Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

Volume 19, Chapter 14

Having lost his beloved scooter, Tatsuya rode with Yakumo until he reached his house. The automated public transit system ran 24 hours a day, but he had various items with him that could get him into trouble if he were to be discovered with them.

Sitting on the right side of the back seat, Tatsuya hardly said a word during the entire ride. Yakumo sat beside him, also keeping his mouth shut.

Tatsuya spoke to Yakumo when they were about over halfway to their destination.

“Master, are you awake?”

“Yeah, I’m awake.”

Yakumo, who was sitting still with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and faced Tatsuya.

Tatsuya continued looking forward, not meeting Yakumo’s gaze. “About before, why did you get in my way?”

“When you were about to nullify the American Army’s magic?”

“That’s right.”

Tatsuya did not raise his voice. His voice was grave, like unfathomable darkness.

“I think a better question is: Why were you acting so carelessly in the first place?”

Yakumo had answered Tatsuya’s question in the form of a question.

What he really meant was, ‘I stopped you because you were being careless’.

“Even if it did kill Gu Jie, if we can’t demonstrate that he was the terrorist mastermind, they wouldn’t cooperate with our efforts to eradicate the terrorists. It would have been ideal if we had the same jurisdiction as they did. Stopping that Molecular Divider was the best possible way for that incident to be resolved.”

Tatsuya drew a breath in response, gritting his teeth in regret.

“However, if we can’t actually recover Gu Jie’s corpse, then the truth of the terrorist incident will be left in the dark.”

“Is settling this incident really that important to you?”

Yakumo’s sharp counterargument gave Tatsuya cause for surprise.

At first Tatsuya couldn’t even find the words to respond with, which Yakumo seized as an opportunity for a follow-up.

“You were attempting to nullify Molecular Divider used by the American Army’s No. 2 Magician, Benjamin Canopus.”

Tatsuya suddenly looked to Yakumo, his eyes wide open. He was surprised for two reasons.

The fact that Benjamin Canopus, the No. 2 of STARS, had appeared in response to a local incident was the first.

This was a very important incident for the Ten Master Clans, but he didn’t think it was something that would catch the national interest of the USNA. Additionally, the USNA would absolutely have to keep their involvement in the incident a secret.

The second reason was that somehow, Yakumo was aware of Canopus’ involvement.

Had he not thought about it, Tatsuya could not accept that, such a sort of large-scale magic was the work of the No. 2 of STARS. But that meant that if it really was Canopus, then Tatsuya could accept it. Just by a visual inspection of that spell, there was no way to identify that the Magician who had activated it was Benjamin Canopus.

Yakumo would have to have known about Canopus’ involvement for quite some time.

Tatsuya expected that Yakumo would notice his surprise, but it seemed that Yakumo had not noticed.

“I believe that last year you met with STARS’ Head-Captain Angie Sirius. If you had nullified Canopus’ magic, the American Military would certainly think it was your work. You’re not a nameless magician with no background like before. You’re a magician of the Yotsuba Family, known as the fiancé to the next Head of the Yotsuba Family.

The glint in Yakumo’s eyes had grown even sharper.

Tatsuya was very self-conscious of himself in this high-pressure atmosphere.

“The Yotsuba name, as I am sure you are aware, carries significant weight. At that time, if you had ‘decomposed’ Canopus’ Molecular Divider, the American Military would have likely designated you as a hostile. And it’s safe to say that as a threat to the hegemony of the USA, you would be targeted for assassination.”

Yakumo’s sharp gaze drilled into Tatsuya as he delivered his assessment of the situation.

“That would certainly put Miyuki-kun in danger as well. Were you thinking that far, back then? I certainly don’t think that you did.”

◊ ◊ ◊

By the time that Tatsuya got home, it was already the next day, the time being 2:00 A.M.

Everyone should have already been asleep. Thinking so, Tatsuya unlocked the security and silently opened the door to the entryway.

“Welcome home, Onii-sama.”

There was Miyuki, sitting on her knees and waiting for him.

“U-uh, yeah. I’m home.”

Surprised by this unexpected welcome, Tatsuya hesitated for a moment.

Miyuki couldn’t help but show her usual elegance with a dainty bow, before raising her smiling face to look at Tatsuya.

“Are you tired? How about a bath? Or perhaps you’re hungry? Or…”

“Thanks. I’ll take a bath first. If you could fix up something light for dinner, that would be great.”

