Published at 26th of March 2019 2:11 am

Volume 17, Chapter 4

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Raymond S. Clark. He's currently a high school sophomore located in USNA Berkeley, California. He had been one of Shizuku's classmates during her foreign exchange student program.

The high school he attends differs from a Japanese Magic High School in that it isn't a facility that specializes in Magic Training. In this school, Magic Studies and Magic Practice are optional subjects. However, even the USNA can't escape from the cruel lack of teachers related to Magical courses. Since the number of student applicants vastly outnumber the amount of teachers, each and every school comes up with its own entrance exam to select future students. Objectively speaking, Raymond's school had turned into a 'Magic High School'.

That wasn't implying he was a poor Magician. Among his peers, Raymond was at the top of his class. Still, it wasn't enough talent to enter the STARS or something similar. His value and talent lay in another area.

That's how they're called by the USNA's Intelligence Agency. In reality, they aren't so much an organization as they are a group of unaffiliated individuals with the same special ability.

‘Hliðskjálf’ is the hacking system concealed within the USNA's worldwide communication interceptor ‘Echelon III’. Only seven "operators" have access to it. That's the ability shared between ‘The Seven Sages’, using Hliðskjálf, which greatly surpasses Echelon III's legitimate operators, to gather information from anywhere in the world, earning them this title.

Among the seven operators of Hliðskjálf, there was only one person who actually used the title. This person, on a whim, gave information to the USNA about an anti-government organization and introduced himself as one of 'The Seven Sages'. This was, of course, none other than Raymond.

Today as well, Raymond was swimming in the sea of information brought to him by using Hliðskjálf. He was a person who was zealous about acquiring knowledge. He also liked to investigate about specific things here and there, but amassing information without a specific topic was closer to being a hobby of his. For Raymond, Hliðskjálf was the greatest of his toys.

That being said, in order to actually use Hliðskjálf, one has to define search parameters first. That is because the nature and the function of Hliðskjálf is to answer questions.

Rays of light became characters as the search conditions were being specified. The terminal of Hliðskjálf was operated by the user's brain waves and gestures in a VR (Virtual Reality) like environment made possible by the HMD (Head-mounted Display). The camera caught the movement of his fingertips, rays of light were projected in the virtual environment. The operator inputs the search criteria with characters of light, determining the settings with the assistance of their brain waves.

Right now, Raymond was using the broad ‘Scandal of the USNA Army’ terms for his research. A massive amount of information opened in the sky, being displayed in various ‘windows’. The window in the distance displayed only the titles of articles while the window close-by was displaying their contents. Another window was composed of diagrams with their accompanying text, another contained images, and another was a video. If you directed your eyes on a window, it would come closer, while looking away would send it away. As far as the eye could see, there were innumerable windows in every direction.

Speed reading and memorization were Raymond's forte. Tens of windows queued up as he progressively carved their contents into his head. However, he unexpectedly stopped this operation. A certain window's content attracted Raymond's attention.

(The contents of an old depot for small missiles went missing…?)

It would be no surprise if this fact had made headlines. Sadly, it wasn't unusual to hear that old weapons that were planned to be scrapped had up and disappeared.

The missiles that went missing were using C-20 (cyclotrimethylene trinitramine) as the main explosive ingredient for an infantry-usable anti-aircraft missile. Even though it had been used quite a bit during the war that lasted until 2020, the progress on nanotechnologies allowing explosions to surpass the previous limits had forced these weapons into obsoletion.

(Still, it's a well-tried warfare tool… I can't think of this affair as just a matter of control negligence.)

Raymond licked his lips at the perspective of having found something suspicious. His forté was his fast reading speed and good memory, but he also had some kind of sixth sense for detecting fishy affairs.

For Raymond, the events occurring in the real world were like the grandest shows. The more substantial and serious the event was, the greater his interest became.

He knew full-well that he was no superman. Even if his magical talent was first-class, it wasn't anywhere near the world's finest. He knew that he would never be an influential Magician. Nor will he ever become a hero travelling the world. ——No matter how much he wished for it.

Raymond looked at his potential that way. That is why, by lending his power to real heroes, he could feel like he shared in their adventures. He could then enjoy watching the events unfold on the stage he had set. That's what he thought, and Hliðskjálf made this a possibility.

It was like Hliðskjálf had been made to allow him to do so.

(Should I start by examining this from the management situation of the depot?)

Even if he finds out where the missing missiles went, he wasn't sure that this whole thing would end there. No matter the affair, it was always a human's hand that caused it. Who could've put those weapons on the black market? Raymond started a search with a now all too familiar procedure.

◊ ◊ ◊

Before Raymond noticed the disappearance of the old missiles —— two days before in fact —— this matter had become a problem for the USNA Army. This wasn't a matter that could remain within the base's jurisdiction, so the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the USNA's Intelligence Division had begun an internal investigation.

The reason this matter wasn't entrusted to the gendarmerie was because they suspected a terrorist organization was involved. Those missiles could be put on the black market and end up in the hands of terrorists. If that disaster became reality, it would mean that once those missiles had been used and their origin discovered, it would provoke a worldwide scandal. The Department of Defense was ready to do anything to prevent that.

However, the investigation had already started six days ago, but it was now January 27th and things had hardly progressed. Despite the fact that it was a Sunday, the Number 2, Colonel Balance, was present in the office. She had a grim expression as she read the presented report.

There were almost no clues whatsoever that would help in this affair.

She understood from the very beginning that the perpetrators must've received inside help. To begin with, it was practically impossible to steal weapons from the military, as old as those weapons were, without the cooperation from the inside. However, even if they somehow managed to bribe the captain of the unit charged with guarding the warehouse, there was no way they could've taken the weapons without leaving any trace whatsoever.

The comings and goings of weapons are double, if not triple-checked. In addition to an RFID tag, the warehouses are equipped with biometric sensors, and moreover, it is impossible to open or shut the accesses if you are alone because the need for two people cannot be bypassed. They were investigating if there had been any anomalies in those systems, to no avail.

Balance was reminded of a point that was particularly perturbing her: how did they notice that something went missing?

The loss of the missiles was noticed by the people responsible for checking stocks. However, if this theft was performed by an organization capable of completely bypassing the security of the warehouse, why didn't they also falsify the stock records? These were obsolete weapons awaiting disposal. If they had modified the data to make it seem like they had been disposed of, no one would have noticed. It was as if someone had stolen them and allowed them to notice on purpose. Colonel Balance genuinely felt that this was the case.

(But then, who could've done that, and for what purpose? No, to begin with, who even has the capability to pull something like this off?)

The lack of information made it impossible to reach a conclusion. Knowing so, Balance was lost in unnecessary thoughts.

Balance collected herself at the sound of her phone's ringtone, signaling a new email. It wasn't an ordinary email either. It was a communication using a code that only top-level members of the Intelligence Division knew about.

With practiced, machine-like movements of her hands, she transferred the contents of the email to an offline decoder as per procedure. It wouldn't be readable on a device available due to the masses to prevent sharing information in plain text. When she saw the deciphered message and spotted the name of the sender, Balance wore an amazed expression.

‘The Seven Sages’.

Her eyes glistened as she read the contents. Forgetting to breathe as the pored over the contents, it took a few moments for her to compose herself after reading the email.

"Are these kinds of things even permitted?"

The secret information received from ‘The Seven Sages’ stated that the President's Assistant of the Deputy Chief of Staff took part in the matter. And even worse was the motive. If what was written here was true, then all of this was part of a much larger-scale plan that vastly exceeded Balance's expectations.

Balance stretched her hand towards the visiphone when her hand stopped.

