Chapter 5
[Sudden Turnaround]
On the third day accompanying Lena on her trip to Mt. Shasta, Ryousuke found himself already having too much time on his hands. For much that he worshiped Lena, he was not one to be content just to be by her side. The primary reason he tagged along was so that he could be of use to her.
But so far, all he has done was help the private detective check any suspicious characters they overhear the police passing to each other on their radios. Lena said she would too be investigating the area. How? Ryousuke didn't know, she was physically sitting back in her motel room.
The newcomer, Arya, stayed back in the motel with her as her guard. Ryousuke didn't know exactly what exactly Arya is capable of, but he could tell that power is not something she is lacking. Even if he could guarantee a fight in terms of physical strength, when it came to magic she blew him out of the water.
Ryousuke much preferred that Lena had a strong magician like Arya by her side. Being a woman as well also helped Lena to feel more at ease. He felt that he would only disturb Lena by hanging around her at this time.
Still, being coped up in a motel room would only make him simmer in depression, so Ryousuke decided to go for a short outing to freshen himself up. They are on a well-known tourist spot, he was bound to find something out there in tourist spots or the stores marketed to tourists. He rented a bicycle and pedaled out onto the road.
He began heading north, then northeast at a large fork down the road. After about 20 kilometers, Ryousuke stopped his bicycle at a parking lot of an unmanned store, there was a tourist information board. It said that following north on a side would take him to a "Pluto Cave". He never heard of it, but it seemed to be a famous tourist spot in this area.
Not so intrigued, Ryousuke screwed the lid on the bottle of mineral water he took a swig from, and stepped back onto the bike.
At that moment. A presence nudged at his brain.
Before he fully realized what it was, Ryousuke jumped off his back in guard; his body moved into a fighting position on its own.
The sound of the bicycle hitting the ground brought him back to his senses, just then he realized what set him on guard like that.
And that he wasn't, unfortunately, in the middle of nowhere out in the wilderness. His bizarre reaction was met with a few odd looks from people around. Fortunately, there were only three sets of eyes, none which took his fighting stance as a challenge or intention to harm.
As he mounted the bike, which was already decorated with its fair share of scratches, he finally understood what he had sensed.
That was the presence of the FAIR Witch, Laura Simons.
Ryousuke hurried back to the Hotel, making a beeline to Lena's room, hastily knocking on the door.
Behind it came her escort , Arya, with a scowl of disapproval. Lena's soft voice came from inside the room, "Ryousuke? Please, Come in." Arya wordlessly made way.
"Ryousuke... what-"
"It's Laura Simons, she showed up!" Ryousuke's shout trampled over the rest of Lena's concerned question. These words and that he had to deliver them to Lena were his only thoughts while he pedaled and run all the way back to the hotel.
Once she regained her composure from Ryousuke's thunderous momentum, She turned to Arya with an apologetic look, "...I'm sorry, Arya, but could you please bring a towel for me?"
"Yes, Milady. Here you go." At some point, for some reason, Arya already had a towel in hands. She then offered it directly to Ryousuke, instead of Lena.
"You didn't have to come running and break this much sweat, you could have just called me," Lena called out with an amused chuckle.
Just then Ryousuke noticed the sweat dripping down his face and the heavy dampness of his shirt. Looking down, he could see the sweat coursing down to his feet. This sight seemed to give Arya the cue to get a wet towel while Lena was appalled.
Embarrassment caught up with Ryousuke as he wiped his face. Under the sweat was a flushed man. Though only a small part was from embarrassment, most was a byproduct of the workout. He felt ashamed that he had soiled his lady's room with sweat.
Once he wiped the sweat from his face, Ryousuke looked a little lost. One's best guess would be that he is considering the sweat on the rest of his body. Taking his shirt off in front of Lena, or any woman he's not into a relationship with, for that matter, was an impossibility for him.
Seeing Ryousuke's troubled expression, Arya calmly placed her hand on her own chest.
Then a sign of magic activation.
After a time lag so short it could be said it did not even exist, Ryousuke was enveloped by a cool, refreshing breeze. Not so cold to make him chilly, the dry gust still sent small shivers through his lightly-clothed body. Ryousuke's shirt, which became discolored with sweat, dried in the blink of an eye.
It was the work of Arya's magic. It was less direct than removing the water from his shirt directly, but it evaded the issue of his body temperature naturally dropping afterwards. Plus, the airflow could be directed out through the ventilation system, which helped to remove Ryousuke's body odor as well.
