The honour student's supplementary lesson
Entering into the second half of summer vacation, First High’s campus became rather deserted.
With the Nine Schools Competition – a major event of the summer season – drawing to a close, the various athletic clubs fell into a state of self-guided practice. Another week into the future, all the clubs would once again be bustling with activity in order to welcome the new semester, but currently even club activities fell prey to summer vacation.
Yet, the place was not completely deserted as a small minority of students still came to engage in individual practice. This was especially the case for Year 1 students, who found it difficult to use the training facilities when certain upperclassmen were present and could now take full advantage of this opportunity to fully employ the facilities.
In the sealed practice field for mock battles, the figures of many a Year 1 student could be seen.
Someone was running amidst the irregularly erected large, square pillars.
With vision so severely limited like this in a room, this was practically a maze even if there were no walls. The intermittent flashes of light as well as the abandoned terrain littered about one’s feet aroused the terror that one might stumble at any moment.
Nevertheless, deceleration was out of the question even under these conditions. This was a timed exercise that was in progress. Even if this was individual practice, leaving behind a terrible blemish was unacceptable.
The forest of pillars split into a fork in the road.
The choice was made in a flash – take the right path. There was an automatic turret set just ahead.
As if on reflex, the right hand holding the CAD aimed the “muzzle” and pulled the trigger.
The preset Mass-Type Magic for competitive use was triggered.
The gravity sensory devices flipped a switch and the automatic turret ceased moving.
Cold sweat dripped down his back a little after the fact, but there was no time to ponder this. In order to salvage the time lost when his footsteps came to a halt on reflex, he had to pick up the speed to complete the exercise. Thus, he passed to the side of the motionless automatic turret and corrected his trajectory by following the curve formed by the pillars on the left.
At that instant –
--His flank suffered a vicious impact.
--The alarm signaling his disqualification rang out.
Along the racetrack that was illuminated once more, Morisaki grimaced as he glanced down at his body. A red paint pellet was tightly stuck to the right side of the practice uniform worn by the Battler Shooting Club.
The pellet could be directly peeled off by hand since it had already dried off, but in order to properly clean the uniform he needed to use the removal fluid stored in the preparation room. Morisaki swiftly headed for the exit in order to avoid obstructing the next user.
The sound of him brutally shoving the door open caused the female student performing maintenance on the shooting device used for Guided Shooting to widen her eyes and turn around. (Guided Shooting utilized bullets fired with magic rather than employing gunpowder or compressed air. This was a magic competition that fired small bullets that had a diameter of 2.54 cm (1 in). The shooting device used specifically for Guided Shooting was shaped like a rifle and the stock of the rifle was altered so that there were four channels fixed in place so bullets could be inserted from four different locations and a CAD was mounted within.)
“……Morisaki, you’re rude.”
This female student – Takigawa Kazumi from Year 1 Class C, stopped working on the shooting device and turned a caring voice towards Morisaki.
“Takigawa…… You’re a member from the Guided Shot (Guided Shooting Club). What are you doing here?”
“Woah, you actually responded like that.”
Just as Takigawa said, Morisaki’s response was “like that” and certainly rubbed others in the wrong way.
“I came to look for a few components for the internal CAD and I have received permission from your club leader. That’s why I think there’s no reason for you to ask something like “What are you doing here”?”
“Hmph…… And this can’t be done in storage?”
“So sorry about that. I’m going to say this first, sharing excess components has always been a tradition among the shooting clubs. Morisaki had no idea because you always use your own CAD.”
Setting aside members of the Student Council or Public Moral Committee who have been granted the right to carry CADs on campus, “normal club members” had to configure the reserve CADs provided to the various clubs and equipped with restrictions in the Local Positioning System for personal use. Upon entering high school, Morisaki had immediately joined the Public Moral Committee and had always used his own CAD even during club activities, so there was no chance he could have learned about the club’s processes and procedures for CAD maintenance.
