Maidens of Cygnus - Volume 1 - Chapter Pr1

Maidens of Cygnus – Prequel 

Chapter 1 

Sunday, February 24th of the year 2097. The head of one of the families that stands at the top of Japan’s magician society and has taken the nickname ‘Iron Wall’, Katsuto Juumonji of the Juumonji Family, arrived at the New Chitose Airport that was still surrounded by snow. 

He brought no attendants with him. The small travel bag in his hand gave the idea that it was a business trip that would last one or two nights at most. 

He took the Cabinet from the airport towards the Tomakomai area. Unlike the Cabinets in the capital city Katsuto is familiar with, the ones in Hokkaido have a semi-cylindrical transparent roof. Because of this, they are sometimes called ‘Tube Cabinets’. Though they are called Tube, they are not completely airtight, so it is not possible to incorporate the system to reduce air resistance through decompression like the Hyperloop that was brought forward at the beginning of the century but ended up being a pipe dream. [1] 

Katsuto got off the Cabinet in a town in southwest Hokkaido – let’s temporarily call it S Town – in a station to the west of the city. He then borrowed a pre-reserved rental car and drove towards the inlands along the river . [2] 

This area in the southwest part of Hokkaido is a region within Hokkaido that has little snowfall, but even so, going up the river bearing the town’s name and entering the mountain area will reveal the leftover snow. Katsuto got off the main road which was clear of snow and proceeded along a snow-covered side road for about ten minutes. Finally, he got off the car in front of a veterinary clinic. 

Hanging on the house next to the clinic was a nameplate where the name ‘Tookami’ was written. 

Katsuto had announced his visit in advance and received confirmation, so he quickly walked in. It was obvious however that the atmosphere was not a welcoming one. Sitting opposite Katsuto at a low table in a Japanese-style reception room, the head of the household could not hide the annoyance under his stiff expression and his wife, who brought tea and left immediately, did not even try to hide her hostility. 

Katsuto hid his innermost sighs with a poker face. He couldn’t blame the Tookami couple for their attitude. Because it is natural that what he had come to do would be unwelcome. The extent of the silent hostility aimed at him is within tolerance levels. He was even prepared for the case they openly insulted him. 

Of course, being prepared for it does not mean he felt nothing. Not to mention that this time, it was his – the Juumonji Family’s fault. Katsuto had to endure the discomfort until who he was waiting for appeared. 

In front of him, the head of this family, Tookami Ryoutarou kept his silence after a formal greeting. All Katsuto, who obviously did not have the conversation skill to ease the tension of someone who refused to talk, could do was to stay with them in silence in this unpleasant atmosphere. 

Looking for too long at the face of someone who isn’t talking could be taken as a sign of provocation, so Katsuto turns his eyes to the corridor. 

This house seemed to be a renovation of an old private residence, furnished with standard modern insolation and air conditioning, but the inner structure was in the style of the middle of last century. The fittings dividing this reception room and the corridor are also traditional sliding screens. The sliding screens’ designs are very sophisticated landscape pictures, which was just right for admiring when one had time to waste. 

Fifteen minutes passed like this. 

“I’m home!” “I’m home.” 

Announcing their return home, two voices came from the entry hall, a cheerful voice and a quiet voice. 

“They’re finally here...” 

This murmur did not come from Katsuto. It was something the head of the family, Tookami Ryoutarou grumbled. 

“Sor~ry, we ran a bit late.” 

The voice of the cheerful girl could be heard through the sliding screen. 

It was clear that two young girls live in this house. Who Katsuto was waiting for, was it the cheerful girl? Or was it the quiet girl? 

He didn’t have to wait long. “Sorry!”, a voice said, and before any sign of rebuke, a “Can I come in?” came as well. 

This voice was different from the girl he heard just before. It appears that the one he has to hold the difficult discussion with is the girl who isn’t cheerful. 

Though, just because her voice and tone seem quiet, it doesn’t mean that’s all there is to her personality. 

“Come in.” 

Ryoutarou, sitting across from Katsuto, replied to the voice. 

The sliding screen opened immediately. 

The girl, who was kneeling in the corridor, quickly stood up and walked into the reception room. 

Her appearance crushed Katsuto’s poker face. 

Katsuto could not hide his surprise at the appearance of the girl who sat diagonally to him, next to Ryoutarou. 

Despite being a Sunday, the girl is for some reason wearing a black sailor uniform under a navy-blue cardigan. But that isn’t what surprised Katsuto. 

It also wasn’t her loose, undulating hair, with a light golden color bordering silver, nor her deep green eyes that disturbed him. He’d heard from his father, Kazuki, that the girl’s real mother is a blonde Russian. It was the first time Katsuto saw green eyes, but it was not that surprising if he knew she was likely Caucasian. 

What caught Katsuto’s eyes was the dense magical presence the girl irradiated. Not that she was emitting a lot of power, but because he felt a strong energy condensed into the small body. 

This is a trait that is seen in magicians of the ‘Ten’. If his intuition is correct, this girl is hiding within her the talent of a magician comparable to the ‘Ten’. 

This intuition shook Katsuto’s heart. 

“Alisa, please give your greetings to Juumonji-san.” 

Prompted by Ryoutarou, the girl turned her attention towards Katsuto. 

“Please to meet you. I am Iba Alisa.” 

Katsuto would not remain astonished forever. He immediately introduced himself in response to the girl’s first greeting. 

“My name is Juumonji Katsuto. I am your half-brother.” 

But the way he expressed himself, as if it was someone else’s business, was entirely inappropriate for the relationship between them. 

This event began on the Saturday, February 23rd of 2097. The weekend of the Hakone terrorist attack aimed at the Master Clans Conference ended with the death of its mastermind, Jiedo Heigu, also known as Gu Jie. 

The head of Juumonji Family, Juumonji Katsuto, who represented the Ten Master Clans in the pursuit of Gu Jie until the end (of his life), came to the study after being summoned by the former head and his father, Juumonji Kazuki. 

