Honoka’s place was a single person apartment for rent. The total area was supposed to be 1 LDK, but with a small dining area in the kitchen, the total area was less than 1 LDK.
Even with the living room and bedroom separated from one another, this was something that was absolutely required for young girls. Even if the boy was Tatsuya, she wasn’t willing for someone to open the door and immediately get a glimpse of her bedroom.
In the living room, Tatsuya was enjoying tea with Miyuki. Pixie had been halted from executing her routine behavioral pattern when Honoka frantically prepared tea in time.
The coarse tea that was brought out was likely Honoka’s personal favorite.
Honoka herself was changing in her room. The soundproofing was excellent, but for some reason, there appeared to be some sort of nervous aura emanating from Honoka’s side. Of course, the siblings knew that feigning obliviousness here was what propriety demanded.
When they finally caught sight of Honoka, the siblings just finished the tea.
"Sorry for the wait!"
Full of vigor, Honoka appeared dressed in the pretty much the same fashion as Miyuki.
Her upper body was covered by a large half coat. Beneath the jacket, a sweater with a high collar could be seen. However, the bottom half was not covered by sweats but a combination of mini-dress and thick-soled shoes. Her skirt had a circular hem and her shoes were the type that revealed her ankles due to the heels.
The skirt’s length was perfectly covered by the large half coat, which gave the impression that she wasn’t wearing anything under the coat.
This was a getup that was sure to draw attention – rather, this was a getup that was supposed to catch the eyes of boys.
Still, it wasn’t without any practicality. Honoka’s leggings retained heat very well and the fabric was woven with fibers that improved durability. Tatsuya knew that the same type of fibers were used for jackets deployed in combat operations. After examining her from head to toe, he nodded lightly.
"Well then, let’s be off."
There was no way to tell how Honoka interpreted Tatsuya’s nodding motion, but her smile was fit to melt as she tagged along behind him.
In her hair, she wore the pair of crystals Tatsuya brought her. Both Tatsuya and Miyuki as well as Honoka herself missed the brief instance where Pixie was drawn to that flash of light.
"Onii-sama, where are we off to now?"
After getting their tickets and boarding the escalator to the station, Miyuki posed this question to Tatsuya after seeing that no one was about. Miyuki would follow him regardless of where their destination was, but that did not mean she cared not where they were going.
"Aoyama Cemetery."
Honoka was the same in terms of interest, but her face paled at Tatsuya’s response. Taking the hour into consideration, favor and trust were two different things, but there was nothing to be done. Only a decidedly small minority among young ladies would be able to emulate Miyuki’s ability to not bat an eyelid.
"A test of courage in the wrong season…… could not possibly be the reason. Is it something like ghosts or demons will appear there?"
"How astute of you."
Though carefully controlled, Tatsuya seemed to be slightly pleased after confirming his sister’s speculation.
"Naturally. That’s because it’s something Onii-sama is thinking about."
In excellent spirits, Miyuki replied back with a smile.
This pricked something in the depths of Honoka’s heart.
"Um, Tatsuya, isn’t the place closed at this time……?"
Two days ago, she might have endured the pain and wilted.
However, from that evening two days ago, her close friend’s powerful encouragement reverberated in Honoka’s consciousness, no, her heart.
Standing on the higher step of the escalator, Honoka interjected herself into the conversation.
Miyuki wore an "Ara?" expression, but Tatsuya seemed unruffled.
"We should be able to enter, though it’s not like we would be hampered even if we could not enter. So long as we get close, they should come out and meet us. That’s the reason we brought Pixie along."
The results of Pixie’s interrogation told Tatsuya that the other Parasites were unlikely to accept her current existence.
For life forms that synchronized with other creatures, a Pixie who had lost the drive for reproduction was something to be eliminated.
Since their numbers were so few, they should attempt to retrieve her from that mechanical prison. Once the two fundamental impulses like self-defense and species preservation kicked in, their plan of action should be quite similar to humans.
