4 Chapter : 4
Japanese time: July 5, 9:00.
The government of the Great Asian Alliance met with the New Soviet Union to establish a truce. An hour after that, the government of the New Soviet Union presented the terms of the truce. These conditions included the extradition of war criminals.
Japanese time: July 5, 10:20. Local time: 11:20.
Liu Li Lei was hiding in Vozdvizhenka, located north of Vladivostok and Ussuriysk, and was summoned to the commander of the escort unit.
"The New Soviet Union demanded my extradition?"
In a strained voice, Liu Li Lei asked Lin, the commander of the escort detachment, confirmed whether she would be considered a war criminal.
"Right. The list of war criminals given by the New Soviet Union included the name of Second-Lieutenant Liu. This is reliable information," Lin confirmed.
Liu's escort consisted entirely of women, and the squad's commander was no exception to this. Lin was more than 10 years older than Liu, but she had the same rank of Second-Lieutenant. However, Liu also had a special rank "school-officer1", used exclusively within the army of the Great Asian Alliance. This was a countermeasure made to avoid frontline commanders having the ability to give willful orders to Liu just because they are higher in rank. The rank made sure Liu did not submit to higher officers in accordance with the usual rank system, instead reporting directly to high command. This also meant that School-Officer Liu had a status immediately following the top command, so she was higher in status than the commander of the escort unit, Second Lieutenant Lin. The rank was comparable to Tatsuya's rank of "Special Lieutenant".
"War criminals. ."
1The title of Liu is written as "school" + "junior officer" in the original kanji. Though the result sounds silly, I used a more literal translation to try to keep accuracy. The Russian translation used the translation of "special lieutenant", and the wiki translates this as "captain".
Liu Li Lei bit her lip. Despite her shock, she understood why. She knew that when using Strategic class magic, just as when using weapons of mass destruction, many civilians are killed. By being the victor, the magician can avoid their crimes, but if they lose… in the best case, the perpetrators would simply be sent to execution for having committed war crimes.
Commander Lin took Liu's right arm with both hands in an attempt to cheer her up.
"School-Officer Liu, let's run away."
"Commander Lin?" Liu asked, not quite comprehending.
"You shouldn't be forced to submit to the court of the winner because you obeyed order."
"But if I run away, there will be no truce. ."
"You shouldn't think about such things," Lin comforted.
"But when the Motherland is in such a difficult situation. ."
"Special Lieutenant Liu.. No, Xiao-Liu..."
For those unaware, Xiao (小) is fairly common in Chinese nicknames. It means "little" and often conveys affection. As stated below, it can be compared to the Japanese honorific "-chan" (although I would consider the meaning to be kept in the literal translation).
The tone of commander Lin's voice changed from the tone of a higher officer to the tone of an adult talking to a child. "Xiao-Liu" can be compared to "Liu-chan" in meaning.
"You do not need to think about something that. Xiao-Liu, you're still a child."
". .I'm not a child. I am an adult magician," Liu protested slightly.
"No. You are only fourteen years old. If the Motherland protects you, you must repay your debt to the Motherland. But if the Motherland chooses to sacrifice you, then need not obey. Xiao-Liu, you must live."
"But…" Liu was still reluctant to abandon her home country.
"Then think about this: If School-Officer Liu is executed, then our Homeland will again lack a Strategic Class magician."
Commander Lin returned the officer's tone and continued trying to convince Liu Li Lei, who could not decide on this. In actuality, the Great Asian Alliance had 6
unofficial Strategic Class magicians, but this was an extremely wel -kept secret of the Great Asian Alliance about which Junior Lieutenant Lin was not informed. However, each of the other six had significant flaws in their magic, and they would not be used until a crisis occurred calling into question the survival of the nation. Other than Liu Li Lei, there were no other Strategic Class magicians suitable for permanent use, so at least in this sense, the assertion of Second Lieutenant Lin about the absence of a Strategic Class magician was not wrong.
"If you run away now and get the mark of a traitor, in the future you would become a great asset to the Motherland."
"Yes..." Liu was finally beginning to be convinced.
Give everything up for the Motherland, including your reputation. The role of "tragic heroine" touched the Liu's heartstrings.
"I think you are right, commander."
"You decided? Thank god…"
Seeing the excessive emotion of Commander Lin, Liu felt her reliance on this woman in her heart.
"I will immediately prepare for the escape! I will definitely deliver Special Lieutenant Liu to a safe place," Lin claimed.
"I'm relying on you. Also, please call me "Xiao-Liu". I'm refusing my status as a soldier of the Great Asian Alliance and fleeing the country."
"Then you call me Lin-jiejie3. Wait here a little, Xiao-Liu."
Second Lieutenant Lin's voice became friendly again as she winked at Liu and left the room. Liu Li Lei, with embarrassment on her face, focused her gaze. The escort of Liu Li Lei was hiding at the civil airfield in Vozdvizhenka. Fortunately, there was a private plane capable of traveling up to 2000km as well as a tank of fuel large enough to fully fuel the plane.
"Hurry up with the preparation for departure! Have you finished refueling!?" Second Lieutenant Lin turned to her subordinates working in the hangar.
"We'll finish about five minutes!"
"All aircraft indicators are normal!"
"Runway check is complete! Everything is clear!"
They had begun aircraft maintenance the previous night under the assumption that they would be forced to run. It was obvious to them that they should leave the small jet plane with its larger radius of flight. In addition, the jet would fly faster and would not as easily give away the passengers.
Junior Lieutenant Lin went to the control room after she checked her subordinates'
work. She was the only one there at the moment, and she sat down in front of the communication device and turned it on.
"Govorit Gospozha Tayga. Pozhaluysta, otvet'te."
