Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 11 - Visitor Chapter (III) Read online

  There was no evidence to support Erika’s words.

  If faced with real policemen, this wasn’t a joke that should be bandied around.

  In spite of this, the young men in front of her blatantly faltered.

  "What nonsense is this?"

  The faltering was wiped clean in an instant, but Erika didn’t miss that brief second. It wouldn’t have mattered even if there hadn’t been a reaction.

  That’s because her words were not just bravado.

  "If you wanted to disguise yourself, you should have chosen to be plainclothes detectives. In that case, hearing you out wouldn’t have been an issue."

  Erika was highly exaggerating about the hearing you out part.

  The taller young man was about to explode at her, but his colleague stopped him. They switched places and the slightly shorter man stepped forward. Of the two, this one was shorter but far bulkier, and the intimidation factor was a lot higher.

  "Looking for an excuse to flee is useless. You are suspected of assault. Let’s take a walk."

  "Hey~. So you’re playing it out to the end."

  Nonetheless, Erika was completely fearless. She continued to level a dismissive, challenging glare at them.

  "Alas, I captured these two on the spot during an attempted rape. I believe this constitutes a citizen’s arrest. Thus I am waiting for the real police to show up. There is no room for counterfeit policemen to appear here, un-der-stand?"

  Mikihiko could only watch in admiration at his childhood friend reply so flippantly with a very logical argument. Even someone knowing this was a con would be misled. –Which was why he was a beat slow in detecting the hidden presence around him.

  "Miki!" "Mikihiko!"

  Without a sound – that was not an exaggeration, there literally was no sound – a black shadow attacked from above his head. The attack came from the wall surrounding the cemetery, and by the time Mikihiko realized this, it was already too late to meet the attack.

  Mikihiko felt the blow land on his shoulder.

  After being knocked flying by the sudden attack, he subconsciously took action to recover himself.

  Leo raised his arm to the level of his head, to meet the oncoming downward swing of a rod. Just the sound alone was enough to tell the might behind this strike, and a normal person would undoubtedly suffer broken bones from this, but Leo took the blow as if it was nothing. Not only that, as his opponent touched the ground, he immediately retaliated with an iron fist of his own that fairly severed the air around him.

  "Tch!"

  Unfortunately, his fist barely brushed against the ambusher’s body before being retracted.

  In the flickering street light, Mikihiko saw an arc of lightning.

  That man was apparently wearing a coat that shocked an opponent with high voltage electricity on contact.

  Pressing his fist, Leo leaped back a step.

  He saw the man wielding the rod prepare to pursue.

  "Leo, get out of there!"

  Mikihiko took the opportunity to swing his left wrist down. He used his customary hand to grab the fan-shaped CAD that fell out of his sleeve.

  Just as Mikihiko was about to release magic to support Leo against the man attacking him, an object came flying from the flank to strike his CAD.

  Though the CAD didn’t fall, the spell had still been interrupted.

  The object that had interfered with Mikihiko’s spell traced a loop before returning to its original position.

  He finally realized that it was a boomerang of some sort, which would then automatically return to the hand of the thrower. Of course, if that was just a simple boomerang, there would be no way for it to return once it came into contact with the target. This must be some sort of magical weapon.

  After taking an unexpected jolt of electricity, Leo rolled back on the street to avoid the downward blow of the rod before pulling back and resetting his posture.

  Mikihiko didn’t have the leisurely time to worry about Leo.

  There was more than one enemy.

  He heard the "Psh" sound of compressed air being released and two connected cannonballs that looked like soda cans from a while ago come flying towards him from the street.

  Mikihiko used the seal of the wind to meet the cannonballs.

  The cannonballs stopped in mid-air. However, in the next instant, a net was deployed from the cannonballs and rushed towards Mikihiko. On the eight points of the octagon, there were miniature rockets to replace the arrested momentum.

  What the hell is that!? Those were Mikihiko’s undisguised feelings.

  The speed wasn’t all that impressive, but he had no idea what trickery lay within that net. Mikihiko used a "Leaping" spell to dodge the net.

  Unfortunately, there were shadows waiting for him in the sky. The human silhouettes hurtled round throwing weapons.

  Like a game of chess, this was the perfect arrangement.

  For any normal Magician would it would have been "checkmate" right there.

  Yet, the current Mikihiko was a far cry from normal. He had already recovered the strength that earned him a reputation as a child genius and had even progressed further.

  In mid-air, Mikihiko used the air as a jumping board to "Leap" again and avoid the attacks of the three round projectiles and their master.

  Still in the air, Mikihiko looked down upon the head of the man wielding a thin, long object – most likely a whip of some sort.

  Finally, it was Mikihiko’s turn.

  He extended his bent leg.

  His foot came into contact with the man’s forehead.

  The action itself became the "seal" to activate magic.

  Through the point of contact between foot and forehead, a web of lighting spread out and encapsulated the man’s body.

  Once more stepping off the wind, Mikihiko landed on top of the wall.

  There, he looked for Leo and Erika’s figures.

