With that being said, he was preparing to headout for dinner after settling on a cheap restaurant that doesn't aim at tourists. It was at that moment that his phone rang with an incoming call.

  American hotels have a built-in device that allows you to connect your cell phone to the in-room terminal and use it like a landline phone. The service allows video calls to be made without the need to change the phone number, while eliminating the need for the hotel as an intermediary. Since the service relies on the data of the mobile terminal, the name of the caller registered on the terminal is also displayed on the incoming call screen.

  The caller is registered as "Milady."

  Ryousuke jumped at the opportunity and pressed the accept button.

  The person who appeared on display was unmistakably Lena.

  "I'm here, do you need me for something!?"

  Ryousuke opened the call with a tense tone.

  [Good evening, Ryousuke. Were you heading out somewhere?]

  Lena was completely unfazed by Ryousuke's gusto. For her, it was not just with Ryousuke, this kind of behavior is a regular occurrence with those she talks to.

  "I was just thinking of eating out for dinner. I'm not busy in any way."

  Ryousuke was essentially saying, "You can ask me anything."

  [I'm glad then. May I ask you for a small, no, a big favor…?]

  "I'll accept it! Anything you want!"

  Lena's words were filled with hesitation and remorse, to which Ryousuke responded with his vigorous acceptance.

  —Without even asking what it was about.

  [Okay… could you please come to the south terminal of the airport? We can discuss the details there.]

  Lena hesitantly continued. Her feelings of guilt were temporarily replaced with surprise due to Ryousuke's attitude.

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  "I'll be right there."

  As if it were a matter of course, Ryousuke agreed without a second thought.

  True to his word, Ryousuke showed up at the south terminal of the Vancouver International Airport in the fastest possible time. This terminal is dedicated to the arrival and departure of non-scheduled flights by corporate or privately owned planes.

  This is where Lena had been waiting. Beside her is Charlotte. And beside Charlotte is a middle-aged man whom Ryousuke is unfamiliar with.

  "…Louis did what!?"

  After hearing about the situation from Lena and Charlotte, Ryousuke's eyes widened and his voice nearly cracked.

  Within FEHR, Louis is someone with whom Ryousuke has a close bond. Being both martial artists, and having both special magics of their own, they found a kindred spirit in the other.

  "Yes. Ryousuke, I am terribly sorry to be forcing such a dangerous task upon you…"

  "Please, there is no need to worry. Louis is my friend too. Milady, I have already told you before. I am happy to accept any task that Milady asks of me to do."

  "—Thank you very much. But, Ryousuke, be careful. Please don't forget to take care of yourself and not do anything dangerous."

  "I'm fully aware. I'd never do anything to worry Milady."

  Ryousuke resolutely made a promise, or rather a pledge.

  There must have been no need for further reassurance. After nodding toward Ryousuke, Lena communicated with Charlotte by an exchange of glances.

  "Mr. Tookami. He will take you to Mt. Shasta aboard a light aircraft."

  Following Charlotte's lead, the pilot beside her introduced himself. Ryousuke responded with an introduction of his own, and they shook hands.

  "Over there, I arranged a car with someone to drive you from the nearest town. Mind you however, that the driver is not a FEHR member, so expect only minimal support."

  "Understood."

  "Before that, I want you to have this."

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  With that, Charlotte handed him a device big enough to be held in one's hand.

  "Is this…?"

  Ryousuke said this while staring down at the device on his palm. It is a rather basic device with two buttons, one large and one small, along with a mini indicator.

  "It's a flight device."

  At Charlotte's answer, Ryousuke muttered, "This is…"

  "It's easy to use. To activate it, you just have to press the large button while pouring in Psions. To stop, press the small button. Until you press the small button, the device will continue to run."

  "Can't I just jump off with it?"

  "No. This is just for emergency use in the unlikely event that there is a problem with the plane."

  Ryousuke asked a simple question to which Charlotte replied in a dismayed voice.

  "Lena just told you to take care of yourself and not do anything dangerous, remember?

  Please don't even consider doing anything stupid."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Charlotte wasn't the only one to give him the hard stare, Lena gave him an anguished look, and Ryousuke hurried to straighten his posture.

  "Milady, I'm off."

  "Be careful. Take care of Louis for me."

  After being sent off by Lena, Ryousuke went with the pilot to the light aircraft on the runway.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Around that time, Louis was running recklessly through the forest in order to escape from FAIR's pursuit.

  He had already lost track of where he was.

  All that Louis could think about was getting away.

  (—Should I get rid of this?)

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  He briefly turned his attention to the white stone tablet he was holding under his left arm.

  In the end, he was unable to snatch the black stone tablet from Laura. He had succeeded in distracting Laura with his "Doppelgänger" duplicate, but the beastly man at her side sensed his approach.

  During the struggle with that man, Laura also took notice of him and took advantage to escape. The best he managed was to seize the white stone tablet from one of the other members of the group caught in the confusion of the situation.

  But it seems that it wasn't a total waste of time. Because they are still persistently chasing after him like this.

