Arriving at Tokyo Bay International Airport via tiltrotor from the Kagurazaka main residence in Hakone, what Yugen saw before him as he disembarked was the plane he was about to board. He had assumed it would be a regular passenger plane, but the one being prepared for departure was a government exclusive jet.
"Mother, isn't this a commercial flight?"
"Oh no, I initially arranged for a commercial flight. But the Prime Minister said, 'It would compromise the nation's dignity to put the heads of the Kagurazaka family on an executive class commercial flight,' so it ended up being a government jet."
"Ended up being...?"
While it was partly an expression of gratitude from the Prime Minister, who had secured re-election with a landslide victory in the recent general election, it was also considered "proper etiquette" for the nation to provide the highest level of VIP treatment for the guardians, who were considered national heavyweights. Thus, Chihime apparently couldn't refuse.
Nevertheless, following Chihime, Yugen boarded, and the flight attendants bowed deeply in welcome. Although they were non-magicians, they had been thoroughly drilled not only in manners and etiquette but also in knowledge of magic, so committing any discourtesy was unforgivable.
He bowed slightly, saying, "Thank you for your service," and took his seat.
As he sat down and received a non-alcoholic welcome drink, the private jet began to move. Upon reaching the runway, the engines roared to life, and the acceleration put a strain on Yugen. However, thanks to his training with Gozo, this strain felt only like a ripple, making him sigh at how superhuman he had become.
The government jet, having taken off from the runway, set its course directly for New Chitose Airport. Once the posture stabilized, Yugen took out his terminal and began tapping on the keyboard.
(Even if it came from the Yazama family, for Mother herself to go is quite something.)
Given that their base was in Hakone, it was understandable, but Chihime had explained that this issue wasn't just a matter for the Toukami and Yazama families.
Currently, the "Number Dropouts" (Extras) had achieved a ban on status discrimination in exchange for stricter magic restrictions—limitations on the use (unique magic)—than the "Numbered" families or the Hundred Families. However, the reason they were stripped of their numbers and expelled from the laboratories was that they didn't align with the laboratories' objectives. Ultimately, the cause lay with the government and the Senate that managed the laboratories at the time.
The Tokyo Offshore Tower bombing attempt, orchestrated by the Extras as the main perpetrators, was a malicious act targeting a building in which the Uesugi family, a guardian and part of the Senate, was involved.
Naturally, this incident caused immense turmoil within the Senate. Chihime and Gozo, judging that the magical society's structure itself was at a turning point due to this incident, advocated for a fundamental improvement in the treatment of the Extras as two of the Four Great Elders. Kashiwa insisted on maintaining the status quo, and Todo remained neutral by staying silent.
—"Prepare for external threats while internally harboring those who feign obedience but plot betrayal? What do you, who have never risked your lives like Chihime and Gensou, and have never fought from the shadows, know?! Have some shame, you brats!"
It was Gozo who was enraged.
Over 30 years since the Master Clan Conference system was established... it was an organization that had boasted of preventing corruption in the National Defense Force, preserving the uniqueness of essential magical combat power, and protecting the basic rights of magicians. However, with magic becoming a technology and changing global circumstances, mutual cooperation between the Master Clan Conference and the National Defense Force was necessary. The existence of strategic-class magic, and thus strategic-class magicians, was a major reason for this.
But what was the current situation?
The National Defense Force had lost its clear purpose and was on the verge of losing civilian control due to unsightly factional disputes. There were also moves to establish units that would not be interfered with by the Magic Association or the Master Clan Conference. The Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, or rather, the 101st Brigade, was a prime example. In its dark underbelly, there had even been attempted kidnappings of Master Clan members under the guise of "re-education."
As for the Master Clan Conference itself, there were even Master Clans trying to pit other Master Clans against each other, and some trying to hinder others from strengthening their magical abilities. Indeed, there was a past incident where a person not in line to inherit the family headship was pursued by their family for exhibiting excellent magical power.
