Sunday, December 30, 8:50 AM.

Just before they left, Tatsuya called ahead to the main house—for his own reasons.

The call was answered by a curt housekeeper, and Tatsuya rather intimidatingly demanded to speak to Obara. Even through the camera, the housekeeper was thoroughly cowed by Tatsuya’s gaze and scurried off to fetch Obara.

“Tatsuya, I really cannot have you scaring the maids.” Obara served under Aoki, and as one of the butlers who had been told little about him, he treated Tatsuya comparatively well. As the lowest-ranking of the eight butlers who served the main house, he was inclined to treat everyone politely, and perhaps his former career as a traffic-control police officer made him averse to acting high and mighty with any citizen.

Nevertheless, his every word and action made it clear that he considered Tatsuya beneath him.

“This is an urgent matter.” Ordinarily, Tatsuya preferred to avoid stirring up trouble. However, today he had no time for niceties.

“And just what is this ‘urgent matter’ of yours?” Obara’s face twitched faintly in displeasure.

Tatsuya noticed this, but he ignored it. Besides, the man’s mood was only going to get worse because Tatsuya hadn’t even gotten to the meat of his request yet. “We’d like to change our travel arrangements. Please have a car meet us at Nagasaka Shiraisawa, at nine fifty.”

“Now, wait just a minute! I’ve already dispatched the driver—this is highly irregular.”

“He hasn’t left the house yet, has he? This is a simple change of destination and arrival time. I don’t mean to be unreasonable.”

Obara’s frown was a sincere one. “It isn’t a question of whether it’s possible or not—this is simply too little notice.”

“And it is necessary, which is why I am asking.”

“Tatsuya, it gives me no pleasure to say this, but you are being rather unseemly. At the very least, I would ask that any changes to itinerary come from Ms. Miyuki herself.”

“This change does come from Miyuki. Do I need to ask her to call you to confirm this?”

Obara’s face flushed red as he reined in his anger. He wasn’t able to hide the frustration in his voice, though. “Understood. Nagasaka Shiraisawa at nine fifty, then.”

Tatsuya had his reasons for waiting until the last possible minute to communicate the change in plans. Obara’s reaction was an unavoidable side effect. “Also, please tell only the driver of the change in destination and no one else.”

Obara was no fool, though. His irritation vanished, and he immediately grasped the meaning of Tatsuya’s pointed suggestion. “I assume that has something to do with the incident yesterday?”

Tatsuya was surprised by this, but if he talked any more about it, he risked ruining this little plan. “I’m sure you understand the need for discretion.”

“Indeed.”

Tatsuya and Obara hung up on each other simultaneously.

Tatsuya had changed their travel plans because the Yotsuba headquarters had a leak. This was neither a suspicion nor speculation on his part; he was certain.

Of the seven historic houses of the Yotsuba clan, one or more members among the Shiiba, Mashiba, Shibata, and Shizuka were trying to delay the designation of the next clan head in order to separate Tatsuya from Miyuki. The interference with her attendance at the New Year’s celebration was a means to that end.

Their actions made no sense to Tatsuya, though. It was true that the annual celebration was the only regular event where the main family and branch families were all gathered together in a single location, but attendance was not absolute. In fact, Miyuki skipped it every year, and their father, Tatsuro, wasn’t even permitted to enter the main house.

There was nothing special about New Year’s Day making it the only day when the entire clan could assemble, nor was there any rule that said the whole clan had to be present for the designation of the successor. The Yotsuba clan didn’t boast a particularly long tradition, either. It had only taken its current form under the leadership of Miyuki and Tatsuya’s grandfather, Genzou, making Maya only the third-generation head.

The previous clan leader—Maya’s uncle, Eisaku—had been the one to name Maya as his successor, and before he did so, it had merely been accepted that either Miya or Maya would assume the role. Maya had assumed leadership per Eisaku’s will and not as the result of any clan discussion or council.

So even if Miyuki were somehow prevented from attending the New Year’s celebration, it was unlikely that this would delay her being named successor. Tatsuya got the distinct impression that the branch family heads were being deceived.

But no matter how absurd it seemed, given that their attendance had been ordered, Tatsuya and Miyuki had to make every effort to arrive on time. In fact, the very absurdity of the whole situation made Tatsuya even more determined to show up. He couldn’t stand not finding out what was behind this elaborate farce.

