Chapter 12
Katsuto took over cleaning up afterward.
What Tatsuya and the others had done had been excessive self-defense in a good light…and assault or attempted homicide in a bad one—not to mention their unlicensed use of magic. The hands of the law never reached them, though. The influence of the Ten Master Clans surpassed justice authorities.
When countries learned talent in modern magic was controlled by inborn qualities, they schemed to strengthen the bloodlines themselves. It was a logical consequence. For nations that only had enough power to research magic as a system, no matter where in the world they were, those schemes had been carried out since before the time modern magic and supernatural abilities were considered separate things.
Japan practiced it as well, of course. As a result, a new group was formed that would reign over the world of magic in this country.
That group was the Ten Master Clans.
They were not yet a century old, so their hierarchy was still fluid and unsettled. But that was a problem for the Ten Master Clans to deal with among themselves. A very tall fence had already been erected between the clans and everyone else.
There were the Hundred Families as well, who were seen as next on the ladder below the Ten Master Clans and strengthened their bloodlines in the same way. They, too, were across a gap so large they even admitted it themselves.
The Ten Master Clans would never stand on the political stage. They would not become outward-facing influences. In fact, they supported Japan on the front lines using their magic powers as soldiers, police officers, and administrative officials. In exchange for the abandonment of public influence, they had gained an essentially inviolable power behind the scenes of politics. That was the path this nation’s modern magic users had chosen.
The most influential families among the Ten Master Clans were currently the Yotsuba and the Saegusa. Third in line were the Juumonji. If the heir to the Juumonji family was involved in an incident, normal police officers wouldn’t be able to participate.
After the incident, Haruka was treated as though she were on a long-term business trip. As though—for it was a pretense diverging from the truth.
She had yet to answer the question Leo had asked her. Though considering the fact that First High didn’t bring in a replacement counselor, she might have had plans on coming back at some point.
As part of the cleanup process, the door to the library’s special viewing room—the one Tatsuya had severed using Dismantle—was being reported as having been destroyed by the Blanche operatives. That way, the school wouldn’t have to follow up on a failure by key management. —Of course, the students hadn’t reported to the school that Tatsuya had cut down a composite-armored door by himself, so they seemed to believe it at least half-seriously. The work being done by the school was to conceal the fact that keys had been stolen from the students. Even the fact that First High students had been part of it had been swept under the rug.
Sayaka’s attempted spying, too, was treated as though it never happened due to adult circumstances.
Sayaka ended up in the hospital for a while. The fracture in the bone in her right arm wasn’t enough of an injury to be hospitalized for. But when they found out Blanche’s leader had been using Evil Eye, a light-wave vibration spell, the doctors wanted to keep her there for a while to make sure no effects from the mind control were still present.
Tatsuya only went to visit her once while she was hospitalized, but Erika visited frequently, and they became fast friends.
Kinoe Tsukasa, the captain of the boy’s kendo team, wasn’t charged with any crimes, either. He had been under the effects of some very severe mind control.
It was reported he was taking a temporary absence rather than withdrawing from school and was undergoing long-term treatment. He would probably end up leaving First High of his own volition, though. He had never really wanted to be a magician, and his pushion radiation sensitivity wasn’t bad enough to hinder everyday life.
They’d discovered that Hajime Tsukasa had an eye on his ability to detect magic and made him enroll at a magic high school so that he could find magic that would prove useful to the organization. After his mind control wore off, he would likely strive toward what he really wanted to do—probably kendo.
Tatsuya’s unique magic talents hadn’t been divulged to anyone beyond the comrades who had gone with him to the abandoned factory. Mayumi and Mari hadn’t been told, either. The same went for his friends Mizuki, Honoka, and Shizuku.
More accurately, Leo and Erika didn’t know about the most crucial part of it.
Tatsuya didn’t know what Katsuto had been thinking when he forbade Kirihara to speak of it, but he was grateful for the act all the same.
The magic he had—right now, it couldn’t be public.
Of course, Mayumi and Mari appeared to vaguely suspect something was up.
Miyuki was depressed for a week afterward.
On the surface she was still the perfectly beautiful girl, but he’d seen her burying her face in her hands on sudden impulses.
—Only at home, though.
