Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 10 - Visitor Chapter (II) Page 11

  (Then let’s set off tomorrow morning. Please take heed not to draw attention to yourselves.)

  (…………)

  (It’s already really late at night. Moving now would only increase the risk.)

  The thoughts that came back were three in the affirmative, two in disagreement, and another that was a death cry.

  "What’s going on!?"

  DD couldn’t help but leap to his feet and use his real voice to shout. His "voice" traveled through the link between his eyebrows so that every one of his companions could hear him.

  Yet, what came back was a stream of death cries. Almost at the same time, his companions’ links were also disappearing.

  By the time the fourth person cried out, DD felt a deep worry pervade his heart.

  He frantically searched his own chest.

  Near the heart area, a small black needle-like object was stuck. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be some sort of pin worn on the chest. The tip of the pin penetrated the clothing but drew no blood.

  Rather than considering why he had been pierced by such an object, DD reflexively tried to pull it out.

  Yet, his hand was no longer obeying his thoughts. The moment after DD consciously realized he had been pierced, his entire body was overcome with pain that broke his ability to think clearly.

  The pain pierced his heart and his physical body forever suspended that function.

  His cause of death was shock. The coroner’s report would probably read "heart attack due to irregular shock".

  Up until the end, DD was wholly unaware of the dark silhouette standing before him.

  "Two seconds…… It’s quite difficult to match Oji-sama."

  Picking up the fallen pin from the floor, Kuroba Mitsugu mocked himself with his murmurs.

  The magic Mitsugu used to bury the vampires was of his own devising. Bearing the tasteless name "Poisoned Bees" that he applied himself, it was a sensory interference spell that increased the target’s pain perception infinitely until death. In this regard, if the target was someone who had a high pain threshold and was able to employ Counter Magic before the shock led to death then the spell would unravel, and there wasn’t any effect on opponents who could cut off their pain sensors. In terms of killing power, this paled in comparison to the "Reaper’s Blade" created by his uncle, Yotsuba Genzou, the head of the Yotsuba Family two generations ago. The mutters that leaked out of his mouth showed that Mitsugu was aware of this himself.

  Still, it was premature to say that "Poisoned Bees" was magically inferior to "Reaper’s Blade". The greatest advantage to "Poisoned Bees" was its ability to finish an opponent with the tiny prick of a pin. On the other hand, "Reaper’s Blade" required personal delivery to ensure death, leaving behind wounds on a corpse and blood splatter everywhere. In comparison, "Poisoned Bees" would only leave behind a nondescript wound that would be hard to link to the cause of death. When faced with a victim of "Poisoned Bees", the initial assumption would be poison, then maybe death by suffocation, but the corpse would leave behind no evidence to support either hypothesis. For assassination purposes, "Poisoned Bees" was superb magic.

  Another asset to "Poisoned Bees" was that this magic wasn’t restricted to Mitsugu alone. Unlike most sensory interference magic, "Poisoned Bees" had an Activation Sequence that wasn’t caster specific with a well streamlined process. In short, even Magicians other than Mitsugu were capable of using this magic. Naturally, this would require a degree of acclimation, but now all of the Kuroba agents employed "Poisoned Bees" as their trump card.

  Hearing someone call out to him from behind, Mitsugu slowly turned around. His posture with one hand holding onto the formal hat on his head was obviously the byproduct of reading too many novels (in his subordinates’ opinion). Still, he seemed perfectly at ease while acting in character.

  "Execution complete."

  "Casualties?"

  "None."

  Mitsugu nodded in satisfaction at his subordinate’s words. These were opponents that had greatly troubled the USNA’s pursuit squads. He could be forgiven if he scored his subordinates a mite highly.

  "This order came from the head of house. Don’t be lax while chasing the information bodies that fled the hosts. There’s nothing we can do about it if we lose them in the end, but they still need to be hounded to the best of our ability."

  His subordinate gave off a peculiar expression after Mitsugu gave his orders. Should his naïve speech be categorized as being too lax or simply not strict enough with his subordinates? It was difficult to conciliate this image with his calm orders of mass assassinations or cold demeanor to decisively sacrifice his agents.

  Kuroba Mitsugu was a hard man to understand.

  With multiple masks in place, there was no way to catch his real side.

  For that matter, it was very much in question whether he even had a "real side".

  The longer one worked alongside him, the more this impression deepened.

  Chapter 10

  Lina had flatly dismissed any connection between the source of the leak of the micro-black hole experiment and the humanists.

  Tatsuya had also judged Lina's conjecture to be correct.

  Nonetheless, as if to mock both of them, the magician-discriminatory actions stemming from the humanists became a large wave and swept across the North American continent from the east to the west.

  That the wave would soon engulf the world was only a matter of time.

  Three months late into the actual season, 「Winter」 would soon arrive.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  It could conveniently be called diplomacy, on the same level as battleship diplomacy or 'behind closed doors' diplomacy.