Furthermore, the government—politicians and bureaucrats—feared the growing power of magicians and had dedicated themselves to cut it down (trying to curb their power), leading the country's magical society to the height of chaos. The fear of public authority being threatened by magical power might have been a precaution against ancient curses. However, these actions had affected not only magicians but also non-magicians.
Even if one learned magic, if their abilities didn't match what society demanded, there was no place to utilize them. Many, overly specialized, ended up being idled, and as a result, not a few turned to crime. There were even instances where individuals who were originally considered enemies were drawn in, all in the pursuit of power.
The emergence of magical power as "technology" on the historical stage has, without exception, manifested problems akin to the frictions accompanying technological innovation throughout history. This was a movement against the "secrecy" hidden within magic and was also a cause of friction between ancient and modern magicians.
No matter how advanced the magic detection and surveillance systems became, those unable to use magic could not visually perceive the movement of thought-sequences, leading to the current situation where it was feared as an "invisible force." The inherent karma of magic being originally adopted as a military element, an accumulation of nearly a century, had now erupted.
His best friend did not risk his life for such a future. The people of this country had no consideration for the wishes of his friend, who had longed to be "human." It was utterly ludicrous for people who had cloistered themselves away without ever crossing blades to presume to understand the feelings of those who fought, sacrificing their lives. Gozo, as a man who had fought and survived the World Cluster War, pressed this question upon Todo and Kashiwa.
Following him, Chihime opened her mouth.
—"Surely you haven't forgotten our mission. But it seems even I and my brother have indulged too much in the lukewarm peace. By a strange twist of fate, my child is exceptionally strict regarding power and authority. He may be a potent medicine for you all, but without his intensity, changing this country would be a mere dream."
Chihime was aware of the dealings with Lieutenant General Saeki and the former heads of the "Nine" families, including Retsu. In those dealings, Saeki had stated that "the National Defense Force will not coerce magicians into military careers." Following this, Chihime, also acknowledging that her child was a strategic-class magician, expressed her strong will that treating magicians as "weapons" would absolutely not be tolerated ever again.
As a result of the Senate meeting, the handling of the Number Dropouts (Extras) was entrusted to the two guardian families. As a first step, Chihime decided to bring the Toukami family under the Kagurazaka family's wing. It also seemed she intended to permanently expel the Touyama family, who had caused numerous problems, from the Master Clan Conference and fill that void by adding the Toukami family to the hierarchy of the Numbered families.
However, it was difficult to restore all remaining Number Dropouts to their former status, as some had joined organizations with radical ideologies. Chihime and Gozo had reportedly declared that if they posed a threat to the nation, they would be annihilated without mercy.
Furthermore, Chihime believed that if Tatsuya were nominated as the next head of the Yotsuba family, the National Defense Force Intelligence Department and the Touyama family would naturally make a move. She also stated that they had already considered the possibility of the isolated Touyama family seeking help from the Jūmonji family as a last resort, so they would leave that aspect to them.
Yugen also knew that Tsukasa Tohyama was acquainted with Shina and anticipated that she might use Shina to draw him out. However, he had stated that "family matters will be resolved only by the Mitsuya lineage," and Chihime had nodded in agreement and accepted this.
He had explicitly told Shina to contact him if anything related to the National Defense Force came up, regardless of the other party's reasons. Therefore, if anyone were to deceive and abduct Shina, he fully intended to send everyone involved to the hospital.
Indeed, if he were to send a recommendation to the Minister of Defense, asserting his authority as a Special Lieutenant General to apprehend and severely punish everyone involved, it would be possible to spur the staff into action under the guise of tightening civilian control. It would be ideal if they acted on their own without him having to go to such lengths.
Anyway, back to the main topic.
(Toukami family, huh... I heard Ryosuke-san went abroad for study and hasn't come back.)
Ryosuke Toukami was three years older than Yugen—the same age as Yugen's older sister, Mika. In January of this year, he went to Vancouver in the former Canadian territory of the USNA for an exchange program, and two months later, he became unreachable.
