Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 09 - Visitor Chapter (I) Page 2

  With Mizuki's comment, this topic came to a close.

  Based on the fact that they selected today for their farewell party, the eight people gathered here didn't seem to have any special plans for Christmas Eve. Still, it was a little surprising to see that Shizuku, Erika, and Mikihiko were not obligated to attend any family gatherings, which hinted that the Kitayama, Chiba, and Yoshida Families probably held galas for the adults, events where high school freshmen were not required to attend. —And not because their parents made specific arrangements.

  Faced with the temptation of unrestrained freedom, they would have liked to party late into the night and deepen their friendship, but since they were all wearing their school uniforms, they wouldn't be able to stay out too late.

  "I think the owner will get a little sour if we stay any longer."

  Such an innocent, but at the same time slightly wicked, phrase stumped the owner of the cafe. (Who said this aloud was irrelevant.) The eight of them packed up their things and prepared to head home.

  Honoka and Shizuku took the same bus, so she must be staying over at Shizuku's place. At any rate, this wasn't any new headline at magic high schools, though the primary reason was because Honoka wasn't very close with her parents.

  Erika, Leo, Mizuki, and Mikihiko each got onto a train. There was expectation of some theatrics on their part, but plainly these four were a long ways off from that point.

  Finally, Tatsuya and Miyuki climbed onto another train without any further concern and happily enjoyed their ride home together. While modern cabins had been designed into private compartments after request, Tatsuya never forgot the ancient maxim "the walls have ears". Furthermore, Miyuki didn't have anything to say either as they wordlessly returned home. The real conversation could only begin when the two of them were able to relax in their own home.

  "I somehow feel that something is awry with Shizuku's study abroad program."

  After changing clothes in their respective rooms, Miyuki poured two cups of coffee and the two of them sat side by side on the sofa before Miyuki finally broached her own thoughts.

  "Awry...... You do have a point."

  Tatsuya shifted his coffee mug from his lips and, under her brother's silent urging, Miyuki hesitantly listed her skepticism.

  "First of all, the idea that such a magically talented individual like Shizuku could obtain permission to study abroad is already unnatural. That being said, this might fly if she was studying abroad as the daughter of a major entrepreneur and not as a Magician-in-training, but our complete lack of knowledge on the transfer student is too suspicious. Furthermore, specifically selecting this moment to suddenly spring an exchange program smacks of an ulterior purpose. It's almost as if......"

  "As if they're trying to secretly sound us out? According to Oba-sama, we are under suspicion."

  Tatsuya smirked slightly and continued on as if he was talking about someone else's business.

  "Material Burst. Looks like we can't just leave this situation alone."

  Once she heard the heavy subject that she was unable to utter spring forth from her brother's lips, Miyuki's eyes widened in shock but, at the same time, she seemed to relax into a smile.

  "Is that so...... Looks like Onii-sama already took this into consideration."

  "Setting aside the student exchange situation for the moment, after taking into account Oba-ue's warnings, this is most definitely not a simple coincidence."

  Tatsuya already disclosed the conversation between himself and Maya to Miyuki the day it happened. Exactly why he was under suspicion and who was targeting him.

  "Then, is it really Stars......?"

  "In that case, being forbidden from making contact with the Major makes this a little difficult."

  As punishment for Tatsuya activating Strategic-class magic without obtaining permission beforehand, Maya forbade him from making contact with the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. Although he didn't plan on obediently following orders to the letter, but in order to avoid undue risk, following orders was the smarter move at the moment.

  "Even if we asked Oba-sama...... She probably wouldn't tell us anything."

  "And given that the exchange program has already been ratified, this signifies that Oba-ue has already agreed to this arrangement."

  The Yotsuba Family currently matched the Saegusa Family, who led the Ten Master Clans, so there was no way they would be in the dark about talented Magicians undergoing the foreign exchange program.

  "On the other hand, this isn't a completely negative turnout for us. Even if the opponent they sent was just to sound us out, Oba-ue wouldn't underestimate them. Rather, there might have been some troublesome turn of events on the American side. Oba-ue's intent is likely to have us catch them by the tail instead."

  Rather than being a wry grin, Tatsuya's smile was closer to that of a helpless smile.

  "We cannot be certain that is how the situation will unfold...... It will do us no good to overthink this."

  "That's true. You're absolutely right, Miyuki."

  No matter what was said, both the comforting side and the comforted side knew that these words were enough to truly let them relax.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  After taking the Stars exclusive VTOL aircraft back to base and making her report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff via encrypted communications, Major Angelina Sirius, also known as Angie Sirius, was still in her uniform as she rolled back and forth on the bed in her room.

  She flipped over and buried her face into the pillow.

  No matter how many times she performed them, she still couldn't get used to Search and Destroy missions. While she didn't vomit like she did after first completing this mission, that was only because her physical body had become accustomed to her mental pain.

  Yet her mental suffering only worsened.

  An American Magician, a Stars member under the direct command of the USNA Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was her comrade on multiple levels, had just been executed by her own hands.

  When she heard that this was the duty of the High Commander, the one who was bestowed the title Sirius, she didn't have any real feelings on the matter.

