Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 16 - Yotsuba Succession Read online

  In that sense, a higher responsibility fell onto the next Head to be married to a member of the Ten Master Clans, as Maya was single. It was not as if she would be forced to get married as soon as she was named as the head, but a fiancé must be appointed.

  ——I will be married to a man other than my brother.

  ——To be someone else’s wife other than my brother’s.

  For that matter itself, Miyuki had understood it simply. She couldn’t possibly marry her own brother and as a Magician, her freedom to choose her partner would be limited. She would need to marry a man other than her brother; this was an inevitable situation for her.

  Miyuki stood up and returned the envelope to the letterbox.

  As she sat in front of the dressing table today, her heart spoke out to her reflection in the mirror.

  (Yes, this is unavoidable. I can’t do anything about it.) Her reflection in the mirror replied:

  The voice given from her reflection was from her younger self.

  (Yes, it is an undeniable fact that Onii-sama and I are real siblings. I have accepted that fact.)

  Miyuki was talking to the girl in the mirror, while trying to convince herself.

 

  The “Miyuki” within the mirror was a little bit younger than her, and a little bit more honest than her.

  (No matter how much you try to convince me, I won’t be convinced, ‘Miyuki’. Because Onii-sama and I are real siblings.)

 

  (It doesn’t matter whether or not I give up. Siblings cannot marry each other. I knew this from the beginning, and I never hoped to love Oniisama as a woman. If I never hoped for it in the first place, there isn’t anything to give up, right?)

 

  (Isn’t it a mother’s duty to be married and have children? I would only be a burden to Onii-sama that way.)

 

  Miyuki stared hard at her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t realize that her arguments were shallow and easily thrown off.

  The girl in the mirror began to speak. Miyuki was provoked by her inability to face her inner self.

 

  (Stop!)

  Miyuki wanted to cover her ears.

 

  (Stop!)

  She wanted to turn away from the mirror.

 

  (Stop!)

  No matter how hard she shook her head, she couldn’t stop the voice.

 

  Yet, she couldn’t stand up against her own heart any longer.

 

  She saw a pair of distraught eyes in the mirror. She never wanted to have these thoughts.

 

  “Ah!”

  She let out the grieving sound with trembling lips, and fell down from the chair she’d been sitting on.

  She was freed from her curse now that the mirror was out of sight.

  “It can’t be helped.”

  She let her thoughts be sounded by her voice, and her conflicting emotions converged.

  “I’m Onii-sama’s sister. I’m his true sibling.”

  The feelings that she could no longer keep within her heart started to find its way out.

  “It’s unforgivable to love my brother as a woman. The world will not tolerate it. Even Onii-sama will think that it’s abnormal. He will certainly think that it’s disgusting.”

  All alone in her room, Miyuki gave in to all her emotions.

  Nobody else could hear her saying those words.

  There wasn’t a hint of a lie in those words.

  “I don’t care what the world thinks. If they want to point their fingers at my back, I’d take the fall. But if Onii-sama thought of me as disgusting… I wouldn’t be able to stand it!”

  She never thought that her feelings were so sinful.

  The only one who could give forgiveness to her was not God.

  “That’s why, it can’t be helped.”

  Miyuki stopped her confession. Her feelings turned to words, then to tears, and overflowed from her eyes.

  Chapter 2

  Early in the morning on the first day of winter break, Tatsuya went to the FLT Third Division.

  Miyuki and Minami stayed at home. The FLT Third Division could be said to be his home ground and he was always welcome there. Even Tatsuya knew this. That day, he chose to go to the lab because the server at home was slower. So, he spent his time at home carefully thinking about the project.

  He was scheduled to begin the new project from this day onwards. Rather than the development of a new CAD, he was designing a largescale system using Magic Engineering. The project implementation date was yet to be known. In the first place, it was impossible to complete such a large-scale project with only the work of FLT.

  The project name was ‘ESCAPES’ (Extract both useful and harmful Substances from the Coastal Area of the Pacific using Electricity generated by the Stellar generator). It was a project to access substances from the depths of the sea in the Pacific Ocean's coastal region by means of a Stellar Furnace, but in a sense it was also a ‘means of escape’ or ‘free the substances’.

  At the current stage, he still needed to wait to incorporate the design into the system and create the plan proposal. Still, it was a huge step closer to his goal.

  He had this idea about three years ago in 2093, a year after the Okinawa

  Incident in August. The Loop Cast System, Flight Magic as well as the Stellar Furnace were developed for the heart of this system, and he managed to gather the last piece the other day. Whether it was this project or Tatsuya, both of them still had a long way to go. That aside, given the significance of the project, it was unavoidable for him to be fired up.

  However, his enthusiasm was suddenly washed over by cold water after an hour of work.

  “Sorry for bothering you, Young Master.”

  Transmissions using quantum encryption were taboo. As Tatsuya was viewing some highly confidential data, he received a call from a female secretary from FLT's Third Division.

  “What is it?”

  He did not want to stop working, however, the reason must be quite important if the secretary had knowingly disturbed him. Tatsuya stopped typing to hit the intercom button to reply.

