The Irregular at Magic High School, Vol. 11: Visitor Arc, Part III

“And I’ve already given Angie Sirius this information, too. You can cooperate with her or compete with her, whatever you prefer.”

Tatsuya didn’t care for his consideration, but unfortunately, he had no way to object.

The onscreen Raymond said nothing more after that, and the monitor suddenly went dark.

He heard a big sigh heaved over him.

The breath Miyuki had been holding in seemed to have come out all at once.

Tatsuya relaxed and gave a sigh of his own.

He got up, then turned around, saying to his sister, “We’ll be late unless we leave soon.”

Class 1-E’s second period was practice.

It was a class, technically, but as always, there were no teachers. All the students did was follow the guidance displayed on a monitor on the wall and use the CADs and measurement devices themselves. The students were used to it already, which created a relaxed atmosphere where they could enjoy taking it easy without any supervisors. On the flip side of the coin, it meant they’d given up on their situation. When that coin turned over, or whether it remained facing up, depended on each individual’s own capacity.

For example, for one particular young man, the coin would no doubt remain eternally faceup.

Leo had come to the practice room late because he had to take care of something he couldn’t more than whisper about. He glanced left and right; spotted Mikihiko, Erika, and Mizuki; and leisurely walked over.

“…You’re late, Leo.”

“C’mon, don’t be like that.”

Despite having softened up quite a bit recently, Mikihiko’s criticizing voice still had thorns in it, exhibiting his natural seriousness. Leo responded with a smile that was both distracted and dauntless.

After grinning, his expression quickly changed to one of confusion.

“Where’s Tatsuya?” he asked.

“He apparently has a guest?” answered Mizuki.

Her interrogative tone probably meant that she, too, thought it was suspicious.

“A guest? At school?”

As Leo frowned and asked another question, Mizuki could only give a vague smile in response.

“More importantly, let’s get this over with.”

Erika cut in from the side, sounding like she didn’t care about any of this. Behind her disinterest, though, was an air of warning them away from meddling in certain private affairs.

“Yeah. Today’s lesson looks like it’ll be a little tough,” said Mikihiko, starting to set up the CAD. The other three smiled and nodded—Erika like it had nothing to do with her, Mizuki a little uneasily, and Leo mildly grimacing.

Meanwhile, Tatsuya, with a slightly miffed poker face on, was sitting on the sofa in the school’s reception room.

Across from him was a man of prime years, gentlemanly at least on the surface with his high-class suit and tie. His miffed face was the real thing.

They sat there, their expressions clashing, finding it difficult to start talking.

The first one to lose his patience was Tatsuya, who had been pulled out of class.

“Mr. Aoki, could I ask you to say what it is you need?”

Questioned in a tone, if not word choice, that was a far cry from being polite, the miffed level showing from Aoki’s neck up increased by another stage.

The man probably made his own feelings so blatantly clear because it was Tatsuya who he was talking to. He’d protected the Yotsuba vaults for over ten years from the hordes of evil spirits nesting in the underground economy. He would never not have worn one or two layers of masks, nor would he not employ three or four different ways of talking for different purposes.

There was no way Aoki didn’t realize that making his emotions clear was making his job difficult. However, his thoughts were bound by the Yotsuba family’s pecking order, by the organization’s internal ranks he treated as authoritative.

And class consciousness invited folly.

“…I am currently in class, so if there is nothing you need, I should really excuse myself.”

“Wait.”

When Tatsuya presented Aoki with his final notice, the man opened his mouth—albeit reluctantly.

“You purchased a 3H P-94 the other day, right?”

The way he talked made it abundantly clear that he was struggling to maintain a businesslike tone. What a farce, thought Tatsuya, but he wasn’t smiling. Exacting payback in such a dull way probably wouldn’t even make him feel better.

“The day before yesterday, to be precise.”

Tatsuya decided to match his professional tone. Unfortunately for him, his determination to do so would come crumbling down in a moment.

“The mistress desires it. We’ll give you double what you paid for it, so hand it over at once.”

With swift motions, Tatsuya rose, then glanced around for bugs or hidden cameras.