Her full statement translated to mean "This is Ms. Taiga. Answer, please." The word
"Gospozha" corresponded to the English title "Ms.", and "Tayga" corresponds to
"Taiga", or a coniferous forest4 in the sub-arctic zone. "Gospozha Tayga" was the codename of Junior Lieutenant Lin, and it carried the word "tiger" pronounced in
"tayga" - a military symbol of the Great Asian Alliance.
3The Russian translation had this as Lin-chie and put Lin-neesan in parentheses. Since
"chie" is not any pinyin in Chinese, I'm assuming it was intended to be "jiejie" (姐姐) or older sister based on the context and reference of Lin-neesan.
4The hanzi (Chinese pronunciation of kanji, 汉字) for Lin is 林, meaning forest
"Govorit Snezhnyy Baran. Dolozhite o tekushchey situatsii."
This translated to "This the Snow Sheep. Report on the current situation."
"Ubezhdeniye Lyu Liley proshlo uspeshno. Teper', kak iyezhat' do etogo.
planirovalos', my otpravimsya v Yaponiyu."
"Prinyato. Voyska iz Khabarovska pribudut v Vozdvizhenka meneye chem cherez chas. Uspeyte sbezhat' do etogo."
"Govorit Tayga, vas ponyala."
Their conversation continued in Russian. Their exchange was as follows:
"Liu Li Lei was successful persuaded. Now, as planned, we will go to Japan."
"Affirmative. The troops from Khabarovsk will arrive in Vozdvizhenka in less than a.n hour. Hurry up to escape before they arrive."
"Taiga speaking, understood."
Second Lieutenant Lin was an agent who had switched sides from the Great Asian Alliance to the New Soviet Union, and she had presumably been speaking with a member of the New Soviet Union.
Before noon, a small jet took off from Vozdvizhenka airfield heading South.
Even though the conflict was still officially going on, as the truce had not yet been established, the army of the New Soviet Union only reacted when the plane flew east of Vladivostok. Pursuit fighters were raised, but the chase stopped as soon as the plane entered international airspace. Though the Japanese army caught these maneuvers on its radar, they were only interpreted as reluctance of the New Soviet Union to provoke Japan and America while the conflict with the Great Asian Alliance was still going on, so no one really thought about it.
The small jet was allowed to continue its flight over the Sea of Japan unhindered.
Once it entered Japanese airspace, Japanese Air Force fighter jets were sent to intercept it, and it landed on the Komatsu base in the former Ishikawa prefecture.
◊ ◊ ◊
Edward Clark was at his private office in the California branch of the National Science Agency. He somewhat ignored his work schedule, and had been staying in this room overnight for quite some time.
Local time: July 4, 22:00 (Japanese time: July 5, 14:00). As Clark continued his work at his terminal, an encrypted message arrived in his mail despite the time close to midnight.
"…As planned."
After reading the message, deep wrinkles appeared on Clark's forehead.
"Liu Li Lei was allowed to flee the country, giving the Russian fleet their pretext to go South? It's a rather crude strategy, but this isn't the time to be clever…"
His unconscious mumbling was the result of mental shock. The reasoning behind the invasion of the Great Asian Alliance had been unfounded. They had begun the invasion based on inaccurate information and wishful thinking. It was a foregone conclusion that as soon as Bezobrazov used Tuman Bomba, the war would be over.
However, while the original conclusion was widely known, Bezobrazov's predictions had been exactly what happened: there was not the slightest difference between his plan and actual events.
"With such intelligence and ability, why did he fail. .?"
He couldn't help but shudder at the idea that Bezobrazov, with all the power he possessed in being able to toy with the Great Asian Alliance as if they were a child combined with his immense magical abilities, was still unable to kill Shiba Tatsuya.
Was it luck?
Or was the strength of Shiba Tatsuya just even higher?
Covering his eyes with his index finger and thumb, Clark shook his head. He had no time to think about unnecessary things. Bezobrazov had only passed his information to Clark, and now Clark needed to report to various authorities that the strategy had advanced to the next stage.
"It's early morning in London..."
The destinations for information to be sent also existed outside the country.
Clark decided that because of the time difference on the other side, the information should be conveyed by message rather than a phone call.
Given that it was late evening in California, he decided that local calls should also be avoided, so he did the same as Bezobrazov.
◊ ◊ ◊
Tatsuya arrived home after 5:00 PM and saw that he had a message from over 17 hours ago. The message read, "There is one urgent matter. Please write when you are available for video," and one touch of the screen later, he sent a response. Almost immediately after that, the phone in the living room rang out.
Stopping Miyuki as she walked towards the videophone, Tatsuya got up from the couch to answer it himself. As he looked at the second display of the console, he made sure that the encryption was set to the highest possible level and pressed a button to establish a connection.
"Tatsuya, I'm sorry to disturb you during your home holiday."
The face of Kazama on the display expressed sincere apologies.
"It's alright if the case is urgent," Tatsuya reassured him. "So, what happened?"
"Liu Li Lei, the apostle of the Great Asian Alliance, fled to our country.
"How could that ever happen?" Tatsuya asked.
"This morning, the Great Asian Alliance proposed a truce to the New Soviet Union."
"A sensible solution."
"Shortly after the proposal, the New Soviet Union responded that it would agree to an armistice subject to certain conditions," Kazama stated.
"That is, it was not a requirement of unconditional surrender?"
"As far as we can judge at the moment, no."
The Great Asian Alliance was already facing political instability because of discontent with the humiliating truce with Japan after the Yokohama incident. This time, they were officially defeated, so national reserves would have to be spent on the suppression of the opposition and separatist groups advocating for independence of their regions. This process would weaken the Great Asian Alliance, so disintegration of the state was no longer impossible. Because of this, if New Soviet Union now started to pressure the Great Asian Alliance, the Great Asian Alliance would become more united in response to the external threat. In other words, the Great Asian Alliance faced internal strife in peace but could find unity in response to a common hardship. Understanding this, the government decided it would be less costly to move South now instead of waiting for the NSU to relinquish their control.