His ruse of changing the pickup time and location seemed at first to be successful. At the very least, they weren’t immediately followed upon leaving the station, the way they had been the previous day. But Tatsuya didn’t think their luck would hold all the way to their destination.

“They’ve found us, eh?” he murmured, sometime after the scenery had shifted from residential construction to rural countryside.

“Are we being followed?” asked Miyuki.

Tatsuya shook his head vaguely. “We have a tail, but it’s not a car. A psionic information construct…though not a spirit. Must be a familiar.”

Miyuki’s face tensed up. In the front passenger’s seat, Minami bit her lip nervously.

“A magician from the mainland?” Miyuki asked.

Tatsuya hadn’t expected the question. “…No, it’s not the type of compound familiar that they’d use. This is a construction of pure thought, without shape or color.”

Miyuki flushed slightly at Tatsuya’s answer. “Sorry, when I hear the word familiar, that’s where my mind goes to first…”

“There’s no need to apologize. Since last year, you’ve had a lot of chances to encounter compound familiars, after all.” Tatsuya reassured Miyuki with a smile, but his expression soon turned serious. “It took them this long to find us. The enemy can’t be too formidable, but we shouldn’t let our guard down. They’ll be here soon.”

“Okay,” Miyuki chimed.

“Understood,” added Minami, looking over her shoulder from her seat in the front.

Seemingly absorbed in driving, their driver didn’t exchange any words with them. However, his shoulders were noticeably tense, and his face was fixed forward, with only his eyes darting here and there.

True to Tatsuya’s guess, it wasn’t ten minutes before their enemy revealed itself to them.

The first sign was the distinctive sound of a rotor coming from behind them. “A helicopter, huh?”

“Shall we shoot it down?” proposed Miyuki bluntly, already fully prepared for combat.

“No, we can’t be the ones to attack. We’re still in the range of their psion sensors,” Tatsuya cautioned. He said to the driver: “Keep an eye out ahead. They’ll probably try to block the road with a larger vehicle.”

Behind them, the helicopter closed in. Tatsuya imagined that the reason they were taking their time when they could’ve easily caught up by now was to apply extra pressure.

They were being driven like prey, which meant there would be an obstacle ahead on the road.

It was an uncomplicated theory, which made it that much more likely to be correct.

“Brakes!” Tatsuya shouted, despite the green light at the intersection ahead. The driver slammed on the brakes as, just ahead, a trailer truck sped into view, ignoring the signal entirely as it came to a stop in the middle of the intersection.

“Minami, as soon as I get out, put up a shield.”

“Will do!”

“Brother, what about me?”

“You’re backup in case things go bad!”

Just as Tatsuya got out of the car, a unit carrying automatic weapons deployed from the trailer. From the looks of it—

—Thirty-two shooters. A platoon’s worth. Armed with standard automatic weapons, not anti-magician high-powered rifles.

As the unit started to take up offensive positions, Tatsuya scrutinized their numbers and equipment.

Sixteen magicians. They’re keeping their distances and staying hidden. Two in the chopper. Trying to corner us?

It was a larger scale attack than the previous one, with commanders present.

It won’t be enough, though.

Half the enemy force stopped and took aim. It was far more firepower than was necessary for a normal individual target. Whoever their enemy was, they clearly knew something about Tatsuya.

…Or was there a limit to the number of troops they could mobilize before?

A barrier materialized in front of Tatsuya.

The machine guns lit up the road with automatic fire.

Minami’s barrier stopped every small-caliber, high-velocity round—an unsurprising outcome, given that her shielding magic could stop even high-powered rifles.

Meanwhile, Tatsuya wasn’t just evaluating their enemy’s combat potential.

Half the remaining force moved to flank them on both sides. At the same time, Tatsuya targeted them with partial disintegration.

Those sixteen targets were protected by some defensive magic. The program seemed to be an individualized barrier cast by one of the hidden magicians, of esoteric Buddhist origins.

Tatsuya’s partial disintegration stripped it away easily.

It wasn’t the subtle effect of a three-layered spell like Trident. Tatsuya had simply used his overpowering ability to manipulate magic. He had identified that the caster of the protective spell and the target were not closely linked, and this was the result.

Tatsuya immediately followed this with offensive magic. Hit in both shoulders and both thighs, each soldier was immediately neutralized, and they began to lose consciousness from the pain.

“—Damn you, monster!” Familiar cries from the stricken men reached Tatsuya’s ears, but he didn’t even bother flashing a wry smile.

