"Do you mean us?"

  Miyuki sought Tatsuya's opinion with her eyes.

  "Ichijou, you already have your companions over there."

  "Indeed. I believe they would not feel comfortable if we were to join them, so I think it's best if we pass for today."

  After Tatsuya directed his words at Masaki, Miyuki returned to him with a refusal.

  "I see. Then maybe next time."

  They were already well past the main gate. Masaki said it with surprising ease as he led Kichijouji and a group of female students away from Miyuki.

  Tatsuya took Miyuki and walked in the opposite direction from Masaki's group.

  "Masaki, what was that all about?"

  As soon as Tatsuya's duo left, Kichijouji asked Masaki in a reproachful tone.

  "Hmm? What?"

  As for Masaki's tone, though it wasn't quite candid, it was clear to Kichijouji that he was feigning ignorance.

  "That back there was just rude in so many ways. To those two, and to everyone else here for that matter."

  "I guess so."

  118

  "You guess… Masaki, you become a bit strange when she's around. You have already been this way since before, but now it's getting even worse. I can't even say that it's just 'a bit'

  anymore."

  "Maybe so."

  "Masaki!"

  Masaki turned away from Kichijouji, raising his voice at him and looked back to the group of female students behind them.

  "Kirie."

  He called out to a junior who is a year younger than him, whose name was Tsuruga Kirie.

  A junior in a double sense, since she was also from Third High. Being a relative from his mother's side, she was also the leader of the gang of women who hung around Masaki.

  "Yes?"

  Although not necessarily because she was his junior, she had a fairly obedient attitude towards Masaki ── or rather, an impression of obedience towards him.

  "I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable."

  With a Kichijouji expressing surprise at the ease with which Masaki apologized, for the person receiving the apology herself, Kirie simply replied, "No, not at all…" in a reserved manner.

  "To everyone else too, my bad. I'll treat you guys to something nice as an apology."

  Kirie aside, the rest of the female students raised cheers of delight with a heart.

  "Don't say that… We'll be late for the afternoon lecture again…"

  Kichijouji grumbled, not so much in a frank advice capacity as in resignation.

  Kirie, who did not raise a cheer, said in a quiet voice, "Thank you very much" with a smile.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  By the beginning of July, the surrounding students had become used to having Tatsuya attend school every day in Lina's absence.

  119

  Concurrently, Tatsuya was frequently asked by Lina's fans, and Miyuki by Lina’s friends alike, about when she would be returning to the university.

  "Around next week or so…"

  Instead of directly asking Tatsuya or Miyuki about Lina's schedule, Masaki overheard about it through a friend.

  "So, I heard she's apparently returning home to America."

  "Ooh… So, she managed to travel to the United States. Did she get some special permission because it's her homeland?"

  His friends continued chatting about Lina. Masaki listened absentmindedly.

  Kichijouji was currently doing something on his own. Nobody noticed that Masaki’s "mind was somewhere else."

  "But then wouldn't she not be able to return from there? Isn't the USNA the same in respect to the fact that they practically forbid magicians from leaving the country?"

  "No, I don't think so. Shields-san is already a naturalized Japanese citizen."

  "Her official name is Toudou Rina-san, I think… So, now that she holds citizenship here, I don't think the USNA can try to prevent her from returning to Japan."

  "I don't know about that. There shouldn't be many magicians in the United States who are as high level as her."

  "…Do you think they could try to force her to stay? What do you think, Ichijou?"

  "That'd be a problem!"

  With the question being suddenly raised at him, Masaki replied in a stronger tone than he intended.

  "Ichijou?"

  Because of his fierceness, his friends looked at him with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

  120

  "Oh, no… it’s just that Shields-san has been a Japanese magician ever since she was naturalized. If they were to try to prevent a Japanese citizen from returning, it would be a serious threat to the reputation of our country."

  "I see now. The Ten Master Clans, as representatives of the Japanese Magic Community, would not tolerate that."

  The argument Masaki came up with on the spur of the moment was enough to convince his friends.

  On the other hand, Masaki himself was feeling a sense of urgency of "I have to check…".

  After the end of the last lecture of the day, Masaki walked around the campus looking for someone he knew who should know the details about the situation. He thought he might find this person in his seminar room or in the club room, but there was also the possibility that they had already gone home. His impatience made his pace become more and more hurried.

  On the way, he happened to see Kirie walking among a group of her classmates, and Masaki's pace involuntarily slowed.

  Unlike when she is around his group of female admirers, Kirie has a relaxed smile on her face.

  Masaki felt a sudden pang of sadness well up inside him. Even so, he wasn't at the age where he’d be moved to tears. But perhaps five years earlier, this would be enough to bring some tears to his eyes.

  He always knew that Kirie was pushing herself whenever she was around him. Especially right after she enrolled at the university.

  Being a relative and a junior at that, Masaki had known Kirie since before she started high school. They had known each other fairly well for a long time. This is why he immediately noticed a change in her around the time she enrolled at the Magic University.

