Without a moment’s delay, Mikihiko threw a small copper mirror with a charm inscribed on the back ── not a blue one ── into the flames.

  "Kakemakumokashikoki Izanaginoohokami

  tsukushinohimukanotachibananowodonoahagiharani misonogiharahetamahishitokini…"

  And now, he was reciting the Norito11.

  The temperature of the gomadan was nowhere near the copper's melting point of 1,000°

  Celsius.

  Nevertheless, the charm inscribed on the copper mirror, which was engulfed in the flames, disappeared in the blink of an eye.

  And, at the same time, a sorcerer, tucked away in a shabby cottage on the outskirts of the Greater Tokyo Area, collapsed in a heap of cries of pain.

  However, this person didn't really die, he just fainted.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  June 24th, at the National Magic University campus.

  "Miyuki, Lina."

  A voice called out from behind Miyuki and Lina as they walked to the student cafeteria after the end of their morning lecture.

  "Oh, Erika."

  As the two turned around, they saw Erika running up to them, giving them a brief wave.

  "Are you having lunch now? Mind if I join you?"

  "Yes, sure."

  11 Norito - Wikipedia

  108

  Although they hadn't had many chances to catch up recently, they had been friends since their first year of high school. Miyuki had no reason to refuse.

  "I also don't mind at all."

  Lina nodded, and the three of them headed to the cafeteria together.

  The three of them sat around a table and exchanged some harmless chit-chat as they moved their chopsticks around.

  "…By the way, Erika. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

  And near the end of lunch, Lina asked Erika.

  "Oh, you found out, huh?"

  Erika gave a smile, as if to say "you got me there."

  "I've set up a sound barrier."

  Miyuki said, encouraging Erika to talk.

  Erika wasn’t one to shy away from this much of a stage set up for her.

  "Okay, I'll tell you. I need you to pass this on to Tatsuya-kun. Mizuki and I almost got cursed last night."

  Miyuki and Lina gasped at the same time.

  But, rather than being a reaction out of shock at the sudden bad news, the expressions on the faces of the two of them seemed to convey more of a "finally" or "It finally happened"

  aspect.

  "Luckily, though, Miki noticed right away and nothing really happened anyway."

  Erika then added, slightly easing the two’s tension.

  "I see… So they ignored Tatsuya's warning. Those idiots."

  Lina muttered in a pitying tone.

  "So you both knew about it."

  Erika asked with a "I knew it" look on her face.

  "I'll be sure to pass it on to Tatsuya-sama."

  109

  Instead of responding to Erika's question, Miyuki gave her word that she’d make sure to

  "pass it on."

  "I'm sorry for this. We'll put a stop to it right away."

  And then added, with a far too serene expression.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Over dinner, Tatsuya learned from Miyuki the news that Erika and Mizuki were targeted in a sorcery attack. Upon hearing this, Tatsuya made a phone call after dinner and ordered Hyougo to meet him in the conference room on the second floor.

  After the call, Tatsuya immediately left the apartment and got on the elevator. But as he got off at the lift hall on the second floor, there stood Hyougo waiting for him.

  Hyougo bowed with reverence and made a motion for Tatsuya to follow him. Tatsuya followed behind him.

  Once inside the conference room, Tatsuya took the chair closest to the entrance. Without bothering if it was the top or bottom of the table, he prioritized efficiency. Then, after locking the conference room, Hyougo stood in front of Tatsuya and addressed him.

  Knowing that he wouldn't sit down even if it was offered to him anyway, they wasted no time in starting the conversation.

  "It seems that a hex against Chiba Erika and Shibata Mizuki was performed last night."

  "Is that right?"

  Hyougo narrowed his eyes. His expression remained calm, only his gaze became a cold glint.

  "Have you found out who the key figures in the Intelligence Department are?"

  Unlike Fujibayashi Hiroto, Tatsuya's approach to Hyougo was polite. This was partially out of habit, but more so because Hyougo was formerly a butler in service of the Yotsuba Family.

