Chapter 7
2097 A.D., New Year’s Day.
Both Tatsuya and Miyuki had been busy since they had awakened this morning.
Waking up early was no big deal since the two of them were both used to waking up early, but they were already fed up with being treated like Traditional Japanese Dress-up Dolls. Tatsuya was the same as always, and while Miyuki was capable of putting on her clothes by herself, neither of them have gotten used to having everything done for them even when it comes to changing clothes. Visibly showing that he did not wish to have his face puffed with powder, Tatsuya adamantly refused, but Miyuki could not help him. Well, it was not like he was going to have his face made all white like a stage actor; it helped that the application of the powder was only at the level of something for
“Japanese clothes–version natural makeup.”
At any rate, after being played around with for a full hour, by the time they were released, they felt like going home as they were.
“Tatsuya-niisan.”
“Miyuki-oneesama.”
They were seated on the chairs in the anteroom——probably trying not to get creases on their clothes. Fumiya, who was in a haori hakama, and Ayako, wearing furisode——where they were discussing with the two while walking about despite the fair number of tall, four-legged chairs located in the anteroom, about whether preparations were finally over with.
“Tatsuya-niisan, Miyuki-san, Happy New Year.”
“Tatsuya-san, Miyuki-oneesama, Happy New Year.”
The two people were polite in their New Year greetings, Tatsuya and Miyuki also started.
“Fumiya, Ayako-chan, Happy New Year. No, I can’t call you Ayako-chan anymore right?”
“Tatsuya-san, please don’t tease me on New Year’s Day. It’s alright. I make a special permit only for Tatsuya-san to call me ‘Ayako-chan’.”
“Fufufu. Fumiya-kun, Ayako-san, Happy New Year.”
“Uwaa.”
The one who raised their voice was Fumiya.
“Miyuki-san, how should I put this… You look, extremely beautiful.”
“I give up. That’s not how you do it.”
Fumiya was amazed that Ayako showed no hint of rivalry on her face, he wondered if she had convinced herself in treating Miyuki differently today because she’s the protagonist.
“Anyway, Miyuki-oneesama, that’s a wonderful furisode. It’s as if I’m looking at a bride at a wedding.”
Miyuki was unable to answer with anything but a bitter smile, since she herself also thought the same as Ayako, that her dress could fit for a wedding dress.
“I also think that this is exaggerating, but… I was convinced that I needed to wear this today.”
“Oh dear.”
It was somewhat hard to judge whether that expression of shock by Ayako meant she was really shocked or she was really jealous.
“Madam Shirakawa must have thought that it is appropriate for us to wear the most formal attire because there will be the appointment of the next Family Head.”
The one who made such a remark, was Yuuka, who was standing in her furisode.
“Yuuka-san, Happy New Year. Thank you very much for yesterday.”
“Happy New Year, Tatsuya-san. Then, you’re very welcome. Please don’t mind about what happened yesterday.”
Yuuka said so with a friendliness while approaching the spot where the other four were standing.
They exchanged New Year greetings, and seated themselves after Yuuka’s proposal.
Even only with this many people gathered, the lobby seems to be a little cramped.
Then, as the room felt more and more cramped, the people who were not present yet had grown more and more—quite unnecessarily so—
noticeable.
“Shibata-san, I wonder if he won’t be coming.”
The one who dared to raise the question, perhaps due to the fact that he was the youngest, was Fumiya.
“Looking at the time, he should have already arrived. Perhaps he would come together with his parents.”
Tatsuya answered Fumiya with his conjecture.
The clock hung on the wall to remind them that they would soon be summoned.
As if to support Tatsuya’s words, a housekeeper with a modest furisode came to summon them.
“Excuse me. I will be the one to guide you, I am Sakurai Minami.”
The guide was Minami. The reason she was wearing that furisode was probably to distinguish herself in her role as their guide.
“I probably have a lot of shortcomings, but I shall serve you to the best of my ability, I will be in your care.”
As Minami said, she did do her best. There were times when she was asking herself whether the others were just mistaken about her being a guide at the New Year’s Gathering or whether she was misinterpreting the traditional culture with slight anachronisms, so it might have been embarrassing for her.