This rejoinder was normally proof against any rebuttal, but Morisaki only snorted and turned his back on Takigawa. Wholly ignoring her words about “rubbing the wrong way”, he removed the spray can from the cabinet by the wall and sprayed it over his flank. The paint pellet stuck to his side fell off and landed on the ground in one piece. Several similarly red contours lay scattered across the floor.
“Morisaki…… How many times has it been now? Aren’t you pushing yourself too much? You should probably call it a day now.”
“……Are you worried about me?”
“Of course I’m worried about you.”
Morisaki rubbed away at the sweat that endlessly dripped from his forehead and spoke with a mocking tone. Takigawa nodded in earnest in reply.
“I want to make this perfectly clear. This is not because I’m interested in you, crushing on you, or some sort of malicious joke. I just can’t stand by and say nothing as someone I know collapses in front of me.”
“—I’m aware of that.”
Heedless of her words, Morisaki left those words as he turned to leave. Takigawa pressed on.
“In that case, you should stop here today. Continuing to practice will only pointlessly waste your strength, nor can you derive any personal satisfaction out of it.”
Takigawa directly took in the ugly glare Morisaki sent her way without averting her eyes.
“—I got it.”
The one who looked away first was Morisaki.
He ceased to speak and vanished into the men’s changing room.
“I can relate to that sort of anxiety, but…… No, I probably can’t understand. After all, “he” and Morisaki are both boys.”
Takigawa watched his back disappear and murmured to herself.
Morisaki took off the club uniform and changed into a shirt and the school pants. Just as he was about to put on the school uniform for the summer, his eye fell across the embroidered insignia on the pocket that lay over the left bosom.
--Four months ago, he took pride in that insignia.
--Yet recently, he was usually confounded by a frustration that found no release.
This unexplainable frustration continued to erode Morisaki’s heart. Nay, perhaps it was more appropriate to describe this as “a truth he did not wish to explain”.
Morisaki forsook wearing the coat and draped it over one shoulder as he walked out of the changing room.
He squinted his eyes and raised his gaze towards the blazing sun that illuminated the earth.
Even without Takigawa reminding him, Morisaki could feel the anxiety building in him.
Still, without her putting it so plainly, Morisaki might still be wasting his time on fruitless self-practice even now. That was something Morisaki comprehended.
Next time they met, he should buy her a popsicle, Morisaki thought.
His injury from the Nine Schools Competition was deemed as having to take over a month to heal, though thanks to the advent of magical healing, he was the picture of good health. Nevertheless, his body had grown rusty after staying in the hospital for a week and he hadn’t fully recovered to his original level. At least, that was how Morisaki felt about himself.
Also……
--Forget being boosted by the experience on the grandest stage, his magic skills seemed to have regressed compared to his state before summer vacation—
This doubt lurked in the recesses of his heart.
Morisaki was aware that this was not a healthy state of mind, but he was unable to beat down his frustration.
(After all, there’s no teacher present……)
Course 1 students possessed the “privilege” of being individually instructed by the instructors, but this was of course out of the question with no instructor on campus. This went beyond Morisaki, as even the participants of the Nine Schools Competition wouldn’t typically receive instruction during summer vacation and would have to make an appointment for some time after next week.
If all he wanted was to learn theory then a simple visit to the library would suffice, but at the moment Morisaki was contemplating how to improve his technical skills. He was not decadent enough to ask for practical experience, but at the very least he wished to improve his magical abilities. That was the thought that dominated Morisaki’s mind.
When speaking of the Morisaki Family, the first thing that came to mind was the “Quick Draw” technique.
Among the Hundred Families, the Morisaki Family was a side family that did not possess a “number”. Though their magic power was rated as pedestrian, when it came to practicality under specialized conditions, they received high praise thanks to their unique talents. Even when compared to the “Numbered Families”, their talents matched if not exceeded them outright.
So, what sort of technique was “Quick Draw”?