Miyuki probably wouldn’t make any dirty jokes like ‘Or perhaps you’d like me?’, but Tatsuya felt an unsettling atmosphere, so he interrupted her mid-sentence.

“Understood.”

The person responding this time was Minami, who had appeared while Miyuki spoke. Her unsatisfied facial expression was probably because Miyuki had dragged her out to welcome Tatsuya home.

They weren’t the only two people awake. “Tatsuya-niisan, thank you for your hard work.”

“Tatsuya-san, it must be tough working so late.”

Fumiya and Ayako, who were staying at their house starting that day, appeared from the living room.

“All of you… what are you doing up so late…?”

In response to Tatsuya’s surprised question, Miyuki puffed out her chest with pride. To be correct, she didn’t really puff out her chest though the atmosphere certainly felt like she was.

“I know they’ve been working you hard lately Onii-sama, but I can’t let you come home late and go to sleep all alone.”

“Miyuki-oneesama, you sound just like a young wife when you talk like that.”

However, the one who flushed red at Ayako’s quip was Fumiya.

All Miyuki did was smile faintly.

Telling all of them “just go to sleep already” wasn’t going to work. Judging that to be the case, Tatsuya quickly made for the bathroom.

Tatsuya collected his weapons and combat suit separately from the regular laundry, and after vigorously scrubbing the blood off, Tatsuya went to the dining room in a sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Miyuki, Fumiya, and Ayako sat together at the dining table, with Minami standing to Miyuki’s side.

Tatsuya sat down at his seat, and Minami promptly brought him some sandwiches.

Minami then presented Tatsuya with a cup of herbal tea, saying “Hopefully this is alright.” Perhaps taking into account how late into the night it was, Tatsuya simply nodded, saying “It’s fine.”

Then, Tatsuya turned his head to face each of the three people staring at him, one at a time.

“The mission was a failure.”

Tatsuya made this announcement to the three of them, no, four if Minami was included before partaking of his sandwich or tea.

Everyone aside from Tatsuya drew a breath.

While they sat speechless, Tatsuya picked up and ate two of his sandwiches.

“Ah… erm, Onii-sama. By failure, you mean that Gu Jie…”

Miyuki wanted to say “got away” but she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

Tatsuya wolfed down his last sandwich, then looked at Miyuki.

“No. We confirmed Gu Jie’s death.”

Miyuki looked relieved at Tatsuya’s response. Fumiya and Ayako also relaxed their faces, which had been stiffened with tension.

“You mean to say he put up a fierce resistance so you were forced to kill him. That’s a sort of failure in itself, right? I mean, it would have been best if he were alive to answer for his crimes, but Oba-sama did say ‘Dead or alive…’”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Miyuki looked uneasily at Tatsuya, who was shaking his head. Similarly, Fumiya and Ayako exchanged ambiguous looks with each other.

“Gu Jie was killed by an USNA Magician. No corpse was left behind. As a consequence, there is no evidence we can present to the public to prove that ‘This man was the mastermind.’ Now, the people of the city may never learn who the terrorist mastermind was, and they may never know whether he is alive or dead.”

“But, the terrorist mastermind was a former Dahan Magician known as Gu Jie, and now Gu Jie is dead right? So hasn’t the incident been solved?”

Ayako offered her opinion, but Tatsuya shook his head again.

“There is no objective evidence proving that Gu Jie was the terrorist mastermind. We knew that Gu Jie was behind it, but there’s no method we can use to prove that to society. Assuming that we were even able to pin him as the principal offender, no corpse was left behind which means we would be unable to clear any doubts that he wasn’t still alive somewhere.

Ayako had a look on her face as though saying “Ah…” and Fumiya gazed at Tatsuya with pursed lips. Shifting his gaze from the contrasting twins, Tatsuya looked toward Miyuki.

Miyuki was simply looking toward him with an anxious expression.

“The goal of this mission was to demonstrate to society that we Magicians had solved the terrorist incident. The fact that the people of the city are left with remaining unease must be said to be a failure.”

An oppressive silence fell over the dining table.

Tatsuya drank the last of his herb tea and placed his cup on this table. As if invited by the clinking of the teacup, Miyuki spoke.

