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Chapter Six

Tuesday, July 10, 2097, early morning.

Tatsuya visited Yakumo’s temple for the first time in a while, having taken a long absence.

“…in short, you want me to teach you how to overcome Ghost Walker?”

Yakumo confirmed Tatsuya’s intent in coming after Tatsuya described his reason to his former teacher.

“Right.”

Tatsuya hadn’t come here to practice taijutsu. Instead, he sought guidance from Yakumo in order to break the deadlock with Minoru. Yakumo was an expert in ancient magic and almost certainly knew a method. However…

“You should know that you have no right to ask me about that.”

Yakumo’s answer was a flat denial.

“I do. I’m asking to gain that right.”

Tatsuya had expected to be refused, but he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

“Why do you need it?”

Yakumo asked Tatsuya his reason to go so far, but Tatsuya didn’t quite understand his meaning. He could only answer basically.

“To rescue Minami, who was kidnapped by Kudou Minoru.”

This was all Tatsuya had for an answer.

“I don’t understand…”

Yakumo was honestly puzzled and wasn’t teasing Tatsuya.

“Do you really have to go so far for Sakurai Minami-jo such that you even want knowledge bypassing our rules? Don’t you know its price is high?”

Yakumo, knowing Tatsuya’s nature, couldn’t understand why Tatsuya would go so far for someone other than Miyuki. While he didn’t entirely doubt Tatsuya’s reason, he had suspicions.

“Minami is a family member,” Tatsuya responded.

“No. She is a simple maid.”

These words sounded strange and cold, even to Tatsuya, and he was a little confused.

However, he wasn’t angry at Yakumo’s statement. It wasn’t his nature to value being valued, and he knew Yakumo meant more than just what he said.

“Your family is only Miyuki-kun. Isn’t it enough just for you to protect Miyuki-kun?”

“I…”

He had multiple reasons to return Minami. He could immediately say three.

First: despite Yakumo’s literal statement, they could very well be considered family.

For the past 2 years, Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Minami had lived together like a family.

They had bonded with her as more than a simple maid.

Second: Minami was only in the current situation because she had protected Tatsuya and Miyuki from Bezobrazoff’s magic. While Tatsuya didn’t necessarily feel he had to return the favor as it wasn’t his nature and it wasn’t necessary, he at least felt he needed to do what he could.

And finally, third: Miyuki had asked him to return Minami.

However, if Tatsuya was asked if he could neglect Miyuki’s protection to be in debt to Yakumo, he wouldn’t be able to instantly give a positive answer.

“Minami-jo is not Honami-joshi.”

Tatsuya held his breath.

“…I know.”

Of course she wasn’t. Of course. Tatsuya had to understand that.

However, the short phrase had caused a shock in Tatsuya’s heart. The resemblance between Minami and her aunt had caused Tatsuya to recall Honami, and he still hadn’t intuitively accepted them as separate. Of all people other than Miyuki, Honami had probably left the most significant impact on Tatsuya, and Minami had caused Tatsuya to recall her.

“…really?” Yakumo asked again.

“…yes.”

Even after being asked again though, Tatsuya couldn’t answer immediately.

“Hmm. And yet, I can’t fulfill your request. If that’s how you want it, then you must shave as well. If you accept monasticism and become my student, I will teach you what you want.”

If he became a student of Yakumo, however, then Tatsuya’s communication with the outside world would be limited. It wouldn’t just stop him from saving Minami – he wouldn’t even be able to defend Miyuki.

Tatsuya couldn’t agree to Yakumo’s condition.

July 10, 1997, 6:00.

The Independence had stopped its path southward along the Sea of Japan in the open sea near Yamagata. This position was chosen to restrain the NSU fleet from their flank.

Aviation onboard the ship was constantly waiting, ready to take off at any time if they were needed.

July 10, 1997, 7:00.

Carriers in the rear of the NSU invasion fleet – including their escort ships – began to retreat.

July 10, 1997, 9:00.

The Japanese government held a press conference and announced the complete retreat of the NSU fleet.

The current state of Japan with increased combat readiness, however, had not yet been canceled. The situation which caused the NSU fleet to be sent had not changed –

Japan had not handed over fugitives from the Great Asian Alliance. However, at least for now, martial law was suspended. The tension hadn’t decreased much, but it was important to normalize social activity again.

July 10, 1997, 9:30.

The government announced the normalization of air and sea communications. The temporarily tightened entry control was returned to the normal standard, and an hour later, airplanes from nearby Asian countries began to arrive and ships for fishing and cargo started to enter ports.

The intelligence department of the self-defense forces and the public security police still had yet to relax their vigilance, but Japan had transitioned from wartime to a paramilitary position. Despite their continued watchfulness, however, precautionary measures became slightly disorganized as activity suddenly renewed.

Other countries took advantage of this chaos.

***

July 10, 1997, 10:00.

A small sabotage detachment from the Great Asian Alliance led by Lu Ganghu entered the country.

July 10, 1997, 11:00.

A passenger plane landed at Haneda airport originating from the airport of Taipei.

Among the passengers entering were 10 people from the Horsehead platoon of the illegal squad of American combat magicians called the Illegal Mystic Assassin Platoon.

Thus, the Horsehead platoon outsmarted the leaders of the self-defense forces, Major General Saeki from the 101 brigade, and counterintelligence officers who all believed that Independence would be connected to the penetration of American agents.

July 10, 1997, 9:45.

Shortly after air traffic was normalized at Haneda Airport, a small passenger plane flew over Izu Peninsula. More specifically, it was headed to Miyako-jima. Its passenger was an employee of the Ministry of Defense whose goal was to assess the damage caused by the invasion of a warship of “unknown” affiliation two days prior as well as take measures to prevent future invasions.