"Feel calmer now, Ryousuke?" At these times he is reminded that, despite Lena's appearance of being sixteen, she was still much older and experienced than him.
"Yes, sorry for my overreaction..." There was no discomfort left by her gentle rebuke. Setting aside his adoration for her, Ryousuke was frankly sorry.
"Now, let's sit down so we can talk."
At her prompting, Ryousuke hesitantly sits down in a chair at the dining table. Lena sat across from him and Arya perpendicular from both on the side.
"Now tell me calmly, where did you see Laura Simons?"
"Ah... Yeah..." His face flushed with consternation. "I kind of didn't actually see her, I just felt a presence..."
Arya points a silent cold glare at him.
"I believe you," but Lena smiled at Ryousuke and said so, without a trace of doubt in her voice.
That smile was the beacon of light that brought Ryousuke back from the depths of despair─He felt in his overdramatic state of mind.
"So, where were you when you felt this presence?"
"About an hour's bike ride to the north. I stopped at an unmanned store with a sign that said a 'Pluto Cave' was nearby."
"Pluto Cave?" Lena repeats in a low voice. Meanwhile, Arya pulls out her mobile terminal to search the term.
A moment later she shares the result of her search, "Milady, the Pluto Cave is, as it says, a cave approximately 20 kilometers north of here, and is a tourist attraction." Again, Arya insisted on referring to Lena as "Milady," despite the latter's objections, a habit she probably picked up from the other FAIR members.
"Ryousuke..." Lena's voice sounded somewhat appalled, "Did you really cycle all that distance?"
The expression on the face of the target of the inquiry himself suggests he didn't get why she was so taken aback. A 50-km round trip, by bike even, is not that much of a workout for him. It was a soft one hour trip to get up to that distance, though it took him half that time on the rushed way back.
Seeing the clueless look on Ryousuke's face, Lena resigned herself, "Like it would do much good anyway," She thought. She asked Arya to project the map on the table. "Could you point out your best guess as to where you felt Laura Simons' presence was coming from?"
Ryousuke stared thoughtfully at the map of the area surrounding Pluto Cave for a moment. "I think it was around here," he said, pointing to the opposite side of the road where he had seen the Pluto Cave sign, the opposite direction relative to Mount Shasta.
"There is nothing there..."
"Shall we go take a look?" Arya suggested in response to Lena's muttering. The sun would be setting soon, but they could still get there while it's still bright.
There is a second of silence as Arya stares into Lena's face.
Lena decisively shakes her head. "Let's take advantage that Laura Simons is a wanted person. Let's make an anonymous tip that she's in the area."
"Anonymous? Milady, how?" Ryousuke inquires her in a reserved voice. With the development in communication technology, it has become increasingly harder to hide the tracks of a sender's credentials in recent years.
"I'm sure Ms.Fields will know a way, being a private investigator and all. I'll contact her right away."
It was a fair assumption that a PI would have knowledge of loopholes that the average citizen might not know about, so neither Ryousuke nor Arya voiced any objections.
◇◇◇
Ryousuke wasn't the only individual to notice Laura's presence. A watchful eye from above also caught notice of the Witch in the region.
Monday night, September 13 (Japan Standard Time), approximately half a day after Ryousuke sensed Laura's presence on site.
Tatsuya was in the communications room of Yotsuba's Tokyo headquarters on a transmission line with a satellite orbiting at an altitude of 6,400 kilometers above sea level, the Orbital Residence Takachiho.
"At the northwestern foot of Mount Shasta, you say?"
[Yes, that's where I sensed her.]
Tatsuya had to confirm, that was puzzling. He knew that the ruins of Shambhala were buried deep underground on the eastern slope of Mt. Shasta. That's more than 10km away from where Minoru found Laura to be.
"Did they show up there without even knowing where the ruins were? Did they forget or just don't care that their names and faces are on the wanted list?" This wasn't directed at Minoru, he was just venting out his disbelief.
Minoru nevertheless interpreted it as a question from him and took the liberty to answer, [Even so, she seems to be sure where she is going...] His tone lacked conviction, but his response still stood in clear opposition to Tatsuya's confounded tirade.
"Then... You're suggesting they're looking for something else than the ruins we know of?"
[That's what it looked like to me, at least.]
Both sides agreed to a time-out, each falling into a deep thought. For a while the complex private line of video communications was reduced to seemingly still silent frames.
