◇ ◇ ◇
On this day, Miyuki and Lina ultimately stayed on Miyakishima instead of returning to Tokyo.
Tatsuya was planning to use the facility for a demonstration tomorrow before dawn, so it was natural that Miyuki didn’t want to return home. And, as for Lina, even though the date of her trip to the United States (returning home?) was approaching, after all was said and done, she was Miyuki's buddy .
Thus, together, the three of them were having an early dinner at the villa on Miyakishima.
"Tatsuya, don't you think it's time you told us?"
It was here that Lina asked Tatsuya about that matter. ──Apparently, Miyuki had forgotten about giving Lina the lecture.
"What exactly are we going to do tomorrow? And what is the original purpose of Material Burst?"
When Lina raised those questions, Tatsuya stopped his chopsticks with a slightly amused look plastered on his face.
"I think you already have an idea, don't you?"
Tatsuya asked back, as if to tease her, and if to test her.
"I want to hear it straight from your mouth."
In a surprising twist, Lina wasn’t provoked.
"Lina, what do you think is the original purpose of magic?"
But, Tatsuya didn’t have such a good character that he’d answer so easily.
"For example, what do you consider your Heavy Metal Burst magic to be for?"
"When you’re asking what for… are you asking about the raison d'etre of magic?" "That's right."
Faced with the unexpected question, Lina pondered over it with a bewildered expression.
"…I don't know. Is there supposed to be a reason for magic to exist? And even if there is, who decides?"
Lina raised the white flag.
"Exactly," Tatsuya responded to her answer with a satisfied nod.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Who decides the original purpose of magic, the reason for magic's existence? And if there is one, we have absolutely no way of knowing. If so, who else should decide the meaning of your magic but yourself. Don't you think so?"
"Eh, yeah, I guess."
Though Lina nodded right away, she was clearly oblivious to where the conversation was going.
"Let's get back to the topic."
Seeing Lina like that, Tatsuya felt it would be a bad idea to confuse her any further. The amused note in his voice disappeared.
"I believe that Material Burst is overkill, no matter what battlefield it’s being applied to." "…I have to agree."
With the sudden change to the topic of "war," Lina's confused face turned serious.
"But even so, this is still my magic. Instead of sealing it away out of fear of its power, I thought I should find a positive use for it. I thought that I needed to decide for myself what its original use was."
"So, that’s what you meant by the raison d’etre of magic from a moment ago?"
Lina brought up the question with a pensive expression.
Beside her, Miyuki attentively listened to Tatsuya's words with a similar expression.
Dinner had come to a complete halt, yet no one paid it any notice in the least.
"It can't be used on the battlefield. And it's also not necessarily useful for productive purposes like, say, as an energy source. That magic is just too destructive."
More energy wasn’t always better. Too much heat was generated in an instant, that makes it virtually impossible to convert the heat into a usable output. Material Burst generates seven to eight times the thermal output of a commercial nuclear reactor of about a century ago, in an instant, from a mass as small as a hundred grams. Capturing that much heat was nearly impossible.
"In order to make effective use of that magic, I need a target to which I can direct all that destructive power as a destructive power. Destruction for destruction's sake, for a purpose other than destruction itself. But there is no such target on Earth."
Lina opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something.
But no words came out of her mouth.
"However, beyond Earth, in space, there are ways to effectively use its destructive power."
Tatsuya briefly stopped his words, thinking that not only Lina but also Miyuki might want to say something. But when he turned to look at her, Miyuki gave him a look that urged him to continue.
"The prevention of disasters caused by astronomical collisions. Although disasters caused by the collision of other celestial bodies with the Earth are low in probability, if they were to actually occur, they could cause tremendous damage."
"Like the asteroid that caused the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period?" Lina asked,
"It doesn't even need to be on such a large scale, there are examples like the Tunguska Event."
Miyuki added.
Tatsuya nodded at them both.
"──Blowing up large meteorites, asteroids, as well as comets that would cause catastrophic disasters here on Earth in space to avoid impacts with the Earth. I thought that this would be the most beneficial use of Material Burst. So, I decided that this was the primary purpose of Material Burst."
"So that's what you're trying to demonstrate this time, right Tatsuya?"
Lina said with an understanding look on her face,
"Astronomical collisions are a long-term risk that can never be ignored, no matter how low the probability. You're trying to show the majority the value of Magians by offering a solution, aren't you?"
Miyuki asked in a lively voice.
"There is that side of it, but the main purpose of this event is different."
Tatsuya, however, didn’t quite follow Miyuki's words with a nod.
"In order to avoid a catastrophe, Magians and the majority need to cooperate on a global scale in order to avoid catastrophes. That's what I intend to show this time."
"…Seems like I'm still far from having an understanding of Tatsuya-sama's far sight and deep design."
Miyuki realized that her misunderstanding of Tatsuya's intentions had been a misunderstanding of her own.
However, she wasn’t ashamed of it, but was rather proud.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login