With devices that measured the usage of magical powers constantly active in magic high schools, he couldn’t use his “eyes” on a whim. But his physical eyes were trained in their own right. For now, it didn’t appear as though anyone had overheard their conversation.

Tatsuya took a portable terminal from his inside pocket, hooked a cable into it, and pushed the other end out at Aoki’s face.

Thinking about it more closely—well, it didn’t need to be that close to know that the behavior lacked courtesy. The light in Tatsuya’s eyes gave no room for objection. Scowling, Aoki took out his own terminal and plugged the cable into it.

“Mr. Aoki, do you have a fever or something?”

From out of the blue, that was the first message he was sent.

Aoki nearly shouted out of reflex, but the immense pressure emanating from across him unexpectedly caused him to restrain himself.

“Today is Saturday. Four more hours, and you could have called me somewhere people weren’t watching. Why would you run the risk of talking about family matters in my school’s reception room? You should know that Aunt Maya has ordered me to refrain from anything that would lead others to discover my family ties.”

Sizable cracks began to appear in Aoki’s mask of calm. The corners of his lips trembled. His face went rather white, too.

He understood Aoki’s underlying motives for committing such a careless act. He’d probably tried to avoid Miyuki and use the Yotsuba pecking order as a shield to ram his proposition through.

And now, he would be realizing that Tatsuya had seen through him. Impressively, though, the pen writing a response didn’t falter.

“I simply obeyed the mistress’s orders that I act with haste. More importantly, hand over the 3H right now. If you do, I’ll leave you to your business at once.”

“You know I can’t do that, don’t you? Its ownership rights may have transferred to me, but the rental agreement I have with First High is still in effect. The reason I bought that 3H P-94 was to prevent a third party from making off with it. I will take responsibility for that 3H’s administration. Please tell that to Aunt Maya.”

The white in Aoki’s face changed to red. He moved to castigate Tatsuya in his usual manner.

“Do you plan to disobey her command?”

But with those words and the stare from Tatsuya, the force of Aoki’s wrath began to wither visibly.

After seeing the man’s reaction, Tatsuya stood, deciding there was no reason to be held up here any longer.

“Wait. Please wait.”

But Aoki didn’t seem to want to leave yet.

The air of imperiousness covering his face—his whole body—had disappeared. But Tatsuya was sure he hadn’t sincerely fixed his mind-set. Even from that point of view, his attitude had been renewed.

“I apologize for being impolite. Please,” he said, bowing deeply. The bow still seemed sloppy, since he was still sitting on the sofa, but there was no way to misunderstand the apology he was giving.

“Please raise your head, Mr. Aoki,” he said, returning to the sofa. But not in response to any sincerity from the man; he felt nothing like that from him to begin with. Tatsuya had simply gained an interest in what he had to say, now that he’d gotten somewhat more serious.

“Tatsuya— No, Mr. Tatsuya. Your objection is reasonable. If you made the purchase under the conditions that it was an ongoing rental, then you have every right not to let someone else take it away. I’m sorry for asking the impossible.”

“Don’t be.”

Tatsuya bowed a little himself to match Aoki’s second dip. He’d answered with only a couple of words, barely a sentence, assuming that since Aoki’s remark had been so reasonable, any other response would have come off as sarcastic. For now, the fact that he wasn’t worried about it anymore seemed to have gotten through. This time, Aoki immediately raised his head without Tatsuya having to prompt him to.

“But I want you to understand. The mistress isn’t after your 3H out of pure curiosity. She probably believes she needs it for some sort of research.”

“I can understand that.”

“I won’t force you into doing anything. You probably feel just as strongly about needing to keep it at hand. But if you ever decide you’d be willing to let it go, would you be able to give it to her? We’d prepare suitable compensation in that case, of course.”

It wasn’t difficult to read between the lines of Aoki’s proposal. Tatsuya figured his aunt didn’t want Pixie passing into the hands of a third party.

“If you approved of this, then as collateral, we would make a yearly payment for ten percent of your purchase cost of 3H.”

“Every year?”

