Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Magian Company - Volume 2 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: [New Humanity Front (Afterwards)] 

June 11th, Friday evening. 

Ryousuke had left the Industrial Magic Academy early to come to the police station. 

And by "left early", it merely meant that he finished his shift earlier than usual, because the Industrial Magic Academy's work schedule was super-flexible. Ryousuke usually adhered to the "come to work in the morning, and go home in the evening" routine, even though there were no rules or regulations mandating it. He left the office at least an hour earlier than his usual time because he had been asked by the police yesterday. 

The charges of excessive self-defense in regards to the matter in which Mayumi was attacked in front of the company housing the day before yesterday had already been cleared. The purpose of today's call wasn't to interrogate Ryousuke, but a request for his cooperation in solving the case. 

The young detective with whom he had a heated exchange — verbally, of course — on the day before yesterday walked up to Ryousuke and showed him to the visiting room. It wasn't a digital visiting room, which was a rarity nowadays. Instead, it was the old-fashioned style, where one would face the suspect with a transparent shield in between them. Unlike the old days though, there were no gaps and no wires through the shield. This would normally muffle the voice from either side, but that was solved with the development of new materials. 

Sitting on the other side of the transparent shield was a young man of about the same age as Ryousuke. This was the third time they met each other. His name was Fukami Yasuhiro; an Extra of the "Two". And, the sub-leader of the New Humanity Front, as an older female detective, who was working with the young detective, explained yesterday. 

Ryousuke was called in because Fukami had strongly requested to speak with him. He said he wouldn't agree to answering any questions unless he was allowed to speak with Ryousuke. That was what he said to the detective. Ryousuke thought that this was a lot of nerve for someone in the leadership of a criminal organization to say. 

"Tookami……" 

Fukami looked up when he noticed Ryousuke had entered the room. 

Unlike the first time they met, he didn't call Ryousuke "Tookami-san". If his timid attitude at that time was an act, now he appeared to be rather arrogant and tense. Perhaps this attitude was just an empty gesture, even more than before. 

"I heard you wanted to talk to me." 

Ryousuke started as he sat down. Fukami kept his composure. At the very least, he didn't show any indication of lashing out at the sight of Ryousuke's face. 

"There is something I wanted to ask you." 

Even though he was using polite words, his arrogant impression remained the same. His language was polite to a certain extent, but his tone sounded haughty. 

"Something you wanted to ask?" 

"Yes. For future reference." 

Ryousuke frowned. 

"I don't know what you mean by future. I've never served time neither in Japan nor in America, so I can't give you any advice on living in jail." 

This was of course a joke. As Fukami was sure to receive a unsuspended prison sentence. Magician criminals didn't qualify for probation. That might sound like an urban myth, but there were virtually no cases of people managing to reintegrate into society after serving their sentences. It was hard to imagine that Fukami would have a "future". 

"I don't need any advice. It wouldn't be of much use anyway." 

He made it sound as if he would be released from a penal institution in a heartbeat. 

"That….. no, it's nothing." 

Ryousuke stopped himself from asking him what he meant by that. There might be someone powerful enough to twist the judicial system behind Fukami's back, he thought, and he wanted nothing to do with that. 

"Then what? If it's not for advice, what is it you want to ask?" 

"Tookami, do you not feel hopeless about the society surrounding us?" 

Ryousuke's eyebrows twitched. But that was the only sign of his emotions that were exposed. Any intense emotions were kept rather far away from his facial muscles. 

"Feeling hopeless about what? I have so many things in mind, I can't tell which one you're talking about." 

Ryousuke's response was met with a snort from Fukami, who also snickered. 

"What a dull joke." 

"I didn't mean to make a joke." 

Ryousuke's voice and expression bore a hint of displeasure. He, in fact, couldn't count the number of times he had felt hopeless. To the point where he wouldn't even consider "feeling hopeless" lightly. 

"I beg your pardon. Let me put it another way. Don't you think the Extras' situation is inexcusable?" 

"I do." 

Ryousuke answered immediately, without needing to think about it. After answering, a thought of anger of "why would you ask such an obvious question" crossed his mind. 

"Did you do anything to protest against it?" 

Fukami continued to ask, to which Ryousuke just shook his head, conveying "No", as his answer. 

"The reason you didn't protest is because you felt hopeless, thinking it would be useless to raise your voice, wasn't it?" 

"Yes." 

Ryousuke had no qualms about admitting Fukami's assumption. 

Persecution of Extras was forbidden in the contemporary Japanese magic community. Discrimination against Extras had long become a shameful practice quite some time ago. Nowadays, Extras could get a license and establish themselves as Magicians, that was, as long as they kept their status as Extras a secret. 

On the other hand, the magic that Extras specialized in weren't well accepted by the magic community. Only the magic other than the ones that were the cause of the removal of the numbers were recognized. Certainly, it was possible to earn the same treatment as other magicians as long as the person improved in magic other than their signature spell. However, it was a clear handicap to have your greatest expertise not recognized, even in the same field of specialization. 