She was hesitating about who exactly she should call. No, to be more precise, she had no idea.

To whom she should share this information with, and if she can even trust anyone with this, Balance was at a loss.

◊ ◊ ◊

Angelina Sirius, High Commander in direct command of the USNA Army's Magician Force, STARS, was enjoying a rare shopping break. Of course, she currently wasn't walking around as the "Strategic-Class Magician Angie Sirius" but as the 17-year-old, Lina.

Instead of going to the nearest town Roswell, Silvia Mercury First, nicknamed Silvie, who was accompanying Lina, strongly recommended that they extend their travel to Albuquerque.

Since their mission last year in Japan, these two have been spending quite a lot of time together. Despite their age difference, Silvie treated Lina as if she was her younger sister. Lina's utter lack of what could be called a normal girl's common sense provoked a swirl of emotions inside of her, and she simply could not leave Lina alone.

Today, like prior ones, was Silvie playing dress-up using Lina as the doll. However, Lina was also enjoying herself. Even though her fashion sense was on the questionable side, she like dressing up. To be fair, if the subject's tastes were fine, there wasn't much need to improve them. In this case, Lina didn't have someone to look pretty for in comparison to Miyuki, which lead to a huge gap.

But putting all of that aside, Lina was going back to the base's lodging house in a very good mood, carrying her spoils of war. You could say that those were very fulfilling holidays. Even though she didn't receive any mobilization orders as Sirius, a harsh session of training was waiting for her tomorrow. Today had been pretty refreshing, Lina was quite satisfied.

However, her cheerful mood was immediately blown away by the mail she received on her room's terminal.

"An encrypted mail!?"

It wasn't that unusual for her to receive an encrypted mail containing secret orders. However, that a mail using the special encryption code only known of the High Commander, the Chiefs of Staff and the Captains of the STARS, arriving directly on her room's terminal was a first.

Could it be an emergency? In a mix of impatience and nervousness, Lina was waiting for the decoder to transcribe the contents of the mail. Shocked feelings surfaced in her expression as she started to read.

"The Seven Sages…?"

The name of the sender was ‘The Seven Sages’.

“A joke?” was Lina's first reaction but she dismissed that thought as quickly as it came. There is no way a mere hacker could access the STARS special encryption code. To begin with, the title of 'The Seven Sages" wasn't known by those outside the direct control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff HQ.

Lina hurriedly resumed her reading. A few events without seemingly any relation to her duties were recorded.

"Eh!? The mastermind behind the Parasite event!?"

However, as she reached the end of the mail, information that was strongly connected to Lina started to appear.

Lina had been sent to Japan due to the event that occurred on October

31st, 2095 A.D. She had been sent to uncover the identity of the user of the Strategic-Class Magic that ravaged the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, the ‘Great Bomb’ (this was the name given to Material Burst by the USNA). However, once the STARS Members possessed by the Parasites started to desert and flee to Japan, as a part of her High Commander's duties she ordered their ‘Disposal’.

Lina was told that the Parasite outbreak was the result of an accident. Due to that fact, it was supposed to end with the deaths of the affected people. However, if this source was to be trusted, then the Parasite Affair had been purposely started and the perpetrator was responsible for the comrades that Lina was forced to kill. The added despair from her assassination duty would also be the instigator’s fault.

This was definitely something that couldn’t be forgiven.

"…The Mastermind of the Parasites is going to try to perform acts of terrorism in Japan by using old missiles he stole? This can’t be real!?"

After she finished her reading of the mail, Lina found herself instinctively shouting about.

This was information coming from a dubious source. There was no guarantee that it held any truth.

A profiler working for the USNA Army had analyzed ‘The Seven Sages’ and came to the conclusion that they most likely enjoyed the reactions provoked by their whimsical acts. Even if that mail truly came from ‘The Seven Sages’, Lina couldn't shrug off the possibility that this was all part of an elaborate plan to play some kind of trick on her.

Despite that, Lina believed this information.

During the last stages of the Parasite Affair of last year, just like today, Lina had received information from someone using the name ‘The Seven Sages’. At that time, she didn't have any reason to believe the information given either. But even still, she had believed it was the truth.

This time was the same. Her believing it had no basis. There was no real reason for her to believe it.

However, if she ignored this information and something happened afterwards she would deeply regret it.

Being tricked, being manipulated and becoming a laughingstock wouldn't compare to that.

If the conspiracy recorded in the mail was the truth and became reality, then the USNA would have a great debt towards Japan. Considering Japan’s current state of tension, if USNA-made weapons were used in terrorist acts… then it wouldn't be surprising if Japan accused them of instigating terrorism on their territory.

If you think about the difference in power between the two countries, the possibility of a war happening was rather small. However, that is if we're only taking conventional war potential in account, and not something like the Strategic-Class Magic responsible for ‘Scorched Halloween’. If the range of that magic can extend even further than the Pacific Ocean —— as another user of Strategic-Class Magic, Lina's common sense denies the possibility of… the worst could happen.

That is why she believes the information.

Lina was convinced she had to stop this plan from reaching fruition. Not just obstructing, but actually killing the mastermind behind it as well.

However, according to the information provided by ‘The Seven Sages’, the Mastermind ‘Jiedo Heigu’ had already left the USNA for Japan. Indeed, it would be difficult for Lina to act outside of her country, let alone in Japan.

Lina decided to consult about this entire scenario with the only person she thought could help.

◊ ◊ ◊

Balance extended her hand towards the ringing visiphone.

Her posture crumbled for a moment. She quickly recovered and pressed the button to accept the call.

"Colonel, forgive me for calling unannounced."

Lina appeared on the screen, saluting in her purple-black STARS uniform.

Seeing Lina's appearance, as if she had just changed in her fresh, tight uniform, Balance felt slightly nostalgic.

"Major Sirius. Weren't you on leave today?"

Lina's expression betrayed her surprise. She struggled to understand why Balance was aware of her schedule despite the fact that she is not even under her direct command. From Balance's point of view, it was part of the course for her to know everything about the movements of a Strategic-Class Magician, one of the ‘Twelve Apostles’, the strongest magician of the USNA and High Commander of the STARS, Angie Sirius.

"Don't pay attention to what I just said. So, do you have any business with me?"

Sincerely apologizing for the idle talk, Balance enquired about the reason of her call.

"Yes. Being blunt I require assistance from the Colonel about a report I received."

Being urged on by Balance, Lina began exposing the matter.

"Go on."

"Understood. To tell you the truth, in the period of time ranging from 0900 hours to 1632 hours when I was out, I received an encrypted message from someone who claimed to be a member of ‘The Seven Sages’."

"When you say the Seven Sages, are you talking about "those" ‘Seven Sages’?"

Hiding the shock, she received behind a poker face, Balance responded so.

"It was indeed the sender's name. Although, I have no way of knowing whether it is the truth or not."

"Hmm."

Balance nodded and urged Lina to continue through the camera.

"Assuming that the source of information is indeed ‘The Seven Sages’, the report stated that weapons stolen from our army are going to be used in a terrorist attack. The target would be Japan."

"What kind of weapon?"

"Infantry-carried Anti-Aircraft Missiles."

"…Major, do you think such a case of theft actually occurred?"

"I don't have a definite answer. However, there are indeed rumors about weapons awaiting disposal being stolen from us."

Balance uttered a sigh. If someone like Lina who was pretty much isolated from the regular military troops…

If the information leaked so far that even a ‘Sheltered Official’ such as her was aware of this matter, then that means it wasn't just the staff in- charge of the weapons' surveillance whose discipline was lacking.

"Colonel?"