But he hadn’t predicted this proposal. It might not have been very much money for the Yotsuba, but it was a very generous offer from a regular societal perspective.

“Yes, every year. To be more specific, we would officially form a contract with you regarding a conditional purchase reservation that will automatically renew at a designated time each year.”

And it wasn’t just an oral promise—he was suggesting an official contract. For both Tatsuya and the Yotsuba, one-tenth of the purchasing expense wasn’t that much money. His goal in forming an official contract was probably to stress ownership rights in case Tatsuya tried to renege on his promise. The offer gave a glimpse into how serious the Yotsuba—how serious Maya—could get.

“But as you’re aware, I’m a minor.”

“I’ll make the necessary preparations with your father.”

In other words, Aoki was saying he’d take on all the troublesome responsibilities if and when Tatsuya agreed to enter into this legally binding contract.

“I understand. I wouldn’t mind it if it’s just that.”

There was nothing disadvantageous to Tatsuya in Aoki’s proposition. So for now, he decided it would be better to compromise than push through with stubbornness and further harm his reputation with his aunt.

After seeing Aoki to the entrance, Tatsuya headed to the practice room. Second period was already half over, but he figured he’d at least be able to put in a record of attendance.

But he stopped right before entering the staircase near the door.

“Lina?”

He hadn’t seen the transfer student in a while, and her face looked a lot more worn. Not that her cheeks were hollow or that she had rings under her eyes—there were no visible abnormalities. He couldn’t detect anything that would have been harming her health.

But she lacked vitality. She seemed to be pretending to be the same as always, and someone who didn’t know her very well would have been fooled by her gorgeous looks. But anyone who knew her even somewhat—including only so much as Tatsuya did—would see that something was wrong. They wouldn’t be able to sense the overflowing energy that had once shone even more brightly than her radiant appearance.

She looked very mentally taxed.

She seemed like she was at her wit’s end, driven into a corner.

Of course, that only gave her a more shadowy, more transient type of beauty, a charm that was the exact opposite of the kind she usually had. Tatsuya didn’t have too much interest in what women looked like—or rather, he’d gotten completely accustomed to it—but even he had to think to himself that being beautiful had its perks.

“Tatsuya.”

But that didn’t mean the situation developed in a clichéd way, with his eyes being stolen and being late to react.

His name called, he made direct eye contact with her sapphire-blue orbs.

“Did you hear?”

“Yeah.”

They were both referring to the information they’d gotten from one of the Seven Sages, Raymond. The one-sided message telling them to lure the parasites to the outdoor proving ground behind the school tomorrow night. They omitted quite a few words in their conversation, but neither doubted their intent was getting through just fine.

“Did you find out who?”

“No.”

I suppose he didn’t show his face to Lina, thought Tatsuya after hearing the answer. And that made sense in a way. If the USNA military found out one of the Sages’ identity, they’d be sure to aggressively pursue him and his fountain of knowledge.

“Oh. That’s too bad.”

“I guess. But this time, it’s okay,” said Lina, pausing, directing a confrontational stare at Tatsuya.

“Tatsuya.”

Her eyes shone.

Her gaze was strong. More purposeful than even that night they’d been trying to kill each other.

“I’m not going to be your friend.”

He knew this already, but it really drove the point home for him. It wasn’t about whether they wanted it or not. They never had the option of fighting alongside each other to begin with.

“I know. We live in different worlds, after all.”

Tatsuya’s answer was right out of a parting scene in a classic (read: stale) romance novel.

He’d purposely chosen a roundabout way of saying it that would be easily misunderstood just in case there were people eavesdropping.

He watched as Lina swallowed the abuse she was about to hurl at him. It had taken a moment, but she seemed to realize what Tatsuya was going for.

Still, her face had blood in it. Tatsuya sensed, for whatever reason, that the reason for her red cheeks was different from a moment ago.

“You’re an idiot!” she spat, wheeling around on her heel.

Had she spoken those words to match Tatsuya’s acting?

Or were they her true feelings?

Right now, Tatsuya only knew one thing. A sense of the situation alone, which brought with it resignation.

He’d be staying late after school today for practice.

The main Yotsuba residence.