"Even if we’re about to get caught, I’m sure Honoka would do something, right?"
Her "Optical Camouflage" ability was not mere rumors but something that Tatsuya had personally witnessed. Tatsuya also knew that this was a powerful, high level technique that was far beyond the USNA military’s support personnel to imitate with their "Dark Curtain". Honoka was a Magician who could entirely shroud her presence.
That being said, this was just a turn of the phrase for Tatsuya. In reality, Tatsuya never considered the possibility that they would be forced to obscure themselves.
However.
Tatsuya also didn’t fully comprehend something else.
Honoka was going to take that joke of his completely seriously.
"Leave it to me."
Thanks to the titanic misunderstanding Tatsuya created, Honoka was now completely fired up and bursting with confidence as she replied back in a warm tone while patting her chest.
Located underground beneath a medium-sized building within a corner of Ichigaya, the JSDF Intelligence 3rd Division set up their headquarters.
If the main office located in the Department of Defense was a façade for the central headquarters for the JSDF’s intelligence work, then this "basement" was undeniably one of the central headquarters hiding behind that mask. Since this was central headquarters, referring to it as "one of the" seemed a little odd, but this was the product of risk management to prevent a crisis like "being paralyzed with the fall of headquarters" from occurring.
Of course, this caused several serious side effects that came with the territory with being an irregular organization and left great flaws.
It was only natural for an intelligence organization to have a side where "the right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing", but this was incredibly blatant here. Lacking initiative was still excusable, but with each department having their own patron, it was also true that each followed their own special interests to the point of disunity.
The JSDF intelligence divisions contained major unity issues.
"The observation target is moving towards the center of the city. Target is accompanied by the sister and two others."
The sponsor of this basement came from one of the primary financial groups in the field of electronics manufacturing and at the same time was the second largest military supplier in the country. Furthermore, this group was deeply entwined with the Saegusa Family, to the point that the statement could be made that the real patron of the 3rd Division was actually the Saegusa Family. Currently, they were following the will of the head of the Saegusa Family and not in concert with the Saegusa and Juumonji Alliance spearheaded by Mayumi and company.
"Comparing images on file…… One of them is a Year 1 student at the National Magic University Affiliated First High, Mitsui Honoka."
"Classmate, eh. What an odd interest, bringing the sister along on a date."
The tone that belonged to the man who appeared to be in charge sounded mocking, but from a different perspective, it may have also sounded a little biased.
"The other person is….. No, not a human. Looks to be a Humanoid Home Helper from the P94 series."
"A HAR model? Where do they plan on going with that in tow? Have we gotten into the vehicle’s guidance system?"
"Sir, the protection is very stout…… My deepest apologies!"
In response to his subordinate’s practically tearful reply, the one in command did not issue any more reprimands. He understood very well that if the public transportation system could be so easily hacked, then terrorism would run rampant in the streets.
"Chief, the vehicle that the target is on board has changed direction."
"Akasaka…… No, Aoyama?"
The chief murmured as he watched the monitor display the estimated destination for the aforementioned vehicle before issuing new orders.
"Dispatch agents disguised as police to the Aoyama Tunnel. Fake an arrest on charges of the target using magic and capture them."
Amid the replies of the order being acknowledged and being transferred to various receivers, the chief continued to observe the monitor.
Colonel Virginia was stretched out in exhaustion in the rented apartment (more like condominium) fully equipped with furniture that the embassy rented for extended stays.
Though it was only a temporary command center, they had still been breached. In addition, even though the battle had not concluded with a kidnapping, they still put on a shameful display of being left adrift until another nation’s vessel rescued them. This was a huge blow against her record and future career.
Surprisingly, the officers from the homeland stationed at the embassy failed to blame her. This disgrace extended far beyond her alone and included the special forces dispatched as guards for the temporary command center and the navy belonging to the seized vessel (for that matter, the USNA navy’s pride suffered an even more grievous blow than she did), so she knew that it was impossible for them to blame her.
However, even beyond that, she still had the energy for further rumination.