“Firstly, Fumiya-sama and Ayako-sama, please let me guide you.”
Fumiya and Ayako stood and bid farewell to Tatsuya, Miyuki and Yuuka in such order.
Both of them followed Minami quietly as they matched their steps out of the lobby.
“By the way, Tatsuya-san, do you know about the entrance manner for the New Year’s Meeting?”
Yuuka asked him this question at this late hour, but Tatsuya honestly answered her.
“I heard we will be summoned by someone and then be guided to make an entrance.”
Upon hearing Tatsuya’s response, Yuuka’s face looked full of pity for him.
“Perhaps, Miyuki-san also doesn’t know?”
“Yes, that’s as much as I’ve heard.”
“Then… Please take a piece of advice from me.”
Tatsuya and Miyuki both turned to Yuuka with quizzical looks.
Yuuka said it with a serious atmosphere.
“Upon entering, you must absolutely not burst into laughter. Once you’re able to hold it back, please promptly take a seat while bowing.”
It was only a short time before Yuuka was taken to the room.
“Tatsuya-sama, Miyuki-sama, please follow me.”
Minami came back to the lobby to summon Tatsuya and Miyuki.
“Minami-chan, are you alright? You look a little tired.”
As Miyuki said, Minami seemed to look a little tired.
“Yes, I’m alright. Sorry for my impertinence, but would you mind if we walked a little faster.”
But, she probably would get some rest after she finished this duty.
Tatsuya thought that it would best to follow her lead in order to end Minami’s duty as soon as possible, Miyuki chose to follow his lead after being asked so by Minami.
“The next head family candidate, Shiba Miyuki-sama, followed by her older brother, Shiba Tatsuya-sama.”
Tatsuya felt his knees breaking when Minami made her proclamation.
When he looked to his side, Miyuki was also soothing her knees.
Without a doubt, it would have been a shameful display had Yuuka not advised them.
The servants came to kneel low off the floor before the two simultaneously, meanwhile both Tatsuya and Miyuki found it
increasingly more difficult to keep calm. Even then, Tatsuya and Miyuki knelt down in a noble manner, with Tatsuya behaving with a great pomp under the circumstances, and Miyuki with chastity and refinement, while taking her bow.
(Is this a test, how can we deal with this many formalities?) Tatsuya bowed while thinking over this matter.
Kneeling before the two, Minami whispered to them ‘please take your seats’. After hearing that signal, Tatsuya and Miyuki raised their faces.
The assembly went a little taken aback, and it was none other due to the beauty of Miyuki.
Guided by Minami, Tatsuya and Miyuki went to their seats.
There was a commotion for the second time.
Tatsuya and Miyuki were led to the seats next to Maya.
“Everyone, once again, Happy New Year to all of you.’
While declaring her proclamation, Maya who wore a splendorous black tomesode bountifully adorned with gold thread, despite the fact that she was not married; the commotion ended abruptly as the whole
congregation said, “Happy New Year” in perfect chorus. Tatsuya and Miyuki also anticipated that, so they readied their voices without delay.
Maya looked around with a content look.
“Today, on top of the auspicious new year, I have another piece of good news to be delivered to everyone. This matter is something that has made my heart truly delighted.”
With that introduction, Maya first turned her eyes to Katsushige. Beside Katsushige, who was donning a haori hakama just like Tatsuya and the others, uncomfortably sat Kotona who was donning a furisode just like Miyuki and the others.
“Katsushige-san, the eldest son of the Shibata Family, and Kotona Tsutsumi have recently gotten engaged.”
Huge cheers roared. Tatsuya tried to pick for some whispers from the crowds. There were more people who said “as I’ve thought” or “finally”
than people who said “really”.
“From here on, it probably won’t be just happy times, there will be a lots of things you will struggle with, but please wish the young couple bountiful blessings ahead.”
An ovation broke out from the assembly. However, Tatsuya wasn’t able to ignore how before that there were a lot of people who nodded in agreement when Maya said ‘a lots of things you will struggle with’.