As Hayama was serving his master her afternoon tea, a soft electronic sound in his inside pocket told him he had a call. Seeing Maya nod, Hayama took out a classic flip phone–like audio terminal, unfolded it, and put it to his ear.

“Aoki? …Hmm. In other words, you’ve fumbled your job… It is true that you couldn’t fulfill the mistress’s command. Still, in those circumstances, I suppose you couldn’t help it… I don’t think it’s that much to panic about. Mr. Tatsuya wouldn’t break his promise over something like this… All right. I’ll tell the mistress that… Yes, work hard.”

“…What did Aoki say?” asked Maya after Hayama put his phone back in his pocket.

Hayama bowed his head to her, his expression implying something troubling had happened. “I’m terribly sorry, mistress. We have failed to acquire the 3H.”

It was Aoki who had failed in his role. But Hayama was the chief steward—and, one might say, Aoki’s direct superior. He felt sincerely ashamed at his subordinate’s botched job.

Maya, though, didn’t give an answer that stated clearly whether she forgave it or not. “I heard Tatsuya’s name come up,” she said, her interest instead on that point.

“He has informed me that the 3H in question has been purchased by Mr. Tatsuya,” answered Hayama, trying to suppress a dry grin. “It seems Mr. Tatsuya has devised his own plan to keep the puppet from falling into the hands of others. Apparently, he has purchased its ownership rights while a rental agreement with First High is still in effect.”

This was the exact same arrangement Maya had pointed out as the second-best thing in case she couldn’t obtain Pixie.

“…I wonder if he’s doing this on purpose. Or was it a coincidence?”

“I would not be able to say, madam.”

Confusion rose to Maya’s face, but she seemed to clear things up in her head within an instant. “…Yes. If Tatsuya will take responsibility for managing it, that’s fine.”

“Aoki seems to plan on forming a purchase contract should Mr. Tatsuya decide to let it go.”

“Yes, that is quite fine.”

Hayama bowed again to Maya, this time lightly. She probably had no intention of incriminating Aoki, to say nothing of Hayama, from the start, but he wanted to express his gratitude that she’d forgiven their carelessness.

“But I would still like to obtain a sample…” muttered Maya to herself.

With an I can’t leave this alone any longer expression, Hayama offered his advice. “Mistress, I know I may not need to suggest this, but would it not be wise to refrain from aggressively pursuing connections with malefactors?”

A sardonic expression came across Maya’s pretty features, which still had yet to wane with age.

“Because it wouldn’t be pleasant to them?”

“Yes, madam.”

“Well, they are important sponsors.” Maya’s lips curled in a mean grin, and Hayama gave a modest frown. “I know what you’re trying to say, Hayama. I’m certainly not about to incite discord for no reason. I believe acquiring a parasite is necessary for the Yotsuba.”

“Do you believe researching these demons, these parasites, will bring you closer to the mysteries of mental interference?”

“Yes. The Yotsuba have always been searching for the answer to the mystery: What is the mind? They say parasites are actually independent mental information bodies. The mind’s makeup, its construction, its location… Will it not give us a hint in elucidating the mind’s characteristics, even if only a small part of them?”

Understanding Maya’s idea, Hayama bowed respectfully.

Maya nodded magnanimously and got back to the topic. “By the way, what have the demons been up to?”

“According to Mr. Kuroba’s earlier report, the demons he dealt with at midnight the other day have evidently already come back to life.”

“Already? That was very fast.”

“They must have had a reason to hurry. Mr. Kuroba believes they may be preparing for war.”

“I see… I suppose I don’t need to ask who they’re preparing for war against, do I?” asked Maya, a suppressed smile on her face.

“Considering their style, I would guess they can’t leave a comrade imprisoned inside a puppet.”

“At this point, I have to wonder if it’s trouble that loves him—or if it’s he who loves trouble.”

It went without saying that Maya was referring to her nephew. Said nephew would doubtlessly deny that idea fiercely, but there was nobody present here, at least, who would voice an objection.

“Do we know when it will be?”

“Mr. Kuroba predicted that it will be in the First High environs tomorrow evening.”