A worried expression started to appear on Lina's face. Knowing her, she might be thinking that she offended Balance in some way.

Balance herself interpreted it so anyway. For her, this was rather vexing. "No, it's nothing. Please go on."

"Understood. Even though there was no mention of a specific target, there were references concerning a Mastermind. The name was Jiedo Heigu. He became a political refugee following Dahan's ruin, his Chinese name is Gu Jie. His estimated age would be between 60 and 90 years old. Black eyes and white hair, it appears that despite his Eastern Asian lineage, he possesses dark skin. There was a special note mentioning that he might be a survivor of the Kunlunfang Institute."

"The Kunlunfang Institute? Isn't that the Magic Research Laboratory of Dahan that was exterminated by the Yotsuba?"

"I think that is indeed the case."

They couldn't possibly be thinking of taking revenge on the Yotsuba by using the missiles, could they? Balance thought, but she immediately dismissed that hypothesis as nonsensical. If the Yotsuba could be dealt with as simply as that, they wouldn't be feared as ‘Untouchable’ throughout the world.

"Furthermore."

While Balance was lost in her thoughts, Lina continued her report.

"It appears that Jiedo Heigu was the Mastermind behind the Parasite Affair."

Balance had a look of understanding.

"I see, so this was the main reason of your call."

Even if her intention was discovered, Lina didn't cower.

"Colonel. Even if the information about Jiedo Heigu's relation to the Parasite Affair is the truth, I would like to know his degree of involvement. The deserters might have had no relation to the Parasite

Outbreak, and could have been mere pawns. However, if this Jiedo Heigu has even the slightest link to this affair, I cannot overlook it. If I don't pay him back with my very own hands, I won't be able to get over it."

"Major Sirius. Are you telling me you want to go to Japan once more?"

"Affirmative, Colonel."

Balance frowned as if taken by a sudden headache.

Allowing Lina to leave the country was a difficult matter. Even under the best circumstances, dispatching magicians to other countries should be done carefully. The degree of difficulty increases by several orders of magnitude if they were talking about the Strategic-Class Magician ‘Sirius’. One of the Strategic-Class Magicians of the USNA, Roland Bart, had been placed in the British territory of Gibraltar, but even then, there was almost no record of him going out of that base. To the extent that he is purposely called back to the USNA during his vacations. Having sent Lina in Japan last year was an exception among exceptions.

Lina herself probably understood all of this very well. That is why Balance also understood what this was about when Lina decided to call her. Moreover, Balance fully understood Lina's desire to take revenge on Heigu with her own hands.

"…At this time I cannot give you an answer. Major, you will have to give me some time."

Lina couldn't hide her surprise in front of the camera. For her, who thought that she would be immediately rejected, Balance's response was going in a surprisingly good direction.

"Yes, I'm counting on you, Colonel."

The call ended with Lina's appearance saluting on the screen.

◊ ◊ ◊

Meanwhile, Jiedo Heigu, or Gu Jie, was at sea.

Even though up until a few days ago he had lived on the USNA's West Coast, he didn't possess USNA citizenship.

Gu Jie's homeland was Dahan, a country that had already disappeared. He used to belong to the Magician Development Institute of Kunlunfang. In the eventuality that Dahan would collapse, the USNA's government would grant him refugee status, and as such, his social status was currently that of a normal refugee.

However, at the time Gu Jie arrived on the North American continent in 2054, the country's name was still the USA. Dahan's collapse occurred in February of the year 2064 A.D., merely a single year after the destruction of the Kunlunfang Institute.

After the collapse of Dahan, rather, the destruction of the Kunlunfang Institute, Gu Jie didn't seek asylum from North America. He ran away from Dahan.

The Kunlunfang Institute predated the division between the Great Asian Alliance and Dahan, and one could think of it as the main Modern Magic's research laboratory of the old Eastern Asian region.

However, that wasn't the entire truth.

The Kunlunfang Institute had earned quite the renown as a laboratory developing Modern Magic. But that wasn't the only thing they had been working on.

Both Ancient Magic and Modern Magic were being researched.

However, just like the other countries, those two 'factions', so to speak, were at odds.

Originally, the Ninth Institute in Japan was supposed to use the know- how of Ancient Magic to develop Modern Magic. That being said, it wasn't researching both Ancient Magic and Modern Magic simultaneously. In the end, the Ancient Magic Users revolted, and the rebels also took over the Ninth Institute after the lockdown.

Both groups turned into something similar to organizations, competing for leadership. Ancient Magic and Modern Magic users argued about each and every policy for the Research Laboratories, including objectives, budgets, and human resources.

Even in the Kunlunfang Institute, both Ancient Magic users and Modern Magic users fiercely competed for control.

Despite the fact that the Kunlunfang Institute was the main laboratory of Dahan, the internal dispute continued. No, rather, it intensified and this escalation would bring about a catastrophe before long. The Modern Magic side ended up winning the power struggle and banished the Ancient Magic users from the Institute. This happened in the year 2054.

It was at that time that Gu Jie, as an Ancient Magic User, fled to North America along with his apprentice Zhou Gongjin. That's why, under normal circumstances, Gu Jie shouldn't have any grudge towards the Yotsuba nor Japan's Magicians. The Yotsuba were the ones who crushed the Modern Magician sect, the ones who had taken over the Kunlunfang Institute. They should have been something similar to a ‘the enemy of my enemy is my ally’ existence to Gu Jie.

However, after Dahan's collapse, Gu Jie decided that the Yotsuba and the Japanese Magic Community were targets for revenge. Exactly what kind of mental thought process led him to that conclusion, no one really knew.

Was it patriotism?

Did he feel like his own revenge of Dahan had been taken away from him?

Was an enemy simply needed to maintain his subordinate's cohesion?

The only thing that was certain was that Gu Jie constructed a criminal network made up of Dahan's deserters, that he exerts a powerful control over them and that his only known objective so far is revenge. As for the person in question, nothing else is known.

When he was still alive, Zhou Gongjin had apparently compared his obsession to that of a ‘vengeful spirit’.

Due to the lack of apparent reason behind his acts, it was impossible to convince him to stop. Having lost his last apprentice, Zhou Gongjin, he decided take matters into his own hands.

However, Gu Jie's direct, immediate fighting potential was low. Even though he was also a user of Ancient Continental Magic, the Magic that he possessed wasn't suited for direct confrontation. If we're talking strictly about duels, Zhou Gongjin was his superior. This was something Gu Jie himself was willing to admit.

Gu Jie was proficient in techniques that used human organs or parts to create magic devices, like with the case of ‘Sorcery Boosters’, that is, to turn a human into a tool functioning similarly to a ‘Generator’, and magic for controlling corpses.

He was the practitioner of the side of Magic that concentrated all of its vilest aspects, but ethical questions aside, he really wasn't the type to fight head on. Actually, he had kept himself to just being a manipulator until now.

For Gu Jie himself to come to Japan was proof that he had been cornered, and had no other choice.

The international Anti-Magic Political Organization that he had been supporting, ‘Blanche’, had been considerably weakened by the pressure and measures taken by the governments of several nations. As the leader of the criminal syndicate ‘No Head Dragon’, he had also tried to spread rumors in both Japan and the USNA (with the cooperation of the Great Asian Alliance) but his plan ended in failure as well.

Finally, he lost his envoy in Japan, Zhou Gongjin. Zhou Gongjin had been under Gu Jie's command for more than 40 years, the last remaining person who had fled Dahan with him. With this loss, Gu Jie was forced to act by himself.

Zhou Gongjin had been killed in October of last year.

It was slightly past mid-January when Gu Jie left from the Los Angeles' port.