She must have been under the impression that using Niflheim had been going too far.
Fortunately, since the members of Blanche had coincidentally gone into a form of cold sleep—because of the properties of magic, even the freezing of internal parts of a body would happen in an instant, so no cell damage had been caused—it seemed none of them had been physically injured beyond the point of recovery.
When she was down, Tatsuya pampered her as much as she wanted, creating a situation that wasn’t really funny but still had to be laughed at, where she seemed to take longer to come out of her depression instead.
At school, Tatsuya went about his business as usual. The disciplinary committee and student council had been making him do random errands, but he was finally well on the way to acquiring the quiet learning environment he’d envisioned upon enrolling.
And then May arrived.
On the day Sayaka was scheduled to be discharged, Tatsuya and Miyuki went together to celebrate at the hospital. (He decided to cancel his classes this morning. The freedom they had in attending lectures was a big merit of learning from a terminal without a teacher to supervise.)
“Isn’t that Takeaki Kirihara?”
Tatsuya didn’t need to be told—he noticed him, too.
Sayaka had already changed out of her hospital robes and into normal clothing. She was surrounded by family and nurses in the entrance hall.
Kirihara was next to her, taking part in the friendly conversation inside the ring of people. His face looked somehow abashed and just a little bit delighted.
“They are quite close, aren’t they?” Miyuki noted.
She, of course, knew of the event that could have been called the beginning of everything—the incident in which the kenjutsu club had intervened in the kendo club’s demonstration.
Seeing the main two concerned parties, Sayaka and Kirihara, acting so closely felt a little strange.
“I hear Kirihara’s been coming every day.”
“You don’t say.”
He turned around to the voice coming at him without any previous notice. Erika stood there, looking disappointed. “Gah. I guess you really can’t be surprised.”
“No, I certainly am. I had no idea Kirihara was such a sincere person.”
“Not that!”
Tatsuya knew. He was obviously redirecting the conversation. So when Erika gave him that sullen look, he just smiled it away.
“Hmph! If you keep doing things in bad character like that, Saya’s gonna dump you, y’know.”
Tatsuya didn’t pay much attention to the dumping bit.
He wasn’t proud of it, but he had zero experience in being popular with girls.
More important—
“Erika… When you say Saya, do you mean Mibu?”
Miyuki was a step ahead of him in asking the question.
“…You seem pretty friendly with her already.”
“Just leave it to me!”
Tatsuya almost blurted out Leave what to you? He decided that would just make this chaotic conversation even worse, so he stopped himself and swallowed his words. He’d come here for a hospital visit first and foremost.
Leading Miyuki and Erika behind him—though he wasn’t quite sure whether Erika was following like she should have been, but that was a needless anxiety on his part no matter how he looked at it—he spoke into the ring of people. “Mibu?”
“Shiba! You came to see me?”
She made a slightly surprised face. As her expression bespoke of her not expecting this, the emotion melted into happiness and Sayaka welcomed him with a broad smile.
—Next to her, Kirihara looked sullen for a moment. It was an amusing gesture, one of the spices of life.
“Congratulations on being discharged.” Miyuki handed the bouquet she held in both hands to her. At first Tatsuya had wanted to follow modern custom and have it delivered. Miyuki had been unusually firm in opposing the idea, though, insisting that there was meaning in bringing these kinds of things personally. He had backed down at her angry look and decided to yield.
Her holding a bouquet made her look so good that she stood out in the usual city streets because of it. But now that he’d seen Sayaka smile so happily upon receiving the flowers, Tatsuya knew it had been worth it to do as his sister had said.
“So you’re the Shiba I’ve heard so much about, then?”
When Tatsuya had pulled away from the conversation between the girls—at this point he was just nodding along with them—a man of the age where he’d be in the prime of his life addressed him. He might have only been called by his last name, but there was no mistaking the look he was giving. His body was lean and toned, and his posture without deviation. Were they the results of martial arts training? His features, too, made him look like he was related to Sayaka.
“My name is Yuuzou Mibu—I’m Sayaka’s father.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Tatsuya Shiba.”
“I’m his younger sister, Miyuki Shiba. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Miyuki had been keen enough to notice Tatsuya exchanging introductions with someone, and bowed politely from behind him. Her elegant mannerisms seemed to make him falter a bit, but he stiffened his expression almost immediately, speaking to his training in martial arts.