“Environs is certainly a careful word choice and very like Mitsugu to pick it… In that case, please tell Mitsugu to assign people there. As for the leader… Yes, Ayako should do nicely. Their goal isn’t to fight, after all.”

“Of course, madam.”

Hayama clapped his hands to call for the maid assigned to serving Maya in his place, then headed for the telephone room to convey his mistress’s words to Mitsugu.

It didn’t bear repeating after all this time, but Mayumi Saegusa was preparing for exams.

Today was Saturday, February 18—one week until the Magic University’s entrance exams. Her chance of not getting accepted was virtually zero, but it still meant this wasn’t a period where she could worry about other things. It was fortunate, mainly for her mental state, that the vampire incidents had, at least on the surface, settled down.

After refreshing herself on her weak subjects in the school library, she returned home as the sun was about to set. When the young servant who came out to greet her seemed a little nervous, Mayumi figured things out immediately.

“Is Father back home?”

“Yes, my lady.”

Mayumi showed the maid a smile and then headed for her own room.

At that time, in the study, the current head, Kouichi Saegusa, was looking at his confidant Nakura’s face with an expression that didn’t hide his displeasure.

“…Then what you’re saying is the Stars’ Sirius was the one who infiltrated counterintelligence Section Three and killed the parasites they had captive?”

“There is almost no doubt about it.”

Even with his master’s anger upon him, Nakura showed no signs of fear. His attitude was a polite one, but unlike the one Hayama assumed with Maya, Nakura’s appeared somehow businesslike. Nakura was the man’s confidant, but he wasn’t a member of the Saegusa family; instead, he held what one would call a mercenary-like position. After all, he didn’t serve Kouichi by being at his side at all times. He sometimes served as a bodyguard to the children, including Mayumi, and sometimes had orders to engage in not-quite-legal activities for information gathering and the like. That was how Kouichi treated the man of the Extra Numbers.

“I can’t believe it,” Kouichi spat. “She may be the Sirius of the Stars, but they let her break in that easily and then let their captives be killed? What a bad excuse for an intelligence department. Have we been relying on the wrong people?”

Nakura responded with a calm counterpoint. “The JGDF’s intelligence department is by no means incompetent. They had set up a security system in the Section Three building that I predict even we would have had considerable trouble breaking into. The Stars simply had the upper hand last night. They don’t call themselves the world’s strongest magician unit for nothing.”

Nakura sounded as though he were admonishing Kouichi, which made his expression grow even more displeased. Still, he hadn’t lost his calm enough to shout at Nakura for it.

“Master, if you would allow me to speak out of turn, I believe this business has run its course. I do not think there any merit in the Saegusa continuing its involvement.”

“…You’re right.” Kouichi was still calm enough to give due consideration to his associate’s advice. “It seems the Kudou are active in this incident as well. I figured we might be able to recoup some of our lost forces, but it seems it’s time to pull out.”

“Yes, master.”

“Order all mobilized members to return to normal duties. Nakura, you may leave now.”

“Yes. Excuse me, master.”

After a bow to Kouichi, who had picked up an encoded communicator, Nakura left the study behind.

Sunday, February 29, 2096 AD.

Lure out the parasites tonight. This information, which he’d gotten from across the sea, wasn’t something Tatsuya trusted fully.

A boy named Raymond Clark being enrolled at the school Shizuku was studying abroad at was proven to be fact, after some investigation. His photographed picture saved on their high school’s server matched the videomail caster’s features.

But that alone wasn’t a guarantee Raymond Clark was speaking the truth. In the same way anonymous tips weren’t always just rumors, information with a name behind it wasn’t always trustworthy.

However, Tatsuya had come here to First High’s outdoor training area as indicated. He didn’t have any other convincing clues.

He’d wait for them to come out. Or hope for a coincidence. With no other measures to take in the situation, it wasn’t much different from wasting a day on bogus intel.

A man-made forest spread out behind the high school’s exceptionally large property. Actually, this was technically part of First High’s campus, but you couldn’t tell it apart from a natural mountain forest. Even if you knew it was part of the school, it was hard to really feel it. Especially late at night when even visible outlines were dubious.