The reason why a magic factor holder, who should normally not be allowed to study abroad, was permitted to do so was due to the 'Halloween of Scorching and Aurora' incident—a strategic-class magician assassination attempt caused by the USNA's selfish circumstances during the Parasite Incident (regardless of how they try to gloss it over, deploying Stars for it makes it a clear international crime).
As far as Yugen had investigated, public information confirmed he was in Vancouver, but after consolidating information from surveillance cameras throughout the city, it became highly probable that he belonged to 'FEHR,' a magic society officially recognized by the Vancouver city government.
Regarding that organization, some members of the 'Neo-Human Front' had been drawn into it during the recent Tokyo Offshore Tower incident. He had left them alone afterward because he hadn't heard any extreme reports, but it was news to him that one of his acquaintances belonged to it.
Yugen didn't know how much Ryosuke had told his family, but judging from his emails, it was highly likely he knew nothing. The family probably accepted that he was out of contact, but how would they react if they learned he belonged to a USNA magic society?
(Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Most likely, he was swayed by Lena Fehr.)
Yugen also had met Lena Fehr, the leader of 'FEHR.' He knew she wasn't the age her appearance suggested, having dealt with many people who similarly misrepresented their age, but he had no intention of asking her age, as talking about age was taboo for women.
While on a world tour with Gozo, when they were walking through nighttime Vancouver, he had been surrounded by several magician-like individuals. After taking down all of them with a single blow, a woman, seemingly their leader, appeared. That was Lena Fehr.
"My comrades caused you trouble. I was interested in your strong magical power and only intended to greet you, but it seems my comrades jumped to conclusions."
He thought, "What's with the 'what's with now' after surrounding me to block my escape route?" but he accepted Lena's invitation, having already planned to escape with the [Mirror Gate] he had just learned if things went south.
Lena had questions about Yugen's magical power, but since even a fraction of it could shake the world, he brushed her off vaguely. The moment one of her comrades tried to grab him, Yugen used Aikido to slam him to the floor, and the others, sensing the difference in their abilities, refrained from acting.
Lena also avoided deep questioning and courteously saw him off near his hotel, but he wasn't inclined to willingly become her ally. The main reason at the time might have been his focus on Tatsuya and Miyuki.
When they parted, Lena had said something like, "If it were possible, I would have wanted you to become our master," but he ignored it. He felt like he had been subjected to an intense gaze during their meeting, but he dismissed it as her deifying him like a god.
The next morning, when he told Gozo about it, Gozo laughed heartily and slapped him on the back. It secretly hurt, and he wished Gozo had been gentler, but that was a story for another time.
◇ ◇ ◇
When Yugen arrived at New Chitose Airport, he saw a limousine. While he understood the privileged treatment, his commoner's values from his previous life made it somewhat hard to accept. This made Chihime next to him quietly smile.
Giving up on being surprised by every little thing, Yugen and Chihime got into the limousine.
"Oh right, this time we're attending not as members of the Kagurazaka family, but as members of the Kamisaka Group. So, Yugen-kun, you'll be the Chairman's son and a director."
To explain the flow of events: first, the Yazama family, hearing the Kagurazaka family's request, spoke to the Toukami family, saying, "We heard something like this from an acquaintance." Next, when the Kamisaka Group publicly advertised for a contract veterinarian, the Toukami family was among those who inquired. So, now, the Yazama and Toukami families were in discussions. The Toukami family apparently felt that the conditions presented via the Yazama family were acceptable.
Following this, members of the Kamisaka Group, who handle the actual business, would enter into final negotiations with the Toukami family—this was the strong implication of their visit. The slight urgency was partly because Chihime knew Yugen would be making moves related to the Yotsuba family.
"I understand about the veterinarian matter. What about the fiancée matter?"
"For now, it's simply a report from the Yazama family that 'it seems Yugen-kun has feelings for them.' Arisa-san's mother has already passed away, and her father is not listed in her family register, so we must speak with the Toukami family, who are her adoptive parents."