Both Tatsuya and the NSU agreed with this line of thought.
"One of the conditions imposed by the New Soviet Union was the issuance of war criminals," Kazama continued.
"They are probably going to hold a demonstration of retribution. It seems that the name of Liu Li Lei was included in this list of war criminals," Tatsuya speculated.
Ignoring Tatsuya's cynical remark, Kazama signaled to return to the main topic.
"Is that why she ran away?" Tatsuya asked.
"So it seems," Kazama answered.
"Have more soldiers escaped with her?"
"Yes. It seems that they served as an escort detachment Liu Lili."
"Her escort unit? That's a bit suspicious…" Tatsuya responded.
If a Strategic class magician betrays their country and goes to the enemy, there is a significant upset their military forces. Because of this, militaries strictly control their Strategic class magicians - an escort assigned to a strategic class magician would not just be protecting the magician; they would be observing the magician in order to prevent escape as well.
"The commanding officer claimed that this was done in order to preserve the Great Asian Alliance's Strategic Class Magician for the future."
"Their excuse seems reasonable," Tatsuya said. "Still, our self-defense forces need to be wary of the fact that they could also be agents pretending to run away from their country."
"No, you're right. We need to be alert, but regardless of whether their escape was real or not, because we accepted them, their circumstances are being heard. That brings us to the main point. Could was assist the help of a certain special officer?" Kazama asked.
"Well, I can cope with torture, but there will be no particular benefit in bringing me in for the interrogation..."
Kazama looked at Tatsuya from the videophone screen with such a look as if he was trying to understand the true meaning of his words.
"We are not asking for help with an interrogation," Kazama eventually responded.
In the end, Kazama took Tatsuya's words about torture as a joke and continued on.
"Special officer. Am I correct in that you have a technique to seal a magician's magic?"
"Do you mean 'Gatekeeper'?" Tatsuya asked.
"Would you be able to seal Thunderclap Tower with your magic?" Kazama answered Tatsuya's question with a question.
"Can't you take away her CAD? That is a much simpler way to prevent her magic."
"It seems that Liu Li Lei does not have a CAD," Kazama responded.
"…Do you mean that she does not use a CAD at all?"
"According to the commander of the escort squad, Liu Li Lei specializes in two types of magic: Thunderclap Tower and blocking electromagnetic waves. She does not need a CAD for these magic, but in exchange she cannot use any other magic," Kazama explained.
"She specializes in two types of magic…" Tatsuya felt a sense of sympathy for this magician, who, like Tatsuya, could only naturally use two types of magic. However, he wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or natural limit: perhaps when using magic without the help of devices, two types is the limit?
"The base commander, concerned that Liu Li Lei cannot be prevented from unleashing her magic, asked for help from Her Excellency Saeki who he knew had a Strategic class magician as a subordinate."
Tatsuya was not actually subordinate to Saeki. He was a Special Officer who was only under the command of Saeki during hostilities, but Kazama was aware of this so Tatsuya did not bring it up.
"Which base it Liu Li Lei detained at?" Tatsuya asked.
"Base Komatsu," Kazama answered.
"Would it be possible to transport her closer?"
"It will be difficult. We cannot bring a Strategic class magician to a metropolitan area when we are still unsure of their hostilities."
"Understood. I apologize, but it will be difficult for me to help you," Tatsuya gave his answer.
"Do you mean you can't leave Tokyo?" Kazama asked.
"If I leave Tokyo, there is a chance that the Parasites who penetrated Japan will attack. I can't leave Tokyo for long."
"Regardless, the potential threat of Liu Lili also can not be ignored," Kazama said.
"If Liu Li Lie is at Komatsu base, why don't you ask the Ichijou family for their cooperation?"
"Will Ichijou-dono be able to prevent the use of the Thunderclap Tower?" Kazama asked.
The First Laboratory studied the effects of magical exposure on the human body, or in other words, magic causing a direct impact on the body. The magic should also be suitable for neutralizing the body in a way that will not come off as suspicious,"
Tatsuya said.
"Do you mean to use Rupture should Liu Li Lei become a threat? If we, without reliable evidence, use lethal magic on a refugee, it would cause a wave of criticism both here and abroad."
Kazama's main knowledge of the Ichijou family's magic was Rupture, a magic capable of evaporating all liquids in an object. He assumed Tatsuya intended to use in a worst-case scenario in order to kill Liu.
"From what I know, the wife of the current head of the Ichijou family came from the Isshiki family. The Isshiki family specializes in mental-interference magic and manipulating electrical currents in the nervous system. This is the perfect magic for neutralizing without killing. The Ichijou family may be known for Rupture, but both Ms. Ichijou and her daughter have inherited the magic of the Isshiki family. The eldest son, Ichijou Masaki, could also have the ability but may be currently hiding it,"
Tatsuya explained.
"Then, wouldn't it be simpler to contact the Isshiki family directly?" Kazama asked.
"The Isshiki family will find it difficult to cope with an emergency."
By "emergency", Tatsuya did not mean a preventive neutralization of Liu Li Lei but the possibility that Liu showed serious hostility and needed to be killed. Also, even if Liu Li Lei really had escaped, she was still a magician brought up in the Great Asian Alliance. If she felt that harming Japan was in her nation's national interests, she would likely do so without hesitation. However, Kazama understood Tatsuya's wording and did not need an explanation.
"The Ichijou family is also the closest to the Komatsu base... alright. I will tell the commander of this base that Her Excellency Saeki recommends contacting the Ichijou family."
"I am sorry for not being able to offer my own help," Tatsuya apologized.
"No, it is only expected as we have not offered our assistance in the case with the Parasites. Our team is currently fully occupied with the opposition of the New Soviet Union, and I am very sorry that we are unable to assist in the matter with the Parasites."
"Nothing can be done, given the situation."
"Thank you for saying so. Your recommendation for the Ichijou family is more than enough help," Kazama said.
