"In that case, we need to explain things to Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki-san." "An explanation? Rather than a persuasion?" "Of course. Trying to prop Miyuki-san up as a figurehead doesn't just cross Tatsuya-kun, who was at the meeting, but also risks souring the mood of her fiancé, Yuu-kun. Given that the three of them live under the same roof, there's no way the news hasn't reached him. That's why an explanation—or rather, an apology—is necessary."
Furthermore, while the recent New Soviet Union incident had not been made public, the fact that the head of the Ichijou family had been injured—creating a breach in the defense posture—highlighted the urgent responses demanded of future family heads. In that sense, it was a uncomfortable truth even for Katsuto, who had become a family head at a young age.
"To speak frankly, they skipped all the steps of building rapport and tried to make a figurehead out of a Yotsuba successor's relative out of nowhere, right? Unless the person's own will is involved, hoisting someone up without checking beforehand is never going to yield good results."
It was akin to trying to turn a base commander's daughter into a PR mascot. Attempting such a maneuver would inevitably lead to a demotion.
"Granted, Tatsuya-kun was Tatsuya-kun for shooting it down so brutally honestly… but how do you plan to convince them?" "Juumonji-kun is a given, but Mayumi should be there too." "Sigh… cleaning up my biological brother's mess is so depressing… What is it, Mari?" "Nothing, it just reminded me that even you have things you dislike." "What's that supposed to mean!?"
In the end, it was settled that Katsuto, Mayumi, and Mari would serve as the party offering the explanation. They decided to resolve the matter by first convincing Tatsuya and Miyuki, and then persuading Miyuki's fiancé, Yuugen. Meanwhile, Ami politely declined, reasoning that "having too many cooks in the kitchen will only derail the conversation."
Aside from the specialized magic education imposed by the Magic High School, Miyuki underwent various lessons as part of her deportment as a lady. She studied Western and Japanese etiquette, dance, flower arrangement, and tea ceremony—skills appropriate for a high-society heiress. However, since Miyuki had already mastered these skills by the time she graduated middle school, she attended a high-society etiquette school about once a week merely to maintain her proficiency.
The reason her attendance days were not fixed (though scheduling them a month in advance rendered it somewhat moot) was to avoid potential collateral damage to those around her in the event of an abduction attempt. This was less a precaution for Miyuki herself and more a consideration for the other powerless students.
"Alright Mizunami, I'm leaving her in your hands." "Understood, Tatsuya-sama."
Because the school strictly barred men, Tatsuya could not enter even under the guise of an escort. Previously, they had relied on the school's security guards, but ever since Mizunami had joined the Shiba household, she had taken over as Miyuki's bodyguard.
This arrangement of attending the etiquette school was scheduled to conclude by summer. Beyond the increasingly volatile atmosphere surrounding them, the Kagurazaka family—into which Miyuki was to marry—offered instruction of a far higher caliber than any etiquette school, meaning her future studies would transition into "bridal training" under their lineage.
After Miyuki and Mizunami stepped into the building, Tatsuya climbed into the autonomous vehicle and operated the console to make a call. The face that appeared on the display was Tatsuya's own.
"Tatsuya, the two of them have entered the school as planned." 『Confirmed on my end as well… Still, seeing you disguised so flawlessly leaves even me with nowhere to stand.』 "It's not something I particularly enjoy using, though."
Indeed, the person sitting inside the vehicle was Yuugen, who had altered his appearance using magic. The catalyst for this arrangement was information Tatsuya had received from Yakumo.
First, the National Defense Forces' Intelligence Department was plotting something against the USNA military's operational task force. Second, they intended to use the USNA forces to interfere with Tatsuya and Miyuki. Yakumo had added, "If it comes down to it, relying on Yuugen-kun might be an option as well."
The information that Yakumo was the head of the Kudou (Nine Dragons) was disclosed to only a select few among the Kagurazaka family leadership, and even members of the Shinkoukai were not privy to the full picture. That Yakumo permitted relying on Yuugen was equivalent to stating that the Kagurazaka family would not tolerate the National Defense Forces interfering with the Yotsuba family.
"Since Lina and Celia aren't around this time, it shouldn't be a hard fight… Given that I have a general grasp of Master Kokonoe's martial arts, I plan to settle this within the scope of what you could pull off." 『…My apologies, Yuugen. By rights, this is something we should have handled on our own.』 "Don't worry about it. The Intelligence Department initiated this quarrel, and I already have history with them. Adding one or two more grudges to the list at this point is well within the margin of error."
Not limited to the Intelligence Department, troubles involving the National Defense Forces had been endless as of late. This state of affairs left not only General Soga but also the Minister of Defense clutching their heads in frustration. Even limiting the scope to Yuugen, the incidents from last year and the year before were enough to severely undermine trust; even if he personally trusted General Soga, his impression of the National Defense Forces as a whole had undeniably degraded.
『I heard about the incident from two years ago from Major Sanada, and frankly, I was surprised you didn't crush the Toyama family after what they did.』 "Listen, Tatsuya. If I went around crushing families every time something happened, I'd end up having to wipe out most of the Master Clans."
Simply destroying a family was easy enough. However, the current Twenty-Eight Families possessed social ties not only as magicians but also through their family businesses, meaning one would have to select successors and negotiate conflicting interests with key figures across various industries who supported the family in question.
In that regard, because the Toyama family was directly tied to the National Defense Forces, they fell into a category that was relatively easy to dismantle; however, Kashiwa Udataka, the head of the Kashiwa family and the mastermind behind the scenes, was reluctant to expel the Toyama family from the Twenty-Eight Families.
Under normal reasoning, one might think that removing them from the Twenty-Eight Families would yield the advantage of making them easier to utilize as the "Tooyama" family.
However, the Toyama family held a mandate absent in the other twenty-seven families—the role of maintaining the power balance among the Master Clans by provoking internal conflict. To fulfill that purpose, remaining within the Twenty-Eight Families provided a pretext to rely on the Juumonji family in an emergency.
"Dealing with individual families is one thing, but conducting endless negotiations with political, financial, and civil sectors is a nightmare. It would be fine if the government took the lead, but members of parliament are overly hesitant. From the perspective of those who actually participate in combat, they look weak enough to deserve contempt." 『…Looking at you, Yuugen, the phrase 'there but for the grace of God go I' really hits home. At any rate, we will handle the two of them on our end. Please handle the USNA military forces.』 "Understood."
Setting aside the fact that their conversation sounded entirely inappropriate for high school students, Tatsuya ended the call after exchanging the necessary points. Yuugen leaned back into the seat and let out a sigh.
"Honestly, there are far too many people who can only maintain order within the bounds of their own narrow worldview. I'd like to tell them to learn what it actually means to wield technology beyond common sense."
Under the surface, efforts across various nations were intensifying to recreate ancient-era magic and relics using modern technology.
The instance two years ago, where the National Defense Forces commissioned FLT to replicate a series of magatama modeled after the Yasakani no Magatama, was one such example, laying the groundwork for the production of Hihiirokane and Magistore. What made that possible was Yuugen's skill and knowledge retained from his previous life.
Incidentally, because the magatama was returned after data analysis alone, Sayuri—who had originally received the request—was dissatisfied. However, when informed that the intended target was the Great Asian Alliance, she apparently realized the gravity of the situation and backed down without further argument.
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