Published at 26th of March 2019 2:11 am

Volume 15, Chapter 7

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Saturday morning, October 20th.

The arts school still held on to the five days system, but the six-day systems are more commonly used in high schools nowadays. Certainly, magic high school conducts the curriculum from Monday to Saturday.

Unlike their usual routine of going to school and facing the terminal in the classroom, Tatsuya was going to Kyoto with Miyuki and Minami.

They didn't skip school. It was a public holiday. This time, under the cover of preparing for the Thesis Competition they were going by trailer rather than the express train.

Simply put, a trailer is a two-story combination train, with cabinets for passengers at the first floor and amenities space on the second floor. Speed-wise, it wasn’t a lot inferior to the express train, since it was powered by linear motors.

The wheels were made of metal, running on a metal rail. It leaves a sense of "railway" when compared to an express train or an individual compartment train.

Before the ride, the individual type train was parked in the trailer by a parking mechanism. As the Individual compartment train has a higher speed than the trailer, it approaches the trailer from behind. The mechanism then scoops up the compartment from behind. The mechanism itself was housed inside the trailer and attached by a slider. Thus, the passengers from each individual compartment train were able to board the trailer for longer, inter-city rides. It was possible to have such a system as the wheels of individual compartment trains were only for support and not attached to the vehicle body.

Tatsuya and company boarded the trailer and immediately after, headed to the amenities space of the second story. The first floor seemed to be a waste because even though it was excellent for privacy there was very little space to stretch out.

Fortunately, the relax chair was vacant. Tatsuya and Miyuki sat side by side, and Minami sat opposite Miyuki after she rotated the seat in front of her.

"Do you want something to drink?"

Tatsuya pulled out the order terminal from the armrest and asked Miyuki while showing the screen her.

“...Sorry to trouble you, Onii-sama. I'll go with this."

While Tatsuya excused himself to place the orders, Miyuki operated the terminal by herself. Tatsuya also tried showing the screen to Minami, but Minami had already taken out the terminal from her seat. It was as if she was declaring that 'I'd rather have my own than Tatsuya's', Tatsuya returned back to his terminal with a laugh. Minami got a little annoyed when she saw that, while dispensing her order.

The drinks arrived in less than a minute. A robotic arm that had been moving through the ceiling lowered the tray for the three of them. This is the same type of mechanism that is used in ordinary households, HAR (Home Automation Robot).

Reusable resin cups were handed over to Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Minami in that order, before the arm returned back to the ceiling. The three of them had a mouthful to moisten their throats and then put the cups on their side table.

It was immediately after, that a voice called Tatsuya from behind.

"Huh? Tatsuya-kun?"

Tatsuya and company put down their cups, because they were aware that she was approaching them.

"Morning, Erika."

The one who greeted her was Miyuki.

"I didn't expect you to be in this trailer as well."

Erika sat down in front of Tatsuya, and Tatsuya continued the conversation.

"What a great coincidence."

Erika nodded while showing a little surprise. Intra-city trailers ran at regular intervals, those who were traveling for long distances often got placed in the closest trailers. The control is done by a traffic control system, so the passengers who ride the trailer have no say in choosing.

However, it is not such a surprising situation. If they have the same destination and the same estimated time of arrival they’ll always be merged into the same trailer, thus, the possibility of getting into the same vehicle was quite high. Erika boarded from a trailer soon after Tatsuya and company hence, there was a high probability that they would meet inside.

Following Tatsuya and company, Erika also ordered a drink and had a big stretch in the relax chair.

"Yup, as expected, it's nice to be able to stretch my limbs."

"Do you feel it’s cramped in the narrow compartment train?"

Although there were individual cabin trains that were made according to body size, there were people who would still feel the narrowness. Miyuki assessed from Erika’s attitude that she was that type.

"Hmm? It's not like that. I’ve also been disciplined to sit in a narrow room for hours."

"So there's such a discipline in swordsmanship."

Surprisingly, Miyuki's amazement was met with a bitter frown from Erika.

"That sh*tty father forced me to do it as a part of swordsmanship training."

Tatsuya and Miyuki exchanged a glance at the choice of words of the young lady in front of them. Erika might be seemingly boisterous, but she was actually brought up as a respectable lady. Putting aside the ’baka aniki’ name-calling of her brother, she shouldn't have used bad words such as 'sh*tty father'.

"So it wasn't an art of the sword?"

She eventually made eye contact due to her curiosity, and saw that Erika wasn’t in the mood to answer the question. Both of them alike, do not want anyone to find out about their family situation.

Therefore, Miyuki asked this instead. From Erika's words, she concluded that it must be some form of a 'lesson'. She felt that it was befitting of Erika rather than the opposite.

"It’s a tea ceremony.”

If one thought about it, Miyuki's amazement was a fitting expression in response to Erika's answer.

"I think it’s not so rare to combine tea ceremony and martial arts."

However, Tatsuya followed up a split second later, making Erika fail to notice that Miyuki was speechlessly surprised.

"Well. I'm pretty sure my father needed it as a head of the family, but I don't think he needed to force his children right?"

"Well, you're not wrong either."

"But I think you were too harsh, Erika."

The rebooted Miyuki came to interrupt with a smile.

"The tea ceremony disciples are mostly girls. Wouldn't it be hard on your brother too?"

"On the other hand, I think it's not weird for Erika to do a tea ceremony."

At Tatsuya's new comment, Erika shifted her eyes.

"Eh, I wonder. Don't you feel uncomfortable with me handling tea?"

"There's no way that could be true. I've been invited to Miyuki's class twice, I think the atmosphere suits Erika well."

"I'm sure Miyuki wouldn't think that..."

A smile that slipped from Erika's lips while she was facing away, made Tatsuya leak a giggle. It was obvious that she was hiding her embarrassment while pretending to sulk.

When they arrived at Kyoto Station, Leo and Mikihiko had been waiting for them in the ticket lounge. As expected, it wasn’t by chance that the two of them took the same trailer. They knew that Erika was going to take the trailer, and chose to take the individual compartment train.

There were six people meeting up at Kyoto Station and they immediately started proceeding to the hotel. However, as they started walking, Tatsuya halted and looked back, sensing the presence of someone he knew closing in.

"Tatsuya-san, Miyuki-san, Minami-san."

"Ara, Minoru-kun?"

He was rapidly approaching them when Miyuki called him, she met him two weeks ago. The youngest of the Kudou Family, Kudou Minoru.

Tatsuya and company realized, and he also probably realized. His name was being called without hesitation and his face was brimming with a smile.

There was amazement coming from Tatsuya's right side. At a glance, Erika's eyes were wide open and in a round shape. Even her mouth was a little open; she must have been quite surprised.

"How surprising."

While thinking that, words of admittance flew out.

"He looks like a boy version of Miyuki... I never thought that there'd be anyone else with this kind of a perfect face besides Miyuki."

Tatsuya consented to her opinion, but it was not a comment to be made in the presence of the specified person.

"Minoru, did you come to fetch us? Didn't we plan for you to wait at the hotel?"

"Yes, that was the plan but it doesn't take much time to get here, so I decided to come over."

Thank goodness we didn't miss him that would honestly only turn into a bitter situation, Tatsuya decided to keep this in his own heart.

Instead, he chose to introduce him to the others who were still not acquainted with Minoru.

"This is your first time meeting them right?"

By them, he was referring to his friends who were lining up to his right. Miyuki was on his left side, while Minami was behind him.

"This is the Kudou Family’s son, Kudou Minoru."

"Nice to meet you. I'm a freshman from Second High, Kudou Minoru."

After Tatsuya's words, Minoru introduced himself. Not as a member of the 'Kudou Family', but as a common 'High School Freshman'. He chose to be a high school student rather than a member of the 10MC.

"I'm a sophomore at First High, Chiba Erika. Nice to meet you."

Erika quick to reign in her shock was the first one to introduce herself.

"I'm Saijou Leonhart. Also a sophomore at First High."

"Yoshida Mikihiko. I'm a sophomore at First High as well. Nice to meet you, Kudou-kun."

"Nice to meet you too."

Minoru’s eyebrows moved slightly when hearing Erika’s and Mikihiko's name, he must have realized that they were the descendants of Chiba swordsmen and Yoshida spell users. He doesn't seem to have good enough interpersonal skills to hide what’s on his mind, even with his outlandish talent in magic.

"Well, we only have a small age gap."

"Minoru. We're going to put down our luggage at the hotel first, do you want to tag along?"

"Yes, please let me do so. We can use the time to talk about something."

"That's right."

Tatsuya turned his steps towards the commuter landing again. Miyuki was by his side, and his friends followed behind. Both Minoru and Minami also followed Tatsuya.

Despite it being a little early to check in, the luggage could be deposited at the hotel without a problem. This practice has not changed from the old days.

The seven people in Tatsuya's group, including Minoru, initially headed towards the new Kyoto International Convention Hall, which was the venue for the Thesis Competition. It was rebuilt from a facility called, Kyoto International Conference Center that existed before the war. However, it was renamed as the New International Convention Center, two decades after the war ended.

It was a natural location that was originally surrounded by lakes and mountains, and it hasn't changed even after the rebuilding process. Construction of such large-scale commerce facilities was virtually banned, also farther away there was a small stadium that had been demolished due to its old age and was changed into a large park.

As opposed to the terrain in the Yokohama Incident last year, with the exception of one hotel adjacent to the Convention Center, there were no high-rise buildings that foreigners could sabotage in the vicinity of the New International Convention Center. Houses in the surrounding area were mostly two-stories high. It's highly unlikely that a large number of people could hide in the vicinity without being discovered.

"…But on the other hand, it was easier for a few people to hide here."

"Is it? I think homeless people wouldn't hide at a mountain though."

Erika raised a question to Mikihiko's opinion.

"It doesn't necessarily mean that they'd sleep on the mountain. They might only hide during the day right? Isn't that the reason we came here to search the area?"

At Leo's rebuttal, Erika repeatedly blinked. She hid the fact that she was about to say the same line, and noticed that he was not convinced.

"Moreover, there isn't any need to camp in the mountains."

Erika followed up and made Mikihiko fall into silence, she hadn’t planned to do so, but Mikihiko tried to point out something.

"If it's only two or three people, they can also be hiding in a private house. Ancient spells can hypnotize people and those in the vicinity wouldn't even realize that they were there."

"Ah, locals. Traditional Magic can likely do that."

Were you keeping quiet because you were skeptical, Erika chimed innocently.

"Anyway why don't we split up and take a look at the surroundings first? I should be able to detect if any barrier is put up."

Tatsuya who had remained silent until that point made a proposal.

"No, that's inefficient."

Although he had nothing specific in mind, Mikihiko answered Tatsuya instantly.

"If they're hiding as a small group inside a barrier, you wouldn't be able to detect their presence from the outside; you'd be vulnerable to their attacks. Not that I doubt Tatsuya and Miyuki-san's ability, it's just impossible to walk around blindly to search for their presence unless you're blessed with an abundance of luck. We have no time to waste to rely on such a chance."

Tatsuya naturally nodded.

"I see. Then, what should we do?"

"I'll try to explore with my Shiki."

He answered Tatsuya and then faced Erika and Leo.

"Erika and Leo, would you help me?"

"What should we do?"

Leo replied with a very enthusiastic look on his face.

"I'll be vulnerable when I use my Shikigami and they will focus their attention on me. I want you to stay vigilant of the surroundings."

"Leave it to me."

In answer to Mikihiko, Leo nodded with a smile.

"…No choice. Very well, I'll protect you."

Erika disguised her face with a non-caring expression, yet her fighting spirit betrayed her face and her voice.

"I'm in your care. Next for Tatsuya's group."

After giving instructions to Erika and Leo——the two frowned thinking 'stiffy' or felt 'brackish'——Mikihiko faced Tatsuya again.

"Tatsuya, Miyuki-san and Sakurai-san, as we discussed last week, why don't you take a look around the city. Umm."

Mikihiko was giving Minoru, who was standing beside Minami a puzzled look.

"I will guide you guys. Last year, Second High also suffered the same trouble after all."

"Minoru is Fujibayashi-san's cousin."

Mikihiko, Erika, and Leo were in that location on October 30th last year. Tatsuya was revealed to be a secret military officer and they’d been forced to protect the secret. They remembered the name of the beautiful officer who accompanied them to Sakuragicho Station.

"Aaa…"

"Hmm… So you're her relative."

"Oh, so that's the edge."

Judging from the three reactions, they must have understood that they 'must not spread' the relationship between Tatsuya and Minoru.

"Umm, this is within our territory after all. If you intend to search for him in Kyoto, I can at least guide you around the region.

The three of them interpreted 'consultation with Fujibayashi' as 'consultation of mission with the JSDF', Tatsuya uttered those words as to amplify the misunderstanding.

"I see."

Mikihiko said 'I see' as he was nearing his limit in pretending to be calm.

"Then, Tatsuya, I'll leave that to you."

"Ah, you too."

"Yoshida-kun, Saijou-kun, Erika, see you later."

"Yeah, at the hotel."

Erika answered Miyuki in a loud voice, the seven of them split into two groups.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tatsuya's group headed towards a well-known temple in the northeast suburbs of Kyoto, the Sanzen-in Temple. However, Tatsuya had no plans to tour the precinct. He hadn’t come here to go sightseeing. This was the place where Zhou Gongjin was last spotted.

