The three of them, Mayumi and the siblings, walked the straight path from the school entrance to the station they usually took with Erika, Leo, and the rest of their friends. Miyuki was a little nervous; well, that was understandable. Even Mayumi might feel she had to be pleasant out of nervousness. Her bag was held in both hands in front of her body. The manner in which she walked in silence with her eyes concealing her feelings had a grace that caused one to wonder “From which high class family did this ojou-sama hail from?” —In actuality, Mayumi was an ojou-sama.
Tatsuya himself didn't have any topic he cared to sponsor for conversation. ‘The art of small talk’ was one he was especially unskilled at. Additionally, he was now on alert for attacks from the opposition group. For that reason, the three of them hardly made any conversation as about 70 percent of the distance to the station evaporated.
“…Hey, Tatsuya-kun.”
“What is it?”
Because of those circumstances, when Mayumi unexpectedly spoke, Tatsuya was practically ready for anything.
“Isn’t it true that the two of you waited for me so we could leave together?”
However, even though he was prepared, he was surprised by her comment.
When Tatsuya did not immediately respond with a reply, Mayumi continued on as if she had received a one syllable reply.
“Mari said something, didn’t she? Something like since the opposition group may attack, walk me to my house.”
“…You know her well, President.”
The one who answered truthfully was not Tatsuya, it was Miyuki. Mayumi’s insight had led her to make a guess that shot through the deception right to the truth; at least, Miyuki could verbally intervene so Tatsuya wouldn’t have to explain why (?) ‘he confessed’.
“It’s okay.”
Mayumi smiled slightly as she turned to Miyuki.
“I won’t tell Mari that I wormed the truth out of you two.”
Miyuki nodded out of embarrassment upon having her intentions being completely and readily laid bare.
“But, why did you speak of it?”
On the other hand, Tatsuya did not show any special discomfort on his face, nor did he speak with any trace of what could be called defiance; he merely asked with a puzzled look.
“To get you to understand that you didn’t need to walk me all the way home. Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not annoyed or anything like that.”
Tatsuya mutely bowed his head and signaled her to continue.
“Didn’t Mari say something like I generally take the path to and from school without precautions? But, I don’t leave with everybody else as a precaution, so if something happens, nobody else will get caught up in it.”
“By that… you don’t mean only at times like this?”
“Yes, I may be only calling myself this, but because I am an ‘ojou-sama’, I am often targeted by people with monetary or political goals and stuff like that.”
She said the word ojou-sama without any traces of pride in the tone of her voice, only self-depreciation colored her tone.
“Because the Saegusa family is a noble clan that, since the formation of the ten master clans system, has never fallen from the ranks, not even once.”
Tatsuya spoke with ‘there’s nothing that can be done about it’ implicit in his words; Mayumi made a pained smile.
“…Well, that’s how it is. Because I’ve been trained to never slack off on taking precautions, I am always prepared so that I can invoke my magic.”
She raised her left hand. The sleeve slipped down to reveal her CAD; it was not in rest mode, it was in standby mode.
“Besides, I also have a bodyguard.”
“Uh, really?”
Miyuki franticly looked around, but she could not find a trace of anybody who looked like a bodyguard.
“…He’s waiting at the station.”
Mayumi subtly halted the search.
“As you might surmise, it is embarrassing to walk the road to school accompanied by a bodyguard.”
Even if she did say it herself, it did not change the fact that it was embarrassing.
“Oh, so that’s why she said something like ‘You don’t have to see her to her house’… Since once you got to the station, the bodyguard would be waiting.”
Upon hearing this, Tatsuya’s face showed he finally understood.
“That’s right.”
However, now that that was explained, something new pricked his curiosity.
“But, why have you explained this to us?”
He knew it was a pointless question, but Tatsuya couldn’t dampen his curiosity. If what she just said was true (although it seemed there was no reason to lie), Mari was also aware of this private personal information.
“Ye-es… maybe I just wanted to walk home with Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki-san?”
However, looking on the bashful face of Mayumi as she answered, Tatsuya felt a premonition of ‘utter failure…’
“Me, too?”
Miyuki didn’t feel the same premonition as her brother, so Mayumi sent a (elder sister) smile in the direction of her tilted head.
“Yes. Last autumn, I became Student Council President; the first half year has been fulfilling in itself, but this past half year, for me, has been a really fulfilling period."
