From what she heard, ever since the Parasite Insurrection Incident, which resulted in her fleeing the country, numerous positions have been left vacant within Stars. That's probably one of the reasons behind Mirfak's promotion.

  In a way, Mirfak's promotion could be attributed to "Lina's assistance."

  38

  "I didn't do anything."

  Aware that her escape from America had created many problems for him, Lina responded sincerely.

  "Anyway, do you have a flight leaving for Vancouver at this hour?"

  Then, despite the fact that she brought it up herself, she quickly changed the subject.

  They were now leaving the Air Force Base for the nearest airport, Spokane International Airport.

  It was past 8:00 P.M. Even though Spokane is only about 5 km's away from point to point, in order to catch any flights scheduled for a 9 P.M. takeoff, she would need to leave now when taking into consideration the time it would take to check-in.

  Despite the fact that international airports are open 24 hours a day, it's a wonder if there are any passenger airliners leaving at this hour. The distance between Spokane and Vancouver is less than 500 kilometers. Since it was a short-distance domestic flight, and not an international flight, Lina worried about whether there would be any departures scheduled at this hour.

  "Don't worry. You have enough time to catch the last flight. Delayed departures happen all the time."

  "…You're not telling me that Stars purposely delayed a flight, right?"

  Lina eyed him with incredulity, to which Mirfak simply laughed.

  Lina let out a sigh of dismay.

  At the exit gate of Vancouver International Airport, Lina saw a female officer who looked to be around the same age as her waiting for them.

  "This is Second Lieutenant Sophia Spica, ma'am."

  Mirfak introduced her as she saluted.

  "So she's Zoe's successor…"

  Magician officers assigned as star-class members of Stars are issued the name of a star as a codename, which is to be used in lieu of their last name until they leave Stars.

  At the time of Lina's escape to Japan, "Spica" was a fellow female officer named Zoe.

  First Lieutenant Zoe Spica was one of those parasitized during the insurrection, and met her end at the Pearl and Hermes Base, where she attempted to attack Minoru, only to 39

  get incinerated to death in retaliation. Lina doesn't know all the details of how it happened. What had been told is that Zoe Spica had been destroyed in the summer of 2097 once she had returned back home after the insurrection had ended.

  "She was just appointed this spring, but I assure you that she is competent. She will be acting as your main support during your time in Vancouver, Head-Captain, or rather, Lina."

  "It'll be an honor to work with you, Lieutenant Colonel. Please feel free to call me Sophia."

  Sophia referred to Lina as "Lieutenant Colonel." It's a reminder that Lina was unilaterally granted the rank of lieutenant colonel by the USNA federal military General Staff Headquarters, who vehemently claim that Lina's discharge from service is only superficial for all intents and purposes.

  Although Lina is now "Toudou Rina," a naturalized Japanese citizen in name and status, the USNA federal military still records her as "Lieutenant Colonel Angelina Kudou Shields."

  "It'll be nice to work with you too, Sophia. Please call me Lina, and I'd prefer it if you were informal with me."

  Lina responded, attempting to imply "I'm actually discharged from the military, so you don't have to treat me like I'm a soldier." Incidentally, this time she will be using the alias "Lina Brooks," provided to her by the USNA Federal Military. So calling her "Lina" is still valid and reasonable.

  "Got it, Lina it is. Please call me Fifi then."

  Maybe it's thanks to the flexibility of her young nature. Sophia adapted her attitude to match Lina's wishes.

  Lina changed from her military uniform into plain clothes at a hotel adjacent to the airport. Sophia did the same.

  Mirfak will be using this room, and Lina will move to another hotel.

  After a brief farewell to Mirfak in the room, Lina left in a self-propelled car with Sophia at the wheel to the hotel where they will be lodging at. It is the same hotel where Mayumi's group is staying.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  40

  On their second day in the USNA, Mayumi and Mari decided to take a tour of the city of Vancouver.

  Lena's request for time to consult with those at FEHR internally left them with a whole free day, so they decided to walk around the city to help get rid of their jet lag at the same time.

  "Tookami-san, we'll be counting on you today."

  Mayumi said with a bright smile, and Ryousuke covered up his desire to sigh with a forced smile.

  Having lived in this city for four years, Ryousuke had been elected as their tour guide.

  "Well, do you have anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

  "I'm not sure, so I'll leave it up to you."

  With the burden of choice pushed upon him, Ryousuke thought, "Well, I guess I'll just stick to whatever seems appropriate."

  Ryousuke took Mayumi and Mari downtown. Because it would be too bothersome to think too much about it, he simply took them to the nearest place that came to mind, but they both seemed to be enjoying themselves.

  As a result of the time difference, when they left the hotel it was already lunch time.

  Because it was Sunday, the streets were quite crowded with tourists as well as the locals.

  "Mayumi, how about we take a break?"

  They had an already late breakfast before leaving the hotel, so one could imagine that they shouldn't be hungry yet, however, Mari nonetheless suggested such a thing.

  "Mari, you're already hungry?"

  It was a perfectly genuine question, there wasn't any implicit teasing in what Mayumi said.

