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.
"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?"
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.
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?"
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.
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."
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 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, 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.
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 body 46 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.
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.
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 familiar 47 …..?)
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 — "Ghost 48 " 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?"
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.
"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.
But Ricci's magic didn't activate; the activation sequence was destroyed before it could be read 49 .
"Didn't you learn from what happened to Louisa, how did she end up like that?"
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?]
[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.
[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.
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 soldier 50 ."
"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."
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."
"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.
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