And then she switched her gaze to Tatsuya.
“And that has surely been thanks to you two.”
“…I think you are overrating us, but…”
As Tatsuya refuted her claim expressionlessly, Mayumi laughed and giggled wholeheartedly.
“I’ve only recently come to understand this, but… Tatsuya-kun, you are a modest person.”
Watching Tatsuya become so lost on how to respond that his face hardened into a noh mask, Mayumi let out a stream of ‘insuppressible’ high pitched giggles.
“Is this how you act your age? Sometimes, I feel like I’m actually dealing with a ten year old?”
With the exception of Mayumi, Tatsuya’s acquaintances, who occasionally cast doubt about his actual age, all estimated higher; the only thing he could do was sink into silence with an astonished look on his face.
Mayumi’s vision blurred with tears—she laughed so much, she wiped her eyes with her fingers and directed a cheerful face to the siblings.
“…A-chan and Hanzou-kun are very good kids, but you two siblings are surely the most memorable of all my wonderful high school kouhai.”
Her face lit up with an extraordinary bright smile, Miyuki was also struck speechless.
In a completely different manner than her brother, whose ears were burning.
The Shiba house, since their father stayed at their step-mother’s place, was actually the house of the two siblings, Tatsuya and Miyuki; for a private residence, it was on the large side. It was not as palatial as the Kitayama house or the Saegusa house (Tatsuya and Miyuki had not actually seen either of those); compared to those, it was only on the level of a private residence.
Although, you couldn’t quite call it a mere private residence.
Buried underneath, there was a magic engineering research facility that was as high tech as a university research lab. (For some reason or other, it’s appearance was somewhat secret hideout-ish, but it was simply a basement that has the same floor space as the floor above it remodeled into a laboratory.)
The Tatsuya who came out of that basement laboratory into the living room above it had an unusually tired appearance; his body sank deep into the sofa.
He used his thumb and middle finger to strongly massage his temple; he rotated his head once, twice.
In that state, he looked at the ceiling and put his thoughts in order.
His mind was boiling with idle thoughts about his memories of the events that took place at dusk, today.
He was thinking about the bodyguard he was introduced to when he took Mayumi to the station.
Mayumi’s guard was unexpectedly male.
Tatsuya had believed that a guard for a girl around Mayumi’s age would undoubtedly be female; to be truthful, he was pretty surprised. The man was an older gentleman well into his fifties; there might not be any hint of indecency, but…
The impression the middle aged man gave off was not that of a bodyguard, but rather of a butler, and more like a grandfather than a butler. However, his spine was as straight as a pin, his body was thin but firm; that he was definitely on ‘active duty’ was clearly understood from one glance. He did not carry himself in any special stance but there was a polished politeness to him; he had experience of military service, moreover it was a long service in various areas. The fact that he was used to wearing a uniform seeped through his stance.
This sort of body wasn’t unusual; the past century had seen many wars, especially as the end of the 21st century, so veterans of military service were so common that if foolish people tried to maintain a civilization without them, it would be a shamble. Former military personnel, who are also magicians using the mixture of their experiences and technical skills to get a place with a respectable family as bodyguards, was also common; the point that was troubling had nothing to do with that.
The point that was weighing on Tatsuya’s mind was the bodyguard’s name; to be exact, his family name.
“Onii-sama, you’re not asleep yet?”
He turned his eyes in the direction the voice came from; Miyuki was standing in the doorway of the living room wearing pink pajamas.
“Miyuki, what about you; why are you still awake? Tomorrow… no, it’s probably already today. You have to be a speaker at the meeting, right?”
Miyuki served as the program director in today’s campaign speech portion of the assembly. Each year, this was the job given to the first years’ representative on the Student Council.
“My throat was a little dry…”
The scolding of ‘go to bed early’ was unsaid but still felt by Miyuki. As she made her excuse timidly, she could feel Tatsuya rolling his eyes.
“If that’s so, it can’t be helped.”
Always inclined to spoil his sister rotten, Tatsuya agreed with an ironic sounding laugh.
Just now, her face shining with sweat, Miyuki came to Tatsuya’s side with a speed that was close to sprinting.
To the question in his sister's eyes, her brother answered 'yes' with his eyes.
Miyuki, with a happy smile, sat down next to Tatsuya.