"...I don't get it." Tatsuya's blurts brought an end to the silence. At the very least putting the infrared laser communication link between Takachiho and the ground facility to some use. "There is nothing that indicates the Shambhala ruins on Mt. Shasta should be anywhere other than that one spot. All I think of is that we missed other Relics or stone tablets in the caves behind the waterfall. Unless, of course, you're willing to give the legends of the Subterranean City of Lemuria more credit than it deserves."
[I wonder, could there be Relics, magical artifacts, from some civilization other than Shamballa?] Minoru carefully chose his words to respond to Tatsuya's almost monologue. [With the 'Guru's Tablet', Laura Simons has a track record of unearthing artifacts from locations other than the ruins.]
"You have a point. But, why now? That's what bothers me the most."
Laura should know better than to take the risk of going on an outdoors excursion like this for a prolonged period of time. Tatsuya had a nagging concern that she made such a high bet by showing up at Mount Shasta seemingly in response to the rumors.
[This is surely a new point of concern we got in our hands... In any case, I'll continue to monitor her movements.]
Though, under the current circumstances in which he could not travel there to the USNA to satiate his curiosity, all they could do was to keep a watchful eye on things.
"Yeah. Thanks, I'll leave it up to you."
When push came to shove, he considered that he might have to defy his prohibition and get there via Takachiho...
The more he secretly entertained the prospect, the worse the sense of foreboding grew in Tatsuya's mind.
◇◇◇
The IPU-Legitimate Tibetan Government Coalition Forces have breached the border and advanced into Tibetan territory, but have since been unable to secure air superiority yet.
At this time of September 13th, the IPU and the GAU were engaged in a fierce air battle for the control of airspace in southern Tibet.
The IPU ground forces established a frontline base about 100 kilometers from their home border to support the airforce that flew out from Kathmandu in the IPU Republic of Nepal. Meanwhile, the GAU had set up its own forward base in Shigatse, a city west of Lhasa, to oppose the IPU's outpost, and flew its air force out on sorties from the Gonggar Airport (Lhasa Gonggar Airport).
As for the military observers from neutral countries, they had set up a joint camp twenty kilometers away from the IPU's frontline base. The civilian observers have stationed close to them in a group of luxurious campers, which might as well be called a mobile hotel.
Not even the approaching sunset deterred the pilots from turning the sky in a battlefield. This intermittent exchange of blows was in clear sight from the camp of the military observers.
They did not neglect their anti-aircraft surveillance.
Despite this, however.
The officers on military observation duty only became aware of the bomber emerging from the rapidly expanding clouds as night approached, when the distance between it and them was less than ten kilometers.
The bomber was a cutting-edge stealth aircraft that the Greater Allied Forces supposedly did not have.
Air-raid alarms rang throughout the camp.
The aircraft had already reached striking range.
The camp had anti-air defenses in place, but it was already too late, they couldn't respond in time.
The military observer camp was engulfed by heavy explosions.
◇◇◇
Tatsuya found out earlier than the news report that the Tibetan contingent of military and civilian observers was hit by a bombing strike by the Greater Asia Union forces. An hour and half after the incident, Tatsuya received a call from Sanada of the Independent Magic-Equipped Regiment.
"So, have you managed to confirm that Colonel Kazama and Major Yanagi are safe?" Tatsuya asked a Sanada pale with exhaustion on the videophone monitor.
"The Colonel lost his right arm, but nothing that is life-threatening. As for Major Yanagi, his condition is much worse. Highly likely, even with all modern medicine at disposal, he will not make it. Even Lieutenant Colonel Yamanaka's abilities are not enough to help him."
"To think that even someone of Major Yanagi's caliber..." Sanada's words caught Tatsuya completely by surprise.
"He did shield the Colonel, taking the brunt of the debris and the blast." In the old days that would have been referred to as an "honorable wound" in the name of duty, but Sanada steered away from that term.
"...Shiba-san. No, Tatsuya-kun." Fixing him a hard look, Sanada switched back to how he used to call Tatsuya back in the old days.
"I know this is a presumptuous request to make. And I have no right to ask you this. But, please, you're the only hope we've got, can I ask you to save Yanagi-kun?"
Sanada didn't need to elaborate on what exactly he was asking from Tatsuya. Both knew he wanted for Tatsuya to use his innate ability, [Regrowth].
"...That would be impossible from here, unfortunately. The connection has faded."
This was not an untruthful excuse. Tatsuya and his fellow servicemen were friends up until three years ago when it was still a battalion. Back then, Tatsuya could have used his power on them with so much or less effort than a communication to refresh their connection. But he and Kazama split ways three years ago, and although he had just met Kazama the other day, at that point there wasn't much of the same old companionship, in terms of connection, he wasn't different from an acquaintance.
