able to meet with Toudou Aoba on the evening of
June 5th.

"Thanks for your help, Miyuki, and thanks to you as well, Lina."

Tatsuya showed his appreciation for both Miyuki and Lina upon their return. Though
Lina wasn't as tired, Miyuki couldn't hide the exhaustion that was on her features.

"──Tatsuya-sama, His Excellency Toudou had a very stern look on his face."

As she began to report on the results of the interview, those words from Miyuki, caused
Tatsuya to let out a "Hooh......." with deepened interest in his voice.

"So, His Excellency wasn't aware of the fact that Kurenai Anzu is being harbored by
Izayoi Shirabe, huh."

"Yes, it seems so. His Excellency expressed that he couldn't comprehend Kashiwa-sama's
intentions in this matter. I have also received instructions from him to 'head to Izayoi
Shirabe's residence tomorrow', together with this."

Miyuki held out a sealed letter. The recipient was addressed to Izayoi Shirabe, and
Toudou Aoba was listed as the sender. If Izayoi Shirabe was someone with ties to one of
the Four Great Elders, he was surely aware of Toudou's name and position.

"So, he won't be able to refuse us at the gate if we have this, right? Alright."

"And, you’re going to take me along too?"

Tatsuya's answer made Miyuki appear nervous, whilst Lina nodded with a satisfied smile

Lina asked Tatsuya, subtly reminding him that she wasn’t going to be of any use to him
now.

"The three of us will ride there together tomorrow."

Miyuki looked nervous at Tatsuya's answer, and Lina nodded with a satisfying smile.
 171

On June 6th, a Sunday evening, Tatsuya and company went to Izayoi Shirabe's house.

After many phone calls since morning and flashing Toudou's sealed letter in front of the
camera, they finally got approval. Fumiya had set up a perimeter around Izayoi Shirabe's
house since yesterday with his forces. If Izayoi Shirabe were to try to sneak Kurenai
Anzu out, Fumiya and his team were prepared to capture and take her away. If anything,
it would be better if she just stayed holed up within the mansion rather than trying to
escape.

"To have the opportunity to meet all of you, such distinguished people, is a great honor."

After exchanging greetings, Izayoi Shirabe said in an insincere tone. Since he said "all of
you" instead of "both of you", it seemed to be an attempt to imply that he knew about
Lina as well. Though, Tatsuya was in no way bothered by the idea that he was aware of
Lina's background.

Izayoi Shirabe was thirty-one years old. Behind him were two suited employees —
probably bodyguards. He gave off the impression of being at an age where the body had
finally reached maturity. There was also a sense of considerable nervousness in him that
had appeared every now and then that made him seem like he was in his twenties. To
put it bluntly, he seemed to be a well-bred "young master" who had grown up without
knowing the rough and tumble of the world.

However, his magic power wasn't to be downplayed. He could control his psions with
little to no leaking and under the surface, his Event Interference Force could be
described as top-notch without reservation. His reputation as being on par with the Ten
Master Clans wasn't an exaggeration — so Tatsuya thought.

"So, what business brings you here today, sir? I'm afraid I don't recall having any serious
concerns with the Yotsuba family that would require the attention of His Excellency
Toudou."

Besides, his way of playing dumb was rather impressive.

However, that was something Tatsuya had been expecting.

"It's just that if Kurenai Anzu, the leader of the magical criminal organization, New
Humanity Front, is staying in this mansion, would you please hand her over to us?"
 172

Tatsuya had no interest in using any cumbersome roundabout tactics from the start. He
put forward his demands directly, in a way that didn't allow for any misunderstanding. It
was clear to both the person who said it and the person who was told that, while it had
the shape of a request, it was most certainly a demand.

"Assuming that this person, Kurenai Anzu, is in this house, why do we have to hand them
over, not to the police, but to the Yotsuba family?"

Shirabe retorted to Tatsuya with a probing look.

"If you handed them over to the police, that would also be acceptable. The result would
be the same."

"Are you implying that you have the police under your command?"

Tatsuya didn't answer this question, he just gave a thin, ominous smile.

A flicker of agitation crossed Shirabe's features. The guards behind him tensed up,
perhaps having caught a glimpse of the emotional turmoil emanating from their master.
But Miyuki's imperious gaze condemning their impertinence and Lina's fiery gaze,
willing to engage if necessary, made them both stiffen.

"Miyuki, calm down, Lina, try not to provoke them."

"I'm very sorry, Tatsuya-sama."

"Sorry, Tatsuya."

Miyuki and Lina composedly relaxed the pressure on their gazes.

The escorts weren't the only ones that indicated they were relieved from the tension.

"......Shiba-san, I owe you my apologies as well."

It was Shirabe's escort who showed the intention to attack first. It was only reasonable
on his part to apologize.

"It's fine, I'm not offended."

Therefore, Tatsuya chose not to unnecessarily fight over an apology.

"Incidentally, this person you mentioned, Kurenai Anzu, this woman — she's a woman,
right?"
 173

Tatsuya nodded in response to the question that had been posed more as a
confirmation.

"Exactly what crimes did the organization led by this person in question commit?"

Shirabe continued with the body of his question.

"Attempted theft of military secrets."

"Oh, that's a serious crime, isn't it? As you can see, this house isn't very large, and I can't
recall any woman named Kurenai, but... I'll have my servants verify that, just in case."

Izayoi Shirabe's mansion was located in the northern part of Sayama City in the former
Saitama Prefecture, where the surrounding houses had more land space than in the city
center. It was certainly not a grand estate with dozens of rooms, but it was definitely a
"big house".

"Do you have any photos of said woman?"

Tatsuya didn't want to be too blasé about Shirabe's request, so he handed him a photo
that he had printed out. The photo showed a plain-looking woman.

She wasn't old. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties, not far from her actual age.

That was not due to a lack of makeup. Her lips were covered with rouge of a less
flamboyant shade, and her short hair, which covered half of her ears and ended at her
collar, was properly combed so as not to look too formal.

Maybe it was the deep double eyelids that affected the overall impression of her face. It
wasn't a face that would leave either a good or bad impression, it was one that would
have been easily forgotten upon crossing paths.

Shirabe's clear expression of surprise was probably due to the fact that 2D photos
printed on paper were rare nowadays. He handed the photo to the guard behind him
and audibly ordered, "Search every inch of the estate".

"I appreciate your cooperation, sir."

"No, you said it was theft of military secrets, so I couldn't possibly not cooperate."

To Tatsuya and company, who were aware of the details, this was a rather barefaced, no,
audacious claim from Shirabe. He then called another servant over and ordered them to
make a fresh pot of tea and bring some sweets along.
 174

Some time later, Tatsuya felt hints of a disturbance at the back gate of the mansion.

He stretched out the threads of his senses in an attempt to explore the signs. However,
his perception was soon blocked from reading the signs.

This wasn't Tatsuya's first experience with this kind of "jutsu"59. It was a perception
interference field of the same nature as the "mystical wards"60 that Yakumo sometimes
exhibited during their practices.

It wasn't just a technique for detecting signs. It was a formula for suppressing
heightened eyesight (clairvoyance) and heightened hearing (clairaudience). There was
no doubt that the Izayoi Shirabe in front of them was a practitioner. And quite a skilled
one to boot.

However, a ward of this sort wouldn't interfere with Elemental Sight. Tatsuya turned his
"eyes" with 10% of his power to the coordinates where the disturbance had occurred.

And just as he had expected, the physical characteristics of the person who was walking
through the back door matched the data from 'Kurenai Anzu'. The back entrance to the
house opened into a narrow alley. Did she intend to call a taxi on the main street?

He couldn't turn his attention away from Shirabe, who was sitting in front of him, so he
couldn't get a deep enough reading to ascertain the woman's identity. But that posed no
problem. Fumiya and Ayako wouldn't let her outsmart them.......

"By the way, I have one question."

As Tatsuya was contemplating this, Shirabe addressed him, at a timing that seemed
intended to distract him from his thoughts.

"What is it?"

Tatsuya was in fact forced to discontinue his thoughts. But it was only an amount that
was of no issue to break off.

"If she is the culprit of a theft, well, attempted, of military secrets. Why are you, a civilian
who is neither a soldier nor a police officer, seeking to catch them?"

"Because I'm a concerned party."

59
術 (jutsu) isn't something limited to ninjas/shinobis. It's a general term for technique/arts. Go to the
“Translator's Notes” page for a more detailed explanation.
60
Boundaries for religious practices; fence between inner and outer sanctums in a temple; mystical barriers
 175

"A concerned party? You mean you were involved in the incident?"

Shirabe asked, trying to get the answer to a question Tatsuya didn't particularly want to
be asked.

"I can't answer that."

"No, it's just that I would like to know. Because we are cooperating in this matter, after
all."

Tatsuya took notice of something in this meaningless and unreasonable persistence.

Shirabe was trying to buy time.

Apparently, he made his preparations under the naive assumption that no one other
than the three of them, Tatsuya and his company, would be the ones trying to capture
Kurenai Anzu.......

(......No, could there be a chance that she could escape even if there was someone out
there besides the three of us?)

Tatsuya quickly changed his mind, however.

"If you hand over Kurenai Anzu to us, then I can tell you about it."

(I don't think Fumiya will fall behind, but we still don't have a handle on Kurenai Anzu's
magical skills. If she wields magic that's unknown to us......)

While he dodged the question, Tatsuya felt a tinge of anxiety at the thought of "what ifs".

◇◇◇

Izayoi Shirabe's residence was located on the outskirts of the city, but not necessarily
deep in the mountains in the middle of nowhere. Nor was it a single house scattered in a
farming village where large paddy fields and farms were spread out. The alley behind
the house was rarely frequented by people, regardless of the time of day or night. But if
you went out to the regular street, it was still evening. And there was a certain amount
of traffic.

Usually.

(Don't tell me it's a… ward?)

 176

The first thing that came to her mind when she saw the scenery of the town where the
people had disappeared was "wards", mainly due to Kurenai Anzu's family background in
ancient-style magic. However, she herself wasn't taught the ancient-style magic of her
family. The tradition of her family dictated that only boys should be taught the secrets.

Due to her parents' policy, she had never attended magical high school or any other
magical educational institution. She was trained in magic by a subordinate of Kashiwa
Kazutaka, one of the Four Great Elders of the Senate, who happened to witness that
talent of hers.

Having only started her magical training late in life, when she was a university student,
Kurenai's expertise was limited as far as magic was concerned. However, it could be said
that she was more of a superpower user than a magician, and her aptitude as a medium
made her more than capable. She may not have been able to obtain a Magician's License
from the Magic Association, but she was far from inept.

Kurenai Anzu had been given a special responsibility by Kashiwa. Therefore, no matter if
it was even the Yotsuba family — at this point, she still didn't know that it was the
Yotsuba family that was after her — she couldn't afford to let them catch her. So, with
the knowledge that any kind of ward that served the purpose of keeping people out
became more difficult to maintain the more people and kinds of people tried to access it
as a basis, Kurenai began to run towards the center of town.

However, even though she managed to get out of the alley, she couldn't get to the main
street.

Her path was blocked by a slim figure.

(A woman...... No, a young man......?)

The figure, who looked like a slim woman or a lean man, wore a knuckle duster on his
or her right hand. In response to this tool that blatantly showed their intention to use
violence, Kurenai didn't hesitate to activate her superpower.

◇◇◇

In an effort to stop Kurenai Anzu from escaping, Fumiya stood in her path. The knuckle
duster on his right hand was a warning. He didn't mean to use [Direct Pain] right away.
The plan was for his men to sneak up from behind and put her to sleep while he drew
her caution from the front.
 177

However, Kurenai Anzu's figure suddenly disappeared right in front of Fumiya's eyes. It
was only a second later that Fumiya was able to regain sight of her. Kurenai, who should
have been standing right in front of him, was now trying to escape into the alleyway
where she had been.

([Mock Teleportation?] No, it wasn't that. There was no indication of that. Nor were there
any signs of a magical activation process. Is Kurenai Anzu a superpower user......?)

Fumiya started running after Kurenai in the midst of his thoughts. He arranged his
subordinate to take position at the exit on the other side of the alley, but there was a
high possibility that she would be able to escape if she used this nonsensical ability she
had just used now.

Fumiya used self-acceleration on himself to increase his movement speed.