  Leo had recovered from that early surprise attack. Facing the opponent wielding the rod, he was engaged in a fierce battle using his bare hands. The reason why he had not suffered any injury from the electric attack was probably because he had wrapped himself with something. The other man also had a certain degree of skill, but in terms of speed and power, Leo was superior.

  The problem was Erika.

  The two who first struck up a conversation weren’t very adept at acting, but their fighting skills were quite capable.

  No matter how he put it, Erika actually had to defend against their attacks. They must be wearing special armor beneath their uniforms, though the uniforms themselves may also be custom made.

  Still, durability alone was insufficient to stand against Erika’s sword strikes. Each time they came into contact with Erika’s sword blows, something would flitter off the surface of the clothes. Warily, Erika continued to slowly press her attack forward.

  If the weapon she held was any longer, then she probably wouldn’t need so much time. Unfortunately, the weapon she had today was a short rod that could morph into a wakizashi. Erika was avoiding dust that was most likely some sort of poison, so there was no chance she could close into close quarters.

  Thanks to him seizing a higher vantage point, Mikihiko finally noticed something.

  The three of them were being slowly pulled away from the bound Parasites.

  In addition, the distance between the three of them was also growing. If this continued, the captives might be taken away before support arrived.

  Even if this was pushing it a little, they had to take care of this quickly.

  The next instant after he made up his mind, no, it was likely their enemy had also judged that they couldn’t hold out much longer.

  In terms of timing, Mikihiko’s assessment and their opponents’ judgment were of an accord.

  The enemy was one step ahead.

  They heard the sound of something falling to the ground.

  Leo kicked aside his opponent while Erika unleashed a chain of razor sharp blows to pull
away from her opponent.

  "Get down!"

  The same time that call rang out, a cocoon of air wrapped around Erika and Leo.

  That was the defensive barrier Mikihiko had devised.

  The explosive that had fallen from above detonated before coming into contact with the ground and unleashed a thick smoke that obscured the street lights.

  The sound of heavy metallic objects falling continued.

  Mikihiko called the wind to blow apart the smoke.

  They immediately found out what had happened.

  Metallic arms trailing down from the sky grabbed the Parasites’ bodies and swiftly retracted. The source of the lines came from a pitch black flying ship hiding in the night sky that had appeared at some point in time.

  The silence of it all was astounding, and there was no sign of magic being used. Without a sound or any sign of magic waves, none of them had noticed the unidentified flying ship flying overhead.

  The bodies of the captives vanished into the ship.

  Mikihiko saw Erika ready herself to slash upwards. Though her slashes were not the same level as Strategic-Class Magic, she might be able to shatter the fuel compartment and cause a crash.

  "Erika, stop!"

  However, thanks to Mikihiko’s intervention, Erika reluctantly stood down. She also knew very well that it would be a catastrophe if the flying ship crashed here.

  While their attention had been drawn away by the flying ship, their ambushers’ shadows also disappeared. Needless to say, the counterfeit policemen’s party were of the same affiliation with the flying ship.

  "What a headache……"

  Mikihiko nodded as if in complete agreement, to which Erika responded with a particularly brilliant smile.

  "So what are we going to tell Tatsuya-kun?"

  Mikihiko was asking Leo for help.

  Leo shrugged when Mikihiko looked at him.

  "It’s already so late, I don’t think we should trouble him, right?"

  Leo shrugged again at Mikihiko’s gaze.

  "Ha, you’re right. At this hour, might as well tell him tomorrow."

  Their hollow laughter was mixed into the slight wind that blew towards the center of the city at night.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  "We have captured the specimen."

  This was the headquarters of the JSDF Intelligence Department 3rd Division located in the basement of one of the buildings in Ichigaya.

  Upon hearing the report from the deployed stealth airship, the assistant director in charge of this entire operation – this department did not employ the JSDF’s ranking system and used entirely falsified ranks – nodded as his expression seemed to sigh in relief.

  "Though there were a few surprises, we still accomplished our objective."

  When the agents disguised as policemen had been knocked unconscious by mere high school students and a HAR, the first thing that flashed across his mind was "demotion". Now that he might have avoided ruining his superior’s mood, the assistant director could relax.

  He knew very well that the "specimen" they had captured was the "vampire" that disturbed the peace, but he was unaware that the real identity of the vampires was actually Magicians who had been possessed by monsters called Parasites. Nor was he aware that one of the captured vampires was a retired soldier from the USNA born in Mexico and that the reason for his retirement was that he lost his magic due to an injury suffered during training. The assistant director had simply been ordered to capture a specimen of the vampires.

  The reason why they were observing Tatsuya was because the higher ups told him there was a higher probability they would come into contact with the vampires if they shadowed Tatsuya’s group. Though as to why a high school student, despite being known as Magician larvae, would have a link to vampires, that reason was beyond him. His subordinates being instantly nullified immediately dispelled the preconception that they were just high school students, but the mystery in regards to why high school students were so strong only deepened. Still, it looked like they would no longer have to trouble themselves with ridiculously strong high school students. That was the reason why the assistant director could breathe a sigh of relief.