The name of the employee assigned to this was Shibata Katsushige. He was the next head of the Shibata family, a side-branch of the Yotsuba clan. He was also the magician with the strongest fighting abilities among the side families.

“Katsushige-sama. Welcome. We were waiting for you.”

“Sakuma, thank you for meeting me here.”

Katsushige met a long-time servant of the Shibata family at a special airport for small planes. The Shibata family didn’t have anyone with the title of butler like the main house did, but the middle-aged man named Sakuma performed similar duties to Hayama in the main house for the Shibata family.

Katsushige’s official status was an employee of the ministry of defense, and officially, he had been sent on a business trip to Miyako-jima for a long stay there. He probably shouldn’t have been met with personal hospitality from an acquaintance, but there was no one to condemn them for it here. No one even had to hide their criticism.

The reason was simple: the only people at the airport were people of the Shibata family.

Since Miyako-jima was the property of the Yotsuba family, Katsushige was met with a relatively comfortable atmosphere. Officially, the Island was owned by a real estate company whose main office was in Tokyo, but said company was controlled by the Yotsuba family.

Until two days ago, the island had been managed by the Mashiba family, which was also one of the side branches of the Yotsuba family. However, during the invasion of Stars, many people from the Mashiba family working on the island had been injured, leading to the control being transferred to the Shibata family.

The Mashiba family was good at observing and searching with mental-interference magic, while the Shibata family specialized more in combat – specifically, murder and espionage. The transfer in control had actually been planned for a while from when the island was transformed from a prison for criminal magicians into a secret research center for the Yotsuba family. While the Mashiba family’s detection skills were more suited to monitoring inmates, the Shibata family was far more suited to defending a research center.

Accompanied by his former guardian and now bride, Tsutsumi Kotona, as well as her younger brother his current guardian, Tsutsumi Kanata, Katsushige got into a car and headed for the island’s administration building.

***

By the time Lina had been informed about Katsushige’s arrival, she had already finished collecting the things in her room.

“I am ready to go at any time.”

Lina politely addressed Hanabishi Hyogo who was currently Tatsuya’s assistant. He had been assigned to the task of bringing Lina to Tokyo today.

“Then let’s go.”

Hyogo took Lina’s suitcase, opened the door, and invited her to follow him.

As she left her room, Lina looked back at her temporary home which she had occupied for less than a month. She muttered something quickly, and then she left the room.

Lina arrived at the Yotsuba family’s headquarters in Tokyo while it was still morning.

She left her baggage to Hyogo as she first visited Tatsuya and Miyuki’s apartment.

“Why was I called to Tokyo?” she asked.

She was now sitting at the dining table with Tatsuya and Miyuki. By the time she had arrived, food for her had already been prepared.

“I want to you to act as Miyuki’s guard.”

Tatsuya’s answer was direct, but it wasn’t enough for Lina to understand everything.

“…tell me the whole situation.”

Naturally, Lina asked for an explanation, and since Tatsuya didn’t have something urgent, he obliged.

“Journalists will probably target Miyuki after the press conference with Ichijou Masaki and Kichijouji Shinkuro. I’m worried about killers from the anti-magic movement as well as foreign agents who might try to abduct Miyuki mixed in with the journalists.

In order to avoid these attacks, your Parade is necessary.”

Tatsuya didn’t disclose all of the details, but he told her enough in his quick summarization for her to understand why she was asked to become Miyuki’s bodyguard.

“…well, I understand at least. But are you sure? Won’t you get in trouble if I show up in public?”

Lina was Angie Sirius, a strategic-class American magician currently considered to be a deserter by the USNA. While she was only temporarily hiding, the USNA government was demanding that Major Angie Sirius be extradited from the Japanese government, so if it became publicly known that the Yotsuba (specifically, Tatsuya) were hiding Lina, Tatsuya risked both the Japanese and American governments becoming his enemies.

In other words, it seemed to Lina like Tatsuya was poking a hornet’s nest to shake out a quarter.

“It doesn’t matter.”

However, Tatsuya responded to Lina’s concerns without hesitation.

“The army and government know we are hiding you, but America demanded the extradition of ‘Major Angie Sirius’. Unless you publicly declare ‘I am Angie Sirius’, neither the Japanese nor American government can officially do anything.

“I’m not going to do anything like that, but that still leaves the unofficial side.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I have to deal with that anyway, regardless.”

Tatsuya once again spoke without hesitation, and Lina’s face froze for a second.

“R-really…? If Tatsuya says this isn’t a problem, then I’m fine.”

“Thank you,” Tatsuya responded.

“Lina also is not afraid of the government? That’s promising.”

Miyuki had listened to Tatsuya and Lina’s conversation silently before this, but now she turned toward Lina with a smile on her face. While her words were odd, Lina didn’t need their meaning clarified.

“I’ve already been spotted on Miyako Island,” Lina clarified.

Since her location had been revealed, Japanese and American authorities could target there. Tatsuya and Miyuki didn’t need a further explanation.

“New killers would probably be sent if I continued hiding there, but in the center of a big city, they wouldn’t be able to act freely.”

Her voice was a little filled with despair.

Lina turned back to Tatsuya to ask about the main topic of the conversation.

“Okay, but what exactly do I need to do? Do I need to change Miyuki’s appearance with Parade every time I leave the house?”

“Yes.”

Tatsuya nodded in response to her question, but she still couldn’t completely understand with just an affirmation. He had answered her second question, but he still needed to explain the answer to her broader, first question.

“Lina, I would like you to go to First High again.”

“Huh? Do you want me to become a high school girl?”

“…what’s so surprising about that?”