  Louis didn't think they were after him. They must want to get the white stone tablet back.

  If the white stone tablet was something they didn't mind being stolen, Laura would have given priority to getting away with the black stone tablet.

  But Laura didn't relegate Louis' pursuit to her subordinates, and took direct command of it. She is clearly obsessed not only with the black stone tablet but with the white stone tablet as well.

  (What is up with these stone tablets anyway?)

  (Could it be that they are Relics?)

  While he was thinking this, a fissure suddenly appeared in the ground before him. He stopped in his tracks, then turned his flashlight on and peeked down. It was a small cliff about two meters deep, under which was a stream.

  If he were to follow the stream, it would almost certainly lead him to the foot of the mountain, as long as he made no mistakes on the way up and down. Having lost track of his current position, Louis took the plunge and jumped off the cliff.

  Fortunately for him, he did so without injuring his legs. Glancing to his left and right, he found a cave facing the stream.

  It is barely big enough to fit a person, rather than call it a cave, it would be more apt to call it a depression in the cliffside than anything. Louis decided to briefly hide here regardless in order to regain some of his strength.

  He decided to examine the stone tablet for the time being. If it is something like a Relic, then he would get some kind of reaction if he poured Psions into it. But that would 92

  greatly increase the risk of being discovered by FAIR. So, he decided to only use non-magical means.

  First, he took pictures of the stone tablet with his terminal. He took pictures at the highest resolution he could, at all angles, making sure not to miss a single spot. Next, he used the audio recording function and lightly tapped the stone tablet here and there to record the sounds it made as it reverberated. Even if he doesn't manage to bring the stone tablet with him, the information from the data should be able to tell them a bit about it.

  There were no visible marks or anything that could be interpreted as writing, the surface was just so smooth that it was hard to believe that it had been buried underground. But just to be sure, Louis concentrated on the touch with his fingertips as he slowly stroked it.

  Then he felt it.

  There was a discrepancy. There weren't any bumps or dips. It's different from friction. In some areas his fingers easily slid in certain directions, and others not so much.

  Assuming that this was intentional, he wondered if it retained its original condition even after being exposed to sand and pebbles while it was buried. On the other hand, they could also be minor scratches caused while underground.

  (…I guess there's not much I can do here.)

  Louis concluded that it was beyond his grasp.

  He would have to bring it back and let them study it. So, he has to find a way to bring this stone tablet back.

  Having thought this, Louis exited the cave.

  His breathing and pulse were calm. The break was sufficient. Relying on the faint light from his flashlight, he made his way down the stream, walking as close to the rock face as possible so as not to be seen from above.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  By the time Louis was taking a break in the cave, Ryousuke was mid-flight aboard the light aircraft.

  It's a single-engine propeller plane. During the last century, this type of light aircraft was usually powered by a reciprocating engine, but nowadays, electric motors are the norm.

  The plane on which Ryousuke is aboard is also powered by an electric motor.

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  Two hours have passed since the plane took off. They were nearing the sky above Mt.

  Shasta.

  "Excuse me, could you please drop the altitude?"

  "…Understood."

  The pilot looked skeptical, but complied with Ryousuke's request without asking why.

  Ryousuke eyeballed the in-flight map on the plane that showed his current position in real time against the map data on his terminal that showed the estimated position of Louis based on Haruka's report.

  "I'm going to jump. Please circle the plane while maintaining your current position."

  "What? Are you serious?"

  This time, the pilot understandably asked back.

  "Don't worry. I can deal with this, I'm a magician."

  "…Understood."

  There were two reasons why the pilot relented so easily.

  First, he was somewhat accustomed to such recklessness from magicians. He is a pilot who was procured through Charlotte's contacts. In other words, he was a business collaborator of hers from her days at the FBI. He is still in touch with the FBI. He sometimes takes agents on flights, such as the ones that attacked Mayumi and company.

  Ryousuke is not the first magician whom he has met to have asked to jump out of an airplane without a parachute.

  And the second, from his experiences when helping the FBI with their secret operations, he has learned not to pry into the affairs of his "clients."

  Because if he were to, chances are that he might get involved in a dangerous situation.

  Fortunately, he has never gotten caught up in any danger himself, but he has heard plenty of rumors about "smugglers" who have ruined themselves due to needless curiosity. In particular, he is well aware of the dangers associated with magicians when they are involved.

  This is why, despite being mid-flight, he did as Ryousuke asked and opened the cabin door remotely. Of course, he did this after having sufficiently lowered the altitude of the plane while depressurizing the cabin.

  "Thank you very much. I'm sorry, but if you could, please close the door behind me."

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  Ryousuke said so and jumped out of the plane, to which the pilot simply replied, "Roger."

  95

  96

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Immediately after jumping out of the light aircraft, Ryousuke pressed the activation button on the flight device that Charlotte had given him.

  Once the Activation Sequence stored in the device had been read, he activated the flight magic with his right hand.

  This is the first time Ryousuke has used flight magic. He has never received any instruction, let alone a VR simulation. Having no idea he would be able to fly freely from the start, all he could think about was slowing the speed of his fall.

