Chapter 3
Tatsuya’s weekday mornings were virtually unchanged. The night before, Tatsuya must have had some kind of discussion with Yakumo but, neither Miyuki nor Minami asked about it. However, his keeping to his usual routine somewhat assured them that he had somehow secured the safety of their friends.
However, Tatsuya himself was not at ease on the matter. Or more exactly, it was not his nature to feel at ease by only applying one layer of protection.
After school in the Student Council room. Because they had to go to the Kudou house in Ikoma at 6:00 today, Miyuki had notified Honoka and Izumi that she had private business and had to leave the rest to them.
“Shizuku”
Tatsuya called out to Shizuku who had come to hang out.
“What?”
Her reply lacked courtesy but, Tatsuya knew that Shizuku herself did not mean to be impolite and did not take offense.
“Could Honoka stay with you for a while?”
“Huuh!?”
Honoka was the one who raised her voice, Shizuku only raised her eyebrows slightly.
“Why?”
“Because it may not be safe for her to be alone”
“....uh, why would that be?”
Honoka asked with her face pale from uneasiness. Of course, Tatsuya intended to explain the reason as much as he could.
“The truth is, yesterday as we got off at the station we were attacked by someone”
“Oh my! You were not injured were you!?”
The first to jump in and speak in a loud voice was Izumi; the one she was asking was Miyuki.
“I am fine. Neither Onii-sama, I or Minami received the slightest injury”
While Izumi rubbed Miyuki’s smile to her chest---this was not a simile, she actually displayed the gesture, Izumi returned to her seat.
“As Miyuki said we were not injured but, we don’t know why we were attacked”
That was half a lie. However, the remaining half was the truth and in this case that was the more important half.
“The police?”
“Since they have not contacted us, I believe they are still in the midst of their investigation”
“Then, do you know anything?”
“Only that it was an ancient magician”
“Only that? Any other clues?”
“It is as Onii-sama stated, we do not know why we were attacked”
“Then, perhaps…”
Honoka who had listened to Shizuku’s and Miyuki’s exchange advanced her thinking in the direction Tatsuya wished.
“He wasn’t aiming for Tatsuya personally; there’s a chance that he was aiming at a member of First High’s student council?”
Tatsuya didn’t particularly want to scare Honoka but, in this situation, it was better if he made her wary.
“I don’t know. However, as I said earlier, I think it best to avoid being alone”
“Understood”
Shizuku placed a hand on the frightened Honoka’s shoulder.
“Honoka, from today on you're coming to my house”
“....yes, I’ll do that. I need to get my stuff, is it alright if you come with me when I go home?”
“Okay”
There might be some resistance to abruptly going over to the house to stay even though they were friends, Honoka displayed hesitation however, in the end, she appeared to accept Tatsuya’s advice and let herself be spoiled by Shizuku’s good will.
Tatsuya’s covert maneuvering did not end there.
“...therefore, we’re in a situation where we don’t know who will be targeted”
“It might be linked to the Thesis Competition and it might not be?”
He had told Miyuki and Minami to wait a little, Tatsuya was spouting the same mix of truth and lies at Mikihiko. Mikihiko, who was observing Isori’s work in the auditorium again today in the name of security, replied with questions that indicated he understood the story Tatsuya compiled.
“That’s right. Since the reason is undetermined, the targets cannot be narrowed down”
There was no sign of doubt towards Tatsuya’s words in Mikihiko’s manner. In Mikihiko’s defense, this with less naivete than because he was reacting strongly to the important matter of students of First High being attacked.
“So we should increase the guards on the representatives?”
“No, Nakajou-senpai has enough people with her and the combination of Isori-senpai, Chiyoda-senpai, Minakami-senpai, and Kirihara-senpai should be avoided by most opponents”
Leo, who was listening to the pair’s conversation in silence, nodded in agreement several times.
“I am more concerned with you guys and Mizuki than them. Because you guys are the ones I am most intimate with in First High”
When he said most intimate to the two males, he looked a little bashful.
On the other hand, Erika, the sole woman in the group, was not grinning instead she looked rather stern.
“I’m fine. I do not need to tell you about Miki….Leo is probably fine as well”
“I am worried about you. After all, you’re a girl too”
In a sense, he was treating her as an inferior; Leo was about to get verbally abused.
