Friends

"The fastest magic in the world..." 

"3 Mach..." 

Ichijou Masaki and Kichijou looked at their best friend, Hiiro Masa, who was lying on Masaki's bed speechlessly, wondering how this bastard, who often played around and tricked them, could have such an amazing title all of sudden! 

"Dammit, don't eat on the top of my bed!" 

"By the way, when did you start to develop your new magic, Mercury, Masa?" 

While Masaki was annoyed at Masa, who ate at the top of his bed, Kichijouji Shinkurou was more concerned about when Masa developed his magic. Still, when they saw the fastest magician alive eating the cookie prepared by Masaki's mother lazily, they had to admit that they really couldn't believe this news! 

Why the heck did this guy develop such magic all of a sudden?! 

The three of them had been together for so long, and they were childhood friends. Moreover, due to the attack on Sado Island, their relationship was stronger than ever. 

Invasion of Sado. 

The event occurred in August 2092 when the New Soviet Union invaded Sado, Japan. They attacked the facility where Kichijouji Shinkurou's parents worked, and during the event, Masaki and Masa went with Masaki's father to join the battle, and they annihilated the enemy with rupture.

Due to this relationship, the three of them have a firm comradeship and have been together till now. 

So, there was no doubt when the announcement of Masa's new magic was heard by the two, they couldn't contain their surprise and quickly questioned him. 

While Masa didn't say the details of the magic, he confirmed that this magic was real and he had become the fastest magician alive. 

"I have been thinking about developing that magic for a while, and it has only been successful now." 

"Congratulations." 

Still, there was no doubt that Kichijouji congratulated Masa with a smile, happy that his friend had succeeded, and Masaki could only sigh when he was ignored. 

"But why now?" 

Somehow, they wondered whether there was a reason why Masa would develop such magic now, all of the time. To be honest, they were in the third year of middle school, and their priority should be the entrance exam to enter the Magic High School, which would be held shortly, instead of developing a new magic. 

"Is it because of your family's new venture?" 

Kichijouji came to such a conclusion, especially when he knew that Masa's family was ready to start a new business. 

To be honest, the magician family, especially the one at the top, wasn't poor, but Masa's family was on a different level, especially when it had monopolized the market of cyber security. More importantly, it was also about developing itself into cloud computing, enterprising software, business software, consulting, AI, blockchain, internet service, telecommunication, etc. 

Heck, Masaki, and Kichijouji even heard that the Isshiki Family was about to create a beauty business, which made them speechless. 

Regardless, everyone was clear about the Isshiki Family's magic, which gave them a high expertise in cyber, network, and technology, which made this family an important asset of the country. 

Yet, there was no doubt that this also brought envy from many. 

Masaki and Kichijouji were okay since one was the heir of the Ichijou Family, a member of the Ten Master Clans, and the other was a genius who had discovered the Cardinal Code. 

However, not many magicians lived well since not everyone had a great ability, and most of them couldn't even use magic. Instead, many also lost their abilities as they grew older. 

For such people, they had no future, and they also didn't have any specialties. 

Yet, many magicians who could use magic or a large family magician also didn't have much money since their only income came from taking a dangerous job such as being a soldier or bodyguard. 

So, the Isshiki Family, who could make a lot of money from their magic, brought envy to many. Not only the magicians but also normal people were the same. More importantly, those with high financial capability also didn't like this family, too, since their business was private instead of public. 

Yes, instead of sharing the money with everyone, the Isshiki Family made the business private, which meant it was monopolized by their family. 

Previously, because of this, Masa and the Isshiki Family knew that they had to admit their business into cyber security, so no one could say anything, and everyone also knew the excellence of this family in terms of cyber security. 

Yet, once their business touched another field, it would be different since it would affect the profits of the others! 

After all, the market was limited, and no one had the confidence to fight against the capability of the Isshiki Family in these fields! 

So, if there was a way to stop the Isshiki Family, it was only by force! 

By hiring killers or others, they would cause trouble or kidnap their people to make this family bow down. 

With all of those thoughts, the only reason why Masa and the Isshiki Family developed new magic was only one. 

To be a deterrent! 