Tatsuya only had experience with special forces, but he noted that for an ordinary combat unit, they were rather skilled. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to stop him, much less have a prayer of holding back Miyuki.

Sixteen shooters left. Have to neutralize them first.

Tatsuya took off running.

He was now the hunter.

Tatsuya took down the helicopters, incapacitated the hidden magicians—without particular concern for the fallout—and captured the officer who seemed to be the unit’s commander. Unlike the previous day’s attackers, retreat was beneath him, although as far as Tatsuya was concerned, capturing the commander gained him nothing, and neither of them particularly wanted to get the police involved, so he would’ve been just as happy if the commander had tried to escape.

He’d quickly determined that questioning the man would be a waste of time. Despite having supplied a chopper and a camouflaged troop transport, the fact that he hadn’t equipped his unit with high-powered anti-magician rifles made it clear to Tatsuya that he hadn’t been well-briefed on the details of the operation.

In any case, the dismal wreckage of the fight notwithstanding, Tatsuya had managed to deal with the attack quickly and cleanly—but it wasn’t as if his side had sustained no losses at all. Their car was broken.

“I am terribly sorry…”

“It wasn’t your fault, Minami, so don’t worry about it. I didn’t plan for this, either.”

“That’s right. You did your job perfectly, Minami. It’s just like my brother says—don’t worry about it.”

Though Tatsuya and Miyuki were doing their best to comfort Minami, the fact remained that they were stranded.

The car wasn’t broken because Miyuki’s barrier had been breached but rather because the attackers had used an unexpected weapon:

“I can’t believe they had an EMP bomb…”

The portable EMP—electromagnetic pulse—device was currently under development and had an effective range of a mere ten meters. The tradeoff of having such a small range was that it had been miniaturized enough to fit within an ordinary car. It wouldn’t have any effect on military vehicles with electromagnetic shielding, but it worked well enough on civilian transport.

All CADs were manufactured to military specifications, so even regular ones were well shielded, but civilian portable terminals were vulnerable to EMP attack.

“Miyuki, how’s your terminal?”

“It seems okay.”

“Minami?”

“Mine’s also working.”

Tatsuya’s portable terminal appeared to be a standard consumer-grade model, but its internals were identical to those used by the Independent Magic Battalion. Miyuki’s terminal had been provided to her directly from the Yotsuba clan, as had Minami’s. None of them would be disabled by a pulse from a portable EMP.

But their car was a different story.

“Still…I can’t understand why the car they sent from headquarters to pick us up wouldn’t have electromagnetic shielding,” complained Miyuki, causing their driver to flinch.

Modern cars were rolling chunks of electronics. A strong enough electromagnetic pulse would render one totally useless.

While high-end consumer automobiles were hardened against electromagnetic pulses, evidently this car’s shielding was shoddy—either that, or the bomb had been powerful enough to overwhelm consumer-level countermeasures.

“I’m really very sorry. This was my fault, I know…” Minami apologized again, feeling sorry for the driver Miyuki had taken her frustration out on, even if she hadn’t directly scolded him.

And Minami wasn’t entirely blameless.

The magic she’d used was called Mass Filter. It was an area-effect program that prevented transmission of matter above a given threshold. She’d set it to filter out anything larger than a CO₂ molecule. Unlike vector inversion or kinetic energy neutralization, it was an extremely effective defensive spell that could ward off even poisonous gases, which were dispersed and nondirectional.

However, Mass Filter had absolutely no effect on electromagnetic radiation, nor did it protect against heat or sudden changes in pressure. Minami had had a Vector Inversion Shield queued and ready to cast in case of an explosion, and she’d probably assumed that with Miyuki around, she wouldn’t have to worry about heat.

But she had completely overlooked electromagnetic radiation. Minami considered this a serious mistake. If their enemy had attacked with lightning, she wouldn’t have had time to defend. No matter how much Tatsuya and Miyuki tried to console her, their reassurances didn’t comfort Minami—so it wasn’t merely sympathy that caused her to try to cover for the driver.

Discerning her feelings, Tatsuya changed the subject rather than trying to comfort Minami further. “In any case, Miyuki, let’s call another car.”

“All right.” Miyuki also understood why Minami blamed herself. It hadn’t been her intention to be hard on either Minami or the driver. She hadn’t meant to grumble out loud at all and was very grateful for the opportunity to change the subject.

But she couldn’t call the main house—because at that moment, she received another call.

Tatsuya gave her a look that said go ahead, so Miyuki took the call.