Miyuki spoke up again to ask a question. She understood Lina not expecting Tatsuya’s response, but Miyuki thought Lina was far too surprised.

“Well, after all I’ve… isn’t it too late for me to go to high school…?”

“?”

Miyuki tilted her head and gave a questioning look, wondering the reason for Lina’s reluctance.

“Lina, you’re the same age as me, right? There’s nothing strange for us to be students in high school… unless you’re hiding your real age? And in face, you are really much older than me?”

“That’s not it at all! I really am only 17 years old!”

The month was currently July, with Miyuki being born in January and Lina in March.

Neither of them had celebrated their 18th birthday, making Tatsuya the only person in the room who had reached that milestone (more accurately, former milestone, since the official age of becoming an adult was currently 20).

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The task is fine, but it’s too late for me to go to high school…”

“…you mean that because you are already working, it’s too late to study?”

“I work… w-well, something like that.”

“But I heard that in America, retired soldiers often go to universities and business schools.”

“To universities!”

“So then, you are worried because this is high school?”

“Y-yes…”

The gaze Miyuki directed at Lina somehow seemed cold, making Lina feel strangely…

numb. This may not have just been in her imagination.

“Then you can consider your enrollment in First High to be part of your bodyguard work.”

Tatsuya decided to join in because Miyuki’s and Lina’s conversation wasn’t progressing.

“This is not an army mission, but if you consider this to be a means to do the work assigned to you, you won’t have to worry about how it looks.”

“Work… I see. After all, I agreed to work as a bodyguard, so it would be wrong to be ashamed of what I need to do to do the work.”

Lina looked like she was trying hard to agree, but her face betrayed subtle signs of joy.

While Lina was worried about becoming a High School student, it was probably less due to her image and more due to feeling it was wrong, so both Tatsuya and Miyuki thought that Lina may have actually wanted to go back to First High again.

“So you agree? The let’s go to First High.”

“Huh? You mean, right now?”

Lina’s eyes opened wide.

“Yes. Prior consent to your admission has already been given, but you still need to personally voice the request.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Lina realized that Tatsuya’s request was reasonable and didn’t resist.

“Miyuki will come with us. Lina, I’m sorry for relying on you so soon, but I need you.”

“You mean to change Miyuki’s appearance with Parade? Will do.”

Lina responded to Tatsuya’s request with some enthusiasm.

***

Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Lina headed west along the central highway in a sedan car driven by Tatsuya. Their destination was the First School of the National University of Magic in Hachioji.

They weren’t driving in the aircar, but rather an electric sedan. Unfortunately, the aircar only sat two people. There was a back seat, but if a third person sat in the car, everyone would be crowded. A four-seater was being assembled at the research center on Miyako-jima, but the engineers estimated it would still take 10 more days.

So today, they went not on the aircar, but on a regular electric sedan – except in this case, regular only meant that it couldn’t travel by air. The car wasn’t actually very normal, as it had a very powerful motor and protected the passengers with not just bullet-proof and shock-proof armor, but also gas filters.

Miyuki, who usually sat in front, next to Tatsuya, was now sitting in the back seat with Lina. They almost looked like twins with different hair color when sitting next to each other.

Miyuki now had a face just like Lina’s but with light brown eyes and light brown hair in a ponytail. This was what Miyuki’s face looked like under the effects of Lina’s Parade. Her hairstyle, the color of her hair, and the color of her eyes were different than Lina’s, who looked the same as she usually did, but other than that they looked exactly the same.

“When I look at you two, I can only think that you are close relatives.”

Tatsuya spoke his impression of the scene he saw in the rearview mirror. He acted normally, but his appearance had also changed. Now he looked like a handsome young man with an exotic foreign appearance. His impression was completely different – it was almost opposite him usually.

“But if we look so alike, won’t we instead attract attention?” Miyuki asked.

Her current appearance was still beautiful even if her appearance had changed from “calm” to “moving”.

“…no, a person who attracts attention to some extent is viewed better by observers.

People who try not to fall into others’ eyes seem more suspicious, as if they are secretly trying to make their way through a public area.”

“Ah. That’s how it is.”

Miyuki didn’t argue with Tatsuya’s logic, but he hadn’t completely convinced her.

“However, I don’t understand why Lina doesn’t change her appearance.”

“…if you don’t like it, I’ll change it…”

Lina pouted and turned to look out the window.

“That’s not necessary.”

Tatsuya wasn’t embarrassed by Lina’s mood and he answered her in an indifferent tone. He left his response at that and didn’t say anything sequel to it.

Feeling uncomfortable in the silence, Lina began to justify herself.

“…it’s very difficult to create the appearance of a completely fictional person from scratch.

It’s easier to model yourself, since you see yourself every day in the mirror.

It’s also helpful that Miyuki and I are about the same physique.”

As Lina said, their height difference wasn’t even a centimeter. The volume of their chest, waist, and hips were also about the same. Miyuki’s chest was a little bigger, but it wasn’t noticeable through clothes. It was quicker for Lina to hide Miyuki under an illusion based on her own body.

“Then did Onii-sama’s appearance come from a close friend of yours?”

Miyuki asked her question with obvious discontent since Tatsuya’s current look was not particularly to her taste.

Incidentally, Miyuki addressed Tatsuya as “Onii-sama” rather than “Tatsuya-sama” in front of Lina. From now on, they would live together for some time, so instead of constantly correcting themselves, they relied on saying “I just can’t get rid of the old habit.”

“Tatsuya’s face was taken from a young musician from New Mexico. He specializes in live performances and never appeared on TV or the network, so you don’t need to worry that he might be recognized, and even if someone could recognize him, they would only see Tatsuya as someone with a similar appearance because the hairstyle and body build are different.”