In reality, this title did not contain any hidden meaning. “Quick Draw” was simply “quick activation”. This technique was designed with one thing in mind – how to activate magic as quickly as possible when employing CADs. Specifically speaking, this was a technique that jumpstarted CAD activity and activation before the CAD had even been raised in hopes of using magic to subdue the opponent before they could release their magic.
Strength was a secondary priority.
Degree of difficulty was not within the realm of consideration.
Even if the strength of the magic was lowered, so long as the attack could be launched first then a successful incapacitation of the enemy could be achieved.
After CADs became available at large, the speed of magic activation also increased. This technique was developed with this consideration in mind to utterly maximize speed and its element lay in the development and modification of CAD operation to raise efficiency.
In pursuit of speed, the focal point naturally drifted towards Specialized CAD and not Generalized CADs. Specialized CADs in the form of handguns were currently mainstream, so the first developed technique was the motion of swiftly drawing the handgun-shaped CAD and firing.
Hence the English name “Quick Draw”.
This initial development brought about an unforeseen side effect.
From not holding a CAD, which is to say being “completely unarmed”, to striking down the ambusher by activating magic before they could. This technique was highly compatible with Japanese operatives who usually carried concealed arms.
American special agents might intentionally brandish a weapon to threaten the attacker, but Japanese agents were asked to conceal their weapons so as to reduce the anxiety level of their principals or related personnel.
Owing to the unique nature of this ability, the Morisaki Family frequently accepted bodyguard requests. Their primary clients were civilian corporations that could not always call upon the police or military for personal protection. Although their primary objective remained researching modern magic, the Morisaki Family was better known in society for their side job running a protection agency.
Morisaki Shun was the only son of the Morisaki Family’s main branch (there were no other young men in his generation) and had started working in the agency two years ago. As a youth, people were not as wary of him. Rather than serving as a primary accompanying agent, he utilized this to his full advantage and served in a support role and observed the surroundings from the rear while preventing attacks.
When the agency was short on manpower, he was always called upon to assist regardless of whether he had the time (even though this was a side job), but recently he had not been asked to undertake any missions. Currently, Morisaki wasn’t interested in conducting practices that had no physical sense of accomplishment as he was more desirous of real (combat) experiences that validated his existence. However, he was not dispatched on a mission today either.
After removing his uniform jacket and tossing it aside, Morisaki caught the eyes of the frustrated young man watching him from the mirror.
The face belonged to him and no one else.
Takigawa’s warning reverberated in his ears.
Morisaki was aware that his current mental status was decidedly in poor condition.
He needed to switch gears while the warning from other people still dwelt in his mind – he told himself while forcibly suppressing his frantic mood before changing from his uniform into casual wear.
Even if this was a spur of the moment outing in the afternoon, he could immediately find four or five companions if he opened his communication device right now.
Yet, Morisaki chose to walk the streets by himself.
He kept a small CAD hidden in the front pocket on the inside of his vest and kept the smaller, scattered belongings in a backpack slung over one shoulder before hitching a ride on the bus to downtown.
His destination was chosen entirely on whim. He did not come here for some specific purpose nor was this Morisaki’s preferred stomping grounds. Strictly speaking, he probably just wanted to will away the hours in a location that wasn’t too noisy but fairly lively at the same time.
With so many parks in the area, this location belonged to more than just youngsters. Still, during daylight hours on a day that wasn’t a holiday, the most conspicuous figures were young men and women of high school age enjoying their summer vacation. Most of them wore clothing appropriate for the summer season with an emphasis on cooling off.
This was rather refreshing for Morisaki.
Even during summer vacation, most students were dressed in accordance with school rules on campus.
Male students wore large sleeved tunics and female students wore leggings beneath their dresses. As a rule, both men and women wore jackets on top. Their athletic uniforms had long sleeves and pants while female students wore swimsuits used for competitions that covered everything below the neck.
However, cuteness in the form of backless clothing or revealed shoulders was on full display here. Wearing sandals with bare feet was perfectly natural just as miniskirts or shorts that covered the bare minimum areas were nothing out of the ordinary.