Originally, he was preconditioned by the view of the New International Convention Center, which made the city central look similar to his own neighborhood. However, now that he went to other areas, he had a more cohesive image of coziness in regards to Kyoto.

According to the information he obtained from Hayama, Kuroba's Intelligence troops had skimmed for Zhou Gongjin's whereabouts between the area of 'the tomb of the Great Emperor Toba' and 'the tomb of Emperor Juntoku'. As expected, they were not allowed to step into the area surrounding the tombs. The path leading to the tombs’ was complemented with a small downstream river.

He had the impression that Zhou had fled to the mountain when he first heard the information, however, the clues hinted that Zhou had escaped to normal local houses in the tourist area. By matching the landscape with the map, he could pinpointed that Zhou fled in the direction of 'Otonashi Falls', when Tatsuya remembered his opponent, he shook his head.

That direction pointed towards a Northeast orientation. Combining all of the information obtained thus far, it was a kind of foolish to think that an ancient magician would move in that direction. At first glance, the area boasted an overgrown forest dense with trees, which gave a sense of magic really flourishing there, but its true value was probably shown in large crowds.

If there wasn't anyone here, I should be able to detect his presence.

However, in this crowd, it was impossible to search for someone without being derailed from one’s sense of direction. In other words, if he couldn't recognize the other party, he wouldn't be able to spot the other party.

Before coming here, Tatsuya had guessed that Zhou lurked around in places deep within the mountain while avoiding people. However, he changed his mind when he saw the real location. From this downstream, it showed that he fled towards the village rather than the mountains, hiding in the city with a lot of people instead of secluding himself.

"The clues about his destination are pointing to Mt. Kurama, the place where the nearest traditionalist base is located, Tatsuya-san, do you want to go there?"

Minoru asked Tatsuya on the short bridge over the Ritsu River. Miyuki and Minami also looked at him, while he shook his head.

"No, let's head back to the city."

"So he is in the city?"

Minoru asked with slight surprise.

"Onii-sama, are you thinking that Zhou Gongjin is hiding in a place with a lot of people?"

Tatsuya nodded as an affirmation to Miyuki's question.

"I see. To hide a tree within a forest."

Minoru seemed to have a different idea than Tatsuya, yet he did not dare to correct Tatsuya.

"There are some traditionalist bases with a huge number of visitors such as... The peripheral of Kiyomizu Tera, the neighbourhood of Kinkakuji, and also the pavilion of Tenryuji."

"That's surprisingly few."

Even though he had heard from Minoru that the traditionalist factions were spread throughout Nara and Kyoto, Mikihiko was saying that Kyoto was the home of the traditionalists. From other various sources of information, Tatsuya had his preconception that the traditionalist faction was concentrated in Kyoto.

"Kyoto's sect carefully passed down the real traditions, so it's stronger than Nara. Any new faction that copies the name is pushed aside into the mountain area."

"Do you mean, they’re labeling themselves as 'traditionalists' because they have a complex towards the traditionalists?"

Minami was amazed with the bad impression that was uttered by Tatsuya. Of course, this was not shown to Miyuki. Although she thought that this much of amazement shouldn't make her master throw a fit, but Minami chose to avoid unnecessary friction.

——Infact, Miyuki and Tatsuya both noticed.

Nevertheless, Minoru was not the same as Minami, he seemed to be able to receive Tatsuya's question.

"I don't know. As you know, the traditionalists were formed by the ancient magicians who participated in the Ninth Research Institute. Their goal is to retaliate against the former Ninth Institute members, and all the houses that carry 'Nine' in their names."

It was not unreasonable to say that the traditionalists became emotionally attached to resentment, which might lead to retaliation. They were convinced to particiapte in the Ninth Research Laboratory, and were assisting with the development of Modern Magic instead of furthering their own skills.

The slogan of Ninth Institute was fusion of modern and Ancient Magic, the real meaning was incorporating the Ancient Magic spells, adopting them to the Modern Magic Activation Sequence, they were not told of this secret. Upon the completion of the research, they were told that the research was for the purpose of establishing the Ninth Research Laboratory. They were given money in return, and only the people from the facilities gained social status, there was never any arrangement made to provide them with new magic.

'A secret art for a secret art', it could be said that it was their own narrow mindedness, thinking that it would naturally be granted and could even be deemed as a childish attitude.

"Yet, why do they choose to leave their birthplace of Nara and become scattered in Kyoto… I can't comprehend this action."

"Really? Motivation aside, I understand their reason for leaving Nara."

"Eh?"

At Tatsuya's frank reply, Minoru opened his eyes wide.

"The Traditionalist sect is not a unified organization. You were the one who told me about this."

"Ye-yes. I certainly said so."

"Then, wouldn't the difference in attitude towards the former Ninth Laboratory also vary? Those who strongly resent the 'Nine' stayed behind in Nara. While waiting for an opportunity to retaliate for the past three decades."

"How foolish… If only they applied their passion in a more constructive way, some of their practicioners might even excel at the national academic level."

"Well, don't put it like that."

To appease the disgusted Miyuki, Tatsuya gently brushed her head with his finger, revealing her dazzling hair.

"There aren’t many people who can persevere and continue to look forward in any situation, right? At the very least, if we look around us."

The image of his father and his current wife flashed across Tatsuya's mind.

"…I see."

Miyuki nodded. Her smile must have sunken a little because she imagined the same face as Tatsuya did.

Tatsuya lightly ruffled Miyuki's hair with his hand.

Miyuki looked up at Tatsuya with inflated cheeks. Nevertheless, her eyes were laughing.

Tatsuya removed his hand from Miyuki's hair with a laugh.

"Although the remaining members in Nara, have a backwards purpose, their actions are still in sync with their original goal."

Miyuki wore a mystified face.

Of course, Tatsuya was not about to tease her over such a thing.

"Those who transferred their base to Kyoto, were afraid of the houses from the 'former Ninth Research Laboratory', despite having ill feelings against the former Ninth Institiute."

"Scared, is it? But, whether it's Kudou, Kuki or even the Kuzumi, I don’t think we’ve ever actually carried out any attack on the ancient magicians who were collaborating with the research…"

Minoru refuted with little confidence. It had happened before he was born, he also hesitated to ask for the complete story. Hence, his knowledge only came from basic hearsay, which led him to act this way.

"I do think so too. There were magicians of the ‘Nine’ who were also used in the experiments. But it was natural for the ancient magicians to think of themselves as victims, to avoid their consciousness as perpetrators. At the same time they were fellow subjects within the Ninth Research Laboratory, and it shouldn't have brought upon such hostility."

Minoru's eyes regained their composure after shaking anxiously. It was only Tatsuya's guess, but he was still relieved by the results of his remark.

"I think there are some ancient magicians who were afraid of their own shadows. Since the former Ninth Research Institude was operated by the government, it is reasonable for them to target their resentments towards the government. However, the traditionalists defined the houses of 'Nine', who came from the same Laboratory as their enemy. They should have understood that they were asking the wrong party for apologies."

After hearing those words, Minoru contemplated on them like a monk. ——Rather than actually posing like a Rodan sclupter, his sight was focused on an indeterminated line of nothingness.

"Whether they did not like the stigma of being rebels, or simply because they did not have the courage to rise against the government... Either way, because they understood their own resentment of the 'Nine' as something unreasonable I wonder if they also hadn't feared being exposed to an unreasonable attack. They themselves should have known the power of the magicians created by the former Ninth Laboratory. Thus, they did not dare to make a frontal attack against the magicians of the 'Nine'. If they do so, they would receive counterattacks, from the magic of the 'Nine' that they had cooperated to make."

Tatsuya must have thought that it was amusing, as he smiled wickedly.

"Alternatively, they were no longer united after the withdrawal. At first, the leaders of each sect might have been expedient in soothing the younger magicians who had extreme discontent. When it no longer posed a concern, the hard-liners who continued to resent the Ninth Laboratory stayed back in Nara, while the rest left for Kyoto. Surprisingly, the difference in locations might be mere pretense, their differences might have been something as simple as stance. Were all traditionalists faithful to 'one true tradition'?"

The last question was posed to Minoru.

"Well… The previous ancient magicians who participated in the Ninth Research Laboratory, came from more than one sect."

Minoru nodded to Tatsuya's speculation.

"Just for that trivial reason, are they going to continue their petty harassment for decades?"

Rather than 'couldn't believe', Miyuki wore a ‘didn’t want to believe' face while facing Tatsuya.

"Petty harassment, can't be helped if it was repetitive, since they managed to come all this way.

Tatsuya implied that, had they taken a more decisive hostile action, they would have been crushed long ago.

Miyuki seemed to have caught that well.

The one who was puzzled by Tatsuya's answer was Minami.

"But, Tatsuya nii-sama.

There might not be any need to pretend in front of Minoru, but Minami was using the designation just in case.

"I also think that it likely happened as you've said, but..."

She had no choice but to be hesitant here due to her position. However, Minami was driven by her sense of duty, and did not run from her words.

"If that was the truth, why did the traditionalists in Kyoto hire a number of foreigners to make such a disaster in Japan?"

Minoru thought that she had pointed out a sharp observation.

Yet, Tatsuya did not delay in answering her.

"Although this is just my conjecture, I wonder if they didn’t want to take some real action. However, they’ve invested so heavily in Zhou Gongjin that they neglect public welfare."

"There must be a reason why they haven’t cut their connection to him."

"Regarding this matter, Minoru also knew the details, the traditionalists received a supply of exiled Houjutsu users from Zhou Gongjin. It might look like the traditionalists had helped Zhou from a public point of view, but the fact is, they are cooperating with each other to enhance the strength of the traditionalists."

Tatsuya turned to face Minoru and gave him a nod.

"The recent incident in Nara Park, was also done by a mixture of assailants with a Houjutsu user from the continent. Within the traditionalist sect, exiled houjutsu users have gained a certain level of importance. At least to an extent, that the organization cannot endure the infighting if they were to revolt."

Minami bowed to Tatsuya in silence. Any sign of doubt was eliminated.

Tatsuya returned a small nod and faced Minoru.

"We've made a long detour in our conversation, this is why I wanted to explore those sites within the city. Our destinations are Kiyomizu Temple, Kinkakuji and Tenryuuji, these three.

"Yes, you are right."

Tatsuya did not retrieve his information terminal, but spread a map in his head instead.

"Kinkakuji and Tenryuuji are in the same direction, Kiyomizu Temple is in the opposite direction."

"At this rate, it would be better to merge with Yoshida-kun's group."

Miyuki proposed so while looking at her information terminal.

Indeed, from their current location, whether they went ahead to Kinkakuji and Tenryuuji, or to Kiyomizu Temple, it was closer to the New International Convention Center.

However, Tatsuya shook his head.

"It's trully regrettable that we have such a limited amount of time. Even after Minoru narrowed down the search area, we are still only four people. And there is still a possibility of him hiding in Kyoto City as I mentioned."

In the first place, it was an indisputable fact that four people was too small a number to search for a hiding opponent. A famous detective could only resolve the case if the criminal was before his eyes, however, in order to find a hiding suspect, more people were needed.

Unfortunately, neither Tatsuya nor Miyuki could use their magic, due to the wide range surveillance cameras. And there was no way that Tatsuya would have acted if they could be traced by a camera.

"I understand. Then, where should we head to?"

He must have decided the answer. Tatsuya answered Miyuki readily.

"Kiyomizu Temple. After that, let's take a look at Kinkakuji and Tenryuji as well."

◊ ◊ ◊

After splitting up from Tatsuya, Mikihiko was walking around the neighborhood of the New International Convention Center, while using a flashy searching spell as they discussed last week. There was a wide green park, a large lake and lush woodlands surrounding the Convention Center and it was often used by foreigners.

Erika and Leo were chatting with each other, while following Mikihiko from behind but they didn’t neglect their vigilance due to the escort role they’d been given.

The situation changed at about the same time as Tatsuya decide to go to Kiyomizu Temple. It was during the observation of the opposing bank of Takaragaike Lake near the competition venue.

The presence of killing intent rose up around the woods of Satoyama. Mikihiko realized it first, followed by Erika and Leo.

"They’re here."

Erika rushed to Mikihiko's left side, as if to look at his face under the tilting parasol——it was supposed to be camouflage and make them look like a sweet couple who were whispering to each other.

"From within the mountain?"

Leo thrust his neck in-between the gap of Erika and Mikihiko to whisper in a low voice. Whether being glued to each other or dating each other, they acted quite well.

"The presence was pointing to the mountain, but it doesn't guarantee that they're the only enemy. There's a probability that the attackers might not be human. Watch out."

Unfortunately, Mikihiko was not as carefree as the other two, he looked back with a discomforted frown, noting what Leo said.

"Only brats, they have some kind of a love triangle relationship."

"I can't see it as anything but students with love troubles, is it worth the risk to go out and attack them?"

These were the conversations of the nine men who were hiding below the grove, looking down at Mikihiko and company.

They were talking normally. Their voices were barely audible but they used a communication device that incorporated magic to read the movement of the lips, the conversation could be understood even without it emitting sounds. This method was at risk to eavesdropping, even before intercepting the conversation since there's a chance that the radio waves is discovered.

Thus, they took some precautions whenever they encountered this type of a situation, Erika and Leo would act as a couple that had no care about the world, just living a normal peaceful everyday life.

However, some of them were still alert.

