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It was after Mikihiko and Erika left the circle room of the Unidentified Magic Research Society.
Tatsuya didn't remain alone for long, soon enough a pair of students, a man and a woman, arrived in the room.
"You wanted to see us, Tatsuya-san?"
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
At first glance, they appeared to be a pair of female students, but it was Fumiya and Ayako.
"Sorry to call you on such short notice."
Tatsuya had called them via text after Mikihiko and Erika had left.
"Not at all, the lecture was one I could skip."
Once Fumiya eloquently said that,
"And I'm sure you were already aware of that before you called us here, weren't you?"
Ayako added in a lightly chiding tone. ──Even without looking at the mischievous grin on her face, it was clear that she deliberately made it sound like an accusation.
But while the tone was half-hearted, the substance of the sentence was spot on. Tatsuya had memorized not only both of their course schedules, but also those of Miyuki and Lina.
"That doesn't change the fact that I was pushing it when I asked. I'm grateful that you willingly agreed."
"Naturally we did. I don't even need to think about which is more important, Tatsuya-san's call or a university lecture."
"Fumiya… You sounded a bit too clingy, you know."
As Fumiya answered full of pride, from beside him Ayako let a slightly malicious smile escape her lips.
"I bet you wish you were a girl, don't you?"
Ayako teased him with an undertone that clearly marked it as a joke. If her brother were to actually bring up the idea of a sex change, she'd undoubtedly be in a complete state of panic.
"Isn't it quite the other way around? I think I'm able to do it because I am a man. Don't you think that men find clingy women to be too much trouble?"
In the past, Fumiya would have only been able to turn red and yell out a rebuttal back, that wouldn't really amount to a rebuttal. However, the Fumiya of now was able to calmly counter his sister’s teasing.
"Oh, so you admit you're clingy then."
"It's better if the man is clingy than if they are too loose. You wouldn't put your faith in a man who's quite loose with his loyalties, would you?"
"Anyway, that aside, Tatsuya-san. Could you tell us what business you have with us?" Perhaps seeing the odds were stacked against her, Ayako decided to change the subject by asking Tatsuya the question.
"Late last night, I received information from Master Kokonoe Yakumo. It seems that the Army Intelligence Department is planning to set up a hex on my friends with the support of one of the Senate’s Four Great Elders, Kashiwa Kazutaka."
Tatsuya didn't panic or feel confused when he was suddenly asked to explain. In a calm tone of voice, he relayed what he needed to say.
On the other hand, both of the people on the receiving end had trouble keeping their composure.
"A hex!?"
"Kashiwa-sama of the Senate you say!?" Ayako exclaimed, almost in a shriek.
"I still don't have any proof to confirm, but I'll bet it's probably true. Also, Master also has no reason or need to tell a nasty lie of this nature."
"That's certainly true…"
Fumiya back-channeled with some agitation lingering in his voice.
"But even if that's the case, why would Kashiwa-sama… Did he feel offended with the whole matter of Kurenai Anzu's capture?"
Kurenai Anzu was the leader of the New Humanity Front, a magic supremacy extremist organization. Only two weeks had passed since she was captured and smuggled out of the mansion where she was being sheltered by Izayoi Shirabe who was working under Kashiwa Kazutaka.
What intentions Kashiwa Kazutaka had in harboring Kurenai Anzu are unknown. But there's no doubt that by capturing her, it had smeared Kashiwa's reputation. However, considering what Fumiya and Ayako had learned from Tatsuya about people like Tatsuya himself and Toudou’s beneficiaries that were directly associated with people such as Kashiwa, Toudou Aoba and the other Four Great Elders of the Senate, it was hard to imagine such a powerful man, who ruled Japan "behind the scenes," would be so concerned about the well-being of a single criminal.
However, neither Tatsuya, Fumiya, nor Ayako possessed any real idea of Kashiwa's character. Having a lot of amassed power and authority doesn’t always translate into having a lot of tolerance. There was no denying the possibility that Kashiwa's character holds an enormous importance on honor.
"That's what I'm wondering too."
Tatsuya nodded towards Ayako. Then he regarded them both at the same time.
"So, I'd like to entrust the Kuroba Family with a job."
"Not to us, but to the Kuroba Family?"
Puzzled, Fumiya asked for a confirmation, to which Tatsuya noded and answered, "That's right".
"That's because it’s a job of continuous surveillance. I can't just keep asking you two to skip university lectures."
"What exactly would this work entail?"
Fumiya gave him an "I don't mind" kind of expression, but before he could say anything Ayako inquired about the details.
"Surveillance on Izayoi Shirabe. I wish I could do it myself, but I have my hands full with another matter right now."
By his "another matter" Tatsuya was referring to the demonstration of Material Burst to both the government and the military. He has yet to share this with the two of them. But neither Fumiya nor Ayako asked him what the "other matter" was.
"What should we be keeping a watch on Izayoi Shirabe for?"
Instead, Fumiya asked a productive question related to the job in question.
"Whether he will take part in the cursing or not. I think that will help us determine how committed Kashiwa Kazutaka is to this."
After answering that, Tatsuya shared with them the details of the information Yakumo had mentioned to him.
"…So the Intelligence Department asked for a sorcerer monk from Hieizan, right?" Fumiya took on a measured tone for the confirmation.
"It seems that he’s not formally a Hieizan monk. He’s a so-called 'Fallen of Miyako.' Master called him a 'heretic monk,' and Mikihiko called him a 'Miyako-ochi'." Tatsuya affirmed in an indirect way.
"Regardless of what we'll be calling them, are you trying to say that the sorcerer monk that accepted the Intelligence Department's request doesn’t have anyone under Kashiwa-sama's command?"
Fumiya seemed to have guessed Tatsuya's thoughts.
"I want to make sure of that. In our previous task, we discovered that the Izayoi Family is quite proficient in sorcery."
"So you think, Tatsuya-san, that if Kashiwa-sama is serious about retaliating against you, there’s no way that they wouldn’t use the pawns at his disposal, namely the Izayoi Family, considered to be the strongest among the Hundred Families, right?" Ayako put her guess into words and asked Tatsuya for a score.
"That's what I believe."
"In that case, I'll put together a team of people well-versed in Ancient Magic and have them in charge of the surveillance."
Ayako looked pleased with the gold star Tatsuya gave her.
"We'll accept Tatsuya-san's request."
"We'll arrange a surveillance team as soon as possible."
Fumiya followed Ayako, almost as if competing with his sister, and conveyed to Tatsuya their acceptance of the request.
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