However, Erika’s response differed from usual.
“That’s right. It’s as the idiot said, the one to worry about is Mizuki. Because in regards to combat power, that girl is nothing more than an ordinary girl”
He could have been thinking the same thing, Mikihiko nodded his agreement to Erika’s point with an anxious look.
“That’s right…..”
“.....Tatsuya-kun, for the time being I’ll accompany Mizuki. Would just to and from school be fine?”
Erika’s plan of picking up and dropping off Mizuki herself caused each of the three males to shake their heads.
“You are a girl too, okay”
“No matter, how talented you are Erika, it’s too dangerous. The opponents are ancient magicians. If they came at you from the front, I don’t think you would come up short but, we don’t know what kind of underhanded tricks they might pull. That’s right, Tatsuya?”
“I am in agreement with Mikihiko’s opinion. It’s one thing if all you were doing was protecting yourself but having to protect Mizuki as well won’t work, Erika”
At any rate, Leo’s simplistic negative response---possibly the most effective one---combined with Mikihiko’s and Tatsuya’s points did not make Erika go all obstinate.
“...then Miki, you escort her”
“Eeh!”
Though, she did not forget to lob a bomb as a counterattack.
“That’s right…..Mikihiko, can we depend on you?”
“Eh, no, but”
“See her to the door and back properly. Don’t forget to introduce yourself to her parents. If you don’t you’ll be mistaken for a stalker”
“Uuu…..”
He understood the necessity. However, there was strong emotional resistance. Especially to the part about ‘introducing himself to her parents’.
“I will speak to Mizuki”
“Ah, take care of it”
It wasn’t quite that…. his reason and emotions were at war with each other.
“.....understood. it would be too late if we waited til something happened”
His awkwardness and embarrassment squashed in the name of a good cause, Mikihiko’s integrity was intact.
After finishing some arrangements, Tatsuya traveled to Ikoma [1] with Miyuki and Minami. They journeyed to Nara directly by train but switched into a cabinet after reaching it, since the transportation network in the Keihanshin [2] district wasn’t as maintained in areas with landmark architecture or historic relevance.
Miyuki and Minami also had a favorable opinion of the linear train seats this time, so Tatsuya thought it was ok to take this kind of a transport on extended trips in the future. Meanwhile, they proceeded to the Kudou house passing through and enjoying the view of the Ikomayama mountains [3] and the Mount Higashiyama foothills [4] [5] .
To this day, the 10MC had no custom for visits between clan houses. Also, it went without saying that it was notably and frequently seen that this society limited contact between men and women of marriageable age. There was a small chance that this was the case with Tatsuya and Miyuki who had a concealed relationship with the Yotsuba family. That was why it was normal that this was the first time that they visited the Kudou residence. On the other hand, there was no chance of getting lost on the way because after leaving the cabinet station there was an automatic commuting service.
Almost as planned, their arrival time was 5:55 p.m.
After leaving the commuter, they rang the bell. On the other side of the intercom was not a servant but Fujibayashi instead.
“Welcome, Tatsuya-kun. Also, Miyuki-san, Minami-chan, thank you for coming.”
“Sorry about this. We kind of wanted to accompany Onii-sama.”
Tatsuya couldn’t help but be grateful to Fujibayashi who promptly arrived here from Tokyo and displayed such a lively scene in their first talk.
“Don’t worry about it. Come on, guys, please don’t hesitate to come in.”
Fujibayashi opened the gate with a smile, and invited the three of them inside.
If no one led the way, one would surely need some form of second sight ability similar to Tatsuya’s to get through the vestibule. Minami kept looking around with an admiring expression. While Miyuki with a well behaved manner, fixed her eyes on her brother's back, but she was surprised with the view of a large green wall at the end of their path.
From the entrance gate of the Kudou residence to the front door, there lied a maze made with hedges more than two meters high. There probably was an entrance for cars elsewhere. Also, no doubt there were some forms of traps there, since the entrance for people was a maze with a magic-like pattern, it would be incredible for the car entrance to get a free pass.
(This residence is some kind of a fortress)
Looking from the outside, it was a luxurious three-story Western-style building that seemed to have no peculiarities.