He wasn't very good at using this sort of magic, though. Mainly because Fumiya's tasks
required more flexibility to respond quickly to changing circumstances than sheer
speed. It wasn't so much a matter of being technically inept for it, but more of a
psychological resistance to the nature of self-accelerating magic, which basically only
allowed him to move in a predetermined path until the completion of the process.

But right now wasn't the time to worry about that. Fumiya recalled the map of the
alleyway where Kurenai Anzu had fled, in his mind, and set up a route to chase after her.

Which proved to be worth it, as he quickly regained sight of Kurenai. It took about five
more seconds. Fumiya caught up with her and tried to restrain her from behind.

Even so.

Just as Fumiya came up behind Kurenai and extended his hands, her figure disappeared
again.

(──Not that! She didn't simply disappear.)

(She instantly accelerated to a blinding speed!)

This time, Fumiya was also alert. And even though he was on the lookout for her
vanishing, he still lost sight of her. But now that he was aware of the possibility, he was
able to recognize what had happened.

(Is it like Yuki, physical enhancement? No... that's not it either)

 178

The name Fumiya mentioned was from a subordinate of his — not of his father — named
[Hashibami Yuki], who was a Psychic who used body enhancement.

This subordinate's physical enhancements included increasing her muscle strength,

speed, and physical stamina, with a great emphasis on speed, to the point of being able
to create afterimages, and then in turn create afterimages of themselves without the use
of illusion techniques.

That was why Fumiya was familiar with physical enhancements, having seen it firsthand
many times, and Kurenai's acceleration was clearly different from the physical
enhancements his subordinate used.

Kurenai's figure reappeared at the exit of the alley. The distance was about ten meters.

Fumiya only lost sight of her for less than a second. Probably no more than 0.5 seconds.
She probably couldn't maintain the state of acceleration for long. Even so, the fact that
she could activate her ability without any activation sign was a major concern.

Kurenai's figure disappeared behind the outer wall of the house that stood at the exit of
the alley.

(Stop kidding around and think about not doing more damage than necessary!)

With determination, Fumiya once again activated self-acceleration magic.

◇◇◇

(He's still after me......)

The reason why Kurenai Anzu was able to sense someone's "gaze" on her from behind
wasn't because of her own ability, but because it was one of the effects of the talisman of
occultation61 that Izayoi Shirabe gave her. Although this talisman hid the signs of her
own presence, it wasn't powerful enough to fool the naked eye. Instead, its secondary
effect was to alert the wearer to the signs of people looking for them through senses
that weren't the five physical ones.

Her superpower was [Inherent Time Acceleration]. The ability to accelerate her own
time.

61
invisibility (through magic)
 179

......Although that may sound like an extremely impressive ability, unfortunately, it wasn't
nearly as potent as that of a certain American comic book hero, or of a certain classic
manga cyborg.62

The maximum amount of time she could keep accelerating at one time was one minute
in subjective time. In objective time63, that would only be one second.

In other words, her maximum acceleration ratio was up to sixty times. If she accelerated
up to the maximum, it would be exhausted and she would need ten minutes of
cooldown before she could activate it again. For that reason, she usually kept the
acceleration rate at thirty times or less, which didn't require any cooldown.

Also, the only things that could be set in motion were her own body and the items on
her body that she moved without being consciously aware of it. For example, clothes
and shoes, things one usually didn't think or feel that one was carrying with them when
one walked or ran. one was also not aware of objects, such as tools, as long as they were
fastened to their body.

However, if she were to try to shoot a gun, for instance, as soon as she grasped the grip,
she would become aware of it, and the inertia, magnified in accordance with the
acceleration rate, would make it ridiculously heavy, and impossible to move. The same
was true for other weapons. Because of this, she had to stop the acceleration
momentarily to execute the attack.

Regardless of the fact that she couldn't use weapons, unlike physical enhancement, her
body wasn't strengthened against external shocks and recoil, so even if she tried to use
her body to attack, the recoil would break her bones, and tear her muscles and tendons.
In effect, her superpower was only useful for escaping or surprise attacks.

But for now, her top priority was to escape from her pursuers. In this situation, her
ability was well suited for the task. Regaining her focus on the pursuer approaching
from behind, Kurenai once again activated [Inherent Time Acceleration].

The movement of the trees on the street, swaying in the wind, and the birds flapping
their wings in the sky slowed down.

Even though her running pace hadn't changed, the scenery behind her passed by with
heightened intensity, and the air became viscous and heavy.

62
The American comic book hero is “The Flash”, and the classic manga is probably "Cyborg 009"
63
Subjective time is Kurenai Anzu's time when she uses her ability. The objective time is the time for the rest
of the world.
 180

The headwind hurt her face and made it hard to breathe.

This was probably due to the fact that she was distracted by her pursuers and
everything else.

Kurenai hurriedly stopped at the wall of people that had appeared in front of her.

Calling off her superpower at the same time.

A wall of men, dressed head to toe in black, looking more like members of an
international urban legend and alien cover-up agency of a movie64, rather than from a
conventional crime syndicate, who formed a semicircle barring Kurenai's escape.

The distance in between each man was too narrow for Kurenai, who was of relatively
normal build, to squeeze through.

Kurenai Anzu stood petrified.

One of the black suited men unleashed a spell.

This was a convergence-type magic that increased the nitrogen concentration, which
leads the opponent to anoxia (oxygen deprivation). It was a non-lethal, incapacitating
magic called [Nitrogen Breath] that defined its end condition as "the target of the magic
must take a single breath."

Kurenai didn't understand that the magic that had been cast on her was [Nitrogen
Breath], but she was aware that the magic itself was cast on her.

At the same time she recognized that she had been attacked by magic.

She activated the ancient-style magic that Izayoi Shirabe gave her.

◇◇◇

Fumiya caught sight of Kurenai Anzu again with his own eyes, just as his subordinate's
magic was about to be unleashed on her.

The completion of the magic sequence, the power, the aiming. His own senses told him
that everything was perfect. He had no doubt that he had succeeded in capturing
Kurenai Anzu.

The very next moment, however.

64
Most likely in reference to the movie series Men in Black
 181

That certainty was shattered

The one who staggered and fell to his knees was his subordinate, who was supposed to
have been the one who initiated the attack.

Fumiya could "see" what had happened. The [Nitrogen Breath] unleashed by his
subordinate vanished without presenting any effect, and in turn, the person himself, his
subordinate, was exposed to the [Nitrogen Breath] and fell into a state of oxygen
deprivation.

(She reflected... the magic!)

Fumiya couldn't quite believe what his own "eyes" had "seen".

He knew of the technique of using the effect of the magic — the outcome of the
phenomenon altered by the magic — to shoot back the same kind of magic to the
opponent. Fumiya himself had received lessons and practiced on that.

But sending back the magic that someone else had activated directly to the other
person was something he had never seen or heard of before.

But that was exactly what had just happened within his "view". Kurenai Anzu had
reflected the magic of his subordinate.

Fumiya held out his right hand with a knuckle duster towards Kurenai.

This knuckle duster was a specialized CAD designed for use with Fumiya's signature
magic [Direct Pain].

Even someone from the Yotsuba family, who was insatiably hungry for knowledge about
magic, didn't know anyone other than Fumiya who could master [Direct Pain]. A
Mental-Interference magic that was so unique that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say
that it was Fumiya's exclusive magic.

Fumiya released this magic that directly inflicts "pain" on the mind towards Kurenai
Anzu.

Fumiya didn't let the blood rush to his head and lose his cool. He had released [Direct
Pain] with the baffling phenomenon that had happened to his subordinate firmly in
mind.

That was why he was able to endure.

 182

He was able to discern.

The "pain" that he had released on Kurenai Anzu's left arm assaulted Fumiya's left arm.

Fumiya's back teeth creaked with a grating sound.

Fumiya could only clench his teeth and bear the intense pain that dug directly into his
mind.

(......As I thought, the magic is being reflected.)

(Kurenai Anzu doesn't have control over the reflection. It automatically reflected any
magic that was directed at herself.)

(The starting point of the reflection is...... the back. Behind the heart somewhere.)

(Could this be a [Engraved Curse] technique?)

It was a technique that was categorized as an exoteric form of ancient magic, in which a
person's body was used as a talisman, and characters and patterns that had the effect of
activating magic were tattooed onto it. The principle was the same as that of Engraved
Arts. However, differing from Engraved Arts, where the magic was activated when a
certain amount of psions were poured onto the letters and figures engraved on a
receptive metal, the engraved curse activated magic when it received a psion wave that
reflected a specific emotion. Fumiya was taught this by his grandmother, from the main
branch of the Yotsuba family.

And considering the true nature of the Event Interference Force, as elucidated65 by
Tatsuya, the key to the spell's functioning was probably the combination of Pushion
waves and Psion waves. Judging from the fact that it automatically responded to any
attempted attack, the key emotions were the sense of danger and self-defense.

(Is there any chance she'll lose her sense of danger in the course of the fight?)

(If the principle is the same as that of Engraved formulas, it should be less fuel efficient.)

(She can't even decide when to activate it by herself. Exercising magic that doesn't even
take time to be readied shouldn't last that long.)

"Everyone listen up! Don't attack that woman directly!"

65
to make plain or understandable; simplified; clarified; explained
 183

Fumiya loudly shouted the order to the black-suited men, his subordinates, who were
blocking Kurenai's way.

◇◇◇

"......Is there something wrong?"

Shirabe, who had been in an effort to stall Tatsuya for time, suddenly lost his expression
and fell silent.

"N- no. It's nothing."

When Tatsuya pointed out the shift, Shirabe hastily made an excuse. But it was clear to
even the naked eye that part of his consciousness was focused on somewhere else.

Tatsuya exchanged a quick glance with Miyuki.

"By the way, Izayoi-san. How many people work at this mansion?"

Miyuki engaged Shirabe in conversation, while Tatsuya sank deep on the sofa. Though
he didn't lean his back against the backrest, in this posture, it meant that he had
completely entrusted Miyuki to deal with Shirabe.

"......And why would you want to know such a thing?"

Shirabe couldn't help but ask again after an unnatural pause, clearly still not fully
focused on the conversation.

In that gap, Tatsuya redirected more resources to his "eyes" and continued watching the
battle between Fumiya and Kurenai, which he had been continuously monitoring.

◇◇◇

"Build a magic shield wall in front of yourselves, and don't let her pass beyond it!"

The neutral looking woman who was the first to interfere with Kurenai's escape also
sounded neutral. She gave orders to the black suits in a beautiful alto voice that came
through clearly.

So that woman (?) wasn't one of the black-suited men, but is their master? Kurenai
thought as much.
 184

It was hard to imagine her being served by those in black suits, nor did it seem to suit
her. But then again, one should never judge a person by their outward appearance. Her
own build didn't show that she was a leader of a criminal organization. Kurenai also
thought about this as she reflected on herself.

Kurenai was aware that what they were doing was criminal and not in the best interest
of Magicians as a whole. In her heart, Kurenai was critical of the current state of the
New Humanity Front, or to put it bluntly, she was completely opposed to it.

When the New Humanity Front was formed, it was overflowing with a self-righteous yet
pleasant fervor. They weren't smart, but they were shining as they earnestly searched
for a way to somehow right the wrongs of society.

However, it didn't take long for them to fall into darkness, tormented by a sense of
helplessness and despair. It was quite unexpected that facing the reality, which they
had been turning a blind eye to until then, could so easily corrode a person's heart. They
realized that even if they, people with no real results, used legal means to demonstrate
the obvious reasoning, they would merely be ignored left and right. So they decided to
establish a reputation, even if it meant breaking the law.

Once they started to plummet, it wasn't long before they tumbled to the lowest point.
Now, the New Humanity Front was just a criminal organization, a bunch of wannabe
terrorists.

Even though they had declined, there was still a sense of camaraderie among them.
Even if they could never return to the original group that pursued their ideals in an
honest manner, She wished they would at least stop committing crimes. Many of their
colleagues have been apparently caught by the authorities on this job. She hopes they
will take this opportunity to atone for their crimes and get back on the right path.

I really wanted to fix the course of the organization before I was captured. But as a false
leader, I was unable to do anything about it. I didn't have the final say.

The true leader of the New Humanity Front was Izayoi Shirabe. I went to Izayoi Shirabe
at the behest of my sensei, Kazutaka Kashiwa, and then joined the New Humanity Front
at the behest of Izayoi Shirabe, only to be installed as the second-generation leader at
his command. I didn't have a say in the matter.