It was only just after 7:00 PM. The term late at night might not have actually been appropriate. But unlike the heart of the city, which suppressed the darkness with lights, there wasn’t a single streetlamp in this forest. It had sunken into true darkness, making words like nightfall more appropriate.

There was a tall fence around the training grounds so that no outsiders would mistakenly enter. If a normal person—meaning, a civilian who couldn’t use magic—wandered in while a magic shoot-out was happening, there was no telling what sort of tragedy could occur.

Still, even without the fence, there was almost no worry of townspeople setting foot in the proving grounds. Everyone, at least those living around here, knew it was First High’s practice area.

Besides, none of the houses in the region were unrelated to magic. When First High was built here, the people with no connection to magic, those who couldn’t use it, and those who didn’t want anything to do with it, while not altogether forced to by the government, exchanged their homes for suitable compensation and moved themselves elsewhere. Those who remained were well aware of the dangers setting foot in a magic high school’s outdoor practice grounds could bring.

That was part of why there were no security systems in particular here. They called it a proving ground, but it was really just a man-made forest. Nobody would be stealing anything from it, so they didn’t need to spend the budget on preventing intruders.

“Can you all get over this?” Tatsuya asked his companions, looking up at the fence, which was about three meters high. The only entrance was a direct road from First High’s back door, so since they’d left school already, they’d have to get over the fence. It was a simple matter to sneak into the training grounds from school, but it would have been hard to fool the surveillance systems monitoring the grounds from inside the building. They’d been put in place out of concern for burglars breaking into the campus through the practice area, but the systems watched not only for people getting in but also suspicious students escaping out of the school, onto it.

“Of course, Brother.”

“I’m okay, too.”

“This much is nothing.”

Miyuki, Erika, and Leo answered Tatsuya’s question.

“Yes.”

At the end came Pixie’s telepathy—as she’d been the one he’d actually asked.

His companions tonight included those three and the robot. Tatsuya hadn’t originally planned to bring Miyuki along. Even Erika, with what had transpired previously—he’d intended to just tell her what happened later.

But as soon as they got wind of what was happening tonight, he realized it would be impossible to have them wait patiently for him. He hadn’t really fought it, either, when Miyuki followed him when he’d left or when Erika had taken it upon herself to decide their meeting time. He knew his efforts would be in vain and that his time arguing would be wasted. After giving up, he actually went on the offensive and worked his friends into his strategy instead.

After turning his attention back to the proving grounds, he felt a stir in the forest air. It seemed the other actors had already gone up onto the stage.

Pretending to use his CAD—he hadn’t forgotten his duty to secrecy, even at this stage—he called up the Jump spell from his memories, then went ahead and leaped over the fence first.

The four plus one proceeded through the vast artificial woods as one. They did not adopt the method of splitting up to search for their targets. In this vastness and this darkness, having just four people look around separately had no merits. It just increased the risk of them getting taken down one by one.

And they already had a guarantee from back at Aoyama that they didn’t need to go out and search—they would come to them. There was a chance they would be more cautious this time and not appear, but there was no point thinking about that. If he didn’t find the parasites today, he’d just go back to his routine search again tomorrow.

And Tatsuya had a premonition they’d show up.

It wasn’t precognition.

Nor was it a logical deduction.

It was close to groundless, but Tatsuya went through the trees and foliage with a sort of conviction. His flashlight only illuminated a small portion of the ground, but nobody tripped over tree roots, alive or dead. For about fifteen minutes, the group went ever deeper into the forest at a normal pace, eyes peeled, looking to see if there were any new footprints. Until—

“Tatsuya, please wait.”

Mizuki’s voice came through the hands-free communicator hooked onto one of his ears. It was a conference call, so it was going out to everyone’s receivers.

“I can see a parasite aura thirty degrees to the right of the direction you’re moving.”

Instead of going with Tatsuya and the others, Mizuki was using her “eyes” to navigate the four from the rooftop, where she had a good outlook on the training grounds.

“I see them, too! Three of them—two men, one woman.”