“Even if people in society are uneasy, we know that the incident has been solved. We know that you tracked down Gu Jie, Onii-sama. And…”

Miyuki strongly fixed her gaze on Tatsuya.

“Onii-sama, you came home safely. I am happier for that more than anything else.”

Miyuki smiled beautifully at Tatsuya. You couldn’t even compare her facial expression to a beautiful flower or a jewel. There was no other way to describe it than “beautiful.”

“Onii-sama, thank you for your hard work.”

Miyuki warmly consoled Tatsuya.

◊ ◊ ◊

After that, Tatsuya and Miyuki immediately returned to their own rooms.

Minami left the dining room, leaving the dishes to the HAR.

Fumiya and Ayako were laying on the two beds in the bedroom that had been provided to them. Tatsuya had told them that since he was now home there was no need for them to keep vigil over the house, which made them harbor some dissatisfaction towards their reason for existing.

“…Fumiya, are you still up?”

Ayako spoke to Fumiya, just as he was starting to doze off.

“…Yeah, I’m awake. What is it, nee-san?”

Paying no mind to the interruption of his sleep, Fumiya spoke with no discomfort in his voice.

“Erm… It’s not anything important, but…”

“Can’t sleep?”

In response to Fumiya’s question, she laughed wryly.

“That reminds me, it’s been a long time since we’ve slept in the same room like this.”

Their good relationship as siblings was well known ever since long ago. It wasn’t just for show because they truly were good friends. Even now if they exchanged some harsh words, they still trusted each other more than anyone else.

They had slept in the same room ever since they were very young. Though they were a girl and a boy of around the same age, they never truly got into an argument. Even so, sleeping in beds lined up like this, it was like they had returned to their childhood, when being a girl or a boy didn’t matter at all.

“Yeah. Although honestly I was a little resistant to being in the same room with you, it feels pretty good and I can't help but want to thank Tatsuya-san for this.”

This time it was Fumiya who responded with a wry laugh.

“Speaking of Tatsuya-niisan, it’s a little odd to see him so down like that… He looked a bit happier, thanks to Miyuki-san. That’s to be expected of her, though. When she did that, they seemed like fiancées, and not siblings.

“I’m just no match for her…”

Hearing Fumiya’s words, Ayako dropped her usual ladylike tone, speaking like a regular girl.

“Fumiya, you saw it right? That smile on Miyuki-oneesama’s face. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled that way.”

Had those been words of envy, Fumiya could have poked fun at her or mocked her. But his older sister’s words were from her heart, and for a moment Fumiya was at a loss for how to respond.

“Her face is beautiful to begin with, but… I don’t think she’d manage such a pretty smile with just that alone. Miyuki-oneesama must be thinking about him all the time… I felt like she was speaking to Tatsuya- san with more eloquence than a million sweet nothings.”

Ayako let out a soft sigh.

Softly, so not even Fumiya would hear it.

However, her lonely sigh didn’t escape Fumiya’s ears. “Tatsuya-san did seem to cheer up, didn’t he?”

Ayako was silent.

Before the silence became too long, Fumiya replied.

“It’s completely obvious that Miyuki-san is gorgeous, but you’re pretty good yourself, you know?”

“…I’m not really in the mood for flattery, sorry.”

“I’m not trying to flatter you. Speaking objectively, you ARE beautiful.”

“…Am I just imagining it, or am I being overevaluated?”

“No, no, not at all. Even at Fourth High, Nee-san, there were tons of guys that wanted to go out with you.”

“…You’re still going? Well then, I suppose I’ll say this, Yami-chan.”

Ayako definitely heard the sound of Fumiya holding his breath. Ayako snickered, and continued speaking with a playful tone.

“Objectively speaking, Yami-chan is a beautiful girl too, right? Then what about all those boys who have only seen her dressed up as a man? If they saw her as a pretty girl, she’d be the talk of the school.”

“I am not ‘dressing up as a man’!”

“I’m not really interested in this sort of thing, but you know that there are girls at school who love talking about two boys getting intimate with each other, and I’ve heard them talking about Yami-chan many times. You know, about who would suit Fumiya more…”

“I have no interest in that at all!”

Causing a fuss in the middle of the night would be problematic, so Fumiya yelled at his sister with the lowest possible voice that could still qualify as a shout, then turned his back to her.

“Goodnight!”

Fumiya curled up in his bed.