It wasn't because he was mourning the death of his apprentice, nor because his plan had failed that Gu Jie took more than two months to make his move. It was the result of him waiting for the most appropriate time. Truth be told, he wanted to leave for Japan immediately and retaliate, however, if he failed to, then things would be over once and for all. He was conscious of that fact.

With his magical skills, being too aggressive was impossible. That isn't to say that his magical skills are non-existent, but against a first-rate Magician, it was nowhere near sufficient. That was why he first needed weapons.

If Blanche and No Head Dragon had been in a better state, a simple word of his would have done the deal, and a single month would've been more than enough to gather the materials.

That would include the arrangements required for a ship that would cross the Pacific Ocean. As things are, he had to set up all of that himself. To be more precise, he found a random punk that he used as a disposable puppet, but since he had to go through the trouble of preparing him as well as giving him various orders, it was basically as if he had done all the work himself. Furthermore, to make it so that this puppet wouldn't be traced back to him, he embarked it on the boat to get rid of it in the ocean.

"Sir Gu. We can be expected to enter the port of Yokosuka tomorrow morning."

The captain of the freighter reported so to a Gu Jie who was looking at the sea in front of him. The deck of the freighter was completely covered by solar panels.

"Just as planned."

Without any trace of exhaustion from the long journey, Gu Jie answered in a firm voice.

Gu Jie is currently 97 years old. His outward appearance however was barely that of someone in his fifties. His hair was completely white, however, the wrinkles, sagging and age spots that one should normally find on someone of his age were inexistent.

"And also, umm… Sir, my reward."

"I understand. Tomorrow at the morning twilight, I will apply my Magic."

"Thank you very much! Even after this journey ends, I promise my unwavering loyalty to you, Sir."

Gu Jie nodded with a pleased expression. Behind this mask however, he had nothing but contempt for the captain.

The reward this captain was talking about. Longevity and perpetual youth.

It was the truth that Gu Jie's 'surgery' could maintain a perpetual youth, his very own face was the proof of that.

However, even if he could guarantee a physical youth, longevity was out of his reach. He couldn't give genuine immortality.

This surgery of his was a magic developed in the Kunlunfang Institute, and it was the very reason of his presence in the Kunlunfang Institute.

Unsurprisingly, coming from humans with power, the Leaders of Dahan longed for perpetual youth. And while the Modern Magic Users in the Kunlunfang Institute replied that it was impossible, Ancient Magic Users assured them of the opposite. For the Ancient Magic Users whose position had fallen behind Modern Magic in the race of arms that the Kunlunfang Institute advocated, it had been a godsend.

The one who was developing the most promising magic among the Ancient Magic Users group was Gu Jie. Of course, it was his surgery of perpetual youth.

It was in the year 2049 that he used his magic on his own body, like a test subject.

To ascertain whether this magic could be used safely or not, he used it on nine apprentices in the year 2050.

After 5 years had passed, it was confirmed that Gu Jie's aging had come to a stop. His apprentices didn't develop any side-effects either, and it was then thought that a magic of perpetual youth had been achieved.

However, there was a drawback in this Magic. Certainly, this ‘Surgery of Perpetual Youth’ appeared to stop the aging. However, if the person the magic is performed on doesn’t have the aptitude, the compensation for staying young is to consume their life force. In other words, one's lifespan. There had been some cases of sudden death after three to six months.

A magic that acts for eternity is impossible. This holds true for both Modern Magic and Ancient Magic. The surgery of perpetual youth consists of implanting the magic inside of someone who then continually applies it.

This magic had been made specifically for Ancient Magic practitioners.

What would happen if a Magician tried to perform a magic that he has no aptitude for?

What would happen if this magic was used on someone who isn't even a Magician?

The surgery of perpetual youth gave the one answer to those questions.

When the men of influence from Dahan, who had already received the ‘Surgery of Perpetual Youth’ presented it to their kinsmen, Gu Jie explained to them the flaws in his Magic.

The ensuing result was the purge of the Ancient Magic Users' group.

Quickly learning the failure of his experiment, Gu Jie took his apprentices and fled to North America.

20 years later, Gu Jie realized that his magic also didn't prolong one's longevity either.

He realized it with his own apprentices' deaths.

In the end, the surgery that he had developed could only stop the degradation of one's outward appearance. The only reason Gu Jie lived up to this age was that he originally had a long life ahead of him.

It was this kind of imperfect Magic that the freighter's captain hoped for. From Gu Jie's point of view, it was quite a laughable matter.

The one who told the captain about the surgery of perpetual youth was none other than Gu Jie himself. To earn the captain's cooperation, he had told him “there is a secret art that allows one to conserve his youth until the day of his death”. If you cooperate with me, I will apply this magic on you.

It wasn't a lie. Without a doubt, this captain will conserve his current youth until his death. Which will probably happen within half a year.

Gu Jie himself was aware that his own time was getting dangerously short.

"I will be pretty busy from tomorrow onwards."

"I will also help you once we land on Yokosuka. Please, feel free to ask me anything, sir."

Without any knowledge about his real intentions, the captain stated so in an elated manner.

◊ ◊ ◊

Even though Balance had asked Lina to give her some time, she went into action pretty quickly.

She left her office the morning of the following day and made arrangements for her journey. Her destination was the STARS Headquarters situated in the city of Roswell, New Mexico.

Wrapping up all the urgent deskwork she had to do for the day, she used the encrypting device at her home to safely transmit the data via e-mail. This encryption machine had been a gift from Kuroba Ayako, and the recipient of the e-mail was Yotsuba Maya. The content of the e-mail was basically the same as what Lina had reported to her, that an act of terrorism had been planned in Japan using stolen missiles and that the possibility of the mastermind, Jiedo Heigu, being a survivor of the Kunlunfang Institute was high.

Balance didn't include the secret information that Lina had shared with her however. That is, an information related to the scandal on the USNA government. Even though Balance formed an alliance with the Yotsuba Family she did not completely trust them. She had no reason to hesitate on cooperating with them, however, she couldn't endanger national interests.

The reply from Maya arrived when Balance was eating. The content of the letter had simple words of gratitude for the information provided. This kind of message had no real importance for her, but she didn't particularly mind. That was because this mail's purpose was simply to seal the deal regarding their alliance.

Finally, after reconfirming the schedule of each STARS Commander, she headed for the bathroom.

◊ ◊ ◊

Maya had received Balance's mail at 8:00 A.M., Monday, January 28th, Japan standard time.

"Hayama-san, it appears that remnants of the Kunlunfang Institute are plotting an act of terrorism here in Japan."

"That is quite the important matter."

Hayama's answer was rather neutral. Of course, he was aware of what Maya had gone through in the Kunlunfang Institute. Taking her feelings into account, it was perfectly natural for him to not return a proper answer at once, even if neither anger nor hatred could be felt from Maya's voice.

"An important matter? A mere stray dog who lost his home?”

However, it wasn't like Maya was completely emotionless. You could hear slight disdain in her voice.

"Mistress, if there really is a survivor from the Kunlunfang Institute then that means he managed to escape from the previous Head of the Family."

Hayama lightly reproved her. Maya’s pride, to be more precise.

"We have no idea what sort of unusual talent he might possess. I strongly recommend we stay vigilant."

"I understand."

Despite responding so, Maya's lips curved into a smile full of disdain.

"Still, what are they hoping to achieve with small missiles? Japan is not a zone of conflict after all. Moving around carrying these is practically begging to be captured, don't you think?”

"During the Yokohama Incident, the guerillas who had concealed themselves in town beforehand had managed to prepare quite a few missiles."