He may have taken over as head of the family, but the owner of the study does not change. The Ten Master Clan’s Juumonji Family may have changed, but the president of the Juumonji business is still Kazuki. The bookshelves in this study are filled with document bindings and books related to the company. 

“–The post-disposal is just as indicated. We already have the agreement of the Yotsuba, Ichijou and Saegusa Families.” 

“I see. Making these adjustments must have been hard, Katsuto... Ah, wait a moment. I have something to tell you.” 

Kazuki stopped Katsuto, who bowed as he was trying to leave. 

Katsuto was already standing up but he complied, returning to the single-seat sofa, which also functioned as a nap bed during work. 

“Katsuto, the truth is...” 

Katsuto silently waited for his father’s words. 

But Kazuki didn’t get to the main topic. 

“What is it?” 

Unable to wait any more, Katsuto urged him to continue. 

Kazuki opened his mouth with resignation on his face. 

“Katsuto, you see.” 

But once again, the words just stopped. 

“...Since it’s hard to talk about it, should I come back another day?” 

Katsuto uses polite language as courtesy towards his predecessor as a Head of the Juumonji Family of the Ten Master Clans. At this moment, Katsuto still didn’t expect his father’s story to be a personal matter. 

“No, I’ll tell you now. Honestly, I should have told you about this much earlier.” 

Katsuto, who had already partly stood up, returned to his original posture. 

This time Kazuki got to the main point. 

“Katsuto, you have a half-sister.” 

Katsuto opened his eyes wide, but didn’t lose his composure. 

“...Just to be clear, this isn’t about Kazumi, right?” 

Katsuto has a former cousin brother-in-law, a half-brother and a half-sister. His brother-in-law is Yuuto, his half-brother is Katsuki and his half-sister is Kazumi. 

Katsuto’s biological mother died when he was two years old. It was a natural death. 

When he was five years-old, his father Kazuki married his current wife. Tatsuki and Kazumi were the second wife’s children. 

Because of the age differences, it couldn’t be said that the relationship between Katsuto and his two younger siblings was a close one. Ever since he was a child, strict training to become the next head of the Juumonji family was imposed on him, thus he didn’t look after his brother and sister. That said, they live in the same house since they were born. Their relationship isn’t of the kind to inform that ‘you have a sister’ after such a long time. 

“No, of course not. Her name is Iba Alisa. My understanding is she lives in S Town in southwest Hokkaido. She’s 14 years-old this coming September.” 

“Iba Alisa... She’s in the same year as Tatsuki? She was born in September, which means she was born the year after you married Keiko-san, correct?” 

Keiko is Kazuki’s second wife and Katsuto’s stepmother. Kazuki remarried when Katsuto was five years old, fourteen years ago in December. 

“Darya and I broke up before I married Keiko.” 

Tatsuki turns 14 years old next February. He’s in the same grade as Alisa, but he born close to half a year later. Certainly, considering the length of pregnancy, it was possible that she was conceived before the marriage. 

“So you mean that you were two-timing until just before the marriage. Father, that’s not an excuse.” 

Katsuto changed his form of address to that of a father, rather than the former head of the Juumonji Family and one of the Ten Master Clans. 

When his son mentioned that, Kazuki’s eyes swam. It appears he has a guilty conscience after all. 

“...Was this Darya-san a partner in an affair? She doesn’t sound Japanese.” 

There are flowers named Dahlia, so it’s possible that a Japanese woman could have that name. But it just didn’t seem likely to him that ‘Darya’ was the name of a Japanese woman. 

“An affair... Well, I guess that is the case. She’s a defected Russian.” 

Kazuki seemed reluctant to consider it an affair, but since he was together with another woman just before his marriage, he couldn’t say it wasn’t one. Even if he only started dating his second wife afterwards. 

His current wife, Keiko, was chosen by Kazuki’s late father, the founder and head of two generations of the Juumonji Family, Juumonji Gai. At the time, Kazuki already held the seat of family head. Though, despite being his genetic parent, there was no true blood connection – Kazuki was not modified, but he was a ‘test tube baby’ born from artificially insemination in an artificial womb – and Kazuki could not reject the one chosen by his father, who raised him as his own son. 

It wasn’t just that there was no reason to oppose his father, Keiko was carefully chosen over the two years after his ex-wife died as someone who was suitable to birth magicians to the Juumonji Family’s main line. As for Darya, – Darya Andreevna Ivanova, who at the time had already changed nationality and renamed to Iba Darya –she had special circumstances. Even leaving her defection from Russia aside, being the wife of a head of the Ten Master Clans brings forth anxiety. 

Still, Katsuto didn’t really care about his sister’s mother’s nationality. ‘She doesn’t sound Japanese’ was just a passing thought. If she is alive, it might be a problem because of the possibility of her being a spy or the rest of the family being taken hostage, but it is not needed to be vigilant of the deceased. – Katsuto’s suspicions weren’t deep enough that he would think her daughter would have inherited her mother’s duties. 

“I’m sure you had your reasons, Father, and I don’t wish to criticize what happened in the past, but... Why did you hide this until now?” 

“I... I wasn’t hiding it. I didn’t know Darya gave birth to my child.” 

Katsuto stared at his father with a look of condemnation. 

Kazuki averted his eyes from his son’s glare. 

“...When I passed the seat of head to you, I had some time to look back at my life. And the first thing I took note of was Darya, who reluctantly parted with me. Darya disappeared, telling me nothing, but leaving a letter for me.” 

Katsuto silently pressured him to continue. 

“Of course, if I thought I could find her, I would have. But I’m sure that Darya left thinking of it was the best for me. At the time I thought I should respect her intentions. Me being a fool, I didn’t even think she was pregnant.” 

Kazuki’s deep regrets spread under the corners of his mouth. 

Katsuto’s expression towards his father softened a little. 

“I sought Darya’s circumstances just to learn whether she was well. There was no other reason. But she had already left this world. She died eight years ago.” 

Kazuki’s lips trembled. 

Katsuto remained silent, not requesting for the story to continue, waiting for his father to resume when he was ready. 