  "No, not hungry."

  "Then why…?"

  "Let's go there."

  Mari didn't answer Mayumi's question and decided on a location without asking her opinion.

  41

  She was pointing to an upstairs café with large windows facing the street.

  While Mayumi, Mari, and Ryousuke were casually wandering around downtown, Lina, who had disguised herself into an inconspicuous appearance, was following them along with Sophia Spica.

  An hour had passed since they started tailing them. She was finally starting to get used to it, but the amazement still lingered in Sophia's mind. An unremarkable appearance: ordinary chestnut hair, brown eyes, and a face that was well put together yet not outstandingly so. It probably leaves less of an impression than if she were oddly bad looking. That's how Lina looks now. Although her physique has not changed, she hardly looks like the same person.

  (So this is Sirius's special magic "Parade"…) Sophia joined "Starlight," the Stars training institution, after graduating from Middle School, having been recognized for her magical qualities since the time when she took her first aptitude test in elementary school. For this reason, she has never served in the military intelligence department or any other intelligence agency outside of the military.

  She was, however, heavily trained in the field of intelligence due to the nature of her abilities. This education included information only available to organizations affiliated with Stars, including knowledge of magics that could be useful for covert operations.

  It was on this basis that Sophia knew of Lina's "Parade." But seeing Lina become a completely different person in front of her eyes, even with her prior knowledge of it, she could not help but to have only amazement as a reaction. Simply put, "seeing something is a lot different than hearing about it."

  There are other types of Illusion Magic that can temporarily disguise a person's appearance. However, there aren't any that can be maintained for such a long period of time. And the fact that there is absolutely no discrepancy with the virtual image during movement is also out of the ordinary. No matter how you look at it, it seems to be a real image.

  "Fifi, did you notice?"

  "You mean the three people on our tail?"

  Understandably, she was still feeling amazed at what she'd seen, even so, this didn't dull her senses, which have been sharpened through rigorous training.

  "Good. I guess I didn't count them wrong."

  42

  The group of suspicious people they are referring to have been following Mayumi's group for a while now.

  There is nothing strange about the appearances of the "suspicious people." They look just like ordinary citizens. However, they have unmistakably been tracking Mayumi's group with their eyes. That's the definition of a suspicious person.

  "Seems like they're not following them like us, but relaying surveillance. They must have formed teams of three, and they're taking it in turns to be ahead of them."

  As per Lina's request, Sophia talked to her as she would with a friend. They are about the same age, Sophia being only one year older than her. That may be why they don't seem to have any resistance to each other, even though they have just met.

  "They're following them and anticipating their position? That's quite sophisticated."

  "It's not that hard if you have enough budget and people. All they have to do is coordinate with each other via radio."

  —Though their choice of topics is hardly what you'd expect from chit chat between friends at their age.

  "Though it would be a lot easier by using the HAPS cameras."

  HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station), also known as "high-altitude platform s," these high-altitude relay stations are unmanned airships or unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with communications equipment. Equipped with high-definition cameras, HAPS are of high military importance, and are therefore forbidden, both in Japan and America, to be owned by civilians, and are operated by the military and other state agencies.

  "You think those guys are the authorities?"

  "You think so too, Lina?"

  Sophia gave her affirmation by returning Lina's question with another.

  "They wouldn't be with the federal military, would they?"

  Lina followed suit.

  "I haven't heard of any of the intelligence agencies working on this. The feeling I'm getting makes me think that it's the FBI."

  "How can you tell that?"

  Lina asked, eyes wide.

  43

  "Well, sort of."

  There was no nuance of pride in Sophia's tone, but the same can't be said wholly for her facial expression. Perhaps it is just her youth.

  "That's great. But why would the FBI be following Mayumi and the others?"

  "I don't know either. They are not suspects or witnesses of any kind."

  Even when taking into consideration who they are, they have no idea what it is that they are up to.

  That was what Sophia honestly admitted.

  "But it doesn't seem like they have peaceful intentions…"

  As she muttered this, Lina thought, "Tatsuya's worry may have been spot on."

  It's necessary to deal with any interference by any powers within the USNA that may threaten Mayumi's trip to the United States on behalf of the Magian Society and FEHR's partnership. And it was for that reason that Tatsuya sent Lina to the USNA.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  "…That's what happened, but could you find out why the FBI is showing its face here?"

  That evening, Lina was in her hotel room talking into a Stars wireless phone that Sophia had brought with her. This device has a built-in system that encrypts and decrypts voice in real time in the process of the call, converting the encrypted voice into non-audible high-frequency sound waves and transmitting them simultaneously with a mundane conversation speech generated via AI. In this way, this system can ensure secrecy even over ordinary mobile lines.

  [I understand. I'll look into it.]

  The person on the other end of the call is the current Commander-in-Chief of Stars, Benjamin Canopus. Along with the responsibilities that Lina held in her capacity as Head-Captain, he now holds the authority of Base Commander, Supreme Commander of Stardust, and Administrative Director of Starlight. Essentially, all command authority related to Stars was consolidated into the position of Commander-in-Chief of Stars.