However, even if you used this fact to complain that "discrimination against Extras was still going on" you would be met with silence. The reason was that no one except the overwhelming minority of Extras were bothered by this. Because he understood that, Ryousuke couldn't bother to even try. 

"What about the violation of Magician's human rights? Don't you think it's unforgivable?" 

"Yeah, I think so." 

"But you, you didn't do anything about it." 

"That's right." 

"And you thought it would also be useless to try to make a move?" 

"Yeah." 

The relationship between Magians and the Majority was similar to the relationship between Extras and ordinary Magicians: Magians complained about human rights violations, but were then disregarded because "it didn't affect the Majority" or even because "the Majority wanted to draw a clear distinction". 

No matter how many voices a minority group raised, if they couldn't sway the public opinion, they wouldn't achieve anything. 

And that wasn't limited to just Magians. 

"Tookami, you did the right thing. That's the right answer." 

After saying that, Fukami's eyes suddenly took on a certain glint. 

"But I, I didn't resign myself to that despair! I took my case to the public to correct the mistake!" 

Fukami's voice was ingrained with a vicious heat, akin to the miasma that emanated from a crater. 

"And it, too, was useless of course! People won’t listen to the voice of someone with no power and no achievements, no matter how correct it may be." 

"Power is best known by the achievements, and achievements are what you make." 

Ryousuke pointed out Fukami's misconception. Achievements that "sway public opinion" were made by continuing to raise your voice, and when people see that, they would then acknowledge that you have the power to influence society. 

"That's absolutely right!" 

Whatever was going through Fukami's mind, made him nod widely to the candid advice, and perhaps even sarcasm, directed at himself. 

"That's why we've decided to build a track record; achievements! And if we don't have the power to create a track record through legitimate means, then we have no choice but to break the law to some extent!" 

"If you don't have any power, maybe." 

Ryousuke's "power" was something different from the "power" that Fukami spoke of. But Ryousuke didn't feel under the obligation to elaborate on that. 

"Then, Tookami, why didn't you do that? Why did you interfere with us?" 

"Even if I don't have any achievements to showcase to the world right now, I'm not going to resort to crime." 

"Even if you're powerless and can't do anything about it?" 

"Yes." 

"Why not!?" 

Fukami stood up, shouting in agitation. 

A policeman who had been stationed behind Fukami pinned him down. 

Fukami struggled violently, trying to shake off the officer's hold. 

"Because that person doesn't want it." 

But after hearing Ryousuke's calm yet firm answer, Fukami suddenly stopped his violent flailing. 

"……I see, so that's why. You are that person's slave, aren't you?" 

"That person doesn't want that, but I don't mind being a slave." 

Fukami became calm and composed, as if something had just possessed him. 

"……Tookami, I don't have anything more to discuss with you. I doubt we will ever meet again." 

"I also don't think I want to see you again." 

There were no more words from Fukami. 

Ryousuke turned to the detective who had brought him here, after they nodded back, he left the visiting room. 

June 12th, Saturday. Tatsuya invited Masaki over for dinner. 

The place wasn't the Yotsuba family's building, but a well-established ryotei 77 in the city center. The place was famous amongst some people as being used by politicians for closed-door meetings. 

Tatsuya wasn't alone, Miyuki accompanied him. This wasn't a move with the intent of easing the negotiation with Masaki. It would be rude to think that way, not only towards Masaki, but also towards Miyuki. 

In fact, Masaki didn't lose sight of his own standing when Miyuki offered him alcohol and poured him a drink. Nor did it seem to impair his judgment. 

"……In other words, you're saying that the Yotsuba family happened to catch the leader of the New Humanity Front?" 

"Yes, I received information from a particular gentleman that the leader of the group, Kurenai Anzu, had been hiding in the mansion of the younger brother of the head of the Izayoi family. Upon questioning, we learned that she was undoubtedly the leader of the New Humanity Front that attacked the museum in Itoigawa and the excavation site in Hida-Takayama." 

"A particular gentleman?" 

"Yes, from one of those people whose wishes the Ten Master Clans cannot ignore." 

Seeing his reaction, Tatsuya assumed that Masaki hadn't yet been told about the Senate. 

Even if it didn't ring a bell, Masaki seemed to have guessed that it was something that shouldn't be sought after in detail. He didn't ask any further questions about the source of the information. 

"Was the Izayoi family in league 78 with them?" 

Masaki asked this instead. 

"Unfortunately, we’ve found no evidence of complicity between the Izayoi family and the New Humanity Front. No matter how suspicious it may seem, we can't do anything without proof." 

"Even the Yotsuba family?" 

"…………" 

"……Sorry. That was a slip of the tongue." 

Masaki's remark was akin to labeling the Yotsuba family as a group of outlaws. 