“...Your sister is being taken care of by a couple to helped Darya when she defected. I know I have no right to object to it, but... If I didn’t tell you right away, I couldn’t just leave her be. 

Katsuto silently watched his father for some time as he clenched his teeth, and finally reluctantly asked: 

“Father. Are you going to go take her?” 

Until now avoiding his son’s eyes, Kazuki finally made eye contact with Katsuto. 

“Katsuto, you decide. Rather, I want you to make the decision.” 

As Katsuto tried to object, Kazuki rose his hand to stop him. 

“Alisa – Your sister probably inherited my powers.” 

“You mean the magic of the Juumonji Family?” 

“Yes. That’s why I want you to decide. As head of the Juumonji Family, how should you handle girls who have a high chance of inheriting the magic of the ‘Ten’? Should you respect her current life and quietly leave her be? Or should those with power accept to carry out their duties as members of the Ten Master Clans?” 

“So that’s what you mean.” 

Katsuto did not falter. 

Returning to the tone of the head of a family of the Ten Master Clans, he expressed his opinion, no, his decision. 

“We should bring her home. Those who inherit the magic disposition of the ‘Ten’ must learn how to use it well. Otherwise they may lose their life.” 

The magicians of the Juumonji Family developed at the former Tenth Research Institute have the skill to use magic power beyond their limits. It is a technique that can be controlled, but if it is not, it may cause the user to rampage. 

Kazuki lost his magic abilities in his mid-forties as a result of overusing this skill. Even Kazuki, who knew very well about the risks and is a legitimate member of the Juumonji Family, shortened his lifespan as a magician. If she doesn’t learn how to use it, it won’t end with just losing magical abilities. It could shorten her life as a human. 

In this way, Katsuto’s decision was not just weighted on the interest to the Ten Master Clans. But the reason he didn’t hesitate in deciding to separate her from her current family must certainly be because his values have been dyed by those of the Ten Master Clans. 

“...I see.” 

To that, Kazuki, who asked if they should ‘separate his daughter from her current family and take her to our side’, was nonetheless visually distressed by the decision, despite having not met her face to face. Perhaps feelings of love for the girl at play? 

To Kazuki’s half-hearted attitude, Katsuto gave a dry response. 

“Now, please tell me the name and location of the residence I have to take my sister out of. I’m going to start negotiations right away.” 

Katsuto’s words were under the assumption that he would go meet his half-sister by himself. He didn’t consider whether Kazuki wanted to go with him. Obviously, this is not out of consideration for Kazuki’s dignity. He didn’t even consider his half-sister’s feelings in the event his father, who abandoned her, suddenly said ‘let’s live together’. – Kazuki may not have intended to “abandon” her, but it can’t be helped if his daughter thought this way after being neglected until now. 

Katsuto’s decision to go take his half-sister was not because she was a sister related by blood (even if just in part), but because it is likely that she is a magician of the Juumonji Family. Katsuto thought that if she’s going to be welcomed to the Juumonji Family as a magician of the family, it was only natural for the head himself to go and that Kazuki, whose role in the seat of head is already over, had no place in it. 

 “– I’ll give you a map later. The name of the adoptive family is Tookami.” 

Finally, preparing himself for the worst, Kazuki told him the name of the family taking care of his half-sister. Even if Katsuto is going alone, he, as head of the family, held no differing view regarding the decision. 

“...? Could they be from that Toogami?” 

“Yes, they were originally that Toogami.” [3] 

It was the name of the Extras who were chased out of the Tenth Research Institute. 

Unlike what Katsuto expected, Alisa was not disturbed at hearing she was his half-sister. 

“I see. So you’re my real brother...” 

She was just muttering, as if talking to herself. 

“Did you know?” 

Katsuto asked with polite speech. Even if she is his sister, his attitude towards a girl six years younger than him may have been too formal. 

“Mama – My deceased mother told me. That my father lives in a faraway place. He was a great magician who loved my mother, but they had to separate due to circumstances beyond their control. So she didn’t resent my father, she knew she was a liability... that’s what she always said.” 

Alisa looked down, her expression hidden by the light gold hair flowing in front of her face. 

“I couldn’t tell when I was young but... I feel like my mother’s words were something she was telling herself instead of me.” 

Alisa’s tone was cold as she thought back to her deceased mother. 

“Alisa, you shouldn’t speak poorly of Darya-san.” 

Ryoutarou reprimanded Alisa. But it felt like he was hesitant with those words. At least that’s what it sounded like to Katsuto. 

“I do think she was overestimating him when she said he was great though.” 

Katsuto intentionally used an impersonal tone. 

“Up until a few days ago, my father was the head of the Juumonji Family of the Ten Master Clans. Do you know about the Ten Master Clans?” 

“I know about them. When I heard about ‘Juumonji’-san, I knew right away it was the Ten Master Clans’ ‘Juumonji’.” 

“I see.” 

Katsuto, perhaps a little hastily, raised the main issue. 

“You too have the Ten Master Clans’ Juumonji Family’s blood within you.” 

“I don’t think that’s true...” 

“But you can use magic, right?” 

Katsuto gently pressed Alisa, who was murmuring as if it didn’t concern her. 

“I don’t know...” 

Alisa’s response was out of Katsuto’s expectations. 

“Juumonji-san. We’ve tried to keep Alisa from experiencing magic. I believe you understand why.” 

Ryoutarou gave Katsuto a look full of meaning. A pitiful look, seemingly full of irony. 

Of the magicians developed at the former Tenth Research Institute, only the Juumonji Family were granted ‘Overclock’, a technique to surpass the limits of the Magic Calculation Area. It is because of this ability that the Juumonji were deemed the ‘strongest of the Ten’ among the magicians of the former Tenth Research Institute, but, at the same time, ‘Overclock’ results in disappearance of the magical power due to ‘burnout of the Magic Calculation Area’, shortening their lifespan as a magician. 

The former head of the Juumonji Family, Juumonji Kazuki, was forced to retire as a magician exactly because of repeated use of ‘Overclock’. This fate bestowed to the Juumonji Family of being the strongest and consequently living short lives is why Tookami Ryoutarou, an ‘Extra of the Ten’, pities them. 