  The Kirie that Masaki used to know, that followed him closely around, was no more. She no longer gets self-conscious when around him, and doesn’t show any signs of constantly watching whatever expression he has on his face.

  In the past, she used to always smile like that. She wasn't so much of a striking beauty, but she made him feel at ease when in her company when she would use her old expression 121

  that had a certain air of homeliness to it. She was considerate, but she was not a person who would look out for every little thing about others.

  Masaki had some idea of the reason behind her change.

  He also knew that it had nothing to do with him.

  Masaki retraced his steps and turned off to the side.

  Though it was a long detour, he didn't want to speak to Kirie at the moment.

  The two people Masaki was looking for, Tatsuya and Miyuki, were in their seminar laboratory. Apparently having a break right now, the seminar students gathered around one table with a variety of drinks such as cold green tea, juice, iced coffee and iced tea cups in front of them.

  "──Shiba, may I have a word with you?"

  Some laboratories were off-limits to outsiders, but these were clearly marked with a sign on the door. Higashiyama’s seminar room wasn’t so strict. And, since the sliding door of the entrance was left open, Masaki walked into the room without a word of caution and addressed Tatsuya.

  "Yeah, it's fine."

  Tatsuya promptly stood up.

  "Is the hallway okay?"

  He didn't ask Masaki why, because he wasn't planning on going far.

  "Yeah, no problem."

  Masaki himself had the same intention from the start.

  "──That news is wrong, you see. Lina is still in the country. I can't tell you where, though."

  Tatsuya flatly lied to Masaki, who had asked him about the possibility of Lina not being able to return to Japan, based on the rumors he had heard about her from his friends from the corridor window.

  122

  Lina's trip to the United States was not made by legitimate means. She traveled to the United States without a passport, entering USNA with a fake ID made by the military there.

  The same will apply for her return. She wasn't even supposed to be recognized as having been to the United States.

  "Is that really so?"

  "You can even check the departure records. They'll let you have access to them, right?"

  By normal procedure, a third party is not allowed to access immigration records. But there are always extra-legal loopholes. Being a nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician, Masaki should have the pull for that.

  "No, I'm not going to go that far, but… In that case, why are there rumors of her going to America?"

  "Miyuki explained to her friends that "she's out on an errand for her home country," so maybe it's a misunderstanding, no?"

  "A USNA errand? I know I'm not supposed to ask this, but what is she doing for America?"

  "I can't comment, of course. It's a private matter, even if she is not a magister."

  Masaki didn't persist in digging into Lina's background.

  "And what about Shields-san coming back next week?"

  Instead, he was concerned about the date when Lina would return to the university.

  "There are no changes in that schedule. Do you have any business with Lina?"

  "No, it's not really that, just…"

  Masaki's speech abruptly became slurred when Tatsuya questioned him.

  "Ichijou. Don't tell me that you are thinking that when Lina comes back to the university, that I would simply disappear from Miyuki's side."

  "…I am not."

  There was a brief but hard to ignore pause before Masaki gave his denial.

  "…You know, I'm really not up for any more fistfights."

  Tatsuya emphasized with a sullen voice.

  123

  "Of course."

  This time, Masaki answered without any pause.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Tsuruga Kirie was waiting for Masaki at the entrance of the Department of Fundamental Magic Studies building, where the Higashiyama Laboratory is located.

  "Masaki-san…"

  That's what Kirie calls Masaki when there aren't any other female students around. This is what she used to call him in the past. Kirie is from the Tsuruga Family, and is a relative on Masaki's mother's side of the family, so it's not strange that she calls him by his first name instead of his last name.

  The relationship between Masaki and Kirie is a bit complicated. Masaki's maternal grandfather is the younger brother of the previous head of the Isshiki Family, and the younger brother of the previous head's wife is Kirie’s paternal grandfather. They are the younger brother and brother-in-law of the previous head of the Isshiki Family, which makes Masaki's grandfather and Kirie's grandfather brothers-in-law. In other words, Masaki and Kirie are second cousins, but in familial terms, their grandfathers are not related to each other by blood.

  However, though they are cousins, Masaki's maternal grandmother is older and Kirie's paternal grandfather is younger. Masaki's maternal grandmother’s maiden name is "Tsuruga." In other words, Kirie is descended from the main family on Masaki’s mother’s side.

  Yet, Masaki's mother's maiden name is neither "Tsuruga" nor "Isshiki." It's "Wakasa," the Wakasa Family is a branch family of the Tsuruga Family. Given the fact of the grandmother entering the Tsuruga Family through marriage, and the fact that the grandfather married into the family, it stands to reason then that Kirie is a direct descendant on Masaki's mother's side of the family.

  Although, in terms of lineage hierarchy in the Japanese Magic Community, Masaki is a direct descendant of the Ichijou Family and also blood related to the Isshiki Family, while Kirie isn't blood related to the Isshiki Family, let alone the Ichijou Family. Although it's only a difference of three generations, it can be said that Masaki has the superior lineage.

  "Kirie, do you need something?"