  "Yes. It is Deputy Director Inukai of the Army Intelligence Department."

  Hyougo was able to answer immediately because, even before he had received the information from Yakumo, Tatsuya had anticipated interference with Mayumi and the others' trip to the United States and had him investigate. And since he had a history with 110

  the Army Intelligence Department in particular, he instructed an investigation to focus on them.

  "Deputy Director Inukai… I'm not sure there is a deputy director with that name on the Army's register of names."

  "He is an inactive administrative officer according to the register. He is an undisclosed deputy director who oversees extra-legal operations."

  "I understand. Given the position, it makes sense that he would turn to sorcery."

  The expression on Tatsuya's face turned cold as he nodded in acknowledgement.

  "Tatsuya-sama, how should we address this person?"

  "…I don't think he’s worth erasing."

  In response to Hyougo's question, Tatsuya thought about it for a moment before answering.

  "But we also can't just do nothing."

  "Yes, that's true. I will personally give him a strong warning."

  Tatsuya recognized Hyougo's counter argument as a valid one. He then decided on a way of responding.

  "Then who shall we send?"

  "Well, I think I will send Daimon."

  "That person, sir…"

  Even though he was a personal staff member of Tatsuya’s, Hyougo displayed his reservations of Fujibayashi Hiroto since he was an outsider to the Yotsuba Family.

  "…Is that acceptable for you, sir? Then, if you are so inclined."

  But he soon changed his attitude. This wasn’t out of sensitivity towards Tatsuya, but rather he thought that it would be easier to discard him at a critical moment since he wasn’t related to the Yotsuba Family.

  "Thank you, Hyougo-san, for your hard work."

  Again, Hiroto was a personal staff member of Tatsuya's, and as such, Hyougo was in no position to give him orders. Tatsuya himself was the one who summoned him.

  "I'm very sorry, sir. Then, I'll leave you to it."

  111

  With a polite bow of the head, Hyougo left before Tatsuya.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Inukai, Deputy Director of the Army Intelligence Department, didn't live in a government housing complex but in an ordinary condominium. He lived alone. Divorced, with no children. Inukai's circumstances weren’t all that uncommon.

  For an officer of the Intelligence Department to live in an ordinary private condominium may appear to be a serious threat to national security. Both the Intelligence Department and Inukai himself were fully aware of this. His flat had only the bare essentials. The information terminal installed in his room didn’t even have the encryption key to connect to his workplace. His mobile phone didn't have a work-related contact list, it actually didn't even have a call history function, so all he did was receive calls. He didn't even carry his government ID on his person (Access to the workplace was via a national ID card and bio-authentication).

  Although he had chosen a condominium with good security, he didn’t install any special equipment that would have lead to the inference of his identity. If he were to be involved in a crime, he’d be expected to take the fall for it as an ordinary citizen.

  As such, breaking into Inukai's flat was hardly a task for someone like Hiroto, who had mastered the techniques of the Fujibayashi Family.

  June 25th, well past zero hour in the morning. At a time in the big city when not many people were still awake. Fujibayashi Hiroto arrived on the balcony of Inukai's apartment.

  (…?)

  As soon as he trespassed on the balcony, Hiroto could sense that something was amiss.

  There was no sign of any living person in the room.

  He confirmed that Inukai hadn’t left the building since he had returned home. And, from what he investigated, he didn't have any friends in the same building with whom he would visit at this hour.

  Something was going on. If this was purely an investigatory operation, he would have left at this point. But tonight he had been sent with the task to deliver a message from his master. Then, he must find and meet that person. Even if it meant meeting a dead body.

  Hiroto carefully unlocked the glass door and entered the room without making a sound.

  112

  There was no light on, but it was bright enough for him.

  As before, there was no sign of life. But Hiroto's instincts told him "that there was someone in the next room."

  Wearing the highest level of concealment he could muster, Hiroto crossed the room.