Morisaki himself was wearing easy-going gear that included a short-sleeved tunic embroidered with flower patterns and the top two buttons unbuttoned.
However, he was wearing a vest that opened in front that concealed a CAD.
This was the singularly most out of place area.
The youth coming and going were not carrying CADs. From the onset, Morisaki never witnessed any young man wearing dark jackets or vests nor did he see any young ladies carrying thick bracelets.
Just now, he hadn’t seen a single Magician.
It seemed like Morisaki was only able to truly comprehend the cold truth just now that Magicians belonged to a decisive minority.
Furthermore, he suddenly felt that “his throat had gone dry”.
(……This must be because I was sweating a lot in the morning……)
He rationalized this as thirst.
Not far from where he was standing stood the terrace of a café.
Without further contemplation, Morisaki walked towards the aesthetically pleasing café as if in stark resistance to acknowledging his thoughts and doubts.
The rather limited capacity of the café had no empty spaces left.
Lacking further options, Morisaki could only take a seat on the terrace that only provided an umbrella’s shade from the sun. Outdoor air conditioning services were not a rarity, but this café was not equipped with one. Given the outer appearance in the style of a small log cabin and the white wood furniture, the café owner was possibly a fan of natural décor.
A certain group of people might conceive the café’s style as “fashionable”. Though there was indeed a demand of such in the market, this was wholly dependent on the time of year. As proof of this, the terrace of the café was sparsely populated.
Morisaki claimed a corner seat for himself as he held a cup of iced coffee and observed the youth on the streets in a lackadaisical manner.
He felt that most of them were young men and women about his age.
At least half of them were couples whereas over 90% of the other half were moving as a group. Less than 5% of the crowd were loners like him (though based on mood, he was more of a solitary soldier than a true loner).
An ostracized feeling gradually overcame Morisaki as he continued to observe the human beings around him when suddenly the silhouette of a young girl entered his eyes.
Just like him, she was by her lonesome self. No, the rarity of this was exponentially higher given that she was female.
She wore a sleeveless tunic with a high collar and a pleated skirt that fell to her knees while her bare feet were covered with sandals, a rather neutral wardrobe that was neither coquettish nor mundane.
Still, her features defied the term “mundane”.
Eight out of ten people, and this number would spike to nine if they were men, would rate her as a “beautiful young lady” or “beautiful woman”.
If released from the ponytail that trailed down the front side along her left shoulder, her hair would have fallen to waist length. Her large eyes that were slightly uplifted along the corners flitted about without any effort, giving the impression of a large feline on the prowl. In this case, she was a leopard rather than a tiger or lion.
Her face bespoke of an Eastern ancestry but her complexion was that of a Caucasian. Rather than labeling her a leopard, perhaps a snow leopard would be more precise (except that in reality, the snow leopard’s fur was closer to gray than true white).
She looked to be two or three years older than Morisaki.
Though her features were certainly eye catching, there were quite a few young ladies present whose appearances were more beauteous when it came down to “eye catching”. Morisaki noticed her because of her appearance, but stared at her for an altogether different reason.
(She…… must be a Magician, right?)
She was not wearing the commonly seen bracelet-shaped CAD.
Seeing the bag she carried with her, there was the possibility that she was carrying a handgun-shaped CAD, but there was no way to verify short of popping open his machine.
Her appearance gave no indication that she was a Magician, but Morisaki instinctively labeled this girl as someone connected to the magical world.
She remained oblivious of Morisaki’s gaze, or at least feigned so, as she walked in front of the café where Morisaki was sitting.
Morisaki pursued her figure with his eyes and noticed that there were others also watching her.
And not with flirtatious intent.
Helping out the family business – an “instinct” gained from his role as support personnel raised the alarm.
She was being pursued by gazes with “malice” lurking behind them.
Morisaki paid the bill using the terminal on the table and stepped away from his seat as if nothing was out of sorts.