  124

  Be that as it may, the reason why Masaki is acting somewhat pompous whereas Kirie had a demur attitude isn’t because of the difference in their family’s or lineage, but because of the difference in their ages, their relationship as a senpai and kouhai, and since they’ve known each other for a long time.

  "It's not that I have any particular business… I just saw you a while ago."

  "By some chance, were you trying to run after me?"

  "No, I wasn’t trying to do that sort of thing!"

  The tone of Masaki's question was not exactly harsh, but Kirie hastened to deny it.

  "It's just that, somehow, I have a feeling that Masaki-san might be here."

  "Somehow, huh?"

  This is why she should not be underestimated, Masaki muttered deep in his mind. Kirie is from the Tsugura Family, making her a descendant of an ancient bloodline dating back to the days of the Yamato Imperial Court. There is something in their blood that may not be recognizable as magic by today's standards, but it's still some sort of ancient superpower.

  "So, what is it?"

  "Well, err…"

  Kirie looked like she is anxious about her surroundings. Although she answered Masaki's question by saying she had no business, there still seemed to be something she wanted to talk about. They are on the path where students go in and out of the faculty building. This was hardly the place for a private conversation.

  "…Let's go somewhere else."

  After saying that, Masaki took Kirie outside the campus.

  Masaki took Kirie to a coffee shop about a five-minute walk away from the university. It was Fumiya's favorite place to take Tatsuya for a cup of tea, but Masaki knowing about this coffee shop had nothing to do with Fumiya.

  "You can pick whatever you want."

  This is the first thing that Masaki said to Kirie after they sat down opposite each other.

  125

  "…Thank you for always doing this for me."

  Since Masaki always treats her like such, Kirie didn't hesitate and thanked him for it and ordered an iced royal milk tea from the table top panel. Masaki went for a cappuccino despite it being summer.

  A few moments later, the choice between table service and self-service was presented.

  Kirie opted for the self-service and said, "I'll go and get it" standing up from her chair.

  Kirie returned with the ordered drinks on a tray.

  Masaki took the cappuccino from the tray and set it down on the table in front of him.

  Once she sat back down, Kirie first put a coaster down and then the glass of iced tea on top of it.

  "Kirie. You have something you want to tell me, don’t you?"

  "It's not really something like that…"

  She hesitated for a while, but when she was silently pressured by Masaki, she confessed, "I would like to ask you something."

  "You can ask me anything."

  Masaki stood proudly and regally. Much like saying, "I have nothing to feel guilty about."

  However, at the same time, there was too much of this prideful air.

  "…Masaki-san, you avoided me earlier, didn't you."

  "…What are you talking about?"

  "You saw me and made a U-turn, didn't you?"

  "…That wasn't me avoiding you. I just saw you enjoying yourself with your friends, so I decided to refrain."

  Kirie stared squarely at Masaki. It wasn't an accusatory look, nor was there a shred of intimidation, but it still made him feel like he was in the wrong"

  "Is it because you find me unpleasant?"

  "No, of course not!"

  Masaki exclaimed.

  126

  Kirie froze still with eyes wide. She didn’t look frightened.

  Masaki, on the other hand, was even more shocked than Kirie, and it showed. He didn't appear to have consciously raised his voice. His expression reflected his disbelief at his own overreaction.

  "…My bad. I didn't mean to shout or anything."

  Masaki bowed his head and apologized to Kirie.

  "No, it's fine, I'm just surprised because it happened so suddenly. It wasn't really that loud."

  Kirie's words were meant to comfort him and there wasn’t any falsehood in them.

  Masaki's voice was not loud enough to arouse the attention of the other guests.

  "That's a relief."

  "Relief?"

  Now reassured by Kirie's words, Masaki asked back quizzically.

  "Yes. To know that you didn't think of me as being a nuisance."

  "……"

  "I'm relieved to know that Masaki-san doesn't dislike me."

  Masaki broke eye contact with Kirie.

  This gesture of his gave a slightly different impression than pure embarrassment.

  There were hints of guilt here and there in his expression.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Masaki and Miyuki share the same first period lecture on Saturday’s. It is a time which he looks forward to.

  He diligently attends every lecture unless there is work related to his family, but for times like this there is a different path he takes to class than usual. He arrived at the classroom much earlier than he does for his other lectures. And then he sat down in a place where he has a clear view of the usual place where Miyuki sits.

  127

  University classrooms are different from those of the last century in that each desk and chair is independent of the other. Students take their lessons through a terminal integrated into each desk. However, in the case of the Magic University, there are not many recorded lectures. There are countless courses where the lessons can be accessed later as archived lectures, but the lectures themselves are not a processed video itself, but are real-time recordings of the lecturer. Many of the lecturers even stand on the podium.

  This is due to the policy of not neglecting question and answering discussion sessions, even in large lectures. There are no partitions blocking the view between desks.

  For Masaki, this classroom is the best place to enjoy a complete and unobstructed view of Miyuki without any interruptions of barriers or neighboring seats. And, since this is a university classroom, there are no fixed seats. So, occasionally, he can do something like this.

  "Good morning, Shiba-san. Do you mind if I sit here?"