  [But I believe it's likely to be tied to the presidential election this fall.]

  After accepting Lina's request, he followed up with his own conjecture.

  "…How does that relate to what is going on?"

  44

  Lina's doubts are understandable. Anyone would be doubtful if the conversation were to all of a sudden include the presidential election.

  [It's expected that the presidential election this fall will be a race between Secretary of Defense Spencer and Senator Rivera.]

  "I guess it was expected that Secretary Spencer would run for sure. I'd like to see him elected, if possible."

  Spencer has ties to Tatsuya via his secretary, Jeffrey James (a.k.a. JJ). And it is a friendly one at that. It would be a stretch to expect any favors from Spencer if he were elected President, but at the very least the risk of hostile maneuvering would be reduced.

  [That's what the federal military would really like to see as well.]

  It's not a matter limited to the USNA, but the military has an obligation to remain neutral with respect to elections. As in any democratic nation, this is not mere idealism, but an earnest guiding principle that has direct bearing if not followed which can lead to a political crisis. Therefore, a military in its right mind should not meddle publicly in elections.

  However, apart from the guiding principles, as a national organization, it has a vested interest in the policies of the nation. It is only natural for an organization, as well as for human nature, to be tempted to support candidates from whom they can expect benefits. Between Secretary Spencer and Senator Rivera, Spencer is clearly more preferable to those in the military.

  [That aside, it's a running rumor that Senator Rivera has a lot of influence in the FBI.]

  "A politician having influence in the FBI? Is that even allowed?"

  One of the duties of the Federal Bureau of Investigation7 is to investigate corruption among politicians. Due to its nature, it ought to pose a much greater problem to be subject to the influence of a particular politician than any other intelligence agency.

  [Nothing ever seems to go according to the guiding principles.]

  Canopus's tone marked with resignation, however, reminded Lina of the circumstances that compelled her to flee the country.

  "…I guess you're right. Sorry for cutting you off. So, what do you think Senator Rivera is plotting with the FBI?"

  [It's probably not the Senator himself who's up to something, but his campaign staff.

  More specifically, let me see…]

  7 FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation

  45

  Lina waited silently while Canopus was in mid-thought on the other end of the phone call.

  [I can think of two possibilities. One would be to try to accuse Miss Saegusa under false charges. Considering the FBI's operational jurisdiction, it should be difficult for them to forcibly arrest her for a misdemeanor.]

  The FBI's caseload remained unchanged throughout this century: widespread crimes that intersect across states, heinous crimes such as kidnapping and robbery, cases involving terrorism, espionage, and other security matters that concern the public safety, as well as crimes committed by politicians.

  Misdemeanors, as Canopus was putting it, are under the jurisdiction of the local police department. Lina chimed in with an agreement to his point, "Yeah, that's right."

  [The other would be to take Miss Saegusa captive and use her as leverage in a deal with Mr. Shiba.]

  "Taking her captive!? Do you think they would try to kidnap someone? The FBI!?"

  [The FBI is an expert in dealing with kidnapping investigations. Turn that around and you won't find anyone better versed in the ins and outs of kidnapping than them.]

  "…And what would be the benefit of doing that?"

  Lina knew from her experience with Stars that not all government organizations are necessarily law-abiding. But she felt that an attempted kidnapping by a security organization that is supposed to apprehend kidnappers is just plain stupid.

  Military and intelligence agencies go outside the law because they have objectives and interests that they cannot fulfill within the normal — or peacetime, if you will — scope of the law. The FBI on the other hand — what could be the advantages gained by the electoral staff by instigating them to kidnap Mayumi?

  [It's not known to the general electorate, but the ties to Mr. Shiba are seen in political circles as a major weapon in Secretary Spencer's arsenal.]

  "Don't they understand that Tatsuya has no intention of interfering with politics in the States?"

  Lina said "don't" instead of "I don't think." Although unaware of it, she took pride in the fact that she understands Tatsuya to that extent.

  [There are simply too many politicians who see Mr. Shiba as a threat. I don't like the analogy, but it's like having ties to a dictator who owns weapons of mass destruction.

  46

  "So… they're here to try to wrangle concessions from Tatsuya, and not to sabotage the Society's partnership with FEHR itself? Are they trying to take out of play one of the Secretary of Defense's powerful cards by jeopardizing his relations with Tatsuya, is that what you mean?"

  [I wouldn't say much of an attempt to take out of play, but rather to eliminate it altogether.]

  When Tatsuya sent Mayumi, he was not counting on Spencer's support from the start.

  The fact that he sent her as well is enough proof of that, as Lina is aware.

  So even if something happens to Mayumi, Tatsuya's stance on Spencer will probably not change. In Lina's opinion, what Rivera's campaign staff is trying to do is completely out of line and a waste of time and effort.

  "What a pain."

  Irritation welled up inside Lina. She was becoming angry because even if what Rivera's campaign staff is plotting happens to be pointless, she still has no choice but to thwart it.

  Putting a stop to a meaningless conspiracy. Could there be a more pointless and superfluous job than this?