  “Excuse me, Kuroba Mitsugu wishes to see you, Young Master. What should I tell him?”

  Tatsuya’s eyebrows rose unconsciously.

  Mitsugu had not visited FLT before, as far as Tatsuya knew. As Mitsugu’s work entailed the collection of intelligence for the Yotsuba, he would have no reason to visit FLT, which was in the commerce/financial division of the Yotsuba.

  “I will see him. Please bring light snacks to the offline reception.” He did not have enough information to guess the purpose of Mitsugu’s visit. Tatsuya realized that at once.

  He needed to make sure of what the purpose of this visit was. That was his reason for asking the staff to guide Mitsugu to a room which was not equipped with an online monitoring system.

  Tatsuya made sure to lock the waiting room before greeting Mitsugu.

  As he approached Mitsugu, Mitsugu did not seem to have any intention of rising from the sofa. Instead, he noticed that Mitsugu was playing with his fingers anxiously and left his hat on the sofa which was a sign of uneasiness ever since he went inside.

  “Long time no see, Kuroba-san. The last time was during the summer right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Mitsugu nodded his head impatiently. His behavior did not seem to be affected only by the bitter memories of the deep wound inflicted by Zhou Gongjin ‘last summer’. He seemed to be on edge even before Tatsuya showed up.

  “May I sit?”

  Mitsugu nodded in silence, while Tatsuya took the seat opposite to him.

  Tatsuya fixed his eyes straight at Mitsugu. There was a large age gap, like that of a parent and child, between the two of them. However, it didn’t make Tatsuya nervous at all. There was no hint of bravado in his posture either.

  Mitsugu distorted his lips in his upset. Even now, it seemed like he was going to cluck his tongue.

  However, Mitsugu did not look down on Tatsuya as a ‘mere escort’. Tatsuya was regarded as a failure of the Yotsuba Family, despite being the nephew of Yotsuba Maya, the current Family Head, and also the brother of Miyuki, the candidate for the next Family Head, especially among the non-combatant servants. As he ‘did not have the suitable magic power, despite having a direct blood relation to the Yotsuba’, he was ‘given the role of guardian to his sister out of pity’.

  However, Mitsugu knew very well that Tatsuya wasn’t a ‘failure’. Certainly, he could be counted as one based on the current Magicians' standards, but he had a special power that was more than enough to compensate for this flaw. Mitsugu understood this very well.

  The upsetness that Mitsugu showed to Tatsuya, was due to the fact that Tatsuya saw him as an equal, despite Tatsuya’s age that was not so different with that of his own son.

  He couldn’t afford to be seen as such. Instead, the one with bravado and trying to push himself unconsciously, perhaps, was Mitsugu himself.

  “What business do you have with me?”

  Tatsuya asked so when Mitsugu did not show any signs that he would start talking. He did not say "I’m busy now", but the way he said it had that nuance. Of course, this was on purpose.

  Although this was a rude way to say something to someone, no, to a senior, Mitsugu restrained himself. He figured that it was unbefitting of him to be upset over such a trivial issue, given that he was the one who paid a visit, hence, he kept it to himself.

  “Do not come to the New Year’s Gathering.”

  Without feeling the need to cover up the words that he had just said, Mitsugu came only to say those words bluntly to Tatsuya.

  “I never had any intention to come.”

  “What…?”

  However, Mitsugu probably never expected this kind of answer from Tatsuya. The sulky face that had been directed to Tatsuya since he entered the room suddenly faded from Mitsugu’s face. Currently, he was wearing an unguarded surprised expression on his face.

  “I have no intention of attending the New Year’s Gathering. The order from Toushu-sama was only given to Miyuki.”

  Tatsuya called Maya ‘Toushu-sama’ instead of ‘Oba-ue’. Implicitly, he was trying to say that Miyuki’s attendance was ordered by the Head of the Family; it was not to be countered by the unreasonable request of Mitsugu.

  “How quibbling…!”

  Mitsugu clucked his tongue. It seemed like he chose to abandon his effort to cover up his frustration, once his real face was revealed. “Then, I want you to persuade your sister not to come to the New Year’s Gathering.”

  However, he said this with less intensity. Mitsugu probably realized that he wouldn’t win against Tatsuya and his tone was also somewhat tempered.

  It didn’t mean that Tatsuya was going to accept the request, regardless of the politeness with which it was delivered.

  “Why don’t you say it directly to her?”

  Even Mitsugu himself knew that he was bound to be rejected. However, Tatsuya brought the conversation to a slightly different direction than what he was expecting.

  “She wouldn’t do so even if I told her to. That’s why I’m asking you to.”

  “I was not referring to Miyuki. Why didn’t you directly request Toushusama herself to retract the attendance order?” Mitsugu was speechless for a moment.

  “….I don’t need you to tell me that. I have discussed with Maya-san about her decision possibly being premature.”

  “Then, there is no meaning for Miyuki and I to be absent from the New Year’s Gathering. Even if we decline, there is no way Toushu-sama would tolerate it.”