“…That is, you couldn’t finish it?”

“Nothing could be done… I have never played with a man before,” Lina said in order to justify Miyuki’s criticism.

Just before they left the house, a message came from First High notifying them that classes would be resumed starting tomorrow, so they knew that the school was closed today. The only people in the school right now were the security guards and a small part of the teaching staff with specific work to do.

Despite this lack of personnel and their disguise, Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Lina were able to drive through the gate without any problems. Tatsuya still had his ID, and though the picture was different than his current face, they had notified the school in advance that they would be coming in disguise and he passed the identity check through biometric identification.

The electric sedan was parked in the parking lot, and all three entered the school building through the entrance used by school personnel. When they approached the reception staff, Miyuki removed the cherry-colored elastic hairband from her head from which her pony tail was held.

Her current light brown hair spread over her back before turning to look more black and silk-like. Her hazel eyes became black as obsidian, and her facial features completely changed while remaining beautiful.

Now, the well-known Student Council President at First High stood in front of the reception staff.

The three reception staff were fascinated by her transformation, so they ignored Tatsuya’s and by the time they noticed him standing next to Miyuki, their views were shocked as if questioning “where did he come from?”.

Tatsuya was pleased with their suspicious glances.

“The disguise worked wel .”

He realize it was effective at hiding his and Miyuki’s identity based on their shock, relieving him. Then, without showing his mood, he addressed the employee in the window.

“We want to meet with the director.”

“We heard in advance about this.”

The staff didn’t treat them carelessly as they did other students. The female employee to whom Tatsuya voiced his request immediately got up, went into the corridor, and gestured for them to follow.

Tatsuya didn’t object and left her to lead them.

The director’s office was located on the ground floor, near the main entrance, and the arrival of the three had been communicated internally, so by the time the receptionist leading them knocked on the director’s door, an employee was ready and responded quickly.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Tatsuya said.

Tatsuya, Lina, and Miyuki entered the office while the receptionist and the employee who opened the door stayed in the hallway. Tatsuya and Miyuki were dressed in the school’s summer uniforms while Lina was wearing a knee-length pleated skirt as well as a formal blouse with a thin ribbon.

Two people were waiting for them in the office: the director and the deputy director.

Director Momoyama was sitting at the table, while Deputy Director Yaosaka stood to the side.

“Come on in.” Momoyama ordered them with an arrogant tone, still sitting.

Following his instructions, Tatsuya moved forward and stood in front of the table. Lina stood behind him to the right while Miyuki stood behind him to the left (the side of his heart).

“Thank you very much for taking your time today despite your busy schedule.”

After saying this, Tatsuya bowed low. Miyuki and Lina also gave a polite bow, but theirs didn’t extend to their backs. They had still lowered their heads to him, though, so it was still polite enough for the situation.

“I heard about your situation from your mother.”

Momoyama didn’t waste his own time with formalities, getting right to the point.

“In that case, I will repeat the request. Could you allow this girl, Angelina Kudou Shields-san, into the school as a student?”

“I am aware of your situation,” Momoyama replied as he transferred his gaze from Tatsuya to Lina.

Lina froze under the influence of his sharp look, feeling pressured by it, as if it were penetrating her.

Keeping a stern face, Momoyama spoke to Lina in a serious voice.

“I myself teach in the walls of this school. I don’t reject those who seek knowledge. If you truly want to study here, then as the person in charge of First High, I will take you as an apprentice.”

“I really want to!”

Lina answered immediately. Even she hadn’t expected her energy and her comment came off as more intense than she had intended.

She looked away in shame after such a display, but Momoyama wasn’t embarrassed and didn’t feel mocked, instead nodding in satisfaction at her ready and enthusiastic answer.

“Actually, the Ministry of Defense tried to pressure us not to enroll you in our school.”

“I… apologize for the inconvenience.”

Tatsuya couldn’t hide his surprise, amazed that the military would act so directly.

“Shiba-kun, you don’t need to apologize. Obviously I’m not going to obey those stubborn people.”

True to his usual self, Momoyama didn’t allow himself to be influenced by anyone else – after all, if he didn’t bow to the Yotsuba, why would he bow to the military?

There was not a hint of a smile on Momoyama’s face.

“I can’t allow magicians to be denied education. Shields-kun, your grandfather Kudou Ken-si felt the same.”

“…were you familiar with my grandfather?” Lina asked.

“Your grandfather and I were like-minded in the matter of how to teach young people born to magicians. I respected him as an elder friend of mine, almost like a big brother.”

Momoyama’s eyes showed a sense of nostalgia that seemed to sparkle with a soft light.

Lina was stunned, not expecting to find an acquaintance.

“Kudou Retsu – your grandfather’s older brother – fought to protect magician’s rights by using his status. Kudou Ken worked with him by urging magicians to receive education. Kudou Retsu was forced to give up the rank of Lieutenant General for this and Kudou Ken was expelled from Japan and sent to America. But their actions were not in vain. The current policy the Nine Magic High Schools of the University of Magic pursue is to an extent the result of Kudou Ken’s work.”

“…I didn’t know that.”

“It’s forbidden to disclose it to the public,” Tatsuya answered, joining in.

After Tatsuya’s honest statement, Momoyama smiled for the first time, but it conveyed bitterness.

“I also share the beliefs of Kudou Ken. Therefore, Shields-kun, I will not allow the army to undermine your right to an education, no matter what country the army belongs to.”

“…thank you very much.”

Lina bowed with a submissive face.

“But,” Momoyama continued, “if your goal turns out to be something other than learning, you can’t hope for any protection from me.”

“I really do want to learn. I want to go to this school.”