"That was thanks to the camouflaged warship they had as backup, wasn't it?”

Objecting on reflex, Maya retorted.

"…Yet, it's true that there is no guarantee that we will be able to successfully prevent this planned act of terrorism."

"Even a Magician would die if hit by a missile while in a defenseless condition. Moreover, depending on their objective, we might have to deal with danger in another form altogether. There is a possibility of them dismantling the warheads and using them as bombs too. Back during the times of war, these kinds of suicide bombing attacks were regular occurrences."

Faced with Hayama's numerous examples, even Maya couldn't deny the necessity of dealing with it.

"Understood. Then let's look for this Jiedo Heigu. A lot of our workforce is focused on the preparation for the Master Clan Conference, however, so we won't be able to field too much personnel."

The Master Clan Conference will take place next month, in the beginning of February in 2097. In particular, this period was the reunion of the Ten Master Clans which happens once every 4 years.

The Conference will decide the members of the future Ten Master Clans for a duration of 4 years. There were 28 Houses which had the qualifications to become a Member of the Ten Master Clans, and everyone was in a hurry to perform the final tasks in order to have an advantage for the selection.

The selection will be decided by internal voting, and since only 28 Houses can participate, it will be nothing like large-scale elections or anything. However, it was necessary to make various arrangements as well as finding faults in other Houses to have the best possible odds.

"Should we talk about this matter with the other Houses?”

Maya pondered for a few moments before shaking her head from left to right at Hayama's suggestion of asking for the cooperation of the other Clans.

"I would rather not be a subject of gossip. Let me think… Alright, spread the rumor that terrorists targeting magicians have infiltrated the country. With this, we should expect them to make the necessary moves. Could you work on this until lunch?”

"Understood, Mistress. They will be ready in two hours."

Search and Information Manipulation, giving his words this double- meaning, Hayama politely bowed.

◊ ◊ ◊

9:00 A.M., Japan standard time, January the 28th, Gu Jie's freighter entered Yokosuka's port.

Immediately after landing, Gu Jie started to collect the required personnel for his plans. That being said, the arrangements had already been done beforehand. Despite losing the No Head Dragon Organization, Gu Jie had gathered quite the extensive know-how to make deals with the obscure sides of modern society during his days as a mastermind. As long as quality wasn't a crucial factor, it wasn't that difficult to gather personnel. No matter how prosperous a society is, unfortunate people exist.

The target had been confirmed even before the landing. Of course, the location for the Ten Master Clans Conference had only been shared between the concerned. However, using Hliðskjálf would allow one to easily uncover that information.

The super-hacking tool, Hliðskjálf. Gu Jie wasn't the type to qualify anything as ‘super’, but the fact of the matter is, there wasn't really any other expression strong enough to describe it.

Hliðskjálf's information gathering capability was effective worldwide. Gu Jie was aware that it was impossible to access information which only exists offline, however, in this day and age, information that couldn't be found using the network was practically nonexistent. No matter the complexity of the encryption, Hliðskjálf would decipher it. Even quantum encrypted transmissions that ‘cannot be intercepted without possessing the correct decryption key’ can be completely overturned and rendered powerless.

Who exactly invented this system? Who, and for what purpose, did this person send me this terminal? Even Gu Jie had first approached it with caution. Especially, when he discovered the hidden drawback in the system after having made a random search.

This drawback became clear all too soon.

Hliðskjálf records everything that the user investigates. The other Operators can also see it.

Still, they have no way of understanding who exactly made the search. What they know is ‘what has been searched’ and that's it.

Gu Jie remembered the disappointment he felt back then. That the system's creator would be able to see what exactly he searched for had been within his expectation. Even though the identities of the seven operators was supposed to remain a mystery with this system, Gu Jie wasn't the kind of person to take someone's words as gospel (At least, that's what he thought of himself). The administrator of this system, the person who most certainly sent this terminal to him, could probably understand who did what. If you were to acknowledge this fact and still wanted to use the terminal, then the fact that other operators could also search your history shouldn't matter that much.

Gu Jie didn't have any hesitation in using Hliðskjálf.

Of course, he always had in mind the possibility that the system could be lying. He didn't use it for every piece of information he wanted, however. There have been plenty of times where he collected information without relying on it, for the reasons stated above. But still, Hliðskjálf was an extremely convenient tool.

The problem he faced this time was that the Ten Master Clans might have predicted an attack if they had heard rumors of someone making investigations on the conference's location. Gu Jie didn't underestimate the power of the Ten Master Clans. It was also possible that if a person among the Ten Master Clans also had access to Hliðskjálf, an ambush would be waiting for him. Of course, he was extremely careful as to what keywords he used during his search, and just because things went smoothly up until now didn't mean that this time would be the same.

Taking this into consideration, he had prepared various plans in the eventuality of an ambush.

Gu Jie's purpose wasn't to assassinate the Heads of the Ten Master Clans. Socially ending the Yotsuba Family that destroyed the Kunlunfang Institute was his goal.

While seeing off his dolls who were heading towards the town of Hakone in freight vehicles, Gu Jie sneered at the dark pleasure swelling from within himself. These dolls had been made from various poor citizens of Yokosuka.

◊ ◊ ◊

Even though Lina was slightly surprised at her training's interruption, she obeyed the orders and headed towards the base's control room.

Her companion was the Commanding Officer of the STARS First Unit, Benjamin Canopus. He was the person Lina was relying on the most, STARS' Number 2.

"Ben, what do you think this is all about?”

Canopus shook his head at Lina, whose voice betrayed a certain anxiety.

"Truth be told, I have no idea. However, nothing in particular has happened recently so I doubt this is going to be a scolding or anything of the sort."

It wasn't that rare for STARS Members to break things during their training. Things like training equipment, vehicles, and even facilities. Considering the STARS were training for combat situations, a certain degree of destruction couldn't be helped, and this was even more valid when Commander-Class personnel were training. Lina had heard various complaints about the budget from the base's commander.

"I-I guess so."

Canopus looked at Lina with a smile while she was mumbling to herself words of encouragement. He had a daughter who was only 2 years younger than Lina, and because of that, he’d sort of developed parental feelings for her.

Without knowing that her subordinate was pointing such warm eyes towards her, Lina tightly clenched her fists and was psyching herself up. ——Lina was unaware that her childish, cutesy gesture was further prodding Canopus' feelings.

Somehow successfully managing to put her uneasiness in a corner of her heart, she straightened her posture and adopted —— or at least she thought she had —— a proper expression for someone of the military, then knocked on the door of the Commander's Room. With a voice signaling her to come in, the lock of the door disengaged. Opening the door for herself, Lina instinctively raised her voice at the unexpected person in the room.

"Colonel Balance!?"

Right next to the commander of the base, who was behind his desk, was Colonel Balance sitting in a chair.

"Major, what are you doing. Come in."

Ordered by the irritated voice of the base's commander, Walker, who also had the rank of Colonel, Lina moved in front of the desk in a hurry.

Canopus followed Lina with a composed attitude. "Major Sirius, Major Canopus, at ease."

Walker talked to the two people who saluted in front of his desk. "Yes."

Lina and Canopus both adopted the resting pose simultaneously. "Colonel Balance has something to tell to the two of you." Saying so, Walker stood up.

"Then, Colonel Balance."

Balance stood up from her seat slightly after him.

"Colonel Walker. Thank you for allowing us to borrow your room for a few moments."

Walker and Balance saluted each other, then Walker went out of the room.

Locking the door using the remote control, Balance finally faced Lina.

"Major Sirius, even though I think you already figured out the reason for my presence, it's about yesterday's matter."

"Yes."