“Hello, Miyuki.”

It was Yuuka Tsukuba’s voice on the other end of the line. “Yuuka?”

“That’s right. I’m sorry to contact you out of the blue like this.”

“What is it?”

“I was wondering if you would do something about the trailer truck blocking the road.”

It was indeed a very peculiar request, but as the trailer hadn’t been subjected to any attacks, it would be simple to move. Miyuki ended the call and directed the driver to move the trailer out of the intersection.

Despite Miyuki’s certainty otherwise, immediately on the other side of the trailer was none other than Yuuka. Before the driver could return from moving the trailer, she quickly pulled through and stopped next to the disabled car. “Get in.”

For a moment, even Tatsuya was at a loss for words at her unexplained demand.

Yuuka raised her voice in irritation despite herself. “Hurry! We can’t keep the police away much longer!”

Hearing this, Tatsuya took action. “Miyuki, Minami, get in,” he commanded as he went for the luggage. “What about our driver?” he asked once he was done getting it all in Yuuka’s trunk and slid into the front passenger’s seat.

“He’ll figure something out,” Yuuka said briskly as she fired up her beloved vehicle, as though any longer of an answer would’ve been a waste of time.

For a while, there was silence in the car. Yuuka was absorbed in driving. In the passenger’s seat, Tatsuya listened to his voice communication unit, occasionally pausing to do something with his portable terminal. He seemed to be intercepting radio transmissions of some kind.

Miyuki spoke up. “Er, Yuuka.”

“Yes?”

“I believe the main house is in the other direction.” Miyuki couldn’t hide the mistrust in her voice.

“I’m trying to avoid the police,” Yuuka said wryly.

“She’s telling the truth, Miyuki,” Tatsuya said, pulling his ear from the comms device and looking back over his shoulder to reassure his sister. “The police set up a checkpoint in the direction of the house, but they didn’t do one going the other way, for some reason.”

Tatsuya had been listening to police chatter. That wasn’t something an ordinary consumer terminal could do, but his only appeared ordinary—its internals were supplied by the Independent Magic Battalion in a joint effort by Sanada and Fujibayashi. It was capable of decoding nearly any coded radio transmission broadcast in the country.

“If Brother says so, then… Yuuka, you have my apologies for doubting you. I am sorry.”

“It’s fine. I was just thinking that this all does look pretty suspicious.” She was talking about the timing of her showing up immediately after the attackers had been dealt with—or at least, that was Tatsuya’s guess.

“But why would the police only set up a checkpoint on the road leading to the main house?” asked Miyuki.

Yuuka’s smirk deepened, but then her expression turned serious as she met her passenger’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “That, Miyuki, is because they don’t want to let you in.”

Yuuka’s destination for the trio was a Tsukuba vacation house at the foot of Mount Amigasa in the Yatsugatake Mountains.

She led them into the living room, then sat herself down in a recliner—in place of a sofa, the room had six recliners with footrests—then began to outline her plan for what would come next. “We’ll stay here tonight.”

Miyuki shot Tatsuya a wordlessly questioning gaze, but before he could answer, Yuuka continued, “Tomorrow, we’ll all go to the main house together, shall we? If we do that, nobody will be able to sneak a look at your driver’s schedule.”

Tatsuya nodded at his sister. Yuuka’s question had been directed at her, after all, and Tatsuya figured that, one succession candidate to another, Miyuki should be the one to answer that question.

“We’re very grateful for the offer.”

“It’s decided, then!”

“Wait just a moment,” Miyuki said, bringing the smiling host up short.

Just then, the vacation home’s housekeeper brought in drinks—black tea and sundries for all. And not a pot, either—cups were lined up on the table and filled two-thirds full with tea. Finally, the housekeeper set a milk pot and a sugar pot on the table, then left the living room.

“…For someone who’s so fastidious about etiquette, she sure doesn’t have much tact,” murmured Yuuka, giving her three guests an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. Everyone in my family drinks black tea, so we didn’t have any green tea or coffee on hand.”

“Oh, not at all,” said Miyuki with a pleasant smile, reaching for her cup.

“The table’s a bit of a reach, isn’t it? I’ll put the side tables out.” Yuuka made certain that Miyuki had pulled her hand back before touching a switch on the arm of her chair.

Side tables rose up from the right side of all four occupied recliners.

Minami had come around to Miyuki’s right side, and giving Yuuka a smile, she reached for the milk pot and placed it, along with a saucer and cup of tea, on Miyuki’s side table.

