Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 11 - Visitor Chapter (III) Page 7

  Miyuki, along with one other.

  The third card was handed to Honoka, who met him at the station. This may not need to be said, but just as with Miyuki, no, even before Miyuki, Tatsuya never planned on bringing Honoka along. The reason everything turned out like this was because Honoka was also present when the question about the access confirmation came up in the Student Council Room. Indeed, he could only blame himself for being careless. On top of that, even if he could refuse her, he couldn’t tell her the real reason with Azusa and Isori eavesdropping on them. He still might have been able to deny Honoka’s request, but he could not go through with this after Miyuki threw in her support. Additionally, unlike Miyuki, Honoka received the ID card from Tatsuya with a petrified expression on her face.

  The reason he requested the access card was to "investigate the odd behaviors in the 3H-P94 model". Nevertheless, the real reason Tatsuya wanted to bring Pixie outside was to bait the Parasites.

  He knew something after questioning Pixie multiple times, and that was "the Parasites won’t leave Pixie alone". Although this knowledge was nothing more than speculation, Tatsuya had confidence in that line of thinking. If the general consensus lost contact with a component, they should attempt to recover that piece. Tatsuya judged that in order to accomplish this, they had to make contact somehow.

  He had no way of locating the Parasites, though he didn’t need to do that actively. –Until yesterday, that is. Since Pixie had been possessed by the Parasite, he could not wash himself of the whole deal. There was a much bigger problem with handing over Pixie in that state, and when compared to all that, he wanted to wipe out the Parasites even more. He had originally planned on fighting the Parasites again, which was precisely the reason why he had asked to train with Yakumo. Pixie was nothing more than the impetus that changed a reactive stance to a more proactive one.

  Tatsuya wasn’t planning on taking out all the Parasites tonight. Still, he believed that if they could lure out one or two, then that would lead to clues regarding the rest of them.

  After taking into account the danger involved with this course of action, Tatsuya probably should have decisively forbidden Miyuki and Honoka from accompanying him. In all likelihood, Tatsuya was probably numb to the "danger" of too many things.

  While strategizing tonight’s activities, he never planned on proceeding alone. Based on his experiences to this point and contemplating the necessity of this move, he petitioned Erika and Mikihiko for support. It was only thanks to their help that he was able to allow Miyuki, who was in the know, and Honoka, who was somewhat of a participant, to come along.

  First High’s school rules required students to wear their uniforms before or after class, but this restriction was lifted when visiting the campus at night. On the surface, this was because the ID card had a built in transmitter so there was no need to wear a uniform, but in reality, the underlying intent was to prevent students from wandering around on the streets after hours in their uniform.

  This was a matter of risk avoidance – better to have less incidents than more incidents – for the school. Understanding this, Tatsuya complied with that wish and wore the same combat-use jacket he usually wore. Matching her brother, Miyuki wore a half coat, sweat pants, and a pair of high boots for mobility.

  Yet, Honoka still wore her uniform underneath her jacket. This caused one to ponder if she was fully aware of what they were about to do tonight, but Tatsuya wouldn’t be Tatsuya if he did something so blatant as expressing that thought aloud.

  "Honoka, did you not go home today?"

  Miyuki was the one who gently asked the question on her brother’s mind.

  "Eh? No, I did go home."

  Honoka lived alone in a rented room that was much closer to school than the siblings’ residence. It was fairly implausible for her to not have enough time to change.

  "Is…… wearing a uniform, going to be a problem……?"

  "Well, it’s not going to be a problem…… But it might be a little inconvenient."

  Though scolding words were to be avoided, they were planning on running into trouble tonight. Furthermore, Honoka seemed to have missed that memo.

  If he knew this was going to happen, he should have explained more carefully, Tatsuya thought with a hint of regret.

  "Onii-sama, would it be better for Honoka to first stop by her apartment?"

  Miyuki wanted to dispel the glum atmosphere.

  "We can wait for Honoka downstairs while she changes."

  Miyuki probably wasn’t doing this to "help her rival". Most likely, she was presenting a solution to Tatsuya’s puzzlement.

  "That’s true. It’s too late for us to visit…… If Honoka is OK with it, let’s go."

  "Of course not! I, uh, would never mind if you came to visit. If you have time, please drop by."

  However, while completely unrelated to Miyuki’s thoughts, this was something that Honoka dearly wished for.

  And so, while this drama was playing out, the three of them arrived at the garage for the Robotics Club. The door was locked of course, but things like locks were designed to be easily disabled from within.

  Tatsuya pulled out his portable terminal and engaged short range communications before sending out a recognition signal that he prepared ahead of time. The response was practically immediate.

  ((Did you call for me, Master?))

  A simple door’s thickness, even a heavily reinforced armored door that was completely out of place on this flimsy looking exterior, was not going to affect telepathy.

  "Open the door for me."

  ((Understood.))

  Immediately after the response, the door to the garage opened.

  Not far inside, the silhouette of a doll wearing a maid uniform dropped into a deep curtsey. Even with a monster dwelling inside, the basic behavioral modules were still active.

  Once Pixie raised her head, Tatsuya removed the first thing from the bag.