When Tatsuya silently berated him for it, Masaki bowed his head in compliance. 

"No, that was thoughtless on my part too, please pretend I never asked about the Izayoi family." 

With those words, Tatsuya accepted Masaki's apology. 

"Alright." 

"So, while we've got the New Humanity Front leader in our custody, we'd like to leave her in the hands of the Ichijou family." 

Hearing this proposal, Masaki's brow furrowed quizzically. 

"Why my family? Shouldn't the Yotsuba family just keep the credit for this?" 

Right after Masaki asked that, a person called out from outside the room, "Sir, your companion has arrived". 

"Please let her through." 

Tatsuya promptly responded. 

"Did you invite someone other than me?" 

Masaki asked and almost simultaneously the fusuma 79 doors slid open. 

"Excuse me……. I'm afraid I'm late." 

The figure of the person, Mayumi, entered while apologizing. 

"No need, don't worry about it. Tonight I have invited you as an apology and to offer an explanation, not as a director of the Magian Company, but as a member of the Yotsuba family, so there's no need to be tense." 

Tatsuya said so, and offered Mayumi a seat next to Masaki. 

As soon as Mayumi's plate was served, Masaki asked Tatsuya, "What is this all about?" 

Tatsuya didn't answer the question directly, but instead turned to face Mayumi and made an apology to her, "Saegusa-san, I'm very sorry for getting you involved the other day". 

"……No, it isn't Shiba-san's fault or the Yotsuba family's either." 

Mayumi gave a small shake of her head. 

"I'm grateful to hear that." 

Tatsuya bowed his head once more, this time Miyuki joined him. 

He then returned to his usual posture and turned to face Masaki. 

"In fact, the other day, Saegusa-san was attacked by what had been left of the New Humanity Front. Those people have since been arrested by the police, but it seems that they were planning to use her as a hostage to get us to release the leader we had captured." 

"I didn't know that happened……." 

Masaki turned to look at Mayumi. 

Mayumi nodded, her eyes expressing acknowledgement of the fact. 

"Those people claim that 'this is all of us', but we don't know if that's true. Right now, Magian Company has Yatsushiro Takara working for us, besides Saegusa-san. We would like to avoid causing any more trouble to the other families of the Ten Master Clans." 

"So you decided to hand over the leader to the Ichijou family…….?" 

Masaki's expression said, "I can understand why". 

"The incidents caused by the New Humanity Front have consistently been under the jurisdiction of the Ichijou family ever since the incident at the Museum in Itoigawa. Due to unavoidable circumstances, the leader has been captured by the Yotsuba family, but I would like to ask the Ichijou family to be the one to hand them over to the military." 

Tatsuya persuaded Masaki with a string of lies. 

But, this would be a win-win situation for the Ichijou family. Their standing with the National Defense Forces was more important than anything else. And Masaki had no basis, reason, or motive to doubt Tatsuya's words. 

"All right. The Ichijou family will take charge of the custody of this leader." 

"I'll be very grateful. And, also, Saegusa-san." 

Tatsuya once again turned his body to regard Mayumi. 

"The Yotsuba family wishes to settle any issues with the Saegusa family by renouncing any credit for the capture of the New Humanity Front leader. Would you be willing to agree to these terms?" 

Mayumi had no intention of blaming Tatsuya from the start. But at the same time, she understood that people like themselves couldn't afford to ignore the issue of "taking responsibility". 

"I understand, and as the eldest daughter of the Saegusa family, I do accept your resolution." 

Mayumi also politely bowed in return. 

……Thus, Tatsuya had completed his mission to "get rid of the troublesome captured New Humanity Front" assigned to him by Maya. 

The mission Tatsuya was assigned by Maya was to "negotiate the handover of the captured New Humanity Front to the Ichijou family". The actual handover wasn't included in the mission. 

The handover was also successfully completed on Sunday, the following day, between members of both the Yotsuba and Ichijou family's task forces. 

The Ichijou family handed over Kurenai Anzu to the National Defense Forces the day after they received her from the Yotsuba family. 

The National Defense Forces interrogated Kurenai on charges of raiding an army camp in Hida-Takayama, but were unable to produce any evidence of her direct involvement. 

Kurenai Anzu had the status of a civilian and therefore couldn't be tried by a military court. After the military police failed to get the prosecution to indict her for the raid on the Defense Force facility, they handed her over to the police who were interrogating the New Humanity Front. 

However, the police were also unable to establish any proof to substantiate Kurenai's direct involvement in the series of incidents. Since she was consistently nowhere near the crime scenes, no testimonies could be obtained to back up the claims of abetment by instigation 80 . 

In the end, in July, the police shifted to a passive measure by releasing her and keeping her under surveillance behind the scenes. 

Then, on the same day she was released, Kurenai Anzu managed to elude police surveillance, and managed to somehow vanish. 

(To be continued)