Ayako sat giggling to herself for a bit, then she gratefully replied “Good night” to her brother.

◊ ◊ ◊

Although the night was ending, Gu Jie had not been captured, dead or alive.

February 20th, 2097. Tatsuya was paying a visit to the Chiba Family, along with Yakumo and his apprentice.

The purpose of their visit was to deliver the corpse of Chiba Toshikazu.

Masaki, who had destroyed Inagaki’s dead body in an ‘Rupture’ said that he would accompany them, but Yakumo had stopped him, saying, “We’re going to explain his death, not to make an apology.”

Miyuki was only told that they were going to handle the incident cleanup. She was also instructed not to leave the house, along with Fumiya, Ayako, and Minami. Right now, they were most likely enjoying a friendly game together. Or perhaps, they were making sweets together. Fumiya was the only guy among three girls… so there was also the possibility that the girls would subject him to their own sort of 'fun.’

They had already notified the Chiba Family that they would be visiting this morning, and had briefed them on the purpose of the visit.

The members of the Chiba Family were enveloped in grief, as they came out to receive the station-wagon carrying Toshikazu’s body.

“I am truly sorry for your loss.”

Yakumo had stepped out of the car and was offering his condolences to the family members not as a priest, but as a person.

“My foolish son has caused you a great deal of trouble.”

Chiba Jouichirou, the Family Head and Toshikazu’s father, was bowing his head deeply. Despite being 50 years old, he was a large, muscular man who still appeared to be in his prime. Even so, his spirit was dampened by the loss of his son. His body appeared smaller than it really was.

Yakumo’s apprentice brought out Toshikazu’s body. His face was covered, but you could easily tell it was him just from his body, and a woman dressed in black began to weep. If Tatsuya’s memory served him, it was Toshikazu’s elder sister Sanae.

Tatsuya saw other faces that he recognized among the people who were coming out. He saw tears welling in the eyes of even the top pupils of the Chiba Family.

Chiba Toshikazu’s brother Naotsugu, who was said to be ‘Chiba’s Child Prodigy,’ was nowhere to be seen. There were rumors that the brothers did not get along well, but surely he was not deliberately absent. Perhaps he was away from the house, busy with research or an errand.

The last person Tatsuya laid eyes on was Erika, standing at the very end of the line of people. To be honest, he didn’t want to see her right now, but couldn’t help meeting his eyes with hers. His biggest goal in coming here today was to speak with Erika.

“Please, come inside.”

At Jouichirou’s back, Chiba pupils appeared to take Toshikazu’s body from Yakumo’s apprentice and placed it on a stretcher. Then, they went into the main building, Yakumo first, and Tatsuya after him.

The corpse was taken into Toshikazu’s own room. It would be laid on his futon for the time being. For a single man, Toshikazu’s room was surprisingly clean. No, that was not the right way to put it. The only items in Toshikazu’s room were a desk, a closet, and a single sword, resting on a sword rack.

Neither Yakumo nor his apprentice had prepared any Buddhist sutras for chanting. The memorial service would be held at the Chiba Family's temple. Yakumo’s apprentice hadn’t come inside, rather, he was waiting outside with the station wagon.

Yakumo and Tatsuya then headed to the reception hall along with Jouichirou. There were no cushy sofas, only a single cushion on a tatami floor. Neither Tatsuya nor Yakumo was bothered by sitting on their feet. However, for modern people who were not used to sitting in this manner on tatami mats, this style of this house must surely be painful to them.

“We have imposed on you a great deal of trouble. Please allow us to offer both our gratitude and sincere apologies once more.”

Jouichirou placed his hands on the tatami mat and bowed his head deeply. Erika sat next to him, performing the same motion.

Erika was the only other person present in the room on the Chiba Family side. Both Yakumo and Tatsuya knew that Jouichirou had already lost his wife. It had also been confirmed that Naotsugu was not present. Sanae had been left in Toshikazu’s room; there was no doubt she was still weeping over his body. Erika, by contrast, had yet to shed a single tear.

Further contrasting Sanae, who wore proper mourning attire, Erika was dressed in her First High School uniform. It was a full-dress uniform so there was no real issue, but a green blazer with a white one piece was definitely out of place with the rest of the family’s mourning clothes. Incidentally, Tatsuya had come wearing a black suit.