  Perhaps, Mitsugu was considering Tatsuya’s words and fell into silence. Tatsuya smirked wickedly, yet meaningfully.

  “I can understand that it’s still premature for Fumiya as he still needs a few more experiences to make a male Family Head.”

  “That’s an unjust suspicion!”

  Mitsugu replied with a strong voice. He lifted his right hand from his armrest, albeit squeezing it tightly in the middle and stopped; he was restraining himself from hitting the table reflexively.

  “Originally, I was reluctant to make Fumiya the Head of the Yotsuba Family. His personality is too kind to lead the Yotsuba Clan. I think that in terms of Magic Power, Miyuki is suitable to be the next Family

  Head.”

  Tatsuya could not suppress his surprise when he heard Mitsugu’s rebuttal. Tatsuya always thought that Mitsugu wanted Fumiya to be the Head of the Yotsuba Family.

  “Then, why do you think it is still premature?”

  However, Tatsuya chose to keep his misunderstanding to himself for now. It was more important to stick with his priority to figure out Mitsugu’s intention.

  Mitsugu was hesitant to answer and swallowed his breath. He returned to face Tatsuya with a defiant attitude.

  "At the New Year’s Gathering, we will be deciding the next Family

  Head. Maya-san wishes for Miyuki's appointment.”

  “I see.”

  Although he said it this way, he had already foreseen this.

  “However, I believe we need to postpone Miyuki’s nomination as the next Family Head to take care of a more important thing. It’s not only me. Shiiba, Mashiba, Shibata and Shizuku, also have the same idea.” “So it’s the consensual decision of the Heads of the Branch Families, with the exception of Mugura and Tsukuba. Then, what is the important issue?”

  “It’s about what we are going to do with you.”

  Mitsugu grinned. It was a dark smile, one that harbored a dark feeling.

  “In about two years, the 'Sakura Series' modified body, Sakurai Minami, will have sufficient enough power as a Yotsuba Guardian. That girl is particularly excellent even when compared to other modified bodies made by the Yotsuba. When that happens, your duty as a Guardian will become obsolete.”

  Unlike his usual self, there was a hint that Mitsugu was intoxicated with his own words.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll let you graduate from Magic University. You can contribute to Yotsuba’s financial activities as ‘Taurus Silver’ afterwards. There’s no need for you to continue your work in the JSDF either. We’ll release you from your secret military duty.”

  Mitsugu’s eyes were still enveloped in darkness, he lifted the edge of his lips further. “Ah, that’s right. You will replace your father's position in FLT. Although your existence will never be published as the president, you will still be the largest shareholder.”

  “I have no interest in such things.”

  Tatsuya cut off Mitsugu’s words with a bored voice.

  “The things that you’ve said just now are not to be decided at Kurobasan’s discretion.”

  Tatsuya implicitly said that Maya was the one to decide those.

  “Such a verbal agreement can be interpreted as an intention to revolt.”

  “….No, I have no such intention.”

  The wicked smile disappeared from Mitsugu’s face as if the demon who had possessed him had left.

  Perhaps, he realized that he was not acting like himself, Mitsugu’s head was facing down again in silence.

  “Kuroba-san, the one who ordered Miyuki’s attendance for the New Year’s Gathering is Toushu-sama, Oba-ue. Miyuki and I can’t just be absent on our own discretion. You should understand that much right?”

  “Even so.”

  While keeping his eyes on the table at the reception room, Mitsugu said so in a low voice.

  “I don’t wish to make Fumiya and Ayako sad.” Tatsuya narrowed his eyes sharply.

  “Are you sure?”

  Mitsugu raised his face, and stared straight at Tatsuya.

  “I have said to you that I don’t wish to make them sad. I won’t do anything.”

  “So you will wait and see from the sidelines?”

  “I’m neutral. Although sentimentally speaking, I am your enemy, but I won’t do anything for the sake of my children.”

  Mitsugu erased the remaining traces of hostility and declared so.

  Tatsuya perceived that as a fact.

  “Why do you wish to separate Miyuki and I? You didn’t answer this despite giving me that other explanation.” Mitsugu rose.

  “I’ll answer you if you arrive at the Main House on time.”

  Mitsugu looked down at Tatsuya while saying so in place of a farewell.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  On the first day of the winter holiday, Miyuki was spending her time doing her homework when an unexpected visitor arrived sometime after she had eaten lunch.

  “Miyuki-san, long time no see. You look very well.”

  “Yuuka-san also hasn’t changed. Please take a seat.”

  The visitor who sat opposite to Miyuki in the living room was Tsukuba

  Yuuka. She was the eldest daughter of the Tsukuba Family, a Branch Family of the Yotsuba Family. She was also one of the candidates to be the next Family Head.

  She was 22 years old. She was a former vice president of First High's Student Council, currently in her fourth year at the Magic University. She had black hair at shoulder length with a 6:4 fringe ratio and styled in a way that revealed the piercings in her right ear. With perfect make up, she appeared to be a refined female college student.