“Then I, Momoyama Azuma, will fulfill this request, provided you pass the entrance exams.”

“In that case, let her pass these entrance exams,” Tatsuya said.

Tatsuya was surprised at Lina’s enthusiasm. While he had expected that she did want to come back to First High, he was slightly shocked at just how much she seemed to want to. However, he hid is surprise and calmly asked for her to take the exams.

Unlike the rest of the conversation, though, his request was directed at the deputy director Yaosaka.

“If Shields-san doesn’t mind, we’ll organize the entrance exams to be tomorrow,”

Yaosaka responded.

“Tomorrow…”

Lina’s face completely changed as she mumbled in a stunned voice. Yaosaka smiled at Lina, ignoring her tone of voice.

“The exams will be on your magical theory and practice. If you, Shields-san, have retained the abilities you showed in your first year of study, then you will definitely pass the exams. The decision on enrollment will be made on the spot, so you can start going to school the day after tomorrow.”

“…I will try to pass,” Lina replied in a formal tone.

When they finally left the director’s office, Lina sighed in relief. She looked very nervous, but Tatsuya and Miyuki didn’t touch on that topic, interpreting her behavior as a result from being used to army orders.

“Don’t worry, Lina. I will help you prepare,” Miyuki offered.

“Really…?”

Lina looked like she wanted to escape for a moment.

“…thanks.”

In the end, however, she agreed with a hopeless face.

While Miyuki was primarily with them to test Parade, they planned to get questions from past tests if they had access to the school board room in order to prepare for the entrance exam. Unfortunately, however, it turned out that even the president of the student council couldn’t use the school facilities when the school was closed. Because of this, they had no reason to stay in school, and Tatsuya asked Lina to reactivated Parade.

“Lina, please.”

“Alright.”

Lina nodded in response to Tatsuya’s request while Miyuki removed the dark blue hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair back.

Miyuki nodded towards Lina, who was looking at her.

The transformation was instant.

Miyuki’s black hair turned light brown.

Her hair tie became a cherry color.

Her eye color changed to match her new hair.

She once again became a girl that looked nothing like Miyuki but very similar to Lina.

“I think this will remain amazing every time I see it.”

Tatsuya’s own face had changed as well, and he expressed his impressions of Miyuki out loud. Even his voice had changed to fit his face.

“Do you like this one more?” Miyuki asked with a strange face.

“No, I think your face is best.”

“…thank you very much.”

However, her usual embarrassment after being complimented by Tatsuya didn’t appear.

Lina’s tired face watching the two also didn’t differ from the usual.

 

When they returned home, Miyuki immediately dragged Lina to her room in order to prepare for the exams, as she had promised back in the school building.

Lina’s entrance exams into First High were tomorrow. She had less than half a day left to prepare. Tatsuya didn’t think there was any sense in cramming right before the exam, but he didn’t stop them since Miyuki had already made promised and Lina had already agreed. He didn’t have any reason to force his opinion on them.

Instead, Tatsuya headed to the “meditation room” located on the same floor as the training room. It was a room dedicated to using magic by increasing one’s focus through meditation.

The room was isolated from light, sound, and vibrations – all possible causes of distraction. It maintained a constant, comfortable temperature, and noise was kept to a certain level. It was a favorable environment for using magic that required high concentration of the mind.

Therefore, it shouldn’t even need to be mentioned that Tatsuya came to this room to search for Minami. However, unlike his method yesterday, today he wasn’t going to try and force his way through Minoru’s disguising magic.

Tatsuya had already succeeded in finding Minami through Minoru’s Parade – while it was only a short time, he had found her approximate whereabouts after succeeding in canceling Minoru’s Parade. However, he still couldn’t find Minoru’s shelter after searching the area he found in person. There was no reason for him to break through Parade again only to be stopped once more by the local concealment magic built by Zhou Gongjin.

While Tatsuya hadn’t managed to actually find Minami, he had still found vital information:

Minami was still human.

She had no yet become a Parasite.

Tatsuya didn’t know how to prevent her from becoming a Parasite by using the information dimension or if it was even possible, but he at least knew that it wasn’t too late to save her. This fact gave him enough willpower to push through any doubts that he wouldn’t be able to succeed.

Tatsuya sat directly on the wooden floor of the spacious 8 tatami room.

Miyuki wasn’t in his physical reach at the moment so he couldn’t fully use his Elemental Sight to search, but he already knew he was able to find Minami’s Eidos even without taking his sight off of Miyuki after yesterday.

Mobilizing all his free resources to look for Minami, he checked her condition.

“Her physical data is stil human.

Also, her psionic waves don’t contain anything inherent to Parasites.”

With this, Tatsuya was sure that Minami still hadn’t turned into a Parasite.

“There was no change in the information around the coordinates. It’s stil in the Sea of Trees with an error of about 100 meters.

But… the coordinates changed? Did Minoru notice my observation?”

Tatsuya knew that Minoru had detected his initial search through the information dimension, but he wasn’t sure whether he had detected his later observation in the physical realm. The first illusion hadn’t fooled him yesterday because he had seen it before.

“I can stil read Minami’s physical condition even if it’s blocked by Parade.”

All of Tatsuya’s attention yesterday had been directed towards determining Minami’s location, so he hadn’t had detected any other relevant information.

This time, Tatsuya had learned from that and maintained his discipline as he continued to observe. He had come to the conclusion that yesterday he was not sufficiently assembled and calm, so he made sure that he was completely focused today by meditating and calming his mind.

Minoru’s magic was slightly unstable – probably a combination of lingering effects from Cocytus as well as Tatsuya’s attack the day before. Because of this, his Parade was more visible than the day before.