“Your son met his end under fairly unusual circumstances, so Chiba- sama, I believe it would be best for me to explain to you what happened. That is, if it is not too much trouble. I will leave the decision to you.”

Jouichirou bowed his head once more in response to Yakumo’s words, this time more lightly than before.

“Please, by all means. Honestly speaking, I am terribly confused by all this.”

“You have my sincerest sympathy.”

Having prefaced his explanation, Yakumo began to explain just what had happened to Chiba Toshikazu.

Toshikazu had been captured and transformed into a puppet by a traditional magician from Dahan, who was considered to be the top suspect in the Hakone Terror Incident.

“Last night, Toshikazu had attacked the search team as they were tracking the suspect.”

“Tatsuya had been among the members of that search team, and Toshikazu had been defeated by him.”

“By the time of his battle with Tatsuya, he was already deceased.”

“…As we performed a ceremony to cleanse the curse overnight, I believe that there are no remnants of the evil magic.”

Yakumo ended his explanation, and Jouichirou shut his eyes.

His fist was placed on his knee, and occasionally it could be seen trembling.

“…Thank you for all of your assistance.”

When his eyes finally opened, Jouichirou no longer displayed any trembling whatsoever.

With the discussion concluded, tea was brought out for Yakumo and his apprentice. Jouichirou seemed like he wanted to speak to Tatsuya, but Erika had taken him to the dojo first.

Jouichirou did not blame his daughter for her uncouth behavior. He had been convinced that Tatsuya actually wanted to speak with Erika.

Not a single person was in the dojo. It was certainly because of what had happened to Toshikazu. It was only natural that practice would be suspended for the day.

Erika proceeded straight into the heart of the dojo where she sat straight down on the wooden floor.

Tatsuya also sat down, facing her.

“I am deeply grateful that you brought my brother back home to us.”

Without warning, Erika bowed her head deeply.

Before Tatsuya had any time to react, she immediately raised her head back up, her gaze piercing straight through him.

“There is something I need you to tell me.”

Her words were as sharp as they always were. However, her voice had a coldness to it that was very different from normal.

“Did you capture the magician who was responsible for transforming my stupid brother into a doll?”

There was anger in the way she said “stupid brother.” Rather, it made her sorrow completely obvious.

“He’s dead. We didn’t retrieve the body, either.”

“I see…”

Erika clenched her back teeth together.

Tatsuya thought it was rather strange that he could not hear her grinding her teeth.

“Well then.”

As though in pain, Erika forced herself to say the words. “The only person I can get revenge on is you, Tatsuya-kun.”

“I suppose so.”

With just a few words, Tatsuya had accepted Erika’s unreasonable accusation.

Tatsuya himself had acknowledged that he was the one who had finished Toshikazu off, after all.

Tatsuya nodded, and Erika began to visibly shake.

“…Tatsuya-kun, couldn’t you have done something with your magic?” Erika knew what Tatsuya’s “Regrowth” required in exchange.

She understood that placing that much burden on Tatsuya was simply unreasonable.

She also comprehended the fact that Toshikazu had paid the price for his error with his own life.

Despite all that, she still asked the question. “The dead can’t be brought back to life.” Tatsuya responded in a matter-of-fact tone. There was not a hint of guilt in his voice.

There was no reason for Tatsuya to feel guilty. That much was simple logic. But, Erika could not restrain her anger at Tatsuya’s cold-hearted attitude.

“──Shiba Tatsuya! You shall fight with me!”

Erika was standing on just one knee, as if about to rise. With a spinning kick, Tatsuya knocked her right off her feet. Erika was blown almost all the way back to the wall.

With a hand on the wall, she regained her footing, snatching a wooden sword from the wall and turning back to face the center of the Dojo.

Tatsuya was facing her with his hands at his sides, in a natural stance.

Erika assumed a fighting stance, pointing the wooden sword at Tatsuya’s face.

As though he had been waiting for this, Tatsuya began walking forward.

Erika, without any concern for keeping up with Tatsuya’s pace, walked in a gait that was neither fast nor slow.

“Yaaaah!”

Erika raised the sword up over her head.

Tatsuya’s feet did not stop.

Erika then swung the sword downwards. Her sword technique this time was just brute force, with none of her usual sharpness.

Tatsuya seized the descending sword in one hand. By fixing his arm and using the power in the central axis of his body, he simply swung Erika along with the wooden sword.

Erika released the wooden sword without any resistance.