With the aura light Mizuki had sensed as a guide, Honoka’s spell took in an image from a camera. The image, acquired via her optical magic, sent a picture of them, clear as a photo snapped in the daytime from up close, into the camera lens, after which it wirelessly reached the information terminals of Tatsuya’s group.

This search scheme would have been impossible without Mizuki and Honoka, who each had a singular talent even among magicians. Tatsuya had decided their usefulness was indispensable for tonight’s mission, which is why he’d dedicated Mikihiko, a valuable part of their combat force, to guard them. Mikihiko didn’t voice any complaints about the assignment, either. He knew it was a crucial role, and he was convinced he was the right person for the job.

“Oh! A girl in a mask is approaching the parasites from the opposite direction as you.”

Another report came in from Honoka. The parasites’ auras energizing must have been a result of trying to engage Lina.

Tatsuya used his hands to instruct his group to move. Miyuki, Erika, Leo, and Pixie nodded.

A moment later, Tatsuya was a wind rushing through the forest.

Erika followed hot on his heels, while Leo matched his running pace to Pixie’s, his eyes darting right and left.

Tatsuya’s group, the parasite party, and Lina plus her backup team.

Both Tatsuya and Lina thought that those were the three factions gathered here.

Tatsuya had known there was a group within the JGDF with their eyes on capturing the parasites, but he considered that group under the Saegusa family’s influence. Because of the warning delivered through Mayumi, the Yotsuba’s containment that was surely happening, and the devastating blow from Angie Sirius, Tatsuya had judged their ambitions shattered. He thought, at least, that they didn’t have the time to get involved barely days after the fact.

However, in reality, there was a group moving in the shadows of the trees and scrub, closing in on both Tatsuya and Lina from the flank.

It was nicknamed the Batto-tai, a commando infantry platoon belonging to the JGDF’s First Division and comprised solely of magicians specializing in hand-to-hand combat. As the nickname would imply, they didn’t use any firearms, instead sticking only to sword device–based surprise attacks.

They’d been mobilized tonight because Tokyo was the First Division’s jurisdiction and because the mission demanded stealth operations—and in addition to those points, they were also under the Kudou family’s influence. In fact, that last reason might have been the biggest.

Tatsuya wasn’t clairvoyant. There was no way for him to factor the unknown into his calculations, and as a result, it only made sense that he’d arrived at the wrong answer. He had no way of knowing that the Kudou elder had taken an interest in the parasites’ value as weapons and sent in forces within just three days.

And then there was one more. One more person, to be exact.

A figure trailing the Batto-tai on their own.

Tonight, in the First High outdoor training grounds, five factions awaited an inevitable clash.

If nothing else, she would fulfill Sirius’s mission as the Stars commander.

That was the only source of self-worth holding Lina up anymore.

It wasn’t as though she’d never experienced setbacks before coming to Japan. During the Pentagon-operated educational programs for young officers, she’d only been able to get a C in algebra and biology. Furthermore, she was desperately behind the monstrous physical abilities of some of the other female soldiers her age, in the same group as her. And bluntly, she’d been awful during her training to operate vehicular devices.

But she’d never lost at magic.

The Stars commander, Angie Sirius.

One of the strongest magicians in the world.

That was how everyone praised her. She, too, had unfaltering confidence in her magical abilities.

But now, here in Japan…

She’d lost to those siblings.

Their first match had been at her pace.

Her retreat had been a planned action; in fact, she’d gotten away incredibly cleanly.

In their second match, despite being pinned down by Tatsuya’s “kamikaze,” she’d ultimately lost to an ambush. She’d lost in terms of the mission, but she hadn’t lost in terms of magic.

But her one-on-one with Miyuki after that had ended in her defeat.

She’d had a disadvantage, sure, but even she knew she couldn’t use that as an excuse. It had been a fair fight, and Miyuki had beaten her.

The defeat had kindled a renewed fighting spirit within Lina. She vowed not to let the defeat break her and swore to get even.

However—

When given the chance to do so…

She’d suffered a total defeat to Tatsuya.

She’d dragged him into a one-on-one and even used the Brionac. And she’d still lost.