"I've been observing that boy for a while, he was using a Shiki. He's the descendant of the Yoshida Family. We can't just leave him alone."

Those words raised the alertness of his companions.

"Hasn't the second son of the Yoshida lost his power?"

His voice rose as he asked about this, the middle aged man that seemed to be the leader of the group chided him with a harsh tone.

"That's outdated. Yoshida Mikihiko has regained his strength and has become even stronger than the first son.” The atmosphere tightened. “We're going to confirm that. We won’t kill him, a light injury will do for now."

Although the man who was rebuked was not convinced, he remained silent. He took out a small scroll from his chest, small enough to be held in his palm.

The other seven including the leader followed suit. A white haired traditionalist watched in silence without making any action.

"Ha!"

The first one to respond to the enemy attack was Erika. The parasol in her hand swung hurriedly at the presence that approached them from behind. The removable attachment of the umbrella was thrown in defense against the blue onibi3. Unhindered by the umbrella the blue onibi rained down around them as Erika shot them down with a weapon disguised as the umbrella handle.

A second and third waves of the onibi came in rapid succession, a thin silver rod intercepted from time to time, it was not an iron stick nor a gold stick, and it was a thin silver rod armament device.

This armament device was lent to Erika specifically for this Kyoto trip, it was made by FLT's 3rd Division with an activation spell that emphasized speed rather than weight, a movement type spell. The weapon does not only accelerate the body but the weapon itself as well. Hence, in order to keep up with the device the user has to put additional strain on the arm and it can create unnecessary weight in the arms with the risk of hurting the bone. However, Erika experienced nothing of the sort and had mastered its usage well.

The onibi rain ceased. However, it was not the end of the attacks.

Following the flutter of red and yellow colored leaves, came blades of wind. Although Erika had no difficulties in tackling the onibi, she wondered if she could intercept a blade made of wind with no shape or color.

A fearless smile crept up her lips, however, she returned to her normal stance once she heard 'leave it to me' from someone behind her.

Erika left the wind blades to Mikihiko.

He chose to use a metal fan charm to activate a wind-blade magic of the same type as the enemy.

A number of sparks could be seen in the air. Mikihiko's blades deflected every single one of the enemy's, despite being on the defensive.

3Onibi: fire ball, like the one Miyuki used for Mirage Bat practices.

Erika’s and Mikihiko's attention was focused on the next attack coming from the sky.

Behind them, the shadows of trees on the ground took the shape of a person.

A creature with a black shape rose from the ground.

Without any sound and blending its presence with the surroundings the shadow approached Mikihiko from the back.

"Uryaaa!"

Leo yelled at the shadow. He raised his fist, hammering down on a man in a black sweater.

Before being taken down by Leo, he reduced the impact by flinging himself backwards and then escaping with a somersault.

"Are these guys’ ninjas?"

After some observation, the black-looking sweater was a dark-green color. Even the color of the pants was the same. It was different from the traditional ninja costume, as if being modernized as a commonly worn outfit. However, judging from the Kunai4 in his right hand and the scroll in his left hand the enemy was indeed a ninja.

Three more, five more human-shadows showed up. Leo didn't get the chance to see where they came from.

"Hehe, interesting."

However, it didn't affect his fighting spirit. Leo had no bad habits of seeking out formidable opponents but as long as the opponent was strong, he had the tendency to get hot-blooded.

It might be due to the genes that he inherited from his grandfather as he was produced as a biological weapon. Leo himself, occasionally thought so.

However, it was his way of exaggerating things in his mind.

——Which was why.

It was still much better than being anxious about losing even before the fight. Once the mind is defeated, it became impossible to even flee from the scene. That was what he thought.

When his mind is defeated, it was the same as forfeiting his life. He'd only flee, when he thought that he needed to flee.

He didn't flee because he hadn’t given up. Was the natural response of seeing a tiger bearing his fangs, not to run? He wasn’t running away, regardless of what he thought but in an emergency he wouldn't give up his survival.

——I rejected that kind of a pathetic death. I live to fight.

4Kunai: ninja’s blade, like in Naruto

The ninja’s in sweaters spread out around Leo. Consciously or not, they were retreating away from him.

At Leo's side, a hand was struck accompanied by a cry of pain.

The ninja who met Erika's Silver rod crouched down and held his broken arm. In that instant, the other ninja who was approaching Erika chose to jump away from her in order to escape. With those two factors in mind, she didn't have to be worried about another attack from the ninja.

"Leo, even though you’re hot headed, you need to keep your consciousness clear. You're not fighting alone, you know."

After Erika said that, Leo noticed an attack was coming from the side.

"Sorry, thanks for saving me."

The sounds of the blades of wind colliding caused sparks to scatter, which was heard by Leo.

"You're in the wrong too, Mikihiko. Why do you end up protecting your escorts."

"It's going both ways. Aren't you protecting me from the enemy's surprise attacks from the shadows?

"Ok, let’s go with that."

Leo took out a knuckleduster from his pocket. Even though it looked like a fashion apparel plastic toy, it served as a good disguise from the police.

So long as it's in contact with him.

An activation spell started to develop around his left wrist and was absorbed into it.

It was not the usual voice activated CAD.

It was a fully thought operated CAD from the German CAD manufacturer, Rozen, one of the latest works of the Magi Kraft Division. Leo obtained this CAD through a certain connection—

—though it was more as a form of an apology and it was only recently that he had mastered its usage.

However, this mission required weapons which were less noticeable.

Erika had an armament device disguised into a parasol, for this very purpose.

Since his usual CAD has a 'ready-to-fight' image, Leo opted to bring this CAD for this trip.

Even though the actual deployment speed depends on the hardware, the efficiency depends on the magic sequence or in other words, the software. The state-of-art thought-operated CAD showed the high processing speed by filling in the time lag of the thinking process. Tatsuya himself had optimized the Magic Sequence to prune the inefficiency in the software without any change in the expected result.

The knuckleduster was of a synthetic resin with cemented carbide reinforcement.

The activation spell was also set to be a successive output.

This time even the long sleeved shirt and jeans, were complemented with the highest grade bulletproof material.

"Well, then. Let's get started."

Leo produced a bam sound when both of his fists met each other. "Let me take care of the enemy on this side."

Erika took a stance and swung her silver armament device. "I'll assist you."

Mikihiko opened a fan-shaped magic instrument. "Here I go, oraaa."

Leo was heading towards the enemy with a loud cry.

Naturally, the Ninjutsu user opponents didn’t just wait silently.

Leaves swirled up in front of Leo, obstructing his view. It goes without saying that it was an unnatural phenomenon. It was magic that manipulates the wind to lift and swirl the leaves.

The technique itself was not deadly. However, it was enough to make Leo halt his feet to cover his face with his arm.

There was a light shock to his arm, chest and thigh. It was a Kunai attack from the enemy.

The Kunai that were shot were unexpectedly fast, still their weight had been far too little against Leo's reinforcement magic.

A gust of wind blew.

From behind Leo.

Mikhiko's magic cleared up their vision.

The Ninjutsu user that stood before them ate his scroll and his hands, which were empty after throwing the Kunai, was making hand seals5.

Even Leo could understand that the enemy in front of them was not a ninja like in the storybooks but a traditionalist magician with real presence and power. This was one of the well-known stereotypes giving a clear 'image of a monk', ruining his tension.

Although it didn't affect his rush, for a moment Leo himself was disturbed.

The chest of the Ninjutsu user bulged and deflated at once.

A loud sound was produced, and Leo was struck with dizziness.

The scroll that he swallowed earlier was a whistle in disguise. It was not just a normal whistle, it was a magic instrument for sensory organ interference via sound.

The Ninjutsu user took out his knife from its sheath. It was a knife instead of a Katana, even a 'Ninja' couldn't resist modernization.

He must have been confident in his own skill. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation before he pounced on Leo.

His miscalculation was that, Leo's flesh was not of some ordinary man. The general evaluation of Leo’s magical talent is somewhat low, however his physical ability is outstanding. Even with an obstructed sense of balance, Leo keeps his muscles in control with the help of the other senses.

The enemy thrusted his knife, Leo raised his right hand, wearing his knuckleduster and met the knife, as a result the knife was dropped in the impact.

And he struck down the enemy with a left hook.

Leo's fist just crushed the jaw of the Ninjutsu user.

"Yabeee6!"

That word was involuntarily spoken out, indicating his incorrect regret of failing to go easy on the enemy. Although his naiveté was a disadvantage; Leo had the ability to fill the gap.

Behind the man who was defeated, the next enemy showed up. The man stuck out his mouth at Leo. Leo laid down in that instant.

The man spewed out flames from his mouth.

A fan of flames passed by Leo’s head, however, the trajectory of the flame was reversed in the air and the opponent was late to notice.

5Jutsu hand seals: something similar with Naruto’s

6YabEdits: slank word, meaninng: How dangerous, or that was close (in this case)

The fire-breather fell while rubbing his burnt face. The U-turn movement of the flame was due to Mikihiko's magic.

Behind Leo, Mikihiko scowled at the fog that he had created. However, Mikihiko didn’t hesitate for the next attack. He was already preparing the next spell to be activated.

As Erika herself said, she had to help Leo from being sandwiched by two Ninjutsu users. Her CAD had less weight in its blows when compared to her usual katana but the speed is greater. At the next moment, the body of the Ninjutsu user who had dropped his knife split into two.

"Bunshin7!?"

Erika raised her voice in surprise, the Ninjutsu user split himself into two and held a kunai, wearing a smug face at the same time.

However, the situation was quickly overturned.

One of the Bunshins disappeared and now there was only a single person. As it could be seen from the expression of the Ninjutsu user, it wasn't going according to plan. Mikihiko's spirit magic broke his Ninjutsu spell.

Erika wasn’t going to miss this chance.

Four silver trajectories were drawn in the sky.

Both the hands and feet of the Ninjutsu users were broken to the bone and they were lying on the ground before a weak lightning struck them.

The lightning had been prepared to attack all of the enemies.

Mikihiko delivered a lightning magic to the eight Ninjutsu users who had already lost their combat strength, and knocked them unconscious.

Mikihiko let out a big sigh.

"Is this the end?"

Leo looked around while saying this.

Meanwhile, Erika took down the remaining prey.

"There's no sign of reinforcements."

Leo took a deep breath after hearing her.

"We just fought ninjas."

Leo laughed. Even though he knew of their existence, he'd never thought he could exchange blows with one.

7Bunshin: Shadow Clone

"They are Ninjutsu users. They are not that rare. Because they live in a world where old- fashioned magic is preferred after all."

Yet, Erika didn’t join in on Leo’s laughter, and curtly replied so.

"You're right. Moreover, this isn’t so far off Iga and Koga, the base of Ancient Magic; even Mt. Kurama has turned into a center of Ninjutsu users. I wonder if these guys are from the same faction."

Mikihiko supported Erika's claim.

"Hmph, it's probable. How interesting. I never get bored whenever I'm with you guys."

Leo didn’t get offended. Rather, he seemed to have enjoyed the situation.

"Wait a second, I got dragged into this problem thanks to Tatsuya."

This is Tatsuya-kun’s fault, rather it was thanks to Tatsuya-kun. Although she pretended to complain, Erika's real feelings were the same as Leo’s.

"No difference."

Leo smiled wryly. Beside him, Mikihiko also threw in a wry smile.

"By the way, what should we do with them? Leave them to the police?"

Erika had no hesitation to call the police. Not because of her connection to the police but due to the fact that she acknowledged their authority.

"The Police, huh."

Seems like Leo has something against the police. However, he didn't blatantly reject Erika's proposal.

"I wonder if that's for the best…"

Mikihiko agreed to Erika's proposal, he took out his information terminal with the hand that didn't carry an auxiliary device. He intended to contact '110' on his own.

However, his finger stopped as he attempted to start the voice call.

He unconsciously stopped his movement from tapping on the pocket terminal.

He glared into the woods while holding his fan-shaped device. Mikihiko released a mass of Psion’s. He sent his Shikigami to search the area.

"Enemy?"

Mikihiko didn’t have time to answer Leo's question.

"Look!"

Mikihiko started his activation sequence, as Erika cried out.

Erika's eyes were directed to the pond.

Leo and Mikihiko saw it as well.

From the pond, four beasts formed from the water jumped out.

"Kasei-tai8!?"

Leo shouted.

"No! Kugutsu-shiki-oni9 shaped with water, a type of golem! It has a real substance!"

While shouting to answer them, Mikihiko stared at the monster without blinking.

"Reirei? Gouyu? Chouyuu? Even Fusho?"

Mikihiko spoke with a dazzled voice.

A striped cow that resembled a tiger, Reirei.

Wild boar with a human face, Gouyu.

Chouyuu was a monkey with four arms.

And Fusho, a deer with four horns.

These were all smaller versions of the beasts from the continent, which were said to cause floods. This was clearly the deed of the traditionalists from the continent.

"What are these guys!?"

"The enemy's magic! Nothing else matters besides that, right!"

Shouting back to Leo, Erika swung her Silver rod against the closest Kugutsu-shiki-oni to her. The enemy was not out of reach.

The thin blade emitted Psion’s when it touched at the edge.

It cut off the magic spell that sustained the golem. A water-shaped beast usually returned to water upon scattering.

However, there was no time to put their guard down.

The beasts weren’t only those four.