“This is completely different from Lina’s version…?”

While both Minoru’s and Lina’s Parade had the same effect – masking information about the body – the specific processes they used to achieve this effect differed widely.

“Can I disperse it now…? No, I still don’t have enough.”

Tatsuya received a more detailed response than yesterday from Minoru’s magic sequence, but he still didn’t have enough to completely decompose the magic. He needed more detailed structural information.

Tatsuya focused his gaze.

However, Minoru’s magic suddenly stopped fluctuating and regained its stability and the crack through which Tatsuya was able to view the structural information closed.

Tatsuya tried using Gram Dispersion anyway, despite the lack of information.

Based on the new information he gained by reading past changes while the spell fluctuated, Tatsuya decomposed the information body making up the phenomena.

“…it didn’t work?”

Tatsuya still couldn’t decompose a hidden sequence of magic in his current state.

However, he didn’t hurry himself this time. Remembering yesterday’s experience, he decided to temporarily stop searching.

“If I can’t acquire the required information by observation, maybe I can obtain data in another way.”

Rather than continue walking into his current dead end hoping to break through the path, Tatsuya decided to turn back and find a new one.

Minoru and Lina both use Parade originating from the Kudou. Therefore, the Kudou family must have improved the spell after Kudou Ken left for America since Lina’s spell differed from Minoru’s.

If Minoru added the adjustments himself, there wouldn’t be that much of a difference.

Even with his outstanding intellect, he wouldn’t be able to quickly improve the spell.

Therefore, if Tatsuya could learn about the spell from the Kudou family, the probability of him being able to overcome Minoru’s disguise would greatly increase.

Tatsuya stopped meditating, got up, and started thinking about a negotiation plan.

About an hour after Tatsuya stopped pressuring him, Minoru sighed with relief, relaxing. He was in a comfortably reclined on a cushioned recliner, but he had still involuntarily overworked himself. Exhausted, he leaned all the way back in his chair.

Today’s attack hadn’t been the same as yesterday. Minoru had felt a similar pressure at the end, but for the most part, the pressure today had been more creepy – almost sinister. He hadn’t felt attacked, just… watched.

Minoru did not feel any hope from the lack of an offensive attack. There was no way Tatsuya had given up. It was almost worse that he was only being watched – Minoru had no idea what Tatsuya knew, what he was doing. He worried that Tatsuya had found some vulnerability in Parade that Minoru hadn’t noticed. Maybe he had stopped watching because he had found what he was looking for.

Despite this, Minoru was confident in Parade. The spell had been developed by the Ninth Laboratory before being further perfected by Kudou Retsu.

It used to be said that Kudou Ken was a more advanced user of Parade, so Minoru believed that his grandfather had continued to improve the magic sequence to win against his younger brother in skill. Minoru knew his grandfather was very proud of it

– it was the magic he had put his heart into to achieve the point of being called the

“most skilled in the world.” Minoru believed that even Tatsuya wouldn’t be able to find any defects in the magic.

However, Minoru knew that he couldn’t just rely on his belief. His worry came from the fact that even though the chance was incredibly small, the chance that Tatsuya had found or could find a weakness existed. In addition, though his current shelter had not yet been discovered, both Tatsuya and then Ten Master Clans knew it was in the Sea of Trees. He had to move to a new location where he wouldn’t be chased, just in case.

Knowing this, Minoru made a decision to help Lu Ganghu enter the country to gather the attention of the self-defense forces – and, hopefully, Tatsuya and the Ten Master Clans as well.

Minoru chose to betray his homeland to give Minami a choice about her future.

To complete his work, he stood up, walked over to the table, and opened a special application to send an anonymous message.

The soldiers of the platoon of strike infantry from the first division of the national self-defense forces – the Sword Corps, currently stationed at the military base adjacent to the training ground east of Mount Fuji – were currently depressed in their barracks.

The had come to this base on the third of July to arrest the Parasite Kudou Minoru, who had kill Kudou Retsu – a former general of the self-defense forces. They had spent 6 days (including the day of arrival) without any leads and without work, but yesterday, they had finally received information from the Juumonji family that Minoru was hiding in the Sea of Trees. Enthused, the fighters moved to search for the villain’s hideout.

But in the end, they found… nothing.

Not only had they failed to find the shelter, they hadn’t even found a single trace of wheels after a thorough search.

The soldiers didn’t think the Juumonji family had lied, but some at least grinned at the fact that the Ten Master Clans had also been fooled.

After a day of searching for the shelter, the officers came to the conclusion that Kudou Minoru was not hiding in the Sea of Trees, so their mission to capture Kudou Minoru had gone back to the beginning.

Without leads, everyone was ordered to wait in the provided accommodation on the base. They didn’t have any way to leave, but they were at least able to rest. Since as soldier’s, they didn’t drink during the day, most of them simply lounged around, resting from yesterday’s bustle.

That’s why the message that came in the evening caught them by surprise, tensing them in both body and mind.

The soldiers quickly gathered in the conference hall looking rested but alert – the sudden order gave everyone the feeling that something was wrong.

The commander of the detachment took the podium and asked everyone to sit down.

After an introduction, he came to the main topic:

“About an hour ago, we received an anonymous text message.”

A third of the soldiers present exchanged glances with other, but the commander heard their whispers and paused until the noise died down.

“The intelligence department couldn’t find the source of the message, but the message wasn’t malicious at least. The main problem, however, is the content of the message.”

The commander stopped and looked around for a moment. The atmosphere was filled with tension.

“A sabotage detachment from the Great Asian Alliance has entered Japan. His goal is to murder the Strategic Class magician who escaped to our country, Liu Li Lei. The commander of this detachment is Lu Ganghu.”