As she said, Lina had guessed that this could be related to the request she had formulated yesterday.

"It is unfortunate, however, that the Major's request cannot be granted." And the answer was as Lina had expected.

"We cannot carelessly allow the High Commander of the STARS, a Strategic-Class Magician to leave the country."

Even though she had become accustomed to this reason, she still couldn't accept it deep in her heart. Despite the fact that she fulfilled her duty when she was sent to Japan last year, it didn't change the fact that she really wasn't fit for such a task.

Thinking about it, dealing with a terrorist threat in a friendly nation that was allowed to exist due to her own army's blunder was, in fact, considered an obligation of STARS. At the very least, those were Lina's thoughts on the matter. Even more so considering the chances of the Mastermind being a Magician were exceptionally high.

"——That is the official reason on the matter, anyhow."

However, Lina's displeasure at hearing this was about to skyrocket.

"The truth is, higher-ups are starting to wonder if the Major holds excess sympathy for Japan. Some are even fearing that the Major would consider exiling herself to Japan. In other words, there is an issue of trust."

"Wait a moment! I have sworn loyalty to this nation, haven't I?!"

"I know."

Balance nodded with a calm expression at a Lina who instinctively reacted.

"I am not doubting the Major's loyalty. However, the fact you have Japanese lineage, and that you are still only a 17-year-old girl are causing them to doubt your allegiance."

Lina was mortified. For her, having mostly an Anglo-Saxon face, experiencing what basically amounted to racism was a first. Furthermore, considering it wasn't face-to-face discrimination but instead being whispered behind her back, her head was starting to boil from rage.

"I can't really find any other word than utter stupidity to qualify this. However, it is specifically because such fools exist that we must avoid giving them any chances. Major, you are our nation's greatest asset."

Still, despite her enraged state of mind, Lina wasn't so far gone that she forgot her etiquette training and completely ignored the words of a superior. Those remarks had been spoken for her sake.

"It is impossible to send Major Sirius to Japan. However, it isn't like we can just leave this matter unattended."

Balance took in a breath and put power in her next sentence.

"That is why, we will send Major Canopus. Major Sirius, is this alright?”

"…Understood. I will be on standby for further orders."

Swallowing her dissatisfaction, she saluted Balance.

Balance slowly nodded with a ‘very well’.

"In that case I will start to explain in more detail the mission to Major Canopus. Major Sirius, you may leave."

"Yes. Then, pardon me, Colonel."

Even though a part of Lina had wanted to explain things directly to Canopus, she had no confidence that doing so wouldn't generate jealousy, and that was why she obediently left.

"——The situation is as stated above. Major Canopus, do you have any questions?”

After having explained to Canopus everything, from the stolen missiles to ‘The Seven Sages’ information, Balance inquired so.

"No, I don't, Colonel."

It is unknown if there will indeed be an act of terrorism in Japan, and their only source of information had been the suspicious ‘Seven Sages’ as well. Is there any dissatisfaction to being given a mission based on such ambiguous intelligence? That had been the nuance in Balance's earlier question, but neither a question nor a complaint came up from Canopus.

"I see. In that case, Major Canopus, there is something I would like to ask you."

"Yes, what is it?”

Even though Balance carefully scrutinized Canopus' expression, not even a brow of his twitched. Feeling relief more than disappointment, Balance carefully continued.

"Major Canopus, no, allow me to call you Major Benjamin Lowes here."

In the middle of Balance's question, Canopus' eyebrows moved ever so slightly.

"The Major is blood-related to the Assistant of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Kane Lowes, right?”

"Yes. I think the Colonel is already aware but the Assistant of the Deputy Chief of Staff and my father are cousins, and he is my mother's cousin-in-law."

In other words, he is connected to the Lowes' Family both by blood and marriage, and with this kind of close relationship it wouldn't be exaggerated to say he's part of the upper echelons of society.

"To tell you the truth, the information brought to us by ‘The Seven Sages’ isn't limited to what I talked to you about earlier. I wish it was some kind of mistake but…"

Seeing Balance hesitate, Canopus' expression moved a little.

His expression had a faint ‘It can't be?’ feeling to it.

"It would appear that both the acquisition of the missiles and the terrorists leaving the country with them has been accommodated by the Assistant of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Lowes."

"…Are you saying that the Assistant of the Deputy Chief of Staff has been corrupted by the terrorists?”

To Canopus' question, Balance shook her head with a gloomy expression.

"If that was all there was to it, it wouldn't be so complicated."

"So that means there are other points of concern?”

Balance frowned before opening her mouth to answer.

"Truth be told, the possibility that he and the Deputy Chief of Staff decided to make use of Jiedo Heigu is higher than the corruption hypothesis."

While Canopus couldn't hide his shock, Balance decided to ask him something seemingly unrelated to the matter at hand.

"Major. What do you think about the Humanist Ideology?”

A popular opinion was that ‘humans have to live only using human abilities’, or at least that is the doctrine that the Anti-Magician Catholic cults go by. Again, this was a mere excuse to agitate the Anti-Magician sentiment.

However, Canopus' answer would be even more concise.

"Mass hysteria. Still, to effectively use this, it would require influence as well as extreme prudence, I think."

"As a Magician yourself, don't you feel threatened by all of that?”

"If it seemed like it was about to escalate then I do think some measures should be thought of. We Magicians have no reason to bow down to false charges after all."

"…You seem to possess pretty radical opinions."

"Colonel, you're misunderstanding something. I only think that it would be dangerous for the citizens if society didn't allow them self-defense. Those calumnious would-be victims incite racism and discrimination, something that has a high risk of breaking down any country, ours included, so we shouldn't take it lightly.'

"I understand your stance. But that is not the problem at hand." While saying this, Balance had an unpleasant expression.

"Lowes, the Assistant of the Deputy Chief of Staff, has a different thought process but appears to have arrived at the same conclusion as you."

Even though Balance was peering into Canopus' expression, he kept a cool, if somewhat brazen, expression.

"However, this is the country of freedom. It is a necessity to guarantee freedom of speech. No matter how good the cause, we cannot suppress it. At the very least, politicians think so."

"I agree with this, Colonel."

"…That is where the group Lowes belongs to decided to act, and they planned on giving the Humanists a target other than them, another country."

"So that they can perform their act of terrorism in Japan, and feel satisfied enough to not do it here as well?”

"Your sarcasm is unneeded, Major. This is something I don't agree with."

Balance reproved with a sour look, a Canopus that was wearing a smile full of derision.

"Forgive my rudeness, Colonel."

Thinking that he had gone too far, Canopus genuinely apologized.

Seeing Canopus apologizing, Balance realized that she might have been too high-strung herself and decided to resume the conversation.

"Putting that aside, if the information given by ‘The Seven Sages’ is to be trusted, Lowes’ group's objective isn't even the terrorist act itself."

"In other words?”

"It is nigh-impossible to limit the damage of a terrorist bombing to only the planned targets. Citizens will also unfortunately get involved in this."

"That is…"

It was the first time since entering this room that Canopus wore such an expression.

"With this kind of weaponry, it would be impossible to harm a Magician unless they were taken by surprise. However, if you were to prepare a bomb using tens of those missiles' destructive power, it would be difficult even for Members of the Ten Master Clans of Japan. Although a high-ranked Magician could definitely survive the explosion with a heat-proof barrier, the civilians who happen to be in the area wouldn't have a chance. If the explosion came from all directions, then even protecting the innocent would be next to impossible. As a result, only the civilians would suffer casualties. This was the scenario envisioned by ‘The Seven Sages’."