  Beyond the door was a short corridor. And then in the very next room, he cautiously reached for the knob of the door.

  But, before he could touch it.

  The door in front of his eyes swung open into the corridor.

  In the distance, there was a figure with absolutely zero presence.

  Hiroto reflexively shifted to a fighting stance.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  "…The other side also took a stance ready to attack, but we avoided a conflict at the critical moment."

  "You did well to avoid a fight."

  Early on the morning of the 25th. Tatsuya faced Hiroto, who was kneeling on the floor of the training facility in the condominium. He was in the middle of an early morning workout when Hiroto stormed in and said, "I have a pressing concern that I need to report to you," causing him to interrupt his training to listen to the report.

  "I don't take any pride in it, but I suspect it was just because we were both skilled enough to recognise each other through the dim light."

  "So Major Yanagi also knew who you were."

  Last night ── or more accurately, just after midnight of this day ── Hiroto had run into Major Yanagi of the Independent Magic-Equipped Regiment at Inukai's flat. Tatsuya was well aware that he was an expert in hand-to-hand combat.

  "I can only say I was lucky. If we had proceeded to fight, I’m not confident that I would have survived."

  Hiroto had no arguments against Tatsuya's assessment. With Yanagi as his opponent, Hiroto knew he had no chance in a fight against him while indoors, where the scaffolding was flat and escape was limited.

  113

  "So, did you get to meet Inukai?"

  Tatsuya didn't decide to change the subject because he was concerned about Hiroto's worries.

  It was simply because he didn't want to waste any more time.

  "I've identified the body."

  With Hiroto's reply, for an instant Tatsuya's eyebrows arched, and then fell back.

  It was the only emotional response Tatsuya could muster.

  "It was Major Yanagi?"

  Tatsuya asked in a calm voice.

  "According to his own words."

  With such an expression, Hiroto replied with an affirmative.

  "Tatsuya-sama, I have a message for you from Major Yanagi."

  And then he added.

  "Tell me."

  Tatsuya urged him to continue.

  "Yes, sir. ──The National Defense Force’s reckless actions have been put to an end by the National Defense Force. We hope this will convince you ── is what he said."

  "That's an uncharacteristic overreaction from Colonel Kazama…"

  Tatsuya muttered bitterly to himself after hearing this. In his mind he wondered, "Is Kazama that cautious of me?"

  "With all due respect, sir, I think it’s a fair assessment to say this is them taking clear responsibility for the hex."

  Although he may not have read his mind, Hiroto offered his own rejoinder to Tatsuya’s thoughts.

  His words were laced with negative feelings regarding hex’s. Even though Ancient Magicians like Kazama and Hiroto recognize the value of sorcery, their disgust toward the act of "cursing someone'' probably poses a stronger impact on their evaluation.

  "──I'll take that into consideration. Daimon, good work."

  114

  At the words of appreciation, Hiroto bowed his head deeply.

  He stood up keeping his head down and left before Tatsuya.

  On the same day, Hyougo reported the Minister of Defense's decision ── that interference with the travel of magician’s to the United States wouldn’t be tolerated ── which Tatsuya and the others could understand that the hex against Mizuki and the others was an outright violation of this order.

  Tatsuya himself didn't have any desire to further aggravate the situation.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  These series of events went beyond simply removing the obstacles to Mayumi and Ryosuke's trip to the United States. It also opened the door to a number of de facto limitations on the ability of magicians to leave the country.

  However, it would be a long time before this became widely known.

  Saturday, June 26th. Being personally exempted for now, Mayumi and Ryousuke boarded a flight from Tokyo Bay Maritime International Airport for the Vancouver International Airport in the USNA.

  And, on the following day, a transport plane with Lina on board took off from Zama Base.

  115

  Case 1: Ichijou Masaki

  [Camouflaged Love]

  Monday, June 28th, 2100 A.D.