Reirei, Gouyu, Chouyuu and Fusho landed one after another in the pond. Creepy evil appearance aside, the monsters were about the size of a parlor dog, so it didn't look to be very threatening.

8Kasei-tai: is one in which were visualized the spiritual energy Make a mass appearance in illusion magic with the foundation of the Psion, interfere weight in substance, acceleration, and shows as if they have a body, etc. Movement magic. The name "kasei-tai" were given by researchers of modern magic when analyzing ancient magic, to be used exclusively for ancient magic.

9Kugutsu-shiki-oni: demon-type puppet/shikigami

However, they weren’t quite as harmless as a parlor dog. Beside the fact that the opponents are magical creatures, they didn't know if the monsters had any hidden powers.

"Firstly, let's retreat fro-?"

Erika was left speechless before finishing her proposal of escape.

The miniature beasts went to the defeated Ninjutsu users on the ground instead of their group.

"Is it not an enemy?"

Erika wasn’t the only one trapped in surprise. Putting Leo who had no long-distance attacks aside, even Mikihiko has also forgotten his magic activation.

"Tsk!?"

The three stared at what's happening and gasped in unison.

The miniature beasts whose bodies were formed of water, began to devour the bodies of the living Ninjutsu users that couldn't move due to injuries.

"Don't kid with me!"

Erika reigned in her surprise and started to wield his silver rod again.

Mikihiko was shaken out of his paralysis by Erika's voice, he started a flame spell.

The Psion blade tore out the Kugutsu-shiki-oni, the flame ruined the Magic Sequence that sustained the monsters.

All of the monsters returned into water.

Leo worriedly approached the Ninjutsu users who were groaning in pain. He had activated reinforcement magic earlier, but due to the shock, the damages on their faces and necks was unavoidable.

"Uugh."

When he crouched down to get closer, that was the first cry he made.

"It does look hideous, but it doesn't seem like it had reached their bones yet."

Leo straightened his waist to face Erika and Mikihiko.

"And everyone is alive."

Even though their eyes and throats were numb, their vital signs seemed to be fine. Mikihiko put on a relieved expression when he heard that.

However, Erika was still on high alert.

"Strange."

"What is?"

Her unusual appearance made Mikihiko nervous again.

"Why does the water not soak into the ground?"

The ground is not paved here. Hence, the water that had formed the golem should soak into the soil naturally.

In contrast, the water mixed with blood was flowing back to the pond.

"Uwogh!?"

Leo jumped back reflexively to distance himself. Even though jumping four meters far without a run-up, preliminary action, nor magic, showed that his jump force was amazing, but Erika and Mikihiko weren’t paying attention to it.

They immediately noticed the unnatural movement of the water, the movement of the water which was mixed with the blood, suddenly started rapidly gaining momentum. Leo reacted quickly by retracting his footing from the flow of blood and water.

"What in the world…"

"Enemy magic!"

Erika's puzzled question was answered by Mikihiko, with a warning at the same time.

But, it might not have been needed in the first place. The phenomenon which occurred in front of their eyes, could be observed by Erika and Leo. The water in the pond was swirling.

Gently, at first, and then increasing in speed.

Then, from the center of the whirlpool came a torrent of sound, it was a serpent made out of mud, rearing its neck.

"Souryuu10!"

It was a giant snake with nine human faces. The large specter11 of the continent named as the evil god of the flood, 'Kyoe'. When the Souryuu appeared in the land, the water would rot and unexpectedly ruin the soil12.

"Get away!"

Seeing that the nine of them started to open their mouths, Mikihiko shouted to Erika and Leo.

At the same time, he expanded the wind barrier.

From the mouth, narrow muddy water flowed out one after another.

The two of them, then, tried to avoid a direct hit from the streams.

12unfruitful swamp: acidic soil, can't be used for agriculture

The splashes that rebounded from the ground were blown away by the wind barrier which was swirling around the three of them.

However, the Ninjutsu users who were unable to move, couldn't avoid the aftermath of the attack.

A bitter voice rang out from the defeated men who lay on the ground when the miniature monster spat out the mud.

The body parts that were bathed in the muddy water from the Souryuu's mouth melted.

"Acid!?"

"No, it's a corrosive curse."

Mikihiko denied Erika's words.

"Be careful! Unlike acid, it doesn't only melt the part that came in contact with the liquid."

Even though they had not received any injuries from this attack, but they didn’t doubt Mikihiko's words, especially after seeing what happened to the Ninjutsu users.

"Argh. Where's the operator!?"

If he was able to manipulate this much, the operator should have been in the vicinity.

No, the idea was spot on. The presence of the operator was detected a little while ago from within the forest. Unmistakably, he was the one who manipulated this monster. However, the Shikigami that he dispatched earlier hadn’t reported anything. Is it a sign of his skill, or special equipment, for example a Buddhist charm to disorient magician’s senses using a Kimon Tonkou.

Even with Erika's and Leo's physical skill, it took a lot of effort to avoid the uninterrupted stream of muddy water from the nine mouths. Mikihiko also had his hands occupied putting up barriers in order to avoid direct hits, he couldn't afford to activate a new Shikigami.

"Erika, Leo, let's retreat from here!"

"I agree with you wholeheartedly, but!"

"How are we going to do that!?"

Mikihiko clenched the back of his teeth at Erika's retort.

There is a way. The power of a puppet from folklore could be increased based on its lore. Therefore, there are cases where the magician wasn’t able to hold against the amplification of the magic, borrowed from a higher individual from folklore, which resulted in the cancellation of the entire spell. Even if not, in the end the control of the spell would depend on the power of the magician.

Although it was fake, Souryuu belongs to the water kin. The highest level of spirit among the water kin was a spell for 'Dragon' (Can I do this?).

I should be able to do it now.

However, the hesitation remained.

That was the magic that caused Mikihiko to fall into a slump and made him think that he 'lost his power'.

——In the end, Mikihiko didn’t have the chance to decide. He no longer needed to make that decision.

An intense light of Psion’s appeared before the three, the snake that carried nine heads, was enveloped by it.

From the information body, a Magic Sequence formed. The virtual magic area appeared suddenly in the information body with defined coordinates, instead of bombardments of ballistics.

The body of the snake with nine human faces exploded.

As a result, the Magic Sequence at the core of the Kugutsu-shiki-oni was blown away, which means that the magic information that formed the beast itself has been shattered.

The water that splattered in the aftermath wasn’t cursed. It returned to being ordinary water from the pond. The corrosion that was occurring on the bodies of Ninjutsu users also stopped.

"Are you alright?"

The three of them were worried, and thinking 'what just happened?'. The answer was right before their eyes.

The black slim pants and dark red jacket, with black boots, it was the uniform of Third High School. Moreover, the boy held a red gun-shaped CAD in his right hand. Upon seeing that appearance, the three of them recognized him instantly.

"Ichijou Masaki."

Leo said his name in surprise.

The Ace of Third High, from the 10MC. Ichijou's first son stood before the three.

Masaki looked around, wary of ambushers——observing if there was any sign of magic being activated. He decided to tone down his tension after a while of not finding any enemies lurking around.

In front of him, there were eight defeated humans who had suffered serious injuries. Masaki also perceived that they weren’t the victims, but the attackers who had been defeated, and since they couldn't move, there was no meaning for Mikihiko to check on their situation.

"Hmm? You're from First High…"

Masaki remembered Leo’s and Mikihiko's face from last year's Monolith Code.

"Yoshida Mikihiko. Ichijou-kun, thanks for your help."

However, he didn’t seem to remember their names. When Mikihiko introduced himself, Masaki's face was relieved.

"No, you're welcome. As a magician from the 10MC, I cannot afford to overlook that malicious magic. Please don't mind it."

"At any rate, you saved us. That was quite close."

"Ah, no… by the way, what was that?"

The sudden change of the topic might have been caused by his embarrassment. If that's the case, Masaki has a different personality than Tatsuya, in that he is 'shy'——However, the subject of comparing them might not be appropriate at this time.

"Kugutsu-shiki-oni with blood as an offering to shape a monster from water, a type of golem magic."

"So it's Ancient Magic?"

"It's a technique called Houjutsushi13, which is commonly used by magicians from the continent."

Hearing the exchange between Masaki and Mikihiko, Erika interrupted with a displeased voice.

"Hey, can we do the lecture after? That Houjutsushi might still out there somewhere."

Masaki looked around quickly with an alarmed expression. He seemed to have forgotten that possibility. On the other hand, Mikihiko shook his head as response to Erika's words.

"No, there's no possibility of that."

"How can you be so sure!"

Mikihiko tried to open his mouth several times, before shaking his head again.

"It's better to just see the real condition instead of hearing my words. Let's go and see."

"Judging from your words, have we incapacitated the Houjutsushi operator?

Instead of answering Leo's question with words, Mikihiko nodded.

"Do you know his whereabouts?"

Involuntarily, Masaki was about to open his mouth to interpose.

13Houjutsushi: doll forming magic

"Are you coming, Ichijou-kun?"

He was invited instead, Masaki nodded at that invitation.

They went uphill to the forest. It didn't take much effort for the four of them to walk that path. They hadn’t even dropped a single globule of sweat as they discovered the Houjutsu user that they were looking for.

"As I thought. I understood what would happen, but it's still not a pleasant feeling."

The Houjutsu operator had fallen with his face facing down the soil.

"Is he dead…?"

Much to Masaki's surprise, Leo had no fear that he could get attacked and squatted down next to the white-haired head of the Houjutsu operator to touch his neck.

"…There's no pulse. He's dead."

Expressionlessly, Leo seemed to be indifferent. He was not so insensible as to smile while reporting in front of the corpse, this was the most appropriate attitude that he could think of. However, that meekness disappeared as soon as the corpse jerked.

Erika let out a piercing scream. Even for her, it was an inevitable shock after seeing the contorted face of the corpse.

"It's the result of the broken spell. Ancient Magic of this system manipulates the puppet with the spirit of the operator, their consciousness keeps being connected after the magic has been activated."

"Hoo. Once Modern Magic is activated, there would be no backflow of information. Ancient Magic Sequences seem to be quite different when compared to Modern Magic."

Hearing Mikihiko's words, Masaki involuntarily opened his mouth. Immediately after the explanation, he released the meaning behind Mikihiko's description.

"In other words, this guy received the damage after I destroyed the spell that connects him to that monster, which led to damaging his spirit…?"

"It's not your fault. The magician must have understood the risks of this magic. Especially, if he wanted to manipulate such a huge Kugutsu-shiki-oni. Naturally, the consequences are multiplied. Cold as it seems, that was the exchange made by the operator."

"So, it's that kind of a power."

This was not the first time Masaki saw dead people——even for killing, this was not his first time either. He had claimed the lives of others, though he was just forced to do that. Even now, 'Rupturing' the monster of water was the right decision.

Nevertheless, even with his experiences, he still couldn't react cold heartedly, especially when he saw the brutal look of this old man.

"…Sorry, Yoshida. For making you anxious."

"Don't mind it. You helped us after all."

Masaki forced a smile, Mikihiko also shook his hand with a smile.

"Ichijou-kun, please leave the explaining to the police to us."

Mikihiko was intending to let Masaki go, however Masaki did not agree with his words.

"No, I'll go too. On the other hand, the girl over there, umm."

"My name is Chiba Erika. Don't worry about me. Since I'm used to these kinds of things."

Masaki stared at her stiffly in response to those words. However, when he thought that his reaction was rude, he immediately reigned himself in.

"I see. You're from the Chiba Family?"

"I'm Chiba Erika, a sophomore at First High."

At Erika's nonchalant reply, Masaki lightly batted his eyes. With the exception of his sister, he almost never received cold treatment from girls around his age.

"Pardon my rudeness. I'm Ichijou Masaki, a sophomore at Third High."

Then, it reminded Leo that he hadn’t done any introduction, so he identified himself while trying to tone down the awkwardness.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. First High, second year, Saijou Leonhart."

Just like that, he probably managed to dispel the awkwardness, and it did seem that the target behaved the way he intended——Leo introduced himself to Masaki.

"Ichijou, you must have prior engagements, right? Don't hold yourself back for us, we can handle this by ourselves now."

"Don't mind it. I came to Kyoto alone. I came for the preliminary inspection in this city for the Thesis Competition to avoid an incident like last year. So, I can afford the time."

"Huh? Actually, we are here for that as well. Umm, let's report to the police first."

Leo said that as a follow up,

"Ah, Hello. My name is Chiba Erika, sophomore at National Magic First High School. I'd like to talk to the magic crime division. We were attacked by some magicians… the location is…"

When they heard her voice, Leo and Masaki looked at each other with a wry smile.

◊ ◊ ◊

While Mikihiko's group was fighting the enemy at the opposite side of the Kyoto New International Convention Center helped by Masaki, Tatsuya's party steadily approached Kiyomizu Temple.

There was no deep reson behind Tatsuya choosing to visit Kiyomizu temple first. If there was a reason, it was due to the thought that there was ‘something’ hidden behind its exterior.

From the foundations of the first Shogun, its involvement in Sakanoueno Tamuramaro, the episode of pacifying the Kanto region by magic, it was a land with history. Also, the deep involvement the Minister of Justice had with religions from the north, Tatsuya packed and marked some knowledge of Kyoto.

The Minister of Justice had yet to realize the common ground with Modern Magic Theory. —— Looking from a childs point of view, Tatsuya had no other way to understand 'zen' besides as 'wisdom'.