Sayaka’s sword skills were probably handed down from her father.
“Miyuki, could you look after Erika for me?” asked Tatsuya.
Miyuki turned around just as Kirihara was finding himself cornered by Erika talking to him. “Yes, Tatsuya. Please excuse me, monsieur.”
Her usage of monsieur gave Sayaka’s father a start that he couldn’t conceal, but he managed an acceptable response. Of course, both siblings pretended not to notice it.
Tatsuya turned back to face Sayaka’s father. The man understood that his getting Miyuki out of the conversation was Tatsuya being considerate, so he didn’t waste time with unnecessary prefaces.
“Shiba, I am grateful to you. My daughter is back on her feet because of you.”
“I didn’t do anything, sir. My sister and Chiba are the ones who got through to her. And Chiba and Kirihara are the ones who stayed with her while she was hospitalized. I did nothing but coldly refuse her. You may resent me for it, but I did nothing worthy of thanks.”
“Refuse her? I couldn’t even do that. I knew my daughter was anxious over her magic not improving as quickly as she liked, and yet I still didn’t think it was an important problem. I was so caught up in my own measurement—that others’ evaluation of one’s magical abilities are completely different from strength in actual combat—that I didn’t really understand just how much my daughter was worrying. In fact, I used how busy I was as an excuse. When she started associating with strange people, I didn’t stand up and face it. I’m a failure of a father.
“I heard from her a general idea of what happened. She told me she began to doubt what she was doing after what you said to her, and it had been a long time since that happened. She said it was like awakening from a nightmare. And she was grateful to you. She said you saved her by telling her it wasn’t for nothing. I don’t know what she was referring to, but I do know that her gratitude was real.
“So just let me say this—thank you.”
“…I really didn’t do anything someone should thank me for, sir…”
Tatsuya shook his head slightly, a little uncomfortable. Sayaka’s father shook his head. “…You’re just like Kazama said, aren’t you?”
That simple line was more than enough to take Tatsuya’s calm away. “…You’re familiar with Major Kazama?”
“I’m already retired from the service, but he’s a friend of mine from life in the barracks. We’re the same age, too. I’m still in touch with him.”
Tatsuya understood from the man’s previous words that he was pretty closely “in touch” with the major. He had to have been. Kazama would never speak of Tatsuya to a simple friend—even a close one.
“I consider it divine providence that Sayaka became friends with you. I honestly can’t thank you enough for that. I would have liked a man like you to continue supporting Sayaka in the future…”
“…I’m not someone capable of supporting anyone like that.”
“…We’ll leave it at that, then. Forget it—that was just an absurd request from a foolish father. Of course, I haven’t told anyone, not even my daughter, what I’ve heard from Kazama, so you needn’t worry. I just wanted to tell you that you’re someone capable of saving my daughter, and that you really did save her in the end. Really, thank you.”
After he finished, he returned to where his wife was standing, without waiting for a reply—without letting Tatsuya abase himself any further.
He gave a slight shake of his head to drive away the not-so-slight sense of agitation he felt, then went back to his sister and the others.
“Oh, Shiba. What were you talking about with my dad?”
Sayaka addressed him immediately, as though he were a godsend, or like she was trying to find any possible way out of her current situation. It looked like Miyuki couldn’t contain Erika by herself.
“Someone who took care of me long ago was a friend of your father’s, and we were talking about him.”
“Huh, really?”
“Yes, the world is a small place.”
“I knew you and Saya were connected by fate!” Erika immediately involved herself in the conversation. She was on top of her game today, it seemed. “Hey, Saya, how come you switched from Tatsuya to Kirihara? Weren’t you in love with Tatsuya?”
“W-wait, Eri?” Sayaka got flustered, but Tatsuya was thinking of something a little different.
Just “Eri,” huh… He speculated that they had quite an affinity for each other—as though it had nothing to do with him.
“Erika, you’re getting a little carried away today.” Miyuki’s rebuke went in one ear and out the other. This was beyond the point of being “on top of her game.”
“If we’re just talking about looks, then I think Tatsuya’s got him beat.”
“…You’re a really rude woman, you know that?”