"Thank you."
Tatsuya saluted, looking at the screen. Kazama did the same, after which the screen of the videophone went black.
◊ ◊ ◊
Current time: 8 pm
One of the rooms in the hostel on the Higashi-Fuji training grounds was "East Fuji."
Chiba Naotsugu was a fourth-year student of the special department of martial arts at the National Academy of Defense. Despite still being a student, he held the rank of Second Lieutenant. Watanabe Mari, a second-year student of the same department, was visiting, and she temporarily held the rank of Sergeant.
"Shu, take a break," Mari said.
"I will. Thank you, Mari."
They were in a long, narrow room with a bed, locker, and simple writing desk.
The room was too small to hold a kitchen, and the iced coffee currently on the table had been purchased in the vending machine located in the corridor. Mari wished to treat her lover with a homemade drink rather than a cheap one from a vending machine, but she was not able to think about such luxuries during an operation. As for Naotsugu, as a man, even a drink from the vending machine tasted special when brought by his lover. Naotsugu drank all the coffee looking pleased.
Mari sat down on the bed with her own drink in her hands. She felt bit of shame as she sat on the bed Naotsugu used every night, but she had no other place to sit down as the room was too small
"Shu. You're working too hard..."
"I have never been good at paperwork," Naotsugu said with a bitter smile. Mari had an anxious look, but he still asked, "Mari, do you want to help me?"
"Xu, you know that I don't know much about such things."
"Haha, really."
In order not to upset Mari who turned away confused, Naotsugu turned back to his work and started typing on his keyboard.
"It takes more time when there is nothing to write."
Suddenly, as if he felt his eyes on his back, Naotsugu turned back toward Mari without taking his eyes off the display. His "hard work" was to compile a report daily.
He would have felt more confident if he had done it each day, but there was a system of duties in place splitting the work between the unit. Today, the third day after departure, Naotsugu's turn to write it came for the first time. He could have asked what the others had written, but there had been only 2 reports prior to this one, so it would not have been enough for him to understand what he should write.
Usually, the lines could be filled with something like a description of training or of constructing the fortifications, but as Naotsugu said, today's report was difficult because it was completely waiting at the ready. They were not assigned to the search as it was the responsibility of other departments, so their current task was to wait, combat ready, for some kind of clue to appear. However, as a consequence of this, Naotsugu had no events to write about.
"It looks like the information resources of the self-defense forces are engaged with the activity of the New Soviet Union."
At Mari's question, Naotsugu turned around completely to facer her.
"It seems that way. Even though it is already the third day, there is still no information," Naotsugu said.
"Maybe I shouldn't say this, but wouldn't it be better for us to regroup and return to Tokyo, since that girl Sakurai Minami, Kudou Minoru's ultimate goal, is located there?
After Mari's question, Naotsugu almost laughed involuntarily. He managed to restrain himself, but it was still noticeable in his face.
"…What's so funny?" Mari said with a slightly bashful face.
"It's nothing, sorry. Sakurai Minami is only 3 years younger than you, isn't she? Why did you call her 'girl'?"
"Because there was no other suitable expression!" Mari exclaimed, indignant.
"Yeah, I guess. Yes, the goal of Kudou Minoru is the abduction of that girl."
Marie pursed her lips in disgust. She was not very good at using female "tactics" to negotiate - in other words, she did not know how to sulk, grumble, or cry to bargain selfishly.
"I agree with your idea, Mari. However, our squad has to stay here for some reason unrelated to the original goal."
Another reason different from the original goal to capture Kudou Minoru…
"The invasion of the New Soviet Union...?" Mari speculated.
She made a serious face at this. She had suggested a possibility to be taken seriously.
"We will be needed if a sudden landing occurs," Naotsugu said in response to Marie's speculation.
◊ ◊ ◊
Saturday, July 6th. Ichijou Masaki was called by his father Goki after finishing his final exam and returning home.
Without even having dinner, Masaki went to his father's office. Akane, one of his younger sisters – a second-year student in middle school, was also there.
There were two sofas facing each other in his father's study, and Goki was currently sitting opposite Akane. Masaki sat down at the other end of the triple sofa that Akane was sitting on.
"Lunch is coming soon, so I will be brief."
Hearing Goki's words, Akane's brow furrowed slightly. Masaki didn't really care, but Akane didn't like her father's rough manner of speaking. However, Goki ignored his daughter's reaction – he had probably gotten used to it.
"Liu Li Lei, the official Strategic class magician of the Great Asian Alliance, fled to Japan.
"Liu Li Lei of the Thirteen Apostles?"
Masaki asked a useless question out of surprise.
"Yes."
Despite delaying the conversation, Goki was not annoyed. He couldn't believe the news either when he first heard it.
"At the moment, hidden in Komatsu base."
"Have the self-defense forces asked you for something related to this?" Masaki asked.
"It's good that you figured it out so quickly, but their appeal does not concern you.
Rather, they want Akane," Goki answered.
"Me?!"
Akane had been listening to her father and brother's conversation as if it was not her business, but the surprise at Goki's statement caused her to inadvertently let out this exclamation.
"To be precise, they require a magician from the Ichijou family with the ability to use Nerve Disturbance."
"Nerve Disturbance" was officially called "Nerve electrical current disturbance," or "Nerve impulse jammer," and it was the trump card of the Isshiki family of the 28 houses. This magic disrupted the five senses and paralyzed the recipient's muscles by interfering with nerve impulses. Masaki's mother, Ichijou Midori, although from the Isshiki family, was not able to use Nervous Disorder as a representative of the lateral branch, but due to some genetic accident, Akane ended up suitable for the magic even though some members of the direct hereditary line of the Isshiki family could not even use it.
"F-for what!?"
Akane had no experience in affairs with the self-defense forces, and her cry was from the heart.
"Liu Li Lie's escape was somewhat suspicious," Goki answered.