This time, the noise in the hall was more audible. Many of the people gathered –

including Chiba Naotsugu and Watanabe Mari – unconsciously muttered the commander of the detachment from the GAA’s name.

The commander of the Sword Corps ordered support in intercepting the sabotage detachment sent by the GAA. They had two goals. First: protect Komatsu base. And second: capture or eliminate Lu Ganghu.

Half of the Sword Corps would depart tomorrow and act separately from the remaining force.

The shipped half included Naotsugu and Mari.

Naotsugu heard on knock on his door as he was preparing for tomorrow’s departure.

His room was small and narrow, and half of it was occupied by his bed and wardrobe.

He walked to the door in just three steps, and, twisting and pulling the doorknob, said

“come in.”

Outside his room was a woman in the corridor from the same squad as him.

“Xu, are you free right now?”

“Of course.”

The visitor to his room was his beloved Mari.

“Sorry to trouble you…”

Mari spoke in an indecisive tone. It was already late evening, and Naotsugu was supposed to be busy preparing for tomorrow’s action.

“Mari, have you finished packing?”

“Of course.”

“Did you just find that bag with a changeable strap?”

Naotsugu teased Mari for her aversion to tidying up.

“How rude. I am a woman,” she responded.

“Sorry, sorry. But, I don’t think there is a rule that one is able to maintain order just by being a woman.”

Naotsugu was still smiling in his apology, but Mari wasn’t angry. While her pride was being insulted, she was willing to accept it – partly because it was somewhat true, and partly because it was from the one she loved.

She knew that she was disorganized, especially compared to other women, but she currently lived in army quarters. She couldn’t afford to be sloppy and make a mess like she did at home, so she kept her clothes washed, her toothbrush dried, and her comb in ready in her bag every day.

Mari was ready to leave at a moment’s notice – as she had to be, due to the nature of the army. That’s why she had prepared so quickly.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Naotsugu asked.

He stopped his teasing to ask a more serious question. He stopped smiling despite his happiness – while he wanted to see the face of his beloved, his lover was serious. She wouldn’t come late at night just to fool around.

“Xu, I would like to hear your opinion…”

Naotsugu motioned for Mari to sit on the bed before continuing. Mari obliged and sat down before asking about the expected topic.

“Tomorrow’s departure… couldn’t this just be a ploy to divert our attention?”

However, the content of the question went way beyond his expectations.

“…you think the penetration of the Great Asian Alliance might be a hoax?” Naotsugu asked.

“It might be, but even if it is true, why was the information sent here?”

“I don’t know that either – it’s a strange, illegal message from an unknown source, so I don’t know how much we can trust the content of the message, either. …Mari, you think that the message containing secret data was sent in order to stop our search for Kudou Minoru?”

Mari nodded hesitantly to answer.

“I… still believe that Kudou Minoru is hiding somewhere in the Sea of Trees.”

“Even after our searches?” Naotsugu confirmed.

“I don’t think Juumonji would have sent unreliable information, Xu.”

Mari was looking at the floor – perhaps she didn’t have enough self-confidence to defend her opinion while looking Naotsugu in the eye – but her voice was no longer as indecisive. She had grown more confident than she had been initially, even if she was still nervous.

“…the current head of the Juumonji family was your classmate, right? So you know his character well?”

“I practically know him personally. I don’t know everything – I can’t say what his hobbies are or his favorite food – but I do know one thing for sure: that man will not make irresponsible statements. If he doesn’t know something, he will say he doesn’t know it. If Juumonji said ‘Kudou Minoru hid in Aokigahara,’ Kudou Minoru is hiding in Aokigahara – maybe behind an unknown magic.”

Mari finally raised her head and looked straight at Naotsugu.

“…Xu. I can’t think otherwise.”

“I see.”

Naotsugu met Mari’s eyes with his own before nodding.

“I don’t know the character of the head of the Juumonji family, but if you say so, then the information from Juumonji Katsuto-si is trustworthy, and your idea that Kudou Minoru is hiding behind unknown magic is also likely.”

“Xu…”

Naotsugu didn’t look away from Mari’s eyes full of emotion.

“Kudou Minoru is a magician of the Ninth lab who defeated the elder. Perhaps his knowledge and abilities after becoming a Parasite allow him to freely use all of the secret techniques from the Ninth lab. But…”

“But?” Mari asked.

“But even if this is just to distract us – we still have to appear tomorrow.”

“…because this is an order?”

“Of course, that. But more importantly, if there is a chance that Lu Ganghu has entered the country, I can’t just leave it unaddressed.”

Two years ago, Naotsugu fought against Lu Ganghu right before the Yokohama incident. The fight had ended with injuries on each side, but if Naotsugu had been conquered that time, many other Japanese magicians would have fallen victim to the ensuing assault on the Kanto branch of the Magic Association – possibly including Mari. Remembering this, Naotsugu wanted to avoid this happening again no matter what.

“If he really had entered the country, this time I need to finish him off,” Naotsugu said.

“…I understand. But, if you’re talking about your connection to him, I have also fought him in the past.”

Mari had also exchanged blows with Lu Ganghu – and not just once, but twice.

While each time had ended in a victory for Mari’s side, however, neither time had been her own achievement.

She had been successful the first time because Lu Ganghu had already been wounded by Naotsugu.

And in the second time, Mayumi had been the one to strike the final blow.

Mari also had a desire to stop him, even if it wasn’t as strong as Naotsugu’s.

“I don’t have any personal reason to chase Kudou Minoru. If I hadn’t been ordered by the army, I probably wouldn’t have ever gotten involved in this – so, this new order has a higher priority to me.”