However, this mansion must have a mechanism to reject uninvited visitors who had stepped on its grounds. Or maybe it was supposed to look like a fully-fledged fortified manor combined with some military concept architecture.
“Highly impressive, isn’t it?”
Fujibayashi asked with a smile and Tatsuya felt an atmosphere of admiration.
“This mansion wasn’t originally built to withstand attacks from the Traditionalists. By incorporating research from the former Ninth Institute, the defenses have been strengthened in small increments. The decision to locate the mansion here had been decided by the government of that time.”
Fujibayashi quizzed Tatsuya with a tone similar to with which children ask questions for a riddle: “Do you know the reason for this?” Regardless of what she expected to hear and whether he didn’t know or had the correct response Tatsuya just wasn’t motivated enough to play along.
“I heard that it was in order to monitor Osaka.”
“It's discouraging… but that’s the correct answer.”
Tatsuya secretly thought "she really seems like a child", seeing the disappointed look of Fujibayashi.
“Onii-sama, what do they need to monitor in Osaka?”
The admiring expression that Fujibayashi displayed as she was asking questions was well deserved, since Tatsuya possessed more than just general knowledge. Anyhow, Miyuki was asking her brother, but only this time, Fujibayashi replied.
“Since Osaka is an international commercial city, it’s more tolerant towards the dealings of foreigners and also relatively easy to settle in. No matter what, spies will always escape surveillance, and when events have already happened, it’s easy to fall into a passive situation.”
“In order to promptly respond to it?”
“Yes. Because the secret maneuvering of a magician spy is one of the worst nightmares for a politician. The Kudou family had the task to inhibit magicians to reign free on foreign espionage missions as an example of best practices in the former Ninth Magician Development Research Institute.”
For now, Miyuki assumed a stance of comprehension. Yet, the impression of a lingering question remained.
“Miyuki-san, don’t refrain to ask whatever you need.”
Fujibayashi seemed aware of it, so she encouraged Miyuki.
“Thank you very much for your concern. I don’t think it’s a big deal but… I was thinking that to monitor a spy whose mission is sneaking into Osaka, shouldn't a base be established on the west side of Osaka, or at the very least not on the east side of Ikomayama?”
It was a casual question that seemed to hit a sore spot for Fujibayashi.
Fujibayashi frowned and was at a loss for words. This was Tatsuya’s cue to step in.
“There was danger that they’d get into trouble for being too close.”
Miyuki revealed subtle surprise.
“Something like, ‘betrayal’!?”
“Politicians seem to think so.”
The maze was coming to an end as they saw the entrance. The topic about how politicians perceived magicians stopped without further delving into.
Kudou Retsu was already waiting in the reception room. The time was 5:59 pm. Since Tatsuya and the others weren't late, there was no intention of being apologetic, and they didn’t actually feel nervous.
Against an elder of the magic world in Japan, Tatsuya’s mind and body were in flawless condition as usual.
“I’d like to sincerely thank you for your time for receiving us today.”
Retsu replied with a somewhat bittersweet smile to Tatsuya’s 100% formal greetings.
"It's been a long time. The last time we met in person was last summer, right?"
“Thank you very much for your intervention in the matter of the electronic golden silkworms.”
“It was nothing…”
Some hesitation floated in the face of Retsu. However, he overcame that in himself.
"Truthfully speaking, since you proposed this meeting, there was no obligation for me to receive you; however, I’m glad that we meet again.
“I apologize for troubling you.”
Tatsuya bowed maintaining his social courteousness by gesture to which Retsu waved to prevent him from continuing.
“Shiba Tatsuya-kun. This may be of self-satisfaction but I want to apologize first. The Parasite Doll matter was something that I conceived and planned. I don’t intend to make excuses as the loser, but I also don’t think the affair was at all wrong. However, I believe that I troubled you and caused you some grief and for that, I’m really sorry.”
Saying so, Retsu deeply lowered his head, -sitting down in a cushion sofa used in the reception room. Both Tatsuya and Miyuki watched him with a serious face, but only Minami standing behind Miyuki had eyes revealing a cold light.
“Let's just say that I’m not in a position to ask for forgiveness, but at the very least I wanted to apologize.”
"Your Excellency, please raise your head"
Tatsuya replied with a respectful voice.