However, Katsuto remained composed. 

“Tookami-san. You appear to know about our circumstances. So you must understand that it is dangerous for Alisa-san to inherit the Juumonji Family’s magic disposition without studying it.” 

Katsuto’s point momentarily stopped Ryoutarou’s breathing. 

“– But if you don’t actively try to use magic, the risk of overheating is low.” 

“It only decreases the chances of it happening. And once overheated, it is likely a more serious case than regular magicians due to the synergy with Overclock. It’s dangerous for your body if you can’t control the technique.” 

Katsuto and Ryoutarou glared at each other. 

No, the only one glaring is Ryoutarou, Katsuto looks rather baffled, but either way they were silent as their eyes met each other. 

“Umm?” 

Alisa’s curious voice cut in. 

“What does overheating mean? Is that something related to me?” 

“That is...” 

“I’m sorry, uncle.” 

Ryoutarou tried to answer quickly, but Alisa interrupted him. 

Alisa calls Ryoutarou ‘uncle’ because she was not adopted into the Tookami Family. 

“I want to hear it from Juumonji-san.” 

Alisa’s eyes met Katsuto’s. Within those eyes, Katsuto found a strong will inconsistent with the timid impression that her reserved manner of speaking displayed until then, and at that, Katsuto was unable to repress some unexpected feelings. 

“Overheating of the Magic Calculation Area is a disease characteristic of magicians and can be even be life-threatening. It looks like you haven’t dealt with magic, so I won’t give you a detailed explanation, but since you are a descendent of the previous head of the Juumonji Family, the possibility of serious overheat symptoms cannot be ignored.” 

“Am I going to die from that illness?” 

When Alisa talked about death, she didn’t look afraid. Maybe he just didn’t feel it, but Katsuto sensed there was more to it. 

“No. We understand why the magicians of the Juumonji Family tend to overheat. We also have established countermeasures. If you learn how to use the Juumonji Family’s magic, you won’t die even if you lose your magic due to overheating.” 

“So that’s how it is... So are you going to teach me ‘how to use’ it?” 

“That’s right.” 

“...” 

Alisa once again looked downward, hiding her face. 

“However, that is not the main reason I came here to see you today.” 

But she immediately raised her head with Katsuto’s words. 

Alisa opened her eyes as if she realized something, and her face stiffened as if she had some sort of premonition. 

“Alisa-san, please join the Juumonji Family. It may seem that it’s too late, but the Juumonji Family wants to welcome you as a member of the family.” 

Alisa appeared to become frightened and fell into silence when Katsuto revealed his original goal without hesitation. 

Alisa turned her eyes to Ryoutarou. 

A look seeking someone to rely on. 

And with a soft voice, Ryoutarou said ‘Alisa, you should do what you want’. 

Alisa looked down repeatedly. 

Hidden under the table, where Katsuto’s sight could not enter, her hands were shaking and tightly clutching her knees. 

“Why...” 

Alisa spoke in a low voice. 

Katsuto had a feeling he knew what the continuation to the ‘Why’ was, but he waited for Alisa to finish her own words. 

“Why now?” 

The question came out more in a criticizing tone than a questioning one. 

“It’s a shameful story, but it was only the other day that our family learned about Alisa-san. It’s because my father retired as head of the Juumonji Family last month and looked up information on your mother, it was then that he learned about you... As for me, my father told me about you yesterday.” 

“Looked up information on my mother? Why did he do that?” 

“His explanation was that after being free of the responsibilities as a head of the Ten Master Clans, he finally was able to look into your mother. What happened with your mother – Darya-san, was his biggest regret.” 

“So he just abandoned my mother and I!?” 

Alisa shows intense emotions for the first time. 

“Truth is that my father was two-timing. You and your mother must have suffered as a result of this. Please beat him up with that grudge as much as you want.” 

“Are you saying that you have nothing to do with this!?” 

“Alisa, it isn’t right to attack Juumonji-san.” 

Ryoutarou rebuked the agitated Alisa. 

“Darya started dating Juumonji-san’s father three years before you were born. This was right after his real mother died. At that time, Juumonji-san was still very young so he couldn’t have been too fond of Darya-san either. We told Darya-san that she should stop going out with him, but she didn’t listen.” 

“No, all the blame lies with my predecessor who lacked integrity. As for Darya-san, I can only feel bad for her.” 

Katsuto flatly rejected Ryoutarou’s words. Both Ryoutarou and Alisa intuitively understood that this was not just a bluff. 

Perhaps overwhelmed by Katsuto’s unrelenting will, the irritated Alisa regained her composure. 

“Alisa-san.” 

“Yes...” 

“You have a legitimate reason to tell your father off. You’re qualified to treat him as a monster. You have the right to collect your debt.” 

Alisa looked back at Katsuto with confusion in her eyes. It didn’t look like she knew what her half-brother wanted to say. 

“Why don’t you go meet your father once, to hit him with your resentment? If you don’t want to live with us, we’ll prepare an apartment in Tokyo for you. If you want to live here, get control over your magic first and then you can come back. I don’t intend to force you to live as a member of the Ten Master Clans. I’ll promise you this as the head of the Ten Master Clans’ Juumonji Family.” 

Next to Alisa, Ryoutarou’s eyes opened. ‘Unexpected’ was written on his face. Alisa was also in a state of intense confusion.  Never would she have thought that Katsuto himself would make such a convenient proposal for her. 

“Uncle...” 

“Alisa. As I said before, you should do what you want. But if you want to hear what I think –” 

“Yeah, please?” 

“It should be fine to go meet your father once. After that you can decide whether to live in Tokyo.” 

After saying so, Ryoutarou turned to Katsuto. 

“Of course, that will not be a problem.” 

Katsuto agreed immediately. 

“Please... let me think about it for a while.” 

In the end, Alisa cast her eyes down and withheld her response. 

“Alright. Then I’ll return next week. Is that okay with you?” 

“It’s fine to do it here.” 

