Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 10 - Visitor Chapter (II)

  Chapter 8

  The sun rose after the night of the frenzied maelstrom of high energy psions and diamond meteor blows.

  Even though it was Sunday, Tatsuya still came to school. To his side, Miyuki flanked him as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

  Regardless of whether in the past or the present, the fact that school was open on Sundays remained unchanged. School was still accessible on Sundays primarily for students participating in club activities, but also for students who had received permission to use the library, labs, or even the practical skills facilities.

  That being said, their target was not the club rooms, gymnasium, library, or lab.

  Tatsuya and Miyuki’s target destination was the Student Council Office.

  "Looks like no one’s here yet."

  As Miyuki said, there was no one in the Student Council Room. Hearing his sister’s murmurs, Tatsuya chuckled quietly for some strange reason.

  "Only in stories does the mediator take the stage last. Reality isn’t like that."

  The retort that sprouted from Tatsuya’s mocking tone was certainly third rate. Miyuki’s smiling assent "You must be right" was simply to humor him out of politeness.

  Still…… Tatsuya himself was aware of the absurdity of his joke. The reason for his laughter was because he was usually the one being summoned, whereas today he was the one who sent the summons. This little detail was the only oddity, so it didn’t matter if he was citing the plot of a novel.

  On the other hand, he didn’t have a whole lot to prepare despite his invitations. Then again, it wasn’t like he had to wait too long.

  "Good morning, Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki."

  One of the people they were waiting for showed up right on time.

  "Ara, Erika. You came with Yoshida-kun?"

  "It's just a coincidence! ……Is it just me, or do I sense a little bit of malice here?"

  "It’s just you."

  On the other side from where the female students were having their heart-to-heart(?) conversation,

  "Were you waiting for a long time?"

  "Hardly, we just arrived. My apologies for calling you guys out here on a Sunday."

  The guys were engaged in the customary small talk.

  "For some reason, I get the feeling that Miki and I are treated differently…… Ah, whatever. So what’s up with today? It’s a rare sight for Tatsuya to summon us on a day off."

  It was indeed a rarity. It was hardly atypical for high school students to act their age and go on an outing during their days off, but under those conditions, Tatsuya was usually the one being invited.

  Speaking of oddities, Erika’s eyes were drifting all over the place from the get go, probably because she found the numerous data gathering devices on the walls of the Student Council Office to be rather jarring. Seeing her like this, Tatsuya recalled that this may be the first time she ever came into this room.

  "Let’s wait a little while longer. We can start after everyone has arrived."

  "Who else is coming?"

  "Ah, we’re almost all here."

  In response to Mikihiko’s query, Tatsuya replied in the affirmative. As if on cue to Tatsuya’s words, someone knocked on the door from the outside. Within the student body, she was probably the one who was most familiar with this room, to the point that she was almost the mistress of the Student Council Office, so no one would find it amiss if she entered without knocking. Even so, she turned out to be a surprisingly(?) well-mannered individual. Someone might question her "common sense" in knocking rather than using the intercom, but Tatsuya also opened the door personally rather than using the remote, so they were both in the same boat.

  "I apologize for calling you out here on such short notice."

  Just as Mikihiko was about to voice aloud his question of "why are you greeting them personally", his question was immediately dispelled upon the door swinging open. That was because Mayumi and Katsuto appeared in the doorway.

  "Yoshida-kun and Chiba-kun? Were the two of you called here by Shiba-kun as well?"

  In place of Mayumi, who stood frozen in shock and not inconsiderable wavering, Katsuto presented a simple question.

  "Ah, yes."

  In place of Erika, who was suddenly at a loss for words, Mikihiko was the one who gave a concise answer.

  "Then, let’s begin."

  Tatsuya reinforced his words and urged everyone to their seats.

  "Can you start with an explanation first? Why did you call Saegusa-senpai and us here at the same time?"

  "I concur. I would also like to hear your reasoning first."

  Interpersonal feelings had a karma-like quality. Good intentions, malice, and enmity were all replied back in kind. Calculating the proper category and preparing the appropriate response would be the adult approach, but being unable to discern the other side’s intentions made this rather difficult to prepare for.

  Mayumi’s attitude was an exemplary model of an emotional reflex. Personally, she bore no displeasure towards Erika, though to be precise, she didn’t really bother herself with Erika’s actions. That being said, she already responded to the blatant enmity that Erika was flaunting. Seeing her like this, Tatsuya couldn’t help but mentally add, "You’re two years older than her, can you please adopt a more logical stance?"

  "In regards to the vampire we have been hunting, I have one detail I need to report to everyone present."

  However, Tatsuya didn’t really care if they were set on opposing one another. He didn’t attempt any meaningless arbitration and quickly dived into his conversation.

  "Then let’s hear it."

  First one to react was Katsuto. Rather, it would be more appropriate to say that no one save Katsuto had a reaction.

  "Last night, I interjected a synthetic molecular transmitter that sends out a set electronic signal every three hours into the vampire’s body."