"If you can give me your word that you'll help us, I can have Yanagi-kun cryopreserved and transferred to Sri Lanka."
Cryogenic suspension resembles hypothermic anesthesia but it's a byproduct of research into artificial hibernation with distinct mechanisms of action. It is still not quite settled on the practical application level yet, with reported difficulties in the reanimation of patients. This means that the chances of survival are significantly reduced after cryopreservation. At the current stage, all it can do is to postpone the time it takes for fatal injuries to lead to death.
"Alright, I understand. I'll take care of it, then." Tatsuya's voice in answer to Sanada's urgent plea was, in stark contrast, quite calm and nonchalant, "Please have the military transport land at Hambantota Airport instead of Bandaranaike International Airport. Once there, I'll take care of Major Yanagi inside the transport."
"A- Alright, understood."
There was a note of hesitation on Sanada's countenance. The Hambantota International Airport is not designated for military use, unlike the Bandaranaike International Airport, also known as the Colombo International Airport, which is a shared-use military-civilian airport, where it would be preferable to have transport planes land and take off.
But he assumed Tatsuya must have his own reasons to choose Hambantota, so Sanada held back on making objections.
Tatsuya received Sanada's call in the conference room of his home instead of the communications room. The room had decent acoustic insulation, to not warrant particular worry, still, Tatsuya felt a presence he found uncharacteristic. After the phone call, there was a knock at the door from outside.
"It is you, isn't it, Miyuki? Come in."
The very same opened the door with a measured "Excuse me for disturbing you," and walked up to Tatsuya.
"Tatsuya-sama, if you don't mind me asking, what did Major Sanada want to talk to you about?"
Miyuki usually never inquires about his calls with Sanada. Those are usually work-related, talking or scheduling business, so she didn't really have any reasons to ask, however, this time, she seemed to have a premonition about the topic of the call. Or possibly, she sensed the slightest disturbance in Tatsuya's mind.
"He said that Colonel Kazama and Major Yanagi have been seriously wounded. And that in the situation with Major Yanagi, I'm the only one who can save him."
She knew Tatsuya, and that he would save them both. It was the pain Tatsuya would feel. She couldn't begin to imagine the agony he experiences when he used Regrowth on wounds of that magnitude.
"You don't have to save them", these words came to Miyuki's mind, but got stuck before they came out. Tatsuya was no longer a member of the Independent Magic-Equipped Regiment. He completely cut off his ties to the Regiment three years ago when Kazama's superior officer, Saeki, turned against him. Now they are no more than FLT's business partners, where there is no bond of comradeship.
Even then it was an exaggeration to call that, Kazama and the military were just taking Advantage of Tatsuya. While Tatsuya took advantage of his position as a special officer sometimes, what he has done for them far outweighs what they gave back to him.
On the Yokohama incident alone, the NDF owed Tatsuya an insurmountable debt for what he had done for them. Even if the military doesn't recognize it as a quid-pro-quo relationship.
Miyuki didn't want Tatsuya to suffer any more pain. It was unbearable to let Tatsuya go, knowing that he would experience what wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe as "the agony of death."
But she couldn't ask him not to.
He chose to go. He was going on his own volition.
By stopping him, all she would do was to bother Tatsuya and put an unnecessary burden on his mind.
"...Will you be leaving soon?"
"I'll be going to Sri Lanka. I first need to inform aunt that I will be leaving."
"Sri Lanka? Is there where the Colonel and Major are?" It was when Miyuki said that much that she started to realize what was going on. "...By that, do you mean that Colonel Kazama and the Major went to Tibet as military observers?"
"Yes. They were apparently targeted by the GAU in a bombing strike."
"The Greater Asia Union attacked military officers of a neutral country!?"
"From what I've heard, they were not the only ones, the civilian observers were also targeted in the attack. Only that they had mageists escorting them who put up shields and were unscathed."
"Those must have been very powerful mageist they have escorting them..."
A point with which Tatsuya agreed. The military observers should theoretically have a comparable escort of magicians. However, they were unable to neutralize the bomb strikes unlike the civilian observers.
The civilian observers included two VIPs, McLeod and Schmidt, who were "Apostles," so it would be reasonable to expect them to have a highly-capable escort. Nevertheless, even with that consideration, Tatsuya still felt there was an unusually large gap between the security of the civilian and the military observer groups.