  The great alliances forming the balance of power in this era created the framework for diplomacy, making conferences and ceremonies the main style of diplomacy practiced; however, that did not mean battleship diplomacy and secret 'behind closed doors' diplomacy had disappeared. Ceremonies could not be successful without secret 'behind closed doors' diplomacy to do the preliminary arrangements; those who participated in this transformed their status from the ornaments of diplomacy to the craftsmen of diplomacy, who secretly maneuvered the present world.

  In any era, in any nation.

  The seeds of conspiracy couldn't be eradicated from this world.

  Tonight is no different.

  In this nation as well.

  "…For Pete's sake, this group of fanatics is incorrigible."

  "Hahaha… It's easy to get groups like that moving, but taking the reins is difficult."

  Two middle aged men, separated by a table, were sitting across from one another wearing suits as could be expected, but the man plying the other with sake was of European descent, not Asian.

  Perhaps he had been in Japan for a long period of time, or maybe it was just a matter of taste, or maybe it was a product of his education, but he gracefully poured the transparent liquid from the bottle into a small bowl; in short, he was pouring into sake cups while obeying all the proper etiquette for sake drinking.

  "When I re-examine it, I find it truly mysterious that this high quality sake — what's it called, this sake called Seishu… despite not being distilled, has no color and is so clear."

  Flawlessly, he did not forget to interject some flattery concerning the other's country.

  "No, no, compared to wine's vivid red and floridity, it is undeniably inferior. Of course, I intended to only prepare things that satisfied your preferences."

  The one who had been complimented did not forget to show modesty.

  What these men had in common was that they would never show what they really thought.

  "That is the truth… it's so comfortable that I almost decided to get drunk, but since the fanatics I mentioned never run out of lawless things to do, I cannot afford to take it easy."

  "I cannot thank you enough for the special consideration that you have given to the safety of my compatriots during our stay in your country in this regard."r />
  There was no change in their voices. The slight smile on their faces remained the same. Nonetheless, if someone had been sharing the same space as these two, that person would have been aware of a strange atmosphere from the beginning.

  "No, no, it's a natural courtesy. Since the fanatics you mentioned cannot be reasoned with… For example, no matter how much we explain it to them, they will not listen to the fact that the blast that destroyed the Asian Alliance Armada is the product of scientifically organized magic and not the work of a demon."

  "'They won't listen to us' is not an excuse when you can't protect foreign visitors under your care from harm… you have my sympathies."

  The two men tilted their bottles toward each other and gulped from their sake cups simultaneously, as if they had planned it.

  "You might take this as mere bellyaching when you hear it, but if I could give them at least a general outline of the 'Great Bomb', then I think I could get them to settle down."

  "…You might also take this as mere bellyaching when you hear it, but the military is maintaining its grip on all information regarding the weapon used on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. No matter how confidential it is, civilian control is a basic democratic principle… why are the soldiers being so stubborn about it?"

  The instant their eyes met, sparks flew; the next instant, both their faces had vacuous eyes and smiles on them.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  "Everything is as you heard just now."

  Fujibayashi stopped the playback of the recorded conversation and lifted her head.

  "Lately, even our diplomats seem to be giving their all. As expected, they are probably able to comprehend the importance and rarity of the 'Strategic Class'."

  "What else?"

  Fujibayashi tilted her head and looked inquiringly at Tatsuya, who was hesitating to say something, in order to press him to continue.

  "…Besides, I believe it involves the honor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Three years ago, we underwent a one-sided invasion; they were slathered with the slur of 'coward' throughout Japan, despite the fact that they were working desperately to reach a non-military resolution — efforts that have been made to look foolish."

  "The Asian Alliance's actions did that…?"

  Explaining this to Fujibayashi was 'like lecturing to Buddha', but it appeared that Miyuki wasn't getting it.

  Well, even Tatsuya had enough common sense to recognize that this should be considered a normal level of comprehension.

  "Japan and USNA are allied nations, but at the same time, with regards to the North Pacific area, they are potentially rival nations. If Japan became moderately weaker, the USNA would reap benefits."

  Seeing that Miyuki had made a small nod of agreement, Tatsuya continued.

  "On the other hand, although the Asian Alliance is a large nation, it doesn't have the power to go head to head with the Japan-America alliance. Additionally, they are not in such a bad state internally that they would need to make a gamble of this level. —So then, why did the Asian Alliance recklessly invade Yokohama?"

  Tatsuya paused his explanation in order to give Miyuki time to think. He did not want his sister to become nothing more than a pretty air headed 'puppet'.

  "The Asian Alliance does not have the power to take on Japan and America at the same time… Although Japan is an ally of America, they think it would be better for them if Japan became a little weaker than it is now…"

  During her monologue, Miyuki silently made an "aha" as she grasped the concept.

  "Unbelievable… the Asian Alliance and the USNA were secretly working together?"