“Thank you,” Miyuki said, picking up the cup and taking a sip. She cocked her head slightly, then poured just a bit of milk from the pot into her cup. Stirring it with her spoon, she then smiled at Minami pleasantly.

Minami put the milk pot back on the table, then returned to her own seat. In contrast to the curt service of the housekeeper, she had just displayed a maid’s natural, careful attentiveness to her mistress.

“…My, how charming. Was that for my benefit?” said Yuuka to Minami with a smile in a not terribly successful bid to seem unruffled.

“Why no, not at all,” said Minami in a completely neutral tone, her simple, polite bow hiding her expression.

She fully intended to rub Yuuka the wrong way, but with a slow exhale, Yuuka was able to avoid letting her irritation show. “Well…I suppose my housekeeper was the first to behave poorly, so perhaps we can call it even.”

Tatsuya had watched the byplay silently, drinking his tea black. He set the cup down on its saucer before speaking up. “Now, to the matter at hand.”

Yuuka recomposed herself in her chair, and Miyuki squared herself to face her directly. “We have several things we’d like to ask you.”

“I don’t suppose you’re just going to demand I tell you what I’m really thinking.” Yuuka’s playful demeanor faded slightly, and her eyes shone with a keen edge.

Miyuki met her with a gaze as cold and clear as the winter sky. “That would be a meaningless thing to ask.”

Yuuka had the sudden feeling that she might lose her soul in those eyes and broke her gaze—then immediately looked back. “It wouldn’t be totally useless. So long as it’s something I can discuss, I’ll speak my true mind.”

“Is that so? Well, in that case… How was it that you were able to come to our aid at such a precisely convenient moment?”

“That would seem suspicious, wouldn’t it?” Yuuka muttered with a dull grin. “But I’m not involved in any secret collusion. I hope you can believe that much.”

“Certainly. But I would like to know the reason why.”

“…The truth is, I was following your car.”

Miyuki looked to Tatsuya. Tatsuya shook his head faintly.

Yuuka noticed this and was about to ask what it meant, but Miyuki was first to speak.

“I see,” Miyuki said. “Why would you go to such lengths to help us?” she continued, in a tone of voice that made it sound like she didn’t believe a word of Yuuka’s explanation.

“Well—”

“I know you said that I needed a bodyguard, but you can’t seriously expect to convince us with that argument now.”

Yuuka sighed. “That’s true… Fine. I’ll be honest.”

“Please do.”

Yuuka looked uncomfortable under Miyuki’s steady gaze but also didn’t seem inclined toward any further deception.

“Tatsuya probably already knows about this, but…”

With that preamble, Tatsuya could see what Yuuka was about to say. He hadn’t particularly wanted Miyuki to have to hear it, but if he cut Yuuka off here, there would be no way to resolve the situation. And if Miyuki were to be named successor, she needed to understand the motivations of the branch families.

“At the New Year’s celebration, Maya is going to name you, Miyuki, as the next leader of the clan. Some of the branch families are trying to interfere. They believe that if you can be prevented from attending the party, it will at least avoid your succession being announced there.”

Miyuki’s face evinced no shock. “So does this mean that they don’t want me to be the family head?” she asked in a hard voice.

“I think only Uncle Shibata feels that way.” Yuuka’s answer was cruelly clear.

“I see… I take it he would prefer Katsushige?”

“I don’t think so, no,” Yuuka said, just as clearly, even though her answer was inconsistent with what she’d just said.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I follow what you’re—”

Yuuka explained, “Uncle Shibata would prefer that Katsushige be named successor, but I’m sure he knows that if you’re chosen, there’s nothing he can do about it. And he knows perfectly well who the better magician is between you and Katsushige. He’s an excellent magician by ordinary standards.”

Yuuka couldn’t help but laugh. Miyuki didn’t join her, but her estimation of the man was the same.

“So there you have it. There’s no one who truly opposes your ascension to family leadership.”

“…What about you yourself, Yuuka?”

“Me?”

Miyuki was curious about why Yuuka was discussing the matter of the next family leader as though it had nothing to do with her. Yuuka was, after all, one of the four remaining candidates for the position.

“I also feel that you’re well suited to the role, Miyuki,” replied Yuuka nonchalantly—so perfectly nonchalantly, in fact, that it made her answer sound insincere. Still, she was being entirely honest. “Well, that’s slightly imprecise language. Two years ago, the Tsukuba family decided to support designating you as the successor. The reason I’ve remained involved in the selection process is to preserve the Tsukuba family’s voice in the process. And of course, in case the other branch families back Katsushige, to oppose them.”