At any rate, it wasn’t his priority to believe in a higher existence, he didn’t see any point in selecting one of the three choices whose existences he couldn’t see.

Mt. Otowa was a long hill up to Kiyomizu Temple. Hence, they decided to take the commuter halfway, and walk from Takaya. Actually, Minoru was not so sure of the specific place and said, 'there is a base of traditionalists nearby'. So, they decided to walk slowly while examining as if there was a suspicious building.

The bustling atmosphere hadn’t changed from the previous century. Even though the number of foreign tourists had reduced significantly during the global war, but under the new 'Rediscover Japan' program, the number of tourists had been increasing again. However, there wasn’t any influx of Japanese citizens going overseas.

Moreover, at superficial level, the peace had been regained. The hill was crowded by people with different skin colors, different hair colors, worshippers with different eye colors.

"What an amazing crowd…"

Those words leaked involuntarily from Tatsuya,

"Tokyo has more people, doesn’t it?"

Minoru answered in wonder.

At that very moment, a pile up and slip accident occurred. This was due to the admiration of Minoru by multiple female tourists. ——And amazingly, it didn’t exclusively happen only to 'young' women.

Tatsuya's group had been avoiding crowded places previously, he didn't want Miyuki and Minami to be caught in an accident. He sensed a cold gaze on them but it was pretty far behind, it was quite fortunate to have the distance to check and balance with each other.

Nevertheless, Miyuki stuck perfectly by Tatsuya's side, she would never be swayed by the multitude of people even when they suddenly surged in. Should that happen, Tatsuya would protect her with his power.

Even so, after he made sure of Miyuki's safety, he answered Minoru's question.

"Even in Tokyo, the place that we live in is quite quiet. And there’s not as much traffic either.”

"I don't think that's the case… Does it maybe look that way due to the smaller space?

"Certainly, there are cases like that."

Tatsuya was talking about occupant density rather than the total number of people just now, but he chose to stop arguing, since it was not related to the task at hand.

"By the way, Minoru, can we make our first destination, Kiyomizu Temple?"

"Yes. There is a close walking path here, it stands out since it is inside the forest. I think they might be disguised as a souvenir shop or as a cafeteria."

"Meaning, there's hardly any need to enter."

Soon Tatsuya was glared at with intense pressure, like thick snow clouds hanging heavily over his head. It didn't seem to be a misconception.

Tatsuya turned around to his left.

"Onii-sama, is there something?"

Miyuki gracefully smiled there.

Was it my imagination… other boys would think that way.

However, Tatsuya would not be deceived by such a thing. He looked at Miyuki firmly without showing a hint of doubt.

"Do you want to inspect it?"

Miyuki's eyes swam. But only for a moment.

"Since we are here."

The meaning was straightforward, no matter how he worded it.

Tatsuya was thinking that he might need to reschedule today's appointment.

'Kiyomizu no butai kara tobioriru'14, overlooking Kyoto city from the infamous Kiyomizu Temple sure brought back the idiom. Tatsuya set his eyes slightly in the direction of the city and hazily detected Psion light from the magicians on land. So long as one was a magician, he could see the hint of light, even more so with Elemental Sight, which focused on Psion detection in

14'Kiyomizunobutaikaratobioriru'  an idiom. Literally: to jump from the stage of Shimizu. Meaning: to be prepared in doing something out of desperation unseen places. It could process a great amount of data in an unlimited amount of time until he found the desired result. However, Tatsuya hadn’t met Zhou Gongjin yet, just the photo was not enough.

To stop the meaningless sightseeing, Tatsuya spoke to Minoru who was similarly looking down at the city.

Did you get anything?

"No, at most just miscellaneous gazes… How about on your end, Tatsuya-san?"

"Likewise."

After saying so, Tatsuya turned to Miyuki and Minami.

Two people leaned lightly on the handrail, looking down below. Both of them were not the type to make a fuss, but the height might make others fidgety. However, from Tatsuya's perspective, they could be seen as innocently enjoying their time, and forgetting the task at hand for a while.

"I've checked all the gazes that were directed towards Miyuki, but I didn't find anything suspicious."

"A-All of them?"

"Ah, nothing inexcusable, there have been a lot of gazes directed at you as well Minoru. It is highly possible that they're not related to the task at hand."

"That… I'm sorry to cause you extra work.”

The countless worldly desired gazes upon Miyuki came from men.

While almost the same amount of gazes were received by Minoru from the women.

Minoru was also conscious of this. It was not a narcissistic attitude, but an objective fact. Minoru also understood that it only increased the magnitude of information that needed to be processed.

"No, I'm used to it."

However, for Tatsuya, this is a daily task with no need of extra strength to tackle it. Still, he was only filtering the waves of gazes towards Miyuki. In this case, there were possible hostilities directed at himself, and also the gazes bestowed upon Minoru, even Tatsuya himself had no confidence in telling them apart.

And what was more troublesome is that Minoru was probably recognized as an enemy by the traditionalists.

"There might not be much meaning to continue like this."

After Tatsuya said that, Minoru’s chest fell. He must have blamed himself for causing this situation, he had the look of a jumpy puppy that had been scolded.

If there are strong emotions, he couldn't help but notice them, even if those feelings were not intended for him. That moved the feelings of the younger boy.

"Ah, no, it's not your fault. You have been very helpful today. However, the leads are just poorer than expected."

Minoru smiled shyly after hearing Tatsuya's words.

The rattling sounds of the handrail and pillars as well as the footsteps was heard. Tatsuya didn’t need to see what happened, he already had an idea of what was going on.

However, Miyuki was curious of that conversation. She moved her sights to them, and immediately decided on what to do.

Miyuki came closer to Tatsuya and Minoru. She scolded Tatsuya and covered for Minoru.

"Onii-sama, please don't bully Minoru-kun."

He wouldn't take offense to that, but she was adding fuel directly into the fire.

No, the result was a reversion of what she intended to.

A beautiful girl protecting a beautiful boy.

The men who gazed at Miyuki, the women who gazed at Minoru, froze at once.

The strange atmosphere was seen as an attraction by the worshippers and tourists alike.

Regardless of what they were doing, everyone’s eyes stopped all the same.

Time had stopped at Kiyomizu Temple.

Tatsuya looked at his surroundings and was confused by the situation. He felt that it was a big exaggeration, but he couldn't deny the reality of what happened before his eyes.

The female tourists, stared at Minoru. However, there were a few exceptions.

The male tourists, stared at Miyuki. Although, there were some exceptions from female tourists that also stared at Miyuki. What a bunch of freaks, Tatsuya cursed in his head. He was a man that had a broken moral compass, to the extent that he didn’t feel guilty about murder but had common ethics regarding sexual love with the same sex. He was fine with it being platonic but disliked physical lust.

It was also uncomfortable because it did not suit the place——it didn't affect anything because the object of those stares was not him, but someone he knew——Tatsuya thought of a way to escape this place as soon as possible.

Hence, he was determined to investigate the suspect again. It was best to avoid problems before they grew entangled later on.

Along the way, Tatsuya spotted the foreign gaze.

It was not abnormal, but foreign.

The man, stared at Minoru.

He was stiff, as other people.

Just, flavorless, desireless, admiration less, more towards disgust.

That man's face expressed 'why do I need to spy on this kind of a kid'.

(Isn't this an insult to my great achievements?)

This time, Tatsuya's mind wandered and thought of such words.

"Minoru, Miyuki, Minami. Let's move on."

Tatsuya did not wait for their replies before advancing along the path they were treading on earlier.

Miyuki understood Tatsuya's intention immediately, she followed her brother in silence.

Minami showed a puzzled expression for a split second, but chose to follow after Miyuki soon after.

However, Minoru could not understand him without asking. He hurried himself to catch up with Minami, while Miyuki was walking by Tatsuya's side.

"Tatsuya-san, why did you suddenly...?"

So long as he didn't use magic to stalk them, it was possible for Minoru to not detect him. Judging from his appearance, he couldn't help but become desensitized towards people's stares.

Most likely, the man who watched Minoru was not a magician, instead of just not using magic. We were wary of traditionalist magicians, so a non-magician private detective might escape our notice. Tatsuya thought that this was quite an interesting point of view.

Tatsuya took out his information terminal and stylus from his pocket instead of answering Minoru. He ran the stylus at the screen from end to end. His handwriting had been converted into digital characters. Minoru read what was written on the display.

"I found a person who seems to be tailing us. Pretend that you aren’t aware of him to lure him out."

Minoru wore a confused expression after he heard the instruction, since he mistook it with 'I’ve noticed but I don’t know which one'. However, he immediately understood that the meaning was

'I noticed him, but I wasn't able to determine the stalker', Minoru began to act restlessly looking left and right.

Frankly speaking, it was a poor performance. Tatsuya reaffirmed his thoughts of, 'as expected, it seems like he hasn’t received any other training besides magic', after giving Minoru a side glance.

Putting that aside, the ‘unaware pretending’ seemed to make the stalker think that his target wasn’t even 'pretending to be aware'. Whether it came from the confidence of his skills, or simply showing his second-rate abilities. The man that had been marked by Tatsuya, was tailing Minoru while maintaining a certain distance.

Tatsuya got off from the path leading from the 'inner shrine' to 'Otowa Falls', and was waiting at the fork leading to 'Koyasu Tower'.

He looked back at Miyuki and the others. It was natural to consult whether or not to catch the stalker that had entered his field of vision.

He stopped the same way as Tatsuya had thought. The stalker took out a small camera, and started to look at the scene of the main hall from below. It was not particularly strange for a tourist to do so. However, it is natural to keep taking pictures from the same composition. He was not aware of Tatsuya's prying eyes. The man advanced his step to 'Otowa Falls'.

"Hey, you."

Tatsuya soared out a posing displeased voice to his back.

The stalker ran away shaken. However, he pretended not to notice while taking off from the scene.

"Can't you hear me, you over there!"

Tatsuya closed in the distance with the stalker quickly. Originally, Tatsuya's face was already sharp, in addition to that, Tatsuya wore an angry face. The tourists in the surrounding fixed their eyes on them.

"Do-do you need anything from me?"

The stalker looked back at Tatsuya with a timid look. At first glance, it looked like a good citizen was entangled by bad students. The stalker's acting of being a timid-looking citizen deserved to get a passing grade. If Tatsuya was alone, the bystanders would have become his ally.

"Didn't you just record us on your spy camera?"

In this one phrase, the hostilities of the people inside the gallery were converging on the stalker. It was a high possibility, considering that Miyuki was such a beautiful girl and Minoru also a beautiful boy, nobody doubted that such a middle-aged man would stalk them.

"Baseless accusations! On what grounds."

The man shouted his innocence, but the situation was unfavorable for him and gradually tightening around him. The bystanders seemed to have noticed the camera that he brought, the stalker frantically shoved the small camera into his bag. His behavior made everyone more suspicious of him as a voyeur suspect.

"Whether it was a baseless accusation, we'll let the security guards deal with you."

Tatsuya bluntly said so. And the gallery's bystanders were completely allied with Tatsuya.

The stalker started running and stumbled through the crowd. He must have thought he could completely elude Tatusya.

Less than 10 meters to the gate, Tatsuya overcame the bitter guy.

Tatsuya dragged the stalker back. However, Minoru interrupted when he was about to report the man to the gallery's security guard, saying 'this person also has a life, it's too pitiful to hand him over to the police for this matter'.

The man made a timid look, fretfully switching between looking at Tatsuya and looking down.

Tatsuya stared back at him expressionlessly.

The man faltered in his gaze, as if he was looking at an inorganic substance.

"What are you going to do with me?"

"We're going to deal with you personally."

After hearing Tatsuya's reply, the stalker's face filled with suspicion15.

"Are you aware that this is contrary to professional ethics? Who is your employer?"

The man's eyes swam left to right frantically. As if looking for an escape route. It was not like Tatsuya's group was threatening the man, but Tatsuya chose to lead the man to an abandoned gate.

"…What do you want."

One of Tatsuya’s assumptions was that, the man had chosen to 'play dumb'.

"Do you know that he is a direct descendant of the 10MC, the pinnacle of Japan's magician community?"

The eyes of the man were not upset. But were as good as white when he knew this.

"Your employer knew that we are magicians. That was the reason he employed a non-magician detective."

Tatsuya stretched out his hand with his watch while saying so.

15usankusai: fishy business, suspicious

The man's body was trembling visibly. Tatsuya still wore the face which lacked any emotion, only with a smile on his lips.

"Unauthorized use of magic could end with you being punished!"

Miyuki laughed gracefully. She was thinking that may be the man who was at the 'end of his rope'.

However, in the eyes of the stalker, it was perceived as a smile of a ruthless witch.

Magicians CAD's and equipment were as familiar to the non-magic community as OOPARTS. The general public’s knowledge about magic was limited to preconceptions such as 'using magic with a tool that is wrapped around the arm'. Thus, the misunderstanding of Tatsuya's gesture with his watch as preparation for using magic was understandable.

"I will only ask once more."

Tatsuya activated his Psion’s. This stage of release wouldn't even be considered as magic by the sensor. However, the Psion wave emitted might reveal the true character of non-magicians due to the mental pressure.

"Where is your employer?"

The man didn’t answer. Even if he was just being obstinate, he had great professionalism.

Yet, he was reaching his limit. A man could not withstand the fear of the unknown for too long. One may be able to withstand fear from a defined source, however, when one was faced with an unknown source of fear, it could easily cause panic.