  "Pixie, put this on."

  Even if it was late at night, no, on some level precisely because it was late at night, there was no way they could bring her around like this (in her maid getup). Whatever the case, any reason for wearing a maid uniform was no good. For this operation, Tatsuya first had to prepare a set of clothing for Pixie.

  It appeared that orders of this extent did not require a verbal response.

  All of a sudden, Pixie began removing her dress.

  Tatsuya treated this entire process as if it was all a matter of course. This was already the second time he had seen "her" changing clothes after school, and since he had no interest in treating humans and dolls in the same light, to him Pixie changing clothes was the same thing as lifting the hood on an automatic car.

  "Onii-sama? Why are you just watching!?"

  However, it appeared that it was a little difficult for Miyuki to come around to his line of thinking.

  Likewise, Honoka seemed to share that sentiment based on her disapproving gaze.

  "What are you talking about, Miyuki? Pixie is a robot."

  "A robot that happens to be a girl!"

  "No, humanoid actually, and not precise enough to emulate the human body……"

  Just as Tatsuya said, the 3H was designed to be a humanoid robot "indistinguishable from human beings after putting on clothes", but the portions and lines hidden beneath the clothes could not possibly compare with a human female. The "parts" on a doll used for deviant purposes would be a little more pronounced.

  The torso gave the impression of "a woman wearing a skin-colored leotard", but that only extended to the waist. The portion from the waist to the leg showed lines that clearly belonged on a robot, and even wearing tights over that could not hide the fact she wasn’t human. That was the reason why the disguise involved a long dress.

  Still, for the two young ladies, subjectivity trumped objectivity.

  Miyuki forcibly turned Tatsuya around while Honoka stood protectively between Pixie and the other two.

  Though he felt that t
his was a little ridiculous, it wasn’t like he wanted to peep. Until the moment the two of them gave the OK, Tatsuya obediently kept his back to them.

  "Tatsuya, it’s OK now."

  Despite Honoka’s words, Tatsuya checked Miyuki’s expression just in case before turning around.

  The clothes that Tatsuya brought included a standard windbreaker jacket with high elasticity as well as a knee length skirt that covered the lines.

  A scarf was wrapped twice around her neck.

  A hat to cover the facial features was not provided on purpose.

  The legs were wrapped in a thick pair of leggings and boots, which served to hide the fine details while improving the purchase on the feet. –These were all suggestions he took from the female officer responsible for clothing in the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion.

  Honoka produced a brush out of nowhere and started organizing Pixie’s hair. Pixie didn’t seem to care in the slightest as she stood there without moving. This was declaring that, no matter how she looked on the outside, she was just a doll and not a human. Tatsuya did not have such high demands from Pixie.

  As long as she could move about on the streets without suspicion, that was more than sufficient.

  On that point, Pixie’s current appearance was passable.

  "Pixie, follow me."

  As if declaring the onset of hostilities, Tatsuya made this declaration

  He gave a lofty order as if commanding a slave.

  Completely apathetic.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Erika stood in front of her brother’s room in a daze.

  For her, this was unexpected beyond the unexpected. She couldn’t believe she was still so weak in some areas.

  Although she wasn’t nervous when coming to her mother’s house, she still tried her utmost to avoid her father and older sister. There was no conflict with those two, but she also wanted to dodge her oldest brother. Thankfully, her eldest brother shouldn’t have returned at this hour yet.

  At any rate, quickly handling the issue and then retreating far away from here to her own room was the best bet, so stalling in the hallways was the worst possible choice.

  "Second brother, it’s me, Erika."

  She encouraged herself to strike up a conversation.

  "Come in."

  There was a tiny delay before a response was heard.

  The sound was neither displeased nor welcoming.

  Instead, the unpleasant aura must already have been retracted.

  Striking down the urge to do an "about face", Erika opened the door.

  "What is it, coming here at this hour?"

  Naotsugu sat in a chair at the writing table. He turned in his chair and faced his upper body towards Erika. However, Erika noticed that the bed behind the writing table showed signs of someone just in bed recently.

  Although this was the opposite situation from last night, Erika didn’t open her mouth to scold him.

  "There’s just a few things I wanted to talk to you about."

  Erika’s tone was slightly hesitant.

  Her change was brought about by the forced smile that floated across Naotsugu’s face.

  "Go ahead."

  Naotsugu’s response was a little half-hearted, almost as if it was like "I’ll listen just because it’s you". Yet, this didn't lessen Erika’s load in the slightest, since something else seemed to be on his mind.

  "Onii-san, have you heard of a unit called the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion?"

  "Why do you know that name, Erika?"

  Erika was a little hurt by Naotsugu’s nonchalant attitude and rallied to utter those words, words that immediately captured all of Naotsugu’s attention.

  "Actually……"

  Once she got here, Erika was again filled with doubt, but there was no other way to go about it.

  "The person Onii-san was protecting is actually my classmate, Shiba Tatsuya-kun. He happens to be one of the soldiers for the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion."

  "What did you just say……?"

  Erika was trembling with hesitation, if not outright fear, as she said this, to which Naotsugu was unable to hide his shock.