Ryoutarou said so as he turned his attention to Alisa. 

“Okay...” 

Without turning her eyes towards Katsuto, Alisa agreed. 

“Asha!” 

Right after Katsuto left the Tookami household, a girl wearing a matching cardigan and the same sailor uniform rushed into the reception room. 

A girl with short, straight black hair, with acorn eyes. 

“Mina.” 

The girl Alisa called Mina is the eldest and youngest daughter of the Tookami Family, Marika. ‘Mina’ is a nickname for Marika, given by Arisa’s mother. ‘Mina’ is an abbreviation of the female Russian name, ‘Jasmine’ (??????). [4]  – It may go without saying, but ‘Asha’ is a nickname for ‘Alisa’. 

Both at the age of thirteen, Alisa has beautiful adult-like looks and Marika has a lively ‘tomboy’ aura and looks that could be described as lovely rather than pretty. Though they don’t look similar and aren’t related by blood, the atmosphere between the two feels more like they’re sisters instead of friends. 

By their looks, the adult-like Alisa looks like the older sister and the more age-appropriate-looking Marika looks like the little sister. It’s hard to tell, because Alisa is sitting and Marika is standing, but Alisa is also taller by roughly 5cm. 

In fact, their birthday was one day apart in the same year. Alisa was born one day earlier, so even with birthdays as the basis, it isn’t wrong to call Alisa the older sister and Marika the younger sister. 

“You haven’t changed your clothes yet?” 

Alisa asked Marika, who is wearing an identical uniform to hers. 

“I was too worried about you!” 

Instead of sitting on the other side of the table, Marika sat on the same side, facing her. Alisa was in the middle of Ryoutarou and Marika. 

“Marika, close the sliding screen.” 

Ryoutarou reproved his daughter’s bad manners by leaving the sliding screen open. 

“Asha, what was that man talking about earlier!?” 

But her father’s voice never reached her ears, let alone her conscious. 

Even as Marika got extremely close, Alisa didn’t back away or bend backwards. 

With their noses basically touching, Alisa looked at Marika’s eyes with a calm smile. 

Because of that, Marika blushed a little and backed away looking embarrassed. 

“By that man, do you mean Juumonji-san?” 

“You mean Juumonji of the Ten Master Clans!? Asha, what business do the Ten Master Clans’ have with you?” 

“That person is my blood-related older brother. That’s why he me asked to go live with him in Tokyo.” 

“You’re going to Tokyo!?” 

Marika grabbed Alisa’s shoulders. 

“No! I don’t want you to go!” 

Marika once again got close to Alisa. 

–chu 

And right afterwards, Marika went off on her knees into the corridor through the open sliding screen. This course of events was reminiscent of a cat ‘sliding’ out of a room. [5] 

Marika’s face was completely flushed because Alisa kissed her. – Not on the lips, but on the tip of the nose. 

“I’m sorry Mina, you were way too cute just now.” 

Marika opened and closed her mouth, unable to say anything, when Alisa gave her excuse while sticking her tongue out a little. This playfulness was hard to imagine by the attitude she had when facing Katsuto not long before. 

Ryoutarou, who was shown an improper (?) act between the two daughters, was calm. This much flirting was a common sight up to two or three years ago. 

“I don’t want to leave your side either, Mina.” 

Marika blushed, her eyes shining with hope at the few words Alisa said. 

“But according to Juumonji-san, I can’t live for long if I stay like this.” 

“Is that true?” 

This question by Marika, who quickly got close to Alisa, was directed at Ryoutarou instead of her. 

“It’s not certain she’ll die prematurely. It is just a possibility.” 

“But that possibility exists?” 

Ryoutarou was at a loss due to his daughter’s continued questioning. 

“...That’s right. It seems Juumonji-san will be teaching her how to prevent it.” 

“Then he should just tell you!” 

Alisa gave a vague smile at the enthusiastic Marika. 

Marika’s expression changed when she realized something. 

“Does this mean you have to go live with them in Tokyo?” 

“Yeah, it does.” 

Alisa nodded. 

Marika’s face turned red for a different reason than before. 

“What’s with that! They’re taking advantage of your weakness! Cowards! They’re the worst!” 

“Marika.” 

Ryoutarou hit the brakes on Marika, who looks to be getting overexcited. 

“Alisa, go change your clothes too. Let’s look deeper into this later with Serika-san.” 

Serika is the name of Ryoutarou’s wife, Marika’s mother. 

“Okay.” 

Alisa, who wanted some time alone to think, nodded in assent at Ryoutarou’s words. 

“...Ookay.” 

Marika also wasn’t pleased, but nonetheless agreed to leave it until later. 

Marika went back to her room, laid on the bed and let out a big sigh. Right after, ‘If I stay like this the uniform will wrinkle’ came to her mind, so she got up from the bed to take off her cardigan and sailor uniform. 

Though it is nearly March, there is still snow. The temperature in the mornings and evenings drop below water freezing levels and during the day they never reach 10ºC. Nonetheless, under the sailor uniform she only wore her bra, shorts, and thigh-high socks – which only went halfway to the thigh, so they were knee-high socks. 

She is pretty glamorous for a middle school student in her first year. Her cup size is C. She is by no means fat though. She likes moving her body, so her waist is firm and her stomach has no excess fat. 

The area between the socks and the shorts is, honestly speaking, fairly plump, which is the subject of Marika’s secret worries. 

Her room originally belonged to her brother, who is older by seven years. When Alisa was an elementary school student they shared the same room, but when her brother Ryousuke went to a university in Kanto – not a Magic University – she got the room all to herself. 

And then, in January of last year, her brother went to study in the former Canada area of the USNA, in Vancouver, and disappeared without a trace two months later. One year passed since, and despite not hearing from him, his father, mother and Marika have almost no worries. 

Studying abroad shouldn’t be allowed for those who inherit magician genes, but for some reason they are allowed in the form of a student exchange programs. At that point, both he and the rest of the family felt it was suspicious, but they agreed with him studying abroad. 