In short, Yugen understood that Chihime intended to somehow bring about an engagement between Marika and Arisa. That was likely why she brought him, a familiar acquaintance. Chihime coming herself was not only as his mother but probably also largely due to the fact that the negotiation partners were Number Dropouts.
"You seem to be in quite a hurry, is there a reason?"
"Yes... Yugen-kun's fiancée recruitment will be announced simultaneously with the Yotsuba's next head and their fiancée recruitment. Currently, the list of Yugen-kun's fiancées includes eight people, including Airi-san, whom we recently added after a request from Mitsuya-dono."
Miyuki, Shizuku, Himegimi, Kutoko, Yuka, Celia, Izumi, and Airi. There were other engagement proposals, but Chihime apparently wanted to finalize the single-digit ranking before this fiancée recruitment.
"I'm sorry, Izumi-chan, but as a penalty for the other day, she will drop to 10th place, and Airi-san will be placed in 7th. Then, if the engagements for the two girls are formed, I'd like to place Arisa-san in 8th place and Marika-san in 9th."
In other words, by placing individuals from the Toukami family, who were Number Dropouts, above a current Ten Master Clan member who had tarnished the Kagurazaka's reputation, she wanted to clearly establish the Kagurazaka family's priorities. While the ranking itself didn't have inherent meaning, for those who cared about appearances, this "ranking" would seem humiliating.
It was akin to declaring that the Yotsuba family of the Ten Master Clans, the Isshiki family of the Eighteen Assistant Houses, the Yonjūkyūin family of the Hundred Families, and even relatives of the Kujima family, had a lower priority than the Kagurazaka family's lineage. Incidentally, Arisa's higher ranking was simply the result of the Yazama family's information regarding Arisa's and Marika's relationship within the Toukami family.
"So, I will handle the negotiations entirely. Yugen-kun, since your face is known from the Nine Schools Competition, please disguise yourself."
"...Alright, I understand."
For disguising his appearance, he could use ['Parade'] or ['Moon Escape'], or from ancient magic, something like ['Mirage of Shifting Clothes']. But this time, it was simply changing his appearance, so he judged ['Parade'] to be sufficient, as it wouldn't interfere with CAD usage.
Yugen, just in case, put on his glasses—which were like a ritual auxiliary tool, semi-automating continuous spell activation through engravings—and activated ['Parade']. Yugen's hair turned silver, and his eyes changed to a dark gray.
This mechanism was created using data from the masks worn by Lina and Celia during the Parasite Incident, which he received from Celia. When he tried giving it to Celia, she muttered, "Honestly, I had some resistance to that mask." It seemed Lina had felt the same.
"Oh, you've transformed into a handsome foreigner. Should I make my hair silver with magic too?"
"Is that really necessary?"
"It's a matter of mood, you see, mood."
In the end, he installed the activation sequence for ['Parade'] into Chihime's CAD, and Chihime activated ['Parade'], changing her beautiful black hair to silver. Furthermore, by changing her eye color to the same dark gray as Yugen's, they now looked like a foreign brother and sister with a significant age difference.
One might ask if it was alright to so casually give away the Kujima's secret art, but his family understood this, and he had no intention of misusing it. Besides, since he was no longer part of the Ten Master Clans, there was no reason for him to be questioned about it.
It goes without saying that the magic was deactivated before they reached the Yazama family residence.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Yazama main family residence was located in southwestern Hokkaido, and its appearance was, without exaggeration, that of a magnificent temple. As they stepped out of the limousine that had arrived at the main gate, Keiichirou Yazama, the head of the Yazama main family and an acquaintance of Yugen's, bowed.
"It's been a long time, Yugen-san. Or rather, it's Yugen-sama now, isn't it? Chihime-sama, it's also been a long time. My mother attended on my behalf for New Year's, and I apologize for not being able to show my face myself."
"It's been a long time, Keiichirou-san. Thank you for your hospitality."