Yet, she was unable to deny that they had suffered a huge defeat.
It was only after she raised her head at the unexpected ringing of the speaker phone that she noticed it was late into the night.
She even heard the female officer on guard duty answer the phone.
Virginia’s ears detected a sharp intake of breath from the female officer.
"Excuse me."
The footsteps that approached the room she occupied as well as the voice that requested permission to enter had both been knocked askew out of shock.
"Come in."
Virginia adjusted her posture and mentally reminded herself to speak clearly. She could not allow her subordinates to witness her weakened state – her brand of leadership involved not investing additional interpretations and emotions.
The door to the room was carefully opened. A tall young woman in full uniform saluted before her eyes. Her guard was selected for martial prowess over appearance or official record and possessed superlative ability and courage. Indeed, Virginia rated her highly enough that she believed that last night’s outcome might have been different had she been present at her side.
Nonetheless – she currently stood there stiffly and pale-faced.
Feeling that something was awry, Virginia rose from the sofa.
"What is it?"
"Someone has requested to meet you face to face, Colonel."
"What……?"
Virginia residing at this location was highly classified. If someone from the military (from the USNA military) came to see her, her guard wouldn’t be so flustered. Likewise for anyone from the embassy. In other words, the visitor had broken through the USNA military’s information lockdown and was an outsider who knew that she was here and requested an audience.
Unwilling to even issue orders to her sergeant, Virginia manipulated the remote herself to put on the display from the main living room.
The image that was reflected contained a poor young girl wearing elegant lace with a curious expression on her face.
This utterly astounding sight caused Virginia to freeze for a solid 5 seconds.
"……Who the heck is that?"
Virginia finally rebooted her consciousness and detected the two sturdy men standing behind the young girl. One of them carefully carried what must be the young girl’s coat. This showed that they were either serving her or were her guardians.
The person that these people, who were clearly not ordinary plebeians, were guarding was most likely that young girl of a tender age.
Despite knowing that she should be on guard, Virginia could feel her sense of reality being eroded.
"Her name is Ayako Kuroba."
The sergeant spoke. Even Virginia could not fault her gulping motion after hearing the next few words.
"She claims to be an emissary from the Yotsuba Family."
"How wonderful it is to meet you, Ms. Virginia. My name is Ayako Kuroba. Pardon my intrusion, but today I come on behalf of the Yotsuba Family."
The young girl greeted Virginia in fluent English.
However, she discarded any military references to superior officers.
Given her perfect grasp of the English language, it was impossible to believe that she was unfamiliar with those terms.
In short, this was intentional.
Broadcasting her own name and surname was likely also intentional.
"I am Colonel Virginia Barans, USNA Military Joint Chiefs of Staff. Excuse my rudeness, but I wanted to ask something prior to our conversation."
"Ara, what is it? I will answer if I am able."
She was likely younger than Major Sirius, but this young girl far outstripped her at the negotiation table.
Though still immature, she was still superior to the USNA Military High Commander with all of her experiences.
This was no simple girl before her eyes. Virginia carefully engraved that in her heart.
"You said Yotsuba Family…… Are you referring to that Yotsuba?"
She spoke in an abstract function just in case that there was an error.
However, in regards to this vague line of questioning, the young girl laughed merrily.
"Indeed, that Yotsuba. Today, I come on behalf of Yotsuba Maya, head of the Yotsuba among the Ten Master Clans with a request."
Even though she was mentally prepared that this wasn’t a mistake, simply accepting such a boldly stated truth was no easy task.
The Yotsuba of Japan.
For those who walked with magic, this was the untouchable land. Especially for people who wielded magic for military purposes.
They were not like Major Sirius in that one person bore the absolute destructive might to challenge an army.
The existence of the Yotsuba Family lay in the entirely opposite direction.
Right now (at least for now), they were subservient to the Japanese government, but if they suddenly morphed into terrorists, they were held as individuals who could pull the trigger on World War IV.