At any rate, those of the Tookami Family, being ‘Extras’, can’t expect the opportunity to work as magicians. Discrimination against ‘Extras’ has decreased considerably. But even so, they can only work in the magician society if they keep the original ‘number’ hidden. Not using the special abilities from each of the numbered Research Institutes is the condition to being accepted as an ‘Extra’ in the magician community. 

But the magic of the Tookami Family strongly inherited the characteristics of the ‘Ten’. If they were to hide the magic of the former Tenth Research Institute, they could only become a second-rate, or, at most, a first-and-a-half-rate magician. If they have to fake themselves like that, then they choose to live in a way other than a magician. That was the Tookami Family’s policy. 

But those kinds of restraints are limited to Japan. If you can escape Japan, you open the path to do whatever you want as your true self. Ryousuke sent a letter from Vancouver where he mentioned that. Was he being vigilant of interception by using air mail instead of email? Therefore, his father, mother and Marika thought Kyousuke’s disappearance was by his own will. That’s why they aren’t worried. 

(...Onii, where are you right now?) 

But right now, Marika is in a mental state where she can’t help but to complain about her brother’s absence. 

Maybe it was because of the age difference between them that Ryousuke was a good older brother who pampered Marika. Marika quite liked Ryousuke as well. 

But there was someone who liked Ryousuke even more than Marika, and that was Alisa. If Ryousuke was here right now and he was against Alisa going to Tokyo, she would follow his words without question. No, if Ryousuke was still studying at the university near Tokyo, Alisa may decide to go to be near him. But in that case, she would have to come back when he returned to Hokkaido. 

Marika’s parents want Alisa to marry Ryousuke and succeed them in the veterinary clinic. Alisa also doesn’t hate the idea. She’s still a first grader in middle school but she’s aiming to be a veterinarian. – Plus, before Ryousuke went to study abroad, he was in the engineering department, and Marika isn’t good at studying so there is nothing stopping Alisa from succeeding Ryoutarou, even if she doesn’t marry Ryousuke. Of course, neither Ryoutarou nor Marika will force Alisa to take over the clinic. 

Marika doesn’t want Alisa to move to Tokyo. But if Alisa wants to live with her blood-related family, she understood it would be wrong to try to stop her. 

In addition, if there is a way to reduce the chance of something happening to Alisa, Marika also thinks she can endure the loneliness for a little while and that she should be patient. 

Alisa has a genetic component that causes premature death. The Tookami Family knew that. Not just Ryoutarou and his wife Serika, the oldest son Ryousuke also knew and they told Marika about it. Maybe it wasn’t something that should be told to a girl who was still in elementary school at the time, but her mother Serika deliberately told her so that she would take appropriate action in an emergency. 

This genetic element is not from the Juumonji Family. It comes from her mother. 

Alisa’s mother, Darya, was produced by the New Soviet Union and has a modified body. 

The gene manipulation techniques of the New Soviet Union are even more advanced than Japan’s due to the accumulation of plenty of experiment samples. But the success of the modification of a magician isn’t determined by just the manipulation of their genes. In fact, magic, or to use a more accurate description, magical factors, have a strong influence. The New Soviet Union’s body modification techniques were weak in this aspect. 

Despite the territory’s affinity for the occult by nature, or maybe because of it, when the New Soviet Union was founded the country leaned towards materialism. Perhaps it was a reaction to the period of stagnation of national power. 

Even for the spiritual skills called magic, there was a long period of obsession with improvement through mathematical analysis of magic formulas. – Ironic that because of the overemphasis on the theory, the use of electronics for magic engineering techniques declined, but that point is irrelevant right now. 

The main point is that the modified humans developed by the New Soviet Union are less stable than the ones developed by Japan and the USNA. There were frequent cases of a body not functioning normally, despite no abnormal traits being found. The medical cause was not known. But an empirical correlation established that with stronger magic used, the more body malfunctions happened. 

It was only through recent spy activity that the New Soviet Union understood that it was necessary to adapt the mind to the genetically modified body while it was still an embryo – a magical ritual that has been analyzed and adapted into modern magic. 

Alisa’s mother, Darya Andreevna Ivanova defected nearly two decades before, so obviously she received no such treatment. Darya rarely suffered from body anomalies, maybe because she lived without using magic, but in the end she still died young. 

She couldn’t escape the fate of a modified body even without using magic. The second generation of the modified body, Alisa, doesn’t know when the modification’s tragedy will come for her. 

Adding up the negative parts of the Juumonji Family – Marika doesn’t know what they specifically are – the chance of this tragedy increases even more. 

If there is a way to lower the chances even just a little bit, she should go for it. There is no room for discussion there. 

But Marika doesn’t want to live apart from Alisa, even if it for absolutely necessary things. 

She doesn’t have a specific reason. 

She took off her sailor uniform and stopped changing clothes in that state – in just her underwear, she sat down on the floor, not knowing what to do with her feelings. 

Alisa separated from Marika in front of her room and sat down on the desk in her own room. 

She let out a long sigh without making noise. It was a habit of hers habit to ensure she made no noise. Not even herself knows why she developed this habit. She had no memory of being expressly bullied or oppressed. As for her upbringing, the Tookami Family is peaceful. 

She stayed like that for over a minute, motionless. She thought about changing from her uniform, but her body didn’t move. The interview with Katsuto wasn’t very long but she was deeply exhausted regardless. 

(Anyway, I need to change my clothes) 

Alisa muttered I her mind and slowly got up. 

First, she took off her deep blue cardigan and put it on the hanger. 

Next, she removed her dark-red scarf, unfastened the buttons on her sleeve and lowered the front zipper. 

She wasn’t wearing an undershirt beneath the sailor uniform, she was wearing a camisole with a built-in bra. 

Alisa’s delicate bust line was exposed. 

It was immature rather than small. 

Her chest finally grew to an A-cup, slower than her peers in the same grade, but Alisa didn’t care that much about it. 

She unhooked the skirt, lowered the side zippers and took it off. 

Wrapped in black tights, her thin and well-shaped legs laid bare. 

