Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 22 - Prologue of Disturbance (II) Page 2

  Miyuki followed Hayama, Minami followed her. Hyougo followed Tatsuya behind him.

  With Minami everything is clear, but for Tatsuya it was unexpected that Hayama did not say anything to Hyougo. Was Hyougo only a simple escort who knew how to fly an airplane?

  Before he could ask this question, Tatsuya found out that they had come to the dining room. The same room where the candidates were gathered at the New Year's meeting, and where Miyuki was named the next head.

  Shibata Katsushige. Tsukuba Yuka. Twins Kuroba Fumiya and Ayako. They were the same faces present as at the New Year's meeting. However, unlike the previous time, the head of the Yotsuba family, Maya, was already in place.

  - We apologize for keeping you waiting.

  - You are not late, so do not apologize. First of all, take a seat.

  Maya quietly responded to Tatsuya's apologies.

  "Thank you." I'm sorry.

  Tatsuya slightly bowed, and Miyuki followed him with a full bow.

  Tatsuya looked at Miyuki's place, thinking that it was necessary to push back her chair, but found it already prepared by Minami. Nodding to the eye of Tatsuya looking at her, assisted Miyuki.

  Hyougo put forward Tatsuya's chair.

  "Perhaps the head of the family regards Hyougo as a candidate for a personal servant for me?" - Such a thought came to Tatsuya's mind.

  However, now was not the time to be distracted by the reasons for Hyougo's presence. Tatsuya focused on Maya.

  Maya looked at Hayama standing behind her. In response to this, Hayama rang a bell in his hand, it was not clear from where it came from.

  No sooner had the echo of the ringing sounded, and, as if waiting in advance, the maid came into the dining room, pushing the cart before her.

  It was already late for dinner, but Tatsuya's group was called up to the main house without having had time to grab a bite.

  Before Tatsuya and Miyuki was arranged a variety of light snacks.

  More snacks are not given to anyone else, not even Minami. Although the girl behind Miyuki was sorry, but for her it would be an insult to her official duty if she started to eat here.

  Tatsuya, who understood this, with permission from Maya, started eating. Miyuki also followed the example of her brother.

  Of course, they did not go away from talking, focusing on food. They participated in a conversation between Maya, Yuka and Ayako, periodically responding. Having finished eating, they waited until the dishes were cleaned, after which they felt that the atmosphere around Maya had changed.

  Tatsuya and Miyuki immediately straightened their backs.

  - So ... Now I'd like to hear about the events on Saikashin Island.

  - Good.

  Tatsuya responded to Maya's request. He briefly summarized the events on the main island of Okinawa, Koumé Island, and also on an artificial island and its environment.

  - Agents of the Australian Army, Captain James J. Johnson and Captain Jasmine Williams, were eventually transferred to Miyakijima.

  "I've already heard about these two." Good work.

  Miyakijima is a small island formed as a result of underwater volcanic activity in 2001, the year of the snake, and was 50 kilometers east of the island of Miyakejima.

  The name Miyakijima [巳 焼 島] was derived from the original name of the neighboring island of Miyakejima [三 宅 島], which was recorded as Goyakidzima [御 焼 島], with the first character [御] replaced by [巳 (snake)], in honor of the year of the snake in which he appeared.

  It was also sometimes called the "New Island of the 21st Century," because it appeared in the first year of the 21st century.

  During the 20-year-old World War III, there appeared the base of the defense forces. However, due to repeated volcanic eruptions, in the 2050s the base was abandoned, and at the moment the island is used as a prison for magician-criminals.

  With the assistance of Toudou Aoba, this island in fact became the private property of the Yotsuba family. In fact, the owner is a certain company engaged in real estate, however, through the chain of owners, the Yotsuba family holds the bulk of the shares.

  In other words, the Miyakijima prison is an object entrusted to the Yotsuba family that is designed to secretly isolate dangerous magicians. Maya has free access to viewing data about prisoners sent there. Tatsuya mentioned Johnson and Jasmine, because he personally accompanied them there.