Morisaki was not shadowing this girl due to careful contemplation on his part. Morisaki’s experiences were not profound enough to constitute a “workaholic”, but this description was the closest approximation. Truth be told, the fact that she was a beautiful (young) woman certainly had an impact on Morisaki’s choice.
This young lady (though she was probably more mature than that appellation) seemed to be on some sort of business as she departed the park area and walked towards the manufacturing streets.
Maintaining a prudent distance as he trailed behind her, Morisaki noticed that there were few pedestrians passing by. Although this direction ran counter to the park or other amusement facilities, the rate at which the pedestrians were disappearing could not be explained as mere coincidence.
Morisaki recognized that this was unnatural – as if some “unnatural” force was at work.
Morisaki was unfamiliar with Ancient Magic, but he believed that Taoism or onmyoshi arts should be able to use some sort of technique to affect the subconscious, causing people to avoid a specific location.
In other words, this was the work of Magicians. Ever since Morisaki noticed this young girl, she never showed signs of casting magic. Thus, Morisaki judged that there was someone other than her wielding magic to ward away outsiders.
Then, what was the motive behind avoiding other people?
Obviously, this wasn’t a confusion engineered to avoid embarrassment. There was no way that would be the reason.
Possibilities included kidnaping, robbery, or – sexual assault.
In Morisaki’s opinion, assassination in broad daylight was out of the question, but at any rate they were up to no good.
The next question was how many people the other side possessed. Based on the broad scale of the magic involved, there couldn’t just be one or two people behind this. Without a clear picture on the opposing manpower, direct confrontation was a choice for fools. As such, the only option was to wait for the opponents to act then catch them by surprise from the flank, temporarily immobilizing the “enemy” and seizing that opportunity to evacuate the girl from the scene.
--Morisaki decided on this course of action.
However, the speed at which the situation spiraled out of control surpassed Morisaki’s calculations.
Morisaki had believed that these miscreants – at least whom he deemed were miscreants – would wait until the young woman reached the deserted factory area before making their move.
Even if there were only a few people around, the streets were still under observation from the cameras. Hence Morisaki was certain the events would not play out according to the miscreants’ wishes once the young girl reached the (second generation) Rainbow Bridge.
Nevertheless, during the instance that the road was devoid of vehicles and pedestrians, the eyes that followed the young girl transformed into figures that surrounded the girl.
“Who…… Who are you guys!?”
The young girl screamed at the silently approaching men.
Her reaction was rather defiant. Under these circumstances, it wouldn’t be strange for even a male to be stricken with fear and unable to speak freely.
Still, based on the fact that the young woman failed to detect that there was no one else around her, she too must have fallen prey to the miscreants’ magic.
Morisaki verified that the young woman was not panicking – her state of panic would necessitate a change in plans – and raised his CAD from behind the trees that dotted the sidewalk. Sniping from concealment was not one of the Morisaki Family’s stronger suites, but from an objective perspective, given Morisaki’s traditional responsibilities as a support member in the protective agency, he should be more adept at “Flanking” than “Quick Draw”.
There were a total of 6 suspects.
He needed to take them all out in one strike to safeguard the young woman.
Cold sweat slid down Morisaki’s temple.
At some point, his breathing became shallow and hurried. Forcibly adjusting his breathing pattern, Morisaki charged out from behind the trees.
As he charged towards the young woman, he squeezed the trigger twice.
He dove forward when he saw his targets reach inside their jackets and squeezed the trigger once more in mid-air.
In lieu of the nature surrounding the “bodyguard” profession (even a side business still counted as a profession), the Morisaki Family developed a type of a magic that could bring down a target with one blow without inflicting serious damage.
He caused the targets to accelerate to the rear then immediately accelerated them forward to nullify the force. By rapidly looping this Move-Type Magic that incorporated two processes, he shook the internal organs of five of the targets – with an emphasis on the brain, causing them to collapse one by one.
By the time Morisaki took aim at the sixth target, his heart leaped violently.