The same was probably true for Izayoi Shirabe in terms of that he had no will of his own.
Both he and I were just pieces on a board of a game being orchestrated by our sensei.
 185

Kurenai Anzu didn't dwell on the monologue in her mind for long. Her thoughts were
just concepts that passed through her mind for a moment or so before they were put
into coherent words. But in that one second, Kurenai was cornered by her pursuer, a
woman — or it was actually a man, and she misunderstood.

Kurenai was once again cornered by Fumiya.

◇◇◇

"By the way, Izayoi-san. How many people work at this mansion?"

"......Why would you want to know?"

"Because it seems to be taking quite a while to confirm."

"It won't take much longer."

While hearing the conversation between Miyuki and Shirabe, Tatsuya was observing the
fight between Fumiya and Kurenai Anzu.

Fumiya released a low-powered magic that wasn't his signature [Direct Pain], and
blocked the reflection of this magic with a shield deployed in parallel, as he looked for
an opening. Perhaps he was attempting to drain the "magic that reflected the
opponent's magic".

If so, Fumiya's plan had missed its mark.

Kurenai Anzu was doing nothing more than doubling as a relay and a trigger. The caster
that was activating that magic was someone else. Tatsuya had seen this kind of
technique three years ago when he was tracking Gu Jie, a former ancient-style magician
from Dahan, who had orchestrated a bombing due to a personal grudge against the
Yotsuba. At that time, humanists without the Magic Factor were used as a relay point.

It was possible for someone who wasn't a magician to relay magic. In the case of using a
mageist for it, the burden of relaying magic would be even less than when using an
ordinary person who couldn't use magic. The consciousness-inducing magic that was
keeping the passersby away would reach its limits before the magic reflection became
useless.

(Nevertheless, a magic that reflected other magic, huh. It's the first time I've seen this.)
 186

Fumiya, who was still trying his hardest, would have been tempted to complain "this
isn't the right time for that", but Tatsuya couldn't help but be curious about the magic
that Kurenai was being made to use.

(Come to think of it, I've heard from Shishou that there is a way to send a hex back to the
caster. The name is just as it implies, [Hex Reversal].)

Tatsuya directed his "eyes" away from Shirabe, who was busy debating with Miyuki
about whether it was "too late" or "not too late". But his eyes, his physical eyes, remained
directed at Shirabe.

(The Izayoi family is said to possess a reputation for ancient-style magic, but among us
modern magicians, we have only heard the ancient-style magicians' assessment that
they are the "strongest of the hundred families" and any details about them are
unknown. So, supposing that the Izayoi family specializes in hexes, it stands to reason
that they would be reluctant to disclose their actual practices to the outside world.)

In his mind alone, Tatsuya gave a thin smile. He had already noticed that it was Izayoi
Shirabe in front of him who was enabling Kurenai Anzu to reflect magic.

(But I didn't expect Fumiya to be struggling so much....... Well, it's not really a struggle,
but rather an impasse on his offensive. The barrier will expire soon, so let's put an end
to this.)

Tatsuya decided to intervene.

He focused his "eyes" on the tattoo on Kurenai Anzu's back — on the "Engraved Curse".

◇◇◇

Shirabe, who had been arguing back and forth with Miyuki, suddenly fell silent.

It wasn't just a silence. He looked as if his soul had been drained from him.

"Izayoi-san?"

Her counterpart in the conversation had suddenly gone silent, and it was hardly strange
that Miyuki had taken on a quizzical, aggravated tone.

"Miyuki."

"Tatsuya-sama?"
 187

But seeing Tatsuya give a small shake of his head, Miyuki stopped trying to address
Shirabe.

He was in no condition to respond even when spoken to. His mind was in such a state of
shock that he couldn't even formulate a thought.

The only thoughts and feelings he could barely form were "Impossible" and "This is
ridiculous".

It was only after Kurenai Anzu was captured by Fumiya that Shirabe was able to think
straight again.

◇◇◇

Fumiya released a series of magic that were only powerful enough for him to defend
himself without difficulty, and let Kurenai use her reflection magic while keeping an eye
out for an opportunity.

But there were no signs whatsoever of the opponent running out of magic power.

This was an ordinary residential area. There was a limit to how long they could keep the
road blocked without any sort of permission.

Just when Fumiya was starting to get impatient.

A magic was cast at Kurenai Anzu from the void; from a place outside of this material
world.

(Is this—!?)

It wasn't so powerful that it would shake your body and mind. If anything, it was
small-scale magic.

Yes— the minimum necessary.

It was an extremely precise and refined magic that achieved its purpose without any
shortage or excess in power.

It was a magic that used everything for its purpose, leaving no trace of who had cast it.
But Fumiya knew at a single glance who the caster was.

(......Tatsuya-san)
 188

The only person who could cast such magic was Tatsuya.

To Fumiya, this was a fact with no room for doubt.

(Tatsuya lent me his strength in this situation. Then that magic must be "magic that
destroys magic". No doubt it's "Gram Dispersion"!)

Pointing the specialized CAD in his right hand at Kurenai.

He had no second thoughts. He didn't even consider adjusting.

All he thought about was to make sure that his opponent was incapacitated.

With a power that would probably render himself incapable of any action if it were to be
reflected,

Fumiya released [Direct Pain]!

To others, it seemed like a hasty gamble.

However, to Fumiya, it wasn't even a gamble.

189
 190

◇◇◇

(Eh, what?)

A small sudden impact struck her. It wasn't a physical thing. It had a mental impact.

Kurenai could tell that she had been struck by someone's magic.

But what she couldn't tell was what had been done to her.

She didn't feel anything different in her own body. It was a bit eerie, but Kurenai
convinced herself that it was just the usual reflection of the Engraved Curse made by
Izayoi Shirabe.

The enemy woman (?) pointed her fist with the knuckle-duster towards Kurenai from a
short distance away — three meters in front of her, to be specific.

It was too far for punches to reach.

Then it must be magic.

At any rate, it wouldn't reach me, it would only return to the person themselves…...

Kurenai thought that, making light of it. She even went so far as to "counting one's
Tanuki skins before they've been caught66" hoping that she could escape while her
opponent felt the recoil of their own magic.

Yet, the very next moment.

Kurenai was struck with intense pain.

(──!)

The pain was so intense that she couldn't even make a sound. She couldn't even scream.

She didn't know where the pain was coming from. She didn't even manage to register it
as "pain".

With this "impact" her consciousness was fading away, and in the next moment, her
consciousness went black as if a circuit breaker had been blown.

Losing conscious control, Kurenai's body collapsed on the street like a marionette with
broken strings.
66
"Counting one's chickens before they've hatched”
 191

◇◇◇

When Izayoi Shirabe finally regained his ability to think, his first thought was, "What
happened?".

To which, the answer came right away

(My jutsu was... broken?)

He was no longer getting any response from the [Reflection] jutsu that he had applied to
Kurenai Anzu.

The best explanation for the shock he just received was to think that his mind was
damaged by the backlash of having his jutsu broken.

(But..... I didn't feel any presentiment67! I didn't even feel any sort of sign at all, let alone
feel a caster interfere with the ritual, and yet my jutsu was broken in an instant, just like
that? Who the hell did that!?)

He quickly got the answer to the question that had occupied his mind.

Shiba Tatsuya was looking at him with a meaningful gaze. With that look, Shirabe was
able to figure out who the one was who had broken his jutsu.

Whether he wanted to or not, he was made aware of it.

(Shiba Tatsuya....... So, his power wasn't just a boast after all. ......)

The direct descendant of that Yotsuba family. The fiancée of the next head of the family.

That in itself carried a great deal of value in the Magician's society, which no one could
ignore.

But the name Shiba Tatsuya went well beyond that. The reason for his fame lies in other
achievements.

The summer of three years ago.

The fall of five years ago.

The Ultra-long-range, large-scale magic that had shook the world and forced major
powers to recognize that a single individual could pose a military threat to them.

67
an intuitive feeling about the future, especially one of foreboding; premonition; intuition; hunch
 192

Although he wasn't nationally recognized, he was unmistakably a Strategic-Class

Magician.

No, he was an unrecognized super-Strategic-Class Magician, beyond even the

Strategic-Class.

That was the assessment of the world — the magician community — of the hypocritical
courteous young man sitting in front of him.

But what if it really was this young man who broke through his jutsu?

(Not only does he have unrivaled power, but he also has extremely advanced technical
skills......?)

Shirabe couldn't suppress his shiver of fear.

And, secondly, an intense jealousy.

He harbored a strong sense of pride in his skills. He believed with conviction that he,
and not his brother, the head of the family, was the best magician that the Izayoi family
had to offer, of a caliber comparable to the Ten Master Clans.

He had given up his position to his brother because of the tradition of inheritance by the
eldest child, and more importantly, because Kazutaka Kashiwa, one of the Four Great
Elders of the Senate, wanted him to be his aide. This fact and position gave Shirabe more
satisfaction than the position of head of the family.

His magic could only be used in backstage work, not in the limelight like a nationally
recognized Strategic-Class Magician. Nevertheless, Shirabe was satisfied with his
current position. He even felt a sense of superiority that he was truly a better magician
than the nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician, as he was needed by the true
powers that were in charge.

But now. In front of Shirabe's very eyes, his magic was effortlessly broken.

He was shown a feat that negated what he took pride in.

── On this day.

── Deep in the heart of Izayoi Shirabe, a strong hostility towards Shiba Tatsuya
sprouted.
 193

Chapter 13
[Extras]

The leader of the New Humanity Front, Kurenai Anzu, was captured by Fumiya, and that
day was sent to the Yotsuba family's compound in Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula.

This was where the Yotsuba family had set up a backup base when Tatsuya decided to
build the Industrial Magic Academy along the southeast coast of the Izu Peninsula. The
Yotsuba family had bought the facility before it was set to be sold, and converted it into
a fortress that doubled as a prison. The renovation and refitting of the original facilities
had been completed last summer, before the completion of the Industrial Magic
Academy.

Some might wonder why the Yotsuba family felt the need for a prison or even a fortress.

That was under the expectation that the Industrial Magic Academy would be a treasure
trove of magic technology68 that would be extremely useful and a highly valuable target
for military and criminal organizations alike.

Both the military and economic superiority were determined by fundamental

technology plus technology commercialization. Neither fundamental technology nor
technology commercialization on its own could win the competition. The Industrial
Magic Academy's goal of developing human resources who could be economically
independent by integrating magic with industrial technology also led to the
accumulation of technological commercialization that linked the basic technology of
magic with putting them into practical use. This was an important aspect that had been
lacking in magic studies up until now.

Unlike Miyakijima, the Industrial Magic Academy was located on a land peninsula. It was
accessible to anyone. Moreover, there was a famous tourist spot nearby, so it was hardly
remarkable to see outsiders coming and going.

Although the academy was unlikely to become a target for illegal activities soon after it
opened, it was certain that it would be targeted as soon as it started gaining
momentum. The need that the Yotsuba family had felt to be prepared for an attack by a
criminal group in order to protect the intellectual property of the Industrial Magic
68
Technological knowledge of magic
 194

Academy, as well as the Magian students and the experts who attended and taught
there, wasn't wholly unwarranted.

Under this expectation, it was necessary to build a facility in advance to house the
combatants and a detention center for the outlaws who came to attack them.

However, undoubtedly it wasn't in their plans to have the facility operational by taking
in prisoners this early. But it was just the perfect place to hold the captured members of
the New Humanity Front. Given the possibility of an eventual release, it would be
inadvisable to take them to a highly secretive location. Prior to Kurenai Anzu's capture,
the other members captured at Hida-Takayama were also held in this facility.

Meanwhile, at the Yotsuba's main house that night, a discussion was taking place about
the handling of the captured Kurenai Anzu and her subordinates. Joining in the
discussion were a total of four people, namely Maya, Hayama, Hanabishi, and
Kurebayashi. Hayama and the other two composed the innermost circle of butlers, the
ones who were privy to the secrets of the Yotsuba family.

"Was there anyone among the captives who could be of use?"

A preliminary question came from Maya.

"The leader, Kurenai Anzu, has some interesting abilities, but I don't think our family can
have someone under control, when this someone is a subordinate of one of the Senate's
Four Great Elders, Kashiwa-sama."

Hanabishi, the butler in charge of the combat division, answered the question.

Maya flashed a glance at Hayama.