“Don’t worry about it, Kirihara! It’s not all about the face.”
“…Seriously, you’re gonna make me cry!”
“Whatever. So Saya, what was it? The sincerity? The kindness of awkward guys is pretty nice, huh?”
Sayaka’s face went red all the way up to her ears. She tried to look away, but Erika would quickly move around her every time—probably using magic. Eventually she looked down, seeming like she was about to cry.
“Erika, maybe it’s time—” to give it a rest. Tatsuya was interrupted in the middle of the act, though.
“Yeah…I think you’re right,” confessed Sayaka, beginning in a weak voice. Her inner turmoil must have reached its peak, her mental barriers crumbling. “I think I was in love with Shiba…”
“Whoa!” For some reason, the one most visibly surprised by this was Erika.
“He had this unwavering strength that I admired. But at the same time, I think I was afraid of it.”
Miyuki glanced at him in concern. Tatsuya responded with a subtle, dry grin. Apparently his sister had taken to thinking his feelings could be easily hurt.
“It wouldn’t matter how hard I ran, because I wouldn’t be able to catch up to him. To become like him, I would have to keep on running forever. No matter how long I did, I would never get that strong… It may be a rude way to put it since Shiba helped me so much, but that’s what I felt like.”
“…I think I get it. Tatsuya definitely does make people feel like that sometimes.”
“As for Kirihara, well… The first time I really talked to him was when he came to visit me here. But I thought I could walk along at the same pace as him, even if we fought sometimes. I guess that’s why…”
“…Yeah, yeah. You make a lovely couple.”
Tatsuya didn’t know if he agreed with Erika’s way of putting it, but on an emotional level they were of one mind. Back then, Sayaka hadn’t just been pretending to be a cute girl—she really was one.
“What about you, Kirihara? When did you start to like Saya?”
“…Annoying brat. What does it matter, anyway? It’s none of your business.”
“That’s right, Erika. It doesn’t matter when it started.” Tatsuya had been keeping quiet until that. But now, having said something a little mean-spirited, Erika turned around, a question mark popping into metaphorical existence over her head. “What’s important is that Kirihara is seriously in love with Mibu.”
“Wha—you—?!”
“Wow…”
“I can’t say any more because it’s a privacy thing, but when I saw Kirihara facing down Blanche’s leader, I knew he was more manly than I am.”
“I see…” muttered Erika. “Hey, Tatsuya?”
“What?”
“Tell me in secret later!”
“Chiba, you little…! Shiba, I swear, if you say anything, I’ll deny it!”
“I won’t tell.”
“Oh, come on, what’s it matter?”
“You stupid cow!”
Sayaka’s parents, the nurses, and even Sayaka herself watched with loving smiles as the rampaging Kirihara chased the giggling Erika around the room.
As Tatsuya himself watched them actually start an all-out game of tag with slightly less-than-loving eyes, Miyuki quietly came up next to him. “Tatsuya?”
“Yeah?” he replied briefly, eyes still fixed on Erika and the others.
“Miyuki will stay with you forever—even if you run away at the speed of sound, and even if you pierce through the sky and soar up to the stars.”
“…I’d think I’d be the one left behind, not you,” he said, smiling a little pathetically. “But for now, we need to get our feet firmly on the ground before looking upward.”
Miyuki gave him a mischievous smile back. “Are we going back to school?”
“Yeah. We’ll have to stay late this weekend if we don’t attend afternoon classes.”
She knew he’d been speaking in jest. That’s why she could smile, too.
But still, she couldn’t help but ask something. She wanted to make sure. “Tatsuya… Isn’t school difficult for you? With your real power, there is no need for you to attend high school in the first place… And you do it even though you’re looked down on. If you’re forcing yourself for my sake, I—”
“Miyuki,” said Tatsuya, interrupting her question. “I’m not going to high school against my will. I know that I can only experience this kind of life now. I enjoy being a normal student with you.”
“Tatsuya…”
“So let’s get back to our normal life for today, shall we?”
Tatsuya, a little awkwardly, reached his hand out for Miyuki.
She happily took it.
—But in the end, Erika came crying to them when she didn’t make it back in time for afternoon classes, and Tatsuya had to stay late that weekend anyway.
Chapter 1 Fin