"I've heard the circumstances from Sakuya-san. That was a time when we were wary of a New Soviet counterattack, so there's no need to worry."
"Thank you. Shall we go inside then?"
Perhaps understanding that excessive welcoming would invite unnecessary scrutiny, only Keiichirou and a few servants were there to greet them. Regarding their luggage, Yugen explained the situation about bringing his CAD and opted to carry it himself.
The matter of 'Taurus Silver' had only been disclosed to a select few, namely certain heads of the Kagurazaka family, and Keiichirou was one of the few who knew Yugen was one half of it. Thus, sensing Yugen's intention to carry his own luggage, he instructed his servants accordingly.
Upon entering the Yazama main residence, they were greeted by Keiichirou's wife, their four children, and Sakuya, the former head whom Yugen had met during New Year's. Keiichirou's children consisted of a 17-year-old eldest son, a 14-year-old eldest daughter, a 13-year-old second daughter, and an 11-year-old third daughter, meaning all but the eldest son were girls.
Junichirou, the eldest son, did not attend a magic high school but a regular high school to conceal his magical abilities. He and Yugen had become close as boys of the same age when Yugen lived at the main house. Yugen had also become friendly with the three girls, taking utmost care to interact with them without letting it develop into a romantic relationship. If he had shown such consideration in other areas, things might have been more amicable, but it was already too late, so he had given up.
The children primarily asked about his exploits at the Nine Schools Competition. His complete shutdown and unilateral defeat of 'Crimson Prince' seemed to have deeply impressed them. Junichirou told him, "There are quite a few guys from elementary school at my current school, and they asked me excitedly, 'That was Yugen, wasn't it!?'"
When Yugen replied, "I just beat him up, romantic aspects included," Junichirou immediately thought of Miyuki and asked if he was dating her. Yugen honestly nodded.
"I see. Someone as beautiful as that would certainly be a match for Yugen."
"By what premise are you saying one is higher than the other?"
"Yugen, of course. I don't think he's a match for Ichijo at all."
Even without having actually seen Miyuki or Masaki, Junichirou stated this, then acidly dismissed Masaki, saying, "No matter if he's called 'Crimson Prince,' his caliber was revealed when he miscontrolled his power during last year's Monolith Code and fired off magic that was practically an over-attack."
After all, Junichirou had the experience of watching Yugen's magic training and training with him. Even though the Mitsuya family was descended from the Yazama bloodline, he was intensely interested in how Yugen, possessing extraordinary magical power, could control it without letting it run wild.
He had heard rumors, too, that Yugen had been sickly until he was seven and might not live long, but compared to him defying those rumors and conversing like this, any jealousy he felt towards Yugen was non-existent.
"Hey, Yugen. The other day, my older sister, who was looking at a picture of the branch family's second son, had sparkling eyes."
"You mean Shirou, right? But Shina is supposed to marry him."
"She said even being a mistress would be fine, and Dad foamed at the mouth and collapsed."
"...Well, I guess he would collapse."
Even if it was unavoidable that marriages in magical society became political as one's standing increased, Yugen couldn't help but feel skeptical, wondering if a mistress boom was secretly spreading.
Incidentally, Sakuya, hearing about his older sister, promised Yugen via Chihime that she would support Shirou and Shina's marriage. Since ancient magic families could also arrange de facto marriages, Shirou might be entering his popular phase.
...Yugen resolved to at least ensure that Shina didn't become too warped and end up like "Nice boat. There's no one inside."
Notes:
Unlike the original story, elements concerning the Senate have been significantly incorporated here. This part quotes Duane Halberton's words, "These fools at the top, who pour budgets into useless projects tied to their vested interests, only know how many soldiers die on the battlefield as numbers!"
I also included a scene at the Yazama family to showcase how families of ancient magic think differently from those of modern magic. In the Yazama family, who serve the Mitsuya family, names that appear intentionally contain numbers, so I kept that pattern for the main family members as well.
If I were to put numbers in the girls' names, my thoughts might lean towards a certain bride (my own fault).
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