Hayama gave a silent, reverent nod. At the same time as he was the head butler of the
Yotsuba family, he was also an agent sent by the Senate to supervise the movements of
the Yotsuba family. Maya alone was the sole person in the Yotsuba family who was
aware of this fact.

"Aside from Kurenai Anzu, there are six individuals who seem to be of use. Well, though
all of them are of a grade of expendability. I'd still say it was quite a bountiful crop."

"As far as research subjects go."

 195

Following Hanabishi, the head of the research department, butler Kurebayashi,

remarked.

"So, Kurenai Anzu is our best pick. She is a rare talent in our eyes. In addition to the
unique psychic-like magic of her [Inherent Time Acceleration], she also has the makings
of a Medium as well."

"A Medium?"

Maya displayed a piqued interest.

"Yes. And it's not the type that is sensitive to residual thoughts, it's the type that is
sensitive to other people's formulas."

"What can it do, exactly?"

"It allows you to stock other people's formula in yourself and release it at a different
target. Although, obviously, it requires practice to do so."

"Oh, with this......."

"Yes. It's a great talent to be used as a relay point for magic. She is also highly suited to
be a [Hex Reversal] caster. I suspect that this talent was the reason why Kashiwa-sama
had chosen to send her to Izayoi Shirabe."

"Indeed....... It would be a shame to let her go, then."

"Certainly. If the circumstances permit it, I would like to study her carefully for about a
year before releasing her."

"Unfortunately as it is, I fear that won't be possible."

Maya let out a wry smile at Kurebayashi's honest exposition of his own greed as a
researcher.

"We'll leave those six then to Hanabishi-san's care....... That leaves us with the other
nineteen, what should we do with them?"

Twenty-four members of the New Humanity Front had been captured four days ago. Six
of them were to be kept by the Yotsuba family, but they had to decide what to do with
the other nineteen, Kurenai included.
 196

They were the suspects in the theft, but on the occasion of their capture, the Yotsuba
family wasn't in compliance with the law. So, they couldn't just hand them over to the
authorities.

"The best way would be to have the National Defense Forces take them in."

"And how would we handle that?"

Hanabishi expressed his opinion, and Maya pressed for a specific plan.

"On this occasion, the Ichijou family is cooperating with the National Defense Forces. If
we hand over the captives, together with the credit for the capture, to the Ichijou family,
they will take care of the rest."

Hanabishi's answer was met with Hayama's nod from beside him.

"Would that be all right with you, Kurebayashi-san?"

"Yes, Oku-sama."

"Then, we'll be leaving it at that. And as for negotiating with the Ichijou family...... Oh
well. I guess I'll leave it to Tatsuya-san."

"I guess that would be acceptable."

"Just let's wait until next week to bring the matter to the Ichijou family,
Kurebayashi-san."

Then turning her eyes in a meaningful gaze to Kurebayashi.

"Until then, I guess Kurenai Anzu will be left under my care, am I correct?"

Kurebayashi's face was filled with anticipation.

"Yes, though the time may be short and unsatisfactory."

"A welcome good fortune, nevertheless."

Kurebayashi bowed in a grandiose fashion.

"I guess that's about it........ Oh, that reminds me."

Maya added, with a tone that suggested that it had just occurred to her.

"Did you find anything about the Extras of the [Second] Institute, Fukami, for instance?"
 197

The sub-leader of the New Humanity Front turned out to be of a family of Extras from
the Second Institute.

"We are letting them enjoy the swim69 at Kuroba-sama's own discretion."

The answer came back quickly from Hayama.

"Mitsugu-san is?"

Kuroba Mitsugu, the head of the Kuroba branch of the Yotsuba family, was close in age
to Maya — although Maya was five years older than him — so they referred to each other
as "Mitsugu-san" and "Maya-san".

"Would he not prefer to capture them?"

"No, it's not that. I'm sure Mitsugu-san has his own ideas for them. Leaving it as it is
sounds fine. Just keep an eye on them."

"Yes, I will make sure to pass that on to Kuroba-sama."

"Well, everyone. Thanks for your work."

With a satisfied nod, Maya left the small dining room that the meeting was hosted in.

Hanabishi and Kurebayashi went back to their respective jobs, while Hayama
accompanied Maya to her private study.

◇◇◇

Almost all the members of the New Humanity Front had participated in the mission to
steal a Relic at the foot of Mount Norikura. Currently, only nine of them, including
sub-leader Yasuhiro Fukami, were still on the loose.

These nine were all hanging their heads crestfallen in their hideout on the coast of
Tokyo Bay on the Bousou Peninsula.

Today was Monday, June 7th. Some of them had hidden the fact that they were magians
and got regular jobs. But despite taking time off from work to gather there, they'd been
wasting their time since morning doing nothing.

The bad news that struck them was that their leader, Kurenai Anzu, had been captured.

69
Letting them enjoy their freedom
 198

"......Why did that Yotsuba family have to appear?"

One of the remaining members muttered idly.

"We still haven't confirmed that it was the Yotsuba family that took the leader......."

Another man countered with a whimper.

"The monster from the Yotsuba family showed up at the mansion where the leader was
hiding, and right after that, she was captured! Are you saying that this is just a
coincidence!"

The retorted voice was more of a scream than a rebuttal.

"Will you stop!"

Fukami, the sub-leader, put a stop to the futile argument.

"We'll get the leader back. That is why I asked you all to meet here. We don't have time
for squabbling amongst ourselves."

"You say you want to get her back, but we don't have a clue where the leader is being
held, or even who's got her. How are we supposed to get her back?

The other man, the one who insisted that she wasn't necessarily being held captive by
the Yotsuba family, interrogated Fukami.

"If we keep waiting for reliable information to come, it might be too late. In my opinion,
we have no other choice but to aim at a definitive target."

Fukami's wording was arrogant, but here and there, his tone would exude a touch of
nervousness.

"Even if you say that we have to aim at a definitive target, we don't have a single clue
about her whereabouts......"

The man must have realized that there was no time to spare. There was no power in his
voice to refute.

"I'm not looking for her whereabouts. Because we're not going to rescue her, they're
going to let the leader go."

"......How the hell would that work?"

 199

This question was asked by the young man who had assumed that the kidnappers were
the Yotsuba family.

"First, we will assume that it was someone affiliated with Shiba Tatsuya who took the
leader away from the mansion where he was being sheltered. Given the circumstances,
that is the most likely possibility."

This time, no one raised an objection.

"The daughter of the Saegusa family works at that man's company."

Mayumi's employment with the Magian Company had been a common rumor among
those involved with magic. This knowledge was not limited to only Fukami, there was
no one here who was unaware of this fact. In the strictest sense, it wasn't a "company",
but there was no one, here or elsewhere, who cared about that.

"......Are we going to take Saegusa Mayumi hostage?"

One of the more discerning members asked Fukami. Granted, it wasn't that hard to
deduce Fukami's thoughts given the current context.

"That's right."

"......Even though the person is a direct descendant of the Ten Master Clans?"

"I don't mean to make light of Saegusa Mayumi's abilities. But no matter how skilled a
magician she may be, she will not be able to show her potential if she is taken by
surprise. Furthermore, she might be able to notice and prevent an attack by magic, but
she should not be prepared for a surprise attack by something different from magic."

"You're going to use gas in the city center!?"

A shout of surprise came from his companions.

"That woman is living in the corporate housing of a company affiliated with the Yotsuba
family. There's no need to involve unrelated people in this."

What Fukami said was a rather crude reasoning that seemed to suggest that it was okay
to involve anyone affiliated with the Magian Company.

But there were no objections. This was a glimpse into the fact that the New Humanity
Front was, after all, a criminal organization.
 200

◇◇◇

Wednesday, June 9, 2100. The hour was almost 6:30 p.m.

At Industrial Magic Academy, where Mayumi worked, the work schedule was super
flexible. She could come to work at any time and even leave work on her own accord.
However, Mayumi essentially arrived at work at nine o'clock and left at five in the
afternoon. With the company housing located within walking distance, she usually
arrived back home before 6pm.

But today she had a meeting with an advertising company that dragged on, and it was
past six in the evening by the time she left the office. She usually stopped for tea or
shopping on the way home, but today she went straight home without taking any
detours.

It was the season with the longest days of the year. And with the sky clear this evening,
it was quite bright even at this hour. The streets weren't as crowded as the ones around
her parents' house near the center of Tokyo, but it wasn't so much that there were no
figures to be seen around town. Even though it was later than usual, there should have
been nothing dangerous.

To keep herself fit and healthy, she went to work on foot instead of using a scooter or a
bicycle. Today, on her way back from the Industrial Magic Academy, just as she was
about to enter the premises of the company housing—

—All of a sudden, she was stricken with dizziness.

(Anemia......? No, this is......)

Mayumi's ace up her sleeve in anti-personnel battles was a magic trick where she shot a
mass of dry ice at an opponent's face, vaporizing it just before it hit, sending carbon
dioxide into the opponent's respiratory tract, causing oxygen deprivation as well as
carbon dioxide poisoning.

For that reason, she worked on what to do in case she was attacked with a similar
magic. As well as what subjective symptoms to expect when exposed to toxic gas, and
the steps to take if she detected that type of attack.

(With the clean air in the sky, toxic gases, can......)

She surmised that the symptoms she was suffering from were caused by a gas that had
an intoxicating effect.
 201

Mayumi attempted to blow away the poisonous gas that must have gathered around her
with [Descending Whirlwind], a movement-type magic that created a downward current
by drawing in a large amount of air from the upper sky.

But she realized it a little too late.

Her consciousness couldn't concentrate enough to put the magic into operation.

If at this time, the CAD Mayumi was carrying had been of the conventional
button-operated type, there would have been a possibility that she could have activated
the magic even from that state.

However, while the fully thought-operated CAD system eliminated the need for manual
manipulation, in contrast, it required a clear and distinct awareness of the contents to
be put into operation. In that state, with a foggy consciousness, the necessary
operations for the output of an activation sequence didn't proceed smoothly. That was
one of the "unexpected pitfalls" that often occurs with technological advancements.

Mayumi slumped down on the street. She was half unconscious. She could discern a
figure of a person rushing towards her from the shadows, but she was unable to make
out the face, and it seemed unlikely that she would be able to resist or escape.

(Pl...ease...... Some....one......?

Mayumi was also a young woman. Even with her consciousness in a daze, she still felt
the fear rising within her.

No, it was because she was in a state where she couldn't resist that her fear was even
more overwhelming.

(Some, one.......! Tatsuya-kun...... Juumonji-kun...... Mari....... Anyone would be good......

Please......!)

A kouhai to rely on. A friend to rely on. And yet, neither of those people should have
been around to help her today.

With her thoughts constantly wandering, Mayumi sought out someone nearby who
could help her.

(Hel...p...... Tookami-san ......!)

"What are you doing there! Stay away from Saegusa-san!"

 202

Mayumi couldn't help but wonder if she was hearing things. She feared that it was
nothing but a convenient auditory hallucination.

With her vision blurred, she saw what seemed to be Ryousuke running towards her, and
as if the last string had snapped, she lost consciousness and collapsed on the street.70

◇◇◇

Ever since Tatsuya had asked him to travel back to Vancouver as an emissary to Rena
Fehr, Ryousuke had been unable to concentrate on his work.

The time for it had yet to be specified. But he was sure that it wouldn't be much longer.
Ryousuke really wanted it to be as soon as possible. To put it more simply, he was
caught up in the desire to see Rena again as soon as possible.

Ryousuke had just talked with Rena, the astral body, the other day, but he still felt like he
missed the real thing. No, it was probably because he had just met the astral body, that
was so close to the real thing, that made him yearn to meet her even more.

That must have been reflected in his attitude. Because, this afternoon, he was kicked out
of the office by the new director of the school at last. Not really dismissed, but instead
ordered to deliver some important documents to a lecturer at a certain technical
college who was going to cooperate with the Industrial Magic Academy, taking the
opportunity to also renew his passport.

Originally, he had planned to return sooner, but he unexpectedly lost time at the
university where he went to deliver the documents. It just so happened that it was the
same university Ryousuke had attended for only one year.

On his way home from the university, he got caught up with a former instructor of his —
a different teacher from the one he had delivered the documents — who asked him all
sorts of probing questions. As they talked, that instructor apparently became very
interested in the Industrial Magic Academy. Securing educators was one of the top
priorities of the Industrial Magic Academy. So, he couldn't just disregard it and ended up
talking with them until this time.