"I see, how regrettable."

Tatsuya moved his fingers towards the wristwatch. The multi-function watch was linked to the information terminal but it was only information equipment. They couldn't possibly assist in invoking magic——

"I got it! I'll tell you."

This man wasn’t a magician, so he wasn’t supposed to be able to understand.

"Is it here?"

The mentally shattered man had guided them to a certain tofu shop near the shrine.

"Ah, I'm not lying."

The man quickly spoke, while clinging his eyes to Tatsuya.

"Hey? Isn't this good enough? I'm just a humble private investigator, as that boy over there stated, I was just doing a request to report on what you were doing after you came to this area. I don't know anything more besides that."

"Compared to that, you seem to know the house of the employer quite well."

If this kind of request was put out, one wouldn't disclose their identity. At least, this is what I would do, was what Tatsuya was thinking about.

"Well, I don't want to cross over onto the dangerous path. The detective industry today is not so carefree."

"It’s a tough world."

"My goodness, it truly is…"

Tatsuya let out a small laugh. The detective wasn’t a priestly man. It was likely he wasn’t suitable for honest work but he might be good at information gathering.

"I understand. Good work."

The man wore an unbelieving expression. He did not expect to hear that phrase since he was being interrogated.

"…Is that fine?"

"I just said so."

"Wouldn't you cut my head from the back or something."

"You've been watching too much drama."

Tatsuya answered with a wry smile at the amazed voice. It seemed to have relieved the opponent even though neither the attitude nor the expression belonged to that of a teenaged boy.

"I-I see. Then."

However, what Tatsuya didn't say was showed that he wasn’t good with people.

"I know what you’re thinking. It's easy to figure out where you live, it’s better to talk now, if you still have something to say."

The man's face was clouded with fear.

"E-even for a magician, such a thing is…"

"Why do you think so?"

The man shook his head quickly in desperation.

"I'm not lying! It's the truth, believe me!"

"If you're not lying, then you don't need to be so frightened."

The man seemed to be tripping on his own legs as he ran down the slope towards the shrine.

Minoru had been taken aback by Tatsuya's handling of that man, Miyuki chided in about his tone after Tatsuya was done with the stalker.

"Onii-sama, didn't your prank go too far?"

Tatsuya looked back with a 'how regrettable' look on his face.

"I didn't have any intention to prank him. I didn't even think that I would be able to force him to speak using magic. In the first place, I have no affinity with Mental Interference Magic."

"Was that the reason you acted with a threatening attitude?"

"That’s right."

"…However, it did seem like you enjoyed it quite a bit."

"That would be counter-productive right? Anyway, we need to get in first."

Miyuki was still insisting on her opinion, but Tatsuya went off to the store without waiting for her.

"Welcome!"

A cheerful voice welcomed Tatsuya. It was a clerk in a kimono, she was in her late twenties to early thirties. Although Tatsuya thought that a more composed attitude would suit the local better, he wondered if that was his own prejudice.

"Table for four?"

Tatsuya was about to shake his head lightly and say 'no' to the clerk, but accompanying Miyuki and Minami as they were watching some souvenir enthusiastically, he realized that it was already lunch time.

Furthermore, when Tatsuya checked the Eidos, it seemed like there were magicians at the back of the shop. For some reason, they didn't seem to hide themselves. Thus, Tatsuya concluded that they would not escape while their group was having their meal.

"Yes."

With his nod, the clerk replied with her cheerful voice, saying 'this way, please'. Tatsuya thought——impressive professionalism, not to give over-attention to Minoru, the three others followed Tatsuya from behind. The waitress guided them to a tatami seat.

"Is this one alright?"

Although Tatsuya preferred a modern table setting, as far as he saw, they were all fully occupied. He turned to see the eyes of his companions, to check for any disagreement. Tatsuya, then, agreed to be seated there.

"Please call us if you've decided on your order."

Tatsuya nodded, and the waitress withdrew.

"For now, should we just try to have a meal first?"

"Umm, is this okay?"

Minoru wore a worried expression while asking Tatsuya.

"The way I see it, this place is a legitimate façade for their business."

"But."

"If the food is poisoned, I would surely notice that. Moreover, I managed to get a glimpse of the employer of the stalker just now. If he tries to escape, I'd see him immediately."

Minoru gasped in surprise. "Tatsuya-san, you sure can do anything."

Tatsuya could only wryly smile at the honest remark.

"I can't do a lot of things. More importantly, how did you manage to believe in what I said so easily?"

"I can't believe that."

He was still thinking about the 'I can't do a lot of things' phrase too deeply, "I mean, of course I believe you"

He meant to ask 'is it okay to believe you?' but ended up answering Tatsuya's query, Minoru hastily rephrased his words.

Miyuki leaked out a small laugh and smiled.

Minoru blushed openly.

"Miyuki nee-sama."

Unusually, Minami used a voice as if chiding Miyuki.

"I'm so sorry, Minoru-kun. This happened because there were no boys with normal reactions like Minoru-kun around Onii-sama and I."

"The way you said that, makes it sound like I'm the abnormal one."

At Tatsuya's instant reply, Miyuki laughed more happily and consciously. "Onii-sama. You sounded as if you were normal, for once."

Tatsuya looked at Minoru and shrugged his shoulders.

Still blushing, Minoru also began to laugh.

Tatsuya and Minoru ordered Yudoufu16, while Miyuki and Minami ordered Yuba nabe17.

Speaking of Yudoufu, Tatsuya had been preoccupied with the thought of Nanzenji18, but he was convinced that it was just a lack of research on his part as response to Minoru's explanation. In the first place, he didn't come here for touring, so there was no purpose of researching that much.

They took their time, and enjoyed their lunch. Tatsuya made some corrections to today's schedule in his mind. The main course was the Yuba nabe. The warm soy milk and noodles on the surface of the bamboo skewer. The process itself took a significant amount of time. Had he realized, he would have surely asked them to order something else, but it was already too late. In the end, it took them more than one hour after they came in to the store before finally contacting the waitress.

"Actually, Kudou-san from Ikoma has come to introduce himself, should I call your husband?"

"Kudou-sama from Ikoma, you said? Please wait while we proceed to call the manager."

First, he addressed himself with an appropriate pseudonym, to request for the shop manager. He wondered if this occurrence was rather common, as the waitress retracted immediately without raising any questions.

They were not kept waiting for too long.

"Customer, I have brought the appetizer. Sorry to make you wait."

"Thank you."

Without saying anything condescending to the clerk, Tatsuya rose from his cushion.

Though it was not a parlour, the waiting room was a combination between East and West. There was no sofa and table, instead wooden chairs with a backrest were accompanied by a lacquered table. Everyone there understood that the furniture was much more expensive than a high-grade sofa.

The shop manager——the man was an ancient magician, and he was not sitting on a chair. He closed the sliding door, before bowing deeply. He didn’t show any hostility towards them.

Tatsuya wasn’t sure if the hat he wore was a tea master's costume or a courtesy to dress appropriate to greet his customers. Without further reading into it, he sat down on the left as suggested.

The table was for six people, so there were some left over seats after all of them sat down. Tatsuya sat in the middle, with Minoru sitting behind him, and Miyuki at his side, and the seat in front of the door was taken by Minami.

They faced the manager once more. His face was covered with noticeable wrinkles making him seem to be in his early fifties. Although appearance could not be relied on too much, as there were magicians who aged particularly fast, in the first place, age was not an important factor. Someone could only stand as a leader of an organization due to his capability, it was the same even for the non-magic organizations. In fact, neither Tatsuya, Minoru nor Miyuki had ever worried about the age of the opponent.

"I never thought that I would have the chance to see a member of the Kudou Family."

The traditionalist magician, suddenly cut in. He didn’t even pry into Tatsuya's groups’ identity. If Tatsuya must say, he was frank, however, Tatsuya saw a lack of leeway.

"I will not ask where you come from. So please excuse me from introduction."

Miyuki and Minami thought that it was common sense, however.

Tatsuya, on the contrary, narrowed his eyes with a wary face to discern his true intention.

"…Does that mean you don't have any harmful intent towards us?"

"I have no more intention of making trouble to the people affiliated with the 'Nine'."

"Pardon my rudeness, but you are a member of the 'traditionalists, right?"

The tea master magician sighed.

"Yes, I am traditionalist shaman."

"Shaman?"

The one who reeled after hearing such unexpected words was Minoru rather than Tatsuya.

"Up to half of the Buddhist monks were not accustomed to Shugenja19 nor Onmyoji20."

The self-proclaimed shaman said so with a slight snort. Traces of pride were visible in his eyes, and he soon stopped his hesitation and depressing attitude.

"So then, aren't the traditionalists formed out of hatred towards the former members of Laboratory Nine, including the magicians from the Kudou Family? To begin with, wasn't the traditionalist faction formed in hostility against the former Ninth Research Institute?"

Tatsuya returned to the original topic. It was beneficial for Tatsuya to meet this man in such a circumstance.

"In the beginning, I was also angered by the way the Ninth Institute handled the matter. I thought someday I would avenge my hatred. Compared to my peers, my anger was particularly intense, so some sects raised me as a leader of a shrine which I've never belonged to."

"It was as if you are not the real leader in charge."

"I had thought of it… Although, to this day, I haven’t told anyone."

Tatsuya detected his unwillingness to discuss the matter, and waited in silence for the next word.

"At first, I was thinking of serious retaliation. Although it was almost impossible. However, it was only due to the fact that the Ninth Institute was using me, it’s not that I had any intention of betraying my motherland."

"While on the topic, why did you accept the exiled Houjutsu users?"

The elderly magician nodded at Tatsuya's question.

"I have not kept up the way of Nara. After they decided to become shishi shinchuu nomushi21, …by drawing in the spells from the continent. For a Japanese magician to lay their loyalties outside of Japan, no, I can even say that they do not have a hint of loyalty towards their homeland."

Minoru was down casted at the shaman's words, unmistakably, because he knew what his predecessor had done.

"Did they have any other choice then, when their own country's ideology was incompatible with their beliefs?"

The shaman seriously shook his head at Tatsuya's mindless words.

"Loyalty is not a matter of ideology. It is a matter of sentiment."

Tatsuya nodded lightly at that statement.

"I see. That's why you cut off connection with the traditionalists at Nara, because you wanted to stop the hostility towards the former Ninth Research Institute."

"Yes. Time is a great healer. It heals all wounds. Even though it used to be unbearable."

"I think there are wounds that wouldn’t heal with time, but."

"The unhealing wounds, are only wounds that revive a fresh scratch in the place where it was about to heal, and it adds up before long. Unless you continue to pour fuel over a fire, it will disappear before long, it is a similar situation."

Tatsuya sighed naturally.

21shishishinchuunomushi. Literaly: insect within the body of lion. Meaning: those who bring harm while at inside and, even if those who return the favor in revenge.

"Let's stop with the abstract philosophy at this point."

He proceeded to look into the eyes of the elderly magician.

"What should we do to make you think that we aren’t your enemy?"

Against Tatsuya's statement that he couldn't believe empty words, this time the elderly magician sighed earnestly.

"From what I can see, you are not even 20 yet, what kind of education led you to wither like this."

Miyuki and Minami subtly changed their facial expressions. Certainly, Tatsuya had not reached 20 years of age yet, however the phrase 'not even 20 yet' was not usually used to address a high school student.

However, the person in question, Tatsuya, did not seem to be bothered at all.

"Isn't it because of your realistic approach that you’re having this conversation with us?"

The shop manager, who was a traditionalist, sighed with a gesture that made it seem like he could age a few years at that instance.

"I’m beginning to think that my judgement was not a mistake. People said that he is a skilful detective, but in the end, it’s all just a rumour, or it was too much for him to be an opponent of the Kudou Family’s."

Tatsuya did not think that the deployment of the detective was masterful. However, he was thinking that he should comment about something. He decided to comment about a more pragmatic matter.

"Earlier, you said that you couldn't accept the risk of employing the Houjutsu users. Can you show that it wasn’t just empty words?"

"May I know what you’ll need it for?"

"We are looking for a magician who was fleeing from Yokohama. His name is Zhou Gongjin. He has brought numerous disastrous misfortunes to this country."

The shaman looked up with an understanding notion.

"——I understand. I will assist you with the information I have."

"Please do."

Tatsuya replied so, to pressure him, rather than showing that he was impatient.

"The man you are looking for, Zhou Gongjin, is not within the city of Kyoto. The last time we confirmed his whereabouts was Friday, October 12th at the 'bamboo forest' near Tenryuji in the north, it was near the site of the original Buddhist sect. He seemed to be moving south, but there was no clue of him going south from Uji."

However, the clues received from the self-proclaimed shaman, weren’t so detailed.

"Do you know why they didn't come south from Uji?"

"They purposely did not cross the Uji River. There was a barrier laid in Uji to protect Kyoto."

For the first time today, Tatsuya was earnestly amazed.

"Is the whole length of the Uji River covered with a barrier? How did you manage to lay such an extensive barrier?"

Miyuki asked that question in place of her speechless brother. However, her question stimulated Tatsuya, an answer flashed in Tatsuya's mind.

"——No, it's not only limited to the Uji River, the Uji River itself became a medium for the barrier right? If you mixed your magic with the water of the river, the river itself would have the magical effect."

"Amazing! 90 marks for that!"