  "I’m terribly sorry. Originally, I should have passed this along several days ago when you asked, but because of someone called Major Kazama, I was unable to do so because of a gag order related to classified national security reasons."

  "Major Kazama……? –As in 'Daitengu' Kazama Harunobu!?"

  "Daitengu?"

  This time it was Erika’s turn to tilt her head in surprise at her brother’s words.

  For the appropriate Magician, and also to overawe their opponents by bolstering their name, sometimes an exaggerated alias was called for, but "Daitengu" was too unique even for that. It was so overblown that it seemed impossible.

  "Does Onii-san know about Major Kazama?"

  "Yeah…… In forests or mountainous terrain, he is globally acknowledged to be one of the finest Ancient Magic users. Likewise in the realm of paratroopers, he is still renowned as one of the great commanders in the country."

  Naotsugu’s expression and voice were interlaced with excitement and awe.

  "Do you know about the Vietnamese Conflict? In that war, the South Vietnamese Army that was trying to wage guerilla warfare against the Great Asian Alliance that was encroaching into the Indian Peninsula and the Korean army dispatched by the Great Asian Alliance were so fearful of him that they treated him like Death or the Devil himself."

  Upon hearing her brother’s words, Erika knew that he had forgotten everything in front of him and merely sighed as if to say "What am I going to do with you……"

  Many were those who martyred themselves on the path to glory by going that extra mile. Maybe one day, this sort of thinking will drive this country to destruction. Even though this wasn’t something that a young woman like her should consider, Erika couldn’t help but ponder this in her head.

  "Rumor has it that the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion is under Major Kazama’s direct command…… In that light, all of these rumors that smack of urban legends make sense. Furthermore, if Shiba Tatsuya-kun is a member of that outfit, then that power unbefitting his age could also be explained."

  Just as Erika seemed to be lost in her own world, Naotsugu also appeared to be talking to himself.

  Thanks to this, Erika’s attention was drawn back to her original goal.

  "Onii-san, I made contact with Major Kazama during the Yokohama Incident. If not for that emergency, I may not have been able to stumble across Shiba-kun’s secret. Even then, I felt that this was a huge secret."

  "Hm~…… The Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion carries all the characteristics of black ops. Having a high school student join them as an irregular must contain a very special reason."

  "I broke regulations by informing Onii-san about Shiba-kun’s situation, so please keep that in mind."

  "In other words, Erika is telling me to stop poking into his affairs, correct?"

  "Indeed. The fallout from poking that hornet’s nest should be something that not only Onii-san, but the Chiba Family as a whole would want to avoid. Likewise, that nest may contain a giant swarm of poisonous hornets."

  "Hm…… That’s true, you have a point there, Erika. However, although he’s a student, I belong to the army. I cannot disobey a direct order."

  "Then, can you pretend to obey orders? If you pretend to be his guard, then under situations where he gets attacked, you can then appear and seize control of the situation."

  "I see…… I understand. Then let’s proceed along these lines."

  ……Fortunately, she was able to convince her brother without dropping the name "Yotsuba". Concealing her uneasy expression, Erika bowed and left Naotsugu’s room without catching his eye.

  After returning to her own room, Erika read the message that was flashing on the information terminal atop her desk before murmuring "Aoyama Cemetery, eh?" She didn’t sit in the chair directly and immediately
peeled off her clothes and threw them aside. This was not something a young lady should be doing, but she was also taking this opportunity to get rid of the depression she felt while trying to convince Naotsugu.

  After putting on the composite rubber under armor with bulletproof, anti-piercing and other qualities, she put on a leather biker jacket and shorts. She wore protectors that did not disrupt her mobility over her knees and pulled a pair of clothes over her hands that had thin, composite fibers over the palm and finger areas. After verifying the contents in her jacket pocket, Erika picked up her weapons and headed for the threshold. The shorts and long rubber boots appearance highly suited her fiery appearance, but her destination wasn’t the night life.

  Not far from her, "Erika’s personal guard" awaited her. In this recent "vampire incident", they were the core elements of the Chiba Family’s personnel and served as Erika’s hands and feet in this operation.

  "Come."

  Erika coldly uttered those words.

  Yet no trace of displeasure was shown by the men as they followed in her footsteps.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Honoka’s place was a single person apartment for rent. The total area was supposed to be 1 LDK, but with a small dining area in the kitchen, the total area was less than 1 LDK.

  Even with the living room and bedroom separated from one another, this was something that was absolutely required for young girls. Even if the boy was Tatsuya, she wasn’t willing for someone to open the door and immediately get a glimpse of her bedroom.

  In the living room, Tatsuya was enjoying tea with Miyuki. Pixie had been halted from executing her routine behavioral pattern when Honoka frantically prepared tea in time.

  The coarse tea that was brought out was likely Honoka’s personal favorite.

  Honoka herself was changing in her room. The soundproofing was excellent, but for some reason, there appeared to be some sort of nervous aura emanating from Honoka’s side. Of course, the siblings knew that feigning obliviousness here was what propriety demanded.

  When they finally caught sight of Honoka, the siblings just finished the tea.