  "Miyakijima?" Was it not planned to reconstruct it as a place for experiments? - Asked Shibata Katsushige. After Miyuki was declared the next head of the family, he decided to tackle the affairs of his branch family, and began to work in the Ministry of Defense. So he knew about some of the projects promoted by the Yotsuba family.

  - It's not a problem. Soon we are going to get rid of them.

  Hearing Maya's answer, Katsushige slightly frowned. Among the young people present at the table, this was the strongest reaction. But there was no one who didn't understand what Maya meant by the word "get rid". But despite this, not only Tatsuya and Yuka, but Miyuki and Fumiya listened to this with disinterested persons, as if they were saying "That's how it is?". And Ayako did not react at all to this part of the conversation.

  - Head-sama. Miyakijima is the place where Miyuki onee-sama was trained in using Niflheim? So the object for experiments, being built there, will be designed to test large scale magic in the open air?

  Ayako was interested in a new place for testing. As she said, during the high school days, Miyuki used the land of the island of Miyakijima as a training ground for the development of the Niflheim casting.

  Then this island was considered just a prison for dangerous magicians. But only a small western part of the island was used for this purpose. Continuing underwater volcanic activity increased the area of the island from the frozen lava to 8 square kilometers. This is roughly equivalent to the Tokyo area, Kunitati. So there was plenty of room for practicing cooling magic over a wide area.

  - Although this is not yet the final decision ... Okay, probably, you can already tell.

  Maya seems to be really thinking, not trying to give the words importance.

  - Are the buildings here very old?

  Everyone, including Tatsuya, nodded in response to Maya's question. The equipment used by the Yotsuba family for the most part consisted of what was left of the Fourth Laboratory after World War III. Although preventive maintenance and repairs were performed on a regular basis, no one could deny that in general the equipment was out of date and incompatible with the modern era.

  "However, just sorting out the existing equipment and replacing it with a new one will be very difficult.

  This time, only Tatsuya and Katsushige nodded. Among the equipment received in wartime there were many rare components, of which replacements are almost impossible to find. Fears that after a complete update of the equipment some studies may be interrupted, were quite understandable.

  - That's why I thought it would be better to build a new experimental facility on Miyakijima.

  "So you got the army's consent to abolish the jail entrusted to us?" Yuka asked. Unlike Katsushige, she was not informed about this plan.

  - Officially, it will still function for some time. Also, new facilities will be nominally called defense laboratories.

  - Would it be a problem that the so-called defense forces laboratories will in fact be the property of the Yotsuba family?

  - All the details are already negotiated.

  It seems that, without considering it necessary to explain what kind of negotiations they were, Maya looked from Yuka to Tatsuya.

  "Better let's hear the continuation of Tatsuya-san's report." It seems that it was called " Gatekeeper". Tatsuya-san's magic that neutralizes magicians. Can it be used by other magicians other than you?

  "The sequence of magic still needs improvement, but magicians with a good predisposition to mental interference magic, in theory, will be able to
use it right now."

  In addition to Maya, Yuka and Fumiya showed great interest. Among the living members of the Yotsuba family, these two had the highest abilities in mental interference magic. Although their skills were still inferior to their parents' generation, in terms of talent and potential, the two competed for 1-2 place among the whole family.

  - Could you translate it into code?

  - I brought it with me.

  Coding created the description of magic through the activation sequence. In most cases, a new magic is created in the magician's imagination. At the moment, this is the biggest obstacle and bottleneck for those who want to share magic skills, because specialized skills are required to describe the magic algorithm in the form of an activation sequence.

  However, for Tatsuya to develop the code for the activation sequence of the new magic, there was no difficulty. Maya knew this, so she asked about the availability of the ready activation sequence.

  - I see. Will you transfer it later to Hayama-san?

  - Of course.