  The transmitter was placed inside the tranquilizer pellet as a fallback plan in case the tranquilizer failed to take effect. However, the actual situation had far exceeded initial estimates, forcing him to rely on this insurance policy. That being said, just Tatsuya alone would be hard pressed to maximize the utility of this insurance.

  "At most, the transmitter will last three days. While the signal strength is very weak, we should be able to capture the signal if we utilize the antennae placed on the street cameras that are used to detect illegal electronic signals."

  This time, everyone had a reaction. Actually, it was more like there was no way they could sit still.

  "Just a minute, Tatsuya-kun. Last night? Where?"

  Mayumi’s eyes bulged outwards.

  "How did you find it?"

  Unlike her usual frustrated tone, Erika’s question was more of a reprimand.

  "You say synthetic molecular transmitter, just where did you get your hands on something like that……"

  Mikihiko murmured in a daze as everyone brought their own questions to bear on Tatsuya.

  While Tatsuya personally believed that these were all legitimate questions worthy of asking, he wasn’t ready to divulge the entire process and background. In order to do so, he would not be able to avoid touching the tip of the iceberg for the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion’s equipment as well as Lina’s secret identity.

  "This is the signal frequency."

  As he said this, Tatsuya placed a card in front of each of the four.

  "Senpais’ group and Erika’s group should all be able to access the observation antennae, correct?"

  "……So we’re to find its location, right?"

  Tatsuya wordl
essly nodded at Mayumi’s question.

  "……Why are you giving this to us?"

  Tatsuya wasn’t dull enough to miss that the "us" Erika spoke of referred to the team formed by the Saegusa and Juumonji Families as well as the group formed by the Chiba Family. Even so, he had no intention of pointing out the obvious. Still, it was Tatsuya’s goal to pass along the data he had collected so far to the four in front of him, so he continued his explanation in spite of Erika’s query.

  "In regards to the identity of the vampires we are hunting, they appear to be Magicians who deserted from the USNA Army."

  The four of them betrayed looks of "how can this be" as well as "that makes sense".

  The unknown force that was hampering their investigation. That sort of atypical individual and organizational strength told Mayumi and Erika that this was no ordinary criminal organization. It would make a whole lot of sense if the vampire’s real identity was that of Magicians who deserted from the USNA military.

  "In addition, there’s more than one of them. There are at least two deserters and maybe as many as ten or more."

  "Ten people deserted from Stars?"

  "No, Erika. They may still belong to the USNA Army even if they are not affiliated with Stars."

  "Eh, is that true?"

  "Saegusa…… Stars is a unit comprised of only the Magicians with the highest combat rating in the entire USNA Army. That implies that there are also Magicians in the USNA Army that do not belong to Stars."

  Tatsuya corrected Erika’s misinterpretation while Katsuto did the same for Mayumi. The two beautiful women were surprisingly birds of a feather(?), but would definitely throw a tantrum if this was said aloud. Tatsuya concluded that he should keep this to himself.

  "—Even if they are not members of Stars, they are still trained opponents augmented by the vampire’s powers. They will not be easy opponents."

  "That’s right. Even excluding the creature’s power, they are not opponents we can take lightly."

  Katsuto said heavily.

  "However, even if they are not Magicians from Stars, this does not change the fact that they are from the USNA Army…… I thought that any country with Magicians attached to the military would keep them on a short leash, or does the USNA Army have more relaxed discipline?"

  Mikihiko’s comment was slightly off topic from the discussion at hand. Nevertheless, Tatsuya probably also had a few words on this point. He was not "agreeing" with the topic, but actively answering this question.

  "No, maybe you’ve got it backwards."

  "Backwards?"

  "The Parasite’s influence is greater than even the military’s control. Isn’t it more like the Parasite has completely altered a human being? If that metamorphosis exceeds flesh and bone and encroaches on the mental level, then it would hardly be surprising if there’s a change in values after infestation."

  "That’s…… true. Then, why did the Parasite flee?"

  "Probably because it felt that there was no further reason to remain or that its goals could not be fulfilled within the military. We have no way of knowing until we capture the Parasite and interrogate it."

  "Goal, eh…… Beyond just parasites, the goal of most creatures would be to satisfy their hunger or bolster their numbers, but there’s no point in dwelling on that now. Anything we come up with would only be pure conjecture. Compared to that, if it’s not because of their relaxed discipline, then the situation is far graver."

  "Indeed. In other words, how can they expect to instill discipline in the military if there are deserters?"

  "……In the end, what are we going to do?"

  Just as Tatsuya and Mikihiko were getting embroiled in their conversation, Erika sulkily interposed. Once they looked around, they found Mayumi also wearing a fed up expression.

  "I never planned on saying that."

  Tatsuya failed to betray any sign of awkwardness at being accused of going off tangent, nor did he cough to break the ice. He immediately used a perfectly natural tone to make his announcement.

  At this response, Erika wasn’t the only one who wore an "Eh?" expression.

  "At any rate, I don’t plan on turning a blind eye at my friend’s suffering, but at the same time, I don’t intend to personally avenge him either. If Public Safety and the police force can handle this then there’s nothing else I need to do, nor would I have any complaints as to any punishment on behalf of the Clan Meeting. Of course, I have no problems either if the Chiba Family decides to solo this endeavor."