"And since Magicians of Japan let innocent civilians die under their very eyes, the Humanists would take them as their new target. Their energy would be concentrated on Japan, thus, the Anti-Magician movement in our own country would weaken. Moreover, the risk of Humanists resorting to radical measures out of frustration would decrease, is that it?”

"Indeed."

Canopus' eyes had a sharp light to them.

"In that case, my mission will be to restrain Jiedo Heigu's act of terrorism before it happens?”

"What I ask of you is in fact much more than that." Balance took a provocative stance.

"After last year's Parasite Affair, the Japanese authorities definitely won't see us in a good light. It will probably be impossible to capture Heigu on Japanese soil without alerting them. That will lead to an inquiry as to why we captured Heigu, and then they'll discover the weapons he planned on using had come from us."

"However, if this act of terrorism actually succeeds, the origin of the used weapons will probably be discovered as well. I think that it would be much more disadvantageous to not stop it beforehand."

"The difference between losing weapons and having them purchased from a black market by a terrorist versus letting a terrorist steal our weapons is quite vast."

"…So we're going to let innocent Japanese citizens be massacred?”

"I have already secretly warned Japanese Magicians about Jiedo Heigu's group of terrorists."

It wasn't as if Canopus could completely agree with Balance. However, he couldn't dispute the fact that there was a need for the USNA Army to cover their position. Before being a Magician, Canopus was a military man. This fact was one of the biggest differences between him and the virtuous Lina.

"Major. Your duty is not related to the execution of Jiedo Heigu's act of terrorism, whether it is before it happens or afterwards, your mission is to assassinate him. His plans will probably still be realized even if he is killed, but you need not worry about that. According to ‘The Seven Sages’, Heigu doesn't seem to be using aerial transports. If he is on the sea, you may use 'loud' means to get the work done. Do not allow the Japanese to capture him."

"Understood."

Faced with the image of a saluting Canopus accepting the duty bestowed upon him, Balance couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Forgive me, Major. Even though we understand this kind of dirty work isn't part of your duties, considering the possibility of our opponent being a peculiar Magician is high, we need to meet him with an eminent Magician of our own."

Canopus stopped saluting and without putting on a tough act, shook his head.

"You need not worry yourself, Colonel. If anything, I would like to express my gratitude for choosing me. I do not want the High Commander… I don't want Lina to suffer the pain of assassination work, as much as I can help it."

Saluting once again, Canopus left the commander's room.

◊ ◊ ◊

Canopus arrived at the Japan-USNA Joint-Base of Yokosuka on January 29th, 1800 hours, Japan standard time.

Due to the frequent wars throughout the world over a 20-year period, most countries decided to call back all their troops to their respective territories, thus, things like the U.S. Forces' Bases in Japan had disappeared. However, after the U.S became the USNA, the alliance between them and Japan had continued, but changed. Each country installed bases on their lands, bases that could be used freely by the other nation. The base of Yokosuka was one of those. (That being said, those bases' activities were close to non-existent).

Of course, the fact that the STARS First Unit Commander, Canopus, came to Japan remained a secret. Immediately after arriving, without even going out of the base, he went on a destroyer ship towards the sea.

The warship that Canopus was on headed south, towards the Sagami Bay, and it passed by a small cruiser of 20 meters in the middle of the sea area between the Boso Peninsula and Oshima. Canopus jumped from the destroyer to the small cruiser when the two were close enough. This boat had been camouflaged using Optical Magic which could reflect even infrared rays. Although a faint shadow would probably appear on stratospheric surveillance cameras, discerning its identity should be impossible. With this, Canopus could be smuggled into the country safely.

This small cruiser was originally something that the USNA embassy possessed for leisure purposes, thus, to use it for information gathering, its power output and the hull's outer armor had been reinforced. Of course, cutting-edge sensors had been installed as well. Despite the fact that this cruiser didn't have many weapons, so long as Canopus was on it, this wouldn't be a problem at all.

Canopus turned the cruiser towards Sagami Bay. The cruiser went south, following the Izu Peninsula, then at Cape Irozaki turned north towards the Suruga Bay. Due in part to the slow speed at which he sailed, it was already nearing midnight when he found the target ship.

It was a small freighter which had its deck entirely covered with solar panels. When sailing, the arms on each of the sides of the hull would open up, like a Tobiuo's wings, and the thin solar films would then increase the power generation. This auxiliary power source uses a photocatalytic hydrogen production model built into a regular fuel cell, and with nearly all the energy required coming from the sun, this type of freighter had become the main transport model in the latter half of the 21st century.

This freighter had been mentioned along with the presumed date at which Jiedo Heigu left the USNA. However, this ship was supposed to arrive yesterday in Japan. That is why the ship's inspection was unnecessary, so they decided to search the port at which it had anchored.

"Major, is it that ship?”

The captain of the ship who served as an officer in the USNA's Marine Corps talked to Canopus with a mix of awe and fear in his voice. As a temporary subordinate under his command for this mission, he had been told about Canopus' background. The STARS were already a unit whose reputation was close to that of legendary, and factor in that he was now talking to one of its best field officers, and you get that result. Albeit, this captain wasn't aware that ‘Canopus’ the Number 2, was right behind ‘Sirius’, so he didn't need to be that tense. If he had been aware of Canopus' rank, it was quite possible that he wouldn't have been able to focus on his work to begin with.

To the captain's question, Canopus expressed a bitter smile. Seeing this smile without an ounce of intimidation or malice, the captain's tension softened a little.

"My apologies but ships really aren't my forté. You guys should have much more expertise on this subject than I do, right?”

Understanding that Canopus implicitly asked “Isn't this something you of all people should bring answers to?”, the captain straightened his spine.

"Pardon me, Sir. There is no mistake that this is the ship in question."

"Of course, I will trust you on this matter."

Canopus adopted a serious look and nodded, and a breath of relief escaped from the captain's lips.

"Captain."

"Yes, Major?”

The captain answered with a tone fitting of the serious expression Canopus was wearing.

"Keep that ship under surveillance. Since Heigu brought this ship all the way from Yokosuka to Numazu, he might be tempted to use it again to escape."

"Understood. I will immediately contact local agents."

"We will continue observing the vessel tonight."

"Major, aren't you going to the mainland?”

"We're already past the planned time for landing. If we are to successfully complete this mission, we must avoid drawing attention as much as possible."

"Sir, yes, sir!”

Nodding silently, Canopus turned his attention towards the freighter.

◊ ◊ ◊

Persuaded by Balance, Lina graciously decided to give up on going to Japan. She thought that sending Canopus wasn't a mistake. Thinking about it, if they were to exclude Heavy Metal Burst, he might even be stronger than her, Sirius, since he was a veteran combat Magician. Lina kept repeating to herself that he never failed his duties.

Still, Lina had come to a point where it was unbearable to not do anything.

"…It's true, I cannot do anything. I have to obediently remain here. However, if it's about warning a fri… an acquaintance, then there should be no problem!”

Despite the fact that no one was listening to her monologue, she felt the need to hurriedly correct herself before she could utter the word ‘friend’. Looking left and right with a red face, no matter how you looked at it, it was her excessive self-consciousness.

Was she aware that her actions were a bit childish? Lina cleared her throat —— which was quite a cutesy act in and of itself anyway —— and looked towards the vision console.

It was currently two hours past midnight. In other words, that meant Lina had been worrying until that time, but it also meant that it was just six o'clock in Japan. Even though that wasn't planned at all, it was just what she hoped for.

Although she had decided to phone them, if she gave herself the time to hesitate, it would have been too late. Lina psyched herself up in front of the console and dialed Miyuki's number.