"Is there a chance that the escape was a cover?" Masaki asked.
"Yes."
Goki nodded in response to Masaki's question.
"Thunderclap Tower deals significant damage to electrical equipment. If she uses it to sabotage the base's facilities, the air defense network may be paralyzed," Goki continued.
"Is there no countermeasure against electromagnetic radiation to protect electronic equipment?"
Goki shook his head in response to his son's obvious question.
"Any countermeasure we prepare can be overcome by a load exceeding its strength.
We do not know the maximum power of Thunderclap Tower, but we don't want to experience it."
"So we use Nerve Disturbance to paralyze her if we are suspicious of her actions?"
Masaki asked.
Goki answered with a nod.
"We can't carry out a deadly attack from suspicions alone. Killing a refugee taken under our care will worsen international relations, and it will be too late to neutralize her after the activation of magic. Liu Li Lie apparently doesn't use a CAD, so if we lose our guard for even a moment, we could get hit by her Strategic Class magic.
"…I understand why we can't use Rupture, but why not turn to the Isshiki family?"
Though some members of the Ichijou family could use Nerve Disturbance, anyone knowledgeable about the internal affairs of the former First Laboratory knew that it was the Isshiki family's magic. The military was undoubtably aware of this.
"Y-yes! I'm still just a Junior-High student!" Akane shouted.
Akane's complaint was valid. She may have been able to use magic suitable to the situation, but her age and lack of experience made it unlikely that she would be able to understand the situation in the first place.
Goki hesitated for a second after the protest of his eldest daughter because he too did not want the self-defense forces to impose their work on his fourteen-year-old daughter. However, he quickly changed his appearance from that of a father to that of the head of one of the Ten Master Clans.
"The Isshiki family is not strong enough."
"…!? She does have a suitability with Nerve Disturbance, but ..."
When Masaki referred to his sister with "she" instead of her name, she puffed out her cheeks, but did not complain because she understood he was speaking in her defense.
"My strength will not be stronger then a member of the Isshiki family, right?" Akane added.
"That's not the point."
Goki replied in a serious tone and shook his head. Neither Masaki nor Akane had expected this answer and waited for Goki's follow up.
"They might not be planning to go about it secretively, and if Liu Li Lei goes to deadly measures, they will not be able to stop it. The magic of their family is too short range, and they do not have the combat prowess otherwise to go up against a Strategic Class magician," Goki explained.
Both Masaki and Akane understood what Goki meant. In order for the magic of the Isshiki family to work, the magician needs to get within a few meters of the target.
If Liu was secretly planning an attack, in order to neutralize it, the caster of Nerve Disturbance needed to be near Liu. However, if Liu was prepared to kill the caster, the Isshiki magicians would not be able to resist. In this case, the short range of Nerve Disturbance becomes a weakness.
"Because of this, Masaki, I also called you."
". .Will I go along with Akane?" Masaki asked.
"Yes. In an emergency, you must protect Akane." Goki did not say the words, "and kill Liu Li Lei," but they understood.
Instead of replying, Masaki looked at Akane. Seeing this motion out of her peripheral vision, Akane turned to meet his gaze.
"Akane, despite what father says, you can refuse," Masaki told her.
Akane opened her eyes wide and then turned away sharply.
"No… I will do it." Akane replied, trying to act confident but still facing away from Masaki and Goki. "And I don't need Nii-san's protection… but the help of Nii-san would be useful if I have to deal the final blow..."
Masaki was speechless at the determination of his younger sister. He had always thought of her as an ordinary girl despite her talents, so her answer caught him off guard.
"Akane has answered. Masaki, what will you do?" Goki asked.
"I will accompany her of course."
Masaki answered Goki without any delay. Masaki thought it was an incredibly dumb question: "Is it possible to do so badly as to force your younger sister to face danger all alone?"
"Okay. I will tell the self-defense forces that we agree."
Goki nodded in satisfaction.
"By the way, would it not be safer for us to keep Liu Li Lie at our house instead of going to Komatsu base?"
To get rid of the current atmosphere, Masaki proposed an idea.
"Why do you think so?"
Without bothering to conceal his surprise, Goki questioned Masaki's proposal.
"Well, if you take her away from the base, the risk of an attack on the base will be lower and it separates her from the soldiers with which she fled."
"Ah. Liu Li Lie is only 14 years old; the same as Akane. If you remove her from the adults making the decisions, she would be less likely to do a suicidal sabotage..."
Goki murmured to himself in a tone that made it seemed as if this was not a response to Masaki.
"I will propose this to the self-defense forces," Goki said with a contented smile.
◊ ◊ ◊
Local Time: July 6, 16:00
A military truck belonging to division from the Kansai region arrived at Zama base.
The truck passed through the checkpoint without any problems and swiftly entered the base.
"We arrived so easily."
In a slightly disappointed tone, Raymond jumped out of the body to Minoru, who followed him.
"Everyone in the truck was real. There is no reason to suspect anything."
The truck on which they arrived had been given to the Kudou family by the self-defense forces. Strictly speaking, this practice was illegal, but most families from the Ten Main Clans had a relationship with the SDF similar to the Kudou. When the unit
commander who had originally issued the truck received a request to go through from the Kudou, he did not show any suspicion.
Using Parade, Minoru disguised both Raymond and Regulus in addition to himself as young European men dressed in the USNA uniform. Though it was slightly unnatural for soldiers of the USNA army to be in the self-defense force's truck, the workers at the checkpoint did not look inside to notice this disparity.
"I do not feel that we were given a concession because of the Kudou; rather, it seemed that they simply did not have the ability to do more than necessary."
Regulus had had this impression for much of the ride. Even though their truck had passed through the entire Tokyo-Nagoya highway and they were stopped several times, none of the stops looked into the body. They were not even stopped when they passed the training grounds on East-Fuji where Naotsugu and Mari were stationed in order to capture Minoru.