  Already on his feet, Tatsuya dropped this as he left the table.

  Seizing the initiative before Mayumi could say anything, Katsuto said a few congratulatory words to Tatsuya.

  "It’s not easy for everyone to gather together. Let’s talk a little more before taking our leave."

  "Is that so? Then, could I trouble you to lock the doors and windows?"

  "Leave that to me."

  Tatsuya bowed to Katsuto and gave a meaningful glance at Miyuki before leaving.

  As for Mikihiko’s desperate plea for help communicated through his eyes, Tatsuya chalked that up to a misinterpretation and ignored it.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Meanwhile, at the same time as Tatsuya left the campus.

  "Lina, it’s about time you got out of bed!"

  Chastised by her roommate, Lina finally crawled out of bed.

  Ten minutes ago, she had reluctantly got out of bed after her roommate ruthlessly confiscated her blanket. Now, Lina was sitting before the table still clad in her pajamas.

  "Seriously…… Even for a Sunday, you’re taking it too easy."

  Utterly befuddled, Silvia set a mug of warm milk laced with honey in front of Lina. Lina slowly used her powerless hand to move that cup to her mouth. Letting out a breath after looking at the honey milk, Lina was finally awake.

  "Thanks for the food…… Silvie, did we get anything from HQ?"

  Her tone had completely transformed to that of the Stars High Commander. –Except her light sleepwear and haphazard hair belied any sort of authority on her part. Still, even her lazy appearance could not detract from her beauty, such was the absolute authority of "true beauty". Silvia could only chuckle wryly, finally choosing to bite her tongue because she too acknowledged "that’s just how it is".

  "Currently, we have received no new information. However, I don’t believe that we’re going to get off without a reprimand……"

  "You think so too, Silvie……"

  Hearing Silvia’s answer, Lina gloomily lowered her head and covered it with both hands. When matched with her age, that posture of hers simply screamed unreliable. Even knowing that this would rub salt into the wound, Silvia couldn’t help but strike up a conversation.

  "Lina, exactly what happened last night? Even if they were Satellite class, there are still members with Stars designation, but four of them were neutralized in one instance…… Among them, two sustained internal lacerations, concussions, and bone fractures. They have all been injured to the point that returning to active duty on this mission seems impossible."

  "Wah……"

  "On top of that, we lost communication with you for over three hours, practically full blown MIA……"

  "Wah……"

  Silvia probably didn’t intend to do this, but the contents of her interrogation were pressing Lina for her behavior.

  "Don’t tell me…… You lost?"

  That was the finishing blow. Lina, who was just covering her head with both hands and making small noises, suddenly keeled over on the table. This situation completely flabbergasted Silvia, who had inadvertently landed a critical hit.

  "I can’t go on. I don’t have the confidence to continue the mission. I will return the title Sirius."

  "Huh, ah, Lina…… High Commander!?"

  Before the teary-eyed and thoroughly depressed Lina, even Silvia was starting to panic.

  "N-Nothing of the sort. High Commander, you have always carried out the duties of Sirius with distin
ction."

  Silvia had intended to just ask Lina a routine series of questions and only just realized that she had pushed Lina into a depressive cycle. Frantically, she tried to console Lina.

  "The High Commander couldn't lose to a high school student, right?"

  Currently, Silvia really wanted to sigh aloud. It appeared that Lina was completely immersed in a black morass of negativity. Despite the words "losing to a high school student", under normal circumstances, Lina was still of the age that she should be attending high school herself. Setting that aside, her current tear stricken appearance was perfectly befitting of a young girl her age that could be seen anywhere, Silvia thought with a particular sort of understanding.

  "Well, that’s right, you were just unlucky this time."

  Even so, there was no way Lina could continue her task if this situation continued. "Sirius" was the mightiest fighting force in their arsenal. In an effort to get her to rally, Silvia kept trying to console Lina.

  "Of the Shiba siblings you spoke of last time, which one defeated the High Commander?"

  "……Both. Just as I caught Tatsuya, Miyuki interfered."

  "Oh! As expected, those two aren’t normal high school students."

  "...There’s no way in hell that those two are 'normal high school students'!"

  "When faced with atypical Magicians, it is true that would be too heavy of a burden for Satellite Classes."

  Silvia swapped "high school students" for "abnormal high school students" and substituted "abnormal high school students" with "atypical Magicians" in an effort to remove the catalyst for Lina’s shock and boost her recovery.

  "It wasn’t just the two of them!"

  Suddenly, Lina raised her head in a vibrant manner. It appeared that Silvia’s plan of action yielded some unexpected results.

  "Besides Tatsuya and Miyuki, three ninjas also came out of nowhere!"

  "Ninjas……?"

  Silvia was aware that ninjas – or "Ninjutsu Practitioners", were another term for a type of Ancient Magic user. The source of her (mental) shock was not because she viewed the word "ninja" as a suspicious fabrication, but more because of Lina’s sudden fervor.

  "While I know that Tatsuya has connection with ninjas, but I never thought that such skilled ninjas would intervene at that time!"