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It was around the same time as when the Deputy Director of the Army Intelligence Department was desperately attempting to entertain one of the most powerful people from behind the scenes.
Tatsuya had invited Lina to the living room of his home for an update on her preparations for her trip to the United States.
Although it was mentioned as an invitation, Tatsuya and Miyuki's home as well as Lina's home are on the same floor of the same apartment building, and Lina comes to this apartment every night. The superficial reason for this was that Lina was now Miyuki's bodyguard, but in reality, she comes here for the food that Miyuki cooks.
Nowadays with the development of home automation, it's not uncommon to see people like Lina who can't cook. She insists, "I'm great at survival cooking!" Although, every time she makes this excuse, it's as if she's admitting that she doesn't have the skills to cook on a daily basis.
In addition, as if forgetting to hold back, Miyuki cooks dinner for more than one person, so she doesn't mind Lina coming over every night. For Miyuki, Lina is the kind of friend that’s hard to come by with whom she can have a relationship on equal footing.
It's the same for Lina — their "equal footing" hardly stands on the grounds that they are both daughters of prestigious bloodlines. Whereas they don't feel uncomfortable when people accept them as descendants of high-born families thanks to their graceful and exceptionally beautiful features, they also don't feel all that satisfied with being marked with only that label.
It's not about their social position, social class, or even their physical appearance.
Miyuki and Lina are both individuals who possess magical power unmatched by others.
Honoka and Shizuku who've been their friends since high school, and even Ayako and
Yuuka who have strongly inherited the bloodline of the Yotsuba Family ── Tsukuba Yuuka is the eldest daughter and the next head of the Tsukuba Family ── they are all clearly outmatched by these two. Even Yotsuba Maya, the head of the Yotsuba Family and currently regarded as one of the strongest magicians in the world, may not be a match for Miyuki and Lina, apart from her special magic that only she can use.
They are friends who recognize that they are equal in power to one another. And despite that, they don't fall under the cliché of "love rivals," as is usually the case in fiction. This is one of the reasons why their relationship is at the point where they are comfortable with one another.
That's why Lina spends most of her time chatting with Miyuki after dinner, but today's topic is work related. Lina’s scheduled to return to the USNA temporarily at Tatsuya's request.
There’s a possibility that the Anti-Magic Movement or any other organization that's hostile to FEHR, may be planning to interfere by the time Mayumi and her colleague arrive in Vancouver to make contact with FEHR. In addition, there’s also the possibility that some of the USNA's federal and local government agencies may attempt to interfere. As a means of countering this, Lina, who maintains strong ties with the upper echelons of the USNA federal military, is being secretly dispatched.
Lina had come to give an update on her preparations for this trip. She’s a naturalized citizen of Japan, so it's not as if she's legally returning to her home country, but on an emotional level she is "returning home."
"Have you talked to the commander of Zama Base?"
With the escalation of World War III, also known as the 20 years of repeated wars across the world, the United States Armed Forces (USA Military) withdrew to Hawaii, thus the United States military bases in Japan disappeared. However, Japan's geopolitical importance to the United States (USNA) in the Western Pacific remains unchanged, and thus the Japan-U.S. Alliance continues to exist with a different meaning.
Japan, on the other hand, continues to face military threats from two major powers, the New Soviet Union to the north and the Great Asian Union to the west. In fact, the situation has deteriorated even more now than before the war.
In the interest of both Japan and the United States, many of the former United States military bases in Japan were designated as U.S.-Japan Joint-Use Bases. In order to maintain formal equality, there are also Joint-Use Bases in USNA territory, but there are currently no Japanese military units permanently stationed in the United States, but the system is effectively designed for the United States Armed Forces to use bases in Japan. Zama Base is one of these Joint-Use Bases, where the USNA has permanently stationed supply units.
"──Yeah. I was reluctant at first, but Ben got me through to Senator Curtis. It didn't take long after that."
By "Ben," she’s referring to Benjamin Canopus, who is currently the STARS
Commander-in-Chief and was Lina's right-hand man when she was the STARS Head-Captain. Even now with Lina having retired from the USNA Military ──however the USNA Military considers her retirement a mere "formality"── she and Canopus remain close friends. Not only that, but Canopus had secretly received orders from the Secretary of Defense of the USNA Federal Government to provide Lina with support from behind the scenes.
"I don't believe this matter required the assistance of His Excellency Curtis"…
Senator Curtis is a major figure in USNA politics, also known as the "Shadow CIA Director," who helped restore the honor of Lina and Canopus when they were framed as traitors by members of STARS who had become Parasites, and is also Canopus' great-uncle (his grandmother's younger brother).
"I said the same thing to Ben, but he said, 'You don't owe me anything for this.'"
"I see. Well, let's just accept it and be thankful for the time they saved us. So, are you leaving the country on a United States military transport plane?"
"Yeah. STARS will be providing an ID card and passport, so I'll be picking those up at the base."
Lina has been naturalized as a Japanese citizen, and naturally no longer holds USNA citizenship. However, in order for the USNA federal military to save face, for Lina ── the Japanese naturalization of [Angie Sirius], a nationally recognized Strategic-Class
Magician, has been handled internally "as a means of deception in order to monitor Shiba Tatsuya, a Super-Strategic-Class Magician."
With that, a new identity as a USNA citizen was created separately from her original identity as a USNA federal soldier. The ID that Lina will use on her trip to the United States was forged by the USNA Military. Since it was created by the USNA authorities, in a sense, it can be said to be genuine.
"Well, since I'll be using a military transport plane to leave and come back, if all goes as planned, I won't even need a passport. In the unlikely event that something goes wrong on my way back over here, I may have to come to Japan as a regular American."