Directly in front of his eyes was a silencer – the gun’s muzzle.
That was no CAD.
It was a real gun – an automatic pistol.
Morisaki had accounted for the possibility of a magical counterattack, but never expected that someone would possess a firearm.
Given their use of magic to clear the area, he had assumed that his targets would lash out with magic.
He had erected magical countermeasures ahead of time, but was not prepared to defend against bullets.
There was no time to use magic to block the bullets or shift his own body.
Morisaki redoubled the efforts in his legs and sought to escape the line of fire.
Nonetheless, by the time he gave the order for his muscles to move, the unique cough that accompanied any firearm equipped with a silencer rang out.
The muzzle was not aimed at Morisaki.
The young girl had grabbed ahold of the hand holding the gun from the side.
Morisaki pulled the CAD’s trigger.
When the sixth person collapsed to the ground, the young girl seemed to be dragged downwards as she fell to a seat on the road.
“Can you stand?”
Morisaki ran to the young girl and reached out for her hand without waiting for a response.
“We best leave here soon. At any rate, let’s head for the bus station. These guys don’t seem like they want to cause a scene.”
The young girl was indeed made of sterner stuff. Despite suffering an ambush, there was no sign of tears or hysterics. After nodding in reply to Morisaki’s words, she grasped his hand and scrambled to her feet.
“This way.”
“Thank you.”
Hand in hand, Morisaki led the young girl on a run towards the train station.
Wearing sandals with heels normally prevented running at will, but rather than being pulled along by Morisaki, the young girl was neck to neck with him (Morisaki had obviously lowered his velocity as well).
She never let go of his hand.
The soft touch of that petite hand spurred the (nominally) chivalrous spirit in Morisaki’s heart.
After reaching the bus station, Morisaki proposed that they quit Ariake, but the young girl shook her head.
“I have an appointment with someone else here.”
“Sending an e-mail message would……”
“Owing to a few pressing reasons, I am unable to directly contact the other person.”
The young girl raised her eyes and wore a slightly perplexed smile.
This bewitching smile caused Morisaki to lose the tenuous control he had over his internal turmoil.
“I am very grateful that you saved me.”
The young lady turned a blind eye to his furious blush.
Morisaki was appreciative of this caring side of hers that was altogether different from his peers.
The obligation that men held towards beautiful females – or something of that nature – burned even brighter in Morisaki’s heart.
Which is why he found it doubly hard to accept the young woman’s next words that ran counter to his expectations.
“However, I think this is far enough. Some other time…… Some other day I would like to find a way to repay the favor. If it's convenient, could you give me your contact information?”
At this point, the young girl revealed a “dismayed” expression. Figuring something was amiss, Morisaki’s entire body tightened, but upon discovering the bashful smile on the young woman’s face, a different sort of anxiety pervaded his frame.
“Ah, my apologies. My name is Lin Richardson. I’m attending college in California and traveling at the moment. Please call me Lin.”
“I am Morisaki Shun.”
Morisaki was intensely thankful that his voice wasn’t amplified when he delivered his name, though it wasn’t like he knew who these thanks should be extended to.
“You don’t have to pay me back. After all, you bailed me out when I was in danger earlier. That aside……”
Morisaki drew upon duty as his motivation and sought to switch gears from his agitated mood (that being said, claiming that this duty arose from a more romantic motivation would be the most genteel way of putting it). When the enemy possessed the numerical advantage, loitering near the scene of the ambush was not a wise decision. Normally, they should not be leisurely conversing like so.
“I do not believe that this incident will end like this. Do you have any inkling as to the cause behind this attack?”
Seeing as the optimal decision of “fleeing” was off the table, Morisaki was trying to gather more information to devise a plan of action. For example, factors such as the identity of the enemies, how long until reinforcements arrive, etc. Protection of privacy was also one of the mandatory duties of a bodyguard, but this was subservient to necessity if that information was vital to the principal’s protection.