“…yeah. We work on both cases at once, and our priority should fall in stopping Lu Ganghu.”

Around the time Mari and Naotsugu had their conversation in Naotsugu’s narrow room, Kazama called Tatsuya to warn him.

“Tatsuya, I will say this again. I want you to stop doing things as stupid as sending Angie Sirius to school, putting her in the eye of the public.”

“And I will repeat this: our family took care of Angelina Kudou Shields-san, not Major Angie Sirius.”

“…do you really think that such an excuse will work?”

“You think I’m joking?”

Tatsuya was speaking in a carefree tone in contrast to Kazama’s stern voice, so it wasn’t entirely unreasonable for the answer to that question to be “yes”.

“Major Angie Sirius has a rather remarkable appearance – a height of 170 centimeters with dark red hair and golden eyes. Lina’s appearance with light blue eyes and blond hair, while fairly rare and an ethnic peculiarity given her ancestry, is completely different from Major Angie Sirius. And, even ignoring eye and hair color – they have a completely different physique,” Tatsuya continued.

“Angie Sirius is a Parade user! She can take any shape!”

“But has the USNA government acknowledged this? Have they confirmed that Angelina Kudou Shields is Major Angie Sirius?”

“…no, they haven’t confirmed it.”

“Then, has the embassy demanded a citizen of their country, hiding here, be released, or required that we extradite a criminal?”

“…there wasn’t anything like that, either.”

“Then, since Shields-san is not confirmed to be Major Sirius, we don’t have any need to transfer her to America.”

“Tatsuya… do you really intend to start a feud with the army? Is Angie Sirius so valuable to you?”

“Lieutenant Colonel, do not misunderstand me. I have no intention to fight the military.”

Tatsuya immediately answered, but after a short pause, he added:

“On my side, at least, there is no hostility.”

Later that night, shortly before the date would change from July 10 to July 11, Lina was still in Miyuki’s room.

Lina’s home was on the same floor as Tatsuya and Miyuki, but it was in a different apartment. There was a separate lockable door with a separate bathroom, toilet, living room, and bedroom.

Despite this, Lina remained in Miyuki’s room.

This wasn’t because Lina’s room hadn’t been prepared.

As could be deduced, they were preparing for Lina’s entrance exams tomorrow.

Lina sat at the table Miyuki usually used. Miyuki sat next to her like a tutor.

“Isn’t it getting late?” Miyuki said.

After Miyuki said this, Lina weakly fel onto the table, face down.

“I’m…tired…”

Lina moaned this statement and held her head face down in her arms, which were folded on the table.

“You’re exaggerating.”

Miyuki smiled slightly at Lina’s seeming exhaustion.

“I’m not exaggerating! I categorically affirm my fatigue!”

Lina jumped from her chair and protested in a manner that contrasted her statement.

Miyuki bent her head from Lina’s belligerence.

“I thought this was normal behavior before an exam…”

Lina’s face turned noticeably pale.

“This… is normal for you…? Really…? Maybe it’s because you’re special, Miyuki…”

“What is special about this…? After al , we only spent five hours studying…”

“If you only look at the time after the fact, it doesn’t seem significant, but ordinary people can’t maintain their concentration for that long!”

“Onii-sama is much more amazing.”

“Tatsuya is far from ordinary! Can’t you cite other examples?”

“Other people with whom I study?”

Lina touched on a slightly sensitive subject.

“Of course I can. Honoka, Shizuku, Minami-chan…”

Miyuki stopped suddenly. Lina’s faced turned into an expression of guilt and she hid behind her hand.

While she didn’t know the details of what happened, she knew that something troubling had occurred, and tried to avoid the topic despite being interested. She was aware enough not to force her way into someone else’s business, but Lina thought that she had accidentally stumbled onto a minefield with her careless tired statement.

“Hey… what happened the day before yesterday?”

Lina could have just returned to her room and acted as if nothing had happened, but Lina dared to ask the question, believing it would be best if she knew the situation.

“I’ve never seen Tatsuya’s face like that before – the face he had when he contacted me the day before yesterday. Miyuki, what happened to you?”

Miyuki’s eyes quivered, but after much hesitation, she nodded, deciding to talk to Lina.

“The day before yesterday, I was really shocked, but… everything is in order now, thanks to Onii-sama’s support.”

Miyuki said she was fine, but Lina didn’t believe her completely – if she was fine, why did she react so much after thinking about Minami?

The topic had a deep imprint on Minami’s mind. She had paused for so long that there was clearly pain.

However, her statement hadn’t been entirely a lie. Miyuki had been able to overcome herself and speak with a kind smile that hadn’t felt forced or fake.

“Do… you want to listen?”

Miyuki was interested in telling Lina everything.

So, Miyuki spoke, telling Lina all the details from when Minoru abducted Minami, and after that, she added Tatsuya’s opinion on Minami’s reason to the story with which he had reassured Miyuki.

“I… think Tatsuya is correct, at least somewhat,” Lina said after she finished listening to Miyuki.

“What Onii-sama said – do you mean his words about Minami-chan’s feelings…?”

“Yes. I don’t know what kind of person Minami is, but I can understand Tatsuya’s words in that he doesn’t want you to kill a person you know. If Tatsuya thinks that Minami had the same motive, I’m sure he’s correct.”

In Stars, Lina had to eliminate combat magicians who had committed serious crimes, and among the targets were former colleagues from Stars.

Lina had experienced how difficult it was to aim a weapon – whether guns or magic

– at a comrade and pull the trigger. She was certain Tatsuya understood this, as well as Minami, at least hypothetically.

“…thank you Lina.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that.”

Lina averted her eyes from Miyuki’s intent gaze, confused, as her cheeks slightly reddened.