  - Yuka-san. Take a copy of the activation sequence from Hayama-san.

  - I understand.

  - I think further improvement of Gatekeeper can be entrusted to the Tsukuba family. Tatsuya-san, do you mind?

  - Of course, I do not mind.

  Tatsuya from the very beginning did not intend to keep "Gatekeeper" a secret. Because he knew that she could not hurt the magicians, who had an order of magnitude higher than the usual psion reserve, such as Miyuki and himself. He did not want to disclose it to everyone, but he intended to share it with the Yotsuba, at least.

  However, Tatsuya did not have a predisposition to mental interference. He used "Gatekeeper" with the help of his other ability. He himself was not suitable for working with mental interference magic. Therefore, the decision to leave further work on improving the magic to the Tsukuba family, which has many users of mental interference magic, looked reasonable. Thinking it over, Tatsuya nodded.

  Only Fumiya had a slightly disappointed face, but apart from Tatsuya, no one else said anything. It seems that everyone decided that the events in Okinawa should not be discussed anymore.

  - So ... - After taking a sip of tea, Maya continued, changing the subject. - Further, I would like to hear details about today's meeting.

  - Of course.

  When Tatsuya's story reached the point where he mentioned that they wanted to make Miyuki an advertising face that would work on the image of the magicians to improve public opinion, an atmosphere of indignation began to build around Fumiya and Ayako.

  "Already many people treat us like friends. Is it not better, at last, to show the world its seriousness? "Yuka said sarcastically. The word "peace" used by her meant "magic world," that is, the world community of magicians.

  "Whether we like it or not, we do not need any unnecessary actions. Katsushige responded briefly to Yuka's words. Although he was thinking in the opposite direction, it was clear that his feelings were also hurt.

  - Tatsuya-san, the Yotsuba family supports your decision. We simply ignore this and all subsequent plans trying to use Miyuki-san.

  There was no irritation or anger in Maya's voice. However, there was no room for misunderstanding in her words.

  - You are not even worried about a possible confrontation with the other 27 houses?

  Even under the pressure of Tatsuya's difficult question,

  - Yes.

  Maya answered quickly and without hesitation. Perhaps Maya in advance foresaw the plan of Saegusa Tomokazu, that is, the Saegusa family.

  - Can we just ignore it? - Asked Fumiya. It seems that he meant whether it would be normal not to respond with counter actions to attack opponents.

  "Of course, we will not sit quietly if they attack us."

  Maya's answer implied a ban on creating conflicts first. However, Tatsuya's behavior at today's meeting, where he refused to cooperate, fell under Maya's policy of ignoring it, because it was clearly provoked by the other side. You can even say that he was forced to do it by force.

  - But do not relax. I think you understand that we are not invincible. It cannot be said for sure that a Yotsuba magician will absolutely always defeat the magician's of another family.

  Although it was not read by face, it was not difficult to guess that everyone was thinking that "it's too late to say that". However, one could not say that in their minds there were no such arrogant thoughts as "we will never lose."

  - Special attention should be paid to the families Juumonji and Tooyama. And also Kudo Minoru.

  Most did not understand what she meant. Only Tatsuya and Katsushige were not surprised by Maya's words.

  - Kudo Minoru ... Second-grader from Second High? Is he such a formidable opponent?

  "Last fall, he helped in Zhou Gongjin's case, and he is undoubtedly an enemy, demanding special vigilance. - Tatsuya answered Yuka's question. But he was surprised by the answer Katsushige, and not Yuka. He read the report on the case of Zhou Gongjin and knew about Minoru's cooperation. Indeed, there he was rated as a magician with high combat performance. Perhaps its danger at the level of Yuki or Fumiya.

  But Katsushige did not think that Tatsuya would lead him by the nose, saying that the enemy "requires vigilance."

  Nevertheless, he showed no doubts. Doubt in the abilities of Minoru means doubt in the words of Maya. If the first time you can still get forgiveness, but the second time you cannot wait for mercy. Katsushige could not have known this. But that's why his doubt was not lost, and firmly entrenched in his mind.