“Next, I shall be announcing what everyone has been most concerned about.”
The assembly went silent as if someone threw water at them.
“Fufufu, it is as you have all thought.”
Maya smiled as if irritated.
Even so, there was neither a whisper nor a sound from the assembly.
Perhaps, she was satisfied with this reaction, or may be dissatisfied.
Keeping up her secretive smile, Maya presented the name of the next family head.
“I would like to entrust the position of family head to our Shiba Miyuki here.”
There was vigorous clapping amid the ovation. It was particularly loud among the Main House’s servants.
“Let’s leave the congratulating process for another time. This New Year’s Meeting isn’t the place to do such a formal matter after all.”
Laughter of agreement arose from the assembly. Tatsuya gazed upon the crowd, he saw blushed faces in the man from the assembly. Tatsuya realized with a little astonishment that people are out here drinking after all.
“And then, the final news. Miyuki, our next family head, welcomes on this occasion, my son, Shiba Tatsuya as her fiancée.”
Instead of applause, came a huge commotion. It was in no way whispering, it was exchanged conversations.
“Pardon me, Toushu-sama, but would you permit me to ask a question?”
The voice came from, Yuuka’s vicinity. The woman who wore a comfortable irotomesode, was Yuuka’s mother, the Tsukuba Family’s Head, Tsukuba Touka.
“Tsukuba-dono, what is it?”
Maya asked her with a calm questioning smile.
Touka asked her with a stiff expression bereft of calmness.
“You just said ‘my son’, but did I mishear that? As far as I remember, Tatsuya-san is the son of Miya-sama, Toushu-sama’s Onee-sama.”
“I see. This is a good opportunity, so I thought I’d introduce him as my son too. Shiba Tatsuya here, was born from my egg before that
‘Incident’, currently I’m acting as his adoptive mother in my sister’s, Miya’s, stead. I’ve asked for her permission beforehand, thereby, I introduce him as my son from now onwards.”
The commotion turned to silence. However, that was only for a moment.
“Toushu-sama.”
“Yes, Mitsugu-san. What is it?”
In this place, she ought to call the Branch House Family Head, as
‘Kuroba-dono’, but Maya dared to call him “Mitsugu-san” as she used to. Maya knew very well that it pressured Mitsugu.
“About the ‘welcome’ you’ve said just now…”
“Oh, that’s right. That was an expression that would attract some misunderstanding.”
In contrast to Mitsugu’s stiff expression, Maya hinted an almost mocking, light, deceptive smile.
“Tatsuya is just a second-year student at the First High School, so he will continue to live with the Shiba Family as he has always done. Be it as it may that he is engaged, I think it wouldn’t be moral for a male and a female high schooler to be cohabitating, but I am certain that no such indiscretion would be committed between Miyuki-san and Tatsuya-san.”
“However…”
As he was just about to detail his opposition, Mitsugu closed his mouth.
He noticed Fumiya who sat beside him who had been repeatedly asking Ayako, ‘Nee-san, are you alright’.
“Ara, Ayako-san, are you alright? Do you feel uncomfortable.”
Maya spoke out earlier than Mitsugu.
Mitsugu was stunned out of guilt for his daughter.
“Yes… I’m fine.”
Despite her firm reply, Ayako didn’t seem so in the eyes of the spectator.
“Would someone please take Ayako-san to another room to rest?”
The one who responded to Maya’s clamor was Fumiya and Minami.
“I will lead the way.”
“Please let me accompany her.”
Minami bowed at the entrance of the hall, while Fumiya wrapped his arms around Ayako’s shoulder while pleading to Maya.
“Yes, please.”
Maya gave the order to Minami.
“Fumiya-san, you may be dismissed.”
Then, she turned to Fumiya while saying so.
“Nee-san, I’m coming in.”
Fumiya knocked on the door of the room where Ayako was lying on a bed, having removed her Furisode and changed to more comfortable clothing.
Minami, who had been attending to her, opened the door from the inside.
“Fumiya.”
“Nee-san, you can’t do this! Please get some sleep!”