“Why would you go to such trouble?” Miyuki’s question was understandable.

“About ninety percent of it is rather straightforward. We really do think you should become the next family head,” Yuuka said, but then her expression clouded over, as though she didn’t want to say what came next. “The other ten percent is…guilt over my mother, I suppose.”

Miyuki’s expression shifted. It was a vague answer, but for Miyuki, it was plenty. “Well, if you’re trying to make amends, you needn’t bother. I’m aware that it isn’t what Touka wanted. But the reality is that she still personally followed the orders that my aunt gave, is it not?”

Touka was Yuuka’s mother and the current head of the Tsukuba family. Yuuka’s father wasn’t dead—but Touka had already been the family head when they’d married, and he’d taken her name.

Touka specialized in mental interference magic, and she was known in the Yotsuba family as being an expert in a special kind of magic known as “Oath.” The Oath was made with the consent of the target, and it placed semipermanent limits on their mental activity. It wasn’t possible to unilaterally bind someone’s mind—there had to be a key created that would release the target irrespective of the caster’s will—but it was still an extremely powerful form of magic that made a sort of mind control possible, while still preserving the target’s sense of self.

The magic was of particularly deep significance to Miyuki and Tatsuya. After their mother, Miya, had passed away, it had been Touka who cast Oath to seal away Tatsuya’s magic abilities using Miyuki’s power.

“There’s nothing more I can say about that. I have no intention of hiding behind the excuse that it was done on the orders of the family head.”

“…My apologies. I’m the one who asked about this, and then I let myself get worked up about it.”

“It’s understandable, from your perspective, Miyuki. I’m not offended.”

“I believe I understand the position of the Tsukuba family now,” said Miyuki in a bid to change the subject, eliciting a nod and a faint smile from Yuuka. “But why are members of the other branch families trying to postpone the announcement? If you happen to know, do please tell me.”

Yuuka glanced at Tatsuya.

Tatsuya gave no response—not even to try to stop her.

Yuuka turned away from Miyuki’s steady gaze and began to speak with downcast eyes. “Uncle Shibata and Uncle Mashiba want to separate you from Tatsuya, Miyuki. No, they want to separate Tatsuya from the heart of the Yotsuba clan and put him out to pasture somewhere, isolated from the world.”

Miyuki took several deep breaths. They were ragged at first, but after five or six repetitions, she was able to compose herself. “…Not just society but the world as a whole?”

“Yes. Some of that is my conjecture, but I’m quite sure I’m right. I don’t know why, but my uncles want to unmake Tatsuya, as a magician. They’re interfering with the announcement that you will be the next clan leader in order to buy time for that.”

“How does delaying my appointment have anything…anything at all…to do with trapping my brother?” Miyuki stuttered, trembling with rage.

“Miyuki, please—please try to calm yourself and listen to me. If you are named the heir, then as your Guardian, Tatsuya’s position within the family would also be assured. He would become the elder brother of the next family head and her confidant. That’s not something the heads of the branch families will be able to ignore.”

Yuuka saw Miyuki’s expression change. For the time being, she regained her composure.

“So they’re trying to postpone your appointment until Minami there can step in as Tatsuya’s replacement.”

“…So that’s how it is, is it?” Miyuki’s voice was eerily cool and calm.

Yuuka had been trying her best not to be intimidated by Miyuki, but at this, she involuntarily shivered. “Y-yes. I’m very sure.”

“On the other hand, if I do make it on time for New Year’s, Brother’s position will be assured.” Miyuki, however, wasn’t thinking about getting back at anybody or trying to hurt anybody else—nothing so dangerous or violent. The only thing on her mind was thwarting this unspeakable plot to separate her brother from her. “Yuuka, we cannot depart today, can we?”

Though none of them had eaten lunch, midday was well past. There was still a fair amount of daylight left, and if they were to set out right then and there, it was theoretically possible to reach the main house before it got too late.

“No…the police are still on the move. We haven’t done anything illegal, but if we’re detained by the police, it will cost us time. I think it would be best to wait until tomorrow.”

“I understand. In that case, we shall take your advice. And thank you for your help today.”

“I apologize for the accommodations not being ideal, but please relax as best you can.”

“Thank you so much. We’ll be counting on you again tomorrow.”

