At the Kagurazaka family's main residence in Hakone, Chihime, the current head, sat alone in her private study, staring intently at a terminal. Beyond her duties as head—sorting information from Stargazer and Nine-Headed Dragon—she also oversaw the Kanzaka Group as its chairwoman, keeping a sharp eye on various sectors.
Her terminal chimed with an incoming call. Pressing the connect button, the monitor displayed Yakumo, the leader of Nine-Headed Dragon.
"My lady, apologies for contacting you so late," Yakumo said.
"Oh, a call like this is rare, Yakumo-san. What's the matter?" Chihime replied.
"I seek your permission for a certain matter," he said.
Given Nine-Headed Dragon's nature, Yakumo held several extralegal privileges, though not publicly acknowledged. For him to personally request permission, Chihime opened a fan and began fanning herself.
"For you to go out of your way… an inquiry to Honzan? That would involve the Kuzumi family, then?" she asked.
"As you've deduced. I deflected Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki-kun's inquiries with 'P-weapon,' but I need to investigate independently," Yakumo replied.
Chihime had no objections to Yakumo's investigation—rather, she welcomed his foresight regarding future threats. Her tone conveyed approval without reservation.
"That's fine. The current abbot of Eizan is my former student, so he'll cooperate readily," she said.
The Kagurazaka family's Onmyodo roots tied them to religious institutions from their Kyoto days, often aiding high monks visiting Mount Fuji's foothills for training. Like the Ueyama family, they preserved numerous ancient magics, and Chihime had taught many monks, amassing a number of disciples. Yakumo's master, the previous Kujuu, was once taught by Chihime's father, a connection that led to Yakumo's leadership of Nine-Headed Dragon.
"That's a relief. I plan to take Tatsuya-kun to Honzan next weekend… though Yugen-kun seems to be staying put," Yakumo said.
"He's juggling academics and his role as deputy club committee head—Hattori-kun's likely successor—so he can't spare attention beyond school. Plus, there's the German issue," Chihime replied.
"I've heard a bit about Ernst Rozen. Should we steer clear of that?" Yakumo asked.
Chihime and Yakumo were already aware of the Nine Schools team, including Leo and Erika as main event members. The concern was whether Ernst Rozen, noticing Leo, might act rashly. Chihime addressed Yakumo's question decisively.
"No issue, Yakumo-san. If Leo-kun were kidnapped, worst case, my brother-in-law might fly to Germany himself. Yugen-kun and Ceria-san should handle it fine," she said.
"An international incident in the making…" Yakumo muttered.
"Besides, Yugen-kun is included in Bastian Rozen's inheritance split. He has no plans to demand more, but if an attack occurs, the Kagurazaka family will protest to the German government," Chihime added.
Chihime knew a protest to the German embassy would likely be ignored. She'd file one through the Japanese government, holding the German government accountable for the Rozen family's magician oversight.
"So, Yakumo-san, focus on the Parasidolls. As for handling it… Tatsuya-kun will act if Miyuki-san's involved, so I'll ask my brother-in-law to back him up," she said.
"Gozo-dono as backup?" Yakumo asked.
"It's obvious someone's stirring the Defense Forces. The 101st Brigade will assist with the Nine Schools, but Lieutenant Fujibayashi's ties mean the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion can't move. Still, a personal request should get Major General Saeki and Major Kazama to agree," Chihime said.
Chihime intended for Kazama, and by extension Saeki, to bear responsibility for Tatsuya's actions. Even if the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion aimed to be independent of the Ten Master Clans, "independence" differed from "opposition." Chihime believed that, as a civilian organization of powerful magicians, the Ten Master Clans shouldn't be excluded from the Defense Forces' mission to protect the nation from external threats.
"I've entrusted discretion to Yugen-kun regarding Tatsuya-kun, trusting he'll keep him from overreaching. But the Kuzumi family lacks foresight," Chihime said.
"The current head envies his predecessor's power," Yakumo noted.
"If only Ken were head… No use wishing. Please proceed with the 'additional investigation,' Yakumo-san," Chihime said.
"Understood, my lady," Yakumo replied.
While Yakumo taking Tatsuya posed no issue, investigating everything alone would be tough. Yugen had already probed the Parasidoll matter, and a report from the Ise family confirmed Zhou Gongjin's visit to the Kuzumi family. Gu Jie, accessing Parasidoll data via Frithskjálf, likely sent Zhou to trigger a rampage. As Chihime ended the call, she immediately contacted another party to deploy a separate investigation team.
On July 8, a Sunday, Tatsuya headed to FLT's CAD Development Division 3 for final tests on the full-thought-control CAD. As "Silver," his presence was critical. Meanwhile, Yugen, as "Taurus," worked remotely from the Shiba household, wearing a receiver and typing at a workstation displaying FLT's CAD test data.