With "Since it's already this late," he was told to go home directly, but even so, he arrived
back at the company house later than usual. But, as it turned out, that, coincidentally,
turned out to be a good thing; a stroke of luck — if you will.

70
What is depicted in the colored illustration.
 203

In front of the company housing premises, Mayumi was slumped down and suspicious
figures were closing in on her. It was no surprise that Mayumi couldn't discern the
appearance of the assailants. They were all wearing gas masks.

By the time he noticed it, Ryousuke had also inhaled a small amount of gas. But
fortunately, he noticed it quickly. It was probably because the concentration of the gas
was still low at the place where he noticed it. Before his body could suffer the effects,
Ryousuke wrapped himself in a magic shield.

The Tookami family was an Extra of the "Ten". The original name of the family was
[Toogami].

And the very reason why [Toogami] was stripped of its number was the magic that was
now protecting his body.

Individual Armor Magic [Reactive Armor].

Magicians to protect key locations and key individuals, that was the aim of the Tenth
Research Institute. But the [Toogami]'s [Reactive Armor] was only capable of protecting
the caster themselves.

Hence the stripped number. Hence an Extra.

But, from another point of view, even if it was only to protect oneself, the [Reactive
Armor] still had a strength befitting a magician of the "Ten".

As a matter of fact, the [Tookami] were somewhat different in nature from the other
Extras that were discarded as defective goods. Having failed to fulfill their role as the
"strongest shield" guarding the axis of the nation, the [Toogami] were instead
repurposed to operate as suicide attackers that could single-handedly charge into
enemy territory unaided.

In the end, the [Toogami] were eventually discarded as [Tookami] because they had
showed no promise of having enough decisive power to affect the course of a war, but
their magic had undergone improvements, or rather modifications, to a level that wasn't
inferior to that of either the [Juumonji] or [Tooyama].

The fact that it could be activated instantly without having to rely on CADs was one of
those. The system differed slightly from psychic abilities. It was possible to first form a
psionic membrane — a non-systematic magic shield that only covered one hand — and
then use it as a stepping stone to deploy a full-fledged magic shield that enveloped the
entire body.
 204

Another one of its unique properties was the selective permeability. The Individual
Armor Magic was formed along the body, wrapping the caster in a magic shield with no
gaps. The shield, designed for the battlefield, was also effective against toxic gases.

However, if gases were completely blocked out, the narrow interior of the shield would
quickly run out of oxygen. The selective permeability was designed to prevent that and
allowed the caster to maintain the shield while fighting. The Reactive Armor's shield
allowed for the optimal ratio of oxygen/nitrogen mixture for respiration to pass through
while allowing carbon dioxide to escape. While oxygen and nitrogen mixtures were
allowed to pass in both directions, carbon dioxide could only be expelled.

The only irony was that because it was made to be so versatile, it was unable to be
redeployed as often as it was originally envisioned, and thus was unable to achieve its
potential to be used for suicide soldiers. As far as Ryousuke and his father were
concerned, it could be said to be a blessing.

Covered in that Individual Magic Armor, Ryousuke rushed to Mayumi's side.

Those suspicious people in gas masks, members of the New Humanity Front, were ahead
of him, but Ryousuke was able to kick away their attempts to reach Mayumi and stood
with her at his back.

He wouldn't pick her up.

He couldn't.

The Reactive Armor was an individual armor magic. It protected only the caster, and
repealed all others. And, by repel, it didn't mean that it was like a porcupine that hurt
everyone who touched it. It was just that it didn't let anything inside.

It was possible to hold things, or even people, through the shield. But since he didn't
have a sense of touch when holding through the shield, he didn't know how much force
to apply.

Also, the shield was impervious to solids. It didn't nullify momentum, it controlled
matter exclusively. From the outside, the person wearing the shield was wearing
transparent metal armor that didn't deform in any way.

As long as he didn't have to worry about the other person, he could carry someone. But
he couldn't do anything when the person was a woman who couldn't be handled
roughly. Even if it was to keep her away from danger, he couldn't do anything that might
hurt her.
 205

"■■■■■■■!"

A member of the New Humanity Front yelled, "Get out of my way!" as he attacked with a
weapon that looked like an extendable baton​.

Given that they were speaking through gas masks, their voices were muffled and
Ryousuke couldn't understand the words.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

As he said so in return, Ryousuke caught the downward swinging baton with his left
forearm raised in front of him.

The blow delivered in combination with weight-type magic was much heavier than it
looked. If he had caught it in a normal condition, he would, at the very least, have
escaped with a broken bone. If it was poorly executed, it would have crushed his arm
and shattered the bone into a thousand pieces.

Yet Ryousuke suffered no damage at all. His left arm, which had been struck with a blow
with crippling pressure, was only slightly lowered.

The magic of individual armor, Reactive Armor, was a magic that strengthened in
response to attacks received. Actually, Ryousuke's shield was broken at one point by the
blow of the baton with amplified inertial mass. In the next moment, however, the shield
was redeployed with high defensive strength against "attacks with magic that amplified
momentum".

Although hidden behind a gas mask, the man who had driven the baton into him still
had an agitation etched on his young face. But each member of the New Humanity
Front must surely have been undergoing rigorous discipline in order to attain their
goals. Regardless of the validity and productiveness of their goals.

The young man of the New Humanity Front immediately proceeded to make his next
move. He took a small backward step, and this time, he stepped forward, using all the
weight of his body, and swung the baton down on Ryousuke once again.

However.

This time, he couldn't even make the arm that caught the blow move slightly.

Ryousuke swept the legs of the young man, who was frozen in the stance he struck the
baton into — a side-effect of the self-weighing magic.
 206

It was more of a low kick than a judo foot sweep71.

The young man's body spun a quarter of a turn around his waist, suspended in midair,
and then fell onto the paved road in an upward position.

Without a moment's delay,​Ryousuke launched a follow-up attack.

He linked the low kick directly into a stomp, and drove it into the solar plexus of the
man he knocked down.

The young man let out a "guh" in a cry of agony from behind his gas mask, his limbs
twitched seemingly once in a spasm, and then stopped moving altogether. The loose
limbs indicated that, if he wasn't out cold, he was surely close to it. All of them wore gas
masks, though one of them was possibly a woman, judging from their body shape.

"This isn't good......." Rousuke thought when he looked at them.

It wasn't about the fact that he was being surrounded.

It was the fact that the assailants — the New Humanity Front were still wearing gas
masks.

(That alone means that the gas they used doesn't diffuse easily.......)

(If that happens to be the case, that means that Saegusa-san is still breathing the toxic
gas.)

Ryousuke had zero knowledge or skills to determine the composition of the gas.

(How bad is the risk of aftereffects?!)

Furthermore, Ryousuke didn't know the identity of the other party. Naturally, he didn't
know their purpose.

They somehow didn't seem to intend on killing her right away, but whether or not they
even cared about Mayumi's health once they had achieved their goal was unclear.

(If I leave it in this state, wouldn't it increase the risk of aftereffects?)

He couldn't leave things as they were now, Ryousuke decided.

It wasn't that he was just not very good at it.

71
足払い: Ashibarai
 207

To put it bluntly, he wasn't good at it — he was terrible at it.

Maybe that was just the way it was. He had never studied systematic magic in depth in
his life.

He was never trained in the use of magic — not at home with his parents, nor at Magic
High School, let alone Magic University.

The Extras were something of a taboo in the Japanese magic community. And while
there were other cases like the Yotsubas, who had earned the nickname "The
Untouchables" for their power and capacity to "do anything", the Extras were a reminder
of the inhumanity of the past half-century. By extension, they were a topic that had
become forbidden to be mentioned. In layman's terms, they were regarded as "a dark
history that we didn't want to remember".

In the minds of those involved in magic, discrimination against Extras was seen as
something to be frowned upon. On the other hand, anything reminiscent of Extras was
of a tacit consensus to be avoided. Their names, identities, and even the particular
magic that led to them being stripped of their numbers.

Because of that, Ryousuke was taught by his father only how to consciously control
Reactive Armor so that it wouldn't be invoked. As Reactive Armor was a special magic
that could be invoked without the use of a CAD, unlike other magic, his father was
especially strict and nervous about it.

Still, given that the individuals from the younger generation such as Ryousuke had little
or no awareness of the taboo against Extras, he would say that perhaps his father's
education was wrong. If the person himself thought so and regretted it, then it was
something that Ryousuke didn't know, but when it came to his younger sister who was
seven years younger than him, his father had made a big change in his education policy.

However, the fact was that, as a teenager, he didn't aspire to be a magician and didn't
pursue any kind of formal education in magic. He immersed himself in learning martial
arts rather than magic.

So, with the exception of Reactive Armor, for which he was forced to thoroughly
practice the control of, he was incapable of using any magic at a satisfactory level. And,
even though he tried to learn magic on his own after meeting Rena (and even learnt
magic from his FEHR friends in order to help her) he was still terrible at magic.

(Even so, with a magic of this degree!)

 208

Ryousuke activated [Descending Whirlwind] while maintaining his Reactive Armor.

A mass of fresh air was pulled down from the sky and directed at the ground, becoming
an outward swirling wind that blew away the gas that had stagnated — which was the
idea.

Ryousuke gave a fleeting glance behind him. Mayumi, with disheveled hair, showed no
signs of getting up. Perhaps the effects of the poisonous gas wouldn't wear off as soon as
the gas was removed from the area. He had no other choice but to believe that the
situation had been improved.

The New Humanity Front didn't miss the small gap that was presented when Ryousuke
averted his eyes. Two ropes were thrown at Ryousuke from both sides. No, those were
not ropes, but thin chains. There were also small weights attached at regular intervals
along it.

In particular, it was a portable weapon made for magician use called [Flexible Chain]. By
finely applying acceleration magic to each of the weights, the chain could be
manipulated to move as if it were a living thing. It didn't require much magical power,
but it was a weapon that called for a good level of technique in its use.

And it seemed that the two members of New Humanity Front had that technique down
pat. The undulating chains coiled around Ryousuke's arms, sealing off his movements —
or so it seemed.

(This much is a piece of cake!)

He had experienced situations like this many times before in his training with weapons.
In his high school days, one of the many martial artists of several schools he had learned
under had been an old man who had inherited the technique of "catching rope72". The
manipulations of the rope used by this master were much more complex and refined.

(At least when it came to bindings, there were no gaps like this!)

Ryousuke waved his right arm several times in an elaborately intricate manner. At first
glance, it looked like an act of desperation, swinging his arm recklessly without thought,
but in fact, it was in accordance with the principles of his martial arts.

Of course, the New Humanity Front casters didn't just sit back and watch. He tried to
stop Ryousuke's movement by applying magic to the weights on the chains.

72
Hojōjutsu - Wikipedia
 209

But the chain was wrapped around the surface of the individual magic shield armor.
That was the space where Ryousuke's magic was acting on. With having the Reactive
Armor in operation, Ryousuke's Event Interference Force prevented the New Humanity
Front's magic from reaching the weight of the chain.

The chain that was wrapped around Ryousuke's right arm loosened and came off.

Ryousuke made a mighty lunge towards the man with the chain wrapped around his left
arm.

He covered the distance of three meters at once and drove his right fist into their solar
plexus!

Ryousuke's fist, having acquired the intensity of an iron fist with no exaggeration thanks
to his Reactive Armor, knocked the man unconscious with a single blow.

At that moment, hints of powerful magic emanated from one of the three still standing.

A magic power that rivaled Ryousuke's Reactive Armor was released.

Instead of aggregating the magic power in a narrow space like Ryousuke's magic, it
filled a wide space with a radius of at least ten meters.

Mayumi was at the center of the area where the magic was about to take effect, with
Ryousuke included in this area as well. It didn't have enough interference power to
breach his magic armor. It instead engulfed him with the entire shield of Reactive
Armor.

A cloud of black smoke was formed.

His field of vision was immediately covered in smoke.

Ryousuke intuitively figured out that the smoke was the product of the enemy's magic.

Another thing he intuitively figured out was that this black smoke wasn't just blocking
his view.

The black smoke hadn't managed to penetrate into the Reactive Armor.

Mayumi, however, was being directly exposed to this black smoke.

(──ngh. Again!）

Ryousuke activated Descending Whirlwind.

 210

He aimed the wind down at Mayumi's position, blowing away the black smoke — for a
moment.