"If worse comes to worst, I'll have Minoru pick you up and you can just come back using the Takachiho."
The Takachiho was a gigantic artificial satellite orbiting at an altitude of about 6,400 km's. Tatsuya prepared this for Minoru and Minami to live in after they became Parasites, since they no longer had any place to return to on earth ── this is a satellite orbital residence facility, where it was confirmed the month before that it can be used as a relay station between Japan and the United States.
"All right. I don't think that I'll really need it, though." Lina said this with a look of complete confidence.
Tatsuya also doubted that such a situation would occur, so he chuckled and gave her a "I guess so."
"Have you finished your conversation?"
It was Miyuki who spoke to them as she walked over while holding a tray with coffee cups on it. She was probably timing it so that she wouldn't interrupt their conversation about work.
Wearing a simple knee-length dress paired with an apron, the sight of Miyuki with her hair tied up with a scrunchie radiated the impression of a newlywed wife. The aura emanating from her came as a little too noxious to the single Lina. Whether in an unconscious or deliberate act, Lina lifted her head from her seated position on the sofa and narrowed her eyes as if dazzled.
Miyuki let out a chuckle at the sight ── she was amused by how Lina would always react to something that she should be long used to ── before placing a cup before Tatsuya and Lina. Then, after placing her own cup next to Tatsuya's, Miyuki proceeded to sit in her usual spot. ──Needless to say, her usual spot was right beside Tatsuya.
"When will you be leaving, Lina?"
Miyuki asked Lina as she reached for her cup.
"Mayumi and company are leaving on the 26th, right? So I was thinking of leaving on the
27th."
"That's next Sunday."
Today was Thursday. The 27th was the following Sunday.
"Well, that leaves you with some leeway."
"I'd rather just get this over with."
Lina responded to Miyuki's smiling expression with a light shrug.
"There must be a lot of people you haven't seen in a while, right? Won't you even buy souvenirs to bring back with you?"
"I'm taking a military plane. I can't bring too much with me."
"It's a transport plane, isn't it? I figured it would have more room than a commercial plane."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"If you're going to buy some souvenirs, I'll go with you." Lina had a troubled face as she thought about it.
Deciding that it was time to change topics, Miyuki turned to look at Tatsuya beside her.
"By the way, Tatsuya-sama. It seems that there has been some interference by part of the government."
"Are you talking about Saegusa-dono being called by the Minister of Defense yesterday?" "Yes."
Miyuki nodded, looking to be slightly concerned.
"Rather than coming from the government, I'm guessing it came from the National
Defense Force. The source is probably the Army Intelligence Department."
"Did they make a request to stop Senpai's trip to the United States?"
Needless to say, by Senpai, she was referring to Mayumi. On the job, Miyuki calls Mayumi "Saegusa-san," but in private, she tended to stick with the old way of calling her.
"That's right. You got it pretty well."
Tatsuya praised Miyuki's insightfulness. Yet this was probably out of favoritism. A high-level civilian magician was about to leave the country without their permission. There are a limited number of options open to the government officials in this regard.
"Is there any chance that Saegusa-dono will change his mind?"
While Miyuki's cheeks softened in a smile from Tatsuya's praise, she didn't indulge in the euphoria and pressed on with her concerns. It's a development that probably would never have happened until she became a university student.
"Judging from what Saegusa-dono talked with me about yesterday, I think it'll be fine."
"Is that really it? So, Saegusa-dono also doesn't intend to be at the mercy of the government then?"
"Yeah. He, being who he is, seems to be looking for business opportunities outside of the country."
Miyuki was convinced by Tatsuya's explanation. The fact that he chose to do this after calculating his own interests on the matter, was consistent with the image Miyuki had of Saegusa Kouichi in her head.
"However, now that the Intelligence Department is involved, I don't think the military is going to back down from this."
"Yes, it seems so."
From the look on Tatsuya's face, Miyuki was sure that this much was within his expectations, and that from now on, everything would be in Tatsuya's hands.
"Tatsuya-sama. What are you going to do next?"
Even though she felt it might be presumptuous of her, Miyuki still asked with expectations in mind. The whole sight of Tatsuya overwhelming any hostile forces with his absolute power was quite a sight to behold, and Miyuki was sure that there was a desire in her heart to see him do so every once in a while.
"Next?"
"You have a plan on what you're going to do, don't you?"
Not only Miyuki, but Lina had also stopped pondering and looked at Tatsuya.
Tatsuya gave a wry smile, if only in his mind, seeing those two beautiful women with their eyes shining with anxious anticipation.
Simply because Miyuki's point wasn't wrong, and there was no need to lie here.
"I'm thinking of doing a demonstration using Material Burst."
"Material Burst!?"
"Tatsuya, are you serious!?"
Miyuki and Lina's eyes widened as their anticipation turned to shock. Tatsuya's answer went beyond their expectations. No, rather it was something they wouldn’t even consider in the first place.
For Tatsuya, their reactions were exactly what he had expected. Still, he wasn't really trying to startle Miyuki and Lina. That's why he quickly followed up with an explanation.
"Of course, I'm not going to target anywhere on Earth."
Tatsuya particularly emphasized "anywhere on Earth" rather than "any country." That gave Miyuki a clue as to what he was planning to do.
"Are you aiming somewhere in space?"
"I'll display the original intended purpose of Material Burst. If I do this, then maybe people will understand that magicians shouldn't have their freedoms restricted." Lina had a clear "?" reflected on her face.
That expression made Miyuki think, "I'll have to eventually explain it to her."
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