On the magic side, for such a zealous organization, they were not raised up as something worthy of respect, but of complete and utter fear.
"Request, is it?"
"Indeed. I sincerely hope that you will hear me out."
"What is it?"
It was only now that Virginia noticed that they had not served tea.
However, this was far too late to offer refreshments.
Virginia concentrated all of her focus on what the young girl was about to say.
"Then please excuse me. We would like to use Ms. Virginia’s hand to halt the interference with our country’s Magicians."
"…………"
There was no need to say this, but interference referred to the clandestine operation she was in command of. The investigation and protection (in short, abduction) of Japan’s undisclosed Strategic-class Magician as well as his or her nullification (assassination). Of course, she had anticipated this girl’s "request" – the Yotsuba’s demand. In essence, this was the most likely outcome.
Yet, to hear someone utter a phrase far coarser than "please stop" in their request temporarily robbed her of the ability to respond.
"Ms. Virginia, you appear to be someone who understands what sort of system my country’s 'Ten Master Clans' is."
To put it plainly, if you don’t know then I will tell you. Irked by that tone, Virginia nodded her head at the same time. There was no point in playing dumb.
"Our head, Yotsuba Maya, dislikes your meddling. Your country and mine are allies, and neither wishes to sow the seeds of war."
"……Is that a threat? You will open fire if we do not stop?"
Ayako neglected to reply to Virginia’s query and once again laughed merrily.
"Ms. Virginia, was last night restful?"
"So you were the ones who did that!?"
By the time she caught herself, Virginia had already risen from the sofa and leaned forward.
If the table was any smaller, she might have already seized the young girl’s collar.
"What are you referring to? I only asked because I thought that your complexion was a little unhealthy, that’s all."
Though her words were out of concern, no trace of that emotion could be detected on her features.
The young girl continued to smile. She made no attempt to hide the face that signified she had complete confidence that she knew everything.
"Ms. Virginia, please calm down. If possible, we would like to form a friendly relationship with you, Ms. Virginia."
"You dare to say a friendly relationship……?"
Maybe it was only because the young girl voiced it aloud, but Virginia realized that capturing her now at this point in time would pose no benefit whatsoever. This only served to infuriate Virginia further as she sat back down.
"Ms. Virginia is well aware of the Yotsuba’s power. Likewise, we too understand Ms. Virginia’s power very well."
Her emotions were about as dark as possible, but logic commanded Virginia to listen to the young girl’s words.
The young girl who claimed to speak on behalf of the head of the Yotsuba was not talking about the USNA military’s strength or the might of Stars, but saying she knew about Virginia’s power.
That meant……
"Our head said that if Ms. Virginia can arrange for this incident to end here, we will never forget this personal favor that you have bestowed on us. Also, our head said that should there be an opportunity in the future, we would like to lend Ms. Virginia a hand as well."
This was certainly a tempting offer.
If she was on personal terms with the "Yotsuba", then she would have more than enough to reclaim her lost position in the military and then some.
She had personally tested their prowess the night before.
As usual, the young girl maintained her smile.
After weighing both sides on a scale, logic won. –The side of logic named ambition.
Colonel Virginia, faced with a devil’s contract in the form of a beautiful young girl, decided to sign.
Along the way from Aoyama Station to the street side walkway, Tatsuya felt the eyes fastidiously observing him the entire time. Furthermore, it wasn’t just one or two. Based on his conversation with Hayama before leaving the house, Tatsuya had already predicted that he was going to be under observation. That being said, the amount of personnel heartily invested into this venture surpassed his expectations.
They might be aware of the siblings’ connection to the Yotsuba Family or were merely in the guessing phase, but it was also possible that this large force was deployed to ward against the Yotsuba Family intervening.
In the end, even with the support of the Saegusa Family, Tatsuya did not believe that this national intelligence group would dare incur the wrath of the Yotsuba Family directly.