The smoke quickly returned and covered Mayumi's body and Ryousuke's vision.

(Damn it...... Again!)

The shield covering Ryousuke's body bounces back incoming bullets. The enemy
seemed to have a caster who could accurately pinpoint who and where they were even
in this smoke screen.

Ryousuke ignored the gunfire and cast the descending whirlwind magic a third time.

However, it only ended in a repetition. Amidst the thickening black smoke, Ryousuke
rushed to Mayumi's side.

Then, once again, he used magic to blow away the black gas.

Right after his vision had been cleared, Ryousuke deactivated his Reactive Armor.

On Mayumi's side, the first man he had taken out was still lying on his back.

Ryousuke ripped the gas mask off from that person, and instead of putting it on himself,
he put it on Mayumi's face.

With this, he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he wouldn't have to worry about
Mayumi being exposed to any more of the toxic gas.

──And that was a major oversight.

Before he could deploy his Reactive Armor again, one Flexible Chain wrapped around
Ryousuke's neck.

He couldn't form a shield that closely aligned with his body. In order for Ryousuke to
activate his individual armor magic, he needed a gap of at least three centimeters
around his body, with the exception of the soles of his feet on the ground.

If the body was in contact with a liquid, or even a solid, Reactive Armor could only have
been deployed in a way that completely incorporated it. However, the maximum
distance that an individual armor shield could be built was 30 centimeters away from
the body. Given that the chain was more than three meters long, it was impossible for
the magic to cover it. Reactive Armor was a magic that required the shield to be
deployed before entering into combat.
 211

Ryousuke thought that he could overcome the situation by defeating the caster who
was controlling the chain.

However, the chains were fixed on him in a stretched form, meaning that he was unable
to get close to the caster.

The black smoke grew in concentration and engulfed Ryousuke.

He closed his eyes and held his breath, though there was nothing more he could do.

──It was all over.

──At that moment he was about to give up.

──A gust of wind came down, blowing away all the black smoke!

A [Descending Whirlwind] far more powerful than Ryousuke's magic.

Whether or not the caster was caught by surprise from the unexpected turn of events,
the flexible chain that was wrapped around Ryousuke's neck undeniably had loosened.

He unfastened the chain with his hand and reactivated Reactive Armor now with a clear
field of vision.

The enemy gave off signs of severe aggravation and tried to produce a black smoke with
magic that covered the entire area.

However,

Not only this man, but all the enemies, including the man with the flexible chain and the
woman with the gun, were bombarded with a barrage of dry ice.

The barrage that seemed indiscriminate only targeted the limbs with great accuracy.

The man with the flexible chain and the woman with the pistol fell down, blood pouring
from their limbs.
 212

The blood wasn't so much as gushing. It was just enough to stain their long-sleeved,
ankle-length clothes. Their clothes probably had a simple bulletproof function. Their
bones didn't appear to be broken either. But the shock of the impact had caused serious
damage to both of them. Neither of them got up, let alone tried to crawl away.

Only the caster of the black smoke was able to withstand the barrage of dry ice. Still,
there were several spots of blood on his left and right arms. It didn't look like he used a
magic barrier to protect himself. His clothes probably had a higher bulletproof
capability than the other two. Also, seemed to be simply more persevering.

For a moment, Ryousuke was overcome with an impetus to look back. The current
barrage was probably, no, definitely Mayumi's doing.

Saegusa Mayumi's alias was [Elfin Sniper]. Her use of dry ice shooting was well known,
reaching even the ears of Ryousuke, who didn't have much contact with the Japanese
magic community.
213
 214

The technique he saw was far more impressive than what was in the rumors. The fact
that it could produce such a large amount of dry ice from carbon dioxide, which
accounts for less than half of the 0.1% present in the air, suggested a capacity and Event
Interference Force well beyond Ryosuke's wildest expectations.

(So, this is the Ten Master Clans.......)

But Ryousuke fought back both the urge to look back as well as the jealousy and other
emotions, and charged at the caster of the black smoke.

Ryousuke felt that a magical attack was about to be unleashed against him.

But he didn't stop. He didn't even adopt a defensive posture.

The magic of Extras, that, more often than not, posed a heavy burden in life.

But now, he put his faith in it.

Ryousuke thrust out his fist in a straight line!

Sheathed in the individual armor, Ryousuke's fist broke through the magic shield of the
opponent and drove into the solar plexus of the magician that was creating the black
smoke.

The man collapsed without as much as letting out a cry.

When the man fell on his face and hit the road, the impact knocked the gas mask off his
face.

"This guy.....?"

Ryousuke recognized the face of that man.

Fukami Yasuhiro, the man who had barged into his apartment the other day, claiming to
be an Extra of the "Two".

"......Tookami-san."

Ryousuke was addressed from behind by a strangely muffled, reticent voice.

The voice was a little different from the one he usually heard, but he could still tell it
was Mayumi's.
 215

Ryousuke turned around— and almost burst into laughter.

Mayumi was wearing the gas mask. The combination of the smartly styled lady's suit and
the tacky gas mask was quite unbalanced, no, surreal.

Seeing Ryousuke's twitching face, she must have realized her condition, because
Mayumi hurriedly removed the gas mask.

"Oh, um."

With the gas mask in one hand and an embarrassed red face, Mayumi didn't bother to
wait for Ryousuke's reply before she continued speaking.

"Thank you very much for saving me."

Saying that, Mayumi bowed her head politely.

Ryousuke was a little embarrassed to be thanked once again.

Nevertheless, he couldn't just remain silent.

"Errm... are you hurt? Are you feeling okay?"

Somehow Ryousuke managed to come up with a safe line.

"I'm not injured. I feel fine too......."

At this point, Mayumi tilted her head slightly. Her flushed face had its usual complexion
back.

"It sort of feels like nothing happened, I feel...... I don't feel much different than usual."

The word that Mayumi stopped herself from saying was "refreshed". She rephrased it to
imply that she was still feeling her usual self even though she was tired after work.

"I see. I guess the effects of the chemicals of the gas wear off quickly. But still, what kind
of gas has effects that wear off in such a short time.....?"

Ryousuke racked his brains in bewilderment.

The second half of his line was delivered more as a soliloquy.

"Well......."
 216

That was why Mayumi didn't respond to Ryousuke's question directly and clearly. But
she did have a different answer in mind. It was evident in her expression, but Ryousuke,
engrossed in his own doubts, failed to notice.

◇◇◇

Mayumi was attacked by the New Humanity Front right in front of the Industrial Magic
Academy's company housing.

Actually, the full story was caught on the surveillance camera of the company housing,
and the footage was being watched in real time at the Tokyo headquarters of the
Yotsuba family.

"Well, it looks like it's settled, then."

"The members of the New Humanity Front should be picked up by the police soon."

Ayako reacted to Lina's muttering with a keen insight.

"The police are already on the move?"

Hearing this, Miyuki queried Ayako.

"We reported it a little while ago. Our side is all ready to go."

"Preparations were made by Fumiya-kun?"

"Yes, as planned."

Ayako flashed a wicked smile.

"Mayumi would be furious if she knew that we knew about the planned attack, right?"

Lina had a similar expression on her face as she laughed.

"We were well prepared for any emergency, and as it turns out, no real harm was done. I
don't see a problem with that."

Ayako boasted in a clear tone in response to Lina's tongue-in-cheek criticism.

"You say there was no harm done, but wasn't that gas actually something pretty nasty?"

"It will be fine. You know, even with normal treatment, the aftereffects should be gone
in a month."
 217

Ayako's line was quite unsympathetic.

Only that she wasn't an acquaintance of Mayumi. And considering the nature of the
Kuroba family, it was probably unavoidable that she would be unsympathetic to others if
it was necessary to achieve her goals.

According to the plan Ayako had mentioned, the five people Ryousuke had defeated, as
well as eighteen members of the New Humanity Front, excluding their leader, Kurenai
Anzu, would be found in a small bus parked near the Industrial Magic Academy's
company housing.

"Well, in the end, nothing really happened anyway....... It was Tatsuya who healed
Mayumi, wasn't it? It's hard to imagine how she could suddenly join the battle like that
after passing out unless it was Tatsuya's magic."

"Tatsuya-sama must have been watching the same images on Miyakijima."

Miyuki simply answered Lina's question.

◇◇◇

"Let's get out of here. Hurry up!

On a street not far from the company housing of the Industrial Magic Academy, Fumiya
gave his command to withdraw.

All of his men were draped in black suits and sunglasses, while Fumiya wore a brightly
colored, luxury suit, high-soled leather shoes, and luxury brand sunglasses. At first
glance, their style was reminiscent of the members of a classic crime syndicate73.

Even at the best of times, this sort of outfit would keep the average citizen at bay, but
right now, that wasn't the reason why there were no people around.

Fumiya got into a luxury Japanese self-driving car. It was a luxury sedan, but it was also
commonly used as taxis, making their presence a relatively common sight. With this,
there was little risk of being singled out by the type of car alone.

A small chartered bus was parked nearby. Inside were eighteen unconscious members
of the New Humanity Front. These were the ones captured by Fumiya and his team in
Takayama, Hokkaido, that had been held in the private prison built inland on the Izu

73
The author is referring to the Yakuza.
 218

Peninsula. They were staged to look like they all fainted after accidentally inhaling the
toxic gas that they themselves had prepared.

"Waka-sama74, we're done with the cleanup."

Instead of taking for granted the report of the black suit sitting in the passenger seat,
Fumiya confirmed for himself that the wards, which had been keeping passersby away,
had been lifted.

"Alright, we're off."

The three sedans carrying the Kuroba family's task force pulled away.

By the time that the police arrived, five minutes had passed.

◇◇◇

The police arrived at the front of the Industrial Magic Academy, on the spot where
Mayumi had been attacked and Ryousuke had fought, less than ten minutes after the
incident occurred. To be more precise, the police arrived eight minutes after Ryousuke
defeated Fukami Yasuhiro. Both of them waited there, personally reporting to the police
in order to show their innocence.

And it was now just past 9 p.m.

"Hmm....... They finally let us go."

Leaving the police station, Mayumi spoke to Ryousuke with a tired smile as she gave a
big stretch.

It was around 6:30 p.m when they were taken to the station. The questioning lasted for
more than two hours. Whether this was long or short, neither Mayumi nor Ryousuke
were able to judge. This was the first time for both of them to be questioned as suspects.

The surveillance data provided by the management of the company housing proved
almost immediately that Mayumi had been attacked and that Ryousuke had come to her
aid. However, they were still under suspicion of excessive self-defense.

The men Ryousuke had struck had not only broken bones but also internal trauma. The
men and women who had been hit by Mayumi's barrage had severe frostbite on their
wounds. Certainly, enough for the suspicions of excessive self-defence to be warranted.

74
Young Master
 219

In addition to that, the fact that Mayumi had no after-effects from the gas also made the
whole matter trickier. The camera showed black smoke, but the police weren't
convinced that the gas had been dangerous enough to cause serious harm.

Thanks to residue collected from the road surface, which indicated that the gas had
been used in a manner likely to cause severe aftereffects, and to the efforts of the
Saegusa family's and Magian Company's attorneys pressuring the police, they were
finally released at that time.

Meanwhile, the eighteen people who were found unconscious in a small bus nearby
were initially thought to be victims of some crime. But since a canister of the toxic gas
that caused memory loss was found inside the bus, they would be interrogated as soon
as they regained consciousness, under the consideration that they may be criminals.

"Yeah....... I didn't think it would take this long."

Ryousuke looked at his wristwatch and voiced his dismay. He left most of the housework
to the home automaton, so it wasn't like he had to bother with cooking for himself, but
tonight he was in the mood to just take a shower and go directly to bed.

"──Tookami-san, would you like to go and eat out?"

It was Mayumi who suddenly brought up the idea.

"Eating out, you mean? With me?"

As Ryousuke asked incredulously, Mayumi just nodded with a smile.

"Yes. I'd like to treat you to something to thank you for helping me today."

"Eh, well, It's fine, there's no need. You also saved me back there when I was in danger,
so......."

Ryousuke hurriedly declined Mayumi's offer to let her buy him dinner.

"......Being with me is the part you don't like?"

But when she said that with a lonely look on her face.

"No, no! It's not that! Not at all, really."

Ryousuke became nervous and even more panicked.

"So, I guess you'll be fine with going with me, then?"

 220

"Ye-, yes! I'd be happy to."