The elderly shaman struck a broad smile. His eyes saw Tatsuya as an equal, only this time he stared at a child with an adult’s eye, as a veteran magician, he saw that Tatsuya could be a good student.

"——The remaining ten points, rather than mixing something in the river, the deterioration of water in the river itself——has it been consecrated beforehand?"

"Oooh! How fast, although you are still a high school student. As expected, from a direct descendant of the Kudou Family."

At Minoru's supporting opinion, the elderly magician divulged lightly.

"The origin of the barrier is at Amagase Dam. We purified all the river water there. Of course, we didn't actually purify all the water in the dam. In order to do so, we would need to have 100 magicians stuck at that place for every instance."

That was impossible to do, Tatsuya and Minoru understood that well.

"However, it is only possible to create a barrier as strong as the extent of the purified water. At best, it was useful to alarm of the existence of an enemy beyond the river. However, it differed from the mechanical alarm, where you can have different settings for each operator to read the information. Moreover, it can be set to react to specific individuals."

"In other words, you are one of the operators of the Uji River barrier."

The shaman gave a nod at Tatsuya.

"It was a complete coincidence that I was taught to control the spell of that ward. It is possible that the other operators do not know that I am one of the operators. I don’t know the other operators either. However, that is not a problem this time."

The elderly magician cut his words there, leaving the feeling that he still had more to say. He must have thought that he had not withered yet, as he unconsciously attempted to show that to his younger audience.

"With that barrier, Yamashiro and Yamato would not be shaken. As for me, since the day Zhou Gongjin appeared in Kyoto, I have watched the barrier from the time when he would tread beneath it again."

"For what purpose?"

"That man is a dangerous existence for this country."

The traditionalist leader answered Tatsuya's question clearly.

"Although I just said that 'time will heal all wounds', to be honest, even now I have not discarded all of my ill feelings towards the former Ninth Institute. Had you guys stormed in and interrogated me instead, I would never have discussed about the barrier or Zhou Gongjin’s whereabouts in this way."

The shaman looked at Minoru, Tatsuya, Miyuki, Minami one by one, before fixing his eyes on Tatsuya.

"However, you have kept the minimum courtesy. I must say that you were fairly hasty from my point of view, but I would not want to shed blood unnecessarily."

This coincidence was truly a blessing, Tatsuya thought while listening to the shaman's words. Tatsuya didn’t press further into the store, since Miyuki and Minami had wanted to eat lunch. The reason why there wasn’t any blood spilt was due to the fact that Mikihiko, a barrier operator, was not together with them.

Of course, he didn’t honestly say so. That would not have been honesty, but foolish honesty.

"Thank you for your valuable information."

"Another thing, please be wary of the parties at Kurama and Arashiyama. It seems like they have completely merged with magicians from the continent."

Tatsuya bowed and rose. Miyuki followed her brother with a short delay.

Minoru and Minami bowed their heads and got up hurriedly. The elderly magician saw that with a smile in his face.

When they left the store, the sun had begun to shift. Although there was still time before sunset, it would soon be dark during this season as the days began to shorten. Especially on the west side, this trend could clearly be observed. There was a sense of accomplishment and not the empty feeling of going on a fool's errand, and certainly there wasn’t much time left today either.

"What should we do now?"

On the downslope approach to the shrine, Minoru asked Tatsuya. If he believed the words of the shaman, it meant that Zhou Gongjin had already left this area.

"The northern side of the Uji River is too wide of an area to search with five people. We need more clues."

"Then, shall we head to Arashiyama?"

"I think so..."

At this instance, Tatsuya recalled the news reporting about the murder of Saegusa Mayumi's bodyguard. The place of the incident had been written as being the Katsura River.

Tomorrow, he would investigate the murder scene with Mayumi. Mayumi had asked the police if she could collect some of Nakura-san's belongings, but even if she managed to get those things, the most important thing to do was to visit the crime scene. The lead was in Arashiyama, and it was certainly a good option to examine the area, however his time was limited to one night. He also thought that it would be counter-productive to search in the same area for two consecutive days.

"Let's investigate Arashiyama tomorrow, for now, let's head back to Kinkakuji."

"I understand. I'll contact Kyoko nee-san regarding the Uji matter."

"That's good. Please do."

While the attention of the crowd had not changed after the lunch——they were still focused on Miyuki and Minoru——Tatsuya's group decided to take the commuter from Sakanosh*ta.

◊ ◊ ◊

Mikihiko, Erika, Leo and Masaki just finished the questioning process with the police, they were released under the recognition of legitimate self-defense. Undeniably, the Chiba name was also one of the strongest decisive factors in acquitting the records from the pre-installed street cameras in the area. Although it was harder to detect Ancient Magic by sensors, the fact was, only the operator would have difficulties, the scene was still recorded in the same way. One can easily state that magicians had showed up, both ancient and modern alike, it wasn’t possible to escape from the Psion radar associated sensor in conjunction with the camera.

After quite some time, the questioning ended, the four of them returned to the New International Convention Center.

"What are we going to do next? I don't feel like anything else is going to happen today, should we do another search of the perimeter?"

Mikihiko quickly shook his head at Leo's question.

"No, let's go back to the hotel for today."

"That's right. Don't listen to the fool, nobody will come out again for today."

"Agh? Who did you call a fool!"

"I wonder~ Who was it? Anyway, why are you angry?"

"Thi-, of, oh, wel-…"

Leo glared at Erika, Erika looked away with a relaxed face.

Masaki had asked Mikihiko 'should we say something?', but Mikihiko shook his head. 'Just leave them alone'.

"By the way, Ichijou-kun, which hotel are you staying at?"

Mikihiko seemed to be uncomfortable in the silence, and asked Masaki about another topic.

"Ah, the KK Hotel."

Masaki seemed to be taken aback by the sudden question, but he dutifully answered.

"I see~ We're staying at the CR Hotel."

"Really? Aren't they next to each other?"

"Yeah, what an amazing coincidence. Is Kichijouji-kun at the hotel?"

If Tatsuya was the one who asked this question, Mikihiko would obtain a sigh as an answer. He would say 'there are times when Miyuki and I are apart' with an additional amazed tone put in. However, Masaki politely answered Mikihiko’s question.

"No, I've said this earlier, I came here alone. George is concentrating on the preparations for the competition. He is one of the representatives of Third High."

"I see."

The representatives of the Thesis Competition were to be extremely devoted to the preparations of the presentation, so Mikihiko, Erika as well as Leo didn’t ask about Kichijouji any further.

"We are going to go back to our hotel, Ichijou-kun, how about you?"

"Let's see…"

Masaki wasn’t really taking a pause to think. He was also thinking to check out different places like Tatsuya, in other words, he still wanted to look around other places. However, he couldn't split up since he came alone, unlike Tatsuya's group. He also didn't need a guide. He visited Kyoto quite frequently, since it didn't take a long time from where he lived. Hence, there was no need of a guide for navigation purposes, however there were enemies that he wasn’t aware of, who made him run around the area.

However, he spent a significant amount of time in police interrogation, the troublesome process had killed off his motivation to do anything else for the day.

"I shall go back to my hotel as well."

"Then, why don't we go together?"

While he thought that it was a little blunt, Mikihiko invited Masaki to get into the same commuter as them.

"We have just the perfect number here, right?"

Mikihiko and company had seen that Erika had stopped teasing Leo for a change of pace, and suddenly they were talking about other topics.

Masaki's incongruous attitude recalled the confusion. Apparently he wasn't thinking to join them and wanted to decline Mikihiko politely.

"No, actually I rode a bike here."

"Oh, Ichijou-kun also rides a bike?"

There were a lot of girls that showed interest when Masaki rode on his bike. Many of them had a longing to ride together with him, Masaki was aware of this vaguely. However, he didn’t understand the reason.

Even in this era, the bike had retained its from. The two seater robot starter with two seats arranged side by side was popular in itself, but the circumstances still favored the classic arrangement which allowed a girl to cling on to the boy's back, it stimulated a girls dream.

"Me too?"

However, Erika's interest was clearly different from those 'dreams of girls' that he remembered.

"Tatsuya-kun… Umm... You know Shiba Tatsuya right? Tatsuya-kun also rides one, it was quite cool."

"He does?"

An image immediately floated in Masaki's mind. A boy drove a bike with a girl on his back. She was not straddling him, it was rather elegant. The girl's hand encircled the boy's waist, and the girl's body was completely glued to the boy's back.

The face behind the helmet was Tatsuya. The girl, was Miyuki, of course. Masaki was involuntarily divulged in his imagination.

His focus was shifted from the boy's face. The smoke shield gradually rose. Masaki's face changed. He could feel Miyuki's tender body on his back…

"What are you thinking?"

With her curious voice, Erika forced Masaki to end his imagination abruptly.

"N-No. It's nothing."

Masaki frantically shook his head, while tightening his face. Erika looked at him with a pair of evil eyes, it was impossible not to notice, and he looked at Mikihiko's face.

"Since that's the case, why don't you follow us from behind?"

"Of course, I don't mind doing that…"

Mikihiko thought, what exactly happened, but he didn't voice his thought.

Erika who had diverted her eyes was also putting up a puzzled face like Leo.

Leo faced Erika and shrugged his shoulders lightly.

◊ ◊ ◊

They also visited Kinkakuji just to be sure, they didn’t get any results even after checking the surrounding area. Tatsuya's group went back to the hotel early, with a sense of futility as they didn’t even find the sites of the traditionalists.

The hotel where Tatsuya's group stayed, was close to the Kyoto New International Convention Center, the venue of the Thesis Competition. Although it was inconvenient, the First High Thesis Competition members and staff were expected to stay here, the pretext they used this time was to check the security of the venue. Even though some students would come and stay here to cheer for their schools representative, it was not unusual for them to stay at the nearby temple or shrine.

It should be noted that Minoru spent his time at the inn. Although there wasn't any need for this, considering the travel time to his home was short, it seemed to be the correct decision, since Minoru was sick.

Since magicians are severely constrained in their private travel to go abroad at a younger age, it was normal to travel with friends within the country. However, Minoru found it hard to travel for a long period due to his weaker constitution, on top of that, he also didn’t have any friends who were close enough to be a companion. This time, even though Tatsuya didn’t come to Kyoto to play, the family had thought that this was a good opportunity for Minoru.

By the way, the room was supposed to be shared between Tatsuya's group. Minoru was an add- on, but it wasn’t so much different with three or four people inside, since the room he reserved for the boys was of a two to five person occupancy.

Tatsuya was about to check in while taking the luggage that had been stored in the lobby, he saw familiar figures in the group from the entrance when he was walking to the counter. Although they hadn’t made any arrangement to meet up, it was not so strange, as it was a high time to return to the hotel.

However, Tatsuya found an unexpected face in it, he couldn't help but raise his voice.

"Ichijou."

"Shiba-san."

The person in question should have reacted the same way. However, Masaki didn’t raise his voice.

Tatsuya and Miyuki looked at each other, Tatsuya smiled wryly while Miyuki responded with her smile.

"Long time no see. Ichijou-san, you've come to Kyoto as well."

"It's been a long time. I’m on a preliminary check for next week's Thesis Competition."

Masaki transformed into a naïve boy in front of Miyuki as usual.

"I see. So are we."

"Yes, I heard so from Yoshida-kun and the others."

Nevertheless, he had become more familiar or working hard, for the conversation to go smoother.

"Did you meet Yoshida-kun's group by the New International Convention Center?"

He had difficulty saying that he helped them from danger, as it sounded like he was boasting. Masaki let Mikihiko answer the question.

"He helped us when things got dangerous."

Yet, the answer came from Erika instead.

Masaki and Mikihiko, even Leo gave a wry smile. Since Masaki asked the others to answer, he didn’t feel any discomfort. However, he thought that this freedom suits this girl very much, Masaki had understood that about Erika this much.

"Please tell us the full story in the room."

Tatsuya try to refrain from chattering. Unexpectedly, Masaki noticed first, and Erika nodded in agreement.

"Ichijou, are you staying at this hotel as well?"

Miyuki asked Masaki in a roundabout way for the sake of Masaki's convenience.

"No, I'm staying at the neighbouring KK Hotel. However, I think I want to know the details and circumstances first."

Masaki parked his bike before following Mikihiko's group again, he was concerned about the circumstances behind the previous attack. He thought of the same thing as Tatsuya.

"Then, let's talk in our room."

Leo encouraged so.

"Then, I'll fetch the luggage~."

"Wait a minute."

After giving the answer, Erika and Leo went to the front desk. Mikihiko chased them from behind.

Masaki didn’t know that Tatsuya was a part of the JSDF. So the explanation must be done well to cover that part up. Erika, Leo and Mikihiko thought so.

"The perpetrator of the Yokohama Incident last year, which involved the invasion of the GAA magicians has been detected in Kyoto. I've come to Kyoto on a mission to search for that person."

"Mission!? Shiba, who are…?"

"I am a student from the National University Affiliated First High School, at the same time, also a member of the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion from the JSDF as a secret military officer."

However, Tatsuya himself gave away the secret information easily, which made the three people shocked.

"What... The."

Even though Masaki was the man to be the next head of the Ichijou Family, it didn't keep him from being surprised.

Yet, he had not allowed the words 'you're lying' to escape his mouth. He immediately absorbed those words as the truth.

He was refrained by Miyuki’s serious look, she was seated next to Tatsuya.