Regardless, whether it was deliberate or not, it was not the most relevant matter to consider at this time.
"Even if I'm going to disobey the no-departure order, I'm going to leave without letting them know." In that statement, Tatsuya indirectly said that he was going to Sri Lanka, whether Maya was against it or not.
"I see. Tatsuya-sama has really made up his mind, after all," Miyuki thought as she looked at Tatsuya's back as he walked to the console of their home video phone and called out to the head family.
[Maya-sama is currently busy with other matters. I will address any matters you may have on her behalf.]
The person on the monitor and other side of the caller was Hayama.
"Then, I'd like to notify the family head of a matter." Tatsuya did not insist on speaking directly with Maya. Leaving a one-way message would, he thought, at the very least, satisfy his obligation to her.
"And what would that be?" Expecting a consultation, hearing that it was a message had Hayama showing some wariness.
Tatsuya ignored what expressions Hayama had on his face and went on to soon be done with this business.
"I have received a relief request from Major Sanada of the Independent Magic-Equipped Regiment. The subject in specific is Major Yanagi, who was fatally wounded during his deployment in a bombing attack by the Greater Asia Union Forces on the military observer's camp. With the intention of improving relations with the NDF, I'll be accepting this request and flying to Sri Lanka. I should note that I haven't forgotten that I have been forbidden from leaving the country, but I will be acting on the grounds that this is a life-threatening emergency."
[Tatsuya-sama, I'm sorry to ask, but could you please wait on the line for a moment?]
Hayama's countenance was composed, but the aggravation was apparent in his tone. "Should I call back later?"
[No need, sir, I won't keep you waiting too long.]
The videophone screen faded to black as the caller was put on hold.
While waiting, Tatsuya used the time to send a text message to Miyakishima on his mobile terminal, instructing to prepare his private jet for takeoff. Specifying Hambantota International Airport in Sri Lanka as the destination, so the arrangements could be made for the aircraft to be checked for landing and refueling for the round-trip. He then called for his personal pilot.
The line with the main house resumed a minute after he received an acknowledgment back from Miyakishima confirming receipt of the instructions. Maya's figure was displayed on the monitor.
"Have I interrupted anything with this call? If so, my sincere apologies." Tatsuya took the initiative and bowed to the camera.
[It's fine, this is a matter of greater weight.] Maya didn't squander with her usual evocatory demeanor. [I heard the news from Hayama-san. I understand you wish to go to Sri Lanka.]
"Yes, it is my judgment that this would be a good opportunity to ingratiate myself with Colonel Kazama."
Maya didn't inquire at the mention of Kazama's name instead of the person in most need of treatment. She did not need an explanation to understand that regardless, Kazama would still owe them for saving Yanagi's life.
[I'm sure I don't need to remind you that His Excellency has not yet granted you permission to go out.]
"We have Japanese officers who were harmed by a despicable surprise attack during deployment as military observers of a neutral country. Would you expect the Senate to sit idly by?"
[I didn't know you had such strong patriotic sentiments.]
"There are people in this world that have an overfixation with the notion of dignity, and certain situations arise because dignity was put into question. While I'm not one of those people..."
[...I see. So, are you planning to take advantage of their preoccupation?]
"Not so much as taking advantage, as much as riding on their bandwagon." Tatsuya's audacious line caused Maya to sigh.
[...Have it your way. We have a situation where the lives of competent military personnel are at stake, right? I'm sure His Excellency will be able to turn a blind eye with this story.] From her response, it seemed as if Maya had given up on the idea of keeping Tatsuya grounded from the beginning. [But do me a favor and come back once you're done with your business, if you would be so kind. I assume, with your private plane, you should be able to arrive back tomorrow morning, yes?]
"Understood. I'll make sure I'm back tomorrow morning." Tatsuya bowed politely to the camera.
When he raised his head the videophone monitor was dark.
"You'll be using the jet on Miyakishima, right? How do you plan to get there? The usual VTOL?" Miyuki asked after following Tatsuya out of the communications room in the corridor.
"No, I'll be using the AirCar in stealth mode this time."
The AirCar top speed in flight is significantly faster than the VTOL. And a VTOL requires a flight plan to be submitted in advance. Which is not the case with the AirCar, as, from a legal standpoint, it is not a licensed aircraft to begin with, so any take off is illegal, regardless of the submission of a flight plan. But with the stealth mode, if the flight radar doesn't see, it's not a violation of the law.
"I can help you if you want to use stealth mode," the first thing Miyuki did was offer her assistance after hearing his plan.