  Their task was only to temporarily "safeguard" the specimen. Any procedures beyond that were done by his superior, the director. One of the tricks to the organization’s continual survival was not questioning their superior’s tasks. The request for obtaining the specimen didn’t come from the government but from their sponsors, and the assistant director was somewhat aware that the real client was that particular family from behind their sponsor, but he really didn’t want to know.

  "As ordered, transport the target to the 'icebox'. Just in case, up the dosage."

  After ordering his subordinate to use low temperature anesthesia used to induce hibernation on Magicians to nullify the Parasites before moving them to the facility, the assistant director returned to his seat to report to his superiors the result of his mission.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  "That damnable Koichi, still so enamored with intrigue. It’s practically part of his personality now."

  Just listening to the words may give the impression that this was a complaint, but after hearing her grandfather utter this phrase in a highly entertained voice, Fujibayashi pretended not to hear anything.

  The sudden intrusion of the 3rd Division’s stealth craft shocked Fujibayashi, but she dealt with the aftereffects as swiftly as usual. She immediately used the flying ship’s wireless signal to pinpoint the organization it was affiliated with.

  Likewise, infiltrating the connection to the basement in Ichigaya was just business as usual. As expected of someone whose talents earned her the name "Electron Sorceress".

  "Sir, what is Saegusa-san’s goal here?"

  She chose to the word "sir" and not "grandfather" here to observe protocol while on the job. Kudou Retsu understood this, so he didn’t make a point over the formal reference of "sir".

  "I’m not privy to what Koichi is thinking. Though I do have a few guesses on worst possible scenarios."

  That being said, he had no intention of playing along with his granddaughter’s speech pattern as Elder Kudou continued to speak as if addressing kin.

  "Worst, eh……?"

  "Hm. Kouchi knows that Maya is interested in the Parasites, so he may have wanted to seize control of it."

  "The lady from the Yotsuba Family has expressed interest?"

  "In the Yotsuba Family, the side branch Kuroba Family is responsible for gathering intelligence. Furthermore, the Kurobas apparently adopted assassination against the Parasites and investigated quite a few things afterwards."

  "A side branch responsible for gathering intelligence…… The Yotsuba Family is certainly unique."

  "Well, the 28 families were originally just like side branches for the development and research of Magicians. Indeed, no other family besides the Yotsuba Family has adopted the side branch system."

  Elder Kudou wore a self-depreciating smile as he probably recalled his own origins. Fujibayashi made no attempt at any third rate words of comfort and merely waited for her grandfather’s next words.

  "Setting that aside…… Knowing that the Yotsuba have an interest in the Parasites, Koichi would then act. That guy will want to surpass the Yotsuba by any means possible. How tragic it is that the demon from 30 years ago has still not been exorcised yet……"

  In Fujibayashi’s eyes, the way Elder Kudou said this was as if he himself was revisiting the past. Knowing that wasn’t a very pleasant recollection, she used a slightly stronger tone to recall her grandfather from his memories.

  "So what are we going to do?"

  "What do you mean by going to do?"

  "I believe that allowing the Intelligence Department 3rd Division to go rogue isn’t a wise course of action."

  "That’s true…… If they were able to handle it any better, leaving them alone wouldn’t be a problem."

  As Fujibayashi predicted, Elder Kudou h
ad returned from the world of his memories and his mind was fully focused on the present.

  "Kyouko, can you anonymously leak some intelligence to the Yotsuba?"

  "I think I can."

  "Then that should be enough. Maya will think of what to do from here on out."

  Saegusa Koichi’s plot would be foiled by the Yotsuba. Knowing the backstory, Fujibayashi felt that this was a cruel punishment. Still, Fujibayashi had no intention of disagreeing with her grandfather’s proposal as she immediately turned back to the controls.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  After seeing Honoka home and returning Pixie to the original garage, by the time Tatsuya and Miyuki arrived home, it was already late into the night even though the date hadn’t changed yet.

  That being said, for the siblings’ age, this wasn’t a particularly late hour. Though they had not engaged in full scale combat, the nerves were still so stimulated that there was no sign of sleepiness.

  "Onii-sama, it’s Miyuki, can I bother you for a moment……?"

  It was a rare occurrence indeed for Tatsuya to be in his own room studying a subject other than magic instead of being in the lab in the basement after eating dinner and taking a bath. The primary reason why he let Miyuki into his room was because neither of them could sleep.

  At this time, Tatsuya appeared to be trying to use the books to lull him to sleep. Though it wasn’t entirely appropriate for siblings to visit the bedroom (pretty much a private room) at this hour, Tatsuya felt that speaking with Miyuki might improve his mood a little.

  "Sure, come in."

  "Then, I’m coming in."

  Tatsuya naturally leaned over the monitor that served as the table’s surface as he heard the sound of a door closing coming from the entry way.

  "……So, what is it?"

  The voice was neither high nor low and was just a simple question being voiced.

  In spite of this, an unnatural lull still manifested.

  Miyuki didn’t immediately reply to her brother’s question as she obediently sat on the bed.

  Even so…… A series of questions started churning through Tatsuya’s brain.