Thus Ryousuke ended up having dinner with Mayumi at a restaurant near the company
housing.

.......Perhaps this could be deemed to be an instance of a seductress' living up to her

name.

Ultimately, Ryousuke went to the same restaurant as Mayumi, and she ended up
covering the bill of the meal.

Furthermore, both of them maturely enjoyed the aperitifs and digestifs75 as adults, and
while they got drunk to a reasonable degree, it didn't develop into a case where they
ended up in the same bed.

◇◇◇

It was 8:30 p.m., and Mayumi and Ryousuke were still busy trying to prove their
innocence to the police.

Tatsuya was at the table of the VIP restaurant in the Yotsuba family's Tokyo headquarters
building, having a late dinner, well ahead of Mayumi and Ryousuke. As the name
implied, this restaurant was reserved for only the Yotsuba family's VIPs and their guests.

Sitting around the same table were Tatsuya, Miyuki, Lina, Fumiya, and Ayako.

The attendees had planned to have this dinner together two days before, and since
Miyuki and Ayako had insisted on "I want to treat you to my home-made cooking", so
they all agreed to use this restaurant this time.

After everyone had finished their aperitifs — Fumiya and Ayako were technically
underage, as tomorrow marked their twentieth birthday, but neither of them were new
to drinking due to their work — Tatsuya asked the other four, "Have you seen the footage
from two hours ago?"

"Yes, we did. Lina and Ayako-san were watching it with me."

"I haven't seen it, but I know what happened."

Miyuki, and then Fumiya, answered Tatsuya's question.

75
Apéritifs are drinks, typically alcoholic, that are normally served before a meal. Digestifs are drinks, typically
alcoholic, that are normally served after a meal.
 221

The "footage of two hours ago" referred to the footage of Mayumi and Ryousuke
defeating the remaining members of the New Humanity Front that attacked them.

"Right."

Tatsuya nodded and shortly after, the hors d'oeuvres76 were served.

Once everyone had a plate of hors d'oeuvres in front of them, Tatsuya resumed the
conversation.

"Regarding the matter of having Tookami deliver Dr. Chandrasekhar's letter of intent to
Rena Fehr, instead of having Lina accompany him, I'd like to ask Saegusa-san to do it. I
want to hear your opinions on this."

"You don't think I should go?"

Lina questioned Tatsuya's words outright.

"I thought of having you, Lina, keeping an eye on things from the shadows so that
Tookami doesn't find out."

Lina nodded at Tatsuya's answer sounding somewhat disappointed, "Oh I see...... Alright".

"Huh, So Tatsuya-san also thinks that Tookami Ryousuke is untrustworthy, too, I see."

Ayako followed Lina's lead.

This time, Lina shook her head in agreement with Ayako's line, "Yeah, that's right".

Their assessment of Ryousuke seemed to be unanimous: "I don't trust him".

"I thought he put up a pretty good fight today, though, didn't he?"

Fumiya disagreed with the two.

"He risked getting himself injured to put a gas mask on Saegusa-san, didn't he? Couldn't
you at the very least give him some credit for his spirit of camaraderie with his
colleague?"

"That wasn't a spirit of camaraderie, that was just being reckless and naive."

76
An hors d'oeuvre, appetizer or starter is a small dish served before a meal.Hors d'oeuvres may be served at
the dinner table as a part of the meal, or they may be served before seating, such as at a reception or cocktail
party.
 222

Ayako retorted to Fumiya.

"Even so, he certainly acted to save his colleague despite the risk to himself."

"Fumiya-kun, do you think that Tookami-san could be trustworthy?"

Miyuki asked Fumiya after he seconded Ayako's rebuttal.

"I think I can trust him enough to do it."

"He's a spy from FEHR, remember?"

Lina pointed this out.

"As long as we don't forget that's what he is, we'll be fine. I'm not implying that we
should trust him fully in any way."

"Yeah, you're right."

Tatsuya cut in at that point.

"The thing is, this conversation isn't about whether he is trustworthy or not in the first
place. The only reason Tookami is set up as an emissary is because we can use that guy
for this."

"……So you're saying that his possible betrayal is accounted for in the estimations?"

Ayako asked Tatsuya, without failing to conceal her wonderment.

"There’s no betrayal, since we considered Tookami as a FEHR member from the very
beginning."

"......If that's so, then why are you using Tookami-san?"

Miyuki took the place of the inquirer.

"Because it's in FEHR's best interest to cooperate with Society."

Tatsuya's answer was clear-cut: since it would be in the interests of FEHR, Ryousuke
would faithfully execute his role. He was chosen under that pretext.

"Then why are you asking me to keep an eye on him?"

This wasn't fault finding on the part of Lina, it was a genuine question.
 223

"It's not to keep an eye on him. I want you on the lookout."

"......What's the difference?"

"Don't you think that there's a risk that the partnership between Society and FEHR could
be interfered with?"

Miyuki's line was both a question aimed at Tatsuya and an answer to Lina's question.

"I'm considering having Saegusa-san accompany him in order to prevent the Japanese
authorities — the government, military, and Magic Association from interfering. And Lina
would have to be on watch in order to deal with any interference that may occur inside
the USNA."

Lina appeared to be satisfied with Tatsuya's answer.

"I understand....... Okay, Tatsuya. But who will take care of escorting Miyuki in the
meantime?"

"It's just a letter of intent, for now. I don't think it'll take much time. Meanwhile, I'll stay
by Miyuki's side."

Miyuki's eyes lit up when she heard that line.

"Lina, you will be returning to America after a long time, right? You can take your time
there."

Miyuki's words came across as a seemingly superficial consideration for Lina, but her
true intentions were clear to all who were present, including Tatsuya.

While the table was filled with laughter, the waiter brought the next dish.

The pleasant atmosphere created by the warm laughter lit up the table until the end of
the dinner.
 224

Chapter 14
[New Humanity Front (Afterwards)]

June 11th, Friday evening.

Ryousuke had left the Industrial Magic Academy early to come to the police station.

And by "left early", it merely meant that he finished his shift earlier than usual, because
the Industrial Magic Academy's work schedule was super-flexible. Ryousuke usually
adhered to the "come to work in the morning, and go home in the evening" routine,
even though there were no rules or regulations mandating it. He left the office at least
an hour earlier than his usual time because he had been asked by the police yesterday.

The charges of excessive self-defense in regards to the matter in which Mayumi was
attacked in front of the company housing the day before yesterday had already been
cleared. The purpose of today's call wasn't to interrogate Ryousuke, but a request for his
cooperation in solving the case.

The young detective with whom he had a heated exchange — verbally, of course — on
the day before yesterday walked up to Ryousuke and showed him to the visiting room. It
wasn't a digital visiting room, which was a rarity nowadays. Instead, it was the
old-fashioned style, where one would face the suspect with a transparent shield in
between them. Unlike the old days though, there were no gaps and no wires through
the shield. This would normally muffle the voice from either side, but that was solved
with the development of new materials.

Sitting on the other side of the transparent shield was a young man of about the same
age as Ryousuke. This was the third time they met each other. His name was Fukami
Yasuhiro; an Extra of the "Two". And, the sub-leader of the New Humanity Front, as an
older female detective, who was working with the young detective, explained yesterday.

Ryousuke was called in because Fukami had strongly requested to speak with him. He
said he wouldn't agree to answering any questions unless he was allowed to speak with
Ryousuke. That was what he said to the detective. Ryousuke thought that this was a lot
of nerve for someone in the leadership of a criminal organization to say.

"Tookami......"
 225

Fukami looked up when he noticed Ryousuke had entered the room.

Unlike the first time they met, he didn't call Ryousuke "Tookami-san". If his timid attitude
at that time was an act, now he appeared to be rather arrogant and tense. Perhaps this
attitude was just an empty gesture, even more than before.

"I heard you wanted to talk to me."

Ryousuke started as he sat down. Fukami kept his composure. At the very least, he didn't
show any indication of lashing out at the sight of Ryousuke's face.

"There is something I wanted to ask you."

Even though he was using polite words, his arrogant impression remained the same. His
language was polite to a certain extent, but his tone sounded haughty.

"Something you wanted to ask?"

"Yes. For future reference."

Ryousuke frowned.

"I don't know what you mean by future. I've never served time neither in Japan nor in
America, so I can't give you any advice on living in jail."

This was of course a joke. As Fukami was sure to receive a unsuspended prison
sentence. Magician criminals didn't qualify for probation. That might sound like an
urban myth, but there were virtually no cases of people managing to reintegrate into
society after serving their sentences. It was hard to imagine that Fukami would have a
"future".

"I don't need any advice. It wouldn't be of much use anyway."

He made it sound as if he would be released from a penal institution in a heartbeat.

"That..... no, it's nothing."

Ryousuke stopped himself from asking him what he meant by that. There might be
someone powerful enough to twist the judicial system behind Fukami's back, he
thought, and he wanted nothing to do with that.

"Then what? If it's not for advice, what is it you want to ask?"

"Tookami, do you not feel hopeless about the society surrounding us?"
 226

Ryousuke's eyebrows twitched. But that was the only sign of his emotions that were
exposed. Any intense emotions were kept rather far away from his facial muscles.

"Feeling hopeless about what? I have so many things in mind, I can't tell which one
you're talking about."

Ryousuke's response was met with a snort from Fukami, who also snickered.

"What a dull joke."

"I didn't mean to make a joke."

Ryousuke's voice and expression bore a hint of displeasure. He, in fact, couldn't count
the number of times he had felt hopeless. To the point where he wouldn't even consider
"feeling hopeless" lightly.

"I beg your pardon. Let me put it another way. Don't you think the Extras' situation is
inexcusable?"

"I do."

Ryousuke answered immediately, without needing to think about it. After answering, a
thought of anger of "why would you ask such an obvious question" crossed his mind.

"Did you do anything to protest against it?"

Fukami continued to ask, to which Ryousuke just shook his head, conveying "No", as his
answer.

"The reason you didn't protest is because you felt hopeless, thinking it would be useless
to raise your voice, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Ryousuke had no qualms about admitting Fukami's assumption.

Persecution of Extras was forbidden in the contemporary Japanese magic community.

Discrimination against Extras had long become a shameful practice quite some time
ago. Nowadays, Extras could get a license and establish themselves as Magicians, that
was, as long as they kept their status as Extras a secret.

On the other hand, the magic that Extras specialized in weren't well accepted by the
magic community. Only the magic other than the ones that were the cause of the
removal of the numbers were recognized. Certainly, it was possible to earn the same
 227

treatment as other magicians as long as the person improved in magic other than their
signature spell. However, it was a clear handicap to have your greatest expertise not
recognized, even in the same field of specialization.

However, even if you used this fact to complain that "discrimination against Extras was
still going on" you would be met with silence. The reason was that no one except the
overwhelming minority of Extras were bothered by this. Because he understood that,
Ryousuke couldn't bother to even try.

"What about the violation of Magician's human rights? Don't you think it's unforgivable?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"But you, you didn't do anything about it."

"That's right."

"And you thought it would also be useless to try to make a move?"

"Yeah."

The relationship between Magians and the Majority was similar to the relationship
between Extras and ordinary Magicians: Magians complained about human rights
violations, but were then disregarded because "it didn't affect the Majority" or even
because "the Majority wanted to draw a clear distinction".

No matter how many voices a minority group raised, if they couldn't sway the public
opinion, they wouldn't achieve anything.

And that wasn't limited to just Magians.

"Tookami, you did the right thing. That's the right answer."

After saying that, Fukami's eyes suddenly took on a certain glint.

"But I, I didn't resign myself to that despair! I took my case to the public to correct the
mistake!"

Fukami's voice was ingrained with a vicious heat, akin to the miasma that emanated
from a crater.

"And it, too, was useless of course! People won’t listen to the voice of someone with no
power and no achievements, no matter how correct it may be."
 228

"Power is best known by the achievements, and achievements are what you make."

Ryousuke pointed out Fukami's misconception. Achievements that "sway public opinion"
were made by continuing to raise your voice, and when people see that, they would
then acknowledge that you have the power to influence society.

"That's absolutely right!"

Whatever was going through Fukami's mind, made him nod widely to the candid advice,
and perhaps even sarcasm, directed at himself.

"That's why we've decided to build a track record; achievements! And if we don't have
the power to create a track record through legitimate means, then we have no choice
but to break the law to some extent!"

"If you don't have any power, maybe."