"Their attention and resources seem to be directed mainly to the north."
Minoru made this observation at Regulus' comment.
"Everything went exactly as you expected," Raymond said.
Minoru smiled slightly at Raymond's words, but his smile held no pride.
All foreign units stationed in Japan returned to their home countries during World War III and American army bases located in Japan were closed. To replace them, bases were created on both sides for joint use, allowing the other side to use their base as their own. Zama Base was one of these joint use bases that housed both the Japanese and American armies. Because of this, no questions were raised to USNA soldiers walking around the base. If they wore their military uniforms, no one would even check their identification badge, so all three of Raymond, Regulus, and Minoru were able to reach the transport plane Arcturus was on.
This transport aircraft was unable to take off because of the hole Tatsuya had made to escape combined with the holes in the wall made by the Arcturus' Tomahawk. In a few more days, a replacement aircraft was expected to arrive, so there were only a few people on duty inside the plane. The rest of the team was in a dormitory designated for American soldiers.
Tatsuya's attack was not carried out in the interests of either Japan nor the USNA, so the damage to the body of the aircraft had been attributed to an accident during landing. The Japanese army did not allow saboteurs to enter the base, and there
were no victims of terrorists in the American army - Arcturus and the three other Parasites were not supposed to have been aboard the transport plane. Usually, a sabotage-like situation such as the current one would not have been buried, but the Great Asian Alliance's invasion into the New Soviet Union's territory shifted the army's attention to the north. Nobody in the base wished to pick a fight with the USNA, so to speak, the situation ended up being ignored by both sides.
Arcturus' "corpse", pierced with a mascot knife by which Mikihiko used his sealing spell, would be sent back to USNA by the transport plane expected to arrive in the next few days. It was currently stored in a coffin-shaped container equipped with a cooling function. Zama base provided this container after request from the crew, but the base personnel was a bit confused as to why this container was necessary.
"Lieutenant, here."
The soldier on duty knew Regulus by sight, so he led the three Parasites to the
"corpse" of Arcturus without questioning who the strangers were.
"Private, could you leave for a while?" Regulus ordered.
"Yes, sir."
The soldier on duty obediently returned from the cargo hold to the cab without any suspicion. Once he was gone, Regulus opened the lid of the container where Arcturus lay in a funeral pose. The talisman used to seal Arcturus had long been pulled out, but the seal remained just as strong. Regulus looked at Arcturus without commenting, sorrow in his eyes.
"This is powerful seal," Minoru stated while looking into the container.
"It would have to be," Raymond responded.
"Do you understand this!?" Regulus asked Minoru, somewhat wide-eyed.
"Yes, I know a little about some of the general stuff," Minoru answered.
"Can you take it off?" Raymond asked as Minoru finished, already knowing the answer to Regulus' question.
"I won't know until I try. As I said, the seal is fairly strong. The Parasite body is being used as a talisman. I would say that this could only be undone by destroying the body to reveal the Parasite, but I assume you don't want that?"
Minoru's question was intended for Regulus.
"I would like to find a method that preserves the commander's life." Regulus came to Arcturus' body because he valued Arcturus; not the Parasite contained.
If Minoru's answer to this question was "I cannot," the discussion would have gone down a different path in which the Parasites may have refused to help kidnap Minami.
"…I understand." After thinking for a bit, Minoru nodded to Regulus.
◊ ◊ ◊
Tatsuya went to first high for the entire day on the last day of exams. He had free time as he was no longer needed in the development of the new Strategic Class magic designed in preparation for an attack from the New Soviet Union. It was slightly reckless to leave Lina alone, but she was not a small child and would not do anything stupid, so Tatsuya convinced himself that it was pointless for him to travel to Miyaki Island every day.
While the exams were going on, Tatsuya stayed alone in the library, but as soon as the exams finished he began practicing the Sealing Sphere with Mikihiko. By the time he left school with Miyuki, it was past 6 in the evening. Despite the time, however, the two did not go home and instead traveled to the city of Machida.
Together with Mitsuya Shiina and Yaguruma Saburou, they were visiting the home of the Mitsuya family of the Ten Main Clans in order to get information about the activities of the US Army. Tatsuya had wanted to find out more about the USNA's military stations on Midway Island and the north-western parts of the Hawaii archipelago, so he had asked Shiina to organize a meeting with the Mitsuya family or his eldest son. Shiina had given Tatsuya her father's answer of "If you have time, come on the evening of the day when the last exam is held," which was another reason that Tatsuya had gone to school today.
Tatsuya was traveling with Shiina despite knowing the location of the Mitsuya house because he was not personally acquainted with Mitsuya Gen, having never even spoken to him. By allowing Shiina to lead him, they would avoid any unnecessary trouble.
Tatsuya had only asked to meet either Shiina's father or her eldest brother, but they were both waiting, expecting Tatsuya.
Shiina led Tatsuya and Miyuki to the living room and left to get drinks. By the time she returned, the four had introduced themselves to each other.
"Thank you, Shiina. You may go."
Shiina was slightly disappointed with being asked to leave as she was curious about the conversation. Nonetheless, she obeyed her father, and Motoharu closed the living room door from the control panel as she left.
Once this was done, Gen turned back to Tatsuya.
"May I call you Tatsuya-dono?" he asked.
"Yes, please do. Likewise, may I call you Mitsuya-dono and Motoharu-dono?"
Tatsuya asked this for the same reason as Gen: in order to distinguish between members of the same family sharing a last name.
"I do not mind" was Gen's answer to Tatsuya. With all the preparation out of the way, Gen finally brought up the main topic.
"I heard from Shiina that you need information about the activities of the American army."
"Yes. In particular, I would like to learn about the military installations and troops deployed around Midway Island and the north-western parts of the Hawaiian archipelago."