Tatsuya's innate magical limitations would be an issue if he were to simultaneously fly the AirCar and exercise enough of a stealth effect to evade the powerful surveillance network of a major metropolitan area.
Now that Tatsuya has the magistore, an artificial relic, and access to its magic sequence preservation capabilities, he is able to maintain a magic for high stealth performance whilst also being able to control the flight magic of the AirCar.
But even so, to have Miyuki handle the stealth while he maneuvered the AirCar was a reasonable and comfortable division of labor.
"Alright. Can I count on you, then?"
Tatsuya did not hold on to some sense of pride or stubbornness and refused Miyuki to assist him, instead he took the objective and overall optimal course of action.
Not out of consideration for Miyuki's feelings, but strictly based on rationality.
"Yes, with pleasure!"
Still, it was the answer Miyuki had hoped for, and she gladly welcomed it.
◇◇◇
Tatsuya landed the AirCar at the Yotsuba family airport in northern Miyakishima then passed the wheel to the third person in the car, Lina─who had to hastily get ready for the ride as Miyuki's escort─, strongly insisting they should both head back to Tokyo.
Today being monday means both Miyuki and Lina had lectures and practical lessons at the university tomorrow.
Out of the aircar, Tatsuya then boarded his own private small jet. Yotsuya, the jet's assigned pilot, activated the craft's inertial control and airflow manipulation magics to their fullest capability, ensuring that the aircraft arrived at Sri Lanka's Hambantota International Airport in the shortest possible time.
Seeing the pilot visibly exhausted from pushing his abilities to the limit, Tatsuya cast
[Regrowth] to release him from his exhausted state. Then he ordered the revitalized Yotsuya to remain on standby on board the plane before he rushed to the nearby parked military transport aircraft.
At that time, shortly before 10:00 p.m. local time on the 13th and after 1:00 a.m. on the 14th on Japan Standard Time, five hours have elapsed since the incident where Kazama and Yanagi were injured.
Now standing in front of the cryopreservation capsule in which Yanagi was lying, Tatsuya ordered the lid to be opened.
In response to the release of the hermetic seal, the system preserving the human body in a state of suspended animation shut down.
In the very next moment Tatsuya activated [Regrowth].
In a flash, all the blood drained from Tatsuya's face.
His body temperature instantly dropped to the edge of what the human body is physically capable of sustaining itself.
[Regrowth] allows Tatsuya to change the subject or object's past, making it so as if the changes caused by external factors that occurred at a certain point in the past had never occurred. To do so it is necessary to trace back the information history of the target to a point in time at which the change hadn't yet happened. If the target in question is an individual with senses, all they have felt and experienced, including emotions and pain, will be packed in the information body's recorded history. Which is to say, that by reading the log back would be akin to reliving the full experience up till that point in a condensed form.
Luckily in Yanagi's case, he was put into a state of suspended animation at an early stage following injury, so he ─and Tatsuya─ did not experience any sensation of pain from that point onward. Instead, recorded was the information of the shock the human body received when it was induced to enter a state of low-temperature suspended animation. The sudden drop in body temperature was caused by his body being influenced by this information.
But this was just the perception of the experience, Tatsuya knew it was just a hallucination.
The recognition of the fact countered the effects resulting from perceived changes.
Yanagi raised from his pod like he wasn't on the verge of death a minute before.
By then, Tatsuya's condition was back to normal.
"Sorry to make you go through this, Tatsuya. I really appreciate it...!"
That was Kazama. Despite the severity of his own injuries he made it a point to get up on seeing him, and followed him, relaying all his instructions to the medical staff with the authoritative tone of the military man he is.
"I'm glad I could make it in time." Tatsuya replied.
By "making in time" he hinted at the 24-hour rollback time limit of his [Regrowth].
As soon as Tatsuya finished speaking, the bandage around the base where Kazama's right arm had been the last day fell undone. Instead, there was the right arm that should have been lost.
"...I'm really sorry to have you do this. I can't thank you enough."
Kazama bowed deeply to Tatsuya, who rubbed his own right arm.
Next to him was Yanagi, naked after emerging from the capsule, bowing at a profuse forty-five-degree to Tatsuya.
Finishing the procedure, Tatsuya exchanged a few words with them before returning to his private jet. At no point did the topic of participation in the observation group of the IPU and the Greater Asia Alliance come up for discussion.
The aircraft he boarded took off immediately, arriving back at Miyakishima at dawn on the 14th, Japan Standard Time.
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