  Miyuki and Tatsuya went to the Magic University together. And this time around, there was no sign of Lina next to Miyuki. This was a rather unusual occurrence. Ever since she entered the university, Lina has always been standing by Miyuki's side, as if filling in for Tatsuya's almost constant absence on campus. So much so that there have been rumors of a special relationship between them.

  Rumors and the falsehoods within aside, there was certainly a special relationship between Miyuki and Lina.

  Miyuki, as the next head of the Yotsuba Family, used the power of the Yotsuba Family to give Lina a place where she could belong.

  Lina acted as a bodyguard for Miyuki in place of Tatsuya when he was unable to accompany her.

  This relationship hasn't changed even now that Lina has become a naturalized Japanese citizen. On the family register alone, Lina's father was Toudou Aoba. But in a sense, Toudou was only lending his name. All with the pretext of keeping the Strategic-Class Magician "Angie Sirius" in Japan. With Toudou being her father-in-law, there was no fear that someone under the thumb of the USNA might try to subvert this.

  However, all Toudou had done for Lina was to grant her a family register upon her naturalization. He didn’t provide her with any financial support whatsoever.

  Lina was capable of becoming financially independent at any time if she so chooses. As her official status wasn’t that of the Strategic-Class Magician "Angie Sirius," but as a student of the Magic University as "Angelina Kudou Shields" ── now "Toudou Rina" ──

  she couldn’t pursue a career as a magician. However, there were plenty of ways for her to make a living without having to be a magician, be it as a model, a celebrity, as a TV

  personality or as a material. (Incidentally, as a brief mention, "material" refers to becoming a base model for CG idols. From a standpoint of protecting the privacy of minors, almost all of the so-called Shoujo idols and almost, if not all of the Shonen idols had been replaced with CG models that were almost indistinguishable from real people).

  116

  Nevertheless, Lina still prioritizes her sense of duty from the circumstances that led her to defect during the STARS rebellion, and also ── although she herself may not like to admit it ── her friendship with Miyuki. She chose to act as Miyuki's bodyguard in place of Tatsuya, who could no longer always be by her side.

  In a sense, Lina has her livelihood guaranteed as compensation. The fact that the Yotsuba Family is taking care of her financially is not a unilateral benefit, but a remuneration for her service. At least, that's how many in the Yotsuba Family see it, and that's how Tatsuya intended it to be. As for Miyuki and Lina themselves, they have their own feelings about it.

  It was under such circumstances that Miyuki had always had Lina next to her since she entered university. And with Lina there, Tatsuya was able to focus on his work without any worries.

  And now that Lina is away, it was hardly surprising that Tatsuya would move back to Miyuki's side. However, to the students who have grown used to Tatsuya's absence and Lina's presence for the past two years or so, the sight of Miyuki happily walking arm-in-arm with Tatsuya by themselves was a great shock.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  At noon on this day, Tatsuya headed for the main gate of the university with Miyuki in tow. Rather than going home, they'd decided to have lunch off campus.

  In front of the main gate of the Magic University is a T-junction, where the road that runs along the wall on both sides meets the paths leading directly to the campus. And, at this gate, Tatsuya and company came across the duo of Ichijou Masaki and Kichijouji Shinkurou, with five or six female students in tow.

  At the sight of Tatsuya and the others, Masaki had a look of astonishment on his face. But this was soon replaced with a happy smile.

  "Shiba-san. I see you're with Shiba today."

  Masaki calls Miyuki "Shiba-san" and Tatsuya "Shiba." Since both Tatsuya and Miyuki were aware of this, they were not confused.

  "Good afternoon, Ichijou-san, are you having lunch now?"

  As they were walking, Miyuki asked Masaki, who was approaching from the other side of Tatsuya.

  117

  "Yeah. Shiba-san, are you going out today as well?"

  "Yes. We thought we'd splurge a bit today."

  "We had the same idea. Would you like to join us?"

  Up to this point, Masaki had been keeping Tatsuya out of the conversation. However, Masaki's eyes were glancing at Tatsuya, gauging his reaction.