She may have felt frustration toward him but not resentment or hatred. Tatsuya hadn’t disgraced her—he hadn’t even tied her up.

The fight itself had been a fair one, too. Actually, the conditions had been in her favor.

Tatsuya’s magical abilities, and more than that his mental prowess, outclassed her own… Lina was convinced of that.

But that defeat had, without a doubt, also rocked her very raison d’être.

The world’s strongest combat magician: Sirius. It was an indispensable billboard for the Stars to call themselves the world’s strongest. Because of that, they selected the USNA’s strongest magician, regardless of age or gender, to be the commander. If that magician wasn’t in the military, they would devise a way to get them there and sit them in the seat.

There was virtually no possibility of her defeats getting out. Besides, Tatsuya, Miyuki, and whoever backed them were all avoiding it. Nobody related to that battle desired any damage to the Sirius “billboard.”

But even though no third parties would find out about it, the hard facts were that she’d lost. In order to recover from that blunder, Lina needed to prove her ability to carry out the role of Sirius.

So that she could keep on being it.

For the girl who had gone away when she’d become Sirius, for the self that, once upon a time, could have been—for Angelina Shields.

By the time Tatsuya secured the site in his physical vision, Lina, her hair crimson, eyes golden, and face masked, was already facing off against the three parasites alone.

While the parasites repeatedly attacked with magic purely by willing it, without needing activation programs, Lina hadn’t withdrawn even a step. She was 70 percent on the offensive and the parasites only 30 percent. But one of the parasites had a troublesome ability that seemed to be preventing her from landing a finishing blow.

The ability was pseudo-teleportation.

Magically speaking, it was categorized as a compound inertial-dampening/high-speed-movement spell.

Using its mobility and the nearby trees in the man-made woods, he would move in a three-dimensional manner, then immediately shower her in bullets and magic wherever he reappeared. The magic he used for his attacks had a low degree of influence, so they didn’t present a threat to Lina considering her magic power. But that didn’t mean she could let the enemy’s attacks strike her defenselessly, either. Each time she deployed a defensive spell, her attack against another enemy would cut off—such was the situation she seemed to be in to Tatsuya at a glance.

He didn’t intend to back Lina up, but Tatsuya stopped, then aligned his Dismantle with the parasite using the quasi-teleportation.

Most magicians took aim using their physical senses. Even when they used perception beyond them, they would aim for the target’s coordinates.

That was normal. But Tatsuya could target their very information. Even if they changed their coordinate information at a dizzying pace, it wouldn’t present an obstacle to him taking aim as long as he could perceive the values themselves.

To Tatsuya, quasi-teleportation didn’t qualify as “dizzying.”

“Leave this to me!”

But that didn’t apply to just Tatsuya. Erika, who had caught up to him when he’d stopped, overtook him and triggered inertia control.

Quasi-teleportation was a threat when someone’s hands, feet, or most importantly their eyes, couldn’t catch up. Therefore, if the caster had greater speed than an opponent, the three-dimensional mobility granted by quasi-teleportation was nothing but pointless acrobatics.

With an integrated armament CAD in hand called Mizuchi-Maru, a downsized version of the Orochi-Maru she’d asked the Isori family to build and made (not asked) Tatsuya adjust, she accelerated in a straight line.

Her destination was the point the parasite, after kicking off trunks and branches, was about to land.

A rare level of kinetic vision, enough body control to stay balanced even when under the effects of an inertial-dampening spell, footwork that kept her feet on the ground without letting her float too much, and the insight to pinpoint the instant her opponent would land: that was her ability.

But as far as power level, the parasite probably had more magic.

But Erika’s skills as a martial artist overthrew that difference.

The Mizuchi-Maru flashed.

There was no hesitation as she sliced her honed blade across the parasite’s torso.

Tatsuya altered his partial dismantling spell, then shot through the parasite’s limbs as it tried to ram a psychokinetic attack at Erika, forcing it into a crawl. The swordswoman delivered the finishing blow with a backswing, and Tatsuya thrust his left hand out at the remains of the parasite’s host.