Miyuki’s tone was polite and restrained, but the force behind her words froze Yuuka’s soul. Yuuka managed a smile and with some effort forced herself to nod.

Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Minami ended up taking an early dinner in place of the lunch they hadn’t eaten (the food was merely acceptable) before they were each led to their own private room for the evening.

Tatsuya stood in front of his opened travel bag, trying to decide what to do about his clothes—or more precisely, his equipment—for tomorrow. He’d packed Trident, his custom Silver Horn CAD. The question was whether or not to use what he was most familiar with instead of the more easily concealed Silver Torus.

If he was anticipating magical combat, then the gun-type Trident would be the right choice, but if it came to hand-to-hand combat where magic would need to be suppressed, the Silver Torus bracelet would be the way to go.

Just as Tatsuya was about to close the flap on his bag, there was a knock at his door.

“Who is it?” he asked.

“It’s Miyuki,” came the reply.

Tatsuya left the bag open and turned to the door. “What’s up?” he asked after he opened the door. She was alone.

“I just…wanted to talk a bit.”

Maybe it was his imagination, but she looked a bit forlorn.

“Sure. Come on in.” Tatsuya gestured for her to enter.

Miyuki first went over to where Tatsuya’s bag was opened and then began folding and straightening his somewhat disarrayed clothing.

He was about to take a shower, after which he’d grab a fresh change of clothes, so there wasn’t much point in repacking his bag at that moment, but Tatsuya didn’t stop her. “You don’t have to, but thanks” he said.

“Not at all; I enjoy doing it,” she offered, a bit of happiness creeping into her voice. Seemingly satisfied, she closed the travel bag and turned to face its owner properly.

“You can sit on the bed, if you want,” he suggested as he sat in a chair pulled out from the room’s writing desk.

Miyuki dropped lightly on the bed without any noticeable reservations.

“So—you said you wanted to talk?”

At the prompt, Miyuki seemed to almost pout—her cheeks didn’t literally puff, but a pout-like aura emanated from her nonetheless. “Do I have to have a reason to come see you?”

“No, of course not,” he replied, immediately capitulating. He was unflappable whether he was facing crying children to angry police, but his sister’s moods were another matter entirely.

Miyuki giggled. “I’m joking,” she said, her mood immediately brightened by the agreeability. “And there is something I wanted to ask you.”

So why didn’t you just ask it in the first place? he wondered—but of course refrained from voicing the thought aloud. “What is it?” he eventually landed on.

“You knew about the branch houses’ motives, didn’t you, Brother?”

The question of how to throw her off the scent disappeared in the time it took Miyuki to blink.

“I did,” he admitted. As Miyuki spent a moment deciding on her next question, he elaborated, “On the first day of the winter vacation, Mr. Kuroba visited me at FLT, which is when I found out. What he said was more or less the same as what Yuuka told us earlier. Yuuka said that some of it is her conjecture, but I think she has confirmation.”

“Uncle Kuroba…? Then—”

Tatsuya, seeing what his sister was beginning to worry about, quickly interrupted to correct her. “The Kuroba family isn’t involved with this interdiction operation. Mr. Kuroba told me himself that they were neutral, and I think we can believe him. And of course, neither Fumiya nor Ayako are our enemies.”

“I see…” Miyuki sighed in relief, but she soon looked back up at Tatsuya with a serious gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me about any of this?”

While he understood why she was upset at him about this, he had his own take on it. Tatsuya didn’t look away from his sister. “The important thing is to prevent them from interfering. So long as you attend the gathering on New Year’s as planned, it doesn’t matter who’s pulling the strings. I didn’t want to make you worry more than you needed.”

The current objective, from Tatsuya’s perspective, was very simple. There was no need to discover where their enemy was hiding or when they might attack. The only thing that mattered was forcing their way past anyone who tried to stop them. Worrying about the details would simply put them at a disadvantage.

However, this was not a way of thinking that Miyuki could accept. “Maybe it doesn’t help for me to think about any of that stuff, but it’s still my right to be as worried about my brother as I please! Being able to cry over you or get angry on your behalf is very important to me. I don’t consider any of that ‘unnecessary’!” She promptly turned away, fuming.

Baffled by this outburst and eager to mollify her, Tatsuya stood and tried to place himself back within her line of sight. “Miyuki…”

He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder and caught nothing but air—not because she had brushed him off, but rather because Miyuki suddenly stood and embraced him.

“Brother, you do remember…?”