  Even if this was a high honor, she still didn't comprehend. She still didn't comprehend the meaning behind killing her own comrades.

  She turned over once again and used her hand to cover her eyes from the piercing light. It was only then she realized she forgot to turn off the lights.

  At this moment, the doorbell rang. Major Sirius's lips curled into a wry smile.

  Looks like tonight, her meddlesome subordinate was checking in on her.

  Stars consisted of twelve units, each led by a captain and then the High Commander. Her subordinate was exactly one such captain responsible for taking care of their own unit.

  Originally, he should have no time to interfere with her business—

  "Come in."

  Getting up from the bed, Major Sirius keyed the mic leading to the door and made a simple reply before hitting the remote to open the door.

  "Sorry for disturbing you, High Commander."

  The one who came in was the expected individual.

  Major Benjamin Canopus, call sign "Two" within Stars, captain of the first unit and de facto High Commander when she was absent.

  Positions within Stars did not necessarily correlate with military rank, which was a rather odd arrangement for a military unit. It was unheard of for a captain to outrank the High Commander, but it was quite common to see the High Commander and the captains to share the same rank.

  Currently, besides the six who held the rank of captain, the other six shared the same rank of major with the High Commander.

  If Major Sirius had to voice her displeasure, it was that Canopus was plainly much older than she was yet held the same rank, which actually served to make her uneasy.

  "Consolation prize."

  Major Benjamin Canopus looked every inch the high ranking officer. A tough but vigorous man in his forties, the a
tmosphere around him was completely unlike the soldiers or civilian industrialists who clawed their way through the ranks.

  "Ben, thanks."

  There was a steaming cup of honey milk on the table next to the bed. Major Sirius easily accepted the condolences from her subordinate, who was the same age as her father.

  This wasn't one of those glasses used as munitions during combat operations, but a beautiful mug with warm milk with honey that came straight from a thermos. Major Sirius lightly raised the mug and took a sip.

  The warm sweetness gradually spread across her taste buds, and the pain in her heart seemed to lessen with it.

  "You're welcome. High Commander, are you finished preparing?"

  Major Canopus glanced at the personal luggage lumped together in one corner of the room and asked.

  "Yes, pretty much."

  "You cleaned up quite nicely."

  "I am a girl, after all."

  Major Canopus shrugged as he exchanged words with someone who would be the same age as his daughter. He actually had a daughter who was two years younger than her.

  "The fact that you care about something inconsequential like your gender...... Is that because of your Japanese ancestry?"

  "The idea that politeness and decorum is expected of Japanese people is completely outdated."

  When the other person mentioned her quarter Japanese ancestry, this time it was Major Sirius's turn to shrug.

  Not out of irritation.

  Someone who quibbled over trivial matters like this wasn't going to last in Stars.

  "You have a point, though let's set that aside for now...... Right now, just forget about your mission for a moment and get some quality R&R!"

  "This isn't a furlough, but a secret mission......"

  Major Sirius pouted when faced with Major Canopus's merry lecture.

  That expression perfectly befitted the mood of a young girl her age.

  "I should say it's rather depressing instead. Sending me to investigate whether the suspected target is the Strategic-class Magician. It's one thing if one of the two was the person in question, but there's a sizable possibility that both of them are not who we're looking for. Why are they sending me to undertake infiltration that isn't my specialty...... Even if we have to consider age as a requirement, there should be lots of people with specialist training for this."

  The mission given to Major Sirius was to investigate the culprit behind the titanic explosion observed in the Far East sector at the end of October that was suspected to be caused by Strategic-class magic, which was essentially the true identity of the Magician. Intel tried their best and narrowed down the list of suspects to 51 targets, and among them were two students attending high school in Tokyo. In light of this, Major Sirius was ordered to go undercover because of their similar age (which was purely coincidental).

  "Hey, don't be like that."

  In order to comfort his sighing superior officer, Major Canopus waved his hand back and forth.

  "I suspect the Joint Chiefs expect this opponent to be extremely difficult. If the target is truly an existence along the lines of our predictions, then that would make them a dangerous opponent with the firepower to exceed a tactical nuke. Furthermore, we are still in the dark regarding their identity. This way, it's not hard to sympathize with the Joint Chiefs using pure combat ability rather than training as a criterion when selecting the intelligence officer for this op."

  "I get that."

  "Since our suspected target is a high school student, establishing contact as a student from the same school would be much easier, so the only person who could possibly accomplish this investigation would be you, High Commander."

  Although this was a matter of fact, in reality, there was a host of support personnel working in the shadows to help Major Sirius make contact with the target. Stars was also sending a planet-class Magician to support the major. There was no way that she could be oblivious to all that.

  "I understand that as well."

  Hence Major Sirius's response took this all in stride.

  "Why don't you think about it like this. The High Commander's mission is to make contact with the suspicious target and cause him or her to waver."

  "Hm...... That's a much better way to approach this. After all, I'm completely inept at intel work."

  "In that case, go ahead and relax a little. There's nothing wrong in being a little more cheerful. This will likely make it easier to find our opponent's weakness as well."