  - I saw the strength of the Juumonji family during the Yokohama incident. Does the Tooyama family have the same level of strength?

  It seems that Miyuki decided to change the subject to stop Katsushige, who at any moment could say something superfluous.

  - The official line of research for the Tenth Laboratory is "magic with a large coverage area, creating virtual structures," but the real goal was to create magicians, which will be the last line of defense of the central government. The "products" of these studies, the Juumonji and Tooyama families, received combat power, placing them on a completely different level than the rest of the 25 houses.

  When Maya talked about 25 houses, it was not a mistake in her calculations. Among the 28 houses, the Juumonji, Tooyama and Yotsuba families were those they consider "different."

  - The last line of defense of the central government? Not the entire capital?

  From the published results of the Tenth Laboratory's research, one can easily remember the key phrase: "In case of emergency, the magicians of the Juumonji family will be the last line of defense of the capital." This means that if the magicians of the Juumonji family are on guard, they will be able to prevent even a direct attack on the capital. This was the basis of Miyuki's doubt.

  The magic of the multiple barriers of the Juumonji family is not very suitable against infantry, but manifests itself fully against mobile troops, aviation and missile weapons. Their powerful magic barriers boast of the power to stop not only artillery shells and large bombs, but also hypersonic missiles and even tactical nuclear weapons (although they are in fact prohibited).

  There is no need to encircle the entire metropolitan area with a barrier. It is enough to form a barrier on the trajectory of the projectile's flight. If it's a bomb, then you can wrap it with a barrier that will absorb the explosion. And such accuracy, speed and strength are possessed by the magicians of the Juumonji family.

  Their characteristics are enough to "protect the city from attack," so they can be called "the last defense line of the capital."

  However, Maya said that the real purpose of the Tenth Laboratory is "the last line of defense of the central government." If this is not just a play on words, then the magic that the Tooyama family possesses will be different from the magic of the Juumonji family.

  - Yes. It seems that Miyuki-san does not know. The magic of the
Tooyama family is designed to protect people.

  "I did not know either." So, the magic of the Tooyama family is designed for personal protection?

  Asked by Yuka, Maya shook her head imperturbably.

  - Not personal. To protect a group of people, it creates for everyone an individual barrier. This is the magic of the Tooyama family.

  - Simultaneous targeting? Or is it a Multiple Casting?

  - I do not currently know such details. - With a smile Maya answered the question of the interested Fumiya.

  Tatsuya felt that further questions to Maya might turn out to be something bad.

  - I understood. We will interact with Juumonji, Tooyama and Kudo Minoru with extreme caution.

  He intervened in the ongoing conversation, bowing his head showing his consent. Perhaps Katsushige like Tatsuya, realized the danger so he did not continue to talk about the magic of the Tooyama family.

  - And yet, is it really good to adopt a policy of one-sided confrontation? I cannot accept the plan to use Miyuki-san as an advertisement, but I do not think that completely refusing to cooperate with other families in the fight against anti-magic movement is a good idea.

  Instead, he expressed concern about the appointed policy of disobedience.

  - If there is nothing more, there will be no confrontation ... But cooperation is impossible, until the other side apologizes? Because they wanted to use the next head of our family. This is the limit.

  Katsushige responded to Yuka's speech with a surprised face.

  "Yuka-san ... Why are you so belligerent?" Setting the conditions is, of course, good, but when it comes to isolation, the balance will clearly not be in our favor.

  - Is it true? - Those who expressed their disagreement with Katsushige's rather judicious opinion were Fumiya, not Yuka. - Isolation from the whole of society is undoubtedly fatal. However, will isolation only from the society of magicians somehow harm us? Moreover, the conversation is about the problem of isolation only within the framework of the 28 houses, which are only a small part of the magical community. There is no reason to be afraid of such isolation.