Both Gen and Motoharu appeared surprised to hear this. They had expected Tatsuya to ask about a different area, thinking he was looking for information pertaining to the situation with the New Soviet Union.
"… I would like to understand how this relates to the current situation?" Gen asked.
"This is not directly related to the conflict between the New Soviet Union and the Great Asian Alliance," Tatsuya answered.
"…Then why do you need this information?" Gen continued his questioning with a confused look.
"I need to judge whether it will be possible to free a certain prisoner from Midway Island," Tatsuya answered frankly.
"You are looking to rescue a prisoner from Midway Island? Does Yotsuba-dono know about this?"
"Consent of the head of the family was already obtained."
This was not a lie, as on the same day that Lina requested Tatsuya's help, Tatsuya reported the content of the conversation to Maya. Maya's only request was "just don't overdo it," so Tatsuya decided to follow the policy "continue if possible, but quit if it's hopeless."
"…can we hear the reason?"
Motoharu asked the question this time.
"It was a request from a refugee protected by our family," Tatsuya answered.
"A refugee? …Our government received a request from America for the extradition of Major Angie Sirius... then, she is under the protection of the Yotsuba family!?" Gen exclaimed.
"This request was not from Sirius."
Tatsuya outright denied Gen's speculation. He did not wish to lie, but he had no qualms with telling half-truths. He was hiding a girl named "Angelina Kudou Shields." "Angie Sirius" was a pseudonym and mask given to her by the USNA army and government, and Tatsuya did not feel obliged to participate in these machinations.
In any case, Motoharu did not suspect anything in Tatsuya's statement so the conversation moved on.
"Whoever your client is, I can only say that trying to get into Midway Prison is recklessness."
Gen's tone indicated that he was still in amazement at the reasons behind this meeting.
"Then, you know what present Midway is like?"
Tatsuya understood Gen's hints of "you must stop," but he ignored Gen's opinion for the moment.
"I do not know much about the inside of the prison, but the general situation is clear."
Both Tatsuya and Miyuki continued looking at Gen, waiting for more. Gen had hoped that Miyuki would stop Tatsuya, but sighed as he realized it wasn't going to happen.
"I will share what we know, but we will not be able to provide support."
"I understand."
Tatsuya didn't need this extra warning from Gen. Neither he, nor Maya, nor anyone else in the Yotsuba family had planned on asking the Mitsuya family or any of the other families in the Ten Master Clans and 18 Assistant Houses for help.
However, Tatsuya kept his answer at that.
"Only defensive ground forces are located on Midway Island. Other than transport ships, no naval military ships are located there."
Gen seemed to finally understand that the Yotsuba were set on this business, and he did not voice his warning again. After a short pause, he began to talk about the information Tatsuya wanted.
"There are no air forces either. Perhaps their is the fear that prisoners could use them to escape," Gen continued.
"Are sea and air bases on another island?" Tatsuya asked.
"On an artificial one. There is a giant floating artificial island created in the Pearl and Hermes atoll. Troops were relocated there about six months ago, but…"
Gen paused for a moment before continuing.
"Pearl and Hermes is an atoll approximately 250 kilometers east-southeast of Midway Island. It belongs to the northwestern part of the Hawaiian archipelago, and it is littered with many sandy islands. A larger artificial island with a USNA military base is built around the outside of the coral reef.
"One aircraft carrier, two escort ships, two destroyers, and one submarine were assigned to the naval base. There is no runway on the artificial island itself, but there are more than 70 fighter jets on the aircraft carrier."
Gen laid out this information as a brief report.
"This is a combat force that one person cannot hope to cope with unless he possesses Strategic class magic."
Tatsuya had not yet been announced as the source of the "Great Bomb," but from the meaningful tone and gaze of Gen, one could assume that he knew about it.
However, this was nothing to be surprised about. Based on Lina's stories, it was clear that Stars knew quite a bit about the explosion of matter. It was also likely that Bezobrazov had told others in the New Soviet Union about this. Finally, when Bezobrazov had first learned about the user of "the great bomb", William MacLeod from Britain was also present.
Information could have spread even more in Japan by word of mouth. The Mitsuya family had a widespread information network both inside and outside the country. It would be odd if the head of such a large information network was unaware of Tatsuya's possession of Strategic class magic.
"What is the approximate size of the ground forces on Midway Island?" Tatsuya asked.
The fleet assigned to the Pearl and Hermes base was a significant military power, but it was intended for a battle between armies. Tatsuya did not intend to openly oppose USNA so it was unlikely that the fleet would attack him, but the garrison troops on the Midway Island would still be an obstacle.
"You're still going to do it...?" Gen muttered, sighing. But he was not surprised. He did not think the Yotsuba would retreat from such a minor obstacle of a naval fleet.
Gen looked at his son, but Motoharu had already brought the data up on his information terminal before he was given the signal.
"Other than the prison staff, there should be between 200 and 250 soldiers on the island. One of the squads consists of magicians, but they are not Stars."
"What is the level of their weapons?"
"In addition to the personal weapons of the soldiers, there are two Fleming Launchers on the roof of the prison."
Motoharu continued answering Tatsuya's questions. The Mitsuya family possesses quite a lot of detailed information, so it took some time to finish, but Tatsuya felt that the visit to the Mitsuya family had ended with a satisfactory result.
This was helped by the fact that the Mitsuya family did not demand any form of compensation or payment for this assistance.
◊ ◊ ◊
Miyuki asked Tatsuya about Midway after they returned home. Even though private transport cabins guaranteed privacy, she chose to wait until they returned home to discuss secure matters.
"Onii-sama, are you really going to go there?"
Miyuki had known about the operation to rescue Canopus from Midway Island even before Tatsuya reported it to Maya, but until now she was only in a position of passive denial. However, after hearing about the military power present, her anxiety grew.
"Yes. I have not decided on an exact time yet, but I will try soon."
Tatsuya more worried about Miyuki worrying about him than about himself, but he could not ignore her question either.