Rushing up to Ayako confused, Fumiya put her to sleep as she tried to rise up from the bed.
“You’re exaggerating. It’s not like I’m sick.”
Ayako replied with a tired voice. However, she lied on her bed calmly even as she said that.
Not sick, Fumiya diverted his face at those words. However, he soon returned his eyes to Ayako who lied down on the bed calmly.
“Nee-san, umm… are you alright?”
“What… Fumiya, you understand right?”
Ayako smiled in a face that was about to cry.
“I wonder if it was due to the fact that we’re twins. In times like this, I can’t hide anything from you.”
Fumiya showed a similar expression as Ayako.
Even if they’re twins, they came from different zygotes, since they have different genders, even their features are also different. The very girly Ayako and androgynous Fumiya. Even if Fumiya wore the same clothes, make-up and hairstyle as Ayako, they wouldn’t be mistaken for each other. However, they endured their tearful smiles and now made the same facial expression.
“It can’t be expected, since we’re against Miyuki-san. After all, Miyuki-san is the closest person to Tatsuya-niisan”
Fumiya implied that there was nothing they could do but to give up on Tatsuya. Ayako didn’t respond to those words which implied that she liked Tatsuya.
“I never thought that Toushu-sama allied herself to Miyuki-san this much though.”
“That’s wrong, Fumiya.”
Fumiya thought that Maya announced her stunt, saying that Tatsuya was her son, for the sake of Miyuki. However, Ayako denied it as being
‘wrong’ immediately.
“This is, for Tatsuya-san’s sake.”
“Nee-san?”
“This isn’t for Miyuki-oneesama. Toushu-sama is using Miyuki-oneesama in order to ensure Tatsuya-san’s freedom and place.”
“I wonder…”
Fumiya shyly received new strength from Ayako’s words. He had probably created scenarios, which Miyuki was unsuitably chosen as Tatsuya’s mate.
Ayako’s words seemed to have landed at the right place, Fumiya’s opportunity to know, finally disappeared.
Due to Ayako exiting the room, the unexpected declaration that Tatsuya was Maya’s son such as ‘is it true’, ‘if it were, why did she hide it until now’, which was the logical pursuit, was left unspoken and unanswered.
Since it was unanswered, it also signified that Tatsuya’s position as Maya’s son and Miyuki’s fiancée was also established.
Even so, it didn’t mean that they could change their attitudes instantly from viewing him as the ‘bastard’ of the Yotsuba to ‘the Son of the current Family Head’ and ‘the next Family Head’s fiancé’. Even if they tried as much as they could on the surface, their disparaged attitudes oozed out at Tatsuya in words and actions.
However, Tatsuya had no intention to blame them for it. Since they were at a banquet now, and more importantly, he knew well enough back that this was a farce. That was why he’d rather show compassion to the branch families’ members and the servants who couldn’t change their attitudes instantly.
However, there was one servant who showed a different attitude.
“Tatsuya-sama, Miyuki-sama, this time congratulations.”
Hayama, with his morning coat, bowed in prostration before Maya, in front of the two.
“Thank you.”
Miyuki only returned a graceful ‘thank you’, but Tatsuya replied to him with a ‘thank you, but please raise your head’ since he felt bad from the exaggerated manners.
“I’m not familiar with Main Family’s inner workings and traditions. I will need a lot of guidance from Hayama-san in the future.”
In the end, it was only a play, but Tatsuya tried to follow along with an admirable verbal reply.
“I’m honored. Please ask about the things you are uncertain about to these old bones.”
However, Hayama seemed resistant to end the play.
“By the way, Tatsuya-sama, do you remember?”
Since they had no meeting regarding the script, he didn’t have the idea of the topic at all.
However, Tatsuya didn’t have to struggle to dig around his memory.
“I was told that you promised to show us your new magic at this New Year’s Meeting.”
As Hayama immediately told him the answer.
“New magic? Tatsuya, have you completed it?”
Maya who paid no heed to the play and continued her meal asked him.
This was not acting, but a genuine curiosity, and it was a given that she would do so.