  Tatsuya's satisfied smile said, "Well done" and Fujibayashi, who was watching both of them, sported a wry grin.

  "Working together might be too strong a term, but I think the likelihood that there was some form of complicity going on is extremely high."

  Tatsuya turned his eyes in Fujibayashi's direction, and her wry grin disappeared with a slight nod of agreement.

  "For example, something like the USNA intentionally delaying the dispatch orders to its Pacific fleet regarding the Asian Alliance's military invasion."

  Fujibayashi's response to Tatsuya's conjecture was a positive one.

  "Perhaps the Asian Alliance's military objectives were not occupying territory and destroying government facilities; isn't it more likely that their objectives were to kidnap technical experts and plunder technology?"

  "That could be true. If you take the place and military power into consideration, then they could not have hoped to have greater results than that. Until they reached the point of mobilizing their fleet, I believe that they were prepared for tactical failure. As a result, they felt it was alright to take on a hornet's nest."

  "As they say, the bird that doesn't make noise doesn't get shot. If you scare a snake by poking a bush, then you will get hurt — naturally I mean our side."

  Tatsuya kept his poker face, but,

  "The opinion of the one who is the most involved in this matter is expected to be packed with a lot of emotion."

  Apparently Fujibayashi was not going to let him get away with it.

  "Well then… it is about time I took my leave of you. No matter how much we call it 'a pre-recruitment interview', it is unnatural for a soldier to spend so long in a civilian household on a Sunday."

  "Thank you very much for giving us your time today."

  Tatsuya got up at the same time as Fujibayashi in order to convey his gratitude to her.

  He was not trying to make a point or be modest. Although he himself was unaware of it, the thought of "Miyuki is entertaining so I should not stint on any form of courtesy" was running through Tatsuya's mind.

  As he escorted her to the door, Fujibayashi thrust her hand into her bag while saying "Oh, yes." Actually, she did not really remember just now; naturally, this was just an act.

  What she took out was a small, beautifully wrapped box.

  "Here, it's two days early but it's your courtesy chocolate[1]."

  "Courtesy, is it?"

  She had been completely honest about her lack of time.

  Calling it courtesy chocolate was enclosing it in a joke, but Tatsuya knew quite well that Fujibayashi was not the type to cut corners, so this was not a convenient mistake.

  "Are you unhappy that it's courtesy?"

  Fujibayashi laughed mischievously.

  For an instant, Miyuki's eyes were tinged with a sharp light,

  "No, stop kidding around."

  But as Tatsuya replied promptly, the light completely disappeared as if it had been an optical illusion.

  The bubbling voices of young women could be heard as they exchanged parting courtesies together on the way to the closed door, but the siblings returned to the living room with faces that said nothing had happened.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  There was a strong impression that the war which changed borders (the Third World War) had completely changed the cultural trends in this country.

  Nonetheless, the truth was that it had not produced that great a change; numerous so-called 'superficial' customs had failed to become obsolete.

  One of them, Valentine's Day, was scheduled for tomorrow. Essentially, comments like 'St. Valentine's Day' are not supposed to be so superficial; chocolate and presents are nothing but a plot by the candy companies, and the rest lacked the persuasion power necessary to kill the custom. While well aware of those things, the young engaged in their personal dance.

  Tomorrow would be Valentine's day, and its frivolous ambience would permeate the First High School campus all day long. In this matter, magicians (to be) were also normal young girls.

  "…Mitsui-san, it's alright to stop for the day, really."

  After school, in the student council room.

  For some time, the error bell had been repeatedly going off.

  Azusa was not irritated with Honoka, who had set it off again; she had spoken those words because she was concerned that Honoka might b
e sick in some way.

  "That's right, Honoka. It's better if you leave for the day already."

  The one who made that assertion with her clear blue eyes clouded was Lina, who had been roped into being a temporary Student Council officer. Lina's real identity was hidden from ordinary students like Azusa and Isori, but she couldn't help being audacious.

  -It was clear to even Honoka, herself, that it was best in these circumstances if she left; however,

  "No, I'm fine."

  While she was clearly showing that she was in a bad state, Honoka firmly made that answer.

  …Since she was aware of the cause of her poor condition, she was embarrassed about them indulging her out of concern; for that reason, the persistent girl knew she gave off the mistaken impression of overexerting herself due to extreme feelings of duty, which made them worry more and made her feel worse.

  "Mitsui-san, I think it is a fine thing that you are so responsible, but it is not wrong for you to rest."

  Even though she was being spoken to like that by Isori, Honoka would not say "Okay, I'll rest" yet until Miyuki dealt her the knockout punch.

  "Honoka, it is really better that you don't overexert yourself. No matter how hard you try, you are not really getting any work done today, are you?"

  Miyuki also, on the surface, wore an extremely concerned face. As the girl whose mysterious beauty tended to make you forget she was human made that look while giving out the truth, Azusa, Isori and Lina were left with nothing to do but nod "That's right."