After five blips, the screen's light turned on. Looking at the display, her rival appeared, and compared to a year ago, her beauty had even further increased.

"My! Lina, it's been a while."

Neither envy, fear, reverence nor admiration transpired from her gaze, and she was only looking at the person named 'Angelina'. Lina remembered the illusion of the water concealing her heart melting away.

"Hello, Miyuki. It's been awhile indeed. Is everything going well?”

"Yes, thanks to you. Did you lose some weight I wonder? Are you alright? Aren't you busy with your work?”

Calling her role as the STARS' High Commander, the duty of the Sirius, as just 'work'. This spontaneous boldness gave Lina pleasant feelings.

"My weight actually increased you know? Maybe I became more muscular."

"Hmm… It looks like you did shape up a bit. I'm a little jealous."

"Miyuki… I told you that when someone such as yourself talks like that, it sounds like sarcasm. Moreover, what's up with you? Getting even more beautiful like that. When are you going to feel satisfied and stop?”

"I could say the same to you, it really sounds like sarcasm when you say such things… If it seems like I look beautiful, then it's only because of Onii-sama."

Lina suddenly had dejected feelings. Really, if the situation had been different… such thoughts wandered in Lina's head, feelings of disappointment.

"…Ah that's true, Miyuki is now engaged to Tatsuya, right. Congratulations."

"Thank you very much, Lina. Still, the news spread pretty fast it seems."

"Well, we're talking about the ‘Princess’ of the Yotsuba. It's normal to bear an interest."

"Is that true? Then could it be that Lina called to congratulate us?”

Lina was taken aback by Miyuki’s happy smile. And with this she remembered the purpose of her call.

"Umm, no, sorry. It's not really for that."

Hearing Lina's apology, Miyuki slightly cocked her head to the side, but rather than being ill-humored, she was puzzled.

"Oh my, in that case, is it an important matter?”

Lina wanted to ask why Miyuki would show her such a cutesy face, but refrained from doing so and swallowed her retort.

"Indeed. It's probably a very important matter."

"…Would it be better if I called Onii-sama I wonder?”

Thinking for less than a second, Lina nodded her head at Miyuki's proposal.

"Yes. It would be better for Tatsuya to hear this as well."

"Please, wait for a moment."

The screen entered suspension mode.

It took roughly three seconds for the display to turn on again, and for Miyuki's beautiful figure to reappear.

"Lina, long time no see."

"Yes, Tatsuya. It has been a long time."

Tatsuya was sitting next to Miyuki. To Lina’s surprise, the distance between Tatsuya and Miyuki wasn't zero.

"I guess this would be the time where we slowly talk about how things have been going around each other, but you seem to have important business to talk about. Let's leave the friendship talk for the next time, then. What did you want to consult us about.”

"You haven't changed, Tatsuya. I must say, I like that straightforward personality of yours."

Immediately after saying this, Lina thought ‘damn it’. Using ‘I like’ to qualify an aspect of Tatsuya while Miyuki is right next to him, isn't that like pouring fuel on the already lit fire that is called 'Miyuki's jealousy'.

However, once again unexpectedly, Miyuki remained calm and composed.

This was incredibly eerie to Lina.

"Umm… Miyuki. Aren't you angry?”

"Eh, about what?”

Miyuki replied with a face that explicitly told she had no idea what Lina was talking about.

From Miyuki's point of view, it was natural that other women would be attracted to him, or at least find likeable points about him, so there was no reason to get angry about such trivial matters. Lina wasn't aware of that fact however.

"Well, let's forget about it."

If she doesn't care about it then there's no reason to press the issue. Thanks to that, Lina was able to get down to business.

"Tatsuya, Miyuki, do you remember about ‘The Seven Sages’?"

Tatsuya and Miyuki looked at each other. "We remember."

The one who answered was Tatsuya.

"Have you received some information from those Seven Sages?”

While picturing Raymond Clark's face, Tatsuya asked Lina this question. There should be no way for her to know about ‘The Seven Sages’ identity. Never mind that Raymond was one of them.

"Spot on."

As Lina didn't have any telepathy or unusual mind powers, she couldn't see what image went through Tatsuya's mind at the moment. Lina also didn't have observation powers on a level where she could see through Tatsuya's poker face.

"According to the information we received from them, remnants of Dahan have planned an act of terrorism in Japan."

Having received an answer to her own question, she answered Tatsuya's.

"The Mastermind is someone named Jiedo Heigu. His Chinese name is Gu Jie. He is a presumed surviving Magician from the Kunlunfang Institute… What's wrong Miyuki?”

Miyuki was about to raise her voice but quickly held it in, and having seen that, Lina inquired for the reason of her response.

"The name Kunlunfang Institute holds a very special meaning for us… Forgive me for interrupting you."

The truth was that they had heard this name already from Raymond, that he was another member of ‘The Seven Sages’, Miyuki quickly covered up with a lie as Tatsuya didn't have any reaction.

"Ah, I see…"

Lina knew about the connection between the Yotsuba and the Kunlunfang Institute. Considering it normal for the Yotsuba Successor to react vividly at the mention of a ‘Kunlunfang Institute Survivor’, Lina didn't press the issue.

"You might have already guessed, but we think that the possibility of the Yotsuba being Heigu's target is pretty high."

"I see. Indeed, this line of thought seems to be the most plausible. Is that the reason Lina contacted Miyuki?”

"W-well, yeah, that's how it is."

Hearing Tatsuya say ‘I think the same’, Lina started to blush without any particular reason.

"It's true that both Miyuki and I are related to this matter. There is also the possibility that Miyuki would be directly targeted."

"Tatsuya… Don't talk as if it’s someone else's problem. There is a possibility that you could become a target as well."

To a Lina who stated so with an amazed voice, "It would be convenient if I was their target." Tatsuya answered with a fearless expression.

"…Well, I guess so. If they make you their target, I guess things would be wrapped up in short order."

Hearing his answer, Lina instinctively consented.

Even Lina didn't understand the extent of Tatsuya's true power. Even though, at first, she had thought that he was a Magician skilled in Mental-Interference Magic, she came to doubt that assessment during their final battle with the Parasites.

In a word, Tatsuya was, and still is a mysterious Magician. However, if anything, Lina couldn't question his ability. Lina couldn't even imagine how Magicians who had no choice but to rely on the little missiles they stole would go about dealing Tatsuya.

"Lina, what's wrong? You have the face of someone who just lost all her worries."

Lina violently jumped up at Miyuki casually revealing her thoughts.

Why was she feeling so relieved after confirming that Tatsuya wouldn't be done in so easily.

"No, well, you know."

Hampered by the noisy sound her heart was making, she couldn't form a proper sentence.

"You see, how should I say it…"

Looking at the wry smile of Tatsuya, Lina remembered how irritating it could be.

"Ah, geez! See, to sum up, I just wanted to."

To tell you about Heigu, was what she was about to say, but she managed to seal her lips right before saying it.

"I see… In other words, you were in such a hurry to tell us about Heigu that once you did what you called for, you felt relieved, is that it?”

"Yeah, that's right!”

Lina showed quite the grand reaction to the figurative lifeboat that Tatsuya sent her.

"Ah…"

While Lina was rapidly getting redder, "I see. Lina, thank you very much."

Tatsuya ignored it and expressed his thanks to Lina.

"Y-you don't need to thank me! I just thought that if I didn't tell you guys I'd have trouble sleeping, that's all! Well then, Tatsuya, Miyuki, good night!"

Forgetting the time difference between their countries, Lina cut off the transmission after rapidly saying her goodbye.

She violently took off her clothes and slipped between the sheets without even putting on her pajamas.

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