“Yes.”
Tatsuya successfully covered up the ‘yeah, well’ reluctant attitude in the precarious situation. Since he was in that situation, he couldn’t bring himself to blame the employees.
“Really? Then, please let me see!”
Maya was ecstatic, like a little girl, forgetting her dignity as the Family Head.
Tatsuya was about to protest when he hinted at Hayama for something.
However, Hayama was smiling as if he was watching his grandchild, Maya, who had regressed and acted like a child.
“Onii-sama. Tatsuya-san, I also want to see.”
For some reason, Miyuki decided to piggyback in this ruckus.
It was a perfect coalition.
“I understand. Since we are all here, why don’t we leave our seats for a while.”
Tatsuya had no longer any option to refuse their request.
Tatsuya, still wearing his Haori Hakama, pointed his CAD to the yard outside the hall venue.
To his opposite, a wild boar encased in a cage was placed.
Tatsuya began his explanation in a loud voice toward the audience in the venue.
“This new magic, ‘Baryon Lance’, is a magic with a lethality towards biological targets. For this reason, the demonstration will get a little bloody. If you are uninterested in any unnecessary killing, I propose for you to move to a separate room to relax for a while at your discretion.”
There were several people who withheld their face, yet not even one moved from their seat. The whole audience in this venue, after all, are people who were related to the Yotsuba.
“Then, I’ll start.”
Tatsuya took out the Silver Horn custom, ‘Trident’, which had been modified for this magic from the case, while wondering why he needed to show it like a juvenile freak show.
The pistol which usually used as a dual-style, but this magic only needed the right hand side of Trident, and further to the tip, there was a sword attached. It was pretty long, like a bayonet, which made the overall appearance of Trident rather unbalanced.
Tatsuya turned the tip of the bayonet at the wild boar in the cage.
He drew the trigger as it was casually.
The magic processes started all at once, running in an instant.
[Material-Baryon Decomposition]
——Nucleus of the sword tip is decomposed. To decompose a nucleus, the molecule atom is decomposed into electrons and atomic nuclei, then the protons and neutrons in the nuclei are decoupled as baryons.
[FAE Process Execution-Particle Convergence]
——Particle group binding of physical law is reduced as the FAE
Theory, crowded to a thin disk-shaped, spreading in accordance with the Laws of Nature. Lepton electrons are excluded from the defined target degradation and is trapping the protons.
[FAE Process Execution-Injection]
——Baryons that were condensed into a thin disk-shape, they shot towards the target. In accordance with the FAE theory, the mass of baryons is moving at the speed of 10,000 km/s which exceeds the limit of magical force.
[Material-Regrowth]
——All of the processes are reversed.
“Eh?”
“What?”
“What has happened?”
Such voices were rising from the center of the audience, the wild boar immediately fell while rumbling the ground.
Of course Tatsuya, didn’t intend to give such a detailed explanation to the audience.
He bowed to the audience from Main Family, Branch Families and the Servants, he attempted to return his CAD and the bayonet attachment (actually, this was also a kind of CAD) to the case.
“Wait a minute.”
Unfortunately, a voice was withholding him from doing so.
“What is it?”
The one who detained Tatsuya was Katsushige.
Katsushige got off to the yard, wearing wooden clogs. He closed in to the cage of the wild boar, while carefully staring at the corpse.
“Just now, it was high density neutrons right. The body tissue is boiling.
Yet, for some reason, the cells of the body are not activated, how does such a phenomenon occur?”
“The how, is a secret.”
There was no way Katsushige didn’t know how to do that, but he threw some resistance just in case.
“Naturally.”
Sure enough, Katsushige was upset, sharpening his voice.
“Then, I will explain what kind of phenomenon just happened. That much is not so difficult.”
Tatsuya without any resistance, showed Katsushige his Trident with its bayonet attachment.
“This is a kind of armed device which combines CAD and a pile of carbon steel in a single activation.”
As he said, the attachment shape didn’t respond to ‘sword’, but rather like a ‘pile’.