The mechanism, outputting single non-systematic magic sequences, was nearly complete on the hardware side. Only final adjustments for non-systematic sequences remained, but as Yugen wasn't an official FLT employee, he worked remotely.
(Everything's on track. Psion consumption and activation speed are fine.)
Rozen Magicraft pioneered the full-thought-control CAD (excluding Yugen's Valkyrie and Odin), but its large terminal size was inconvenient. FLT's version, requiring dedicated pairing software, covered over 90% of CADs sold in the past five years.
(I knew the original story had FLT tackling this, but I didn't expect last year's incident to come up…)
Last year, at Mayumi's request, Yugen hastily built a rifle-type CAD for Speed Shooting, tailored to her Magic Bullet. After use, it was erased via Decomposition. Tatsuya, designing the full-thought-control CAD, asked to see its blueprints. Yugen copied them from memory using Memory Compilation, as the hardware was partly his design. While a slight detour, it caused negligible activation speed loss. Yugen firmly refuted Ushiyama's "As expected of the chief" comment.
Tatsuya was also developing an attachment for Baryon Lance and working on the Stellar Furnace for the ESCAPES Project. Completing the CAD would be a milestone, and Yugen pressed on.
After lunch, Yugen went shopping with Miyuki as promised. The final tests had no bugs, freeing up his afternoon. Descending to the living room, he sighed lightly at Miyuki, visibly grumpy on the sofa.
Since Nine Schools preparations began, Miyuki, as a student council officer, and Yugen, as deputy club committee head, were swamped. Yugen handled event strategies, athlete-engineer coordination, and rookie event engineering, often returning late while Miyuki was already asleep. Avoiding public affection to prevent escalation led to her mounting stress.
"Miyuki, want to go shopping this afternoon? It's a promise, but I won't force you," Yugen said.
"I'm going! I'll change now!" Miyuki replied.
Her eagerness was a bit much… As Miyuki hurried off, Tatsuya, returning, noticed her unusually bright expression and questioned Yugen.
"I'm back… What's with Miyuki? She's unusually cheerful," Tatsuya said.
"She's been grumpy since I haven't had time for her. We're going shopping this afternoon," Yugen replied.
"I see. What about Minami?" Tatsuya asked.
Tatsuya figured Yugen's presence with Miyuki negated his guardian role, and tagging along might look like "chaperoning a date." When asked, Minami politely declined, citing chores. Yugen and Tatsuya noticed her subtle affection for Yugen, who had confessed his feelings, only for Minami to faint. She was still sorting her emotions.
For Minami, Miyuki's intimate interactions with Yugen, her master, and Mayonaka's absurd advice to "seduce Yugen if needed" (prompting her to collapse blushing) caused emotional conflict. Tatsuya saw her pure, naive feelings as typical of young love.
They visited a new fashion mall in Shibuya's subcenter. Miyuki's natural beauty made everything she tried look good, rendering Yugen's compliments predictable. The mall's open layout, with no tenant dividers, placed the party dress section next to lingerie. Yugen was there to accompany Miyuki, but with no casual clothing fitting rooms available, a clerk, perhaps misjudging, guided them to one in the swimsuit section.
(This was supposed to be Tatsuya's event…)
A man alone in the swimsuit fitting area risked misunderstandings, so Yugen told Miyuki to contact him when done. She understood instantly and agreed. As he headed to the corridor, he ran into two school underclassmen.
"Yugen-nii!? This is the swimsuit section… and that's a lot of bags," Kasumi said.
"Yugen-nii-sama! Is Miyuki-senpai here too!?" Izumi exclaimed.
The Saigusa sisters—Kasumi, impressed by Yugen's strength carrying numerous bags, and Izumi, eyes sparkling. Mayumi had told them about Yugen and Miyuki's relationship (technically fiancés), but Izumi, accepting it, still adored Yugen, claiming, "Nii-sama is too grand for one woman; multiple are fitting." Kasumi was stunned, and Yugen and Miyuki could only offer wry smiles.
"Kasumi, Izumi. You two being here means…" Yugen began.
"What's the commotion—" Mayumi started.
As expected, with the sisters unguarded, Mayumi emerged from a fitting room in a swimsuit, scolding them. Seeing Yugen, she blushed furiously. Knowing excuses wouldn't help, Yugen spoke firmly.
"Saigusa-senpai, it looks great, but please return to the fitting room. Other men might see," he said.
"Y-Yes… Understood!" Mayumi stammered.
Complying, Mayumi closed the curtain, muffling a silent scream. Kasumi and Izumi showered Yugen with praise.
"As expected of Yugen-nii, handling Onee-chan perfectly," Kasumi said.
"Truly, only Nii-sama could do this," Izumi added.
Mayumi's swimsuit was undeniably striking, her petite frame well-proportioned. But as a fiancé, Yugen couldn't view her romantically, especially given her family's issues. He recognized Koichi and Mayumi as distinct, which allowed him to conditionally reinstate his engagement with Izumi. It was more emotional than rational.
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