Even for someone who has no affection for little girls, it was hard to deviate one’s eyes from her fairy-like limbs. 

Rather, her unripe upper body enhances their charm. 

She carefully hanged her sailor uniform on the closet hanger, and while taking out a sweater and skirt from it, Alisa faintly remembered her conversation from before. 

(What’s going to happen to me...?) 

Even when told that she’s going to die prematurely, it’s hard to place those feelings. Though she felt death through the experience of losing her mother who she was close with, Alisa is only 13 years old. Her own death is an event that is still far away. 

She knows that unlike a normal 13-year-old girl, she is unstable. But that’s something she was told. Even though there are rare times when she feels “something” like a flickering flame deep within her, she honestly doesn’t know whether it’s something threatening to her. Since she has no experience to determine clearly what it is, she naturally can’t conclude if it’s harmful to her or not. 

(I really don’t know what I really am...) 

Overwhelming lack of knowledge and experience. It may be normal for a first grader in middle school, but she can’t say she is a normal middle schooler. It’s likely she can’t get through this normally. 

(I probably... have to know.) 

Even if she doesn’t feel herself dying, Alisa understands what death is. 

Death. 

Bereavement. 

It means that she will become a memory. 

It means she’ll never meet them again. 

(I would never see Mina and Ryou-nii-san – Ryousuke-san again... I’d hate that.) 

I don’t want to die; I’d hate not being able to see the people I like. It was a conclusion like that that Alisa came to. 

The subject of Katsuto’s proposal came up at the Tookami Family table after eating and cleaning up. Washing the dishes after the meal is Marika’s and Alisa’s job. Ryoutarou’s wife, Serika, doesn’t make a distinction between Marika and Alisa when it comes to the upbringing of her ‘daughters’. 

When Serika lined up teacups for everyone on the clean table, Ryoutarou called out “Alisa”. – As an aside, the Tookami Family are fans of black tea. 

First Serika sat down next to Ryoutarou, then Alisa replied “What is it?” in front of Ryoutarou, and finally Marika sat down next to her. 

“Before we hear what you think, should we organize and fill in the details of the discussion?” 

Ryoutarou made sure everyone was seated and lit the fuse. 

“Today, the head of the Juumonji Family of the Ten Master Clans came here and said he wanted to take Alisa with him. The current head of the family, Katsuto, is Alisa’s half-brother. Up until here, Alisa already knows.” 

Serika looked at Alisa, asking “Is that right?” with her eyes. 

Alisa returned the look and nodded in assent. 

“It looks like the Juumonji Family didn’t know about Alisa until recently.” 

“How could that be?” 

Serika posed her question with a rude tone. 

“The impression I got was that he wasn’t lying.” 

“Well that just makes me more annoyed.” 

Serika just can’t seem to understand at all. Her anger towards the Juumonji Family looks even stronger than Ryoutarou’s. Serika, unlike Ryoutarou, did not come from the original ‘Toogami’, so rather than a grudge against the former Tenth Research Institute, it’s probably a reflection of her deep sympathy towards Darya’s circumstances who, apart from being a woman like her, ended up dying. 

“So that was all Juumonji-san’s request was?” 

Serika apparently hasn’t heard the details of the conversation. Ryoutarou may be organizing the story mainly for her. 

“The point of the proposal is to take Alisa and teach her techniques to prevent the magic illnesses characteristic of the Juumonji Family.” 

“Father, what illness is that?” 

Marika put forward a question. She’s been interested in this for a long time. 

“Of the magicians developed by the former Tenth Research Institute, the Juumonji Family were called ‘the strongest of the Ten’ and have a unique skill that works as their trump card, which supports their nickname of ‘Iron Wall’” 

Ryoutarou also intended to explain this point when he started this discussion. 

“It’s a secret technique that brings out magical power beyond the user’s limits, temporarily overworking the Magic Calculation Area. But at the same time, it’s a double-edged sword that damages the user’s body.” 

“Damages the body?” 

Marika interrupted Ryoutarou but he didn’t mind. 

That was the whole point: he was going to answer any questions they had. 

“There is an area in magician’s, no, people’s unconscious that takes in all the information in nature and processes into a consciously recognizable form. This is what we magicians call ‘Magic Calculation Area’.” 

“Processes?” 

Marika’s questions are simple. 

It’s not that her understanding is particularly poor. Alisa had the same thought, she just didn’t say anything. 

“The world is essentially a single entity, and there is too much information for the human consciousness to hold. That’s why we unconsciously split up the information of the continuous and indivisible world into a size we can recognize. Did you understand, Marika?” 

Ryoutarou was reminded of his daughter’s poor academic performance. 

“Ehh...” 

Sure enough, Marika looked like she understood, but she actually doesn’t understand at all. 

“Mina, isn’t it hard to eat a whole cake? When you serve a cake, you cut it into eight slices to make it easier to eat, put them in plates and put forks next to them, right? Isn’t it similar to that?” 

“Ah, I see. Amazing Asha, you don’t just serve the cake on a plate, the main part is that the fork is there. Right, father?” 

“...Well, if you understand it like that, it’s fine.” 

In his mind, Ryoutarou thought ‘They’re already in middle school, but are these girls going to be okay?’, but he thought this discussion would last forever if it went too off track and the lecture wasn’t needed. 

“Let’s continue. Magic is a technique that reverses this mental function and reflects the human cognition on the world. I don’t know why we can do it but let’s put that aside for now. You just need to know is that magic is the result of the Magic Calculation Area’ activity.” 

Alisa and Marika nodded together. Also, since Serika is a qualified magician, even if her level isn’t that high, she knows about this area from common sense. 

“The performance of the Magic Calculation Area is different for each person. A person who isn’t a magician hasn’t reached a high enough performance level to rewrite reality, so they can’t use magic.” 

At this moment, Ryoutarou’s expression changed. 

“Marika. Alisa. You two must not misunderstand. Magicians can use magic because their Magic Calculation Area has a high performance. But that doesn’t mean that magicians are better than other humans.” 