"…Is it because this is Lina's request?"
Miyuki's mood darkened further as she asked her next question. Even she realized that some of her behavior stemmed from jealously, but it was also more than that.
Miyuki's voice was too serious.
"It is just an excuse," Tatsuya answered.
Tatsuya gave a vague answer because he wasn't sure what Miyuki was currently thinking about Lina other than that it was complex. All Tatsuya could do was express his feelings and thoughts fully and truthfully.
"Canopus is a serious opponent, possibly more dangerous than Bezobrazov and Sirius as an adversary."
Tatsuya specified "Sirius" in this situation. Ignoring her weak will to fight, Lina was similar to Tatsuya and Miyuki in magical power. When comparing her with Canopus Tatsuya's impression was that he was an even stronger opponent than Sirius.
"If Canopus became a Parasite, he would be our unconditional enemy. We should try to avoid this situation if at all possible. Liberating him will remove the possibility of him being infected," Tatsuya finished.
"But…"
Miyuki was still unsure. Midway Island was still the territory of the USNA.
While she could understand using a distant attack to eliminate Canopus, she felt it was too risky to break a prisoner out. However, Miyuki had already talked to Tatsuya about that idea when the plan was first brought up. The results are evident.
"I will not act recklessly. If the breakout proves to be impossible, I will blow the prison up."
This was not the first time Tatsuya had stated this, and it was not just an excuse to appease Miyuki. Tatsuya had not abandoned the idea of blowing up Midway Prison with Material Burst. As always, his priority was eliminating the threat to him and Miyuki before appeasing Lina. It was what he was best at, anyway, so this was not surprising.
"Besides, the plan is not yet decided yet as the current situation is too unstable. I may still revise my opinion with further information."
"I guess..."
Tatsuya had only given general reasoning and had not quite convinced Miyuki, but the future was too fluid to accurately predict.
Neither of them quite believed that the current prevailing view would become the reality.
◊ ◊ ◊
Once Tatsuya and Miyuki left the Mitsuya house, the current and next heads of the Mitsuya family continued the conversation together.
"Father, should we inform the self-defense forces that the Yotsuba plan to attack the prison on Midway Island?"
Motoharu was the first to speak.
"But we should also consider the possibility of information leaking to America..."
Gen said. "No, this goes against the loyalty of magicians. I can't betray one of the Ten Master Clans to the army or America."
Gen rejected his son's offer, but not without hesitation. His uncertain tone betrayed his true thoughts.
"But if you keep silent now, the Mitsuya family could be seen as an accomplice of the Yotsuba."
"We did not ask for compensation solely to avoid such thoughts."
"I don't think that would be convincing," Motoharu responded.
Gen fell silent at his son's statement. Gen understood that not asking for compensation for the release of information was too weak of a defense.
"…Leaking this to America is unacceptable. We won't be able to explain ourselves at the Ten Master Clans conference. "
After a bit of silence, Gen said this while shaking his head.
"Still, we should at least notify the self-defense forces about Shiba-dono's plan.
"...Alright."
Gen couldn't disagree this time.
"But we must choose the recipient of the information carefully. If the anti-magic movement finds out about this, we will have repeated the mistake of the Saegusa and Kudou families."
Motoharu nodded in response to Gen's words.
"We should talk to Lieutenant General Saeki from the 101st brigade, as she is associated with Shiba Tatsuya-dono," Gen said now that they were in agreement.
"Yea, Lieutenant General Saeki should be able settle this without conflict."
"Then I will take care of it immediately," Gen responded and Motoharu stood up.
The conversation done, they prepared to leave, but neither Gen nor Motoharu paid attention to the hurriedly receding footsteps outside the door.
"I heard something terrible. ."
Shiina ran into her room and sat on the carpet on the floor, still holding the tray she had used to bring the cups earlier.
Shiina's ears were exceedingly sensitive. She could hear tiny vibrations ordinary people could not, but this also made the everyday sounds feel like an attack of intolerable noise to Shiina. Her body was completely normal, so doctors hypothesized that she subconsciously activates magic to increase hearing. This is supported by the fact that her hypersensitive ears become normal as she sleeps.
However, despite knowing the cause, nothing can be done to affect the magic as it can't be observed from outside information bodies. Since the magic exists entirely inside Shiina, no outside measures can be taken to detect the magic. The only treatment was the usage of soundproof headphones with a microphone on the outside and speakers inside to control the volume of noise. The sounds coming into the microphone are played at a volume harmless to Shiina through the speaker inside the cup.
Shiina usually only took off her headphones while swimming or sleeping, so she had them on when she went to pick up the empty tray she had brought cups on.
Her headphones were only designed to lower the volume of loud sounds to a volume Shiina could withstand, so while they did not amplify weak sounds, they also did not block sounds that were originally harmless. Shiina's headphones were able to detect and recreate sounds to incredibly low volumes. This allowed Shiina's oversensitive hearing to hear her brother and father's conversation even though she did not intend to eavesdrop.
"When they said Shiba-dono, did they mean Shiba-senpai? Will they tell the army about Shiba-senpai?"
Shiina had heard the conversation from when Motoharu and Gen were still discussing
"leaks to America," so while she didn't know Tatsuya's plan, from phrases like
"antimagic movement", "mistake of the Saegusa and Kudou families", and "settle this without conflict", she understood that this was a rather suspicious conversation.
"What to do.. "
Shiina had heard enough of the conversation to realize that her father and brother were plotting treachery against Tatsuya. Though she was much more loyal to her family than to Tatsuya, Shiina felt that treachery was evil. In her system of values, she felt that bullying like this was Tatsuya - she felt it would be wrong if she allowed the current atrocity to go on just because it was her family.
"Should I tell Shiba-senpai about this. .?"
But if she did that, she herself would have committed treachery.
So at that, Shiina was trapped in her reasoning.