“Every person does what they think is best. Even a novice such as myself understands this line of thought. At that place, I judged that I couldn't allow your excellency to perform the experiments you envisioned. However, I'm not going to deny that your Excellency's idea of unattended magic weapon development is certainly needed.”
“I'm relieved that you think that way.”
Retsu raised his head and faced Tatsuya. Then, Tatsuya and Retsu looked at each other in the eyes.
“——I heard about your mission from Kyouko.”
The conversation resumed from Retsu’s side.
“Capturing Zhou Gongjin. This is a mission from Maya…. no, Yotsuba-dono, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Miyuki gracefully sat next to Tatsuya, however, she was concealing that internally she was surprised and shaken. She didn’t expect Tatsuya to openly admit his connection with Maya, no matter the circumstances or the high probability of Kudou Retsu to know about it, even if he was to become an ally in this mission.
“Do you happen to know where the request for Yotsuba-dono is coming from?”
"No. I don’t know about it and also I think that it’s not necessary for me to know.”
“Are you satisfied with being a pawn of the Yotsuba?”
Tatsuya returned a “No” again with an unwavering poker face to Retsu’s test question (-in truth, wanna-be-attempt question).
"Mainly, it's because I found out that I shouldn't know."
Retsu only sighed, seeing Tatsuya without an appearance of overexerted words.
I see... so you’ve figured out about “that person” to that extent.
Tatsuya didn’t answer anything. His attitude was of "no comments".
“Apparently Miyuki-kun doesn’t seem to know either… No, forgive me for saying something this vague.”
Retsu sighed again, looking at Tatsuya and Miyuki in alternation.
“The 10MC are bound by the rules of the MC. In the rules, a 10MC member isn't supposed to let other 10MC conspire together. Also, they can only cooperate in emergency situations."
“Yes”
Tatsuya didn’t know the minute details of the MC rules. And he just heard of this substantial rule for the first time. He did not dare to give comments of criticism, kept his reply brief, and nodded only with short words.
“The Kudou family can't receive a cooperation request from the Yotsuba family. So I think for this matter it’s Shiba Tatsuya who as an individual asked a favor from the individual Kudou Retsu.”
“Thank you very much.”
With one voice, Tatsuya and Miyuki pronounced their gratefulness to the roundabout acceptance from Retsu.
While Miyuki showed a conservative smile, Tatsuya remained expressionless.
The meeting with Kudou Retsu was over in less than ten minutes; however, it ended up being good enough for Tatsuya. He supposedly requested assistance as an individual, but he obtained agreement of cooperation as a private associate. In the end, it was a plus that the meeting didn’t extend for any longer.
Afterwards, Fujibayashi invited Tatsuya and the girls to dinner, so they excused themselves to Retsu and accompanied her. It was an informal dinner without the head of the house being present, so Tatsuya was grateful to Fujibayashi for her thoughtfulness.
The Kudou residence had several dining rooms. The three of them were guided to a room designed for young people. This didn't mean that the room was designed exclusively for children's usage, but also to let the children’s parents socialize. As they were chatting, they heard a light knock on the door, as if the food already arrived.
“Come in.”
Fujibayashi invited them in and the door was slowly opened.
“Please excuse us. Grandfather asked me to invite you to dinner…”
Entering the room there was a young man of an age similar to Miyuki and Minami.
Surprise was reflected on his beautiful face.
Minami held her breath with the young man’s human-transcending appearance.
Even Tatsuya couldn’t help but gaze at the young man’s handsome looks in admiration.
In a word, beautiful, but not in the sense of female prettiness. This young man was, excusing the expression, the “ideal bishonen [6] ”
Tatsuya only knew of one person that was as striking as this young man.
The person in question was Miyuki, the “ideal bishojo [7] ”, who had no comparison amongst males.
“Minoru-kun, how long are you going to stand there?”
Fujibayashi’s words to the young man stunned Miyuki.
“I’m sorry!”
The young man showed an appropriately hasty diligence for his age and stepped in between Fujibayashi and the table of Tatsuya’s group.
“It’s very nice to meet you”
The young man began his self-introduction with a still slightly shaken voice.