“Remember what?” he asked, but a memory was already vaguely coming back to him.

It was last year, the fourth day of the Nines, the first night of the rookies’ battle. Miyuki had come to Tatsuya after he’d rejected having the Active Air Mine added to the index under his name, and…

“My feelings have not changed one bit since then. And they never will,” Miyuki said, like she knew exactly what had just popped into his mind.

“I am on your side,” she continued, as though she could see his memory with her own eyes.

“And I will always be on your side,” she added, as though she were with him in the memory.

“The time will come. It will come. I know it will. I said it would.” Miyuki looked up and met Tatsuya’s gaze. Contrary to his expectations, she wore a beautiful smile.

“I believe that time is finally near. It might be a little bit different from what we pictured that night, but soon, Brother, you will be able to finally spread your wings and fly.”

But hidden in the depths of that beautiful smile, Tatsuya could see a flicker of darkness. And that was what worried him more than anything else.

When Maya Yotsuba, current head of the Yotsuba family, received the report from her butler, Hayama, that Miyuki had been the target of two consecutive days of interference and was currently staying at the Tsukuba vacation house, she couldn’t help but smile.

“What pointless games,” she said, not with a sneer but a soft, murmured laugh.

The butler Hayama’s appraisal was politely phrased and severe. “It would appear the branch families have underestimated Tatsuya’s abilities.”

“The village’s bounded field wouldn’t be able to withstand Tatsuya’s dismantling, so if they’re really in danger of not making it in time, they can still opt to fly in from above. And if it comes to that, it’ll become a major incident. Anyone who can use Awareness Block magic won’t get a lick of sleep until the bounded field is repaired, which itself won’t be an easy task.” Maya sighed fetchingly. “I wonder if they understand that if it comes to that, the responsibility will fall upon the branch houses who attempted to interfere with my orders?”

Maya sipped from her teacup, a frown furrowing her delicate brow.

“Aoki and that cohort notwithstanding, all of the branch family heads should have received accurate information.”

“They have, ma’am.” Hayama answered the implied question, then carefully refilled his mistress’s cup with noncaffeinated herbal tea.

Within the Yotsuba family, Hayama, Hanabishi, Aoki, and Obara were all formally referred to as butlers, but in fact the word referred to eight people who supervised various servants within each section, and the only one who dealt solely with internal household business in a way that actually matched up with the term butler was Hayama.

It was evening, the time for a quiet, private cup of tea, which was why Maya spoke her mind so freely. She would never have done so in front of others. But the truth was the contempt she held for the whole pack of branch families—and indeed, the Yotsuba clan as a whole—was Maya’s true self.

Hayama took all this in dispassionately, and finally, respectfully, offered his own view, thereby avoiding being entangled in his mistress’s irritation. “Be that as it may, these delaying tactics might not be entirely pointless. Per Hanabishi’s report, we have succeeded in significantly weakening the Anti–Great Asian Alliance hard-liners, the Great Asian Alliance reconciliation faction, and those who stand in opposition to the ten families. In particular, the artificial psychics stationed at Matsumoto Base were almost entirely wiped out. I very much doubt that their ilk will darken our doorstep ever again.”

“I was never worried about artificial psychics,” said Maya with a casual chuckle, her voice devoid of the venom it had had earlier. “In any case, this should wrap up our end-of-year housecleaning, yes?”

Hayama allowed himself a faint smile. “The arrangements have changed slightly, but Hanabishi informs me that, if anything, this means fewer people will be necessary.”

“I daresay it does. After all the effort spent luring them out, Tatsuya handled all the fisticuffs entirely on his own.” Maya made a faintly exasperated expression. “But no matter. Have you seen to the preparations for the New Year, Hayama?”

“Indeed, ma’am. Now all we need do is wait for Ms. Miyuki’s arrival.”

“Well, we’ve nothing to worry about, then.”

“Ma’am, do you really not wish to stop Shibata?” the butler asked after a moment of hesitation. Hayama was aware of the Shibata family head’s plan to have Katsushige Shibata and his Guardian stop Miyuki from reaching her destination. Naturally, Maya also knew.

Maya, for some reason, smiled a satisfied smile. “Not even Katsushige can stop Tatsuya.”

While Katsushige Shibata was clearly among the finest combat magicians in the Yotsuba family, Maya estimated the chances of his delaying anything to be roughly zero.

In that moment, she saw in her mind a vision of Tatsuya taking the young man down.