So they don’t care about the Yotsuba Family…… Internal Affairs, Public Safety, and the Intelligence Department should have been aware of the incident that embroiled the siblings’ mother and aunt in their youth. Completely uncaring of the fact that they could be drawn into a rampage of revenge heedless of the target, it was utterly incredible that they could have forgotten such a harsh reminder in the last 20 to 30 years. Not to mention that the might of the Yotsuba Family – "might" that hinted at influence but was more along the lines of violence – was far greater now than it was in the past.
Tatsuya curtailed his train of thought there. New eyes were added to the mix that were observing him.
New, alien, eyes.
Those were the gazes that came from inhuman, monstrous eyes.
For professional intelligence officers, being ordered to observe three high school students and a single HAR model certainly deflated those receiving the orders, but they still went along with it believing that there was no other recourse.
With the experience underneath their belt, they also had a side where they were increasingly going easy on the target. There were a few among them who always gave it their all under any circumstance and never let down their guard while diligently handling their task, but despite the similarities between going easy and sloth, they were fundamentally different.
While going easy bears a somewhat negative impression, this was also a matter of pacing oneself. There was no need to invest all 100% when a mere 50% could get the job done.
Compared to the usual 100%, this mission’s difficulty only required 50% of their power to accomplish, so they only used 50%. Though they might be a little slow off the draw in the beginning, in the end, they still managed to accomplish more things. "Habit" was also an ability.
However, it was also true that there were advantages as well as disadvantages.
For the elite intelligence agents masquerading as police officers, shadowing and observation were their most common tasks. They relied on their bountiful experience to selectively focus their attention, hereby creating an opening.
The mission they received was to immediately fake an arrest when the observation target used magic and thus subdue and abduct them.
For this, they were issued measuring devices to detect magic.
However, the change on the device only occurred directly after a cry of alarm put everyone on guard.
—The men’s vision was assailed by a tide of flashing lights.
A thoroughly unexpected pre-emptive strike.
A hostile act utterly without precursor.
Their will to retaliate was submerged beneath the roiling waves of those flashing lights.
"Tatsuya-kun, I have caused the people observing us to fall asleep."
"Good work."
Seeing an elated Honoka report her accomplishment, even Tatsuya found it hard to prevent his face from becoming overly stiff.
The alien gazes were drawing closer. Inhuman…… No doubt about it, it was the Parasite. With them as opponents, human observers were too great a hassle.
Using magic at will on the open streets was illegal in the first place. Anyone who eyed someone else with such dogged persistence could not possibly be the average civilian or real public servants, which only compounded the difficulty because their usage of magic was not authorized. The reason why Tatsuya communicated the location of the observers to his companions was to warn them against using magic haphazardly prior to shaking off their pursuers.
In truth, Tatsuya was going to say it aloud.
Compared to that, however, Honoka’s actions outstripped him in speed.
"Even if we’re about to get caught, I’m sure Honoka would do something, right?"
Honoka had made a rather broad interpretation to Tatsuya’s phrase. In reality, her heart fairly sang that "This is the first time Tatsuya is asking my assistance!"
Since there was always a side of her that tended to daydream, neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki objected to this, but it was even greater today than usual.
As a Magician, Light-based magic was Honoka’s specialty. She was particularly adept at manipulating light.
After inquiring the observers’ location from Tatsuya, she used the magnification of light refraction to verify this before suddenly unleashing a brilliant flare of light before her opponents’ eyes.
Brainwashing magic, the light of "Evil Eye".
When Tatsuya noticed this, he was seriously getting worried.
Since he had hinted for her to simply "let them sleep", Tatsuya had allowed her to activate her magic, though to be brutally honest, he wasn’t confident that this was the right decision. Magic that contained hypnotic effects was judged to be the same level as magic that brought direct harm to the physical body and was considered to be an innately vicious magic.
If they had been caught by real policemen, then they wouldn’t just be let off with a warning. Adolescence would not spare them from real punishment – something along the lines of "using magic for community service".
The magic she used was the same as the leader from the "Blanche" terrorists, but both her speed and accuracy far surpassed him though she had executed it against 4 different people.