“I’m terribly sorry. I cannot reveal that.”
Furthermore, being unable to obtain all the necessary information was not a legitimate reason for failing to complete a protective assignment.
“Is that so……? I understand. I will not pry into Lin-san’s personal business. In turn, may I serve as Lin-san’s protection until the arrival of the person who was responsible for meeting you?”
Morisaki’s request caused Lin to widen her eyes.
“……Why?”
“This country has a saying: years of toil for a single moment.”
“I have heard of it.”
Lin’s tone sounded displeased.
“I see, my apologies……”
Morisaki awkwardly apologized, but that did not imply that he was backing down.
“I chanced upon the scene where Lin-san was almost abducted. This must be a fate of some sorts.”
In truth, Morisaki himself did not know why he was so stubborn on this matter. Lin had made her stance very clear. Even if she had not blatantly rejected him, she was hoping that Morisaki ceased to associate with her – that she didn’t want to put him at risk was obvious enough. In spite of this, Morisaki was not of a mind to beat a retreat here.
In short, the term “abduction” was based solely from Morisaki’s point of view. There was a possibility that Lin was a young lady of wealth who had gone truant and that these men were dispatched by her parents to bring her home. Assuming this was actually an “abduction”, then this may be related to a major crime and the earlier group of people may belong to an opposing organization. Alternately, they may have been sent to recapture a former member who fled the organization. Regardless, anyone who dared to directly fire their weapon without warning in broad daylight could not possibly be an upstanding citizen. This was the conclusion that Morisaki arrived at – or perhaps unilaterally decided this was so.
“……You should have realized just now that this will be very dangerous, correct? You don’t seem like a person who cannot differentiate between reality and games.”
Lin’s somewhat befuddled eyes did little to dampen Morisaki’s ardor. The other side consisted of scoundrels who were preying on a fragile, defenseless woman. In that case, it was clear which side Morisaki should support – at least this was what his heart told him.
“Lin-san is in far more danger than I am. I would not be lying or exaggerating to say that this country’s law enforcement is quite capable, but the crime rate is not zero. This is especially true for magical police officers handling magic crimes, where the reaction speed is practically lethargic.”
“The same could be said for every country.”
Lin wore an impish grin as she tried to deflect the statement, but Morisaki was not fooled.
“That’s why I believe that Lin-san needs a retinue.”
“……And you are volunteering?”
With a completely serious expression on his face, Morisaki nodded in agreement to her leading question.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover. I have two years of experience as an attache.”
“……Aren’t you a high school student?”
“I am a Year 1 student at the Magic University-affiliated high school. However, the family business manages a protection agency.”
“Oh...... Your name is Morisaki, so you must be from the Morisaki Family then?”
Lin only halfheartedly lent an ear to Morisaki up until this point before finally nodding in the affirmative. At the same time, this also implied that Lin belonged in a social stratum that was well versed with a retinue.
“But I don’t have any money on me.”
“I’m not here to talk about a job. I just don’t want to pretend not to see anything.”
“How gentlemanly of you.”
Lin laughed lightly, causing Morisaki to avert his eyes in embarrassment.
“—I understand. Since you’re so worried, then I place myself in your care.”
“—Please leave it to me.”
Altering her earlier expression, Lin fixated her eyes on Morisaki, to which he responded with a nod as if bestowed a great honor.
“Then there’s no time like the present, is it OK if I made a request right this moment?”
“What is your request?”
Bodyguards were not butlers, but in order to effectively fulfill their protective duties, establishing rapport with their principal was highly important. So long as the demand was not too ridiculous and did not affect the guard’s mission, then compliance with the principal was a must. This was one of the basic rules for bodyguards in both the east and the west – though “East Side” might be a little different. Morisaki had no idea what this request could entail so he was slightly nervous as he waited for her to continue. Lin smiled in a charming fashion before dropping this line:
“Please call me Lin. The next time you call me “Lin-san” will be grounds for immediate dismissal.”
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