  "Ha...... That's true. Hopefully it'll turn out just like you say, Ben."

  After letting out a heavy sigh, Major Sirius set the mug back onto the table and stood up in front of Major Canopus.

  "Ben, I will leave the defenses up to you. The rest of the deserters haven't been dealt with yet, so the task that was originally my responsibility will have to fall to you...... However, the only person I can count on is you."

  "Be at ease, High Commander. This is a little early, but I wish you godspeed."

  At Major Canopus's affectionate smile and salute, the young lady returned a heartfelt smile of gratitude.

  Chapter 2

  As in the past, Tatsuya and Miyuki welcomed New Year's Day for 2096 AD together.

  This year, their father also spent the evening at the dwelling of his first love. This actually did not make the situation more awkward for Tatsuya and Miyuki, so there were no complaints.

  Neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki were the type to laze about on the holidays. Tatsuya rose at the usual time for school and waited at the threshold for Miyuki, only raising his head when he heard her call out "Sorry for the wait".

  Wearing a long-sleeved, crimson kimono with white flowers, Miyuki gracefully descended down the stairs.

  The pearly skin, unadorned with any extraneous makeup, only served to heighten the brilliant red of her succulent lips.

  Her silky tresses done up with a hairpin might give off a childish feeling, but that only served to bring out the unique allure of a young maiden in the midst of the mature wardrobe.

  In addition, what drew the eyes was not just the products of nature.

  Kimonos of the past were designed to confine the chest area, whereas modern designs incorporated a 3-D cut off method. However, the traditional kimono Miyuki wore miraculously tightened the bust and waist area while still keeping with tradition and maintaining a modest appearance.

  The breathtaking sight of the world's cutest younger sister — these were Tatsuya's true feelings — appeared to be seeking her older brother's praise.

  "Hm, simply beautiful."

  Standing in front of his sister while she was putting on her shoes, Tatsuya held nothing back with his praise.

  Miyuki's face immediately flushed crimson.

  "Seriously, Onii-sama... Don't tease me any more."

  Despite her embarrassment, she did not shift her gaze and playfully pouted at her brother. A lesser man with a weaker immune system would have been annihilated instantly.

  "I am not joking in the slightest... Well, let's be off."

  To be able to be the master of himself even under such conditions, no wonder Tatsuya was the Onii-sama who had lived together with Miyuki for the past 16 years (to be precise, it was the past 15 years and 9 months).

  There was an automated car parked outside the door. Nonetheless, an automated vehicle did not imply that no one was on board. The four seater car had an adult male and adult female sitting in the back row.

  "Happy New Year, master."

  "Happy New Year, Kokonoe-sensei. Please take care of us in the coming year as well."

  Seeing Tatsuya's simplistic greeting and Miyuki's decorous bow, Yakumo replied with a cheerful smile of his own.

  "Aya, you're even more beautiful than usual. Almost as if the divine descended from heaven. If they saw Miyuki today, even the fairies of Sumeru would hide their faces in shame."

  On some level, this was a response filled with Yakumo's unique flavor.

  "Master... I don't think tha
t is what you're supposed to say."

  The one who retorted so was the woman next to him.

  Seeing that someone stole a march on him, Tatsuya slightly lowered his head to the woman before Yakumo could fire back a response.

  "Ono-sensei, Happy New Year. Still, would it be alright if someone saw you with master?"

  "Happy New Year, Shiba-kun. First day of the new year and this unpleasant already."

  Originally, Tatsuya was truly getting a little worried, but it appeared that Haruka was already getting sick of him. Thinking back to his usual behavior and previous run-ins, Tatsuya shrugged as he came to the conclusion that "being misunderstood couldn't be helped".

  "Meeting sensei here was purely coincidental. Today, I am serving as your guide."

  "I see, so that's how it is. Still, if calling a high school student a guide is pushing it a little... Then that earlier honorific 'sensei' may be a little problematic."

  At Tatsuya's words, Haruka furrowed her brows from the back seat.

  Indeed, for a modern high school student, a single day visit to the shrine did not necessitate an adult chaperon.

  Simply put, a "guide" was just an excuse, as the actual purpose was for them to "accompany" them.

  Furthermore, even for random bystanders, since he was not a faculty member, using the honorific "sensei" might easily lead to terrifying delusions that lay in perilous territory.

  "Let's think about it as we go. Shouldn't we be leaving now?"

  Miyuki made this suggestion after Tatsuya opened the car door. Without paying any heed to the ruminating Haruka, Tatsuya waited until Miyuki boarded the vehicle, closed the door, and took his seat in the driver's seat. After Tatsuya closed the door, the car automatically took off.

  After switching onto the train at the station despite unprecedented attention, the four of them got off at the meeting place again under intense scrutiny and walked for five minutes.

  "Hey, Miyuki, you look great!"

  This was the first sentence that greeted Tatsuya and Miyuki at the meeting place. Wearing a leather jacket over her long dress, Mizuki was gazing at Miyuki, mesmerized. To the side, even Tatsuya was under suspiciously warm scrutiny.