“By decomposing part of this stake to the baryonic level, I can shoot the baryons which have been condensed into a thin disk-shape”
The base of this process was inspired by Angelina Sirius’s weapon, Brionac, which uses FAE Theory——of course, Tatsuya had no
intention in revealing so much as a trick about the Free-After-Execution which he used.
“The tip portion seemed to have lost its form earlier, so it wasn’t my illusion.”
Katsushige immediately showed a convinced expression, while he began asking himself.
“That armed device is reduced to protons and neutrons? Electrons… ah, I see. The protons are tied with the electrons. So, instead of a charged particle beam, it becomes a neutron beam. Then, how come the tip portion remains plump?”
Tatsuya twisted his neck at Katsushige while wondering in his heart as to why he was so persistent to question this much to this extent.
“I completed the process with ‘Regrowth’.”
“Tsk! I see, I see!”
“I see, so that’s the case!”
Overlapping with Katsushige’s voice from the yard was the satisfactory voice of Maya.
“That’s why you named it ‘Baryon Lance’. Not ‘cannon’ or ‘launcher’, not even ‘gun’, but ‘lance’, because you incorporated ‘Regrowth’ in the final stage of the magic, right?”
From Tatuya’s point of view, it was a matter of surety that she was able to guess that since he had already exposed much of the trick so far, but Tatsuya bowed admirably to Maya since she gave the right answer.
“There’s no remaining radiation of the substance, since all the injected neutrons emitted are recovered with ‘Regrowth’, right? The only trace of the attack is the moisture in the material, as it was heated to a high temperature. Tatsuya, it’s superb!”
Tatsuya lowered his head once more.
To Tatsuya who bent his upper body, Katsushige whispered to him in a voice that couldn’t be heard by others.
“Since you’re able to use such a magic, aren’t you able to scoff at us now?”
The reason of his persistent attitude from a little while ago, was this.
However, this question was completely irrelevant.
Tatsuya pointed out mercilessly.
“’Baryon Lance’ is a magic that I created in order to fight an opponent that cannot be fought with ‘Decomposition’. I don’t have to use it on any opponent to whom I can use ‘Decomposition’.”
Katsushige fell silent and blushed. He understood completely the hidden message of, ‘it’s faster to use decomposition, while I can’.
Katsushige directed a sharp gaze at Tatsuya. However, he wasn’t fooled enough to go on a rampage here, whether for himself or the Shibata Family, or even Kotona who sat here as well. Katsushige sighed, while trying to push back his anger inside, he was impressed by the new magic, he returned back to his seat.
The unveiling of his new magic ended safely this way. The matter about a ‘Neutron Barrier’ that Tatsuya was concerned about, if there’s anyone who objected about the entanglement, was courteously never asked.
He wondered if it was a stopper since they’re at the celebration dinner.
If the ‘Neutron Barrier’ was exposed, he would’ve had to reveal another stage of the secret, even Tatsuya sometimes had the feeling of relief in such situations.
The New Year’s Meeting itself ended without any more incidents.
Tatsuya in an invisible relaxed manner, had rewritten his identity as the son of Yotsuba Maya, the current Head of Yotsuba Family, and the fiancé of Miyuki.
Then, the next day, January 2nd, 2097 A.D. The powerful magicians affiliated with the Ten Master Clans, the 18 Assistant Houses and the Hundred Families received a notice from the Yotsuba Family.
Shiba Miyuki was appointed as the next Family Head of the Yotsuba Family.
Shiba Tatsuya was the son of Yotsuba Maya. However, his name would be left as Shiba Tatsuya.
Shiba Miyuki and Shiba Tatsuya were engaged.
Many powerful magicians sent a congratulatory message addressed to the Yotsuba’s post office box at the Magic Association.
However, not all of them had sent a congratulatory message.
It was filed for the first time, January 3rd, 2097 A.D.
An objection to the engagement of Shiba Tatsuya and Shiba Miyuki to the Japan Magic Association Headquarters.
The objection was filed by Ichijou Gouki, the current head of the Ichijou Family.
(To be continued in ‘Ten Master Clans Conference Arc’)
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