  The flight magic satisfied his intention without trouble. In mid-fall, Ryousuke was relieved to find that his impromptu attempt went so well.

  There was no rush. He believed that even if the flight magic did not work properly, that he wouldn't be hurt upon landing if he were to use "Reactive Armor."

  The altitude for the light aircraft above ground level — not the altitude above sea level —

  is around 200 meters. After taking air resistance into account, the speed upon impact with the ground would be about 200 km/h.

  "Reactive Armor" has a fully functional inertial neutralization function. Even if a self-propelled car or train traveling at 200 km/h were to collide with the caster, they would not suffer any damage. Whether it's the body being hit by a huge, massive object or the body hitting itself, the receiving impact is the same.

  As such, he was not worried about injuring himself, but he used flight magic nevertheless since it would be more pleasant for him if he could make a smooth landing.

  So, as soon as he landed, he was ready for action.

  One of the advantages of electric propeller planes is their comparatively low noise level.

  A far cry from the noise that a reciprocating motor engine makes. Because light aircraft do not fly fast enough to produce noise from the friction and turbulence themselves, the only noise that can be heard from the ground is that of the propeller cutting through the air.

  So FAIR, having scattered running around in the mountain forest, would not have noticed the light aircraft that had brought Ryousuke. And although a particularly sensitive person might have noticed the activation sign of the flight magic he used after jumping off, his descent only lasted a little more than ten seconds. It is more likely that no one had noticed.

  Even so, Ryousuke thought he should move away from this spot immediately.

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  His friend Louis Roux might be in danger right now. There was no time to waste.

  But right after thinking this, he stopped.

  (Where exactly is Louis…?)

  Alas, Ryousuke does not have the ability to instantly pinpoint a specific person in such a vast mountainous terrain.

  He realized, at this stage of the game, that he had forgotten to ask for this vital piece of information.

  (How the hell am I supposed to find Louis to help him?) Ryousuke stared — or rather, glared at his terminal with a troubled expression.

  It's clear in his head that he should use it to call Lena or Charlotte to ask them.

  But he felt embarrassed to do so. He feels like an idiot.

  (Wouldn't it just be straight-up embarrassing to say I forgot and only remembered when I got here?)

  (…Let's not call Milady.)

  Ryousuke went through his contacts on the terminal display and brought up Charlotte's.

  But before he could press the call button,

  [Ryousuke. I asked you not to do anything dangerous like that…]

  Ryousuke heard Lena's plaintive voice.

  Normally he would have welcomed this, but considering the timing he was tempted to dismiss it as a figment of his imagination.

  But Ryousuke knew that he was not imagining things.

  "—That's a misunderstanding, Milady."

  He looked up to the air and addressed it.

  There, floating above him, was Lena, her entire body glowing faintly.

  A beautiful woman made of light was floating in the darkness of the night.

  No, if one were to be honest when describing her appearance, she would be a "beautiful girl of light," but in any case, her image seemed almost divine.

  An astral body projection.

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  The Lena floating in the air is an astral projection.

  "You know my magic, right? That height was not a danger to me."

  Ryousuke said so in a boisterous tone, but he was flustered at heart.

  Despite what he said being completely true, it is nothing more than an excuse.

  He wanted to avoid making Lena angry, but he was more concerned with not making her feel sad somehow.

  Mid-air, Lena exhaled a sigh.

  Fortunately enough, there was no anger or sadness on her face.

  [You know that it is a matter of course that you could have gotten hurt in the end. Magic is not a hundred percent reliable.]

  Her words were a reproach to Ryousuke.

  What her tone conveyed, however, was a sense of resignation as she thought "It can't be helped…"

  "I understand, Milady. I'll be more careful from now on."

  [You're quite smooth-tongued, Ryousuke.]

  While that came as an exasperated assessment from Lena's lips, Ryousuke took it wholeheartedly without a care in the world.

  "More importantly, Milady. Did you appear in this form so that you could tell me where Louis is?"

  Ryousuke changed the subject.

  [Yes.]

  Lena didn't feel the need to drag on with the sermon either. She understood the priorities of the moment.

  [Louis is going down the stream up ahead. He's about a mile from here.]

  Lena extended her right arm level as she said this, pointing to a spot about 30 degrees diagonally to the right from the direction of the summit.

  A mile is not that far, even by foot in the mountains — Ryousuke thought so. He took a shot in the dark when he jumped, but fortunately he wasn't that far off.

  "Thank you very much."

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  [I can't guide you all the way, but I'll be back to tell you if he changes routes.]

  After saying this, Lena disappeared as if dissolving into the air. There are actually two types of Astral Body Projection, the first being the [Out-of-body experience], consisting of displacing one's consciousness from their physical body, and the second being the [Astral Projection], where the Psions of the projection point are interfered with to create a Psion Information Body, to which one's consciousness is then transferred, and the technique that Lena used is the latter, where "dissolving into the air" could be a literal description of what happened.