Being capable of using "Evil Eye" was something praiseworthy, but Tatsuya immediately felt that they needed to relocate quickly.
"Let’s get out of here before their companions arrive."
As expected, bringing Honoka along was a complete disaster…… Finally realizing this, Tatsuya quietly informed his other companion.
"What a troublesome young lady……"
As she watched the monitor for the observation system along the streets – primarily composed of street cameras, there were also devices to detect poisonous gases, illegal high efficiency electric waves and the psion detectors for unauthorized usage of magic, Fujibayashi couldn’t help but sigh.
"That’s still a wonderful technique. If I recall correctly, she is called 'Mitsui Honoka', correct?"
The voice that came from behind her spoke solely on the meritorious value of a Magician.
In regards to her grandfather’s words that bore no ulterior meaning, Fujibayashi sighed again.
"That’s true, Sofu-sama. She is a Year 1 student from First High, Mitsui Honoka."
"Could the 'Mitsui' who excel in that system of magic belong to the bloodline that carries the Element of Light?"
"That remains unknown. Should I investigate?"
"Oh hardly, there’s no need to investigate specifically for that reason."
When asked by his granddaughter, Elder Kudou chuckled happily and shook his head.
"Speaking of which…… Though the outstanding individuals have been called outstanding and the unique have been labeled unique, he certainly has a group of fascinating people gathered around him."
"Not just on abilities alone. There are quite a few children with interesting personalities as well."
Casually throwing out those insulting words, Fujibayashi slipped on a pair of thin gloves for calculation purposes before her fingers came into contact with the touchscreen and danced over the controls.
The observation system was stubborn in both software and hardware, but in comparison, operation was a piece of cake. Unrestricted recordings could easily be taken advantage of by malicious individuals or those lurking in the depths of the government. Once restricted to being operated by hand, such a ponderous observation system would be too difficult to manipulate.
Including this vampire incident, in order to be above blame for any use of magic, a few actions were required to ensure that select portions of the data were not left for the Saegusa and Chiba Families.
Mayumi was responsible for the leading information control, but with the exams coming up, her task was delegated to Fujibayashi.
However, Fujibayashi’s approach was to exclude all others and operate the controls herself. Unlike Mayumi, Fujibayashi was also working to hide the fact that the daughter of the Saegusa Family’s head was being used as a cat’s paw, since she knew that the head was secretly observing all of this behind his daughter’s back. Knowing the reason for it, there was no way she could leave this task to others.
Since she was not operating as a hacker and as a legitimate operator of the system, this was easier on her than usual, but at the same time she felt a little out of whack behind the controls.
Still, there was nothing she could do about that.
Since she was figuratively being relied upon and realistically doing her duty, she could go about it as she pleased like she typically would.
Not to mention the fact that her grandfather was right behind her.
Both she and the one who sent her (in other words, the one who planned for her substitution) were not expecting Elder Kudou to be observing here.
As to why he was here, Fujibayashi wasn’t going to ask that.
Though he was her grandfather, they were not that close. As a member from the Fujibayashi Family, she had taken heed not to express any close relationship with the elder of the Kudou Family.
In addition, if sparks did fly between the Saegusa and Yotsuba Families, it would be unsurprising for Kudou Retsu to act and put out the flames.
Fujibayashi Kyouko’s grandfather was one of the few privy to Shiba Tatsuya’s real identity.
"Should I say birds of a feather flock together…… Or maybe cut from the same cloth. Regardless, he is definitely a star who is a far cry from being normal."
"Indeed. Looks like the manipulated might actually turn out to be the manipulator."
Fujibayashi joined in as she continued to watch the monitor.
If she turned to see her grandfather’s face, then she might have noticed the deeper meaning behind his words.
However, she failed to do so.
Birds of a feather. Centered round the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion headed by Kazama, she was also included among that number. Nevertheless, whether fortunate or unfortunate, her grandfather’s message was not passed along to the granddaughter.
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