“I am Kudou Minoru, the youngest son of Kudou Makoto, the head of the Kudou family. I am a first year student in the Second High School. It’s an honor to meet you Shiba Tatsuya-san, Shiba Miyuki-san, and Sakurai Minami-san”
Minami was surprised upon hearing her full name and even blushed.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Shiba Tatsuya.”
Tatsuya replied to Minoru and got up as a courtesy.
“I’m Miyuki, the younger sister. Minoru-san, you already knew about us, is that right?”
In a split second, Miyuki stood up and smiled to Minoru. Both Tatsuya and Miyuki introduced themselves to Minoru in a friendly manner, without being on guard.
Minoru got seriously embarrassed in front of two such people. Although he blushed and gave off an uncanny, easy to be fond of impression, the “super super” bishonen part didn’t change for a second.
“I saw your accomplishments in the 9SC. Umm, also, just call me Minoru without the honorific and please don’t use keigo [8] with me, because I’m your junior and I’m also happier without them.”
He was as beautiful as Miyuki but in terms of character, he seemed a bit superficial and inferior to Miyuki, almost ordinary. Maybe it was because he was the younger son of the family head and hadn’t received enough heir education.
“Then, I’ll call you Minoru-kun.” [9]
When Miyuki sweetly smiled almost grinning, Minoru averted his eyes in embarrassment.
It was finally Minami’s turn.
“Please excuse my rudenes-s [10] !”
Minami stood up with a particularly dull metallic sound at the end of her speech. It was difficult to say it was suitable in the way of manners, but Minami didn’t worry about it for now , and hurried to fix her introduction.
“I mean, I apologize for being late in my introduction. My name is Sakurai Minami. It is a pleasure to meet you Minoru-sama.”
“Oh, yes, that’s very kind of you. However, I’d prefer it if you didn’t use ‘sama’…”
Minoru was a bit uncomfortable in front of Minami’s nervous face and stiff body.
“Minoru-kun, unfortunately, this is in nature a custom of Minami. Will you overlook it?“
This way, Minoru didn’t strongly insist following Tatsuya’s humble expression.
“Ok. If you put it that way…”
In the end, Minoru gave in and the topic was settled.
In terms of age, Miyuki, Minoru and Minami all were 16-year olds, but in terms of grade, Minoru and Minami were first year high school students. In addition, It could be said that it was difficult for them to talk casually with each other.
“Minoru-kun… this is not a marriage meeting, there’s no need to be so tense.”
“Oh? That... I’m sorry, Kyoko-neesan.”
“You too Minami-chan… Though it’d be unreasonable to act unreservedly all of a sudden, please relax your shoulders a bit more. Being so tense can be uncourteous.”
“…… I’m sorry, Miyuki-neesama.”
Tension remained between Minoru and Minami, with their conversation cutting off. It seemed to be a situation followed by an uncomfortable air and it was hard for them to continue with an easy-going banter.
“Don’t say that, Miyuki. You have to consider that this is the first time for a 16-year-old girl to meet a male of the same age. Not being tense might be too big of a hurdle for her.”
For Tatsuya, a way to lessen Minoru’s uneasiness was coming up with pleasant banter, before a relative intervenes in front of guests.
“Onii-sama, I’m also a 16-year old girl meeting Minoru-kun for the first time. Would you mean that I'm not included in that category?”
With Miyuki’s sulking reaction, she again proved her oversensitivity to Tatsuya’s words.
“Simply, you’re not an average girl because you’re a sophisticated [11] young lady.”
“Oh, Onii-sama, the things you say…”
Miyuki easily recovered her state of mind and she put her hands up against her pale pink cheeks, while avoiding her elder brother’s eyes.
Then they heard a leaking *giggle* sound like the start of a laugh.
Minoru turned around and put both hands to his mouth in order to control himself. He felt their gazes and blushed as if he was embarrassed. Still, he couldn’t immediately stifle his laughter. And it took him about 10 seconds to somehow regain composure.
“Pardon my rudeness...”
Minoru’s expression while blushing and apologizing afforded him convincing attractiveness and gave an impression of approachability that was previously concealed.
“We as well, since my elder brother joked too much.”
Miyuki took control of the situation by imposing all of the responsibility on Tatsuya.
Hearing Miyuki’s intervention, Tatsuya made a face as if it was someone else’s business.
“No… You Shiba siblings have a very pleasant relationship, don’t you.”