"Ichijou. I don't need to say this, but this is a top military secret."

Masaki could only nod since he didn’t manage to skip the shock.

Erika’s eyes stared into the far distance. She was thinking, "This was Tatsuya-kun's plan…" and "I was forced to be involved in his circumstances, in the same way…".

"According to their information network, it seems that there is a possibility for a disturbance to arise during the Thesis Competition. Mikihiko and the others have been asked to ensure the safety of the competition."

This was the first time Erika and Leo heard this. The purpose of this trip was to specifically seek out an enemy magician, rather than a mere preliminary inspection, they could have received grievous injuries from the enemy's attack, had they lowered their guard, they'd surely have died.

Yet, the two of them took in this story calmly. Had they been told about this earlier, they would have declined this trip. Both of them thought of this at the same time, and shook their heads in denial.

Perhaps, the most upset one this time was Masaki.

"Do you know the name of the person who had… guided the invasion army?"

Even so, Masaki still asked the most important question. He stared at Mikihiko strongly, while expecting the answer from Tatsuya. Mikihiko, too, still hadn’t known about this information.

"He is called, Zhou Gongjin. He appears to be in his early twenties. However, his real age is unknown. He has long hair, and his appearance is as it looks in this picture. He is a user of the Kimon Tonkouno-jutsu."

Surprisingly, Tatsuya gave his name upfront.

"You said, Zhou Gongjin!?"

Masaki raised his voice, it seemed to be more of a surprised for him than Mikihiko.

"Ichijou, do you know Zhou Gongjin?"

At Tatsuya's returned question. Masaki was still surprised.

"Ah, ah… I see, so it's him. It's him!"

A fire of anger had started to light in Masaki's eyes. The fire swirled into a flame.

"What happened?"

This wasn’t only a coincidence. He was reacting with a considerable level of boiling anger.

"…Last year in Yokohama, part of the invasion force fled to Chinatown. I led the siege against them."

Tatsuya had asked to read the Yokohama Incident reports, yet he had never heard about this story. Masaki didn’t mean to hide it, it was simply due to unorganized information. Though Tatsuya secretly thought to get a glance of that record once more.

But now, it was his turn to listen to Masaki's story.

"Contrary to my expectations, the gate to Chinatown was immediately opened. The invasion force was handed over to us, restrained, by the young man who was in front of the residents and identified himself as…"

Masaki gritted and tightened his teeth.

Tatsuya spoke the name in Masaki's stead.

"Zhou Gongjin, huh."

"Yes. He said that it was his real name while laughing…"

Masaki shut his mouth. Since he could understand his feelings, he didn’t voice out anything this time.

"What kind of magic is Kimon Tonkouno-jutsu?"

The one who changed the topic was Erika. Albeit coming from her pure curiosity, no doubt, she did it with Masaki in mind.

Moreover, it was necessary to keep and share information about the enemy's magic.

"It is the Kimon Tonkou22 from divination arts, right?"

Mikihoko asked, looking for confirmation.

"Yes. It is a magic art from the continent, the art of Kimon Tonkou, in essence is Spirit Interference Magic that derails orientation."

The one who answered was Minoru.

"Derails orientation? Like, you wouldn't know up or down in the water? Or it makes you drown?

Minoru showed an impressed expression at Leo's question. That idea, was so novel that it didn't even cross Minoru's mind.

"You certainly can use it that way, but the main usage is to disrupt the consciousness of the individual, to cause psychological damage that he isn’t keeping up in time, despite seeing the culprit, or being led to wander endlessly through a camp of piled up stones."

"…Kudou-kun."

"You can call me Minoru, Ichijou-san."

The introduction between Minoru and Ichijou ended immediately after they entered this room. He also proposed the same way to address him to Masaki, since he was younger than Masaki, he preferred to be called by his name instead.

"Understood. Minoru-kun."

However, Masaki refrained himself from overstepping since it didn't look manly.

"Isn't that similar to the legend of Shokatsu Koumei23 from the Three Kingdoms?"

After he called Minoru by his given name, he proceeded to ask so.

"Yes. The Ninth Research Institute didn’t only study the Ancient Magic of Japan, but also that of the continent."

Tatsuya thought that it was a given. The magician’s development institute was the most sought activities during the 20 years warring period. Since the foreign Magic Sequence such as 'Golden Electron Silkworms' had become a real threat, it was natural to examine it.

From the former researchers of the Ninth Institute, Shokatsu Koumei have a high likelihood in mastering the Houjutsu of Kimon Tonkou, the report seemed to be concluded as such.

Erika wore an impressed face to Leo's analogy of the unexpected celebrity. Since Tatsuya had no interest in military losses, he tried to shift the conversation back on track before it deviated too far.

"Kimon Tonkou is not only a large-scale spell, isn't it considered a high skill for personal combatants? I think we’d rather be worried of this instead."

"For example?"

Tatsuya didn’t retort 'think yourself' at Masaki's question.

"Anyway when one side has stopped their movements while exchanging blows due to him losing the sight of the opponent during a battle, changing location vigorously will lead to a fatal gap."

However, before he reached the end of his explanation.

"I see. If our orientation were derailed, we wouldn’t even know which direction we’d be facing."

With Masaki as his counterpart, any further explanation wasn’t needed.

"At the same time, it was also probable that his own allies would be affected by the spell, and lose their sense of direction. Kimon Tonkou might cause them to lose sight of their own enemy."

"That is also a possibility. Miyuki."

Miyuki opened her mouth promptly after her brother's reply.

"Ichijou-san. I was confronted with the same Kimon Tonkou of spell at the Kanto branch of the Magic Association by someone called Chen Xiangshan."

"Is this true?"

"Yes. However, I was only looking at the surveillance monitor, certainly I wasn’t able to see him closing in when I walked down the corridor. I should have been looking at the same scene from the monitor's, yet only the monitor was reflecting the correct situation."

"How do you beat that magic, Shiba-san?"

Tatsuya glared at Masaki after his query and said 'as expected' in his mind. Asking 'how' instead of 'why'. Although it was not pointless to ask 'why', but the most important thing in the combat was to ask 'how'.

"I was together with a friend who has a pair of special eyes. I received directions and timing from her, and was waiting for the door to open."

Masaki had fallen into his thoughts. Tatsuya waited for him to open his mouth again.

"That means... Kimon Tonkou isn’t really independent of time? The essence of the magic is to direct the opponents consciousness to a particular direction, or interfering with the mind as to avoid their awareness. However, if we know at which point they would reach at a certain time, I think we could predetermine the direction in advance, we can prepare our minds and resist the mental interference induction."

"As expected of you, Ichijou-san."

Minoru spoke of praise after hearing Masaki's reasoning.

"Not only does it interfere with orientation, but one’s sense of timing as well, it’s a combination of Mental Interference Magic. It is the most logical explanation so far."

Minoru looked for affirmation, and turned to Tatsuya.

Tatsuya nodded lightly to Minoru.

"Enough with the interpretation of the magic art, Ichijou, can you think of any specifics in responding to this?"

"Then, we must not rely on our senses to predict the movement of the opponent."

"About a specific method, each of us should think of a way on our own."

Tatsuya pretended to issue a lifeboat to Masaki, as a follow up of the Kimon Tonkou conversation. Tatsuya had heard from Kuroba Mitsugu that Kimon Tonkou was useless against opponents at a visible close range, it certainly made sense to talk about methods to disable this magic.

"Let's halt the discussion of Kimon Tonkou here, regarding today's incident. The battle you've won with the help of Ichijou, Mikihiko has been using Shikigami to detect the 'traditionalists' who are harboring Zhou Gongjin, I think they were trying to investigate us, and ended up attacking us by mistake."

"Not only that, Tatsuya."

After Tatsuya finished explaining to Masaki, Mikihiko opened his mouth.

Both Tatsuya and Mikihiko turned their faces to Mikihiko. Of course neither Miyuki, Minami nor Minoru were at the scene.

"The enemy who attacked us was a Ninjutsu user. Most probably, from Mt. Kurama, they've absorbed the Houjutsu users from the continent as their center. Isn't Zhou Gongjin hiding over there? He might have taken over the traditionalists’ sect now after firstly being sheltered by them."

"Not the traditionalist’s sect, but a part of the sect."

This time, Mikihiko gave Tatsuya a 'What do you mean?' look. Erika, Leo, and Masakai followed after.

"Actually, it’s still a little early for us to say. The clues are also a little weak, but we've narrowed down the possible area where Zhou Gongjin might hiding."

Before Mikihiko could even show his amazement, Tatsuya talked about the traditionalists 'shaman' whom he met around Kiyomizu Temple.

"To have installed such a barrier… As expected of the land of the old traditionalist magicians."

Mikihiko responded as such when he heard about the Uji River barrier.

"The southern part of the old capital means… South of Fushimi, from the Uji River onwards. It’s still quite a huge area for a detailed search."

"In the first place, can we believe that old man's words?"

Masaki and Erika had raised an, 'in the first place' question.

"It's still much easier than searching all over Kyoto vaguely. Moreover, we knew of his hiding place up to last week right? If you check that place, you can easily find out if you can trust that old man right."

Leo returned a positive opinion, Tatsuya showed a wry smile favourably.

"The fact that Zhou Gongjin hid at Mt. Arashi and the evidence that the traditionalist magicians provided at Kiyomizu Temple is undeniable. I have some theory’s that mix some lies with the truth to make his story credible."

Erika directed a wicked smile at Leo.

Before Leo had the chance to react, Tatsuya continued speaking.

"However, I agree with Leo's opinion that we can believe the information about Zhou’s hiding place at Mt. Arashi. If it was the truth, it is a great lead, if it was a lie, we still cand keep the confusion to a minimum."

"Then, Onii-sama, are we all going to Mt. Arashi tomorrow?"

Surprisingly, Tatsuya shook his head before answering Miyuki's question.

"If we all go together, we'll attract attention, the safety of the competition also cannot be neglected. Mikihiko, Leo, and Erika will do the same thing as today, look for suspicious individuals in the venue's surrounding, please investigate if there are places where criminals and terrorists can lurk around."

"…Understood, Tatsuya."

Mikihiko didn’t seem to be fully convinced, yet he couldn’t afford to neglect the safety of the students who would participate in the Thesis Competition as First High's Public Morals Committee Chief.

"I have asked my family to file a complaint against those who were at Mt. Kurama for today's attack. They also reported this to our affiliates in Kyoto. About this attack from Mt. Kurama, and also some dogmatic strife within their sect, I would think it might become a checks and balances system for the future."

"First of all, what kind of situation was it?"

Tatsuya hadn’t heard the details about the attack, it was quite late in the conversation to ask this kind of question.

"Now that I remember, I haven't shared the details with you."

Mikihiko spoke with a 'damn it' facial expression.

Mikihiko described that Masaki helped them when they were attacked by the puppets used by the Ninjutsu users from the continent, while occasionally asking for confirmation from Erika and Leo.

"...Did they use the blood of the defeated Ninjutsu user to shape the golem from water? From what you've said, the Ninjutsu users were also likely have been deceived by the Hojutsu users."

Minoru turned immediately, curious of the answer to Tatsuya's question.

"I think so too. Yoshida-san you have the power in you, blood in particular has an important meaning for ancient magicians. When you use it to generate magic, it would act as an offering, I don't think that the ritual could be complied with lightly without any side effects."

"Then I'll make this short."

Masaki opened his mouth this time.

"The shaman at Kiyomizu seems to hint that the ancient magicians have become minions of magicians from the continent, they were being deceived rather than forced to surrender by force, so it's good as long as we can find proof that they're being deceived. Regardless, it might still be impossible to make them our ally, so long as their hostility stops, it’s good enough."

Tatsuya nodded at Masaki's proposal.

"The greater the commotion is, it will also reduce the chance of Zhou Gongjin from escaping. I think it's better to crush the enemy while spreading confusion and speculation about him."

"It's our loss if he manages to create mayhem like last year, are these all or nothing conditions?"

Masaki threw in the question to Tatsuya.

"I'm fine with acting as a representative from the Kudou Family, however, I don't think that I alone can represent the houses of 'Nine' to stimulate such a big population of both the traditionalist magicians and the ancient magicians in Kyoto."

"You're right. You’ll provide an excuse for the traditionalists that way, it's best to avoid that."

Minoru spoke with a regretful tone, and was comforted by Miyuki who supported his decision.

"The complaint from the Yoshida Family will probably be a just a constraint for the traditionalists. Regardless of what we do next, if they plan to become violent, they will do so."

Mikihiko nodded in agreement with those words.

"That's right… Understood. Then, we will do the same thing as today, to look around the perimeter of the competition venue. We should focus towards the residential area, just to be sure."

"What should I do?"

Masaki asked Tatsuya. Tatsuya couldn’t respond to his 'what should I do' question with a 'do as you like', even when he had no power to dictate Masaki. However, the situation would turn murky if he actually said that.

Anyway, Masaki's feelings were obvious, he was glancing at the shimmering Miyuki.

"Ichijou-san, we encourage you to accompany us if you're willing to."

Miyuki answered proactively for her brother. It was due to the fact that she was asked to accompany them instead of asking permission to join them. —— Nevertheless, Masaki thought that she was very motivated, yet, she didn't have a hint of such thoughts.

"Yes, please leave it to me!"

With this, the course of action for tomorrow was decided.

Share