Erika rolled on the floor, catching herself with her knee, but when she tried to get up she found the wooden sword’s point had been thrust right before her eyes.

Tatsuya had turned the sword he stole from Erika against her.

“You… you win.”

Erika’s eyes overflowed with tears as she acknowledged her loss. She placed her hands on the floor, facing downwards as she wept.

Tatsuya stood in front of her until Erika had managed to stop crying. For whatever reason, nobody came to the Dojo during that time.

“…You know, when a girl is crying, you should probably give her a handkerchief or something.”

With a wry smile Tatsuya offered Erika his handkerchief.

“No need to give it back.”

“Well then, don’t mind if I do!”

With the hanky she received from Tatsuya, Erika dried her tears and blew her nose. Perhaps his hanky wasn’t enough, because she also wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her uniform.

“…You know? If that had been the real thing, your hand would have been cut.”

Erika suddenly offered an excuse for her loss. She seemed to be talking about when Tatsuya grabbed the wooden sword’s ‘blade’ with his hand.

“But that’s a wooden sword.”

Tatsuya gave a strained laugh as he looked at the wooden sword, which had been discarded on the floor after the match.

“Urgh… what’s with kicking me all of a sudden like that!”

“I thought the fight had already started.”

“Nnngggghhh…”

Erika groaned in irritation. She was looking and acting like she normally did, now.

With her eyes still red from weeping, she once again gazed sharply at Tatsuya this time. However, this time she gazed at Tatsuya with an expression of someone who was just cleansed of a demon lurking in her heart. She asked Tatsuya another question.

“──Tatsuya-kun. Was my stupid brother strong?”

“Yes. Despite being transformed into a puppet, he was definitely strong.”

“I see… Tatsuya-kun, for you to praise him like that is a very generous offer of condolences for my stupid brother.”

Erika turned her back to Tatsuya as she said this.

She hadn’t apologized for provoking Tatsuya into a fight with her. Tatsuya didn’t want her to apologize either.

◊ ◊ ◊

Taking his leave from the Chiba Family, Yakumo had been sent off by Jouichirou and his top pupil. Now, they were in the station wagon, and Yakumo turned to Tatsuya in the passenger seat, speaking to him with a sly grin.

“I thought your cheeks would be a little bit redder.”

“Erika would never be convinced if I deliberately let her hit me.”

“I see. She’s got the blood of a warrior, even if she is a woman.” Yakumo produced a villainous laugh, "kukuku…" to himself for a while. “So, what shall we do for the rest of the day?”

He asked Tatsuya.

“I’m going to go back home for now, and then report to the Main House.”

“In person? Not by phone?”

“Yes, I’m going to take my scolding bravely.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to scold you for, though…”

Toudou Aoba, the Sponsor for the Yotsuba Family, had explicitly requested Yakumo to “watch over Shiba Tatsuya so that he does not go too far.” Given yesterday’s events, Yakumo’s top priority was to intervene and keep Tatsuya and Miyuki from attracting any more attention from the USNA, but this too was likely within the scope of Toudou’s request.

As it were, the situation had been handled in a manner that conformed to the Sponsor’s intentions, so there was nothing to assign blame for.

However, Tatsuya wasn’t aware of that. Even if he knew of Toudou Aoba’s existence, he wasn’t acquainted with him. Tatsuya didn’t even know what his face looked like.

Yakumo couldn’t help his words from coming across as evasive.

“Honestly, I don’t think Oba-ue is really that worried about it, but formalities are important for things like this.”

“So you’re putting up the appearance of going to apologize in person, huh. You’re struggling too, aren’t you?”

Tatsuya responded only with a bitter smile. Tatsuya reflexively thought “I am struggling, compared to Yakumo,” but he had the good judgment to not stir up trouble by saying that.

“Not going to report to Kazama-kun?”

“I’m putting all my effort into my visit to the Main House today, so I’ll speak with him tomorrow.”

“I see. Well, good work.”

After that, they didn’t talk about anything in particular, and Tatsuya was dropped off in front of his house.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tatsuya had told Yakumo that he was going to the Main House, but the place he was now heading to was actually the Kanto Branch of the Magic Association, in Yokohama. Upon calling the Main House in advance of his visit, he had been told that Maya was at the Magic Association, and he was to go there instead.