“A too good of a relationship can be troublesome.”
“I don’t remember it inconveniencing Fujibayashi-san.”
Fujibayashi intervened in Minoru’s talk teasing him and Tatsuya took advantage of that.
“Anyway, I’m a bit jealous of your relationship. I rarely converse with my elder brothers due to our age differences. I also don’t have friends, either.”
“Wouldn’t you have friends in school?”
Miyuki’s question might have lacked some consideration.
"Because my body is naturally weak… I'm often absent from school."
Miyuki made an expression as if to say “my mistake”.
Minoru attempted to repel the surfacing uncomfortable air.
“But I’m feeling ok this week. Oh, I know! Will everyone stay overnight today?”
“Yes, we’re staying in a hotel near here.”
"Why not stay in this house?"
Tatsuya hesitated on how to deal with Minoru who had an air of a child left behind by his playmates about him. He had a very likeable reaction, but improper for the grandson of Kudou Retsu. Tatsuya could not duly assess if it was an act or genuine childishness.
“Minoru-kun, please don’t ask the impossible.”
Fujibayashi came to the rescue of Tatsuya and Miyuki who had trouble giving an answer.
“Ok, let’s wait until we are closer friends.”
After being lightly reproached by his cousin, -his so (ostensibly) longed sister, Minoru firmly nodded with a smile like saying “Oh, it’s like that”.
"Instead of that, Minoru-kun, what about guiding Tatsuya’s group tomorrow?"
Minoru’s reaction to Fujibayashi’s sudden proposal was faster than Tatsuya’s and Miyuki’s.
“Yes, by all means!”
“Wouldn’t that cause trouble for you?”
Most probably, Miyuki understood that Minoru had goodwill without reserve, but he was the cooperating ally they just met earlier today. Persuasively, Fujibayashi dealt with Miyuki who sensibly tried to decline the proposal.
“However, Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki-san, Minami-chan, none of you are familiar with this area, right? Although Minoru-kun’s constitution is weak; he’s not vulnerable to disease like Itsuwa Mio-san. And also the Traditionalists may be lurking around on the locations you’re going to search.”
Tatsuya’s eyes started shining sharply.
While taking note of Tatsuya’s look, Fujibayashi calmly turned to her cousin stating "Ne? Isn’t that right Minoru-kun?"
"Yes. I'm often absent from school, so I have more confidence than my elder brothers on the details about my Grandfather’s work, Shiba-san."
“Please call me Tatsuya.”
“Please call me Miyuki as well.”
Minoru stuttered, belatedly realizing that he was calling “Shiba-san” when there were two of them, noticing that they let him know about calling them by their first names.
“Please call me Minami.” [12]
At this point although unrelated Minami chimed in as well, not out of assertiveness but consideration.
"Tatsuya-san, your job is to look for a magician of the Traditionalists?"
Minoru asked the question with a serious face and definitely not out of a whim. After all, he’s a 10MC magician.
“More or less, something like that.”
The given answer had a nuance to make it particularly different.
“I see.”
Minoru didn’t ask an unnecessary question to find out what was different.
"In that case, I think I can be helpful. Kyoto is the Traditionalists base with the largest concentration of them, although, Nara can be regarded by many as the main stronghold. Tomorrow please let me guide your way."
Tatsuya considered Minoru's suggestions as very valuable. On the other hand, Miyuki and Minami had an expression of "Eh?" on their faces, so Fujibayashi decided to clear some of their doubts.
"Although the Traditionalists are one large magic association, it’s not a single organization, but there are at least more than ten magician groups conforming a Federation, with each group having a stronghold. As you might recall, the 10MC have up to 18 divisions included, all divided into a total of 28, right? It’s the same thing here and there.
Indeed, the two girls had a face as if they were convinced.
With the end of Fujibayashi’s explanation, Tatsuya wrapped up their meeting.
"Thank you for your kindness. Minoru-kun, we will be under your care tomorrow."
This was a dangerous mission where there were expectations to deliver placed on the abilities of a 16-year old young man. However, neither Miyuki nor Minami objected to this arrangement.
Not only Miyuki earnestly followed Tatsuya’s decision, Minami also was indoctrinated into not interjecting on her Master’s decisions or going beyond the role of a minute maid.
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