A false sense of inferiority towards magicians has turned into paranoia and fear and has grown into terrorism by ‘humanists’. There is a risk that a false sense of superiority will warp a person even more than a false sense of inferiority. 

Magicians are not a superior race. You must engrave this in your hearts. 

– That’s what Ryoutarou tried to tell his daughters. 

However... 

“Eh? Isn’t that obvious?” 

Marika let out a shocked voice and Alisa quietly nodded along with her words. 

It seems these two don’t need the reminder. 

“I see. As long as you understand. Very good, the two of you.” 

Receiving praise from Ryoutarou, Marika’s swelled up her nostrils in a show of pride. She’s a middle school student but she’s still just a child. 

Alisa’s reaction was a little more adult-like, but she also didn’t hide her happy expression. 

It’s proof that both of them love Ryoutarou. Many fathers in the world would be jealous if they witnessed this scene. 

Ryoutarou coughed a little. Maybe he was embarrassed? 

“...Naturally, the difference in performance of the Magic Calculation Area is, also different between magicians. What we call magic talent is in great part about the performance of the Magic Calculation Area. This performance is heavily influenced by natural ability, but it’s not the only factor. It can be trained to some extent. However, no matter if it’s innate or acquired, the performance is limited at any given time. Which means there is a limit to the magician’s powers.” 

There were no questions from neither Marika nor Alisa. 

Both of them waited for him to continue. 

Feeling the main topic inching closer and closer, they turned their eyes to Ryoutarou. 

“But as I said before, the Juumonji Family possess have a skill that temporarily surpasses this limit. A skill that increases the activity of the Magic Calculation Area beyond its original maximum, reaching magic power beyond the limits. Its name is Overclock.” 

“Isn’t that the same term used in old computers?” 

Marika tilted her head to the side and Ryoutarou returned a nod. 

“You’re right, Marika. The term Overclock has its origins in a modification technique for old computers. It’s not just a coincidence in terms used, it’s also the same in terms of performance increase and reducing the life expectancy until they fail.” 

“Using that skill will shorten your lifespan, right?” 

This time the question came from Alisa. 

Ryoutarou didn’t hesitate in answering. 

“If you use power beyond your limits, you’ll take a load that exceeds your endurance limits. This goes for machine and human, body and mind. Magic that exceeds the person’s limits damages the Magic Calculation Area and reduces their lifespan. This is a condition called Overheat of the Magic Calculation Area. Overheating is an illness that can happen to any magician, but the Overclock skill increases the risk of it happening.” 

“So that’s the overheating that uncle and Juumonji-san were talking about...” 

Alisa nodded as if saying ‘I finally understood’. 

Ryoutarou returned the nod with his eyes and resumed the explanation. 

“The effects of overheating are not limited to the Magic Calculation Area and magical ability. The Magic Calculation Area isn’t present only in magicians, magic wasn’t even its intended purpose. Its function is for people to recognize the world and living in it. If the Magic Calculation Area stops working, the person won’t be able to perceive the world normally.” 

“You mean they’ll go insane?” 

“If you’re lucky.” 

Ryoutarou answered his daughter’s question with a stiff smile. 

“The original role of the Magical Calculation Area is to split the world into pieces of a size people can recognize. People can’t withstand the world as it is. What awaits people who are exposed to big chunks of information is death caused by shock.” 

“...” 

Alisa and Marika were at a loss for words. 

“The worst thing is the magicians of the Juumonji Family have the Overclock skill from birth. Even if the person isn’t aware of it, the risk of using it unconsciously is certainly not small. To protect one’s mind, it’s not enough to not use the skill. To prevent it from running wild, you have to control it.” 

“Uncle.” 

Alisa’s turned her face, more serious than ever before, towards Ryoutarou. 

“So what you mean is that Juumonji-san said was correct?” 

“When it comes to Overclock, he wasn’t lying.” 

“Only the Juumonji Family can teach me how to consciously control that skill and how to make sure overheat doesn’t happen, right?” 

“Of the magicians developed in the former Tenth Research Institute, only the Juumonji Family was given that skill. Only they can teach you how to use it.” 

“I understand.” 

Alisa’s expression as she nodded was calmer than it was up until now. 

“Uncle, thank you for telling me the truth.” 

Alisa bowed her head. In her expression could already be seen her determination. 

“I understand that Alisa has to be taught by the Juumonji Family.” 

And then, as if to stop Alisa from giving her final answer, Serika interjected. 

“But in that case, I don’t see why you can’t learn how to control that skill in Tokyo and then return?” 

“Juumonji-san said that would be fine.” 

Serika couldn’t hide her surprise at Ryoutarou’s answer. 

“Then we should take the offer.” 

But she quickly regained her composure and continued. Her words were most likely directed to Alisa and not Ryoutarou. 

“We can’t just do that...” 

But before Alisa could respond, Ryoutarou shook his head. 

“As a general rule, each magician family’s characteristic skills are not taken outside. And that’s not mentioning that Overclock is the secret technique that makes the Juumonji Family the strongest. Even if the head of the family permits it, others around them won’t approve of teaching someone unrelated it just for the sake of teaching it.“ 

“That’s...” 

“To begin with, the Juumonji Family suggested to take charge of a blood-related daughter. We can complain as much as we want about giving away responsibility or wanting to deal with the financial aspect, but he said they would take responsibility for what happened until now. There is a limit to how much we interfere.” 

“...” 

Serika also understands that logic, but she can’t say anything about it. 

“Asha, will you be okay?” 

While saying that, Marika took hold of Alisa’s arm from the seat next to her. 

“It’s Tokyo, Mina. It’s still Japan. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.” 

“Tokyo is so far. I won’t be able to see you when I want to.” 

“We can see each other in the Vidiphone, and we can talk too?” 

“But I won’t be able to touch you.” 

With tears running in the corners of her eyes, Marika took Alisa’s hand and wrapped them with both of hers. 

“I can’t tell how warm they are through the phone.” 

“Geez, Mina...” 

Alisa smiled softly as she entrusted her hands to Marika. 

A smile that looked like she was also holding back her tears.