It was like how a country would develop a nuclear bomb to protect themselves and be taken by others seriously; the announcement of the Isshiki Family of this new magic known as "Mercury" was to become the deterrent to the world that their family wasn't something that they could mess with! 

Mach 3. 

If one was confident, could they do anything before that speed? 

Because of that, Masaki and Kichijouji, who had made such a conclusion, fell in silence and didn't say anything to Masa since this guy must have been working hard. 

"Don't look at me like that. If you are worried about me, why don't you two develop a Strategic Type of Magic so everyone's attention won't be on me all the time." 

"....." 2x

"...do you think it is easy to develop a Strategic Type of Magic?" 

Yet, whether it was Masaki or Kichijouji, they didn't refuse him since they knew that having attention on Masa all the time was tough, and if they wanted to help him, they should also show their excellence, and naturally, creating the Strategic Type of Magic was the best way. 

At the same time, the two of them didn't want to lose to Masa. 

"If you two are together, I think it is possible," Masa said as he ate Masaki's mama's cookie, thinking that it was so good that he wanted to bring Masaki's mama with him to Tokyo when he entered the First High School. 

Fortunately, Masaki didn't have mind-reading magic, or else this guy would have killed this bastard! 

Still, whether Masaki or Kichijouji felt a bit happy and shy when they heard Masa's confirmation toward them since they knew well that compared to Masa, their excellence was a bit lower, and if they wanted to match him, they had to work together. 

Yet, how could they not think so? 

Masa was not only a powerful magician and researcher, but he was also a tough businessman! 

If there was a reason why the Isshiki Family could become the wealthiest magician family, it was all due to Masa. 

Well, even if the Isshiki Family was the wealthiest magician family, there was still a distance compared to other real, hidden wealthy families in this country and the world. 

"But since you said so, you must have imagined what kind of magic Masaki can use, right, Masa?"

Considering their previous conversation, Kichijouji knew that Masa must have thought about what kind of Strategic Magic could be used by Masaki. 

Masaki didn't say anything, and he didn't hide the idea of becoming a Strategic Type of Magician as he could protect his family, especially from the threat of another country. 

"The Ichijou are famous for their magic that controls the liquid. We can use the "Rupture," your family's specialty magic, as a basis to develop a Strategic Type of Magic." 

Like the Isshiki Family with its "Nerve Disruption" and "Lightning," the Ichijou Family also had their specialty magic, which was known as "Rupture," a magic that evaporated all liquids within an object.

Yes, as the "Magician of the One," the Ichijou Family also had magic that directly interfered with living organisms. 

However, unlike the Isshiki Family's focus on bio-electricity, the Ichijou Family's focus was on body-liquid. 

With their magic "Rupture," anything with liquids in their bodies, whether it was a machine or a living being, could all be exploded by the magician of the Ichijou Family. 

So, for such a family, what kind of Strategic Magic was suitable? 

"Use the sea and create a steam explosion." 

This was the answer that Masa came up with. 

Masaki and Kichijouji fell into a daze and thought about the possibility of this magic. 

Was it possible? 

Naturally. 

But in reality, it wasn't so easy. 

If it was just a simple explosion, then it would have been easy for Masaki to do it, but to make a steam explosion comparable to a nuclear bomb, then it would have been a different matter. 

"We're still young, so don't bother to think too much about it. Our focus should be on the entrance exam." 

Masaki and Kichijouji nodded, but then, with Masa's words, they knew which focus of research they should develop during their high school life. 

"I wonder how high school is." 

"I don't think there is a huge difference between middle school and high school." 

"What do you think, Masa?" 

"I think there will be a lot of cute girls." 

"....." 2x

If this friend of theirs wasn't so frivolous, it would be perfect, they thought. 

Suddenly, the door of Masaki's room opened, which startled the three of them.

"Akane, what are you doing?!"

Masaki looked at his little sister angrily, who startled all of them.

Yet, Masaki's little sister ignored her older brother and looked at Masa with a panic. 

"Masa-nii, are you going to the First High School?!" 

"...." 2x

Yet, Masaki and Kichijouji were also dumbfounded. 

"MASA, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" 2x

"...." 

Masa thought that his life in this world was as peaceful as ever.