Leaving Minami in charge of the house while they were out, Tatsuya headed towards the Yokohama Bay Hills Tower with Miyuki, Fumiya, and Ayako in tow. That said, Tatsuya did not want to bring anyone else along, but the three had insisted (mainly Miyuki) and Tatsuya was unable to say no.

Having arrived at the Magic Association’s Kanto Branch, the four of them were escorted to the office’s most luxurious reception room. Somehow, although Kouichi, Katsuto, and Shippou Takumi had come to have an online conference at the Kanto Branch, Maya had won the right to use this reception room by claiming ‘ladies first.’

“Well, looks like everyone’s all here. Welcome.”

The four of them were guided into the room where Maya greeted them, Tatsuya first. As she sat on the sofa, Hayama stood immediately at her back in his usual manner.

Before he could be offered a chair, Tatsuya stood before Maya and bowed deeply.

“Mother.”

Aware of the fact that he was in the Magic Association, Tatsuya initiated conversation with Maya in a manner that outwardly emphasized their familial relationship.

“Please allow me to sincerely apologize that the recent mission ended in failure.”

Maya received Tatsuya’s apology with a smile.

“I already heard the full details of yesterday’s events. I don’t think that there was much you could have done about it, so I think it would be best that you don’t concern yourself with it too much, Tatsuya.”

“Thank you very much.”

Tatsuya bowed once, and that should have been the end of it ── but Tatsuya knew things were not quite so simple.

“While it is unfortunate that you were unable to recover Gu Jie’s corpse… are you absolutely certain that he died?”

“Yes.”

Maya had told him not to concern himself too much, but what was she trying to say now?

Tatsuya concealed his wariness with a firm nod.

“I wonder, how did you confirm that it was Gu Jie’s body? There might be people who would want to know about that, so just to be sure, I’d like to ask in advance.”

There was no particular reason to be secretive about this.

“Based on the lesson we learned from when Zhou Gongjin mislead us with Ghost Walker, I developed a magic for tracking.”

“Despite that, up until yesterday you had quite some difficulty locating him.”

Tatsuya wondered if perhaps Maya was thinking that he had somehow been cutting corners.

“The usage conditions are limited, and during yesterday’s mission, I was finally able to deploy it.”

In a certain sense he had definitely been cutting corners. However, that was because he had a more important mission. This was not an excuse; Tatsuya truly felt this way in his heart, and so there was no guilt at all in his voice as he stated this.

“Conditions? What conditions?”

This, however, was a question he could not answer. No matter how hard he could try, Tatsuya could not detach himself enough to say, “I can’t use it unless I’m holding Miyuki.”

“…It has to do with my senses, so it’s difficult for me to explain.”

Tatsuya gave a hazy response, fully aware of how suspicious it was.

“My, how unusual. Well, that’s fine. Some things are just like that.”

Maya grinned as though amused. She was looking straight past Tatsuya, at the blushing face of Miyuki who was standing off to the side behind him.

She might have realized Tatsuya’s ‘secret condition’ just from looking at Miyuki’s facial expression.

“I wonder if I can ask you one more question.”

“What would that be?”

Maya had clearly been enjoying pressuring Tatsuya up until now.

But now, Maya’s smile became like a blade of icy steel. “Was Toshikazu Chiba truly that difficult for you to handle?”

“…What do you mean by ‘that difficult’? He was certainly a tough opponent.”

“Well, it seems to me that you had quite a bit of trouble with an opponent that had no offensive options aside from melee combat.

Furthermore, this opponent not have his specialized weapon device, thus rendering Tatsuya-san unable to demonstrate his real ability.”

Tatsuya felt a cold sweat on his back.

It was a matter of fact that if Tatsuya had not been needlessly emotionally attached to Toshikazu, he could have more quickly dispatched with him. He wouldn’t have wasted so much time if he had not been led astray by his curiosity.

If it were pointed out that Tatsuya’s actions had allowed Gu Jie to escape, it would be difficult for Tatsuya to totally deny this.

“He may have been unable to utilize his full strength, but Toshikazu Chiba’s corpse was found to have a technique implemented on it by Gu Jie that temporarily augmented his magical power. This is merely a conjecture, but I don’t believe that there were any mistakes.”

Tatsuya had no intention of reporting this, but he let it slip in order to dodge the question.

“Temporarily augmented his magical power?” Maya’s gaze had turned sharp.