Slowly, the season was turning and the nights were getting colder, but Miyuki’s pajamas were made for summer. It had short sleeves and the pants were ¾ length; the cloth was lightweight and the lines of her body could be dimly perceived through it. It wasn’t the kind of thing a girl should wear late at night alone with a man, but Tatsuya didn’t dare say anything. —The words to speak, he himself silenced; he got the feeling that if he said anything, he’d be digging his own grave.
“What were you thinking about?”
Did she know what Tatsuya was thinking or didn’t she? Miyuki brought her playful face near his as she asked.
He was aware that it was a bit unsuitable to discuss such a heavy topic to someone wearing such an innocent face; none the less, due to his extreme tiredness, Tatsuya just answered truthfully.
“Well……about Saegusa-senpai’s bodyguard; it has been nagging at me?”
Faster than Tatsuya could think “aw, nuts”, Miyuki’s smile left her face in a flash.
“About Nakura-san’s name?”
Mayumi had introduced the older gentleman as Nakura Saburou.
“The matter nagging at Onii-sama, could it be… the Extra?”
She could read him so well that she could see the single word he was thinking about; Tatsuya released a painful smile. If Miyuki hadn’t been thinking about that possibility, she wouldn’t have been able to read him so well. However, more than being aware of it, Tatsuya thought she probably also felt the significance he placed on the matter.
“I thought it unthinkable, but… one of the ten master clans employing a guard for the sake of a child of the family who is not the heir. If they’re not able to give them assumed family names the way we do, then I think they won’t be able to get rid of them as ‘Extras’.”
“I don’t think any of the other family aside from the Yotsuba clan has its members live under aliases, but…”
“We don’t know that. The other families don’t know Yotsuba customs and we’re the same. The other nine families, the eighteen additional families, that is 27 families in all that Yotsuba is unable to know the family traditions of.”
“But… the degree of difference from oba-ue [16] , Saegusa, which is weighed down with all that prestige, is willing to employ an ‘Extra’ in such a confidential position as a guard to the eldest daughter of the main family?”
“Perhaps because it is the prestigious Saegusa, they might be showing off that they don’t practice discrimination for the prestige it gives them.”
“I see… that is certainly another way of thinking about it…”
Suujiochi—Extra numbers, referred to by the abbreviation. Extra; magicians or their descendants that have been stripped of their family ‘number’.
The reasons for stripping off their number could be from such causes as: the crime of treason, the crime of failure to perform an important duty, and ‘incompetence’.
When Magicians became a symbol of military power, magicians were given numbers as a ‘a mark of their success’, but those who did not achieve results worthy of ‘a mark of their success’ were branded as failures due to their lack; they were extras.
Nowadays, the name of “Extra”, itself, is officially prohibited from being used. In the community of magicians, discriminating against someone for being an ‘Extra’ is a grave illegal act.
However, like discrimination against course 2 students at magic high schools, this has not been exterminated and is still being practiced. It has even worsened and is in the process of becoming a severe problem; this invisible glass ceiling of discrimination against ‘Extras’ still persists.
In Tatsuya’s generation, there might be many people unaware that their family name indicated that they were descended from an ‘Extra’, because their parents hid it from them. It was that deeply rooted prejudice would cause them to be regarded as ‘failure’ and ‘defective merchandise’, and that would be inserted into their consciousness as magicians.
Therefore, if Nakura was a descendant of a stripped family named Nana [17] kura, then for what purpose did it serve the Saegusa family head to employ him as a bodyguard for his daughter, this was what was weighing on Tatsuya’s mind.
A little while before…
The time is when only three hours remain before the date changes, in a magnificent bath house set nearby the main residence of the Saegusa family, which can be described as a ‘a grand mansion’. Nothing about it does not fit that image without exaggeration, but far from the prying eyes of passersby, Mayumi was comfortably submerged in the magnificent bath tub full of hot water, lightly sighing as she examined her own body critically.
—Her proportions weren’t that bad, even if that was only her own opinion.
—Her height, well after all, she did stop growing in her third year of middle school, but her little sisters also had petite bodies; there was nothing to be done but resign herself to her genetic heritage.
A sha-bum sound arose; Mayumi stretched her arms and legs out of the hot water.
—She was often told at boutiques and beauty salons that her limbs were quite long for someone as small in stature as she.
Arms and legs were returned to the bath; her hand brushed her breast gently.