Ryousuke's "power" was something different from the "power" that Fukami spoke of. But
Ryousuke didn't feel under the obligation to elaborate on that.

"Then, Tookami, why didn't you do that? Why did you interfere with us?"

"Even if I don't have any achievements to showcase to the world right now, I'm not
going to resort to crime."

"Even if you're powerless and can't do anything about it?"

"Yes."

"Why not!?"

Fukami stood up, shouting in agitation.

A policeman who had been stationed behind Fukami pinned him down.

Fukami struggled violently, trying to shake off the officer's hold.

"──Because that person doesn't want it."

But after hearing Ryousuke's calm yet firm answer, Fukami suddenly stopped his violent
flailing.

"......I see, so that's why. You are that person's slave, aren't you?"
 229

"That person doesn't want that, but I don't mind being a slave."

Fukami became calm and composed, as if something had just possessed him.

"......Tookami, I don't have anything more to discuss with you. I doubt we will ever meet
again."

"I also don't think I want to see you again."

There were no more words from Fukami.

Ryousuke turned to the detective who had brought him here, after they nodded back, he
left the visiting room.

◇◇◇

June 12th, Saturday. Tatsuya invited Masaki over for dinner.

The place wasn't the Yotsuba family's building, but a well-established ryotei77 in the city
center. The place was famous amongst some people as being used by politicians for
closed-door meetings.

Tatsuya wasn't alone, Miyuki accompanied him. This wasn't a move with the intent of
easing the negotiation with Masaki. It would be rude to think that way, not only towards
Masaki, but also towards Miyuki.

In fact, Masaki didn't lose sight of his own standing when Miyuki offered him alcohol
and poured him a drink. Nor did it seem to impair his judgment.

"......In other words, you're saying that the Yotsuba family happened to catch the leader
of the New Humanity Front?"

"Yes, I received information from a particular gentleman that the leader of the group,
Kurenai Anzu, had been hiding in the mansion of the younger brother of the head of the
Izayoi family. Upon questioning, we learned that she was undoubtedly the leader of the
New Humanity Front that attacked the museum in Itoigawa and the excavation site in
Hida-Takayama."

"A particular gentleman?"

"Yes, from one of those people whose wishes the Ten Master Clans cannot ignore."

77
Ryōtei - Wikipedia 料亭 A type of high-class, luxurious traditional Japanese restaurant.
 230

Seeing his reaction, Tatsuya assumed that Masaki hadn't yet been told about the Senate.

Even if it didn't ring a bell, Masaki seemed to have guessed that it was something that
shouldn't be sought after in detail. He didn't ask any further questions about the source
of the information.

"Was the Izayoi family in league78 with them?"

Masaki asked this instead.

"Unfortunately, we’ve found no evidence of complicity between the Izayoi family and the
New Humanity Front. No matter how suspicious it may seem, we can't do anything
without proof."

"Even the Yotsuba family?"

"............"

"......Sorry. That was a slip of the tongue."

Masaki's remark was akin to labeling the Yotsuba family as a group of outlaws.

When Tatsuya silently berated him for it, Masaki bowed his head in compliance.

"No, that was thoughtless on my part too, please pretend I never asked about the Izayoi
family."

With those words, Tatsuya accepted Masaki's apology.

"Alright."

"So, while we've got the New Humanity Front leader in our custody, we'd like to leave
her in the hands of the Ichijou family."

Hearing this proposal, Masaki's brow furrowed quizzically.

"Why my family? Shouldn't the Yotsuba family just keep the credit for this?"

Right after Masaki asked that, a person called out from outside the room, "Sir, your
companion has arrived".

"Please let her through."

78
to be secretly working or planning something with someone, usually to do something bad
 231

Tatsuya promptly responded.

"Did you invite someone other than me?"

Masaki asked and almost simultaneously the fusuma79 doors slid open.

"Excuse me....... I'm afraid I'm late."

The figure of the person, Mayumi, entered while apologizing.

"No need, don't worry about it. Tonight I have invited you as an apology and to offer an
explanation, not as a director of the Magian Company, but as a member of the Yotsuba
family, so there's no need to be tense."

Tatsuya said so, and offered Mayumi a seat next to Masaki.

As soon as Mayumi's plate was served, Masaki asked Tatsuya, "What is this all about?"

Tatsuya didn't answer the question directly, but instead turned to face Mayumi and
made an apology to her, "Saegusa-san, I'm very sorry for getting you involved the other
day".

"......No, it isn't Shiba-san's fault or the Yotsuba family's either."

Mayumi gave a small shake of her head.

"I'm grateful to hear that."

Tatsuya bowed his head once more, this time Miyuki joined him.

He then returned to his usual posture and turned to face Masaki.

"In fact, the other day, Saegusa-san was attacked by what had been left of the New
Humanity Front. Those people have since been arrested by the police, but it seems that
they were planning to use her as a hostage to get us to release the leader we had
captured."

"I didn't know that happened......."

Masaki turned to look at Mayumi.

Mayumi nodded, her eyes expressing acknowledgement of the fact.

79
襖 Japanese sliding screen.
 232

"Those people claim that 'this is all of us', but we don't know if that's true. Right now,
Magian Company has Yatsushiro Takara working for us, besides Saegusa-san. We would
like to avoid causing any more trouble to the other families of the Ten Master Clans."

"So you decided to hand over the leader to the Ichijou family.......?"

Masaki's expression said, "I can understand why".

"The incidents caused by the New Humanity Front have consistently been under the
jurisdiction of the Ichijou family ever since the incident at the Museum in Itoigawa. Due
to unavoidable circumstances, the leader has been captured by the Yotsuba family, but I
would like to ask the Ichijou family to be the one to hand them over to the military."

Tatsuya persuaded Masaki with a string of lies.

But, this would be a win-win situation for the Ichijou family. Their standing with the
National Defense Forces was more important than anything else. And Masaki had no
basis, reason, or motive to doubt Tatsuya's words.

"──All right. The Ichijou family will take charge of the custody of this leader."

"I'll be very grateful. And, also, Saegusa-san."

Tatsuya once again turned his body to regard Mayumi.

"The Yotsuba family wishes to settle any issues with the Saegusa family by renouncing
any credit for the capture of the New Humanity Front leader. Would you be willing to
agree to these terms?"

Mayumi had no intention of blaming Tatsuya from the start. But at the same time, she
understood that people like themselves couldn't afford to ignore the issue of "taking
responsibility".

"I understand, and as the eldest daughter of the Saegusa family, I do accept your
resolution."

Mayumi also politely bowed in return.

......Thus, Tatsuya had completed his mission to "get rid of the troublesome captured New
Humanity Front" assigned to him by Maya.
 233

The mission Tatsuya was assigned by Maya was to "negotiate the handover of the
captured New Humanity Front to the Ichijou family". The actual handover wasn't
included in the mission.

The handover was also successfully completed on Sunday, the following day, between
members of both the Yotsuba and Ichijou family's task forces.

◇◇◇

The Ichijou family handed over Kurenai Anzu to the National Defense Forces the day
after they received her from the Yotsuba family.

The National Defense Forces interrogated Kurenai on charges of raiding an army camp
in Hida-Takayama, but were unable to produce any evidence of her direct involvement.

Kurenai Anzu had the status of a civilian and therefore couldn't be tried by a military
court. After the military police failed to get the prosecution to indict her for the raid on
the Defense Force facility, they handed her over to the police who were interrogating
the New Humanity Front.

However, the police were also unable to establish any proof to substantiate Kurenai's
direct involvement in the series of incidents. Since she was consistently nowhere near
the crime scenes, no testimonies could be obtained to back up the claims of abetment
by instigation80.

In the end, in July, the police shifted to a passive measure by releasing her and keeping
her under surveillance behind the scenes.

Then, on the same day she was released, Kurenai Anzu managed to elude police
surveillance, and managed to somehow vanish.

(To be continued)

80
It pretty much means that they couldn't find anything to prove that she was the one who ordered or
instigated the members to commit the crimes in the series of incidents in question.
 234

Afterword

Here we are with the second volume of Magian Company. I hope you enjoyed it.

This may come as a surprise, but this author has never been to San Francisco. At best,
Hawaii. I was hoping to visit San Francisco for the purpose of writing the story, but
unfortunately, due to the pandemic, I was unable to do so....... That's actually a lie,
though. Even if there was no pandemic, I wouldn't have had time for it. Who said that
"writers were free agents81"?

Well, not having enough time is surely better than being left with too much time to
spare. Because it means you have a job.

Writers are contract workers. If you don't write a manuscript, you won't earn any
money, and even if you do write a manuscript, if the publisher doesn't accept it, you still
won't earn any money.

As I wrote in the book, "People don't live to eat, but if they don't eat, they can't live". Or
to put it another way, "Man shall not live by bread alone. Even so, without bread, one
cannot live".

I should spend more time reading instead of just writing. I've been short on this lately,
and I don't feel like going out. I guess I have a hikikomori nature.

This time, the main character alluded to the existence of a prehistoric civilization with
magic. I'm a believer of prehistoric civilizations. I think that mythology is a reflection of
the memories of prehistoric civilizations.

Well, although I said that I believe in it, it's only wishful thinking, like "It would be nice if
it were true". Frankly speaking, it's just a delusion of this author. I don't have the passion
to try to prove the existence of prehistoric civilizations academically. Unfortunately, I
didn't end up as a Schliemann82.
81
Meaning a person who doesn’t have any commitments that restrict their actions. (Example: a sports player
who isn’t bound by a contract and so they’re eligible to join any team.)
82
Heinrich Schliemann - Wikipedia
 235

Not even speaking of fieldwork, I don't even have the patience to carefully read and
understand the literature on the subject. Instead, I have chosen to create stories of my
own. Perhaps I have always had a novelist's nature in this respect. I guess I really ought
to read up on mythology, folklore, and old stories for my writing career.

I'm quite sure that my novels will continue to feature fictional prehistoric civilizations
that are the figments of my own imagination.

I somehow feel that the world is going in a worse and worse direction. I hope that this is
just a delusion of this author. I really want the arrival of the Dark Ages to be confined to
the realm of fiction.

So, thank you very much for keeping up with me so far. My next volume will be the
second volume of Maidens of Cygnus. I hope to see you again next time.

(Satou Tsutomu)
 236

Translator’s Notes

➤ In the paragraph from page 92 it says:

Fortunately, the concept of boundaries with regards to the Earth's surface

and outer space didn't seem to apply when it came to telepathy. Thought exchange
went without a hitch. In a sense, since it was dependent on countries, it should be
the same thing as the high seas, but it seemed to be treated differently between
the Earth’s surface and in outer space. He didn't know why, but it must have been
like that. Minoru thought about that and felt satisfied with it.

Thoughts on the meaning of this paragraph:

I remember when Minoru couldn't contact or monitor the Parasite, that was sealed
inside Minami, by telepathy whenever he was in the USNA and outside the borders of
Japan in previous volumes.

I'm guessing that's pretty much what the paragraph above is talking about, but the way
the paragraph is worded makes it hard to understand. I had to read the whole
paragraph several times to figure out that this was what it was talking about.

Since something was preventing Minoru from using his telepathy until he crossed the
boundary/border of Japan. Then, he was able to contact the Parasite sealed within
Minami since he crossed into Japan's borders/boundaries.

I think he was saying since he's up in space he doesn't have the same limitations with his
telepathy that he had whenever he was on the Earth's surface, with regards to not being
able to use his telepathy to contact others across other countries' borders.

What Minoru is probably going through is related to psychological perception. Seeing

things as boundaries in your head will make it harder to execute magic.

And the perception of the surface of the Earth and outer space would be another
concept. There is no physical barrier or limitation that says that you are in space after a
certain distance, it's all arbitrary. Since there are no borders or boundaries between the
 237

vacuum of space and the surface of the Earth it makes it much easier for him to use his
telepathy with those who are on the Earth’s surface.

➤ Types of relics:

A list of the terms for relics that appear in the novel, in case there is any confusion:

Artificial Relic (Magistore) [人造レリック (マジストア)] — The result of Tatsuya's effort to

replicate the relic.

Original Relic [オリジナルレリック] — Unearthed artifacts that has been processed into
artificial relics

Magatama [勾玉] — Comma-shaped gems from prehistoric Japan

Artifact [遺物] — Remains; memento​s from the past

Sacred Relic [聖遺物] — The same as Original Relics