“The Sorcery Boosters used by No Head Dragon were developed based on Gu Jie’s corpse manipulation techniques… I wonder if it’s a similar technique.”

Tatsuya realized his mistake, but he could no longer feign ignorance.

“Not quite, I think. I didn’t see anything resembling the necessary external device.”

“Then what do you think it was?”

“…If we assume that something like ‘life energy’ exists, I believe that it could be a type of technique that involves extracting that energy by killing the target, pulling the energy in the corpse, then converting that energy in order to gain control over the Psions.”

“Hmm, life energy… How interesting. That particular type of magic is activated by carving into the corpse’s heart, which is why you got rid of Chiba Toshikazu’s heart, right Tatsuya-san?”

“──Yes, I’m afraid that’s exactly why.”

“Perhaps that magic was not observed at Kamakura because you had destroyed the hearts of the ‘generators’ in advance, I wonder.”

“That may be the case.”

Tatsuya hadn’t even realized that possibility, but when Maya pointed it out, it certainly seemed likely.

“A Sorcery Booster is a magical device made by processing a human brain. What you encountered, Tatsuya, was a magic amplification technique that used the target’s heart as a medium. Our research on this magic has been entirely focused on the mental aspect, but perhaps the key to understanding this magic actually lies in the physical body…”

An enigmatic flash of light crossed Maya’s eyes like a glint in the eyes of a mad scientist.

‘Please don’t tell me you’re going to experiment on human bodies…’ Tatsuya thought to himself, like a silent prayer.

As though his prayer was answered, or perhaps because she realized she was acting suspiciously, Maya suddenly reverted to her normal demeanor.

“Oh my, excuse me. I didn’t even realize. Tatsuya-san, Miyuki-san, Fumiya-san, Ayako-san please have a seat.”

Maya gestured for them to sit, and then spoke to Hayama without turning around.

“Hayama-san, please prepare tea for Tatsuya-san and his guests.”

“Understood.”

Hayama, who had been standing as still as a statue up until now, spoke respectfully as he gave a short bow.

While Tatsuya was being interrogated by Maya, the other three had found it difficult to even breathe.

With the tension between the two finally gone, Miyuki and the others were finally able to feel lively again, while sipping the tea served to them by Hayama.

But it was too early to totally let their guard down.

“I believe you’re already aware, but there’s an online conference between family heads soon.”

There was nothing unusual about that, by itself. It was something that not only Tatsuya, but the other three had already realized.

Online Master Clans Conferences’ were how the Ten Master Clans communicated, and there were two methods of attending: connecting remotely to the conference from one’s own home, or actually venturing out to the nearest Magic Association. The Kyoto Headquarters was conveniently located for the Ichijou Family and Futatsugi Family, and although Tohoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu lacked anything quite as nice as the Kanto Branch Office. However, they did have branch offices that were usable for online conferences.

It was possible that Kouichi and Katsuto were meeting just to settle yesterday’s affairs. However, if Shippou Takumi was visiting as well, it was only natural to assume that this was a special meeting of family heads.

“Once Mitsuya-dono is here, we can go ahead and get started with the conference.”

“Have any questions unrelated to the disposal of Gu Jie arisen?”

Maya gave a seemingly deliberate sigh in response to Tatsuya’s inquiry.

“Anti-magic activities are becoming more extreme. Up until now, what we observed have been extremist citizens unfairly attacking magicians, and we thought that if we left it alone, it would go away, but…”

Maya gave Tatsuya a fleeting glance.

“The organization attacking magicians is a suborganization of that “Blanche,” and although they are a radical organization that loathes magicians, they have been utilizing magic… for outside observers, this might have looked like an internal conflict among magicians. If seen from the viewpoint that normal citizens might get dragged into the conflict, it severely damages our image as magicians.”

Tatsuya almost groaned without realizing it.

What Maya was saying was unmistakably correct. The day before yesterday, Tatsuya had to take care of some Egalite remnants near the First High School.

That man was not a magician; he was nothing more than a relay point for magic.

But Tatsuya couldn’t prove that, and it was nearly impossible to explain.

The death of Gu Jie had brought a conclusion to the Hakone Terror Incident.

But the seeds of malice that he had sown were now beginning to sprout, and soon, they would bear new fruit.

(Continued in the next chapter “Prologue of Disturbance”)