—Her chest was also called large in proportion to height; no matter what type of clothes she wore, there was never tightness at the waist.
—She was quite sexy, even if that was only her own opinion.
—But when she faced ‘Her’, no matter how well she thought of herself, her confidence in herself wavered.
In her own mind, she always referred to the girl by the pronoun ‘Her or She’; in the realm of her unconscious mind, the proper noun of ‘Shiba Miyuki’ transformed.
—Until she met Her, she had never seen a girl so beautiful.
—Even Her arms and legs; so slim, so slender, so fine without looking unhealthy.
—Her waist, too, rested on that fine edge; Her chest and breast areas were full of feminine curves.
—Most of all, the number of perfectly symmetrical features was overwhelming. In the first place, even though internal organs in general are arranged symmetrically, no matter how perfectly symmetrical a person’s body is, her appearance will not likewise be symmetrical.
Even so, compared to non-magicians, the number of magicians with highly symmetrical bodies is higher. Aside from personal appearance, there is an easily seen tendency for people who have a strong disposition for magic to have a highly symmetrical bone structure; Mayumi was well aware of this knowledge.
—For that reason, there are times when Mayumi doubts that She was a flesh and blood person.
—Or even see Her as a girl like herself.
—Mayumi believed that the boy who was Her elder brother was unfortunately unable to see any other girl as anything but a poor copy of Her.
—Her elder brother.
Mayumi, once again, sighed without realizing it.
—He was to the point that it made Mayumi doubt that they were actually related by blood, ordinary in his exterior.
—There was nothing particularly wrong with him.
—However, he was at the most, only ‘so-so’.
Mayumi submerged herself in the bathtub up to her nose. The water started foaming as her breath turned into bubbles. Did the air in the bubbles come from sighing or breathing, even Mayumi didn’t know.
—Nevertheless, his interior was far from ordinary.
—Rather than calling it superior, non-standard fit better.
—Through lots of time and labor, scholars around the world took their accumulated knowledge, bundled it up, and constructed the current rating system for magicians.
—His existence questioned the validity of that system.
?
—Even by rounding up, he was only C-rank by international standards.
—In spite of that, all the actual results that she and others had seen for themselves exceeded those of an A-rank magician.
She lifted her face out of the bath, took a deep breath. She exhaled twice, thrice; Mayumi lightly laughed.
—The Staff Room should be racking their brains.
—What, with a system that stood for decades was being fundamentally challenged, and the plan to create both a ‘Magic’ and ‘Magic Engineering Department’ as well, the status quo of the staff room was being heavily shaken.
Mayumi gave a wry smile as she shook her head from side to side.
—Nevertheless, his existence was impossible.
—If only his intelligence and knowledge were superior, he wouldn’t be able to cause this much confusion.
—A first year high school student capable of using a high level anti-magic which had almost no practitioners.
—After being hit with magic that should cause critical wounds to his body, he calmly resumed fighting.
—The smashing of the terrorist group, she had heard was actually done by his power alone.
—His ability to use magic and his ability to fight with magic were too uneven.
—No, even if only his knowledge were considered, it could be argued that some alterations to the curriculum should be made?
The hot water was warm enough. In spite of that, Mayumi’s body shivered as if from cold. While she knew the chill she felt wasn’t radiating from her skin, Mayumi submerged her body deeply in the bathtub.
—Today, when she introduced him to Nakura, she didn’t tell him, but it was a type of test.
—A test to see if he realized what the name “Na-Ku-Ra” meant.
—At the time she spoke the name, Nakura, for one moment—and really it was only for one brief moment—turmoil ran through his eyes; it was only due to focusing her complete and total powers of observation on him that allowed her to not miss it.
—He was aware of the meaning of “Na-Ku-Ra”.
—Only people like Juumonji and herself, who were well versed in the “darkness” of modern magic, would know the meaning.
—An ordinary magician, he was not.
—A magician from some negligible family, he was not.
—”Shi-Ba” Tatsuya. Shi, a pronunciation of the kanji [18] that meant chief; Ba, a pronunciation of the kanji that meant leaves. Shi, a syllable that could also mean four; Ba, leaves. Yotsu, a pronunciation of the kanji that meant four; Ba, leaves. Yotsuba.
—Could it be, could he also be, could he possibly be an “Extra”.
Her brain on fire, Mayumi considered it.
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